I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Black Lightning-Cloaked Old Cat

AS WE FLED the battlefield, I sensed a newcomer approaching. They must have been hidden by the dome. Had the enemy called for reinforcements? I didn’t detect a shred of Malice from them, so that couldn’t be it.

The figure accelerated toward the battlefield at a speed that rivaled Fran’s Awakened form—leaving afterimages of black lightning behind them as they charged into the space between Mea and the second Valkyrie.

“Haaaa!”

“Where did you…?!” the Valkyrie stammered.

Whoever this newcomer was, they were too fast for even the combat-specialized Valkyrie to keep up with. Before she had time to react, they appeared behind her. She tried to turn and face them, but it was too late.

“Gah!”

A blade ran through her chest before she even knew who she was facing, piercing her right breast from behind.

“Uaaaaaargh!”

The blade sparked with black lightning, incinerating the Valkyrie’s body from inside.

“Impossible…” Rossweisse murmured.

It was her last word.

“Hmph, how dull.”

“M-Master Kiara!” Mea stuttered. “What are you doing here?!”

She sounded as shocked as she was delighted. Kiara was supposed to be in the capital, but here she was, standing in the midst of the battle. Her face and stature were as manly as when we last saw her, but she had changed too. I might not have been a beastman, but even I noticed the difference.

It was her hair that stood out the most—her aging silver now had streaks of black running through it, like the stripes of a tiger. And she was basically coated in black lightning. It sparked in the very air around her.

Somehow, Kiara had managed to Evolve, the effect made more striking by her white hair. No wonder they were called Black Tigers—but that wasn’t what shocked me the most. A Black Tiger should have been wrapped in pale blue lightning, like Lumina was. But the lighting around Kiara was pitch black—the calling card of a Black Sky Tiger.

I quickly Identified her and found that her stats were vastly improved. Kiara was already as strong as an Evolved beastman before she Evolved herself, so it was terrifying to think how strong she must be now. Her Extra Skill, War God’s Favor, pretty much multiplied her stat gain. Add in the Black Sky Tiger’s Class Skill, Flashing Thunderclap, and her stat values became downright silly. She outclassed Fran now, even with my support.

Kiara grinned confidently as she skewered the Valkyrie.

“Sorry for interrupting your duel, Mea.”

“M-Master…! You’ve…!”

“Hmph, let’s just say I entertained myself with a little Fiend hunting!”

“You are all the help we need, Master! We need to aid the others!”

“Calm yourself, child. Do you really think I’d come alone?”

“What?”

Sure enough, she’d brought reinforcements aplenty.

“Allow me to assist you, Miss Quina.”

“Mianoa.”

Mia, Kiara’s maid attendant dropped easily into Quina’s fight against the Dullahan. I guess Mianoa was her full name.

“We’ll employ ‘that,’ of course,” said Quina.

“Ah, ‘that.’ Of course.”

And so, a tag team of expressionless maids was formed.

Mianoa was a petite girl with fluffy pink curls and bottomless eyes, but after exchanging a few words with Quina, her form changed to something quite different.

“Awaken.”

One of her arms grew larger and larger below the elbow, until it looked like she’d borrowed the arm of a giant. It was covered in gray arrowhead-shaped scales, and her fingernails turned into thick claws, but only her arm seemed affected. She must be one of the beast tribes whose features were emphasized on Awakening.

Apparently, Mianoa was a member of the Pangolin tribe. A Gray Mountain Pangolin, to be exact. She had high Strength and Defense, and her Class Skill was Instant Strength Magnification. By the looks of it, she was specialized for physical combat.

“Proceeding.”

Mianoa charged straight toward the Dullahan to draw it out, acting as bait. While the Dullahan was preoccupied with her, Quina cast a Phantasm Spell and crept in behind it.

The rest of “that” played out as though they’d choreographed it. Quina twisted the Dullahan’s arms behind its back and kicked the back of its knee, forcing it to kneel. The Dullahan folded like a wooden mannequin. It might not feel pain, but it was still subject to the laws of biomechanics. Then Mianoa charged in at full speed and shoved her giant hand right through its body.

“Haaa!”

“…”

Her claws left a fist-sized hole in the Dullahan’s armor. The attack was so great that it basically shattered its crystal. Mianoa’s claws stopped just short of Quina’s chest but, faced with the death-dealing claw, the senior maid didn’t even flinch. A testament to just how much she trusted her junior.

Quina wasn’t much of a hard-hitter, but she was fast and an expert in disrupting her enemies. Meanwhile, Mianoa was slow, but could hit like a runaway drill. They made a great team.

“You caused a bit of blood splatter, Mianoa.”

“Come now, miss. A little blood is to be expected.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps you’re getting sloppy.”

“I-I am not getting sloppy.”

Yep. Great team.

Meanwhile, a big man stepped onto the battlefield to assist Lind, and he looked strangely familiar. He was Awakened, and I could see his tough gray hide peeking through the gaps in his armor.

“Wave Blast!” he bellowed.

Wait. We’d seen that move before. Gaudartha, an A-Rank Adventurer, had used it against Fran in the fighting tournament. The Black Iron Rhino was a formidable opponent, and it seemed that his nephew Gwendartha had Evolved recently.

His strength was still nowhere near his uncle’s level, and I’m sorry to say that his Wave Blast was so weak that I doubted it was even the same move, but I had to give him props for evolving since we left the capital. He must have undergone some pretty intense training. He uppercutted a Dullahan with his warhammer, and the impact combined with the Wave Blast to knock the monster straight up into the sky.

“Kuoooo!”

Once it was helplessly airborne, Lind incinerated the Dullahan with fire, then slammed it back into the ground with its tail. With the Dullahan battered and broken, Gwendartha piled on with his hammer.

“Raaaah!”

“Kuoooo!”

He smashed the undead creature’s armor with a warhammer art, weaving under Lind’s high-speed tail swipes.

“Tch! Just die already!”

“Kuoooo!”

The Dullahan struggled, but their attacks quickly finished it off. However, Gwendartha couldn’t have needed more than a single hit to kill it. It really underscored the difference in strength between him and Mianoa. Even now that he was Evolved, he was no match for the other combatants on the field.

“I win!”

“Kuoo!”

He might not be as strong as his uncle yet, but he had come a long way from the rhino who Fran had knocked out with a single blow.

And as for Fran’s reinforcements? It was someone we’d been waiting for all day.

“Grrrr!”

“Jet!!”

The direwolf had survived his mission to defeat the advanced units. He emerged from Fran’s shadow and clamped on to Siegrune’s ankle.

Fran didn’t bother to hide her delight. Both Jet and I were back at her side, and all was well in the world. Fran’s mood greatly affected her fighting, and the Valkyrie didn’t stand a chance against her now.

“A wolf?! Where did it…?”

“You’re done for.”

“Curses!”

