Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 1 - Chapter 6.04

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“Rose! Grimm! The enemy’s isn’t here yet, but stay alert! We’re counting on you to take out their heavy hitters!” 

Screams and the sounds of battle ring out from all around us. 

“I’m ready. Leave them to me!” 

“I’m sleepy…b-but I must remain vigilant…! Once this is done, I bet Snow will buy me tons of drinks… Stay awake…stay awake… The s-sun’s almost fully down… I just need to keep my eyes open a little longer…” 

I’m moved by Rose’s confident response, even as Grimm’s muttering gets a little unsettling. I make a note to wine and dine them both once this is over. 

A soldier arrives at our post where the Royal Guards, under my command, stand as the last line of defense in front of the city’s main gate. 

“Lady Snow! Where is Lady Snow?” 

The soldier is pale, raising his voice in near panic before he finally locates me and dashes in my direction. 

“Lady Snow! Golems! The enemy…they had seven stone golems in reserve! They waited for the fighting to go on long enough for the knight companies to be exhausted… Then they sent in the golems. They’ve forced their way through our lines, and they’re heading straight this way.” 

Seven golems?! 

“Grimm! Will your curses work on them?!” 

I hear the sound of wheels clattering against the cobblestones, and Grimm appears next to me. She gazes intently at the golems steadily making their way toward us. 

“We’re nearing Lord Zenarith’s time. I might not be able to destroy them, but I can certainly stop them in their tracks! Look at these! I had the city guard confiscate these paired rings from a bunch of couples, using the defense of the city as an excuse!” 

Normally, Grimm is super-unreliable, but I’m seeing a whole new side of her today. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything about the confiscations. 

“Good. Everyone, form a defensive wall around Grimm. Those of you with hammers and maces, be ready to clobber the immobilized golems!” 

Just as I give the order to my subordinates… 

“Not happening! You guys stay out of this!!” 

The ground rumbles as the seven stone golems stomp toward the gate. Standing upon a golem’s shoulder is a pillar of the Demon Lord’s Elite Four, Heine of the Flames. 

“Finally, some familiar faces. But I’m afraid I’ve got no time for you small fries. Bring out Six. I’m here for him.” 

Heine’s body is covered in wounds, so many that I feel a brief pang of sympathy. The pang is short-lived when I see her expression. There’s no trace of pain there. Just rage. Pure, burning rage. 

“Six? He’s not here. I, Snow, will be your opponent today. Draw!!” I cry. 

At my challenge, Heine turns her gaze to me, her eyes flaring with anger. 

“You?! You’re nothing! You’re not even worth the effort of killing. But that bastard?! There’s no way I can let him live after the humiliation he’s caused me! I’ll kill him if it’s the last thing I do! Using my precious sorcerer stone as bait… I bet he’s sooo proud of himself for that one, huh?” 

I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about… I guess that idiot found yet another way to incur her wrath. 

I take a touch of satisfaction in the knowledge. 

“It doesn’t matter if I’m nothing! I can’t…I won’t let you get to Six. Her Highness has tasked him with something important. Grimm! Do it!” 

“O Great Lord Zenarith, I beseech thee! Deliver disaster unto this stone doll! May its soles be sewn to the ground!” 

Grimm unleashes her curse before I finish giving the order. 

The paired rings in Grimm’s hand are offered to the dark god as a sacrifice and vanish in a flash of light. 

The golem’s feet freeze in place. Unable to stop its forward momentum, the golem collapses with an earthshaking thud. Seeing their chance, the soldiers armed with blunt weapons close in and clobber the golem, reducing it to rubble. 

“O Great Lord Zenarith, I beseech thee! Deliver disaster unto this stone—” 

“You really thought I’d let you do that twice?! I may have lost my primary sorcerer stone, but I’ve got a spare! And it’ll be more than enough to take you out!” 

