Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 5

by Ennki Hakari

  Sadly, stopping wasn’t an option. If we rested here in the middle of the prairie, we’d quickly be left behind and wouldn’t know how to catch up to the group.

  Besides, no one else seemed keen on taking a break.

  The warriors around us seethed with anger and a desire to slaughter the giants that had attacked their comrades. They also seemed quite used to riding long distances and didn’t show any of the discomfort or pre-battle jitters that Ariane was having.

  I glanced over at Goemon to see how he was holding up. As expected, he was his usual, stoic self.

  Chiyome was standing on the saddle behind him, steadying herself on the heaving mount by holding Goemon’s shoulders. They looked a little like a circus act, though part of me wondered if this was Chiyome’s way of combatting the same troubles that afflicted Ariane’s rear.

  The warriors of the tiger clan riding near us also seemed to take great interest in Chiyome.

  Meanwhile, Ponta excitedly waved its cotton-like tail to and fro from above my head as it looked out at all the troops. It tapped the top of my helmet excitedly and mewed to get my attention.

  “Kyiii! Kyi!”

  I turned my gaze to the head of the column and spotted a camp sitting atop a small hill in front of us. A moment later, I noticed the outline of a giant lumbering along, gnawing away at the upper torso of a member of the tiger clan.

  It let out an awful, unearthly shriek.

  The warriors shouted out epithets as soon as they caught sight of their murdered comrade, their thirst for blood rising by the second.

  “You bastards!”

  The moment my eyes focused on it, the giant let out another cry that caused the ground beneath us to tremble.

  “Ugraaaaaouuu! Graooooaaaaawll!!!”

  Despite its human appearance, the dark giant’s scream sounded less like words and more like a beast’s call. It raised its massive stone hammer and began running straight toward us.

  Other dark giants wandering around the camp responded to the cry, raising their own weapons and rushing forward.

  In total, I counted five giants coming toward us and five or so hanging back at the camp, searching for something. This was nowhere near the thirty giants the injured boy had spoken of.

  The chieftains near the front also seemed to notice this discrepancy and began scanning our surroundings, looking for other giants.

  However, as I looked out at the vast plains, I couldn’t spot any hills or other features large enough for twenty giants to hide behind.

  Chieftain Houwe, the leader of this impromptu hunting party, directed the charge straight toward the oncoming giant by waving his weapon around in the air and pointing it straight ahead at our target. All of the warriors behind him let out a war cry and raised their own weapons in response.

  “Hooaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

  One by one, the tiger clan warriors broke from formation to make passes at the dark giant’s legs, slashing as they flew by.

  I heard a dull thud as each weapon found its mark. The dark giants returned the favor, swinging their weapons with powerful arms, the earth erupting with each missed blow.

  It wasn’t long before the tiger clan began taking casualties. But all wasn’t lost. One of the tiger clan warriors scored a critical blow on one of the dark giants’ feet, causing it to lose its balance and fall to the ground.

  The warriors wasted no time swarming the fallen giant, thrusting with their weapons. It seemed to me like they had the numbers to take on these five giants alone, so I decided to go after the remaining five back at the camp and use my magic to wipe them out.

  I tugged my driftpus to a stop so I could begin casting my spell. Ariane let out a sigh of relief as she slipped out of the saddle. She scowled as she rubbed her tenderized backside. Apparently, it had taken more of a beating than I’d thought.

  I turned my gaze toward Goemon and Chiyome, who’d realized what I was doing and were coming to join us.

  I decided to use the same summon magic I’d used in the battle against the hydra. I had quite a few area-of-effect spells, but I worried that if I were to cast one on the camp, I’d risk wiping out any survivors hiding in the surrounding area.

  But as I learned back in Leibnizche, there were no assurances once I unleashed a demon. This time, I figured the safer method was to use a demon that performed a more benign function: drawing the giants away from the camp. Or at least, that was my hope.

  “I’m going to wipe out the giants at the camp. Ariane, I want you to wait here for me.”

