Chapter 52: can't find chomper…

Middle Fire Month, 13th Day, 600AGG

He was warm.

Wrapped in the embrace of a greater whole. He didn't know what that meant or even understand the concept that was 'him,' but it was warm.

Like this, he would fade away and return fully to this 'whole'—this foreign yet familiar sensation.

Why was he thinking about the incomprehensible? There was nothing here. Not a single thing.

But he felt no anxiety because of that. He felt nothing at all, until suddenly—

A hand tugged him. To where, he had no idea. It tugged him from one place, it tugged him from the outside, inside; it tugged him from everywhere at once.

A lost star was pulling him closer.

A being barely tethered to the world around them.

Had they strayed so far from the night sky that they even reached this place of nothingness?

Then how could they lead him anywhere?

But—

It was a beautiful light. Though the star flickered with shame, guilt, and regret; it cut a path through the darkness and whispered of a hopeful, unbreakable devotion.

He couldn't comprehend these thoughts, but even so—

He accepted their beckoning, a sense of loss pervading 'him' as he was ripped apart from the 'whole' and

Headed into the light.

.

.

.

"—hello?" A slender, fleshy hand waved in front of his unfocused eyes. "Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up?"

"Whuh?" tuk-Sav rapidly blinked, clearing his vision as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

He didn't remember anything. Why did his body suddenly feel so feeble? What had happened? They had been laying in wait for a small group of beastmen with their two… slaves…

"You!" His hand shot to his back, grasping for the handle of his battleax only to find air. "Slave!"

"Oh, right… Um," the blonde human—with wings?—scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, we saw each other didn't we? I'm sorry about—forget it. It's pretty insulting to be apologized to like that, isn't it?"

"What do you want?" tuk-Sav warily asked, keeping a cautious eye on the winged human. He had never seen a being quite like this: aarakocras had wings but the appearance of birds, not humans. Yes, he was certain the Saramati was no home to this kind of entity. Maybe she was some sort of secret Republic weapon?

'And I died, didn't I?' He was trying hard to not think about that. 'That damn Minotaur and his underlings…'

"I want, well, I don't really know," she stood up and stared towards the peaks. "Like, I wanted to resurrect people because I feel bad, but then it'll be like Caldevera all over again, right? No, it's different," what the fuck was she talking about? "The people at Caldevera didn't deserve it: they were just trying to make a living, but…"

The winged human picked up a—hand, that was a fucking hand, from the ground and looked at it with a complicated expression. "But those beastmen in the Republic deserved it. Going around, enslaving and farming people… it's way different."

tuk-Sav nodded along. With so little information, the safest thing to do was to blindly agree with everything she said until he could get a better understanding of his circumstances. The Saramati wasn't kind to the rash and unprepared which was probably how he and his tribe got… killed.

Right. They had been running low on supplies, resulting in them gambling on ambushing a small group only to be utterly annihilated.

"So maybe I'm trying to make up for it somehow," the winged human somberly continued. "It's—it's pointless, but what else am I supposed to do?"

tuk-Sav looked around, noticing that none of his equipment was nearby. He still had no idea why he was brought back to life, but if the woman expected him to survive by himself with no equipment, he'd be dead by sundown.

"Nothing's changed," she set down the hand and grimaced as she laid a chunk of finger beside it. "Nothing's changed at all. Adelemus, Caldevera, Almersia… just ended up doing the same thing. I guess the one thing that did change is that I'm getting used to seeing this kind of stuff," bitter laughter accompanied the growing of the rotting, macabre pile. "Y'know, I wonder if Draudillon's scared of me. Don't wanna ask though."

A leg, arm—head. "I'd really, really hate that. If she was scared of me, I don't think I could—no. In the end, they were all my decisions anyway. I don't have the right to complain. No excuses."

The Minotaur barbarian shivered as the winged human looked him in the eyes. "Is this everyone?"

"Wha-What?"

"Oh, uh," her face turned slightly red. A sign of anger? tuk-Sav resigned himself to a painful death at the merciless hands of the Saramati. "Sorry, I-I really went on and on by myself there, didn't I?"

"No, that's—okay," he decided on saying something safe. "Was wondering what you meant by 'everyone.' "

"This," she straightened up and gestured at the heap. "Does this include all the people you were with?"

"What the fuck?" tuk-Sav blurted out. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Was this woman insane? 'No, she might be some sort of necromancer: like the one we ran into that one time.'

This whole situation was too confusing. He had—probably—returned from the dead, and now a person who had been part of the group that killed him and his tribesmen was asking him if she had all of their remains.

