Towards a Glory Not Worth Taking

by Ao Jyumonji

  “Ha ha!” Kuzaku laughed as he ran. “This is awesome! Ha ha ha! Just awesome!”

  No, um, buddy, now’s not the time for laughing. Well, it’s not like I don’t get how he feels. Kuzaku must have been pretty scared, too. Now that he’s set free from it, he’s feeling a high. But is that all? He’s enjoying this crazy bad situation so much he can’t help himself. Could that be part of it? The thrill of it all is addictive. I want to live in peace. That’s how I really feel, but the question is if I can. What would a life without stuff like this be like? Surprisingly less boring than I might expect...?

  The Pansukes, the Tori-sans, and the four-meter class white giant chased after them. Behind them were volunteer soldiers, cultists, white giants, and even the hydra.

  Where they were headed was the valley and the six-meter class white giant that would soon crawl up out of it.

  This is the worst. I feel terrible. I wish this were all just a dream. Can someone take my place? Like, I want some help here, you know? I’m not kidding. If someone will save us, and guarantee me and my comrades our safety, I’ll do anything. No lie. No matter what it is.

  I don’t want to go through all this. It’s ultra-stressful, you know? Man, I’ve had it with this, seriously. I’m fed up. It’s not fun at all, okay?

  I think we might die, too. This time, we may just be out of luck. What’ll happen when we die? Do we go to heaven? Or hell, maybe? Do we cease to exist? Return to the void?

  I don’t want to die. I’m scared of dying. I don’t wanna. No, no, no, I don’t want this.

  Yeah. I knew it. I don’t need this. This sort of situation. I don’t mind a little thrill now and then, but I don’t need this extreme life-and-death stuff. Haruhiro felt it quite keenly. I want to live in peace!

  Tokimune and the others who had gone on ahead of them looked like they were taking a detour around the valley to reach the initial hill.

  Will they be able to avoid the six-meter class that way? Haruhiro thought. Or not? I dunno, maybe it could go either way?

  It didn’t seem like their pursuers were about to catch up to them for the moment.

  Even if the route was a bit questionable, they had to take it.

  The six-meter class was already out of the valley up to its waist. It supported itself with its left arm and swung with its right.

  “Go, go, go, go, go!” the giant called.

  It was trying to slam Tokimune and Tada with its right hand.

  “Dodge it!” Haruhiro shouted.

  They didn’t need him to tell them that. Tokimune, Tada, and even Kikkawa threw themselves to the ground to get away from the white giant’s right hand.

  The white giant braced itself with both arms and lifted its body up. While it was doing that, Mimorin and Anna-san, Ranta, Yume, Shihoru, and Merry all passed in front of it.

  Inui was missing. But who cared about that deviant?

  Haruhiro and Kuzaku stood there, unable to move.

  “Whoaaaaaaaaaa?!” Haruhiro shouted.

  “Wha... Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha...?!” Kuzaku sputtered.

  The six-meter class white giant rose up before their very eyes. To be precise, it had just gotten out of the valley, so it was still down on one knee, but it was still big. It was huuuuge. But if they stopped here, the enemies behind them would catch up. It would be like saying, Why, yes, please do try to hit us, to the white giant, too.

  Haruhiro slapped Kuzaku on the back. It was do or die time. “G-Go! Go for it! We have to!”

  “Guhsuh!”

  What the hell does “guhsuh” mean?

  That wasn’t clear, but Kuzaku took off running. His running form was a little awkward, though. Not that Haruhiro’s was much better.

  As if we could run smoothly now!

  “Go, go...!”

  The white giant tried to slug Kuzaku and Haruhiro with its left hand while still on one knee, or maybe it was trying to grab and crush them instead.

  “Bwuh...!” Kuzaku slid headfirst to the ground, avoiding the white giant’s right hand.

  “Ah...!” Haruhiro rolled to avoid it.

  “Go, go, go!”

  Next was the left hand. It came down at them.

  “Uwahhhhhhhhhhh?!” Kuzaku tossed his shield and kept crawling forward. He was desperate.

  Of course, Haruhiro was dashing like a madman with his butt on fire, too.

