The Monster Tamer

As we crested the mountains that ran along Rhoden's northwest border, the Holy East

Revlon Empire border town of Kaysehk came into view. We found ourselves staring

down at a sturdy-looking fortress surrounded by high walls that stood out starkly

against the horizon.

Unlike Grahd, this border town was massive, likely due to the sheer space available

here. Several small rivers and waterways cut through the land around the stately town,

creating rather fertile farmland.

Even though Kaysehk sat at a crossroads—where the road stretching off to the east

that we'd traveled met another leading south toward the Rhoden Kingdom—there

was very little in the way of traffic, other than a few humans I'd assumed lived in the

town. I guessed this was because of all the monster attacks.

The closer we got to Kaysehk, the more guards began appearing—and the more they

eyed us with suspicion.

All of them were dressed in the same dark gray uniforms and wore light armor made

of dull steel. They gave the impression of military platoons on patrol.

As we neared the gate, I observed just how many soldiers guarded it. Considering how

few people seemed to be entering the town right now, I knew we'd stand out: one of

us was a skeleton knight who refused to take off his helmet, and the other was a dark

elf who refused take off her hood. Things might get ugly if we were interrogated.

"We should probably avoid going through the main entrance."

"You're right." Ariane seemed to share my concerns.

We started circling around the town, looking for an area with as few soldiers standing

watch as possible. I could hear Ponta snoring from atop my head.

Many soldiers seemed to be coming and going from a small fort surrounded by a

wooden fence just outside the town's western wall. It looked like this was where the

soldiers were stationed. Also, judging by its haphazard construction, this fort had been

built recently and hastily. However, from this vantage, I couldn't see past the outer

wall.

We decided to avoid the western side and instead used Dimensional Step to teleport

to the east side of town, where there weren't any guards. From there, we teleported

past the walls and into Kaysehk itself.

I couldn't help but laugh about how accustomed I was to entering towns this way.

In stark contrast to how empty the road had been, the town itself seemed full of life.

I noted a lot of soldier-like men in civilian clothes milling about the crowd, but I also

saw a lot of other mercenaries walking around freely, so I figured I wouldn't stand out

too much.

I turned to Ariane. "All right, we managed to enter a town in the Revlon Empire. Now

we just have to find out where this Viscount Drassos du Barysimon is."

As to how we were going to find him… Well, we were pretty much limited to walking

around town and asking random people if they knew anything.

We'd been told that, unlike in the Rhoden Kingdom, things wouldn't end so well if

Ariane's true identity was discovered, so we decided not to split up. Nor did we want

to draw undue attention to ourselves by throwing out the viscount's name. We'd need

to ask discreetly.

After heading along the main thoroughfare for a way, we found ourselves at a market.

This seemed like a perfect place to gather information, since we'd have a chance to

speak to merchants and other customers as we shopped.

Surprisingly, despite the aromas of all the foods being offered in the market, Ponta was

still asleep. I slid the cottontail fox down from atop my helmet and handed it to Ariane

before searching out a vendor selling nuts and berries, the perfect snack to eat while

traveling. When I spotted one, I called out to him.

"Excuse me, sir. I'd like a handful of these walnuts here."

"Absolutely!"

The man offered me a warm smile and scooped a heaping handful into a hemp bag,

which he handed to me.

"All right, that'll be one lierre."

I'd been about to ask if the merchant knew anything about Barysimon, but was taken

aback by what he just said. It had completely slipped my mind that different countries

would use different currencies.

I reached into the leather pouch at my waist and pulled out a gold coin.

"Will this do?"

"Ah, Rhoden money. Sure, you can use that here. That'll be nine lierre in change."

The man handed nine silver coins back to me. They were almost identical in thickness

and texture to the ones I was used to, though they had a slightly more detailed symbol

engraved on their faces.

Assuming the man wasn't taking advantage of me, I was relieved to find that the value

of currency here seemed comparable to Rhoden's. That would make things a lot easier.

"You new to Kaysehk, mister?"

"Actually, I am. In fact, I was hoping to ask you something. Do you happen to know

where Barysimon is located?"

Back in Rhoden, most locations were named after the local nobility, so I figured that it

would be much easier—and less suspicious—if I were to ask about the place, rather

than the man ruling over it.

However, the merchant just shook his head. "Barysimon, you say? Sorry, never heard

of it."

"I see. Sorry for the trouble."

I tried asking a few other merchants the same thing, but no one had heard of a place

by that name. Our search was already off to a bad start.

"I'm surprised that we're coming up with nothing."

I cracked the walnuts open and passed them to Ariane as we stood by the side of the

street. Ariane rubbed her cheek against Ponta's head as it lay in her arms, happily

gobbling up the walnuts.

After giving it some more thought, I decided that being a member of the nobility didn't

necessarily mean that someone had a town named after them. We'd have no choice

but to ask for the viscount by name. Still, it seemed unlikely that the average person

on the street would just happen to know the noble we were looking for.

Just as I was coming to this realization, a voice casually called out from behind me.

"Someone's certainly having some trouble."

I turned to find a familiar blue-eyed figure staring up at me. She looked no different

from the last time we'd met.

Standing only about 150 centimeters tall, the young girl was dressed in comfortablelooking, all-black clothes and wore a large, oversized hat atop her head of short, black

hair.

She also wore gauntlets and greaves and carried a short sword on her lower back. She

didn't look like she was from around here.

"Whoa, Chiyome? What are you doing here?"

Chiyome was a member of the Jinshin clan. Ariane and I had helped her rescue some

of her comrades back in the capital.

Ariane looked as surprised as I felt to see her here.

Chiyome responded in her usual monotone manner.

"After we parted ways in Olav, I made my way back to the hidden village. The chieftain

gave me a new mission, so I came here as fast as I could. I figured you two would come

to Kaysehk looking for your next mark, and I was right."

Though Kaysehk wasn't nearly as large as Lamburt, it certainly wasn't small by any

means. The fact that she'd found us so quickly was nothing short of incredible.

"Do you need assistance again? I still have a job to do for Miss Ariane, so it might be

some time before I can offer my services to you."

Chiyome nodded, as if she'd expected this response, and turned her azure eyes to

Ariane.

"I do plan on waiting to make my request until your job is completed, Ariane, but

unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Could I offer you my assistance, such as it is, to

help you finish faster?"

Ariane froze, eliciting a curious look from Ponta, who wondered why she was no

longer feeding it walnuts.

I looked at Ariane as well. "I don't have any objections."

Ariane pursed her lips. "If we're able to finish our mission sooner, I don't see an issue."

Chiyome beamed. "Then it's settled! Leave it to me. I've already tracked down the

person you're looking for."

Ninjas truly were masters at getting information. Here I was thinking our search had

been stymied, and suddenly we were shown a way out.

"You've already looked into it? Where is this Viscount Barysimon?"

Chiyome pointed north. "He's living in a town called Leibnizche. All you have to do is

follow the Siana mountain range to find it."

