"—!"
The absolute worst imaginable situation—right before our eyes, that child. Lais was engulfed by the light.
I have lived for many years as an elf, yet I was never able to become a Special Tactical Force. The limit of my mana capacity, and the limit of my output. Because it arrived astonishingly early, I came to know my upper boundary. I polished minor techniques from that point onward, but what I arrived at was the halfway strength known as a semi-Special Tactical Force. While it is a power sufficient to earn the respect of the populace, there are more individuals of identical capability than I can count on both hands, and I cannot stand a chance against even a low-ranking Special Tactical Force.
Precisely because of that, I failed to notice the concealment.
Even if the enemy consisted of beastmen, they were an invading army of thirty thousand. A mage was bound to be lurking somewhere. Given that they possessed no siege engines, it was blindingly obvious that mages would be conscripted to demolish the defensive walls. Therefore, I had continuously kept my eyes on the battlefield. Yet, I was unable to spot them in the slightest, and even when I did find them, they were slaughtered by the ostriches without being able to do a single thing.
Consequently, I must have dropped my guard.
"Lais!"
At the absolute last second—truly the absolute last second—I managed to cast a barrier. Pouring the vast majority of my own mana into it, it was a wall of mana devoid of anything resembling advanced manipulation. Created solely in the hope that it might diminish the efficacy of the blow even by a fraction, it was pierced through as if nothing had been there from the very beginning.
By that polar light generated through high-density mana.
Abundant mana, refined into a sequence that defied comprehension. It possessed a concentration akin to the high-density, solidified mana that used to reside within Lais's own body. Yet that was not a mere compression forced upon it by raw pressure; every single strand of that mana was woven together using a technique that made one dizzy to contemplate. It was a strike capable of erasing even a low-ranking Special Tactical Force, or a middle-ranking Special Tactical Force who had failed to prepare any countermeasures.
And into such an attack, into that vortex of light, she had been swept away.
Thanks to the directive she issued right beforehand, a large number of the ostriches were able to evade the attack. It was likely an assault targeting Lais, who stood at the vanguard delivering orders and possessed the largest quantity of mana. Therefore, it was fortunate that its area of effect was not massive. Many of the kids succeeded in evading it, and thanks to Dere, I managed to survive as well. Matilde, who had been on the inside but had drifted away from the center during the preceding combat—that Lord as well managed to survive somehow by forcibly throwing herself off her horse.
But...
The attack was far too swift. That child had deliberately used her own body to receive it in order to protect the kids behind her, to diminish the casualties even by a fraction. Believing that if she—the sturdiest among them—withstood it, "even if she were to perish," a greater number of individuals would survive.
...I find myself contemplating the worst. That density, that power. This child named Dere, who carries me upon her back, would indubitably have been unable to endure it and would have vanished along with me. Lais, too, might perhaps.
As if to shake off that thought, I direct my eyes toward the polar light, toward the place where she had been. Not even a second has elapsed since she received the attack, yet a span of time equivalent to eternity flows by, and the light slowly, gradually begins to recede.
(...A human silhouette!) Lai...!
"......."
I could not believe it. I did not want to believe it.
Her entire body was scorched black, and countless massive lacerations were carved into her flesh. Whether because she had been burned by the high-density mana, blood was not flowing from any of them. However, she was clearly lacking the blood necessary for a living being to survive.
One of her wings had vanished, and the other was so battered it looked ready to detach at any moment. It would never move again.
And above all else, half of her face was gone.
Gouged out.
Half of her head, and the vast majority of her shoulder. The things that were supposed to be there were entirely absent.
And above all else. Her brain was burned.
The organ absolutely essential for a human—for any living creature—to survive.
That very brain had been destroyed.
She is already beyond saving.
"—!"
Calm down, calm down! Do not recognize the fact as fact. Do not comprehend it; simply accept it! Why did that child shout "Evade"? Why did she scream to leap to the side? With that leg strength, with that reaction speed, she ought to have been able to avoid it; why did she refrain from avoiding it? It must have been to protect the comrades Lais treasured, to protect her flock!
Do not be pessimistic, do not despair. This body already belongs to them; it is a debt of gratitude for being saved in the highlands. If I do not repay it now, when will I!
Perhaps out of a desire to avert my eyes from her agonizing figure, I check on the state of the kids who were situated behind her—the ones she protected—in order to do what I ought to be capable of doing.
