～ Part 2 ～

Read at translatedino.blogspot.com

Kyousuke could not sleep at all that night.

Carol arranged one room for each of them. Considering that it was a shared room even on a field trip, it was the first time in a long while for him to become alone in a room. The bed was somewhat hard, but it was still much better than the base that used subst.i.tutes without decent bedding.

Even so, he couldn’t fall asleep.

Somehow he crawled out of the futon and got out of the room. He lit a lantern and walked in the corridor.

“Uwaaa! Gyaaaa!?”

A knight he happened to come across screamed.

“Ah, sorry…”

“…!? Ah! Ahhh…! He–Her Highness Princess’…! Th–this, too rude…”

“Are you scared after all?”

“Eh, yes. Well, considerable…”

Kyousuke thought that it would be so. Perhaps he was a knight on patrol, but if a skeleton with a lantern suddenly walked through the corridor in the middle of the night, he would surely be scared.

Earlier today, they were treated to a meal at the dining room, and were guided around the fortress a little, even so the figures of Kyousuke group was seen with strange eyes. Although it was a natural story, but it was still strangely uncomfortable. Even if they were to explain that they were the same human beings, it wasn’t something that could be easily come to terms with.

Rin encouraged Selena who fell down after that, it seemed they did throwing pillows in the room. Hakuba killed time by looking at female knights and magicians of the fortress, and Akira borrowed some of the books Carol had and was reading. He paid close attention so as not to burn them. He was wondering if they were something that could be read but it seemed that he could kind of read them.

“Utsurogi? What are you doing in a place like this?”

Because he was suddenly called out from behind, Kyousuke’s dorsal muscles … not, or rather, his spine instantly straighten.

“Ah–ahh no, I can’t sleep…”

“Cannot fall asleep? Well it can’t be helped then. The situation is the situation.”

Standing behind him was knight general Carol.

“After all, I am concerned about the base. I hope everyone is safe, but.”

“There are 40 monsters. Have they all changed to different creatures?”

“Ehh, well…”

Carol held a lantern in her left hand and brought her right hand to her chin, making a difficult face.

“…Is there an orc?”

“There is. He’s a nice guy. His name is Ok.u.mura.”

“…Really.”

The expression of the knight general was grim.

Come to think of it, Kyousuke had heard from Kogane. Female knights are weak against orcs. Carol was probably around 40, no matter how young he estimated she would still be around 30, but since a female knight was a female knight, she might be weak against orcs.

On the contrary, the dullahan Kensaki was relatively good at coordinating with Ok.u.mura, but well, she was probably not a female knight but a dullahan.

No, it’s not the situation to be thinking about the relations.h.i.+p between female knights and orcs.

“So, Carol-san. I want to ask one thing.”

“What?”

“How can I become stronger?”

“Mu…”

In response to Kyousuke’s frank question, Carol made a grim face.

Although not as much as Rin, Kyousuke also was consolidating his desire to become st

ronger. Information that the red winged devil was only a «p.a.w.n». Knowing that, Kyousuke felt that he could not stay in his present state. Even though it was said that he became a little stronger by the effect of Akai’s blood, he couldn’t think that they could compete with Red Wings.

“Generally speaking, I trained my body.”

“That’s right.”

“Since Utsurogi has no muscles to train…”

“Is not it…”

Again, there is an absolute limit in this skeleton body. It is frustrating.

Phase 2. That is what Red Wing called my current state. 2 means that, there is also a possibility for 3? If I can proceed further to the new Phase from now on, will I be able to gain the power to resist that devil?

“Of course I also trained my technique, after all, it is ridiculously difficult to get a tempered body. I have heard various stories from His Majesty the King and the trippers, but it will be better if you think that the various laws are different between your world and the world over here.”

The «Earth Splitting Knight General», did she know Kyousuke’s heart, continued like so.

“Some people will be able to crush large boulders in one punch if they train their body.”

“But, because I can not train, it’s impossible, and…”

“Mu, yea…. Well, you can’t…”

When it came down to it, what important was still the strength of one’s body. Rin and Akira. He had to rely on them after all.