"Should've waited," the winged human muttered to herself before turning back to face him. "Okay, I'm not asking for any, um, weird! Not any w-weird reason. Only trying to make sure I can resurrect as many of them as I can in one go."

"I…" His mouth felt dryer than the cracked earth of Shatterstone. Resurrection? When their bodies were little more than scraps of decaying flesh? Had he been in such a state? "I don't know."

What kind of person could accomplish a feat so unbelievable? tuk-Sav had heard rumors of magic that could raise the dead, but never from bodies so mutilated.

"Well," she pointed at the mound. "One thing at a time.『Mass Resurrection』."

The torn corpses were enveloped in a golden light that grew brighter and brighter with each passing second as they slowly expanded: filling missing portions with a similarly brilliant radiance until tuk-Sav could vaguely make out the form of seven Minotaurs.

'I-Incredible…' tuk-Sav watched as the light faded, giving way to the sight of seven groggy barbarians. 'Is the world outside of the mountains this big?'

"I don't feel any better," tuk-Sav snapped his head towards the winged human's barely audible whisper. "Heh… What am I even saying? Doing this to try and make myself feel better… disgusting…"

"Shit," one of his revived tribesmen, tuk-Rela, rubbed her face and shoved away the other Minotaurs on top of her. "You all git!"

"The hell's going on?" The group gradually all got to their feet and frantically looked around. "Oi!"

"A-Ahem," the winged human cleared her throat. "Hi? So, I only got like, eight of you guys for now and was wondering if any of you know where the other…" They tried to count on their fingers before giving up. "Where the other guys are?"

'Me, tuk-Rela, tuk-Birx, tuk-Ryl, tuk-Mefi, Chief tuk-Gek, tuk-Gral, tuk-Qas'tel… So we're missing six.' "There's six more, but if those were all the, uh, bodies you could find, the others were probably eaten."

tuk-Rela shot a 'what the hell?' look at tuk-Sav who could only shrug in response. It's not like he knew either even though he 'woke up' first. "Right. Got their names?"

tuk-Sav quickly rattled off the remaining names, occasionally being corrected by his tribesmen, and waited for the winged human to finish mumbling to themself.

"Alright,『True Resurrection』, 『True Resurrection』, 『True Resurrection』..." She cast the same spell—yet another one he had never heard of—six times in rapid succession: six bodies forming one after the other out of nothing.

"There," she gestured at the six. "So uh, stay out of trouble?"

"Stay out of trouble?" tuk-Gral repeated as he helped tuk-Fayl stand up. "What is that supposed to mean, erm…?"

"Yuriko," the winged human tersely replied. "Like, don't kill anybody or cause any trouble? No um… stealing and breaking things. Yup."

"We appreciate your," tuk-Gral struggled to keep his frustration in check. tuk-Sav couldn't blame him: they'd barely been given any time to process this new scenario, and now a mysterious person was dictating ridiculously unreasonable terms to them. "Kindness, but we live in the Saramati. Telling us not to kill is the same as sentencing us to death." Again, went unsaid.

"Did you really resurrect us and plan to ditch us after you were done?" tuk-Rela asked in bafflement. "Is this fun for you?"

"N-No…" Yuriko—she hadn't provided a title so perhaps using one was offensive to her kind?—stared at the ground. "Sorry, I didn't mean to come off like that… Wait," she perked up. "There's a Minotaur in the Beastman Country I know, so maybe I could send all of you guys over to him?"

"You!" tuk-Rela snarled. "Laying us at the mercy of Republic curs—?!"

"Alright!" tuk-Sav tugged tuk-Rela to the side and motioned for everyone to come follow. "We'll discuss your offer among ourselves if that's acceptable to you."

"Uh, yeah!" She bobbed her head up and down. "That's fine!"

"Sav, you can't be serious!" tuk-Rela hissed to the agreement of several other tribesmen. "Republic beastmen would kill us for sport."

"Getting dumped here means we'd get killed anyways," tuk-Sav tiredly refuted. "I like our chances better in the Republic than here, seeing as all our stuff is gone."

"At least the Saramati will be a quick death," tuk-Trg'l murmured. "And we're not going to be able to adapt fast enough to the forests and plains of the Republic."

"We should try to jump her and snatch her gear," tuk-Rela lowered her voice. "Fourteen of us against one? Those are good odds."

"Are you stupid? Resurrection magic is something out of fables," tuk-Qas'tel jabbed a finger at her. "You wanna fight someone like that?"

'It's too soon to be making big decisions in a group while everyone still needs to gather their bearings,' tuk-Sav glanced at Chief tuk-Gek. 'We won't get anywhere by bickering among ourselves.'

"We'll leave the decision up to you then," everyone turned their attention to the heretofore silent tuk-Gek. "Chief."

