CH 14

「…… Oh, it’s over…… it’s over……」

Trembling as if they were trapped, the adventurers all had a hopeless look on their faces.

I think for a little while as I watch the fireball, muttering, 「Well…… it should be fine.」

I channel magic power into my right hand.

Then, turn my palm toward the fireball in the sky–

「……………hah?」

―-and interfered with the spell, making it suddenly disappear.

「……W, wh- what was it!？Eeh!？ Why?!？ Why, why, what did you do!?!?」

After the skeleton stood gobsmacked, crying about how he couldn’t understand.……Hmm? Did you change your character? Really?

「Your…. tone…..?」

And when I pointed that out, the skeleton looked surprised as he said, 「Ku……Kuku, what kind of demon are you……」

It feels like the way he’s talking has changed a bit.

Kafes:「I……I don’t understand…… What are you? Are you a human?？ Maybe you’re actually a demon???」

Jirei:「No……. I’m a human no matter how you look at me. See, look at this handsome face. Where am I?」

There are no horns. My skin has a healthy color to it. I have no tails or wings. I’m just an ikemen.

For some reason, people often think of me like「They have a good face but their eyes are cloudy, so it’s a minus!」, but that is a trivial problem.

I stole the wallet of one guy who said that but I donated the money to an orphanage. I honestly don’t care even a millimeter. I really don’t care.

The skeleton had a question mark above his head. 「Ikemen…?」 No matter what anyone says, I’m an ikemen. An ikemen!!!

I mean, this guy, rather than that, 「……You, do you not have magic anymore?」

「……? ……!?!?!?」

The skeleton’s face changed from「Eh?」 to one that just realized something. 「Ah… ahhh!!」

「That…… that can’t be possible though? I- I still have some magical left……I can still use a little magic!…..」

「……」

一One step closer. The skeleton moves back a step.

「………………」

Now I’m three steps closer. The skeleton moves back six steps.

「Wai- wait a second! …stop for a minute………Why would I lose to a human? …………Human? Ah!」

After proposing a ceasefire, the skeleton began whispering to himself and his face brightened.

「Kukuku…… I see. You are also “human”. So, hah…… is this hell?」

The skeleton says that before snapping his finger. Then――

「…… Ah…..Aah………」

A man who had been suppressed by gravity magic― Cain ―stood up, as if to protect the skeleton.

Cain:「N, no! I’m…… I can’t do such a thing……!」

Cain appears confused by his body that moves against his will, and his face distorts in fear.

「Kuku…… you are also “human” after all. I used  《Manipulation Magic》 with my remaining power……. Luckily for me there was a human with weak magic here, it’s thanks to that I was saved. The swordsman’s turned into my hostage, what are you going to do now?」

The skeleton returned to how he was before, laughing happily. (TN: Pretty much, Kafes stopped acting scared and started gloating)

The other adventurers, who were still weighed down by the gravity magic, were staring at the skeleton with pained faces.

I took a deep breath before saying, 「―Actually, I’m not friends with that swordsman.」

「……………….Eh?」

At my words, the others became quiet…….

~

Kafes:「………..Haa? No no, he’s your friend.…… Eh? Isn’t he? You’re not his friend??」

The skeleton asks that to Cain. Cain desperately shakes his head to the side.

「Ji-…… Jirei! Isn’t Cain your friend!？Don’t joke around at a time like this!」Wed bellows as he falls down.

…Eh? Wasn’t he just a companion? Normally, companionship lasts only for the length of the quest, I thought he was just a good acquaintance and nothing more.

In the first place, I’ve never been able to do it because I was always busy with training, things such as friends. …I wonder, is he a friend?

「Such a disgraceful way to die for a swordsman……! It’s as if you’re more of a demon than a human!」(TN: the second sentence was for Jirei)

「Have you ever looked in a mirror?」

You’re made of bones and destroying Etal, aren’t you the demon?

Kafes:「Ku, kuku ……As expected― you don’t care if this guy becomes my hostage do you? Actually, you don’t care about the citizens of Etal at all, what should I do?」

The skeleton glanced at Etal, which had turned into a city of death.

「Hah? …Ah, so that’s what that was.」

I didn’t understand what he was saying for a moment, but when I glanced at Etal I immediately understood.

Jirei:「―《Barrier of Falsehood》? Ah, the conditions have certainly been met.」

「Wow, I’m pretty crazy…… That’s right, Death! It took me a while to prepare this………….it’s great, right?」

―the《Barrier of Falsehood》.

