Chapter 2-3
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Chapter 2, Part 3
When outnumbered by the enemy, the “war of attrition” tactic was ill-advised. It was best to not let the battle drag on any longer than necessary.
They would only end up overwhelmed and exhausted, which would lead to an inevitable loss. If they wanted to finish the battle quickly, it was common sense that they’d have to take the initiative and keep the battle in their favor. Saboteurs typically excelled in using their speed to bewitch the enemy, leading them around by the nose.
However…
“I am steel.”
Focusing on her approaching enemy, Akari recited the keywords to her secret technique “Iron-Blood Transformation.”
“Steel knows not fear. Steel rings true. In the face of the enemy, it does not hesitate. I am a weapon to destroy them.”
They were keywords that literally opened a lock—keywords to unleash the raging beast sealed within her. Each time she spoke a phrase, that force slumbering deep within would shake off one of the multiple chains binding it, allowing it to surface.
A dark-grey beast that knew only of battle.
It was not feral, nor was it savage.
But it was as fickle as a flame—and as dangerous as a blade.
“….Phew.”
The corners of Akari’s mouth turned up slightly—and she licked her lips.
The blood within her roiled, and every muscle in her body began to operate at maximum output. Her senses expanded and flooded her brain. Consciousness became sharper during “Iron-Blood Transformation,” and in many senses made one’s own body feel like it had grown a whole size larger.
For that reason, this secret technique was a double-edged sword.
It could leave her full of openings if she didn’t properly take the reins.
“…”
Her body now completely configured for battle, Akari zeroed in on the two approaching her.
The two were like complete opposites.
One was a gigantic, muscular middle-aged man.
The other was a petite, slim demihuman boy.
She judged that the one to watch out for first was the middle-aged man wielding the giant comblade—Nikolay.
Naturally she shouldn’t take the boy lightly, but judging from his slim figure he couldn’t have been very strong. At the very least, it was clear just from a glance at his limbs that his build was not that of a warrior’s.
While it was reasonable to think he had some sort of weapon on him, it had to be a small, hidden kind—in other words, the kind made to aim for the enemy’s vitals.
If so, that severely limited his range and his opportunities to attack. As long as she took care to guard her vitals, she would likely be fine.
On the other hand Nikolay had a large comblade, and ridiculous strength to boot. Such power would make it easy for him to smash through any cheap defense.
Any hit from him would tear right through skin to shatter bone. Activating “Iron-Blood Transformation” did not make the body any more resilient, so it was best for her to use her heightened physique to avoid any direct confrontations.
“What’s the matter?” A small grin appeared on Nikolai’s face. “Not gonna come?”
He had said that because he was fully aware of the “common sense” mentioned earlier.
Akari’s side was outnumbered, so waiting for the attacks to come to her was illogical. By all rights she should have been attacking right out of the gate regardless of what Nikolay did.
But alas, Chaika was behind Akari.
Launching forward and leaving the battle-inept Chaika in the lurch was no doubt exactly what the enemy wanted her to do.
“Well, if you’re not gonna come, should I?” said Nikolay breezily, the giant comblade resting on his shoulder. “Not that I’m thrilled about the prospect of fighting a girl.”
Right that instant—a figure suddenly vanished from her vision.
It wasn’t Nikolay.
It was the other one, the demihuman boy.
“—!”
Even though Akari had momentarily been focused on Nikolay’s words, there had been no question that she had still had the boy in her sights. He had disappeared in a flash. In other words, he had moved so fast that he hadn’t even left behind an afterimage.
However…
Perhaps I have that Guy character to thank, thought Akari in the corner of her mind.
Since she had previously seen Guy vanish and reappear on a dime, she wasn’t near as surprised as she should have been.
The boy’s movements were different from Guy’s, however. Though she had lost the boy momentarily, she could follow the traces of his movements with her eyes. In her “Iron-Blood Transformation” state, she could at least figure out which direction he had gone in.
The boy was hopping from left to right, back and forth, getting closer all the while.
She couldn’t get a bead on the person himself; rather, she was tracking the vibrations of the ground each time he kicked off.
Left? Right? Or perhaps up?
