271 That's why it's not over yet.

Arcreal put the sword back in its sheath. Somehow he succeeded in making him lose his will to fight.

There was no way he could win properly against someone who had the same sense of swordsmanship as Yukura Seiya who had created all kinds of talents and had the strongest power in his hands. That's why it's not his sword that you break, but his heart, and it's not his life that you take, but his will to fight.

People are creatures that do not find value in things obtained without compensation. For Arcreal, who does not know how to improve himself or become stronger, the title of the strongest is not worth much.

However, that is also the key point for Arcreal. For him, the stress of not being able to defeat an opponent is a good factor to stimulate his pride.

At first, he would have easily cut down Ilias, just as he had done when he had defeated Yox, and would have enjoyed the changes to his own body that were caused by his talent. "Oh, my body reacted to this one more than I expected. It's impressive that my body can move this much.

But the Iliad never attacked. He stayed on the defensive to prevent him from using his talent as a bastard. This is where Arcreal developed a small stubbornness.

I want to defeat the Iliad on my own. I want to defeat Ilias on my own. I don't want an easy victory by fighting back, but a victory by attacking with my own hands.

But Ilias's defense was firm. However, Ilias's defense was strong. Still, Arkreal wanted to win. He wanted to win against Iliad somehow, no matter what it took.

In the end, Arkreal tried to use me as bait to get Ilias to attack. I read that and made Ilias promise to do the same. If Arcturial targets me, I must not react no matter what.

If Ilias was in time, he would be defeated by the sword he wielded to protect me. Even if he doesn't, he'll make Arcturial understand that this is a viable option. Therefore, it was necessary to take away the value of aiming at me.

Even if he killed me, if Arcreal couldn't defeat Ilias, then killing me would be more of a liability than a waste.

Either way, if he can't defeat Iliad, he will keep his resolve to defeat Iliad head-on. That's who Arcreal is.

Are you going to give up?

"Yes, I do. No, there's nothing to surrender. I don't want to spend my time and energy on an opponent who can't be killed and won't come to kill me.

At least you could've killed me.

"Slaying the weakest one and being done with it is more miserable than not being able to kill anyone. I mean, you know I'm that kind of guy, don't you?

Of course I do. But this conversation is also a necessary act. Arcreal was eager to kill Ilias just now. Even though his will to fight had been broken, there was still a possibility that he would regain some motivation. This sarcastic conversation was meant to encourage Arclial to cool down.

There's a possibility that he'll pretend to be demotivated and try to trick us roughly.

I've thought about it, but even if I did, you'd see through it.

Oh well.

Ark Real let out a big sigh and walked in a different direction from the ruins. I won't be a part of this fight anymore. I guess this is his way of saying he gives up.

I'll give you a piece of advice, Arcreal. You'd better find something to do besides fighting. The value of what you get from your talents as a bastard is not that great. Wouldn't you be more passionate if you were swinging a sword like a madman?

...... Do you have any recommendations by the way?

Well, I'd recommend farming. I'd recommend farming. Your sword skills will be useful for getting rid of weeds.

Arcreal waved his hand and left without replying. It's okay now, everyone who is attacking the underground will no longer be threatened by Arkreal.

As soon as he felt relieved, his whole body relaxed and he was about to fall down when Ilias stopped him. Oh, you should've put on a better face for being the one who did the most good.

You haven't stopped! You told me he would stop the sword!

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on. I could read his unconscious mind, but I couldn't read how much energy he had left.

That's enough, we have to heal him quickly!

He was not swept away, but he was not unharmed, as the weakest of them all took the strongest blow to the shoulder. Ilias hurriedly took out the healing tools from my luggage and began to heal him. Since he couldn't use recovery magic, he had to disinfect, stop bleeding, and stitch up the wound, but he did it quickly and efficiently.

You've been practicing, haven't you?

"It's my duty to protect you. If there's something else you can do besides swing a sword, it's only natural that you learn it.