I tilted my head to the side. "Leibnizche? That's not his name. Does that mean that he's

working under the local lord?"

"No, Viscount Barysimon is the lord of Leibnizche. Up here in the Holy East Revlon

Empire, nobles are assigned to certain regions by the emperor, and the region they

oversee may change. That's why their names don't match up."

Well, that made sense. I supposed it was more of an absolute monarchy here,

compared to Rhoden. I felt a bit embarrassed at having overlooked the fact that each

country would have its own method of government.

Chiyome continued. "The Revlon Empire, back before it split into the east and west,

used to be a massive conglomeration of countries. Many of the towns have been

known by the same name for a very long time." She suddenly hit her fist into her palm,

as if she'd just remembered something. "Damn. You two can't really show your faces

around people, can you?"

Ariane and I both nodded.

"In that case, why don't we tell people that you're my bodyguards? Mercenaries are

only allowed here if they belong to troupes authorized by the empire, so calling

yourselves mercenaries will put you under intense scrutiny. If you're questioned, they

won't let you keep your faces covered."

Obviously, rules were different everywhere, but the more I heard, the more I

understood that Ariane and I had come here knowing absolutely nothing about the

Revlon Empire. I was exceedingly glad that Chiyome had shown up to help us.

Ariane had resumed petting Ponta's head. She looked from Chiyome to me and back.

"Well then, shall we make our way to Leibnizche?"

"Not yet. It's about a three- or four-day trip by carriage from here, so even if we left

now, we wouldn't make it all that far before we had to stop for the night. We should

also only stop in the larger towns, since we'll stick out like sore thumbs in any of the

smaller ones."

Now that she mentioned it, I could see that the sun was already low in the sky. We'd

have to spend the night here and leave for Leibnizche in the morning.

Still, a three- to four-day trip by carriage should only take half a day using Dimensional

Step.

I looked up and down the street. "In that case, let's find an inn. This is a pretty nice

part of town, so there should be a decent one nearby."

Chiyome shook her head. "We're close to the Hilk church. It'd be better to stay just

about anywhere else, like the northeast part of town, even if it's not as safe. Follow

me!"

As Ariane and I trailed after her, I marveled at how much Chiyome knew about the

geography and goings on of the empire.

We took the main thoroughfare up toward the northeast part of town. On the way, I

caught sight of a large, somber-looking stone building.

The entrance was flanked by bell towers, their walls embedded with statues. An image

of a club with a ribbed, spherical head had been painted above the entrance. It looked

almost like a vajra, a mystical weapon used as a ritual object in Buddhism and

Hinduism.

The building towered above those around it, as if asserting its dominance over this

part of town.

"Is this the church of the… what did you call them, Hilk?" My eyes never left the

building as I spoke.

"Yes. The Hilk have strong ties to both the eastern and western empires, and they teach

that humans are superior above all other species. They claim that mountain people,

elves, dwarves, and other non-humans are wicked, dirty… born from the devil."

That sounded like pretty extreme dogma. I could only imagine how uncomfortable it

must be for Chiyome and Ariane to be in the presence of such teachings.

Ariane glowered at the church from under her hood.

"Are there any followers of the Hilk back in Rhoden?" I asked.

While Chiyome and the mountain people were certainly persecuted in Rhoden, elves,

at least on the surface, were supposedly treated like equals under the treaty.

"Hilk hasn't spread very far into the Rhoden Kingdom yet. Traditionally, each region

has their own houses of worship, and the king has used this as grounds to ban any

Hilk proselytizing. However, there isn't much difference in the way Rhoden and the

Hilk treat us. They mock us as the bastard children of men and beasts, and they think

elves tricked the gods and stole their magical abilities for themselves."

"What the hell?!" Ariane shouted. "Where do they get off slandering us like that?"

Chiyome gestured for Ariane to lower her voice. In her outburst, Ariane had clutched

her arms closer, squeezing poor Ponta against her chest.

"Well, I imagine that a lot of that has to do with their jealousy over your long lives and

affinity for magic."

I imagined that, among the human ruling class, they wanted nothing more than to

extend their lives like the elves. Failing that, they would want to disparage the elves,

who were clearly more blessed than they were. That type of thinking was just like

humans.

I continued musing on this as we walked, while Chiyome tried calming Ariane down

as she raged against the humans. Eventually, we settled on an inn to stay in and ended

the day there.

***

First thing the next morning, we departed through the north gate of Kaysehk and I

used Dimensional Step to carry us along the northern road, where Chiyome had

indicated we should go.

Chiyome was taken aback by my magic at first, but she quickly grew accustomed to it.

I had previously shown her my Transport Gate ability, but this was the first time she'd

seen Dimensional Step. It was the kind of magic that must have come across as

incredibly useful in the eyes of a ninja.

The road we were following was bordered to the west by the Siana mountain range

and the expansive forests that ran along the foothills.

Judging by the number of farms and villages in the area, it seemed like the foothills

allowed for very fertile land. All in all, it was a rather tranquil scene.

However, that tranquility was soon broken as we moved down the road and caught

sight of an imposing group.

It was a procession of around a hundred knights or so, all outfitted in identical armor.

Toward the rear, a group of carriages clustered together, looking almost like the beads

on a rosary. The carriages were completely covered in canopies, preventing anyone

from looking inside.

I had no idea where they were going, but, judging from the direction the soldiers were

marching in, I guessed they were coming from Leibnizche, where we were headed.

"I wonder if they're off to address the monster problem at the border."

I wasn't really speaking to anyone in particular, but Chiyome responded all the same.

"I think they're going to be stationed at Kaysehk. I'm not really sure what's going on,

but I've heard that the emperor's been moving soldiers all over the empire."

"Hmm. Well, I suppose it has nothing to do with us."

Something suspicious was definitely going on within the empire, but for now, there

was nothing we could do about it. All we could do was watch and wonder.

I used Dimensional Step to teleport us into a distant field where we'd remain out of

the soldiers' line of sight. We continued on our way, keeping our distance.

Right around noon, we arrived in Leibnizche.

The town was larger than Kaysehk, surrounded by even higher walls. A solidly built

fortress jutted from the western wall, where a stream of carts came and went.

Chiyome spoke quietly, the surprise evident in her voice as she looked out at the town

in front of us. "I never imagined we'd be able to travel all the way here so quickly. I'm

impressed I was able to catch up to you."

Luck had probably played a part in that, considering we'd taken a bit of a detour after

parting ways back in the capital. I suggested to Ariane that maybe the spirits had

something to it, but she just glared at me.

***

We entered Leibnizche through the south gate, with Chiyome leading the way.

She showed the guards at the gate something, uttered a few words, then was allowed

to pass on through without further inspection. I figured she'd gotten a travel pass

before coming, once again impressing me with how much prep work she'd done.

