BXBX NOVEL Chapter 8.2: World Saviour (2)
Vol. 1 - Chapter 8.2: World Saviour (2)
A humming sound made Nephira look around her room.
(Eh. Wait, what\'s that?)
The sound did not stop. She thought maybe a small winged insect had gotten into the room, but it wasn\'t that. The sound was coming from a crystal ball Serphiano had left as a souvenir when she visited the other day.
Nephira approached the crystal ball suspiciously. A moment later, the face of Serphiano, the chief advisor to the Demon Lord Army, appeared in the crystal ball.
"zzt---Gree---zzt---tings. Good morn---zzt---ing."
(Kyaa!?)
Inside the crystal ball, Serphiano was smiling.
"Not surprised at all. As expected of Nephira."
(Y--You surprised the HECK out of ME!)
Both of Nephira\'s hearts were pounding rapidly. Even so, Nephira\'s surprise never showed on her face. As the commander of the Thunder-Lance Charge, Nephira had mastered the art of keeping her emotions from showing on her face.
"At any rate Dame Serphiano. Are you not feeling a little cramped? To be inside such a small crystal?"
"Fu-fufu. It is as if we are having a conversation face-to-face, isn\'t it? However, I am far away from there. I\'m currently in the Imperial Capital."
"What! How is that possible?"
"This is a magical tool that I spent many years developing. It uses magic power to communicate with distant places using this crystal ball as a medium."
"To invent such a magical tool! As expected from Dame Serphiano!"
"Well, it consumes a lot of magic power, so I can\'t use it for long."
Although she was impressed by the genius of Serphiano, Nephira\'s face instantly tightened up. The fact that she even used such a magical tool to contact her meant that it must have been an urgent matter.
Serphiano must have seen Nephira\'s serious face through her crystal ball. She also spoke with an earnest expression.
"In the Kaluambaru area, remnants of the Imperial Army have appeared."
Kaluambaru was a cold region located far north of Leirune. After the Beast King\'s Oni Squad of the Demon\'s Lord Army destroyed the nation of Krevalun, they ruled those lands.
Feeling a bad premonition, Nephira hastened the conversation.
"And then?"
"The rebel army that appeared was suppressed by the Beast King\'s Oni Squad of the Demon Lord\'s Army."
(Well, that\'s natural. How could the martial-oriented Beast\'s King Oni Squad be defeated? I\'m ashamed of being worried about them.)
She was relieved. Even so, Serphiano\'s face in the crystal ball was somber.
"However, the Beast King\'s Oni Squad of the Demon Lord\'s Army was also annihilated."
"...Huh?"
"Raigus, the commander of the Beast King\'s Oni Squad, was killed while fighting against the enemy."
(He was defeated by a human? That Raigus? That can\'t be!)
"It\'s not just Kaluambaru. Similar reports are coming in from the troops of the Demon Lord\'s Army stationed throughout the region."
The Demon Lord\'s army should be conquering the world smoothly. And yet, here they were, being hindered and facing the humans\' counterattack.
"Still, it\'s a mystery. How is it that humans with so much power have only just begun appearing now?..."
(That\'s RIGHT!! If they had such power, why didn\'t they use it in the last major war!?)
Apparently, even the genius Serphiano could not figure out why. Nephira let out a small sigh.
"I cannot leave the Imperial City at this time. So I am using the crystal ball to contact each location."
The gaze of Serphiano\'s three eyes pierced Nephira.
"Nephira. Do not let your guard down."
"I understand."
(Is something on the move? Something big enough to change the world? But...)
Nephira furrowed her brow and bit her lip. After a while, Serphiano\'s expression relaxed a little.
"All this gloomy talk... It\'s depressing, isn\'t it?... I know. How is Suzuki doing these days?"
"Ah. He\'s doing fine."
"That\'s great!"
Serphiano seemed happy to talk about Suzuki. Nephira, too, seems to have lost her gloomy mood and spoke in a relaxed manner.
"And he\'s getting higher and higher in rank, you know?"
"Eh---! That\'s great---!"
"Fufufu. That\'s RIGHT! He has already become a dependable familiar that\'s highly ranked even within the Thunder-Lance Charge!"
"Whoa---, that\'s nice---! I\'m jealous---!"
"Well, to be honest, I\'m also very proud of him!" Nephira spoke, raising her nose from pride.
"How is it? Has there been any... progress?"
"Huh? Progress, you say?"
"Because, you know, right? You guys live together, right?"
"What in hell has that anything to do?"
"I mean, I mean---! Please don\'t flip out on me okay---? I\'m talking about a relationship between a man and a woman!"
"Wha!? M-Me and Suzuki are not like that!!"
"Eh---? For real---?"
After a little hesitation, Nephira boldly declared.
"A--Actually, the other day... Suzuki... gave me, a kiss."
"EEH---! Lies---!! It has gotten that far---!? Oh boy---!!"
"Ah! I\'d say there is still HOPE! Hope!"
"No, no---!! Eh---!! Oh boy!!"
Serphiano looked very jealous. A tremendous sense of superiority swept over Nephira. That\'s right! She was kissed by such a cute little Suzuki! Oh boy---!
The two of them happily chatted, forgetting about the time. But,
"...Gobyu"
On the other side of the crystal ball, Serphiano suddenly vomited blood from her mouth. Blood droplets adhered to the crystal ball.
"Dame Serphiano!?"
Startled, Nephira shouted. Serphiano wiped the crystal ball and her mouth in agony with a napkin.
"I-If you communicate with the crystal ball for too long, your magic power will decrease and your body will suffer. And the sender loses more magic than the receiver. Gobyu-byu."
"Then, then let\'s stop talking!"
"Right. I\'m afraid that when it comes to Suzuki, the conversation becomes lengthy-byu."
"Lengthy-byu!? You are already even ending phrases by vomiting blood!?"
"Yes. Then, I\'m going to hang up now. I\'ll talk to you later Gobyu-byu and byu."
Serphiano\'s figure disappeared from the crystal ball. Nephira stared at the dimmed crystal ball in worry.
(I\'m hopeless. I got carried away and made the chit-chat on the crystal ball too long. Eh, uhm, what was it? That\'s right. Remnants of the Imperial Army.)
She\'d have to strengthen the town\'s security. Then, the biggest concern would be Suzuki\'s territory. If anything should happen to Suzuki, it would be a disaster. Perhaps she should place a few more Silver-rank soldiers around Suzuki.
However, she was the commander of the Thunder-Lance Charge. Meru and Kiru are her right-hand demons. Neither of them should be away from the Castle of Syness for long periods of time.
(If that\'s the case, she\'s the right person for the job.)
Do you want more free chapters? CHALLENGES are active. You can participate by leaving us either a rating or a review on Novel Updates (or better yet both). Every time we clear one of the challenges an extra free chapter will be released. Happy reviewing.
