Sisyphe

"My name is Kellaiah. I am Keleia, Attendant of the Great Wind. Who are you people who would take our prince away?

　A harpy who calls herself Keriah says as she looks down at us.
　The Harpy is a woman-faced bird-body, that is, a human woman from face to chest, with wings and an eagle on her lower body.
　She is a very quick demon. And it is also known as "the snatcher".
　There's a Harpy right in front of me.
　I knew there would be a harpy, but when I see it in person, I don't know what to do.

'Why don't you answer me anything?　Mmm?

　Keriah's gaze turns to Novice.

'Are you here to offer us a prince, too?　But no. The man is overgrown. If you're going to bring him in anyway, bring a pretty girl with thin lines.

　Keriah shakes his head and replies.

'I don't really want the bird woman to like me, but there's something about it that pisses me off.

　Denied, Novis says grimly.
　No matter how much I don't like them, I can't help but feel bad if they reject me.

'As I recall, according to a book on the biology of harpies, harpies prefer boys who are easy to kidnap by instinct.

　Maddy explains.
　Well, it's certainly easier to kidnap a light boy than a heavy adult.
　I suppose the harpy instinctively prefers a pretty boy with thin lines.
　What a luxury ！！！！
　But I'll tell you what's on my mind.
　Now the Harpy says you guys are too. Maybe ....... No, after all, Phineas was not kidnapped. He was sold to the Harpy.
　Then who sold him? It's obvious.

I'm sorry, Mr. Kellaiah. 'I'm sorry, Mr Kellaiah. I made a mistake and I brought the wrong girl, so I was wondering if I could have the one that's there right now.　I'll bring you lots of better girls later.

　I say a quick lie.

'What?'　But you're not the one who brought this child here.

　You can't fool me as easily as you think.

'Mr. Walrath will explain later. We're here to pick up the boy first.

　How about this.
　I say, and Keriah meditates.
　Then, after a few seconds, he suddenly opens his eyes.

'No. I sense a hint of hostility from you.

　Oh, my God. Hostile intent is detected.
　Keriah extends his winged arms.

'Everyone!　Ready your weapons!　It's coming!

　I shout and they all raise their weapons.
　Suddenly Keriah's figure disappears.

''Sizfe!!!''

　My sister Kayna screams.
　I twist my body to the right as quickly as possible.
　My shoulder hurts.
　I look at my right shoulder and see that the leather shoulder pad has been slashed open and blood is coming out of it.

''Ugh. ......''

　Pressing his shoulder.
　It was a close call. The old me would have had my neck scratched off.

'Are you okay?　Mr. Sisyphe!

　Saying that, Leiria-san casts a healing spell on me.

'Ho, you avoided it. I was going to take your head off to start with.

　Keriah sneers as he flies through the air.

'Ha!

　Nora releases her bow.
　But it ducks with a flutter.

'Hmph!　No such arrows!　Eat this!

　Keriah flaps his wings.

'Guys!　Behind me!

　In the next moment, a feather comes flying from Keriah's wings like an arrow.
　That feather arrow (Feather Arrow) is blocked by the shield I created.

"Ho. You're good.

　Keriah's impressed voice.
　There's a lot of room on his face. I feel like a fool.

What do you want to do, Sisyphe? I'm not going to be able to get my sword out of your hands if you're flying through the air like that.

　Novis's impatient voice. As expected Novis can't do anything about an opponent that the sword can't reach.
　I don't know what to do either, even if you ask me what to do.

"A noble race that flies in the sky will not be defeated by females like you who have to crawl on the ground.

　The Harpy laughs high and mighty.

'Darkness!

　Maddie unleashes her magic as she laughs.

'NANU!

　Keriah's surprised voice.

'Lie?!　Did it work?

　Maddie is surprised.
　Come to think of it, this might be the first time Maddy's magic has been useful in this request.
　Keriah wobbled and circled around, flying unsteadily.

'd*mn it!　How dare you!　Remember that!

　As expected, I wouldn't be able to fight in a blind state, I would fly away from this place.

''I did it! My magic worked for me!

　As he knows, Maddy's magic power is weak. That's why magic often doesn't work on the opponent.
　That's probably why she's happy that it worked. I pity her.

You did it!　Maddy!
'It's amazing!　Mr. Madia!
You're good!
That's Maddy.
'Heh heh heh. I read in the book that harpies have a low tolerance for darkness, but I didn't think it would work out this well.

