Chapter 218 - Lord (2)

"No! Take me with you...!"

"... I'm sorry."

The battle ended when one explorer squeezed his eyes shut and stepped into the dimensional gate.

The reason was simple. Knights were still holding strong, blocking the explorers at points throughout the passages, but...

"Let us surrender."

"What? But the dimensional gate spell for our escape isn't ready yet..."

"That gate just now was the last. I'm sorry, men."

"C-Captain, what do you mean—! Aaaagh!!"

The instant one knight lowered his sword, explorers rushed him, stomping and punching him indiscriminately.

"Tell us! What did you just say? What do you mean, the last gate?!"

The knight simply endured the violence. Even as his teeth flew out and blood vessels burst in his eyes, he answered their questions.

"Exactly what I said."

"Y-You crazy bastard! You knew you were going to be abandoned, and you still...!"

"Someone had to stay. Your anger is justified. So please, vent it on me. This body should still be worth at least that much."

"I'll kill you!!"

"For... Raphdonia...!"

Some knights surrendered, while others kept swinging their swords and resisted to the end. But the outcome was the same. The explorers overwhelmed their lines with sheer numbers, then unleashed their despair and rage in a merciless, one-sided assault.

Of course, the explorers knew. These knights were in the same predicament and would be valuable allies in battle. They simply needed someone to vent their immediate emotions on.

As similar scenes unfolded throughout the central area...

"Aagh! Who are you?! Don't push—!"

A barbarian emerged from one passage, shoving the tightly packed crowd aside with absurd ease.

Then...

"That knight."

He caught the wrist of an explorer who was beating a knight and spoke.

"Killing him."

"L-Let go of me!"

"Problem."

"What?! These bastards abandoned us! Don't tell me you're with—!"

The barbarian's fist slammed into the face of the fiercely protesting explorer.

THWACK!

The explorer collapsed limply.

"I said. That would be. A problem."

The barbarian spoke, breathing heavily. A sudden silence fell.

"..."

No more explorers attacked the knight.

At least, not in the immediate vicinity.

* * *

The situation in the central area wasn't much different from what I had expected.

Except for one thing.

'I never thought this many knights would be left behind.'

A welcome miscalculation. They weren't going to serve under me and follow my orders, but they were still highly skilled personnel. As far as I was concerned, just staying alive and wandering around this cave would make them excellent bait.

"Mr. Jandel!"

My companions appear a moment later, following the path I shoved open.

"Ah, now that you're here, take care of this."

"What?"

"I mean, make sure they don't die."

Leaving the half-dead knights to my companions, I move out of the passage toward the center of the cavern.

"Aagh! S-Stop...!"

Screams reach me from all directions with every step. Most belong to knights.

Right. You're human too. Getting ganged up on hurts like hell.

"... Goddamniiiit!!!"

Deep-seated rage erupts. Meanwhile, I also see people sitting numbly in despair, a step removed from the violence. People who find even anger meaningless.

"W-We're all going to die."

"Cecilia... I'm sorry, I..."

People who have accepted their deaths as a foregone conclusion.

Some wear the emblems of major clans. There are whole teams, as well as people alone or in pairs.

Well, even the major clans couldn't have taken everyone home. Even knights were being abandoned, after all. They must have weeded out the lower-priority members first. There were only so many tickets.

"Please stop...! None of this will change anything! They're in the same situation as we are!"

Occasionally, I hear voices trying to quell the anger. These fall into two categories.

Those who appeal entirely to emotion, raising their voices to defend morality and humanity.

And...

"Have you all gone mad?! We're all going to die if this keeps up!"

Those who haven't given up hope. Those who set their anger aside and try to stop these atrocities through reason.

In a sense, I probably belong to this category. They're also the people who will be most useful to me right now.

With one last step, I come to a halt.

Before me stands the monument I've seen so many times. The only structure in the Labyrinth, erected to honor the achievements of the last Great Sage, Diphlon Graundell Gabrilius.

[In Honor of That Great First Step]

This monument contains a hidden piece that lets you open the first-floor rupture. But escaping the conflict by entering the rupture isn't an option. Not only do I have no rank-eight magic crystals... even if I did, they would be useless.

The rupture last opened a month ago. I'd decided exploring the fifth floor would be more profitable and hadn't bothered coming, and then it opened naturally.

Well, regretting it won't change anything.

"Ahem, ahem."

I cough to clear my throat. Not that I'm particularly worried. Besides their exceptional Physical stats, if there's one thing barbarians are known for, it's their booming voices.

"STOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!"

A bellow delivered with [Gigantification] active. Even amid the chaos, it's more than enough to reach everyone's ears.

For an instant, everyone stops and turns their attention to me. Of course, it doesn't last. The explorers briefly look at me as if to ask what my deal is, then lose interest.

'Right. So that isn't enough.'

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. As if something straight out of a comic would happen in real life.

"I am Little Valcan, Bjorn, son of Jandel!!"

Whether they ignore me or not, I keep shouting.

One rule of being a barbarian: if your voice hasn't reached them, it's because you weren't loud enough.

Therefore...

"Any of my people who know me, repeat what I say from now on!!!"

I call for backup. I'm not the only barbarian here.

"Little Valcan, Bjorn, son of Jandel!"

"Great warrior!"

"The next chieftain has given an order!! We must obey!"

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

Starting with Karon and Aynar, barbarians scattered throughout the cave roar as though they've been waiting for this. My fellow barbarians have been watching me ever since I first shouted. They might not know what I'm trying to do, but they probably figured they should help one of their own.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"

My shout is followed by a chorus.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!"

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!"

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!"

