Arc-7 Ch-56

 "Let's split the squad into three."

The moment the words left my mouth, Lionel, Ariel, and the elves all turned their eyes toward me.

Of course, the elves standing here had been trying to kill us only moments ago.

The emotions written across their faces were a volatile tangle of terror, rage, suspicion, and outright hostility.

Even so, if we didn't act now, more people were going to die. Why do I always end up getting dragged into conflicts I want absolutely nothing to do with?

I'm starting to think the gods really, really hate me.

Every time one crisis ends, another one is already waiting around the corner.

Still, there'd be time to complain later. Right now, grumbling would only waste what little time we had left.

The only way to stop this situation from spiraling even further was to pull myself together and figure out the best possible course of action.

"Th-That's a joke, right?!"

"Why should we obey the orders of you humans?!"

The noble elves, unsurprisingly, didn't seem pleased.

Well, I couldn't exactly blame them.

From the perspective of these radicals who had attempted to overthrow the Holfort Kingdom and had even been creating monsters within these ruins, taking orders from me had to feel like the ultimate humiliation.

On top of that, they'd suffered their injuries fighting us. It would've been stranger if they felt anything less than murderous hostility.

"You...!"

"Eek!?"

"I told you to stop resorting to violence, didn't I?"

The instant Ariel's arm shot upward with enough force to make her intentions obvious, the elves recoiled with frightened yelps.

I tried to stop her, but pain dulled my movements no matter how hard I pushed myself.

If Lionel hadn't stepped in, she really might've punched them.

That said, in our current situation, Ariel's approach might actually have been the right one.

After all, we were in the worst possible position. We had almost no time left to plan, our ammunition was nearly depleted, and our bodies were already close to their limits.

Anxiety gnawed at every one of us because we had no idea when that magic beast, a monster far more terrifying than anything we'd faced before, would come after us.

The only reason it hadn't pursued us yet was painfully simple.

It was too busy feeding.

The moment its stomach was full, or its hunger subsided for any reason, it would come hunting us without hesitation.

Just how much time did we have left?

"...Stop it, Ariel."

"...But, Father."

"Leave this to me."

I calmed the impatient Ariel before turning back toward the elves.

Their eyes churned with fear, anxiety, and suspicion, as though even they no longer knew what they were supposed to do.

Eyes like that were nothing unusual on a battlefield.

Soldiers who had no idea how to survive, or who they should follow, would naturally cling to whichever commanding officer looked the most dependable.

At their core, people generally found it easier to obey than to decide for themselves.

Making your own decisions meant accepting responsibility for whatever followed.

When failure was a real possibility, leaving the judgment to someone above you meant you wouldn't have to shoulder that burden alone. And if everything fell apart, there was always someone else to blame.

It seemed elves weren't so different from humans in that respect.

Even if they'd succeeded in conquering the Holfort Kingdom, how exactly had they intended to govern it afterward?

The kingdom possessed centuries of history, along with diplomatic ties and political marriages that connected it to neighboring nations.

Could a group of subhumans who had seized power through brute force really expect to take control of all that overnight?

Even considering that elves lived dozens of times longer than humans, it still sounded absurdly difficult.

Then again, perhaps that was precisely why a force as small as ours had managed to suppress them, only for them to end up cornered by the very monsters they'd created without thinking through the consequences.

"Now, now, settle down. Conversation is the foundation of cross-cultural exchange, isn't it?"

"How dare a savage who attacked us with violence preach to us!"

"Even so, we're not the ones trying to capture and eat you. The ones trying to do that are the monsters you created yourselves."

"Are you mocking us?!"

"The fact that you hear it that way only proves how cornered you feel. Though, to be fair, we're not in much better shape ourselves."

Judging from everything we'd learned during our earlier conversations, the monster had been the one hunting down and devouring the human adventurers.

That said, it had never shown the slightest loyalty toward the elves.

If anything, being dragged here against its will and having its body grotesquely altered gave it every reason imaginable to hate them.

