“Velgo said I only bring misfortune to people. There’s no denying that.”
He looked around at the bodies.
“…ill…me…”
One of them spoke. She spoke for them all.
“Kill…me…”
The weeping of the womenfolk filled the chamber. It was like a prayer. Leon nodded…and rescued them from their living hell with a bullet to the head.
“We Heroes of Salvation,” he said, “must, more than anyone else, respect life. We must save as many lives as we can. And that means that, sometimes, we find ourselves in situations like this.”
If you stay with me, you’ll carry this pain with you wherever you go. Do you really want that to happen?
Leon knew nobody would ever choose to live like that. From now on, the two would have nothing to do with—
“I won’t leave you. Ever.”
Leon was shaken. His face betrayed no emotion, but the next words out of his mouth made it clear.
“I…don’t understand.”
How did she come to that conclusion? Leon could not fathom what chain of reasoning or emotion had led her to that point.
“Are you after my inheritance?”
“I don’t need anything like that.”
“My social status? Just so you know, I don’t have any.”
“I don’t want anything like that.”
Then why? Leon’s mind ground to a halt as he struggled to comprehend.
Just then…
“Ugh…ah…”
A faint, tortured groan from somewhere far off revealed the location of the last survivor. Leon found himself using their existence as an excuse to escape.
“…Let’s head over.”
Leon did not wait for his disciple’s response. He set off walking at once to flee the labyrinth of his own thoughts. Like a loyal puppy, Alice followed.
“Um…,” she said. “I’ve been counting the enemies we’ve encountered so far, and I make it thirty-seven. That means there’s only one left. It must be the leader, right? The ogre?”
“No. From what I can hear, it sounds like a goblin.”
“Huh? But then…where did the ogre go?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering,” Leon replied. “Think back to the entrance, when I told you how many enemies there were. Was there anything strange about that number?”
“Y-yes. I thought it seemed a little low.”
“Exactly. Thirty-eight is far too low. To form a horde like this, you need at least two hundred.”
“And yet there’s not even a fifth of that number here. How could that be?”
“If I had to say, it’s because of cannibalism. Most fiends don’t attack others of their species, but goblins are an exception. When there’s not enough food to go around, they resort to eating each other. Reduces the number of mouths, and feeds the rest. The thing is…when there’s a strong leader in place, that doesn’t happen.”
“Because he steps in and stops them from fighting?”
“Precisely. Fiends powerful enough to lead a horde usually have a strong sense of teamwork. They stay within their territory to keep the others in line.”
“B-but…we’ve searched this whole cave and haven’t seen any fiends strong enough to be the leader.”
“No. That’s why something stinks about this job.”
The dwindling numbers. The absent commander. What did it all mean?
Minds whirring with the myriad possibilities, Leon and Alice came at last to the deepest caverns of the tunnel network.
There, a new and even more horrifying sight awaited them.
“Agh…gah…ghh…”
“Hii-hii-hii! Hii-hii-hii-hii-hii! Meat! Meat! Meat!”
In a small stone chamber, the final goblin thrust his hips repeatedly, lying atop his poor victim, who grunted in pain.
“Grh…ghh…ah…”
Leon approached and addressed the oblivious fiend. “You must really be enjoying that. Didn’t notice I was here?”
Then, he grabbed the goblin by the scruff of the neck, tore him away, and launched him into the wall, where he was smashed to bits.
“Who…are you? …Adventurers…?”
The woman still seemed sane. Her eyes were glazed over, but there was still a trace of strength in her voice.
“That’s right,” Leon replied. “The village elder sent us. We’ve come to slay the goblins.”
“The…elder…,” she spoke between pants, as though squeezing out what little energy remained. “The village…is in danger… A few days…ago…someone came… They told…the fiends…to attack…the village… To dig…a tunnel…”
“…Who was it who said this? Did you see their face?”
“I…only heard…their voice… A pretty voice…like…an angel…”
“…Thank you. Thanks to you, the mystery is solved.”
The mystery of the missing goblins. The mystery of the absent leader. It was all planned.
At the back of the stone chamber was another large tunnel. No doubt it led to Karna Village.
“They left behind their weakest and attacked the village. Probably just as we were entering the cave.”
“Th-then that means the village is…!”
A terrifying thought occurred to Alice. But the woman on the floor already knew what she was about to say.
“Please…! Save…the village…!” she pleaded as tears streamed down her face. Leon took no time to respond.
“I will. Now…rest.”
“Thank…you.”
With the woman’s gratitude still ringing in his ears, Leon took his pistol, pointed it between her eyes…and sent her tortured soul to heaven.
“…I always feel so powerless,” he said after it was done.
If only Claire were here. If only Rheinhardt were here.
Then perhaps this story would have ended differently.
“I’m the Hero of Salvation, but what I can offer is only a false one. What a wretched tale.”
A dry, rasping voice, wet with heat.
Seeing this, Alice attempted to summon up what courage she could.
“Even if you feel powerless, you can’t bring yourself to give up, can you?”
“No. That is the fate I inherited alongside my title. I will never run from that.”
Leon thought of the lives he’d taken within the system of caves.
The women, whose dignity had been stripped from them and who begged for the sweet release of death.
The fiends, once human and once possessed of sacred souls.
“No more sorrow, no more sin.”
That was why the Hero of Salvation was here.
A fire in his heart, the corpse took off down the tunnel.
As Leon’s left leg was a steel replica, he couldn’t run like he used to, but he could still travel at great speeds by hopping, like a pebble skipping on a pond. Hurtling down the mountain path, he soon arrived at its base and continued on toward Karna Village.
I should be concentrating on my legs…but I just can’t stop thinking about it. That person the woman mentioned who riled up the goblin horde… Could it be?
A memory of someone surfaced in his mind. A reunion Leon had been awaiting ever since that tragic day four years ago. If they were behind all this, and if Leon could see them again…
It’s unlikely I’ll win…but I need to try. It’s the only reason I’m still alive.
With these conflicting emotions swirling in his mind, Leon soon arrived at the heart of the chaos. The village was under attack by goblins. The watch fought bravely, but they were badly outnumbered.
“Looks bad. They’re not going to last much longer,” he said.
“Wh-what can we do?” asked Alice.