「Darn it! What is going on……. What is this! Who are these people!?」
Among the warriors fighting in the melee battle, there was a warrior that swung a large two handed axe desperately with both hands. His name was warrior Saineku.
Although the youth was at a mere 20 years of age, he was level 3 with his axe skills and level 5 as a soldier, he had plenty of ability to fight as a capable adventurer. In actuality in his party and also in his hometown, he was quite the well-known person.
However, who would have thought…
Soon after arriving in this very famous historic ruins of Paravata, the party members encountered such an unexpected adversary.
「Kuu……. You sc.u.mm! We are the protectors of justice, by the powers of the Light G.o.d, Divine s.h.i.+eld….. Guaaah!? 」
One of the party members who were fighting was a believer of the light G.o.d Rumein his name was the warrior Shasosu and he was proficient in the use of light magic with his s.h.i.+eld. Using his s.h.i.+eld he reduced the damage of the charging enemy.
However, just like that the muscular Shasosu was knocked into the ground and dragged along the road, a set of fangs ripped through his plate mail armor…….. The creature that did it could only be described as a gigantic wolf that had a cl.u.s.ter of crystals covering its whole body, it was a truly bizarre looking beast.
「Hang on Shasosu-ossan! As soon as I take care of these guys I’ll come and help……. d.a.m.n it! Get out of my way!!」
Yet there was two other crystal beasts that leaped at Saineku from the left and right pincering him and forcing him to a defensive position.
Although they were able to fell one of the beasts a little while ago, these beasts had very agile movements and their defences were by no means ordinary. Everyone in the party wasn’t inexperienced or anything of the sort, but the demons were something that no one had ever seen or heard of before, they were very mysterious beasts.
「Saineku, I’m also having trouble over here! Rikus.h.i.+no isn’t breathing!」
In a place a little ways away, there was a shout of a pet.i.t half-elf woman with the thief job cla.s.s named Juno asking for help in a tragic manner.
At her feet, there was a bleeding old magician lying stretched down and he wasn’t even twitching nor breathing. The crystal beasts that seemed to appear from out of the ground attacked the fragile old man when they first appeared it was unfortunate that he was targeted.
Even though Juno has been trying to throw daggers with both her hands, it merely gets repelled by the hard crystal on the beasts, all she can do is hold them at bay.
「d.a.m.n it!! Aren’t there supposed to be many other adventurer parties in this town!? Why the h.e.l.l aren’t any of them around to help!?」
The way things are going right now, they couldn’t even withdraw even if they wanted to. Now that the party was nearing their annihilation due to the crisis, the usually confident Saineku was shouting out complaints.
No, that’s not quite right………. it’s not that the other adventures aren’t coming, they can’t come.
Even he vaguely realized it. That’s because this wasn’t the only area where he could hear roaring and screaming, the sounds of battle and the use of magic was prevalent, even sounds of explosions could be heard incessantly throughout the place.
「s.h.i.+ttt……. It would be a different story if we were actually within the inner depths of the historic ruins, but this is just the entrance! To get annihilated at a place like this is just!! 」
Both tired and fl.u.s.tered he swung his two-handed axe into the sky fruitlessly. The two wolf like beasts was standing on a stone pavement and with a bent forward posture they raised their backs.
And then almost like they had numerous scales the crystals on their backs stood up and like metallic bullets they made a *jakijakin* and all of these were like bullets pointed straight at Saineku…….. Like an avalanche of bullets they shot simultaneously!
(T, This is bad! ………that looks similar to the firearm tool that Rikus.h.i.+no-jiisan was using…..!?)
Whilst in such a big swing and in no state to balance himself, there was no way for him to defend or evade the shots. The young warriors eyes were filled with despair and up until now he had never experienced such an impending doom, this feeling of dread spread throughout his being and——!
「—– Haaaaaa…….. Brightness Airfall!!」
A dignified shout resounded cutting the bleak atmosphere apart, it fell down upon him like a bright falling meteor from the skies.
