Swamp Girl! Chapter 43

Author’s Notes
While I support fantasy, it took me 44 chapters to get to the first real fight… — !

Ma.s.sacre Maddox.

That’s what they called him.
Probably the most infamous adventurer alive today. My pick hands down, at least.

Famous adventurers got nicknames.

Historically, they were derived from appearance, like ‘Hatchet’, or ‘One-Eye’.
Or maybe from the adventurer’s actions, like ‘Lucky’, or ‘Immortal’.

Usually it was a token of respect for accomplished adventurers. And anybody could get the ball rolling.

A nickname. Basically, you could even call them a guaranteed mark of true strength.

Of course, there was an endless parade of self-proclaimed ‘famous adventurers’.
But their names would never be the subject of barroom discussion. Only the ones backed up with undeniable achievement left an impression in people’s minds.

And among those, only one carried a special distinction: the ominous name of ‘Ma.s.sacre Maddox’.

People said that he’d single-handedly wiped out a goblin colony, trolls included;  annihilated a group of ogres that normally would’ve taken over fifty people to defeat; and so on. You’d always find unbelievable tales of might surrounding that name.

If that was all, I would’ve thought, ‘Whaddaya know, there are guys like that in the world too,’ the end. After all, it was tavern gossip. Even though I only believed half of what I heard, I didn’t have any problem with it.

But that [Ma.s.sacre Maddox] was right here, in the flesh.

In a remote location some distance away from the Empire, there’d been a collection of small nations. While they were squabbling with each other, this guy showed up. As the enemy.
Yeah, I was there too, working as a mercenary. To be honest, since it was just border skirmishes, I thought I’d take it easy.
As far as I could tell, not a whole lot would change. At most, each side would throw more reinforcements at the battle as it ground to a halt. It was one of those fights that would be solved by diplomacy in the end. Or so I thought.

The battlefield had used an argument over an inch of land as a pretext — a false pretext. But the mere presence of the man catalyzed its mutation into a ma.s.sive war, one that swayed the rise and fall of nations. All in a blink of an eye.
It’s possible that even his employers never thought things would go so far. But as a result, the pitiful nation I served truly fell to ruin.

Of course, I’m not saying it was all [Ma.s.sacre Maddox’s] doing.
But in battle, he’s a force of nature.
In the first engagement, the main force belonging to a rival nation fell to his blade, down to the last man.
a.s.suming that was the reason for the country’s destruction, then yeah, even the name [Ma.s.sacre Maddox] is no exaggeration.

We were there at that first encounter, and we came face-to-face with the living, breathing [Ma.s.sacre Maddox].
It was too overwhelming.
Brandis.h.i.+ng his sword at the head of the enemy troops, he literally shattered our formation, our strategies, with brute force alone.

To my eyes, he was like a tornado.
A kind of natural disaster. Every technique, every effort was thrown at him, and yet he couldn’t be stopped. As soon as you encountered him for the first — and probably the last — time, you had two options: run like a bat out of h.e.l.l, or find somewhere to hide. He was that kind of disaster. It would be stupid to put up a fight.

I escaped with my life. And I was lucky to have that much.
The first ten percent of the battle could’ve been considered one. After that, it was a one-sided bloodbath. The rest were literally ma.s.sacred.
It was every man for himself. They ran around like headless chickens, and then they were slaughtered.
Out of a force of at least ten thousand, how many made it out alive? How many kept all their limbs? I don’t know. I don’t even know why I’m still alive. Maybe I was the only survivor.
The trauma carved itself so deep into my memories that I can still feel it, even now.

And it was that [Ma.s.sacre Maddox] who stood before me now. It was an impossible situation.
My memories were three years out of date, but nothing about his imposing figure seemed to have changed. Not the martial pressure radiating from his large frame, either. Nothing, not one thing, was the slightest bit different.

My clenched teeth chattered. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. They seemed about to spill over.
I was so terrified that I found no shame in either of those things.
Back then, I’d faced him from within the ranks of an army. Now, I was confronting him directly, face-to-face.
There was nowhere to run, and if this man were so inclined, we’d be dead in an instant.

“B–Big Sister…”

Noticing my unusual lack of composure, Aira gripped my hand and anxiously called to me.
With the sound of her voice, I was finally able to regain some equilibrium in my frozen mind and body.

That’s right, you have to protect her. Pull yourself together.
Holding tightly onto her trembling hand, I turned my eyes to Maddox.
He’s frightening. Terrifying.
But I have to protect her.

