17 10

How would the Lich King, and how would Renji, act?
What could Haruhiro do?
As he’d expected, the Lich King’s Anti-Spell vanished. The blizzard had gotten a lot weaker.
Renji leapt. His ability to jump was not normal. It was like he was dropping from the sky. Renji attacked the Lich King, purple lightning arcing off of him as he did.
There would be no pedestal of sand. That seemed like a safe call. If the undead man went up high, he’d fall prey to Renji. Instead, he rose up, but only slightly. Sand. The sand was gathering. A sand dragon. Haruhiro’s body moved on its own. To the left.
Renji swung his blade down in a maelstrom of purple lightning, and it smashed the floor, kicking up sand and dust.
He’d missed.
The dragon head carried the Lich King to the left.
Haruhiro wasn’t so much lying in wait, as they arrived at the same time. The Lich King hadn’t expected Haruhiro to be there. Haruhiro was surprised to be there himself.
“Ah!”
He ran into me, Haruhiro thought. From Haruhiro’s perspective, it was like the Lich King had tackled him, and it would have been completely unsurprising if he were thrown through the air by the impact, but somehow he clung on, dagger out, his left arm wrapped around the Lich King’s head. The crown slipped off, and Haruhiro was nearly thrown, but despite the Lich King’s skeletal appearance, he still had hair. It was white, or gray, and pretty long. Haruhiro grabbed it with his left hand.
Holding his dagger with a backhand grip, he tried to slam it through the Lich King’s face.
He’d honestly almost managed it when the sand at the Lich King’s feet formed up into something. Well, not so much something as...
“Me...?!”
It was Haruhiro. Well, no, not Haruhiro himself, obviously. It just looked like him.
Once he was tussling with his own fake, he wasn’t able to hold on to the Lich King any longer. He got on top of the fake Haruhiro, then ended up under him, and then got back on top again. He finally managed to slit the fake Haruhiro’s throat and jumped off.
Renji was surrounded by multiple fakes, new ones forming even as he slashed and destroyed the ones around him. Matsuyagi, Shinohara, and Kimura, as well as Ron, Tokimune, and Tada were fighting a bunch of fakes not far from Haruhiro.
The Lich King. Where is he?
There.
The Lich King was closer than Haruhiro had thought, standing only six, seven meters away.
He’s just one person. Uh, can I call him a person? Eh, I guess he was human originally, so sure, why not?
The enemy could only use one power at a time. That was more or less certain at this point. He’d dispelled the dragon head to create fakes. While he was making fakes, he couldn’t do anything else.
It felt like the Lich King wasn’t watching Haruhiro. Well, since he didn’t have eyeballs, he wasn’t looking at anything, really. But his body and face weren’t turned toward Haruhiro.
Could this be my chance?
Couldn’t I get him now?
Maybe it would have been better if Haruhiro had moved before thinking, but who knows? He couldn’t say one way or the other.
The Lich King slammed the butt of his scepter against the floor and raised his right hand, the one wearing the golden gauntlet.
Something felt intensely wrong. That’s the only way to describe it.
Basically, it was instinct. Haruhiro dropped to the ground, suddenly feeling like he couldn’t breathe. Why did he hit the ground? He couldn’t explain it. But a shining golden globe had appeared in front of the Lich King’s outstretched hand, then split into three, and shot off.
“Demon Call, Zodie!” Sensing the danger, Ranta summoned his dread knight familiar, the demon Zodie.
Did Haruhiro see one of those golden bullets that had broken off of the globe whiz past over his head? Whether he was able to see it or not, he was certain that had he not been on the ground, it would have hit him.
“Whoa!” Ranta shouted. Haruhiro looked in time to see his party’s dread knight pathetically sprawled out on the ground. The demon he’d summoned was nowhere to be seen. Had it vanished? After blocking the golden bullet? Had it shielded Ranta?
“Wha—?!”
Based on his current position, Renji had jumped to the side. He must have reflexively dodged the bullet. But there was another person right behind him.
