[Subaru: Alright, then I'll count on you to delay him like we planned]
After safely finding Lewes and rejoining Otto, Subaru gave the signal to put the plans they've been preparing for over the past few days into motion.
[Otto: I've no problem with that, but, do you have any idea where Emilia-sama is? If you can't find her before time runs out, everything we've done will be for nothing...]
[Subaru: Can't say it'll go without a hitch… I mean, it's because of all the hitches that we're in this situation. But, well, you don't need to worry about it]
Scratching his head, Subaru's face stiffened into a rather miserable expression.
Whenever Subaru's eyes sharpened into a serious expression, it gave off the impression that he was mad about something.
While Otto hadn't known him for long, he knew him well enough not to misunderstand that expression, but that didn't stop him from feeling some pity for the owner of those unfortunate features. And actually, Subaru felt the same about Otto. The fact that Otto didn't realize this was just one of the subtle things they have in common.
[Subaru: I think I have an idea where Emilia might be. Honestly, I panicked pretty hard when I found out she was gone, but... now that I've calmed down, I'm pretty confident I can find her]
[Otto: Is, that right. So where do y... or, maybe it's better if I don't know]
[Subaru: You sure? You know I wouldn't mind bragging some more and having you fawn over my deductive abilities?]
[Otto: No, I'm good. I don't feel like fawning today, and if Garfiel manages to catch me, it wouldn't be good if I start spilling everything, now would it?]
Otto pointed out with a shrug, while Subaru nodded with [Right].
Indeed, it would be rather worrying. Otto doesn't have a great deal of tolerance towards pain, and he hadn't experienced a whole lot of extreme pain in his past.
If Garfiel corners him and starts hurting him, chances are, Otto will spill everything he knows. And Otto didn't want to sabotage Subaru like that.
[Subaru: Well, if you're sure you're gonna spill it, I guess it can't be helped]
[Otto: ――――]
Without much ceremony, Subaru simply said [No worries, I have complete faith in you].
Just what is a person supposed to think when they hear something like that?
Receiving this kind of blind trust, who could bring themselves to betray it?
And, saying such things without regard to how the listener might feel, Subaru truly is an outrageous friend.
[Otto: Either way… I'll definitely do my best. I'm banking my entire future on you pulling this off, you know]
[Subaru: Yeah. If I royally screw this up, your future's going straight to rock bottom. ...But if it gets too dangerous, just run away. That guy's not gonna play around today]
[Otto: ...Mm, I'll keep that in mind]
Otto answered those considerate words with a faint grin.
Everything was ready according to plan. The Arlam refugees have been instructed to board their respective dragon carriages and to leave shortly after the bait, Otto, departs.
Otto had loaded two carriages with the villagers' spare clothing in order to convince Garfiel's nose that the villagers are with him, and he would be travelling on the most conspicuous path to draw his attention.
The refugee escape routes that he had spent those sleepless nights scouting had also been firmly drilled into the ground dragons.
Nothing should be amiss now.
All that was left was to be the bait until the refugees escape the Sanctuary.
That would put them a safe distance away from the Great Rabbit's attack two days from now. Meanwhile, Subaru and Emilia would have a chance to talk, and then Garfiel would return to the village, find Subaru, and probably turn the whole place into a battleground――
[Otto: ――――]
Except, Otto was determined not to let that happen.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Physical prowess was never Otto Suwen's strong suit.
He had learned some self-defence techniques to keep himself safe on his travels, but, compared to someone who lives and breathes combat, Otto wasn't just one or two steps behind.
He never neglected to hire bodyguards when transporting valuable cargo, and when he was attacked by mountain bandits in the shortcut through the hills, he tearfully abandoned his luggage and fled.
It was the general consensus that Otto lacked the aptitude to solve anything through brute force.
[Otto: So what on earth am I doing picking a fight with a guy like this...]
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Otto wrenched his rigid cheeks into a smile. As a rule, merchants always smile in the face of adversity.
Born into a merchant family, Otto was raised on that precept, though he only had the latter half of his life to live by it.
Nevertheless, it wasn't a custom to be broken lightly.
If he could smile and convince himself that this was no different from any of the challenges he'd faced before, then his body would come to accept this stress as something good.
