What in the world is going on?
These incidents of late wear on my body and mind alike.
What with the huge outbreak of bandits, the successive kidnapping incidents that have followed, and so on, the order within my territory has sharply declined all at once.
The abnormal increase in the number of bandits already smells of some kind of international incident, and as we were investigating, the carriage containing my wife and daughter was attacked.
Fortunately, my wife and child are safe, but it seems my trusted retainer Merazophis was briefly in grave peril.
And yet, when I received this information, when I laid eyes on him, he bore nary a scratch.
And Merazophis himself is the one who relayed this report to me, no less.
He explained that, of all things, a spider monster saved them from the evil clutches of the robbers.
My wife insists that the creature must have been the Divine Beast. Indeed, in the texts of the Goddess whom our country of Sariella worships, there is a Divine Beast that serves the Goddess herself.
My wife seems to believe that this spider monster is that very same Divine Beast.
At any rate, just as I was breathing a sigh of relief that they were safe, we discovered the bodies of some unidentified but suspicious-looking humans in our home the very next day.
Based on that timing, I can only assume they must have been in league with the robbers who attacked my wife and daughter's carriage the previous day. I have ordered Merazophis to investigate, but we have yet to learn just what we are dealing with.
But not long after that day, all the robbers in the county suddenly vanished, so perhaps there is no longer any point in investigating. The culprit behind that was found immediately.
The spider monster who seems to have saved my wife and daughter has been sighted lurking in the woods near our town. At that point, I simply had to laugh.
To think that a monster able to quickly and quietly dispose of bandits would exist so close to our town.
My wife exclaims that the Divine Beast has saved our town, but I cannot say I share her delight.
Regardless, we must proceed with caution lest we incur the wrath of the spider monster. Yet despite my intentions, those adventurers who arrived from Ohts have made contact with the monster.
And since they have been spreading the word of the spider monster in the town, now the masses are all aware of its existence. Why has it been one major event after another as of late? To make matters worse, my wife has been spreading her Divine Beast theory all through the town.
My dear wife, is the Divine Beast truly more important to you than your own husband? Thanks to her, the people of the town are beginning to seriously believe that the spider monster is the Divine Beast.
Even though this is certainly not the case! We have already discovered the creature's true identity through our investigation. It is a dangerous monster commonly known as the "Nightmare," which escaped from the Great Elroe Labyrinth in Ohts.
A monster that has attacked people in the past.
We have no way of knowing when it might decide to attack us on a whim.
So it is beyond dangerous to worship such a creature as the Divine Beast. However, now that my wife has taken the initiative to announce such a thing, I cannot simply come out and deny that it is the Divine Beast.
If I take one wrong step, I may even be impeached.
"Ha…ha-ha. Whatever should I do, Merazophis?"
"Master, please stay calm. Remember, I am here."
Thank goodness.
What everyone really needs is a trusted, understanding confidant.
"Master, you are surely correct that the Nightmare is likely not the Divine Beast, but is it not possible that the thing possesses intelligence?"
I can't help but let out a groan at Merazophis's suggestion.
"Yes, that thought has crossed my mind. In fact, let me state my conclusion: The Nightmare most likely has very high intelligence indeed."
"Then is it possible that it would understand speech, as well? We may be able to negotiate, if so."
"Merazophis. It is not that simple. That thing is still a monster. Even if it does possess the same level of intelligence as a human, we may not be able to communicate. After all, do you believe that you could hold a conversation with a Word of God fanatic?"
Merazophis is silent at that. It's difficult enough to reach an understanding between humans, never mind with a monster.
At any rate, we must monitor the Nightmare closely lest it turns its fangs on us next. This is a powerful monster that was able to easily dispose of thieves whom we had been utterly incapable of dealing with.
It even destroyed a fortress in Ohts. I doubt there is anything we humans could do to stop it. In that case, the best I can think to do is pray to the Goddess that it will not ravage our lands.
"Master, are you perhaps worrying a tad too much?"
"What? Merazophis, surely you, too, do not believe that creature is the Divine Beast that will save our land?"
I suppose the monster did heal Merazophis's injuries when he was on the verge of death. No doubt he is hesitant to speak poorly of a creature that saved his life.
He has always been an almost excessively diligent man. Honest if slightly awkward, he repays any favor to the best of his ability.
"I am grateful to it for saving you, too, you know," I admit.
I am as relieved that it saved Merazophis as I am that it protected my wife and daughter.
"However, that is only my personal opinion. As a statesman, I must respond to emergency situations such as a dangerous monster lurking near town with the worst-case scenario in mind."