Fran lunged forward, piercing the Valkyrie’s crystal. At least, she would have done, if Siegrune had not disappeared.

“I cannot afford to lose another servant.”

“I-I deeply apologize, Lady Murelia.”

Murelia had regrouped from the damage I’d dealt and teleported Siegrune to her side. Still, her Malice was pretty depleted. Guess it would take longer than that to recover from Fiend Crusher Revelation.

“Woof!”

“Welcome back, Jet.”

“Arf.”

Wherever Jet had been, he’d definitely been caught up in a fight. His whole body was covered with nasty wounds. Kiara and the others had probably fixed him up with some life potions, but it wasn’t enough to heal all of his scars. There was a deep gash down his right side that would have been fatal without their help. Patches of raw skin stood out through his fur, but the rest of his wounds were healing nicely. That one gash must have been pretty bad.

Hang on, buddy. Let me fix you up.

“Have some of this too, Jet.”

Between my healing and Fran’s life potions, Jet’s scars started to fade away, although he still wasn’t fully recovered. He was a lot less banged up than before, but there was at least one spot that refused to heal.

You look a lot cooler now, Jet.

“Hm. You look mean.”

“Woof!”

Something had tried to gouge out his left eye, and the scar it’d left behind made him look like something out of a yakuza movie. I mean, he looked fierce enough to make children cry before, now I suspected even adults would panic to get out of his way. The wound must have been caused by some kind of special attack, and it would need powerful spells and potions to heal completely.

By now, the others had defeated their own opponents and were starting to gather around Fran. Murelia glared at us with unabated fury. She must have finished fixing up Siegrune.

“You truly think I’d let you leave this place alive?”

Depleted or not, she was still full of Malice. I braced myself against the force of her rage. There was no doubt how dangerous this woman was. Even Kiara’s expression turned stiff.

“Looks like we’ve got a real monster on our hands.”

Yet she still retained her will to fight.

“You won’t leave here in one piece!” Murelia shouted, pouring out wave after wave of wrath.

I could feel it through Fiend Crusher Revelation. Even Kiara and Mea flinched away, but Gwendartha had it the worst.

“M-monster…”

His teeth chattered, but when he saw that everyone else was holding their ground, he stamped his foot and steadied himself.

“We have our Master on the field with us today!” he shouted. “And if that is not enough, we have two Reapers too… two Royal Maids, I mean. We will defeat you!”

Quina raised an eyebrow. “Reapers, you say?”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that! I have nothing but respect for His Majesty’s Finest! I swear!”

He shook his head enthusiastically to emphasize the point, deathly afraid of Quina.

Reapers? His Majesty’s Finest? The Royal Maids were more famous—and more fearsome—than I thought. No wonder, I guess, if Quina was any indication of their strength.

“I was going to rip you all to shreds,” Murelia went on. “But give me the sword, and I shall let you all go. Just this once.”

“…”

Wow, she really had her sights on me! She probably wanted to study my powers so she could free herself from the dungeon. Acquiring me seemed even more important than her revenge.

This time, Fran’s only answer was a stubborn glare.

“Hmph. Foolish girl.”

Murelia frowned and gestured with her right hand. I felt something bounce off my blade.

“Hm?” Fran asked.

Yeah, she definitely just tried something weird.

“What…?! Get over here!”

She thrust her arm out again, but the result was exactly the same: a black glow formed around my blade for an instant, then dissipated.

“What is this…?!”

She must be trying to pull me back to her hand, but Fiend Crusher Revelation was stopping her. She glared at me resentfully.

“Fine. I’ll just have to inspect you later.”

“Not happening,” said Fran.

“Oh, but it is. That sword is mine now. I’ve decided, you see?”

“I’ll never give him to you,” Fran said, tightening her grip on my hilt.

“Hmph, then I shall take it by force! Stand back, Siegrune!”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Now, prepare to die!”

Spheres of Malice poured from her outstretched arm, moving far too quickly to track, let alone evade. But Fran predicted their trajectory and used me to cut through every one of them. The spheres were powerful, but they didn’t leave so much as a single mark on my blade. Murelia was so furious that veins popped out all down her neck.

It was then that Kiara and the others made their move.

“Fire Javelin!”

“White Fire!”

“Kuooooo!”

“Grrr!”

Kiara must have been preparing that Fire Spell for a while. Maybe she hadn’t given it much thought, but the fact that she avoided Thunder Magic showed her natural combat instinct. Mea and Lind soon followed up with fire attacks of their own.

“Urgh!”

Murelia threw up a panicked barrier, then breathed a sigh of relief when the fire deflected harmlessly around it. Only then did she start laughing again, convinced that she had won.

“Ha ha ha! It’s no use!”

She must be having doubts about her ability to defend herself, after her Fiendmancy failed to affect me. Only when her barrier held did she begin to relax again, but Kiara had anticipated this defense. Her attack was a smokescreen from the beginning.

“Black Lightning Strike!”

In an instant, Kiara vanished and reappeared behind Murelia. She moved so fast, it looked like teleportation. Fran and I were probably the only ones that saw her move. The others just looked baffled, although Quina remained poker-faced as ever.

How did she do that? Her entire body was covered in black lightning…no, it looked like she’d become black lightning. Fran couldn’t move that fast, not even with Flashing Thunderclap and every skill and spell at our disposal. And that incantation…Black Lightning Strike? Did it require the use of Flashing Thunderclap first, like Black Thunderfall? If so, then why couldn’t Fran use it…?

Sure enough, Murelia had focused all of her attention on Fran and realized what Kiara was doing a second too late.

“Haa! Impact Slash!” Kiara shouted.

“Aargh! How dare you!”

Amazingly, Kiara’s Fire Elemental Blade and Advanced Sword Art actually damaged Murelia. I guess sneak attacks were effective, no matter how strong your opponent was. Still, even Kiara’s best efforts only scratched her. As the wound closed itself, Murelia started laughing again.

“Aha ha ha! I haven’t seen that move in ages! To think that there would be three Black Sky Tigers on the battlefield today. That’s more than even five hundred years ago!”

Kiara frowned. “So, you are one of us!”

“Of course, but I am so much more. A Black Sky Tiger and a servant of the Evil One. I have the power of both!”

“Yaaah!”

“Just die!”

If this were an ordinary sword fight, Fran’s superior Sword Mastery would give us the edge, but Murelia had lifted off of the ground again, and Fran didn’t have her natural ability for flight. For now, we were evenly matched.

Still, Murelia’s movements were much duller than before. That Fiend Crusher skill must have sealed away some of her Malice and weakened her. Her attacks weren’t as nimble as before either. This was our chance!

Raaah!

“Urgh!” Murelia grunted. “This again?!”

I split my ribbon into a host of needles and surrounded her. It forced her to stop attacking and start focusing on evasion. After all, her barrier was useless against my attacks now. By instinct, she ignored Kiara and the others and focused on what she perceived as the real danger.

