Volume 18 - CH 14

The old master, Valius, did not return.

Instead, a girl with his staff arrived.

Clearly, this one was hostile.

A magician in black robes.

In addition, I can feel an unusual surge of magical power from her.

There was also a white bird summoned nearby, so there is no doubt that this is the one who calls the Black Sea Anemone.

There was only one choice I could make in this situation.

「Go! Saki!」

「Darling, It's promise! Make sure, make sure you have to come back!」

Saki shouted with tears in her eyes as she drove the carriage.

Now I have to stop her at all costs.

「――Oh my? It didn't work, did it?」

The girl tilted her head.

「I knew it, you used the [charm], didn't you?」

There is no way that an old man of that level can be beaten so easily.

However, the staff with bloodstains on it clearly showed that the old man was defeated.

The only way to make that possible in a short period of time is to use instant death magic or have the old man kill the old man himself.

I realized this, and just before I got out of the carriage, I gave Saki an artifact that could resist 100% of the charm.

It was given to me by the head of the Austin Academy of Magic, and I can attest to its effectiveness.

The enemies who let me use it are also troublesome.

「Oh my, oh my, oh my, that's not funny. You and I have never met before, so how did you know?」

The girl with white hair shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head. She looks like a cocky aristocrat who could be anywhere, but somehow her abilities are far greater.

「Do you want to know?」

「No, I don't. I need to get rid of you before your friends run away, Ufufu.」

「Damn it.」

The girl activated the spell without chanting and released a disastrous black mist towards the carriage.

That spell is an instant death type range attack spell, forbidden spell 【Death Cloud】.

I immediately saw through that magic with my 【Magic Knowledge】 and immediately used wind magic.

「The four great spirits are Sylph, let your wings flap as a gust of wind! Wind!」

「Oh my, geez, please don't interrupt me.」

The girl's voice was sweet, but she seemed to be enjoying herself.

I'm sweating so hard that I'm breaking out in a cold sweat.

I've already tried [Appraisal] on the girl, but I've been blocked from viewing everything but her name.

But I'm pretty sure she's over 80.

After all, she had defeated the old man.

I call out her horrible name.

「Christina, why are you attacking us?」

「Why? Well, why is that ......」

I wondered if she was dumbfounded, or if she had really forgotten her purpose, as she tried to remember with an upward glance.

「Well, that's okay. You seem to be a pretty strong guy, let's play with me.」

A girl about seventeen years old laughs mischievously in a sweet voice at the middle-aged father.

If it weren't for this situation, I'm pretty sure I'd be hustling, but give me a break.

「I refuse!」

I use 【Levitate】 to get some distance from her.

I'm not going to make the first move. Absolutely not.

Because she's stronger than me, and if my attack is blocked, there's nothing left for me to do.

The mere fact that my magic is nullified is an opening for her.

That moment will be my death.

「Ehh? You're so pathetic. But I will play with you. Take theeeese!」

Once again, she uses her magic without chanting.

Green smoke came out of her right hand, is this the 【Poison Cloud】?

If it's poison, I can completely nullify it, so if I just plunge into the smoke, I'll have a chance.

But I'm not going into it.

The most important thing right now is to get the carriage out of the way. That's all that matters.

「Hmm~mph, I see. It looks like you can't play with me when that carriage is around. Then let's get rid of it♪」

Don't talk so happy, you crazy bitch.

「Here's the deal, Christina. You let that carriage go, and I'll give you the one thing you want」

「Theeen~, How about you help me perfect the magic I'm working on? Well, I don't think you're up to it.」

「No, you're the ultimate summoner. No sword, no magic.　I know what it is.

「No. You're the ultimate summoner. Neither Swords nor magic don't work on you, right? I know that.」

「Ehh? It can't be ......, but it seems you really know it. Yeah, well, then――Fufu, the answer is no.」

「Why not?」

「Because I collect human fear.」

「What are you going to do with all that stuff?」

「Ehh? What am I going to do with this ......huh? What am I going to do with it?」

It's not like he's playing dumb.