Perhaps the Nightmare really is the Divine Beast. Perhaps it really will save our land. But it is equally possible that it will be the ruin of our town. We have no way of knowing just yet. As a leader, I must proceed by assuming the worst. I cannot put my people at risk by acting in accordance with idealistic wishes.
"Merazophis, what do you think of the Nightmare? Please tell me your honest impressions." I inquire, moved by a sudden curiosity.
"I…am not sure, myself."
Merazophis's response is uncharacteristically hesitant. Generally, he has a black-and-white personality and prefers to respond to things with a simple yes or no. It's highly unusual for him to give such an unclear answer.
"It is difficult to pin down. Perhaps one might say it was wicked yet honorable… No, perhaps not. I cannot put it into words, I am afraid."
Wicked yet honorable? That certainly is difficult to understand. Honorable, though…?
Wickedness would be easy enough to understand, but does that Nightmare have a sense of honor, too?
"Excuse me! Pardon my intrusion, but I have urgent news! The Nightmare has saved a deathly ill patient!"
When my subordinate bursts in with this report, I feel like I can grasp the honor Merazophis mentioned. What in the world is that spider?!
LET US FIGHT My Wind Magic flies directly toward Hugo. However, it vanishes into nothing right before it reaches him. The girl who is now standing in front of Hugo has dispersed it.
"Miss Negishi."
"I keep telling you not to call me by that name."
Negishi's smile barely masks her irritation as she blocks my way. She has a skill that can negate magic. As long as she stands on the front lines, the magic-using elves are bound to be at a disadvantage.
"Sophia. Don't interfere."
Yet Hugo is willfully throwing that away.
"Oh? Are you quite sure?"
"Yeah. I have to get revenge on Oka with my own hands."
Hugo fearlessly takes a step forward.
"I see. I'll just watch and learn, then, I suppose."
Negishi steps back along with the boy and girl at her side, then leans against a tree with her arms folded. It seems she really does intend to sit back and watch. I don't know how long she plans to stick to her word, but for my sake, I hope it stays that way.
"Elves are the enemies of God! Their only fate is death!"
Unfortunately, the others don't seem so willing to step down. Yuri, the other reincarnated girl at Hugo's side, assaults me with a merciless magic attack.
"Hey! I told you: Don't interfere!"
"I cannot simply watch on when the enemy of God stands before me! Why have you sided with the elves, teacher? Elves are heretics who do not listen to the words of God. Those who would defy God will meet with certain death! That's why we have to slaughter every elf, all of them, so we can send them to hell where they can reflect on their sins. Yes, let them repent in hell! Surely you would not work with such sinners, would you, Ms. Oka? If you do, I'll have to punish you as a heretic, you know? You must repent. Repent! Teacher or no, all heretics must die! Do you understand? So please tell me you're not a heretic. It's not too late. I'm sure God would forgive you. Will you devote yourself to God now?"
Yuri rants as if she's gone mad.
There's no way she's in her right state of mind.
I have to defeat Hugo and free her from his brainwashing right away.
"Please wait a little longer, Miss Yuri. I promise I'll bring you back to your senses."
"Ms. Oka, you're the one who needs to come to your senses, all right? You must not believe the elves' filthy lies! I know you are an elf, too, but if you admit they deceived you, I'm sure God will forgive you! Just confess, all right?"
Clearly it will do me no good to keep trying to reason with her. She'll only keep talking around in circles. In that case, it'll be faster to simply defeat Hugo, the source of all this evil. I narrow my eyes and focus on him, and his lips twist into a smirk.
"Come on, then! Hurry it up, or I'll just have to come after you first!" Hugo beckons, trying to provoke me. At the same time, the army behind him begins to move forward.
"Intercept them!" I call an order to the elves and at the same time fire another Wind Magic attack at Hugo. Unlike the diversion spell that Negishi dispersed a little while ago, this one is at maximum firepower. The level-four spell of Tempest Magic, Dragon Wind.
Putting it bluntly, this spell creates a tornado. The storm swallows people up like blades of grass. Having lost all his skills and stats at one point, Hugo has no way to defend against it. It's been some time since that happened, but it would be all but impossible for him to work his way back up to his former strength from square one in that time.
I know that he has a Seven Deadly Sins skill. However, the skill he has is most likely Lust. According to the elves' records, the Lust skill grants a brainwashing ability. It seems to be terrifyingly strong brainwashing, but still, it is not a directly battle-related skill. The title may have increased his stats somewhat, but nothing more. He won't be able to stand up to my magic. The tornado swallows the soldiers who step out in front of Hugo, sucking their lives away in an instant.
Then it closes in on Hugo…
"Graaah!"
…and is scattered by his sword. What?! How could he destroy that spell?!
"That crap's not gonna work on me!"
