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Chapter 82: We Gather Under The Black Flag III

A short time ago, a beast appeared in Ashtalia.

It was a giant beast that was wrapped in flames.

Its flames razed the city, burnt down the people and their homes, and turned the small kingdom’s castle town to ash.

At the cost of their lives, the generals and soldiers of Ashtalia defeated the beast.

They were His Majesty’s men. They weren’t ordinary men. I heard that every single soldier had strength equal to advanced adventurers.

Even so, their lives were turned to ash.

This time, to protect Ashtalia.

The country ravaged by a beast will be protected by a beast. There aren\'t any other words for it.

It was a white beast that stood out in the darkness. It had beautiful long hair that made it seem as if it was made of snow, walked on two legs and was 10 meters tall. Its claws were sharp and thick. The beast\'s head was the very image of a wolf. Its long tail generated wind with every swing.

The beast\'s howl broke the stillness of the night.

It was a howl that triggered an instinctive fear in people.

Just like the ugly beast I saw in the past, it howled at the three round moons. I have no idea if they have a special hatred for the radiance of the night, or if it\'s just a habit of beasts.

The beast advanced, scattering the army of men.

Its claws tore through soldiers like they were made of paper. Using its big mouth, it crunched ten soldiers with a single bite. The first ones to die weren’t able to even grasp what had happened.

I took advantage of the confusion and went around setting fires. To surround the army, to enclose the beast, and to let the enemies see the beast.

The soldiers who had been on guard against a night attack rang bells to alert the entire army.

The ringing of the bells, the soldiers’ screams, the flames, and the beast’s howls combined to spur pandemonium.

But they held up better than I had expected. They were quick to adjust and regain control.

There were those who threw their lives away to buy time.

There were generals who made use of that time to command the army to form battle lines.

Even the most lowly soldier acted on his own initiative instead of waiting for orders from above.

These guys are used to fighting. As expected from the army of one of the strongest four.

Perhaps they have experience fighting beasts? The biggest enemy of the black elf is Elysium. It’s possible.

Any forms of sabotage other than setting fires would likely be futile. If it went badly and I got found out, it would sully the name of Ashtalia. Until tomorrow morning, when His Majesty goes into battle, I\'m still his vassal. I must at least serve with the pride and honor of one. Just like Zamonglass.

It was an admirable end.

Manly.

And without words.

Unlike Varner, he uttered not one word of complaint.

As if to say, life is just such a thing, he killed himself without batting an eye.

I ended up bearing witness to the death of both teacher and disciple.

Was there some sort of meaning behind it, I wonder? ………No, it\'s up to me to give it meaning, I suppose.

Yes, it does have meaning. This night of hunting that has continued on after Irvin’s death.

In spite of the quick response by the army, the beast advanced.

This is an army of the most valiant, and yet they\'re no match for it at all. It\'s a massacre.

It\'s terrifying just to imagine it.

How many of such people does Elysium have? There\'s only one of them and it\'s like this. If by some twist of fate, countless beasts are released into the world, civilization will be extinguished.

「Bring me my armor!」

「You can’t, King Dugan! You must pull back to safety!」

「Not a chance! If I don’t fight at the front, who will?!」

「Excuse me for coming so late at night」

In front of Dugan, who was quarreling with his trusted vassal, I appeared.

Because of my sudden greeting and the fact that there was absolutely no sign of me up until that very moment, rather than drawing their weapons, the king and his men were simply astonished.

It was a secure camp. To protect the king, there were ten female soldiers guarding the place he slept, fifty brawny personal guards, and three hundred sentries. Even when facing such a foe, it was a steadfast defense without a hint of confusion.

I had slipped through all that with ease.

They must be shocked.

Indeed, not even a single insect can pass through these defenses undetected. But there\'s this monster that had managed to deceive adventurers for over five hundred years. I have a cloak made of its skin.

Lola’s cloak.

It\'s a piece of equipment created under the guidance of the Guild President. By passing magic power through it, this item makes the wearer become completely invisible like Lola. However, the normal me would have been able to stay invisible for five seconds at best.

However, so long as a beast of abominable blood is nearby, I can stay invisible almost forever. Thanks to Misuranika-sama’s grace, I’m currently overflowing with infinite magic power.

「If I\'m not mistaken, you\'re Dainsleif’s vassal, aren’t you? The one who gave me apples」

「Yes」

「That monster is a beast of Elysium. Surely……it wasn\'t unleashed by Dainsleif?」

「No way」

I laughed derisively.

Then I continued.