  “Wait, what?”

  I took off toward a small clearing and called forth my summoning spell.

  A large, magical rune appeared on the ground in front of me and began glowing. I focused my mind on the demon I wanted to join me on the battlefield.

  Back in the game, I only used a small selection of demons, neglecting many of the others I’d collected, so it took me a moment to recall its name.

  “Hmm, I swear it was on the tip of my tongue…”

  I was certain I had a lower-class demon with all sorts of skills for weakening and debuffing my enemies. The rune continued glowing patiently as I frantically searched my memory. Unfortunately, the only names that came to mind were those of high-level demons. I wracked my brain to no avail.

  Ariane called out to me. “You aren’t actually thinking of calling forth another monster to fight these giants, are you?”

  She sounded worried that the tiger camp would be a repeat of the Hilk church destruction back in Leibnizche. I might be a tad absent-minded, but I wouldn’t forget something that serious. But at this point, it would probably be easier to fight the rest of the giants one by one than stand around trying to come up with the right spell. In the midst of my doubts, I caught sight of a shadow flying past Ariane, coming straight toward me.

  Ariane sensed the movement as well and spun around to face the oncoming figure, but she wasn’t fast enough. I shoved her out of the way just before she could be struck by its glowing blade.

  The incoming attacker didn’t slow as it closed in on me, driving its blade straight through the gap between my chest armor and helmet, right into the cavity of my skull. I lost focus, and the summoning rune faded away.

  Fortunately, Ponta had been absorbed in the unfolding battle and had been sitting atop my head, well out of harm’s way. If my little companion had been wrapped around my neck, as it usually was in combat, well…I don’t want to think about what might have happened.

  Instead, startled by the sudden attack, Ponta summoned up a large gust of wind, flying high into the sky.

  The wind ruffled the hood of the assassin’s heavy black cloak.

  “Ooomph!”

  “Hah?!”

  Sensing my opening, since my opponent’s sword was still stuck in my helmet, I summoned all my strength and swung my fist. But I only caught air as my opponent jumped deftly back.

  “Arc!” Ariane called out to me, her face clouded with worry. I waved my hand to let her know I was okay.

  Ariane looked incredulous at my dismissive gesture, but then a look of understanding washed over her face as she recalled that my armor was essentially empty. Her amethyst cheeks flushed in embarrassment at having screamed out my name like that.

  To be fair, the blow would have been fatal if I were in my elven form. I wondered if my opponent realized that their sword had struck a hollow cavity.

  My cloaked opponent came running back in, a sword extending from each hand and red eyes glowing brightly from deep within their hood.

  “Whaugh!”

  “Arc!”

  Ariane tried standing up, but grimaced in pain. I must have pushed her a little too hard. After all that time in the saddle, she’d probably pulled a muscle in her lower back.

  Maybe this was for the better though. Our opponent was clearly powerful, and facing off against them could put Ariane in danger.

  Worse, I wasn’t even armed. My sword and shield were still on the driftpus, since I hadn’t
expected I’d need them while summoning a magic spell. Even with the rest of the tiger clan fighting nearby, I had to admit that this was a novice mistake.

  A loud metallic clang echoed around me as I felt a sword strike my armored gauntlet. They were fast, and easily managed to evade my feeble attempts to strike back. However, they still seemed to be unaware of the fact that there was nothing but a skeleton inside my suit of armor. Once again, they thrust a sword into a gap in my armor and hit nothing but air.

  I saw another opening and threw my whole body behind a punch aimed straight at their face. The air whooshed around my fist as I came within a hair’s breadth of hitting my mark. But even though I missed, the wind caused my opponent to lose their balance temporarily.

  I launched another punch, in the hopes of finishing them off, though once again my fist met nothing but air. They leaped high into the air, over my head, and landed behind me. I wasn’t expecting to end up fighting the chef of the infamous straw hat pirates out here.

