"Machine, Obey My Command!" V2 Chapter 3 - A Challenge From Vulcan
"Over there! Cut them off!"
The voices were coming from behind her... she had to run away.
But she couldn't move. That was the hardest part.
Every part of her body ached. The pain seemed to go on forever, like waves that just kept breaking against the shore—
"Over there! The Sorcerer is over there!"
The voices approached, gradually. Her vision blurred, she could hardly see anything anymore. Just a series of dark walled afterimages — all retreating backwards. It meant that she was still running, with her own two feet. Though, when thinking back about the situation, she recalled that her right leg had been broken by an iron pipe when she was caught earlier. It sure felt like it was broken, at least. Or was she running on a broken leg...?
"Get them! Show them what happens when a sorcerer puts their hands on someone else's wallet—"
Then she thought of a man. A man she'd seen just before fainting—
(Was it a hallucination...? But — he called my name—)
She felt pain from somewhere in her gut, and squeezed her stomach. As her consciousness came back, she felt pain spreading through more and more areas of her body. She had been told that the pain was caused by bruises. No — It wasn't pain from irreperable internal damage. She tried to believe that, or else she was going to faint again.
"Master—"
She heard a voice. It was a man's voice, but not of the man she remembered. Rather, they sounded young — it was a younger voice. The voice kept talking to another individual who seemed to be in another room.
"She's about to wake up—"
She heard a muffled voice respond, but she didn't catch what they said. But she heard what she thought was the voice of the man she remembered.
"Right, should I give her the injection then?"
Injection?
That wasn't a word that she associated with good memories. Her whole body tensed, and she spoke with a moaning voice from the back of her throat.
"Stop..."
She barely made a sound, and only if you listened carefully. But the person who had grabbed her arm seemed to have heard it properly.
He then spoke,
"Master—"
She heard him call out again. A few moments later, she heard the door open
"What, Majic? I've already showed you where the veins are!"
"—!"
That voice, it was so distinctive. She tried to jump up out of reflex — Only, her body wouldn't move at all, but she opened her eyes.
"Orphen!"
The voice was almost a scream. She was surprised at her own voice and blinked her eyes — the first thing she saw was a familiar gas light hanging from the ceiling. Then a narrow room covered in cheesy wallpaper. As for furniture, besides the closet there was just the assembled pipe bed she was laying on and veneer. Outside of the small window the stars were twinkling in the late night sky — this was her apartment, which she was used to seeing every day.
The wallet was still clutched in her hands. She felt like she should throw it away, but she couldn't let it go. Several coins were clinking inside the leather wallet, and they'd be necessary for her to eat tomorrow.
She wouldn't let the wallet leave her hand. Even if her broken legs refused to run, in spite of her will.
(Then, this is a dream—)
That was the only conclusion. She couldn't have that much power on her own. In reality she should already be dead. Only in a dream would she still be running.
(Then, I'm never going to wake up again—)
A delusional idea that made her heart beat faster. Then—
The first thought that came to her mind was something obstructing her vision, which had turned almost dark — They're surrounding me! It was the first thought that came to mind.
(Who is it? The guys pursuing me? Or — the grim reaper, perhaps?)
The black figure extended both of their hands towards her.
(It's the grim reaper...)
In spite of the thought, she jumped into his arms. He held her firmly, supporting her body while he whispered.
"What's going on? What are you being chased by? I'm—"
Her pursuer spoke again. They were as close as they could possibly get — almost right behind her. Rough hands grasped her by the collar—
The owner of the arm that was supporting her raised their voice in protest.
"Hey, stop! Don't you dare—"
And the voice got cut off by swearing. Someone had punched him.
"Damn it! Fine, I don't gotta go easy on you if you've hit me!"
The voice shouted, then raised his arm high—
"I release, the sword of light!"
There was a huge flash of light — An explosion — then screams. But she... she couldn't move.
And now she couldn't roll over. It was as if the bed was holding her in place — or maybe she was already a corpse.
She questioned herself, pumping air into her lungs in shallow breaths.
(I've heard that people who are about to die often reminisce about the past...)
Finally, the boy and the man both looked down at her.
"Orphen..."
As she murmured, he rubbed her right arm, which was bandaged up.
"Hey, Stephanie."
He spoke with no sense of tension.
