As we all stand here looking perplexed, one of the beast people stands up and speaks while still bowing.
“Miss Elf, I apologize for the hostile behavior!”
The other beast people follow, and also get up and bow.
But as their attention falls on Chris, she looks towards Rurika and Sera like she’s asking for help. Apparently she has no idea what’s going on.
“Did something happen while you were in the Beast Kingdom?”
I ask, but she says that while they did talk to some people there, she doesn’t recognize any of the ones in front of us.
Rurika is also tilting her head, seemingly just as confused.
“I’m sorry. Our people were saved by elves long ago… Of course, that was before I was born, but that respect has been passed down through generations. And those pendants too. Are you involved in this?”
“…Yes. We are here to save someone we know.”
“I see. We were surprised when this young lady suddenly appeared in front of us, but we were going to talk to her when we saw the pendant. But she really threw us for a loop.”
So they tried to talk to her, but Hikari thought they were trying to capture her and evaded them.
“And why did you infiltrate like that?”
“Ah, the entrance was blocked by demons, and we also saw guards from the capital, so we figured we weren’t going to get in through normal means.”
“I see. But still, we would have no way to stop someone from infiltrating like that. Was it magic that made you all appear all of a sudden?”
“This is a skill. And at the very least, I’ve never seen another human use it.”
Although demons do use it.
“Can you tell us the present situation?”
I want to hurry, but I think it’s best if we know what’s going on inside.
And they tell us that the central section is already under their control, although the knights and guards resisted.
“They weren’t a match for us. In fact, they were disappointingly weak.”
The beast person says, complaining about not being able to fight at full power.
Do a lot of beast people like to fight?
“We are currently assaulting the castle, aside from some who stayed behind. We don’t know the enemy’s numbers, but with the elite unit led by End, along with the demons, it’s only a matter of time until the castle falls.”
Where does that confidence come from? Are they all that strong, starting with this End?
Also the demons are feared for their power, and they really are strong, but I’m sure they can’t display their full power because of the barrier.
Maybe they don’t know that.
“All right. We are here to save someone being held captive in the castle. So… Can we go?”
“Very well, but we can’t move from here. I’m sure you will be fine if the demons deemed you worthy, but be careful in there!”
We run towards the castle, and one of the beast people in that group comes along.
“Think of me as someone who’s here to explain things to the others if we come across other groups.”
Is what he says.
We actually do come across a few groups of beast people along the way, and we do save quite a bit of time because he explains things to every one of them.
“Be careful!”
We part ways when we reach the castle’s gate.
I can tell by looking at it and how terribly destroyed it is that there was fierce resistance.
The gate is broken, the walls supporting it are destroyed, and there are pieces all over. I see big chunks of it inside too, and crushed corpses.
“It’s like it was hit directly by a missile.”
Says Naoto, sounding kind of taken aback.
Yes, it’s like something I used to see on TV. Sometimes I would see half destroyed buildings and other terrible scenes that were unthinkable in a peaceful country, and it didn’t feel real to me.
But in this world, it’s easy for people to cause that sort of destruction with the power of magic. In fact, high ranking, strong monsters can probably do that with their bodies alone.
“Let’s go.”
Passing through this gate would usually lead us to a neatly taken care of garden, along with furnishings like stone statues, but the marks of destruction are clear here too.
Near a destroyed statue, I see people on the ground, wearing armor. It doesn’t look like they’re breathing.
Among them there are chunks of flesh that have lost their original shape, and I see Naoto grabbing and pressing his mouth.
“A-are you all right?”
He asks me.
“I’ve seen my fair share.”
I respond, and he looks at me like it’s unbelievable.
In my case, it was more monsters than people’s corpses, but I’ve gotten used to it. I guess the similarity between humanoid monsters and people has helped numb me to it too.
But still, it takes a whole different kind of resolve to kill people, compared to killing monsters. That might be an instinctual thing.
In our world, killing people was not only a crime, but a taboo that should be avoided.
“Well then Naoto, lead the way.”
Naoto leads us to the rooms they were given here in the castle first.
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Thanks for the treat.