Shirone the Maiden of Swords

'Nonsense!　You're moving better?

　Zafarada, the princess of fresh blood, screamed in the air.
　At first, Zafarada had the upper hand, but once I and the silver-haired Kuna with white hair got better at coordinating our efforts, the form reversed.
　We're in the middle of flying and fighting over the forest.

''You!''

　A red light, emitted from Zafarada, flies towards me.
　However, that red flash is blocked by the magical shield made by Kuna.
　In the meantime, I closed the distance and slashed at Zafarada.
　Naturally, I am caught by the claws.
　Zafarada's power is stronger than mine and his movements are faster than mine.
　So if I continue to fight him head-on, I'll eventually lose.
　But it won't happen.
　Kuna, the silver-haired white-haired child who has transitioned with a glowing butterfly, attacks Zafarada's rear by surprise.
　Of course, this is not an opponent that can be defeated by that.
　Zafarada's red bat wings prevent Kuna's scythe, but there's an opening there.

''Silone!''
I know!　The Heavenly Winged Slaying Demon Sword!

　Answering Kuna's call, I hold the sword on my shoulder and rotate my body to deliver a desperate blow.
　Of course, my claws prevent me from doing so, but I swing straight through!
　The sword slashes through the claws and cuts through Zafarada's body.

''Ughhhh!''

　Irresistibly, Zafarada moved away from us.
　We couldn't defeat her, but she still managed to do quite a bit of damage.
　She shoots out a red mist from her body, preventing us from getting close.
　That fog is tricky.
　It has the effect of sucking the life out of the surrounding creatures and restoring Zafarada.
　That's why Kuna and I attack while blowing away the red mist with magic.
　However, since it's while blowing it away, the attack is delayed.
　In the meantime, Zafarada recovers.　
　The battle goes like this.
　We have the upper hand, but we can't defeat Zafarada.
　In the meantime, the forest is a mess.
　We want to get rid of them quickly, but what should we do?

Sirone. Looks like we have a winner.

　Cuna says something like that when I'm distressed.
　Kuna is looking in a certain direction.
　Out of the corner of her eye, she sees something huge.
　It's a huge deer with golden horns.

'That's the deer god of the forest!　You came out!

　Zafarada exclaims.
　Kellununnos, the deer god of the forest, is the deer god of Kellunea.
　He is quiet and doesn't usually come out of the woods.
　It is said that he controls the seasons, and when his antlers fall off, winter begins, and when his antlers begin to grow again, it is spring.
　The fact that the quiet deer god comes out in the open seems to indicate that he is very angry with Zafarada.
　And if you look closely, you can see the trees moving in the forest.
　It seems that the green men (green men) have also come to join us.
　Many arrows of light fly from the horns of Kellununnos and attack Zafarada.
　Zafarada is unable to prevent them and takes damage.
　Apparently, the Deer God is pretty strong.
　The wind blows as the Green Men (Green Man) and the others glow green and blow away the red mist.
　This made it difficult for Zafarada to recover.

'You've lost, Zafarada. The originally neutral ones are coming out.

　Coona shouts.
　I look around the battlefield and see that the orcs have fallen and the goblins are fleeing.
　Even in the heavens, the serpent princes seem to be starting to retreat.
　It would be impossible for Zafarada to continue fighting in this situation.

''Hmph, not yet. Botis's venom is still there!　You guys are going to have to watch the resurrection of the wesen with your fingers in your mouths!

　When I say that, Zafarada moves away from us with great speed.
　He seems to have escaped.

'What do you mean by Botis poison?'

　I nod my head.

'That's probably the one you're talking about, Silone.

　Coona looks towards the scythe pointed at him.
　A certain part of the forest is covered by what looks like a glowing dome.
　That part of the forest must have been home to a dwarf village.

''What the hell was that!''
I don't know. But I don't think they're done with you.

　I nodded at Kuna's words.
　For now, let's meet up with Chiyuki and the others.


