Chapter 258 |
[Turn 9]
"Pfft! It’s definitely not because I listened to you."
Luna turned her head sharply to the other side.
Knowing full well the terror of 'Wind Spear', her sulky attitude seemed quite firmly set.
"Luna, let's make peace!"
"Why would we need to make peace if we haven't fought?"
"Aren’t you upset?"
"No, I'm not upset! I’m not that petty!"
Despite her words, Luna stuttered heavily.
"I don’t know, you fool!"
Thud-thud-thud!
With a loud shout, Luna dashed forward and hid behind a rock.
Though she acted on her own, being behind the rock meant she was out of immediate trouble.
'It’s already turn 9.'
It’s an odd turn, so she didn’t really need to hide, but Luna, unable to perform aerial attacks, had made no wasteful moves.
‘Four wind bugs left...’
Swoosh-Boom!
Make that three. Rezé had turned one of the wind bugs into dust.
‘I thought I’d rely on the power of the mage duo... But Rezé’s performance is beyond imagination.’
Not only is the power to dispatch wind bugs in one hit astonishing, but her so-called 'positioning' ability is even more remarkable.
The rocks scattered across the battlefield aren’t just for our use. The wind bugs can use them too.
"Damn! Hiding behind rocks now!"
"The position isn’t great. What should we do? Move? Or wait for it to come out?"
The mage duo hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Yuridia wasn’t much different. She moved closer to the rock but couldn’t use her magic on the wind bugs.
"Argh! If it weren't for this rock!"
And the same was true for Rezé.
The towering rock was the biggest obstacle to sniping.
Yet, without missing a single shot, she sent them one by one to the afterlife.
Range, obstacles, the enemy’s movement, the next spot to position herself—she calculated everything and moved accordingly.
'A 100% hit rate alone would be a cheat ability... but to have the positioning to attack on every turn too.'
'She truly is a genius of positioning.'
The problem might be that she's also a genius at fleeing?
Crunch-.
It was when the movement finished. Something crunched underfoot.
It was the remains of a wind bug, another life ended by Rezé's mana bullet.
"..."
Someday... no, even now, it wouldn’t be strange if I ended up the same way, right?
But that can’t be. I’ve treated our rabbit so well!
I’ve given it food and water, though I haven’t changed its litter...
'Hmm... I should treat it a bit better from now on.'
It’s not because I’m thinking about my own life.
It’s only right to reward a child who performs well.
I should have Scarlet fetch some rare carrot seeds.
Of course, that's if I'm still alive by then.
[Turn 10]
Suddenly, it’s the 10th turn. There’s only one thing to do now.
Yuridia must use 'Demon Slave.'
I looked at Yuridia with all my hopes and love.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
But Yuridia just clicked her tongue and flicked her finger.
Making peace with Luna was out of the question for now.
Swoosh-Boom!
Rezé’s mana bullet obliterated another wind bug.
Originally, I planned to join in on eliminating the wind bugs.
'The wind bugs are a lost cause.'
The remaining two can be sufficiently dealt with by Rezé and the mage duo.
Now, my task is to somehow make peace so Yuridia can use 'Demon Slave.'
"..."
When I looked at Luna, she glanced at me then quickly turned her head away.
Knowing that I was coming, Luna delayed her movement as much as possible.
Calmly, I waited for Luna to finish moving. And after a moment.
"You slowpoke humans! Die!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Kroga announced the casting of 'Wind Spear.'
Couldn’t you have waited just three more hours?
The turn limit is truly a curse in this game.
Tap-tap!
Luna stomped towards the rock ahead.
I quickly followed behind her.
The air bristled with the energy of the wind. My 'Hyper Sense' continuously warned me of danger.
No choice but to roll with it...
Zero, roll!
Roll-roll-roll!
Boom-boom-boom!
As I rolled on the ground, spears of wind struck relentlessly behind me.
Crash!
'Hyper Sense' quieted down once the wind spear hit the rock.
I had safely reached the safezone.
'Phew... barely survived. Huh?'
There was no need to struggle to stand. Luna grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to my feet.
"Are you crazy? What if you had died?"
"Keke, perhaps if Luna had moved a bit faster, this wouldn’t have happened."
"Wouldn’t it be better if you stopped stalking?"
Stalking? Luna, that's more your thing, isn’t it?
Realizing we had made eye contact, Luna quickly turned her head away.
"Luna, please tell me now. Why are you upset?"
"I’m not upset! Not at all upset!"
Yet, she avoided eye contact until the end, her eyes even welling up with tears.
"Could it be... because I’ve been close with Miss Rezé?"
Luna's body shook violently.
Yes, I had realized why Luna was upset.
'It’s not just because of Rezé. It's because I’ve been friendly with the other kids.'
Rodelin, Alex, Raymon, Teron, Daike, Yuridia, Victoria, Adonis, and even Rezé, who she thought of as her friend.
The number of people I talked to had increased considerably. Naturally, the time I spent talking with Luna had decreased.
Ultimately, the fear of 'possibly losing a friend' had continually plagued Luna, and it had exploded this time.
Well, Yuridia’s hint had helped a little. Just a little.
"Yes, it is! I told you to get along! But..."
Tears streamed down Luna's face.
"I didn’t say to get along better than with me, you idiot..."
So that was it.
Signs of being upset, signals of feeling bad—she had been sending them all along. Why hadn’t I noticed?
"It would have been nice if you had told me."
"How could I? This is because of my lousy personality."
I have many friends because I'm good.
Does Luna think she has few friends because she's not good enough?
