Chapter 88

Kaisar Iblis Jaldabaoth

Bagian 1

Roble Holy Kingdom adalah bangsa yang wilayahnya merupakan semenanjung di barat daya Kerajaan Re-Estize.

Itu dipimpin oleh seorang Ratu Suci yang dapat menggunakan sihir ilahi, dan kepemimpinan itu terkait erat dengan faksi-kuil kuil. Itu adalah negara yang sangat religius, meskipun tidak sampai sejauh Teokrasi Slaine.

Selain itu, ada dua fitur khusus tentang geografi Roble Holy Kingdom.

Yang pertama adalah bahwa tanahnya dibagi menjadi dua bagian utara dan selatan oleh laut. Tentu saja, setengahnya tidak sepenuhnya terpisah. Sebaliknya, ada teluk raksasa di antara mereka – panjang empat puluh kilometer dan lebar dua ratus kilometer – yang membuat geografinya tampak seperti U horisontal.

Karena itu, beberapa orang menyebut mereka Kerajaan Suci Utara dan Selatan.

Lalu, ada fitur lain.

Pintu masuk ke semenanjung itu memiliki tembok besar, lebih dari seratus kilometer panjangnya dari utara ke selatan.

Itu dibangun untuk menahan invasi dari banyak suku demihuman yang menduduki perbukitan di sebelah timur Kerajaan Suci, antara mereka dan Teokrasi.

Tembok besar ini, dibangun melalui pengeluaran banyak waktu dan sumber daya, adalah kesaksian bisu tentang betapa meresahkan keberadaan para demihumans terhadap Kerajaan Suci.

Ada kesenjangan kekuatan yang besar antara demihuman dan manusia.

Memang, memang benar bahwa ada demihumans tertentu yang lebih lemah daripada manusia, seperti Goblin.

Baik itu ketinggian, kekuatan fisik, pengetahuan, atau tingkat di mana mereka menghasilkan kastor ajaib, mereka adalah ras yang lebih rendah dari manusia dalam segala hal.

Tetap saja, bahkan Goblin seperti itu memiliki mata yang bisa melihat dalam kegelapan, dan jika mereka mengambil keuntungan dari kenyataan bahwa tubuh kecil mereka dapat dengan mudah disembunyikan – misalnya, ketika meluncurkan serangan malam hari di hutan – mereka pasti akan menjadi musuh yang merepotkan untuk manusia.

Tak perlu dikatakan, sebagian besar demihumans memiliki tubuh lebih kuat daripada manusia, dan ada juga banyak ras yang secara alami memiliki kemampuan magis. Jika mereka membiarkan demihumans menyerang sesuka hati, mereka harus membayar harga yang tak terhitung dalam darah untuk melawan mereka.

Karena itu, Kerajaan Suci memilih untuk memperkuat pertahanannya.

Mereka melakukan ini untuk mencegah para demihumans mengambil satu langkah ke tanah mereka.

Mereka melakukan ini untuk memberi tahu dunia bahwa tanah mereka bukan milik demihumans.

Mereka melakukan ini sehingga para demihuman akan mengerti bahwa segala upaya untuk menginjakkan kaki di tanah mereka akan dipenuhi oleh perlawanan yang hingar-bingar.

♦ ♦ ♦

Namun, tembok yang dibangun untuk tujuan itu memiliki beberapa masalah.

Agar tetap beroperasi pada kapasitas penuh, mereka harus menyimpan banyak tenaga kerja secara permanen di lokasi. Kepemimpinan Kerajaan Suci pernah menghitung berapa banyak kekuatan pertempuran yang dibutuhkan untuk mengalahkan suku penyerang demihumans. Jawabannya adalah bahwa negara akan runtuh sebelum demihumans bahkan menyerang mereka.

Sementara mereka tidak memiliki kemewahan membesarkan pasukan yang tidak digunakan, ada kebutuhan untuk menempatkan jumlah tenaga kerja yang tepat di sana.

Dalam sejarah Kerajaan Suci – setelah pembangunan tembok – intrusi paling mengerikan ke tanah mereka telah terjadi selama invasi yang terjadi di tengah Long Rain.

Itu adalah serangan malam, diluncurkan oleh ras yang disebut Srush, yang memiliki tangan pengisap-cangkir, lidah yang dibubuhi racun lumpuh yang dapat memperpanjang jauh, dan anggota spesies mereka yang maju bahkan dapat mengubah warna kulit mereka seolah-olah menggunakan 「Kamuflase」 mantra.

Srush melintasi tembok, dan menuju ke barat.

Cukup banyak desa telah hilang bagi mereka, dan demikianlah tragedi yang telah terjadi pada saat itu hingga hari ini, masih ada desas-desus tentang apakah Srush masih bersembunyi di dalam perbatasan Kerajaan Suci atau tidak.

Mereka ingin sepenuhnya menata tembok untuk mencegah tragedi seperti itu terjadi lagi, tetapi menempatkan pasukan di setiap titik sepanjang itu akan melelahkan bangsa. Kompromi yang dilakukan bangsa ini adalah membangun benteng-benteng kecil dengan interval tetap di sepanjang dinding. Titik-titik kuat ini kemudian akan diawasi oleh beberapa benteng raksasa.

Mereka menempatkan sejumlah kecil pasukan di masing-masing titik kuat ini, tujuan mereka adalah untuk bertarung hingga orang terakhir. Jika mereka menghadapi serangan musuh, mereka akan segera meluncurkan roket untuk meminta bala bantuan dari benteng. Selain itu, ada kompi-kompi tentara yang akan staf dan patroli benteng-benteng, yang berfungsi sebagai pasukan cadangan selama keadaan darurat, yang akan dikerahkan secara fleksibel sesuai situasi yang diperlukan.

Setelah menerapkan langkah-langkah ini, para demihuman tidak berhasil menembus dinding lagi.

Namun, perencanaan yang rajin dari kepemimpinan Kerajaan Suci saat itu telah berubah menjadi bentuk obsesi. Bahkan tindakan balasan seperti garis pertahanan benteng tidak dapat meyakinkan mereka.

Memang, itu adalah tembok yang sangat besar – untuk manusia. Namun, sama sekali bukan ancaman bagi ras yang beberapa kali lebih tinggi daripada manusia atau yang memiliki kemampuan terbang. Karena alasan itu, bahkan tembok sekuat itu sama sekali bukan jaminan keselamatan mutlak ketika seseorang mempertimbangkan banyak kemampuan khusus demihuman.

Raja Suci pada waktu itu adalah orang yang bijaksana, dan dia bahkan telah menyiapkan strategi untuk ketika tembok itu dilanggar. Solusinya adalah memobilisasi seluruh bangsa.

Karena alasan itu, warga Kerajaan Suci wajib militer sebagai bentuk pelayanan nasional. Semua warga negara dewasa, pria dan wanita, akan menghabiskan sejumlah waktu tertentu yang diperlukan untuk menjalani pelatihan militer, setelah itu mereka akan ditugaskan untuk bertugas bertugas di dinding. Harapannya adalah bahwa mereka akan menjadi tenaga kerja yang dapat digunakan untuk melindungi tanah mereka seandainya para demihum menyeberang tembok.

Semua tempat tinggal di atas ukuran tertentu juga diperkaya. Ini memberi penduduk desa kekuatan tempur yang cukup untuk bertahan sampai pasukan reguler bisa tiba, dan memungkinkan desa-desa tersebut untuk berfungsi sebagai pos-pos militer. Pada akhirnya, desa-desa Kerajaan Roble jauh lebih terlindungi daripada negara-negara lain, dan mereka juga bisa berfungsi sebagai pangkalan militer.

♦ ♦ ♦

Garis benteng Kerajaan Suci terdiri dari tiga benteng yang dihubungkan oleh dinding. Masing-masing dari mereka melindungi satu dari hanya tiga gerbang yang dibentengi sepanjang tembok penuh, yang panjangnya lebih dari seratus kilometer, dan mereka juga berfungsi sebagai pasukan untuk mengirim pasukan ke benteng-benteng di sekitarnya. Jika demihumans menyerbu dan perintah mobilisasi keseluruhan diberikan, mereka akan menjadi daerah pementasan di mana pasukan akan berkumpul untuk menyerang musuh.

Ini adalah salah satunya, benteng pusat.

Saat matahari perlahan tenggelam di bawah cakrawala, tanah berwarna merah itu perlahan-lahan direndam dengan warna malam.

Seorang lelaki yang tampak kuat berdiri dengan satu kaki di atas benteng, memandang ke tanah – di kaki bukit sebelah barat. Setelah itu, dia menurunkan kakinya.

Dia adalah seorang pria yang melotot dengan otot.

Lehernya kekar, dan otot-otot dadanya cukup mengesankan sehingga orang bisa merasakannya bahkan melalui baju besinya yang tebal. Lengannya yang kuat menonjol keluar dari lengan bajunya yang digulung. Tidak ada cara yang lebih baik untuk menggambarkannya selain "atletik," terlepas dari bagian mana dari dirinya yang dilihatnya.

Wajahnya seperti batu besar, diliputi oleh kondisi yang keras, dan alisnya yang tebal serta kumis yang tidak terawat berbicara tentang sifat liar dan buas. Tubuhnya yang perkasa dan penampilannya yang keras seharusnya cocok satu sama lain, namun matanya mematahkan tren itu.

Mereka mungil dan bulat, seperti manik-manik hewan kecil, dan mereka merasa hampir tidak pada tempatnya.

Pria seperti itu sekarang memandang ke langit.

Angin membawa awan tipis dengan kecepatan luar biasa, tetapi bahkan malam berbintang di balik kerudung mereka tidak bisa menghasilkan cukup cahaya bintang untuk menerangi tanah.

Lubang hidung pria itu berkobar, dan dia menarik napas dalam-dalam, menghirup napas malam melalui udara awal musim gugur, yang dibumbui dengan sedikit rasa dingin di musim dingin. Langit malam ungu menelan cahaya redup senja di cakrawala dengan kecepatan yang terlihat oleh mata telanjang.

Pria itu memunggungi bukit, dan memandangi orang-orang di sekitarnya.

Mereka adalah pejuang yang ganas, yang mempercayainya dan yang mengikutinya. Itu karena dia dikelilingi oleh pejuang seperti itu sehingga dia membiarkan dirinya lemah sejenak.

Lagipula, pekerjaan hari itu selesai dan tidak ada yang bisa membantahnya.

"—Oi, adakah yang bertanya kepada peramal cuaca tentang cuaca malam ini?"

Pertanyaan itu diajukan dengan suara kuat yang sesuai dengan tubuhnya yang kuat. Para prajurit saling memandang, dan salah satu dari mereka berbicara atas nama kelompok.

“Permintaan maafku yang terdalam! Kopral Camparno Pak, sepertinya tidak ada dari kita yang mendengar laporan tersebut! ”

Pria ini – Olrand Camparno – adalah pria dengan peringkat cukup rendah dalam hierarki militer Kerajaan Suci Roble.

Dari bawah ke atas, jajaran militer Kerajaan Suci Roble naik dari Merekrut, Prajurit, Kelas Satu Privat, Kopral, Sersan, Sersan Peleton, dan sebagainya. Tentu saja, pangkat yang berbeda ada di unit yang berbeda, dan ini hanyalah pangkat untuk infanteri reguler.

Biasanya berbicara, seorang kopral sederhana tidak perlu disebut sebagai "Tuan."

Namun, pria yang memanggil Olrand "Tuan" tidak melakukannya untuk mengejeknya. Rasa hormatnya kepadanya tampak jelas dalam sikap dan nada bicaranya. Bukan hanya pria itu; setiap prajurit yang hadir, yang masing-masing berjalan dan berbicara seperti veteran berpengalaman dalam banyak pertempuran, merasakan hal yang sama tentang Olrand.

"Benar-benar sekarang?"

Olrand perlahan membelai wajahnya yang kekar.

"Pak, jika waktu mengizinkan, apakah Anda akan membiarkan yang ini pergi dan bertanya segera?"

"Hm? Tidak, tidak perlu untuk itu. Pekerjaan kita sudah selesai sekarang. Apa yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah urusan orang-orang yang mengejar kita. ”

♦ ♦ ♦

Olrand Camparno.

Dia adalah orang yang memiliki banyak prestasi yang, melalui keahlian bertarungnya saja, telah mendapatkan kehormatan sebagai salah satu dari Sembilan Warna Kerajaan Suci oleh Raja Suci sebelumnya.

Alasan mengapa lelaki seperti itu tetap berada di posisi rendah seperti itu berasal dari dua masalah yang dialami Olrand.

Yang pertama adalah karena dia sangat bersemangat – dia benci menerima perintah.

Yang kedua adalah karena dia terobsesi dengan keterampilan bertarung.

Ketika kedua poin ini bersatu, mereka mengarah pada cara hidup yang mengatakan, "Jika kamu ingin memberitahuku apa yang harus dilakukan, hajar aku dulu." Jika dia bertemu musuh yang layak dia akan berkata, "Kamu lihat cukup kuat. Bagaimana kalau berdebat denganku? ”Dan kemudian mereka akan bertarung sampai salah satu dari mereka pingsan.

Kepribadiannya ini telah menyebabkan banyak insiden kekerasan yang melibatkan bangsawan dan atasannya, jadi dia telah diturunkan lebih dari sepuluh kali.

Tidak perlu bagi orang-orang yang tidak bisa mematuhi perintah di militer dan mereka juga benci secara universal. Dalam keadaan normal, hampir tidak aneh jika dia didisiplinkan atau dipecat secara tidak hormat. Namun, dia belum bertemu dengan nasib seperti itu, murni karena kekuatannya. Selain itu, ada orang-orang yang mengagumi pria seperti dia.

Orang-orang kasar yang tidak senang diperintah oleh para bangsawan miskin menemukan cara hidup Olrand dengan kekuatan lengannya yang paling mendebarkan.

Unitnya adalah pasukan berandalan yang terdiri dari orang-orang yang sangat kejam – tidak, mereka lebih mirip geng.

Mereka cukup banyak, jadi menyebut mereka perusahaan tidak akan keluar dari tempatnya. Selain itu, para anggotanya mungkin tidak setara dengan Olrand, tetapi mereka semua adalah pejuang yang terampil, yang menyebabkannya mengambil posisi tidak resmi yang tidak dapat ditoleransi oleh atasannya, tetapi tidak bisa mereka lakukan dengan apa pun.

♦ ♦ ♦

Olrand melihat sekeliling, dan setelah memverifikasi identitas pria yang mendekati mereka, sebuah senyum muncul di wajahnya, seperti senyum seorang karnivora yang akan menerkam mangsanya.

Pria itu tampak cukup ramping dibandingkan dengan sosok berotot Olrand. Namun, itu bukan sketsa dari ranting. Alih-alih, dia memiliki wajah yang kurus dan kaku tentangnya. Jika seseorang memalsukan dan memoles seorang lelaki, membakar habis segala sesuatu yang tidak berhubungan dengan fungsi yang dimaksudkannya, itu akan menghasilkan kelangsingan buku teks seperti yang ia wujudkan.

