by Dojyomaru
Catching a look at my face, Hal spun around the arm he held his short spear with. “You probably don’t have to be that worried. Sure, he’s the king of Malmkhitan, but that’s just one country in the Union of Eastern Nations. Sure, he’s strong, so I can understand why you’re on guard. Still, if he picks a fight with the kingdom, he’s not going to be winning it single-handedly.”
“Hal...”
“You have me, Ruby, Kaede, Young Miss Aisha, Young Miss Naden, and fifty thousand soldiers with you. So you can just sit there and act confident.” Hal thumped his chest as if to say, Leave it to me.
Maybe he was trying to reassure me.
It was true: no matter how powerful a warrior he might be, I didn’t think there was any way Fuuga could take us on as an individual. The man might be able to wreak havoc alone, but the kingdom had more than a hundred times his thousand soldiers. If he was just strong, there were any number of ways to handle him.
But... I had a feeling there was more to him than just that. If I looked down upon him as the king of a petty state, I felt like that was going to come back and bite me hard.
Aisha and Naden chimed in.
“I will risk my life to protect you, sire,” Aisha declared.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m tougher than that tiger, anyway,” Naden added.
...Fair enough. I was uneasy, but when everyone said to leave it to them, that lightened my spirits just a little.
“Thanks, Aisha, Naden. You, too, Hal. Sorry to worry you.”
“I’m telling you, just leave it to us,” Hal said proudly. “Though, I’ll admit, this is kinda unexpected.”
“Unexpected?”
“Yeah. You’re fond of guys with crazy talents like his, right? Usually, I’d expect you to want to recruit him.” He looked a bit mystified.
I shook my head with a wry smile. “What I’m looking for is capable people who are willing to move forward, matching their pace with mine. There are limits to what I can do alone, after all. I want to support a large number of highly capable people. But... that’s not a man who would work under someone else, or match his pace with anyone else, is he?”
I didn’t have the strongest intuition. I couldn’t look at someone and tell how strong they were the way that Aisha and some of the others could. Still, the moment I’d seen Fuuga’s face, I’d sensed it.
That guy’s BAD NEWS.
It wasn’t an emotion or my experience; it was something like an instinct that was setting off warning bells.
“We can’t afford to make assumptions with that man,” I went on. “If I started to think he was following me, I might find myself subservient to him before I knew it. If I try to use him, I’ll be used myself, and if I try to walk beside him, I’ll find myself being dragged along. That’s the sense I get. I can’t word it well, but we’re probably not very compatible.”
“Not compatible, huh...”
It seemed like Fuuga had sensed something similar, too. When he’d looked at me, he’d said I might drag him down into the mud, and that he felt like I came out of a different framework than him.
Unlike me, he’d shown no signs of this bothering him, which said a lot about Fuuga’s natural strength.
Even if we were feeling the same thing, I was weak, so I felt a strong sense of alarm, while Fuuga was strong, so it wasn’t leaving a lasting impression on him.
At that very moment, Fuuga, who was leading the way, turned back, making a U-turn to come back to us. We stopped where we were for a moment, and Fuuga pointed downward.
“Souma,” he said. “I’ve been watching the state of the battle, and it looks like the defenders are about to break on the west side. I’m going to support them a bit, so do you mind if I only lead you this far?”
“Got it. Wedan Castle’s just a stone’s throw from here. If you’d like, should we send some of our people, too?”
Fuuga shouldered his crescent blade and let out a hearty laugh. “That’d help. We should be able to wrap this up quick.”
“Halbert,” I ordered. “Take half the wyvern cavalry and support Sir Fuuga.”
“Roger!”
“I’ll be going on ahead,” Fuuga announced.
No sooner had he said that than he slapped Durga on the back, beginning his rapid descent to the battlefield below.
“Us, too, then...” Halbert began.
“Wait, Hal,” I interrupted.