Orion’s giant warrior. Was that a hole in Matsuyagi’s flank? It was like a deep, black stain. Was that where the golden bullet had hit him?
Matsuyagi dropped the warhammers he held in both hands. He’d been running at the time. His body was tilted forward, leaning more and more. Matsuyagi fell over to the side.
“Whahhhh...?!”
Whose voice was that? For a moment, Haruhiro didn’t know. There was no way Shinohara’s voice could crack like that. Surprisingly, it had. Shinohara was flat on his backside. That was strange too. It looked like someone had shoved him away.
The only possible conclusion was that Shinohara had been pushed away by Kimura, who had been right next to him.
Why had Kimura done that?
Why was Kimura tumbling toward Shinohara?
The leader of Orion caught him. “You... You’re dead. Kimura, why...?” “De—” Haruhiro was speechless.
He’s dead.
Kimura.
Matsuyagi too.
Haruhiro and Renji had dodged in the nick of time, while Ranta had survived by sacrificing his demon. It had killed a giant like Matsuyagi in a single blow, as if he were nothing. If that magic hit, it was guaranteed to end you on the spot. Call it an instant-death spell.
It could have just as easily been Haruhiro, or Renji, or Ranta, or Shinohara instead. Any one of them could have died.
If the Lich King could use that instant-death spell again, even more might fall.
It could be Haruhiro’s turn next. He might lose one of his comrades.
Haruhiro was still on the ground, staring at the Lich King. He couldn’t move.
He was terrified.
His whole body cowered. But even beyond that, his brain refused to function.
Obviously, he couldn’t stay like this, so Haruhiro got up immediately. But the situation was not good. Very not good. It was extremely bad. His field of vision narrowed, and all he could see was the Lich King. He couldn’t keep track of his comrades or the other members of the force. It was scary. He couldn’t help but be afraid. If the Lich King used that instant-death spell, he absolutely had to avoid it. No, his comrades came before himself. Okay, sure, but what did that mean? Kimura had covered Shinohara. If Haruhiro were in a position to do so, he’d do the same. He definitely would. If it was possible, at least. The only one anywhere near him was Ranta. His comrades. He had to figure out where his comrades were. But he couldn’t look away from the Lich King.
“Rahhhhhh...!” Renji.
Oh, it’s Renji.
Wow. That’s Renji for you.
Recovering before anyone else, Renji swung at the Lich King, electricity arcing as he did, but the sand dragon head carried the Lich King away. The purple energy chased after him, but the sand dragon head was a little faster.
It was pulling farther and farther away from Renji.
The Lich King was getting more distant from the platform with the throne. There were no members of the team where he was going. “Delm, hel, en, balk, zel, arve...!” Mimorin targeted the Lich King with two, then three Blasts. The sand dragon head slithered out of the way each time, but that was a reminder. They had magic on their side too.
“Now! We’re just getting started, people!” Tokimune shouted. He sounded cheerful, and brave. There wasn’t a person out there who wouldn’t be encouraged by hearing that voice.
Haruhiro took off running. He was scared. Damn scared. So scared he couldn’t see what was going on around him very well. But being frightened wouldn’t get him anywhere. The Lich King was going to use that instant-death spell when he could. They had to take him down. Defeat him. Kill the Lich King. That meant Haruhiro didn’t have the option to stand by. If nothing else, he could act as a target for the spell. If he got hit by it and died, that would at least mean someone else didn’t.
“Delm, hel, en, giz, balk, zel, arve...!”
“Zeel, mare, gram, eld, nilug, io, sel...!”
“Jess, yeen, sark, viki, teo, meo, fram, dart, ul, dio, zeon...!”
The Orion mages and Adachi cast Arve, Kanon, and Falz magic. None of them were nearly so gentle as Mimorin’s Blast.
The Lich King returned his dragon head to sand, and put up an AntiSpell to block them.
Meanwhile, Renji was closing in on him.
“Greahhhhhh...!”
Purple lightning violently assaulted the Lich King.
