Chapter 4: What Is Going On?

“Shuya! Focus on the fight!”

It had been my dream ever since I was a kid. I had always yearned for a future where I could flourish on the battlefield and grasp a hard-earned victory using my own skills.

A furious voice rang out nearby. “That guy used to be my friend! He’s become no more than a puppet of the lich! I’ll send him off to the afterlife with my own hands!”

“Don’t try to do the impossible! Remember the guild’s announcement about the undead monsters! They inherit the powers they had when they were alive, so the guild ordered us to face them in pairs! Gardy, you’re letting your anger get to your head! You’ve been heading too far out!”

Adventurers who had died during dungeon expeditions had now returned to attack us as newly undead monsters under the influence of the lich’s power.

I shuddered. If the guild hadn’t given us a heads-up about this, we would all be toast right now. After all, there are some among these monsters who can use magic, even if they’re clumsy about it. I can really see why the guild resorted to working with a non-adventurer to investigate the monsters in the Easton Rock Mountain Range. It was that important.

“Shuya, buddy, don’t look away!” a woman warned. “Hey, Shuya! Are you listening to me?!”

When they had been alive, these monsters had been human. Not only that, but they had been living in Zenelaus up until just a short while ago. They could have become my comrades if they had stayed that way.

These were whole, former humans, unlike the zombies that were forcibly pieced together from the parts of various beings.

I’m scared. There’s a chance that I could become one of them. But even so, I must fight. I must protect Zenelaus.

I’m terrified...but I’m not alone.

I will fight for the sake of everyone, for all those who chose to call a nobody like me their comrade!

“Do not be lenient with them! They’re no longer human and are nothing more than monsters! The change is irreversible! Those things are the undead!”

And not only that...but whenever I listen to Eldred’s voice, for some reason, power seems to rush into me from the depths of my chest. I can do this.

A voice interrupted my thoughts. “Shuya! Can you hear me?!”

I gasped, refocusing. “Ah, I’m really sorry, Miss Nalita! I was concentrating on keeping my spell in check, and...!”

“Well, we’re in a deranged free-for-all, so I see how it’s somewhat inevitable. But! You’re banned from crawling into your own little world!”

“I-I’m so sorry!” I apologized profusely.

“I get how you feel, but we can’t act as a team if you are unable to pay attention to your surroundings, so make sure to stop! You got that?!”

“Y-Yes, you’re right. On that topic, this battle royale is a world apart from what we’ve experienced so far...”

Monsters and adventurers were completely jumbled together on the field. There was total anarchy. Howling nonsensical battle cries, zombies rushed towards us. Among them were former adventurers armed to the teeth...the undead. These were humans whose essences had been reshaped by the lich.

“Nalita! How’s Shuya doing?!”

“Zodd! Our pal Shuya is still fine! This fight brings me back to the first floor of Demon Land though! The higher floors of that dungeon were pretty much the same; those mediocre monsters gave us a workout since they swarmed like cockroaches! Don’t you agree?!”

“This isn’t the time for idle talk!” Zodd snapped. “We don’t know when the signal to retreat might appear! Judging by the look of things, returning to Zenelaus won’t be smooth sailing either, so save some energy for that!”

I now truly understood what Mister Zodd and the other adventurers had said about how all the previous fights had been child’s play.

So...is this what it means to fight? I was deployed to the forefront of the battlefield... Right now, I am somehow managing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mister Zodd and Miss Nalita while borrowing Eldred’s power!

“Um, Miss Nalita, you’ve been to Demon Land before?” I asked.

“I sure have! That’s where we got our leader’s magic sword, after all!”

I was confused. “But I heard that the old man had explored that dungeon by himself!”

“Well, our dear leader just so happened to leave us in the dust partway through and went off on his own! People are banned from entering that dungeon solo in the first place!”

“What’s with all the chitchat?!” Zodd barked. “Can’t you be serious for once, Nalita?!”

“Aw, little ol’ me is just trying to loosen up our up-and-coming rookie’s nervousness, you see!”

“That happy-go-lucky nonsense will get you six feet under! And as for you, Shuya, just focus on running away without stopping! Only think about surviving right now! Don’t you dare think about aiming for glory in this battle! I’m afraid we don’t have the leeway to protect you this time!”

A sharp yell rang out. “It’s an elder lich!!!”

I had read all of the information from the guild as carefully as I could, barely sparing time to sleep. However, that couldn’t stop the goosebumps rising on my skin at the moment I spotted that elder lich ahead of us.

In this world, elder liches were monsters that had the potential to evolve into liches. I felt a wave of chilling dread wash over my entire body. A single lich had been the mastermind who began this war. If two of those showed up...it would be hell on earth.

I heard savage laughter, followed by a yell of delight. “I chopped that thing’s head clean off! See, elder lich?! A pansy like you is no obstacle for me, the great Zodd! How was that, Shuya?! Are you shaking in awe?! This is my true power! If our leader is around, as well as our whole party, we’re even more amazing, ya know!”

That voice belonged to Mister Zodd, who was ahead of me. I witnessed him slice off the elder lich’s head, sending it flying. The scene burned into my eyes. He was painted red, dyed with the blood of his victim.

There was no rhyme or reason at all in the battleground anymore. In the heavens, layers upon layers of trails left by spells created by mages faded from view.

I was speechless. Me? Saving everyone? What a stupid thought. This is the adventurer party of that famous Archflare. They’re all powerhouses who could fight solo for three days and three nights on end in a dungeon.

“Hey, Zodd. What do we do if our leader defeats the lich and becomes an S-class adventurer?”