◆Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man.

　Botis leaves.
　We meet up at the fort of Carthaghov.
　The orcs and goblins on the ground have fled.
　Up in the sky, the serpent prince has retreated.
　In other words, we've won.
　As it should be: .......

Even the angels can't seem to break those wards, can they, Mr. Chiyuki?

　I nod to Reno.
　The magical images show the angels trying to break the wards, but it's not working.

'Yes, Reno. The serpent princes' target is the dwarf village. The attack on the elven city was all just a stepping stone to set up that ward.
You're right, but isn't that pointless?　It's true that rescue is difficult, but even the enemy can't send enough troops to attack,

　All those present looked at each other at Nao's words.
　Indeed, Nao is right.
　There is no indication that the serpent prince has sent enough troops towards the dwarf village to drop it.
　There are only wolves.
　The dwarves have sent a large number of troops to the elven city as relief, but I hear that they still have quite a bit of strength left.
　If it was only the wolves, they should be able to defend it.
　It was at that time.
　Suddenly the forest seemed to shake.

'What?　Now?

　When he returns, Shirone stands up in surprise.

'Powerful waves!　The Wesen is about to wake up!

　Nia, who was at his side, also had a surprised look on her face.
　Along with the wave motion, I thought I heard the roar of a wolf.
　This is despite being blocked by the wards.

''Ko, isn't this tasteless?''

　Nao, who had been watching the video, spoke up.

'Don't wince, boys. There's nothing to worry about. It's true that the snakes must have been doing something. But they must have miscalculated, too. That there is the strongest wall in there.

　Coona, the silver-haired child, looks at the wards and laughs.
　She doesn't seem to be worried.
　What does that mean?
　I was looking at the wards.


Dark Knight Kroki.

　Suddenly a ward was formed and they found themselves trapped.
　And it seems that a pack of werewolves is coming towards the dwarven village.　
　Myself and the dwarves decide to gather in the conference room to discuss the situation.
　By the way, Raina and the elves are not there.
　They don't seem to have any particular intention of discussing it. I'm sure they are practicing with Kouki's sword right now.

''Grandfather. What do they have in mind?　Are they going to drop this place with that many?

　The Dwarf King Arberon tilts his head and asks Heybos.
　The battle had begun and the dwarven god Heybos had descended to the land.
　He was worried because of the unprecedented attack of the enemy.

I do not understand. I do not know, Kroki the Dark Knight, what do you think? What do you think?

　Heibos asks and I nod my head.
　Averon was right, there are a lot of wolves, but not enough to drop this place.
　There are quite a few golem defenders left.
　They'll be easy to defend.
　However, something is tricky.
　It's hard to believe that they're just trying to keep them from rescuing us while putting up such a large scale warding.

''I don't know. I'm sure they'll try to set something up for us. ......

　When I say that, the dwarves think about it.
　There is no doubt that they will do something.
　I'm ready to take on the form of a dark knight at any time.
　However, it was eerie not knowing what they would do.

''Well, for now. We have to fight off those wolves. Hm?　What's going on?

　That's when Arberon was about to give the order to fight back.
　There was a commotion outside the room.

'What's going on!　What happened!

　Heybos shouts, and one dwarf comes in.

'Oh my God!　The golems suddenly stopped listening to me!　It's going out of control!
What?

　Those who were present stand up and leave the room to see what's going on.
　Magical images show the golems running amok.

''No!　This will not hold the wolves back!　You must hurry up and get these golems back on track!　Then we'll check out the golems in the basement!

　Arberon leaves the room.
　His face is pale.
　The golem that intercepted the wolf was no longer available, but rather an enemy.
　No wonder he's upset.　

''What is going on!　No way, can one of them control a golem?

　Many dwarves leave, and Heybos nods his head.
　Then someone comes in again.

'We've got the one who's been letting the golem run amok!

