"Alright, we'll set up camp here. Classes 1 and 2 are in charge of protecting the water source. Classes 3 and 4 are in charge of preparing food, and the rest are in charge of setting up tents."
The captain roared out.
The soldiers in the battalion listened to his orders and started to take action.
As the sun rose into the sky, Ryner and the rest arrived at their destination.
Ryner looked around, and what he saw around him were plains and forests. No area was tidied up, and it really looked like the border.
It seemed that the Estabul enemy forces wouldn't be attacking such a place?
"The sun's so warm, ah~ looks like there's nothing to do. How great."
Ryner muttered and immediately sat down. Beside him, Tai said,
"Hey you, help set up the tent too!"
"Ehh~ how troublesome! I don't want too!"
"Haa? You don't want to live any longer!?"
"UUWA! STOP KICKING! I'M AGAINST VIOLENCE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!...KIEFER, SAVE ME! SAY SOMETHING TO TAI FOR ME! I WANT TO SLEEP TODAY! TELL HIM THAT I WANT TO SLEEP…"
"…"
Normally, Kiefer would be shouting 'stop yapping away. Help out too!' and things like that. However, Kiefer looked unexpectedly depressed as she said,
"…Ah? Ahh, sorry. I didn't hear that right. What were you saying?"
Kiefer's reaction was actually like this. Ryner and Tai heard that, and couldn't help but look at each other.
At this moment, Tony said,
"Kiefer. This guy's always slacking and idling away and not willing to help us set up tent. Can't you control him as usual?"
Fualu showed a slightly teasing smile too and said,
"Yeah. This Ryner, why do you always listen to your wife~ so Kiefer, say something!"
And…
"Is that so? Ryner, help everyone set up the tents, or else everyone will be troubled."
Kiefer still used that somewhat lonely and sad tone to say it.
Normally, if someone would talk to Kiefer about Ryner, she would definitely blush and deny it.
Ryner, Tai, Tony and Fualu gave looks at each other, and then…
Tai grabbed Ryner on the throat.
"Wa! Tai! What are you…"
However, Tai continued to choke Ryner on the neck and whispered at his ears in a voice Kiefer couldn’t hear, and interrogated him,
"You…did you do something to Kiefer and caused her to feel unhappy?"
"I, I don't know! Why do you think that I'm the reason Kiefer’s unhappy?"
"Tha, that's because…"
Tai couldn't argue back. Fualu was right beside and showing a delighted look as she too kept her voice down.
"Of course it's because Kiefer likes Ryner. Anyone can tell it. It's too obvious, you know? So if Kiefer's unhappy, Ryner, it'll definitely be because of you. Don't you have any idea? Did you say anything that may cause Kiefer to feel down? Or did you hurt her in any way?"
Fualu immediately cut to the point, and Ryner thought about what had happened before they were deployed.
He recalled it, and couldn't help but cry out,
"Ah…"
"So it's your fault!?"
"GYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!??"
This time, even Tony and Tai made wrestling moves on Ryner, causing him to nearly pass out.
"Ahaha! Ryner's always the same no matter whether it's on the battlefield or anywhere else. Speaking of which, can't everyone help set up the tents? It's tiring to do this alone."
Sion gave a wry smile as he said this.
In the end, no one was able to set up the tent…
On a side note, the gang, including Ryner and the rest, belonged to class 8.
And—
After Ryner's face was busted hard and as he was unable get up, everyone let Ryner off on the basis that he apologized to Kiefer. After that, Ryner nailed the peg for the tent at the wrong position and was nearly beaten to death. At this moment,
"Mr Sion, Classes 1 and 2 are going to defend the water point."
"Mr Sion, Classes 3 and 4 are going to find food. We'll be back before night."
The students ran over to Sion to report, and on seeing that, the captain couldn't help but roar out,
"YOU'RE TO REPORT THIS TO ME!"
But everyone ignored him.
"Then we're going, Mr Sion!"
4 classes, 24 people all left the battalion.
Yes. This battalion of 120 people was all Sion's allies…
Ryner was in Sion's group? Even though he had already met everyone… he wasn't good at memorizing other people's names. In the end, he only knew the names of his classmates and a few others…
In contrast, Sion didn't just remember everyone's names, but also everyone's faces, not to mention their profiles as well.
"How hardworking!"
Ryner thought that this was an amazing thing, but was even more amazed that Sion would always work on such troublesome things. That's the reason why Ryner's Ryner.
Let's not talk about this for now.
Once everyone's tent was more or less set up, Sion said,
"Tai, Tony, Fualu. Can you help set up the tents for classes 1 and 2 since they're defending the water point?"
On hearing this command,
"Why do we have to set up tents for others…"
Tai looked like he wanted to protest, but Sion suddenly looked at Ryner.
Ryner inadvertently frowned.
"Ehh, even if you look at me like that, I won't set up some tent or something. It's troublesome, and everyone wants to sleep…"
But Sion smiled at him,
"I know Ryner's personality. Just stay here. You don't look so good, Kiefer, so I think you should rest inside the tent. I'll help out with classes 3 and 4. Do you want to follow me, Tai?"
And Tai smiled.
"So that's how it is? Okay. We'll go out, alright? Tony, Fualu? Alright, let's go!"
"Yeah."
"Fufufu♥ Yeah"
Sion joined in too.
"Then Ryner, I'll leave first."
After saying that, Sion gave a mysterious smile as he left.
Ryner blankly stared at the group that left, and saw the depressed look on Kiefer's face…
"Uu…"
He fell into the trap.
That loose and lazy face looked like it was extremely bothered. He frowned and moaned deep inside.
This was the first time Ryner saw Kiefer look so down. Normally, she would be extremely cheery and liked to bother Ryner.
But right now, she felt really bad.
Ahh…really…that’s a troublesome thing…
Even though Ryner thought so, he tried to speak in a slightly sharper voice,
"Ahh~ erm…Kiefer, the weather's fine today…"
His mind was already all fuzzy, and he didn't know what to do…
Ryner's mind was all blank as he couldn’t find any suitable words for the time being.
"…"
Kiefer remained silent.
Ryner really couldn’t take this pressure.
"Auu…erm…I, I think I’ll take a nap…"
At this moment,
"Ryner…"
Kiefer spoke up, she looked really stern as if there's no way back.
She used a trembling yet firm voice that seemed to have some form of determination in it.
"Ryner…do you want to run away with me?"
"Heh?"
What Kiefer said was too unexpected and Ryner couldn’t help but be shocked by this and called out.'
But Kiefer didn’t care about his response as she grabbed Ryner’s arms hard.
"Ryner, listen to me. Run away with me, will you? Don’t follow Sion, follow me…"
"Ah, well, Kiefer, what are you saying…"
At this moment.
"I…like Ryner."
Kiefer said.
Kiefer said that she liked Ryner.
Clearly.
Then, Kiefer expressed herself again.
"I like you, Ryner. Ever since we entered the academy…Ryner’s my only support. I used to be alone…in fact…I can’t make friends. I can’t trust any friends."
Kiefer sounded really agitated.
For a while, Ryner really couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Can’t make friends?
What is she talking about…
Kiefer continued,
"But Ryner, you…you never showed any will, never had any thoughts for this country, and never tried to work hard in life like everyone else. I could think only when I’m with you…unknowingly, I fell for you…I like you, Ryner…even though I can’t do this, I fell for you…but Ryner, what about you? Don’t you like me, Ryner? Or…"
Kiefer stared at Ryner’s face.
Tears rolled down her face…
Kiefer grabbed Ryner hard on the shoulders.
But Ryner…
His eyes didn’t show any sparkle as he still remained limp in a lazy fashion…however, those dry eyes were showing a mysterious emptiness for some reason.
"I…"
His eyes were dry, really dry, so dry that it ached.
"Ryner…"
Kiefer closed her eyes and lifted her head up. Her beautiful face was right in front…
Ryner stared at that bewitching face.
Through those limp and lifeless eyes of his.
Through those ominous black eyes of him.
People said that those eyes had the color of death. People said that those eyes had disaster within them.
The people who had such eyes were hated and rejected…
"Ahahaha. What’s with you, Kiefer? Really, kidding around like this…"
Ryner gave a dry laugh as he got away from Kiefer.
It’s troublesome. Everything’s all troublesome…
Kiefer didn’t resist at all as Ryner moved away.
"You’re right…I really couldn’t get anything…I already knew it…even so, I continued to dream on wildly. I’m really a big idiot…"
Kiefer’s eyes were just like those of a corpse. The light in her eyes had vanished.
On seeing this, Ryner gave a troubled look.
"Ah, Kiefer, I don’t mean this…"
But Kiefer interrupted Ryner’s words and continued,
"Even so, I don’t want you to die like this Ryner. I just hope that Ryner…but…sorry, Ryner. I can’t protect you…"
After saying that, Kiefer’s hands drew words of light in the air. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and muttered,
"I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING SPIRIT OF LIGHT DWELL WITHIN."
Immediately, a large ball of light appeared in front of Kiefer.
