Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

21 – An Island Full of Ghosts (4)

It was a quiet night. At least, to the naked eye.

Tiria possessed a special eye called the Holy Spirit Eye. An eye that only those chosen by the Goddess could possess. When looking at the world through the Holy Spirit Eye, she could see spiritual beings and understand their voices.

[“AAH, FMKHTN LU.”]

[“BASHA EM O’PEMHIL.”]

The language of demons could be heard.

Tiria drew upon her holy power, opening the eye granted by the Goddess in advance.

[“Ah, how wretched it is.”]

[“We cannot find a place of rest.”]

Words that were incomprehensible before now began to enter her ears.

Souls steeped in lament, ten, twenty, thirty.

Easily over a hundred, I’d say.

[“Give us a place to linger.”]

[“I died unjustly. By the shells of the Holy Spirit Nation b*stards.”]

[“Apostle of the Goddess. If we kill this wench, we can gain Her favor. Maybe even return to our original bodies.”]

[“aaah.”]

Thud thud thud.

The ground trembles. Dark wraiths, one by one, poke their heads out. The malevolent ghosts, sensing Tyria and Rachel’s presence, charge all at once.

Swhiiish!

Tyria swings Bakulus.

With one strike, three or four souls scatter. Though it’s cutting through the air in reality, the sensation of striking is vivid.

One ghost’s power isn’t that strong. The problem is they move in packs and, even if you stomp one down, it rises again.

After swinging the staff several times, the feeling came.

These b*stards, they’re different from ordinary evil spirits.

“…Exorcism doesn’t work.”

It was strange. Most evil spirits should disappear the moment they touch Bakulus.

[“Keep them from sleeping. Keep them awake till they die.”]

[“That wench lying over there looks tasty too.”]

[“Let’s devour them.”]

A few of the evil spirits pass by Tyria and head toward Rachel. It was a plot to interfere with Rachel’s soul and break her mind. Tyria pursed her lips.

“———.”

The language of the Heavens, Hyeong-eon.

A language diametrically opposed to Hui-eon, which every mage learned.

However, unlike Hui-eon, it was a language only the chosen could wield. Like the previous Dragon Warrior and High Priest, or the Patriarchs and Holy Maidens of each generation.

While Hui-eon held the power to trigger magic, Hyeong-eon had the effect of directly summoning the Goddess’s authority.

Just like now.

[“Kkuaaack!”]

A granule that burst from the void collided with the black apparitions of the evil spirits. The vengeful souls exploded like balloons. Light spreading in all directions lit the area around the life raft like broad daylight.

Startled shadows seeped back into the earth.

“……Did we get them?”

Just when they felt they had finally succeeded in exorcism.

Whoosh.

The light rapidly faded.

In the darkness, which had regained its dominance, a new specter appeared.

[“Resentment!”]

[“Resentment!”]

[“Resentment!”]

No, not a new specter. It was the evil spirits they had just fought, coalesced into a massive embodiment of resentment.

The dark, mottled form had disproportionately large head and arms. It retained a human shape but had no lower body. Its size was that of a three-story house.

From the area where a head should be, a single eye bulged out. A bloodshot pupil. Oil-black fluid dripped down from the single eye like tears.

[“Resentment. The ones who should live die, and the ones who should die live. The innocent die twice over, while the ones who deserve to die twice are hailed as heroes.”]

“What the…”

[“Mana, I need mana.”]

The creature babbled in an incomprehensible language.

Regardless, it was a monster she’d never seen before. There wasn’t even a similar description in the holy scriptures.

The unknown breeds fear. Tiria’s hand, gripping the Baculus, trembled slightly.

For a moment, she even considered waking Rachel. But Tiria quickly dismissed the idea. The goddess who had chosen Rachel only governed physical combat, so she wouldn’t be able to harm the spirit-like monster in front of them.

*Whooon*

The spirits resonated in unison.

[“It’s an outrage!”]

“What the hell is outrageous!”

[“How brazen!”]

[“Do you not know!”]

[“It’s even more outrageous because of you, you who doesn’t know!”]

Three voices pierced her ears simultaneously.

The giant monster tried to slam its hand down. Its palm was so large that dodging was impossible. She also had to protect Major Rachel.

She had to take it head-on.

Tiria pushed Sephiron to its limit and used holy magic. Soon, the hand came crashing down on her. Tiria parried with Baculus.

A collision of light and darkness.

“Ugh!”

The force was heavier than she’d imagined. It meant that the depth of their resentment was immense. It was just barely within Tiria’s capacity to withstand.

“Krrghh…”

[“Crumble.”]

Thud.

The monster’s words became a curse, crushing down on Tyria’s spine. If she hadn’t possessed such immense divine power, she would have been dead ages ago, such was the killing intent.

Tyria’s arms, bracing against the monster’s hand, trembled more and more violently.

Is this the end?

Really?

How long has it even been since I came to this deserted island?

“Goddess, I am truly sorry for not fulfilling my mission…”

Just as despair was about to consume her.

“Wow, is it a spirit bound to this place?”

A voice of admiration came from behind.

“How did you manage to fix it to a geographic coordinate system?”

“…?”

*

I was fast asleep, having surrounded myself with lightweight rocks to prepare for when the monster arrived.

[‘Commander, please wake up.’]

