by Kasugamaru
“No, you are the one mocking me. Your head is too high, even upon the ground.” I gesture with my chin. My underlings attack.
Well, let’s see what you’re made of... Oh my. How lovely. To do nothing and let your red and black soldiers do the fighting. They look to be spirits or familiars of some sort. I feel fire magic from them. We can spend our pieces and... Oh, how odd. Their numbers aren’t decreasing. My underlings and wolves are getting spent, but those red and black soldiers are as plentiful as they started. In fact, they’re increasing. Summoning, I suppose? I smell the familiar stench of divinity, too.
“Why do you resist so?” Let me ask. And I shall examine your power.
Summoning is different from other magic. There’s a fundamental difference. The nature of your summons defines the root of your existence itself.
“Why were you born as a human, yet resist rather than accept being cattle or prey? It’s humanity’s place to be trampled underfoot, it matters not when or where.”
“...To live like myself, as myself, with pride.”
“Even if the fate of humans is tragedy?”
“Humans will determine what counts as human.” Oh, I see. So that’s what it is.
She thinks it’s some sort of counter-attack. She plans to resist, in spite of all that’s arrayed against her. In spite of having been preserved solely to serve as sustenance. You will form a faction against the night, and challenge me, the Golden.
“You need a bit of discipline.” Accept... Fulgrod.
Let me crush you with a weapon permitted only to me. This rod created to command creation will teach you to act as a human ought to.
“First... cower. Before the light of the Golden!” I point Fulgrod and cast lightning magic, Lightning Bolt.
Mmh, such a lovely sound. It’s an unavoidable impact, after all. Taste it. You won’t get away with just getting stunned. Perhaps your eyes and heart exploded? Collapsing in a smoking... no, only the red-black soldiers fell. They threw themselves in the path of it.
Where did...? Oh, there. She’s coming. Mmmh, how clever. Planning to climb this Stone Tower with her horse, is she? Or perhaps to jump up? She stabbed it! Stabbed the tower with a lance she summoned from the air... and destroyed my magic?!
Oh, so that’s the sort of thing you do. A thing so similar to what I do. Seems you succeeded in bringing me down to the ground. But that doesn’t put you on equal footing with me.
“Disrespectful whelp! Kneel in the depths of the ground!” Earth magic, Sink Hole. Fall into a giant hole. The ground around here is already under my... What?!
She’d already run through. Already jumped.
In front of my eyes are hooves and a lance blade. I can’t bring my Fulgrod up in time. I can’t meet it. The blade burns with fire magic...!
The heat I can feel simply from proximity.
“Now... you’ve done it...” My cheek is hot. The pain burns through my skin. A touch returns no moisture. No, just the dry roughness of burnt flesh.
“How dare you?! HOW DARE YOU?!” A point. I see a steel point. This is... the lance tip! Did she throw it at me?
I sweep it aside. I break it in two with Fulgrod. Now she’s lost her weap... No she hasn’t!
She’s coming. The horse comes closer. In her hand, a pole-arm. How dare she look down upon me from her mount? How dare she think she can attack me without so much as dismounting!
“You have gone, much... too... far!” I face her straight on, unleashing a blow from Fulgrod. A cavalry charge is useless against my Lightning Bolt.
The scattered debris is... just the red-black of the horse?
“Gyah!” An impact runs from my back to my bottom, a heated, yet cold, and fatal blow.
Black hair flutters in my view. Damn you. The pole-arm in her grasp is held, ready to sweep upward.
You! Not only did you slash down, you’re going to land a second blow?! Human! Your eyes, they seek my head!
“Eeeeyaaaah!” I swing my Fulgrod. I force the impact.
Maximizing the output of the lightning magic enhancement spell Lightning Body, I blast through the second blow aimed at my... throat... No, I can’t... to compare strength with me!
“Damn, you...!” With her burning gaze turned to me, this damned human Apostle!
37 The Shadow Demon Gazes Down, Upon the Golden Days and the War of the Gods
God is with me.
We see the same world. We seek the same horizon. I have faith.