“Wh — What the h.e.l.l are you doing here, you son of a b.i.t.c.h…”

“Mm, ahh, for work. Right now, I’m halfway done.”

Seeming somewhat bored, Maddox tapped the giant blade in his hand against his shoulder.
Att.i.tude aside, that was the worst possible answer.

Until the last moment, I’d hoped that running into him was sheer coincidence, that his target lay elsewhere.
That’s what I told myself, but it was pretty thin. We’d been led here, after all. How could the guy before us have nothing to do with it? There’s no way.
And so my final hope was snuffed out by the mouth of the man himself.
His work is half-finished [now]. In other words, meeting us is only half of it. Even thinking about what the remaining half might be made me go weak at the knees.

“Do you intend to kill us?”

Ignorant of Maddox’s terror, Palmira asked without a quaver. Cautious, she kept her sword up and pointing in his direction.
Maddox’s att.i.tude was unperturbed. It said, ‘You’re the one baring her teeth, aren’t you?’1

“‘Us’? Nah, I’ve only got business with the silver-haired girl over there, y’know?”

There was no mistaking it — he meant me. The fact sent a shudder through my body, but knowing that I was his only target gave me some peace of mind. At least Aira and Palmira wouldn’t be involved.

“…Then what’re you going to do? Will you… kill me?”

I kept my gaze, which would move away if I let it, fixed on Maddox. If this guy had a job, I couldn’t imagine it was something other than killing.
But in response to my question, Maddox’s face blanked out for a moment, and then he started laughing.

“Uhahaha! Like I’d take such a boring job. If it was just killing you, you think I’d go to all this trouble? Besides, that’s not my thing. You’re secondary. The star of this show — ”

“Miss Chris!?”

“Oh — . The leading man takes the stage.”

As those two voices spoke, I turned to look behind me.
Leon. Rupert. Leopard. It was the three of them. No, there was Irene behind them, too.

“Leon!”

I was genuinely happy to see him.
But at the same time, something about Maddox’s words made me uneasy. The moment I realized why, my feelings became the complete opposite.

“Miss Chris! Are you alright!?”

“No, don’t! Leon, don’t come any closer! That guy — ”

What did Maddox say?

‘The leading man takes the stage.’

Didn’t that mean Leon was the target?
Why did he come here in the first place?
Percival was the only one who knew we were down here. In that case, Percival — or another traitor in the fortress — must have led Leon and the others here.

A murder plot, an a.s.sa.s.sination.Maybe the scene playing out here was the way things were done in the aristocracy.

I was the bait, and Leon was the target.
So that’s how it was.

“The door!”

By the time I realized, it was too late. The door behind Leon and the others began to swing closed again.

Before they could all turn around, bam! It slammed shut. It was probably locked so that it could only be opened from the outside.
Surprised, Leopard rushed the door, throwing himself bodily into it, but as I predicted, it didn’t give an inch.

I’d screwed up. If I’d realized it just a bit earlier, Leon would’ve been able to make it out. Even if he were the only one.
As I ground my teeth, the voice of Maddox, executioner, echoed out.

“Oh, will ya look at that? It’s not what I came for, but it looks like I’ve hooked a big fish… Mad Dog — no, it should be Rupert the Hound now, huh?”

“…Maddox… Why the h.e.l.l are you here…!”

The sight of the man left Rupert at a rare loss for words.
But for only a moment.
Dropping into a slight crouch, he drew a dagger and shortsword and moved in front of us.

“Rupert! He’s — !”

“I know… Get back!”

To stand before Maddox — in my eyes, it was the height of insanity. I screamed at him in warning.
And Rupert said that he knew. From their exchange earlier, it seemed impossible for him not to.
Yet one of them was taking it easy. The other squared off against him, glaring.

“Miss Chris, fall back.”

“Ah, yeah… Palmira!”

Tearing my feet away from where they’d seemed stuck to the floor, I called out to Palmira as I slowly edged backward.
Warily keeping her sword up, Palmira retreated the same way. It seemed like she naturally understood that she’d be in the way.

I backed up until I was standing in front of Leon. He put his hand on my shoulder, then stepped forward a bit, so that we were s.h.i.+elded behind him.

I softly bit my lip. I get it, I’m the same way, but the one who’s really in danger here is Leon. Even so, I honestly do find it rea.s.suring.
I can’t deny that as I am right now, I have no combat power. But I have people I want to protect.

Aira, Palmira. And Leon, too.
It’s just my feelings, but they take priority.

