Chapter 81.4: Darkness That Swallowed The Light
Reiji’s party members who saw our battle from on top of the third rampart were flying in hurry to the first rampart. I snapped out of my stupor upon seeing that.
Oh crap…
I ended up going all-out with my last attack. Did I just… kill him by accident?
Since I got really worried about it, I flew toward the plaza too.
The beautiful plaza had already been completely smashed to pieces and been turned into a small crater when Reiji landed on it.
I stood in silence at the edge of the crater.
Fortunately, no one was in the plaza right now, and I couldn’t see anyone injured around the plaza aside from Reiji.
I saw Reiji being supported by his women in the center of the crater.
It seems he was safe.
I heaved a sigh upon seeing that scene.
Thank god I didn’t accidentally kill Shirone’s boyfriend.
「You’ve already won…」
The woman with black long hair said so as she looked at me. She should be called Chiyuki.
The other women were standing between me and Reiji.
Well, I didn’t even want to fight him to begin with though… on the contrary, I wanted to evacuate to prevent the situation from spiraling down to the worst direction.
I came here to make sure that I didn’t accidentally kill him.
「KUROKIIII―――!!!WHAT ARE YOU DOING―――――!!!」
Suddenly, someone shouted from above.
It seems Shirone has come. Should I just leave then?
Shirone was flying quickly toward the injured Reiji.
Another two women were following along from behind.
「ARE YOU OKAY, REIJI-KUN?!!! KUROKI, WHY ARE YOU DOING SUCH A CRUEL THING TO REIJI-KUN!!? APOLOGIZE TO HIM!!!」 [Note : What in the hell is this b*tch talking about? no wonder Kuroki has had enough with her.]
Shirone glared at me.
「WAIT RIGHT THERE, SHIRONE!!!」
And then, Kuna came to my side in the next moment along with Glorious.
Glorious’ giant frame destroyed several buildings as they landed on the ground.
Kuna came to my side after she descended from Glorious’ back.
「Silver Witch, Kuna.」
Shirone glared at Kuna.
「STOP MESSING AROUND WHEN A GOOD SCENE IS REACHING THE CLIMAX, SH*TRONE! KUROKI!! KUNA AND THE OTHERS WILL STOP THE HERO’S WOMEN!! YOU GO FINISH UP THE HERO DURING THAT TIME!!」
I ended up saying 「Eh?」 upon hearing Kuna’s remark. Stop, I had no intention to do that!!
「YEAH!! KILL THE HERO!!」
「KILL THOSE WHO DARE TO DISOBEY OUR GREAT DEMON KING!!」
「JUDGMENT TO THE IDIOTS!!」
When I looked up, Runfeld and co were already flying above us, ready for the second round.
STOP!! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO NOW!? I’VE TOLD YOU TO EVACUATE RIGHT!!?
Runfeld and co started shouting 「God of Black Storm」 and 「Darkness that swallowed the light」.
WTF?
Were you guys trying to tell me to kill the hero?
It’s kinda forced.
「PLEASE WAKE UP, KUROKI!! THIS GIRL IS DANGEROUS!! SHE SUMMONED GHOULS TO ARIADYA!! SHE’S ALSO THE ONE WHO RELEASED MONSTERS IN THE UNDERGROUND WATERWAY!! SHE’S TRYING TO BRING A CALAMITY INTO THIS COUNTRY!!」
Shirone pointed at Kuna.
Ehm, what kind of nonsense was she talking about? I knew none of it though.
I mean, Kuna and I arrived in Ariadya just a few days ago. I don’t think she had that much spare time to make such a refined plan.
Well, I had no idea what she was talking about but, I knew of one thing, I couldn’t just overlook the fact that Shirone just bad-mouthing Kuna for no reason.
「Even if you’re my childhood friend, I won’t forgive you if you keep badmouthing Kuna for no reason. I finally got a cute girl like her and yet… You kept bothering me, who do you think you are? Moreover, Kuna never had any intentions of bringing calamity into this country. So, if you want to hurt her… don’t think that I won’t fight back like when we fought in Rox kingdom.」
Shirone made a desperate face upon hearing my declaration.
「WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT SH*TRONE!!! IT’S KUNA’S VICTORY!! KUROKI IS KUNA’S!! HAHAHAHAHAHA, SERVE YOU RIGHT!! BLEEH!!」
Kuna embraced my left arm while sticking her tongue out toward Shirone.
「LieS… he’s already… completely… brainwashed…」
Shirone shook her head as she staggered back.
「HANG IN THERE SHIRONE-SAN!!!」
The girl who came along with Shirone rushed to support her.
「WELL THEN, IT’S TIME TO FINISH OFF THE HERO!! RIGHT, KUROKI!!」
Kuna separated herself from me as she pointed her scythe toward Shirone and co.
Honestly, I really want to scream “WAIT!” right now.
Though it was true that I wanted to protect Kuna, I also didn’t wish to kill Sh*trone and her idiotic friends…
This was truly a difficult situation.
「Stop right there!!!」
Suddenly, the sky above us was wrapped in brilliant light.
And then, someone descended from that light.
The one who descended was an extremely beautiful woman.
She was being surrounded by fully armed female angels.
The beauty landed in space between Shirone and I.
「「「「「RENA!!!」」」」」
Shirone and co couldn’t hide their surprise upon seeing the sudden appearance of the woman.
Yes, the one who came was none other than Goddess of Wisdom and Victory; Rena.
Naturally, I was really shocked by her sudden appearance too.
