Chapter 10: The Slums (2)
―Those chosen, leap forth♩
―Pain shall vanish and the world shall be saved♪
―Prove it through death♪
Grim lyrics and a lively melody.
The words of a song in terrible harmony dwindled one by one.
The Grey River.
Everyone there was singing this song as they leapt into the water.
Behind them, someone could be seen clasping their hands together.
Through a shabby outfit shone the sinister eyes of a fanatic.
The very person who had turned this slum into an altar of manifestation.
"…You're late. Expedition to prevent the destruction."
He spoke.
As if he had predicted that Roan's group would appear.
Splash, splash.
Bubbles of air made by the people who had submerged their bodies in the viscous water.
The moment those bubbles converged to exactly 0—
The thick river water flipped upside down, and from its depths, catastrophe arrived.
***
It had been a day spent moving busily to stop the destructions that had already come to pass.
‘I thought there would still be time left.’
He had assumed the flow of events would be the same.
But it wasn't.
An interfering variable had appeared in a timeline that should have run identically.
It was entirely possible for the future to become twisted.
‘It's fine. It's not like I knew everything to begin with.’
He didn't know precisely who was amassing power where, or who was preparing when and where.
Even at this very moment, a destruction that the previous life's Expedition had failed to resolve might be gathering strength.
All Roan could do was make use of the information he had.
At least having that information was something to be grateful for.
‘A future that changes… it was always going to be something I'd have to face someday. If anything, this is for the better.’
He had already done enough regretting.
If he kept on regretting when there was nothing left to regret, he would never be able to move forward.
Roan raised his head.
He could see an elder dying yet smiling, and a single cleric who hadn't been swallowed by the warm, cheerful laughter.
"Phew… Well, at least the life was saved for now…."
"Erian Belgard."
"Ah, the one who saved him. Thank you so much. I didn't expect you to throw yourself into that river."
Belgard said that and began wiping down Roan's body.
She paid no mind to her own hands and cloth getting dirty.
"Still, please don't treat your own body carelessly. It's a precious life."
"You're right. A precious life. You always said that."
"…Pardon? Wait—come to think of it, did I tell you my name…."
Belgard only belatedly seemed a little puzzled.
After all, a complete stranger knew both her surname and given name.
But the words that followed were even more puzzling.
"Erian Belgard. To save the precious lives you hold dear—can you lend me your strength?"
It were words that carried the intent of watching over the world.
"…Pardon? Lend my strength—what do you mean by that?"
"Something's about to happen soon. One person has fallen in, so the others will be throwing themselves into the river before long too."
Belgard looked at the other people.
They were people laughing brightly and chattering away—the type who didn't seem to be thinking about jumping in at all.
"That's a little… isn't that an exaggeration?"
"There's no time for a long explanation. It's urgent."
Roan looked at Jane.
It seemed they understood each other without needing to speak.
"We just need to tie them all up, right?"
"Exactly."
Sharp Jane.
"W-wait a moment. What are you trying to do…."
"We need to tie them up. So they can't get into the river."
Tying up cheerful people, he said.
"W-wait a moment. Are you serious? You're going to restrain people who are that cheerful?"
At those words, Belgard panicked and tried to stop them.
But Roan didn't bend.
He placed a hand firmly on Belgard's shoulder.
Weight.
It was a heavy hand that carried long years she knew nothing of.
"Belgard. I already know what a good person you are."
But.
"Sometimes, to prevent a great sacrifice, you have to accept a little discomfort."
Those words, too, carried no less weight than his hand.
Belgard couldn't say anything.
She could only watch as Jane bound the once-cheerful children with Mana Chains.
And then, as the restraining went on, a change occurred.
―Clink… clank.
The children bound by the Mana Chains began screaming and crawling along the ground.
"Why, why are you tying us up!"
"Don't interfere!! This is the path to happiness!!"
They pressed their faces into the contaminated soil, trying to crawl forward even with their teeth.
Jane wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and clenched her jaw.
"Damn it… they're struggling way too hard! Belgard, was it!? Help out a little!"
"B-but… how can children who haven't even had a proper meal have strength like this…."
"Never mind that! Just help for now! Even if Del Roan is weird, what he says isn't wrong!"
Belgard's hand, which had been wavering, finally moved.
A halo of light layered over the Mana Chains, suppressing the people's frenzied struggle.
That was when it happened.
"Who are you people…!"
A voice filled with rage came from the darkness.
It was a man dressed in tattered monk's robes.
His eyes flashed with fanaticism, and his lips, where his teeth had already been driven in, had burst and were bleeding.
"Appearing out of nowhere like this—why! Why are you trying to interfere with this ritual!"
‘Ah. That's the one.’
The cult leader from his memories.
The expression he wore was different, but his attire and gaze were similar to back then.
"Jane! Cover me!"
