The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knight’s Rampage Through Another World
“Ha ha! Enjoy your final moments of battle to the fullest!”
The man’s booming laughter echoed through the hall.
Simultaneously, the ‘Incarnate Armor’ and the headless adventurers launched their assault.
Their forces consisted of eight Fresh Armor units and three headless adventurers, excluding the man with the white teeth.
Or rather, the headless adventurers’ clothing and builds looked familiar…
I couldn’t be sure without their heads, but were they the ones who had messed with us earlier?
If so, they were unlucky bastards.
They were annoying, getting drunk and interrupting our date, but they hadn’t done anything bad enough to deserve this.
But well… now that this has happened, we have no choice but to kill them.
It’s fine.
Since gaining divine protection, I’ve gained experience not just against beasts, but also slaying goblins and thieves.
I feel no pangs of conscience about returning failed adventurers to their corpse state.
‘Vwoooooooh!!’
“Guh…!!”
The Fresh Armor seemed to have designated the eldest, Lion san, as their primary target.
Five of them charged at her at once.
But Lion san was a knight with divine protection.
She conjured a shield even larger than the Light Shield she’d used earlier, solidly absorbing the Fresh Armor’s fierce assault.
“Argh! Don’t underestimate Lebron’s knights!”
She then used a shield bash to push back the pressure of all five of them in one go, and the force of the blow caused one of them to lose balance, which she then slashed with the sword in he right hand.
The rotten flesh dissolved, and the armor fell apart.
Wow… Truly a knight of stature.
She likely possesses magic-enhanced physical prowess, yet she shows no sign of being affected by their monstrous strength.
With that level of defense, she would indeed be the perfect escort for Nora.
“Huh… Not bad, lady. But your enemies aren’t just these guys, you know?”
‘――――’
The man with white teeth grinned.
Looking closer, amidst the chaos of battle, one of the headless adventurers was trying to sneak around behind her.
I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Whoa, I’ll handle the adventurers.”
[――――]
I swiftly disposed of one of the Fresh Armor attacking, then stepped between Lion-san and the headless adventurer.
[――――]
[――――]
Then, as if sensing a threat from me, the other headless ones began moving to surround me.
“Gerald-sama! I’m coming!!”
Nora’s eyes snapped wide open, and simultaneously, the Fresh Armor attacking her shattered like a piece of paper.
I get that you’re worried about me, but what the hell is that power?
“…I’m fine. More importantly, cover Lion-san.”
“…Good luck!”
But she seemed to immediately sense my composure.
After kicking away another Fresh Armor that charged, I joined Lion-san.
At that very moment, the headless adventurers lunged at me.
‘――――’
Silent due to their missing heads, one swung a short sword at me.
“Whoa.”
Its speed wasn’t anything special.
But when I blocked it with my sword, a grating, unpleasant sound rang out, followed by a flash of sparks.
Its arm strength was likely enhanced by its monstrous transformation.
It was a heavy blow, impossible for a human’s physical strength to deliver.
Of course, it was using magic to enhance its physical abilities, but I didn’t want to keep taking hits.
[――――]
“Whoa.”
Synchronizing with the headless short sword’s attack, a headless one wielding a war hammer charged next.
This one’s attack was slow and heavy.
I spun nimbly, evading its range.
“ouch.”
But seizing that opening, the headless short sword swung its blade, and a fist-sized fireball flew toward me.
I dodged both, though the short sword’s strike was a hair’s breadth away.
Close call, close call.
The fireball came from the headless mage a short distance away.
Even if it hit, the damage wouldn’t be too bad, but getting hit while dealing with the short sword and warhammer attacks was a bit annoying.
Well, I still had no intention of getting hit by their attacks.
“Now then… what shall I do with you?”
While dealing with the headless adventurers, I glanced briefly at the man with the ‘white teeth’.
He sat solidly on his throne, doing nothing while we fought.
His Fresh Armor was already reduced to less than half.
And yet, he remained utterly relaxed.
Was he underestimating us? Or did he trust the strength of his monstrous minions so much he thought we couldn’t win?
But for now, Lion-san is fighting steadily, and while Nora has had some close calls, she’s dodging the Fresh Armor’s attacks and landing precise hits.
Of course, I have no intention of losing to these headless adventurers either.
But if the man is surveying the battlefield from that height, it should be obvious we hold the advantage.
