18. collapse (2)
“Beatrice, is that you?”
Beatrice, who killed the SS-class hero party, was resting in a tent.
The man who came to her and questioned her was the manager of the hero’s party.
“what.”
Beatrice pulled it away with a sad face.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Who else but you could kill them?”
“What’s so surprising about dying in a dungeon?”
Recalling Ian reflexively was an unavoidable regret.
If he had, he would have taken care of such a small matter.
‘At times like this, I feel like I need it again… . Tsk, it’s because of Penny that guy.’
What has passed in the end.
It was more urgent to deal with the aftermath of killing an SS-class warrior than to dwell on regrets right away.
“That should be common sense too! In only A-rank dungeons, not one, but four of them die? So miserable?!”
“Well. I don’t know how it happened because I didn’t see it. I don’t know why you’re blaming me for the weak bastards’ fall out, so could you please go away? Because I’m tired.”
“This bitch is talking now… !”
As the manager spoke harsh words, Beatrice raised her eyes and looked up.
I don’t know what kind of person this manager was, but at least it was certain that I could easily kill him.
Proof of this was that even though he was talking vigorously, he shrank from just one eye contact.
‘ha… . I’m still annoyed, but… .’
Beatrice motioned for her to retreat.
The manager who can’t even do this is said to open and close his fist.
– Dalgrak, Dalgrak… .
I heard the sound of armor clashing outside.
Soon the tent opened, and the menacing black armored soldiers entered.
‘gendarmerie?’
The man in the front said.
“By order of the prince, a wanted order has been issued for you, Beatrice.”
“… What?”
“Beatrice of the 1st Hero Party. You are arrested for participating in a mutiny conspiracy. From now on, your safety will belong to the military police and the imperial family, and you can appoint a lawyer or guardian to help with the investigation.”
“… what bullshit is that? what are you doing?”
Beatrice took it as a very low-quality joke.
The gendarmerie repeated without hesitation.
“By the order of the prince, the wanted orders… .”
“Shut up, get out. There are a lot of things to worry about… .”
“You rebel… .”
“I know.”
The military police cut off their words, and someone interrupted.
It was a familiar voice to Beatrice.
“Because I won’t listen.”
“… Kylie?”
Appearing through the dark gendarmerie, she was wearing dazzling silver armor.
With her blonde hair flowing, she looked down at Beatrice.
“I didn’t expect to see you like this.”
“… why are you here No, more than that, why do you come with these things?”
“Well.”
Kylie smiled and added.
“Why do you think it is?”
“… I don’t feel like playing around.”
“Do I look like I’m in a joking mood then?”
“What the hell! What are we going to do!”
Beatrice jumped up and shouted.
Kylie noticed a green barrette that went well with her brown hair.
An artifact that can control the trajectory of an arrow freely, realizing nonsense.
It was given by Ian.
Seeing it all over again was because he had an intuition that he could not avoid fighting Beatrice.
“It means cooperating quietly. I’m here to mediate on my own.”
“… Cooperation? Did you hear that too… , no, wait a minute. Did you cooperate even after hearing that?”
Kylie didn’t answer.
“You can’t… . Kylie, please. Silvia alone is enough for unproductive whining!”
In the meantime, the manager who came to ask Beatrice had a conversation with the military police.
It was an accusation about what Beatrice had done.
“Beatrice. Is it true that you killed four SS-class warriors who entered the nearby A-class dungeon together?”
“What? these are real… . not me! You said no! What the hell did I do!”
“Beatrice. stop accepting it.”
“Do not be ridiculous!”
Beatrice drew her bow.
“How did I, how did I get here… ! Accusing people with nonsense… ! There is no proof!”
Instead of answering, Kylie summoned a sword.
On the way, she heard all the evidence and circumstances surrounding their arrest.
However, I know that even if I explain it to Beatrice, she will not understand.
“I will never go. No matter what. I’d rather bring them all to me.”
“I can’t… .”
Kylie said while looking at Beatrice.
“Everyone step back.”
“Ha, but we… .”
“If you want to die, it’s okay to stay here.”
Occasionally, the first party of warriors was forced to fight close to a city or village.
Every time Ian told people to evacuate.
“Go away so far that I’m afraid you’ve come too far.”
After saying that, the military police hurriedly ran away.
Beatrice laughed, putting her finger on the protest.
“When did you become such a caring person?”
“Because I can’t increase the number of crimes.”
“I didn’t know that the thing I had only imagined would come true… . But, I’m curious. Who will win?”
“Do you have any questions?”
Kylie laughed bitterly.
