Chapter 149
“It’s true that demons possess tremendous power, but... anyone from Earthclear can deal with them without any trouble. More than anything... demons don’t deliberately attack humans. You could even say humans are the ones persecuting demons. When I was in Earthclear, I took it for granted that demons were absolute evil and never noticed, though.”
“Balmung-san... are you from Earthclear too?”
“That was a long time ago. All the comrades who came to Earth with me back then were wiped out. I’m the only one left.”
As if recalling a distant past, Balmung murmured, then said, “That’s right. They were all wiped out,” his voice heavy with sorrow.
“They’re strong. Far stronger than demons.”
“Yeah. Even you, with the role of Hero, would be in for a tough fight. The Beastfangs we’re heading out to hunt don’t have magic like we do, but their physical abilities are absurdly high. On top of that, their sense of smell and hearing are abnormally sharp. In maze-like places such as cities, even if we try to take them down, they’ll slip away in no time and attack us from our blind spots. They can even tell we’re approaching by our footsteps and breathing. They’re a real pain... and they’re aggressive, too.”
Rex still couldn’t picture their strength from Balmung’s words alone, and frowned. But Merry, walking beside him, drew his attention to the magic firearm holstered at her thigh. “It depends on the opponent, but most of them can easily dodge this even when I shoot straight at them.” Realizing their physical abilities far surpassed their own, he broke into a cold sweat.
“Don’t worry so much! Unlike me, you guys have Skills, right? Those guys are fast, but they aren’t especially outstanding at anything else. Overall, you guys have the edge.”
“Even so, speed is extremely important in a fight. There are plenty of ways to deal damage without strength. They’re intelligent lifeforms, after all... so I assume they use weapons?”
Merry nodded in reply to Menou. But there was a hint of confidence in her expression.
“They don’t have magic, so they’re bad at long-range attacks. Even if they’re intelligent lifeforms, they don’t have the knowledge to make sophisticated weapons, and the most they use are knives and crossbows. In places with lots of blind spots, their speed makes ambushes deadly... but this time, we’re the ones setting an ambush. We won’t go down that easily.”
Almost as soon as Merry finished speaking, they reached the place where the white cylindrical structure, which extended up to the ceiling, stood at the far end of Resistance headquarters. Half of the Resistance members who had gone ahead were waiting there. As soon as Balmung arrived, they saluted, then eight of them pulled the entrance open from both sides by hand.
Despite everything having been automated up to this point, this was the only manual door, and it took eight people to open. The group sensed that it was meant to warn them, “Do not enter,” and broke into a cold sweat as they imagined how harsh the world beyond must be.
“Half our forces have already gone aboveground and secured the area. We should head up as well.”
After one of the Resistance members reported this to Balmung, he stepped through the open door. Takako and the others followed, along with the Resistance members, and once everyone was inside, the door automatically shut with a dull ka-thunk!
Then the group was enveloped in a strange sensation of floating.
“Is this... an elevator shaft?”
“Yeah. This place is deep underground so other creatures on the surface can’t get close. Stay alert... From here on, there’s a risk of losing your life. Stick together so you don’t get separated from your comrades.”
“Ugh... I’m getting weirdly nervous.”
Tina hugged the Bible she’d brought, fidgeting restlessly and looking unsettled. Takako, Menou, and Rex, by contrast, gazed up at the ceiling far above, focusing their minds. They understood that they were most likely to die at the very beginning, when they knew nothing about the situation outside.
“Hey, Takako-san... Kagami-san will be okay, right?”
As she watched the surface draw closer little by little, Alice murmured with an uneasy expression.
“I can’t say for sure right now... Our top priority is to save this world and ensure Earthclear survives. I want to believe Kagami is all right, but for now, we should focus on ourselves.”
“I know... I know, but...”
The unease in her heart wouldn’t settle. She’d rushed out into the outside world, thinking she would finally get to see Kagami, only to be told they’d died long ago. Though she hadn’t said anything, Alice had been struggling to keep her unsettled feelings in check this whole time.
Even when she told herself, “It’s okay, they’re surely alive somewhere,” the fact that they hadn’t returned from the surface—a place the Resistance members regarded as so dangerous—for over half a year clouded that hope.
Kururu felt the same way. But, like Takako, her strong sense of duty to do something about Earthclear kept her from voicing her fears. She simply gripped her staff tightly, focused her thoughts on the battle about to begin, and prayed in a corner of her heart that Kagami was safe.
“Don’t make such gloomy faces, you two. At this rate, you’re really going to die.”
“I-I am not making a gloomy face!”
Perhaps unable to bear watching them, Parna gave a light, exasperated sigh, then put an arm around each of their necks and pulled them against her chest.
“If you want to believe they’re not dead, then you have to stay alive first, right? It’d be pointless if you died before you got the chance to see them.”
Then, saying, “Come on, cheer up,” Parna hugged them tightly against her chest.
“O-okay. I-I get it, Parna-san.”
“I understand, so please let go! I can’t breathe...!”
The two had been wearing uneasy expressions, but seeing Parna’s worried look as she watched them made them realize that their concern for Kagami had been worrying their comrades, too. They steeled themselves again.
“Looks like you’re ready. We’ll be there soon.”
Balmung, who had watched them with an almost fond smile, also tensed up as the elevator drew close enough to the ceiling for them to gauge the distance.
The floating sensation surrounding them vanished, and the lift stopped rising just before it hit the ceiling. After a while, the dome-shaped ceiling split in two with a loud, dull sound and opened. Light from outside poured in so brightly that they instinctively shut their eyes, and the scenery of Earth’s surface gradually spread into view.
Ruined buildings, the kind described in Earthclear’s history books, filled their view. The passage of time had turned the area into a jungle-like wilderness, overrun with moss and weeds.
“Nobody move!”
Just as Takako and the others were left speechless by the unfamiliar, somehow mystical sight and tried to take a step forward without thinking, Balmung shouted to stop them.
“Don’t move from here... There’s a barrier generated by stealth camouflage, so we can’t be seen from outside. But if we take even one step out, we’ll be completely visible.”
“So we’re planning to stay cooped up in here?”
Parna asked, looking exasperated at Balmung, whose tense expression was beaded with cold sweat. Was there really any need to be so cautious?
“No... The advance unit that came out first to secure this area is missing. ...Something’s here.”
At those words, everyone turned pale and began watching their surroundings. Just as Balmung had said, the advance party—the half of the Resistance members who had gone ahead—was nowhere to be seen nearby.