“Like I would stand being killed by someone like you! Dumbaaass!” Nephteros screamed, her words echoing fruitlessly within the forest. When faced with that desperate cry, the monster simply opened its huge jaws to devour Nephteros. And as they closed in on her... they were torn apart by light.
“Huh...?” Nephteros let out a befuddled voice as she was gently embraced by someone.
“...Sorry for being late.”
It was a familiar voice. She’d heard it before, but it was hard to believe that the voice felt so reliable.
“Now, I shall avenge my subordinates. Foul creature, you face the wrath of Archangel Chastille Lillqvist!”
At some point in time, without knowing where she was running to at all, Nephteros ended up stumbling into the region of Kianoides. And that young girl stood before Nephteros like a hero straight out of a fairy tale. She should have been a wholly unreliable girl, yet Nephteros felt like she had been saved.
◇
Why was Nephteros, who suddenly disappeared at the hidden elven village, here? And how exactly was she driven into a corner despite possessing power that just barely fell behind an Archdemon’s? Chastille had a mountain of questions to ask, but the first thing she did was embrace Nephteros.
I never thought I’d see this girl cry... She strongly believed that she had to protect this girl. And so, Chastille took a quick survey of her surroundings and bit down on her lip. This was a forest on the outskirts of Kianoides. It was a separate forest from the one Zagan’s castle was located in, and didn’t have any monsters or dangerous creatures living in it. Merchants and travelers even used it for passage during their travels. Bandits showed up sometimes, but that was why the church had patrols in the area.
And that patrol had encountered a monster. The Angelic Knights who formed a small party of six were all defeated, save for the one who went to get reinforcements. Chastille could tell at a glance that most of them were already dead, too. The one responsible for that seemed to be a synthetic creature created by sorcery rather than a mere monster. It was wearing an old rag for a robe, but it possessed such a large body that everyone present had to look up at it. The robe was unable to conceal the countless number of limbs jutting out of it, but they were not the limbs of a spider, but clearly that of a human.
Its physical repulsiveness spurred on an urge to vomit. But more than that, it filled Chastille with anger, making her blood boil.
“Richard, take care of the girl. Knights of the Azure Sky, follow me. We’re bringing down this monster!” Chastille called out to the knights she had brought with her.
“Gladly!”
“Dodge it, Chastille!” Nephteros let out a sharp cry as the Archangel leaped forward. Chastille looked up, and saw that the monster’s head, which should have been split clean in two, had regenerated, and it was gathering a light of its own.
It’s trying to fire something!? Even if she were to reflexively jump out of the way, Nephteros was there right behind her. If Chastille dodged, Nephteros would die.
Then... I’ll just cut it down here! The moment she made that choice, Chastille drew the Sacred Sword from her back.
“Shine — Sacred Sword Azrael!”
Chastille called out its name, which wreathed the Sacred Sword in light. Immediately following that, a ray of mana fired out of the monster’s head. Just like how Raphael’s Metatron manipulated flames, Azrael’s power was light. The Sacred Sword’s light intercepted the monster’s ray head on, and bisected it clean in two. And before long, the ray simply vanished, and all that was left was a cold breeze.
Azrael was capable of cutting even light itself. And perhaps having deemed the Sacred Sword as a threat, the monster lowered its body, slammed several of its limbs into the ground, and leaped a good distance backward. That enormous body, which at a rough estimate seemed to weigh several hundred kilos, fluttered in the air lightly.
Its agility is quite troublesome... No matter how much it looked like a monster, those thin limbs didn’t seem capable of supporting its large frame. It was surely using sorcery or some power similar to keep itself upright. In that case, there was a possibility that it was capable of using sorcery as well. It would be disadvantageous to keep it at a distance in that case. And after calmly observing the situation, Chastille barked out orders.
“Knights of the Azure Sky, sever its limbs!”
“By your will!”
The first to charge in was an Angelic Knight wielding a greatshield, Ryan. The monster raised one of its arms overhead, and brought it down to crush him. It looked like a powerless blow, but felt powerful enough that it reminded him of Zagan’s fist.