She tried to sit up, emploring her muscles to move while every muscle in her body trembled as if to exhibit her efforts, but in the end she couldn't do it. However, she was relieved to see her muscles responding in the first place, which meant that at least the nerves hadn't died off. If the trauma wasn't neurological, it could be healed with magic.
"Call me Steph, like the old days."
As she said it, Orphen shrugged his shoulders and agreed.
"Okay, Steph."
"That's better."
"Master, do you know each other?"
She heard the lovely blond boy sitting on the side of the bed ask. She thought she recalled Orphen calling him Majic.
Orphen nodded and explained.
"I told you that I lived in this city for a year before. At the time I was a chore clerk at a small clinic."
"I was one of the patients there."
She — Stephanie answered, and Magic's face became flush as he bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry, just—"
"? I don't mind, do you?"
However, Majic obviously still felt at fault. He turned his head and continued.
"But — the clinic where Master worked must've been an illegal, shady, and suspicious place."
"What the hell do you think I was doing...?"
Following Orphen's irritable growl, Stephanie chuckled — and touched Majic's hand, which was still holding her arm. She then answered him.
"He helped me when I was injured, and brought me to the clinic."
When he heard her speak, Orphen's eyes darkened.
"That was a mistake—"
Just as he was about to speak, they heard someone clear their throat at the entrance of the room.
When they looked, it was a girl with blonde hair standing there. She was a healthy-looking girl in comfortable-looking jeans.
However, if she had to describe her first impression of the girl — it was that she had malicious intent.
The girl threw a gaze towards the end of the room and spoke to Orphen.
"Well, can't you introduce me? Who is she?"
"... You, why don't you go back to school and practice your etiquette again?"
Orphen glared and answered the girl in a reproachful tone,
"This is Stephanie ... She's a... friend... And—"
Then he turned back to face her, gesturing at the girl in front of him.
"That's Cleao ... Well, what can I say? ... She's my traveling companion. Oh, and by the way, this is just Majic. He's just my student."
"Why is it 'just' me?"
Majic's question was interrupted as Stephanie asked Orphen.
"Traveling companion?"
"Oh, Cleao's someone I've been taking care of."
Following Orphen's reply, the girl opened her mouth in disapproval.
"That's one way to call someone baggage."
Orphen smiled.
"The student is a bonus, the girl is baggage. They seem to understand their places well enough."
"What?"
"Master."
Although Majic only gave a pitiful protest, Cleao seemed to be firmly set in her bad mood, and disappeared from Stephanie's room into the rest of the house.
"She's ... A lot—"
Stephanie tried to find a more polite way of saying his traveling companion seemed complicated, but ultimately, she just guessed.
"She seems like a lot of trouble."
"It's true. She's also selfish."
Orphen agreed with a sigh. Then, he remembered.
"I bought you some flowers, but I threw them away. I didn't expect that I'd run into you this way."
"That's okay. It's the thought that counts."
Stephanie smiled, but Majic frowned anxiously.
"But master — The flowers reminded me of something—"
"Oh yeah, sorry Steph, but I hucked that tulip off the balcony."
"Huh?"
When Stephanie replied, Orphen shrugged and continued.
"I saw some idiots making a ton of racket outside on the road, even though it's the middle of the night, so I threw it at them."
"My master doesn't have much restraint ... The more I think about it, the worse it seems."
"What are you talking about?"
"That was just the first time, didn't you put rocks in the flowerpot the second time?"
"... It's their fault for making so much noise in the middle of the night. There's no way I actually hit them anyway. If they're just unlucky, well, tough luck."
"But—"
Majic tried to interrupt.
"I feel sorry for the tulip, but ... it's a seasonal flower anyway. Just don't take too many risks."
Stephanie said, raising her arms. Before she knew it, the pain set in again, and she wondered how long it'd be before she could move.
"Oh...?"
When she pondered and raised her voice, Majic noticed her doubt and responded with pride.
"The effects of the anesthesia have worn off, but Master healed you. He said he had to heal you first, even though he was injured himself."
She gave him a look of grattitude, but Orphen awkwardly stared up at the ceiling. Still, he couldn't help but give an embarassed smile.
"At least it's some form of atonement."
