Vol 2 Chapter 16 (2/2)

「How many are there?」

「… One man」

「… Huh?」

Without thinking, Ranquil let out a befuddled voice lacking any dignity

Thinking he had misheard, the corners of his mouth stiffened as he asked once more

「I’ how many there are」

「There is only one He suddenly appeared on our route and rushed the uard!」

「Are you saying one1,000?」

Even if it is to buy tile man do?

「No, wait」

Ranquil crossed his arms

Therein wait soe in to divert their attention

After co to this point, Ranquil smiled

「No, impossible」

If there were any strange activities from the Fourth Imperial Army, the scouts would have sensed it

It’s not easy to slip through the eyes of surveillance Even more so in a desert which offers such an open view

Though his mind was confused at the incoained his senses

It may be their objective to confuse him like this

If it’s their aim to buy time and slow the advance of the arht Ranquil as he smiled

「Not bad If it were anyone else, roary and stopped the army’s advance No, maybe I should say that it’s because I’ me…」

「Are you all right?」

Karl asks, looking concerned

Ranquil nodded and spread out his arerated manner to assure him

No matter what the opponent’s objective h it

Above all else, what can a single cavalryman do?

「There is no problem Let us continue to advance the army There is no need to worry about an ambush, either」

But Ranquil’s confidence was to be crushed After a short while, the vanguard stopped

Ranquil had Karl wait at headquarters as he took an escort to join with the vanguard

「What are you doing? We have no time to rest! Continue forward!」

Ranquil shouted, but he notices the air in the vanguard is strange Every single one of the slaves are pale in the face and look like they may collapse at any moment

Ranquil moves his horse towards a nearby slave and asks in a loud voice

「What happened?!」

A slave fro voice

「…Desperation」

Ranquil felt his heart grow cold at the ominous word

「Desperation」 is from a folktale which parents read to their children when they scold the up late

No one knohen this story appeared in this world By the time people realized, it had spread everywhere, from nobles, to commoners, to even slaves

Some say that it was spread by a nameless minstrel, while others say it derived frodoe of the central continent

「Ridiculous What do youbut a superstition」

Ranquil laughed it off, but there was an alar off deep in his heart

Although it was supposed to be hot, his sent cold and he felt his body te

After groaning, Ranquil tiulped

There is so about in the twisted heat of the battlefield

It looked like it was inviting you over, drawing you in—

— 「Valatil」 had its wings outstretched

TL note: Kanji is “black raven”

「Valatil」 is the name of a God which appears in the fairy myth Also known as 「Zero」, he rules over death and destruction, and is also said to be the God which guides the world to its end

(TL note: Kanji is “black God”, same as the episode title)

「Absurd…」

One of the s, and another shoots a spray of fresh blood high into the air as he collapses, spreading buckets of his blood onto the sand

Grief stricken cries from the mercenaries reach Ranquil’s ears

There were likely well known ruffians ahly skilled swordsmen no doubt

However, before those black wings, simply put, they were merely helpless children

「Aht now…? Is this reality?」

Mercenaries swing their swords and stand up against it, but their efforts are fruitless and their lives come to an end

It’s true he planned to use the murdered so atrociously, he couldn’t help but feel for them

But he didn’t feel the urge to help them

After witnessing this unknown creature, his body was paralyzed in fear and unable to move

A head flies in front of the speechless Ranquil’s feet

It was the head of the loathsome mercenary leader whom he wished to kill

「…」

But Ranquil’s gaze is drawn to one spot

If he gets distracted, he will die That nagging thought was one of the reasons for this, but… theboy who cut off thein his direction

Fro boy, so he obviously can’t make out his expression, either

Maybe his one mad from fear

But Ranquil definitely saw it

— He saw that the young boy was laughing

The an to scurry in an atte help

Ranquil raised his voice

「Fire your arrows! Don’t let those et near us!」

He was afraid If the mercenaries escaped, the blade of the black clothes would point his way

Though they were sparse, the archers faithfully responded to Ranquil’s orders

Over a 1,000 arrows tore through the air, arcing through the sky and attacking the mercenaries

Exposed to a downpour of arrows, the mercenaries writhe in pain as they take their last breaths

Of course, the arrows flood before the young boy in black clothes as well, but he is surprisingly unscathed

「A-Absurd!」

You can’t help but think that he truly is 「Zero」 from the fairy myth

Hoould you explain this otherwise? They were ready to land the final blow, but one le handedly buried 1,000 enemies How can you call this person human?

There were ot down on their knees So

The vanguard began to lose their will to fight

「… No At this rate…」

Ranquil focused his strength into his stoorate his men with a speech

But he would soon shut it This is because the young boy turned his black clothes over and showed his back

He felt this was their chance He thought with his back turned, they could land at least one arrow

There’s no such thing as a human with eyes on their back More iet positive proof whether he is man or monster

「Fire your arrows!」

He vigorously swung his arain dominated the sky

It was so dense not even a singleboy’s black clothes repelled every single arrow

Ranquil looked on astonished, but the sound of heavy thuds reach his ears, causing his

A nu holes in their chest There were about thirty of them, and based on the expressions of the dead, it looked like they didn’t even knohat happened

There were various expressions— fear, despair, awe— but not a single one of then of pain

Thinking about it, o without feeling pain

Ranquil was dumbfounded, but he pinched his cheeks and forced himself to return to reality

He runs his hand along his cheek, and he feels so slippery

「… Why a?」

He looked at the blood on his fingertips, then the surprised Ranquilboy

But the young boy was not there All he saere the miserable corpses of mercenaries scattered about

As a hot wind blew through, his body tean to return

His heart is beating quickly He pressed his fist against his chest to cal pulse

「Kuhahaha… I see So that’s the man in black that was in the report」

It’s not that he didn’t know about him

The report which informed them of the duke’s third son’s death in battle also mentioned a man in black

A young boy single handedly killed 600-800 soldiers He concluded that so responsibility for the loss

Though there’s no point in bringing that up now, it most definitely was not a lie, and he should keep this in the corner of his mind

This is because it will be necessary to have a countermeasure for the man in black

He took a few deep breaths to reorganize his thoughts, then looked around his surroundings again

The slaves are repeating the narown adults are offering prayers to Gods with tears in their eyes

Seeing this, it’s clear as day that this will be a proble forward

「A raid won’t do us any good with this」

Ranquil decided to withdraw for the moment

「First… let’s seal hiht alone」

The situation is futile unless he does so about the flustered slaves

How you begin a war is crucial If they stumble here, it will be more than just an ill omen

No— The other side has already taken the initiative You could say they’ve already stumbled

But, even still—

「I will not lose」

Ranquil instructed the entire ar and returned to headquarters