His arms were moving, so were his legs. He could still run some more.
It was a mystery how he could sprint across such terrible ground without running out of breath, but, from the lightness of his uplifted heart, the hidden strength within Otto's body bloomed.
[Otto: Still, mustn't get complacent. Conceit is useless, and carelessness is the enemy]
Speeding through the gaps between the trees, Otto reminded himself to stay ever vigilant.
He had left Garfiel a long way behind him. But Otto can't keep running away like this. His job was to draw Garfiel's attention and prevent him from returning to the Sanctuary.
Garfiel mustn't be allowed to realize the pointlessness of chasing him.
By hiding in the forest and hitting Garfiel with one trap after another, Otto must work to keep himself at the forefront of Garfiel's mind.
Indeed, Garfiel had no need to chase after Otto.
The real keys to achieving his objective of preventing the Sanctuary's liberation were Subaru and Emilia. Otto was only a distraction.
The fact that Garfiel hadn't paid Otto any attention thus far was precisely because he understood this better than anyone.
Swept-up leaves and a fire stone. And the swarm of winged insects bursting from the carriage.
With these flashy yet harmless traps, Otto had perfectly succeeded in enraging Garfiel.
The present Garfiel had lost his composure and was focusing his sights on Otto alone, completely forgetting he had no need to do so.
[Otto: That said, it won't take him long to notice it if given the chance]
And so, without risking getting too close to Garfiel, Otto must keep provoking him from a distance.
With Garfiel's nose disabled, Otto should be able to avoid any life-threatening situations as long as he keeps out of sight. But, if he's spotted, Garfiel would be able to close the distance in an instant with the overwhelming skill-gap between them.
Indeed, it would require the caution of walking a tightrope.
[Otto: ――――]
Hidden in the foliage, Otto peered out at the scene before him.
Some twenty meters away was Garfiel, leering over his surroundings. It seems his sense of smell was completely gone thanks to the pungent Kisnis oil spilled near the carriage wheels. He was searching for Otto relying on vision alone, frustrated, and carrying the air of a wounded beast.
It'd be playing with fire to draw his attention now, just asking to be burned.
{Otto: Now, I'm counting on you!}
{???: rightright~~}
Otto lightly whispered, and heard the reply upon his eardrums instantly transformed into meaning.
Heeding Otto's signal, the trees began to stir.
[Garfiel: Hha...?]
Hearing the rustling of leaves and sensing that something was afoot, Garfiel looked up――
――And saw a massive barrage of globs of mud and poop flying straight at his face from the surrounding trees.
It was a show of force by the little critters living high in those trees―― the wood mice.
Of course, the projectiles themselves dealt no damage whatsoever, but, seeing poop flying at him from all directions, even Garfiel panickedly tried to leap out of the way. He couldn't avoid them all, however, with several splashing on his legs prompting clicks of his tongue.
[Garfiel: Th'fuck is this! Shit! Why're th... that lil'fucker's behind this, isn't he...]
Scraping off the filth on his feet on a nearby tree, Garfiel immediately wondered if this was Otto's doing. But then, Garfiel scrunched his nose mid-sentence as if having noticed something.
――The wood mice's poop balls were pretty much harmless. They were just staining his clothes and making them stink.
But the scent of their droppings has a tendency to attract the insects of this forest.
[Garfiel: ――――Gh!]
Something wriggled up to Garfiel from beneath the ground before leaping out of the earth and tangling itself around his foot. His breathing stopped―― when he saw that it was a long, black, centipede-like insect crawling up his leg.
The length of a person's arm, the centipede wound its way up Garfiel's left knee as its grotesque mandibles slurped greedily over the traces of wood mice droppings.
[Garfiel: Ggha! Gross!]
Brandishing his claws, Garfiel swiped the centipede off him. But more and more crawled out of the ground, not only leaping onto Garfiel's legs, but fighting over the puddle of droppings that had missed him, covering the entire area in a hellish brawl.
Centipedes love the fruit seeds inside wood mice droppings.
That was one of the "useful facts" Otto had learned over his conversations with the woodland creatures during his treks through the forest.
Contrary to their repulsive appearance, the centipedes aren't carnivores and aren't venomous in the least, but being swarmed by them was still more than enough to constitute a threat.