Selain itu, mata sipitnya tajam, seolah-olah dia akan menyerang kapan saja. Lalu ada murid-muridnya yang sempit yang kelihatannya bukan milik siapa pun yang terlibat dalam usaha yang sah. Dalam istilah yang sopan, dia adalah seorang pembunuh. Dalam hal yang kurang sopan, dia adalah seorang pembunuh massal.

“Bicaralah tentang iblis dan dia datang. Senang bertemu denganmu di sini, Night Shift-san. Senang melihatmu ~ ”

Pria yang lain tidak bersuara saat dia mendekati mereka dengan langkah kaki yang diam. Dia berpakaian sangat berbeda dari Olrand.

Olrand dan orang-orang di sekitarnya mengenakan baju besi dari kulit yang terbuat dari kulit binatang ajaib yang disebut Lanca Cattle. Selain itu, mereka membawa perisai bundar kecil dan pedang bermata tunggal, pakaian standar pasukan superior Kerajaan Suci. Kebetulan, Olrand adalah satu-satunya yang memiliki delapan pedang di pinggangnya.

Berbeda dengan itu, pria yang satunya mengenakan baju zirah kulit ringan yang tersihir. Ada lambang burung hantu dijahit di dada kanannya, sementara lambang Kerajaan Suci menghiasi kirinya.

"… Olrand. Saya belum menerima laporan shift Anda. Juga, apakah sikap yang harus Anda ambil dengan atasan? Itu praktis pembangkangan. Berapa kali saya harus mengingatkan Anda tentang itu? "

"Yah, maafkan aku, Sersan Peleton-dono."

Ketika Olrand memberi hormat dengan sembrono, orang-orang di bawahnya juga memberi hormat. Itu adalah penghormatan yang pantas, jenis yang mereka tidak akan pernah berikan kepada bangsawan atau perwira atasan belaka. Itu adalah penghormatan yang menunjukkan rasa hormat yang tulus.

Pria itu menghela nafas dengan haaah. Itu adalah desahan yang dibuat oleh orang yang tahu bahwa perilakunya tidak dapat diterima, tetapi yang juga tahu bahwa mengajari dia tentang hal itu akan sia-sia.

Maaf bos Kebiasaan lama sangat sulit, seperti kata mereka.

Alasan mengapa Olrand memberi hormat kepada pria ini, betapapun enggan, adalah karena ia telah mengalahkan Olrand.

Saya ingin mengalahkan Anda sekali sebelum meninggalkan tempat ini. Dengan syarat Anda. Tidakkah Anda berpikir demikian, Sersan Peleton Pavel Baraja?

Pria itu – Pavel Baraja – dijuluki "Penjaga Malam." Seperti Olrand, dia adalah salah satu dari Sembilan Warna. Busur besar yang dibuat dengan indah di punggungnya berkilau dengan cahaya sihir yang samar, dan getaran yang tergantung di pinggangnya bersinar dengan cara yang sama. Dia adalah seorang pemanah, seperti yang disarankan penampilannya. Dia adalah penembak jitu yang luar biasa, dengan reputasi akurasi yang sempurna.

“Saya pikir ini sepanjang waktu, tetapi bekerja di malam hari pasti sulit. Para demihum baik-baik saja dalam kegelapan tetapi cukup sulit hanya untuk menemukan jejak mereka, apalagi melawan mereka. "

"Itu sebabnya kita ada di sini. Satu-satunya cara untuk mendapatkan sihir dan bakat yang sebanding dengan demihumans – selain visinya – adalah melalui pelatihan. Dan kami telah menerima pelatihan itu. "

"Ya ya. Hal yang sama berlaku untuk putri yang sangat Anda banggakan, bukan? "

Wajah Pavel berkedut dan Olrand langsung menyesali pilihan kata-katanya yang buruk.

Ini adalah seorang pria yang ekspresinya tetap tidak berubah bahkan di tengah-tengah pesta minum. Satu-satunya pengecualian adalah ketika topik putri dan istrinya muncul. Di situlah letak masalahnya.

"Oh ya. Dia gadis yang luar biasa. "

—Itu terjadi. Itu sudah dimulai.

Pavel tidak mengindahkan penyesalan Olrand dan terus berbicara.

“Karena itu, sejujurnya aku tidak tahu mengapa dia ingin menjadi seorang paladin. Dia gadis kecil yang lemah, tentu saja bukan tipe yang menganggap kekuatan bertarung sebagai segalanya – jujur, dia bahkan takut menangis oleh ulat bulu di masa lalu – dan sementara aku mengatakan bahwa mungkin adalah segalanya sekarang, itu tidak sampai ke tanganku istri … meskipun istri saya memang terlihat seperti itu dalam beberapa hal – dan dia menggemaskan karena dia tumbuh seperti saya, tidak, saya harus mengatakan bahwa dia akhirnya tumbuh menjadi seperti saya – tetapi rasa malu yang sebenarnya adalah dia tidak tidak memiliki bakat untuk menggunakan pedang. Namun, dia mahir dengan busur. Kalau saja dia bisa mengasah keterampilannya dalam hal itu, tapi di sini dia ingin menjadi seorang paladin dan yang lainnya— ”

Dia membiarkan monolog yang berkelok-kelok mengalir di satu telinga dan keluar yang lain, membuat suara yang sesuai sebagai tanggapan ketika mereka diperlukan, tetapi tampaknya dia masih ditemukan.

"Oi, apakah kamu mendengarkan saya?"

Pertanyaan itu hanya bisa diduga.

Tidak, saya tidak mendengarkan. Saya pikir saya berhenti setelah yang ketiga kalinya.

Setelah mendengar hal yang sama sekitar lima atau enam kali, dalam keadaan normal Olrand akan dengan tidak senang membalas "Ya ampun." Namun, mengambil nada itu dengan Pavel akan menjadi kesalahan besar. Itu karena dia tahu bahwa dia pasti akan menjawab, "Kalau begitu aku akan memberitahumu lagi."

Ini jawaban yang tepat:

“Tentu saja saya lakukan. Dia gadis yang sangat cantik! ”

Wajah Pavel berubah secara dramatis. Sementara itu adalah ekspresi jelek dan jahat yang membuat Olrand lengah, faktanya adalah pria itu hanya merasa malu.

Jika dia tidak memanfaatkan cara pikiran Pavel menikmati kegembiraan mendengar putrinya dipuji oleh orang lain dan mengatasi keinginan Pavel untuk memuji putrinya, dia akan diceburkan ke neraka sekali lagi.

"Juga-"

Hanya satu hal yang bisa mengalahkan topik putrinya. Itu berhasil.

“Apakah malam itu tidak mengacaukan jam biologis Anda? Tidakkah tubuhmu jadi aneh? "

Ekspresi tukang daging di wajah Pavel kembali ke ekspresi pembunuhnya yang biasa.

“… Sudah berapa kali kamu menanyakan pertanyaan itu? Jawabannya sama seperti biasanya; tidak ada yang perlu dikhawatirkan. Namun, mengapa Anda terus menanyakan pertanyaan itu? Apa yang sebenarnya Anda maksudkan? "

Dia tahu penyebabnya, tetapi dia masih menatap perubahan sikapnya yang cepat.

Ke mana Anda dari tadi pergi, dia ingin mengatakan, tetapi Olrand tidak ingin neraka itu kembali lagi.

“… Hah. Apa yang ingin saya katakan? Nah, itu pertanyaan yang mengejutkan … Saya hanya berpikir bahwa itu akan menyebabkan banyak masalah bagi saya jika orang yang memukuli saya menghancurkan tubuhnya dan akhirnya harus pensiun karena hal yang sepele. Tentu saja, begitu saya menang, hal-hal sepele seperti itu tidak akan menjadi masalah lagi. "

Di masa lalu, Olrand penuh dengan dirinya sendiri ketika pertama kali ditugaskan ke titik kuat ini, dan mengingat kembali masa-masa itu membuatnya malu. Para prajurit yang terampil berkumpul di sekelilingnya dengan penuh kekaguman, menyulut egonya semakin jauh, dan entah bagaimana, dia akhirnya bertarung dengan Paock.

Olrand menyukai pertempuran jarak dekat. Sebaliknya, Pavel lebih menyukai pertempuran jarak jauh.

Jika keduanya bentrok, masalah jangkauan pertunangan akan sangat penting. Namun, Pavel menyatakan bahwa dia baik-baik saja dengan pertempuran jarak dekat.

Dan kemudian, Olrand hilang.

Olrand menghormati Pavel karena alasan itu. Pada saat yang sama, ia menyimpan keinginan untuk mengalahkannya di waktu berikutnya. Kali ini, ia akan bertarung melawan Pavel di bidang keahliannya, memulai pertempuran, dan muncul pemenang di sana.

"Apakah begitu? Kamu ingin melawanku, kalau begitu? Sementara saya dalam kondisi fisik puncak, tanpa cacat di pihak saya. "

Senyuman binatang melintas di wajah Pavel ketika dia berkata begitu, dan itu membuat dada Olrand memanas.

Oh ya tentu saja. Bukankah itu sudah jelas? Aku ingin bertarung denganmu. Aku ingin mempertaruhkan nyawaku untukmu. Namun, itu tidak akan diizinkan, bukan? Meski begitu, jika memungkinkan, saya ingin kita memiliki pertempuran di mana kita berdua bisa mati kapan saja. Itulah cara saya ingin bertarung dengan Anda.

Namun, Olrand tetap diam. Itu karena instingnya mengatakan tidak ada yang tahu di mana binatang itu di depan matanya akan pergi. Dan faktanya, apa yang dikatakan Pavel setelah itu membenarkan naluri itu.

“Tetap saja, aku harus minta maaf. Anda harus tahu alasannya juga. Sangat sedikit orang yang bisa mengalahkan Anda karena Anda sekarang berada dalam pertempuran jarak dekat, dan saya bukan salah satu dari mereka. "

Lalu mari kita selesaikan dengan pertarungan jarak jauh. Kata-kata itu tidak keluar dari mulut Olrand. Itu karena dia tahu itu hanya akan menghina lawan yang layak.

Dia mengingat keterampilan busur Pavel. Dia masih tidak yakin bahwa dia bisa menghindari serangannya dan menutup jarak pada saat yang sama.

-Tidak, belum.

"Yah, kalau itu saja, saatnya membuat laporan Anda."

"Tidak perlu terburu-buru, bos. Ini belum waktunya untuk perubahan shift, kan? Lihat, bel belum berbunyi. "

Memang, lonceng yang menandakan perubahan shift belum terdengar.

“Kamu masih harus bersiap untuk berganti shift, kan? Ada beberapa hal yang harus dilakukan sebelum bel berbunyi. Kamu harus bersiap-siap sehingga kamu bisa berubah saat bel berbunyi. ”

"Masih terlalu dini bahkan untuk itu, kan bos? Ayo bicara dengan kami sebentar. "

"Lalu, bisakah aku membuat laporan ke komando kedua Sersan Peleton?"

Orang yang berbicara adalah salah satu anak buahnya.

"Oh, itu ide yang bagus. Kerja bagus, kamu. Bagaimana dengan itu, bos? "

“… Hah. Anda benar-benar gigih hari ini. Anda ingin mengatakan sesuatu, bukan? Kesedihan yang bagus … jika Anda ingin mengatakan sesuatu, keluarlah dan katakan itu. "

Tetapi tentu saja, dia tidak bisa.

Sementara dia mengakui pria lain sebagai seseorang yang bisa dia ajak bicara karena dia menghormatinya, Olrand adalah tipe yang tidak berbicara kepada orang-orang justru karena dia menghormati mereka. Itu karena dia ingin dilihat sebagai pria yang bisa berdiri sendiri.

"Yah, itu sebabnya kamu bosnya. Anda mengerti, bukan? "

"… Hahhh. Jadi, apa itu? Saya tidak akan membiarkan Anda dengan enteng jika itu omong kosong sepele. "

"Yah, tentang itu …" Olrand melepas helmnya dan menggaruk kepalanya. Udara dingin terasa nyaman di kulit kepalanya yang panas.

"Yang benar adalah aku ingin pergi berziarah prajurit. Jadi bisakah aku meninggalkan tempat ini? ”

Dia bisa mendengar desah kaget dari sekelilingnya. Namun, ekspresi pria ramping di depannya tetap tidak tergerak.

"Kenapa memberitahuku?"

"Itu karena kamu adalah pria yang paling aku hormati di negara ini, bos. Jika Anda tidak akan menghentikan saya juga, maka saya tidak akan memiliki keraguan lagi. "

"… Bukankah kamu seorang NCO? Jika Anda telah menyelesaikan periode wajib militer Anda, saya tidak mungkin menghentikan Anda. "

Kerajaan Suci mempraktikkan wajib militer. Oleh karena itu, mereka kadang-kadang memanggil orang-orang yang memilih untuk menjadi prajurit perwira yang tidak ditugaskan, untuk membedakan mereka dari orang-orang yang telah wajib militer. Pavel dan semua orangnya adalah NCO, sementara Olrand memiliki beberapa NCO dan wajib militer di bawah komandonya.

"Kalau begitu, kamu tidak keberatan jika aku berhenti, kan?"

Ditanyakan pertanyaan itu menandai pertama kali wajah Pavel berubah selain ketika topik tentang istri dan putrinya muncul. Olrand nyaris tidak berhasil menemukannya karena kekuatan persepsi yang luar biasa yang diperolehnya dari menjadi seorang pejuang. Tidak ada orang lain di sekitar mereka yang memperhatikannya.

Dia adalah seseorang yang diakui Olrand sebagai pria baja, tetapi dia sebenarnya terganggu oleh pertanyaan tentang kepergiannya atau kepergiannya. Jantungnya berputar-putar dengan campuran suka dan duka.

“… Yah, secara hukum, aku harus menerimanya. Saya tidak bisa menghentikan Anda … Yang mengatakan, kami akan sangat merasakan tidak adanya pria yang kuat seperti Anda. Anda seharusnya melakukan perjalanan prajurit Anda sebelumnya, kan? Kenapa sekarang? Apakah itu karena tidak ada lagi serangan manusiawi? "

Sejak saat itu setengah tahun yang lalu, para demihumans telah berhenti menyerang benteng ini. Di masa lalu, mereka telah menyerang sekitar sekali atau dua kali sebulan, dalam kelompok yang terdiri dari beberapa lusin setiap kali.

Sementara mereka hanya berjumlah beberapa lusin, mereka masih demihumans, yang memiliki kemampuan fisik yang unggul dibandingkan manusia, dan banyak dari mereka memiliki kemampuan khusus di atas itu. Itu adalah angka yang bisa dengan mudah membantai seluruh pos grosir.

Baik Olrand dan Pavel telah mengalami banyak situasi di mana mereka harus mengirim pasukan elit untuk operasi bantuan.

"Kau tahu aku tidak menikmati membantai para demihum, kan? Saya suka melawan orang kuat dan menjadi kuat. ”

"Jadi, bagaimana dengan Grand King?"

"Ahhh, pria itu …"

"Oh, lalu ada Demon Claw, the Beast Emperor, the Ashen King, the Iceflame Lightning, dan Spiral Lance."

