“A ten million-strong force… What could possibly explain such a number?”
As Parimash stood in shock, Raviata asked the question, and Shane responded.
“Do you recall what the Commander of Lust said yesterday before she left?”
“Something about ‘unity’, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. What she meant by ‘unity’ was the unification of the Nakar Desert.”
“By unification, you mean…”
At those words, Parimash recalled everything that had happened so far, and his expression turned to one of disbelief.
“The union of the beastkin and the evil spirits. Basically, the transformation of all beastkin into evil spirits. If that’s the case, then a number like ten million isn’t so unrealistic.”
When you add the number of those who have died and become evil spirits in the desert to the current population of the surviving beastkin, the total comes close to ten million.
Shane had confirmed this number himself in his previous life. So there was no mistake.
As his worst fears were confirmed, Parimash asked with a trembling voice:
“I-Is such a thing truly possible?”
“The Commander of Lust’s abilities go beyond just charming people through dreams. One of her powers is to fully understand her targets through those very dreams. She’s undoubtedly been studying the structure of evil spirits through dreams for a long time.”
In his previous life, her abilities had combined with those of blood mag Gordon, creating a terrifying synergy.
Although that wasn’t the case this time which meant her plan would be lacking, even so, an army of ten million evil spirits would be no easy enemy.
“Of course, I’ve prepared countermeasures. But they’re only temporary solutions. In the end, blood will inevitably be spilled across the desert.”
“…So that’s why you handed over the Source Stones so readily.”
Parimash who had heard part of Shane’s plan earlier nodded with a somewhat calmer expression.
“Then the crucial factor is time… What’s your estimate?”
Since Shane’s plan hinged on timing, Raviata asked about it.
Shane shook his head.
“At most, we have a month. And even that isn’t under our control. It all depends on when the Commander of Lust decides to make her move.”
“I see…”
At that, Raviata rose from her seat.
“Well then, I’d better start moving too.”
With those words, Raviata took the gem Shane had given her and stepped outside. Shane also left, after telling Parimash to use the remaining time to build closer ties with the tribes aligned against the false Saintess faction.
If he wanted everything to be ready in time, Shane would now have to devote himself to magical research.
***
“Heh… See? We should’ve just used force from the beginning. Why complicate things?”
At the desert branch of Nameless.
The bald man muttered around a cigar clenched in his teeth. Rem frowned at his words.
“Don’t be ridiculous. The Dragon’s energy isn’t something to take lightly.”
“Is it really worth obsessing over? It’s just a remnant of the past. We should’ve pushed hard from the start.”
The man called Blake, Commander of the Legion of Wrath, might’ve sounded reasonable at a glance, but Rem dismissed his words without even considering them.
“This is all part of the preparation for perfect unification. Don’t cheapen the Great One’s work with such ignorant talk.”
“Tch. In the end, it’s just about better controlling the evil spirits, right? That’s what all this stalling was for. But it’s all falling apart now, isn’t it? With the Dragon’s heir appearing, time is on their side.”
“…Even so, the time we’ve spent wasn’t wasted. We’ve already pulled in more than half of the desert tribes.”
“Hah, maybe. But they’re all the ones who’ve lost the survival game. The strong ones…those still have strong faith.”
Each of Blake’s words pierced Rem like a blade.
Because, as he said, the desert tribes’ faith ran deep.
So much so that they wouldn’t even glance at a so-called saintess without clear proof.
And the more powerful the tribe, the stronger that tendency.
Perhaps she had made the wrong move from the very beginning.
“If we’d acted more cautiously at the start, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
“Hmph. The ones still trying to act proud stuck their heads in the sand like ostriches the moment the Rabbits crossed over to our side.”
Indeed, the Myo Tribe and the Dog Tribe were clearly on guard against them now.
And even though one tribe had crossed over, not every member of that tribe had followed.
Recently, even the Demon Tribe had begun leaning toward their side, but with the appearance of a new Saintess, that too had started to waver.