“Good question! In that case, let’s chug down drinks to our heart’s content!” Zodd yelled back.

“How dull.”

“What?! Why?!” I exclaimed.

“Shuya! Did you say something?” Miss Nalita asked.

“Ah, no! It’s nothing!” I hastily replied.

“Shouldn’t there be a grand showdown going on in Zenelaus, near Nemesis? How about you start heading there right now, Shuya?”

Eldred might call this dull, but I knew I was at my limit!

“Shuya. Do you wish for even more power?”

In my heart, I denied it.

Eldred’s words were very tempting. However, after last time, I had thought about Denning’s statements. He was right. This was crazy. I had the feeling that if I borrowed even more power, I wouldn’t be able to control it.

Thus, the power I had right now was enough.

“Still, Zodd, the lich really did pass us by without caring, just like the guild had said! Was it really okay to just leave it like that?!”

“The lich is aiming for the treasures of the Adventurers’ Guild! The guild’s instructions are absolute!”

Miss Nalita paused to contemplate the matter. “What is its actual goal? I wonder...”

“Who knows?” Mister Zodd turned to me. “Hey, Shuya! You don’t look so good! Are you okay?”

“I-I can still keep going...” I said, a note of weakness in my voice.

“Shuya,” Eldred spoke slowly. “With your current power, you will soon reach your limit. Do you realize that?”

“I’d rather you go back to the city than push yourself too hard out here!” Zodd yelled.

“But...” I hesitated.

Ah... I’m out of breath already. Yikes.

I can’t go on anymore. Are they even human?! We’ve been moving around without stopping for nearly an hour now. This is way beyond the realm of just having good stamina!

I’ve been stretched thin this entire time... Is this from the difference in our levels of experience?

“Shuya! Do you have the leisure of doing that right now?! This place is filled with violent clashes! Fights should be a little less trying in the city; there are more places to run and hide. This is technically the front line of the battle, you know?!” Zodd shouted, before turning to another group of adventurers. “Hey, you guys over there don’t look so good either!”

“Someone was severely injured! The Bountiful Earth Titans adventurer party shall make their retreat back to the city! No hard feelings!”

A voice rang out, amplified and carried by magic. “Roger that. I’ll cover you, so retreat immediately.”

We, the members of Zylush, had been stationed at the forefront of the battle in the wilds. Our job was to take out as many zombies as possible here.

Despite that... Nearly one hour had passed since the confrontation had begun, and yet the death toll was far lower than expected. The reason for that was very clear.

There was a low hill made of earth standing out in the wilds before us. Standing atop it at a higher elevation than us was a single person, watching over the front lines.

“Zylush, good work on defeating that elder lich, but you’ve gone in too deep! Restrain yourselves! You’re staggering!”

Mister Zodd clicked his tongue. “Damn, that brat ended up saving me again!”

“Zodd, that boy really is remarkable after all! It’s not just us... Everyone stationed here has been able to survive so long because of him!”

“I know that very well!” Zodd howled.

“Looking good... We’ve polished off nearly all of them, but I spot a second wave incoming from a distance! Your jobs here are done! All adventurers, retreat and join the intracity battle as planned! Head to the guild branches you were assigned to!”

It was...Denning.

That guy was most of, if not all of, the reason why the front line had endured so well.

However, not everyone was agreeable to the idea of listening to him at first. Why would they want to listen to the orders of some unknown brat who wasn’t even an adventurer? What was his relationship with the Eye of the Crimson Lotus?

However, Denning had silenced all those questions by showing his prowess. Within only a short span of time, he had gained the respect of everyone fighting here.

That guy had shown that he knew the battlefield better than anyone else here right now, but that wasn’t all. In the midst of the battle, an unfamiliar adventurer had told me more about why they had been so quickly convinced.

“That dude is Piggi-Du! He’s an external ally of the guild. That guy was the one who ran about and did everything he could to gather intel on the monsters. The only ones who don’t know him are probably Zylush since you don’t mingle much with the guild staff members! Ya hear that, Zodd?! Aren’t you glad that you didn’t end up picking a fight with him?”

After a moment of silence, Mister Zodd clicked his tongue slightly.

That man continued. “We would have been in particularly hot water if we weren’t warned beforehand about the new undead, the lich’s secret weapon. That dude was the one who obtained that info! After all, adventurers who died in the dungeons are among them too! Ha ha, you’re completely blindsided by all this, it’s written all over your face! Don’t waste your breath swearing about it though! Time to get outta here!”

You must be kidding me, right? Denning? Infiltrating the wilds with guild staff members? He what?

Wait, Piggi-Du... Piggy Duke! He’s just using his nickname from Kirsch Mage Institute!

“Shuya, don’t you want to become someone like that kid? Don’t you want even more strength?”

“I told you, I’m fine as I am!”

“I see,” Eldred said at length.

Denning had warned me about Eldred’s offers, but... Eldred, brainwashing me? That’s ridiculous. We’ve been together for a super long time.

I inhaled sharply. A crimson ball of fire lifted off right above me, high into the sky.

The artillery fire sent into the sky by Denning was a signal telling everyone to retreat because we could no longer maintain the front. It was also a message telling us to then scatter ourselves within Zenelaus and eliminate the monsters there.

I had the full intention of retreating with everyone. However—

“Shuya. Over there, there seems to be one human who hasn’t gotten out in time... What will you do?”

“Zodd!” Nalita gasped. “I remember now!”

“What is it?! You’re so loud!” Zodd snapped.

“That boy! He’s Denning! I swear he is definitely from House Denning with that crest on his wand!”

“By Denning, you mean...” Zodd hesitated. “From Daryth?”

