Energy Accumulation Technique.
It is the power devised by humanity to fend off the hordes of monsters that began to appear after the first Demon Beast emerged 400 years ago. The concept is that as long as energy is accumulated in the body, one can obtain powers beyond human limits.
However, doesn’t this explanation seem somewhat convenient for humans? The idea that one can gain inhuman power without any cost just by accumulating energy seems too good to be true. Especially since it was conceived precisely at a moment when humanity was on the brink of extinction. One would have to be incredibly lucky for that.
In fact, there’s a backstory regarding the Energy Accumulation Technique. It touched upon the essence of the energy known as “Energy.” The truth about this energy is revealed only in the mid-game: the energy called Energy is the same as the magic held by monsters and demon beasts within their bodies. It has merely been altered to the point where humans can also bear it by greatly deteriorating the magic.
However, there is inevitably some cost to bearing energies like those of monsters within the body. Humans who have mastered the Energy Accumulation Technique are destined to become monsters. The moment energy, or rather magic, flows through the body, it gradually changes the flesh into that of a monster. Because it has been deteriorated, the speed of the change is different, but in the end, one faces either death or transformation into a monster. The collapse of the Northern Front was also a result of this essence of the Energy Accumulation Technique.
This brings up one question: what happens to those who have mastered the Energy Accumulation Technique to its limit and ultimately awakened their aura? The answer lies in the collapse of the Northern Front that occurs in the mid-late stages. I quietly glared at Irene Krause while oiling my sword.
The Spear of the Empire, Irene Krause, clashed with the first Demon Beast. After an intense battle, she herself became another Greater Demon Beast and obliterated the Northern Front. Thus, the first thread of humanity’s destruction was sewn.
‘I must kill that woman before that happens.’
Even if I were to delay the destruction of the Northern Front by killing her, the outcome might still be the same. The Energy Accumulation Technique is a training method that has spread widely across the continent, and most of those who have mastered it were those responsible for military power in this world. If they all became monsters, the outcome would be the same, even if they were not the monsters of the North. This was also the reason why this game felt so terrible.
‘To prevent the monster crisis in the South and the Red Star in Central, I need to buy some time.’
While I was lost in such thoughts as I oiled my sword, Cream spoke to me. Although the special forces unit members were constantly changing, only Cream and I remained alive.
“Oh, are you targeting the Commander instead of your ex-fiancée now?”
“Shut up. What are you talking about, an ex-fiancée I don’t even remember?”
Cream teased.
“To deny it so vehemently, your gaze towards the Commander was too fiery.”
“That was the eye of ambition; it expresses my determination to surpass the Knights Order Commander one day.”
“Really? Is that true~?”
“It is true.”
Cream chuckled and looked up. As she began counting the stars in the dark night sky, she spoke.
“Tomorrow is already the day of the Bephardt subjugation.”
Bephardt was the name of the Greater Demon Beast that had been wreaking havoc on the frontlines for decades. Cream, still gazing upward, tilted her head to look at me.
“There’s no one left from the original members but you now. Let’s survive.”
“Of course.”
“Ugh, aren’t you a little too predictable? You’re just some weirdo fantasizing about becoming a war hero so you can get revenge on your ex-fiancée later.”
“Where did you even get that from?”
“I don’t know. I just heard it as a rumor.”
“And what makes you believe that baseless rumor?”
***
The Greater Demon Beast, Bephardt, did not resemble a beast or monster. It took the form of a knight clad in full armor. This was the difference between monsters and demon beasts. Monsters may mimic beasts, but some individuals even take on human appearances. It had already been confirmed that they used human swordsmanship.
The contradiction of a monster wielding human power had already proven its strength. To subjugate just one Greater Demon Beast, Irene and the knights under her command, along with countless meat shields, were needed.
The Greater Demon Beasts would attempt to flee the moment they realized they could be killed. In the end, to subjugate a Greater Demon Beast, one must cling to its feet, and the knights must annihilate the distracted Greater Demon Beast. As I watched Bephardt approaching from a distance, Cream shouted.
“Hey, are you all ready?!”
The mission assigned to the special forces unit was to hold Bephardt in place until the knights arrived. Soldiers who were not knights could not even buy time against the Greater Demon Beast. If they were to be used up as meat shields, there would be no strength left to sustain the Northern Front due to a shortage of troops. Thus, the chosen option was the special forces unit, which had at least some chance of buying time. They were not superior to knights, but were better than regular soldiers, an ironic misfortune.
It was like a suicide squad, but I knew that without crossing this line, I could not surpass Irene. The only thing I could do was to go beyond the front line. If I could just survive in this world—
““We’re ready!!””
