Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 6

by Ryo Shirakome

  That was how overpowered her necromancy abilities were. Despite saying she was bad with necromancy, she had actually been a genius at it. Furthermore, she’d devoted all of her free time to secretly honing her arts. What was truly terrifying was the warped motives that had driven that growth.

  In fact, the only reason Eri hadn’t killed all of the students right away was because she could only use her Spirit Binding on one person at a time.

  Still, Shizuku found it hard to believe that not a single person noticed she was slowly taking over the army. Eri’s Spirit Binding took time, and the first cases of soldiers acting odd had appeared quite a few days ago.

  Suddenly, a terrible thought ran through Shizuku’s mind.

  “Don’t tell me... you killed Ai-chan and Lily too...”

  “Hm? Nah, I didn’t touch them. I’ve got nothing to do with what happened to them.”

  Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been worried Eri had eliminated them because they’d caught on to her plan or something.

  Eri saw some of the tension drain out of Shizuku and grinned wickedly.

  “It’s too early to relax.”

  “Huh?”

  “The girl who took Ai-chan’s pretty scary. She knew what I was up to, and she actually decided to cooperate. All of the most important people in the kingdom are under her control, you know? Remember how the king and all his nobles started acting weird recently?”

  “Ah!” Shizuku wasn’t the only one who gasped. Yuka and the others had spent the past few days searching everywhere for Aiko, only to now discover that she’d been kidnapped.

  Thinking back, the king and his ministers certainly had been acting odd.

  But no one had suspected that everyone at the top of the kingdom had been brainwashed.

  “You know, I was pretty worried when she told me she knew my plans. I thought I might have to end up killing her.” Eri wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off her brow. Obviously a lot more must have happened during that encounter, but Eri didn’t bother explaining any of it.

  “Anyway, it’s thanks to her that everything went so smoothly. I was able to speed up my plans by months. Heaven itself is on my side! Everything I do has God’s blessing! Don’t worry everyone, your deaths won’t have been in vain! I’ll put your corpses to good use as vanguards in the demon army!” Eri danced under the moonlight, flitting between her former classmates and the reanimated corpses of the soldiers she killed.

  Arms spread wide, she spun in a circle at the center of the courtyard. She truly believed that her actions had been ordained by god.

  Finally realizing that she was serious, Kouki interrupted her deranged cackling.

  “Ngh, stop this, Eri! If you keep going like this, I really...”

  “You won’t forgive me? Ahaha, I knew you’d say that. You’re so kind, Kouki-kun. But you know, that’s why all this trash always gravitates to you. So I’m going to have to Spirit Bind you too. That way, you’ll only look at me, and only say what I want you to! You’ll be mine and mine alone! Aaaah, it’s going to be so wonderful!” Eri wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in ecstasy. No one could believe this was the same quiet, thoughtful, bookish girl they all knew.

  She had gone crazy. That was the only explanation.

  Though Spirit Bind preserved some of the host’s original personality and memories, the necromancer still had full control of them. No sane person would want an undead puppet for a lover.

  “This isn’t real...It can’t be! The Eririn I know would...never do something like this! Somebody’s... Gah, somebody’s controlling her! That has to be it! Open your eyes, Eri!” Blood dripped from Suzu’s mouth as she yelled. It hurt to move, even to talk, but Suzu still tried to crawl her way over to her best friend.

  Eri turned to Suzu and grinned maniacally. Then she walked over to the student closest to her, Kondou.

  Afraid of where this was going, Kondou whimpered in pain and tried to back away. Unfortunately he was still pinned down, with his mana sealed. All he was able to do was squirm in vain.

  Eri stopped right in front of him, that same maniacal grin still on her face. He shivered in fear, knowing full well what was coming next. Kouki and the others yelled at Eri to stop.

  “S-Sto— Gaaaaaah...” Kondou’s pleas transformed into a garbled scream. A single sword had been plunged into his heart.

  This wasn’t a wounding blow. This was fatal.

  “Reichi! Gaaah!”

  “Damn you, Nakamuraaa! I’ll— Gah!”

