"Wolves, Gather In My Forest" V4 Chapter 6 - Rapid Slaughter
The first one to break through the door was one of MacDougall's cronies, who he'd seen before — a sturdy-looking man with what looked like a machete in his hand. As he flung the front door in he shouted.
"Sorcerer!"
He looked over to see another group of cronies rushing in after him. Straight down the hallway — Orphen raised his right hand toward the man in front.
He inhaled, and shouted.
"I breath, the flowing angel!"
At once, a gust of sorcery shoved all of the men back. With them all falling into a heap, Orphen rushed toward the back of the mansion. He was about to hit a dead end, but he didn't panic, instead shouting again.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
The photothermal wave released from his fingertips shot through the wall. The sounds of the wooden wall tearing apart rang out like fireworks. Orphen ran through the hole in the wall, escaping through the back of the house, rushing through a thick cloud of dust and smoke in the process. Luckily, the outside of the house was still facing a narrow back street.
"He got outside!"
He heard one of the cronies yell. He looked back, clicking his tongue.
"MacDougall—"
Orphen muttered, picturing the corpse of the man who had lost two-thirds of his skull to that poorly made bullet.
"I guess a proper burial service is in order."
He raised his arms until they crossed over his head. Without hesitation, he unleashed a maximum-strength spell.
"I break, the primordial silence!"
Instantly, there was a ripple in space around the mansion, followed by a roar and a huge explosion. Orphen rushed ahead, dodging pieces of the shattered mansion. The explosion of it would hinder his pursuers — or if they saw the power of the explosion — perhaps it'd even make them give up the chase. He felt a little bad for the cronies trapped under the rubble, but they wouldn't die from it. Maybe go deaf from the shockwave of the blast, but that was the least of their concerns.
The screams of the villagers could be heard all around him, mingled with the noise of the collapsing house.
There were several ways to turn the tide of a war situation — and one of them was to create chaos while keeping calm yourself.
As he ran, Orphen carelessly pointed his right hand to the side and, without even looking, released a spell.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
An enormous torrent of light stirred the atmosphere into a spiral vortex. The explosion engulfed and obliterated several huts. The accumulated energy exploded and burst into flames.
(I hope this is a good enough diversion...)
Orphen thought, and turned his feet in the opposite direction from where he'd released the heat wave.
Then — within a few meters — a few scattered figures appeared in his way.
"There he is!"
"Here I am!"
Orphen shouted back and immediately unleashed a spell.
"I call, upon the sisters of destruction!"
Several shock waves burst forth, knocking down the villagers.
".... Huh?"
A young man mumbled cluelessly, the only one left still standing among his group. He glanced around, looking at the people laying on the ground.
As he looked about, Orphen swiftly walked over to him and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Y-You're — the priest's enemy—"
Orphen mercilessly launched a knee kick into the man's lower stomach as he raised the piece of timber in his hand. The man's body crumpled with a yelp, and Orphen finished him off with an elbow to the back of the head. The man groaned in agony and fell to the ground.
"This isn't good... There's too many of them."
Orphen groaned without stopping. Even if he fooled half of his would-be enemies, the result would be the same if he still got cornered by the other half.
(Plus — it feels like there's something else? I have a bad feeling...)
"Master!"
Orphen turned around when he was called. Majic was yelling for him, only his face poking out from a side street.
Shocked, Orphen shouted.
"What? Why are you here!?"
"Oh, well... Because..."
Majic walked out of the side street, making excuses.
"I wanted to escape and take Fiena with me, just like you told me to, Master, but Fiena wasn't there. I went to the tower room, but no luck. I was searching the village when I heard all this commotion."
"Why didn't you just run away!? Escaping is hard enough when I'm alone, never mind having to carry you, too!"
"But Master, you told me that if I didn't get Fiena out of the village, that she'd be killed by MacDougall..."
He hadn't said that exactly, but it seemed that he'd interpreted it as a convenient excuse. This damn student.
Orphen impatiently grabbed Majic by the collar and dragged him into the side street where he'd been.
"I also told you that if you couldn't find her, to meet up with Cleao and get the hell out of here."
He'd already asked Salua to take care of Fiena anyway. In any case, he didn't have much hope that Majic would've been able to rescue her.
However, when he was told that, Majic frowned, seeming troubled.
"I can't always do what you say, Master."
"I swear — You pick and choose which orders to listen to based on what's most convenient for you—"
Orphen groaned and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was still early in the morning, but the temperature was gradually rising. On top of that—
"Waaa—hahahaha!"
A roaring laughter echoed through the village, deafening the morning air.
Orphen narrowed his eyes and mumbled.
"Remember this, Majic. That's the sound of my enemy."
"... I know that. You don't have to tell me."
Saying that, Majic nodded with a similar look on his face.
The chatter continued.
"Go, villagers! Defeat the evil, murderous sorcerer! This isn't a personal grudge against our dark target, but a cause!"
Needless to say, it was Vulcan shouting. Before he knew it, he was playing the role of inciting the villagers.
"I wonder..."
Dortin mumbled.
Orphen looked around since the voice was closer than he'd expected. He was hiding in an alley, so he couldn't see what was going on around him.
"If this is how it's going to go..."
