As soon as they moved to a new spot, the first thing they did was to expand their sense and assess the state of Cartia.
They expected it, but… the situation was more serious than they thought.
The outskirts, where the residents gathered, were relatively okay, but most of the central areas starting from the mainland were no different from the eastern ruins.
At least it was fortunate that they didn’t use the residents as bait and subjugated Valoran, right?
After all… a lot of people died.
Rubia had no reason to feel guilty.
While they were running for quite some time, they heard heavy breathing coming from behind.
“Um… should we take a little break…?”
“Eh…?! W-Wait a minute…! But we’re not in a situation to do that… um…”
Rubia, startled and stopping in her tracks, began to look around.
“…There isn’t a single intact building.”
“Y-Yeah…?”
Can’t we just sit on the floor here and rest?
“And… we can’t stay in a dusty place like this. We absolutely have to wash up. Hmm… of course, I could make it clean with my abilities, but you know, there’s a matter of mood.”
Wash up?
Sure, taking a shower does relieve some fatigue, but… why wash in this unexpected situation?
What mood?
“There’s no bed… Should we move to the outskirts?”
“Rubia…?”
“Yeah?”
“What… What does that mean…? Washing up and a bed…?”
Rubia tilted her head, puzzled by what I said.
“Wasn’t that what we were going to do?”
“Going to do… what?”
Rubia’s face turned beet red with embarrassment.
“Ah… er… this is Noah’s fault.”
“M-My fault?!”
“Yeah. I mean, after kissing me like that, suggesting resting like this can be misunderstood by anyone.”
Rubia, with a snap, turned her head, gripping her hands.
“So, don’t look at me with that weird face.”
She looked incredibly embarrassed.
It was rare to see that expression on Rubia.
Is today my lucky day…?
“Ugh… Rubia, pervert.”
“W-Wait, that’s not true?!”
“Super pervert…”
“Ugh, really! How did it come to this!”
Normally, she would’ve snapped back with something like ‘So you don’t like it?’ but seeing her flustered like this was cuter than expected.
I chuckled while looking at Rubia.
“Let’s do it all after everything is over… to our hearts’ content.”
“To our hearts’ content… are you serious? Can you handle that? Can you take responsibility for saying that? I don’t even know what I’ll do with Noah, but really to our hearts’ content?”
“Uh… just a little to our hearts’ content…”
“Pfft… just a little to our hearts’ content? What does that mean?”
Rubia gently pulled me closer and whispered in a serious tone.
“I like you, Noah.”
And before I could even respond, she straightened up and pulled my arm forward.
“Shall we go? Ser and Hermila are waiting.”
“…Yeah.”
For some reason, Rubia’s voice was subdued.
*
“It’s almost time to arrive.”
Rubia, having managed to climb over the debris of the wall, took a deep breath and looked around.
I also took a deep breath while expanding my senses.
The stench of war.
The foul air was thick with the residue of death and decay in the ruins.
The ground, soaked with various filth and sticky blood, was twisted all around, and it was hard to find a square inch not littered with butchered flesh.
And as I climbed over that horrific sight…
There were monsters crawling on the ground, sticking pieces of flesh to their bodies, things ineffably less than human.
At the top of the hill.
Where the Temple of Memory stood, there was a massive mound of earth resembling a giant tomb, and sporadic sounds of tearing echoed in the air.
The source of that sound was…
Ser, with a face contorted in agony, his body marred by black scars and Hermila, who continued to fight with one arm torn off.
And a torso crawling on the ground without a head or left arm.
A man brandishing his sword among the horde of monsters.
“Ser and Hermila’s condition is… really bad. We need to get there quickly…”
I gripped Rubia’s hand tightly.
She also gripped my hand as divine power surged forth. The divine power emanating from her delicate frame rose high into the sky, taking the shape of a massive sun.
…Was it always this strong?
“If we do it like this, they’ll know we’ve arrived. So… let’s hurry.”
The moment Rubia lifted her foot.
The sun formed by Rubia’s divine power widened and became small particles.
Thus, the particles fell like snowflakes, transforming the distorted creatures crawling on the ground into the same light and creating a tranquil sea.
And then.
Thooop-
As the last drop fell on the sea of divine power, it caused a massive ripple.
That ripple gradually turned into giant waves, washing away the tainted earth and healing our dying allies as it surged up the hill.
…It’s unbelievable.
“Noah?”
“Ah… y-yeah…”
Rubia unfolded a miracle, one that was utterly unbelievable, and as if it were nothing, she held my hand and stepped onto the now clean land.