(Lacerations, burns... they are exceptionally severe, but it hasn't reached the point of limb loss. It's not too late, it's still not too late! If we perform emergency treatment and bring them to the church...!)
Their number is roughly forty. The closer their distance to Lais, the greater the damage they sustained. But every single kid still has breath. In a situation where the horse Matilde was riding literally vanished into nothingness, they did well to survive. This, too, is entirely thanks to Lais. For her sake as well, I absolutely must save them. These are wounds where, if we hurry, they might still be saved.
I consumed a massive quantity of mana to construct the barrier earlier, but I redirect the entirety of what remains toward emergency treatment. And if we can transport them back to the town at the speed of the ostriches, we should be able to manage somehow. The miracles possessed by the people of the church... it will likely be a prolonged endeavor, and after-effects will undoubtedly remain. But as long as we keep casting recovery magic, their lives will indubitably be sustained.
(What do I do, what do I do...!)
To retreat while carrying those wounded individuals, the strength of the ostriches is absolutely indispensable, and above all else, performing emergency treatment takes time. Even if it is instantaneous with magic, an instant on a battlefield can easily prove fatal. To transport them, to recover, and to create an opening, the strength of the ostriches is required. If it is just me and Matilde, we will indubitably be slaughtered and that will be the end of it.
But our voices will likely not reach them. And I do not know if they will reach even Dere.
"You see, it seems my kids fly into a rage when I am attacked... To be honest, when they get like that, I can't really stop them."
Lais's words surface within my mind. That's right; during the previous battle at Plaque, she sustained no injuries. Yet currently, it is uncertain whether she is even alive. No, she has received wounds from which she cannot be saved even if she were alive. If Lais were to receive such an attack, what would transpire?
The surrounding air, which had been so quiet it felt maddening until a moment ago, begins to harbor heat. Presumably, her children—the kids of the flock—have comprehended it. They have accepted it. At first, they could not believe it, but she does not move; the only thing they perceive is the scent of death. When the existence they loved has been murdered... what becomes of them?
From the back of Dere, whom I am straddling, I feel a burning heat.
(I must... stop them...!!!)
The heat, the rage, expanding without limit. In order to somehow pacify them and ensure her will, her resolve, does not go to waste, I must somehow restrain these kids and make them pull back. No matter how much these kids rampage, I cannot imagine their strength reaching a Special Tactical Force. And when they lose their sanity, they will likely begin attacking individually as they please. Presumably, they will head toward the Beast King—the murderer of their mother...
They will likely—no, absolutely—be unable to endure it.
If they rampage, they will, quite literally, be annihilated.
The instant I comprehended that fact, a fierce reaction of mana capable of scorching the skin manifested.
It is the Beast King.
When I direct my eyes toward the mana, sure enough, he is attempting to gather mana within his maw once more. The mana residing within his body visible from here... it has certainly grown smaller compared to before, but it hasn't changed all that much! A consecutive firing; he is capable of consecutive firing. Even after unleashing that, another attack will fly our way. If these kids rampage, it will truly become irreversible.
(Diffusion... no! A straight line! A replication of the previous blow!)
The target is Lais! It's no good; he is indubitably attempting to finish her off completely. An identical level as before—no. The accumulation time is longer than last time. A mana cannon far more powerful than that previous attack. There is far too little time; quickly! I must move quickly! At the very least, I must evacuate everyone besides her!
"Dere! Dere!"
"...."
"Dere! Help me! Calm everyone else down! I can't do it alone for all of them! We won't make it in time!"
"...."
"Dere! Hey, Dere! Listen to me!!!"
"...Ma, ma?"
◇◆◇◆◇
Fundamentally, ostriches are powerful creatures.
Overwhelming leg strength, and stamina. Eyesight capable of detecting external threats ahead of anyone else, and a capacity for recovery and immunity that could be called infinite.
For the ostriches residing on Earth, it is rare for individuals to perish from sickness or trauma; the majority of those who die are children still in the midst of growth.
It is exceedingly rare for an adult ostrich to die.
Such creatures were ostriches.
Those who had become beastmen were also powerful creatures, just like on Earth.
However, the highlands where they resided was an environment populated exclusively by powerful creatures. Or rather, it was a place where an ostrich was counted as nothing more than an ordinary creature.
A world where "Special Tactical Forces" from human civilization stride about; a world where, if one scans the surroundings, there is invariably a monster capable of ruining a nation. That was the highlands.