That’s magic…
But that magic was completely different from the Roland magic that needed a magic array.
"Wha…"
Ryner cried out in shock.
This was too strange. Why would Kiefer, a resident of Roland, use a spell Ryner didn’t know?
The magic of all the countries were completely different. The activation manner, construct and spell type were completely different, so nobody would normally think of using spells other than their own countries.Normally…
The ball of light that appeared in front of Kiefer slowly rose in the air and bounced.
The orb of light that had been fired immediately disappeared.
After witnessing this scene, Ryner was stunned and looked at Kiefer.
"What are you doing, Kiefer?"
But Kiefer didn’t answer. She used her lifeless yet depressed eyes to glance at Ryner,
"Goodbye."
And suddenly walked away.
"Wai…!"
At this moment, Sion appeared from behind.
"What was that light? Ryner, what hap…"
Ryner and Sion could only speak halfway through.
It suddenly happened.
The upper body of a human was thrown at Ryner.
"Ehh…"
It was really the upper body only. He couldn’t see the lower body at all.
"WHA, WHAT IS THIS!"
Sion roared.
Then,
Ryner and company were surrounded by screams from all over the place.
It was a completely radical scene.
A person holding a huge scythe like a death god, in streamlined red armor, was dragging a red afterimage as he ran over the plains at unbelievable speeds.
As the scythe swung, Ryner’s allies’ heads or bodies were thrown into the air one after another…
That scene was just like hell..
Just like hell.
Sion shouted,
"THE MAGE KNIGHTS FROM ESTABUL!? WHY ARE THEY HERE!"
Why in such a place…
On hearing that, Ryner frowned. The spell Kiefer used looked just like a signal or something.
Speaking of which, did Kiefer summon the mage knights of Estabul? Was Kiefer a spy of Estabul? But why did she do this?
The battalion of comrades Sion assembled shouldn’t be a powerful force in the army, and can be said to be just a sacrificial pawn—like squad where a flock of birds gathered. Unbelievably, Estabul would deliberately send a spy out just to crush this squad, and even sent in the mage knights…
And what’s the real reason? What exactly happened?
Ryner continued to think.
"Ah, I don’t understand at all! This is way too troublesome! How did things end up like this!"
Perhaps he wasn’t used to thinking of things like this as he was immediately enraged.
Let’s not talk about Ryner’s reaction for now. The entire situation was going from bad to worse.
Sion looked around.
"Damn it! If this keeps up, we’ll be annihilated! EVERYONE, FALL BACK! TRY AND HIDE IN THE WOODS! REGROUP!"
On Sion’s command, the battle situation changed.
The battle members who were stricken with fear and unable to move started to move to the forest.
Once Sion checked that everyone took action, he turned to look at Ryner.
"Ryner!"
"Heh?"
"We must try to survive here!"
"Eh…ah, ahh!"
Both of them started running.
In the forest,
Ryner and Sion were hidden under the trees as they held their breath.
They felt that they had already run quite some distance from the battlefield just now, and thus they couldn’t see any of their comrades around. Even so, they continued to remain tense.
No, they were in a situation where they had to be nervous.
Sion said softly,
“…We’ll be found out if we hide here.”
“Really?”
“Ahh. The enemy’s the mage knights. They won’t just let us off easily, right?”
“But so? But we…”
At this moment, Sion suddenly kept quiet.
Ryner said in a puzzled manner,
“Us? What about us?”
But Sion didn’t answer this question.
“Ryner, do you know how many enemies are there? My first confirmation showed that there’s 20…”
But the answer he got was,
“No, there’s 50.”
Ryner shook his head and simply answered.
Sion gave a surprised look at Ryner.
“…You actually knew how many enemies there were in that situation?”
“Since when can I do that? A mage knight that was going about killing was laughing and saying ‘you fool! Do you think you can escape the grasp of us 50 mage knights—!?', so there should be 50 of them, right?”
“Oh, I see.”
Sion nodded his head. He then narrowed his eyes and continued,
“Uu… such a messy situation. How many managed to escape successfully…other than the people who went to the water point and to search for food, there’s about 100 of them…”
“…yeah. Then, what are you trying to say?”
But Sion didn’t answer this question.
“Tai, Tony and Fualu are amongst them.”
“I say…”
“Kiefer may be amongst them. What do you think, Ryner?”
“Haa…”
Ryner sighed and said,
“Really…this is really troublesome…yes, yes. I understand. You want me to save them, right? But what should we do? They’re the mage knights, 50 of them…we’ll definitely die if we fight them head on.”
On hearing that, Sion nodded his head.
“That’s right. The only way is to save our comrades and retreat without fighting.”
“That’s impossible, right?”
“But we have to try it.”
“Uuwah…I’m least skilled with dealing with such things that have duty…”
At this moment, Sion’s expression changed. It was a sharp smile that was very competitive. He tensed his muscles.
“You’re right, Ryner…it’s impossible to retreat without fighting.”
Immediately.
Swoosh!
A sharp scythe stabbed into the branch of the tree where Ryner and Sion were hiding at.
“Found you~”
It was a mage knight.
The red mage knight of Estabul.
Both of them seemed to bounce off as they ran away from the scene.
After pulling some distance away from the mage knight, they looked back, and found that three men clad in red armor were standing there.
“Ahh~… that’s the worst situation…”
Ryner frowned.
The mage knights of Estabul…
The sign of death.
Any country would have a squad that’s called mage knights. However…
This squad had the power to level tens of thousands people in an army. Once they appeared on the battlefield, this army of death would annihilate all the enemies and pile up the corpses in the battlefield.
Only a mage knight squadron could match up against one.
Only the mage knights of Roland could match up against the mage knights of the kingdom of Estabul. To those who haven’t even graduated from the academy like Ryner, this was just like fighting with rocks.
Sion was the valedictorian of the academy, but the mage knights were of a completely different level.
Anyone knew that.
Once they’re targeted by the mage knights, there’s only death left.
Sion shouted,
“RYNER! RUN AWAY! I’LL HANDLE…”
But—
“Ahh…how troublesome…”
At this moment, Ryner suddenly regained his composure. Those lifeless eyes were as bleak as ever even in such a tense moment.
He stared decisively at those mage knights with cruel sneers.
They sneered and said,
“Run all you want~ lackeys of Roland, and delight us all you want. I~ will let you suffer as much as possible~”
The mage knight said slowly.
But Ryner still remained unmoving.
“What is it? Have you given up? It won’t be interesting if you don’t run~away? Oh well, since you can’t run away from us, this is the correct decision.”
Sion immediately took action as he grabbed Ryner on the shoulder.
“What are you doing, Ryner? Run! Even if the possibility’s not great, don’t give up!”
Sion tried hard to drag Ryner as he tried to run away.
On seeing this, the mage knights immediately showed delighted looks.
“Hahaa! You look like an interesting person!”
The other two mage knights said,
“Beldom! Don’t play too much and let the lackeys of Roland run!”
“Hurry up and kill them!”
After that, the mage knights swung his scythe and got ready to kill Sion.
Their movements were so swift that it was impossible to tell that they were clad in armor and holding large scythes…
“Damn it…we can’t run…?”
Sion stopped. He let go of the hand that was grabbing onto Ryner’s shoulder and immediately drew a magic array in the air.
“WHAT IS SEEK IS LIGHTNING>>>IZUCHI!”
Immediately, the magic array Sion drew gave a strong glow as it was fired at a mage knight. At this moment…
The mage knight drew out words in the air, a spell that was different from Roland’s magic…
Estabul’s magic.
Just like what Kiefer drew.
So Kiefer was…
The mage knight muttered,
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
During this time, the mage knight glowed golden…
He accelerated.
As he was too fast, Sion’s ‘Izuchi’ missed.
“Ku…”
During this time, Sion tried to utter another spell…
“HYHA!!”
There was an overwhelming difference in ability on both sides. Before Sion could even move, the mage knight rushed over and slammed his palm into Sion’s forehead.
“GUA!”
The impact caused Sion to fall backwards as he nearly lost his consciousness. However, the mage knight just wouldn’t let go of Sion’s head.
“HYAHAHAHA! DIE!!”
The mage knight intended to slam Sion into the branch behind…
At this moment, Ryner reached his hand into the air and started drawing words of light at an unbelievable speed.
And…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
Ryner finished the spell, and moved.
With lightning-like speed, he caught up to the mage knight that intended to slam Sion into the tree.
“HOI!”
He aimed an accelerated kick at the mage knight's head.
“GUAH!”
The mage knight let out a cry as he was sent flying with unbelievable force. The force caused even Ryner, who kicked, to be shocked…
Estabul’s magic really surprised him…
The mage knight that was kicked away rolled two, three times, and immediately stopped moving.
It looked like he passed out.
After checking that he dealt with the mage knight, Ryner carried Sion up.
“Oi, are you alright?”
“Ah, ahh…but…that magic just now…?”
“Haa, you should know about this, right, Sion? Really, I didn’t want to use it. It’s been 7 years since I used it…”
“…So that means that’s really…”
Before Sion could even finish, the remaining two mage knights questioned.