The south entrance led straight to a large thoroughfare that ran through town, filled

with people bustling about. There was another road along the perimeter of the town

just inside the wall. Off to the east was a second wall, and even more town beyond that.

It seemed like there had been explosive growth in the direction. This second wall,

separating the old and new towns, was lower than the one surrounding Leibnizche,

which probably explained why the buildings on this side were shorter as well.

Chiyome led us to the newer part of town, passing through a gate built into the old

town wall along the way.

"First off, I want to get a room at an inn that can serve as our base of operations, in

case this takes a while. Usually, when a town is divided, the new part isn't nearly as

safe, but in our situation, this is to our advantage. It will make it easier for us to move

around."

I nodded, my eyes taking in the town that lay before us.

The roads here were much narrower than in the old town, but the crowds naturally

moved out of our way when they saw a two-meter-tall knight outfitted in armor,

trailing a pitch-black cloak.

After making our way farther down the road, we settled on an inn deep in the new

section of town.

"I'm going to head out and start gathering information," Chiyome said. "What will you

be doing? You can stay here in the inn where it's safe, if you want."

"Going out on your own doesn't sound easy," I said.

Chiyome shook her head, her black hair swaying with the movement. "The Jinshin clan

has a rather unique way of gathering information, and we don't usually travel in large

groups. This is my first time in Leibnizche, but I've learned some things from other

mountain people who've been here before. I'll be fine going out on my own."

She looked plenty confident.

There was nothing I'd rather have seen than a well-trained ninja gather information.

But, lacking any of that training myself, I'd be more of a hindrance than anything else.

I let out a sigh. "We definitely aren't nearly as adept as you are, so we'll defer to you."

Ariane looked up from massaging Ponta, a defiant look in her eye. "Since when do you

get to speak for me?"

"You can't deny the truth."

Ariane puffed out her cheeks and scowled.

We had to consider the right person for the job.

And, of course, we couldn't ignore our own shortcomings. I couldn't take off my armor

or helmet. Sure, those things might help me intimidate information out of low-level

thugs, but it also caused a lot of people to avoid me altogether. Ariane was also stuck

wearing her hood low in order to hide her amethyst-colored skin, pointy ears, and

long, white hair—all traits unique to a dark elf—which made her come across as

incredibly suspicious.

Maybe if she turned up the charm, she might be able to wrangle information out of

some old pervert, but I couldn't imagine her doing that.

Whereas all Chiyome had to do was hide her cat ears and tail and she could easily

blend in with humans without any need to conceal her face. This made her far better

suited than the two of us to talk to people. Since we had someone who was particularly

good at information gathering, there was nothing embarrassing about leaving it to her.

I laid this all out for Ariane, and she finally relented.

"Fine, I got it." She turned away, and I could see that her ears had turned a light shade

of red. "But this is my assignment, so I can't just leave everything to Chiyome. You and

I will head into town too."

She turned back to me, her glossy lips turned down and her eyebrows knitted for some

reason I couldn't understand.

"You're coming, too, Arc! I hired you!"

"But I didn't say anything…"

I appreciated the fact that people could rely on me. Perhaps this had become my

purpose in this world. Besides, I had nowhere else to go.

"All right then, so we'll meet back here at nightfall?" Chiyome asked.

Ariane and I nodded, and we all left the inn.

Chiyome disappeared into the sea of people. I turned my attention back to Ariane.

"Well, I guess we'll just do the best we can."

She nodded. "Right."

"Kyiii!"

Ponta let out an excited yip and swished its tail about in Ariane's arms, apparently also

eager to get underway. Though, judging by how excitedly it looked up and down the

streets, I had a feeling Ponta was just eager to find something to eat.

"How about we pick up something for Ponta and make our way to the old town?"

We started walking in the opposite direction Chiyome had gone, passing through the

wall dividing the old town from the new, ending up in a large, open square in front of

the south gate.

We walked past the shops lining the road, letting Ponta's reaction guide us.

"Even if we wanted to ask people for information, they all seem to be avoiding us."

"That's because you're just too imposing of a figure, Arc. Maybe… you should crouch

down a bit?"

That would only make us look more suspicious.

However, I did have an idea.

"Ariane, are you able to use the wind spirit magic to listen in on people's conversations,

kind of like what you did back in Lamburt?"

"Hmm. You know, I've never tried. Give me a minute."

Ariane handed me Ponta, whom I placed back atop my helmet. She whispered

something to herself and blew on her open palm. The outline of a faint, glowing shape

shimmered above it. Ariane looked up at me.

"So, who should we listen in on?"

I looked around for a bit before finally settling on a group of older men talking among

each other at a shop on the opposite side of the street.

"How about that group over there?"

Ariane followed my gaze, nodded, and whispered something to the faint glow. I felt a

light breeze, and the glow disappeared. A few moments later, another breeze blew

past, and the glowing light returned to Ariane's palm.

"Do you want to have a listen?" She lifted her hand to my ear.

The faintly glowing blob wavered about slightly, and suddenly I could hear the sounds

of people talking.

"The soldiers in the western fort have been pretty busy lately, huh?"

"Apparently there's been a huge increase in monsters near the border, so they're

supplementing the soldiers in Kaysehk."

"That's all well and good, but I hear they're turning away anyone who gets too close to

the fort. Pretty aggressively too."

"I heard that if you get close, you can hear strange, animal-like cries coming from

inside."

"Probably best to mind our own business, if we know what's good for us."

The men's voices faded as the glow in Ariane's hand vanished.

Considering military installations were generally off-limits to civilians anyway, I didn't

find this information to be particularly noteworthy.

"At least we found a way to pick up on what people are gossiping about around town."

Ariane grumbled. "It's a pretty big hassle with hardly any reward."

After grumbling a bit more, Ariane used her spirit magic a few more times, listening

in on other groups of people gathered along the side of the road. Most of what we

heard was just normal town gossip. Since Ariane's spirit magic only lasted for a short

amount of time, it was difficult to learn anything useful.

With nothing but vague information for our efforts, we decided to call it off and leave

the area.

We walked until we found a large open space full of several markets, split up by a

number of roads. We could see a towering castle wall off to the west and a road leading

toward it.

"I bet that's where the local lord lives. Shall we take a look?"

We made our way toward the castle. On the right-hand side of the road, facing north,

we encountered another large church marked with the Hilk symbol. This one had four

bell towers, one at each corner, and was far larger than the one we'd seen in Kaysehk.

It was more impressive than even the castle.

We walked through the crowd of people going in and out of the church. Among them,

I saw several men in priestly robes. Their garb looked familiar, like I'd seen it

somewhere before.

Ariane and I quickly left the church and its crowd behind, following along the castle

walls toward the southern part of town.

The buildings here were much larger than those we'd just left behind, the roads nearly

empty of people. I could hear the soothing burble of water coming from a stone-lined

waterway built into the ground.

A man suddenly appeared in front of us and shouted, shattering the quiet serenity.