He sighed under his breath, then crouched down a little, and swinging his arms he jumped, scrambling up onto the roof of a nearby hut. From the roof, he had a panoramic view of the village, which was on fire here and there.
Nearby, on the road directly below, Vulcan and Dortin were walking at a brisk pace with a dozen or so villagers (mostly children) in tow.
Orphen couldn't help but shout.
"I build, the spires of the sun!"
A moment later, without warning, Vulcan was engulfed in a pillar of fire.
"Wuuuaaahh!?"
The children surrounding Vulcan screamed and ran away. Dortin, perhaps exasperated, didn't panic, but took refuge a short distance away. After quite a while of flapping his arms and dancing around, Vulcan's fire was finally extinguished. The fire was out, and though the dwarf was burnt to a crisp, he was still in high spirits and started shouting.
"You son of a bitch!"
He pointed at him.
"What kind of man would set someone on fire without even saying hello! I'll surprise you with a war song at dawn that'll kill you!"
"I don't know about that..."
Dortin whispered. Orphen ignored him and shouted back.
"Disgusting, you're the one selling people out, no questions asked!"
"You're a vile murderer who deserves to be brought to justice!"
"How exactly is a lynch mob an extension of justice, you dumb tanuki! I didn't even kill him!"
"You don't get it, do you, Hell's Cannonball Man!? This guy's a murderer! I'll kill you by reading you a lonely poem!"
"I didn't kill hiimmm!"
Orphen furiously screamed at the top of his lungs, then turned those words into an incantation to blast Vulcan. The photothermal wave swept him away, and as expected, Vulcan shut his mouth — or rather, seemed to have fainted
He heard a scream from behind him.
"A-Aaaahh!"
Majic was climbing onto the roof, screaming. His charming features were drawn back in fear as he was forced onto the roof by the pursuing villagers. A gust of wind blew by, caressing Orphen's hair—
As if on cue, Orphen quickly looked around. All of the villagers had gathered around the hut where he and Majic were standing. He'd known they were surrounded to begin with, but this...
"We're cornered."
Orphen mumbled, and Majic rushed over to him, mindful of his footing.
"Master, what are we going to do?"
Majic asked in a pitiful tone. Orphen sighed.
"I told you..."
No one was likely to listen to him, even if he tried to explain that he wasn't the one who killed the priest. If that were the case...
Orphen grabbed Majic's shoulder as hard as he could.
Majic grunted.
"Ow — Master, you're hurting me."
"Hold on to me. If you let go, you'll die."
"... What?"
"I'm going to use sorcery to transport us out of the village. At least, as far as my voice can reach."
Majic let out a sigh of relief as Orphen spoke.
"What — You can do that?"
"I can, yeah — and with a one in a million miracle, we might just survive."
"... What?"
"Spacial transitioning spells have an extremely low success rate, even when attempted by the most skilled, even if you're only jumping about ten meters. If you double that distance, it drops to a few percent. If you're going to the end of where your voice can reach, the odds of success are less than a single percent."
"T-That's!"
Majic screamed. Orphen ignored him and looked around with just his eyes — the villagers surrounding them were raising the weapons in their hands with murderous rage. Some of them were trying to climb up on the roof. There was no time to lose.
"If we fail, every cell in our bodies will boil, causing total annihilation. If we were to hit a wall or some other obstacle during the transition, there'd be a good chance that we'd die from the impact alone. Even if that's not the case, atmospheric friction alone generates a tremendous amount of heat. If your body can't withstand it, that weakness will kill you in an instant."
Then he turned his gaze to the hundreds of villagers and continued.
"Of we fight these guys until we're exhausted. Which do you prefer?"
"Either way it sounds like you're saying we're just gonna die?"
Majic looked like he was about to cry, but Orphen shook his head.
"No, that's not it."
"What?"
"Both have a chance of survival. Damn... If Fiena were here, we could at least take her as a hostage."
"No, I wouldn't let you do that!"
Majic argued, but Orphen ignored him. There was no use arguing over meaningless things. A man holding a hoe had already climbed up on the hut.
"I've had a lot of bad experiences in past, but... this is pretty high up on the list."
Orphen clenched his fist and turned to face the man. It was true, spacial transitioning spells were too risky — but if it was their last resort, he couldn't help but think about it.
"Shit."
Orphen spat, and shoved the man lunging at him off of the roof.
"... Yo. Looks like you've been waiting for me."
Salua called out, and Fiena, wearing a light brown cloak over her head, looked up. Her hair, which had grown over the past six months, was tied up behind her in a ponytail, and under the cloak, he could see the collar of a normal shirt, rather than the shrine maiden's clothes.
They were in a remote corner of the village far away from the commotion. The sounds of the crowd and the explosive sorcery could be heard even from there, but it was quiet, like it was happening in some far away place...
She looked at him first, then dropped her eyes to the ground.
"Are you not taking her with you?"
"? Who?"
Salua asked, and the girl shrugged her shoulders hesitantly.
"Well... MacDougall's servant. I know she's in love with you."
"Me and that woman?"
They didn't have that kind of relationship. At the very least, they weren't close enough that he could just whisk her away from her hometown — but having said that, Salua didn't have the confidence to explain that to Fiena.
(Does she take me for some hero who'll make a triumphant return home with a woman in his arms? I'm just a miserable assassin.)
