Chapter 3: The Village of Elves

“Phew, that was quite the run. So, the Village of Elves is located somewhere in this forest?”

My party and I were currently deep in the Forest of Crests, a verdant maze located in the southeastern part of Gaun, close to the border of Trycen. After reading the letter from Beast King Leonhart, we had taken a few days to prepare and then gone straight there in person. The journey had been shorter than expected, as our speed on foot was now several times that of what a horse could manage.

The contents of the letter had been straightforward. In what was presumably King Leonhart’s very own hand were the words “Notification of Rank S Promotion Exam.” It had been so unexpected that I’d almost fallen over with surprise. The bold brush strokes went well with the contents of the letter to deliver an incredibly impactful impression. My immediate reaction had been, Why is the king of Gaun the one issuing my promotion exam?!

Luckily, Rio had been close at hand to provide some much-needed explanation. According to him, there were a total of four conditions that needed to be met for an adventurer to be promoted to Rank S:

1) Clear ten consecutive quests ranked A or higher.

2) Experience with clearing a Rank S quest.

3) Acknowledgment from at least two of the four monarchs in power on the Eastern Continent (this condition was different on the Western Continent).

4) Successfully pass the promotion exam under the supervision of an incumbent Rank S adventurer.

In my case, the first two conditions had already been met, which left only the third and fourth points. And it was those that Leonhart’s letter was addressing.

Rio had already done the legwork and obtained acknowledgment from the Queen of Toraj, the only monarch that I knew personally. She had apparently given her approval without blinking an eye. I guess connections are important no matter what world you’re in.

However, I still needed acknowledgment from one other monarch. Trycen was not likely to be cooperative about anything at the moment, so that left Gaun and Deramis, and it just so happened that the Beast King of Gaun was the first one to respond.

The royal family of Gaun had a custom where the children were required to set out on a journey of training once they turned ten. After making it all the way to Rank S during his own trek, King Leonhart had returned to immediately clinch the championship at a battle royale hosted to determine the strongest person in the land, thus solidifying his claim to the throne.

I’m hardly in a position to say this of someone else, but he got up to quite a lot of trouble, didn’t he?

The letter I had received from this impressive ruler had been an offer for him to personally oversee my promotion exam as a Rank S adventurer himself. He would merely be observing from the shadows, though, which meant that I wouldn’t actually meet him.

As I was wondering just how the matter had blown up to such epic proportions, Rio explained that Tsubaki-sama had been talking King Leonhart’s ear off in praise of me. Even in the country of beastkin, a place that valued strength above all else, Rank S candidates were hard to come by. In other words, the king’s interest had been piqued, and he was serving as proctor to take a look at me with his own eyes.

“This place feels...nostalgic, for some reason,” Efil murmured as she absentmindedly stared at the trees spread out before us.

“Isn’t that because you’re half-elf?” I replied. “The elven blood in you might be responding to the thick magic coming from the forest.”

Sera interjected, “But aren’t elves a race that came from the Western Continent? I’ve heard of adventurers and merchants encountering wandering elves every once in a while, but was taught that their main settlement isn’t located around here.”

Pure-blood elves were insular and hard to come by. Just as Sera said, the few wandering about the Eastern Continent of their own free will were generally outliers.

“According to Rio, a group of them emigrated to the Eastern Continent a few decades ago and set up a settlement here. Even he didn’t know the reason for it, but in any case, they are now under Gaun’s protection.”

Gerard nodded understandingly. “Ahh, and the aim of our exam is to protect this settlement.”

The task, as set out in the letter from King Leonhart, was to subjugate the as-yet unverified monsters that were terrorizing the elven village. Unfortunately, what was happening to the elves was likely part of the same trouble that was cropping up on all of Trycen’s borders with its neighbors. As for what was actually wrong...dangerous new monsters had been showing up in the forest as of late.

While the native inhabitants of the region were creatures that could easily be subjugated by Rank D adventurers, there was a new breed wandering around with Rank B monsters in tow. Based on that fact alone, it was thought that this new threat was likely Rank S itself. The average Gaunian soldier couldn’t even stand up to its followers one-on-one, much less do anything about the big bad those monsters were accompanying. Consequently, the fight was not going well, to put it mildly.

Normally, in a case like this, the king or more powerful members of the army would be deployed to handle the problem. However, the recent increase in overall monster aggression was stretching Gaun’s military resources thin already. From King Leonhart’s perspective, it was a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: he could gauge my strength and have this problem resolved without having to personally get involved. I didn’t mind the arrangement, myself. After all, it wasn’t every day that I got to fight a Rank S monster.

“Kel-nii, you think Trycen is involved in this somehow?”

“Almost certainly, yeah. Elves don’t age, and both males and females have very attractive appearances. I wouldn’t be surprised by the idea of people wanting them as slaves.”

“Just like yourself, my king?”

“That’s right, just like Kelvin!”

“Mhm, those words do sound convincing coming from you, honey.”

Why are you guys looking at me? I haven’t done anything that Efil herself didn’t want! And I don’t ever plan to, either!

“So, elf characters were your thing, Kel-nii?”

“That’s a misunderstanding, Rion.”

This was something I had noticed only recently, but Rion’s knowledge was actually quite skewed. With one prominent example being how she routinely burst in on my bath, supposedly because “Siblings are supposed to bathe together!” I suspected she had probably consumed a lot of manga and light novels during her previous life, and had taken everything depicted within as truth. As her new brother, it was my duty to give her a proper education.

Just as I added that new and highly noble goal to my mental to-do list, Efil tugged my sleeve slightly, saying, “Please don’t let it bother you, Master. I love you with all my heart, and I take great pride in being your slave.”

I knew it; Efil has got to be an angel.

◇ ◇ ◇

The forest where the elves lived was called the Forest of Crests because of the magical crests carved into so many of the trees all throughout the region. According to Analyze Eye, they served to maintain a magical barrier that helped to repel intruders. The fact that we were equally subject to their effects was a problem, though. I had Sera take a look from up in the air, but the barrier went so far as to project an illusion from above, preventing the settlement’s location from being pinpointed that way.

“Honey, I’ll go ahead and buff your directional senses, all right?”

“Hmm...it’s that way, Kelvin!”

“I see, I see...Kel-nii, the little bird said that the village is that way!”

“Master, I feel the sensation of nostalgia I mentioned coming strongly from that direction.”

Fortunately, my concerns about finding the village were unfounded. Melfina had her spells, Sera had her intuition, Rion could strike up a rapport with the local wildlife and ask for directions, and Efil had whatever pull she was feeling from her elven blood. In short, we had a plethora of ways to circumvent the magical barriers.

We struck a straight path through the trees that soon brought us before a pair of watchtowers and a large wooden wall.

What if we had gotten lost on the way? Who would subjugate the monsters then? Of course, I suppose getting through on our own is meant to be part of the exam...

Unfortunately, we had not encountered the Rank S monster or any of its lackeys along the way.

“You there, stop!” shouted a voice from one of the watchtowers as we approached the gate. “This forest is protected by magic! You cannot have wandered here by mistake! Identify yourselves!”

Looking up, we spotted three elves aiming drawn arrows in our direction.

“We are here in response to a royal summons from King Leonhart. I am the adventurer Kelvin, and this is my party.”

“An emissary from His Majesty?”

“This is our letter of introduction. Please have a look.” I held up the letter of introduction penned by Leonhart, which Rio had given to me before we left, then used Green Magic to generate a gentle breeze that brought the letter up and into the elf’s hand.

“Hold on a moment, we’ll go check with the Elder. Please wait here.”

“Sure thing; no problem.”

Wow, straight to the Elder. No surprise, given the letter is from the king himself. It sure works wonders to have such contacts. Although it does bother me a bit that the other two are still pointing their arrows at us. I guess they must be on edge from all the recent attacks.

It wasn’t long before the guard who’d taken my letter returned.

“Thank you for waiting. We welcome you as guests. Please accept my apologies for the unpleasant reception. Open the gates!”

The wooden door rose up with a deep rumbling sound. We walked through and found a large number of elves gathered in what must have been the main square of the village. Every one of them looked young and beautiful, without a single wrinkle or sign of age on any of their faces.

At the front of the crowd stood a single male. Is he the “Elder”? Damn, even he looks young.

“Thank you for coming all this way. I am Nellas, the Elder of this village.”

Ah, so I was right. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kelvin, and...” I proceeded to introduce my companions one by one.

But when I got to Efil...

Thud!

“H-How can this be?!”

“Elder? What is the matter?”

The moment he laid eyes on Efil, the elf’s knees gave way and he fell flat on his butt. A few others within the crowd looked extremely startled as well.

“R-Rumil?! Why...how are you still alive?!”

Uh...who’s Rumil?

◇ ◇ ◇

After Nellas regained his composure, the commotion quickly died down, and the crowd dispersed. We were invited to his house, where we could resume the conversation in private.

As we settled into the sofas, a serving woman brought us drinks that looked like black tea but gave off a fragrance unfamiliar to me.

What kind of tea is this?

::Judging from the smell, it’s a high-class blend using several varieties of magic-abundant herbs that can be found in this forest.::

Professor Melfina had answered my question without missing a beat. To be able to identify it from the smell alone...she sure is high-specced in the weirdest places. So, the fact that we’re being served high-class tea probably means that we’re being welcomed, right? In that case, why were the elves so surprised just now?

“Kelvin-dono, I’m terribly sorry about that,” the Elder apologized.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m not bothered, and neither is Efil. Rather than an apology...”

“You wish to know why I reacted that way, yes?”

“If you’re willing to tell us, we’re happy to listen.”

After lowering his eyes for a moment in thought, Nellas raised his head to look at me and Efil in turn.

“Very well. This is a story that isn’t directly related to the request from His Majesty, but it is extremely important to you, Efil-san.”

“Important to me?” I could see Efil unconsciously clenching her fists just above her knees.

“This was something that happened far back when we were still living on the Western Continent...”

◇ ◇ ◇

The Elder’s story went back about twenty years. At the time, the elves had been living peacefully deep within a forest on the Western Continent. Just like in the Forest of Crests, that settlement had also been hidden behind several layers of magical barriers and had almost no contact with the outside world. There were elves who would leave of their own volition, but the vast majority of the population stayed sequestered in the village.

Elves had always been a target for other races due to their rarity and beautiful appearances. This was one reason why they had become so insular, and even now, they only ever associated regularly with the beastkin.

Years ago, the elves had taken the extreme measure of emigrating to another continent after a devastating encounter with a dragon. And it was no ordinary dragon, but one of the eminent kings of the dragon race, the Flame Dragon King. His strength was far beyond that of the beast we had faced in Toraj. Despite both monsters being Rank S, the Flame Dragon King was at the most powerful end of the spectrum.

