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"Damn it!"
Hajime cursed, narrowly dodging the torrent of light rushing towards him. A knight automaton had suddenly appeared. Hajime engaged it with his prized artifacts, but they were all brushed aside as if swatting a fly.
(This guy is incredibly strong...!)
Not only was its defense formidable, but the slashes unleashed by the flamberge in its left hand were instant death, even for Hajime. It wasn't hard to imagine what would happen if he took a direct hit.
(If only there was someone else who could fight...)
Around where Hajime and the knight automaton were fighting, there were no other soldiers to be seen. This wasn't because they had abandoned Hajime and fled, but because Hajime had half-threatened them into retreating. While the knight automaton was wreaking havoc, the monsters they had been fighting before hadn't disappeared. There was a need to allocate forces to deal with them, but the main reason was that the regular soldiers would only be dead weight against this thing. At worst, Hajime would have to be careful not to cause friendly fire.
As Hajime grimaced, struggling just to survive rather than defeat the enemy, a rabbit-eared person appeared from behind the knight automaton, wielding a large hammer.
"Taaahh!!!"
With a burst of spirit, Shea's swung Drucken resounded with a deep boom! Even the knight automaton, caught off guard by the blow from behind, stumbled slightly. Shea then gracefully landed beside Hajime after a leap.
"Ow ow ow ow ow!? What is that thing!? Is it packed full of minerals!?"
Shea writhed, shaking both hands. It wasn't a figment of imagination that the attacker had taken more damage.
"Shea!? Why are you here!?"
"My 'Hajime-san radar' reacted!"
"Perfect timing! I was just about to ask for your help!"
He didn't know what this "Hajime-san radar" was, but having another vanguard would make the situation much more favorable. Now, if only they could create an opening... The moment the knight automaton saw Shea and put power into its legs, obeying its mission—
"You dare lay a hand on our boss?"
The words sounded like a whisper in his ear, and a dagger was thrust into the automaton's helmet slit. The rabbit-eared man, who had accomplished this in an instant, vanished from the spot, and a rain of knives and bullets, hidden by the battlefield dust, assailed the knight automaton.
"Now, Boss!!"
As the rabbit-eared man—Cam—who had first stabbed the knight, shouted, Hajime sped past him. Shea immediately followed behind. The attacks of the Haulia tribe, who had been suppressing their presence in the dust to seize an opportunity, accurately pierced the joints and unarmored parts like the armpits and kneecaps.
Hajime, who had stuck to the knight automaton's head while its attention was on the Haulia tribe, readied Donner-Schlag at point-blank range.
"Take this!!"
Two explosions echoed. However, with Hajime's exceptional quickdraw, a total of twelve bullets were fired. After a thunderous roar that no longer sounded like gunfire, the knight automaton's helmet exploded. What was revealed was the face of a beautiful woman, reminiscent of the West. Her unblemished white skin and gleaming golden long hair held a demonic allure that captivated all who saw her, but the fact that a knife was plunged into her right eye, yet she showed no sign of flinching or even closing her eyelid, was frankly horrifying.
"Smash it! Shea!!"
Blown back by the recoil, Hajime entrusted the finishing blow to Shea, who had used him as a foothold to leap.
"You're mine, desu-u-u-u!!!"
The super-heavy hammer descended upon the exposed head, its helmet blown off. Everyone was convinced of victory. They imagined its head being crushed like a tomato.
Only Shea noticed. The woman's mouth moved to speak.
Magic Rend
In that instant, a massive magical explosion erupted around the knight automaton. There was no time to even scream. Everyone was easily blown away by the impact that assailed them, losing consciousness.
How much time had passed? The calamity, which felt like an eternity, finally subsided, and Hajime pushed aside rubble as he looked around.
"—Gah! Why is this guy Aldeart's...! You guys!?"
What lay before him was a scene straight out of hell. The ground was torn up, and the fortress was blown to smithereens. Cam and the other Haulia lay motionless on the ground.
"Ngh! That's right, Shea! Where is she! Shea!!"
Speechless at the sight, Hajime immediately remembered Shea's presence. Shea had been closest to the automaton when it unleashed its magic. Hajime spurred his agonizing body to frantically search for Shea.
And then he found her... His beloved figure, submerged in a pool of blood.
"She...a?"