Maybe this is going to work.
The Lich King dropped his Anti-Spell. Whatever he meant to do next, Renji’s greatsword would get him first. Renji wouldn’t need a second strike. He’d finish it in one blow.
And yet, that sort of optimistic assumption had a way of clouding people’s eyes, making them misjudge things. Renji definitely closed the gap, but not quite enough.
The Lich King slammed the butt of his scepter on the floor, turning his gauntleted hand toward Renji. The golden globe had already appeared.
It was close, but Renji’s greatsword wouldn’t reach the Lich King. The instant-death spell would fire first.
Unlike Haruhiro, who had fallen into the trap of optimistic thinking, Renji knew that. That’s why he stopped his swing and turned around.
“Renji...!” someone shouted.
The golden globe split into three. That instant-death spell, the terrifying bullets that would bring on a death that could not be resisted, shot forth.
“Out of the way!” a roar echoed through the chamber.
Someone charged toward the Lich King, taking Renji’s place.
“Shinohara-san...?!” Haruhiro had been following Renji with his eyes. That was why he hadn’t noticed Shinohara. They’d just lost Kimura. Shinohara had seemed overwhelmed. But rather than be laid low by his grief, he’d been spurred to revenge.
But, man, that’s dangerous.
The Lich King’s instant-death spell had already fired.
Shinohara ran straight at the golden bullet.
At this rate, wouldn’t all three of them hit him straight on? In his hands Shinohara didn’t hold a sword, but a dully gleaming shield. He was going to use it to defend himself and then tackle the undead lord. But could a shield block the instant-death spell? Wasn’t that impossible?
“Whoooooa!” Ranta shouted. The members of Orion, Tokimune, Tada, and Kikkawa were shouting Shinohara’s name. Merry said something too, and Haruhiro shouted despite himself.
Shinohara’s shield shone white, as if it were incredibly hot.
A relic.
It was a relic?
“Urgh...!” The shield clobbered the Lich King, stunning him. Haruhiro already knew that the short sword with the diagonal tip wasn’t normal. Shinohara used it to stab the Lich King through the throat, and he let out a voiceless cry. It was like he had expelled all the air from his lungs at once, and it just happened to produce a sound.
With a twist and a jerk of that strange sword, the Lich King’s head flew high, high into the air. That seemed unnecessary. He didn’t have to do it, but Shinohara probably wouldn’t be satisfied otherwise.
“Nghhhah...!” Shinohara followed up by chopping off the Lich King’s left arm and sending his right flying. Then he bisected the undead, and kicked the lower half out from under him.
The severed head of the Lich King rolled to Shinohara’s feet.
He stomped and crushed it.
That was finally the end.
The Lich King’s form crumbled away to nothing more than sand and dust. All that remained were his clothes, scepter, and golden gauntlet.
“Ahh...” Shinohara gazed up to the heavens. His shoulders rose and fell, his breathing awfully shallow. He might have struggled to stay on his feet without support.
And yet the man who had been his friend was no more.
Shinohara let go of his sword and shield, dropping to his knees. His head hung, and his arms touched the ground. His hands angrily tore through the Lich King’s dust.
“Arrghhhhhhhh...!”
They’d won. The Lich King was finally finished. They’d done it.
But Haruhiro couldn’t possibly say that. He could only remain silent. What was he supposed to say to Shinohara? No matter what words he used, he was sure they would be the wrong ones.
The members of Orion gathered around the remains of Kimura and Matsuyagi. They all seemed concerned for Shinohara, but none of them tried to approach him.
Renji was the only one to walk over to him, thrusting his greatsword into the floor and sitting down. It wasn’t emitting purple electricity anymore. The effect of Aragarfald had already faded. Renji wouldn’t be moving for a while.
“A priest taking the blow for someone else...?” Shinohara mumbled. His voice was low and hoarse. “What were you thinking? That was stupid... My shield could have blocked it...”
“Was that guaranteed?” Renji asked. His breath was ragged. Despite that, he spoke quietly. Had using Aragarfald made it hard for him to talk? Or was he showing respect for the dead?