It was only natural to assume that, after I attacked it first, it had decided the elves were the more pressing targets and left us alone for the time being.

That didn't mean it would never come after us.

It simply meant the elves ranked higher on its list of prey.

And that was exactly why we still had a chance to join forces.

"Even if we keep running, there's no guarantee either of us will make it out of these ruins alive. That applies to you just as much as it does to us. If that's the case, then I think working together, at least for now, is our best option."

"How can we trust humans?!"

"Yeah!"

"Fine, then. Do whatever you want. Hey, ruins..."

『Something wrong?』

“Where's the monster right now, and what's it doing?”

『It's in the central chamber, right in the middle of lunch. The meat dish is made from modified bodies, and today's main course is elf meat.』

“How long until it finishes eating?”

『Elves have slender bodies, so they won't take long. The modified body, on the other hand, is enormous. It's been infused with the genetic information of various creatures, so it's covered in scales and feathers, and its muscle fibers are unbelievably tough. It should take about an hour before it's finished eating.』

“In other words, you've all got about an hour left before that monster eats you, digests you, and shits you out.”

“Guh...!”

One of the elves let out a stifled groan. It was only natural. Having the little time they had left spelled out so bluntly would shake anyone.

But the same was true for us.

Even if the monster had established a priority for its prey, that didn't mean we were safe.

Keeping the panic clawing at my chest buried deep, I forced my mind to keep turning, searching desperately for a way out.

If we did nothing, we'd end up as the monster's lunch right alongside the elves.

“Think carefully. If this keeps up, every last one of us will end up in the same stomach. Wouldn't it be far more productive to put your grudge against humans aside for once and work together to find a way to survive?”

“…You're saying you actually have a plan?”

“I've got one strategy that's worth trying, and one weapon that might actually be capable of killing that monster.”

“What kind of plan?”

“Hey. One of you, bring me my backpack.”

“Understood.”

Lionel immediately headed for the backpack.

The wounds the monster had inflicted on me left me barely capable of moving. Painkillers and wound medicine were the only things keeping me on my feet.

If I tried to fight in this condition, I'd be swallowed whole without putting up any resistance.

And it wouldn't end with me.

Every elf and every tourist on this floating island would become that monster's next meal.

That was the one outcome I had to prevent, no matter the cost.

Even if it meant joining forces with these insufferable elves and sending my precious children into battle.

“Father, I've brought it.”

“Good. Now take out the metal box stored at the very bottom of the backpack.”

“Yes.”

Lionel reached into the backpack and carefully pulled out the item I had in mind.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an oversized metal can. It was easily the heaviest and bulkiest thing I'd packed.

Without it, exploring these underground ruins would've been considerably easier.

But I'd brought it along as insurance, just in case the worst happened.

And, unfortunately, that precaution had proven to be the right call.

...Though I'd much rather have lived in the timeline where I never had to use it.

“What is that?”

“Explosives.”

“Wha!?”

The twins and the elves instantly recoiled, scrambling toward the far corner of the room.

I couldn't blame them for reacting that way. Still, as long as they were handled properly, explosives weren't nearly as dangerous as people imagined.

With the rapid expansion of airships, their military applications, and the invention of humanoid mobile armor, the role of infantry on the battlefield had diminished dramatically.

Once aerial warfare replaced ground combat as the dominant form of battle, anyone who had properly studied military history understood that infantry's primary role had shifted toward infiltrating enemy positions, capturing strongholds, and destroying strategic targets through sabotage.

That didn't mean infantry had become obsolete.

If an airship was shot down and mobile armor could no longer be deployed, was unconditional surrender the only option left?

No.

Absolutely not.

Any competent soldier would naturally prepare methods to destroy airships and mobile armor even in situations where infantry alone had to carry the fight.

　The explosive I'd brought with me was another product of that research, a weapon that represented the greatest destructive force a single individual could realistically wield.

