“Let’s touch the Retinue of the Evil Deity.”
This was the first line spoken by Celin as she cracked her knuckles.
I had to suppress a laugh.
“Are you crazy, Celin? Do you think I want to be in this situation?”
What noble would welcome refugees who abandon their territory?
No matter how I looked at it, there was no answer, and it was a problem I managed to accept.
Yet suddenly, Celin was rekindling that fire, so it was only natural I felt dumbfounded.
She hadn’t backed me up at that time either.
She surely knew it was impossible to face a monster that infinitely regenerates.
But Celin was burning with enthusiasm in response to my objections.
I crossed my arms, thinking I might as well hear her out.
“No, no! I’m not saying we should defeat it. I’m saying we should destroy the core hidden within!”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No, Yulen told me something.”
It seemed there had been an undisclosed conversation among our group while I had been unconscious.
My eyes twitched at the unfamiliar information.
Yulen was a trustworthy source of information.
After all, not a single piece of the information he had provided so far had been wrong.
“There exists a ‘core’ in the Dark Cult’s magic, and there’s only one at a time. But if the casting Dark Priest is dead and the test subjects are still convulsing…”
“…the core is kept separate?”
“Yeah, it’s highly likely that the spell has been divided.”
It was an interesting fact.
Though I didn’t understand why the Dark Cult needed to possess a ‘core.’
It seemed that typically, the caster functioned as the core themselves.
Only in a few exceptional cases was the core kept separate.
Sadly, the magic that controlled the clones, including Liya, fell into that category.
I closed my eyes and fell into thought.
“We’re not trying to take down that monster… Just hold out a little longer and wait for an opportunity. That should be acceptable to everyone, right? I mean, how could we abandon Liya!”
I understood Celin’s feelings.
She had lost someone dear in her childhood due to the schemes of a high-ranking noble.
She wouldn’t want to lose a long-time acquaintance again, swept away by power.
It was a situation that evoked nightmares from the past.
Celin’s voice, insisting on saving Liya, might have been her way of healing herself from those wounds.
Now, she could protect.
She might have wanted proof that she didn’t have to just watch helplessly like before.
Her desire to save Liya, in some sense, was genuine.
However, I soon sighed and shook my head.
“We can wait for the central army… You don’t think the Imperial Court will just sit back and watch while a monster tramples across the land, do you?”
“What if we lose the core in the meantime?”
That retort silenced me.
Celin had seen the Blood Code glyph I had.
If I asked the central army to do their best, it was not an impossible wish.
I planned to draw the Blood Code glyph in the air but paused at Celin’s continued questions.
“What if another Dark Priest arrives while the central army is dispatched? And that Dark Priest gains control of the core?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“More than the Imperial Court, the Dark Cult is likely moving quickly too.”
I was left speechless by the words that flowed from Celin without hesitation.
Celin, like me, was a member of the Swordsmanship Department, often called a ‘dumb idiot’ by Reto.
I couldn’t even guess when she had become so articulate.
“We have to save Liya… This is our last chance!”
My mouth began to fall silent again.
It was a reasonable point.
At present, there was no move being made, but there was no way the Dark Cult would leave the Retinue of the Evil Deity unattended. They were sure to pull some strings to inflict more damage.
In the process, there was a substantial chance they would try to recover Miltram’s achievements.
No, it was valuable data gathered from over ten years of biological research.
It would be odd if the Dark Cult didn’t attempt to secure it.
And at that time, there was also the probability of the core embedded in the ‘Corpse Giant’ being leaked.
I was deep in thought.
Should I try to persuade the group once more?
If it got too dangerous, fleeing was also an option.
Still, I would have to risk my life, but it was worth the challenge.
The only problem was how to evaluate that ‘worth.’
For someone, it could come off as a terribly rude and selfish request.
It might sound like I’m asking them to risk their lives to protect the creations of the Dark Cult.
Not just the Lady Virgin Saint.
Yulen would feel the same, and even Senior Elsi didn’t have a deep connection with Liya.
So, I hesitated.
My feelings were obvious.
I wanted to save Liya.
But I also worried that holding onto a flimsy hope might make me come off as selfish.
At that moment, lost in my thoughts for quite a while…
A memory prodded my mind like a thorn.
I nearly screamed due to that pain.
The scenery was soaked in blood.
In the blurry memory, everything was unclear.
But a woman’s voice, whispering in my ear with an alluring smile.
“…You should have thrown it away sooner.”
What, I wanted to ask.
As I sprang back from dreams into reality, all my memories tangled together chaotically.
The burning Great Forest.
Blood, and more blood.
Trembling hands, breaths that were slowing.
When I opened my eyes, the words scrawled clearly in my mind.
“Throw away what you need to throw away.”
My father had said.
“You must not defy fate.”
Along with that, the Empire’s administrator, Arthur, had said.
“…You have to throw away what needs to be thrown.”
Staggering back, the last image of my father’s sorrowful face apologizing flashed in my mind.
