Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 4 - Chapter 1.5

5 

At the site planned for our base, Lilith sits hugging her knees with a sour expression. 

“I’ll gladly admit this planet is fascinating, but I want to go home as quickly as possible.” 

“Hey, I’m looking forward to getting home, too, which is why I’m counting on you. But we need you to work instead of spending all your time pouting.” 

She may be the crazy boss who wanted to solve the cursed-woods problem using nukes, but Lilith’s still one of the more restrained members of the Kisaragi leadership. 

“There are definitely times when Lady Lilith acts without thinking. Given that we’re looking for new lands to populate due to Earth’s various problems, turning our prospective new home into a radioactive wasteland would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it? Stop wasting time and use that stupidly inflated Evil Point total to build us a lair.” 

“Hey, Alice, you do realize that I’m your creator, right? Your attitude only seems to be getting worse…” 

As a Supreme Leader, Lilith’s grown accustomed to being surrounded by legions of fawning sycophants. Casual disrespect is an experience totally alien to her. She stands up despite her sour expression. 

“Fine, if that’s what I need to get back home. I’ll show you the power of a Supreme Leader!” 

Lilith loudly makes her declaration, throwing open the front of her lab coat. 

At that moment, the tentacles the mad scientist implanted into her body come out of hiding, their metal surfaces glinting. 

Growing out of her sleeves, hem, and neckline, the eight metal tentacles aim toward the forest, their tips glowing. 

“First, let’s clear some of that forest and reduce the enemy’s territory!” 

At her words, a barrage of light lances out toward the woods. 

The rays emitted by the tentacles work as advertised, turning the dense woodland into an open clearing. 

In the blink of an eye, the forest has been reduced to a charred wasteland past the horizon. That’s the level of craziness one can expect from a Supreme Leader. 

“Next, we overwhelm them with sheer numbers! I’ll import some supplies using my abundance of Evil Points!” 

A few minutes after Lilith fiddles with her device, piles of heavy metal plates start arriving on the foundations we laid for our hideout. 

The tentacles sprouting out of Lilith then grab the plates, planting them into the exposed earth. 

The tip of a tentacle glows brightly with blue-white light, welding them together… 

“Lady Lilith, I’ve always meant to ask. Given how useful those tentacles are, could you put a couple in me, too?” 

“These appendages put a really heavy burden on my brain to operate! Just one would overload your synapses, and we’d end up with a terrible tragedy!” 

I briefly consider asking her if that’s her way of saying she thinks I’m stupid, but even with all her smarts, Lilith herself can only handle eight of them. Bet it really would end tragically for me. 

“Let’s say you had eight arms, Six. Would you be able to do something different with each arm?” 

Taking a closer look at Lilith’s tentacles, each is moving independently of the others. 

One welds, another hauls metal plates, yet another scratches Lilith’s back, while a fourth hands her a bottle of iced tea— 

“…It actually looks pretty easy, so yes, I’d like one, too.” 

“No way! Tentacles are part of my identity! Do you know how hard it was for me to create the mutant Anemone Man?” 

The construction proceeds rapidly, making all our struggles seem ridiculous in hindsight. 

It was at that moment… 

“Oh! Lady Lilith, it’s them! The Bashin tribe! Careful! They’ll try to drive monsters toward us. You can already see some mokemokes and mipyokopyokos here and there!” 

“…Mokemokes and mipyokopyokos? Really? Alice, can’t you do something about those names?” Lilith asks out of the blue… 

“What are you talking about, Lady Lilith? Mokemoke’s a cute name.” 

“…? What’s Alice got to do with the names of monsters?” 

Alice clarifies for me: 

“I already explained, didn’t I? I’m translating the local language and sending the feed directly to your brain. It’s easy for creatures like orcs and griffins, where there’s already a word for something similar from Earth, but for completely new and unknown creatures, I’ve been the one naming them.” 

“In that case, I agree with Lady Lilith! At least put more effort into the task.” 

“Could you two leave the bickering for later? They’re here!” 

As Lilith issues her warning, monsters herded by the Bashin tribe descend on the construction site. 

Lilith’s tentacles pause their work and turn on the creatures. 

“It’s been bugging me for a while, but just where do those tentacles of yours sprout from? It’s really bothering me, so do you mind if I strip you down to find the answer?” 

“Of course I mind! You don’t have to help; just don’t get in my way.” 

Lilith politely takes the time to answer me, then, with her lab coat still open, leans forward and widens her eyes. 

Looks like she’s using her eyes to lock onto targets while putting all her concentration into operating her appendages. 

The tentacles start spitting out everything from lightning to lasers to ultrasonic pulses to bullets. 

