Chapter 104: 104 – Turning Point 2 – Zwischenzug – Part 1

It was an uneventful birth. Unlike with Norn, my newest sibling didn’t cause a commotion when she was born.

Well, other than crying. But that was good. A healthy baby should be crying when they were born. Not like me who concerned my parents when I didn't immediately cry.

Mama Lily smiled and handed the baby over to my mom. “Congratulations, Zenny. It’s another beautiful baby girl.”

My mom let out an exhausted smile and hugged my new baby sister against her chest. As she did, she laughed. “Another girl. I knew it.”

Mama Lily laughed as well.

I smiled.

Things were going smoothly. An ordinary birth, and one that didn't require a C-section.

...Though the fact that it didn't gave me a different sort of trauma, but that memory can be quietly shoved off to the side.

But anyway, things were going well. It was late into the night, but nothing out of the ordinary was occurring.

I was worried something ridiculous would happen again like with Norn’s birth. Because of that, Norn and Aisha were at my house with Master Roxy and Miss Ghyslaine for protection while Miss Rose watched them. Sylphy and Eris were there too, of course. Mostly so that Sylphy could keep an eye on Eris and make sure she didn't run off in case something happened.

As for this house, Dad and Mister Laws were keeping watch outside.

I wasn’t too sure where Miss Rostelina and that Perry guy went, but whatever the case, it looked like everything would be fine.

Mom hugged my new baby sister close to her chest and said, "I guess it's Stella after all then." She smiled and then looked at me. "Seems like there's no cute baby brother for you this time, Rudy."

I helped Mama Lily move all the supplies and sterilize them before wiping my hands. After that, I walked over to take a look at my new sister.

She had stopped crying, but she was still sniffling. Her cute green eyes were puffy and her skin was a bit red. But all in all, a normal and healthy baby girl.

Stella, my new baby sister.

And one that Rudeus never had.

Another sign that it wasn't good to rely too much on what he told me.

Mom smiled and said, "Do you want to hold her, Rudy?"

"E-Eh?" I blinked and said, "Um-"

"Here. You've held Norn and Aisha, so it's not fair to ignore Stella."

Before I could say anything else, Mom was already holding Stella out to me.

"H-Hey!" I quickly took my baby sister and frowned. "You should be more cautious, Mom. I'm still just a kid, you know? What if I accidentally hurt her?"

Mom laughed and said, "Well, I'd trust you to hold her more than your dad. Besides, haven't you been learning more healing magic from Mister Orsted?"

"...Fair."

That was another reason why I was here. Unlike the last time where I had to scramble with basic healing magic, I knew a few more.

But still...

I stared at my new baby sister and mumbled, "Stella, huh?"

It was a fitting name. Just like Norn, it seemed like Mom wanted her daughters to have grandiose names-

Ah wait. It was Dad this time who chose the name.

Well, it looked like he was getting a better naming sense now at least.

Stella. A star. And one born from Zenith... Yeah. Dad was definitely getting better at names.

My new baby sister sniffled and then looked at me, eyes still watering.

"Hey there." I carefully shifted my hand around to brush her tears. "I'm Rudy, your big brother. There's no need to cry, okay? No matter what happens, I'll-"

A sudden roar in the distance. Not just one, but a chorus that reverberated all around.

I froze.

Mama Lily frowned and quickly drew her gold pin from her sleeve, turning it into the sword I made for her.

At the same time, Mom sat up, panicked. "R-Rudy?"

Stella started crying again, scared by the sudden noise.

I held her close and kept calm. "Shh. It'll be alright. Nothing will happen to you."

A door slammed open, and then my dad's voice echoed. "Rudy! Keep an eye on your Mom and-"

A snarl interrupted my dad and then I heard the sound of walls and furniture breaking. Something smashing through the house.

"Dammit!"

Mister Laws's voice echoed after that. "Paul!"

"I'm fine! Keep an eye out! They're coming in from everywhere!"

Mama Lily's gaze turned sharp after hearing that. She quickly moved to my mom's side and said, "Zenny. Can you stand?"

She tried to move, but winced and shook her head. "N-No. It hurts too much."

Mama Lily looked at me. "Rudy?"

"...I don't know if this will help, but..." I focused on my mom and the flow of her mana.

There wasn't anything inherently wrong with my mom. Childbirth was painful, but it was one of those weird 'natural states' that took time to heal and recover from.

Maybe it was because 'birth' counted as a sort of miracle? Or maybe because the division of resources from the human body to the baby was a requirement? Whatever the case, Mom's mana was thin and her body was weak. Her skin was pale, and the flow of her mana was sluggish.

It would have been different if it was a C-section like with Norn, but...

No. It should work.

Healing was healing. Even if none of the spells I had learned til now specifically addressed restoring fatigue from childbirth. And maybe that was wrong too. After all, hadn't a lot of magical common sense been proven wrong recently by the combined efforts of me, Sylphy, Master Roxy, and Orsted?

So...

A flash of white and golden light.

Mom's pale skin regained a bit of color. At the same time, her mana regained its natural vigor-

No. It was a bit weaker than usual. Probably since a portion of it went into Stella as she was being born?

I wasn't paying too close attention because of the context and frantic events, but-

A reflection of light, barely visible in the darkness. One aimed directly at Stella.

My eyes widened and I quickly formed a barrier. The moment I did, a loud impact echoed. One that sounded like metal grating against glass.

Stella started crying harder.

I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't really have the time for that. Because...

