Chapter 81~Request~
Yoru was flustered when Akira collapsed onto the bed, but after being told by Kurou that he had only fallen asleep, he gave a sigh of relief.
Quite a few magicians died due to magic depletion.
Naturally, Yoru would be worried.
It was said that just breathing consumed the magic of humans.
This was purely what the demons believed, he didn’t know if this was true.
However, he certainly lingered on the verge of death for a moment.
Even though Yoru knew that he wouldn’t die, he couldn’t help but think that he had stopped breathing.
「…even so, I’m surprised he didn’t die.」
Kurou muttered this.
Yoru was hesitating as to whether or not he should discuss with Kurou about what had happened with Akira.
Yoru did not think that the magic would have a mind of its own or anything like that, and Akira did not tell Yoru and the others about the conversation he had with Saran.
Therefore, Yoru did not think that the magic would heal his master either.
Master-dono had become strange!, was the primary conclusion that he could come up with.
However, it certainly was odd, but Yoru had no problem keeping it to himself.
Kurou was staring at the worried Yoru, wondering what was wrong with him.
「…what. If you have something to say, then spit it out already. I’m going to go.」
Kurou coldly looked down at Yoru who was on top of the bed.
As one would expect, Yoru too was subdued by those eyes and started talking.
He told him about how Akira had exhausted his magic, and how even though his condition was like that of him waiting for death, he had recovered.
As well as the voice that he had heard at that time.
「…it’s not a self-recovery type magic. First of all, how did the depleting magic replenish itself?」
Kurou, who was muttering something, spat that out, and Yoru moved closer towards Akira’s face.
He pressed his paw down onto Akira’s forehead.
「…nn.」
『Fumu. It doesn’t seem like a fever. Those who had used a large amount of magic generally develop fevers afterwards.』
Akira slightly scrunched up his face at the cool touch of the paw.
Stirring restlessly, he tossed and turned, holding onto Yoru who was right next to his face.
『…ah, Master-dono? …oi, Kurou, help me.』
As expected, he couldn’t attack his sleeping master to forcibly break out his grasp.
Moreover, his master was completely unconscious, so it was increasingly harder to do so.
He had requested Kurou to help him, but he was no longer in the room.
『That bastard…haa, don’t overdo it, Master-dono. If Master-dono dies, I will as well, more or less.』
When Yoru was explaining the ritual, he felt that this man who was not afraid of death was interesting, but now, he just wanted him to be safe.
TN: the ritual was the one they underwent to establish the master and familiar bond
Or else, Yoru’s heart wouldn’t be able to take it.
To begin with, Yoru did not plan on dying.
He had been ordered by the demon king to go to the depths of the dungeon to serve as his messenger, and he had the resolve to die, but that was then.
He had been thinking of getting out of it somehow.
Maa, he ended up leaving like that, but since he was able to meet an interesting human, it was fine.
Anyway, Yoru didn’t want to die yet.
That’s why, he will live together with Akira.
After all, he was Akira’s familiar.
Since Yoru would die if Akira died, everything would be fine if he protected Akira.
…that was what he thought.
However, perhaps this master of his was prone to getting caught up in troublesome matters and incidents.
He was constantly getting hurt and dancing with death at every opportunity.
Since his physical abilities and status were in a completely different league, this was the first time that Yoru had seen him being exposed to danger. Even when they were in the elven territory, if it were normal humans, that first arrow would’ve hit them, and they would’ve already left this world.
『I’m begging you, don’t die.』
Yoru brought his head closer to Akira’s cheek, all the while still being held tightly in Akira’s sleeping embrace.
This behavior was unbecoming of a monster who was prideful, but Yoru didn’t care.
They had gotten to know each other in the lower level boss room in the dungeon, so he was already used to it.
According to the original contract, they would always cuddle before going to bed.
He snuggled up to him, as if to make a request.
『Don’t die.』
He muttered this over and over, as if he were praying.
Yoru did not realize that those feelings were not just because he didn’t want to die.
Seduced by the warmth, Yoru had started to doze off, his head on Akira’s arm.
『Master; dono….』
After waiting for Yoru to have completely fallen asleep, Akira slowly opened his eyes.
He had felt something within his arms, and woke up.
「…don’t worry. I won’t do something like this ever again. I will not die. Not until I get home.」
And so, using Yoru as a body pillow, he fell into a deep sleep once again.
—
Chapter 82~Emergence of the “Assassin of Darkness”~
I woke up later that day.
Kurou and Yoru tried to pacify me who wanted to immediately go search for Amelia.
『It’s getting dark out. Certainly, this was the ideal time for assassins, but don’t forget that monsters come out at this time as well.』
「You’re still not completely recovered. Go sleep.」
I could not understand how these two people were so calm, I was irritated by the fact that I couldn’t go to Amelia.
「How, …how are you so calm?」
I punched the wall, trying to release my pent up frustration.
I understood that I was just taking my anger out on them.
My current circumstances were due to the fact that I used shadow magic without thinking of the consequences, and I knew that the two of them were also extremely worried about Amelia.
However, I couldn’t help it.
『…I’m not calm at all, Master-dono.』
「I wish I was calm. “Assassin of Darkness”-dono?」
Growing irritated by Kurou’s aloof reply, just as I was about to say something, something caught my attention.
「“Assassin of Darkness”?」
I was so agitated that I unwittingly let out a stupid voice.
TN: ok, so the first “Assassin of Darkness” was in kanji while the second was in hiragana. Usually, when the same words are said twice but in different writing systems, it means that one of the characters do not understand what it meant or is confused. In this sentence, it actually says that he was so agitated that it (his words) unwittingly became hiragana. Since leaving it like that would make no sense and hiragana basically meaning “simple” or “ordinary”, it ended up being what I have here.
I was so confused, and couldn’t think clearly.
TN: here, he actually says that he couldn’t convert the hiragana into kanji
As my frustration grew more apparent, Kurou looked at me and grinned.
Ever since I’ve met him, I’ve heard about Kurou being a sarcastic person, but this was the first time I’ve seen him smile in such a way that it sent chills running down my spine.
『…that seems to be Master-dono’s nickname.』
Yoru said the one thing that I didn’t want to hear.
This guy, did he do it on purpose?
My close friend, Kyousuke, unconsciously said things that others didn’t want to bring up, perhaps Yoru was like that as well.
「It seems that everyone saw you using the shadow magic to exterminate the monsters from the hill that they evacuated to. That was how you, a yellow ranked adventurer, gained a nickname. Moreover, it was officially recognized by the guild. …good for you. You received a very cool name.」
Kurou clapped me on the shoulder, and then left the room.
I was extremely perplexed.
「Well, for an assassin to stand out, what am I going to do. 」
『That seems to be the case. Maa, I don’t think that Master-dono would be lacking in that area compared to other assassins.』
Yoru said this as if to follow up, but that was not what I was unhappy about.
…what was that.
It’s that nickname that was so chuunibyou!
Or rather, what are you talking about!
This was the first time I’ve heard it!!!
Why does such a thing exist??
「…my classmates, can neverrrrr find out. Especially Kyousuke or the hero….」
Kyousuke would definitely, expressionlessly say something like 『good for you』.
That would be what he feels from the bottom of his heart too, so that just makes it worse.
On the other hand, the hero would just make a face.
After telling him about the circumstances, he would undoubtedly say, 『that’s unfortunate』.
That would just make me angry, but afterwards I’d expect that he would be questioned by the girls in the class about our conversations. Of course, he would tell them everything and it would be common knowledge to all of our classmates.
I sighed as I buried my face in my hands.
「…haa. Naa, Yoru, did anything else other than that happen.」
『No, but the “Assassin of Darkness” is the talk of the town, you know? It’s going to be difficult to get rid of it.』
Yoru tilted his head, not understanding the weight of the matter nor why I disliked the nickname so much.
「Is that so—. …is it ok for an Assassin to stand out. …or rather, my magic is not『Darkness』, but『Shadow』.」
I could sense that my shadow agreed with me.
Right? You think so too, right?
『Looking at it from afar, it seems to be darkness. In the first place, shadow magic is an unknown magic. Even if it were a shadow, at the time, the sky was completely enveloped in darkness, so naturally their assumption would be darkness magic.』
Besides, was there a more fitting nickname other than “Assassin of Darkness”?, Yoru tilted his head, inquiring this.
Sh*t.
I couldn’t argue against that.
It seems that there was nothing else I could do about a chuunibyou thing such as being an assassin on top of possessing shadow-attribute magic.
If I return to my original world, sealing their mouths would be my top priority.
「…today, I will be good and sleep. But, tomorrow, I’m going to get up early, ok!」
When I covered myself with the quilt in a huff, I became drowsy once again.
It seems that my body was still in need of rest.
I was somewhat displeased with the fact that someone other than me understood the condition of my body, but I knew that he was just concerned about me, so I endured it.
Come to think of it, even in the other world, there were a lot of times where I would cover myself with the quilt whenever I was frustrated or angry and the fall asleep, leaving things unresolved.
As expected, when I became a high school student, my younger sister Yuri told me that I was being childish, and then I stopped doing that.
『Yes, yes.』
「…you only need to say it once.」
I absentmindedly said that, and then laid my head down onto the bed once again.
『…there’s a huge backlash from the magic depletion. Much less in Master-dono’s case where he was on the verge of death at one point. It’s nothing that could be recovered from in just one or two days.』
Muttering this, Yoru left the room as well.
Although one might say that the shadow magic replenished itself, it was only the bare minimum.
Since it was only enough so that he wouldn’t die.
Akira’s body desired magic.
To the point where there was a feeling of magic being extracted when one stood nearby.
It wasn’t actually being extracted, but it’s unknown what would happen if he was walking in the middle of town like that.
Right now, he could only take magic replenishing potions a little at a time, and then recover with sleep.
Akira had recovered seventy percent of his magic.
Wasn’t it just fine with this much, that was what he had thought, but he would like to get rid of as many uncertain variables as possible before rescuing Amelia, even if it was just one.
Akira understood that as well, but he was unable to hold back the desire to go to where Amelia was, and he fell into a light sleep.
And so, what normally took one day to be completed ended up taking two, three days.
「…quickly, quickly.」
—
Chapter 83~Within the “Nightingale Pavilion”~ Satou Tsukasa POV
「Well? Our goal is to defeat the demon king, how should we go about it?」
Having stayed at the human continent’s country of Yamato, the hero and his party finally got down to business.
「…according to what I heard, it seems that everyone in the previous hero’s party except for the beastman representative and the hero himself were defeated by the demons and the monsters before they even arrived at where the demon king was.」
That was approximately a hundred years ago.
The previous hero was not able to get revenge and died when he reached the end of his lifespan.
The current demon king should not have been one who succeeded the demon king of that time, but no one actually knew how long the lifespans of the demons were.
「From that, it just means that not only is the demon king strong, but his subordinates are as well.」
I nodded at Hosoyama-san’s words.
「I don’t know just how strong the previous hero’s party was, but there’s no doubt that the most capable people from the three continents were assembled.」
「They were definitely stronger than us.」
Asahina Kyousuke-kun who was silently listening to the conversation muttered this.
These few days, we had registered with the Adventurer Guild and were taking on requests.
Though, because there was no dungeon in Yamato, not only were the request that they could take on limited, adventurers also rarely came to the country, so there was a mountain of requests for subjugating weak monsters that the noncombatant citizens could not defeat.
They had split into groups and completed every single one of them, and they could finally take a break.
However, it seems that there were no monsters around here that were strong enough to put us in life-threatening danger like that time with the Minotaur.
To put it bluntly, compared to Saran-san and Zeal-san, we were considerably weak.
We were around the same strength as the monsters on the upper levels of the Continent dungeon.
「That’s why I said that we couldn’t neglect our foundations.」
Ueno-san folded her arms, her face appearing quite troubled.
When we saw that, everyone except Asahina Kyousuke-kun and I folded their arms and had the same look on their faces.
「We were able to raise our adventurer rankings to yellow today. But it seems like that’s as far as we’ll get, because the monsters here are too weak and there’s no dungeon here. With that being said, there’s only one thing we can do now, right?」
Certainly, we needed to take care to build our foundations, but there were many things that we needed to learn, even if we left this place.
「I’m going to miss eating Japanese food again.」
「Maa, Tsuda will have to do his best.」
「As expected, it’s going to be me, huh.」
Tsuda Tomoya-kun, who was in charge of the cooking for the hero party, complained.
There were two other girls who had the cooking skill within the party, but Tomoya-kun was the one in charge of the cooking in his house, had the highest skill level, and his food tasted delicious.
So, despite the fact that he was a knight, he became somewhat like the mother of the group.
Incidentally, the last member of the hero party was Waki Daisuke-kun, whose favorite phrase was「I’m glad I’m alive」.
He could be described as an easygoing person.
Whenever he started talking, he’d find a way to diffuse the seriousness of the conversation.
If the party was like a family, Waki-kun would be the ‘big brother’ without a doubt.
His occupation was an animal trainer.
Right now, he was taming a monkey-like animal that he met in the forest and a stray cat that he found in town.
Because monsters and humans fundamentally couldn’t understand each other, he was not able to tame them.
It seems that a human nicknamed “One Accompanied By Monsters” that could bestow names onto monsters and subordinated them appeared once every few hundred years, but they were someone who had strange tastes in keeping monsters who only harmed humans.
「I’m telling you now, I can only make things that I’ve made before, ok? Moreover, there are fewer seasonings here than over there, so the things that I can make are limited.」
When the hero party’s shield, and the person in charge of the cooking, the youngest child Tsuda-kun pouted, Nanase-kun gave him a pat on the shoulder.
I also know that he—Nanase Rintarou-kun could hold a conversation with that uncooperative Akira as well, but his communication skills were pretty high.
In addition to that, he was a legendary person who had excitedly talked about anime with Asahina Kyousuke-kun who barely talked.
Perhaps within the party, he was the second son.
「Maa, maa, that just means that Tomoya’s cooking is that delicious. Certainly, I also understand that it’s hard to make Japanese food in this world, but is it not possible for you to create Japanese-style seasonings?」
「…maybe I can.」
「Oh! Really!? Then please do it—.」
「I want to try eating it too—!」
Ueno-san joined Waki-kun in requesting it of him.
In any case, they were energetic.
Sometimes, she was as bright as the sun.
The world would end before Waki-kun and Ueno-san did things seriously.
「I’m fine with anything as long as it’s spicy.」
The one who said something that did not match the gentle look on her face was Hosoyama Shiori-san.
It seems that she liked spicy food and she always had to sprinkle all kinds of red furikake onto her food.
TN: for those who don’t know what furikake is, it’s a type of Japanese seasoning that’s meant to be sprinkled on top of cooked rice, vegetables, and fish. It’s a mixture of seaweed, dried fish, sesame seeds, sugar and salt. Other variations may include freeze-dried salmon bits, bonito, egg, powdered miso, vegetables, etc.
Over there, I didn’t know that she did this, perhaps she concealed it.
「Oi, oi, seasonings aside, what should we do from now on?」
Somehow, we managed to go back to what we were discussing before.
Everyone turned serious.
Everyone turned to look at me, wondering what I thought.
「We need weapons.」
Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Asahina Kyousuke-kun muttered this.
As expected, regarding these types of things, his opinion was the most useful.
