"We can rebuild a nation, but we can't bring back a life. If we abandon Verbergen we
can always rebuild in the depths of the forest, or in the mountains to the north, or in
the uninhabited areas of the southern continent. If it comes down to it, we could even
cross the western ocean and seek shelter with our comrades across the sea. I know
none of these options are appealing, but they're preferable to fighting to the death."
"But we can't just abandon Verbergen! It's our home, our sacred birthplace!"
"What meaning is there in protecting if we all die in the process? Even without a
nation, so long as we have our lives we'll manage somehow."
The elders didn't voice any further complaints. Still, it was not a decision they could
agree to lightly. Silence filled the hall as they weighed their options. Their musings
were interrupted by a messenger bearing dire news.
The young wolfman courier burst through the hall's double doors and said in a tearful
voice, "Commander Gouto has been slain!"
"!?"
Gouto, the leader of the wolfmen tribe, had been the supreme commander of
Verbergen's forces. The elders and the common people alike had trusted him, and he'd
been the symbol of Verbergen's armed forces. Losing him would have an incalculable
effect on morale. The elders could no longer afford to take their time deliberating.
"The Vice-Commander has taken up command, but our forces are being overwhelmed.
We've already been pushed back to the final defensive line. The Vice-Commander also
bade me to pass on a message. He said they'll fight to the death, and that the elders
should use this time to flee the city. That concludes my report."
"So we're out of time…" Ulfric muttered sadly. He thought of his granddaughter, Altina,
and began mentally drafting an evacuation plan. They wouldn't be able to save
everyone, so they would have to choose a few beastmen from each race to serve as the
seeds of the future.
Before he could tell the others of his plan, another messenger burst into the room.
This time it was a foxman, and he looked completely out of breath.
"Chief Lua, Elders. I have an urgent report. The enemy appears to be searching for the
'true labyrinth.'"
"Are you certain?"
Lua asked, eyes opening wide.
"Yes, sir. They've been torturing beastmen they capture and asking them that question.
No one understands what that means though… so they haven't been able to answer…"
The messenger himself wasn't sure what this "true labyrinth" referred to either. But
he knew it was related to the uproar that had occurred a while back when a human
had first visited Verbergen. He stared questioningly at the elders.
Lua turned to Ulfric for guidance.
"We have no other choice. If telling them is what it takes to get them to retreat, it's a
small price to pay. I shall go personally. Hopefully that will be enough to convince
them."
He urged Zel and the other elders to prepare to evacuate in case negotiations broke
down and hurried out of the room.
"Ulfric-sama, it's too dangerous! Let us go in your stead!" Many of the aides and
secretaries, including those from other beastmen races, implored Ulfric to reconsider
as he made his way out of the building. "There's no time to argue about this. My
decision is final," he told them all. But he did compromise and agree to take his bow
with him. Once that had been settled, he dashed out of the building with a speed that
belied his age.
The final defensive line was at the outer gates of the city. Traps and defensive bulwarks
had been set up all around it. There were bunches of tree trunks that could be set loose
with the snap of a rope, and archery platforms for defenders to rain arrows down from
built into the upper branches of the larger trees.
Ulfric bounded up the trees far faster than his weight or age should have allowed. Once
he'd reached the uppermost platform, he squinted his eyes and surveyed the battle
below.
"They're fighting admirably." Indeed, Verbergen's soldiers were holding out well.
Bruised and battered though they were, they continued fighting valiantly against
monsters they'd never seen before.
But still, it was clear they'd be overrun before long.
With his superior eyesight, Ulfric was able to spot the enemy commander far to the
rear of the demon ranks.
He sucked in a deep breath and bellowed in a booming voice, "Hear me, demons! My
name is Ulfric Heipyst! I am one of the elders of Verbergen! You seek the true labyrinth,
do you not!" Ulfric's voice carried across the tumultuous battlefield, and all of
Verbergen's soldiers stopped and turned to see what was happening.
A second later, the monsters stopped as well.
Davros, the demon captain, strode forward in the lull that followed.
"Well, well. So you're this rabble's leader. You know where the entrance to the true
labyrinth is?"
"I do indeed. It is a secret known only to the elders of Verbergen. If you wish, I can tell
you. But in return, I want you to cease hostilities immediately. We have no intention of
interfering with your attempts to clear the labyrinth."
"Hmph, so you're looking to negotiate? Information in exchange for sparing your
lives?"
Davros stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Verbergen's soldiers gulped in anticipation.
However, Davros' reply was one no one was expecting.
"Do you know why it is we demons are waiting at the rear?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's to preserve our strength. We don't want to be too exhausted before challenging
the true labyrinth. Besides, wasting our abilities on the likes of you inferior beastmen
is more than you deserve."
The beastmen bristled at that.
Unconcerned, Davros kept his gaze locked on Ulfric.
When Ulfric saw the madness in Davros' eyes, he shivered. At the same time, he
understood. This wasn't like his meeting with Hajime Nagumo. These monsters had
never planned on negotiating from the start.
"Let me explain something to you, since you don't seem to understand. Negotiations
can only occur when both sides are on equal footing. Do you understand what equal
means!? No grubby beastmen will ever be equal to us, the chosen race! All you filthy
animals deserve is death!"
Davros raised an arm and began chanting with practiced speed.
Ulfric reacted with superhuman speed and fired an arrow at him. His aim was perfect,
and the arrow went straight for Davros' heart. Considering the distance, it was an
almost unbelievable shot.
Unfortunately, his arrow was knocked down by a wall of wind. One of the demons had
seen the attack coming and cast the spell ahead of time.
"Ware, men!" Ulfric called out a hasty warning.
"Lava Burst." A second later, Davros' spell went off.
Clods of earth rose up from the ground and coalesced into boulders. The boulders
were then engulfed in superheated flames and burst apart into chunks of lava that
rained down over the battlefield. Lava Burst was an advanced-level composite spell
that combined earth and fire magic. Though it fell under advanced level, its force was
as great as some ultimate class spells.
Lumps of burning lava pelted Verbergen's gates.
There was a thunderous roar, followed by a massive shockwave that knocked
Verbergen's soldiers flat.
The massive, thirty meter gate was blown off its hinges, taking the nearby trees with
it. The parts of the wall surrounding the gate were charred black, and just barely held
their shape.
The demons had wiped out Verbergen's last line of defense in a single attack.
"Such power…" Ulfric trembled as he looked at the remnants of the gate.
The soldiers who'd been standing beside it were all on the ground, surrounding by
burning embers of lava. He couldn't tell if they were dead or just barely breathing, but
none of them moved.
"See the difference between us?" Davros voice was a curious mixture of contemptuous
hatred and madness.
"You're nothing more than rejects who were abandoned by our glorious god. The fact
that beasts like you tried to form a country is an affront. We are the chosen people,
and it is we demons who will usher in a new era of prosperity and splendor. It baffles
me that you lesser creatures can't even understand such a simple concept." Davros
glared with bloodshot eyes as the beastmen started crawling back to their feet.
"I am truly grateful that crushing your puny nation is part of my mission. Consider this
an honor, you brutes. We won't turn you scum into slaves… We'll hunt down every last
one of you instead." Two creatures leaped out of the shadows and headed straight for
Ulfric.
Ulfric doubted they'd kill him before at least torturing the location of the true
labyrinth out of him. Which meant they were hoping to capture him now so that he
wouldn't accidentally be killed in the battle that would follow.
"Tch." He pulled three arrows out of his quiver, and fell backwards off the archery
platform. His instinct, honed from years of experience, had led him to make the right
decision.
No matter how fast an adversary was, once you started falling they had no choice but
to change course and attack you from above. And in order to change direction, they
first had to decelerate.
Ulfric let his two arrows fly, striking down the pair of bee monsters that had come
after him. Meanwhile, his third arrow trailed an arc threw the sky and fell straight
toward Davros.
Ulfric then twisted in midair, and fired another volley of arrows through the newly
opened hole in Verbergen's wall. These shots seemingly weaved through the press of
beastmen and monsters. They, too, headed straight for Davros.
Ulfric's marksmanship was legendary.
Even Davros couldn't help but be amazed. But he still leaped to the side quickly enough
to avoid the deadly barrage.
"Damn you!" Davros hated that a measly beastman had forced him to dodge.
He unleashed a barrage of fireballs, casting practically without chanting. Though
fireball was a beginner-level spell, it still packed quite a punch. The earth shook as the
storm of fire crashed into the ground around Ulfric.
