Chapter 165 - Volume 8 (1/2)

Volume 8, Chapter 23: The Demon’s Trap, Part 3

“Everyone, this isn’t a time for us to fight each other.”

“Now, it’s time to show those Demons the power of us all.”

““Let’s stand together and take on this threat to all of us!””

The voices of the little girls echoed out across the battlefield of despair.

The soldiers of both the human nations and the forces of darkness stopped fleeing, and inspired by the beautiful girls and their dignity, began a counterattack.

The millennia of prejudice was not easily dismissed. Yet, seeing these twin girls who looked no older than 5 fighting on this dangerous battlefield, the soldiers’ hearts were lit with the “thought” of a new era.

Mankind would not lose to the Demon Lord or the Demons. In order to win their futures, the soldiers stood beside those they once called enemy, and confronted the common enemy of all together.

“…… How did this happen?”

Sefira stared out at this spectacle from the tents of the Allied Command.

Far from their innate sense of superiority causing them to scorn each other, they joined hands to deal with this “external enemy” called the [Demon Lord] and the [Demons], confronting them as one.

It was, in a way, the “peaceful world” that Sefira has been working towards.

“… It’s different.”

This was different from Sefira’s goal of a [world where everyone was equal and kind].

All this time…… for the longest time, Sefira had tried to guide humanity. Having failed once, a long time ago, Sefira understood that she needed a certain “something” absolute in order to lead the foolish human race into an eternal peace.

It was supposed to have been within reach right now. That is……

“I won’t allow it to end this way……”

It was a play that was too good to be true.

But at the same time, although it wasn’t exactly her last card, Sefira had made contact with the Dark Elven Princess, Nefertia, and tried to get rid of the youngsters that the Saint had taken in. But then two young princesses suddenly appeared and censured her…… and immediately after she seemed to have immediately pivoted her plans, the female knight in her entourage acted, and Nefertia lost her young life.

Despite that…… or rather, because of that, all of the forces of darkness had gathered under the twin princesses, and in a very real sense, they were now united with the human forces into one.

“…… What happened?”

Sefira felt as if she was being played for a fool by an enormous “something”.

As if everything had been “foretold by a story”, the Demon Army was gradually being pushed back by the new combined forces.

There was no [Hero] here on the battlefield who would have originally changed the tide of battle as expected by Sefira, and there were rumors and mysterious “strange reports” that the Heroes had fled the battle.

“………”

And so, Sefira disappeared from the battlefield alone, quietly leaving without notifying anyone.

She was headed to the one place where the heroes would gather to be guided.

The final hope for Sefira’s dreams …… [The Land of Origin].

* * *

“Hey, how much further are you going to flee?”

The hero of Earth, Kanzo, was following the traitorous hero of Flame, Minkichi, all the way into the caves of the mountain ranges that separated the human nations from the forces of darkness.

Kanzo knew that Minkichi’s betrayal had been the machinations of the Hero of Water, but Minkichi, who had been driven into a corner and could no longer pretend, had made her way here to get rid of the other two before they could pin the “crimes” that they had all together committed in the past on her.

But even as a Hero, Kanzo’s party members were unable to complement her strengths as much as Minkichi’s were, even as they pushed her here.

“Sir Kanzo, how about we split the party and pincer her here? I’ve investigated the geography of this cave. If we do it right, pinning her should be possible.”

“…… Oh well.”

She didn’t know why Minkichi went to that place in the middle of the forces of darkness, but it might be that there was some sort of weapon that was hidden by the forces of darkness there.

Even in these labyrinthine caves that were so intricate that even the human forces could not invade this far, Minkichi’s party had proceeded without hesitation, as if they were being guided.

And then ……

“I’ll leave it to you, if you say so.”

In the past, she had been the party adjutant who had only superficially obeyed her, but ever since they had gone to the dungeon with the Elder Lich and met that Saint, she had become incredibly capable, as if the “person” inside had changed, and become loyal to Kanzo.

It seems as if it would be good to favor them once this fight was over……

(…… No, I can’t. I already have Noa, so cheating is no good.)

Kanzo shook her head for a moment to clear her thoughts and then accepted the proposal of her trustworthy lieutenant.

“I’ll leave it to you. I will definitely dispose of Minkichi.”

“Sir!.”

Kanzo’s party split in two and pursued Minkichi.

It would normally be incredibly foolish for them to split the party in this intricate cave system, but for Kanzo, the Hero of Earth, the [Hero’s Secret Art] taught in Genble allowed hrr to sense where the location of her party was to some extent, even when separated.

Although she didn’t know where his adjutant had gotten this geographical information from, she moved to catch up to Minkichi’s party.

“……Wha!?”

But the reactions of four people, including his adjutant, suddenly disappeared.

For an instant, Kanzo suspected that Minkichi’s party had beset them or that Demons in the caves had struck, but Kanzo’s party members, including the adjutant, were all considerably well-known knights in Genble. It was impossible for them to simply disappear while moving without a fight.

“…… Let’s go to where they were last seen.”

“““Sir!”””

The three knights with her were slightly upset with Kanzo’s decision, but they acquiesced.

And a few minutes after they weaved their way into the caverns……

“Sir Kanzo, that’s…”

“What……”

One of the young knights who had been with the lieutenant was lying there in a gruesome state.

“Only one……?”

“What happened to them……? This is…”

The dead knight had a frozen expression of fear on his face, and his chest cavity was hollow, as if his heart had been eaten.

Were there any monsters that could kill knights like this? Or had they been attacked by Minkichi, and then disguised to look as if they had been attacked by monsters? Looking at it skeptically, there was no way that this corpse hadn’t been laid here as bait for a trap.

“Let’s move out now. We’ll go check out where the lieutenant disappeared.”

““Yes.””

…… She hadn’t noticed it yet.

Irritation rushing through her, Kanzo ran through the cave system.

“Again!”

And once again, she found the body of another knight.

This one had managed to draw his sword, but there were no markings on the blade nor scuffing, and the knight’s head had been bent back over itself.

“Arrgh, just what is happening?! Let’s go on.”

“Yes!”

Then Kanzo and the knight arrived at the location where the adjutant had disappeared.

“……What is the meaning of this”

There was a knight’s corpse there as well.

That knight had been one of the old-timers in Kanzo’s party. A strong knight that could have been her lieutenant if his noble house had been high enough.

He had died with an expression of great fear, crying like a child. How in the world was this happening? What the hell was going on in this cave?

“……… why”

Kanzo finally realized that she was alone.

Kanzo pulled her magical greatsword from its scabbard and became wary of his surroundings.

“……there!”