On the deck were someone’s entrails, cut limbs, and splattered heads. Everyone was repeatedly shouting “For the God,” “Pagan,” and “Divine Punishment,” with frenzied eyes as they spread killing intent.
Within the fresh blood of the soldiers scattered just like a storm of cherry blossom, the crow’s nest where Hajime and Kaori, no, it was more like the soldiers were obstinately targeting Hajime and Kaori.
Time to time, bright red bullets flew about in all directions, shooting through the enemies. Furthermore, they flew around Hajime and Kaori to protect them, positioned as both offense and defense at the same time.
However, the frenzied soldiers weren’t even worried, repeatedly attempted suicide attacks. Tens of the soldiers used flight magic while there were those who approached by going from one mast to another. It could be seen that the fight was concentrated on the ship where Hajime and Kaori rode. Hajime’s Magic Eye also caught the fluctuation of magic power of highest-ranked magic from the hand of the magicians aiming at them.
At the time, Hajime thought of sniping them, but Kaori’s chant ended and she activated highest-ranked magic of her.
“— — people, held out your arms as this is the place where Holy Mother smiling at, “Scripture”!”
Then, ripple of light spread into the battlefield with Kaori as its center.
The ripple throbbed as it expanded for so so many times, reaching one kilometer in radius. The enemy who touched by the ripple was wrapped by light.
Highest-ranked healing magic of light attribute, “Scripture.”
It was a super wide-ranged healing magic with effect of healing everyone inside its area. The range itself was depended on the amount of user’s magic power and proficiency, but at its worst, its effective range was 500 meters in radius. Moreover, if the user gave out the “sign” beforehand, it would be able to heal specific object. And normally this magic was used with tens of magician, and took a lot of time to chant along with its stupidly gigantic magic array. To be able to activate it in only one, two minutes alone was impossible unless one was a cheat-like character.
At the same time the light of “Scripture” activated by Kaori wrapped the battlefield, all soldiers inside the effective area had their bodies dispersed without distinction of ally or foe. When the magic ended, Kaori’s body tilted from magic power exhaustion, and was thus promptly supported by Hajime.
“Ohh, a mass reproduction of the Mary Celeste, huh. You did great, Kaori. No, should I say as expected of you?”
“Ah, uh, th-there’s no such a thing. Hajime-kun and the others are far more amazing…”
Honest praise from Hajime made Kaori’s cheeks blush from embarrassed. She made a self-ridiculing smile as she thought Yue would be able to use more powerful magic quickly. Then, she muttered “”Replenish,”” to replenish the lost magic power from the pendant given by Hajime. Hajime had improved the pendant with magic array and the ability of taking out the stocked magic power by chanting because Kaori was incapable of directly manipulating magic power.
Hajime slightly knitted his eyebrows and wanted to say something when he saw Kaori’s expression, but he put it aside for now because he had to deal with the new incoming enemies. The battle had restarted.
With the ineffectiveness of physical attack, it was a situation where the large amount of soldiers didn’t falter against any kind of attack as they battled on the ship. Normally, it might be a hard situation, but there were cheat-like monsters present.
Big fleets of two countries were afterwards annihilated by the two humans in a span of one hour.
* * *
“… Uuh, cough, kafh, sorr-…”
“It’s alright. Just endure it.”
Immediately after the last soldiers were annihilated, their surroundings were once again distorted. They noticed that they had returned to ship’s graveyard from before.
Wondering if the annihilation was indeed the correct answer, Kaori immediately sighed in relief, ran to the nearby rock, and vomited. However, she vomited nothing since the dinner she ate had already been digested, and thus she felt a pain from trying to vomit.
With tears accumulated in the corner of her eyes, Kaori used one hand to tell Hajime “Don’t come,” to stop him.
However, Hajime still approached her and rubbed her back. Kaori didn’t want to show such a pitiful sight to him, but she felt comforted from the gentle and warm feelings transmitted to her back. Her nausea and spirit gradually recovered.
Hajime took out apple juice-like drink from “Treasure Box” and presented it to her. Kaori obediently drink it heartily and her energy returned. The sweet and fresh taste, flushed the sour taste of gastric juice.
“Sorry…”
Kaori who knitted her eyebrows and apologized for the trouble made Hajime narrowed his eyes.
“Well, I think it is inevitable. Even I feel disgusted by it. I never thought humans would be so frenzied because of their blind belief. …Anyway, let’s rest for now. Even I want to recover my considerably used magic power.”
“… Un. Say, Hajime-kun. What was that illusion? Is it related to these ship wreckages.”
Kaori stood up then sat on the nearby rock, and then she asked him. Hajime took a little time to think before told her his conjecture.
“It is just a maybe, but I think the illusion might have been reproducing a battle in the past. … well, it seemed there’s also some improvement to attack those challenging the dungeon… or it might have been the concept of this dungeon.”
“Concept?”
“Yeah. Tio said it when we were in “Guryuu-en Great Volcano”. She said ‘isn’t it possible that each of the dungeon had its own concept prepared by the “Liberators”?’ If that’s true, then here is…”
“…To know the misery brought by the Mad Gods… maybe?”
“Aah, I think so, too.”
Continuing Hajime’s words by muttering the answer, Kaori recalled the spectacle from before, her face once again turned pale, and her body trembled as if she was suffering from a cold.
What made Kaori felt sick was the madness from the soldiers. Their behavior and speech were exactly of those so called “Fanatic” while she also couldn’t help but feel disgusted from the killing.
The people continued to laugh loudly in a frenzy even when blood were spraying from their bodied. There were even those who died from gouging their own hearts out, raised it towards the sky as an offering to their Gods. There was also an older brother who stabbed through his own younger brother just to attack Hajime and Kaori, while the younger one laughed proudly. War itself was a place filled with madness, but one they just saw was far too ghastly. And it was wage all “For our God,” so…
Seeing Kaori covering her mouth because she couldn’t endure it, Hajime sat right beside Kaori and grasped Kaori’s hand. He couldn’t leave Kaori, who sickened by the madness, alone. Kaori was slightly surprised, looked at Hajime, relaxed, and squeezed Hajime’s hand back.
“Hajime-kun, thank you…”
“Don’t mind it. I understand… the pain from being exposed to the madness. I felt that when I fell into the abyss…”
“… Then, how? … Wait, there’s no need for you to answer… It was… Yue-san, right?”
“Yeah, it was because of her. If I hadn’t met her inside the abyss… I wonder how I would have ended up.”