Pavel telah menyebutkan julukan dari beberapa demihumans terkenal, tetapi tidak satupun dari mereka yang memisahkan hati Olrand dari yang dia sebutkan sebelumnya.

Grand King Buser.

Dia adalah raja suku demihuman tertentu, yang dikenal sebagai Dewa Kehancuran.

Julukan itu berasal dari kenyataan bahwa ia ahli dalam seni bela diri yang menghancurkan persenjataan dan gaya bertarungnya yang berkisar di sekitar teknik-teknik sundering semacam itu. Dia adalah musuh bebuyutan Kerajaan Suci yang telah mengalahkan banyak pejuang terkenal, dan dia pernah bertarung melawan Olrand di masa lalu. Pada saat itu, dia telah menghancurkan pedang panjang Olrand, senjata cadangannya berupa kata pendek dan handaxe, dan bahkan billhook yang digunakan untuk memotong pohon untuk kayu bakar.

Meskipun dia telah menghancurkan semua senjata Olrand, Grand King mundur setelah melihat bala bantuan dikirim dari benteng. Dalam arti tertentu, mampu bertahan sampai bantuan tiba adalah kemenangan bagi Olrand, dan banyak orang memujinya karena keberaniannya. Namun, bagi Olrand, itu hanya berarti bahwa Raja Besar tidak berpikir bahwa membunuh Olrand sepadan dengan risikonya, dan semua yang Olrand rasakan hanyalah perasaan kekalahan hampa.

"Aku ingin melawannya lagi, tapi … kurasa aku masih belum bisa mengalahkannya sekarang. Anda mungkin membutuhkan salah satu dari orang-orang yang mereka sebut pahlawan untuk mengalahkannya, jika tidak maka akan sangat sulit. Karena itu … ah, Anda juga pernah mendengarnya, bos? Bagaimana prajurit hebat itu, Gazef Stronoff, tewas dalam pertempuran. ”

“Ah, ya, benar. Para petinggi berdebat panas tentang bagaimana hal itu akan mempengaruhi negara-negara sekitarnya, setelah semua. "

Kematian Gazef Stronoff, yang dikenal sebagai prajurit terkuat Kerajaan Re-Estize, adalah masalah yang sangat menarik bagi para prajurit Kerajaan Suci – terutama yang terampil.

"Apakah kamu tahu sesuatu yang spesifik?"

“Saya sudah mendengar beberapa detail kasar. Rupanya, dia berduel dengan seorang magic caster yang dikenal sebagai Sorcerer King dan dipukul jatuh. Terus terang, fakta bahwa ia benar-benar akan menantang magic caster untuk berduel cukup sulit untuk diterima. ”

Olrand juga setuju.

Namun, istilah "magic caster" cukup luas. Kastor sihir ilahi bisa, setelah menggunakan mantra yang meningkatkan kemampuan fisik mereka, berakhir lebih kuat dari prajurit setengah matang. Selain itu, para paladin yang merupakan kebanggaan bangsa ini bisa menggunakan sihir juga, jadi sampai batas tertentu, orang tidak bisa mengatakan bahwa mereka bukan kastor sihir. Kalau begitu, dia bisa mengerti alasan duel.

“… Selain itu, yang lain mengatakan bahwa Raja Sorcerer membantai seluruh pasukan. Tampaknya dia memanggil kambing raksasa, atau domba, lebih tepatnya. ”

"Ya, itu pertama kalinya aku mendengarnya. Tetap saja, kambing raksasa? Sungguh seorang magic caster yang aneh. ”

Penyebutan kambing membangkitkan kembali kenangan tidak bahagia tentang kekalahan Olrand. Yang mengatakan, sementara rumor mengatakan dia memanggil kambing, mereka jelas bukan kambing biasa.

"Yah, itu juga karena magic caster aneh itu. Itu sebabnya saya perlu melakukan ini. "

"… Itu sebabnya? Saya tidak mengerti maksud Anda. "

"Ini tidak berubah dari ketika aku kalah darimu, tapi aku adalah tipe orang yang mengabaikan barang-barang yang memberikan penerbangan, mantra, dan sejenisnya. Saya selalu berpikir bahwa semua yang perlu Anda lakukan adalah mengalahkan mereka dengan pedang Anda. Namun, setelah Prajurit-Kapten-dono Kerajaan – yang lebih kuat dari saya – kalah dari mereka, saya mulai berpikir bahwa mungkin saya tidak boleh memandang rendah mereka. "

"Yang berarti?"

"Yang berarti aku harus naik haji prajurit."

"… Jangan bilang kamu akan menantang orang-orang di negara kita yang tidak bisa kamu kalahkan?"

"Aku tidak akan."

Beberapa lawan yang tidak dapat dimenangkan oleh Olrand adalah sesama anggota Sembilan Warna.

Wakil Kapten marinir, Enrique Belsway, dikenal sebagai "Si Biru."

Kapten Ordo Paladin, Remedios Custodio, dikenal sebagai "Putih."

Pavel Baraja, yang dikenal sebagai "Si Hitam."

Ran Tsu An Rin, salah satu dari Mermen yang tinggal di laut, dikenal sebagai "Hijau."

Dan kemudian, di luar Sembilan Warna, ada pendeta yang paling kuat di negara ini, Queralt Custodio.

Dengan kata lain, mereka adalah beberapa orang yang paling berposisi tinggi di negeri itu, dan menantang mereka pasti akan menyebabkan keributan besar di negara ini. Jika itu hanya pertempuran tiruan, maka itu akan baik-baik saja, selama itu melawan sesama anggota Sembilan Warna, tetapi duel habis-habisan tidak akan pernah diizinkan.

Namun, itu tidak akan berhasil.

Benturan pedang yang benar-benar berbeda dari pertempuran tiruan. Terkadang, pemenang dan pecundang bisa sepenuhnya terbalik di antara mereka. Banyak orang menjadi lebih kuat – atau lebih lemah – ketika beralih dari pelatihan ke pertempuran langsung. Secara alami, yang kuat diakui seperti itu karena mereka menunjukkan kekuatan mereka dalam pertempuran yang sebenarnya. Oleh karena itu, orang tidak dapat menganggap ziarah prajurit lengkap tanpa bertempur.

"Itu bagus, kalau begitu … masih, di mana kamu berencana untuk melatih dirimu sendiri?"

“Aku sedang berpikir untuk mengunjungi Kerajaan Sorcerous yang kamu sebutkan sebelumnya. Sepertinya ada mayat hidup yang kuat di sana. "

Kerajaan Sorcerous dari Ainz Ooal Gown.

Akan membutuhkan pencari perhatian yang luar biasa untuk benar-benar menamai sebuah negara dengan nama mereka sendiri, tetapi itu tidak sepenuhnya tidak terpikirkan. Lebih tepatnya, fakta bahwa orang yang melakukannya memiliki kekuatan untuk mendukungnya.

"Aku pernah mendengarnya dari para pedagang yang melakukan perjalanan antara Kerajaan dan Kerajaan Suci."

Berkat ajaran kuil-kuil Kerajaan Suci, manusia biasa membenci dan membenci mayat hidup. Bahkan Pavel tidak terkecuali. Tidak, pikir Olrand. Pavel tidak membenci mereka karena mereka adalah musuh Kerajaan Suci, tetapi karena mereka adalah musuh istrinya.

Namun, dia tidak bisa membahasnya. Meskipun dia tidak kehilangan dirinya dalam obrolan tentang istrinya seperti yang dia lakukan dengan putrinya, dia masih berbicara terlalu banyak.

"Pendirian Kerajaan Suci adalah untuk secara diam-diam mengakui keberadaan Kerajaan Sorcerous, kan? Mereka mengatakan tidak apa-apa bagi orang-orang Kerajaan Suci untuk pergi ke sana … kan? "

Tidak ada cara untuk menyembunyikan fakta bahwa Kerajaan Sorcerous, dengan pasukannya dari mayat hidup, adalah musuh Kerajaan Suci yang tak tertahankan. Banyak orang mendesak mereka untuk mengirim pasukan ketika mereka memikirkan bagaimana orang-orang di Ibukota Kerajaan E-Rantel, Sorcerous, pasti menderita. Namun, Kerajaan Suci saat ini menghadapi ancaman para demihumans, dan mereka tidak akan dapat melakukan operasi militer di negara-negara lain tanpa terlebih dahulu menenangkan wilayah perbukitan.

Terlepas dari perasaan orang-orang, respons kepemimpinan terhadap Kerajaan Sorcerous tidak meningkat melampaui kritik setengah hati.

“… Kerajaan Sorcerous, hm. Nah, jika Anda melamar ke kuningan, Anda harus bisa pergi ke sana sebagai anggota tentara. Mereka memandang Kerajaan Sorcerous sebagai ancaman kedua setelah demihumans. Sepertinya mereka ingin bersekutu dengan Teokrasi melawan mereka. ”

"Benar-benar sekarang. Sepertinya akan ada banyak masalah karena perbedaan agama, kalau begitu. "

"Ya, tepatnya. Selain itu, jika afiliasi Anda tidak berubah, Anda dapat menerima bantuan negara dan Anda dapat melewati pemeriksaan imigrasi yang menjengkelkan itu … saya pikir. Jika Anda pergi, Anda akan menjadi rahmat bagi orang-orang yang ingin tahu lebih banyak tentang pekerjaan batin Kerajaan Sorcerous. "

"Yah, bukankah itu menyenangkan. Still, if I did that, I couldn’t just go around picking fights.”

“You… the way you say that so seriously is really headache-inducing.”

“I guess it’d be hard on you if it became an international incident, huh.”

The cold wind blew past them. For a while, Pavel went silent, his expression unchanged, but after that, he began muttering unhappily (as usual).

“I’m going to miss that ugly face of yours.”

Olrand smiled wickedly. It was a ferocious, bestial grin, but he was being uncharacteristically shy. Pavel had not said, “don’t go,” but neither had he said, “go.” He decided to make sure that he would have somewhere to return to.

“Sorry about that… Well, I’ll come back after I become stronger. Want me to train you up at that time?”

“Fancy you saying that.”

As Olrand chuckled, Pavel laughed back at him in turn. Their laughter was every bit as ferocious as two wild beasts growling at each other.

Just then, the bell rang.

It would seem that it was time to change over to the night shift. They had spoken at great length, so they would wrap it up with one more thing. As Olrand thought that, that notion evaporated from his mind as the bell continued to ring.

Pavel, followed closely by Olrand, looked to the hills.

Those bells meant “Demihumans sighted.”

Their visibility was clear up to to over four hundred meters away. In the past, there had once been forests and trees there, but the country had conducted a massive landscaping project as part of the wall’s construction to flatten it out.

However, at the furthest reaches of the expansive plains — where there were hills and other obstructions — they saw sparkles in the darkness and moving black shadows.

“Boss…”

It was impossible for Olrand to discern the true identities of those demihumans at this distance while in the dark. Therefore, he called on the man with the keenest eyesight.

“Yes, they’re demihumans… Snakemen,” Pavel immediately answered.

Snakemen had heads like a cobra and scaly, humanoid bodies, as well as tails. They were demihumans that were considered close relatives to Lizardmen. Their serpentine heads had venomous bites and their spears were coated in powerful toxins. Close combat with them was to be avoided as much as possible.

That said, Olrand and his men were seasoned veterans, and they possessed very high resistance to poisons. While their scales provided some protection, they were not hard enough to deflect metal weapons. They might be skilled with their tails, but one could simply consider them another weapon. In addition, they had the advantage at night due to their ophidian sensory organs, but that was not a problem.

Is leading the charge on them going to be our job? No, by the time they reach here, Boss’s unit would have shot them all to death.

Snakemen despised cold objects, so they did not use metal armor and other such items. As a result, it was a simple task for first-rate archers like Pavel and his men to fill them full of arrows.

“So how many of them are there, Boss?”

Usually, there would be less than twenty of them.

“…Boss?”

Olrand was briefly puzzled by the lack of a response. He looked at Pavel, and saw a look of clear vexation on that typically blank face of his.

“What’s wrong, Boss?”

“…There’s more of them? Could this be — this is bad! I’ve spotted members of other species! Armatts, Ogres, and are those Cavens?”

"Apa katamu?"

There were all kinds of demihumans in the hill region, but they did not have good relationships with each other. On the contrary, they often fought over territory, and apart from cases where Ogres took Goblins as slaves and cruelly used them, these races very rarely worked with each other.

There had even been cases where some of them had attacked the Holy Kingdom after being driven from their lands.

Then this ought to be the same thing. Because if it was not—

“A big invasion?”

He did not know who had said that. Perhaps the person saying so might have thought he was speaking to himself, but it sounded clear enough to his ears.

“Olrand, I’ve got something to ask you.”

There was tension in Pavel’s voice. No, that was only to be expected.

Race, culture, and religion. Just as how there could be many nations composed of members of the same species, creating a cohesive nation was a very difficult task. It was even more difficult when the species of the members were different. Therefore, uniting the demihuman tribes in the hills was a nigh-impossible task.

If that was what had happened, that would mean the beginning of a battle for the Holy Kingdom’s survival.

After that — Olrand’s body trembled uncontrollably.

Uniting all these races would require obvious power. Among mankind, wisdom and wealth would qualify as a form of strength, but the demihuman races prized power. In other words—

That means there might be a frighteningly powerful enemy out there, is that it?

“Tell me with your warrior’s instincts. Why do you think these guys chose to reveal themselves at a fortress like this — at such a well defended place? One — they’re serving as bait to draw out our forces to thin out our defences. Two—”

“They’re confident of breaking through in a head-on attack. Twenty percent of the Holy Kingdom’s fighting strength is stationed here, and they’re going to crush us like cockroaches.”

Despite feeling Pavel’s keen gaze from beside him, Olrand did not stop talking.

“At the same time, they’re going to use this fortress as a bridgehead. Then, they’re going to crush the morale of the Holy Kingdom and boost their own morale. Is that it?”

“…They might issue a mass mobilization order.”

"Ha ha! A war like this has only occurred once before in the history of the Holy Kingdom, and now there’s going to be another one like it in our time! What can we say to that!?”

“I’m going to report to the higher-ups. You come with me too.”

“Got it, boss! Oi, you lot! This is going to be one hell of a party! Keep the backup weapons coming!”

If the enemy was an army, they would have to spend a lot of time forming their troops up. This was especially true if they counted numerous races among their number. However, the same applied to the defenders as well. Since they were an army, they would need time to prepare themselves. This held true even on the frontline.

There was a shocking amount of things which needed to be done. There was no more time to idle around.

Olrand ran after Pavel.

♦ ♦ ♦

Bagian 2

As the enemy troops slowly formed up, Pavel felt a sharp pain in his throat.

The slower the enemy attack, the more forces they could gather to this fortress, and the more time they would have to give the mobilization order. This was the perfect scenario for their commanding officers, but Pavel did not share their opinion.

There were demihumans with intellect that surpassed humanity. Surely the commander of such a vast army was no fool. In that case, he would know that giving their opponent time to prepare was a disadvantageous thing. In addition, it was late at night now, and the coming battle would be to the demihumans’ advantage. It would be the same even if they lit bonfires.

Pavel looked at the enemy lines, four hundred meters away.