「Yes, I’m fine with the holy sword that I received at the castle, but Tsuda-kun’s sword is already worn out.」
「We have a moderate amount of money, and it might’ve been a good thing that we got all our money ready here.」
「Ah, then perhaps Yuuki-chan and I should get weapons to protect ourselves as well. Since we had some close calls yesterday.」
Our basic formation was: Asahina Kyousuke-kun, Tsuda-kun, and I as the vanguards, and the rear guards were the wind magician Nanase-kun, Ueno-san, and Hosoyama-san.
However, in this situation, we were practically defenseless against enemies that came from behind.
Everyone had already acquired the Perception skill, but unfortunately, the skill level was still low.
It was so low that it didn’t seem like it was leveling up.
「Ah, that reminds me, I heard that the world’s best blacksmith was in the beastmen territory.」
Everyone looked towards Nanase-kun.
「Ah, but it’s just a rumor? There’s no conclusive evidence, but they say that this person was the beastmen representative who survived the hero party’s excursion into the demon’s territory, or something like that. It seems that currently, he is in the port city of Ul.」
「…if I remember correctly, the beastmen territory’s dungeon is in Ul.」
Since Asahina Kyousuke-kun concluded the conversation with that, it was the same as our destination having already been decided.
「Alright, then let’s take tomorrow’s ship to Ul to procure weapons. If possible, I want to visit the world’s best blacksmith, but I won’t ask for the impossible. The most important thing is to find the weapon that suits you.」
Ooh—!, everyone spiritedly raised their fists and I gave a sigh of relief when I saw them like that.
With this, we were somehow able to move forward.
—
Chapter 84~In Front of the Brute Dungeon~
『Is the ring really indicating that it’s this way? Master-dono.』
In front of the entrance to Ul’s Brute dungeon, Yoru looked at me for confirmation.
At that time, the gate to the dungeon was broken, allowing hordes of monsters to escape.
Thankfully, the gate has since been repaired and is now completely sealed.
As expected of the Adventurer Guild, they work fast.
Since the area was deserted, we could enter, but whether or not we could leave was another matter entirely.
This dungeon wasn’t like the one in the human’s territory, so I couldn’t expect it to have a magic circle on the lower level.
Entering this dungeon would definitely be a gamble.
I looked at the index finger on my right hand.
The light was shining at the closed gate.
「Aah, the light is certainly pointing towards the entrance of the dungeon.」
I see, Yoru said that and enlarged his body.
I opened the dungeon’s gate and got on Yoru’s back.
「Just as we had planned, we’re going in.」
『Leave it to me.』
Since the objective this time was to go to where Amelia was, we had decided beforehand to avoid any unnecessary battles.
We also lacked intel on the exact location of Amelia and the one called Aulum Trace, so there was no need to diligently clear every single level.
Yoru will run past everything besides the fight with the boss.
I was already completely back to normal, and I had said that I could also run swiftly just like Yoru, but my overprotective familiar stubbornly disagreed.
Like this, I didn’t know who was the master.
「…no, wait a moment.」
Just as he was about to start running, I sensed something and stopped Yoru.
I took out my hidden weapon, and threw it towards a place that just happened to be shrouded in darkness, thus becoming a blind spot .
「Kyaa!?」
There was a small scream, and the female beastman who was peeping at us came out into a lit area.
Because her face was covered with a hood, I couldn’t see what she looked like, but she was quite tall.
Perhaps she was a little taller than me.
I frowned.
This voice, I felt like I heard it somewhere before……
『Who are you.』
Yoru bared his teeth and growled.
It was so full of ferocity that it made the air shake.
Sure enough, the woman’s knees were trembling and her face stiffened.
「Yoru, weaken the『Intimidation』a little. Even if she wanted to talk, she couldn’t.」
『…got it.』
When I told him that, Yoru reluctantly did as I said.
Even so, he had controlled it so that she couldn’t move.
「Um….」
A clear, bell-like voice sounded.
I, finally understood what that uncomfortable feeling I had been feeling was.
「You, you’re the fellow who was glaring at the heroes before we had gone into the Continent dungeon, aren’t you?」
She was the woman with the hood on who emitted her thirst for blood towards us who had left the royal castle for the first time.
The woman who said that sacrifices were necessary for summoning heroes.
The hooded woman started to say something, shook her head, and then said this in a quiet voice.
「You are…no,, it is fine now. I’m sorry, but would it be alright for me to join you?」
In response to her request, Yoru straightforwardly said exactly what I had been thinking.
『We can’t trust you. Besides, we’re in a hurry. We don’t have the time to worry about you.』
I was gentle with Amelia, but somewhat cold towards other people.
It seems like my anger towards those monsters hasn’t quite gone away yet.
「Then, is it alright for me to identify myself?」
The woman said this and took off her hood.
Her cobalt blue eyes seemed to see right through me.
「I am Ria. Ria Lagoon. The first princess of the beastmen territory’s largest kingdom, Uruk.」
Her eyes, overflowing with strong determination, were a little similar to Amelia’s.
『Hou, why is the esteemed first princess in a place like this?』
The husky beastman made a sound at Yoru’s intimidation.
From the frightened look on her face, he could tell that she didn’t really have any combat experience.
The intimidation that Yoru was releasing right now was similar to what could be felt around the upper levels of the Continent dungeon.
In other words, she didn’t have any fighting abilities.
That’s probably why she suggested going together. She probably understood that she was incapable of fighting.
「I want to meet the elven princess, Amelia-sama.」
『Amelia-sama!?』
Looking downwards, I knew that I would not be able to keep a level head when I heard those words.
Yoru was also on edge, as he unconsciously undid the intimidation at that unexpected response.
I got down from Yoru’s back,
And, grabbed the beastman named Ria by the collar.
「Guu!?」
「Amelia stayed on the front lines by herself so that she could earn more time for the beastmen who had yet to evacuate , and faced off against a few thousand monsters. …sorry, but I don’t think you can fight.」
I took out my hidden weapon and pressed it against Ria’s neck.
「No matter how much they say it’s because elves and beastmen don’t get along, is this how they’re going to treat their benefactor? Besides, how did you know that Amelia had been brought here?」
I unconsciously put more strength into the hand holding onto the hidden weapon and beads of blood oozed out from the neck of the terrified Ria.
「…because of the human princess, I had suffered miserably. Besides Amelia, those who hold the title of the princess have never been good people. Depending on your answer, I will, without hesitation, kill you.」
Saying that, I lessened the pressure of the intimidation a little so that it would be easier for her to talk.
Compared to Yoru’s intimidation, mine was most likely more intense.
When it involved Amelia, I really couldn’t control my emotions.
「Cough…certainly, I can not fight, but I can protect others. Besides, I didn’t come here as a beastman, I came to warn her as a princess.」
Those eyes were certainly the eyes of someone who was telling the truth.
And, the pulse under my hand was not unusual either.
There were many things that I wanted to ask her, but for now, I let go of her clothes.
However, the hidden weapon was still pressed against the nape of her neck.
「You didn’t answer one of my questions. How did you know that she was here? There was no indication of it. In other words, you planned on coming here.」
When I sharply glared at her, Ria timidly answered.
「I used the skill『Enhanced Smell』. A strange smell along with Amelia-sama’s stopped at the entrance.」
—
Chapter 85~Ria Lagoon~
『Enhanced Smell』?
I looked at Yoru and tilted my head in confusion.
『Putting it simply, she would have a good sense of smell. Each of the other five senses have their own enhancements, and beastmen have the highest probability of obtaining these enhancements specifically.』
I see, I nodded at Yoru’s explanation.
For now, to check if what Ria said was the truth, I used the Eye of the World that I haven’t used in a while.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Ria Lagoon
・Race / Beastman
・Occupation / Guardian Lv. 52
・HP 2500 / 2500
・Attack 150
・Defense 5000
・MP 2000
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Enhanced Smell Lv. 7
・Royalty’s Elegance Lv. 2
・Dagger Lv. 2
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Barrier of the Gods
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Certainly,『Enhanced Smell』was on her skills column, and moreover, her skill level was at seven, which was fairly high.
If that’s the case, if we followed the scent, we could get to where Amelia was.
Even so, we probably need something that belonged to Amelia.
And, it seems that she truly has no combat capabilities.
Her attack power was around that of my classmates who had noncombatant occupations when they were at level one.
Even if beastmen didn’t use skills, they were a race that originally had high physical capabilities, so why was she so weak?
Maa, apart from that, her defense was amazing, so it should be fine.
Besides, there was something else that bothered me.
「Were you, by any chance, adopted into the royal family or something?」
Perhaps she didn’t think that it would be exposed, Ria was trembling.
「H…how do you know that?」
As I looked into her terrified eyes, I felt like things were becoming increasingly troublesome, so I quickly jumped onto Yoru’s back.
「…we’ll talk as we go. Hurry up and get on.」
When I pointed to the spot behind me, Ria looked at me with a befuddled look on her face.
Yoru turned his head around and looked at me.
『Is this ok? Master-dono. I understand that she’s not lying, but we shouldn’t trust someone we barely know.』
「Who said that I trusted her? I’m going to ask about the situation and we’re going to continue on with this conversation as well, so I told her to get on. Time is precious. We’re not going to stay here all day in this kind of place. Besides, even if she is the esteemed beastfolk princess, she came to this kind of place, so she should have the resolve, right?」
When I said that without looking at her, Ria stood up, her feet unsteady, and climbed onto Yoru’s back.
「I’m coming. …no matter what, I need to tell Amelia-sama.」
「Alright. …let’s get going, Yoru.」
Yoru’s expression suggested that he had more to say, but I gave my order with no intention of hearing any rebuttals.
The fur hanging off his body shifted noisily, and radiated light.
It was Yoru’s『Metamorphosis』.
The light subsided, and we weren’t able to see his entire body since we were riding on top of him, but he became a black-furred cheetah-like monster,
His legs were long and slender, and his body physique seemed like it was specialized in swift movement.
『Hold on tight. Even if you fall off, I will not come back for anyone besides Master-dono.』
After aiming those words towards Ria, he put more power into his muscles.
「!?」
With one step, the scenery changed.
With two steps, monsters appeared in front of us.
With three steps, those monsters were now far behind us as well.
Behind me, Ria was in a panic and clung onto my clothes.
To be honest, for any other girls besides Amelia to do something like this was nothing but an annoyance, but let’s do our best to tolerate it.
They were bigger than Amelia’s, but I’m not the type of guy who cared for that kind of thing, so there’s no problem.
I won’t say where though.
「Now then, firstly, the conversation about you. Pay attention when you talk so that you don’t bite your tongue.」
As we were advancing at top speed, I turned around and faced Ria.
Having no other choice but to let go my clothes, Ria clung onto Yoru’s fur in a hurry.
「A-as you say, I am n-not a part of the royal family.」
The reason I realized this, was due to the order of the skills.
Normally, skills were arranged in the order in which they were obtained.
It went the same for Amelia and I, and the same for Yoru as well.
So that meant that, the beastmen were no exception.
Therein, the difference between Amelia and Ria was that, the skill『Royalty’s Elegance』was either the first one or the second one.
I had heard it from Amelia, but royalty were fundamentally part of the royal family before they were even born, and it seems that『Royalty’s Elegance』would be the first under the skills column.
It seems that a long time ago, she saw the statuses of various people with the Eye of the World. That’s what she told me.
In other words, Ria, whose skill was in the second row, had acquired that skill.
There were other deciding factors as well, like the skill level, but those were my thoughts on it.
And, perhaps Ria had been invited into the royal family due to her occupation and special skills.
「I was somewhat well-off. I was like any other girl.」
Perhaps she got used to the high speeds, Ria was gradually speaking much more smoothly.
The story she told me was one that I didn’t see coming at all.
—
Chapter 86~Unexpected~
「My family was once considered nobility several generations ago, but now in my father’s generation, we are just a slightly affluent family.」
We began to shake a little bit as Yoru picked up speed while turning the curve on the path.
Ria, who seemed like she was going to fall, panicked and tightly held onto Yoru.
「I, I became part of the royal family fifty years ago, and I have been living like that since then. However, one day, the village that my family lived in was attacked by a monster. Everyone, including my mother, father and all the villagers died…I thought that they had died.」
Saying up to here, Ria bit down hard on her lips.
Seeing that the atmosphere around Ria had changed, I tilted my head in confusion.
「What, what was the monster that attacked the village?」
For some reason, I had a bad feeling.
There was hatred in those eyes of Ria’s.
「It was a slime. Though If that were true, then all the villagers who’d been swallowed up by a monster that could’ve easily been rescued. Unfortunately, that was not a normal slime, but a black slime. Certainly, there are various types of slimes, but I have never seen a black slime before until that day.」
I let out a low gasp.
My premonition had come true.
Speaking of black slimes, that was the slime that had captured Amelia when I first met her.
I had thought that if that slime only captured elves, those who targeted elves for their beauty had sent the slime so that they could enslave the elves.
However, if they even went as far as to injure beastmen, then that’s a different story.
Then there was the encounter I had with the kidnapper from the elven territory. He was armed with a sword of Uruk and seemed to be a knight as well, which bothered me. Just what was going on with the beastmen.
「…that slime is definitely something that was artificially created and dispatched by someone.」
「What did you mean just now, when you said that you thought that they had died?」
I asked Ria who had her head down and was muttering something.
The look on Ria’s face darkened even more.
「I said it when I first met you, didn’t I? I asked you『do you know, just how much was sacrificed to summon them』.」
「…oi, oi, you couldn’t possibly be trying to say that the kidnapped beastmen were sacrificed for the summoning, right.」
I thought back to what Ria had said before we entered the dungeon.
However, I had already thrown those thoughts from that time out of my head.
I didn’t know that what the reason for going so far as to sacrifice people just to summon heroes was, and at that time, I had thought there was a proper reason for summoning.
However, my hopes were overturned and Ria nodded.
「That was exactly what happened. I knew that I was the Guardian, so I had affixed a barrier on my family and the villagers just to be on the safe side. The barriers of the Guardian were different from those of normal barrier masters. It wasn’t just stationary objects, I could affix barriers on mobile objects as well.」
I see, if that’s the case, she could affix a barrier onto people themselves.
Her attack power was low, but in regards to her defense, it had a similar effect as the barriers.
「Just as the name Guardian suggests, if the target of the barrier died with the barrier intact, the barrier will naturally disappear, such as when they were poisoned while the barrier defended against physical attacks. And when that happens, I would be able to sense it. …when they were being swallowed up by the slime, my barrier had yet to disappear completely. And yet, one day, all my barriers suddenly disappeared. At that time, I had already been adopted into the royal family, so I made full use of my authority as a princess and inquired about what happened at that time.」
I looked down.
From this, even if I didn’t hear the rest, I understood.
「There was nothing within the beastmen territory, but that had occured within the human territory. The accursed hero summoning. After ascertaining that the timing of my barriers disappearing had aligned with the time when a vast amount of magic power had been poured into the magic circle used for the hero summoning, I headed towards the human territory to take a look at the heroes, even if it were just a glimpse of them.」
There, she met me.
I suddenly thought of it.
Did Ria not know that I had come to this world via the hero summoning.
When I first met Ria, I had called out to her, but I had left the ranks of the heroes.
And, even if she she investigated me prior to meeting Amelia, she would only know about the names “One Accompanied by Monsters” and the one that I had unwillingly accepted, “Assassin of Darkness”. There was a high possibility that she did not know about my summoning.
To begin with, the only one among the beastmen who noticed that I had been one of the ones who were summoned as a hero was Linga.
Though I was an acquaintance of the elven king, it would be hard to imagine that Ria who had just become part of the royal family and Linga who was a mere guildmaster had some kind of connection.
