Arifureta Vol 10 Chapter 3 (2/2)

“For the G.o.d!”

“Long live! Eht-samaa!”

“Pagans! Die for our G.o.d!”

They were in frenzy. With bloodshot eyes, they declared while scattering saliva around. Completely abnormal.

He was able to guess it was a war between countries from how the fleets looked like, and he finally understood the reason for it. It was a religious war. If he strained his ears, he could hear the other soldiers in the other fleets were shouting similar things. However, they were shouting different G.o.d’s name.

Kaori could only stand in blank surprise inside the frenzied atmosphere.

Embracing Kaori from behind, Hajime thrust out and fired Donner over his shoulder. Only, the fired thing was not a bullet but ma.s.s of pure magic power. Using “Magic Power Compression” and “Magic Power Emission” derived from “Magic Power Manipulation,” he was able to blow off magic power without affecting the target physically. In a sense, it was a flawless technique to disarm the target because human and even demonic beast wouldn’t be able to move if their magic power was exhausted. This move had always been kept inside of him because he would not use such a lukewarm method on his enemy.

However, this lukewarm method was the most useful in this situation. The bright red bullet fired by Donner momentarily cut through the s.p.a.ce and pierced the forehead of one of the frenzied, cutla.s.s swinging soldier. Without stopping, the bullet hit the soldier behind the previous one, too, and their bodies instantly dispersed.

“Kaori! We are going to jump! Don’t bite your tongue!”

“Eh? —Kyaaaaa!!”

It would be troublesome if they were surrounded on the deck, so Hajime jumped using “Aerodynamic” while embracing Kaori. Kaori screamed from the powerful momentum.

Kicking the soldier on the crow’s nest, Hajime landed in one of four crow’s nest on the masts.

Below them, the frenzied soldiers were looking up at Hajime and Kaori with bloodshot eyes.

Even though there were the enemies from other countries, too, somehow some of the men were targeting Hajime and Kaori. Moreover, the ones targeting them didn’t have any distinction between allies and enemies. Their numbers keeps increasing one after another just like a bad case of contagious virus.

Before even a moment pa.s.sed and in front of their own enemies, the soldiers suddenly stopped moving and twisted their heads, staring at Hajime and Kaori. They immediately came crowding towards the two like a horror movie. The frenzied air even made Kaori pale.

“Now then, what shall we do to get out of this disgusting s.p.a.ce?”

“… Maybe there’s something like… an exit?”

“We are in the middle of the sea, you know?”

“Maybe there’s an exit in one of these s.h.i.+ps? … see, something like wherever door.”

Kaori recalled and compared it to the convenient tool of the blue cat robot. Looking at the surroundings, Hajime frowned and objected her idea because the s.h.i.+ps were too numerous.

“… From what I can see, there’s at least six hundred s.h.i.+ps here… it’s impossible to search one by one. Don’t you think we’ll be able to find the exit faster if the war ended?”

“Umm~, indeed, there are also the sunken s.h.i.+p… Then, shall we…end the war?”

“End it… I see, time to kill everyone, huh? Kaori also can say something extreme, eh.”

“Eh? Umm, I don’t mean that…”

“Yup, that must be it. No other thing comes to my mind, and I like it better this way.”

Firing bullets of magic power and shooting through the several soldiers climbing using the ropes on the mast, Hajime thought it would be better if he had make a magic gun. He thought so while he continued firing the bright red bullets along with “Remote Control” derived from “Magic Power Manipulation,” making them intercepted the incoming flame bullets.

“Kaori, I know you aren’t proficient in offensive magic, but even healing magic becomes offensive magic here. And even if we don’t know how to escape from here, it is the truth that we are being attacked, so let’s knock them all down.”

“O-Okay!”

Hearing Hajime’s words, Kaori began her chant with resolute expression while trembling. The frenzied battlefield seemed to shave off at Kaori’s mind, but she absolutely didn’t want to show a disgraceful behavior to the important one beside her.

Hajime was glaring at the surroundings as if protecting her.

Looking down, allies and foes were mixed as they boarded the s.h.i.+p, killing each other. Unlike what happened when Hajime and Kaori attacked, the killing in this illusion was full of bloodshed.

On the deck were someone’s entrails, cut limbs, and splattered heads. Everyone was repeatedly shouting “For the G.o.d,” “Pagan,” and “Divine Punishment,” with frenzied eyes as they spread killing intent.

Within the fresh blood of the soldiers scattered just like a storm of cherry blossom, the crow’s nest where Hajime and Kaori, no, it was more like the soldiers were obstinately targeting Hajime and Kaori.

Time to time, bright red bullets flew about in all directions, shooting through the enemies. Furthermore, they flew around Hajime and Kaori to protect them, positioned as both offense and defense at the same time.