By undergoing beastification, an ostrich was supposed to acquire intelligence.
While retaining their physical capabilities as an ostrich, it was an intellect they were supposed to acquire by becoming human.
However, they discarded that from the very beginning for the sake of survival. They discarded the right they were supposed to be granted, and sought something else.
What was necessary in the highlands was not a brain.
It was, quite simply, the strength to survive.
The race of ostrich beastmen had evolved in such a manner.
Discarding the brain, and acquiring superior physical capabilities.
Enhancement of leg strength, enhancement of eyesight, enhancement of recovery capability.
With each passing generation, they elevated the "species" to better adapt to the highlands.
However, nature continuously anticipates all situations.
If intellect ever became necessary within the highlands...
For the ostriches who had discarded intelligence, for the ostriches who did not possess it from the very beginning...
Nothing but the extinction of the species would await them.
Therefore, exceptions would occasionally be born as "peculiar individuals."
Those were individuals who, from birth, possessed a catalyst for intelligence.
They were not monsters like Lais, who forcibly expanded her brain and remodeled her own body.
It was, quite simply, a measure left behind by the "species" called ostrich in order to survive.
If the "catalyst" bore fruit and was fulfilled, it would continue into the next generation.
If there was no need and the "catalyst" did not bear fruit, nothing would transpire; intelligence was not yet necessary for the ostriches.
The peculiar individual, "Dere."
She was an individual whose "attachment" was powerful from birth.
For the ostriches who lived in a flock, comrades were comrades, and nothing more.
Everyone was identical, and everyone lived together.
While there were individual differences, there was no individual who continuously maintained an interest in a single thing like her.
Even when labeled a peculiar individual, her memory retention capacity was identical. However, an existence that had once drawn her interest would continuously be remembered by her heart.
...And what was the thing she began to harbor an "attachment" toward for the very first time?
Something that, fundamentally, was not supposed to exist within a flock of ostriches.
The ultimate foreign object among the ostriches.
The existence she "took a liking to" first of all.
That was a "Mother."
Not her biological mother.
An existence that was suddenly there, continuously loving them and raising them.
The very first time she harbored an interest in something, it was "Lais."
Dere herself was an individual no different from any other ostrich. She simply possessed a minute catalyst—a catalyst for "attachment"—as a peculiar individual. Such an individual cannot mature their intelligence instantly.
Gradually, gradually, she piled it up. Attempting to stick close to her mother, being praised. Other individuals beginning to mimic her. The time she was doted on becoming scarcer. In the interim, discovering something new. Attempting to show it to her mother, being praised. Because that made her happy, she would continuously gaze at it. Occasionally being praised, making her even happier. Every day, every day, a continuous repetition of that cycle.
Ostriches do not possess memory retention. Therefore, by performing it repeatedly, repeatedly, she trained the power of her brain. The actions she initiated gradually propagated to the flock, and the other kids slowly began to grasp the "catalyst." Dere was the furthest ahead among them.
And then, she welcomed a massive turning point.
For the first time, an existence separate from her mother who manipulated complex words. A new destination for her "attachment." Selecting the existence that her instincts told her would teach her the most varied things and return her "love," Dere resolved to attach herself to the elf Amelia next after her mother.
From then on, she came to know new things rapidly. Her mother would teach them about the things they newly saw and heard, and Amelia would teach them as well to supplement that. By no means was she capable of remembering all of it, and even when it remained as a memory, it consisted of nothing more than minute fragments. However, each time she received an explanation repeatedly, she felt something exceptionally warm from them; she had comprehended that she was profoundly loved.
...Such an existence.
The spectacle reflected in Dere's—in her eyes.
Multiple comrades had fallen and were currently in a state where they looked ready to die. An event so painful it felt as though her heart would shatter. However, her heart knew this. The highlands was a world of death. Even if there was a command tower named Lais, there were countless battles where casualties could not be avoided. She knew the death of comrades.
Perhaps because she was so considerate of her comrades, if she accepted the death of the flock too intensely, she would be unable to recover; thus, even if her brain intentionally erased the memory... her heart remembered that sadness.
But.
(I do not... know this.)
The existence she had attached herself to for the very first time. The existence that had poured an overflowing abundance of affection into her. Dead?
(I do not... know this!)
Their mother—the person who loved them, Mama—is dead?
