◇◆◇ (third person pov)
"Um, Gevaudan...?"
Tiriel calls out from inside the cage.
"Hey! Heey!"
In front of her, a horrifying scene was unfolding.
Once it started, it was completely one-sided.
It was only natural. On one side, there were the primitive orcs who were holed up in Hyperborea. On the other side, there was the monster that had faced Highland Zephyr and transformed the subhuman stronghold into a desolate wasteland singlehandedly. It was like ants challenging a dragon. Foolish orcs. Tiriel was genuinely satisfied to see those who had pushed her to this point and scared her so much finally getting what they deserved. They had it coming.
However...
The brutality had gone a bit too far.
"Um... maybe it's time to stop now...?...Hee!"
In response to her attempt to talk some sense into him, a bestial roar echoed back. The sound was so intense that it sent shivers down her spine and made the cage bars shake.
Tiriel believed she had a good relationship with Gevaudan. He would likely listen to her. So, she continued to speak, trusting he would hear her out.
"I appreciate you being mad for my sake, but... If things keep going like this, these orcs might extinct, you know?"
While Tiriel didn't particularly care about the rural orc settlement disappearing from the map, it left a bad taste in her mouth if she was the cause. Even though retaliation and punishment were warranted, she didn't really want them to go extinct.
"Hey, Ge――vooo――daaaan! Are you even listening?"
He captured fleeing orcs with his tongue, skewered them in the ass with the spears they held, and threw them on the ground. From Tiriel's knowledge, it's like when a Shrike stores their food. The area outside the cage had turned into a skewering site.
The tall orc was the first to fall victim. The organized attack only lasted for the first minute since there was no one who could lead the current orcs. The poor pigs that were just running away got chopped into pieces and cast aside. Chopped into pieces and cast aside.
"Oh."
Tiriel watched as Gevaudan broke into a building.
Immediately, a loud roar erupted, and multiple screams shook the house. The blood that splattered in all directions turned the once-clear window glass into red stained glass. It looked as though strawberry jam had been splattered everywhere. Tiriel averted her gaze from the sight.
She saw an orc warrior enter the building. He must have bravely tried to help, but he got thrown out through the wall in seconds.
Gevaudan ran after him and quickly reached the fallen orc. That orc was done for. Tiriel just made a cross sign in her heart.
Gevaudan seemed to have trouble cutting through the armor, and the struggling orc warrior put up a fight. Then, he lifted the warrior and squeezed him, like squeezing juice from a fruit, armor and all. Not even the most savage orc would do something like that. Tiriel's legs finally gave way.
In front of the increasing number of skewered orcs in the square, Tiriel took a deep breath. She needed to calm down for a moment. She tried to escape reality by recalling the heroic scene she had just witnessed.
This happened right before her first time was going to be taken away in front of the public.
When a familiar, large silhouette appeared out of nowhere without warning, it truly felt like a hero had arrived. I am here to help. She never thought that a simple word could be so dependable.
It had truly been a close call. There were three winners, and she was about to be taken by the three orcs. Tiriel was convinced that her ancestral god, Falshidar, had extended a helping hand. She wasn't particularly religious, but at that moment, she felt like she might become one.
However...
Was this really salvation?
Isn't it more of a disaster?
Tiriel's faith was shaken.
Gevaudan showed no signs of stopping.
"Is, is that really Gevaudan?"
There might be a possibility that he was just a wild butcher. Tiriel thought.
"But he did call my name, right...?"
"Good evening."
"Ah, good evening..... Wait, who are you!?"
Startled, Tiriel rose to her feet.
"Are you Tiriel-san?"
"Uh, yes, that's me..."
"I'm Kyo. I'm an adventurer from Hazafungi."
The woman introduced herself as Kyo and respectfully bowed her head in front of the cage. Mushroom?
"I'm here to help you, with Gevaudan-san."
Tiriel was taken aback. Gevaudan had asked for more help. She's always felt that he's very attentive, but this is one of the things she likes about him.
――So, was that massacre a diversion?
While causing a ruckus, Tiriel and the others should make their escape first. That's what the plan is, right? It's what she understood from Gevaudan's rampage.
