Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 14.2 - Chapter 4.07

7. Remember Me

In the distance, there was a walled city. It didn’t give Yume a feeling of nostalgia; it was more of a, It’s kinda small and cute, huh?

Alterna wasn’t a town that formed naturally by people coming together, building houses, plowing fields, raising cattle, and the population growing. A small number of people had been driven south of the Tenryu Mountains by the Alliance of Kings, and they built a sturdy fortress to defend themselves from enemy attacks. That was how Alterna got started.

There were fields and pastures around Alterna now, and outlying villages, too, creating an image of a town and its outskirts. But originally, it was just a fortress, standing alone. The center of Grimgar was further north in the past, and there was nothing but a city called Damuro around here. That’s why, after taking out Damuro and the Cyrene Mines, the Alliance of Kings lost interest in these frontier lands, and the leading races, the orcs and undead, returned north, leaving it to the kobolds and goblins. The goblins took Damuro, and the kobolds took Cyrene, as their bases of operations.

The Kingdom of Arabakia had long since paid the goblins of Damuro to turn a blind eye to the construction of Alterna. That was apparently the reason they hadn’t sent the military to attack Damuro yet.

None of this really made any sense to Yume, she realized.

When she first became a volunteer soldier, she’d killed a lot of goblins in Damuro. It felt wrong at first, but she eventually became fine with it. If a goblin attacked her now, she could put it down without hesitating. But unlike back then, Yume was able to think, Is this really okay? now.

One day, she woke up in Grimgar, and ended up becoming a volunteer soldier. She didn’t particularly hate goblins, but even if they were humanoid, they weren’t human, and she couldn’t understand their language. Though, they weren’t scary like orcs. They hung out in Damuro, close to Alterna, so they made convenient prey. No, they were dangerous enemies at first. It was a group of goblins and a hobgoblin that had taken Manato from them. But they avenged him. Yume killed a whole lot of goblins. Maybe they had friends and family. Forgan, a group led by an orc named Jumbo, had a goblin beastmaster named Onsa with them. Yume liked animals, too. She’d probably get along with Onsa. But they couldn’t be friends.

Because goblins were the enemy.

Were they really? Yume wasn’t one of the humans of the Kingdom of Arabakia who had been beaten down by the Alliance of Kings. She shouldn’t have had any reason to be an enemy to orcs, undead, goblins, or kobolds. Alterna wasn’t Yume’s homeland.

Still, as they approached, she started to think, Yume’s home.

From the look of things, Alterna was still Alterna. The hill next to it was still covered in graves, and the sealed tower that loomed above it was just as she remembered it.

It was evening, so she might not go until tomorrow, but it occurred to her she should go and visit Manato and Moguzo. She hadn’t in quite a while, after all. She hadn’t been able to go.

Even if she went, they wouldn’t be there. Even if she had things she’d like to tell them, they couldn’t hear her. Still, remembering them, and going to visit from time to time, held meaning for Yume.

How had Team Renji honored Sassa? Renji probably wouldn’t want to say. Maybe she’d ask Ron or Adachi later.

Alterna looked unchanged at a distance, but when they tried to go in through the north gate, there was a large number of soldiers from the Frontier Army there, and they made a huge fuss.

“Hey, you’re Renji, aren’t you?”

“It’s Renji.”

“Renji’s back.”

“It’s the Silver Wolf!”

“It’s Renji! The Silver Wolf has returned to Alterna!”

The soldiers around the gate and walls all lifted their swords or spears into the air, raised their arms in the banzai position, cheered, and generally made a lot of excited noise. Yume was dumbfounded.

“...You’re super popular, huh, Renji? What’s a chilper pulf?”

“Silver Wolf.”

Adachi gave Yume a look of disdain through his glasses. She wasn’t sure he should be so quick to blatantly look down on people.

“Renji’s hair is silver, right? That’s why they started calling him that.”

“Woooo. That’s so cool. Haru-kun’s ‘Dragon Rider’ is pretty amazin’, too, though.”

“...Yeah, Dragon Rider’s not bad, I’ll give you that.” Ron raised a dubious eyebrow. “Still, no matter how you slice it, this is weird. I mean, security’s way too tight.”

Chibi-chan was glancing around, her eyes slightly downcast. At a glance, she might not look it, but the girl was far more cautious than most people.

