187 - - Art. 187 The Chaser and the Tower of Stone Fire

"Thunder Shot!"

""""Gwaaaaah!!!""""

A volley of thunderbolts blasts all the pursuers together.

"Phew, it's over."

After the battle, Yukinojo, who had been waiting in the back, approaches in a good mood.

"Excellent, Mina!　You've done some great magic again!"

He always wants to come forward to fight even though he is the one being escorted, which makes it difficult for Haruomi.

Well, unlike the nobles I know, Yukinojo and other samurai are more like knights or soldiers, and that's why the lords seem to take the initiative to go to the battlefield.

Is this another cultural difference?

You're hurt. Are you okay?

Yukinojo has an injury on his arm.

"Nothing serious, just a grazed arrow."

I'm sorry. I could not hold back my pursuers and I wounded the young man."

Haruomi-san bows his head to Yukinojo, looking truly sorry.

Behind him, several of his pursuers were lying on the ground.

It seems that there was a separate squad.

"I am not surprised that you have been wounded, despite the fact that you are young man's bodyguard. ......"

"Good, good. Mina and Haruomi did a great job with just the two of them. It's a great honor.

"Thank you very much!"

"...... Yukinojo says so, but it's still a problem that the number of enemies has increased."

It had been a few days since we had crossed the barrier, and we were on our way to the town of Khatba to meet up with Lex, but in that time we had been attacked five times.

"This many raids completely reveal that we are on our way to Hatoba town, don't they?

"Indeed. I thought we could have dazzled our pursuers by fleeing to your uncle's mansion."

But the reality is this.

And here we are in the middle of the forest, off the main road, not far from the city.

We're heading for the town of Hutbah, relying on the position of the sun, so I don't think our pursuers will find us. ......

"Either there was a traitor in Yukinojo's uncle's men, or the first retainer's men are very good. ......"

"No way!　There can't be such a person in your uncle's staff. ......

"No, I think it's more likely, considering the mastermind behind it. However, it would be impossible for a secret spy from another clan to infiltrate Omitsu-sama's inner circle, so the best they could do was to inform the outside world that Waka had escaped. And his pursuers, who have learned of this, are gathering friends from the surrounding areas, expecting that Waka will move to perform the ceremony to assume the title of head of the clan with the help of Mimitsu-sama.

It seems that joining up with Lex is the right thing to do after all.

It's going to be tough for me to deal with so many enemies by myself.

"In that case, I'd better hurry. Let's go to Hatoba town to meet up with Lex as soon as possible.

"As you said before Lex......, what is your relationship to this person?"

As we started to walk toward the town of Hatoba, Yukinojo asked me with a strangely pale face.

"Hmm?　Lex is like my magic master. He's just so d*mn strong."

"Oh, really?　Is that all?"

"Yeah, but what?　By the way, are you okay?　Your face is so pale."

I tilted my head as I looked at Yukinojo's face, which was strangely reluctant to bite down.

"No, no problem."

I wonder if he's sick because of all the attacks that have happened in rapid succession?

"......"

Anyway, just as we were about to resume our move again, the first thing that came to mind was the following.

"........."

Suddenly Yukinojo collapsed.

"What?"

"Young man!

We rushed to Yukinojo.

"Ugh... ......"

Yukinojo's face had gone completely white, and he was moaning with a greasy sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Is this ...... poison?

"Poison?

It can't be caused by the arrow wound I got earlier!

This symptom is probably poison from a viper.

"A honeydew?"

"Yes, a highly poisonous viper. The snake's venom takes effect immediately on those who are bitten by it, and they become immobile in no time. They will then suffer from a high fever and violent convulsions, and finally die of breathing difficulties. ......"

Hey, that's not good!

"The treatment of a snake is a race against time. We must treat it immediately!　Let's hurry and get the young man to safety!"

"Okay!"

◆

We were looking for a safe place to treat Yukinojo and luckily we found a hunter's hut nearby.

There was nothing inside, it was really just a place to shelter from the wind and rain, but we were quite grateful to have a roof and walls as we were being chased by our pursuers.

After laying a blanket on the floor, Haruomi-san put Yukinojo to sleep.

"...... I don't like it, he's not doing so well. If this continues, we are losing time!"

However, there are no apothecaries or apothecaries here.

I have some knowledge of medicinal herbs that my grandfather taught me, but I've never heard of a snake called "Jomitsnake" before, so I have no idea what kind of herbs are used for treatment.

I think it's probably endemic to this country: ......

At least if Lex was here, with that amount of bullshit knowledge, he would have a medicine ...... that would cure you of whatever the poison of the Yomitsnake is, ah!

"This is the way it has to be. It's dangerous. ......"