"Gaaah!?" He cried out in pain as the shockwave sent him flying backwards.
Seeing their elder in trouble, the beastmen rallied once more and charged. However,
the demons joined their monster servants in the counterattack, and the beastmen's
battle cries soon turned to gurgled screams of pain and terror.
Everyone in the city knew that the gates had fallen. Messengers had already delivered
reports of the demons' response to the elders, who were now organizing an
evacuation. They had all of the civilians split up and flee in different directions, but
there was no telling if they'd be able to escape safely still.
It came down to how much time the remaining soldiers could buy. The elders
despaired. There didn't seem to be even a glimmer of hope left.
Verbergen would perish today. The enemy this time was too strong.
"No, wait… we've still got a chance." A bearman panted as he took a beetle's charge
head-on. The stunt cost him a few ribs, but it put the monster in range of his halberd,
which he swung down mercilessly.
His name was Regin. He was a powerful warrior who was next in line to be the
bearmen chief. He was also the soldier who'd ignored the elders' decision and gone
after the Haulia clan after Hajime had crippled Jin. He had of course been utterly
crushed, and returned home in disgrace.
As penance for defying Verbergen's orders, he'd been demoted down to a lowly foot
soldier and lost any chance at becoming the next elder.
"If… If they come here to help we still have a chance. I have to find them." A monster
resembling a butterfly fluttered in front of him. It unleashed a beam of heat from its
eyes which punched through Regin's flank. Right after, another beetle charged at him.
"Gaaah!?" Regin screamed out in pain as he was sent flying past the fogless barrier
created by the verdren crystals.
"Sorry, guys! Just hold out a little longer!"
Though he was bleeding from head to toe, Regin still got back to his feet. He squeezed
out every last ounce of his strength and ran off into the distance.
When he arrived at the Haulia village, he found it completely fortified, with armed
guards ready at the gates.
As he burst through the fog, he was greeted by a squadron of rabbitmen glaring at him
with the predatory eyes of monsters. The sight terrified him so much he let out an
involuntary scream.
"Never thought I'd see our bearman friend here." Cam stepped forward. His glare was
so feral that Regin averted his gaze. But then he gathered his courage and took a step
forward toward the Haulia chief. Regin threw himself at Cam's feet and pressed his
forehead into the ground.
"I understand full well that I have no right to ask you for anything! But please, lend us
your help! I'll even give you my life if that's what it takes!" He kept his plea short as he
knew how shameless it was to beg like this.
The strongest active member of the strongest beastmen race was bowing his head to
a rabbitman, the race everyone ridiculed as the weakest.
Had any other rabbitman seen this, they would have doubted their eyes and pinched
their fluffy ears to make sure they weren't dreaming.
Cam's response was unexpectedly cold.
"You're an eyesore. Shut your mouth," he said resolutely.
"Wha—"
Regin ground his teeth. Why!? The beastmen's sacred home, the sea of trees was being
invaded. Sure Verbergen and the Haulia had had their disagreements, but Regin was
sure they would have helped in the face of such a crisis.
Shocked, Regin opened his mouth to argue.
Before he could say anything though, Cam overrode him.
"You've all heard the reports, right men? Their target is the true labyrinth. The
labyrinth we've been charged to protect until our boss returns one day."
"...…"
Goosebumps rose on Regin's arms. Though they were silent, the Haulia clan was
exerting some unseen pressure.
"Those bastards are trying to lay their grubby paws on boss' prize." There were a
number of loud screeches, and all of the monsters in the vicinity fled as fast they could,
the undergrowth rustling as they ran past. None of them wanted to be anywhere near
the Haulia right now.
Even Regin felt like running. But he couldn't move.
"If… If they do anything to the Grand Tree that makes it impossible for boss to reach
the true labyrinth…" Cam's rabbit ears stood on end as he ground his teeth ominously.
"Listen up, men. We are all comrades-in-arms, all family. Can we really sit back and
watch as our boss' dreams… are crushed before our very eyes!?"
"Sir, no sir!"
The Haulia yelled at the top of their lungs. The volume of their voices pushed back the
fog a few centimeters.
"Would we be able to face him if we let these bastards do as they please!?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"Would we have any right to call him our boss!?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"That's right. If we fail here, we're trash. Trash that isn't even worthy of licking boss'
boots! Are we trash, gentlemen!?"
"Sir, no, sir!"
"Now that's what I wanna hear! We are Haulia! Boss' personal army! The strongest
army in the world! And we're going to prove it by teaching those demons a lesson they
won't forget! Let's remind them who truly owns these woods!"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
Silence filled the forest once more. The Haulia began to calm down.
No wait. They're still pumped up… They're just preparing to kill…
Though they were standing right in front of him, Regin was having a hard time keeping
his eyes on them. It was as if they were melting into the background.
Regin realized that this was what the Haulia were like when they were truly serious.
All that noise from before had just been for show.
Now they'd gone utterly silent, nearly disappearing from view, with bloodlust oozing
from their pores.
This was who the Haulia were. This was the true strength of the rabbitmen everyone
had once called the weakest in Haltina.
The rabbitmen smiled, unable to hide their mounting glee.
Their feral grins resembled the crescent moon.
One after another, the Haulia faded from sight. Where were they headed? The only
place soldiers the world over ever headed. The battlefield.
Regin was later noted to have said, "The Haulia terrified me back then. Even though
they weren't yelling and screaming like before, their quiet smiles were… ghastly. Ever
since that day, I haven't been able to sleep. Whenever I close my eyes I get nightmares
of grinning rabbits coming for… Haaah… Haaah… Sorry. Just thinking about it makes
it hard to breathe. I need my meds…"
The first to notice something strange was Vice-Commander Celeka.
"Hm? Wait, why are they coming back?" Celeka tilted his head as he watched a beeshaped monster—the demons called them Squiers—return to his position.
Because of their speed, the monsters made for good messenger birds. In fact, Celeka
had sent this one off with a message for his flanks just a few moments ago. However,
he could tell the Squier still had the orders he'd written tied to its leg.
Which mean that it had somehow lost track of where his flanking unit was.
He untied the message just in case, but as he expected it was the same one he'd
written.
"Don't tell me the fog's started affecting them suddenly." Celeka shook his head. "Nah,
there's no way," he said, discarding the possibility.
Up ahead, Ulfric and the beastmen's best elites were holding their own against Davros'
charge.
Honestly, Celeka wanted to be a part of the beastmen extermination battle, but he
knew someone had to stay behind to keep an eye on the overall situation and maintain
control of the monsters.
Besides, the demons had already fought their way into Verbergen, and were
slaughtering soldiers and civilians alike. The beastmen might still be holding out, but
it was only a matter of time before they were routed.
Shrugging his shoulders, Celeka retied the message and was about to order the Squier
back out when another one flew in.
"What, you too?" This one, too, still had his message attached to its leg. In order to
prevent any beastmen from escaping the purge, he'd split his unit into three and had
them surround Verbergen. And now, he'd now lost contact with two of those three
units.
"Perhaps I should send in reinforcements, just in case…" Celeka doubted his men were
so hard-pressed they hadn't had time to reply.
It was more likely they were just so caught up in the slaughter that they hadn't noticed
he'd sent the Squiers.
If only I could communicate telepathically with the monsters. Celeka mused to himself.
With a wry smile, he blew the whistle around his neck. Its noise was too high-pitched
for demon ears to perceive, but all of the monsters he kept in reserve would gather at
the sound.
He'd deployed his reserve forces at various points around the city, and it shouldn't
have taken them long to assemble.
"...…" The monsters did show up, but only a third as many as he'd deployed.
Celeka blew his whistle once more. But no more appeared.
A wave of dread washed over him.
"What's happening? Why aren't the monsters coming back!? Did we lose control of
them? Impossible, Freid-sama made them specifically for us. There's no way they'd
stop listening to commands." Celeka ordered one of his men to go scope out the
situation.
"Fidra, the monsters aren't responding to my commands! I want you to—" He stopped
mid-sentence.
"Fidra? Hey, where are you!? Fidra!" Fidra was meant to have been engaging the
beastmen holding the remnants of Verbergen's gate. But he wasn't there. Upon looking
around, Celeka realized how drastically the situation had changed in the past few
minutes.
"The barrier's… shrunk?" Normally, there perimeter of verdren crystals extended a
good distance out of Verbergen. Right now, though, its range had shrunk considerably.
He strained his eyes, and spotted a shadow at the edge of the fog.
"Fidra! Is that you!? Answer me!" There was no reply.