"But do you really need such an elaborate plan?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're here to help me escape while Gevaudan is causing all that commotion right? But with his current state, I think he could easily take me out without all this fuss..."
"No? I didn't get any instructions like that. In fact, we were told to wait outside. But then Yakumo started blowing the horn. I thought it would be bad if we were discovered, so I let him out of the car and he just walked away, so I had no choice but to follow him."
"Then, why...?"
Following Tiriel's gaze, Kyo also turned around.
"He seems really angry about something... We've only known each other for a short time, but I've never seen him so angry before. What happened?"
"That's..."
*Click*
Just as Tiriel was about to explain, the cage's lock clicked open.
A small figure slipped into the cage.
"Oh, Yakumo-san! No, don't come in! We're about to leave, you should go outside!"
"Yakumo? ――Eh!?.. Are you really Yakumo?"
The casual appearance of the ultimate weapon that can destroy the enemy's planet startles Tiriel twice.
"So Yakumo was with Gevaudan... What happened to Natsuki then?"
"Oh, and this. Here you go."
Kyo handed Tiriel her partner, Cabrontia.
"Cabrontia! Thank you!"
Tiriel caressed the staff, and her confidence suddenly surged. This was an heirloom passed down through the generations. It was said to be made from a fragment of the World Tree when her homeland was still teeming with life.
"The key and this staff. We were able to recover them with the help of that familiar."
"Mus, right? Thank you, Mus, my best friend!"
When Tiriel looked up, Mustachio, who had been perched on top of the cage, was equally horrified by the dire situation of the orcs.
Yes, horrified.
As Gevaudan continued to rampage, anxiety crept into Tiriel's heart, stimulated by the trauma. The scene of Gevaudan gleefully slaughtering the female beastkin played vividly in her mind.
The screams of a woman being devoured, soul and all, by the most cruel means possible. The flashback of the lifeless bodies they became. The face of the corpse turns into her own. Her breath caught in her chest, and Tiriel clutched her heart.
"――Huh?"
She suddenly realized a possibility and gasped.
"No way..."
With both hands, Tiriel crafted a binocular spell and focused it on Gevaudan.
"It can't be..."
Tiriel was taken aback.
"No, no, no!"
"What's wrong?"
When Kyo tilted her head and asked, Tiriel muttered in a stunned voice.
"――The enchantments, they're all gone......"
"Enchantments? What are you talking about?"
"We'll discuss the details later, Kyo. Let's escape while we can."
Tiriel assured Kyo firmly, gripping her shoulders.
"Well, of course, I'm going to...but..."
Even as she was being pressured forcefully and her shoulders shook, Kyo still gave a half-hearted response. Tiriel sighed at her lack of urgency. She needed to escape on her own if necessary. Just as Tiriel was thinking that.
*Click*
The sound she had heard earlier rang again.
Tiriel turned her gaze and saw Yakumo locking the cage door.
"Oh, hey!"
Tiriel hurried over to Yakumo.
"Can you please give me the key? You might not understand my words, but please! Do you understand the situation? We need to leave here quickly, or we..."
A warm spray hit her cheek.
An orc that had come close to the cage was pierced by a stone that flew at an incredible speed, and its blood sprayed as it collapsed.
As Tiriel stared at the blood that had splashed onto her face, the cage shook violently.
"Please! Let me in, please!"
Several orcs clung to the bars, their faces contorted in fear, shaking the bars repeatedly.
""...""
Overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere, both Tiriel and Kyo took a step back. Looking closely, these orcs were the victors of the festival that had won Tiriel. The strongest and most cunning orcs in the village.
"G-Eeeeeeee e ee e."
As they came into contact with the breath exhaled by Gevaudan, the Orcs began to liquefy, dissolving into the ground.
Only their bones and clothes swayed in the wind as they gripped the bars.
"If we don't get out of here soon..... we'll end up like them....."
"Uh, wh-what was that just now?"
The two who witnessed the whole scene were filled with fear. They clasped their fingers together, their faces pale.
Gevaudan's brutality continued to escalate.
The crisis was far from over.
Tiriel realized that the stuff that happened before wasn't anything close to this, and she was now stuck in a seriously desperate spot. She was truly on the brink of disaster.
