元々の自力の差は歴然。
見る見るうちに押し込まれてゆく。
しかしそれでも、やられてたまるか。とっととくたばれ。火炎だろうが、何だろうが、邪魔をするなら全部叩っ斬る。
それらの感情をまるで怒鳴りつけでもするかのように、俺は一層右の腕に力を込める。
次いで、悲鳴が聞こえた。
けれど。
それでも構わず俺は喉を震わせ、叫び散らす。
「ッ、あああぁあああぁぁッ!!!」
気勢を上げる俺の叫びに呼応するように、ぐぐぐと腕が前へと進み始める。先へ、先へと放たれる火炎を斬り裂きながら、均衡が崩壊の兆しを見せる。
そもそも、間違っていたのだ。
格上相手に、先の事を考えながら戦えるものか。後の事を考慮してる場合か。
「ぶっ、倒れろ............ッ!!!」
宙に描かれる幻想的光景。
炎の奔流を斬り裂き走る光の軌跡はまさしく————〝
崩れた体勢を上手く立て直すことが出来ず、そのまま地上へと落下を開始。
程なく、斬り裂いた
上手くクッションの役目を果たしてくれたものの、それなりの高さからの落下。
加えて左腕を負傷していた事もあり、その衝撃のせいで尋常でない痛みが全身を駆け巡る。
「ッ、......は、ぁ......はぁ、だぁー......死ぬかと思った」
軽く右の手を火傷していた事により、じんわりと滲んでくる痛み。じっとりと背中を濡らす冷や汗の感触を瞑目しながら味わう。
そして目蓋を開く。
たった一体の変異種を相手にこのザマである。
実際に戦闘を繰り広げていた時間は恐らく、十数分。だというのに数時間ぶっ続けで動いた時よりもずっと酷い疲労感が身体を支配していた。
亀裂の入った無骨な剣を手放し、右の手一本で大地に投げ出された身体を起き上がらせる。
先程、上空で確認したようにあの
そんな、折。
ぱち、ぱち、ぱち。
と、手を打つ音が等間隔で聞こえてきた。先程までとは打って変わり静まり返った場にて、その音は目立って響き渡っていた。
「いやぁ、凄いねえ。あの魔物を一人で倒すなんて。
女性特有の高めの声。
表情を確認出来ていないが、鼓膜を揺らすその声音から、声の主が上機嫌である事は考えるまでもなく理解が出来た。
声の出処は何処か。
そんな事を思いながら後ろを振り向くと、散々に荒らされた木々の陰から一人の女性が俺を見詰めていた。
花咲いたような笑みを向けられる。
微風に靡く銀糸のような長めの髪。
それは、俺の村にやってきた〝戦姫〟と呼ばれる貴族————ビエラ・アイルバークと同様の家名であったから。
「本当は色々と貴方とお話ししたいところではあるんだけれど、残念ながら今はそうも言ってられないんだよねえ」
ま、言わずもがなその事情は貴方も理解してると思うけど。
逃げるならとっとと逃げなくては。
「そこでひとつ、提案なんだけれども。......そこの魔物、わたしにくれないかな?」
フィオレがそう言って指を指した先には、先程俺がズタズタの真っ二つに斬り裂いてやった
だからこそ、言葉の意味が分からなかった俺は疑問符を頭上に浮かべる。
「魔物の死骸は金になる。変異種であれば、その希少性は計り知れない。うん、うん。二つ返事出来ない理由は十二分に分かりますとも。でもね、命あっての物種とは思わないかなあ?」
「......言葉の意味がイマイチ理解出来ないんだけど」
って言ってるの。貴方の戦闘力には十分過ぎる価値がある。これからの事を考えると見殺しにするには惜しいかなってね」
これって光栄な事なんだよ?
......とはいえ、助けてあげると言われても、既に事切れた死骸を所望するその意図が全く以て分からない。故に、即座に返事が出来ない。
別に構わないと思っているのに、死骸を欲しいと口にしたその異常性に引っ掛かってしまっていた。
「......貴方も魔法使いの癖に、変なところで引っ掛かるんだね」
「この世界では『魔法』と呼ばれる摩訶不思議な力が存在してる。それは基本的に、当人が強く望んだ力が『魔法』となって発現すると言われてる」
たとえば、剣を望んだ人間であれば剣を創り出す能力が。
それは、冒険者であるリレア達からも既に聞いた事柄でもあった。故に向けられた言葉に納得。
なら、ここまで言えば分かるよねと。
目で口程にものを言いながらフィオレは続け様、
「で。わたしに発現した魔法はちょっとアレでね。あんまり人様に言えるものじゃあないんだけど......能力は————〝
〟。多少の制限はあるんだけど、わたしの魔法は死んだ対象を無理矢理生き返らせて自由に操る事が出来る能力」
そう、口にした。
恐らく俺が死んだところで痛くも痒くもないだろうに、どうしてその能力を持っているにもかかわらず、俺を見殺しにするには惜しいと言ったのだろうか。
そんな疑問がふと浮かび上がった。
俺ですらも、操れば寧ろ都合が良いのでは、と。
「......だから制限があるって言ったでしょ。わたしの魔法————〝
「だから、出来る限り戦力になりそうな魔法使いは生かしておきたいの。これでお分かり?」
戦力とは恐らく、シヴァが言っていた〝ミナウラ〟に潜む魔物の頭を討伐する為のものなのだろう。
どの道、体力を回復させない事には絶体絶命の危機である事には変わりない。
肯定以外、返事はあり得ない。
「素直で宜しい。なら、後はお姉さんに任せておきなさいな」
の死骸へと歩み寄る。
どどど、と地響きが刻々と大きくなってゆく事を度外視。
あくまでも普段の調子を崩す気はないのだろう。ゆっくりと、静謐に、手のひらを
The difference in our raw strength was very clear.