Moreover, every time someone said the word ‘hero’, Ria emitted a small amount of bloodlust.
However, it was not directed towards me.
…should I tell her?
Since we didn’t know just how powerful the demon was, I had prepared for the worst and permitted Ria to accompany us, but truthfully, I planned on fighting the demon by myself.
Even if I told her now that I was one of the people who was summoned, it wouldn’t be a big deal even if I left Ria behind now.
Ria was not in a position where she could travel together with me.
However, let’s tell her soon.
「With my father being an accessory maker for the royal family, coupled with the fact that I was a Guardian, I was adopted into the royal family. 」
Ria ended the conversation with that.
She looked at me who was frowning with confusion and said this.
「I had gotten excited as I was talking and everything was chronologically disordered, but the stories from my past aren’t very important, so it would be fine if you forgot about it.」
It is important!, I endured and did my best to restrain myself from yelling that out loud, and I asked her about what had bothered me the most.
I would tell her about me coming here through the summoning after asking that.
「Then, what is the thing that you have to tell Amelia no matter what? I’ve only heard about it a little, but you have not met Amelia before.」
The probability of Ria, who had no rights to the throne and was adopted, and Amelia being acquaintances was an absolute zero.
Moreover, elves and beastmen were on bad terms with each other.
That made it even more impossible.
Slightly hesitating, Ria started speaking.
—
Chapter 87~Ria’s Choice~
「I came to warn Amelia-sama. I received information that the demon king had begun to move and is aiming for Amelia-sama’s『Resurrection』skill….」
I frowned.
I was confused about various things, and wanted to write them down on a piece of paper to sort through them.
Of course, it was impossible to do so on top of Yoru who was moving at such high speeds, and I didn’t have any paper to write on in the first place.
『Master-dono, this is the room of the tenth floor’s boss.』
This was what Yoru said as he was listening on in silence .
I turned around, and in front of Yoru, an enormous door could be seen.
「Even though we’ve only been in the dungeon for a short time….」
『Who do you think I am…. What are we going to do, Master-dono.』
I turned my entire body that had been facing Ria around.
I put my hand in front of me, and closed my eyes.
「Charge in.」
『Understood!!』
Without even a single doubt toward me words, Yoru charged at the door.
Behind me, Ria screamed and clung onto my back.
「『Shadow Magic』…remote activation.」
The moment the door had been destroyed, I opened my eyes.
The interior of the dungeon which was, even under normal circumstances, dimmer than the surface, was bathed in complete darkness.
However, that darkness had, in the next second, dissipated.
The corners of my lips curled at the expected development.
「Hiii!!」
It seems that before Yoru could change directions and head towards the door that led to the next level, Ria saw it.
The disconnected body of the boss that was cruelly scattered about in the middle of the room.
So far, I had only used my shadow and the other shadows that had accumulated within my shadow to activate my Shadow Magic. However, I knew that because I had remotely controlled my magic in the Continent dungeon and used my Shadow Magic to its limit, this time I could use shadows other than my own.
Unfortunately, It was limited to only the shadows within my field of view.
「…is it scary.」
I raised my voice towards the person behind me who didn’t make a single noise.
Yoru quickly found the stairs that led to the twelfth floor.
Just like in the Continent dungeon, the traps activated, but in the next moment, Yoru was no longer there.
「I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t scary. However, you let me come along with you, I won’t complain.」
Although she said that, the hand that was holding onto my clothes was trembling.
She certainly thought that it was scary in her mind.
However, there was no mistake that instinctually, she wanted to run away.
This was how living things, people were.
Fundamentally, they couldn’t go against the feeling of fear.
「You, just who are you?」
I gave it some thought and then started to speak.
「I am just an assassin who got dragged into this, Amelia’s lover, …and one of the people who you hate the most.」
「…ehh!?」
Ria’s voice sounded very surprised by my remark.
I paid her no mind and retreated into my own thoughts.
I did not think that the demon king would be aiming for Amelia.
I was certain that he was aiming for me, but keeping in touch with Yoru and inviting me was probably because of Amelia.
In that case, why did he want Amelia’s『Resurrection』.
Was it to extend his life because he was about to die?
As for me, it was hard for me to understand why he would go that far and why he wanted to live in this world.
「…were you summoned here to this world?」
「Aah, that’s right. I’m one of the people who were summoned here using the magic power of your family. Are you going to kill me?」
Since I heard the story, I had no reason to be killed by Ria.
However, Ria’s circumstances were something that I sympathized with.
I could let her hit me if she pleased, but I won’t allow myself to die just yet.
However, I despised Ria.
「No, you yourself are not guilty. I understand that the hero summoning was something that was truly unreasonable. However, I will not forgive the people of Retice who summoned the heroes.」
That’s right, when asked point blank, she would dodge the question.
Under us, Yoru trembled.
『She got you, Master-dono.』
「You’re noisy.」
I turned my body around once again and faced Ria.
This time, she wasn’t panicked and was clutching onto Yoru’s fur.
「Then, let’s change the question. Do you want to kill the heroes?」
When I first met Ria, she was definitely directing her bloodlust towards us who were summoned here.
If she said that she wouldn’t kill me who was among the crowd of people, then it would be the heroes.
Just as I expected, Ria nodded.
「I know that the heroes had no choice in the matter, but….」
Ria hung her head.
It wasn’t something that it wasn’t something that she could let go of so easily.
Maa, it’s not going to hurt me, so it’s ok.
If it negatively affected the heroes, that was fine too.
The heroes’ matters and the like had nothing to do with me.
「Let’s go back to what we were talking about. You came to warn Amelia. You met us after following Amelia’s smell, and now, you are accompanying us.」
「Yes, it’s as you’ve said. …is it alright if I asked you a question?」
Ria nervously asked me who was pondering it over.
I made a sound of acknowledgement without raising my head.
「Who kidnapped Amelia-sama?」
When I was about to answer her, I suddenly realized something and raised my head.
「I see! Yoru, hurry!!」
Yoru didn’t give any response, but he ran faster.
「The one who kidnapped Amelia was a demon named Aulum Trace.」
Ria’s eyes widened.
I bit my lip.
Ever since meeting Ria, I have come to understand various things, including the sacrifices required to bring myself and the other heroes to this world.
Aulum Trace was a demon.
In that case, there’s a high possibility that the one who ordered him to kidnap Amelia was the demon king.
Although, it seems that Aulum Trace was ranked third among the demons, so it wouldn’t be strange even if he ordered the first and the second to do it.
We still didn’t know what the demon king’s objective was, but I knew that it wasn’t anything good.
No matter what, I will definitely get Amelia back before we leave this dungeon.
—
Chapter 88~Motive~ Amelia’s POV
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was not my beloved person’s ordinary pointed black eyes, but a large pair of bright emerald eyes instead.
「Ahh! You’ve woken up.」
So slow, I got tired of waiting, I jumped up when I saw him innocently laughing while looking like a child.
I was flustered and wanted to get away from him, but I could not move my body.
「Ah–you can’t do that–! I have sealed your movements. Even if I didn’t do that, you used『Resurrection』, so your body is weak–.」
Though he said that, I could still move my head, so I looked around.
It wasn’t that I was restrained by chains and other such items, I just couldn’t move.
It seems that he had used some kind of magic to restrain me.
And, I remembered my cheeks coming into contact with the sand.
The location was different, but the atmosphere and the ambience was the same.
「…a dungeon.」
「Right, right! As expected of Princess Amelia.」
I glared at the demon youth who was nodding in satisfaction.
I feel like he had given his name before I was killed, but I did not remember it nor did I have any desire to know it.
My gaze that was filled with killing intent was warded off as if it were a gentle breeze, and the youth cheerfully laughed.
「Don’t do that–. Don’t look at me like that. You’ll ruin that beautiful face of yours?」
I gritted my teeth when I saw that the youth was so easygoing.
I tried to move my body, but it wouldn’t budge.
I could feel the ground.
As I had been lying down on the rugged ground, my back hurt.
And yet, I couldn’t move.
The youth who a short distance away from me was walking towards me, his footsteps resounding as he came.
「I told you, didn’t I? Don’t move. Demon king-sama told me to bring you to him without injuring you, so I used my trump card–.」
His pace made one question if he was really walking. The youth crouched down next to me and his face was suddenly right in front of me.
「I had always wondered, what would happen if I used the technique that demons used to control monsters on the elves, humans, and beastmen–. Thanks to you, I know the answer.」
He was within arm’s reach, but I could not kill him.
No, I may not be able to kill him, but I could at least run away. However, even that, I could not do.
I have become a hindrance to Akira.
「As expected, it was completely ineffective, and I couldn’t even control you, but it could render the elves whose magic was second to the demons completely immobile. This was a good harvest.」
Smiling, the youth walked away.
Rather than that, I was worried about what Akira would think of me.
If Akira abandoned me, I would definitely not be able to continue living.
…no, right now, it would be best to extract as much information from him as possible rather than wallow in these kinds of negative thoughts.
「…why are we in a dungeon.」
My first question made the youth’s eyes shine.
It seems that he wanted to talk to someone.
He was a demon, so I thought that he was a lot older than me, but he was childish, just like his appearance.
「You see, perhaps he could be said to be my superior? The second ranked demon can use magic circles. So, we used that magic circle, and came to this dungeon, but to return, we still need to use that magic circle, so we need to go down–.」
Surprisingly, he easily revealed the information, and it was quite jaw-dropping.
Of course, my mouth was not actually open, but it was inevitable that my eyes had widened in surprise for a moment.
The second strongest demon used magic circles.
Moreover, the magic circles could even connect the demon territory and the beastmen territory.
It wasn’t as powerful as the magic circle that was in the lowest floor of the Continent dungeon, but it was quite troublesome.
I didn’t think that they could use a long-distance one during a war, but if he could use long-distance teleportation magic circles, he could use short-distances ones as well, so appearing from a blind spot behind you…or something similar would be possible.
Even if you drew just the circle in advance, without needing to chant, one could activate it just by pouring in magic.
It had its merits, however, it also consumed more several times more magic than normal magic activation.
In other words, humans who had a small amount of magic power could not use it.
It was also impossible for the beastmen.
If it were the elves, we might just barely be able to use it, but it would be impossible for the ones that exhausted magic power like the teleportation type magic circles.
In the first place, I heard that magic circles were something that the demons had developed, and it may be used exclusively by the demons.
Due to the demerit of magic exhaustion, it was not researched much, so no one knew anything about magic circles.
If I remember correctly, years ago, a human researcher had developed a magic circle that curbed magic exhaustion, but before he could publicize it, he was abducted by the demons.
We still don’t know what happened to them, but he probably died.
「Yeah—, it’s annoying, isn’t it—. I think that too. I came here while riding the monster-chan from the lowest floor, but demon king-sama said that at the very least, using monsters was prohibited, so we have to go back on foot. Maa, right now, we’re taking a break though.」
It seems that he had interpreted me widening my eyes in surprise incorrectly.
How convenient.
「How many floors do we still have to go down.」
「Nn—…I don’t really remember, but probably around twenty. Ah, I had used magic to carry you, so you don’t need to worry—.」
If that was true, then right now, we were around the eightieth floor.
If he was together with Yoru, then he might make it in time.
…if he came to rescue me.
If I were to die, I wanted to die together with Akira.
That’s why, I had no plans on dying, but in this situation, my chances of survival seem slim.
For the time being, the best course of action would be to continue gathering information while keeping this demon youth appeased.
「…」
How pathetic.
What was, a miko, I wonder.
That kind of thing, even though I didn’t want it.
I have never understood the meaning of this occupation.
As well as the characteristics, and the reason I was selected.
Assassins assassinate, wind magicians use wind magic…like that, the characteristics of other occupations were as their names suggest. Even though that’s the case, I did not understand what a miko should do.
There were hardly any records of the mikos of the past, so I also did not understand what the occupation entailed.
I, up until now, had only been living in the position of the first princess.
After, Kirika found out that she was the only one among the elves who had the aptitude for the sword, she became engrossed in her sword practice.
I saw her, and I was envious.
What about me.
No matter what she did, she could do it well.
There was nothing that I was passionate about.
After all, before one became engrossed in something, one had to be able to do it.
As someone who couldn’t do anything, I understood that this was a needless worry.
However, even so, I yearned for it.
I envied Akira.
—
Chapter 89~Youth~ Amelia’s POV
While I was silent, the youth was pouting.
「Hey–, hey–, you talk. I’m the only one who’s talking.」
I was taken aback and looked into the youth’s eyes.
Those big, round emerald eyes were clouded over in dissatisfaction.
They were closer than I thought they would be.
「Let’s see–…. I have a younger sister too, but what is your sister like?」
For a moment, I had thought that it was unexpected.
However, if you thought about it, they too had a family, and it was also normal for them to have siblings, parents, and people they liked.
Humans, beastman, and even elves, taught their children just how dangerous the demons were.
Even within plays, demons were, without fail, portrayed as the villians.
This was natural since they had abducted and killed many people up until now.
This too may be a type of brainwashing.
From the point of view of the demons who didn’t do anything, it was completely outrageous.
However, because of that, demons were feared by everyone outside of their own race.
I was also of the mind that demons had no hearts and were completely evil.
That’s why, for the demon youth to have a younger sister, that was human-like and I could not wrap my mind around it.
「…my younger sister is a strong child. I had recently come to know that she was actually fragile.」
Certainly, Kirika was jealous, envious of me, to the point of wanting to kill me.
However, that went for me as well.
If Kirika had not exploded, I probably would’ve done so.
「After she found out that she was the only elf that had the aptitude for the sword, she literally practiced without rest, saying that it was to protect her brethren who only had the aptitude for long-ranged attacks.」
I had been watching over my younger sister who went to the dungeon, practiced swinging her sword until late at night, and striking the trees as if they were living opponents every day.
Since I did not understand just how one could be so passionate about something.
Kirika definitely saw me as her equal, which was why she did her best.
We were sisters of the same elven tribe, and she was the younger sister of me who had only been born just slightly ahead of her, but at that time, it was as if we were of different races.
「Currently, she is a gold-ranked adventurer, and just by her fighting strength, she wouldn’t lose to demons.」
「Such a child, how was she fragile?」
The youth who had quietly listened on curiously asked this.
I gave a wry smile.
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that I had not noticed it.
Since, that thing that grew within Kirika’s heart, was in mine as well.
「Long story short, but my younger sister was jealous of me, and she hid it so well that neither otousama nor I knew about it.」
We were often told that we had different personalities, but I thought that they were quite similar.
Most likely, otousama as well as Kirika did not notice my ugly jealousy.
「Her jealousy exploded, and that was when I first found out that Kirika was fragile. She was jealous of me, confused the brethren that she wanted to protect, deceived otousama, and screamed like a child whenever I was around.」
Even that was enviable.
Amelia, who the elves had high hopes for, wouldn’t do that kind of thing.
That took root in my heart, and I even refused to think about it, much less change by behavior.
「Kirika was fragile.」
Then, what could be said about me.
Was Kirika weak because she did not have self-control?
No, Kirika and I were different, but even if we harbored the same emotions, I, who did not act on them, was weaker than Kirika.
「I see–. When I went to the elven territory, I had only seen you, so I was wondering what kind of child your younger sister was–. Then, I’ll tell you about my younger sister.」
As if it dispel the darkness within me who was anguishly brooding, the youth spoke in a cheerful tone.
I was curious as to what kind of relationships other siblings had, and listened attentively.
「My younger sister, you see, specialized in controlling monsters! Much more so than me…no, she was better than any demon!」
The youth’s eyes were glittering with pride.
