Kuro no Maou

Chapter 502

The Black Demon King 502

Chapter 26: Storm of Gluttony

Like a Gale

“No! Don’t come near me! You’re disgusting!!”

While screaming, I cut off the tentacles approaching me with the halberd, and a second series of thrusts made mincemeat of the octopus’ head.

Though it was softer than a goblin’s –probably because it had no bones–, it still seemed to have some power left even though I had no trouble tearing through its flesh. The green mucus that came out of it only made it look even more disgusting.

“These guys are bad news... They just keep coming.”

Standing right next to me was Ryan, the leader of the vigilante team, who was also wielding a halberd just like me.

The villagers of the 203rd supply base colony had been quick to escape, but the moment this fog that covered everything up to our knees came out, these octopus monsters called “Gluttony Octos” suddenly appeared and began to chase.

Only the vigilante team, who was focused at the rear, was currently engaged in battle, so the monster’s tentacles had yet to reach the villagers at the front lines. We knew we could hold them off for the time being, but even though I wasn’t very smart, I could tell that the situation would only get worse with each passing second.

“Hey, Ryan! What do we do? At this rate, we’ll be completely surrounded!”

“Shut up, I already know that! Keep up the pace! We’ll hold them off one way or another. That’s the only thing you should worry about right now!”

We continued to fight to the death before the swarm of octopuses that came rushing in, filling the road with their huge numbers. Despite their horrifying tentacles, none of us tried to escape.

There was no other way. All of the families we had to protect were literally behind our backs. Right behind us was a carriage with children younger than me, and Sister Yuuri was there with them as well.

Priest Kuroe had given Sister Yuuri a very expensive-looking sword for self-defense, but I doubted she could use it properly with just her left hand. Even if she had all of her limbs, It was hard to picture an ephemeral little girl like Sister Yuuri, who I as a woman wanted to protect with my life, being proficient with sword techniques.

We are the only ones who can protect them. With that in mind, all of us wielded a sword, a spear, and a lit torch against the constantly increasing number of octopuses. At first, they only seemed to be coming at us from the road, but then I noticed that tentacles were starting to creep up on us from the forest on both sides of the road.

I remember hearing the saying that “war was in the numbers” in class some time ago. I now understood what this meant.

“Oh, the fog...”

And the fog, which had only reached up to our knees so far, was now rising all the way up to waist-level.

When I left the village, I noticed that this fog came in from the ground, rising as if it were water from an overflowed river. At first it barely reached our ankles, but when the villagers started leaving through the gate, it was up to our shoulders. And now, we could say with confidence that the 203rd supply base colony, which should have been perfectly visible from our position, was surrounded by a huge mass of fog, as if a gigantic cloud had fallen from the sky on top of it.

I was sure that even now, more of these horrifying monsters were still squirming around within the walls of the enshrouded village.

In other words, this fog was the Gluttony Octos’ habitat. Since the fog was still relatively low and close to the ground, we could attack them without much trouble, but the moment everything were to be covered in fog, the only way we could survive would be to shake the fog off and run for our lives.

“Hey, hurry up! Get the hell out of here, quickly!”

Following Ryan’s barking, I noticed the caravan started to go faster, albeit slightly. However, I still didn’t think we would be outpacing this fog anytime soon.

So even now, we had no choice but to smash the enemy in front of us!

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”

One of the octopuses crawling on the ground jumped up as dove down towards me like a cannonball. It had its tentacles projected forward, and its tips were sharp like spears that looked incredibly sharp.

However, my halberd had a longer reach.

I slashed horizontally with it as if to flick the octopus away. The halberd’s ax blade easily removed one of its tentacles, and it went on cutting through its warped head, splitting it in half.

As a result, the dying octopus fell behind and was swallowed by the incoming fog. It didn’t seem like it would be coming back anymore.

“–!?”

It wasn’t that I was caught off guard. But repositioning my heavy halberd into a ready position was taking a lot of effort out of me.

And yet, two new octopuses were now coming at me with their spear-like tentacles, looking to take advantage of my slight opening.

(I won’t be ready to counter this!)

“Wooooaaaahhh! Reki, are you okay!?”

“Don’t be so reckless!”

What suddenly appeared in front of me from the side was a spear with red and black flames coming out of its tip.

Having been pierced by the flames that burned more vigorously than that of a torch, the two octopuses let out a high-pitched scream.

“Thank you!”

While thanking Ted and Ryan’s younger brother Todd for their support at the best possible time, I struck a blow to the octopuses, which were already in pain due to being on fire.

“Phew, I sure am glad Priest Kuroe gave me this spear.”

