Time rewound slightly.
Just as the rear of the Frizziore Army had begun to clash with Schurus’s cavalry and the White Rose Knight Order at the front engaged the ambush unit led by Blatta, Rei headed toward the grove along the highway astride Seto. His objective, naturally, was to strike the ambush unit lurking within the trees.
Personally, Rei would have preferred to fight the main ambush force. Rhodos was there—his consciousness manipulated, or perhaps stolen entirely—and Rei could not simply abandon him, not with his debt of gratitude and friendship toward Elk.
However, Frizziore had specifically requested Rei handle the ambushers hiding in the grove. He understood the tactical logic; his and Seto’s high individual combat prowess made them ideally suited for rooting out enemies in the dense woods. Even so, had Rei insisted, he likely could have forced an engagement with the main unit where Rhodos waited.
He refrained only because he recognized his duty as a guard for the First Princess Faction—or rather, the Frizziore Army. If he had acted independently out of selfishness and caused harm to the army or Frizziore herself, it would have been a catastrophic blow to the reputations of Theoreme, who had requested his help, and Vihera, who had recommended him based on her faith in his abilities.
"Besides... I have things I need to do on this end, too."
"Guruu?"
Seto turned its head and purred at Rei, who had murmured from its back. Seto seemed to be asking what was wrong, but Rei simply stroked its neck and told the Gryphon it was nothing.
"More importantly, Seto, you know our role, right?"
"Guruuu!"
Seto purred a confident affirmative. Rei spoke again, just to be certain.
"Good. Our job is to clean out the ambush unit hiding in the grove. As you found when we scouted earlier, the ones in the woods are trying to blend into the landscape. Don't let them escape your sight... though I suppose I don't need to tell you that."
"Gururururuuu!"
After all, it had been Seto who discovered the ambush unit before Rei had. Since that was the case, Rei truly didn't need to remind it.
Still... Seto's senses seem even sharper than before, Rei mused. He wondered why, but the possible reasons were few. Is it because it lived alone outside the Imperial Capital for a few days? Perhaps its senses were naturally honed by the need to hunt for itself. ...Yeah, considering Seto is a Gryphon, that’s perfectly plausible.
While considering this, Rei decided it would be more efficient to wipe out the hidden enemies in a single blow rather than finding and defeating them one by one.
"They're unlucky to be hiding in the forest. Fortunately, it's autumn, and the air is dry. Wiping them all out in one go will be easy."
"Gurururuu?"
Rei nodded to Seto, who purred as if asking for confirmation. He gripped his Death Scythe and began to chant.
"O fire, manifest destruction as one of your true forms; you are the one that burns all, wipes all away, and brings about annihilation. Bring forth great destruction, and with it, become the sacrifice for a new rebirth."
As the incantation finished, a fireball formed on the Death Scythe's blade. Only a single orb, but the heat packed into it was astronomical thanks to Rei's magic power.
"Scorching Hellfire!"
The Death Scythe swung as the spell was completed. The released fireball flew straight toward the grove beneath them.
"...Hm? What happened?"
Several seconds ticked by after the fireball reached the grove, yet nothing happened. Rei tilted his head in confusion. Normally, the compressed flame should have exploded outward by now, but there was only silence.
"Guruu?"
Seto was equally baffled. Rei waited in the air for about ten more seconds, but when the spell still failed to trigger, his suspicion turned into genuine concern. He directed Seto to descend toward the ground.
Then, just as they neared the trees...
"?! Seto!"
"Guruuu!"
Sensing danger from Rei's voice alone, Seto immediately flapped its wings and banked hard toward the sky. An instant later, something pierced the space Seto had occupied only a breath before.
Rei turned his gaze to find the source of the projectile, and there he saw a familiar figure. Familiar was an understatement—it was Rhodos, whom he had seen just a short while ago. However, his appearance had changed drastically. He was covered in severe burns across his face and body, but the sight that followed was abnormal. The burn marks were rapidly healing at a visible rate. It was a spectacle of restoration rather than simple healing.
"What is going on? Those burns were likely from my magic just now... but even so, the healing speed is too fast. He's definitely using some kind of magic item."
Rei stared down from Seto's back, deep in thought.
"Gurururuu!"
Seto's cry brought him back to reality. It was a cry filled with the conviction that they should act rather than think. By that time, however, Rhodos had already vanished from their sight.
"You're right. Since Rhodos was kind enough to come to us, we might as well take advantage of our luck. Seto, I'm counting on you."
"Gururururuuu!"
Seto gave a loud cry and plummeted toward the grove. Naturally, since magic had been used, the ambush unit waiting in the trees had noticed the presence of Rei and Seto in the sky.
"Dammit, is it impossible to stay hidden even after all this?! That cursed Gryphon!" the ambush platoon leader spat venomously. He had operated under the assumption that they wouldn't be found if they hid this well, and having his plan seen through so easily infuriated him. The fact that the observer was an A-Rank monster Gryphon offered no consolation.
"Captain, what should we do? If we're going to run, we should do it now..."
