Part III
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After the second communication with Hiroto, Mizuho and Marion were dealing with the demon wolves and gargoyles coming from the front and north of the troop, keeping an eye on the enemy’s large summoned demons.
“Come, Spirit of the Earth. Haaah, be a rock wall!”
As Mizuho raised her voice, the impact wave of the demon wolf pack’s roar was blocked by a rock that appeared from the ground to pierce the sky.
“The clamor that vexes the heavens shall become a clear silence!”
Marion’s chanting ended not long after Mizuho’s earth spirit defense technique was activated.
And then, like a spotlight from the sky, a strong light shone on the dozen or so demon wolves. The dazzling light increased in intensity until the werewolves were no longer visible.
Eventually, the werewolves let out a desperate cry and disappeared, and the light disappeared as well.
During this time, Mizuho used her specialty, fire spell magic, to shoot more than a dozen fire arrows above her head, aiming them at the many gargoyles approaching her troops.
“Go!”
Mizhuo swung her hand at the same time as she shouted, and the fire arrows flew straight into the formation of gargoyles, shooting them down one after another like guided missiles.
They nodded at each other, with Mizuho sneering and Marion smiling.
The coordinated attack and firepower of Mizuho and Marion succeeded in destroying almost all of the enemy demons approaching from the north.
“Whoa–! We made it!”
The soldiers on our side shouted, and morale jumped as the threat of the enemy to the north was gone.
It was the moment when the balance of the battlefield collapsed.
The staff members in the armored car, who were reporting the movements of all the soldiers, looked back at Mathew with joy, and he responded with a big nod.
But Mathew had not forgotten the warning he had received about the arrival of the big demon.
“Stay alert! There is a possibility that the big enemy demon that Mizuho-kun mentioned is coming. Tell all the troops to that effect.”
“Y-Yes! Understood, sir!”
The distracted communications officer notifies Mathew of his instructions.
But …… the battlefield had moved faster than that.
“You can go! We can hold off the enemy to the west!”
“The south side is OK! Use the rocket launcher to knock that filthy gargoyle bastard down!”
As those troops moved, the captains of the sixth, seventh and eighth troops, who were deployed to the east of Mathew’s troops, also went on the offensive.
“We’re coming too!”
The troops deployed on the east side worked in tandem to corner the mid-range attacking demon wolves in a semi-perimeter and successfully lure them to our crossfire point.
Taking this chance, they concentrated their firepower and started to destroy the demon wolves that attacked from the east.
“Increase the firepower! We’ll hit them all at once!”
The attacks from Mizuho and Marion earlier had given Mathew’s escort troops a complete advantage, and their morale was at its peak as they folded up at once.
However, Mizuho, whose complexion changed at this, shouted loudly to Mathew’s soldiers.
“Everyone, hold your ground for now! A powerful enemy is coming! Tientan-san!”
“I know! Shitenji-sama!”
Mizuho told Teintan to ring the alarm bell to warn of the enemy’s big summoned demon, and Teintan also sent out a message to the troops.
However, the soldiers who had fought against the horror of the monstrous enemy were intoxicated by the prospect of victory before their eyes. A sense of openness covered their minds, which seemed to make them more elated and belligerent.
By the time the instructions from Mathew and Tientan had reached the troops, the soldiers had already advanced deep into the forest.
It was then that …….
The soldiers who had been in the forefront of the battle came to their senses and looked at each other when they heard a loud and clearly abnormal earth tremor. They could see that something was approaching them from the east, where the most troops were ahead of them, knocking down huge trees.
“Mizuho-san!”
Marion, whose complexion had changed, turned to look at Mizuho.
“Yeah, that’s not good! Tientan-san, quickly retreat the troops on the east side! Everyone is in danger! We can’t cover or attack with this!”
“I’m already on it! Hey! Raise the signal shot for retreat! Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Divisions, fall back! Hurry up! Fall back! Get back to the main body! I repeat …….”
Mizuho clenched her fists and worried about the safety of the soldiers on her side. She wanted to go help them right away.
But their mission was more than that.
“Gwen-san! Any word from Hiroto?”
“Yes! There’s no word yet! Do you want me to contact him?”
“…… No, thank you. I can’t interfere with his work now.”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
Gwen is also a soldier. She looked nervous, but she held her rifle to the east and lowered the radio pack she was carrying to her feet.
At some distance from Mizuho and the others, Tientan ordered all the troops to fall back, and his ears twitched in response to the word “Hiroto’s work.”
Then he glanced for a moment at the radio set down by Gwen.
Mizuho stared at the east side of the unit.
She didn’t know what it looked like, but she had a firm sense of something with tremendous magical power right now.
Marion, with the same grim expression on her face as Mizuho, stared at the large tree five hundred meters away from the east side of the unit as it fell.
If things continued as they were, the soldiers who had failed to escape would be in danger. However, it was almost time for Hiroto to contact them. For operational reasons, neither Mizuho nor Marion could move at this time. If they move now, there is no telling when they will have the opportunity to attack the enemy’s abilities directly in the future.