He was massive and looked nothing like any of the other people we'd run into around

town. It was almost like… he was from another world.

He wore his black hair in braids. Under his loose-fitting clothes, I could see that he was

covered in all sorts of strange tattoos. His unshaven face cracked into a grin at the sight

of Ariane. He appeared quite drunk, given his bright red complexion and the way he

stumbled through the streets.

"Well, hey there, girlie! You're quite a looker there, ain'cha. Why don't ya come with

me?"

By the way he was acting, I might have assumed he was a mere street punk. But the

quality of his clothing gave me pause.

He was likely a noble or some other high official.

The man leered at Ariane's chest. He drew closer, as if enchanted, and reached out.

"Keep your dirty mitts away from me."

Ariane swatted him away, wrinkling her nose at the stench of his alcohol-laced breath.

He hardly seemed to notice, however, and called out to her in an even louder voice.

"Oooh, I like a strong woman! Wanna get drunk with me? I've got the good stuff."

He reached for Ariane again. Before she even had a chance to pull away, I took the

man's arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Owww, ow, ow! What the hell're you doin'?! Don't you know who I am?"

"Don't you know that 'no' means 'no'?"

The man flailed about in a desperate attempt to free himself, spittle flying from his

mouth as he yelled. I wished he would stay still, fearing that if I put too much strength

into my grip, I might break his arm or even snap his spine. However, the man

continued writhing about in a drunken rage.

If he continued like this, it was only a matter of time until someone called the guards.

We couldn't afford to let that happen.

"Whoa, calm down!"

"Nnngrah?!"

I gave him a light punch to the gut to bring him back to his senses. He tensed for a

moment, then vomited everywhere and passed out on the ground.

I didn't see any blood or organs, so I figured he was probably okay.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least it's quiet again."

Ariane looked down at the man sprawled on the stone walkway.

"Well, thank you, Arc. Now, what should we do about this… thing?"

"Kyii? Kyiii!"

The man stared vacantly up at the sky, a bit of vomit still drooling out of his mouth.

Ponta batted and pulled at the man's hair with its front paws, entertained by his

braids. Ariane picked the fox up, pulling it into a tight embrace.

"Cut that out, Ponta. Don't touch that dirty thing."

"Kyiiiiiii…"

The man's clothes suggested that he was someone important, so I wasn't keen on

risking his wrath by sticking around until he woke up.

"We should get out of here."

"Agreed."

We left the man where he lay and made our way back to the old part of town.

Once the sun began setting, all the townsfolk began hurrying home. Ariane and I made

our way through the crowds and back to the room we'd reserved at the inn.

I didn't have much else to do, so I simply sat in one corner of the room with my knees

to my chest while Ariane played on the bed with Ponta.

Chiyome, dressed like a traveler, entered a short time later and locked the door from

the inside. She took off her hat, allowed her black cat ears to spring up, and glanced

around the room.

"So, what did you learn?"

Ariane and I exchanged a glance. I shrugged my shoulders.

"We didn't find out anything particularly useful. We did run into a drunk man though."

Chiyome's cat ears twitched at this. She seemed to be excited about something. If her

tail had been visible, I would have been sure. Back home, I could always gauge my cat's

emotions by its tail. Maybe she was excited because Ariane's and my lack of results

made whatever she'd learned even more valuable. She'd joined us, after all, to speed

up Ariane's mission, so she was probably eager to prove that she could contribute.

It wasn't normally like Ariane to have any sort of negative feelings toward Chiyome; at

least, not that I'd seen. But I couldn't help but notice that she pulled Ponta just a little

bit closer to her.

Chiyome puffed out her chest. "I actually did have some success."

"Oh? That's great."

This was definitely deserving of praise. I gave a bit of an exaggerated clap, which sent

Chiyome's ears twitching anew.

Part of me wanted to give her an affectionate scratch under the chin, but she was a cat

person, not an actual cat. Besides, not only would it be rude to Chiyome, I could only

imagine the grief Ariane would give me if I tried.

"I couldn't get a clear number, but some elves were seen being brought into the castle

about four months ago. Then, about three months ago, at least one was taken away. I

wasn't able to sneak inside, so I couldn't confirm if there are still any elves locked up

there."

According to the purchase contract, five elves had been brought here. But it now

sounded like that was some time ago, and they may have been taken away.

Ariane spoke up, the determination clear in her voice. "As long as there's a possibility

that someone may still be in there, we need to go inside and check."

This was pretty much what I'd expected her to say. I nodded in agreement.

"So, when do we want to sneak into the castle?"

"As soon as possible. Why not do it tonight?" Ariane clenched her hand into a fist, ready

to take swift action.

However, Chiyome jumped in to try and calm her down. "Hold on a minute. I haven't

finished my investigation into how many elves may have been left behind, or even

where they're being held. If we sneak in now, we may ruin any chance of a thorough

search!"

Ariane furrowed her brow. "So we're just going to sit around until we can figure out

how many people are trapped inside and where they're being held?"

"Correct. I'll need about five days."

Collecting information alone was difficult work. I was impressed she knew exactly

how long it would take. This girl really was a pro.

There was just one problem.

"Can we really hide out here in this Hilk-controlled region for five whole days and not

be discovered?"

Chiyome frowned, her ears turning downward slightly.

If the impressive church we'd seen was anything to go by, the Hilk, and their prohuman beliefs, were quite influential in this town. Chiyome may have been an expert

in sneaking around undetected, but Ariane and I drew attention. It would be difficult

to keep ourselves out of sight.

It might not have been so bad if we had some sort of hideout, but we were just staying

at an inn. If some devout follower of Hilk teachings were to report on Ariane's

presence, then there'd be no way we could rescue anyone held in the castle.

Chiyome thought this over for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"All right then, we'll sneak into the castle tomorrow night. I've heard that the third

platoon will be dispatched from the fort to Kaysehk tomorrow, making it our best bet

if we want to limit the number of reinforcements they can send after us… I mean, if

we're found out."

This was all the convincing Ariane needed. She nodded.

We began laying out our plan for sneaking in, based on the information Chiyome had

acquired.

As usual, Ariane and I would infiltrate the castle while Chiyome hung back to keep any

response forces at bay in case we were discovered.

***

The next day, Chiyome made her way to the fort for final preparations while Ariane

and I stayed at the inn to avoid any encounters like the one we'd had with the

intoxicated official the night before. It was unlikely he remembered us considering

how drunk he'd been, but we figured we'd be better safe than sorry.

The weather got worse starting around noon. By nightfall, the sky was a blanket of

thick, dark clouds.

Usually, a dark, moonless night would be perfect for an infiltration mission, but it only

served to reduce my line of sight and limit my options for using Dimensional Step.

However, this was only a problem for Ariane and me. For Chiyome, who was keeping

a close watch on the western fort, the darkness provided even more places for her to

hide.

We left the inn and found Chiyome under a dark and foreboding sky for a final meeting.

