71 Preparing before battle

(Rudeus POV)

Standing on top of the wall I had just finished conjuring on the west side of Sharia, the worst-case scenario happened.

We took this too lightly, and now, because we didn't advance sooner, the insects took the liberty of attacking first.

I used the Clairvoyance Eye to get a better picture of the situation.

Thousands of insect-type monsters of various kinds and sizes are approaching us from the ground, underground, and the sky. They are not running; they are marching like an army without much thought to positioning and coordination.

We can call ourselves lucky for Sword God's arrival. It means that we have to improvise a little.

I took out the items I would need for the big attack.

There would be the staff equipped with the caterpillar Magic Stones I had Anastasia bring to a craftsman.

Due to the monster's early stage of development, most crystals were unstable and would break after a single use. However, a few of them amplified Attack Magic significantly but varied in strength.

The staff looked like a traditional Suzu bell with a tree growing from its center. Each of the three rings had about five crystals around them, with a stable and less powerful crystal in their center.

The extra wand I just used was made from a single crystal, something I planned to keep as an emergency [Stone Canon] enhancer, but now that I finished conjuring it, the crystal broke into dust.

The second item is the Absolute Void Eye.

Originally, I planned on forming an area to prevent the spell I would cast above the colony from reaching the soldiers on our side. I'm unsure if the barrier I could create would withstand it, but there is still time to test out new stuff.

The eye is frozen in an ice block, secured for later use. I slowly melted it so that I wouldn't damage it, but it would be fixed the moment I used Healing Magic to connect it to me.

I jumped down from the wall as I approached the Hiryū, the only one with me here. The rest of the troop is assembling everything within the city.

I stayed behind as I needed to do something that may grotesque everyone about me.

"Alright… *Sigh*… here we go again."

Forming a mana hand in the air, I braced myself for the inevitable pain I was causing myself.

With the fingers entering my eye socket, the sharp pain nearly made me call quits, but after a few consecutive seconds, I managed to pull it out quickly, blood gushing out of my eye as I grabbed my dagger to cut off the cord.

I fell on my knees, needing a moment to take a deep breath. But I wasn't done yet. There was still the Demon Eye I needed to replace it with.

Putting in the other eye was half as painful, but as soon as I applied Healing Magic to myself, it all eased up before it felt weird since a foreign organ was getting connected where my regular eye used to be.

After finishing, I opened it. My sight was relatively normal, except the corners were red from the blood before I blinked a few times.

Looking to my right, I saw a wide-eyed Hiryū watching me from the side. He was sending signals of respect, but I didn't want to know what he was thinking about me.

I am using the eye even on this occasion to form a barrier large enough to cover the city. The amount of mana I can conjure should determine its strength, but considering I will have to multitask on my large spell, it will take a lot from me.

This whole thing will definitely take a toll on me, but at the velocity of the imminent apocalypse, we don't have many options.

I pulled out the last two tools I will need for this.

There would be my toxic sword and a specially-made glove that I would use to increase the amount of acid and poison I could conjure with my sword.

Seven Black Dragon crystals were embedded into the long sleeve connected to the fingerless glove through arrays as I've done with the sword.

When I put it on, it wasn't a perfect fit since I had to make it myself, but it will do its job as it is.

By the time I gathered my tools, the smaller group of our fighters had arrived.

There were Sword God, North God, Ghislaine… and Sandor… accompanied by Silent Fitz. I'm okay with the first half, but the latter one shouldn't be here.

But I'm rather surprised that Ghislaine is here as well. I half expected her to stay with Eris, who is still unconscious and in the same place as Nina and Jino, but it seemed I was wrong.

And now, with them coming to the gate closer, they saw the blood on my face I hadn't washed off yet.

Sylphy, as worried as she always was about me, ran the moment she looked at my face. As she came closer, she saw the red six-pronged star at the center of the eye and slowed down, but she didn't stop approaching me to put her hand on my face.

But because people were behind her, she instantly removed her hands and looked away in embarrassment.

Sandor approached us then and looked intrigued by the Demon Eye I had now.

"I didn't know you could change your eye into a Demon Eye."

Oh boy. Sandor and everyone present will not like what I'm about to tell them. Well, it was inevitable anyway.

"This is Death God's eye. I implanted it into myself again."

Of course, this brought attention to me the moment I briefly explained it.

"Again?" Sandor asked, disturbed at the single word.

"Why would you do that?" Sylphy asked, disturbed to hear this.

"Fitz, this Demon Eye can generate barriers over a large field. I can use it to prevent Sharia from suffering any damage my spell would cause."

"Then what's your sword for?" Sandor asked. "I heard you can conjure acid-like poison that dissolves Barrier Magic."

"I've been practicing to conjure a fluid that doesn't have that effect by dropping it on myself since Toxic Magic won't harm the one who conjures it, and instead made conjure it to be highly flammable."

