Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

31 – The Ghoul’s Altar (5)

The level of the night raids had changed.

Skeleton soldiers were barely showing up. Even if they did, it was just one or two at the very start. The core of the attack was made up of sunken-faced husks.

They were emaciated, yet moved with an agile speed. And although primitive, they exchanged words with each other, forming ranks.

Having organization meant that, when united, they could exert more power than they would individually.

In other words, they weren’t just a ragtag bunch.

* * *

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

Cannibalistic ghouls, human skulls dangling from their waists, snapped into formation, then hurled femurs in unison.

Thud, clack!

Rachel’s spear tip knocked them all aside.

Rachel advanced, spear held high. The mage and Tyria moved to support her, vortices of magic and divine power shattering the monsters’ ranks.

The battle raged until dawn.

The ghouls, unable to withstand the rising sun, melted away with guttural gurgles. Only then did the three find time to rest.

Rachel lowered her spear, dusting her hands.

“Well fought, Colonel. And mage.”

“You as well.”

“……”

One voice was missing.

Tyria had already collapsed inside the lifeboat, unconscious.

The mage and Rachel met each other’s gaze. No long words were necessary. They too crawled into the lifeboat and lay down.

“Uh, um.”

“Ahem.”

It was awkward, lying there, facing each other.

No, awkward wasn’t the word. A strange heat was rising, too.

They’d cuddled up to sleep on the last island, and it hadn’t felt this intense.

The mage mumbled, eyes half-open.

“Thanks.”

“Huh?”

“Earlier, when I fought that man, thanks for coming to help as soon as I called.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about.

Even though it’s been two months since this man and I survived on this deserted island, we can’t communicate properly. It’s like, beyond light greetings or words needed for battle, we’re clueless.

It could be because Rachel is taciturn, but the biggest reason is the existence of Saint Tyria.

Since Tyria joined us, Rachel hasn’t exchanged many words with the man. Most of what he says is summarized and conveyed by Tyria.

Now that Tyria is asleep, it feels like we’ve gone back a month.

Suddenly, what happened during the day flashes in my mind.

The mage abruptly attacked the unidentified man, causing serious injuries. At that time, Rachel was ready to jump out even before the mage called for him.

It was an instinctive judgment.

If even that was a charade between the mage and the man, I could shatter it by intervening.

If, on the other hand, the mage and the man were truly strangers, there was no reason not to help the mage attack.

“I didn’t trust you from the start.”

That’s why that move was possible.

“Even if you betray me, it won’t hurt me now. The Colonel is here. We can take turns on watch. It’ll be a little hard, but it’s not an impossible survival situation.”

“…….”

“So if you’re thinking of stabbing me in the back, you should give up on that early.”

The mage nodded his head and closed his eyes. It seemed like he wasn’t so much understanding as he was just too sleepy to give any other reaction before falling asleep.

This is uncomfortable.

Sleeping arrangements, meal times too.

The biggest inconvenience of all is, most of all, not being able to communicate. I’m slowly learning each other’s languages with the mage, but it’s still lacking.

Should I ask the Colonel to teach me the magic kingdom’s language?

Even with that thought, every time I remember that the man is the enemy who killed my friends, I shake my head.

One of the purification saints has gone missing, so a new rescue squad will come soon. They’ll probably even mobilize the holy engineering corps to lift that barrier or whatever it is.

Yeah, let’s just hold out until then.

Deepening conflict, Rachel’s eyelids also closed.

*

We slept for a good six hours straight, until noon.

[‘Lucky you, Major.’]

When I woke up to my subordinate’s cocky voice, the Valkyrie and the Saint were each occupying one of my arms.

“What the hell.”

No wonder I was hot. Weren’t these women hot?

I gently shook them awake. The Saint, who woke up first, let out a startled scream, and immediately the Valkyrie got up, grabbed the spear by my head, and looked around.

The two female soldiers, who had grasped the situation, had reactions as different as their usual behavior.

“Hmm.”

That was all the Valkyrie said.

“Why was I linked arm in arm with you?”

“How should I know?”

The Saint was half-accusatory.

“The sun is high overhead. Let’s eat first.”

We missed the entire morning’s work, having slept during the day instead of at night, but there was nothing to be done. The monsters had been attacking relentlessly all night, without a moment’s rest.

We ate lunch, consisting of gathered freshwater fish and berries, while discussing our strategy.

“We need to resolve this quickly, I think.”

“You’re right, I thought so too.”

