Chapter 68: Meeting the Iron Knights

"You two drop off here first."

"What?!"

I gaped at Nagano Nanaka as she steered the airship. She had quite the unpleasant expression on her face as she stared downward.

"I screwed up. I completely forgot that there's no place to park my airship down here in this gorge. I need to find an alternative place."

"Can't you just dock the airship at your base?" Lilith asked, blinking against the golden rays of the rising sun. It was great that we managed to reach the place just before dawn, but the sun was getting on both Lilith and my nerves.

"I originally planned for that," Nagano agreed sourly. "But then I realized that it would give away our location."

"What, do you think they will see the airship or something?" Lilith scoffed. "Chances are, if they see your base, with or without the airship, they'll still go and investigate it."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Nagano replied with a sigh. She fumbled around the cockpit and then produced a panel with glowing dials and buttons. "All airships have tracking devices on them. If I fly straight to our base, Kobayashi-kun and the others will be able to track us all the way there. No, I need to mislead our pursuers and trick them into a different location. I'll have to use the airship as a decoy."

"What a waste," I muttered. Nagano shrugged.

"No worries. I can just build a new airship at the Iron Knights' base."

What the fuck?! She sounded as if it was so easy to build an airship from scratch. Just what the hell was she?

Oh, right. She was a hero. One of Evelyn's Chosen. It was only natural that she would defy common sense.

"This would buy us a lot more time. I'm sure Kobayashi-kun will be sending pursuers after me right now when he learns that I've run away. He knows about the tracking device, so he'll be making full use of it."

"Why the heck did you even build a tracking device in your airships?!" I demanded. Nagano glared at me.

"Obviously I wasn't the one who installed them in my airships! Kobayashi-kun was paranoid about the kingdom's airships getting stolen, so he requested Yamada-kun to build them into my airships! The king agreed with him because it sounded sensible, but…"

"…hindsight is twenty-twenty." I nodded sympathetically. If I was in Nagano's shoes, I would probably have thought the same thing. Worried about my stuff getting stolen, Kobayashi's suggestion would have sounded very appealing.

But did Kobayashi actually guess that something like this would happen?! How?! That was extremely unlikely? Or perhaps Nagano was right about him being paranoid. Or maybe he was being the typical tyrannical dictator that he was, and this was the beginnings of him implementing a surveillance state or something.

Wow, that was scary.

"Anyway, Aoyama-kun and Kozue-chan are waiting down there for us. Please greet them and tell them to go on ahead. I'll catch up and meet you guys back in the base." Nagano grinned as she patted her chest when she caught my concerned expression. "Don't worry. I'm one of the Eight Guardians. I know the way to our base."

Unfortunately, neither Lilith nor I knew how to get to the Iron Knights' base, so we didn't have a choice but to rely on a guide. As Nagano swooped down, getting the airship as low to the plains as possible, the two of us jumped off the deck and landed in front of the waiting Aoyama Aoi and Hoshizaki Kozue.

"So…are those the two?" Lilith asked me. I nodded.

"Yup." Raising my head, I took a step forward. "Aoyama-kun, Hoshizaki-san. It's been a while. Sorry about that."

"No, it's us who should apologize." Hoshizaki shook her head. Aoyama also approached me and bowed deeply.

"My deepest apologies. I am very sorry. I didn't realize that it was you, Tanaka-kun. I am very ashamed of my blunder and rudeness to you."

"No, no…don't worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes. Even me."

I wasn't petty enough to hold a grudge against Aoyama for such trivial matters. He wasn't even one of my targets for revenge. Though he sat and did nothing when I was being bullied, he never participated in abusing me. I doubted he had ever insulted me as well – to be honest, that was probably because he never talked to me in the first place. Whatever the case, I had no reason to take revenge on someone who didn't bully me.

"Tanaka-kun…um…who is this girl?"

