704 – A Certain Girl’s Final Journey (side: Miria)

The Holy City is in a great rush to locate survivors after the successful subjugation of Saint Jornes by Irushia-san.
I should really be helping out, but all I can seem to do is vacantly stare out over the ruined city while seated atop the rubble of what used to be a home.

Originally, I had come all the way to Ridom in the hopes I could find out more about Irushia-san from Saint Lilixira.

Most high-ranking monsters have [Telepathy] as a means of communicating their thoughts.
I know that it wasn’t really the time for it, but I wish I could have talked with Irushia-san, even a little bit.

There’s a mountain of things I wanted to ask Irushia-san.
Things like why he left that forest, what’s been happening with him until now, what’s currently arising in the world, and what became of Saint Lilixira.
And, if possible, I’d have liked to have shared what I’ve done on my journey so far, and what I’ve seen.

『…Sorry.』

…That was all he said.
The symbol of terror that is the Apocalypse apologetically bowed his head to me and then quickly flew away and disappeared.
No, since he’d asked about the Kingdom of Ardesia’s location, he’s most likely headed there.
However, I have no idea at all why.

“Haa…”

I heave a long sigh.

“No wonder you’re tired, Miria.”

I glance over my shoulder at Meltia-san’s voice.

“Tired… Maybe I am, yeah.”

“Of course you’re tired.
We’ve been fighting for our lives for days on end.
I tend to be optimistic, but even I could feel my mortality this time.
It’s a miracle that we’re still alive.”

I wonder if it’s because I’ve finally allowed my body to relax after days of constantly being on edge, and so can’t put strength into it now as a result.
No, that’s not quite it.
It’s also not simply that Irushia-san wouldn’t stop to talk after I chased after him for so long.

“…Do you think that was the real Saint Jornes?”

“Don’t know.
I don’t think we can work it out, either.
Also, I’m… Well, I’m not proud of it, but I’m not really one for studying.
All I knew about Saint Jornes was the name.
I have no idea when she was around, or what she accomplished.”

Meltia-san says somewhat jokingly.
Maybe she sensed that I was feeling down and wanted to do something.

“Then… Do you think that was the real Apocalypse?”

“Apocalypse, you say… Wasn’t that dragon the one you’ve been searching for? Or, was it another dragon after all?”

“No, that was definitely Irushia-san.
I’m certain.”

It’s not that I want to suggest Irushia-san has the heart of an evil dragon, or is a world-ending existence.
I was simply wondering if there’s any significance to Irushia-san having evolved into a form that looks like the spitting image of the prophesied Apocalypse.

“Hmmm… I don’t know much about the Holy God religion, so I haven’t seen any depictions of the Apocalypse.
I’d thought it was the perfect time to take a look, but it looks like the one I was after is buried under the rubble.”

Meltia-san says while scratching her head.

“Just… The disciples of the Holy God believed that monster was Saint Jornes, despite their devotion, and were certain that dragon was the Dragon of Revelation.
They’re way more versed in their religion’s teachings than I am.
You could probably gain way more from talking to them than me.”

“…If that was the real Saint Jornes, and also the real Apocalypse, then just what is going on in the world now? Whatever’s happening, I don’t think it’s all been resolved by this battle.
For some reason… I’m thinking this might be an omen of something far worse.”

And, I wonder if that catastrophe will unfold with Irushia-san as its centre.

Irushia-san wanted to know the way to Ardesia.
I sensed a strong sense of duty from him, as though there was a place he absolutely had to go to.

Having talked it through, I feel like I finally understand.
This emptiness I feel welling up within me might be the despair and hopelessness I feel towards the impending catastrophe that’s even worse than what befell Ridom.

“…An omen of something even worse, huh? That a monster capable of wiping a city off the map in a single night would be the opening act is no laughing matter, but it’s not impossible.
But, even so… We can’t do anything about it.
It’s a pointless line of thinking that’ll leave us holding our heads in despair.”