-Shadow Tamika III-
Just what is happening? What myth am I watching unfold?
My Shadow Vision sees from many perspectives on a large scale. That is to say, I’m seeing reality as it’s happening. That the Golden, the head of the vampire Apostles and the unquestioned greatest combatant on the continent, is engaged in a desperate fight to the death with a human. And that she’s been on the back foot from the very beginning. This is all so far beyond what I could have imagined.
The Golden can even fight dragons. In fact, she’s even driven them off. She is truly powerful. She has a remarkable number of attacks. No one is even close to being her peer. While expertly wielding lightning and earth magic on one hand, she’s got extremely high physical abilities and is an able melee fighter. She can summon divine relics with magic, letting her choose the range and style of attack as suits her. Every attack has enough power and flexibility to be decisive. More than that, she’s got the accumulated experience of countless battles. Her combat techniques are sublime. A stance that misses no openings but provides none in return.
But in spite of all of that... each of her expertly chosen responses keep getting crushed.
Just who the hell is this freak human? Well, I mean, other than an Apostle.
Damn, the Golden’s elbow was tired from the strength struggle, so she missed. And with the opponent suddenly ducking, she’s lost her balance. She rapidly regains her footing, but looks like she still took a slash to the flank. The pole-arm’s just lying there. Looks like she got hit by that new short sword.
“Graaaaaah!” What a sound. She attacks furiously but her opponent’s nowhere to be found. The enemy Apostle keeps slipping behind her. In spite of the Lightning Body she must be using, she’s still being outmaneuvered.
“Guh!” And the moment she tries a sweep, she takes another slash.
The enemy Apostle is impressive. To cut at the back of her head while jumping over her. This time the weapon’s a single-edged sword. Such finesse, switching between weapons at will.
“Hraaaagh!” She flings out another Lightning Bolt. But the impact of the spell, amplified by the relic, only manages to scythe through huts and other buildings. Her opponent’s no longer there.
The enemy Apostle is, oh wow, back on the horse that had been blasted to pieces just earlier, and opened the distance.
Yeah, that confirmed it. Almost all of her moves are being read.
I knew there was something wrong to begin with. No matter the amount of training, a human simply can’t outmatch a vampire physically. Then there’s the Lightning Body. In a simple test of strength the Golden should overwhelm the enemy Apostle. But the reason for her deteriorating position... the enemy’s reading her movements.
Her opponent’s moving faster than she can even begin her chosen action. No, the opponent might be moving even before she decides what to do. That’s the only way I can explain the dodging of lightning. Timing rather than speed.
Suppose it’s easy to understand once you notice it. A little philosophical, though.
“D-Damn you... Grrr... Urrgh!” Oh boy, she’s getting quite tired.
That’s to be expected. I mean, part of it is missing all those wild swings, but she was also firing off Heavenly Thunder in succession earlier. That was in combination with a second-rank summoning spell. A heavy load, even for her. The price of fighting without rest.
Still, she’s the Golden. She won’t retreat. She won’t cower. She won’t look down.
Look at that, the red-black cava
lry are charging at her, but she’s not taking so much as half a step back. She kicks off against the ground. Earth magic, Stone Shield. A collision, but she continues.
She runs and she jumps. It’s not just a shield now, it’s a wall. Toward that she aims a flying kick. Stringing along the kicks, she moves forward. It’s a traditional combat technique for vampires. Originally created to cope with elven Flowing Worlds, it becomes a proper attack when done by the Golden.
But... the enemy saw that coming, too. The red-black soldiers prepare their pikes, as though to sandwich her as she lands. They line up their pike points and charge with such gusto they seem willing to hit allies to get her.
Still, she doesn’t avoid anything.
“Raaaagh!” Her right arm sweeps outward with Fulgrod, enough force to blast away the pike points, soldiers included. From her left a Lightning Bolt. With practiced skill, she expands its radius, pushing back the enemy.
That’s the Golden. Unflinching tactics. Polished mastery. All overwhelming.
But still, the opponent’s read it all. A single throwing spear, blade glowing red with magic, flies in from the front.