“Relax. It won't go off unless the detonator is connected. Ordinary fire or impact isn't enough to trigger it.”

“That doesn't make me feel relaxed at all!”

“…Father, it would've helped if you'd shared that information with us a little sooner.”

“This is exactly the sort of thing you keep hidden from your allies so it'll be useful when the moment comes.”

In truth, the real reason I'd kept it secret had less to do with Lionel or Ariel than with the Sphere.

Like these ruins, it was a Lost Item created by the old humans. If it ever decided to side with someone intent on wiping out us, the descendants of the new humans, we'd have almost no means of stopping it.

I'd smuggled the explosives in as a final safeguard, a way to guarantee I could destroy the ruins if the absolute worst came to pass.

Who could've guessed they'd end up being used to exterminate a monster instead? Life really was impossible to predict.

"This is a high-powered explosive. If we use it, even that monster won't walk away unscathed.”

『Please explain its specific destructive capability.』

“At this weight, it can punch straight through the armor of an airship or a mobile suit. Place it near the bridge or cockpit, and it could even bring one down.”

“What the hell kind of nightmare did you bring with you…?”

『You certainly came prepared with an exceptionally convenient weapon of mass destruction.』

“Humans really are barbarians…”

“To think we're forced to rely on someone like this…”

Oh, shut the hell up, all of you.

Why the hell was I catching grief not only from my own kids, but from the elves and even the damn ruins?

Maybe I should just blow every last one of you up along with the monster.

『Analysis complete. Although this is only a preliminary estimate, it appears to possess sufficient destructive power to inflict a fatal wound upon the magic beast.』

“You're still not willing to say that for certain, huh?”

『No matter how powerful a weapon may be, it is meaningless if it fails to strike its target.』

“As irritating as it is, the Sphere's right. That's why we need a plan that guarantees we finish it off.”

“Father, what exactly should we do?”

“First, we assemble the bomb. Then we find a place where we can catch the monster in the blast without giving it any chance to escape.”

“…And to do that, you need to work together with us elves?”

“If things keep going like this, we're all dead anyway. Besides, if that monster reaches the surface, it'll slaughter elves and humans alike without discrimination.”

“…Your reasoning is sound.”

“If everything works out, then after you're all arrested by the kingdom, I might even put in a good word to get your sentences reduced.”

Not that I actually had that kind of influence.

Once this entire mess was over, if I complained enough to Jilk, who'd dumped all the troublesome work on me after bowing his head to the Saintess, he'd probably pull a few strings and make the appropriate arrangements.

It wasn't because I especially wanted to help these radical elves. I simply didn't want the kind-hearted elves who'd looked after us getting swept up in the aftermath.

“And what about us?”

Meeting Ariel's gaze as she stared straight into my eyes was terrifying.

What I was about to decide as her father was unimaginably cruel.

I'd given dangerous orders to subordinates countless times during wars and military operations.

No matter how often I claimed I hated conflict or insisted peace was best, there were always things that had to be done. Those things demanded money, time, and sometimes lives.

Only those capable of making such decisions could stand above others. That was what it meant to be a noble who commanded people.

Even so, ordering subordinates into danger and sending your own children to face it were burdens of entirely different weight.

It was the choice of a monstrous parent, someone who deserved to be condemned as heartless and cursed for all eternity. Even when it was unquestionably the best course of action, very few people could actually bring themselves to make it.

If only I were the sort of bastard incapable of feeling any parental love, I wouldn't have to drown in this guilt.

Once this was over, if Angie learned what I'd done, she might very well demand a divorce.

Even so, I had to decide.

“Ariel, you'll serve as the decoy.”

“…!”

I was about to use my own daughter as bait to ensure the monster's destruction.

If the plan failed, all I'd have left was the disgrace of having gotten my daughter killed through a reckless gamble, followed by a lifetime of regret. It was a merciless decision.

But right now, I couldn't think of a strategy more reliable than this.

