Akatsuki Translations

“Well then, Commander, please take your time here. Someone will come to pick you up later.” -John

Lark felt himself being restrained and carelessly thrown away in his hazy consciousness. A dimly lit cave, not a dungeon, perhaps a natural cavern.

The man who brought him here, John was it? He quickly turned his back and tried to leave. Lark tried to chase after him, but his body wouldn’t move at all, perhaps due to poison on the dagger.

Instead, only his mouth moved. Before John could leave, his voice came out.

“You bastard, why? Why are you lending a hand to those people?”

“Well, of course, it’s because they pay well. Sun Knight-sama. There’s no other reason for Nameless like us to act.” -John

John laughed frivolously. His words carried clear contempt for Lark and self-deprecation for himself. Lark strained his voice in his blurry vision. He was desperate. Although he didn’t fully grasp the whole picture, he knew that a very dangerous plan was already in motion.

“A lot of Nameless like you are going to die, you know.”

When Lark said that, the man scrunched up his face and laughed. It was a strained laugh, like when hearing a bad joke.

“So what? You want me to stand up for the crisis of my fellow Nameless?” -John

Are you stupid?

Saying that, the man kicked Lark in the head. Perhaps because the poison still remained in Lark’s body, the pain was dull. But his head shook, and his consciousness became even more hazy.

“Something like helping each other since we’re in the same position. You’re really kind, Sun Knight-sama. Ridiculous. Such an ideology is for the rich.” -John

“Ugh…”

“We don’t have that kind of thing. Do you think we have even one thing to share with someone?! Hey! You listening?!” -John

Bang, bang, bang, John repeatedly kicked Lark’s head. When Lark stopped even groaning, John shrugged his shoulders.

“Did he die? He’s not dead, right? Geez, that was close.” -John

Confirming that the bloodied Lark was breathing, John sighed. Killing him would be troublesome. This man still had value to be used.

“…An-anyway.” -John

“Huh?”

Lark, in a trembling voice, still in a hazy consciousness, opened his mouth further. John, who thought he had already lost consciousness, was a little surprised, and in the meantime, Lark continued his words.

“You’ll be betrayed anyway.”

“――――” -John

It was unclear with what intention those words were spit out. The next moment, Lark lost consciousness completely. John, who was left behind, fell silent for a while at Lark’s last words, and then slowly put his hand on the sword at his waist.

“Shut up.” -John

Swing down. The sword was swung down straight, slashing the ground just short of Lark’s neck. John, who swung down the sword, slowly lifted it up and then sheathed it back into the scabbard with a slightly trembling hand.

“I’m different. I’m different from my father and mother. I’ll be fine.” -John

There was no one here who knew the meaning of the words he repeated quickly and quietly in his mouth.

“Wow, you look terrible. Are you okay, Knight-sama? Knight-wannabe-sama.”

Then, a high, childish voice that seemed unrelated to the gruesome violence earlier was heard under him. John was not surprised by it and turned around with an annoyed expression.

“You’re noisy. Heretic.” -John

“Oh, how terrible. Call me Yog properly.”

From the back of the cave, giggling, an entity that looked like a little girl appeared. The one who called herself Yog was a child who, considering her age of around 10, definitely didn’t belong here.

But her appearance could only be described as bizarre.

Vivid green hair that didn’t match the dimly lit cave, and pale white skin. She was wearing glasses. She had on a large white coat, but for some reason, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. She was shamelessly exposing her delicate white skin. If one looked closely, one would notice that the skin had large and deep curse formulas engraved on it.

But what was most unusual were her eyes. Those vivid green eyes, the same color as her hair, were probably not some kind of magic eyes. Just ordinary, normal eyes. However, there was no life in them.

Dark. Reflecting nothing. Not returning light. If she didn’t move, one would surely mistake her for a doll or even a corpse. Something important for a living being was clearly missing.

John didn’t even glance at her. It was as if even looking at her was filthy. He only openly showed disgust on his face.

She didn’t even care about John’s rude attitude, so to speak. She walked on the rough cave floor with bare feet, making pattering sounds, and peeked at the unconscious Lark lying on the ground.

“Oh, my, you’re doing terrible things. He’ll die at this rate, you know. I wish you wouldn’t be so rough.”