  Both swords came straight for my neck, crossed at the hilts like a giant pair of scissors. Even though my armor was mostly empty, I wasn’t eager to find out what would happen if the bones in my neck were severed. All I could do was let the fates decide which was stronger: my opponent’s offensive abilities, or my bones.

  Or so I thought. My opponent leaped high into the air and landed behind me again, trying to beat a hasty retreat. Suddenly, I heard a heavy clang.

  “Arc, are you okay?”

  Chiyome ran up to me. She’d just saved me from certain doom.

  “Thanks, Chiyome.”

  I felt a cold sweat run down my back—even though I knew this was technically impossible—as I let out a sigh of relief. I rubbed my neck to make sure it was still connected to my body.

  The would-be assassin lowered their swords and stood by silently, their dark cloak billowing in the wind. A large gash ran down it, likely caused by Chiyome’s attack.

  The assassin yanked away their hood, revealing a man with pointy, animal-like ears sprouting out of a head covered in black hair. His skin was a light shade of blue, and he had glowing red eyes.

  With his tail hidden underneath his cloak, I couldn’t quite tell his species, but judging by his ears alone, he appeared to be feline, like Chiyome and Goemon.

  As soon as he revealed his face, Chiyome broke from her usual calm demeanor and let out a cry.

  “S-Sasuke?!”

  Judging by her trembling voice and the look of shock on her face, I was able to put two and two together. Sasuke was the name of one of the Jinshin clan’s six great fighters, and the man that Chiyome looked up to like an older brother.

  Assuming this was the same Sasuke, that raised a lot of questions. What he was doing down here on this continent, and specifically all the way out in the prairie? And why was he trying to kill us?

  Chiyome’s face suggested that this man was the real Sasuke. And in case there was any doubt, Goemon’s surprised expression confirmed it.

  “What are you doing here, Sasuke? And why do you look like that?” Chiyome’s voice was unsteady.

  Sasuke’s red eyes narrowed as he readied his dual blades. It was as if he hadn’t even heard what Chiyome said.

  “Fwauaaaaaauuugh! Ngraaaaaaww!”

  Out of nowhere, the five dark giants lumbering around the camp broke into a mad dash, charging straight toward us. The tiger clan warriors finishing up the first batch of giants spread out at the sight of the newcomers, but it quickly became apparent that the giants were only interested in us.

  Sasuke glanced at the oncoming giants then back at me. He jumped high into the air, did a somersault, and ran off. Chiyome took off after him.

  “S-Sasuke, wait up! Just what’s going on here?”

  But the older man was far too fast for Chiyome, and he quickly outpaced her.

  Goemon came up behind Chiyome and wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, putting an end to her pursuit.

  “Get your hands off meeee, Goemon! Let! Me! Gooo!”

  The young girl squirmed about to no avail. As Sasuke grew smaller and smaller in the distance, Goemon spoke to her in a low, steady voice.

  “Look closely, little one. He’s not the man he used to be.”

  I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that, not being a member of the Jinshin clan myself.

  Chiyome, however, seemed to understand. She went silent, casting her gaze down at her feet. Though her expression didn’t give much away, I could tell that whatever happened, it was a big deal.

  Ariane broke the silence. “Arc, over there!”

  Off in the distance, I could see the dark giants, who only moments ago had been rushing toward us, fleeing in the direction Sasuke had gone, wailing as they ran. It was almost like he’d been…a decoy.

  But it didn’t make sense. With all the tiger clan warriors around, why would they suddenly change direction and chase after Sasuke? Had they been looking for him all along?

  “Just what’s going on here?”

  But I could hardly hear my own question, as my voice was drowned out by the cries of the tiger clan outside the camp.

  Judging from all the cheering, the last giant had finally fallen.

  Chapter 4:

  The Fall of Tagent

  Before us stood the remains of what had once been a small tiger clan camp in the middle of the Kuwana Prairie.

  The giants in the Black Forest off to the south were slowly making their way up north, laying waste to tiger clan camps as they went. Or at least, that’s what I’d been told by the tiger clan warriors after they finished slaying the dark giants outside the camp.

