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idolaChapter 1: To the North-Northeast
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I’ll kill you!!
Every time someone shouted those words, lives were treated as if they were nothing.
So when someone shouted that at Ryner Lute…
“…Mmh?” He grimaced. He had dark, messy hair and tired eyes. His usual slouched posture was a little different today - it was tensed up, ready for battle. “Come on, go easy on me~!”
He was tense because a monster was attacking him. His tired eyes stared at the foe before him.
“……”
The one who had yelled that he’d kill Ryner was a muscular redhead with sharp eyes. Ryner knew him by name. He was Marshal Claugh Klom - the monster that the Hero King of Roland, Sion Astal, had sent to destroy Imperial Nelpha.
The reaper of the battlefield, Claugh Klom. His name was impressively infamous. It was said that the second he stepped onto a battlefield, blood rained from the sky, and screams filled the air - his presence alone was enough to change the tide of battle.
Everyone was afraid of hearing Claugh’s name. Just the sound of it was enough to make them shiver. Why wouldn’t they be scared? He alone could change the course of any battle.
“……”
Dumbass.
Ryner couldn’t help but insult Claugh internally.
No matter how strong he might be, it was impossible for one guy to decide battles. They weren’t that simple. He was almost certain that the rumours were a vast overestimation of Claugh’s power. Ryner was pretty sure that he could knock out not just one Claugh, but two or three of them.
And he wasn’t just speaking out of his ass. He knew about how strong Claugh was. They’d wrestled in the past, and that was enough to gauge his ability. And yeah, Claugh was impressively strong then. He had both strength and speed. As dumb as he might look and sometimes act, Claugh was a quick thinker, and he could cast magic pretty damn fast.
Who wouldn’t call him a monster, knowing all of that?
Even Ryner, who once held the title of Roland’s Strongest Magician, felt that Claugh qualified as a monster.
Even so…
“……”
Ryner still felt that he’d win. He thought he was a little stronger than Claugh. That’s why he came out here - to capture Claugh from Roland’s battle camp.
He came out to find Claugh at this hill a little ways away from the camp and attacked while Claugh was alone. He’d attack Claugh when he least expected it and capture him as a hostage—
That was the plan. But it didn’t go quite like that. Claugh threw a knife at him, and the knife slammed towards Ryner’s chest, never giving him a chance to dodge.
“Uough!”
Ryner used his arm to cover his chest before the knife pierced his heart. That was the best he could do.
Claugh didn’t give him time to recover. He was already moving in for the kill.
Claugh was so fast that it didn’t even compare to the Claugh that Ryner had wrestled before.
“……”
Ah, shit. Claugh fooled him.
Their little wrestling tournament hadn’t been for fun. It was a strategy. A stone that Claugh threw towards the future in case they ever ended up on opposite sides of the battlefield.
It was a year ago.
One year ago, Claugh had challenged Ryner to what felt like a meaningless test of strength, attacking even though Ryner didn’t want anything to do with him. They’d exchanged a few punches, too, then cast some spells at each other. Ryner’s impression had been that Claugh was strong, but not as strong as the rumors made him sound.
Ryner squinted at Claugh. “You’re a crook.”
“It’s your own fault for falling for it.”
That was true. Those who fell for tricks like that and died on the battlefield couldn’t blame anyone but themselves. That was the first thing his combat instructor, Jereme Chysler, had taught him.
All battles started and ended as games of wit.
Will you be the one who tricks others and survives, or will you be among the dead fools? Will you trick the world and survive?
That was what she taught him.
“…I think I’m the kind of guy who’d get tricked and die, Jereme,” Ryner mumbled.
Claugh’s right hand shot out just as Ryner whispered to himself. “Die!”
Claugh’s entire right arm was black. As he thrust it forward, the dark letters and symbols that made it up twisted around it.
That was all it took for Ryner to know what he was looking at.
It was the Forbidden Curse, one of the most sinister curses ever created. He hadn’t thought that anyone could have it while remaining sane. In the first place, it was one of the cruel experiments Roland had carried out with a low success rate. For every ten thousand they tested it on, ten thousand died.
But here someone was, alive and well despite it.
That alone meant that Claugh was a special kind of strong, even without factoring in the powers that arm gave him.
Ryner closed his eyes, then opened them again. A scarlet pentagram had appeared on his eyes. He looked over Claugh’s arm to see the magic inside of it.
“……”
Eight blue-black dragons were sealed inside his arm, each cursing the world with every breath.
“……”
Ryner stared at that arm.
“…You don’t feel like you’re going crazy?” He whispered without meaning to.
The curse inside of Claugh’s arm was too powerful. Anyone would wonder how he stayed sane.
When a dragon was released from its place on his arm, its teeth latched onto them. But they wouldn’t die. They’d lose their life, but not die. The curse would keep them alive as a puppet existing on the border of life and death for ten hours. In that time, the cursed owner of the arm could control them. Once their time was up, they’d crumble into pieces, dead.
“……”
Pretty convenient curse, right? It was obviously a huge boon to any battlefield. But it wasn’t practical.
Nobody had ever used the Forbidden Curse before. Why? Simple. There were just too many drawbacks.
It was too much of a burden on its user. As long as that arm was attached, they’d live in excruciating pain, if they managed to stay conscious at all. The shock of feeling that pain for the first time was enough to kill plenty.
Ryner didn’t know how Claugh was able to stand here perfectly in control of himself despite it.
The absolute best use that anyone had ever been able to make of the Forbidden Curse was controlling three of the eight dragons. The other five still came out when the others were released, but instead of being controlled, they attacked everyone around them indiscriminately.
