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323. Childhood ep – Role

‘What is this?’

The sorcerer suddenly collapsed, rolling around. Distraught, Reb thought, “Right, in that moment,” and bent down to check on Leah’s condition.

“Are you okay?”

“…”

As if the magic had worn off, Leah sat up from where she had fallen. Blood soaked through her once-white priest robe, and she clenched her teeth as she scanned her surroundings.

“…I’m fine. This isn’t the end. Reb, help me up.”

“Okay. We need to get away quickly…”

“No. Look over there.”

Following Leah’s pointing finger, he turned his head to see the sorcerer staggering to his feet. But the guy’s eyes…

“Oh… Oriax?”

The pink irises were nowhere to be found.

Black, rotting blood swirled in those eyes. They definitely belonged to Oriax.

Reb was dumbfounded.

It was strange that Oriax appeared so suddenly, but he hurled his staff aside and rushed into the wedding venue. The wedding hall was a nightmare of screams and chaos.

Leah cleared up his doubts.

“You really didn’t know? It’s Uncle Bart. The person who took the necklace earlier. You should go quickly.”

“Bart? Oh… It really is him. Seriously, why didn’t he just come with us? More importantly, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just hurry. I’ll follow with the orphans.”

Reb nodded and dashed away. Leah, with trembling legs, did her best to comfort the frightened orphans.

Since she couldn’t be of much help to Reb anyway. Though they hadn’t learned Holy spells, the orphans could use their innate divine power through song.

I wish I could do that too.

After sending the orphans into the wedding hall, Leah turned back with a bitter smile. Going in would only disrupt them, so she planned to stay outside and hear the outcome.

“Monster! A monster has appeared! Run quickly! Nobles, this way! Please evacuate!”

As the battle intensified, shouts and screams echoed inside and out. But everyone who could run did, and the Royal Knights eager to engage rushed inside. Still, voices called for more reinforcements.

‘Is Reb…’

Will he be okay? Do I really just have to wait here? — she thought anxiously while assisting with the bodies of the fallen.

– Thud, rattle.

A staff discarded by the sorcerer rolled toward Leah, kicked by someone. She picked it up without thinking too much.

*

“AAAH!”

When Reb charged in after Oriax, the wedding hall had turned into a disaster zone.

The king was torn apart, and chunks of rock flew everywhere.

Then the sorcerer barreled in, seemingly trying to block Sir Bart, but his body exploded and transformed into a massive blob.

The blob, resembling a cow, emitted an unbearable stench and was crawling with maggots, even wriggling around.

Several ladies fainted at the horrific sight, and the nobles panicked, screaming.

What is that?

No one knew what it was, but a voice broke through the horrified atmosphere.

Jenia Jaqueri shouted.

“It’s an enemy! It’s something trying to harm our king and escape… it’s like a monster, we must capture it!”

Her shout caught Oriax off guard.

With his identity revealed and a Swordmaster trying to shatter his fragments, Oriax attempted to escape with the shards while the humans were still dazed.

It would be a problem if those shards broke.

Without followers serving him, he might perish at any moment.

But the knights stood up, blocking the doors at the front, left, and right. Not wanting to be caught in the battle, Oriax dashed straight toward the wall…

– Ouchi!

Rather than break down, the wall inflicted pain on Oriax. Why wouldn’t this flimsy wall break? When he looked again, Oriax was furious.

It was a ward.

Golden curtains and bunting festooned for Eric and Elika’s wedding were lined with wards. Quite thoroughly imbued with pure divine power.

– Ib tuag zooy li o!

Furious, Oriax spat out curses in a manner unbecoming of himself.

That moronic Apostle Eric let himself get distracted by a woman! Even though a trap of this size was being set.

The deity was surely waiting for the right moment.

As he ground his teeth, the Swordmaster charged forward with a battle cry. His target was the shards he was holding.

Oriax swiftly raised his head to dodge, and the Oblivion Blade merely grazed his chest.