“Why, why are you…able to use our Estabul’s magic!?”
“Who are you!? Are you from Estabul!!?”
“Bu, but we never heard of spies entering Roland!!?”
Ryner seemed to feel rather annoyed as he said to the mage knights,
“Hm? That’s because I’m not a spy of Estabul…in that case, how would you have your information?”
“The, then why are you able to use Estabul’s magic…”
At this moment, the mage knight looked back to see Ryner’s face…
No…
He saw Ryner’s eyes, and started to tremble.
“O, oi…look at that guy’s eyes…those eyes…”
The other man heard that and looked at Ryner’s eyes.
Those eyes were lackluster and lacking will in such a situation.
Black eyes.
And…
Bright red pentacles in the middle of the eyes…
On seeing this, the mage knights looked shocked.
“Tho...Those pentacles…are...are you, are you an ‘Alpha Stigma’ bearer!?”
“What!? The, then, it was you!? You were the one who triggered that calamity…HII!?”
Immediately, the other mage knight cried out.
‘Alpha Stigma’.
People would state this term with fear and hatred…
The mage knight who was in an abnormal state started to tremble as he drew the words in the air.
“I, I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT DANCING IN THE SKY...”
“Idiot! That guy has the ‘Alpha Stigma’! Don’t use magic! Estabul’s magic will be stolen!”
But it was too late.
The power of magic appeared in the sky.
Ryner merely looked at it with his blank expression. He realized that this magic was different from Roland’s magic. He deciphered Estabul’s magic structure, formation, nature, power and then...
Ryner’s hand moved at a speed at which an ordinary person could not hope to see.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT IN THE SKY...”
‘RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT IN THE SKY’.
Ryner continued to perfectly copy the enemy’s magic construct, and the completion of the magic spell was just a split second late.
But the one who attacked first was Ryner.
The beasts that appeared in light and irregular beast shapes were above Ryner’s head.
And attacked the two mage knights…
“Th, this guy’s a…monster…”
The mage knights were attacked ferociously and lost consciousness.
After checking that the enemies were defeated, Ryner looked unhappy.
“I already deliberately weakened the power already. Don’t call me a monster…”
The battle ended just like that.
Ryner alone easily defeated 3 mage knights.
This was the power of the ‘Alpha Stigma’.
This was the power of Ryner, who was often ranked last…
Sion witnessed all of this.
“I say, you!”
He suddenly knocked on Ryner’s head.
“WAH! You…he? Heh? Why whack me all of a sudden?”
Ryner said unhappily.
But Sion still looked unhappy.
“At least there’s a limit to playing dumb! If you used such power at the beginning, you could have sent even 50 mage knights running back, right!? Wouldn’t our comrades have wasted their lives for nothing!?”
“Do…don’t kid around! How can I even beat 50 mage knights? Those enemies were just shocked that they saw my ‘Alpha Stigma’ and got careless, so I was able to beat them easily. Besides, it’s just 3 of them…no, only 2, you know? Stop joking.”
“Even so, but if you used that power on the battlefield, at least…”
But Ryner ignored Sion and turned around before sighing deeply.
“Haa, didn’t I say it? I have my reservations too. That was the first time I used magic in 7 years…and…”
But Sion immediately understood Ryner’s words.
“Damn it! What am I doing! No…sorry. I was too agitated. I lost so many of my allies in an instant…”
“…Un, I got it.”
Sion said,
“Let’s go save our comrades!”
“Un…”
Just like that, while both of them wanted to return to that path…
“Fm, is this your doing?”
A voice suddenly rang.
Looking up, another mage knight unknowingly stood in front of both of them.
No, he wasn’t any ordinary mage knight. He was wearing the same red armor, but the shape of the armor was a little different. And the presence he gave off was extremely stable.
The man saw the 3 mage knights that fell behind Ryner and Sion.
“Ho…so the 3 of them were knocked out? How did you do it? I don’t think you have such power…”
Ryner and Sion immediately tensed up. This knight was obviously different from the knights just now. There was no opening from him, and there was no intent of letting his guard down.
And—
Another mage knight walked over from behind the man.
“Captain. The guys that escaped north were all…”
Before he could finish, the mage knight found Ryner and Sion, and of course, saw the 3 magic knights that collapsed behind them.
“AH!? Beldom and the rest? Yo, you did this? But how…”
At this moment, the man called the captain raised his hand to stop his mage knight subordinate.
“Stop it, Lacus. I’m talking here. Say it. You’re the ones who beat the mage knights of Estabul, right?”
Ryner and Sion backed away.
This man’s face…
His tone was calm, but his face looked as ferocious as a beast. And there were two mage knights in front. Ryner and Sion had to beat them before the number of enemies increased…
Otherwise, even if Ryner had the ‘Alpha Stigma’, they would still be killed.
Ryner took action.
He drew words in the air and tried to chant Estabul’s magic.
However, this man didn’t look surprised at all as he looked steadily into Ryner’s eyes.
“Hoho, an ‘Alpha Stigma’? That’s rare. So that’s how you beat my subordinates? You…Roland swine!!”
Immediately, the man’s presence changed as he gave off intense killing aura. However, he didn’t move as he glanced at several spots behind Ryner.
“EVERYONE MOVE UP! THERE’S A MYSTERIOUS BEAST HERE! CAPTURE HIM!”
Immediately, tens of mage knights that were hidden in the forest unknowingly leaped out.
“What!?”
Ryner was shocked and inadvertently stopped the chanting of the spell…
Against so many enemies, he had no chance of winning.
And at this moment—
Sion was sent flying by the mage knights.
“Si…UAAHH!!”
Then, Ryner was kicked hard in the back too as he was sent flying forward. Someone then stepped on his head…
“Ugh…”
The man who stepped on Ryner was that man called the captain, the one who looked like a beast.
Ryner couldn’t move at all. Perhaps it was because he was kicked in the back that his vital spots were hit. He just felt his brain swaying, and couldn’t get his balance. And with so many mage knights…
Even in a normal situation, it’s not really possible to win this battle.
Just when he was thinking about it…
KO!
The man exerted more force on Ryner’s head, and Ryner’s consciousness faded somewhat.
The man said,
“Hohoho. So the ‘Alpha Stigma’ isn’t as impressive as it’s said to be, huh! But it’s kind of rare. Dig his eyes out for me! I want to keep them as a trophy!”
Ryner just stared blankly at the man’s face.
Such a useless man…
Was he going to allow this man dig his eyes out…
These eyes…
Though these eyes may be special…
It may not be bad to dig them out. These eyes will one day become a burden…
He would be rejected, feared…
Haa…everything’s so troublesome…
Will my eyes be dug out like that…
Oh well. I’m going to die anyway. Doesn’t matter if it hurts or not…but if I can choose it, I really don’t wish for it to hurt…
Just when he thought till there, another strong impact struck his head.
The man felt just like a rock as he continued to kick Ryner on the head.
And said to Ryner,
“What’s with that expression of yours!? Shouldn’t you be more scared or something!? Let me enjoy it more or something. Hm? I’m fuming here, you know! I got messed around by that traitor girl, bothering me come to such a desolate place! I don’t see any Roland mage knights, but some useless brats. What’s going on? And I have to see your stinking face like this, you brat!”
After that, Ryner got kicked on the head again.
“Uu…”
His mouth was broken inside, and his brain was all fuzzy.
The man’s words spun fuzzily in his head.
The traitor girl…
Was he referring to Kiefer?
Ahh~ so Kiefer escaped successfully…?
What about Sion…?
At this moment, Ryner got kicked again.
“…”
This time, he didn’t even let out a sound. Also, he started to feel numb too.
He just felt that nothing mattered…
He never liked to work hard anyway…
His mind was just thinking about all these useless things.
At this moment, Ryner was grabbed by the hair as he was dragged up.
The man’s face appeared in front of him.
“Oi, monster. You’re really irritating me here! I hate those guys who give up the most. Those who only know how to give up, those who only know how to run; how can this man here find it fun? Hm? What’s with that expression? ‘Alpha Stigma’ bearer? Hoho, how funny. Oh well. Enjoy this with me. That’s your comrade.”
With his hair being grabbed onto, Ryner turned into another direction.
And he saw—
Sion and Kiefer with their arms held behind as they stood up.
Immediately, Kiefer looked away when she saw Ryner, and Sion angrily stared at Ryner…no, that man who was grabbing Ryner.
The man said,
“Look at those two. What do you think? Hm? Monster?”
“…”
Ryner didn’t answer. He didn’t even have the strength to answer back.
And the man sent another punch at Ryner.
“If you don’t know, let this man here tell you! I killed all your comrades. Hohoho those two are your only comrades left.”
Ryner saw that Sion looked shocked when he heard that and muttered to himself,
“What…this means, Tai and…Fualu…”
But Ryner didn’t feel anything. His mind was abnormally clear, just thinking that everything didn’t matter…
“Oi, what’s with that expression? You’re really boring! Or is it that no matter how many I kill, it doesn’t matter to an ‘Alpha Stigma’ monster?”