"Get out there and support Fidra!" Celeka ordered his monsters.
He couldn't imagine anything had happened to his best soldier. After all, their side was
winning. Once they wiped out the last remaining soldiers and Davros handled the
elders and commanders, all that'd be left was slaughtering the remaining beastmen.
Ten of his monsters charged into the fog, toward the shadow Celeka had spotted.
That should have solved everything. Celeka tried to ignore the cold sweat pouring
down his forehead.
But just then, he felt something coming at him from behind.
"Tch— Wind Blades!" His instantaneous reaction and almost nonexistent chant was a
mark of how skilled he was.
However, his wind blades passed harmlessly through the fog, touching nothing.
"What the? What's going…" Celeka was finally starting to panic. Before he could make
another move, something fell in front of his feet with a heavy thud. Curious, he looked
down.
What he saw unnerved him.
"Ah!" He leaped back with a yell. Sitting at his feet was Fidra's head.
"Captain, we're under attack by an unknown number of hostiles!" Davros stopped
what he was doing and turned to face his flustered messenger.
He had been just about to spear Ulfric with a Crimson Javelin and put an end to the
fight. Ulfric, Zel, the other elders, and all of the beastmen captains lay defeated on the
ground.
As Davros still needed to get the location of the true labyrinth out of them he'd avoided
hitting any of their vitals, but they were still on death's doorstep.
"Under attack? What do you mean?" He frowned in confusion.
"There's something in the fog! Fidra's already been slain! Moreover we've lost contact
with two of our units! The monsters I sent to reinforce them have all been wiped out!"
"What!? Call back all of the monsters we sent into the capital! Who leads the last
unit!?"
"Balen, sir!"
"Recall him this instant!"
Davros hadn't been expecting this. Eyes bloodshot, he turned to glare at Ulfric. He
finished his incantation, and a flaming javelin appeared in his hand. He pointed it at
Ulfric and said, "What's the meaning of this? You sure are crafty, bringing out your
trump card at the very last moment." Davros had lost a number of his men, and a great
deal of monsters his beloved commander had entrusted to him.
His voice trembled from barely suppressed rage.
In truth, however, even Ulfric didn't know what was going on. If he really had a trump
card up his sleeve, he would have used it before the gate had been destroyed. He was
just as confused as Davros.
He opened his mouth to say as much, but stopped when he caught sight of who was
standing atop the remnants of Verbergen's walls.
Eyes wide, he was too stunned to answer Davros' question. Seeing his surprise, Davros
turned and followed his gaze.
Standing atop the shattered gate was a rabbitman.
But there was something clearly strange about him.
The demons had studied up on the traits of each of the beastman races before their
invasion. So they knew that rabbitmen were a cowardly race who eschewed battle.
And in fact, all of the rabbitmen they'd met until now had fled at the first sight of
conflict.
However, the rabbitman in front of Davros was calmly standing in the middle of a
battlefield. His ears were covered in blood, and he was glaring at Davros with
unbridled hatred. In one hand he held a short sword. In the other, a demon's head.
"You bastard." That demon was the leader of one of the squads they'd lost contact with.
"Cam… Haulia…" Ulfric muttered in awe. The leader of the clan they'd banished had
returned.
The other elders and soldiers were just as stunned. Everyone was staring at Cam in
blank amazement.
Cam casually tossed aside the demon head, as if it was nothing more than trash.
He then looked down at Davros and sneered.
"Heh." It was obvious to everyone present that he had nothing but contempt for
Davros.
Without another word, Cam vanished into the mist.
The fog parted to show a path heading in the direction he'd disappeared. He must have
left verdren crystals in his wake.
It was obviously a challenge.
"Vice-Captain Celeka. Gather all of our forces. It's time to hunt some rabbits." Davros'
voice was completely flat, and his face devoid of emotion.
When Davros' anger reached past a certain point, he no longer expressed it on his face.
"At once, sir!" Celeka, on the other hand, was trembling with rage.
Davros strode down the path Cam had left for him, without so much as a single glance
at any of the elders. It appeared he thought Verbergen's forces were too exhausted to
pose a threat even if he left them alone. He'd let Cam's taunts get to him and was no
longer thinking clearly. With the demons gone from Verbergen, Ulfric breathed a sigh
of relief.
"I never imagined he would be the one to save us…" He muttered.
The other elders nodded absentmindedly.
Davros marched through the fog, his army of monsters at his back.
He'd linked up with his remaining unit along the way, but as he'd feared, the two they'd
lost contact with had been completely annihilated.
Including Davros and Celeka, only six demons remained. They'd lost over fifty percent
of their fighting force.
What was even more humiliating though, was that they hadn't even noticed this new
enemy until most of them were dead.
Those blasted rabbitmen had chipped away at their forces while they were busy
pillaging Verbergen. The fact that the rabbitmen had planned it that way, and that the
demons had actually fallen for it aggravated the demons to no end. Davros was
seething.
He hadn't expected rabbitmen, the race known to be the most sympathetic of all
beastmen, to use their own nation as bait.
It was a miscalculation he couldn't have foreseen.
After all, he had no way of knowing that the Haulia had been exiled from Verbergen,
and thought nothing of the lives of other beastmen, unless they were rabbitmen.
"I have never suffered such a humiliating defeat in my life. Unless we annihilate every
last one of them we'll be returning home in disgrace."
"You said it, captain. I know there's no honor in war, but sacrificing your own brethren
is still a despicable ploy! We won't let these cowardly vermin live!"
The other four demons nodded in agreement to Celeka's words.
Just then, a shadow flitted past at the edge of their vision.
A few of Celeka's Squiers shot forward, faster than lightning. He'd ordered them
beforehand to target anything than moved.
A second later, they were all sliced neatly in two.
"What!?"
"Impossible, where did that attack come from!?"
Davros opened his eyes wide in surprise. Celeka cast his gaze about in a panic. Another
shadow dashed past. As Celeka hadn't rescinded his order, another unit of Squiers shot
forward. These, too, were cut in half before reaching their target.
"It's not an attack, vice-captain! Look closely! They've stretched wires between the
trees! It's a trap! Don't send any more Squiers out!"
Celeka switched tactics and sent out his armored beetles, the Drygers, instead.
"Hmph, nothing more than petty tricks. I'll run you all down!" The Drygers toppled the
trees holding up the wires, and… fell to the ground.
"What now!?" Toppling the trees had caused the wires to stretch, activating the second
part of the rabbitmen's trap. The wires had pulled crossbow triggers which had rained
arrows down on the Drygers' propulsion organs.
Their remaining momentum carried the Drygers straight into the pitfalls the Haulia
had prepared beforehand. The heated coals at the bottom of the pit ignited the
Drygers, incinerating their flammable bodies.
With that, another chunk of Davros' monsters were defeated.
"Everyone, get in a circle formation! Start casting wide-area magic in all directions!
Have the Cyuverias fire blind too!" The butterflies that fired heat rays, Cyuverias,
started launching their attacks in all directions. Meanwhile, Davros and the others
began chanting wide-area magic spells. Demons were already more skilled in magic
than humans, and six of them in tandem were strong enough to blow apart everything
around them.
However, they'd made a mistake in ordering their Cyuverias to buy time by firing into
the mist at random.
As their rays melted the nearby trees, a there were a number of loud snapping noises
in quick succession.
It was followed by a loud whoosh, and a giant tree pendulum came swinging down at
the demons.
It punched through a number of monsters and slammed squarely into one demon,
sending him flying.
"Gah!?" He cried out in pain as he vanished into the fog. A few seconds later, he
screamed again before going silent.
"Kramer! Gah!?" One of Kramer's close friends interrupted his chanting and called out
to him. A second later, he followed his buddy into the afterlife as an arrow penetrated
the back of his skull. He slipped off the Dryger he was riding, dead before he even hit
the ground.
In the span of a few seconds, the demons had lost another third of their remaining
number.
However, these four made sure to finish chanting their spells to completion. Together,
they summoned a howling storm that blew away everything in the vicinity.
"Infinite Storm Edge!" Infinite Storm Edge was the strongest wind spell in existence.
A massive storm whipped up around the demon. Countless blades of winds rode the
storm, making mincemeat of everything inside it.
All of the nearby trees were cut into pieces, and even the surrounding fog was blown
away. Davros' thinking in that they needed something to alter the flow of the battle
had indeed been correct. But he should have been more wary of the traps the Haulia
had set up beforehand.
They were fighting in the heart of Haulia territory. Cam and the others had already
factored in the likelihood that the demons would lose their temper at being whittled
down by unseen traps and try to blow everything away. And so they had prepared a
safe path of retreat.