How radiant.
Suddenly, it was as if an emerald-colored sun had appeared within the dungeon.
「I, love my younger sister. …ah, not romantically! Of course, as family. However, it seems that my sister hates me, and she always ignores me.」
The sun was obscured.
The child’s emotions fluctuated violently.
Yoru, Akira, and I were the type of people who rarely showed their emotions, so this was fresh.
Lately, I have been wondering what color his eyes were, and I understood.
「I have this kind of personality, so I thought that perhaps it was annoying, so I had distanced myself from my younger sister for a period of time–.」
There was a time where, I too distanced myself from Kirika.
No, rather than saying that I was too busy and we ended up drifting away, our schedules did not match, but it would’ve been something worth celebrating if we even met once a year.
How nostalgic.
It was when Kirika had yet to disappear from the elves’ memories.
「And then, my younger sister became distant, and I was surprised when she asked me why because I thought that she hated me.」
The youth giggled.
That face was completely unlike when he killed me and was full of love.
He truly loved his younger sister, even I who didn’t know anything understood this.
「And then, the Rune of that time who said, ‘I don’t remember saying that I hated oniichan’ was truly adorable—! Maa, right now, I don’t know why, but I’m being ignored—.」
I see, was he a tsundere, just like Kurou.
Akira had taught me the word “tsundere”, and unexpectedly, there was one here.
If one saw the demon youth with a carefree smile on his face, you wouldn’t think that he commanded the monsters to kill me.
Rather, I shouldn’t say this, but he was much more human than Akira.
All demons were expressionless, but this was not so for the youth.
「Do all demons smile like you do?」
The youth smiled when I once again asked him something.
「Rune rarely smiles–. Demon king-sama probably doesn’t smile either. The fourth-ranked Sirius is always angry–? And–, the second-ranked Mahiro smiles–….」
He was telling me the names of the demons and their characteristics with a smile on his face as if he was having fun.
As expected, I felt uneasy, towards the youth who was telling me this much.
He looked like this, but he was supposedly ranked third among the demons.
In that case, for him to tell me this information, it was because he had absolute confidence that I wouldn’t return to where Akira and the others were.
「Now then–, your companions should be here by now, so why don’t we get going. I had leisurely advanced, so it took me a few days to come this far–. The bad thing about the dungeon is that there’s no sun, and I can’t tell how far we went in a day.」
Muttering this, the youth stood up and placed his faintly shining hand against my forehead.
「It would be troublesome if you struggled, so sleep for a bit–.」
As my consciousness was gradually fading, those emeralds were brightly shining, just like before.
—
Chapter 90~Sickening~
「U, um! Is it true that the person named Aulum Trace is a demon?」
Yoru sped up once again, and since I couldn’t hear her due to the wind in my ears, Ria, who was behind me, raised her voice.
I had forgotten that she was riding with me on Yoru, and stiffened at her response
It was a bad habit of mine to be too focused when I’m thinking about something.
「Aah, Yoru verified it. There’s no mistake. Besides, I had confirmed it as well. It was impossible for that magic to belong to anyone else besides a demon.」
In that place dyed with Amelia’s bloodstains, there was magic residue that I had no memory of.
Generally speaking, for magic itself to dwell in blood and the like, with that much out in the open air, it would be impossible, even for me who had such a large amount of magic, for the residual magic to be so pronounced.
There were not that many people who possessed more magic than me whose magic surpassed even the elves.
In other words, it was the demons.
「Is that so…. The demons have begun to take action. That means the demon king has begun to move. I don’t know whether this the same demon king or not because in the past, when the demon king started to take action, the monsters moved quite vigorously. They would pour out of the dungeons of every continent, alongside other things…but this time, the demon invasion led to the abduction of Amelia-sama. This could mean that the demon king has a new successor…」
I nodded at Ria’s words.
Then, I suddenly voiced a simple question.
「Why does the demon king abduct those of other races?」
Was it because we had the impression that…the demon king was a villain, and that the demons and monsters were his subordinates, that we hadn’t thought of why the demon king as well as the demons and monsters abduct those of other races.
Did he want to conquer the continent, or turn people into the slaves of demons…?
『Someone like me wouldn’t be able to understand the mind of the demon king-sama, but it seems that the first demon king-sama abducted those of other races as revenge for when the demons had been driven away to Volcano.』
Come to think of it, there was such a scenario in the legend that Commander Saran told me about.
If I remember correctly, the demons who commanded the monsters were detested by the other races, and were driven away to Volcano, the harshest place to live in or something like that.
Perhaps it was because that was the darkest time in my life, my memory was considerably fuzzy.
It hadn’t even been a year since then, but it was very much like how it was before.
At the time, I did not think that I would ride on a monster together with the beastman princess to go save the elven princess.
Actually, I wasn’t thinking about anything, but my face was quite thick.
TN: this means something along the lines of he was thinking about unimportant things but it doesn’t show on his face (he can remain unmoved no matter what happens). This word ‘face’ appears quite often in Chinese novels, so for those who read a lot of Chinese novels, you know exactly what it means. There are two main ways of using it. One, when you say someone has a thick face, it means that they are not shy and/or is very shameless. Two, ‘face’ can mean reputation, prestige, social status, etc. So if someone gives you face, then that means that they will back down and won’t quarrel with you due to your reputation, etc.
Including Amelia and Aulum Trace, all the races would be assembled.
「I see. Were the other demon kings like that?」
Yoru nodded as he stared ahead when he heard my question.
He had trampled a monster at the same time.
『For the races other than the demons, the hero was treated as the savior, and the demon king was the king of evil. There were also idiots who strived to be those saviors and could reach the demon king’s castle with their own strength. It seems that there were also cases where those who were skillful in erasing their presence, like Master-dono, and strong enough to tip the balance in a war had invaded the demon king-sama’s bedroom just because they strived to be a hero.』
TN: I usually translate eiyuu/yuusha as hero, but in this sentence, they included the katakana for hero, so I substituted it with savior instead to differentiate the two.
My eyes widened in surprise.
Wow, the defenses of the demon king’s castle is so weak!
The same with Retice, what are you going to do when you could be so easily invaded.
『It’s very embarrassing, but there are many demons who are conceited because their magic exceeds that of the other races’ and it’s not just once or twice that they’ve attacked the demon king’s castle.』
Maa, that was before I was born, so everything was from the records, Yoru continued.
During the conversation, we instantly killed the twentieth-floor boss.
To be so easily killed, was it because we were experienced. Ria did not say anything.
The pace was remarkably fast compared to when we were at the tenth floor.
At this speed, we might reach the lowest floor in a few more hours.
As expected of my partner.
『Among them, the wife of the demon king from several generations ago was killed by intruders』
His voice was filled with sorrow.
While the wind was blowing past my ears, Yoru’s voice was the only thing that I could hear clearly.
『That demon king hated disputes, and did not do a thing to the humans, beastmen, and elves. On the contrary, he avoided conflicts, even going as far as to propose a peace treaty with the other races. He was a kind-hearted demon king who loved his wife, his children, his comrades, as well as the monsters. And yet, just because he was the demon king, his wife was killed.』
I understood what he wanted to say.
It was somewhat similar to when the relatives of a murderer were subjected to the cold eyes of society even though they did not do anything that incurred such hatred.
「In other words, idiots who aspired to be a hero did idiotic things, huh.」
The psychology of the people was, in reality, a simple thing.
People who did bad things were evil.
People who did good things were virtuous.
Things like their background were unrelated.
What’s important was only whether one was good or bad.
Everything about a person was arbitrarily decided on, applauded, and criticized just because of that.
There were also people who were truly cruel and couldn’t be saved, but I suppose there were also people who had no other choice but to be cruel.
『That’s exactly it. …after that, that demon king rescinded the peace treaty, and destroyed the towns that were of the same race as the beastman who killed his wife.』
So he paid them back several times more than what was done to him, huh.
According to what Yoru said, the family of the man who killed the demon king’s wife was slowly tortured as they were killed.
In front of the man.
「…how sickening. That guy, he carried out his own justice and splendidly killed that demon king’s wife. He should’ve become a hero, but instead, it led to the death of his own family, or something like that, huh.」
Rather than have my family, my mother and Yui, suffer due to my actions, it would be a much better choice to surrender myself and let them torture me and let them do as they wish with me.
『From then on, the other races were even more afraid of the demons, and coming to a peace agreement was a dream within a dream. …that’s why, Master-dono, please take this into consideration. 』
It was impossible for Yoru whose legs did not stop moving to turn to face me, but his voice was the most serious that it had ever been.
I thought about it a little and answered him.
「…saa, I wonder.」
Perhaps it was because it was not a clear answer, but the shaking became somewhat more violent.
I diverted the topic before Yoru could say anything.
「I’ll say this now, but I never said that I wouldn’t listen to the demon king’s grievances. However, currently, Amelia was abducted like this, and even the beastmen had lost many people from this attack. This is different from the demon king and the state of affairs that we just talked about.」
I won’t say anything about getting payback.
At the very least, you need to properly do to them what was done to you.
That’s just common courtesy.
「If this time’s attack was truly a command from the demon king himself, I will never forgive him, no matter what Yoru says. Ok?」
『…aah, got it.』
As expected, Yoru could not resolutely say that he would cut ties with the demons.
It’s understandable, since the demon king was his creator.
However, Amelia was taken away from me. There wasn’t a shred of mercy left in me.
Certainly, this conversation made my heart ache, but this and that were two different things.
Maa, if Amelia forgave him, then that’s different.
—
Chapter 91~Trauma~
Just as there was some awkwardness between Yoru and I, Ria spoke.
「I was completely unaware that this was happening. Perhaps the royal family of that time had suppressed it. Everything that we know came from what was written in the records. They told of a story where the demon king offered a peace treaty, which made the people lower their guard and thus, unaware of an attack from the demons…」
How stupid of the royal family to hide such crucial information from the people.
Maa, if the royal family released the information without even regulating it, in that case, it would be concerning, but it’s irritating that they didn’t tell people what actually happened and suppressed it.
Really, why was it that people, no matter which world it was, could not live peaceful lives.
「Who was right, who was wrong, it doesn’t really matter. In a world where magic exists, something like memories could be easily altered. …in other worlds, if you want to believe in something, you have to see it for yourself.」
While I call myself an assassin, I have yet to kill anyone. I simply didn’t have the resolve to kill another person.
I didn’t want to kill anyone.
Even though I had the power, even though I could use powerful magic, my heart was otherwise weak.
I didn’t want to kill, or be killed.
However, from now on, I may not be able to say such a thing.
「I need to come to terms with it as well.」
At this time, if it was that guy, if it was Kyousuke, what would he do.
There was barely any conversation, and a few hours after that, we reached the eightieth floor.
Yoru did not go easy on the bosses either, trampling them, perhaps in consideration of my depleted magic due to my repeated use of shadow magic.
I think that it couldn’t be helped that I unconsciously pitied those monsters who were trampled on.
It was extremely pitiful.
They readied themselves, and had a magnificent entry as the floor boss, and yet, they were instantly killed.
Moreover, by a monster like them.
If this wasn’t pitiful, then what was.
However, we had passed through the seventieth floor in such a relaxed manner, until things turned tense.
The magic that seemed to belong to the demon gradually became thicker.
The magic concentration was so thick that if it had been normal humans, they would have trouble breathing.
For the places that we just happened to pass by to have this degree of magic….
Rescuing Amelia was of the highest priority and it would be wise to avoid confrontation with the demon.
「Yoru. I’m going to use『Shadow Magic』.」
『…it can’t be helped. I’ll leave it to you, Master-dono.』
I said that in front of the boss room, and Yoru sighed as he reluctantly agreed.
The seventieth floor boss from just now was one that Yoru was not able to defeat it in one hit.
The defense and vitality of the boss rose just as it fell.
Thanks to that, a sudden change in direction was unavoidable as we needed to go back and defeat it, and as a result, Ria was thrown off Yoru.
Yoru was going at a speed that seemed to be faster than the speed of sound, so for her to still be alive after taking a hit that used the strength of her entire body weight, she was quite tough.
It was like, she had the same vitality as the aforementioned black monsters that were found in the kitchen.
TN: if anyone remembers, he had mentioned the cockroach in one of the earliest chapters.
The seventieth floor was like that, so a strong monster would surely appear on the eightieth floor.
The moment the door opened, I invoked my『Shadow Magic』and used the shadows within the room.
I immediately moved to attack.
「『Shadow Magic』.」
『…!? Wait! Master-dono!!』
Yoru noticed something, but I had already released my『Shadow Magic』and couldn’t retract it when I heard Yoru’s voice.
It pierced into the monster in the middle of the room that looked like a shark with wings and limbs growing out of it….
「…whaa!?」
I had thought that my『Shadow Magic』had accurately pierced the monster right in the chest, but just as it touched the monster’s body, it disappeared.
「It can’t be, does this guy have a magic nullification type skill?」
When I muttered this, Yoru answered me with great difficulty.
『That guy’s name is Poseidon. It manipulates water and earth and as Master-dono said, he has a magic nullification type ability.』
Uwaah.
Even though Yoru’s name was just “Black Cat’, this guy was Poseidon, huh.
Moreover, wasn’t Poseidon the name of a god….
Even if I was mistaken, it shouldn’t be a monster with a shark head that was brimming with ominous magic.
Or rather, manipulating water, normally, this guy should be a land monster!
「…I’m not good with sharks. When I was little, I experienced a terrifying encounter with a shark at an amusement park attraction.」
Moreover, I was afraid of the dark.
If it were during midday, I would be able to approximate which direction it could come from, but when it suddenly appeared right next to me in a dimly lit place…I was slightly traumatized.
Even though, my mother had a weak body, she wanted to go on it no matter what, so I had Yui ride in my stead in exchange for a stuffed animal that she wanted.
And for some reason, father and Yui were happily playing with the shark masks at the gift shop.
That was the first and the last family excursion.
Since then, I’ve been afraid of the ocean, much less sharks, it can’t be helped.
I’m fine if it’s shallow, but if the water’s deep and I can’t see the bottom, I would feel chills running down my spine. Even a mere picture of the ocean was enough to trigger this uneasy feeling.
We had traveled from the elven territory to the beastmen territory on a ship, but to tell you the truth, my thoughts were a mess and I was frightened.
I had persevered in front of Amelia, but I could not stop the cold sweat, and my hands were trembling a little as well.
Even if the monster in front of me was a land animal, the head was that of a shark.
Moreover, the『Shadow Magic』, my last ray of hope, could not be used.
In other words, we had to attack it directly.
We needed to get closer to it.
『I see. However, Master-dono, if we can’t defeat this guy, rescuing Miss Amelia would be a dream within a dream. Even now, Aulum Trace may be getting further and further away.』
「…I got it.」
My back was drenched in cold sweat.
However, this was for Amelia’s sake.
Sorry, but past trauma, a shark or two, none of that matters right now.
I readied “Yatonokami” that had turned into two daggers when I had Kurou repair it.
『Gugyaaaaaaa!!』
The shark head charged at us as it made a strange sound.
When it opened its mouth, many neat rows of sharp teeth could be seen.
If I was bitten by that, as expected, it would hurt, even for me.
No, this was not the time to be thinking about the pain.
I grasped the daggers tightly.
「…fuu!」
I could not afford to lose.
I jumped onto its hand that it swung down to catch me, and ran up the shark head’s body.
As I ran, I easily avoided the water blade magic that it conjured to attack me with and swung “Yatonokami” downwards.