It was the price I paid for attempting to defy fate.
As I gasped for breath, Celin showed signs of panic.
“I-an, big brother? Why are you… so suddenly?”
I raised my hand to halt Celin as she approached.
And calming my rough breathing, I spoke.
“…No.”
Celin’s movements came to a sudden stop.
She stared at me with wide eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what she saw.
I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and reiterated.
“No, it’s too dangerous… Let’s find another way. I’ll protect Liya.”
My body hurriedly shifted to turn away.
I walked as if I were escaping.
Yes, this was the best choice.
Facing the Corpse Giant was too dangerous a decision.
For me, Celin, and Reto, maybe, but there was no reason for the rest of the group to risk their lives.
I calmly reassured myself as I walked away aimlessly.
It was then I heard Celin’s heated voice.
“…You’ve changed.”
It was a phrase often used by women when confronting their boyfriends.
What does that mean? I tried to laugh it off.
If only Celin’s body wasn’t trembling.
She stood there with clenched fists, her body trembling with rage.
Her golden-brown eyes were fierce.
“I-an big brother, you’ve changed! You weren’t like this before!”
“What am I…?”
“I’ve been with you and Reto lately, how many times have you gone out with us?!”
Reflecting back, I realized I had been spending a lot less time with Celin and Reto recently.
However, I could only defend myself feeling somewhat wronged.
“That was then, and now there are several companions who have just escaped death…”
“And now you’re saying it’s too dangerous?! Now that pretty, talented people with good backgrounds are gathered around?!”
I wanted to tell Celin to calm down.
But Celin’s voice, once heated, showed no signs of cooling down.
“You said you would protect me…”
Suddenly, memories from my childhood surfaced.
I recalled a certain scene.
A flower bed.
In that place where blue flowers fluttered, I held a girl in my arms.
It felt like we had made a promise back then.
“I said I would protect both you and Liya…”
Now her voice was tinged even with a whimper.
I felt like I was back in childhood, unable to sit still.
I only thought that I had to soothe Celin somehow.
At that moment, as I turned to walk again…
A strange sight caught my eye.
The sky was opening.
It was a spectacle that defied description.
From the torn cracks in the sky, endless darkness spilled out. That darkness took shape like a shadow.
A colossal figure stood on the ground.
Its size was nearly impossible to gauge.
It was simply enormous.
Even though it had appeared from afar, I could spot it immediately.
In just a few seconds, the sky opened, and the giant descended.
Lastly, the sky’s cracks spewed forth unidentified masses.
It was terrifyingly fast.
Just being hit by it would create a tremendous shockwave around. One of those masses fell right behind Celin, who was flinching.
I shouted as I struck the ground.
“Celin!”
Then, with a forceful shove, I pushed Celin aside and my sword cleaved the air.
Blood and water splattered along the trajectory as the falling mass split in two.
It was a heap of flesh.
Tangled bodies wept blood as they screamed. Clumsily standing on several legs, those bodies spread multiple arms grotesquely.
The faces stretched around screamed as they wept.
Kieeeek!
Celin simply sat on the ground, her expression blank.
It had already been split in half, yet it still moved.
It was a scene I felt I had seen somewhere before.
The mass of flesh and the Corpse Giant seemed to be of a similar kind of monster.
Additionally, the one responsible for summoning this appeared to be Miltram.
I called out to Celin once more.
“Go back immediately and gather people! We need to hurry the evacuation!”
“What about you, big brother?!”
At Celin’s question, I hesitated for a moment.
Beyond the mass of flesh, I could see the village that was screaming.
There must be many people living there.
They would be confused and terrified.
The more they were, the fewer would be able to join the evacuation convoy.
It was likely that an indiscriminate massacre by the mass of flesh was already underway.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I also had to go back.
I only recalled the words of resentment that Celin had thrown at me.
It was a promise I had made in the impetuousness of my boyhood.
As a knight, I would protect them.
The memories brought forth by Celin had linked me to another promise with a different girl.
Liya still held that promise dear.
Trusting this, she had confessed to me.
That she had no memory of before coming to the manor.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
“…I have to protect.”
It was still a voice laced with hesitation.
What I wanted to protect was also vague.
Celin gazed at me, dazed, only staring.
I didn’t expect an answer from her.
I just kicked off the ground and ran, swinging my sword horizontally again.
The mass of flesh, ready to lunge at me, split apart once more.
Perhaps it couldn’t stand this much, the mass thrashed around, screaming.
With a crunch, I stomped on the hideous face of the mass.
Only then did the screaming subside.
I severed its limbs and incapacitated the mass.
“I’ll head to the village. Someone’s going to need to lead them.”
“By yourself?!”
“If the situation stabilizes, send more.”
That was our last exchange.
With no time to waste, my body flew towards the village.
Many faces flitted through my mind.
The pure faces that had made my childhood happy.
I prayed to the Heavenly Deity after a long time.
Please.
Please let it not be too late.
From the sky, the meteor of flesh was falling down.