Namely, they'd dug trenches. They'd fortified the walls of their trenches with bedrock
that they'd dug up, and covered the tops with shock-resistant material. The only
reason they'd been able to box themselves in like that was because their Azantiumcoated short swords were capable of cutting through anything.
Had they opted for a more suitable spell, like Lava Burst, the demons may have been
able to inflict some damage on the Haulia, but they'd let their anger get the better of
them.
"Hmph, this should make it easier to spot—"
"Captain!"
Davros turned to Celeka, who had an arrow sprouting from his shoulder. A second
later, a hail of arrows rained down on the demons.
"Vice-captain! Shit, they must have burrowed underground!" Bolts came at them from
all angles, occasionally accompanied by stones and sacks filled to the brim with some
unknown powder. Davros and the remaining demons were forced to put up barriers
around them.
Because they weren't given any time to think, they didn't realize the powder wasn't
poison, but simple ground flour.
The Haulia were only doing this to buy time until the mist returned.
Finally the arrows and stones came to a halt. Enough powder was in the air that it
would function as mist for a little while. Annoyed, the demons once more started
chanting wind magic.
"Send all the monsters out! Eliminate those pests!" Even though the fog was beginning
to return, the monsters were capable of navigating within it.
However, the monsters just looked about in confusion, and made no move to charge.
"Huh? How come they're not chasing the rabbitmen?" It was then that Celeka realized.
Originally, he had ordered the monsters to attack any rabbitman they located.
Unlike the demons, they didn't need to confirm the rabbitmen's presence by sight, they
had perception skills for that.
And yet, they'd only attacked the two times shadows had flitted close enough for even
the demons to see. In other words, the rabbitmen had some way of hiding their
presence entirely.
"Crap. Here they come, get ready, men!" Davros called out a warning as he spotted a
number of figures crawling across the ground.
"Sorry, but you're too late." Davros couldn't tell where that voice came from.
But a second later, all of his monsters started getting assassinated. Davros and the
other three demons were safe because of his barrier, but the monsters hadn't been
within it.
The Haulia weaved between monsters with unparalleled grace, striking at each
monster's vitals as they passed it.
Their hit and run was executed so perfectly even Davros had to admire their skill.
Before the demons could respond, the rabbitmen melted away into the mist again.
Most of the few remaining monsters chased after them, as per their orders. Which of
course meant they split up in all directions.
"Captain! We can't fight them in their territory! Let's retreat to Verbergen for now! I
know it's shameful, but if not even our monsters can keep track of their whereabouts,
we won't stand a chance! We're at a disadvantage here!"
"I can't believe we've been pushed this far by a bunch of stinking beastmen!" Davros
clenched his fist so hard he started bleeding, but he knew Celeka was right. They
needed to retreat and regroup.
"Everyone, we're forcing our way out of this death trap!" Davros mounted one of the
last Drygers and led their retreat.
Unfortunately, retreating meant they once again had to navigate their way through a
maze of trees.
"Aaaaaaaaah!?"
"Heather!"
The demon known as Heather suddenly had a rope slung about her neck and was
wrenched upwards.
A deluge of blood spilled from above. No one could tell what exactly had happened, as
her head was draped in fog.
Davros' Cyuverias started firing randomly into the fog, but were shot down by a
barrage of accurately aimed arrows. Whatever land-based monsters were left ended
up falling into more pitfalls, or were trapped by puddles of viscous sap. Those that got
trapped were left behind, and summarily executed by the Haulia.
Occasionally, another shadow would flit past the demons, taunting them.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, you scuuuuuum!" Spurred on by panic and rage, one of
the demons leaped off the path and charged at the shadow. He fired off a barrage of
spells, some of which hit the shadow and sent it flying.
"Haha, take that you little—"
"Balen, don't break formation!"
Davros' warning came too late.
The force of Balen's spells temporarily cleared away the mist, only to show that he'd
hit a wooden dummy, and not actually a person.
He barely had time to go "Huh?" before a rabbitman girl leaped down and gently cut
his head from his shoulders.
Davros and Celeka began chanting, aiming to hit the bunny girl the moment she
landed. But before they could finish, their Drygers came to a sudden halt throwing
their riders off and cutting off their incantation.
"Goddammit, how many traps did you put down!?" The Drygers had been caught in a
pair of makeshift bear traps. The Haulia had used a special ore, one that shattered into
jagged pieces like obsidian, to line the trap's jaws.
"C-Captain…" Davros turned around to see Celeka crawling on the ground, his back
riddled with spikes. When he'd been thrown off his Dryger, he'd landed in a field of
caltrops. It was only dumb luck that had saved Davros from a similar fate.
Unfortunately for him, his luck had run out.
Looking around, he saw the last of his monsters succumbing to various traps. His giant
cricket-shaped monsters, Linvals, all died as they stepped on paper bags that held a
poisonous gas. His Drygers were wiped out by punji traps that had been cleverly
camouflaged. His flying leaf-insect-like creatures, Ozmuses, were caught in nets made
from vines that resembled barbed wire and were shredded to bits. His Squiers were
lured in by the glimpses of rabbitmen the Haulia allowed them to see and sliced in half
by more wire traps. Even the monsters who'd left earlier to chase the retreating Haulia
found themselves falling prey to traps.
And it wasn't just traps anymore. All of these booby traps had just been one way to
even out the difference in numbers and strength between the Haulia and their foe.
Now that they could attack with relative safety, Par started sniping Davros' Cyuverias
as well. He made sure to mask his presence to the utmost, and change locations after
every shot to keep enemies off his trail. His crossbow was the best-suited weapon to
the task as well.
Any monster that wasn't instantly killed by a trap was finished off by a Haulia's short
sword while it was still immobilized.
"Are all the vermin living in this forest as crafty as you fiends!?" Davros roared in
frustration.
Had any of Verbergen's soldiers heard his outburst they would have vehemently
denied his accusation. The Haulia were the only clan with such a huge fondness for
booby traps. No other race or clan used them. And no other clan or race wanted to be
associated with them.
None of the demons could have guessed that the monster of the abyss' influence
reached even here. But it was his Spartan boot camp that had turned these rabbitmen
into shrewd killers. First he'd shattered Freid's plans at the capital, now his trained
soldiers were ruining Davros' ambitions in the Haltina Woods.
"If I could just make it back to Verbergen, I could take one of those elders hostage
and…"
"That won't do you any good."
A voice boomed out in response to Davros' mutterings. Because of the rabbitmen's
confusing movements, and their excellent stealth skills, Davros wasn't able to pinpoint
the source of the voice.
"It won't?"
"Indeed. If you want to kill the elders, go ahead. It's no skin off our back."
"Aren't they your leaders?"
"There is only one man worthy of being called our leader. But as you are about to die,
you have no need to know who he is."
"You think a pack of stinking beastmen can kill me? I'll prove to you my life won't come
cheap, you bastards!"
"Shouldn't you be more worried about that young man next to you?"
"What!?"
Come to think of it, Celeka's been awfully quiet. Sure, he'd been stabbed by a field of
caltrops, but his injuries shouldn't have been fatal.
"Gah C-Captain… R-Run… away…"
"Vice-Captain Celeka!? What—wait your face, those spines were poisoned!"
The Haulia were masters of murder. If they'd invited their enemy into a killing field, it
was only natural that they'd make all of their traps fatal. One of the rabbitmen walked
out of the mist.
"I don't believe it. You really are rabbitmen. Weren't you supposed to be the weakest
race?"
"We are. It's all just a matter of perspective, you see. What we lacked was resolve. True,
until now all we ever did was run away and hide whenever a fight was about to break
out. In that respect, we certainly are the weakest. But looking at that from another
angle, it means we were able to survive in this sea of trees without ever fighting. In
other words, that's how much potential we had." Cam's lips curled up into a fearless
grin. "No one else is as suited to fighting within these woods as we are. Which means
so long as we possess the will to fight, us rabbitmen are the strongest race in Haltina."
"You've got some nerve, calling yourselves the strongest race," Davros sneered.
Cam shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"The only one who truly deserves to be called the strongest everywhere is our boss,
but… well, there's no point in discussing this with you. By the way, I hope you know
all of your monsters have already been wiped out. No one's coming to help you. Your
precious subordinate'll be dead soon, so he's no use to you either. So—what do you
think of settling things with a duel? You versus me."