The Flame Dragon King’s nest was located at the mouth of a volcano far enough away that he would normally have had no reason to become involved with the elves. But that fateful day, something changed. The weather was beautiful, and the sky was a clear blue. The trees rustled in a gentle breeze, and the sun shone warmly.

Then, a shadow fell over the village square. Everyone who noticed it thought that it was a cloud at first. But as it gradually grew larger, they began to grow suspicious. The real indication of danger was when the trees surrounding the village were suddenly torn up by massive gusts of wind. The protective barrier that had been cast upon the forest gave way as a huge red form crashed into their midst.

“BRING ME THE ELF WHO HAS DISGRACED ME! IF NOT, I WILL REDUCE YOU ALL TO ASHES ALONG WITH YOUR PRECIOUS FOREST!”

Every elf present had been stupefied, their minds scrambling to comprehend the situation they suddenly found themselves in. As they looked on in dumbfounded astonishment, the unfortunate villager who happened to be closest was snapped up in the blink of an eye. He likely hadn’t even registered the fact that he was being eaten.

“NOOOOOOOOO!”

All hell descended upon the village. The forest was set ablaze as the elves ran about in a panic. The dragon was eating people indiscriminately, men, women and children alike, and those who escaped his jaws soon succumbed to the greedy flames.

When the population had been reduced to roughly a fourth of its original number, something extraordinary happened. A lone woman stood up before the dragon, saying, “I offer myself to take the remainder of your anger. In exchange, please let everyone else go!”

The elf who had presented herself with calm and composure had been exceptionally beautiful even for her kind, and possessed a great and generous heart. Even the dragon awoke from his frenzied rage after setting eyes on her and stopped his rampage.

“You are not the elf that I am searching for. Yet your beauty is such that even I, as a member of a different race, find you attractive and appealing to the eye. Very well. If you agree to be my wife, I am willing to write off the disgrace that your compatriot caused me.”

High-tiered dragons had the ability to take on humanoid form. In other words, they could conceive children with other races if they so wished. The matter of what had first enraged the Flame Dragon King was still unclear, but at least there was a path to reconciliation.

After a brief internal struggle, the woman replied, “I will agree to be your wife. But may I have a bit of time to say farewell to my family and friends?”

“Very well. I will return tonight. Do what you have to do by then. I’m sure there is no need to say this, but do not think of running away.”

With those words, the monster took off into the sky. The woman watched as he disappeared into the distance, and once she was sure that he had departed, fell to her knees and burst into tears. She was still young and had been engaged. But her fiancé had fallen into the dragon’s belly and was now lost.

The village Elder had also lost his life during the commotion, leaving his son, Nellas, to step in as their new leader. Under normal circumstances, it was customary to celebrate such an event with merriment and feasting, but that was the last thing on anyone’s mind at present.

Thrust into the role, Nellas found himself facing several tasks of enormous weight, not the least of which was monitoring the woman who was to be the dragon’s wife to ensure that she did not run away, and figuring out how to rebuild their race after the devastating attack.

Under watchful eyes, the condemned woman spent her precious remaining time with her surviving relatives. Then night fell, and the promised time arrived.

The dragon returned, the loud flapping of its enormous wings banishing the silence. There were no longer tears on the woman’s face. Just before she was taken away, the last words she uttered were, “Please forget about me.”

Several years later, the woman’s body was found lying in the forest. Filled with fear by this discovery, the elves decided to abandon their ancestral home. The survivors of their race banded together and headed for new lands, pinning their hopes on the country of Gaun on the Eastern Continent.

◇ ◇ ◇

“And that is the story of how our race came to live here,” Nellas concluded. “Even to this day, none of us know why the Flame Dragon King attacked us, nor do we know who the elf was who angered him so.”

A heavy atmosphere had enveloped the room. I cleared my throat lightly. “And the woman who was taken away by the dragon was...”

“Rumil, yes. She was the one I mistook Efil-san for.”

So, if I’m getting this right, this Rumil was Efil’s mother and...hold on, her father is the Flame Dragon King?!

::That isn’t possible, honey. Efil is a half-elf, which means she was born from the union of a human and an elf. She would be an entirely different race if the Flame Dragon King were to have been her father.::

Oh, okay, then.

I sighed in relief. The mystery deepens. Which reminds me, Efil was suffering from the Curse of the Flame Dragon King when I first met her. Now the curse has been reversed into a blessing, but she suffered for a long time because of it. Then again, the case could be made that it was because of the curse that she and I came together, but...hold on, how is Efil taking this?!

Nellas continued speaking. “I knew Rumil personally, and I saw her body with my own eyes. Efil-san, I’m so sorry to say this, but...”

“It’s all right, Nellas-sama. I’ve never known a father or a mother in my life. I don’t have any memories of either. So there is no need to worry about me. I have Master and all my companions now,” Efil replied, resting her head on my shoulder.

Guess I don’t need to worry after all.

“So, you have found your lifelong companion. As one of your race, I am happy for you.”

“What? Oh, no, Master and I aren’t like that!”

Efil was all flustered in a rare show of embarrassment. Feeling the holes being bored into my back by Sera’s and Melfina’s gazes, I couldn’t bring myself to respond. As they say, silence is golden.

◇ ◇ ◇

Learning something about Efil’s birth, even if it was just on her mother’s side, was an unexpected bonus. However, our goal in coming here had been to protect the elves. It was about time to move on to the real business.

“Nellas-san, do you have a map of the area around the village?” I asked.

“A map? Of course we do,” he replied, signaling the serving woman.

You don’t have to rush that much, I thought, as she exited the room in a hurry. “According to what I was told, a new species of monster and its followers are going around kidnapping your people. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. We have a barrier cast throughout the forest that confuses the directional senses of those who step inside, but it appears to be ineffective against these new creatures.”

Well, that sort of barrier can be circumvented with the right skills. We just proved it ourselves. It wouldn’t be surprising for high-level monsters to be capable of the same thing.

“We have suffered three raids so far. Strangely, they do not attack us unless we attack them first. If we don’t fight back, they are willing to retreat peacefully after grabbing several of our inhabitants.”

“That sounds awfully organized for monsters.” They show self-discipline, don’t kill unnecessarily, and are able to stick to their orders to kidnap the elves?

“Naturally, we tried resisting at first. But our strength was insufficient to take down even the weaker ones. The soldiers deployed by Gaun did not fare much better. Now, all we can do is wait in fear for the fiends to take their leave in order to prevent any further unnecessary sacrifices.”

At this rate, the elves will have no choice but to abandon this settlement and move again. Although the Elder hasn’t said so, I imagine it’s a decision he’s already weighing in his mind.

“You may rest easy, Nellas-dono,” said Gerard. “We have come to stop that very thing from happening ever again.”

“That’s right. We promise to protect you all,” Melfina added.

Rion raised a clenched fist in a show of confidence. “Alex and I will do our best!” The shadow wolf followed up with an “Arf!”

Clearly, my companions were plenty motivated, perhaps due to Efil’s ties to the village. I felt much the same myself.

“And there you have it, Nellas-san. My party is more than eager to get started. To that end, I have a question: may we have permission to make a few changes to the village?”

“Changes? Are you planning to set up traps?”

“Something like that. Once we have your permission, I promise that never again will a monster touch a hair on any of your heads.”

“If nothing is done, the number of victims will only climb. Very well. Do as you see fit, Kelvin-dono.”

“Thank you very much.”

All right, we’ve got permission. Looks like things are about to get busy!

◇ ◇ ◇

“Elder, we’ve done what the adventurers asked us to, but...”

“Kelvin-dono, what is all this?”

Half a day after my party flew into action, the Village of Elves had undergone a complete makeover. I was extremely satisfied with our workmanship, and it was heartening to see the locals trembling with excitement and gratitude.

“Everything is prepared for the next monster assault. We did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. As for the explanation...Mel, you want the honors?”

“Sure thing,” Melfina readily replied with a bright smile. “Nellas-san and inhabitants of the village, may I have your attention please?”

Melfina was in an extremely good mood, likely because she had just consumed a frightening number of plates of the local cuisine. By now, she had shamelessly assumed the position of being the gluttonous member of our party. I shuddered to imagine the drain on our finances if I had been capable of Summoning her at the start of my journey. Thank goodness she took so long to finish her artificial body.

“First of all, the wooden wall around this village was almost entirely useless for stopping the invasion of Rank B monsters. It was nowhere near high enough, let alone strong enough.”

Based on the details the Elder had given us, most of the monsters that came for them were gigantic humanoids that sounded a lot like cyclopes or ogres. Against such opponents, the previous wall had been lacking in both durability and scale. Scars left by the previous assaults gave testament to that fact.

“So, what we have done is erect a new wall outside of the current one. This new fortification, created entirely with Green Magic, is three times higher and tough enough to withstand an assault by Rank A monsters. The top of this new wall can be accessed by stairs on the inside, and defenders are free to unleash both magic and arrows onto their assailants from above.

“Furthermore, the outer part of the wall is surrounded by a moat, with the sole entrance to the village being the drawbridge at the main gate. The drawbridge is, of course, made from the same material as the wall. The water in the moat, as you may guess, is not mere water. I would strongly advise you not to touch it under any circumstances, as it could kill you.”

“I...see...”

“Don’t worry, we’ll revert your village to the way it was once all of this is over,” I added. “Nothing we’ve done will permanently damage the environment.”

Basically, I had surrounded the village with multiple casts of Adamantite Rampart, Melfina had filled the surrounding trench with water, and Sera had spammed a ton of Black Magic spells into the new moat. To be honest, this was all merely insurance and for the sake of appearance. We had no intention of letting the monsters get close to the settlement in the first place.

“Then how about this, um...it is a watchtower, isn’t it?” asked Nellas.

“That’s right! It’s just a bit higher than usual is all,” Melfina answered.

What the Elder was pointing to with a trembling hand was the special tower that I had erected in the middle of the village square. I had taken to calling it the arrow tower, since it had been created for Efil’s exclusive use and was so much higher than the other watchtowers. I’d created it with Adamantite Rampart as well. What a convenient spell that is. I can make almost any kind of building I want as long as I think of it as a collection of walls.

“That is a platform built specially for Efil to snipe from,” Melfina continued. “It has been rendered invisible to anyone outside the walls with my Blue Magic spell False Fog. Thanks to the illusions offered by the barriers that you originally had in place, the effect is twofold!”

