Part 4[แก้ไข]
─────Underwood Southeast Plains.
Gry, who was fighting on the front lines, froze as he gazed at the boy. Even though he was prepared to die in this fight beforehand, now he stood still, as if his soul was leaving him. Everyone in the [Draco Greif] Alliance who should have had the same tragic resolve, now stopped moving, holding their breath as they looked upon the front lines. The front lines were filled with a great army led by the Titans and an inexhaustible herd of newborn rabid beasts. In the sky was the massive dragon. On the ground were rabid beasts and Titans.
Underwood’s landscape was the expression of a cool, spectacular water display, but right now, those days were coming to an end with the destructive force of monsters. The harvest festival held for Underwood’s restoration was trampled down by monsters and extinguished. In this situation, there were only two kinds of people who wouldn’t feel desperate in all of Little Garden. They would either have to be carefree, bold with nerves of steel, or─────a divine warrior that does not fear even a god of war.
“………Hmm? I heard about the Celt’s Titans, so I figured they’d be a bunch of gods. It seems I’ll have to change my train of thought. So basically, you’re all nothing more than humans turned Titan, a basic framework of phantom beasts. ………But falling into this predicament after fighting a kid like me, wouldn’t your ancestors be weeping right about now?”
He patted his school uniform over the shoulder in dissatisfaction as he glanced at the Titan troops. In response to his every movement, not just the Titans, but his allies too trembled and retreated. At his feet were several hundred defeated Titans and scattered fragments of destroyed armor. The scraps of flesh lying around were from the rabid beasts summoned by the massive dragon. There was probably no good explanation for this unknown helper. Even Gry, who knew his face, stood dumbfounded and marveled at his nonsensical abilities.
“There’s someone that powerful………hiding within the No Name community……..!?”
Gry dared to, in a different meaning, call them No Names. In this Little Garden of gods, a person this powerful, yet without any of the glory, which could only be blamed on irrationality, he dared to say it with this in mind. The Titans, the rabid beasts, the despair that reigned over Draco Greif’s members, were all crushed by this boy─────Sakamaki Izayoi, with an insolent light in his eye, spit on the Titans.
“I’ll only say this once. Get the hell out of here right now, you flunkies. I was really looking forward to this harvest festival. It’s enough that I already have to go deal with that flying lizard, so don’t go causing more problems for me.” Izayoi clicked his tongue. At his arrogant tone, time had started moving once again on the battlefield. The Titan troops, taking Izayoi’s words as taunts, let out a battle cry, and once again set their eyes on attacking Underwood.
“UOOOOOOOOOOooooooo─────!!!”
The Titan warriors cut through the vanguard. They didn’t seem to be armed. They probably thought blades would be useless, so they came with grapples. They tried to at least restrict his movements by grappling him, but with overwhelming speed, Izayoi slipped through. Izayoi proceeded to jump off the backs of the Titans’ heads as stepping stones. The Titans who were stepped on were propelled face first into the ground. But it was a mistake to dance through the air. As long as he was human, it was fact that he couldn’t fly. The giants decided that this was their chance to win, so they threw chains at once from all directions and captured Izayoi.
“UOOOOOOOOOOooooooo─────!!!”
Twice, thrice, quadruple, quintuple the amount of chains piled. There, the Titans added their massive strength, aiming to compact the chains, which creaked loudly. To finish off Izayoi, who was bound by several layers of chains, the Titans standing by in the back erected a tesla coil. Although it was nowhere near as powerful as the lightning that the dragon shoots, it was a light bulb that could release enough heat to melt iron. If they shot that, it was obvious that the Titans wouldn’t be left unscathed either. But the Titans who were holding the chains showed no intent to let up. The ten Titans that were holding Izayoi captive─────were prepared to throw their lives away as they gripped the chains.
“T,This is bad!!”
Gry let out an impatient voice. He could probably see the Titans’ death wishes in the their eyes. Putting strength into his limbs, he took off to help. But it was too late. The Titan who erected the tesla coil glanced at his fellow Titans and nodded in reply to their resolve. As the roar of the thunder drew near, carrying the life and pride of the Titans─────
“─────Hah, I get it. So your pride was still intact, flunkies─────!!!”
