Volume 3, Chapter 4 – A New Threat Part 2
“It’s about time for that to happen, don’t you think?”
On that day, a certain notice had been circulated among the army personnel stationed at a checkpoint belonging to Resteria, located at the border between the Gaz Commonwealth and the Resteria Kingdom.
The commanding officer for that particular day sat in the checkpoint building, looking bored as he flipped through the reports and replied to his subordinate who had asked that question.
“One of the VIPs from the Capital is going to cross over to the Gaz side. I heard that their destination is Galedeite.”
“Yeah, about that ‘one person’ part. I don’t get why it’s just one VIP. I don’t know who they are, but you’d think they would have at least one Magitech Knight as an escort.”
“No, it really seems that they intend to come alone… Hmm?”
At that moment, an alarm went off indicating that a an object using mana to fly was approaching the checkpoint at high speed from the Resteria side of the border.
“Oi, is there really someone stupid enough to try and cross the border from the air without permission in this day and age!?”
“Anti-flight Sorcery Division! Prepare to intercept… Hey, hang on, that is…!”
The commanding officer who had been looking through a telescope out of the window of the checkpoint stood shocked with his mouth agape for a moment, and then hurriedly ordered for the alarm to be stopped.
“Open the border gates! Open the border gates!”
“What!? There’s no way that Gaz will allow someone to enter their territory through the air—”
“And I’m telling you, they have permission!”
“Haah!?”
The airship approached the checkpoint.
“I’m heeeeeeere!!”
That flying object, which turned out to be a single Magitech Knight, approached at a high speed and crossed right over the gate on the ground meant to prevent people from crossing the border without permission.
Strangely enough, that person’s arrival coincided perfectly with the time mentioned in the notice sent to the border patrol, regarding the “VIP’s arrival.”
“That was…”
After the Magitech Knight flew past them, a single sheet of paper came fluttering down from the sky.
The Magitech Knight had realized that they were under observation through a telescope despite the great speed at which they was traveling, and immediately pulled out that paper. The commanding officer remembered that person’s face and gave a bitter smile.
“……Seriously, what a joke… Umm, let’s see. This is the first time I’ve seen one of these as well. It has the Royal Seal to authenticate that person as an emergency special envoy… The person who passed by is from the Kingdom’s Knights Division, from the army in the capital. Let’s see, the name is…”
At that moment, they heard the alarm from the checkpoint on the Gaz side that was a short distance away from the border on the other side, and the sound carried to them faintly over the wind.
Most likely there was an uproar on their side as well.
“It looks like we are going to get scolded for this, the permit notwithstanding.”
The commanding officer slumped his shoulders in resignation, and then turned to look up at the sky that the Magitech Knight had flown through.
“I wonder why she was in such a hurry on a peaceful day like this with good weather. Really, I’ll never understand what the VIPs are thinking.”
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The tower to which Feigreid led Yasuo, Shouko, and Catalina looked almost identical to the tower that they had climbed earlier.
“There are other 『Bell Towers』 apart from this one as well, and we use a different one each day.”
Since the equipment was in charge of keeping time for the entire town, it was only natural that they went to that much trouble.
“Do all of them have broadcasting equipment?”
“Yes, they do. Each tower has its own Magitech Frameworks, and the person in charge just moves the bells each time we switch to a different tower.”
Apparently, the town council were responsible for the overseeing the bells, and the Knights Division were responsible for getting them to the assigned place safely.
“Still, is something like that really possible…?”
Feigreid asked that question uneasily, and Yasuo, whose expression looked even more uneasy, answered him.
“It’s not a matter of whether I can do it or not, we have no choice but to try. If there is someone who is overseeing this entire incident, then that person might do something to get in our way. Feigreid-san, you have to do your best to protect this tower.”
“U-Understood…”
Although Feigreid had broken out into a cold sweat, he looked like he had prepared himself and led the way into the tower. Meanwhile, Yasuo looked like he was not prepared at all and his breathing was shallow.
“It’s over here…”
After Feigreid ordered the soldiers who were guarding the facility to stand down, Yasuo entered a room that had many strange looking machines installed in it and his anxiety reached the maximum level.
If his hypothesis didn’t work out after going to all this trouble, not only would it be embarrassing for him, it might reflect badly on Feigreid as well.
Since Catalina had mediated on Yasuo’s behalf to get them this far, she might not get out of it unscathed either.
“Yasu-kun!”
“Ueeeh!? W-What is it…”
However, Shouko unexpectedly slapped him hard on his back as though she had seen through his worry, causing Yasuo to start coughing.