Nellas laughed incredulously. “But with the tower being that tall, how will she be able to hit her targets? As elves, we are quite confident in our archery skills, but even we —”

“Not to worry,” Efil said reassuringly. “Leave the cover fire to me.”

“There you have it. If Efil says she can do it, then she can do it. During our test run, every single arrow she shot landed precisely where it was meant to,” I said, holding up a bundle of rabbit-like monster carcasses and fruits commonly found in the forest. The rabbit creatures all had arrows protruding from their foreheads, and each fruit had been pierced right through the middle. Efil had hit them all flawlessly from up in her tower.

The elves erupted into cheers of approval.

With Melfina’s explanation complete, I proceeded to go over our plans for the coming fight.

“When the monsters arrive, Efil and I will provide support to the entire battlefield from that tower. Gerard will be protecting the drawbridge. Sera, Mel, Rion, and Alex will be outside of the walls to intercept the assault.”

Clotho was going to be our secret ace. Depending on how the initial confrontation went, I would be Summoning the slime wherever it was needed as the ultimate hit-and-run force.

“Oh, and just in case, I’ll be posting several golems around as well. Each of them has the strength of a Rank A monster, so they should be of some use —”

“Kelvin-donoooooo!”

“What is it?!” The Elder had suddenly grabbed my hands as tears streamed down his face. What the hell’s going on?!

“You must be the savior we have been waiting for all this time! Oh, Leonhart-sama! We cannot thank you enough for sending Kelvin-dono to our midst! Everyone, tonight we will host a feast!”

The elves roared with delight, bringing joy and hope back to drive out the depressing mood that had previously enveloped the village. Even so, isn’t the Elder getting a bit too emotional?!

After receiving the greatest amount of hospitality that the elves could offer, the only thing left was to actually protect the village. And afterwards, make Trycen pay, of course, as they were in all likelihood involved in some way.

◇ ◇ ◇

When night fell, silence reigned in the Forest of Crests. The majority of creatures that lived there were diurnal and therefore back in their nests and fast asleep at this hour, leaving only a few species out and about.

This night, however, saw the presence of monsters that were not native to the ecosystem. Figures towering as high as trees, moving together in a group that looked far too orderly to be wild beasts doing their own things. In fact, if one were to put a name on it, it looked like an army of monsters.

“Lieutenant General, our preparations are done,” said a young man with a sharp salute.

Sitting on a fallen log before him was a man in his thirties. At both of their hips were whips that were more specialized for instilling obedience than for attacking. This characteristic identified the two of them as Tamers.

“That was faster than I expected.”

“Naturally! Today is our fourth time, after all. And what’s more, tonight is when we can finally round up all of those lowly subhumans! Although I understand we’re kidnapping them little by little to make Gaun divert its forces, we’ve all grown so bored with it. Don’t you feel the same, Lieutenant General?” the younger man asked with a nasty smirk.

Trycen was a country that touted human supremacy. Having been taught this ideology from birth, the citizens considered demihuman slaves as being worth less than dirt. This young man was no exception. Of his own accord, he had enlisted with the Mixed Monster Order that used demihumans and monsters as slave troops. He had done so well that he had made the rank of colonel in spite of his young age.

“Like you wouldn’t believe! However, seeing the elves cowering helplessly is the funniest damn thing. They honestly believe we won’t attack them if they don’t resist.”

“Even though the kidnapped ones are either going to the labs or being assigned to the troops so they can let off some steam. Just saying, but I personally would never touch a filthy demihuman. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel dirty.”

“That’s because you’re a noble. It’s not all that bad, really. As they say, don’t knock it till you try it.”

“I think I’ll refrain. I’d rather throw them into the pens where my monsters sleep. Now that’s entertainment.”

“You are aware that that’s equally fucked up, right?”

Just then, the clouds that had been covering the moon moved off, with the illumination revealing the forces that were currently lying in wait around them. It was a host that easily numbered more than a thousand and represented an enormous variety of species, not only the giant types seen by the Elder. What’s more, each and every one of them were Rank B or higher.

Despite having the fewest number of human troops — rarely exceeding five hundred soldiers — the Mixed Monster Order was usually assigned to the front lines for Trycen’s battles. This was because every single one of its human members were Tamers, each of whom controlled numerous monsters. These Tamers felt no love or compassion for their slaves, seeing them merely as easily replaceable tools of war meant to be used up and discarded. During the age of the great war, Trycen had thrown hordes of these “disposable” monsters at its enemies to great effect, plunging many an opposing army into terror and despair.

At present, half of the Mixed Monster Order’s forces had been gathered. The man leading the operation was the order’s second-in-command, the lieutenant general.

“General Tristan’s idea was to purposely leak information to Gaun and crush the forces they deployed in response. We finally had some success with the last attempt, but the ones who came were mere foot soldiers. We’ve let enough stragglers go and given Gaun plenty of time to prepare, so I’m expecting some serious resistance on this fourth raid. Then again, if they haven’t sent any more troops over, we’ll just take our sweet time grabbing the elves, so it works out either way.”

“No worries, Lieutenant General. With all the troops we brought, we could win hands down even if the Beast King himself and his sons show up. What’s more, we have that monstrosity behind you.”

Kneeling quietly behind the older man was an exceptionally large giant, around whose neck was a thick collar decorated with ancient script.

“Where does the general even get those collars? Not that I’m complaining. Thanks to them, it’s become so much easier to capture monsters.”

“I’ve only heard rumors, but supposedly they’re being supplied by a merchant who’s been visiting the castle quite frequently lately. I’ve no idea who he is, but I do know these collars have got to be pretty high-ranked items, considering how easily they subdue even the most fierce creatures. Then we have these specially-made ones that are effective against even Rank S monsters. I still can’t help but marvel at their efficiency.”

“I believe you told me that only three of those have been made, right? And that General Tristan actually gave one of them to Prince Azgrad?”

“What a waste, right? When I think of how much stronger that single collar could have made our order! But it’s General Tristan we’re talking about. I’m sure it was done with some specific idea in mind. Probably to make the prince indebted to him, if I had to guess.”

“So now the prince owes him a favor?”

“I’m just saying ‘maybe.’ Anyway, it’s about time. You know the plan, right? You’ll be setting off with the Fourth Regiment first, then Colonel Dill will follow a short while afterwards with the Fifth Regiment.”

“What about you, Lieutenant General?”

“Depends on how the situation plays out. All right, let’s stomp some woodland scum!”

The lieutenant general raised his arm high, then brought it down in the direction of the village. The army of monsters began lumbering forward, their footsteps pounding a deep drumbeat of inexorable death.

◇ ◇ ◇

Despite having progressed almost halfway through the forest, the Fourth Regiment — including the flying monsters that had been scouting ahead — had yet to see a hint of resistance.

“Colonel, looks like the cowards from Gaun aren’t here. You think they got scared of us and ran?”

“With how much noise we’re making, there’s no way they haven’t noticed us coming. Stay vigilant against an ambush just in case. It’s the kind of pathetic strategy they would use.”

Raucous laughter rose up from the soldiers gathered at the back of the procession. Did these Tamers seem so at ease because they thought they were in the safest position of the formation? Or was it because they felt protected standing behind so many strong and powerful monsters?

Either way, they continued swaggering onwards, clearly never having been taught that there was nowhere safe in a battle, or else having forced all such warnings from their minds. No one noticed anything when they stepped right into the kill zone.

“Ugh...” A Tamer that had been riding a monster suddenly slumped over.

The colonel, who happened to be looking in his direction at the time, asked in alarm, “What’s wrong?!”

A nearby soldier replied, “No idea, sir! He just fell over!”

The surrounding soldiers stepped over to wake their comrade up.

“You...what the —?!”

A small, well-defined hole between the man’s brows could be seen, almost as if something had bored straight through it. Blood was spurting from the hole. Even an amateur could tell that he was already dead.

“I-Is this from an arrow?”

“It can’t be! I didn’t hear any noise! And the scouts didn’t warn us! Besides, the settlement is still a ways off!”

“But then how do you expl—”

“Krghhh!”

The sound of another death cry rang out from a short distance away. A second victim had fallen.

“We’re under attack! We’re under attack!”

“Use the monsters as walls and protect yourselves! The enemy is using some kind of invisible assault!”

The relaxed atmosphere from a moment before was instantly replaced by panic and mayhem. The soldiers quickly ducked behind the monsters and trees, but anyone who tried to peek out promptly took an arrow to the head.

“I’ve never heard of such an attack before! Are we supposed to advance towards the settlement under these conditions?! It’s suicide!”

Slowly, the procession inched forward under the constant threat of this incomprehensible ambush. The face of the young colonel grew paler and paler by the minute.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Efil, get the guy hiding behind the troll next.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Leave the one who looks higher-ranked than the rest. We’ll catch him later to ask a few questions.”

From the moment Trycen’s force had come within range of Efil’s bow, she’d been picking them off one by one from up in her arrow tower. I was standing next to her and — after having borrowed Farsight with Skill Eater — providing some additional support.

From what I saw, all of the human soldiers were Tamers. The strategy they were going with seemed to be a simple brute-force frontal push. It was obvious, then, that the army would fall apart if we took out the soldiers in the back. After all, without their control, the monsters they were responsible for would lose any sense of purpose or direction. If these Tamers had been close to their monsters and actually took care of them, we would have used a different approach. But with these jokers, chances of that sort of bond were nil.

“Looks like the bow’s performing well,” I commented.

“I feel like if I just inject enough magic, I can shoot as far I want! Furthermore, it really is amazing that it doesn’t make any sound at all.”

The newest bow that I had presented to Efil was made for covert use. The way that Merciless worked was: the user would pour their magic into the bow to generate special arrows, and the range could be freely adjusted based on the amount of magic the weapon was imbued with.

In addition, it was absolutely silent to use — there was no creaking of the bowstring when drawing nor any whistling from the flight of the arrows themselves. Furthermore, the arrows were hidden by Concealment upon leaving the bow and disappeared altogether after striking their targets. It was a weapon that could kill silently and without leaving a trace of evidence.

Our guests have arrived. Whenever you guys see someone, pass the info along to me, and I’ll add it in.

Thanks to the map I had gotten from the Elder and a bit of scouting beforehand, I was now quite familiar with the surrounding terrain. All that was left to do was fill it in with the positions of our enemies. Thanks to Parallel Processing, I could give out orders while updating the map in real time.

::You youngsters have fun out there!::

::You bet we will!:: Sera replied. ::You won’t get any time in the spotlight tonight, Gerard, so just stay where you are and take a nap!::

::Sera, you remember that we aren’t supposed to kill them all, right?:: Melfina chided.