And, by now――
[Garfiel: ――Kh! Agh! Get th'fuck off!!]
――Garfiel was screaming hysterically at the horde of centipedes, sending spit flying.
Then, he raised his right leg and drove it into the ground with all his strength.
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The next instant, a square plot of earth with Garfiel at its center sprang into the air.
[Otto: ――――]
Witnessing this preposterous sight, Otto unwittingly gulped.
Furiously swiping his claws and legs upon the airborne soil, Garfiel made short work of the stunned centipedes left and right. And, when the floating platform crashed back to the ground, all the centipedes around him had been neutralized while the rest scurried into the earth in fear.
The trees that were the wood mice's homes toppled towards the uprooted earth as the inhabitants who had aided Otto scrambled to flee.
It seems they wound up paying quite a high price for the sugar water they got.
[Otto: Well that's how business is sometimes... it's not always easy to judge whether a deal will be profitable or not, so please don't hate me for it]
Bearing witness to this glimpse of Garfiel's strength, Otto quietly apologized in an effort to calm himself. Then, silencing himself once more, Otto retreated to keep his distance from the approaching Garfiel and prepared to lure him to the next trap.
He hadn't gone two and a half days without sleeping scouting around this forest for nothing.
――And once all this is over, he plans to sleep so furiously that not a dream could disturb him.
{???: A big one's coming}
――I know, yes, I know already.
{???: Behind you, big one, coming, coming now}
――I said I know already, I assure you I'm keeping that in mind.
{???: You'll die. You're so dead. Poor thing}
――You mind not being so pessimistic!?
With his Divine Protection of Anima Whispering unleashed, a din of discordant noises flooded Otto's ears as he ran.
These were the voices of the bugs, the critters, and indeed all sentient creatures living within the forest, while, with extreme difficulty, Otto sifted for the ones most relevant to himself.
It's been twenty years since he first discovered his Divine Protection, and ten years since he learned to harness it. And, in all that time, he had never used it so recklessly.
The time he unleashed it in order to clear his name, he was inside a city where the number of creatures was limited.
But here, inside the expansive forest, the volume far exceeded Otto's capacity to endure.
In the air, in the trees, in the leaves, in the soil and in the rocks, there were countless dwelling places for the critters and bugs. Listening to the noises of all these hidden creatures was like having over a hundred human voices simultaneously assailing his mind.
He wasn't just hearing with his ears.
The Divine Protection of Anima Whispering demanded comprehension from Otto. Which meant that Otto's brain had to expend itself to process everything his Divine Protection was picking up.
[Otto: Bh...g]
A sharp pain raced through his head causing his body to sway. He leaned against a tree, wiping the sweat from his face, and saw drops of blood soaking into his sleeve.
Nosebleed. The blood leaking from his face was proof that his brain was working beyond its limit. The intermittent migraines and the ringing in his ears were showing no signs of abating.
[Otto: Ah… I didn't know. So this is what happens if I keep using it, this Divine Protection of mine. Gets pretty unwieldy, doesn't it... it isn't all nice and convenient, that's for sure. What a pain…]
Roughly wiping away his nosebleed and rubbing his brow, Otto resumed his faltering run.
His ears continued to ring, but he had no intention of shutting off his Divine Protection. Otto cannot keep up this chase scene by himself.
As mentioned before, the voices keep him informed of Garfiel's movements. They serve as Otto's eyes since he couldn't constantly look behind him.
He wasn't sure what other people thought about enlisting the help of bugs and animals whose wills differ from humans, but it was no easy task.
Their thought patterns are different from that of humans.
Different things delight and upset them. What one finds normal another might find outrageous. And there is no way to know which weapons to use when negotiating with them.
Even with insects and animals, the greater their intelligence, the greater were the individual differences between them. Just depending on the region they live in, bugs of the same species could have completely different preferences.
It was thanks to all the effort he'd put into his short but vital preparation beforehand that Otto was able keep up his imperfect but successful evasion of Garfiel.
――"Has Subaru found Emilia, and have they properly talked yet?" he wondered.
It was to give them the time to talk―― and to prolong it for just a little longer, that Otto was putting himself through this hardship.
