214

Chapter 214 — Life Is Cruel (9)

BOOM!

The projectile did not do anything particularly extraordinary after being fired. It simply struck its target almost simultaneously with the device’s explosion—in other words, before even an infinitesimal fraction of a second had passed since it was fired.

Some of the soldiers apparently mistook that explosive noise for nothing more than the device blowing apart, because they did not even think to raise their heads.

RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE.

At least, not until the sound of something heavy crashing into the water followed.

“What are you doing? The mermen are climbing up.”

But someone had looked toward the sea before any of those who heard the sound could even raise their heads.

Meister had never lowered their head to begin with—aside from briefly putting in earplugs to protect their ears, they had trusted the Inquisitor’s barrier and watched everything while standing upright—and now shouted while throwing an Alkaline Bomb.

“Y-yes, I know.”

The Inquisitor was next.

Slightly flustered by the impact being stronger than she had expected, she immediately scrambled to her feet.

BOOM!

A merman that happened to arrive at exactly that moment slammed into the suddenly manifested barrier and was crushed against it.

If it had been human, that would have meant a concussion at the very least.

WHAM!

And one that managed to avoid the barrier and climb up anyway received the hammer of justice.

The Inquisitor drew a breath, composure returning to her face.

Well, she was not truly at ease.

The tremendous Demonic Energy she could feel from the rear of the city, along with the thunder booming over and over, kept her endlessly restless.

Her throat felt parched.

“…Did we kill it?”

In the meantime, Deathbringer rose awkwardly and lifted his bow.

“Leave an opening!”

The soldiers who had ducked down in ungainly postures began lifting their spears one after another as well.

“Probably—no.”

“…Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear so.”

Two people answered Deathbringer’s question.

Meister and the lord stared out over the night sea with deeply furrowed expressions.

Both had items that let them see through the darkness.

Meister was using the lord’s, while the lord had all but confiscated one from another commander.

In any case, by observing the turtle that way, they discovered the result of the shot.

The projectile had pierced through the turtle’s shell and knocked away part of the rock formations covering it.

Apparently it had also struck the neck along the way, because blood could be seen pouring from there.

In other words, even if it could not inflict a devastating blow on the shell, it could penetrate flesh perfectly well.

“We could aim below the head instead. There’s plenty of neck to target.”

“We only have three devices. We just used one of them. Can you even hit it?”

“If I miss, I miss.”

“…Fine.”

And since its neck was long, there were plenty of places besides the head—which rose higher than its shell—that could be targeted.

For example, the place where the body inside the shell connected to the neck.

GUUUUUUUU!

“……!”

“Something’s coming!”

“I’ll defend!”

But what kind of world would simply let them attack without resistance?

At the turtle’s cry, the Inquisitor decided to prepare for the worst and cast a blessing that reinforced the entire wall.

She had pushed herself slightly just now, but fortunately, something on this level was still possible.

The Inquisitor closed her eyes, thinking she had done well to conserve her strength earlier.

Then how are you going to deal with the one behind us?

For an instant, a sliver of doubt bloomed in one corner of her mind.

It was only natural.

No matter how much strength she had saved, if she spent it like this now, fighting the demon behind the city afterward would become difficult.

“Demon Knight, I believe in you.”

But this had already become a place she could no longer abandon.

That was even more true because, from this point onward, far more people would die than during the moments when she had still been conserving her strength.

So what choice did she have?

A bead of sweat formed on her cheek as the entire wall became suffused with serene golden light.

Flap-flap-flap-flap.

In the end, however, that blessing proved somewhat unnecessary.

The incoming attack was not something the turtle itself performed directly.

[Mom, Mom! Where are you?]

[Dihi, my love. Where did you go without me? I’m scared.]

[My child, you’re still all right, aren’t you? You can come back alive, can’t you?]

[Help me. Help me… Ar…….]

“Sirens!!”

From the natural cliffs formed atop the turtle’s shell, demons began flying toward them.

Their lower bodies were birds, while their upper bodies were human.

They were Sirens—demons that lured people by imitating the voices of those they missed most.

[Dad, I don’t know the way. Where are we supposed to go?]

[Fire! Fire! Lucas, save me!! I can’t get out of here!]

[Will you come with me? I can protect you.]

[If you come back, I’ll really accept your confession this time!]

They flew forward, flapping ash-gray wings connected directly to human arms.

Beneath sky-gray hair were faces with neither eyes nor noses, only mouths.

“Everyone, stay alert! Do not fall under their enchantment!!”

“Ugh, crazy demons. There are things like this in the world too?”

They were so rare that the lord had almost thought none would come this time.

But of course they had……!

His eyes widened as he hurriedly shouted orders around him.

Yet the Sirens’ voices were far too vivid.

Far too clear.

Several soldiers stopped moving the hands holding their weapons.

For them, that would probably mean getting torn apart by the claws of the mermen climbing up in another moment—or receiving a kiss from one of the approaching Sirens.

“Wake up!! Those are fakes! They’re fake!!”

