Fremd Torturchen - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

2

A Mysterious Foe

Time flowed on mercilessly, leaving mortal matters and concerns behind in its wake.

The sky grew dark. The hill where Kaito had knocked out the paladins was blanketed in darkness as well.

Even the holes in the earth gouged by conflicts past were cast in black relief. It was as though a jet-black sea had spread over the entire area, concealing the coffins and bones in deep shadows and bringing a gentle silence to the surroundings.

Then a sharp noise rang out.

—Click, clack.

A beautiful woman stood atop the hill’s summit, her heels ringing like the notes of a song.

It was Elisabeth Le Fanu, the Torture Princess. She cast her crimson gaze on the area around her, taking it in with a scornful eye.

“So this is where you went, eh? You chose yet another unpleasant and nostalgic spot.”

Elisabeth scoffed.

Her silken black hair fluttered, as did the dress she was wearing, which was colored scarlet on the inside and extended past her waist. As she stood atop the hill, she began searching for irregularities. A few seconds later, she dropped to one knee and knelt on the ground. Not shying away from the bones around her in the slightest, she inspected the spot where she’d noticed the influx of mana.

At first glance, there didn’t appear to be anything left. Someone had probably been in charge of destroying the evidence and, as such, had carefully scooped up the earth and smoothed it out. But concentrating to her utmost, Elisabeth discovered a spot that was stained ever so slightly red.

“Hmm.”

She scooped it up with the tip of her finger and stuck it in her mouth. As the mana lingered on her tongue, she searched her memories. Upon zeroing in on a particular magical tool, she spat out the dirt and lightly brushed off her soiled tongue.

“Mana mixed with the taste of old flesh. Blood, bone, and organ shavings. Primitive, but convenient. I’d thought it banned across all human lands, so… Ah.”

Elisabeth heaved a deep sigh.

After receiving notice from the Church about a new sighting of the Kaiser’s contractor, she’d made the unusual choice of visiting the scene herself. The reason she’d done so was because there’d been a point that had caught her attention in the report she’d received.

It had been in the testimony of one of the paladins who’d apparently been saved after barely escaping with his life.

When he’d been on the threshold between dreams and consciousness, he reported feeling like he’d heard the Kaiser’s contractor having a conversation with someone.

There was a chance that the person Kaito had been talking to had been no more than Hina, Vlad, or the Kaiser. But the timing was too ominous to casually overlook it.

’Tis been quite some time since Kaito made his declaration of war at the Capital.

Unlike the demons to date, Kaito was capable of holding a dialogue. Now was around the time when people would start to realize that. Someone might have finally tried to make contact with him.

That was what sparked Elisabeth’s apprehension. And it seemed her fears had been wholly on the mark.

And what’s more, the first to come into contact with him had been of a different race.

“The other person is a beastman, eh? This is turning out to be quite bothersome indeed.”

If that was the case, then she had a new problem to deal with.

The beastfolk’s pureblood borough was completely off-limits. The Church’s eyes didn’t reach that far, and Elisabeth now found herself wholly unable to pursue Kaito. The Torture Princess was a pawn of the Church, and a powerful weapon to boot. If she went and trespassed on the beastman territories on her own, it could very well end up sparking a war.

“What in the blazes have you gotten yourself wrapped up in, Kaito? What are your intentions?”

Elisabeth whispered, and the darkness around her grew steadily deeper. No answer came back. That was only natural.

Once, Kaito had tried to remain by Elisabeth’s side to the bitter end. But now he was off in a distant land.

Kaito Sena had chosen to become the enemy of mankind.

And now the beastfolk had reached out to him.

It was unclear what the significance of that was, or what consequences it would bring about.

The only thing for certain was that Kaito had temporarily slipped Elisabeth’s reach.

“…’Tis nonsense.”

She bit down on her lip, enraged. But the thing that upset her wasn’t Kaito’s disappearance itself. No, the object of her anger was a different emotion that was welling up within her whether she wanted it to or not.

She had just felt a definite sense of relief

at the fact that she was unable to kill Kaito Sena.

And as the Torture Princess, that was something she could not allow.

“Ah, achoo!”

“Oh my, did you catch a cold? Our lands are far chillier than those in which humans live. As you can see, we are blessed with thick fur. But adjusting the temperature to suit human tastes is an area we find ourselves tragically deficient in. If the fire doesn’t meet your needs, please don’t hesitate to say something.”

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s not a cold. It really does feel like someone’s talking about me behind my back, though.”

Lute’s words were brusque yet filled with earnest concern, and Kaito’s reply was easygoing.

The sun had long since set, and they’d left the village where the massacre had taken place behind.

