Chapter 86: East Asia Line Defensive Battle (4)
“That outfit isn’t going to fit me.”
“I know.”
For some reason, the more my black outfit absorbs Otherworld’s Power, the more frills and transparent lace start to appear, turning into something uncontrollable.
Of course, I’m not happy with that design, but since I don’t get to choose the outfit, I just endure it. Boom. Crash.
When I turned around, I saw yellow flashes and black shadows intertwining, spiraling as if leaving the traces of two heroes sweeping away the enemies while rushing along the frontline.
“Are you into that kind of style? You have a surprisingly youthful side to you…”
“Don’t say that.”
I pulled away the hand of the Divine One, who was smirking while tugging on my sleeve, and smashed my hammer into the head of the monster in front of me.
I feel no guilt in killing a monster. It’s just a simple monster, not a crusade.
“And for the umpteenth time, I’m not Haram Lee; I’m the Black Marauder.”
“Yes, yes, Black Marauder. That’s what you mean, right?”
I couldn’t even hit that thing…
I snatched the monster next to me and hurled it toward the Thunder God, voicing my complaints, but the Thunder God just shot lightning from his hand and shot it down.
“Ha…”
I couldn’t stop the sigh that had been escaping my lips since earlier. How did things come to this? My initial plan was to break through the Great Barrier and appear as the Savior, but here I am, being tossed around by the Divine One.
Lost in regret, I was pulled by the sleeve by the Divine One.
“Over there!”
“I can tell without you saying.”
It was clearly a spot where the light was flashing; it had to be where the fighting was happening. As I pushed mana into my eyes, I could see about a dozen people holding Scatter Grenades, holding their ground.
Is that a crusade unit?
I tilted my head slightly to see why they were positioned there; in the distance, there was a group of refugees and those guiding them.
Indeed, that was the heart of the operation.
Creating a desperate situation and providing a sweet justification of civilian rescue.
The remaining people should survive as heroes and escape.
The people here must spread the tale that they survived at the hands of the Black Marauder.
Spreading the image of a monster of justice, and through its rarity and symbolism, getting people to listen more closely to the Black Marauder.
Therefore, those civilians must be saved. But aside from that…
“Go ahead first.”
I can’t let heroes prepared for death be allowed to die.
Kicking the black particles that appeared under my feet, I jumped between the crusade unit and the monster.
Boom!
My hyper-accelerated body pierced through the monsters like a cannonball.
Not in the gap between the soldiers and the monsters, but leaning toward the monsters. This isn’t a suitable position to protect the crusade unit.
Even so…
“This is the best way to leave an impression.”
After landing in the middle of the area where the surrounding enemies flew away, I stretched my arms to maximize my attack range.
“Wipe them all out.”
I crossed my legs and threw my body forward.
Left foot. Then the right foot crosses the path of the left foot. The moment my entire body’s balance collapsed due to that twisted posture, I planted my foot down and rotated my body.
My body couldn’t keep up with the speed of the rotation.
With centrifugal force, my arms, which had stretched out, were chasing the rotation far beyond my shoulders, gathering power.
And the moment that hammer, packed with all that overwhelming power, hit the monster.
Boom!
A sound no creature should make echoed across the battlefield.
It sounded like a sack full of meat being struck with tremendous force.
And then, as that sack burst, its contents scattered.
The stunned monster spewed its innards into the air as it collided with another monster, but my charge did not stop.
One down. Another down.
I simply advanced forward, smashing through every visible enemy.
The collapsing formation of monsters. The howls of pain echoing from the monsters pouring down.
As I was pulverizing enemies, I came upon the back of a wild boar.
Raising my hammer for the elegant finish of this charge…
Zap!
A flash struck down upon me.
All that remained was the wild boar in front of me, paralyzed by the electric shock, its charge halted, convulsing.
What a steal of a good scene.
I had rushed over to dramatically showcase the scene, only to have it snatched away.
As the electrified wild boar convulsed before me, the two of us revealed ourselves before the crusade unit.
Perhaps they were taken aback by our sudden appearance? The expressions of the crusade unit members were gaping and blinking in disbelief.
“Can you run!”
I couldn’t afford to waste time with each one, so I raised my voice slightly to snap them back to reality.
“Oh! Yes! We can!”
“Are you going to push too hard on someone who nearly died?”
“There are plenty of people like that here.”
I felt a little heartbroken.
This situation was one I created.
So, I should try not to let them die.
“Quickly regroup with the main force.”
As I said this and was about to dash forward again…
“What is your hero name…?”
A soldier, looking older, took a stance and saluted as he asked.
“I’m Divine One.”
She waved cheerfully as she prepared to move to the next location.
“A-Rank Monster, Black Marauder.”
Bang.
I spat out a short reply, kicking the ground hard and launching myself toward the next battlefield.
Because of me and the Thunder God running hard, the heroes and soldiers trapped in the tower rushed out, and the frontline began to stabilize.
Although the frontline was still being pushed back, it was beginning to form a suitable flow for a defensive battle with almost no casualties.
I had underestimated. By now, according to the plan, we should have already collapsed.
I had been carving the name of the Black Marauder into people’s minds while darting around the battlefield, but at this rate, there would be no dramatic effect.
As I pondered this and ran to the next position…
“Can you hear me?”
Flinch.
Startled, I halted for a moment at the sudden voice of Al’shel.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
It seems the Divine One couldn’t hear this voice.
Mental magic, perhaps?
“If you’re thinking of something, you can just speak and respond. This magic is two-way communication, after all.”
What a convenient magic.
“What kind of magic is this? Is there a risk of eavesdropping?”
I lowered my voice as I spoke.
“It’s a spell that controls the flow of the surrounding air. Unlike mental communication, it imposes little burden on the receiver, and unlike communication magic, it’s two-way, with no risk of bouncing off a mental barrier. It also maintains confidentiality. It’s perfect.”
