We headed straight for the teleportation circle to the evacuation shelter.
The air around us felt so tense, it was hard to believe we were on our usual path. It felt as if we were on a different one altogether.
This wasn’t like the evacuation drills we’d had last year. This was the real deal.
Everyone’s expression turned serious as we moved forward, silently paying attention to our surroundings. We advanced together, quietly and as swiftly as possible, minimizing our footsteps.
The floor we lived on was located in the upper levels. That’s why we managed to reach the teleportation circle before we could be caught by the enemy force, whether they were terrorists or not.
“…It’s no good. It’s not activating,”
We would have been able to evacuate if we could have just used it, but things, as it turns out, don’t always go that smoothly. Memoria touched the magic stone that served as wall decor, channeling magic power into it, and the teleportation circle did deploy. However, the gate wouldn’t open.
Memoria shook her head, her expression grim. “It’s activated because the seal key isn’t applied, but it seems to be interfered with by something, and the gate won’t open.”
She then explained the sensation she felt when it activated. The content indicated that it wasn’t a malfunction on the company’s part, but interference from an outside party.
“I suppose it’s obvious what ‘something’ is,” I mused.
“Yes, most likely,”
We all shared the same understanding that the cause should be seen as external interference.
“In that case, is a direct evacuation the most appropriate course of action?”
“We’ll have to decide whether to use the connecting passage and head for a teleportation circle within the company or the shopping street, or to head directly to the evacuation facility in the dungeon area.”
If things didn’t go as planned, we had no choice but to take a secondary measure. However, there was heavy fighting occurring on the lower floors. Thus, the decision was naturally made.
“…Heading directly there would be too dangerous. Let’s head for the connecting passage. Suella, can you check the situation via telepathic call?”
“I’m trying, but the interference is too strong.”
“Communication jamming is standard procedure. Son-in-law.”
With no new information coming in, rash actions would lead to danger, but we couldn’t just barricade ourselves in a room. We started running again, choosing the path with less risk. We avoided the elevators, deeming them too dangerous, and opted for the stairs. We descended cautiously, wary of any surprise attacks.
“Stop!”
As we continued, I sensed a presence and instinctively ordered everyone to halt. We were currently on the stairs connecting the fourth and third floors. To use the connecting passage, we would have to either go all the way down or use the passage on the third floor. However, the sounds reaching my ears were not something I would expect from the Demon Lord’s Army gear I was accustomed to. I heard rapid, light bursting sounds. Peeking down from behind the handrail, I saw…
“Ngh!”
The floor below was a sea of blood. A hand lay limply beyond the corner, never to move again.
“They’ve pushed this far in…”
“What about the other testers?”
The first floor was the currently unused party room. The second and third floors were supposed to be occupied by single testers. The absence of other testers struck me as odd.
“Captured, hiding, or perhaps…”
Muil-san’s face was grim as he presented the possibilities. He had likely hesitated at the end, thinking of the most grim possibility given the amount of blood, but deeming it too terrible to utter.
“…Let’s go. If possible, we’ll pick up the other testers too.”
Though I didn’t want to see that outcome, I decided on our next course of action. Stopping here was, in any case, an act of foolishness. Closing my eyes and straining my ears, I searched for the presence of the beings ahead. They were moving with unhesitating speed, breaking down the door, though their magic power was weak.
“I’ll go. Suella, you all wait here.”
If the sounds from earlier were anything to go by, only I or Himik could deal with that weapon. I decided it was best for me to go.
“Be careful.”
“Understood.”
Drawing upon my magic power, I took one step to reach the bottom of the stairs, two steps to turn the corner, and three steps to enter their range. My first two steps were light and rhythmic, but the third step…
“!?”
“Too slow.”
I landed with a heavy thud, scanning in both directions. Before the two enemies, who had noticed me and were aiming their weapons—a helmet, mask, bulletproof vest, black clothing, gloves, and body armor—could fire, I had closed the distance. The figures were illuminated by the faint light of the remaining lamps in the darkness. There were five of them. Seeing the black object they held like a baby in their arms, before I could even confirm what it was, I entered the range of my ore tree and swung.
Slash.
With a single blow, I severed the arms of two of them, along with their submachine guns, and with a return swing, decapitated them. This was not a dungeon. Their lives extinguished in an instant, never to be revived. Faced with such a definitive death, the enemies’ movements momentarily froze. Unaware that this brief pause was their undoing, I commanded my body, my mind cold, and stepped forward, whirling my blade. The enemies facing the door only turned their heads. The two guarding the opposite side were beginning to turn. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, but I was the only one moving at normal speed. I sliced across the face of the enemy closest to me, sending the upper half of his head flying.