Davros' eyes shot open in shock. That cocky fool thinks he's already won. He thought to
himself as he saw Cam's fearless smile. If I take him hostage, will those other rabbitmen
stand down? I've already failed in my mission and shamed my homeland, but I need to
get this information back to the others somehow. Davros got to his feet and dropped
into a combat stance. He'd made his decision.
"Looks like you're not all spineless wimps. If a duel's what you want, a duel's what
you'll get! I don't back down from a challenge!"
"Hmm, very well. Then let us begin."
Cam drew his short sword and crouched low to the ground. He looked ready to charge
at any moment.
I'll stick to low-level spells. Speed's more important than power here. I'll destroy his
footing using spells I only need to chant the name of! With his plan of action decided,
Davros warily observed his foe. The moment Cam stepped forward, he would cast. The
two of them stared each other down, like gunmen in a wild west movie.
Finally, Davros saw Cam tense his legs. Now!
"Wind Blast!" A sphere of wind headed straight for Cam's legs.
"Wha—" And missed.
Davros had expected Cam to leap forward, but he'd actually jumped back into the mist.
Bloodlust had been dripping off him, and was continuing to drip off him even now, so
Davros had been justified in expecting an attack. Even a veteran such as himself
couldn't help but be momentarily taken aback. And naturally, the Haulia's sniper team
wasn't going to let that opening slip past them.
"Gaaah!?" A barrage of arrows pierced his legs, sending him to his knees. The Haulia
had done to him what he'd been planning on doing to Cam. Once he was immobilized,
another one of the Haulia fired a small bag at him with a slingshot.
It was filled ground pepper seeds that grew in a certain corner of Haltina. They made
for great seasoning, and also as ingredients for a makeshift tear gas bomb. The bag
burst, filling Davros' lungs with burning hot powder.
A mage who couldn't talk, couldn't cast. Coughing profusely, Davros just barely noticed
someone coming at him from behind.
"Ah!"
He turned around, dodging in the nick of time. But that attack had been a trap. A blade
suddenly sprouted from his chest. Another rabbitman had stabbed him from the back.
"Y-You bastard. You said this would be a duel," Davros spat, his breathing labored.
Cam twisted the blade and tilted his head.
"I simply asked what you thought of settling things with a duel."
In other words, he'd implied that he was interested in seeing if Davros wanted to settle
things with one, but he had no intention of a duel from the start.
"You, craven cur."
"Can't say I care about being praised by anyone other than Boss."
With that, Cam unsheathed his second short sword and decapitated Davros. As his
consciousness began to fade, his final thoughts were, Your Majesty, Freid-sama, beware
the demons that lurk in the sea of trees.
"In short, that was how we annihilated the demons. Unfortunately, Verbergen still
suffered great casualties in the—Hm? What's wrong, Boss? You look like you
swallowed a thousand cockroaches. Like your favorite pet grew way faster than you
ever expected and now you don't know what to do with it."
"You're not doing this on purpose, right?"
Hajime glared at Par. Par tilted his head in confusion; it seemed he really wasn't doing
it intentionally. Lana and the others seemed just as lost. "What's the matter, boss?"
their gazes seemed to say.
At the start of Par's tale, most of the people listening had sympathized with the
beastmen. But as he'd continued, they'd started feeling more sorry for the demons
than anything.
I never thought the day would come that I'd pray for the souls of my mortal enemies.
Liliana thought, her expression grave.
Meanwhile, Kouki and the other students were glaring at Hajime. Of course your
disciples are going to be like this with the way you are! You killed that demon in Orcus
without even listening to her final words, and you told Freid that you don't give a damn
about your classmates or the citizens! Though their gazes were reproachful, they didn't
dare say any of that aloud.
However, it was Shea who'd been hit the hardest. She scowled at Hajime and said
something.
"Hajime-san, do something! My family's evolved too far. In the wrong direction, too
This is all because you got them fired up with that speech before you left Haltina!"
"You do realize you're not that different from them, right?" Hajime replied casually,
while Shea pounded on him with her fists.
"Please don't lump me together with the likes of them!" Shea wailed. She could say
some surprisingly cruel things about her own family.
Hajime ignored Shea's blows and turned back to Par.
"At any rate, you guys did good. You understood that you couldn't win in a pure battle
of strength, so you focused on gathering information and utilized your race's special
traits to their utmost. That was the perfect combination of ambushes, traps, sneak
attacks, and diversions. You didn't hesitate to use methods others would call cowardly,
and as a result you're a far cry from the clan that used to run away at the first sign of
trouble. You've really exceeded my expectations."
"B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Boss praised us!"
Tears spilled from Par's eyes. His rabbit ears stood on end.
"What an honor!"
"All that hellish training was worth it!"
"Boss! I can die a happy woman now!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Lanainferina! We can't die yet, we're just getting started! This is
what we worked so hard for! Sniffle"
"Heh, Minasteria. This the first time I've ever seen you get so this emotional. Man,
you're making me cry too."
All twenty rabbitmen wept tears of joy. It was quite a sight, seeing them all trembling
with happiness, their bunny ears flapping back and forth.
"Hajime. Be careful about praising them."
"Yeah…"
Yue watched the rabbitmen with a tired look on her face. Shea's rabbit ears drooped
as she bowed apologetically to everyone else. "I'm sorry my family's such a pain to
deal with!"
Next to her, Tio muttered, "They have been trained splendidly…" She looked enviously
over at Hajime, and Kaori took a few steps away from her.
Hajime cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again and asked Par to continue.
"So what happened after that? You gave us all of the background information, but you
still haven't explained how that connects to the current situation."
Par instantly stopped crying and stood at attention. The change was so sudden Liliana,
Kouki, and the others took an involuntary step backwards.
"Correct. In order to defeat the demons and their monsters, we had to use up almost
all of our booby traps and consumable weapons. In order to shore up our defenses,
and avoid dealing with the chaos in Verbergen, we retreated back to our village."
With Verbergen's forces depleted, the elders had had a hard time treating the
wounded, recalling all of the beastmen that had evacuated the city, and repairing the
shattered main gate. It was in the middle of their hectic recovery period, just three
days after the demon attack, that they'd been hit again.
"We just couldn't catch a break. This time it was the empire that invaded. Unlike the
demons they had no way of navigating through the fog so they just sent a massive army
to push their way in by force."
"What do you mean, by force?" Hajime asked dubiously.
Liliana was curious as well, and she leaned in closer.
"Well, Boss. Those bastards decided if they couldn't find their way to Verbergen
normally, then they just had to burn the forest until they had a clear path to the city."
"They set the whole forest on fire!?" Liliana exclaimed in surprise.
Par turned to Liliana and nodded.
"Until now, they'd forced slaves to be their guides through the forest so no one was
expecting them to switch to such drastic measures."
Forcing slaves to guide soldiers through the forest wasn't something that was done
often. The imperial soldiers knew that the beastmen they'd enslaved would turn on
them given the opportunity. After all, no one wanted to lead their captors to their
countrymen. It was natural the beastmen wouldn't make for the most willing or
trustworthy guides.
And no one had been expecting another large-scale attack right after the demon
invasion.
"They weren't here to invade though. They only wanted to capture slaves."
"That's all? They went to such lengths just to capture slaves like always?"
"Correct. Unfortunately, we noticed their assault too late, and by the time we'd arrived
at Verbergen there was nothing to be done… Well, with their army in tatters, it's no
surprise they buckled quickly."
"Something must have happened within the empire…"
Par nodded in affirmation.
"We captured a number of the empire's rear guard as they left and interrogated them.
It appeared the empire had suffered an assault by an army of powerful, never-before-
seen monsters as well. They'd suffered serious casualties, and had come to Haltina to
'replenish their supply of hard labor' as those scum put it."
Everyone gasped. Liliana looked particularly shaken. She had been planning on
appealing the empire for assistance, but now it turned out they'd been hit just as hard
as the kingdom, to the point where they were resorting to massive slave drives to
recruit labor.
Now that he'd grasped the overall situation, Hajime sighed.
"I see now… They probably claim it's to rebuild the country, but it's obvious what trash
like them are really after. If you guys are striking back against them, that means they
must have captured rabbitmen too, even though they're useless when it comes to hard
labor."
"Yeah. It's disgusting."
Rabbitmen were usually bought as sex slaves within the empire, so it was obvious
what they were really being captured for. Though the Haulia cared nothing for the fate
of Verbergen, they couldn't stand idly by as their weaker comrades had their futures
stolen from them.
In order to rescue them, Cam had left for the imperial capital along with his best elites.