「That\'s a fragment of the beast that burned Ashtalia down. It must have been revived by the blood on the battlefield. It’s a huge beast that even the four generals of our country couldn’t completely kill. Now, how will you guys fight it?」

「Naturally, just as our ancestors did, we\'ll climb over the corpses of our brethren, chop off its head, and gouge out its heart. That\'s all」

「Ahahahahahahahaha! That\'s no good. It\'s a stupid way to fight. Even the famed Robbs only amounts to this much, huh?」

As I laughed uproariously, I grabbed the axe swung down at me from the side with my bare hand.

I put strength into my five fingers and shattered its steel blade.

The one who had swung the axe was the king\'s son.

「What?! Those eyes! Are you also a beast of Elysium?!」

Durandal made a misguided misunderstanding about me.

「I’m the Wolf of Ashtalia. In the place of you fools, I’ll show you a real hunt. Withdraw your army immediately. If you don’t, you will be damned by the curse of death before the fight even begins. This is your only warning」

「That hunt or whatever, we\'ll show it to you by lining up your head with the head of the beast!」

The younger Robbs came at me, swinging the axe with a shattered blade.

No one was stopping him, so I had no choice but to punch him in the jaw and knock him out. The other men raised their weapons in unison. Three hundred and fifty weapons gleamed dully in the light of the flames.

「「STOPPP!」」

「You foolish son who bared your weapon without thinking! What\'s more, to not be able to tell the difference in strength from the first strike, you definitely lack training!」

「So, what are you going to do?」

I don’t care either way.

I had given them the warning only in passing while announcing my name.

As long as a few of the people present survive and spread the name of Ashtalia, that\'s enough for me. All the better if it\'s accompanied by a story about a foolish king who ignored the warning.

I\'ve already achieved my objective.

「I won\'t retreat. This is the path to death that I\'ve prepared for my friend. He will tear my army apart, fall, and die, and then Dainsleif will become a legend. Even if a beast or whatnot appears the night before, I\'ll simply crush it」

「Understood」

Then you can vomit blood and die from the curse of death.

If I pull up the hood of the cloak, I\'ll become invisible. As strong people, these guys won\'t be able to see me.

As I was about to make myself vanish……

「Won\'t you wait for a moment?」

……I was stopped by a woman’s voice.

I merely make myself unseen, but this woman truly appears out of thin air.

Unrest spread through Robbs\' men at the appearance of the second intruder.

「It’s still not time! It’s too early!」

The woman took the king’s words calmly.

「But if I don\'t stop you, you will die for nothing. I do not want that」

The dark-skinned elf pulled down her hood.

Now that I had a good look at her, she was more petite and slender compared to Rana. Her long black hair looked like it was dyed with darkness. Underneath her cloak, she was wearing an over-sized combat uniform and boots, both of which had been altered to fit her.

「No way」

I couldn\'t stop myself from exclaiming.

What had surprised me was her face.

She had such beautiful looks that it was scary, and a devilishness shone in her eyes. A tremendous beauty, she was my god…..

「Misuranika, -sama?」

……’s spitting image. She looked so much like her that they could be mistaken for twins.

「Who’s a forgotten one? Are you being sarcastic?」

「No, no」

My strained nerves were eased for an instant.

This person is, no, what\'s the story behind her? With everything that has happened up to this point, she looks too much like her for it to be a coincidence.

「Your Majesty, who is this person?」

「Ur, urgh」

Sweat broke out on Dugan’s forehead when he was questioned by his trusted vassal.

Is this woman\'s existence more troublesome to him than the approaching beast?

「Robbs, pull back for now. Let\'s try leaving it to this man. If we look on from a distance, we\'ll surely get to see something interesting. The destruction of Ashtalia can wait till afterwards」

A bitter look appeared on Dugan’s face.

「………It can\'t be helped. Inform the entire army. Back away from the beast. We\'ll fall back until we can just barely see it. Leave behind anything that cannot be carried easily. The recovery of the fallen is prohibited. Help those who have the will to live. For those who don\'t, put them out of their misery」

『Yes, Your Majesty』

Loyally, his vassals moved to follow his instructions.

「There, that\'s good enough, right?」

「Yes, that\'s plenty, Robbs」

「Good grief, I’m worried for the future」

After a quick discussion with the woman, Dugan looked at me.

「Wolf of Ashtalia or whatever you\'re called. Show me your skill. If you fight in a way that sullies Dainsleif’s name, I\'ll step in and decapitate you along with the beast」

「No need to worry」

That\'s the last thing I would do.

The woman looked at me with a small smile.

「Now, go」

「Yeah, I\'ll go. Be sure to witness the glorious fighting style of Ashtalia」

I pulled up the hood of the cloak and vanished from the king’s view.