Maybe choosing to sulk instead of lashing out was Luna’s way of trying hard.
She wanted me to notice something was off. To come and talk to her.
To tell everyone that I am her real friend, her first friend.
"Go ahead first. We don’t have time for this. We need to catch the demon."
Luna frantically wiped away her flowing tears, but they wouldn’t stop.
Okay, I get it now.
It was all my clueless fault.
"I’m jealous too."
"Huh?"
"Doesn’t Luna have a friend? Miss Rezé."
I raised my hand and wiped the tears from Luna's eyes.
"Both Luna and I. We will continue to make more friends in the future. We might spend less time with each other."
"...I guess so."
"But nothing changes. You and I are friends forever..."
"Friends?"
"Being each other's first friend. That won’t change no matter how many friends we make."
"...!"
Yes. I was Luna's first friend.
And to me, Luna was also my first friend. In this world of the game.
My first friend and a precious companion.
Perhaps realizing this, Luna quickly wiped her tears.
"Who doesn’t know that? Why bring it up during a fight? Are you really an idiot?"
"Keke, I just wanted to tell you. We might die this time."
"Idiot! Fool! Who's going to die! Who would just leave it at that?"
Luna suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, as if to say she would never lose me.
"...Don't even think about dying without my permission, okay?"
"Keke, I’ll keep that in mind."
Behind Luna, far in the distance, I could see Yuridia giving a thumbs up.
Tears and nosebleeds flowed freely, forming the silent words, "Love is indeed beautiful."
"Luna."
"What?"
"Have we made up now?"
"What are you talking about? We never fought to begin with. Real friends don’t fight!"
That’s why I like our Luna—always so straightforward.
While still embracing Luna, I sent a sly grin and a signal towards Yuridia.
[Turn 11]
Yuridia closed her eyes and concentrated.
"O you, darker than the blackest darkness... Redder than the blood flowing through my veins..."
It had begun.
The casting of 'Demon Slave.'
*
Area 3.
Several children dressed in priestly garb and a soldier were transporting the injured.
"Lady Victoria, we have secured the injured."
"Move them to a safe place for treatment. Call me if the injuries are severe."
"Yes, we will do that."
But Victoria’s gaze had been fixed to the left for some time.
Where Teron’s and Yuridia’s factions were, precisely between Area 1 and Area 2.
Victoria, rich in holy power, could feel it.
"Hmm~ The air is filled with evil. It’s certain a demon has appeared."
Victoria frowned from behind her fan.
Although she was in the midst of a power struggle with Teron and Yuridia, these were also citizens of the empire she had to embrace and protect.
She couldn’t just let them die.
Above all, every member of Victoria's faction could wield holy power, invaluable in the fight against demons.
But she couldn’t act rashly without orders.
‘Where has the commander gone at such a critical time? I heard he was incompetent, but this is beyond my imagination.’
The principal of Annwood Academy, who was also in charge of this year’s first-year command.
Don Quixote Dwener.
But now, there was no sign of him anywhere.
- Where are you going, you fool! That way, that way!
The last sight of him was being dragged unwillingly into the woods, unable to dismount his horse.
‘There are limits to incompetence. If only Adonis were here, maybe something could have been done...’
It wasn’t that there was no way to contact Adonis.
But she couldn’t rely on Adonis now, as he was currently preventing erosion.
Crack-!
The occasional lightning striking from the castle spoke volumes. A fierce battle was underway.
‘Honestly, if asked to choose between the lives of Annwood Academy students and the defense of Carpathia, anyone would choose Carpathia.’
The strategic importance of Carpathia was not lost on the astute Victoria.
Victoria, forgetting all decorum, gnawed at her nails.
‘With Adonis absent, it’s up to me, Victoria, to protect these children.’
It was her duty as a princess to embrace and protect the citizens of the empire.
But leaving her assigned sector was also out of the question. She could only send the minimum required personnel.
Having made her calculations, Victoria gave her orders.
"Dispatch five people each to Areas 1, 2, and 4."
"Fifteen people? That would weaken our defenses here."
"While scores are important, they are not more important than the lives of these children. The same goes for our enemies."
"As always, you are wise Lady Victoria... We will follow your orders."
About 13 minutes had passed.
A massive flame erupted in front of Victoria's formation.
And it wasn’t just that. Fire bugs, their bodies ablaze, began to appear all over the field!
The sight of the field on fire was truly spectacular.
"Kahahaha! You humans! Beg for your lives... Huh?"
The third demon, Balmonga, the Demon of Fire.
He rubbed his eyes with both hands in disbelief, but the scene remained unchanged.
‘They’re priests...?’
Indeed, they were unmistakably priests.
Not only because of their priestly garments, but the holy power that was anathema to magical energy was emanating strongly from them.
"Um... hello... I am Balmonga."
The demon’s polite greeting was met with a cheerful response from the children.
Each drew a weapon in response.
Click-clank-clank.
Swords, spears, axes, maces—various weapons were now in their hands.
The Goddess Gaia, revered by the Holy Kingdom, didn’t deter violence, she encouraged it.
It was perfectly natural for the children who followed the Goddess's teachings to carry deadly weapons.
Victoria was no exception. She pulled a whip from her robe.
A premium whip made from demon leather, refined, purified, and blessed.
Seeing this, Balmonga, attempting utmost politeness, spoke.
"Um... I think I may have taken a wrong turn. May I pass through?"
Victoria's reply was simple.
"Entering was at your discretion, but..."
"..."
"Leaving is not."
Crack!
--TL Notes--
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