“Man, Lady Lilith’s just like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’ll get out of her.” 

“I agree, but shut up. It’ll be a hassle if she hears you.” 

“I can already hear you two! You’re in the way just standing there, so go somewhere else for a bit!” Lilith yells at us, her eyes bloodshot, likely from the strain of running her brain at full tilt. 

As we back off like we’re told, a battle against the monsters unfolds before our eyes. 

“Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! See, you two? Kisaragi’s technology is the greatest! These monsters and savages are out of options and fleeing!” 

She’s an antisocial character, having hurtled way past the line between madness and genius. She’s obsessed with anime and prone to sending people on the stupidest errands imaginable, but she’s still a Supreme Leader. 

Lilith lets out a satisfied-sounding cackle, single-handedly overwhelming the beasts and tribesmen that gave us such trouble. 

What makes her so dangerous is that she doesn’t have to worry about running out of ammo or energy. 

A chip implanted inside her continually feeds her location to Kisaragi HQ, which then automatically sends energy and ammunition as quickly as she expends them. 

I’m told the large-scale teleporter used to send us to this planet is actually based on the technology employed to resupply Lilith’s weapons. 

“Hmm? Looks like they’re going to try a counterattack.” 

As Lilith scythes through the ranks of their monsters, the Bashin brandish their hand axes and step forward. 

There are over twenty of them. 

They all draw back and begin hurling their weapons at Lilith. 

Most are shot out of the air, and the handful that make it through are effortlessly swatted aside by two tentacles wriggling around Lilith. 

Watching this display reminds me of the time I saw Lilith stroll through a battlefield fraught with gunfire as casually as if she were taking a walk. 

“…The rules really don’t apply to her, do they?” I can’t help but mutter, prompting exasperated agreement from Alice. 

“What with the tentacles and her title of Lilith the Black , Lady Lilith seems a lot better suited to being the Demon Lord.” 

The scary thing is that Lilith isn’t actually putting in much effort yet. 

Finding that their throwing axes aren’t working, the Bashin begin their retreat. 

As though sensing the change, the pretty girls who did a number on our construction equipment emerge from between the trees. 

Behind them, I catch a glimpse of the mass of masked and basket-shouldering Hiiragi tribe members. 

Seems like the whole gang of guardians are here. 

“Lady Lilith, those ones back there are the most dangerous! If the Hiiragi tribe starts dancing, watch out! Also, the girls sprouting from the ground will launch projectiles this way.” 

I shout my warning to Lilith from a good distance away. 

“And? I’m Lilith the Black. Those Hiiragi tribesmen attack using sunlight, yes? In that case…eat this!” 

Lilith curls her lips in a confident smirk before fading from view. 

It appears she plans to make extensive use of pricey optical-camo technology to neutralize the enemy’s light-based weapons. 

“Man, Alice, I really want some of that optical camo. I bet I could earn tons of Evil Points if I had that.” 

“Let me guess, you plan to peep, peep, and peep around some more. Word of warning, you can’t use that near a bath. High humidity condenses on the surface, cutting the camo’s effectiveness in half.” 

Dammit, really? And to think that was near the top of my equipment wish list. 

The Hiiragi look around in confusion as Lilith disappears before their very eyes. Then they scatter as attacks fire at them from thin air. 

That done, Lilith peppers the forest girls with bullets, and they retreat, screeching. 

“See, Six? This is the might of Lilith the Black! FYI, I haven’t even shown ten percent of my true power!” 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s quite impressive of you to overwhelm them while still holding back, Lady Lilith. But you know, characters who handicap themselves like that usually end up dying when they have to go all out.” 

“J-just kidding, Six! That actually took about half my power! You’re right, of course. I should use a hundred percent of my power from here on. It’s not a good idea to underestimate your opponents.” 

Perhaps because she’s an anime otaku, she seems more than familiar with countless examples of the scenario I’ve cited, and Lilith quickly walks back her statement. 

Turning her back to the Cursed Forest, she resumes her construction efforts where she left off. 

“But, Six, you’ve still got a ways to go, hmm? You’re a future Supreme Leader candidate; we can’t have you struggling against opposition this pitiful… Still, you were right to call on me out of the three Supreme Leaders for help.” 

She then happily sticks both her hands into her lab-coat pockets. 

“That being the case, Six, you need to show your commitment to becoming a Supreme Leader by engaging in acts of heinous villainy as a Combat Agent for our evil organization. Although, if I’m being honest, I don’t hate your softness. You don’t have to rush it. I’ll wait however long you need.” 

She gives me a teasing smile. 

From deep in the woods, a single beam of light streaks out, blowing away the hideout (still under construction) and sending the posing Lilith tumbling to the ground.