However, the price was not trivial. Blood gushed out from the gash, spilling like a fountain from a pile of corpses.

The unreasonable sight and Oriax’s massive bulk crashed into the stunned nobles, causing chaos to erupt from the neatly arranged white tablecloths and dishes meant for the guests.

Those splattered with blood all melted away. From that moment on, the nobles began to flee one after another. A fine gentleman’s wig flew through the air.

“Hey, wait! Form a line, please! You’ll disrupt the formation like this…”

“Get out of my way! Do you know who I am?!”

Chaos reigned.

Nobles fled in the opposite direction from Oriax. As thousands poured towards the main entrance, the knights stationed there panicked.

Over there.

Ignoring the Swordmaster who was sniping at him, Oriax followed after the fleeing nobles. Thud! Thud! His heavy footsteps intensified the panic.

Seizing the opportunity, Oriax tried to outmaneuver the knights and escape through a door… Vatsvi Quaev!! A curse involuntarily escaped him. There was another Swordmaster.

“Someone lend me a sword! Thank you!”

It was Reb. He had snatched a sword from a nearby Royal Knight and raised it high.

The brilliant, blazing Oblivion Blade.

The nobles swerved around Reb blocking the main entrance and fled to either side. Thud, thud, occasionally bumping shoulders, but he kept his eyes solely on Oriax.

What’s that? What’s he holding?

Whatever it was, he was fidgeting anxiously. A deep red rock… Reb (skipping the introduction) shouted.

“I’ve come to help! That’s known as the Evil God! If we join forces, we can capture it, so just be careful not to get splattered with its blood! Is there no priest here?”

Sadly, there wasn’t.

Reb instinctively knew it wouldn’t be an easy fight, even with two Swordmasters. It seemed Oriax realized the gravity of the situation, too.

= Ruam thiab… rhuav tshemy.

Even if his utterance was slightly garbled due to holding onto the rock, the power activated.

Oriax donned a battle stance, bedecked with curses. But because he had things to protect, he couldn’t charge forward.

= Lub cevy tive thaiv!

“What… what is that? The horns…”

A pile of corpses several meters high.

In the eye swirling with blood, 17 horns sprouted from what definitely seemed to be a head. Three vanished smoothly, receding within, while more sprouted from his legs, knees, and shoulders.

He knew that while his form was suited for a charge, it wasn’t the best for fighting in tight spaces. He spread his horns wide and bounded in circles.

“W-What?!”

“Knights, aim for the legs as much as possible! Bart! Can you hear me? You and I need to coordinate!”

= Rot Thiab tuag!!

“AHHH! My wounds…!”

“Take care! You mustn’t get injured!”

“What is that?!”

Bart was across the way. The noise was so loud that Reb had to nearly shout to explain.

“He’s trying to escape! If we give him the chance, he’ll burst through the doors, so let’s alternate attacks on the rocks! We need to keep up with his speed…”

“I understand!”

= Kuv yuav yog ib tug!!

Hundreds of black lines shot from Oriax’s body, latching onto everyone. The deceased soared away, becoming part of him, and wounds festering.

Reb and Bart chased after the spinning creature, leaping once each time. They were determined to shatter the rock Oriax was desperately trying to protect.

Oriax jerked his head inward to dodge Reb’s sword, searching for an escape route but then Bart dashed in to block his way. If he changed direction, Reb would block that side all over again.

Three doors.

Preventing Oriax from escaping went fairly well. But the surroundings were in ruins. Not having a priest was deadly.

“Ugh… I was… wrong.”

“Focus! Stop spouting nonsense and concentrate… Ugh.”

“Ugh… I’ve got a wound. I’m…”

Just a brush from the horn while dashing could result in severe injuries, and if trampled, death awaited. Blood mingled and melted away.

Thus, the knights aimed for his legs, but they had no choice but to leap back, dodging as the chairs and tables scattered across the room posed problems.

A mere fall or scrape would cause festering wounds.

