10-47. A Tale from the Past 9: Voice of the Land
A pale blue sphere floated gently upwards and drifted outside.
Seeing this, Urushima’s expression changed drastically. He once again checked Awase’s pulse.
Sensing the throbbing sensation transmitted through her hand’s blood vessels, he felt a slight sense of relief.
“I-I was surprised… I thought it was a soul…”
“Are you alright? For now, let’s follow that. Sorry, but I’ll leave Awase to you.”
Dacia entrusted Awase to the Oni around and immediately dashed outside.
The blue sphere was still wandering in the air, seemingly enjoying itself.
Then, an odd presence drifted in—a disgustingly malicious intention.
Though it wasn’t clear why such a thing was emanating from that sphere, it was immediately understood that it was something dangerous.
The blue sphere began to transform.
It squirmed grotesquely, forming the shape of a human body.
Though it had been limp before, it soon stretched its back and raised its upper body.
A peculiar attire.
Predominantly black clothing with a short towel-like object draped over its shoulders.
Seemingly sewn onto the lower clothing, so it couldn’t be removed easily.
A few too many buttons were fastened at the front, and the waist was cinched with a slightly oversized piece of cloth.
“…A priest?”
“What’s that?”
“A Protestant clergyman from Christianity. Refers to someone who provides guidance and oversight to the faithful.”
“What are you saying? Can you explain it…?”
“Ah, basically… someone who preaches the teachings of God… maybe…?”
“Sorry, but I don’t see any of that in that thing at all.”
The being with a twisted grin wore an expression of profound enjoyment, laughing loudly.
It did not appear at all like the person Urushima was describing.
Rather, it seemed like a malevolent entity.
“Excellent!! Fuahahaha!!”
“…An enemy?”
“I’m not sure… but if it emerged from Awase… it shouldn’t be…”
“Still, it doesn’t feel like an ally.”
There was too little clueto make a proper judgment.
However, the fact that this figure was laughing heartily hinted that it was an enemy.
And Dacia’s instincts were screaming at her.
That thing was dangerous.
For the time being, I readied my weapon and stayed vigilant.
However, Urushima stopped me.
I thought we couldn’t just let such a dangerous-looking guy roam free, but it seemed Urushima wanted to confirm if there was any hostile intent.
He stepped forward and shouted loudly,
“Who are you!!”
“It is me! I am the Voice of the Land… One of the gods who bestows punishment upon this orb!!”
“…Punishment? No, more importantly… why did you come out from Awase!?”
“Thou owe the skill bid ‘voice of the earth,’ do not thou? That woman carried me. She was mine vessel to manifest!”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I already quoth, bestow punishment upon this orb.”
Suddenly, screams were heard from a distance.
Sounds of Oni fighting were audible as well.
And strange cries reached our ears.
“This, this is…!”
“A demonic beast! …Is this your doing!?”
“Yes, it is I! hahaha! thou four lived quietly! without any suspicion towards us, without hindering our resurrection!! Not having interactions with humans befell to be fortunate! I implanted a reservoir of magic ‘i their place and turned it into resurrection magic, and it worked out just perfectly! Fuahahaha!”
“What is he saying…!”
“I see.”
“You understand what that guy is saying?”
“More or less.”
Finally, Urushima took a combat stance.
I hadn’t seen him fight before, but just from his posture, it was clear he was quite skilled.
I thought I might be in the way just by being beside him.
After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he informed me of what he had realized.
“As for that entity, well, to put it roughly, it’s probably a malevolent god. It accumulated the magic necessary for its resurrection within the human inhabited areas and used that to manifest.”
“Why did it need to possess Awase?”
“Perhaps its aim was to interfere with this world. The fact that it took so much time to manifest might mean there were certain constraints. I don’t know the details.”
“He might spill more if you question him.”
“But we don’t have time to spare.”
“True… so, can we assume it’s an enemy?”
“They’re already attacking us.”
“”Alright.””
I readied my longsword in a low stance, while Urushima pulled out his mace.
At the same time, we dashed forward, and I grabbed Urushima, throwing him.
With a forceful clench of my fist and a precise aim, I prepared to strike, but suddenly, a massive demonic beast materialized from the ground, blocking our path.
But we paid no mind to it.
I unleashed my punch as it was.
” 【 Shinku Bakukken】 !” (Exploding vacuum fist)
Just before activating the skill, I created four elongated board-like air pressure barriers, enclosing the Voice from the Land within them.
Since they resembled the transparent barrel of a cannon, they would mitigate the damage to the surroundings.
Then, I gathered all my strength and unleashed the skill.
Phyuun─BHAAAAAAM!!!!
The roar echoed.
The shockwave was held back by the air pressure barriers, but the sound couldn’t be contained.
The explosive noise rippled through the surroundings, shaking houses.
Even the ground trembled, displaying the sheer force of the attack.
“Nice job.”
Considering the high power of my attack, I employed a defensive skill to shield the area before attacking.
Without that, this whole vicinity would have been obliterated.
It was somewhat astonishing to realize how incredibly mighty my power was.
However, since they were allies, there was nothing more reassuring.
“Umm, could you please help me out?”
“…What good will it do if I get blown away?”
“Hahaha…”
Urushima was embedded in the ground.
Perhaps due to using the attack mid-air, he seemed to have been blown away by his own attack.
Although he was deeply lodged, I wondered if he was alright as I lent a hand and pulled him up.
After patting the dirt off him, I looked up again.
The air pressure barriers were still deployed, and they were filled with black smoke.
It was hard to tell if the opponent had been defeated with this. If we hadn’t managed to defeat them, it would be a problem.
However, it seemed it wasn’t going to be that simple.
With a crashing sound, the air pressure barriers were shattered.
They immediately disappeared, and the black smoke that had been smoldering within them was dispersed by the wind.
“Cough, cough, cough. Thou art quite merciless.”
“!? No way! That didn’t take them out…!”
“Seems they’re not in the realm of being ‘tough’.”
The Voice from the Land waved away the smoke with its hand.
Seeing it completely unscathed, the two of us couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Urushima… buy me some time.”
“Will that even work…?”
“We can’t handle this alone. We need reinforcements. Hold them off as long as you can.”
“…I’ll give it a try.”
Taking a deep breath, Urushima glared at the Voice from the Land and posed a question.
“What is your objective?”