(I do not... want to know this! No!)
A deep, powerful emotion. That colossal entity placed a fierce burden upon her brain.
Unlike their mother, the ostriches did not possess a power capable of recovering even if the brain itself were destroyed. However, the recovery capability to restore, reinforce, and regenerate something that had been burned out by powerful emotions resided within every single individual.
Sadness brought her intellect.
It was not a massive thing, but for them currently, it was the thing most required.
The power to call her mother as a mother, to scream it.
"MAMA!!!!!"
That voice will indubitably reach her.
◇◆◇◆◇
"MAMA!!!!!"
A voice is audible.
I know it.
This is Dere's voice.
...Ah, it's identical to that time.
The moment I became "myself." That time roughly ten years ago when my brain could not endure the memories I recalled.
That sensation where it feels like I am not myself. Where nothing is fixed.
...I'm being called, I have to wake up.
I attempt to move my body somehow with a faint will, but it barely budges.
No, it's... absent.
My legs are shattered to the point where I don't comprehend how I am currently standing, one of my wings has vanished, and the other is on the verge of detaching because the junction at the shoulder is gouged out. And amusingly, above that gouged-out shoulder... everything is gone.
Only one eye remains as well. And I can't see very well out of it.
I see, I... was attacked. And I shielded the kids behind me.
Forcibly moving my body, I look behind me.
......Ah.
Somehow, they aren't dead. But they are in a state where every second counts.
If we were in the highlands, it's a state where you could do nothing but stay by their side until the end.
Did I... fail to protect them? ...No, it should still be fine.
Over here, there was that convenient thing called magic. With that, they can be healed.
My kids are incredible, after all. They should be able to recover.
Yes, believe in that.
"Mama! Mama!!"
...Ah, Dere. Have you been calling me the entire time? I'm sorry, it seems my ears have gone a bit strange.
My child is watching; I must not let her feel anxiety.
I will move immediately.
After all, I am Mama.
(Come to think of it, that's the first time I've been called that.)
I circulate my mana.
The rage at my comrades being harmed, the rage at myself for being unable to stop it, the pride born from being called mother by that child.
With the entirety of it, I forcibly move.
Whether because the power of emotion was stronger than I anticipated, or because it moved precisely because I came this close to death, or because it loosened due to my body being scorched by colossal mana—I do not know the reason.
But it moves, definitively.
(Probably like this.)
I circulate mana throughout my entire body. Presumably, if I pour it in here, my body will mend.
What I pour my abundant mana into is my own "recovery capability." The power to reconstruct my brain even if it were destroyed—not just restoring it to its original state, but making it stronger. I forcibly drive it utilizing mana as energy. The first things to mend are my brain and my throat.
My thought processing speed is slow, though it's improving with the passage of time.
I accelerate it.
"Cough! ...Ah, blood had accumulated in my throat."
"...L-Lais!?"
"Oh, Amelia-san. Hold on just a moment, okay?"
Mending only my throat and brain, I redirect a portion of the mana I had channeled toward recovery back to my throat.
Yes, my thoughts have returned to normal as well. There's a bit of noise filtering in, but it's manageable. My kids' rage is on the verge of completely exceeding its limit. On top of their comrades being harmed, I was harmed as well. This is likely that worst-case type of anger where they charge up their rage to the limit and unleash the entirety of it, rampaging without any regard for retreat until either they or the enemy perishes.
I'm glad I managed to call out to them before they burst~.
Now then, placing mana into my voice so it reaches directly into everyone's ears... mgh, the burden is a bit too high. It feels like my brain is going to fry. ...Well, whatever. Even if it fries, I can mend it.
""Calm down, I am alive. Once more, calm down.""
"Mama! Mama! You're alive!!!"
""Yes, thank you, Dere. Thanks to you, I managed to return. ...I will only say this once. 'Take your comrades and pull back.'""
The children's movements halt. They look toward me, but it seems their rage has yet to subside. Well, I only mended my brain and throat first, so it probably looks like my arms—or rather, my wings—are entirely absent~. And I'm utterly drenched in blood, yes, yes. I understand why you're angry... but that guy is my prey. I've taught you many times that you mustn't take what belongs to others, right?
"Are you... okay?"
"Really? Really?"
"Fleeing?"
"No! No!"
"Protect!"
""I said I wouldn't repeat myself, didn't I? 'Pull back.' Where is your answer?""