But were the others really no threat to her at all?

“Awfully rude of you to ignore me,” said Mea. “But thank you for giving me the room to breathe.”

Mea entered the fatal three-way. Mianoa had launched her through the air, and Quina had concealed her presence until she was right on top of Murelia, meaning only I had noticed her approach. Murelia had no time to dodge. She seemed to debate ignoring her for a moment, then switched to a defensive stance, just to be safe. Her Detection Skills probably warned her that Mea was a significant threat.

Of course, that didn’t mean we had to make it easy for her.

“Got you.”

“Woof!”

“Hurk! You little…!”

Defending against Mea’s attack left her open to Fran. When Jet attacked from the shadows, Murelia was completely thrown off guard. She vanished and reappeared some distance away.

Don’t let her escape!

“Persistent cretins, aren’t you?!”

We warped to Murelia’s side and pressed the offense. We couldn’t land a hit, but it didn’t matter. So long as we distracted her from Mea, that was all we needed.

“What?” Mea said. “Are you running away now, Murelia?”

Mea was no ordinary swordsman. She was a Golden Fire Lion who could control flames as though they were part of her body. She gathered the fire around her, although it felt different from the spell that burned down the monster horde. Mea held her ground and raised her hand, palm shining with light.

“Flare Cannon!”

A brilliant beam of gold-and-white fire shot out of her hand, like a laser from a sci-fi movie.

The beam was a combination of both white fire and golden fire. She’d used the Golden Flame of Annihilation to kill the Fiendified Valkyrie, but that was a melee-range ability. Flare Cannon could cover a lot more distance, and with Murelia too preoccupied to notice, she took the entire brunt of it.

“Eeeeyaaaah!”

Before she could throw up a barrier, the whole lower half of her body was blown away. She writhed in pain as everything from her stomach down disintegrated in the fire. Tough as she might be, even she couldn’t shake off a full-power attack from Mea.

“D-damned lion! I’ll tear you to pieces!”

Her flesh was already starting to reconstitute itself. A lethal mist of Malice swirled around Murelia, triggering my Danger Sense. And the mist somehow protected her, making it hard to get through and finish her off. Fran raised me up above her head.

“Teacher, I’m going in.”

Go on. I’m with you.

It was then that Fran and I started to emit a pale blue light. It was a gentle glow, and it had a calming effect on my mind. I could feel Fran breathing. Every sensation passed through her body into me.

I was no stranger to this strange state—we seemed to enter it every time we fought against a powerful enemy. And I was beginning to understand what triggered it too. It wasn’t enough for our enemy to be powerful: they had to be prepared to die fighting against us, and Fran and I needed to be united in our intention to face them.

That’s why it hadn’t triggered when we fought the monster army earlier: Fran was too busy worrying about the safety of her tribe. Under those conditions, the blue light couldn’t shine. But now? It was another matter.

Fran had overcome her fear of Murelia, and her will to fight was at its peak. She was set on defeating this powerful enemy and, in that, our intentions were united. That said, I still had no idea where this strange power was coming from.

“Huff…huff…”

Fran was too focused to notice it was happening. In the blue light, beads of sweat dripped down her chin. The moment seemed to stretch out forever. All of her being was focused down into one single strike.

“Sword King Arts: Skycutter.”

The most powerful physical attack in our repertoire. The mist of Malice around Murelia was no match for us. Right now, I was sure we could have cut through anything we wanted to.

“Y-you…!”

A pale blue slash dispelled the miasma, melting it away. Skycutter sliced Murelia open from her left shoulder to her right side. She made for a grotesque sight, with her blood and guts falling down onto the ground below. Especially since, unlike Mea’s Flare Cannon, these wounds were cauterized. Even so, Murelia somehow began to regenerate. But Kiara was right behind her.

“Don’t forget about me!”

“You bastards!”

Despite everything, Murelia managed to block Kiara’s Black Lightning Strike. Even so, the impact was more than enough to send her plummeting back down to earth. There was a loud crash as she sank deep into the ground.

Kiara had done it. She’d put Murelia on the ropes. But while Fran had me to heal her and Murelia had a seemingly endless supply of mana, Kiara couldn’t keep Flashing Thunderclap up for too long. It was taking its toll, and as she watched Murelia fall, her Awakened form fizzled out, and she started falling too.

Kiara’s in trouble!

“Hm!”

Fran hurried to her aid, but Kiara was having none of it.

“Never mind me! The battle! Focus on the battle!”

“…!”

She glared up at us as she fell, urging us to fight. Fran complied, turning to go after Murelia. Despite Kiara’s depleted mana pool, Fran trusted the old cat to handle herself. Now we just had to worry about Siegrune, standing between Fran and her injured master.

“Not a step closer!”

She was holding a Fiendstone spear, but somehow, she’d retained her rational mind. The only sign of its influence were her featureless, jet-black eyes, and her brutal, terrifying speed. She blocked Fran’s strikes expertly, and even managed to get in a few counterstrikes. She was stronger now too, and I suspected her Sense and Combat Skills had been boosted along with a general stats boost. Either way, there was no option of checking. I couldn’t Identify her now that she was a Fiend.

Why isn’t she going berserk?

“How…are you still sane?” Fran muttered.

“Ha ha ha! Unlike my worthless sister, I have the power of the gods coursing through my veins! The Valkyries were created to serve the God of Conflict. Our master’s powers could never have an ill effect on us!”

The Valkyries were made back when the Evil One was still the God of Conflict. She might not be one of the originals, but someone in her ancestry must have been. She wasn’t resistant to the Evil One’s power: she had an affinity for it. Similar to the relationship between the Godbeast and the Ten Tribes.

“Haaa!”

“Yaaagh!”

However strong Siegrune was now, she was still no match for Fiend Crusher Revelation. Every time I clashed against her spear, her Malice drained away a little more. With the Fiend Seal, she would have less and less Malice available to her until she ran out. But she was still buying time for Murelia to recover.

We need to take her down!

“Hm! Jet!”

“Graaaargh!”

“Let go of me, you damned wolf!”

Jet’s jaws locked around Siegrune’s ankle, holding her in place. She stumbled and thrashed, trying to escape.

“Tch!”

Jet might not be able to trip her, but at least she wasn’t going anywhere. That gave us time enough to implement my real plan: to Transmogrify my ribbon into steel needles and attack her myself. I’d got the idea from Fran’s battle against Phelms in the fighting tournament and his tidal wave of strings. I couldn’t produce an attack on that scale, and the damage I dealt was far too low under normal circumstances, but it would be good enough. The attack was difficult to avoid, and we were up against Fiends—my new skill amplified the power of each needle exponentially.

Siegrune had expended all her energy to block Kanna Kamuy. She was easy pickings for Fran’s Sword Arts and my omnidirectional needle assault.

“Impact Slash!”

