Chapter 285 (1/2)

As countless battles with the Alva raged on around them, a group of several people ran through the city. It was Kain, Ein, the master of the Dark Green Bear House, Arnold, his wife Prim, and his daughter Ripley.

Kain and the others had succeeded in persuading Arnold, who was initially reluctant to leave his shop unattended, to join them, and they were currently fleeing to safety.

Reina’s plan was to take place “after” this fight. Until then, Kain was to help as many people as he could.

「I hear all kinds of horrible noises from all around… The last attack wasn’t this bad, was it!?」

Kain and Ein couldn’t answer Arnold’s question, as they weren’t here for “the last attack.”

However, they could imagine how different it was. Last time, the Staves of Light Chivalric Order must have been here to defend the city. The Alva are resistant to physical attacks, but they are weak against magic attacks. Because battles with the Alva naturally turn into magic-based fights, without any powerful magic users, it was only natural that there would be a huge difference in fighting power.

「Giigaa!」

「O, Light!」

The moment he saw the Alva up ahead, Kain activated his magic sword of light. The sword, harnessing the power of light, cut straight through the Alva’s fireball, disintegrating it into pieces.

There were piles of scorched bodies lying around the Alva. As Kain caught a glimpse of these in the corner of his vision, he firmly gripped his sword.

「Gieguoooh…」

「…」

Even the Alva could tell that Kain was not just an ordinary human. It carefully kept him at a distance, storing its magic power as if it were about to unleash a powerful magic attack.

However, as it was distracted, the Alva failed to notice the girl that had disappeared the moment Kain cut apart the fireball. Suddenly, a short sword appeared right behind it, ready to swing at the Alva’s neck.

As a dull sound rang out, the Alva’s head flew through the air. Shortly after, its body was reduced into black dust.

「Well that was pretty boring. Let’s hurry up.」

「Y-yes.」

As Kain shifted his gaze over to the massive pile of burnt bodies, Ein gently poked his head.

「It’s inevitable that people will die in battle. There’s no reason for humans to be an exception to that rule.」

「…I know.」

After a silent prayer, Kain started to lead the group again, but suddenly, he heard Ripley’s frightened voice from behind him.

「Why… why did this happen? Why do the Mazoku come to attack Elarc…? Is it really because, as you said, Celis isn’t recognized as a true ruler?」

「Ripley, we don’t have time to…」

「But—!」

Ripley’s yell resonated through the air, cutting Prim off as she tried to scold her. Without thinking, Kain and the others stopped in their tracks, turning around to face Ripley.

「…But, not even Raidolg will save us, no matter how much we’re attacked! Just because Celis is a mixed-blood that not even Raidolg will acknowledge, everyone is going to…!」

Mixed-blood. That was a derogatory term targeting halves and quarters. It was a term that came not from the subhuman theorists of the St. Altlist kingdom, but from the pure-blood supremacists. The idea was that “each race created by the gods is beautiful because they are all unique, and to interbreed between races was to go against the will of the gods.”

Existing in parts of the Cylus Empire and the Jiol Forest Kingdom, it was a horrible aspect of humanity that was born from the existence of many different races. In racially diverse nations such as the Canal Kingdom, there were many people with mixed blood. Because of this, ideologies like these shouldn’t exist in the Canal Kingdom, but there were very few people who respected every race equally, and, just like darkness, ideas like these spread throughout its people.

「Kain, you think so too, right!? If not for that, this wouldn’t have…」

Kain fell silent. Even when he opened his mouth, he still couldn’t bring himself to answer her question.

「…Let’s hurry up. It’s dangerous to stay here.」

Saying this, he started walking again.

Ein watched him in silence. She took a quick, scornful glance at Ripley before hurrying after Kain.