Chapter 269 - Parune Island (3)

A woman stared coldly at a single spot.

At the end of her gaze lay a man's corpse.

Gardweaver Draus.

Scum who had tried to escape the consequences of his deeds and live a second life under a new name.

Yes, that was certainly what he had been...

"What's with that look, sis?"

Amelia bit her lip without realizing it. She didn't feel as satisfied as she had expected.

"Is it because his companions got away? Oh, don't worry so much. The other two went after them, didn't they? They'll catch them soon."

Even her immature companion, who had done nothing but complain throughout the journey, was watching her mood. Amelia, however, had no attention to spare for her.

["This is my responsibility. There's no reason for you to get caught up in it. Just go!"]

The sight of him sacrificing himself for his companions kept flickering before her eyes.

At first, she had been dumbfounded.

What the hell was this bastard saying?

After betraying them, now he wanted to do this?

And for people who didn't even know what kind of man he really was?

GRIND.

Her teeth ground together of their own accord.

If he was capable of that, why hadn't he done it for them?

"Still, we recovered the item, didn't we? Even if they get away alive, our mission's a success."

Only then did Amelia dismiss her thoughts and turn her eyes to the jewel in her hand.

A legacy of the Great Sage Gabrilius, and a treasure that the lords of Noark had kept for ages.

Come to think of it, something about this unsettled her, too.

More precisely, the words she had heard while taking it from him kept returning to her.

["Amelia, you can't change anything with this."]

To say that, knowing what this object meant to her.

"..."

Amelia used the poison she carried to dissolve the man's corpse, then put the jewel in her hand into subspace.

After all, Noark's leadership had all left for the outside world, and she could barely even contact them.

She would be keeping it for a while. There was no need to rush; once she returned, she planned to look for a way to use the jewel.

'I finally have it.'

Whatever else had happened, the fulfillment of the wish she had harbored for so long was drawing near. Holding on to that thought, Amelia shook off her unease.

It was then.

"By the way, sis."

Camilla, the team's summoner and provider of transportation on the sixth floor, sidled up beside her, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Is this really that thing?"

Amelia could understand the feeling.

Even in Noark, the object existed only in legends. In some respects, people considered it even more fanciful than the Stone of Resurrection.

Which was why she gave Camilla no opening.

"I don't know either."

Of course, she did know.

The stories about this object weren't mere fabrications, and the item she had just put into subspace was unquestionably genuine.

But didn't they say that seeing something made you want it?

It would be foolish to create complications by telling her that for no reason.

"Oh, don't be like that. You knew that man well, too. Surely you'd at least know whether it's real?"

"As I said, I don't know either. And whether it's really that object or not is none of our concern. Our mission is only to recover what he had and return."

Amelia drew the line once more.

Then, just as she was about to turn away...

"Huh. Judging by that reaction, it must be real."

Camilla grinned.

"Wow. I never thought it actually existed."

It could have sounded like an immature joke.

But Amelia, who had witnessed all manner of horrors in her life, instinctively reached for her dagger.

At that very instant...

SHUNK!

A hot sensation spread from her back.

"My apologies, Lady Reinweils."

Watching only Camilla had been a mistake.

By the time she realized it, the warrior's sword had pierced her abdomen.

But what good would dwelling on that do?

Rather than waste time regretting her mistake, Amelia immediately assessed the situation.

"Nice one, Mister!"

The blade had entered below her ribs.

"When are you going to start calling me your big brother?"

Her organs were damaged, but the wound wouldn't kill her instantly.

Therefore...

"Oh, shut up. We're only half related any—ugh!"

Amelia drew her dagger and swiftly thrust it forward.

Her target was Camilla.

That woman she had wanted to kill so many times before.

SWISH!

Unfortunately, she fell just short.

Not that it mattered much.

She had a little trick she had picked up fighting a barbarian before.

WHOOOSH!

The instant she infused the tip with Aura, it bridged the gap.

SHUNK!

"Aaargh!"

The tip of the dagger drove into Camilla's eye.