  “Nnnnngh!” he grunted.

  Is it gonna hit? Is it gonna hit me? Am I gonna get crushed?

  When the ground shook violently, he let out a weird little shriek. It looked like he had made it.

  “M-My shield!” Kuzaku gasped.

  “I-I-I-I-It’s not worth your life, okay?!” Haruhiro yelled.

  It got up!

  The white giant got up!

  “Go! Go, go! Go! Go, go! Go! Go, go, go!” The six-meter class white giant got up and danced. No, maybe it wasn’t dancing, but the way it was coming at Haruhiro and Kuzaku, it looked like it was following the steps of some sort of dance.

  I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. It’s going in random directions. Anyway, we need to avoid its feet. That’s the best we can manage. We need to catch up with the others. I’d really love to do that, and we’re farther away from the valley than we were before, but what direction did they go in? No, that’s not what—

  “Somersault Booooooooomb!”

  Huh?

  The white giant stopped moving. Or rather, it stumbled. That was because someone had slammed a warhammer into its left ankle, which was the leg that had been supporting it at the time.

  —Tada.

  Why is Tada here?

  It wasn’t just Tada.

  “Hah...!” called Tokimune.

  When Tada slammed it with his Somersault Bomb, Tokimune hit it with Bash. Well, not so much Bash as an ordinary tackle. Still, he was up against a six-meter class white giant, you know? That wasn’t even going to shake it. If not for the fact that Tada’s Somersault Bomb had made it stumble, that is. It was their combined attack that made it work. Then, on top of that...

  “Del, hel, en, balk, zel, arve!”

  There was a flash of light and then an explosion near the white giant’s crotch for some reason. It was Mimorin’s Blast.

  The white giant was thrown completely off-balance, and it stumbled backwards one, then two steps.

  “Haruhiro!” Tokimune turned back with a flash of his white teeth. “We owed you one! We couldn’t leave you for dead!”

  “Stop talking!” Tada spun around in a circle, then slammed his warhammer hard into the white giant’s left shin. “And attack! Tornado Slaaaaaaaaaam!”

  “Gohhhhh?!” The white giant shook again. What power.

  “Damn, he’s cool,” Kuzaku whispered.

  Haruhiro felt the same way, but he prayed no one would start aspiring to be like that. If his party members started acting like that, his heart would never be able to handle the stress, even if he had more than one. And, fundamentally, humans only had one heart, so he’d probably die of a heart attack in no time. Besides, while Haruhiro and Kuzaku had survived thanks to it, was this really okay?

  It wasn’t just Tokimune and Tada. There was Mimorin, who had cast the spell earlier, and Anna-san. Kikkawa was turning around and coming back. Ranta, Yume, Shihoru and Ranta, too. What about Inui? Haruhiro didn’t care about him, but they had lost their chance to escape now.

  The cultists and four-meter class white giants would reach them soon. The volunteer soldiers and the hydra, too. It would become a chaotic melee. They’d be caught in the fray.

  There were no guarantees that things would be any better where they were running to. Still, there was a major difference between things ending here and there being a next place for them to head towards. If they were caught up in that wave of enemies and allies, they were more or less sure to be finished. He couldn’t help but think that.

  It looks like this is the end. I can feel my strength draining away. Well, of course it is. This is tough. How am I supp
osed to turn things around here? I mean, even if I did get us back on a proper footing, what then? I’m sure we’d still be screwed.

  I wish I could just give up.

  GAME OVER

  That text flashed through his mind.

  What was that?

  Have I seen it somewhere before...?

  GAME OVER

  G A M E O V E R

  - GAME OVER -

  Game Over Continue? Yes / No

  Will you continue? Y/N

  GAME OVER RETRY?

  game over

  GAMEOVER

  G A M E O V E R

  A game, huh? Haruhiro thought. But this is no game.

  “It isn’t, right? Manato, Moguzo?” he murmured.

  That’s why I can’t give up. Not until the very end. Giving up is out of the question.

  First, I need to look around. That’s right. Look. Look properly, and see.

