Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

13 – A Tiny Seed of Trust (5)

Siren.

A creature with a human upper body and a fish lower body. Sirens were mythical creatures known for luring people into the sea with their beautiful songs.

Leslie, the daughter of the Count of Florence, woke up to find herself transformed into a Siren. Worse, she was trapped alone on an unknown island.

[-You’ve opened your eyes.]

The one who spoke to her, while she was in a state of confusion, was a demon. A monster from another world that she had summoned and that had settled into her soul.

He spoke like this:

[-The ship going to your exile was caught in a storm and capsized. You and your retinue were swallowed by the sea and drowned. But through my power, I have resurrected you, so you should be grateful for this new life.]

He’d turned his own dead self into a fiend. This was the price for summoning the devil.

But Leslie didn’t care.

What was the big deal about summoning a devil? All she wanted was to be recognized, to catch the eye of the one she loved, to gain a bit of talent and beauty in exchange for a little of her lifespan.

Just like how a poisonous plant can be medicinal if used properly, a devil could be a good tool if wielded right, wouldn’t it? Look. Even though she had a monstrous body, she was still alive now.

Either way, being trapped on a deserted island was not to her liking. It really felt like being exiled.

Leslie, now a fish-person, set out to sea to return home. Going home like this was absurd, but she was only intending to explore the surroundings and find a way off the island.

It was impossible.

An unknown power was swirling around the island and the surrounding waters. Because of that power, even if she went straight, she would end up back at the original island. The devil whispered to her, as she panicked:

[-You are bound to this place.]

And he added:

[-What do you say? Shall we make a new deal?]

The terms of the deal were this:

One hundred people must be brought to this island. They must be killed, their blood sprinkled on the gravel, and their skulls crushed to powder. The powder must be collected on the totem in the center of the cave altar and then lit all at once. Only then would the fog surrounding the island clear, and she could leave.

And that’s not all. The devil promised to restore her human form in exchange for those hundred lives. Not only that, but it would be the form of a woman with beauty far exceeding that of the commoner girl she envied, a woman of eternal youth.

Actually, she was more than sufficient even now, but Leslie’s greed knew no bounds. Because, before she died, her face was nothing more than the commoner girl’s face, crudely ripped off and pasted on her own.

[“Well, looks like we’ve got some good materials this time, hmm-hmm.”]

Leslie hummed a tune, as she smoothly moved closer to the woman under the illusion spell.

[“Such a lovely expression. And the face is exquisite. The pearly skin, the sculpted jawline! She’s several times prettier than that vile girl, isn’t she? Is she some noble’s child or something?”]

Just moments ago, the black-haired, golden-eyed woman was laughing joyfully, but now she was shedding miserable tears. She couldn’t even keep herself upright.

It was a mental collapse, a consequence of illusion magic. When a person’s emotions are lifted to dizzying heights and then dropped, their brain can’t withstand the emotional whiplash, causing an overload that rapidly destroys neural tissue.

[“Oh my, you’re remembering tragic things after such a happy memory? I understand that feeling well. It’s like having opium given and then taken away. Still, don’t be too sad. I’ll make you comfortable soon enough.”]

*Sreung.*

Leslie’s nails sharpened like blades. She brought them to her own face and scratched.

*Jjeo-jeo-jeok.*

The unnaturally attached face split open, revealing what lay beneath – her true form from when she was human.

It wasn’t objectively beautiful, even if it was somewhat plain. But that face, too, had been hideously twisted as she turned into a demon.

[“This one is really to my liking. I’ll swap it for this.”]

Leslie was about to drive her nails into the woman when a fact suddenly dawned on her. While the woman was sobbing aloud, the man had been eerily silent since earlier.

*What could it be*, Leslie wondered, glancing over at the man, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

*Huh?*

*Why are his eyes open?*

Surely, under the effects of illusion magic, a person’s eyes should be closed or rolled back?

The instant the thought formed…

[“Pierce.”]

The man, raising a magic stone, began to chant.

A heat ray, formed in a flash, pierced straight through Leslie’s heart. *Chwa-ja-jak!* Flesh ripped and violet blood sprayed. Leslie’s vision swam as the impact – the first she’d felt in hundreds of years – hit her.

[“aaah!”]

So hot. She’d never felt such pain.

Leslie, her movements as supple as a spring, steadied herself and sealed the hole in her chest. Her body, bound by a contract with a demon, possessed a lifespan and resilience far exceeding that of any ordinary human.

[“H-How in the world did you break free from my illusion magic? No, more importantly! How dare you wound the sacred body of a noble Baron’s daughter?”]

*Tsk*. The man chuckled.

[“Sacred body? If your body’s sacred, then her face is heliodor. You, a mere fiend, where do you get off pawing at a human’s esteemed face? Huh?”]

[“……You, you’ve become impudently informal? Can’t you use honorifics again?”]

[“Impale.”]

[“Kyahhh!”]

The second heat ray pierced Leslie’s lower body this time. The sensation of nerve cords being seared and severed in clumps. It felt like her brain was being fried.

[“How dare, how dare you…!”]

To inflict such humiliation upon me, and twice in a row no less.

I will absolutely not let that man die a peaceful death.

Leslie gestured.

[“My loyal underlings, overwhelm him like a tidal wave!”]

At her command, the fish-like monsters, which had been standing as if taxidermied, charged in unison.

[“You, using magic stones only peasants with lacking mana use, trying to stand against me alone, you’re centuries too early. Someone like you is only fit to be a stepping stone for my escape. Ohoho!”]

But there were two things Leslie had mistaken.

The first was time itself.