"Yes!　Let's try this!"

I pull something out of my pocket that I got just the other day.

"What the hell is that?"

Haruomi-san, who was about to take out something, looked at the medicine he took out and gave me a doubtful look.

"It's a low grade all-purpose poison remover made by a friend of mine."

Yes, I took out a low grade all-purpose poison extinguisher that Lex made for me.

This was given to me by Tatsuyoshi-san when I helped Echigoya-san just a few days ago.

Tatsuyoshi-san asked me to take anything I wanted as a thank-you for saving him, and I wondered what I should take, but now that I am working alone, I want the medicine the most.

I didn't think the first use would be for the client, but ......

"A lower grade universal poison remover?"

But Haruomi, who is unaware of the insanity of Lex's potion, looks at it with skepticism at my words.

"Yes, it cured a poisonous spider once, and I heard that it can deal with quite a variety of poisons. This might be effective against the venom of that snake."

Haruomi ponders my words.

I wondered if it was really okay for Yukinojo to drink this.

"...... Hmmm, well, that's good. I don't think it will be effective against the poisonous venom of the python, but if it buys us some time before we reach the town, it will be worth it."

Thank God. I managed to get a permit.

I honestly thought they might refuse to use your medicine, but I guess their concern for Yukinojo outweighed their distrust of me.

"Then I'll give it to him. Here Yukinojo, take the medicine."

Yukinojo woke up from his coma, gave him some medicine and put him back to sleep.

As I watched him, the medicine started to work immediately and Yukinojo's breathing became more and more stable.

Yukinojo's face, which had looked distressed just a few minutes ago, has calmed down and his complexion has regained some of its redness.

"Oh, .........!"

"Okay, it's working. Your breathing is going to slow down."

"Are you crazy?"

I looked to the side and saw Haruomi's face, which looked like he couldn't believe it.

When Haruomi-san felt my eyes on him, he hurriedly spun words of excuse.

"Oh, no. I didn't think it would really work. Moreover, I've never seen a medicine with such dramatic effects. And that too with the venom of that snake!

Uh-huh. It's Lex's medicine.

We felt the same way when we first learned about it.

"Mm-hmm. But your country's medical technology is amazing. ......"

"Well, it's not so much our country, but a personal acquaintance of mine.

"I see, it's like a secret medicine passed down from one generation to the next."

"Maybe ......"

But there are so many of them, and they are used so casually, that we lose appreciation for them, or perhaps our senses become numb to them. ......

"But thank God. The venom of the Japanese snake is quite strong. Even a special antivenom has a risk of side effects. I'm honestly surprised that it works as well as it does."

"Wow, I didn't know it was such a dangerous poison."

"Well, if you use a lot of high quality herbs, the side effects will be minimal, but the alternative is a lot of work and they don't last long. Therefore, when travelers and commoners like us try to use them, we end up with medicines that are easy to obtain but have side effects.

I see. So that's why you were in such a hurry.

Even if the medicine had arrived in time, the side effects would have been a bonus.

"...... Mina."

That's when it happened.

Suddenly Haruomi was kneeling in front of me.

"What?　What?"

"Thank you for saving my son."

Haruomi bowed deeply when he said this.

"What?　Don't worry about it. I just happened to have the antivenom on me."

That's right, I was just using medicine, I didn't do anything special.

"I'm so sorry. I almost lost the one I was supposed to protect twice."

"What?

Haruomi muttered in a trembling voice.

Perhaps the other person he has lost is Yukinojo's father.

"......I gave him some potions, so he should be able to move in a little while.

"I'm sorry again."

It's okay. It's part of the job."

I force Haruomi to stand up with his head still down, and I tell him once again not to worry about it.

"Don't you listen to ......?"

Haruomi mutters, but I blur the meaning of his words.

"What?"

"That's why he's such a persistent target. You must have guessed it, didn't you?　If he were just the son of a feudal lord, he wouldn't be such a persistent target.

Well, it's certainly unusual to be attacked like this.

Because the road we've been on is not a road, but a road without a road.

The enemy must have had a large number of pursuers in the vicinity to have encountered us on such a road.

But if they did, they would have lost a lot of money.

It costs money to hire people.

If they can do that, it means that they have enough money and power.

"...... young man is the son of a very important man. He's the son of a man of great honor.

I'm sure. If the target is a low-ranking nobleman, we can't expect to gain much by going to all this trouble to attack him.

We have to be sure that the payback will be big enough to justify it.

"But when you have so much power in politics, there are also many who want to take that power for themselves."

I understand that.

So do the aristocrats in our country.

"And likewise, there are more people with a grudge."

"Yukinojo's father was a nobleman to be resented?"