Seeing him about to follow Fuuga, I felt uncertainty all over.
I beckoned Hal to come closer, having Naden use her tail to pull their bodies close together.
With the distance closed, I told a dubious-looking Hal, “Hal, if you feel yourself being dragged along by Fuuga, remember Kaede and Ruby’s faces.”
“Huh? Was that really worth calling me over to say?”
Hal had a doubtful look on his face, but I nodded.
“It’s important. I feel like you and Fuuga are similar. When people are close to those who are similar to them, they notice it, and they’re either attracted or repelled. They can get dragged along, in other words.”
“Huh? Not sure I get it, but... you’re serious here, right?”
I put on a serious face to make sure he knew I meant it.
“...Okay,” Hal said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Right. Ruby, you look after Hal, too.”
“Roger that.”
“Hey, that’s my line!” Naden cried indignantly.
With a laugh at Naden’s indignation, Hal and Ruby led about fifty wyvern cavalry to follow Fuuga.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Looks like... they’re fighting hard down there,” Halbert commented.
As Halbert and his men began their descent to the ground to follow Fuuga, the united forces of the Union of Eastern Nations were managing to hold back the diverse group of monsters somehow.
The soldiers of the Union of Eastern Nations were staying put in an encampment meant for field battles that was surrounded by fences and abatises (a line of sharp wooden stakes and the boughs of trees pointing outward), while archers and mages attacked with bows and magic.
This was probably a valid tactic against monsters which used no strategy or tactics, diving in without regard for their own losses. However, these monsters were intensely driven, and the fences had been broken down in some places.
The shield bearers kept clustering at the breaches, quickly plugging them, and then the ranged attack units would keep the monsters in check while the fence was rebuilt.
They would resume long ranged attacks from behind the fence, and while the enemy was confused, cavalry or other high mobility troops would come out, defeat whatever had slipped through, and pull out. That was the process that had been carried out repeatedly.
The union’s forces were made up from the armed forces of a variety of countries, but because they were all using the same tactics, they were managing to coordinate fairly well.
Halbert was impressed despite himself. “The union forces are doing pretty... Hm?”
A sudden commotion was coming from the battlefield.
When he looked in the direction of the voices, he could see something approaching the defenders on the west side.
“That’s... a rhinosaurus?” Halbert wondered.
“Were rhinosauruses that hideous?” Ruby frowned.
There was a massive creature below, one that resembled the rhinosauruses used to carry freight in the kingdom. However, Ruby was right: this rhinosaurus looked very different from the ones in the kingdom. The horn on its upper jaw was disfigured, its body sagged as if rotten, and its flesh was exposed in places, so perhaps it ought to have been called a zombie rhinosaurus.
There were several of those zombie rhinosauruses heading for the encampment on the west side.
The commotion was the screams of soldiers terrified by it.
“That’s not good,” Halbert said worriedly. “I dunno if it’s living or dead from the way it looks, but if it hits the encampment with a big body li
ke that, it’ll break through easily. It’s even a threat to fortress walls.”
“You’re right,” Ruby said. “We have to stop it.”
Just as Halbert was about to tell his wyvern cavalry, “We’re going to intercept,” he saw Fuuga, who had gone on ahead, ready his crescent blade.
Fuuga kicked his stirrups into Durga the white tiger’s belly, making his partner charge at the zombie rhinosaurus.
“Ah! Hey! Damn it!” Hal shouted. “We’re going in, too!”
Halbert and his men hurried to follow. As for Fuuga, meanwhile...
“Ha ha ha! Here’s a target worth taking down!”
Yeah, he kept Durga running onward with glee.
Just as the zombie rhinosaurus was about to hit the west side encampment and blow their fences and abatises away, Fuuga came down from right above it.
“Those guys from the kingdom in the south are watching. Let’s give ’em a real show!”
And Fuuga’s crescent blade began sparking with electricity.