They were currently in a different small village, one that sported a row of simple houses just like the last. Its tall fence was crafted from interwoven branches, and Kaito and the others were huddled around an open-air fire near its entrance. Trees spread out in every direction. Humidity percolated in the shadows the trees cast, causing the chill to sink into their skins. However, the strong flames did a lot to help drive the cold away.

A pot full of water sat atop the fire, and finely torn flower petals sat simmering inside it. Before long, the water was dyed a vivid orange hue.

Hina had been watching over the pot, and her maid uniform rustled as she quickly stood.

“All right, if I decoct these any longer, it’ll go bitter. Quickly and carefully…now!”

Removing the pot from the flame, Hina scooped out the withered, mushy petals. She placed them on a separate plate, then sliced up some dried fruit and added it to the pot. As the lingering heat warmed them up, the orange water started to take on a reddish tinge. After deciding the hard chunks had spread out enough, she began ladling the pot’s contents into bowls.

“There you go, Master Kaito and Mr. Lute. Eat up.”

“Thanks, Hina.”

“Oh my, you’ve done a wonderful job with the leaves we brought along. Your functions are a marvel, Madam Hi…na… No, forgive my rudeness. I’d been told you were an automaton, Madam Hina, but I should have referred to you the same way I would a person. In my carelessness, I spoke presumptuously. My apologies. Erm…”

“Hee-hee, please, don’t worry about it. I am my beloved Master Kaito’s eternal lover, his faithful companion, his soldier, his weapon, his love outlet, his sex doll, and his bride—all because I am a puppet. And I take great pride in that fact.”

Hina flashed a gentle smile. His eyes filling with admiration, Lute held his bowl high.

“Well said. Whatever one’s nature is, being able to take pride in it is a beautiful thing. In that case, I wish to express my thanks toward your functions once more.”

Though he was singing Hina’s praises, Lute didn’t bring the bowl to his mouth. It seemed beasts and beastfolk alike favored their senses of smell, as the shape of his mouth relaxed while he savored the aroma. Apparently, it was beastfolk custom to wait for food to cool completely before eating.

Kaito was the first to have a taste. The broth had a curious viscosity to it.

A honey-like sweetness that was mixed with the fruit’s acidity filled his mouth. The flavor seemed to wash all the fatigue from his body. Slowly exhaling, Kaito looked up at the night sky.

As he gazed at the smattering of stars in the darkness, he let out a small remark.

“…I’m not seeing anyone.”

“Quite. And I was so ready to rend them limb from limb.”

“I’ve yet to sense anyone suspicious around us, either.”

As they calmly passed the time, the three of them quietly whispered among themselves. They were feigning being relaxed, but they were constantly surveying their surroundings. Lute’s subordinates were doing the same.

All of them were waiting.

They were waiting to ambush the killer when they attacked a new village.

Their simple yet precise plan had been suggested by a rather unexpected source.

“Let’s put aside the matter of who the killer is for the moment. Right now, we should be focusing on how to prevent the next massacre.”

Back at the village with the strung-up victims, Kaito had shelved the prospect of identifying the one responsible.

Just because they’d figured out that the culprit was a demon didn’t mean they had any concrete way of stopping the killings. Their top priority needed to be preventing the murderer from preying on any more victims. And in order to do that, they had to figure out where the next attack would take place. But even though Kaito had been called in to help, his investigative capabilities were borderline nonexistent. Unfortunately, his presence wasn’t doing much to improve the situation.

They also didn’t have time to add him to the patrols that were going from village to village. More victims would undoubtedly spring up in the interim.

“Is there any way we could figure it out for…oh. Well, I guess we could ask him.”

It was at that point that Kaito thought of asking a particular man for advice.

Specifically, the Kaiser’s previous contractor: Vlad Le Fanu.

After all, the man had committed his fair share of massacres himself. His unique viewpoint might prove useful.

With that hope, Kaito ran mana through the jewel containing the replica of Vlad’s soul.

Extravagant azure petals and black feathers sprang out from within. With that as his backdrop, Vlad made his appearance, as gracefully as always. His cravat paired well with his aristocratic outfit, and it waved from side to side as he crossed his legs in the empty air.

“Do you have some business with me, my dear successor?”

“There’s something I want your opinion on. Do you mind?”

“Hmm… Rather cheerful words, coming from a man who abandons others to mind-numbingly boring jewels once they’ve served their purpose.”

“Sorry about that, then. Back in you go.”

“Let me hear you out.”

It looked like Vlad’s complaints about boredom were rather serious.