As the name suggests, it is a barrier that creates a lie within it.

Those trapped in the barrier are forced to follow the rules of the world created by the magician and continue to dance in his fantasy world until he releases them.

It’s magic that has conditions that must be met before it can be activated, so depending on the reasons you specify … I see, that’s what this is. So the undead…

「The conditions were【red sky】,【collapsed building】,【numerous bloodstains】,【falling flesh】the last condition is……”reversal of life and death”? You have poor taste.」

《Barrier of Falsehood》is a powerful illusion barrier.

For powerful magic, there must be a number of conditions met before it can activate.

One of them is to produce the illusion that suits the reason specified.

The condition for this barrier was “the reversal of life and death,”

What was originally originally alive is now dead,

He is dead, but can move as if alive.*

Originally, there is a theory that to revive the person who died in an accident or something similar, you must do an akuryou, to eliminate the possibility of them becoming a spirit…… but this time it is the opposite. (TN: akuryou is a ceremony used to ward off evil spirits)

This skeleton would have directed this disaster on its own, and put a 《Barrier of Falsehood》on the inhabitants of Etal to turn it into a city of undead. It must have been a strange sight.

A 《Barrier of Falsehood》consumes magical power continuously. So to sustain such a range of illusion magic, you would have to use enormous amounts of magical power.

However, it is not possible to do such a thing to a skeleton whose magical power is almost exhausted. If so…… I wonder if he installed a magic tool that shows illusions somewhere in the city.

Also, it shouldn’t work on a hero with the protection of the “Holy seal”…… But that “black hair hero” has become a zombie for some reason. Was he a fake? It’s a crime to forge the holy mark and call yourself a hero……

「…..Eh? …am I saved?」

Light returned to Raffine’s eyes when she heard the words of the skeleton.

「Pl…. please! Save me, save me please……!」

Kafes:「Oh? Ooh？Why do you feel that there’s someone out there who wants to help you? Well…… I guess it’s up to this guy here?」

The skeleton looks at Raffine begging and laughs happily.

Raffine, who was still lying on the ground because of the gravity magic, turned towards the skeleton.

「I…… I can’t go on without that person. I’ll do anything! If he comes back to life, I will do anything! ……So…… so please…..!」

……Apparently, she seems confused. There’s no way this skeleton would keep that promise in the first place. It’s a monster. I’m sure it’s decided to go against it.

And you don’t have to do that――

「―《Immortality Purification ― Turn Undead》」

I used the spell 《Immortality Purification》 on the entirety of Etal. Then―

「…… What? What was I doing?」

「I have a headache…… Oh!？ Why was I sleeping in such a place!？ I had a strange dream about becoming an undead.……」

「O-oi! Why is the gate open! Close it right now!！」

The inhabitants of Etal returned from the dead to the living,

The collapsed building was restored to its original, beautiful cityscape,

The red sky was clear without any clouds.

Raffine’s “black-haired hero” yawns, 「Hmm? …Was I asleep?」

The residents return to their daily lives as if nothing had happened.

I used 《Sabotage Magic》 so that the citizens can’t see us, it seems like it worked.

「W- what did……you do…..?」The skeleton says a stunned voice. Um, you changed your tone again……*

Jirei:「Tone……」

「I don’t care about that anymore! What! What did you do now!？」

「What did I…… it’s 《Immortality Purification ― Turn Undead》.」

That can’t be! ……It’s too strange! Why…Why isn’t my 《Barrier of Falsehood》 working!」

The skeleton sounds like a little girl throwing a tantrum. No, that’s not exactly right.

「Isn’t it just a matter of breaking the preconditions of《Barrier of Falsehood》? So I made a little arrangement with 《Immortality Purification》 to clear the sky, repaired the broken building, and returned the residents to their previous living state. That’s all.」

「T- that’s impossible! In the first place, you need an 《Ancient Relic》 of 《Illusion》somewhere in the city! But how―」

The skeleton is still staring and waiting for an explanation. I don’t want to though…

「I “overwrote the spell with more magical power”.That’s a good enough explanation, right?」

It’s simple. Magic is basically about your amount of magical power.

If it is magic of the same nature, then the one with the higher magic power wins.

I haven’t done all of that training for nothing.

I used to take a shitty-tasting magic booster every morning, noon and night before meals, which increased my magical power. It would be strange if it didn’t.

What’s more, the magic enhancer I’m drinking is a custom-made product that is particularly effective.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s good. It’s really nasty. The creator asked, 「Why can’t you drink it? Can you not taste it?」

What’s more, he misinterpreted what I said, so year after year, he makes the potion even more disgusting.