The worst possible scenario flashed through Hajime's mind.
"Ngh!?—Shea!? Sheaaaaa!!"
However, he shook off that thought and rushed to Shea's side. He immediately picked Shea up and checked her condition.
(...It's okay! She's still alive!! There's still time!!)
The bleeding was severe, but she was still faintly breathing. With the Holy Water, he could make it.
"Shea! Can you hear me! It's Holy Water! I know it's tough, but quickly, take this...!?"
Hajime, who was about to frantically give Shea the Holy Water, felt a presence behind him. He shielded Shea with his back and turned around.
The knight automaton stood there, its palm facing them. In its palm, magic swirled, so condensed it looked ready to explode at any moment. It wasn't hard to imagine what it intended to do with it.
"What do you want...! Don't get in my way, you bastard!!"
Hajime's shouts were in vain, as the condensed magic emitted an even more blinding flash.
—------------
Grand - Black Orb
A gravity orb, about 5 meters in diameter, generated from Miledi's palm, gouged the ground as it rushed towards the knight automaton, but a single swing of its flamberge easily bisected the gravity orb. Seeing this, Miledi immediately tried to unleash a follow-up spell, but sensing magic behind her, she interrupted her attack and rapidly ascended with gravity magic. A moment later, a silvery flash rained down on where Miledi had been.
"You're really a pain in the neck...!"
Five knight automatons, with wings sprouting from their backs, pursued Miledi as she flew upwards. The projectiles that rained down on the ground seemed to aim specifically around Miledi . Their sword skill could slice through her own gravity orbs, their flight capabilities surpassed even dragons, and the magic they wielded was no less powerful than her own. And there were five of them. Moreover, their coordination was beyond words, completely pushing Miledi onto the defensive.
"In that case, I'll wipe you all out!"
Disaster
A gravity sphere formed in the center of the five knight automatons, beginning to suck in everything around it. However, the knight automatons were only slightly pulled, unable to be drawn in further. Still, it managed to restrain them in place.
Full Sky - Starfall
"Azure Sky," "Heavenly Blaze," "Divine Might." Three advanced magic spells, compressed into meteors, rained down from the sky. Seeing the cataclysmic rain, certain to bring death to its targets, the knight automatons simultaneously raised their swords and spoke.
Azure SkyFlood Calamity WaveHeavenly BlazeCannon EmperorDivine Might
Flame, water, lightning, wind, and light. Five elemental advanced magic spells clashed with the meteors, and a thunderous roar echoed through the surroundings.
"Kuh!?"
At first glance, the clash seemed even, but gradually Miledi began to be pushed back. Although the level of magic she cast was higher, Miledi combined three advanced spells by herself, while each knight automaton unleashed a single-attribute advanced spell. In terms of both quality and quantity, the latter was completely superior.
Gooogaaaaah!!
Just as it seemed Miledi would be swallowed, with a tremendous roar, a blue flame-clad dragon suddenly appeared and devoured one of the knight automatons. Following suit, dragons with lightning, ice, wind, and earth attributes each swallowed a magic-wielding knight automaton.
Beside Miledi , who was staring blankly at the phenomenon, stood the vampire princess responsible for it—Aletia.
"Miledi , are you alright?"
"Aletia-chan! Oh, you saved me. They were a bit of a nuisance. It's understandable that Miledi -chan is always popular, but they should really show some restraint, you know?"
Miledi replied with a playful attitude, but inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief at the arrival of Aletia, an incredibly reliable helper. Although the situation was still disadvantageous in terms of numbers—two against five—Aletia was worth more than just her presence.
"Still got plenty of room?"
"Of course! There's no way Miledi -san would lose to dolls like that!!"
"Right... then I need your help."
"...Huh?"
Needs her help? Not offering help? Before Miledi could question Aletia about the strange feeling, they appeared before them.
Five knight automatons identical to the one that had cornered Miledi . Furthermore, five more knight automatons, having sliced away the dragons that had devoured them, leisurely floated up. A total of ten. Some parts of their armor showed signs of melting or collapse from being devoured by the "Five Heavenly Dragons," but these were repaired in an instant.
"...Aletia-chan? Weren't you here to help Miledi -san?"
"I couldn't break through by myself... I was thinking of asking for your help. And then... this happened."