　Maddie is pleased when her sister Kayna, Leiria, Nora and Novice praise her.

'You've done it, Maddy. But it's time for everyone to help Mr. Phineas. It's not good if the Harpy comes back.

　My words brought everyone back to reality.




◆

Are you okay, Novis?

　Overhead, Novis was coming down through the rope with Phineas strapped to his back.

'It's okay, Siszfe. This guy is light.'

　Novis looks at me downstairs and grins.
　Not long after, the two of them come down.

'Are you alright, Mr. Phineas?'

　I run up to Phineas.
　Phinneas is a thin line boy, and his face looks like a girl.

'Yes, somehow. In case you were wondering, I was taken care of. ......

　The harpy cares for the boy he captures.
　But the living conditions are too different for the harpies and humans.
　It is too hard for a human to live in the harpy's living area.
　The Harpies seem to know that, and they confine themselves to the foot of the mountain as much as possible.
　But even so, it will be hard for humans.
　I'm sure that someone with a sturdy body like Novice's would not be able to endure such a thin, girlish boy, let alone one with a robust body like Novice's.
　In fact, Phinneas is quite disheveled.
　It has been more than a week since he was kidnapped. The clothes he is wearing are also tattered.
　He seems to be in bad shape. It would be better to return to the Alm Kingdom as soon as possible.

"Novice, take Finnerus. We'll be back as soon as possible.
Yeah, all right. Just bear with me.

　Then Novis holds Phineas.

'Sorry ......'
I don't mind. I don't have a problem with that. But I want you to be a good fighter. If someone is in trouble, you must be able to protect them.

　Novis grins and smiles at Phineas.
　Basically, Novis is a good-natured guy.
　I'm not going to complain now that I've come this far.

'Yes, I understand. I'll be a fine warrior like you.'

　Phineas answers clearly. He seems touched by Novice's words.
　However, Phinneas' cheeks are a little red.
　It's a bit bewitching.

''We're all going,''

　We hurried back the way we had come.
　And by evening we were able to return to the ruins of the giants.

'Guys!

　Nora stops us in front of the ruins of the giants.

''What's wrong?''　Mr. Nora?

　I ask Nora fearfully.

'It's an ambush. I believe it's those guys.

　We all look up at those words.

'Everyone. Ready your weapons.

　I say and everyone takes up arms.

'Um, what's going on?'

　Getting off Novice's back, Phineas makes an anxious noise.

'Maybe Warlus and the others are waiting for me down the road.
!

　Phineas lets out a small scream.

'What?!　The Commander? !
Yeah. The people who sold you out to the Harpy.

　It was a mystery.
　Why was the Harpy holding Phineas in such close proximity to the middle of nowhere?
　How did they get to the place where they had Phineas so easily?
　The place where Phineas was being held was too close to the land of the humans.
　But it would be different if he hadn't been kidnapped, but sold to the humans for the same.
　Rather, it was meant to be an easy place for humans to come to.
　Perhaps the place was a place to deal with the Harpy.

"Come out of your hiding places, d*mn it!　I know you guys are out there!

　Sister Kayna shouts at the ruins of the giants.
　Then about 14 or 5 armed men come out of the room.
　I look at the one in the center of those men.
　It's definitely Walras. A little behind them stands the mage Kilius.
　I saw him in the ship, the boy doesn't seem to be there.

'Hmph!　Well, I guess we can't blame them if they spot us. Well, if there's an elf in there, we can't fool ourselves. And you beat the Black Dog, which Master Atrana gave me.

　After all, that black demon dog (Black Dog) was under Walras' command.
　Perhaps it was a gatekeeper to prevent others from going to the place where they were capturing Phineas.
　To get to that place, you have to camp at the ruins of a giant.

'I knew you sold Mr. Phineas to the Harpy, didn't I?
"Yeah, you're right, warrior girl. But still, what a bunch of curious people there are out there rescuing such a worthless brat. Instead of telling her mother she was kidnapped by the Harpy, she should've said she was eaten by a demon. Then no one would look for you. I'm still naive, too.

　Walras chuckles as he looks at Phineas.
　I look behind me and Phineas hides behind our backs as he flees from Walras's gaze.
　Seeing that, anger rises from inside me.

'Wait a minute!　What were you thinking, selling the same person while being the same person!

　With that, he points his sword at Walras.