“Yes! That ducal house!”

Zodd was stunned. “Impossible! Why would House Denning help out Zenelaus in a war?! There’s no way that house would interfere with the battles of other countries!”

“You’re telling me! But if he’s from House Denning, it all clicks into place! Shuya’s bizarre awareness of him, as well as his ridiculous strength!”

“Shuya said that they were classmates, didn’t he?! I’ve never heard of any member of Denning enrolling in a scho—” Zodd’s words came to a halt. “No way, is he...?”

“The Dragon Slayer, Slowe Denning! Wasn’t that boy the exception?!”

“We’d save our breath by just asking Shuya,” Zodd declared. “Hey! Where did that guy go?”

The two B-class adventurers from Zylush looked for the boy. However, they weren’t the only ones flustered by Shuya’s disappearance.

●

“I mean, I did kind of learn how to be a commander on the battlefield...but I’m still the hopeless dropout from House Denning, you know?!” I yelled at myself in frustration.

Curse that Eye of the Crimson Lotus! How dare he say something so irresponsible!

Adventurers have solid teamwork, he said. They’ll obey the orders of those affiliated with the guild with no questions, he said. To hell with that! He never told me that the adventurers would be so egocentric they wouldn’t move with any sense of cohesion at all!

“Didn’t I tell you that if I had to pick, I was better at anti-army spells?! Ugh, you don’t know how much trouble I went through to get the adventurers to listen!” I wailed.

To drill in the fact that I was the adventurers’ boss, I had strained myself. Covering their backs, supporting them again and again... At this point, I had probably saved dozens of adventurers that were looking death square in the eye with my spells.

I had already ordered these guys to retreat. The few hundred adventurers had been able to clear out the first wave of monsters, which had zombies making up the majority of their numbers.

On top of that, I had realized that if the fight had dragged on any longer, the monsters would soon gain an edge over them. The fatigue among adventurers was significant, but the camaraderie of those guys was surprisingly strong. They hadn’t tried to withdraw at all! I thought with exasperation.

With Shuya blazing the trail, adventurers had started to compensate for their knocked-out comrades, and there was a great loss of efficiency in the fight. Well, it seemed that Shuya had saved everyone he could though, regardless of whether he knew them or not.

“Now then... It’s much easier without the adventurers around! Just you wait, zombies! I will now smite you down with the hammer of judgment—”

Among the adventurers, the pair from Zylush were the last to retreat, and even they slowly fell back.

However, Shuya...was nowhere to be found.

What? I don’t see him. He isn’t there...is he? It seems like Zodd and Nalita are looking for someone too. Don’t tell me... Are they looking for Shuya as well?!

I took a deep, deep, deeeeeeeep breath.

“Shuya! Where did you run off to?! You idiot!!! Did he actually fall for Eldred’s sweet talk or something?! He better not have!!!”

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Calm down, me. Take it easy. I just lost track of Shuya’s location, that’s all. He can’t be dead; he has the Great Spirit of Fire with him. And he’s still sane, so far.

A green arrow flew in my direction, aiming right for my head.

I clenched my teeth. “Where is he... Where is he? Tsk, you guys are pesky. I can see right through your spells, you know?”

The arrow came from a subordinate of the lich. I stood out like a sore thumb, so one of the superior zombies was targeting me with its spells. That thing has the nerve to aim at me from so far away. But none of them are able to land a hit.

Also, it wasn’t even my own spells defending me; I was using a magic item I had received from the Eye of the Crimson Lotus. I had known that the guild had secretly stashed away many top-class magic items, and I had demanded this one.

“...That idiot. I see where he is.”

I finally found Shuya. There was a head of red hair moving among the zombies. That guy was mowing down monster after monster as he frantically advanced. Was there something in the direction he was headed in? Is there someone alive there? Was someone left behind on the war front?!

“There’s no way they’re still alive. Surely your head isn’t so empty that you don’t know that much, Shuya!”

No. Perhaps that’s what makes him Shuya Newkern. He’s an outrageously good-natured person who wouldn’t even take his own life into consideration.

In contrast to the retreating adventures, that guy was headed in the opposite direction, right into the sea of zombies.

“All adventurers are prepared to lose their lives on the way. If they die, it’s their own responsibility, Shuya!”

I had been assigned to oversee the front of the battle. Just like Shuya, I had also frantically done everything I could to protect the adventurers. I had promised the Eye of the Crimson Lotus that I would protect as many of them on the front lines as I could. But even then, there were still a considerable number of casualties.

This was the special city defense quest. Everyone present knew that they might meet their end here today. I suppose they’re doing all this to gain the magnificent rewards from the guild...no, to protect Zenelaus.

Frustrated, I yelled, “They sure don’t know when to give up! How many of them are there?!”

Zombies made their approach one after another, rushing forward like an avalanche.

I looked up with a start, having pinpointed where Shuya was. “Over there, huh?!”

But wait, that guy... A zombie is biting him! He was surrounded by elder zombies, the mere shadows of former mages. Those monsters were taking aim right at Shuya.

There was an inferno burning in my right hand, ice crystallizing in my left, and four additional pillars of ice above my head. The elder zombies were on high alert and responded in kind, generating a barrier because of my spells.

Such fools. Sorry, but the defense of the likes of you won’t hinder me in any way.

With loud shrieks, the elder zombies toppled to the ground.

Shuya turned around and looked at me. We were nearly a hundred meters apart, but I forced my voice to reach him.

“Shuya! I ordered you to retreat! Don’t act out of line!”

“D-Denning?! Why can I hear you?!”

“You moron! Keep moving! You’ll drown in this sea of zombies in the blink of an eye!”