　One of the several dwarves who entered was bound among them.
　It was a strange dwarf.
　He was scrawny, with scissored prosthetic hands.
　His nose is wide and his eyes are bloodshot.

'It has been a long time. Grandfather.

　The bound dwarf bows to Heybos.

'You are a rebezal!　Why you, Lord?
I'm sorry ....... But there's nothing we can do about this Libesar. With this arm, I can't make anything. I loved making things, and if I can't do that, then I'm going to break it all down. ......

　Then Libesar laughs.
　His eyes are tinged with madness.

''Is that the reason you let the golem run amok?
'Yes. Other than that, I've also sent the golem this Libesar made in the past to go underground. To unleash the Wesen. Kishashashashashash.

　Libesar lets out a sickening laugh.

'The Lord was a skilled golem maker. He was an excellent gnome user. ......

　Heybos looks sad.

'Oh Grandfather. This Libesar was dazzled by you. I wanted to be a better craftsman than you. ......

　Libesar looked at his own prosthetic hand.
　He seemed to be unable to hold on to his feelings of helplessness.　

'Take him away and put him in prison.

　Heybos says and the dwarves take Ribesal away.

'Lord Heybos. That man has been tricked by the snakes. Otherwise, I don't see why he would be with the snakes.'

　I've heard about Libesar from Averon.
　He was a skilled craftsman, but he lost his skills and went mad.
　That's where he was spotted by the snake men.

'Comfort me, dark knight. I'm sorry. But we have no time for that now. We must do something about the situation.

　Heybos let out a sigh.
　The wolves have attacked, and the golem, the key to their defense, has gone out of control.
　And the seal of the wesen is about to be broken.

''The golems are going out of control!　What's going on!

　Someone else is coming in.
　This time it's Raina.
　Kouki is at her feet, and the elves are behind her.

'Raina?　It's bad. The seal on the wesen is about to be broken.
What?

　Heybos says and Raina looks surprised.

'Perhaps it will take some time to break all the seals. We must now go underground and link them together again with a new chain of seals. This Heybos will have to go.''
'Grandfather!　It's dangerous!　That's a dangerous place to be!

　When Heybos says this, the dwarves stop him.
　Heavos wants to enter the underground palace of Nargol, the goddess of destruction, where the weak are not allowed to enter.
　It is not for the weak to enter there.
　That's why the dwarves don't go in there directly, but let the lifeless golems manage the basement.
　Besides, I've heard that there are still some demons that will attack the living if they see them.
　It's quite a dangerous place.
　There was no reason to stop them.

But we have to stop the wesen right here, right now.

　Heybos might feel responsible for what Lizabelle had done.
　Besides, if the wesen was as dangerous as the rumors said, he would have to stop them here.

''Mister Heybos. I'm going too. This is why I am here.

　I see myself looking at Heybos.

'I'm sorry ....... By nature, you're not supposed to be involved in this conflict .......
No, I'm not unconnected. I don't want to destroy this world myself.

　I answer with a shake of my head.
　I already consider myself a resident of this world.
　I don't think I'm immune to it.
　I will fight those who try to destroy this world.

All right, we'll go together. I'm glad you're here.

　After saying this, Heybos looks at Raina.

'I know, Heybos. I'll seize the golem and the wolf while you guys are gone. Go ahead.

　Raina nodded, noticing the gaze.
　No rescue is coming for the warding.
　We need Raina's help to seize the powerful golem.
　Myself and Heybos decide to leave the conference room and head to the basement.
　And that's when we were about to walk past Kouki.

'Kuroki-sensei. Can you teach me the sword again?

　Kouki says, looking up at himself.

'Yeah, when I get another chance. In the meantime, you're going to practice repeating what you taught me.

　He kneels on the floor and pats Kouki's head.
　I don't know if Kouki will become a strong swordsman or not.
　But I've done my best to respond to Kouki's efforts to become stronger.
　The next time we meet, I hope he will be even stronger.
　I smiled at Kouki and stood up, heading to the basement where the wesen waits.