This is impossible. The stars have vanished, and the night sky is filled with a multitude of massive stones.
I held Alma tighter, steeling myself for survival. Of course, I prepared to be the one who survived.
Godspeed! Mode Four!
I don’t know if I can pull it off. If I don’t use it, I’ll die. It might be honorable to die with a beautiful woman, but if I were to embrace someone one last time, I’d want it to be Priscilla!
“You think I’m going to die, you idiot! Don’t mess with a con man!”
I don’t remember if I used Mode Four. The last thing I recall is being struck on the back of the head and losing consciousness…
How long was I out? Ten seconds? Ten minutes? When I opened my eyes, thick dust was swirling, and Alma, who I had been holding, was gone.
“Alma!”
I chided myself for not using Wide-Area Mind’s Eye instead of shouting and, upon using it, found Alma not too far away.
“Are you alive, Alma!”
Alma’s left arm was pinned under a large rock from the elbow down. There was no way I could move it alone. There are no heavy machines in this world.
“Husband… Thank you for saving me this far… Humans can actually be quite capable…”
Only her left arm was trapped under the rock, but the countless bruises and the blood she coughed up told a horrific story. She must believe these massive stones were the work of humans.
Here’s another secret: before I was hit in the back of the head, I jumped to escape, and my gaze was locked onto Alma’s heaving chest, causing me to slip. But I won’t mention that.
I slowly approached Alma, a fallen axe in my hand. This war was started by the Demon Army. Innocent people died, and many were driven from their homes.
How many sorrows have I witnessed from Lauenstein to here? How much despair have I seen? If only they didn’t exist…
I have personal revenge, too. To be dismembered and humiliated, and the sheer indignity of it all. Do you understand how it felt when a female researcher, who wasn’t Alma, laughed at my Petty knife, saying, “Heh heh”?
Now is the greatest chance to kill her. She’s not wearing armor, her purple skin completely bare. Her left hand is crushed, and blood flows from her mouth, perhaps from ruptured internal organs. If I miss this chance, I can’t face those who have died.
“Husband…”
Alma misunderstands. There’s no way I’d fall for a demon or marry one. The flame of revenge that has always burned in my heart will be extinguished here.
“Husband… Well, it’s fine… I had fun…”
Alma slowly closed her eyes. Had she resigned herself to fate? The faint smile on her lips, was she reminiscing about happy times?
I mercilessly swung the axe down with Godspeed. I made a clean cut to minimize the pain and to ensure a clean amputation for a future prosthetic.
“Gwaaah!”
I pinned Alma down as she writhed in pain and bound her upper arm with a strip of cloth I had picked up along with the axe. I wanted to leave her elbow intact, but the cut had to be made above it.
The dead have no right to complain. Those who grieve should see a therapist. I couldn’t be a mercenary if I worried about them.
I am a mercenary, the Captain of the White Lily Corps. I fight for myself and the White Lily Corps. Revenge is a foreign concept. I want to choose beautiful women over the fires of revenge.
“Husband…”
“Be quiet! After stopping the bleeding, I’ll carry you. I’m sorry, but it’s to where your kin are.”
“Husband…”
I really am an idiot. I’ll probably regret not killing her. Even now, I hesitated, wondering if I should kill her, as I dashed through the field of giant stones.
When I found a group of Orcs, I worried if they would understand me, but I remembered using the same language before and shouted while holding Alma,
“Hey! A Demon Army woman is injured. Take care of her!”
My work is done here. I can’t turn back any further, and this is too dangerous. Seeing the Orcs notice me, I set Alma down. I don’t know if demons have healing magic, but from here on, it’s up to fate, and I’m escaping.
I quickly put distance between us, and the Orcs didn’t pursue. They rushed towards Alma. Did they gather to heal their superior, or did they just want to look at Alma’s naked body?
I don’t feel envious. I’ve seen her up close. I shouldn’t linger here. Before crossing the castle wall, I want to see a bit of Klinshberbach. How strong is the Demon Army, anyway?
I dashed with Godspeed towards Alma. Mode Three, Godspeed Megaton Punch!
The Orc’s face exploded like a balloon, and I heard a sickening crunch from my right fist. I sent not only the Orc who had stabbed Alma’s abdomen but also those around them, who were laughing boisterously, on a one-way trip to hell, and then knelt beside Alma.
“Why… You’re our kin…”
I watched as the Orcs I had handed over stabbed swords into the abdomen of the injured, immobilized Alma. Why did I help her when I could have just left her?
“It can’t be helped… The prisoner exchanged with my husband is Orc food… If I hand that over, I’ll be hated… Gulp…”
What can I do for Alma, who is bleeding out? Did she do this, risking death, just for me? Am I really that valuable to her?
I took the sword from the Orc and cut my right wrist. This is the healing I can provide, as I have no healing magic. I can only rely on the natural regenerative abilities of demonic blood.
