Chapter 353 - Anomaly (2)
[For the demi-humans, the Gnoll's evolution usually ends at the Hexa Horn, which bears six horns.]
[As with other top-tier entities, it is immensely strong and rare, so even looking back through history, discovered cases are only a bare handful.]
[However, should the near-0% probability be pierced, and by natural causes five Hexa Horns gather within one territory, an abnormal phenomenon occurs.]
[Despite being the same race, they try to kill and devour one another, as if by instinct.]
[...and in that blood-soaked carnage, only the single survivor is seen to become the Septa Horn, which bears seven horns... so it is believed.]
An excerpt printed in a certain notebook, kept at the Adventurers' Guild Headquarters.
The Septa Horn's footprints and traces were closely observed and analyzed, and the resulting plausibility was reasonable.
However, because it was not witnessed firsthand, a faint hesitation remained in the handwriting and the closing, instead of certainty.
It was a personal account left by an Obsidian Rank adventurer who, forty-seven years ago, after subjugating the Septa Horn, pursued the background of its birth.
Crack.
The Septa Horn flashed five claws as large as a human torso, a blade-wind that ripped the air to shreds chopped the building yonder into pieces.
The adventurer who had barely grazed past it, Vermin, let out an involuntary scream.
"Hey… if you hadn't blocked that, I'd have been split in two?! What the hell is that power!!"
"That's why you need to be careful, you idiot!"
Rubina, a party member, shouted as she drew the bowstring.
Unleashing martial art, two arrows flew in curves, they aimed precisely for the Septa Horn's eyes, but were lightly flicked away by its eyelids.
"Tch, they're mithril arrows, and they don't work at all…!"
"Magic is the same. Its resistance is no joke."
Dark-brown hide and fur, a defense that makes no sense.
Even armor that contains some top-tier metal wouldn't be like that.
No way forward could be seen from the front.
But.
'It's more than doable.'
Though the subjugation force gathered in the plaza had never matched their timing together, they were forming a sort of harmony without tangling.
And so far, there were no deaths.
Whenever large or small injuries occurred, Bishop Lena and the priests manifested miracles of healing on the spot.
And in particular, the roles of the two standing on the very front line carried great weight.
Kaaaaang!
Romer's shield slanted away the Septa Horn's blow.
A perfect parrying, truly, a technique close to the realm of art.
Because of that, the Septa Horn's center wavered for an instant.
Not missing the opening, the blood-hued blade, Leira, surged in. Spinning, the kick that traced an afterimage smashed the back of its head.
Kwoooooom!
[Kaaak...!]
At last, a reaction.
From there, the subjugation force realized how to攻略 the Septa Horn.
Its weak point is probably the head,and they must aim at the inside, not the outside.
'To do that, we have to bind the Septa Horn's limbs.'
There was no need to put it into words.
Having glimpsed the possibility of subjugation, everyone moved in perfect order as if by prior promise.
Martial art, magic, miracles, and even the skills they had honed all their lives,they fought desperately with full power.
Right then, as they were driving the Septa Horn madly amid the plaza being torn apart,the chance came.
"Rob it of its sight!"
The mithril-rank adventurer party, Manha, moved first.
They were the adventurers who had, in the Kingdom of Estiria, carried out a subjugation with Verden and faced the spirit, Blue.
Their skill was already proven.
"Hrraaa!"
Vermin and Rubina, hurling a shield and loosing an arrow respectively, veiled the Septa Horn's eyes for an instant.
Cleric Kedian invoked the miracle of Holy Summoning.
"Servant of Luas, crush our enemies!"
A servant of sacred light revealed itself and seized the Septa Horn's body from behind.
In addition, the prayer of
"F*ck it, break it!!!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Boom! Bang! Booooom!
Adventurers and mercenaries charged, striking the monster's two legs with all their might.
Every impact concentrated only on the joints. The finishing blow was Romer's sword.
The groaning Septa Horn staggered, then fell to its knees.
"Now!"
Geltone and the other mages leveled their wands and staves along with their magic.
All manner of water- and ice-element spells poured down.
In the dense cold, the Septa Horn and the servant of light began to freeze.
Crack.
With a brutish force, parts of the holy power and the ice were smashed. They recombined miracles and magic to split its nerves.
And then.
Thuuuuud!
Manha's leader, Skald, and Leira struck the Septa Horn's temples from both sides with all their might at the same time.
Twin axes, and a heel.
The Septa Horn's mouth gaped, and a scream spilled out.
"Die, you f*cker!"
The top-class mercenary who had been waiting drove his sword in at once.
It went in clean.
Forget the feel in the hand—he had thrust a sword-aura-wreathed blade deep, so at minimum it should be a fatal wound.
[Kaaaaaht....]
Thud.
The Septa Horn gagged and toppled backward,with the sword stuck in its mouth. A cold stillness spread.
Presently, its breathing and heartbeat began to fade.
"D-did we get it?"
Only then did someone ask, but no one answered.
They did not take their eyes off the Septa Horn even for a moment, without letting down their guard. It was basic when facing a sentient entity.
Only… it was impossible not to feel a measure of relief inside.
At that moment.
Fwaaaaaaaaaaash!
A vast flash spewed forth in the skies over Sacrid.
"What… is that? Light?"
"Is it holy power?"
Only a very few knew what this inexplicable phenomenon was.
Bishop Lena, eyes reddening as she lifted her head, brought her hands together.
'At last, Archbishop Joseph has arrived!'
Tears seemed about to spill of their own accord.
If the great Seven Archbishops and the Paladins moved, Sacrid would surely be saved.
They could save the people.
The demi-humans and magical beasts would not even compare.