However, her physical strength hadn't recovered enough to get out of bed, so she fell asleep — With the anesthesia she slept for half a day, but it seemed she was still fatigued, and kept on resting.
The next morning, she tried to move. As long as she could endure the pain she was able to get up, and couldn't help but feel impressed by Orphen's sorcery skills. Stephanie bathed in the late morning sun that was shining in through the window, just before noon. There was some muscle pain from fatigue, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. She picked up her glasses from the small desk at her bedside table (and even the broken frame had been repaired by Orphen.) When she put them on she looked at the mirror that hung from her wall and adjusted her hair.
... And maybe from irony, she grinned.
"That's an awful face."
She muttered. It seemed pretty torn up from rubble, with a large gauze covering her left cheek. There was a bump along her hairline, which was even more noticeable when she leaned in closer. On top of that, bruises were forming around the scratches.
"Well, my physical condition seems to have improved, and if it keeps doing so, I'll be able to remove the scars by myself..."
She decided that breakfast was the best option. She left her bedroom and continued to the next room.
The room was both a kitchen and a livingroom, and Cleao was on the Sofa. She was just sitting there and glaring at the wall, not doing anything. She was still dressed the same way she had been last night — probably having lost her luggage and change of clothes in all the chaos of the previous day.
Stephanie opened her mouth, almost feeling like an intruder herself.
"Good morning."
Cleao didn't answer. Just ... looked at her with flat eyes. A few seconds passed, and just when Stephanie thought she was being ignored, Cleao spoke out.
"I'm sorry ... for yesterday."
She narrowed her shoulders, as if frightened, and continued.
"I shouldn't have behaved that way. Even if I think of myself as courteous, sometimes I can't help it."
"That's okay. I don't care much about it—"
Stephanie answered as she raised her hand. She looked around the room.
"Orphen, and uhh — was it Majic? Where did they go?"
"Work ... They found jobs — We don't have any money to live on, they have to earn some."
Cleao's eyes seemed to disappear beneath her drooping bangs, completely dejected. Stephanie smiled.
"You're angry with Orphen."
However, Cleao shook her head. Next she raised her face, her aristocrat's blood showing in her beautiful skin and her bright blue eyes, which were filled with tears. She stood up on the sofa.
"No — I wasn't angry, but ... he told me about you."
Cleao was finally beginning to look guilty. When Stephanie spread her arms, the girl ran to embrace her. She yelped from the horrible pain in her side, and almost thought she'd faint, but Stephanie kept her smile and patted the girl's back—
So far the girl had captivated her sympathy. That big liar — Orphen — he must have twisted the story. And that, of course, meant that he'd still be bothered by it.
Fwooooo.......
There was a quiet sound, like sand flowing in a clear stream. It seemed to go on forever, like a gentle rain falling on a field of flowers. The wind was cool and calm. At the tip of a sail a triangular flag turned over in the wind. The barge itself flowed quietly through a canal so wide that the other side was hazy with steam...
"Idiot! What're you doing, rookie!?"
At the same time, a kettle flew at him from behind, and exploded against the back of his head. He fell flat, like a frog run over by a horse-drawn carriage, while the voice bellowed relentlessly from behind.
"The time to unload is one hour per ship! Fall behind and I'll tie you to a stone and let you drown in the canal!"
Orphen got up, holding his head with his now-healed right hand. He saw a one-eyed man standing on a cargo ship with its sails down, pulled up to the loading docks. The big buy was holding building materials on his shoulder — a natural stone cut out of a quarry.
"Geez."
When Orphen clicked his tongue, the big man muttered something in a low, venomous tone, then carried the stone up to the loading dock.
After the man was out of sight, Orphen sat down on the deck. He sighed and looked at the canal.
Then — he stopped in his tracks, spotting Majic carrying another load of stone.
"Master,"
He was all sweaty.
"Please work. Your quota so far Master has been kinda—"
".........."
Orphen ignored him, and exhaled sharply. He looked up at his student, and growled.
"Oh what does a child know, anyway."
"... Wait, what?"
As Majic spoke, he set the stone down with a heavy thud. He rubbed his chafed hands together and leaned back to relax his hip muscles.
Orphen answered, turning an eye towards him.
"About falling in love."
..........
Silence.
Then Majic reeled up. He shouted, completely confused.