It finds its target. It stabs deep into the Golden’s chest, then pierces through it, before erupting in flame.
“Grraaaaaagh!” Whoa, fire and lightning entangling. At the magic trying to set her alight, she’s fighting with magic of her own. Her monstrous strength enters the fray as well. She snaps the spear in half and tosses it aside.
She’s hurt and desperate. Her golden hair is charred, sending up wisps of smoke. Yet still, her presence sweeps her surroundings. The Golden is still the Golden.
“...Kuroi, was it?” Huh, she’s started talking.
I need to hear this... time to move a little closer.
“Impressive... Kuroi, Apostle of the War God. You’ve defeated me, the Golden. A remarkable achievement. Today’s a day that’ll be talked about for ages. A day when humanity finally landed a blow. A story to inspire all, regardless of the people... though only so long as this continent’s history continues.” I can tell up close. This is the end for her. That fate was decided by the slash to her back.
Her will and magic are still there, but her body is failing. Something deep within her, something that shouldn’t be touched is damaged. Her hair, her fingertips, the edges of her feet; they begin to dry out and flutter away. They’re turning to ash.
“I do have one option left... Mmh... Seems you know what it is. That’s why you’re hanging onto your weapon. Even though your magic’s approaching the limit, you maintain your forces and seek an opening... Such an intense, heated gaze.” The magic swirls. Even now, will she deal her last ace? She is, after all, the Golden.
Summoning—special magic that only Apostles can use. The third rank is its ultimate form. A spell she has only ever used once, fighting the head of the elves, the Absolute. Summon Daemon.
A daemon. An enormous manifestation of fear. A greater servant of the Demon God. Summoning such a thing, this entire region would become a wasteland.
“Not to worry, I’m choosing to do nothing. If I try that now, it’ll take so much of my magic that I’d just vanish. And only it would remain. To end like some sacrifice... that would be pathetic. Unworthy of the Golden.” Yes, that’s a choice worthy of her.
The proud vampire, despite being the Demon God’s first Apostle, had always hated and resented being ruled by the Demon God. That’s who she is.
Which was why I’d wanted to get to know her. I didn’t expect her to lick my entire body.
“...Summoning magic shows the wielder’s philosophy.” Could be something only Apostles understand, but I think I get it.
“I wanted to rule at the top of the world, and I had no doubt I deserved it. So first I desired a symbol of my dominance of the world. Next, I desired the influence to overwhelm the heavens and control the earth. Then, finally, when I desired a throne... God sent me a single piece.” Ah, I see. There’s desires that can be guessed... and to have it torn from your grasp. I suppose that happens, too.
“Is this really all...? The world I lived in, when I was created, looked to me like a wonderful world.” Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
The end of a vampire is always tragic. Unlike elves and humans, they’re a people that can never return to Nature.
“Kuroi, how will you, the human, live? In this world that ought to be wonderful... and in this world that’s fallen to a mere plaything of the gods... how will you die?” Almost childlike laughter from the nameless Golden.
“Hope it’ll be fun enough to make God throw a fit.” She dissolves into dust.
All that’s left is a single damaged, black stone.
Not to worry. In spite of it all, I’m your vassal. I won’t let the humans take your death stone. I won’t let it hear the human victory odes, and it won’t face morning in these lands.
So, well, rest peacefully.
And leave the rest to the living. Okay?
38 DDR Style Game Dreams, Nightmares, and Reality
Oh God, to whom I have given all and been given all.
Bring calm to your soul. Soothe your anger. And please, come to me...
PotatoStarch After...
Huh...? I thought I heard someone call to me... What happened?
I’m just exhausted. My limbs are heavy and my head’s fuzzy. I’m not coughing, so I think I’m okay... Wait, what’s okay? Well, so long as it’s not the flu or norovirus.
I slowly open my eyes... and see a really old style ceiling. No lighting of any sort. Curtains fluttering in the breeze. Feels like a late morning or early noon. The bed’s... well, simple to say the least, or I guess just plain hard. The pillow’s pretty crappy, too. You should never cut corners with bedding or shoes... Huh? Wait, wait, wait, there’s a cute little girl asleep on her arms on the side of the bed. It’s such a painfully adorable nursing style.
