Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

33 – Ghoul’s Altar (7)

A ghoul is a type of cannibalistic fiend. The more people it eats, the stronger it becomes.

Though not innately powerful, after consuming hundreds of humans, even its rotting flesh undergoes a change. Its durability and physical strength improve, its mana increases, and it can wield more diverse magic.

Amalgam, a 500-year-old ghoul, was likely the strongest ghoul in the world.

[“Come hither.”]

As Amalgam extended his hand, the altar’s pillars resonated in unison. These were magic stones, condensed from the remnants of sacrificed humans. Each pillar stored mana that Amalgam could draw upon at will.

Filled with magical power, Amalgam bared his stark white teeth.

[“Earth, surge forth.”]

Spikes erupted from the ground, further separating Erich and Tyria. Meanwhile, Erich frantically rifled through his fanny pack, swapping out magic stones. His right hand was a blur of motion.

Amalgam knew from the start that there was a difference in power between him and the opposing mage.

He was overflowing with mana, while the other was clearly lacking.

There was no chance of his opponent siphoning mana from the pillars. He had placed a special barrier, ensuring only he could access it. Unlocking it required solving a complex magic formula in a short amount of time.

Could this mere mage, seemingly lacking in mana, really do it? Absolutely not.

Amalgam’s prediction was accurate. The opposing mage was busy defending against his attacks. Just a bit more pressure and he would crumble.

[“Crush, push, swirl like dew of stone.”]

A volley of spells that consumed a fair bit of mana. Still, Amalgam felt no sign of mana depletion. The power he had gained from consuming and sacrificing countless human lives sustained him.

Amalgam glanced towards the opposite side. Tyria Caston, the saint and military chaplain of the Holy Kingdom, had slipped past his attention and was now moving toward the altar.

“Captain! Captain! Snap out of it!”

“……Ugh, Colonel?”

Had he been too focused on the mage, leaving himself vulnerable to a blindside?

No.

The saint, blazing with holy light as she charged, couldn’t possibly have escaped the notice of the cunning amalgam. He’d simply pretended not to, even as he felt her approach.

Truth be told, besides the stone pillar, there was another barrier on the altar. A barrier of *Anti-Sanctity*, forged in the past with that being’s grace.

Within the barrier of Anti-Sanctity, the use of Sephirons was restricted. No matter how potent their divine power, the use of holy magic was nullified.

Such a drastic condition demanded great effort in upkeep and maintenance. Nevertheless, moments like these made it worthwhile. Every single cleric who had ever entered that barrier had perished within, without exception.

“Are you able to move?”

“Yes. I’m terribly sorry for the trouble.”

“Never mind that, let’s get out of here already.”

“I’ll lead the way. Wait… There’s a barrier here? Commander, we can’t get out!”

Entering was easy enough, but leaving was a different story.

[“Sacrifice.”]

The amalgam’s pronouncement became a seed, drumming against the sky. Where the sun should have been, dark clouds gathered, splitting in two. From that chasm, a single thread of mana heralded that all was prepared.

A sacrifice for that being.

It was woefully inadequate, but taking such steps forward was all that mattered.

The amalgam would become stronger. In time, he’d be the foremost contributor to that being’s resurrection. Once the age of demons was reborn, he could finally leave this tedious deserted island and indulge in the flesh of humans to his heart’s content.

[“Two birds with one stone, and the remaining….”]

The amalgam looked down at Erich, a smile of confident victory on his face.

[“The two harlots are trapped in the barrier, and your magic power is waning. So, human mage. What are you going to do now? How will you overcome this crisis?”]

[“What am I going to do? What do you think?”]

The mage replied.

Not from the front, but from behind.

[“There’s a barrier, so we gotta smash it.”]

[“……!”]

Hwian was the language of demons. A tongue only those who’d grown close to magic could naturally acquire. There was no way that language should be coming from the mouth of a cleric who followed the Holy Spirit Order.

Then.

Could it be?

Amalgam focused on the flow of particles drifting around him. There was a tiny flaw in their alignment. Evidence that someone had interfered with his mind.

[“……An illusion spell!”]

[“Correct.”]

He returned the scattered flow of mana to its original state. Only then did he see the positions of the Holy Spirit Kingdom military chaplain and the mage were reversed.

The mage had been inside the barrier.

[“You tricked me!”]

[“Concealment and arrogance. Aren’t they considered virtues?”]

It wasn’t just Amalgam who was shocked. Rachel, who had believed the person in front of her was Tyria, suddenly saw her turn into a man, and her eyes grew wide like saucers.

If the mage was inside the barrier, the story changed.

Generally, barriers are weaker inside than outside.