In one fell swoop, it smashed all the crystal beasts along with the projectiles they were firing, what landed along with the sound of the explosion was something that needed to be discerned, Saineku got up from his bottom and turned to look as he stood up.
「Fuu….. Are you alright?」
Flowing black hair, and black eyes that sucked your soul into their depths. Saineku was flabbergasted at how beautiful his saviour was.
So young…. You could say that she had a very lovely face that still showed her youthfulness, in contrast she had a well-proportioned body that was wrapped in a knights armor. Moreover, she seemed to be otherworldly or like some kind of foreigner, that was the feeling that he got.
「Ah, ahh….」
The situation just got so unreal that he was at a loss for words, and yet from the back, there was another different beautiful girl partic.i.p.ating in the battle.
At first something shot out from the skies behind him, it was a chain like thing that wrapped around the crystal beast, even though the wolf-like beast was probably as heavy as a horse but she easily flung it away.
「Deeeeeii, Zoooryaaaaaa——!!」
Along with the battlecry………….A fired up red haired woman warrior landed on the ground as the beast was flung away.
The girl and the beast met halfway across the air and in that moment, her whip-like weapon turned into the shape of a blade which cut through the jaw of the crystal beast, moreover in her left hand was a s.h.i.+eld with a spike on the tip of the s.h.i.+eld, using it like a hammer, she smashed it on to the cranium of the beast.
「Did you guys see my combination move with my Fang s.h.i.+eld! Hehehe, although it may not be as mobile as the Aerial Circle skill, with the help of Nina’s anti-gravity magic I was able to pull it off. Even for Kirika, facing this amount of beasts alone would be tiring right?」
「Thank you Amelia. Then, is Celesta and Sierra also here?」
「Ahh, yeah. Look, come on out guys!」
The Amazonian woman with tanned skin and an abundantly buxom body was a beautiful girl by the name of Amelia. Following her words, blue light fell from the skies like droplets of water in the rain trapping the movements of the crystal like beasts and sealing their escape.
「Using this Starbow: Thousand Light that fires of seven colors…… The blue color is but one of its abilities, it is the blue arrow of binding」
The next person to come out had a very soft and subdued voice, she gently descended down and held a very large and rustic bow, her expressionless face was just like a doll. She was a very beautiful elf girl with honey coloured hair that was braided.
It was hard to believe that she was from the slim bodied elven race as she had a voluptuous set of b.r.e.a.s.t.s that bulged out, as she landed on the ground, her two big knockers also made an introduction.
「Fuuu……Seii!! Bad demons that terrorize the town, receive the anger of my knightly sword!」
If you changed the direction of where you were looking at and turned towards the voice that just spoke, you would see a flaxen ponytailed girl that wore a similar armour design to what Kirika was wearing, it was a very dignified, knightly armour. Using a sharp sword technique she was cutting down the crystal beasts.
However, whenever she cut one down, another beast would take its place from her blind spot.
Be careful! —— Just as Saineku let out a shout…
「Hmph, Naive! super-dimensional knight sword technique, forty-forth technique Desert Eagle!!」
Bang bang!! Along with a strong explosive sound, the head of the crystal beasts that tried to attack the woman knight flew off along with the sounds of their skulls cracking. The recoil from firing her weapon made her ponytail jolt, and there was a grin on her face as she fought without looking back.
Saineku was unable to understand what on earth had occurred, the woman knight was holding some sort of object that was black and short and shaped like a magic wand, all that he could see was that some smoke was coming out of the object.
「Everything that I can reach with my sword will be cut down into pieces! The enemies that cannot be reached with my sword will be shot down just like this!」
Whenever there was a spark and an roaring explosive sound coming out of the woman knight’s hand, even the monsters that were quite a distance away from her would be blown away and destroyed.
He had never seen anything of the sort neither in theory or school, just because the user of the weapon says so, does it really mean that she was using a sword technique?…….. Saineku s.h.i.+vered at the sight of this unknown combat style but he was also watching in fascination.
