Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Iris
Beast of Spiritual Chant, Thanatos. Embodiment of “Motion” and “Wrath”.
The entity known as Beast of Spiritual Chant was a kind of summonable familiar that was supposedly available to players of the Bard grouping who had unlocked their secondary class.
However… it was deemed almost impossible to deliberately summon it.
In order to summon one, the Bard player needs to have two hidden stats of their “Curses Song” magic, known as “Motion/Stillness” and “Joy/Rage/Sorrow/Pleasure”, exceed certain values.
…The problem is, such a vague explanation was the only thing we know.
In reality, calculating those values was extremely difficult, and concrete conditions for the summoning had never been established.
Reports of its sudden appearance during story events further complicated predictions… Ultimately, it reached a point where the analysis team of strategy sites gave up on narrowing down the conditions, suggesting, “Maybe it’s really reading players’ emotions?”
“Iris, Reiji, what’s happening…?!”
“Finally caught up… What the heck is that, nya?!”
“A Beast of Spiritual Chants?! It’s my first time ever seeing one!”
Nii-sama, who arrived after us, Milly-san, who arrived a bit late, and even Titilia-san, who seemed slightly excited by the rare phenomenon, were all dumbfounded by the situation.
“What should we do, Iris? We don’t have proper equipment right now.”
“That’s true… but we can’t just let this rampage continue…”
Because Thanatos was manifested and maintained through Kirsche-san’s magic, it would go away once her magic power ran out.
However… if we let that happen, how much harm would it cause to Kirsche-san? And after this was over, how much trauma would remain in her heart?
But right now, we were only equipped with minimal self-defense items. I was practically in casual clothes, Reiji-san and Nii-sama had nothing but a borrowed baton and rapier respectively, and wore no armor except for their clothes, which had some fire resistance.
Milly-san still had her staff, but it was out of the question to attack Kirsche-san with her magic, which had too much of a firepower to use in this situation.
Though, if all we had to do is subdue her… we can do it even with our current getup.
“…We can do this. I think I know how to deal with Thanatos, so please trust me! Milly-san, Tia-san, please summon some covers!”
“Roger, nya!”
“Leave it to me!”
Immediately, the two of them started chanting.
Thanatos had extremely high firepower and a wide attack range. However, as a summoned creature, its top priority was to protect and receive orders the caster.
Seeing how it wasn’t moving an inch away from Kirsche-san, it’s apparent that Thanatos wasn’t being controlled by her.
It would have been a formidable ally if it was on our side, but now, we stood no chance against it on an open field like this garden, without any cover.
“Ice Wall, nya!”
“Stone Wall!”
Giant walls of ice and stone conjured by their magic sprang up one after another around us.
Thanatos, seeing their action as a threat, immediately unleashed a violent firestorm in their direction, and we quickly hid behind the conjured walls for cover.
The fire was so powerful that a few of the massive walls crumbled or melted away.
“…Milly-san, please keep the walls up as much as you can! As for Tia-san…”
“I have magic that can weaken the fire attribute on an area… I just need to move around and set up the barriers!”
“Please do! Reiji-san, I’ll leave her protection to you!”
“Sure. Just… don’t do anything reckless, okay?”
“That, I understand. I simply can’t bear to let Kirsche-san hurt other people… especially her friends.”
“I see… Alright, I’ll be off!”
Satisfied with my response, Reiji-san nodded and left to join Titilia-san.
Another figure approached me in his place…
“As their superior, I must take responsibility for the misconduct of my subordinates. They may have fled, but I will assist to the best of my ability.”
“…And who are you?”
Nii-sama, who had been standing nearby, gave the newcomer a skeptical look.
He’s a boy of small stature, wearing a peculiarly designed mask, and sporting the horns characteristic of the demon race on his forehead.
Looking around… just like he said, the various armed people lying unconscious, probably former players… were now nowhere to be seen.
“I go by Shin here. I’m an Archwizard, of the Wizard grouping. While I may not be as strong as your mage friend here, but I’ll do my best.”
With a slightly complicated expression, he glanced briefly at Milly-san, who was concentrating on her incantation behind him.