The thirteen Minotaur barbarians held their breaths and waited for the words that would irrevocably decide the fate of their tribe.

"... Let's go," tuk-Gek quietly said. "To the Republic."

"Chief, please reconsider!" tuk-Rela lowered her head. "The only thing waiting for us in the Republic is a humiliating death!"

"Maybe," tuk-Gek nodded. "But staying where we are would be certain death."

"Should I tell that Yuriko person then?" tuk-Sav offered.

"Go ahead. Ask her where exactly we're meant to migrate to—"

"Hey um," the winged human interrupted their discussion. "It's a little awkward asking this now, but have any of you guys seen a little furball thing? Big mouth?"

'Furball with a big mouth?' tuk-Sav wracked his head for the memory of anything that could fit the description. Nope, nothing. "Don't think I have. Sorry. And uh, question."

"..." Yuriko's face took on a strange contemplative expression before she shook her head, clearing away whatever melancholy cast a shadow over her. "Yeah?"

"How and where are you planning on sending us?"

"Flying over?" Some sort of shape began pushing its way out of the orb hovering around the winged human's shoulder. tuk-Sav had never seen a magic item quite like it. "Minotaurs look pretty heavy though…『Summon Angel Tenth』, 『Summon Angel Tenth』."

tuk-Sav covered his eyes from the bursts of light, only to remove them to the sight of two towering monsters with four feathery wings and a living fireball for a head: their twisted humanoid bodies forged in some unknown metal, legs coming down to tapered points instead of hooves or feet, and arms leading to wickedly sharp claw-like fingers.

Were they going to die again? He could think of no other reason why Yuriko would summon such terrifying beings. Even breathing felt like an impossible task in front of the twin monstrosities.

And if these summons were created by her… just how strong was she?

"Okay, I think this should be enough to carry all of you," the shape finally detached itself from her magic item, revealing itself to be another winged summon decked in armaments that tuk-Sav believed wouldn't be out of place in some legendary saga. Despite how much smaller it was compared to the two flame-headed summons, it felt far, far more dangerous.

"You want us to ride on those?" tuk-Rela gaped in disbelief.

"Yeah?" Yuriko tilted her head and frowned. "They can lift a lot, so you don't have to worry about being dropped or falling down, promise."

'That's not the issue,' tuk-Sav found himself warming up the winged human. 'But it's hard to imagine a person like this pulling anything sneaky.'

"How should we get on?" Chief tuk-Gek overcame his fear and inspected the three summons. Indeed, there were no obvious places for passengers to sit. "They look… hard to ride."

"Let them grab you, I guess?" Yuriko rubbed her chin. "Oh, oh! You can hang from the Infernums too since they're so big!"

"Crazy," tuk-Rela squatted and dragged her hands down her face. "This is crazy."

"All of you grab on or sit then," tuk-Gek easily accepted the nonsensical advice and walked into the Infernum's outstretched hand. "No point in wasting time."

Once all of them had found somewhat secure spots on the summons, they all flapped their wings and took to the air.

"Safe travels!" Yuriko waved as she cupped her mouth and shouted after them before finally flying away in the opposite direction.

tuk-Sav returned the wave, though the winged human couldn't see it—already becoming a small speck in the horizon.

'Wonder where she's going…' From his perch on the Infernum's leg, the Minotaur couldn't help but think the speck looked unfathomably pitiful.

He hoped she would find whatever she was searching for.


Katavaar Vadh was bored out of his mind.

"Fuck!" The human soldier struggled back to his feet. "We're just sparring, asshole!"

Annoying. Their new Rajan really wanted them to do something so boring?

The Bafolk yawned, completely ignoring the human's grumbling. How did they expect themselves to get stronger if they took it so easy? Besides, he was already holding back as is.

"You lack training," his leg lashed out and connected with their stomach, knocking the soldier back to the ground. "You've been blessed with the protection of our Rajan and you waste this peace of yours on slacking. Ungrateful!"

To his credit, the human managed to force himself upright once more—his arms still trembling from the impact of the blows he had sustained. "Haah!"

'Two Boost Arts,' Katavaar noted in approval. This much was the bare minimum for any member of a serious Republic raid party. 'Tolerable, assuming this is the average human soldier in the Dragon Queen's army.'

Then again, the physical gap between a demihuman who could maintain two Arts and a similarly trained human was considerable. Even a minimally educated beastman fighter could probably put up a good fight against the majority of these soldiers.

'AnAbility Boost,' Katavaar parried the strike, the flat of his blade sliding alongside the edge of the human's. 'Improved speed likely meansWind Strideor something similar.'

