Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 14 : Surprise Attack Operation (2)

Surprise Attack Operation (2)

"Everyone, move away from that!"

Duke Gale shouted urgently at the sudden appearance of the demonkin.

But it was too late.

This was a monster that, even though it had ambushed Tedric—an advance-rank Sword Expert—had managed to fell him with a single blow. Ordinary knights and soldiers weren't even given the chance to flee.

Chwa-chwa-chwak!

"Aaargh!"

As the demonkin's shadow moved, it ruthlessly slaughtered the nearby soldiers.

Kagagang!

"Kgh! Where did this monster come from!"

Tedric infused his broken sword with magic power and swung it, deflecting the attacks aimed at the surrounding knights.

With a severe wound, he was in no shape to fight, and at best, he could only try to protect the other knights and soldiers, giving them a chance to escape.

"Hahaha! As expected of Sir Kalio! That overwhelming strength... Keh?!"

"Shut up! Useless fool."

Aldin, who had been laughing loudly at the sudden reversal, was struck by the demonkin called Kalio and sent flying.

Although he wasn't seriously injured, he could be seen trembling, seemingly shocked by the sudden attack.

'Damn, this wasn't in what I saw, was it?'

In what was mentioned in the Synopsis, only the princess was present.

There was no mention of demonkin anywhere.

'... No, it makes sense.'

After thinking about it, in the original work, the Talua royal army met the princess before encountering the Kainzel royal army.

Or, it was after the princess had already wiped out the Kainzel army.

'It's only natural that there's no mention of demonkin.'

By the time the Talua royal army and the Kainzel royal army confronted each other, the content had already deviated from the original.

"Si—Sir Vanhart! It's demonkin!"

Michelle was practically having a fit at the appearance of the demonkin.

He always made a fuss about being a descendant of a Saintess, but in the end, he was a civilian.

It was only natural he panicked at the sight of something inhuman.

'This is not looking good.'

The previously favorable situation had been instantly overturned by the appearance of Kalio the demonkin.

Tedric, said to be the strongest among the knights participating in this war, had suffered a grave injury and was doing everything he could to evacuate the other knights.

In other words, there was currently no one to keep the demonkin in check.

'If things go on like this...'

The demonkin was slowly making its way toward us. It probably intended to kill Duke Gale, the commander, first.

Naturally, the knights were withdrawing rapidly with Duke Gale, but Kalio's movements were even faster than theirs.

'Hey, what do you think about that?'

Though the situation was hardly favorable, I could observe it calmly.

That was because I wore on my ring finger the artifact said to be the Saintess's legendary relic.

I spoke inwardly to Grancesia, who'd been silent up to now.

[Hoo, demonkin, huh. I haven't seen one in a while.]

I was worried she might not answer, but fortunately, Grancesia replied lightly.

'Just tell me first—can you deal with that or not?'

[You're interesting. How can you stay so calm in this situation?]

'Quickly. If you don't hurry up and answer, my life will be at risk, you know?'

[You little... really...]

If I died, the ring would be destroyed, too.

So Grancesia, from her position, had no choice but to help me.

[Haaa. That isn't a particularly strong demonkin. Probably low-rank?]

'What's the response for that?'

[I always just beat them to death, so I wouldn't know.]

"What?"

I'd thought she might mention holy magic or the demonkin's weaknesses, but Grancesia's words were completely unexpected.

[I don't know what you're mistakenly expecting, but I was a monk.]

'Monk?'

[Easier to say I was an ascetic. Priests of the Altair Order who train in martial arts. We mainly specialize in using our fists.]

'But, aren't you a Saintess?'

[That was a title the Order attached to me after I acquired a divine body.]

'Then, you can't use holy magic? Like support for allies?'

[Eliminating enemies that threaten your allies is the most perfect form of support.]

Grancesia's last words were almost solemn.

I—of course—was left speechless.

[Well, don't worry about it. With the Eye of Shimosha, you can handle a demonkin like that easily.]

