Chapter 94

Inside the Einhorn.

Marié stood by the door, gazing at the scene outside.

The roots of the Holy Tree, swinging down, stretched like whips, reaching far into the distance. The shockwaves caused by their impact sent dust flying from the ground.

When the shockwaves reached the Einhorn, the ship shook.

And then she remembered—wasn't that where the town used to be?

It was exactly the scene she had seen in the game, but the difference was that this was reality.

"How many victims does one strike create?"

A terrifying monster.

Alberich, who was supposed to be the final boss lying in the ship, was now rampaging, having absorbed Emile and Ideal.

"How are we supposed to defeat this thing?!"

Marié, feeling dejected, knelt down, and Eriq called out to her.

"Sis, pull yourself together!"

With Luxion, their trump card, in tatters, it seemed there was no way to fight back.

Meanwhile, Rivia was treating Noel while speaking to her.

"Hang in there. It's okay. Lux will heal you."

Noel managed a weak smile.

"Stop it. You'll tire yourself out."

Tears streaming down her face, Rivia continued to treat Noel.

Then, Angel called out to Rivia.

"Rivia, if you need anything, just say so. I'll have it prepared immediately."

"---Thank you. Then, could you please get me a clean towel and some water?"

Does Luxion, who is fighting, have the time to do that?

To begin with, can Leon defeat the monster? How long will it take?

Marié, harboring such doubts, approached Rivia and offered to take over.

"Move aside. I'll do it instead."

"But—"

"I'm telling you to rest while I do this! If one person can't manage, two people taking turns might just make it work!"

Rivia nodded and switched places with Marié.

Marié placed her hands on the wound and checked Noel's condition.

(The reaction is weak. There's nothing I can do—big brother, please hurry.)

Lelia stood helplessly by Noel's side.

Clement was also there.

"Sis—me, I—"

Noel looked at Lelia.

Her lips were blue, and her complexion was terrible. Dark circles under her eyes, she was struggling to speak.

Marié tried to stop her, but Noel insisted on speaking, saying she had to.

"Lelia, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"Huh?"

Noel began to recount the family affairs of the Respinus household.

◇

The Respinus family that Noel remembered—was not a very good family.

Noel, born as the twin sister.

Lelia, her younger sister.

Though they looked alike, their personalities were decisively different.

"Cute, Lelia."

"Lelia is so smart."

"Hehe."

Their parents doted on the smart Lelia.

Even as a child, Lelia knew the secret to being loved by her parents.

In contrast, Noel, the less capable older sister, was treated differently in the mansion.

As a result, when it came time to decide the head of the Respinus household, Lelia's name was suggested.

Originally, the head should have been Noel.

However, the voices supporting Lelia as the head grew stronger day by day.

Young knights also began to voice that Lelia was the most suitable to be the head.

It didn't take long for a large faction to form, consisting of the Respinus family's underlings, newcomers, and young people.

One day, Noel was called by her mother.

Her father was also there.

"Noel, you have the aptitude. The next head will be you."

"Y-Yes!"

She was recognized by the Holy Tree.

It was a happy moment for Noel, who had never been acknowledged by anyone. Being recognized by the head of the family made her very happy.

But—

"To protect Lelia. If I say she doesn't have the aptitude, no one will try to make her the head."

Noel murmured, "Huh?" in response to her father's words.

Her mother was looking down.

"Yes, I don't want to burden her with unnecessary hardships. She can carry on our will even without the crest."

"Yeah, that's right. Since she doesn't idolize the Holy Tree, she will surely believe in what we do."

The young Noel, hearing her parents' conversation, thought to herself:

(So, I'm a stand-in for Lelia.)

Even so, she thought that if she was recognized by the Holy Tree, it would be different.

—But that day.

On the day the Feve family attacked, Noel was told by her mother:

"Alright. You must protect Lelia at all costs. You are her older sister, after all!"

"Y-Yes."

"That girl will understand. Even if the Respinus family falls, our will will be carried on. —Now, go!"

On that day, as they fled from the burning mansion—

—her parents were only worried about Lelia.

◇

Noel finished her painful story with difficulty.

