Chapter 14: The Strongest Onmyoji Heads for the Next City

Fiona also keeps a separate unit for gathering information, aside from being a holy knight.

With the information brought by the fast horses, they were able to roughly determine the positions and destinations of the rebel forces.

“…Didn’t make it in time.”

Looking at the city’s scenery, I muttered.

The city, where there was information that one of the rebel forces was heading, had already fallen.

Part of the city walls had completely collapsed. Buildings were destroyed here and there, and in the distance, there were places where black smoke was rising.

Above all, there was no sign of the living.

“What is this… this is already…”

Amiyu muttered in astonishment.

Leefa and Mabel also seemed to be at a loss for words.

And then, at that moment.

“Ah, found something.”

Ren cheerfully exclaimed.

In one smooth motion, he unsheathed his short sword.

The blades of wind and gravel flew, splitting the undead soldiers who had appeared from hiding.

“It seems the main force has left, but they’ve still left a considerable number of undead soldiers behind.”

Carrying the magic stone short sword lightly on his shoulder, the young holy knight spoke.

“Let’s deal with them first. I’ll go check over there, so please handle the rest.”

After saying that, he quickly walked away.

We were left dumbfounded by his rather independent actions. However, Amiyu quickly rallied.

“We’ll split up and look around too! There might be survivors!”

“Yeah!”

“Got it.”

As the three started to run off, I made sure to say,

“Leefa, go with Mabel. It’s dangerous with just one rear guard.”

Leefa momentarily halted, then nodded and followed after Mabel.

Honestly, I didn’t want to let Amiyu go solo either, but… well, she’ll be fine.

“Now then…”

I opened the door and summoned a large number of humanoid figures from the dimensions. 

I turned about ten into crows and transformed the rest into mice, releasing them into the city one after another.

With this, I should be able to search a reasonably wide area.

“Now, let’s go deal with the most troublesome one over there.”

Advancing toward the city center, I directed my attention to the familiar spirits’ field of vision.

The ones who caused the fall of this city is not just ordinary undead soldiers.

If they could only manipulate the bodies of slaves and believers, they wouldn’t be able to destroy the city walls and buildings to this extent.

However, there’s a possibility that they have already left the city along with the main force…

“…Huh?”

At that moment, a figure appeared in the field of vision.

Dirty clothes, drool dripping from an empty gaze, wielding an axe in hand.

“Grrrr!”

Suddenly, an undead soldier kicked the ground towards me.

I sighed softly, looked away from it, and muttered while forming a seal with one hand.

“It’s not something like this that I need.”

《Summoning――――Hihirukiri》

What appeared from the distortion of space was a yellow-brown sword.

It circled around and, flying through the air, effortlessly beheaded the approaching undead soldier.

The sword that had been thrust into the ground continued to tremble for a while, then suddenly quivered and forcefully popped out.

It chased after me as I continued walking, bouncing along, and eventually caught up, beginning to hover around me.

I watched its behavior out of the corner of my eye. It was like a dog. If it weren’t for the wriggling, bulging eyeballs embedded in the hilt, it might even seem cute.

Hihirukiri is a tsukumogami, a spirit that inhabits an aged copper sword.

In rare cases, inanimate objects can transform into supernatural beings when strongly influenced by human thoughts. Hihirukiri, having been created eight hundred years ago, has absorbed human thoughts over a long period, giving it an unusually powerful divine ability for a tsukumogami. Despite being a copper sword, its sharpness surpasses even renowned swords.

However, most tsukumogami tend to be docile, and Hihirukiri is no exception.

Since it would be unbearable for a living person to be cut, it’s just right for use now.

Walking through the ruined city, I directed my awareness through the familiar’s vision.

The occasional undead soldiers that appeared were taken care of by Hihirukiri on its own, so they didn’t hinder my exploration.

As I raised my head, I noticed a diagonal pillar of fire rising in the sky.

Presumably, it was Ren’s magic. It seemed like he had encountered something troublesome over there.

“…Oh.”

At that moment

The view captured by the rat’s vision made me stop in my tracks.

“It looks like it’s this one.”

Muttering quietly, I exchanged positions with the familiar that was there.

The scenery in front of me changed drastically. It was a similar cityscape, but the details were different.

In front of me stood a tall five-story building.

However, a gigantic rock was embedded on the top floor, causing partial destruction.

On the lower floors, people in panic could be seen shouting through the windows.

And ― the one responsible for this was observing the building from the street.