—
Chapter 92~Where~ Ria Lagoon’s POV
It wasn’t as if I didn’t have any combat experience.
Before I entered the royal family, my family made a living through hunting animals. I didn’t have the skills and couldn’t be compared to adventurers, but I learned what I could wherever possible.
That’s why I came to this dungeon by myself without a single attendant.
But this person was on a completely different level.
「Just what is….」
I was shocked by the scene before me.
The wings were clipped, and a leg struck a distant wall, becoming nothing but a lump of meat.
The shark who was just about to eat me, no longer had a head.
I slightly shifted my gaze and lied down nearby, with a look of disbelief on my face.
I saw it, but I couldn’t understand what had just happened.
What I saw was Akira-sama readying his two black daggers, one in each hand. After that, before I knew it, the wings and leg fell down, and its head went flying.
Even though things may appear this way, my eyes were not bad.
Even so, my eyes couldn’t catch anything.
「Akira-sama defeated it?」
「Ha? Was there anyone else?」
I unconsciously asked this, and then flipping over, Akira-sama, who was spotless and didn’t have a single drop of blood on him, furrowed his brows.
Certainly, there was no one else.
Yoru-sama did not move either because I was riding on him.
Even I understood that it was Akira-sama who defeated the monster, but to send the head of a monster who nullified magic flying, I was a bit doubtful. The boss of the eightieth floor was so easily defeated, my mind was a mess.
「Um, I thought it was impossible to cut through that monster’s neck with daggers like those. It’s as thick as a tree.」
At this point, what was normal?, I was slightly panicking.
It seemed like my own common sense was easily overturned, and it was somewhat frightening.
『Master-dono, I am familiar with it, so I can kind of see it, but for normal people, Master-dono was too fast and wouldn’t be able to see it.』
Yoru-sama considerately helped me out.
He was a monster who was known as “Adorea’s Nightmare”, but in the last few hours, most of my fear had dissipated.
As expected, rumors were not to be trusted.
He certainly had terrible power, but the Yoru-sama right now was Akira-sama’s loyal cat.
「Is that so?」
Perhaps he was not aware of it, I nodded when Akira-sama tilted his head.
Akira-sama explained as he climbed up Yoru-sama.
「I wouldn’t be able to behead Poseidon who had a magic nullification ability with just these daggers, but that’s not the same for magic power, right? Because it’s magic nullification and not the nullification of magic power.」
TN: ok, truth be told, I usually translate magic power (魔力/maryoku) as magic, because it’s easier that way and no one gets confused, but they kind of explain the difference between maryoku and mahou in this chapter. In a nutshell, magic power is what is on their statuses (MP) and is quite similar to what is called ‘mana’ in fantasy novels. Magic power is used to create magic, so the use of magic needs magic power but using magic power is not dependent on magic. For example, it can be used in other ways besides forming magic, perhaps imbuing a weapon with it to make it stronger, which is probably what Akira did to kill Poseidon.
I still didn’t understand.
Or rather, I’ve never heard of something like using only one’s magic power.
Magic power was the fuel that allowed people to use magic.
It’s much like starting a fire; in order to ignite the fire, wood is needed or there would be no spark. Similarly, magic power is needed or there would be no magic.
However, the fire will not start with just the wood alone.
Both need to be present in order to create magic.
「Magic needs to have magic power, so when magic is nullified, I thought that magic power would be as well.」
「That’s correct, but magic power is magic power, while magic is magic. No matter how much magic power it’s composed of, magic is a separate phenomenon. By that logic, I concluded that magic nullification should only cancel out magic, not magic power.」
In other words, don’t think of magic as something that contained magic power, but as an existence that was created after using magic power, or something like that.
If that’s the case, it would make a lot of sense.
「I see. However, direct manipulation of magic power, something like that, how did you train for that?」
Was it self-study.
The manipulation of magic power, if I remember correctly, should be considered the skill that was the first hero-sama’s forte.
It was a skill that many people had challenged, but in the end, no one could do it.
That’s right, no one achieved it.
「I didn’t train or anything like that. When I overdid it, I just happened to be able to do it.」
This was the first time, I’ve met a genius.
Involuntarily, my jaw dropped.
「I, is that so.」
To begin with, it’s because Amelia said something like defeating the White Bat without using『Shadow Magic』, he was muttering something like that.
For him to just happen to be able to do the same thing as the first hero, this meant that he had the same potential as him.
「Akira-sama, are you really an assassin?」
There was a rumor that the hero who was summoned this time stayed within the castle and did nothing.
That’s why I couldn’t forgive the hero.
I could understand the fact that the people of this world had selfishly summoned him.
However, it seems that he received the occupation of a hero and just stayed within the castle without doing anything.
Like this, my dead family would be turning in their graves.
Fortunately, Akira-sama was one of the heroes. Thank God.
「I am an assassin. …certainly, I haven’t killed anyone, and it’s not very assassin-like, but I am an assassin.」
With sharp eyes, Akira-sama looked at me and declared this.
I felt like those eyes, were making sure of something.
「We’re going.」
Even if we had instantly killed the eightieth floor boss, that light continued to shine.
Even though he was someone who possessed strength that could not be rivaled by anyone else besides the demons, he was most likely making a face that said that it was still inefficient.
「You…where are you going?」
TN: alternatively, this could also mean, what is your goal, or what are you aiming for.
「Home.」
—
Chapter 93~Chance Meeting~
Having instantly killed the eightieth floor boss, we continued onto the ninetieth floor in a good mood.
The ninetieth floor boss had a magic nullification ability as well, and it was a somewhat enormous golem, so Yatonokami’s blades were not able to cut into it. Regardless, I had killed it with magic power this time as well.
In the midst of the battle, I got distracted and look a direct hit from the golem. Thankfully, Ria had immediately set up a barrier which kept me from being injured.
I was truly grateful to her, for If the attack had hit me head on, my poor defenses would’ve done nothing to protect me from the force of the impact and I would’ve had my bones broken.
「…three more floors.」
Yoru sped up even more, and right now, we were on the ninety-eighth floor.
Yoru was at his limit as well.
「Master-dono…most likely, even if I came with you, I wouldn’t be able to participate in the battle. I’ll leave Miss Amelia to you.」
In response, I patted Yoru on the neck.
「Ria, just to be safe, if you see Amelia, put a barrier around her, as well as Yoru and I. don’t forget to do the same for yourself too.」
During the battle with the demon, I don’t know how much damage we’d do to the surroundings.
It might be useful as a form of insurance.
「I understand!」
The presence of the demon steadily became stronger.
I had no doubt that we were close.
The highly concentrated magic power in the area was making me nauseous, but Ria set up a barrier which alleviated the feeling.
『…! I see him!!!!』
At last, Yoru caught up with the demon–Aulum Trace.
He was a youth with emerald hair and eyes, with a child-like smile floating on his face.
Even through the barrier, I understood.
His magic power was off the charts.
I fully agreed with Yoru’s description of Aulum Trace’s characteristics.
Next to Aulum, Amelia was lying down feebly on the ground.
「Ooh–! I didn’t think that you would’ve caught up–. You, weren’t you unconscious for about three days because of magic exhaustion?」
The moment he saw us, he started talking, chatting about things that we didn’t even ask about.
It seems that his mental age corresponded to his appearance.
「As expected of the demon king’s right-hand man, Black Cat-sama. I didn’t think that you would transform into a cheetah–. You are completely exhausted and won’t be able to fight anymore, right? It can’t be that you’re going to say something like, you’ll be my opponent just like the human and beastman, right?」
There were many things that I wanted to say, but first, I wanted to retort.
Demon king, are you bad at naming your subordinates!
Certainly, Yoru looks very much like a cheetah right now, and he was even fast on his feet, but still, he wasn’t a cheetah.
So far, the only decent one was Poseidon.
That in itself was extremely strange.
「You’re quite the chatterbox. It’s as you’ve guessed, a human and beastman will be your opponent. Are you dissatisfied about something?」
The corner of my lips quirked up in provocation, and things got interesting.
「Ha—? Even if humans and beastmen cooperated, they are, after all, inferior species. Haven’t you learned from history that it’s impossible for them to win against demons? If you were the hero, there might be some hope, but you, from your appearance, you’re an assassin, right? And the beastman behind you, I heard she was the Guardian, which is far from being a rear guard.」
Aulum held his stomach, bowled over in laughter.
I readied “Yatonokami” in my hands.
「Fufufuu! When I heard about you, I thought that I would just kill you, but as I thought, I won’t.」
The smile on his face suddenly vanished without a trace.
The surroundings were flooded with strong killing intent.
Ria was trembling as she was hiding within Yoru’s shadow.
「I’ll torture you right in front of your beloved princess. I can kill you, and it will be torture for the princess, two birds with one stone.」
「If you can, then try it. This is the first time I’ve met a demon. Do your best to entertain me.」
Behind Aulum was the staircase leading to the ninety-ninth floor.
I can’t let him escape.
I telepathically instructed Yoru to block the exit while taking advantage of the chaos, and gripped “Yatonokami” again.
My palms were sweaty.
I could say whatever I wanted to, but right now, this was the first time since I’ve come to this world that I was scared for my life.
I was not trembling in fear, but one definitely needed to be prepared for death.
「That cheeky mouth, I’ll make sure that it will never open again.」
「That disgusting look on your face, I’ll make it so that it stays that way.」
For a moment, the two people did not move and then broke into a run at the same time.
Giiiinn.
The sound of metal colliding reverberated.
The wind was blowing violently as the opposing forces clashed in the middle.
Before I knew it, Aulum was gripping a long and narrow spear in his hand.
Aulum widened his eyes in surprise and then laughed joyfully.
「I see, I understand why you would brag even with a demon as your opponent. You are the first human to have properly stopped my attack. I might be able to enjoy this a little!」
I was pushed back by his brute strength, and was blown away.
However, I spun once and then landed on the ground, unharmed.
Even so, his arms are thinner than those of that girl over there, but even if he didn’t put in the strength, he may still be stronger than Commander Saran.
That is to say, he was the strongest person I knew.
「There’s no time for you to think! Hey, hey, let’s keep going!!」
He was screaming crazily in that child-like high-pitched voice.
Aulum’s pupils were dilated, the fire in his eyes betraying his excitement.
This guy, he looked like a child, but he was a battle maniac, huh.
「Guu!!」
I had blocked the downward thrust of his spear by holding “Yatonokami” in a defensive cross position, but the ground cracked from the force of the impact, and my feet sunk into the ground.
「Ahaa! Keeping up with me like this, there are only a handful of people who can do so, even among the demons!」
「Well–…thank youu!!」
I used all the strength in my body to thrust the spear upwards.
Now then, I’ve been on the defensive the entire time and couldn’t get a counterattack, but enough of that, it’s my turn now.
—
Chapter 94~Waking~ Amelia’s POV
Within the deep and dark ocean, I could hear Akira’s voice.
And, I was affected by two different killing intents.
This led to me regaining consciousness.
「Aki, ra…Akira…?」
I felt Akira’s presence nearby.
A terrifying shockwave caused the surrounding walls to crumble, but mysteriously, I was unharmed.
「Hahaa! The princess has awakened–!」
The youth’s voice resounded.
I realized that it was the emerald youth’s voice.
「You, choose a single name to call her. You called her ‘princess’ just now」
TN: the first princess was お姫様 (ohimesama) and this one is 王女様 (ojousama). The meanings are similar in English, but they are two different words in Japanese (this ojousama has different kanji than the one that is used to refer to a nobleman’s daughter even though they sound the same).
「You’re an idiot, aren’t you~.」
The sound of metal colliding reverberated.
The wall closest to me shook.
「The one who wakes up would obviously be a princess.」
「This is reality, not a fairytale! You stupid brat.」
I blinked my eyes a few times, and the scene in front of me became clearer.
The feeling in my body returned as well.
My fingers could move.
It seems that he had laid me down against the wall of the dungeon.
I shifted my arm that was still numb and stood up while using the wall as support.
「Akira!」
「Stay over there, Amelia. You…I will definitely take you back.」
His back facing me, Akira threw the cloak that he was wearing to me.
I was enveloped in Akira’s smell.
It calmed me down, a lot.
The hand that was holding onto the wall slipped.
About to fall, I was supported by something that was warm and fluffy.
「Yo, ru?」
『Don’t overdo it, Miss Amelia. Believe in Master-dono and wait for him.』
Those golden eyes were warm when he was looking at me.
Did he transform, it was not the usual black cat form that he was in, but it was definitely Yoru.
I leaned on him so that warm body of his could warm up my own thoroughly chilled body.
His tail wrapped me up, along with Akira’s cloak.
Wrapped up in the two calming smells that were always around me, I felt at ease.
「Un. …I’ll always believe. In Akira, and you as well Yoru.」
Akira, bleeding from the wounds that appeared all over his body, was going head to head, daggers against spear, with the youth who was still uninjured.
Akira was losing, but having lasted this long against a demon, that too was amazing in itself.
「…Akira, seems like he’s having fun.」
『Within this world, Master-dono’s strength is much stronger, far surpassing that of the other humans and monsters. If they were ordinary opponents, it would’ve been over in one hit. Master-dono hates troublesome things, so he wouldn’t do something like purposely searching for an opponent, but even so….』
Yoru, looked toward where Akira was.
Akira was wounded and bloody. Even though he should be hurting, he was smiling.
This was the first time we’ve seen him fighting so happily.
『It’s probably fun to fight someone who you can go all out against. To the point where he’s unconsciously smiling. …although he himself does not want to admit it, but Master-dono is, without a doubt, a battle manic.』
He truly seemed to be having fun.
This scene was quite similar to when Kirika was practicing her sword by herself.
「…how enviable.」
I was drowning in jealousy.
Yoru probably did not hear it, but these words spilled out from my lips.
「Hey, hey, none of your attacks have hit me yet. Certainly, it’s amazing that you’ve lasted this long against a demon, but there’s no point if your attacks don’t connect.」
Certainly, he didn’t have any large wounds, but his small injuries were all bloody. Was he anemic, Akira’s face was turning pale.
Akira’s blood was everywhere on the ground.
No, it was scattered all around; it would be too strange to say that it just dripped onto the floor.
It was a different, it was as if he purposely allowed it to spill there….
「Well, the preparations are finished.」
The youth frowned.
Akira grinned and raised his hand horizontally.
「What are you doing now….」
「『Shadow Magic』」
All the shadows within the dungeon gathered to Akira’s side.
The shadows created by the lights within the dungeon, as well as the shadows of myself and Yoru were consumed and became Akira’s shadow.
「Scatter!」
At Akira’s command, the shadows dispersed.
It was a technique that I’ve never seen before.
If I’m not mistaken, from what I knew about Akira, he could only use his own shadow.
He shouldn’t be able to gather the surrounding shadows and manipulate them.
Before I knew it….
As if guided by something, the shadows headed toward somewhere.
『The blood….』
After hearing what Yoru had muttered, I looked at the blood that was scattered all over the ground. The shadows were gathering towards the large volumes of blood.
「They are reacting to the remaining bit of magic power left within the blood and gathering there…no, they’re gathering it?」
Akira clenched the hand that he raised.
「『Shadow Beast』」
The shadows that had gathered on the surface of the blood wriggled around, and assumed the shape of animals.
The bloodthirsty, four-legged beasts that were similar to a wolves, dodged the youth’s spear and bit his arms, legs, and torso.
「……!!!!」
The youth spun his body and forcibly shook off the beasts.