In other words, it was rendered useless as long as one stood on the battlefield alongside their comrades. The user wasn’t immune, either. The dragons could attack them just as easily as they could attack their enemy, and those who were bit by the dragons all died, without fail.
“……”
No matter how he looked at it, the curse that Claugh was about to release was so stupidly disadvantageous to use that it just didn’t make sense.
Yet here he was, readying it.
“…You’re joking, right?” Ryner mumbled as the blue-black dragons flew free of Claugh’s arm.
Three of the dragons swirled around for a moment, searching for prey, before biting into Claugh - one into his shoulder, another into his waist, and the last into his leg.
They cursed him—with the curse of instant death, the curse of despair, the worst curse in the world.
That was how easily the curse ravished and killed Claugh… or at least, that was what it was supposed to do.
“……”
The stupid muscley redhead smiled, perfectly at ease. Another two dragons bit into him, forcing themselves on his head and neck. He didn’t react.
“…You’re immune to it?” Ryner asked.
Claugh didn’t answer. He just smiled, as if enjoying this. The bloodlust in his eyes sharpened and focused on Ryner. Then he spoke. “You all ready? I think it’s about time we get to fighting, Mr. Roland’s Strongest Magician.”
Two more dragons flew from Claugh’s arm.
“Whoa!”
Ryner managed to dodge by jumping up and to the right. The dragons weren’t too fast. Dodging was possible.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“I wish for a rainbow of destruction—”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Ryner yelled.
Sure enough, Claugh’s left hand was drawing the magic circle for Abstract Phosphorescence in the air.
It was Roland’s strongest spell, characterized by the light spears that it shot towards its target. It was difficult to learn, so only the smartest mages in Roland could figure it out.
To be frank, it was way too strong for a musclehead like Claugh to get to use! He shouldn’t have it!! As much as Ryner wanted to yell that, he had some dragons to worry about.
“This isn’t fair!” Ryner yelled instead. “You can’t use them both at the same time!”
Claugh grinned. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that the world isn’t fair?” He asked as he completed his magic circle.
Ryner drew the same circle in a hurry. “I wish for a rainbow of destruction—”
“Abstract Phosphorescence!” They yelled in unison.
Faintly colorful lights gathered at the center of their magic circles, then shot out in rainbow spears. They spread through the air, blindingly bright. But if they let themselves squint, they’d be dead meat. That was the kind of fight they were in.
Ryner forced his half-blinded eyes to look around as he stepped back into the forest he’d originally been hiding in.
“You can’t run from me,” said Claugh… no, the reaper of the battlefield. The monster chased Ryner with speed he’d never seen before.
“Augh, god! This is soooo annoying!!” Ryner yelled as he ran full force into the forest. It was a sunny, cloudless day, but the sun didn’t reach through the thick forest, so it was a good place to hide. But when Ryner looked behind himself, the blue-black fires that made up the dragons were hot on his trail. “Shit!”
He jumped down and rolled across the ground to dodge. He stood up quickly after, then kicked off a tree to his left and propelled himself towards another tree’s branch which he managed to get a foothold on. He climbed higher, higher through the trees before finally looking back around to check where his enemies were.
“Too slow!” Claugh said from behind him and thrust a fist at Ryner.
“I’m not slow, the problem is that you’re way too damn faast!!” Ryner yelled as he pushed Claugh’s fist aside. Then he dodged the dragons and tried to kick at Claugh’s face, but he dodged.
As Claugh dodged, Ryner grabbed another branch and used it to throw himself to another tree. He couldn’t look back. If he did, he’d find himself face-first inside a dragon’s jaws. He jumped from tree to tree, drawing a magic circle as he did.
“I wish for a burnt prairie - Crimson!”
Fireballs exploded from his magic circle. As soon as that circle finished, he drew another.
“I wish for rain clouds - Leveling Rain!”
He jumped away from his circle as soon as it was done, but he could hear water blasting out of it, soon followed by the sizzle of water evaporating his flames. But he still couldn’t look back.
Ugh, just give up, damn monster!
No matter how much Ryner thought that, he had to stay silent if he wanted to get away.
“……”
Wait, did he actually give up?
His original prediction had been that he’d beat Claugh with ease and take him prisoner without having any issues at all.
However. However!
Ryner glanced back. The dragons were still chasing him. So was Claugh.
“……”
Okay, he was starting to believe the rumors. Maybe there was a grain of truth in Claugh changing the tide of every battle he showed up to. This guy was seriously a monster. Not only could he use the artificial arm called Forbidden Curse, his body was trained a little better than Ryner’s, and he even cast the counter magic for Crimson before Ryner could use it to his advantage.
When he put all of that together, it amounted to someone who was impossibly powerful. Someone strong enough that Ryner wanted to run away instead of fight.
But he couldn’t. He had to capture this guy. He had to capture this monster that could strike fear even into the heart of god. That was the only way to stop the horrific war between Roland and Nelpha. If he wanted to stop the massacre that Ryner’s buddy, the hero king of the Roland, Sion Astal, was waging against Nelpha… he needed to take Claugh hostage. He needed him as a bargaining chip.
“……”
He glanced back at the redhead monster chasing him.
“…I really don’t think I’m gonna be able to take this guy hostage…”
He was painfully aware of how much he’d underestimated Claugh. He wanted to go back in time and strangle himself for thinking that he’d be able to capture Claugh all by himself.
If they fought to the death, it might end in a draw. But it was pointless if it killed them both.
He needed to take this redhead monster - Sion’s right-hand man - captive, threaten them a little, then make an agreement and hand Claugh over in exchange for peace.
