The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Civilians Caught in the Crossfire

My thoughts were rapidly spinning within the darkness that had consumed my consciousness.

First and foremost, my ultimate goal is to annihilate the Aaros Temple Order and its Executives.

I would love to wipe them out immediately if possible, but given their characteristics, achieving that would be of an exceedingly difficult level.

What exacerbates this difficulty is the fact that any common Heretic, once recognized by Aaros, can be promoted to an executive.

About every half year, there is a day when the Holy Nation Geluid is shrouded in darkness. If the ceremony for Executive promotion is conducted on that day of the solar eclipse, no matter how much the number of Executives has decreased, new Executives will sprout up.

Therefore, to eradicate the Heretics, it is necessary to annihilate all seven Executives in a short period of time.

If even a single piece of flesh is left behind, the monsters that can revive from it must be dealt with, which, for now, remains nothing more than a pipe dream.

Consequently, I considered the need for me to become an Executive myself, thereby crushing one of the seven seats.

By doing so, I could save the trouble of dealing with one Executive.

When I become an Executive, I will wait for the Orthodox side’s offensive and strike the Heretic Executive from behind.

With the attack power of an Executive and that of an Orthodox Executive, we will bury Aaros and his ilk.

If the Orthodox side has more people, it might even be worth betraying the Heretics.

And if Alfie was to manifest magic as in the original work, she would boast a Heretic-fighting capability greater than Saren.

It’s natural that I had such high expectations for Alfie.

In any case, me becoming an Executive is crucial. Protecting Alfie, the protagonist of the original work, and ensuring the Orthodox Executives protect him too.

If a force equal to or greater than Saren is added to the Orthodox side, prioritizing Alfie’s protection should be of utmost importance.

(However, it’s also necessary to push Alfie to a certain extent by oppressing her spirit. Then her explosive power when facing a Heretic should increase.)

If I wait for Alfie’s growth and become an Executive, wreaking havoc on the Heretics from the shadows, even the formidable Aaros should be knocked out.

…Oh, what should I do when I’m the last one remaining, you ask?

By that time, I’ll probably have been promoted to the role of cult leader… but to ensure that the cult never grows again, I’ll take responsibility and go around killing all the Believers myself.

After that, I don’t know. At the very least, living quietly—maybe such a thing would be impossible.

By the time I sent five Executives to the city of Daskell, Oakley Mercury was a great sinner.

Even if I swore justice in my heart, objectively, I had become a Heretic worthy of being the right-hand man of the Executives.

I’ve been spotted by Celestia engaging in suspicious activities, and it’s only a matter of time before the orthodox side recognizes the danger of the mobile fortress plan.

I will be treated like a wanted criminal by Kenneth Orthodox.

But anyone who found themselves in my position would do the same.

Without any escape, without any trustworthy people, a person pushed to the extreme environment—would inevitably become someone like me—

(Hey, hey, hey, don’t make excuses. Accept yourself and reality as they are, Oakley Mercury. Continue straight to the goal in this ultimate state of mind.)

Surprised at myself for almost making excuses, I once again swore in my heart.

…That’s right. There’s no point in discussing hypotheticals.

I am me. Born into this world under unfortunate circumstances.

It can’t be helped, and that’s just how it is.

So, I have to swallow that unfairness. I must endure the intense pain and gain the strength to bounce back.

(Yes, that’s right. If I’ve decided to walk the path of the warrior, I must not waver. I know that half-measures are the worst.)

I succeeded in the Daskell surprise attack. All that’s left is to escape from this city.

…Come to think of it, Joanne and the others didn’t tell me what would happen after the transfer.

It can’t be helped, considering it only took a few minutes to decide on the Daskell surprise attack after sensing the prelude to the Metashim recapture operation.

I wasn’t thinking that far ahead either.

Well, what’s important now is the evaluation and trust from Aaros and the others.

My assessment is probably below average. I’m seen as nothing more than a ‘small fry that can be useful if handled correctly,’ I suppose.

I must build up more and more trust—

(It’s about time to wake up. Get ready.)

Due to anemia, I had lost consciousness. If I were to bleed again, this time, no one would come to my aid.

In the midst of the town of Daskell filled with the rumbling roar and explosions, I awoke.

“…”

A jet-black robe had been placed over my face, seemingly left by an Executive.

I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or not.

(All my fingers are gone except for… Joanne’s ring finger. I knew it… once the transfer is complete, I become useless.)

Looking down at my hands, I saw that most of the fingers inhabited by the Executive had been lost.

My left little finger, left index finger, right little finger, and right index finger were gone.

The only transplanted finger that remained intact was the left ring finger, which Joanne had inhabited.

Considering that Shadiq, who had swapped his left index finger, uses a sword, and Pork operates the thorns with his fingers, it’s understandable that they would take the fingers, considering the disadvantage in combat.

Besides, Joanne is the only one who can flexibly use healing magic, and the other Believers are not so proficient in it.

So, it’s inevitable to lose fingers.

One thing that bothers me if I were to point it out is what the five Executives did with my fingers during the transfer.

If they jumped into the mixer with my fingers still attached, my fingers would never come back.

I’ll put up with it if it comes to that, but I hate the idea because having fewer fingers makes it harder to handle weapons.

Looking around, nothing seems to have changed. The same dim alleyways stretch on forever.

It seems that the Executives of the orthodox and heretical churches are fighting on the main street, so it would be wise to leave this place quickly.

Enduring the intense discomfort of dizziness, I somehow managed to leave the spot.

My skin is visibly pale, even to myself. My head is spinning. Unbeknownst to me, it seemed I was quite stricken, and I found myself on my knees, scattering the contents of my stomach.