::Thanks for the reminder, Mel-nee. We’ve gotta catch the important-looking one, right?::

If possible, yes. But our top priority is protecting the village. And try to keep damage to the environment to a minimum.

I watched as Sera, Melfina, and Rion all scattered out into the forest.

All right, let’s stomp some monsters!

◇ ◇ ◇

I dashed through the trees, heading towards my destination with movements as light and graceful as an acrobat’s. Oh, the map’s saying there are enemies ahead.

Efil had confirmed the locations of the enemy with Farsight, then Kelvin had immediately added the information to the map. I adjusted my direction accordingly, making a beeline straight for them.

::I’m about to arrive. How about you two?::

::I’m almost there t— You’re already fighting, Melfina?!::

Sera’s exclamation prompted me to take a second look at the map. Sure enough, Melfina’s marker was smack dab in the middle of a whole bunch of red dots.

::Mhm, I arrived first. Started without you!::

::ARGH! Leave some for me too!::

::Can’t make any promises.::

Judging from her voice, Sera seemed to be feeling quite frustrated about having been outdone. Sera’s been getting a bit competitive with her lately. I wonder why.

::Alex, if we do a good job again, Kel-nii should acknowledge us even more. Let’s do our best!::

::Arf!:: Alex replied energetically from my side. Thanks to his Unique Skill, Shadow Travel, my partner was capable of staying inside of and freely traveling between shadows, and was currently hiding in mine.

Seeing as he likes staying within my shadow for long periods of time, maybe it’s actually comfortable in there.

Between Alex and me, I was the one with the higher Agility stat. That was why I was effectively carrying him all the way to the battlefield.

Although Melfina still beat me there...

::Rion, according to Kelvin’s information, the monsters are apparently Rank B. You should be fine with your current strength, but be careful, okay?::

::Sera’s right. I’m not singling you out, but those who are halfway between beginner and veteran have the highest tendency to overestimate their own capabilities and end up getting into trouble.::

::Don’t worry, Sera-nee, Mel-nee. I got this! Trust me!::

Having other people worry about me does make me happy, but I wish they’d stop treating me like a child. Efil is only two years older, and they don’t do it to her! That said, I do lose hands down in the boobs department...no, this won’t do. I’m getting depressed all by myself for a silly reason. That’s right, boob size alone doesn’t determine a girl’s worth! I’m sure Kelvin is smarter than that. What’s more, I’m still going through a growth spurt, I’m drinking my milk every day, and my current lifestyle is far healthier than that of my previous life. So I still have a chance! All right, I’ve managed to bring my thoughts back under control.

::Grrrr!::

::Yep, we’re almost there. They should be coming into sight any moment now.::

Alex had already entered a battle-ready stance. I should focus on what I’m doing now too.

When I listened carefully, I caught some sounds coming from the front of the otherwise silent forest. I picked up my speed a bit more and cleared the rest of the distance like a gust of wind.

Suddenly, my view opened up, and I found myself confronted by a huge crowd of monsters. Nellas had said there were generally only giants, but I saw much more variety here, including big lizards and walking trees. There were human voices coming from all the way in the back as well, but I couldn’t see them from where I was.

Strewn about the ground here and there were giant birds and bats that had most likely been dispatched by Sera’s handiwork. The skies were completely clear, which meant that she had probably taken care of all the flying monsters.

Strangely enough, I also saw some creatures fighting amongst each other, even though they were supposed to be on the same side. Did they have a falling out?

“The monsters you see rampaging around are the ones that used to be controlled by the Tamers who’re now dead.”

“Oh, hi, Mel-nee.”

There was my big sister, leisurely walking out from the fray with her awe-inspiring spear in one hand and her blue armor glinting beautifully in the moonlight. Despite having been fighting for quite a while, there wasn’t a speck of blood or dust on her.

However, there was a guy dangling from the tip of her spear.

“Who’s that? Is he a stray?”

“This guy?”

Melfina lifted her spear higher to give me a better view. Oh, look, the mysterious guy is being strangled.

“He is the commander of this group. I think I heard his subordinates call him ‘Colonel.’ So I went ahead and nabbed him first.”

“What?! Already?!”

When I took a better look, I realized the man was indeed wearing rather high-quality clothing. He looks pretty limp, though. Is he all right?

::ARRRGGH! You beat me to it!::

A loud telepathic cry emanated from farther ahead on the battlefield. Apparently, Sera had also arrived before me.

“That was Sera-nee, wasn’t it?”

“It’s my win this time,” said Melfina with a smug expression. I had only ever seen her make that face while gorging herself on Efil’s food. Maybe Sera’s rivalry with her wasn’t entirely one-sided after all.

“Aww, I was late to the party...” Even though I pushed myself pretty hard to get here quickly.

“Sera’s gone to finish off the stragglers. What do you feel like doing now?”

“I haven’t done anything yet! I’ll go help Sera, I suppose.”

“Then let’s go together. I wouldn’t be able to stop worrying otherw—”

“Gosh! Stop treating me like a child! And what are you going to do with that guy?” Wouldn’t he get in the way, dangling from her spear like that?

“Give me a second,” Melfina replied before switching over to the Network. ::Honey, I’ve captured the target. Please Summon Clotho for me.::

::You got it.::

Abruptly, a small magic circle appeared before us, and out popped a small slime.

“Oh, hi there, Clotho,” I said with a small wave.

::That clone will bring the target to my location. I’m able to Summon the Clotho clones anywhere at any time, so just let me know what you need.::

::Thank you, honey.::

Melfina dumped the man onto the slime, which promptly sprouted tentacles to secure him and bounced off towards the village.

“That’s that. Shall we get going? It seems like there’s another force approaching on the heels of this one.”

“Mel-nee, could you leave at least a little bit for me to do?” Just when am I going to be able to catch up with my sisters?

◇ ◇ ◇

“Where are the regular reports? Did something happen?”

Lieutenant General Ulfred of the Mixed Monster Order had, from his position within the main force, dispatched his slaves for scouting. They were supposed to report back periodically to let him know what was going on in the battle, but he had yet to see a single one of them return, despite having waited for quite a while.

Additionally, there was no word from the two colonels that he had sent ahead, either. Normally, they would have shuttled messengers back and forth, riding fast monsters to maintain continuous contact.

“Report! Report!”

“Finally.”

A soldier appeared from the darkness of the forest ahead. He must have been in quite a rush, seeing as he had almost ridden his mount to death. Ulfred shook his head with disapproval at the sight.

“L-Lieutenant General, terrible news!”

“Calm down. What, did the Beast King show up?”

“It wasn’t Gaun! Enemies showed up before we even reached the Village of the Elves! Regiment Four has been annihilated, and Colonel Kazena has been captured!”

“What?! If not Gaun, where is the enemy army from? Toraj?! Deramis?!”

“Sir, it’s not an army but a party of adventurers! We’ve confirmed three females and one shadow wolf, affiliations unknown! All of them are so powerful that our Rank B monsters can’t do a thing against them! Furthermore, undetectable attacks that seem like arrows are continuously raining from above, making it impossible to advance!”

“What the hell?! It’s only a few people?!”

Ulfred’s mind raced. This expeditionary force was formed to counter the Beast King, and yet we’re being decimated in a matter of minutes?! Did we underestimate things, or are these adventurers that much stronger than the ruler of Gaun?!

“Lieutenant General! Colonel Dill’s Fifth Regiment is continuing to engage the enemy, but it’s only a matter of time before their formation collapses. Please give us your orders!”

“Shit! All right, it’s time for you to get a move on, Gigant Lord! Get your lazy ass up!”

The humongous figure that had been kneeling behind Ulfred slowly rose. At its full height, it towered far above the canopy of trees.

“So, this is the secret weapon I’ve heard so much about!”

“Doesn’t matter who these adventurers are, there’s no winning against a Rank S monster! Bring Gigant Lord back to the front with you and tell Dill to restructure his formation with this thing at the center and the other monsters as backup! You, are you listening?!”

Of all things, the soldier was suddenly looking off in another direction. Seeing that, Ulfred couldn’t help but snap at him.

But the man didn’t seem to have heard a word. Instead, he lifted a trembling hand and pointed. “L-Lieutenant General...”

Foreboding welled up like a geyser inside of Ulfred. No way, that can’t be. It’s too fast. And this is the Second Regiment. It’s our main force! Yet although his mind was in complete denial, he could not help but look.

“Dear oh dear, I seem to have already broken through to the other side of the force. Oh well, I’m sure Sera will take care of the rest.”

“Look, look! That giant’s so big, Mel-nee! It’s like something straight out of a manga!”

There before Ulfred’s eyes were two girls who bore the air of a pair of sisters out for a stroll through town. “You’ve got to be shitting me. They really are just girls!”

Ulfred’s bewilderment was quite understandable. After all, Rion was nearly a child, and even Melfina looked well under twenty. Going by appearances alone, neither of them seemed capable of obliterating Trycen’s famed Mixed Monster Order.

“S-S-Spare me!” the messenger stuttered. He had fallen into such a fear upon seeing the girls that Ulfred couldn’t help but wonder what he had actually witnessed in the forest.

“Thank you for guiding us here,” Melfina said with an angelic smile. “It saved us the effort of having to look around ourselves.”

“Mel-nee, you’re so smart! Following him was the right choice after all!”

“You...purposely let him go and tailed him?!”

The monster that the messenger had just about ridden to death was a ground bird — a creature that, in exchange for having retrogressed wings incapable of flight, could run faster than the swiftest horse. The fact that the girls had the Agility to track a ground bird being pushed beyond its limits like it was nothing led Ulfred to throw away any hesitation or preconceptions.

“Gigant Lord, fight them like you’re taking revenge for your kin! Don’t let your guard down for a second!”

The lieutenant general whipped the monster to rile it up. Sure enough, it roared in blind rage and charged forward, each stomp of its foot causing the earth to shake.

◇ ◇ ◇

“The closer it gets, the bigger it looks. It’s almost as tall as the walls that Kel-nii makes, isn’t it?”

Melfina brought a hand to her chin, indicating that she was thinking about something. “We could just fight it, but...”

“We’re not going to fight it?” Rion asked in puzzlement, her sword already drawn.

Melfina narrowed her eyes slightly, then switched to communicating through the Network.

