Chapter 14
ON THE NIGHT before the mission, the Isuzu Alliance army spread out among the hills, mountains, small groves, and other geographic features surrounding the village housing the control center. They stood hidden, yet ready to fight at a moment’s notice—just as Uzume had ordered.
Even further out, two more people looked upon the village. In a mountain cave with a good view of the village, hidden behind an illusory barrier to disguise the entrance as part of the mountain’s rocky surface, were Glad and Meimei.
There was a bright gleam in Meimei’s eyes as she gazed restlessly upon the village. “So…someone really strong is down there?”
“No doubt about it. The powers of many spirits have gathered below. That beast from several days back was nothing compared to this,” Glad replied, glaring down at the village.
So many sacrificed spirits were gathered in that control center. As a priest of a clan that worshipped spirits, Glad had special sight that could see the formless spiritual power overflowing from that village.
Heedless of Glad’s melancholy, Meimei asked expectantly, “Will the strong one come out if we fight above ground?” Her head seemed empty save for thoughts of fighting a strong foe.
The “strong one” she spoke of was a being far more powerful than the giant fighting doll they’d encountered a week prior.
Glad’s preliminary search had revealed a familiar construct below the ground of the small village. Yet the spiritual power it held was many magnitudes greater, revealing its nature as a true force to be reckoned with. He was secretly grateful to have such a powerful ally with him.
“It should. I’ll set fire to the village first; that ought to get their attention. It may signal the other organization fighting against them to act as well,” Glad said, before giving Meimei a quick summary of their plans.
Once fire had overtaken the whole village and Glad and Meimei had dealt with the village’s many patrols, reinforcements were sure to come from below. After they took down those reinforcements, the giant weapon would definitely emerge for her to fight.
“Heck yeah!” Once many enemies had been defeated, the boss would appear. Meimei easily understood that…probably because of how video game-y it was. In short, if she went wild enough on the battlefield, her prey would come to her. “I’ll take ’em all down!” she said enthusiastically. She could tell, either through feral instinct or some rare sense, that this enemy would be among the strongest enemies in all her journey so far. She was as excited as a kid at a carnival.
This girl seemed like she could trample everyone there if she wasn’t careful. Glad worried over her enthusiasm, so he warned her, “Not everyone, now. People from an organization known as the Isuzu Alliance may join the fray. They aren’t our enemy—at least not yet. Do not attack them. There may be strong people among them, but if you want to challenge them, wait until the mission is over.”
“Isuzu Alliance? Okay. I’ll be careful.” Meimei was surprisingly obedient—perhaps because Glad had treated her to so many meals in these past few days. “Isuzu Alliance are friends. We can spar after.” Meimei recited this to herself over and over to remember. Eventually, she smiled and said, “Piece of cake!”
***
Just after midnight, Glad and Meimei stole close to the small village.
“I’m about to kick things off.” Glad took up position and held his crossbow toward the sky.
He looked over at Meimei, who responded, “Ready to go!” There was a ferocious, bestial gleam in her eyes. That was the gleam of a truly powerful warrior, one who’d give her all against even a bunny if that were her foe.
Now certain that the first stage of his plan would succeed, Glad fired a crossbow bolt. It flew silently through the air until it hung perfectly above the center of the village.
With a blue flash, it exploded.
The stars in the night sky and the gentle lights of the village were all snuffed out at once by Glad’s bolt. The holy water within turned into a sea of great blue flames that rained down like meteors upon the village.
“Okay. Begin with their patrols.”
“Got it!”
The flame, full of Glad’s fury, roared up in an instant. It bathed the village in a sea of fire. While the patrols began to panic, Glad and Meimei quickly got to work dispatching them.
Glad’s slender sword pierced a man’s throat, while Meimei’s fists cleanly deprived two men of their consciousness. After this perfect surprise attack, Glad and Meimei did not hide; they strode openly through the village.
“What’s going on?!” A man ran out of a hut in a flurry. But the moment he emerged, his throat was sliced open, and he fell to the ground.
“What’s happening out here?!” Another man peeked out. When he saw his fallen friend in front of him, he looked at Glad and went pale. “You’re that damned Sky—”
Skyfolk.
Before the man could get the whole word out, Glad threw a vial of holy water that shattered in midair and erupted into flames. The blue blaze burned the man and everyone else in the building in no time.
“Are you watching?” Glad cried. “Do you see this, Zell? This is your fate too.” With swirling resentment in his eyes, Glad charged at the gathering crowd of patrols.
In the open square at the center of the village, the fire was weak; there was little here that could burn. Yet, as they were surrounded by flames, the world around them was lit a dazzling blue. Meimei was in the most conspicuous spot. This would draw the most enemies to her, but that’s just what she wanted. “C’mon out! If you don’t bring it out, I’ll take everyone down!” she yelled at nobody in particular. She knocked every approaching enemy out with one blow.
She knew that directly below this clearing was Chimera Clausen’s trump card, a gigantic fighting doll. So she waited here in order to be ready to greet it when it came. After she’d taken down countless attackers, suddenly, there was a war cry from the edge of the village.
“Mmm! I sense someone powerful!” Along with the voice, Meimei felt their presence suddenly expanding. It seemed Chimera’s reinforcements had finally appeared. But when she tried to run over, someone called her to a stop.
“Don’t go that way. Those are those Isuzu fellows I told you about. More importantly, look around.” Glad stopped Meimei and had her survey her surroundings.
“There are lots of them!”
“Be careful. These are stronger than the last.”
Meimei looked all around; fighting dolls had flooded the small village in the blink of an eye. Though they were weaker than the giant weapon, these dolls had humanoid forms and wielded spirit weapons. These were stronger and had more functions than the fighting dolls they’d battled previously. Glad knew that they had enough power to be threatening.
“Perfect for a warm-up!” Meimei’s fighting spirit burned hotter, stoking the fire before the main event. Without waiting, she plunged right into the mob of dolls.
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