I'm sure I'd be reckless somewhere. I'm sure I've been thinking about that since the Scarlet Witch King's cave and the Blue Witch King's castle.

The brainy Iliad must have been making a lot of effort in the shadows to learn healing arts other than the recovery magic that was required as a knight. Not only did he have to learn, but he also had to find someone to learn from.

I didn't mean to be so reckless.

That's not a very reliable statement.

It's true. Thanks to you, I owe Ilias again. I've been paying him back, but now there's more.

This wound could have been quite dangerous if Ilias hadn't learned the art of first aid. In short, I owe you my life again.

I've been trying to pay him back for giving me a safe place to live in this other world, but I'm not sure if I can really pay him back.

I'm not sure I can really repay you. We'll talk about it another time. Are you sure this is the right drug?

Yeah, it's a hematopoietic agent. The only thing I can say about it is that it's very bitter. ...... No, I'll drink it. Don't stare at me. Don't stare at me.

Oh, ...... it's bitter, and just swallowing the pill hurts the wound. But let's face it, pain is a sign of life.

Ilias breathed a sigh of relief as he finished his treatment and determined that his life was not in danger. You must have been in a great hurry inside, but you did well to endure.

I'm sure you've been through a lot. You'll be able to get a lot more out of it. ....... And the guy from Arcreal didn't even hold his sword steady.

Evil--thank you for bearing with me. Thanks to you, I succeeded in stopping the strongest man in the world. It's all thanks to the Iliad.

In the case of the Scarlet Witch King, I was able to keep standing as long as my body could move, but this time, I wasn't even allowed to do so. Even though it was necessary, that method must have been quite mentally taxing for Ilias.

Don't throw it all away so easily. Your determination to receive these wounds is your own achievement that no one can take away from you.

Move to the entrance of the ruins and activate the communication crystal. If it was only a signal, it would have been transmitted by the chain of Exoik, but for concrete information, you still have to use words.

The other side also told me to activate the communication crystal when I'm not in combat, so I should be able to connect with them right away.

I'm not sure what to do. Are you all right?

Friend! Are you all right?

The Mix's voice echoed in my ears. So, they've been waiting in front of the crystal, huh?

We're on different teams, but we're in sync, dude.

"If they can talk, they'll be fine. We've already shared information. How did it go with Ark Real? Did you defeat it?

"We didn't defeat it, we just wished it to go home.

"So you succeeded in getting them to retreat. ....... Nice work, compadre.

I want to summarize the situation for now. What happened to Nektohar?

I'm going to share the information with my teams and see how it all went down. Ceraes is dead, and Ritual is gone with Morari and the others. Lakra's body was taken by Raheit, but he was successfully restrained. And Nektohar has also disappeared. ......?

You can't become a demon lord with a demon body? I'm not sure what to make of that.

"Your friend! You're not alright, are you?

"Hey, don't shake me, don't hit me, I'll cry.

The first to come back were the Mix. All of them were injured except for Masetta, and Harkdock was visibly injured. Thanks to their first aid, they were able to survive, but they needed to be treated first before anyone else.

We should contact Prince Washekht and ask him to let us use the treatment facilities in Serende. Masetha, would you be willing to accompany me?

Yes, of course. You look so good for a dying man. ......

Harkdock was tense and unconscious after what he had done, but his sleeping face was filled with a sense of satisfaction that he had done it. I'll have to reward him properly for his giant killing of Ritual.

"I'm back... Shh, shh, shh!

I know how you feel, but you should worry about the dying Harkdock there.

The next to return were the Wolfe who were heading to the lower levels. It seems that it's taking a little bit longer for Ecdysiac and the others to get to the upper levels after moving the people held hostage by Rahite to a safe place. Even if the final rescue is left to the knights and battler armies that will be diving after them, they still need to do some rescue work.

