Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 8 - Chapter 6

6. Two Sides of the Same Coin

“They just never learn.” The man with a buzz cut who was wearing a priest’s uniform stuck his metal rod out. 

An orc with his hair dyed many colors deliberately swung at the rod with his katana. That was all it looked like to Haruhiro, but that couldn’t be right. 

The man with the buzz cut was relatively short, while the orc had to be at least one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, even at a conservative estimate. 

It seemed like the orc should have been the stronger of the two, but obviously he couldn’t cut the metal rod in half with a katana. 

That had to be Buzz Cut’s skill: to lure in his opponent, make them strike where he wanted them to, and then to use his opponent’s own power to strike back at them. 

Buzz Cut’s metal rod spun around, striking the orc in the side of the face. 

But orcs were tough. Even taking a solid blow to the face from a rod made of iron, or perhaps some other heavy material, the orc staggered, but he didn’t go down. Buzz Cut should have been more than capable of following up with another attack, but he didn’t, instead backing away. 

“I’ve got this!” Bursting out of the fog, a lanky man attacked the orc from behind. This man had a weapon in each hand. He was dual wielding. Based on that and his strategy of attacking from behind, the man was a thief. 

However... 

“The reason I can’t be happy, and the reason I’m haunted by sadness, and the reason my soul can’t find salvation, and the reason people won’t recognize my accomplishments, and the reason I don’t have a harem, they’re all your fault!” he shouted. 

The thief moved in a way that seemed to challenge the limits of flexibility. 

He was fast, yes, but he bent and wriggled like crazy, and it was kind of creepy. It was good that he’d pushed the orc down and stabbed the hell out of him, but did he have to seem so vengeful about it? Besides, it was pretty clear that none of that stuff was the orc’s fault. He was just venting, right? 

What was more, when the orc stopped moving, the man stood up slowly, soaked in his victim’s blood and muttered, “I’ve sinned again. My god, the god inside me, is dead!” 

He made no sense. But whatever. He could do what he wanted. Well, not that he needed to be told that; he was apparently going to do it anyway, because the thief vanished into the fog once more using that bizarre walking style of his. 

Meanwhile, Buzz Cut was using his metal rod to dodge another orc, and then strike back. 

“We’ll leave Tsuga and Sakanami to their own devices, as planned.” 

Moyugi pressed on the bridge of his glasses with his middle finger, then immediately ambled away. “We’ll move on to the next place.” 

It seemed natural that Moira followed him silently, because she was his demon, but why did Kuro say “Righto,” and tag along, too? The priest with the buzz cut, Tsuga, and the strange thief, Sakanami, were their comrades, weren’t they? They were members of the Typhoon Rocks. Despite that, was it okay that they just watched their comrades fighting from a distance, without lending a hand, and then acted like it was none of their concern what happened afterwards? 

While Haruhiro was confused, a big hand came to rest on his shoulder. 

When he turned to look, the big bald man wearing sunglasses, Kajita, was giving him a thumbs-up, his mustache upturned in a smile. 

What? What’s that sign supposed to mean? 

“...Oh. Okay then,” was the only response Haruhiro could give. 

Kajita shouldered his massive mushroom sword and followed Kuro. He walked at an easy pace, with a swagger. He walked so boldly. 

Did people like him not hesitate, or feel indecisive? Or did they? Which was it? 

Yume poked Haruhiro in the back. “Haru-kun, should we be goin’, too?” 

“Oh... Yeah.” 

She was right. They had to go. 

I keep thinking that, don’t I? Is this really okay? 

He’d been thrown totally off his pace. Or rather, he couldn’t keep pace with the others. It made him doubt that he even had his own pace to begin with. Haruhiro followed behind Kajita with Yume, thinking, Man, I’m so fragile,  and feeling ashamed as he did. 

In his usual group of six, he managed to lead them somehow, bringing them together in some form. But when other factors came into play, like now, he was suddenly hopeless. Everything fell apart before he knew it, and he had no idea what to do in response. 

Why...?  he wondered. What’s the problem? What am I lacking? What’s missing? 

If he were to answer “everything” to that question, he felt like that would be running away from it. If he said that, it would be all over. He was frustrated, and hopelessly angry at himself. He didn’t want to stay like this. 

“Yume... Hold on,” Haruhiro said suddenly. 

“Fwuh?” 

“I want to talk to Moyugi-san.” 

“M’kay. While you do that, Yume’s gonna stay next to Kajitan.” 

Kajita turned back and gave them a thumbs-up. He didn’t speak much, and it was hard to figure out what he was like, but he was reassuring to have around. 

Haruhiro started to run, passing Kajita, and then Kuro, before coming up beside Moira. Moira suddenly turned and fixed her pit-like eyes on Haruhiro. 