“Ah, sorry about that. I apologize for being rough with your human experiment material.” -John

The clear contempt in his words, however, didn’t seem to resonate with her at all. No, you’re wrong, she shook her head.

“What I’m doing is not an experiment but ‘salvation’. I’ll properly save the wandering people you brought and this person too.”

Save, the emotion John felt towards that word was, again, disgust, and more than that, fear. The unknown fear of facing something beyond the scope of his imagination.

But she didn’t care about that reaction either. She approached John soundlessly and then smiled.

“If you wish, I’ll save you too.”

“Take your material and disappear.” -John

At the rejection bordering on murderous intent, Yog shrugged her shoulders, then chanted something and carried Lark’s body away with an invisible magic technique. It sank into the damp darkness of the cave.

“Damn monster.” -John

Saying that, John also started walking in the opposite direction. His feet were quick, as if in a hurry, as if he just wanted to run away from that place.

“…I wonder if I should save him after all?” -John

He was unaware that from the darkness behind him, inorganic, insect-like green eyes were staring intently at his back.

                                            ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The encirclement of the Order of the Sun Knights surrounding the Dragon-Devoured City, Uuga was gradually narrowing.

Slowly, gradually narrowing the encirclement as if parting roots of grass. As if to not let a single thing escape from the city.

“Kill, kill, don’t leave a single one alive. They are cursed. Eradicate the dragon’s factor.” -Aesura

In a sing-song, cheerful, light manner, Aesura Shinra Caraleigh ordered the massacre. The Sun Knights obeyed. All the Sun Knights here were his subordinates, obedient soldiers who would not object at all.

They meticulously and mechanically killed everything living within the encirclement. Regardless of whether they were humans or monsters, they slowly, slowly narrowed that circular formation.

Slowly, slowly, driving everything.

To the center of the curse. To gather them and dispose of them at the end, as if sweeping away the dust from the edges.

Soon, there would be no gaps in the encirclement. When that happened, the inhabitants of the temporary city would have nowhere to run. So, if they were to try to escape from this encirclement–

“――【Stone Lance】!”

Before the encirclement completely closed, it was now or never.

It happened in the east of Uuga, an area where the forest was thick and the knights’ encirclement was somewhat scattered. Lumps of earth in the shape of lances suddenly rained down on the knights. The mercilessly hammered stone lances hit the knights directly, and a large amount of dust rose up.

“Now, break through the encirclement!!”

And under the cover of confusion and dust, those who cast the magic began to move. Those inside the encirclement, in a last-ditch attempt to break through the encirclement, began their final resistance.

“Aesura-sama.” -Sun Knight

《Here they come. Crush the last resistance of the pitiful rats》-Aesura

Confirming the movement through communication magic, Aesura grinned fearlessly.

For him, the battle to beat the cornered rats to death had begun.

                                              ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The large amount of 【Earth Lances】 launched at the Sun Knights, judging from their power, the skill of the casters was undoubtedly first-class. The knights knew. The Dragon-Devoured City, Uuga had the silver adventurer guild 【White Serpent】.

They had heard the details of the adventurers’ abilities from John, who was also from the White Serpent. Excellent casters, and the leader-class Jain and Rabin, who excelled in close combat. They had confirmed their abilities in detail. There was no doubt that this attack was carried out by them.

And with that, a conclusion was reached. It would not be a problem at all.

“Damage report.” -Sun Knight Squad Commander

The squad commander in charge of the scene mechanically confirmed. Of course, the answer was obvious.

“All members are unharmed.” -Sun Knight

“Resume annihilation.” -Sun Knight Squad Commander

Not a single one was injured.

In front of the knights who started moving again as if nothing had changed, it was clear that the movements of the attackers on the other side of the dust cloud were wavering. They were shaken. The activation and impact of the earth lances were certain. Nevertheless, it was only natural for them to be puzzled that there was no disruption in the knights’ movements at all.

Moreover, the knights did not avoid the attack. They were hit directly by the earth lances from the front and were unharmed.

“What’s going on?! Is it defensive magic?!”

One of the attackers shouted. But that was not the case.

The knights were approaching the attackers again. The attackers, who were supposed to be the ones who launched the attack, were bewildered and backed away. They had no choice but to do so. But of course, the attackers seemed unable to just cower like that.

Eventually, one of them suddenly leaped out and bravely swung down a hand axe at a Sun Knight.