“Hii!?”
Before the blood could spray, one of them, witnessing the scene, cowered in fear. The other took a step back and raised his gun. Immediately assessing the priorities, I slipped past the trembling enemy and severed the arm of the one about to shoot, sent him flying with a kick, and laid him in the sea of blood.
“You monster!!”
Despite my movements lasting less than a second, I was impressed they reacted so quickly. I gathered strength in my legs and leaped towards the ceiling, knowing they couldn’t hit me just by firing wildly. From their perspective, I must have vanished after they fired their guns at me. I wondered how long it took them to realize I was gone and locate me. All I can say is this:
“That’s a common moniker.”
Before they could even finish searching for me, this man’s life ended. Who could survive being sliced from the base of their left neck to the opposite side of their abdomen with a single stroke from the ceiling? The battle ended in an instant. Standing before the last man writhing in agony, I stomped down on his heart with all my might.
“Gah!?”
Having him thrash about was bothersome. I pinned him between the floor and my foot, but…
“A… demon…”
He uttered broken words, gasping like a goldfish. My reflection in his eyes must have appeared monstrous.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet become that species.”
The result of killing and being killed was being called a demon. I had no complaints. I had done something to warrant it. If you were to ask if I felt disgust or guilt, I would answer yes, but I have no regrets about this decision. Instead, I thought about asking them why they did this, but seeing the look in the man’s eyes, I realized questioning him would be futile.
“Fanatic.”
I released my foot and swung my ore tree, not wanting to prolong his suffering, and severed his head. It was a disturbing sight. He had the same kind of eyes as the knights I saw in that country when I went with Memoria and Isal. Eyes clouded with unwavering faith in their god while dismissing anything else as heresy. Looking around the area, I saw a scene that would undoubtedly warrant an R-rating.
“Hey, D-platoon! What’s going on?! Report! Is anything happening!?”
Amidst the carnage, after a burst of static, a voice called out from the floor. Looking down, I saw it was coming from a radio attached to the chest of the man who had been facing the door. Ignoring the voice, I looked down the hallway and saw that several rooms had their doors brutally broken down, presumably by them. There were no presences coming from further down. Deciding they were likely taken away since there was no smell of blood, I instead knocked on the door I had just been trying to break down.
“This is Tanaka from the First Division of Testers. Is everyone inside okay?”
I knocked gently a few times, but there was no response. Just as I was about to give up, the door creaked open.
“C-Chief?”
“You’re Hamamatsu, aren’t you?”
Emerging from the room was a man who, to put it plainly, had no distinguishing features. Recently, I’d often seen him working with Kato of the Fuji-ranger.
“Hii!? Th-this… did the Chief do this?”
“Well, yes.”
Seeing Hamamatsu’s reaction, I thought, “Of course,” and assuming his subsequent reaction, I decided to be straightforward and confirm it. Denying it would be problematic in future combat, especially given I was covered in blood.
“M-murderer!?”
Hamamatsu’s face, as he stumbled back and sat down, was filled with terror as he looked at me. I felt that no matter how much I tried to explain myself now, my heart would reject any attempt to be understood.
“…Haa.”
Still, I couldn’t abandon my subordinate. With a sigh, I shifted my mood, my face devoid of emotion, and offered a choice to this man, who was only slightly more than an ordinary civilian, trembling before me.
“Choose, Hamamatsu. I’m going to kill enemies to reach safety. You can either come with me, or you can hope to be lucky and wait for rescue by locking yourself in this room.”
I knew it would be difficult, and that it was all sudden and confusing. However, we didn’t have time to express such emotions. Anger, sadness, fear—all the burdens of emotion were the most unnecessary things at this moment. If I forcibly dragged him out of the room and took him along, facing that armed force, especially with a Seraph among the enemy, any hindrance would mean annihilation. That’s why he had to choose for himself.
“…!?”
That decision would change his future. Seeing him shake his head, vehemently refusing to accompany me, I thought that he would probably never meet me at work again.
“I see. Then absolutely do not leave this room. Hide in the closet at the back of the room. No matter who comes, do not answer until morning.”
Perhaps with a hint of disappointment and a touch of sadness, I switched my mindset and slowly closed the door.
