「Stop!」

Perhaps it was a fortune in disguise that he had come late, but Murgai, who had escaped the attention of the soldiers, boldly jumped in alone. In his hand was a huge piece of wood. Wielding it, he leaped into the midst of the soldiers in order to save Shijimi. However, he was outnumbered. Moreover, he had no proper weapon. So the result was obvious.

At first, the soldiers were startled and confused, but they soon calmed down and surrounded Murgai.

「Murgai, was it? I don’t dislike that bravado of yours, you know? How about it? I can appoint you as the leader of the clan. I can also grant you a certain degree of freedom.」

Just as he had tried to appease the horned tribe’s anger by executing Shijimi, the Baron was planning to push the horned tribe’s dissatisfaction on Murgai’s shoulders by putting him in power.

「As if I’d ever agree to such a thing! I’ll protect everyone! Come, bring it on!」

Murgai was oblivious to the Baron’s intentions, but in order to protect his beloved ones, he showed a firm determination to resist.

However, that was too reckless of an act.

「Hmm, how troubling. It’s kind of a waste, but I guess I’ll just make an example out of you two…. To make the clan obedient! Kill them with a style!」

Receiving the Baron’s command, the soldiers made their moves at once. Murgai swung the wood with everything he had, but it couldn’t raise a resistance at all. Taking advantage of the opening, the lances of the soldiers impaled him. Each time he swung the wood, a hole was made in Murgai’s body. It didn’t take long for Murgai to lose his ability to move. Murgai collapsed as if he were crumbling to the ground. He was already on the verge of death.

「Murgai!」

Shijimi rushed over to Murgai. His sturdy body had been cruelly hollowed out, and his robust, log-like arms were in a severe state where they were literally connected by a piece of skin. 「I’m sorry…. I’m sorry….」

What came out of her mouth were words of atonement. Was it to Murgai? Was it to the whole clan? It was unknown, but she continued to simply apologize. However, the Baron’s order descended without regard to such a skit.

「Do it!」

Perhaps to deal with the two at once. Attack magic was fired off by the soldiers. The other horned tribe members were restrained by the soldiers and were unable to move.

「–. O God!」Shijimi held Murgai in her arms and prayed. That was all she could do at this point. All that was left for her was to put her faith in God.

The magic attack that swept over simultaneously at once. It turned into a torrent of tyranny that was about to swallow the two of them. At that moment–. It was as if it had collided with an invisible wall, the magic exploded.

An unexpected situation. Starting with the Baron, the rest of the soldiers ceased their movements. And then, the horned tribe members were also stunned as they watched the explosion.

The dust gradually cleared up. What they saw there were not two ghastly corpses, but three shadows standing over as if to protect them. They were Team Tanaka.

The pressure radiated by these three men was tremendous. The Baron and the soldiers were unable to move even a finger. The person that Shijimi had told him about was a merchant. Faced with the air of a mighty being radiated by the man, they just couldn’t take their eyes off of him. In the midst of all this, Tanaka alone made a move. Tanaka walked up to the cowering Murgai and Shijimi. Shijimi, unaware of what was going on, was simply staring back at Tanaka in a daze.

「— S, someone….」

As if to break the silence, Murgai let out such a weak voice. Coming to her senses, Shijimi hugged Murgai.

「Murgai! Stay with me!」

Shijimi tried to encourage him. But in spite of this, Murgai’s strength was rapidly leaving his body. In a daze, Murgai spun his words as if in a mumble.

「–Someone…. My horn…. Give it to Tanaka…. In exchange for saving the clan…. I’m sure he can do something about it…. Please…, someone….」

「What are you talking about?! You’ll die if you do such a thing! No, you must not! Don’t give up! You have to live….」

For the horned tribe, their horn was their source of life. Losing their horn was the same as losing their life. Shijimi broke down in tears. Even she was aware of it. Murgai was already beyond saving. She wanted him to live, even if it was only for a little while longer.

Murgai was already unable to see anything. He wasn’t even aware that the one he loved was right in front of him, as he was merely expressing his wishes. Even in the face of his own death, he simply wished. For a future where his loved ones and his clan could be saved.

–Tanaka held up his hand. It looked as if he was about to take the Murgai’s horn.

「Noooooo!」

As if to protect Murgai, Shijimi held him in her arms. In the meantime, Tanaka’s angry voice rang out.「…Is that all you have to say? You dickhead!」

From that hand of his, light glowed and wrapped around the two of them. Shijimi, who was embracing Murgai like her life depended on it, came to her senses due to the peculiar sensation running through her body.

「…. No, no way.」

What came into her view was Murgai’s body, which had been cruelly impaled by lances countless times. The wounds were visibly closing up. Such an absurd phenomenon, as if time itself had rewound. It wasn’t something on the level of mere healing. Even the severe arms that looked as though about to tear off, were now back to their original robust selves. 「—What, in the world is this…?」

With his ability to think returning, Murgai was also dumbfounded, unable to understand what was going on. He took a look at his own body. He had returned back to normal, it was as if his near-death state until just a moment ago had been nothing but an illusion. It was the tattered clothes he was wearing that told him that the tragedy that had just transpired was not an illusion. Still dumbfounded, he looked up.

What he saw there was the back of a man. That back, which was supposed to be smaller than his own, seemed incredibly large.

Then the man spoke over his back.

「This will be your last lesson. What it means to be a popular man. Be sure to burn it into your eyes.」

He was mesmerized by his back. ‘I don’t remember ever taking a lesson!’ The presence of the man was simply so overwhelming that Murgai forgot to even make such a retort.

All Murgai could do was do as he was told and burn everything into his eyes. The ideal that everyone once longed for. The one he had given up in trying to attain before he noticed it, the figure of the ideal man that lay ahead of it….

Suke-san and Kaku-san were standing in front of the soldiers. Tanaka slowly returned to them. And issued an unusually ruthless order.

「We shall completely cut off the root of the disaster here. Suke-san. Kaku-san. Don’t let even one of them escape.」 Perhaps that was Tanaka’s way of expressing his gratitude. In the face of despair, Murgai resisted until the end, risking his own life to fulfill his wish. Such a sight of him had ignited the flame of courage to rise once again in Tanaka.

「Affirmative!」

「Ou!」

The two of them promptly moved in accordance with Tanaka’s order.

Suke-san instantly closed the gap between him and the soldiers. Moreover, with a single dash, several soldiers were reaped. He was like a black phantom that drained up life. Every time Suke-san’s afterimage appeared, the soldiers fell one by one.

「Hiii! You guys have to protect me! S, stop that monster!」

The Baron’s scream caused the soldiers who had come to their senses to start moving. However, as if totally unconcerned about it, the black phantom continued to reap the soldiers.