Volume 5 - CH 17

“This country is a lot smaller than I thought it would be.”

I muttered to myself as I looked down on the city below from the top of Koi-Mizuchi’s  head floating in the night sky.

The journey that would have taken two days by horse-drawn carriage would take less than ten minutes with a dragon. At this rate, I would be able to tour the entirety of this mighty country in less than a month.

Directly below, the imperial capital spread out.

It is a big city. Looking down from above, it seems even more so.

Countless houses stand in rows within its long, long walls, and even at midnight, the lights on the streets dimly illuminate the entire city.

The city is more developed than any city I have ever seen, not only in Japan, but also in the Song Dynasty and the West.

How much effort did the people of this world really have to put in to achieve this level of prosperity?

Although it’s not important to me …….

I turn all the surrounding shikigami into bats and send them flying down into the city.

The countless black wings falling in the night sky are like a rain of shadows.

My target is the brightest castle in the center of the city, the —- Imperial Castle.

The voices of the guards holding the lights reach me through the ears of the shikigami.

“Whoa, what’s this?”

“Bats?　But why so many ……”

Eventually, all the bats that have landed on the ground and on the roofs are now turned into rats.

As soon as the shikigami rats start running, they enter buildings through every conceivable crevice. Chimneys, vents, slightly open windows, holes in crumbling walls.

Every time they reach a fork in the passage, the swarm splits up, and they sweep the entire castle building at random.

There is no need to manipulate it. The formula is set up like that in advance.

Before long――――I smiled a little.

“Oh, I found you: …… There you are, Amiyu.”

Phew.

I kicked off Koi-Mizuchi’s head and threw myself into the night sky.

I stepped on the flying Shikigami and quietly descended into the city.

“Nevertheless――――”

The Imperial Castle consists of a main castle rising in the center with several buildings around it, surrounded by a wall.

There was no moat and the gates were thin.

It seemed to be a castle completely designed for residential and social purposes. It did not look as if it was designed to be holed up against the enemy.

So I wonder.

I landed in front of the city wall and pointed a hitogata to the unmanned gate.

“—-, it’s a very fragile-looking castle.”

《Earth phase――――Rock door and throwing jutsu》

A rock the size of a small mountain shot out and shattered the —- gate and the entire wall around it.

Debris scattered and dust curled up.

A little later, the screams and shouts of the soldiers could be heard.

It would not be immediately apparent what had happened. Could there really be a magician in this world who could create a rock that far exceeds the height of the castle walls?

From the place where the castle walls had collapsed, I walked into the castle without hesitation.

“Don’t panic!　What happened?”

“The …… walls are ……”

From the ears of the rats, the voices of the guards can be heard.

“It could be an attack.　Wake up the off-duty guys!”

“Hey, ……, there’s someone in there!　Tell the guys in the tower!”

“Okay.”

I am a little impressed.

The chaos is subsiding. The soldiers seem to be highly trained.

The brightness of the night in the other world, illuminated by the two moons, is now a bit sparse.

“Is that the attacker ……?　Hey, I’m gonna shoot him!”

“Damn ……, I’ll do it ……!”

Coincidentally, arrows were shot from two nearby walled towers almost simultaneously.

I silently activated my technique, walking forward without looking at them.

《Yang phase_—- magnetic-flow-cloud-no-jutsu》

The arrow aiming at me deflects.

Because I increased the output a little too much, the arrow flew off in the wrong direction from far in front of me.

A bewildered voice could be heard from the walled tower.

“What’s with the arrows ……?”

“Just aim!　Keep him away from the castle!”

The arrows are closing in again.

Of course, they were not going to hit.

But it never felt good.

“…… depressing.”

I fly each hitogata to a walled tower and make a sign with one hand.

《Earth Aspect――――Keystone Stone Jutsu》

Two huge monoliths wrapped in shimenawa rope descended, completely crushing each of the wall towers.

At the same time, the voices from the shikigami ceased.

“Stop!!”

I squint slightly at the light of the torches. Before I knew it, a group of guards had gathered far ahead.

A man in the center, who looks like a captain, shouts out to me.

“Who are you?　What is your purpose in coming to the Imperial Castle?”

Stalling for time.

I stopped and came to this conclusion.

While waiting for reinforcements, they probably intend to urge the nobles to evacuate now.

Well, that’s okay. I would at least give them some advice.

“Stay out of my way.”

At the sound of my voice, the captain flinches.

“Make way quickly. If you obey, I will not take your lives.”

“Damn it, ……!　Let’s go!”

As if he couldn’t hold back any longer, the captain gave the order.

The bowman’s movement made me try to use my 《Magnetic Cloud》again, and with a click of my —- tongue, I took a big leap back from the spot.

Several fire arrows pierce the place where I had just been.

This technique is not very effective on fire arrows.

When the metal of the arrowhead is heated, it does not provide enough magnetic repulsion.

Probably for visibility, not that this was intended, but it is …… troublesome.

The captain is also very astute. Seeing that he is having his archers again grapple with fire arrows instead of ordinary arrows, I think it is safe to assume that he has spotted this weakness.

When I was about to switch to a different arrow evasion, I saw soldiers drawing their swords and approaching me.

I …… suddenly felt ridiculous.

There was no need for me to fight this way.

“Huh, what a hassle.”

《Phase of fire and sun――――Homura no Jutsu》

A bright white flame turned night into day.

The fire arrows that were released evaporated in an instant, and some of the guards in front of them burst into flames and began to burn.

Although they were not directly scorched by the white flames, their equipment seemed to have spontaneously combusted due to the radiant heat. Naturally, there was no way the human bodies inside could withstand the flames, and the guards fell to the ground in a heap.

《Homura Shiro Homura》 is this strong if you don’t suppress the excess heat with Yin Ki.

I smiled with burned lips as I healed blisters all over my body.

“Haha.”

《Vocation――――Scythe Weasels》

A whirlwind emerged from the distortion of space and tore through the remaining soldiers.

After rampaging for a while, Kamaitachi (scythe weasel) once landed on the roof of the castle and carefully licked the blood from the huge sickle that had grown on its hand, as if it were grooming it. Then it turned into a whirlwind again and proceeded to make the guards bleed.

It was a particularly large and powerful individual among the Kamaitachi.

If attacked by the blade of the scythe and the wind, it would be more than a cut.

I laugh as I watch the carnage of screams and blood splatter.

“Hahaha.”

Amiyu once told me that she loves to fight.

I am the same way.

No, I’m sure everyone does.

It feels good to use force to bring the bad guys to their knees.

There is no substitute for the pleasure of imposing one’s own righteousness on others with overwhelming violence.

There is no good or evil in this world, there is only the power to do it or not.

If it were me, I would be able to do all kinds of things.

That is why I wondered.

Why do I have to be so —- desperate?

White flames licked through the air, melting the walls of guards and buildings.

A whirlwind running in all directions whipped up a cloud of blood smoke one after another.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

The loud laughter did not stop.

*Iwato Throwing Technique

The art of shooting out a huge rock over 10 meters in diameter. The size is variable. It is used to destroy buildings and terrain.

*The art of the keystone

A technique to cause a huge monolith with a shimenawa rope wrapped around it to fall. The size is variable. It has the power of breaking demons and prevents the lives of those it kills from becoming vengeful spirits.