“I would win.”
“… … .”
Finally, Beatrice pulled the string and aimed her bow.
No arrows were fed, but that didn’t matter to her either.
The bow Ian gave me doesn’t require arrows.
A bow that creates arrows made of mana in response to the user’s mana.
Of course, since it is made of mana, its destructive power is different from that of other normal arrows.
At the demonstration, the magic of yellow light gradually condensed into an arrow shape.
It was an arrow with a lightning attribute that fired sparks.
The moment Beatrice let go of the string, Kylie swung her sword and cut the arrow.
The split arrow reached behind Kylie.
The tent was torn to shreds, and the floor was left scratched by huge rakes.
The gendarmerie who fled, as well as the manager of the SS-level party who came to protest, and several people nearby were caught in the fire and burned.
“It wouldn’t be good to increase the number of crimes.”
“crime? Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I came here to dwell on that?”
Beatrice quickly fired several small forked arrows and ran out of the tent.
Kylie, who reflexively dodged, didn’t immediately pursue her.
‘Beatrice’s arrows are not bound by the trajectory.’
As expected, the bolt of lightning that had passed him returned.
Kylie defended by swinging her sword and releasing sword energy.
The two forces collided and exploded, sending the tent flying away.
The open sky was filled with lightning-like arrows like raindrops right before they fell.
It was the power of an artifact that could control the arrow’s direction as well as its speed.
Beatrice, who was standing on top of a tree in the distance, was tying something more like a giant sword to her string than an arrow.
“Block it.”
“Let’s try.”
A sudden rain started to fall.
*
‘What is fast?’
It was Ian’s teaching that I had heard someday.
‘Simply going from point to point in a short time?’
Kylie remembered the voice like an hallucination during the battle.
‘Things like that happen, too. But being fast in battle is a bit different.’
quickly… .
Kylie clenched her teeth.
The rain of lightning that was crashing to the ground turned around and was closely pursuing her.
‘You just have to be faster than your opponent. In other words.’
And Kylie, attaching the arrows like a tail, pursued Beatrice tenaciously.
‘You have to know how to look into the other person’s head.’
Ian’s teaching to fight with brain and skill, not body and strength.
‘If you’re always one step ahead of your opponent, you’ll have no choice but to be faster than your opponent.’
Beatrice, who was floating in the air, condensed mana once again.
The demonstration took a lightning arrow in the form of a giant sword without a handle and cross guard.
‘But you’re not the only one thinking. Your opponent will also think of you and predict you. You have to escape that prediction.’
In the first hero’s party, it is Beatrice that no one can catch up with firepower that focuses on one point.
It is impossible to destroy that technology head-on.
‘And in order to escape the opponent’s prediction, I need to know the opponent.’
apprehend, analyze, judge.
I didn’t have to figure out anything.
Because we live together as colleagues and know each other well.
It was a step to use that knowledge.
Kylie thought.
‘Beatrice uses a tactic of running in all directions with the help of Aria and Sylvia. Just adjusting the speed and direction of the arrows is annoying enough, especially because of their nimble movements.’
There is no support for the two here.
In other words, it could be solved by destroying all the places Beatrice could step on.
Again, Kylie judged.
‘I’ll have no choice but to allow one attack, but that will defy Beatrice’s expectations.’
Kylie stood still and pulled up her strength.
-pop!
Beatrice’s arrow was fired with a sonic boom.
Kylie spread thin swords widely based on her own height, not Beatrice’s.
Like a rock dropped into a lake, wild ripples spread rapidly around her.
-Quad deuk!
Hills, grass, trees, buildings, everything that made up the terrain collapsed from the same height.
At the same time.
-bang!
Kylie received a huge bolt of lightning with her body.
Dozens of lightning arrows that followed followed were also pierced in the back.
“Hey… !”
A sharp pain ran through his entire body.
My brain is burning hot, and blood spurts from my mouth and nose.
Still, Kylie moved her legs.
While Beatrice, who had lost her landing spot, was flustered, Kylie reached a close distance.
“you… !”
Kylie laughed involuntarily.
Ian’s advice that came to mind in the midst of this was what he had been giving Beatrice all along.
‘You can’t move freely in the air. So you have to be careful every time. Because they fight while running in all directions.’
all.
from start to finish.
to all these battles.
Ian was with me.
It’s not just this time.
So far, no matter what battles you have fought.
Kylie.
No, the 1st warrior party.
Even when Ian wasn’t by my side, Ian was with me.
“Fuck… .”
Kylie laughed and snarled, brandishing her sword.