::Rion, try to defeat this monster with Alex alone.::

::What, really?::

::The opponents that you’ve fought so far haven’t been enough to push you to your limits. Being able to win against those weaker than you doesn’t mean anything and doesn’t help you to grow. You want to be recognized by your brother as a true adventurer, don’t you?::

::That’s...well, I do.::

::By defeating this monster, you’ll be proving that you’re able to stand on your own. As for treating you like a child...I’ll do my best to tone it down.::

::So, you’re not going to stop entirely?::

In spite of how they treated her, the members of Kelvin’s party did understand how strong Rion was. They were, however, worried about whether or not she could tap into all that strength in the heat of the moment. Part of those misgivings were likely due to her being seen as part of the “little sister group” along with Ruka. This tendency was true of all their acquaintances, but especially more so among the core party members.

::That monster is most likely Rank S. You think you can do it?::

::I...I do. I won’t let all that sword training from Gramps and the magic training I’ve been receiving from Kel-nii these past few days go to waste!::

As a Hero, Rion was indeed far more powerful than her level would indicate. In addition to the extra stats from level-ups, she possessed the same Nerves of Steel skill that Kelvin himself had, which granted her the mental fortitude to remain calm in all situations — with the sole exception being when her physical attributes were commented on — and deal with things in a cool-headed manner.

Above all, she had a burning desire to protect her newfound family. This simple and straightforward reason had gotten her through all the tough training that her mentors had thrown her way.

::I know how hard you’ve been working. Don’t worry, if you’re able to use everything that you’ve learned so far, you’ll certainly win.::

Melfina’s quiet voice was reassuring. The fact that this sister of hers — who Rion respected as much as she did Kelvin — placed so much faith in her helped to dispel any last shred of hesitation that had been in the younger girl’s heart.

::Thank you! Well then, here goes!::

A beat after the giant had started its charge, Rion dashed forward.

◇ ◇ ◇

Ulfred could hardly believe his eyes. Only one of them?! These fucking bitches are looking down on us!

He could hardly be faulted for his disbelief, as all he saw was a single teenage girl wearing light armor attempting to take on a Rank S monster by herself. The sword in her hand did look very well-tempered, but it could only be Rank B at best. It might have been sufficient for what she had faced so far, but Gigant Lord had skin even harder than steel.

The instant her sword lands, the blade is going to snap clean off! Curse your own recklessness once your beloved weapon is destroyed!

Ulfred whipped the giant again. With a loud roar, it changed direction to make a beeline for Rion. Its grey body shot forward like a bullet, reaching speeds that one could hardly imagine from such a hulking figure.

“Go, Gigant Lord!”

“Here I go!” the girl called back before abruptly vanishing from sight.

Ulfred’s eyes widened with shock. What the hell?! Where’d she go?!

He couldn’t have known that by this point, Rion’s Agility stat had already surpassed that of Sera and Melfina. However, her stamina was still limited, so she would usually only utilize a portion of that speed in order to pace herself. For this battle, however, her key to victory lay in a swift resolution. As such, she had pushed herself to her maximum speed in the blink of an eye.

Even so, Gigant Lord was capable of following her movements. Without slowing down, the monster unleashed a punch to the front and slightly to the right, precisely where Rion was positioned. The instant its fist made contact with the ground, a massive crater appeared, with the nearby trees collapsing in a wave of crumbling dirt. The scale of the damage was like night and day compared to what Miyabi’s Rank A Grave Death Ogre could do. If anyone was to fly up into the sky and glance down, it would look as if a bald spot had suddenly appeared within the sea of green.

“Phew, that’s quite a powerful attack!”

“What?! Y-You dodged that?!”

When Ulfred saw Rion after her exclamation of wonder, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Not only had the girl dodged Gigant Lord’s attack, but she had even gotten onto its outstretched arm and climbed up to its shoulder.

“Alex!”

A wolf leaped out from her shadow. The hour was late, and there was an abundance of shadows everywhere thanks to the dimly glowing moon.

The beast attacked with his sharp claws and teeth, and the giant attempted to fight back by slapping its own body with its palms. But it was to no avail, as its assailant had little trouble dodging by simply diving into a different shadow each time.

◇ ◇ ◇

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Aw, it’s not very deep, Rion noted internally, seeing as Alex had not yet managed to draw blood. The skin is thicker than expected. In that case...

Taking advantage of the giant’s occupation with the wolf, Rion clambered up to its head in the blink of an eye. She lifted her sword high and brought it down onto the monster’s skull with all her might.

Crack!

The blade snapped off. Just as Ulfred had predicted, the durability of the weapon had been insufficient. This sword — which had been named “Strengthened Mithril Sword” — was the very blade that Kelvin had once seized from Cashel and then re-tempered. Clearly, it hadn’t been the best choice against Gigant Lord.

Rion’s attack prompted the giant to shift its focus onto her.

“Hah! Now you’re screwed, bitch!” screamed Ulfred.

“Y-Yeah, get her!”

The sight of Rion’s sword breaking had prompted the lieutenant general and his subordinate to let out cheers. Melfina looked at them with pitying eyes.

These two have become so preoccupied with the fight that they’ve completely forgotten about me, haven’t they? While Rion is taking care of the giant, you two have let your guards down entirely. I can just...no, never mind. It won’t be conducive to her education if I do it for her.

The two men had yet to notice the huge wall of ice that now stood behind them. Melfina had erected it secretly just in case they ran, but she was starting to think it had been a wasted effort. Anyway, whoever said that Rion has only one sword?

The Hero continued to dodge Gigant Lord’s attacks, both of her hands now free thanks to the loss of her sword. At times, she would use Sky Walk to change her trajectory in midair. On other occasions, she would climb right across the monster’s body.

Alex also got in his own attacks whenever he saw an opening, but the giant ignored the wolf completely, having determined it to be unworthy of its attention.

At this rate, things are going to get bad, Rion thought. If I take a single hit, that’ll be the end of me. I’m so glad I listened to Kelvin’s advice to pick up Nerves of Steel.

::Alex, Clotho, match my timing!::

A tiny Clotho clone popped out from beneath her armguard. Then it spat out three swords from Storage: two towards Rion’s hands, and one at the last shadow that Alex had jumped into.

“Awooo!” Alex howled, leaping out of the darkness. He caught the sword in his mouth in midair, then landed on the giant’s left arm.

All three blades were emanating highly unusual auras.

“Dual Wield?! But that’s a skill only Heroes can possess!”

“Really? I saw it listed in the Skills tab like any other skill, so I didn’t give it much thought. And we’re not dual-wielding.”

Rion and Alex both struck a pose with their swords.

“Human-Wolf Union, Triple Wield! Thunderclap Edge!”

As Melfina nodded approvingly at the sight with a satisfied smile on her face, there was suddenly a blinding flash of light and a roaring sound like the crashing of thunder. It was so unexpected that Ulfred and his subordinate immediately cowered, inadvertently covering their faces. The giant was also forced to close its eyes for a moment.

The cause of the sudden chaos had been Thunderclap Edge, a Rank A Red Magic spell that Rion had come up with while referencing Kelvin’s Vortex Edge. What she had achieved was the harnessing of the frightening power of nature itself in the form of a blade.

It had been the sword in her right hand, Demon Sword Caladbolg, that Rion had enchanted with the spell. A closer look would reveal that there were tiny flickers of lightning licking across every inch of the metal.

“We’re about to get serious now, Mr. Giant.”

She once again disappeared. This time, both Ulfred and the giant — having closed its eyes — lost sight of her. The only one present who could tell where she’d gone was Melfina.

Rion pushed herself to move as fast as she could, once again running up Gigant Lord’s arm in a flash. But this time she had plunged a sword deep into the monster’s skin and was dragging the weapon along with her as she ran, cutting the flesh wide open as she moved.

The skin, which seemed as hard as an iron wall mere moments before, parted like a chopstick cutting through tofu. Vestigial sparks of lightning ran from the wound, and the air was filled with the dreadful smell of burning flesh. Demon Sword Caladbolg had been enchanted with the amplification of lightning. The sword was capable of emitting electricity on its own, but its destructive power would increase with the use of magic. And when the magic imbuing it was lightning magic, that increase would be bolstered exponentially.

“ROOOAARRRRRRR!”

Even Gigant Lord could not help screaming. Having been essentially wearing a natural full-body suit of armor for its entire life, this was the first time it had ever suffered an injury, much less one so severe.

As soon as she reached the top of the creature’s head, Rion showered it with attacks. It was a repeat of the scene with the Strengthened Mithril Sword, but this time performed with two swords of overwhelmingly higher rank. The slashes, which were made faster than the eye could see, quickly stained the monster’s face red.

During this time, Alex had been attacking from the giant’s blind spots with the sword in its teeth. Every once in a while, the purple blade reflected the light of the moon and glinted with a terrible beauty. Like a phantom, the shadow wolf appeared and disappeared here and there, leaving cuts all over the humongous body of its foe. With each slice, the weapon took more and more of the giant’s blood with it.

Alex’s sword, which had the same sharpness as Demon Sword Caladbolg, was called Lethal Opiate Sword. Belying its alluring appearance, it possessed a truly ghastly ability: with one slice, it would rob the victim of their sense of taste. With the second slice, the target’s sense of smell would be gone. From there followed the loss of sight, hearing, and finally, touch. This ability was devastatingly effective against not only humans but also large monsters with high Endurance and significant HP pools.

Gigant Lord had already received more than five slashes. In other words, it was now without any of its senses.

Rion and Alex were carefully observing the beast’s movements and attacking with perfect coordination. To the untrained eye, it might have looked like they were each doing their own things, but they were actually weaving in feints and surprise attacks to create opportunities for each other, with each helping to maximize the other’s performance. This was the consummate illustration of what triple-wielding truly meant.

Crash!

Having completely lost its orientation, Gigant Lord finally crumpled to its knees. The fight was already deci—

“GIGANT LORD! HURRY UP AND FUCKING TRANSFORM ALREADY!”

“What?”

Ulfred’s shout made Rion pause briefly in surprise. Alex, seemingly having sensed the change, ran back a distance from the giant.

“ROOOAAAARRRRRR!”

As the monster roared at the top of its lungs, its wounds turned bright red. And it was not the color of blood.

“So, this is its true form.”

“Uh, Mel-nee, this isn’t the time to be calmly appreciating the sight. It’s actually getting pretty hot here!”

“It’s lost its sense of hearing too, so I doubt this is in reaction to that man’s order. The monster must have felt that its life was in danger, and its instincts kicked in.”

Crimson flames burst from all of the giant’s wounds, burning as hot as magma. The heat was so fierce that it was even affecting the wall of ice Melfina had created. When the monster stood back up, it was clear that the transformation had somehow healed the damage it had suffered.

“HAHAHA! You think it would be ranked S just for being tough and strong? This is Gigant Lord’s true power! Now not even your bones will remain! Get her, Gigant Furnace Lord! Incinerate them with your hellish fla—”

“Well, it’s not like this changes anything. And this creature’s flames are weaker than Efil-nee’s, to be honest.”

