CH 152

[Invitation to Underground]

Below my eyes, an enormous jet-black hole, the Abyss Hole is visible.

The last time I was here, I could feel numerous presences of monsters around, but since the knights and adventurers had subjugated the monsters as they were investigating the surrounding area, the number of the presences has decreased sharply.

Nonetheless, I can’t see any sign of the enemies.

And it looks like Al and Cinzia have arrived, too.

Since there’s no enemy around, I have Dimol descends and lands near the Abyss Hole.

“Where’s the entrance?” (Frick)

After getting off Dimol, I call out to the three who had been inside.

“You’ll see it if you follow this rope mark and descend straight below.” (Meila)

“But Noelia-sama said that there was a new entrance, remember? Other than the front entrance, Maribel have never seen any other one, though.” (Maribel)

“What do you think? If we descend, we need someone to keep watch here, otherwise we may not be able to get back up.” (Al)

If the hanged down rope is untied, we’d have no way to return, huh.

It’s not like I can have Dimol descends into the Abyss Hole.

I want to avoid dividing our force, but…

[Welcome to the facility of us, ‘Foreigners’. We welcome you. Please wait a moment, people to receive you have been dispatched.]

No sooner than Vigo’s voice rang out from somewhere, the nearby ground split into two and a large hole appeared.

“Don’t let your guard down!” (Frick)

“I know. Maribel, Meila get back. Sophie, please protect them.” (Al)

“Yes, yes. You can count on me.” (Sophie)

“If it gets dangerous, you can use my golems as shield, ‘kay. The opponent is Vigo, who knows what’s gonna come out.” (Cinzia)

After everyone got into battle position, several Abyss Walkers and a dozen white-robed people come up from the hole.

Vigo and Noelia are among them.

I was worried because the employment magic was suddenly canceled, but looks like she’s not injured, although she’s gagged and tied up.

“Noelia! Vigo, let Noelia go immediately!” (Frick)

“You have gone through a long journey all the way to the Abyss Hole, we can’t let the hostage go without giving you a proper reception. First of all, please defeat these people; you can call them the appetizers. Ahh, in regard to the hostage, we guarantee that she will be safe as long as Frick-dono and the others don’t run away.” (Vigo)

“What are you——” (Frick)

When Vigo give a look at his men, the Abyss Walkers all starts running toward us at once.

“Frick-san, leave me to rescue Noelia-sama!” (Al)

The agile Al run through oncoming Abyss Walkers, before quickly approaching Vigo, who has Noelia hostage.

“Vigo! I’ll never forgive you!” (Al)

Al’s short sword, which has been cladded in ice thanks to the magic-loaded medal, pierces Vigo’s glabella at speed that can be said to be godly fast.

However, the blade doesn’t activate magic.

“I-illusion!? Even though it looks so real, it has no substance!” (Al)

“I wish you had let me finish talking to the end. Alfine-dono, there is order to everything, you know.” (Vigo)

No sooner than anger surfaces on Vigo’s face, the Abyss Walkers swarm Al.

“Al!” (Meila)

The thick arrow shot by Meila sews together the legs of an Abyss Walker who’s about to attack Al.

“Dayle, we’re going in!” (Frick)

[Roger.]

After cladding Dayle’s blade in flame, I slash the Abyss Walker who has its legs sewn together.

The black scales of the Abyss Walker turn reddish and red hot after.

When it let out a shriek-like scream, I thrust Dayle into the weak point of the Abyss Walker whose movement has become sluggish, its eyeball.

“Kishaaaaa!!”

“Let’s go for the next one!” (Frick)

[Yes, let’s go with a bang! We absolutely have to save Noelia-shishou!]

“Frick! Al! I’ll hold them!” (Cinzia)

Cinzia rushes in along with Diedur and pushes aside the flock of Abyss Walkers.

The golems she controlled clings to the body of the pushed Abyss Walkers.

If they’re stopped, even only for a moment, we can do this.

When I meet eyes with Al, she gives me a nod, guessing my intention.

Dayle starts chanting and wear a flame on her blade, whereas Al swaps her medals and activates new magic.

In the next moment, Al and I each pierce the eyeballs of different Abyss Walkers.

“Wonderful. To think you could easily defeat the Abyss Walkers, which has been completed as a murder weapon. I take my hat off to you, the next generation heroes. However, it seems like there are yet enough sacrifices into the making of your heroic tale.” (Vigo)

The making of our heroic tale? Vigo certainly has lost his ability to make rational judgment.

He doesn’t seem going to hurt Noelia for now, but it’s highly likely he’d suddenly change.

We have to save her quickly!

“Defeat them immediately!” (Frick)

[Dayle will stop them all at once with this magic Dayle learned from Noelie-shishou!]

As soon as Dayle’s chanting over, living ivies grows vigorously from the ground and entwine the white-robed people and the Abyss Walkers, sealing their movements.

“You’re a great help, Dayle-chan! Now, we just need to finish them off!” (Al)

Al, having swapping medals, slips under the arm of a struggling Abyss Walker and delivers an accurate piercing into its eyeball.

I don’t just stand still, either. I pierce the eyeballs of the Abyss Walkers, who are rampaging to tear off the ivies that restrain them, one after another with Dayle, killing them.

“The last one!” (Frick)

“Kishaaaaa!”

Raising a scream that can be taken as a shriek, the last remaining Abyss Walker, who has its eyeball melted down, falls to the ground.

“You did it. Looks like the white-robed lot drank poison on their own accord, y’know.”

Near the corpses of the Abyss Walkers lying on the ground, there are white-robed men collapsed with their masks on and spitting blood.

Cinzia was trying her best to capture them with her golems, but sensing their disadvantageous situation, they opted to kill themselves with poison, it seems.

That means they had no intention of becoming prisoners of war from the beginning, huh…

Just what are they aiming for, to even go as far as betting their own lives…

“It seems that my compatriots have departed ahead. Thus, the heroes defeated the soldiers and monsters of the villainous organization that tried to plunge the world into chaos, and proceeded into the depth of their base to save the captive princess. Don’t you think it sounds like a heroic tale that people will be longing for?” (Vigo)

“Sorry, but I’ll save Noelia and stop the second Great Invasion to protect the people of the kingdom. That’s all.” (Frick)

“I sincerely hope that that wish will be fulfilled. Now, we invite you into our base.” (Vigo)

Immediately after the illusion of Vigo operated something, the ground goes down into the hole.

“The floor begins to move!” (Frick)

“It’s going into the hole from where the Abyss Walkers came out. This must be the new entrance that Noelia-sama said.” (Al)

“The facilities of magic vessel civilization don’t have something of this scale.” (Meila)

“The opponent is Vigo. You can’t be careless. Just keep an eye on your surroundings.” (Cinzia)

When the floor begins to descend to underground, the illusion that reflected the appearance of Vigo and Noelia disappears, and only the pale light that illuminates the inside of the hole is illuminating the surroundings.