I couldn’t let that happen. I promised I’d protect them.
“Baumfetter should manage to survive, somehow. Right now, we have to focus on the Popedom.”
We had made it through the Indigo Mountains and had begun sweeping through the plains, hurrying toward Saania while avoiding contact with Nyrnal’s forces. I had to evade a skirmish with them if I was to topple Frantz without a moment to spare.
“Sérignan, what’s our marching speed?”
“We’re making good time, Your Majesty. We should reach Saania within two or three days.”
It might have been a bit hard on the Swarm, but speed was our greatest advantage right now. We had to keep going at full throttle and put a quick end to the Popedom of Frantz. After that, we’d be able to use its former territories to surge into the Empire of Nyrnal.
There was also the option of going back to Schtraut, but I quickly discarded that idea. With us in position to directly threaten the Empire, they’d have no choice but to respond. And besides, we didn’t have the time to head all the way back to the Dukedom just so we could retake Maluk.
Eventually, we would retake Maluk and put the elves at ease... but not right now.
“I’m kind of tired...”
“You should rest, Your Majesty. You haven’t slept for three days.”
That much was true. Ever since the situation with Nyrnal had escalated, I hadn’t slept a wink.
“But I can’t afford to rest right now, Sérignan. We are in dire straits. The Nyrnals already have most of Maluk under their control, and who knows when they might attack Baumfetter. We’ve begun preparations to fortify Schtraut, but I don’t know if we can actually push them back.”
Nyrnal’s soldiers had already taken over half of Maluk’s territories. The Ripper Swarms had bravely tried to fend them off, but all they could do was stall for time. Nyrnal’s infantry was heavily armored, so the Ripper Swarms really couldn’t do much more than that. Thanks to their delaying the enemy, however, we were able to increase our defenses around Baumfetter. I could say with confidence that the Swarms’ deaths were not in vain.
“Besides, Nyrnal has airborne forces. And that’s problematic for us.”
What set Nyrnal apart from the other nations we’d fought so far was that they employed wyverns. We knew they were capable of ferrying up to three people on their backs and breathing fire, as well as diving in and biting their opponents.
My preparations so far hadn’t accounted for airborne forces. The Arachnea did have units capable of shooting them down, like Fire and Toxic Swarms, but none were stationed in the Kingdom of Maluk.
The only silver lining was that Baumfetter was hidden and protected by the trees, which meant the wyverns wouldn’t be able to spot it from the sky. Our main base and the tunnels I’d originally woken up in had avoided detection for the same reason.
But man, I’m seriously exhausted.
Maybe I was accessing the collective consciousness all too often, but my perception of who I was was growing more and more vague. Thus, I decided to try and remind myself of my own identity.
I am Grevillea. My goal is to return to Japan at some point. I am 18 years old and a freshman in college. I mustn’t forget that. That’s who I am. I am part of the Swarm, but the Swarm doesn’t define me.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but you really must rest,” Sérignan continued, fretting. “You’re awfully pale. If you collapsed from exhaustion, it would be the biggest loss imaginable for the Swarm.”
She must have been terribly worried; I could see tears in her eyes. I was happy to see how deeply she cared about me.
“Fine. I’ll rest for a while. Wake me up if anything happens, though.”
“Understood.” She nodded.
With that said, I headed for the rear seat of the carriage we were riding in and curled up into a ball.
Can I really win this war? Can I really keep my promise to the elves... and my promise to the Swarm?
Oh, and there was one more promise I made, but I couldn’t remember what it was.
I just... couldn’t remember...
♱
My ears were tickled by the sound of someone playing a piano. It was a cheerful, upbeat tune that prompted me to open my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar theater, sitting in one of the seats. Up on stage, a girl was playing piano with deft, delicate motions.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
She retracted her hands and turned to face me, then motioned for me to approach. Her frilly gothic outfit was very familiar.
“Samael?”
“Yes, it is I, Samael. What do you think of this place? Personally, I’m pretty pleased with it. Impressive, no? I think it gives the Teatro alla Scala a run for its money. And I think my little recital was exquisite, too, if I do say so myself.”
It was... okay, I thought to myself in what probably passed for defiance. I mean, it wasn’t bad.
“Where’s Sandalphon?”
“Oh, her? She’s not here at the moment. How about you try to handle things by yourself for once? Try to face and resist me, the allure of malice and pleasure, all by yourself.”
Sandalphon, who was always around in times like these, was nowhere to be found.
“You’ve been in that environment for a while now, and yet you still haven’t gone mad. Such a shame. You should loosen up and let yourself go a bit crazy.” Samael lowered her voice to a whisper. “Surrender yourself to the Swarm, and stain your soul with senseless mass murder. That’s the path you ought to take.”
“Why would I do that?” I shook my head violently. “I want to hang on to who I am. I don’t want to be consumed by the Swarm’s collective consciousness.”
“Well, that’s a pity. Had you surrendered yourself to the collective, you wouldn’t have had to endure so much hardship, now would you?”
Samael pressed a key on the keyboard. The harsh sound rang loudly in my head.
“Give yourself up to the collective consciousness. Devour everything in your path, and reproduce again and again and again. With those superior numbers, crush everyone in your path. If you were to do that, you would never fall behind the Empire of Nyrnal,” Samael said, turning to face the piano again. “I’m sure some of the Empire could’ve been yours by now. Do you still think becoming one with the collective is a pointless act? If you ask me, clinging to your paltry humanity and resisting the Arachnea’s spirit is what’s really pointless.”