“Mamoru, as a hero, order the carriage vassal weapon to increase its resistance,” I told him. The method they were using to bind the vassal weapon had to be the same as the one used by the resurrected in our time. This wouldn’t have any effect if the weapon was with a chosen holder, but it certainly didn’t look like that was the case here. That meant we could order the carriage to resist and hopefully set it free.
“What do you mean?” Mamoru stammered. He didn’t know what I was talking about! They probably hadn’t encountered any resurrected trying to steal vassal weapons in this time. That meant this fell to me. I lifted my shield . . . and then the one who assumes the name of god suddenly moved at incredible speed.
“I’m not falling for your taunts,” dog face said. “I know this is what you want. That’s why I’m taking it away from you. And that’s not your only punishment!” Shouts went up from multiple people before I could even ready my shield. The one who assumes the name of god closed in so fast that he left afterimages behind. Then he grabbed Melty’s collar where she sat on the back of Chick and lifted her off into the air. I cursed. We’d been close to taking him down, but this was completely out of left field. “I’m taking this one as a hostage too!” dog face crowed.
“Melty!” I shouted, the others joining in. Shadow and Eclair leapt forward, but the one who assumes the name of god escaped up into the air, still clutching Melty tightly.
“Oh? Why would you take me hostage?” Melty asked, keeping down her moans and taunting her captor in a tight voice.
“You’re exactly the one we want. There’s been talk about you,” dog face said. “The little vixen, smartest among the slime, who has diplomatic skills.” “Vixen” was the name someone had called Melty’s mother.
“Hah. I’ll take that name as an honor, coming from you,” Melty replied, a regal smile on her face. She actually looked proud. For her, maybe being called “vixen” meant she was getting closer to her mother. I actually liked the sound of it too—and that totally disarmed it from having any negative connotations. “Removing me from play isn’t going to have any negative impact on Naofumi’s political dealings. There are plenty of others who can take my place,” Melty said.
“We’ll find out the truth of that soon enough,” dog face said. “You’ve touched upon the anger of all-powerful gods, and now you’ll pay the price!”
“All-powerful gods, you say? And yet you can’t see the future?” Melty chuckled. “What a joke.”
“You scum! You dare mock us!” dog face raged.
“I’m just telling the truth,” Melty said. “If you are all-powerful, then you don’t need to take hostages. This display of your ineptitude proves you aren’t as powerful as you think.” Seeing her standing her ground, I realized Melty displayed both the regal nature of the queen and the strength of Trash. “Be honest! Tell us you don’t want to die and ask us to stop! Beg us not to kill you! But that won’t be enough for Naofumi and the heroes of Siltran to forgive you!” Melty said defiantly. Dog face grunted. “Like Naofumi always says! Only fire if you’re ready to get shot!”
“Silence! Say another word and your life is forfeit!” The one who assumes the name of god tossed Melty toward the carriage vassal weapon. She was drawn into the barrier and lifted away. The gemstone on the carriage vassal weapon glowed and changed into the shape of a carriage. Melty was placed inside.
“What are you planning to do to Melty?!” I shouted.
“That all depends on you. Let the ones behind you know! If you want your friend here back, drop the barrier and withdraw or she won’t be the only one paying the price! Let’s see what your justice is really worth!” The one who assumes the name of god vanished from view, laughing as he disappeared.
“Shit!” I cursed. His speed had been incredible. He took not only the carriage vassal weapon but Melty too. If I had closed in a little more, I might have been able to deploy an Air Strike Shield and save her.
“Zhield Hero!” shouted Shadow.
“Hero Iwatani!” cried Eclair. There was panic in their voices, and confusion at what to do next. “I still wasn’t fast enough . . . I need to be faster!”
“Try to calm down,” I told them. “He took Melty as a hostage. That means they have no plans to kill her right away, and I doubt he’s building a harem like a resurrected.”
“I won’t allow that!” Eclair shouted, surging to her feet. “Queen Melty stands alongside the heroes as one I must protect, no matter what!”
“That’z right!” Shadow agreed.
“We need to work out where they’ve taken her and find a way to save her,” I said. “Shadow, what do you do again?”
“Recon and infiltration. But I’ve no idea where to ztart!” Shadow said, exasperated already. “They are like heroez, zipping around.”
“I think I can help a little with that,” Holn said, pointing at the gemstone in the whip. A faint beam of light was extending out from it. “I think the carriage vassal weapon is telling me where it is.”
“Zo I just need to follow thiz light?” Shadow asked.
“That’s right, but it won’t be that simple,” Holn replied. She looked in the direction the light was pointing. It was right toward Siltran. But no, that wasn’t it. Even I knew the light was indicating a destination beyond that friendly nation. It almost didn’t need to be said.
The final destination of the light was Piensa, the nation the ones who assume the name of god had already taken such an interest in.
“Queen Melty,” Eclair said softly.
“How can we get her back?” Shadow asked.
“It seems that the ones who assume the name of god are blaming those they think are behind us for some kind of barrier that’s getting in their way,” I said. “When we fought them before, they said something about not being able to search for us. It sounds like some function of the 0 series is working in our favor again.” It wasn’t clear if this was a physical or mental effect. They had come at us with this new approach, however, rather than just using force. They wanted to avoid fighting us head-on. If we could remove any chance of escape and force them to fight, maybe we had a chance at defeating them.
“The carriage seemed to understand the situation, because it changed shape to protect Melty,” I recalled. “I don’t know how effective it will be, but it’s a vassal weapon. We can pray it can do something to help. That’s pretty much all we can do right now . . . Anyway, I’ve no intention of giving up.” The carriage vassal weapon was sharing its location with us. There was still hope. We couldn’t give up now. “We will take back Melty, obtain the carriage vassal weapon, and fight them head-on. I think the time has come for Piensa to finally be eradicated from this world.” We had plenty of heroes on our side. They had some too, but I didn’t care. We’d overcome all sorts of odds this far. We had to save Melty.
In that moment, a large shadow dropped down slowly from the sky, accompanied by the sound of heavy wingbeats.