That’s probably true.
Already, this Ridom incident has transcended what we know of and entered the realm of legends.
It isn’t something that a single person can do something about.

“But, I somehow feel something foreboding.
That time… I probably should have conversed with Irushia-san some more, no matter what.
That’s right, as things are now, I have a feeling I won’t be able to see him again.”

Irushia-san seems to be embroiled in something tremendously huge.
No, perhaps he had already been caught up in this chain of events from much earlier.

I get to my feet and look at the skies to the east, in the direction of the Kingdom of Ardesia, where Irushia-san was heading towards.

I have a feeling that I’ll regret it if I don’t head the same way.
I know well that someone like me won’t be able to help in any way in an incident this big.
However, I have a conviction that I’ll forever lose my chance to meet Irushia-san again if I don’t head there.

“Meltia-san, I’m thinking of going back to Ardesia.”

“W-what are you saying, Miria!”

Meltia-san shouts as if surprised.

“I know it’s self-centred… But, if I don’t head there, I have a feeling that I’ll regret my decision forever.”

“Do you want to see for yourself what that dragon will be doing in Ardesia? But, there’s no way you’ll catch up with him.”

“I know.
Even so, I wish to head there.”

Irushia-san flew east at an incredible speed.
To reach Ardesia I would need at least a month, be it by sea or by taking a carriage the long way around.
By the time I arrive, everything will have already concluded.

“…Is that so? From the start, the reason you were so determined to leave your village was to follow after that dragon, after all.
I can’t possibly stop you here without giving any thought to your feelings.”

“…I’m sorry.
I’m scared that it’ll end altogether with this parting and without me knowing anything at all.”

“I’d like to follow you to the very end, but for now, I think that I’ll stay here in the Holy City and help out with the recovery… This is where we part ways, it seems.”

“Truly, it’s been an honour to travel with you all this time.
Surely… no, definitely, let’s meet again someplace.”

As I bow to Meltia-san, a nearby pile of rubble starts rumbling.
We both ready our weapons at the same time.

“W-what, is it a human? Is someone there!”

Meltia-san shouts.

I want to attack immediately, but it’s not impossible that it could be a human buried underneath that’s waking up.
If it’s someone with a high level, it’s quite possible that they could still be alive even after being buried under so much rubble.
Meltia-san and I watch the rumbling pile of rubble intently.

The pile goes silent and stops moving.
Should we go and help? After both of us share a look, we slowly approach the pile of rubble.

Suddenly, the pile of rubble collapses.
What appears from within is one of the monsters born from a corpse by Saint Jornes’ [Nirvana].

It has three arms, and four eyes arranged in a line.
It’s over two metres tall.

“One of those monsters survived!?”

It seemed like they didn’t have the intelligence to hide, so we got careless thinking that they had all been dealt with once the surroundings had gotten quiet.
This monster in front of us probably wasn’t hiding, but rather had been buried in the rubble and was waiting until it was strong enough to unearth itself.

“This is bad… It’s one of the big ones.”

Meltia-san murmurs.

From what I’ve seen, there are about three sizes of these monsters in general.
There’s those that are not so different from humans, those that are one size larger like the one in front of us, and those that are four metres and above like the one Irushia-san defeated.

“[Fire Sphere]!”

The monster uses its third arm to guard against the fire bullet that I shot.
Smoke rises from the burn on its arm, but it doesn’t seem like it’s in any pain at all.

“Eat this!”

Meltia-san cuts with her sword into the monster’s unguarded side.
Her sword sinks into the monster’s hard glass-like body, and cracks appear around the scar.
However, the monster quickly rights itself and grabs her sword tightly with all three of its arms.

“D-Damn, this monster! Let go!”

“Meltia-san, let go of your sword!”

It’s impossible for her to outmatch it in a match of pure strength, to say nothing of the difference in number of arms.
The monster frees up one of its hands and slams a fist into her abdomen.

“Guah!”

Her body is sent flying, and she lands on her knees.

