by Fujino Omori
“I don’t know! How am I supposed to know?!” Lilly shouted back.
“Please calm down, you two!” Mikoto said, regaining enough calm to interrupt their quarrel.
As her familia members shouted next to her, Hestia watched the charging Xenos from a distance. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.
This looks like a play…
The plaza was the stage, the townsfolk the audience, and the monsters and adventurers the cast. As the audience screamed at the bloody, cruel fight scene with ever-increasing terror, they seemed to be waiting impatiently for the turning point to arrive.
Just then, the star, the hero of the play, rushed onto the stage—
“—!!”
Hestia looked up. As she gazed at the empty sky, she furiously cursed the deities who must be watching the scene from some distant perch.
“F-Field General?!”
“I know.”
Without so much as a glance at Raul, who was approaching him, Finn took in the scene on the outskirts of the northwestern sector where the monsters had descended.
“This is no different from the Dungeon…” Finn sighed. The night seemed to be one long string of strange occurrences.
He guessed that the enemy’s aim was not to attack an evacuation site…and he sensed the will of an intervening third party in the totally incomprehensible and unacceptable behavior of the monsters. Finn didn’t like it, but he also knew that once things had gone this far, Loki Familia had no choice but to dispatch a unit.
He looked down at his right hand. He was surprised to feel his thumb throbbing slightly.
Is something going on? Or is something about to happen?
As he licked the pad of his thumb, he recalled the words of his patron deity.
“‘Get to the bottom of this with your own two eyes,’ was that it? And so I will.”
“Huh? What did you say, Captain?”
Ignoring Raul, who had overheard his mumbled words, Finn made a decision.
“Raul, I’m going to lead a unit over there.”
“What?! Th’ captain himself? Who will stay here at headquarters and give orders?!”
“I’ll leave that to Riveria and you. Use this chance to redeem yourself.”
“Meeeee?!” Raul shrieked.
Ignoring this dull outburst, Finn quickly set to work. The creature he was most worried about was still alive and well. The prum leader told Aiz and the other first-tier adventurers to remain on alert, then set out toward the northwest, a band of familia members in tow.
“Please do not go toward Main Street! Please follow orders from Ganesha Familia!” Eina shouted. She was desperately trying to hold back the out-of-control townsfolk, though their trampling feet and shouting voices created a roar like a waterfall to drown out her voice.
Although she had headed to Daedalus Street largely for personal reasons, she was now doing her utmost to ensure the safety of the townsfolk here on the outskirts of the northwestern area. At least, she had been until a moment earlier.
Now she was trying to guide people through the chaotic plaza, but she wasn’t sure she was doing any good.
Did the monsters end up here because they were being pursued? But why come to the evacuation site of all places, given the size of Daedalus Street…?
She watched as the monsters took on adventurers in the center of the plaza.
Despite all her knowledge, Eina’s normal role was limited to waiting at Guild Headquarters for adventurers to return. She was filled with just as much fear as the other Guild staff and townsfolk. She willfully tried to steady her shaky hands and feet as she assessed the state of the battle.
That gargoyle is extraordinarily strong!
One after another, not only lower-class adventurers but even those who had leveled up to third tier, and the handful of second-tier adventurers present in the plaza, were thrown back so forcefully they couldn’t get up again. The gargoyle’s stone body was nearly impervious to long-range weapons as well. He was so strong she suspected they wouldn’t be able to take him down without magic.
It was hard to believe, but with Ganesha Familia concentrating on keeping the townsfolk safe, this small band of monsters had the upper hand.
If only Loki Familia would show up…!
Eina watched from the corner of her eye as an adventurer toppled over vomiting blood and was pulled away by a companion, and she prayed for someone to rescue them. At that moment, her eyes met those of the brutal gargoyle.
“—Huh?”
She was certain it was looking at her. She felt like time had stopped. As she gaped at the lifeless stone eyes, she felt like something had reached inside her chest and was clutching her heart.
She did not notice that the purple gems on the bracelet wrapped around her wrist were flashing. Nor did she notice that the gargoyle was concealing the same type of stone in his hand.
She stood rooted in place as the gray stone form flew toward her with a howl.
“OHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
The adventurers looked up in shock at the gargoyle’s sudden movement, while the townsfolk let out screams that rent the air like ripped silk.
The rearguard troops were protecting other people and could not make it to her in time with their shields. Ouka, locked in fierce battle, was struck dumb. As people ran this way and that, disappearing behind the gargoyle, Eina’s green eyes took in the stone claws that were about to pierce her.
“—Aaaah!!”
But someone blocked those talons.
“?!”
“!”
Just as Eina felt death approaching, a purple-blue flash of metal intercepted it.
The white-haired boy had leaped in front of the gargoyle, Hestia Knife drawn.
“B-Bell…”
“Miss Eina, please step back!!” Bell said in a loud, anxious voice.
The dazed Eina, the townsfolk, and the adventurers were all staring at him, but he did not have a speck of attention to spare for them. His entire body was throbbing with a single question: Why?
As Bell silently asked the monster before him that question, the hideous gargoyle seemed to narrow his eyes before flying at Eina once again.
