Published at 12th of February 2023 12:44 pm

Volume 11, Chapter 2 – Beyond the Dream, Part 4

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

“Haaaa!”

With a cry filled with broken spirits, a tremendous blow shattered the ground.

What came next was a gust of wind, and a huge fist lurking within it closed in on her. Turning her body sideways as she slid her feet, Skaaha unleashes a counterattack, her bangs fluttering.

A duel between a monster and a beautiful woman, a scene that seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale, illuminated by the setting sun that was about to set into the western sky. While such a fierce battle was going on, the Licht siege was called off, and the First and Second Army of Grantz had returned to their original positions where they started the battle. The three-nation coalition that had appeared behind Grantz’s main line had also succeeded in taking advantage of the confusion to escape from the battlefield. However, even though they seemed to have fled, they seemed to still intend to fight and were watching from a distance to see the situation here. It was depressing, but there was no way they could take the fight to them. First of all, they had to deal with the monster that had appeared in the main camp, and Aura had called in the elite to gather around Skaaha and the monster, but they had not been able to get between them. No one could help. It was not a battle that ordinary people could break into.

Aura sent a message to Luca and Skadi, who were in the rear, but she did not know if they would be able to get here in time. However, if they could get here in time and cooperate with Skaaha, it would be easy to finish off the monster.

“Amazing…”

Skaaha’s power was so tremendous that she couldn’t help but mutter to herself. Even though she should not have the blessing of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword anymore, she was displaying power far beyond that of an ordinary person. Yet, it must be said that it still lacked decisive power. She was able to injure her opponent, but not enough to inflict a fatal wound.

And, as might be expected, the monster’s wounds seemed to heal instantly, just like the legitimate son of the Duchy of Lichtine who had been transformed four years ago. There was no way they could win with this, and they wanted to cover for Skaaha, but if they made a bad move, they would be dragging Skaaha down with them. That is why Aura and the others could do nothing but watch and wait.

“My body feels strangely light…”

While tilting her head in doubt, Skaaha threw away her broken spear and searched for a new weapon while dodging the monster’s attack. Then a large number of spears rained down from above the monster’s head. It worked and succeeded in stopping it in its tracks. Looking around with a surprised look on her face, she saw that the soldiers seemed to have thrown the projectiles at Aura’s direction.

“Aura, thank you very much. You made the right decision.”

Gripping the hilt of a spear stuck in the ground, she threw it at the monster with fierce momentum and, taking advantage of its fright, picked up the two spears and plunged them into the monster. The monster was not able to stop Skaaha, who was tossing and turning with her agile movements. As if it were an opportunity, Skaaha launched a furious attack, even at the risk of breaking her weapon. But it was still not enough. The weight of each blow, the sharpness of each blow, none of them were as sharp as they were in her prime.

“But if this is what I want, if this is what I have brought upon myself, then I must accept it.”

Ever since she woke up, she was aware that something was missing in her.

It had been there for her all along. Always encouraging her. But she was so focused on revenge that she continued to fight without regard for her ‘partner’s’ feelings, and it eventually gave up on her.

“That’s why I want to come to get you. I don’t know where you are, but please let me apologize…”

That’s why she couldn’t lose. She had to go find her missing ‘partner.’

“My name is Haran Skaaha de Felzen! I am the one who will defeat you.”

She kicked the ground as she announced herself.

Dozens of throws, hundreds of thrusts, thousands of slashes. Even though she had exceeded her own limits, Skaaha did not stop.

For the sake of those she should protect, for the sake of those she cared about, she vowed to keep fighting.

“I have to get out of here and go get the Ice Emperor!”

A one-hit kill, the greatest attack she could make with everything she had at this moment. The monster also swung its fist to meet the spirit of the attacker. The two crossed paths, and a tremendous storm of dust were created.

Everyone was watching closely. They were staring fixedly at a point, wanting to know the result.

The result was that. Skaaha was defeated.

Even so, she did not die; she did not fall; she just stood there stunned with her broken spear in her hand.

When the dust cleared, a single spear shone beautifully in front of her.

It caught the fist of the monster that was supposed to take Skaaha’s life and floated in the air as if protecting her. At the sight of it, Skaaha’s eyes twisted at the corners, and she bit her lip and reached out her hand.

And then――,

The world turned white.

The surrounding scenery froze, and an overwhelming cold air crawled on the ground, generating white smoke.

