BGM: HEATS – Shin Getter Robo
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―― Intercept the Demon King’s army in the city.
Barbara, having received a new order, was running through the deserted city streets at night alongside the messenger soldier. The evacuation of the outer areas of the royal capital had already been completed. All civilians who were unable to fight should have already taken shelter in the royal castle or central churches.
The city had already turned into a battlefield. The only ones remaining here were the defense forces, and possibly, the Demon King's army, who may have already breached the city.
The area close to the city center should still be safe, but there was no room for complacency. With her rapier drawn, Barbara continued moving forward, her sharp gaze vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
Fortunately, Barbara was still in one piece. She had engaged with demons at the ramparts and successfully taken down three of them. As far as battle results go, it could be considered a solid achievement.
「―― Sup, you're still alive eh.」
Along the way, she ran into Hessel, who seemed to have received the same reassignment orders. With his greatsword slung over his shoulder, he casually raised a hand in greeting. — He looked a bit tired, but he, too, was unharmed.
「Likewise.」With a grin, Barbara gave Hessel a light tap on the shoulder.
「Looks like both of us made it out in one piece. Though, our reunion came sooner than I expected.」
She cracked a joke, but it didn’t come out as lighthearted as she had intended.
「…」
Both of them fell silent, and even as they kept running, their eyes turned toward the direction of Fort Seaburn.
「"…That rumored Sword Saint youngster, wasn’t he assigned over there?」
「… Yeah.」
Hessel gave a solemn nod and muttered, almost like a complaint, in a tone that suggested he didn’t quite believe it himself, “…Hope he’s still alive.”
Such a rare young talent—— Barbara felt a bitter twinge at the thought of losing such precious talent, but, like Hessel, she kept it from showing on her face.
「And who are they?」
Instead, she turned her gaze to the slender elf running alongside Hessel.
「Our benefactor. The esteemed sage.」
「…I am Luroi, the sage from the Great Sacred Tree Union. It's a pleasure to meet you…」
True to his forest elf heritage, he was sun-tanned, though his robe-clad figure looked weary. The man offered his greeting albeit with a rather weary voice.
「I am Barbara, the Sword Saint. The pleasure is mine, let’s do our best in the next battle」
Determined not to be rude, Barbara replied as politely as she could while still running. It was no wonder the man looked exhausted, after all, he had been continuously fighting demons on the front lines at Fort Niburn while also using high-level magic like the Sacred Great Tree’s barrier.
Even so, while Barbara and the other humans were running with all their might, Sage Luroi moved with an almost weightless gait, as if he were being carried by the wind. It was a stark reminder that he truly was a being of a different caliber.
「Having a sage like you here is truly reassuring… But, is it alright for you to leave Fort Niburn?」
「Well, they say it should be fine. Thanks to the sages, the Demon King’s army took a pretty severe blow as well. Maybe they got spooked, 'cause their attacks have eased up a lot.」
Hessel answered. Naturally, Barbara knew that he might just be bluffing, that the enemy was waiting for the forces to shift toward Fort Seaburn before launching a full-scale assault, but the current strategy must have been formed with that risk already taken into account.
At the very least, it wasn’t a problem for someone like Barbara, a mere Sword Saint, to worry about. Besides, if the city were breached, things would be dire no matter what.
「It was incredible. I lost count of how many demons had their heads blown off by the sage's magic arrows.」
「Ah, that must've been one of my colleagues. I was so focused on cleaning up the Fallen Ones during the night, you see.」
With a voice as drawn-out as ever and an expression as unchanging as the hollow of an ancient tree, Sage Luroi spoke.
The 『Fallen One』 referred to the night elves. Some forest elves despised calling those who had sunk into the cruelty of darkness by the same 『Elves』 name as them, and instead referred to them with terms that distanced them entirely.
「I see.」
Barbara nodded while making a mental note in her memory to never say "Night Elf" again in front of the sage.