「Hahah! You’re pretty good aren’t cha, Celesta」
「But the truth is that Celesta is now limited in her use of the gun and the bullets so Tooru-kun was telling her to save up and not waste the bullets but just look at her…. She’s firing them out like there’s no tomorrow….」
「Moreover I think that her sense of naming things is a little strange……」
While the girls were lightly bantering with each other, the swords, whip-blade, arrows and that strange weapon was continuously and precisely destroying the crystal beasts in the surrounding area.
Seeing such a miraculous sight Saineku was barely able to pull it together, he came back to his senses when he realized that there was a girl using a staff in order to treat the wounded Rikus.h.i.+no with her magic.
For some reason she was wearing a maid outfit but she had a small physique that seemed like a small animal, the outfit really suited her and she was cute in her own way.
「Fuu……… for the time being, his condition is stabilised. Please bring him to a specialised healing doctor afterwards okay?」
「Ah, ahh, we owe you one. But who exactly are you guys…..?」
All the crystal beasts within the surrounding area had been killed and it was at this time that he found it appropriate to ask the question, however….
Zuzunn…… the grounds in the Historical Ruins were shaking and not because there was an earthquake or anything of the sort.
「Ehh……… What is that thing!?」
Even the red haired girl was surprised by what came out next.
A big and distorted figure that barely resembled a human being appeared. Its size was about as big as a three story building. Similar to the beasts that they fought previously, its body was covered with a translucent crystal.
If you looked closely at the body of the figure, you can see arrow wounds that was probably caused by other adventurers or guards of this place. The arrows were sticking out of their backs and some on their legs, however it seemed like it didn’t feel pain or care at all about the wounds.
「Fumu……. it would seem that several of the crystal beasts merged into this thing?」
「It might be just like what Celesta has said. This thing seems to be a little more troublesome」
「It’s alright……… They are coming」
「Coming? Who is?」
All at once the four people including Saineku raised his face to look.
Falling from the rift between the clouds two small dots were becoming larger and larger, and it was seemingly two strange little girls wearing a weird outfit, how surprising—–!
「Palmyra! Give me some of the magical energy!」
「Kufufufu, very well……… However, you better kill it in one blow!」
One girl was wearing a goth loli dress and another girl was wearing something that seemed to be from a foreign country, both of them were highly unique. The girls landed on the ground one of them had their arms tightly squeezed together, while the other had their small arms aimed towards the large crystal monstrosity.
The two little girls had some sort of light glowing from their foreheads.
「Here it comes! One, two threee…… Be grind into dust!」
After seeing so many unbelievable events, Saineku thought that the next thing that would occur would not be able to defy his expectations any further, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
If someone were to describe what had occurred…….. It was as if she was pinching a doll made out of clay and twisting off its body parts.
The crystal giant had a portion of its waist crushed abruptly, suddenly having its movements restricted its upper body was shaking violently as it lurched forwards.
「Hmmmm? That’s weirdd, I thought that with that much it would be totally crushed in one go」
「D, don’t be silly! Haven’t I told you many times that when you entered into a contract with Tooru, your magical abilities would be restricted! 」
Having its big body crushed in the centre, the crystal giant lost its balance and was falling down.
As the giant fell, it was like a building that was about to crush the people trying to escape from it….!
「…….By my n.o.ble sword which crushes all evil spirits —— Brilliant Burst!!」
It was in this moment that the black haired girl used her rainbow coloured sword to release a torrent of violent energy.
The energy released by her sword technique was like an overwhelming tornado that ripped apart the crystal giant, it completely swallowed up the falling giant and grinded it down until it was erased into nothingness…….. Surely this was going to mark the end of the battle, the finis.h.i.+ng blow…
「Kirika that was amazing! Eh Ah re re ? I’m falling fallinggg~!? Fall…… Kyaan!」
「Flamia are you alright?」
「Ahhah, thanks Celesta!」
The girl with strange clothing had a smile on her face as she clinged on to the woman knight who caught her from her fall.