"From there—y-you know, right? We fled from the burning mansion and lived peacefully until now—huff, huff—properly, I told you. About Father and Mother—I told you—about them."

Inside the Einhorn.

Alberich, who had been listening to Noel's story, closed his eyes and mourned, "To go to such lengths for your child." As a parent, he had his own thoughts.

Lelia's legs were trembling.

(N-No, it's different. I acted to avoid being disliked and for the future, not to corner my sister. I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to do what a 'sister' would do!)

Hearing the truth from Noel, Lelia saw herself overlapping with the sister she had hated the most.

She realized that she and the sister she hated the most were the same.

"If you have the aptitude—people will try to use you. So, be careful. From now on—I can't protect you anymore—huff, huff—so, you have to do your best on your own."

"Why, why would you, Sis! You've been protecting me! If you did all this, I should hate you! But—"

Noel, sweating, smiled.

"Fool. I'm your sister. But, I can't do it anymore—so, from now on, you have to do your best on your own."

—Lelia stood there, stunned by Noel's answer, which she herself could never have thought of.

Noel, whom she had looked down upon, was kinder and more mature than herself.

When Noel started coughing up blood, Marié intervened.

"That's enough. Stop talking and conserve your strength. Your brother will do something."

Noel smiled.

"Your brother is so kind. I—wanted a brother like that too."

Marié continued the treatment.

"Envious, aren't you? When you get better, I'll teach you how to be spoiled. As long as you don't anger him, he's quite easy to manipulate. So, hang in there."

Noel stopped talking, seemingly losing consciousness.

Looking outside, large insects were spreading throughout the Republic.

Julius—the masked knight—was giving orders one after another.

"Monsters? The Holy Tree is just a name. Bring out the armor! Defend the airship!"

Eriq ran outside.

"I'm going out. Sis, take care of Noel—Noel-san!"

"You better come back! I won't forgive you if you don't!"

Serge, who had been watching Eriq leave with a bitter smile, called out to the masked knight.

"Give me armor too. I can't just stand here and watch."

However, the masked knight was cold.

"Sorry, but I don't have any spares. You stay put."

Serge, whose arms were restrained, looked down.

Alberich called out to him.

"You stay here and watch. This is the result of what you did."

"I—I was tricked by him."

No one listened to Serge's excuses.

◇

After removing the roots and vines entangled with Luxion, I stood on the ship's deck and looked up at the Holy Tree—the final boss.

"It doesn't feel like a Holy Tree at all."

'I agree.'

Luxion, while burning away the surrounding insects, was attacking the base of the Holy Tree.

The Holy Tree, having its ankles cut, fell but immediately began to regenerate and try to stand up.

"How did Noel defeat this thing?"

Noel was supposed to handle it, but she was now severely injured.

I wanted to help her quickly, so I didn't want to waste time.

"Should I use it?"

In response to my words, Luxion immediately and firmly replied:

'—Not approved.'

"It's not a request. It's an order. Just do it."

When I gave the order to Luxion, a syringe containing liquid appeared. The needle was invisible, and when it was set into the port on the pilot suit, a "psh" sound was heard.

"—!"

The liquid entering my body was, in game terms, a status enhancement item.

My body felt hot, my veins bulged, my muscles swelled, and my breathing became heavy.

My heart was pounding loudly and strongly.

Well, it's like—doping, to put it simply.

Luxion had prepared the best possible drug for me, tailored to my body.

As a result, it turned out to be an excellent drug in terms of performance.

My physical and magical abilities improved. In terms of piloting, my reflexes and judgment improved, and I gained various other benefits.

It was one of my trump cards.

However—there were also drawbacks.

'Physical and magical abilities have improved. However, the burden on the body is significant. Please enter the medical pod after use.'

"I'll do that once everything is settled."

A force seemed to overflow from within my body, and my muscles swelled, making the movements around me appear gradually slower.

My reflexes had also improved.

"Enhancement items being doping—what a world."

Gripping the control stick and flying the Arroganz, insects gathered one after another.

"Too slow!"

Swinging the greatsword, the surrounding insects turned into black smoke and disappeared. The greatsword was enveloped in a flame-like magical light.

"They're like monsters. This isn't a Holy Tree, more like a Demon Tree or something."