“Uwaah, this is such a pain,” Ryner mumbled. “I seriously hate doing stuff like this. Like, I’m not someone who would say ‘let’s do our best to take the monster down and save the world~!’ in the first place. It’s way too much effort. Someone else should come along and be the hero. That’s what I really want to happen…”
A dragon snapped at his back, missing by a thread.
“Gyaaah! Someone help me! I’m seriously done dealing with this right now! I hate putting in this kind of effort!!”
“Then take it easy and die!” Claugh yelled back.
“Honestly, yeah, I should. Things would get a whole lot easier if I was dead, wouldn’t they?”
“I’ll help you get there.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup.”
“Thanks for the favor. I welcome death.”
Ryner was still running away, despite their conversation. He jumped from tree to tree while drawing letters in the air. He was casting a spell he stole from Estabul’s Magical Knights. It felt like it was a long, long time ago now. He and Sion, just students at the time, had fought Estabul’s army by themselves. This spell was one he copied from knights on the verge of death.
“I dedicate the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!”
Ryner’s body shone. His nerves began firing faster than they were created to do, allowing his body to perform better than ever before. He smiled. “Alright, I’m all ready. Let’s fight as fellow monst—”
He was interrupted by Claugh’s voice near his back, reciting a spell of his own.
Ryner’s eyes widened. He turned around, astonished.
Claugh’s spell, drawn by his right hand, was the same as Ryner’s. It was the exact same. But that wasn’t possible. It was a spell from Estabul, and a pretty difficult one at that. Only top tier students of magic could perfect it. Even someone who already knew the basics of Estabulian magic would have to study for three or four years to cast it well.
A simple soldier wouldn’t be able to use it. There was absolutely no way. Even an outstanding one wouldn’t be able to do it. On top of that, Estabul didn’t exist anymore. It was conquered by Roland two years ago. Even if Roland had access to Estabul’s military power now, it’d only been two years, and this spell took three or four to learn.
Of course, things were different for Ryner. He had the Alpha Stigma. He could copy any spell he saw. But he hadn’t heard anything about Claugh having the same eyes.
So how’d he do it?
“…How the hell do you know Estabulian magic?”
Claugh shrugged. “‘Cause I’m a hard worker?”
“Hah? There’s a limit to what hard work can do,” Ryner said.
“Yeah, that might be true for normal people. I’m a genius, though.”
“Eugh… Guys who call themselves geniuses are all super normal.” Still, there was no mistaking it - Claugh was a genius. But Ryner wasn’t about to praise him for it. Even Ryner, who had accomplished a lot on the dark side of Roland, couldn’t have managed something like this without his eyes. Also, the fact that Claugh was not only a genius, but also had the motivation to work hard, was just too much to handle.
“This sucks,” Ryner muttered. He could hear Claugh laughing behind his back.
“I dedicate the words of our contract - give birth to the beast of malice sleeping within the earth!”
With those words, Claugh casted a spell that was impossible for Roland’s soldiers to know. His body shimmered, then he got faster than before.
He was going to catch up to Ryner.
They were using the same spell, but Claugh was faster than Ryner overall, even without magic.
Ryner held his head in his hands. Why did he think it was a good idea to try to fight Claugh alone?
“What, you’re still running?” Claugh jeered. “Don’t tell me this is the best you can do. Was that spell from Estabul your trump card? If so—”
Claugh only got faster as time went on. He kicked off trees with all his might, and before long he was right by Ryner. They locked eyes.
“No,” Ryner said, his head still cradled in his hands.
“Alrighty, I’m gonna kill you now!”
“I said no!”
“Haha. Shut up already,” Claugh said as he raised his left arm. Three blue-black dragons flew from it, each with its eyes on Ryner.
“Aah~!” Ryner said unenthusiastically. He’d die for real if he didn’t take this seriously. Claugh was really trying to kill him. Ryner couldn’t sit here playing games either.
His plan to capture Claugh earlier had failed, so he had to switch to plan C. Actually, he had a plan B where they didn’t fight at all, too, but he didn’t think he’d manage it.
If Claugh was mad strong—and he kind of was—then Ryner had another trick up his sleeve.
“…But waiting for that might get me killed, so—”
Ryner’s eyes narrowed as he worked on a plan to take Claugh down.
The plan he decided on had three phases.
First, he’d have to dodge an attack. Then he’d have to trick him. Lastly, he’d kill him.
“…Let’s do this,” Ryner said as he jumped onto a large branch and faced Claugh.
Claugh stopped on a big branch, too. “Oh, did you finally find your motivation?” Claugh asked. His face went serious, his joking atmosphere gone in an instant.
Ryner grimaced. As far as opponents went, Claugh was a tricky one. If he’d let down his guard for a second, then Ryner could take advantage of the opportunity and come out on top without having to kill him. So he couldn’t help but face Claugh with a sad, tired expression. “Man. I really don’t wanna kill you.”
Claugh smiled. “Nice one.”
“Right?”
“You couldn’t kill me if you tried anyway.”
“Maybe, but I won’t know until I try,” Ryner said.
“I know.”
“Do you, though?”
“I sure do,” Claugh said.
“Okay… Well, this is a real pain, but we better get on with it.”
“Then let’s get to it.”
“Yeah.”
Ryner nodded, then focused all the power inside of his body. He flipped the switch in his mind and turned off the restraint he usually fought with. He lowered his body and inhaled. “I’m gonna attack.”
Ryner flew towards Claugh, and Claugh sent two dragons to Ryner, who dodged them easily. He drew a complex magic circle in the air as he leapt away. His fingers moved quickly and precisely, finishing the circle’s intricate details shockingly quickly. He was using the same spell as before, the fire spell that Claugh countered with water magic: Crimson.
“That again?” Claugh asked as he began to draw the same water spell as before.
