Chapter 313: Retreat

“What!?”

The power to steal… Legendary Weapons!?

What’s with that abnormal ability?

Wait a second.

The Hero of the Whip has the Claw because… he stole it?

“Yeah, the guy who called himself the Hero of the Claw had a rotten personality, so I already sent him to hell.” (Tact)

Again, Tact said it as if it were a matter of course.

Dead?

If you kill a hero, isn’t the world supposed to be in trouble… So this is why the wave came so fast!?

No, it isn’t just the Hero of the Whip.

Perhaps the same became of all the Seven Star Heroes we can’t come into contact with.

I don’t know when they were killed, but we haven’t heard anything of them in the past two months.

So that means that the Seven Stars have been dead for a few months…

“And, all of the heroes always have totally twisted personalities, you know. They never listen to what I’m trying to say.” (Tact)

Who would want to listen to a guy like this?

I sure as hell wouldn’t!

Anger is clouding the thoughts in my head.

Each and every one of them. Are all of the bastards that get selected as heroes people like this!?

“I’m going to be saving the world here, so all you guys have to do is die and hand over your weapons.” (Tact)

“As expected of Tact-sama. You plan on saving the legendary weapons from the clutches of those vile heroes over there.”

“What!?”

Upon hearing that voice, all of my comrades let out their voices before going silent.

Even Trash.

“H-how… Why are you here!? Aren’t you supposed to be dead!?” (Naofumi)

Witch, whom we had presumed dead, showed herself from behind a pillar. She leans her body against my hated enemy and looks down at us as if she were looking down at piles of trash.

“And as you can see, I’m obviously not dead, Shield.” (Witch)

I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

She truly should have been dead.

In the frozen casket Faubley sent back, her corpse was definitely there.

And her death snuff tape couldn’t have been faked.

“On my face, and my body. I won’t forgive you for giving me these wounds. I’ll give you a slow death after making you experience a world of pain! Right, Tact-sama?” (Witch)

There is a scar on her arm, as if it had been rejoined at the joint. Over one of her eyes hangs an eyepatch.

There’s a similar mark on her leg.

If my memory serves me well, those are definitely the places the Pig King severed.

So how is she alive!?

… Alchemy?

I heard that the Hero of the Whip also partook in that.

I see. The Hero who reported Rat was probably him.

In the past, I’ve heard Rat speak about homunculi.

But creating a fake that is indistinguishable from the real article is ridiculously difficult. When did they have a chance to swap them out?

No, more importantly, Witch is alive. That’s all I have to know.

Hero of the Whip… Genius. Head of his class. Faubley’s academy. Witch’s loss of virginity…

I see. So that’s where he comes into play. (TL: I wonder if you all remember that)

Someone who I can’t let live- Witch… And Atlas’s murderer, Tact.

Even though my Shield’s been stolen, an unquenchable rage sears through my body.

It’s not related to the Curse of Wrath.

I just hate him. I just want to kill him.

“Yeah, the one who sent Malty to that pig must be quite a villain. If it’s her fault that a lot of people died, then she’ll have to make up for it with her life. But I’ll make sure to put her through a world of pain first!” (Tact)

“And that’s how it is, Mama. How dare you sell me to that Pig King. Now die for your sins. Papa shares the crime too.” (Bitch)

“M-Malty…” (Trash)

Trash holds the Queen in his arms and stares in silence. His eyes are full of disbelief. He opens his mouth again and again, but no words come out.

Tact turns his Claws to Fohl, who was nearby, and thrusts.

“As if an attack like that will-!?” (Fohl)

He’s fast!

Fohl’s only become a Hero recently.

He can’t follow those movements.

But Fohl emerges without a scratch.

“Hmm? If I have this shield out, my attack power disappears. How useless.” (Tact)

He makes the Shield disappear, and equips a claw on one hand and a small dagger on the other.

The dagger greatly resembles the one Rishia holds.

So that’s how it is.

Rishia’s mysterious weapon… No, the reason why her Seven Star Weapon is translucent is because its wielder was killed, and its powers were stolen.

And the weapon itself doesn’t accept Tact as its wielder.

Perhaps it selected Rishia to rebel against him.

「Erst Throw」!

With a throwing motion, Tact embeds the dagger in Ren’s shoulder.

It seems that Ren won’t be able to use his sword anymore.

“Gu!”

“Don’t try anything funny. When you think about Heroes, it’s gotta be swords, right? Hand it over already.” (Tact)

We’ve already suffered heavy damage from gunfire. We’re at an extreme disadvantage.

I can’t let him take the other legendary weapons too.

My body won’t move, but I strain every muscle in my body. I fill myself with killing intent

I won’t let him take anything else from me!

“Go to hell!” (Naofumi)

I forcefully encircle my body with chi and magic. I use every bit of power I have left and kick the ground.

Just a second is enough.

Enough time for everyone to run…!

“Wha-”

Tact blocked the unexpected attack by materializing his stolen shield.

My fist impacts his body.

“Hah, how weak. Gufu!?” (Tact)

My magic and chi explode within his body, and he spits up blood as he’s sent flying all the way behind the throne.

