Volume 7 - CH 22

Midnight when the two round moons have risen.

Put in a cage in the slave warehouse, put in slave’s collar and handcuffs, Rurumu calls out to the cage across the street.

“Nozuro, Nozuro”

The divine-demon martial artist lay in the cage without answering.

He was breathing heavily, so he wasn’t dead, but he was so badly injured that he couldn’t even get up.

Rurumu turned her gaze to the magic tool hidden in her sleeve.

Her chances of using it will be limited.

At that moment, the warehouse door opened with a heavy sound.

The light held by the giant illuminates the crowd in the cage.

“Mister, what are you doing here at this hour?”

“No, I was worried about the condition of that divine demon man. It would be a problem if he died.”

“He’s fine… he won’t die at that rate.”

Led by the guard giant, Herman and Neg step into the warehouse.

“There is also a chance. Neg, if something happens, you will be the one to fix it.”

“I understand, big brother.”

“Fuwaa… If that’s the case, please come earlier.”

“The meeting with the lord has dragged on. Besides, it’s time to wake up the sleeping guards.”

“Please excuse me…”

While exchanging words, the three of them approached Rurumu and the others, ignoring her, holding their light up to Nozuro’s cage and peering into it.

“Fumu… at this rate, it probably won’t be a problem.”

“That’s why I told you, big brother.”

“That’s good. By the way, why don’t you take a look at the others, sir. It’s easy to think that they’re sleeping, but…”

The giant guard turned around and turned the light on Rurumu’s cage.

At that moment, Rurumu took out a thin stone knife from her sleeve and pointed it at the three humans.

The knife, which seems to have been carved out of a magic stone, is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and doesn’t look like it could be used as a weapon. Even more so if it’s through the cage.

However, in the next moment, a ferocious flow of power welled up, creating a blade of water equivalent to high-level magic.

The water that was released with tremendous force easily cut through the iron bars of the cage. It was supposed to instantly take away the lives of three people.

“Huh!? That’s…!?”

Rurumu made a startled expression.

The water blade that cut through the iron grating did not reach Herman and the others… it was blocked by a veil of light and disappeared.

“Well, no way, it’s a barrier…!?

The collar of slavery takes effect, and Rurumu grabs her neck and begins to suffer.

Herman looked down at the situation with his eyes wide open.

“That surprised me.”

He mutters calmly while stroking his beard.

His gaze then turned to the stone knife lying in the cage.

“Is it a magic tool? Killing and wounding… Hmm, that was careless. I have to be careful from now on.”

“I-I was surprised…”

In contrast to Herman, who hardly changed his expression, Neg stroked his chest as if he had lost his mind.

Above his head, there was a spiritual body that looked like a piece of cloth shining divinely.

Rurumu groaned.

“Holy Spirit…! Even such a monster…”

A high-ranking astral monster with the light attribute.

It’s also a rare monster that you rarely encounter.

It is said that it rarely appears in a group of monsters and has the property of setting up a barrier to block magic and using healing magic.

“Oh, oh…? What happened? What’s wrong…”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, get this product out of the cage.”

As he was told, the giant opened the lock and pulled Rurumu out of the cage.

“Goo…”

“It’s a product that is quite interesting.”

Herman looked at the weary Rurumu as if he were looking at livestock.

“In the old days, I would have given you a whip, but unfortunately I got rid of that too.”

“Brother, this guy must be an enchantment user. She might have something else…”

“I know… hey, leave this guy naked. Don’t give her any clothes until we find a buyer.”

“Is it now? Hehehe…”

Rurumu twisted her body when the giant man took out the knife.

“No, stop…”

“Oh yes. I have to check the pattern.”

Herman grabbed Rurumu’s chin and looked appreciatively at the black lines peeking out from under the dye.

“god demons have different patterns depending on the individual. The selling price will probably change depending on this, so we have to think about how to show it at the auction… Fu! ”

“…”

Rurumu’s expression distorted.

“For that reason, humans…!”

“Hmm… it looks like this product still has some dignity.”

Herman smiled like a crack and looked at Rurumu.

It was a malicious smile directed at a her.

“You don’t seem to understand your position yet. It’s an order. Throw it away quickly. It’s too good for a slave.”

The divine demon shrine maiden glares back at the slave trader.

“… I refuse. Even if you can take away our freedom, you can’t take away our race’s pride.”