“First of all―I will protect what needs to be protected―Ice Emperor!”

Grabbing the spear, the girl ran across the ground as if soaring through the sky.

Even the fatigue accumulated from the previous battle had vanished, and her steps were light and joyful as she leaped to slaughter the enemies in front of her.

She was transformed from an ordinary person into a monstrosity and from a monstrosity into a hero, just as she should have been.

Her god-like power was nothing short of awesome.

The monster was unable to do anything, and its body gradually froze in the face of the Ice Emperor’s tremendous freezing air.

It screamed and struggled, and its desperate resistance was nothing more than child’s play, and the battle was easily settled.

The monster stopped moving―It was completely frozen.

“It’s over.”

Skaaha was about to finish it off.

“Unfortunately, it was too soon. I can’t let her finish the job just yet.”

From behind the ice sculpture of the monster, the Chimera, the Twelve Demon Lords, appeared. As soon as he appeared, he pierced through the ice with only his hand and shot something into the monster’s body. It happened in the blink of an eye, and as expected, Skaaha was unable to react and had to back away in caution.

“Take it as your food. It is a ‘curse’ of this magnitude. It will not be swallowed up by the principle stone. Therefore, there will be no conflict.”

“What are you doing?”

Skaaha launched an attack. However, Chimera took out two daggers and stopped it. The two blades shattered at the base, but he seemed to be safe and sound, with only his sleeve frozen. With a kick to the “Ice Emperor,” Chimera quickly distanced himself from Skaaha, drawing an eerie smile on his face.

“You can play around with it at your leisure. In the meantime, I’ll go on to the next one.”

Chimera disappeared behind the monster’s back, leaving behind an eerie laugh.

Skaaha pretended to chase after him, but at the same time, the monster began to move again.

With a cry, it lays its hands on top of each other and swung down on Skaaha as it was. She jumped to the side to avoid it, but her vision was covered by a cloud of dust created by the huge fist that shattered the ground.

Skaaha leaped backward to secure her vision, but she was not the only one who made it through the dust, and the monster’s huge arm extended with her.

“Tsk, hah――”

Skaaha was grabbed by her collar.

“Leave the rest to me!”

A woman’s voice came from above, and the monster was blown away by a powerful kick.

She spun around in mid-air, then adjusted her stance and landed on the ground with a brilliant move. But she immediately started running toward the monster.

“Hahaha! Isn’t this thing another strong one!”

After being freed from the monster, Skaaha looked over at the mysterious woman with a dazed look on her face. The beast woman was gleefully attacking the monster, even though she was covered in injuries.

“That’s just like a beast… they can do nothing but fight.”

The voice came from next to Skaaha. There stood a woman with a gloomy look on her face and eyes that had lost their light. This time it was someone she knew, so Skaaha was not surprised.

“Luca-dono… is that an acquaintance of yours?”

“Yes, she is an ugly beast called Skadi. It’s kind of unpleasant, but let’s just say that we know each other.”

“Ah….. So that’s Skadi-dono of Steichen… She’s just like the rumors I’ve heard about her.”

The two were conversing when the bloodied Skadi rolled up to the ground at their feet.

“Kuh, that thing’s pretty good.”

“What the hell is it with you? You’re so determined to come here… and yet you’re still in such a state of disarray?”

At Luca’s foul mouth, Skadi stood up, her mouth agape.

“Noisy. I’m just doing a little warm-up exercise. The real work is just about to begin.”

It was clear from their brief exchange. There was no hope for cooperation between these two.

While she was wondering what to do, Skadi was about to run into the monster again. Skaaha hurriedly called out to her back.

“S-Skadi-dono, please wait. I think we should cooperate here and take down the monster.”

She did not know what that man had done, but she was sure that he had escaped from the Ice Emperor’s power. It would be too dangerous to take action blindly. The best way to increase certainty was to cooperate with each other, but Luca seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea.

“It is repugnant to cooperate with that beast―More importantly, it is good that you are awake. Hugin will be pleased.”

“Ah, …Thank you, though I’m not quite sure why.”

“Is that so…? then I don’t want you to go back to sleep. Hugin will be sad, so you’re right; I’ll cooperate with you here.”

It was too far-fetched to understand, but Luca seemed to have taken Skaaha’s intentions into consideration.

