A strange atmosphere hung over the town. The mixed groups of demons and Reezan thugs that I’d seen earlier had finally made their move. While the residents of the desert weren’t weak, the demons had launched attacks on the bases of each faction and set fires all around town to sow chaos.
The buildings, made of stone, wouldn’t collapse from fire—but the town used massive amounts of cloth and plant fiber for doorflaps and awnings. The blazes had struck fear in people across Cutlass, and amid the confusion, those affiliated with the various factions had been attacked.
I surveyed the mayhem in silence.
There was little I could do about any of this. No individual could or should attempt to stop it. But...
“Out of the way.”
“Gah!”
While running through the streets, I clicked my boots and, with the protruding heel blade, kicked the face of a Reezan man who’d been attacking townspeople.
“You—”
My weighted pendulum crushed the skull of a nearby dark elf as he turned around.
I had no reason to let these people run amok.
Avoiding the roads, which were teeming with people running about in a panic, I raced across the tops of the stalls that remained unburned and attacked any Reezan members I saw using my all-purpose and slashing pendulums. One man noticed me and pointed his spear upward, but I wrapped the hem of my cloak around it and yanked it away, then turned it on him and pierced his heart.
Though I had no spear skills, I wasn’t completely hopeless with one thanks to Martial Mastery and other melee abilities. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to replenish my throwing blades, so I made sure to pilfer weapons from enemies and use those to finish them off when I could.
I leaped from stall to stall, throwing stolen daggers and spears. Using a bow and arrows I picked up along the way, I shot a dark elf sorcerer through the skull before he could finish chanting.
Though I’d sustained some damage, I reached my destination—a small shop, deep in an alley—with no injuries that required magical healing.
I figured it was likely that the shop owner was hiding or had fled already, all things considered. But, when I pushed aside the cloth flap and went inside, I was met with an elderly Krus man with a pure-white beard, puffing on a pipe.
“Hell of a time to be shopping,” he said. “Or are you here to rob me, little lady?”
“Hell of a time to be selling,” I retorted. “A dark elf named Camille told me he ordered fire-aspected aethercrystals from you. Has he come for them?”
Since my cloak was stained with blood and soot, it was understandable that this man thought I was a robber. But when I mentioned Camille’s name, he raised one eyebrow and gesticulated with his pipe.
“Are you with that boy? Sorry, I haven’t seen him these past few days. Also, a lady like you should be running away from here.”
“And why aren’t you running?”
“I figure this is the doing of the dark elves and the Reezan,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m too old to care about fleeing for my life at this point.”
“I see...”
I couldn’t convince this man to flee if he’d already made peace with the alternative. In a world like this, if one couldn’t choose how to live, one could at least choose how to die. This man was entitled to his dignity.
I bowed and made to leave, but then he unexpectedly called out to me again.
“One second, little lady. Take this with you.”
“What is it?”
He handed me a large bundle of aethercrystals wrapped in oil paper.
“The boy’s order. You need it, don’t you? Those guys will just steal it if you leave it here. He already paid, so go on. Take it.”
The old man paused, then looked straight into my eyes.
“You’re not from this town, are you? Seeing it get attacked by these thugs might make you want to do something, but don’t bother.”
He exhaled snaking wisps of smoke, then strained his eyes as though looking into the distance.
“This is our town. We were born here. We’ll die here. We know our fates. But you should live your life. Don’t worry about us. You must have more important things to do than grieve for a sorry town like this, no?”
I didn’t respond. What had he seen in me to say such things? What was important to me? I wasn’t sure, but I was grateful for his consideration and bowed deeply before leaving the shop.
Camille wasn’t here. I had one more place to check—and if he wasn’t there either, I couldn’t afford to keep searching. I had to choose between looking for him and letting it go and returning to Elena.
But...I wanted everyone to survive, including Camille. Had I developed camaraderie with them?
What was important to me? Not just my priorities as an adventurer—what did I truly wish for?
As I once again took off running through the blazing town, I alerted those I passed that the demon army was coming. I figured my final destination was dangerous now—and the sight of the Adventurers’ Guild in flames and under attack by the Reezan confirmed it. A gang of dark elves and Krus had them surrounded. Had they been unable to defend themselves with their main forces gone?
I instantly switched into a combat stance and chanted, “Illusion.”
At that moment, the flames enveloping the guild suddenly swelled, engulfing the attackers.
Chaos erupted as the Reezan members began to flee at the sight of the realistic—and hot—flames. I leaped in, slipping into the gaps in their formation, and began to take them down.
