Arc 16: Attack (5)

Elodie was not the only one who had responded swiftly.

In the east, Aster was clearing monsters from the dormitories and surrounding shops.

On the opposite side, Elin wove between Constel’s annex buildings, with Saibel beside her helping fend off the monsters.

Some distance from Elodie, Aten picked off enemies one by one with shots of ice.

And in the west, Quinier had drawn on her own abilities and her extensive connections to erect an impenetrable wall.

Frondier, the Human Sloth.

Thanks to that infamous reputation, his voice failed to reach many people. But not everyone.

Some had noticed the change in him. Others had received his help.

‘Constel is going to suffer a large-scale monster attack.’

The claim was all the less credible coming from Frondier.

Yet there were people who believed it, however few, and they were now saving countless lives.

“Everything you’ve done wasn’t for nothing, Frondier.”

Quinier, who was handling the west, smiled faintly. She, too, was taking part in the hunt. But because she was coordinating the response through the connections she had brought along, she had a broader view than most.

She could see them in action—not just herself, but the others who had trusted Frondier’s warning and joined the response.

‘Honestly, I only half believed him. But he was telling the truth.’

So Quinier thought.

Actually, what surprised her more than the warning being true was that people other than her had believed it.

Now she knew. She was not the only one keeping an eye on Frondier’s worth.

‘Still, I’m glad I dragged my acquaintances out here.’

As befitted someone whose resourcefulness had rebuilt her house’s fortunes, Quinier had extensive connections.

Even those who had doubted her were now hard at work killing monsters at her side.

Once they had repelled these monsters, Constel would surely reward her handsomely.

With so many people in tow, she might even claim the largest share of the credit, she thought.

BOOOOM!!

Then an utterly absurd explosion rang out in the distance, wiping that thought clean away.

On a rooftop stood a woman with orange hair, her eyes sparkling as though she were a fish back in water.

What was that? Hitchcock’s latest siege weapon?

With a thoroughly unamused look, Quinier witnessed firsthand the power of the mage said to be loved by five gods.

* * *

Gram’s ability to strike fear into dragonkind was stronger than I had expected. The chimera was fleeing from me without so much as looking back.

Even after I dismissed Gram, it showed no intention of stopping.

It made me feel as though I’d gotten stronger, which wasn’t unpleasant, but I would lose it if I let this continue.

I had no idea where the fleeing chimera would go, but nothing good would come of leaving it alone. Besides, I had to take it down for Rafflesia to disappear.

That left only one thing to do.

“Menosorpo.”

At my words, a vast magic circle spread across the area.

Menosorpo

Weaving in Midair, Simultaneous Replication

Workshop No. 3

Grade - Common

Iron Shield, Double

I jumped out the window and landed on a shield I had created in midair. Then I dropped onto the shield below it, and jumped once more to reach the ground.

As I ran, I used Menosorpo to track the creature’s presence.

I couldn’t see it, but the magic circle told me where it was. For all its frantic running, the chimera was still within my circle’s range.

Menosorpo

Weaving in Midair, Simultaneous Replication

Imperial Palace Armory Nos. 1, 7

Grade - Rare

Emperor’s Sword, Glacier Spear

I wove a suitable pair from among the weapons Philly had shown me in the Imperial Palace armory.

The sword and spear dropped directly in front of the chimera, driving into the ground with a crunch and blocking its path.

GRRRK!

It stopped fleeing, its eyes rolling as they searched for me.

I could have attacked it with those two weapons, but that might only make it run harder.

This was a warning. If it ignored the weapons planted before it and tried to bolt again, this time I really would drive weapons into its fleeing back.

When I reached the chimera, it turned to face me head-on. It had abandoned the idea of escape.

With Gram gone, its fear must have faded too. It approached me confidently. Or rather, crawled toward me.

Had it already forgotten the disgraceful way it had been running for its life just moments ago?

I studied it closely. At a glance, it looked exactly like a wingless dragon, but here and there I could see traits of other monsters.

The white fur on its nape, for instance. The tail, unusually long and thin compared with a real dragon’s. The goatlike horns on its forehead.

Still, its base was definitely a dragon. I just couldn’t tell exactly which species.

“A dragon that can’t fly.”

An obvious regression. Before I came to this world, they wouldn’t even call something a dragon if it couldn’t fly. And this one had all sorts of other junk mixed into it.

“Blame your master, lizard.”

As if it understood me, the chimera made that same unsettling rattling sound in its mouth.

It seemed angry. But as far as I was concerned, I had merely called it by its proper name.

I used Weaving to place an imperial weapon in my hand. Since it wasn’t made with Black River, the creature wouldn’t be able to see it.

My Throwing skill was still at the intermediate level, but with a target that big, missing would be harder than hitting.

All right. Shall we?

I’ll send the armory’s weapons flying at you, one after another.

* * *

When the chimera burst through the ground, Elysia left the tower, with Philly following after her.

The chimera had already run off somewhere out of sight.

Elysia stood blankly, her eyes looking as though her soul had left her.

“... Elysia, from this moment on, I will treat you as a criminal. Creating a chimera is a grave crime. Using it to attack Constel is worse. And attempting to kidnap an imperial princess is worse still.”

At Philly’s cold words, Elysia let out a small, deflated laugh.

“So it is.”

Her voice sounded as though she had given up, resigned to her fate.

Reading that in her manner, Philly said,

“Stop the chimera. Dispel Rafflesia right now.”

Elysia turned her vacant eyes toward Philly and blinked a couple of times.

