The Branded Female Fencer

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : Battle of Seeker's Village, Part 8 — Sealing of Fiends

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Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

 

Zing!

 

The ground shook with a great wobble.
At the same time, a crack in the ground occurred, and the area where the tree was located, a large housing complex, rose up.
No, that description was not accurate.
It happened as if the house itself was a living being.

Thanks to the gradual distance between them, Alfiris and the others escaped the ground rises in the nick of time, and Fenna, who was slow to react, was held up by Lexus to avoid the cracks in the ground.
Meanwhile, the soldiers around the prince, who hadn’t noticed anything, some of them were swallowed by the cracks in the earth.
As soon they thought they were, this time they suddenly jumped out of the crack in the earth.
It would be more fitting to say that they were hung up rather than popped out.
Their bodies were wrapped around the branches and tightened.

The soldiers, not knowing what had happened, were in a complete panic.

 

「H–Help me—!」

「U-Uwahh! What the hell is this doing, it’s sucking something out of my…」

「Gi–gyaahhh!!!」

 

Apparently, the house was sucking the blood out of the soldiers.
The soldiers were drained of blood and quickly dried up.
At the same time, the house is dyed in the color of blood.
In response, the tree trunks gradually began to pulse like living creatures.

Alfiris and the Blackhawks look on in amazement.

 

「What the hell is that? It’s way too big for Treant, isn’t it!?」

「A bloodsucker at that.
I’ve heard of them, but I thought such a thing as a bloodsucking species of a plant was only found at the southern continent?」

「Yeah, but I mean, isn’t this thing, like way too big?」

 

As Danda pointed out, the house slowly rose from the ground.
Apparently only a small portion of it was above ground.
They say that the bigger the tree, the deeper the roots.
The above-ground portion alone must have been several tens of meter deep, and if the roots were included, it might have already exceeded 100 meters.
And as the body woke up, the terrain was completely deformed, and the prince and his soldiers were no longer visible, partly because they had retreated to the other side.
The only thing that can be heard for sure is the screams, so they guess those are not in a good spot.

Moreover, the tree waa now a part of the body of the house, even involving the rest of the house.
Each branch of the tree was now pulsating, giving it the appearance of a living creature.
In addition, the roots of the tree, which are clumped together like a mass, seem to have the shape of a face.

Fenna slowly backed away from Lexus and muttered in front of such a creature that could not be identified as a tree, a creature, or a fiend.

 

「That is what we were sealing.」

 

Fenna suddenly began to speak.
Everyone reflexively listened to Fenna’s talk.

 

「The Seeker’s origins come from much further South.
I am told that my ancestors were the ones who sealed the Huge Treant that was rampaging at that time in our land and entrusted me with its seal.」

「How did they seal something this big?」

「That’s what we don’t know, but in the lore they shouldn’t have been this big.
And I thought it was some kind of blood-sucking species.
When I saw it earlier, the seal would have been good for years to come out without any further action…」

 

Fenna looks up to the Huge Treant fiend.
Everyone looks up, but Zelver says something practical.

 

「But that’s not the point.
How do we knock it down?」

「If it’s wood, we let it burn.」

 

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Bernot was quick to say that he had already started chanting his magic.

 

【O my servants of the fire! Gush forth and gather in my arms, circle and swirl around and form a mass, and shoot the enemy before me!】

 

《Flame Cannon!》

 

A huge mass of flame, perhaps twice the size of a human, was shot toward the tree fiend.
All of them hoped that this would be a good blow.

 

《Leaf Shield》

 

The leaves that fell from the tree formed multiple layers and stopped the flame before the main body of the Huge Treant.
The tree fiend, of all things, had used its magic.

 

「S–seriously…? Have you ever heard of treant fiend using magic?」

「Then how about this?」

 

Bernot begins his next chant, much to Dorothy’s astonishment.
This time, he is not only chanting, but also using hand signs.
He intends to exercise an even higher level of magic.

A circular magic circle is drawn in the air in front of Bernot in a complex pattern.

 

【O my servant of the flame… spring up and become a fountain… become a fountain and dance in the heavens… obey my command and rain down wrath on the earth!】

 

This time the magic is quite large.
Flames are gathering high up in the sky, drifting around like a sea of flames appearing in the sky.
It seems this mage, Bernot, is quite a master of such art.

 

《Flame Shower!!!》

 

With Bernot’s shout, the flames gathered in the air split into countless numbers and rained down over a wide area like rain.
The tree fiend tried to prevent it with its magic, but the area where the fire is pouring down is too wide to prevent.
And at various places, oeaves and branches ignited.
The big tree began to burn.

 

「It is one of the most effective magic I have.
There is no way to prevent that.
Once it is ignited, there is nothing a tree can do to stop it.」

「As expected of Bernot.
You’re really not an ordinary old man.」

「No, I wonder about that…」

 

Rui murmurs to Bernard, who is somewhat proud of his performance, and Dorothy, who is amazed.

 

「Hah—? What are you talking about, Rui? You’re burning up, aren’t you?」

「I am so moe for Dorothy-chan!」

 

At that moment, with a squishy sound like crushed fruit, Lexus was hit by the fists of Rui, Dorothy, and for some reason, Miranda.
Then, Lisa went to finish off the blown Lexus.

 

「You’re annoying me, Lexus!」

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「I feel very much the same way.
I hope the forest rots just like you.」

「I hope the forest doesn’t rot.」

「Give me a hand.」

「I wish I was dead.」

「(Master, there are not many decent men I meet, as expected…)」

 

The lamentation of Rui and others as well as Alfiris was understandable.
But on the other hand, her thoughts were calm.