What was Renji thinking as he was about to pass through the gate, driving his horse-dragon forward without even glancing at the guards? Ron and the others followed him. Yume hesitated just a little, but decided to stay with them a little longer. There was a place she needed to stop by as soon as she returned to Alterna. Team Renji said they would be going there first, too.

Alterna was small. Even coming in the north gate, it took no time to reach the southern district.

The building they were heading for flew a flag with a red crescent moon on a white field, and had a sign out front. The moment she saw the sign, “Whoa?!” she cried out. “They got a new sign, huh! Huh!”

“...Huh?” Ron didn’t seem to get it, but Chibi-chan’s eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply, while Adachi mumbled, “She’s right.” Renji seemed unimpressed. It didn’t matter to him.

The sign had once read, “Altern Fronter Arm Voluter Solder Cops Red Mon.” But now it read, “Alterna Frontier Army Volunteer Soldier Corps Red Moon.” That was what it was supposed to say all along, but some letters had faded off the old one.

When they tied their horse-dragons up in the stables and went in, there were a number of men and women who looked like volunteer soldiers in the main hall. Everyone started making a fuss when they saw Renji, but they all seemed intimidated, and no one called out to him.

“Renji...?”

The man behind the counter with his arms crossed had a sparkle in his light blue eyes. His hair was still green, the same as ever, and he wore black lipstick, along with rouge. His gaudy attire, and the way he shook his body, were the same as they had been the first time they met him, but she had a feeling something was different.

“Britney.”

Renji didn’t ignore Britney. Actually, the reason he’d come to the office was to report to Britney that he had returned.

Renji placed one hand down lightly on the counter.

“It’s been a while. Have you aged since the last time I saw you?”

“Oh, don’t say that.”

Britney covered his face with his hands.

“I’m sensitive about it. I’ve got a position to consider. Unlike a man like you, who gets to live wild and free, I have a lot to worry about. ...Especially lately.”

“Ohhh!”

When Yume clapped her hands despite herself, Britney’s eyes widened.

“Wh-Wh-What’s that for, out of nowhere?”

“Oh, yeah. Bri-chan, you’re a lot older than Yume and everyone, huh? Of course...”

“Don’t just say ‘of course’ and look all satisfied! You’re such a rude brat. Honestly now... Huh? You... Wait, what’s going on here?”

Britney looked from Renji, to Adachi, to Ron, to Chibi-chan, and then finally to Yume, counting them on his fingers.

“The number’s right, but the lineup’s changed. Yume, you were in Haruhiro’s party, weren’t you? I hear rumors that Haruhiro’s group is MIA, though.”

“Em eye...”

Yume cocked her head to the side, and blinked repeatedly.

The ground was shaking.

No, apparently Yume was the one shaking.

Chibi-chan came and supported her. Yume had nearly fallen over.

“Sassa’s dead,” Renji said plainly, then, “As for her,” he gestured to Yume with his chin, “We ran into her in the Emerald Archipelago by coincidence. She was acting separately from Haruhiro and the others, apparently.”

Britney shrugged.

“Sounds complicated. I wish you wouldn’t do this to me, especially in an emergency like this...”

“Emergency, you say?” Adachi asked.

“Deadhead fell.”

“What?” Renji asked, furrowing his brow, “How about the Lonesome Field Outpost and Riverside?”

“Those are intact. The Volunteer Soldier Corps is concentrating its power at Riverside. Lonesome Field Outpost lacks the infrastructure to fight a defensive battle there, so it should be practically abandoned now.”

“Why are you staying behind in Alterna?”

“Because there are volunteer soldiers, like you darlings, who we haven’t been able to track down just yet. Kajiko and Shinohara are both at Riverside, so they’ll manage somehow.”

“Kajiko of the Wild Angels and Shinohara of Orion, huh...?”

Adachi had a difficult look on his face. Yume knew both of them. They were senior volunteer soldiers who led major clans.

“Besides, the Frontier Army only hired me to be the chief of this office.”

Britney produced a knife from out of nowhere, smiling ironically as he spun it around.

“The Volunteer Soldier Corps doesn’t even have a leader. I’m sure you’ve long since figured this out, but as far as Arabakia’s concerned, volunteer soldiers are disposable.”

“The Frontier Army with all its small fry is their main fighting force, huh...”

Ron clicked his tongue in distaste.

The office was unpleasantly quiet. The other volunteer soldiers were looking down in dejection.

Yume knew she should be listening to Britney. She figured this was probably an important talk, but it just wasn’t getting into her head.