The rest of his family had stayed behind to watch over Haltina. However, no one had
heard anything from him since he'd infiltrated the city. No messengers had come to
deliver reports, which had started worrying the other rabbitmen.
Unable to stay put any longer, they'd assembled another unit to sneak into the capital
and find out what had happened to their comrades. Par's Baltfeld squad had been
chosen to partake in the operation as well.
"We didn't want a repeat of whatever might have happened to Cam's squad, so we
focused on gathering information first. We put scouts at every one of the capital's gates
and gathered as much information about the empire's current forces and the state of
the city as we could. It was then that we saw a transport packed with slaves leaving
the capital, so we decided to ambush it and free the slaves while also gathering what
information we could from the slavers."
And that was when Hajime, who'd been headed to the empire himself, had run into
them. The following slaughter he'd witnessed firsthand, so he didn't need to ask about
it.
"I've gotta say though, those demons sure are keeping themselves busy. The assault on
the kingdom was probably their main goal, but… god, they're annoying."
Hajime shook his head wearily. He was getting tired of running into demons
everywhere he went. Liliana and Kouki groaned as well. One attack had nearly
destroyed them, they couldn't imagine having to deal with a continuous stream of
them.
Par's bunny ears perked up at Hajime's words.
"Judging from your tone, it sounds like you've been fighting demons yourself, Boss."
"Yeah, they've been running around everywhere trying to sabotage the kingdom.
Unfortunately for them, I always happened to be wherever they showed up, so all their
plans fell apart."
To Hajime, the demons were nothing more than pests who kept interfering with his
quest. It wasn't like he hated them or anything, but they always seemed to get in the
way of whatever he was doing at the time. More often than not, he'd kill them just
because they were a hindrance.
And though he hadn't directly interfered with the Haltina Woods affair, it was his
influence that had led to their defeat there as well. Par had mentioned Verbergen was
in pretty dire straits, but Hajime was willing to bet the demons were in even worse
shape.
"Well anyway, I more or less understand what's going on. For now, I take it you guys
are going to keep looking for information on Cam's location?"
"Yes, sir. Also, I hate to impose on you boss, but…"
"Yeah, don't worry. I was heading there anyway. I'll drop off all the beastmen in the sea
of trees."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
Par and the others bowed to Hajime.
Shea fidgeted with her bunny ears, looking like she wanted to say something. In the
end though, she kept her mouth shut.
Hajime noticed the gesture though, and guessed what it was she wanted to say, too.
But he stayed silent, figuring it was better to wait for Shea to say it herself.
The rest of their trip passed uneventfully, and Hajime dropped Liliana, her guards, and
Par's squad down near the outskirts of the imperial capital. He agreed to deliver Par's
message to the Haulia still in the Haltina Woods, and sped off towards the forest.
As they drew close to the sea of trees, Shea gasped. With the help of Farsight, she was
able to see just how badly the forest had been burned. It appeared the empire had
taken the straightest route they could toward the center of the woods. The scars they'd
left in their wake were still fresh, and there was a single line of burned trees from the
edge of the forest to Verbergen.
"This is horrible…"
"I cannot say I approve of such wholesale desecration of nature."
Kaori and Tio covered their mouths in horror. Burned, blackened trunks littered the
ground. The Hoelscher Empire had burned a swathe about one hundred meters wide
straight through the forest. At the very least, they hadn't let the fire run unchecked
through the whole forest, but every living creature within the burn zone had been
charred to a crisp.
Shea looked the most devastated out of everyone. Her bunny ears drooped as she
looked at the destruction. Her memories of Haltina weren't all pleasant, but it was still
her home. Yue gently squeezed Shea's hand.
"Looks like Verbergen's still a little protected. The trees might be gone, but the fog's
still here." Hajime pointed to the white fog on his crystal monitor.
Altina, who'd come to the bridge a few minutes ago when Hajime had told everyone
they'd reached the sea of trees, replied.
"We may have been exhausted with our battle against the demons, but we still had a
somewhat sizable fighting force left. When we sent soldiers to engage the empire, they
stopped burning the forest. I think they wanted to avoid burning us all to death by
accident. The empire was looking for slaves, not corpses after all."
"Makes sense. But Par said they made it all the way to Verbergen? I have no idea how
far away from the city you guys stopped them, but I'm amazed they didn't get lost."
"Signs of our battle with the demons were still littered around the city, so they were
able to keep their bearings by following the carnage. In fact, they realized halfway to
the city just how badly we'd been weakened."
"You guys just can't catch a break, huh."
So the area around Verbergen hasn't been burned down, at least. Which explained why
Hajime couldn't pinpoint Verbergen's location from where he was. He didn't want to
frighten any beastmen left in the area either, so he did the sensible thing and landed
Fernir on a blackened patch of ground just before the fog started.
He walked down the ramp, the freed beastmen following timidly in his wake.
They were glad to be back home, but the devastation their homeland had suffered
weighed heavily on them.
Kouki, Ryutarou, Suzu, and Shizuku all spat curses at the empire. But despite their
anger, there was nothing they could do. However, there was someone else who could.
And she was just as angry about what had happened.
"Hey, Hajime-kun. Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Hm? What's up, Kaori?"
Kaori's divinely beautiful face was flush with excitement, and she was breathing hard.
Behind her, Shizuku muttered "Uh oh, she's at it again…" Sadly, she said it too softly for
Hajime to hear. If he had, he might have been able to stop her.
"I was thinking of using restoration magic on the forest. I have enough mana to do it,
and in this body I think I can handle an area this big no problem too!"
"You want to use restoration magic on all the burned trees? I guess in Noint's body you
probably do have enough magical skill and mana to do it, but…"
"Yep. It'll only take me a minute, so just wait right there."
"Huh? Wait, you're going to do it right now? Wait up, you moron!"
But it was too late. Kaori really was a priest through and through. The moment she
saw anyone or anything that was injured, she got right to work.
"Tetragrammaton!"
Tetragrammaton was restoration magic that could restore anyone or anything back to
its original state.
Ripples of mana spread out from her body. Her normally lavender-colored mana had
tinges of silver in it now. Her mana melted into the forest, bathing it in light. It was
truly a sight to behold, seeing an entire forest shimmering with divine light.
The earth went from black to green, and the toppled trees righted themselves, their
burned trunks springing back into life.
Everyone watched in slack-jawed awe as the forest knit itself back together. Once she
was finished, Kaori proudly wiped a bead of sweat off her brow.
"Kaori, you idiot." Yue kicked Kaori in the shin. Her pointed boots made it hurt quite a
bit.
"Owww! What was that for, Yue!?"
"Look around, dumbo."
"What do you mean—"
Kaori trailed off as she examined her surroundings, and realized the fog had returned.
She could barely see a few meters in any direction.
"...…"
"I figured we could just follow the damage all the way to Verbergen, but… I guess not.
Looks like you'll have to guide us again, Shea."
"Leave it to me~"
Kaori buried her face in her hands and squatted down in shame. A few beastmen
children ran up to her and tried to comfort her. Hajime couldn't tell if it was because
they trusted her now that she'd restored their home, or if they just felt sorry for her.
"Y-You were amazing, Onee-san!"
"Don't be so sad! We'll be here so you won't get lost!"
"Everything'll be alright, Onee-chan!"
Unfortunately, their attempts at cheering her up just made her more embarrassed.
"Cheer up, Kaori. You did a good thing."
Shizuku knelt down and patted Kaori's head.
"Let me guess, you were probably thinking something like 'Now that I have this new
body, I won't let Yue hog all the glory! Look at me, Hajime-kun, I can be useful too!' I
get how you feel, but next time think before you act."
"I will…"
Kaori nodded meekly.
Grimacing, Ryutarou turned to Shizuku and said, "Are you a psychic or something?
Ever since coming to this world it's like you've been able to read Kaori's mind or
something, Shizuku. You're starting to freak me out a little."
"You know, Ryutarou-kun. Sometimes, it feels like I'm being totally left out from their
little world…"
Suzu was looking down at the ground, desolate, when she felt a sympathetic hand on
her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the last person she'd expect smiling at her and
giving her a thumps-up.
"I understand, Suzu. I too, often feel left out when Yue and Shea start ignoring me. But
fear, not. Eventually, your loneliness shall transform into pleas—"
"Tio-san. Please stop corrupting our party members."
Hajime sighed as he watched the chaos unfold.
"Kaori, come on let's go. You might have messed up a little, but that was still seriously
impressive so cheer up."
Kaori instantly perked up at those words.
