At the same time Selena relayed the message to Lily...
Frondier spoke to Elodie.
"Elodie. Hold down the fort here for a bit with the others."
"For a bit, or whatever, I can handle it. But what are you going to do?"
"From here to there."
Frondier pointed his finger in one direction.
Towards their original destination, the path leading to Charon's mansion.
"I'm going to clear it."
"...The Abyss Monster is at the end of that path. It might be more dangerous than the Minotaur."
"That's why I have to go."
Clank!
Frondier extended his hand, and Mjölnir came flying towards him, settling in his grasp.
"...Frondier, you seem impatient. The Fireworks earlier, too. You were the one who said you'd trust Pielott."
"...I did."
Frondier replied calmly, but there was a flicker in his eyes.
"Something feels off."
"...Your gut feeling?"
"No, it's not that. It's just something..."
Frondier briefly glanced in the direction Pielott had disappeared.
His sensory range wasn't that broad. Pielott had gone far beyond his perception, likely to a location neither Elodie nor Selena could sense either.
Yet, Frondier couldn't shake off the feeling of foreboding. It transcended mere gut feeling. He sensed something else.
He believed that Pielott could handle any opponent. He truly did.
However, what if that wasn't the end of it?
"...Let's finish this quickly."
"Right."
Frondier turned his gaze from the direction Pielott had gone back to the front,
Then looked back again.
"Are you that worried?"
"...No, over there, something..."
Frondier stared intently in that direction.
And saw something he had always seen, everywhere.
A bird.
A black bird.
It was a common sight, something he could have seen anywhere, but...
...A bird that seemed familiar for some reason.
Caw!
It cried, and
[Frondier!]
Called his name.
In that instant, it all came back to Frondier.
"...Gregory!!"
Frondier exclaimed in surprise.
He completely forgot about the setting where the crow was originally his tamed familiar.
"Gregory??"
Elodie frowned at the name. She knew it too.
It was the name of a criminal.
[Frondier! I'd love to catch up!]
"Information first!"
The crow landed on Frondier's shoulder, nodding its head in agreement.
[On my way here, I saw Pielott!]
"...! H-How is he! Is Pielott alright?!"
Frondier's voice was laced with uncharacteristic anxiety.
Elodie wanted to question the name Gregory, but now wasn't the time. She too focused on the crow's words.
[A horde of devils swarmed Pielott! Like a black dust storm, they descended upon him!]
"...!!"
"What...!"
Frondier gritted his teeth.
The plan to clear a path was immediately abandoned. He had to rush over there with Mjölnir and wipe out those bastards—
[Wait, Frondier!]
"Wait for what?!"
[You don't need to go!]
"What...?"
Frondier's face stiffened. Elodie mirrored his expression.
He didn't need to go?
"You, you mean..."
'What does that mean?'
Was it too late to go?
Pielott, that Pielott.
Because of my misjudgment,
'Did something...'
[He killed them all!]
"...Huh...?"
The thought that crossed Frondier's mind and Gregory's words were too similar, sending a shiver down his spine.
But when he realized the difference in meaning,
The crow continued,
[That bastard! He killed them all, despite being on the verge of death! He killed all the devils!]
***
A few minutes prior.
Pielott surveyed the scene before him with sorrowful eyes.
He had long given up on counting the number of devils pouring towards him.
When they gathered in such numbers, they resembled a surging wave rather than individual entities.
"...Their faces all look the same. Low-rank, huh?"
Low-rank.
Come to think of it, Senior Frondier had faced similar foes before.
Twice, he had confronted such massive armies. And with such ease.
'Hey, Dier. What would Senior Frondier think if I lost to these guys?'
Looking down with those battling eyes,
"...Hehe."
Pielott chuckled. It wasn't self-deprecation or mockery. It was genuine amusement.
[Pielott! Are you insane? It's not too late! If you use my power...!]
Hypnos cried out frantically.
Pielott then opened his mouth, but
His words weren't directed at Hypnos.
"Something that could never happen."
Click
Pielott rested his hand on the sheath of his sword and assumed his stance once more.
"There he is! That's him!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"Revenge, revenge!!!"
As expected of low-rank devils, their words were crude. Their intelligence and actions were equally clumsy.
In other words,
"You worthless scum."
Pielott addressed them accurately.
"Don't make a sound."
Slash—
One of the devils, about to strike, had its head severed.
But such a minor victory meant little in the grand scheme of things.
Countless devils were already upon Pielott.
Even if he managed to cut down one from a distance his blade shouldn't have reached, it was just a single casualty out of countless others. The odds were hopelessly stacked against him.
However, some of the devils near the fallen one witnessed it.
'…Just now, the Aura...'
Jet black,
Shing—
As if triggered by the first kill,
Slash—
The black line expanded,
Swoosh!
Thud! Thump! Thump!
Something that made almost no sound crashed into the horde of devils.
Silently, silently.
Pielott simply stood there.
However,
'An unsheathed sword is not a sword that cannot be swung.'
And not swinging it meant not retracting it either.
My sword doesn't need my muscles.
Just think.
My thoughts will cleave through the enemy.
A body riddled with arrows, demonic energy from the Demon Realm, accumulated fatigue, and wounds.
"...As if such things..."
Could even scratch the surface of my resolve.
Don't be childish, Pielott.
[Phill...ot...]
Pielott himself remained oblivious, but
Hypnos could see it.
The demonic energy that had been consuming Pielott's body was now,
somehow, imbued within his Aura, slashing through the devils as it surged forward.
Grit
Pielott clenched his teeth.
The sword in his hand, the single blade concealed within its sheath.
The moment his eyes met the swarm of devils,
His thoughts,
A single sword,
Transformed into thousands of Auras,
Swooooooosh!!!
Rained down with a deafening roar.
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yeah he's right, it is pretty badass
ReplyDeleteVergiiiiiiiiil
ReplyDeleteLol, exactly how I'm imagine the scene, with Bury the light playing as bgm.
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