"A Devouring Devil?" My mom carefully stared at the creature scraping away at the barrier and said, "What's that doing here?"

Mama Lily clicked her tongue and raised her sword. "Does it matter? We need to kill it."

I stared at the Devouring Devil and frowned.

A skeletal reptilian creature with obsidian scales. Long arms and limbs, along with sharp claws... Its ominous crimson eyes looked at me before swiveling to Mom and Mama Lily. When it did, it snarled and then swung bony talons at my barrier, scraping against it.

But more than that, it was strong.

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Taking the mana level of the Terminate Boars in the area as a comparison, this thing had mana at least ten times as dense. Not only that, but it was actively reinforcing its limbs with said mana, meaning that it was fast.

And if I hadn't reacted in time, Stella would be-

No. I couldn't think like that. Right now...

I looked at Mama Lily. "Can you handle it, Mama Lily?"

She smiled and then stepped forward. "Leave it to me, Rudy." Raising her sword, she said, "I didn't get a chance to use this in Milbotts."

Mom looked at her and frowned. After that, she stood up and said, "I'll help."

"Mom!"

She looked back at me and shook her head, a serious expression on her face. "I'll be fine, Rudy." She lifted her bracelet and smiled. "I have this, remember?"

Ah. That was true. But-

"Trust Mommy, Rudy." She shifted her attention back to the monster and said, "I've faced scarier monsters partying with your dad. Though..." She stared at the monster and said, "...I guess that Being W really doesn't like you getting new siblings, huh?"

The Devouring Devil snarled, fixing its gaze on Stella.

I frowned and turned to the side. As I did, the monster's gaze followed, never shifting away from her.

"...Yeah. Seems that way."

That guy had mentioned something about Norn in the past too, didn't he? Were my younger sisters going to be that dangerous to him in the future, or-?

"I will lead, Zenny. Please support."

"Got it. Be careful, Lily."

"Of course."

A brief exchange. After that, Mama Lily and Mom charged out to fight.

And then light flashed and a horde of giant tarantulas started crawling in the room.

Mom screamed and said, "W-What in Milis's name?!"

"Focus!" Mama Lily swung her sword. At the same time, her bracelet glowed and a blast of wind surged, blowing out both the walls and the spiders.

"What the hell?!" Dad's voice echoed from outside. "Monsters are inside too?!"

Laws's voice echoed after that and he said, "Paul! To your left!"

"Dammit! You rusty piece of junk...! *This* is how you use Water Style!"

A chaotic and frantic mess.

Mama Lily jumped out to fight the monsters. After taking a breath, Mom did the same.

Which left me alone with Stella.

My baby sister kept crying, nuzzling her face against me as if she was terrified.

No, she definitely was terrified.

I grit my teeth and then looked up at the sky. "You bastard..."

Nothing. I didn't see anything. Whatever was happening, it wasn't a mana-based phenomenon. I also didn't see any traces of Being W's mana.

Did he realize it? That I could see when he was interfering with mana?

"I guess you really are a god, huh?"

I underestimated the guy a bit. To think he could still pull all of this off... No. Was it a desperation move?

If he could have done this before, he would have. Especially since I and my family were even stronger than we were in the past due to his failed attempts.

But I had to give him credit.

I was the strongest person here. If I moved, things would be over.

But I couldn't.

I looked down at my baby sister.

Did she calm down a bit? Stella had stopped crying. Instead, she was staring at me, as if trying to assess whether or not she was safe.

I smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sis. I'll keep you safe."

Right.

It was nerve-wracking and it pissed me off, but I had to trust them. Up until this point, I'd done my best and helping everyone help themselves.

...A bit too much in cases like Sylphy, Dad, and Eris.

But now that was what I had to do. I had to trust them to solve the situation. And my job right now...

I held Stella close and stacked a three-dimensional barrier spell around me before layering elemental protections. A layer of wind to deflect any projectiles and dampen momentum. A wall of water to slow attacks. Lightning over that to strike back. Flames to scorch hostile presences. Then holy to repel any foreign mana influences and tricks Being W might try. And to be extra safe, I created a thick sphere of iron around me. Just in case there happened to be a mana disruptor of some sort.

Because knowing that guy, there might.

Altogether, it formed a sphere of protection that would take someone like Orsted using that mana disruptor attack to pierce.

So now... We just waited.

...Ah. I also needed to make sure there was airflow in here. One small magic circle for that...

There. And now we wait-

"WAAAAAHHHHH!"

...And I forgot. It was dark.

I sighed and conjured a small ball of holy magic to provide light. After that, I smiled at Stella and said, "Well, you've definitely got a healthy set of lungs on you."

She sniffed and then stared at me again.

Outside, I could hear muffled shouts and explosions. Probably Dad letting loose, along with everyone else.

"...Well. Since we'll be here for a while..." I stared at Stella.

She stared back with watery eyes that looked ready to burst into tears again at any moment.

"How do you calm a baby down again...?"

Stories helped, but Stella wouldn't understand them. Then... lullabies? Lullabies. But I didn't know any. All I knew were random anime songs-

Ah, wait.

I knew one.

A super emotional song from a wholesome family anime that I watched. Also one that started me on my trek to make amends with my family after seeing the regret the MC had in not raising his daughter.

"I'm not confident in singing, but... Well, you can make fun of me later if you remember it, kay? For now though..."

I took a deep breath and started singing.

"Dango, dango, dango, dango, dango daikazoku~"