Of course, had they been given more time, absorbing the remaining tribes wouldn’t have been such a difficult task.
Because of that, Rem had wanted more time to prepare. But just as Blake said, time was no longer on their side.
“I hear that dragon’s descendant has a deep understanding of magic. And didn’t they say she can even absorb evil energy? If we’re not careful, she might make it into the temple. If that happens, we can forget about swallowing the Nakar Desert.”
“Hoo…”
Frustrated but unable to come up with a retort, Rem slowly nodded.
“Yes. It’s time to make a decision. Let’s bring about the unification of the desert.”
“Puhuhuhu. Things are finally starting to move. I’ve been feeling suffocated, hiding out all this time. You have no idea how stifling it is, being holed up in some dank underground place.”
“……”
“So, how long will it take to get ready?”
“Half a month. Maybe five days more at most.”
“That so?”
“I’ll say this now…don’t make any reckless moves. It’ll only interfere with gathering the tribes in one place.”
“What? You want me to keep waiting? Is there really any point? Those who are going to come will come, and those who won’t, won’t.”
“We need to unite their ideals and form a shared vision. Only then can we achieve a higher degree of completeness.”
“Tch, that damn completeness again. Is it really worth pouring so much effort into just turning the human world into a wasteland?”
At that, Rem narrowed her eyes and glared at Blake.
“You really do look down on humans.”
“Of course I do. Why bother with worms that vanish in a splash of blood with a single punch?”
“Don’t forget…a god was born among those ‘worms’. As of now, humans are a race blessed by the divine.”
“Well, we’ve got our own god too.”
“…I’m not denying His power. But don’t underestimate the god who governs the will of the world. For all we know, divine intervention may already be underway.”
“Hah, I’m sure it is. So what, you want me to keep hiding?”
“Do as you like. In fact, I’d appreciate it. If you act on your own, we can brand you as an external force and rally the beastkin tribes around that.”
“Well, well. You get slapped outside and come home to take it out on me, huh? Fine, fine. I’ll behave myself during the prep time.”
Letting out a sigh, Blake rose from his seat and walked out. Left alone, Rem stared at the sunlight streaming through the window.
“It’s a shame it won’t be a true unification… but I’ll deal with that later.”
***
“Whew. How many did we get today?”
“A fair amount of energy has gathered.”
Shane said this as he examined the gemstone Raviata had brought.
Unlike at the beginning, the gemstone now glowed a deeper shade of blue and was pulsing at regular intervals, almost like a heartbeat.
“Still, we’ve got a long way to go, don’t we?”
“Hunting a dozen or so at a time isn’t enough to build up what we need.”
“I see…”
Just as Raviata seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, someone burst into the room in a hurry.
“L-Lady Saintess!”
“No matter how many times I hear that, I’ll never get used to it. What’s going on?”
The one who had rushed into the room was Parimash.
Whatever the urgency, even with his considerable strength, Parimash was out of breath, his chest heaving as he quickly spoke.
“Huff! Nameless… they’re on the move!”
“Is there a report?”
“It’s from the Western Tribe. They’ve reported signs of evil spirits appearing in the west.”
According to the report, a large number of monsters had been observed relocating from around the Western Tribe’s base of operations.
Feeling something was off, the Western Tribe had sent out scouts and they discovered numerous tracks.
“The west, huh… That’s not too far.”
Since evil spirits couldn’t move in daylight, their pace was relatively slow.
And considering the Nakar Desert often whipped up sandstorms at night, it would still be some time before a major clash occurred.
At that moment, Raviata smiled and spoke.
“Well now, is it finally time for me to step in?”
“It’s not a bad opportunity. It might be a good chance to solidify your image as a saintess.”
“Wasn’t really thinking about that… but yeah, I suppose it’s about time I got to cut loose.”
“Just in case, I’ll accompany you.”