But Ryner’s spell was a fake out. Rather, the Crimson from earlier in their fight had been a fake. He’d casted it slowly on purpose. The truth was that Claugh wasn’t fast enough to counter his true magical ability. That’s why he used a fake before - to lull Claugh into a false sense of security. If he thought of himself as a stronger mage than Ryner, he’d end up faltering out of overconfidence.
Claugh fell right into his trap. He took one look at Ryner’s spell and casually drew his counterattack. But it wouldn’t come fast enough. It wouldn’t be enough.
Ryner finished his magic circle, then slammed his hands into Claugh’s circle to alter it. “It’s over,” he said.
Claugh’s confident expression finally wavered. “You bastard.”
Claugh abandoned his magic circle to go for a physical attack instead, but it was too late. Ryner’s spell was already starting. Fire collected in the center and began to fly towards Claugh.
“Shit…!”
Claugh raised his left arm and sent his dragons out. They bit into a tree and pulled it between Claugh and the fireball to protect him.
Ryner used Claugh’s magic circle, once Levelling Rain, that was now in his hands and forced it into Abstract Phosphorescence, facing it towards Claugh.
“I wish for a rainbow of destruction—”
Ryner suddenly stopped.
“……”
His eyes moved slowly.
Slowly.
A blue-black dragon made of flames was aiming for the nape of his neck. He didn’t know when it flew behind him, but it was there now, sharp fangs forming in its mouth.
It’d kill him in an instant if Claugh ordered it to. But Claugh was in the same situation as he was. His spell was just about complete, and if he said the final few words, his spell would pierce Claugh and kill him. It was impossible for him to dodge at these close quarters. No matter how he moved, Abstract Phosphorescence would kill him.
They were both in the same position. They could both die in the span of a single second.
“……”
Ryner looked at Claugh, who hung from a branch nearby, where he’d fired his dragons from.
“…Shit. It’s a draw when we both give it our all.”
“……”
Claugh didn’t answer, so Ryner shrugged. “So what do you want to do?” Ryner asked. “There’s no point in us both dying here.”
Claugh answered as he stared. “I don’t think so. I’d rather we settle our tie in death if you’re this strong.”
“Wow, are you praising me?”
“Guess so.”
“So you wanna end this as a draw?”
Claugh just glared, murderous intent in mind. He had the full intention of dying here in order to kill Ryner.
There was no way for them to dodge the other’s attack at this point. They were living the worst possible scenario. Even so—
“……”
—Ryner smiled.
It was a casual smile, his usual smile, as unmotivated as it was.
Claugh raised his eyebrows, annoyed. “Why’re you smiling?”
“I was just thinking about how I’m winning.”
“What? How so? How the hell does this look like your win to…”
Claugh’s words trailed off. His confident expression wavered once more.
“You’ve realized it, haven’t you?” Ryner asked.
Claugh didn’t answer. It wouldn’t have mattered either way.
Ryner’s eyes focused behind Claugh’s back, on the key to his plan B, where he managed to capture Claugh without any bloodshed.
A drop-dead gorgeous woman was behind the branch Claugh hung from. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and an eerily perfect face. She was wearing a short dress that was hardly suited for the battlefield, but even stranger was the massive sheath fastened to her waist and the equally massive longsword in her right hand. Her left hand held a dango skewer.
It was his partner in crime, Ferris Eris. She was looking up at Claugh with a bored look on her face. “What’s going on? You bragged about how you could take a single foe easily, laughing ‘hehee,’ but you’re still here fighting?”
Ryner smiled bitterly. “I didn’t laugh like that.”
“‘Heuheu?’”
“No, that’s not the point… He’s like a thousand times stronger than I thought he’d be.”
“Isn’t the problem here that you’re weak, not that he’s strong?” Ferris asked.
“Listen, you’d be praising me if you were here to see us fighting,” Ryner said as he looked back over at Claugh.
Claugh was still staring with an intense expression on his face. No… it wasn’t just intense. It was the face of someone thinking through every possibility to find the one that’d let him break through this stalemate. The face of an annoying guy who wouldn’t give up no matter how impossible it was for him to win.
Ryner scowled. “It’s useless, Claugh. Your loss has already been decided. You might be strong, but you’re not strong enough to fight me and Ferris at the same time. And…”
Ryner looked back over to Ferris. No, to her left arm. She was dragging a man along with the same hand that held her dango. He was their key to winning.
The man that Ferris had by the neck was a young, attractive blond. He was the real plan B. Claugh was unlikely to negotiate with them unless he started their discussion with a disadvantage.
So what could they do to put Claugh at a disadvantage?
Ryner could beat Claugh up and take him hostage. But that was pretty risky - and that hypothetical risk ended up becoming a reality, since Claugh was a thousand times stronger than Ryner thought he’d be. Then they could get into that kill-and-be-killed mindset, and bam! He couldn’t take Claugh captive if they were both dead. Obviously. And if Claugh wanted to fight to the death, then even while they were still alive he wouldn’t listen to their negotiations.
One might ask ‘well, how about fighting him together with Ferris from the get-go?’ But that could fail, too. If at the very beginning Claugh sensed more than one powerful enemy lurking in the forest, there was a possibility that he’d go and get other strong soldiers and attack them with allies of his own. Victory was hardly possible for Ryner and Ferris if that happened.
That was why Ryner needed a plan B, which he put into action before coming here, just in case.
That plan B involved attacking Claugh alone and luring him away from Roland’s camp. In that time, Ferris could…
“……”
Ryner looked down at the man Ferris was dragging around. “So who’s that?”