Monster…?
This term echoed inside Ryner’s mind.
Yes. I’m a monster. People often curse me like this.
Monster, monster, monster.
A dirty monster.
Whenever Ryner showed his power, he would be called a monster.
Once he released his power, he would be called a monster.
It was scary. It was really scary.
Even if someone died or was sacrificed…he was a monster, so he didn’t have blood or tears.
His mind was becoming clearer.
His thoughts were becoming clearer.
The man said,
“Looks like you can’t make it. This guy won’t respond no matter what I say. Did I kick him too hard? Hoho. Oh well, time to end it end. Shall we start to clear up? Kill that silver haired brat immediately. As for the woman…do whatever you want. Just leave a share for me.”
Immediately.
“GYAH…u…uuahh.”
Sion was ganged up and beaten again and again.
It was a strange scene. Sion was being beaten by those people who were mocking him…
If this kept up, he might die.
Ryner used those dazed eyes to look at this scene.
Death…
Death…
Sion, Kiefer, me, and everyone…
Lots and lots and lots of deaths…
His consciousness was fading gradually.
He was scared.
But his consciousness…
At this moment, the screams and cheers could be heard.
Kiefer’s screams and the men’s cheers.
“STOP!? NO!!”
The men surrounded Kiefer.
The men…surrounded Kiefer…
Ryner’s eyes narrowed.
Sharply, really sharply…
There wasn’t any feeling at all.
Things that was important to him were about to return to zero.
That’s good.
That’s good.
Is this what I want?
It feels clear. It’s clearer. Everything that forms everything in this world spread through his vision…
In values, pictures and diagrams.
People will die.
But everything doesn’t matter.
Let’s end everything.
Everything—
According to my wish.
Release it.
Open.
Kill.
Kill everything.
Kill everything in front of me…
“Ah, ahhh.”
Ryner didn’t realize it, but the voice came out of his mouth. But so what? Nothing mattered anyway. His consciousness was fading more and more. Everything will vanish. It was too troublesome. No matter whether he was dead or alive, it was still too troublesome…
“Ah, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Ryner started laughing in a maniacal manner.
“What’s with this guy? Has he gone mad?”
The man looked back at Ryner in surprise while he was laughing madly. The mage knights around him looked over at Ryner too.
And…
“You…”
The man looked at Ryner and muttered,
“Wha, what…are you doing!?”
Ryner’s eyes widened.
There was a bright red pentacle in the center of the eye. Pentacle. Pentacle.
There wasn’t just one. Pentacles continued to multiply in Ryner’s eye. One of them suddenly came out of Ryner’s eye and entered the man’s chest.
“Heh? This is…”
Before the man could even say anything, he could only hear a voice that seemed to come from nowhere…
‘Don’t defy me. Your molecules shall scatter like sand.’
With the strange sound, SWOOSH, the man became sand.
And disintegrated…
“WHAT!?”
“WHA, WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
The mage knights saw this and went completely pale. Everyone immediately tensed up and surrounded Ryner.
“Wha, what was that…was it magic? Was it magic!?”
But Ryner didn’t answer. He wasn’t laughing maniacally like before, but continued to keep his mouth shut as he didn’t open it.
However…
‘God. Demon. Devil. Hero. Monster. What do you scum call me? WHAT DO YOU CALL ME? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!'
The voice rang. Laughter rang. The voice entered the minds of the mage knights directly.
It was a voice that would bring about anxiety and despair in the hearts of people.
On hearing this voice,
“WHA, WHAT’S THIS!?”
“KI, KILL HIM! ANYWAY, THIS GUY’S…”
The mage knights immediately panicked.
Several mage knights started chanting spells. Even though they knew that they may sacrifice their comrades when casting magic in such a tight area…they never showed any hesitation at all. They were so scared of this certain thing that was right in front of them.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OVERCASTING THE SKY!”
The mage knights were chanting the same spell. Once they chanted it, a blue vortex appeared in the sky and was released at Ryner.
“GO TO HELL, MONSTER!”
“BECOME DUST UNDER THE STRONGEST SPELL OF ESTABUL!”
After that,
‘Magic? You call this magic? Such a simple structure!? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!’
The voice rang again.
Ryner then raised his hand, and a pentacle that rolled from his eye landed on his palm.
That pentacle was giving off bright red light.
‘Analyse existence. Diffuse.”
Immediately.
The blue vortex that came at Ryner disappeared. Also, several mage knights that were standing right in front of Ryner disintegrated into dust through unknown means.
“…”
Having witnessed this…
The other mage knights couldn’t say anything.
The power was too shocking.
This wasn’t just the power at the level of a monster or a monster-class.
This was…
“…God’s…”
A mage knight muttered as he trembled.
At this moment, Ryner widened his arms out, and then his voice rang.
‘The (α) beginning is destruction. I don’t create anything. I don’t bless. I don’t redeem. I just erase, completely.’
And—
Ryner moved.
He grabbed the man in front of him on the head and pressed the pentacle on his palm on him.
‘Shatter.’
Once it was spoken, the man shattered after hearing the command.
“Hi, hii!!?”
The bright red imprint also pressed down on a mage knight who looked like escaping.
‘Break.’
The next moment, he was destroyed.
“Ha..ha…hahahahahahahaha!! Disappear. Collapse. Burst. Perish.”
Several mage knights went stiff due to overwhelming fear and couldn’t move. The other mage knights were desperately trying to chant magic and try to make their final comeback.
But all these were useless…
“HE, HE’S A MONSTER! WE’RE GOING TO GET KILLED!!”
“RUN!!”
The mage knights started to run away.
However—
‘I won’t let you run away. I’m going to make all of you disappear. All of you, all…'
At this moment, Ryner’s eyes—no, maybe we shouldn’t be calling him Ryner—showed the profile of a girl and a man beside her…
Kiefer and Sion were looking shocked at Ryner. What appeared in their eyes were fear, intimidation, hatred…
And an extremely unpleasant feeling.
A sharp pain went through his head. He felt that he had to eliminate them. It was easy for him to do so.
It was easy for him to destroy and wreck them.
Ryner raised his hand, and then—
His body continued to tremble.
No. He couldn’t kill. His body didn’t move.
Why?
The voice rang.
‘Wha, what’s going…the power…the pentacle’s vanishing…! What the…the contract…no…destroy…everything…’
Ryner again started to move and slowly arrived in front of Kiefer and Sion before grabbing them on the throat and raised them.
“Ah…Ry…ner…stop…”
“Guu…”
Both of them moaned.
On hearing their moans, Ryner’s movements became slower as the strength seeped out from him…
He had this feeling before. When he wanted to kill that girl back then, he was shocked to find that his strength was disappearing…
Ryner tried his best to gather his strength and choked Kiefer and Sion on the necks as he moaned,
“You two…are too dangerous…die…damn it…my strength…disappearing…my eye’s…closing…’
Kiefer shouted.
“RY…NER!”
Immediately, the fatal pain went through Ryner’s body.
Ryner frowned. No, it looked like he was resisting something and frowning as his body trembled.
‘No…don’t…don’t…close…’
Just when Ryner’s eyes were half closed, the force in his hands was suddenly released.
Sion used this chance to get away from Ryner’s hand, kicking the arm that was tightly holding onto Kiefer’s neck and forcing him to let go.
“I see…so that’s how we counter?”
Sion put his hand on Ryner’s face—no, his eyes…
“How about I help you cover it?”
On hearing Sion say this, for some reason, Ryner’s face showed a slightly agitated expression.
‘Stop it…you…people…’
Then—
The voice stopped.
“…”
Just like that, the trio remained silent for quite a while.
Then, Ryner tugged at Sion’s hand and said,
“I’m alright.”
He let go of Sion’s hand.
Sion continued looking at Ryner’s face, and Ryner in turn deliberately looked away while looking like he was deliberately trying to escape. Those loose and limp eyes…no, those eyes that seemed to have some sadness in them watched Kiefer who was shocked as she sat down and remained silent, and then looked around…
Some were scattered into dust. Some were sliced up…the mage knights who died in more ways than what one could imagine were piled up.
It was really an unbelievable scene of a massacre.
Ryner then looked at the hand that lost the pentacle.
“…Again.”
He merely muttered.
Seeing that Ryner really went back to normal, Sion looked around.
He looked at the corpses that piled up, looked at Ryner, at Kiefer, and then said to Kiefer,
“…It was my mistake to choose you. Tai, Tony, and Fualu…it was my mistake for the sacrifice of my allies. It’s the same for the war…and also that I’m still not king now…”
He narrowed his eyes.
And the trio turned to look back.
They didn’t notice it till now, but there was an earth rumbling loud sound. Behind them…far away, they could barely see a large army whipping up the earth as reinforcements moved forward.
It was the army with the flag of the Roland Empire.
Army.
Soldiers.
The group that was gathered to kill.
Ryner witnessed this,
“How worthless.”
And muttered again.
"Alright, we'll set up camp here. Classes 1 and 2 are in charge of protecting the water source. Classes 3 and 4 are in charge of preparing food, and the rest are in charge of setting up tents."