“Suit yourself. Come to think of it, didn’t you say there was another legion commander?”
“Yes. Due to the nature of the desert tribes, they rarely reveal themselves openly… but considering his aggressive personality, it’s likely he won’t be able to hold back and will eventually show himself.”
“I’d be grateful if he did…”
“My goodness. Is the saintess herself going to participate in battle? Ngh…”
Parimash seemed eager to follow Raviata no matter what, but as the chieftain of a tribe, he couldn’t act recklessly.
Especially not in a situation like this.
“Then let’s get moving.”
“Yes.”
***
“Ch-Chk…”
“All of those… are evil spirits?”
“Oh, Dragon above…”
Remi, a scout from the Western Tribe, instinctively reached for the trident strapped to her back.
The scene unfolding before her eyes was enough to make her stomach churn and threaten to bring back the meal she’d just eaten.
What in the world was going on?
Under the usually pitch-black desert night sky, two moons had risen, shining brightly over the land without a single cloud in sight.
And across that sandy desert, as if marching straight from hell, a long procession of red-eyed figures moved in unison.
“Damn it. At this rate, they’ll reach our base in two days…three at most.”
“Ch-Chk… That’s too soon to wait for reinforcements from the other tribes.”
“Isn’t there any way to buy time?”
The Western Tribe’s trio, upon witnessing the endless line of evil spirits, snapped out of their shock and quickly made a practical decision.
“First, we need to report this. Fast. If a retreat order is given, even moving now might be too late.”
“Got it, Captain.”
“Alright, then let’s—huh?!”
Just as they made their decision and began to move, Remi instantly reacted to a sound from behind, thrusting her trident.
Having already been on edge after seeing tens of thousands of evil spirits, her reaction speed was razor sharp.
“What?!”
The target of Remi’s strike was yet another group of evil spirits.
When had they gotten behind them?
The two remaining members of the Western Tribe, reacting just a moment too late, drew their weapons and engaged the evil spirits.
“Damn it, we’ve been spotted! Split up! I’ll draw their attention… you two break away and report to the tribe!”
“Ghh…!”
“Make it back alive, no matter what!”
Though it tore at their hearts to leave their leader behind, they knew that if all three of them were wiped out here, the crucial information might never make it back in time.
“Come on, then!”
Fortunately, the group of evil spirits that had appeared wasn’t large.
After Remi and her team took down a few, only eight remained.
At that number, Remi could likely hold them off on her own, at least for a while.
But when the evil spirits saw the other two Western scouts fleeing, they raised their heads high into the sky and let out terrible howls.
Gyaaaaaaaah――!
Gwooooorrrrr――!
At the sound, Remi was filled with a cold shiver. She clutched her trident firmly and aimed it at the heads of the distracted creatures as they screamed.
In that brief moment, she managed to take down two more.
―――――!!
Was this the sound of the dead from hell?
Or the roar of a furious dragon?
As if responding to the initial howls, the tens of thousands of evil spirits behind them let out a unified, deafening cry. At that moment, Remi knew she was going to die.
The countless evil spirits… had locked onto her.
“May the Dragon watch over me…”
Watching her comrades disappear into the distance, Remi steeled herself to fulfill her duty.
“……?!”
Suddenly, the dark night sky lit up, and a wave of searing heat washed over her.
Then, a memory came to Remi. Something a member of the transport team had said after returning from the orc stronghold.
– I’m telling you, the sun rose in the middle of the night! The Sun Saintess brought the sun into the sky!
At the time, she’d dismissed it as just a misunderstanding. Someone confusing something else for the sun.
Now, she could only rebuke herself for ever thinking that.
“The Saintess…?”
As the sun rose into the night sky, a figure descended with blazing red hair flowing as though on fire.
And truly, how could she be anything but a saintess?
“Hahahahaha—! Burn, all of you bastards!!”
…Though, admittedly, her language was a bit crude this saintess.
Leave a Reply