Eat this!

“Gyaaaaaa!”

Fran destroyed the Fiendstone spear, and an instant later, the Valkyrie shattered into a million pieces as I skewered her with my needles.

And her crystal is weak too!

I thought she might have retained some of her crystal count, since the Fiendstone hadn’t driven her berserk, but we had no such luck. Worse yet, Murelia was done healing herself. She gnashed her teeth when she saw what we’d done to her underling.

“Now you’ve really done it!”

Fran, now’s our chance! She’s not back to full power yet!

“Hm!”

Fran launched another attack, but someone was running interference.

“Oooooh!”

“Who…?”

A human…?

He was dressed like a knight and defending Murelia with a spear. He must have been concealing his presence before. Was he allied with her? The man had brown hair, white skin, and blue eyes—rather like a Western European from back home. The patch over his right eye made him stand out all the more. He would have looked quite handsome if it wasn’t for the monstrous yellow face emblazoned on that eyepatch.

“You will not have her!” he declared.

Time to find out who this guy was.

Name: Johann Magnolia

Age: 40

Race: Human

Class: Stealth Knight

Status: Contract

Level: 53/99

HP: 457; Magic: 209; Strength: 238; Agility: 192

Skills: Assassinate 6; Acting 5; Lie Detector 3; Stealth 6; Sense Disruption 6; Royal Etiquette 2; Presence Sense 3; Bow Mastery 3; Sword Arts 7; Sword Mastery 8; Malice Resistance 7; Politeness 5; Shield Arts 3; Shield Mastery 6; Hush 3; Poison Resistance 5; Venomology 6; Paralysis Resistance 3; Water Magic 1; Rhetoric 5; Spirit Manipulation; Dull Pain

Unique Skill: Dangersight

Class Skill: Fiend Command 4

Titles: Murderer; Deputy Knight Commander of Bashar l

Equipment: Sword of Presence Concealment; Tenma Steel Shield; Quiet Mithril Full Plate; Deodorant Cloak; Bracelet of Silence; Ring of Charm Resistance; Eyepatch of Malice Disruption

He was quite powerful, although direct combat didn’t appear to be his forte. He was much better equipped to fight from the shadows—the kind of assassin who kills you in your sleep. That must be why we couldn’t detect him earlier.

And his title…Deputy Knight Commander of Basharl? I didn’t understand exactly what that was, but it had to be important. Murelia herself said that she was cooperating with Basharl, so it was only natural that they sent reinforcements to aid her.

Johann clashed with Fran then jumped away, calling back to Murelia.

“Take this time. Regather your strength!”

Yep, they were on the same side all right. Although…she didn’t exactly seem pleased to see him. If anything, she was confused, and even furious with him.

“What are you doing here, Johann?!”

“I am sorry. Our mission failed. Your forces were wiped out.”

“Useless worm!”

Kiara, who’d recovered enough to sit up, stared at the knight.

“Is that…the one who was commanding the Fiends…?”

Jet poked his head out of the shadows. “Woof!”

Fran glanced back at them both. “You’ve seen him before?”

“Indeed. We were chasing a knight on our way here, but we lost him…”

Johann had commanded the Fiends to attack the Black Cats. Kiara and Jet might have saved them in time, but that didn’t ease Fran’s fury.

Careful, Fran! He managed to lose Kiara and Jet to get back here.

“I know.”

I opened my senses up to look for anyone else. Were there other knights in the vicinity? I couldn’t sense anyone.

“Swiftly, Murelia,” said Johann. “Heal yourself! The House of Magnolia still has need of you to fulfill our great hope!”

“Protect me then,” she said. “For Romeo’s sake!”

“Of course!”

They may trust each other, but I couldn’t say that they were friendly. Murelia looked at Johann with resentment, and he didn’t look too pleased to see her either. All the same, they seemed to have some kind of agreement.

Sure enough, Murelia fell back, letting Johann shield her while she concentrated. Was she still trying to heal herself?

“Out of my way!” Fran growled.

“You shall not lay a hand on her!”

Somehow, this guy managed to keep up with Fran. She tried to break through his defense from the side, but he anticipated it and brought his shield up. Despite his lack of ability, he was willing to be a human shield for Murelia. It must be down to his unique skill, Dangersight. I didn’t know how it worked, but it was probably a Sight Skill that allowed you to see any misfortunate heading for you or your allies. Kind of like a Danger Sense for the eyes.

“Haaa!”

Eat this!

But seeing an attack didn’t mean you could defend against it. I added Wind and Fire Spells to Fran’s Advanced Sword Arts and we threw it all at Johann. But still he managed to block it—using a Shield Art against her strike, scattering the Wind Spell with his blade, and dodging away from the Fire Spell, avoiding it by a hair’s breadth. This Dangersight really was something!

Nevertheless, Fran pushed him back. In the end, she was far stronger. I bore down on him with Telekinesis. I wasn’t trying to deal damage; I just wanted to break his stance.

“Urgh, I can’t evade it!”

He saw this coming too. Johann dug his heels into the ground and braced with his shield, and I gouged at him with Telekinesis.

Now’s your chance, Fran!

“Hm!”

Fran tapped me, and the sudden change of inertia broke Johann’s footing. He tripped sideways, and we let him fall. After all, we had our sights set on Murelia. But suddenly, we were interrupted.

“Air Slicer!”

Twenty wind sickles swirled toward Fran. Each of them was quite powerful in its own right, and Fran dodged out of their way while we searched for the source of the spell. There he was! The caster had appeared behind Murelia, accompanied by armor-clad Fiends and human knights.

Where had they been hiding? I’d scanned the area when Johann showed up! They must be using some kind of skill.

“Protect the Fiend!” cried the newcomer.

“You’re here too?!” Johann called out.

“Ha ha ha, of course! After all, we still have need of the Fiend Princess. Now, Master Johann, fall back!”

A quick Identify named the man as Sunhawk Goldy. A forty-three-year-old Storm Knight. His swordsmanship was weaker than Johann’s, but he possessed Storm Magic 4 and Speedcast 6, making him a well-balanced warrior. He also had Group Conceal. That must be what he used to keep his unit hidden! No wonder he escaped from Kiara and Jet.

Goldy narrowed his eyes at Fran and began another incantation. It looked like he was prepared to take a bullet for Murelia too. As were all the Fiends he’d brought with him.

“Fiend!” Goldy called back to Murelia. “Now is your chance. Heal yourself!”

“You don’t have to keep telling me that!”

Looks like they weren’t on friendly terms either. They were united by a common cause and nothing more.

“I’m coming, Fran!” shouted Gwendartha.

“Woof woof!”

“Come, Mianoa,” said Quina. “Let’s lend them our aid.”

“Yes!”

Our reinforcements rushed toward Goldy and his unit, while Mea stayed back to protect Kiara, who was still on the ground. Quina and the others might not be strong enough to deal with Murelia, but they overwhelmed the Fiends and knights with ease.