Cream smiled.
“Let’s go.”
Leading the way, the special forces unit charged towards Bephardt.
For countless years, Bephardt had slaughtered innumerable soldiers and knights. After 10 minutes of combat, only myself, Cream, and my junior, Yulren, remained alive. Despite the fact that the power had never been a match from the start, we had sacrificed our lives to hold Bephardt in place.
Yulren and I desperately parried Bephardt’s sword, made of an ominous fabric, while Cream slipped through a narrow gap and stabbed with her sharp rapier. Just three of us were establishing a combat engagement with Bephardt. However, it did not last long.
That was the moment when Yulren exhausted all his energy. Realizing that the power of his attacks had weakened, Bephardt swiftly rushed at Yulren. Yulren was killed in one blow, and with that momentum, Cream’s abdomen was pierced.
“――――!”
Cream, still pierced, drove her visor’s gap. As Bephardt roared, I immediately caught Cream’s body. Around the wound in her pierced abdomen, black veins were bulging. The magic was gnawing at her body like poison.
“Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine… just do something about that bastard. Do you know how many kids have died because of him…?”
Bephardt was already healing the injured part. At this rate, we would fail the mission and both die. Gritting my teeth, I desperately swung my sword at Bephardt.
“Damn it!!!”
My body, pushed to its limits, creaked. Gathering energy flowing to the floor, I circulated it throughout my body. Still, due to the gap in power and speed not being closed, my arms holding the sword began to break. Fingers snapped, and the ligaments in my wrists tore. Yet, I continued to swing the sword mindlessly.
In contrast to my physically exhausted body, I felt my mind elevating gradually. My eyes suddenly widened, and all the senses within my body flipped over in an instant. The flow of energy was cut off, and an unfamiliar resonance filled the void.
Heart, spine, lungs, joints, muscles, nerves—everything was vibrating. —Wave.
A force that spreads, rather than circulates. The moment I recognized its existence, waves appeared in my sight. As if entranced, I swung my sword along the wave. The sword vibrated curiously and burst into a clear resonance.
Ping!
For the first time, Bephardt’s heavy strike was deflected. Gripping the sword with my broken thumb and index finger, I swung the sword along the wave. Thus, I managed to hold out for another four minutes alone.
My left arm broke, and my right wrist was damaged, releasing strength from my hands. The broken sword fell to the ground along with its shards. My legs, with ruptured muscles, ceased to move. As I collapsed, Bephardt’s furious strike rushed down upon me.
“Well done, Ian.”
“Sorry for being late.”
The two knights who had crouched in front of me blocked Bephardt’s strike. A blinding light burst forth from just behind him. An ice spear pierced Bephardt through the armor that glimmered with divine light. The Spear of the Empire, Irene Krause, released frost all around.
The knights had arrived.
***
The Bephardt subjugation ended successfully. I was admitted to the field hospital set up at the Northern Front outpost. Irene came to visit me in my hospital bed, with my arms and legs wrapped in bandages.
“Thank you, Ian. If it weren’t for you, we couldn’t have defeated Bephardt.”
Despite Irene’s genuine praise, I couldn’t feel joy. This was because all the members of the special forces unit had died just to hold Bephardt in place. Even knowing that someday the continent would fall, and they would either become monsters or die as humans, I could not easily accept their deaths, as I had grown attached to them. This world had turned into reality for me, no longer just a simple game.
“……It was nothing.”
“And I’m sorry. ……Because I was delayed, your comrades have passed away.”
“It’s fine. Thanks to you, I could take revenge for Cream and the others, right?”
Irene had a face stained with deep guilt. Even though she could have let their deaths go, she was holding onto them in her heart. I could guess her kind nature through her demeanor. To think that such a person would later become a Greater Demon Beast, a part of the end that would destroy the world. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“……Thank you for saying that.”
Irene left after talking about various things. Following her, several knights who had become close in the order came to visit. And suddenly, the princess of Nordelheim appeared.
“Are you okay, benefactor? I brought herbs that are good for recovery and strength for your healing!”
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Your way of speaking has changed! I like that it’s more dignified!”
I received the princess’s thorough treatment while in a mummy-like state wrapped in bandages. I chewed on the herbs, waiting for my body to recover. I had to become stronger. Stronger than now.
I looked at the waves I had awakened during the Bephardt subjugation. While I didn’t fully understand what it was, if I could learn how to handle it properly, maybe I could avoid the ending where this world meets its demise due to the Energy Accumulation Technique.
“Now, please open your mouth, benefactor.”
As I opened my mouth, the Duke’s Daughter fed me the porridge. Mmm, it’s delicious.