“Nooooooooooo...” 

You’re scaring me here,  Haruhiro thought nervously. 

No, he didn’t have time to be scared. He had to absorb things. To beg for teachings, or whatever else he could, and absorb everything he could. He’d make them his own. 

“Um, Moyugi-san, Is this—” 

“If your question is stupid, I’ll ignore it.” The way Moyugi went out of his way to tell Haruhiro that, it showed that he might be surprisingly considerate of others. Either that, or he just liked to talk. 

“I’ve done some thinking, but... This plan, normally you’d want to concentrate your forces, but you’re doing the opposite,” Haruhiro said hesitantly. “By splitting up, are you trying to make the enemy divide their overwhelming larger force, and then taking them out one group at a time, maybe?” 

“If it were up to me, we’d never follow a stupid plan like that.” 

“...Same here. Even if I thought of it, I don’t think I could do it. It’s too risky.” 

“However, when it comes to tactics, they aren’t a thing where you can plug your variables into some sort of formula and it will lead you to the answer. Based on countless conditions, your process will change. And your result, too, of course.” 

Haruhiro understood that. Even if his group had its own form, it depended on what they were up against. What kind of enemies. Where they were fighting. Whether they could launch a surprise attack. Whether they were suddenly attacked themselves. Many factors came into play, and that changed their ideal plan. They had to change and adapt it. 

“This time, it just so happened to be that the situation made you choose a plan you normally wouldn’t... Is that it?” Haruhiro asked. 

“To put it another way, we have no plan,” Moyugi said, not answering Haruhiro’s question directly. “We have the essence of one, of course. Like, this is the way things are, and this is what to do if this happens. But, even with that, there are exceptions. In the end, when it comes time to make a decision, plans are just another factor we take into consideration. What do you think strength is?” 

“Huh?” 

That came out of left field,  thought Haruhiro. Or was it actually connected somehow? 

“Well, the ability to win, I guess,” Haruhiro said. “It may seem trite, but I’d say something like, ‘The strong don’t win; those who win are strong.’” 

“There’s truth in that. For instance, I, the strongest dread knight in active service, do not possess exceptional physical prowess, or a rare potential for dread magic.” 

While thinking, He’s not going to give up on that “strongest dread knight in active service” thing, huh?  Haruhiro nodded. “Right.” 

“Let us imagine there was a fierce warrior who could kill a dragon with a finger flick to the forehead. If he was attacked in their sleep, or were slipped poison, they’d die easily. The fact of the matter is, there’ve been no shortage of heroes who’ve met their end that way. I know that’s true. Unfortunately, not being able to remember my original world, I can’t offer any concrete examples. For someone from here, maybe the No-Life King would count?” 

“Strength doesn’t require power,” Haruhiro said slowly. “Is that what you’re saying?” 

“Having it doesn’t hurt. You use what you have available to you. 

However, even with training, not everyone is going to be able to run the hundred-meter dash in under ten seconds, right? Though, in this world, for the moment, at least, it doesn’t seem there’s any way to accurately measure times that are less than a second. I think there was in our original world, though.” 

“You keep managing to slip in those mentions of our original world...” 

“Doesn’t it concern you? If it doesn’t, then you’re a fool. Though I suppose most people are fools.” 

“I can’t say for sure whether I’m a fool or not, but... honestly, it does concern me,” Haruhiro said. 

“You’re a member of the Day Breakers, so I figured it would.” 

Shima had told Haruhiro, “We’re searching for a way back to our original world.” 

“Soma says there are signs of the No-Life King returning, and he formed the Day Breakers with the objective of entering Undead DC in the former Kingdom of Ishmal,” said Moyugi. “Setting aside the issue of whether there are any signs of it happening, I’m sure that the No-Life King, said to lie sleeping in Ever Rest in Undead DC, will eventually rise again. His curse is still in effect, after all. When that happens, not just Alterna, but the entire Kingdom of Arabakia’s mainland will not be left unscathed. I’m sure we’ll be forced to fight, whether we like it or not, for the survival of humanity, each of us putting our lives on the line. If possible, I want to take care of things before it comes to that. To destroy the No-Life King as soon as possible. 

That’s what Soma has been gathering the power to do. On the surface, at least.” 

“But his real objective is to return to our original world?” Haruhiro queried. 

“There may come a point when we have to slay the No-Life King, so while that’s the reason we give for public consumption, it’s not just a front,” 

Moyugi said. “I want to become strong, after all. To defend what needs defending, to seize what I desire, and to reclaim what I have no doubt lost.” 

Though Moyugi was by no means short, he wasn’t especially tall, either. 