“There’s someone up ahead!” Shuya insisted.

I could also hear Shuya’s voice from this distance. Right now, Eldred was assisting that guy as he moved forward. Nearly everything Shuya wished for would come true, and that idiot didn’t notice how odd that was. That guy didn’t have a clue about how abnormal his actions and abilities were. A mere second-year of Kirsch Mage Institute shouldn’t be able to survive in a battlefield where even veteran adventurers willingly chose retreat, and Eldred was the only reason why that was possible right now.

“There’s no way they’re alive!”

“We don’t know for sure yet! They might need help!”

“Is this that weird voice talking to you again, Shuya?!”

Shuya was struck speechless by that jab for a moment before he replied, “Why would you care, Denning?! I’m going!”

“I’m Piggi-Du! The guild has ordered me to take command of this operation! You are obligated to follow my orders!”

“Not today, not any day! Who says you have the training to be a general in the first place?! You’ve never been on the battlefield before, right?! How do you even know the guild master?!”

“Oh, quit it! I’m from House Denning! You know that I’ve received training in most of these areas! Stop wasting time, Shuya, and come back! You might not be able to see from where you are, but the second wave is approaching and it has monsters that are much stronger than earlier! You wouldn’t even be able to put up half a fight against them!”

“Oh, shut up! I won’t know unless I try!”

I had spotted three-headed cerberus monsters as well as hydras with the heads of snakes inside the second wave. All the monsters there were zombies, resurrected puppets of the lich.

However, Shuya did not speak at all after that. He should be able to hear my voice right now, but that rascal still...!

“I told you to avoid relying too much on a power with unknown origins, didn’t I?!” There was still no response. “That idiot! So he wants to ignore me, huh?!”

I jumped down from the small hill that I had made with an earth spell. I wanted to conclude things by sending a grand welcome to the second wave by blasting them in the face with anti-army spells...but securing Shuya comes first! If he starts fighting with those monsters, it’s very likely that he might draw out even more power from Eldred!

I groaned in frustration. “This is why I hate dealing with that guy! Put yourself in my shoes for once! I’m sick and tired of cleaning up after your messes!”

By this point, most of the adventurers had already gone back to Zenelaus and continued fighting there. They would probably all go to their designated stations and team up with the guild staff members for their battles.

Damn it, I ended up having to accompany Shuya Newkern and now I have to fight at the front lines too! I swear he has a death wish!

The majority of the high-ranking adventures in Zenelaus were stationed at Nemesis, which was probably in the heat of battle right now. With the Eye of the Crimson Lotus blazing the trail, they would face the lich and the musketeer.

We had chosen this spot because fighting inside the familiar interior of Zenelaus would give us the home advantage, as opposed to the interior of the dungeon. A significant number of zombies had already entered Zenelaus, but if we defeated the lich, these zombies would vanish along with it.

I left the lich and Dreibach Steibelt to the Adventurers’ Guild in the end. Even knowing that Zenelaus might lose, I still subjected them to the strongest enemies.

This was all to protect a certain idiot. It was because I had promised Alicia that I would protect Shuya Newkern, who was always eager to leap to his death.

Back at Kirsch, that guy had lived as a true noble. He had been my mental image of a great noble given flesh. And he didn’t stop at that, as he had even saved Alicia from her solitude.

He had saved me. That was why I would save him. That’s all the reason I need!

“That’s...” I widened my eyes, spotting Shuya’s comrades heading in his direction as well. “The pair from Zylush! They didn’t run away either?!” I clenched my teeth and let out a curse. “Damn it! Birds of a feather flock together!”

I pressed on into the swamp of zombies because Shuya was there. Shuya, who had gone off to become some stranger’s savior. He was an idiot, advancing on even though there was no certain proof that he could save whomever it was.

I had asked Zylush to fall back, and I had already told them that I would save Shuya, no matter what it took.

Those guys probably liked Shuya too. They thought of him as their comrade. Just like in the anime, they had said that Shuya was one of them.

You know, that’s pretty impressive, Shuya. You gained the recognition of those ruffians.

But you’re going to end up killing them. You’ll depend on Eldred’s power, go berserk, and burn Zenelaus to the ground. The Archflare will make it out alive, but those two won’t.

A torturous and unbearable future was waiting for Shuya with open arms, and I was the only one who knew about it.

“Shuya!” I screamed.

He had probably fought fiercely with everything he had, and there were piles and piles of zombies around him. Perhaps due to how intense the battle had been, even the zombies shrank back and kept their distance from him.

My eyes swept over it all. “I told you. I told you that the voice in your head would not always say the right thing. You were played for a fool.”

The person Shuya had looked for, the one who had been left behind, was nowhere to be seen. From what I could see, there were only zombies ahead.

However, the redhead wasn’t moving. Floating fireballs whooshed around him, and they targeted the zombies trying to land a hit on Shuya’s body. That’s terrifying... So this is Eldred’s power, I see.

“Throughout history, we can find many people who hear strange voices, but the ones who can hear the voices of spirits definitely take the cake. Look at you. You’re out of mana because you used too many spells. I bet you’re feeling like you’ve been through the wringer. But hey, lucky you, the guild has prepared an abundant supply of healing potions. You can use as many of them as you want right now, all for the low price of nothing.”

“Denning... I’ve never, ever asked you to save me,” Shuya hissed through gritted teeth.

“The guild requested that I protect the adventurers, and I accepted. You are one, so you are a subject of my protection.”

“I can get back by myself.”

“You.” I grabbed his arm. His body emitted a searing heat, leaving me stunned. Is this guy really human? A human shouldn’t have this high of a temperature.