Shinohara couldn’t answer immediately. It took him some time before he shook his head.
“It was a bit of a gamble. I’ve never been hit by magic like that before.”
“Then Kimura wasn’t an idiot. There was a risk his clan leader might die instantly. If I were in his place, I’d have done the same.”
“You would?”
“Yeah.”
 
 

“The same thing as Kimura... You’d have done that, Renji?”
“He was your friend, right?”
There was a pause before the answer came. “Yeah.”
“It’s not a matter of logic.”
“No... I guess not.” Shinohara let out a long, deep sigh.
Then he picked up the golden gauntlet. The one that had been on the Lich King’s right hand.
The Lich King had turned to dust and vanished. All that remained were his clothing and shoes, his scepter, and the golden gauntlet that Shinohara now held. No, the crown that had fallen from his head while Haruhiro was clinging to him was lying on the ground nearby too.
Relics.
Oh, yeah.
What was it that had kept the Lich King from sleeping, even in death? Considering how his body had crumbled, it probably wasn’t some special power that the king had possessed in life but rather the effect of a relic. In that case, his possessions were the most likely culprits.
Haruhiro crept over and quietly picked up the crown.
It was old and dirty, but decorated with many jewels, large and small. It must have been worth a fortune. But was it a relic? Honestly, Haruhiro had no idea.
Shinohara lifted up the golden gauntlet, held it close to his face, turned it around slowly as if appraising it.
“What do you plan to do with that?” Renji asked. “It’s a relic. Gave the dead king power, kept him from resting.”
“You can tell?” Shinohara asked with a smile.
It was that smile.
His usual affable smile, warm and so very natural, but out of place here, making it clearly unnatural.
“Here’s what I think,” he continued. “In all things, it’s possible to have too much. I don’t know what kind of authority the king who was buried in the Graveyard once wielded. But in the end, he was only human. This much power was too much for any one person to have. Especially one who wasn’t even alive. Not even the living need this sort of power. It’s harmful.” Shinohara held the golden gauntlet in his left hand, his sword in his right. “If I’m fully honest, there’s some resentment involved here. I’m angry. I never thought Kimura would do something like that. It was completely unexpected. I couldn’t react. So I may be taking it out on these things. Renji. If you think I’m trying to do the wrong thing, then please stop me.”
Renji opened his mouth and was about to say something. That’s when Shinohara did it.
He lobbed the golden gauntlet into the air, and his sword flashed.
“Whuh...?!” Ranta cried.
The golden gauntlet fell to the floor in two pieces.
“Nnnrraaaah!” Shinohara hid none of his rage, stomping on the severed gauntlet. Repeatedly. Over and over again. There was no need to go that far, right? It was impossible not to think that, watching him. Did Shinohara have to completely obliterate it before he’d be satisfied? His breathing was ragged. He whaled on the gauntlet and the floor with his sword, and there was no end in sight. No one could stop him.
There was no way to stop him.
“Shit...! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit...!”
Perhaps Shinohara had misjudged his strength, because something caused him to trip and fall. Even once he did, he gripped his sword and was about to swing, but his hand stopped.
“Shit...!”
He was down on all fours again, his sword thrown away haphazardly. The shreds of the golden gauntlet were mixed with the sand and dust. It was like he was trying to bury his face in there. Or was he crying? Maybe he didn’t want anyone to see his tears.
Renji’s eyes were closed.
Haruhiro looked away from Shinohara too. What about the crown? he thought, though it hardly seemed like a good time for that. He’d grabbed it, thinking, It might be a relic, but if it wasn’t, it was just a massively valuable accessory. Depending on how you looked at it, you could say Haruhiro was trying to abscond with some of the treasure. He wouldn’t want to be misunderstood like that. But at the same time, he didn’t want to put it back down. Seriously, what was he supposed to do here?
When he looked back, Shinohara was already standing.