Al’shel spoke proudly, as if boasting about their magic.
“If you have a spell like that, why not let the Association know?”
I whispered softly, making sure the Divine One wouldn’t hear.
“It’s not a spell that anyone can use. Only I or the Divine One can do this level of calculation…”
If I leave it as is, this nonsensical conversation could drag on.
“Cut the small talk and get to the point.”
“Things aren’t going well for you, are they?”
For some reason, the grotesque face of an octopus popped into my head. That wicked face just before this operation began.
What should I respond to him? If I say it’s not going well here, the chief of the crusade will come up with a solution. A solution I can’t provide.
…A plan that will incur sacrifices, huh.
“Well, won’t it just be an extra dozen or so? The local branch is holding up better than we expected.”
A dozen extra, huh?
I wonder if I can bear that burden. I bit my lip tightly.
Perhaps my atmosphere got across.
“Either way, dozens have already died. Adding a dozen won’t bring it to three digits. Given the losses thus far, you should take the gain.”
He began to tempt me with sweet words. Treating the already dead as sunk costs, will I increase my sins in exchange for gain?
Crack.
I grit my teeth, tasting iron in my mouth. With my emotions exploding, shockwaves burst around me, causing a scene.
At least it was fortunate that the Divine One ahead didn’t witness my state.
I know there would be sacrifices. After all, I was the one who proposed and executed this operation. He simply suggested a more efficient method.
He isn’t human, so while he may be friendly toward humans, he does not like humans themselves.
As someone who is a unique character even among the crusade, he can make those offers.
“…Let me ask just one thing.”
“Feel free to ask anything.”
“Is that dozen the minimum or maximum of sacrifices?”
Why did I say such a thing? To encourage myself? Or to cope with my feelings? Self-defense, perhaps?
“It’s the maximum. Perhaps this action will hasten the retreat, and the number of survivors at the frontline will decrease, which might reduce the overall casualties.”
Sweet voice.
Sweet offer.
Sweet result.
Sweet poison creeping into my mind and whispering.
Grab hold now and savor the gains.
To that whisper, I made my decision.
“Execute it.”
“Yes. Then I’ll stop this magic. It’s quite exhausting.”
Even without seeing his brazen smile, I could feel it.
“The results will be evident soon.”
As Al’shel’s last words vanished into the air, the tumult of the battlefield alone rang in my ears for a brief moment.
Vrrr! Bang!
An overwhelming flash dispelled the darkness.
The explosion sound wiped out the noise of the battlefield.
The tremendous flow of Otherworld’s Power enveloped the battlefield.
Soldiers on the frontline, employees of the Association, heroes. Monsters, beasts, and creatures aiming to break through the frontline all halted their battles, gazing in that direction, feeling the massive flow of power.
“What… is happening?”
The Thunder God, experienced in numerous battlefields, closed his mouth and gazed at the location.
The Hokkaido branch of the Association. Where the black tower used to be.
After the explosion, only the skeleton remained. The crumbling black tower began to fall apart.
…A self-detonation?
According to the Association’s engagement rules, explosive devices for self-detonation must have been installed.
If all those explosives went off, a Catastrophe like that would occur.
“Al’shel, answer me.”
I wasn’t sure if the magic was still active, but I thought it surely was as I opened my mouth.
“Yes. I was just about to answer.”
And certainly, Al’shel’s voice returned as if it were natural.
“Is that… the sacrifices you mentioned, a dozen people? Did we blow away everyone in the Association branch?”
If that were the case, the targets I needed to kill were misplaced. I’d have to burst this octopus’s head right now.
“Tell me. How many are dead?”
“Haram Lee? It seems there’s a misunderstanding?”
“Misunderstanding? Do you think there’s room for misunderstanding here? The refugees that fled, the administrative personnel all left the branch…”
“They all already evacuated from the tower.”
Is this octopus saying that the Association personnel voluntarily evacuated the tower before self-detonating?
“Does that even make sense…?”
“It was quite simple. Our Ajeras Security Service provides communicators that work to some degree even in situations of Otherworld’s Power contaminations.”
…No way. This guy.
“So, when you tell them the central support will be delayed, what kind of situation do you think will arise? Ah, it was all predicted. The situation at the command was also messy. If you’d like, I can also submit what discussions happened at command later…”
“Enough.”
Was it my mistake?
It was handled much more gently than I expected. I thought Al’shel would do something like control their mind and make them do the job.
Then we will transition to retreat.
The fact that the command has abandoned the branch means they are going to give up the fight.
The tower of the Association is that important a facility. It neutralizes Otherworld’s Power, monitors it, and is a place where reality is cemented.
“What’s going on? Do you know anything, Haram?”
…It’s retreat.
As soon as I dropped those words, the entire force began to pour bullets and retreat towards the sea.
“Is it related to the explosion of the branch? From what you said about self-detonation, Haram seems to know something.”
“Crit… I don’t know.”
The Thunder God hasn’t read the engagement rules; I almost blurted out a reprimand for him to read them.
“Sorry to interrupt your budding affection.”
Why is this octopus so anxious to jump in?
“Now that it’s time to retreat, shall we put on a grand performance?”
With his words, a sinister premonition welled up.
“For the retreat, an overwhelming tide of enemies is the way to go. If you manage to fend it off, the name of the Black Marauder will soar even higher.”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Just as Al’shel finished speaking, a sudden tremor rippled through the ground.
The enemies of the Otherworld began to stomp their feet slowly, preparing their lines.
They formed a wedge-like formation and began to stomp as if they were getting ready to charge.
Thud.
And with the final thunder of their footfalls…
“Brace yourselves!”
The enemies started their charge.
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