Using Shuya’s body as a medium, Eldred’s power was radiating out into the outside world. Adrenaline had probably numbed his senses when he had been in combat, but this power was too much for the boy, and it was slowly but surely gnawing at his body.

“Denning! Nobody has...begged you...to protect me!”

“Zylush chased after you earlier because you did something outrageous. Moments ago, I told them to return to Zenelaus. No thanks to your hotheaded actions, that man was bitten by a zombie, you know.”

“Wait, Mister Zodd was bitten?!”

“He was on the brink of death, but there’s plenty of holy water in the city. He will probably make it out alive.”

“No way...” Shuya stood up, but he was unsteady on his feet.

“Shuya, why do you want to become stronger? For what purpose? You caused grief to your adventurer buddies, you made Alicia worry day and night... Is making yourself happy the only thing that matters to you?”

“No...” Shuya whimpered weakly. “I want to become...strong and...save everyone...”

“And who is this ‘everyone’?! Everyone at Kirsch?! Or everyone here in Zenelaus?! Let me tell you what I think. I think you should put Alicia above everyone else right now! She was the one who refused to leave until the last minute because she was worried about you!”

Shuya couldn’t come up with a response for a while. “No, I...”

“We’re going to move the front inside the city. Even if you have complaints about that, I’m the one who gets the final say as the amazing Piggi-Du, you hear that?”

With his eyes still downcast, Shuya nodded weakly.

Using wind spells, I blasted zombies out of our way and we raced down the shortest possible path back.

I could no longer spot any other adventurers. They were all inside Zenelaus now.

There were all kinds of zombie varieties, but they weren’t our only enemies. Taking advantage of this opportunity, non-zombified monsters—monsters from other dungeons—had also come out. That wasn’t good. If this dragged on, even stronger monsters might crawl out from the depths of the dungeons.

Shuya seemed to be deep in thought as he trudged after me with slightly uncertain steps. It seemed that he was very perturbed by the fact that he had caused trouble for his comrades.

After a long while, he spoke up. “Hey, Denning.”

“What?! As you can see, I’m not exactly on vacation at the moment, so keep quiet!”

“You often came up to me and lashed out at me back at school, right? Why did you do that?”

“Oh come on, why are you asking that now?!”

“Just tell me, okay?”

“You always looked as if you enjoyed every moment of your life, and that ticked me off. The end.”

“What’s with that?!” Shuya yelped. “You bullied me for such selfish reasons?!”

“Yeah, exactly. Unfair, isn’t it?”

Life was always unfair.

I was born into House Denning, and my future had already been decided for me. Shuya was the same. He was a noble who had ownership of family lands, and he was even the eldest son. His future was also a rigid construct.

In the anime, he had said that he hated that confinement, and that had been why he was so taken with the free-spirited Zenelaus.

“Denning, are you still going to fight?”

“Yeah. I’m planning on slamming them with a ginormous spell or something to wrap things up here, you see.”

Shuya hesitated for a moment. “I’ll stay too. I’ll also fight here.”

Whoa. He’s like a worn-out rag right now, but he’s serious. He isn’t lying about anything. A guy who can act for the sake of other people.

...He’s completely different from me.

I give up. I have to approve of him. He’s an amazing guy. I’m serious.

I grabbed Shuya’s shoulder.

I had never seen his face up close like this before. His eyes lit up with a passion so hot that I might get burned if I stared at them for too long. They were sincere and determined, and they churned with his emotions.

“Don’t forget that your comrades, like that pair from Zylush, are waiting for you in the city. You really stressed them out with what you did, so hurry up and tell them that you’re safe. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“But...”

“Didn’t I say it clearly enough? You’re in the way.”

He turned his back to me, making his way to the city. The determination in his spine seemed to declare that he could still go on.

I climbed up onto the hill. I saw the endless blanket of zombies making their way across the lands, and Shuya, walking in the opposite direction towards Zenelaus.

“Hey, you!” I shouted. I paused for a second and cringed before I spoke again. “I take back what I said before. You’re an amazing guy.”

“Wha—”

“Listen up. I’m only going to say this once because I happen to have a functioning sense of embarrassment.”

We had been at odds with each other the whole time I was here in Zenelaus. I hadn’t been able to forgive him for what he had done. He had brought Alicia here and tossed her aside, which had made me livid. He had given in to the honeyed words of Eldred and had let them get to his head, thinking that he was much stronger now. This guy had grated on my nerves.

“Until only a little while ago, you were just another student at Kirsch Mage Institute, but you still managed to save many adventurers. Nobody can dispute that. I’ll be frank, that shook me. Unlike me, you haven’t received full-on combat training. Despite all that, you were able to gain the trust of the adventurers, and not even because of your status as a noble. That’s why I’ll take back what I said a few days ago. You’re an amazing guy.”

He looked back at me, utterly baffled. I turned away from him and used my spells to efficiently eliminate the zombies.

Part of why the death toll had been shockingly low was, of course, my support. However, this guy also had a part in it, for he had used Eldred’s power to save them. I had watched over everything from above, so I had known better than anyone else just how much effort Shuya had put in.

“One last thing before you go. A warning. Shuya, look at your right hand. You’re suffering from the effects of mana-deficiency syndrome, so you shouldn’t be able to use magic anymore... But you’re still able to cast spells, aren’t you?”

Shuya paused as the realization started to hit him. “Oh.”

“Is it all your power? Anyone who knew you back at Kirsch would have doubts. Just how much are you planning on leaning on the something or someone that’s giving power to you?”

“That’s...”

