Volume 10 Chapter 14 The Hound And Its Master
The storm had dissipated in the distance. The sea was calm, with gentle waves, like a lake's surface, quietly spreading its ripples.
"...Clay-kun won, didn't he...!"
Ice gazed at the giant's figure standing at the center of the sea, muttering to herself. Then, "I won't lose either, I'll do my best, yeah...!" she encouraged herself.
The one pouring cold water on Ice's enthusiasm was Rollo, whom Ice had saved.
"Ice-sama~, you're saying that, but what about this situation, huh~♡."
Ice glared at Rollo. Rollo then said "Kyaa~ scary~♡" and clung to Ice's back, wrapping her arms around her.
"Not now, we can't afford to do that, right...?"
"Y-yes, s-sorry... Hehe..."
"Seriously..."
Ice let out a deep sigh and forgave Rollo with just those words of apology.
As a Demon, Rollo was surprisingly skilled at handling situations and had more charm than expected, according to Ice's recent evaluation.
Rollo was learning the range of communication allowed with humans. At the very least, extreme actions like betrayal or attacks had decreased significantly lately.
Rollo was surprisingly clever, and even if not, had the intelligence to manipulate situations with words alone.
So Ice said to Rollo,
"Rollo, seriously. If you really like Wade-kun, lend me your power, okay?"
"To get out of this situation somehow~?"
"Yeah... If we don't do something about that person here, something bad will definitely happen somewhere... I think so, that's why."
"Okay~♡, I mean, if we don't do something, Rollo might not be able to return safely either~."
Rollo laughed, "Hehe...~", but honestly, there was nothing to laugh about in this situation.
In this―――small, empty house's attic, the two of them were hiding from the strange creature called "Hounds", crouched together.
'*△〇■×?' '*△〇■×, *△〇■×*△〇■×〇■×*' '〇■×*'
That eerie, grotesque creature was made by randomly attaching human body parts. It was not only outside, but also lurking around the empty house's floor below.
Their goal was to find and kill Ice and Rollo, who were their enemies.To understand how they got into this situation, let's go back in time by a few minutes.
Ice, who was blown away by Poseidon's storm and destroyed the empty house, managed to escape by summoning a giant ice bird and riding on it.
"...Huh?"
Ice slid down the ice bird and picked up the other fallen comrades. "That was close~!" Rollo, the demon girl who often acted with her, stood up.
"Ah, Ice-sama saved me~ Thank you~!"
"...Unexpected, isn't it? Rollo-chan, you're saying thanks and all..."
"You're saying things to 'master' and stuff, right~? That's how I learned that humans are like that~. But when I use it outside, I get carried away...~"
Rollo laughed, and Ice forced a smile, agreeing with her, "Yeah, that's right. If you're going to be with humans, it's better to keep that trait in check, okay?" and continued to fly the ice bird.
Poseidon was an extremely powerful god. It's better to avoid him as much as possible.
At least, Ice, who failed to summon, shouldn't burden the other members.
"..."
There were many thoughts about Ice's failed summoning. What was that thing that was summoned, which looked just like her? What happened to Hel?
But thinking about that now wasn't the time. Ice shook her head and thought about what to do next.
"I'll just observe Toxy-chan's situation and pass through, and then return... I'm a risk just by being on the battlefield, so I'll try to leave as soon as possible..."
"Ice-sama, wait~!"
"Eh...? Kyaa!"
The moment she regained her consciousness, the ice bird had collided with something. What was it? Before she could think, the ice bird, Ice, and Rollo were falling while entangled.
"――――"
What did they collide with? No, that can wait. Ice created another ice bird, hugged Rollo, and had her get on it, aiming for a soft landing.
So, Ice and the others managed to land on the ground without falling. However, they couldn't get their bearings right, and with the Ice Bird's landing, they ended up rolling on the ground.
"Peh, peh! Uwe, I ate too much snow~..."
"Nggu, puha. Rollo-chan, are you okay...?"
"I'm okay~. Is Ice-sama okay too~?"
"Yeah... Uh, yeah."
The two of them, lightly buried in the snow, stood up while brushing off the snow. In the process, they noticed the person standing in front of them a little late.
That person was an elderly gentleman wearing a suit and a middle-creased hat.
"Is everyone all right? Young ladies, that was quite an intense earthquake, wasn't it? Did you escape from over there?"
Ice knew that characteristic. He was the one who had been warned about, the person who wouldn't hesitate to take drastic measures when gathering demons on the roadside, Dantalion.
Ice, while maintaining her composure, replied.
"Yes, yes... We're fine, thank you. We apologize for the trouble."
Even in the midst of this commotion, Ice didn't want to reveal her true nature, so she quickly dissolved the Ice Bird that had soft-landed them and erased it.
However, it seemed that hiding the evidence was pointless.
"By the way... Are you two the owners of this Ice Bird? My Hounds - especially the ones that can fly――they crashed into this thing that you ladies are riding on, or so I've heard."
Dantalion was holding the cut-off wingtip of the Ice Bird in his hand. Behind him, a strange creature with wing-like protrusions emerged from the shadows.
'*△〇■×'
"Yes, that's right. It hurt, didn't it, Britney? By the way, young ladies, I apologize for asking again, but... Did your soldiers kidnap the people on the roadside the other day?"
"..."
No good, I think. No matter what Ice says, Dantalion has already made up his mind. Moreover, that conviction is based on fact. In that case...
"If that's true... What do you plan to do?"
"No, nothing. It's not a big deal."
Dantalion, with a gentle old man-like smile, said.
"I just catch the bad guys and make them good guys by adding them to the Hounds."
"Ice Create!"
With Ice's chant, which didn't even take a breath, over ten ice soldiers were created at once. At the same time, the Hounds that emerged from behind Dantalion suddenly attacked the ice soldiers.
"Let's run, Rollo-chan...!"
"Ahaha~, we've been found out, Ice-sama~... Nihihi~!"
Ice ran at full speed, accompanied by Rollo.
Close combat is not Ice's forte. Ice's true strength lies in setting up a distant formation, using brains and magic to corner the enemy. That's Ice's real power.
In that sense, just being in the enemy's camp already means being at a disadvantage.
The reason Ice's evil god summoning ritual had many people was because of that.
Ice is not a direct combat force. Due to the circumstances of the god-slaying ritual, Ice just had to be there.
Ice thinks about asking for help, but everyone is desperate right now. It's not possible to burden them.
Besides, Ice has been forced to come to this hellish place alone, unable to land a decisive blow on Sieg.
"...!"
Ice doesn't think that judgment is wrong. Ice doesn't think so, and won't let others think so either. With that determination, Ice is facing this situation.
So, Ice won't call for help. Ice won't lose and make others regret it. That's the one thing Ice can't forgive themselves for.
"Ice-sama~ Isn't that building sturdy and perfect for hiding~?"
"Rollo-chan, thank you... Let's go there...!"
While knowing Rollo's intentions, Ice checked their rear. The ice soldiers were still fighting bravely in the unfavorable battle.
With enough time to hide, the two of them dashed into the empty house.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)