  Iron Knuckle and the Berserkers were, to some degree at least, moving together as a group. Orion was more spread out, but none of the white capes were completely isolated. They seemed to be moving as parties.

  There were dozens—no, easily over a hundred cultists. Several hundred. As for the white giants, at a glance there were around ten of the four-meter class, two of the six-meter class, and one ridiculously huge one that looked like it was in the eight-meter class, too.

  Then there was the hydra. That thing was bad news. Seriously.

  “Kuzaku, you don’t have your shield, so don’t do anything too crazy,” Haruhiro warned.

  “’Kay. Not like I could, anyway.”

  “Come with me!”

  Haruhiro brought Kuzaku with him and joined up with Ranta, Yume, Shihoru, and Merry. Kikkawa, Anna-san, and Mimorin were with them, too. Right after that, the cultists caught up with them.

  “Kikkawa, I’m counting on you to be the main tank!” Haruhiro called.

  “Righto! You just leave it to me!”

  “Everyone, stay together!”

  Everyone gave their own response, but Haruhiro was more focused on looking than listening. He had to be.

  Kikkawa swung his sword around and drew the enemies to him. Kuzaku and Ranta shored up his defense on each side, attacking the enemies there. If there were enemies that the three of them couldn’t stop, then Yume, Merry, Mimorin, and finally Haruhiro would suppress them. Even Anna-san had some sort of stick-like weapon at the ready as she cheered on the rest of the group.

  Shihoru was pretty badly winded. She was catching her breath and looking for the right time to use her magic. The other volunteer soldiers also stopped fleeing near where Haruhiro and the others were.

  It was the hydra. It had caught up to the rear of the fleeing group of volunteer soldiers.

  Ducky’s red hair was shaking around wildly as he shouted something. One of the Berserkers got punched by a white giant and sailed spinning through the air.

  Oh, Haruhiro realized. Yeah, that guy’s dead. But now’s not the time to worry about others.

  “Augh!” Yume cried out, and her body shuddered. It was a Tori-san. She had knocked Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin aside with her machete.

  The Tori-san stepped in and tried to slash Yume.

  He’s gonna kill her. Kill Yume. No, I won’t let him.

  Haruhiro charged in and, rather than interpose himself between them, he tackled the Tori-san at the hip. He used his sap to Slap the hand the Tori-san was holding his Thunder Sword Dolphin with.

  It connected. How’s that?

  But the Tori-san didn’t drop his Thunder Sword Dolphin. He just pulled it back. Worse yet, he thrust out his Mirror Shield.

  Oh, crap. Not good. I can’t avoid it.

  “Urgh!” Haruhiro took the shield bash directly and was flipped right over.

  Will I die? he thought for a second.

  “There!” Mimorin called.

  “Take that!” Merry shouted.

  Thanks to his comrades, he didn’t have to die. It was a close call. Mimorin and Merry double-teamed the Tori-san and made him back away. Meanwhile, Yume helped Haruhiro to his feet.

  “Sorry, Haru-kun!” she said.

  “It’s fine!” he answered.

  There were going to be mistakes. It wasn’t possible to reduce their failure rate to zero. The important thing was that they support whoever messed up, avoid getting injured, and survive. When holes started to open, they had to fill them in, or cover them to keep it from becoming noticeable. If they could just repeat that process steadily, they could get out of here alive somehow. If that was all it took, well, even if it might not be Haruhiro’s strong suit, he could make an attempt at least.

  Though, naturally, there were limits.

  Tokimune and Tada were still going at it with the six-meter class. Kikkawa, Kuzaku, and Ranta were doing well on the front line, and Haruhiro, Yume, Merry, and Mimorin were doing a relatively stable job in the rear, too. Thanks to that, Anna-san and Shihoru hadn’t had to do anything yet. The way things were going, they would probably be able to count on Shihoru’s magic when they needed it. They could support this system for now.

  From what he could see, Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, Orion, and the other volunteer soldiers had all taken up formations of their own, and were managing to repel their enemies as a group.

  If the enemy only had six-meter class white giants, it might not be impossible to defeat them one by one and then wipe out the enemy.

