Episode 28

After sealing all the adventurers inside an ice prison he’d conjured, Zeke looked on. The cell was big enough to comfortably restrain more than twenty people. Eris and the citizens of the capital wore looks of shock. The man himself only muttered, “That should do,” though.

“What do you mean, ‘that should do’… huh!? Where am I even supposed to start ripping into this!?”

Annihilated ogres, neutralized the adventurers who ran, and now this ice prison in front of her. Coming right on the heels of bracing for death, Eris couldn’t hide her agitation.

“There are tons of monsters, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen ogres. The adventurers ran, and you’re way past the bounds of common sense…”

Eris plopped down on the ground as if her legs had given out. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

“I really thought it was over… thank you.”

Even in tears, Eris smiled as she thanked him. Some might have imagined it as a scene from a story—if not for Zeke’s remark.

“Looks like you’ve gone soft in the head. Go have a priest examine you.”

“…Even if the world ended tomorrow, you’d look unruffled, wouldn’t you. It’s almost funny.”

Those around them were struck dumb, but Eris kept smiling as before.

“…If things go wrong, that could well happen.”

Zeke murmured quietly. The wind carried the words away; no one heard them.

“Anyway… are they going to be okay?”

The restrained adventurers—some hung their heads, some had fainted, some ranted, some tried desperately to smash the ice.

“That’s not a spell a bunch of trash can do anything about. Same goes for the other monsters.”

The adventurers couldn’t move, and monsters couldn’t break it either. In that case, Zeke said, use them as convenient decoys.

“That’s not what I meant… but fine. Call it karma.”

The monster raid had paused, but the uproar in the capital hadn’t settled yet. From far off they could hear the sounds of magic in combat.

“Looks like we’ve mostly cleaned up this area.”

Zeke stared off into the distance. He would likely move to the next spot.

The crisis had passed, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that was only temporary. There was a high chance more monsters would appear once they sensed their presence again. Would she be able to fight when that happened?

(I have no right to say ‘stay with us and protect everyone’… do I.)

Her first brush with mortal danger. The baseless confidence that she’d be fine shattered to pieces.

(And I was the one who dragged him in. Back then, we might well have died together.)

She’d fought monsters before, but it was her first time fighting while protecting someone. She’d never imagined how much it would grind down her mind. She felt firsthand how heavy human lives were—and that power came with responsibility.

(I can’t ask him to stay.)

“…You’re going on to the next place, right. There are other lives you can save. Leave this to me.”

(What a bravado act. It really is laughable. Maybe this is karma, too.)

If the boy before her hadn’t been there, lots of people would have died with her then and there. Maybe their current situation was the bill coming due.

“I never said this before. I’m sorry for dragging you into it back then… An apology doesn’t fix it, I know.”

He said nothing. Zeke folded his arms and looked off in another direction.

(So I’m not even in his sights to begin with. Can’t be helped, but… it stings a little.)

“I’m fine… so go. Hurry.”

“Hmph. You finally caught up. What a bunch of incompetents.”

Where Zeke had been looking, she now saw knights and mages. Maybe ten in number—about half the adventurers—but somehow they felt more dependable.

“Why are the knights here?”

“Don’t get full of yourself. No one’s counting a puny creature like you as a fighting force.”

Knights waved as they approached, and a bespectacled mage looked at Zeke with a sigh. Apparently they knew each other.

“How did you find us in a capital this big?”

“They happened to cross my path, so I brought them. At least they’re more useful than that trash over there.”

Zeke started forward. This time he was really going to move.

“Wait! …Tell me one thing. How can you keep fighting? Aren’t you afraid of monsters?”

Now that she’d nearly died, she understood: sheer willpower alone couldn’t dispel terror. Why did this boy her own age never stop walking?

“That much is obvious… because I know a death (existence) far more terrifying than monsters.”

An ice foothold formed under his feet. It thrust Zeke upward into the air, and as if keeping pace with his motion, launched him skyward.

He easily vaulted the capital’s tall buildings; then his figure vanished from sight.

Come to think of it, he did drop down from above, didn’t he, Eris thought blankly. The knights were shouting something, but it didn’t register.

(I think I kind of get how Van feels. But no… that’s impossible. Do it at your own pace.)

Eris rose to her feet, newfound resolve burning strong.

A barrier had activated to encircle the entire capital. With several subordinates in tow, Yorn had come to the city gate to investigate it.

“I see… the technique’s starting point is deeper in than the gate. We can’t lay a hand on it like this.”

Pinpointing the source of the monsters was urgent—but so was breaking the barrier. Even if they could exterminate all the monsters, if they remained trapped in the capital, other problems would arise.