Even though I don’t feel like becoming a hero anymore, I still send him thank-you notes. It doesn’t seem like harassment anymore.

Many times I’ve sent it back with notes saying, 「I don’t need it anymore!」but he still kept sending it. Eventually it became annoying, so I gave up and now just send him notes saying 「Thank you very much!」.

……Since those are my circumstances, my magical power increased quite a lot.

I don’t know exactly how much it is, but I bought a rather expensive magic measuring instrument that ended up breaking, so there is no doubt that it’s S-rank or higher. And it goes without saying that I was in tears. I spent a million rien on that……

「Th…… Then! I’ll take him with me! If I die, he’ll die too!!」

As the skeleton shouts that in a desperate tone, he grabs Cain to use as a shield. Are you a little kid?

「Fufu…… well, even if he isn’t your friend, you still can’t kill him with your own hands right? You can’t, can you? ………You can’t, right? Right?」

The skeleton uses Cain as a hostage as he tries to flee.

Cain:「But…… You don’t have to worry about me! If I’m a burden, kill me here!!」Cain is shaking and his face is turning pale, yet he still says this.

「Hey, what are you saying! Don’t say anything unnecessary!」

「I- I was never needed by anyone. If I die here…… even if I die, it’s fine!」

Cain trembles but still allows himself to be sacrificed. He has a determined light in his eyes.

If I kill Cain I’ll be able to defeat the skeleton, but… I think I’m a bit misunderstood.

「No…… I’m not going to let you die.」

「……………Eh?」

I said that while looking at Cain. What the heck― I’m not that evil.

「…… Sure, you’re one of those high-handed, self-righteous bastards, but I still need you. So, I can’t let you die.」

Because― I haven’t heard about the candy from him yet. I won’t let him die until that’s done. I think the opinion of a nobleman is valuable.

Cain’s face crumpled at my words, and almost cried, his eyes opened wide as if to say 「Why……?」

「B- but It’s better if I die! I can’t let you interrupt his《Operation Magic》!」

After Cain said that, the skeleton looked somewhat proud.

Indeed, once you begin 《Operation Magic》, other casters cannot interrupt it.

No, well strictly speaking, it can be done. If you forcibly interrupt it, but the targeted caster will not be able to withstand the magical power and will explode.

However if you can hijack the technique with precise and delicate magic, it will not explode. But I can’t. I can’t do that kind of craftsmanship. It’s too troublesome.

Jirei:「Well, it’s impossible to interrupt.」

Kafes:「Well then! I’ll be off now―」

The skeleton drags Cain and tries to escape past me.

「It’s impossible to interrupt―」

I put my right hand on the skeleton, 「Then this way the problem is solved, right?」

―With a compressed magic bullet, the skeleton’s head disappeared.

Well, now he’s dead.

~

「……Fuu~」

「It’s finally over…」 I sigh while looking at the skeleton’s body that was beginning to crumble and blow away. 

When I glanced around, Wed and the adventurers, Eve and Lina, even Raffine and Shion, were all looking at me with their mouths hanging open. Only Letty looked at me with sparkling eyes.

…… Oh, I should have solved the gravity magic problem already. Why are they still on the ground?

While I was thinking that,

「Ji- Jire… Jirei!!」

Wed stood up and ran over to me with surprising momentum… Scary!

I try to escape, but-

Wed:「Wow! You’re so strong!！ Why are you only D-rank? I really thought that I was about to die there―」

I was hugged by thick arms and couldn’t move. That chest plate is hard and it smells sweaty. Why am I being punished?

Other adventurers and Letty also run up saying,「The master is amazing!」and 「Why were you hiding such power?」

No, wait a minute. I don’t know how to respond to that……Ah! Oi, who touched my ass! Come out, now!！

I scream, disgusted by the adventurers surrounding me. This is really annoying.

……………But, sometimes this may not be a bad thing.

Etal was restored and one of the Four Heavenly Kings was defeated. This should be the end of the case.

「―!」

However, the moment I thought, I felt an intense malice…

It’s somehow distorted, with a rich murderous intent.

It’s full of things like interest, like hostility, like joy… various emotions all mixed together. What is this?

I look around, but no new enemies appear.

In the first place, this feeling isn’t directed at me. Then who?

I look around again.This time, using 《Magic Detection》.

「―!」

Detecting the source of magical power, I immediately started running.

Towards the flame of the “Crimson Lotus” that unfolded above Raffine’s head.