"I lost track of her... because of all the chaos. Anyway, she's from this village to begin with, so she'll be happier here."
To be more precise, he wasn't sure he could make it through this mess with her, so he'd made a point to stray as quickly as possible... The second half of his line of thinking was closer to what he really meant.
"Let's go — while that sorcerer's still got everyone's attention."
Salua waved his hand to hurry her along.
"I know you're worried about that Majic kid or whatever his name was, but he ain't gonna die — Ahh, well, rather he can't die."
He snuck a quick glance, and seemed pleased.
"There's no way he could die in a place like this... Especially with that guy."
Fiena, still not reassured, gazed anxiously into the distance, toward the center of the village.
"I... wonder if it's all right, if we run away."
Salua's gaze turned to her. He answered bluntly.
"If you get caught by the villagers after they lost MacDougall, you'll be locked up so securely that there'll be no chance of escaping this time. Only this time, it'll be as the leader, not as a priestess. Survival is paramount right now — and wanting to win without running away, that's just to make yourself feel better. I don't blame you, though."
"I... Where are you taking me?"
"To Kimrak. For now, you'll be my adopted daughter. Or to be more precise, my brother's. Well... don't consider yourself too lucky."
"Your brother... I'd like to meet him."
"There'll come a day when you'll regret that line."
Salua sighed and patted her on the back.
He glanced — or rather just slightly glimpsed — behind him. He could just barely hear Orphen's voice.
"You ain't gonna die... I know you'll come. To where I am. Until then... keep going."
Salua then took Fiena and headed out into the deep forest
By the fifteenth person he was starting to run out of breath — on top of that, he had some wounds. Orphen panted, back to back with Majic on the roof.
"How much longer do you think we'll last?"
Majic didn't answer. He could tell by the way he shook his head.
(It was a good fight, though.)
Even though he hadn't received any combat training or anything along those lines, he'd been successful in driving back several enemies with just his sorcery. However—
"That's it."
He suddenly realized that there were five men coming up on the roof — still young, in their late twenties, with pistols in their hands.
"They're the remnants of MacDougall's cronies, right?"
Orphen asked with a sarcastic smile. Behind the five men, others were climbing up, one after another. They, too, seemed to be armed with pistols.
The first man approached him and shouted.
"We'll avenge the Heart, Lord MacDougall!"
Orphen groaned in a defeated tone.
"Do what you want. I'm tired."
"M—Master!?"
Majic shouted in astonishment. Orphen ignored him.
"Aim well, though. If you don't kill me in one shot, someone else might just come to steal my life."
"...Steal?"
The man asked in a dull voice. Orphen continued with a grin.
"Huh? You don't know? This is just a small village in the countryside. The one who avenges the leader becomes the next leader — That's how it works, right?"
"Uh..."
The men looked at each other, a little surprised — It seemed, in fact, that there must've been some sort of unspoken agreement along those lines. Even if there hadn't been, a single statement like his could plant the seed of suggestion.
(One more breath.)
Orphen continued.
"Hey, you're being lazy about this, so the guy behind you's trying to take the credit."
"What?"
The man turned around in a panic. In response, the men behind him reflexively raised their guns.
(Now!)
Orphen shouted in his mind. He spun around, grabbed Majic — and with all of his might, he shouted.
"I dance—"
It was spacial transitioning. There was no other way.
"Among the towers of heaven!"
"Eeeeyyyaaaaahh!"
Majic sobbed, perhaps recalling the earlier explanation. In fact, just as he'd been told earlier, the success rate of long-distance transfers was extremely low — almost zero. However, Orphen chose to instead jump to the roof of the hut right across the street. After he'd lowered his foot onto the leaning roof, he shouted.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
The swirling heat wave pierced the wall of the hut where Orphen and the others had been standing a moment before. The wooden walls were easily punctured, and the thermal shockwave that built up inside of the hut set the entire roof ablaze in an instant. The men fell to the ground, screaming.
"We did it!"
Majic cheered, but in the end, the situation wasn't much better — the hut would still be surrounded, they'd just be on the other side of the street. Sure enough, the villagers immediately rushed to the hut directly below theirs.
"So, this is how it's going to be—"
Orphen wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted.
"I'll take this as far as I can!"
He took a stance. Knitting a magical composition — and pulling together every last ounce of power left in his body—
—Fwoo—
A strange sensation enveloped his body. It was almost quiet... and calm.
So calm, that he didn't even realize that it was the pressure of an explosion.
Ffffsshshhhhh—!
A sound like the bubbling of carbonated water echoed in his ears. Orphen screamed as, at that moment, an intense light burned his vision. The heated air dried his sweaty hair. When it was all over—
Orphen opened his eyes. Nothing was glowing red or burning. No...
Terrified, he turned around. Beyond where Majic was sitting flat on his back side — in the center of the village, there was a huge crater. The church's tower should've been there... and the workshop had disappeared in the same instant.
"So that was..."
Orphen groaned. In the middle of the empty crater... a huge jet-black form appeared as if it had just emerged out of thin air. It was the Deep Dragon — Fenrir.
Ooohhh... Then voices of admiration rose up from the villagers.
With a zap — some sort of pressure sent a shiver down his spine — causing Orphen to look around. He didn't know how long they'd been there... but the outer rim of the village was filled with dragons.