◇◆◇ (third person pov)
"Um, Gevaudan...?"
Tiriel calls out from inside the cage.
"Hey! Heey!"
In front of her, a horrifying scene was unfolding.
Once it started, it was completely one-sided.
It was only natural. On one side, there were the primitive orcs who were holed up in Hyperborea. On the other side, there was the monster that had faced Highland Zephyr and transformed the subhuman stronghold into a desolate wasteland singlehandedly. It was like ants challenging a dragon. Foolish orcs. Tiriel was genuinely satisfied to see those who had pushed her to this point and scared her so much finally getting what they deserved. They had it coming.
However...
The brutality had gone a bit too far.
"Um... maybe it's time to stop now...?...Hee!"
In response to her attempt to talk some sense into him, a bestial roar echoed back. The sound was so intense that it sent shivers down her spine and made the cage bars shake.
Tiriel believed she had a good relationship with Gevaudan. He would likely listen to her. So, she continued to speak, trusting he would hear her out.
"I appreciate you being mad for my sake, but... If things keep going like this, these orcs might extinct, you know?"
While Tiriel didn't particularly care about the rural orc settlement disappearing from the map, it left a bad taste in her mouth if she was the cause. Even though retaliation and punishment were warranted, she didn't really want them to go extinct.
"Hey, Ge――vooo――daaaan! Are you even listening?"
He captured fleeing orcs with his tongue, skewered them in the ass with the spears they held, and threw them on the ground. From Tiriel's knowledge, it's like when a Shrike stores their food. The area outside the cage had turned into a skewering site.
The tall orc was the first to fall victim. The organized attack only lasted for the first minute since there was no one who could lead the current orcs. The poor pigs that were just running away got chopped into pieces and cast aside. Chopped into pieces and cast aside.
"Oh."
Tiriel watched as Gevaudan broke into a building.
Immediately, a loud roar erupted, and multiple screams shook the house. The blood that splattered in all directions turned the once-clear window glass into red stained glass. It looked as though strawberry jam had been splattered everywhere. Tiriel averted her gaze from the sight.
She saw an orc warrior enter the building. He must have bravely tried to help, but he got thrown out through the wall in seconds.
Gevaudan ran after him and quickly reached the fallen orc. That orc was done for. Tiriel just made a cross sign in her heart.
Gevaudan seemed to have trouble cutting through the armor, and the struggling orc warrior put up a fight. Then, he lifted the warrior and squeezed him, like squeezing juice from a fruit, armor and all. Not even the most savage orc would do something like that. Tiriel's legs finally gave way.
In front of the increasing number of skewered orcs in the square, Tiriel took a deep breath. She needed to calm down for a moment. She tried to escape reality by recalling the heroic scene she had just witnessed.
This happened right before her first time was going to be taken away in front of the public.
When a familiar, large silhouette appeared out of nowhere without warning, it truly felt like a hero had arrived. I am here to help. She never thought that a simple word could be so dependable.
It had truly been a close call. There were three winners, and she was about to be taken by the three orcs. Tiriel was convinced that her ancestral god, Falshidar, had extended a helping hand. She wasn't particularly religious, but at that moment, she felt like she might become one.
However...
Was this really salvation?
Isn't it more of a disaster?
Tiriel's faith was shaken.
Gevaudan showed no signs of stopping.
"Is, is that really Gevaudan?"
There might be a possibility that he was just a wild butcher. Tiriel thought.
"But he did call my name, right...?"
"Good evening."
"Ah, good evening..... Wait, who are you!?"
Startled, Tiriel rose to her feet.
"Are you Tiriel-san?"
"Uh, yes, that's me..."
"I'm Kyo. I'm an adventurer from Hazafungi."
The woman introduced herself as Kyo and respectfully bowed her head in front of the cage. Mushroom?
"I'm here to help you, with Gevaudan-san."
Tiriel was taken aback. Gevaudan had asked for more help. She's always felt that he's very attentive, but this is one of the things she likes about him.
――So, was that massacre a diversion?
While causing a ruckus, Tiriel and the others should make their escape first. That's what the plan is, right? It's what she understood from Gevaudan's rampage.