Fuuga drove Durga on, and when they landed on the back of one of the zombie rhinosauruses that was threatening the encampment, he swung the blade down at its back.
Kerbang!
There was a sound like the air being torn apart, and a thick bolt of lightning pierced the zombie rhinosaurus.
It opened a big, smoking hole maybe six meters across in the enormous rhinosaurus’s back.
It was hard to tell if the zombie rhinosaurus was living or dead to begin with, but putting a big hole in its body seemed to have killed it, and its sudden loss of life caused it to trip and slide along the ground with its inertia.
Even Fuuga’s allies were shocked and surprised by the strike.
The defenders who saw the flash of lightning the closest lost their voices at first, and when they came to their senses at last, they were mad with glee that a powerful enemy had been downed, cheering uproariously.
Halbert and his people were just as surprised.
“To think a human could fire off an electric shock on Naden’s level...” Ruby remarked.
“That’s not just lightning,” Hal said. “It’s that powerful because it has Fuuga’s martial ability behind it, too. But still, it’s an inhuman feat.”
Halbert realized his hands gripping the Twin Snake Spear were covered in sweat. He must have been awfully tense. It seemed it was his instinct more than his head that had reacted to the way Fuuga fought. He had goosebumps.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been awed by someone’s martial ability. When he’d battled Aisha who was venting after Souma left her behind, Halbert had learned how frightening she was when she let loose.
However, Aisha was Souma’s second primary queen-to-be, and an ally. She might have gone wild, but they hadn’t been seriously trying to kill each other.
Meanwhile, as the king of a foreign nation, Fuuga wasn’t guaranteed to always be on their side. Depending on the situation, Hal might someday have to fight the man.
If it came to that, they’d be the ones Fuuga’s power was turned against. When that happened, would he be able to stop the man?
While Halbert and his men looked on with tense expressions, Fuuga raised his voice.
“I am Fuuga Haan, King of Malmkhitan! I’ll handle the big ones! Officers of the union, unleash your might!”
As Fuuga’s loud voice echoed across the battlefield, the emboldened soldiers raised their own voices in a hearty war cry. Their fear of the zombie rhinosauruses was completely wiped away by their confidence in Fuuga’s martial prowess.
Fuuga dived into the thick of the enemy in search of his next target.
“Prioritize taking out those rotten rhinosauruses!” Halbert ordered the wyvern cavalry and headed into battle himself.
The size of a zombie rhinosaurus made it difficult to intercept them with ground forces, but a concentrated attack with wyverns’ flames could easily take them down. Halbert took out two of them with Ruby’s flames, too.
Once all the zombie rhinosauruses were defeated, and the encampment’s safety was secured, Halbert went looking for Fuuga.
“Ha ha ha!” a boisterous laugh howled.
Following the noise, Halbert found Fuuga and Durga in the thick of the horde of monsters, with Fuuga swinging his crescent blade while laughing as they ran forward as if across an empty wasteland.
On a battlefield filled with bloodlust, Fuuga was not only not tense, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. There wasn’t a monster that could stop that man and beast’s advance.
Then things started hopping over and gathering around Fuuga.
Boing! Boing!
They were mounted soldiers who rode goat-like creatures. They carried single-edged swords shaped like the crescent moon, and bows with a unique shape. These were the pride of Fuuga’s kingdom Malmkhitan, the leaping cavalry.
When the leaping cavalry had gathered around Fuuga, they began following him into battle. With that large number gathered around him, Fuuga’s ability to break through the enemy skyrocketed.
With Fuuga at the vanguard, that group raced back and forth across the battlefield, trampling the enemy as if a twister had come through.
Fuuga was enjoying himself as much as ever, but the cavalry from Malmkhitan were fighting desperately for their lives. Even so, not one of them left the line of battle.
Halbert was watching Fuuga’s forces from a distance. It must be hard to keep up with Fuuga. But... no one stops following.
Halbert thought he could understand the way those cavalrymen felt.