Miledi's mouth gaped open as Aletia whispered a small "Sorry." According to the command center's relay, the total number of knight reinforcements that had descended to the ground was seventeen. More than half of that force, ten automatons, had gathered here. Was it because they considered Miledi and Aletia to be that significant, or because they judged them unnecessary elsewhere...?
"Well, well, I guess we have no choice. Aletia-chan, you still got it?"
"Of course...!"
With Aletia's strong nod as a signal, a vast amount of magical power surged from the two small girls. After all, they were a Liberator who had lived for thousands of years and a regression vampire princess. They weren't so soft as to lose to mere dolls.
((We'll crush them one by one, for sure!!))
However, the two didn't know. They saw the knight automatons before them as entities akin to the Apostles of God created by Ehit, but that wasn't true. While inferior to the original, the knights before them were sentient beings who inherited the memories and power of Spaß. They didn't just faithfully carry out orders, but correctly judged situations and possessed the intelligence to consistently and flexibly take the best actions. The reason they were divided into five for Miledi and five for Aletia was not a command from Spaß, but because they judged it to be the best course of action.
And above all, the knights inherited Spaß's memories without any error. In other words, the knights' ultimate goal was their evolution. Therefore, they judged that what the two needed now was not petty tricks or coordination based on numbers. It was to show an overwhelming difference in power that could not be overturned by normal means.
[Connection Start Connect]
The knight automaton's consciousness interfered with the causality of the world, its own creation.
[Read Complete Download]
It read the information present there and added it to its own domain.
[Overwrite Complete Install]
It reconstructed and optimized the added information to suit its own body.
And what manifested was the Dragon of Betrayal.
Five Heavenly Dragons
"What!?"
"Is that Aletia-chan's!?"
Azure flames scorched everything, thunder roared through the surroundings, storms raged across the land, cold air froze the atmosphere, and dust clouds covered the sky. Five dragons turned their jaws towards Miledi and Aletia. It was unmistakably Aletia's original magic, "Five Heavenly Dragons" itself.
"No way, they imitated it just by seeing it earlier!?"
Aletia's eyes widened in astonishment, but she had forgotten. There wasn't just one knight automaton here.
Five Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly DragonsFive Heavenly Dragons
"...L-lie..."
"Haha, ha... Even Miledi-san, this is..."
Reflected in the eyes of the two girls was a vibrant swarm of fifty dragons, roaring as if ready to attack at any moment. The magical power contained within each one was no less than the original. And they were interfering with and amplifying each other, attribute by attribute.
Evolve
One of the knight automatons spoke. These two were different from other humans. These two might be able to overcome this. They might be able to stand. To the realm they sought.
StruggleGraspSeekSurpassShoutWishShowChooseStep ForwardHope
They expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected. Expected.
—Therefore, overcome it.
Despair, composed of pure goodwill, assailed the girls.
—------------
"Haaaaaa!!"
Kouki's and Shizuku's simultaneous slashes assailed the knight automaton, but it easily parried them with its round shield.
"Damn it!"
"What is this thing!?"
"Shizuku! It's coming!!"
"Ngh!?"
As they cursed the situation where their attacks had no effect, the knight automaton raised the flamberge in its left hand. Kouki and Shizuku, judging that the same slash was coming again, put power into their legs to move away. At that moment, as if it knew, the knight automaton stomped its foot heavily on the ground. Just that alone caused cracks to run through the earth, and a tremor strong enough to make them lose their footing assailed the two.
"Ngh!?"
"Shizuku!?"
Kouki, who had already leaped away, managed to avoid it, but Shizuku lost her footing in the tremor and stumbled. The knight automaton before them wasn't so lenient as to miss that opening. The long blade of the flamberge was brought down on Shizuku, who was on her knees.
"Whoaaaaa!!"
However, just before the blade could bisect Shizuku, Ryutaro's blow struck the knight automaton's elbow, deflecting the trajectory of the slash.
"Kuh!?"
"Gah!?"
Even though they avoided a direct hit, the impact was immense, and Shizuku and Ryutaro were easily blown away by the aftershock.
"Shizuku-chan! Ryutaro-kun!"
Kaori cried out in anguish at their state. The urge to rush to her injured friends was overwhelming, but she couldn't leave Suzu and Eri behind.