"Someone come quick! Master's gone mad!"
"What do you mean 'gone mad'?"
As Orphen stood up he kicked Majic hard in the chin, then pinned him down and pointed a finger at him.
"That was a long time ago! Okay? Don't get me wrong — It's in the past!"
"... You're getting really worked up."
Majic rubbed his kicked chin. Orphen gulped, feeling like he'd been hit where it hurt.
"It's ... You see. Anyway, I—"
When he started talking — something strange happened.
Rumble...
—There was a low sound, almost like an earthquake. Not only that, the surface of the water in the canal began to shake, and the cargo ship was being swept back and forth like a rocking basket. Orphen stumbled to try and get his footing.
"Wh — What is that?"
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, a water column shot straight up from the canal. The mass of water, which must've been 10 meters high, shot up into the sky and then dispersed, falling back down like a shower. There were screams and curses coming from all over the loading area. He saw one of the small, overloaded boats capsize.
And then... a loud laughter echoed through the area.
"Uahahahaha!"
"No—"
Orphen stood there in utter amazement. The rocking of the ship stopped for just a moment, but Orphen still felt his head shaking — like the rocking had made him instantly sea sick.
The loud laughter continued.
"Wahahahahahahahahahah! Wahahaha!"
To be honest, Orphen didn't even notice the loud laughter.
Instead, he noticed something even more bizarre standing in front of him.
Rising up from the canal was a huge stone statue — maybe ten meters tall. The lower half of its body was beneath the water, and even just the visible half was huge. The stone statue was carved to immitate a muscular giant, with four arms. Both pairs of which were crossed over its chest. Its head was strangely small compared to its body, and it had no eyes or nose, just a small piece of cloth stuck to it. The cloth was enscribed with symbols of some kind.
(Wyrd Graphs?)
Orphen wondered. If that was really magic text, then that cloth was giving life to the stone statue.
"What — What the hell is that!"
Majic screamed like he'd just been bitten by something. Orphen didn't look back.
"That — from what I've heard, is a Megalith Infantry — a Golem."
"Wahahaha!"
"Go—Golem?"
"So. That's—"
"Uwahahahahahahahahahahahah!"
"It's a kind of weapon made by the ancient sorcerers — the celestials. They're usually found half-destroyed lying around in ruins—"
"Hahaha!"
"It's rare to find one that's completely intact, much less in working order."
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
"Why are you so loud!"
When Orphen turned around towards the golem, there was someone clinging to the giant's head.
It was Volcano Vulcan, dripping wet from the canal — and shaking off the water like a wet dog. The fur cloak he wore was covered in water plants. Vulcan stopped laughing, then shouted back.
"How dare you! Once I started laughing, I didn't plan to stop until you said something!"
Orphen's cheek twitched.
"Nevermind that! You just came out of the water! Have you been wading along the bottom of the canal this whole time? Don't you have any common sense?"
"Shut it! Who's really insane here, you broke ass money-lending sorcerer?"
"What!? Is your brain filled with mantis eggs? If you remember my profession then you should remember just how much debt you owe!"
"Shut up you bastard! Do you want to be the rust of lord Volcano Vulcan's sword today!?"
"Go right on ahead and try! — Now, you better start talking or else that rusty old sword is going to end up in your ear!"
"Um, Master..."
Majic spoke up behind him.
"What do you want?"
When Orphen replied over his shoulder, Majic just sighed in exasperation.
"There are witnesses ... If possible, can this be bumped up to a higher level of discussion?"
"... Right. I get it."
Orphen nodded, took a deep breath, then shouted even louder than before.
"You star-spectrum transcendant bottomless idiot!"
"Right..."
Majic groaned behind him.
After a few more moments of cursing, Vulcan's vocabulary was exhausted. He stood on the giant's head.
"Heheheh ... Howl all you want, loser. You'll never be able to reach this giant Stone Infantry — No. 1 , named Polc Han!!"
He rubbed the head of the stone statue he was clinging to. As if in response to his words, the stone statue — Volc Han raised two of his four arms into the sky.
"... Where did he find this thing?"
Orphen backtracked, muttering under his breath, but Vulcan was quite proud of himself.
"Haaaahahahaaahaaa! Go ahead, whine all you want! Today you meet your fate! So if you have any last words!"