With a synchronized breath, Rion and Alex resumed their assault. It didn’t matter that the monster’s attacks had powered up, as it was speed that it was lacking. It hadn’t been able to land any attacks on its two assailants before, and was still unable to do so now. In other words, it was one-sidedly taking a beating yet again. Even more unfortunately for it, Rion and Alex were used to facing Efil’s flames and had been taught how to handle them.

To sum it up...well, the situation simply played out the same way as before.

BOOM!

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, GIGANT FURNACE LORD?! YOU CAN’T JUST FALL OVER!” Ulfred screamed.

“Easy for you to say, but do you have any idea how tough it is being without all five of your senses?” Melfina replied wryly. “And looks like the flames are dying down too.”

“Ro...aaa...arr...”

Soon enough, all of the giant’s flames had disappeared. This time, it looked well and truly defeated.

“H-How could this happen? How could the Mixed Monster Order...but we’re Trycenian! We can’t lose...” Ulfred sank to the ground, clearly having lost the will to fight. Every so often, he would mumble, “How can I explain this to Tristan-sama...” in a voice filled with despair.

“Wonderful job! You did well,” Melfina said to Rion.

The girl laughed bashfully. “You think Kel-nii will acknowledge me now?”

“Mhm, of course he will.”

Rion leaped into Melfina’s arms and closed her eyes blissfully as the goddess patted her head.

Apparently, the younger girl had yet to realize how much these mannerisms of hers contributed to everyone treating her like a child.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Rion-sama appears to have won her battle without any mishaps.”

“She sure has grown strong in such a short time.”

Both Efil and I had been keeping an eye on our little Hero’s fight with Farsight. Several times, I felt a powerful compulsion to lend a helping hand, but I managed to control myself. Your big brother has faith in you, Rion!

Still, to think she’s already become capable of defeating a Rank S monster on her own. Now we’ve got to acknowledge her as a full member of the party and hold back on treating her like a child. Well...we’ll try our best, anyway. Can’t promise much.

“Is it safe to say that the enemy has been annihilated?”

“I mean, I don’t sense any— EFIL!”

“What?!”

My Danger Detection suddenly went off like an explosion inside my head. Before I even had time to think about it, I’d instinctively reformed part of the tower into a shield and fortified our defenses against the direction the warning was coming from.

That very moment, some sort of magic attack clashed into my shield, and the two canceled each other out. My shield was quite literally blasted to dust.

“Whaaat? I thought I’d finished you off, but you’re not dead.”

“Shoot first and ask questions later, is it? That was quite the greeting.”

Five people were floating in the air, high off the ground, around the same height as our tower.

Damn, they must have been hiding themselves using a spell. I don’t have Magic Detection, and Sera’s out in the field.

The one who had spoken was a man with eerily perfect facial features, and the others were all women wearing light armor with a questionable amount of exposure.

“Master...” Efil murmured as she drew her bow.

“Hm? Hmmm? Oh, look, it’s my lucky day!” The man suddenly broke out into a little jig.

Is it just me, or are his appearance and mannerisms really at odds with each other?

“Hehe...hehehe...I’ve seen quite a few elves before, but you, you’re the very best! I’ve taken a liking to you at first sight!”

“Hey, dude...”

“Oh, yes, you I like. I like you a lot!” the man gushed, completely ignoring me. I was feeling a bit annoyed, but then he said something even more reprehensible. “All right, then. You’ll be my slave!”

“No, thanks.”

“Wait, what?! You haven’t fallen for my looks? Seriously?!”

This guy...is not acting. He actually seems surprised from the very bottom of his heart. And it looks like Efil is tired of his shit. Hold on a minute, this guy —

“What an odd one you are. What’s so good about that background character beside you anyway? But don’t worry! I’ll save you!” He puffed out his chest and brought one hand up to his chin, striking a pretentious pose. “Now you shall fall f—”

With a whoosh, the Radiance Lance that I’d shot grazed past the man’s cheek.

“C’mon, what was that for?”

“You were just about to cast Charm Eye on Efil, weren’t you?”

According to Analyze Eye, this man possessed the Unique Skill Charm Eye, which he had been preparing to use on my companion. The nerve of this fucking guy.

“As I said, so what? What, you think you can fight me?” he replied with a belittling snort.

I was one to laugh most things off, but this was something even I couldn’t ignore. Although trite, I had to say what needed to be said.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my woman.”

The man’s jaw dropped open in an exaggerated expression of surprise. “Oh, uuuggh. It’s my first time hearing someone say something so cheesy in real life! Aren’t you mortified? Hey, are you mortified?”

“Efil, head for the wall. I’ll be deconstructing this arrow tower in a moment.”

“Helloooo! You ignoring me now?”

“Understood, Master. Take care of yourself!”

Efil promptly disappeared, having activated Covert Action. I assumed that she was immediately making her way down to the ground.

“Whaaat? Where did Efil-chan go?”

“Just...shut up already, you.”

“No, you shut up. I don’t have business with you, it’s Efil-ch—”

“Shut up.”

With a swing of my right hand, the man and his companions were blown away by a powerful gust of wind, sending them in the general direction of Trycen. As my anger had completely boiled over, even I wasn’t sure how far they had gone. At the very least, it was better than fighting them close to the village. We couldn’t very well have casualties, not after coming this far.

The group had been using the Green Magic spell Fly to hover. This was a spell that enabled someone to move as if they had wings, but those who did not also possess the Flight skill were easily susceptible to sudden winds not under their control.

As such, all I’d had to do was direct a blast of wind powerful enough to blow a dragon away against the intruders.

“Fly. Sonic Acceleration.”

I cast the same spell that my opponents were using on myself, then boosted my speed on top of it. After all, I had to catch up to them.

With a light tap, I leaped off of the tower, then turned to dismantle it while floating in midair. Adamantite Rampart lost its form and became converted into something more useful for the immediate situation.

“Obsidian Edge, Four — complete!”

The material that had composed the arrow tower was compressed into four swords the length of my body. I further buffed each of them with additional spells.

“There they are.”

With Farsight, I managed to locate my opponents, who were still in the middle of being blown away. Thanks to there being two people with wings in my party, I had already mastered the usage of Fly long ago without picking up the Flight skill myself, so I could close the distance in the blink of an eye.

I sped through the empty sky so fast that I left sonic booms in my wake. Considering how high up I was, I didn’t have to worry about affecting anything on the ground, so I rushed forward at top speed, charged up with the exhilaration of not having to hold back.

“Hey, there.”

The man had managed to regain his balance first and was just about to regain full control of himself. The same could not be said for his subordinates. I stopped abruptly in front of the leader to let him take the full brunt of my shockwave, but it didn’t seem to affect him at all. A closer look revealed that he had surrounded himself with some sort of barrier.

“Pheeew...you’re pretty good for a background character, hm?”

“Who the fuck you calling a background character?” How rude. You know how many times I’ve been praised by my female companions for my wonderful smile while in battle?

“All right, you diiiid surprise me a little, making such a fool of the protagonist of this story. But I sure am glad I asked Tristan for the opportunity to come here. It must be fate that’s brought Efil-chan to me!”

“Protagonist, huh. You fancy yourself the main character of a novel or something?”

“Ahahaha, I’m not fancying myself one, I am one! Not that I expect a mere peon like you to understand it.”

“You’re a transmigrator, aren’t you?”

“Whaaat? How’d you know?”

I knew it. Him coming from the modern world explains his unnatural word choices and strange behavior.

“Well, no matter. Since I’m generous and have a biiiig heart, I’ll introduce myself! I am — ”

---

Clive Teraaze (18 y/o, Male, Human, Green Mage)

Level: 91

Title: General of the Magic Knight Order

HP: 847/847

MP: 2,050/2,400 (+1,600)

Strength: 234

Endurance: 263

Agility: 355

Magic: 802

Luck: 488

Skills: Charm Eye (Unique Skill), Green Magic (Rank S), Analyze Eye (Rank A), Magic Detection (Rank A), Concealment (Rank A), Nerves of Steel (Rank A), Spirit (Rank S), Conversation (Rank B), Storage (Rank B), Double Growth Rate, Double Skill Points

---

“General Clive Teraaze of the Trycenian Magic Knight Order, right?” If he’s a Green Mage, then he’ll be using either wind or earth magic, or maybe both. That first preemptive strike was likely wind magic. The other skills he possesses also tend towards a flexible fighting style.

“How did you know? Well, I’m famous, so I guess it’s not too surprising.”

Did he not even consider the possibility that I peeked at his Status screen simply because he’s got Concealment at Rank A? And what’s more... “You changed your appearance during your transmigration, didn’t you?”

“Whatever could you be talking about?”

“Hah! As if an unnaturally perfect face like that comes along by chance.” Dude, you’ve taken it so far that it looks creepy instead. If Touya is the ultimate example of a natural hunk, you’re the ultimate example of a plastic surgery project.

“Are you a transmigrator toooo?”

“All this is common knowledge. More importantly, are you sure about being so laid back? You’re already within my attack range.”

While speaking, I shot three Obsidian Edges at Clive at such incredible speed that they seemed guaranteed to open three huge holes in his body. However, they were stopped effortlessly by the barrier surrounding him, giving off a grinding noise and showers of sparks at the points of contact.

“Well, that was quite sudden.”

“You started it.”

“But it’s useless, of course. My Helix Barrier can block everything, be it physical or magical. Normally, it completely shreds whatever it comes into contact with, though. Looks like those swords of yours are pretty tough!”

I had of course checked out Clive’s barrier while taking a look at his Status a few moments before. As it turned out, the shield was made up of wind rotating rapidly in a helical shape so as to redirect the force of any incoming attacks. He wasn’t lying when he said that anything coming into contact with it would normally be shredded to ribbons.

“Then how about this?”

“Where’d you g— Aha! Above!”

I had flown around him in a split second and plunged the last Obsidian Edge in my hand straight downwards.

“As I said, it’s useless. Helix Barrier protects me from every angle. It has nooo blind spots.”

Unfortunately, he was right. My sword was stopped by the barrier a second time. I kept up the assault for a while longer but to no avail. Continuing at this point would just be wasting magic.

“Return.”

All the Obsidian Edges flew back to my side, floating motionlessly in midair. He’s having no trouble keeping up with my speed. Is he using Magic Detection to track the traces of my magic? His character aside, it looks like he actually has a good amount of battle experience under his belt.

“Wooow, what a face. Have you suddenly gone mad?”