A large, somewhat overweight man. Lacking vitality, he clearly appeared to be an undead soldier. However, he was clad in adventurer’s gear, and in his hand, he held a wand typically used by mages.

“…Quake, resound in yellow… enduring the eternal wind and rain, oh steadfast spirit of the rock…”

What escaped his lips was an empty incantation.

With that, I sent out a paper figure, all the while thinking

“So even as an undead soldier, he can still use magic.”

Immediately after, a rock hurled by the undead mage was erased by the dispelling paper figure.

With motion devoid of discernible will, the man turned his attention towards me as if he had sensed my presence.

Then, raising his wand, he began chanting another spell, his lips moving once again.

Feeling a bit sorry for him, I formed a seal with one hand.

“…I shouldn’t have left Hihirukiri behind.”

《Earth’s Phase――――Tengu’s Beard Technique》

A sharp, high-pitched sound cut through the air.

Simultaneously, the undead soldier’s head flew. The slash extended to the surrounding buildings, causing a straight line of dust as fences and walls were severed.

A moment later, the corpse without a head collapsed.

I sighed softly.

“I’m not particularly fond of this technique.”

I dispelled the volcanic rock fiber thread that had cut through the surroundings in an instant.

Though I wanted to examine the corpses for now, I’d do it later. Approaching the buildings where the living remained, being cautious not to use “Tengu’s Beard” to slash, I called out from below.

“I’ve come to help. The building is unstable, so please come down carefully.”

The people inside only looked down at me with fear through the windows, offering no response. However, they were probably still scared. Once they realized it was safe, they would eventually come down.

“Now…”

For now, I defeated the one who seemed to have destroyed the town.

Since there might still be similar ones around, it might be a good idea to search a bit more, but for now, it’s better to go back and retrieve Hihirukiri. He won’t go around killing people if left alone, but I feel like he’ll be in chaos without me.

And, at that moment.

A rat caught sight of Amiyu.

Seeing that, I decided to postpone the retrieval of the supernatural being and headed towards her.

“Amiyu!”

I called out as soon as I teleported.

Next to a collapsed building, Amiyu, who was trying to lift a large piece of debris, turned towards me with wide eyes.

“Seika! Come here! Help me!”

The collapsed building.

At the base of the rubble pile, Amiyu remained crouched, shouting.

As I ran over, I understood the situation.

A small hand was reaching out from under the debris.

“It seems someone is trapped under there! Help me with this, will you!”

Amiyu pointed to the edge of the large debris.

Using magic to lift it would be easier, but… it’s a bit tricky to control. Since we don’t know what’s underneath, manual labor would be safer.

“Got it.”

Syncing our breaths, Amiyu and I put force into the hands holding the debris.

Gradually, it began to lift.

Even rubble that would normally be too much for human hands could be managed with Qi manipulation and Amiyu’s ridiculous strength.

However, with such a large piece of stone, it was a bit challenging. I spoke to Amiyu with a strained expression on my face.

“I’m supporting it, so pull that child out!”

“O-Okay!”

Amiyu nodded, sliding under the debris while supporting it with her back.

Soon, she emerged holding a small body. It seemed to be a girl. Covered in dust and unmoving, but I could faintly sense the flow of her energy. She probably just lost consciousness.

Amiyu placed the girl on the ground.

Then, for some reason, she went back under the debris.

“W-Wait!”

“There was another one!”

The shout echoed back. I sweated profusely, straining to support the debris.

Should I try some magic to make it easier…? I began to consider when Amiyu emerged, pulling another person along with her.

This person was much larger than the girl, appearing to be middle-aged, like a middle-aged man. As soon as I realized this, my expression hardened.

Once Amiyu and the man were completely out, I let go of the debris we were supporting. A loud noise accompanied the swirling dust.

“Haa… haa…”

Amiyu was breathing heavily.

After calming my own breath, I spoke softly.

“Amiyu, that person is already…”

“…I know.”

Amiyu bit her lip.

The man had already passed away.

He must have been a resident of this town, an ordinary-looking person you might find anywhere. 

“Oh…”

At that moment, a small voice echoed.

The girl, barely opening her eyes.

Amiyu leaned forward.

“Are you awake? Any pain?”

“Oh, father…”

The girl reached out with her small hand towards the motionless middle-aged man.

However, it seemed her strength had already reached its limit, as her hand fell to the ground without reaching him. She seemed to have lost consciousness again.

“…:”

Amiyu and I stood there in silence for a while.

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