“How impudent!” Ryan caught the blow from the front, and twisted his wrist to avert the blow to the side with a parry. The first strike from the monster ended in vain, and created a sudden opening. Then, Ryan raised his shield back up and rammed into the monster with a shield bash, making it lean back greatly.
“Now! Do it, Torres, Alfred!”
“Aye!” Torres and Alfred were already rushing in behind Ryan with a spear and longsword at the ready. And without allowing the opening made by the monster staggering to pass, they severed its limbs. Not even ten seconds had passed since Chastille let her orders loose, and the monster was rooted to the spot. Back in the day, these three were kicked about by Zagan, but this much was but a trifle to them. It was simply a matter of Zagan being too strong.
“Well done! Let’s put an end to this — Azrael!” Chastille gathered light around her Sacred Sword once more and charged in. After bringing her blade straight down at the monster’s face and splitting it apart, her blade turned and cut its torso. However, her continuous strikes didn’t simply end there. Next was a horizontal cut to the neck, from the shoulder to the torso, from the torso to its legs, and one more flash across its far too enormous body. The only thing a normal person could see was a single flash of light. In an instant, Chastille unleashed several dozen slashes.
“You did it!”
One of the Angelic Knights shouted in joy. However, Chastille’s face showed no signs of reveling in victory.
What’s with this feedback...? It was like there was no sensation from cutting anything at all. A strike from the all too sharp Sacred Sword would have even been slightly hindered when passing through a sheet of paper. However, she didn’t even feel anything like that just now. That was why Chastille was unsure of their victory.
“Not yet! Don’t let your guard down!” Chastille screamed, and a moment later, countless limbs that were tangled up around the monster’s body shot out. And with a repulsive sound akin to all of its joints snapping, those limbs came rushing in not only at Chastille, but the three knights as well.
“Hrk!”
“Wh-What the!?”
The three knights reacted upon hearing Chastille’s voice and each warded off the attacks with their own abilities. However, that wasn’t true for Chastille, who took the attack at point-blank range.
“Tch...” Chastille sword moved at a blistering pace, but each time she cut one down, the next limb would fly out at her.
I can’t... deal with them all...! The number of attacks exceeded Chastille’s speed even though she was extolled as the fastest among the Archangels. And finally, one of the attacks that she was unable to fend off went straight for her completely open torso.
I’m done for! Chastille though as her body stiffened...
“Selini Chavliodous...”
A faint, fleeting voice echoed around them. However, her Sacred Sword let out a dazzling light in reaction to that voice, and rainbow-colored crystals burst out from its tip.
What’s this power? It wasn’t the power of the Sacred Sword, that much was certain. Chastille watched as the monster’s arms, which should have caught Chastille, were smashed to bits by the rain of crystals.
“GYAAAAAAAAAH!”
The monster let out a vile shriek. Then, it distanced itself from Chastille as if it was frightened, and vanished deep into the forest
with a repulsive scuttering sound. After verifying that the monster’s presence was completely gone, Chastille finally lowered her sword.
“It ran away... No, it let us go?” Chastille remarked as she turned over to Nephteros.
She saved me, right...? The crystals that shot out of the Sacred Sword closely resembled the celestial mysticism that Nephteros specialized in. However, Chastille didn’t have the opportunity to ask her about it.
“Nephteros!”
The dark elf seemed to have already lost consciousness and collapsed. After sitting Nephteros up in her arms in a fluster, Chastille’s face stiffened.
“What a terrible fever. She’s also completely drained... If we don’t treat her quickly...” Chastille noticed that Nephteros breath was rough and wheezing, and that she had already lost consciousness.
For her to be in such a state... As far as Chastille knew, aside from Archdemons like Zagan, there weren’t any sorcerers powerful enough to be considered on Nephteros’ level. She prided herself of the mana of a high elf, manipulated celestial mysticism and powerful sorcery, and never showed any mercy. When it came to sheer combat strength, she surely surpassed even Nephy. And yet...