“Mm? Oh, nah, it’s just that I haven’t felt this excited in a while. This is getting fun, isn’t it?” I’m grinning again, aren’t I?

“That’s rather disgusting. Please die quickly.”

Danger Detection suddenly reacted to threats coming from several directions at once. Thanks to Parallel Processing, I identified each incoming attack simultaneously and precisely intercepted them with a cast of Wind Shot.

“Niiice going. But while we’ve been doing this, my little kitties have finally returned.”

True enough, Clive’s four companions were once again hovering behind him.

“These are my favorites. They’re quite strong!”

“They’re all Charmed? You make for a pretty shitty protagonist, you know that?”

The women’s Statuses were all Concealed, but not at a high enough rank to be effective against my Rank S Analyze Eye. Every last one of them had “Charmed” listed in the Passive Effects field.

“Oh, pshh, there are all sorts of protagonists nowadays. And I’m sure these kitties love it. After all, they have the honor of serving such a stunningly handsome hunk.”

“What an egotistical delusion.”

“A delusion? Not at all! I’m sure Efil-chan will also come to understand everything great about me. Especially once we get into bed together!”

“Right. Looks like I’ll have to properly kill you off.”

“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that with such an eerie smile on your face, you know? It seriously gives me goosebumps! But you do look composed. You realize it’s now five against one, right? As they say, strength in numbers and all that.”

“Thanks for the concern, but I’m probably not as outnumbered as you think.”

An explosion went off in the distance, after which a crimson sparkle tore through the inky night, making straight for Clive.

“What?!”

My opponent looked slightly flustered, but Magic Detection had apparently served him well. He managed to dodge the attack by a hair’s breadth, but it still collided with his barrier.

The attack was Efil’s Blaze Arrow, a move she had devised that was focused on penetration. And sure enough, it successfully pierced Clive’s shield and destroyed it.

“Shit, my Helix Bar—”

“You really shouldn’t look away during a fight.”

“Wh—?!”

Four of the golems I had originally stationed around the forest had suddenly appeared around me. These were the latest and newest models, jointly developed by Sera and me. For their appearance, we had used Gerard’s armor as a reference and made it look even fancier.

In short, they appeared to be knights. Knights who were now hovering in the air, each with an Obsidian Edge of their own in hand.

“What was that about strength in numbers again?”

◇ ◇ ◇

Clive and I floated there facing each other, his female companions behind him and my Obsidian Edge-equipped golems behind me. He was in a state of extreme bewilderment, his composure from before no longer anywhere to be seen. Part of that was clearly his disbelief that the barrier he had placed so much faith in had actually been destroyed. Another reason was the sudden appearance of my golems.

“Are...those really golems?”

“A bit modified, but yeah, they sure are.”

◇ ◇ ◇

This might be a bit long, but allow me to explain.

The base of my golems did indeed come from the spell Adamantite Guardian, but their appearance had been completely overhauled. During the fight with the Heroes, these golems had looked like large, crude suits of metal. Now, however, I had managed to compact them to the size of an average human adult, as if they were real knights clad in proper armor. In inverse proportion to their change in height, their capabilities had been greatly bolstered.

First, I would like to bring attention to the Wind Jail Gems that had been embedded into their bodies. When filled with magic, these stones had the ability to generate gusts of wind more than powerful enough to keep their ridiculously heavy forms floating in the air. These items were actually quite expensive, being Rank A and all, but fortunately, I had Clotho by my side.

My buddy possessed a skill, Metalicize, which allowed it to convert any part of its body into any metal substance at will, with the sole requirement being that it had to have touched a sample of the target material before. Even a Rank S substance could be reproduced anytime, anywhere, and in any quantity desired.

All along the way, I’d had Clotho touch everything notable that we came across in stores and on our travels, so as to expand its database for Metalicize. This collection naturally included Wind Jail Gems — something we had discovered within the Dragon Sea Cave while training the Heroes. Clotho had “touched” it while picking up all the available material samples and throwing them into Storage.

It was in combination with another skill, Division, that the true worth of Metalicize became evident. The thing was, my slime buddy’s body had grown to rather enormous proportions, with the majority of its bulk being packed away in Storage.

On the flip side, this meant Clotho had plenty of extra mass that it did not need, and it could change those spare body parts into whatever metallic substance it wanted, and detach them completely from its main form. In other words, it could produce a near-limitless number of gems and ores. In addition to supplying the stones for the golems, this partner of mine had been a huge contributor to my smithing endeavors from the start.

The second characteristic of my golems was that they possessed actual skills. Unlike the ones that naturally appeared out in the world, golems created with Green Magic did not normally have this advantage and would therefore be restricted to fighting merely with whatever stats they had been granted at the start. Give one a sword and it would simply swing the weapon around with brute force.

Then the idea of having golems possessed by souls came to me.

Sera knew the Rank A Black Magic spell Spirit Control, which could make ghost-like monsters possess inanimate hosts like corpses and suits of armor. The souls possessing my golems would be capable of using whatever skills they already owned. High-tier souls could be used for this process, but according to Sera, she was “bad with spells for controlling people and things!” I suspected her powers probably came with certain restrictions, just as I faced limitations with Summoning.

Mind Integration could only be cast on souls that were friendly to Sera and willing to cooperate. Therefore, Rion got involved as she could use her Companionship skill to strike up a rapport with and convince any souls who were willing to listen. But the only way she could communicate with them was with the help of Melfina’s interpretation. Sera, Rion, and Melfina standing together with a ghost and negotiating with it — without saying a single word out loud — had made for a truly surreal scene indeed.

After quite a bit of searching for intelligent spirits who seemed like a good match for golems, we eventually settled on battle ghosts, which were, as the name suggested, spirits who possessed weapons left behind in dungeons, manipulating and fighting intruders with them.

Taking care to avoid a battle, we approached them one by one to negotiate. Luckily, their species considered it an enormous honor to be able to serve an archdemon, and the talks went as smoothly as one could hope for.

The final four spirits we had brought on board were now possessing the golems that were currently at my side. They were technically under Sera’s command, and would grow stronger the more enemies they defeated. Even if the golems they possessed were destroyed, the spirits themselves would not suffer any harm — we had already tested and confirmed that beforehand. Although their stats were locked to match the golem’s stats, their skills could still rank up as usual, which was a huge bonus. And Sera’s subordinates were technically also my subordinates, if the way my Experience Sharing skill affected them was anything to go by.

I was actually nursing a secret dream of establishing an army of golems with these four at the top, but we’ll leave that for another day. This explanation has taken quite a bit of time already, so let’s return to the scene.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Hmm...”

As a Green Mage, Clive was probably also deeply knowledgeable about golems. Therefore, although I had hidden their Statuses with Concealment, he knew enough to be wary of them. He’s adopting a calm tone, but what’s he actually thinking?

“Well, whatever. Kitties, take care of those good-for-nothing dolls. I’ll take care of the annoying talking obstacle myself.”

“Golems, let them know your superiority. Oh, but don’t kill the women, all right? We have to dispel the Charm on them afterwards. I’ll crush this self-proclaimed protagonist on my own.”

The female knights drew their blades as my golems brought their own swords before their faces in the way that knights do.

“After I defeat you and your puppets, I’ve got to go pick Efil-chan up.”

“Don’t you speak her name again with that disgusting voice of yours. You’re defiling it.” Both of us were smiling and emanating auras of rage at the same time.

“Go!”

“Go!”

Our simultaneous orders prompted the female knights and golems to leap into action. The former scattered into different directions with Fly, and the latter gave chase by expelling air that was generated by their Wind Jail Gems like jet engines. Several seconds later, the sound of weapons clashing could be heard all around us.

“You suuure about letting them do their own thing? They might be different, but are just golems at the end of the day. Those kitties of mine are trusted retainers. They’re pretty strong, I’ll have you know.”

“Trusted” retainers, hah. In any case, if he’s putting it that way, does that mean his lieutenant general is among the four of them? They all looked pretty similar stats-wise.

“Instead of worrying about other people, why not worry about yourself first, you wannabe protagonist?”

“I see...” Clive brushed his bangs back in an affected manner. “Looks like you need some punishing. Don’t worry; I’m gentle and kind!”

He produced a pure white staff out of nowhere and threw an expanding wall of wind at me at high speed.

Did he just pull that out of Storage? In that case...

I asked Clotho to retrieve the Staff of the Evil Sage Tree for me, and promptly cast Vortex Edge on it.

“So, you possess the Storage skill too! That’s a pretty dirty-looking sword you’ve got there. But I do admit that it suits you peeerfectly!”

My opponent was obviously laboring under a small misunderstanding due to how quickly I had cast Vortex Edge. I, however, saw no particular need to set him straight.

Analyze Eye told me the approaching wall was only a Rank B spell that prioritized area of effect rather than destructive power. With the aid of my Sword Mastery skill, I managed to cut through it easily enough with my magic-clad staff. Danger Detection warned me that there was more to the attack, though.

“I’ll give you the honor of being crushed by me personally!”

Just on the other side of the wall and charging through the very tear that I had made was Clive himself, enveloped by a fresh cast of Helix Barrier. You plan on crushing me to death with that? You sure are putting a lot of trust in that barrier of yours.

I engaged Clive’s Helix Barrier with my Vortex Edge.

“Ahahaha! If you’re thinking my barrier can be broken again just because it’s been done once, I have bad news for you! It won’t work anymore now that I’m equipped with this staff: Shion!”

“Goddammit.”

Vortex Edge was holding, but Staff of the Evil Sage Tree was starting to creak under the pressure of his spell. Clive’s words were not just a bluff. His barrier had indeed become significantly more powerful and sturdier than before.

“Hahaha! My victory is in sight! Efil-chaaan, here I —”

I was sure that I heard the sound of a vein bursting inside my head. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK HER NAME, YOU FUCKER!”

In my anger, I poured the maximum amount of magic possible into Vortex Edge, which allowed it to finally pierce Clive’s barrier and slash a deep wound into his cheek. He immediately jerked himself away. Even so, the pain in that brief moment must have been quite unbearable, considering Vortex Edge more or less moved like a chainsaw.

“IT HURRTTTSSS!! IT HURTS SO BADDDDD!!!”

“Aww, there goes that pretty face of yours. What a pi—”

As my opponent fell to pieces in the midst of the pain, I swung my staff to press my attack. But my strike failed to land.

“Ah, right, it gave out.”

My head cooled down immediately as I looked at the snapped halves of my staff. After the clash against Helix Barrier, the torrent of magic I had imbued it with had been too much for the weapon to withstand. Thank you for being there for me all this time through thick and thin, partner. You can rest now.

“How DARE you...to my face...!”