  Saitou and Nakano yelled out, but the knights pinning them dug their swords in deeper, cutting off their remarks. The students could only watch.

  Kondou’s spasms slowly faded, and he eventually grew still. Tough as he was, even he couldn’t survive a stab to the heart.

  Eri raised a hand over him and began an incantation no one had heard before. Once she finished her chant, a transparent version of Kondou appeared. His apparition overlapped with his corpse and melted into it.

  The knights who had been holding him down stepped back, leaving him free.

  Kouki and the others gulped as they watched Kondou’s dead body slowly get to its feet. He had the same lifeless expression that Nia and the other soldiers all had.

  “Aaand done. That’s one puppet complete.” Eri’s cheerful voice rang out through the silence. She didn’t sound like someone who’d just killed her classmate and desecrated his corpse.

  “E-Eri... Why...” Eri turned back to Suzu and said in the same cheerful voice,

  “Thanks, Suzu. It’s because of you that I was able to stay by Kouki-kun’s side. Both here, and in Japan.”

  “Huh?”

  “You don’t get it? The whole time, it was like there was this unspoken rule that only Kaori and Shizuku could be next to Kouki-kun. If you tried to approach him, the other girls would band against you.... Since I was powerless back in Japan, somehow getting myself into that circle would have taken forever. That’s why I’m so glad you were there. You were so stupid that everyone just laughed at anything you did. So no one would get mad at you even if you did join Kouki’s circle. So being known to everyone as your ‘best friend’ was the best thing that could have happened to me. I could be by Kouki-kun’s side, and no one would say anything. And once we got brought to this world, I was even able to be in the same party. You’re the most convenient best friend I could ask for! Thank you so much!”

  “Ah...” Something inside Suzu broke. Her best friend, the person she’d trusted the most in the world, had just been using her. Everything Suzu knew about Eri was a lie. The light went out of Suzu’s eyes, her mind shielding her from the pain of reality by granting her the bliss of unconsciousness.

  “Eri, how dare you!” Shizuku screamed at Eri and tried to struggle out of Nia’s grip. Nia grabbed Shizuku’s hair and slammed her to the ground.

  Shizuku continued glaring at Eri through the pain. Being rendered immobile had done nothing to dull her anger.

  “Fufu. Oooh, you’re mad now. I love it when you make that face. You know, I’ve actually always hated you. You always got to be by Kouki-kun’s side, and yet you always looked like it was a chore to look after him. I hated that arrogant attitude of yours! Which is why I’ve prepared a very special role for you.”

  “What... do you mean?”

  “Fufu, I wonder what your best friend will think when the first thing you do after your reunion is kill her?”

  Shizuku’s eyes opened wide as she realized what Eri was trying to do.

  “You’re going to make me kill Kaori!?” Eri clapped her hands theatrically, as if to say “good job figuring that out.” The corners of her lips twitched up into a smile.

  Eri wanted to turn Shizuku into a puppet and use her to kill Kaori.

  “To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded letting her live since Nagumo took her with him... but there’s someone here who realllllly wants to make her his puppet. He’s been a huge help, so I guess he deserves a reward. Plus, I’m a good gir
l who keeps her promises!”

  “D-Don’t fuck with— Gah!?”

  Shizuku forced herself to move, even though she knew it would exacerbate her wounds. But before she could even get up, Nia stabbed her again.

  “Haha, does it hurt? It does, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I’m a nice girl. I’ll let you sleep real soon...” Eri slowly walked over to Shizuku. It appeared she would be next.

  The other students all started struggling against their captors. They didn’t want to see anyone else end up like poor Kondou.

  “Stop! Please, stop this Eri!”

  Kouki especially struggled valiantly against his bonds. The five mana-sealing shackles restraining him cracked. In his attempt to activate Overload, he was putting an inordinate amount of strain on his restraints.

  However, the undead knights held him in joint locks, keeping him pinned down. As their brains no longer functioned, there were no limiters to keep their muscles in check, and they were actually stronger than their living versions.

  Despairing, Kouki could only watch as Eri drew closer to Shizuku.

