Chapter 48 - Besieged
It was evening.
I turned on the TV casually while resting in the living room.
Then, a scene was broadcast where Saeki Kana was being interviewed.
The girl who should have been killed this morning was surrounded by the press.
She was answering the reporters' questions with composure.
It wasn't old footage.
It was a live broadcast.
In other words, at this very moment, Kana is alive.
I stare at the screen, feeling a nasty sweat breaking out under my arms.
With her eyes sparkling brilliantly, Kana declared, "My family has the power to increase our numbers."
To her left and right, girls who looked exactly like Kana were lined up in a row.
One, two, three.
A total of six Saeki Kanas.
While stunned, I turn up the volume on the TV.
"If there are people who want to increase their numbers within our family, please step forward. We'll do it plenty for you."
Beside me, Angelica and Ayako-chan are looking on with wide, bewildered eyes.
I feel the same way.
Why are there multiple Kanas?
As far as the appraisal results showed, there shouldn't have been a skill in her that could create clones.
In other words.
Kana applied automatic Recovery Magic to herself and then bisected her own body. Exactly into equal parts.
The slashing attacks generated with the Light Sword can be fixed in mid-air.
After that, she probably only had to leap into them to be split in two.
Charging in order to be divided exactly in half is a masterstroke, but the Divine Sword skill also has an effect that corrects the aim of the blade.
Markers float in the field of vision, even predicting the trajectory of the slash.
It even calculates how much of an object to cut and at what size.
All that's left is to move the body accordingly.
Using it to split oneself in two is unprecedented, but Kana pulled it off.
And she did it multiple times.
"...Well, that makes sense. No matter how much Agility she has to move at high speeds, she went around increasing the number of geniuses scattered across the country in a single night. It's impossible for a lone culprit."
If there were multiple Kanas, then the matter is simple.
There are six people shown on the screen, but in reality, there might be even more.
Even if each one isn't a major threat, it will be troublesome if they continue to be mass-produced like this.
If I'm going to defeat them, the sooner the better. If left alone, they will eventually become an uncontrollable force.
As I groaned while glaring at Kana's smirking face,
"Did this person make me?"
Ayako-chan said.
Her voice was trembling.
"That seems to be the case."
"...Then, I was made by that person. Is that person going to be my Mother?"
"I see, I hadn't told you the method of multiplication yet."
I explain the concept of the Summoned Hero to Ayako-chan.
Next, I explain the method of human copying using automatic Recovery Magic and swordsmanship.
Ayako-chan listened, looking somewhat dazed.
Did she understand?
"That's why you're not a fake, Ayako-chan. Since the original person literally increased into two, your value won't decrease compared to the other Ayako-chan."
"...Is that so?"
"It might be hard to accept, but... Ayako-chan?"
"...Thank goodness... really..."
Repeating that it was a relief, Ayako-chan wept.
Whether one is the real thing or not is a vital issue concerning one's reason for existence.
I thought it was a natural reaction for a girl—no, for a human.
In contrast, Kana's psyche is no longer human. She increases herself with composure. As she said herself, she might be approaching the realm of the gods.
An arrogant and capricious goddess of myth.
"I wonder how I should handle this."
I muttered while stroking my chin. I wasn't seeking an answer; it was just a monologue.
However, Angelica showed a reaction.
"Father, are you going to fight that girl?"
"Yeah. She's acting based on a quite dangerous ideology. It seems things got pretty messed up in the other world. She'll increase the humans she likes and kill the rest."
"Haa... So the Hero became a Demon Lord. I hear that story every now and then."
Angelica furrowed her brow. Her hand was stroking the back of the sobbing Ayako-chan.
"Is that Kana person strong?"
"Her stats are considerable, but she doesn't reach my level. Most of her ability values are less than ten percent of mine."
"But there are six of them, right?"
"True. What's most troublesome is that she's appeared in public."
"Why is that?"
I give a brief explanation to the blank-faced Angelica.
"That Kana girl, knowing she's being targeted by me, decided to protect herself. ...Maybe the other Kanas were also lurking in that thicket. Is that why she's moving so fast?"
"Um, how does appearing on TV like that lead to protecting herself?"
"If she becomes a celebrity, the media will chase her around twenty-four seven. Cameras will probably be glued to her house twenty-four hours a day. I think she decided to utilize that."
I sent her honest praise, thinking she had really thought it through.
"The cameras they hold can even film people using Concealment Magic. Therefore, assassination becomes difficult. If you want to kill, there's inevitably a moment where you have to stop. When you think about that single moment being recorded, you hesitate to go out and attack directly. The fact that I'm intimidated is effective enough."
"How about sniping from a distance with magic?"
"It's difficult. It might involve the TV reporters and onlookers around her... I hate to say it, but my firepower is too high, so I'm not good at targeting a small number of people with pinpoint accuracy. The Light Sword, which can do something closest to that, has a range of only a few meters at best."
"Is it like a human shield?"
Being too strong being a handicap in reverse is a pain, Angelica sighed.
"Yeah. ...Of course, it's a different story if I completely ignore public opinion and just decide I don't care if I'm watched. I could annihilate Saeki Kana's swarm immediately. But she probably figured I wouldn't do that. I'm the type who goes out of my way to pretend to be a magician just to live without causing too much stir in the world. She must have seen through me as the type who wants to live quietly."
"Hmm. In a sense, it's like a siege. She's increased her fame and retreated into a castle of crowds and cameras."
"True."
I laughed.
"...Huh? But Father, you were incredibly good at castle sieges, weren't you?"
"You're well-informed."
The number of demon castles I have conquered eventually exceeded sixty.
As for goblin dens, I continued to raid them until their entire Race was extinct.
"That's right. That Kana girl, of all things, jumped right into the field I'm best at."
If one doesn't care about the means, flushing out a cornered enemy is easy.
"In short, all Kana has to do is shake off the cameras. Even if footage of her moving around at high speeds is recorded, it doesn't bother me one bit. I just have to make it so she comes to the location I've designated."
While glancing at Ayako-chan wiping her eyes, I cracked my neck.
"She did make Ayako-chan cry, after all. I'm not keen on it, but I'll drag them all out and strike them down."
"Can you do it?"
"I can. I've already thought of a method."
That's my Father, Angelica said, pressing her hands together.
A dry clap echoed. It felt like a slightly premature round of applause.