NOVEL NEXT chapter 35
35. The Gathering of the Resistance
As Wide and Ayla wait for the members of the Resistance, the sounds of rocks shattering and screams echo from afar.
“Perhaps it’s the Great Sage’s trap; the transmitter has been destroyed.”
Wide answers, slightly taken aback.
Ayla nods but adds, “Yeah, with it being that intense, a precise magical device would be rendered useless.”
Suddenly,
A flash of light from a teleportation spell streaks from behind.
“Hey! Did I keep you waiting?”
Wide and Ayla turn around simultaneously.
“Oh, it’s you…!” “Gora-san…!”
They freeze at the sight of the Eg perched on Gora’s shoulder.
“W-What are you doing, old man?!”
Ayla exclaims, pointing in shock.
“N-No, the weather’s just been bad today…”
Gora looks away, trying to brush it off.
“Brushing it off is pointless!? What were you thinking, bringing Eg, whom Elg-san cherishes like a gem!?”
Wide chimes in, following suit.
Ayla then turns to the members of the combat unit.
“And why are you all letting this happen?!”
The entire combat unit wears apologetic expressions as they reluctantly explain the situation.
◇◇◇
“No!!”
“Even so, it’s dangerous…”
“I don’t care!!!”
Eg stubbornly refuses to move away from the teleportation magic circle, throwing a tantrum.
Gora and the elite members of the Resistance exchange glances, struggling against Eg’s unyielding stance.
—
—
“Gora, there’s no time left; we have no choice but to take her.”
“What if something happens if we do that…?”
Both of them are perplexed.
Gora rummages through his pockets and pulls out a piece of candy.
“Hey, kid, I’ll give you some sweets, so wait for your dad at home… aaaH!?”
Gora’s hand is bitten, and he writhes in pain.
“Wha—!? You’re strong!?”
Even the elite of the Resistance, who had rarely experienced pain, were astonished to see Gora, usually unyielding, wounded by a nine-year-old.
“Ugh! Enough already! Let’s go! You lot!”
“Eh?!”
Despite their confusion, they cling to Gora.
When they tried to pry him away, they saw Egu resisting and reluctantly accepted the situation.
◇◇◇
“Seriously, this is unacceptable!”
Aira exploded in anger, but there was no time to waste on the plan.
From afar, screams and thunderous sounds echoed continuously.
“Tch! It can’t be helped! My dad and I will rescue Elg! Wide, you handle the traps! Got it?!”
Everyone agreed to Aira’s orders and began the operation.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Whoa!”
“Are you coming along too…?”
◇◇◇
“Hah… Hah… This is never-ending.”
Gildia surveyed the current situation.
Corpses lay strewn about, with only about nine remaining.
Most had been decimated by the twelve Iron Golems that had come to finish them off. Gildia had crushed eight of them himself. The remaining four struggled against traps, and now, with their stamina depleted, they were no match for them.
“Gyaaah!?”
Another one fell.
And perhaps due to the lapse in concentration, a magical trap activated, freezing Gildia’s feet in place.
And it was not the golem that missed the opportunity,
but Gildia, who aimed to crush with a fist as if to deliver the final blow,
recalls the past.
◇◇◇
My parents died in the war when I was five. Left as an orphan, I found myself in a situation where I could only die in the alleys, lacking the skills to steal. The war with the Demon King’s army had been ongoing, but humanity had greatly declined due to the full-scale attacks that had begun.
In such an era, the birth of orphans seemed inconsequential, whether they died in the streets or not.
In that state, I sought help from a soldier-like figure clad in a black suit who happened to pass by.
“＜Help me＞”
At those words, the soldier immediately lifted me up,
looking at me with a face that seemed unable to comprehend.
And then I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I was in a hospital, having undergone various examinations,
and that soldier had arrived.
“You have talent. If you don’t want to die, live for your country,”
the man said, and I nodded.
From that point on, my days became a tedious passage of time.
I underwent various curriculums and training, mastering the art of revelation. My revelation was named Order.
It was something that compelled the content of instructions to a certain extent.
It also applied to myself, and the more will I had to comply with the instructions, the greater the effect.
I absolutely believed in my own commands.
And I trained the new recruits of the military as an instructor.
At my request, many of the recruits were orphans just before adulthood. Why? I don’t know, but I regret it.
I educated them to follow my instructions; physical punishment was
easily applied using the interrogation techniques trained in the military.
However, the training was interrupted under circumstances that could not be deemed perfect. This was because the Demon King’s army had unleashed monsters into the nearby forest. The monsters were tamed by the demon race, and to top it all off,
the high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army, ＜Species King＞ Basbanosku, appeared.
With the nearby forest under siege, days passed without a moment’s respite. I continued to wear myself thin over the dwindling number of comrades and food.
One day, a party of three adventurers appeared.
“We will kill the Four Heavenly Kings.”
Those words, which I could not dismiss as mere delusions, were likely born from my desperate plea for help.
—
Before long, a march into the Forest of Demons was planned.
No matter where we entered, Basbanosk remained at the heart of the forest.
My troops were to charge in together.
At first glance, it seemed a reckless operation,
but I understood in my mind that there was no other way,
no matter how impossible it seemed.
The battle began.
It was hell.
I killed the monsters and sent commands.
Before I knew it, my trained troops were disappearing one by one.
And after losing all my comrades,
I was saved,
by the party’s magician.
I had not the slightest doubt as to why it was only me.
That day, for the first time, I shed tears.
Was it regret, or fear? I couldn’t tell why.
Perhaps that’s why, even now, I’m still unaccustomed to being saved.
The Iron Golem was blown away by the magical artillery fired from afar,
and like a row of dominoes, three of them fell together.
“Everyone! Charge!!”
The figure that saved me overlapped with that magician.
“Ah, not again.”
I sought a reason for the tears that spilled unconsciously,
but I couldn’t find one.