"Meeting" was probably a bit of an exaggeration. We discussed where we would

reconvene after we escaped and confirmed a few last-minute details, like how to let

her know if we needed her to create a disturbance back at the fort. We finished the

discussion quickly.

Shortly after midnight, we parted ways with Chiyome.

We wanted to avoid the church in the northwest and keep our distance from the fort

to the west, so we followed a dimly lit road off to the southwest until we found

ourselves on another road that gave us a good vantage of the castle wall.

Though there was no moat, a fairly wide path ran around the perimeter of the wall,

which was occasionally patrolled by guards.

A light, silent rain began falling from the thick clouds above, making everything

around us even darker. I looked around for a place to teleport, but the best I could find

was a spot I could barely make out atop the wall.

Given how dark it was, I knew it would likely be difficult to teleport into the castle

from atop the wall. Due to its height, and the shadow it cast, the interior would be

nearly pitch black, which would really limit our options. But if I took my time, I figured

something would eventually present itself, no matter how dark it was.

Ariane already had her hand on my shoulder as I looked back at her.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"Dimensional Step."

In an instant, Ariane and Ponta, who was currently wrapped tightly around my neck

like a furry green scarf, teleported with me from the side of the road to the top of the

wall surrounding Barysimon's residence.

Due to dark elves' keen night vision, Ariane was normally responsible for checking our

surroundings after we teleported. But since most of the guards moving about the top

of the wall held torches, this wasn't necessary.

I fell back into the shadow of the wall and squinted my eyes, looking for a place that

would be both easy to teleport to and offer us enough cover.

In front of us, a large building faced away from the western wall, and in front of that, I

spotted several buildings in the shape of a "U," with a courtyard at the center. The

courtyard was completely dark, save for some flickering lights—likely the torches of

more patrolling guards.

We'd probably need to make our way toward the large building if we wanted to free

any elves held captive inside. Unfortunately, there were practically no gaps in the lines

of guards patrolling the main building, at least, not that I could see in the gloom.

Worse, the building was quite a distance away from the top of the wall, meaning that

a great deal of trees and other shrubbery blocked my line of sight, making it even more

difficult to get a feel for how many guards there were and their movements.

Rather than making our way straight to the main building from here, I figured it would

be best to teleport from the wall to a closer building off to the south and look for a way

to sneak into the main building.

While I was busy planning out our next move, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

I turned to face Ariane. She held up two fingers and shook them to the left twice.

Apparently, two guards were approaching us. We didn't have much time.

I nodded and quickly teleported us again.

Our surroundings changed in the blink of an eye, and we found ourselves behind a

compact, two-story building a short distance from the other buildings off to the south.

Compact, of course, was relative. The place was far larger than most commoners'

houses.

The building was made of various colored stones, giving the walls a mosaic-like

pattern that made itself apparent in the faint glow of the light from the windows.

I could see inside through a lattice-like structure that hung over a large, rectangular

window built into the wall of the first floor. There was an expensive-looking red rug,

lit up by magical lanterns lining the hallway.

However, I didn't see any signs of human life inside. Compared to the main building,

there were relatively few guards in this area. We were enveloped in silence, save for

the chirp of insects coming from the nearby shrubs.

I slid my body along the building's wall, chancing a glance around the corner toward

the inner courtyard and the estate's entrance.

There were two men standing and several other groups patrolling the courtyard.

Toward the main building, I saw several more guards illuminated by torchlight.

There weren't many places to hide in the courtyard, and my teleportation options

were limited due to the sheer darkness. This would be no easy feat.

Our only option was to use this building as cover and make our way straight toward

our objective, following the perimeter of the wall toward the main building. We could

look for a way to sneak in from there. I relayed my plan to Ariane.

"It seems unlikely that we'll find anything of note if we stick to places where there

aren't guards."

"Since we don't even know how many elves are here, or where they're being held, don't

you think it'd be a better idea to start our search in a place where there aren't a lot of

guards before we go barging in?"

She had a point. "All right, then why not start our search here?"

I glanced back inside the building and, after making sure the coast was clear, used

Dimensional Step to teleport us into the hallway.

Ariane perked up her ears, as if listening for something. She whispered to me.

"The first floor seems empty… but I have a strange feeling about this place."

"I have no complaints about no one being here. Let's look around and make our way

to the west side where we can see the main residence."

I turned the knob on a nearby door and peeked inside.

The room was entirely unlit, so I could only see a short distance in; however, I

immediately noticed that everything in the room was covered in a light layer of dust,

as if no one had been here for some time. A building this size should have had at least

a dozen servants, so it seemed unlikely that this was simply someone neglecting their

duties.

Could it be that the financial situation here was bleak? That they just didn't have the

resources to manage all their buildings?

I opened another door and looked inside. Same thing. I glanced back at Ariane. We

both shook our heads. Apparently, she'd come up short too.

I continued along, checking room by room, relying only on the lights in the hallway. At

the corner, the hallway made a ninety-degree turn and continued toward the back of

the building.

At the end of the hallway was a pair of large doors, with no other rooms in sight.

I waved Ariane over and used Dimensional Step to teleport us in front of the doors.

Ariane pushed lightly on one of them, and it swung inward with a creak.

The room was filled with large boxes stacked one on top of another, nearly reaching

the balcony that ran along the second floor. Giant chandeliers hung at regular intervals

from the high ceiling, and the floor beneath us was made of stones that had long since

lost their luster. Pillars with intricate designs etched into them lined the room, and

massive glass windows covered the wall to our left. It looked like this had been some

sort of sun room.

However, there were no lights in the hallway just outside the room, and no moonlight

coming in through the windows, so I couldn't see much farther inside. It was like a big,

black pit yawning open in front of us.

Figuring this was a perfect time for Ariane to use her impeccable night vision, I turned

to look over at her. However, she was already walking unsteadily off into the darkness,

as if drawn in by it.

I whispered to get her attention. "Ariane?"

No response. Just as I was about to try again, I noticed something peculiar.

There was a dark, shadowy figure floating above her head.

It was almost impossible to make out against the surrounding darkness. But I could

tell that it had a round body and was about fifteen centimeters tall, with small wings

on its back, a short tail, and multiple bumps protruding from its head. The creature

turned its red eyes on me and cried out in an unsettling voice.

"Gekyuu?!"

Whatever this thing was, it clearly wasn't good.

"Khest!"

The mysterious, devil-like fairy flew at me, its hand transforming into a knife, but I

batted it down. It hit the ground with a wet thud that echoed through the room.

"Nng, huh…?"

As soon as the creature fell, Ariane's head started darting around the room, as if she'd

come out of a trance.

"Are you okay, Ariane?"

Ariane shook her head. "I'm sorry. I seemed to have gotten lost in my own head…"

I motioned toward the broken figure on the floor.

"Could this be the culprit?"

Ariane's eyes went wide. "What's an imp doing here?"

Now that she mentioned it, it did look a lot like the monsters known as imps back in

the game, though they definitely weren't this small.