"Damn..."
Orphen's mind was made up. He closed his eyes and let out a suffering groan.
"No, Majic ... I can't do it."
"Master!"
"Hahahahaha! So you admit to losing, you loan-sharking sorcerer!? I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet while I scrub you to death with an iron brush!"
"Master!"
Majic clung to him and urged him to be strong.
"You're giving up before the fight!? Even during that explosion, Master, you said you would never admit defeat!"
"Well, that's true—"
Orphen grabbed his fist and looked away, while Majic looked him in the eyes.
"That's not like you, Master! If you give up now, what's going to happen to me?"
"... So, that's your real intention here? But—"
Orphen looked at Polc Han's master. He groaned in resignation.
"If I could get that thing in one piece, it'd be worth a fortune... But it can't be helped..."
".........."
Vulcan was suddenly silent.
Orphen stretched out his arms and chanted at the top of his lungs.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
"Huh?"
Orphen unleashed the deadly photothermal wave, piercing Polc Han's face with the perfect timing to cut off Vulcan's words. The strong flash of light, proceeded by a shockwave caused a huge explosion that obliterated the upper body of the golem and reduced it to pieces. The canal shook from the shock, and a small tsunami washed over the loading dock.
"AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa........."
Vulcan's grief could be heard as he flailed in the air, then plunged into the middle of the canal. It sounded like a stone being thrown into a well, and the figure of the small man disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
".........."
Orphen stood stiff and looked at Polc Han, who was damaged beyond repair. If the upper body was gone, the rest of it wasn't really worth much.
"Uhh ... Master, that dwarf's not coming back up."
Orphen answered Majic's question while gazing at the megalithe infantry that stood before them with a lingering feeling of regret.
"Dwarf bodies have a higher density than water, so if they fall in water, they sink."
"... Then, won't he drown?"
"They don't die that easily."
"... If he sinks in water, I'm pretty sure he'll die..."
"... Shut up. Damn my heart break. Destined to be betrayed by women and money. Just leave me alone."
He said grumpily, then headed towards the loading dock. And there, his employer was waiting. He stared at him with his one eye, filled with anger.
"You're fired. I can't have a sorcerer working for me.
"Yeah, I get it. Sorry for hiding it."
Orphen, too exhausted to argue, just waved his hand towards the cargo ship behind him.
"By the way, it looks like that explosion knocked a big hole in the bottom of your ship. Guess it was unavoidable."
"Wh—Whaaaaaat!"
One-eye shrieked. But, by then, the cargo ship, which was still loaded up with stone sank at a tremendous speed. In the blink of an eye, even the top of the mast had disappeared.
"Damn, he's so annoying!"
With a grunt in the back of his throat, Orphen kicked his feet away from the road and walked up an alley. It was quite wide, really more of a little side street. He still had a decent distance to go until he reached Stephanie's apartment.
He heard Majic mumbling in concern as he followed along.
"Are you okay, Master? You've been acting strange today."
"Damn it, damn it, damn it—!"
Orphen kicked a broken sandal laying on the road and turned around to look at Majic, as if he'd suddenly thought of something.
"Yeah, I'm fine! If you have the slightest concern for your Master's plight, go find a gold mine that no one has touched yet, or some bank with an unlocked back door and whose guards are asleep!"
"You're acting crazy again."
"Then, at least find me a local who'll pay off my debts."
"... Master."
"That's cold. Don't you know anything about discipleship, male friendship and solidarity?"
".........."
He looked back at Majic, who was glaring at him with a frown for some reason, then gave a deep sigh. He suddenly crouched down on the spot and mumbled hopelessly.
"Yeah — I'm unhappy."
"I don't care what you say, Master, but you're acting really strange today. Your personality has changed."
Orphen listened to Majic's words, his face muscles tensing, then stood up straight.
"... Majic."
"Why do you look so serious all of the sudden?"
"What do you think of Steph?"
"Err, why?"
"You're good with first impressions. What did you think when you first saw her?"
"U-uuummm..."
Majic looked up at the sky, trying to choose his words.