"You idiot! Do you think we can escape a flying opponent that easily? It's impossible. All we can do now is stay hidden and pray Crimson doesn't find us, or—"
Slash!
Just as the captain spoke, a flying slash—a Flying Slash—rained down from above. It sliced through the branches and severed the arm of one of the ambushers.
"Eh? This... my arm... AAAAAAAAH!"
The man didn't understand what had happened at first, but the instant he realized his arm was gone, the agony set in. The soldier screamed, unable to endure the pain, but the captain merely clicked his tongue. They were currently in hiding. They didn't know when they might be discovered, so why was the fool going out of his way to make noise?
The captain instantly severed his subordinate's neck with his longsword to silence him, then leaped from his position to hide in a thicket. In his place, something of massive weight fell from the sky. He understood what it was without thinking. The most terrifying existence on this battlefield—an entity with human-surpassing five senses that could fly.
Dammit, what is that Rhodos guy doing?!
While screaming internally, the captain’s eyes never left the pair that had dropped from above. For now, he had succeeded in hiding in the thicket just before they landed, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he was found. To escape, he had to distract them, but there was no one left capable of doing so. Or rather, he was the only one left.
No way. There's no way I can win against an alias holder monster like that. The others have probably run off already. I have to trick my way out of this...
The man desperately brainstormed a way out. However, despite his knowledge of Seto's sharp senses, the fact that he believed he could remain hidden was a testament to the panic induced by Rei and Seto’s sudden descent.
"Guruu."
"Yeah, I know. ...Now then, to the one hiding over there. I'd appreciate it if you'd come out."
Rei murmured as he pointed the tip of the Death Scythe directly at the thicket.
?!
The man gasped, finally realizing he had been discovered, yet he was paralyzed. He knew that if he tried to run, he would be cut down from behind by that flying slash, but coming out was equally unthinkable. He could only remain frozen in the thicket, hoping for a miracle while his legs refused to move.
Just then, a rustling sound came as something pushed straight through the grove. The figure appeared from the opposite direction of the hidden captain and lunged forward, thrusting out a longsword with incredible speed.
Rei recognized the longsword thrust. He had descended specifically looking for this person, so he welcomed the challenge and blocked the blade with his Death Scythe.
A high-pitched metallic clang echoed through the trees. Rei showed a slight look of surprise.
"I see, a Magic Sword. This is the Imperial Capital, the land of alchemy, after all. It wouldn't be hard for the First Prince to prepare one. ...Even so, you've improved quite a bit in this short time, haven't you?"
"..."
Rhodos said nothing, merely directing an expressionless gaze toward Rei. Noticing that the burn marks had completely vanished, Rei wondered if the restoration ability was the cause, or perhaps something that negated his flames entirely.
Regardless, keeping his Death Scythe ready, Rei called out to Seto.
"Seto, leave Rhodos to me. You handle the ambush unit in this grove."
"Guruu?"
Seto purred as if asking if he was okay, to which Rei nodded. I could leave Rhodos to Seto, but their personalities are a terrible match.
The bad blood between Seto and Rhodos likely stemmed from their poor first meeting. Rhodos hadn't liked his mother showing interest in Rei, and he had treated Seto with hostility as a result. Seto, in turn, hadn't warmed up to someone who was aggressive toward Rei. It was rare for the usually friendly Seto to overtly dislike anyone this much.
"Well, leave this to me. Besides, it seems he's specifically asking for me. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Guruu!"
Seto gave a short cry, and as if timed perfectly, the two began to move. First, Seto kicked off the ground and lunged toward a nearby thicket. It had already confirmed a presence there through its sense of smell and hearing. The strike from its foreleg as it passed didn't even give the ambush platoon leader time to realize what happened before his head was crushed.
With the captain as the first victim, Seto ran through the grove, finding ambushers hidden in thickets, behind trees, up in branches, and in the shadows of rocks. It terminated their lives with strikes from its forelegs, beak, and hind legs.
Moving through the woods without slowing down, weaving through the trees while calmly taking lives, Seto displayed the true worth of an A-Rank monster. The supple movements unique to felines hunted the soldiers who were supposed to be the ones doing the ambushing.
Furthermore, since there was no risk of being seen from outside the grove, Seto utilized skills that were difficult to detect, such as Optical Camouflage, Magic Eye of Shock, and Size Change. For the ambush unit, it was a waking nightmare.
"Gurururururuuu!"
Being with Rei after their time apart had put Seto in high spirits, making it even more aggressive and ferocious. Some tried to run, but no matter how well-trained a soldier might be, an ordinary human could never match the physical ability of a Gryphon. The soldiers who tried to flee didn't even make it out of the woods before they were hunted down.
Screams and roars rose continuously from within the grove, but they grew fewer as the soldiers fell one after another. And then...
"U-Uwaaaaaah! Don't come, stay awaaaaaay!"
The last person hiding in the grove screamed as he tried to flee. Before he could even realize he was the final survivor of the ambush unit, a blow from a foreleg struck from behind, crushing his head and extinguishing his flame of life.