Chapter 116

“No,” I replied, shrugging. “Why do you think I’m making a clone? You’re already doing the bulk of the work keeping this magic up, so my clone should be enough to help you.” “That’s right,” said my clone. “I’ll stay here. You’ve got a lot of work to do, me!” I transferred the magical functions that were assisting Godrick with his spell to my clone. “The invasion is progressing faster than I expected,” I said. “Plans are already in motion, but we don’t have enough boots on the ground. I’m going to see if I can plug the gaps.” I, the original me, stretched my arms and stood up from my chair. “…Do you understand what will happen if you fail?” Godrick glared at me so hard I thought he wanted to kill me. “Ooh, you don’t have to scare me. Who do you think you’re talking to?” I was once the hero. And although I may have lost that power now, the things I’d learned from that experience would never leave me. “Mrh.” I rewrote the magical formula off the cuff and made adjustments based on readings gathered during its execution to push its performance to the limit. All without suffering any drop in quality during the runtime. “I always find it easier to do things on the fly like this, as opposed to working out theories in advance,” I said. “There. That should take some of the load off.” “…Tch. You, Kaito, the first hero… None of you have any respect for lords. As long as you uphold your end of the work, then do it quietly. Didn’t you say you have somewhere to be?” “I do. And on that note, I’ll leave you to take care of things around here. Oh, and babysit Luna, too.” I ejected Luna, who began rubbing her eyes sleepily. “Hmm? Is it morning already?” She yawned, went over to the sofa, and nimbly crawled into the empty space upon it, laying her head in Godrick’s lap. “I’m going back to bed,” she said. “Good night…” “…” It was difficult to describe the look on Godrick’s face at that moment. He seemed unsure how to react. Normally, such disrespect would have left him hopping mad, but the girl whose head lay in his lap now was the very goddess who had created his noble bloodline. “…Are you not taking her with you?” he said in the end. “Of course not. Be realistic.” Me leaving this space with Luna in tow would basically be asking to have her tracked down and captured. “This goddess birthed my kind… How can it be she’s so…?” Godrick despaired. It was fair to say that Luna didn’t have a shred of divine majesty about her. He should have been used to it by now, though; he’d known her long enough. With my clone assisting Godrick on my behalf, I turned and left the room. So long as Nonorick’s life was on the line, I could trust Godrick to take the matter seriously, and if anything did happen, my clone would be able to inform me. “Let’s see how things are going out there.” I opened a magical device that resembled a flip phone. “Aah, aah, testing, testing. Can you hear me, Leone?” “Ugh… Yes, I can.” “How are things? Are they going smoothly?” “…Nothing out of the ordinary. We’re hurrying, but the Offshoot army are advancing faster than you said they would. It looks like it’s going to be a close one.” It sounded like Leone’s group were going to finish up on time, but just barely. They were faster than I gave them credit for. Leone was a good kid with a strong sense of right and wrong, something rarely seen these days. These measures would both set the stage and delay the princess’s invasion, and Leone seemed to be doing a decent job of it. It doesn’t really make sense to talk about “kids these days” when I’m in another world, though. “Well, in that case, it’s your lucky day, because I’ve decided to lend a hand,” I said. “Huh? Lend a hand? How?” “I’ll start setting up the stage dressing myself,” I explained. “You all carry on doing what I told you.” “…Okay. But don’t forget.” “Hmm? Forget what?” “I’m a merchant. And a merchant always makes their deadline. I won’t let you down. Just you watch.” With that, Leone ended the call. Hmm. I suppose I have that to look forward to, then. But it’s still best to have as many devices as possible for greater accuracy. I put away the magical cellphone and took out a different one, used for discreet teleportation. “The sooner we complete the mesh, the better.” We couldn’t drag our heels any longer. The hero’s ability forced him into the final choice earlier than I expected. And I didn’t think Kaito would ever choose to abandon the hero’s trial. But none of that changes the plan. “First things first, we’re going to need some wheels—or in this case, some wings.” I headed over to meet a fire dragon by the name of Guren, whose wounds had been healed and was now in the middle of recovering. “Hey, how’s it going?” I asked. “Gruuuh…” Guren had fought like a lion against the Offshoot army, only to run into Alicia’s party on their way to the cathedral, and had come off with an injured wing. I had made some medicines to heal his injuries, and he had been resting and eating to restore his lost mana and stamina. “Sorry to come to you while you’re still bandaged up, but I’m going to need your help. Your mistress is doing her part, too, so do you think you could lend me a claw?” “Grr… Rah! Rah!” After a moment’s hesitation, Guren barked eagerly in response. He shrank himself down to the size of a volleyball and flew over to me. “There, there. Good boy. We’re on a tight schedule, but I’m sure you can handle it.” I stroked the dragon’s head and turned my attention back to the teleportation device. “Now then, Goddess,” I