Akatsuki Translations

The White Serpent, who had been continuing their battle with the Sun Knights on the opposite side of Uuga, also had their battle temporarily interrupted in the face of Uuga’s tremendous roar.

The birth of the familiar, and the tremendous roar that occurred just when they thought it had stabilized. The Sun Knights also seemed unable to grasp the situation and were unable to move.

In contrast, Jain and the others were calm. This was because they had been informed of the “result,” albeit very briefly, through Shizuku’s communication magic.

“…Did they really do it, those guys?” -Jain

Even though he knew they wouldn’t say something random in this desperate situation, it was still hard to believe. It was crazy to seriously carry out such a tightrope operation until the very end. He couldn’t say anything about himself for going along with that plan, though.

“Jain! What the hell did you do!?” -John

“Huh?” -Jain

John’s voice came from the shadows of the trees ahead. It was an extremely foolish and uncharacteristic move for a sniper to reveal their position. However, the trembling in his voice conveyed his agitation.

It seemed he had realized the abnormality of the situation and the fact that the situation had turned unfavorable.

“Nothing.” -Jain

At least, I didn’t do anything, Jain added without saying it out loud.

In fact, Jain was a decoy in this operation. He had only lured the Sun Knights and John’s group and guided them to not do anything unnecessary. He hadn’t told any lies.

However, John didn’t seem to take Jain’s words at face value. Instead of a rebuttal, an arrow came flying. It accurately pierced and shattered the old tree that Jain had been hiding behind. Jain immediately changed his location. Even in this situation, John’s shooting with his unerring magic eye was accurate. He seemed to have completely captured them.

“So, even if I did something, what’re ya gonna do? You still gonna chase me around?” -Jain

“Don’t mess with me, you bastard.” -John

Along with the voice, there was the sound of multiple glass bottles shattering. A poisonous smoke immediately spread. It was done without hesitation. Jain distanced himself even further. The distance between him and John was severed magnificently.

“These guys aren’t even decoys, they’re just scarecrows! Retreat!!” -John

John’s voice could be heard. After some exchanges with the voices of several Sun Knights, their presence gradually faded away. The function as decoys, which had been effective because Jain and the others were silver-ranked and could not be ignored as a fighting force, seemed to have been lost as well.

They probably judged that a force that couldn’t even penetrate the protection of the Earth Spirit and was only driven away by poison was no longer even worth dealing with.

How foolish of them.

　―――― Lure as many Sun Knights as possible. That’s all you need to do.

“Underestimating us, huh?” -Jain

Jain muttered a small curse. Then he sent a signal.

“Take ‘em down.” -Jain

Suddenly, around John’s group, who had started moving, the large trees all collapsed towards them at once.

“Wha!?” -John

From a distance, screams from John’s group, a tremendous shaking of the earth, and a roaring sound echoed. Beasts fled from the trees in confusion, and birds took off all at once.

“Jain-san! We did it!!”

“Don’t make a fuss with yer loud voices, you idiots. You’ll inhale the poisonous smoke.” -Jain

Amidst the noisy commotion, Jain approached in that direction while covering his mouth and nose to avoid inhaling the poisonous smoke scattered around.

It was probably due to the influence of the magical power in the atmosphere that had overflowed from the dungeon. A forest area with towering trees easily exceeding ten meters. It was a trap that Jain and the others had set up to crush the entire area without overlapping the largest trees.

They had secretly made cuts and set up formulas just before the trees fell and collapsed them all at once with a signal.

“Hey, John, if yer not dead, say something. I’ll kill ya.” -Jain

“Jain!! You bastard!!” -John

“Oh, oh, yer lively. Good thing you have the Earth’s blessing.” -Jain

John’s voice could be heard from under the large trees. Even being crushed under a thick, giant log that couldn’t be surrounded by several adults, it was impressive that he didn’t get crushed to death, thanks to the Earth’s blessing.

But that’s all.

“An invincible defense against attacks. But it doesn’t provide immovable protection or grant superhuman strength. There are gaps to exploit.” -Jain

In the previous engagement, Jain had analyzed and grasped the movements of the Earth’s blessing. An amazing defensive power that didn’t allow any attacks to pass through. He really thought it was unfair. However, it wasn’t impossible to deal with.

The power possessed by the private soldiers of Aesula, Gradol’s Sun Knights, and the countermeasures for it did not go beyond the scope of what they had discussed beforehand.

“An invincible defense is no different from a stone statue if the person can’t move.” -Jain

“You fat bastard! I’ll kill you!!” -John

“This level of interference! We’ll repel it right away!!”  -Sun Knight Commander

Along with the voices of John and the Sun Knight commander filled with hatred, multiple chants of magic could be heard. They were trying to destroy the large trees that were crushing them. Even if they couldn’t move, if their bodies were unharmed, they should at least be able to chant magic.

