255 That's why we're rushing in.

The Kuro Demon King was once a symbol of fear for all humans. There are many ways to escape the Kuro Demon Lord's invasion. Beast sub-humans instinctively fled to the north to keep their distance, while non-beast sub-humans built underground facilities to hide in.

The underground ruins near Selende Castle were also prepared by the former royalty to escape from the eyes of the Demon King. Although the time between the invasion of the Demon King and the defeat of all the Demon Lords by Yugra was not very long, the people of the past must have continued to build on these underground ruins for some time afterwards.

Deep underground, at the lowest level, a throne room has been built. It would be funny to say that the throne room was prepared for those who ran away and hid, but I guess it depends on how you take it. Yes, just like Nektokhar now: .......

"Ritual, what's up?

"Well, I just got word that we spotted a group of people heading this way. I'm here to report it.

As I suspected, the people of Yugra must have found this place. It's a little earlier than expected, but it's reasonable considering that there were people who were cooperating with Selende.

"Well, then I'll answer that bad news with good news. A few more attempts and the resuscitation spell will be complete.

"Is that ...... true?

"There is no room for lies, is there? If I were you, I'd forbid you to enter this place and concentrate.

I don't sense any lies in Nektokhar's words. The timing is quite dramatic. The timing was so dramatic that it was tempting to believe in fate or divine providence.

How long do you estimate it will take to complete?

"It won't take more than a day, but it will take a few hours. Are you sure that the arrangements for the completion of the work will be as agreed upon in the contract spell?

Yes, please.

In order to prevent Nektohar from sneaking around, I've placed a contractual spell on him. Unless he fulfills this contract, Nektohar cannot use resurrection magic on himself.

The content of the contract is that as soon as the resurrection spell is completed, Nektohar will record the information of the completed construction of the resurrection spell in the magic stone. The agreement is that Nektokhar will record the information on the construction of the completed resurrection spell in a magic stone and hide it in a designated place so that I and Raheit can each obtain it.

"After all this time, have you secured your own escape route? Aside from Rahite, whose body can be discarded, your means of transportation is limited now that Morari is in custody, isn't it?

"More than you. Both Tzadri and Arcreal are willing to help me if I need it.

Even if there is a problem with those two, one of the plans of the people of Yggra is to use Morari and Jastet. If I'm defeated, they'll give my person to them and try to force me to leave this place.

In the worst case scenario, you can accept that and leave this place and come back later to retrieve the magic stone. So, my leaving the battlefield has nothing to do with my victory condition in this battle. All I need to do is to buy a few moments of time before Nektohar perfects his resurrection magic, so that the people of Yugra do not arrive at Nektohar's doorstep.

Then our fears are unfounded. I would feel guilty if I couldn't pay you for your help.

"That's sincere. But I was going to ask you that question myself.

Once his collaboration with Nektohar is over, there will be no one left to follow him. The only possibility would be Serraes, but that man would not have the means to escape from this place. It is said that the Scarlet Witch King has unleashed his demon eaters in his own dwelling. The Scarlet Witch King is said to have unleashed the Demon Eaters in his own dwelling place, so he won't use that method this time, but that doesn't mean he can rest easy now that he's the Demon King.

"No problem. The condition to be reborn as a Demon Lord is to receive the curse of resurrection magic on your body and die. If the need arises, you can break this body and let it out.

"I see. It's not that difficult if you don't choose to do it literally.

Even though the underground ruins have been sealed off to people, there are still holes for insects, rats, and other non-humans to enter and exit. It is impossible for people to pass through them without becoming a lump of flesh, but as the saying goes, all you have to do is become a lump of flesh. After that, it is possible to feed the carcasses to beasts, or to have them carried by underground streams.

You can be sure that Nektohar will be able to complete the resuscitation magic on his own. ...... Even though he will be resurrected, I don't have the guts to die that way.

I'm going to make one last adjustment. I'll leave the rest to you.

...... Yes, please do.

Nektohar, bound by contract magic, must arrange for us to get the magic stone. So he can't destroy the passage to this room with his own hands and bury it in the ground. The only way to stop them is by human means.

Leave the Throne Room and proceed down the corridor. The people of the planet Yugra will reach the ruins soon. I've already made preparations to intercept them.

Ts'dorri, are you ready for the trap?

"No problem.

Ts'doari's voice echoed from the shadows of the corridor, unnoticed. I know why she doesn't want to show herself, even though she is my follower. I know why, and I do not wish to improve it. I know why, and I don't want to improve it, but I'm fine with it because that's what she wants.

I'm heading into position now. I'm going to move into position, and you will do your best to intercept the intruder. But your first priority is your life. Make sure you come back to me alive.

"......aaa

I feel nauseous at my own words. Unless the people of Yggra and her people deliberately try to keep her alive, Ts'doari's defeat will be her death. Ts'doari, like Morari and Jastet, is ready to lay down her life for me. Especially with kind words like the ones you just gave her.

I even wish she'd turn rather than die. But it's only a thought.

"I'm a coward. I'm a coward. I'm taking advantage of your feelings and letting you go down a path that leads nowhere.

Tzadari did not reply to my words. He may have already gone to his post, or he may be ...... still a coward.