“You three track the chimera... Also, treat the survivors,” Chastille called out to the three knights. They were unfortunately short on hands to accommodate for the dead. And without even needing her order to begin taking action, the three knights began treating their collapsed comrades. Ryan and Alfred then stood up.
“Ryan and I shall track the monster!”
His voice was full of ambition, but his expression was bitter. Torres, who was still treating the injured, then let out a worried voice.
“The fresh recruit who never showed up yesterday... and this monster just now... I wonder if they’re related...”
Yes. The newly appointed priest that was supposed to show up the other day never did appear. They had asked the church’s headquarters about the situation, but had yet to receive a reply. And to reach Kianoides from the church they were dispatched from, one would have to pass through this path.
I don’t want to think that they were attacked by this monster, though... Multiple Angelic Knights had already fallen victim to it. She didn’t want to think of the possibility of there being even more victims than that. After watching Alfred and the others run off after the monster, Chastille looked down at the shadow at her feet and addressed it.
“Barbatos, you’re there, right?”
Her shadow squirmed about after being called out, and an annoyed voice replied to her.
“Huh? The hell you want?”
“Get in touch with Zagan. The monster just now was a chimera. I don’t know who the culprit is, but there’s no mistaking a sorcerer is involved.”
A gloomy face suddenly crept out from the shadow upon hearing her request. As always, he had deep shadows around his eyes. It definitely wasn’t a face one would see on someone virtuous. Even so, he was a sorcerer who possessed enough power to once be counted among the Archdemon candidates, and by some chance, he was now acting as a sort of escort for Chastille.
“Listen here, dammit! Zagan told me to protect you, but I don’t recall becoming your goddamn servant!” Barbatos glared at Chastille in a dissatisfied manner as he said that.
Well, such was a sorcerer. He was only protecting Chastille because it was Zagan’s order and he was being rewarded for it, after all. There wasn’t really anything in it for him, so there was no reason for him to listen to Chastille’s requests.
“I’d like to ask this of you anyway. I feel like this is a race against time. I’ll do anything you want if it’s something I’m capable of, so please...” Chastille lowered her head as she made that pledge, leaving Barbatos staring back at her in wonder.
“Tch, I don’t like it... Well, I ain’t Zagan, but I guess it’s not so bad to have the church owe me one, huh?”
“Thank you. I’m in your debt,” Chastille replied with a smile despite the gloomy mood, leaving Barbatos to stare back at her in wonder once more. And again, he clicked his tongue.
“...I really don’t like the way you are now.”
“Huh...? Did I say something that rubbed you the wrong way?”
Barbatos simply grimaced and remained quiet. Instead, he looked over at the unconscious Nephteros.
“So? It’s fine to just tell him about that chimera?”
“Let’s see. Please inform him about Nephteros as well. I think it would be best for Zagan to shelter her, but there’s the matter of her relationship with Nephy too. For the time being, a simple report should be enough.”
Back at the hidden elven village, it looked to her that their relationship had improved, but Nephy was cursed and in the form of a child at the time. She didn’t know how it would be now.
Bringing her somewhere that would only increase her anxieties when she’s injured like this would also be a bit of a problem... Chastille didn’t know how Barbatos took her request, but he shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah yeah, then I’m off for a— Owowow!”
Just as he began sinking into his shadow, a slender hand grasped his hair.
“Wa...it... Don’t... tell him...”
“Nephteros?”
Nephteros had regained consciousness at some point in time, and was speaking in a delirium.
“But...”
“Pl...ease... I don’t want her... Nephelia... to see... me...”
“I get it, so let go, dammit!”
Chastille thought Nephteros had opened her heart a during the incident the other day, but it seemed there was still a rift between Nephteros and Nephy. And so, left with no other choice, Chastille called out to Barbatos as he was wailing about.
“Understood. Barbatos, only tell Zagan about the Chimera... So Nephteros, could you maybe let go of him now?”