“He’s that redhead’s adjutant. His name is Shuss Shirazz. He said, ‘I’d rather kill myself than burden Marshall Klom!’ and held a knife to his own throat, so I had to knock him out to bring him here.”
“Wow~!” Ryner said. “Sounds like you’ve got a veeeery dedicated subordinate, my little Claugh!”
Claugh didn’t reply. He just glared.
Now he could move his plan along. Ryner grabbed one of the dragons that was biting him. “Okay, so first you’re gonna need to get this dragon off of me. If you kill me, the ultra famous Mr. Claugh Klom and his excellent, darling subordinate Shuss Shirazz will be together in death instead of together in captivity. Got it?”
“…What do you want?” Claugh asked, his tone low, almost threatening.
Ryner couldn’t help but smile. He’d worked hard until now just to hear that single phrase.
He wanted one thing. He just wanted Claugh to give him some time.
The Roland Empire was ruthlessly invading Imperial Nelpha, killing every Nelphan they could get their hands on to garner fear in the surrounding countries and make them surrender without fight. That was the path of fewest sacrifices that would lead to the shortest war out of all the options.
Ryner felt that that was what Sion was thinking by doing all of this. Because he was really someone who hated wars, hated it when people died, and hated seeing people cry. That was why he chose this path. It was the best way to take everyone’s pain and shoulder it himself as he ultimately searched for peace.
Sion thought that this was necessary, and Ryner could see why. Tensions were at an all-time high in Menoris. Nobody could agree with each other and war was inevitable. That was why Sion made the decision he did.
But Ryner wanted Roland to give Nelpha a little more time. That was what he came here to negotiate. Sion’s end goal might be a noble one, but the current situation was terrible for both Roland and Nelpha.
Sion expected Nelpha to surrender to Roland’s overwhelming military strength, and yeah, that was about how things were going. Then the great king Gread Nelphi asked Roland to take his head and his son as captive, and in exchange, allow Nelpha to surrender and stop the massacre of their people.
But the prince didn’t want to be a prisoner so he went into a blind rage and killed his father the king, and with him, Nelpha’s chance of a graceful surrender. On top of that, he ordered 10,000 Nelphan soldiers to meet Roland’s military as they pressed north. The goal of that was to give himself time to surrender in exchange for the lives of those Nelphan soldiers.
On top of everything else, Prince Starnelle told the remaining 68,000 soldiers that he took with himself to loot his country as they pleased. He even allowed them to kill their countrymen as they stole and destroyed the land that raised them.
Starnelle moved in a wholly unpredictable way, leading them straight to the worst-case scenario.
Roland had no choice but to continue their slaughter until they were able to kill the stupid prince once and for all. They had to continue to kill every Nelphan they saw and raze their country until they reached the heir to the throne or else their war wouldn’t be a proper example to the rest of the world.
Because their stupid prince chose his own life over the lives of thousands of their people, they were unable to surrender, and continue to live in fear of death.
Still, even this worst-case scenario wasn’t without a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. That light was Toale Nelphi.
Toale was an illegitimate son of Starnelle Nelphi. He was also an annoyingly good person. Ryner had met him over a year ago when Toale invited them into his home as a thank you for them saving him. At the time, Toale thought they were totally normal people, but in reality they’d been searching the world for Heroic Relics.
A good boy like Toale was naturally far more popular with the people than his greedy father, so he easily won over the 10,000 troops that Prince Starnelle sent to die and was now leading them. That pleased even Roland. It gave them another easy way out - another path of least sacrifice.
Toale, wise as he was, asked Roland one simple question.
“If I surrender, would you forgive these 10,000 soldiers and the citizens of this country?”
Of course Roland couldn’t agree to that. It wouldn’t send the rest of the world the message that they wanted them to see. They had to answer another way.
“The king lost his life, and his son who stole it now wears his crown. If you were to kill him and take it, you would have the authority to surrender on behalf of Nelpha. As you are a member of its royal family and successor to the throne, you will be executed as soon as you surrender as an example to the rest of the world…”
Toale naturally accepted. He was someone who felt that the lives of others were more important than his own life. Still, it was all pretty useless. Toale only had 10,000 soldiers while his father had 68,000 - seven times as many as Toale. How could he possibly win?
Even if Toale somehow managed to kill his father, his own execution was all that awaited him. But he was Toale. He’d go out with a smile. He wouldn’t scream at how cruel it all was. He’d accept it with ease in order to end everyone’s suffering.
“……”
That was why Ryner was negotiating for more time. He wanted to save as many lives as possible. He wanted to help Sion walk the path of least sacrifice. That’s what he lured Claugh out here for. If he just had enough time to take Starnelle hostage himself, it’d stop this senseless slaughter and give Toale enough time to escape the country.
Still, he knew that Claugh wouldn’t give them more time just because they asked nicely.
“Will you leave these soldiers here and return to Sion?” Ryner asked.
“…So you’re buying time,” Claugh said. He understood Ryner’s thought process instantly. “But why’re you siding with Nelpha? They have nothing to do with y—”
“Toale’s my friend,” Ryner interrupted. “I don’t betray my friends… but I dunno if there’s any point in explaining that to you. But guys like you don’t really get the stuff that softies like me think, do you?”
Claugh smiled silently. It was the kind of smile that made Ryner feel like he was trying to make fun of him.
“Do you get it?” Ryner asked.
Claugh didn’t answer Ryner’s question. Instead he went straight to the chase. “So what’s in it for me if I cooperate and let you save your friend? Are you gonna abduct Prince Starnelle?”
Ryner nodded. “Yup.”
