The Leaders and the Led

by Ao Jyumonji

  Haruhiro and the others stood in a line with their backs pressed up against the wall of the muryan hole. In order of closeness to the entrance, the line went Haruhiro, Yume, Shihoru, Ranta, Merry, Kuzaku.

  Merry’s next to Kuzaku, Haruhiro thought. Yeah, but so what? Isn’t that, if anything, irrelevant? Yeah. It’s totally irrelevant. Haruhiro took a deep breath.

  “Everyone, stay put,” he said. “I’ll go check it out.”

  “You gonna be okay?” Yume asked. “If you’re gonna be out there by yourself, isn’t that dangerous, Haru-kun?”

  “I’m better off alone,” said Haruhiro. “I’m a thief, remember. This is kinda my thing.”

  It was dark in the muryans’ hole. Haruhiro was careful not to make noise with his footsteps as he cautiously headed back towards the entrance. He kept his posture low, poking his face out to look around.

  Unlike the domain of the three demi-humans, which was more like a canyon than a cave because it was open to the sky, the muryan nest had a roof. However, it wasn’t completely covered. There were a lot of gaps in it, allowing light to shine through, so it was fairly bright.

  Looks like there’s nothing here. So far, he thought. It’s quiet. Too quiet.

  It was so incredibly quiet that even when it entered his vision, he didn’t immediately notice. At first, he just felt something was a little off.

  Like, Huh? Is there... something there?

  Like, Huh? What’s that?

  Like, There is something there... isn’t there?

  No, don’t question it, Haruhiro told himself. There is. There definitely is. That thing—it’s black. No, not black—blackish. And it’s wearing something like a raincoat.

  Like a person?

  Probably. He has a head, arms, and legs. He’s walking. Walking this way from deeper inside. I’m sure about that, but I don’t hear footsteps. He’s silent.

  He’s carrying something long. Is that a spear, maybe? But, judging from the tip, I wouldn’t call it a spear. Instead of a spear, the tip is more like a sword, or a thick knife, something like a cleaver. It’s like a naginata. But, more than that...

  He’s huge. That guy. He’s got to be over two meters tall. I doubt he’s three meters, but he might be two and a half.

  His head’s weirdly small, and he’s got broad shoulders. That body shape couldn’t be more of an inverted triangle if it tried. He’s leaning forward, using his naginata like a crutch to walk. It looks like his naginata is touching the ground, but there’s no sound.

  That thing’s dangerous. He’s dangerous, and the way he doesn’t feel dangerous only makes him more so. It feels like he could sneak up behind you, and then take you out. That’s pretty dangerous.

  —Ustrel.

  That name suddenly popped into his mind. Soma had mentioned them.

  “If you go through the domain of the three demi-humans into the muryans’ nest, there are ustrels lurking there,” he had said. He’d also said, “Once you’re able to defeat an ustrel, the area you can operate in should expand considerably.”

  Ustrels. It was probably deliberate that Soma hadn’t told him any more about them. Haruhiro and the others were volunteer soldiers. Maybe not good ones, but they were volunteer soldiers nonetheless.

  When they had first been brought to the Volunteer Soldier Corps office, Bri-chan had told them, “Use your own individual skills and judgment to gather intel and strike the enemy. That’s the volunteer soldier way.”

  Soma had acknowledged Haruhiro and his group as volunteer soldiers and let them become his comrades. That was why Haruhiro and the rest would need to learn for themselves.

  An ustrel, he thought. This guy. This guy is an ustrel. We’ve got to take this guy out.

  In silence, utter silence, the ustrel was steadily drawing nearer.

  Should I turn back and get my comrades right now? Haruhiro wondered. But if I move now, I feel like he’ll notice me. There’s still some distance between us, so I should be fine, but I’m scared.

  At some point, without realizing he was doing it, Haruhiro had covered his nose and mouth to keep the sound of his breath from escaping.

  I’m being way too wary, he told himself. Calm down. I need to maintain my composure. But I really can’t move.

  While I’m wasting time like this, the ustrel’s closing in. He’s faster than I thought, or rather, faster than he looked. Fifteen meters? Ten? That’s how close he’s gotten.

  He hasn’t noticed me... right? Haruhiro dropped to one knee, lowering himself further, then stuck his face out just a little. There’s light shining down from above, but not much. He can’t see me... or shouldn’t be able to. The ustrel is walking at a set pace. He hasn’t started walking faster or anything, so he hasn’t noticed me... I think.

