BGM: Lost in Green – YS VIII
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――The Royal Capital, Evaloti. Southern District.
The vanguard and scouts of the Demon King’s army were gradually infiltrating from the fallen Seaburn Fortress.
This area was a district where many ordinary citizens lived, with tightly packed two- to three-storey houses and a maze of winding alleyways stretching in all directions, making it easy to lose one’s sense of direction without familiarity with the layout.
「They’re coming.」
Then, the men of the suicide units, hiding inside a house at a certain three-way intersection, tensed beneath the moonlight as they watched the shadows writhing in the alleyway.
The men had smeared ink over their faces to blend into the darkness and had even gone so far as to paint their swords and knives black to prevent them from reflecting the light. Even with such thorough preparation, it was still frustrating how they tended to fall behind against night elves and demons, whose night vision gave them the advantage.
Since a surprise attack was the premise, they couldn’t afford to light any flames. Their situation was truly disadvantageous. But taking down the demons wasn’t their goal.
There were three shadows moving through the alleyway.Beastfolk soldiers, or perhaps night elf rangers? All three shadows were carrying long, staff-like objects. A glint of moonlight flashed off their spear tips! Then, with a sharp crack and a burst of blinding violet lightning, a wire trap laid across the path was destroyed.
… It was the Demons!
The men hiding in the darkness exchanged glances and nodded to one another.
The man who claimed to be a former guardsman put a whistle to his lips, while the one-armed swordsman and the retired soldiers drew their swords. A man who had once been a hunter in the western part of the kingdom slowly nocked an arrow to his bow.
「――――」
After a tense moment.
Clack! —the sound of a spring mechanism snapping into action.
「ARGH!」
As the demon stepped on a bear trap and let out an involuntary scream, the former hunter loosed his arrow. Even the arrowhead had been blackened, and with only the faintest whoosh of wind, it flew straight toward the demon.
「Nuh!?」
But just before it struck the demon’s shoulder, the arrow was deflected, as though it had hit an invisible wall. A defence ward. Even so, it didn’t matter. The man with the whistle blew a sharp and loud Piiiiiit!, and at that very moment, the men burst out into the street, weapons in hand.
「DIEEEEEEEE――EEEEEEEEE！」
They charged while swinging their swords.
「Hmph, an ambush, eh! 【Cripple their legs!】」
Wearing a mocking grin, the demon soldier met the ambush head-on, radiating a pitch-black aura darker than the night itself. The retired soldiers, stumbling as the hex seized their legs, were effortlessly run through one after another as the demon thrust his spear with casual precision, snuffing out their lives.
「UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!」
In semi-panic, the former hunter unleashed a flurry of arrows from within the house, but without support from prayers, no miracles imbued in them, the arrows naturally failed to pierce the defence ward.
「Impudent!」
Irritated from having his leg caught in the bear trap, the demon unleashed purple lightning in his hand with a sharp crack, then unleashed a massive bolt of lightning into the house. A thunderous roar shook the city streets, an overwhelming force for killing a single human. The charred body of the former hunter collapsed with a dry thud.――
「YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!」
In the blink of an eye, the one-armed swordsman was the last one standing, yet even so, he did not falter; he kept swinging his sword with unwavering resolve.
「――Hah! And here I thought it might be something, turns out you’re just small fry!」
The demon was momentarily startled by the swordsman’s extraordinary fighting spirit, but upon seeing that his lunge remained within the bounds of ordinary skill, a smug smile crept across his face.
「Die like the pathetic weakling you are!」
The spear howled through the air, a powerful sweeping strike driven by brute force.
But the one-armed swordsman read the trajectory of the demon’s spear, ducked low, and slipped just beneath it by a hair’s breadth, then delivered a slash straight across the demon’s exposed torso――
Clang! A harsh metallic sound rang out as the sword was stopped. The demon’s left arm was protected by layers of ice conjured through magic, thick enough to catch the blade and freeze it in place――
「Heya!」
The demon swung his ice-covered arm as it was, and with overwhelming brute strength, the sword was torn from the swordsman’s grip and sent flying. With only one arm, he couldn’t match the demon’s magically enhanced might. Then, with that ice-covered hand, the demon struck the one-armed swordsman with a finishing blow.
「GAH――」
A dull thud echoed as flesh was struck, and the swordsman flew through the air like a puppet, slamming into the wall.
「HAHAHAHA, You’re light as a feather! Now die!」
The swordsman somehow managed to get back on his feet, only for a merciless spear to strike him in the pit of the stomach. With a wet squelch, the spear tip was twisted in.
「GU… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Yet even so, the swordsman did not falter. He pressed forward. Even as the spear pierced through him, even as blood spilled from his mouth, he drew a knife from the belt at his waist—
「UWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!」
Catching the demon off guard at last, he slashed at the other’s right arm with the knife and grappled with his opponent on the ground.