Claugh smiled. “Ha. Then this was all pretty damn pointless. I could’ve done that myself. The only difference would be that we’d execute Toale Nelphi in the end and you wouldn’t. See, even if you help Toale leave the country, he’ll still die. We’ll still have to kill him. Roland’s not so stupid as to let an enemy prince live at this stage, no matter what the reason is.”
“Is that what Sion thinks, too?”
“Yeah. Sion’s not like you. He wouldn’t sacrifice the lives of others just to save one person.”
That was true, wasn’t it? It was just like Claugh said. That was the path Sion chose. It was the ‘correct’ path, more than any other.
But the ‘correct’ path for Sion wasn’t the correct path for everyone else.
Even on this ‘correct’ path, Toale would lose his life. Ryner would be sad, and not just him, either. Everyone who loved Toale would suffer. His whole country loved him. It wouldn’t be the ‘correct’ path for Nelpha, either. It would end with their people being oppressed by Roland.
Yeah, it was good for now. Nelpha’s overwhelming loss would lead to the surrounding countries fearing Roland enough to surrender before a war even started. They’d lose their identities as countries, but it was still the ‘correct’ choice for them because the fewest people inside their borders would die, even if their borders soon became meaningless.
But what if he moved even farther back, to the very start of these branching paths?
Was there any reason for rushing all of this? If they just waited a little longer, maybe they could find a path where everyone could smile together…
“…At least that’s what a total softy like me thinks,” Ryner mumbled as he looked south to where Sion was now.
Claugh looked to where Ryner was staring. “Hm?”
“…Well, whatever. I already knew what your answer would be before all this.”
“Then this conversation’s over. Let’s get back to killing each other.”
“Like I said, I think that’s pretty damn unproductive…”
Claugh smiled. “I’m confident that I can dodge your spell. You’re the only one who’s gonna die.”
That sounded scary! “I, um,” Ryner stuttered, “I’m pretty, uh, sure that I can probably shake these dragons off too…”
“Hah.”
“No, seriously. I’m duty bound to not die if you’re just gonna dodge my spell anyway.”
“We won’t know until we do it.”
“No, no, no, wait,” Ryner said, flustered. “Look, what’d happen to Shuss then? Say I dodge your attack and you dodge mine. But Shuss is still gonna—”
“Can a softy like you really kill your hostage?”
Ryner smiled bitterly. “Okay, that was a low blow. But listen. Do you really, really need to kill a softie like me? Like, do you really think I’m even a threat to you?”
“…Nah. You’re not.”
“Riight? So hear me out until the end, okay? Like, everything I say is nonsense anyway, and it’s definitely not gonna threaten you in the slightest, but I’d be happy if you’d listen to my dumb, feel-good plan until the end.”
Claugh looked like he was thinking about it. He closed his eyes for a moment as he considered it.
Then he spoke.
“Disappear, Cursed Harp.”
The dragon biting Ryner’s neck disappeared at Claugh’s command. The dragons circling him disappeared, too, and he jumped down to the ground.
“Ferris,” Ryner said.
He didn’t need to, though. Ferris was already moving to let Shuss go.
“Whoa, no, leave him there,” Claugh said. He reached a hand out from behind Ferris.
“You’re a real pain,” Ferris said and unsheathed her sword at record speeds. Even Ryner’s eyes couldn’t follow it. She slashed far too fast for anyone to possibly dodge, and yet—
“Whoa there!”
Claugh dodged, then grabbed Shuss by his hair, then reached for Ferris with his other hand.
“Mm?” Ferris avoided his grip.
By then, Claugh’s body was tensed for a real fight. He began to draw a magic circle with his left hand.
“It’s fine, Ferris,” Ryner said. “Come back here.”
Ferris took a step back, then kicked off a tree to land by Ryner. She didn’t look too happy. “That redhead… is a lot stronger than when I fought him before.”
“Hm? You fought him before?” Ryner asked.
“Mm. Three years ago. On Sion’s orders, if I’m remembering correctly.”
“Ohh. Did you win?”
“We never finished our fight,” she said.
“Think you could win now?”
Ferris tilted her head slightly as she considered it. Then she smiled faintly. “He won’t stand a chance against the two of us.”
Ryner nodded and smiled back. Then he looked down at Claugh. “So will you listen to us now? You might have Shuss back, but it’s not like you’re any better off for it. It’s still two against one, and the fact that we’re both giant softies hasn’t changed, either. So do you think we could like, have a real conversation now? That’s all I’m asking for…”
“And if I told you to go fuck yourself?”
“Then me and Ferris will beat you up and make you listen to us talking until the end of time.”
Claugh grimaced. “Man, that’s annoying.”
Ryner laughed. “Right? We’re suuuper annoying.”
“Uwah, this sucks,” Claugh said. “Ugh. This is why I told Sion he shouldn’t go makin’ friends with some suspicious Alpha Stigma bearer… well, whatever. Nothin’ I can do about it now. Talk. I won’t listen, but you guys have the upper hand, so I’ve got no choice but to let you talk.”
“Nice,” Ryner said. “Okay, listen up.”
“It won’t change anything whether I listen or not.”
Ryner smiled. He finally had the chance to make things go his way. “Hey, Claugh. Sion’s trying to show the world how strong Roland is right now, right?”
Claugh scowled. “I said I’d let you talk, not that I’d sit here and answer a billion questions.”
“Ugh. So stingy.”
“Just keep talking so we can get this over with.”
Ryner shrugged. “Anyway, you guys have to succeed in invading Nelpha or your plan won’t get anywhere.”
“……”
“And everything’s gone perfectly so far. Everyone’s shaking in their boots, not just Nelpha. You need to ruin Nelpha completely to make sure that no one else resists when the time comes to advance into other countries.”