It definitely wasn't an evasion Martial Art, not with how the Bafolk's blunted sword smashed into the man's collarbone and laid them low for the… he didn't bother keeping track.

"Tone it down," one of his Rajan's followers, Cornelia Cerion Varenne, glared at him. "You're making more work for me and the other clerics."

"Hrm, treatment like this is too good for them," Katavaar yawned. "Healing magic should only be reserved for the most grievous of injuries, not every little bruise."

"These are serious injuries, you cunt!" The priestess knelt beside the soldier. "『Cure Moderate Wounds』."

"Thank you, Priestess Varenne," the soldier took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. "I think I'm done for the day."

"Coward," Katavaar snorted. "A broken collarbone and you're already—?"

"『Silence』."

"—" Huh? Did she really waste mana on silencing him? The humans here were truly puzzling.

"You're in Napoca, the Draconic Kingdom. Not the Beastman Country" Katavaar glowered as the blonde priestess began to lecture him. "You'll abide by Her Majesty's standards or else."

Katavaar opened his mouth to refute the statement until he remembered his Rajan's command to treat the Dragon Queen as he would her.

And how the crazy black-haired human had him strangled to make a point.

And how he was currently silenced.

Living among humans was much more troublesome than he had anticipated.

"Anyways, come along," the priestess beckoned for him to follow. "An angel passed a message from Her Majesty asking for you to be stationed at Oriculo."

'Hmph,' Katavaar cursed the damn woman in his head while they walked past the other Kshatra's of Clan Vadh who rolled their eyes at his passage. 'If it weren't for her position, I'd gut her on the spot.'

Confident in the rationalization of his superiority, the Bafolk warrior happily trailed behind the priestess and easily ignored the stares of everyone in the training ground.

'A dwarf? Too tall. I haven't seen a human like this before,' Katavaar caught a tan-skinned bare-chested man covered in tribalistic tattoos from the periphery of his vision. 'Might be fun to fight one if there's any in the human capital.'

As much as he would've liked to walk up to the short, stocky man and demand a fight, he didn't want to deal with the priestess complaining too much about him to his Rajan.

"Her Majesty wants to place you in charge of the beastmen in the capital," she mockingly sighed. "Integration efforts or something along those lines, and don't ask me why she picked you of all people. Honestly…"

'I'm not a lord-type demihuman though,' Katavaar pondered with no small amount of confusion. Maybe his Rajan's partner wasn't as smart as he had first believed. "—"

Being silenced was unbearably bothersome. He couldn't even give good advice!

"Pack up your stuff; let's try not to waste any time," the priestess clapped her hands once they arrived at the barracks that served as a temporary home for most of Clan Vadh. "Chop, chop."

'Impudent!' Katavaar grumbled as he began the tedious process of stuffing all his personal effects into a Bag of Holding. 'Treating me as some sort of slave when we serve the same masters!'

The disrespectful way the humans treated them was somewhat infuriating. Sure, the Republic had raided and conquered their lands, enslaved their people, but wasn't it the other way around now? Holding grudges at this point was only stunting their development.

'So is that what this priestess meant by the Dragon Queen's 'integration efforts?' ' Katavaar nodded to himself in approval. It all made sense now. 'Of course. Someone as powerful as our Rajan wouldn't select a wasteful partner.'

He slid a finger down the bevel of his sword, Naran. It had been a while since he'd last performed maintenance or used it. Using magical weapons while training these pitiful humans was excessive, even for him.

The thought filled the Bafolk with a vague sense of dejection.

"Sheesh, what's taking so long?" Priestess Varenne walked over to him. "I'm pretty sure you guys didn't come in with that much—"

"You," ah, the『Silence』finally wore off. "Don't get arrogant because someone strong is watching over you."

"And you," Priestess Varenne shoved the edge of Naran away from her throat with a furious scowl. "Are far too disrespectful just because you were shown a little bit of mercy."

Gutsy. He didn't dislike that.

Katavaar sheathed Naran and placed it into the bag. "Raiding this kingdom might've been harder if there were more people like you."

"What?" Priestess Varenne cocked an eyebrow. "I've only moved here around… a month ago? Came from the Theocracy originally, so no shit."

"The Draconic Kingdom should start a fight with this Theocracy then," Katavaar licked his lips. He happily recalled meeting a few of their paladins and warriors out on the field. "It'll be good practice: exactly what the Rajan's partner wants."

"No."


"Thanks," Leinas accepted the bowl of soup from Lydia.

"You're welcome!" The child beamed and handed a bowl to that Royal Guard who had pointed a knife at her back. "Here you go, Mira!"