Ted might have sounded a bit silly saying that as he wielded a spear on fire, but I still couldn’t agree more with him.

These octopuses wouldn’t be stopped even if pierced by ordinary spears. However, if the spear is on fire, they would slow down a lot. They would wriggle and slam their tentacles on the ground as if they didn’t have the power to fight back.

Priest Kuroe was truly a great person who could do anything, even create magical weapons. Even though he was not by my side, I still felt like he was protecting me... Which made my chest feel incredibly warm.

“Dammit! I missed!!”

My emotional moment was cut short by a sudden turn of events.

More than Ryan’s blunder, it seemed that the enemy’s numbers had finally become greater than what we could handle. One of the octopuses had slipped through the vigilantes’ defenses and approached the carriage at the end of the line.

It was about 2 meters tall. However, it was unexpectedly quick as it crawled on the ground as if it was swimming. All I managed to see was a faint silhouette dashing through the fog.

“Shit!”

I reached for the Ignited Dagger hanging from my waist, and was about to pull it out –but then I changed my mind. The octopus was already right behind the carriage. Setting it on fire would probably cause it to thrash about, and that could end up making the carriage itself catch fire

However, I wasn’t feeling shy about hitting it with an ordinary weapon. At this point, there was no safe nor reliable way to deal with that octopus except by attacking it directly with my halberd.

“Reki’s on it!”

“Sorry, I’ll leave it to you!”

I turned around and sped up. I was indeed closing the gap between myself and the carriage, but... I felt like I wouldn’t make it in time.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Along with the panicking screaming of a woman, the carriage itself started to sway around so much that it almost got toppled over. The octopus had stabbed the horse pulling the carriage with its sharp tentacles, causing a splash of red to spurt out violently from the other side of carriage, and the entire vehicle was thrown out of control.

“–Ah!?”

Due to the violent shaking, the carriage finally fell to its side on the ground, and the children on board were thrown out of it. Among them were Sister Yuuri and Ted’s wife, who had recently had a baby.

Fortunately, the speed of the carriage hadn’t been that high, and the height of the platform where they were all sitting was low above the ground, so the fall itself wouldn’t have caused anyone any serious injuries.

However, falling to the ground in this situation, when they had a man-eating monster heading straight towards them, was far too dangerous. After bringing the carriage to a stop, the octopus glided away from it and quickly threw its tentacles towards its prey.

It would still take me a few seconds to drive my halberd into its brain.

It was a brief moment. But it would be enough for that octopus to throw a small child into its maw.

“Nooooo!! Evaaaa! Let go of my Evaaaaaa!”

The prey chosen by the octopus was the smallest one it could find.

Perhaps the fall had caused the little girl to be thrown off from her mother’s embrace. The newly born Eva,Ted’s daughter, who had been wrapped in a warm blanket after Priest Kuroe and Sister Yuury performed a birth ritual for her in the middle of the night, had left her mother’s arms and lay unprotected on the ground.

The voice of Eva crying reached my ears. I wondered for a moment if the octopus could hear it in the same way I did? Either way, it stretched its tentacles straight to Eva and caught her without difficulty.

Perhaps by chance, the tentacle’s spear-like tip was caught in the blanket, so Eva wasn’t stabbed.

But the next moment, she would be thrown into a hideous cave-like round maw.

(No! Even if I run with all my strength, I won’t make it in time! It will swallow her whole before I can get any closer!)

“–Phew.”

At that time, I felt that a white wind had blown through.

As I felt the soft breeze stroking my cheeks, I saw her. I saw Sister Yuuri pulling out her sword.

After being thrown to the ground, she couldn’t get back up since she had no legs. But instead, she had managed to sit up straight in a very imposing manner.

Then, with her left hand, she pulled out the beautiful rapier adorned with a dazzling emerald from the right side of her waist. It was a simple motion, but it had been so beautifully executed that it made me shiver.

Was she familiar with using a sword? Was she good? I couldn’t put my impressions into words. The way she had moved the sword itself was much more sophisticated that anything I or the vigilantes had ever been able to produce.

It had looked like a slow movement, but in reality, it was more like a flash. An ultra-fast sword movement that was done in less time than I took a step.

Then, as the splendid silver blade –which was just as magnificent as its flashy decoration– was revealed, Sister Yuuri jumped.

It was impossible. Even though it had happened right before my eyes, I could not believe it. How was a human with no legs able to jump?

“...The wind.”

Unusually for me, I immediately came up with an answer. If you don’t have feet to propel you from the ground, you can use magical power instead.