“There’s no way I’m gonna let ya do that. So, here goes.” -Jain

A small friction sound, and a piece of kindling with a fire lit was in Jain’s hand. He casually tossed it away.

Of course, a small spark wouldn’t be able to ignite a freshly fallen large tree. However, after confirming that the rolling piece of wood had fallen behind the large tree, Jain leaped far back. As if escaping from the spot.

“Well, die.” -Jain

Immediately afterward, along with a sound like the air being torn apart, the surrounding area was engulfed in a huge flame.

　　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

It was questionable if one could say it was fortunate, but there were already materials that could be used as combustibles in the temporary city. Gradol had the Great Eagle of Dawn transport all kinds of building materials for city construction, no matter who they were. In reality, they were meant to be used to transform Uuga into a familiar, but there was no way they wouldn’t take advantage of them.

They called out to the Nameless who had failed to escape, crushed and dried the materials, mixed them with explosive formulas for underground excavation and flammable oil, planted them in the ground in line with the advance route of the encirclement, and concealed them.

Concealing and setting up traps was one of Jain’s specialties. It was one of the minor skills he had acquired to stand alongside the genius Rabin, and he was confident that even John wouldn’t notice it.

And the result was as it is now.

“Ya ain’t paying attention to your footing, Sun Knight-sama. That’s what happens when ya get complacent with yer invincibility.” -Jain

The force of the flames was tremendous. Even from a distance, the rising flames could be seen, and even at a distance, the heat was enough to scorch the skin. And a strong, foul-smelling black smoke was pouring out from the fallen trees. It was a strong, unusual odor, different from the evaporation of internal moisture.

“Whoa, it stinks! It’s intense!” -Rabin

The one holding their nose and saying that was Rabin, who had led the trap team as a separate unit. She seemed to have finished without incident, as instructed.

“Don’t inhale it. It’s better than what that dumbass scattered around, but it’s the smoke from the burning sap of the insect trees. It’s poisonous.” -Jain

“Will they die? Will John and the others die too?” -Rabin

“Not to that extent. Poison doesn’t work on those with the Earth’s blessing… but they’ll suffocate.” -Jain

He had confirmed that they were breathing during the battle.

The Earth’s blessing could probably neutralize poison. They probably wouldn’t have their bodies or lungs burned by the heat either. However, if the air itself was burning, they wouldn’t be able to breathe. The Earth’s blessing shouldn’t have the ability to create something that doesn’t exist there.

The flames raged, and they couldn’t move an inch. It was difficult to even inhale air, in order to chant spells.

The cause of death for the Sun Knights was suffocation.

“Whoa, that’s nasty.” -Rabin

“I can’t help it even if I wanna make it easier for ‘em.” -Jain

Jain swung his hand axe. In an instant, the “arrow” that had been approaching right in front of him shattered. It was a familiar attack, a shot from John. But the aim was quite rough.

And from the flames, a charred figure appeared.

“Ja-in!! I’ll kill you!!” -John

“Ya look ugly as shit, John.” -Jain

John’s condition was terrible. His leather armor and his prized large bow were scorched, and his entire body was covered in soot and vomit. Everything that couldn’t be protected by the Earth’s blessing was damaged. It was a miserable situation.

“Why are you interfering?! There’s no way Nameless like us can get a peaceful place to live by doing hard, honest work!!” -John

“Yer really noisy, ya know.” -Jain

Jain let out a deep sigh. He was simply exasperated. He was a fellow countryman and had been a comrade-in-arms for a long time, but there was a limit to everything.

“I dunno who yer making excuses to, but I don’t really care if ya look down on our way of doing things or if ya stray from the path and engage in shady things.” -Jain

We’re not doing steady, diligent work either, he shrugged. On top of that, he glared at his former colleague with extremely cold eyes and told him, “But ya know.”

“I have nothin’ to say to a fool who falls into villainy and loses.” -Jain

“JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!” -John

Triggered by those words, John drew his large bow. Even though it had been scorched by fire, the large bow that had not lost its function aimed straight at Jain and was released.

“See ya, John.” -Jain

Much faster than that, Rabin swiftly leaped out toward his chest. The knives she held in both hands stabbed into his exposed throat, which had become defenseless due to losing his sanity to anger and hatred.

“Guh…” -John

Rabin’s knives pierced and tore through his body, which should have been protected by the Earth’s blessing and Aesula, as if there was no resistance at all.

“…W…hy…?” -John

“Who knows? I don’t know ‘cuz I’m an idiot.” -Rabin

She flicked the blood-soaked knives. John’s fresh blood splattered. John could no longer see with his eyes the reddish-black liquid that was stuck to the blade of the knives, separate from his blood.

Instead, his hand wandered aimlessly in the air and was extended towards Rabin.