"Well, she's covered in injuries and all that — but she's quite beautiful, isn't she? The room was also quite clean, and the cake in the cupboard was handmade, but it seemed like a bit too much flower — or did she cut back on the eggs? My mother used to say that it worked best using heavy cream, but it'd spoil after half a day and be inedible. It's a shame I couldn't check out the bathroom, but judging by the cosmetics in the dressing room, she's not particularly fancy. She's a sorcerer, so at least she's got a clear identity, and from what I could see of her household finances, it looked like she has a lot of money saved up. She'd make a good target."
Majic answered, making a symbol with his hand like "GO!" Orphen's shoulders slumped a little, as if he was tired.
"... Well, aren't you a great guy?
"I-is that so?"
"I don't know why I'm so unsure of myself, but whatever. Anyway, I guess you thought the same thing as I did."
"... Yeah. Are my instincts off?"
"No — You're not wrong in your judgements, but—"
Orphen answered while a cold sweat dripped, and at that moment—
Woosh!
A sound ripped through the sky, and something sharp and black grazed Orphen's hear — It was a good thing he dodged when he did, because if he had reacted any later, he would've lost his left ear.
"Who's there!?"
He shouted as he swung around, but, there wasn't anyone there. The empty alleyway was silent. There wasn't even any wind.
"—?"
The next moment, his eyes fluttered speechlessly, and before he could even catch his breath, a bright white light flashed before him — Pain pierced through his eyes and stabbed into his brain, and all Orphen could do was hold his face. At the same time, he stifled a scream in his throat.
Then there was a voice. It came from nowhere.
"I see, you're not going to scream? — Because once you've screamed your breath away, you can't cast a spell at a moment's notice anymore, can you? But—"
Through the gaps of his fingers he could finally see — but he couldn't see any sight of the person speaking.
"Even still, you won't speak?"
Then, the arm that had been holding his face lurched back on its own, as if snatched back by the wind — With that momentum, Orphen's body flipped through the air. He felt like he was flying around like a bouncy ball, and had no idea what position he was facing anymore. He could see the ground — then the roofs of the apartment buildings — the sky — and even Majic's face.
The next thing he knew, he was slammed into the ground. He didn't scream, but he couldn't breath well regardless. Not after the force of impact had knocked the breath out of him. Coughing, Orphen twisted around, and tried to get up anyway. He managed to move his head, but when he stretched his neck, it was hit by another black object, and he only choked harder.
"Now, I could have blown your head off."
The voice spoke, but he still couldn't see its source.
(This is sorcery — but it's not human.)
For one thing, he couldn't hear the voice of whoever was casting the spell.
"Master!"
Majic called out to him. Orphen sat up breathlessly and reached out for Majic, who was running over to help him. When he finally managed to stand up by leaning on the boy's shoulder, Orphen asked.
"... What happened?"
Majic trembled.
"Master, your body just suddenly jumped, and went flying like ten meters through the air. Then some dark object came out of nowhere — and struck your neck at a tremendous speed..."
He pointed to the other side of the road.
"Ah ... I think it landed over there."
"?"
Orphen reluctantly looked at where Majic was pointing and saw a hand — the thing that had struck Orphen's neck and sent him rolling back through the street. It was tightened into a clenched fist, only it was unusually thin, with swollen joints and bluish skin.
And then the fist jumped up. Rather, it seemed to be attached to a steel wire that was controlling the wrist remotely. That meant that the steel wire could be traced back to the rest of the body—
"There!"
Orphen shouted quickly, then thrust his arm in the direction of the standing shadow, and screamed.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
Pow—!
A pure white flash illuminated the area and swallowed the figure up in a shimmering heat wave — the explosion boomed and the impact caused the air to tremble.
Then, suddenly, the flames disappeared.
Afterwards, it almost looked like the shadows had gotten darker, and standing there alone — was a human figure.
Its skin seemed hardened. In fact, the skin had a luster as if it were constantly flowing water. It wore nothing — but actually, it didn't need any clothes, Orphen thought. There were no features on its body that were emphasized in any way. There wasn't any need to hide anything, because there was nothing to hide. In other words, its body was smooth as a piece of glass — naked or clothed, nobody would care. Either way, it simply was what it was.
"Who are you?"
Orphen muttered, addressing the man — or, well, whatever it was, since it evidently wasn't human — but anyway, its face took on the look of a rubber ball cut with a knife.
Its mouth opened, but it had no lips.