As long as he could wear the high-density body of Rin, he might be able to get some fighting power. But the question was whether he could withstand that now. Although his body had become somewhat st.u.r.dier due to Akai’s blood, he was a little uneasy about how much it could endure the density of Rin that could easily crush a metal water bottle.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Carol said.

“Whether you will be able to go back home some day. There is nothing I can say about that, but if you’re going to return to a peaceful world, strength is supposed to be unnecessary.”

Certainly, it may be so.

Still, I feel that I cannot do anything unless I get stronger now.

“…I think I will go to bed for now. Because I would like to borrow a horse first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yea, I understand. Then, good night.”

Kyousuke exchanged words with Carol like that and returned to his bedroom. On the way, he met Rin and Akira who were wandering along the corridor in the same way.

“Oh, Utsurogi-kun. h.e.l.lo~.”

“Kyousuke, are you going to sleep now?”

“Ahh, yeah…. I am planning to return to my room now…”

And so Kyousuke, with a slime creeping in the corridor and a wisp floating about, found a knight whose back gave out and peed himself, he was lost for a while whether or not to report this to Carol.

“Uuuuu, Utsurogi-san! Utsurogi-saaan!!”

Kyousuke’s wake-up call was an awfully hurried scream of Selena.

Good at waking up was something Kyousuke proud of. Raising his body quickly, he looked toward Selena, different from yesterday, she had changed into a white dress. It was not excessively frilly fluffy but rather emphasizing on mobility to a certain extent, but it seemed to be quite girlish compared to that investigation team’s clothes with zero s.e.x appeal.

“Ahh, Selena-san really is a princess.”

“That’s right! I’m really a princess! But now is not the time for such a thing!”

She was not alone in Kyousuke’s room. As Princess Selenade’s escorts, several knights were attached.

“It’s an enemy attack. Utsurogi-dono.”

“Enemy attack?”

As one of the knights said so, Kyousuke reflexively asked again.

“It’s Red Wing. I’m sorry, but we’re longer in a situation where we can lend you a horse.”

Kyousuke was taken aback by those words. Red Wing. It’s the red winged devil.

“I’m giving evacuation instructions to everyone’s rooms! We will escape! Hurry!”

“Ah, right. I understand.”

As prompted by Selena, Kyousuke left the room. Small tremors. .h.i.t the fortress several times.

“The enemy’s strength is more than last time. There are 3 «p.a.w.ns», imps and ghouls accompanying them in countless number is the same, but in addition to that, they are taking along a large number of large undead monsters.”

While running down the corridor, the escort knights explained.

“Large undead monster?”

“A gigantic monster with a big frame of 5 meters and 6 arms.”

It is the Wight King. Kyousuke thought. That also, was the fighting force of the red winged devil.

“Why are those guys attacking this fortress?”

“About that, we still…. At any rate, it is an enemy that we hasn’t been able to confirm its appearance even in doc.u.ments, etc…”

On one hand, they raided the base of Kyousuke and the others, and on the other hand, they attacked this wall at the westernmost end of the human living area. The purpose of those guys could not be seen. I wonder if they intend to conquer the world just like the demon king of old-fas.h.i.+on RPG.

“KIKIKIKIII!!”

Along with a high-pitch cry, imps carrying small spears blocked their way.

“They have already invaded inside!”

The knights took out their swords and slashed the imps.

“Selena-san, Carol-san is?”

“She should be in charge of the defense at the front line…. However, it seems that we are short of manpower…”

Is it such a situation that allowed the monsters to breakthrough? It is especially troublesome that the enemies are able to fly. The height of the wall doesn’t mean a single thing.

“Kyousuke!!”

In front, on the opposite side from the imps appeared a wisp, the knights stood ready for a moment, but immediately they realized that it was Hino Akira and let down their swords. It looks confusing, I feel a little sorry.

“Akira! What about Himemizu and Hakuba!?”

“Probably, they should have moved to a safe place first. Kyousuke, what will you do?”