The captain roared out.
The soldiers in the battalion listened to his orders and started to take action.
As the sun rose into the sky, Ryner and the rest arrived at their destination.
Ryner looked around, and what he saw around him were plains and forests. No area was tidied up, and it really looked like the border.
It seemed that the Estabul enemy forces wouldn't be attacking such a place?
"The sun's so warm, ah~ looks like there's nothing to do. How great."
Ryner muttered and immediately sat down. Beside him, Tai said,
"Hey you, help set up the tent too!"
"Ehh~ how troublesome! I don't want too!"
"Haa? You don't want to live any longer!?"
"UUWA! STOP KICKING! I'M AGAINST VIOLENCE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!...KIEFER, SAVE ME! SAY SOMETHING TO TAI FOR ME! I WANT TO SLEEP TODAY! TELL HIM THAT I WANT TO SLEEP…"
"…"
Normally, Kiefer would be shouting 'stop yapping away. Help out too!' and things like that. However, Kiefer looked unexpectedly depressed as she said,
"…Ah? Ahh, sorry. I didn't hear that right. What were you saying?"
Kiefer's reaction was actually like this. Ryner and Tai heard that, and couldn't help but look at each other.
At this moment, Tony said,
"Kiefer. This guy's always slacking and idling away and not willing to help us set up tent. Can't you control him as usual?"
Fualu showed a slightly teasing smile too and said,
"Yeah. This Ryner, why do you always listen to your wife~ so Kiefer, say something!"
And…
"Is that so? Ryner, help everyone set up the tents, or else everyone will be troubled."
Kiefer still used that somewhat lonely and sad tone to say it.
Normally, if someone would talk to Kiefer about Ryner, she would definitely blush and deny it.
Ryner, Tai, Tony and Fualu gave looks at each other, and then…
Tai grabbed Ryner on the throat.
"Wa! Tai! What are you…"
However, Tai continued to choke Ryner on the neck and whispered at his ears in a voice Kiefer couldn’t hear, and interrogated him,
"You…did you do something to Kiefer and caused her to feel unhappy?"
"I, I don't know! Why do you think that I'm the reason Kiefer’s unhappy?"
"Tha, that's because…"
Tai couldn't argue back. Fualu was right beside and showing a delighted look as she too kept her voice down.
"Of course it's because Kiefer likes Ryner. Anyone can tell it. It's too obvious, you know? So if Kiefer's unhappy, Ryner, it'll definitely be because of you. Don't you have any idea? Did you say anything that may cause Kiefer to feel down? Or did you hurt her in any way?"
Fualu immediately cut to the point, and Ryner thought about what had happened before they were deployed.
He recalled it, and couldn't help but cry out,
"Ah…"
"So it's your fault!?"
"GYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!??"
This time, even Tony and Tai made wrestling moves on Ryner, causing him to nearly pass out.
"Ahaha! Ryner's always the same no matter whether it's on the battlefield or anywhere else. Speaking of which, can't everyone help set up the tents? It's tiring to do this alone."
Sion gave a wry smile as he said this.
In the end, no one was able to set up the tent…
On a side note, the gang, including Ryner and the rest, belonged to class 8.
And—
After Ryner's face was busted hard and as he was unable get up, everyone let Ryner off on the basis that he apologized to Kiefer. After that, Ryner nailed the peg for the tent at the wrong position and was nearly beaten to death. At this moment,
"Mr Sion, Classes 1 and 2 are going to defend the water point."
"Mr Sion, Classes 3 and 4 are going to find food. We'll be back before night."
The students ran over to Sion to report, and on seeing that, the captain couldn't help but roar out,
"YOU'RE TO REPORT THIS TO ME!"
But everyone ignored him.
"Then we're going, Mr Sion!"
4 classes, 24 people all left the battalion.
Yes. This battalion of 120 people was all Sion's allies…
Ryner was in Sion's group? Even though he had already met everyone… he wasn't good at memorizing other people's names. In the end, he only knew the names of his classmates and a few others…
In contrast, Sion didn't just remember everyone's names, but also everyone's faces, not to mention their profiles as well.
"How hardworking!"
Ryner thought that this was an amazing thing, but was even more amazed that Sion would always work on such troublesome things. That's the reason why Ryner's Ryner.
Let's not talk about this for now.
Once everyone's tent was more or less set up, Sion said,
"Tai, Tony, Fualu. Can you help set up the tents for classes 1 and 2 since they're defending the water point?"
On hearing this command,
"Why do we have to set up tents for others…"
Tai looked like he wanted to protest, but Sion suddenly looked at Ryner.
Ryner inadvertently frowned.
"Ehh, even if you look at me like that, I won't set up some tent or something. It's troublesome, and everyone wants to sleep…"
But Sion smiled at him,
"I know Ryner's personality. Just stay here. You don't look so good, Kiefer, so I think you should rest inside the tent. I'll help out with classes 3 and 4. Do you want to follow me, Tai?"
And Tai smiled.
"So that's how it is? Okay. We'll go out, alright? Tony, Fualu? Alright, let's go!"
"Yeah."
"Fufufu♥ Yeah"
Sion joined in too.
"Then Ryner, I'll leave first."
After saying that, Sion gave a mysterious smile as he left.
Ryner blankly stared at the group that left, and saw the depressed look on Kiefer's face…
"Uu…"
He fell into the trap.
That loose and lazy face looked like it was extremely bothered. He frowned and moaned deep inside.
This was the first time Ryner saw Kiefer look so down. Normally, she would be extremely cheery and liked to bother Ryner.
But right now, she felt really bad.
Ahh…really…that’s a troublesome thing…
Even though Ryner thought so, he tried to speak in a slightly sharper voice,
"Ahh~ erm…Kiefer, the weather's fine today…"
His mind was already all fuzzy, and he didn't know what to do…
Ryner's mind was all blank as he couldn’t find any suitable words for the time being.
"…"
Kiefer remained silent.
Ryner really couldn’t take this pressure.
"Auu…erm…I, I think I’ll take a nap…"
At this moment,
"Ryner…"
Kiefer spoke up, she looked really stern as if there's no way back.
She used a trembling yet firm voice that seemed to have some form of determination in it.
"Ryner…do you want to run away with me?"
"Heh?"
What Kiefer said was too unexpected and Ryner couldn’t help but be shocked by this and called out.'
But Kiefer didn’t care about his response as she grabbed Ryner’s arms hard.
"Ryner, listen to me. Run away with me, will you? Don’t follow Sion, follow me…"
"Ah, well, Kiefer, what are you saying…"
At this moment.
"I…like Ryner."
Kiefer said.
Kiefer said that she liked Ryner.
Clearly.
Then, Kiefer expressed herself again.
"I like you, Ryner. Ever since we entered the academy…Ryner’s my only support. I used to be alone…in fact…I can’t make friends. I can’t trust any friends."
Kiefer sounded really agitated.
For a while, Ryner really couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Can’t make friends?
What is she talking about…
Kiefer continued,
"But Ryner, you…you never showed any will, never had any thoughts for this country, and never tried to work hard in life like everyone else. I could think only when I’m with you…unknowingly, I fell for you…I like you, Ryner…even though I can’t do this, I fell for you…but Ryner, what about you? Don’t you like me, Ryner? Or…"
Kiefer stared at Ryner’s face.
Tears rolled down her face…
Kiefer grabbed Ryner hard on the shoulders.
But Ryner…
His eyes didn’t show any sparkle as he still remained limp in a lazy fashion…however, those dry eyes were showing a mysterious emptiness for some reason.
"I…"
His eyes were dry, really dry, so dry that it ached.
"Ryner…"
Kiefer closed her eyes and lifted her head up. Her beautiful face was right in front…
Ryner stared at that bewitching face.
Through those limp and lifeless eyes of his.
Through those ominous black eyes of him.
People said that those eyes had the color of death. People said that those eyes had disaster within them.
The people who had such eyes were hated and rejected…
"Ahahaha. What’s with you, Kiefer? Really, kidding around like this…"
Ryner gave a dry laugh as he got away from Kiefer.
It’s troublesome. Everything’s all troublesome…
Kiefer didn’t resist at all as Ryner moved away.
"You’re right…I really couldn’t get anything…I already knew it…even so, I continued to dream on wildly. I’m really a big idiot…"
Kiefer’s eyes were just like those of a corpse. The light in her eyes had vanished.
On seeing this, Ryner gave a troubled look.
"Ah, Kiefer, I don’t mean this…"
But Kiefer interrupted Ryner’s words and continued,
"Even so, I don’t want you to die like this Ryner. I just hope that Ryner…but…sorry, Ryner. I can’t protect you…"
After saying that, Kiefer’s hands drew words of light in the air. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and muttered,
"I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING SPIRIT OF LIGHT DWELL WITHIN."
Immediately, a large ball of light appeared in front of Kiefer.
That’s magic…
But that magic was completely different from the Roland magic that needed a magic array.
"Wha…"
Ryner cried out in shock.