And the idea of Wind Magic could have come to my mind immediately because I experienced it first-hand when I fought against Dortos.

A faint green breeze was blowing from the rapier in Sister Yuuri’s hand. The emerald green airflow generated by it carried her otherwise immobile body and gave it the freedom it otherwise lacked.

As a result, Sister Yuuri flew forward about three meters.

I could see it happen and acknowledge it to be real. But it still felt like a dream. Due to her lack of lings, Sister Yuuri’s habit was too loose, and now her wimple was large enough to hide her face. I wondered if the violently fluttering white and navy blue fabrics wouldn’t get entangled with each other.

Then, she flew forward with the power of the wind towards the octopus that was on the verge of throwing Eva into its gaping maw.

A flash of silver was drawn in the void. The way she had pulled the sword had been magnificent, and the motion of her wielding the blade had been very beautiful as well. In spite of myself, I found myself completely enthralled by it.

Then a slash, which I hadn’t noticed until I saw the tentacles that had captured little Eva all cut off, and the octopus screaming in pain while splattering green blood from its wounds.

As I turned my gaze a little to the side, I saw Sister Yuuri making a splendid landing. She was holding her rapier by the blade using her tiny mouth, as her left hand was busy holding Eva.

She had freed her only hand right after cutting the octopus’ tentacles so that she could catch Eva before she could fall to the ground.

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That series of actions had been completely invisible. The only way to understand what had happened was to see its results and then guess the rest. It was as if I had witnessed the miracle of God happening right before my very eyes.

But I knew that God had had no hand in this outcome. This had been possible purely thanks to Sister Yuuri’s own superhuman prowess.

“...Air Slash.”

After softly putting Eva down onto the ground, Sister Yuuri took her rapier in hand again and unleashed her martial arts to deliver the final blow to the octopus.

For some reason, the octopus’s body was split into four pieces, despite the fact that the blade itself hadn’t actually reached it.

Then I realized. That was the famous “blade of wind”. Priest Kuroe once told me of the lower-level spell “Air Sagitta”, which could create this blade of wind to tear through foes with. He also told me that reproducing similar effects with weapons would make it a martial art rather than a magic spell.

“I-I didn’t know she could do... something like that...”

I was at a loss for words. I was just standing there completely dumbfounded, as if there were no enemies left to defeat, looking like a total idiot.

“Eva! You’re safe... Ah... Thank you so much, Sister Yuuri!”

The first person to rush to Sister Yuuri was Eva’s mom. She lay softly on her ground, holding her daughter tightly in her chest, never letting go, and tears ran down her cheeks as she thanked her savior over and over again.

“It’s dangerous here. Let’s make haste.”

Sister Yuuri looked as cool as always as she gave her reply. She always had this expressionless look on her face, as if nothing ever impressed her.

Even though we were under attack by a swarm of monsters, her face was mostly unchanged. ...It was as if she had no human emotions. And the series of movements she had just performed weren’t something the average Sister could do. I wondered if she was actually some sort of first class swordfighter. Even though she had lost both of her legs and her dominant arm, she had managed to cut the monster down while keeping a cool face about it, and to rescue the baby without causing her so much as a scratch.

I suddenly failed to understand her any more. Who the hell was this person?

“...Ah.”

However, the answer came in like a flash.

(That’s right. Of course she’s going to be incredibly strong. After all, she’s Priest Kuroe’s companion.)

I didn’t have any actual proof of this, but I was convinced by this answer either way.

“A-Ah... So after all... Reki won’t do, right?”

(What am I even doing?”)

Even this fight suddenly felt like it was for nothing.

“Reki.”

I was in such a daze that it wasn’t after a few eyeblinks that I realized that Sister Yuuri was calling my name.

Her red eyes, which looked like those of Barbadian ascent but felt terribly different, were pointed straight at me. My “Yes?” came out low in spirits, and I involuntarily turned my eyes away from her gaze.

“I will help you as well.”

“Y-Yes... Thank you...”

My feelings of gloom were nowhere near to stopping. There was no reason for it to stop.

Sister Yuuri, who had no legs and no dominant hand, was arguably the strongest among all of the people here.

It made my existence feel worthless.

“–Air Overblast”

Another swing of her sword, and a strong green blade of wind blew through the road.

As I turned around, I saw a number of octopuses that were approaching the vigilante forces being torned apart, their blood splashing everywhere. The blade of wind, which had shone in a pale emerald, was sharper than an iron sword, we could all easily see how easily it tore through their bodies, as if a block of butter had been sliced by a hot knife.

“Oh, the fog...”

Of course, we could all see it very clearly because the fog that filled the road was gone as well.

