EX-2: Team Zena in Trouble
I knew I would be putting myself in danger when I applied to join the expedition to Labyrinth City, but I never imagined that we would encounter so many troubles along the way. And even all of that seems tame compared with what happened next…
“Zenacchi, there’s a swarm of monsters coming. More than fifty fliers. On the ground there are three large ones, ten medium ones, and…more small ones than I can count. But they must be several times our unit’s size. Most of them are bug types.”
When Lilio returned from scouting, the numbers in her report sounded fairly hopeless.
Especially since that was only one small part of the enemy forces.
Our left flank unit consisted of twenty-four elite battle troops from Seiryuu City, along with about three hundred farmers and serfs from nearby lands who’d been conscripted as soldiers.
These new soldiers were all trembling uncontrollably.
I couldn’t blame them. Monsters were probably a rare sight for them normally, and now they were being forced to fight some without any decent equipment.
“Listen, all of you, just stay alive! Don’t try to be heroes by beating the enemy!”
Vice Captain Leelo shouted encouragement to our allies.
“You’re lucky, all right? We’ve got elite soldiers here who have fought not only wyverns but real live full-grown dragons and greater demons and lived to tell the tale. A bunch of lowly monsters or an intermediate demon is nothing to be afraid of.”
That seemed a little extreme to me, but it must have worked: The despair on the soldiers’ faces faded, much to my relief.
I never could have imagined that I would get caught up in a battle like this when I left Seiryuu City.
A few days earlier ?
“We’re finally going to Lessau County, Zenacchi.”
“I know!”
“Lilio, do as you please on your own time, but you ought to call her Squad Leader Zena.”
“Fiiine. You’re so strict, Iona.”
Iona scolded Lilio, as usual.
Being called Squad Leader Zena was still a little embarrassing.
It was a few months ago that we had finally managed to get chosen for the Labyrinth Elite—the nickname for Labyrinth City Celivera’s Elite Training Corps.
We were to depart at the beginning of spring, but we wound up moving up the plan at the count’s request.
The Elite Training Corps was made up of two knight squads with four knights and squires each; three magic squads with one magic soldier, two guards, and one scout; and one combat engineering squad. There were also two civil officials, who had a total of four servants, making for a considerably large party all told.
Before we left, Captain Delio and Vice Captain Leelo were talking about the seasons, so perhaps we left early because snow would be coming late this year.
But as if to laugh in the face of our caution, this entire journey had been a series of misfortunes.
The bandits hiding in the hills didn’t attack us, perhaps because we had eight knights to our five horse-drawn carriages. The trip went well enough when we first left Seiryuu City, but as soon as we crossed the border, the world bared its fangs at us.
“I just hope we can get through here without a problem.”
Judging by Lou’s murmur, she was remembering the same thing.
“I know they said an injured hydra was blocking the main road, but I still think it was a mistake to take this roundabout path through the mountains instead.”
Lilio sighed wearily.
“There’s no helping that we were trapped in that mountain village for more than a month because of the blizzards and avalanches, but that other thing was the worst.”
“You mean the summoner who was controlling the lesser demon?”
“Nah, Captain Delio took care of that no problem. She must mean the incident where the necromancer turned a whole village into zombies, right?”
“Both of those sure took up a lot of time.”
Iona and Lilio debated over what Lou meant by “that other thing.”
“Ah, those were both tough, too, but I was talking about that stupidly huge slime that lived in a ravine and was eating anyone who tried to cross the rope bridge.”
“Oh yeah. That was awful.”
“Well, our fire mage Rodril seemed to enjoy that one.”
Remembering how we had nearly gotten swallowed by the spreading fire and how I had to use Wind Magic to try to stomp it out, my mood sank a little.
As I gazed at the little flowers growing along the side of the road to pacify my heart, Lilio peeked over at me.
“By the way, Zenacchi…”
“What is it?”
I was cautious as I answered. When Lilio started edging toward me like this, she never wanted to ask me anything good.
“Considering how long this is taking, aren’t you worried he’ll get tired of waiting?”
I tried to stay calm, but I couldn’t help twitching a little in response.
What should I do? If I said, Who’ll get tired of waiting? then she would tease me even more. But I didn’t want to say, Nobody’s waiting for me, either.
“Who do you mean will get tired of waiting?”
As I hesitated, Lou ended up asking instead.
Darn that Lou. At least Iona was kind enough to stay quiet.
Just as I feared, Lilio started smirking evilly.
“Isn’t it obvious? The boy!”
Lilio refers to Mr. Satou as “the boy.”