"Imps possess bewitching magic, right?" That's how it worked in the game anyway.

Ariane nodded, staring down at the imp.

"But they're usually only found in dark places like caves, or in spots where there's a

high concentration of mana."

"That was my pet, y'know." A voice called out from the darkness. "What an awful, awful

thing you've done…"

Ariane and I tensed, turning in the direction of the voice. I reached up and gripped the

hilt of my sword.

A man walked out of the darkness. A man I'd seen before. Last night, in fact, out in the

suburbs when he was drunk and hitting on Ariane. He must have had some sort of

connection with the lord here.

He was tall and well-built, his familiar braids swaying as he walked. The edges of his

mouth curled into a smile as he watched us.

"Well, if isn't you two bastards." He looked from Ariane to me as he spoke, a note of

amusement in his words.

I guess he remembered us after all, despite how drunk he'd been.

"What're the odds I'd run into you here? And who the hell are you anyway?"

The man seemed to be enjoying himself as he questioned us.

"We've got nothing to say to you." The menace was thick in Ariane's voice as she drew

her sword.

"Hehehe. Well, I guess I should show my appreciation for what you did to me!"

Despite wearing a sword at his waist, the man made no attempt to draw it.

"Once I kill that big boy behind you, I'll be sure to treat you reeeeal good."

He finally drew the sword from his waist and swung it around a few times in dramatic

fashion.

Just then, two massive white beasts dove down from the second-floor balcony. Their

muscular bodies stood around two meters tall, and their tails gave off a faint glow.

These were the same wolves we'd encountered back in the forest at the base of the

Anetto Mountains. They were able to create illusions of themselves at will in order to

confuse their prey while hunting, making them quite a hassle to deal with.

Unlike last time, however, these ones each had a metal ring clasped around their front

ankles.

"Haunted wolves?!" Ariane and I both blurted in unison.

As if on cue, the wolves rushed toward us, their bodies low to the ground. They both

dove toward me, exposing their vicious fangs.

I spun my body to the side and used my shield to block one of the wolves while

swatting at the other with my gauntleted fist. They both flew backward, howls tearing

from their jaws as they crashed to the ground.

The man seemed genuinely surprised by this.

"Whoa! So you aren't just some useless puppet after all. Why don't you give this one a

try?!"

He waved his hands, a look of enjoyment on his face.

Out from the darkness lumbered a mob of ogres. Unlike the ones we'd run into at the

border near Grahd, these were all holding massive battleaxes. Around their ankles,

they each wore the same kind of metal rings as the haunted wolves.

"A monster tamer?"

This wasn't a class available in the game I played, but it was common in other RPGs.

Monster tamers would usually put monsters under their control and use them to

attack. However, I hadn't seen anyone using monsters to fight like this since coming to

this world, so I'd just assumed such abilities didn't exist here.

"I've heard about them, humans living up north who have the ability to control

monsters!"

Ariane held out her sword and aimed it toward the oncoming ogres, though never

quite taking her eye off the smirking man.

"My, my, aren't you well informed! My name is Fumba Soodu Rozombanya, the beast

tamer. But you can call me Fumba. So, what'll it be? No matter how strong your armor

is, with this many ogres, it's just a matter of time until they beat you to a pulp!

Hahaha!"

I fixed the smiling man with a glare and drew my two-handed blade with one hand,

holding my shield firmly in the other. I twisted my head from side to side, letting out a

pop.

A vein bulged in the beast tamer's forehead as he shot me a murderous glare.

"After I've slaughtered you, I'm going to make that girlfriend of yours squeal."

He was practically licking his lips, his tone venomous.

Ariane, the subject of his lustful gaze, pulled back her hood to expose her face.

"I hate to break it to you, but I don't lie with the likes of you."

Fumba hardly seemed to notice Ariane's insult and instead threw his hands up and let

out a hearty laugh.

"Gyahahahaha! So you're an elf, huh? I guess that means you're here to do some

rescuing." He fixed Ariane with a cruel grin. "Good job getting this far! But

unfortunately for you, they're all gone."

Was it true? Were there no more elves left in the castle?

"Do you know what happened to them? Gyahaha! They were used as test subjects to

improve monster control techniques. It's awful, a real shame. They were just women

and children, y'know? At least let us use the women for a little fun, am I right?"

A look of rage twisted across Ariane's face. "You son of a…"

Fumba laughed derisively. But Ariane wasn't playing around. A flame enveloped her

sword, illuminating the room in a wavering red glow. Fumba let out a low whistle, his

lips contorting into a sneer.

"Don't worry, missy. Unlike everyone else in the empire, I don't discriminate between

humans, beastmen, or elves. So long as everything's where it needs to be, that's good

enough for me. Gyahaha!"

"I'm going to shut your mouth for good!" Ariane rushed toward Fumba.

The flame-engulfed sword trailed fire as she swung it down. However, Fumba deftly

blocked the blow with his own sword. The beginning of this duel seemed to be a signal

that the ogres and haunted wolves had been waiting for. They ignored Ariane and

loomed closer toward me, murder in their eyes.

It seemed clear that Fumba had entered this building on his own, and that he had no

plans on calling for any backup. So long as we killed him here, we might escape

without anyone being the wiser.

I held the mythical-class Holy Shield of Teutates tighter in my left hand and retreated

slowly, keeping my back to the wall. If I stayed here, I should be able to cut down any

oncoming monsters with my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg. Fortunately, I'd

already encountered both of these monsters before, and neither were terribly strong.

I deflected a strike from one of the ogre's battleaxes with my shield and focused on the

two haunted wolves approaching from my right. I could see another pair of wolves

watching me from farther off, meaning that these two were an illusion.

"Not a chance!"

The last time, I'd been surrounded by a whole pack of haunted wolves, so the two I

was facing—four, if you counted the illusions—wouldn't be a problem. They couldn't

swarm me like before.

I swung my sword in an upward arc toward the oncoming wolves. The blade emitted

a light azure glow as it chopped them in half. Pitiful howls escaped their mouths as

their bodies slumped to the floor, staining the stone floor red.

I raised my sword again, swinging it in a horizontal slash, sending another three ogres

to the ground. Watching their comrades fall, the remaining ogres cowered away from

me. Then, as if ordered by an invisible commander, they rushed forward again to bang

on my shield.

I shoved one of the ogres away, sending it flying through the air and into a pillar, where

it slumped to the floor.

Another haunted wolf was now trying to get behind me. I sliced down, just barely

missing it and carving a large gash in the stone floor instead. The wolf leaped

backward, as if it could sense the danger. I sliced again, effortlessly cutting another

ogre in half.

"You're no match for me!"

I swung my blood-soaked blade through the air, splattering the walls. Fumba, locked

in combat with Ariane, looked over at me in shock.

They were talking about me.

"Just what kind of monster is he?! Is there a minotaur lurking under that armor?!"