  Shizuku did her best to remain conscious. At the very least, she wanted to face her death head-on. She refused to give Eri the satisfaction of passing out right before she died.

  Eri smirked at Shizuku and took a nearby knight’s sword. It seemed she wanted to do the honors herself. Sword held high, she gloated one last time.

  “Bye, Shizuku. I gotta say, pretending to be friends with you made me want to puke.” Shizuku glared at Eri, but her thoughts turned toward her best friend.

  She knew there was no way her warning could reach Kaori, but Shizuku still sent off one final message to the girl who was traveling the world with her crush.

  I’m sorry, Kaori. But please, don’t trust me the next time we meet... Live a long life... and be happy... Silver moonlight glinted off the sword in Eri’s hands.

  She brought it straight down, like a stake she was trying to drive into the heart of a vampire.

  As she watched the point come down, Shizuku prayed.

  Please, let my best friend survive this ordeal.

  Please let her find happiness.

  I’ll be dying before you, and I know I might end up hurting you. But still, I’m sure you’ll be fine. You have Nagumo with you, after all.

  Live happily, together with him. I hope... Time slowed to a crawl, and Shizuku’s entire life flash before her eyes. Looks like that really does happen when you’re about to die... Feeling the end of her life at hand, she awaited the moment when everything would turn black.

  “Huh?”

  “Wha?”

  Both Shizuku and Eri cried out in surprise.

  Eri’s sword had been stopped by a palm-sized barrier of light.

  The two were startled out of their reverie by a voice that shouldn’t have been here. A strained, almost panicked voice.

  The voice of the girl Shizuku had just wished happiness on-the voice of her best friend.

  “Shizuku-chan!” Ten glowing shields appeared around Shizuku, surrounding her in a glowing dome of protection. Kaori created a few more and sent them flying in front of Nia and Eri. These flashed brightly, and exploded in a supernova of light. Kaori had overloaded the mana in her barriers, causing them burst. It was a makeshift way to turn her defensive skills into offensive ones.

  “Ah!?” Eri raised her arms to try and block out the light, but the resulting shockwave and shards of shattered shield that assailed her bowled her over.

  Nia, too, was blown away by Kaori’s Barrier Burst. She quickly recovered and moved to restrain Shizuku again, but was stopped by Kaori.

  “Divine Shackles!” Chains of light slithered up from the ground and restrained both Nia and Eri.

  Still dumbfounded, Shizuku turned toward the sound of Kaori’s voice. There was no way her best friend should have been here, but there she was, standing between the ranks of zombified soldiers.

  It wasn’t an illusion. Kaori really was standing there.

  Tears of happiness spilled down her cheeks. This time she’d made it in time. Barely, perhaps, but this time she’d protected the people she wanted to protect.

  “K-Kaori...”

  “Shizuku-chan, just sit tight! I’ll save you!” Kaori saw how injured everyone in the courtyard was and quickly moved to heal them. She started chanting the greatest light recovery spell, Aetherflow.

  Their wounds were serious enough that she needed to prioritize healing them over everything else.

  “Why are you here!? Why is it you all have to keep getting in my way!?” Face twisted in an insane snarl, Eri ordered her soldiers to attack Kaori. The soldiers rushed at her, intent on stopping her chanting.

  Their swords were met by a glowing wall of light. Not a single one managed to reach Kaori.

  “What happened to you all!? Why are you acting like this!? Come back to your senses! Eri, what is going on here!?” Liliana had raised a golden dome to protect Kaori while she cast her healing spell.

  Liliana stood behind Kaori, trying to make sense of this situation. She couldn’t fathom why her soldiers and knights were attacking the students, nor why Eri seemed to be the one in charge of them. She demanded an answer from Eri, but Eri ignored her.

  Though she was a princess, Liliana was also a skilled mage. Skilled enough that she’d single-handedly been able to protect More’s caravan from over forty bandits. Holding back a group of knights, even knights that had been strengthened via zombification, long enough for Kaori to finish her spell was an easy task for someone of her caliber.

  Panic colored Eri’s face as she realized her plan was starting to crumble.