 

「…but Rui is right.
It’s barely even working.」

「What’s this lass saying… wait, ehh!?」

 

Dorothy’s made a bare-bones noise, and understandably so.
The reason was that every part of the tree seemed to swell, and the swollen parts began to release sap as if bursting out of them.
The sap was red as blood.
Or perhaps, it was really blood.
In addition, new trees cover the burned areas to compensate.
The ability to regenerate is also quite high, although not as rapid as the Archfiend they previously defeated.

 

「The fire’s going out…」

「It’s settled.
We’re pulling out.」

 

Zelver ducks down.

 

「Wait… just run away?」

「Yes.」

「Are you a man?」

 

Miranda provokes him, but Zelver is very calm.

 

「There’s no reason to go it with those fiends.
Besides, the Commander’s top priority right now is the order.
That’s why he’s even abandoning his mission.」

「Tch, you’re really chill…」

 

But he was right.
They should retreat and regroup once the fire magic is ineffective.
The same goes for Alfiris and the others.
The captain urges the members of Blackhawk Squad 3 to begin preparations for retreat.
Rui and Lexus also seem to be retreating as well.

Seeing this, Miranda also decides to retreat.

 

「Alfie, we’re going to have to leave.
We can’t beat that without preparation.」

「With my power I can do it…」

 

Alfiris glances at the curse mark on her right hand.
Miranda grabs Alfiris’ right arm.

 

「Don’t! You know it’s not that easy to use, right??」

「But…」

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「I will not retreat.
You all go ahead and retreat.」

 

Suddenly, Fenna stepped forward with a jerk.
With her bow in her hand, she tries to face the Huge Treant.

 

「Wait a second, Fenna.
You can’t even handle this on your own, can you?」

「We will do it even if we can’t do it.
It is our family’s responsibility to stop that thing.
Because I am the only one of my clan who is no longer here.
I appreciate you all for bringing me here.
I must apologize for being able to compensate you…」

 

As Fenna was about to say this, Lisa smacked Fenna on the head with her cane.

 

「Fenna, what are you trying to achieve alone.」

「We know.
It’s not a good night’s sleep if you die like this.」

「Nia, why don’t you just say,『I’m worried about Fenna?』」

「I–I’m not worried about her!」

 

Nia’s tail began flapping impatiently.
It was all too obvious.

 

「But I can’t have you all going along with my selfishness…」

「I’m not going to tell that now, Fenna.
We’ve come this far, I’ll stay with you until the end.

「If that’s what Alfie wants, I’ll do it too.」

「I–I’m sorry…」

「Fenna, don’t apologize there.『Thank you,』is better I think.」

「Alfie… Thank you!」

 

Fenna’s eyes welled up at Alfiris’ words.
This time, the tears were not filled with regret or sadness, but tears of joy.

 

「So, what’s the plan?」

「Hmm, Miranda’s got something in her pocket that’ll cure that fiend.」

「Hey, hey, what kind of handyman do you think I am? It doesn’t work that way.」

「I don’t know if this is a plan or not, but Lisa have a suggestion for us.」

 

Ehh? Alfiris and the others look at Lisa with eyes like, “What do you have?”

 

「Hey there, you pervert and your partner!」

「Yes, yes—!」

「…Who’s my partner?」

 

For some reason, Lexus responds in high spirits, and Rui reacts with a somewhat irritated look on her face.
At any rate, she admits that Lexus is a pervert.

 

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「I won’t help you no matter what you say.」

「No, you just have to help Lisa and the others.」

「Hmm? Why?」

 

Rui smiles wryly.

 

「Are you not responsible for what you said? You once said,『I am in a hurry, so I can’t make much of an apology, but I will return the favor in some way when I see you again.』So, Lisa thinks now is the time to return the apology? Well, if you can’t take responsibility for what you say, I don’t blame you… I thought you’d be a little more resolute, but unlike our big girl here, you’re not.」

 

Alfiris wondered why she was still attacked, but Lisa was a good provocateur.
Rui, too, often thought about it, but she turned back to them with a sigh.

 

「Good grief… I can’t erase a line I’ve just spewed into the air.
I have no choice, I’ll do it.
So we’re even?」

「Yeah, of course.」

「Lexus, what about you?」

「If Miss is going to do it, I’m up for it too.」

「I see.」

 

Two people get into battle stance.
The members of the 3rd Squad are watching from them from afar.
However, they do not seem to be willing to assist.

 

「So, do you have a plan?」

「Let’s see.
I’ll let myself and Lexus take care of it, and you guys stay back.」

「Hah?」

 

Now Lisa is amused.
She’s not asking the two to take that kind of risk.

 

「Isn’t that dangerous at any circumstance?」

「Don’t you see? You are not going to be able to hold them back.」

「That’s…」

「No, we’re gonna back up.」

 

Lisa is about to say something more, but Alfiris stops her.
It seems that Alfiris felt something.

 

「I’m gonna be the adult here.
If you need back backup or anything, just let us know.」

「This pervert is enough to cover.
If you insist, take at least five more steps back.
There might be some damage.
It’s rather going to be loud.
Lexus, already up?」

「Ready whenever you are.」

 

Lexus takes a step back in front of Rui.
He no longer had any of his earlier antics.
Rather, he was radiating such a deadly energy that they wondered if he was the same person.
It seems that the nickname『Grim Reaper』is real.

  

Rui also draws her greatsword.
At the same time, the air around them begins to shake.
Although Alfiris and the others do not know it at the time, her nickname『Iceblade Rui,』which indicates not only how she fights, but also her ability itself.
It was…