All three of us were officers, so our decisions were swift.

A drawn-out battle would be disadvantageous, so we had a hearty meal before heading toward the mountaintop where the demon was likely residing.

Once we eliminated the demon, the monster onslaught would likely subside, just like it had on the previous Fishman Island.

“It took a hit from both the slate and holy power, so it’s probably greatly weakened.”

Today might be our last chance.

I gathered all of the mana stones I had made. The Saintess replenished her holy power through morning prayer, and the Valkyrie hid the life raft in a safe spot beneath some rocks.

And so, we each grabbed our gear and headed towards the mountain.

Since the island wasn’t very big, the climb was easy. We followed a stream up, so we didn’t have to worry about thirst. The only problem, hunger, was solved by snacking on the berries we had brought as provisions.

“What the heck *is* that monster, anyway?”

“Going by its appearance, it looked like a ghoul. A monster that lures people to its lair and devours them. I’m not sure where it falls classification-wise, though. Is it an ordinary monster, or a demon? It might even be a monster that has evolved.”

“Are there any other possibilities?”

“Well…there’s one other possibility, but it’s not realistic.”

“What is it?”

“A demon race.”

“You mean the Demon King’s direct subordinates?”

The saint nodded.

“The church says they’ve been extinct for centuries… I don’t know. Something’s not right about this island.”

“What does the scripture say?”

“Hmm, it’s hard to explain. Something about deceiving people? Said they were masters of all sorts of sly tricks. Because they’re directly connected to the devil, they can use sacrifices without cost, and…”

That’s when the fog started to roll in.

The sun suddenly vanished, and leaves tumbled down like they’d been sprayed with defoliant. The vibrant greenery turned a sickly grey.

“This is…”

It was so thick you couldn’t see an inch in front of you.

The Valkyrie, who was walking ahead, was gone from sight.

“Valkyrie? Valkyrie!”

No answer came back.

I sensed something was wrong and tried to quicken my pace, but the saint grabbed my arm.

“Mage, stay calm.”

“Ah.”

I was momentarily flustered.

“Thank you.”

It didn’t make sense that the Valkyrie, who’d respond and rush to me in under a second when called, wouldn’t hear my voice. She must have been teleported somewhere.

“It’s definitely that ghoul’s doing. They’re trying to split us up and pick us off one by one. There are stories of companions sacrificed this way in the scriptures. We need to move carefully.”

“Do we have any sort of plan?”

“We have to move forward, together, like this. First we’ll try to find Major Brokenheart and go up the mountain. If all else fails, we’ll have to take down the ghoul. It’s pretty much the only way to stop the fog.”

The moment the saint’s words ended, beastly howls echoed from all directions.

Not mountain beasts.

Not *mountain* beasts.

I could feel alien things and corrupted evil spirits, the kind only found in the legendary demonic realms, drawing closer from unseen places.

The saint gripped my arm tightly and drew out her Baculus.

“Don’t leave my side. Never.”

*

Rachel, who had been leading the way, sensed something was off as soon as the fog rolled in, and turned back.

“Colonel? Mage?”

The two who had been chattering away moments before were gone. She turned, searched the area, but saw nothing.

Only after calling their names several more times, could Rachel face reality.

It was the monster’s doing.

“Hoo.”

Rachel steadied her breath and gripped her spear tight.

A stone spear, made by the mage. Compared to the holy spears used in modern warfare, it was incredibly primitive, but the piercing head was made of mana stone, giving it a destructive power far beyond what one would expect.

Mana stones usually hold mana, but they could also hold Ekirel. If Rachel injected her divine power, Ekirel would transform into Sephiron, making it similar to a holy spear.

Truly befitting of a first-class mage, the mana stone’s efficiency was sublime. If you poured 10 units of divine power into it, all 10 would be released.

Come if you dare.

Rachel filled the spearhead with divine power and strode forward. Keeping her pace at a run, but short of collapsing, she could see the shadow of a towering figure, easily more than two yards high, beyond the fog.

[“ALTARM WIE RESSAL.”]

It was yesterday’s monster.

[“NASHUR RLYEH N’GAL TITHARATH NARUZOH IGUL BON SARAMUN ZOMDAED ANHAM.”]

“What’s he saying?”

Colonel Caston spoke. That bringing down the man with the black bandages was our ticket off this island, that he was acting as its gatekeeper.

There wasn’t another way, anyway.

[“ECHITTA.”]

Rachel charged at the man.