“Gaaahh!”
“Wha—?!”
Bell intercepted his lunge. The hand holding his knife shook at the force of the attack, and a fragment of stone flew from the gargoyle’s claw.
The monster spread his wings and once again aimed for Eina.
Gros?!
As Eina stood riveted to the spot, claws met knife again and again.
Perhaps because the gargoyle’s potential was higher, the Little Rookie was forced into an inferior position. Setting aside their grudges for the moment, other adventurers attempted to support him, but the other winged monsters would not let them get close.
Bell had no choice but to fight back against the gargoyle’s fierce attacks. The threatening growls astonished him.
Has he completely lost his mind?!
He recalled the incident on the eighteenth floor. Right now, the gargoyle looked a lot like he had when his brethren were killed and carried away. Had something happened to them now, too?
“Why?…What happened?!”
“…”
The monster did not answer Bell. Only his claws and fangs responded.
As he listened to Bell’s bewildered voice, the gargoyle—Gros—pushed down his emotions and swiped his claws through the air.
He was as rational as ever.
His outer form as a monster hid a commitment to an agreement.
Within his stone hand, he gripped a sparkling jewel that resonated with Eina’s bracelet.
“Die for me, maverick monsters.”
That was what the sinister god had said to Gros and the other Xenos.
“What?!” Lido answered, uncomprehending.
“God Hermes, what are you asking?!” Fels added after regaining the ability to speak.
Hermes responded as if it was the most trifling matter in the
world.
“Oh, not everyone needs to die. I’d say three or four of you should do.”
His unwavering smile struck terror into the hearts of the Xenos. The deusdea were different from both humans and monsters, and the Xenos found them horrifying without exception.
“I am Hermes. I will hold up my end of the agreement I made with Ouranos—half of it, at least.”
He narrowed his long, tapering yellow-orange eyes and curved his lips up.
“As for the other half, I’ll consider that payback.”
He looked the Xenos over.
“To save the lot of you, a boy has been put in a difficult situation. I just can’t bring myself to tolerate that.”
“…!”
“Were you planning to go home just like that after all he’s done for you? ‘We’re sorry, thank you, you really saved us.’ Were you just going to slink back underground with a few shallow words of appreciation? Now, now, even we fickle deities wouldn’t act so insincere.”
His words were a means of negotiating, and they also resembled the skillful lines of a man gently deceiving his lover. But more than anything, they were a poison that widened the Xenos’s wounds until they festered with pus.
Sure enough, the Xenos turned pale and groaned with guilt.
“God Hermes!!”
Fels’s fists were clenched in fury.
The mage was not angry at Hermes’s betrayal but outraged that the god’s divine will was trampling on the hearts of the Xenos and the decision Bell had made of his own accord. But Hermes had no interest in such opinions.
“Let me guess, Fels—you want to tell me that Bell made that decision himself? You’re wrong. You’ve become ensnared in your own situation and in the divine will of Ouranos. Bell had no other options.”
He swept aside Fels’s words before they were even spoken. To him, they were nonsense from a mere child of eight hundred years. He, on the other hand, could see the difference between Bell’s subjective truth and the real nature of the situation.
“The world needs heroes, and I’ve bet everything on that shining white light. He can’t be allowed to have dealings with monsters…Oh no, that would never do.”
Fels stood frozen in astonishment at the god’s divine will.
“I, Hermes, ask this of you, maverick monsters. Save the boy.”
His whispered words were half entreaty, half deception.
“…You’re asking us to attack him?” Gros said, to the gasps of the other Xenos.
“You really catch on quick.”
“I’ll go.”
“Gros?”
“I don’t think the boy will fight against Lido or Rei or you others. Since I used to abhor humans, I’m best for this role.”
“But, Gros, that means you’ll—”
“Any way you look at it, we don’t have a choice.”
Lido and Rei surrounded Gros, who had been their companion since the Xenos first joined together, but he shook his head. Hermes threw them a sidelong glance, silently affirming the gargoyle’s words with his smile.
The other Xenos clenched their fangs and hung their heads.
“Brave gargoyle, tell me your name.”
“…Gros.”
“Thank you, Gros. Although you are a monster, I shall call you by your name.”
He removed his hat respectfully. Then he handed Gros a purple jewel.
“What is this…?”
“Insurance. It’s quite likely that Bell, that nice boy, won’t raise his knife against you even if you attack him. A person he cares deeply about will activate this item. Please attack her first.”
The item maker standing behind her patron deity gasped as if she detested him.
Gros gazed at the jewel.
“I understand…” he said, squeezing it in the stone skin of his hand.
“The girl I am speaking of is most likely in the northwest section of the Labyrinth District. I want you to bring chaos there first. There will be many of those humans you hate so much…but I would appreciate if you don’t kill any of them.”
“You ask for much…” Gros spit out. Then he looked around at Lido and the others. “It’s a promise. Save my brethren,” he said to Hermes.
“Now, now, I am Hermes after all. I keep my end of any bargain.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Gros said, turning his back to the god and spreading his wings.