A swing of his sword sends a black fog of darkness gushing toward me. I parry it with Wind Magic. At the same time, I realize how Hugo stopped my Dragon Wind. His equipment. That sword must be made from dragon materials. Weapons and armor made from monster materials sometimes retain the special properties of that monster. If it canceled out magic, it's safe to assume that his sword contains dragon parts. And since it can unleash a Dark-attribute attack in addition to its magic-inhibiting abilities, it must be made from parts of a particularly rare kind of dragon: a dark dragon. No doubt about it: This is a rare and powerful sword.
I look over Hugo's appearance again, reassessing. Instead of armor, he's wearing somewhat Chinese-style clothes. However, the monster bones wrapped around the shoulders indicate that these clothes, too, have been tailored from monster parts. In short, he's using high-performance equipment to make up for the fact that his stats have been weakened.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Those half-assed spells are never gonna touch me! Did you really think I was just gonna stay helpless forever after you stole all my power?!"
I deploy multiple Wind Magic spells at once, but his sword blocks every last one of them. I don't think relying on your equipment is anything to brag about! Judging that magic alone won't be effective, I pull out my bow. Then I cast Wind Magic on the bow to loose an arrow.
Accelerated by the power of the wind, the arrow flies forward like a bullet. With this spell, the arrow is powerful enough to bore a hole through something if it lands a direct hit. Since his stats have been lowered, Hugo shouldn't be able to react to that speed in time to dodge or defend against it completely. He may not die from it, since he's protected by high-quality equipment, but the damage is sure to be severe. But despite my expectations, Hugo dodges the oncoming arrow.
"What?!"
An exclamation of surprise escapes my lips. The arrow flies past Hugo and into the imperial army behind him, piercing right through multiple soldiers. Despite having lost several allies to the attack, Hugo simply looks back at me and grins.
Something about that smile sends a shiver down my spine, but I nock another arrow and try again. Just like the first one, it flies toward Hugo at high-speed thanks to my Wind Magic, but he manages to evade it again. This doesn't make any sense. Hugo should still be weakened since I took away his stats and skills once before.
Even if he's trained since then, there's no way he should have been able to get fast enough to dodge my arrows.
"Pretty weird, right? You wanna know how I got this strong? I bet you're dying to know!" Hugo casually kicks forward.
The distance between us closes with a single step. So fast?! I was wrong. This can't be the power of equipment alone! As I retreat, I grab another arrow and shoot. Hugo ducks to the side, dodging the arrow. The time it takes to dodge slows him down a little, putting more distance between us.
"Hey, don't run away! C'mon, I thought we were friends!"
I loose another arrow. At the same time, the elves around us launch an attack on him all at once.
"Yeah, right!"
Magic and arrows rain down on Hugo, but he brushes them off easily. This is all a bit unexpected. I use Telepathy to order the nearby elves to evacuate. It looks like I won't be able to take on Hugo by holding back. However, as the elves retreat, Yuri's magic chases them down.
"Elves are heretics! Death to the elves!"
Her magic blows away all the elves surrounding me, leaving me isolated. Then Hugo steps in again to slash at me with his sword. I retreat once more, trying to put some distance between us.
"C'mon, we weren't done talking! I'm actually pretty grateful to ya, y'know? I wouldn't be the man I am today if I hadn't suffered so much I almost went insane!"
Almost? No, he definitely is insane! But I have no right to make that comment. Because I'm the one who made him insane.
"And that's how I got all this power! You know about one of 'em, right? The Lust skill. It's an awesome skill that lets you make people do whatever you want!"
I loose more arrows. He dodges again.
"And there's one more thing! Now I can be the strongest guy ever. 'Cause I got the skill Greed, too! With this, I get to steal some of the strength of anyone I kill! Why d'you think I'm on the front lines, huh? It's all so I can kill lots of enemies and make their power my own!"
Stunned, I stop moving for a fraction of a second. The effects of that skill flash through my mind from the elves' records.
The Greed skill. It's another one of the Seven Deadly Sins skills. When the user kills someone, they gain some of the victim's power. But only a small amount of their skills, stats, skill points, and so on.
Essentially, though, Hugo has used this skill to make himself even stronger than he was before.
How many lives has he taken?
How many sins has he amassed to gain all this power?
I stop moving for only a moment.
But in that moment, Hugo closes the gap between us and raises his sword.
"Up here!"
"Eh?!"
The sword makes a shallow cut through the arm of the wind armor that I normally wear. I quickly create a windblast between us, using the recoil to push us apart.
This hurts me, too, but I'm at a major disadvantage in close combat.
"Huh. Well, look at you."