“……”
“But what if someone spread a rumor that Roland got their ass kicked through the other countries?”
Claugh glared. “What’re you scheming? None of the surrounding countries are capable of fighting Roland, the largest country in the Southern Contine—”
“Yeah,” Ryner interrupted. “That’s probably true.”
It was true.
There was Imperial Nelpha, and then there was also the Runa Empire which had an alliance with the Roland Empire. Then, a little farther to the north, there was Cassla, and they didn’t have the power to fight Roland either.
Roland was blessed with an amazing king. He never took breaks, never neglected his country, and he was smart and always led his country down the right path. That was why they called him the Hero King. He never stopped, never faltered, and was their hero and king, their Sion Astal. The rest of the Southern Continent didn’t stand a chance as long as Sion was their king.
“…But I wonder what would happen if Nelpha and Runa thought that Roland would listen to them if they teamed up.”
“……”
“Maybe Roland could still beat them even if they teamed up. Maybe Roland is just that strong. But being able to fight two countries at once and being forced to fight two countries at once are different things, aren’t they? Tons of people would die if that happened. Sion’s whole plan to become dictator of the south with the fewest casualties possible would go up in flames if both Nelpha and Runa went to war with Roland at once, wouldn’t it? But Roland needs Nepha and Runa either way, right?”
“……”
Claugh knew exactly what Ryner was trying to say, and he didn’t look too happy about it. “Are you really going to set Runa on us, you little bastard?
Ryner laughed like he was enjoying this. “No, I’ve got something even worse in mind.”
He wasn’t bluffing. Sion might be working towards the most ‘correct’ path for Roland, but what about the ‘worst’ path for Roland? And it wasn’t just for Roland, either. It was also the worst-case scenario for Nelpha and Runa.
“You lost track of Toale and his soldiers, right?” Ryner asked.
“Are you the one who did that?”
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“What the hell are you trying to do?” Claugh asked.
“What could it be?”
“Tell me already. Or I’ll kill you.”
“But you can’t kill me now.”
Claugh’s red eyes almost seemed to get redder from the malice inside of them. But it didn’t bother Ryner. Claugh was already caught in his trap.
Ryner knew exactly where Toale, the most wanted man in Roland, was. Now Claugh had to listen until he was done. “I wonder where those 10,000 soldiers could’ve gone!”
“……”
“Wouldn’t it suck if they were even farther east than your scouts have been searching…? It’s a good thing they aren’t so far east that they’re basically standing on Runa’s border, isn’t it?”
Claugh’s expression changed once more. Ryner didn’t stop for him.
“But what if they were there, carrying Roland’s flag? I wonder what’d happen then?”
Claugh didn’t need the rest spelled out to him. He was despondent. Despairing.
That was how awful Ryner’s plan was.
Basically, Ryner’s plan was as follows.
He’d make Toale’s army carry Roland’s flag and invade Nelpha. That’d lead to the end of Runa’s alliance with arrogant Roland. It’d send the two countries to war. Roland would be forced to show Runa the same cruelty they were currently showing Nelpha to prevent their plan from crumbling.
Runa, afraid of their people being killed with the same indiscriminate cruelty as Roland was showing Nelpha, would do everything they could to resist. They’d almost certainly form an alliance with Nelpha against their common enemy. It was even possible that Cassla from the north would help them out, too, out of their shared fear of Roland.
They’d share a banner of resistance against the tyrant king Sion Astal.
Imperial Nelpha, the Runa Empire, and the Autonomous Holy City of Cassla as well as any other countries in the Southern Continent would all collide with Roland to keep its power in check.
Everything will have been for naught.
If Ryner and Toale pretended to be part of Roland’s army and invaded Nelpha, it’d all be for nothing. All the lives lost for this would be for nothing.
But he wasn’t done yet.
“…And what if, after we pretend to be Roland’s army and invade Nelpha, we run away with our tails between our legs? What do you think would happen? Wouldn’t Runa and Cassla be like, wow, those guys from Roland are losers? Then—”
“Enough,” Claugh said. “I get your shitty plan. What’re your demands? What do you want me to do to stop that pointless bloodshed from happening?”
And that was that. Ryner’s plan worked perfectly. “I already told you. I just want a little time. Give me some time to capture Starnelle and hand him to you guys. Give me time to help Toale escape Nelpha.”
Claugh looked like he was going to say something, but Ryner shook his head.
“But see, this can’t happen as long as you’re here… so I need you to go back to Roland for a little while to see Sion and talk to him about all this.”
“…And that’s when you’ll abduct Starnelle?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you really do that?”
“Wait until we do, okay?”
Claugh thought for a moment. He looked away from Ryner and back to his army’s camp in the distance. “Fine. I’ll ask Sion. But I dunno how he’ll answer—”
“He’ll agree with my plan,” Ryner assured him. “It’s the path of least sacrifice, so he’ll be all over it.”
Ryner had spent a lot of time with Sion over the past few years. He knew him pretty well by now. Sion would love his plan. It’d mean saving Toale’s life without making Roland look weak to the rest of the world.
But if those without an affiliation to any particular country—for example, Ryner—found out about Toale… what would they think?
They probably wouldn’t see it as a sign of Roland’s weakness. That’s why Ryner was confident that Sion would agree with him.
It looked like Claugh thought so too. His harsh expression was crumbling.
“…But you know that you’ll have to kill people for this, right?” Claugh asked.
Ryner smiled and shrugged. He’d already come to terms with that.
There were the lives of the 10,000 soldiers Toale was commanding.
There were the lives of the thousands and thousands of Nelphan commoners that Roland’s army slaughtered.
There were the 68,000 soldiers that Starnelle was commanding.