There is only one entrance to the underground ruins.

There is only one entrance to the underground ruins. There is only one entrance to the underground ruins, and the interior is divided into three main layers.

The upper level is intricate and a bit of a maze. However, with Serende's help, we have an accurate map, so we don't have to worry about losing time by getting lost. The only thing to watch out for is the possibility of traps set by the bastards of Reitis and Tudori.

As you approach the middle level from the upper level, the path narrows down to three. Each path leads to the lower levels, but they do not merge with the others until they reach the lower levels. If Lytiar intends to buy maximum time, he will place a main staller on each of them. In addition, two of the paths themselves will be destroyed before the lower level, making it impossible to proceed.

You can't make them all go to one of them. The reason is that if you do so, you will surely lose the readings to Ritual, and you will end up on a three-way course. I have to think about how to divide the group while considering the expected strength.

It is useless to worry about the placement of Arcturial. It is not likely that they will be in the middle level, or in the lower level. At any rate--

"So, you're the people of Yggra. You've got the eyes of a dead fish.

The Arclial was waiting alone in front of the entrance to the underground ruins. A plain sword, no armor whatsoever. To the casual observer, he looked like he wanted to ask, "Are you going to fight? But that's not something a guy with a wooden sword on his hip should say.

You've got a very excited look in your eyes. Arcturial.

That's right. That's right. They're all coming together like this. So who's going to fight me?

I don't sense any firm conviction from Arcreal that no one will pass. It's a look of expectation, "Who's going to be the one to stop me? This is a look of expectation.

That's not the attitude of a gatekeeper. You don't mix well with Raheit and the like.

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't take my life as seriously as they do. I'm always sneezing at the boredom of life. How can a guy like that think the same way as a guy who's been through hell?

You're still putting your own pleasure first. You're in an enviable position.

Arcreal smiles at our sarcasm. The air in the place has become slightly tense because of the smile of a pleasant boy who has no trace of sarcasm.

My hope is that the strongest one will stay. I don't care how many people are left. You can even take on all of them if you want.

"I've been informed that Nektohar is close to perfecting his resurrection magic. We can't afford to take too long.

"Oh, you can walk by all you want. I'll follow you into the ruins when the rest of you are no longer able to fight. You'll have to deal with me then, even if you don't want to.

If those who remained here were defeated by Arcturial, those who entered the ruins would be attacked by both Arcturial and those who were waiting inside the ruins. If that happened, each of them would be defeated repeatedly, and there would be a time limit for their annihilation in addition to the completion of the revival spell.

The way to make the best use of Arcturial's unparalleled strength is to generate as many battles and as much time as possible. In that sense, this decision to place him at the entrance and let him fight freely is effective enough.

Arcturial pointed at the entrance with his sword as if he wanted the raiding team to move in quickly and compete with the stallers. Seeing this, he signaled the people in the rear to head for the inside of the ruins.

Well, I and Ritual have already anticipated this development. We've already decided who to leave behind and who to send in.

That's good. I'm not going to get a chance to fight if you're running out of time. Can I ask you something? Why are those guys hiding their faces?

That's why Arcreal is wondering. Some of the people in this place are wearing robes to hide their faces.

There are several reasons, but I don't feel obligated to explain them in detail.

I don't mind. ....... But there are a couple of guys in there who can do it, can't they stay?

Sorry, raid team. I'm sorry, but I'm with the raid team. You'll have to wait until I beat the stranded team.

Arcreal, with a childishly pouting look on his face, watches them off as they rush into the ruins.

"Well then, Shisho! I'm off!

I'm off!" Wulfe, the leader of the raiding team, waved as he entered the ruins, and I saw him off. But when Arkreal saw him, he couldn't hold back and shouted.

Wait a minute! Is he going to go ahead too? No, he's obviously the one who needs to stay behind! I mean, this--

"As you can imagine. From now on, it's just me and him against you.

I'm well aware that this is a dangerous gamble. After all, Ilias is the only one who can take on Arcreal. He is undoubtedly the strongest of our forces, but no matter how hard he has trained, he is not strong enough to reach his level. But this method is still the best solution for stopping Nektohar from perfecting his resurrection magic.

"No, I'm not going to do it. I'll just watch.

"....... Who's getting licked in this, me or Ritual?

You've got a cool head, you know, the fact that you're mentioning Rytal's name.

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Everyone knows you can't fight. There's no point in staying. But you're the guy that Lytal decided was dangerous. After all, there's a case to be made that you had to stay for me, right? But the whole point of this fight is you and Lytal reading each other. Why aren't you the one going in?

Arcturial must've been told that I'm the same rank as Ritual. Somewhere in his mind, he's wary that I'm still here. That's how big Ritual's existence is to Arcturial. That's why this is the time to smile fearlessly.

"If it was a game of chance, it would have been settled by now.

"Well, I'm not the only one who's confident. Let's see which one of us is going to be falsely accused.

Arcreal abandoned his attempt to find out my intentions. Regardless of the means he would use, all he would do was slay the enemy in front of him.

"All right, Ilias! Stick to the plan!

Yeah. Ilias-Ratzel ...... of the Ragdoll Squadron of the Knights of the TARDIS will now be your sword!