However, the frenzied soldiers weren’t even worried, repeatedly attempted suicide attacks. Tens of the soldiers used flight magic while there were those who approached by going from one mast to another. It could be seen that the fight was concentrated on the s.h.i.+p where Hajime and Kaori rode. Hajime’s Magic Eye also caught the fluctuation of magic power of highest-ranked magic from the hand of the magicians aiming at them.

At the time, Hajime thought of sniping them, but Kaori’s chant ended and she activated highest-ranked magic of her.

“— — people, held out your arms as this is the place where Holy Mother smiling at, “Scripture”!”

Then, ripple of light spread into the battlefield with Kaori as its center.

The ripple throbbed as it expanded for so so many times, reaching one kilometer in radius. The enemy who touched by the ripple was wrapped by light.

Highest-ranked healing magic of light attribute, “Scripture.”

It was a super wide-ranged healing magic with effect of healing everyone inside its area. The range itself was depended on the amount of user’s magic power and proficiency, but at its worst, its effective range was 500 meters in radius. Moreover, if the user gave out the “sign” beforehand, it would be able to heal specific object. And normally this magic was used with tens of magician, and took a lot of time to chant along with its stupidly gigantic magic array. To be able to activate it in only one, two minutes alone was impossible unless one was a cheat-like character.

At the same time the light of “Scripture” activated by Kaori wrapped the battlefield, all soldiers inside the effective area had their bodies dispersed without distinction of ally or foe. When the magic ended, Kaori’s body tilted from magic power exhaustion, and was thus promptly supported by Hajime.

“Ohh, a ma.s.s reproduction of the Mary Celeste, huh. You did great, Kaori. No, should I say as expected of you?”

“Ah, uh, th-there’s no such a thing. Hajime-kun and the others are far more amazing…”

Honest praise from Hajime made Kaori’s cheeks blush from embarra.s.sed. She made a self-ridiculing smile as she thought Yue would be able to use more powerful magic quickly. Then, she muttered “”Replenish,”” to replenish the lost magic power from the pendant given by Hajime. Hajime had improved the pendant with magic array and the ability of taking out the stocked magic power by chanting because Kaori was incapable of directly manipulating magic power.

Hajime slightly knitted his eyebrows and wanted to say something when he saw Kaori’s expression, but he put it aside for now because he had to deal with the new incoming enemies. The battle had restarted.

With the ineffectiveness of physical attack, it was a situation where the large amount of soldiers didn’t falter against any kind of attack as they battled on the s.h.i.+p. Normally, it might be a hard situation, but there were cheat-like monsters present.

Big fleets of two countries were afterwards annihilated by the two humans in a span of one hour.

“… Uuh, cough, kafh, sorr-…”

“It’s alright. Just endure it.”

Immediately after the last soldiers were annihilated, their surroundings were once again distorted. They noticed that they had returned to s.h.i.+p’s graveyard from before.

Wondering if the annihilation was indeed the correct answer, Kaori immediately sighed in relief, ran to the nearby rock, and vomited. However, she vomited nothing since the dinner she ate had already been digested, and thus she felt a pain from trying to vomit.

With tears acc.u.mulated in the corner of her eyes, Kaori used one hand to tell Hajime “Don’t come,” to stop him.

However, Hajime still approached her and rubbed her back. Kaori didn’t want to show such a pitiful sight to him, but she felt comforted from the gentle and warm feelings transmitted to her back. Her nausea and spirit gradually recovered.

Hajime took out apple juice-like drink from “Treasure Box” and presented it to her. Kaori obediently drink it heartily and her energy returned. The sweet and fresh taste, flushed the sour taste of gastric juice.

“Sorry…”

Kaori who knitted her eyebrows and apologized for the trouble made Hajime narrowed his eyes.

“Well, I think it is inevitable. Even I feel disgusted by it. I never thought humans would be so frenzied because of their blind belief. …Anyway, let’s rest for now. Even I want to recover my considerably used magic power.”

“… Un. Say, Hajime-kun. What was that illusion? Is it related to these s.h.i.+p wreckages.”

Kaori stood up then sat on the nearby rock, and then she asked him. Hajime took a little time to think before told her his conjecture.

“It is just a maybe, but I think the illusion might have been reproducing a battle in the past. … well, it seemed there’s also some improvement to attack those challenging the dungeon… or it might have been the concept of this dungeon.”

“Concept?”

“Yeah. Tio said it when we were in “Guryuu-en Great Volcano”. She said ‘isn’t it possible that each of the dungeon had its own concept prepared by the “Liberators”?’ If that’s true, then here is…”

“…To know the misery brought by the Mad G.o.ds… maybe?”

“Aah, I think so, too.”

Continuing Hajime’s words by muttering the answer, Kaori recalled the spectacle from before, her face once again turned pale, and her body trembled as if she was suffering from a cold.

What made Kaori felt sick was the madness from the soldiers. Their behavior and speech were exactly of those so called “Fanatic” while she also couldn’t help but feel disgusted from the killing.