"A shame."

A little deeper, and she could have pierced her brain.

SHLUK!

No sooner had she felt that regret than the sword lodged in her abdomen was pulled free. The force made her stagger.

But there was no time to rest.

"Damn it!"

The warrior's sword immediately swung toward a vital spot.

Judging it too difficult to dodge, Amelia extended her arm.

An arm wasn't a vital spot, after all.

SLICE!

The sharp longsword severed her arm at the upper arm.

She had saved her life, but suffered a massive disadvantage in combat.

Even that wasn't such a great problem.

If her original body was damaged, she could simply fight with a clone.

With a quick step, Amelia used the doppelgänger's [Autoreproduction] to create a clone directly behind the warrior.

It immediately swung a kick at his head.

A combination most enemies couldn't even react to.

"B-behind you!"

The clone's foot struck its opponent with an explosive sound.

BOOM!

But it hadn't come from the head she had aimed for.

"Urgh!"

Her foot had hit the warrior's shoulder. The timely warning had allowed him to twist sideways.

SHUNK!

The price of that failed attack was another thrust of the warrior's sword into her abdomen.

Her clone's pressure had forced him to withdraw quickly, preventing the blade from going deep, but...

'I could die if I'm not careful.'

She was in danger.

Just as that thought filled Amelia's mind...

"What are you doing? Grab the arm!"

The warrior rolled across the ground and picked up her severed arm.

The arm wearing her subspace bracelet.

Dismayed, Amelia swiftly sent her clone after him.

But...

"Let's go, Draggy!"

She was three steps short.

["ROOOOAR!"]

The warrior mounted Camilla's summoned drake before she could reach him.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The drake rose into the sky in an instant.

Their conversation reached her, half drowned out by its powerful wingbeats.

"... Amelia Reinweils. What a terrifying woman. To think she could be so dangerous even in that state."

"Forget that. Give me a potion!"

"Let's talk first. What now? We failed to finish her off."

"Fuck, what does that matter? She's going to die any..."

That was all her heightened hearing could catch of their conversation.

They had vanished completely into the sky.

"Damn it."

For the first time in a very long while, Amelia swore aloud.

But that changed nothing.

In a desperate situation, action was the only way to save herself.

She took a heavy step.

Using her unharmed clone, Amelia hoisted her original body onto its back and hurried away.

If those bastards returned to the ground to finish her off, it really would be over.

Step after heavy step, Amelia kept moving without even knowing which direction she was heading.

How much time had passed?

Her Magic Power had run dry and [Autoreproduction] had ended, yet she had forced herself up and was still struggling onward.

A footfall.

She froze at the sound of someone beside her.

If it was the companions who had gone off in pursuit, she would live. If it was their enemies, she would die.

A choice between two possibilities that would decide her life or death.

But...

"... Aynar? Is that you, Aynar, nyah?"

Surprisingly, Amelia's prediction proved wrong.

"You."

"Y-yes?"

"You're Bjorn Jandel's companion."

She raised her head to look to the side.

THUD!

Standing there was a cat.

* * *

"Aah, what's going on with her, nyah?!"

Misha was confused.

Naturally.

Anyone would be if a woman missing an arm and sporting a hole in her abdomen suddenly appeared and collapsed before them.

'Uh, um... Is she one of those explorers who were fighting?'

"A p-potion. Right, first a potion..."

She had no idea who the woman was, but Misha opened her waterlogged Expanded Backpack and took out a potion.

She had no information about whether this woman was on the good side or the bad side.

Or, for that matter, whether there had even been a good side...

["You're Bjorn Jandel's companion."]

The woman's last words before collapsing had erased even the slightest hesitation.

Right. She might know Bjorn.

She would treat her first.

POP!

Misha uncorked the potion and hurriedly poured it over the woman's wound.

But what was this?

DRRRRR.

There was none of the potion's characteristic bubbling sound.

It merely trickled through the wound as though she had poured cold water over it.

"Huh? But I bought it at a licensed general store!"