“We’ll have to cremate the two of them here,” Shinohara said, looking around at the members of the platoon. “After that, we’ll take a break before moving on. The operation isn’t over yet. We have to finish this, so their noble sacrifice isn’t in vain.”
Obviously, he wasn’t smiling as he said that. He didn’t seem tense either. If anything, it was an expressionless face. His tone was disinterested, but he might have been suppressing his emotions.
Haruhiro had been suspicious of Shinohara all this time. That was why it seemed off to him. That outburst hadn’t been like Shinohara.
Now he’d changed his tune all too fast. But maybe that was just how Shinohara was? He was just acting like he’d changed gears, but maybe he hadn’t?
What if all of it was an act?
Maybe Haruhiro was the abnormal one for thinking that way.
At the very least, Kimura had cared greatly for Shinohara, to the point that he hadn’t hesitated to give his life for him. He’d been a weirdo, but also a good, loyal friend.
Kimura had cared so much for his friend, cared for him from the depths of his heart, that he might have sided with Haruhiro.
Shinohara wasn’t the only one to suffer from this death. Haruhiro and the others had lost Kimura too.


 
11. Confrontation
It was decided that Orion would divide the Lich King’s scepter, crown, clothes, and shoes and carry them back. They were the proof that the team had slain the ancient king, as well as being valuable treasures in their own right. When the conquest of Mount Grief was complete, they would discuss how the spoils were to be divided among the Frontier Army and Volunteer Soldier Corps.
Matsuyagi and Kimura were cremated in the throne room. Orion had past experience with that, so it got done quickly. The two mages from Orion lit the pyre, then Adachi used Firewall to surround their fallen friends’ remains. Mimorin was about to join in and use Blast, but Haruhiro stopped her. That wouldn’t cremate the bodies, it would just blow them up.
Merry and Anna-san offered prayers that the departed would rest in peace. Tada was a priest too, but he simply stared into the flames, not praying. The usually boisterous Tokkis and a certain masked dread knight were respectfully quiet for once on this occasion.
“We buried Sassa on the Red Continent,” Ron said, out of nowhere. “The No-Life King’s curse doesn’t reach all the way across the sea. It felt wrong to burn her. Even dead, she was a fine woman, you know?”
Shinohara watched, almost without moving, until Kimura and Matsuyagi were reduced to no more than bones and ash. The way he kept his right fist clenched the whole time was particularly memorable.
The members of Orion collected their ashes. They would take them back to Alterna to be interred on the hill where so many other fallen volunteer soldiers had been laid to rest.
There were two doors in the throne room. When they were opened with synchronized unlocking, they led into the area Orion called the treasury.
The treasury was connected to the inside of the old castle at the summit of Mount Grief. It would not be easy to make it through the intricate maze of many small rooms that it comprised.
If the Lich King were still active, that is.
It would have been quite difficult to make it through a maze full of dead ends and forked passages while being attacked by pawns, specters, and phantoms. Orion had faced the challenge a number of times, so they had a more or less complete map of this section. Yet despite finding four different doors, they had never been able to figure out the conditions to do a synchronized unlocking of them.
However, now that the Lich King had been sent to his eternal rest, the treasury was just another maze. They could determine that the two doors that didn’t connect to the throne room must have been decoys or traps. The platoon easily broke through the maze, proceeding as far as the entrance beneath the old castle.
This entrance into the Graveyard had originally been sealed with a stone door. Long ago, Orion had smashed through it, then piled up rocks to block it off again.
When entering the Graveyard, they would move the rocks aside. Then, when they were finished, they would go to all the trouble of sealing the door up again. If other volunteer soldiers—experienced ones like Souma, for instance—were to swarm into the Graveyard and defeat the Lich King, it would have been a huge loss. Orion had done what they could to conceal the Graveyard’s existence as they explored it independently. Maybe it had been petty, but thanks to their decision, the orcs of the Southern Expedition now occupying the old castle didn’t know about the castle entrance. It was still blocked with rocks.