Quickly determining the direction he’d be coming from, Akari readied her hammer to defend.
Warriors with a small build often used their movements to increase the power of their attacks. It was the reason Akari swung her hammer around in a circle and why some increase the force of their gravity by leaping before a slash or increase the force of a collision by building up running speed.
Akari judged that the boy was most likely going to come from above.
But…
“…!?”
The attack didn’t come.
No, that wasn’t all. In the next instant the boy landed at Akari’s right, outside the range of her hammer. There was no doubt that he had indeed leapt, but the boy had not prepared a direct attack towards her.
Why was that?
The reason became clear in the next moment.
Akari swung her hammer almost entirely on pure instinct—and a shock ran through it. That was because in the time Akari had been momentarily distracted, Nikolay had gotten within her range and swung down his sword.
“—!!”
There was a dull sound as sword and hammer collided.
If Akari’s swing had been the slightest bit late—no, even before that, if she hadn’t been using “Iron-Blood Transformation” she likely would have been cleaved in two.
Nikolay was even scarier than she had thought. He moved with a speed that belied his physique.
Of course, Tohru had informed Akari about the extent of Nikolay’s abilities, so she had already been wary. However, the boy’s movements had created a momentary blind spot in her focus.
Steel and steel began to scream in unison while sparks flew, and the sword continued to eat into the hammer.
It was a blessing that Akari’s weapon was a sturdy hammer. A thin sword would have definitely broken by now.
“Hngh—”
Her hammer tilting under the strength of her opponent as she continued to ward off the attack, she pivoted her left foot and aimed it at his flank.
Typically both hands were required to wield a large comblade. Of course that meant that an upward swing would leave both of his sides open, whereas a swing to the left or right would leave the opposite side vulnerable.
There was a sharp sound—the sound of a hidden blade jutting from the toe of Akari’s boot.
The area was unprotected—a gap in his armor. Piercing it might not kill him, but it would definitely hamper his abilities.
That was what Akari was thinking, but—
“—!?”
Out of the corner of her vision, she saw the demihuman boy move.
He headed straight for Akari’s right—in other words, where her other foot was planted.
“…!”
If she had her right leg swiped and ended up collapsing here, she would undoubtedly lose this battle.
Akari quickly made an unnatural pivot to return her attacking foot to its original position, but it threw her off balance.
“Heh—”
Nikolay’s lips spread into a smile.
“—Gh!?”
Nikolay had changed the direction of his sword’s trajectory, or rather the direction in which he was putting his strength. The sword in a deadlock with Akari’s hammer now pressed her from the side without warning, and with her left foot in the air she could not react properly to this sudden change. Her posture crumbled.
She was narrowly able to avoid a complete collapse, but she was kneeling on her left knee.
He’s hopping around again…!
After catching the demihuman boy dancing in the corner of her vision again—no, being led to catch the boy in her vision again, she let out a groan.
These two were obviously cooperating—and on a frighteningly high level.
In lieu of any actual offensive maneuvers, the demihuman boy was repeatedly appearing in and out of Akari’s vision to a point that she couldn’t ignore. Then Nikolay would ready his attack the instant her attention was diverted.
What’s more, Nikolay had speed and dexterity unbefitting of his gigantic frame.
Normally, changing the direction of an downward attack mid-swing was nearly impossible, and even more so in Nikolay’s case considering the size of his sword. Yet, he had done it as easily as breathing. It was easy to think from his appearance that he specialized in the unpolished, brute-force type of offense, but it was actually the exact opposite. He carried out refined, practiced attacks without indulging in that arm strength of his—he was a truly a man of finesse.
“Ugh…” Akari moaned.
She was on the ground, kneeling. Any fancy footwork was impossible now. With this, the strength she’d gained from “Iron-Blood Transformation” had been cleanly cut in half.
Naturally, she didn’t have the leeway to scramble up from the ground and regain her posture. In other words, whatever Nikolay and the demihuman boy had in store for her, she could now only use her upper body to evade.
“Ha!”
As if returning the favor, Nikolay sent her a kick of his own.
Fueled by the recoil from his earlier sword swing, the attack’s power was immense. The steel toe of the pivoted foot heading toward her may have not had a hidden blade within, but was still perfectly efficient as a blunt weapon.