" 'fanks," Mira said with a mouthful of bread. "Ith goo'!"

"Keep your mouth closed," Silas grumbled. "Your mannerisms are going to rub off on Lydia."

"Sorry, sorry," Mira swallowed the rest of the bread with a few gulps from the soup bowl. "Don't copy this big sister, Lydia."

"I know!" Lydia puffed her cheeks in indignation. "You didn't have to tell me that!"

"Urk…! That hurts…" Mira dramatically laid a hand over her chest in mock pain. "Learn to temper your words a little, would you?"

"It says a lot if you need to be told off by a kid," Silas rolled his eyes. "How'd you even get your position in the first place?"

"Huh? Well, I got shipped over here by the guy who picked me up off the streets, and I guess one thing led to the next," it was plain to see that the topic upset Mira. Leinas felt a small twinge of sympathy; being abandoned by one's parents was a familiar pain to her. "A-Anyways, how about you, Leinas?"

"How about me?"

"You know," Mira pointed at her own face. "Your curse."

Leinas lifted the bangs covering the still-cursed portion of her appearance, feeling somewhat guilty at being so petty as she watched the Royal Guard wince. Words would have been sufficient.

"She couldn't heal it? Really?" Mira tore her eyes away from the pus-secreting flesh and accused the priest. "You didn't tell me, Silas."

"Hardly my business to blab about," Silas put his spoon down and studiously observed the wooden table. "Lady Yuriko tried her best and couldn't remove the curse. That's that."

"The Goddess couldn't?!" Lydia's mouth slacked in a large 'O.' "But I thought she could do anything."

"Lydia!" Silas nervously glanced at the unmoving angel floating in the corner of the room.

"Hey, you really don't have to if it's uncomfortable," Mira seemed to lose her appetite as well. "I'm not like, some super secret agent who's going to report you to Her Majesty for not talking about it."

"I don't mind talking about it."

"Leinas—"

"It's fine. How do I say this…?" Leinas leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm relieved, I suppose? Ever since I killed that damn monster, I've been searching for something—anything—to rid me of my curse."

Mira and Silas remained silent, mouths set in grim and worried lines, while Lydia continued eating. After a few seconds, the child noticed the lack of noise and carefully set her spoon down with wide eyes.

"Well, there's nobody else to go to," she closed her eyes. "If even a god can't heal me, I don't think anyone can."

"H-Hey, don't give up yet!" Mira tried to comfort her. Leinas found herself mildly discomfited at their concern: it was unlike the Royal Guard to look so worried. "We can look around some more, maybe find something, someone who might know about it… There's definitely a cure out there!"

"Hah," Leinas's tone was a resigned one. "Like I said, it's a relief in its own way. No more chasing after the wind, the smallest rumors of a cure—it's all over now."

Freedom, in a sense. Not from her curse, she'd never be free from the hideous affliction, but it was a lot easier to stomach now that she knew there was nothing anybody could do about it.

"So what's next?" Silas spoke up. "Heading back to the Empire?"

"Probably," the ex-Imperial Knight sighed. "Need to return my equipment and everything: sending it by mail probably isn't the best of ideas."

"Want me to come with?" Mira immediately offered. "Y-You know! Extra safety and all—"

"Mira! You have to stay here!" Lydia's lower lip trembled as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "If you're not here, then… then…!"

"She's right," Leinas rubbed the top of the child's head. "You have your responsibilities, and I must dispense the last of mine. Perhaps I'll come back for a return visit when I'm done."

'Nowhere else to go anyways,' becoming an Adventurer was an irksome prospect, and if she really had to admit it…

She didn't mind being in this house among friends. There had always been a distance between her and the other Imperial Knights during her tenure as one of Jircniv's champions—admittedly, one created through her own decisions—but it was different here.

Leinas had known Baziwood, Nimble, Nazami for years, and though they were reliable colleagues, she found it much easier to entrust herself to this hodgepodge group from the Draconic Kingdom after mere weeks.

It could've been the result of some supernatural influence for all she knew, but so what? There was nothing wrong about helping someone find the strength to move forward. Without these people, she doubted she would've been able—or even wanted—to see beyond the dismal present.

"Wow! So you're staying?" Mira's eyes sparkled before she appeared to come to a realization. "Wait, but you're still going back—"

"Mira!" Lydia crawled down from her chair and clutched the Royal Guard's leg. "Leinas said you can't!"

"Queen Oriculus won't be happy," Silas piped up.

Mira's face paled, but the Royal Guard persisted. "I can ask for a vacation!"

'Yes,' Leinas thought to herself with a small smile as she watched the Royal Guard, priest, and child bicker amongst themselves. 'I think I'll come back.'