  I want to pull my face back in. I can’t move. This is no good. I’ve failed. I should have gone back right away. I was better off hiding in that hole. This is bad. He’s close. Damn, he’s close. He’s getting really close. Five meters? Four? Three? Ohhh.

  He stopped.

  The ustrel made an about right turn, silent as ever. He was going away.

  No, but I can’t be sure yet, Haruhiro thought. It’s too soon to be relieved. A little longer. Once he’s a bit further away. Is now good? I can’t say for sure.

  Ultimately, once the ustrel’s figure dissolved into the darkness and he could no longer see it, Haruhiro joined back up with his comrades.

  “There was an ustrel,” he said.

  “Did it look dangerous?” Ranta asked.

  Normally, Ranta probably would have charged out before asking that question. Maybe he was maturing a little.

  Haruhiro nodded. “Yes, very. He was big, blackish, and carried a naginata.”

  “Soma was saying once we can take that guy out, the area we can operate in should expand, yeah?” Ranta said.

  “Yeah.”

  “In that case, there’s not just one ustrel, there are multiple ones,” Ranta said. “They’re wandering around the muryan nest and deeper in, and we can never know where we’ll encounter one.”

  “On top of that...” Shihoru took a deep breath, then exhaled. “...it’s not just us humans. Other creatures are afraid of the ustrels, too.”

  “What now?” Yume’s voice sounded stiffer than usual.

  Ranta suddenly started chanting. “O Darkness, O Lord of Vice, Demon Call.”

  In front of Ranta, something like a blackish purple cloud appeared. The clouds whirled into a vortex, taking shape. It was like a headless torso, with two holes for eyes on its chest and a slit-like mouth beneath. It was a dread knight’s familiar, a demon. It was Zodiac-kun.

  “Kehe... Kehehehehe... I came because you called... Kehe... Can I go now?” Zodiac-kun asked.

  “Of course you can’t! Whoops—” Ranta covered his own mouth. “Zodiac-kun. No screwing around today. We’re in for a big battle where we’ll have to sink or swim.”

  “...Ehehehe... I see... At last... your time’s come to die, Ranta... Ehehe...”

  “D-Don’t jinx me like that! Geez!” Ranta snapped. “I-It’s creepy, okay?”

  “We’re doing this?” Kuzaku was clearly hesitant.

  “I’m fine either way.” Merry sounded tense. When she checked her left wrist, the light of the hexagram had dimmed. It flickered and was about to go out. Merry made the sign of the hexagram.

  “O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Protection.”

  In an instant, the light returned to the party’s hexagrams.

  Merry took a short breath. “It doesn’t change what I have to do.”

  “It may be gone already,” Haruhiro said, closing his eyes.

  Are we prepared for this? he thought. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know anything about the enemy at all. But it’s strange. For some reason, I just can’t see turning tail and running as an option.

  “We’ll wait and see for now,” Haruhiro said. “If that guy comes back, we attack. But we’ll pull him into the
safe zone. We’re just feeling him out. If things go south, we’ll run. We may end up running pretty fast, but I’m the one who’ll make the decision on that. You absolutely have to follow it. Understood?”

  Ranta clicked his tongue. “There you go, acting all self-important. Oh, fine. I get it.”

  “Kehehehe...” Zodiac-kun cackled. “Acting so meek, Ranta... You’re gonna die... Kehehehehehe... That’s a death flag...”

  “G-Got it,” Yume said, nodding so vigorously that it was noticeable even in the darkness.

  “I’ll focus on attacking it with magic...” Shihoru said. “Merry, protect me.”

  “Sure,” Merry nodded. “Leave it to me.”

  “We’re doing this, then.” Kuzaku lowered his helmet’s visor. “Wonder if I can defend against it.”

  “Just do it,” Haruhiro said. “You’re a tank, aren’t you?”

  Haruhiro regretted the words as soon as he said them. He thought he might have worded that poorly. But Kuzaku laughed.

  “Yeah. Sure am. Not much of one, but I’m a tank, so I’ll do it.”

  “He’s incredibly hard to notice, so be careful,” Haruhiro warned them.

  Haruhiro took the lead, and they returned to the entrance hole. He poked his face out. He was in for a shock.

  —That’s close!

  He almost shouted out loud despite himself, but he managed to keep it in. It was there. The ustrel.