If Subaru's guess was wrong, and he hadn't gotten any closer to finding Emilia, then all of this would have been for nothing.
Just why was he doing all this for Subaru?
As his mind wandered to distract itself from the pain, Otto landed on this thought.
Subaru saved his life, and Otto was helping him in order to repay that debt. That was the truth.
Subaru accepted him as a friend and requested his aid, so it was only natural that Otto chose to help him. That was also the truth.
But was Otto truly such a hardcore human being that he would go beyond what was asked of him for those reasons alone?
[Otto: ...Ahh, I see]
Something flashed across his mind in that instant, then suddenly everything made sense.
Otto couldn't keep himself from smiling.
Once you realize it, it's really quite simple.
Otto's reason for placing his faith in Subaru, and for helping him, was surprisingly unprofound.
[Otto: Clutching your head, giving up, thinking that no one could understand you... I was supposed to know that feeling better than anyone]
The Divine Protection of Anima Whispering was the power to hear what others could not.
Because he could hear the voices of other creatures and know things he normally shouldn't, Otto was seen as a nuisance by many people. He lost the people who were once his friends, and he could no longer see his family. To Otto, his Divine Protection was nothing more than a superfluous tool that was useless outside of emergencies.
But, because he had this Divine Protection, his experiences changed.
The experiences of being excluded due to his Divine Protection taught Otto the pain of being misunderstood by others. He knew the frustration of knowing something but being unable to communicate it to anyone. And it had conferred him the resigned outlook that "No one would understand anyway".
All of this was the same for Subaru before he revealed everything to Otto.
That was why Otto trusted him. And, reflecting on just how much that youth and his past self overlapped, Otto started running once more.
That's all there is to it.
Otto didn't just want to save Natsuki Subaru. Through him, Otto wanted to save his own past self, to save Otto Suwen.
[????: Fin'lly, fuckin'... found ya!!]
[Otto: ――Gh!?]
The moment he recognized yet another one of his truest thoughts, Otto heard a voice outside his Divine Protection of Anima Whispering as an impact struck his shoulder, sending him tumbling across the ground.
Rolling sideways, he eventually came to a stop on the soft earth.
[Otto: Bhh, pf! Wh, what... ghu!]
[Garfiel: Too fuckin' bad, ain't it!]
Spitting out the leaves in his mouth, Otto tried to push himself up when a foot drove into his torso. Another kick, wrenching all the air from his lungs, sent him violently skidding over the earth.
Up and down jumbled into one as his head spun so fast that his thoughts grew vague. No oxygen cycled through his brain, the blood in his body congealed, while his veins dispensed only pain throughout his being.
[Garfiel: My nose may be broke, but I still got ears. Whatever trick yer pullin', th'goddamn bugs 're chirpin' wherever y'go... but this ends here, yeah?]
[Otto: I… I wonder... just because you caught up, doesn't mean you've won…]
[Garfiel: Don't be a smartass. Y'put up a good fight... but I ain't gonna waste my time no more]
Garfiel set his foot on Otto's stomach and leaned in.
Ribs creaked as the foot pressed down with a force greater than the weight of Garfiel's scrawny figure, prompting wails of pain as Otto's limbs convulsed helplessly.
[Garfiel: If I step on ya with all I've got, you'll be squashed t'smithereens. Y'saw me launch th'ground into th'air back there, yeah? Same shit's gonna happen to yer body. Wanna try?]
[Otto: ――Sorry, but I'd rather not]
Seeing Otto answer his threat with a defiant smile, Garfiel was slightly taken aback, but,
[Garfiel: Hell, y'got some guts, don't ya. If I knew that before y'pulled this shit, we wouldn't've needed this goddamn runaround]
[Otto: ...]
Garfiel's words could almost be called a compliment.
Hearing this, Otto rolled his head and spilled a small sigh. Watching Otto faintly breathing, Garfiel narrowed his eyes.
[Garfiel: If there weren't so goddamn many of'em, I probably wouldn't've thought anything of it...]