In the anime, nobody had ever questioned Shuya’s newfound abilities. Everyone around him lifted him onto a pedestal of praise, and this guy had been used as a commodity until he had ruined it all.

It should change with this though. Surely, after all this, he’ll control himself and stop drawing out more power from Eldred.

I inhaled. “Now, then.”

Before me, those zombies still continued to approach with no end in sight.

Shuya. I hope you listen to those words and change your mind about how you’re going to live your life.

“O wind, assemble, Hurricane.”

I’m trusting you, okay, Shuya?

●

“Zodd... Are you okay?” Nalita asked anxiously.

“Perfectly fine. I wouldn’t kick the bucket just because some undead guy bit me,” Zodd declared.

The pair was in the northeastern part of Zenelaus, inside the second branch office of the Adventurers’ Guild. This had been the combat area assigned to Zylush after they finished their battle in the wilds.

These adventurer party members, with the exception of their leader the Archflare, had mowed down the zombies loitering the streets from their spot in the guild office branch. Inside the city, adventurers with prowess in close-range combat scattered about, taking turns to face the enemies.

Right now, Zylush was off duty. The guild staff members had provided potions to them, and piles of empty bottles were now scattered about the room.

Shuya hung his head. “I did something really stupid. I am so sorry about earlier...”

Zodd waved the matter off. “I had a laughing fit when I heard that you mistook a zombie for some slowpoke! You don’t have to be so stressed about it.”

“But because of me, you...”

“It’s fine. I finally know why our leader invited you to our party. What he said about how we would remember what we had forgotten along the way when we watch you. Hey now! How much longer are you planning on getting your panties in a bunch?! Actually, you know, there’s something more important right now. I want to ask you something.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“That brat who’s from the same country as you... The rumors say he’s a Dragon Slayer. Are they serious?”

Shuya sighed. “They sure are.”

“Huh, so it is true! Hey, Nalita! You remembered correctly! Our guild master sure had the wildest card saved up his sleeve!”

To Shuya, the fact that of all people, Denning had shown approval of him had been astonishing. After the incident with the mercenary at school, Shuya had heard a lot of things about him from Alicia. Like about his past as the Prodigy of Wind from House Denning, and how the child beloved by all the people in his lands suddenly warped after a certain day.

And...she had also talked about how, lately, that guy seemed to have returned to his previous, glorious self.

“The zombies just keep coming, though. Leader... I hope he’s not unexpectedly dead or something.”

“Zodd! Don’t say something so crazy! There’s no way someone as powerful as him would lose,” Nalita insisted.

“But, ya know...” Zodd spotted a burly man running down the road. “Hm? That’s the Iron Arm. Why is he heading this way? That guy’s supposed to be stationed at...Nemesis, right?”

The man was yelling something. He didn’t seem to make any sense and his words were a scrambled mess, but... “Curse the Eye of the Crimson Lotus! That guy deceived us all! He never told us about that!”

The guild had announced that this was a trial, and they had promised that the slayer of the lich would become an S-class adventurer. The Iron Arm had been one of the many A-class adventurers summoned to Zenelaus by the possibility of this reward.

“What the heck happened?! You guys aren’t supposed to be here!” Zodd shouted.

“Ah, you’re Zylush’s Zodd! You guys should make a run for it! It isn’t the lich! There’s a much bigger and scarier fish out there! Run away from this city!”

“Is our leader, the Archflare, alive and kicking?!”

“The Archflare’s fine, but he won’t hold out for long! Listen up! If you guys care about staying alive, you must run from this city! I’ve warned you, so no hard feelings!”

With a large sledgehammer in his hands, the Iron Arm dashed down the monster-filled road. His abilities were clearly of a higher rank than an average member of Zylush, yet he still fled.

After the Iron Arm’s words rang out, a clamor broke out inside the building. All the adventurers shared the same thought: A man who came here to become an S-class adventurer is actually running away. The lich hasn’t been defeated? How much longer must we fight?

“Hey, Zodd...” Nalita hesitated. “What do you think about that?”

“The leader ordered us to stay away. There’s no way in hell we’d budge from our post.”

“But the Iron Arm said that even our leader won’t last long... Hey, don’t you think this is all taking a little too long? Something’s not right. What happened to all the other high-ranking adventurers?”

A veil of gloom draped over Nalita’s face.

The guild staff members had seemed very busy inside the building, and Nalita had the feeling there was more to all this.

Come to think of it, the guild had been acting strangely from the very beginning. They had controlled the flow of information so that nothing got out of the city. However, the glow of money had dazzled her into blindness, so Nalita had never given it a second thought.

The guild had announced that because the lich had taken over a dungeon, Zenelaus’s pride was on the line. They would then defeat the lich and regain control.

But was that really the case?

Zodd’s face also gradually soured as the questions came pouring into his mind.

Why had the lich hunt been chosen as the trial for ascending into S-class? Traditionally, these adventurers would be selected due to their achievements during some sort of incident, but there had never been a precedent where the requirements for S-class were announced beforehand.

What in the world was happening at Nemesis?

“I...” Shuya hardened his resolve. “I’ll go.”

Zodd showed his disapproval. “Shuya, the Archflare is a veteran adventurer. He hasn’t fallen so low that you have to worry about him.”

“Shuya, I’m also worried about our leader, but...” Nalita trailed off.

“I can sense the presence of something vile in the air. That man will most likely die. However, Shuya... If you head there, I, the great Eldred, would lower myself to save him.”

There was an unsettling atmosphere inside the guild office. Earlier, when Shuya had gone to get additional holy water from the guild staff members, he had accidentally overheard them whispering that maybe it was better to run away.

