Chapter 272: Wall of Flesh
The arrival of the Great Demon God’s tentacles was like a natural disaster, something far beyond the capacity of human strength to withstand.
「Everyone, run!」
「Clementine! Nooo!」
The advancing tide of pink flesh consumed the monsters that Berenice and Clementine had just cut down. Louise rushed forward, leading the charge.
「Get out of here, all of you!」
Louise leaped into the air, spinning both her enormous swords, slashing through the swarm of tentacles. However, the sheer mass of the writhing tentacles was overwhelming.
Tentacles coiled around her legs and arms. Despite her valiant efforts, Louise’s movements began to slow.
「——!」
「Idiot, Marina, fall back!」
Marina, astride her horse, galloped toward Louise, determined to rescue her. Jill, grinding her teeth in frustration, shouted at the top of her lungs. 「Everyone, pull back! Now!」
The knights, frozen in shock at the sight before them, finally turned and fled. Jill longed to rush to Louise’s side, but as the commander of the royal guard, it was her duty to save as many soldiers as possible. Otherwise, Louise’s sacrifice would be in vain.
「Nooo!」 「Monsterrrr!」
The writhing mass of flesh swallowed the female knights one after another. This was beyond even the monstrous creatures they had been fighting.
The dragons, which had just moments ago been locked in deadly combat with the knights, were now scrambling to flee from the approaching wave of tentacles. It seemed as though they had been running from this horror all along.
The tentacles indiscriminately devoured any living creature in their path. Even Sarah-chan’s volunteer corps, led by her sharpshooting, failed to slow the onslaught. Bullets that could stop monsters barely fazed the tentacles.
Through her binoculars, Sarah-chan could see a female knight being overrun, a small tentacle forcing its way into the knight’s mouth as she gagged in agony. Even the normally fearless Sarah-chan trembled at the sight.
「Retreat! Fall back to the fortifications and regroup!」
A primal fear chilled her spine. Without a second thought, Sarah-chan spun on her heel and sprinted away.
Once she decided to flee, she moved like a rabbit. Tossing aside her rifle, she grabbed the reins of a stray horse and mounted it mid-run.
She thought she had escaped, but suddenly, that same dreadful chill returned.
Reluctantly, she looked back over her shoulder and saw the mushroom-like tentacle that had tormented the female knight already closing in.
「Nooooo! Why is it coming after me?!」
Had seeing it sealed her fate? Was this monster drawn to those who witnessed its horrors?
「Take this!」
She hurled a grenade from her belt. The explosion erupted in a fiery blaze, but the tentacle burst through the smoke, completely unharmed.
It was tough—too tough.
「Please, hold on!」
The horse she’d mounted, breathing heavily, was running with all its strength, trying to carry her to safety. The fear of being consumed was overwhelming, but as the highest-ranking officer in the volunteer corps, if she were captured, the entire army of ten thousand would fall into disarray.
None of the advanced weapons Sarah-chan had worked so hard to create had any effect on these tentacles. If this continued—
In that moment, the sound of a sharp slash echoed behind her.
「Takeru!」
Flying through the air, sword of blue and silver light in hand, was Sawatari Takeru, cutting through the tentacles that pursued Sarah-chan, defending her from the monstrous flesh.
※※※
「The situation had turned dire…..」
The massive tentacles that tore through the town had crushed the front-line knights, and now the volunteer corps in the middle ranks were beginning to crumble as well. While flying overhead to assess the retreat, I had spotted Sarah-chan nearly getting caught by a rogue tentacle and managed to save her.
Were the tentacles targeting commanders? It didn’t matter. Trying to understand the intentions of the “tentacle oneesan” was pointless.
「Takeru!」
「Sarah-chan, get the entire army back to the fortifications. I’m going to help the knights!」
「Got it!」
After making sure Sarah-chan was safe, I had Oracle lift me into the air again. From above, I could see the entire battlefield with ease.
It looked like General Mainz was holding the fort at the rear. He had artillery lined up across both flanks, strategically keeping the firing lines clear of allies and effectively holding back the advancing monsters and tentacles.
The explosive cannons were powerful enough to bring down both beasts and the smaller tentacles.
「Takeru, what will you do?」
「We’re hitting the source. Oracle, take me up front.」
「Understood!」
I activated both my Sword of Light and Neutral Sword at maximum power, and they gleamed like radiant wings. Flying forward, I aimed my blades at the base of the enormous tentacles stretching from the Great Demon God’s body, slashing them with full force.
The severed tentacle slumped to the ground, motionless. That should stop its movement, at least for now.
As I prepared to help the others, Louise suddenly emerged from the dead tentacle mass, clawing her way out.
「Louise! Why are you naked…?」
「My armor was stripped off.」
Covered in slimy fluid, Louise pulled out her orichalcum greatsword and, with a single swing, freed Marina from the tentacles. Marina, too, was stark naked.
I get it—losing weapons and armor makes sense, but this was like something straight out of a cliché. I quickly threw a cloak over Marina.
「Louise, put something on.」
「We don’t have time for that! We need to save the others!」
「Fair enough.」
I joined her, wading through the fleshy remains of the tentacles to help with the rescue effort.
「King-sama, help…」
We managed to pull out Clementine, her slimy form squirming out, followed by Berenice, coughing violently as she emerged.
「Geh, geh… Something disgusting got in my mouth.」
Both of them looked pale—and, of course, they were also naked.
「Oracle, lend me your cloak too.」
「This is formal wear, you know. I’d rather not see it covered in slime.」
This was no time for that! I borrowed a cloak from Oracle, but we were still drastically short of clothing.
「What are we going to do? We can’t leave them like this…」
As I was struggling to figure out a solution, Eleonora suddenly burst free from the mass on her own.
「I won’t be defeated!」
Eleonora was still fully clothed. Her fiery armor seemed to have resisted the tentacles’ attacks.
What a useful magic item. Not Eleonora—the armor.
「Eleonora, help with the rescue. Actually, before that, give your cloak to Berenice.」
「Why is everyone naked?」
「Don’t ask me—ask tentacle oneesan!」
Everyone we rescued had been stripped completely. While it was a relief they hadn’t suffocated in the tentacles, none of their armor or clothing could be found anywhere.
「Sorry, Hero-dono.」
「Jill, you’re naked too…? Well, I’m glad you’re safe.」
But what were we supposed to do now? As I stood there, feeling utterly helpless while surrounded by a group of naked female knights, the waves of monsters continued their relentless march toward the final defense line.
And then, at last, the Great Demon God began its landing. It wasn’t a leg but a massive tentacle that reached the harbor’s edge of Lisbon, preparing to make landfall.