Hajime then turned to Tio and said, "Listen up you hopeless pervert of a dragon. The
forest's fog doesn't affect you either right? You're in charge of guiding Amanogawa and
the others. In fact, why don't you just join their party forever?"
"Are you trying to pawn me off, master!? Have you no manners!?"
Hajime ignored Tio and started walking forward. Of course, being ignored only made
Tio more excited.
"W-Wait, Nagumo! You can't seriously be leaving us with her!"
It was rare to see Kouki talk ill of anyone that wasn't Hajime.
"My apologies, Kouki. But I feel nothing even when you insult me. In fact, it rather
irritates me. Find someone else to belittle."
Tio gave Kouki a pitying look, nodded, and walked off into the mist as if nothing had
happened.
"Why does it feel like I just got dumped, even though I didn't confess?"
"You're better off not thinking about it. Come on, let's go."
Ryutarou smiled sympathetically and gave Kouki a pat on the back.
And thus, the group advanced through the fog toward Verbergen. Two months had
passed since the last time Hajime and Yue had visited the city. They'd grown a lot
stronger since, and they'd acquired plenty more ancient magic as well, including the
one they needed for this labyrinth. And yet, they weren't able to escape the effects of
the forest's disorienting fog.
The two of them shared a knowing smile and nodded to each other. This place is still
super dreary. Hajime thought.
Having discovered that Hajime and his party held no prejudice against them, and
meant them no harm, the beastmen became quite trusting of him. They surrounded
Hajime and the others as they guided them through the mist to make sure that no one
got separated.
They seemed to have a particular fondness for Kaori. The children especially crowded
around her, and blushed every time she smiled at them. A few of the beastmen girls
were already clinging to her clothes and arms.
Shea and Altina meanwhile, were leading the group from the head of the column.
Altina kept trying to sneak glances back at Hajime, but was met by Yue's cold glare
every time, so she stopped.
After about an hour of walking, Shea's drooping rabbit ears suddenly perked up. She
strained her ears and peered through the fog.
"Hajime-san, there's an armed group headed our way."
Surprised, the other beastmen turned to Shea. None of the others, not even any of the
other captured rabbitmen had been able to sense anything. It appeared her perception
abilities were on another level. A few seconds later, a squad of armed tigermen
appeared from the fog, proving the truth of Shea's words.
They had their weapons bared and looked ready to attack at a moment's notice. The
only reason they didn't charge right away was because they saw how many beastmen
were in the group. Their leader surveyed the group, his eyes opening wide when he
spotted Hajime.
"You're that boy from back then…"
Hajime, too, remembered this tigerman. He was Gil, the leader of the of the squad that
had run into Hajime during his first trip to Haltina. He'd managed to survive through
both raids.
"What are you here for this time… Wait, is that you, Altina-sama!? Are you alright!?"
Gil cried out in surprise as he spotted Altina.
"Yes, I'm fine. These people and the Haulia clan saved me."
Once he'd confirmed her safety, Gil heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. Ulfric-sama was worried sick about you. You should hurry back to
the city and let him know you're safe… Boy. Is it a policy of yours to rescue our
countrymen every time you visit Haltina? I must say, it's a rather strange hobby for
someone as arrogant as you, but… well, thanks."
"As if I'd have a policy like that. It's just coincidence."
Kouki and the others looked curiously at Hajime. They hadn't expected him to have
other friends among the beastmen. Shea gave them a brief explanation of what had
happened last time, including how Hajime had saved her family's lives. Kouki and the
others nodded, finally understanding why she'd fallen in love with him.
"Anyway, are there any Haulia in Verbergen? If not, is there anyone who can tell me
where their new village is?"
"Hm? There's a few Haulia in Verbergen right now. You've probably already heard, but
we were attacked. After the empire retreated, a few them decided to stay in the city
permanently."
"Perfect, that'll save me some time. In that case, that's where we'll go too. We won't
have to wait outside until an elder shows up to let us in this time, will we?"
Hajime strode forward without waiting for a reply. I see he hasn't changed a bit. Gil
thought to himself as he signaled his men to sheathe their weapons. A little
exasperated, he took it upon himself to guide them the rest of the way.
Even though they'd just been raided by humans, none of the beastmen seemed wary
of Hajime or his comrades. He wasn't sure if that was because the Haulia he'd trained
had been the ones to save Verbergen, or if the elders had told everyone else not to
oppose him, but regardless of the reason, he was glad he didn't have to fight anyone
this time.
When they arrived at Verbergen, Hajime found it radically changed from his last visit.
The grand, imposing gate that he'd passed through before lay on the ground in
splintered pieces. It appeared the beastmen hadn't found time to clear the wreckage
away yet. Craters pockmarked the city's streets, and large boulders lay strewn about.
The winding walkways and sweeping aqueducts crafted directly out of the trees'
branches had been smashed here and there, making them unusable. The beautiful city
that had once captivated Hajime was now a smoldering wreck.
"This is horrible…" Someone muttered. Hajime couldn't help but agree. A gloom hung
over the city, and the wind that blew through had a distinctive chill to it.
One of the people walking down Verbergen's main street stopped when he spotted
Hajime's party and stared at Altina in disbelief. A second later, he beamed and started
running forward. His expression stiffened a little when he spotted unfamiliar humans
next to her, but when she told him they were the ones who'd saved her his smile
returned and he hugged her tight.
Many of the beastmen gave Hajime their thanks and rushed back to their homes as
fast as they could. The reason became clear as soon, Hajime was surrounded by a huge
crowd of Verbergen's residents. After a never-ending stream of thank yous the crowd
finally began to disperse. The only person that remained was one Verbergen's elders,
Ulfric Heipyst.
"Grandfather!"
"Oh Altina, I'm so glad you're safe…"
Tears pooling in her eyes, Altina buried herself in her grandfather's arms. Hajime idly
recalled what Ulfric had told him on his last visit. That any beastman who was taken
captive and brought outside of the sea of trees was considered dead. Because going
after captured slaves would only lead to more casualties.
He must have thought he'd never get to see her again. A few of the onlookers teared up
as well as they watched the touching reunion. Finally, Ulfric broke away, gave his
granddaughter one last pat on the head and, turned to Hajime, a wry smile on his face.
"I must say, I wasn't expecting us to reunite like this, Hajime Nagumo. Nor did I think
you would be the one to save my granddaughter. Fate works in mysterious ways, I
suppose. At any rate, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"I just dropped her off here. If you want to thank someone, thank the Haulia. I'm only
here because I need to deliver a message to them actually…"
"You're the one who molded them into what they are. So in the end, it was your actions
that saved my granddaughter, and my people. You can't deny that. I owe you a greater
debt than I can ever hope to repay, so at least accept my thanks."
Hajime scratched his cheek awkwardly and shrugged his shoulders. Yue, Tio, Kaori,
and Shea all watched over him with smiles on their faces. On the other hand, it irked
Kouki that Hajime had done more to help the people of this world than he had, even
though Kouki was the one who'd been training all this time to save everyone while
Hajime had just been trying to find a way home.
Ulfric looked over Kouki and the others while continuing his conversation with
Hajime.
"Unfortunately, the Haulia you're looking for just left the city to go on patrol. They
should be back soon, but…"
"In that case, is it alright if we wait here until they do? It looks like you guys need some
help, and our healer's been itching to get to work ever since we got here. What do you
say? You'll get quite a bit out of it too."
"Hm? I'm not quite sure I understand what you're getting at, but you are of course
welcome to stay. Of course, I won't ask for anything in return either. In fact, why don't
you come to my house? I'll tell the guards to inform us when the Haulia return."
Ulfric then started walking over to his house. Altina surreptitiously tried to grab
Hajime's hand under the pretense of guiding him, but was stopped short by Shea.
Hajime ignored the silent staring contest that broke out between the princess of the
elves and the overpowered bunny girl and turned to Kaori. Kaori smiled, realizing
Hajime had already figured out what she was about to ask. Unable to hold back her
happiness, she tried to hug him but was stopped short by Yue. The ultimate vampire
princess and unstoppable girl in the body of one of god's apostles started their own
staring contest.
"See what I mean, Suzu? Once you grow accustomed to it, this feeling of alienation isn't
that bad."