An abrupt surge of real flames roared toward me and the survivors. I quickly jumped away, sacrificing my cloak to avoid the blaze.
A dark elf emerged from behind my dispelled illusion. “You. Mercenian. Are you an adventurer?”
He looked to be around twenty, but his black armor and presence were in a different class from the other dark elves’.
“A soldier of the demon army?” I asked.
“Oh? You seem different from the other adventurers. The skilled ones were all lured out of the town. None who remained have been particularly challenging. Boring, if you ask me. But this? Now this should be fun.”
The unarmed youth stepped forward boldly, grinning as he channeled powerful aether into both of his arms.
▼ Young Demon Soldier
Species: Dark Elf♂ (Rank 4)
Aether Points: 261/315
Health Points: 215/215
Overall Combat Power: 1,108 (Boosted: 1,330)
A Rank 4 sorcerer, then. Not only that, his presence reminded me of Karla and Samantha—meaning he had Martial Mastery and could cast spells at close range. Perhaps he was an overseer of sorts sent by the demon army to direct the dark elves in Cutlass.
Considering he’d just torched his Reezan allies, he seemed to be quite confident. He clearly enjoyed battle and hadn’t so much as flinched at my combat power.
“What’s the matter? Not going to attack?” he asked. “I am Grohl. Let me teach you that battle is about more than just combat power. Show me what those numbers of yours can do!”
Flames roared through the air, dyeing the surroundings in crimson as Grohl unleashed a Fire Breath spell with neither incantation nor invocation. That prevented him from unleashing it at full power, but he seemed confident a Level 4 spell would be lethal nevertheless.
“Shield,” I chanted, adjusting the spell’s potency to match that of his Fire Breath based on the color of the mana. As the flames were deflected off the light barrier, I used Martial Mastery to help me evade.
Though his stratagem had failed, Grohl joyfully exclaimed, “So humans can use that spell!”
I picked up a charred sword and flung it at him mid-evade, but he used his iron gauntlets to parry. Grohl leaped closer and kicked, his foot clashing with my own.
“Good one! How’s this?”
Nearly ten Fire Arrows appeared around him, again without any chanting, and shot at me simultaneously. Using only Martial Mastery and nearby obstacles as cover, I avoided the worst of the barrage. The spells had grazed me, but the damage was minor.
“Not calling for reinforcements?” I asked. “I thought you were here on orders from the demon army.”
“We demons respect the strong,” he replied. “Weaklings—even fellow demons—just get in the way. What else would I prioritize here, if not fighting you?”
“I see.”
So that was what it meant to have nothing of value. People lived their lives fueled by wishes. The value of such things was subjective and impossible to quantify, but everyone had at least something they wanted to protect.
Desires and wishes were superficially similar but fundamentally different. Grohl was prioritizing his desire to fight powerful opponents over fulfilling the wishes of the demon army and even his own wishes as a member of the demon race.
But what did that desire mean? What lay behind it?
I protected Elena and eliminated everything that could hurt her. I wanted to grow stronger for that purpose, and so I had thrown myself into avoidable battle after avoidable battle. Behind that choice lay fear—of being weak, of that weakness hurting her.
My strength would only protect her body, though. Not her heart. And to protect her heart, I had chosen to forsake her wishes.
Seeing Grohl, who spoke of the pride that spurred demons to seek combat yet lacked true pride as a demon, I felt like I understood the words of the old Krus man from earlier.
What was important to me? I already knew that. I’d always known.
“Let’s see what you can do! You’re slippery, but can you dodge this?!” Grohl asked, grinning as he produced a set of aethercrystals and activated a massive wave of aether. “Flare Barrage!”
Using an invocation for the first time, Grohl unleashed nearly a hundred small fire projectiles all around me.
“Your illusion magic can’t save you now!” he bragged, raising his arm and swinging down dramatically. “Too bad, so sad, goodbye!”
Shut your mouth.
“Shadow Walker,” I chanted.
The rain of fire bullets scorched the earth as my blade found Grohl’s heart. I’d struck him from behind while he was distracted by his certainty of victory.
“Guh... How... Why...?”
He was careless. Overconfident. The sorceresses I knew were not like that.
Grohl stared at me in disbelief as he collapsed. I looked down at him coldly as I donned a spare cloak.
“Thank you,” I said as the life left his eyes. “For reminding me of what’s important.”
Elena would live. I would make sure of that.