"Let me ask this differently then. What exactly are you planning to do?"

With Sandor's seriously asked question, everyone present looked at me. I'll have to spare the time to explain the following process.

I explained with an audible voice what I had planned for the incoming threat. There were questions like whether I could handle casting such a large spell, whether I had enough mana, and whether it would be effective enough.

Sandor confirmed to the others that my manapool was sufficient for this, North God confirmed the numbers due to the encounters he has had (although Hiryū killed them all), and Sword God confirmed that these insect monsters have tough exteriors that require a lot of power to crush.

I declined help from other Magicians to keep better control over my spell. We only practiced close combat since they couldn't use large-area spells without chanting, and any interference in the large spell would risk it to fail.

The colony was approaching at a steady pace, so we stayed put to prepare for any subtle changes that may occur.

Because of the colony's sheer size, removing too many fighters from the city would be risky. Fighting them directly would risk the city as well since any of those monsters could slip through and invade the citizens.

As we waited, it was being discussed who would team up with which high-class fighter.

The four strongest swordsmen would make up for the front for the most part. All of them had enough experience to work with others.

Sandor and Ghislaine already have experience getting support from Magicians. Still, the awakened ones gave all of them examples of how they could help during the extermination of the leftover monsters.

I, on the other hand, am working on something myself. That involves trying to improve using the Absolute Void Eye.

It has been a while since I've used it, but it was relatively simple the first time. But simple won't cut it here. I need to do better than last time when I needed to conjure a multilayered shield to redirect Hiryū to the sky.

As I sat cross-legged on the ground, experimenting a little with the Demon Eye, Hiryū lay down with his eye closed behind me. He wasn't napping but using his detection to check in on any ambushes from underground and the sky.

Generating a barrier is simple enough for me, but making it more durable is challenging. Simply supplying mana into it won't cut it.

I tested some shapes and sizes, observing if they would make a difference. But in the end, I will have to resort to forming a multilayered barrier. Once the spell hits, we must maintain the barrier as best as possible.

And by we, I mean Randolph and I.

Because of my connection to my eyes when I wear his ring, he has access to manipulating his previously owned eye, just like he can activate his stealth technique on me.

Although this seems convenient, I have to assume that this is what Kagami is doing. Facts like him taking control over my Magic and the deaths of Randolph and me led me to believe that I might actually be possessed.

There are just too many mysteries at hand that can only be answered by Kagami himself. That has proven to be difficult because of his absence of mental torture.

Putting that aside, the two of us put our heads together and used various methods on the barrier.

'This method doesn't seem that bad, but a bit too flexible and less solid.'

'I thought so already. It would be a better fit for my Barrier Armorment, like a chest plate or something.'

'Yeah, like a chain mail. It would make it more flexible like Touki, but only if used like a small west.'

The latest attempt was three-layered. The top two are formed by rows of hexagon plates crossing each other, and the bottom barrier is one regular barrier.

I planned to give it a more cushioned surface to lessen the impact. But doing that on a large scale is both difficult and inefficient. As Randolph says, this is more suited for armor-like appliances.

'Isn't there some hidden function that allows the barrier to be more powerful?'

'If there were, then I would have known about it already since I was born with the eye.'

'Lucky cheat is what it is.'

'Nah. Since I'm a descendant of an ancient Demon, it was more likely for someone of my lineage to have a rarer eye. But because my great-grandmother Atofe married a human, that became an even more rarity as the generations went on.'

'You have got to tell me about this world's original state story one day.'

Our little chit-chat and Barrier Magic Experiment was about to be put on hold when I detected a strong emotional signal coming closer to me.

It was Ghislaine. There wasn't any signal of anger coming from her, so I suppose she wouldn't yell at me for knocking out Eris.

"Don't you need to discuss your strategies with the others, Ghislaine?"

"I was put together with some ex-adventurers. They know how to provide support from the rear and have enough experience fighting monsters."

Well, that's a bit odd. Those are the most experienced ones we have. That could potentially disrupt the dynamic for the other three.

But since we are talking about top-class swordsmen here, there shouldn't be too much difference.

"If you're here to discuss what I did to Eris, spare me the scolding. It should have been you to stop her from that nonsense."

"I couldn't go against her. She was sure that she understood you. And in my defense, your nature changed so much that I didn't know if it was still the same person I was once working with."

"… fair point."

'Geez, and here I thought it was your basic nature when you ranted on me back then.'

'I always have had a difficult sense of taste. Also, I was going through a phase then, okay?'

'Was or still are?'

'YOUR FOOD WAS TERRIBLE!'

'I was trying my best, okay?'

'That was you trying your best?! I don't even wanna know how your food would taste if you put half the effort in.'

"Rudeus?"

'Hah, there we have it again.'

Great. Yet again, I looked like I was fading out within myself. This better not become a habit of mine now.

"What is the deal with the assassin's attack on you and your uncle?"

