Chapter 888

「Aaah! If I can use your life, I’m sure I’ll be able to squeeze out some wonderful mana. Kuheehee…… Kuheeheehee!」

Filuria’s lustful eyes locked onto Fran.

Fran frowned and responded by raising me above her head. She had run out of patience.

Yet Filuria’s crazed laughter continued without end. Even more irritated, Fran gave her one last stare before swinging me down.

However her slash came to halt, blocked in mid-air. A powerful ward had been placed in my path.

「I’m afraid I can’t let you kill her. This is where it ends.」

「Seliadot……!」

At last, the appearance of the person we least wanted to see. I don’t know why she was so late, but this complicates things significantly.

Fran jumped backwards to keep her distance. Seeing that, Seliadot casually walked forward to block the path between us and Filuria.

『Urushi… If push comes to shove, we’ll have to take her down with everything we’ve got!』

（Woof!）

Our opponent was one Rank A adventurer. We couldn’t afford to be stingy if we get into a fight.

「You’ve certainly done a number on my ward. Rather than physical destruction, this was caused by a skill manipulating mana, no?」

Seliadot realized our trick at first glance. However, there was something strange. I couldn’t detect any killing intent or hatred coming from her, so it appeared as if she wasn’t here to fight.

She continued standing in front of Filuria to protect her, but she did not go on the offensive.

With the nickname of “Ward Dealer”, maybe she was a strictly defense-oriented fighter?

Even so, it seemed like she had no intention of fighting defensively either.

Seliadot glanced at both Fran and Sophie. Even after seeing Sophie on our side, she didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.

As if she had expected this turn of events from the very beginning.

「I’ll have to treat her injuries now, so how about a deal? If you leave immediately, I swear I will not pursue you.」

「……You’ll let us get away?」

Sophie, who had been in a state of complete shock, finally recovered. After seeing Fran’s rather extreme interrogation and Filuria’s dark secrets, that reaction was very understandable.

She still looked a bit pale, but she stoutly replied to Seliadot.

「You’re only saying that because you don’t know what Filuria is really like. You should――」

「None of that matters. We have a contract.」

So she’ll abide by the contract no matter how much of a scumbag her employer is. The loli gave us a thin smile and showed no signs of backing down.

「And don’t you think the collateral damage would be immense if we were to fight here?」

Certainly, the Sanatorium would be left in tatters if Fran and Seliadot clashed right in front of it. Not many Sanatorium employees actually knew of Filuria’s secrets, so I’d want to keep the important facility for the battle against antidemons.

It seems Seliadot didn’t want any collateral damage either. This wasn’t just a threat, she was truly worried about damaging the treatment center.

But Filuria, at Seliadot’s feet, screeched angrily.

「You can’t let them get away! What nonsense is that?! Seize her now! Seize the black cat girl!」

After all that torture, she still hasn’t lost her nerve!

But Seliadot simply refused Filuria’s order in a lax tone.

「I’m afraid that’s impossible, Medical Director-dono. Those two are quite capable, so I can only imagine how much devastation they would cause if we had to fight. I can’t say for sure that I will be able to protect you.」

「Urgh……!」

Filuria gasped at Seliadot’s threatening words. Then, she turned to look at her missing leg.

The pain of the severed limb returned, and the blood drained rapidly from her face. She must have remembered the fear of being tortured again.

「But, but……」

「Don’t you worry. Let me handle this and keep quiet for a moment, I’ll ensure your safety. So? What do you say?」

What should we do?

We didn’t know the extent of Seliadot’s abilities, but we had the advantage in numbers. If Sophie and Urushi worked together to stall Seliadot, maybe Fran could capture Filuria in the meanwhile?

While I was thinking about this, Sophie turned to Fran. Then, she said something unexpected.

「Let’s retreat for now.」

「Hmm? But we still have the advantage.」

「Maybe so. But please……」

Sophie stared at Fran pleadingly. It seems she had some sort of plan. Fran nodded her head in agreement.

「……Okay.」

She decided to trust Sophie.

『Fran, are you sure?』

Although Sophie wasn’t an illegal slave trafficker, she was still connected to one. I’m sure many of Filuria’s victims were black cats too.

Fran wanted nothing more than to take revenge on Filuria, yet she still decided to follow Sophie’s lead.

（Yeah.）

『Then let’s scram.』

I sensed some people running towards us, and they were almost certainly the security guards. Things will get even more annoying if they catch up with us.

『Time to go fast!』

「Nn!」

I used my land magic to raise the floor of the collapsed ground. The civilians incited by Filuria had already been restrained and gathered up in one place, so I didn’t have to worry about them anymore.

Well, even if they could move, I doubt any of them would follow us. They heard everything coming out of Filuria’s mouth too.

After learning her dark secrets, there’s no way they could continue obeying her.

However, it’s also true that they didn’t have much trust in Fran either. If Filuria said “Everything was false. I only spoke to stop the torture”, then maybe some of them would believe her.

It’s really damn annoying when the villains have all the credibility.

『You sure you don’t wanna just take her down here?』

（I’ll trust Sophie.）

Fran was really determined. I guess we have no choice.

『Now I’ll transform the ground to build a bridge, and we can make our escape!』

As expected, they couldn’t cover the entire perimeter of the tower with wards. The earth controlled by my spell turned into an archway climbing over the walls surrounding the tower.

I glanced backwards, but Seliadot showed no sign of movement. It seems she really doesn’t intend to chase us.

The Ward Dealer and the Saintess exchanged a quick glance. Then, Seliadot put on a profound smile.

「Sophie?」

「I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here.」

「Okay.」