"Orphen!"
Suddenly, a shrill voice broke the silence. Upon closer inspection, Cleao was riding on the back of the Deep Dragon that'd appeared in the center of the village. For some reason, she was clutching a small dragon to her chest, with the three rangers huddling in fear behind her, their faces pale and trembling.
Cleao continued, ignoring the shocked look on Orphen's face, as well as the villager's.
"This is bad — It's really bad!"
Cleao waved the sheath of her sword in the air. The baby dragon in her arms moved his head back and forth to follow it.
"This dragon is uhh — how should I say — really angry!"
"... Huh?"
"She's saying that she's going to kill everyone in this village!"
The Deep Dragon's eyes widened — as if to confirm her words.
At that moment, a pure white flame swelled as if to burn away everyone around — so bright that he couldn't tell the scale of the fire. Once again he heard what sounded like something evaporating — a bloop, bloop, like boiling metal. In the midst of the tremendous light — Orphen raised his arms to shield his face. He felt a sharp pain as the hot winds rushed past him. It felt like his skin could peel right off.
This time, when the light went out — half of the village was gone.
There was silence — Then—
"Kyyyaaaahh!?"
Cleao screamed, on the verge of tears.
(You mean to tell me that in just one shot — it wiped out half of a village!?)
Orphen turned a despaired look in the direction of the Deep Dragon. Mournful cries rose up from the villagers — Not just the village, but quite a few of the villagers themselves had been caught up in its sorcery.
"Dark magic—?"
It was a dimension of sorcery that he couldn't hope to compete with...
Orphen could only blurt out those two words. Majic, leaning back from his sitting position, let out a choking scream, losing all of his strength.
"W-W-Wha..."
Orphen grabbed Majic by the shoulders and helped him up, then shouted.
"Cleao! Why are you on the back of a dragon?"
"Because!"
The girl yelled back, half crying, and pointed to the baby dragon in her arms.
"His parent told us to stay back because they were going to destroy the village. When we tried to stop them, they jumped over here anyway, with us on their back!"
"Geez—"
Orphen cursed, then stopped. It felt like something was trying to get into his mind.
On intuition, he turned his head — and naturally, his gaze met the Dragon's. The Deep Dragon's green eyes radiated light.
| Thou hast violated a taboo. |
That voice — the one that left no vibrations in the air — it was familiar to Orphen. It was the same feeling he'd had when he'd been attacked by the Dragon during the first night he'd infiltrated the village.
The Deep Dragon — Fenrir continued. In a village that called itself The Great Heart.
| Therefore, thou shalt be disposed of. |
A silence of incomprehension descended on the crowd — but eventually, as the dragon's words permeated the group, gradually... waves of hysteria replaced the silence.
The rapid slaughter was about to begin.
(Taboo...?)
Orphen wondered as he jumped off the roof. Three flashes erupted from the dragon's gaze, creating a tremendous heat.
Orphen clearly saw dozens of figures disappear into the light. The white flames, which scorched all the way up to the heavens, dissipated into the air.
"Aahh—"
Orphen grabbed the pendant on his chest when he landed on the ground. He felt an irresistible urge — a shudder in his lungs.
"Ahhh—Aaaaaahhh!"
He tore the pendant from the chain and pointed it at the dragon as if it were some sort of weapon. He shouted at the Deep Dragon, which ignored him and tried to fire another blast from its green gaze.
"I dance, among the towers of heaven!"
What he shouted was a transition spell — but it wasn't himself that he was teleporting. It was the cold silver pendant in his hand. In an instant, the silver dragon emblem vanished from his hand and with a sharp clang appeared in the space beyond the dragon — that is, through the dragon's body, to the other side.
When it came to spacial transfer, it wasn't genuine teleportation where you could literally leap through space — it only meant that you used sorcery to manipulate something's mass to apply tremendous acceleration to it. In other words, if there was a wall, even an invisible one such as a spell, you'd collide with it, and if you collided with a wall at that high of an acceleration, you'd take tremendous impact damage. Moreover, since it didn't exist in terms of mass, the transferred matter itself wouldn't be destroyed, only the energy generated would detonate.
The explosion occurred around the dragon's throat. The shockwave, which could be called an explosion in and of itself, knocked the Deep Dragon over on its side — and he saw Cleao and the rangers fall off of its back with a scream.
A moment later, the pendant bounced into the air with a shrill sound. As if on cue, the black dragon... slowly raised its head.
(Even that isn't enough...?)
Orphen staggered back, stunned.
This was sort of his trump card. Normally it wasn't something he'd ever use on a human opponent, because it'd kill them guaranteed, leaving them unable to resist or defend themselves.
However, the Deep Dragon seemed to have suppressed the explosion with its sorcery.
Orphen glanced at the jet-black beast as it rose — not that the explosions of the Deep Dragon's sorcery had ceased. The dozens of dragons that surrounded the village were slowly beginning to move. Occasionally, light stirred the atmosphere and vibrations shook the ground... The village was already in a panic, and no one cared about Orphen anymore. All the villagers scattered and tried to escape, then disappeared in the subsequent explosions.
Orphen, unable to move, stared into the eyes of the dragon. The continent's strongest warrior... The dragon race that protected the forest.
(Just one glare — and I'll disappear from this world.)