「Thanks to that, I’ve managed to conserve a fair bit of energy, so I hope to be of some assistance to you all from here on.」
「Thank you, Sage. Thanks to you, it looks like we’ll be able to keep fighting a while longer too.」
「Who knows what would have become of me by now had it not been for you, Esteemed Sage. I mean it.」
「Oh no, it’s all thanks to everyone holding the frontline. I’m just doing my part, really.」
Even when praised by the two Sword Saints, Luroi remained as composed and unchanging as ever.
「Moreover, we've the obligation to protect the forest too.」
Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed in those eyes. It felt as if the very air became stagnant.
「…」
Having something to protect was no different for Barbara and the others. Naturally, the people of the Kingdom of Defteros were among them, but many of Barbara’s relatives, being nobility from a fallen nation, had remained in the royal capital, Evaloti. As for Hessel, he surely had countless comrades, friends, and acquaintances over there as well.
「Ah, please turn here!」
At that moment, the messenger soldier who had been silent until now stepped into a narrow alley and motioned them to follow.
「The road ahead is no longer passable.」
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary street, but that explained everything. The defense forces hadn’t just been sitting around waiting for the Demon King’s army to invade. They had made all sorts of preparations――
After that, they made their way through the winding alley and entered a mansion being used as the frontline base.
「It seems you've arrived. Sorry but let's cut to the chase, I’ll brief you on the current situation.」
In the mansion’s hall, the commanding officer, an elderly soldier, looked around at everyone. At the forefront stood the sage Luroi, accompanied by several forest elves. Alongside them were Barbara, Hessel, and a few familiar sword saints and fist saints. Heroes and priests from the Holy Religion were also present.
「After securing Seaburn Fortress, there were aggressive reconnaissance missions conducted by beastfolk soldiers and night elf rangers, but so far, no demons have been sighted in the area near Evaloti――」
Among them was the priestess Charlotte. As she gave a small, polite bow, Barbara returned the gesture with a nod while listening to the commander’s briefing, all the while suppressing the complex emotions swirling inside her――
「――Thus, it’s said that the one who led the fall of Seaburn Fortress was none other than the spearhead of the Evaloti invasion force—the 7th Demon Prince, Jilbagias Reiju.」
But the commander’s following remarks blew away any trace of sentimentality.
The sound of murmurs instantly filled the entire hall.
「Why didn’t he come at us head-on even though he’s a Demon Prince?」
「There are multiple Demon Princes, but this is the first time the 7th prince existence has ever been confirmed.」
The commander responded to one of the hero’s inquiries.
「This might be his first campaign battle, so he avoided a direct confrontation. There’s also information suggesting that, he’s pretty 『Young』 for a demon… For more details, I’ll hand it over to her.」
Prompted by the commander, one of the forest elves, carrying a bow on her back, stepped forward.
「I’m Palm, a forest elf archer. …I engaged against the said Demon Prince at Fort Seaburn.」
The hall fell into an eerie silence. Everyone was fully focused on her words.
「Despite being a demon, Jilbagias had the appearance of a human child. He’s likely has yet to reach adulthood.」
――Has yet to reach adulthood… So, he isn't even fifteen? “No way,” someone muttered under their breath.
「However, his magical power was terrifyingly strong. Although we couldn’t determine it precisely, it seemed to be at the level of a count or a marquis.」
—"If that’s the case, he’s quite a high-ranking demon". For Barbara, who’s pretty hopeless with magic, the information didn’t quite register with her, but whether low or high rank, magic was deadly to sword saints regardless, the priests and forest elves wore grim, uneasy expressions.
「What kind of magic he used?」
Hearing another hero’s question, Palm’s expressionless face twisted painfully.
「The only confirmed attribute was hexes with darkness attribute. As for the rest… I’m sorry, but I couldn’t make it out clearly. He used extremely powerful physical and magical defenses, some kind of hex that collectively hindered hundreds of soldiers under protection and buff, and magic that reflected injuries back onto the attacker.」
「………………」
The silence in the hall deepened, taking on a heavier, more intense quality.
