Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 16 - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Doing the Best They Can

My consciousness returned to my body. I was lying face up on the ground. My entire body was dull with pain and it was covered in burns and bruises. I’d likely been hit by the Sword of Light’s second stage, a shortsword, being fully unleashed, though luckily it hadn’t proved fatal. About a quarter of the bowl-shaped room had been reduced to a mountain of rubble. The strike had had enough force to easily blow away a small town. I’d known this beforehand, but it still had me shuddering. I was more surprised at how I’d gotten off with such light wounds. As I pondered that, I noticed a little body straddled over me.

“You okay, Takahiro?”

“Lobivia...?”

It seemed she’d covered me. Lobivia’s right arm was horribly burned. Right next to her, Berta and Ayame were sprawled on the ground. They were all injured, but considering the power of the Sword of Light, it wasn’t that serious. They’d likely avoided a direct hit. In other words, someone else had taken the brunt of the attack.

“Lily... Shiran...”

The two of them were unmoving on the ground, smoke rising from their bodies. They’d poured all their strength into defending the rest of us. Thanks to that, we’d gotten off with light damage.

However, that had accomplished no more than blocking a single attack. Nakajima Kojirou was already looking down at us with a new Sword of Light in his hand. He clearly only stayed his hand because there was no need for any kind of urgency. We were no threat to him.

The difference in strength here was clear. We’d suffered major damage. The only uncertain element here, the Evil Dragon, was silent. Kubota still didn’t have a grasp of what was going on and had fallen to his rear. It was unlikely any reinforcements would come. I’d known this already, but I was once again made to realize how hopeless this was.

Looking at the injured Lily and Shiran, I clenched my teeth hard. I didn’t want to place more of a burden on them. If I could take their place, I would. However, for everyone to survive, I had no choice but to have them do their best.

“Please stall him!”

I had no time to explain. I gave my orders, hating myself for it all the while, and made my move. I turned my back to Nakajima Kojirou and ran toward the shrine that housed the Dimensional Cornerstones.

“Running away...?” I could hear Nakajima Kojirou’s mumbling because of the Misty Lodge hanging over the area. “Using your companions as sacrificial pawns?”

He sounded so bored and almost sad. I didn’t care what he said. It was convenient if he didn’t know what was going on. It was fine so long as my intent got through to those that mattered.

The fact that I wasn’t running away out of fear and that there was still hope was conveyed to everyone else. My companions, who’d been unsure of what to do in the face of this sudden crisis, all moved to accomplish a single goal. The first to jump into action was Shiran.

In a long-distance battle, we were at an overwhelming disadvantage. If we took another hit like that, it would be over. The only choice, then, was to force things into a close-quarters fight. It took time for Shiran to boost her abilities with her spirits. Instead of her qualities as a knight, her qualities as a half-ghoul were more appropriate for this battle.

“Gaaaaah!”

The earlier attack from the Sword of Light had melted her armor and carbonized a portion of her limbs, but none of that mattered. In exchange for exhausting a tremendous amount of mana, she put her nonsensical self-restoration on display. With her body rejuvenating at an alarming rate, she dashed forward with enough speed that she was liable to break her newly repaired legs. At this rate, she would close the distance in under two seconds.

However, that was more than enough time for the Sword of Light to intercept her. He raised his weapon high—then suddenly held up his empty hand.

“Hyaaah!”

Lily threw her black spear. She didn’t have time to enhance it with magic, but using all the strength in her body, it had enough power to pierce an iron plate. And yet, the spear was swatted aside with ease. Still, she’d succeeded in buying the time it took to casually wave a hand to the side. That wasn’t enough for Shiran to reach her target, but next, Lobivia, Ayame, and Berta spat fire and ice at him.

“Hmph...”

This didn’t reach him either. Nakajima Kojirou scoffed as he lightly swung his extended Sword of Light, easily dispersing the barrage of fire and ice. But that was enough. In the next instant, breaking through the veil of thinning flames, Shiran charged in.

“Gaaah!”

She unleashed a barrage of violent but skilled slashes. Even someone with significant mastery of the sword would be helplessly cut down by such an attack, but...

“Not bad.”