The beastfolk were startled by the man’s—who was clearly no saint—sudden appearance, even though he was just a phantom. However, Kaito decided to leave off the explanation for later and instead told Vlad what had been going on.

Stroking his chin, Vlad nodded thoughtfully.

“Lend me a map.”

Something had clearly piqued his interest, as he stared intently at the map Kaito held up. He fired off a series of questions to Lute as he pointed to various locations.

“Where did the past killings take place? Hmm, beastman diets vary from species to species, so villages tend to be homogenous, correct? What types of animal were the victims? What, don’t call them ‘animals’? Oh, quit fussing over minor details. Hmm, I see. Now, how were they killed? Skinned, skewered, strung up… Now then, would you tell me about the species that live in the villages in this radius? Yes, all of them.”

Finally satisfied, Vlad stroked his chin again.

Having been made to recount the details of the past killings, fatigue crept across Lute’s and his subordinates’ faces. Kaito silently swore that if Vlad couldn’t come up with anything after all that, then he’d never let him outside again. But Vlad himself snapped his fingers, his gesture overflowing with composure.

He indicated a particular village with a white-gloved hand.

“The next attack will be here.”

“How can you know that?”

Kaito was taken aback at Vlad’s confidence.

Vlad pointed at the map again, tracing a large circle with the site of the most recent attack at its center.

“Oh, it’s simple. At first glance, the locations of the killings don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. But they’re all selected from within this circle surrounding the most recent attack, are they not? I think it rather likely that our foe’s teleportation capabilities are restricted to this circle’s diameter.”

“I mean, even so, that’s a big area.”

“Quite. And we had already calculated the range our enemy was teleporting at. But the area is too large to narrow it down to a single village they might target.”

“If that’s the case, then you’d best change your point of view. Take a gander at the villagers who’ve been killed up till now. In order, it’s rabbitfolk, birdfolk, and foxfolk. Skinning, skewering, and stringing up. They’ve each been killed in an appropriate way, but they’re rather diverse, aren’t they?”

“You’re not wrong, but so what?”

“The village I marked is both within the circle and home to deerfolk. In other words, a species with a trait not found in any of the victims to date—their antlers.”

“But what does that have to do—”

“Hmm? Isn’t it obvious, my dear successor? Think about what will happen after they’re killed. The new spectacle, with the corpses all lined up. Think of all the possibilities that antlers offer when you’re tormenting them and using them as decoration!”

A heavy silence descended on them. The very air seemed to have suddenly grown colder.

Kaito was at a loss for words, and Hina shook her head. Lute and his men were practically brimming with bloodlust. As he basked in their judgmental gazes, Vlad smiled sweetly.

Then he brazenly went on, as though it were only natural that he give an answer when posed a question.

“If it were me, I would undoubtedly choose this place! Assembly-line work is best when you’re having fun!”

Man, “unthinkable” doesn’t even begin to describe the way he thought about it… I mean, I called it an assembly line, too, but still.

As he sipped at his flower soup, Kaito ruminated on the earlier events.

There were times when people really should refrain from saying everything that came to mind.

Although they’d gotten into a small quarrel, the group eventually decided to go off Vlad’s hypothesis and lie in wait at the deerfolk village.

While the deer-headed beastfolk were taken aback by the arrival of both the national guard and visitors of another race, they let them in regardless. Despite their confusion, they’d even tried to show their guests a warm welcome. But Kaito and the others had turned them down, instead directing them not to come outside that night no matter what unless they were given the signal to flee.

Then, after holding a meeting on their routes and plans, they took up their positions by the village’s front entrance.

At first, Kaito had been worried about that fact and had asked if it was okay for them to be out in the open. But according to Vlad, his concerns were unfounded.

“Our foe will clearly be lax. After all, if they were to run into a patrol, they could simply annihilate the small fries to the last man! This time, though, those who were fated to become prey have brought along the Kaiser’s contractor. And our foe is unaware of that fact. Because of that, our presence should have little effect on how our foe moves. Go forth and meet them boldly! That is the proper way a tyrant ought to conduct himself!”

Vlad had, in fact, been useful. But his thoughtless remarks toward the beastfolk had crossed the line.

At present, he had been crammed into his jewel once more. It had been squirming in displeasure for some time now. But Kaito blithely ignored Vlad’s complaints.

All’s well and good if his intuition’s on the mark, but…if it isn’t, more people are gonna die.

Anxious, Kaito cast a glance toward Lute. His golden eyes were filled with a tension so fierce that it seemed like he might stop breathing. Lute had agreed to Kaito and Vlad’s proposal. But it hadn’t been anything more than a compromise on his part, as he hadn’t been able to come up with anything more effective. Kaito could tell.