“In that case, you should do as you please. Eventually, such things will fall off by themselves. There is no one who is not allowed to wear clothes, sips food that looks like leftovers, and can continue to be proud even after being smeared with their own filth… do it”

The giant man grabs a knife and begins tearing Rurumu’s clothes.

Rurumu turned away from him and seemed to endure the humiliation.

It’s a lot earlier than planned, but… that’s okay.

“—I think I’ve said it before.”

My voice echoes in the slave warehouse at night.

The four of them looked at us all at once.

“I try to help people I have a relationship with or a duty to.”

Standing in the warehouse, I quietly continued.

From the perspective of the four of them, it must have seemed like I had suddenly appeared.

“Actually, you’re right.”

“Se… Seika?”

“… Seika-dono..”

Almost at the same time as Rurumu and Herman muttered.

The beams of the warehouse snapped along with a dull bass sound.

The thick beam that fell diagonally shattered several empty cages below and let out a roaring sound.

“Whoa!? What is it!?”

The giant raised his voice in surprise.

Two beams, three beams, and so on fell one after another. Furthermore, even the ceiling fell apart, and the night sky began to peek through it.

The bricks used for the roof cracked and shattered on the floor and cages around them.

“No, no!”

When the giant let go of Rurumu, he began to run at full speed toward the exit while holding his hands over his head.

Herman shouts.

“Oi, hey, wait!”

“Hurry up and run away, sir! This warehouse is in danger!”

It seems that he thought that the warehouse began to collapse on its own.

No wonder.

How many people in this world can do this without using a trebuchet, a crossbow, a staff or even a magic circle?

Herman, who was told to run away, stood still.

He can’t take his eyes off me.

A large hole opened in the ceiling of the warehouse, and even the walls began to collapse.

“Putting aside the ceiling, it’s hard to break down a brick wall with gravity alone.”

As soon as he said that, the beam directly above broke.

Above Herman and Neg, who were preparing themselves, I continued as I sent the falling beams and ceiling to the phase with the rattling of the door.

“Burning sulfur dissolves the toxic fumes in water, and then it reacts with iron as a catalyst. This is what is made of mung bean oil. —- it’s also called sulfuric acid.”

“Wha… what, what are you saying…”

“Earth, fire, water, and metal are also used, which is quite a hassle, but if you use this, you can dissolve the glue mortar on the brick wall. Didn’t you know? Then it’s good to remember. Knowledge can be useful in unexpected places.”

I keep my eyes on the slave trader.

“But… Herman.”

I continue speaking to Herman, who stands still without a word.

“If you threaten me that much, I won’t get my hands on you…… Yes, did you think it so easy? Herman. It was too early to turn back the lord’s forces. You were surprisingly a naive man too. ――――Adventurers are not so well-behaved.”

“Ah… Don’t touch my brother!!”

At the same time as Neg shouted.

Countless astral monsters gushed forth from the floor and walls.

Ghosts, Spirits, Wisps and Specters.

And……,

“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo”

The Wraith Lord appeared as if oozing out of the darkness.

Perhaps out of fear, even Wraith-type monsters wouldn’t approach it.

Surrounded by colorful vengeful spirits, Herman speaks to me.

“Ah… Naive? No, no way. I’m a merchant. I don’t count desires and guesswork.”

Herman was still laughing while his expression was twitching.

“If it was just a violent match, soldiers were unnecessary from the beginning. Those people would only be a hindrance to Neg.”

“Hi, hihihi!!”

The gloomy vengeful grin as if lured by his brother-in-law.

“Oh, I’ll make you a slave too! 　I’ll burn your legs, freeze your arms, immerse you in curses all over your body, and I’ll cure you completely!　Then my brother will sell you at a high price!”

“That’s a good idea, Neg. If you become a former noble adventurer, you will surely get a high price. If you turn those good-looking girls into criminals and sell them, hmm… a bigger trading house. I might be able to build it.”

I sigh and say.

“In my hometown, there was a proverb, ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch .’ Is there a similar proverb here?”

“There is. But… now is not the time to use it.”

Herman deepened his smile.

The vengeful spirits of Neg turned to me all at once.

“You are no better than fur!”

Flames, wind, curses, and obstruction magic debuffs are released all at once.

They all disappeared in front of the barrier that surrounded me.

However, the vengeful spirit user is not disturbed.

“Hihi, it’s a barrier! How long will it last?”

The countless vengeful spirits showed no sign of slowing down their attacks. They continue to shoot magic regardless of barriers.

“I see, that’s a lot of firepower.”

The Wraith Lord glides through the air and begins to float around the barrier.