The people continued to laugh loudly in a frenzy even when blood were spraying from their bodied. There were even those who died from gouging their own hearts out, raised it towards the sky as an offering to their G.o.ds. There was also an older brother who stabbed through his own younger brother just to attack Hajime and Kaori, while the younger one laughed proudly. War itself was a place filled with madness, but one they just saw was far too ghastly. And it was wage all “For our G.o.d,” so…

Seeing Kaori covering her mouth because she couldn’t endure it, Hajime sat right beside Kaori and grasped Kaori’s hand. He couldn’t leave Kaori, who sickened by the madness, alone. Kaori was slightly surprised, looked at Hajime, relaxed, and squeezed Hajime’s hand back.

“Hajime-kun, thank you…”

“Don’t mind it. I understand… the pain from being exposed to the madness. I felt that when I fell into the abyss…”

“… Then, how? … Wait, there’s no need for you to answer… It was… Yue-san, right?”

“Yeah, it was because of her. If I hadn’t met her inside the abyss… I wonder how I would have ended up.”

Hajime looked into the distance in affection and nostalgia. He was surely recalling the time he met Yue. Seeing his expression made Kaori felt her chest squeeze.

“It’s mortifying. To defend, to protect Hajime-kun… I wanted to do that. But even if I said that, it’s not like I can do anything. Since it’s me… who I couldn’t even protect a promise. Ah~, Yue is a really powerful enemy~.”

Kaori joking laughter made Hajime narrowed his eyes again. Kaori’s smile was not the usual warm, positive smile because it might have also included self-torment and self-ridicule.

“… You’ve been apologizing since we came here, and don’t make such a smile.”

“Eh? Ummm…”

Hajime’s sudden words made Kaori raised “?” above her head. However, her smile immediately collapsed and her expression stiffened from Hajime’s next words.

“… Listen, Kaori. Why did you follow us here?”

“… That’s… am I just a burden after all?”

The downcast Kaori made Hajime sigh, and he didn’t answer her question.

“I remember the talk we had under the moonlight while drinking that disgusting tea that day. That’s why, honestly, I don’t think it’s weird that you have goodwill for the current me.”

“Hajime-kun, I…”

“However, I have no intention of denying it. I am sure Kaori had things only you can see, and that’s what stirred your heart. Thus, there’s no meaning for me to deny the decision you made. I have given you my answer, “even so” I think it’s a good thing that you favor me. Even s.h.i.+a didn’t even feel discouraged. Rather, she recently made me seriously worry if she was going to attack me in my sleep.”

Hajime recently felt the dread as he thought of the rabbit-eared girl with bugged physical strength. Seeing such a Hajime, Kaori made a wry smile in agreement.

“… Un, I think her aggressiveness and positiveness amazing.”

“I treated her harshly at the beginning. I didn’t think of anyone as “special” other than Yue… I honestly thought she was going to give up quickly.”

“…”

“No matter how harsh I treated her, how I treated Yue as special, and she was always neither angry nor did she cry, but she seemed happy about it. She couldn’t compare to Yue in magic usage because she didn’t have apt.i.tude in magic, and even if she was defeated in a mock battle against Yue, she didn’t stop to move forward. She didn’t cower even though she was attacked by her own inferiority complex.”

“I-I, thing like inferiority complex…”

Kaori who silently listening to Hajime, couldn’t help to object and stood up. However, she was exhausted and immediately sat back.

“Didn’t you notice it? You’ve been apologizing since we came here. Even the way you smiled is completely different than the usual.”

“Eh?”

“Listen, Kaori. Don’t keep looking down. Raise your face and look into my eyes.”

That being said, Kaori finally noticed she had been looking down for a while now. Before, she made sure to look at the other person’s eyes when talking… thus, when Kaori met Hajime’s gaze she realized.

“Listen here, I will not say it for the second time. I love Yue. Even if I thought of others as “important,” it won’t change that only Yue is “special.” So if you feel pain from it, if you feel you are inferior compared to Yue… Kaori, you should part from me.”

“Kh…”

The blunt words made Kaori look down again. Hajime continued talking even though he did see her reaction.

“The reason I allowed Kaori to accompany us at that time is because of the same reason as s.h.i.+a; I judged it’d be the best for Kaori to be by my side, because I trust Kaori. You understood my feelings, “even so” you moved ahead for your wish. That’s why I thought it’d be okay for you by my side if you favor me… but, I don’t feel the same way now.”

When Hajime ended his words, he separated his hand from the downcast Kaori’s. Then, he spun the ending words.

“Please think carefully about it once more. Why did you come along with us, and if should you stay by my side from now on… Kaori is not s.h.i.+a. s.h.i.+a likes Yue, too. …Depending on your answer, I will send you back to your best friend (Yaegas.h.i.+).”

“I-I…”

Kaori wanted to say something as she watched the hand separating from her own, the words wouldn’t come out.

Inside the awkward atmosphere, Hajime urged Kaori to move because it was necessary for them to approach the biggest sailing s.h.i.+ps enshrined at the distance.

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