The detached force removed the stones blocking the entrance one by one. It wasn’t a great deal of work, so it barely took any time at all.
The old castle was not large by any means. There were seven towers on the summit connected by curtain walls and a stone building in the middle of them. This structure was where the ruler must have resided, but only the first two floors and parts of the third were still intact. The Volunteer Soldier Corps’ scouts reported that those parts of the third floor were currently being used to build a watchtower.
The castle entrance was in the basement of one of the seven towers. The one farthest from the castle gate. If you were to number the towers starting with the one closest to the gate and rotating clockwise, this would be tower #4. The gate was between tower #1 and tower #7.
The towers were maybe only four meters across on the inside, and had been designed primarily to allow access to the top of the walls using the internal stairs, with the top floor serving as a lookout point that could be used in defending the castle. However, the old castle on top of Mount Grief didn’t just have the prior undead inhabitants anymore; they had been supplemented by the orcs that had relocated from Deadhead Watching Keep and the kobolds that had fled after their defeat at Riverside Iron Fortress. There were reports that some fraction of the kobolds had since left Mount Grief, but the enemy still easily numbered more than a thousand.
Maybe there were enemies in the basement of the tower. That had been a concern, but it proved to be a needless one. The basement of tower #4 was apparently being used for storage. It was packed full of barrels, boxes, bundles of arrow shafts, and what were presumably dried foodstuffs.
Haruhiro, Inui, and Orion’s thief Tsuguta would now send the signal to the main force.
They didn’t know what the situation was like outside, but if the operation was proceeding as planned, then the main force— composed of nearly a hundred of the Frontier Army’s best troops led by Thomas Margo, as well as the Volunteer Soldier Corps’ Wild Angels, Iron Knuckle, and the Berserkers—would be stationed on the path up the mountain to the gates, keeping the enemies holed up within the old castle in check. In addition to them, the main force would have thieves waiting in all directions. No matter where Haruhiro and the others raised the signal, the main force would be notified immediately. Only one of the three needed to succeed. So long as they sent the signal, their job was done, even if they were discovered immediately afterward.
Haruhiro and the others split up once they were out of the basement. Though he’d lost his memories, working as a thief just felt right to Haruhiro. Tsuguta had a career of more than ten years in the same job. Inui was a hunter currently, but also had experience as a thief. There was no point in their kind traveling together. It was when they were on their own that they shined the brightest. Er, that is to say, thieves were at their best when trying not to stand out, and to accomplish their goals while running and hiding. They didn’t need to shine. Not in the slightest.
Tsuguta passed luminous rods to Inui and Haruhiro. If they pushed hard on one end and then removed the sheath-like cap, the rod would heat up and emit light for several minutes. Haruhiro had no idea how they worked, but they were apparently not relics, but an invention of the gnomes who lived beneath the Tenryu Mountains. The dwarves of the Kurogane Mountain Range were apparently producing replicas based on them too.
The plan was that Haruhiro and Inui would go to send the signal. Tsuguta would remain in hiding, watching them, and if they succeeded, he would relay that information to the rest of the detached force. If they failed, he would send the signal in their stead.
Whatever the case, once the signal went out to the main force, Shinohara would lead the detached force into action. Their primary task was to open the castle gates from the inside.
If they could assassinate commanders to disrupt the enemy, that would be good too, but they had no idea where to find them. The unit of orcs that had been garrisoned at Deadhead Watching Keep were likely leading the orcs here. But that was only an educated guess. They didn’t have much to go on.
First they would open the gate, allowing the main force to penetrate the old castle.
Before this, the Volunteer Soldier Corps had brilliantly retaken Riverside Iron Fortress, despite being massively outnumbered by the kobolds that had held it. The volunteer soldiers excelled in chaotic conditions, and if they could just get close to the enemy, they could bring their full potential to bear.
There was noise somewhere in the distance.
The area around tower #4, where the castle entrance was placed, was relatively quiet. It seemed likely that the enemy had focused their forces near the gate. The rest of the place would be much less defended.

Chapter end