“…Well, you’re right; I don’t think we’re going to be able to defeat that monster now. Besides, it’s your prey. It would be bad for us to take it down.”

Skadi raised her hands as if to give up, and Skaaha tried to think of a countermeasure, but the monster rushed toward the three of them.

“There’s no time to think about it. I asked you to cover me quickly.”

Skadi rushed forward and jumped on the monster. Luca, too, gripped her weapon and was about to take a step forward, but her body went rigid.

“…..Gilbe?”

Skaaha, who had heard the name before, stared at the monster with narrowed eyes. Seeing it again brought back old memories. It certainly seems to have the features of Gilbe. She had met Gilbe several times when she was under the care of the Six Kingdoms. However, her appearance was so far removed from that time that she was unable to recognize her.

“You think that’s Gilbe-dono? Why did she look like that…?”

“I don’t know if she was manipulated or if she did it of her own volition, but it is clear that she has become the fallen one. The Steichen beast won’t last long with those injuries. We’ll get rid of it as soon as possible.”

“Oh, she can’t be saved…”

“That’s what I’m saying. It would be better for her if you don’t feel sorry for her and get rid of her as soon as possible.”

As usual, Luca has an expression of uncertainty, but she did not hide the pity that permeated her words. Skaaha, who was aware of this sentiment, strengthened her resolve.

“…..Yes, that’s right. Then I’ll stop it.”

Skaaha slid her feet to the ground and entered a throwing position.

From shoulder to arm, from arm to hand, from hand to fingertip―she concentrated her nerves.

――’Certain Hit.’

The Ice Emperor, released with all her might, lands in a straight line at the feet of the monster, Gilbe. No dust rose, and the icy ground spread out, held in place by the cold air.

“Haha, isn’t that great? Then, I’ll take its arm.”

Skadi, who had gotten under Gilbe’s feet, extended her arms behind her back, stretching her joint range of motion to the limit, and then exploded with a fierce roar.

――Madness!

A great move that only enjoyed the feel of cutting through the prey, it instantly expanded her muscles to create tremendous destructive power. Both arms of the monster, with its incredible regenerative power, were blown off and wrenched into little pieces, and a rain of blood poured down to the ground.

“Let’s finish. Gilbe.”

Luca was floating in the air with a huge mallet in her hand as she was hit all over by the rain of blood.

The huge mallet, brought down lightly, caught the monster in the face, with the wind whipping around it. The head was blown off with a resounding crash. Watching the brain fluid being scattered about, Luca took a breath, twisted her hips in midair, and swung the giant mallet down. The monster’s body exploded as the mallet slammed into the ground, ripping it in half.

“That is…”

Luca recognized the principle stone lying at her feet, and without hesitation, she smashed it with her mallet. The shattered principle stone was carried away by the wind. The expression on Luca’s face as she watched it disappear was as unreadable as ever. Looking up at the sky one last time, Luca let out a single sigh and dropped her gaze.

“…..Beast, have you fainted?”

Skadi was lying on the ground in a state of disarray. Luca grabbed Skadi by her horns and began to walk away while looking at her with a mixture of disgust.

Skaaha, who had seen this, followed Luca with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“If you don’t carry her properly… I think it will damage her wounds…”

“It’s better to spread the wounds so she’ll be more docile.”

Luca snickered at Skaaha’s concern for Skadi and continued to drag her along. Aura came to them.

“We’re going to hold a war council now. The three of you…”

Aura shook her head when she saw Skadi and looked at them again.

“I want you two to join us.”

“I am the second in command. The commander is Hugin, so you should ask her to join you there.”

“I knew you would say that, so I’ve asked her to wait first.”

“Then it can’t be helped. Let’s not make Hugin wait. This beast, please.”

Luca let go of Skadi’s horns, and she strode toward the tent where the war council was to be held.

While being taken aback by her cold-heartedness, Skaaha held up Skadi and says,

“Aura-dono, could you please call the military doctor?”

“Alright. I’ll get one right away.”

Aura nodded and turned around to start running. Skaaha, who smiled bitterly at her, spoke clearly so that she could hear her.

“It’s alright. I won’t go anywhere else… Let’s talk later.”

Aura nodded and ran off, this time to call the military doctor. Skaaha looked up at the sky after seeing the little back.

“Are you going to bring down the heavens…?”

With a somber expression on her face, Skaaha looked down at the ground.

“Hiro-dono, where are you headed?”

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