Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 97



96 – The Truth Revealed (4)

To summarize the Saint’s words:

Valkyrie was gone.

“Even though she was right under your nose?”

“Yeah. She’s not the type to just wander off without a word…”

To survive on this deserted island, we’d established rules a long time ago. The most basic rule was to stick together. But now, division of labor was unavoidable, and that’s why we were working in two teams.

No sooner had we split up than this mess happened.

“It’s because of a monster.”

Adora, the Major, said.

“Some monsters kidnap people using barriers. If she got caught by one of those… bad luck. By now, the chances are high she’s been done for.”

“Then what should we do?”

“You should have taken action first, then reported it.”

The Saintess’s eyes held a crimson gleam.

“She disappeared without me even noticing? You think that’s the right judgment?”

“I just spoke according to military regulations.”

“Still so rigid. Try being even half as kind as Erich. If a woman’s cold, she won’t be loved by men.”

The Major glared at me.

From noble mtl dot com

“Is that true, Major?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I asked for your opinion.”

“Finding Valkyrie is the priority, I believe.”

I grabbed my magic stone and crossbow and stood up. The Major spat out her chewing gum, straightened her uniform, and asked the Saintess for directions. We quickly arrived at the scene.

“Here it is.”

“I don’t feel anything?”

“Liyo doesn’t either.”

“I don’t feel anything at all. But I was definitely harvesting on this side.”

While the Chief and the Saintess talked, I focused my senses.

I’d fought countless monsters by now. Maybe I wouldn’t have known before, but now my senses were as sharp as a beast’s. I could sense it now.

“I sense tainted mana.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s over there.”

A huge old tree stood where I pointed.

At first glance, it looked like a slightly large, ordinary tree. But if you focused your magic, a new aspect appeared. Spores, invisible to the eye, covered the tree.

“There’s a barrier.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Instinct.”

“Instinct?”

“I only feel a strange sensation around it.”

There’s a way to confirm if it was instinct or not. I walked towards the old tree and reached out my hand.

“…….”

“What is it? Nothing happened, right?”

“No. One person disappeared.”

“……Huh?”

The Saintess hurriedly counted heads. Her pupils turned orange. Even Commander Adora frowned.

The fox sisters were gone.

“Goddamn it.”

This is a mobile barrier. The magic etched into the ancient tree was just a afterimage. The real one is circling us, waiting to strike.

Luring us in, one by one, to pick us off.

We need to stick together. The Saintess and the Commander seemed to realize it at the same time, reaching out for me.

“Erich!”

“Lieutenant!”

The one who didn’t disappear and remained was.

“……Ah, shit.”

It was the Commander.

The Commander, unable to stop her momentum, crashed into me. We rolled over a couple of times before stopping. The Commander, quickly getting to her feet, cursed.

“To think it would take the Saintess right away. A monster that understands strategy and tactics.”

“We’ll be picked off one by one. Best to start warming up our internal circuits.”

“You’re calm even in this situation. Reliable. I like it.”

The Commander was making advances, and I infused a stone with magic. Battle preparations complete.

But even after some time passed, we hadn’t been moved anywhere else.

“This is strange. Something’s wrong.”

“Looks like they want to play without us.”

“Wouldn’t we be immune to infection since the Major and I are stuck together?”

“That’s definitely a possibility. Or maybe they’re leaving us alone because we’re with the Magic Kingdom.”

“Monsters can tell friend from foe?”

“If they’re smart enough to erect a barrier, that’s not an impossible scenario. I’ve got a mark from the pseudo-religious order, so they’d know who I am.”

The Major’s words just confirmed it. There’s some kind of connection between the Magic Kingdom’s leadership and the monster bosses.

Whatever the case, we can’t keep going like this.

I need to find a way to enter the barrier with those Holy Nation soldiers.

“What if we just separate and wait it out?”

“Denied. You need to stay by my side.”

“Won’t those friends of ours be in danger if we do that?”

“You’re not worried about *me* being in danger if we separate?”

“You’re plenty strong, Major.”

“That’s a surprisingly insightful statement. It is true, though. I’m worried about something else.”

“What is it?”

The Major whispered.

“You.”

He pulled at my clothes, drawing me closer.