'Given that it produces magic stones, I could have predicted this.'

When the Arroganz gripped the greatsword, it split from the center and spread horizontally, emitting light.

The weapon, made of light, sliced through the giant arm of the Holy Tree.

'AAAAAAAHHHHH!'

The voice of the Holy Tree was Ideal's.

It seemed to be in pain.

Avoiding the roots and vines coming towards me, I moved through the air, aiming for the head.

"Cutting off the head should do it."

According to the notebook I received from Marié, that was how to defeat the Holy Tree. It was impressive that Noel and the others managed to do it against this thing.

I was struggling even with Luxion's power and the doping.

Then, one of the large heads looked at me.

'If only you weren't here! If only you were gone! I have to defeat you, and then I have to defeat him—him!'

"Who?"

I didn't understand what it was saying.

When the single eye glowed, I immediately ascended, and a beam of light passed through where I had been.

It's called a beam, but what exactly is it?

I knew it would be dangerous if I were hit.

"Hurry up and die! I can't save Noel like this!"

As I swung my sword, the roots and vines blocked my path.

◇

Chris, floating around Luxion and dealing with the insects, watched the Arroganz's movements.

"What kind of movement is that?"

Gregg, impaling an insect with his spear, shouted at Chris.

'Quit watching and fight!'

"I know, I know—but is that human movement?"

From a distance, I could see the Arroganz's movements, but if I got closer, I would probably lose sight of it immediately.

I occasionally lost sight of it even now.

"Such piloting, the body can't take it. Is this your true strength, Bartholomew?"

I knew the Arroganz's performance was high, but Chris judged that the burden on the pilot was also significant.

Chris was amazed at how Leon handled the Arroganz.

◇

At that time—Julius, commanding the Einhorn, was yelling at Leon's friends, who were crying and screaming.

'How are we supposed to win against that thing!'

"Stop whining!"

'It's the Republic's problem! We should be able to run away!'

Indeed, that was true—but—

"If we leave that monster alone and it comes to the kingdom, can we deal with it? If we don't defeat it here, the kingdom will become a wasteland like the Republic!"

The area around where Luxion and Ideal fought was already a wasteland.

Just thinking about what would happen if it attacked the kingdom made his head hurt.

To begin with, they couldn't leave the Holy Tree, which was spreading monsters, alone. A huge number of monsters were already spreading throughout the Republic.

The sheer number was eerie.

"Defeat it here. This is also a battle to protect the kingdom! I want you to lend me your strength!"

In response to Julius's words,

'Who cares! We can't give our lives to a kingdom that has oppressed us!'

Hearing the voices of Leon's friends, Julius was taken aback.

(Damn! Even here, the kingdom's past actions come back to haunt us.)

The kingdom's fleet was losing cohesion.

In the midst of this, Marié, who had taken over treating Noel from Rivia, picked up a microphone.

"Do you know what will happen if you defy Leon? Do you want to lose the airship we were given?"

'N-No, that would be a problem. A problem!'

"Then fight! Not for the country or for someone else, but for yourself! If you leave that thing alone, you won't be able to sleep soundly!"

Confused and wavering, Leon's friends responded to Marié's words.

'N-No, but, you see. Even so, it's still scary. It might come to the kingdom, so maybe we should keep our distance—'

Leon's friends, who desperately wanted to run away.

To encourage them, Angel snatched the microphone from Marié.

"This woman is right. And—can we really run away here?"

After a pause, Angel continued her speech.

"My fiancé is a man who doesn't fight battles he can't win. Why is such a man fighting that monster?"

'—Ah!'

Someone seemed to realize something.

'Is there something behind this?'

'It's Leon. That Leon. He must be planning something!'

'He always rides the winning horse. So, this time too—'

Angel raised her voice.

"Follow my husband! The promised victory is right in front of us! Those who fight here will earn a glorious legacy for generations to come!"

'Following him always leads to this!'

'I'll take the reward, though! Definitely!'

'I'll make this battle a legend and never go to war again.'

By mentioning Leon's name, they began to show some cohesion, and Julius smiled bitterly under his mask.

(Bartholomew, you're amazing. Your name alone made them confident of victory.)