If there had been a priest, even a scratch like that would have been treated quickly. But since Eric didn’t call for a priest for the wedding, the knights mournfully gazed at the writhing maggots in their minor wounds.

With the poison coursing through him, he flew off shortly after. Oriax’s legs had grown thicker than before.

If only Cardinal Berg were here!

Reb sighed. If that fellow had only been here, it would have been easy to capture him.

Reb glanced sideways.

The orphans from Grania Monastery were singing piously from the back, but they were of little help. Right now, they needed someone decisive to heal the knights or invoke Lachar to hinder Oriax’s escape like Cardinal Berg would.

This situation wouldn’t do at all.

Even Oriax, who had been planning his escape, seemed to realize he was gaining the upper hand, judging by how much he focused on slaughtering the knights and Royal Guards.

Bart shouted.

“Let’s just jump him together, Young Swordmaster! I’ll provide support from inside!”

Since Oriax was jumping around in circles, he meant he would dive into the fray. As he said, it was hard to strike from outside without getting hit by Oriax while attempting to attack from several meters up.

Oriax dodged by turning his head inward.

But that would open up a path for Oriax to escape. Blocking the three doors alternately with the two of them was challenging to do alone.

Reb gasped.

“It won’t work!”

“Then what do you suggest we do? There’s no other way at this rate!”

“…Wait. No, there is a way! Wait! Someone! Hold that! Aagh, I’m dying. Jenia Jaqueri!!”

“Why?!”

The knight from the First Knight Order, Jenia, caught up to Reb, who was darting around from here to there. Reb kicked off the wall, leaped upward, and swung his sword, suddenly changing Oriax’s direction and shouting.

“Go to the Captain of the Royal Knights and ask him… pant pant where’s the rope to bring us into the castle?”

Jenia returned after Reb and Bart had circled the hall a couple more times.

“They said it’s here. They used all the curtains and drapes to create an excuse for letting us in.”

“Phew… then tell them to remove some. I don’t know how effective it’ll be, but for now, just bring one… No! Where are you going!”

“Understood.”

Reb’s bizarre command was relayed through Jenia. Thirty Royal Guards took a curtain rope, preparing to tug it like a tug-of-war, holding onto both ends.

The height of the hall made the length substantial. The guards were ready to drop the rope and flee at any moment, but, huh? The monster turned, even though the Swordmaster didn’t interfere.

It’s working!

“Hey! Call for more Royal Guards! Bring back the ones that ran away!”

The guards who had been twiddling their thumbs, overwhelmed by Oriax’s fearsome presence suddenly found something to do.

Inspired, a group of over thirty guards, led by Count Gideon Ropero, grabbed the golden cord.

“Slowly! Slowly! Be careful not to obstruct the knights. Stay staggered. Don’t overlap the ropes!”

Oriax seemed highly wary of the golden cord. But there are limits to dodging, and as it gradually closed in, he finally trampled over it.

“AAAH!”

“Watch out and don’t get caught!”

This isn’t working at all… It was the moment people felt dispirited. Reb suddenly jumped up, exclaiming with joy.

“That’s it! Wrap the rope around him! You can throw it or wrap it around his horns or legs!”

The rope had snagged around its leg.

It was the rope that had been trampled earlier, but attached to the one behind it, and Reb recalled a monster he had encountered a long time ago.

Wasn’t it called Aboandone?

A monster with a bird’s head and a pig’s body. He had managed to attach a log trap to its neck and successfully hunted it. Oriax, being without hands, could hardly get the rope undone, so this strategy might work again.

Plus, hunting was Reb’s specialty. Before long, soldiers laid rope over the monster one by one as more and more people joined in to grab the rope.

“Good! It’s slowing down! Bart! Now you go and… huh?”

But when Reb made eye contact with Oriax, he found himself startled. He hadn’t noticed at first due to the rock in Oriax’s mouth, but the corners of his mouth were twisted…

It looked just like a smirk.