– Kang!
Beatrice’s auxiliary dagger, which she hastily pulled out, blocked it, but it did not.
In the direction the dagger was deflected, Beatrice flew far away.
Kylie followed right after, stabbing him in the right thigh and slashing it externally.
“aaah!”
“ha… . ha… . I said I won… .”
Beatrice lost her right leg and struggled on the floor.
“Kylie… ! Kylie-! you! fuck you… ! You to me-!”
“Shut up… . Because it seems like it’s going to be difficult… .”
“I! why me! What did I-!”
“Whoa… .”
That was a question Kylie had always had.
It is true that I made a mistake.
But, what’s wrong?
Is it wrong to receive the support of the Anti-Imperial Alliance without knowing anything?
this much?
Or was it a sin to kick Ian out?
Even if it’s a sin, even if it’s something to regret, it’s enough to deserve to go through this… ?
“Fuck I don’t know… .”
Kylie murmured as she stuck her sword into the floor.
“I just want to hear… . Even now… . No matter how late, no matter how late… .”
I don’t know what to do, but I know my heart.
I want to atone for this.
For paying the price he deserves, I want to seize the opportunity to thank Ian.
That was it.
“It’s not that difficult… .”
Something I should have thanked in advance.
I should have apologized in advance.
It was a lot easier than this.
Since I turned away from that, even if I had to do something more difficult than that, it wasn’t that difficult.
“… Kylie.”
“why.”
“Do you remember what Ian said?”
“… What.”
“Until it’s over, it’s never over.”
“… !”
It was too late when he picked up the sword again.
Dozens of bolts of lightning shot through and pierced Kylie’s right shoulder.
“This shit… .”
The arrow that Beatrice forcibly twisted its trajectory and let it hover in midair for just one chance.
It did not miss a single opportunity.
The bolt of lightning even burned Kylie’s fallen arm.
“This bastard is real-!”
Kylie, unable to overcome her anger, struck the sword with her left hand.
Beatrice’s right elbow was severed.
“aaagh-!”
“Fuck… . you really… .”
“Keuk, keuk, uh… .”
Beatrice, who had been screaming, spoke up.
“Oh… . Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ha ha ha! Kkeuhahaha-!”
I started laughing like crazy.
Angry, Kylie forgot the pain and looked down at her.
“What, what is this! What is this! Ah, ah! Haha haha-!”
“Crazy… .”
“Then, will you go out without going crazy? huh? look at my form! Kylie! Look! Look at what we are doing now!”
“… … .”
Beatrice lost her right leg and below her right elbow.
Likewise, Kylie lost her entire right arm.
It was the current address of the first warrior party, which was called the vanguard of the empire and the hope of mankind.
“I, I want to do this… . I, for what reason… .”
Beatrice, who had been coughing up blood and laughing for a long time, started sobbing again.
Kylie looked at her and couldn’t say anything.
A hot feeling of emptiness swirls in the depths of my heart.
‘Even a potion… . ah.’
Belatedly, check again.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t been hurt all their lives.
When I was growing up, I was hurt a lot.
Whenever that happened, it was Ian who took care of the potion and set up the rest schedule.
“Keuk… . Whoa, turn it off… .”
superman.
Among them, those who have risen to the top.
Cutting off a few limbs won’t kill you.
However, attaching severed limbs is impossible.
“… … .”
Kylie blankly watched the sobbing Beatrice for a long time.
without knowing what to do
In the future, without knowing what to do.
*
“aria… ?”
Sylvia came to visit Arya.
Arya, who kept healing unscathed places in the softly lit tent, looked worse than before leaving.
More than myself, who has been told a lot that I have recently become thin and thin.
Arya even looked anxious, like someone going through withdrawal.
“Ah, poetry, poetry, Sylvia… ? Hey, why is this… .”
“What’s wrong… ?”
Even the military police who came to arrest them could not immediately step forward to see the dangerous situation.
Instead, Sylvia approached.
“Did something happen?”
“Oh, no, there is… there was… .”
As Sylvia approached, Arya became more anxious.
“why… .”
“Sorry!”
Arya suddenly fell to her knees.
“yes… ?”
“That fact… .”
Arya, who had been mumbling, vomited with difficulty.
“I don’t love Ian… .”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden… .”
“The words Sylvia heard then… . It was all lies… .”
“… … .”
‘I love you.’
That’s what Sylvia said.
-I love you.
That’s what Arya said.
again.
‘… Yes, I love you.’
The only answer that came back to Sylvia.
The love of the three voices broke Sylvia’s brain.