God of Death SIDE
That she had failed to bring the 'Ancient Dragon,' the master of the underground dungeon, over to her side was, at least, a welcome development. And yet the crisis facing this world was far from over. If only the bones of that Ancient Dragon could have destroyed her outright...
"In any case, this means the God of Destruction won't have to go down there after all."
"Well, all it really means is that we've bought ourselves a little more time."
"Even so, I'm grateful we now have time to work out a countermeasure."
Both the God of Creation and the God of War seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief at having, however temporarily, avoided the worst-case scenario.
"We can't afford to relax. In place of the Ancient Dragon's bones, she's taken the corpse of the serpent that lay in the deepest part and turned it into her servant."
Ever the resourceful one, the moment she realized she couldn't make the Ancient Dragon her servant, she had—even in the middle of battle—turned a great serpent that lay nearby into a servant instead.
While it was alive it must have been a fairly powerful monster, but since a great deal of time has passed since its death, its abilities should be drastically diminished. Even so, for humans, its sheer size alone makes it a threat.
"Merlin has reached the lowest level of the upper dungeon. At almost the same moment, the small fry have begun pouring out of the hole."
"His forces are Slarin and Shiromaru, Din and Jin, huh... The very finest the kingdom has to offer. Not enough for the Ancient Dragon, but enough to bring down a mid-rank—no, even a high-rank dragon. But still..."
"They're no match for that woman... is that it? But Merlin surely understands that much already."
"Most likely he's placing his focus not on winning or losing, but on how to rescue little Tenma. That's why, even as the small fry come flooding out, he's holding his magic in reserve and using it as sparingly as he can."
"But the problem is how to get Tenma out..."
"There is a method for that. The question is whether they've realized it themselves, and whether they have the skill and the breathing room to actually carry it out."
The method the God of Skill spoke of was an application of the technique Tenma had once used to link one Magic Bag to another—connecting the area where Tenma had been swallowed to a Dimension Bag, and then pulling Tenma out through the linked side. However, with a grim expression, the God of Skill said that for Merlin and the others the chances of success were perhaps one in ten, if that.
"Merlin and the others have begun their battle with her!"
In the early going, Merlin and the others put up a fight beyond anything the God of Creation and the others had imagined—but even that had been within the palm of her hand, and the moment the zombie great serpent appeared, Merlin and the others were driven into a corner all at once.
That serpent zombie... From the very start, that woman had intended to use it not as a fighting force, but as a sacrifice for her own recovery. Her plan was to have the serpent zombie absorb the small fry and store up power, and in the end to use all of that stored power, serpent and all, to heal herself. Truly, she is not to be underestimated. With that same cunning,
at
that
time
as well,
she must have deceived the eyes of the God of Creation and the others.
"This is a mess of her making, so it's only right that I be the one to clean it up..."
The others would surely try to stop me, but if someone must be sacrificed, it should be me before the God of Destruction. Besides, there is nothing she can do that I cannot.
"That is
the current
God
of Death's
duty."
If, out of her own selfish reasons, she inflicts harm upon the surface, troubles everyone, and now once more tries to plunge the world into chaos—then I will stop her. Because most likely, I have a higher chance than anyone here of pulling it off.
Resolving myself, I sharpened my senses so as not to miss even the slightest opening...
"Now!"
Merlin drove the Kokarasumaru into the chest of that woman...
the
former
God of Death,
and, seizing the instant her Dimension Bag opened the merest crack, I threw myself inside her—together with Merlin's severed arm, still gripping the Kokarasumaru...
God of Death SIDE, End
Jeanne SIDE
"I see. So the royal army is being pushed back by the zombies..."
Having heard the reports brought in one after another by the knights of the Duke Sanga house and the Count Silfield house, Primera's expression clouded over.
"If we're going to flee the royal capital, I think it's about time we made up our minds. What'll it be?"
Kelly was gently pressing Primera to decide whether to remain in the capital as things were, or to make their escape.
It was a difficult call, but with Tenma and Master Merlin absent, Primera was the only one left in charge of the Otori house, and everyone currently within the Otori grounds had sworn beforehand to abide by Primera's judgment.