“Chris.”

As I clenched my teeth, Irene pressed two things into my hand.
One, a knife in a plain black sheath. The other — an invocation stone.
Inhaling sharply, I looked at Irene.

“The things Master told me to give you. I don’t know why, but I think it’s now or never…”

I didn’t know the nature of the intentions behind these gifts. But I was more than happy to take them.

The invocation stone.

With this, I might be able to retaliate. Even if it turns out I can’t, I might be able to defend the people here, at least.
The truth is, all I feel towards invocation stones is repulsion. But right now, I’m thankful for their existence.
The one I got from Regnum before had disappeared.
So this one’s all I’ve got.
It’s going to be my ace in the hole.

On the other hand, if Rupert takes out Maddox, those thoughts will end as baseless fears.
I riffled through my memories of fighting the two.
No matter how much I stack the deck against him, I have to declare Maddox the winner.
But I want Rupert to win all the same. Easy for me to say, right? But I can’t help but hope for his victory with all my heart.
Even now, the two stared each other down without moving. Were they looking for an opening?

Whomp!

The tremor, the most violent so far, a.s.saulted us.

“Kyaa — !”

Holding screaming, shaking Aira close to me, I still kept my eyes fixed on Rupert and Maddox.
Pieces of the collapsing ceiling started to fall. Just as a chunk was about to fall between them, they both sprang into action. That’s how it looked to me.

Ching.

With a tremendous clash, sparks went flying in the s.p.a.ce between them. It was so loud that Aira foolishly clapped her hands over her ears. Even Palmira dropped her sword to follow suit.

“GAAAH — !”

But of course, that wouldn’t be enough to stop Rupert. Twisting, his body seemed to glide across the ground as he let loose a b.e.s.t.i.a.l howl and closed in on Maddox.

Even Maddox had to use his sword to take him on. Again, the metallic clash of their blades rang out. Like so, Rupert twisted his body even further, his leg las.h.i.+ng out in a kick.
That combination, oddly enough, was the one Palmira had used against Rupert himself during that night of sparring. But it was executed with extraordinary speed and sharpness. Even my eyes could barely follow it.

” — tch!”

In the end, just like the other, that kick failed to reach Maddox. More precisely, Rupert broke away and put some distance between them before it could connect.
I couldn’t even tell what had happened, but there was blood running down the leg he kicked out. At some point in time, Maddox had switched to a two-handed grip on his sword, changing his stance.

“Uhahaha! As expected of the Mad Dog, pus.h.i.+ng me this far. Even on this boring job, I can have some fun!”

As if to return the favor, Maddox’s sword flashed. He brought it down right on top of a motionless Rupert.

A direct overhead strike.

The huge blade struck the ground, raising a spectacular cloud of dust — more like a rolling surge of stone fragments– that hid Rupert’s fate from me.
The small chunks of stone came flying at me. In response, Leopard stepped forward and knocked them aside with his s.h.i.+eld.

What happened to Rupert? Had he been cut clean in two? Crushed into the ground?

Just as those ugly thoughts crossed my mind, the cloud of debris dispersed to reveal Rupert, standing on the back of the sword Maddox had slammed into the ground.
He was too skilled. And the scene was beyond impossible.

“Hah–!”

Before Maddox could make a move, Rupert launched himself from the blade, rotating in the air as he flew over Maddox.
His dual blades sliced toward the back of Maddox’s head, but it was like the man had eyes back there — he ducked out of the way.
And turning to look over his shoulder, he targeted the place Rupert would land with a horizontal sweep.

I wondered if that sword would cut Rupert in two this time, but Rupert had turned in the air to take on the attack blade-first. Deflecting the recoil, he landed on the floor.

He’s strong.

I’d caught a glimpse of Rupert’s real strength during that incident at the guild, but it didn’t seem like he’d hit full power yet. At the very least, Rupert was proving the caliber of his offense and defense.
Incredible speed paired with an exceedingly tricky style of combat.
And above all else, he was facing Maddox, but he hadn’t given up an inch of ground.

At this rate, will he win?

But no matter how I try, I can’t bring myself to have faith in Rupert’s victory.
Maddox’s strength was seared that deeply into my mind.

Is my terror blowing things out of proportion?
Is that really it?

The invocation stone in my hand.
I won’t have to use it if Rupert wins. My grip around it tightened.

Author’s Notes
Even better, the protagonist is sitting out this fight scene.

Footnotes
1. Ah… I guessed. 全く歯牙にもかけていないのか ↵