"Get out of the way!"
Hearing Cattleya's warning, Kouki immediately retreated.
Imprisonment
A swirling grey sphere appeared in Cattleya's raised hand, striking the knight automaton in an arc, and grey smoke engulfed it.
"...Damn it!?"
Cattleya had been staring intently at the scene, holding her breath, but she cursed as the knight automaton emerged from the smoke as if nothing had happened.
(Couldn't it at least pretend to be affected a little!? What to do!? What to do what to do what to do!?)
She desperately searched for a way to escape this situation, but her instincts screamed at her.
It's impossible. We can't win. Run, it urged.
However, with them already targeted, turning their backs wasn't an option. More than anything... Cattleya glanced behind her. There, Suzu, who had lost her best friend, continued to cry, clutching Eri's body.
(Leaving the body behind to run... I don't think I can do that.)
It was not uncommon for comrades to die on the battlefield. It was also common to be unable to recover bodies. One couldn't risk secondary damage by forcing a retrieval. However, they, who didn't know the common sense of the battlefield, wouldn't accept that. In their current semi-panic state, it was difficult to force them.
(Guard for these two, support role. Someone to lead the retreat, and a rearguard... No, we don't have enough people!!)
Withdrawing during battle was not as easy as it sounded. It involved guiding the way to friendly lines, supporting the injured, and dealing with pursuing enemies. Cattleya's monsters were currently engaged in dealing with the monsters summoned by Eri, so they were scattered around. As Cattleya's anxiety grew over the definite lack of resources, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"You guys! Are you alright!!"
"Meld-san!?"
"That guy, was he...?"
Kouki and the others' instructor and the Kingdom Knights' Commander, Meld Loggins. The moment he appeared, his subordinate knights began to launch diversionary attacks to draw the knight automaton's attention.
"Meld-san, why are you here!?"
"Jugo and the others told me you were here! So..."
Meld, who answered Kouki's question, glanced at Eri and Suzu, seemingly understanding the reason for their distress.
"...You guys, retreat to the main camp. We'll hold them off here."
"Meld-san...!"
"Don't make that face, it's alright, we'll catch up later."
"—Ngh!?"
Kouki bit his lip, seeing the determination in Meld's and the knights' expressions. He didn't think they could buy time against that thing and still have enough leeway to escape. They... were going to die here.
"Lady Cattleya, can I entrust them to you?"
"...Hmph, I'll just do what I have to do."
"Thank you... Now, Kouki, you lead the way. Regroup at the main camp and—"
"No."
"What!?"
Meld, who had confirmed Cattleya's indirect acceptance after sensing their resolve, gave Kouki his final instructions, but Kouki immediately refused.
"Don't be selfish! If we stay here, we'll be annihilated! The entire army is in disarray due to the sudden appearance of new enemies! We need to retreat once and bide our time!! Your strength will definitely be needed then!!"
"The same goes for you, Meld-san. Our voices as Apostles of God don't resonate with humans as they once did. Meld-san, who has protected the country for so long as the Knights' Commander, is exactly the kind of presence needed in this situation!"
"That's...!"
Meld, who had thought it was just selfish stubbornness born of a sense of justice, was momentarily speechless by Kouki's sharp remark. While the erroneous nature of Kouki and the others' designation as heretics had been announced throughout the country, due to the timing, their previous charisma had been lost. On the other hand, Meld, as the instructor of the "Apostles of God" who had been declared heretics, was shunned by the church, but surprisingly, he didn't face much criticism from the common people. His long years of service as the Knights' Commander and his unpretentious personality had worked in his favor, often leading him to be seen as a victim.
"What they need in their current state of confusion isn't a child like me! It's only you, the pillar who can support them!!"
"...However, I can't leave you behind...!"
"No, I'm the only one staying here."
"Ngh!? You don't mean!?"
"Kouki!?"
"Hey, Kouki!!"
"Kouki-kun...?"
"You..."
At Kouki's words, Meld, Shizuku, Ryutaro, Kaori, and Cattleya widened their eyes in surprise. Ignoring them, Kouki turned his back on them and pointed his Holy Sword at the knight automaton.
"I'll face that guy alone!"
The Holy Sword glittered, reflecting the strength of Kouki's will. The Hero rejected by the world now stood up once more.