“Mm... Lady Kuroi?” She’s so pretty. Flowing silver hair. The bandages around her slender neck look painful. She needs to get some proper sleep.
“Lady... Kuroi?” Oh, she must really value that sword. Looks like it’s bent... But hell, just use the kill bonuses and it’ll be fine. I mean, the effects are permanent.
“Huh? Wha? D-Dad’s sword... is restored? And it’s warm... really warm.” Huh? Smells weirdly smokey. It’s coming in from outside. Wonder what it is. Hope it’s not a fire or something.
Damn, it looks like there was a fire after all. Out there, outside the window.
“Lady Kuroi... or not? Are you perhaps...” That’s awful.
There’s destroyed buildings left and right, and some of them are still smoking.
I guess that’s the North Gate. Wow, things are pretty awful there. That pile of rocks must be the remains of the Stone Tower and Stone Shield. Looks like a pain in the ass to clean up. Hope a sinkhole doesn’t open up or something.
A polite knock on the door. Feels odd when I give permission to come in. I touch at my throat. Huuuh?
“Hello hello. I’m glad to see you’re awake! You had us worried when you collapsed in the midst of victory. Guess we owe it to those secret elven remedies. I mean, we sure felt that for Jashan son Peine. Well, allow me to arrange something warm for you. I’m a bit hungry myself.” He sure got a lot out in a single breath. As for “a bit hungry,” a bit for him probably means quite a bit, given the gut.
“Oh, right right. There was quite a bit of movement during the night, so let me report on that. Oh, don’t trouble yourself, keep yourself comfortable. And please, refrain from training for a bit.” Comfortable, mmh. Yeah, guess my body feels pretty heavy. Especially my arms... Huh? They’re super smooth. What’s going on? They’re really soft to the touch.
“First, the vampire army; it appears they’ve fully retreated. There’s not a single skull lurking around nearby woods and mountains, in fact, it seems they’ve retreated from all the surrounding territories. This is information the elves provided, so a bit of skepticism is in order, however, I beli
eve it’s trustworthy, for the most part.” Hrm. What’s with these hands? The fingers are long and thin, slender and pretty, but the palms are calloused and rough. The fingernails are also a bit of a mess.
“As for the elven army, they’re making noises about a formal military alliance. Given that the current situation is based solely on the discretion of the Dragon Commander. However things proceed from here, I believe they will end within the bounds of our estimates. Meaning, for the time being, they’ll maintain their presence here.” Looks like parts of this body are like that. Injuries, or more precisely, bits of accumulated damage.
But why... Oh, must be because of the endless fighting.
“The problem, I fear, may be the humans.” Oh, I see, this body is Kuroi’s. Reminds me of that one dream.
“Myself, Lord Willow, Ser Anze, we’re all using our connections, but... well, given what’s happened, even a small misunderstanding can cause enormous confusion. At worst, we might end up in a civil war. So we must be cautious moving forward...” So, this is a scene out of the world of DDR?
The chatty tubby in front of me is that scheming priest, and the girl cradling the sword must be her squire, Sira.
Yep, that sounds right.
“Hey! Heard Kuroi woke up so, whoa, hey, don’t push!” As for the group that just made their dramatic entrance...
The middle-aged dude tumbling in front is the sorcerer, the two youngsters that shoved him must be Ser Handsome’s capable subordinates. As for Ser Handsome himself, well, he looks so debonair it’s easy to tell he’s considered handsome. So why are you cradling that man covered with so many bandages that he looks like a mummy as though he’s your bride? The alluring witch is looking a bit exasperated. The crusty soldier looks crustier than usual.
“What are you all doing coming together like this? Lady Kuroi still needs her rest; the last thing she needs is this bustle.”
“I made some noodle soup, so these vultures decided to beg for their share.”
“Oh? Yet there’s still quite some time till lunch. Tch.” Several people note some variation of “look who’s talking.” Haha, yeah, saw that one coming.