"Pardon the intrusion!"
To Primera, who was still hesitating over her decision, a new knight of the Duke Sanga house arrived, and—
"The neutral faction's allied army has been routed?! And what's more, the one who routed them was a zombie earth dragon?!"
—came to report yet another change on the battlefield.
"Routed?! Is the neutral faction all right?!"
The one leading the neutral faction's allied army was Viscount Mustang, who had gone out of his way to come and pay his respects before marching out.
It seems I had met Viscount Mustang a few times when I was very young, though I don't remember it; for me, the coup uprising was my first memory of him. But afterward, whenever our schedules aligned in the royal capital, he would occasionally visit the Otori house, bringing gifts or telling me stories about my father—showing me that much kindness.
At the report that this viscount, like an uncle to me, had been routed, I found myself pushing past Primera to press the Duke's knight for answers.
The knight glanced once at Primera, gave a nod, and then began to tell me about the neutral faction's rout.
According to his account, just as they were trying to trade places with another neutral-faction unit stationed to the rear in order to regroup, several four-armed monsters came charging in and ran wild; and while the army's movements were sluggish from that confusion, the zombie earth dragon struck. The zombie earth dragon was not as fast as the four-armed monsters, but it was still quick, and the neutral faction, slow to notice its approach, suffered considerable casualties. Fortunately, though, for all its speed it was still no match for a horse's legs, so Viscount Mustang, who was positioned near the center of the unit, managed to withdraw from the battlefield without injury.
While that was a relief, the zombie earth dragon was said to still be advancing toward the royal capital even as it slowed, and if it were allowed to draw near, the walls protecting the capital would likely be destroyed.
"Primera! With the scorpion-type I have, I can probably stop it!"
If this were an ordinary earth dragon, even the scorpion-type golem would have a hard time stopping it—but the current scorpion-type had been improved and strengthened several times over by Tenma, and against an earth dragon whose abilities had dropped now that it was a zombie, there should be a good chance of victory. However—
"Hold on, Jeanne! That scorpion-type golem was entrusted to you by Tenma, so it should be used strictly for the Otori house's sake! There's no reason to carry it off into danger and weaken the Otori house's defenses!"
It was Kelly, not Primera, who called for a halt.
True, even though she had joined under the Otori house's banner, Kelly, who had brought the fighting force of a band of dwarven blacksmiths with her, stood in a position like that of a unit commander in an army.
That, I think, is why she flatly opposed the words of me—a slave and a maid—even though I was a member of the Otori household.
As Kelly glared at me for a while,
"Kelly, it's fine. Jeanne, please take reinforcements to the neutral faction. However, in the worst case, discard the scorpion-type golem, abandon the neutral faction if you must, and come back safe."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Among the nobles at the heart of the neutral faction, starting with Viscount Mustang, there are many houses friendly to the Otori house. Sending reinforcements here carries great meaning when we consider what comes later. And even if it results in losing the scorpion-type golem, and even if we're driven into a situation where we must flee the capital, I believe we could still count the neutral faction as a fighting force on the grounds that we sent them aid."
If it came to a situation where the enemy pushed into the interior of the capital, that could only be seen as a near-total defeat for the kingdom's side. Should that happen, not only the Otori house but the neutral faction's units would flee as well, so her judgment seemed to be that if they could secure the cooperation of those units, they could plug the hole left by the scorpion-type golem's absence.
"Jeanne, please ask Solomon to carry you. In this situation, it's dangerous for a member of the Otori house to walk through the streets."
"Then I'll come along as an escort!"
"Please do. If Jeanne balks at retreating, knock her out if you have to and bring her back."
"Understood! Let's go, Jeanne."
"Yes! Thank you so much, Primera!"
Bowing my head to Primera, I dashed outside with Kelly, and when I explained the situation to Solomon, who had been sleeping in the courtyard, he gave a single cry and slipped off his collar. At that, Solomon's body grew large enough for both me and Kelly to ride comfortably, so we climbed onto his back. But—
"W-wait, Solomon, don't fly yet!"
There was nowhere to hold on to on Solomon's back except his wings, and the moment Solomon merely raised his body, Kelly and I nearly slid right off.