The reason he looked lanky was because he was thin. He had the bare minimum amount of muscle that he needed, but you couldn’t exactly call him musclebound. His gestures lacked strength and power, he wasn’t nimble, and he himself had said that he had no special gift for dread magic. In fact, if Haruhiro set his mind to it, he could probably get behind the man. When it came to strength, agility, and maybe even endurance, it was possible that Haruhiro was better than Moyugi. 

But he couldn’t beat him. Even if he could get behind the man and prepare a one-shot kill, the tables would be turned on him. He couldn’t help but feel that way. 

There was Moira, for one thing. Besides, if Haruhiro aimed for Moyugi’s back, there was no doubt Moyugi would predict it. This was true of anything, but if he was expecting it, there were steps he could take. Moyugi would anticipate that Haruhiro was better than him, and lay traps. 

What kind of traps? 

He didn’t know. He couldn’t imagine. 

If he fell into some unknown trap, would he come out of it alive? 

He couldn’t predict that. His legs cowered in fear. He couldn’t think straight. 

He was guaranteed to lose at this rate. 

“Everyone plans a step ahead before they act,” said Moyugi. 

“So you plan even further ahead, right?” Haruhiro asked. 

“I read one hundred steps ahead before I move. Well, that’s what I’d like to say, but there’re too many branches, so it’s not realistically possible.” 

“Um... Well, do you plan something like ten steps in advance, then, Moyugi-san?” 

“I’m always three steps ahead. Even for me, the strongest dread knight in active service, that’s the best I can manage.” 

That’s not very many,  was what Haruhiro initially thought, but then he reconsidered. “Always,” Moyugi had said. That meant he started each fight by predicting three steps in advance, but that wasn’t the end of it. If he kept thinking three steps ahead with each turn that passed, that meant he needed to keep thinking at all times. 

That’d be tiring. It’d wear him out. It’d be tough. So tough that it’d make your nose bleed. 

Did he have to go that far in order to become stronger and win? 

Yes. He wasn’t a genius, wasn’t some sort of chosen one, so if he didn’t do at least that much, he wasn’t going to be able to win. He couldn’t become strong. That was probably what it meant. 

In this line of business, defeat could very well mean death. If Moyugi didn’t want to die, no matter how tough it was, no matter how exhausting, he had to do it. If he didn’t, it’d be fine for as long as he kept pulling out victories somehow, but he’d eventually lose and die. If he didn’t want that, he had to call it quits. 

“Um, Moyugi-san,” Haruhiro spoke up. 

“What is it?” 

“Thank you. That was helpful. I learned a lot.” 

Moyugi just snorted, not saying anything. 

Thinking. Up until now, Haruhiro thought he had been doing that. But if you’d asked him whether he thought and thought and thought until he reached his limit, he wouldn’t have been able to puff up his chest proudly and said, Of course. 

Haruhiro felt that he had thought pretty hard. But hadn’t he always felt, somehow, that it was enough? 

He hadn’t pushed it to the limits. That was for sure. He had sometimes tried pretty hard, but in the end, after reaching a certain point, he’d tended to take a hands-off approach and let what would be, be. He’d figure he’d done enough, so it was probably fine. No one was going to complain to him. 

It was only natural there would be a gap between a person like him, and a person who kept thinking and analyzing. 

It wasn’t a difference in ability. It was a question of who was doing everything they possibly could. That was the only difference, but it all piled up to create a huge gap between the two of them. 

“By the way...” Haruhiro decided to ask a question, though he didn’t expect an answer. “These enemies, who are they anyway? Why are you people fighting against them?” 

“If I were to sum up our reason simply...” Moyugi was actually answering, to his surprise. “...it’s on a whim.” 

“On... a whim?” Haruhiro looked at him quizzically. 

Before he had time to digest that, the next group came to attack them. The fog was still as dense as ever. Thanks to that, he couldn’t see them, but he could hear the noise. He heard voices, too. 

Haruhiro expected Moyugi to scope things out again, but he saw no signs of the man slowing his pace. 

This area was comparatively flat, and it was thick with thin, blackish trees. They had to slip between them, so walking really wasn’t easy. 

“Kuro. Kajita.” Without stopping, Moyugi signaled something to the two of them with his hands. 

Haruhiro came close to asking for orders, but he couldn’t do that. He had to think first. 

Turning back, Kuro was heading left, and Kajita was heading right. Yume was looking at him in anticipation. Kuro specialized in shooting enemies dead without them discovering his location, so it was best not to get in his way. 

Let’s support Kajita without getting too close or straying too far away, Haruhiro decided. 

He headed back to where Yume was, and then they followed Kajita together. Moyugi kept pressing ahead, with Moira accompanying him. 