“I don’t think I could live with myself if my savior got caught up in this mess and died.”

“You’re going too far.”

“Am I, really? I’ll make sure you get off this island alive, so don’t worry too much.”

The lieutenant colonel didn’t seem inclined to detach under any circumstances.

Not a bad assessment. People only eat as much as they can digest at once. No reason a barrier would be different.

Since it had come to this, I decided to use the next best option.

It might take a while, but it was a way for me and the lieutenant colonel to enter the barrier without separating.

“Here, stones.”

“I can see that. What are you going to… Ah, I see. I get it.”

Me and the lieutenant colonel tossed stones imbued with mana in all directions. It was to find the current location of the moving barrier. The barrier would be where the stones suddenly disappeared. We’d run and jump in as soon as we found it.

Not that we were just throwing them randomly. We constantly scanned for mana and threw them focusing on likely locations.

After a few attempts, we learned two things.

First, the barrier only operated in this vicinity.

Second, the barrier’s movement speed was discontinuous.

In other words, no matter where we threw the mana stones, they’d only get close to the barrier; we couldn’t actually hit the teleporting barrier itself.

But a mage should always be able to find the answer when a problem arises.

“David, Kalon-sunbae.”

I pulled the two of them out with a solemn expression.

“Could you help me with something?”

[‘What are you planning?’]

“To throw you.”

[‘Ah.’]

“While you’re flying, scan for surrounding mana. If you touch the perimeter of the barrier, please hold onto it.”

To toss academy upperclassmen and underclassmen around like objects. My conscience won’t let me. But the situation’s critical right now. If we waste too much time, the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers inside could die.

[‘Then we’ll step up.’]

Valkyrie’s comrades spoke then.

[‘We need to save Rachel…’]

[‘So throw us first. Since becoming like this, we seem to have gained some magic power, so we’ll be fine.’]

A resolute voice.

Thanks to the two female soldiers’ spirit, David and Calon readily agreed.

No matter what, it was better to throw upperclassmen and underclassmen first rather than the comrades of Valkyrie, who I killed. I sighed and tossed David.

[‘Oh, oh, oh, ohhh!’]

*Crackle*, mana flared.

Found it immediately.

Come to think of it, a barrier doesn’t have eyes, a nose, or a mouth, right? It must work by detecting souls. I should have done this sooner.

The director and I seized the opportunity and rushed in right away. My vision filled with brightness, and a new landscape appeared that I hadn’t seen before.

Dense, dark green thickets.

Huge spores packed tightly together.

Narrow, elongated paths created by those spores.

“What is this…”

“Looks like a maze made of mushrooms.”

I picked up David, who was lying on the ground. David, covered in cotton-like white spores, groaned.

[‘This is fucking insane, what the hell is this? How can I be subjected to such a horrific sight even after death?’]

Shaking the dust off David, I unlocked arms with the Captain. He called out a name as he ignited his sword.

[“Yeom-Yeom (艶炎).”]

KEEENG!

The sword’s edge cut heavily through the air. Flames ate at the air, instantly incinerating the spores that floated around. The sound of insects being electrocuted rang out endlessly.

“Be careful, Lieutenant. If you touch or inhale these spores, you might become like those spore monsters.”

“…First, we should find the three female soldiers.”

The Captain and I traced the right wall of the maze, slowly picking up speed.

*

Clearly, Rachel had been collecting.

There was a mushroom under an old tree, good for fuel, and she’d carefully tried to pluck it. But at the same instant, she’d warped into this bizarre maze-like place.

She was momentarily flustered, but Rachel was trained to maintain composure in any situation.

Even in an environment as hopeless as this one.

[“Foolish child. Why don’t you just give up?”]

An old woman covered in spore clumps approached, shaking a flute.

It had already been twenty or thirty minutes since Rachel found herself alone, facing this monster. Rachel grimaced and spat.

“Ptooey.”

Spore dust escaped with her exhale.

She hadn’t done much of anything, but she was already breathless.

[“This body, Niemi, will personally end you. You should know that’s an honor.”]

The monster brought the flute to its lips and blew. Rachel barely resisted the urge to lose her mind, and gripped the spear shaft Erich had made for her.

Couldn’t fall here, not like this.