Considering that they were both of the same race and class grouping, but Milly-san had a unique class while he only had the standard tertiary class, he may be feeling a bit of a complex toward her. Still, his intention of helping is genuine. In that case…
“Your help is appreciated. Can I entrust you with resistance magic? If the intensity of the flames surrounding us increases, a powerful area attack will follow immediately. Please don’t miss any signs.”
“…! Thank you very much!”
Sensing my implicit trust in him, he happily went to fulfill his role.
In this fiery chaos, having another magic user capable of mitigating damage to everyone was greatly appreciated, especially since Milly-san was busy conjuring more walls. It’s like having another lifeline to hang onto.
Then, Nii-sama suddenly began enchanting me with various defensive skills, such as “Invisible Shield”. Just as I was about to ask why…
“Sorry, but I need to stay out of the fight for a bit.”
“In this situation? What are you up to, Nii-sama?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m a tank, after all, so I’m just doing what a tank does…”
He gestured toward the workshop, which was still untouched by the flames. Leaning against its walls in a sitting position… was Ouka-san.
“…As in, drawing aggro.”
With a sinister-looking smile, his intentions were clear.
Ouka
It happened again.
And I didn’t do anything to stop it.
It was completely identical to the situation on that day, if not worse.
This means I had learned nothing from it. Nothing at all.
I’m such a useless, worthless person, aren’t I?
Whilst sinking into self-loathing… I suddenly felt a warm sensation on my cheek.
As I lifted my head, I saw a prince with handsome face, touching my bruised cheek with his hand enveloped by a faint green light.
“You got hit pretty hard. Did it hurt?”
“Is this… healing magic?”
My cheek, swollen from the punch earlier, began to feel less painful when touched by the light in his hand.
“I picked it up recently. To be honest, it’s just some basic stuff. The effect is nowhere close to hers.”
While saying that, the prince glanced at the girl diligently giving instructions behind him with a gentle gaze.
The princess named Iris… the delicate, petite, fragile-looking, seemingly helpless, and not at all strong-looking girl, fearlessly faced the ferocity before her, darting between the gaps of ice walls, firing spears of light, and boldly giving orders to those around her.
It should have been absurd to see an unprotected girl amidst the flaming battlefield, but she did it so radiantly that I couldn’t find anything wrong with that.
…I wished I could be like that girl and her friends.
Even though they’d been through much tougher times than me, why could they still be so strong? A mix of admiration and jealousy welled up inside me, and tears of self-pity began to trickle down.
“…Why are you still sitting here? Hurry up and stand, we’ve got to stop your sister.”
With a stern tone, the prince abruptly pulled me up.
But, I…
“…I can’t. I didn’t do anything again. I failed to save her again. I’m simply not as strong as you guys!”
“…What?”
“I have no rights to call myself her sister! I’ve always been a-”
Suddenly, he gripped on my neck and lifted my body up, forcing me to stand. And then…
SLAP
A dry sound echoed in my ear.
It was only after the pain and heat on my cheek registered that I realized he had just slapped me in the face.
“We’ve never been strong! None of us have, even Iris…!”
“Eh…?”
What reflected in his eyes… was unmistakably fiery anger.
However, that anger quickly dissipated, replaced by…
“…To hear such nonsense coming from you, I’m disappointed.”
Cold, hard disappointment.
His attitude… made my blood boil with anger.
“Then what do you want me to do?! Time and time again, it was me who put her into danger?! What rights do I have to call myself her sister…?!”
“Even so!”
The prince… the man named Saul put even more strength into his arms, and his handsome visage drew so close to me that I could feel his breath on my face.
His eyes were burning with renewed anger, sending shivers of fear down my spine.
“If she’s important to you, then no matter how many times you fail or how many times you get discouraged, you should still reach out as many times as it takes! Instead of making excuses about how it won’t work out, how about you find something you can do?!”
His stern tone made me forget my anger and choke on my words.
He was, without a doubt, genuinely angry at me.
“…I’ve said my piece, now it’s all up to you.”
With that, he roughly let go of me and turned on his heel.
But as he left, he glanced back at me once more…
“…One last thing I want you to know is, if you give up here, then I truly have nothing left to say.”
He spat out those words, then turned and dashed into the sea of flames before me.
I couldn’t retort. At all.