Kajita turned his head towards Haruhiro and Yume and gave them a thumbs-up. It’d be rude to just ignore him. Haruhiro hesitated briefly, then gave him a thumbs-up in return. 

Kajita looked satisfied. Or at least that was how it seemed. 

Haruhiro still couldn’t see the enemy, but eventually he was able to more or less make out their voices. There were probably multiple orcs. There was a human man, and a woman, too. One of each, huh? But they weren’t shouting, just letting out a sharp battle cry every once in a while. 

“Rock!” Moyugi shouted, probably intentionally. 

There was an immediate, “Yeah!” from a man who seemed to be in high spirits in response. “It’s going just like we planned! Kill ’em all!” 

“Rarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!” 

Kajita let loose a loud roar that seemed to make the heavens and earth shake. It wasn’t just any ordinary shout. He used a special vocalization method to emit a sound it seemed like no person should be able to, intimidating all who heard it. It was a warrior’s war cry. Even so, this was the most incredible one Haruhiro had ever heard. 

Haruhiro covered his ears despite himself, and almost crouched down. 

Yume staggered and blinked in amazement. 

Yeah, it hits you pretty hard,  Haruhiro agreed. 

The enemies were coming this way. Naturally, that was what the war cry was meant to make them do. 

“Yume, get in front of me!” Haruhiro shouted. 

“Meow!” Yume bobbed her head up and down vigorously, then drew Wan-chan and got in front of Haruhiro. 

Haruhiro had his stiletto in his right hand, and a knife with a hand guard in his left. He steadied his breathing, erased his presence, and went into Stealth. 

It was lame hiding in Yume’s shadow, but he couldn’t afford to be concerned about appearances. Instead of just reacting, he would think, and then act on his own initiative. This was necessary for him to be able to do that. 

At some point, a fighting style in which he used Swat to fend of his opponent’s attacks, waiting for an opening to strike, had become second nature to him. But Haruhiro was a thief. Swat was only meant to get him out of a tight spot. Keeping an enemy busy wasn’t a thief’s job. Thief skills could be divided into three categories: ambush tactics, thieving techniques, and lethal combat techniques. He was meant to be an attacker in combat. 

An orc leapt out of the fog. 

“Indeed!” Kajita met him with his massive mushroom sword. He tried to cut through the orc along with the blackish trees, but the orc dodged. 

A second, then a third orc appeared, pressing in on Kajita. 

Is he going to be okay?  was one thing Haruhiro didn’t have to worry. 

He’d most likely have planned for this possibility, and Kajita didn’t need someone insignificant like Haruhiro worrying about him. Besides, Haruhiro and Yume had enemies coming their way, too. From up ahead, to the left. 

It was—not an orc. An undead, huh? It wasn’t one of the four-armed ones called double arms. Its neck was weirdly long, with weirdly sloping shoulders and long arms. 

Haruhiro silently adjusted his position. He was on the straight line that connected Yume and the undead. This was the spot. Here, the undead couldn’t see Haruhiro. It couldn’t detect him. 

Yume raced forward. The undead charged in. 

Should I keep waiting?  Haruhiro wondered. No. 

Forcing aside his indecision, Haruhiro moved. He maintained his Stealth, taking a somewhat wide route around Yume’s right side as he steadily approached the undead. 

The undead still hadn’t noticed Haruhiro. Soon Yume’s curved blade and the undead’s sword sent sparks flying. Just after that—no, before that— Haruhiro managed to circle around behind the undead. With his stiletto and knife, he slashed a cross shape into the thing’s bizarrely long neck. 

As it collapsed, unable to withstand the blow, Yume pounded Wan-chan down on the top of its head. “Chowah!” 

With its head smashed open, the undead lost its strength. It was almost like a broken doll. Without pausing for a breath, Haruhiro got behind Yume again. 

Kajita was taking on three orcs at once. He hadn’t defeated even one of them yet. It looked like they were tough ones. 

“Yume, let’s give Kajita-san one less enemy to deal with,” Haruhiro said. 

“Meowger.” Yume walked quickly towards one of the orcs. 

Her shadow. Haruhiro had become the brave Yume’s shadow. 

The orcs noticed Yume. Here it came. Just one of them. The other two stayed pinned to Kajita. This one’s hair was dyed gold and braided, and his weapon was a katana. He was about as tall as Kajita. Tall as he was, though, he was still light on his feet. The fact that his head didn’t bob up and down was proof that he had a stable center of gravity. 

At a glance, the orc seemed lightly equipped, but he was actually wearing armor that protected him from the neck down. He had guards on his knees, elbows, and shins, as well as armored gloves. Given he had been able to give Kajita trouble, there was no doubt he was skilled. 