“Gh—”
Quickly she raised her hammer, blocking the kick.
But Nikolay, unfazed, simply used the recoil from colliding with the hammer to return his foot to his original position, and lunged at her with his giant comblade once more.
“Ugh…Gh…”
Using her hammer once again Akari blocked it by the skin of her teeth, but…
“Kh…”
“Now, now. You can’t be lookin’ anywhere else, y’know. You don’t have the luxury.”
Due to Nikolay’s continuous string of attacks there were no openings—Akari, still on one knee, was forced to stay on the defensive. She had been trying with all her might to spot an opening in which she could counterattack, but each time she attempted it the demihuman boy would come within her vision once more, breaking her focus.
If it was just one-on-one, it’d be more like an actual battle.
But this was just—
“Relax,” said Nikolai as he unleashed a violent flurry of sword strikes. “You can rest assured we weren’t ordered to kill ya. Well, worse comes to worse y’ might lose an arm or a leg. But you were prepared for that at least, right? After all, girl or not, you’re still a saboteur.”
There was no pretension in his voice or words—they were merely the words of one who had stood on countless battlefields.
Even if hypothetically Akari were to survive this encounter but not necessarily with all her limbs intact, the exchange of a mere arm or leg for the enemy’s life was still considered a job well done. That was what it meant to be in a standoff to the death.
“…”
Akari said nothing.
Even though she was still in her transformed state, at this point she didn’t even have the luxury to object.
* * *
Meanwhile—Tohru was fighting an uphill battle of his own.
It went without saying that the one he was mainly crossing swords with was Alberic.
“…!”
Sharp, honed thrusts and slashes assailed Tohru one after another.
The attacks were just as fast as they were frighteningly accurate.
The orthodox school of swordsmanship cavaliers belonged to consisted of techniques simpler than those of saboteurs or mercenaries…but once these simple techniques were mastered beyond a certain level they became impenetrable. The issue wasn’t the speed or weight of the slash, it was that every one of these mastered techniques had enough power on its own to be a one-hit kill.
All the more so when technique after technique was chained with such blinding speed.
It wasn’t that his movements were especially quick. Actually, in terms of raw agility Tohru had the upper hand. But not a one of Alberic’s movements were wasted. Every action of his had a purpose. In the end, even Tohru had a hard time keeping track of the tip of Alberic’s blade.
“Shit…!”
Like Akari, Tohru was also using “Iron-Blood Transformation,” but even so there was no margin for error.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he was only able to withstand Alberic’s attacks because he was using “Iron-Blood Transformation.” That was because this cavalier on his own possessed the same amount of fighting prowess as an “Iron-Blood”-enhanced saboteur.
As expected of one from a purebred military family—one who had battle coursing through his veins.
Countless times Tohru would try to force an opening, but each time Vivi would distract him. She would appear on occasion from behind Alberic and send a needle his way, restricting his movements.
Not good…
Tohru was feeling the pressure.
Yes, “Iron-Blood Transformation” expanded the senses and muscles of its user, and brought heightened reaction speed.
In a one-on-one fight—in other words in a fight where distractions were limited, it was possible to throw the enemy’s flow of movement into disarray. But when it was a battle against two, even an increase in base agility and strength wasn’t enough to prevent being boxed in by a distraction and subsequently overwhelmed.
At this rate, the time-restricted “Iron-Blood Transformation” could very well serve as Tohru’s own shackles.
I have to break his flow somehow.
Impatience could also be called an opening.
“—!”
In the next instant, along with a rending yell, Alberic lunged forward and pierced Tohru’s flank.
“Guh…”
First came shock. Then, a beat later, an effusing heat.
It had entered his body—and deep, too.
Alberic’s sword exited the wound just as fast as it came in—to keep the muscle from binding up—and Tohru felt a damp sensation in his flank gradually expanding, along with severe pain.
“Tohru!?”
He recognized the screaming voice as Chaika’s.
But he didn’t have the leeway to turn to her and say I’m fine!
There was the pain, sure, but also the fact that neither Alberic nor Vivi were showing any openings. For that reason, it was likely that the instant Tohru turned his head away from them it would go flying off.