said. “I’m going to make sure you pay dearly for ruining the lives of my mother and me.” Before I came to this world, I had lived alone with my mother. My father passed away when I was young, and despite my mother’s constant illness, she did her best to look after me alone. I’d worked hard and had managed to land a job at a large company. I’d finally thought it was my chance to turn things around and repay my mother for all she’d done. Then I was brought here. I struggled to survive at first, but I persisted. I gathered knowledge, honed my skills, and finally found a way to observe my homeworld again. It was then that I’d learned my mother had already passed away. In my absence, there had been no one to take care of her. Without me, she grew weaker and weaker, until her illness finally took its toll, and she simply collapsed. I’d learned this from her diary, which depicted in all-too-harrowing detail my mother’s descent into loneliness. Ever since then, I have lived for one purpose only. “I’m going to take back her life.” I booted up the device, and a doorway of light appeared, which I stepped through. It was evening, but in a fortified border town on the outskirts of the empire, the sun wasn’t the only thing painting the streets red. Vermilion flames lapped at every building; crimson tongues that drank the city dry. “R-run away and don’t look back!” cried a voice. “Flee to the beast lands!!” This voice belonged to the commander of the city guard. He was no dullard, and neither were any of his men. The city claimed a strategic location, and the empire, with its practical, no-nonsense approach to war, ensured that only the cream of the crop were tasked with its defense. They furnished the city with sturdy fortifications. They hired alchemists and mages and coated the walls in a substance that was as hard as a diamond when dry, while protecting the skies with layers upon layers of magical barriers. The city also enclosed a Dungeon that had been completely explored, which could act as a supply of resources in the event of a siege. There were also butchers and bakers and all kinds of craftspeople living in the town. If monsters or warring neighbors came knocking, the city could hold out for years without reinforcements—or so the man had thought until now. I don’t believe what I’m seeing… It had been the local lord’s private militia who first saw the signs. These were elite soldiers, handpicked from an already exceptional force, and honed to perfection through regular training expeditions. On one of these expeditions to the nearby mountains, the group encountered a horde of strange creatures. They looked like turtles, only made of twisted roots and bark. Due to their familiar appearance, the soldiers who saw them concluded they must be hitherto-unknown variants of a monster species called the Volcano Turtle. This monster was a D-Rank threat and posed little danger to any imperial soldier, and even though these variants were a little tougher, the private army were able to beat them handily. Their heightened aggressiveness earned them a C-Rank rating, and before long, news of their existence spread to the surrounding lands. Things took a strange turn a little while later, when the same private army came across another strange species of monster. Like the first, this monster was also made of roots and bark, but this time it was in the rough shape of a creature called a Griffon, a beast with the body of a lion and the head, wings, and talons of an eagle. The soldiers incurred some casualties, but they were eventually able to slay the strange beast. It was then, upon examination, that the soldiers discovered this was not a variant species at all, but rather some strange organic parasite that had infected the original creatures. Around the same time, the Adventurer’s Guild began receiving reports of similar cases across the empire. Some started noticing that this parasite, whatever it was, didn’t only affect monsters, but people, too, and when word of this got out, the citizens began to grow anxious. Sightings continued to roll in of infected hosts, both monstrous and human in origin, and yet no one ever saw what it was that was responsible for the infections. Even so, people remained optimistic. The city was on a remote border, far away from the fighting between the demons, the beast lands, and the Church, and the town’s impressive defenses would surely allow them to live their lives in peace. So what if these bizarre sightings are becoming more and more frequent? they thought. It’ll all blow over soon enough. Little did they know their illusion of peace was about to come crashing down. “Eeeeeeek!!” “Mommy!!” “M-monsters?!” Just as the commander of the guard tried to signal everyone to safety, piercing screams filled the air. “Grr, they’ve already penetrated this area. Just when I thought we were done…” The man had been guiding civilians to safety while his men held off the monsters elsewhere. This group of townspeople was meant to be the last, but already the numbers he was seeing suggested his fellows had fallen. He grimaced. The situation was looking more dire by the hour. The town was dealing with a sudden outbreak of infected civilians. The strange organic parasite responsible for the bizarre mutations had manifested among the townsfolk themselves. Nobody knew when or where the disease had begun, but at this point, the city was awash with crazed rioters. It seemed that somehow, a number of infected creatures had managed to