“Yume’s gonna get goin’.”

“Hold on, darling.” Britney tried to get her to stop. Yume left the office without hesitating.

After that she walked around to a bunch of places, but she didn’t remember what they were.

The sun was low in the sky at this point. Yume was standing in front of the volunteer soldier lodging house. Come to think of it, her horse-dragon was still tied up back at the office. Should she go back for it? She didn’t feel like it.

“Em eye eh, huh?”

What did that mean? She should’ve asked Britney more about it.

Yeah. It’s not too late. Yume’s gonna go back to the office.

Her legs felt like twigs, and refused to move. Either that, or her feet had sprouted roots. She knew.

The truth was, she’d known since she left the office.

Yume didn’t want to know. What had happened to Haruhiro and the others. She was afraid to find out.

Still, she had to learn. She knew that, too.

She was going to find out eventually either way. She couldn’t remain ignorant. But even if the truth was out there, Yume didn’t have the courage to face it. That’s why she was trying to put it off.

“That’s no good at all, Yume...”

Inside the old lodging house, memories of the days and months she’d spent with her comrades whirled through her head.

Manato had told her once. That of all of them, Yume might just be the bravest.

Boy, had he been overrating her. Yume wasn’t brave at all. She just charged in without really thinking a lot of the time. Basically, she was careless. Yume didn’t have the kind of strength that would let her push onward in spite of her fear. She was spoiled. Weak and frail.

Even now, that weakness still had a home inside Yume.

She wanted to be frank and to the point when she talked. The reason she rambled on despite that must have been because she wanted to have that cushion.

She wanted to be reliable, and yet she didn’t try to take care of things quickly. In the end, did she think she was fine like this? Not at all.

Before it got completely dark, Yume moved away from the lodging house. Yume needed to become strong, and that was what she intended to do. But just wishing for it wasn’t going to make her strong. People could change. Though, not overnight.

“Until she can get strong, Yume’s just gonna have to keep on doin’ the best she can as weak ol’ Yume.”

The hunters’ guild was in the northern district. Near the north gate. There was a wooden fence around it, and wolf dogs in pens in the yard. The hunters didn’t like the hustle and bustle of city life, so it wasn’t uncommon for there to only be one person minding the guild. Yume waltzed in without anyone stopping her, and said hi to the wolf dogs inside the pens. All but one of them were unfamiliar to her.

“Hey there, Poochie, long time no see. Did everyone else get taken?”

Poochie licked Yume’s fingers through the bars, letting out an adorable whine. Was he always so friendly?

“Oh, maybe it’s that. Poochie, have you gotten older? Is that why you’re nice now?”

“Hey.”

There was a voice from up above.

Y’know, it feels like this’s happened before.

When she looked up, there was a bearded man sticking his head out.

“...Huh? You’re—”

“Fwoooo!” Yume jumped up. “It’s Master! Thank goodness you’re at the guild! Because it wouldn’t be weird at all if you weren’t!”

“No. Hold on, you, where have you... No, when did you... No, what have you been doing all this time...?”

“We’ve got noodles and noodles to talk about!”

“Don’t you mean oodles...?”

“Ooh, yeah, that. Poodles to talk about.”

“No, oodles. Well, even if you want to talk about noodles or poodles, that’s not that big a deal to me anyway. But hold on, you...”

Suddenly, there was a whine in his voice. What was wrong? Did he catch a cold? Yume’s master, the experienced hunter Itsukushima, was sniffling, and rubbing the area around his eyes.

“You’re really...”

“Hwuh?”

Yume rubbed her eyes with both hands. She felt moisture. These were tears. Yume learned that she was crying.

Oh.

Itsukushima was crying, too.

Ohhh. Well, Yume’s weak. She can’t help it. But wait, was Master weak, too? No, that can’t be right.

“Sorry, Master. Yume, she was makin’ you worry, huh?”

“D-D-D-Don’t be stupid! Who’d worry... Well, I was concerned, yeah. I-I mean, I did hear your party had gone MIA, after all. I should say, it’s not like I was going around asking people about you or anything, okay? I’m not the type. It’s just something I happened to hear naturally.”

“Yume’s been wantin’ to see you, Master. Because it’s been such a long time.”

“...Y-Yeah. Ah! Th-That’s not what I meant just now! It’s not like I wanted to see you, and I’ve been sticking around the guild as much as possible, hoping you’d show up out of the blue. I was just agreeing I haven’t seen you in a while...”