No…
This is really bad. What to do…?
Even if he could dull the pain with willpower, the amount of blood he was losing would definitely cause him to faint. It was possible to use the muscles to tighten the wound and lessen the flow of blood…but impossible to stem it completely.
In terms of being evenly matched, it wouldn’t be an understatement to call this wound “fatal.”
“This is your loss. Now submit.”
He had likely reached the same conclusion. Alberic spoke not like he was proud of his win, but in a cool tone, as if he were only stating the facts.
What if I pretend to submit, and then get him while he’s open?
That thought occurred to him suddenly…but it was probably useless.
Alberic aside, there was no way Vivi would let that pass. In fact, there was a good chance she’d say something like “Just to be sure, we’ll hear him out after we break all of his limbs.” Knowing her occupation, he could imagine it.
Think. Think. There must be something—
His thoughts whirled around in his brain in desperation.
From above—
“—Huh?”
Came a frighteningly out-of-place voice lacking any tension whatsoever.
“What the heck kinda situation is this?”
“—!?”
Alberic took one step backwards from Tohru and turned around.
Behind him—perched on top of the large white vehicle, was the figure of something that definitely had not been there a moment ago.
It was a small girl.
Her golden hair and crimson eyes stood out. She had features you could still call “immature,” yet amid this situation laced with killing intent, she didn’t even balk. Rather, she looked down on Tohru with a lazily blank expression.
“Ah…is that blood I smell?”
The girl furrowed her brows.
“Tohru? Eh? The heck? Tohru, c’mon, ya went ‘n got yourself hurt?”
“…You can tell that just from looking, can’t you?”
At the girl who looked nonplussed from just a glance—at Frederica—Tohru scowled.
Frederica stood up from the vehicle in apparent confusion, pointed at Tohru and yelled.
“Tohru, no fair!?”
“…”
Likely not understanding the meaning of those words—Alberic and Vivi of course stopped their attacks and reflexively turned to look at Frederica in bewilderment. Even so, they didn’t allow Tohru even an inch of leeway—their defense was perfect.
“Why’d ya go ‘n get hurt without telling me! I thought I was the one that was supposed to kill you!”
“Oh, shut up! Who are you calling unfair, you damn stray cat! You just appear and disappear whenever you feel like it!”
Despite feeling anemic, Tohru yelled.
While a girl—no, a Feyra like her really had no obligation to aid Tohru in this battle, the influence of a dragoon’s presence here could not be overstated. Regardless of her actual role, she was dangerous enough as a wild card.
Whether she was aware of that herself or not—
“Hey now, I’m no cat.”
After a lilting innocent laugh, Frederica turned her bloodred eyes onto Alberic and Vivi.
“Hold up, you guys. We got a bit of a problem here.”
Her light tone, like she was speaking to a longtime friend of hers, had a bit of grievance mixed in.
“…”
Alberic and Vivi were both silent.
They likely had not yet grasped the true identity of this girl who’d appeared out of nowhere.
“I’m gonna be the one to take down Tohru, y’see. So you guys comin’ out all of a sudden and doin’ this to him is a real issue. Got it?”
The surprise appearance here had actually been Frederica’s, no matter how you looked at it.
“Who are you, girl?” Alberic’s eyes narrowed. “Just from the context, you seem to be an acquaintance of this saboteur.”
“Yup.”
Frederica gave a big nod.
It really was an unaffected, carefree gesture—if you didn’t know her preposterous true nature, its amiability could easily make you let your guard down.
“An acquaintance, yeah. However, Tohru’s my prey. So I’m gonna have to ask you to step away,” she replied.
As she was talking—there, on Frederica’s shoulder.
“Wa…huh?”
In the next instant, a single needle had appeared there.
A small, narrow needle, matted so as not to pick up any conspicuous light as it flew. Not too powerful on its own, but if imbued with poison it could be extremely fatal. It was clearly an assassin’s tool.
“I don’t know who you are, but you talk too much. Shut up already.”
Vivi scowled.
“Give your mouth a rest and sleep a while. The shoulder’s one of the best areas for the sleeping agent to take effect.”
“Really? That so?” Frederica said with widened eyes.