The same went for everyone in this place.
「Rena, what are you doing here?」
Rena just replied with 「Fufufu」 upon hearing my question.
The timing for her appearance was way too perfect.
She might be looking at this situation from somewhere since some time ago, waiting for the perfect opportunity to show herself.
Runfeld and co were really surprised by the sudden appearance of the angels.
「Please withdraw for now, Kuroki. You’ll at least hear this request of mine, right?」
Rena made such a request with a sweet and gentle smile on her face.
But, I had to thank her for this perfectly timed appearance since we could withdraw safely with this situation.
「Wait, what is wrong with you suddenly appearing like that and making such a request? … No, why does Kuna feel like you’re familiar? Who are you?」
Kuna tilted her head as she asked those questions.
「That’s only natural, right? I’m your original after all.」
「What’s that mean? What are you talking about? But still, even if more of you come, Kuroki is invincible!! There’s nothing that can stop us!!」
Kuna made such a declaration as she pointed her scythe toward Rena.
Runfeld and co’s fighting spirit was also reignited upon hearing her encouragement.
Eh, wait a minute. I think we should withdraw, you know…
「Unfortunately for you, Kuroki cannot fight me. Now please remember, Kuroki!! Remember the memory of THAT night!!」
I felt some sort of magic wave from Rena entering my body.
And then, the sealed memory of a certain night in Rox kingdom resurfaced.
「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!」
I screamed. HOW IN THE HELL DID I FORGET SUCH WONDERFUL MEMORIES―――――!!!
「What’s happening to you, Kuroki?」
Kuna asked anxiously upon seeing my unusual behaviour.
Even the other people around were restless upon seeing the sudden change in my behaviour.
Well I mean, it really can be helped. I was weak against this kind of thing.
「WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KUROKI?!!」
Kuna asked so while glaring at Rena.
「I’m not doing anything. I just made him recall something. With this, Kuroki won’t be able to fight. And all of you will have no choice but to withdraw from this place.」
Rena spoke with a triumphant look on her face.
It seems she was really into her role right now.
Dammit, my lower half didn’t want to listen to me too.
Calm down!! Take it easy!! Your turn is not in this kind of place, wait till I’m alone with Kuna.
「Sorry Kuna!! I don’t think I can continue the fight in this state!! Let’s withdraw from this place!!」
I pulled Kuna and forced her to withdraw.
I had a hard time walking properly since my lower half decided to enter strike mode on his own.
「Uuh, I understand Kuroki… Are you okay?」
I nodded upon hearing Kuna’s question.
It seems she was really worried about my condition.
I apologized to Kuna in my heart, sorry for being a pervert.
「Thanks, Kuna.」
And then, I looked at Runfeld and co who were floating in the air above.
I had to make them withdraw from this place too.
「Let’s not shed more of our comrades’ blood! Everyone, withdraw! Demon King army, I order you to withdraw to the labyrinth!!」
I ordered Runfeld and co with a loud voice.
They might feel dissatisfied but things would turn for the worse since the angels had already come to help Reiji and co.
More fighting would only bring more victims on our side. That’s why I gave a strict, retreat order.
「Wait… the victor… has yet to be decided…」
And just when I was about to step back, an idiot decided to push the situation to enter the worst outcome.
Yes, the idiot was Reiji.
It seems he still wants to continue our fight whose outcome was already clear for everyone to see.
His injuries had already healed by healing magic.
But, he could barely stand on his feet. He was even propped up by the woman in white robe when he walked toward us.
He was clearly not in the condition to fight.
Just where in the hell were those guts coming from?
「Reiji, stop it, the victory has already been decided.」
Rena stepped in to stop Reiji.
「But Rena… There’s no way I’m gonna show such ugly side of me in front of you…」
Hoo, such bravado despite being propped up by a woman. Well, he might not want to show his uncool side in front of Rena.
Such bravado… honestly, I admired his bravado, just a little though.
「Please. It’ll be a huge p— I mean, I’m also worried about you. Please step back for my sake.」 [Note: Yes, Rena almost said “What a big pain in the a*s” in the raw]
Wait, is it just me or she was about to say 「It’ll be a huge pain in the a*s」? Was there anyone else noticing this?
But still, thanks to Rena’s persuasion, Reiji finally accepted his loss.
He hung his head down with an extremely vexed look on his face.
「… I understand, Rena. I guess I mustn’t make you worry about me. But, I have one last request… Show me your face. I failed to remember your face in our last fight. But, I’ll make sure not to forget it this time.」
Hearing that, I thought “Uwaa, this guy is serious.”.
Could it be that he was planning to settle the score with me?
If that was the case, no way in hell I’m gonna show my face to you. I mean, it’s scary.
「I refuse. let’s go back, everyone.」
Thus, I refused flatly.
「Does that mean that I’m not even worthy enough to see your face?」
Reiji spoke with a vexed voice but why should I care about that.
I mean, no, he even started to misunderstand on his own.
But I didn’t say anything to correct his misunderstanding since I didn’t feel like it.
I walked toward Glorious along with Kuna while bending forward a little bit.
Dammit, walking in this posture was too hard.
But, I couldn’t help but recall the memories of that night whenever I saw Rena’s face.
That’s why let’s leave this place as fast as possible.
Glorious flapped their wings after we rode on its back.
With Glorious leading the way, Runfeld and co followed obediently.
The Valkyries didn’t go after us.
Thus, we left Ariadya after blowing up a storm.