Heine’s arm erupts in flame as she flings a fireball toward Grimm, but a small shadow jumps in to protect the archbishop. 

“O Great Lord Zenarith, I beseech thee! Deliver disaster unto this woman! Forever take away her ability to wield flame magic!” 

Sheltered from the flames by Rose, Grimm places a large parcel on her lap and points her finger at Heine. The parcel, filled with paired rings, is bathed in light as Zenarith claims them for a sacrifice. Hearing Grimm’s words, Heine’s eyes go wide, throwing her arms up in a reflexive gesture of defense. 

“…It f-failed…? Holy shit, that scared the hell out of me!” 

Producing a flame from the tip of her finger, Heine howls in relief. 

“You! Whores like you who draw the eyes of men just by existing! I hate you most! If I had a little more courage, I’d risk the backlash and curse those udders of yours to fall right off!” 

“Wh-what the hell are you talking about?! Don’t call me a whore!” 

Still, the threat of the previous curse appears to have put Heine on her guard as she climbs down from the golem and backs away. 

Grimm doesn’t suffer anything even if her ability to use flame magic is lost from a curse backlash. With the large number of sacrificial objects on hand, Grimm will probably be able to take away Heine’s flame magic with enough attempts. 

This realization drains the color from Heine’s face, and she puts another golem between herself and Grimm. 

“The hell are you doing, Heine? Stop playing around with these maggots! Just kill that woman already!” Gadalkand appears from the flank, forcing his way into the center of the fight. “…Huh? Hey, you… You look a lot like a lady I killed not too long ago… Eh, whatever. You’re dead either way.” 

He lifts his metal club, stifling a yawn as he prepares to take a swing at Grimm. The sickening crunch and the image of Grimm’s headless body flopping to the ground replay in my mind. 

“T-take that!” 

Rose lets out a rather weak battle cry, unleashing a flying kick at Gadalkand’s head. 

“…Hmm? Did you just do something?” 

Gadalkand takes the blow without so much as flinching, reaching up and theatrically scratching the spot Rose kicked as if it were a bugbite. Then he pounces at Rose with a speed that ought to be impossible for a creature his size, landing an open-handed blow on Rose’s shoulder. 

Rose is tossed like a rag doll by the impact, and Gadalkand seems to forget about her, turning his attention to the only thing standing between him and Grimm. Me. 

“…Move.” 

A single word. An order. 

This demon…this pillar of the Demon Lord’s Elite Four. He doesn’t even regard me as the enemy. 

As I grit my teeth in frustration, I hear a whoosh as a jet of flame cuts through the air, hitting Gadalkand and engulfing him in flames. 

“Guh! You little brat! I forgot you could do that!! You miserable runt! You know you can’t beat me. Even if you have mixed blood, your demon blood’s gotta be screaming at you to run. It’s not like these vermin are treating you well, are they? You can join us once this is over. Now get out of my way!” 

Buffeting his wings to blow away the flames lapping at his stony skin, Gadalkand turns to look behind him. 

Rose stands there with blood trickling from her temple, hands balled into fists while one arm wipes the soot off her chin with a sleeve. 

“Heh-heh-heh… I know I can’t beat you, and yeah, I have mixed blood…but I’m also a Combat Agent trainee, so I’m afraid I have to keep fighting, even if I’m scared. Also…” 

I notice a faint tremble in her voice. 

“Grandpa told me on his deathbed that if I ever made friends, I should stick with them, no matter what…!” 

With that, Rose assumes a fighting stance against Gadalkand. 

“Heh! Fine. Then hurry up and die!” 

He brings down his club toward Rose, shattering the stones below and sending fragments flying in every direction. 

Instead of giving herself breathing room, Rose dashes toward the large demon, punching at Gadalkand’s gut with all her might. 

The sound of a hard object being hammered rings through the area, and Gadalkand’s face twists into a grimace. 

Her flame breath requires her to hold a deep breath for a few seconds, making it impractical for use while dodging hits at close range. 