There were the thousands and thousands of Rolanders that would fall victim to this war, too.
Sion couldn’t save any of those people. He was bearing their screams and pain and deaths all by himself, yet still forced himself forward.
Then there was Ryner’s plan, which would also lead to thousands and thousands of deaths.
“……”
He kind of wanted to run away from it as fast as he could. It was scary, tear-jerking, bitterly tough, and heavy on his shoulders. But…
But there was no way that he could run.
After all, Sion had been carrying burdens for years while Ryner just ran away. He couldn’t keep running away from this.
They had to fight together.
If he was really Sion’s friend, if he got to say all the things he wanted to say the next time they saw each other, they couldn’t fight. There was no way.
“…I want to carry some of that burden,” Ryner said. “I won’t let Sion take it all anymore. I’ll take some, too. That’s why I want you to tell him what I said…”
“Hm? What you said?” Claugh repeated. “You mean about wanting more time?”
Ryner grimaced. “Um… no. Y’know, what I said earlier about wanting to save Toale? It’s the same for Sion. So… Tell him for me, okay?”
“I don’t betray my friends.”
It was so painfully embarrassing that Ryner would die if he had to say it to Sion’s face, but it was something he had to convey to him somehow.
He needed Sion to know that so his plan could succeed. He needed him to hear it to stop him from going mad as he carried the world’s pain on his shoulders.
Claugh scowled. “Why the hell are you trying to make me say something so embarrassing!”
“A, ah, it really is embarrassing, isn’t it?”
“It’s more than embarrassing! It’s disgusting!”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously,” Claugh said.
“Tell him, okay?”
“Like hell I will!”
“Aww… But this plan won’t work unless you tell him, so please tell him!”
Claugh’s scowl only grew.
Then Ferris spoke from beside Ryner. “Mm. Also, bring two thousand cases of dango from Wynnit Dango here to Nelpha—”
“I’m not some delivery boy!” Claugh yelled, then sighed. “Man… You guys have been annoying ever since you showed up. I thought it’d go the other way around, so I’m kinda surprised.”
Ryner and Ferris laughed.
“…God, you guys are so annoying,” Claugh said and sighed again. He picked Shuss up from the ground. “Well, for what it’s worth, I do think your plan has its merits. I’ll be sure to tell Sion for you, you guys better succeed, got it?”
“‘We’ll do the best we can’ - tell Mr. Sion Ass-tal that too, okay?”
“…‘Ass-tall,’ huh? I’ll tell him. Where should I send his reply? I know that the details aren’t set in stone now, but should I take it to the area near the Runa border?”
Ryner nodded. “That’ll work.”
“Alright,” Claugh said. “I’m gonna go back now, then. You guys better run off before my soldiers bring you back to me.”
“Whaat? You still wanna fight?”
Claugh grinned. “We didn’t get to fight to the death earlier.”
“Whoa, there. Don’t joke about that.”
“We’ll see if I was joking or not when we meet on the battlefield,” Claugh said. Then he walked into the dark forest while carrying Shuss over one of his shoulders.
Ryner watched him go. “I guess he still thinks of us as enemies,” he murmured. He looked to his side, where Ferris was eating dango and zoning out as if the conversations of others meant nothing to her.
“…Mm. Are we done here?”
“Yep. We’re done.”
“Did we win?”
“Umm… not sure. I can’t really say until everything’s said and done, but… I think we’re heading in the right direction, at the very least.”
Ferris nodded. For some reason, she looked a bit troubled. “Don’t relax just yet, Ryner. Your plan was made by you, the shining star in the industry of being stupid. At the end, you’ll say ‘Wow………… this was pretty stupid, because—’”
Ferris stopped for a moment to eat some dango before speaking again.
“Mmm… dango really is delicious.”
“Why’d you stop halfway through your story?”
“I gave up halfway.”
“Sure did.”
“Mm.”
Having finished their usual stupid conversation, they began to move towards the north-northeast. They had to move fast or else. After all, Ryner hadn’t actually met with Toale to talk to him about all of this. He’d made it sound like he basically took control of Toale’s army and was leading them to attack Runa when he talked to Claugh, but in reality, he hadn’t talked to Toale about any of this yet.
Toale had no idea about Ryner’s plans. But, well, if Claugh and the rest of Roland believed that Ryner was a capable guy with powerful friends, who was he to stop them?
Plus, he was certain that Toale would listen to him and agree to do what he asked. The problem was finding Toale to talk to him. That was why they had to hurry. He jumped down from the tree he’d been in.
“…Wonder if Kiefer’s okay?”
“A girl who acts as innocent and cute as her will be fine,” Ferris said. “She seems like someone who’s good at deceiving men.”
“…A girl who acts innocent and cute, huh…”
“Hm? What?”
“No, nothing… Um, well, whatever.” Ryner sighed.
Right now, Ryner’s allies consisted of Ferris, Kiefer, and Iris. It didn’t seem like Ferris and Kiefer got along very well, so it was kinda like… uhh.
“I’m just gonna stop thinking,” Ryner mumbled, tired.
“What are you talking about?” Ferris asked.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“You’re keeping secrets!!?”
“No, it’s not a secret or anything…”
“Nooooo!” Ferris screamed. “This freak pervert is yelling about his secrets while running stark naked through the forest!!”
“…I think this every time, but you have a lot of fun with this stuff, don’t you?”
“Mm!”
“Thought so… I guess I’m fine with it as long as you’re enjoying yourself.”
They talked as they ran towards the Nelpha-Runa border, to go help Kiefer who was on her way to Toale, the man shouldering the lives of 10,000 soldiers all by himself.
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no subject
Date: 2022-02-06 03:28 am (UTC)