Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 12 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Change the Boy Brought About

Rose’s assault had exhausted the Maclaurin Provincial Army’s main force considerably. Nevertheless, she’d been soundly defeated once Ottmar of the Angel Puppeteer joined the fray. Righteousness had prevailed.

Having witnessed this, the soldiers were wildly enthusiastic, so when a blanket of mist fell over the entire region, they were shaken in equal measure. It was so dense that they could only see a scant few meters in front of them. The sudden event had them astir.

“Calm down! Hold your ground!” Louis ordered, stopping his fretful soldiers before their agitation could turn to fear. “It’s just a smoke screen! Calm down and do your jobs, and we’ll get through this!”

Visibility was very poor, but they weren’t wholly blind. Besides, they’d anticipated this. The Holy Order had informed Louis of Majima Takahiro’s specialty magic—a fog that hindered one’s sight. Louis had also gotten a report from the pursuit force about that one time this had happened and obstructed them. The soldiers had of course also been notified about it.

The unknown was frightening, but it could be surmounted with knowledge. Louis began passing orders to his scattered captains to settle the unrest. He also quickly realized what this implied.

“This magic means Majima Takahiro has arrived. He’s supposed to be unconscious from Sir Edgar’s attack. How tenacious. Wait, but in that case...”

Louis knitted his brow.

“I see. He abandoned the elves.”

Louis easily read the flow of the battle. He knew with certainty that the elves had been pushed to complete exhaustion, and he’d gotten reports that Majima Takahiro’s monsters had their hands full just protecting the elves from the pursuit force. There was also the detachment of two thousand men closing in on the elves from the opposite direction. If the enemy had worked out a way to launch an attack on the main force’s three thousand soldiers, they wouldn’t be able to protect the elves.

Majima Takahiro had abandoned them.

“Hmph. A filthy fake to the very end,” Louis spat, his lips drawing into a thin line. “However, it means all his servants might launch an attack on us in unison.”

Louis concluded that his defenses had to be hardened. The soldiers had taken quite a blow due to the chaos and confusion during Rose’s assault, and he had to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Louis started considering what orders to pass out. To the very end, he remained vigilant. He had a good idea of how strong Majima Takahiro’s forces were based on the information he’d gotten from the pursuit force, so he made the most appropriate decisions to match that intel. He did everything to the best of his abilities.

Nevertheless, Louis’s knowledge was limited. He didn’t know that things had already changed drastically. Well, to be precise, he knew that a change had occurred. After all, this magic mist signaled that Majima Takahiro had been revived. But Louis didn’t consider this as anything more than a boy waking up. He didn’t understand how much resolve it had taken to bear this fruit, nor did he know how much this would change things.

Perhaps that was inevitable. In any case, Louis only recognized Majima Takahiro as a fake savior. He never tried to understand the boy’s way of life.

A single boy’s return changed what was once a hopeless situation. By this time, the first move had already been made.

◆ ◆ ◆

The detached force that had split from Louis’s main group continued their march. Much like the main body of the army, their morale was high. The plan to swing a detachment around to catch Majima Takahiro’s party in a pincer attack had ended in vain, but they were going to corner their targets regardless.

Louis’s confidant led this force, and there was nothing to criticize about his abilities. Louis could expect the same results he’d get if he were in charge himself. That was supposed to be the case, and reality reflected this well. Leading a force almost equal to the one Louis commanded...the man found himself suddenly forced into a one-sided defensive battle.

“Harden the line! Mages, prepare to intercept!”

He quickly passed out his orders, and the soldiers looked up at the sky, their faces tense. It was as if they feared something appearing above them, and that fear quickly turned into reality.

“Here it comes!” one of the soldiers cried. He pointed vigorously at a small dot in the sky.

High above the provincial army, something like a pole was falling right at them. Those with terrific eyesight might have been able to identify it as a black spear. It wasn’t quite the appropriate shape for throwing, but it flew through the air with terrifying speed and accuracy.

“Now!”