As if to add insult to injury in this desperate situation, the house that loomed overhead vanished in an instant.

Thanks to that, the back alleys regained the open feeling of the main streets, and the despairing sight of dark shadows covering the sky was fully displayed.

“…Huh?”

The magic of Aaros that covers the sky.

No doubt about it——Aaros is serious. He didn’t even show his true power during the battle of Metashim.

A thick heat ray flashes at the edge of my vision, and somehow the fear brings me back to reality.

That’s Stella’s attack. She must be fighting nearby; I need to escape quickly before getting caught up in it.

Wiping the corners of my mouth smeared with vomit, I run towards the outer wall while hiding in the shadows.

No, I had intended to run towards the outer walls of Daskell—but what lay before my eyes could hardly be called a wall anymore.

Melted into sludge, riddled with holes, entwined with purple poisonous thorns, something that resembled a wall on the brink of collapse.

The scars of the Executives’ attacks which paid no heed to the sturdy structures encircling the town’s perimeter made me acutely aware once again of the terrifying nature of the battlefields in this world.

Just as a heat ray burst forth in front of me, a conflagration from Phoenix rose behind me.

Sparks flew dozens of meters above, and a heat that seemed to scorch the lungs swirled around. Then a shadow that seemed to crush the flames twisted in from above, scattering intense sparks.

(Could it be, Saren Deputy and Aaros are fighting…!?)

As I cast my gaze in the direction of the presence, I saw Aaros, shrouded in shadow, and Saren, who resembled a mass of flames, locked in a fierce battle.

Their high-collared ceremonial garb and jet-black masks intermingled, and with every exchange of blows, the city’s landscape was altered.

Aaros, with his fist enlarged by the shadow, tore through Saren’s holy flames and thrust the shadow into her chest.

In an instant, Saren’s body seemed to explode into dust, but from the burst sparks, a resurrected Saren appeared behind Aaros, firing a vortex of crimson flames.

For the heretic, touching that flame meant death.

Aaros managed to escape unscathed by using smoke-like instant teleportation against Saren, who had scorched a wide area from a blind spot.

“You have a troublesome ability, don’t you?”

“You too.”

Overwhelming power, pure instant teleportation, and an exchange of instant-death-level attacks—indeed, those two were on a different level.

Especially Saren. Just by standing on the battlefield, one couldn’t help but focus on her.

Despite the situation being five against three, the heretics couldn’t fully capitalize on their numerical advantage because of her presence.

However, Saren occasionally showed signs of concern for the scenery below, and her firepower seemed restrained, not at full throttle.

(Clearly, she’s holding back her firepower. Her way of fighting is serious, but it looks like she’s being considerate of something… Why?)

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I surveyed the other locations.

Pomett was facing off against Shadiq and Pork, while Celestia was battling Joanne and Stella.

At regular intervals, the aftermath of Phoenix’s flames spread throughout the city, and each time it touched their skin, the movements of the heretical Executive slowed down.

If one were to be completely showered in her flames, even healing magic would be in vain, resulting in instant death.

Due to this psychological impact, it seemed that the two Executives of the orthodox faith were barely managing to hold their ground.

I see… Saren has been fighting while worrying about her comrades, that’s why her gaze was moving in such a strange way.

But that’s not all. Saren is holding back her full power in order to buy time for the evacuation of the civilians.

If she were to go all out, it would be easy for her to incinerate an entire city with her hell fire.

However, regardless of whether Saren’s power is being restrained, it’s still troublesome.

Because each spark falling from above is imbued with the afterglow of the holy fire, even if the flames’ potency is diminished, it still deals significant damage to the average Heretic.

The robe I had been using as an umbrella was completely scorched, and it had begun to sear my entire body through my clothes.

(Damn it, I’m going to die from these sparks alone!)

While experiencing the terror of the first-ranked orthodox executive, I gasped for breath and kept a certain distance. Just as I tried to catch my breath, a wind-claw slash flew from the front, grazing my neck.

It seemed I was suffering from tunnel vision due to anemia as Celestia, Joanne, and Stella were fighting right before my eyes.

(I’m probably done for…!!)

I threw myself into the rubble, lying flat to dodge Stella’s heat ray.

The spot where I had been standing moments before bubbled up, withering in a reddish-black hue as it was swallowed by the ground.

“…Celestia, your body looks delicious… I’m somehow in the mood for barbecue today.”

“Haa, haaah… Unfortunately, I am not particularly tasty.”

I felt like screaming as the scene before me boiled over, but getting caught here would mean the end of everything.

I summoned strength into the core of my body, stifling the voice that threatened to escape from the back of my throat.

Celestia’s identity was known to me. If I got caught this time, I’d be shot without a second glance and die.

‘I’m just a civilian who was too slow to escape! Don’t attack me!’ That tactic wouldn’t work either, and due to missing some fingers, I couldn’t even use a crossbow.

As I was hesitating about what to do, my left ring finger suddenly trembled.

―Joanne’s finger.

That’s right, she can pinpoint my location.

When I peeked out from the edge of the rubble, our eyes met for just a few seconds.

Just as I thought. She’s got a lock on where I am.

Celestia is preoccupied with dealing with Stella’s triple threat of physical reflection, magic absorption, and heat ray emission, and doesn’t seem to notice me.

She’s busy deflecting heat rays with wind magic and concentrating her mind on the excessively heavy attacks coming from Joanne, who’s taking advantage of the openings, so someone as insignificant as me doesn’t even enter her field of vision.

While rarely grateful to Joanne, I ran to a relatively safe area to escape.