Rose dodges Gadalkand’s powerful swings, exploiting each opportunity to land a blow on him in return. The soldiers and knights stare at the battle between superhuman fighters from a distance, unable to provide any meaningful support. 

The same applies to me. 

A girl who is younger than me, smaller than me, and suffered much worse treatment than I’ve ever endured. She’s matching Gadalkand, blow for blow, in defense of Grimm. 

If I joined the fight against Gadalkand, I would only be in her way. With my sword, I wouldn’t be able to so much as scratch him. 

So what’s left for me to do…? 

What good is the reputation that comes from being the youngest to achieve knighthood, an elite member of the Royal Guard, and all the other accolades if I still lack strength? 

The other pillar of the Elite Four, Heine, cautiously avoids getting in Grimm’s line of sight and continues scanning the surroundings as if still expecting to find Six here on the field. 

The steady stream of arrows fired at her is swallowed by the flames burning around us. 

“O Great Lord Zenarith, I beseech thee! Deliver disaster unto that woman!” 

Grimm points her finger at Heine, prompting the demon to hurriedly seek cover behind a golem. 

“Don’t you point at me, you crazy dark-god cultist! Golem! Shield me!” 

“D-don’t call Lord Zenarith a dark god! Dammit, I’ll put a curse on you that makes you irresistible to orcs!” 

…It’s time to make up my mind. 

Even if I’m consumed by flame, I should be able to get at least one strike in. 

How ironic that I, the one most concerned with money and glory, would find myself facing the honorable death every knight longs for. 

The hand gripping my sword hilt trembles, but I convince myself the shaking is from excitement, not fear. 

At that moment, a voice intrudes into my thoughts. 

“I’m not entirely sure what it is that you’re planning to do, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Just a warning from the Archbishop of Undeath. Dying is truly awful.” 

Just as I make my peace with my decision, Grimm pauses in her efforts to deter Heine. She sounds more sober and serious than I’d imagined her capable of being. 

Rose shouts over her shoulder, still with her back to me as trades blows with Gadalkand. 

“I can’t hold him forever! Miss Snow, please go to Her Majesty and tell her to evacuate to safety!” 

At the desperation in her voice, I remember what I should be doing. 

Knights of the Royal Guard are here to keep the royals away from harm. 

Going to Princess Tillis and finding a way for her to escape is consistent with our duties. Still, there’s no reason that I should be the one to do it. After all, I’m the one in charge right now. Which means… 

“We’ll be fine. Off you go to the castle! Even if the princess needs to defect to another country, it’s better that she have more than just the commander go with her. Snow, you need to go and make sure he doesn’t try anything funny with the princess.” 

Which means these two are telling me to run. 

How pathetic. How powerless. 

I, who once joined in with the other soldiers to mock these two as rejects, am now being defended by them. In spite of everything, they’re trying to find a way to let me escape. 

……There’s still hope. 

He’s still here. If anyone can find a way out of this mess, it’s him. 

But who am I to beg for his help? Me, the very person who drove him out of the ranks. 

I recall something he said earlier. 

“I hear the Demon Lord’s Army is invading soon! If you want my ultrapowerful assistance, then apologize for your shitty attitude and beg for it!” 

If it means I can save these two, I’ll gladly apologize. I’ll happily beg and stroke his insufferable ego. But will he actually help us under these circumstances? 

As I stand there, trying to sort out my jumble of thoughts and emotions, Rose is knocked back toward me, landing on all fours. Her tail straightens, and she snarls at Gadalkand. 

Her back, turned to shield me from the enemy, a back belonging to a little girl desperately forcing down her anxiety so that she can keep fighting, is the last straw. I know what I need to do and turn on my heel. 

“Drown in a sea of hellfire…!” 

I hear her voice from behind me. 

“Sleep for all eternity! Crimson Breath!” 

I start running toward the castle.