A hallucination, that’s what I hear.

It’s possible. It’s a dream, what can’t be possible?

[‘Commander, Commander.’]

Is this a lucid dream? David feels like he’s right in front of me.

[‘Commander?’]

Uh, yeah. What is it?

[‘Commander, help me! A monster’s trying to take me away! aaargh!!’]

Huh?

“What the fuck, what kinda beggar is laying hands on my precious pet rock…! Oh, what, you’re fine.”

[‘You wouldn’t wake up, so I used an alarm with false information.’]

I shook myself awake and looked around. Middle of the night.

It’s eerily quiet.

I thought some kind of fish-man or something would show up.

“So, what’s the deal?”

[‘Listen carefully. I hear whispers coming from everywhere.’]

I did as David told me, for now.

[“Woe is me. Woe is me.”]

[“Mana, I need mana.”]

[“The Holy Spirit nation b*stards, they should all end up like this.”]

I held my breath and listened. Indeed, the murmurs of demons speaking in tongues came from all directions.

Not just one voice, but several.

The only people who can speak in tongues here are me, and that mysterious guy. So, what are these noises now?

“Has a monster shown up, or what?”

[‘For something like that, I can’t see anything.’]

“You don’t have eyes, though.”

[‘Gasp.’]

I can’t see anything either. Just a sound.

Is it a ghost or something?

There had been attempts to interpret the existence of spirits in magical terms. All of them failed, though.

Because of that, most mages didn’t believe in ghosts. They were too un-magical, was the reason. I was the same.

That this sound is coming from a ghost? That’s a joke. Some actual being is clearly messing around somewhere.

[‘The direction of the life raft is especially noisy.’]

I only grabbed my bundle of mana stones and climbed down from the rock.

And then I saw something truly bizarre.

[“I’ll use your soul to avenge my comrades!”]

“Ugh…!”

The saint, holding a staff, was wrestling with the air.

You know that thing, when an elementary school teacher makes a misbehaving kid stand in the hallway with a bucket of water? It was like watching that, but with a staff.

I chuckled, but the saint actually looked like she was struggling. Her breathing was so ragged I could hear it from here.

[‘She might really be fighting with spirits.’]

Well, I can’t see them, at least.

But it’s flawed logic to say something doesn’t exist just because you can’t see it. Just because I didn’t see the moon, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“Wow, is she a land-bound spirit, then?”

I approached the saint, who was gasping for breath.

“How did you fix it to the horizontal coordinate system?”

“M-magician?”

“What are you doing instead of keeping watch? Are you doing upper body exercises?”

“Is this really a time to joke, hnnngh!”

The saint’s pupils, reflected in the light motes, were violet. It was fear. She was experiencing intense dread. I realized from her irises that this situation was no joke.

“There are evil spirits! They’re trying to crush me!”

What should I do?

[“Hello.”]

I decided to try speaking using Whisper.

[“Can you hear me?”]

[“Huh?”]

The voice that had been howling fiercely softened instantly. At the same moment, the saint fell backward.

“U-uh, huh?”

She was a wreck. Her whole body was soaked in sweat. Her beautiful hair was a mess, as if it had been crushed by something.

The saint mumbled blankly.

“Why did they suddenly stop attacking…?”

Her gaze shifted. I moved my head, following the direction of her rolling eyes. There was still nothing there in the direction she was looking.

Except, a voice came from that direction.

[“It’s a soldier of the Magic Kingdom.”]

[“A mage.”]

[“Hold on. I know this human.”]

A multitude of voices poured out at once.

[“Commander Erich Ronstein!”]

[“Commander?”]

[“He’s the Magic Stone Officer. 269th Battalion of the 8th Fleet!”]

[“Who?”]

[“He’s a good man. Took good care of us.”]

[“Commander, it’s me! Me! I’m still alive!”]

Among them were some familiar inflections.

I couldn’t help but be flustered.

Clearly, I couldn’t see anything, yet voices from all around were calling my name and reciting my rank in whispers. There were even voices that spoke familiar names, acting as if they knew me.

[“Major, it’s me! Allen, from the same ship during the Tatangkur naval battle! I died at the Valkyrie’s hand and became this! I’m so, so bitter…!”]

What the hell. Is this a hallucination? Did I kill too many with magic stones and some demon is trying to take over my brain?

[“It’s not a hallucination!”]

[“We’re alive! Please, let us live!”]

At any rate, the voices were friendly towards me. A completely different reaction than what they had shown the Saint just moments before.

I asked the Saint,

“What’s happening?”

“I-I don’t know. Why did they suddenly calm down? And towards you? Mage, did you do something?”

“How the hell should I know?”

I scratched my head. I don’t believe in souls, but since I could hear the whispers, I figured I should play along.

“If they’re souls, you need to help them ascend. Didn’t you say you could do something with that staff?”

“Thing is, I can’t make them disappear.”

“You mean exorcise? No, not exorcise, help them ascend. Like, maybe they need a wish granted before they’ll be satisfied and move on.”

I asked the invisible souls, using the whispers. How could they leave this saint alone and move on?

The answer I got was a real trip.

[“Kill that woman and that Valkyrie over there, scatter their bone dust in the sea, and ease our tormented souls.”]

“……”

Whoa, that’s way too extreme.