Ariane grinned. "Unfortunately for you, it'll take more than a few monsters to keep

him busy. Honestly, I think you'd need a dragon!"

Her flame-covered sword came close to cutting Fumba, instead setting his shirt on fire.

He shrugged it off, ripping away the burning fabric.

Fumba's upper body was covered in tattoos, which almost seemed to glow, making it

look like they were floating above his skin. Were they somehow related to his ability

to control monsters?

Despite Ariane's impressive swordsmanship, Fumba was holding his own against her.

She was truly skilled with a blade, however, and as I watched them fight, I could see

that she was slowly gaining the upper hand. I wondered if Fumba was distracted by

the fact that I was tearing his precious monster corps to shreds.

The self-proclaimed beast master screamed in rage, sprinting backward to put some

distance between himself and Ariane.

"Dammit! All right then, how about you try this on for size?!"

The windows running along the south side of the room shattered, sending glass

everywhere as a swarm of monsters that looked like a bizarre hybrid of human and

fish smashed their way in.

Each had the lower body of a human and the upper body of a fish—albeit with a pair

of human arms, clutching a metal harpoon—and they were covered from head to toe

in blue scales. The fins on their backs twitched as they let forth an eerie cry.

These sea creatures were pretty common in the game. I wondered if they'd been

lurking in the lake in the garden.

The sight of them reminded me of something I'd seen in a popular anime. Before I

could stop myself, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Looks like they forgot their fishnet stockings!"

"Sahagin? Ha! That's even a step down from your ogres!" Ariane shot Fumba a defiant

smile and chopped down one of the creatures that had gotten too close.

Several sahagin joined the mob of ogres surrounding me, so I swung my Holy Thunder

Sword of Caladbolg in a horizontal slash, chopping down as many as I could.

As Ariane had alluded to, sahagin weren't known for their fighting prowess. However,

what they lacked in strength, they usually made up for in sheer numbers.

"Gwahahaha! They're just to keep you from escaping. I've arranged a real treat for you,

and it's on its way now!"

An immense roar echoed throughout the castle grounds, drowning out Fumba's laugh

and the sahagins' screeching. The ground rumbled underfoot and the building shook.

"What was that?"

"Huh?!"

Fumba grinned from ear to ear, as if already assured of his victory.

"Maybe you can massacre my ogres, but can you face off against my next surprise and

live?"

The rumbling beneath our feet grew stronger. Whatever Fumba had called, it was

getting closer. Had he brought an actual dragon to the fight?!

Ariane dropped several more sahagin and chased after Fumba. The monster tamer,

perhaps too confident in his victory, had let down his guard.

"Blazing embers, heed my call. Consume all to ash!"

A blueish-white flame burst from Ariane's blade, licking violently up into the air. With

a mighty swing of her sword, the sahagin surrounding Fumba were burned to a crisp

in an instant, like sheaves of paper tossed on a campfire.

"What the hell?!"

Fumba had retreated behind his sahagin mob only to have Ariane reduce them to ash.

"You wench!" Fumba shouted as his blade clashed with Ariane's.

But the bluish-white flames continued, wrapping around Fumba like a snake until his

entire body was engulfed.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!"

The monster tamer's dying screams filled the hall as he went up in a massive pillar of

fire, reaching all the way to the vaulted ceiling. The flames spread until the whole

ceiling was ablaze. The remaining sahagin dove back out the windows in order to

escape. The ogres followed quickly after.

Ariane stabbed her sword into the floor, breathing heavily. I rushed over to her.

"Are you all right, Ariane?"

She put a hand out to push me back, smiling.

"I'm fine. I just used a little too much mana is all…"

She wasn't kidding. The charred corpses of sahagin lay all around her, fires still

burning in a few of them. The lump of charcoal that had once been Fumba was barely

recognizable as human. That was some impressive magic.

"Can you stand?"

I sheathed my sword and offered Ariane my hand.

"Thank you, Arc."

Ponta, still wrapped around my neck, stuck its head up.

"Kyiii!"

Right at that moment, a thunderous roar echoed through the room, causing the entire

building to shake on its foundation—far more violent than any tremor we'd felt yet.

The chandeliers swung wildly above our heads. One broke free and smashed into the

stone floor with a tremendous crash. I put myself between Ariane and the flying

shards, letting them bounce harmlessly off my back.

"What was that?"

I glanced around the room. Ariane sheathed her sword and made her way to the now

glassless windows before jumping through them. I followed close behind.

Outside the sunroom was a tree-lined garden and pond, and beyond that, the castle

wall. I could see several guards atop the wall frantically pointing toward us.

No, not us. Something else entirely.

"Arc, over there!"

Ariane pointed across the garden to the corner of the building. I used Dimensional

Step to teleport over.

When I peeked around the corner, I saw a monstrous beast covered in turquoise

scales. Multiple heads sprouted from its body on long, snaking necks, their tongues

darting out as each head hissed.

From the top of its outstretched heads to the bottom of its four large feet, the monster

stood around ten meters tall. In all, I counted five heads connected to its mammoth

body, each of which were busily swallowing up nearby guards.

As it lumbered toward the building, the monster used one of its heads like a whip and

smashed through the entrance, sending the mosaic-like stones tumbling to the ground

with an explosive crash.

"A hydra…"

My eyes were locked on the awful, awe-inspiring monster. Beside me, Ariane couldn't

take her eyes off it either.

This… thing was far different from the hydras I was familiar with. If it had the same

characteristics as in the game, then it was a high-level monster with impressive

regenerative abilities and a high affinity for water-based magic—as well as a strong

resistance against the same.

I wasn't sure exactly how the hydra fit into this world, but judging by the sheer amount

of destruction it was inflicting and the palpable fear of the castle guards, I had a pretty

good guess.

One of the hydra's mouths opened and released a white beam of light into the ground,

ripping a hole through the castle wall. Seconds later, I began hearing panicked screams

from the town beyond the wall.

Apparently, this was the surprise Fumba had been talking about. But now that he was

no longer here to control it, the monster was free to rampage on its own. If it got

through the wall, the damage to the town would be immense… assuming there was

still a town left when it was done.

"What should we do, Ariane?"

"What can we do?! Unless you want to get into a wrestling match with it?"

"Mmm…"

Even if I could fell the beast, I would draw too much attention to myself, potentially

hindering all our future efforts. On the other hand, I couldn't just turn a blind eye to

the countless number of townsfolk who would end up either dead or wounded.

The castle soldiers were already running for their lives, rather than even attempting

to fight the hydra. It was only a matter of time until the beast was roaming the streets.

I sighed. Maybe I'd draw undesired attention, but it looked like it was up to me to take

down the hydra.

"Give me five minutes!"

I waved my hand in front of me. A sprawling magical symbol appeared on the ground,

emitting a hazy red light that slowly grew in intensity. It was the first time I'd used this

particular skill here, but it seemed like I'd pulled it off without a hitch. If everything

went according to plan, then I'd be able to settle this without calling attention to

myself.