If I were in fighting condition, I'd have taken the role of decoy myself. But with the injuries I was carrying, I couldn't fight effectively.

On top of that, Ariel had suddenly awakened her magical power after arriving in these ruins.

Its destructive force probably couldn't rival the bomb, but it easily surpassed ordinary bullets or magic rounds, and it was capable of devastating wide-area attacks as well. 

Even taking into account her lack of real combat experience and the fact that we had no idea how strong the monster truly was, Ariel was still, without question, the one most likely to survive.

"...So it's gotta be me, huh?"

"Yeah. That's right. Bringing down something that fast with an explosion isn't easy. We have to lure it to a spot where we've already planted the bomb, cut off every escape route, and make absolutely sure we finish it. You're the only one who can serve as the decoy for that plan."

In other words, I was telling my own daughter to take on the most dangerous role.

Whether Ariel liked it or not, there was no longer any other choice.

If we stayed hidden in this room, the monster would eventually find us.

And even if we somehow survived this encounter, the people waiting on the surface would be the next targets.

Someone had to stop the monster here and now.

The nausea rising in my throat, separate from the pain of my wounds, came from the sheer disgust I felt toward myself for assigning that role to my own daughter.

"Got it! So all I've gotta do is beat the crap out of that thing, right?!"

"...How the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because if we can kill it, then obviously that's the best outcome!"

"Ariel, you're getting way too fired up."

For a moment, I nearly buried my face in my hands at Ariel's absurd response.

Her answer only made my pounding headache worse.

Was this the kind of battlefield fever that struck inexperienced fighters, the manic exhilaration that made them mistake combat for something exciting?

Courage and recklessness looked alike on the surface, but they were worlds apart. Those who failed to tell the difference were always the first to die.

"Hey, Ariel."

"I know that thing's insanely strong. But the harder I push, the better our chances of making the plan work, right?"

"That's true, but..."

"Then whenever I get an opening, I'm going all out. And if I can kill it when the chance comes, that's the best-case scenario, isn't it?"

"...Yeah. You're right about that. But don't do anything reckless. The moment I tell you to fall back, you fall back without arguing. Got it?"

"Roger that!"

Her spirit was reassuring, though having too much of it was its own source of anxiety.

For the time being, Ariel's part was settled.

No matter how much longer we thought things through, we simply didn't have the luxury of time.

The next people I needed to speak with were Lionel and the ball.

"Lionel, you're leaving the ruins first. Sphere, do you understand the layout of these ruins?"

『I can calculate the shortest route using the path you all took from the entrance to the central chamber, along with the structural data downloaded from the ruins.』

『My, how wonderfully thorough.』

"Get out of the ruins immediately and report what's happened. Save as many lives as you can, whether they're human or elf."

"So... you're telling me to run because I can't fight properly. Is that it?"

Lionel's face twisted with barely restrained frustration after hearing my order.

I was used to seeing that expression on Ariel, but I couldn't remember ever seeing Lionel, usually so composed, look at me like that.

Ever since he was a child, Lionel had been an exceptional and diligent eldest son. He had never once complained about the education Angie put him through as the future heir, carrying out every expectation flawlessly.

And now that same proud son was glaring at me with unmistakable resentment.

Somehow, that look shook my resolve far more than Ariel's openly emotional protests ever had.

"Are you sending me away because I'm weaker than Ariel, Father? Or because I'm the eldest son of House Bartfalt?"

"Neither. Why would you think that?"

"The eldest brother who abandoned his wounded father and his younger sister, who had only just awakened her power and had almost no real combat experience. Even if our family doesn't see it that way, everyone else will. And because I'm supposed to be the more talented one, they'll judge me even more harshly."

"You're letting your thoughts spiral. Nobody wants you to throw your life away trying to prove yourself."

"I...!! I want to be useful to you, Father!! I want you and Mother to acknowledge, from the bottom of your hearts, that I'm worthy of inheriting this family!!"

The force behind his voice caught me completely off guard.