“Master’s Yume’s home, after all.”

“I-I’m your... home?”

“Didn’t you say it, at the end of basic training? ‘You’re welcome to come back any time.’”

“...Did I say something like that? Yeah... I guess I did. I do remember, though. For some reason, I always remember our little exchanges. I’m your father... well, something like a father figure to you.”

“Yeah. That’s why Yume came home.”

“I see.” Itsukushima nodded a few times, then let out a sigh. “...I see. Welcome home, Yume.”

“Yume’s home, Master.”

“...What happened? If you’d rather not say... if you can’t talk about it, you don’t have to, though.”

“All sorts of stuff. It’d be great to tell you all about it, but where to even begin? Yume doesn’t know.”

“It’s fine. There’s no need to rush. Take your time.” Itsukushima smiled. “Yume. You’re back home, after all.”

She felt like she wanted to cry, and she wanted to take a bath, and she wanted to stuff her face, and she wanted to sleep. Yume was really, really weak. But maybe, now that she had been reunited with Itsukushima, she could be just a little bit stronger. Having seen his face and heard his voice was sure to let her dig in her heels a little harder. Weak, weak Yume needed to build her strength little by little like this.

“For now, I know...”

Itsukushima was touching his face an awful lot as he turned and looked in the opposite direction.

“If you haven’t had dinner yet, let’s eat.”

“Yume’s famished.”

“Okay, I’ll make some—”

Was it Itsukushima or Yume who noticed first? They probably realized at the same time.

Itsukushima let out a surprised, “Uh...?” Yume looked to the north. The hunters’ guild was near the north gate, so the fortress walls that surrounded Alterna towered over them. Though they had never been there before, there were Frontier Army soldiers positioned up there now, preparing to face the enemy. Before she heard the shouting of the soldiers, Yume saw tens of flying lights that seemed to tear through the darkness of the night. Immediately after, the gruff cries of the soldiers reached her, and the short trails of light fell on this side of the wall.

One of them stuck into the roof of the hunters’ guild building. It was burning.

“Flaming arrows?!”

“It’s a burnin’ arrow!”

In the next instant, the wolf dogs in the pens howled, then they started freaking out. Clang, clang, clang, came the peal of the bell. “Enemy attack, enemy attack!” the soldiers on the wall shouted.

“Hold on!” Itsukushima said to Yume, then vanished from the window. He must have been planning to come down. Yume tried to calm the barking wolf dogs. The wolf dogs that were throwing themselves against the pens were too agitated, and she had to scold them for it.

“Ahhh...!” She saw a soldier fall from the walls. Yume wasn’t too panicked, and she understood that Alterna was under attack. This was obviously a grave situation. Still, undue panic wasn’t going to help.

“Yume!”

Itsukushima came out of the building. He had a bow and quiver on his back, and another set in his hands.

“You don’t have a bow, right? Use this.”

“Aye, sir!”

Yume took the bow and quiver from Itsukushima. The only other thing she was carrying was a big knife, but that probably wasn’t an issue.

There were still more flaming arrows coming over the wall. One or two landed in the yard. One hit the wolf dogs’ pen and bounced off. Yume stomped it to put out the fire.

“Master, the way things are goin’, don’t you think the wolf dogs’ll be in danger?”

“There are eight of them here right now. But letting them loose in the streets would be...”

“Let them go. Mrrowr, Yume’s gonna let them out!”

There was no lock, so Yume opened the pens one after another. The wolf dogs all jumped out. While she was doing it, Itsukushima joined in and helped. The wolf dogs wouldn’t listen to Yume before, but when Itsukushima blew his whistle and patted them on their heads, they calmed down in no time. Yume was impressed.

That’s Yume’s master all right.

Yume left Itsukushima in the yard with the wolf dogs as she went and checked the road. There were Frontier Army soldiers heading for the north gate, presumably to join in the battle. She could see volunteer soldiers here and there, too.

“Master!” Yume called out as she headed into the street.

“Right!” Itsukushima replied as he led the wolf dogs to follow her.

The idea of helping the soldiers never crossed her mind. The north gate was screwed. She tried to head south, but there was an incredible noise, which made Yume turn and look despite herself. The north gate was half open. There were soldiers collapsed all over the place.

“They broke through already?!” Itsukushima shouted.