''Hmph!　You sell people, don't you?　Han!　So what!　Look at the Republic of Ariadia!　It's a good life for a bunch of crooks who ain't got no fight in them!　This world!　It's the cheaters that do the good!

　Walrath's eyes are glazed over.
　What those eyes appeal to is anger.
　The feeling is not hard to understand.
　I lost my country to a demon, wandered and drifted to the free city of Thessia.
　And when I saw the Republic of Ariadia, I thought.
　I didn't know that there was such a big country, and that there were people living in such abundance.
　But at the same time I thought, "What a waste of time.
　But at the same time, I thought it was unfair.
　The country where I was born is not rich. It was always threatened by demons.
　And yet the citizens of the Republic of Ariadia are not attacked by demons, but they live inside the splendid walls of the city.
　If they had such fine walls, my country might not have died.
　So I can somehow understand how Walras feels.

　But.

　I look at Phineas behind me.
　But that doesn't mean I can't sell the same person.
　Phineas is a bit like me in his situation.
　We lost our fathers in the same way and became freedom fighters in the same way.
　I was lucky because I had a sister, Kayna.
　If my sister Keina hadn't helped me when I first became a freedom fighter, I would have died sooner or later.
　But Phineas was not blessed with people.
　The warrior group he entered was willing to sell Phineas from the beginning.
　As a general rule, once you become a warrior, you have to be prepared to die, but isn't it different in this case?

'I don't know what happened to you in your past!　But there's no way I can sell you to a demon, Phineas!
Shut up!　Don't talk to me like you're a clever little girl!　There are more of them over here!　You guys are going to do it!

　The New Green Warriors, led by Walrath, take up arms.

"Phinneas, watch this. I'm about to show you what a real warrior looks like.

　Novis smiles at Phineas and holds up his great sword.
　His face is very anxious.

''Novis is right. We're not going to lose to those guys.

　Knights, soldiers, freedom fighters. These are all called warriors.
　Warriors exist to protect people from demons.
　They sell the people they are supposed to protect to demons. These men are not warriors. They are outsiders.
　And we will not lose to them.
　We and Walrath and the others take up arms and face each other.

Shizu-chan ....... Imam-sama is strong.
I know.

　The mage in question is quite far back from Walrath and the others.
　Is he not willing to fight?

Do it, you bastards!

　Throughout the new green warrior group, five men hold their bows and shoot arrows.

''How can such arrows work!

　I make a shield with the blessing of Lady Raina.
　Naturally, the arrows are blocked by the shield and fall.
　We close the distance between us before I can prepare the next arrow.

"d*mn it!　Next arrow!

　Walrath shouts. Of course, I wouldn't give him the time of day.
　Nora takes aim at the person who is about to set up her bow with rapid fire.
　Then the fast-footed sister Kayna runs into the other person, and then Novis, who has a large sword at the ready, cleaves Walrath's companion.
　The two of them do well, and in the blink of an eye, half of them are defeated.
　Weak.
　From their movements, it is clear that they have little training as warriors.
　On the contrary, some of them seem to have been drinking.
　I can only assume that these guys are licking their chops in battle.
　Probably, they didn't fight the demons and were only doing the cheating. That's why they can't fight when the time comes.
　In this case, the goblins who were trying to fight seriously were stronger.

''d*mn!　The magician's husband!　Help!

　Walrath and the rest of the men flee to the mage.

'Commander, I don't like fighting. But, well, I guess it can't be helped. Come out.

　The mage says and something with a huge robe comes out from behind.
　The huge robe falls down to the floor. The one who comes out from inside is a large man whose entire body is covered in armor.

''This is the strongest immortal (undead) warrior my master Tarabos has ever made. And this armor has the effect of completely blocking the sunlight. Can we beat you guys?

　The mage laughs.

'Come on, kill them in front of me!

　A warrior in armor wields a sword.

''Oh?''

　The head of Walrath, who was in front of the armored immortals (undead), falls off.

''Sheesh. Come to think of it, the commanders were right in front of you or ....... This warrior is still developing and inflexible and cannot change his orders. Consider yourself unlucky and give up.

　The mage's voice is not the least bit apologetic.
　It's as if he doesn't care about the lives of Walrath and the others.
　An armored immortal (undead) kills Warrass' friends in front of him.
　Its movements are very fast.

''Help!

　After being blown up by sister Kayna and Novis, Walrath's companions ask for our help.

'What do we do?　Mr. Sisyphe?

　Miss Leiria asks me with a troubled look on her face.