disguise themselves as regular people and infiltrate the city walls. Once inside, they revealed their true colors and began spreading the disease in multiple locations at once. Most of these outbreaks were put down quickly, but a few succeeded in infecting several of the city’s most elite guardsmen. The city guard fought the parasites, but other nearby towns were dealing with their own, simultaneous outbreaks, so there was little hope for reinforcement. The situation was so dire that the garrison commander saw no choice but to abandon the fortress to the monsters. He had once believed this city to be impregnable. Now, in just half a day, he had watched it fall. “Agh!!” A young boy tripped and fell before a terrifying creature with trees for arms. The sight shook the commander from his despairing. “Fleetfoot!!” Before his mind had even analyzed the situation, his body leaped into action. He activated his most proficient skill, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, and swung his greatsword, parrying the monster’s vines. But then, upon seeing the creature up close, he let out a cry of surprise. “It’s you…!” The monster’s face was one he knew well. “Riley, you fuckup. How could you let them do this to you…?” It belonged to a man he had once considered a friendly rival, the commander of a separate platoon. He had always deemed him to be an upright and sensible sort, a stickler for the rules but well-liked by those under his command. He was a good man. “Get out of here, kid!” “Ah…but…” “Just run! I don’t care if your legs are snapped in two!! Get off your ass and run, or this thing’ll eat you for supper!!” “W-waaaaaaaahhh!!” Having successfully threatened the boy into retreating, the commander turned his eyes back to the monster before him. “Tch. Never thought our final showdown would look like this.” His last spar against Riley had resulted in his near defeat. The record stood at a miraculous 99 wins, 99 losses, and 31 draws. “Still, it’s better than both of us dying without ever settling the score. This is our last battle. Show me what you’ve got!!” Mana surged within the man as he stared down his foe. “Physical Boost! Physical Boost!! Power of Knights!! Enhance Reactions!! Fire Enchantment!!” He activated every power-enhancing spell and skill he knew, honing himself for combat. The parasitic monster that had infected his former friend remained still and silent, as if allowing him to do so. “All right, let’s do this! Fleetfoot!!” The man leaped into battle once more, feeling the ache as his stacked enchantments pushed the limits of what his body could take. In no time at all, the combatants were in close range, and the man’s thick sword collided with the rooty tentacles of the parasitic creature, letting out an ear-ringing Clang! “Die, foul beast!!” “Grow… Fill… Be…one…” Sword and vine clashed endlessly. Each time, the man’s strength was just a little higher. “What do you make of that, you wood-chip bastard?!” “Aghhh… Aah… Aggghhh!!” The parasite had dramatically increased Riley’s stats, but his attacks were artless and simple, and he couldn’t use any of his spells. The commander, meanwhile, fought as if it were not only his life on the line, but those of all the people living here as well. He thought of the civilians currently fleeing for refuge, and the fact that he was one of the few people standing between them and a grisly death. The battle was shifting steadily in his favor. And then, at last, a decisive opening was revealed. “Graaagh!!” The plant creature failed to parry the man’s sword effectively and was thrown off-balance. “Forgive me, Riley! Extreme Thrust!!” Summoning all his strength, set aside for a finishing blow, the man aimed his sword at his friend’s heart. He felt his strike land and watched as the beast’s body dissolved away from the point of impact. The head and limbs fell harmlessly to the ground like decaying plants. “Finally,” said the man, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he raised his eyes to the horizon, where a new scene of despair greeted him. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Six new infected monsters were slowly working their way over. Four of them looked to have once been human, while the others had been a horse and a dog. And even though the humans still had their faces, it was impossible to tell who they had once been. Regardless, it was clear the man wouldn’t be able to hold them all off. “Looks like it’s time to scram.” He came to a swift decision. From his pouch, he retrieved a magical grenade. He wheeled his arm in one, smooth, uninterrupted movement, just like in training, delivering the explosive into the midst of the oncoming horde. Then, without even waiting to confirm the results, he turned his back and made a tactical retreat. The others should be out of the city by now. Now all that’s left to see is whether these creatures will follow us or not… The man didn’t look back or slow down as the explosion went off behind him. He carried on sprinting through ruined and flame-lapped streets. He had watched his men make contact with the last of the survivors just before engaging the monsters in battle. That battle had been long and hard-fought enough that all he needed to worry about now was getting himself to safety. He only stopped running to hide for the night, and the next day he reached the border of the beast lands. The fortress city, once said to be the most ironclad in all the empire, fell to the monsters in just a single day.