  “Tch. Guess I’ve got no other choice.” Impatient, she looked over to where her classmates lay.

  She didn’t have time to turn them into her puppets anymore. Her only option was to kill them before Kaori finished her spell.

  Before she could make a move, though, one of the knights banging on Liliana’s barrier lost his head. His decapitated corpse slumped to the ground.

  Standing over the knight’s body was none other than Daisuke Hiyama.

  “Shirasaki! Princess Liliana! Are you two alright!?”

  “Hiyama-san? How are you moving with such terrible wounds!?”

  Liliana paled as she saw the condition Hiyama was in. Kaori was too disciplined to stop her chanting, but her eyes opened wide in surprise as she took in Hiyama’s wounds.

  His shirt was soaked in blood, and there was still more spurting out of the hole in his chest. It was obvious he’d pushed himself to the absolute limit to break free from his bonds.

  He staggered and leaned a hand against the barrier to steady himself. Liliana hurriedly opened a Hiyama-sized hole in it to let him into its protection.

  Once he was safely inside, he collapsed to the floor.

  A second later, Shizuku yelled out a warning.

  “Wait! Get away from him!” Blood dripped from her mouth as she shouted. It hurt to talk, but she had to warn them. Eri had mentioned that one of her accomplices wanted Kaori as his own, and Hiyama had been able to escape his bonds when even Kouki hadn’t. The connection was obvious. Hiyama had to know Liliana’s barrier would hold until Kaori finished her spell. Yet he’d gone to “save” them anyway. There could only be one reason why.

  “Kyaaa!?”

  “Ah—!”

  Sadly, Shizuku’s warning was too late.

  Hiyama leaped to his feet and shoved Liliana out of the way, breaking her concentration and dissolving the barrier. He then circled behind Kaori and stabbed her through the chest.

  “Kaoriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” Shizuku’s devastated yell echoed through the courtyard.

  Hiyama buried his face into Kaori’s neck. There was a madness in his eyes. He still had one hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword sticking out of Kaori’s chest.

  From the very beginning, Hiyama’s injuries had been faked. He’d only pretended to have been done in with the other students. In reality, he’d been E
ri’s insurance against any more of Kouki’s heroic bursts of strength.

  The moment Kaori had appeared, Hiyama knew she’d heal everyone and ruin their plans. So he’d put on act to lower her guard.

  “Hehehehe, Finally! I finally did it! I knew it, I really am better than Nagumo. I am, aren’t I, Shira... I mean Kaori? Right? I’m totally better than that loser! Hehehe, Hey Nakamura, hurry up and bring her back. You promised you would.” Eri shrugged noncommittally. Then she started walking over to Kaori.

  But before she could start casting, Kouki interrupted her.

  “Gaaaaaaaaaaaah! How dare youuuuuuuuu!” He pushed so hard against his restraints that they all cracked. Watching Kaori get stabbed before his eyes had caused him to go berserk.

  The cracks in his restraints grew larger, and the knights holding him down looked like they were struggling. His strength was immense. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to break free.

  Hiyama, who’d been watching everything with detachment, suddenly heard whispering next to him. Looking down, he noticed Kaori was still breathing. The wound was fatal, but she wasn’t dead yet.

  He brought his ear to her lips, trying to make out what she was saying.

  “Mother... heaven... embrace... Aether...flow.” She’d continued chanting through the pain, and had somehow managed to finish casting her spell.

  Even when she was on death’s doorstep, she was stubborn to a fault.

  Hiyama stared at her in shock.

  Kaori knew she only had seconds left to live. And yet, she hadn’t spent her final moments crying, or lamenting her fate, or even calling out to the boy she loved. No, she’d used what little time she had left to fight.

  The way she saw it, this was the best way she could show her devotion to Hajime. The boy she’d fallen in love with had been someone who never gave up, no matter how tough the foe or how unwinnable the situation. If she truly wanted to call herself a member of his party, the least she could do is keep on fighting until the very end.

  And so, she traded her life to cast one last spell. Her indestructible resolve held through, and she managed to chant it to completion.