Akatsuki Translations

Ur witnessed the bearded man’s head fall off.

However, understanding such a sudden event proved challenging. Even as the man’s head, still wearing a stunned expression, rolled on the ground and a vast amount of blood began to pour from the severed neck, the atmosphere felt almost like some sort of jest.

“Oops.” -Diz

In this situation, only Diz moved around with calm composure.

She effortlessly dodged the spewing blood from the man in front of her. Continuing her movement, she swiftly approached the men lined up behind him.

“Alley-oop.” -Diz

Again, with a speed too swift for the eye, she swung her arm, severing the heads of two men.

“…Wai”

Seeing his comrade’s head vanish, a man seemed to snap out of his paralysis. But as he tried to step back, a hole appeared in his forehead.

“YO―”

Another man, attempting to draw the sword from his waist, was cut in half, dying instantly.

“…HIII-“

“Capture.” -Diz

《―――Roger 》-Akane

In the briefest of moments, having seen all his companions slain, a man who finally grasped the situation was bound tightly by the crimson metal extending from Diz’s fingertips. It was then that Ur realized that Diz was using Akane as a weapon.

“Aka―” -Ur

“Ur, move!” -Diz

Ur, whose attention was pulled towards Akane, was jolted back by Diz’s sharp command. He quickly assessed the situation, recognizing an excellent opportunity. He glanced momentarily at Shizuku, who was already preparing a barrier.

“Protect the passengers.”  -Ur

“Leave it to me.” -Shizuku

Shizuku smiled, casting a blue barrier spell centered around the clustered passengers. Seeing this, Ur readied himself. All the bandits present had been eradicated. Now, only the skeleton soldiers remained.

“【Charging Thrust・Double Strike】” -Ur

Ur positioned his spear and charged forward with a leap from the roof.

It was a basic charging attack. However, after his battle with the crystal golem, having absorbed its stored magical power, this attack, powered by his enhanced body…

『KAGAGAGO?! 』

…had become strong enough to effortlessly repel and shatter a dozen skeleton soldiers. Ur continued, charging and flying, smashing the skeletons in front of him with his massive spear.

『KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! 』

At the moment when more than ten of their number were shattered, the undead soldiers, possibly possessing a self-defense mechanism, began to move, all converging on Ur.

“Alright.” -Ur

Seeing the skeleton soldiers’ hostility focused on him, Ur leaped again, maintaining a distance from the passengers. He was cautious about diving into the horde, especially now that their full attention was on him.

After his battle with the crystal golem, Ur had indeed become stronger, but he was by no means invincible.

Suppressing his surging strength and excitement, Ur reminded himself to stay grounded. He repeatedly attacked and retreated, with the undead soldiers diligently pursuing him.

If possible, he would like to search for Rose, who was hurt by the bandits earlier. But moving now would mean dragging the undead soldiers with him. He could only search after annihilating all the undead soldiers. Or perhaps Diz might help…

“What exactly is Diz…?” -Ur

With these thoughts, Ur continued his task of annihilating the skeleton soldiers.

　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Around the same time Ur started rampaging, the situation having turned into chaos, Diz was scavenging weapons from one of the corpses of a bandit whose head she had severed. She found the sword the bandit had been using, swung it once or twice, and frowned.

“Hmm, it’s quite blunt. How did he manage to use something like this outside the city?” -Diz

《Gonna use a sword~? 》-Akane

“Akane, stay on standby. Make sure the prisoner over there doesn’t escape.” -Diz

Saying this, Diz smoothly slashed the skull of a skeleton soldier that had tried to take a bite of her flesh. She then continued to hack down the soldiers with the poorly maintained sword.

Arms, legs, heads, she tore apart the bodies of the skeletons, but her steps were as light as if she were out for a stroll.

“Now, where did Rose go…?” -Diz

She had prioritized the elimination of the most dangerous bandits on the scene, but in that gap, Rose’s figure had disappeared. She wasn’t fatally injured, but she should not have had the energy to run away after being mercilessly tormented.

And, if so, then…

“【Sight】” -Diz

With a short, sharp chant, a small golden sphere was born in her palm. The sphere floated slightly in her hand and then soared high into the sky, shining brightly.

“…Found her.” -Diz

Diz muttered quietly and leaped. Among the skeleton soldiers blindly chasing Ur, she spotted one moving in the opposite direction, holding Rose. From her pocket, she pulled out a dagger she had stolen from one of the bandits and threw it. The silently released dagger flew straight at the skeleton, aiming to shatter its leg and halt its movement.

『KAKAKKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAA！！！！！』

But immediately after, a shrill noise several times louder than the surrounding skeleton soldiers resonated. The giant skeleton that had been restraining the Island-Eating Turtle began to move. The giant climbed onto the turtle’s shell and grabbed the skeleton that Diz had targeted before the knife could reach it.

“…I thought it was merely an empty shell, but it’s received a new soul?” -Diz

Diz furrowed her brow and started to chant a new spell but stopped halfway.

“…Ahhh, this won’t work.” -Diz

The body of the giant skeleton was constructed by countless smaller skeleton soldiers. That was fine, but among them were those who appeared to be living passengers of the turtle.

A flesh wall, hostages.