The provincial army’s mages unleashed their magic into the sky. The large majority of it was wind magic. Mages were typically trained to use this against monsters who engaged from afar. It wasn’t that strong, covering a wider range instead, but arrows or javelins wouldn’t be able to get through.

Such was the case, but the black spear maintained its course. An unnatural wind accompanied it, fixing its course, accelerating it, protecting it from magic, and delivering it all the way to its target.

The spear pierced the shield of an unlucky soldier as if it were paper. Not even his armor and flesh impeded it in any way. The weapon smashed into the ground, churning it up and sending the soldiers around it flying into the air indiscriminately. In addition, at the exact point of impact, the magic that had carried the spear burst, scattering blades of wind all over.

The soldiers caught up in the blast screamed. A good fifty meters away, a girl listened to them with her abnormal hearing.

“Mm. Looks like a direct hit.”

Lily nodded, her flaxen hair swaying about. That attack had naturally come from her. The fight had changed thanks to Majima Takahiro’s revival, and one of those major changes was that Lily had returned to the battlefield.

During their entire flight from the enemy, Lily had been dedicated to Majima Takahiro’s treatment. That had been a difficult battle in its own right, but now that she’d been released from that duty, she’d regained the freedom to move about.

“Okay, one more time.”

Lily grabbed her next projectile from a line of black spears—which would have likely made the poor soldiers of the provincial army go pale—standing in the ground before her.

The job she’d been entrusted with was stalling the Maclaurin Provincial Army’s detached force. She was to play it safe, keep her distance, and pin them down by slamming long-distance attacks at them. In a sense, she was giving them a taste of what the pursuit force had subjected the elves to, but much more efficiently. This had to be a nightmare for the provincial army, though.

As for Lily, she didn’t see her return to the battlefield as that big of a deal. Having continuously used healing magic for so long, she understood that what mana she had left was unreliable. However, instead of worrying about such objective facts, she understood the situation on a more instinctive level. In short, her return was just one small part of the great change her lover’s sacrifice had made. And someone right next to her had received a far greater blessing in the process.

“Shiran, if you will,” Lily said.

“Understood,” Shiran answered with a brisk and energetic nod. The girl who’d been unable to move properly due to Majima Takahiro’s poisoning was nowhere to be seen. “Lily, the same spot will do. I’ll make the minute adjustments.”

As she spoke, Shiran also gave instructions to her spirit. Through its senses, she had a clear picture of the provincial army’s position from far away. She also assisted with Lily’s magic to guide her spear to its targets, amplifying its power and accuracy.

“Hyah!”

Lily chucked her spear with vigor. It once more blew away a section of the defending army.

“Another direct hit,” Shiran said. “Splendidly done.”

“It’s all thanks to your help, Shiran.”

That was the fifth spear she’d thrown. All of them had struck down soldiers of the provincial army, but they weren’t actually doing that much damage. Each time a spear pierced through their magic defenses, the magic supporting the projectile weakened. Even disregarding that, each throw could only take out ten people at most, including those who got off with just injuries.

The soldiers couldn’t ignore the spears, though, which was why they were keeping casualties at a minimum by going on the defensive. If they ignored them and kept marching, their casualties would multiply, so they were forced into a defensive battle.

The plan to stall them was a great success. The enemy obviously understood that they’d get nowhere like this. So what was the next step for them?

“I guess it’s about time,” Lily muttered.

Shiran’s brow twitched just then. She’d read the enemy’s movements through her spirit.

“They’re coming. About two hundred soldiers,” Shiran said.

After taking five hits, the enemy had naturally figured out where they were coming from. Lily wasn’t shocked by their predictable behavior, but by the number of them.

“Hmm, that’s more than we thought.”

“They’re trying to make this decisive. They know that we are few in number, so they plan to slam a suicide squad against us to hold us up while the army marches onward. Two hundred is how highly they evaluate us.”

“Need help?” Lily asked, cocking her head.

“No, I’ll be more than enough,” Shiran answered without hesitation. “Lily, just wait here for a little while. Get some rest while you can.”