Soft, fertile earth.
This was definitely once dead soil.
But now, it’s transformed into fertile ground where life could sprout at any moment.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
[Just like that guy said, things have changed. A bit faster, though.]
Hearing Cartia’s voice echoing in my head, one that sounded as if it was about to crumble from exhaustion, I grimaced.
[Are you going to be alright?]
‘It has to be alright.’
Nodding slightly, I stepped forward beside her footprints, carving new ones as I walked ahead of her.
I needed to get my steps further in front.
Thus, passing through the undulating sea of divine power at a swift pace, climbing the hill…
I was beginning to approach the battlefield.
Even after being cleansed by the wave of divine power, the rancid smell still wafted around.
Freshly stacked corpses were drawn.
Again, torn and stretched-out flesh got caught at my feet.
An adventurer, looking like he was just recently injured, was crawling away on the ground.
Sticky blood oozed from his crumpled armor.
Beyond that.
Thousands of soldiers surrounded a massive earth wall.
Their eyes bulged out in a grotesque fashion.
Their necks snapped like a twig.
Their torsos folded grotesquely.
Their legs twisted unnaturally.
And then, their sights fixed upon…
Me and Rubia.
Immediately, I summoned Frey and positioned myself in front of Rubia.
I infused energy into my being.
Carpen’s blood aura enveloped my body.
Tylant’s chill dominated the area.
Valoran’s feathers fluttered in the air.
Swish-
As a feather that had been drifting in the air landed, thousands of soldiers charged towards us in unison.
I corrected my stance.
The blood aura supported my movements.
I stepped into a perfect stance.
The gathered magical energy from the cold combined with my lack of mana enhanced my energy.
With that, I swung Frey along the trajectory drawn in my mind.
The demonic magic overlaying Frey was unleashed, bringing forth absolute death.
The maximal strike I could deliver at this moment.
That blow caused three-tenths of the soldiers to vaporize.
“Haah… huff, gasp… oof…”
I barely shook off the overpowering lethargy weighing down on my body and raised Frey against the remaining foes.
If I took off the verdant bracelet, the fight would become easier, but… too dangerous.
Having battled Valoran for two straight days, and given the fact that I previously fought without removing the bracelet… I felt my identity fading away.
My mind was cluttered with too many images.
I kept getting confused about who I was.
The only one anchoring my sanity, Cartia, was exhausted as well, so removing it now was truly… risky.
Reluctantly gritting my teeth, just as I was about to leap into the still-swirling army…
The ground where Rubia and I stood buckled, forming stairs leading to the top of the hill.
And from the end of it, Ser’s urgent voice called out to us.
Gripping Rubia’s hand tightly, I began to run down that path.
Monsters sprang onto the stairs one by one, using the bodies of soldiers as springboards.
Frey sliced through the limbs of the creatures while Rubia’s divine power pierced their cores.
The spirits gathered, dispersing the creatures beneath and toppling the mountain of corpses.
Yet, some clawed their way up.
Having reached my full potential.
While running, I released Rubia’s hand, grabbing Frey with both hands.
In an instant, countless spells shot out were extinguished by Ser’s spirits.
Hundreds of arrows were blocked by Rubia’s barrier.
The blade that sliced through the air was caught by Frey.
My legs did not stop; I kept running.
Finally, upon reaching the created beings…
Boom-!
Hermila, emanating a sinister purple aura, kicked through the bodies of the monsters.
“Noah! You’re safe!”
She welcomed me with a bright smile, despite having one arm missing.
“Uh, Hermila, your arm…”
Rubia covered her mouth and grimaced at the sight of Hermila’s empty shoulder.
“Hehe, I bring it to the new world.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
Seeing Rubia’s blank face, Hermila chuckled and gently patted my head with her single hand.
“I’m so glad you’re alright, Noah. You’ve worked hard…”
“…Yeah.”
“Now, shall we go? I have countless things I want to hear, but we’re out of time.”
Nodding, I adjusted my grip on Frey.
“Once we finish the trials, shall we go eat together? Just the four of us: you, Rubia, Ser, and Sirin?”
Saying that, Hermila turned with a bright smile. Breathing heavily, Rubia grabbed the scattered words in the air.
“Let’s have a cup of coffee at the blacksmith’s too. I want… coffee made by Noah.”
Their light-hearted banter continued, but their eyes were deeply settled, heading toward the Temple of Memory.
“Ehehe, sounds great.”