He certainly looks younger than he is, which is still younger than we are, but I don’t think it’s such a big difference that a baby face like Lilio should be calling him that.
It’s almost like a special nickname, which bothers me for some reason.
…Maybe I’m jealous?
“What boy?”
“She’s referring to Zena’s sweetheart.”
Iona is a big fan of gossiping about romance, so she couldn’t resist answering Lou.
“Ooh, is that true, Zena?”
“No, we’re not sweethearts yet.”
It took everything I had to respond to Lou.
“‘Not yet,’ huh?”
“‘Not yet,’ she says.”
Ooh, Lilio and Iona are so mean!
I wished they would stop teasing me about this. It was so embarrassing and painful that I felt like I might lose my mind.
Little did I know that the peaceful atmosphere of this journey would soon come to a sudden end.
In the present ?
“We’ll strike down the foes in the air while their land troops are slowed by our traps. We don’t have many archers, so we’ll need Zena and Norina to knock them flat with Wind Magic. Then the knight squads will trample them immediately. The rest of you are with Vice Captain Leelo. Attack with all your might and take out as many as you can.”
Captain Delio went over our battle strategy.
“Zena and Norina, once you’ve used your spells, focus on recovering your magic right away. Your squads are there to protect you. No matter what, don’t get lured in to fighting on the front lines… Ah, it’s begun.”
The captain’s sharp eyes glared into the morning mist.
Positioned in the center, a baron from Lessau County and his unit had engaged in battle. We could see clouds of dust rising in the mist.
“Start the chants.”
Captain Delio’s knight squad set out to join the fight, so Vice Captain Leelo gave us the order in a strong, masculine voice.
Norina and I started our Wind Magic chants.
I was using Fallen Hammer, and Norina was preparing Turbulence.
It was a reliable combination we often used against wyverns: Turbulence prevented them from flying, and Fallen Hammer knocked them to the ground.
The problem was that this time, there were far more flying opponents than usual.
Turbulence would probably still be effective, but Fallen Hammer had a fairly narrow range.
I had to carefully aim my staff so that the spell would strike in the center of the flock.
“…… ? Turbulence Rankiryuu!”
“… ? ? Fallen Hammer Rakkitsui!”
My magic activated right after Norina’s.
Perfect, right on target.
I managed to bring most of the forty fang horseflies crashing to the ground.
Right away, the captain’s squad charged in to finish off the fang horseflies in a dense wedge formation. Quick as they were in the air, the monsters moved slowly on the ground, at the mercy of the knights’ spears and horses’ hooves.
“Everyone, charge!”
“““Raaaah!”””
On Vice Captain Leelo’s order, all the squads except mine and Norina’s charged forward.
We had to restore our magic, so we started meditating on the spot. Using the special breathing techniques we’d learned in the army, we could restore our magic faster than usual.
This left us totally defenseless, however, hence the need for the guards.
A few fang horseflies and stray glutton dragonflies tried to attack, but Lilio’s crossbow and Iona’s broadsword must have kept them at bay.
I was focusing on recovering my magic behind Lou’s shield. There was no way for me to really see what was going on.
But evidently, we were the only squad whose battle was going relatively well.
The right flank was first to collapse, with the center beginning to fall soon after.
We were so focused on repelling the enemy right in front of our eyes that we had no time to take stock of our allies’ condition. Which meant that we started the retreat too late.
And so we were stuck at the back of the fleeing ranks.
Unconsciously, my hand went to my chest, pressing against my leather armor.
The scarf was folded up underneath.
My precious good-luck charm.
“… ? Air Hammer Kitsui.”
As the monsters started to close in behind us, I mowed them down with my Wind Magic.
But no matter how many monsters I defeated, more of them came right behind.
And soon enough, I would be out of magic.
Short of a miracle occurring, it didn’t seem like we would get out of this predicament alive.
But I believed that every second we kept fighting could save our comrades’ lives, so I started another chant.
“… ? ? Air Cushion Kiheki!”
I used the final dregs of my magic to cast one last spell.
It barely slowed the monsters down at all—they just scattered around it.
Even Lou’s shield and Iona’s broadsword couldn’t stop the endless stream of monsters.
One of the creatures knocked Lilio’s sword aside with its fangs and closed in on me.
Just then—
I felt a floating sensation, and we were surrounded by a flash of light and a sudden shock.
A few days earlier, in the evening ?
“Did something happen?”
It wasn’t time for a rest yet, but for some reason, the carriage had stopped. Lilio, who had gone up ahead to see what was going on, came back with information.
“I guess we ran into a Lessau County army.”