While they were organized by species, no consideration seemed to have been given to things like the weapons they wielded, their respective tactics, their various racial characteristics, and so on.

In all likelihood, the demihumans were not marching under the same flag. Otherwise they would have fielded a more logical battle line. Or was this something like an oligarchy, an alliance of demihumans led by a council of equals?

“Can’t quite make it out, Boss. Can you see the enemy commander?”

“…No, I haven’t spotted their leader yet.”

His men had not reported sighting anything like that so far.

However, there had to be a commander. Otherwise, even forming up into units would be very difficult.

“He can’t keep hiding forever. He’ll surely show up on the battlefield.”

Given the nature of demihumans, their leaders were strong, and they would show up to flaunt their strength.

That would be the best time for Pavel to work.

Pavel clutched his bow.

It was a magical composite longbow, infused with enchantments specialized against demihumans. In addition, he also had a Mantle of Shadow, suitable for blending into shadows and conducting ambushes, Boots of Silence, which eliminated the sound of his footsteps, a Vest of Resistance, to improve his resilience against various attacks, a Deflection Ring, to protect him from ranged weapons, and many other such items. These were a sign of how much Pavel’s nation valued him.

“You lot. Prepare to shoot at any time,” he ordered his subordinates, who were hidden beside him as though they had vanished into the night.

If they were humans, they would exchange envoys to read out declarations and pronouncements; that was a characteristic of wars between nobles. However, nobody from the Holy Kingdom who was quartered in this fortress, the generals included, wanted to parley with the demihumans of the hills. At the very most, they would hold talks to deceive them, or something like talks in order to buy time, and once they spotted the enemy commander they would shoot him dead on the spot.

“…You ought to be heading back to your unit now.”

“I’ll do that. Take care, Boss.”

“Ahh, you too.”

A wisp of unease wound through Pavel’s heart as he watched Olrand leave.

Some demihumans possessed lethal special attacks.

For instance, the mystic eyes of the Giant Biclops.

These demihumans had unbalanced faces and a pair of disproportionately massive eyes. One of these Mystic Eyes contained the ability to 「Charm」 their foes. Its victims would unconsciously approach the opposition. Indeed, they would disregard the fact that they were on walls to take the shortest path towards the demihuman who had enthralled them.

Usually, they would be equipped with magic items to improve their resistance to such special abilities, but Olrand had not been furnished with such items. If his luck was bad, he might be taken out in one shot.

He closed his eyes to clear away his unease, and a woman’s figure appeared in Pavel’s mind.

She was one of the Nine Colors, the woman known as the White.

She worries me too, but in a different way. She’s clueless and often gets the people around her in trouble. That’s why Pink has it so hard… why does my daughter want to join her? Wouldn’t it be good enough for her to just normally meet a good man, fall in love with him and then marry him — no!

He shook away the worry for his daughter that swelled in his heart.

At the same time, he looked back at the demihuman lines, to change his mood.

He did not know how many demihumans stood at the foothills, but there were many flags waving there. Those flags were not camouflage; the sole third tier magic caster in this fortress had already verified it from the sky.

In other words, there really were that many combat units gathered here today. Things would not end with a simple staring match.

Pavel began his usual ritual.

He took out a carved wooden doll from his breast pocket, and then kissed it.

This was a figurine his daughter had made when she was six. It was a grotesque doll with four sticks coming out of a ball, made to look like her father. He still clearly remembered the day when he had praised her by saying “This is a really cool monster,” and how she had burst into tears, and how his wife had kicked him.

The doll was worn out because he had touched it countless times, and the carved eyes and mouth were faded away. She had grown much older since that time, so he wanted her to make a figurine that looked more like him. But perhaps she did not know his heart, because she showed no signs of wanting to remake it.

It was probably because of his long tours of duty stationed here, but he rarely had the chance to see his wife and daughter. He felt himself drawing further and further away from her every day. In the past she would have hugged him immediately, but at some point, she no longer hugged him after he returned home.

She’s grown independent of her father, his wife had smiled, but this was a big thing to Pavel.

If I could take two month’s leave, I’d like to go camping as a family, like we used to.

His daughter would listen with rapt attention whenever he taught her his ranger knowledge. That was what he was aiming for. That said, he knew it would probably not work out.

He put the doll back into his pocket.

His daughter was rarely home due to her aim of becoming a paladin. When Pavel returned to his home after a long absence, his daughter was often away.

It would be best if she married a neighbor after all… no, someone who lived a little close by, or no, someone who stayed in the vicinity.

A paladin’s way of life was the least suitable for his daughter. He had been observing her all this time, so he was sure of it.

His daughter had chosen this path because she admired how her mother looked as a paladin. However, that was not enough to be a paladin.

Only a knight who physically expressed the justice they believed in could be called a paladin.

Therefore, although he did not say it — largely because his wife was very scary — to him, paladins were essentially zealots.

I wonder if my girl knows that…. While I don’t want her to know…

“—That really is an incredible number out there.”

His adjutant muttered to himself under his breath, which brought Pavel to his senses.

“Ahhh, that’s right. Still, there’s no need to be scared. All you need to do is support me.”

In addition to his adjutant, the mood from the men around him relaxed somewhat.

That’s right, that’s it. Tension is the archenemy of sniping.

And just as Pavel broke his own blank face — although he did not realize it — with a thin smile, there was movement in the enemy lines.

A lone demihuman slowly stepped forward.

Despite the many demihumans around him, he was unescorted. Did he not need an escort, or was he full of arrogance, or perhaps he was a messenger whose death would not be missed?

“Should we shoot him?”

“Not for now. But move to a place where it’ll be easy to shoot and then wait for my order.”

After quietly giving his orders, his men sped away in droves, like lengthening shadows.

Was he the enemy general, or just a simple messenger? Pavel studied him carefully to find out.

That demihuman… what species does he belong to? Doesn’t feel like I’ve seen him before… and what’s with those clothes? Is it a tribal outfit? Is that mask something like that too?

He was definitely not human. There was a tail coming from behind his waist.

The problem was the demihuman’s clothes. One could think of it as a tribal costume, and indeed, it felt like it might have been something like that. However, even at this distance, one could tell that the clothing was of excellent make, even when compared to that of humans.

Highly civilized demihumans are very troublesome…

It was not just Pavel. All the soldiers waiting on the walls gulped as they watched every move the demihuman made. Amidst the oppressive mood in the air, the demihuman approached to within fifty meters of his location.

“That’s far enough! Any further and you’ll be encroaching on the Holy Kingdom’s territory! This is no place for you demihumans! Leave at once!”

The voice was loud enough that even Pavel, who was some distance away, felt it was loud. It came from the man in command of the fortress, one of just five generals in the Holy Kingdom. He imagined he could feel the voice of the man in unadorned, battle-scarred armor resonating in his gut.

The reason why he only had one staff officer by his side was probably because he did not intend to get the others caught up in it if the enemy launched an attack. In their place were many troops with tower shields hidden behind them, ready to rush out if anything happened.

In contrast, the demihuman’s voice was gentle and pleasing to the ear. It seemed to worm its way into every man’s heart. Even at this distance, it still reached Pavel’s ears.

“That we already know. Now then — may I know who you are?”

“I’m — I’m the general in charge of this fortress! Who are you!?”

There was no need to tell the opposition that, Pavel frowned, but he already knew that the general was not a shrewd man. Therefore, he should have regarded this outcome as inevitable.

“I see, I see. Since you have given your name, I fear it might be rude not to respond in kind. Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of the Holy Kingdom. My name is Jaldabaoth.”

“Could it be!?”

The man who shouted was the staff officer near the general.

“The archfiend Jaldabaoth! Are you the demon who led an army of demons in that disturbance in the Kingdom’s Royal Capital!?”

"Ohh! I am honored that you know my name. Indeed, I was the architect of that magnificent feast in the Re-Estize Kingdom. However… the title of Archfiend is quite saddening… yes, I was wondering if you could address me as the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.”

Pavel tasted that phrase, “Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.”

It was a truly arrogant title, but given the many demihumans it led, and after thinking back on what he had heard about the disturbance in the Royal Capital, that title might be well-deserved.

“Damn you! Are you laying your designs on us after what you did to the Kingdom!?”

“No, that is not quite right. It is because I met a fearsome warrior in the Kingdom—”

Jaldabaoth shrugged boredly. There was an indescribable sense of style to that movement, and it made Pavel imagine he was looking at a human noble for a moment.

“—Well, do permit me to keep that knowledge to myself.”

“Then what business do you have here? Why did you lead these demihumans to this place?”

“I have come here to turn this country into a living hell. I wish to make this country one which echoes with cries, curses, and screams everlasting. However, making sport of millions of human beings individually is impossible, and so I have brought them along. In my place, they will plunge you pitiful humans shoulder-deep into a morass of despair, in order to draw wails of regret and suffering from you all.”

Jaldabaoth said so very happily.

At this point, Pavel learned the meaning of evil. What the holy men shouted about the “wicked demihumans” was nothing more than propaganda to raise fighting spirit. It was practically sleeptalking. From a detached point of view, demihuman invasions were nothing more than going to the farm to feed themselves.

Terror filled Pavel’s body. At the same time, he made up his mind.

He would not allow that demon to set foot upon the Holy Kingdom’s land, where his wife and daughter were.

He tightened his grip on the bow in his hand.

If Jaldabaoth’s words were intended to intimidate them, then they had been a complete failure. Humans were not cowardly and weak creatures. They would let him taste the foolishness of underestimating humanity with their vicious counterattack.

The people here possessed the iron will to defend the Holy Kingdom, and even if it had rusted a little in the past few years, they were still fiercely devoted to their home nation.

“—Do you think we’d let you do something like that!? Listen now, Jaldabaoth the fool!” the general barked.

Memang. He was barking.

“This is the first line of the Holy Kingdom’s defense! It is also the last line of its defense! Beyond us lies the peace of the Holy Kingdom’s people! Did you think we would let you trample it as you wish!?”

The nearby soldiers shouted, “Uoooohhhh!” in response to the general’s bellowing. In that moment, their fighting spirit flared up. Pavel would have cried out as well if he were not hiding himself, and perhaps his subordinates, whose bodies trembled faintly, felt the same way.

However, a round of out-of-place applause threw a damper on that. After clapping for a while, the demon spoke up.

“Watchdogs which guard the cradle, hm? I cannot say I disapprove. It is very important to protect things. —Yes, I approve very much. That being the case, I shall give the people I capture here the finest possible reception.”

The way he laughed as he spoke made him sound like he was enjoying himself.

Jaldabaoth did not speak particularly loudly. Therefore, it would have been understandable if his voice did not carry over to where Pavel was. Even so, the words reached him with a mysterious clarity, as though they were coming from behind himself.

—Don’t worry about it, that might be the work of magic.

Spells and magic items which amplified sound existed, and it was very likely that Jaldabaoth was using those. However, he could not escape the unpleasant feeling which seemed to adhere to his back.

“I will not accept surrender or anything of the sort. Entertain me to the best of your ability. Now then — let us begin.”

Pavel gave his subordinates the order to shoot.

There was no need to wait for the General’s commands. They were permitted a degree of independence, because opportunities to snipe the enemy commander were not readily available. Waiting for approval from their superior might result in them missing their chance.

Pavel stood up.

The men around him followed suit.

It took only a moment to lock onto his target. A distance of fifty meters was essentially point blank range to Pavel. He drew his bow, filled with the intent to kill — and Pavel felt Jaldabaoth’s eyes meet his through the mask.

We won’t give you the time to flee or defend yourself. If you want to blame anything, blame your own arrogance for coming out onto the frontlines alone!

“—Loose!”

Fifty one arrows flew out in time with Pavel’s voice.

Their enchanted bows discharged magical arrows.

The flaming arrows left red lines hanging in the air, blue trails lingered behind the ice arrows, the lightning arrows’ path was marked in yellow, green streaks followed in the wake of the acid arrows, and Pavel’s own holy arrow traced a white trajectory as they all soared through the void.

The arrows loosed from the fully-drawn bows travelled flat paths as they streaked through the air, each one striking Jaldabaoth’s body without deviating in the slightest.

Pavel’s shots were exceptionally potent, and after being enhanced with his martial arts and his skills, each of them possessed power comparable to a mighty downward slash from a heavy trooper. If he were hit by this, even a man in full plate would be knocked back and sent rolling over the ground.

However — Jaldabaoth did not move in the slightest even after taking fifty one arrows.

And then, something happened which made him doubt his eyes.

The arrows which should have punched through his body fell to the ground.

What!? Is he defended against projectiles!?

Pavel quickly nocked his second arrow as he thought about how Jaldabaoth had defended against those arrow shots.

Some monsters were able to nullify attacks through their special qualities. For instance, lycanthropes and the like were nigh-invulnerable if one did not use silver weapons against them.

He considered that Jaldabaoth might have a similar ability. In that case, what sort of attack could breach Jaldabaoth’s defenses?

The arrow he had launched just now was made of steel, and it was enchanted with holy power that was especially effective against those of evil alignment. While it was said that demons could not defend against it, there was no denying that Jaldabaoth had proven immune to it. In that case, it would be best to use other arrows to learn more about the opposition, tearing down his veil of mystery to chart a course for victory.

Pavel readied a silver arrow next. It too was imbued with righteous power.

“…Now then, do permit me to make a move of my own. It is a trifling present, but I would be delighted if you would accept it. This is a tenth tier spell: 「Meteor Fall」.”

Pavel sensed something from above him, approaching with unavoidable speed. Looking up, he saw a mass of light.

It was a gigantic heated rock — no, it was something bigger than that.

Light gradually filled his vision, and for a moment he glimpsed the forms of his wife and daughter amidst the light.

He knew it was an illusion. His daughter was old enough that she could choose her own path in life. Even so, the daughter he saw was still young, and his wife who held her still looked very young.

No, if I don’t say she’s still young now, she’ll probably kill me—

♦ ♦ ♦

The falling meteor slashed through the sky and hit the wall, where it burst into an explosion. A thunderous roar echoed all around. The massive shockwave flattened everything it touched and shattered the wall.

As the sand and dirt thrown up by the shockwave of the explosion begin falling back to earth, the dust slowly began to settle.

What it revealed was the remains of the broken wall, blasted to smithereens, and drifting smoke.

After looking at the devastated fortifications, there was no need to think about what had happened to the soldiers stationed there.

Humans could not possibly survive such conditions.

Of course, Demiurge knew that some humans could endure such things. For instance, there were the fools who had stepped into the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, the holy land created by the Supreme Beings. However, he had done thorough research beforehand, and he had verified that no such humans existed here.

“Now then, this ought to be enough for preparations.”

Demiurge dusted off his suit with his hands. He had not been showered with sand or dirt, but the dust from the blast had reached him, so there was a slight earthy scent clinging to him. No — he would have done so even if that had not been the case. After all, this was a valuable item from the great being who had made him.

Of course, Demiurge had many other clothes besides this set, but that did not mean that he could treat it carelessly because of that.

As he thought of his mighty creator, he smiled behind his mask, and then looked out at the pitiful humans.