(I also doubt it can run forever.)

“It doesn’t look like the capital’s own barrier is being misused. But to maintain something on this scale… human hands alone wouldn’t cut it.”

A barrier covering the entire vast capital. If mages alone tried to do the same, how many people would it take?

(Ordinarily you’d assume a magic tool… Curses, then a barrier, and monsters. What’s their objective?)

“It covers the sky, but what about underground? What if we dug a tunnel and escaped the capital…?”

“Mm, three points for that one. This kind of barrier fires in a circle, so it’s the same. Besides, we don’t have time to dig, and it’s not like we urgently need to get out right now.”

Unbothered by his subordinate’s unfortunate suggestion, Yorn explained.

(These days, if you come down too hard, they lose motivation. Leave it alone and they’ll puff up like some barbaric gang… well, I could just fire them.)

Yorn sometimes came off glib, but he did have the mindset of someone in charge.

(In that sense, it’s better than the Adventurers Association. At least the capital headquarters is finished.)

He recalled the meeting, the mock battle, and their behavior the day before the council. Their attitude and mouths were big, but their ability didn’t match.

(Adventurers out in the provinces struck me as ordinarily more competent.)

The adventurers had been deftly played by Aaron. Yorn had watched events unfold, but sooner or later a clash with Zeke had been inevitable.

(Did it never occur to them? A formal commission from the kingdom—and not a single association staffer at the meeting?)

In the capital, too many so-called high-rank adventurers had piled up. Even with some skill, if your character was poor, you were no different from a violent thug with power. The Adventurers Association’s peculiar circumstances in the capital might have made them arrogant.

(I hear the top in the capital has changed. This is the perfect chance to cut the dead weight in one go.)

Scary, scary, he murmured inwardly. Reports from subordinates even told of some who’d quailed before monsters and fled, using citizens as decoys.

(In that sense, he’s the perfect man for reform…)

He pictured the mock battle with Aaron. In the end, Aaron had been beaten to a pulp, but unlike the other adventurers, his ability was the real deal. He’d just faced the wrong opponent.

(If he prostrated himself, maybe by some miracle we could recruit him…)

No chance, Yorn thought, shaking his head. That mad dog would never serve under someone else.

“All right, let’s work… We’ll examine the barrier’s strength and its formulas. If we poke at something, the enemy might make a move.”

“Monsters just keep coming…”

Van had defeated the ogre safely. Afterward, he’d entrusted the wounded knights to the Maria Church and was running through the capital again.

At first he’d thought to search for the cause of the commotion, but even if he wracked his not-so-bright brain, nothing would be solved. So he switched gears—move his body and help as many people as possible—and chased monsters.

Ahead of Van were hordes of goblins. Without stopping, he picked up speed and slashed them as he passed. The goblins couldn’t even react.

(Is everyone at the company safe…? No, they must be evacuating. They’re sharp; they’ll have moved right away.)

Monsters had targeted them many times while traveling by wagon, and every time they’d teamed up and driven them off. He believed there’d be no problem this time either.

From above, a bird-type monster—a Rosh Bird—dived at Van. A small, rock-like monster with hard wings. Even a body slam would do decent damage.

(Is he… still in the capital, I wonder.)

Van arched back to dodge the strike. Spinning around, he loosed a flaming slash—Flame Slash—and cut down the Rosh Bird.

(If it’s him, he’s taken down way more monsters than I have.)

Memories from the other day wouldn’t leave his mind. By the time he realized it, his proud sword had been severed.

(I thought I’d gotten stronger. But I was nowhere near good enough.)

He’d been so fast Van couldn’t even see him. No matter how much he honed his swordsmanship, if his attacks never landed, it meant nothing.

(Was it all for nothing?)

Three orcs lay in wait, blocking the road. The moment they spotted Van, they charged with a roar.

But Van didn’t yield. He sheathed his blade in flame and drove in, spinning. The orcs were swallowed by a vortex of fire and reduced to ash.

He didn’t know the lay of the capital. Chasing monsters and sprinting around, he found he’d strayed into unfamiliar streets.

“This is… a strangely quiet place.”

An old quarter of tightly packed, timeworn buildings with poor sunlight. Van was in a blighted district—what one would call a slum.

“I don’t sense people… Did they evacuate?”

As far as he could tell, there were no wounded.

“I’m surprised there’s someone who worries about the slum dwellers’ safety.”

“—! Who’s there!?”

From the voice, he could tell it was a man. But he saw no one.

“If I speak up, you can at least perceive me, I suppose… The slum rats didn’t even notice a voice.”