This was too strange. Why would Kiefer, a resident of Roland, use a spell Ryner didn’t know?
The magic of all the countries were completely different. The activation manner, construct and spell type were completely different, so nobody would normally think of using spells other than their own countries.Normally…
The ball of light that appeared in front of Kiefer slowly rose in the air and bounced.
The orb of light that had been fired immediately disappeared.
After witnessing this scene, Ryner was stunned and looked at Kiefer.
"What are you doing, Kiefer?"
But Kiefer didn’t answer. She used her lifeless yet depressed eyes to glance at Ryner,
"Goodbye."
And suddenly walked away.
"Wai…!"
At this moment, Sion appeared from behind.
"What was that light? Ryner, what hap…"
Ryner and Sion could only speak halfway through.
It suddenly happened.
The upper body of a human was thrown at Ryner.
"Ehh…"
It was really the upper body only. He couldn’t see the lower body at all.
"WHA, WHAT IS THIS!"
Sion roared.
Then,
Ryner and company were surrounded by screams from all over the place.
It was a completely radical scene.
A person holding a huge scythe like a death god, in streamlined red armor, was dragging a red afterimage as he ran over the plains at unbelievable speeds.
As the scythe swung, Ryner’s allies’ heads or bodies were thrown into the air one after another…
That scene was just like hell..
Just like hell.
Sion shouted,
"THE MAGE KNIGHTS FROM ESTABUL!? WHY ARE THEY HERE!"
Why in such a place…
On hearing that, Ryner frowned. The spell Kiefer used looked just like a signal or something.
Speaking of which, did Kiefer summon the mage knights of Estabul? Was Kiefer a spy of Estabul? But why did she do this?
The battalion of comrades Sion assembled shouldn’t be a powerful force in the army, and can be said to be just a sacrificial pawn—like squad where a flock of birds gathered. Unbelievably, Estabul would deliberately send a spy out just to crush this squad, and even sent in the mage knights…
And what’s the real reason? What exactly happened?
Ryner continued to think.
"Ah, I don’t understand at all! This is way too troublesome! How did things end up like this!"
Perhaps he wasn’t used to thinking of things like this as he was immediately enraged.
Let’s not talk about Ryner’s reaction for now. The entire situation was going from bad to worse.
Sion looked around.
"Damn it! If this keeps up, we’ll be annihilated! EVERYONE, FALL BACK! TRY AND HIDE IN THE WOODS! REGROUP!"
On Sion’s command, the battle situation changed.
The battle members who were stricken with fear and unable to move started to move to the forest.
Once Sion checked that everyone took action, he turned to look at Ryner.
"Ryner!"
"Heh?"
"We must try to survive here!"
"Eh…ah, ahh!"
Both of them started running.
In the forest,
Ryner and Sion were hidden under the trees as they held their breath.
They felt that they had already run quite some distance from the battlefield just now, and thus they couldn’t see any of their comrades around. Even so, they continued to remain tense.
No, they were in a situation where they had to be nervous.
Sion said softly,
“…We’ll be found out if we hide here.”
“Really?”
“Ahh. The enemy’s the mage knights. They won’t just let us off easily, right?”
“But so? But we…”
At this moment, Sion suddenly kept quiet.
Ryner said in a puzzled manner,
“Us? What about us?”
But Sion didn’t answer this question.
“Ryner, do you know how many enemies are there? My first confirmation showed that there’s 20…”
But the answer he got was,
“No, there’s 50.”
Ryner shook his head and simply answered.
Sion gave a surprised look at Ryner.
“…You actually knew how many enemies there were in that situation?”
“Since when can I do that? A mage knight that was going about killing was laughing and saying ‘you fool! Do you think you can escape the grasp of us 50 mage knights—!?', so there should be 50 of them, right?”
“Oh, I see.”
Sion nodded his head. He then narrowed his eyes and continued,
“Uu… such a messy situation. How many managed to escape successfully…other than the people who went to the water point and to search for food, there’s about 100 of them…”
“…yeah. Then, what are you trying to say?”
But Sion didn’t answer this question.
“Tai, Tony and Fualu are amongst them.”
“I say…”
“Kiefer may be amongst them. What do you think, Ryner?”
“Haa…”
Ryner sighed and said,
“Really…this is really troublesome…yes, yes. I understand. You want me to save them, right? But what should we do? They’re the mage knights, 50 of them…we’ll definitely die if we fight them head on.”
On hearing that, Sion nodded his head.
“That’s right. The only way is to save our comrades and retreat without fighting.”
“That’s impossible, right?”
“But we have to try it.”
“Uuwah…I’m least skilled with dealing with such things that have duty…”
At this moment, Sion’s expression changed. It was a sharp smile that was very competitive. He tensed his muscles.
“You’re right, Ryner…it’s impossible to retreat without fighting.”
Immediately.
Swoosh!
A sharp scythe stabbed into the branch of the tree where Ryner and Sion were hiding at.
“Found you~”
It was a mage knight.
The red mage knight of Estabul.
Both of them seemed to bounce off as they ran away from the scene.
After pulling some distance away from the mage knight, they looked back, and found that three men clad in red armor were standing there.
“Ahh~… that’s the worst situation…”
Ryner frowned.
The mage knights of Estabul…
The sign of death.
Any country would have a squad that’s called mage knights. However…
This squad had the power to level tens of thousands people in an army. Once they appeared on the battlefield, this army of death would annihilate all the enemies and pile up the corpses in the battlefield.
Only a mage knight squadron could match up against one.
Only the mage knights of Roland could match up against the mage knights of the kingdom of Estabul. To those who haven’t even graduated from the academy like Ryner, this was just like fighting with rocks.
Sion was the valedictorian of the academy, but the mage knights were of a completely different level.
Anyone knew that.
Once they’re targeted by the mage knights, there’s only death left.
Sion shouted,
“RYNER! RUN AWAY! I’LL HANDLE…”
But—
“Ahh…how troublesome…”
At this moment, Ryner suddenly regained his composure. Those lifeless eyes were as bleak as ever even in such a tense moment.
He stared decisively at those mage knights with cruel sneers.
They sneered and said,
“Run all you want~ lackeys of Roland, and delight us all you want. I~ will let you suffer as much as possible~”
The mage knight said slowly.
But Ryner still remained unmoving.
“What is it? Have you given up? It won’t be interesting if you don’t run~away? Oh well, since you can’t run away from us, this is the correct decision.”
Sion immediately took action as he grabbed Ryner on the shoulder.
“What are you doing, Ryner? Run! Even if the possibility’s not great, don’t give up!”
Sion tried hard to drag Ryner as he tried to run away.
On seeing this, the mage knights immediately showed delighted looks.
“Hahaa! You look like an interesting person!”
The other two mage knights said,
“Beldom! Don’t play too much and let the lackeys of Roland run!”
“Hurry up and kill them!”
After that, the mage knights swung his scythe and got ready to kill Sion.
Their movements were so swift that it was impossible to tell that they were clad in armor and holding large scythes…
“Damn it…we can’t run…?”
Sion stopped. He let go of the hand that was grabbing onto Ryner’s shoulder and immediately drew a magic array in the air.
“WHAT IS SEEK IS LIGHTNING>>>IZUCHI!”
Immediately, the magic array Sion drew gave a strong glow as it was fired at a mage knight. At this moment…
The mage knight drew out words in the air, a spell that was different from Roland’s magic…
Estabul’s magic.
Just like what Kiefer drew.
So Kiefer was…
The mage knight muttered,
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
During this time, the mage knight glowed golden…
He accelerated.
As he was too fast, Sion’s ‘Izuchi’ missed.
“Ku…”
During this time, Sion tried to utter another spell…
“HYHA!!”
There was an overwhelming difference in ability on both sides. Before Sion could even move, the mage knight rushed over and slammed his palm into Sion’s forehead.
“GUA!”
The impact caused Sion to fall backwards as he nearly lost his consciousness. However, the mage knight just wouldn’t let go of Sion’s head.
“HYAHAHAHA! DIE!!”
The mage knight intended to slam Sion into the branch behind…
At this moment, Ryner reached his hand into the air and started drawing words of light at an unbelievable speed.
And…
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, LETTING THE SLUMBERING MALICIOUS SPIRIT DWELL WITHIN.”
Ryner finished the spell, and moved.
With lightning-like speed, he caught up to the mage knight that intended to slam Sion into the tree.
“HOI!”
He aimed an accelerated kick at the mage knight's head.
“GUAH!”
The mage knight let out a cry as he was sent flying with unbelievable force. The force caused even Ryner, who kicked, to be shocked…
Estabul’s magic really surprised him…
The mage knight that was kicked away rolled two, three times, and immediately stopped moving.
It looked like he passed out.
After checking that he dealt with the mage knight, Ryner carried Sion up.
“Oi, are you alright?”
“Ah, ahh…but…that magic just now…?”
“Haa, you should know about this, right, Sion? Really, I didn’t want to use it. It’s been 7 years since I used it…”
“…So that means that’s really…”
Before Sion could even finish, the remaining two mage knights questioned.