Is this guy being manipulated by someone?

「What are you working for, Christina? You say you're gathering human fear, but is that really your intention?」

「Fufu, of course it is! It's what I wanted to do, and it's what my research requires. I don't even need you to understand the details. Die, Alec.」

「Damn it.」

While floating in midair, Christina held up her right hand to me and emitted a pale flash of light.

It's a spell that attacks with an ice spear with no chanting 【Ice Lancer】.

This is a higher grade of magic than the 【Ice Javelin】 that I often use. It's also a very fast barrage.

I tried to use 【Levitation】 and wind magic to avoid them, but there were so many that I couldn't avoid them all.

I'm tempted to use 【Instantaneous Movement】, but I'm not going to use that yet.

It's a defensive trump card. I don't want Christina to know about it.

I'm not going to die from this level of magic yet, even if I get hit by them.

「Fufufufufu, Now, run away, Alec, like a fly! You unsightly bastard!」

But how can she launch a high-level magic in such a barrage?

I wonder how much magic power (MP) she has.

This guy is no ordinary person.

「Gughhh, Damn, my body is ......!」

The Ice Lancer that hit me froze the area around my body.

I'm trying to use my flame magic to melt the ice, but I can't keep up.

「It's not so easy, isn't it, Another World Hero? I was expecting you to entertain me a bit more, but you disappointing me.」

「Do you know me?」

「Oh, I don't know much about you. I just heard from my congregation that you're a hero who made it to the bottom of the Labyrinth of No Return.」

「I see. Are you talking about Falbas' congregation here?」

「Hmph, no way! The followers of our hated enemy! Yes, and while we're at it, let's kill a few of them.」

「What!l? That spell is...」

Christina held up her right hand in a different direction from me, and a black sphere of magic appeared around her body.

It was so precise, so massive, and so different from any other magic system I knew of.

Moreover, the spell she was casting was spun in ...... completely incomprehensible language.

Even I, who had the privilege of being a hero of another world, could translate and understand every word.

But for some reason, I knew it was a dark attribute.

Its blackness is the darkness within the darkness, a perfect darkness without light.

「That's spell is bad, Stooop it!」

I felt an inexplicable sense of frustration as I predicted its power.

In the distance where she was pointing her hand was the royal capital of the Holy Kingdom.

It's a waste of the lives of so many beautiful girls!

For that reason alone, I used my hidden 【Instantaneous Movement】, grabbed Christina's right arm, and shifted my sights upward.

「What, teleportation!?」

Christina was surprised, but it really was better to hide it.

But that didn't stop the spell, and the magic circle on her right arm was activated.

The color of the entire sky changed, and the air turned purple and rotten.

The strong smell of decay almost makes my nose turn.

No, my right hand is also blackened and rotten. ......!

「Uehhh, what's that smell ......!」

I hurriedly let go of Christina's hand and cut off the rotten right hand myself.

「Fufu, doesn't it smell good? It's called "Terraforming". Sooner or later, I'll turn all the countries and lands into a Demon world.」 

「I'm not kidding. Wake up, Christina! You can't live like that.」

「No, I won't. If you pledge allegiance to my Lord, your body will transform and you will miss this scent as much as you miss Mother Nature (Gaia).」

「I refuse, for I wish to remain as I am. I don't want to quit being human.」

「Have it your way, old human. Oh, my dear, my Lord wants to see me. Now, if you'll excuse me.」

Christina took out a small skull from her pocket, which glowed black and quickly formed a black sphere large enough to hold a person.

Apparently, this would serve as a gate.

She went inside, and the black sphere disappeared.

「Damn, that's what she means ...... I should've known he was back (resurrected) by now. I should've known that.」

A year later...... less than ten months to be exact, I understood all the reasons why we in the future were fighting so hard not to run away.

And the identity of that black anemone.

The person to whom Christina had pledged her allegiance, the king of the demon world and the ruler of fear.

In other words, it was the 『Demon King』, as he was called in this world.