From that impact, his flesh was torn off.
This time, it was the youth’s blood that dripped everywhere.
He was bleeding much more than Akira.
In an instant, the tables were turned.
「It seems that, your blood and magic power is considerably delicious.『Shadow Magic』is pleased.」
Akira looked at the shadow that was moving around at his feet and said this.
Meanwhile, the youth was staring at the blood that he was shedding.
「…fufufuu! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa!!」
And then, he raised his voice and burst into laughter.
Akira backed away a little.
Before anyone knew it, the beasts created from the shadows disappeared.
「This is pain…. This is my blood….」
The youth grasped the blood that was flowing from his abdomen.
As Akira and I were backing away, Yoru was the only who calmly looked on at that scene.
『In general, demons have a large amount of magic power, so they are famous for having high offensive ability, and only for that, but their defensive ability is incomparable to the other races as well. A simple edged tool was a matter of course, but magic would not be able to injure them either. …some of my acquaintances, have never shed a drop of blood in their entire life before.』
If that were true, from the youth’s reaction, it seems that he was one of those people as well.
To me, it seemed like he was delighted that blood was flowing within himself.
It seemed like he was delighted that he was feeling pain.
It seemed like he was delighted that the color of his blood was the same as the other races.
「Ahahahahahahahahaaaa! Truly, this is the best. Everyone will probably be happy once they know that there’s a human like you.」
An ecstatic smile on his lips, the youth let go of the spear, letting it fall.
And, in the opposite hand that had not been gripping the spear, he was holding onto a flute that he took from who knew where.
「You especially showed me a powerful technique. I too will reciprocate.」
I saw that flute, and recalled what had happened just before I had died.
「Noo! Run, Akira!!」
「It’s too late.」
The youth held the flute in both hands and pressed it against his lips.
—
Chapter 95~Finally~ Ria Lagoon’s POV
There was no sound coming out of the flute that the demonic youth was blowing into.
Even so, Amelia-sama once again told Akira-sama to run.
I was going to run away as she said, but I realized that my legs were not moving.
Perhaps it was the result of prolonged exposure to Aulum’s magic power, but my body was weakened and wouldn’t move.
I see, is this what it feels like for a frog to be eyed by a snake, I thought in admiration, though inappropriate.
「The demons are a race that enslaves and manipulates monsters. Monsters that haven’t been enslaved are at my beck and call.」
There were monsters pouring out from the wall of the dungeon.
It was not tens or hundreds.
It was an army of, perhaps, thousands.
This was the first time I’ve entered a dungeon, but I’ve heard stories of them.
There were many traps within dungeons, and there were even things that could truly kill you, and things like that.
Like this, it seemed like we would be crushed by their numbers.
Perhaps it was because I heard those kinds of stories, or maybe it was because there were no direct confrontations with demons, or perhaps it was thanks to Amelia-sama’s warning that the first to break free from the petrification was me.
「『God’s Barrier』reinforcement!!」
What I could do right now was to try and reinforce the barrier.
Perhaps it was because I was not with Akira-sama and the others, I was separated from them by the monsters.
The ugly monsters approached.
Unconsciously, I made a face.
「Noooo!! Please don’t come over here!!」
I took out my short sword and tried to put up a fight, but my opponents were monsters that prowled the lowest floor of the dungeon.
The short sword that I asked the castle’s knights to forge for me didn’t even hurt them.
Akira-sama would most likely be able to easily do it all by himself.
Amelia-sama had Yoru-sama, so she would be fine.
It seems that the monsters that had yet to be enslaved couldn’t be enslaved, so Yoru-sama would protect Amelia-sama.
In other words, I was the one who was the easiest to get rid of. I was a disposable pawn.
Several of them who had actual ability attracted Akira-sama and Yoru-sama’s attention while the others were coming for me.
The monsters that usually kill anyone in front of them indiscriminately were now displaying very intelligent behavior while under the demon’s command, huh.
「Mahiro said that if the Guardian existed, then it would be troublesome in the future, so–I’ll crush you first, ok?」
Before anyone became aware of it, Aulum Trace was innocently smiling on top of a monster that approached me.
Because I had experienced the demon’s huge amount of magic power at point-blank range, my body was trembling, and my limbs became weak.
The short sword slipped out of my hands.
The sound of the sword falling reverberated, and following that, I collapsed onto the dungeon floor.
My eyes wavered a little, but all I could see was my approaching death.
This was a huge crisis with no escape.
Perhaps this was my divine punishment for running all the way to this kind of place because I wanted to warn Amelia-sama even though I was weak.
Like a revolving lantern, my forgotten memories flashed before my eyes.
As if, telling me who sensed death approaching to not forget them.
That’s right.
Even if it was divine punishment, even if everyone thought that my life had no meaning….
「…even if that were the case, I, can not die here.」
When those words left my mouth, the sensations in my body returned.
Perhaps, it was because I became somewhat accustomed to his magic power.
With my trembling arms, I raised my upper body.
When I looked around, I found that my treasured staff that I kept by my side even when I wasn’t casting magic had fallen close to me.
It was my partner that was always with me, even when I was riding on top of Yoru-sama who was traveling at such high speeds…even when Akira-sama was strangling me…as well as the moment when my family died.
I took that staff into my hands.
I used it to stand up.
「Nn–? You can still get up? If you had continued to lie down, you would’ve died comfortably.」
Certainly, death was a type of salvation.
I would be liberated from the fetters of this life.
「Even so, until I meet that person…no, until these feelings have been transmitted, I can not die.」
While I am envious of Amelia-sama who thought about nothing but Akira-sama, I was also somewhat regretful.
When I separated from that person, did I tell them my feelings?
Was I this desperate?
Did I do anything for that person?
When I thought about it, I was always on the receiving end. This was no different than not doing anything.
Was it around the time when I entered the royal family as an adopted child?
However, it was different when I looked at Akira-sama.
It’s not good to just watch on and feel envious.
I needed to take action.
It was a desire that seemed like it would be extinguished, but when I looked at Akira-sama and Amelia-sama, I understood just how foolish it was.
I was just using that person as a reason to run away.
「I won’t run away anymore. I won’t waver either. I, I…won’t lie anymore.」
The enormous magic stone on the staff started shining with a blue light.
This staff was something that was made for me by that person himself.
The magic stone was from a monster that was subjugated by that person.
If I had this staff, I wouldn’t be scared of anything.
「I will definitely go and meet that person.」
Just like how that person healed my revenge-obsessed self, I wanted to do the same for him.
As if responding to my feelings, the magic stone shone more brightly than it ever had before.
「『God’s Inverted Barrier』」
The magic stone became brighter, and my body started glowing as well.
Guessing from the excited voices, Akira-sama, Yoru-sama, and Amelia-sama were probably glowing as well.
This magic was a new barrier that I created from looking through the books that I collected in the royal castle.
Theoretically, it could be implemented, but something was missing, and at that time, I was not successful even once.
However, it seems that what was missing was, my feelings.
I finally did it.
「That’s a technique that the successive generations of the Guardians didn’t have. Fu–n, was this what Mahiro hated? From what I can see, it doesn’t look like it’s changed much, but…maa, if I try attacking it, I’ll understand, huh!」
Aulum Trace gave an order to all the nearby monsters.
「Kill.」
They all simultaneously turned towards me, and used their fangs, claws and magic to attack me.
I opened my eyes that were filled with determination.
Not overlooking anything.
I did not become terrified nor desperate.
Since I no longer had a reason to be scared.
「Wha…!!?」
Everything was finished in an instant.
I confirmed that Akira-sama and Yoru-sama were similarly enveloped in a light within the barrier.
Amelia-sama was probably behind Yoru-sama.
The light gradually disappeared, and the stupid look on Aulum Trace’s face left quite the impression.
—
Chapter 96~Inverted Barrier~
After Aulum blew into the flute, the inaudible sound reverberated throughout the dungeon.
Even though there was someone among them who could fight against a thousand enemies, there was only one of him.
Numbers were also legitimate weapon.
Due to the monsters that came out from the wall, we were, in the blink of an eye, separated.
Moreover, if I remember correctly, Aulum, riding on a monster, was facing Ria’s direction.
She should have a short sword on her for self-defense, but her opponents were the monsters from the lowest floor of the dungeon and a demon.
It would be different if it were Yoru, Amelia, or myself, but Ria couldn’t handle them with her offensive capabilities.
At this point, I wanted to use『Shadow Magic』to finish this all in one go, but Aulum was still alive, and I wanted to preserve the『Shadow Magic』that violently consumed magic power.
At this time, if only I had Amelia’s『Gravitational Magic』….
「『Gravity』」
When I thought that, a cold voice sounded, and the monsters that surrounded me, were down on the ground, as if they had been pressed down from above by a large hand.
My field of vision opened up in an instant.
When I turned around, I saw Amelia who was being supported by Yoru as she used her magic.
She had put my cloak that grazed the ground over her shoulders.
Come to think of it, it seems like I threw it to her in the middle of the fight.
「Amelia! Yoru!」
When I walked past the monsters and rushed over to the person and the animal, the grim expression on Amelia’s face relaxed.
「I felt Akira calling for me.」
That was certainly telepathy.
I didn’t want her to overdo it, but her complexion wasn’t that bad, and everything turned out alright, huh.
「Aah, you saved me.」
When I patted her head for the first time in a while, Amelia pressed her head against my hand as if she were a cat.
It seems that I’ve made her feel lonely.
『Master-dono, the barrier not disappearing means that….』
Yoru came between us, as if telling us that this was not the time to be doing something like this.
It might be because I was able to meet Amelia that my mood was getting better.
Certainly, this was not the time to be doing something like this.
「Aah, Ria is not dead yet. Besides, it seems that I’m stronger than before.」
I tried to stab my arm with a dagger, but it was repealed by the pale light.
If it’s like this, then I could defend against Aulum’s attacks.
When we had just entered the dungeon, Ria didn’t seem that reliable, but it seems that she was the type to be there when we need her.
The barrier still holding up was proof that the caster was alive.
It seems that Ria could sense if the barrier that she created disappeared, so she would know that we were still alive.
For now, we were able to confirm that everyone was okay.
「Ria? …cheating?」
Amelia was sensitive to the female name.
Without thinking, I flicked Amelia’s forehead, and she held her forehead with both hands, looking up at me with tears in her eyes.
Un, so adorable.
…no,
「I wouldn’t choose anyone else except for Amelia. Ria has the Guardian occupation, and is the beastman princess. She said that she knew that Amelia was being targeted by the demons and came here to warn you. …maa, she was late though.」
Since Amelia had been abducted before Ria came to warn her.
「I see. This is the first time I’ve met a Guardian.」
It wasn’t like Amelia’s, but it seems to be a rare occupation.
It seems that, the people around me all had rare occupations.
They didn’t feel very rare at all.
『If it were just the monsters, then she could deal with them some way or another, but if the opponent was a demon, then no matter how many Hands of Protection there were, it would be impossible for her.』
I nodded at Yoru’s words.
Actually, this was not the right time to be talking about something like this, but somehow, I thought that it would be fine to do so.
Since coming to this world, the『Threat Detection』that had been refined in terms of both skill and the sixth sense did not have any reaction at all.
Ria was safe.
Having said that, there was no reason to not go save her, so we attacked the swarming monsters from the outside.
Amelia’s『Gravitational Magic』had flattened every single one of the monsters that were near us.
The only ones left were the ones surrounding Ria.
Fortunately, it seems that Aulum did not realize that the monsters over here were eradicated.
Just as I was about to go over, a strong voice sounded in my head.
「『God’s Inversion Barrier』」
The place where Ria seemed to be illuminated the room, and at the same time, our bodies glowed.
『Wha, what is this!?』
「Calm down, it isn’t anything bad.」
「A barrier?」
As the three people each displayed a different reaction, the monsters all simultaneously attacked the person they surrounded as per Aulum’s command.
「…hee. So barriers could be used like this.」
After a moment of silence, the monsters surrounding Ria collapsed.
Those that tried to use their sharp claws to tear her up had traces of claw marks left on their bodies.
Those that tried to use their sharp teeth to bite her had distinct teeth marks left on their bodies.
Those who cast magic were hit by their magic instead.
They had been ordered by the demon to kill her, so they were definitely attacking her seriously.
Despite this, all of their attacks were reflected back onto them.
『Well, there shouldn’t have been any among the successive generations of Hands of Protection who used barriers like this.』
Yoru’s eyes widened, astonished.
Amelia’s eyes slightly widened as well.
Though I was a little surprised, the result was within my predictions.
「In this case, it’s an original, huh.」
「Is it magic that she created by herself?」
I grabbed a monster’s head with one hand and threw it.
The head slammed into the wall and was pulverized by the impact.
Amelia used a miniature version of her『Gravitational Magic』as well, and flattened the monsters that were going to attack Yoru from behind.
Ria’s eyes met mine.
「Seems like it. Also, she seems to be doing better than before.」
Though it was only for an instant, those cobalt eyes seemed to have decided on something.
It seems that she had overcome the crisis that threatened her life.
—
Chapter 97~Reinforcement~
The monsters that swarmed Ria were nearly tidied up.
Only Aulum remained, as well as that monster that he was riding on.
「…I’ll tell you something good.」
The situation had reversed, and even though it was obvious that we had the upper hand, Aulum’s attitude had not changed at all.
No, he seems to be even more composed than before.
The『Threat Detection』that did not have any reaction up until now was loudly sounding the alarm.
「The flute from just now, even without it, I can still manipulate the monsters. Perhaps that right-hand man-sama did not know about it either, but that flute has two functions. One of them is passing down simple commands to the monsters.」
Aulum laughed ominously, and glanced behind us.
「…the second one is to report the current situation even when at a far distance away.」
A voice that I did not recognize sounded from behind us.
When we turned around, the owner of the voice had already used some method to destroy Ria’s barrier.
There was the sound of glass breaking and the light that enveloped our bodies disappeared.
「I thought that it was unusual for you to ask for help, but how did you get that injury?」
He was a baby-faced young man who had black hair, dark eyes and wore glasses.
His ahoge was swaying, and the hand that he used to push up his glasses was pale.
TN: those who frequently watch anime or read manga should know this, but an ahoge is a lock of hair that is sticking out of your hair
He was smiling, but his eyes were not.
As usual, the demon’s needlessly large amount of magic power was overflowing from his body, so much so that I had even broken into a cold sweat.
Ria had already fainted.
「Ah, Mahiro, you’re slow–! This time, it was dangerous even for me, so I called you– .」
Even though he was so heavily injured, he was still as energetic as when I met him.
Even though it was so severe that even an elf would have collapsed if they had the same injuries, the look on his face remained unchanged.
It seems that the demons’ vitality was abnormal as well.
「If you think that I’m slow, then you were stuck in this kind of place, huh. Come on, we’re going back.」
Before we realized it, he had appeared behind us.
「Wha!?」
I was worried, but even though I was closely watching his every move, I couldn’t react to that, much less see it.
Even though there was no indication of magic.
Without a doubt, he was stronger than Aulum.
「Mahiro…he had said that he was the second-ranked demon.」
Amelia said this and looked at the young man who suddenly appeared.
The second-ranked meant that he was one rank higher than Aulum.
The young man who Aulum had called Mahiro, looked at Aulum’s injuries, shook his head, and looked at me.
「Our affinity with you might not be good. Right, Oda Akira?」
My full name was called. I frowned.
My name being called, and that appearance, I realized something.
「You, could you be a Japanese person?」
This world was similar to overseas where one’s name was in front while the family name came after.