"Wait, you heard about that?"

"Sword Saint Jester used to train at the Sword Sanctum. He stopped midway in his training as a Sword Saint and left to meet with his brothers."

"Was Gal Farion close to him?"

Please let that be the case so I have good reason to end him.

"Not that I know of."

Bummer. But... It's not like I would have cared anyway. I'm still going to break his spirit for supporting Eris's suicidal goal. And as Orsted said, there is a chance of him being an apostle of Hitogami.

"By the way, now that you mention it," I said before stopping my practice on the Demon Eye and turning to Ghislaine. "Prime Minister Darius Silva Ganius may have been the actual culprit."

At the mention of his full name, her ears twitched before her one eye became visible with rage.

"That bastard. What is he up to now?"

"He might be upset with Eris's report of deceasement, or he might have used Philemon's name to make me an enemy of the second princess whom Philemon supports. Darius supports the first prince, her rival for the throne, so turning me into a threat to the princess was most likely their intention."

"But how did they find out where you would head to so fast?"

"I think Hitogami informed them of my destination in the Northern Territories and which Nation I first chose."

Now Ghislaine became slightly surprised. She looked around for a bit before coming closer to me.

"The god whose name made Dragon God attack you?"

"I'm glad you remembered that because he did something far worse."

"Like what?"

I couldn't help but sigh and then scratch my head slightly. She is already wary of me because of the change of nature I've gotten after my curse.

All hopes go to that she still cares for her old party leader… wait, I forgot that he called her a mascle-brained dunce in the letter he gave her when sending me to Roa. Dammit, Paul!

Anyway, I told about the events at Millishion and the declaration the Millis Church had put out on me, down to the detail that Paul and the others are on [Chaos Breaker] right now thanks to the persuasion of Orsted with Perugius.

Fortunately, she responded to it less disapproving of it than Eris did.

"But, why would Dragon God do that? Weren't you and him enemies?"

"We were never enemies to begin with. It just came to a misunderstanding because he is so cautious around potential enemies that he can still make mistakes, like when the two of us met."

This didn't seem to convince her as she looked at me, judging whether or not to believe it.

"Look, he admits to his mistake and made it up to me by saving them. The least I will do is keep him neutral regarding whether he is an enemy or not, but with things getting dire for me, I need to consider becoming allies with him."

"The way Eris and that Superd man described it sounded like he wasn't even willing to listen to you back then."

"I could say the same about Eris. She thought I was considering working with him because he kept them hostage. Nothing I said calmed her down in the slightest. Rather, it made things worse."

That comment deserved a glare from Ghislaine for me, to which I replied with my eyes furrowed.

"Hey, I'm not the one who gave up persuading her to prepare to challenge the Dragon God one day. Seriously, Ghislaine, what would Phillip and Hilda say of you now?"

"How dare you use their names after how little you've cared about their deaths"

That one hit her hard. I know she is just being obedient to their daughter, but even an adult like her should set some boundaries for someone like Eris.

"All I'm asking you is to be a friend who will be there for her, not her loyal pet."

"Are you gonna be a coward and leave her again?" Ghislaine is getting angry again.

"For your information, I see Eris as a sister, not a lover. I can't give her the affection she deserves; it would be nothing but a fabricated act of love from me, and that's not something I'm willing to do to her. She needs to mature someday. It will be without me as her lover, that's all."

"What about her feelings? You know she loves you, right?"

I had to look away for a moment before telling her the current life I was trying to pursue.

"I... I already have someone else. We haven't done anything serious because of the monster problem, but I have feelings for her that go beyond my affection with Eris."

"Tsk. You are just like Paul back then."

Okay, that's it. Now SHE stepped over the line with that one.

"It's quite odd for you to bring up your past failed relationship. It almost feels like you're trying to steer me away from being like Paul and encourage me to choose Eris instead. Sort of like guilt-tripping me into it."

"That's not-"

"I don't know what happened back then, but I must insist that you do not make such a comment again. Paul is Paul, and I am my own person."

"But-"

"No! You know what? This clearly is not the place or time to talk about this since, and I especially don't feel like talking to you about it. Like Eris, you won't listen and even try to talk me into it despite me telling you that I went on with it. So leave."

"Rudeus, I'm-"

"I said LEAVE!"

After I demanded that Ghislaine leave, but she was hesitant. Only after Hiryū growled at her did she get the picture and finally leave without saying a word, but her signals telling me that she was saddened by the way things turned out.

I am getting sick and tired of this. Sure, I did have feelings for Eris at the beginning, but those didn't develop into more than some simple nonromantic affection.

Is it wrong for me to say no at the end? Is it wrong for me to have certain feelings? Does that make me less of a person? I am not in the... wrong... for... this...

Oh no. I think puberty is speaking out of me again... Argh, damn it all! Being a puberscent teenager in this sort of situation sucks!

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