I went in the opposite direction of the soldiers who were hurrying away.

The white beast was rampaging wildly.

Hit by arrows and spears, there were spots of red all over its white body. But the wounds were all far from fatal.

To kill these things, one had to chop off their heads and crush their hearts.

It\'s a ritualistic way of doing it, but it\'s a foolproof method used by the beast-hunter adventurers to deal with them.

I slipped through the crowd of people and came out into an open space. A burning tent had become a huge bonfire. The remains of people were strewn all over. There were a hundred or two, from those who fought bravely to those who fled and were killed from behind. Some were crushed beyond recognition.

There were all sorts.

I showed myself and stood in front of the beast.

The beast stopped moving when it saw me.

I held up Zamonglass’ sword.

It was a sword that was forged thicker and more sturdy than an ordinary longsword. It was coated with silver, making it highly effective against not just beastkin, but beasts of abominable blood as well.

This sword had been engraved with the history of the old knight\'s battles. The marks on the sword didn\'t come from a decade or two of use. They had been etched into it over the course of half a century.

For the people of this world, that’s almost the duration of a person’s life.

A sword that has lasted that long without shattering and has kept its edge is a remarkable sword, even if it doesn\'t have a name.

Reflected on its blade, were golden eyes. They were the eyes of wolves. The eyes of those who devoured evil.

I thought back on his last words.

A long-standing resentment dwells inside me. At the very end, just like the other knights, I\'ll kill everything in sight. ………Well, for being able to put that to good use, I\'m a lucky man』

「My god, oh Misuranika, the dark fire. I\'m the one who devours the curses of people, uses it as food and turns it into power. I\'m your one and only follower.

Ra?Varuzu?Duin?Gargantua. We hate for eternity the origin of the blood of old.

With the echos of resentment and the voices of curses, I call the beast.

Oh goddess of the moon of misfortune,

Oh Lycan,

Oh golden-eyed black cat,

In this body, the power of the forgotten ones.

…Oh my god, forgive its sin of purging evil!

I harbor a beast while remaining in human form!

I hunt beasts while remaining human!

There is no night that doesn\'t break into dawn! No dreams that one doesn\'t awaken from! I’ll sever the abominable blood of calamity right here and now! So come once more, the night of the hunter!」

Knowingly or unknowingly, fate had led me to gather the pieces of her.

Misuranika, the one who is forgotten completely.

Perhaps it’s because of this power, but I\'m beginning to understand the truth about her.

The dark fire.

The shadow of prosperity.

The abandoned ones.

They\'re gathered in this body now.

Oh descendants of the king who drank the taboo.

Oh glorious knights of St. Lyridias.

The blood that flows in your hearts will be forgiven in death by the god of misdeeds.

But the curse is power.

The strong emotions were purified by Misuranika\'s grace and were transformed into masses of pure power that glowed with a pale light like fireflies.

This is the power of immortality. A shadow that lasts forever so long as the world of man exists.

Come, my beast.

Devour this.

Cracks streaked across the containers of the regeneration point. Red and blue steam burst out.

The snowfield was bathed in green light.

It\'s a fantastical sight. The enemy I faced too, is fitting for a fantasy world.

The white beast and I howled at the same time.

War cries rang out together.

Behold.

Behold the man that is me.

Behold the Wolf of Ashtalia.

「Let’s go」

Baring my teeth, I started walking forward.

Slowly, heroically, bravely, as befits a vassal of His Majesty.

The white beast swung a massive punch at me.

It was a heavy blow that stirred up wind. If a human took that, he would be obliterated from the ankles up.

I swung Zamonglass\' sword, the proof that he was once human. It deflected the blow aside. The ringing of metal echoed loudly.

I advanced and, without hesitation, we went at each other.

Claws and sword threw off sparks. It was a clash of blows between two superhuman beings. The sound of iron being struck reverberated through the air. A single horizontal slash, and blood sprayed out, painting the snow red.

I didn’t take a single step back.

The beast, retreated.

With every blow, our bodies broke.

With every blow, we faced death.

With every blow, we were reborn.

Overcoming death, trampling down death.

Going back and forth between life and death, I knocked the beast down with a strength surpassing that of heroes.

Taking advantage of that opening, I swung a god-like slash.

It sliced the beast\'s arm clean off and sent it flying. The arm, which was as thick as a giant tree trunk, fell behind it.

A step, and another step, I advanced.

Using spear-hand attacks, the beast thrust its claws at me repeatedly. Each of its fingers were as big as my head. Be it the weight, power or mass behind those attacks, they were all beyond the limits of humans.