  Haruhiro was confused now, so he couldn’t trust his ability to eyeball the distance, but the ustrel looked like it was maybe closer than ten meters, but further than five meters away.

  Not walking. Just standing there.

  Suddenly, Ranta poked his head out next to Haruhiro’s. “—Whoa!”

  “You idiot,” Haruhiro muttered.

  “I’m going up front!” Kuzaku jumped out.

  The ustrel was already in motion.

  He was amazing—amazing—just totally amazing. He wasn’t just fast, he was crazy fast. Kuzaku used Block, but it was useless. With a cry of surprise, Kuzaku and his shield were knocked flying.

  Ranta got out “O Darkness...!” before he realized he didn’t have time to finish his chant, and used his longsword instead. Not to attack, but to defend.

  The ustrel’s naginata. Here it came. Ranta somehow managed to stop it with his longsword. But, of course, he was sent flying. “—Gwah!”

  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! This is bad! What do we do? Haruhiro thought frantically. This is crazy! Even if I say to run, Kuzaku and Ranta can’t, and the ustrel’s already heading this way. Swat? It’s not gonna work. The naginata. Here comes a thrust.

  Haruhiro let out a strange shriek as he leapt aside and rolled. He didn’t really follow what happened, but he apparently dodged. The ustrel slid the naginata in the palm of his hand, quickly readjusting his grip on it before swinging it down.

  Towards Haruhiro, of course. He was dead. So dead.

  He wanted to shout out in defiance, but he couldn’t make a sound. Haruhiro crawled, trying to get away from it. The naginata scraped the ground.

  Daaaamn, he moaned silently. I-I-I-I’m gonna die. I’m seriously gonna die. What is this? What?

  With a cry, Yume loosed an arrow from inside the hole. She hit. It stabbed into the right-hand side of the ustrel’s chest. The ustrel turned wordlessly, soundlessly towards Yume. Merry and Shihoru were behind her, too.

  No, this is no good, thought Haruhiro. He’d been saved himself, but this was bad.

  “Zwooosh!” Ranta let out a strange cry and leapt to his feet before charging the ustrel. He wasn’t just acting recklessly out of desperation. It was probably to draw the ustrel’s attention. But the ustrel didn’t even turn around, thrusting the pommel of his naginata into Ranta’s chest.

  Ranta gasped and nearly collapsed, but Zodiac-kun supported him.

  “Y-You idiot... Ehehe...” Zodiac-kun cackled.

  “Dammiiiiit!” Kuzaku clanged on his shield with the flat of his sword a number of times. The ustrel ignored him completely.

  Kuzaku put his shield up in front of him and charged into the ustrel. The ustrel didn’t seemed to care. He made it look like he was going to attack Yume and the other girls, then suddenly turned around. His naginata flashed. Kuzaku couldn’t fully block it.

  Actually, the naginata extended further than expected, striking Kuzaku not in the shield, but the left arm. The naginata bit into his arm.

  Was it cut off? Or broken? Either way, Kuzaku dropped his shield and fell to the ground, rolling around in pain.

  “Gwahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  “Eeeek!” Yume shrieked, backing away without nocking an arrow. Merry and Shihoru did the same. If they kept going, the hole was behind them. They’d end up going into the muryans’ hole. The hole? Haruhiro and the others barely even had to duck to go into it, but what about the ustrel? The ustrel was around two and a half meters tall. It wasn’t impossible that he could. However, it was smaller than the tunnels the three demi-humans used. If it came to it, it might serve as a place to take refuge.

  The muryans’ hole seems kind of iffy as an option, Haruhiro thought. Well, what then? What should I do? First—First, I have to let Yume and the others get away. That. That’s my highest priority.

  What could he do towards that end? What could Haruhiro do? Was this his only option?

  He put away his sap. He didn’t shout like Ranta and Kuzaku. He raced straight towards the ustrel. His legs were unsteady. It felt strange. His field of vision was narrowing.

  The ustrel didn’t turn to face him. Yume and the other girls were already in the muryans’ hole.

  When Haruhiro tried to leap on him, as expected, the ustrel went for him with the pommel of his naginata.

  He’d seen this move before. He could dodge it, albeit barely. The ustrel’s movements were sharper than anticipated, and Haruhiro was moving sluggishly. Even so, Haruhiro managed to cling to the ustrel’s back.

  “Yume!” he shouted. “Get away! While you still can!”

  “Meowhuh?!” Yume shrieked.