I’m sure... they must be proud.
Proud to be following Fuuga as he charged through the battlefield.
Proud to be able to fight alongside Fuuga, who showed them his overwhelming martial prowess.
The way he fought, it was like something out of a heroic legend. He jumped out in front of powerful enemies as if he were meant to do so, and then struck them down.
By fighting alongside him, his allies were probably able to savor the feeling of being a character in such a story.
Fuuga had that sort of splendor. Under such a glorious commander, they could fight to their fullest. Could there be any greater pride as a warrior?
If they can fight like that, I’m sure... they’ll have no regrets, no matter when they die, Halbert reflected. If they can fight for such a commander... they will have no regrets, even if they lose their lives. They will be able to accept their death has meaning, and smile as they go.
That was why the soldiers following Fuuga were struggling so desperately to stay with him. They sought to burn their lives in his blazing, blazing, deep red flames.
How... How brilliant his radiance.
If only I could be like that, too...
“Stupid Hal!” Ruby shouted.
“Urgh?!”
Hal grimaced as Ruby’s voice echoed loudly in his head.
He was so surprised, Halbert shuddered and nearly dropped the spears he was carrying. Before he could recover from his confusion, Ruby’s voice sounded in his head again.
“Don’t let him drag you along! Remember what Souma said!”
What Souma said? Come to think of it... he did say something before we left, didn’t he...?
Halbert tried to remember the words. If he recalled, they were...
“If you feel yourself being dragged along by Fuuga, remember Kaede and Ruby’s faces.”
Kaede and Ruby’s faces?
Halbert closed his eyes, half-doubting what he was doing, and he imagined their faces in his head.
First, Kaede’s face. She had been at his side since they were kids. She had always been timid, but lately his lovely fox-eared childhood friend had learned to speak her mind more clearly.
Next, Ruby’s face. She had come from the Star Dragon Mountain Range to be his bride. Normally she was prickly, but she was actually a very lonely and very feminine dragon girl.
Halbert imagined how the two of them would see the way he was now. In his imagination, th
eir expressions were a little worried.
Halbert’s eyes went wide in silent shock. What had he just been thinking?
Had he wanted to fight to his limit, like Fuuga and his men?
Burning a brilliant, bright red, as his life flared out?
Had he thought that, if his life could burn like that, he’d have no regrets, even if he died?
...Even if it meant leaving Kaede and Ruby behind?
“Like hell I could!” Halbert roared to the heavens.
“Eeek?!” Ruby flinched.
Halbert used the handle of the spear in his right hand to whack himself in the forehead as hard as he could. The incredible thunk that resulted spoke to the fact he hadn’t held back. His forehead bled a little.
Seeing Halbert suddenly bleeding, Ruby panicked. “What are you doing?! Are you all right?!”
“...Yeah, I’m fine,” Halbert said, looking up at the heavens. Something warm rolled down his cheeks.
“Huh...? Hal, you’re crying...”
“I’m fine. I’m... fine now, Ruby.”
She stared at him mutely.
Halbert wiped away the blood and tears before looking forward.
Seriously... What had he been thinking? He’d been entranced by Fuuga’s prowess, starting to convince himself his life was his own to do with as he pleased. He’d even tried to chase those he ought to protect, those who were trying to protect him, from his head.
It was true, he envied the life Fuuga and his followers led. But that’s a life I could only live if it were me alone.
Halbert already had two fiancées, Kaede and Ruby. They had been kind enough to love him, and eventually become his family. He had no desire to force a lifestyle that would burn their lives away on Kaede and Ruby, too.
As a warrior, he admired lives that burned hot and intense, like fireworks, but he wanted those he cared for to live happy lives, even if they were plain ones, full of smiles.
That wasn’t something they could do if they were following Fuuga.
If Hal was the same man he had been before he met Souma, obsessed with his own glory, he might have been dragged in. But he was different now.