Chapter 49. Operation (4)

Alden.

The former Champion of the Colosseum.

He's practically my teacher and benefactor, the guy who gave me delicious soup when I was a kid and taught me all sorts of Weapon Skills and Aura Cultivation Methods.

But why is he here… after he broke his shackles and ran away during a match with an Ogre, I hadn't heard a single thing about him for years.

Ah.

Now that I think about it, he was a Knight of the fallen Kingdom.

“…Are you one of the Remnants of the Lugard Kingdom?”

It seemed plausible enough, so I asked.

“Yeah, that's right.”

A matter-of-fact reply came back.

“Oh, what happened?”

“Nowhere else to go.”

“There's the Empire, you know.”

“Still, I went to see my fellow countrymen first, dammit.”

Damn.

Of all places, he had to go *there*.

“Are you into Demon Worship too?”

“Are you crazy? Those guys are fucking nuts.”

I asked just in case, but it seems like he isn't.

“…I heard the two groups joined forces.”

“That was our foolish Princess's worst possible choice.”

Princess?

Is the fallen Kingdom's Princess leading the remnants?

“So shouldn't you at least *pretend* to worship them? Since they joined forces.”

“Fuck you, kid, I still have some pride.”

Saying that, Alden took his foot off me.

“…Can I get up now?”

“Try attacking me if you want, you little shit.”

“I won’t.”

Am I crazy?

I just saw how monstrous he is.

Besides, if it's Alden, I don't need to fight him for my life.

So I brushed off the dirt from my armor and got up.

“So, if you’re not worshipping, why did you come?”

“Because that foolish Princess asked me to, why else.”

“So can you take down the Squad Leader over there?”

I asked this out of genuine curiosity.

He seems to be top-class among Aura Users.

Did he reach Aura Master level?

“I came here for the final blow on an already-weakened Aura Master, but it doesn't look like it’s going to happen.”

However, Alden answered that he wasn't an Aura Master yet.

…Such strength even without being a Master.

How strong *are* Masters, then?

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Go back, what else.”

It’s funny that he's just going to leave after knocking out four Knights…

Still, it’s a relief. It’s good that Alden isn’t drawing his sword right now.

“Not interested in the Void Family? They feed you well here.”

“Not interested, kid.”

Alden gave a sharp reply to my hopeful question and turned around.

Looks like he’s really leaving.

It was a short reunion considering how long it's been, but I couldn't stop him, so I just watched.

But then.

*Fwoosh!*

A man wearing a black hood appeared in front of Alden.

“Champion, where are you going?”

He appeared in front of Alden in the blink of an eye.

…Fleet?

No, it seems more like magic.

A Magician from the Demon Worshippers?

“Where else? I'm going back.”

“Deal with Arthur Clayton and then go. Wasn't that the deal?”

“I can't take him, he’s still fresh.”

At those words, I also looked towards Arthur Clayton, who was fighting the Ogre.

…He *is* fresh, without a single scratch.

I can see he has plenty of energy left.

But.

“Fulfill the contract!”

The hooded Magician, as if he couldn't understand, grabbed Alden’s shoulder.

“What?”

*Grab!*

But right after that action, Alden grabbed the hooded Magician’s neck in return.

“Hey fuck, am I *not* doing it? I said I *can’t*.”

*Slam!*

Then he shoved him against a nearby tree and threatened him.

…It’s so like Alden, but I wonder if this is okay.

“If you want him dead, do it yourself, you spell-slinging bastard.”

Judging by the magic similar to Teleport, he seems like a pretty skilled Magician.

But he’s not resisting much against Alden’s threats.

Well, how could a Magician act up at this distance?

His neck is even being held.

“I, I will accept the consequences of this action.”

“Who’s going to punish me, you? Then I can just snap your neck right now.”

Alden seemed to be serious when he insulted the Demon Worshippers earlier; he's glaring at the Magician with pure disgust.

“Hey fuckhead, I told you, the Ogre is a pushover. Look, he’s getting wrecked.”

Alden pointed at the Ogre with his hand as he said that.

…If he’s a pushover, then uh, shouldn’t the Champion have just taken him down instead of running away back then?

The words reached the tip of my tongue, but the atmosphere was too serious, so I held back.

“He’s already using Imagery. You should be able to win then?”

“If I could win, I’d be an Aura Master.”

*Crash!*

Alden threw the Magician he was holding by the neck.

“Hey asshole, you should be able to see it, can’t you? He’s clearly holding back and waiting.”

“…”

“Don’t treat me like one of those idiots just because we’re from the same fallen Kingdom.”

*Stomp!*

Then, like he did to me, he stomped on the Magician's chest.

“And don’t give me orders.”

“…I will remember this.”

After that.

The Magician who was stepped on by Alden disappeared, presumably using magic again.