"You two, do something about this!"
"Just a moment, please... Here, use this to secure your bodies!"
Kelly quickly gave instructions to the employees who had been watching from around us, and they hurriedly improvised reins and gear to fasten our bodies and fitted them onto Solomon. Since it was makeshift, I had some concerns about its strength, but it seemed there'd be no problem for a short time, so I had Solomon leap once more to the wall in the direction of the neutral faction; and as the outside of the capital came into view, the sounds of the battlefield began to reach us.
"Solomon, over there! Land over there!"
Among the nobles up on the wall, several who noticed the Otori house flag Solomon was carrying made room for us. Among them, I guided Solomon to the spot bearing the Mustang viscount house's crest, and no sooner had we landed than a knight of the Mustang viscount house came running up to explain the situation.
"So then, Viscount Mustang is safe."
"Yes. However, the zombie earth dragon seems to have set its sights on the neutral faction and is slowly heading this way. So the viscount says that as soon as he has regrouped, he intends to go out to the front lines once more."
"Please tell the viscount to hold off on sortieing for a little while. I'll try to stop the zombie earth dragon with the Otori house's golem!"
"Understood! Halt the charge! Relay it to the viscount at once! Reinforcements from the Otori house are coming! Clear a path!"
When the knight loudly gave the order from atop the wall to the people below, it seems it reached all the way to the viscount and the others in no time, and I poured magic into the necklace and threw it down.
At that, the scorpion-type golem appeared in midair, and because it landed on the ground with that huge body, there was a bit of an uproar, but Viscount Mustang and the others calmed things down, so it quieted quickly.
"Golem, top priority is destroying or repelling the zombie earth dragon! After that, eliminate the enemies coming at us! Go!"
The scorpion-type golem, hearing my command, raised both its pincers and set off running toward the direction from which the zombie earth dragon was approaching.
"It seems we're outmatched in size, but in weight the golem has the upper hand. My thanks for the reinforcements!"
The knight who had greeted us seemed to hold a high rank even within the viscount's army, and he bowed his head in Viscount Mustang's place.
"So then, will you return to the Otori house?"
"No. I think it's better to return after seeing whether the scorpion-type can really stop the zombie earth dragon."
"That's true, I suppose. After the zombie earth dragon is destroyed, we'll have to recover the scorpion-type anyway."
Just as I told Kelly I would remain here a while longer and was about to turn my gaze toward the scorpion-type golem,
"Is that Jeanne of the Otori house up there?!"
a familiar voice reached me from below. When I leaned out and peered down, Lord Lyle was directly beneath me.
"It is! Forgive me for looking down on you from up here!"
"It's an emergency, never mind that! More importantly, my thanks for the reinforcements! Sorry, but lend us the scorpion-type's strength until the battle situation stabilizes a bit more! Solomon, if anything happens, make sure you get Jeanne safely away! If Jeanne got hurt, Tenma would be furious with me!"
After saying this and laughing, Lord Lyle gathered the knights around him and began a discussion. Since the royal army was being pushed back, it seemed he had come out to the front lines in part to boost morale. But it appeared he had come somewhat forcibly, for now and then the royal guards escorting him were trying to persuade him to withdraw.
Amid all that,
"Lord Lyle! The scorpion-type has begun fighting the zombie earth dragon!"
The scorpion-type golem had body-slammed the zombie earth dragon and succeeded in halting its advance.
The scorpion-type went on attacking the zombie earth dragon, striking and clamping it with both pincers, but the zombie earth dragon, with its body larger than the scorpion-type's, threw itself over it to slow its movements, and in that opening had the surrounding zombies attack.
"Getting pushed back a little, maybe? Well, it's got the most dangerous one—the zombie earth dragon—pretty much pinned down. And the four-armed ones around it are no match for the scorpion-type either, of course."
"You can see it?"
"My eyes are good, you know. Ah! There, another four-armed one just got crushed! Before long, even the earth dragon will find it hard to keep the scorpion-type pinned."