Hoshizaki was blinking as she studied Lilith Scarlet, taken aback by the gorgeous red-haired vampire's presence. She probably wasn't expecting another person. I realized that neither Nagano nor I had mentioned Lilith to the other Eight Guardians.

"This is my teammate, Lilith Scarlet. She's part of my party, I guess?"

I wasn't sure how else to describe Lilith, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell my former classmates that she was my fiancée. Perhaps partner would be a more appropriate term, but my party would eventually expand. Hell, I actually had an entire battalion under my command. Speaking of which, I hoped I could see them again.

Well, the plan is to reunite with them after I complete this mission.

"This is Hoshizaki Kozue and Aoyama Aoi," I introduced my former classmates to Lilith, who was patiently waiting by the side.

"Ah, right."

Aoyama lowered the communication device and nodded at Hoshizaki.

"I've just confirmed with Nagano-san – the red-haired girl is an ally. Nagano-san says she can be trusted."

"Understood." Hoshizaki nodded and then bowed apologetically to Lilith. "Sorry, security measures. We can't just bring any random person inside our base, after all."

"I understand." Lilith was smiling politely. "I would have done the same if I were in your shoes. Rather, I'm more relieved because of your caution."

"Thank you for the compliment. Well then, let's go."

We followed Hoshizaki and Aoyama through the forest, only for us to step through what seemed like a mirage.

"Eh…?"

"Keep close. If you don't, you'll end up getting lost in the illusion labyrinth."

Hoshizaki warned us after Lilith blinked upon stepping through the shimmering surface. The two of us exchanged glances and hurried after the two Guardians.

The plains had transformed into a mountain, which was a lot barer and devoid of plant life and trees. We found ourselves standing atop a winding path around a huge mountain. Everywhere, stony mountains towered, casting the place in an eerie shadow. The forest was gone, replaced by solid, hard rock and circular trails.

"This is your headquarters?" Lilith remarked as she glanced around the change in scenery, looking impressed.

"No. Look below."

We followed Hoshizaki's instructions and glanced down. Down, in the meadow or what resembled more like a ravine that curved down like an abyss at the foot of the mountains, a massive fortress stood solemnly. Its walls were cast in shadows, and a mystical fog seemed to shroud the place. Detecting mana from the mysterious mist, I bet it was some sort of defensive enchantment.

Right, Hoshizaki said something about an illusion labyrinth earlier…

Without turning back, Hoshizaki glanced down at the castle and spoke softly.

"Welcome to the Cross Castle."

The four of us watched the huge castle from above, momentarily mesmerized by the breathtaking view afforded to us by the mountaintop.

Wow, these are quite the potent defensive wards.

As I studied the place, my Absolute Appraisal raised all sorts of alarms, informing me of the nature of the mystical mists. This was not a place to tread lightly. No wonder we needed a guide. Come to think of it, it would be very difficult for Nagano to fly her airship into such a confined, well-defended place even if she didn't have the tracking device.

"So we follow this stone path?"

Lilith glanced down the winding mountain trail that stretched out before us.

"Yes, that's right." Aoyama nodded grimly. "Be careful, though. Even though it looks like a straightforward route, if you veer off the path even slightly, you will get lost within the illusions, and wander around this place, trapped forever."

I glanced at the Witch Doctor and smiled.

"Speaking of which, Aoyama-kun, your ability is really amazing." Pushing my glasses up, I contemplated. "If I'm not mistaken, when we fought a few days ago, there was a number on my hand. Let me guess…it indicates the number of times you hit me?"

"You're very astute." Aoyama nodded and removed his mask, revealing his handsome face. "That is correct. My blade doesn't do any damage, but once you're hit 33 times, no matter who you are, you'll be forcibly teleported to a random location."

"Whoa…"

"Isn't that pretty strong?" Hoshizaki beamed as I attempted to whistle (but failed horribly). I tilted my head.

"But I have a question…I mean, I'm pretty sure I blocked a few of your attacks with my staff…"

"It's a special characteristic of my cursed blade," Aoyama replied. "While it does no damage, as long as it hits anything that belongs to you, it counts as hitting you."