Ariel and even the uninvolved elves were probably just as stunned.

I was almost certain this was the first time Lionel had ever shouted at anyone like that.

It was nothing like the cries he and his siblings had shared as infants whenever they gave us trouble.

This was something else entirely.

Years of suppressed emotion had erupted all at once.

Had it started after we entered these ruins?

When Ariel awakened her magic?

Or had he been carrying these feelings ever since childhood?

I didn't know.

And right now, I didn't have the time to find out.

"There's still something only you can do. That's why I'm sending you out. This is nothing more than a division of responsibilities. It has nothing to do with you being weak, or with you being the heir."

"So... I'm just a messenger?"

"Not just a messenger. I'm sending the Sphere with you because I need you prepared for the worst-case scenario."

I slipped my hand into my inner pocket until my fingers brushed against the hard object inside.

Pulling it out, I carefully inspected it for scratches or damage.

Despite the brutal battle and the crushing blow the monster had dealt me, it remained completely intact.

The relief I felt was immediately overshadowed by a bitter weight settling in my chest.

I never imagined the day would come when I'd have to entrust this to Lionel.

The burden of fighting had always been mine to bear.

Yet here I was, dragging both my son and my daughter into the battlefield alongside me.

The thought made me despise myself all over again.

Even so, there were responsibilities that couldn't be ignored.

When a noble chose to fight in wartime and lost, it was their duty to accept responsibility for that defeat and pay the price themselves.

Sometimes I couldn't help thinking that if my life was destined to end up like this, I never should've become a noble in the first place.

But whether my family forgave me or came to resent me for it...

I still had to make the decision.

"Lionel... I'm entrusting this to you."

✦✦✦✦✦

BOOM!!

A deafening blast echoed through the chamber as a flaming arm tore through the air.

By my calculations, that last strike should've left the beast, the magic beast standing before me, reeling from the explosion while suffering catastrophic burns.

The massive fireball had scorched away its fur, blistered and peeled its skin, and left patches of raw, crimson flesh fully exposed.

The burns were unquestionably severe.

Any ordinary animal would've collapsed long ago, unable to do anything except gasp for breath before finally dying where it lay.

But this magic beast had surpassed every expectation I had.

The monsters we'd encountered throughout these ruins could be brought down with magic bullets, and if you struck the right spot, even ordinary bullets were enough. If nothing else, I could simply burn them to death with my magic.

　Yet the creature's body was regenerating at an astonishing pace, as though time itself were being rewound. The burns covering its flesh were shrinking before my eyes.

Time wasn't actually reversing. The blood dripping onto the floor remained where it fell, and the charred chunks of flesh blasted from its body stayed scattered across the ground. In other words, its burns were simply healing at an unbelievable speed.

The magic beast slowly began circling me, carefully studying my condition.

It was no longer the chimera-like monstrosity that had first appeared before us, with a beast's head grafted onto a humanoid body. Now, it had transformed into a four-legged beast.

The difference in our size had become overwhelming. What had once been the gap between a large man and a young girl now felt more like the difference between a kitten and a mouse.

I desperately adjusted my footing so the magic beast's head never left my field of view. It was simply too massive for me to keep its entire body in sight.

At least I probably didn't have to worry about it kicking.

When it had fought Father and the elves, it relied on its fangs and both forelimbs to attack. It had never once struck with its hind legs.

Now that it had shifted to moving on all fours, kicking should've been even more impractical. The real problem was that its movements had become far harder to predict.

The large chamber Father had chosen as our battlefield was absurdly spacious for humans.

For the now-enlarged four-legged magic beast, however, it seemed perfectly suited.

The way it kept harassing me from just beyond the reach of my attacks was maddening.

The room gave it more than enough space to evade my fireballs, and because I couldn't risk detonating the bomb, wide-area blasts with large fireballs were out of the question.

On the other hand, my flaming fists couldn't reach it. Every time I tried to trade blows against its claws or fangs, it either pulled back at the last instant or slipped out of range.