In the meantime, I'll check with Murasaki about what happened after the battle with Nektohar. I've heard that everyone except for the Purple, who was sharing information with the rest of the team, checked out Nektohar's lab.

"We checked the lower levels thoroughly, but we didn't find any mediums on how to construct resurrection magic that Nektohar is supposed to have left behind?

"The route between Raheit and Ritual was originally blocked. It can't have been handed over. The only way I can think of is to use a hole small enough for a small animal to pass through and deliver it to the middle level. We've already neutralized the two who were trying to get their hands on the resurrection spell, so there's no need to rush.

The rest of the search would be done by the trusted knights of Taze and the men of the Butler Army. For the Battler Army, reanimation magic is a nasty spell that can't be used on you, it only creates a new higher being. They won't try to outsmart us and do something bad.

I'll let Harkdock, Masetta, Gladna, and Van go first. Considering the extent of his injuries, I would have preferred that Mixu rest quickly, but he insisted on staying with us until we returned.

"Since your friend can't be healed by magic, you really should take care of yourself!

"I don't need to be told, I'm going to take a vacation from all work for a while after this. Maybe I'll go sightseeing in the Serenades.

I'd like that. But with your friend, every time you go to a new country, you're getting into trouble. ......

I've never been in trouble in Mejlis before, you know? We just passed through this time, and there was the Yox thing in between, but we didn't go through that .

While I was having Mixu and "Purple" take a look at my wounds just to be sure, Exuik and the others returned. Ao is walking behind him, with Ecdique carrying Lakra in the lead. Docola is ...... well, he's back, isn't he? It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life.

"Brethren! You're not all right, are you?

You're not all right, are you, Exduk? Oh, shit, they already brought Harkdock in. I'm fine.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being cut by an Arcturial. ....... But you've been treated properly. That's impressive, Ilias.

"More importantly, what about Lakra? I heard that Rahite took over her body. ......

Oh. ....... My people, can you do something about it?

Yes, I can. I've had Balastos analyze the magic stones I used to escape from Lilisa's body in Taze when I was cornered by Archbishop Ucka in Mejlis. It may put some strain on the spirit that is being transferred, but he says he can find a way to pull it off without any problems.

When he found out that Raheit could take over a person's body, he had been preparing for this kind of situation. A villain in distress is always ready to take hostages. You'd be crazy not to be prepared for it.

Yes, thank goodness. ....... I really don't want to call that Docora guy ...... again for doing what he wants.

Please do. I'm the one who suggested it as a way to get some help, but I still don't feel very good about using the dead.

There's no need to track down Ritual yet at ....... It's a good thing that you're not the only one who has a problem with this. He's a monster even if he's still alive after being hit by a blow that blew away Lakra's ward.

What we should be wary of is that Ritual will return to Serende and get the records of the resurrection spell that Nektokhar may have left behind. It'd be quicker to have them investigate the ruins than to pursue them.

That leaves Raheit. He's the kind of guy who could escape as a soul if you killed him. After you rip him out of Lakra's body, you can transfer him to the body of a ...... sinner and have him perform some kind of sealing procedure.

"......

I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea. The body has been paralyzed by Ecdysique so that it can neither be moved nor used for magic.

However, I don't want to have Lakra's eyes glaring at me with a grudge. Let's go back to sleep.

"Ekduik, this is Lakra. It's not Rahite.

"What? Is that true?

Lakra's eyes are fixed on me. This is the same way Lakra always looks at me. It's not the kind of distance you can have when Raheit is on top of you.

Rahite had taken Lakra's body, but had been deprived of his freedom by Lakra, who had previously applied a slow-acting paralysis to his body. And now he has just awakened his consciousness. .......

I'm not sure if the body lost consciousness, but the soul remained conscious. And there was a way to travel without using the magic stone, and you used it.

He whipped his aching body and slowly stood up. I can't stay like this, because it's obvious what Rahite is trying to do, regardless of which body he's possessing.