“Be more confident! I’m sure you can do it!!”
Shouko said that forcefully to Yasuo who had tears in his eyes.
“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll apologize to everyone along with you! Do your best! The kids from the House of the Fireflies are counting on you!”
“Are you trying to cheer me up or put more pressure on me? Make up your mind!”
Yasuo said that with a bitter smile and looked around the 『broadcasting room』.
Hanging from the ceiling were three bells that looked smaller than he had expected.
There were four trumpet-like things that looked like the speakers of a gramophone, surrounding those bells.
A magical pattern appeared to have been carved into the floor, and Yasuo had no way of understanding its purpose.
That pattern looked identical to the Magitech Frameworks that he had seen inside the Techno Weapon Castor in the past, and perhaps this entire room could be considered to be one large Techno Weapon.
Looking closely, he saw that the bells had characters and diagrams engraved into them as well, and it appeared that the system was not as simple as just hitting the bells to make them ring.
“Hey, this is pretty nice! It kind of looks like a recording studio!”
“Seriously, can you just stop talking for a while!?”
“Would you like for us to leave the room?”
“I honestly have no idea what will happen. You can wait where ever you want, just be ready to take action no matter what happens.”
“I understand. Leave it to me. I still have a little power left to spare.”
“……To be honest, I don’t like the idea of making you fight, Tatewaki-san.”
“It’s a little late for that.”
Shouko’s smile hinted at mixed feelings, and she spoke.
“Use whatever you have to. You can worry about the source of the problem and understanding the situation later. That said, it’s not like I’m not scared or anything, so the things you have to take responsibility for are rapidly growing, okay?”
“Yeah, I got it… wait, what!?”
Yasuo had still not resolved himself, but in order to trick himself into believing that he was ready, he took a large breath and shouted out in a loud voice on purpose.
“Feigreid-san, let’s start!”
“Understood… In that case…”
After Yasuo signalled that he was ready, Feigreid pressed his hand against a certain spot on the wall and activated the Magitech Frameworks.
At the same time, the four trumpets that surrounded Yasuo and the bells started to let out a humming sound.
Feigreid extended his hand to let Yasuo know that the requirements had already been set in motion.
Yasuo did his best to calm his pounding heart, coughed once to clear his throat, and opened his mouth.
The 『Requiem』 sung in Yasuo’s resonant voice was transmitted throughout the town via the Magitech Frameworks, the Magitech equipment, and speakers that were mounted on the utility poles in the town.
The speakers had been placed at calculated locations to ensure that the sound of the bells would reach all parts of the town, and now the sound of the requiem penetrated every single building, reached every single alley, no matter how small, and perhaps even extended beyond the walls of the town as well.
“T-This is…”
Feigreid, who was operating the 『broadcasting room』, spoke up in a shocked voice.
Light extended from under Yasuo’s feet, and that light spread across the floor, up the walls, and the bells that hung from the ceiling.
The three bells started to tremble in concert with Yasuo’s singing, and the trumpets that picked up his voice transmitted it all over the town without any loss.
“Shouko! Look!”
Catalina, who had been standing near the door of the broadcasting room and looking outside the tower through a window, gestured for Shouko to come closer and look as well.
Shouko ran towards the window, and she immediately understood what was happening as well.
At first glance, it looked like fingers of black fire were extending upwards from all over the town.
However, on looking closely, it was apparent that they were actually comprised of the soot-like substance that appeared when the Shii were being sent off with the requiem.
In a short amount of time, the number of pillars of soot started to increase rapidly, from ten to twenty.
Of course, it meant that the number of Shii that had appeared in the town was just that high, but Catalina could not hide her shock on seeing that spectacle.
It was said that even higher-ranking clerics from the Church of the Divine King could send off no more than three Shii at once.
However, it was unheard of for one person’s song to send off ten or twenty Shii at once, even if that person was borrowing the massive power of large-scale Magitech Frameworks.
“Catalina-san! Over there!”
On the roof of a building a few dozen meters away from the tower, they could see a Shii that was falling over in a strange posture.
It was hard to tell as most of its body was hidden by the black soot that was rising up, but it looked like the body of the Shii was wracked with spasms.
As the Shii continued to convulse, a Magitech Knight appeared from somewhere and delivered the finishing blow.
As soon as it was struck, the Shii turned entirely into soot and vanished, and the Magitech Knight took a moment to listen closely to Yasuo’s requiem, and despite looking mystified about what was going on, he flew off in search of other Shii.
