At that same moment.
Garm’s mouth fell wide open, and Furcas’s eyes widened slightly.
Both of them were looking in the same direction. Even without following their gaze, it was obvious what lay ahead.
“Ah… I see.”
Garm’s small lips trembled. Looking out into the distance, she narrowed her large, moist eyes.
“So that’s what I meant by ‘nostalgic’.”
Nostalgic. Garm had indeed felt that way about some strange magical power. Garm whispered the word once more, as if everything had finally clicked into place.
“King… same. …That child, same as Garm…”
“──!”
I could feel Nifl catch her breath beside me. The aura of anxiety released by my usually calm right hand made the blood drain from my face.
I’m sure if I looked back now, I would know.
Behind me──in the Sleepless Kingdom that could be clearly seen even from here, I would know exactly what was happening.
“Ah, well… that’s out of my specialty~ …In fact, it’s my natural enemy.”
Those were Furcas’s words, a man usually full of innocent confidence backed by absolute strength, now tinged with resignation.
My body stiffened at the information dropped by both Garm and Furcas.
Turning around with a movement as slow and stiff as rusted tin, what leapt into my field of vision was—a torrent of magical power swirling around the Sleepless City.
Magical energy, so dense it was visible to the naked eye, welled up from the ground like thick mud, swallowing the Sleepless City as if the water level were rising.
The sheer abnormality of the situation made me lose track of time. I only came to my senses after that mud-like mana had completely blanketed the city.
[──OOOOOOoooooo…]
The reddish-purple mana covered the Sleepless City in a dome, making it impossible to see what was happening inside from the outside.
But that didn’t matter right now.
Just before the mana had shrouded the city…
I saw it—clothed in a storm, looming tall.
That was the true identity of the “strange mana” Garm had mentioned.
Garm had described the scent of that mana as “nostalgic.”
Furcas had loathed it, calling it a “natural enemy.”
The natural enemy of demons. A creature loved by the world, inhabiting this land as a natural part of the world’s mechanism.
A beast that wields the world’s mana as its own weapon.
──A Primordials. A superior existence to humanity.
[I saw two giant snakes.]
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Ultimately, that nightmare became a reality and manifested within the Sleepless City.
Two shadows crawled along the ground, rampaging. They moved purely on emotion, yet they were not the main body.
A blurred silhouette took the shape of a four-legged beast.
The two shadows that looked like snakes were running through the capital at the beast’s whim.
They weren’t snakes.
They were two massive tails.
The nightmare seen by the residents of the Sleepless City was merely a fraction of an even larger beast.
“Nifl, Teleport.”
“The dome is functioning as a powerful magical barrier; I cannot teleport inside. That strength cannot be replicated with modern magic. It is likely the work of a Greater Demon.”
“Seere?”
“Judging by the circumstances.”
I can never thank Nifl enough for staying calm and quickly grasping the situation even at a time like this.
Nifl’s three coordinate settings are for me, Eljudnit, and the inn in the Sleepless City… but they’re useless in this situation. Teleporting without fixed coordinates requires a massive amount of time and mana depending on the number of people and the distance.
If we can’t teleport, our only option is to return by carriage.
“Furcas, can you break that magical barrier?”
“I won’t know until I touch it! But if a demon made it, there’s no reason this lowly fellow can’t break it!”
“Then break it. Seere is in there; I’m almost certain of it. You have business with him too, don’t you?”
“Hmm? Well, putting my duties aside, I can’t say no to a request from none other than Shiou-kun, nya~”
Whether or not I can trust his words isn’t the issue. Breaking that dome is the top priority right now.
At any rate, we don’t have time to stand around anymore.
I know it would definitely be better to charge in after analyzing the situation inside, the enemy’s identity, and their objective. I understand that.
However──Hresvelgr might still be in there.
As long as that possibility remains, I don’t have a single second to sit here with my hands tied.
“Let’s regroup with Gurba and head back to the Sleepless City by carriage. Garm, are you okay?”
“U-um, yeah!”
Garm, who jumped at my call, hurriedly ran past me and pulled my hand.
“H-hey, King! That child… I want to save them!”
Garm’s face was twisted in pain as she pleaded desperately.
“They said they were betrayed… they said help me!”
“That child…?”
“The one with the strange mana… the child who’s just like Garm!”
What Garm is talking about might be the Primordials at the center of the disaster currently attacking the Sleepless City.