“Sorry, man. I’d planned on giving you a quick death, but this guy here is telling me to prolong your suffering,” I said, entrusting the broken pieces to Clotho.

“What the hell, you feeling sorry for your weapon?! Just how much of a creep are you?!”

Apparently, seeing someone else explode with anger really can calm you down. I still wasn’t going to forgive Clive, but I was capable of dealing with him in a much calmer and colder manner now.

“You don’t think I only have Helix Barrier up my sleeve, do you?! Hah hah! Fine! Since you asked for it, I’ll show you! You’re dead meat now that you’ve made me use my Rank S spell!”

“A Rank S spell, you say? That sounds like fun. I hope it’s stronger than mine.”

This was something that I only heard from Efil later, but apparently my smile at this moment was my very best one to date.

◇ ◇ ◇

Rank S spells were a sort of crowning achievement for mages. A final destination, if you will. Although acquiring a Rank S spell was merely a matter of collecting enough points for it, those lacking in talent and experience could spend their lives trying and still not manage to obtain a single one. Furthermore, the control required for wielding such a spell was so high that even among those touted as sages, many could not claim true proficiency over the one they had acquired.

The destructive powers of Rank S spells were not up for debate. Each and every one of them could generate a phenomenon on the scale of a natural calamity. One slip of the hand and an entire city could be reduced to rubble.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! I’ll DICE YOU UP ALONG WITH THIS STUPID FOREST!”

Wind raged in a helical pattern around Clive in a manner similar to his usual barrier. The only difference was in the amount of magic now whirling around him. My guess was that he had probably expended almost his entire MP bar to cast this spell.

I had hoped to avoid damaging this forest as it’s tied to Efil’s origins, but...Clotho, give me the new longstaff.

A monochrome black staff that was even taller than me — I was 170 cm — was promptly deposited into my hands. Someone looking on from a distance could even mistake what I had for a spear. And, coincidentally, the color of my new weapon just happened to be in complete contrast to Clive’s white Shion.

I swung my longstaff around a few times to see how it felt in my hands.

“What’re you doing now?”

“Warm-up exercise.”

“The fuck?!”

The same instant Clive raised his voice, an explosion rang out. Efil had fired off another Blaze Arrow from the village’s wall. The burning missile zoomed in on our adversary, but for some reason, he showed no intention of moving. It landed a clean hit on his wall of spiraling magic.

“AHA...AHAHAHA!”

Loud laughter emanated from within the burning ball of flame. Eventually, the flames receded, and there stood Clive, completely unharmed. Blaze Arrow had failed to penetrate the new spell he was using.

“It’s pointless! This is more than twice as strong as Helix Barrier. I don’t know what that was, but it won’t work on me anymore! And now...”

The barrier is...shrinking?

“It’s time to show you the real power of my Rank S spell, Tempest Barrier!”

Just as I thought the barrier was shrinking in on itself, the winds began to stretch vertically, reaching for both the sky and ground. This final version of Clive’s spell was a gigantic tornado with him right inside the eye, an enormous mixer shredding the heavens and earth. Its powerful suction ripped the forest trees from their roots, mercilessly tearing apart everything that it came into contact with.

“Tempest Barrier is the ultimate spell, combining both attack and defense! You’ve already tested its defensive ability for yourself. And now it’s become a tornado that’s aiming straight for you! Ha...haha...HAHAHA! There’s no escape!”

The wall of death was slowly but surely advancing. At the same time, the winds being whipped up caught hold of me, drawing me closer and closer to it with a force far beyond Fly’s ability to resist.

“It is a heavy price that you shall pay for having ruined the face of the protagonist! Die, scum!”

Clive looked extremely gleeful now that he seemed to have the absolute advantage. His life was no longer in jeopardy, and it looked like I was completely trapped. He was already entertaining repulsive thoughts about his designs on Efil and the elves. I could see it in his eyes.

I didn’t panic, though. While struggling against the draw of the tornado as best I could, I focused on the tip of my staff.

“Boreas Death Scythe.”

A blade of magic emerged from the tip of my jet black staff, giving it the look of a large, curved blade. This was no longer a simple longstaff, but the very symbol of the Grim Reaper, he who administered death. If Clive’s Tempest Barrier was magic spread out to deal destruction to a large area at once, my Boreas Death Scythe was meant to condense magic into the comparatively tiny area of a blade.

I moved my staff just a little, and there was a small distortion in the space at the far end.

“Doesn’t matter what you try. DIE!” Clive screamed as Tempest Barrier’s approach picked up speed.

He’s gotten so worked up that he’s forgotten to use Analyze Eye. Then again, he’s only got that skill at Rank A, so he wouldn’t have gleaned any useful information from it. So...I suppose it’s the same either way.

I knew that he also possessed Magic Detection, but he was either so blinded by his impending victory or had such faith in his magic that he simply couldn’t comprehend the true nature of my spell. It didn’t seem to occur to him that this was something he definitely needed to dodge.

By this time, the tornado was almost in front of my nose. I turned to face it directly and held up my scythe, shouting, “How about you eat your own words?!”

I swung the blade once, horizontally. A flying slash flew along the length of its trajectory, spreading out in a fan-like effect, distorting the very fabric of space where it passed. As expected, Clive made no attempt to evade the blow. Without flinching, he continued his charge, surrounded by the fortress of wind.

Then my attack reached him.

“Damn, it was a bit off. Looks like I still need to practice controlling this.”

“What did y—?”

Tempest Barrier was abruptly dispelled, causing a shockwave that buffeted the entire forest. The slash from Boreas Death Scythe had sliced through Tempest Barrier and Clive’s legs alike. Just above his knees, to be exact.

The attack did not stop there. It continued spreading out wider and wider the farther it went, eventually making contact with the trees and the ground. Everything in its way was cleanly bisected, and it caused the earth to cave in where it passed into the ground. The rapidly expanding area of damage finally stopped near the edge of the forest. The trees that covered the area were in an absolutely appalling state.

“And here I was, aiming at your torso so that it would fly parallel to the ground. Shit, man. How am I going to explain this to Nellas-san?”

“M-My legs...MY LEGSSSSS?!”

Clive’s legs thudded onto the ground below. Blood was spilling out from his severed stumps like a tap. If he did not seek medical help immediately, I wouldn’t have to lift a finger and he’d still run out of HP before long. Although I was slightly impressed that he was managing to maintain Fly in such a state, there was no way I was going to let him go.

“If I do it directly at this distance, I won’t miss, now will I?”

Using the mobility granted by Sonic Acceleration, I moved to hover in front of him. Just as I was about to bring down my scythe...

“Bye.”

“H-Hold on a mo—”

Clive was in no state to care about appearances. His face was all scrunched up and stained with tears as he begged for his life, but the blade of a Grim Reaper could not be stopped once it had been swung. The attack cut through where his shoulder should have been all the way to the far side of his abdomen.

“Wait, what?” I didn’t feel any feedback. Moreover, I can’t see him anymore.

The moment my attack should have landed, Clive’s figure had suddenly disappeared.

“That’s enough,” said a voice that I did not recognize.

I reflexively used Presence Sensing to probe my surroundings, then turned to look in the direction it was indicating. There stood a large monster the likes of which I had never seen before, and standing atop its open palm, a man dressed like a noble. I could swear that neither of them had been there a split second before.

Clive was lying limply at the man’s feet, the visible whites of his eyes indicating that he had fainted.

“Did you do that just now?” I asked, directing the point of my scythe towards the mysterious newcomer.

“Please, there’s no need to be on guard against me. I’m not here to fight you,” the man said, raising his hands in a pose of surrender, a decidedly shady-looking half smile on his face. “First, an introduction is in order, I suppose. I’m Tristan Faaze, the general of the Mixed Monster Order. Before you ask, yes, I am the one who arranged the assault on the elven settlement. It’s a pleasure making your acquaintance, really.”

The man finished by removing his feathered hat and bringing it to his chest with a fancy flourish and a bow.

“So you are the one who...I’ll deal with you later. First, give me that piece of trash at your feet.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. There is still much that I need General Clive to do for me.”

“All right, you asked for it.” I raised my scythe, but Tristan and his monster disappeared and reappeared behind me.

“As I said, I’m not here to fight you.”

“You’re a Summoner.”

“Oh, hey, good call. How can you tell?”

“And that’s not all. That wasn’t just normal Summoning, was it? That monster of yours must have a pretty interesting skill.”

“Haha...hahahahaha. You’re good; you’re very good. That is quite the astounding insight. I’m sure she will be delighted to hear of this.”

“‘She’? Who’s ‘she’?”

“Ah, no, don’t worry about it,” the Trycenian replied before clearing his throat in a blatant effort to change the topic. “If I say that I only came to meet you today, that’d make me seem like a sore loser. So I’ll admit it: it’s our complete and utter loss. And so, we’ll be taking to our heels now. We’re retreating.”

“You think I’ll let you?” I quickly switched to the Network. Clotho, give me an MP potion.

“Aha, I see what you’re doing. But we’ll be taking our leave before you have time to recover. I’m sure we will meet again, though.”

All of my opponents abruptly vanished with those words hanging ominously in the air. Strange, I didn’t see any sort of magic circle. But...they’re gone. Doesn’t feel like they went towards the village, either.

I checked the Follower Network. The golems had successfully immobilized the female knights. Sera was largely done on her side. Melfina and Rion were already on their way back.

The battle is over, everyone. The enemy general got away. I’m returning to the village now. Gerard, remain on alert.

::Yes, my king.::

::M-Master?! I-I’ll be waiting!::

Did she just stutter? Never mind, I’ll be back soon. I can check on her in person.

After making that brief report, I hurriedly chugged an MP potion. I guess things don’t always work out perfectly. And why didn’t that Tristan guy attack the village with his Summoning? But before anything else...

I looked up at the sky, sucked in a deep breath, and shouted, “FUCKKK!”

As my roar of regret reverberated throughout the forest, I swung Boreas Death Scythe upwards, sending an attack that slashed through the clouds in its way. That single attack expended all the magic I’d imbued the weapon with, returning it to its original appearance as a longstaff.

I felt nearly crushed with self-reproach for having let someone in possession of a skill as dangerous as Charm Eye escape. After all the holier-than-thou talk I’d done, it turned out that I was not in full control of my own magic either. And now my companions, or other innocent people, were going to pay the price for it.

If I had landed that first attack with Boreas Death Scythe properly, things wouldn’t have ended this way.

Although that conclusion left a shadow over my heart, there was nothing to do but fly back to the village. I would think about where to direct this frustration of mine another day.

For now, we had successfully defended the Village of the Elves.