“Why, why are you…able to use our Estabul’s magic!?”
“Who are you!? Are you from Estabul!!?”
“Bu, but we never heard of spies entering Roland!!?”
Ryner seemed to feel rather annoyed as he said to the mage knights,
“Hm? That’s because I’m not a spy of Estabul…in that case, how would you have your information?”
“The, then why are you able to use Estabul’s magic…”
At this moment, the mage knight looked back to see Ryner’s face…
No…
He saw Ryner’s eyes, and started to tremble.
“O, oi…look at that guy’s eyes…those eyes…”
The other man heard that and looked at Ryner’s eyes.
Those eyes were lackluster and lacking will in such a situation.
Black eyes.
And…
Bright red pentacles in the middle of the eyes…
On seeing this, the mage knights looked shocked.
“Tho...Those pentacles…are...are you, are you an ‘Alpha Stigma’ bearer!?”
“What!? The, then, it was you!? You were the one who triggered that calamity…HII!?”
Immediately, the other mage knight cried out.
‘Alpha Stigma’.
People would state this term with fear and hatred…
The mage knight who was in an abnormal state started to tremble as he drew the words in the air.
“I, I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT DANCING IN THE SKY...”
“Idiot! That guy has the ‘Alpha Stigma’! Don’t use magic! Estabul’s magic will be stolen!”
But it was too late.
The power of magic appeared in the sky.
Ryner merely looked at it with his blank expression. He realized that this magic was different from Roland’s magic. He deciphered Estabul’s magic structure, formation, nature, power and then...
Ryner’s hand moved at a speed at which an ordinary person could not hope to see.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT IN THE SKY...”
‘RELEASING THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT IN THE SKY’.
Ryner continued to perfectly copy the enemy’s magic construct, and the completion of the magic spell was just a split second late.
But the one who attacked first was Ryner.
The beasts that appeared in light and irregular beast shapes were above Ryner’s head.
And attacked the two mage knights…
“Th, this guy’s a…monster…”
The mage knights were attacked ferociously and lost consciousness.
After checking that the enemies were defeated, Ryner looked unhappy.
“I already deliberately weakened the power already. Don’t call me a monster…”
The battle ended just like that.
Ryner alone easily defeated 3 mage knights.
This was the power of the ‘Alpha Stigma’.
This was the power of Ryner, who was often ranked last…
Sion witnessed all of this.
“I say, you!”
He suddenly knocked on Ryner’s head.
“WAH! You…he? Heh? Why whack me all of a sudden?”
Ryner said unhappily.
But Sion still looked unhappy.
“At least there’s a limit to playing dumb! If you used such power at the beginning, you could have sent even 50 mage knights running back, right!? Wouldn’t our comrades have wasted their lives for nothing!?”
“Do…don’t kid around! How can I even beat 50 mage knights? Those enemies were just shocked that they saw my ‘Alpha Stigma’ and got careless, so I was able to beat them easily. Besides, it’s just 3 of them…no, only 2, you know? Stop joking.”
“Even so, but if you used that power on the battlefield, at least…”
But Ryner ignored Sion and turned around before sighing deeply.
“Haa, didn’t I say it? I have my reservations too. That was the first time I used magic in 7 years…and…”
But Sion immediately understood Ryner’s words.
“Damn it! What am I doing! No…sorry. I was too agitated. I lost so many of my allies in an instant…”
“…Un, I got it.”
Sion said,
“Let’s go save our comrades!”
“Un…”
Just like that, while both of them wanted to return to that path…
“Fm, is this your doing?”
A voice suddenly rang.
Looking up, another mage knight unknowingly stood in front of both of them.
No, he wasn’t any ordinary mage knight. He was wearing the same red armor, but the shape of the armor was a little different. And the presence he gave off was extremely stable.
The man saw the 3 mage knights that fell behind Ryner and Sion.
“Ho…so the 3 of them were knocked out? How did you do it? I don’t think you have such power…”
Ryner and Sion immediately tensed up. This knight was obviously different from the knights just now. There was no opening from him, and there was no intent of letting his guard down.
And—
Another mage knight walked over from behind the man.
“Captain. The guys that escaped north were all…”
Before he could finish, the mage knight found Ryner and Sion, and of course, saw the 3 magic knights that collapsed behind them.
“AH!? Beldom and the rest? Yo, you did this? But how…”
At this moment, the man called the captain raised his hand to stop his mage knight subordinate.
“Stop it, Lacus. I’m talking here. Say it. You’re the ones who beat the mage knights of Estabul, right?”
Ryner and Sion backed away.
This man’s face…
His tone was calm, but his face looked as ferocious as a beast. And there were two mage knights in front. Ryner and Sion had to beat them before the number of enemies increased…
Otherwise, even if Ryner had the ‘Alpha Stigma’, they would still be killed.
Ryner took action.
He drew words in the air and tried to chant Estabul’s magic.
However, this man didn’t look surprised at all as he looked steadily into Ryner’s eyes.
“Hoho, an ‘Alpha Stigma’? That’s rare. So that’s how you beat my subordinates? You…Roland swine!!”
Immediately, the man’s presence changed as he gave off intense killing aura. However, he didn’t move as he glanced at several spots behind Ryner.
“EVERYONE MOVE UP! THERE’S A MYSTERIOUS BEAST HERE! CAPTURE HIM!”
Immediately, tens of mage knights that were hidden in the forest unknowingly leaped out.
“What!?”
Ryner was shocked and inadvertently stopped the chanting of the spell…
Against so many enemies, he had no chance of winning.
And at this moment—
Sion was sent flying by the mage knights.
“Si…UAAHH!!”
Then, Ryner was kicked hard in the back too as he was sent flying forward. Someone then stepped on his head…
“Ugh…”
The man who stepped on Ryner was that man called the captain, the one who looked like a beast.
Ryner couldn’t move at all. Perhaps it was because he was kicked in the back that his vital spots were hit. He just felt his brain swaying, and couldn’t get his balance. And with so many mage knights…
Even in a normal situation, it’s not really possible to win this battle.
Just when he was thinking about it…
KO!
The man exerted more force on Ryner’s head, and Ryner’s consciousness faded somewhat.
The man said,
“Hohoho. So the ‘Alpha Stigma’ isn’t as impressive as it’s said to be, huh! But it’s kind of rare. Dig his eyes out for me! I want to keep them as a trophy!”
Ryner just stared blankly at the man’s face.
Such a useless man…
Was he going to allow this man dig his eyes out…
These eyes…
Though these eyes may be special…
It may not be bad to dig them out. These eyes will one day become a burden…
He would be rejected, feared…
Haa…everything’s so troublesome…
Will my eyes be dug out like that…
Oh well. I’m going to die anyway. Doesn’t matter if it hurts or not…but if I can choose it, I really don’t wish for it to hurt…
Just when he thought till there, another strong impact struck his head.
The man felt just like a rock as he continued to kick Ryner on the head.
And said to Ryner,
“What’s with that expression of yours!? Shouldn’t you be more scared or something!? Let me enjoy it more or something. Hm? I’m fuming here, you know! I got messed around by that traitor girl, bothering me come to such a desolate place! I don’t see any Roland mage knights, but some useless brats. What’s going on? And I have to see your stinking face like this, you brat!”
After that, Ryner got kicked on the head again.
“Uu…”
His mouth was broken inside, and his brain was all fuzzy.
The man’s words spun fuzzily in his head.
The traitor girl…
Was he referring to Kiefer?
Ahh~ so Kiefer escaped successfully…?
What about Sion…?
At this moment, Ryner got kicked again.
“…”
This time, he didn’t even let out a sound. Also, he started to feel numb too.
He just felt that nothing mattered…
He never liked to work hard anyway…
His mind was just thinking about all these useless things.
At this moment, Ryner was grabbed by the hair as he was dragged up.
The man’s face appeared in front of him.
“Oi, monster. You’re really irritating me here! I hate those guys who give up the most. Those who only know how to give up, those who only know how to run; how can this man here find it fun? Hm? What’s with that expression? ‘Alpha Stigma’ bearer? Hoho, how funny. Oh well. Enjoy this with me. That’s your comrade.”
With his hair being grabbed onto, Ryner turned into another direction.
And he saw—
Sion and Kiefer with their arms held behind as they stood up.
Immediately, Kiefer looked away when she saw Ryner, and Sion angrily stared at Ryner…no, that man who was grabbing Ryner.
The man said,
“Look at those two. What do you think? Hm? Monster?”
“…”
Ryner didn’t answer. He didn’t even have the strength to answer back.
And the man sent another punch at Ryner.
“If you don’t know, let this man here tell you! I killed all your comrades. Hohoho those two are your only comrades left.”
Ryner saw that Sion looked shocked when he heard that and muttered to himself,
“What…this means, Tai and…Fualu…”
But Ryner didn’t feel anything. His mind was abnormally clear, just thinking that everything didn’t matter…
“Oi, what’s with that expression? You’re really boring! Or is it that no matter how many I kill, it doesn’t matter to an ‘Alpha Stigma’ monster?”