It was an absolute faith as a believer.
However, it did not take long for that hope to turn into despair.
As the light gradually abated, a familiar airship came into view.
"...Huh?"
A hull grievously damaged,its forward section completely frozen, it soon lost its balance and pitched forward.
Then it began to plummet down along a diagonal.
Lustrous, is falling.
***
Altitude dropped with every passing moment,though the relic's power source was not completely lost, control was no longer possible all the same.
Knights who saw the airship descending ever closer to the ground shouted in alarm.
"An, an airship! An airship is crashing down this way!"
"Everyone get out of there!!"
The soldiers on the wall hastily scattered to either side.
Moments later, Lustrous came barreling in, collapsing the upper section of the wall, and fell in the middle of the battlefield swarming with demi-humans and magical beasts.
Bishop Lena's lips trembled as she witnessed the sight.
"Lady Leira... wh, what in the world is this? Why is Lustrous...!"
"..."
Leira could not say a word.
It was not composure, she was just as taken aback.
Then it happened.
Crrrack, crack, crack.
Suddenly the sound of metal being crushed scraped against their ears.
Everyone in the plaza reflexively turned their heads.
"Wh, what the...."
"Wasn't it dead?"
The Septa Horn, which had clearly been on the verge of death, had at some point stood back up.
It seemed to chew something, then smirked as it looked at the top-class mercenary.
An ominous premonition.
"W, wait───"
[Kroaaaaaah!]
Crash, crash, crash!
The sword shards blasted away by its roar shredded the mercenary's body.
The fifth-tier ice-element mage at the rear was also struck down with grievous wounds.
Blood and flesh fragments sprayed everywhere.
The Septa Horn trampled through the flowing blood on the ground.
"?!"
Craaaash!
Its massive claw tore Leira's armor and body, utterly different from the previous blow, and she could not properly react.
She was instantly flung aside and slammed into a building.
The Septa Horn licked its bloodstained claws and shook its shoulders.
[Kat. Kakat. Kakat. Kakat.]
It was a mocking laugh, filled with ecstasy.
The weakened breathing and heartbeat were now pounding strong as ever.
Even its movements had changed.
The Septa Horn possessed an intellect surpassing that of humans.
Seeking prey was not only to fill its belly.
Sometimes the joy of seeing victims tremble in terror, sometimes the texture and taste.
For many reasons, it personally hunted.
The fact it invaded Sacrid alone, leaving its pack behind, and even feigned death, were all for that reason.
In short, it was a predator's amusement.
"Damn it…."
The Septa Horn now began the hunt in earnest.
A swiftness far removed from when the subjugation force had adapted.
The death of the top-class mercenary and the loss of Leira, all unfavorable conditions piled up.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Damn it, Panax is down!"
"I will block it, everyone fall back!"
"Skald, don't go forward, get back immediately! If you try to block it, martial art or not, you'll die!!"
"Wha—?!"
The formation collapsed in an instant.
Even Romer, who had shown astonishing shield skills, could not deflect its blows properly.
"Ugh, s, spare me!!"
"Shit, that monster bastard took a hostage...."
In the middle of the fight, the Septa Horn seized a member of the subjugation force as a hostage, then, with a horrid laugh, tore him apart for all to see.
Every moment, with screams, casualties began to pour in.
Even the priests of Luas's Church could not respond.
"Kh…."
Leira rose from the rubble.
Wounds close to fatal.
Inside the helm that hid her face, blood gushed.
Still, her life was not in danger.
The demonic curse carved into her face contained self-healing.
But even so, the situation could not be overturned.
The Septa Horn's intellect had exceeded all assumptions.
And on top of that, the aberration that had befallen Archbishop Joseph.
'...This won't do.'
Leira clenched her teeth and stepped once more into the plaza.
"Bishop Lena."
"Lady Leira, you're alrigh───"
"Can you... release my curse to the fullest extent possible?"
Bishop Lena's eyes widened, and she shook her head violently.
"No, absolutely not! If you do, Lady Leira, your very self may be devoured! And there's no guarantee you can subjugate that monster even then!"
Every word was true.
Even so, Leira did not back down.
"It's fine. I'll somehow keep it under control."
"But...."
"And I am not the only one facing the Septa Horn."
The subjugation force was broken.
But it was by no means a complete failure.
They had bought all the time that had been absolutely needed.
"U, uwaaaaah!"
"Geltone, no!!"
Geltone, fallen on the ground, was about to be killed.
Suddenly, the whole plaza was cast into shadow, and the darkness beneath the Septa Horn exploded.
[?!]
A shock that rattled the soul.
The creature screamed for an instant and hastily retreated.
Not smoke, but genuine pain.
"In that short time, it's turned into a mess."
At last, Haldirn entered the fray.
The moment he landed in the plaza, holy light flared at the rear.
Step, step.
Leira revealed her grim presence as she walked forward.
"Haa, haa...."
Her breath came ragged.
Her power surged without end, yet she felt as if utterly exhausted, her mind twisted.
Even so, Leira gripped her sword and faced the Septa Horn.
Haldirn spoke.
"That power... the demon's curse. It seems too much to handle."
"The situation, is dire."
"That is true. The archbishop's airship has crashed for some reason, and before us are even the demi-humans they brought."
There was no time to pick and choose means.
"Bishop Lena, take everyone here and join the front. And rescue Joseph."
"Y, yes!"
From his activated mana circuits, magic power surged out.
The blood and bone fragments scattered everywhere lifted into the air, then fused together through the curse.
"That monster, we will drive it outside the city."
Haldirn grasped a black spear of curse, wrought of blood and bone.
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