The language was different so It couldn’t be helped, but the intonation of the name was somewhat different from Japanese.
However, this guy pronounced it perfectly as if it were Japanese.
And above all else, the name Mahiro.
It was a Japanese-y name.
「Aah, maa, am I? I’m a bit different from you guys, but I am a Japanese person. My name is Abe Mashiro. I’m reluctant, but please take care of me—.」
What did he mean by “a bit different”?
And why was he a demon.
「Oops, there’s no time for this. We will be taking that princess with us.」
When he said those words, I stood in front of Amelia as if to protect her.
Yoru got ready to fight as well.
Sorry, but I’ll take care of the collapsed Ria later.
Since their target was Amelia.
「Well, I didn’t think we would even require the third-rank just to secure a single princess. And now, it’s gotten to a point where the task requires my involvement.」
You never know what will happen in life, Mahiro muttered to no one in particular, and clapped his hands.
Pann
The sound reverberated clearly.
And from in between his hands, some kind of characters came flying out.
A large number of characters formed a circle, becoming a magic circle.
The characters were something I have never seen before and didn’t look like characters. The various symbols fell into place in no time at all.
The characters were shining brightly, and were extremely beautiful.
In merely a few seconds, the tremendously small magic circles were completed, and Mahiro immediately activated them.
「『Living Doll』」
He poured magic power in the magic circles that were shining bright red and then they flew towards us.
「Dodge them! Amelia!!!」
「Kyaa!!」
I prepared myself, thinking that they were aiming for me, but the magic circles headed towards Amelia.
It was too late when I realized it and yelled out.
Amelia, who came into contact with the magic circles, was blown away and crashed into the wall.
And then, she did not move.
「Sh*t! Amelia!!!」
I ran over to Amelia and pulled her into my arms.
She was bleeding from her head. She was not dead, just unconscious.
However, if she was human, she would’ve been instantly killed.
She had also hit the back of her head, so it would be better to get her looked at by a doctor.
「You bastard!!」
「Ah—, ah—, are you aware of the unpleasant look in your eyes? Even now, you look like you’re about to kill me.」
Hearing those mocking words, I knew that I was losing my cool.
『Master-dono, don’t let him provoke you.』
Yoru who had recovered Ria before I knew it, pacified me.
I clenched my fist.
I wanted to punch him, but I understood that I couldn’t win against this guy.
We needed to escape somehow.
To begin with, Aulum also planned to immediately escape after recovering Amelia.
Though I didn’t let them do so.
「Can we count that Black Cat over there as being on your side now? If not, I’ll be angry.」
Yoru returned to his usual black cat form.
That pair of golden eyes glared at Mahiro.
『I will not return to demon king-sama’s side anymore. Because I am no longer Black Cat, but Yoru.』
「I see. Then, you can not be angry if I add your fur to my wardrobe.」
Yoru bared his teeth, at the grinning Mahiro.
『Try it.』
—
Chapter 98~United Front~ Yoru’s POV
Mahiro Abe.
He was a magic circle user that was thought to be practically extinct within the other races, and even among the ones that I knew of, he was one of the strongest.
Magic power as well, he had the most among the demons, and was the only person who could stop the reckless demon king-sama.
I turned my fangs towards such a person.
Bluntly speaking, I had no chance of winning.
I ran at full speed all the way here from the surface while carrying two people. On top of that, during the battle just now, I had received a few injuries.
Also, I only had enough magic power for one more use of my『Metamorphosis』.
Even without that, since Aulum Trace was here, we may lose our lives.
I looked behind me.
Miss Amelia whose head was injured, and Master-dono who was frantically trying to stop the blood.
I, who was fated to die in the lowest level of the dungeon, picked up the two people.
My master was no one but Akira Oda, but Miss Amelia was just as important to me.
There was no way I would forgive the one in front of me who injured her.
「You, did you have such a personality? I thought you were more submissive though.」
『You injured my master and his important person. That’s all.』
「Aah, is that so.」
Mahiro clapped his hands together.
From between his hands, were beautiful and insanely complicated magic circles.
His configuration speed spoke for itself, and to single-handedly create so many magic circles without making mistakes, Mahiro was certainly worthy of being the second-ranked among demons.
「If you were killed in the dungeon like you should’ve been, you wouldn’t be experiencing something like this. …my condolences~.」
As I looked at the suspended lights in front of me, I imagined it.
When I was at my strongest.
The one whose power matched Mahiro’s, among the ones that I’ve fought up until now.
My body radiated light.
『Metamorphosis』commenced.
「…Yoru. that person is….」
Behind me, Master-dono seemed to be dumbfounded.
I was still in the middle of transforming, moreover, to notice it from the back, as expected of him.
That’s understandable.
Because, it seems that this human had died right in front of Master-dono.
「Hee…. The now deceased sage, Saran Misray, huh.」
Golden hair flowed down my head, and I was walking on two legs instead of four.
My body transformed into that of a human’s.
Wearing snow white armor, and coldly glaring at Mahiro, it was Saran Misray who Master-dono said was his benefactor and master.
『Not only is the consumption of magic power huge when transforming into a human, I would not be able to move afterwards. I’ll finish it right away.』
Originally, since I’m normally an animal, taking on a human form would require much effort to do.
Truthfully, I didn’t want to let Master-dono see this form, but under these circumstances, there’s no other choice.
I held my right hand up.
『I, becoming a sword, will rain down the light’s hammer on the enemy that threatens my master–『Hammer of Light』.』
For a being of darkness such as I, using the light magic of a first-class light mage was very taxing.
However, that was the same for Mahiro as well.
The light gathered in my right hand that I held up, and was condensed into the shape of a hammer.
\With this hammer filled with a terrifying amount of power, what would happen if it were to come down was easy to imagine. \
「Kuhahahahahaa!! Good! It’s been a while since I’ve seen that form.」
Pann
It resounded clearly, and Mahiro created a new and enormous magic circle.
One which was so big that it couldn’t be created without several tens of magicians was created in an instant by a single demon.
「『Lightning Emperor』,『Golden Illumination)』」
His magic power was being poured into the magic circles that he had conjured beforehand and the enormous one.
My eyes widened when I heard the name of the magic.
I’ve seen him use both of these spells before.
『Lightning Emperor』,as the name suggests, was magic that produced lightning. This magic was strong enough to destroy a human country.
『Golden Illumination』was light magic, and was at the same level as or superior to 『Hammer of Light』.
Demons did not have any aptitude for light magic apart from a single exception, but the magic circles could also invoke magic that one did not have any aptitude in.
That magic which was once reassuring to have when we were on the same side, became a source of inexplicable fear when on the receiving end.
「『Shadow Magic』」
Before the magic power for the magic circles finished accumulating and just as the『Hammer of Light』was ready to fall down, his voice resounded calmly within the dungeon.
『Master-dono!?』
Reflexively, I looked behind me, and Master-dono put his cloak over Miss Amelia and leaned her against the dungeon wall.
He patted her head once, and looked over here.
「I won’t let Yoru face this by himself. Besides, this room that is overflowing with light is very convenient.」
The light came from the『Hammer of Light』as well as from Mahiro’s magic circle.
The perpetually dim dungeon was illuminated by the light, and in proportion to that, the shadows became deeper as well.
It seems that Master-dono realized it.
『Hammer of Light』and『Golden Illumination』were magic with equal strength.
In other words, they canceled each other out.
『Lightning Emperor』was AoE magic, and Mahiro, most likely, intended on killing everyone with 『Lightning Emperor』after 『Hammer of Light』was offset.
Of course, I wouldn’t let him do such a thing.
I will protect Master-dono and the others even if I had to sacrifice myself.
That was what I had intended to do.
「If you die, I will die as well. Did you forget? Sorry, but I can’t die yet. Yoru, focus on the light magic. I will do something about his other magic.」
I had resigned myself to die for Master-dono a long time ago.
Once I annulled the contract, Master-dono would be able to live.
Familiar contracts were a type that was established through mutual consent.
If I annulled it, it would, of course, become ineffective. If Master-dono didn’t need me, then no matter who died, we would not be traveling together.
Despite this, it seems that this person will not let me die.
「That person, I need you to tell me about him in detail later. …also, Yoru and I fighting together gives off the feeling of master and familiar.」
For ordinary opponents, Master-dono alone would be able to handle it, and likewise, I alone would suffice.
Because we did not want to overdo it, even though I was his familiar, I had never fought together with Master-dono before.
There was an immense feeling of reassurance knowing that I could trust someone to have my back.
We had worked together when Miss Amelia was abducted as well, but because of the nature of the monster that I had transformed into at that time, my consciousness was muddled, so I barely remembered anything.
Come to think of it, what did Master-dono say at that time.
…I need to survive this by any means necessary and ask him.
『Alright.』
Master-dono will protect Miss Amelia.
I focused all my attention on the『Hammer of Light』.
「Die.」
We released our respective magic, and the『Hammer of Light』came down from above while the『Golden Illumination』came from below, colliding in the middle.
They canceled each other out as the violent impact dispersed.
Following that, the magic circle for『Lightning Emperor』was invoked.
However, Master-dono’s『Shadow Magic』extended into the air, and ate『Lightning Emperor』, including the magic circles.
「Wha!?」
As expected, even Mahiro was feeling baffled when the light disappeared.
Maa, something like his magic circles having been eaten by magic, that had probably never happened to him before.
This was, surely, a good experience for him.
—
Chapter 99~Death~
When the『Shadow Magic』ate the magic along with the magic circle, I collapsed onto the ground.
『Master-dono!?』
Truly, the amount of magic power that the『Shadow Magic』consumed was enormous.
If the shadows operated by themselves and stabbed the opponent, there was a possibility that it won’t stop, but that wouldn’t be effective against a demon.
Having said that, if I needed to continuously use the shadows, I wouldn’t be able to move my body afterwards.
Even though I’d been holding back to prevent that from happening, Yoru was trying to sacrifice himself, so I instinctively moved.
「I heard it from demon king-sama, but to think that you’ve grown this much. I did not think that my magic circles would be eaten. Maa, however, your magic power should’ve run out from what happened before, so why don’t we finish this.」
Mahiro snapped his fingers.
When you’re creating magic circles, can you not do it so soundlessly.
I stared at Mahiro, keeping my guard up, wondering what he was going to do, but nothing happened.
『…Master-dono!!!』
Did he sense something, Yoru looked behind me, his eyes widened.
I saw him like this and looked behind me as well, but I stopped as I was turning.
「Wha! …eh?」
『Master-dono!!』
A red liquid was running down from my mouth, staining the ground.
The smell of blood permeated the surroundings.
Since the magic power was cut off, it seems that『Threat Detection』became useless as well.
Or, it may be because I was not the target.
「To be killed by someone you love, aren’t you satisfied? I have judged that you have become an obstacle in demon king-sama’s plan to get revenge on this world. Come down from the center stage immediately. 」
A slender arm was sticking out of my abdomen.
I had been stabbed from behind and it penetrated my body.
「A, aaaaaahh!!」
When I turned my head around and looked behind me, Amelia’s eyes were dyed in terror as she looked at her own arm that stabbed me.
「Why did my body do that!!」
Amelia’s body was glowing red.
Was she being manipulated.
The magic circle that blew her away was most likely what caused her to be like this.
「Ame, lia… Cough!」
I was bleeding heavily.
I couldn’t feel any strength within my body, and when Amelia pulled out her arm, I collapsed onto the ground.
It felt like my life itself was seeping out of my body.
「Nooooooooooooo!!!」
Amelia’s scream reverberated.
When I heard the grief-ladened scream, my consciousness that started slipping away came back.
「Ah-ah. Killing someone you love with your own hands, are you a yandere?」
TN: a yandere is someone with an unhealthy romantic obsession
Even though it was obvious that he plotted this himself, the fact that he could say something like this in such an easy-going manner made me want to kill him.
『Ah, Master-dono?』
As I was feeling more cold than pain, I slowly got up again.
When he looked up, Mahiro’s eyes widened.
His ahoge stood up.
「…you, are you really human? Your vitality is comparable to a demon’s.」
I ignored Mahiro, and turned towards the dumbfounded Amelia.
「…Amelia, I am fine. Don’t mind it.」
「A, Akira….」
I wiped her cheeks that were dripping with tears.
Perhaps it was on my hand, as there was blood on Amelia’s blood.
Feeling weak, my knees bent, and I leaned on Amelia.
Amelia was somewhat off-balance, but she supported me.
It’s cold.
I was still bleeding even now.
Perhaps it was because I exerted my strength when I got up, the blood was gushing out much more vigorously than before.
However, if I collapsed, Amelia would probably blame herself, so I needed to show her that I was fine.
「That, you’re as tenacious as the evil creatures that live in the kitchen.」
Pondering over something with his hand on his chin, Mahiro said this, and snapped his fingers once again.
Amelia’s face was twisted in fear.
「S, stop! Noo!」
「Even though I had used『Living Doll』, it took time to take effect, but having you two kill each other would be good. Killing a riajuu like you would be perfect, wouldn’t it?」
TN: riajuu is a term used to describe someone who has a satisfactory real (offline) life, aka someone who’s popular, got good grades, etc. It can be said to be the opposite of an otaku
Amelia’s arm pierced into me once again.
Trembling.
I did not know if it was Amelia’s body that was trembling, or if it was mine.
「Guu…!!」
It was truly, cold.
If I were to fall into the hands of others, I would rather die by Amelia’s hands. Certainly, this was something I had thought about before.
However, I saw Amelia’s crying face, and I wanted to punch the past me.
When Commander Saran died, what was I feeling.
When father disappeared and I was at a loss, what was I feeling.
I had forgotten.
It was much more painful for the person who was left behind.
I couldn’t let Amelia go through that.
Besides, I had yet to accomplish even one of the things that I swore to achieve.
So cold.
I, won’t die.
So cold.
I will defeat Mahiro.
So cold.
I won’t let them take Amelia away.
So cold.
I will get revenge for Commander Saran.
So cold.
—-so cold.
My strength was leaving me.
Amelia was screaming.
Yoru was dumbfounded, and Mahiro raised the corners of his mouth and laughed.
I won’t die.
《Master’s injuries has exceeded the limit.『Shadow Magic』will be forcibly activated. Mode, “Recovery”.》
My mouth was moving on its own.
What, was this.
I tried twisting my body to resist, but I did not move at all.
The shadows at my feet moved, and enveloped me.
《It is confirmed that master’s magic power is insufficient. Collecting the necessary amount from the magic power preserved by the shadow magic.》
Strangely, my body became increasingly lighter.
The coldness faded as well.
I didn’t feel pain either.
I didn’t know what was going on, but I understood that the『Shadow Magic』was somehow moving on its own.
《…recovery complete. Now transitioning to the operation of getting rid of the enemy.》
The two holes in my abdomen were completely healed.
The shadows that covered my body let go of me, and wrapped around my arms and legs.
《Enemy confirmed. Demon Mahiro Abe. Occupation, magic craftsman.》
My body was moving on its own.
No, the shadow magic that was wrapped around my limbs was moving on its own.
I painfully understood Amelia’s feelings from before.
Your body moving on its own felt extremely unpleasant.
—
Chapter 100~『Shadow Magic』VS Mahiro 1~ Yoru’s POV
It was the same as that time.
When he found out that Miss Amelia had been abducted, when his magic power had completely fallen into the negatives and his life had almost been exhausted.
『Shadow Magic』replenished Master-dono’s magic power, and even treated his injuries.