Haruhiro tried to move forward on Yume’s left side while maintaining his Stealth, but the golden-haired orc immediately detected him. He was a sharp one. Haruhiro immediately hid himself behind Yume once more. 

Immediately after that, the golden-haired orc and Yume had an intense exchange of blows. The golden-haired orc’s katana was slightly longer than Yume’s Wan-chan. The golden-haired orc was more muscular, too. It felt like Yume was just barely managing to fend off his attacks as she backed away. 

The golden-haired orc was putting pressure on Yume, but he still had the presence of mind to watch out for Haruhiro. 

I have to support Yume quickly,  thought Haruhiro. I can’t just act randomly. Think. Hurry. Don’t lose your head. Think. 

“Yume, pull back!” he called. 

Yume quickly rolled back and to the left. It was Pit Rat. 

Haruhiro immediately moved up. Now the golden-haired orc couldn’t 

pursue Yume. Haruhiro acted as intimidating as he could, taking up the stance for Assault. 

“Ohhhh!” he cried, realizing what was going on. 

If he didn’t hit the golden-haired orc with everything he had, he might be swept aside. He had to go all out from the beginning. 

The golden-haired orc seemed to be saying, I’ll take you on.  He wouldn’t underestimate Haruhiro. He’d be a nasty enemy to deal with. 

And the enemy’s weapon had a much longer reach, so if Haruhiro didn’t get up close, it wasn’t even going to be much of a fight. Haruhiro charged in as if he was going to tackle the orc. 

That was what he made it look like, but then he used his right foot to kick up some of the almost mud-like dirt. It was Flinch. Basically, he was throwing dirt in his opponents’ eyes. He hadn’t used it much in actual combat, but the dirt flew towards the golden-haired orc’s face like it was supposed to. The golden-haired orc didn’t even flinch, just raising up his arm to block it. During that time, Haruhiro—didn’t charge in. He turned on his heel and raced the other way. 

“Urga?!” That surprised the golden-haired orc. And so, he hesitated. 

Thinking it must be a trap. The truth was, it was a trap, in a way. 

Haruhiro ran about four meters, then turned back to face the golden-haired orc. Walking sideways, he moved to a place where he could flank the golden-haired orc with Yume. Haruhiro signaled to Yume with his eyes, but it wasn’t necessary. 

Yume returned Wan-chan to its sheath, pulling out a throwing knife and immediately tossing it. “Star Piercer, meow!” 

The golden-haired orc quickly reacted, twisting to dodge the throwing knife. Haruhiro tried to close in on the orc from behind—but he was detected, so he immediately backed away. 

Meanwhile, Yume had been nocking an arrow. She let it loose. Three shots. It was Rapid Fire. 

The golden-haired orc easily avoided the first two, but deflected the third one with his katana. 

After that, for a moment, he lost sight of Haruhiro. 

When he noticed Haruhiro had used Stealth to get into striking distance, even as impressive as the golden-haired orc was, he had to be shocked. From his perspective, Haruhiro seemed to be saying, Now’s the time—but he didn’t attack. 

Haruhiro fell back, putting distance between them again. 

The golden-haired orc looked surprised and disappointed, but also on guard. He might have already seen through Haruhiro’s intentions. Even if he had seen through him, there shouldn’t have been anything he could do. At the very least, he couldn’t realistically dispatch Haruhiro and Yume in a hurry. 

That was because they were buying time. Of course, if it seemed like they could take the orc down, they would. But there was no way they would do anything too risky. 

The golden-haired orc had to choose between taking them on in a battle of endurance and letting the difference in strength win it for him, or else quickly crushing Haruhiro or Yume and turning it into a one-on-one battle. Of course, if he could have done the later, he already would have. The golden-haired orc was stronger than either Haruhiro or Yume, but he didn’t have that great of a strength advantage. The golden-haired orc knew it, too. 

As a result, if they got impatient, it would be easy for him, but that wasn’t going to happen. The golden-haired orc settled in for the long course. He likely figured he just had to win in the end. He probably figured that even if it took some time, he’d be able to win, so he would attack them slowly and carefully. His confidence was probably unshakable. 

The fact of the matter was, if the fight dragged on like this, Haruhiro and Yume might lose without ever finding any chance of victory. That was why the golden-haired orc was doing the right thing. Haruhiro and Yume had also chosen the optimal course of action for their situation, so as long as neither party made a mistake, the one who deserved to win would. 

As the golden-haired orc stood there, not showing any sign of overconfidence, an arrow stabbed into the left side of his chest. 

“...Whuh?” Yume tilted her head to the side. 

Yume’s bow still had an arrow nocked. The shooter wasn’t Yume. 