  While Yume stood there rigid and unmoving, Merry urged her, “Hurry!”

  “Mmm!” Yume cried.

  “Ah!” Shihoru added.

  Shihoru led the way, dashing out from the muryans’ hole. The ustrel went to swing his naginata.

  I won’t let you, thought Haruhiro. With a backhand stab of his dagger, he hit the ustrel in the side of the head. It bounced off.

  It’s hard, this feeling. A helmet? The hood of that raincoat-like garment came back, revealing the ustrel’s head. Is that... a helmet? I dunno. It’s like a metal skull.

  “Uwahh! Ahh! Ahhhh!” Haruhiro repeatedly slammed his dagger into the ustrel’s metallic skull. It wasn’t clear if it was hurting the ustrel, but he didn’t seem to like it. The ustrel twisted around, trying to throw Haruhiro off of his back, and elbowed him. The ustrel was unbelievably strong. The pain, or rather the impact of the blows, was incredible.

  Shihoru, Merry, and Yume passed in front of the ustrel.

  “Suuuuuuuu...”

  What was that sound? The ustrel? His voice? His breathing? It wasn’t clear, but the ustrel reached out with his left hand. It looked like the ustrel planned to grab Haruhiro by the head. At worst, he might be able to crush it.

  Well, Yume and the girls are already gone, so it might be time to call it quits. Haruhiro jumped off of the ustrel’s back. The ustrel instantly made a turn to the right, and—

  It’s coming. The naginata.

  “Eep!” Haruhiro threw himself to the ground. It was all he could do.

  “Anger!” If Ranta hadn’t taken a reckless stab at the ustrel, Haruhiro would surely have been cut in two by the next attack. But the ustrel used his left arm to knock Ranta’s longsword aside.

  “Wha—” While Ranta was off-balance, the ustrel took a swing at him using only his right arm.

  Ahh. This is no good, Haruhiro thought. He’s dead. Ranta’s gonna get killed.

  “Gehe!” It was Zodiac-kun.
Without a moment to spare, Zodiac-kun shoved Ranta out of harm’s way.

  Zodiac-kun took the blow for Ranta, being cleaved in two by the ustrel’s naginata.

  “...Uh... Uhe... Ranta... Die...” Zodiac-kun muttered as he disappeared.

  “After you went and saved me!” Ranta took a swing at the ustrel. “Don’t say that! You, I can summon you again anytime, got it? Rahhhhh!”

  “Don’t get reckless, Ranta!” Haruhiro rose to his feet. “We’re pulling him back to the safe zone!”

  “Exhaust!” When Ranta leapt back at an incredible speed, the ustrel... did not follow.

  Instead of Haruhiro or even Yume and the other girls, the ustrel turned towards Kuzaku, who still wasn’t back on his feet.

  “Wai...!” Haruhiro rushed forward, but it didn’t look like he’d make it, and even if he did, he wasn’t sure he could save him.

  “Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!”

  Lightning. Shihoru’s magic. A bolt of electricity fell on the ustrel. His body convulsed and a trail of steam, or smoke, or something rose from it, but had the spell been effective? At the very least, it didn’t seem to have caused any major damage.

  The ustrel smoothly turned to face Shihoru and the other girls.

  Not good, thought Haruhiro. He was going to target them now. But, thanks to that, Kuzaku had survived.

  “Ranta! Draw him to you somehow!” Haruhiro called.

  “Sure thing!” Ranta shouted.

  “Get up, Kuzaku!” Haruhiro rushed to the paladin’s side. Kuzaku’s left arm was totally out of commission. It was a painful sight to behold. It was cut, broken, and more or less pulped.

  Kuzaku, for his part, did his best to tough it out. He got to his feet on his own strength, nodding to Haruhiro. “...I’m fine. I can do this. Sorry. Would you pick up my shield for me? If you can.”

  “Your shield?” Haruhiro asked.

  “Once I get my arm healed up, I’ll need to use it again. I mean, I’m pretty useless without it.”

  “If things get bad, I’m ditching it, okay?” Haruhiro asked.

  He picked up Kuzaku’s shield. Was Kuzaku going to be able to keep up with them? It was going to be hard for him, no doubt, but he’d have to.

  Yume and the girls were running away. The ustrel gave chase. Ranta was doing what he could to divert the ustrel’s attention, but it wasn’t going very well. The ustrel didn’t even look back, easily parrying Ranta’s longsword using the pommel of his naginata and then his left arm.