“Mm, I will.”

Lily wasn’t in a state to participate in prolonged combat, so she honestly backed down. Shiran left her behind and ran into the forest. Her footsteps were light and powerful, and her undead body that had been running on empty all this time was now brimming with mana. She unconsciously traced her finger along her lips, under the delusion that she could still feel residual heat on them.

The sensation of being filled by what the boy she adored had given her was so reassuring, and also so very sweet. But above all else, it pained her heart. Having to depend on him for mana, Shiran knew full well just how exhausted he’d been because of the Holy Water. She knew how impossible it was for him to give her this much mana right after waking up, which was why she’d immediately realized that something had happened.

Well, even without that bond, she would’ve noticed. She’d been the one to warn him about it in the first place. She understood the value of the power he’d gained in exchange for his loss, and she swore that she wouldn’t waste it.

He had given her more than strength too. His feelings kept the fire burning in Shiran’s heart. She was in no way alone in this respect either. The flames his feelings kindled kept spreading. Even if each of them was small on their own, put together, they changed things greatly.

◆ ◆ ◆

Around that time, the provincial army’s pursuit force was prowling after Majima Takahiro’s group just as they had been.

This force was technically different from the Maclaurin Provincial Army. Strictly speaking, they weren’t even soldiers; they were knights marching under the banner of the margraviate. That said, they were loyal to Margrave Maclaurin, so if their lord commanded it, they were fine with obeying someone outside their normal chain of command. They’d offered their swords to Glantri Maclaurin’s righteous cause, after all.

On that point, they were as knightly as knights got, even if their swords were being directed at the innocent elves of reclamation villages. Their skills were also first class.

The division of labor between armies and knightly orders was clearly defined. Armies protected villages and towns, while knights ventured into the forests to subjugate monsters. This pursuit force specialized in moving through forests, a fact that they had repeatedly displayed during this expedition, launching effective ambushes on Majima Takahiro, his monsters, and the elves.

What’s more, the remnants of the Holy Order’s Fourth Company were lending a hand, so their battle formation was perfect. Their repeated ambushes had been yielding results too. The enemy was putting up an extremely stubborn resistance, but they were close to their limit now. With just a little more, they would fall.

The knights were sure of this as they circled around to their next ambush point, but that was when they encountered an irregularity.

“Nobody’s coming...”

The pursuit force had split into two groups, and even though it was time to attack at the designated point, no elves were in sight. Still, this wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“I guess they’re getting some rest or something.”

They’d long confirmed that the elves were out of stamina, and it would actually be convenient for them if the elves were stationary. The pursuit force’s objective was only to stall the enemy. All they had to do was pin them down until either the main or the detached force caught up. If the enemy wasn’t moving, they could almost just leave them be.

Of course, at this point in time, the pursuit force had no idea that Rose had halted the main force and Lily was pinning down the detached force. They were under the impression that it wouldn’t take long for the army to catch up, so it wouldn’t be strange if they decided to hold back a little. Louis had conjectured that Majima Takahiro had abandoned the elves without leaving them any guards, but even if that were the case, the elves didn’t need any if the pursuit force just waited. They would survive if nobody attacked them.

However, the pursuit force wasn’t negligent when it came to confirming what their enemies were up to. They were faithful to their duty, so they would never slack off. The elves had no luck.

Not that Majima Takahiro ever relied on such a thing to begin with. He hadn’t underestimated his enemy or relied on luck at all. He had a proper plan in place. He wouldn’t abandon the elves without leaving them any kind of escort. What he’d done was quite literally the opposite.

“Ooh, looks like you’re here. Welcome.”

He’d left the Great White Spider of the Depths behind.

“I’m all done preparing to receive you. You shan’t pass this point. Come at me as you will.”

Gerbera’s expression was fearless as she addressed her hidden enemies. She understood that no matter how strong she was, she couldn’t protect the elves against two groups that specialized in long-range attacks. In fact, until now, even when she’d had the help of her companions, she hadn’t been able to keep the elves from getting injured.