[Otto: ――――]
[Garfiel: But soon as I was chasin' ya, it's like th'whole forest's turned' against me. Even at the start when y'threw those leaves, the bugs under'em all flew at me. Th'bugs in th'dragon carriage, those squirrels throwin' shit at me, th'centipedes, th'snakes swarmin' outta dead trees, th'birds lurin' me to a field of poison flowers, there's gotta be some way t'explain it]
One by one, Garfiel recounted the traps he had encountered in the forest.
While, listening, Otto only continued faintly breathing.
Those were all traps Otto had set during his treks through the forest, designed to hinder Garfiel and to stall for time.
None of them missed their mark, and they all succeeded in drawing Garfiel here.
If it weren't for the fact that there were too many of those natural anomalies for it to be mere coincidence, Garfiel would never have believed that Otto was behind it.
[Garfiel: Thinkin' ain't my strong suit, but t'survive, I gotta think anyway. So I thought. And thought, and thought, and here's what I got. When inexplicable things happen in this world, it's usually 'cause some Divine Protection's involved. ――Y'got one of those Divine Protections, don't ya]
[Otto: ...uf]
[Garfiel: D'vine Protection of th'Forest, Divine Protection of Dirt or whatever th'fuck y'call it, if y'got one then this all makes sense. N' y'really weren't holdin' back, were ya. ...So]
Striking the silent Otto with these words, Garfiel gave his trembling body a kick, then glanced behind him. His sharp eyes narrowed in pity,
[Garfiel: Don't think I haven't noticed what yer plannin' behind those stubborn eyes of yer's]
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[Otto: ――――]
Garfiel's eyes landed on an open clearing where a mass of white light had gathered.
It wasn't sunlight that had filtered through the trees―― but a radiant mass of mana so dense that it was visible to the naked eye.
Gazing at the swelling mass that could drive a person mad should they wander too close, Garfiel scowled and looked back down at Otto.
[Garfiel: That's yer trump card, ain't it. It ain't like th'empty threats you've been throwin' around so far. That's somethin' that can do me in. ...If yer th'one who's got me on th'ground, y'might even be able to shove me into it]
[Otto: ...a, ugh]
Squatting down, Garfiel picked up the groaning Otto by the collar.
Blood from Otto's overworked brain poured from his nostrils, staining the bottom half of his face grisly red. Seeing this, Garfiel shook his head.
[Garfiel: Y'tried, but yer way outta yer league. Shoulda known yer place like a good boy]
[Otto: My… place, you say...]
[Garfiel: Yeah. Y'ain't got no chance against me. ――Whatever that trap's supposed t'be, yer th'one who's gonna be eatin' it]
With that, Garfiel gave Otto's body a gentle toss.
Following a brief weightless sensation of falling through the air, Otto's body crashed to the ground and rolled into the pool of dense, white mana.
Inside the thick, drifting cloud, the mana began to infect Otto's already vague consciousness.
His eyes rolled, his tongue numbed, and his nosebleed streamed without end.
The trap. The final trap. Now that he was tossed inside――
[Garfiel: I'll watch till it's over]
Crossing his arms, Garfiel waited to see Otto's end.
Where am I? What am I doing here? Lying on his stomach, catching Garfiel in the corner of his vision, Otto gathered his scattered thoughts. And then, he understood.
――The final trap was ready.
[Otto: ...Mind if I ask you something?]
[Garfiel: Hah?]
Pressing his hands to the ground, Otto desperately pushed himself up.
Not expecting him to still be able to move, Garfiel's eyes widened in shock. It gave Otto some small satisfaction to see this, and indeed, Subaru was right.
Doing something no one believed you could really is fun. That is a fact. It may be a little mean, but it still felt amazing.
[Otto: On your way here, Garfiel-san... how many trees have you felled, and how much earth have you gouged open?]
[Garfiel: Th'fuck're y'talkin' about?]
[Otto: All this mana floating around me... is just how much you've angered the forest]
The sense of accomplishment made him forget all about his fatigue and pain.
Sitting himself up on the ground, Otto's faltering voice grew firm as he looked up at Garfiel.
Garfiel uncrossed his arms, his face twitching as realized he had done exactly what Otto wanted him to, and immediately tried to move――
But, it was too late.
[Otto: ――Al, Dona]
Abounding mana coursed through Otto's entire body, taking shape in the world at the sound of his chant.