Lute had been the one to invite him. But that definitely didn’t mean he trusted Kaito and his companions. He’d promised them hospitality, but the situation was nowhere near peaceful enough to just take an outsider at his word.

Given that they invited me as a visiting commander, a member of the nobility has to be behind it. I don’t know how monolithic the beastfolk are, but if nothing else, it’s gotta be someone who’s at least involved in their national politics.

Still, he didn’t know who that person was. For that matter, they hadn’t even taken him to their headquarters or told him anything beyond the details of the killings. And in spite of all that, they were having him do dangerous fieldwork for them.

If Kaito’s promise to help turned out to not be of any use, Lute and his men probably weren’t planning on giving him any additional information.

In a sense, it could be said they were taking advantage of his goodwill. But even though he realized that, it didn’t make him feel particularly put out.

After all, I’m just a fugitive right now. I’d much rather be of use to someone than aimlessly running around and trying to find someplace to hide.

Kaito had no desire to get exploited in some scheme and become embroiled in an international controversy. Compared with that, sleeping outside in order to help catch a serial killer was a piece of cake.

Besides, the unease that Lute and his men were feeling was genuine. They wanted to resolve the situation from the bottoms of their hearts.

And the fact that a huge number of beastfolk had been brutally killed was true as well.

Given all that, he had no reason not to lend them his aid.

But the thing that’s bugging me is…

Why was a demon doing this? They were all supposed to be dead. Had a new contractor appeared?

Or could it be that…

On that note, Kaito shook his head and cut off that train of thought. Mindlessly listing off possibilities wouldn’t do him any good. Any matter involving demons quickly surpassed rational expectations.

Right now, he needed to focus on the danger directly in front of him.

As he forcibly changed gears in his mind, he drank down the rest of the floral soup. His bowl was empty, and Hina’s eyes sparkled when she saw that. She raised her hand with the vigor of a puppy wagging its tail.

“Master Kaito, Master Kaito! The seconds your faithful Hina made are over here, my love!”

“Could I have more, then, darling?”

“Of course! I shall serve it alongside a hearty helping of love!”

Hina smiled as she took the bowl from Kaito. As he watched their exchange, Lute displayed a dumbfounded expression. After a moment, though, he oohed admiringly.

“My, how passionate. Could it be that you two aren’t master and servant, but lovers?”

“We’re married, actually.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! My heart’s fluttering so hard that I might just die!”

Upon hearing Kaito’s immediate reply, Hina’s face flushed. Placing her hands on her cheeks, she began twisting back and forth. Lute became more and more bewildered.

“O-oh. That reminds me, Madam Hina, you did just refer to yourself as his bride. I see. So Madam Hina, the automaton, is your wife, then, Sir Kaito?”

“Why? Is that weird?”

Kaito posed the question. Lute had reacted with revulsion and disgust to some of the things he and Vlad had said and done. And the beastfolk revered nature, so there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t feel hostility toward automatons. Kaito gave up, not expecting anything in the way of a favorable response. But to his surprise, Lute violently shook his head from side to side.

“No, not in the slightest!”

Kaito was a bit astonished at how insistent Lute seemed.

He definitely didn’t seem to be lying. Oddly bashful, Lute cleared his throat.

“Ahem, the thing is, you see… My wife is both a decade my junior and a goatwoman. She’s a wonderful girl with a pure heart who loves the wind and the earth…but as you can see, I’m a wolfman. We encountered no small amount of antagonism leading up to our marriage. I am very fortunate that my master is an open-minded one, and that my subordinates get along with my wife so well. To this day, though, there are those who speak poorly of us behind our backs.”

“My goodness, how dreadful! It grinds my gears when people get in the way of mutual love!”

“Thank you for your kind words. You truly are a compassionate woman. In that respect, I see little difference between the two of you, and you clearly hold a great deal of affection for each other. I think the two of you are wonderful for each other!”

With that, Lute patted his chest. Kaito involuntarily softened his expression.

Hina’s cheeks were growing more and more flushed, and she was twirling her fingers aimlessly in the air.

“‘Wonderful for each other’? Oh my… While it’s true that Master Kaito and I are a uniquely fated pair, and that we were bound by destiny the moment the world came into being, hearing you say so makes me feel rather bashful. Eek!”

“Yeah, hearing you say that makes me real happy. I bet your wife’s happy, too, having a husband who thinks so fondly of her.”

Kaito’s pleased expression and Hina’s bashfulness seemed to be contagious. Lute laughed in embarrassment as he scratched his head.

His subordinates were looking their way in amusement. Upon noticing that fact, Lute got flustered and called out to them.