「Wha—You filthy scum! Don’t touch me, you wretch!」
Enraged, the demon swung his spear with brute force, sending the swordsman flying once again. Clicking his tongue in irritation at the scratch on his right arm, he muttered,
「Of all things… My right arm.」
The one-armed swordsman glanced at his missing right arm and clicked his tongue again.
「You’ve got some nerve! To think that I got my first wound in this battle… By the likes of you!」
「Blame yourself for being an idiot.」
「Aren’t you embarrassed, getting hurt by such a weakling?」
Mocked by his comrades, the demon roared even louder, shouting, “Shut up!” Meanwhile, paying no mind to the commotion, the one-armed swordsman shakily tried to rise to his feet—
「Enough already. DIE!」
Thud— A spear drilled into the one-armed swordsman's abdomen. The swordsman collapsed without even making a single wail. Yet his trembling left hand reached toward the pouch at his waist.
The demon looked puzzled at first, but upon realising that what had been pulled out was a signal whistle, a mocking sneer spread across his face.
「Oh, go on, blow it! Blow it all you want! Trash like you isn’t even worth the trouble of killing! Go ahead and call for your ally!」
Pii… pirururu… The gravely wounded swordsman tried to blow the whistle, but he was literally on his last breath; barely a sound came out.
「HAHAHAHAHA! C’mon, put more strength into it! No one’s going to hear that pathetic chirp!」
The demon let out a mocking laugh as it slashed at the one-armed swordsman's thighs and waist with the spear tip. The two other comrades watched with smug grins on their faces.
「Well now, let’s see which will happen first? Your death, or your reinfo――」
"Shwack" — A sharp sound suddenly rang out.
「A—」
The demon tormenting the swordsman rolled his eyes back in shock. A stream of blue blood spurted from the side of his head, the place where he wore a helmet.
「Eh」
「What the!」
Before they realised it, someone had already stood beside the fallen demon.
The other party’s unicorn-shaped helmet reflected the moonlight.
A black-haired swordswoman stood there, a rapier in hand.
「Big… Sis…」
The one-armed swordsman let the signal whistle slip from his mouth and murmured something. The swordswoman, Barbara, glanced his way for just a moment, then quickly turned her gaze back to the enemies before her.
The next moment, her figure vanished.
「She’s a sword sa—」
"Shwack" The sound echoed again. Just as the demon was about to shout, he was silenced forever, a rapier piercing his forehead. As Barbara withdrew her sword, her sharp eyes locked onto the last remaining demon.
「Tch――【Purple Lightning!】」
The demon, face twisted in fear, instinctively fired lightning from his fingertips, but—
Shwack
Barbara vanished with her otherworldly acceleration, and the lightning pierced through the empty air where she stood a moment ago.
Where did she go—? As the demon’s gaze wandered, right beside him…
The silver unicorn.
With a sharp "shwoom-crack!" sound ringing out clearly, Barbara’s rapier pierced through the demon’s forehead.
「Gah」
The demon convulsed with a jolt and collapsed onto its back. Its eyes remained wide open, as if frozen in shock.
―― The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the alley, and Hessel and the others came running in.
「It ended already eh?」
「Ah.」
Barbara gave a brief reply and immediately rushed over to the one-armed swordsman lying in a pool of his own blood.
「Big… Sis…」
「It was you, eh?」
With a gentle voice, Barbara stroked his cheek, a face smeared with ink.
「――You looked so handsome, I didn’t even recognise you.」
At Barbara’s playful remark, the one-armed swordsman let out a chuckle. He was a familiar face, someone who had exchanged banter at the frontline fortress on that day last year, when the heroes launched their last-ditch suicide attack on the main force of Emergias――
「We will hea—」
It was the priestess Charlotte who had rushed over, but she was immediately struck silent. She had noticed that the swordsman’s arm was missing.
Charlotte couldn’t perform a miracle powerful enough to restore a missing limb, and at the same time, they couldn’t afford to divert the high priest’s precious magical power either. As things stood, they didn’t have the luxury to save someone who couldn’t immediately return to the fight――
「It’s fine… I know already…」
The one-armed swordsman spoke with a faint voice, barely managing to shake his head.
「I’m glad… I could… get one last… job… done…」
The man, holding Barbara’s hand, awkwardly tried to give her a smile of reassurance――
Just like that, his words trailed off in the end as he passed away.
「…」
Barbara closed his eyes for him, then stood up. To the one-armed swordsman, and to the men of the suicide squad who had fallen here, she offered a brief moment of prayer.
「… Let’s go.」
Everyone nodded in silence and once again rushed into the darkness of the city.
Another sharp Piiiii—! echoed once more from somewhere, the warning whistle blown loud and clear.
The demon warriors were steadily pouring in, one after another.
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