The Frontier Army hadn’t opened the north gate. That was obvious. There was no way they would have. The enemy had found some way to force it open from the outside. That meant they would be flooding in soon. No, not ‘soon.’ The area around the gate had watch fires, and there were lamps on the walls, so even though a number of them had fallen, it was relatively bright there. The big man carrying a greatsword who came through the gate was obviously not human. He was well-built, and had green skin. It was an orc. The orc plowed his greatsword through the back of one fallen soldier. The next to appear wasn’t an orc, but an undead. The undead’s spear skewered a different soldier. The soldiers of the Kingdom of Arabakia’s Frontier Army were looking eager to run. They were in no state to fight back like that.

“Yume, the south gate!”

“Yeah!”

Itsukushima ran, leading the eight wolf dogs, and Yume followed him. The tall building called Tenboro Tower where the margrave lived was in roughly the center of Alterna. The southern district was on the other side of the plaza around it. Itsukushima was heading straight for Tenboro Tower. He was planning to take the shortest route there.

Yume turned to look back, worried about what was happening near the north gate. There was something black rushing towards them from that direction. They looked like four-legged beasts. It was a pack of animals. More than that, one of them, no, it was more than that, several of them were closing in on Yume. Wolves. They were as dark as night.

Black wolves.

She couldn’t escape. They’d catch up. The first wolf would pounce on her, and the rest would swarm around. In no time, Yume would be torn up. What should she do? There was no need to think about it.

Yume came to a stop. She breathed in. Breathed out. Then, inhaling once more, she naturally adopted a fighting stance.

The black wolf in the lead was already super close. It would try to bite her throat, or maybe her wrists or ankles. Yume stepped in diagonally, slamming her knife into the black wolf’s neck. The black wolf cried out in shock as it went flying. Immediately, another black wolf pounced. Yume used her left hand to push its head down. It was already off the ground, so this didn’t require excessive force. The black wolf’s head slammed into the ground, making it let out a pained yelp.

“Yume...?!” Itsukushima was shouting. Not nearby. He was some distance away.

If she was being completely honest, Yume wanted to look and see what situation Itsukushima and the wolf dogs were in. But she prioritized handling the black wolves. While she was vanquishing a third and fourth black wolf, the orcs and undead were coming, so she nocked an arrow to her bow. She kicked a black wolf, and loosed the arrow. It pierced through an orc’s left cheek. She had been aiming for his forehead, but missed her mark a little. Then she drove her foot into a black wolf’s back and propelled herself into the air, and fired her second arrow through an undead’s right eye. The undead immediately plucked the arrow out and came at her. Its weapon was a spear. It thrust at her. It was a stupidly straightforward attack. Yume easily dodged, jumped in close to the undead, and landed a crushing kick on its knee. She nocked an arrow. Turning, she fired. It struck an orc in the throat not fifty centimeters away. Even despite that, the orc roared and swung his battleaxe down at her. Yume planted a forward kick in his solar plexus, then used the opening that kick created to loose another arrow, hitting another orc in the eye. She jumped sideways and rolled, then, rising to one knee, she took another shot with her bow held diagonally. This arrow also hit, striking an undead that was wielding two swords in the chest.

Yume’s really hittin’. She’s hittin like crazy, huh?

It showed she was able to see well. She felt like she might even have a third or fourth eye. Because of that, she saw it all.

Itsukushima had probably tried to support Yume. But when the enemy closed in, he couldn’t get closer to her. Itsukushima and the wolf dogs weren’t anywhere around here. They were pretty far away. They’d been separated. Or they were in the process of being separated, at least.

She wanted to chase after Itsukushima, but the orcs and undead were gunning for Yume. It would be too dangerous to turn her back on them to look for him. This was one of those times when she needed to suppress her emotions. The old Yume could never have done it. But the current Yume, she could.

She would prioritize survival. If she didn’t get through this, she’d never be able to meet up with Itsukushima.

Yume didn’t overextend herself. She just focused on the enemies that came and came. The orcs and undead weren’t easy enemies by any means, but they were excited. Overexcited even. Yume, meanwhile, was relatively calm. If she had them beat on that point, she could handle them, so long as there wasn’t too great a difference in power.

“...But still!”

Yume dodged a slashing attack from an undead, kicked off a building, and loosed an arrow. It slammed into the head of one undead that wasn’t wearing a helmet with a thwack. Yume tossed her bow and quiver aside in midair, then rolled as soon as she landed. The curved sword of the orc that had been trying to slash her down carved into the cobblestones, sending sparks flying. She had run out of arrows.