But,

“—-!!!” -Jain

Jain, one of the attackers, widened his eyes at the result of his attack.

The tremendous swing, strong enough to smash rocks, undoubtedly struck the knight in front of him. It was a blow that should have smashed through the vulnerable part between the helmet and armor, tearing off the head.

There was a response. Definitely. The knight’s body was greatly blown back. It should have had enough power to deal significant damage to his body. However, the knight’s body was unscathed.

“The protection of the Spirit of the Earth…!?” -Jain

“Indeed, our bodies are protected by the great Shinra and the Spirit of the Earth. You will not be able to inflict a single wound on us.” -Sun Knight

Jain followed up with a kick with his log-like foot. The knight’s body flew further back. A power capable of crushing rocks. But again, completely unharmed.

“It’s ridiculous to struggle and try to move a towering mountain range by stomping your feet in front of it.” -Sun Knight

In front of the indifferent sneer, Jain didn’t react and took distance with a backstep. He didn’t take the bait. His judgment ability allowed him to quickly catch on to “their protection” and keep a distance. As they had heard before, he seemed to be a seasoned adventurer, unlike some small-time punk.

But they knew that he was that kind of man. They had heard. Above all, “the one who knew him better than anyone else” was on their side, so there was nothing to fear.

“—-!” -Jain

As Jain leaped back, a sharp arrow flew at him. Jain twisted his body reflexively and flew further back. However, two, three more arrows came flying at high speed in succession. Moreover, they all continued to aim at Jain’s vital points with terrible accuracy.

It was extraordinary to continue to capture Jain, who moved nimbly despite his large build. And because of that high skill, Jain seemed to have quickly guessed who the opponent was.

“【Unerring Magic Eye】…John?!” -Jain

“Yo, you seem to be in a tough spot, Jain. Shall I help you? To die, that is.” -John

At the back of the knights’ encirclement, there was John, grinning as he held a longbow. His voice sounded as if he was teasing a friend, but in contrast, his right eye glowed eerily, continuing to capture its prey. And with short movements, he nocked, drew, and released arrows that continued to capture Jain with terrifying accuracy.

【Unerring Magic Eye】, which increased accuracy towards targets captured in his vision, and the fearsome rapid-fire attack utilizing it were his specialties. Naturally, if he kept his distance, it would be his unrivaled domain.

However, there was a wall of knights that seemed absolutely invincible to approach. The enemy could not even get close. It was a very simple yet brutal formation.

“Yo John, look’s like you’ve gotten quite privileged, being protected by the knights while fighting.” -Jain

“Why don’t you try it too? If you have knights who will protect you, that is.” -John

Even in the midst of the banter, the attacks didn’t stop. Fast, sharp, and accurate. Jain put a large distance between them and hid behind the trees.

“You’ve become quite a coward, huh?”  -John

“I’m not going to do anything reckless knowing your tricks. Poison user.” -Jain

Knowing each other’s tricks. It seemed to be the same for the other side as well. At Jain’s words, John clicked his tongue. As the other side pointed out, his specialty was poison. He was well-versed in pharmacology, freely manipulating various poisons to stop the movements of his prey and kill them.

Even against strong monsters, he mercilessly sealed their movements with poison, and the result was the same for adventurers strengthened by magical power.

“Is it okay? To be dawdling around here, don’t you have no time?” -John

“Ah, shut up.”  -Jain

“Soon, Uuga will turn into a monster, you know?” -John

“You’re seriously annoying, that’s pissed me off about’cha since we were kids.” -Jain

John was not in a hurry. He didn’t try to corner them unreasonably. The final transformation of 【Dragon-Devoured City, Uuga】, if the magical formula for Aesura’s familiar was completed, an unprecedented mega familiar would be born.

If that happened, it would sweep away everything except themselves. It would crush all enemies to pieces. Time was completely on their side.

“If you can’t come here, I’ll do this just in case.” -John

John took out a magic bottle from his pocket and threw it. The glass bottle shattered, and immediately, a pale pink gas overflowed. The smoke that exploded and spread quickly eroded the forest.

“Poison gas, are you serious, you bast–!?” -Jain

Jain let out a cry of astonishment.

In the first place, poisons are extremely difficult to handle. They are hard to store and dangerous to carry. They harm not only enemies but also allies. It must never be used recklessly, a double-edged sword. Especially poison gas, it was a forbidden move that they rarely used even when they were traveling together in the past.