“Stop them!” shouted Goldy. “Kill those animals!”

“Gya gya!”

The two forces clashed, and the fight began. Jet returned to his original size, tearing into armor and flesh with his teeth and spoiling shields with his claws. A single swipe of his tail was enough to send several of his enemies flying. Jet was a specialist at stealth, but he wasn’t too shabby in direct combat either. His attacks were painfully deliberate, to the point of attracting Murelia’s attention, and that was all we needed to get closer to her.

We hadn’t rehearsed the plan, but Fran and Jet had fought together for long enough that she understood what he was doing. Taking advantage of the opening, Fran concealed her presence and melded into the shadows. Every moment like this was worth its weight in gold. Fran slipped through the Fiends easily. Goldy eventually realized that something had gotten past them, but by then, it was too late. Murelia was right in front of us.

Got you!

We were so sure we had her this time. Fran lunged forward to stab her in the back, but somehow, Johann managed to get between us. His Dangersight must have warned him that Murelia was in danger.

“Gah!”

“So persistent!”

We’d been aiming for Murelia’s chest, but my blade lodged in Johann’s body instead. But we couldn’t give up now.

“Taaaah!”

Come on!

Fran slammed forward, trying to drive me through Johann and into Murelia.

“I won’t let you!”

“Master Johann!” Goldy shouted. “Fall back!”

But Johann took no notice.

“Ngaaaaaaah!”

Despite the sword running through his chest, he stepped forward—grasping the edge of my blade and sacrificing his hand as well as his body to stop Fran from pressing forward.

“Don’t…mind me…” he rasped. “Kill her!”

Goldy and his underlings immediately responded. How were these guys so honorable?!

Tch!

We needed to get out of here. I teleported us away, leaving Johann to take the brunt of his allies’ attacks. He sank to the ground in a pool of his own blood. We hadn’t managed to kill Murelia, but at least her defender was dead. Now we just needed another opportunity to get to her. Fran tightened her grip on my hilt, but before she could act, an attack came from an unlikely source.

“Gaaaargh!”

Gwendartha was Malice Drunk and turning on his allies. He must have been injured fighting all those Fiends. He was frothing at the mouth, completely out of his mind, and emitting so much Malice he almost looked Undead himself.

“Aha ha ha!” Murelia gloated. “I may not be able to control your sword, but I still have power over those who serve the Evil One!”

She had done something to Gwendartha. But why hadn’t she picked someone stronger? Perhaps the stronger ones were harder to control. That was fine by me—even buffed by Malice, Gwendartha was still weak. Quina was holding the giant off easily enough. Fran didn’t even have to do anything.

“You’re already so drunk with Malice that you’ve lost your mind? Tch, you’re such a lightweight.”

“Do you need some help, Miss Quina? It looks like you’re struggling there.”

“Did you say something, Mia?”

“No. Nothing at all.”

The two maids were still chatting away, even in the heat of battle. They really were His Majesty’s Finest.

Murelia scowled to see her latest minion restrained.

“You useless blockhead! In that case…huh?!”

Before she could finish, Murelia turned around, looking north.

“What the hell are you saying?! An intruder?”

There was no one there. She was yelling at nothing.

“Wait! No, I need to stay here…! Damn it all!”

It looked like she was arguing with someone. She turned back to what was left of her forces.

“Withdraw,” she said. “We have to fall back.”

“What?!” said Goldy. “What are you doing?!”

Was she defecting? He seemed completely floored by what she was saying.

“I can’t help it!” Murelia growled. “I have to obey that bastard’s orders!”

She screamed in frustration, raising her hand toward Goldy and the remains of his unit.

“Still, I may yet get some good out of you.”

She flicked her hand, summoning Johann’s eye patch to her the same way she’d pulled me away from Fran. Blood poured Johann’s right eye socket and was slowly replaced by an ominous black glow.

“Gugoga…”

There was a pitch-black stone where his eye should have been. The patch had held back its power. Now it was gone, a black glow engulfed his whole body.

Fran, you have to stop him!

“Hm!”

As we lunged for him, Goldy called out to Murelia.

“May I leave Master Romeo in your hands?”

“Of course. He is the one thing you may trust me with.”

More black light seeped out of Murelia’s hand, transforming Johann and the other Basharlians right before our eyes. Their skin turned ash gray, and muscles bulged all over their bodies. Finally, the light of reason went out in their eyes.

“Gaaaaargh!”

“Gooooorgh!”

As they were corrupted, their stats rose greatly. A moment later, they turned on Quina and the others. We wouldn’t be taking them down with one hit anymore.

This is bad!

“Hm!”

Quina, Mianoa, and Jet could take care of themselves, but Mea was exhausted, Kiara was still down, and Gwendartha was out cold! We had to keep these Fiends in check to protect them, but that was exactly what Murelia wanted.

Fran, she’s getting away!

“Hm!”

We couldn’t let her escape! Fran kicked Gwendartha, sending him hurtling a good twenty meters through the crowd of Fiends. His armor dented where she’d kicked him and he started coughing up blood, but it was better than dying. Mea kept an eye on his landing point, leaving us free to teleport to Murelia’s side.

As soon as we were there, Fran unleashed a Sword Art.

“Haaa! Triple Thrust!”

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Fran lopped off her arm, but it barely broke Murelia’s concentration.

“This isn’t over!” Murelia growled. “Next time we meet, we’ll settle this!”

“Hrmph!”

Tch. She teleported.

I couldn’t even feel her presence anymore. She was long gone.

“Where did she go…?”

I don’t know. I’d love to find out, but we have a knight situation to handle.

“Right…”

If we couldn’t catch Murelia herself, then we needed to get information about her. That meant we needed to restrain some of these knights and find a way to make them talk. The corruption might have made them stronger, but sacrificing their sanity made them predictable. Jet and Quina were already making light work of them.

“Take this!”

Only one of them had managed to retain his wits. Somehow, Johann wasn’t just fully healed—he was standing upright. Was it because of the strength of his will? Maybe it was thanks to his Malice Resistance and Fiend Command Skills. The Fiendstone in his right eye made him more powerful without robbing him of his mind. With it, he could command both his own knights and the Fiends.

Quina realized it right away. Having identified him as the most dangerous enemy on the field, and the one most likely to have the information we wanted, she knew we needed to keep him alive. Despite his new power, he was still far outclassed, and Jet soon knocked him out with a swipe.

In the meantime, I handled the remaining knights.

“Guaaaa!”

“Raaaaah!”

“Shut up.”

We paralyzed them, broke their legs, and tied them up but, even so, they didn’t return to their senses. They just kept flailing about like madmen.

“…”

Meanwhile, Johann was silent as a corpse. He was definitely going to be the toughest nut to crack. His eyes were full of defiance, determined not to tell us a single thing.

