After countless battles, we had finally managed to reach Kalf Village.
Though the Kalf Village we arrived at was in no state that could be called normal, not even as a figure of speech.
The smoke that had only been faintly visible through the bus windows was already blanketing the entire village in a thick haze.
"Ugh... What a mess, seriously."
"But doesn't it sound like some familiar song is coming from somewhere?"
"Ah, I know this song. What was it again? The one that played every time it snowed like crazy..."
"Whenever they played this to boost the soldiers' morale during the war, it always drained the life right out of me."
"When I heard this song while on night duty at the hospital, I really did resent the whole world..."
Everyone was hearing the same song and recalling their own memories.
Whether the memory-lost Dante knew this song was another matter entirely.
Each of them seemed to have their own pleasant recollections, but someone here was unable to enjoy the moment in full.
"Right... that day too..."
"It was snowing like this... and the song was playing..."
Whether the intent had been to hang decorations on the tree in front of us, or to drag out everything that had been inside its belly, I couldn't tell—but all manner of organs and mechanical parts were dangling from the enormous tree.
...What atrocious taste.
"Ugh... Isn't this a little too vile?"
"Classic... no, kitschy."
"...There are no survivors in the vicinity."
Only then did the meaning of all this become clear.
This was like...
"Ah~ ah~ mic test, mic test!!"
A woman's voice, shrill enough to tear the eardrums, rang out from the loudspeaker hanging on the telephone pole.
"Is everyone having a merry Christmas?"
"It's not quiet, but it is a holy night."
"...? Isn't it still a ways off from Christmas?"
"Yes, quite a ways."
"My name is Kromer, a philanthropist who loves purity, and the one who wields the hammer."
"I don't know how you got past here, but you're trespassing on private property right now."
"Because this place is... as you can see, a sacred zone where nails and hammers pass judgment. I wonder if you like my decorations."
"Well, let's say you took a wrong turn on the road... If you turn around and leave quietly even now, I'll generously settle for a fine."
"Because... today is Christmas!"
She was insisting it was Christmas when it clearly wasn't, so she didn't seem sane.
No, was she already a lunatic the moment she started calling corpses strung up on a tree "decorations"?
"Ah, one moment before that. Do you have ears over there?"
Ears? Who...
"I am here."
What the hell!
The huge man who answered to the name Ears turned to look at us.
His gaze swept over us one by one, then finally stopped on Dante.
And he stared for a very long time.
Under that look, as though he were peering into the depths of our innermost selves, neither Dante nor the prisoners could do a thing.
"The impure and their followers are together."
"And... the child you mentioned as well."
"Hahahaha! What! My Sinclair is back?"
"Come see me, Sinclair! I'm where you remember me being!"
"Ugh... ughk... Kro... mer..."
Kromer? Was that a name?
The sound of Sinclair's teeth grinding together came through clearly.
It was such a chilling sound that I couldn't even tell whether it came from fear or hatred.
"Take care of the rest, Ears. Or should I step in? I could, you know?"
"Please focus on striking the impure, O Hammer Bearer."
"Hahahahahaha! Good, good!! Let us continue the purification work!"
"Then, merry Christmas to all!"
The communication from the one presumed to be Kromer's master cut off, and other inquisitors could be seen gathering around Guido.
Guido stood firmly behind them.
...And yet, as if he alone were enough to overwhelm every prisoner,
a fierce, heavy hostility surrounded him.
"Get a grip, you maggots! All units, prepare for combat!"
At Otis's shout, we shook off some of the pressure and raised our weapons.
And then came the sensation of an identity overlapping with mine—one that would feel incomplete if it were absent now.
It was clearly an ability I had only recently obtained, but the personality layered over me without the slightest awkwardness.
I wasn't sure whether that was how it was supposed to feel...
The analytically sharpened gaze turned toward the battlefield.
The enemy numbers were about equal to ours, and there was even a massive foe exuding a presence that seemed to tower over the prisoners.
Objectively speaking, this was a fairly difficult fight.
It didn't matter.
I closed the distance to the one called Guido in an instant and thrust my spear.
Clang—!
Ghk, krrk...