However, it was a forbidden move only when there was a risk of involving allies.

“Poison does not affect the earth. It just contains it.” -Sun Knight

“What?!” -Jain

The knights plunged into the fog of poison. Seeing that, Jain widened his eyes, then immediately covered his nose and mouth and ran backward. Not to put distance. To escape. His companions did the same.

“This is too unfair…!” -Jain

Immune to all attacks, even poison. In front of the truly invincible blessed ones, the attackers had no choice but to flee. The knights who ignored all obstacles chased after them. It was a one-sided development.

In front of his former colleagues who were hurriedly running away, John laughed in amusement.

“Ha, the blessing of one of the Four Great Spirits is really something.” -John

As a poison user, John understood the dangers of the poisons he handled. It was only natural to pay close attention when handling them. But now, he was free from such worries. He could handle poisons easily and enjoy only the benefits without taking any risks.

“It makes all my hardships up until now seem ridiculous.” -John

As he muttered that, the knight commander who had not joined the pursuit came over. John bent his knee and lowered his head. To make sure not to offend them in any way.

“How long will the poison persist?” -Sun Knight

“It will linger for a long time. This area of the forest is a basin. They won’t be able to approach anymore.” -John

He didn’t like these guys. Soldiers who mechanically carried out their master’s orders. When they were ordered to massacre the defenseless civilians, the attendants, even he and his subordinates had a little hesitation, but these guys didn’t even have that.

What were they thinking, or perhaps they weren’t thinking at all? It was convenient while they were allies, but–

“You have worked well. The king is also satisfied–but.” -Sun Knight

A sword was drawn and placed against John’s neck. John didn’t move an inch, but he broke out in a slight cold sweat on his forehead.

“Don’t get it wrong. What will be born from Uuga is not a monster. It’s a 【Sacred Beast】.” -Sun Knight

“I will keep that in mind.” -John

When he answered in a hurry, the knight seemed satisfied, removed the sword, and followed after his subordinates who had gone in pursuit. John wiped his cold sweat. They were indeed terrifying. He felt sorry for Jain and the others who had ended up becoming their enemies.

“But die. Die for my safety.” -John

John spat out a curse from the bottom of his heart towards his former comrades.

                                             ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The eastern forest area of Uuga, where the battle between Jain and John, both from the 【White Serpent】, took place.

At the same time, on the exact opposite side, the western plains with gentle slopes. A group wearing cloaks was running through there as if to cut through. As if running away from the direction of Uuga.

However, they suddenly stopped in their tracks. In front of them, as if to block their path, the Sun Knights appeared.

“—-” -Sun Knight

The Sun Knights moved silently. Without any disorder, and without letting their guard down, in order to take the lives of every single one of the fugitives. They surrounded those who were going to battle and raised their swords.

But,

“【Magic Severance】[1].”

The next moment, the black flash of a sword ran.

The tattered cloak seemed to glow faintly. Immediately, the blessing of the spirits that had been covering the knights’ bodies faded and dissipated.

“【Thunder】.”

The sound of air bursting, a flash so intense that it seemed to burn just by looking at it was released and pierced through the knights’ bodies. The knights were unable to resist and fell to the ground.

“…Now then.” -Diz

The girl who had single-handedly mowed down everything, the Hero, continued to hold her sword at the ready without letting her guard down in front of the knights she had defeated.

“Lumps of earth, huh.” -Diz

After a while, the fallen knights’ forms crumbled. They collapsed into pieces. Even the beautiful knight armor disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place. It was a phenomenon that even an elaborate golem probably couldn’t recreate.

And as the knights vanished, only one person was left behind.

Wearing neither armor nor helmet. A redhead wearing a priest’s robe engraved with a pattern indicating the highest rank.

A figure that seemed defenseless despite being outside the city. Nevertheless, the face overflowing with confidence and arrogance was known to everyone living in the City of Sin, Gradol.

“The east was a diversion, huh? Admirable and petty. 【Hero】.” -Aesura

“I didn’t think you’d come out alone. Aesura.” -Diz

In front of the central figure of the calamity, the Hero smiled as if troubled.

TL Note(s)

[1] “Magic Severance” was previously translated as “Demon Sever.”