Was this hopeless, then? Did leaving Gerbera behind achieve anything beyond mere consolation? Of course it did. Gerbera was confident, and the situation had been stacked to support her.

“What the hell is this?” one of the knights muttered.

They were baffled by the abnormality before them.

“A spiderweb...?”

White threads intertwined among the trees of the forest. They were about as thick as a finger, and they dominated a huge area with their peculiar pattern. The web was essentially a spider’s barrier; it was large enough to engulf two or three standard houses.

Standing on the web was an enormous white spider, her eight legs spread wide. The scale of everything was off, so everything felt surreal. The girl’s smile was so beautiful it was as if she were straight out of a fantasy, which couldn’t suit the sight more.

“What’s the matter? Are you not attacking?”

Right at the center of the web, a group of elves were huddled together. They looked like pitiful villagers who’d been taken captive by a monster, but that wasn’t the case.

“Taking us for fools...!”

After a moment of disarray due to the bizarre scenery, the knights remembered their duty. They nocked their arrows and deployed their glyphs. They’d come to a stop, cautious of the spiderweb, so they were farther away than usual, but their target was still well within their range.

“Fire!”

The two squads aimed for the elves and unleashed their arrows and magic. Gerbera couldn’t intercept all this on her own, but she had no need to. The majority of the arrows and magic got caught up in threads.

Even a coarse web could catch objects with enough threads layered atop one another. The spiderweb was sparse at its edges but densely layered toward the center, so it was very difficult for anything to reach the elves stuck inside it. At the very least, all the pursuit force’s magic would be obstructed.

That was easy to see, so the knights’ magic, which far surpassed their arrows in destructive potential, was intended to tear through the web by force. The Great White Spider’s threads were far stronger than they’d expected, though. It wasn’t repelling all damage or anything, but it would take them forever to break through the multiple layers.

So what about arrows? They could unleash more of these than magic, and though many got caught in the web, some had made it all the way to the elves. No screams could be heard, though. Instead, someone was yelling orders.

“Here they come! Shields up!”

It was the reclamation village’s elder, Melvin. He was injured, but he still took command, and the elves who could still move did as he ordered and readied their shields. They weren’t anywhere near the level of knights, but since they lived in the dangerous Woodlands, they knew their way around a fight. The arrows had lost velocity due to the distance, and so few of them had made it through that the elves were able to manage with their shields.

The pursuit force’s misunderstanding was that they believed that the elves had come to a stop because of exhaustion. In truth, the elves hadn’t been forced to stop: they’d chosen to. They’d resolved themselves to use what strength they had left to resist rather than tire themselves out by running away.

The pursuit force hadn’t expected this development. Driven from their homelands, their enemies aided by the symbol of justice in this world, the Holy Order, it was already a wonder that the elves hadn’t given up and had continued running away. It was unimaginable for them to maintain such high morale that they could still resist. It didn’t need to be said that this was the work of a single boy.

“The next wave’s coming! Brace yourselves!”

Melvin encouraged his brethren as he recalled his conversation with Majima Takahiro. If they were all going to go down together, it’d be better to leave the elves behind and go get Rose. Nonetheless, Majima Takahiro had told him that he didn’t intend on losing anyone else and that he didn’t have enough strength on his own. He’d wanted Melvin’s help.

His words had power. The elves had no idea what the boy had lost, but they could sense his steely determination. That had lit a fire in their hearts. They’d decided to stand and fight so that they could live to see another day. High morale had a direct correlation to a tenacious defense, and the elves didn’t falter even as they listened to the terrifying sound of arrows impacting the ground right next to them.

The pursuit force concluded that they wouldn’t be able to do anything at this range. They withdrew for the moment and linked back up before immediately splitting again and going on the move.

Fortunately, the web covered a wide range, but it wasn’t particularly dense. There was plenty of room to move between the threads. It was more of a maze than a wall. It was possible for them to get closer to the elves. And the closer they were, the thinner the veil between them and their targets.