Nemesis was a danger zone. If he went there, he might die. Even still, Shuya was dead set on what he would do next.

“Do you know what you’re walking into, Shuya? It’s a battleground where an adventurer stronger than me turned around and ran the hell away,” Zodd warned.

“I am going. The old man is my comrade, after all.”

There were certain words that Shuya would never forget, ones that he kept close to his heart.

The Archflare told me, an admirer of adventurers, that I can stay in this city for as long as I want. He treated me with kindness and consideration as if I were a member of his family. My skills are half-baked at best, but he still approved of me and said that I’m an adventurer. That’s why I will go.

Zodd grinned. “Shuya... You’re the best, ya know?”

Shuya blinked. “Huh?”

“Right. Let’s go, Shuya. Our leader is surprisingly quite a lonely guy, you see.”

Zodd roughly scratched his head. In all honesty, Shuya’s words and actions were so young. Too young and naive.

The Archflare, their leader, would most likely die. Zodd also had that ominous feeling in his gut.

However, his experience told him that going to save their leader was the wrong choice. They were an adventurer party and comrades, but adventurers always placed one person above all else, and that was themselves.

The work of an adventurer was risky, and he had come to terms with that. If Zodd ever fell into grave danger in a dungeon, he wouldn’t ask his comrades for help. That was the limit of what “comrades” meant to adventurers.

However, after hearing Shuya’s words, Zodd had a change of heart.

Shuya was still puzzled. “Um, you’re kind of saying the opposite from earlier...”

“We feel the same way as you do. We’re only here today because our leader saved us.” Nalita nodded.

Zodd mulled over his choice of words before he spoke again. “If our leader ends up dying, I would have regrets. So, let’s go.”

Even if we know that we are walking right into hell, was the unspoken thought of all three.

The pair from Zylush marched forward, together with the red-haired boy who would go on to become the anime world’s savior.

Large chunks of rubble and crumpled buildings blocked their path.

Zenelaus was a completely different city now. An unimaginably intense clash of titans must have happened, for there were areas in the city where even the terrain was completely unrecognizable.

And as for the adventurers who were supposed to be fighting in front of Nemesis...

Zodd’s eyes widened in shock. “The hell?! No way! You must be kidding me! That’s the younger of the Cleaver Brothers, that pair of famous A-class adventurers!”

Nalita couldn’t control her shock either. “Are they all being controlled by the lich?!”

High-ranking adventurers, who even had the total destruction of dungeons under their belts, had been revived as the undead and now attacked Zylush.

“They’re long dead, but they’ve only recently been reborn, so they aren’t able to use their power to the fullest!”

“But Zodd, are we really able to fight them?! Just yesterday, we were together as—”

“We don’t exactly have a choice! If you just stand there doing nothing, we’re the ones who are going to be toast!”

The familiar, everyday life that lasted until yesterday was now a distant memory. As the three progressed through the streets, they finally understood what kind of perilous cliff edge this city was dangling from.

However, the members of Zylush pressed on in order to find the Archflare. They clung to their one-way ticket towards the even larger-scale battleground and rushed there without looking back.

“Zodd, the monsters are falling back! Are they leading us somewhere? Is it a trap?!”

“Who knows?! We can only take the bait; our leader is on the other side of all of these things!”

Interlude: The Other Battle

With sparkles in her eyes, Charlotte watched the large-scale adventurer party in action. They had protected a great number of refugees all the way here, ever since the group’s departure from Zenelaus.

“All right! What’s the motto of the Armed Convoy?! Chant it!” a man yelled.

“‘We must make sure that our dear customers are unharmed by all means!’ But these are some very extreme circumstances we are facing, Captain Zoroark! These stupid monsters are flowing out of the dungeons like there’s no tomorrow, and—” The second man let out a yelp of shock. “When did that two-headed ogre get so close?! It’s gone completely bonkers!”

“Captain! If we kill that monster, the dungeon might self-destruct—”

“Ya moron!” the captain snapped. “That thing’s already the lich’s puppet! Even if the ogre dies, the Dual Heads dungeon would remain intact! And quit complaining, will ya?! The Armed Convoy’s reputation is based on the fact that we stick around until the end of any job. There isn’t a single failure in our entire record! Do ya know why y’all are wearing equipment much more high-grade than ya deserve at yer level?! That’s because we always escort our customers properly, every single time! At any rate, report back to me once all of our customers have finished crossing Great Galland Bridge!”

The industrial Galland City was a place where countless chimneys climbed towards the skies. It was the city that supplied all kinds of weapons and equipment to the entirety of the Freedom Union, and it was famous for being the only city where one could travel to and from Zenelaus.

On the side of Galland City that faced Zenelaus, there was a colossal rift carved into the wilderness, and the structure that crossed that gap was called the Great Galland Bridge.

The Armed Convoy was currently escorting a few dozen carriages to Galland City, and Alicia and Charlotte were among the passengers. The agitated two-headed ogre, a middle-layer boss from the A-rank dungeon called Dual Heads, was hot on their heels. Thankfully, the pair managed to make it across the Great Galland Bridge with the convoy at the last possible moment and arrived at a safe zone.

“We are the Armed Convoy! Do not let any of these cretins pass this bridge!” the captain ordered.

“Captain Zoroark! What do we do about that crazed dual ogre?!”

“I’ll face it and show them! I’ve had enough of my heart racing like crazy whenever we go past its den, ya see!”

A large group of adventurers was lying in wait on the bridge, and they forced the incoming monsters to fall off the sides, down into the rift, one after another.

These adventurers were under a contract with the landlord of Galland City, a wealthy merchant himself. However, the monsters lured here by the Armed Convoy were too big of a herd for them to deal with.