Orphen suddenly realized that he was so scared that he was about to piss himself. There was no way he could win—
"Orphen!"
He shuddered when he heard the call. He wondered where it was coming from, then saw Cleao approaching from behind. She was still holding the baby dragon in her arms, and it seemed that Majic was with her. When he didn't look back, Cleao quickly ran up beside him.
"I'm here to support you!"
She shouted, then suddenly asked in a troubled tone.
"...What should I do?"
Orphen felt like bursting into laughter for no apparent reason. On the one hand, he wanted to throw it all away and call it quits — but on the other hand, he also saw himself quietly making up his mind in the worst way...
(... Not yet...!)
He stared back at the dragon — again — then looked back at Cleao and Majic's faces, realizing they still believed that there was something they could do.
He wasn't the same... as when he was Krylancelo. The implications of giving up now were too great.
Without averting his gaze, Orphen spoke.
"It's impossible for us to win, not against so many dragons. There's nothing we can hide from them, no tricks, I can't even bluff — They can read our minds."
"S-so... what are we going to do?"
Cleao asked. Orphen sighed a single sigh. He grasped the scruff of the dumbfounded baby dragon in Cleao's arms.
"We'll take a hostage."
"O-Orphen!"
Cleao screamed. Majic, too, was staring at him with a shocked look on his face. Apparently, he hadn't expected him to use his opponent's baby as a shield, but this wasn't a situation where he could afford to be so gullible.
"You know I'm serious, Deep Dragon."
Orphen said, knowing the dragon would see his thoughts.
"I won't ask why you attacked me so suddenly — just get the hell out of this village."
The Deep Dragon understood his words — or rather, it read his mind. Orphen was relieved to see the Deep Dragon's eyes flicker hesitantly. He wouldn't hesitate to snap the little dragon's neck to protect Cleao and Majic, no matter how young it was, but he was afraid that Cleao and Majic would tear him to pieces if he actually did it.
It seemed like the leader's (?) child didn't understand what was going on, it just thought it felt nice to be held by the scruff.
The dragon — She? The leader of this entire pack of Deep Dragons? — She stopped moving, and the other dragons held back their attacks. Suddenly the air went silent again, and then numbingly tense.
"If you just walk away, I'll let this brat go. So decide quickly... I'm a sorcerer trained in assassination. If I say that I'll do it, I'll do it."
The baby dragon rubbed its tiny head against Orphen's wrist as he spoke.
There was no answer... Then suddenly, the dragon's eyes narrowed.
After a long pause, she answered.
| Do what thou desires. |
"What?"
Orphen asked in disbelief. The dragon was unperturbed.
|
Thou shalt not underestimate myne sorcery... It revives even thy dead. We are warriors. Capable of inflicting wounds, and of healing them— |
The green eyes widened.
|
Sleipnir ruleth over nothingness — the primordial, as Nornir ruleth over creation, and control. And we, Fenrir, effectively eliminate our enemies. Our race dothe not exist for nothing — not like thine. Ye who hath made yourselves meaningless, and worthless." |
"Worth...less?"
Orphen muttered through gritted teeth.
It wasn't that he believed he had some inherent value — he wasn't that optimistic, but—
"Some murderer has no right to say something like that."
Orphen snapped back, remembering all of the people who'd disappeared in the light. Quickly, he released the baby dragon's neck and thrust his hand directly at the huge Deep Dragon.
"I'll deal with you. Don't touch anyone else, not until I'm dead."
"Orphen—"
He ignored Cleao's murmur. Somehow, he was grateful.
|
I admire thee. But though didst
not understand. |
The Dragon uttered in a quiet voice. Then it went silent.
| Farewell. |
The next moment, his eyes met with the dragon's.
No human in history had ever made eye contact with the Deep Dragon race and survived. Deep Dragons killed their enemies whenever they could, and humans had no power to resist them once they found themselves in their cross hairs. They were a species revered as gods.
But this Deep Dragon didn't attack first. Orphen turned around and fled.
Aaahh—!
The villagers, who hadn't yet managed to escape, started letting out cries. Orphen ran into the crowd, which had thinned considerably, and fled. He glanced toward his goal.
He wasn't running away.
He was prepared to take a hit from behind that would've ended it all — but it never happened. Before he had time to think about that, however, Orphen jumped into the hut, which was still ablaze. It was the same hut that the villagers had cornered him on the roof of a while ago, and the same one that had exploded from sorcery with several of them still standing on it.
Once inside, he looked around — amongst the broken furniture and other things, he found what he was looking for. A crude iron pistol, probably dropped by a villager who'd fallen from the roof when it broke.
Orphen picked it up silently. He removed the cylinder and checked to see that it was still loaded with bullets. The heat from the fire hadn't caused it to go off. The magazine had four rounds. However, it was so crudely made, that if he fired it too many times, the heat would warp the cylinder and cause it to explode. It was a model that had been discontinued by the royal capital more than ten years ago.
Phew — Orphen let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorcery won't work — and this isn't the kind of opponent you can use weapons against — or even fight barehanded."
Even the cleverest tricks of the human mind wouldn't work — the Deep Dragon could read thoughts, too, which Orphen thought about after his earlier words.
With a clang, Orphen slid the cylinder of the pistol in his hand into position. He held the gun tightly in his right hand, instead of his usual left hand.
| Art thou ready? |
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.