In a terrifying display, Nakajima Kojirou warded off every strike. Taking into consideration that Shiran had intentionally let herself go on an undead rampage to enhance her physical abilities, even without her spirits boosting her, she was about as strong as a warrior. Nakajima Kojirou seemed to be slightly stronger, but the difference was within the bounds that could be overcome with technique. The fact that they were still equal meant that, against all odds, Nakajima Kojirou’s skill with a sword rivaled even Shiran’s.

“I see,” he muttered as he continued crossing swords with Shiran. “Meaning you have some sort of plan?”

“Guh?!”

Nakajima Kojirou’s eyes weren’t directed at Shiran, who was in the middle of fighting him, but at me, as I hurried toward the shrine. There was no longer any disappointment in his expression. He even seemed happy. It made me doubt if he was truly an enemy.

“Hup.”

“No way?!”

Lily screamed. Despite crossing swords with Shiran, Nakajima Kojirou used his free hand to create a dagger and unleashed it toward me. The girls were unable to deal with this unexpected attack. A beam of light plowed through the ground, covering a vast range as it made its way toward my back. This attack had more than enough power to annihilate one person. Fortunately, it was still far away. I had enough room to dodge. If I diverted my path to take a big detour...I would lose a ton of time. That was no good. Everyone was risking their lives to buy time. I couldn’t waste a single second.

“Oooh!”

“Ssster!”

I leaped into the air as Asarina slammed against the ground, sending me springing upward.

“Guh...”

The torrent of light passed right beneath me by a hair’s breadth. The attack I evaded went on to pulverize the entrance to the shrine. Had I taken that hit, I would likely be in the same state. Debris crashed to the floor, but I had no time for hesitation.

“Oooh!”

Without slowing down at all, I plunged right toward the entrance. I tumbled across the ground like a thrown rock. I ignored the pain of rubble of all sizes slamming against me, got up, and continued running.

“Right there!”

I was in a temple. There was an altar in front of me, and rows of jewels lined one of the walls. There were over a hundred in total. There was no mistaking it: these were all Dimensional Cornerstones. I roughly wiped the blood dripping down my brow and ran to the wall. About ten seconds had passed since I’d started my mad dash. These felt like the longest ten seconds of my life. I reached the wall, and an instant later, a figure slammed right into the wall next to me with terrifying force.

“Gyaaah?!”

“Lily?!”

Lily bounced off the wall and tumbled across the floor. Several Dimensional Cornerstones fell from the broken wall. I reflexively turned around and saw a boy jumping at me.

“Caught you.”

I turned pale. In such a short time, not only had he defeated Shiran, but he’d even struck down Lily and caught up to me. Even if they were exhausted from taking that initial hit, this was far too fast. Having rushed past Lobivia and the others, I sensed them chasing after him, but Nakajima Kojirou would attack far before they could get here. Even still, it was enough. They’d done more than could be expected.

The rest was my job. Horrified by the sight of my enemy raising his sword, I shifted my focus to what was in my hand. I was holding a jewel that I’d ripped from the wall. Thanks to the girls’ desperate struggle, I’d reached a Dimensional Cornerstone. I already had an image of it due to my chance meeting with the first savior. I formed a connection with the dark chaos of the Sea of Unconsciousness.

“Ugh...”

My entire body was assaulted by tremendous fatigue and dizziness. It was bad enough that I felt like I was going to die. I had the support of a Dimensional Cornerstone, but I still felt chills like my consciousness was being torn apart. Even with proper forewarning, the excruciating onslaught threatened to pull me away from our confrontation. The entire world around me shook as I clenched my teeth to prevent myself from fainting.

“Huh...?”

However, that sensation passed in an instant. Everything was back to normal. I hadn’t expected this. The burden was far lighter than what I’d steeled myself for. At this rate, it would be no big deal. It’d been intense enough that I thought I was going to die, but this was all there was to it. Now wasn’t the time to be pondering about that, though. Using the Dimensional Cornerstone, I wielded my full influence on this fabricated world.

“Get the hell out of here!”

I recalled the last moments of the battle against Harrison. By unmaking the fabricated world, he’d ejected everyone from it. In this small instant, I had complete control over this world. In that case, I had to be able to accomplish the same thing.

“This is... I see.”