If he followed up with an attack, the enemy’s confusion would become that much more apparent, and at that point, the demihuman assault would cause a complete rout. However, he had not used that spell just now for that purpose.

Demiurge could only cast a very small number of spells; there was only one other tenth tier spell available to him. His true power lay in his skills, and while he had used that spell just now to conserve his strength, the scene before his eyes was sufficiently tragic as it was.

There was no sign of a counterattack. It would seem they were desperately trying to collect information and regroup.

Their commander is not dead… and their confusion doesn’t seem because they’re suspicious of us… are they really all right?

Demiurge turned his back to the humans, walking back to the formation of his slaves.

He was not even on guard against the possibility of being attacked from behind.

He could afford to be this lax because of all the information he had gathered.

Demiurge was very strong.

Indeed, he might be ranked lowly among the Floor Guardians, but he was confident of victory in battle. That was because he knew that battles were fought because one was confident of winning them. That was to say, one should not choose to fight if one was unable to win, unless otherwise ordered.

There was only one person that Demiurge could not defeat — in other words, there was only one opponent against whom Demiurge could not prepare enough to assure his own victory.

That person possessed intellect which surpassed his, schemes which beggared the imagination, a view of the world which seemed to extend out unto eternity, the ultimate pinnacle who held everything in the palm of his hand.

He was the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — Ainz Ooal Gown.

That Supreme Being was the one to whom Demiurge owed his loyalty.

Producing a great deal of undead was part of his plan. Once that scheme takes effect, nobody will be able to harm Ainz-sama. How fearsome he is. It seems the others do not yet realise how joyful it is to be ruled by such a Supreme Being—

There was a thud. This was the first time something had happened which Demiurge had not expected. He turned to look at the source of the sound.

It would seem someone had jumped down from the wall. The man in question slowly rose to his feet.

“The, the boss is dead. He, he was the man I wanted to defeat!”

The man drew his swords with both hands as he said so.

Demiurge evaluated the man from his appearance. He reached an answer immediately.

Threat Level — E (Worm).

Error Probability — E (None at all).

Importance — E (Guinea pig).

In other words, he was nothing but trash. Still, he was one of the Nine Colors — while not all of them were impressive, he thought that it would be good to capture him and run all sorts of experiments on him.

“Uoooooooh!”

The screaming man ran over to him.

Lambat. So slow. If this is the extent of his speed, should he not have used his brain more? For instance using 「Silence」 to approach quietly and close the gap between us…

This was a distance his comrades would have been able to close in an instant. The man — slowly — ran over to him.

According to the information Demiurge had collected, this man of inferior ability could apparently use a special attack that was several times more powerful than normal in exchange for breaking his weapons. Therefore, he had a sword in each hand, and several more swords like it at his waist.

How should I kill him? If I finish him off as cleanly as possible, then when I take him back I can — ah, he’s finally arrived.

After ensuring that he would not be splashed by the man’s spraying blood, Demiurge gave an order.

“『…Stab yourself in the throat with your swords.』”

There was a choked gurgle.

A look of bafflement appeared in the eyes of the man who had just pierced his own throat with the blades he held. His eyes clouded over like marbles as he collapsed to the ground.

Pained cries rose from the wall.

Demiurge turned, walked over to the man’s side, and picked him up by the collar with a single hooked index finger before returning to his formation.

After he returned to his lines, the representatives of the various tribes — not their leaders — gathered before him.

Demiurge had mentally divided the demihumans into two groups.

One kind craved fresh blood and viewed humans as food. They would obey the strong, and they gladly obeyed Demiurge’s commands. The other kind were those who had been made to kneel before the terror of Demiurge, and they obeyed him due to negative inducements like fear.

Demiurge had selected a group of the latter kind.

“You took your time in assembling.”

Saying so, he seized the shoulder of a random demihuman he had selected from the group. Its species was known as Zerns. After doing so, he ripped the skin from its shoulder.

While Demiurge was among the weaker Floor Guardians, he could still do that much.

The demihuman whose skin — and some of its flesh — had been ripped off collapsed to the ground in intense agony, shrieking wordlessly.

“Now then, begin the attack. Take care not to sustain too many losses. The main course begins after we get past this wall,” Demiurge said in a gentle tone.

His kindness was genuine when it was directed to his fellow denizens of Nazarick. He was a very gentle person when it came to his friends. However, to everyone else, his kindness was merely the care he gave to his tools.

After receiving his orders, the demihumans ran back to their various tribes. The demihuman rolling around on the ground was no exception.

The message they bore was that those who obeyed Demiurge’s orders and achieved good results would meet a happy fate. Naturally, they also carried the message that achieving the opposite results meant that their future would be anything but happy.

Demiurge smiled gently as he watched the receding backs of the beastmen.

“—Then, let us begin the next step of our plan. —Demons.”

Demiurge activated one of his skills and summoned a vast quantity of the demons he intended to use as sacrificial pawns.

While these demons were extremely weak compared to Demiurge, summoning stronger demons would mean he could not summon as many. The important thing in this operation was to spread the word that the Holy Kingdom’s army had been assaulted by demons, which meant that quantity was the priority here.

“Listen carefully now. Support the demihumans in their efforts. Also, limit your pursuit of the humans. Do not do something as foolish as not allowing a single one to flee the fortress.”

The low ranked demons nodded, and soared into the sky as one.

While summoned monsters were supposed to know a portion of what their summoner knew, said information was generally quite vague.. It would be best to regard it as the ability to tell friend from foe. Therefore, it was important to give verbal commands to summoned creatures.

Now then… it would be good if the ball landed on target.

Demiurge’s perspicacious mind pondered all manner of situations, and after computing dozens of eventualities, he made the appropriate corrections to achieve his aim. Slight deviations were within his predictions. However, there were times when utter fools would lead to situations developing beyond their expectations.

Surely someone with Ainz-sama’s intellect could even predict the actions of fools… I’m still a long way off. Come to think of it, it would be good if I could share this with Ainz-sama…

As he thought that, Demiurge’s heart raced unbidden. He had spent a great deal of time preparing this stage; if he could not even share it with his supreme master, what would Demiurge do?

Ladies and gentlemen of the Holy Kingdom, I have a sincere wish. Please allow Ainz-sama to enjoy himself with your suffering forms. … Although, how will Ainz-sama adjust my plans for a better outcome?

Like a student waiting for a respected teacher to dispense instruction, Demiurge smiled as his heart filled with the fires of anticipation and excitement.

Oh, to learn from Ainz-sama’s actions, progress towards a better self, and further deepen my loyalty. How wonderful it is!

To Demiurge, who had been born to serve the Supreme Beings, nothing was more delightful than giving his all for his master.

“Ahhh, this is truly marvellous…”

Part 3

The news of a demihuman alliance — one that comprised a massive army — crushing the strongest central fortress and its vast quantities of soldiers, then subsequently crossing the wall, had already begun spreading throughout the Holy Kingdom.

The leader of the demihuman alliance was called the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.

He was a demon who had caused great havoc in the Kingdom, and he had used powerful magic to shred the wall like tissue paper.

The demihuman alliance was made up of eighteen species, and their numbers were estimated in excess of one hundred thousand. This army of demihumans was now focused on destroying the walls and fortifications, and their advance had ground to a halt.

After learning this, the leader of the Holy Kingdom — the Holy Queen — issued a general mobilization order to the entire nation.

Since the Holy Kingdom’s territory was stretched around the northern and southern edges of a central bay, any mobilized forces would naturally be formed into two armies — the Northern Holy Kingdom Army and the Southern Holy Kingdom Army.

The armies each moved towards their own important locations — the city of Kalinsha in the north, and the city of Debonei in the south — where they spied on the enemy’s movements for several days.

The reports they received from the troops observing the wall made the situation even more pressing.

—The demihuman alliance, in all its strength, was moving west—

—They would reach the northern fortress city of Kalinsha in a few days—

"Benar-benar sekarang? So this place is going to become a battlefield after all…”

The speaker was the Holy Queen, Calca Bessarez.

Due to her low place in the order of succession — only males had inherited the Holy Kingdom until now — she should never have taken the position of Holy Queen. However, due to two qualities she had, the crown had eventually been placed upon her brow.

The first was her beautiful looks. Her face was as beautiful as a freshly-bloomed flower, filled with cuteness and dignity, and it was praised as “the treasure of Roble,” while her radiant, vibrant long hair was like threads of spun gold. Since it resembled an angel’s halo, many who saw her gentle smile went on to describe her as a saint.

The other quality was her excellence as a divine magic caster. She was a genius who could use fourth tier spells at the tender age of fifteen, and she had ascended to the throne with the firm backing of the previous Holy King and the temples.

Almost ten years had passed since then, while certain voices disapproved of her excessive kindness, she had not made any mistakes which could be considered critical and thus she had ruled the Holy Kingdom to this day. However, this rule was not solid, and embers smoldered out of sight.

“I understand your sadness, Calca-sama, but the people who live in Kalinsha do so because they have prepared themselves for a day like this. In the past, there was also… ahem, that battle, where this city was the heart of the fighting. That’s why the walls here are even taller and sturdier than anywhere else.”

The person trying to console her was a woman with brown hair.

While she was as beautiful as the Holy Queen, her eyes contained a cold, razor-sharp look, like the edge of a blade. She was dressed in a suit of silvery full plate armor and a surcoat. These were the traditional vestments of the Paladin Order’s Captain, an ancient article of magical masterwork. The most important thing was the sword at her waist, whose name was known to everyone in the Holy Kingdom.

It was renowned as one of the four Holy Swords, the holy sword Safalrisia.

One of the Thirteen Heroes, known as Black Knight, was said to have carried four swords — the evil blade Hyumilis, the demonic blade Kilineyram, the blade of rot Crocdabal, and the fatal blade Sfeiz. This was one of the four swords which existed as a counterpart to them. Incidentally, the other three holy swords were known as the sword of law, the sword of justice, and the sword of life.

Wielding a powerful sword often led to one becoming drunk on its power and neglecting the fundamentals of swordsmanship. Therefore, the fact that she carried that sword which she would normally never carry was a sign of her unshakable determination to join the upcoming battle, and to win it.

Her name was Remedios Custodio.

She was a close friend of Calca, and as the strongest Captain of the order in history, a feat founded upon her fighting prowess. She was “White” of the Nine Colors.

“Yup, yup. And we’ve also sent all the noncombatants off to take shelter so there won’t be casualties among them. Rather, don’t you think the more pressing problem after the war will be the expenses incurred during the fighting?”

The person going ufufufufu in an indecent way was a woman.

While the shape of her eyes and mouth varied slightly, her face still bore a close resemblance to that of Remedios. However, those faint differences were enough to change the impression others had of her. She always looked like she was plotting something — or in less polite terms, that she was surrounded by a sinister air.

She was Remedios’s sister, younger than her by two years, Queralt Custodio.

She was the high priestess of the temples, and leader of the priesthood.

It was public knowledge that she could use divine magic of the fourth tier.

However, that was but a deception; those close to her knew that she could cast fifth tier spells.

Incidentally, she was not one of the Nine Colors. While the temples were under the Holy Queen, it was government policy not to bestow a Color title on one of their number in order to avoid problems with the balance of power.

These sisters were known as the genius Custodio sisters, the twin wings of the Holy Queen.

Until now, many nobles had their doubts about Calca’s ascension to the throne as a female, and they wondered if she had done something with or to the sisters. Therefore, they often spoke ill of all three of them at the same time.

While many rumors about them had been cleared up, one particular piece of gossip remained. All three of them were unmarried — without so much as a male lover — and so it was said that their relationship was anything but ordinary. However much Calca denied it, she could not shake herself free of that rumor, and it was a major source of frustration for her.

“Just hearing that gives me a headache. It’s pretty bad that we won’t stand to gain anything even if we win.”

“Still, they say that the demihumans this time round are outfitted pretty well. Why not sell their gear?”

“That’s right — you know I can’t approve of that, nee-sama. Let’s say we wanted to sell their armor — where would we sell it? You haven’t thought about that, have you? We can only sell them overseas, but demihuman armor isn’t going to command anything but bargain basement prices. Besides, we ought to avoid strengthening other countries’ arsenals until the destroyed wall is rebuilt. In particular, I hope they don’t fall into the hands of the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

"Hah? You don’t like the Sorcerous Kingdom? I’ve never heard you say that in court, though.”

“No priest would like them. You’re the same way too, right, Calca-sama?”

Calca pondered the matter. As part of the clergy and the Holy Queen, she disliked them. However, as a head of state—

“—A king’s duty is to love his nation, love his people, and grant them peace. As long as he does that, it should be fine, right?”

The sisters looked at each other in front of Calca.

"Cinta? Tidak mungkin. Could an undead being ever think like that?”

“I agree with nee-sama. The undead — I don’t think they could love like you do, Calca-sama.”

“The two of you are harsh. Still, you can’t just badmouth people without even seeing them, right?”

The puzzled looks on their faces looked very similar. Calca mused that they were siblings after all, and after quelling the smile on her face, her voice turned serious.

“What did your adjutants say? Queralt, tell me our plan for dealing with Jaldabaoth.”

The Holy Queen did not take part in strategy meetings. Instead, she went around the soldiers to boost their morale. While the Holy Kingdom’s troops were better trained than those of other nations, they were ultimately conscripts. It was important to motivate them.

"Iya. We’re already discussing how to deal with situations where the demihumans encircle this city, bypass it, advance to the south, split up to accomplish different objectives, and so on.”

It was times like these that reaffirmed her belief that the sisters were similar, but not alike. If she had asked the elder sister that question, the answer she would get would make her want to grab her head in frustration.

“I see… then, which possibility do you think is the most likely?”

“Given the invasion path of the demihumans so far, it’s most likely that they will choose to encircle this city. However, there is a problem with that.”

“Mm, yes.”

"Maksud kamu apa?"

Remedios had not participated in the meetings either, given that she was Calca’s bodyguard. However, the fact that she had not grasped the answer which the Holy Queen had instantly realized was due to another problem.

“…Nee-sama. I’m talking about the demon who wrought havoc in the Kingdom, Jaldabaoth. While there’s no telling how smart he is, demons are skilled at schemes and trickery. He might adopt a plan we did not foresee.”

“I see… the adjutants who have to handle strategy and planning sure have it tough…”

While there was much she wanted to say to the leader of the Paladin Order, Calca resisted the urge to do so

“…This is quite vexing. Then, if the demihumans encircle this city, what will happen after that? While food supplies are ample, fighting a defensive siege is going to wreak horrors on morale. Have you considered that as well?”

"Iya. Normally, all we would have to do is wait for reinforcements from the south to arrive, but we have reports saying that Jaldabaoth used a mysterious power to destroy the wall in a single blow. As long as that tremendous factor of uncertainty in play…”

The three of them frowned as one.

Anyone would be upset when they thought of what had happened to the wall, but Calca knew what was going on.

Remedios was simply imitating what the other two had done.

Remedios did not like to think, and she was a very stubborn person. That was a flaw, but it was also the reason that she could embody absolute justice.

The nature of justice was difficult to contemplate. For instance, imagine if there were two children, one human and one demihuman. Being pure and innocent, they became friends. However, if the demihuman child was discovered by adults, he would be locked up, and the human child would plead for his life. However, if they let the demihuman child go, he might grow up to become a threat to humanity. Was killing the demihuman child just or unjust? This was not a question that could be easily answered.