  The problem was going to be the eight-meter class white giant and the hydra.

  The eight-meter class’s movements seemed sluggish, even compared to the other white giants, but just by being there at all, it got in the way. Of course, it was also a threat.

  The hydra was swinging five of its tentacles around to attack the volunteer soldiers, while the other four slithered around, pressing it forward.

  When the eight-meter class white giant or the hydra were attacking, the volunteer soldiers couldn’t fight. That gave the cultists and other white giants an opening to attack. They were making a mess out of this battlefield.

  The way things were going to work here was simple. If they did something about the eight-meter class and the hydra, the volunteer soldiers would win. That was, if they could just do something.

  At the very least, that task was beyond Haruhiro and the party’s capabilities. Even the Tokkis would have a hard time with it. No, it would probably be impossible for them, too. As for Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion, if they could do it, they would have by this point. Things had gotten like this because they couldn’t.

  Still, things hadn’t fallen apart yet. Whenever the occasional volunteer soldier got caught by the hydra’s tentacles, or kicked into the air by the eight-meter class, and their party looked ready to break and run, someone would quickly step in and support them. “One-on-One” Max, “Red Devil” Ducky, and Shinohara were running all over the place to assist their comrades.

  Through great pain, the volunteer soldiers held their lines and were slowly backing away. Haruhiro and his party were doing so, too. It was a gradual retreat.

  Even as they were being pushed hard, they held out the best they could.

  There was going to be a break somewhere, no doubt.

  Eventually it would be too much for them to endure, and they would collapse.

  But it was strange. Even though they were clearly being chased down, the senior volunteer soldiers looked unperturbed, and were just doing their best. No one had given in to desperation, and no one gave off a sense of despair, either.

  Had they all stopped thinking about things they didn’t have to think about so that they could focus on the task at hand?

  In the end, people could only do the things they could do. They could give it their best. They couldn’t control the situation beyond that. Even if they wanted things to go a particular way, wish and pray as they might, it would only turn out the way it was going to turn out.

  “Focus. Focus. Focus...”

  While whispering that to hims
elf, Haruhiro looked around. He looked and got a grasp of the situation. He Swatted a Pansuke’s spear.

  There was a gap forming between their front line and rear line, so he had the rear line move up. There was another Pansuke coming up from the rear, so he had Yume and Merry fall back behind Anna-san and Shihoru.

  Kuzaku was pretty exhausted. Haruhiro wanted to let him rest, but that wasn’t an option.

  “Keep at it!” he shouted to him.

  He Swatted a Pansuke’s spear. He wanted to chain that with Shatter, but that was only his wish. It wasn’t something he had judged was doable at this moment. He had to show restraint.

  The eight-meter class hadn’t really gotten any closer, but the hydra had. Were Tokimune and Tada, who were jumping around near the six-meter class white giant, going to be okay?

  “The hydra’s coming!” Haruhiro called.

  He’d at least warned them. Then he Swatted a Pansuke’s spear. He ordered Kikkawa, Ranta, and Kuzaku to shift their positions to the left twice.

  Swat, Swat, Swat.

  He took a look around the area. It’s to the west, he thought. They were heading west. Towards the initial hill. The giant god was there.

  In other words, the way things were going, they would eventually be caught between the hydra and the giant god. Though, only if they lasted that long.

  No, no. Don’t think about that. Don’t get distracted. Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus.

  “Gahhh!” Kikkawa accidentally struck a Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin and was stunned.

  “You moron!” Ranta deflected the Thunder Sword Dolphin with his own Thunder Sword Dolphin to protect Kikkawa.

  The front line broke formation, and it looked like the cultists would push past them.

  For a moment, Haruhiro was scared, but they could make it through this. “Kikkawa, keep going and swap places with Ranta! Mimorin, support Kikkawa!”

  “Righty-o!” Kikkawa shook his head to clear it as he passed Ranta.

  “Aye!” Mimorin took a position diagonally behind Kikkawa, knocking aside a Pansuke’s spear with her staff.

  I know there was another Tori-san around here, Haruhiro thought, scanning the area. There! He’s circled around behind us.