“Alma, trust me and drink!”
“…I always trust you, Husband.”
Alma latched onto my right wrist and sucked my demonic blood. Would this blood work on anyone other than me? It might even worsen things for demons, but there’s no time to test it.
As Alma drank my blood, I felt a chill. It wasn’t like being drained of blood or magic power, but an emptiness that felt like my life force was being siphoned away.
“I-I think I’m okay now…”
I’m not sure if she’s okay. Her purple skin showed no return of color. The bleeding from her left hand wound had stopped, but blood was still flowing from the wound in her abdomen.
“I’ll find other demons for you to drink from. Hang in there a little longer!”
As I lifted Alma, an intense killing intent enveloped me. Perhaps it was a lack of blood, but I sank to my knees unintentionally. Don’t drop Alma, show some guts!
“Let go of Alma!”
If you hadn’t directed that killing intent at me, I would have put her down normally. There you are, number two on my kill list, Darius McKenna.
“Darius…”
Alma weakly extended her hand. Darius, as if responding, shouted,
“Kill him!”
Darius, could you perhaps let me explain? I was actually helping Alma. I cut off her arm, but it was unavoidable. The stab wound in her abdomen was made by an Orc, so ask him about it.
“No…”
The Undead Knight began to move at Darius’s command. I placed Alma on the ground and dashed away from Darius in a crouching start. …Damn! I might have shown my rear end.
The thought of it made me run faster out of sheer embarrassment. Even with my stamina, Mode Two would have been my limit, but now I can use both hands to cover my rear and go into Mode Four!
I felt the fear of being attacked by the Undead Knight with my lower body as I ran. Wait? Something’s wrong. I feel a breeze. It’s only now that I’ve remembered I’m running naked.
Perhaps after a long period of living as a nudist, wearing clothes feels unnatural. I clenched my buttocks tightly, my right hand forward and my left hand behind, covering what needed to be covered as I ran.
It would be faster to swing both arms, but I sprinted at Godspeed until I picked up the soiled bedsheet.
I thought I might be caught, but they prioritized transporting Alma over pursuing me, and I easily outran my pursuers, resuming my normal speed.
Along the way, I passed Orcs and Trolls on their way to see the structure created by Sophia’s Meteor Strike. I easily evaded them by wrapping myself in the sheet and reciting the “I am a rock” spell.
From a distance, I also saw the power of Meteor Strike and couldn’t help but say, “That’s cheating.” The area from the mansion we were in to the western castle wall was covered in tons of massive stones, and the castle walls had holes in them from the impact.
The prisoners were on the west side. I shudder at the thought of what would have happened if they were still there. I don’t care if the Orcs and Trolls were reduced to mincemeat.
I can use this power, but Sophia herself doesn’t quite know how to control it, and I don’t want to be the target. In the future, I need to exercise more self-control. I will focus on loving one woman and not looking at others. Though, I don’t think this particular situation is my fault.
I ran along the western side of Klinshberbach wrapped in a soiled bedsheet, but there were no Dragons or Giants in sight, only Orcs I passed.
Dragons and Giants are too large to fit inside houses. If they aren’t here, they might have gone out to attack King Harmonia. The fact that Priscilla and the others are safe for now indicates that Sophia used magic.
All that’s left is to rendezvous. If I proceed through the South Gate, someone from Iris’s group should be waiting. I hope they haven’t gotten bored yet and decided to go home.
As I ran towards the south with Godspeed, a beautiful Dark Elf caught my Wide-Area Mind’s Eye. I immediately approached and covered Iris.
“Oh, good person! I’m glad you’re safe…”
That’s more like it. It’s nice to be greeted with concern, especially if the person is beautiful. We were both wrapped in the sheet, and there was no one around.
“I’m back, Iris. I want to hear about the situation, but let’s stay like this for a little longer…”
“Yes…”
Iris began to undress without hesitation. I was naked, and I had spread the sheet to cover us both… So this is how people perceive my karma.
“You don’t have to take them off. Harpies are flying this way. They’re probably pursuers looking for me. Are you ready to escape?”
It seems she misunderstood my camouflage. Well, knowing me, she probably thought I was going to attack. I’m deeply offended. I need to be more careful from now on.
“We couldn’t get any horses or carriages, but we have plenty of food. We can leave anytime.”
Horses are a shame, but with food, we can manage. I wish I had clothes too, but they probably couldn’t imagine me returning naked.
“Is everyone else safe? Where did they go?”
“They’re safe. King Harmonia has entered the castle in Shidenzach, located in the eastern mountain range. The White Lily Corps and Alana have also joined us at the castle.”
We should head there too, to Shidenzach. I need to regroup with the White Lily Corps and discuss the current situation with Princess Anneliese. Is Harmonia finished? Or…?
“Good person…”
It’s strange. It must be Alma’s magic. To obtain the Buster Sword at this critical juncture.