Calca would have spared him without any hesitation.

Remedios, however, would kill him without any doubts. In addition, she would insist that she was righteous, and not feel a shred of guilt about it. In her heart, anything she did for the sake of the nation and people was acceptable.

When she took the throne of the Holy Queen, Calca had declared to her two close friends, “I will grant happiness to the smallfolk, and make a country where nobody will cry.” In response, she had said, “I will support you and uphold your just cause.” With that pledge in her heart, she was more forthright than anyone else, her heart filled with conviction, and the light in her eyes was like that of a fanatic.

Someone like that was clearly dangerous, yet Calca did not distance herself from her friend. The righteous impulses of loving others, loving peace, hating evil, and the desire to aid the weak were all things she ought to welcome.

And it was because of that nature of hers that what she thought and what she did were the same. Because she did not think about her words, everything she said came from her heart.

Any organization — particularly those that had stood for a long time — would become sluggish due to worries and cares. In addition, their original purity of purpose would tarnish and grow dim.

Since power rested in the hand of one person, it was only natural that power struggles would take place. Even if a victor was decided, the battle against suspicion, jealousy, and fear would continue, until one side eventually perished.

Calca had been freed from this curse halfway though. That was because she had attained magical power that ranked highly even when compared to the past generations of Holy Kings. Others had lauded her for it, and her heart was at ease. Therefore, Calca could put aside her mental preparations to take the throne of the Holy Queen, but her brothers did not feel the same way.

There was only one elder brother among her relatives whom she could trust: Caspond.

Since she lived like this all this time, Remedios was a spiritual oasis for Calca.

"Umu. Such unbelievable power makes me think of the might of the Demon Gods from the stories.”

“Nee-sama, even the Demon Gods weren’t this powerful. For all we know, Jaldabaoth might be a being superior to the Demon Gods.”

“…What a pain. Then how shall we beat him?”

“What are you worrying about, Calca-sama! They say he was defeated by the adamantite ranked adventurers of the Kingdom. Don’t you think we could do the same too?”

“…That is true. If adventurers comparable to us could do it… but the problem now lies in whether or not Jaldabaoth can repeatedly use that power which brought down the wall.”

“On that note, the adjutants feel that given the wall was only struck once, he ought to have problems using it in succession.”

“That’s understandable. If he could use it repeatedly, then he could have just done so. He didn’t because he could only attack once.”

Calca agreed with Remedios’s opinion. If there was a way to do it, there was no reason not to repeatedly use that attack.

It was the same with Calca. She lightly stroked the crown she wore. It was a magic item that was the binding focus for the grand ritual spell that had been passed down through the Holy Kingdom, the 「Last Holy War」.

“…Well, we can conscript high ranking adventurers, the kind who are used to defeating monsters and the like, as part of mobilizing our people. If we muster up our full fighting power, Jaldabaoth’s hardly an unbeatable foe. The fact is, he’s already been defeated once before.”

The Adventurer’s Guild had strongly protested the conscription of adventurers into the army, but Calca had not revoked her order. It was only to be expected — this was a matter of national importance, and splitting their strength was foolish in the extreme. In addition, the Adventurer’s Guild was hardly as powerful as the Holy Kingdom itself, so forcing them to obey was a simple task.

"Itu benar. Though I guess we failed in that we didn’t gain detailed intelligence about Jaldabaoth’s activities in the Kingdom.”

“I apologize for that.”

“No, I didn’t mean that, Queralt. Anda tidak bersalah. The blame lies with me, since I didn’t pay attention to news about other countries.”

“Certainly not, Calca-sama. It’s definitely Queralt’s fault.”

“Nee-sama…”

“Well, it’s certainly not my fault. I did my job by protecting Calca-sama and clearing away monsters! I didn’t mess up in my job. That’s what they call making appropriate use of talent!”

Remedios puffed up her chest and hmphed in triumph.

She was correct to say so. That said, it still bothered her.

“…Could it be that Jaldabaoth was behind those incidents where all the people from several villages went missing?”

“That might be the case…”

Some time ago, the residents of quite a few villages had all gone missing. In the end, they had not managed to collect any information pointing to a culprit, but it was possible that Jaldabaoth was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“In that case, we need to sort this out before we defeat Jaldabaoth. Speaking of which, if only the Kingdom had properly finished him off, we wouldn’t have had trouble like this… did Gazef Stronoff fight him?”

Queralt looked at Calca with a puzzled look on her face.

Her eyes seemed to be asking, Didn’t you tell Nee-sama about it? Therefore, Calca gave her an answer which laid those doubts to rest, and then she smiled tiredly.

Translated, it meant, Of course I told her. I told her about how Jaldabaoth attacked the Royal Capital, how the adventurers defeated Jaldabaoth, the other demons that appeared, and how the Warrior-Captain defeated them all. I told her everything… so it must have been squeezed out by other things and gone in one ear and out the other.

“…I really feel sorry for Nee-sama’s Vice-Captains.”

"Hm? Why are you talking about them all of a sudden?”

Queralt did not answer that question, instead curling a lock of hair around her finger.

Since Remedios did not do any thinking, then there had to be someone to cover her ass. That would be them.

She could keenly appreciate the suffering they went through. However, Remedios’s innocence — or stupidity, if one were not inclined to be polite — also had a healing effect on the soul, so the positives and negatives cancelled each other out.

“…Hah. I only know the rough details, but apparently, he fought with another demon, which was covered in scales.”

"Benar-benar sekarang. Well, if he had defeated Jaldabaoth, things wouldn’t have ended up like this. Or don’t tell me those adamantite ranked adventurers are stronger than him?”

“I’m not too sure about that, but I think that might be the case.”

Remedios frowned in distaste.

She was probably unhappy because someone whose strength she had acknowledged was being slighted by someone else.

“Well, all he knows is how to use a sword. If he had anti-demon attacks like we do, things would probably have been different.

In pure fighting power, paladins were a notch below warriors. However, that was not the case when fighting evil beings. Remedios was right, but Queralt still sighed quietly.

Just then, Calca imagined that she had heard the sound of bells.

Remedios immediately sprang into action. At times like this, she was still the first to act.

She flung open the windows.

The early autumn air flowed in, and the air warmed by their three bodies flowed out.

The bracing, cool air brought with it the sound of ringing bells. That was proof that what she had heard earlier was not a ghost sound caused by her ears ringing. No, it would have been much better if she had just misheard things.

At the same time, she heard the sound of several footsteps from the hallway.

“Calca-sama, please stand behind me.”

Remedios quickly drew the holy sword Safalrisia and moved up, putting herself between Calca and the door.

The door opened with a pon.

“Your Majesty!”

She recognized the first man to enter the room as he shouted at the top of his voice — he was the chief of staff.

"Apa yang terjadi? Why are you in such a rush?”

Remedios’s voice carried a hint of rebuke, and the chief of staff replied in a clearly disconcerted tone.

“There was no time to slowly walk over! Your Majesty! It’s Jaldabaoth! Jaldabaoth’s appeared inside the city! He’s begun destroying the city with many demons in tow! Also, the demihumans have made their move! It looks like they’re advancing on this place!”

“What did you say!?”

“We’ve sighted the demihuman army in the vicinity. We don’t know how they deceived our sentries, but we were fed false information! The fighting’s going to start any moment now!”

While the sudden excess of information confused her, that lasted for only a second. Calca immediately resumed her queenly demeanor and gave orders.

“While this is a great departure from our plans, we will begin combat with Jaldabaoth now. While we stall him, prepare to engage the demihuman army. Convey my orders to the adventurers!”

As she heard her subordinate’s words, the doubts in Calca’s heart flooded back again.

Had she underestimated Jaldabaoth?

Of course, she had no intention of underestimating the demon who could easily destroy the wall. But was the feeling that she could beat him a mistake in itself? Would it not have been better to fall back until they had finished learning about their enemy?

No. Calca waved away the budding weakness in her heart.

If they did not fight now, then when would they fight? While it was important to know the enemy, now was the only chance they had to strike with all their might. After this, the attrition of battle would deplete their resources, and it would become more and more difficult to muster the power they could command now.

In addition, continuously retreating until they had completed their intelligence-gathering operations was essentially permitting their country to be trampled underfoot.

If that were the case, an unimaginable number of her citizens would end up suffering.

“…I will let the smallfolk live their days in happiness, and make this a country where nobody will be hurt.”

“Indeed, Calca-sama!”

All smiles, Remedios followed up on Calca’s self-directed mutterings.

However, those were words she had spoken in the past, before she knew the truth of the world. Things being what they were now, it seemed a nigh-impossible aim to achieve.

"Hmph! He’s gotten cocky now that he’s crossed the wall, but to think he didn’t bring his demihuman army with him!” Remedios fumed angrily.

Was it really like that? No, it ought to have been that way. Yet, she could not peel away the undeniable sense that something was wrong which coiled around her heart.

“…Don’t lower your guard, okay? Is this the way you ought to be treating an opponent of such power?”

“Of course, Calca-sama! I don’t intend to be careless at all! With this holy sword, I shall relieve the demon of his head and present it to you!”

No good. I can’t calm her down any more.

That was what Calca thought, but she was not worried about her. That was because Remedios was a different person when she stepped onto the battlefield.

“Ahh~ there’s no need to bother with the head, but your loyalty makes me very happy. In that case, regarding the plan to defeat Jaldabaoth… can you buy us some time?”

“But of course. Your servant has already dispatched an advance force to carry out our plans.”

At that moment, Calca felt a dull ache in her heart. That was because carrying out that order was actually sending them out to die. The soldiers would be going out to fight Jaldabaoth, despite having no chance of victory.

One of her duties as a monarch was to trade the lives of the few for the survival of the many. Therefore, she could not weep or wail here. The soldiers were giving their lives for her, so she would need to put on a show to convince them that this was a glorious assignment.

She would have to play the part of the supreme queen, the Holy Queen who was respected above all others.

“In that case, let’s head out!”

The ringing clap of her hands was the signal for everyone to make their move.

Part 4

Remedios gripped her holy sword and slashed a demon — her Vice-Captains had told her its name, but she had completely forgotten it — in half. Imbued with holy power, the blade could inflict grievous wounds upon evil beings, and it was doing so to great effect. She had cut down the demons rampaging through the city one after the other. The fallen demons vanished as thick white smoke steamed from their wounds. Within seconds, there was no trace that the demons had ever been there.

However, the signs of how the demons had ravaged the city remained.

“How could this be!?”

She looked at a fallen soldier — not one of the vanguard troopers, but a local patrolman — and Remedios bellowed in rage.

His leather armor had been cleanly severed, and the hands clutching his abdomen were stained a deep red. She could even see the pink of his innards. His face was well past the point of paleness, now a bloodless white.

While she had almost no medical knowledge, her own experiences supplied enough information for her to make a judgement. There was no time to send the wounded soldiers back to a casualty collection point. She would need to treat them on the spot with magic.

The soldiers were not yet dead, but it was neither a miraculous survival, nor was it because the soldiers were simply that good, so was this the demons’ aim? That said, she had no idea what the demons were planning.

Still, the option to simply let the soldiers die did not exist in Remedios’s heart. Nobody would ever discard the brave soldiers who had chosen to become a shield for their nation in order to buy their country time. And the most important thing was that she was a paladin of righteousness.

“Begin healing him!”

Remedios was accompanied not just by the elite paladins behind her, but also by several priests. Her order was directed at them.

In response, one of her Vice-Captains stepped up and whispered in her ear:

“Would it not be better to let the medics in the rear aid him? If we use the priests’ mana here, we might run out when fighting Jaldabaoth, which might be the demons’ aim—”

“—Ahhhh, you talk too much! This is an order! Heal him to the point where he can move on his own! Also—”

At this point, Remedios glanced at the adjutant beside her and said:

“—I can’t hear you muttering through your helmet, so speak up!”

“Ah, no, it’s fine…”

"Baik sekali!"

The healing magic mended the soldiers’ wounds swiftly. Of course, the recovery was not complete. After all, this was only a first tier spell, and it could not fully restore a soldier on the verge of death. Even so, it was enough to heal the soldiers to the point where they could stagger around. Since the soldiers were no longer in danger of dying, there was no need to heal them any further. Remedios still remembered her sister’s incessant nagging to wisely use limited resources.

“You brave gentlemen, stay that way and listen. We’ve performed first aid on your wounds, so fall back. After that, let the medics at the rear tend to you.”

The pain of walking was probably enough to drive the soldiers to tears. However, she no longer had the time to hear them out. She had to reach her destination before Jaldabaoth arrived.

The soldiers also sensed the meaning in Remedios’s powerful gaze. None of them spoke up or protested; they simply agreed with each other.

"Baiklah! Then let’s meet again later!”

Remedios broke into a sprint at the head of her troops. Her metal armor was lighter and easier to move in than it appeared, and given her physical abilities, she could reach her destination faster than anyone else. However, her sister, Calca and her adjutants often told her, “Don’t charge in by yourself all the time!” so Remedios throttled back the desire to sprint with all her might and quashed the desire to make up for lost time.

Soon, Remedios reached her destination, which was a corner of the city.

The streets spread out before them. The evacuation had been completed long ago, and so there was nobody there.

“Captain, if we follow this avenue and turn right, then turn right again, we’ll be at the plaza where we’ll be awaiting Jaldabaoth. Do you want us to scout ahead?”

“No, wait for Calca-sama and my sister — and the adventurers. After that, make your final checks and then hoist the banner high!”

Obeying Remedios’s orders, her subordinates tied a flag to a distant building. This was to inform the other units that the elite paladins led by Remedios had arrived.

Their operation would involve Calca and her personal guard, Queralt and the pick of the temples, high ranking adventurers, and a squad of Remedios’s elite paladins. The four units had split up and then headed to Jaldabaoth’s location.

There were roughly five hundred paladins in the order. Most of them were comparable to difficulty twenty monsters, and among them were great warriors capable of slaying a difficulty sixty monster one on one. All in all, there were twenty five of these ultra-elite warriors, who formed the core of Remedios’s forces.

Incidentally, the remaining three hundred-odd paladins were currently standing watch on the city walls against the advancing demihumans.

Originally, they should have formed up into a single group and moved out as one. However, Jaldabaoth possessed an area-attack ability that could bring down the wall, so they had chosen to split up in order to avoid being destroyed when their forces were concentrated. The reason why they had hung the flag in the distance was so that even if Jaldabaoth saw the flag and attacked it, it would not hamper the rest of the group.

“Can Jaldabaoth’s wall-breaking attack be used more than once, Isandro?”

There were two Vice-Captains in the Paladin Order.

One of them was an average swordsman, but excelled in other areas, and his name was Gustavo Montanjes. Right now, he was directing the paladins who were reinforcing the city walls, so he was not here.

There was another, who currently stood by Remedios’s side. The person to whom Remedios addressed her question was one of the Nine Colors as well, Isandro Sanchez, called “the Pink.”

“If he could use it multiple times, then I have no idea why he has not done so already. It might make more sense to consider that there might be some condition or some kind of delay until he can use it again.”