"But do you really need such an elaborate plan?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're here to help me escape while Gevaudan is causing all that commotion right? But with his current state, I think he could easily take me out without all this fuss..."
"No? I didn't get any instructions like that. In fact, we were told to wait outside. But then Yakumo started blowing the horn. I thought it would be bad if we were discovered, so I let him out of the car and he just walked away, so I had no choice but to follow him."
"Then, why...?"
Following Tiriel's gaze, Kyo also turned around.
"He seems really angry about something... We've only known each other for a short time, but I've never seen him so angry before. What happened?"
"That's..."
*Click*
Just as Tiriel was about to explain, the cage's lock clicked open.
A small figure slipped into the cage.
"Oh, Yakumo-san! No, don't come in! We're about to leave, you should go outside!"
"Yakumo? ――Eh!?.. Are you really Yakumo?"
The casual appearance of the ultimate weapon that can destroy the enemy's planet startles Tiriel twice.
"So Yakumo was with Gevaudan... What happened to Natsuki then?"
"Oh, and this. Here you go."
Kyo handed Tiriel her partner, Cabrontia.
"Cabrontia! Thank you!"
Tiriel caressed the staff, and her confidence suddenly surged. This was an heirloom passed down through the generations. It was said to be made from a fragment of the World Tree when her homeland was still teeming with life.
"The key and this staff. We were able to recover them with the help of that familiar."
"Mus, right? Thank you, Mus, my best friend!"
When Tiriel looked up, Mustachio, who had been perched on top of the cage, was equally horrified by the dire situation of the orcs.
Yes, horrified.
As Gevaudan continued to rampage, anxiety crept into Tiriel's heart, stimulated by the trauma. The scene of Gevaudan gleefully slaughtering the female beastkin played vividly in her mind.
The screams of a woman being devoured, soul and all, by the most cruel means possible. The flashback of the lifeless bodies they became. The face of the corpse turns into her own. Her breath caught in her chest, and Tiriel clutched her heart.
"――Huh?"
She suddenly realized a possibility and gasped.
"No way..."
With both hands, Tiriel crafted a binocular spell and focused it on Gevaudan.
"It can't be..."
Tiriel was taken aback.
"No, no, no!"
"What's wrong?"
When Kyo tilted her head and asked, Tiriel muttered in a stunned voice.
"――The enchantments, they're all gone......"
"Enchantments? What are you talking about?"
"We'll discuss the details later, Kyo. Let's escape while we can."
Tiriel assured Kyo firmly, gripping her shoulders.
"Well, of course, I'm going to...but..."
Even as she was being pressured forcefully and her shoulders shook, Kyo still gave a half-hearted response. Tiriel sighed at her lack of urgency. She needed to escape on her own if necessary. Just as Tiriel was thinking that.
*Click*
The sound she had heard earlier rang again.
Tiriel turned her gaze and saw Yakumo locking the cage door.
"Oh, hey!"
Tiriel hurried over to Yakumo.
"Can you please give me the key? You might not understand my words, but please! Do you understand the situation? We need to leave here quickly, or we..."
A warm spray hit her cheek.
An orc that had come close to the cage was pierced by a stone that flew at an incredible speed, and its blood sprayed as it collapsed.
As Tiriel stared at the blood that had splashed onto her face, the cage shook violently.
"Please! Let me in, please!"
Several orcs clung to the bars, their faces contorted in fear, shaking the bars repeatedly.
""...""
Overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere, both Tiriel and Kyo took a step back. Looking closely, these orcs were the victors of the festival that had won Tiriel. The strongest and most cunning orcs in the village.
"G-Eeeeeeee e ee e."
As they came into contact with the breath exhaled by Gevaudan, the Orcs began to liquefy, dissolving into the ground.
Only their bones and clothes swayed in the wind as they gripped the bars.
"If we don't get out of here soon..... we'll end up like them....."
"Uh, wh-what was that just now?"
The two who witnessed the whole scene were filled with fear. They clasped their fingers together, their faces pale.
Gevaudan's brutality continued to escalate.
The crisis was far from over.
Tiriel realized that the stuff that happened before wasn't anything close to this, and she was now stuck in a seriously desperate spot. She was truly on the brink of disaster.