「U, Umu…… Regardless of someone’s origins, it is a knight’s duty to protect children. Don’t worry about it」
「Oh~ she’s quite shy isn’t she? This female warrior-san surprisingly loves things that are cute」
「What!? A, Amelia-dono, who says I’m into that kind of thing……!?」
「Hime-sama told me about it………….. She said that you have hidden a lot of stuffed toys in your room……..」
「Wa Wa Waa?! H-how can a secret that even my honourable father doesn’t know be revealed, moreover it’s been leaked!?」
The atmosphere completely changed in an instant previously they were like fierce war G.o.ddesses but now the beautiful girls were full of smiles and livelihood.
And at the very end, someone appeared behind the girl with the goth loli dress—- this person was a youthful man wrapped in a black robe, the expression in his eyes looked a little evil.
「This has been settled more easily than I thought it would. Good work everyone」
「Ah, Oniisan! I made mince meat out of them!」
「Of course Flamie did really well, but in my opinion the MVP is Kirika. Using her holy sword technique the finis.h.i.+ng blow was even more amazing than last time, and thanks to that it’s become easier for me」
「Kufufu, As expected it’s because of the love slave status?」
「I-I don’t think that’s true….. O-or more like why are you saying such things out in public Palmyra….」
「Sierra…. Also tried really hard」
While still having his mouth wide open, Saineku was watching the colourful conversation taking place with the young man at the centre of it all.
When he looked back to his own party members, it consisted of a bald old s.h.i.+nto warrior, an old man magician and a childhood friend with the job of thief and she wasn’t all that charming.
「I was looking at the battle from afar and it seemed that because the large foe at the end was taken down, the battle took a turn for the better and it became easy to take care of the rest of the trash. Even without any backup arriving from the city itself….. it seems that you guys are already able to take care of it」
「Nevertheless, we’ve only just arrived here and yet there is already a battle, it would seem that this isn’t going to be easy. No matter how many bullets I have it doesn’t seem to be enough」
「Hou? Celesta did you use our valuable bullets wastefully again? If that’s the case you should get ready for a full punishment course」
「Uuuu…..It- it was inevitable! M-moreover what do you mean by punishment, don’t tell me it’s that thing from before………!?
「Nee nee, more importantly I’ve become really tiredd. Oniisan, I want you to replenish my magical energy, is that okayy?」
「If you’re talking about tiredness, I’m definitely more tired than her Jyai! …….Therefore, r-replenishment should be given to……me?」
The male was of lanky build and he looked like a weak youngster, however he was surrounded by these beautiful war G.o.ddesses. Not only that, looking at how the girls acted towards him and their words, it could even be taken as slightly indulgent or even sweetly indecent.
Seeing this in front of him, the axe warrior felt the unjustness of the world and a sense of helplessness.
「W….Why is that kind of guy…..? 」
「Well it’s probably that isn’t it. His nightly skills in the bedroom must be really amazing」
The person who spoke to him was his childhood friend Juno and he had felt a tinge of charm in the voice she just used to speak to him.
Saineku had a sudden thought in his mind……… Perhaps I should give up this life of trying to make a name for myself and just go back to the countryside to live out my life.
Place: In the cabin of the magic powered s.h.i.+p.
After receiving remuneration from the guards of this city for helping them, we were in the cabin receiving a report from Celesta.
「That strange monster that we were fighting are known as the “Shadow Beasts” around this area. Whatever the reason, I heard that recently these beasts have shown up in various places around the city, and it has been a huge source of worry for the people to repel the attacks each time」
「Shadow Beast……Hmmm and the crystal……. what an unpleasant coincidence」
It reminded us that both we and the demonic faction were seeking something in this forsaken place, our motives were one and the same: to get our hands on the corpse of the Devil King also known as the Divine Corpse.
It was hard to believe that the previously affected Dianne and Nana was unrelated to the current crystal epidemic. After all according to Princess Sistina’s prophecy the chance that there is another fragment of the Divine Corpse within this historical city is quite high.