I couldn't see as far as the four-armed monsters the way Kelly could, but even so, the scorpion-type's movements looked to be growing bolder little by little. At this rate, we'd defeat the zombie earth dragon before long.
Just as that sort of mood began to spread among those of us gathered there,
"What in the world is that?! Something's coming from the sky!"
Kelly, who had said her eyes were good, was the first to spot
some
thing
streaking down toward this battlefield.
That something approached the royal capital at high speed, and then—whether to make sure it showed itself to us clearly—slowed for a moment... dropped to the very lowest altitude it could, and then accelerated once more and flew away.
"Kyaa!"
"Jeanne, look ou—whoa!"
The instant it accelerated and swept over the top of the wall, I lost against the wind pressure and was blown up into the air. Noticing this, Kelly reflexively grabbed my arm, but she too lost her balance and started to be lifted off her feet.
"Gyui!"
"Ngh!"
"Ow... I hit my back..."
Solomon used his wings to keep us from being blown away and save us, but Solomon too was digging the claws of his limbs into the wall to keep himself from being flung off. Because of that, Kelly and I were pulled in less as if wrapped by his wings and more as if slammed by them, so I struck my face against a wing, and Kelly hit her face against my back before landing on her hip (with my weight on top of her as well).
"Thank you, Solomon, you saved us... Solomon?"
When I turned my gaze to thank Solomon for saving us, he was glaring with a grim expression toward where that something that had flown away—the 'Red Dragon'—had gone.
Perhaps that red dragon had deliberately dropped its altitude for the sole purpose of provoking Solomon.
"Jeanne, are you all right?!"
"Solomon protected us, so Kelly and I are unharmed! But the others—!"
"We'll send rescue there right away! More importantly, something's approaching the scorpion-type again!"
At Lord Lyle's words I turned my gaze toward the scorpion-type, and three flying-dragon-like creatures, considerably smaller than the red dragon from before, were closing in on the scorpion-type.
"Those are wyverns. I can't tell whether it's mating season or they're just worked up, but they're all red in color. And every one of them is pretty big... this might be a little bad."
I didn't know the reason for the red color, but either way, three wyverns larger than usual were heading for the scorpion-type. Even if the scorpion-type was on the verge of defeating the zombie earth dragon, facing four opponents at once was unfavorable. Even if I tried to send the golem assigned to me, there was no guarantee the scorpion-type would hold out until they joined up.
While I was thinking of a countermeasure, the scorpion-type was surrounded by the three wyverns and the zombie earth dragon that had escaped its hold, and was taking concentrated attacks.
"Kyui!"
"Solomon, you'll go?"
"Kyu~i!"
Solomon gave a cry as if to say, "Leave it to me!" and took off vigorously from the wall.
It seemed the wyverns attacking the scorpion-type had heard him roar loudly as he took off, for all three of them turned their heads this way together.
"All right! Do it! ...Yeeah!"
Of those three, the wyvern nearest the scorpion-type had its neck caught in the pincer of the scorpion-type, which stretched its body out with all its might, and was slammed straight into the zombie earth dragon.
That cheer just now had been Kelly's shout, but similar voices could be heard from Lord Lyle and those around him as well.
The slammed wyvern was still moving, but its neck stayed bent back toward its spine and it seemed unable to get up. According to Kelly, a great deal of blood was pouring from where it was bent, so the neck bone had likely broken and pierced through the skin. As for the zombie earth dragon crushed beneath that wyvern, most of its body had scattered as if it had exploded, and it showed no sign of moving.
The scorpion-type's feat of defeating the zombie earth dragon and one wyvern in an instant was tremendous, but the price was that its tail, one of its pincers, and several of its legs had been shattered.
"Seeing their comrade taken down, the remaining two seem to be hesitating. I hope they'll just flee..."
The two remaining wyverns had risen to a height the scorpion-type's pincers could absolutely never reach, and were observing the situation. According to Kelly, Solomon would arrive in a little while, so there was a high chance they'd flee as things stood.
"Solomon's closing in, but he's slowed down quite a bit. He probably figures that giving the wyverns time to think might let it end without anyone getting hurt."
It seemed that Solomon, who had flown out so vigorously, would rather avoid a fight in the unfavorable two-on-one situation if he could, and was deliberately giving them time to flee.