The lord hurriedly turned, intending to ring the bell.

[Wilhelm.]

At the sound of that voice, he squeezed his eyes shut and put a foot on the ladder.

“Everyone—! Come to your senses—!!”

BOOOOM!

Suddenly, an immense burst of golden light exploded across the wall.

The Inquisitor had unleashed fresh Divine Power without even releasing the blessing on the wall, taking into account that the soldiers had been delayed in responding to the mermen.

Cold sweat dotted her cheeks.

[KYAAAAH!]

[KIIIIIAAAAAH!]

Still, the result of her efforts was well worth the cost.

Those caught by the enchantment regained their senses, while the Sirens and mermen engulfed in Divine Power—practically a deadly poison to them—screamed and retreated.

Their skin and feathers were lightly scorched.

[Mom, Mom! It hurts!]

[Lucas, Lucas, please! Help me……!]

[AAAAAGH!]

Perhaps demons were demons to the bitter end.

Even as they retreated after being struck by Divine Power, they raised their voices again.

Their determination to curse the humans somehow was relentless.

WHAM!

[Ghk!]

“How dare you.”

But that intention was shattered by someone who stepped onto the battlement and leapt.

“How dare you……!”

The nearly two-meter-tall woman swung her spear.

The shaft struck a Siren in the neck, snapping it cleanly.

The way it plummeted made it obvious it had died instantly.

“A filthy demon dares insult my sister!”

SLASH!

And that was not all.

She used another Siren as a foothold to leap again, drove her spear through a new Siren’s solar plexus, then hurled the skewered creature into another.

Wham.

The colliding Sirens fell helplessly into the sea.

“I’ll tear every last one of you apart—!”

Her full-bodied shout bordered on a roar, brimming with vicious fury.

A trace of the icy blue color of frozen wastelands settled over the spearhead.

“I was wondering why she hadn’t come back down.”

Perhaps everyone was unnerved by her intensity, because they merely exchanged glances and continued their own tasks.

Then Meister, who had disappeared at some point without anyone noticing, suddenly poked their head out.

A new cart and another device were with them.

The soldiers packed tightly behind the cart were red-faced, looking like people who had summoned strength they did not know they possessed.

“Move!”

After all those complications, the second device was finally installed, and they attempted another bombardment through the same process as before.

BOOM!

Since it had been fired from a different location—the wreckage from the first device had not had time to be cleared away—adjusting the angle must have been difficult.

Even so, Meister ultimately struck near the neck.

SPLASH!

The rock around the new hole collapsed, and the turtle, drawing ever closer, let out another long cry.

Even more Sirens living on the turtle’s back flew forward to join the battlefield.

There were so many that it was difficult to understand how such supposedly rare demons had reproduced to this extent.

“Laura…….”

[Lucas! You finally came!]

The greatest problem, however, was keeping the soldiers under control.

There were now so many Sirens that restoring every bewitched soldier to normal had become extremely difficult.

That remained true even with the Inquisitor repeatedly bursting Divine Power outward and Weapon Master… Berserk… whichever she was, anyway, slaughtering Sirens all over the battlefield.

Eventually, someone always succumbed to their enchantment.

Splash!

At a Siren’s beckoning, two or three soldiers threw themselves into the sea.

Many others received kisses that resulted in their tongues and entire faces being chewed away.

A human torso with its head missing dropped through the air.

There were three or four such corpses in this vicinity alone.

The sections where the Inquisitor and the dual-personality Fighter exerted less influence must have suffered even worse casualties.

“Damn it, my lord! Our forces……!”

“Just a little longer! Hold out a little longer!”

Worst of all, whenever the Sirens opened gaps in the lines, the mermen began breaking through the wall more frequently.

The remaining mermen seemed to understand that this was their final opportunity, and fought even more viciously.

That was hardly good for soldiers who were already exhausting themselves faster than usual from the ferocious battle and whose morale had been lowered by one unexpected development after another.

THUD!

“It’s… it’s too close now…….”

By that point, more than half of the turtle’s body had crossed the embankment.

That was also the final line the lord had been measuring in his mind.

Because they needed enough time to evacuate the soldiers before the enormous turtle reached the walls, he had decided on that point as their final limit.

BOOM!

“This is the last one! From this distance, I should be able to hit it!”

But just as he was about to order the retreat, the final bombardment device finished being installed.

That made him hesitate for the briefest moment.

If they evacuated the soldiers and the turtle was brought down by this last shot, there would have been no point in withdrawing them.

No—perhaps it would even become a loss.

There was no way the mermen would leave an abandoned wall untouched.

The soldiers’ lives, or the money it would cost to repair the wall later.

After cutting down a Siren’s wing, the lord fired the signal flare he had kept until the very end.

“Retreat!”

There was no question what the answer was.

A city could always be rebuilt.

Human lives could not be restored.

“Those in the center withdraw first, splitting to both sides!”

Besides, ordinary soldiers were not needed to operate the bombardment device.