“Now, look here, you lot! What do you think you’re doing, listening to us so intently?!”

“Lucky you, Captain, getting to brag about your wife to someone new!”

“All of us have heard every last one of your stories a million times already, after all!”

“Be quiet! Ahem… My goodness, though, what a surprise, being able to bond with another devoted husband like this.”

“Yeah, same goes for me.”

Kaito nodded. Lute’s smile reached his golden eyes as he whispered gently.

“You see, we beastfolk don’t much care for lies. So to speak quite candidly, I had thought you a rather cold-hearted man. But deep down, it seems that you’re a compassionate gentleman after all.”

Kaito found himself blinking at how unexpected the remark had been.

Lute’s red tail swayed gently as he slowly went on.

“When we came to invite you, I purposefully gave you few reasons to lend us your assistance. I didn’t even mention offering remunerations for your military advice. But despite all that, you came with us anyway. To tell you the truth, we’d been prepared for a much more protracted negotiation.”

“Really? Wait, did I totally just miss a chance to get information out of you guys?”

“We held several trump cards to use if you tried. But if we’d had to, we probably wouldn’t be sharing this fire as we are now. When inviting along a demon’s contractor, great care must be taken in evaluating their character. Or so I’d thought, in any case, but it appears the impression of you that we got from the battle against the Earl held true.”

Lute flashed him a faint smile, to which Kaito responded with a strong nod.

As he’d thought, Lute and his men didn’t plan to offer up any information regarding the beastfolk. Even so, though, it looked like his amenable behavior had curried him some favor. They seemed to hold more trust in him than he’d expected.

That fact alone made Kaito truly glad.

Lute raised his bowl to try to conceal his bashfulness. He completely drained the cooled floral broth, then spoke.

“By the way, Mrs. Sena, might I trouble you for seconds?”

“Eeeeeee! He called me ‘Mrs. Sena’! He called me ‘Mrs. Sena’! For that, you can have as many refills as you want!”

“Wait, Hina, hold up. We’re lying in ambush here, we can’t drink too much, or—huh?”

Then Kaito trailed off midsentence.

Something was shining near the edge of his vision. Upon closer inspection, the moonlight was reflecting off something in the tree line. But there was nothing natural that should have glinted like that late at night in the forest.

Everything was completely silent, the lively atmosphere from a moment ago having vanished like a distant memory.

First Hina, then Lute stood up. Kaito rose to his feet as well.

Then he looked at the “thing.”

“…What is that?”

It looked like neither a human nor a beast.

In fact, it didn’t look alive at all.

At first glance, it looked like a silver spider.

Or, perhaps, a better way to put it would be to describe it as an intricate mass of rubbish.

Kaito squinted. Whatever it was that had appeared out of the darkness, it was made out of a series of joined pieces of metal. But although it did have eight legs, its basic shape was like that of an insect or a crustacean. However, the metal plates that made up its body constantly shifted and squirmed as they glimmered. The fact that its exterior was constantly undergoing minute changes caused its appearance to be wholly divergent from that of any creature found in nature.

Kaito involuntarily racked his memories for something similar to compare it to.

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through his mind. His teacher back in elementary school had been fond of visiting art museums, and Kaito thought back to the contents of a picture his teacher had enthusiastically described during recess one day.

…Avant-garde art.

The picture had been a piece of art enclosed in inorganic material that was designed to ridicule the living.

That was the closest thing he could come up with to describe the entity before him. But there was no reason for it to exist in this world, let alone within the beastfolk territories. It was probably akin to an underling that someone had created.

As he vigilantly collected his thoughts, Kaito felt a sense of unease.

All the underlings up till now have been weirdly large animals and hideously distorted people.

Underlings were, fundamentally, living creatures who’d undergone terrible transformations. Because of that, no matter how hideous they became, they usually resembled their original forms, more or less. But the thing he was facing now was far too alien to be a mere mutation.

It was simply too inorganic. And it was giving off too much power to be classified as a familiar.

But then what the hell is it?

Kaito found himself at a loss.

Then the thing—which probably resembled a machine more than a work of avant-garde art—began moving.

It immediately became oddly blurry as the chunks of metal making up its body started audibly vibrating. Then, as though it had received some kind of order, it spread its eight legs wide.

It looked almost like a massive silver lily sitting atop a grassy field.

Then it vanished.

“…Huh?”

Kaito lost sight of their foe. At the same time, his arm moved. His beastly left arm practically moved on its own to pursue the path the silver thing had taken. His sharp claws dug into and caught the flying machine.

Sparks flew, as though two swords had just collided.

After taking stock of the situation, he came to the realization that his arm was numb.

It was so very heavy.