It made no sense, but Misha had bought counterfeit potions early in her career, so she pulled another one from her bag.

The result was the same.

'... Huh? Why isn't this working?'

Had this one been fake, too?

To test it, Misha poured a little potion over a scrape she had received when she fell into the water.

SIZZLE!

Judging by the maddening itch, the potion was perfectly fine.

Then why wasn't it working on this woman?

She didn't know, but Misha didn't give up.

Bjorn had taught her that the barbarian spirit meant chewing with your gums if you had no teeth.

'It's been ages since I used these...'

Misha took out medicinal herbs and bandages.

First-aid supplies she had stocked in case she ever found herself unable to use potions.

"This'll sting a little, nyah... Oh, you can't hear me anyway."

Misha first washed the wounds with disinfectant, then applied the herbs and wrapped them in bandages.

Next, she spread a blanket on the ground and laid the woman on it.

That completed the emergency treatment.

She had done all she could. The rest depended on the woman's will to live.

"... She's breathing all right, nyah."

After watching her condition for a while and confirming that her breathing had stabilized, Misha crouched beside the blanket.

Then she let out a deep sigh.

"Ugh, I can't just leave her here..."

If she had merely been unconscious, Misha could have carried her on her back, but her condition was too critical for that.

"Bjorn must be waiting, nyah..."

Misha looked ready to cry.

Still, she couldn't leave the woman here like this.

About ten minutes passed.

SKREEK, SKREE, SKRREEK!

Misha turned toward the unpleasant sound.

"Oh, what now, nyah..."

Monsters were crawling out from the shore.

* * *

TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP.

The sound of flesh striking flesh continues at regular intervals.

It's coming from my hand.

How should I put it? I simply can't keep still.

I keep fidgeting with my innocent fingers.

And for good reason.

'Two hours.'

That's how long it's been since we reached the center.

No matter how quickly I got here, at least one of my companions should have arrived long ago.

'Why isn't anyone coming?'

I try to have faith, but ominous scenarios keep filling my mind.

Misha, Raven, Mister Bear, Aynar, and Erwin...

Are they really all right?

If I'd known it would be like this, I would have searched along the coast instead of coming to the center...

"Do you intend to remain here?"

As I sit there trembling with anxiety, the priestess cautiously asks a question.

She looks like a fucking fraud to me.

Didn't she tell me to have faith earlier?

"You're a priestess. Why are you giving up so easily?"

I grumble, but deep down, I know.

Even for a priestess, her reaction is hardly strange.

SKREEK, SKREE, SKRREEK!

As proof, the sea monsters that only appear during the event have begun showing up here from time to time.

They've already walked all the way here at less than half an ordinary person's walking speed.

'Soon this place will be full of stronger ones. The coast must already be crawling with them.'

And yet not a single person has arrived.

"Ersina."

"Yes, please speak."

"We're moving. Waiting really doesn't suit me."

"Your faith remains strong, I see."

What's she talking about?

Wasn't she the one who said that was all we could do?

"Had you been born human, Mr. Jandel, you might have made a splendid man of religion."

Man of religion, my ass.

As a proud modern atheist, I have mixed feelings about that. But her tone is closer to admiration than mockery, so I don't comment.

"Enough nonsense. Get up."

"Yes."

I get the priestess on her feet and prepare to leave.

But just as we're about to go...

A footstep.

After nearly two hours, we finally have a visitor.

Unfortunately, it isn't one of my teammates.

A scrawny body covered in minor injuries, as though fresh from a grueling battle.

A longbow slung over one shoulder.

And green hair caked with dirt.

"... Mr. Jandel."

Friend or foe?

It isn't difficult to tell.

The bastard looks at us and asks,

"What have you done to Lady Reinweils?"

What a coincidence.

As it happens, I've just come up with a question for you, too.

Ignoring the ringing in my ears, I ask,

"Hey. Why do you have Raven's subspace ring?"

You'd better answer carefully.

Because otherwise, you're really fucking dead.