“Waaagh!”

“And what do we do about him?”

Gwendartha was still Malice Drunk and flailing about with the others. Normally, it would go away with time, but this Malice had come from Murelia. Who knew when it would wear off?

“I’d like to bring him back to his senses, but how do we do that?”

“Slapping him didn’t work…”

Mea had recovered from her exhaustion and was talking to Mianoa, who’d taken over caring for Kiara. I tried using some cleansing spells on Gwendartha, but they weren’t powerful enough to have any effect. Maybe Fiend Crusher Revelation would be useful.

Shall I cut him? Fran asked.

Let’s not. For now, at least.

Hm.

Just touch him with the flat of my blade.

All right.

I hoped it would provide some relief, at least. I was no longer glowing with blue light, but that wasn’t related to Fiend Crusher Revelation anyway. I activated the skill as Fran stepped forward. Ultimately, the effects were far more powerful than I could ever have imagined.

“Gyaaaaaaa!”

Whoa!

Gwendartha screamed so loudly that it made me jump. A white light poured out of his bound body, dispersing the black miasma of Malice. He fell unconscious again immediately. The screaming worried me a little, but he was unharmed, and the Malice had completely gone.

“What did you do to him?” Mea asked.

“Drove out the Malice.”

Mea frowned, not knowing what was going on. To an observer, it looked like Gwendartha had lost consciousness after Fran touched him with her sword. No wonder Mea was worried.

She sat him up, tapping him on the cheek.

“Hey, are you still with us? You all right?”

“Hunh… where…?”

Before long, he had recovered and was answering Mea’s questions. He remembered everything up to the point where he got hit by a ball of Malice. This was good news. If I could cleanse him, that meant I could try it on the Basharlian knights.

“Here.”

“Gaaaaaargh!”

The Fiendstone in Johann’s right eye shattered as soon as I touched it and, just like that, his Malice was gone. If it worked with Johann, it should work with the rest of his men. We went to work purifying the others, although the screaming didn’t get any less unnerving.

“Higyaaaaa!”

“Hroooogh!”

“Wh-what is happening…?!” Gwendartha stammered.

He’d only just come around, and now everyone around him sounded as though they were being tortured. He didn’t know what Fran was doing, but he didn’t try to stop her. I guess he trusted her to do the right thing, either way.

Five minutes later, the five knights had completely regained their senses. Even Johann was completely purified. Of course, I didn’t have any right to brag about it, seeing as I hadn’t done anything. If anything, Fran was the one who administered the healing touch. I had no idea what had happened after that.

This Fiend Crusher Skill really was powerful. I didn’t think that it could drain Malice from someone who was already practically Fiendified. It was really going to be useful.

For now, however, we had interrogations to carry out.

“Now then,” said Mea. “Things will be a lot less painful if you tell us what we want to know.”

“…”

The knights glared at her in silence. The Malice might have left their bodies, but their hatred of beastmen remained.

“I know you’re working for Basharl,” Mea said. “What’s your relation to the Fiend named Murelia?”

“…”

“What is your purpose here?”

“…”

Nothing. Not so much as a single word. Damn, how could we crack these guys?!

“Very well, then,” said Mea. “We have other ways of making you talk. Quina?”

“Right away.”

They started asking questions again, then moved to threats, then torture, then healing, then questions again. And around and around we went, yet none of the knights said a single word. Mea tried to bribe them with offers of amnesty, threatened to harm their friends, and even tortured them brutally, but the light in the knights’ eyes refused to go out. They may be our enemies, but that was pretty admirable.

“Last chance,” said Mea. “What is your relation to Murelia?”

“…”

But the knight only groaned as Quina slowly and deliberately broke each of his fingers.

“Ah, I see their will is genuine,” said Mea. “Torture won’t be enough to break them.”

“So it would seem,” Quina agreed, releasing the man’s mangled hand.

“I suppose it can’t be helped. Take care of it, Quina.”

“Very well.”

“What are you doing?” Fran asked.

“Quina is going to use her ace in the hole.”

“Ace in the hole?”

“Just watch. You’ll see soon enough.”

Quina took up her place in front of the knights and Awakened. Johann had been close to death a few minutes ago, but it was nothing my healing spells couldn’t fix. Still, I hadn’t healed him completely—which turned out to be for the best.

“The skill works better the weaker they are,” said Quina.

As we watched, she activated her Class Skill, Phantasm. As well as creating an illusion, it also had hypnotic effects. These weren’t very strong, but if the subject was weakened and Quina charged it with mana, she would have them in her grasp.

“Now,” she said. “Look into my eyes.”

“Urk.”

Johann struggled, turning his gaze away.

“Just kidding,” said Quina. “The illusion has nothing to do with my eyes, but thanks for getting distracted. That’s all I needed to get in.”

Mana poured out of her body, and Johann’s eyes glassed over.

“Aaannd…there we go. Now, what is your name?”

“Johann Magnolia.”

“Age?”

“Forty.”

“Good.” She turned to Mea. “I’m in.”

Johann was hypnotized, but this state wouldn’t last forever. We had to work fast.

“What is your aff—”

“Master Johann, snap out of it!” shouted one of the knights.

“What did you do to the Deputy Commander, you filthy animal?!”

They knew Quina had put him under a spell of some kind and started yelling in the hopes of breaking her concentration.

“Quiet,” said Fran, silencing them all with a Wind Spell.

“…”

They moved their lips, but not a single sound came out. Now we could get down to business.

“As I was saying,” said Quina. “What is your affiliation?”

“The Kingdom of Basharl.”

“What is your relation to Murelia?”

“Murelia played a crucial part in the founding of House Magnolia. And she has assisted us greatly with our grand plan.”

“Let’s start there. Tell me everything you know about her.”

And with that, he started to talk. He began with the Magnolia family’s version of what happened five hundred years ago, when Murelia was a renowned adventurer. She was a princess, and a little haughty, but nothing like the depraved monster we’d fought today. Rather, she was distressed by the prevailing anti-human views of the day and wanted to do what she could to alleviate human persecution.

As an adventurer, she didn’t have much influence, but she did manage to form a party with humans to improve their standing a little. That was when she fell in love with a human member of her party. At the time, humans were considered lower than slaves. The fact that their own princess was in a relationship with one caused quite the scandal. Still, Murelia persevered, determined to change the hearts of those around her. That’s when she returned to the royal palace to curry favor and make herself heard.

When she got there, the whole court shunned her. She was disgraced for falling in love with a human. The most heartless among them called her a fool and a whore, and not a single beastman stood by her.

As punishment, she and her lover were separated, but then things got even worse. They gave her lover a slave girl and forced him to have a child with her, threatening to kill Murelia if he didn’t comply.

Murelia was already angry at the beastmen for discriminating against humans. Having her lover taken from her made her resentment deepen. After that, she lost all faith in the world, and her rage knew no bounds.