But Haruomi shakes his head.

"The father of Shogun ...... was not the best, but he was not a man who reigned with a grudge either. But resentment is not only against those who rule badly.

With an indescribable expression on his face, Haruomi speaks.

"You sound like you have something stuck in your teeth.

"Even good lords can be resented. For example, if you are angry at a bad lord and punish him, he will resent you. If you punish a person who makes a mistake, you will be resented. Human resentment is so unreasonable.

"...... That's certainly out of his/her control."

"But there are others who suffer the same injustice. For example, the children of a bad ruler. If they are as rotten as their parents, we can say that they got what they deserved, but if they are young, they cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. Such a child may become irrationally angry when he hears words of resentment from those around him. Furthermore, if a soldier who is in charge of policing wrongdoers is deeply wounded and fired from his job, he may resent his superiors who ordered him to do the job.

"But if you say that, can't we do anything?"

"Yes, that's right. That's right. But there are those who attack the young for reasons that cannot be avoided no matter how careful we are. You must not let your guard down just because they seem to be good people.

"...... okay."

I wonder if this is something you have experienced as well, Haruomi?

I guess he is trying to tell us that no matter what the other party's situation is, we should not show our sympathy for them.

Is this the end of the conversation?

"Well, Waka's condition is getting better. He should be able to move by tomorrow morning. We're almost to the town of Khatoba. Mina, you rest while you still can. I want to reach the town tomorrow so that the young man can rest in a safe place. I'll take the watch.

"Yes, I'll take your word for it. ......?

I had been drained of magic power during the daytime battle, so I was about to give it a rest when I sensed a powerful magic force brewing.

"What is it, Mina-dono ......?"

"Manawall!!!"

I felt no time to answer the question, so I immediately put up a protective wall of magical power around me.

The next moment, the hunter's hut was blown apart with an explosion.

"What?

"Ahh!"

I knew it!　Someone must have attacked us with high-level magic!

Feeling my magic power being drained away, I struggled to maintain my defensive wall.

And when the torrent of magical power that was trying to break down the barrier finally disappeared, the surrounding area became a wasteland.

"What's going on?

Haruomi-san, who was covering Yukinojo to protect him, was astonished at the devastation around him.

"Well, you survived. They are very stubborn trash, aren't they?"

The owner of the voice emerges from the forest.

"d*mn, you're really fancy, Ote ......?

The moonlight and the flames burning the trees of the destroyed forest illuminated our attackers.

Brown skin, silver hair, and black wings sprouting from his back, he looked like the enemy I knew so well.

"Fiend!

Yes, the one who attacked us was a demon who had fought us many times before.

"I heard we had a troublesome escort... but it turns out she's just a little girl. Humans are so incompetent that they can't even defeat an opponent of this caliber.

I had no idea there were demons involved in this. ......

"...... Haruomi, take Yukinojo and run away."

Mina-dono!

I can't protect them and deal with him at the same time. You'll have to go to Lex in Hatoba for help.

Frankly, I'd be worried if I were on my own.

Normally I could attack from behind with Gyros in the vanguard, but now it's just me.

It's a bit too much to ask for a wizard to be in charge of both the vanguard and the rear guard against a demon of all people.

But if we don't do it now, Yukinojo and the others will be killed.

Then we must at least act as bait until they escape to a safe place.

But that means you!

"I can manage if it's just me. ......"

"Ha ha ha!　You can afford to chatter in the face of the enemy!"

The demoness compresses her magic power without chanting and attacks.

"d*mn!　Flame Lancer!"

"Well, you canceled that one. That's not bad."

It's disgusting how powerful they are without chanting.

I used a lot of magic power to cancel that one.

Without Nolbu, we'll be less able to defend ourselves.

Get out of here!

d*mn it!　Please!"

From my impasse, I guessed that if I stayed here any longer, I would be a liability.

Haruomi immediately carried Yukinojo on his back and ran as fast as he could.

All we have to do now is to buy enough time for the two of them to escape.

"Come on, I'll take it from here!"

"You've got a big ego to fight me all by yourself!"

But the demon ignores me and attacks Yukinojo and the others.

"What?　Wind chaser!

In a panic, I counteract their attacks with wind magic, which has superior speed.　

"Ha ha!　You'll prevent that one, too!　You don't seem to be all talk!"

"You!　Don't go after Yukinojo and the others out of the blue!"

"I don't know what's good for humans. It's worse to expose our weaknesses.

The demon condenses its magic power to further attack Yukinojo and the others.

Moreover, this time he deployed a large amount of magical power so that I could not cancel it out.

"If that's your plan!　Stonewall!"

I create a thick wall of rock between the demon and Yukinojo and his friends to protect them from attack.