The golden-haired orc let out a low groan, but braced himself and turned to face in the direction the arrow had flown from. When he did, another arrow pounded into his right arm. Without missing a beat, a third arrow struck the center of his chest. They were easily penetrating his armor. What a powerful bow. The golden-haired orc dropped to one knee. 

“To think you’d use me.” Kuro emerged from the fog. His bow was slung over his back, and he had a single-edged sword in his hand. It was similar to the katanas the orcs wielded. “You’re a cheeky one.” 

The golden-haired orc stood up, switching his katana to his left hand. 

Even though it was his off hand, his slashing blows were still sharp. Still, Kuro deflected them easily, then decapitated the golden-haired orc. 

“Use you?” Haruhiro let out a small sigh. “You make it sound like a bad thing.” 

“Don’t go counting on me. I’m the kind of guy who wants to look the other way when people start having expectations of him.” Kuro collected his arrows from the golden-haired orc’s corpse, waving casually to them as he vanished into the fog once more. 

“Haru-kun, were you thinkin’ that Kuroron’d come?” Yume asked. 

“I figured, at worst, we could hold out until Kajita finished off the other two orcs and came to help. That was the idea, at least.” 

Haruhiro looked over in Kajita’s direction. The man had just cut down one of the orcs with his massive mushroom sword, so there was just one left to go. 

No, it looked like there were reinforcements. It was misty, so Haruhiro could only make out silhouettes at this point, but there were one orc and one undead. He gestured to Yume, and they were about to go intercept with the incoming reinforcements when the orc collapsed, and the undead came to a halt. Had Kuro done that? 

“Drahhhhhhhhh!” Kajita roared, pressuring the orc he was up against. 

He pushed, and pushed. 

Not only was he not losing to the orc in a contest of strength, he was totally winning. The undead that had temporarily come to a halt rushed forward, probably intending to support the orc, but he didn’t make it in time. 

Kajita’s massive mushroom sword smashed the katana that the orc was desperately flailing around in half. In that moment, the battle was decided. 

Kajita stepped in boldly, kicking the orc to the ground, then whaled on him with his massive mushroom sword. The orc’s head was pulverized and splattered. 

Without stopping to take a breath, Kajita went to attack the undead. He didn’t need any help. Haruhiro and Yume nodded to one another, then decided to move forward. 

They felt something pulling them further and further forward. The leader of the Typhoon Rocks, Rock, was up ahead. 

Kuro, Moyugi, Kajita, Sakanami, and Tsuga. Just what was Rock, the man who led this group of uncommonly intense personalities, like? Would he be as much of a weirdo as the rest of them? Or would he have a surprising amount of common sense? Honestly, when it came to famous volunteer soldiers, especially those who led parties or clans, it felt like there were hardly any that were lacking for personality. If any of them were normal— no, if any of them had common sense—it would be Shinohara-san of Orion, and maybe that was about it? 

Someone like Haruhiro would never become famous. Still, given that an ordinary party led by a plain, mediocre leader like him was in the Day Breakers, it was possible that they had already been standing out in a bad way. On top of that, they’d been stranded in the Dusk Realm, so everyone must have been convinced they were wiped out. They’d probably already started to forget them. 

When people found out they were actually alive, and they’d made it back, might they actually get talked about a lot? Like, no matter where they went, people would make a joke out of it and tease them? Maybe they’d be better off not returning to Alterna? 

Of course, he was getting ahead of himself. Way too far ahead. It wasn’t even certain that they could make it back yet. For now, he had to focus his energies on making it back in one piece. In order to do that, first they needed to make it through this battle. 

Well, no matter how he psyched himself up, and no matter how he wracked his brains for what little wisdom was to be found in them, there would still be domains he couldn’t hope to set foot in. 

“...They’re going at it.” Haruhiro came to stop. 

Yume came to a stop next to him. “Hochow...” She let out a weird expression of surprise. 

One-on-one. 

There was a human man and a four-armed undead that was apparently a double arm fighting in single combat. 

That double arm’s dangerous.  Haruhiro could tell it at a glance. First of all, he was quad wielding. He had a katana in each of its hands, and controlled them freely. 

Haruhiro had confidence that if he took him on, he’d get killed before he could do a thing. Though, maybe that wasn’t what you’d call confidence. 

Also, his movements were clearly very quick. While his speed varied, he never came to a stop, not even for a moment. That double arm was an uninterrupted flow of motion. The strokes of his four katanas had a smooth and natural beauty. They were graceful, even. Yet they still had a fierceness to them. The double arms’ attacks were like a clear stream, yet also a raging river, and that man was using just one sword to either deflect them, or turn them aside. 

It was unbelievable. 

After all, that man whose hair was standing on end for some reason... he was short. 