It was unlikely, given the significant perfection of the barrier, but if the mage were to release either the barrier of shattering or the barrier of pillar restriction, then victory could no longer be guaranteed.

And the mage…

[“What is this? This old-fashioned magic formula.”]

He released both at once.

[“No way! Unbelievable! How could he just dismantle the constructions I built!”]

[“What, are you from five hundred years ago? Still sitting around using something like this.”]

Erich gave a bitter smile. Then he snatched his hand away.

[“Come here.”]

The magic power stored in the pillar flowed towards Erich. It was the fruit of Amalgam’s effort, accumulated bit by bit over hundreds of years for a specific purpose. And it was gone in an instant.

They say when a person gets too angry, they become calm instead.

Ghouls weren’t much different.

Amalgam’s blood was boiling coldly.

[“O heavens, I continue the sacrifice! I’ll offer the ewe of the altar, so in exchange, give me your power!”]

But it wouldn’t work.

The flow of mana within the altar had already passed to Erich. Unless he used a burnt offering, Rachel’s life wouldn’t be sacrificed either.

[“The barrier is broken, and your magic is running out. So, Ghoul Mage. What are you going to do now? How will you overcome this crisis?”]

Erich sneered. He was throwing back the words Amalgam had spoken to him just moments ago.

*Kwaduk*, Amalgam gritted his teeth and swung his shoulder wide.

[“I’ll finish you.”]

Meanwhile, Rachel quickly assessed the situation.

First of all, when Rachel woke up, the battle had already begun.

The saintess who had rushed to rescue her was actually a mage disguised by illusion magic. She didn’t know why he could use illusion magic, but now wasn’t the time to delve deeply into that.

Now that she was conscious, she had to join the fight.

Erich held out a spear to Rachel. Words weren’t necessary between them. They could skip most of the conversation with just gestures.

“Take it.”

As always, he was asking her to stand at the front lines.

“Of course.”

Rachel replied curtly, reaching for her spear, when it happened.

A long metal spike pierced through Erich’s wrist. The spear he dropped tumbled down the altar’s slope.

“Krrraaack!”

Erich gritted his teeth, suppressing a scream.

And it wasn’t over.

The next spike was flying towards Rachel. This time, the ghoul’s reaction speed was faster than hers.

And Erich’s reaction speed was faster than even the ghoul’s.

*Thwack!*

The second spike buried itself in Erich’s abdomen. Losing his balance, Erich collapsed helplessly. He rolled down the slope, ending up a little ways from his spear.

“Ah…”

[“Still lacking. To lose focus during battle.”]

The ghoul chuckled, rushing toward the man. Four pairs of metal spikes remained embedded in his hand. If he drove them all into Erich, he would surely die from blood loss.

She had to act before that.

But, her position was poor.

The goddess of battle bestowed a blessing that could imbue divine power into all manner of weapons. Rachel was a being divinely ordained by such a goddess.

Then, what weapon did Rachel currently possess?

Her fists.

Only her fully functional limbs.

My body was wrecked, still reeling from the defeat against the ghoul. But no matter what, I had to save the mage, Erich.

It was a reflex. Someone was in danger, right in front of me, so I’d save them. How we’d started out, what our relationship had been, didn’t matter.

Or maybe, because we were enemies, it mattered even more. At least, the decision of how to treat the mage shouldn’t be in the hands of some measly ghoul.

“Don’t touch him——!!”

With all my strength, I leapt from the altar and charged at the monster at full speed. No time to grab my spear now.

Rachel, also skilled in close-quarters combat, deflected the ghoul’s hand blade and landed a tight-fisted uppercut. *Thwack!* The ghoul’s jaw twisted. Immediately after, I drove a holy power-infused straight punch into its still-healing solar plexus.

*Thud, Thwack!*

The monster, hit by the consecutive blows, teetered unsteadily. Looks like holy power is a poison to demons.

But the ghoul wasn’t just going to stand there.

Having grown by devouring countless clerics, the amalgam’s resilience had reached the limits of its kind. He succeeded in knocking Rachel over in exchange for taking the brunt of her holy power.

“Ugh!”

[“You bothersome b*tch!”]

It’s over for both of us.

In a rage, the amalgam tried to slam an iron spike into Rachel’s forehead as she fell, off-balance.

“———.”

Along with a sacred utterance, a heavy impact resounded against its skull.

[“Kuh-agh!”]

The amalgam’s head snapped around again.

The physical impact wasn’t particularly strong, but the blow, infused with holy power, was incomparably fierce.

I felt it as it hit.

Suddenly, I was so pissed I’d forgotten one of them.

Tiria, who’d been calculating the precise angle for a backstab since a while ago, brought her baculus down on the ghoul’s head. The soul-shaking impact almost made me lose my grip on my own consciousness, but I barely held on.