In the era she had lived in, the use of magic stones was limited, but in modern times, with the advancement of magic stone studies, they had greatly developed in the military sector.

In medieval times, holy power was the only means of combating fiends, but things are different now.

[“Impale. Ride on the wind, and trample him.”]

The power to obliterate with overwhelming physical force.

The man systematically used the pre-accumulated magic stones, one by one, targeting only the monsters that posed a direct threat. The rest he dodged with keen perception.

[“No way…!”]

And the second thing she was mistaken about.

The man was not alone.

[“La, lala.”]

Just as she was about to try and subdue the man again with illusion magic, a heavy impact slammed into the back of Leslie’s head.

It was different.

The pain was on a whole different level compared to the man’s attacks.

It wasn’t just the physical force, but the pure holy power surging behind it that struck Leslie’s magic-tainted nervous system. Leslie fell hard without even managing a scream.

[“Wh-what the hell…who dares…?”]

Leslie gasped for breath.

The one who had struck the back of her head was none other than a black-haired woman with gold eyes. The woman roughly rubbed her swollen eyes with her sleeve and then grasped a long spear crafted from stalactite.

An enormous holy power could be felt.

For a demon, being hit head-on with that much holy power meant certain death.

[“D-don’t, don’t come closer. I said don’t come this way!”]

She tried to cast a healing spell on herself, but it didn’t work. Magic required mana, and with all the mana in her body neutralized, it would take time to heal even such simple internal bleeding.

In other words, Leslie’s healing power was now no different than a human’s.

[“Please, go away! Go away! I, I don’t want to die! I have to get back, I barely managed to get a hundred people…!”]

All the survivors Leslie had encountered so far had been helpless against her illusion magic. No matter how strong their physical power or how outstanding their holy power.

So then, what the hell is the reason why the highest-grade illusion shattered?

Thud, thud.

Towards Leslie, who can’t hold herself up due to a sudden head trauma, the woman walks. Leslie’s gaze was fixed on the man. Could it be, that magician, did he cast a curse?

[“…Ah.”]

In a fleeting moment, Leslie saw the man tuning the magic power of the magic stone.

Extreme efficiency. A creative method of phase transformation. The talent to stabilize mana.

He was only lacking in the absolute quantity of mana; the man possessed the qualities to become a Grand Master of a faction. He was not someone to be taken lightly.

It was too late when she realized that.

*

Whack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Die! You b*tch! You cunt! Go to hell!”

Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen Valkyrie so violent. She wasn’t even this intense when she fought me, I think.

The mermaid monster, who recovered quickly when hit with lapis lazuli, can’t even react, now sprawled out after a few blows from Valkyrie’s bat. Looking closely, she was channeling her divine power to the maximum output to pound her.

[‘Come to think of it, it’s said that monsters are vulnerable to divine power.’]

What could be the reason?

“Sephiron?”

Probably because of that.

Sephiron is the particle that mediates divine power. When it comes into contact with mana, the particle that mediates magic, it causes a neutralization reaction, creating a neutral particle called Ekirel.

Ekirel is easy to convert back into Sephiron, but it is difficult to convert into mana. That’s probably why that mermaid couldn’t properly respond from the moment she was hit by Valkyrie.

Thwack!

The Valkyrie let out a relieved sigh and tossed away her broken spear.

My eyes met hers.

But the Valkyrie’s reaction was strange.

“…I really hate saying this, but thanks for saving me.”

And wouldn’t you know it, she started twisting her hair while muttering that.

*

Illusion magic was one of the worst kinds, as Rachel well knew.

That didn’t mean just anyone could break it, though. It was known that only mages who manipulated the same mana, and even among them, only a small minority highly skilled in particle manipulation, could dispel illusion magic on their own.

If it hadn’t been for that man, Rachel’s brain would have melted down and she would have died.

Rachel wasn’t oblivious to that fact, so she gave him a brief greeting. Thank you. I would have died a long time ago if it wasn’t for you.

The man had a lukewarm expression in response.

No, it was somewhat bitter.

Presumably, the two of them were affected by the illusion magic at the same time, and their consciousnesses were briefly connected.

Perhaps that was why they were able to talk to each other in the illusion. Not through language, but through a direct transmission of intent.

They didn’t have much time to talk, but it was a fact that she had spoken with him, if only for a moment, without the barrier of language.

Frankly speaking, he seemed like a decent guy. The gestures, the expressions, the tone… he had enough integrity to earn at least a minimum of trust.

Call it a lingering attachment, perhaps.

He seemed gruff on the outside, but the kind who secretly took good care of you.

“Hmph.”

Either way, the fact remained that she had shown him her past. A painful memory that she had vowed to never tell anyone until the day she died.

Even stooping to the pathetic sight of tears, wasn’t I? And in front of the enemy, no less.

“Haa…”

A sight absolutely no stranger should ever witness. A thought suddenly crossed her mind that she was surely doomed for spinsterhood. Twirling a strand of her hair, she spoke to the man.

“Let’s try and find a way out of here.”

*

“Saintess… no, Colonel Casten, ma’am. These are orders from High Command.”

“Again? What kind of trash are they trying to dump on me *now*? So, what is it?”

“It’s an assignment to find the White Lotus Battalion personnel missing from the Tatangkur Sea Battle. According to the investigation, abnormal magical energy reactions were detected in the area of their disappearance. If anything were to happen during the search, it seems they expect you, Colonel, to purify it personally…”

The silver-haired woman pinched her forehead. Her eyes, once as black as black pearls, momentarily flashed crimson.

“…Ah, shit, what a pain.”