Nakajima Kojirou expressed understanding. Possessing the same ability to manipulate worlds—to a far higher degree than I ever could—it was simple for him to figure it out. With this, we were going to get through this safely. The moment I thought that, I saw something unexpected.

“So this was your goal!”

Words of admiration came from Nakajima Kojirou’s mouth. There wasn’t a hint of irritation at being outwitted. It was terrifying. All I saw was frank and pure delight.

“Magnificent!”

There was nothing but praise in his voice. The hero looked at me with envy. His recognition, which once would have made my heart soar, only made me shudder in revulsion. The one who was showering me with praise was the same person who was trying to kill me for no good reason. For the first time, I felt like I’d touched on the abnormality of the supposedly perfect Nakajima Kojirou.

“Tch! Get back!”

I told myself not to get overwhelmed by his behavior, barely managing to keep my concentration from breaking. The fabricated world came apart. Until that very last instant, I saw him staring at me with delight and interest.

◆ ◆ ◆

I didn’t have time, so my manipulation of the world was rather reckless. I couldn’t pick my targets. I expelled everyone at once. I was no exception. We were all forcefully ejected from the fabricated world and teleported into the forest where the Dimension Door had been left behind.

“H-Huh? We’re...outside?”

Lily had been expelled while still lying on the ground. Upon noticing the change in the situation, she got up, but I had no time to answer her.

“Master?”

My breaths were ragged. My heart pounded in my chest. Despite this, my sweat was cold and it felt like I’d swallowed a lump of ice deep into my stomach. In that last instant, the gaze Nakajima Kojirou had directed at me and the emotions hidden within it had chills running through my entire body.

“What the hell was that...?”

Astonishment, joy, a pure expression without a hint of falsehood—that made it all the more terrifying. The favor Nakajima Kojirou directed at me hadn’t changed at all after having his identity exposed. It was abnormal. I couldn’t understand. It was terrifying.

There was no point getting trapped in such thoughts now, though. I forcefully shook away the image that’d been burned into my mind. At any rate, we’d accomplished our goal. I could feel the hardness of the Dimensional Cornerstone in my hand. So long as I had this, even if only for a short time, the world could escape the clutches of the Calamitous King.

“Master?”

“Aaah, sorry, Lily. I’d love to explain, but we need to link up with the others first.”

Our first priority was getting everyone back together. We then had to contact the nearby dragons of Draconia and return to the imperial capital as soon as possible. Fortunately, using the senses of my magic mist, I knew there were no enemies nearby. I could feel my companions gathering together by tugging on the mental path. The moment I’d expelled them from that world, I’d made sure that they’d ended up as close to me as I could manage.

“Looks like everyone’s here.”

“Takahiro! Aaah, thank goodness. You’re unharmed!”

“Takahiro! Takahiro!”

“Kuuu!”

“Majima Takahiro, what’s going on...?”

Lily, Shiran, Lobivia, Ayame, and Berta—they’d all suffered wounds of different sizes. However, we were all together now. I let out a sigh of relief. It’d been close, but we’d gotten through. It was thanks to everyone doing the best they could. If anyone hadn’t been there to help, we wouldn’t have gotten away.

Yes, we’d done the best we could. Which meant this was hopeless. Once he became our enemy, no matter how much we struggled, this had already been the predetermined outcome.

“Wah?!”

I heard a thunderous roar. By the time I sensed the abnormality, it was already too late. The world shattered around us. That was the only way I could describe it.

“Oooh?!”

Trees were uprooted and sent flying away and the ground was gouged out. A torrent of light that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else mowed down everything in its path as it closed in.

This was impossible.

Even if I was exhausted, the Misty Lodge was still in effect. I should’ve been able to sense anything within two hundred meters. That meant the attack had come from beyond that range. It was a long-distance, wide-area attack. There was no running away from it, and there was no time to try. I watched hopelessly as it destroyed everything in sight.

“No!”

Even so, my two strongest servants reacted. Lily’s arms turned into giant tortoise shells with an iron luster to them as she jumped in front of everyone else. Shiran used every last drop of her mana to intercept the light with magic from all four of her spirits.

And then everything was engulfed in that far-too-powerful light. Even their do-or-die devotion was no match for it.

Nothing made sense anymore. I simply couldn’t understand.