“What are you talking about! What did you do to the people here!?”

He raised his sword and looked around, but saw only the old buildings.

“I don’t see why it matters what happens to slum folk you’ve never even met.”

“You don’t get to decide that!”

What a mouthy brat, the voice seemed to say.

“Fine… but the plan isn’t over. I can’t let you go any farther from here.”

“…What are you even talking about?”

A chill ran up his back. He whipped out his sword and caught something. He felt the shock in his hands as two weapons collided.

“Your instincts are good. You’re lucky, too.”

The man’s figure came into view. Cloaked head to toe, the impression of black was strong. He overlapped with the mugger they’d faced the other day.

“You look like that suicide bomber from before…”

“…I see. So you’re our enemy. Our comrades in Apion and the capital owe you.”

In the man’s hand was a broad, rugged blade. Unlike the sword Van once owned, its creepy crimson edge looked as if it had drunk blood.

“With this, I’ve taken more than a few heads.”

“Just to be sure—do you mean monsters’ heads…?”

“At this point, man or monster makes no difference.”

“Yeah? Fine!”

He took distance and sent a Flame Slash as a greeting. Twice, thrice—flaming blades flew in a row.

“Bold of you. But you’re young.”

Without meeting them head-on, he flowed around them and parried. The flaming blades cut air, struck buildings behind him, and dispersed.

“Not done yet!”

He closed in and chopped down from above. He hammered his blade down, but the man calmly caught it and forced a bind at the guard.

“Summoning monsters and maintaining a barrier—both took mana.”

Van tried to push him back, but it was like shoving a mountain.

“Human mana is finite. No matter how we strained, there are limits.”

Unless you were a sage-class, he added.

“So we gave it value.”

“That’s enough… Stop.”

Giving up on brute force, Van kicked at his gut. Even then, the man didn’t budge.

“We had numbers to spare. They were very useful. Conveniently, no one noticed how many slum-dwellers vanished.”

“I said… stop.”

He slid his blade into the scabbard and gathered mana. His image was a flash—an instant strike using a burst of mana.

“Crimson Blade Draw!”

A quick-draw focused on speed flashed at the man. He tried to block with his rugged sword, but he was too slow; the cut landed.

“I told you—you’re young.”

“—!? This is…!”

From the center of the man’s wound, a magic circle surfaced. Black sigils gleamed, and the surroundings were wrapped in shadow.

“If you fought my comrades, you should have seen it. We’re all engraved.”

“Damn it—! I knew it and still… I can’t move!”

The same spell that had plagued him days before bound Van fast.

(Fell for the same trick again. Damn it!)

“You’ve got promise. Which is why it’s a shame.”

(At this rate, he’ll lay into me again… If it hadn’t been me here, there are lives that could have been saved…)

The man raised his blade overhead. It was like an executioner over a condemned man.

(If it were him…? —Come to think of it, he was in the same bind. So how did he move?)

A black-haired boy, walking in slow motion, rose in his mind. Just like Van and Eris, he’d been under the spell’s effect—yet his actions weren’t restricted.

(Eris couldn’t use magic. But he formed a weapon with magic.)

He thought it through again. He felt like he’d missed something.

(Wait—if I really couldn’t move, how was I talking? My mouth moved. My eyes, too.)

At the moment the sigils activated, a black shadow spread at his feet—covering his own shadow.

(Don’t tell me… it’s not my body it’s binding—it’s my shadow!?)

Sudden flames enveloped the two of them. Taking the blast full-on, the man pulled away from Van in a hurry.

“Brat… What did you do?”

“I knew it… I can refine mana and use magic.”

(Shadow-binding… Parts whose ‘shadow’ didn’t factor into motion—like the mouth and eyes—still worked. And mana, too. Eris couldn’t cast because she assumed ‘I can’t move.’)

“The spell binds the shadow, right? I could find an opening because I’d seen it once.”

(He forced his body with mana hardening and slipped the bind. I managed to move one step. He really is ridiculous…)

“So you’re our obstacle after all… Zeke Lagias.”

“Hah? That again? …I’m Van!”

He wound his mana up to the limit. Without a thought for the aftermath, he put everything into the next strike.

“I’m not good at magic… so I can’t hold back!”

A gigantic right arm took form—an incandescent great hand wrought of flame appeared directly above the man.

“—!? If you hurl a spell like that, it won’t just be your surroundings—you won’t get off unscathed either.”

“Yeah, I know. So… let’s see who lasts longer! Burn—!”

A godlike hammer came down.

Centered on the man, the area was swallowed by an explosive conflagration.