They needed to be careful of the Great White Spider, but the pursuit force had split into two groups. With only one spider, it couldn’t deal with both of them at once, so they marched into the spider’s domain. Several had tried to slash the threads with their swords to see if that would work, but they weren’t easy to cut through. On the contrary, the sticky threads stuck to their blades, stealing the weapons from them in the process. That meant accidentally touching any of the threads would get them stuck too.

The knights were well aware that their mobility had been limited by a fair amount, but that went both ways. It wasn’t a problem so long as they were careful. They kept Gerbera in their sights as they approached covertly.

One group approached Gerbera from the front, while the other approached from the flank. They closed the distance to where they were sure their prey couldn’t get away once the fighting began, but no closer. Even from there, they judged that their attacks would be effective enough. The pursuit force was very careful.

Gerbera didn’t move. Had she not noticed their approach? Or maybe she had and chose not to move? Either way, they were close enough. The group to her flank silently began preparing their attack, and right as they were about to get started—

“Kuuu!”

An inflated blowfox—Ayame—leaped out in front of them.

“Wha—?!”

She’d detected them with her sharp sense of smell. No other servant could match her in this field. The pursuit force had advanced stealthily, but that was meaningless before Ayame. Not that she really understood what they’d been doing. She’d watched them with curiosity, thinking to herself, “They’re moving super slow. Are they sick?”

In any case, her beloved master had asked her to intercept them, so she showed no mercy.

“Graoooh!”

She spat out countless fireballs in the blink of an eye. The knights took up defensive positions in an instant, but the explosions knocked them off their feet one after the other.

“There was more than just the spider?!”

They quickly shifted their focus to Ayame. A blowfox wasn’t all that strong a monster. In a head-on battle, it was easy to defeat with this many knights, so their decision was correct in this regard—if not for the current locale, that is. They quickly came to this realization as well.

Both Ayame and the pursuit force specialized in the same thing—long-range engagements. The trees obstructed their aim, and the spiderweb stopped projectiles. The pursuit force and Ayame were in the same boat in this respect. To get a good shot in, they had to go out of their way to get a good angle around the trees, but the spiderweb prevented the pursuit force from moving about freely to do so.

“Kuuuu!”

In contrast, Ayame ran freely through the forest, completely unhindered. No threads were down at Ayame’s full height, so she could run wherever she wanted to launch her attacks and could easily escape any enemy attacks.

The knights were at a disadvantage. Upon realizing this, they had no other choice but to grit their teeth and retreat. It was worth praising how quickly they came to that conclusion, but the ambush had still failed. This was their first retreat with nothing to show for it since the beginning of this entire expedition.

These were the lucky ones, at least. The ones who’d approached Gerbera from the front had far greater concerns.

“Guh...”

The hiding knights gulped. Gerbera had suddenly turned toward them, and her terrifyingly beautiful face was looking right at them. Unlike the flanking group, this group had remained hidden and had yet to attack, but somehow, Gerbera’s red eyes remained fixed on them. Not that they had any time to ask why that was.

“Retreat!”

It was an unknown circumstance, and they made their decision quickly. They immediately started to go back down the path they came, but Gerbera was even faster to jump into action.

“No way!”

The knights stiffened. They were supposed to be a safe distance away, but Gerbera closed in on them with nightmarish speed. It was as if she were in an open field. The spider threads that should’ve been in her way served as footholds instead, a feat nobody could replicate.

“You’re kidding!”

The spiderweb covering this region wasn’t just a simple obstruction. It hindered all trespassers, yes, but it amplified the mobility of the domain’s ruler. What’s more, Gerbera could tell where any intruders were just by touching it with her feet. This place was in fact a spider’s barrier. It was Gerbera’s world.

The pursuit force had been most on guard against the Great White Spider, but they didn’t know that she could fight like this. Consequently, they had no countermeasures. If she was capable of this terrifying fighting style, why hadn’t anyone told them? What had the intelligence officers been doing? It was understandable for them to complain about it, but in this case, it was unfair to blame those responsible for enemy intelligence.