“Survive, Hamamatsu.”
The sounds of footsteps in the distance were not friendly. I sensed it from their presence. Glancing behind me, I saw the Dark Elf, Goblin, Orc, and Lizardman lying defeated at the top of the stairs. They were all clad in equipment, as if they were part of the security force. All of their bodies were riddled with bullet holes, evidence of being shot. However, that was strange. Within this company, attacks without magical energy are significantly weakened. I’d heard that firearms, with their small bullets, could only be imbued with a small amount of magic power, making it difficult to increase their power. While it might be understandable for lower-ranked beings like souls, it raised questions about how such effectiveness could be achieved against the well-equipped, proficient demons of the security force.
“Either way, there’s no benefit in taking unnecessary damage.”
I picked up a bullet that had rolled to my feet. It was one of the many that had scattered on the floor when I severed the submachine gun, along with its magazine. If there was a cause, it was likely these.
“I don’t have time to think about it.”
“Suella! The path is clear! We can move!”
I could investigate later. Putting a single, intricately engraved bullet into my pocket, I signaled to those behind me. Suella and the others cautiously emerged. When we reached the vicinity of Hamamatsu’s room, Muil-san subtly asked if it was okay.
“It’s not ideal, but taking him would likely put him in more danger.”
“I see… Son-in-law, what you’re doing may not be considered right by our standards here, but from my perspective, it’s a valiant act to protect your family. Don’t forget that.”
“Understood.”
I let out a wry smile, realizing he had seen through my shock, and quickly suppressed my emotions before dashing off. Additional forces were being sent from below. Due to some technology that made firearms effective against demons, the security force’s response was also lagging. Our position was clearly disadvantageous. I would have liked to rendezvous with Amelia and Kaido, but with telepathic communication disabled, it was not wise to search for them blindly.
“Stay safe.”
Unable to protect myself, I couldn’t go to their rescue. The whispered wish dissolved into the air, unheard by anyone. What normally took me three minutes to walk, I reached the connecting passage in running time. A sense of relief washed over us, with the hope of evacuation ahead.
“Finally found you. My foolish sister.”
Just as that hope was about to be crushed, a resolute voice echoed, followed by: “Take cover!”
A blast of light, capable of being called an aurora, struck the connecting passage from the side. The owner of the voice, who had created that radiant phenomenon, slowly descended from above.
“It was difficult to find you due to the magic power within this building, but I’ve found you, Himik.”
“…Nisia, Sister.”
The worst possible timing. Running into the enemy’s top combatant like this was purely a matter of bad luck.
“You tarnish the wings given to you by Father with such a dirty color. You are a naughty child.”
And then, as if we were invisible, she spoke only to Himik. A being with three pairs of wings. Despite her gentle appearance, she exuded an aura that overwhelmed others, embodying the grace of a true powerhouse. She smiled elegantly, but there was no kindness in her eyes.
“When you return to heaven, prepare to be punished.”
Her words were declared as if they were absolute.
“Now then, shall we clean up these insects first?”
Finally noticing us, she unleashed her magic without mercy or compassion, as if we were merely targets to be eliminated. The sheer quantity of magic circles, powered by immense magical energy, threatened to turn the entire area to ash with its killing intent. I raised my ore tree, ready to charge, but before I could, it was unleashed.
“Negation. I object to that word.”
Before that could happen, a giant arm smashed through the wall and attacked Seraph Nisia. As the building crumbled, a small, rhythmic tapping sound announced the arrival of Kiō, Amili Mazacraft, emerging from the dust, holding a giant bowl over her head to protect herself from falling debris. With several cords trailing from her back, floating and not touching the ground, she walked. Though she appeared young, she was a genuine Seven Generals. She stopped calmly, stared for a few seconds, and then spoke to Nisia floating in the air.
“You are the one to be eliminated.”
A mechanical activation sound echoed, and Amili-san’s cords spread out in eight directions simultaneously. This was Amili-san in combat mode, something I had never seen before. Her calm demeanor completely transformed, she whispered, “Activate, ‘Invisible Monster’.”
**Today’s Word:**
You can stop yourself from getting hurt, but wounds take time to heal.
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*The first volume of the novel is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018. The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year. The second volume was released on December 19. The third volume was released on February 20, 2019. The content has been revised and expanded from the original submissions on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, with additional unreleased intermissions included. Please look forward to the new releases!*
*The manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.” We hope you enjoy that as well.*
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