Yume stood and drew her knife.

She let out a sigh.

She was sweating harder than she’d thought. Yume had been trying to move away from the north gate as she fought, even if just a little. That had been the hope, but her current position wasn’t far from where she started fighting, was it? Well, that was just how these things went. Even if she felt like she was calm, she might not actually be.

Yume didn’t care one bit about the Alliance of Kings or the Kingdom of Arabakia, and she had no real desire to oppose the orcs and undead. But when something like this happened, she was left with no choice. There were still volunteer soldiers holding the walls, but the area around the north gate was full of enemies. Yume had no allies around her. Only enemies.

Even at a quick glance, there were ten or so orcs and undead that had loosely encircled her.

Initially, they had probably looked down on Yume, thinking she was just some human woman with nothing but a puny bow. Well, nothing made it easier than being underestimated.

They wouldn’t make light of Yume now. They knew she was tougher than she looked. That was why, slowly but surely, they would close the ring around her, then all pummel Yume together. It wouldn’t be easy to break out of this. Yume nodded.

“...Okay.”

It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible. It was possible. Her chances might not be good, but they were non-zero. She was going to believe that, and do her best.

Yume switched her knife to her left hand. Holding it with a backhand grip, she smiled.

This stance, it’s just like Haru-kun’s, huh?

She brought her right hand forward, turning her palm upward, and beckoned them in. Even if they didn’t understand her language, anyone could tell what this gesture meant.

An orc moved forward, but on her right-hand side, not to the front of her. Almost simultaneously, an undead on her left-hand side moved, too. Even if there were ten of them, all ganging up on one person, it wasn’t ever really ten on one. They weren’t in sync, so if they all rushed her at once, they’d run into their own comrades and cause a traffic jam. Only maybe three or four could attack the same person at once.

Yume went to attack not the orc on her right or the undead on her left, but the orc right in front of her. That orc was holding a big axe in two hands, but he faltered. No matter how many enemies there were, she would poke at the weakest among them and take them apart starting there. Yume meant to find a way to survive.

“Step aside!” The moment she heard that voice, Yume felt her stomach shrivel a little, for some reason.

The voice was speaking the human language. The voice was human. But still, Yume didn’t think it belonged to an ally.

The orcs and undead all turned to the north gate in unison. Yume looked that way, too.

There was a man standing a little distance from the ring around her.

His left hand was reaching back over his shoulder, holding a katana with the flat of the blade pressed against his back. She couldn’t see a right arm. The man only had one. He was missing his left eye, too. He wasn’t a young man.

The orcs and undead backed away, loosening their net. If she ran now, she might get away. No, not a chance. She couldn’t do it.

The man was approaching.

“I can see you will be a famous volunteer soldier one day. ...Just kidding.”

The man smirked and turned his katana towards Yume.

“I may not look like it, but I like going at it with a tough opponent once in a while. Okay, I say I might not look like it, but I don’t know where you’d be looking to think that. Listen, I won’t say anything about you being a woman, so play with this old man a little while, little lady.”

This might have been one of the fruits of Momohina’s training. Yume could tell that, despite all appearances to the contrary, this man was unbelievably strong. She felt it. Despite the nonchalant way he held his katana, and how he was just standing there casually, he had no openings whatsoever. He was totally relaxed, but still tensed. There was still more than two meters between the man and Yume, but she felt like his katana was at her throat. The man could cut her down whenever he pleased. She couldn’t run away. At some point, Yume’s body seemed to shrink.

Takasagi.

He was human, and yet served Jumbo as a member of Forgan. Did that mean Forgan was the enemy? No, that didn’t matter. She needed to focus. Even if she fought like her life depended on it, there was little chance of her beating this man. All she had was a knife, after all. What was she supposed to do? Nothing was coming to mind. She was out of options before the fight even started.

“...Oh?” Takasagi cocked his head to the side. “Have we met before, young lady? It may be my age showing, but my memory’s not so great these days. I’m sure I’ve seen your face somewhere before, though.”

“You sure have.”

Yume grinned. Takasagi’s right eye widened, as if to say, “Yeah, I knew it.”

As she tried to explain when and how they’d met, Yume leaned forward. Even Takasagi seemed a little surprised by that. This wasn’t enough to catch him off guard, but she wanted to do what little she could.

Takasagi was thrusting his katana towards Yume. Yume leaned lower, rushing under his katana, and got in close to Takasagi.