In a flash, Gerbera was giggling a stone’s throw away from them.

“I understand why you’re shocked. I had forgotten about doing things this way until she mentioned it.”

Gerbera was the Great White Spider of the Depths. She was a monster who trampled her enemies with her overwhelming combat ability. She’d even gone head-to-head against cheaters using her mobility and superhuman strength. She’d planned to do the same thing here too, but someone had pointed out something unexpected to her. It was none other than Berta. Due to some sort of change of heart, she’d actively provided advice of her own accord.

“Spider, why the hell don’t you ever set up a web?”

It was a simple question. An arachne wasn’t supposed to be all that strong in a straight fight. Actually, it was the type of monster to avoid such confrontations whenever possible. They specialized in attacking from their opponents’ blind spots. By setting up a web, they created their own domain, and only then could they show their true worth.

“The way you fight is like a swordsman trying to imitate a pugilist. You can pull it off because you’re strong, but it still means you’re throwing away your weapon.”

That was how Berta had evaluated Gerbera’s fighting style. In truth, Berta had wondered why Gerbera never set up a web from the very moment she met her.

“You can still fight well enough... More than well enough, in fact... Aah, dammit... When I think of it like that, it pisses me off. Why do I have to be giving you advice?!”

“O-Ooh? I don’t really get it, but sorry?”

To Berta, who’d devoted herself to getting stronger for her king’s sake, Gerbera’s existence was the definition of unfair. An arachne was supposed to use the majority of its resources as a monster on its threads, yet Gerbera had gotten so strong that it’d become faster for her to go on the attack rather than lie in wait. This had eventually become her fighting style. It was ridiculous, but in a way, it also made perfect sense.

“That Berta. She was seriously angry. It was a little frightening.”

Gerbera was acting somewhat carefree, but the knights couldn’t afford to forget that she was the Great White Spider of the Depths. In other words, she was a being of utterly nonsensical strength that was even spoken of in legends.

“But now it’s over.”

Gerbera cracked her blood-soaked fingers. The red coating her was all the more vivid because of how white her skin was.

“No way... Annihilated?”

Having gone back to her roots, the Great White Spider was overwhelming. Inside her world, one half of the pursuit force had drowned in a sea of blood, leaving not even a single survivor. Nothing more could be done, so the other half of the pursuit force had no choice but to run away.

“W-We did it! We did it!”

The elves cheered. They looked at one another in disbelief and shared joyful hugs. Watching this, Gerbera nodded to herself as Ayame came running over.

“Oh, Ayame. You did well too.”

Ayame jumped up onto Gerbera’s head, then puffed up in satisfaction.

“Kuuu.”

“Mm. With this, things are fine for now.”

After suffering such losses, the pursuit force wouldn’t launch another attack for a while. They were loyal to their mission. With so many casualties, they would choose another means to carry out their duty. For example, they could accomplish their goal by watching the elves from afar.

With only two real combatants, Gerbera and Ayame had managed to protect all the elves. This was all thanks to the spider’s barrier. If they left the area, they’d lose their advantage, which meant they were stuck here.

This was exactly what they wanted, though. They’d secured their safety without taking any damage. Once their companions returned after finishing what had to be done, they could escape.

After watching the cheerful elves for a while, Gerbera looked up at the sky. “We managed here somehow. All that’s left is—”

◆ ◆ ◆

Contrary to Louis’s theory, every last elf had been protected. Not only that, but they’d managed to retaliate as well, even though the elves had been on the receiving end for days. That one boy’s revival had brought results that far surpassed Louis’s expectations.

Returning Lily to the battlefield. Restoring Shiran to fighting condition. Providing advice to Gerbera. Rousing the elves. Each event had been indispensable in turning this situation around. However, the greatest change his return brought had yet to come to light.

“Let’s go.”

“Right.”

Clad in mist, the boy charged in to take back what was dear to him.