Its movements were similar to those of a fox aiming for chickens in a coop.

But… it’s terrible even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

“You’ve been blinded by greed, Herman. Where did the caution you had when we first met go?”

I murmur in amazement and float a piece of Hitogata high behind him.

“If you’ve been in business for a long time, you should know that as a matter of course.”

Then, i made a small mark.

“A merchant’s doom is always when greed blinds them.”

《Calling――――There is no empty death》

What emerged from the distortion of space was a gigantic sun wrapped in darkness.

“Wha…!?”

Herman’s eyes widened at the strange appearance.

After a moment of stagnation, the vengeful spirits of Neg began attacking the sun.

I got it.

However, the magic was just swallowed up by the flames on the surface, and the curse had no effect at all.

“Wha, what is this guy!?”

Neg let out an upset voice.

At that time — the false sun pulsated.

I mutter.

“Tonight’s night trip is over.”

The vengeful spirits began to be attracted to the false sun.

Slow-moving wisps and spirits are engulfed in endless flames and disappear. Ghosts and Wraiths try to resist and go on a rampage, but they can’t overcome the gravitational pull of the fake sun and are absorbed one after another without any help.

“Oh… my, my astrals――――!?”

Neg screamed as if he himself was being swallowed.

“I-I’ll definitely kill you! I’ll kill you! This is…”

The Wraith Lord unleashes a tremendous amount of curse and dark magic while being attracted.

The swollen flow of power is truly worthy of being called the King of Vengeful Spirits. Even in my previous life, there weren’t many spirits with such power.

But… after all, it’s just a spiritual atmosphere.

“Ooh – – – – – – -“

The Wraith Lord was swallowed up without a hitch.

Neither the powerful curse nor the dark attribute magic could shake even a single fake sun flame.

“Hi, hiiiii!?”

“… No way, such a monster…”

Rurumu murmured in a hoarse voice beside Negu, who was dumbfounded, and Herman, who seemed stunned.

“Darkness attribute…… flame bullet fireball……?”

“Of course, it’s not like that.”

The Kurosan Soranaki is a true demon ayakashi.

One, there is an outbreak of nightly ghosts.

Two, the nightly procession of 100 demons is moving eastward.

Three, it must be dawn.

Fourth, that the observing human is at the time of the heavenly killing in arithmetic.

When these four conditions are met, this monster that suddenly appears at the end of the 100 demons parade swallows ghosts and spirits as it advances towards the morning sun and vanishes at dawn. They have the strangest properties among youkai, and are almost like natural phenomena.

I can’t see anything like intention. It doesn’t attack people, and even if you get close to its flame-like body, you won’t feel the heat.

However, it has unparalleled strength against youkai and spirits.

I’ve even seen it swallow a Nine tail monster fox that rivals a dragon once.

It might disappear if exposed to the sun, and it was difficult to get it out because it didn’t listen to what I was told, but I was able to use it successfully this time.

The results were just as I expected.

“Well… Herman. Let’s get to the point.”

“Huh, the main subject…?”

Leaving the confused Herman aside, I shoot an invisible Hitogata and stick it to the cage where the slaves of the divine demons enter.

“It must have been decided. I came to pick up the goods.”

“Eh, huh…?”

“The reserve was until today. The date will change soon. Hurry up and let me pick it up.”

《Gold Aspect――――The art of avoiding gold erosion》

Gallium’s slag gallium corrodes the metal, and the iron bars of the cage begin to crumble.

“… the iron is rotten…”

While the slaves were waking up to the commotion, I heard Rurumu’s mutter as her eyes widened in surprise.

I look at Herman and take a handprint and a pen out of my pocket.

“How much?”

“Yes?”

“I will pay the balance. How much? Herman”

The glass nib is filled with black ink from a curse.

“I forgot the estimated amount.”

Two moons peeking through a large hole in the ceiling and a gigantic sun covered in darkness.

With them on my back, I told the merchant who was crouching down.

“Now, what’s wrong? Tell me how much you want”

*Kinboku no Jutsu

*The Art of Gold-Eaten Mercury

A technique that encases metal with gallium. Gallium is a liquid metal with a melting point of only about 30°C, and has the property of corroding the inside of the crystals of other metals, causing them to crumble. It was actually discovered in modern times, but in the world of work, an alchemist from the Kingdom of Franks (now France) isolated it from minerals found near the Pyrenees Mountains, and named it gallium after the Gallia region where it was produced.