“You are saying that you can buy us some time? You? The one who ran away from magic training and made a living as a false caster?”
“And what of you? A swindler’s accomplice. The toughest opponents you have ever fought on your own were nothing more than common street thugs, were they not?”
The enemies closed in with spears and their faces twisted with madness.
The horde had now split up into several groups. It seemed that they intended to descend upon the main force from every direction at once.
“Why…?”
Even in the darkness, he could clearly see his partner’s hand trembling.
“Why did you decide to do something like this?”
“I think…”
The hand gripping his staff was trembling just the same.
“…This is my way of atoning…for covering everything in lies and falsehoods, and leading all those people to this place.”
The Hero had appeared before him one day, back when he had been scraping out a living through a petty swindler’s trade.
And from that day on, he had become the brilliant strategist Vengras, rousing people, deceiving them, and driving countless men into the Hero’s army.
“More than anything, I was the one who brought you into this. I cannot help feeling responsible.”
“What nonsense. You were probably planning to fight just enough to look brave, then disappear. But if you mean to pull such a stunt, allow me to join you.”
“Ah. That was an option, eh? How careless of me to overlook it.”
Vengras raised his staff and began to chant.
“Keen frost that comes with the Frost Moon, let the frozen silver blessing become the arrow of judgment that pierces all obstacles.”
Answering the force of his will, a single silver sphere of magic materialized in the empty air.
Just one.
“Heh… That is not the most stylish way to end things.”
His partner drew his sword and settled into a fighting stance.
Vengras raised his staff.
“Strike the down, Frozen Moon Arrow.”
A streak of silver shot through the void and vanished into the tide of monsters.
But nothing changed. The countless crimson eyes gleaming in the darkness showed no reaction at all. For the sake of a single, utterly futile spell, he had thrown away his last chance to escape forever.
“You really do like to make a mess of things.”
The moment Vengras gave a wry smile…
“Giiihyaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The monsters’ collective shrieks swallowed everything, shattering his consciousness along with the blue robes that he wore.
And at the edge of his fading vision, a suit of exquisitely crafted armor splintered apart, crumbling into fragments like the shell of an egg.
—
“Ju-ust leave us behind!”
Farnan collapsed to the ground as he gasped for breath. Ditore, who had been supporting him, also dropped to one knee. He was choking as blood continued to seep from his wounds.
“I-It is no use… No matter where we run, we are not getting away. A priest without divine blessings cannot heal wounds this severe. Just…leave us behind.”
“You fool! Can you not see our men over there? Even if we do not have healing magic, they will at least have bandages and medicine! Stop whining and get moving!”
The monsters were advancing quickly, but the main force was still holding its ground.
More importantly, the command camp lay behind them. And surely, the royal knights were still standing ready.
“Just run! If you can make it over there…”
But Poro swallowed the rest of his words.
Right in front of him, the main force suddenly exploded along with the earth beneath them.
“W-what the hell is that?!”
A giant worm had burst out from the ground.