“Captain, we’ve sighted reinforcements coming from Galland City! It seems that our buddy Harrie, who went ahead to inform them of our emergency, arrived in one piece! You were right on with your choice, Captain! Harrie’s a huge worrywart, so I’m sure that he blew our situation out of proportion when he reported it!”

“Don’t keep yer hopes up! Right now, all the aces are in Zenelaus, so there aren’t many left for us! Listen up, y’all! Don’t forget that we were directly nominated by the Eye of the Crimson Lotus as the guards for this final escort trip!”

To these adventurers, this was nothing out of the ordinary. It was for this precise reason that the Dustour Empire considered Zenelaus’s adventurers as the biggest obstacle to their goal of bringing the continent together under the Dustour flag.

Behind the Armed Convoy, adventurers from Galland City who had come in response to the request for aid appeared, each one heading to the other side of the bridge.

“Hey! Miss Charlotte, why did you get off the carriage?! We need to take refuge in the city as soon as possible!” Alicia exclaimed.

“Lady Alicia! We can’t just run away by ourselves while everyone is still fighting here!”

“Don’t say such nonsense! Miss Charlotte, you’re a hack at magic!”

“Huh?! What are you saying?! I’m not a hack in any way! I’ll prove it to you right now, with this wand I picked up in Zenelaus!”

Charlotte had lived with all these people over the past few days as they journeyed together to evacuate. The adventurers of Galland City were urging her to find shelter immediately, but she just couldn’t leave these people behind and escape by herself.

“Let’s go, Lady Alicia! We’re going to cross the bridge too!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You aren’t even an adventurer, remember?! You’re supposed to be protected, not the one protecting others!”

“But they’re struggling! At this rate...”

Due to Alicia’s desperate pleas, Charlotte couldn’t move forward from her spot. She looked down at the extraordinary being she held in her arms.

Even while monsters had attacked more than several dozen carriages, this pet...no, this Great Spirit hadn’t helped out at all. It seemed that this little one wouldn’t save her, even during such a crisis...

Charlotte bit her lip. “But at this rate...!”

Suddenly, Charlotte felt something from above. Somebody had given her a light pat on the head as they began to cross the bridge with a languid but certain gait.

This brief interaction had been the trigger of it all: the moment that decided the fate of the two-headed monster from the A-class dungeon Dual Heads, which was assaulting the Armed Convoy.

“C-Captain! Weren’t all the powerhouse adventurers supposed to be in Zenelaus?! And what in the world is that sword?! It almost looks like the Archflare’s Flamberge!”

“Keep this between you and me, but I actually heard that an outrageously strong adventurer had come to Galland a while ago!” the captain yelled.

Galland City was an important industrial hub to the Freedom Union that supplied weapons and equipment to Zenelaus. However, due to the Eye of the Crimson Lotus systematically gathering anyone and everyone with fighting potential in the country, Galland’s own military capabilities had plummeted.

However, nobody could reproach him for doing so. If the Freedom Union was truly able to defeat one of the Three Musketeers, and even if a location as critical as Galland City was sacrificed as a result, it would still be a net gain.

The wealthy merchants of the Freedom Union were very shrewd at balancing their profits and losses. Even to these stingy misers, losing Galland City seemed to be an acceptable price to pay in exchange for the head of the Living Dead.

“Everyone, support that man! With that fellow as our main firepower, we’ll annihilate the monsters here together! And Gried, don’t try to compete with that man! Leave the two-headed ogre to him!”

Charlotte gasped. “Lady Alicia! Why is Mister Silva here?!”

“I have no clue! I don’t know why, but nothing can change the fact that he’s here! More importantly, Miss Charlotte, did you see that?!”

Charlotte hesitated, taken aback. “Um, Lady Alicia, what are you referring to?”

“Oh god, this is bad. This is really bad. Why... That man... How is this real...?” Alicia mumbled in disbelief.

There was a man across the way, on the other side of a rift so vast that it could just as easily be considered a parting of the earth itself. He was trading blow for blow with the two-headed dual ogre all by himself.

The man wasn’t a mage, but it almost seemed as if he could bend magic to his will. Just like what had happened back then, on a certain day in her memory.

“Wh-What’s wrong? Well, I mean, of course I’m pretty surprised that Mister Silva is here, of all places, but... I only had the thought that he’s a man who really keeps his promises.”

“Him being here is shocking, but that’s not it! Wait, Miss Charlotte, what do you mean by ‘promises’?”

“Um, I guess you could say that Master Slowe kind of called him here...”

Nearly a week ago, Silva had arrived in Galland City, the place closest to Zenelaus. Having decided that he would traverse the wilderness on his own merits and without bodyguards, he had headed to the Adventurers’ Guild to buy a map. That had been when the guild staff members had recognized him and passed on a message from the young duke staying in Zenelaus.

The message had been an order that the man was to defend the Great Galland Bridge at all costs.

Slowe had knowledge of a future where Galland City would fall into ruin, and thus, he had called for this man.

“Oh... Huh...” Alicia made a groan of realization. “So that’s how it is!”

“Lady Alicia? Um, your expression has been doing some impressive twists and turns for a while now...”

“Miss Charlotte, I’ve been thinking for a while that you’re kind of oblivious, but this is too much! Look at that! Shouldn’t you react a bit more?!”

Unlike Charlotte, who was only surprised at Silva being there, Alicia was trembling. She was the only one who had realized the gravity of the situation.

“The sword! Look at that thing in his hands! Isn’t that the Mystical Sword of Daryth? Isn’t the penalty for taking it out of the country death?!”