“Tact!?”

The gun-toting women all turn their eyes to him, creating a large chance.

And the heroes don’t miss it.

“Now! 「Flashing Sword」!” (Ren)

「Shining Lance」!

「Flash Arrow」!

They let out their flashing skills to blind the remaining women.

“What are you doing!? Hurry up and shoot those guys to death!” (Bitch)

Witch screams out, but Ren had already kicked down the door.

“「Transfer Sword」! … As I thought, it’s no good.” (Ren)

「All Dreifach Heal」!

Through healing magic, the people who had been immobilized through injury somehow find the strength to escape into the castle.

Ren and Motoyasu lead the way, while Granny and Raphtalia keep the rear.

Anyways, everyone got over their injuries, but that doesn’t mean they recovered their energy.

The Queen’s wounds are the deepest.

The clothes she was wearing have turned black from the oxidized blood covering them.

If we don’t do something fast, we won’t make it.

And I can say the same about myself.

My head is spinning from the pain.

I don’t know why healing magic won’t work on me.

It’s a miracle I was even able to stand back there..

“Mirellia! Stay with me!” (Trash)

Trash calls out to the Queen. He holds her on his back as he runs behind me.

“Naofumi-sama!” (Raphtalia)

“Niichan! Keep yourself together!” (Kiel)

I’m slumped over on Firo’s back.

My body won’t move at all.

The Shield’s Icon has long since vanished from my vision.

“Naofumi-san, do you understand? Your anger is completely justified, but shall we not retreat for now?” (Itsuki)

Itsuki quietly orders me.

He’s right.

If we fight in an enemy fortress where we don’t know who’s waiting to ambush us, the other heroes will have their weapons taken.

And what the hell is with his Cheat?

“Itsuki-sama?” (Rishia)

“… Yes, let’s quickly retreat from here. Ren-san, how is it? Do you think you can at least transfer the Queen and Naofumi-san somewhere safe?” (Itsuki)

“It’s impossible… My Transfer Sword won’t activate. Something’s interfering with it.” (Ren)

“KYUA!”

As if telling us to leave it to him, Gaelion chants magic.

It’s Dragon Sanctuary.

They’ve probably cast a magic similar to that on this castle.

In the past, Firo and Gaelion fought for turf, and when their fields clashed, they were both nullified.

『KYUAAA』!

I feel something pass through my body.

“I’m not letting you get away!”

I hear a voice from further down the hallway.

「Dragon Sanctuary」!

Ku… as I thought, that Lizard Woman was a dragon.

And she said she was an emperor like Gaelion.

“Fi…ro” (Naofumi)

I desperately let out my voice, and call out to Firo.

“Leave it to me.” (Firo)

Firo keeps running as she begins casting magic as well.

「Sanctuary」! (Firo)

“Nope, 「Bird Sanctuary」!”

Ku… the Gryphon-like one chants too.

The moment one’s nullified, another is deployed.

There’s no way we can use it.

If we do get to Portal, well need to select the members to evacuate as well.

In the brief moment when the field is nullified, it’ll be hard to use the skill.

The front line is also starting to get noisy.

We’re met by soldiers ahead.

「Gravity Blade」!

「Brionac」!

「Piercing Shot」!

By the sound of it, the standard soldiers aren’t particularly strong.

It seems that only a fraction of their forces have broken the level cap.

It’s safe to assume that all the women we met in that area have received the ability to do so.

But the support fire coming at us from the rear is troublesome.

“Acho!”

“Hah!”

“Tei!”

The Granny, Raphtalia, and Fohl concentrate their chi on a single point and stop the bullets in midair. But, it seems that it drains a lot of stamina.

“Again.” (Taniko)

Taniko rides on Gaelion and assists him in casting a spell.

It looks like Sadina is helping as well.

“Uu… Woof!” (Kiel)

Kiel changes to Kielberus and bites at the soldiers up front.

But it seems the soldiers aren’t to be laughed at. Or maybe it’s because My Shield was stolen. Anyways, she’s not able to inflict any serious injuries.

Because the Shield’s gone, the Ability Correction skill isn’t in effect.

And because of that, Faubley’s soldiers won’t fall so easily…?

No, even if there’s something rotten in Faubley, it’s the most powerful country. They’re probably elite soldiers with relatively high levels.

We can’t crush them one-sidedly.

Luckily, they’re much weaker than Tact’s harem.

They’re at most level 100.

Of course, those women are coming at us from behind as well.

If Tact uses that skill that breached through my defenses, we won’t get away unharmed.

I think it’s probably on cooldown, or perhaps he doesn’t want to damage his own castle too much.

“Have you dispelled their anti-teleport field yet!?” (Ren)

“I’m trying!” (Firo)

Firo impatiently answers

“Ren, don’t worry about us! Anything is better than letting those fiends get their hands on another legendary weapon! Just think about yourself and run!” (Female Knight)

“As if I could do that!” (Ren)

Ren quickly refutes Female Knight’s words.

Damn… If we can’t teleport, I guess we get irritated.

I can’t move, and my consciousness is hazy, so I can only think and observe.