“What to do … is it?”

Kyousuke looked at the dead body of an imp rolling at his feet.

It was said that this fortress didn’t have enough people to fight against the enemy’s war potential. Kyousuke didn’t have enough power to repel the red winged devil, but if it was on the level of imp or the Wight King, he could cope with it somehow by cooperating with the knights.

“Let’s do it, Akira.”

“Well, I thought that would be the case.”

Akira jumped into Kyousuke body without delay. Flame circulated throughout his body, changing Kyousuke’s body into a demon of flame. Akira named it «Blaze Cross». The knights raised a voice of admiration.

“We will also fight. I’m counting on you Selena-san!”

“Of course, that goes without saying…”

“Well then.”

Kyousuke kicked the floor and flew at a stroke with the accelerating power of the flame. Although he heard a voice saying something from behind, he didn’t reply. Just, when looking back, Selena was clenching her fist while seeing him off.

“Akira, what about combining with Himemizu?”

“I wonder. Without spare bones, we can not become Full Cross. Let’s look at the situation and think for the moment.”

He said that if the combination with Rin could respond to the situation better than the combination with Akira, then the combination with Rin would also be considered.

“But I wonder if I can survive Himemizu’s current body…”

“If you need to combine, it will be necessary to drain the excess water.”

Aiming at the roof of the defensive wall, he flew up the stairs as if sliding. On the way, swinging their swords to stop the progression of the ghouls, a unit of knights and magicians came in sight. Kyousuke faced both hands in front of his chest and gathered magical power. Flame began to rapidly grow into a spherical shape.

“Prominence!”

In accordance with the throwing posture, Akira took preparation to let loose the flame ball.

“”BAAAAA————LL!””

The ball of flame was released and flashed over the heads of the knights and magicians, landing on the group of ghouls. The explosion burned the dead flesh, and then the knights, visibly surprised turned back to Kyousuke group. However, Kyousuke and Akira would not stop, they climbed up the stairs at once and went out to the roof just like that.

Under their eyes, a hosts of imps and ghouls were crowding with forces that covered the entire wasteland. One group was trying to break the wall, another group was letting down ropes for others to climb. Along with that, several wight kings were under attack by arrows and magic.

Certainly, he felt that the numerical difference was too overwhelming. The number of knights to respond to the number of enemies was clearly insufficient.

“Kyousuke, look at that.”

“Itata~, please do not move my head without permission.”

In the direction Akira indicated, there was a shadow that was blowing off the ghouls and scattered them like a joke. The soil was blown up high as if a mortar had landed, but it was only one person that was causing it. He could not confirm who it was, but well he could imagine.

“…Somehow it feels like Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors…”

Kyousuke muttered some words.

“To put it another way, if you don’t have that much power, you can not compete against the red winged devil.”

Knight General Carol was probably trying to reduce the number of enemies that were crowded in large quant.i.ties. This was because with the overwhelming numerical difference, they would eventually break through the outer wall. That was why Carol couldn’t help expending her power to clean out the small fries.

“If I think they could attack the base with this number…. It’s extremely horrifying.”

Kyousuke said so, and took off to the sky. On the left side, Carol was kicking around the enemy. It was on the right side that the fighting force to fight back was insufficient. When he was trying to shoot the prominence ball again toward the army spreading under his eyes, a red winged object pa.s.sed by the corner of his field of vision.

“……!?”

When he looked over, the flying body that was just about to fly off stopped moving and turned around to this place.

“Hou…. The skeleton that I met at the «Promised Cemetery». You’re alive.”

“That guy, the one who came to the base…!”

Catacombs, is that the name of that dungeon? To the meaningful name, his suspicion of what the devil in front of him really knew was getting stronger.

“Have you judged that you are at a disadvantage fighting by yourself and have asked the humans for help? Clever, but … it seems to have been too late.”

“What do you mean?”

The red winged devil curved his lips, spreading both hands and happily delivered the bad news to Kyousuke.

“Last night, my brethren headed to the «Promised Cemetery». It has already been more than ten hours since then.”