I began chanting. "I summon forth the fire demon Ifrit!"

A bright red light erupted from the magical symbol, followed by a massive wave of hot

air and a pillar of flame shooting straight into the cloud-filled sky.

A black shadow appeared in the middle of the pillar, a beastly roar erupting from the

flames. The air reverberated with a pressure wave that rippled through the castle and

out into the town.

Once the pillar of flame dissipated, a five-meter-tall demon stood in its place.

He looked almost like a cross between a demonic lion and a bull, with a mane of fire

and two twisting horns growing out of his forehead, the latter giving off a dark, eerie

glow. His upper body was covered in bright red, glowing scales, as if he were wearing

a breastplate fresh from the furnace, while his lower body—consisting of two halfhuman, half-bull legs—was bare.

The demon opened his mouth to reveal rows of vicious-looking fangs. He let loose a

blast of flame.

"Wh-what is that, Arc?!"

Ariane's eyes were wide with disbelief.

This was one of the skills I'd learned from the Summoner class. It allowed me to call

forth a demon—in one of several different colors—to assist me for a limited amount

of time. However, while I could generally indicate a target, after that, the demon was

free to act however it pleased.

Ifrit was an early-level summon who generally preferred physical attacks, though he

could also use fire magic. However, a summoned demon's power was also

supplemented by the magical ability of the Summoner, allowing me to use Ifrit against

even high-level monsters like a hydra.

Ariane, apparently never having seen a summon in her life, kept repeating the same

question over and over.

I wasn't quite sure how to explain it. "Well, it's kind of like… umm… like I called a

monster over from another world. Or something."

Ariane didn't seem satisfied with this answer. "This isn't real, right?! I've never seen

this kind of spirit magic in my life!"

I turned toward the hydra, who was still rampaging through the castle grounds, its five

heads keeping a wary eye on the new challenger.

Ifrit, picking up on the silent command I'd sent to commence his attack, let loose

another roar, sending bouts of fire into the sky. He bared his claws and charged.

Two of the hydra's snake-like heads raised up, opening their mouths and shooting out

beams of white light.

Ifrit deftly dodged these, lunging toward one of the hydra's necks with his flamecovered claws. A moment later, the head fell to the ground with a thud.

"Gyshaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

The hydra let out an angry roar, stumbling backward to protect its severed neck.

But Ifrit didn't let up on. He vaulted over the hydra, grabbing ahold of its long, monstrous

tail.

One of the hydra's heads swung around and attempted to take a bite out of Ifrit, but

the demon's armor-like scales held strong, preventing the teeth from sinking in. He

seemed unfazed by the hydra's bite and let out another roar as he began spinning the

hydra around, his grip firm on its tail. The hydra's massive body lifted into the air,

looking almost like a toy as Ifrit slowly picked up speed.

The hydra's body smashed through buildings as it spun, reducing everything it hit to

rubble. The few remaining soldiers ran for their lives to escape the castle grounds.

I didn't recall ever seeing Ifrit fight like this in the game.

"H-hey, hold on a minute! Make him cut that out!"

Ariane didn't seem too pleased at seeing Ifrit unleashed like a destructive tornado.

I bowed my head in apology.

"Unfortunately, there's really nothing I can do until he disappears, which should be in

five minutes."

Honestly, I really hadn't expected this to turn into a monster brawl like you might see

in a movie. I was worried the damage could easily spread out into the town before Ifrit

was finished with the hydra.

Just then, however, a familiar voice called out from behind us.

"Arc! Ariane! Are you okay?"

I turned around to find Chiyome, dressed in her ninja garb.

"We're fine. And yourself?"

"Everything's all right on my end. That hydra appeared a short time ago near the

western fort before tearing its way through the walls and smashing apart the castle."

Chiyome began giving a brief report of what had happened on her end, but she stopped

suddenly, directing her gaze toward the battle between Ifrit and the hydra.

"Where did that fiery demon come from?"

I didn't have time to answer before Ifrit let go of the hydra's tail, sending it flying at

almost unbelievable speeds. It crashed into the top of the castle wall and bounced over

it like a rubber ball.

I heard a loud crash outside the castle walls, followed by a loud metal clang, like

someone had just struck a bell. The ground shook and, a moment later, the whole area

was filled with a massive plume of dust.

Ifrit dashed forward and dove over the wall, pursuing the hydra.

This was definitely not good.

"We need to follow them! Hold on!"

After making sure Chiyome and Ariane both had their hands on my shoulders, I

focused on the top of the crushed castle wall and teleported. A moment later, we were

standing atop it, with no guards in sight. I looked down into the town below, only to

find that one of the Hilk church's bell towers had fallen over, nearly destroying the

entrance.

Three of the hydra's heads were sticking up out of the debris, roaring loudly and

glaring at something. I followed its gaze to Ifrit, his mane of fire beginning to swell.

The town was in a state of panic. Residents poked their heads out of windows,

screaming as they caught sight of the carnage in front of them.

Ifrit let loose an immense roar as its mane of fire turned white hot. A ball of flame flew

out from it like a shooting star, straight at the hydra. All three of the hydra's remaining

heads opened their mouths and shot back beams of white light.

When the shooting star and the beams of light collided, a massive explosion rocked

the town, sending up a cloud of dust that reduced visibility to practically nothing. This

was followed a moment later by another explosion and a loud, booming shockwave. A

pillar of fire shot into the air, a vortex of dust and debris forming around it.

Ifrit, floating in the midst of this pillar, which seemed to extend from hell itself up into

the heavens, glowered down at the tragic remains of what had once been a church. In

this brief moment of serenity, the demon faded away, as if he had never been more

than an illusion.

That… hadn't turned out quite as well as I'd hoped.

Chiyome and Ariane gaped as smoke and flames licked up from the wreckage of the

church. The wind carried with it the smell of roasting meat and the panicked cries of

the townspeople, audible now that the thunderous din of the battle had died.

"Well, at least it looks like the hydra was taken care of."

"Kyikyiiiii!"

I brought my hand across my forehead as if wiping away sweat and let out a deep

breath. Sensing that the danger was finally over, Ponta made its way up from my neck

back to the top of my head.

Ariane plucked the fox from its perch and pulled it close to her chest, speaking in a

cold, flat tone.

"Let's get you away from that dangerous thing."

Ponta looked confused at this.

"Kyii?"

Chiyome looked at Ariane, who was busy glaring at me, and tried breaking the tension.

"So, wh-what's our next step?"

After staring at each other in silence for a moment, Ariane and I both sighed and spoke

at the same time.

"Back to Lalatoya?"

"We should head to Lalatoya."

I looked at the pile of rubble that had once been a church before staring up into the

gray-cloaked sky. I would need to be a lot more careful using summoning magic from

here on out.

The rain began falling even harder, as if hoping to drown out the screams echoing

throughout the town.