Was it initiated when Master-dono was on the verge of death, I don’t know whether it started up while Master-dono was unconscious, but even so, it could revive someone who was on the verge of death.
It was not as powerful as Miss Amelia’s『Resurrection』, but from the point of view of a powerful person like Master-dono, it was an extraordinary magic.
No, it may no longer be magic.
《The battle will now commence. Eliminate Mahiro Abe.》
The『Shadow Magic』spoke through Master-dono’s mouth.
The voice coming out was certainly Master-dono’s, but the tone and mannerisms were different.
When I looked closely, the shadows were wrapped around Master-dono’s limbs.
The『Shadow Magic』was forcibly moving him.
「I don’t know what’s going on, but what can you do now? Humans are inferior creatures afterall. You groveling on the ground like you did just now suited you.」
Mahiro said this and clapped his hands, forming a beautiful magic circle in the process.
Miss Amelia, who was still under Mahiro’s manipulation, approached Master-dono from behind.
「M, my body is moving on its own! Akira, run away!!」
Miss Amelia lowered the hand she held up.
『Gravitational Magic』was invoked and Master-dono was weighed down by the heavy gravity.
Under the gravity that cracked the sturdy dungeon floor, Master-dono did not fall down onto his knees and was calmly standing there.
「『Whirlwind』」
TN: the author actually used kamaitachi here. Kamaitachi is a type of Japanese folklore monster (yokai) that is thought to be a trio of weasels who appear in whirlwinds to cut up their victims.
Mahiro’s magic circle was completed, and a wind with countless hidden blades swept through the dungeon.
Was that wind targeting just Master-dono, it did not come towards Miss Amelia and I.
By nature,『Whirlwind』was similar to『Lightning Emperor』where it would indiscriminately attack the nearby enemies, and was an AoE magic.
He made it converge around Master-dono, and enhanced the power tremendously.
「To go this far….」
Mahiro was fundamentally lax.
His ahoge was always wavering as if it reflected his true self, and he always had a smile on his face.
He was quite mysterious.
When did he get there, where did he come from, no one knew.
Even so, the only one who could stop the demon king-sama was Mahiro, and he was the second-ranked among the demons after the demon king-sama.
I was going to carefully observe him, but I could not completely grasp his true strength.
I didn’t think that he could control his magic this well.
There was one other attack that I had received from the true owner of this body, Saran Misray, other than『Hammer of Light』.
However, the requirements for that magic had not been fulfilled yet.
The wind stopped.
I couldn’t see Master-dono yet, but I knew that he was still alive.
Was I, being protected by Master-dono once again.
Would a day like today, where we fought side-by-side ever come again.
「…the spell just now, was charged with quite a bit of magic power, and it should’ve been a direct hit, but why are you still alive?」
Hearing that, I looked closely, and Master-Dono was standing there in the middle of a cloud of dust, no different than before.
Even after he had been attacked by Miss Amelia’s『Gravitational Magic』, even after he received the brunt of Mahiro’s『Whirlwind』, Master-dono did not waver.
《Return, “Yatonokami”》
When did he throw it?
The “Yatonokami” that Kurou fixed for him, was now lodged in the ground nearby.
When Master-dono called out for it, it disappeared before settling in Master-dono’s hands in the next second.
Just, what did he do?
「…that katana….」
TN: the kanji for katana is being used here. It can be used to talk about a sword or a dagger, but the kanji for ‘dagger’ is usually another kanji, so I just left ‘katana’ here
Perhaps sensing something as well, Mahiro looked at “Yatonokami”.
It seemed like the katana had teleported.
I had never seen someone summon their weapon like Master-dono did with “Yatonokami” before.
Even though it wasn’t a situation where one could go to retrieve it when it was thrown far away, he went out of his way to do so.
Master-dono treasured Miss Amelia and I equally, and as he didn’t want something to happen to us, he used this method of retrieving it.
In other words, the『Shadow Magic』that was now manipulating Master-dono’s body was more knowledgeable on how to use “Yatonokami” than Master-dono himself.
「…!?」
Perhaps he was pondering over something because the instant Master-dono appeared in front of him, Mahiro, who was caught slightly off guard, had several strands of hair cut off.
Master-dono’s movements had become faster than before.
Perhaps it was because the『Shadow Magic』was forcibly manipulating him, but was it alright for him to move like that even though the injuries had been healed.
「Guu! The sword’s heavy…!」
Mahiro had used a defensive magic circle to block the attack, but due to the weight that was added on from Master-dono’s speed, the attack was chipping away at the shield.
《『Shadow Magic』—- Binding Shadow.》
The shadow that was between Master-dono and Mahiro rose to the surface and tied Mahiro down.
Perhaps he learned as he fought, he prioritized tying down Mahiro’s hands, and now he couldn’t use his magic circles.
《Dispel the magic on Amelia Rose Quartz.》
The『Shadow Magic』 held the blade to Mahiro’s throat and said this.
Even so, Mahiro still had a smile on his face.
「It’s unfortunate, but I can still use my magic circles even if my hands are sealed. Besides, you said it just now, didn’t you? My occupation.」
He moved his feet that could still move, not his hands that were bound by the shadows, and put them together.
And then the light that was characteristic of when Mahiro invoked his magic shone through.
—
Chapter 101~『Shadow Magic』VS Mahiro 2~
I–or rather,『Shadow Magic』, reflexively closed my eyes at the dazzling that suddenly appeared in front of me.
Closing one’s eyes in the middle of battle was lethal.
Mahiro used his feet and the magic that he fired pierced into my abdomen.
How many times did I get poked into today.
《Master’s injury is confirmed. Exceeded permissible limit.》
Permissible or whatever, but you’re moving as you like, so isn’t that hypocritical.
Right now, I did not have the strength to get out of the current situation, and I had no way of stopping『Shadow Magic』.
It seems that『Shadow Magic』had saved my life, so for now, let’s obediently lend it my body.
《Mode, “Recovery”》
In the end, the hole that Mahiro’s magic made had closed up as well.
It was also strange for me to be helped by my magic.
「Haven’t you been strange since a while ago? That katana, that magic that is wrapped around your body, and that tone of voice. …are you possessed by something?」
He was indeed correct.
If I could move my body, I would clap my hands.
《I can not answer that question.》
I thought that it wouldn’t respond, but the『Shadow Magic』replied honestly.
My body was filled with strength.
Of course, I could not exert any strength.
Mahiro’s limbs were freed before anyone realized it and he clapped his hands together.
He’s using such a powerful technique, was his magic power limitless?
However, Mahiro’s magic power that was drifting through the air had faded considerably.
「Fine. I’ll capture you and have you tell me, even if it’s by force. Originally, I had planned on only taking the princess back with me, but I changed my mind. I’m interested in you as well.」
Even if it was a man who took an interest in me, I was not happy at all.
On the contrary, I got goosebumps.
「『Hand of God』」
An enormous shining hand materialized behind Mahiro.
That hand moved towards me as if to capture me.
Even when it was in front of me, the『Shadow Magic』did not move.
《…the stronger the light, the deeper the shadows, become stronger. I will fulfill my master’s wish.》
It was『Shadow Magic』and not anyone else who muttered this.
However, it was definitely saying this to me.
I didn’t doubt it, but as expected, it seems that my『Shadow Magic』was self-aware.
《When you die, the magic you cast on AMelia Rose Quartz would be dispelled.》
『Shadow Magic』held out a hand in front of the『Hand of God』.
《Devour everything.》
That was all that it said.
With just that, the『Hand of God』that had released an overwhelming pressure disappeared.
No, it was eaten.
As expected, even Mahiro was speechless.
《Know your place. You are not my opponent at all.》
At these words, the dumbfounded Mahiro opened his mouth to speak.
And, there was a disgusted smile on his lips.
「Hee….」
From the corner of my eyes, Yoru and the others were overwhelmed and had taken a step back.
If I was in control of my body, I would have done so as well.
As expected of the demons’ second-ranked.
「What a thing to say. …you low level…」
For the first time, the smile on Mahiro’s face disappeared.
It was merely an emotionless smile that was for form’s sake, and even though it was not a beaming smile, if it suddenly disappeared, it would be scary.
「You humans would never be a match for demons. That’s how it is.」
I hated what was fixed from the bottom of my heart.
However, there was some truth to it and what Mahiro just said was absolute.
I was the only exception. Even though the humans, including the hero, had the advantage in numbers, they were no match for the demons.
Even though we had fought that much, there was little indication that Mahiro’s magic power had been exhausted.
Aulum was no different in that regard. Though our fight concluded arbitrarily, that may not be the case next time.
《Please do not decide on something as you like.》
However, it seems that the『Shadow Magic』was of a different opinion.
《I do not think that my efforts would always pay off. Since the world was not that compassionate. However, it would not be right to give up without even trying.》
At『Shadow Magic』’s words, Mahiro’s vein on his forehead bulged.
It seems that he was angry.
「You humans truly don’t learn. Throughout history, humans had not won against the demons even once.」
It’s different if it’s the hero, Mahiro added this.
Judging from his tone, there had been a human hero before.
Mahiro clapped his hands together.
The red light around Amelia became darker.
「Guaaaaaa!!?」
As Amelia’s body buckled and she was screaming, Mahiro invoked a new magic.
「You, you can eat magic, right? Then, I will fill you up to your heart’s content.」
Each time my shadow magic ate magic or monsters, there was something that bothered me.
That was, whether it had an upper limit.
If by chance it accidentally discharged, I wouldn’t be able to stop it.
I wanted to have an understanding of my own magic, but unfortunately, there was no precedent.
Commander Saran said that my shadow magic was one-of-a-kind.
However, if so, just what was this magic.
Although I said that it had worked together in conjunction with Commander Saran’s light magic, it had erased an entire forest.
If possible, I want to avoid falling into Mahiro’s trap.
At the very least, I didn’t want it to be out of control.
…no, wasn’t it out of control right now as well.
「『Water Needle』」
A large number of magic circles were suspended in the air, and Amelia ran into the rain of water needles.
As her body was being manipulated, she did not avoid the falling needles.
As this rate, Amelia would be hit by the needles as well.
Even though I knew that I couldn’t move, I extended a hand toward Amelia.
I didn’t want to see Amelia be hurt any more than this.
《!!!》
Perhaps those feelings got through, as my body suddenly moved and embraced Amelia.
I covered Amelia with my body, my back facing the falling rain.
Though they were needles, they were almost as big as icicles.
If it found its target, a person’s body would be pierced through easily.
I didn’t want to die.
However, I did not want to see Amelia suffer any more than this.
『Master-dono!!!』
I could hear Yoru shouting.
I closed my eyes, prepared for the pain.
Seriously, just how many holes were pierced into my abdomen today.
—
Chapter 102~『Shadow Magic』VS Mahiro 3~
Surprisingly, I was somehow still alive.
Both Amelia and I were unharmed.
「…are you alright.」
Because this guy came to help us.
There was a black tail swaying in front of me.
『Kurou…. Why are you here?』
When Yoru asked this, Kurou glanced over and snorted.
He did not answer his question.
He merely looked over towards Ria for an instant, and then moved his gaze away in the next second.
「After the human comes a beastman, huh. Moreover, that Kurou, really….」
Why don’t you tell me what you mean by that. I want to know how I’m portrayed in the eyes of the demons as well.
Contrary to Kurou who raised the corners of his lips belligerently, Mahiro’s smile had a hint of impatience.
As the sparks lit up between the two people, we moved closer to the wall under Yoru’s urging.
Before anyone realized it, the spell manipulating Amelia was severed.
The『Shadow Magic』which preoccupied my body had seemingly disappeared as well.
「Yoru, do Kurou and Mahiro know each other?」
I leaned my wounded body against the wall and breathed in.
Next to me, Yoru, in the form of Commander Saran, was doing the same.
Amelia was not near me.
Although she was being manipulated, she was still conscious, and had been anxious as she tried to kill me.
Thanks to『Shadow Magic』, I was uninjured, but I felt anemic from the large loss of blood.
『Kurou, who was a member of the previous generation’s heroes, had not received a bit of blame from the king nor the citizens even though he had run away without defeating demon king-sama. That was because Kurou and the previous hero had attacked the demon king’s castle by themselves.』
My eyes widened.
It seems that Amelia knew about this, as she didn’t look particularly surprised.
Certainly, although someone who ran all the way back home would live in a remote place, it was strange for him to live in a splendid smithy that was attached to a house.
Suicide when on the edge of despair…was that not how it usually went.
Even so, if it were only the two people who commenced the attack on the demon king’s castle, they may not be blamed.
I’m curious about the fact that they had ‘commenced the attack’ and not that they had ‘attacked’.
『I was right next to the demon king-sama at the time, and I only remember that the hero party got hurt all by themselves and then ran away. But after a while, I heard from my subordinates that they had approached the demon king-sama.』
What did that have to do with Kurou getting rid of the magic that was cast on Amelia and I.
Perhaps he noticed my gaze, the look in Yoru’s eyes told me to wait a little.
『It seems that at that time, the one whose last attack made Kurou and the hero determined to retreat was Mahiro. However, Mahiro did not fight Kurou who was at his full strength.』
Yoru said this and looked over at those two people.
I too looked over.
Unlike when he was fighting us, Mahiro did not look calm at all.
I knew that I was not as strong as Kurou, but somehow, I was annoyed.
「Long time no see, Mahiro Abe.」
「A beastman’s lifespan is about a century longer than that of a human’s, right? Why haven’t you dropped dead yet, old man.」
Certainly, “Adorea’s Nightmare” was a hundred years ago, Kurou going to the demon king’s castle as part of the hero’s party was before that, and there should be a period of time when he had to attain enough strength to be chosen for the hero’s party.
This meant that his lifespan was approaching its end, no?
It’s really not easy to discern the age of a beastman.
「Don’t underestimate me, damn brat. Although I’m not as strong as when I was in my prime, I’m not that weak either.」
Kurou bared his teeth and growled.
Mahiro glanced over here.
「That seems to be the case. You dispelled my magic in an instant.」
As expected, it seems that the one who dispelled the magic on Amelia and I was Kurou.
Kurou snorted again.
「『Living Doll』had almost dissipated. Did you lose your concentration? Or, did an attack distract you?」
「Don’t you already know, ill-natured old man.」
Mahrio was gradually becoming more bad-mouthed.
He was always smiling, so it would’ve been good if he was a character who used keigo.
Kurou was unperturbed by Mahiro’s abusive language and smiled.
「It seems that the hero summoning this time was not a bad thing. At least there was one person who’s got willpower.」
Was he talking about me.
When we first met, it was completely different.
The two people talking glared at each other for a while, and Mahiro looked away.
「I will overlook it this time.」
「That’s my line.」
It seems that Kurou came out on top in their confrontation.
Mahiro clicked his tongue, and carried the fainted Aulum who was on top of a monster under his arms.
Kurou relaxed his tense body as well.
I got up and glared at Mahiro.
Mahiro noticed my gaze, and came to stand in front of me with Aulum under his arms.
「We’ll withdraw this time, but next time, even if you’re Japanese just like me, I won’t have any mercy, inferior species.」
「You injured Amelia. I’ll pay you back double, just you wait.」
Our confrontation ended, and Yoru suddenly pulled on my hand.
『Master-dono, let’s hurry up and go back.』
When I turned around, Kurou had Ria under his arms and was quickly retreating.
I gripped the hand of Amelia who was hanging her head down low.
Amelia was surprised and looked up at me.
「We’re going.」
Wandering Muse Translation 
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