“Th-that thing… still standing after that hit…?! Kyaaack!”

The amalgam’s arm, flung back, grazed Tiria’s robes, leaving four long, searing gashes from her lower abdomen to just under her chest.

This was the chance.

Raychel moved quickly, snatching the spear lying a little ways off. And at the same time, Erich, who was pinned under the ghoul, pulled out mana stones from his pouch and combined them.

From the front and back, a divine power capable of stealing a soul.

From below, a devastating piercing magic was being prepared.

A flurry of images flashed before the amalgam’s eyes.

*

Everything was going exactly as planned. Except for the Valkyrie getting caught up in it.

When the ghoul had tried to shoot spikes at the Valkyrie, I’d instinctively thrown myself in front of her, taking the hit instead. Ah, that fucking hurt, seriously.

Still, as far as sudden reactions go, it was a good one. The Valkyrie was our only front-line fighter, crucial to both battle and hunts. She can’t be allowed to get hurt if we can avoid it.

The Saintess must’ve thought similarly, giving the Valkyrie time to grab her spear. Looks like she got injured in the process, too.

But the end of the fight was becoming more and more visible.

I just discovered here that the Siren’s Brainstone is activating her abilities. So, I tested it out on a whim. It worked. The ghoul mistook me for the Saintess.

Of course, I know illusion magic is forbidden. Even though it was expressed indirectly through mana stones and it was weak… a taboo’s still a taboo.

What kind of punishment will I face when the fact I used a taboo comes out? If I argue that I had no other choice to survive, will they give me leniency?

I didn’t have the luxury to think about it that deeply right now. Returning to reality, I finished charging the mana stone clusters.

Charging the mana was easy. The ghoul had been storing its mana in the reflective mana stone pillar. A vault, basically. The password was easy to crack, though.

Thanks to that, my mana was overflowing. Right now, I could fire multiple mana stones at maximum output.

So I did.

[“Lightning, gather into a torrent and strike down. Break the lies with the flame of truth, leaving only light in the world.”]

The cluster of mana stones pierced through the ghoul’s legs and shot out of its head. Its body exploded in places, scattering blood. I, who was pinned beneath it, was soaked. I scrambled to my feet.

Next, the Valkyrie slammed her spear blade into the ghoul’s regenerating throat. The Saintess did the same. The divine power, layered and reaching oversaturation, triggered a Sephirah-ignition reaction. White flames erupted.

[“Kuuugh–!!”]

Even an immortal monster couldn’t maintain its form if it was infused with too much divine power. The ghoul’s torso began to crumble.

Finally, with its body reduced to ashes, only the ghoul’s soul remained. What a tenacious b*stard.

[“I, I can’t die like this…”]

But would it even have time to look for a new body?

What a joke.

The Saintess’s baculus sliced the spirit in two.

[“As a demon, I was only trying to do my best for His Majesty… ah.”]

The ghoul’s last words were a spectacle.

[“Five hundred years of devoted work, reduced to nothing.”]

On our way here, the Saintess had said that ghouls weren’t particularly strong monsters, but that they used cunning tactics. Looking at this, I wondered what she meant by ‘not particularly strong,’ but 500 years, huh…

Finally, the mysterious man who had plagued us for a month was gone. We learned a lot of information from his last words. I needed to tell the Saintess about this.

However, before that.

“Ugh.”

“Kuh.”

“Ayaaa…”

Just need to rest a little.

The three of us were in terrible shape. I had a through-and-through wound in my right wrist and lower abdomen where my appendix was, the Saintess had a laceration, and the Valkyrie just looked bad all over.

Thinking about it, more than anything else, being hit by that metal dart was fatal. This, at this rate, I might get tetanus.

“Magician, come over here. And Major, you too.”

Thankfully, the Saintess was using her healing divine power, so I didn’t have to worry about infection. She treated me and the Valkyrie first, then attended to her own injury.

“Major, I told you before, healing divine power isn’t omnipotent. You have to rest well after being treated.”

“And you, Colonel… is that wound, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. My robes are thick, so it wasn’t a deep cut.”

They’re talking to each other again. I sighed.

“We’re out of water. Let’s quickly grab what we need and head down the mountain.”

There might be more clues to escape this island on this mountain, but we can’t search any longer now. We need to go back to base and rest. The sky was already sunset-colored.

I picked up a green-tinged magic stone from amongst the ghoul’s ashes, and then we decided to descend the mountain, the two female soldiers and I. We supported each other, slowly, yet as quickly as possible, going down the mountain.

“…Magician, thank you for earlier.”

The Valkyrie whispered just one phrase, but I couldn’t understand what she meant.