Kuro no Maou

ntlet.

“Of course, even if you run away, the enemy may catch up to you.
So stay on your toes at all times.”

“Yes! Leave it to Reki!”

For the time being, I made sure to give Reki one of the prototype Ignited weapons I had made.

Reki’s main weapon was a heavy knight’s halberd.
Since it was a single-use weapon, I also gave her an extra longsword and some daggers.

“As soon as you find yourself needing to draw this weapon, be sure to be on the lookout for replacements shortly after having started using it.
The fire these weapons create should give you enough time as it will keep the enemy away.
Also, when you use those daggers, they’re going to get really hot very quickly, since their blades are short.
So you should use them as throwing knives instead.”

“Thank you!”

Reki received the weapons with a smile.
Though she wasn’t very good at studying, I was well aware of her proficiency in combat.
I was sure she’d put these weapons to good use.

“What about you, Ursula? Are you okay? There’s no need for you to force yourself to stay here if you’re scared.
I understand.”

“No, I’m okay.
I’ll definitely live up to your expectations, Priest Kuroe.”

Ursula finished her enthusiastic response with a “Hmph!”

I figured she was entitled to be scared, after all, she was still a kid, so I wouldn’t force her to stay here and fight if she wasn’t really up for it… But I was also glad to hear she was staying after all.
I knew first-hand how amazingly strong her magic was.

“This isn’t about making me feel proud, Ursula.
If things go south, I’ll carry you out of here if I need to, so all you need to do is stay calm and use your magic.
Staying focused is important when fighting with magic.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ursula was smart.
Our usual conversations during training breaks made it abundantly clear that she remembered every word I would say during any training session –all of my instructions and warnings, and even the trivial stuff.
I was sure that this last bit of advice I just gave her was already embedded into her brain.

So I had nothing more to say.

Finally, I handed a single Ignited Dagger to Ursula as a charm.
Magic users didn’t need to have a weapon on them, but holding this knife could help her tighten her focus.

“OK then, let’s go.”

Thus I parted ways with Sariel and Reki, and headed for the stone wall joined only by Ursula.

“Whoa… It’s getting harder and harder to see anything here.”

Our field of view was completely white.
The fog was getting considerably thick at this point.

Ursula and I, along with the Crusader archers and sorcerers, were waiting for the enemy to arrive at the stone wall.

I wasn’t sure how many of us knew that the enemy was an army of green octopi, or that they were weak to fire.
But for the time being, I saw torches shining brightly all over the place, and the archers were getting flaming arrows ready, so we seemed to be properly prepared to meet the enemy.

The walls here were almost 5 meters tall, which made for a reasonable defense for a village like this, but was tremendously poor compared to the fortress.
Moreover, having recently defended the great walls of the Galahad Fortress, which boasted a height of 50 meters, made me feel like these walls were a joke in comparison.

I was also worried about me fighting in disguise among Crusader lines, but the soldiers’ curiosity didn’t seem to go very much over the occasional glimpse directed my way, and none of them said anything to me in particular.

Cliff, the captain of the heavy knight squad –who had been quarreling with Ryan a few moments ago– was currently positioned right below us, guarding the village’s main gate.
He had said to me “I heard you’re an adventurer hired by the village.
Well, feel free to do as you please as long as you don’t get in our way”.
So I figured that he didn’t feel particularly inclined to pay too much attention to me at all.

And he would probably raise as much as an eyebrow regarding Ursula’s curse, that is, her use of Origin Magic, during this battle.
No one would complain about the nature of their magical support when their own lives are at stake.

“Priest Kuroe, are they really coming here?”

Ursula revealed her doubts as she stood beside me.

Some time had passed since we arrived here.
And yet, the surroundings were extremely quiet, and I didn’t feel like a large army of monsters was approaching.

At the very least, when Greed Gore’s monster army began to move in the Ischia Hills, they had a very strong presence.

“Don’t let your guard down.
The enemy will definitely come here.”

My left eye’s reaction was proof that a Trial was drawing near.
It had been a long while since the last time it shone like this, but its reactions were never mistaken.
That’s why I was absolutely sure that the Rank 5 Gluttony Octos were coming here.

But then, a thought crossed my mind.

What if the Gluttony Octos ignored this village and targeted the villagers that had evacuated a few moments ago?

The usual behavior of a man-eating monster made it hard to think that they would skip past this village, since villages like this tend to have lots of humans and other things they could consume.
To them, this village was like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

However, what if the boss of these Gluttony Octos was smarter –or had more insight– than the rest of them, like Sloth Gil was…? Then it could consider going for the villagers that were evacuating, which were easier targets, and leave this village, which was protected by a wall, for later.

“N-No, no way–”

Then, as the dreadful image of the Eleventh Apostle’s cruel smile appeared in my mind, a terrible roar shook the village.

Kyoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!