「Where are the remains of the foes we eliminated earlier?」
「It would seem that they have completely disappeared. Every time seems to be the same, but there is no rumours going around of this particular crystal corroding the body」
「In that case, could it really be a separate matter…….?」
「No, just because it’s characteristics are not the same, it is still too early to come to a conclusion. In any case it will be essential for us to gather some information」
Gathering clues for Nana’s revival and seeing whether this particular crystal is connected to the Divine Corpse, both of these things will need to be investigated. Making use of the fact that we have many people, we should be able to divide the work to become more efficient.
「Then….. Shall I wait here for Tooru-dono and everyone else to return?」
「Ahh, Dianne. I know that it might be a little boring to stay here and take care of the s.h.i.+p, but I’m counting on you」
「I will buy you a souvenir….. Elder Sister」
Originally, I did not intend to bring Dianne and just planned to have her stay in the Great Forest of the Elves. She had the high position of being the dark elf Priestess and considering that she was blind, it is probably hard for her to adjust living in a place outside of her home.
However, Sierra wished to be accompanied by her elder sister. This Historical Ruins is a city that is famous for excavation and research, therefore this is a place where lots of specialists and experts gather from all over the world. There is also the thrill of discovering useful lost technology. Sierra is consistently looking for the cure to the affliction: “Curse of Short Life” to her sister-in-laws body and if the person in question travelling together with her it is obviously more convenient.
「Likewise, I think that I should also stay with Dianne-sama in this s.h.i.+p as well….」
Princess Sistina places her graceful fingers against her faintly pink cheeks as she sounded just a little disappointed that she could not come with us.
That reminds me that the Princess has lived a sheltered life that hardly ever left the imperial castle. It is likely that after arriving to a popular destination like Paravata, her inborn curiosity was spurred on.
「Well then, Princess. If it would please you, would you like to come with me and take a stroll around the town?」
「Eh……W-will that really be alright?」
Suddenly a smile that shone like the sun radiated from her face, and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s which represented her rich curves shook joyfully under her dress.
It appears that as expected, after arriving in this foreign country, she inwardly feels like this is a rare trip with a touch of adventure.
「W-wait! Princess-sama is Ranbadeia’s treasured princess and without His Majesty’s permission she is not allowed to travel outside. Even though this place is very far from Ranbadeia Kingdom, what if by chance her honourable face is seen and someone knows who she is?」
「If you are worried about just that then there will be no problems. Just a little while ago, the Loli demoness’s used that thing successfully didn’t they?」
While fighting the Crystal Beasts both Flamia and Palmyra were wearing a particular artifact on their bodies. This accessory is capable of slightly altering the owner’s body physique or impression of the face. In this way, characteristics such as a demons tail, horn or wings can be hidden and camouflaged.
「If the Princess were to wear this then other than us, other people who see her will see a slightly different version of the Princess」
「Oh wow! To think there was such a convenient thing…!」
Moreover this accessory is normally used by the rich and powerful and is almost like a make-up that they use (The origin of these accessories were obtained from Earl Yurina). Unless someone were to closely inspect the person wearing this disguise, it is very difficult to find out the differences.
Apparently there are also many aristocratic women who use this as a way to enhance the appearance of their b.r.e.a.s.t.s…… Even in this world, woman are really quite scary aren’t they.
「Muu….. While it may be true that this aspect is not a problem if we have that…… B-but still….」
「Celesta, It is also my request. Besides, as long as you are acting as the Princess’s guard, I’m sure that there will be no problems」
「…. Kirika」
Celesta was just very stressed out and really worried for the Princess, but after hearing Kirika’s words her face softened up a little. Even these girls could probably feel how enthusiastic the Princess was in going to the city to have a look.
The woman knight with the ponytail hair, bowed her head and acted like a loyal subject of the beautiful princess.