"I am the guardian of the treasure."
"The guardian... of the treasure?"
"Hundreds of years ago, you human sorcerers called us... Killing Dolls."
"What did you say—?"
The moment Orphen groaned, a deafening buzzing rose up all around them. It was like the sound a beetle made when it was caught in a net, the waves were countless and endless, coming from everwhere in their surroundings—
"What's this?"
Orphen thought he had said it out loud, but—
(! ... I'm not speaking?)
He thought, then looked at Majic's face to confirm his suspicions. Majic was looking back at him, and he could see his lips moving as if he was trying to say something.
In the meantime, the buzzing was getting louder and louder.
(... is this sound erasing our voice?)
When he turned around in a panic, the Killing Doll was smiling with satisfaction.
"That's right, and I chose only the human voice."
(—!)
Orphen was horrified and stepped back — and right in line with that, Majic also stepped back. The Killing Doll, which had been utterly featureless before then, now, without any rhyme or reason, had a glowing letter appear on its flat belly. It was a single letter, a magic seal, shining white like a tattoo on the pale skin.
(Wyrd Graph!)
Orphen couldn't read the magical character, but he figured that shining symbol was probably causing the buzzing around them.
"It's just as you think, sorcerer."
(... Can you read my thoughts?)
"If it's a simple thought, almost certainly, I can—"
He pointed at the magic character shining on his lower belly,
"I have hundreds of characters just like this one built into my body — every single one of them is for killing you, the human sorcerers."
While the Killing Doll was speaking, he lifted his right hand up to his eye level— and with the sound of a click a ten centimeter needle popped out of its middle finger. After doll flicked it around as if to show it off, then suddenly laughed.
"You can't use magic in this sound. You're completely powerless, and I can slice you to pieces at my leisure. Right here, right now."
The Killing Doll's blade danced brilliantly in time with the buzzing. Yet the doll didn't seem particularly inclined to lunge at them just yet, and kept talking.
"But I won't kill you now."
(...Why?)
To Orphen's question, the doll responded in a matter-of-fact-manner.
"I have to eradicate you. I mustn't let a single one of you survive."
(... Why do you need to kill us? You're the one who blew up the Damsel's Orisons, aren't you? The sorcerers that were there... they were all wiped out.)
"I accept only my Master's orders."
(He must be an important guy.)
Orphen thought sarcastically, but the doll ignored every word. Or perhaps he didn't notice the sarcasm. Or perhaps he didn't understand sarcasm in the first place?
The doll continued.
"The sorcerers who were in that building weren't completely annihilated ... isn't that right?"
(..........!)
"Yes, I saw one of the women escaping. If I kill you without discovering her whereabouts ... I'll have no clue where to look."
(How could you have possibly known where I was?)
"Your power is very strong ... and I can detect that magical power no matter where you go in this city. The characters to do so are engraved in my body."
(..........)
Orphen immediately shut down his thoughts, trying not to think about the fact that he was now renting Stephanie's apartment — He wasn't sure how well this doll could read his thoughts and memories, but he was sure that level of protection should be enough. Otherwise, they would have found out where Stephanie was at long ago.
"Indeed ... It seems you've also trained to control your own mind and memories, to an extent."
(..........)
"Now you're just being quiet? That takes a lot of self control. Normally, when someone is exposed to this much danger, they'd be so disturbed that they'd think about their own secrets without even realizing."
(..........)
"But how long will that self control last?"
The doll spoke in a cruel voice, staring at him with emotionless eyes — a bead of sweat ran down Orphen's forehead. It was just like he said, this kind of concentration would barely last longer than ten seconds.
It was hopeless. Just when Orphen started to think so—
"Hehehehe..."
The doll laughed, and as the character shining on its body disappeared, so did the buzzing sound around them. The Killing Doll laughed even louder, then exclaimed.
"Well, that's all right. In any case, I'm not going to kill you today."
"Bastard."
He finally spoke, even if he was barely able to. The doll paid him no mind.
"I only came here today to deliver this."
As it spoke, the doll threw a piece of paper to Orphen's feet — it was folded in layers, and hit his shoe with a gentle tap.
"..........?"
The doll grinned as Orphen looked at Majic, then gave them a sly look.
"It's a challenge ... From your... friend."
"What?"