“Well, we’re in Lessau County, so isn’t it only natural that their armies would be around?”
“Yeah, but apparently, they’ve got a young boy claiming to be the count.”
“I thought the count was a grown man.”
“Plus, it looks like they’ve recently suffered a defeat…”
As we were chatting, the captain called for us.
The captain explained that Lessau City, the capital of the county, had been destroyed. Furthermore, the destruction had been wrought at the hands of a demon commanding an army of monsters.
“The culprit is an intermediate demon that’s at least level 40. He’s commanding an army of two hundred flying monsters and no less than twelve hundred monsters on land.”
“How strong are they?”
“There were a few powerful ones among them, but most of the monsters are just slightly stronger than the average soldier at best. We don’t know the details about the demon, but he seems to have a horse’s head and specializes in Fire Magic. The count’s entire army was destroyed by a surprise attack from the demon alone.”
Everyone’s expressions clouded as Captain Delio spoke.
We could probably at least hold our own against a lesser demon, but against an intermediate demon, this army didn’t really stand a chance.
All of us were between levels 10 and 19, except for Captain Delio and Vice Captain Leelo, who were in the late 20s.
If we had Sir Kigouri, the strongest fighter in Seiryuu County, or one of the imperial court mages, it might’ve been a different story… But that would be too much to hope for. Still, I wished we at least had some mages who specialized in long-distance magic attacks or a team of archers…
But all we had were three magic soldiers, myself included, and fighters like Lilio with crossbows, poorly suited to rapid-fire attacks.
And we didn’t have much magic-power capacity, so we couldn’t carry on a shoot-out for long.
In short, we didn’t have the right lineup to take on a big army.
“The new Count Lessau is using the Azure Pact to request that we join in the fight against the demon. We cannot renege on our agreement. We’ll evacuate all noncombatants to a nearby village. It should be safer than the city area now.”
The “Azure Pact” the captain mentioned was the oldest agreement in our laws, exchanged among nobles when the Shiga Kingdom was first founded.
It stated that when there was a demon to fight, all the territories would provide martial support for one another.
This pact was very rarely invoked; we learned in school that the last time it was used was in the Muno Marquisate, before I was born.
Thus, we had no choice but to join up with the army that was hurriedly put together in Lessau County’s second city.
Our forces consisted of eight hundred soldiers and two thousand militia men. Though we technically outnumbered the monsters, the militia men would provide little strength in battle. It was sure to be a difficult fight.
If the demon attacked us directly, it was all over, but if we used the city walls for a siege battle, we might stand a chance.
Fortunately, this city had a magic tool for emergency communication, so we were able to send word to the royal capital and neighboring territories.
All we could do now was wait for reinforcements to come.
I was sure sure we were all banking our hopes on that.
The young Count Lessau engaged in a field battle with the monsters the next day.
Our captains tried to talk him out of it to no avail.
Satou…
I might not be able to keep my promise to meet you in Labyrinth City after all.
In the present ?
“Still alive, Zenacchi?”
“Yes, somehow…”
I didn’t remember exactly what happened.
We were fending off monsters at the rear while the party retreated…
“Looks like Lou protected you.”
“Wait a second, Lilio. You’re only worried about Zena, aren’t you?”
“Well, you’ve got the heaviest armor, Lou. Besides, it’s not like Iona would ever die.”
“Glad to hear you have so much faith in me.”
Iona returned from the other side of the wreckage.
“It looks like that flash was a greater attack spell fired by the monsters. Without Zena’s defense magic, we would have wound up joining the ranks of the dead.”
Everyone was covered in dust from head to toe.
We’d managed to hang on to our lives, but just barely.
I heard the monsters getting closer. And if we moved from our position, the demon overhead would undoubtedly swoop down to attack us without mercy.
The swarms of fang horseflies and glutton dragonflies around the demon formed into three groups.
“Iona, if those come after us, we can’t hold them all off.”
“R-right. Miss Zena, are you able to use defense magic?”
“I should be able to use Air Cushion, at least.”
I had recovered a bit of magic while I was passed out, but a single Air Cushion would be the best I could do.
But I had no time to meditate and try to recover more magic.
The monsters swarming in the sky might swoop down on us at any moment.
“Shit, they’re coming on the ground, too!”
A number of large jaw crickets appeared from the shadows of the rubble.
“… ? ? Air Cushion Kiheki!”
My Wind Magic wasn’t going to be enough to fend off the flood of large jaw crickets.
“Lou, time to show them what we’re made of.”
“Right!”
Just as the giant crickets broke through my Air Cushion, Lou’s shield pushed them back, and Iona’s broadsword whirled through them like a storm.