Lord Lyle and the others also seemed to think that if those two wyverns left, this area of the battlefield would stabilize, and words to the effect of hoping the wyverns would flee could be heard. However—
"Grruaaaaaaaa——!!"
A shockwave that could only be described as carrying death, one that shattered such hopes, shook the earth.
"...Kah!"
"Jeanne, are you all right?!"
That impact left me unable to breathe, and it was only after Kelly struck me on the back that I somehow managed to let out my breath.
"Kelly, what was that just now..."
"It's still so far away that even my eyes can't make it out yet... In other words, that shockwave... that roar was let out from somewhere unbelievably far away... If there's an existence capable of doing that, then it would be... something like the 'Ancient Dragon.'"
I can't do something like identify a monster's master from its voice, but I don't think Kelly's guess this time is mistaken.
I don't have enough experience to distinguish monsters by their voices, but when it comes to the 'voices of dragons,' I've heard them enough to rank not just above Kelly but among the highest in this world. And more than the great red dragon that passed over the capital just now, this one—though only a voice—struck me as being on a completely different level of intensity.
And above all, Solomon, who had not flinched at that red dragon, had, after hearing that roar, cowered in fright and crouched down against the ground.
"Damn it! Those wyverns are coming this way!"
"Solomon, run!"
That roar just now had frightened Solomon, but for the wyverns it seemed to have had the opposite effect of raising their morale; and the two wyverns that had been showing hesitation, their eyes bloodshot, came swooping down on Solomon.
"Gya!"
Solomon, who had been crouching, was slow to notice the attack from above and was borne down upon by the two of them.
The two wyverns went on trampling Solomon over and over, but when the scorpion-type golem, which had been gradually moving, struck the ground with all its might using its one remaining pincer, they were startled by the sound, got off of Solomon, and flew up into the sky.
In that opening Solomon too flew up into the sky... but Solomon's white body was filthy all over with dirt and blood.
"For a couple of ordinary wyverns, Solomon would have no trouble, I think... but he's injured, and those wyverns don't seem to be ordinary specimens... If the opponent weren't a flying one, I could at least provide support."
Lord Lyle also seemed to be having the nearby soldiers ready bows and magic, but perhaps anticipating that, the wyverns raised their altitude even higher than before.
"It doesn't look like Solomon is the only one in danger. The zombies are coming this way, and that roar just now has made many of our allies flee. And above all—the master of that roar has shown itself."
I looked where Kelly was pointing, but all I could see was something smaller than a bean that might be it.
"Gugya!"
Startled by a shriek that suddenly came from the sky above, I turned my eyes and saw Solomon just as he bit down on one wyvern's neck. My relief that it was not Solomon who had shrieked was short-lived. The remaining one leapt at Solomon from behind and bit down on the base of his wing.
The three became tangled together in midair, and the three, fused into a single mass, immediately began to plummet. Partway down—
"Solomon!"
Solomon's wing was bitten clean off at the base. But even so, Solomon did not release the wyvern he was biting, and the two of them fell to the ground together. From the impact of the fall, the two struck the ground, bounced once, and then rolled and tumbled several meters before stopping.
When I leaned out from atop the wall and looked toward where Solomon had rolled, the wyvern had landed badly, its head crushed and motionless, but Solomon lay on his back repeating ragged breaths. It hadn't been an instant death, but he seemed to be in a very dangerous state.
The wyvern that had bitten Solomon's wing off, seeing the fallen Solomon and perhaps thinking him dead, took Solomon's wing in its mouth and flew off in the direction from which the master of the roar was coming.
"Kelly! I'm going to Solomon right away!"
"Got it! The stairs are... argh! This way's faster! Jeanne, hold on tight!"
I called out to Kelly and the two of us searched for the stairs, but the stairs seemed to be a little way off, and on top of that the exit to the outside was even farther away.
So Kelly took out a rope from her Magic Bag that must have been several dozen meters long, tied one end to the railing of the wall, and, carrying me on her back, descended below.
The people watching this (mainly reformist-faction nobles) cried out and gathered around, but strangely, at that time I felt no fear at all.