"Kurang lebih. I guess splitting up was being too paranoid.”

“No, it’s nothing of the sort. Perhaps he’s conserving his strength in order to bring forth some great power. We mustn’t be careless.”

“Yes yes, I know.”

Remedios broke off their conversation. She was not suited to thinking, after all.

Politics in particular made her head ache. She was completely baffled by the reason why the nobles frowned upon the fact that a woman had ascended to the throne of the Holy Queen.

They felt the same about Calca’s title, which was the combination of Holy King and Woman. They protested both the fact that they had a woman leading them and that a new term had to be coined for her.

On that note, it would be simpler to understand if it was just a matter of who was stronger or weaker.

“—Captain Custodio, the priest contingent and the adventurers have raised their flags.”

“How about Calca-sama?”

"Belum."

“Is that so… well, it’s about time to start casting longer-duration defensive spells. Once Calca-sama arrives, we’ll advance on Jaldabaoth first and act as bait to draw his attention. Keep your will strong and beware any special attacks the enemy has.”

“No movement from the plaza.”

They had confirmed that the advance force had been wiped out, and if their target had shifted location, the adventurers responsible for reconnaissance would have told them. If there was no news from them, that meant Jaldabaoth had not moved from the plaza where he had appeared.

“He’s looking down on us, that miserable little demon. Probably thinks that if he can kill us all here, he can conquer the country easily.”

“No, Captain. It’s also likely that he’s trying to stall for time. If we’re pinned down here fighting Jaldabaoth, the demihuman army will be able to win elsewhere.”

"…Saya melihat. So that’s possible too… this Jaldabaoth is pretty smart, huh.”

“I think he’s good at scheming because he’s a demon.”

“…Hmph. He’s just a demon who’s gotten full of himself, I’ll beat him like a dog and make him weep bitterly.”

Just as Remedios swore that to the gods, the final flag went up, as though it were waiting for that moment.

“Vice-Captain!”

“Yes ma’am! Everyone, we’re moving out!”

"Baiklah! Ikuti aku!"

Remedios began to run, determined to bury her sword in that demon’s face.

She turned a corner, ran again, then turned a corner once more.

And so, she saw a suspicious-looking person, standing in the middle of a plaza painted bright red and strewn with the bodies of the fallen. A tail protruded from that person’s waist.

His description was almost identical to the one provided by the fleeing soldiers.

He did not have bat-like wings or curled horns, and the only sign that he was inhuman was his tail. From that point of view, he was little more than a man in a mask.

Namun-

“Are you Jaldabaoth!?”

“Red ca — whoa!”

An acrid stench filled the air as they entered the plaza, that of blood and burst innards. There was a sound of squelching meat as she stepped in, but she was no longer concerned about such things. All that remained was charging with all her might and swinging her sword.

Her irritation built as Jaldabaoth effortlessly avoided her, and she swung again.

That too was evaded.

Remedios knew that however much time she put into her studies, she would never be able to excel in academics. For that reason, she spent all her time on improving her fighting skills instead, because she understood that she was more talented in that field. Thus, she had become known as the greatest warrior of this nation.

And now, the instincts of the paladin Remedios Custodio were screaming to her.

Jaldabaoth’s evasion was not a coincidence. He put on a show of conceit because he had the strength to back it up. Few human beings could keep up with the battle that was about to take place, and she would need to further enhance herself with magic.

Remedios’s instincts had never failed her at times like these.

“Fall back! All of you fall back! —No, form a cordon! This demon’s strong!”

Saying so, she backed away with her men. Her subordinates retreated further than her, but she could not go too far away. At most, she could move four meters back, at a range where she could take a single step and then cut him down.

Jaldabaoth rounded his shoulders.

“Haaa… what a bullish girl you are. Apa itu? Could it be you’ve seen something red?”

Remedios ignored the demon’s playful words, and the troops led by Queralt and Calca appeared in her field of vision. Shocked by the sight of Remedios engaged with Jaldabaoth, they made haste.

Jaldabaoth turned to face Calca, exposing his defenseless back to Remedios. However — her instincts told her that Jaldabaoth might just be waiting for her to attack him from behind, and so she froze.

“You two! He’s very strong! If you don’t pull your men back, they’ll only die for nothing!”

The two of them immediately responded to Remedios’s shout, and they were the only ones to step forward.

Remedios kept her distance from Jaldabaoth while circling around him until she stood in front of the two of them.

“Remedios, please don’t push yourself.”

“She’s right, nee-sama. Shouldn’t you take him on with everyone at once?”

Her eyes had not moved from Jaldabaoth even as she listened to their quiet words from behind her. Perhaps he was planning to unleash that wall-breaking power of his; if he made a move, she would dash up and hack him down.

However, Jaldabaoth showed no sign of doing so.

His relaxed attitude made Remedios unhappy.

I must, I have to strike him down!

“So you are Jaldabaoth?”

Jaldabaoth’s shrug in response to Calca’s question only intensified her displeasure. Every little thing that demon did only served to make her mad.

"Memang. …Your slave charged right at me without saying a word. What would she have done if it was a case of mistaken identity? Well, it does interest me that there are savages in the Holy Kingdom who are incapable of speech. Ah, just to be sure, may I ask if you are the reigning Holy King?”

"Memang."

“There’s no need to tell him your name, Calca-sama.”

Remedios levelled the point of her sword at Jaldabaoth.

“All you need to know is that he’s Jaldabaoth, and all we need to do after that is kill him and send him back to hell. Talking with him is just going to taint your tongue—”

“A-Ah, Remedios. We’re talking…”

Calca’s puzzled words made Remedios tilt her head. Had she said something about this earlier?

Queralt seemed to have a spell from the rear, because a surge of heat blazed up within her body, accompanied by incredible strength. Her attack from just now had been evaded, but now she was confident that she could strike him in this state. At this point, Remedios thought, So that’s it, because talking to him was meant to buy them time.

“—Still, I am magnanimous, so I shall chat with you for a while. Do you have any questions?”

Jaldabaoth pressed at the eye region of his mask, a motion Remedios had seen Calca, Queralt, and her Vice-Captains perform many times in the past.

“…Also, please, prepare yourselves until you are satisfied. The sight of you — who are desperately preparing yourselves to defeat me — being trampled and your lives taken by a power which surpasses even that; truly it is a sight to evoke ever greater despair in those who witness it with their own eyes. —What a wonderful sight it will be.”

“I won’t let that happen!”

“Sorry, Remedios, but could you quiet down for a bit?”

There was a hint of steel in Calca’s voice, and Remedios shut up. It was merely a slight change of tone, but from experience, Remedios knew that Calca was angry.

“Remedios, step back for a bit.”

“But, but if I move back, I won’t be able to cut him down if he does anything weird…”

“Ah, that is fine. I will not attack until we finish speaking, or until you launch an attack of your own.”

“As if we could believe what a demon say—”

“Remedios!”

“—Understood.”

Remedios fell back as ordered, and her sister whispered to her through her helmet.

“Calca-sama is trying to learn more from the opposition. You need to ignore what that demon says and bear with it.”

Muu, Remedios grimaced, her face seemingly saying, I’m not happy with this.

Their opponent was a demon. That being the case, they ought to consider that everything he said was probably a lie. Rushing in and cutting him up would save effort and brain cells. However, impeding her mistress was a betrayal of her loyalty. Thus, she had grit her teeth and endure this.

“Now then, Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. I have some things to ask you. Why have you come here? If you wish to trample this country, why not move with the demihuman army from the fortress? Or could it be—”

“…Ah, you need say no more. I can imagine what you wish to say. It would seem you are mistaken. The reason I have come here alone is not to parley with you.”

A quiet “I see,” came from Calca, who was standing behind Remedios. She sounded clearly disappointed.

“There are two reasons why I have come here alone. The first is because crushing you by myself will deepen your despair that much more compared to if you were slain in a chaotic battle with the demihuman forces. The other reason is — in order to avoid making the same mistakes as from the Kingdom. I had not expected to meet a warrior there who was as powerful as myself. Therefore, the fact that I have come here alone is to see if there is a being comparable to me.”

“There might be, you know?”

“Of this I am certain — there are none. That is why I have given you all this time. If anyone like that did exist, they would be in this city — by the side of you, the most important person in this nation. Yet, I have not found anyone like that. That includes those snivelling rats hiding themselves away.”

“You bastard! Are you saying we’re weaker than that warrior!?”

Remedios could not pretend she had not heard those words, and they made her forget her forbearance and shout in anger. Calca and her sister’s words were already halfway out of her head, but the order not to cut him down just barely held on.

“That is exactly what I am saying. Did you not hear me? Is that all you wish to know, Holy Queen-sama?”

“While there’s one more thing — Angels, advance!”

Calca’s powerful voice filled the plaza, and the angels in the perimeter and hidden among the priests spread their wings and took flight.

There were five angels who held swords of fire, summoned through third tier spells — Archangel Flames. There were twenty more summoned through second tier spells, Angel Guardians. And then, there was a single angel which Calca had summoned before arriving here — a Principality of Peace.

While she did not remember what powers the angels possessed, she remembered that the Principality of Peace which Calca summoned could use low tier divine spells and could use abilities such as the ability to grant protection from evil, smite evil, and cause mass silence, among others. That was because she had often seen Calca summon it.

Sensing the murderous intent around her, Remedios understood that she no longer needed to hold back, and so she charged. Normally, the priests would have supported her with attack spells, but there were none. Perhaps they were conserving mana to summon angels.

Remedios activated a skill from one of her job classes, Evil Slayer. The divine power within her holy sword intensified.

In that moment, five adventurers suddenly appeared behind Jaldabaoth. They must have used invisibility magic to close in on him. She did not know why they had suddenly become visible. While she knew that there was a spell called 「Invisibility」, she had no idea what sort of spell it was or how it could be negated.

Jaldabaoth did not respond to the adventurers who had suddenly appeared. No — it did not seem like he had even noticed them.

At that moment, she wondered if she had been mistaken about the aura of intimidation from Jaldabaoth. Or rather, was this just an illusion or a copy, and the original was not here?

No — she denied the latter deduction. That could not be. Her instincts — her ability to sniff out evil — told her that Jaldabaoth was right there.

The adventurers looked shocked, and slashed at Jaldabaoth in a panic. Just as she thought that their weapons would be able to reach him, Jaldabaoth sprouted a set of strange wings behind him. They impaled the adventurers who had tried to attack him from behind.

Perhaps the frothy blood he was coughing up was because he had been stabbed in the chest and blood was flowing into his lungs, but with his last trace of life, a single adventurer swung his weapon down on Jaldabaoth.

However, Jaldabaoth let the strikes rain down on him, with no sign he had been harmed.

Since they were here, those adventurers ought to have been quite skilled. It was only reasonable to assume that they would be wielding holy-elemental weapons as part of their preparations. Even so, they could not leave a mark on him, showing that this demon was quite a highly ranked being.

In the few moments that it took the battle conditions to change, the charging Remedios screamed Yeeart! and slashed down diagonally with her holy sword.

Jaldabaoth hopped one step back, and those tentacle-like — no, they probably were tentacles — wings threw the perforated adventurers at her.

She had no intention of taking it head-on.

She took her left hand off her sword’s hilt, beating them all aside —

“「—Flow Acceleration」.”

—then activated a martial art, stepped forward, and thrust.

The holy sword stabbing in at Jaldabaoth’s throat was blocked by a set of suddenly-sprouted claws—

“「Holy Strike」!”

She infused the holy power within her sword into the claws in the instant they made contact.

This was an elementary technique for paladins, and it was originally intended to be used in the moment one’s blade bit into a foe’s flesh, but that did not mean it could not be used as a touch attack. Since most of the divine power simply exploded on the surface, it would not do much harm, but she had still used it anyway. That was because in the moment that the adventurers had been killed, her instincts as a paladin — which her little sister called an animal instinct — screamed that she needed to show that they could still resist Jaldabaoth, and prevent the morale of the surrounding soldiers from falling.

"Saya melihat…"

The Angels jammed themselves in between Remedios and Jaldabaoth as the latter was backing off. They launched their attack while floating at roughly head height.

“Tch,” Remedios clicked her tongue.

The metallic sound that rang out as her holy sword made contact with Jaldabaoth’s claws showed how hard those claws were. In addition, the fact that he could easily evade a blow from her magically-enhanced self — although in a somewhat clumsy fashion — showed how high his physical abilities were.

There were only a few people who could contend with such a mighty being. While the angels summoned through third and second tier spells usually excelled at slaying monsters, they only served to get in the way during this battle. In particular, the greaves of the angels floating back and forth were an eyesore.

“「Penetrate Magic – Holy Ray」.”

Her sister cast a spell. However, it vanished before Jaldabaoth’s face like it had been deflected.

“「Twin Penetrate Magic – Holy Ray」.”

Calca emitted two rays of light. She was probably thinking that it would be fine as long as one of them could pierce Jaldabaoth’s spell immunity, but unfortunately her attack was ultimately as ineffective as her sister’s.

That meant he possessed very high magic resistance. In other words—

I need to give it my all!

She shouted a battle cry to fire herself up.

“Use your head and let the angels fight! There’s no point in this!”

The fact was that even though the angels had the advantage of height and surrounded him on all sides, Jaldabaoth was still quite composed. But that was only natural. Even after being surrounded by so many people, not a single attack had hit Jaldabaoth.

The adventurers ran over to collect their comrades who had fallen by Remedios’s feet. While their immobile bodies were clearly dead, they still believed in the faint probability that it might nor be so.

“…How bothersome. Even if they are nothing more than insects, a swarm of them is still unpleasant.”

Jaldabaoth sounded perfectly composed.

Indeed, being able to negate the spells cast on him from the rear and perfectly evade physical attacks made him seem overwhelmingly superior. Namun-

Do you think we’ve never fought enemies like this before?

Unless their summoners were specialists, summoned monsters were generally weaker than the ones who called them forth. Therefore, there were cases where angels’ attacks ended up being useless.

Against a powerful foe, the best way to use angels was—

The airborne angels rushed Jaldabaoth as one. They did not use their swords, but tackled him.

—To hinder their opponents’ movements in this fashion.

It was quite effective.

Perhaps he was starting to grow tense, but Jaldabaoth went on the offensive, and a single swipe of his claws caused several angels to vanish into nothingness.

However, the angels from behind filled the gap, continuing the attack in place of their absent fellows.

This was the frightening thing about summoned monsters. Since they were beings that did not die even when they were killed, they could be fully utilized in this fashion.

The angels came like a ferocious waterfall, without rest or respite, and Jaldabaoth’s flowing counterattacks left Remedios staring in awe. Namun-

That’s carelessness on your part!

Remedios had moved subtly to step into an opening in Jaldabaoth’s defense, a fatal flaw that was exposed when he was on guard against the angels coming from above.

“—What!?”

“Yeeart!”

She activated a skill, and then her martial arts, using her holy sword to strike a blow with all her might.

She had chosen to conserve the greatest power of her holy sword because her instincts told her that then was not the time for that powerful move, which could only be used once a day.