Kaito let out a shout from the depths of his diaphragm.

“Hrrragh!”

Using all his strength, he swung down the arm he’d caught the thing’s leg with.

The machine nearly crashed into the ground. Just before it made impact, though, it gave off a clacking noise and rearranged its body. Its previously straightened legs sprang joints. They gently bent, reducing the impact and allowing the machine to make a clean landing.

—Screeeee, scraaaaaw!

It let out a high-pitched, roar-like noise.

Hina frantically rushed over to Kaito’s side. He turned to her, then asked a question.

“Hina, you know what that thing is?”

“I’m very sorry. My Self-Recording Device contains no information on anything resembling that. It isn’t an automaton, and it isn’t the same type of construct as the Church’s communication devices. Whatever could it be?”

“Oh-ho! Now there’s a surprise!”

A deep voice rang out from somewhere rather unexpected. Kaito’s eyes went wide. It was rare for anything to elicit a response from the Kaiser. With his body still hidden, the supreme hound laughed in amusement.

“Why, if it isn’t Deus Ex Machina! I surely didn’t expect to see that in a land such as this!”

“—Wait, what did you just say?”

Kaito frowned at the strange echo. However, he didn’t have time to sit around asking questions.

The shrill noise rang out once more.

—Screeeee, scraaaaaw!

The machine rose to its feet. Its torso didn’t so much as twitch as its eight legs began rapidly revolving. Spraying mud every which way, it drilled its way into the dirt.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the machine disappeared from the surface.

“…It burrowed.”

“Master Kaito, I implore you to stay within a range I can defend you from.”

Their entire party surveyed their surroundings. For a moment, the area was silent. The leaves on the trees rustled ever so slightly.

Then the ground exploded. The machine came flying out, its eight legs gathered to form a spear.

So fast that it seemed to have been shot from a catapult as it hurtled toward Lute.

“Captain!”

“I’m fine!”

Without needing to be told, he’d already anticipated that he might be attacked. As he calmly replied to his subordinate, Lute dropped down low to the ground. As he prepared for the impact, he readied his sword and let out a cry.

“You shall pay for the atrocities you’ve committed on our people! Starting with those legs of yours!”

As he raised his stormy battle cry, Lute brought down his sword. He’d probably assumed already that his weapon wouldn’t pierce it, so instead of trying to cut the machine, he used the whole of his blade to strike it.

A hard noise rang out. His attack had landed cleanly on the machine. But as Kaito watched, he was taken aback. Even though the machine had been caught by Lute’s intense blow, it was just casually floating in the air.

Its legs had grown even more joints, and those appendages coiled around Lute’s sword.

“Rgh!”

“Lute!”

Kaito tried to snap his fingers.

Before he could, though, a graceful, explosive blow landed squarely on the machine’s torso.

“Hiyah!”

The hem of Hina’s maid uniform fluttered in the wind as she lashed out with her ax kick.

The sound of metal scraping echoed out from where the sole of her foot had connected with the machine.

After resisting for a second, the machine was blown away, sword and all. It crashed loudly into a tree. The tree’s trunk bent, creaked, then snapped, crashing to the ground with a thunderous noise amid a pillar of fumes.

Her silver hair swaying, Hina quietly lowered her foot, and her billowed-out skirt came to a gentle rest.

“Please, pull yourself together! You don’t want your wife mourning for you!”

“Ah, how shameful! I vow to return the favor!”

As he replied to Hina’s reprimand, Lute tried to adjust his grip on his sword. However, it had been sent flying along with the machine. His ears flopped limply. But he shook his head vigorously, and they stood right back up. Having regained his dignity, he directed a sharp cry to his troops.

“A spare sword!”

“Here!”

One of them pulled a new sword from their luggage and tossed it to him. Upon catching it, Lute nodded and drew his new weapon from its scabbard in a sweeping motion.

As he did, the machine rose back to its feet. Seemingly stunned, it began joining its silver metal plates together.

—Screeeee, scraaaaaw!

Destroying it with brute force is gonna take a while. If we even can, that is.

Having arrived at that conclusion, Kaito wiped away the sweat clinging to his brow. If they were able to fix it in place, they’d probably be able to pull out a victory. But if worse came to worst and it successfully burrowed its way to the village, another tragedy was bound to unfold.

The question, then, was how to finish the battle quickly and decisively.

Kaito racked his brains for the method that seemed most effective. Then he suddenly recalled a certain entity’s existence.

Wait, that’s right. I have seen something similar to that thing, and it’s not just the avant-garde art.

During the short period he’d attended school for, he’d seen one of the bosses in a video game that his classmate had been playing. It had been composed of a series of planks, and his classmate had used a variety of weapons to tear it apart.