"Right…no wonder the number still increased even when I used my staff to block your attacks."

A bead of perspiration dripped down my face when I heard that. That really was an unbelievable ability that was a pain to deal with.

"Not only that, Aoyama-kun is a healer, you know? He has healing magic!"

"Cool."

I didn't want to say that I already knew that. I had seen Aoyama, Midorikawa and Yoshida serve as healers during the battle with the previous Demon Lord, but obviously I didn't think it wise to bring up that I was there when they fought him. I also didn't want to tell them that I knew that Aoyama was a Witch Doctor, or they would think their personal information had been doctored.

"Aren't you a healer as well, Tomoyuki-kun?" Lilith asked. The two former classmates swiveled to stare at her, and then gape at me.

"Is that true!?"

"Well…"

Damn it, Lilith, there was no need to tell them about that!

"It's a bit different, but essentially, yes…I can probably cast healing magic."

"Heh…that's great!" Hoshizaki sighed. "Midori-chan and Yume-chan are both firmly on Kobayashi-kun's side, so we lack healers. Even with Aoyama-kun around, he can't possibly bear the burden of healing on his own!"

"I'm sure I'll manage fine," Aoyama replied sourly. Dude, might as well add, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

We proceeded down the stairs, continuing to talk.

"So you're a support class too, Tanaka-kun?"

"I suppose you can say that."

"Heh…I look forward to working with you in future."

"Thanks." I followed them down the stairs, frowning. "But you guys are pretty strong. You don't really need my help, do you?"

"That's not true!" Hoshizaki protested. "There's only nine of us! We're outnumbered by Kobayashi-kun and the others!"

I wondered about that. Now that I had killed Tsukishima, Kijima, Minamoto, Asakura, and Miyazawa, Lilith had slain Sakaguchi, and Kobayashi himself had sacrificed Samejima, that was seven former classmates dead. There should be twenty-two left…and with the nine Iron Knights defecting, that were only thirteen left. The Iron Knights weren't that outnumbered.

"Takeda-kun believes you're vital to the rebellion," Aoyama spoke up. "You're a liason with the demons. They trust you. Therefore you can serve as a go-between for us and the demons, an intermediary who can negotiate an alliance. Without the alliance of the demons, we will not be able to defeat Kobayashi and the others, especially when they have the military might of the human kindgoms backing them."

"That's right. That's how the Iron Knights came to be formed."

Hoshizaki stared at me seriously.

"Huh, I wouldn't know. I just know your leader is Takeda Tetsuo, right?"

"That's right." Hoshizaki nodded. "When Kobayashi-kun went kind of…crazy, Takeda-kun was the first one to rise up against him. They had a fight, Takeda-kun almost lost and was forced to escape. Slowly, the rest of us joined him because we became increasingly unable to agree with Kobayashi-kun's actions."

"He was becoming more…extreme."

Aoyama lowered his head grimly, clenching his fists tightly.

"Treating the people of this world as…NPCs, doing whatever he liked, forcing us to continue the war despite the demons asking for peace, calling for their total extermination. All we wanted to do was save the people of this world, you know? But Kobayashi treats this as a game, and he will stop at nothing until he achieves his so-called perfect victory."

"Not to mention he's been taking advantage of nobles' daughters and the palace maids and having his way with them…he truly is the enemy of women."

"Huh, I thought he had Yoshida?"

"Apparently Yume-chan wasn't enough…he wasn't satisfied with confining himself with just one girlfriend. He wanted a harem."

I was truly at a loss for words at how deluded Kobayashi was sounding out to be. And here I thought he couldn't sink any lower. He really was the type who always had to have his way, and would stomp on anyone who stood against him.

Like me and Takeda Tetsuo.

"Takeda-kun said it before…he has the same goal as you, and we have a common enemy in Kobayashi-kun and his faction."

I smirked.