That was when the Evil One entered the picture.

The royal family told her that, if she broke the Evil One’s seal and used its power for the good of the kingdom, they would give her lover back to her. Her father led her to where the Evil One was sealed and presented her as a sacrifice, but the Evil One had been sleeping for millennia, and could not be roused so easily. Instead, the Evil One gave his powers to Murelia and ordered her to collect souls for him.

Her latent talent for Fiendmancy prevented the Evil One’s powers from breaking her mind, and so Murelia began her work: attempting to revive the Evil One and taking her revenge on the beastmen. Her first order of business was to take over the royal family. It was easy enough. The Evil One’s powers gave her control over them.

With the powerful Black Cat tribe under her sway, she sought out the beastman supremacists and crushed them—both reaping her revenge and gathering sacrifices for the Evil One in a single stroke.

But even then, the anti-humanists persisted. If anything, they grew more vengeful now that they saw the humans were under Murelia’s protection. They considered her lover to be the source of Murelia’s insanity, and so their assassins made him their target. After several attempts on his life, Murelia finally sent him to safety in the neighboring country of Basharl, the Beastfolk’s favorite punching bag.

The kindhearted Basharlian king agreed to give him shelter. When the beastmen supremacists attacked, Murelia and the Basharlian forces held back the invading force and were victorious.

Then, just as it seemed as though Murelia would get the happy ending she craved, tragedy struck once again. Before she had the chance to live with her lover in peace, the gods exacted retribution on all who had collaborated with the Evil One, and Murelia perished.

Still, her lover survived and continued to live in Basharl, together with the child he had fathered with the slave girl. And that was how the House of Magnolia was founded.

Mea frowned. “I have never heard this tale before.”

If it was to be believed, then Murelia was still a villain set on reviving the Evil One, but things had not always been that way. However, the story seemed too flattering to Murelia and Basharl, and too critical of the Beastman Nation. I guess that’s just how history worked. After all, the version of the story told in the Beastman Nation painted them as the heroes, didn’t it? I guess generations of whitewashing in Basharl would make them seem like the good guys.

Only Murelia knew the whole truth, and Mea seemed to realize this.

“Is she working with Basharl?” she asked.

“Her master, the Fiendmancer Linford, tempted our king with his magic. A spell to amplify greed, I suspect. Murelia is the army our king dispatched into the Beastman Nation.”

I’d thought the king was crazy for willingly cooperating with Fiends. If his judgment was clouded by Fiendmancy, that explained things. I guess the Basharlian king considered a lone Fiendmancer to be more trustworthy than the Beastman Nation. Besides, Basharlian legend had it that one of their kings cooperated with Murelia in the past, so Linford likely found it easy to convince Basharl to fight with them.

“But to work with Fiends, even so…” Mea muttered.

Johann responded to Mea’s private musings. “Better Fiends than animals. The current invasion of the Beastman Nation is about more than just winning territories.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Basharlian military is depleted. Without Murelia’s help, we could not have won a simple skirmish.”

That might give the appearance of peace, but beneath the surface, anti-beastman extremists had gone underground, backed by most of the nobility and forming a number of secret societies. These groups moved in the shadows, spreading bad sentiment wherever they went. It was only a matter of time before these sentiments exploded into rioting and civil war. However, venting their frustrations by sending troops to fight the Beastman Nation was as good as sending them to their graves.

Of course, the current Beast King was a moderate, but he was still a beastman. Most Basharlians simply wouldn’t believe him. With all of that considered, Linford provided the perfect solution: a way to win the war and bring their long-standing national tragedy to an end. Even if they lost, the king could send the anti-beastman extremists to their deaths on the front lines. With such a juicy proposition on the table, a little bit of Fiendmancy was more than enough to cloud the king’s judgment.

“Murelia has the strength of a whole army,” said Johann. “And Linford has his dungeon. At least we have the chance of victory.”

Even if they were defeated, they could simply claim that they were controlled by the Evil One. If anything, they could blame Murelia, and blame the beastmen for not keeping their kind in check. The Krishna family could use that as a way of avenging themselves against the usurper, Narasimhas, and an external force could use the Beastman Nation’s bickering to their own benefit.

And they were prepared for the worst. Even if they lost the war, they had another plan.

“To revive a piece of the Evil One…?”

“Yes. If our invasion fails and the Beastman Nation retaliates, we still have our last resort.”

They were prepared to unleash the Evil One’s power and lay waste to everything. Once the Beastman Nation was destroyed, Basharl would stand unopposed. It was a terrible choice, but I guess Linford’s Fiendmancy had blinded the king to that.

All of this sounded bad. Murelia could be reviving the Evil One right now, while we stood around worrying about enemies coming from the north.

“That’s why you helped her escape!” said Mea. “So she can revive the Evil One!”

She sounded mortified. An enemy was infiltrating her beloved country, planning to awaken an ancient evil, and that enemy was immensely powerful in one-on-one combat. No wonder she was uneasy.

But Johann shook his head. “No. We do not wish for such madness.”

What? Didn’t he just say that Basharl wanted to use a piece of the Evil One to obliterate the beastmen? Did Johann have plans of his own?

“Then why did you let her go?” Mea asked. “I thought Murelia was key to destroying my country.”

“I don’t care what happens to your country,” said Johann. “I’m doing this for my son. So that the great hope of House Magnolia may be fulfilled. That is why I need Murelia.”

“Great hope? You said that earlier. What is that?”

“To escape from the Kingdom of Basharl.”

Was his house more important than his country?

“Escape? I thought you were working for Basharl.”

“No,” said Johann. “They are using us. The Magnolia bloodline has a special power: it allows us to resist Malice, and to manipulate it. The Basharlian kings have used us since time immemorial because of it. My ancestor, Murelia’s lover, bound himself to the Basharlian kingdom with blood. But my son is not yet bound by this contract. We have gone to great pains to avoid marking his flesh with that contract.”

So his family couldn’t leave because of some kind of a slave contract they had with the country? Considering we were standing on beastman grounds, there must have been some leeway. I guess he was planning to ship his son out of Basharl somehow.

“How is Murelia involved in that?” Mea asked.

“My son, Romeo, has powers that rival those of our ancestors. He is a throwback to the old days, and the king has taken great interest. He wishes to use Romeo to revive the piece of the Evil One. But that is the same as signing my son’s death warrant! The only way to stop it is to destroy the Beastman Nation without relying on the Evil One’s powers.”

“That still doesn’t explain what Murelia has to do with it!”

Murelia was the Evil One’s servant. Reviving him would be the fastest way to take revenge on the Beastman Nation.

“She needs Magnolian blood for a ritual to release herself from Linford’s bondage. That is the reason behind our blood pact. We will give her the blood of our house in exchange for smuggling Romeo away after destroying the Beastman Nation.”