“…Ra…” -John

“In the past, you were cool, helping out the cowardly Jain, John-niichan.” -Rabin

For the last words spoken to a comrade who had shared joys and sorrows like family as fellow countrymen, they were strangely light-hearted, and that’s why they were so like her. John, who had been dominated by intense emotions until the verge of death, softened his expression a little at the very end and died just like that.

“Ahhh, I’m tired~. Jain-san, comfort me.” -Rabin

“The knives were effective.” -Jain

“Whoa, that’s harsh, ignoring me.” -Rabin

“Tell Ur and the others about the result via communication magic. Also, are the other Sun Knights dead?” -Jain

“There are two more life signs… no, they’ve disappeared. Seems like they’ve kicked the bucket.” -Rabin

“Good.” -Jain

Jain rapidly issued instructions to his subordinates who had escaped from the burning forest area, just like him. They seemed to be exhausted from the fierce pursuit of the attack-nullifying Sun Knights, but fortunately, no one had suffered injuries that rendered them unable to move.

“What’s next?” -Rabin

“Prepare to escape in case of emergency. We’ve done what we came here to do.” -Jain

“Though the service was a bit excessive.” -Rabin

“Shut it, scum.” -Jain

After giving the instructions, the subordinates quickly started moving. The only ones left at the scene were Jain, Rabin, and John, who had become a corpse.

Jain approached John’s corpse and let out a long, deep sigh. And then,

“AAAAAAAAAAH!!! I GOTTA STOP THIS ADVENTURING SHIT SOON!!!” -Jain

He collapsed on the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs. Next to him, Rabin, who had heard it, covered her ears for a while so as not to be affected by his yelling.

“So noisy. Was it that much of a shock, Jain-nii?” -Rabin

When asked that, Jain turned his face towards her. The usual calm and composed expression of a silver-ranked adventurer was gone. There was a face there that was exhausted from fatigue.

“Of course it was! Why do I have to kill my childhood friend from the same village!?” -Jain

“It’s because John-niichan and the others started getting involved in crime behind our backs.” -Rabin

“That’s right!! Why did they lose their minds!? This fuckin’ idiot, seriously!!” -Jain

Jain hurled screams and curses at John, who had become a silent corpse, and then let out another sigh. He had calmly and terrifyingly guided, cornered, and killed John, but it wasn’t like he had no feelings or that his heart wasn’t in turmoil.

“…After all, it sucks to have no money and no place to return to. If he had money, John wouldn’t have lost his mind either!” -Jain

“I wonder about that. Even if they became silver-ranked, if they were going to stray from the path, I feel like it would have ended up like this no matter how hard they tried.”  -Rabin

To obtain a safe and secure place to stay.

Jain and the others’ way of working for that was by no means easy. It was because Jain had been looking at long-term living after settling in the city and quitting being an adventurer. That required achievements, trust from the city, and a huge amount of money. Naturally, there was no way defectors wouldn’t appear. If John and the former guild members who had followed him had simply defected, it would have just been a matter of differences in direction.

However, they had “easily escaped to the wrong path.” They got involved in crime and sold their Nameless brethren to a cult. Moreover, they shamelessly took advantage of the signboard that Jain had been central in building, and on top of that, they tried to take it away and eliminate Jain and the others.

This was no longer a matter of money.

Whether they were Nameless or not, there was a line that, once crossed, would result in being ostracized from everything. Just like Jain’s foster parents, they had no understanding of that at all. Or they knew but pretended not to notice. Thinking that they alone would be fine.

Even Rabin could make that distinction. They couldn’t. In other words, they were fools.

“It’s just a story of such fools self-destructing and dying. It was just the right time. We were able to get rid of all the dangerous guys for running the guild.” -Rabin

“I really wanna learn from your positiveness.” -Jain

Even with consolation, Jain was obviously tired, deflating his huge body. Of course, it was right after the fierce battle with the Sun Knights, and on top of that, he had performed the acrobatics of feigning a struggle, guiding them, and trapping them. He must be tired.

However, Rabin understood the reason why he was even more exhausted than that. Therefore,

“Someday, when we die and return to the earth and wind like John-niichan, let’s tease him. That he was really stupid for giving up on us.” -Rabin

“…Ah, that’s right.” -Jain

Jain wasn’t someone who couldn’t sense the comfort conveyed in her words.

Jain stood up and slapped his cheeks. When he raised his face, there was the usual face of a silver-ranked adventurer.

“Well… all we can do now is pray. That those brats will continue to handle things well like this.” -Jain

“Do you think they’ll make it?” -Rabin

“It’ll be a miracle if they don’t run into trouble. We’ll always be ready to run away… but well.” -Jain

The direction Jain’s gaze turned to was the opposite side of Uuga, which had become a giant familiar and remained motionless, where Ur and the others were currently facing Aesula.

“They made us do the busywork. Win, ya damn brats.” -Jain