“Is he keeping the Shii from moving?”
“There’s no doubt about it. Yasu-kun did the same thing in Japan, after all.”
“H-How is he able to stay on his feet after doing that!? Something like this can’t be achieved with an ordinary amount of mana, you know!?”
“It seems he doesn’t know the reason either. Even the Magitech Knight who taught him how to use magic found it incomprehensible.”
“I wonder… if it due to his heritage after all.”
“I don’t think that’s it. It might sound bad to put it this way, but Yasu-kun’s uncles and aunts are apparently ordinary people.”
“You’re talking about how they are ordinary by the standards of Japan, right? Hideo and Madoka as well…”
“That doesn’t matter. Yasu-kun is just Yasu-kun. In the first place, Yasu-kun is terrible at the things that Oji-san and Oba-san are good at. I’m sure that this is unrelated to them.”
“But in that case, what is the explanation for this outrageous situation…?”
“It’s just like I said earlier. You can worry about causes and explanations later. However, if you absolutely must have an explanation for this, Catalina-san, I think I know the likely reason.”
“What is it?”
Shouko glanced back at the broadcasting room and spoke happily.
“Yasu-kun is gentle, loves to sing, and has put a lot of effort into it. I think that’s all there is to it.”
“……”
Catalina looked disappointed for just a moment, and then she glanced at the broadcasting room and let out a sigh.
“Just to make sure, what you told me about the two of you being lovers is…”
“It was a lie. Or rather, I am waiting for his reply.”
“……What a horrible man.”
“Seriously.”
At that moment, the two of them realized that the pillars of soot that they had seen through the window of the tower had largely disappeared.
Perhaps that meant that all the Shii that had appeared in the town had been defeated and sent off.
“Perhaps we should go and tell them.”
“That’s right. It might be putting a fair amount of strain on his body, after all…”
It happened the moment after the two of them turned away from the window to talk to Yasuo and Feigreid.
“Eh.”
“Oh?”
All of a sudden, the interior of the tower went pitch black.
It was as if something had eclipsed the sun.
And then, when they turned around, Shouko and Catalina saw something unbelievable.
It was a deep red in color, and was big enough to fill their entire field of vision outside the window.
It was impossible to immediately realize what that was.
The only thing Shouko and Catalina understood was that they were looking at something that could not possibly exist.
Yasuo had certainly said it before they had carried out this plan.
If the people who were working for Beatrice Heller had wormed their way into the deepest parts of the Gaz Commonwealth, they would easily be able to find out the location of the person who was using the town’s broadcasting facilities to send off all the Shii that had appeared.
It was possible that they might send an assassin to interfere with the requiem.
That is why he had told Feigreid, Shouko, and Catalina to not let down their guard and be ready to fight.
However.
No one would have been able to predict that something like this would show up.
“Feigreid-san!! Take care of Yasu-kun!!”
Shouko’s scream coincided almost perfectly with the tower that housed the broadcasting system being broken in half by an enormous power.
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The fact that she had been able to pick up Catalina and jump out of the window in time was nothing short of a miracle.
Ever since she had first landed in that forest after coming to Ante Lande, the black flames of the Shii had saved her repeatedly.
The flames that burned at her wrists, ankles, and waist granted Shouko superhuman strength, but just superhuman strength and stamina would not be enough for Shouko, who had no real experience when it came to martial arts or battle, to move in such a manner.
“W-What is that…!?”
Shouko whispered in a dazed manner while still carrying Catalina.
It was just way too massive.
It’s height was equal to that of the tower in which the broadcasting room was located.
Furthermore, it carried a spear that was even longer, so long in fact that trying to guess its length felt like an exercise in futility.
It had four legs that trampled on the town and left only rubble in their wake.
It had no features in common with any creature Shouko knew about, but was this also a Shii that was based on some creature that was already dead?
If it was a shii, then what kind of creature was it based on?
It was a mass of black flames that had destroyed a fifty meter tall tower with a single swing of its spear, and had trampled over one district of the town.
That massive creature that looked roughly like a centaur was most definitely not something that a person could fight against.
“Yasu-kun! Feigreid-san!”
Shouko raised her voice until it was almost a scream, but due to the sound of the crumbling rubble, her voice did not even reach until the location where the tower had been standing.
If this Shii had appeared in the same fashion as the human-type Shii, that is, by bursting out from underground, just how much damage had it done on the surface just by appearing?
“T-That’s right, W-What about the House of the Fireflies….!?”
Catalina groaned while still being carried by Shouko and responded.