The boss had been powerful. But individually, the planks weren’t anything special.

Abruptly, Kaito spoke.

“Kaiser.”

“…”

“Kaiser!”

“What are you causing that racket for? A master as unworthy as you should take care not to call me so frivolously.”

“I’m gonna stop that thing. Lend me your power.”

With that, Kaito made his plea. The Kaiser scoffed in irritation. Then he let out his humanlike laugh.

“Ha, as if. That thing has nothing to do with demons. And destroying it would do little to exemplify my strength. Why, then, should I go out of my way to lend you my fangs?”

“…It doesn’t have anything to do with demons?”

The Kaiser’s words weren’t just surprising; they came as a legitimate shock.

Put another way, they meant the thing before them was neither an underling nor a familiar. But it wasn’t a human, beast, or spirit, either.

What, in that case, could it possibly be?

…“Deus Ex Machina”?

That was what the Kaiser had called it.

Kaito couldn’t afford to simply stay in the dark regarding the machine. He needed to find out what it was. But although his instincts were screaming that fact out to him, he temporarily swallowed his questions.

Right now, I gotta focus on taking out the enemy in front of me.

With that objective in mind, he gave voice to a different query.

“Answer me this. That thing is pretty strong, but the chunks of metal it’s made of aren’t all that tough…right?”

“Something to that effect, I suppose. I can make out power residing in each of its pieces, but only by coming together as a colony can they demonstrate their strength. But whether you cut it or strike it, destroying its metal with your own is likely no mean task. And I’ve little desire to eat anything so hard. Now then, what do you intend to do?”

“To be honest, I’m still not all that great at magic. But I’ve got a method that’ll definitely hit it and should be effective, to boot.”

Kaito made his assertion. The Kaiser was silent for a few seconds. Eventually, though, he seemed to understand.

Having guessed at the method Kaito was thinking of, the Kaiser finally took on an interested tone.

“I see. As always, the manner in which you think leaves me unsure as to whether you’re a madman or a fool. So what would you have me do?”

“I’ve just got one request. I need you to bring me over there as accurately as you can.”

“Hmm very well, I suppose.”

Considering the lengthy time that he’d taken in consideration, his tone was rather indifferent even though he had agreed to help.

All the while, the machine had been determining the new arrangement for its metal plates. Minute changes were taking place atop its arachnoid back. In the blink of an eye, it had gained a set of airplane-like wings.

It looked like Kaito’s hunch had been right on the mark.

The longer the fight went on, the greater its range of attack would grow.

Oscillating its metal plates one by one, the thing flew high into the air. Hina readied herself to hurl her halberd after it. But Kaito stopped her with one hand. With a confused expression, she stood down.

“Master, if I may, why—”

As she was in the middle of asking her question, the Kaiser materialized next to Kaito. The hound could alter his form on a whim, but at the moment, he’d chosen to stand as tall as two adult men.

As he stooped down, the Kaiser uttered a languid murmur.

“I suppose I don’t mind tossing you from my mouth.”

The next moment, he bit down on Kaito’s collar and hurled him into the air.

The machine was silently making its descent from on high when Kaito flew precisely in front of it.

His military uniform fluttered as he blocked the machine’s path. It seemed like it hadn’t anticipated his actions, either, so it didn’t intercept his flight. However, it reached out one of its feeler-like sections and spontaneously ran Kaito through.

Its appendage met little resistance as it pierced through his flesh and bone.

“Master Kaito!”

“My word!”

Hina screamed, and Lute looked up at Kaito in astonishment. A moment later, though, a sliver of relief spread across Hina’s face.

Kaito had given her a nod. The Kaiser would be in trouble if his contractor died. The throw had been highly precise, and the part that had gotten stabbed was Kaito’s right shoulder. Given all those facts, Kaito’s life wasn’t in much danger.

Nice throw, Kaiser!

Then Kaito turned back toward the machine and grabbed on to its feeler with his beastly left arm. Purposefully gouging his wound, he ripped out a chunk of his flesh.

Blood spurted forth, and he dashed the red, mana-rich liquid all over the machine’s body.

When he did, his blood began seeping into the spaces between the sheets of metal.

After verifying that he had done what he needed, he let go of the feeler. He snapped his fingers as he began making his descent.

“La (overflow).”

Instantly, his blood transformed into water. Then, using Kaito’s pain and mana as its fuel, the water began growing.

As it expanded, the water filled up and pressed against the gaps between the metal slabs. The internal pressure proved too much for the machine to bear. The links between the sheets crumbled in an instant.