Orphen shouted out of reflex.
"I spin, the armor of our halo!"
At the same time, he raised his left arm.
A net made of countless rings of light wrapped around his body, as if it were being spun around his raised arm. All at once his vision was drowned out by light—
The heat overwhelmed his body to the point that he worried his eyes would boil, but that was probably just an illusion — his skin didn't burn, and the gun didn't go off. However, when all of the light disappeared, the hut he was in was evaporated, not even a speck of dust remaining.
The web of light, too, had vanished.
Fwooo... A gust of sandy wind kicked up — and Orphen was left standing there, facing the Deep Dragon. Only the hut had disappeared, leaving the rest of the landscape exactly as it was before he'd jumped into the hut. The dragon was staring at him — as well as the villagers, surrounded by dragons, who couldn't even escape — Majic and Cleao, who was still clutching the baby dragon to her chest, and was only a short distance away from the villagers, frozen in place. The rangers were there as well, and Orphen wondered when they'd joined them.
Orphen silently readjusted the pistol to both hands and pulled the trigger. A small recoil tapped him on the shoulder through his arm. The bullet was aimed precisely at the dragon's left eye — and — just halfway between the muzzle and the target — it popped and vanished into thin air.
The dragon had shot it down with its sorcery.
Orphen opened his mouth, unconcerned.
"From here on out, I'll be using my full strength against you — all of my weapons, all of my abilities, all of my experience — everything."
| Oh? |
The dragon answered. It didn't move in the slightest — but that was no surprise.
Orphen shifted his eyes a little.
"Don't kill people in front of me — it pisses me off."
| ...Do not be angry. Then thou cannot win. |
"............!?"
When Orphen wondered, the dragon continued — in an emotionless voice.
|
Do not hate us... Myne is a race of warriors. Fighting at the command of our master. |
His back teeth clenched.
"Does your version of fighting involve exterminating people who can't even defend themselves?"
|
The one who commands us have decided that this village is no longer necessary— |
"Not necessary—!?"
Screams of terror erupted from the villagers.
"They worshipped you guys—"
|
This was known, as well. Because myne familiar was sent to infiltrate. |
"Familiar...?"
A creature that shared the same five senses through powerful mental control — usually a creature of lesser intelligence than the sorcerer had.
Fiena's face was the first thing to pop into Orphen's mind.
| Yes. Thy shrine maiden— |
The dragon, somehow, began to speak of things it hadn't even heard.
|
Our master needed information on the man known as MacDougall, and this village was the perfect place to keep that man. |
"...Information..."
The hand gripping the gun hurt — which he found to be from gripping the iron so hard.
(These dragons — no, their master, or whatever they're called — want the same information that I do.)
Orphen realized that they were after the same thing. What was it that MacDougall, a former teacher, saw in Kimrak?
|
It took Fiena some time, but I hath determined that this man hadst already lost that information. He hadst lost his mind. In the end, he hadst fled in fear. |
Orphen thought that determination was probably wrong, but he didn't argue. Now that MacDougall was dead, it was pointless to do so.
And so, he asked something else.
"Why... are you telling me all this stuff?"
| Why, of course— |
He thought he saw a glint in the dragon's eyes.
| To make thee myne new familiar. |
"—!"
Orphen immediately jumped backwards — a habit he'd developed when trying to avoid sorcery, and tried to weave a defensive spell as he did so. Only, this time it would be a complete failure, he realized. The dark magic of the Deep Dragon couldn't be prevented by any human power.
He jumped back and away from the dragon — and suddenly, its twin green eyes grew tremendously large. It was a sign of using spiritual domination.
For now, he screamed in reaction to it.
"I spin, the armor of our halo!"
This wouldn't stop the Deep Dragon's sorcery.
However, the moment the web of light separated him from the dragon, the pressure he'd felt from the dragon up until that point seemed to fizzle out.
(—!?)
Orphen, in disbelief, still released his next spell.
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
As soon as the net disappeared, a pure white photothermal wave shot right at the dragon's face, firing through the afterimage of the spell. Only, before it could reach the dragon, it dissipated entirely.
A moment later, something flashed through Orphen's mind.
(I see... These guys are...)
| So thou hast noticed. |
The dragon spoke in a calm voice. Yet, that calm voice no longer irked Orphen.
The words were screaming in his chest.
(I was wrong — These guys aren't gods — They're just sorcerers!"
"Sorcery" couldn't be all-powerful. Only the true "Magic" of the gods had omnipotent power.
That being said, the gap between the Deep Dragon's abilities and his own weren't a single step closer, but still, Orphen felt like he'd found his way out of this abyssal labyrinth.
Just as his own voice magic couldn't reach where his voice couldn't be heard...
(Their dark magic can't reach where their sight can't see!)
If the entire village were obliterated by the overwhelming heat, that'd be the end of it, but at least when it came to spiritual domination, he could stop the attack just by blocking their view.
"Majic!"
Orphen shouted as he fired two shots in rapid succession. The dragon, with its excellent dynamic vision, saw even the tiny bullets and shattered them. He knew it was no match for the dragon, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.
"Use that spell!"
"Uhh, Th-that one?"
Majic, startled by his sudden shouting — glanced awkwardly in Cleao's direction — Nevertheless, he began casting the spell.