Stricken by the mightiest blow she could muster apart from that move, Jaldabaoth flew back as though he was being smashed to the horizon, until he crashed into a store on the other side of the plaza.

Remedios looked down at the hands which held her blade.

“—Oh crap.”

“Nee-sama! You did it!”

She shouted angrily in response to her little sister’s excited exclamation.

“It’s not over yet! How could he have flown so far!?”

“Given your brute strength, I think it’s possible, Nee-sama…”

“He flew out by himself!”

Indeed, not only had she allowed Jaldabaoth to escape the encirclement, she had even given him the chance to hide in a house.

The reason why they could take on enemies like Jaldabaoth was because they could encircle their opponent and force them to face many people at once. Allowing him to hide in a cramped home was too dangerous.

In addition, Jaldabaoth’s actions would change now. It was possible he would stop playing around now.

“Remedios! What should we do?” Calca shouted.

Usually, Remedios would ask and then Calca would answer, but now the opposite was the case. During battle, she was better able to make the right choice than the other two.

“Demolish the house without going near it!”

After hearing that, the priests cast attack spells one after the other.

They collapsed the house in short order. However, it was hard to believe Jaldabaoth had been crushed under the falling debris. Even Remedios in her enchanted armor could survive that much unless she was very unlucky. Also—

Remedios looked down at her blade, which was unstained by blood.

Could he have rolled with that blow just by flying away? Had he used a martial art like 「Fortress」 or something? Or was it a demon-only skill? There were many possibilities for that, but things would become troublesome if she could not see through it.

Amidst the sounds of destruction, the neighboring houses crumbled under the area-effect spells. Dirt and dust filled the air, and she could not help coughing.

“Say, Remedios, why hasn’t Jaldabaoth come out yet?”

“…Nee-sama, could it be he’s already escaped by teleportation?”

That demon, who spoke so arrogantly? I can’t imagine he’d escape without being hurt…

“…We ought to use fire. Pour on the oil and ignite it. May I ask you to bless it, Calca-sama?”

“Nee-sama, are we going to conduct the ritual of Holy Fire? Doing so to harm an opponent… is that really what a paladin ought to be doing?”

“That’s fine, if Remedios thinks that’s the best way, then we’ll go with it. No, we should do it. Since he’s a demon, there’s no reason he won’t be hurt.”

Many demons were resistant to fire, but the Holy Fire was of the holy element, and fire resistance was only half as effective against it.

“Then, Calca-sama, the preparations for the ritual—”

“We don’t have time for that. Please use the simplified version.”

Calca looked straight ahead as she said that, and from the corner of Remedios’s eye, she saw her little sister wondering if she should go “But that—”

Simplifying the Holy Fire ritual spell would place a great deal of strain on the user’s body. This was not something which she, as one of Calca’s subordinates charged with keeping her safe, ought to recommend. However, it would be even worse if they gave Jaldabaoth time.

“If you think this is the best way, then we’ll do it. However, if I perform it by myself, I won’t be able to help you after that. Please keep that in mind… Then, can you light the fire right away?”

“Understo—”

“—Kukuku. My, this is quite vexing.”

Suddenly, Jaldabaoth’s voice issued from the pile of debris.

“Nee-sama!”

"Aku tahu!"

Remedios immediately stood in front of Calca and readied her sword.

Jaldabaoth had been buried under the house after all. Therefore, bringing up the Holy Fire attack just then was the right choice. They had not thought that he might have lost consciousness because of the shock of being buried under the fallen house.

“It would seem that it is time for me to get serious.”

"Oh? Then we should have done it earlier. I’ll wait, so why don’t you show me your power? …Calca-sama, Queralt, get back.”

Remedios whispered her directions to the other two. At the same time, Remedios fell back as well, allowing the resummoned angels to form a wall along the path between themselves and Jaldabaoth.

"Oh ya. In that case, please get back. It would be quite disappointing if you were to die from my shockwave.”

The collapsed pile of timbers and bricks swelled up. As they collapsed to the ground, something massive slowly stood up from among them.

“…Jaldabaoth?” Remedios could not help muttering under her breath.

That was because he looked completely different from the previous Jaldabaoth. It made her wonder if he had changed places with another demon. However, there could not be many demons who looked like that.

Indeed, that was Jaldabaoth. That was Jaldabaoth’s true form.

It flapped its fiery wings, and flames burned at the end of its long tail. Its brawny, frightening arms were also on fire. Its wicked face bore a wrathful expression.

“Priests, order the angels to charge!”

Obeying Calca’s order, the priests commanded their summoned angels to rush in. Jaldabaoth did not strike back at the angels as they swung down with their weapons, it simply endured the blows in silence. Even though it was surrounded and pounded, it did not seem hurt in the slightest. It looked just like a horde of children trying to hit a fully armored paladin with sticks.

“This is my true nature.”

Jaldabaoth spoke in a coarse, basso profundo voice that seemed to shake the pits of their stomachs. It took a step forward, and the mass of angels pressing against it were forced back.

It ignored every single attack the angels made as it slowly raised its flame-wreathed hands, and then clenched them into fists. Its fiery form resembled a red-hot volcanic bomb.

“Now, you foolish and bothersome insects — disappear.”

With a bang, the angels which should have been in front of Remedios vanished.

Jaldabaoth had punched with extraordinary speed, and even Remedios’s trained motion vision could not capture a single frame of its movement. Just that single hit was enough to exterminate all the angels that were forming a wall for Remedios.

This was Jaldabaoth’s true form.

Remedios gulped as she witnessed that overwhelming power which could easily slaughter multiple angels in a single blow, and then she gripped her holy sword tighter. Her sweat gushed forth and it seemed like it was making her clothes change color under her armor.

Could — could she win this? No—

“—Yeeeeeeeaaart!”

Remedios shouted to banish her fear. While it was a thoughtless move, if she did not charge right now, she would be essentially admitting defeat to him in her heart. She gripped her holy sword tightly, and leapt forward.

She used the full might of her body in a massive downwards chop.

Jaldabaoth did not block or dodge it.

And then — it bounced off with laughable ease.

“…Eh?”

The sword, made of an unknown metal that was harder than adamantite, bounced off Jaldabaoth’s skin.

She looked up and saw that Jaldabaoth was not looking at her. It was similar to how a human being would not care about a worm writhing around on the ground.

“Dealing with you empty-handed is a little troublesome… no, there is an excellent weapon here.”

Jaldabaoth stepped forward, paying no heed to Remedios. His massive body shoved her aside.

“Wha—? D-Dammit!”

Remedios and the freshly-summoned angels chopped at Jaldabaoth’s back. However, his metallic-gleaming skin remained untouched beneath their blades.

They hit him with attack spells. However, all of them bounced off.

This bastard’s not stopping at all, what’s he looking at—

Remedios’s face turned pale as she looked in the direction Jaldabaoth was headed. Calca and Queralt were there.

“You lot, do something! Stop him! Hurry up and stop him!”

Remedios barked her orders at the paladins behind them. She could not think of what use they could be, but she could not let Jaldabaoth reach Calca and Queralt.

“Let Calca and Queralt pull back! He’s going for the two of them!”

The paladins and priests closed ranks in front of the two of them, forming a wall. What a pathetically weak wall.

“Stop! Stop!! STOP!!!” Remedios screamed as she swung her sword over and over again.

However, nothing she did managed to pierce Jaldabaoth’s skin.

The paladins swung their swords, the priests cast their spells, but even so, they could not impede Jaldabaoth in the slightest. He walked on nonchalantly, without saying a word.

The people who touched the flames coiling around him wailed and collapsed to the ground, but Jaldabaoth did not look like he intended to attack.

“The two of you, run! We can’t stop him as we are now!!” Remedios shouted, her head in a state of total confusion.

Jaldabaoth should have been driven off by the adventurers of the Kingdom. She was in the same league as adamantite ranked adventurers, perhaps even stronger. In that case, why could she do nothing about Jaldabaoth?

There’s got to be something I can do! I have to find it! I have to find something I can do to harm him!

There must have been some reason for Jaldabaoth’s invincibility. Just like how some monsters were highly resistant to all metals besides silver, there must be some kind of racial defensive ability protecting his body.

But what kind of ability is it!!!!!?????

Her ever reliable instincts told her nothing.

Until this point, it had always been her Vice-Captains or Queralt or Calca giving orders. All she had to do was carry them out. However, all three of them had nothing to say now.

Frustration began to build in Remedios, but she was clear about one thing.

As long as the two of them escaped, they would prevent Jaldabaoth from achieving his aims.

The two of them seemed to understand that too, because they turned and ran without looking back.

Itu bagus. There was no time for people to lollygag around like idiots on a real battlefield. Even if Remedios died, so long as the Holy Queen, the head of state, survived, there would still be hope, And even if the worst-case scenario unfolded and the Holy Queen died, so long as her sister was still alive and they managed to recover her body, they could bring her back to life.

Several priests — probably capable of third tier spells — stood guard by Calca’s side. With them serving as walls, that ought to be able to buy the two of them more time to flee.

"Hmph. 「Greater Teleportation」.”

Suddenly, Jaldabaoth vanished, and the sword in her hand struck nothing but air.

"Apa!?"

Remedios panicked and looked around, and then a piteous wail reached her ears. Remedios’s heart lurched. The sound had come from the direction where the two of them had run.

However, the wall of paladins kept her from seeing what was going on.

The power of the magic items she possessed suppressed her terror, but her anxiety continued welling up. If her sister and their guards were killed, then only Calca could stand against Jaldabaoth. She was the pinnacle of the Holy Kingdom; if she was lost, then the country would fall with her.

“Out of my wayyyyy!” Remedios shouted as she broke into a sprint. The paladins hurriedly parted their ranks for her.

She was too far from Calca.

How slow her body was.

Remedios had always thought her strength of arm and fleetness of foot were at the zenith of human ability, and it was a silent source of pride for her. However, this moment was the first time she learned that it was nothing but false vanity.

All she needed to do was survive a single hit. However badly hurt she was, there were many priests here. There was a way, so long as she did not die.

While Remedios told herself that as she ran, she saw that Jaldabaoth had taken hold of Calca. She did not have the luxury of verifying Queralt’s safety.

Jaldabaoth’s massive hand was closed around Calca’s legs. Those hands were wreathed in flame. She heard something like her flesh sizzling under the heated armor, and her helmeted face seemed to have gone mad with pain as she clenched her neat rows of teeth.

The despicable bastard! He’s taken a hostage!

Was Jaldabaoth going to make some kind of demand — having taken a fighting stance, Remedios found herself doubting the words he said next.

“An excellent weapon.”

“—Huh?”

Remedios glanced at the holy sword she was holding.

Did he want that?

“From the moment I first saw it, I felt that it would make an excellent weapon.”

He raised his arm, lifting Calca to his line of sight. Jaldabaoth flexed his arms. It looked just like he was making practice swings.

There was a crack, and Calca whimpered in barely-suppressed agony.

Unable to bear the force of Jaldabaoth’s overwhelming power and the weight of her own body, the joint of her knee now bent in a direction it was never intended to face.

It was then that Remedios realised Jaldabaoth’s meaning.

He meant to use the Holy Queen, Calca Bessarez, as a weapon.

“You, what are you…”

She could not understand it.

However, she had no choice but to understand it.

“All right, is it my turn now?”

A wicked smile appeared on that furious face, and Jaldabaoth approached her.

Apa yang harus dia lakukan?

Remedios backed off, and the paladins behind her retreated as well.

What, what can I do at a time like this? Apa yang harus saya lakukan?

Remedios looked around for help, and behind Jaldabaoth, she saw the priests protecting Calca and Queralt collapsed on the ground.

While the priests were motionless, her sister was still moving faintly. Perhaps she had secretly cast a spell.

Queralt’s still alive! But who should I save first — I have to ask Isandro.

“Isandro! What should we do!?”

“Retreat!”

“Dipahami! Everyone, retreat! Fall back! Fall back!”

“—What? Not fighting? And after I went to all this effort to obtain a weapon with which to crush you… 「Fireball」.”

Jaldabaoth extended the hand that was not holding Calca and discharged a third tier attack spell. The fireball flew over and burst, immolating the paladins within its area of effect.

Protected by fire resistance spells, the paladins barely managed to avoid being fatally wounded. However, it was simply that they had not died.

Calca squirmed and struggled desperately, but she could not escape Jaldabaoth’s hold.

“What an annoying woman. You are a weapon now. Act like one.”

Jaldabaoth’s body flexed slightly as he raised the arm that held Calca.

“STOP!” Remedios cried out in mournful agony as she realized what Jaldabaoth intended. And then, Jaldabaoth swung down, ignoring her wails.

Splat.

Calca could not protect herself in time, and her face smashed viciously into the ground.

After that, Jaldabaoth slowly raised his arm again, and Calca dangled limply from his hand, having lost the will to resist him.

Her helmet was open-faced. That was to raise the troops’ morale with her beauty.

However, that beautiful face was now a mass of fresh blood. It would seem the bridge of her nose had been crushed flat, because that part of her face was a smooth expanse now.

"Kamu bangsat!"

“You idiot! Berhenti!"

One of her men — a paladin — could not stop himself from drawing his sword and charging out. She wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

Jaldabaoth swung his weapon at the paladin, with a speed that did not seem like he was holding a human body

The two of them collided, and the paladin was sent flying with a thunderous crash of metal.

His armor was staved in like he had been hit by a giant, showing how intense the collision with Calca had been.

Remedios’s eyes could not leave Calca’s body.

Humans might have softer skins than other species, but strong humans could enfold their bodies in ki or magic, and if they were still conscious, they might be able to be endure a slash without being hurt.

Memang. If they were conscious.

Perhaps it had been knocked loose by the impact, because her helmet had flown off and her long hair played wildly in the wind. Her inverted face was a bloody mess, her nose smashed and her front teeth shattered, her eyes rolled up and a faint moan leaking from her throat. Her beauty, regarded as a national treasure, had vanished without a trace. Her present state was too tragic for words.

“What should we do, Isandro!? How can we save Calca!?”

“I, I don’t know!”

“What the hell are you good for, then!? Doesn’t that brain of yours exist for times like these!?”

“I never imagined something like this could happen! There’s nothing we can do but pull back!”

“So you want me to abandon my sister and Calca here!?”

“What else can we do!?”

And Remedios had nothing to say.

“Good grief. The sight of humans squabbling before their enemy is a fearsome sight. Well, it is about time. Playtime is over.”

"Apa?"

Jaldabaoth slowly looked to the sky.

“It is about time that my army arrived at this city. I need to smash the gates and usher in a storm of slaughter and carnage.”

“Do, do you think we’ll let you do that?”

“Allow me? I do not need you to allow me anything. All you need to do is accept it. Like say, the gift of a star.”

Jaldabaoth raised the hand that was not holding Calca, and then, like he was searching for something — he pointed to the sky.

“—STOP!!!” Remedios shouted because she did not know what he was going to do.

However, everyone was frozen in place, their hands tied. That was because they could not attack Jaldabaoth, who held the Holy Queen hostage.

No, everyone was afraid that if they attacked him, he would block it with Calca’s body. What would they do if Calca died from their blows?

Heedless to the confusion of Remedios and the others — the star fell.