The water took that opportunity to freeze over.

The machine had been transformed into a spherical chunk of ice. Its metal sheets, separated and in disarray, were imprisoned within. The block of ice collapsed onto the grassy ground with a thunk. It showed no signs that it would ever move again.

At a glance, the individual sheets of metal didn’t individually have enough power to break out of Kaito’s ice after all.

“Got ’em!”

Kaito nodded in satisfaction. Nobody but him had gotten hurt. He’d been able to keep the number of victims to a minimum, just like he’d planned. Hina would probably be livid, though. He turned around, intending to apologize to her.

When he did, he saw Lute charging toward him with the ferocity of a raging bull.

“Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

“Well, that’s a surprise.”

He was even letting out an enraged cry for some reason. Kaito blinked rapidly.

All the fur on Lute’s body was bristling as he grabbed Kaito’s arm, and it remained that way as he inspected Kaito’s wound. Upon seeing the vast amount of blood gushing out, he spat out orders to his subordinates.

“Bring over the bandages and magical salve! Hurry!”

“I-I’m fine. You really don’t need to go that far. And I can more or less use healing magic myself, so…”

“Even so, just what do you think you’re doing? In front of your wife! I hardly think someone who prides themselves on being a devoted husband should cause their wife such worry!”

Lute shouted at him. Kaito nodded, suddenly understanding. But it looked like that wasn’t the only reason for his anger. Lute scratched violently at his head, as though to demonstrate how irritated he was.

“Damn how feckless I am! To think you would risk your life for us so! How am I ever supposed to repay such kindness?!”

Although he was clearly vexed, Lute seemed to be feeling somewhat ashamed. Kaito was at a loss for what to say. If he told Lute not to worry about it, it would undoubtably have the opposite effect.

For starters, he once again turned down the magical salve that Lute’s subordinates had brought him; the beastfolk had few magicians among their numbers, so it was likely quite valuable to them. Instead, he applied healing magic to his shoulder himself.

The wound closed up without a hitch. But after seeing the way Kaito’s skin had knitted together, Lute put forth a proposal.

“We should pay a visit to our headquarters. You’d best get that looked at by a medical specialist, just to be on the safe side.”

“I appreciate it, but…is it really okay for you to take me there?”

“Please! It pains me that you would think us such unfeeling monsters! Know this, Sir Kaito! Our people place far more pride in repaying debts than humans do!”

Visibly indignant, Lute let out a shout that seemed vaguely rude to humans.

His subordinates hurriedly got to work drawing a teleportation circle atop the grassy earth. Based on how quickly they’d reacted, it didn’t seem like any of them opposed the notion. Apparently, Kaito’s conduct had yielded unforeseen effects.

It looks like they trust me now, I guess… Huh.

As he sat there dumbfounded, a number of empty-handed beastfolk approached the block of ice.

They had no way of knowing if the machine had been alone, so there was no way they could pass up this chance to gather important information on their foe. But after consulting with his comrades, a single gray wolf with a sturdy physique broke off from the group and moved away from the ice.

As he approached Kaito, he called out to him worriedly.

“It might be sealed up, but doesn’t your wound still hurt? Here, let me give you a hand.”

“No, no, I can walk on my— Hwah!”

“While we’re grateful for your concern, the two of us will be fine on our own. I shall carry Master Kaito.”

“H-Hina?”

Before he’d had a chance to react, Hina had scooped him up and was carrying him under her arm. As he hung embraced by her slender arm, his eyes darted about.

The gray wolf gave her a sympathetic smile and a short bow. Then, clearly not wanting to get involved in a lover’s quarrel, he quickly left the two of them alone.

Kaito timidly glanced up at Hina’s face. Her shapely lips were tightly pursed.

Not looking toward him, she murmured quietly.

“For now, I shall say nothing. But Master Kaito, do know that I intend to get quite upset at you later.”

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry. Really, I am.”

Kaito reflexively slumped. A human laugh resounded deep in his eardrums.

“You know, I find myself thinking this somewhat frequently, but as far as human males go, you really are quite pathetic.”

Kaito, to his credit, tried to offer a rebuttal. But the moment he opened his mouth, Hina broke into a run toward the men who’d just finished drawing their teleportation circle. After nearly biting his tongue, Kaito decided to shut up.

As his bride carried him at a brisk dash, he cast a sidelong glance at the block of ice.

Then, all of a sudden, he realized something.

Deus Ex Machina.

He had seen something similar to it since coming to this world.

The Boondock Saints.

A titan of blades that only the Torture Princess could create.

…That’s what that thing looked like.

However, as far as figuring out what it all meant, Kaito hadn’t the foggiest.