Chapter 49

Grain changed his tone of voice.

In the Beast Continent, the battle between Setsu and the wolf-blade Rugar was about to begin, a few hours before.

In the Diszenia Kingdom of the Human Continent, in the laboratory of the magic doctor Tia Amulet, which was inside the castle, there were three figures.

One was the owner of this room, Tia Amulet.

Another was Elka Verso.

And Grain Harmony.

The three of them stood on a large magic circle—more accurately, a transfer magic circle.

"Finally, we can leave this stuffy castle..."

"The winter's magic power has been fully detected. This castle has served its purpose."

"You two are so harsh. I've actually grown quite attached to it."

Indeed, now that the existence of Winter had come to the forefront, their objective of confirming Winter's survival had been completed.

With that, there was no longer a need to use this castle as a base to gather information.

In other words—they were now free to move as they pleased.

"I can grow attached to anywhere as long as I have Lord Setsu."

"Meaning you can't feel attached here because he's not here..."

"That's right."

Elka said this with a stern face, but because of the content of her words, Grain sighed in exasperation.

"Wherever Setsu is, it's fun. So let's hurry to where Setsu is."

"Tia is also quite something... But I agree with you on that point."

The transfer magic circle began to glow.

It was in a state of activation readiness, signaling that they could teleport at any moment.

"For now, we'll join the war, target human soldiers for extermination, and look for an opportunity to retrieve Yūhi. Don't forget that?"

"Understood. I hope Lord Setsu is there..."

"No problem. Even if Setsu hasn't arrived yet, we'll finish it before he does."

Grain couldn't help but smile wryly at the women's reliability.

He wondered why, despite being a man, he lacked such authority. Perhaps it was inevitable when the women were so strong.

"Well... Since Setsu will also rely on us... Let's go."

Now, the three powerful individuals headed for the battlefield.

Setsu and they couldn't communicate telepathically.

Still, as long-time companions, they were so strongly connected that they could understand what the other desired.

The Beast Continent was gathering forces that could shake the world.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Phew... Setsu really hasn't changed, has he?"

"Have you finished showing your face, Master?"

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting, Kagerou. Everyone."

On a massive cliff where heavy rain was falling, seven men and women in black robes stood in a row.

At the center was Winter.

He had the same appearance as the thought form Setsu had seen earlier.

"Sure enough, that beast was useless... Disgracing Lord Winter..."

"Cal down, Luna. I'm not really bothered by it."

"But—"

"Will you all be of use to me?"

When he asked this, all the black-robed figures nodded deeply.

Some even smiled, feeling honored.

They loved Winter so much, and pledged their loyalty to the point that they would die if he asked them to.

"Well... Let's go... You who have been rejected by the world."

Following Winter's command, now six reapers were unleashed from the cliff to the battlefield below.

Amid the evenly matched battle between human and demon soldiers, the cries of the demon soldiers began to echo.

At this moment, the long-stagnant battlefield finally began to tilt.

"Go on! Ravage them! My dear toys!"

The mad hero's laughter echoed across the battlefield.

It was raining that day—---

◇ ◇ ◇

"S-She's so strong!! Someone stop her! Stop her!!"

"It's no use! The front line is collapsing!!"

"Damn it! Kill her here, even at the cost of our lives!!"

Why am I here?

"You! Your skin and horns are those of a demon! Why are you attacking us!?"

"This traitor—Gah—"

Why did I stab my own kind?

"No choice! Surround and kill—"

"Captain!!"

I thrust a rapier into the skull of a noisy man.

I burned the demon soldiers around him with magic, and continued to thrust the rapier, stopping their breaths one after another.

"There! The red-haired woman! The red-haired woman with a rapier!! She has a wound on her shoulder!! Prioritize and kill her! Don't let her reach the Demon King!!"

"It won't—Gah!!"

What am I doing?

My consciousness is blurring.

I can't think clearly.

Where am I?

Who am I fighting and for what?

Why does my arm keep thrusting the rapier?

Another one is dead.

Stop.

Help me.

Stop.

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

StopStopStopStopStopStopStopStopStop—---

Someone, please—

"——Stop me"

Suddenly, a red-haired demon woman began to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

Drenched in the blood of her own kind, she stood alone on the battlefield, her body dyed completely red.

Around her were corpses, corpses, corpses—---

Her face was expressionless, her eyes hollow, and she shed red tears.

The blood on her body washed away in the rain, and the tears quickly disappeared.

Or perhaps—what flowed from her eyes was not tears.

She had been remade so that she could no longer feel such emotions.

Still, she cried out.

Deep, dark, and narrow, in her heart.

"There!! That woman!"

"Traitor!! Die here!!"

"What's that thing next to her!?"

Prey came again.

Her body moved naturally.

To kill them, to kill them.

Next to her, soldiers had lined up.

Twice her size, they wore crude armor with multiple magic circles embedded.

〈Magic Soldiers〉—the name of the war weapon that would later be known to the world.

"——Ikomu, Ramel"

The woman whispered.

In response, the magic soldiers began to move.

When the black-robed reapers appeared on the battlefield, in a corner of the battlefield, another threat began to move—---

For now, the second chapter of the Beast Continent is over.

I rushed through it, but how was it?

The early part is quite confusing, so I plan to revise it in a while.

The next chapter will be the war chapter.

Will Setsu and Winter finally settle their score—---