Diz clicked her tongue. Pointing her index finger, she released another spell.

“【Mark】” -Diz

A small red flash was fired, hitting the forehead of the giant skeleton, but nothing seemed to happen. Then, within that gap of time, the giant leaped like a frog while on top of the turtle.

With the hostages still captured, it vanished into the murky dark in an instant.

“A necromancer who can freely control this many skeleton soldiers… and a virgin maiden, huh. This seems like it’s going to be troublesome.” -Diz

Diz murmured this as she gently descended.

　　　　　　　　　 ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

“Is this, the,  end of ‘em?!” -Ur

With a forceful strike from above, the skull was crushed by the Dragonfang Spear. Most likely, this was the final undead soldier that had been pulverized. Even after scanning the surroundings, there was no sign of any enemies heading toward Ur.

Shizuku, who was maintaining the barrier for the passengers, also came over.

“Ur-sama, are you alright?” -Shizuku

“Yeah, what about Shizuku?” -Ur

“I’m fine… but…” -Shizuku

Ur, along with Shizuku, looked around with a grim expression.

“It hurts… it hurts so much.”

“Mom… Mooooom!”

Amidst the shattered undead soldiers and the devastated passenger area of the Island-Eating Turtle, screams and moans echoed from all around. It was pure chaos. There were people bleeding profusely from their heads and arms, writhing in pain, while others were immobilized, with their families clinging to them, crying out in panic.

“What should we do now?” -Ur

“I want to treat the injured, but in this situation…” -Shizuku

The chaos continued. Before treating the injured, things needed to settle down. If Shizuku carelessly began treatment, the injured might rush her, causing more injuries. Moreover, she didn’t have much of her magic left due to the barrier.

“At any rate, we need to find the person in charge of this turtle. The captain? Someone like that—” -Ur

“Ex… Excuse me! Both of you!”

Suddenly, as Ur and Shizuku were discussing, a person tumbled in front of them. Like many others around, his head was bleeding, and his worn-out glasses were cracked. An old man. Ur recognized him.

“You’re… the person who was at the entrance of the Island-Eating Turtle with Rose-san, right?” -Ur

“I am her butler, Rubus! I have identified the two of you as skilled adventurers and have come with a request!” -Rubus

“Denied.” -Diz

A voice interrupted the conversation between the old man and Ur. It was Diz, still in her underwear.

“D-Diz-dono! Um, I…” -Rubus

“You’re asking us to chase after the kidnapped Lady Rose? Denied. Don’t hire my guards behind my back.” -Diz

“Then, to you!” -Rubus

“Denied. It’s foolish to wander around while outside the Human Survival　Zone at night without preparation or information.” -Diz

Diz coldly refuted him with logical reasons. Rubus looked even more dejected. Even Ur felt sorry for him, but Diz’s argument was irrefutable.

Going outside the city at night was nothing short of suicide. Wandering aimlessly in a dark world filled with monsters was beyond dangerous. It was impossible.

“Diz-sama…” -Shizuku

“We don’t have time to sympathize with him, Shizuku. Prepare yourself.” -Diz

“Forget that, why’re you here, Diz? And Akane?” -Ur

“Explaining is tedious. Ur, give me your coat.” -Diz

Ur hurriedly found something to serve a cloak, seemingly something used to cover cargo, and draped it over her. Though slightly torn, presumably by the skeleton soldiers, Diz didn’t seem to mind. She ascended a platform, possibly set up for an event, took a deep breath, and shouted.

“LISTEN UP!” -Diz

Her voice pierced the surrounding screams and chaos. Everyone immediately turned their attention to Diz on the platform.

“Those who have knowledge of magic, raise your hands.” -Diz

Several looked at each other and raised their hands, including Shizuku and Ur.

“Now, those who can use healing magic.” -Diz

Ur lowered his hand, as did many others. Only a few, including Shizuku, kept their hands up.

“And those who can use ‘Resurrection-class’ healing magic.” -Diz

No hands remained raised.

Resurrection magic, the pinnacle of healing magic that can pull someone back from the abyss of death, is not easy to learn. Healing magic itself is difficult to master, but resurrection magic is on another level.

It was unlikely that anyone present could use such a spell. Diz seemed to understand this and muttered to herself before raising her head again.

“We’ll gather and categorize the injured. Those who’re conscious and have minor injuries will receive first aid outside. Those who’re severely bleeding or immobilized by pain will receive treatment from the healing mages inside. The mages should also go inside. Those who can help should assist those who can’t move.” -Diz

Following Diz’s clear instructions, the crew of the Island-Eating Turtle began to move. They started sorting and guiding the injured, and the passengers began to follow their instructions.

“And for those unconscious, those on the brink of death…” -Diz

At this, many froze. In this area beyond human habitation, on top of the Island-Eating Turtle, where there was no healing sanctuary, the chances of severely injured people surviving were almost zero. The options were to abandon them or “put them out of their misery”.

Families holding their severely injured loved ones, drenched in blood and unable to move, trembled as they waited for Diz’s next words.

But, with all eyes on her, filled with anxiety and fear, Diz calmly stated:

“Bring all of them to me.” -Diz

And with that, she stepped down.

Diz is so cool.