"That we do…that we do…"

To be honest, I didn't care about all that NPCs and world peace that Takeda and his Iron Knights were making a huge deal of. If there were people being hurt in front of me, I would definitely help them. But I wasn't so noble or naïve enough to think of myself as a hero. I could barely protect myself, never mind the world, or the people of Restia. As much as I would like to help the demons from being exterminated, I had never once thought of myself as their savior. I allied with them for my own selfish purposes – because I needed assistance to fight against Kobayashi and his human armies. Of course I would be more than happy to help them ward off extermination, but that wasn't my primary objective and I never thought I would be bearing such a burden on my shoulders.

Nope, my primary objective was revenge in the end. If I could help people by the side, I would, but that didn't mean I actively tried to save the world or be a hero or whatever.

"So you need my help to negotiate an alliance with the demons?" I asked as I slowly treaded the winding staircase, glancing at the Cross Castle as it loomed intimidatingly over me. Smiling, I shook my head. "I'll try my best, but I'm not a diplomat, you know? If you remember, I was always pretty aggressive, especially against Kobayashi."

*

At the cliff entrance of Cross Castle, lightning crackled and struck the rocky cliff. The shimmering mirage that protected the surroundings of Cross Castle in illusions rippled and began to dissipate, the mystical mists dispersing rapidly as lightning disintegrated them.

A hole ripped open in the fabric of reality, and a trio of Evelyn's Chosen stepped out, swaggering arrogantly as they stepped onto the cliff.

"So unlucky…"

The first one, Suzuki Shirou, grumbled angrily as he sauntered upon the cliff, his fingers tightening around the shaft of his spear in disdain.

"Got such a boring mission first thing in the morning."

He was flanked by two more heroes. One of them was a huge, mountain of a man, a guy named Ooyama Eiji. Ooyama was resting his thunderous hammer on his shoulder, lightning still flaring from it incessantly.

Beside Ooyama was a thin, wiry guy with longish hair and a weird-looking dagger. Nishida Kensuke looked around warily, lacking the confidence and arrogance that his two companions possessed. Straightening up, he followed Suzuki's gaze and stared up at the massive fortress that towered over the three of them.

"This place should be the headquarters of the Iron Knights…Cross Castle."

"I can't believe we found this place so quickly. Kobayashi was right." Nishida shook his head. "The tracking device was a brilliant idea. Thanks to that, we were able to track down Nagano-san so easily. To think that she really was part of the Iron Knights."

"Heh, weren't you the one who created the tracking devices?" Suzuki mocked. "Why are you acting so surprised for, Nishida?"

"No, I just didn't think we would be lucky enough to find the Cross Castle so quickly…"

"You should have more faith in your own inventions."

"Hmph, Suzuki is right." Ooyama glared up at Cross Castle. "And now that we're here, we might as well do our job. That said, the castle looks pretty formidable. How are we going to demolish it?"

"Idiot! Of course we can't!" Suzuki snapped, glaring at the blockhead, Ooyama.

"Suzuki-san is right," Nishida added hastily. "Today, our mission is to offer an invitation to the Iron Knights…to convince them to rejoin us in our glorious extermination of the foul demon race. Now that Kobayashi has become king of all the human kingdoms…there really is no place for the Iron Knights to go."

"Ah…but if we're able to meet with Takeda Tetsuo, then maybe it wouldn't be so boring."

Suzuki suddenly perked up. Grinning, he cocked his head and glanced toward his right.

"Am I right, the two of you from Iron Knights? Sanada Hiroyuki and Shidou Makoto?"

The blond, tall, muscular guy and a slightly short, handsome guy with stylish brown hair and a smirk stepped out and landed gracefully in front of the trio.

"It's been a while," Sanada, the big blond guy greeted them. "Suzuki, Ooyama and Nishida. Are you here on behalf of Kobayashi?"

"Hmph." Suzuki curled his lips into a snarl. "That's right…but if I have my way with your leader, he won't be ordering me around for much longer."