Takasagi didn’t pull his katana in. He didn’t back away, either. There was still the hilt.

He tried to bash Yume in the head with the pommel of his katana.

Yume hadn’t anticipated him doing that. Thanks to that, all she could manage was to throw herself to the right and roll in order to evade the pommel.

“Nice. That wasn’t bad.”

Takasagi tried to kick Yume with his right leg. She was fine with that. Yume had a knife. If she was able to wound Takasagi’s foot with this knife, she’d have the advantage.

But Takasagi wasn’t trying to kick Yume away. Bam! He stepped in vigorously. Here it came. One super-powerful slash.

Yume screamed despite herself as she jumped aside.

She hadn’t been cut. Yet.

As she looked, Takasagi shouldered his katana again, cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah, that was a good reaction. You pass. I’ll swing for real next time.”

She wanted to say something back to him, but the words wouldn’t come to her. She couldn’t even be entirely sure what stance she was in, or if she was still breathing right. Her whole body was cold, to the point where she had the illusion she was freezing. Scary. Yume was possessed by fear, and cowered. She couldn’t let herself be like this. She couldn’t.

She couldn’t win. Not against this opponent. She didn’t have even a one in a million shot. Doing things the normal way wouldn’t work.

She needed to resolve herself. To be ready to give him an arm or a leg if that’s what it took. No, even that probably wouldn’t be enough. At best, she’d take him down with her. Was she just going to die, or die having killed him?

In an instant, she made up her mind. She regretted not having been able to see everyone again, but she wouldn’t dwell on it. If she thought about it, it’d dull her response. Even at this point, Yume hadn’t thrown away hope. Even if mutual destruction was the best she could hope for, there was still that one in a million, a billion, a trillion chance that she would do better than that. She didn’t know how this was going to go until it actually happened.

“It’s time to do this, old man Takasagi.”

“...I knew it. You’re the little lady from back then, huh?”

“It’s not ‘little lady.’ Yume’s got a name, all right?”

“Yeah, you do. Yume. Bring it on.”

Takasagi pulled his katana close to his breast and turned the blade towards her. She held her breath. The only future she could imagine involved her getting cut down.

How about stealing a weapon from one of the orcs or undead around her first? Maybe Takasagi would let her get away with that? No, if Yume took things lightly, Takasagi would be disappointed in her. He’d get mad and exasperated, then give up on Yume. He’d cut her down without mercy.

When they were facing each other like this, there were things she could understand without having to say anything. Despite how he looked, Takasagi was irritated. What had him so angry? This battle, probably. Takasagi wasn’t fighting because he wanted to. He was fighting because he had no choice. He was being made to fight a war that didn’t agree with him.

When Yume opted to drop her knife, Takasagi smiled faintly.

She had to do this. In an instant, she would either be slashed to death, or barely surviving. It didn’t scare her anymore. She had to either get out of the way of his first slash, or take it in a way that left her alive. If she got up close, it wasn’t impossible she’d have some small chance of victory. If it wasn’t impossible, that meant it was definitely possible.

As Yume advanced without hesitation, Takasagi moved his katana.

“Behold my secret technique.”

It floated, or perhaps fluttered, like it was dancing.

What’s that? It’s a mystery.

“Fall Haze.”

It felt like she could see the blade, but also couldn’t. She didn’t get it. Was it fast, or was it slow? Even that was unclear. Yume headed towards Takasagi. She couldn’t stop. If she did, she’d either be run through, or slashed. It was too dangerous to jump in, but she couldn’t turn back, either. It had to be the way he was moving. Takasagi’s katana was mesmerizing Yume. It was entrancing, inviting. The way things were going, she would be cut down without being able to do anything about it. It wouldn’t be long now. Yume would die driven by fear, yet moved that such a beautiful sword could exist.

“Personal Skill!”

The sudden shout made her feel like someone had scolded her, “What’re you going to die like that for, you idiot?” It wasn’t just a voice. It fell from the heavens like a shooting star.

“Great Foul Waterfall...!”

The shooting star collided with Takasagi’s secret technique. No, the shooting star had a katana. That katana struck Takasagi’s katana.

“Ngh...!”

Takasagi was thrown backwards and, adjusting his grip on his katana as he nearly lost it, he instantly made a horizontal slash.

“Why you...!”

“You’re losing it, old man!”