I could feel it with painful clarity. The magic beast was steadily driving me into a corner, draining both my stamina and my resolve.

While I remained powerless to change the situation, the magic beast slowly widened the distance between us.

It wasn't retreating because it feared my attacks.

It was simply creating enough space to build momentum for a charging strike.

Which meant the next attack was coming.

There wasn't a second to waste.

I lowered my center of gravity and hid my right arm behind me.

The moment the magic beast made its move, I'd bet everything on a single strike.

Ever since switching to four-legged movement, the beast had become significantly faster and lighter on its feet.

Rather than simply running, it seemed to spring across the ground.

That only made its movements even harder to anticipate. If I looked away for even an instant, it'd attack from an angle I never expected.

But there was one thing I understood with absolute certainty from watching its behavior.

Every attack began after it maneuvered around to my left side.

Until now, the magic beast had continued circling me, patiently observing every one of my movements.

It had realized I could only produce flames with my right arm.

And unfortunately, it was right.

Whether because of the amulet Mother had given me or because my body was suffering the backlash of awakening magical power I'd never been able to control before, I could only manifest flames properly with my right hand. Whenever I tried using my left, nothing happened.

Large fireballs also required time to charge, and they hadn't managed to kill the magic beast anyway. If I attempted one now, it'd exploit the opening and kill me before I could finish.

Close combat with flaming fists wasn't much better. Their reach was too short, and the nimble magic beast would simply evade them. Even if I somehow landed a hit, we'd trade blows, and I'd suffer grievous injuries as well.

In other words, if I kept fighting within the limits of the magic beast's expectations, I was doomed.

My only chance was to use something it hadn't seen before.

I unclenched my right fist and let the tension drain from my arm.

Instead of compressing the flames to maximize destructive power, I focused on extending their reach and expanding my range of motion.

I recalled the shape the flames had taken the very first time I'd manifested them.

Back then, reproducing it had been impossible.

But now... now I could do it.

The instant the magic beast made its move, I'd strike with everything I had from a distance and an angle it would never anticipate.

The magic beast's body trembled ever so slightly.

It was the telltale sign that an attack was imminent.

I sharpened every one of my senses and shifted into the ideal stance to strike.

What came to mind was the demonstration I'd witnessed at the Royal Academy.

A master swordsman drawing a sheathed blade and cutting down his opponent in one seamless motion.

The sword, drawn faster than the eye could follow, caught the light for only an instant before silently cleaving a human-shaped training dummy, crafted to match the hardness of real flesh, cleanly in two.

Of course, I couldn't replicate what a Sword Saint could do.

All I intended to imitate was the speed of the draw and the length of its reach.

I stripped away every unnecessary movement until only the essentials remained.

All I had to do was deliver a single hand strike to the magic beast's face.

Nothing else mattered.

Gug...

The magic beast lowered its body even further.

That was the final motion before it attacked.

The instant its body rose...

It would come.

DAAAAAN!!

Before the sound of its four legs launching from the floor even reached my ears, I swung my right arm with every ounce of strength I possessed.

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳  

Authors Note  

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻  

The second season of the anime is now only one month away from airing. (Greetings)

Lionel is struggling with the anxiety brought on by his younger twin sister Ariel awakening to her magical power.

Already burdened by an inferiority complex toward his exceptionally talented parents, he's now facing the fear that even his little sister might surpass him, and that insecurity has only intensified.

In this volume, Luxion, also known as "Sphere," will be there to support Lionel through it all. Please look forward to his moment in the spotlight.

Postscript: At the commissioner's request, the illustrations were provided by Osuwani-sama, Kuu.-sama, and Tama-sama.

Thank you all very much.

Kuu.-sama: Pixiv

Osuwani-sama: Pixiv (Adult content warning)

Tama-sama: Pixiv

I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts or impressions, as they'll serve as wonderful encouragement for my future work.