"Hmm...?"
As he watched Majic weave the magical composition, Orphen suddenly realized. He followed Majic's gaze — Cleao was moving a bit.
(Is she going to try something again?)
At that moment, Majic's high-pitched voice echoed through the area.
"I disturb, the light rays of the cage!"
He had no time to laugh at the incantation, though he thought that the whole thing was a little too serious for its intended purpose. The scene around him distorted into a visual mess, like a crumpled up sheet of metal. Majic's most successful spell — in a manner of speaking, was the one he used most often.
| Myne — vision— |
The dragon groaned in a calm voice. However, with its vision obstructed, its voice was much more difficult to hear.
"That's right."
Orphen said.
"He refracted the light. Normally, we use these types of spells to compensate for blind spots!"
"Whaaaaa—"
Majic sounded noticeably upset. He probably thought that Cleao would hear him, but he couldn't worry about that.
In the meantime, Orphen also knitted together a magical composition. He raised his right hand — his empty right hand — and raised his voice.
"I build, the spires of the sun!"
Krrrrsshhhh — A strange sound, almost like something grating against something else was building in volume.
His obstructed view turned an irregular crimson. If his aim hadn't been off, he would've engulfed the Deep Dragon in flames.
| Thou cannot escape me like this. |
"I know!"
Orphen prayed with all the emotion he could muster. As usual, he didn't know exactly what he was praying for. Or maybe it was to the stupid gods whose magic rituals had been stolen by the dragon races. It would only take another moment — if ever — for the results to come in.
(Did it not work?)
He was about to unleash his next spell, knowing it would be futile, when...
Pow! There was a small popping sound — followed by the sounds of the Dragon's wails.
As the last flames clung to it, the Deep Dragon — Fenrir, fell over on its side with a resounding thud. The area above its eyes was wet with blood. The villagers — and the dragons surrounding the villages — were in an uproar.
"That was a gunshot."
Orphen said, glaring at the dragon.
"The reason I blocked your view was to also hide my plan — I threw the pistol at your head and set it on fire with my sorcery. I'd already fired three shots and the cylinder was already overheated. If I added any additional heat, the remaining bullet would explode. It was a cheap knock off, after all. If it went off, it'd shatter into pieces. It was a bad bet, to say the least, as to whether or not those fragments would hit you."
|
And if thee blocks myne spiritual domination, thine plan shalt not be read, is that so? |
A direct hit from the pistol at close range wouldn't have resulted in a minor wound, but there was no stutter to the dragon's words.
| But thou could not kill me. |
"............"
It was true. The dragon still seemed to have a lot of energy left. But then, even still, there were dozens of Deep Dragons surrounding the village.
The odds were not in their favor. As Orphen remained silent, Fenrir continued.
| I still have the power to destroy thee. |
"............"
Orphen clenched his fists.
But the words that followed completely betrayed Orphen's expectations.
| Krylancelo — I know thy name. |
"...What...!?"
Orphen let out a groan of agitation, as if he'd actually been struck. The dragon race couldn't possibly know a human's personal name, and even if they'd heard it, they'd never remember such a thing.
|
I know thy acquaintance — Thus I cannot kill thee, for I hath made a promise that I must keep. If thou shalt truly risk thine life to save thy companions, then let us retreat from this place. |
"Wh..."
Orphen stared at the Deep Dragon, half panicked. An acquaintance of mine — a human and a dragon — made a pact?
With a race revered as gods, no less.
How was that possible?
There was only one name that popped into Orphen's head.
(A man who possessed the highest degree of talent one could imagine — the most powerful black-magic sorcerer on the continent — Master Childman... Was it you!?)
He shouted in his mind, but the dragon didn't answer.
Instead, the dragon, leaving the question unanswered, quickly got up. Even though it was injured, there was no sound to accompany this behavior.
|
But I cannot cease destroying this village. Those who has't plotted to enter the sanctuary of the Forest must be destroyed. |
He couldn't even respond to those words. So quickly did the dragons move in unison. All the Deep Dragons around them gazed upon them from their lofty peaks.
Orphen realized that his body had indeed been removed from the targeted effects of the spell. He no longer felt that hopeless pressure. However, the despair he felt in his heart was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Without thinking, he closed both eyes tightly.
(The next time I open my eyes — there'll be no one left — they'll all be dead!)
He felt the light swelling up through the depths of his closed eyelids.
(Why can't my power get through to you guys—)
The convulsive, visceral palpitations made his screams tremble.
(I'll kill you — if I open my eyes, and they're all dead, I'm going to kill you all—!)
The intense emotions drained his strength. Slowly, he kneeled on the ground. Punching the dirt with a helpless fist, he screamed.
"I am Krylancelo — and there's nothing I can't kill! Childman promised me that — so stop, or I'll kill you all!"
He raised his face, dry from the burning heat — and it was all over.
The village was gone. Completely, down to the bedrock. Upon the blackened, scorched earth, the rightful rulers of the continent — the Dragons — stood lined up in a row. The dragon whose head was bleeding stood in the center.
And the puny humans, in one mass, faced them. Rather than facing off against each other, it was more like they were students being scolded by the teacher, and told to stand in the hallway.
No one, not Cleao, Majic, or the villagers — were dead. Not even Orphen himself.