I caught those claws with my bare hand.

The impact shot through my body, shattering my bones and rupturing my internal organs. Part of my body liquefied and gushed from my mouth and eyes.

But I didn’t take a single step back.

I mustn’t retreat.

I pushed the huge beast back.

The infinite regeneration point healed all damage in an instant. Moreover, the power. A power second to none. Something inside me burned, changed to heat, and transformed into an immense power.

In the cold air of the snowfield, steam rose from my body.

I crushed the claws in my grip. With a swing of the sword, I sliced the beast\'s arm into two lengthwise.

The beast screamed out loud.

With the magic sword in my left hand, I tore through both of the beast\'s legs with both swords. I felt the sensation of them cutting through thick flesh and severing bones.

「Agathion」

Combining the power of Wild Hunt and the power of the magic sword, I threw it at super close range. The magic sword gouged out the beast\'s heart.

The beast dropped to its knees. Like a sinner presenting his head.

I rested the sword on my shoulder and held it with both hands

So that I could chop its head off easily, I moved to its side.

「Farewell」

The beast\'s eyes were filled with a human-like gentleness. They shone with intelligence. Perhaps he had become a beast while remaining himself. Maybe he had gone easy on me. That might be why I had won so easily.

But,

Without caring, and without hesitation, I beheaded it.

Though I was merely mimicking what I had seen, I imitated His Majesty\'s sword technique. It shouldn\'t have felt any pain.

Blood flooded onto the snowfield and became a red river.

Taking out a small bag from my pants pocket, I scattered the seeds that were inside it. They were the seeds of the Shikabana. They would absorb the curse, and then flowers resembling cirsiums would bloom. I had been worried about whether they would bloom in this cold weather, but my fears were unfounded.

The seeds took root, sprouted and grew as soon as they landed on the beast\'s body. They were still small, but I saw glimpses of the red flowers. They were using the curse that I had spewed out and the beast\'s body as nourishment.

In less than half a day, this place would probably be awash with red flowers.

I was able to let go of one of my concerns. I had avoided polluting the land of Ashtalia.

After that,

I picked up the head that I had sent flying and held it up.

The head was larger than my body.

Under normal conditions, carrying it would be difficult for me, but at that moment, I was able to easily lift it up with one hand.

「Those of Robbs\' clan! Behold! Bear witness! This is your nemesis, the beast of Elysium! In the place of you fools, this Wolf of Ashtalia has hunted it down magnificently! Strike down my fame and make it yours! Right now! Grab your weapons and come at me!」

We were quite a distance apart, but it appeared that Robbs\' army could hear me.

War cries were yelled back in reply.

Torches in hand, the soldiers surged at me like a tidal wave.

With the defeat of the beast, Misuranika-sama\'s grace had gone out. The drifting curse of death was already being cleansed by the flowers. In other words, the effects of Wild Hunt were already nearing their end.

Soon, I’ll return to being just an ordinary foreigner.

Should I chant Wild Hunt again?

The problem I have is that it\'s unclear if this magic is one that can be used consecutively.

If I\'m unlucky, I\'ll just spew out the curse of death and then die. Actually, is it even a magic that can be used when there are no beasts of abominable blood around? The only way to know for sure is to gamble my life on it. It\'s my usual practice of playing things by ear.

I laid the head of the white beast on the ground and made a gesture of prayer with one hand.

「Agathion」

After a short prayer, I took the blood-covered magic sword in my hand.

Now, let\'s get the real show on the road.

Though they had been ravaged by the beast, there were still plenty of soldiers left. 20,000? 30,000?

The large army was approaching from across the white darkness. To be met by just one person.

「Ku, kuh, hahahaha」

That’s right. This is it!

This is what I wanted to do.

Fighting all alone and unhindered by anyone. Fighting, and then dying at the end of the battle. I\'ll fight and fight, and then fall on the battlefield and die like a piece of trash. Is that not the long-cherished desire of men? This cannot be experienced in a place like the modern world where people die at the sound of a dry pop. This is a place of battle where blood seethes and cascades. A battlefield where heroes fight, and then die.

Right now, I\'m standing on it.

This feeling making my body tremble……

What a soul-stirring sense of pride!

「Come, bring it on!」

Brawny warriors closed in with axes and shields at the ready.

Not one of them were weak. They were mighty warriors who were each a match for a thousand.

As something to adorn the death of a piece of trash, it\'s too extravagant a lineup. I\'m not going to just roll over and die though. I\'m going to meet them with all the resistance I can muster.

Oh, but I should leave 20,000 for His Majesty.

