Chapter 19 – The being called ‘Kreutz’

The voice that echoed was Syltina’s.

In the darkness, where one couldn’t identify left nor right, it was the lone voice that rang clearly.

“Let the unforgivable karma come to light. I am the one who will hand down your judgment.”

As soon as Syltina’s words ended, the spreading darkness instantly gathered at the top of Rufhana village, forming a palm-sized orb.

“Repent!”

Syltina brought down her raised right hand.

At the same time, the orb of darkness started to descend to Rufhana village and burst just before it arrived at the village. The fragments that popped off from the orb of darkness moved as if they were living beings and made their way into the village.

The moment it faced off with the demons who were wandering in the village, it changed from just darkness into black flames and attacked the demons. The demons who touched the black flames burned up in a flash, leaving nary a trace as they burned out. The demons let out otherworldly screams as they burned up one after another.

Within a few minutes, the cries coming from all over the village died out.

“Wh-what in the world….?”

Milliane, who watched everything unfold, whispered, wondering where the darkness covering everything moments ago suddenly disappeared to.

“That’s Syltina’s and Kuro’s ‘composite magic’…….. Aaand, there you go….”

Alhart explains while using his magic and sword to finish off the demons who escaped from the black flames.

“Darkness, Fire, and Wind attribute………..but, Kreutz-sama….that’s…what exactly is…….”

The demons inside the village have been wiped out. The black flames once again reverted to darkness, and began to gather directly above Rufhana village.

“That’s Kuro’s true form.”

“Eh!?”

“That very being is darkness, you see. He dwells in people’s hearts, he is the antithesis to everything, he is the instinctive fear that every being harbors. He is the despair that does not shine even a single light and is also the tranquility that wraps up everything. That’s him. Syltina’s familiar, Kreutz.”

“That very being is darkness……”

“He doesn’t have a true ‘form’. That’s why he can be anything. A human, a horse, a cat, or even a bird. However, for that very reason, he can’t be anything either. Sad, isn’t it?”, Alhart said, gently directing his gaze towards Kreutz, who had reverted back to an orb.

”The flame that he produces burns everything. Whether it’s living or not, justice or evil, right or wrong, beautiful or dirty, those trivialities don’t matter. It burns everything it touches into nothing. When Kuro takes on a ‘form’, his power is suppressed to some extent. You saw it with the bandits from that time, didn’t you? Kuro’s black flames merely burned the bandits and didn’t erase them. That’s why you and I, or Saint-sama and her company didn’t suffer from any injuries. That was how Kuro adjusted his flames. However, if he reverts to his original form, that suppression is lost. He attacks with his black flames indiscriminately, chaotically, and in full power. It’s Syltina who controls that.”

The orb of darkness continued to repeatedly contract and expand, gradually taking on a form.

”Syltina uses the wind to keep the spreading darkness from attacking indiscriminately, and adjusts the direction and power of the black flames so that no damage is done to anything but the demons. In order to control the enormous amount of darkness and adjust the black flames, it is necessary to possess large amounts of magic power, concentration, and control. After that, Sylti decides.—”

“Ah!”

Syltina swayed and fell down due to gravity.

But, just before she could hit the ground, Kreutz, who had yet to take on a form, acted as a cushion and slipped between her body and the ground.

“She always faints.”

Alhart sighed, as he slashed the last demon in sight before approaching the two.

“Kuro, hand over Sylti to me.”

“……”

“You can’t do anything in that form either, can you? Give Sylti to me and quickly take on a form. We’re still not done here after all.”

“……”

Kreutz who had yet to take on a ‘form’ understood the situation and reluctantly handed Syltina over to Alhart.

“Well then. Tyr!!”

“Yes, master.”

“Please confirm whether there are still any survivors around.”

“Understood.”

Tyrtinkle dissolved the Wind Blade Prison and, as instructed by Arhalt, headed towards Rufhana village alongside the wind.

After laying Syltina on the ground, Alhart turns to face Milliane.

“Milliane-sama, can you put up a light barrier around the village?

“Ah, y-yes.”

After seeing Milliane nod and activate her magic, Alhart once again turns to face Kreutz.

“Alright, you’ve more or less taken on human form.”

“Master, I have confirmed that there are no more survivors around. The extermination has been completed.”

Tyrtinkle, who headed to Rufhana village, returned and reported to Alhart, who nodded satisfactorily and Kreutz, who was slowly taking on human form.

“All right. If that’s the case, then after taking a proper form, wake Sylti up so we can have the Saintess perform the purification for us. Hurry up.”

“You don’t have to tell me….”

In a low, telepathic voice, Kreutz spoke, ”It will be just a bit more till I regain my voice…….so, Saintess, please prepare for the purification.”