If you looked at another famous volunteer soldier, “One-on-One” Max of Iron Knuckle was by no means a big man, but he was still around the same height as Haruhiro. 

This man was even shorter than Ranta, who was already shorter than Haruhiro. He might not be much over 160 centimeters tall. 

There were times when flexibility beat brute strength. Just because someone was big, that didn’t necessarily mean they were strong. Even so, body size was a major weapon. In close combat, the smaller a person’s body, the greater the disadvantage they were at. Even Haruhiro, with his one hundred and seventy-two centimeters, had to admit he wished he was taller. 

Even if he couldn’t be as tall as Kuzaku, he’d have liked to be one hundred and eighty centimeters. 

The double arm was probably over one hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall. He was over twenty centimeters taller than the man, and had twice as many arms, too. When it came to weapons, he had four times as many. 

On top of that, the man’s sword wasn’t long. It wasn’t a short sword, but it was on the short side. 

He can’t win like that, thought Haruhiro. 

No matter how he looked at it, the man didn’t stand a chance. 

In fact, as the man jumped left and right, backed away, ducked, and rolled, he seemed to be having a hard enough time just blocking and dodging the double arm’s four katanas. It wouldn’t have been surprising to see him get hit at any moment. It was only a matter of time. That man was on the edge, but managing to hold out somehow. 

Haruhiro couldn’t even gulp. That’s scary. The double arm’s gonna get him. It’ll get him for sure. I want to close my eyes. Wait... 

That man, just now, did he do something? Did he draw another sword, maybe? But he’s only holding the one. Does that mean he drew a different sword, then exchanged it with the one he was using before? Looks like he returned the sword he was using before to its sheathe. What for? 

Haruhiro didn’t know, but the man went on the attack at the same time he switched swords. 

“Ha ha ha ha!” the man laughed, launching a fierce assault. The quad wielding double arm was immediately forced onto the defensive. 

Haruhiro couldn’t keep up with the man’s swordwork. It wasn’t because of the distance, or the fog, he was just that fast. The man swung his sword faster than the eye could see, advancing in almost a straight line. He rushed forward with tremendous force. 

Just when Haruhiro thought he understood, the man changed his grip on the sword, this time moving around to the double arm’s right-hand side, or maybe to his left-hand side, and launching slashing attacks. 

The double arm was amazing, too, for being able to respond to this sudden change-up. On top of that, the double arm began to counterattack. When he did, the man changed his grip on the sword, and went into charging mode. 

The double arm—did not back away. He caught the man’s sword, using two of his katanas like a pair of scissors, then counterattacked with the remaining two. The man discarded his sword without hesitation, drawing the other one. The two changed roles as attacker and defender at a dizzying speed. 

Haruhiro had goosebumps. His breath was short. This was no time to be staring intently, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. 

“Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” A shrieking battle cry tore through the foggy sky. 

He hadn’t anticipated the appearance of an intrusion, so Haruhiro was struck dumb. Could anyone intervene in a serious battle between that man and the double arm? 

But she stepped in boldly. Long black hair. That was a human woman. 

The woman sprang forward, katana at the ready, launching herself towards the double arm the man was facing. 

“Arara?!” the man turned and shouted. The double arm wasn’t about to let that opening slip by. 

The double arm’s four katanas closed in on the man. With no other choice, the man leapt backwards. 

When the double arm tried to immediately follow up with another attack, the woman with disheveled hair took a slash at him. 

“This is for Tatsuru-sama! Prepare yourself! Yahhhhhhh!” 

This was a surprise. The woman wasn’t half bad, either. Holding her katana in two hands, she thrust once, then twice, with a combo attack that was like a line of spears, and made the double arm back away. That said, she couldn’t keep thrusting forever. Eventually the woman’s hands stopped—in order to lure the double arm into a counterattack, at which point she made a return thrust, and a return slash targeting his legs, and then, when that was dodged, she thrust, and thrust, and thrust like crazy to push him back. 

“Arara!” The man picked up the sword he had discarded earlier, then attacked the double arm once more. “I told you I’d take Arnold!” 

Two against one. The double arm was on the ropes. That was how it looked to Haruhiro. 

“Do you mean to say I cannot best him with my level of skill?!” Even as the woman shouted back at him, her katana didn’t rest. “Even if I lack the power, I must slay this one by myself!” 

Haruhiro felt like he was starting to grasp their situation. This woman was Arara, and Arnold was apparently the double arm’s name. Arara had said something like, This is for Tatsuru-sama!  when she’d attacked Arnold. He didn’t know if this Tatsuru-sama was a relative of hers, or what, but it was clear he had been someone important to her. Arnold had killed him. Arara was seeking vengeance. 