"Jeanne! If you're going to Solomon, use this horse!"
When we got down below, Viscount Mustang came pushing his way through the gathered crowd. It seemed the viscount had realized why we had come down, and he lent us a horse.
"Thank you so much!"
"Considering that we were saved, this is a small favor indeed! Hey! Have a few men go along as escorts, just in case! Solomon staked his life for our sake! If it comes to it, make Jeanne and the others your top priority!"
When Viscount Mustang shouted this, several nobles and knights ran off somewhere, and appeared on horseback almost at the same moment that Kelly and I had finished mounting our horse.
"Jeanne! I'll send a few from the royal guard too! If you hurry, the zombies shouldn't reach Solomon yet!"
"Lord Lyle, thank you so much!"
Not only the neutral faction, but several of the royal guards who had come along as Lord Lyle's escort joined as well, and we formed a makeshift rescue party and rode our horses toward Solomon.
"Everyone! First we'll douse Solomon with healing salve! After that, we'll put him into the Dimension Bag and return—but if Solomon can't get into the bag on his own, we'll have to borrow the golem's strength to get him in. During that time, please keep watch on our surroundings. But don't push yourselves too hard! Kelly, while I'm treating Solomon, could I ask you to recover the scorpion-type?"
"There's a bit of distance, but I should be fine!"
From where Solomon was to the scorpion-type was a little under a kilometer, so even counting the time for the round trip and the time to recover the scorpion-type's core, I thought she could be back in under five minutes.
"Solomon! Everyone, please help me pour the medicine on him!"
Really, it would be better to carefully tend to each and every wound, but in a situation where we couldn't know when the zombies might come, all we could do for now was restrict ourselves to emergency treatment.
"Solomon, can you move?"
"Kyu... i..."
Perhaps the medicine had eased some of the pain, for Solomon raised his body from lying on his back and was somehow trying to move into the bag. But just then—
"Jeanne! The wyvern's come back! Run!"
Kelly, having finished recovering the scorpion-type, came back shouting that the wyvern had turned around. Hearing this, half of the others rode their horses in the direction the wyvern was coming from, while the rest held their weapons at the ready right there, forming a wall to protect me and Solomon.
"I'll bring out golems! Use them as a wall! Solomon, get into the bag while you have the chance... Solomon?"
I brought out ten golems and made a wall of them, and in the meantime urged Solomon to get into the bag, but Solomon ignored the bag and moved directly behind the golems.
While Solomon was moving, the wyvern had closed to within a few hundred meters of us. It would be a little over ten seconds before the wyvern swooped down on us.
"Solomon, hurry and get in the bag!"
Even if the wyvern attacked, if the golems became a wall, they might be able to block the attack a few times. Thinking that, I tried once more to get Solomon into the bag, but Solomon drew even closer to the golems and... stamped down on one with his front paw. To be precise, it was as if he used the golem as a stepping platform, forcing his whole body to turn his face—which he couldn't move much—toward the wyvern...
"Gaaaaaa!"
He fired a beam of light from his mouth. It was Solomon's breath, which I'd seen a few times before. According to Tenma, perhaps because Solomon rarely used his breath he didn't seem very good at it, but its power was said to be quite high.
That breath of Solomon's struck full-on, straight into the face of the wyvern, which had charged in at such close range that it couldn't dodge, without any thought for defense.
The wyvern's face was blown away the instant Solomon's breath hit it, but its body came hurtling toward us with all the momentum of its lunge. However, the golems we had brought out as a wall caught it. That said, the momentum wasn't completely stopped, and from the shock of the collision several of us, Solomon included, were knocked over—but no one suffered any serious injury.
And so, though one crisis had passed on this battlefield, the next crisis—one far greater than any before, no, one that could even be called a calamity—had drawn near enough that even my eyes could make it out.
"Tenma... help me..."
As my heart nearly broke before the 'Ancient Dragon'—the 'Calamity'—drawing steadily closer, and I found myself begging Tenma for help... from a spot fairly near the wall, I heard a sound like the one when Solomon had crashed to the ground.
Jeanne SIDE, End