At my voice, the kids begin to display expressions of reluctant capitulation. Perhaps because their rage has subsided, I could see an individual attempting to rush over to me to ask if I was alright, but they must have remembered the command to "pull back" properly. They begin heading toward the children waiting behind me. Everyone has become so smart.
As if to negate their actions, an outsider's voice vibrates against my eardrums.
"—! I shall not allow it! If I could not slay you with a single blow, I shall simply fire once more!"
A short distance away, situated precisely at the end of the straight void created in front of me. The existence that nearly killed me, and harmed the kids behind me.
Annuisances.
...Like this?
Halting the mana I was directing toward recovery, I generate a sphere of mana before my eyes, just as he did. Though when I say generate, it's merely a matter of carving out a portion of the mana residing within my body. Afterward, I simply determine the direction and unleash it.
"Haaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Fire."
His attack is thicker, more exquisite, and larger than before. A strike that would likely annihilate the entire flock along with me if received without doing anything. However, with a mana that surpasses it, I simply crush it. Driving out half of the mana residing within my body further, I unleash it with reckless abandon.
Lightly blanketing the polar light generated by the enemy, it dyes the entirety of my vision pure white. Ensuring that the other enemy soldiers situated behind him are blown away along with him.
The expanded entity advances while scorching the surroundings; the ground is gouged, turned red-hot, and melted away. That enemy is engulfed by the light in an instant, and the enemy beastmen I failed to kill earlier are all melted away by the light. ...Yes, annihilation complete.
"...He isn't dead."
That lion beastman who nearly killed me. I was supposed to have incinerated him as the primary target, but there's no feedback. Or rather, I still perceive his mana. Did it turn out poorly because halfway through, I diffused the attack to spread out while killing him? Well, whatever; I incinerated every single enemy besides him. There should be time for these kids to flee.
"Lais!!!"
"Mama!!!"
"Ah, the two of you."
As the light I unleashed is on the verge of subsiding, Amelia and Dere draw close to me. I'm sorry, Dere; my wings haven't mended yet, you see. I can't dote on you or fuss over you like usual. Give me about ten seconds, okay? I'm going to forcibly mend them...
"Y-You! H-How are you alive...!"
"Ah, he's coming back already."
From Amelia's perspective, my body is still in an incredible state. My brain is in the midst of recovery and is completely visible, and my wings remain absent. I'm capable of moving thanks to mending my legs just a tiny bit in order to face the two of them, but there's no changing the fact that my entire body looks disastrous. Well, if I were an ordinary ostrich—or rather, an ordinary creature—I'd be dead.
While contemplating such matters, just as I am about to offer some sort of explanation to her, I perceive a massive presence of mana against my skin once more. Furthermore, it's approaching.
...It's him. I wondered if I had managed to inflict reasonably severe injuries with that polar light earlier, but it seems that wasn't the case at all. Judging from here, he has absolutely no external injuries, and the distance is astonishingly vast. He must have erected a mana barrier and executed an emergency evasion backward. Skillful, isn't he... is that what they call a Special Tactical Force? The "Beast King" I heard about from Matilde. Well, whatever; if it's a living creature, it can be killed.
"Dere, can you listen to what I say?"
"Mama... yes! I can listen!"
"Oh, incredible. Have you become capable of speaking that much already? In that case, we'll have to talk a whole lot later... Immediately take the other kids and return to the town. Have them heal the injured kids there, okay? Can you do it?"
"I'll try my best! I can do it!"
"Yes, good girl. ...Amelia-san, I leave the rest to you."
Perhaps thanks to becoming capable of handling mana, I could see that from the instant Amelia-san attempted to draw close to me, she had been advancing the emergency treatment of my kids utilizing magic. I can leave the detailed parts to her. Dere should listen to what Amelia-san says properly as well.
And then, I look at my kids who have fallen behind me. Before I realized it, Matilde had drawn close to them, assisting so they could be placed upon the backs of the ostriches who can still move. Our eyes meet for a brief moment, and I nod firmly, conveying that I am trusting her with the rest. Ah, truly, she is reliable.
...It seems safe to leave it to the two of them, Dere, and everyone else.
While pouring the entirety of my remaining mana into recovery, I face back toward the guy closing the distance toward me.
...Ah, that's right. I forgot to mention it.
Right now, I am tremendously angry.
Don't expect to die a peaceful death.