From the front on the east side, soldiers’ shouts and screams echoed over the sound of gunfire.
Mizuho and Marion looked in the direction of the screams with a start.
When Mizuho started to walk into the forest to the east, …… Gwen grabbed her arm.
“No, Shitenji-san. I don’t know what the plan is, but you have to wait for Domori-san to contact you, don’t you? If you go to help them now, and there is a chance that you will ruin the mission, then you should be patient! Your mission is to protect General Mathew.”
Mizuho looked at Gwen’s face in surprise. She was looking at her with a serious face.
Gwen is also here with determination. For Gwen, damage to her allies meant the loss of her comrades-in-arms. But sometimes on the battlefield, you have to be clear about your priorities and be ruthless.
Otherwise, even the sacrifices of the soldiers will be in vain.
(So this is an actual battle …….)
It was true that if Mizuho left her post and delayed receiving the message from Hiroto, it was possible that the attack on the enemy would not go well.
The strategy was to start preparing for the activation of the technique at the same time as Hiroto’s contact. Then, they would quickly deliver a powerful blow to the enemy ability user. To put it simply, this was the gist of the plan.
However, if Mizuho’s attack was delayed after the contact, there was a possibility that the enemy would move. Mizuho looked at Gwen and felt her resolve …… , or rather the resolve of the soldiers belonging to Mathew.
“Gwen-san, …….”
Mizuho was able to understand a little more about what it was like to be a soldier on the battlefield.
But she couldn’t help but bite her lip at the weight of her own responsibility and the coldness of the battlefield towards the soldiers.
Marion then looked at the exchange between the two and stepped forward as if she had made up her mind.
“Mizuho-san ……, I’ll go support the retreat.”
“Eh!? Marion.”
“Mizuho-san, you stay here as well and wait for contact from Hiroto-san, and guard General Mathew.”
“But then…!”
“No, in the first place, the key to this operation is you and Mizuho-san. Hiroto-san will locate the enemy ability user, and Mizuho-san will deliver a powerful blow. In the meantime, I will be General Mathew’s bodyguard in case something goes wrong. But for now, we’ve almost eradicated all the enemies except for the one approaching from the east. Besides, with those enemies, Mizuho-san can’t concentrate on the art of attacking the enemy ability user.”
“But it’s too dangerous! We don’t even know what kind of enemy it is, right? And this amount of magic power …… Marion must have felt it too!”
“Fufufu, Mizuho-san was also trying to go alone just now. It’s okay, Mizuho-san, I’m a Rank A as well. I’m not going to be outdone by the demons around here. Besides, ……”
Marion, with her gentle face and strong-willed eyes, turns her head in the direction of where the mighty demon might be.
” This enemy …… fights as if it cares nothing for humanz life. Hiding themselves in a safe place, they attack as if they are mocking us. These people are unacceptable.”
Mizuho looked into Marion’s eyes. And she also gazed back at her.
“‘…… I understand. Marion, please. Cover everyone over there and rescue as many people as you can!”
“Of course. I’ll send everyone back and hold them here until you and Hiroto-san defeat the enemy ability user!”
After saying that, Marion started to run towards the east.
“Shitenji-san, is that okay? To let Shurian-san go …….”
Gwen looked worriedly towards the forest where Marion had disappeared.
“Yes, it’s fine, Gwen-san.”
Mizuho gave Gwen a confident look.
“She’s always been so close to General Mathew that I forgot about it.”
She said and laughed self-mockingly, which was unusual for her.
“Marion is an exorcist and the agency’s pride and joy, a rank A ability user. She is the natural adversary for the enemy demons ……”
Mizuho realized that she had a lot to learn from this request.
Hiroto’s ability to grasp the current situation and his thoroughness and discretion despite his high judgment.
Marion’s calmness and stability in doing what she was instructed to do.
And there was one thing that Mizuho learned more than anything else this time.
It was her own narrow-mindedness, lack of flexibility, and habit of underestimating both allies and enemies.
She truly believes that the greatest harvest was being able to learn about this.
It may also be the first time she was happy to learn about her own shortcomings. In the past, when she saw her own faults, she would have looked away, not acknowledged them, become angry, and deceive herself.
However, she felt that by knowing her flaws, …… and admitting them, she was able to see the scene in front of her more widely and clearly.
Mizuho, who had never been good at socializing with others, had found the opportunity to learn about herself by relating to others on an equal footing.
This girl was now about to go one …… step higher and molt.
Gwen saw the face of a full-fledged adult in Mizuho. A few moments ago, Gwen had felt ashamed that she was being protected by girls of the same age as her own children, much less by them.
But after seeing Mizuho’s expression, she let go of that thought.
If that was the case, Gwen thought, then she would just do the best she could for now. From what Mizuho and Marion had told her, close communication with Hiroto would be the key to this operation.