“...Is that okay?”

I asked Alden after watching the Magician Woman completely vanish.

Then.

“’Course it fuckin’ is. Those bastards think they can fuck around just ‘cause their kingdom’s gone to shit.”

A truly Alden-like answer came back.

More importantly, do the Demon Worshippers really look down on the Remnants of the Lugard Kingdom that much?

Well, considering their kingdom *is* destroyed, the Demon Worshippers probably *do* see them as easy pickings.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“You little shit, you were just thinking the Lugard Kingdom’s a bunch of outdated losers, weren’t you?”

“...I wasn’t thinking that far.”

“Hah, if it wasn’t for those stuffy, inked-up bastards, in that battle…”

Just as Alden, fuming on his own, was about to say something in a tone full of regret…

“Edgar is here!”

From beyond the open space, the voice of Edgar, Squad Leader of the Royal 3rd Knight Order, and the cheers of soldiers could be heard.

It seemed the soldiers and support troops from the rear had finally caught up.

“Tch, this is the end here. I’m out.”

Hearing that, Alden turned around without hesitation.

“Yeah, see ya.”

“You heartless little shit.”

After that, Alden vanished, as if he'd used Teleport.

***

After Alden disappeared from the forest.

“Surround them!”

“Seize them!”

“Don’t let a single one escape!”

As the soldiers Edgar brought surrounded the open space and magic support poured in, the Demon Worshippers, who had been fighting well against the Knights, were swiftly taken down one after another.

And the Ogre…

*Kwaaang-!!*

“Waaaaah!!”

“Squad Leader has won!!”

Arthur Clayton, who had changed the tide of the battle as soon as the main force joined, blew its head off with a Rush.

The power wasn't ordinary, seemed like he used some kind of Vision Rush.

Well, the Clayton Family *is* a famous martial family, so they’d have some incredible Secret Techniques.

After the sweep of the open space.

“Those who aren’t injured, follow me.”

Then, they immediately headed toward the cave.

They'd wiped out the Demon Worshippers to the point they couldn't operate in the Kain Mountains anymore.

It seemed they intended to collect any remaining information in their headquarters.

So, returning to the cave, this time they descended with the soldiers.

“There’s a door here!”

“Open it!”

Continuing further inside, a huge stone door came into view in the center of the cave.

*Drrrrrrrk-! *

Because the door was truly massive, a bunch of elite soldiers clung to it and pushed it open with great effort.

And behind the opened door, an artificial cavern was visible.

“This is…”

“Did they carve the cave like this?”

From the floor to the walls, even the ceiling.

The enormous cavern was cleanly carved out.

Paths that seemed like passageways were dug out in all directions.

Judging by the extinguished torches on the walls and the decorations placed at regular intervals, this truly seemed to have been their main headquarters.

“Search every nook and cranny!”

Afterward, they dispersed the soldiers, and Magicians began to use detection Magic to investigate each of the passageways within the large cavern one by one.

“There’s a breeding ground here!”

“This is… Ugh! Corpses…”

“These crazy bastards…!”

Numerous horrifying traces left by the Demon Worshippers were discovered.

From young Monsters locked up in rusty cages for Experiments, to human Corpses and all sorts of signs of synthesis scattered around.

“There’s something that appears to be a worship altar here!”

And, befitting Demon Worshippers, there was even an altar for worshipping Devils.

“What's with all the Corpses…”

“…Here lies the body of the fallen Lord Duren.”

There, an enormous number of Corpses, even the Corpses of Knights and Investigation Team members who had died during the investigation, were offered up as sacrifices.

“These bastards…”

“Truly insane.”

As the Knights expressed their rage with contorted faces at that sight…

“There’s another passageway further inside!”

A soldier reported discovering another passageway within the altar.

“Let’s go right away.”

Edgar, who was leading the Investigation Team in place of the exhausted Arthur Clayton, immediately took the lead and entered the passageway.

Soon, the other Knights and our Investigation Team followed him into the passageway.

Beyond the entered passageway, there was another large space.

The height was so immense that it was hard to believe there was ground above it.

And.

“…A statue?”

Within that vast cavern, there was a giant Stone Statue looking down on us.

“Is it a Goblin?”

“I think it's an Orc…”

It was a statue with such vague features that opinions differed as to what it depicted, enough that its size could easily be tens of meters tall.

One thing was for sure, though, it was a greenskin.

Well, that bumpy, ugly face and body proportion was definitely that of a typical greenskin.

However.

“A Gigant…?”

Seeing it, Aslan, the Squad Leader of the investigation team next to me, muttered.

“What’s a Gigant?”

Along with my question, the gazes of the nearby Investigation Team members and Knights focused on Aslan.

“Uh, you guys don’t know?”

It seemed, this time, I wasn't the only one out of the loop.