'If you'd said that sooner, how great would that have been.'

Kalio was gradually picking up speed, approaching us.

Seeing those blood-red, glowing eyes made my skin crawl.

"Block him!"

"Don't let him get to His Grace the Duke!"

Countless soldiers and knights rushed desperately to stop Kalio, but they truly were helpless.

Whenever Kalio's hand swept, soldiers went flying and collapsed.

Knights who swung swords imbued with sword aura fell like autumn leaves before blades of shadow that shot up from the ground.

Before Duke Gale and his guards could run very far, the creature was already upon them.

"I'll end this quickly."

It was like a death sentence.

The moment I heard Kalio mumble, the thing vanished in an instant.

"What?!"

Duke Gale and the guard knights frantically searched for the suddenly disappeared Kalio.

But there wasn't a trace of his presence anywhere.

I too, swept the surroundings calmly with tense eyes.

Where was he, where had he vanished so suddenly?

[Now that I remember, among the demonkin, the Shadow Clan can use shadows nearby to travel.]

Chwaaa!

Wow! You really picked the fastest possible time to tell me that!

As soon as Grancesia's casual voice rang out, Kalio shot out from Duke Gale's shadow.

It happened so fast that neither Duke Gale nor his guard knights could react.

The only one who moved was my right hand, responding to Grancesia's words.

Tak!

My hand, bearing the Eye of Shimosha, touched the creature's body.

To be exact, it only brushed the creature's shoulder slightly.

"Gyahhhhhh!"

That little touch alone produced a dramatic reaction.

Kalio, who'd leapt from the shadow, screeched in agony and writhed.

And, seizing that opening, the guard knights swung their swords—wounding the creature in an instant.

"Y—you filthy wretches, what trick did you play?!"

Unable to attack properly, Kalio dived into the shadows and teleported to a far distance.

There were small wounds forming on its body, but nothing fatal.

Rather, its shoulder, where the Eye of Shimosha had brushed by, was bubbling and melting.

'That's some power.'

[Of course. The Eye of Shimosha is a crystallization of my holy power.]

Her voice overflowed with pride, and, for once, I couldn't refute it. The legendary Saintess's power was truly legendary.

"... Why is demonkin on the side of the Kainzel kingdom?"

Duke Gale asked calmly, looking at the gasping Kalio.

"Arrogant scum. Did you think I'd answer that?"

Breathing heavily, Kalio slowly crouched.

Despite the deep wound on his shoulder, his eyes shone fiercely.

"Though I let my guard down earlier, there will not be a second time."

His gaze moved to me.

Briefly, it flicked to Michelle standing beside me, but that was it.

"Who'd have thought someone possessed such an artifact. I'll kill you first."

His shadow twisted, and sharp, thorn-like protrusions started to sprout up.

The dark magic power rising like a shimmer in the distance was strong enough to make even my skin tingle.

'And this is a low-rank demonkin?'

It was common knowledge that demonkin, especially higher breeds, were powerful—but I hadn't realized it would be to this extent.

If a demonkin this strong was still only low-rank, just how powerful would an intermediate-rank or advanced-rank one be?

'Then... what should I... Hm?'

Suddenly, I caught sight of 'it'.

Most everyone else seemed too focused on Kalio to notice, but I knew.

I'd been keeping 'that' in mind from the start.

"I'll pay back the pain I suffered many times ov—"

Howling like a beast, Kalio suddenly froze and looked behind himself.

At last, everyone else's gaze, which had been glued to Kalio, followed, and then they realized.

Sasabak, sasabak.

The calamity drawing near, barefoot through the cold snow.

* * *

'What is that?'

The first feeling Kalio had upon seeing it was confusion.

Wobbling through the white snow—what, exactly, was 'that'?

A human?

No, it was too strange to be human.

For starters, there were short horns growing out of both temples, and, on its exposed skin, pure white scales could be glimpsed here and there.

Something with horns and scales couldn't possibly be a human.