─────He was swept away by an attack that shook the stars. The chains that the Titans used to bind Izayoi shattered to pieces, and their right hands dissolved in the lightning. The Titans had been equipped with masks, but their disbelief could be seen through them. As phantom beasts of humanity, and as fellow human beings, it is because of this that they could feel it in their bones how nonsensically unusual this human was. In contrast, Izayoi’s eyes began to set ablaze with joy.
“Man, I guess it was rude to call you flunkies. My bad. ─────Those who were prepared to die, and those who were prepared to kill them. After seeing that, I can’t really take you guys lightly. But conversely, I’d have to ask you guys why you’re all doing something so criminal………”
“─────……o,OOOOOOOOOOooooooo─────!!!”
As if to shake off Izayoi’s question, the Titans raised a battle cry and rushed in. If the enemy was going to rush in, then he’d have to push them back. Izayoi kept this faint suspicion inside his heart while he leaped into a Titan’s chest and punched through his armor, sending him flying. The Titan’s chain had shattered to pieces, and his momentum carried him all the way to the back line unabated, flying another few hundred meters entangled with other Titans.
After confirming that they were down for the count, Izayoi then turned to his allies, the Draco Greif Alliance, and fearlessly questioned them as well.
“By the way, I have some questions about our allies here as well, but………you guys in the Draco Greif Alliance, how long are you going to pretend to be in despair?”
“W,What………!?”
A buzz spread along the several phantom beasts, Gry included. There were those who felt insulted, and others who felt provoked by Izayoi’s words. All sorts of reactions ran about. Izayoi didn’t understand what they were saying, but after looking at their reactions, he figured it was possible to communicate with them, so he agitated them with a theatrical complaint.
“As you can see, the enemy was prepared to give up 10 of their own to kill me. That mindset is indeed, unmistakably that of a formidable opponent. I have to say, that was gutsy. ………After seeing that mortal enemy’s mindset, the Draco Greif Alliance, which upholds the symbol of courage, can’t possibly be sniveling like wimps.”
“………Nu……!”
Izayoi snorted as he felt like he struck a nerve. The alliance’s members bared their fangs, growling, but didn’t say a word. It was as he’d said, the Gryphon’s banner was typically engraved with bravery and honor. If this is a community with kingship, then it could be used as a display of sovereignty as well.
Elements of eagles, kings of the sky, and lions, kings of the earth, were present in the phantom beasts. By questioning the true meaning behind their banner, Izayoi had agitated the alliance members. His manner of speaking was indeed extremely irritating, but his word had some truth to it, which was in bad taste. They wanted to respond but couldn’t, as murmurs spread among the herd. Izayoi briefly examined their reactions, but replacing the smirk on his face with a serious expression,
“………Face the facts already. This grand harvest festival is supposed to have Underwood’s restoration riding on it. Those guys then committed acts of vandalism against this festival, throwing dirt on your deepest wish. Scarring your companions and the land, and raised arms against your pride and your flag. After taking this amount of humiliation, within the hearts of the members of Draco Greif─────shouldn’t be despair, but justified anger.”
This time, he spoke in half serious contempt. That was also how Izayoi really felt. Even though the [Draco Greif] Alliance had their pride trampled upon, spit on, and wounded………in front of their mortal enemy, they couldn’t let their anger erupt. That was frustrating, and couldn’t be left that way.
“If you’re not going to move anymore after this, then that’s fine too. That must be the [Draco Greif] Alliance’s secret to success. ─────But don’t forget. If you’re not going to stand up against your mortal enemy, the fact that you’ve hidden behind the backs of lowly [No Names] to survive will be something for even the future generations to laugh at.”
“………Tch……you’ve gone too far, brat………!”
“They’ve got a bit of bite to them, but in the end, they’re just seedy looking monkeys who have no claws or fangs!”
“Yeah! He may have crushed 20 Titans with his fist, but we’ve speared twice as many with our horns! We’re not inferior to them at all!”
Receiving Izayoi’s ferocious instigation, a cry of fighting spirit and reproach rang out from the phantom beasts. No matter the size of his power, Izayoi was inexperienced. Not to mention, being talked down by a human kid that much, even they’d get mad. The tolerant inhabitants of the south also had their limits.
The [Draco Greif] Alliance was roused by their anger towards Izayoi. But only Gry, who had already lost his rider, was in a differ