“If we could just get outside, we could escape on Gaelion, but…” (Itsuki)

“They probably have something ready to intercept us.” (Ren)

“Father-in-Law!” (Motoyasu)

Motoyasu runs up to my bloodstained body.

If you have time to talk to me, go fight!

We continue our escape, but soldiers block our path, and eventually, we’re led to a dead end.

「Meteor Sword」!

We break the wall, and run down the corridor beyond.

Ren’s ability to take action is worthy of praise.

“Leave the rear guard to me. Saint-sama, quickly run away!” (Granny)

Granny takes Raphtalia, Fohl, and Female Knight. In order to stop those pursuing us, they stay behind.

“No…” (Naofumi)

I reach out my hand.

That role is the one I’m supposed to be filling.

“Naofumi-sama, leave it to me!” (Raphtalia)

But as if they had expected this, the ones who kinda stood out–the red hooded woman, and the Aotatsu woman–are standing in front of us.

“As Tact-sama said, you came here.”

“Ku…”

As I look around, I see more of the people who were around the throne.

“Kyua!”

Gaelion deploys his second sanctuary.

“It’s useless.”

The enemy Dragon merely deploys her’s too.

It’ll just be an infinite loop.

Even so, we’ll have to teleport if we want any hope of escape.

The castle is crawling with enemy forces, and even if we reach the gate, this is their country… the civilians may even raise their arms against us.

If it was me, that’s what I would do.

Regardless of where we go, the Hero of the Whip is sure to follow.

Since we’ve already suffered injury and loss, we have no way to defend ourselves.

「Sanctuary」!

「Bird Sanctuary」!

“Bu-!” (Firo)

Firo stomps her foot, and impatiently cries out.

「I who… source… gufu」

I try to chant magic, but the wounds from Tact are deep, and I can’t concentrate.

That attack… no, that weapon must be cursed.

My wounds won’t heal with magic.

As if he cast a negative status effect, I can’t hold onto my conscience.

“Master!” (Firo)

Firo calls out to me, who had just failed in casting magic.

I can hear Tact shouting from the rear, where Raphtalia and the Granny are fighting.

“Just give up already, you trash.” (Tact)

“Ku… who the hell would give up! You were tempted by that Witch, you intentionally stepped into our fight with Houou, and everyone… You even killed the Seven Star Heroes!” (Ren)

Ren prepares himself to bear the brunt of Tact’s advance and declares as such.

“No matter what, the ones who handed Malty to that pig and revived the Spirit Turtle have no Justice. Just lay down quietly and die!” (Tact)

Tact readies his claw to strike, and…

“RAFU~~~~~~~~~~~!” (Raph-chan)

I feel the anti-teleport field dispel all at once.

Raph-chan’s tail expands greatly, and she releases magic.

“Wha-”

The unexpected development creates an opening.

They probably thought that since Firo and Gaelion had already deployed their sanctuaries, they would be safe for a while.

But Raph-chan was an anomaly. Because of him, the heroes were able to use their transfer skills.

“Now!”

Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki clench their weapons and chant their skills.

「Transfer Sword」!

「Portal Spear」!

「Transfer Bow」!

“You’re not going anywhere!” (Tact)

Tact finally takes out a whip.

And he swings it at Granny, Raphtalia, and Fohl, who were in the rear.

「Bind Whip」!

The whip expands as if it were a live snake. It thrusts forwards as if to intertwine itself around Fohl.

“I won’t let you!” (Raphtalia)

Sword meets Whip. Raphtalia halts the Whip’s advance.

“Firo, Fohl-kun, Eclaire-san.” (Raphtalia)

“Aneki…” (Fohl)

“Raphtalia…” (Female Knight)

“If something happens to me… I leave Naofumi-sama to you.” (Raphtalia)

Yes, as if she was fully aware of her fate, Raphtalia speaks to Fohl. She smiles at me, who can do nothing but watch.

“Ra…ph…a”

When I try to speak, I hear an ominous sound from my lungs.

Move. Or else… I don’t want to lose anything else! Quickly, dammit!

“There’s no need for that, Saint-sama!” (Granny)

“Eh?”

The Granny kicks Raphtlaia away, and sends her flying at me.

Raphtalia rolls on the ground dumbfounded.

“Run away quickly!” (Granny)

“But we don’t know if the Transfer will-” (Ren)

“If you don’t do anything, you’ll all die! Now, quickly!” (Granny)

Ren quickly nods at the Granny’s words, and activates his skill.

“Saint-sama… I’m leaving the world, and everyone, to you and my disciples!” (Granny)

“W-what are…”

“My style existed to make one stronger and to punish evil. Even if my body were to crumble, as long as I know there are ones to carry it on, then my life was not wasted!” (Granny)

She declares that as she runs in the opposite direction from us.

“MASTEEEEEEER!”

Raphtalia, and Rishia, Female Knight, and Fohl’s screams echoed.

After that, the scenery in front of my eyes changes, and at the same time, for me, the world gets darker and farther away.

I bet the transfer was successful.

The same goes for Motoyasu and Itsuki.

But… The Granny didn’t come with us. We were only able to confirm that after we warped away…