'Then, dragonborn?'

A race commonly referred to as Lizardmen.

They possessed scales and faces reminiscent of dragons, along with great physical prowess.

But the approaching figure had the face of a beautiful human woman.

Thump. Thump.

The nearer it came, the faster Kalio's heart beat.

Only moments ago it had been pounding with rage, but now it pounded for a very different reason.

'Could it be... I am afraid?'

Sasabak, sasabak. Tak.

She slowly walked toward Kalio, then stopped abruptly.

She stared directly at Kalio, who was blocking her path.

"──."

The lips of the being—human or monster—moved briefly.

Kalio didn't know what that small movement meant, but instinctively, he felt he should avoid it.

'But it's too late.'

Clay realized the second 'its' mouth opened what it meant.

Among higher beings endowed with great power, the apex was the dragon race.

They possessed not only mighty bodies and fearsome magic power, but their true strength lay elsewhere.

Their greatest power was this: with their own language, they could command the laws of the world.

People called this:

Dragon Tongue.

"Kugh!"

Kwaaah!

Even though Kalio had been several meters away, his body was yanked through the air toward the woman.

He didn't even have a moment to react—his neck was suddenly gripped by the woman's hand.

'Wh-what is this...!'

Kalio's pupils shook; he had never experienced anything like this before.

'I need to get out!'

His first thought was to hide and travel within the shadows.

But for some reason, he couldn't shift into shadow form.

Realizing he couldn't flee, Kalio quickly gathered magic power.

Magic power gathered instantly in his hand, and he slashed at the slender wrist gripping his neck.

The long, black talons, charged with magic, could match the power of knights' sword aura.

Kagagak!

But the talons bounced off the scales covering the woman's wrist.

He managed a slight scratch, but that was all—prying her hand away was impossible.

"Die! Die, die! You monster!"

Kwaaaaa!

His shadow bent like a scorpion's tail and struck at the woman's head, but she didn't even flinch.

She only moved her lips once again.

Thunk!

The falling shadow suddenly froze in midair.

This time, Kalio clearly heard what the woman said.

'Stop...?'

With just that, his own shadow halted, unable to move at all.

As far as Kalio knew, there was only one ability that could do such absurd things.

The dragon's power: Dragon Tongue.

And this being—whether human or something else—was using it.

'Impossible.'

How could a non-dragon use Dragon Tongue?

Her golden eyes met Kalio's own crimson ones.

Only then did Kalio realize—there was no reason in the being before him.

"Break."

A mutter so quiet only Kalio could hear.

That was the last word Kalio ever heard.

KWA-A-AANG!

A tremendous crash, as if a giant hammer had smashed something solid, rang out—and Kalio's body exploded.

Just like a firework.

The being who, moments ago, had occupied the seat of the absolute, was utterly shattered.

Demonkin blue blood rained down, soaking the white field with color.

A heavy silence followed.

Everyone was dumbstruck by the surreal sight that had just unfolded.

'... Can Dragon Tongue actually make people explode?'

[No, it vibrated the space Kalio was in, causing destructive force. With dragon magic, a low-rank demonkin wouldn't be able to withstand it at all.]

Grancesia seemed genuinely surprised as she explained—a reaction quite different from when the demonkin appeared.

[So, you plan to fight that thing, right?]

Yeah, that was the plan...

But actually seeing it—my legs were shaking.

The image of 'her', slowly lowering her right hand, the one that had gripped Kalio's neck only moments ago.

"Haha..."

My body trembled, and laughter escaped me.

Was it out of fear?

No. That wasn't it. The reason my body shook and I laughed was something else entirely.

'Perfect.'

I needed to assess every possible scenario regarding the dragon's calamity powers.

Riya Asktalin the princess's strength, and the dragon's power.

Depending on which side dominated, the tactics and means to confront her would change.

And what was in front of me was the latter.

A monster driven solely by the dragon's instincts.

It was the most ideal scenario I could have hoped for.