'It can't be helped. But I'll push you to the right place later!

　We are confronted with an armored immortal (undead).

''Gaaaaaaaah!!!!!

　An immortal (undead) in armor comes charging in with his sword raised.

''Konoha!

　Novis heads towards you with his greatsword at the ready.
　Clang. and the sound of sword clashing with sword.
　The two sides are evenly matched in strength.
　They are pushing each other.

What nonsense!　You've stopped the most powerful undead in the world!

　The mage's surprised voice.
　Looking at his astonished face, he must have been very confident in the power of the armored immortals (undead).

''There's no way Novice could lose to such a wooden doll!　Good luck, Novis!

　I'm rooting for Novice.

'I can't not try my best when Sisyphe tells me to!　I'm gonna bring him down!　You all need to take down that d*mned mage!

　I can see Novis laughing over his back.
　Novis and an armored immortal (undead) fight in single combat.
　Sword to sword clashes.
　At first glance, it appears to be an even match. But I'm confident that Novis is going to win.
　So we close in on the mage.

"d*mn it!　It's the evil spirit, Larva!　Gather at my call!

　The time is already evening. If it's a place where the shadows are thick, we can summon the evil spirits.

''necromancy!　Everyone be strong in your consciousness!

　Maddy shouts.

'Go mad and die!　Legion of Evil (Legion)!

　Invoked translucent evil spirits (Larva) gather into one and become a blue-white glowing ball.
　These guys don't attack your body, but your spirit directly.
　If they couldn't resist, they would go mad and die.

''Oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ！！！！

　The cry of madness of the demonic spirit cluster (Legion).
　We are strong in our consciousness.
　We will not be defeated! I pray to the goddess Raina.
　My heart is torn, but I slash through the evil spirit group (Legion).
　The evil spirit group (Legion) is dissipated by the attack of the magic sword.

''Where's the mage?!''

　The evil spirit group (Legion) disappears and Leiria-san shouts out.
　When I look, I don't see the mage.

''Do you want to chase him?　Sisyphe?

　Sister Kayna says, touching her proud legs.

'No, sister Kayna. It's dangerous to go deeper.'

　I shake my head. It's frustrating, but I can't force it. We'll camp here today.

"It's all right, Sisyphe. She'll get that mage.
What?

　Nora said, looking into the distance. I didn't know what that meant.

'Oryaaaaaah!'

　I looked behind me as I heard a shout.
　There was Novis, slaying the armored immortals (undead).
　It looks like he won.
　We go over to Novis.

'Wow. This is a real warrior.

　Phineas' eyes watered as if he was impressed, and he muttered to himself.




◆Kilius the Magician.

　I didn't expect this to happen.
　I didn't think they would be so strong.
　I had to get away from them in a hurry.
　I went back the way I came.
　It's quite tiring.
　But I must hurry back or it will be night.
　The journey was easier because I let the undead warriors carry me.
　But now I must get back on my feet.

"d*mn it!　How could I, a great sorcerer, let this happen to me!

　I grit my teeth.
　How could I, the great Saria mage, let this happen to me?

'Stop,'

　That's when I suddenly hear a voice behind me. I felt a sharp pain in my leg.

'Huh?'

　He screams and doesn't know why. Falling over.
　My leg hurts. It looks like I've been slashed by something.

'Kilius the Sorcerer, was it ......?'

　They call my name from behind.
　When I manage to turn my face back, I see a woman standing alone in the setting sun.
　The woman holds a curved sword in her hand.

''Huh?　What is it? What about you?
'I'm Shenna. I don't need you to remember me, though. Didn't you notice I've been following you the whole time?

　The woman who called herself Shenna put away her curved sword as she said this.

I was going to join you if Sisyphe and the others were in danger, but I didn't need to. But still, he is very, very slow. I followed him slowly, but he caught up with me easily.

　Shenna looks at me like I'm an idiot.
　This woman seems to have seen our fight.

'What are you going to do to me?'
Of course I'll go out with the right people. Witch-hunters and such. Brace yourselves.

　I shudder to hear those words.
　Witch hunters are those who hunt those who have made a pact with demons and evil gods.
　Their pursuit is relentless and they are said to die after torture.
　Why should I have to go through that? How absurd.
　And the non-human ones who emerge from the front.
　They are demons called lizardmen.

'Come on, please, Lizardman. Carry that person for me.

　A clerical voice.
　I had to shudder at the voice.