At most, they needed Meister, the people supplying Mana, and a few capable fighters to protect them.

And with so few people—all of them elites—it would be easier for them to escape once the turtle got close.

Having reached that practical conclusion, he sent the soldiers away first.

No one criticized his decision as calculating or cold.

“My lord, you can have them retreat even faster.”

Most had no thoughts about it at all.

The Inquisitor even supported his choice.

Her hair was soaked through with sweat as she struck her mace against the ground to declare a Sanctuary.

A light denser than any radiance she had released until now began washing over the top of the wall like a wave.

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“…And do not, under any circumstances… do not send anyone to the northern gate. Even if a rescue signal comes from there. You may keep watch over the area, but do not approach it directly.”

“……?!”

“…Hey, Miss Prim-and-Proper. What are you talking ab—”

“They’ll die if they go. Ordinary people can no longer contribute to that battle.”

Immediately afterward, the Hero declared the Sanctuary with a face that looked ready to cry.

Deathbringer, who had clearly wanted to ask more, shut his mouth tightly.

The Sanctuary settled over the wall, creating a safer environment for the soldiers to retreat.

“You should go first, my lord. What good is the commander-in-chief staying here?”

“…Dietrich, Franz. Remain behind and help them. I wish both of you good fortune.”

As both lord and commander-in-chief, the man had no choice but to leave first.

With an apologetic expression, he turned and followed the retreating soldiers.

Now he would decide their withdrawal routes, receive reports on the evacuation of civilians, and urge everyone to flee even faster.

Those who remained waited for the device to finish charging with Mana.

KRAKAKAKAKOOM!

On the far side of the city, the northern gate district—now burning as well—was still filled with thunder.

THUD! BOOM!

The turtle was now only several dozen meters away.

It marched straight over the piles of spikes below as though they caused no pain at all, crushing everything beneath its feet.

SLASH!

“Is that the nest of these bird bastards?”

“Probably.”

At that moment, the woman who had slaughtered nearly every Siren still lingering after the Sanctuary’s declaration finally returned to the wall.

Apparently, nearly falling into the sea several times had inspired no particular fear in her.

Her blood-soaked face remained as savage as ever.

“Can that kill it?”

“It’d be nice if it could, but who knows. If it doesn’t, we run.”

Weapon Master… no, was Berserk in control now?

Deathbringer, who knew about her dual personalities, studied those chilling golden eyes with some confusion.

“If that can’t kill it, Berserk will. Absolutely.”

…Was Berserk’s older sister—Weapon Master—not merely another personality within her?

“Well, if you can do that, it’s good news for us.”

“Wait. I know you’re strong, but how exactly do you plan to deal with something that enormous…….”

“Leave her be, Franz. She must be saying it because she can.”

Otherwise, why would she have shouted, “Don’t insult my sister,” at the person a Siren had imitated?

Without realizing it, Deathbringer found himself analyzing Berserk’s circumstances as he stared at the colossal beast that had come right up to them.

Honestly, it looked less like an enemy than an outright natural disaster.

A calamity that had simply happened to choose the location of their city as part of its path.

“Hero! That thing’s going to reach us first! Do something!”

But sometimes humans were forced to fight natural disasters as well.

At Meister’s shout, the Inquisitor—still maintaining the Sanctuary while holding back mermen and Sirens—squeezed out even more strength.

“God, please grant me the strength to protect everyone.”

Brilliant light became a single barrier, blocking the turtle’s advance.

Because the creature was not a demon, it suffered no damage.

But according to the caster’s will, it could not pass through the wall.

The will of the enormous beast collided against the Inquisitor’s, testing the strength of both sides.

Crack, crack.

The barrier repeatedly fractured and repaired itself, pushing back against the turtle.

Drip.

Blood streamed from the Inquisitor’s nose and mouth, only to burn away immediately.

“It’s ready!”

Just as her body finally swayed once, the device finished charging.

Meister shouted.

“Release it when I give the signal! Earlier is fine too!”

“…You two, take the Mages and leave first. Slick, you too!”

“…We’ll be right behind you!”

“Four, three—”

“Young hunter, take the Demon Knight’s horse. It should be nearby.”

“What?!”

“Drop it!”

BOOOOOOM!

A tremendous blast shook heaven and earth.

The projectile punched through the approaching beast’s neck and tore deeper into the place where that neck joined its body.

GUOOOOOOOOOO!

The monster thrashed its neck and staggered backward.

“Ah.”

At the same moment, the Inquisitor’s head whipped around.

The rampaging giant beast no longer occupied even the smallest part of her attention.

Her green eyes filled with the distant land engulfed in flames.

Fweeeeeee—

POP-POP-POP-POP!

And then…

A flare rose from the center of those flames.

It was a plea for help.

A cry in need of salvation.

Proof that the burden had become too great for one person alone.

The Demon Knight had failed to eliminate the demon.

An overwhelming tide of Demonic Energy surged outward as though the ruler of evil itself had descended.