The sight filled Philly with an indescribable foreboding. This was not her Foresight activating. The source of this dread lay within herself.

For Elysia now looked far too much like Philly herself when she navigated the blades of politics.

“Why would I? This is an opportunity.”

“... Philly.”

“Just as you thought, Mom, the chimera is an experimental creature I made for Rafflesia. Every monster heading toward Constel is represented by some part of it.”

If anything, Elysia’s voice had grown calmer. It could almost have been called gentle.

“But you see, while I was creating the chimera underground, it grew much larger than I expected. So I kept it down there. I couldn’t even consider bringing it outside, but now that this has happened, it’s actually perfect. Once there are no witnesses left, no one will be able to prove what I’ve done.”

Philly merely fell silent at her words. Elysia tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, Mom? Did you really think I couldn’t kill you?”

“Elysia. What is your goal?”

“What else? You already know. I want the ‘place I was promised.’”

The place she was promised.

In other words, power within the Imperial Palace.

Philly had known. She had known ever since she realized Elysia was targeting Aten and Rodrick.

“You didn’t need to do this. If you had waited just a little longer, you would have inherited the throne.”

“Are you joking right now?”

Elysia asked as though she could not believe Philly was serious.

“You know it too, Mom. At this rate, I’m nothing but unwanted leftovers in the Imperial Palace. If direct descent matters, there’s Aten, who got all the talent and beauty. And if I try to make a case for being the eldest daughter, Imperial Prince Rodrick Terst has built up unmatched strength. How exactly am I supposed to inherit the throne?”

After Aten was born, everyone in the Imperial Palace had heaped praise on her, calling her the emperor’s true daughter.

She had a snowy, almost fragile beauty and considerable talent as a mage. Calm and humble in disposition, she possessed principles that neither her position nor her power could sway.

But that alone would not have endangered Elysia’s place. However exceptional Aten might be, no one had questioned the First Imperial Princess Elysia becoming crown princess. Above all, Aten herself did not want the position.

Yet as Rodrick Terst’s influence within the Imperial Palace grew, its politics took a peculiar turn.

Rodrick excelled in both ability and character. Though not Aten’s equal in talent, he was still remarkably gifted. And being male, he was the most straightforward, suitable candidate to succeed the emperor.

With Emperor Terst making the strange choice not to designate an heir, the palace split into two factions.

One supported Aten; the other supported Rodrick. There was no place for Elysia.

“You said it yourself, Mom, didn’t you? That I would inherit the throne. From the time I was little, you told me over and over until I was sick of hearing it, until I could hear your voice even in my dreams! That I would become the reigning empress who ruled this empire!”

Elysia spoke as though reminiscing about the past. A smile played on her lips, and her eyes sparkled like those of a child cherishing a brilliant dream.

Though she did not let it show, Philly felt a turmoil of emotions wash through her.

“So, Mom, I’m going to become empress. No matter what happens. No matter what I have to do.”

Philly felt it. This time, it truly was Foresight activating. Elysia’s last words had been some sort of signal.

Philly’s eyes darted behind Elysia. Far in the distance, she could sense the chimera.

Elysia was Philly’s daughter. She spoke as though she lacked talent, but Philly knew: of all her children, Elysia most closely resembled her in temperament.

Her calculating nature, the mind that made it possible, her knack for reading people’s favor—all of it reflected Philly’s past like a mirror.

And so she knew what Elysia intended to do.

“Cookie.”

Elysia called to someone. It was an adorable name, but there could be no mistaking that she was addressing the chimera.

“Bite Mommy.”

Her voice was as soft as a gentle breeze, barely loud enough to carry.

But Philly knew. The chimera’s enormous presence had abruptly turned toward her.

A faint growl reached her, like metal being scraped.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!!!

Heavy impacts rang out in succession, shaking the ground, and the chimera appeared in the distance.

Even as it charged, its eyes moved independently. Then, all at once, its pupils shuddered and focused.

On Philly.

Ice Magic, Formula One

Rapid Casting

Single Horn

Philly swiftly cast her spell.

A massive block of ice barred the chimera’s path.

But its charge did not stop, and cracks immediately spread through the ice. She had not had enough time to manifest the spell properly.

Ice Magic, Formula One

Rapid Casting

Frost Arrow

Her next hastily cast spell sent an arrow of ice flying into the block she had just created, where it adhered to the cracks.

Philly knew. There would not be enough time to construct her magic. The ice would shatter within mere seconds. Philly knew that she could not stop the chimera.

Her gaze shifted ever so slightly to one side of it. She could not stop it alone.

That was why she had bought time.

The moment the chimera broke through the ice, Frondier was already standing before it.

‘Idiot.’

Seeing him, Elysia smiled. She had worried that the man would flee while the chimera attacked Philly.

But now her Cookie would plainly dispose of them both at once.

The only thing that bothered her a little was why the chimera had so many wounds across its front.

As though answering Elysia’s wishes, the chimera showed no intention of stopping. After breaking through the ice, it accelerated toward Frondier.

“... You.”

Frondier spoke. Foolishly, he stood before the charging chimera. Even at this desperate moment, his languid demeanor remained unchanged.

“You really have forgotten, haven’t you?”

Fabrication, Black River

Grade - Legendary

Gram

Frondier gripped a greatsword in both hands, though no one could tell where he had drawn it from.

The chimera’s eyes flew wide. Its feet halted. It seemed to be trying to stop, but it had no way to overcome the momentum of its charge.

Standing to the left of the chimera’s path, Frondier swung as though wielding a baseball bat, slashing the creature as it reached him.

That was all.