Orphen mumbled and picked up the piece of paper. He threw a wary glance towards the doll, then unfolded it—
Orphen squeezed the paper before slamming it to the ground again. In response, Majic began to retreat backwards.
Orphen shouted in anger.
"[The day after tomorrow, wait for me in the Basilicok ruins. Let's settle this — Volcano Vulcan.] ! — What is that idiot tanuki doing here!?"
"He's my current Master."
The Killing Doll stated with a perfectly serious face.
"Master?"
Orphen shrieked.
"I see — You're the one who gave him that Golem."
"That's not all. Everything that I've protected as the Gaurdian until now— It all belongs to him."
"Fuck you! What the hell is he doing? How could I be at the mercy of a Killing Doll because of that idiot!? What's he planning—"
Orphen was about to say something when he suddenly realized.
"... What's wrong?"
Majic asked. Orphen stared at the doll without answering— which prompted the doll's smile to widen.
"That's right. When I found them — the two dwarf brothers, I read their minds. And I learned about you. Orphen, the black magic sorcerer."
".........."
"Not only that, they've told me a lot about you — You're a powerful sorcerer. I'm sorry, but I can't let you live."
"So — that's — why!"
Orphen shouted, and with all of his might, fired a light wave at the doll — but just then, a letter glowed on the outstretched palm of the doll's left hand, and the attack was sucked into the center of the letter and disappeared.
"Guh..."
Orphen groaned, but the doll only shrugged.
"Yes. Simply put, your magic abilities aren't any real threat to me — of course, from my point of view. My fear, however— is that in spite of that not-so-outstanding power, you survived the explosion from my strongest character — the destructive spell that obliterated that building — not just because of luck, but because of your vitality."
"You talk about us as if we're cockroaches..."
"If I were a human being, I'd just smash the cockroaches I'd find and be done with it. But I won't do that. I'm going to use a more reliable method. I'm going to set the stage in a way that you can't escape from, and only then... will I smash you."
"A stage that we can't escape from?"
Majic asked. Orphen whispered to the boy, who was looking at him and the puppet with a puzzled gaze.
"The killing doll has taken a hostage."
"Yes, if you ignore my challenge — if you run away from this town, I will kill the dwarf brothers."
Bitterly — and grinding his teeth, Orphen asked.
"Why are you so eager to kill sorcerers?"
The answer came quite naturally to the killing doll.
"It is the will of the celestials, the Nornir who created me."
"Then, the celestials — Why did they ever think about eradicating sorcerers!"
"The anger of those betrayed is deep-rooted. Especially, for those who have been betrayed by fate.."
"..........?"
Orphen raised his head in surprise. However, the Killing Doll was no longer there. It had already disappeared, as if it melted into the air.
"But ... It was there, just a second ago..."
Majic's blurted out in his ear.
And — it seemed like only the killing doll's voice still echoed to him.
"Don't forget — The day after tomorrow, at the Basilicok Ruins!"
"Suit yourself! I don't give a damn about that lucky tanuki!"
Orphen shouted to the heavens, raising his fist towards the sky for no real reason. And even in his rage, he wondered what would happen if everything went according to the Killing Doll's plan — if there were no more sorcerers in the city.
Table of Contents
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| (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) |
Guardian of the Treasure The Beautiful Allenhatem! A Challenge From Volcan Basilicok Then - He Accepted His Master's Orders |
- Notes
- In the opening sequence of this chapter, we're surrounded by a confusing melee of events. There are some deliberate changes that will make sense later, but, to summarize, Stephanie is drifting in and out of consciousness. The world around her is morphing from a peripheral awareness of the waking world, where she's in her apartment being cared for by Orphen and Majic, and a past traumatic event in the city.
- Tanukis are creatures from Japanese folklore that represent good fortune. And, well, have big balls, which would be necessary for Vulcan to so blatantly disregard Orphen's threats.
- In the Japanese version, they refer to the ruins as the Basilicok ruins. For obvious reasons, this is usually translated as Basilisk, and essentially, the words are interchangeable. I just felt like going with the original version. For those who aren't familiar with them, a Basilisk or Basilicok is a deadly beast in european mythology, said to be part
cockrooster and part snake. It's touted as the Serpent King, whose gaze would kill any who dared to look into its eyes.