As she made a decision in time, she managed to avoid taking the full brunt of the monster’s attack.
Since she was hit while trying to pull her sword free, she couldn’t use all her strength to dodge.
The monster immediately leaps towards her to land a follow-up while she’s still on her knees, but Meltia-san evades it by rolling away.

With Meltia-san landing on her knees, the impact surely conferred a considerable burden on her legs.
However, as she forced her body to move in spite of that, she managed to evade the follow-up attack from the monster.
Her decision was just in time.

However, this won’t last long.
Neither my magic nor Meltia-san’s sword is very effective against it.

Even though we’re taking on injuries and burning through our energy, that monster isn’t paying any heed to the damage it takes.
It’s moving normally even with its arm burnt and its abdomen cracked.
A dull sense of pain is certainly an advantage for a monster that’s so good at taking a hit.

As I don’t see any warrior priests in the surroundings that could lend a hand, I can’t even call for support.

“[Fire Sphere]! [Fire Sphere]!”

I shoot one fire bullet after the other.

We’ll lose before long if this drags on.
We’ve no choice but to end it quickly.

The monster dodges my fire bullets consecutively with prompt movements.
It’s completely seen through it.

Since Meltia-san can’t take it head-on with her legs injured, it can devote more of its attention to dodging my magic.
Even if I luck out and manage to land a shot, it definitely won’t be enough to finish it off for good.

“If things go on like this…”

I desperately wrack my brain for a solution.
There must be something.
Although that monster is strangely resilient, its mobility will take a huge hit if its leg is taken out.
If I can catch it by surprise and land just one hit on its leg, even if it’s not enough to defeat it, the battle should take a huge turn for the better.

Suddenly, a black monster comes flying down from the sky.
It spreads its wings and glides down towards us.

It buries its fangs into that monster’s head, then swiftly curls up as it lands.
The monster’s head flies through the air.
It stays upright for a moment despite losing its head, but then falls over knees first, as if finally coming to terms with the moment of its death.

The black monster has the shape of a dragon.
Its full length is around four metres, and the lines adorning its body are somehow beautiful.
It exudes the mysterious atmosphere of a magic beast.
Bat-like wings extend from its back.

“D-did you help us?”

I call out to the monster.
After arching its back to stretch, it turns to face us.
I remember those round, precious eyes.

“Kishii!”

“Kuro-chan!?”

The one who went missing during the unrest in Ardesia, Kuro-chan.

Her outer appearance has changed a lot.
She didn’t have wings before, and her size was about half of what it is now.
But, there’s no mistake that it’s her.

Overcome by emotion, I unconsciously run up and throw my arms around Kuro-chan.

“Thank you! Kuro-chan, did you perhaps come to rescue us?”

She ducks her head in embarrassment, and her two tails wag in the air.

I hadn’t heard any mention of a monster like her being discovered in the city over the past few days.
Maybe she had been restlessly wandering outside the city’s limits, unable to enter because of the barrier that Saint Jornes threw up.

An idea suddenly strikes me.
If I head for Ardesia using normal routes, no matter how much I hurry, I’m bound to take around a month or so.

However, Kuro-chan now has wings.
She probably obtained them from evolving to this form sometime after we parted.
Her physical capabilities should also be much higher than before.

With that in mind, maybe I’ll be able to reach Ardesia much faster than normal by borrowing her strength.

I let go of the arm I’d been hugging and look Kuro-chan straight in the face.
As if sensing that my expression had become serious, she straightens her neck and her tails quiet down.

“Kuro-chan, I have a request.
I… I want to quickly head east now, in order to pursue Irushia-san.”

Hearing my words, she blinks as if surprised.
She then turns her back to me all of a sudden.

“Kuro-chan…?”

She looks over her shoulder at me.

“Kishii!”

It’s as if she said ‘Get on!’ in that cry.

“Thank you, Kuro-chan!”

This will probably be my final journey in pursuit of Irushia-san.