Crouched on the ground, Orphen stared dumbfounded at the dragon race — right in front of him, with her back to him, stood a young girl.
(Cleao...?)
He thought, but it wasn't. She was much younger. Fiena — the shrine maiden. She was no longer dressed like a maiden, however, but was instead dressed as an ordinary village girl.
| Why hath thou returned? Fiena... |
The dragon's voice solemnly echoed through the scorched earth. Orphen noticed that the girl's voice, in response, sounded unusually strained and stiff — and surprisingly clear.
"Because I knew... they couldn't escape, could they? I knew that you would never forgive the people of this village for thinking about invading the sanctuary of the Forest."
|
Yes... As I hath taught you. That is why I gaveth thee a chance to flee. That assassin, the one with thee, he hast already escaped, has he not? |
"Yes — I used transition to send Salua out of the forest, because he seemed to have the information that you want to know. He's my friend. I won't give him to you. Nor the people here... None of them."
She glanced at Majic — and then turned to the dragon again, spreading her arms and continuing.
"By sharing my senses with you, I can also use your sorcery — your power, which is one of the most powerful among the Deep Dragon race. You know that, don't you? I may not be able to do enough damage to drive you out entirely, but I can at least nullify all of your dragons' sorcery."
|
Choosing thee seems to has't been a mistake— |
The moment the dragon uttered those words, Fiena's body snapped back with an electrified charge — probably from the dragon releasing its spiritual domination over her, which it had used to make her its familiar. Orphen quickly caught the girl's body as she fell flat on her rear. She was shaking, but still continued.
"Yes — it was a mistake. You should have chosen someone stronger — but a stronger person wouldn't have done what you told them. They could've convinced MacDougall to back off his reckless plan to defy you, but because I was afraid, I couldn't..."
When she got to that point, she began to quiver and sob — apparently releasing her from the hold of spiritual domination had meant breaking her resolve. Sensing a hint of hysteria, Orphen glanced at Majic. It wasn't possible to calm someone down if they got too overexcited, unless you were close to them.
Majic ran over and caught Fiena's crying body. Orphen quickly stood up.
"MacDougall is dead. No one will think of invading your sanctuary anymore. After all, you've just shown them your power..."
|
We speaketh not of risk — but of crime, and punishment. |
Orphen spoke up, a greasy sweat forming.
"Destroying as much as you have is more than enough."
|
Thou can say that because thou doth not understand what it means to violate the sanctuary... |
"What does it mean — Does it mean killing hundreds of people in an instant!?"
| Yes, that is exactly right— |
While Orphen stumbled to form a response to such a candid reply, a voice rose up from behind him.
"You've gotta be kidding! How could you bring your own child into this mess—"
Cleao shouted. Orphen turned around in a panic. She'd been hiding behind the villagers, perhaps aiming for a surprise attack? When she burst out of the shadows. Her blonde hair fluttered as she raised the little Deep Dragon high into the air—
"Do it!"
She called out. No way, she seemed to be ordering the dragon child to do something.
A moment later, the child's tiny eyes flashed with an enormous brilliance. In an instant, it exploded at the feet of the dragon horde, and then swelled to thousands of times its original size. The space-shattering dark magic of the Deep Dragon swept away everything in sight.
The earth rumbled — and then it faded, and by the next moment, all of the Deep Dragons had vanished. There was no way they could've died from that blow. Perhaps they had used spacial transitioning to flee. A quiet voice lingered in the void where only the wind now drifted through...
|
Thus is the way, human sorcerers... Like that child, if we are ruled, we must obey... |
"............!?"
Orphen instinctively turned his gaze to the baby dragon in Cleao's arms. The little pup was rubbing its head against Cleao's neck as if she were its own parent.
|
The power of our warriors cometh at a price. It is the same for thee kings and queens... O human sorcerers! Thy hast lost those values, and at the same time, thou hast gained thine freedom... |
"............"
No, no one was free to do anything.
|
Yet that freedom is unmanageable... And that is why it is so dangerous. We shalt destroy thee. Our race must giveth up this continent..." |
"How... How dare you talk to me like that!"
Orphen growled, standing up. The Dragon answered — with a slightly triumphant tone.
|
I hath told you, that I shalt use thee as a pawn — spiritual domination or not — thou shalt be compelled to do as we wish. Thou shalt— |
"I release, the Sword of Light!"
Orphen abruptly shouted and burned away the blank void with a photothermal wave — a roar so loud that he couldn't hear the dragon's last words. He didn't want to hear them.
The voice then disappeared. Orphen stood still. A slight breeze caressed the scorched earth, rustling the branches and leaves of the Forest.
No one spoke a single meaningful word. Fiena was still crying — not hysterical cries, but rather a sob. Majic patted her on the back, and the villagers had started crying, too, from the relief of having been saved. Cleao stared at them with the friendly little dragon child resting against her chest. Even from a distance, he could somehow imagine that her clear blue eyes were reflecting his figure.
Orphen looked around at everything, staring blankly. He turned his gaze upward. The sky, which had finally begun to turn to morning, was rippling with intense gradations of color.
Table of Contents
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| (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) |
Priestess of the Forest Deep Dragon Orphen's Imprisonment Fiena's Request MacDougall's Secret Rapid Slaughter |