"What do you think I am, some kind of magic launcher…! Ugh, fine!!"
Roan launched himself from his spot, and Jane chased after him.
Belgard could only stand there dazed, watching the 2 of them subdue the cult leader.
‘They're strong….’
No.
It wasn't just that the 2 of them were strong—the cult leader was also weaker than expected.
The cult leader tumbled across the ground with every charge.
But even so, the light in his eyes showed no sign of going out.
"You fools… just what authority do you have to try and stop the salvation of the continent!"
What brazen words.
Given that he was the one trying to summon the god he wanted by offering people as sacrifices.
Roan knew that, and so… no, even someone who didn't know that wouldn't have agreed with those words.
"Shut your mouth. I have no interest in a salvation obtained by sacrificing people."
Jane clicked her tongue and gathered energy at her fingertips.
Magic that activated in an instant without the need for Incantation.
A blazing fireball was thrust right in front of his face.
Even so, the fanaticism in his eyes did not disappear.
"Ha, hahaha! Yes! You're going to kill me! Try it if you can!"
He began to rave as if singing.
"Destruction will come someday! For that day, I shall offer my soul to Lord Serenarl!!"
Crrrk.
Crack.
Snap.
Strange, grating sounds.
The sound of something snapping clean.
The cult leader, forcing his body to move even as it dislocated and ruptured, threw himself forward.
"If the offerings are not enough!"
His maddened voice echoed out one last time.
"Then I—!!"
Splash.
It stopped.
"He just… took his own life…."
"Stay back."
Roan immediately raised his hand and sent her behind him.
And then.
The stagnant, rotting water flipped upside down and gave birth to something grotesque.
Those who had leapt into the river and perished.
Things that had been washed ashore.
An abominable form made from all of it fused together.
The Manufactured God, Serenarl.
―KRUOOOOOO!!!
A tremendous roar shook the earth.
Small arms shaped like maggots rained down and scorched the ground black.
"…That's not a god—that's a disaster."
"How are we supposed to…."
"No."
A composed voice cut through the fading resolve.
"If anything, this is good. It's smaller than before."
Everyone was reeling, yet there was 1 person standing there alone in relief.
That sight was so surreal that—
"Jane! Get your magic ready!"
"Okay, got it."
"Belgard! Sorry to ask this of someone I've just met—I'm counting on you!"
"Oh, y-yes, yes…!"
There was no choice but to follow.
3 people.
2 of them were lacking in terms of ability.
Before them was the ember of destruction, summoned by a future gone wrong.
‘This is manageable.’
…More than manageable!
"Alright! Prepare for battle!"
―Shhhhk!
As if hearing Roan's shout, the thick river water surged up.
Through the gaps, contaminated dirt and gravel spread like a storm.
But that storm of stones couldn't beat Roan.
Two legs planted firm and a shield held forward.
It was a defense that laid bare the resolve of I will not let anyone get hurt.
"Jane!"
"I know!"
―KRAKAKAKABOOOM!!
Magic prepared before her name was even called.
Fireballs cast without Incantation began blasting apart the monster's torso.
Black oil and soot exploded in every direction, yet the enemy's body was unharmed.
A sticky slime began refilling the blasted areas.
A regenerative power that brought to mind the Amalgamation seen on Basement Floor 9.
But it was far faster and far more foul.
‘Boom, bang.’
It took powerful magic hit after hit and remained perfectly fine.
"―The regeneration is too fast! Holding it back is the best we can do!"
"That's enough."
Roan glanced at Belgard in the gap between deflecting attacks.
A split-second. Their eyes met, and—
"…Yes. I'll try."
Roan's intent entered Belgard's mind.
"Got it! Jane! Just a little more, same as before!"
"Nnggh…! If you're going to do it, hurry up!"
An answer gasped out as all her energy was poured forward.
And yet the force of the flame storm didn't diminish.
In the gap where the enemy was pushed back by the magic, Roan extended the hand holding his sword behind him.
And against that outstretched hand, Belgard wound light around it.
The manifestation of holy power.
An art that reinforces a specific part of the body.
Seeing his arm and sword glow faintly as if coated, Roan immediately launched himself from his spot.
―CLANGCLANGCLANG!!!
He charged in immediately and brought his sword down.
It was a single strike that sheared off countless arms at once.
But.
"Ugh!?"
Even weakened, the enemy was undeniably an ember of destruction.
Of course it wasn't silenced by that.
Squelch, squelch….
Small, hand-shaped maggots climbing up his arm.
Despite their small size, the power contained within was intense.
They shattered the halo of light and began gnawing at his flesh.
And finally—
―Tssssssss….
Making a sizzling sound, they began melting Roan's arm.
Smoke rose from a human arm.
His forearm began to melt away, exposing the bone beneath.
"R-Roan!!"
―This too is the salvation of the continent♪
…The sound of singing could be heard.