The weapons trembled in a taut struggle, but if things continued like this, I would be at a disadvantage.
Dodging the enemies around me, I slipped back a little and immediately blocked the weapon that came chasing after me.
Clang——!
"Kgh..."
This was harder than I expected.
The strength coming from that massive frame, easily over two meters tall, was not something I could ignore.
But that was that, and this was this.
The spear technique shifted fluidly from the weapon arts of the Liu Association, specialized in frontal combat, to the weapon arts of the Zwei Hander, specialized in dueling.
Srrrk—!
I lowered the weapon slightly to let the force flow through, then stepped back a little.
And immediately attacked again, mixing a feint into the first strike from the start, never intending to simply block.
Whoosh—
Seeing him raise his weapon to block an upward strike, I twisted the spear's trajectory like a snake.
Swoosh, thwack!
At last, a clean hit landed.
But Guido's body was so sturdy that even smashing his face once with the spear didn't deal proper damage.
...Looks like one or two hits won't be nearly enough.
He immediately set his stance.
Could this be dangerous?
Thud!
He charged at me with a heavy sound.
A thrust with a nail-like pointed weapon held horizontally.
Not an attack suited to parrying with a spear.
Then I'd just shift my feet a little...
Whoosh—!
Evade.
Apparently, despite the intimidation he gave off, his attacks weren't all that sharp.
Thwack!
He was disgustingly tough, though.
One bad mistake and this would turn into a disaster.
Realizing his attacks weren't landing easily, Guido shifted into a solid defensive stance.
At times like this, what was needed wasn't Zwei Hander, but Liu.
That side was a little easier to break through.
Tatatatak!
I moved to the spot where, if he swung his arm, he would hit me.
He hadn't expected me to abandon the reach of the long spear and close in to point-blank range, and a flicker of surprise showed in the eyes behind the mask.
But he quickly gathered himself and tried to crush me with that powerful arm.
I wasn't about to let that happen.
Closing the distance until it was no longer arm's reach but body-to-body impact, I twisted my posture slightly and set the spear behind me, my back forward.
What people usually call a shoulder ram.
Thud!
Ah, shit. That hurts like hell.
My back screamed from slamming straight into the iron armor, but I succeeded in breaking his stance.
The moment I confirmed that, I spun my body once.
Whoooosh――!!
The spear I had drawn back with my arm rotated along with the sudden movement of my body, and
Peeeerk―――!!!
before long, it struck his head dead on and succeeded in knocking him flat.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
The spear then hammered his whole body in turn.
I must have landed more than ten blows, but even so, he didn't die. He flailed his arms, forcibly shoved me away, and got back up, then clutched his head as if trying to regain his senses.
What the hell... does he have an amp plugged into his body or something? That's not human regeneration.
...Calm down. The colder the head, the better in moments like this.
Just as I readjusted my wandering spear and was about to finish him off, I heard the sound of inquisitors approaching from far away.
Reinforcements. We were in the middle of enemy territory.
Should we run for now?
Fortunately, the inquisitors that had gathered around us seemed to be about done being cleared out. It was the right time to retreat.
"Hoo... He doesn't die worth a damn. Let's get out of here while we can."
As much as I wanted to finish him off, with all the inquisitors converging here, if I kept trying to kill that bastard who refused to die, Dante could end up surrounded by enemies.
"You speak disgracefully. A soldier who has seized the advantage does not turn tail and flee from the enemy."
"Is this really the time to be talking about soldierly spirit?"
"...Saramago is right. That man is too much for us to handle with our current strength."
"...I will withdraw."
Otis took a reluctant step back.
I was the one who had risked my life trying to subdue Guido, so why was she the one acting like she'd done us a favor...
"Sinclair, where is this 'place you knew' that Kromer mentioned?"
"Th-that..."
Sinclair was still trembling, his mind seized by fear.
But as if his anger was stronger than that fear, he ground his teeth at the name Kromer even while shaking.
"You have to say it now, Sinclair."
"With just your story, we can cut our death count in half."
"The success rate of the operation will also rise. I expect useful information."
At those words, Sinclair shook his head rapidly, drew in a deep breath, and finally opened his mouth with difficulty.