Stampede! (Part 2)

Carmilla deployed spell after spell in rapid succession.

Their tremendous power cut down monsters one after another.

Even so, the number of monsters in sight showed no sign of decreasing. More and more new monsters kept surging in from the Great Forest.

How many hours had they been fighting by now?

The adventurers were deeply fatigued from the endless battle, and the excitement from Carmilla and the others joining the fight had already faded.

“…Ugh, this is getting so annoying!”

It was just as Carmilla spat that out.

A Minotaur appeared.

“Wind Cutter!”

Carmilla fired off another spell. She thought it would be cleaved in two—but the Minotaur that took the blow on its shoulder only suffered a deep slash.

Looking closer, it was not a Minotaur.

It had the same bull head and muscular body, but its skin was jet black. A High Minotaur. A superior species of Minotaur. It was an opponent that even high-ranking adventurers struggled against.

Even Carmilla, one of the Eight Stars, could not instantly wipe it out with a lighter spell meant for rapid-fire use.

“Even monsters like this are appearing now!?”

“Carmilla-sama, please fall back!”

Saying that, the warriors under her command stepped forward.

She had no choice but to buy time from them and prepare one big finishing blow! Just as Carmilla was about to ready her next spell—

“Wind Cutter.”

A voice came from behind her.

Without mercy, with a single strike, it split the massive body of the High Minotaur in half—along with the gigantic battle axe in its hands. The severed upper half of the High Minotaur fell to the ground.

Power that surpassed even her, one who had reached the pinnacle of a mage—

There were not many users who could boast such skill.

Carmilla turned around.

There was no need to turn around, of course. It was obvious who was standing there.

There stood silver-haired Orfred. A Sword Saint and a Sage, the greatest wielder of the current age to bear both titles.

Even after achieving the feat of felling a High Minotaur in a single blow, there was not the slightest trace of pride in his eyes. Naturally. To him, that was only to be expected, nothing remarkable at all.

“Did I interfere when I need not have, Carmilla?”

“No, you helped me.”

Carmilla said that and quietly bowed her head.

“What is the situation?”

“Not very good. There are simply too many monsters.”

“I arrived late. There are too many burdensome fools—if these pieces of trash were not here, I could blow them all away with magic. It is a truly ugly battlefield.”

Orfred spat that out in a tone of heartfelt disgust.

“Then I suppose I shall cut them down one by one.”

Orfred drew the magic sword Dainsleif from his waist.

At that instant—

Orfred’s figure vanished. No, he had not vanished. He had moved at an absurd speed. He raced across the battlefield as if he himself had become a gust of wind.

Where he passed, only the butchered corpses of monsters remained.

One overwhelming slash after another cut down the monsters.

Even the Lesser Dragon over ten meters long, which the adventurers were desperately holding back at that very moment—

Hyun.

With the sound of wind slicing through the air, its thick neck was severed.

The adventurers gasped at the instant spectacle.

Standing atop the back of the fallen Lesser Dragon, Orfred shouted,

“I stand here! I am Orfred, master of Black Dragon’s Fang! As long as I and the Black Dragon’s Fang I lead are here, I shall prove that all monsters are nothing more than vermin!”

At that moment—

A roar resounded across the battlefield, so loud it seemed to shake the ground.

“Orfred! Orfred!”

“The strongest adventurer!”

“We did it! We can win! We can win!”

Praise and exhilaration incomparable even to when Carmilla had arrived rang throughout the battlefield.

This was Orfred.

All adventurers remembered his name together with this one word.

Namely—

The strongest.

Carmilla felt the same.

“Hehe, perhaps this means we have already won.”

Ilvis had come close to Black Dragon’s Fang’s branch in the Great Forest.

He needed to hand over the entrusted red crystal to someone named Varnir, but he did not know who Varnir was.

The man had said that if he asked someone from Black Dragon’s Fang, he would find out—

But there was not a single person in sight who seemed to belong to Black Dragon’s Fang.

“…Or rather, is nobody here?”

Judging from the building, there hardly seemed to be anyone around. Black Dragon’s Fang was the largest clan in the Imperial Capital. There was no way the place should be deserted.

“…Did they all go out for something urgent?”

Come to think of it, Ilvis remembered something.

On the way here, he had come across a group of adventurers moving through the Great Forest in a tremendous hurry. Since they had seemed far too rushed, and he had no idea who they were in the first place, he had hidden and let them pass, but…

“Could that have been Black Dragon’s Fang?”

If so, that would make sense.

No, that raised a different problem. Why had they been moving in such a large group like that? Had something happened in the direction of the Imperial Capital?

“…There’s no point thinking about it…”

Ilvis decided to put it out of his mind. For now, he should focus all his effort on handing over the entrusted red crystal.

Having no other choice, Ilvis entered Black Dragon’s Fang’s hideout.

“Excuse me…”

He called out as he went in, but there was no response.

It was true that he felt a bit guilty about entering without permission, but he was doing it to complete the request. Surely this crystal was something very important, something they were anxiously waiting for. He had to deliver it no matter what.

“Excuse me, is Varnir-san here…?”

It was just as he opened a door and stepped into a large room.

—!?

Suddenly, murderous intent swelled from right beside him.

Someone was there, and without warning, swung a sword down at him.

That said.

Ilvis had already noticed the presence before entering the room, so he was not particularly surprised. …Well, he had been surprised that the man attacked with a sword so suddenly.

He did not think it was especially strange.

Because right now, he was just a trespasser. If someone slashed at him, he really had no grounds to complain.

Smack.

He casually knocked the sword aside with the back of his hand. Without even giving the man time to be shocked, he stepped in, restrained the man’s right arm holding the sword, and placed a hand at his throat.

“Sorry for entering without permission. I’m looking for someone named Varnir.”

As he said that, Ilvis turned his gaze toward the multiple presences deeper in the room.

Men holding weapons stood all around the room. At the far end stood two men. One of them was familiar.

A bald head and glasses—

The man who had abandoned him during the direct request two months ago—the man who had tried to have him killed by setting a pack of kobolds on him—

“Glantz!?”

“Sorry, but that was a fake name. I’m Raios.”

Glantz—Raios said that without hesitation.

“It’s been a while, Ilvis. I’ve been dying to see you. You caused me quite a lot of trouble, after all!”

With that, Raios burst into loud laughter.

The gloomy-looking man beside him opened his mouth.

“I am Varnir—one of the Eight Stars of Black Dragon’s Fang. I too have wanted to see you, Ilvis. You unpleasant man who stirred up trouble at my feet—do not think you’ll die easily.”

A sadistic smile rose to Varnir’s lips.