Gwen thought about this, and was about to go back for the radio she had left on the ground when she shouted out loud.
“Ahh! Shitenji-san! My radio!”
“Gwen-san? What happened?”
“The radio… …… it’s gone!”
“What the !?”[TN: Dafaq, (flips table)]
The radio, which was the hotline between Hiroto and Mizuho and the others, had disappeared in this short time.
Gwen screamed, and Mizuho looked around, but there were no radio devices anywhere.
“I’m sorry! I’m sure I dropped it off here! In the middle of this battle, it’s hard to imagine that someone could have taken it. …… Who the hell could have done this!”
Gwen regretted that it was her mistake. Mizuho was shocked to find that the radio equipment pack was missing, but they were in the middle of a battle. She restrained herself from getting heated and calmly instructed Gwen.
“Gwen-san, do we have any other radios? Can you get one?”
“Y-Yes! The ones on the front line are out right now, but there should be some spare ones somewhere. I think it’s in the last transport vehicle of the unit.”
“……”
Mizuho looked at her watch. Right now, Mizuho and her team are on the north side, the vanguard of the Mathew convoy that stretches north and south. So, considering the time it takes to go to the very back and come back, a considerable time loss is inevitable. Mizuho clenched her fists with an impatient look on her face.
However, at this point, …… Mizuho took a deep breath and exhaled.
If it had been a usual Mizuho, she would have become impatient at this point, and would have taken a shortcut and left it to force. But now, Mizuho was able to pull herself together. Even in the face of unexpected events, she kept a broad perspective and turned her head to think of her next move.
(Don’t be in a hurry. Marion made her own decision for this mission and went to intercept. What would Hiroto do? He would go to ……. And what about me? My role is …….)
“Gwen-san.”
“Yes!”
“Tell Tientan-san to concentrate his forces near General Mathew. We’ve already defeated most of the enemies except for the one Marion went to intercept, so as long as no new enemies are summoned, the troops should be able to defend themselves well.”
“Y-Yes!”
“And do you have a flare gun?”
“Ah, they’re in the truck over there!
“Bring as many as you can.”
“I understand!”
(Hiroto said he would go to the north side. Considering the time that had elapsed since the second contact, there was a good chance that Hiroto had already found the third point and figured out where the enemy was. Though, he might be confused by the fact that Marion and I split into two groups.)
Gwen quickly went to the truck and bringing three flare guns to Mizuho and was surprised to see Mizuho’s back.
It was like a fuzzy glow around her body.
And her lustrous black hair was slowly sweeping, as if it was floating, even though there was no wind. Gwen had no idea that thousands of spirits had gathered around Mizuho and that she was taking control of them.
Mizuho turned towards the forest on the north side of the troop, where Hiroto would be coming from, and spoke to Gwen, who had brought a flare gun, without looking back.
“Gwen-san, did you bring it?”
“Yes!”
“Then keep firing over the northern front. Hiroto should notice this and come to this place where I am in the shortest possible time.”
“Okay, I understand! Please cover your ears, Shitenji-san!”
“Don’t worry about me, just shoot! I will start preparing to attack the enemy ability user in case Hiroto comes at any time!”
Gwen nodded, feeling overwhelmed by hearing Mizuho’s spirited line. She held the signal shell above her head, protected her ears, and put all her strength into the trigger.
At that moment, a tremendous impact sound rushed across the entire battlefield.
That was not Gwen’s flare gun.
The impact sound came from the east side of the unit that Marion was headed for.
Gwen’s attention involuntarily drifted to the east side.
“Ahhh, that one! Shitenji-san! That’s the direction Shurian-san was headed!”
Mizuho shouted at the flustered Gwen.
“Marion is fine! Gwen-san, quickly fire the flare gun!”
“Y-Yes!”
Gwen came to her senses when Mizuho urged her, and immediately fired three signal shells in quick succession into the sky directly in front of Mizuho. When Gwen finished firing, she looked at Mizuho and nodded her head.
Mizuho encouraged the flustered Gwen by encouraging her. She thought this would work for now.
“Thank you very much. Then, Gwen-san, tell Tientan-san to concentrate his forces on General Mathew immediately!”
“I understand! Sitenji-san, …… please be careful!”
Gwen followed Mizuho’s instructions and ran to Teintan’s unit.
And for Mizuho, who stayed behind, had another strange feeling.
(When was the rookie exam? There was a guy in the midst of the vampire fight scolding those who were upset like this. Yeah, I’m sure there was. Someone saved us. …… We were ……)
–Part III end–
It’s a long chapter so bear with the multiple parts.
Anon from discord has compiled volume 2 as epub so if you want to download it, either head to my discord(I have pinned the message in the channel) or download from the link below
https://mega.nz/folder/d941mYaL#EoLnq0kosjI3S7aBkQgdmA
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Thanks for the chapter looks like mizuho is starting to remember
Thanks for the chapter. Looking forward for the next chapter