Hugo appears to be completely unharmed. Still, I keep firing arrows. Hugo dodges them easily. As I start to nock my next arrow, a blast hits my body.
"Nngh?!"
"Ms. Oka. It seems like I can't get through to you at the moment, so please go to sleep for a little while. Don't worry. I'll pray to God to cleanse the poison that's tainted your thoughts. You'll be pure again in no time!"
It's Yuri's magic. As soon as I realize this, I automatically loose an arrow toward her. The arrow hits a surprised Yuri in the shoulder. And it's a highly destructive Wind Magic–imbued arrow. It blows right through her shoulder, sending blood flying everywhere.
…Oh no. How could I do this?
Reflex or no, I accidentally hit Yuri with a potentially fatal attack when she's only being manipulated!
"Uh-oh. What kinda teacher would do that to her own student?"
"H-how dare you to say such a thing!"
Hugo is the last person to have any right to say that to me! Pretending to fly into a half-crazed frenzy, I shoot another arrow. It doesn't hit, of course, flying off course so that Hugo dodges it easily.
However, now my preparations are complete.
I have been firing my arrows for nothing.
If Hugo was sane, he would've noticed that I've been running away in a big circle.
The arrows sticking out of the ground are a starting point to generate a barrier. It won't be as strong as the one that protected the village, of course, but it's still the kind of barrier that can't be reproduced with skills that imitate the ancient techniques.
I activate the barrier. Leaving Hugo in the middle.
He isn't simply trapped in there, either. The air inside the barrier is rapidly escaping.
Manipulating the wind means that I can move the air. And while this world does seem to be different from Earth in various ways, oxygen certainly still exists here.
The basic rules of this world are no different from those on Earth. They just seem different because of the addition of the new rules known as skills and magic.
Just like on Earth, humans cannot live without air.
The shape of the barrier doesn't change, but with the air gone, the pressure inside changes rapidly. The human body can't stand up to this pressure.
Even if it could, the lack of oxygen would cause it to die soon enough.
This is an original spell that I developed myself. Hugo desperately tries to destroy the barrier, but it's no use. It may not be perfect, but it's still a reproduction of a barrier from the age of the gods.
I can't activate it without a great deal of difficulty, but once it's been produced, the barrier can't be destroyed. I've won. Or so I thought. For one fatal instant, I forgot there are reincarnations here more dangerous than Hugo.
"Aagh?!"
At that moment, I have no idea what happened.
But I know that a powerful force struck my body, sending my vision spinning.
"Ha-ha-ha! Damn, that was close! I almost ate it in there! Nice one, Sophia!" As I roll to the ground uncomprehendingly, Hugo's loud laughter reaches my ears.
It's only then that I realize what must have happened. Negishi must have destroyed my barrier.
And I was blown away by the aftershock or something like that. I was too careless. Just like with Yuri a little while ago, I've been so focused on Hugo that I forgot to stay vigilant of the other dangers around me.
I have no right to make fun of Hugo for such a thing anymore.
"How pathetic. After all that 'don't interfere' grandstanding you did."
"C'mon, don't be like that. How was I supposed to know Oka had such a crazy move up her sleeve? It's over now, though."
Raising my head, I see Hugo standing above me.
"Nngh?!"
His sword swings down, tearing deep into my abdomen.
No! Stop! It hurts!
"You sure gave me a run for my money there. Looks like I won, though. Heh-heh-heh. I'm not gonna kill you; don't worry. I wanna make sure you get a good look at the total ruin of all the elves! What should I do with the rest of the class, hmm? If they're willing to cooperate, maybe I'll let 'em work for me. But if not, guess I'll torture them in front of you, huh? You'll make a good face for me then, won't you? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Should be fun, right?!"
Please, don't! I have to stop him. But the pain won't let me move my body properly.
"Well, isn't this nice. It's the total opposite of last time. Well? How do you like being crushed into the ground, huh? You're probably goin' crazy wondering what's gonna happen to you now, right? Totally hopeless, I bet. Well, I'm not gonna brainwash you. I'll make you watch as I send you to the nethermost depths of despair until your spirit's totally broken!"
Hugo aims a kick at my small body. It's enough to send me flying through the air, slamming into the trunk of a tree. The impact sends shock waves through my body, and blood gushes from the cut in my stomach.
"You know she'll die if you keep this up, right?"
"Oh right. Can't have that, can we?"
Tears well up in my eyes from the pain, blurring my vision. The image of Hugo approaching me wavers, until suddenly my vision is filled with light. Unable to look at it directly, I close my eyes, wiping the tears away with a trembling arm.
"Sorry, we're late, Ms. Oka."
Then, as I open my eyes again, I see Shun and his friends, standing firmly between Hugo and me.