"Umm, Tio-san. Please stop treating me like we're the same. I'm not a pervert like
you…"
"If you ask me, I would say you have all the qualities needed to become a good one
though…" Tio muttered softly as she watched Suzu cower behind Shizuku. Hajime
shook his head in exasperation and followed behind Ulfric. Once inside, Altina brewed
Hajime and the others some tea while they waited for the Haulia to return. Ulfric
wasn't sure what to think of how his granddaughter clearly seemed to be fawning over
Hajime. For his part, Hajime pretended like he didn't notice. Instead, he focused his
attention playing with Shea's bunny ears. It was his way of reassuring her that he had
no intention of making a move on Altina.
Around the time that they'd finished drinking their tea and exchanging information,
Kaori flew in from Ulfric's window. His house was nestled in the trunks of a massive
tree, and sat a good ten meters above the ground.
"Taking a break?"
Kaori shook her head at Hajime's question.
"Not quite. I finished healing everyone who was injured. I also restored the gate and
the central areas of the city. And, well, I was thinking it'd be good practice if I could go
out and restore the nearby villages too…" Kaori trailed off. Hajime could hear
beastmen chanting her name in the distance. He and Ulfric stood up and stuck their
heads outside of the window. Practically all of Verbergen was standing outside,
cheering.
"Wait, I recognize some of those guys. Aren't they the other elders?"
"Indeed, that would be Zel and Guze. What has gotten into them?"
Unlike the other beastmen, they were making a beeline for Ulfric's house. It appeared
they were terrified of the other beastmen's fanatic zeal and the speed with which
Kaori had converted them.
Ulfric massaged his temples, fighting back a headache. Hajime started helping Kaori
inside, then stopped when he heard a rush of footsteps.
Everyone turned toward the entrance, just in time to see the doors flung open. They
were thrown backward with such force that the frames creaked.
"Boss! It's been ages since we last saw you!"
"We've been waiting for your return, Boss!"
"I-It is an honor to see you again, Sir!"
"Oi, newbie, go tell everyone else the boss' back! You've got thirty seconds!"
"R-Roger!"
The Haulia spilled into Ulfric's living room. Kouki and the others spit out their tea in
surprise. Having already seen Par and the other's reactions they'd been somewhat
prepared for the Haulia's enthusiasm, but they hadn't expected it to be so vehement.
Once the initial outburst died down, they filed into ranks and saluted. Hajime noticed
there were a few new faces among their number. Judging from their earlier words,
Hajime guessed that they'd been recruiting and training rabbitmen from other clans
in order to bolster their army.
"Uhh, yeah, it's been a while guys. Anyway, you're creeping out my comrades so can
you stop with the salutes?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" Their cries were loud enough that the whole forest probably heard them.
Even the rabbitmen who weren't Haulia were swept away by the atmosphere and
matched the volume of the hardened veterans who were overjoyed to see Hajime. It
appeared they'd kept up his Spartan training regime even in Hajime's absence.
"I ran into Par on the way here so I more or less understand the situation. From the
sound of it, you guys did pretty well. I know it couldn't have been easy, driving those
demons out."
"W-We are undeserving of such praise, sir!" As Hajime had expected, the Haulia burst
into tears. He gave them a moment to collect themselves then passed on the message
Par had given him. Namely that they were planning on invading the imperial capital
and were requesting reinforcements.
"I see. Thank you very much for taking the time to pass on Baltfeld the Executioner's
words, Boss."
"Hey, uh… don't tell me you guys all have nicknames too."
"Us…? Heh, of course we do. I am Iorniks the Thunderclap! He who strikes with
unpredictability and speed of lightning!"
"…I see."
It's too late for them. They've gone too deep. The pandemic started by "Baltfeld the
Executioner" had infected every one of the Haulia. They were beyond salvation now.
Hajime sighed and changed the subject.
"Looks like you guys have been training recruits from outside the Haulia too. How
many men do you have now?"
"Let me think… We accepted many promising youths from the clans close to us, and
the remnants of the Banton clan came to us as well after they were defeated, so… at
present we have 122 men in fighting shape."
Hajime, Shea, and Yue all looked up in surprise. That was far more than they'd been
expecting. Hajime nodded to himself and looked up at Iorniks, who still seemed
confused at the question.
"In that case, I can take you all at once. Ior… niks. Gather everyone you were planning
on sending to the capital. I'll take you there."
"Huh?" Iorniks looked blankly at Hajime for a few seconds before realizing what he
meant. "Ah! Roger! I'll gather everyone at once!" With a crisp salute, Iorniks—his real
name was Io—ran back out of the house and started gathering his men.
Io couldn't believe that Hajime would assist them in assaulting the capital. Especially
since it would mean putting the real reason he'd come here, conquering Haltina's
labyrinth, on hold.
Shea was even more surprised than Io was. Her eyes opened wide and her bunny ears
stood on end as she stared at Hajime.
"H-Hajime-san? What about the labyrinth…"
"You're worried about Cam and the others, aren't you?"
"Um… well… I am… but…" Shea faltered.
She knew Hajime had come here for the labyrinth, and that looking for Cam would
have required going out of their way back to the capital he'd wanted to avoid. Which
was why she hadn't said anything. Moreover, Cam and the others hadn't been
kidnapped, they'd infiltrated the capital of their own volition. They had been prepared
for the danger when they'd gone in.
Shea had made her decision when she'd asked to go along with Hajime back when
they'd first met. She would go down her own path, and her family would go down
theirs.
Of course, knowing that her father had gone missing still made her worried, but she
knew she couldn't just ask Hajime to turn back for him. But though she'd tried to hide
her apprehension, the tension on her face and the slight droop to her rabbit ears had
not gone unnoticed by Hajime or Yue. Even if she could hide it from the others, they'd
known her for too long. Hajime walked up to Shea, who was still at a loss for words,
and gently pinched her cheeks.
"Hweh?" She looked up at him, unable to comprehend the meaning behind his actions.
Hajime returned her gaze, smiled awkwardly, and said resolutely, "You don't have to
force yourself to smile like that… I could tell your rabbit ears were drooping you know.
If you're worried about Cam, you just had to say so."
"B-But…"
"No buts. What are you trying to hold back for after all this time? Just say what's on
your mind like you always do. Where'd all that boldness you had when I first met you
go? If you're not smiling, then… we can't keep acting like normal either."
"Hajime-san…"
Though his words were a little blunt, it was clear Hajime cared about Shea. Which was
why he'd said what he had. Shea knew that as well, and she covered his hands with
her own. Her eyes were brimming with joy.
"I know it might be hard to believe, but… well, look, I care about you. So if there's
something bothering you… I'll do everything in my power to fix it."
"Hajime-san, I…"
"So go ahead and say what you want to say. I'm listening."
Shea basked in the warm sensation of Hajime's hands on her cheeks and mustered her
courage. She looked Hajime in the eyes and said, "I'm worried about my dad. Even if I
don't get to see him, I at least want to make sure he's okay."
"You should have just said so from the start. You were acting so reserved I thought
something might be wrong with you."
"Y-You're making it sound like I normally don't hold back at all! I can't believe you,
Hajime-san!"
Shea puffed out her cheeks at Hajime, though it was obvious she wasn't really mad.
Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed. That was the face of a girl gazing
at the boy she loved. Hajime's words had filled her with such joy that she could barely
contain it.
Shea hadn't even realized she'd been trying to reign in her selfishness around Hajime.
In truth, she'd just unconsciously been trying to show off her good side so that she
wouldn't lose to new contenders for Hajime's affections. But after hearing those
words, Shea no longer felt any need to hold back.
"Mmm… I missed that cheerful smile." Yue watched over Shea like a protective older
sister.
"Hmm, perhaps there are times when kind words truly are better than insults." For
once, Tio said something halfway normal. Maybe I can finally cure her of her
perverseness once and for all. Hajime mused.
"Aww, I'm so jealous."
"I guess anyone'd be happy hearing something like that from the guy they love."
"Y-You're surprisingly blunt now… Nagumo-kun. That part of you has definitely
changed the most. I'm kinda surprised actually."
"Shea-san… I'm so envious…"
Kaori, Shizuku, Suzu, and Altina all voiced their respective opinions.
Their comments reminded Shea she was still in public, and she bashfully buried her
face in her hands. But her bunny ears and tail were still twitching happily.
Kouki glared at Hajime and muttered, "So you'll still fight if it's for your comrades…"
His voice was subdued, but there was a hint of irritation in it. Seeing his best friend's
reaction, Ryutarou scratched his head, at a loss for what to say.
Just then, Io returned to the house. He'd finished rounding up the other Haulia.
Honestly, he'd finished way faster than Hajime had expected.
Hajime said his goodbyes to Ulfric and the others, led everyone back to his airship, and
took off toward the empire once more.