Although the wall was heavily damaged by the large number of attacks, this was much easier than aiming at them one by one and blocking them without consuming much magic power or concentration.

"This way we can't aim at them, right?"

"Well, did you think for a minute that I would say something like ...... you idiot!"

But the demon flaps its wings behind its back as if to mock me and leaps into the sky.

"Ha-ha-ha!　Did you not notice the feathers on my back, little girl!"

Then the demon flapped his wings to attack Haruomi-san, who was carrying Yukinojo on his back.

He's going to attack at close range so that my magic can't cancel him out. But ......

"Of course he knew, you idiot!"

The demon jumped up into the sky as I wanted, and I timed my magic to be activated just as the demon was about to pass overhead.

"Rock tower!"

A wall of stone is created around me, similar to the one that surrounded me earlier.

This time, however, the wall is even higher, extending even beyond the flying man.

And just as I was about to jump over the top of him, he slammed into the wall that had grown up behind me.

"BUGGH!　The wall is in the sky!

I quickly unleashed my finishing magic on the bewildered demon, who was confused by the sudden appearance of the wall.

"Take that!　Flame Inferno!

"What?

The demon rushes back to escape the flames that are shot from directly below him, but runs into a wall that rises up behind him.

He looks to the sky to his left and right, but he is still covered by a wall of rocks and cannot escape.

Surrounded by walls on all sides, the demon was like a sinner trapped in a tower.

And by the time the demon realized that he might make it in time to escape upward, it was already too late, and a pillar of fire from below swallowed the demon.

"Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The screams of the demoness can be heard from within the flames.

"You let your guard down! You have to watch out for obstacles even in the sky.

Hmmm, it's refreshing to see you fit in so nicely.

The stone wall we built to protect Yukinojo and the others from the demons is a decoy to make the demons fly away.

Sure enough, the demon jumped up in the air with a great smile on his face, unaware that I could fly.

And just as he was about to jump over the top of me, I invoked Rock Tower, a higher level of barrier magic, to create a wall to prevent him from escaping.

This rock tower was a wall to keep the demons away from Yukinojo and the others, and it was also a stepping stone to make sure that I could hit them with the most powerful magic I could use against those who could fly freely and take evasive action.

"Even though it was to prevent the forest from burning down and to make sure to hit the target, it's hard to shoot three high-level magic shots in a row. ......"

The kids in Lex's village used this casually, but I wonder how much magic they had left in them. ......

I'm an ordinary person, I can't do it in a row. ......

"Well then, let's hurry and catch up. If we don't hurry, we'll lose Yukinojo and the others. ......

He had regained his composure and was about to go after Yukinojo and the others when he heard a loud noise.

I was blown away by a strong impact from above.

"Kyaaaaaah!

The unexpected attack made my body roll like a pebble.

"Ka-ha!"

He finally stopped when he hit the trees around him, but the double impact made it difficult for him to breathe properly.

"Kuhkuhkuh, I never thought that a daughter of a human race could control such magic. If it weren't for the lost item, the talisman, you would have been in danger.

"That voice is ......."

I moved my barely moving body and looked at the sky, and there was the figure of the demon who had just been erased.

"I can't believe you're safe. ......"

No way, the demon man had hidden a valuable high-ranking magic item ......

As if to show this fact, the demon who had been hit by the hellfire magic was not badly wounded.

"But you are guilty of hurting me, little girl!　I will make you so cruel that you will wish you were dead!"

The demon, who was angry with me, shouted such a thing, as if he didn't like the fact that a little girl like me had taken advantage of him.

"Hmph, hmph, ......"

"What's so funny, little girl?"

The demon wonders why I, who was supposed to be outnumbered, laughed.

"Because ...... your line is the same as the last demon I defeated.

"What?"

Yes, the day we first encountered the demon.

The first time we met a demon, he was fed to us by a gyro.

That's why I'm going to send the same line to him.

"If you keep talking like that, ...... you're going to end up in despair when you're targeted by someone you'd rather be dead."

Well, it's just a bluff, since there's no way he'd come to us in the middle of the forest.

"What the hell are you talking about?

I was trying to distract the demon until I could move, when all of a sudden the demon's figure blew away.

"What?"

"I thought there was some kind of fancy magical battle going on, but when I came here, I didn't expect to find a demon in a place like this."

I almost cried when I heard his voice in a desperate situation.

Even in the darkest night sky, there is no mistaking that voice.

"......Lies."

And it was one of my friends who was attacked."

His voice was unusually angry, even for him.

"Who are you, ......?

The demon asks the sudden intruder his name.

"My name is Lex. I'm just an adventurer.

"Lex!"

Our best helper just came to ......!