“I see,” said Mea. “But…do you really think you can bind such a Fiend with mages? She is going to betray you.”

“And what else would you have me do? This is our only choice! If the invasion of the Beastman Nation fails, my house is done for. They will use my son to awaken the Evil One, and they will blame the failure of the campaign on us. They will say that we were the ones who made a deal with Murelia! After all, we have the power to control Malice. If the Beast King were to catch wind of this, we would be treated as enemies of humanity. Our land would be parceled off and given to filthy animals. Whoever wins, we lose. Murelia is our only hope!”

Even under hypnosis, he was starting to shout.

“Better a Fiend than a king that treats us like tools, or animals intent on our complete destruction!”

Quina grimaced with strain. “He will break free if he keeps getting agitated like this. Be quick.”

“R-right,” Mea stammered. “Where did Murelia disappear to?”

“She has been recalled to the dungeon by its master.”

“I see.”

Soon, we had the location of the dungeon and a description of the forces under Murelia’s command. The entrance to the dungeon was located on the Basharlian side of the mountains and was large enough to facilitate the movement of monsters and Fiends. It looked like the mouth of a cave, but inside it was more like a fort, complete with traps and the like. Apparently, the dungeon master used to be a human and was one of Linford’s men, but he was not very dangerous in himself.

Johann didn’t know the details of what was inside, so Quina set about hypnotizing and interrogating the others. Unfortunately, they knew little more than Johann. The only useful piece of information we got was that Goldy and the others were vassals of House Magnolia and had served them for a long time.

“So,” Mea said. “I suppose we go to the dungeon.”

Kiara nodded. “Sounds fun.”

She was finally back on her feet and looking forward to the adventure.

“Madam Kiara,” said Mianoa. “You have not yet fully recovered. You must take care of yourself.”

Kiara snorted. “And leave Murelia to do whatever she wishes? No. Especially not when she is about to call reinforcements. We must go.”

“That is true…” said Mea, looking worried.

“We are up against a dungeon sub-master, are we not?” Kiara asked. “In that case, we may destroy the dungeon core if things get hairy and take out its master in the process.”

“That is easier said than done.”

“And yet,” said Kiara, “it is our only course of action. It’s one old cat for the sake of the whole Beastman Nation. If you ask me, that’s a pretty good deal.”

Mea straightened at the sound of determination in Kiara’s voice.

“Very well.”

The old cat laughed. “Don’t you worry about me. You know I am always looking for an excuse to fight.”

Despite her relaxed attitude, she knew that Mea was serious and was giving Kiara her blessing as the princess.

The only one lacking in enthusiasm was Gwendartha.

“Why the long face, Gwen?” Kiara asked, glaring at him.

It looked like he almost felt sorry for Murelia.

“Master,” he said. “From what they told us…”

“Fool! Do you seriously sympathize with them?” Kiara demanded. “We do not even know if the story is true! And besides, if you were a true warrior, you would rejoice.”

“O-over what?” he asked.

“We are to face an enemy of legend,” said Kiara. “And we shall have to fight her sooner or later. It is better to do so without doubts.”

Gwendartha sighed with exasperation. “You are the only one who feels that way, Master.”

“You agree with me, don’t you?” Kiara asked the others. “Mea? Fran?”

“It’s always more entertaining to fight a strong enemy than a weak one.”

“Hm.”

Fran and Mea nodded in agreement. The blood knights really did have a one-track mind. Still, I couldn’t argue with them. Whatever had happened in the past, Murelia had declared herself Fran’s enemy. We had no choice but to defeat her. But Gwendartha was young and naïve, and he still didn’t look convinced.

“Oh, grow up!” Kiara chided. “They’ve single-handedly thrown the Beastman Nation into its greatest crisis to date. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Y-yes…”

But he still looked unsure. He was going to have to do a lot of growing up, and that was going to take time.

“We are going after Murelia,” said Kiara.

“Yes, master,” Gwendartha conceded.

Johann and his knights were all tied up and knocked out, and a number of adventurers from Green Goat had traveled with Gwendartha most of the way, so we contacted them via manaphone to tell them to come and collect the prisoners.

“But how will we reach the dungeon?” Mea asked. “Lind cannot carry us all.”

Mea rested her chin on her fingers. Reaching the other side of the mountains on foot would take too long. Even with Kiara and Mea fully recovered, sprinting there would leave them exhausted all over again.

Could we split the party, riding Jet and Lind? It seemed doubtful. Jet was still pretty out of it, and I wanted to let him rest if we could. A cart would be the best option, but there were no cart stations nearby.

“Heh,” Quina chuckled. “I had a feeling this would happen.”

“What?” Mea asked. “Out with it!”

Quina ignored her complaints and pulled a whole horse-drawn carriage out from under her skirt. The carriage even had a canopy, and the horses appeared to be made from stone.

“One golem carriage,” said Quina. “It fits six people and moves as quiet as a whisper.”

“That is excellent, Miss Quina,” Mianoa praised. “And the delivery of that line was perfect!”

“Such are a maid’s manners.”

Even I could tell that Quina looked smug now. Jet and Gwendartha were especially shocked to see the carriage appear out of nowhere. The direwolf’s jaw was basically on the ground. It was rather comical.

However, Mea and Kiara were completely unfazed. To them, it was just part of Quina’s job. They wasted no time on shock and climbed swiftly into the carriage.

You don’t look surprised either, Fran.

It’s basically Pocket Dimension.

I guess, if you put it that way…

Still, the theatrics were on a whole other level.

“Will we all fit inside?” Mea asked. “Master Kiara…”

“I am going.”

“I know, I know,” Mea said. “Quina, Mianoa, and Fran are coming too, so…Gwendartha, perhaps you should stay here and look after the knights?”

It was a good idea. If he came along, he’d only end up being controlled by Murelia again. It made sense to send an elite fighting force after her and ask Gwendartha to stay here. He could hand the prisoners over to the incoming adventurers.

Gwendartha was in a difficult spot. His stamina and defense made him a decent shield, but his doubts would get in our way. It could even get him killed. No, it would be better for everyone if he stayed behind. But surprisingly, Gwendartha refused.

“W-wait, I’m coming with you.”

Kiara frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“You know we can’t protect you,” Kiara said, sending out waves of intimidation. “If you end up as a deadweight, you’re on your own.”

Gwendartha stood his ground and nodded. “I understand.”

“All right, then,” said Kiara. “Come along.”

“Are you sure about this?” Mea asked.

Kiara shrugged. “It would take too long to talk him out of it. We may as well bring him along. We could always use him as a meat shield.”

“Yes!” Gwendartha agreed. “I will take point!”

“Fool!” Kiara growled. “No one would use such a flimsy shield as you!”

“But you just said…”

“Silence. It was a figure of speech. If you come with us, you are making your own bed. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

And so we began our journey to Murelia’s dungeon. We were a formidable team, but who knew what awaited us there…