Joined by three other winged monsters who offered up their lives alongside him, Gros retraced his steps through the underground passage and took off into the sky above the Labyrinth District.
So this is how I will repay him.
Gros laughed to himself as he flew at Bell and Eina.
In spite of Gros’s former hostility, Bell had rescued his brethren, and now Gros was paying with his life for what Bell had done. It was terribly ironic. But perhaps it was fitting that one who had detested mankind as the vilest of creatures should pay in this way.
Especially if he met his end at the hands of a human he had come to be a bit fond of.
Don’t second-guess yourself, boy.
He’d told Lido and the others that they were not to begrudge the boy for this.
Gros flapped his wings monstrously at Bell, who was grimacing like a child trying to tolerate pain.
Pretending to be mad with fury, playing the role of a violent monster, the gargoyle bellowed for the boy to sink his knife into the magic stone in his chest.
If you don’t, I’ll kill the girl—!!
Roaring hideously to urge Bell into fiercer battle, Gros swung down his claws.
“Bell…!”
Hestia and the others had arrived at the plaza-turned-battlefield.
Fewer adventurers were fighting hard now, but the plaza was still filled with trapped townsfolk. And there was Bell, over in one corner, locked in battle with Gros as he protected Eina behind him.
Eina seemed on the verge of tears as she watched Bell suffer blow after blow. She was desperately trying to get away so as to free him from the burden of protecting her, but the stone wings would not let her pass. The gargoyle’s attacks from the air made the battle completely unpredictable.
“Bell…!”
“Mr. Bell!”
Welf, Lilly, Mikoto, and Haruhime were at a loss for what to do. Was it okay to help Bell? Was it okay to attack the Xenos? They had no idea.
Hestia, who was standing beside her bewildered children, was equally unable to make a decision.
Should I tell Bell about Hermes’s scheme? But if I do that…!
Hermes had coerced the Xenos into something. But what would be the outcome if she told Bell?
It seemed likely that if things continued as they were, Gros would really kill Eina. Hestia didn’t know the terms of the agreement that the Xenos had made with Hermes. If the lives of their kin had been taken as pawns, then her words would only plunge Bell’s heart into chaos.
“Support troops are on their way! Keep holding out!”
The words of the adventurer only spurred on Bell’s agitation.
Hestia gripped the oculus she had withdrawn from her bag.
At almost the same moment Hestia and her familia arrived at the plaza, a Loki Familia unit led by Finn emerged onto a rooftop overlooking the area.
“What’s going on?”
“The evacuation of townsfolk is still not complete! Adventurers from other factions are fighting the monsters—and so is the Little Rookie…”
As one of his familia members reported on the situation, Finn narrowed his eyes and fixed them on the boy and the gargoyle.
“…Take your positions. Ground troops, keep them in check. We’ll stay here and prevent them from flying off.”
“Yes, sir!”
Bows were readied in response to the faction leader’s command.
Just then, a murmur was beginning to ripple through crowds trapped on the edge of the plaza.
“The Little Rookie…”
“…The Little Rookie? You mean Bell C
ranell?”
The adventurer they were pointing at was risking his life to save the half-elf. The brave boy had walked gallantly into the most difficult of situations. With their own well-being at risk, people dropped their malice and disappointment and instead watched the scene unfolding before them with clear eyes.
“B-big brother…”
Even the little boy who had cursed him as a traitor now whispered his name in awe.
A change began to sweep over the crowd, which up till then had been consumed by pure panic.
“Good timing, young Bell. Ah, this is very fortunate.”
In a high tower near the plaza where the night winds howled, Hermes gazed contentedly down on the battle between the gargoyle and the white-haired boy.
Asfi stood behind him. Hiding her tired eyes behind her silver glasses, she sighed for the umpteenth time.
“You may be my patron deity, but you make me nauseous…”
“Ha-ha-ha. That’s quite harsh, Asfi.” Hermes laughed without turning his head. She glared fixedly at him.
“You’re using the Xenos for the sake of Bell Cranell…I’ll give you that. But what do you have to say about dragging ordinary townsfolk into it?”
“In one sense, those ordinary townsfolk are the root cause of the situation he is currently in. A little staging is necessary, after all, wouldn’t you agree?”
There was the theater and the audience, the hero and the supporting players tasked with drawing out his best performance. As Hestia had suspected, Hermes had created a stage on a grand scale. He shrugged and glanced over his shoulder.
“Anyway, you agree with my decision to abandon the Xenos, don’t you?”
After all, they would only bring harm to both the boy and the city of Orario.
Asfi remained silent as her patron deity sought her affirmation with his eyes.
“…I’ll take my position now,” she finally said.
“Right. Rearguard, just in case.”
Hermes waved at Asfi, who was now invisible after slipping on the Hermes Head.
After she silently left the tower roof, Hermes smiled down on the scene below.
“Well…my apologies, Ouranos. Sorry it turned out like this.”
He watched as the boy and the gargoyle flew at each other.
“Coexisting with monsters, you say? Utter nonsense. Friendship with them is no more than a pipe dream,” he said, continuing his imaginary conversation with the aged god.