“Purifi…cation…….”

Alhart laughed at the sullen sounding Kreutz and turned around to answer Akari, who was deliriously muttering from behind.

“Yes, purification. You have to remove the impurity from this land. That’s your job.”

“My-my….job….”

“…… Saintess?”

Alhart leans towards Akari, who seemed to be repeating his words in an incoherent manner.

“…… I……….. don’t…….”

“Hmm? What was that?”

Unable to hear Akari’s words, Alhart approached her and bent forward so he could align his face with hers and pick up what Akari was saying as she looked downward.

“…….ca……n’t………I can’t! I can’t do it!! There’s no way I can do it!!”

“Haaah!?”

“It’s impossible!! After all, I…….I don’t know anything about this, I haven’t even done a purification before! The…the only thing closest to magic that I’ve done before is to heal a simple wound. Such a thing….”

“……..This, what the heck…?”

To Akari who was crying and screaming, Alhart’s response was terribly flat and cold.

“You are the saintess. Didn’t you go on this trip knowing that you bear the responsibility of that title? Don’t go saying nonsense like it’s impossible, or you haven’t done this before at this point in time!”

“But, the one who insisted on this journey was the king!! I never wanted anything of the sort!! Moreover, I didn’t even know that it was going to be this dangerous!!”

“Even if someone showed you the way, it’s still your choice whether you go forward or not. Stop blaming others for it.”

“Wha…what are you……”

”Besides, this ‘danger’ is an everyday thing in ‘this world’. Even though demons rarely appear, the bandits, thieves, and pirates like the ones we encountered before are common, and the warring between countries is continuing. It’s been two years since you came to this world, so saying that nonsense at this time….”

“I…I mean, I haven’t even been outside of the Kingdom’s capital before……In the first place, I don’t even belong to this world! Why do I have to put my life on the line to help the people of this world!?”

“If that’s the case, then, should I kill you here and now, Saintess?”

“Hiiiii!!!”

An excessively cold bloodlust hung in the air. A dangerous glint flashed in Alhart’s amber-colored eyes.

”I don’t really care to know what’s going to become of this kind of country. Heck, I even think it’s better if it fell to ruin. But, you mustn’t forget, right? That you are now here in this world……thanks to the people of this country.”

“I…I know that!! That’s why I also gladly took it on! But…but…but…”

“But, however, after all, still……….that’s all there is to you, isn’t it, Saintess?”

“Sylti.”

Even though her voice sounded exhausted, Syltina stood still on her own feet and approached Akari with the help of Kreutz who had finally taken on a human form.

”It seems like I’ve said this a lot of times already, but we were entrusted with the task of escorting the Saintess so we are protecting you. ‘To escort the Saint as she travels around to purify the land and save the country’ was the content of our mission. In other words, we won’t escort ‘otherworlders who act spoiled and are useless because they can’t purify the tainted lands’. If you abandon the purification of the tainted lands and escape, then your personal safety is beyond our control. Well, I don’t know how peaceful the other world is, but as far as I can tell, you probably grew up in a place free of conflict, so a bloody, violent, and disorderly place like this doesn’t suit you. So please, go ahead and run away.”

“Eh?”

“But, however, after all, still, it would be better for you to run away if you are going to keep on complaining. Just like Al, I also want this kind of country to perish, so it doesn’t really concern us. We only took upon the task of ‘escorting the saint’ and not to pointlessly chase after a fleeing saint or be made to purify the land, so we don’t carry the burden of being blamed by the king. In fact, we’d prefer to immediately leave this fast declining country.”

Syltina finished speaking with an air of indifference. The expressionless way Syltina continuously drew her words forth seemed terrifying.

“Syltina-sama! Aren’t you being too irresponsible!?”

“Irresponsible? In which way are we being irresponsible, Tedla-sama?”

“Are you that eager to abandon the mission you accepted!?”

“Abandonment? Us? You’re wrong about that. Your Saintess is the one who will be running away first. I am merely saying that ‘if’ she abandons being a saintess.”

“Akari couldn’t possibly betray us….this country!!”, Syltina turned a completely shocked gaze towards the shouting Frackt.

Wasn’t he listening to the conversation up until now? Didn’t he hear the exchange that was happening so close by? Or was there something wrong with his brain?

Syltina seriously thought that it might be better to somehow introduce him to a good doctor.

“Akari! Come now, show us how wonderful your power is!!”

“Uh…ummm..I…I….!!!”

“Akari!?”

“Uh-oh. Looks like the prince dealt the final blow.”

With a blank expression, Syltina merely looked on as Akari turned her back from them and escaped to the forest.