Before I knew it, I was being pushed back.
With flame or no flame, if you get it in my way, I'll smash you to bits.
As if to yell these feelings of mine, I put more strength into my right arm.
And the next moment, I heard a scream and the sound of creaking bones.
But...
I didn't care, so I shook my head and let out a scream.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
As if responding to my spirited cry, my arm began to move forward.
I was mistaken in the first place.
How could I fight against a superior opponent while thinking about the consequences my body would take in the future?
"Fall... down!!!"
A dreamlike scene was drawn in the air.
There laid a trajectory of light cutting through the torrent of flames, just like a "starburst."
And unable to regain my position, I hit the ground.
Soon after, my body was slammed into the corpse of the monster I had just slain.
Although it served as a good cushion, I fell from a considerable height.
In addition, due to the injury of my left arm, the impact caused an extraordinary amount of pain throughout my body.
"...Ha-- Ah...hahaha... I thought I was going to die..."
The pain from the light burn on my right hand gradually seeped into my body, followed by being soaked by the cold sweat that filled my back.
I then opened my eyelids.
Against just one mutant monster, this was what happened.
The actual time the battle took was probably only a few minutes, but even so, I felt much more exhausted than if I had been working for several hours straight.
I let go of the cracked, rugged sword and used my right hand to raise my body, which had been thrown to the ground.
As I had just confirmed in the sky, other monsters were beginning to flock to this place because of that monster's call for help.
And at the same moment...
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound was noticeably loud in the quieter distance, as it echoed throughout the place.
"Defeating that monster all by yourself, you're pretty amazing. I thought I'd have to wait for Viera... No, Viera-chan to come back, but as it turned out, I've been blessed with an unexpected stroke of luck."
A high-pitched voice, one that could only belong to a woman.
Although I could not confirm her facial expression, I knew without thinking that the owner of that voice was in a good mood from the sound of her voice that shook my eardrums.
I wondered where the voice came from.
And as I turned around, I saw a woman staring at me from the shade of the trees, which now had been heavily torn.
She said with a blossoming smile.
Her long hair resembled silver threads, flowing in the breeze, with her delicate features elegantly composed.
The same family name as the noblewoman-- Viera Islebark, the "Warrior Princess," who came to my village.
"I would love to talk to you about all kinds of things, but unfortunately I'm afraid now is not the time to do so."
Well, understanding the current situation, now was really not the time.
If we're going to escape, we have to do it quickly.
"Before we do anything, I have a suggestion... Can you give me that monster over there?"
Fiole pointed her finger at the remains of the monster I had just torn to shreds.
For that reason, a question mark appeared on my face, as I didn't understand the meaning behind her words.
"I know that dead monster bodies are already worth money. If it's a mutant monster corpse, then, its rarity and price will be immeasurable. Oh, yeah... I would understand more than enough why you would be hesitant to give me an immediate answer, but you can't compare human life to a monster's can you?"
"...I don't understand what you mean."
"What I'm saying is, you give me that corpse, and I'll help you. Your fighting skills are more than worth it, and I'd regret leaving you to die here thinking of what you could do in the future."
This is an honor, you know? Fiole then sniffed as she said this.
...However, even if she were to offer to help, I had no idea what her intentions were for wanting a corpse that had already died out.
It wasn't a problem for me, but I was caught off guard by the insanity of her wanting a dead body.
"...You're a magician yourself, too, but you get caught up with the weirdest things."
"In this world, there exists a mysterious power called{ magic } , and basically, it is said that a person's strong desire becomes magic and manifests itself."
For example, if one wanted to create a sword, they'd have the ability to create one.
I had already heard this from Lilea and the other adventurers, so I was satisfied with their words.
Then, she thought, if she informed me this much, I would understand.
And so Fiole continued, using her eyes to say more than she could.
"The magic that I have is a little strange. This is not something I can really tell people about, but... my ability is--{Corpse Puppet: Marionette} 
There are some restrictions and limitations, but my magic has the ability to force a dead target to come back to life and manipulate it at will."
What she said.
...I pondered why she said that it was a waste to leave me here to die because of my ability, given that we had never met before.
Such a question suddenly came to mind.
I pondered if it would be even more convenient for her to manipulate my dead body.
"...Like I told you, my magic has a limit. For some reason, I can't seem to manipulate magicians like you and me using my magic,{Marionette} "
"I want to keep as many magicians who might be of use to Minaura alive. Do you understand now?"
The reason was probably to have a better chance of defeating the head of the monsters lurking around this town, as Siva had said.
In any case, we were still in a desperate crisis if I was unable to regain my strength.
There could be no reply but an affirmative one.
"I love honest people. Leave the rest to your sister, then."
With that, she walked up to the corpse of the monster with a big smile on her face.
She ignored the fact that the earth was shaking louder and louder by the minute.
As if to not let the noise disrupt her normal routine, slowly and serenely, she turned her palm towards the monster-- and said a few words.
Star-Slaying Swordsman
星斬りの剣士
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/star-slaying-swordsman/
Action Fantasy Martial Arts Mature Psychological Shounen
Adapted to Manga Dark Fantasy World Male Protagonist Mature Protagonist Medieval Philosophical Romantic Subplot Sudden Strength Gain Sword And Magic Sword Wielder Transplanted Memories
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336gg/
アルト／遥月