But that still wasn’t enough to stop them all.
A few large jaw crickets managed to slip past them and charge toward us.
“I won’t let you near Zenacchi!”
Lilio thrust her short sword into one of the large jaw crickets.
I drew my sword, too, barely able to fend them off.
Then another large jaw cricket charged toward Lilio’s blind spot, gnashing its teeth.
“Lilio!!”
My cry drew her attention to the monster at the moment it was closing in, and her face froze.
“Lilioooooo!”
Shouting suddenly, someone bathed in white light jumped in between her and the creature.
A young man with black hair.
…Satou?
No, he had similar facial features, but it wasn’t him.
Satou would never make such a wild, frantic expression.
“John?”
“Don’t let your guard down, damn it.”
So close their lips were almost touching, Lilio and the boy exchanged breathless words.
At that moment, another monster closed in on them.
“On your right, you two!”
Just as I shouted, more than ten arrows came flying out of nowhere, transparent as glass.
In the blink of an eye, the arrows turned the monsters on the ground into corpses.
“Please save your flirting for later.”
“We are in the midst of battle, I declare.”
“I’m not flirting, okay?”
Seven magic soldiers in overcoats appeared, laying waste to the surrounding monsters with weapons that glowed with a mystical light.
Slashing monsters in half with a speed that belied their weapons’ weight, they moved far faster than Captain Delio or Vice Captain Leelo, maybe even rivaling the powerful Sir Kigouri.
The black-haired boy who had saved Lilio didn’t move with nearly as much grace, but the shining sword in his hand still sliced up monsters with ease in a single stroke.
“Mito’s support magic is impressive, I praise.”
“Yeah, no kidding… Wait, where did she go?”
“Above, I report.”
“Above?”
Following the black-haired boy’s gaze to the sky, I saw a black-haired young woman standing in midair.
She was dressed like a lesser noble, holding a long, straight staff that looked like just an ordinary pole.
And though she was facing off against a demon in midair, her expression looked entirely unruffled.
In fact, something about her reminded me of Satou.
“Hey, where’d the monsters in the sky go?”
“That black-haired woman defeated them all.”
I overheard Lou and Iona talking.
I was so entranced by the woman that I hadn’t noticed. But they were right: That enormous swarm of fang horseflies and glutton dragonflies had disappeared.
“FWOONWYOOOO.”
“Yeah, right! Break Magic!!”
The intermediate demon unleashed a giant Fire Magic spell that seemed to scorch the sky, but the black-haired woman made it vanish with a wave of her staff.
Almost like the ancestral king in the legends.
“Multiple Javelins…”
At least fifteen short, transparent javelins shot forth from around the girl.
The intermediate demon flailed desperately to avoid the shots.
“…with a bonus Divine Lance!”
Three enormous lances the size of barrier posts appeared around the black-haired woman.
“Gooooooo!”
Her long black hair fluttered, and one of the giant lances flew toward the demon at an incredible speed.
The intermediate demon managed to dodge the giant lance with a birdlike swoop, but in his distraction, he was hit by several of the Multiple Javelins from behind, piercing his body.
The second giant lance smashed right through the intermediate demon’s upper body, and the third scattered the demon’s remains as they blackened and turned to ash, disappearing into the sky.
“…Shoot!”
The black-haired boy looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue.
Above us, the black-haired woman was staggering in midair.
“That idiot, pushing herself when she just woke up!”
“All hands, destroy remaining enemies while rescuing Miss Mito!”
“““Understood, we report.”””
The blond magic soldiers ran toward the falling black-haired woman.
“Wait!”
The black-haired boy started to run after them, but Lilio grabbed him and held him back.
“Hold on! It is you, isn’t it, John Smith?”
Oh right—that boy was Lilio’s former sweetheart!
“Sorry, Lilio. I’ll have to explain next time.”
The black-haired boy—John Smith—stroked Lilio’s hair gently.
“Don’t do anything crazy until then, got it?”
He gave a small smile, then let go of Lilio’s hand and ran after the magic soldiers.
“Anyone who’s still alive, speak up! We’re going to rescue our comrades trapped under the gravel!”
I heard Vice Captain Leelo shouting from the other side of the rubble.
One after another, men and women I couldn’t see called out in response.
From the looks of things, we were saved.
Without this miraculous stroke of luck, we would surely have met our deaths on this battlefield like all the others.
…I have to get stronger.
At least strong enough to fight a demon.
We will get stronger, in memory of the comrades we lost.
Next time, we’ll be the ones who bring forth a miracle!
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