  They were currently searching the ruins in the hopes of finding survivors. But by the dark looks on their faces, it seemed as if prospects were grim. After all, it hadn’t been a large camp to begin with, and it had been attacked by ten dark giants.

  That made the boy who’d come to the Ena clan seeking help was the sole survivor of this tragedy.

  The warriors had been in high spirits just moments ago, after killing the last of the giants, but that mood quickly soured as they came face to face with the fate of their comrades.

  While I had access to magic spells that could revive the dead, they were of little use here, given that almost all the victims were either missing heads or were just heads—and even more of them were likely half-digested in the giants’ stomachs. I’d already learned my lesson about trying to bring back people who were too far gone after attempting to revive soldiers slaughtered during a bandit raid.

  The heavy silence and looks of mourning on Chiyome’s and Goemon’s faces made the whole situation feel as if we were at a wake. Neither Chiyome nor Goemon had said a word since Sasuke ran off. Sure, they were both usually reserved, but this was something else entirely.

  Ariane seemed lost as to what she could possibly say and simply frowned as she watched the two of them. I called out to her, striving to keep my tone light.

  “How’re your legs and back doing?”

  Ariane’s expression lightened a bit. She rubbed her lower back.

  “They’re much better now. Thanks, Arc.”

  Of course, her lower back was never really the problem to begin with, but it didn’t seem appropriate for me to ask a woman about the trauma her backside had taken from riding in a saddle for so long.

  More importantly, it hardly seemed like the time to be making jokes.

  Besides, I was pretty sure that my recovery magic wouldn’t have much of an effect on sore butts. Though, if it did, it’d be pretty handy to just cast a spell from time to time to make such long rides more bearable.

  I spotted Chieftain Houwe of the Ena clan and five other warriors approaching us.

  All of them were absolute pillars of fitness, their bodies rippling with muscles and adorned with various styles of battle dress, the likes of which were unseen on the rest of the warriors. I figured these were the six chieftains.

  Despite standing right in front of me, Houwe’s gaze was
focused on Chiyome and Goemon as he spoke in a heavy tone.

  “Arc, you said that these cat people accompanying you come from the northern continent, yes?”

  I was a bit confused by his question, but nodded my head anyway.

  “The rest of the giants lurking around the camp ran off after a cat person who suddenly showed up.”

  Even in the middle of an intense battle, a few people had apparently seen what was going on with us. Anger washed over Houwe’s face.

  “Why did the giants chase after this person? Did he bring them to our camp in the first place?!”

  For a moment, I wasn’t sure why he was asking me this. But the answer soon became clear.

  Another man—one of the chieftains perhaps—leaned in close and began yelling at Chiyome.

  “You can’t talk your way out of this! This little girl, she knows the bastard, doesn’t she?! One of my men saw her talking to him!”

  Apparently, their exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed. Technically speaking, there hadn’t really been any sort of conversation per se. However, I doubted they were interested in such semantics.

  Goemon stepped between Chiyome and the yelling chieftain, glaring at the other man. While the tiger clan chieftain had height on his side, the light emanating from Goemon’s body made him look the more powerful of the two.

  Probably thinking that the glow came from the power of the spirits, the chieftain took a step back, but he still looked as angry as ever. Goemon, however, showed no fear. He glanced back at Chiyome again, then addressed the chieftains in a booming voice.

  “That man used to be one of us, but no longer.”

  Goemon’s words caused Chiyome’s shoulders to perk up, though her eyes still remained downcast.

  “How can we believe a word you say? And why are outsiders joining us on the field of battle in the first place?!”

  The nearby warriors all focused their piercing gazes on me. While I was the one who’d asked Chieftain Houwe to let us join him in combat, the hunting party had come together too quickly for him to explain to the others why he’d agreed. Aene, chieftain of the Whilee clan, knew the general story, but the majority of the people had no idea what had brought us all the way out here.