Even though I wanted to get back at him, every word got stuck at my throat, and I couldn’t say anything.
I knew why.
Because everything he said was right.
Still…
“Am I… just a joke to you…?!”
It wasn’t logical, neither was it reasonable.
I knew my emotions are getting the better of me… but did he really have to slap me in the face and berate me like that?
Anger welled up within me again, late but strong.
Then, what should I do to get back at that guy?
Without a second thought, I rushed into my workshop, into my room in the back, and stood in front of the wall where my spear hung.
“You want me to do something?! Fine, just you wait and see…!”
Driven by anger, I reached out for the spear… before my hand froze as if blocked by an invisible barrier.
It’s your fault.
It’s your fault.
It’syourfaultit’syourfaultit’syourfault…
“SHUT…UP!!”
With all my might, I slammed my forehead against the wall, as if to silence the accusing voices in my mind.
My brain rattled, and a slick liquid trickled down my nose… but still, the voices that had been tormenting me in my mind fell silent.
Resolving myself, I grabbed the spear’s handle, shaking off any hesitation.
Instantly, a wave of intense nausea swept over me, but… the anger that had surged up within me ignited a fire, spreading warmth throughout every corner of my being.
Yeah, you’re completely right. But…!
I took a deep breath.
Then, I poured all my thoughts to it and exhaled in one go.
“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU JERK?! YOU AREN’T MY FATHER!”
In a fit of rage, I tore my beloved spear from the shelf and rushed out…
Iris
“Sorry for keeping you waiting. I’m rejoining the fight from here on.”
Nii-sama came back with a refreshed expression on his face, as if he had finished what needed to be done.
Taking cover behind an ice wall, I glared at him.
I’d witnessed everything leading up to Ouka-san rushing into her workshop.
“Nii-sama, did you really have to…”
“Hey, as long as it works.”
Said Nii-sama as he strolled up to me.
His gaze soon turned to Thanatos on the opposite side of the wall… along with Kirsche-san next to it.
Likewise, the giant bird’s eyes firmly locked onto Nii-sama, and even now, from beyond the ice wall where I was hiding, the sound of another ice wall being shattered by the raging flames could be heard.
Despite the rampaging flames, there had been no spread of the fire towards the direction of Ouka-san’s workshop. It seemed that even though Kirsche-san wasn’t in control, her subconscious desire to protect Ouka-san hadn’t changed.
Therefore… her anger was focused squarely on Nii-sama, who had raised his hand against Ouka-san.
“I’m shocked. To think that you used Ouka-san to gain Thanatos’ attention…”
“Well, you know, it was actually an afterthought when I gave that person a scolding… It’s beyond my expectations.”
Nii-sama nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
“…Are you really okay with doing that?”
“What are you talking about…?”
My words slipped out, catching Nii-sama off guard. But I myself didn’t know what I was referring to, so I couldn’t pursue it further.
“Anyway, we still have to deal with the problem at hand. Iris, can you still use Divine Spear?”
“I have a lot of magic power left, but most attacks aimed at Kirsche-san didn’t go through…”
Although I had been finding openings to launch magic strikes, most of them had been intercepted by the flames released by Thanatos, so my attacks had little to no effects.
“Then, Iris, you keep firing Divine Spear while I try to divert Thanatos’ attention. It’s the best way to do it in this situation.”
My Divine Spear was a non-lethal magic attack that doesn’t even inflict injuries on the opponent. It only depletes magic power, so it’s the only way we can incapacitate Kirsche-san and take out Thanatos without causing her any harm.
Even if there’s a risk of overdoing it and depleting her magic power, I have a means to replenish it with Mana Transfer.
In other words, for this battle, I was the only attacker.
The enemy’s attention was fixated on Nii-sama, and it no longer paid any attention to me. It was indeed a good strategy, however…!
“…We’ll definitely talk about what you did later!”
“Yeah, yeah. More importantly, don’t get too caught up in your unfamiliar attacker role and forget about that!”
“I know!”
With that, I moved along the wall, away from Nii-sama who was being targeted, and started chanting Divine Spear.
“…Kirsche-san, I’ll definitely stop you!”
Emerging from the wall, I released the spear of light, piercing through the flames as it soared…
APM - Translation 