――With overwhelming speed and momentum, a torrent of earth poured forth, slamming into Garfiel's body as he belatedly tried to dodge, sending him flying to the other edge of the forest.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
[Otto: Haa... haa... haa...a]
His outstretched arms still trembling, Otto's labored breaths were thick with exhaustion and blood.
All the mana drifting around him had been siphoned into his spell.
The sensation of mana-intoxication had faded, replaced by fatigue and all-encompassing agony.
――Otto's final trap was the essence of all the traps that came before it.
To enlist the help of the bugs and animals of the forest, Otto proposed that they punish the evil presence tyrannizing these woods.
It seems the wanton devastation left by Garfiel's daily strolls had raised the ire of the forest's inhabitants.
Cutting down trees to sharpen his claws and train his body, or even just going around collecting firewood for the village, were probably seen as sabotage from the perspective of the animals living there.
Little by little, these heinous deeds piled up until Garfiel was eventually considered the arch-enemy by the majority of the creatures in this forest.
So Otto negotiated with those creatures, offering to punish Garfiel with their help. As trap after trap was sprung and Garfiel inflicted more and more damage upon the forest―― the forest's residents pooled their mana into one location, lending Otto their utmost support as promised.
The giant mass of mana was so conspicuous that "It could only be a trap".
After triggering so many traps on his way there, Garfiel instinctively avoided this one and tossed Otto into it instead.
With the aid of the forest's creatures, Otto was able to cast magic he'd otherwise have no way of casting.
The resulting torrent of earth and debris slammed into Garfiel, dealing decisive damage to his thus-far unscathed body.
Garfiel believed that Otto had no strength to oppose him, got careless, and facilitated his own downfall.
Everything had gone as Otto planned.
Which means,
[Otto: This time...]
[???: ――Yer outta moves]
Otto spilled a despondent sigh as Garfiel's figure emerged from the treeline, glaring back at him.
His clothes were torn, and his exposed skin was marked by cuts made by jagged rocks. But his head and other vital places were unharmed, and there was no obvious impact on his gait.
The sheer disparity in strength far transcended Otto's imaginings.
[Garfiel: Honesty, I'm damn surprised]
[Otto: ...Are you, now]
[Garfiel: I really didn't think you had it in ya. Hell, I looked down on ya, thinkin' you've given up. ――Forgive me. I pulled' some stupid shit when I'm actually dealin' with a man]
Garfiel said with a meek expression. But Otto shook his head, indicating that there was no need to apologize.
All he wanted to hear was "I concede". But, despite giving it his all and fulfilling his role perfectly, he still failed to defeat Garfiel.
And so, this is where Otto's resistance ends.
Garfiel felt his hands, then flashed his razor claws. He would not show Otto mercy this time.
Their sharp edges shall reflect his sincerity. They would strike true, carve into Otto's flesh, and extinguish his life.
――I did everything I could, right?
Otto was sure he had played every card he had.
His Divine Protection, his debts of friendship, he had used all of it.
If he still fell short in the end, there was nothing he could do.
Otto's capabilities ended here.
And so――
[Garfiel: See ya. ――When y'wake up, you'll start all over]
[Otto: This is where my individual-round ends, I guess...]
[Garfiel: ――――]
Muttering under his breath, Otto closed his eyes, exhausted.
Yet his attitude was nothing like resignation towards death――
[Garfiel: No way...]
Is there more? Garfiel shuddered with all the hair on his body standing on end as he warily scanned his surroundings.
There was no sign of anything in any direction. If there was something, it'd have to be――
[Garfiel: ――――hk!]
Baring his fangs, Garfiel swiped his claws upwards.
Drawing in a breath, he expanded his lung so he may howl. But there, he hesitated. His eyes widened, yet no roar escaped his open lips.
What escaped was not bloodlust, not hostility, but a name.
[???: Garf――!!]
A shadow leapt from the treetop overhead, falling towards him.
Its short skirt fluttering in the air, the point of its wand aimed straight for Garfiel's head.
Watching the shining mana gathering at the tip of the wand, Garfiel expelled his shriek:
[Garfiel: Why th'fuck're y... RaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!]
The next instant, blades of wind burst forth, scattering the Sanctuary's forest to the gales.
-=