Monster…?
This term echoed inside Ryner’s mind.
Yes. I’m a monster. People often curse me like this.
Monster, monster, monster.
A dirty monster.
Whenever Ryner showed his power, he would be called a monster.
Once he released his power, he would be called a monster.
It was scary. It was really scary.
Even if someone died or was sacrificed…he was a monster, so he didn’t have blood or tears.
His mind was becoming clearer.
His thoughts were becoming clearer.
The man said,
“Looks like you can’t make it. This guy won’t respond no matter what I say. Did I kick him too hard? Hoho. Oh well, time to end it end. Shall we start to clear up? Kill that silver haired brat immediately. As for the woman…do whatever you want. Just leave a share for me.”
Immediately.
“GYAH…u…uuahh.”
Sion was ganged up and beaten again and again.
It was a strange scene. Sion was being beaten by those people who were mocking him…
If this kept up, he might die.
Ryner used those dazed eyes to look at this scene.
Death…
Death…
Sion, Kiefer, me, and everyone…
Lots and lots and lots of deaths…
His consciousness was fading gradually.
He was scared.
But his consciousness…
At this moment, the screams and cheers could be heard.
Kiefer’s screams and the men’s cheers.
“STOP!? NO!!”
The men surrounded Kiefer.
The men…surrounded Kiefer…
Ryner’s eyes narrowed.
Sharply, really sharply…
There wasn’t any feeling at all.
Things that was important to him were about to return to zero.
That’s good.
That’s good.
Is this what I want?
It feels clear. It’s clearer. Everything that forms everything in this world spread through his vision…
In values, pictures and diagrams.
People will die.
But everything doesn’t matter.
Let’s end everything.
Everything—
According to my wish.
Release it.
Open.
Kill.
Kill everything.
Kill everything in front of me…
“Ah, ahhh.”
Ryner didn’t realize it, but the voice came out of his mouth. But so what? Nothing mattered anyway. His consciousness was fading more and more. Everything will vanish. It was too troublesome. No matter whether he was dead or alive, it was still too troublesome…
“Ah, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Ryner started laughing in a maniacal manner.
“What’s with this guy? Has he gone mad?”
The man looked back at Ryner in surprise while he was laughing madly. The mage knights around him looked over at Ryner too.
And…
“You…”
The man looked at Ryner and muttered,
“Wha, what…are you doing!?”
Ryner’s eyes widened.
There was a bright red pentacle in the center of the eye. Pentacle. Pentacle.
There wasn’t just one. Pentacles continued to multiply in Ryner’s eye. One of them suddenly came out of Ryner’s eye and entered the man’s chest.
“Heh? This is…”
Before the man could even say anything, he could only hear a voice that seemed to come from nowhere…
‘Don’t defy me. Your molecules shall scatter like sand.’
With the strange sound, SWOOSH, the man became sand.
And disintegrated…
“WHAT!?”
“WHA, WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
The mage knights saw this and went completely pale. Everyone immediately tensed up and surrounded Ryner.
“Wha, what was that…was it magic? Was it magic!?”
But Ryner didn’t answer. He wasn’t laughing maniacally like before, but continued to keep his mouth shut as he didn’t open it.
However…
‘God. Demon. Devil. Hero. Monster. What do you scum call me? WHAT DO YOU CALL ME? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!'
The voice rang. Laughter rang. The voice entered the minds of the mage knights directly.
It was a voice that would bring about anxiety and despair in the hearts of people.
On hearing this voice,
“WHA, WHAT’S THIS!?”
“KI, KILL HIM! ANYWAY, THIS GUY’S…”
The mage knights immediately panicked.
Several mage knights started chanting spells. Even though they knew that they may sacrifice their comrades when casting magic in such a tight area…they never showed any hesitation at all. They were so scared of this certain thing that was right in front of them.
“I OFFER THE CONTRACTED WORDS, RELEASING THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OVERCASTING THE SKY!”
The mage knights were chanting the same spell. Once they chanted it, a blue vortex appeared in the sky and was released at Ryner.
“GO TO HELL, MONSTER!”
“BECOME DUST UNDER THE STRONGEST SPELL OF ESTABUL!”
After that,
‘Magic? You call this magic? Such a simple structure!? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!’
The voice rang again.
Ryner then raised his hand, and a pentacle that rolled from his eye landed on his palm.
That pentacle was giving off bright red light.
‘Analyse existence. Diffuse.”
Immediately.
The blue vortex that came at Ryner disappeared. Also, several mage knights that were standing right in front of Ryner disintegrated into dust through unknown means.
“…”
Having witnessed this…
The other mage knights couldn’t say anything.
The power was too shocking.
This wasn’t just the power at the level of a monster or a monster-class.
This was…
“…God’s…”
A mage knight muttered as he trembled.
At this moment, Ryner widened his arms out, and then his voice rang.
‘The (α) beginning is destruction. I don’t create anything. I don’t bless. I don’t redeem. I just erase, completely.’
And—
Ryner moved.
He grabbed the man in front of him on the head and pressed the pentacle on his palm on him.
‘Shatter.’
Once it was spoken, the man shattered after hearing the command.
“Hi, hii!!?”
The bright red imprint also pressed down on a mage knight who looked like escaping.
‘Break.’
The next moment, he was destroyed.
“Ha..ha…hahahahahahahaha!! Disappear. Collapse. Burst. Perish.”
Several mage knights went stiff due to overwhelming fear and couldn’t move. The other mage knights were desperately trying to chant magic and try to make their final comeback.
But all these were useless…
“HE, HE’S A MONSTER! WE’RE GOING TO GET KILLED!!”
“RUN!!”
The mage knights started to run away.
However—
‘I won’t let you run away. I’m going to make all of you disappear. All of you, all…'
At this moment, Ryner’s eyes—no, maybe we shouldn’t be calling him Ryner—showed the profile of a girl and a man beside her…
Kiefer and Sion were looking shocked at Ryner. What appeared in their eyes were fear, intimidation, hatred…
And an extremely unpleasant feeling.
A sharp pain went through his head. He felt that he had to eliminate them. It was easy for him to do so.
It was easy for him to destroy and wreck them.
Ryner raised his hand, and then—
His body continued to tremble.
No. He couldn’t kill. His body didn’t move.
Why?
The voice rang.
‘Wha, what’s going…the power…the pentacle’s vanishing…! What the…the contract…no…destroy…everything…’
Ryner again started to move and slowly arrived in front of Kiefer and Sion before grabbing them on the throat and raised them.
“Ah…Ry…ner…stop…”
“Guu…”
Both of them moaned.
On hearing their moans, Ryner’s movements became slower as the strength seeped out from him…
He had this feeling before. When he wanted to kill that girl back then, he was shocked to find that his strength was disappearing…
Ryner tried his best to gather his strength and choked Kiefer and Sion on the necks as he moaned,
“You two…are too dangerous…die…damn it…my strength…disappearing…my eye’s…closing…’
Kiefer shouted.
“RY…NER!”
Immediately, the fatal pain went through Ryner’s body.
Ryner frowned. No, it looked like he was resisting something and frowning as his body trembled.
‘No…don’t…don’t…close…’
Just when Ryner’s eyes were half closed, the force in his hands was suddenly released.
Sion used this chance to get away from Ryner’s hand, kicking the arm that was tightly holding onto Kiefer’s neck and forcing him to let go.
“I see…so that’s how we counter?”
Sion put his hand on Ryner’s face—no, his eyes…
“How about I help you cover it?”
On hearing Sion say this, for some reason, Ryner’s face showed a slightly agitated expression.
‘Stop it…you…people…’
Then—
The voice stopped.
“…”
Just like that, the trio remained silent for quite a while.
Then, Ryner tugged at Sion’s hand and said,
“I’m alright.”
He let go of Sion’s hand.
Sion continued looking at Ryner’s face, and Ryner in turn deliberately looked away while looking like he was deliberately trying to escape. Those loose and limp eyes…no, those eyes that seemed to have some sadness in them watched Kiefer who was shocked as she sat down and remained silent, and then looked around…
Some were scattered into dust. Some were sliced up…the mage knights who died in more ways than what one could imagine were piled up.
It was really an unbelievable scene of a massacre.
Ryner then looked at the hand that lost the pentacle.
“…Again.”
He merely muttered.
Seeing that Ryner really went back to normal, Sion looked around.
He looked at the corpses that piled up, looked at Ryner, at Kiefer, and then said to Kiefer,
“…It was my mistake to choose you. Tai, Tony, and Fualu…it was my mistake for the sacrifice of my allies. It’s the same for the war…and also that I’m still not king now…”
He narrowed his eyes.
And the trio turned to look back.
They didn’t notice it till now, but there was an earth rumbling loud sound. Behind them…far away, they could barely see a large army whipping up the earth as reinforcements moved forward.
It was the army with the flag of the Roland Empire.
Army.
Soldiers.
The group that was gathered to kill.
Ryner witnessed this,
“How worthless.”
And muttered again.