Unfortunately, Nephteros had lost consciousness while still grasping Barbatos’ hair, and it took nearly half an hour to free him from her grip. At that time, Chastille... no, even Nephteros herself didn’t know that even if her life was on the line, Nephteros did not possess enough strength in her body to utilize celestial mysticism.
◇
At the same time, with no means of knowing what was happening on the outskirts of town, Zagan was taking a walk through Kianoides. In an unusual turn of events, neither Nephy nor Foll were with him. He was all alone.
“...Hm? Did something happen?” Zagan muttered to himself. Kianoides belonged to the Angelic Knights, so seeing them quarrel with hoodlums was a daily occurrence. However, today there were several knights with unusually tense expressions running about on horseback. It seemed Zagan wasn’t the only one who noticed the unrest in the air from their countenance, as even the citizens were looking on with anxious faces. There didn’t seem to be any concrete rumors going about yet, but an unpleasant atmosphere began rippling out like a drop of water on a still lake.
This atmosphere reminds me of the day I met Nephy... Back then, Zagan came to an auction with Barbatos, but at the time there was a case of serial kidnappings targeting young women in town, so the mood was rather terse. Incidentally, Zagan was thought to be the culprit, which made him face much prejudice at the time. However, unlike that time, there was no unjust animosity pointed toward Zagan. Also, the people in town were dressed differently. Four months ago, it was pretty common for people to be wearing clothing with their arms exposed, but now all of them were wearing thick coats, and they even had soft mufflers around their necks and gloves on their hands.
It was about time for the season to change in this area. Zagan also felt a chill on his skin, and used sorcery to raise his temperature. If it got genuinely colder in the area, he could probably set up some burning coals made of mana or spread about familiars to make it all go away. It may have been easier for the townspeople to wrap themselves up in more clothing during the winter, but since it was something that could be handled with sorcery, this was how he got through the winter every year.
Foll is
probably fine, but it might be better for me to teach Nephy some sorcery for dealing with the cold... However, even if he was able to fend off the cold, it wasn’t like he could do anything about the unsettling atmosphere. Currently, the one managing the church and Angelic Knights in town was Chastille.
“...Well, if it’s something that she can’t handle on her own, she’ll probably say something.”
Chastille had Barbatos with her. In the worst case scenario, he would at least save her life, and while she was performing her official duties, Chastille wasn’t so incompetent that she would be cornered by any ordinary enemy... Though, of course, it was a different matter when it came to her private life.
I guess for the time being, I’ll just do what I came to do... Zagan’s reason for coming into town was perfectly clear.
“Now then, it seems a date involves walking around town, but where would be best?”
This was a so-called date rehearsal. Thanks to the picture book Foll brought him, Zagan understood that lovers went on dates, but it was still an entirely unknown concept to him. Plus, Nephy also seemed to be totally ignorant of such knowledge. Zagan had to do something about it himself, but he was already confronted with a difficult problem.
Goddammit! The only clothing store I know is Manuela’s shop!
Since Zagan didn’t know the ins and outs of clothing, he always delegated everything to that friendly clerk, but she would always immediately use Nephy as a dress-up doll. He highly doubted it was an appropriate place for a date.
For the time being, he tried watching what shops men accompanied by women were going to, though the couples sprang up in fear as he looked at them. They would buy fruits at the street stalls, and try out various foods, so Zagan tried buying a tasty looking apple himself.
Well, I guess it might not be so bad to walk around with Nephy while eating apples... And, as he began walking while thinking of such things, Zagan suddenly realized something.
“...There’s some kind of dispute going on?”
This was the shopping district, so it was only normal for it to be noisy, but Zagan heard some sort of dispute going on among it all. Even as he took a look around, he couldn’t spot anything that looked like a fight. It also seemed like the other people around him didn’t notice those voices. He likely picked it up because of his enhanced hearing as a sorcerer. Standing on the spot, Zagan listened carefully to isolate the voices.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 5 Page 5