The short man with his hair standing on end was probably Rock. Rock seemed to be helping her for some reason. 

“So it’s gonna be a joint project between me and Arara, huh?” Rock called. “Ha ha! Well, that’ll be fun for me!” 

“Don’t talk nonsense!” 

“I’m not kidding, I’m serious here!” 

“Then that’s even more reason!” 

Though they were arguing, Rock and Arara were in sync as they unleashed a fierce attack. They rained blows on Arnold from both sides in rapid succession, so the double arm didn’t have a lot of leeway to work with. 

He was stuck on the defensive, and his moves were clearly becoming more chaotic. 

“Ha ha ha ha!” Rock got behind Arnold. “This is after I went to all that trouble to fight you one-on-one!” 

At the last possible moment, Arnold managed to knock back Rock’s sword with one of his katanas. 

Instantly, Arara cried, “Yahhhhhhhhhh!” and thrust from directly in front of him. 

While Arnold twisted his head to avoid it, he also used two katanas to deflect it at the same time. If he had only dodged, Arara would surely have used a second thrust to inflict a severe wound on Arnold. Having her katana knocked aside by two katanas threw Arara off balance, but Rock was there. 

When Arnold started to turn, Rock launched a combo attack on him. 

“Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rahhhh!” 

It hit Arnold when he wasn’t in a very good stance. He managed to block with his four katanas up until around the sixth or seventh blow. He missed the one after that, leaving Arnold with a shallow wound on one of his arms. 

Maybe that made him panic, because he rolled forward as if he had tripped on something. 

Now,  thought Haruhiro. You can do this. Right there. Get him. 

No matter how he looked at it, this was the perfect chance. Rock was about to spring on Arnold, too, but for some reason he stopped himself. Not only that, he leapt backwards. “Arara!” 

Arara inhaled sharply. Maybe she had sensed something. Instead of falling straight backwards, she tried to move diagonally as she distanced herself from Arnold. It was hard to think she’d been too slow. Arara had reacted quickly. But, still, she didn’t make it in time. 

In an instant, Arnold transformed into a whirlwind. 

That wasn’t even a metaphor. When Arnold suddenly leapt spinning into the air, he did, in fact, seem like a little whirlwind, and he tore into Arara’s back with the force of one. Having taken a wound at least deep enough to draw blood, Arara collapsed to the ground. If Rock hadn’t scooped her up as he fled, who knows what might have happened. Arara might have been chopped up by Arnold’s four katanas. 

“Retreat!” Rock bellowed as he ran. “Arara’s down! Retreat!” 

“KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.” 

It was a noise like miasma violently gushing forth from the bowels of the earth to make all things rot away. Was that a voice? 

Arnold had his head thrown back, and his arms spread wide. Was he coming? Or wasn’t he? Of course he was coming. 

Haruhiro grabbed Yume’s arm and took off running. Even if he hadn’t taken her arm, all it would have taken was one word. That was all it would have taken, but, for some reason, his voice wouldn’t come out. He felt like it would be best if it didn’t. 

For now, he had to shut up and run. Run for it. He had to put as much distance as he could between them and this place, and that guy, Arnold, and he needed to do it as fast as possible. 

Don’t look back,  he warned himself. If you’ve got time to do that, work your legs harder. 

Yume seemed to agree with Haruhiro. They were almost racing to see who could flee the fastest. 

Soon, Kajita’s back came into view. Kajita was running for it, too. 

For now, let’s follow Kajita,  decided Haruhiro. We’ll run as far as we can. To the ends of the earth, if we have to. 

It was run or die. 

He’d kill them for sure. 

Arnold. That undead. That double arm was dangerous. 

Haruhiro prayed that Arnold hadn’t noticed Yume and him. If Arnold wasn’t looking for them, they might make it somehow. But, if he was, running might not do them any good. They could struggle all they wanted, but he’d still catch them and cut them down. 

Haruhiro was already winded. His throat, his chest, and his sides were all screaming out in pain. Even so, he didn’t slow down. Stopping for a break was out of the question. 

“Fwah...” Yume collapsed. 

Haruhiro immediately dragged her to her feet. 

When he glanced around, he saw that Kajita had stopped and was looking to the rear. He turned to them, and gave them the thumbs-up. 

It’s safe now.  Was that what it meant? Could they trust that? 

Haruhiro wasn’t sure, but he must have run out of steam, because his body felt like it had lost all its bones. He was all limp. It might not have been completely impossible, but he didn’t think he could run any more. 

He’d made Yume stand up for a moment, but she’d slumped down again right there. 

“Th... Th-That sure was scary...” Yume said. 

As the leader, Haruhiro wanted to put up a false front of bravado. He couldn’t. 

“I-It sure was...”