Once again, the crowd stops and turns its attention to me. If it were just me shouting myself hoarse, that would be one thing. But the same cry repeating everywhere like a public announcement can't help but pique their curiosity.

"Who the hell are you to tell us to stop?!"

"These bastards are the reason we're in this mess, and you want us to hold back?!"

For now, though, the response is still mostly hostile. Quite a few are still beating the knights in a rage.

So I keep shouting.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"

Like a simpleminded barbarian, I stubbornly repeat myself, over and over. Endlessly, until my demand is met.

It's around the tenth repetition.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"

"Someone shut that bastard up!!"

Their anger, undiminished no matter how much they vent it, finally turns toward me too.

"If you're siding with the royal family, you can die too!!"

One explorer even charges at me.

"Protect the next chieftain!!"

Seeing this, the barbarian warriors rush to defend me. But I stop them.

"Stop!!! We mustn't fight each other!!!"

The simplehearted barbarians halt at my shout. The explorer charging at me, however, does not.

SWISH!

The explorer swings his sword as though I'm his sworn enemy.

CLACK!

I'd more or less expected it from his equipment, and sure enough, he doesn't leave a single scratch on me. Come on. As if an ordinary iron sword could cut into me.

"Uh, uh..."

I don't even block. I simply hold my original stance and take it with my body. That alone makes the gap between us abundantly clear.

Has he belatedly realized his mistake?

"..."

His excitement seems to drain away as his head cools, and he backs away in apparent fear.

Now, where do you think you're going?

I grab his shoulder, pull him close, and ask.

"Do you want to live?"

"...?"

"I asked if you want to live!!! If you're going to die anyway, why are you running away?!"

The explorer goes white at my intimidating shout.

"Answer me! Do you want to live?!"

Like a cornered rat biting a cat, the explorer finally buckles under the pressure and shouts into my eyes.

"W-Who the hell wants to die?!"

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks to his unexpected behavior, everyone is already looking this way.

I release his shoulder.

"Then run. If you think that'll keep you alive."

Free to move again, the explorer doesn't turn and flee. More precisely, he can't. His legs seem to give out, and he drops heavily to the floor.

But does he still have some energy left? He shouts as if pouring out his pent-up resentment.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"

What are you supposed to do? How many times have I told you already?

I turn my gaze away from him and shout to everyone around me again.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"

Life as a barbarian has taught me something. Stubborn foolishness eventually becomes perseverance.

As long as you don't tire out and give up first.

* * *

Silence fell, however briefly.

It was nothing short of a miracle. All that barbarian had done was shout. He hadn't used violence, only doggedly kept calling out.

At first, the man had thought it foolish. No matter how many times the barbarian shouted, he hadn't thought the current chaos would subside. He had judged that only after all the knights were dead would everyone regain their senses and discuss a plan, so he and his clan members had kept their distance until now.

But...

"Remarkable."

The one-sided violence against the knights had almost stopped. The result of a single barbarian's efforts.

How, then, had this been possible? He still didn't know the precise reason. He could only speculate.

People often said words had power. Perhaps that barbarian's words had carried greater power. Just as a single action left a deeper impression than a hundred words, perhaps that foolish steadfastness had inspired a flicker of hope.

He chuckled.

Or perhaps watching the same foolish act over and over had simply brought them back to their senses. Such things happened, didn't they? Even in the middle of a serious conversation, someone's silly remark could change the mood.

Of course, this was all speculation. He couldn't know the true cause. Perhaps they had simply grown curious about what the barbarian wanted so badly to say.

Yet one thing was certain regardless.

That barbarian had accomplished what he himself could not.

Little Valcan, a rank-five explorer. Though both his strength and the force he commanded were far less than the man's own, he had done it.

"Deputy Commander."

"Yes, sir?"

"We're done standing by. If anyone attacks a knight nearby, make sure you stop them."

The man gave his deputy commander the order, then started walking.

"Commander, where are you going?"

"To hear him out. To find out what that barbarian wanted to say so badly that he went to all this trouble. Whether he's simply a fool, or..."

"...?"

The deputy commander tilted his head, but the man said no more. He found the thought a little ridiculous himself.

But...

"Everyone, stop! He's right. Let's stop for now! Then we can calmly put our heads together!"

Just as he himself had done, people who had merely stood by were emerging from passages throughout the cavern, raising their voices.

His heart thumped. For some reason, it was racing.

The man gazed toward the monument.

"I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"

The barbarian was still shouting. His fellow barbarians echoed him in support.

"Everyone, stop!"

Now even people unconnected to him were speaking up. At the sight, the man couldn't help thinking...

"From this moment on, anyone who causes trouble will be considered an enemy!"

Everything happening here was like a scene from the story of some legendary hero he'd read about as a child.

* * *

A man approaches.

"I'm Melter Fend, commander of the Nartel Clan. If you have a way out of this situation, I'd like to hear it."

Next comes a woman.

"I'm Lacy Naret of the Heindel Order. I've come to thank you for stopping this tragedy."

The third is a mage.

"I'm a military mage of Raphdonia. Oh, for the record, I wasn't abandoned. I stayed of my own accord. I couldn't stand that commander fellow."

People keep gathering after that. Priests, mages, clan leaders, deputy commanders, team leaders, and individuals. People who had belonged to groups but were abandoned, or had chosen to remain.

"Don't you think you can stop shouting now? Everyone's waiting for you to speak."

"Tell us. Do you really have a plan? Surely you didn't tell us not to kill the knights just because you felt sorry for them!"

Is the barbarian-style "Do it for me!" truly unbeatable?

Having gotten what I wanted, I switch off mindless infinite-repeat mode.

"Good to meet you all. I am Bjorn, son of Jandel."

At last, we can have a conversation.