“It is in a district that just narrowly avoided being trampled under that thing’s feet… But when dealing with something that large, being one or two blocks away is meaningless… I can’t believe it, that is…”
“Do you know what that thing is!?”
“The Hideo Holy Sword river was created during the fight between that guy and Hideo’s group.”
Even that idiotic name couldn’t not help to soften the current atmosphere.
“Demon General Balor. The number of people he killed during the war against Demon King Kaul is among the highest… Aah… For the thing everyone in the world feared the most to happen at a time like this…”
Ever since the Shii appeared, most of them that had been spotted around the world were humanoid, although there had been reports that some of them had been shaped like animals as well.
From the testimonies of the soldiers who were originally from Torjesso, it was discovered that the Shii had basically the same features and level of ability that the people that they were based on had when they were still alive, and there had always been a concern that demons might be reborn as Shii as well.
However, this demon Balor=Shii posed far too big a threat to be the first example of such an occurrence.
If it was allowed to roam free for even as little as an hour, it would be able to reduce the whole of Galedeite to a plain, flat land.
No matter how the battle had progressed, judging by the fact that the Hideo Holy Sword River had been created as a result of that battle in the past, it was clear that it was a fierce fight that greatly damaged the surroundings.
It was a demon that had given the Hero Hideo such a hard time back when he was at his strongest, so even if it was a Shii now, just how were they supposed to defeat it?
“This… might be impossible…”
Judging by the time it had appeared, it must have also heard Yasuo’s requiem.
However, as far as Shouko could see, the requiem had no effect on Balor=Shii at all.
Its resistance to the requiem and the holy attribute must be incomparably more powerful compared to a humanoid Shii.
In any case, it was not an opponent that Shouko even dared to approach with her current level of strength.
However.
“……Ah.”
It must have been the work of a truly evil god, or perhaps it was just something unavoidable.
Balor=Shii met Shouko’s gaze.
It was not a coincidence or a mistake.
Balor=Shii’s eye, which was larger than a person, was looking straight at Shouko.
And then, the demon pointed its massive spear directly at her.
It moved in a very unhurried manner. However, there was no way that she could run away from it.
Even with the flames of the Shii activated, Shouko was still frozen in fear and unable to move.
While casting his shadow over her, Balor stabbed the spear towards her without even giving her time to scream.
“……?”
However.
“Uwaaaa…?”
However there was no destruction, impact, or death, and the strong wind she felt around her body raised a cloud of dust from the surrounding rubble.
“S-Shouko…”
When Shouko heard Catalina’s voice, she opened her eyes that she had inadvertently shut before.
“Hiii!”
The first thing she saw was the spear that was about as thick as a skyscraper held motionless in the air, and her gaze once again met that of Balor’s.
She had no idea what had happened.
She didn’t understand what was going on, but was this instinct coming from her, or the Shii that was hiding inside her body?
She instinctively understood that it was not a coincidence.
The same thing had happened with the longsword-wielding Shii at the House of the Fireflies as well.
For some reason, the Shii were unable to attack Shouko.
“Stop treating me like I’m one of you!”
There was no other explanation for it.
Not just Director Kelly, but a lot of people in Galedeite had been attacked by the Shii.
It was easy to imagine why she should be the only person who could not be attacked by them.
It must be because she was the 『Latch』, although she had no idea what that meant.
“Even so, I can still use this!”
“Shouko?”
Shouko put Catalina down on the ground, clenched her fist, and spoke in a loud voice.
“Catalina-san… Catalina-san, please go and help the people in the House of the Fireflies to evacuate. I’m going to save Yasu-kun!”
“Wait! What are you talking about!? In this sort of situation, if you recklessly charge out in front of him, there is nothing you can do!!”
“There is! You saw it too, right? The Shii can’t attack me!! Even that massive thing is holding back! It would be a waste not to use this!”
“B-But…”
“If I go down there and run around his legs, he won’t be able to move because he might crush me if he does, and as long as I’m there, he can’t attack! I can take my time and rescue Yasu-kun easily, right before the enemy’s eyes!”
As Shouko spoke, she felt the flames around her ankles grow one size bigger.
“I’ll use anything that I can! Even if it happens to be a Shii!”
“Wait, stop right there!”
“I won’t wait! We’re running out of time…”
“That’s not what I’m saying! Even if the Shii won’t attack you, the crumbling rubble and fires are still dangerous. If you’re going to go anyway…”
Catalina stuck her hand inside her robe with an expression that said she had more or less given up.
“…then go after you’ve completed all possible preparations!!”
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