Yet he shows no sign of joining the fight.
That’s what’s strangely bothering me.
He’s probably hiding some kind of trump card.
Three possibilities come to mind.
First.
The aberrations present here aren’t all of them.
Meaning, he still has more ‘stock’.
It probably isn’t infinite spawning, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we got two or three more waves of Fresh Armor.
He intends to overwhelm us with sheer numbers.
This is the most likely scenario.
Second possibility.
This battle is a sham… like an illusion. We might be swinging weapons in an empty hall.
Honestly, this seems unlikely.
If he can use illusions, he wouldn’t need such convoluted tactics. He could just make us fight each other.
There’s no point in sending such a massive number of Fresh Armor units.
But we need to confirm just in case.
‘Twina, where are you now?’
‘Near the Headless Magician. I don’t want to interfere with your fight.’
When I spoke to her telepathically, Twina replied.
We’ve already taken down several Fresh Armor units, so the dispersed magic energy should be saturating this entire hall.
That means the conditions for her to materialize are met.
And there’s enough magic energy for her to maintain her physical form until the battle is completely over, once she materializes.
But she seems aware she’d interfere with the fight and hasn’t shown herself yet.
…Then.
‘Sorry, but could you wave your arms around wildly without materializing?’
‘…Huh? Got it. Waving now.’
Twina sounded slightly confused, but she did as I asked.
There was a hint of flustered urgency in her tone.
At that moment, I glanced at the ‘White Teeth’ man.
He was just grinning as he watched my fight against the headless ones.
Alright.
It seemed Twina’s presence wasn’t known to him.
If that was the case, the possibility of her being under an illusion spell was quite low.
“…Alright. Twina, I have something else to ask. Are we currently fighting monstrosities?”
“What are you trying to say? You’re definitely fighting headless corpses. Unless this is some kind of dance.”
Hmm.
So she sees exactly what I see.
That means this situation isn’t some kind of hallucination.
Which rules out the second possibility.
And… the third.
Beyond the first possibility, the worst-case scenario.
That is, having us kill a massive number of aberrations, then using that magic power and miasma to summon a ‘demon’ here.
If possible, kill us in the process to make us ‘servants’, then lure in and kill other knights and adventurers… accumulating vast amounts of magic power and miasma that way.
The more they gather, the more powerful the demon they can summon.
The man with the ‘White Teeth’ has come here as an operative for that purpose.
It’s not an impossible scenario.
I recall the guards mentioning this guy was involved in smuggling illegal talismans and such.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he possessed items like a ‘Teleportation Talisman’ among them.
This talisman is the so-called fast-travel item the protagonist carries, but it can only be obtained deep within the Demon Realm.
An item obtainable deep within the Demon Realm—whose possession was it originally?
Naturally, someone from the demonic side.
And if we consider why a demon would go to the trouble of disguising themselves as a human to come to this remote Horace territory…
Worst case, they might even use the ‘White Teeth’ man’s magic power and miasma to summon demons.
Though, crucially, no summoning magic circle was found anywhere in the hall.
Well, that makes sense.
If such a thing existed amidst such a spectacular battle, it would definitely get damaged.
Therefore, it was highly likely hidden somewhere unlikely to be found, like deep within the dungeon or at the end of a secret passage.
Destroying it now is impossible.
Does that mean we’re helpless?
Of course not.
In fact, that scenario actually makes it easier to handle.
Essentially…
What we need is something here consuming massive amounts of magic continuously, enough to prevent any magic from reaching the array.
And conveniently, such a thing is right beside me.
Alright, time for the second test.
“Twina, materialize. Devour magic power in grand style, okay?”
“Are you sure? It’ll interfere with the battle.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’ll actually aid the battle. …This is a powerful tactic only you can execute.”
“…Understood. Then, I won’t hold back.”
The next instant.
Twina materialized amidst a dazzling light.
Shining silver hair, sparkling emerald eyes.
The attire she wore radiated a divine aura, like the feathered robe of a celestial maiden.
Moreover, numerous glittering swords formed a circle, floating around her.
It was a sight as if the goddess of swords had descended.
…Who told her to make such a flashy entrance?
Still, it seemed my insight had been correct after all.
“Wh-what… Ahh, my magic power… Ahh…!?”
The man with the ‘white teeth’, who had been startled by Twina’s appearance, suddenly began frantically looking around in panic.