Heavier, more chilling, like a cold weight pressing down on everyone.
「To explain in detail: there was what seemed to be a barrier magic that reduced the killing power of an arrow I fired with all my strength to the equivalent of a child tossing a stick in play. Then, a magic that made heroes, sword saints, and soldiers move awkwardly, completely breaking their coordination. And finally, a magic that made the severed right arm of the Demon Prince reattach itself, like sand flowing back into an hourglass, while the sword saint’s own right arm was instead severed in return.」
――Sword saint. Barbara and Hessel’s eyes met for a brief moment.
「There was an extremely strong magical power of darkness clinging to the sword saint’s body, so I believe it was likely a magic that reflects the received wounds back onto the attacker.」
「That's fu*king cheating…」
“This is insane…” a young hero muttered, almost in self-deprecation.
「In short, we’ll have to take him down in a single blow, no dragging things out… Same as always. Anything else to add?」
A fist saint, a canine beastman with golden fur, asked in a calm voice.
「Jilbagias was accompanied by eight followers. One of them appeared to be from the Corvut clan and wielded earth magic. Two others cast fire magic, launching flame projectiles laced with hexes. Another one wielded lightning――」
Palm gave an accurate explanation… If her words were accurate, then Fort Seaburn had been brought down by only nine demons, including the prince.
「――That's all.」
「May I ask a question?」
Hessel raised his hand.
「Sure, go ahead.」
「What happened to the personnel who defended Fort Seaburn?」
Hessel seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he seemingly realized that he had to ask this question.
「Among the elite fighters… I'm the only one who managed to escape.」
Palm replied while gritting her teeth in frustration.
「The Hero, the Sword Saint, the priests, the spellcasters… All of them fell during the battle.」
「I see… I’m sorry. That must’ve been painful to talk about.」
「… Don't worry about it.」
Palm slowly shook her head, but the anguish she felt from being the only one to survive was more than evident.
— So that youth really fell in the battle――
Barbara felt as though yet another hole had opened in her heart. The young Sword Saint she’d never had the chance to meet face-to-face, and the comrades-in-arms she’d spoken with countless times, all of them were… Gone.
「…Thank you. You've given us valuable information.」
Sage Luroi broke the silence.
「This is only possible since you survived and shared your information with us. Your words were as valuable as the fruit of the Great Sacred Tree. Once again, thank you for making it back safely, Palm.」
「… Yes.」
Palm’s face twisted as if she was about to crumble on the spot.
「And, let's pray for the brave souls who fell defending Fort Seaburn…」
―― Everyone fell silent for a while after that, offering a silent prayer for their comrades who fell at Fort Seaburn.
「… And so. In any case, it’s safe to say the 7th Demon Prince is a formidable opponent.」
With a sharp clap of his hands, the veteran commander began speaking again.
「We mustn't underestimate him just because of his young appearance. The only way to kill that kind of demon is to drag them into a mud-fight… And finish them there during chaotic melee.」
He said those words in such an overly serious tone that Barbara couldn’t tell whether he was being dead serious or just joking.
「The outskirts of the city are rigged with every trap we can come up with. Our suicide units are lying in wait as well, currently engaging the Demon King’s vanguard at various points. Most likely, it won’t be long before the demons lose their patience and begin to push their way in…」
As the candlelight from the chandelier flickered, the commander glanced briefly at the wall-mounted clock.
「――The moment the demons are spotted, the suicide units are set to make a loud noise as a signal.」
Anyone who dares to pull a stunt like that in front of the demons is someone prepared to die.
Thus, they were dubbed the suicide units.
Nevertheless,
「That’s also the signal for your turn.」
The commander's gaze wandered around everyone’s faces.
「I'm counting on you guys―― Crush their momentum, and kill the Demon Prince.」
Zat! The warriors responded in unison, each giving their own salute.
―― A sharp, loud sound of a whistle came from the outskirts of the city.
It happened shortly after the meeting.
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