「Oh dear, Celesta?」
「Have you forgotten Princess? Celesta will be your loyal attendant until the end of the world, I was once used as a tool by another evil person and yet Princess still saved me and forgave me…… If it can be of help my body is yours to command」
At first, Celesta would continuously pet.i.tion the Princess to return to Ranbadeia Kingdom, however the Princess gave her own logical explanation as to why she didn’t return (According to her, because she was being aimed at by the demonic families for her powers of prophecy, it is actually much safer to be by my side than in another other place, moreover, she was afraid that her father would not forgive her for the daring actions she took without permission) Therefore, with the Princess’s persistence to stay by my side, Celesta finally gave in.
Princess Sistina bowed her head back when they first left the capital city of Ranbadeia『Of course, this is just my own selfish desires to go out, therefore I won’t force you to come with me』—– This had the opposite effect on Celesta.
Since then, Celesta has sworn to take side with the Princess and follow her wherever she went, Celesta has also accepted the fact that Princess Sistina has fallen in love with me and accepts my existence with reluctance…… Well, she is also my magical slave so even if she wanted to disobey me, it would not be possible.
「Geez you guys are totally exaggerating things…. In any case, it’s decided. Hmm, first off Nina and her trio group of adventurers will deal with the intelligence gathering part of things. Dianne will be paired with the demoness’s to stay back in the s.h.i.+p and take care of any problems that arise, while this may be boring, please bear with it」
「Understood. Princess Sistina-sama, please enjoy the trip to the fullest okay?」
With a soft smile, the Priestess Dark elf waved her hand.
Flamia and Dianne probably have the desire to come with me as well, however considering the fact that both Flamia and Palmyra used their magic lavishly to fend off the enemies, they were both resting and taking a nap.
「Lastly the Princess, Celesta and Kirika will go into the town together. Well, it won’t be all about sightseeing as we will probably do a little bit of information gathering as well」
「Eh, I’m coming as well?」
「Fufu, with both Kirika and Celesta protecting me, I can feel totally at ease desuwa」
「If the Princess says so….」
「Kirika……. You look happy. Is it because you will be able to go, to the city together with my Lord…….?」
「Eh!? T-that’s not true!」
Although she was panicking and obviously telling a lie, Kirika looked towards my direction with a scornful look. 『You better not be thinking of doing something bad again…..』she implied.
Well ——her premonition hit the mark.
Outside of the building was the name “Sticking Spider Inn” it was a sign stuck on the outside wall of the building.
This inn was in the centre of the city and there was this huge lump of rock which signified that they were in the middle layer part of town.
「Have you guys heard about the rumours? Even in the upper layer part of town, the Crystal Beasts are starting to appear. Not only that, the beast that appeared was an exceptionally large one」
「Ueeeh, I’m glad that I am not responsible for that area. Well, I might be a.s.signed tomorrow though ahh」
Inside of the Inn it was rowdy and filled with noise, the guards who were on night s.h.i.+ft duty were already drinking alcohol and yelling in the morning about their work.
Although the topic was dangerous, the tone of their voices indicated that they were not really perturbed by what is occurring in town.
After all, even without these new type of demons coming out, Paravata was a historical city that was originally filled with strange monsters and even artifacts that could cause explosions.
Those that lived here started to view these events as a common thing, and it was not weird that those that lived here started to live out life to the fullest.
「So, if you were to find out who took care of the big giant you’d be totally surprised, get a load of this, the rumours is that the people who took care of the demon was a group of beautiful adventuring women. Not only that, I also heard that the leader of their group is only one man who is some sort of magical technique user」
「Hoheee~. Ehhh I wish he would share some of his good luck with us~ Or better yet I wonder if he can just die. Maybe with an explosion? naa」
At this time…… one of the girls who had been sitting behind the counter of the bar next to the guards stood up slowly.
After chugging her chocolate drink from her cup she casually spoke out.
「Heyy, Uncles……. That story you just spoke about, can you please tell it to me in detail~?」
Licking the remnants of her chocolate stained lips dexterously,
The Girl Hero Tachibana Riruna gave a pearly smile.