The shooting star—no, obviously it wasn’t a shooting star, it was a person, and a human, probably, but they were dressed oddly, wearing a tattered cloak and this weird, funny mask. That voice, a man’s voice, sounded familiar to Yume, even though it was really hoarse right now. She probably, no, almost definitely knew who it belonged to. But if that was true, what in the world was going on here?

Takasagi was a member of Forgan. Forgan was attacking Alterna. So, yeah, if the masked man was who Yume thought he was, it wasn’t that strange for him to be here. He’d joined Forgan. Leaving Yume and the others. To be honest, Yume didn’t think he’d betrayed them. He wasn’t a trustworthy individual, but she still believed in him. She wanted to have faith. Sure he could be crazy at times. But he was still her comrade. They’d been together a long time. They went through a lot, too. All sorts of things happened. He was a precious friend. But despite that, he went away.

Maybe that was just how things worked out. Maybe he’d had no other choice. That, or maybe he’d seen something in Forgan that Yume hadn’t. He may have needed them that badly. He was always dissatisfied somehow, and constantly complaining. Was he unable to read the room? Or did he just choose not to? When they had a good vibe going, he’d say things like, “Come on, people, are you really okay like that? Do you seriously think things are alright like this? Well, not me,” and stir them up. He’d push them away, saying, “I’m not here to make friends. Don’t be stupid,” but he would still act awfully lonely, and Yume felt like he cared for his comrades in his own way. Was she mistaken? Had Yume misjudged him? She wanted to ask. She wanted him to set her straight.

Did you end up hatin’ Yume and everyone? Don’t you care about Yume and the others anymore?

“That’s not it,” she felt like he’d say. “It’s not about love or hate. Those emotions don’t move me. I’m a man who aims higher than that. Don’t lump me in with you mediocre people. It’s not like I hate you or anything.”

What was he doing here? Was it really him?

“Orah, orah, orah, orahhh...!”

The masked man was trading blows with Takasagi. His swings looked flashy and excessive, but far from it, they were well refined. The man moved his katana freely and creatively, like he was wielding a great brush to paint some incredible masterpiece.

“Damn... it...!”

The Takasagi was being pushed back. Perhaps he was only making it look that way, but he was on the defensive. Yume noticed. Takasagi was a brilliant master swordsman, but he had weaknesses, too. If an attack came from below the hip on his left-hand side, he was a little, even if only slightly, slower to react to it. The masked man didn’t keep attacking him there. He mixed in other attacks meant to keep Takasagi in check, strong blows to other areas, and then, occasionally, when he decided it was time, he’d take advantage of Takasagi’s weaknesses. The masked man wasn’t just incredible with a sword. That wouldn’t have been enough to keep Takasagi on the ropes like this. The masked man was intimately familiar with Takasagi.

“Oorah!”

The masked man went for a low strike to Takasagi’s left, and Takasagi, clicking his tongue, somehow managed to deflect it. Then the masked man accelerated, like a switch had just been flipped.

“Personal Skill! Flying Lightning God...!”

The names of his skills were nonsensical, but she could tell it was a thrust. The masked man was holding his katana in both hands. It was a two-handed thrust. There was an incredible whooshing noise. Not just once. It was a repeated thrust. But to Yume’s eyes, it all looked like one.

“Ohhh?! Ohhhh...?!”

How had Takasagi managed to survive it? Yume didn’t know. Whatever it was, he backed away while diverting the katana and twisting his body out of the way of all the thrusts. It still resulted in Takasagi falling flat on his backside.

Now, he could finish him.

If the masked man was the person Yume knew, he probably wouldn’t do it.

She was right.

The masked man withdrew his katana, resting the flat of the blade on his shoulder.

“Get up, old man.”

Takasagi stood up, as he was told, then let out a truly hearty laugh.

“You just pop up everywhere I go now, don’t you? You sure can run your mouth now, Ranta.”

“You...! Don’t say it! I’m hiding my face for a reason...!”

“It’s obvious, and you know it.”

“N-No, it’s not!”

The masked man glanced towards Yume. Yume wanted to call his name. Again and again, to be sure it was him. But she felt like she couldn’t now. If they were alone, she might have embraced him instead, but unfortunately they were surrounded by enemies. But Yume wasn’t alone anymore. He was here. Her comrade. Her friend. If she was with Ranta, she could absolutely get out of this crisis. Because Ranta was ridiculously stubborn. That was one thing she could trust him on without it feeling forced.