「My god, oh Misuranika!」

Even the sorrow in the wolves\' howls could be felt.

But what had stopped people in their tracks was not just their voices.

Between Robb\'s army and me, a gigantic black wolf that was bigger than the white beast had appeared.

It was so big that it could be mistaken for a hill.

It was 20 meters from its head to the tip of its tail.

It could probably quash the armies of men easily. This was not an opponent that humans had the power to do anything about. It was almost like a fantastic beast of legend.

Alongside it was a pack of wolves.

A black pack of nearly a thousand. The wolves of that pack were also large. They were much bigger than people. It was an army of fantastic beasts.

That voice was so cold that it froze our blood.

Before this fantastic beast, no man had power over his own life and death.

In the presence of a real god, all men were equally helpless.

Their golden eyes pierced the night.

The air shook and souls froze in terror.

The brawny warriors scrambled to flee. Robbs\' army scattered. They no longer had any will to fight.

The battle was over.

Behind me, the wolves were devouring the flesh of the white beast.

The black fantastic beast came up to me and opened its mouth to eat the head of the white beast.

Prepared to die for doing so, I blocked it with my sword. Its tip was quivering.

「I\'ll bury this one. This is my friend\'s teacher. I was not able to bury my friend. …At the very least, I would like to bury his teacher」

『I see. Then, it can’t be helped』

The fantastic beast turned back.

Its giant form disappeared without warning and without a trace.

All that remained was a trampled snowfield and darkness.

「Ur, urgh」

I broke out in a sweat.

My breathing was ragged.

At the same time, I started to laugh.

There are such things in this world, huh?

「Small. So small. In the end, the strength of humans only amounts to this much」

「Yes」

「But one day, the skills of man will reach even that thing. No, they used to reach it in the past. That was how we incurred the wrath of the gods and became the weak soldiers we are today. If you aspire to be a warrior, you must seek to regain those heights」

「………Your Majesty, how long have you been here?」

「The entire time」

His Majesty had come up beside me without a sound. He had suppressed his presence completely.

His Majesty is a man who seems to be able to do anything he puts his mind to.

「Even if there was a mountain in between, I\'d notice a racket this loud」

「I had underestimated you, Your Majesty. I\'m sorry」

「Why is there a need to apologize?」

「Well, somehow or other」

「Don’t apologize for no particular reason」

「Yes」

「Come」

I followed behind His Majesty as he headed back towards the castle. I carried the heavy head of the beast on my shoulders. The joints throughout my body screamed in pain, but I ignored them.

I chased after the fast-footed His Majesty with wobbly steps.

The wolves were concentrating on their meal, and paid us no attention. As I watched, the carcass of the white beast started to disappear.

I looked back at the snowfield, the battlefield.

Not feeling any particular emotion for it, I left that place.

The current me has no passion.

As if devoured by the fantastic beast, the madness had vanished like an illusion.

So much to unpack here. I’ll start with Misuranika’s name. From the elf’s response, Souya learned the meaning of Misuranika’s name. Just like how “Rauaryuna” means “impurity/shame of the clan”, “Misuranika” means “the one who is forgotten (completely)”. There’s no perfect equivalent in English. Its base meaning is “forgotten”, but it’s not like forgetting to eat lunch, for example, but a “completely gone” kind of forget, like a forgotten legend, for example. Which I think you’ll kinda understand if you think about how some people seem to have completely forgotten about her, like Rana for example…

By the way, it happened last time too, but Souya just happens to get revelations about stuff near the time he uses Wild Hunt. Last time, it was about Lyridias, this time it’s about the pieces of Misuranika he says he is gathering. Yes, it’s still very unclear what he has gleamed. We’re not supposed to know it yet. All will be revealed in future.

And no prizes for guessing what it is inside Souya that was burned and transformed into power… We’ll eventually see who it is that has been forgotten.

Why does the elf look like Misuranika though? And as usual, though the temptation is to skip past the chants, Souya altered the words slightly and his thoughts after are obviously important.

Interesting factoid, the giant wolf actually uses Oda Nobunaga’s sorta catchphrase, “で、あるか”, which I translated as “Then, it can’t be helped”. The true meaning of it is ambiguous, but based on his usage(although it’s considered his catchphrase, he doesn’t actually say it very often XD), it either means the above or “is that so?”.

Yeah, in the end, Zamonglass’ plan is a match-pump. Killing himself to use his beast to wreck havoc on Robbs’ army, then have Souya solve the problem in the name of Ashtalia. So, now that the plan has been accomplished, what’s next? Stay tuned, for there is still much more to go in this arc!