In normal times, I could casually say, “Leave it to me,” but… this time, it probably won’t be that easy.
The situation isn’t simple enough to let us have our way completely against a Primordials.
I can’t give a guarantee, but…
──What kind of King would I be if I couldn’t even grant a single request from a subordinate who’s like a sister and never asks for anything?
Once again, my past self is tormenting me.
If you don’t have the leeway, then squeeze every bit of effort to make some. I know it’s a contradiction!
The one hundred and eighty years’ worth of feelings from the Eight Precepts, which sank into my skin when Hresvelgr confronted me with those words.
To pay that back, it has to be a challenge as unreasonable as this, or it wouldn’t be a fair trade.
“Garm──don’t worry, everything will go well. With this Corpse King and you Eight Precepts on the job. …How’s that? Pretty cool, right?”
Garm blinked her eyes wide in surprise.
Then, her eyes sparkled as if she were looking at a hero.
“~~~! The King is, as expected, the King!”
“That’s right, I’m Garm’s King after all.”
When I said that, Nifl, who had been watching warmly until then, pushed my back hard and spoke rapidly.
“The carriage is just a bit further, let us hurry, the situation will not wait.”
“A-ah, right.”
“To even be jealous of Garm, what a narrow-minded cow-boob.”
Fortunately, Nidhogg’s grumbling from inside the cloak didn’t seem to reach Nifl.
Nidhogg’s voice sounded somewhat buoyant, bouncing as if she were having fun.
“Nidhogg, I’ll need your full strength this time. I’m counting on you.”
“Mu, nihaha! Leave it to me, my King! I shall crush every foolish obstacle standing before the King with my claws and fangs!”
Feeling an immense sense of security from the most reliable of the Eight Precepts, we climbed over the rubble and returned to the carriage.
“We’re going, aren’t we, Young Master?”
“Yeah! As expected, you already know!”
Gurba had already finished preparations for departure and had the back of the carriage open.
As I nodded, everyone piled into the carriage. Gurba seemed taken aback by Furcas appearing with us, but he silently started the carriage.
While exposed to the gusts created by the torrent of mana covering the Sleepless City, we hammered out a plan to move quickly.
“For now, we’ll proceed on the assumption that Furcas can break the magical barrier, okay?”
“I have to do that if I want to exterminate Seere, after all~”
“If the Knight is no good, I shall smash it to pieces!”
“How?”
“If I go all out, I can make it happen somehow!”
I do feel like things would work out if this girl went all out.
However, since we’d have to be prepared for even more collateral damage in that case, I remained silent and kept that option in reserve.
“Once we’re inside. Me, Garm, and Nidhogg will take on the Primordials. I want Nifl to search for Hresvelgr. If she’s not there, that’s fine, but… I’m worried.”
“Understood!”
“A joint struggle with my King…! It’s like a mated pair’s──mgh.”
“Understood.”
Nifl, who had covered Nidhogg’s mouth with blinding speed, gave her respectful consent.
“As for me, me!”
Seeing Furcas’s excitement, which was like a dog waiting for food, I hallucinated a tail wagging behind him.
“You’re free to look for Seere. You weren’t originally part of Helheim’s personnel anyway.”
“Don’t say that, Shiou-kun, it’s lonely!”
“Argh, fine, I get it, so stop clinging to me! Then you act with Nifl as you see fit! If you find Seere along the way, kill him!”
“Roger that! Looking forward to it, Half-pint-chan! This is great, I’m getting pumped up!”
Completely disregarding the cold stare Nifl gave him, Furcas trembled with excitement.
“Gurba, I want to ask you for something other than combat. It’s absolutely necessary to settle this commotion properly.”
“I see. I don’t care for fighting. That would be much more relaxing.”
Gurba nodded without asking any questions. He says that, but most of my current combat power relies on the Demon Armaments he made. I truly can’t thank him enough.
What I want to ask Gurba… it’s the key to dealing with the curse.
The suddenly appeared Primordials. The nightmare of the Sleepless City. There’s likely a connection between these two.
Normally, dealing with a curse is extremely difficult. But if what I’m thinking of can be procured, that won’t be the case.
“That’s the general flow. After that, let’s go wild as we please.”
[Yes!]
“Nice! As I thought, things aren’t boring when Shiou-kun is around!”
I shook my head at Furcas’s praise, which was quite dishonorable for me──and glared at the path ahead of the carriage.
“Helheim, begin operation.”
■
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