The fog had been cleared away by the magical wind unleashed by Sister Yuuri’s blade.

But it wasn’t completely gone. Sister Yuuri’s “Air Overblast” had brushed away a large portion of the fog, but everywhere past a few dozens of meters away, which had been outside its area of effect, was still covered in that swirling white fog.

Still, our visibility had improved considerably.

“Whoa! What the... You’re amazing! Way to go, Yuuri!”

Ryan, who was honest to a fault, seemed to be a little envious rather than simply surprised.

“A sorcerer has come to help us?”

“We can beat them now!”

Not only Ryan, but other vigilante members were on the same page...

But in reality, I must have been the only one having mixed feelings about Sister Yuuri’s prowess. I was ashamed to admit that I couldn’t bring myself to feel honestly happy that she had jumped in to help us.

“Air Overblast.”

Without responding to the vigilantes’ joyful voice, Sister Yuuri just continued swinging her sword.

With a single swing, the fog in front of her was cleared and dozens of octopuses were cut down. The number of enemies that managed to sneak through her blade of wind to reach us was less than half of what it was before. The vigilante members split into groups of three to safely take down the remaining enemies.

One would stab an enemy with their Ignited Lance while another member would use a long-edged weapon such as a sword or an ax to cut deeply into its head. Their solidly coordinated work was the result of training with Priest Kuroe, and Chloe, and thanks to that, the octopuses were killed one after another smoothly.

Thus we continued to advance rapidly while dyeing the road with the octopuses’ fresh green blood. Miraculously, without any casualties on our side.

“Oh, the fog is receding!”

Soon, the fog would clear up. To our right was a quiet snowy forest, and to our left we could see a large mountain range –which seemed to be Galahad– in the distance.

But as we looked behind ourselves, the white fog continued to drift as if a cluster of clouds had fallen from the sky.

“Looks like they won’t come after us if there is no fog around.”

I looked around the surroundings carefully, but I couldn’t see any octopuses anymore. However, I had no doubt that they were still lurking in that fog behind us.

For now, we would be safe as long as that fog wouldn’t come this way.

“Phew, we managed to escape thanks to you, Yuuri.”

With a refreshing look as if he had just finished a job, Ryan shared his joy about everyone being safe with the other vigilantes.

We still had a long way to go to Alsace Fortress, but we had managed to survive those relentless octopuses’ pursuit. We were entitled to some honest joy at this point.

“Hey, Reki, you worked really hard too! I’ll tell the priest that you did a great job! Haha!”

Worked hard? A great job?

(Who, me? Can I really throw out my chest and accept Priest Kuroe’s compliments for what I’ve accomplished here?)

“...No.”

No. Absolutely no.

I haven’t accomplished anything.

“Hey, Reki, what’s wrong? What’s with the grim face? Did you get hurt somewhere?”

Ah, that’s right. I haven’t suffered any injuries.

What an easy battle it was! Even a sparring session with Priest Kuroe would’ve made me break more of a sweat than this.

I didn’t even fight. All I did was keep myself alive.

All while Sister Yuuri saved us all.

Priest Kuroe’s special someone. And, without a shadow of a doubt, someone strong enough that he’d choose her as the one to remain by his side.

“I have no way to catch up at all at this rate.”

That day, when I betrayed Ur, my own sister...

I had made up my mind.

I would chase after Priest Kuroe. I would follow him to the ends of this world if I had to.

“Children can’t be taken to the battlefield.”

I would follow him precisely because he said that. I would make sure I’d catch up to him and show him.

I would show him that I wasn’t a child, and that I’m much stronger than ever. Strong enough to be by his side.

I wanted to become strong. I had to be strong enough to be able to fight alongside him instead of just being a burden.

I couldn’t let myself be saved by Sister Yuuri like that.

But far from having become stronger, I was inferior to Ur.

Beyond that fog, at the 203rd Supply Base Colony, she was still fighting side by side with Priest Kuroe. And I couldn’t help but wish we’d switch places.

I felt so worthless I couldn’t stand myself anymore.

“Go to hell!!”

So I jumped out.

I turned around and started rushing back to the village along the path we had conquered so far.

“H-Hey, Reki! What are you doing!? Come back!”

I could hear Ryan’s screams calling me from behind. Perhaps he was not only trying to stop me, and was actually chasing me..

Naturally, I stopped. I was well aware of how stupid this was.

But still, I couldn’t stop these feelings of helplesness anymore.

“Reki will do it, Reki will do it for sure! Reki will definitely... definitely follow Priest Kuroe!!”

I took up my halberd and jumped back into the monster-infested fog.