With one swift motion, she yanked out the needle and snapped it between her fingers.
“…!?”
Vivi was astonished.
Frederica stood there for a bit, looking back and forth between the broken needle and Vivi amusedly.
“Ohhh, I get it now. That would have made a normal human pass out.” Frederica nodded understandingly, looking more and more thrilled. “But it won’t work on me. ‘Cuz I’m not a human.”
“You’re…?”
Looking understandably stymied, that single word escaped Alberic’s mouth.
With a grin at the young cavalier, Frederica—
“Ei.”
With that effortless exclamation, in the next moment…a sudden gust of wind enveloped the roof of the vehicle.
“What!?”
Alberic immediately went on guard.
It was a dramatic spectacle.
As the air eddied and swirled, it became a rumbling vortex. No, rather than a rumble, it was more like the atmosphere was screaming after being torn asunder. The air’s density changed in an instant, and ripples resembling heat waves were forming all over. A huge amount of debris exploded from the earth and formed yet another eddy, flowing towards a single point.
Amidst the vortex, there was a flash of blue-white light, like lightning.
And then—
“D—”
It had even caused Nikolay and Leonardo to stop what they were doing and turn to look.
Calmly perched on top of the vehicle was a gigantic silvery-white—dragoon.
“Dragoon!?”
“Impossible—in a place like this!?”
Vivi and Nikolay shouted in surprise.
The dragoon’s slightest stirring caused the vehicle underneath its feet to creak and groan.
This was no hallucination. A real monster, with real body mass, had appeared.
Then—
“Mattheus! Zita!”
Alberic reacted quicker than anyone else.
“There’s a dragoon on top of the vehicle! Disembark now!”
In response to his words, the vehicle retreated backwards—and Frederica, clearly not too attached to her spot on top, quickly flew off.
Her large body hit the ground, and the earth resounded.
“Anyway…”
As Frederica talked, her mouth, now lined with oddly-shaped fangs, moved accordingly.
This strange creature with no human qualities whatsoever speaking fluently and casually was actually somewhat comical. Perhaps some would even deign to call it “cute.”
“Tohru is my enemy, and I’m gonna beat him. If you guys plan to interfere, I’ll just have to deal with you first, won’t I?”
“An ambush like this is…”
Alberic turned to Tohru with an astonished look on his face.
“Just what are you…?”
“Nah, you can’t call this anything as elegant as an ambush,” Tohru said, clutching his side.
“—Whaddaya mean by that?”
Frederica asked.
In truth, Frederica’s appearance had turned this battle on its head.
Or rather, made it even more complicated.
Tohru’s group couldn’t rely on Frederica because they didn’t trust her enough. However, a dragoon was largely regarded as an existence bordering on legendary. It had not only appeared all of a sudden, but was speaking casually to Tohru’s group and voicing words of hostility toward Alberic’s. Of course Alberic’s group would be wary, so there would be no recourse for them but to right their postures once more.
But…
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, dragoon-form Frederica tilted her neck—her long neck.
Almost as if triggered by this movement, there came a scraping noise, like something
rubbing against a hard object. What’s more, it was coming from underneath Tohru’s feet—no, even farther down.
In other words—
“What the heck?”
“—This is bad!”
Alberic, whose face had turned a different color, shouted.
“Everyone, get out of here! It’s going to collapse!”
To begin with, they were literally on the edge of a cliff.
Now an enormous dragoon had touched down upon it—and its “transformation”, which had created a drastic change in atmospheric pressure due to the amount of air and sediment consumed, had only weakened the earth below.
It was…
“Chaika! Akari!”
Seeing that Alberic’s group was wavering and seizing the opportunity, Tohru kicked off the ground and dashed over to Chaika.
Akari, who was near her, reached Chaika’s side first, grabbing both the girl’s collar and the coffin—and then immediately after…
“—!”
The sensation of the ground underneath that should have been supporting them disappeared.
With the sudden collapse of the cliff came a deafening rumble, and Tohru, Chaika, Akari and even Alberic’s group all tumbled toward the valley shrouded in white fog below.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
(NanoDesu) A Translation of the Hitsugi no Chaika Light Novel 