Chapter 187: Reunion with the comrades
“...I never expected to get transported to a place like this.”
Just before the transfer by Aiwass, I had been very anxious. I had been warned that I might be sent to a strange place, so I was mentally prepared for that, but it was beyond my imagination to emerge in such a high place that made the vast imperial capital appear very small.
However, I remained calm even as I fell. I knew that I could always reduce my falling speed with sand spiritual art. In other words, no matter how high this was, I would not die. Instead, I decided to make the most of the current situation and observe the situation of the imperial capital while falling for a while.
I heard that a civil war was happening, but it seemed that the imperial capital had also turned into a battlefield. The attacking forces were rushing toward a part of the city walls surrounding the imperial capital, while the defending forces were desperately trying to hold them back from the top of the walls. the perspective of someone in the sky, it was clear that the attacking forces had the advantage in terms of individual soldier strength. However, the defending side seemed to resist due to their greater numbers, sturdy city walls, and powerful weapons.
However, for some unknown reason, there appeared to be conflicts within the imperial capital itself. Moreover, it seemed that the ones causing the disturbance were demons. They should have already experienced excruciating pain if they attempted to rampage due to the binding spiritual arts, but... as I approached the imperial capital, I began to hear a strange sound, and I couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
“I may not understand what’s going on, but... it doesn’t really matter.”
However, I hadn’t come to save the imperial capital. My objective was to free my comrades, head to the southern lands of the continent, and establish a safe haven there. Frankly, besides my special operations comrades, the fate of others didn’t concern me.
Once I freed my comrades, I intended to swiftly withdraw from the embattled imperial capital and head south. To do that, I used all of my compound eyes to oversee the capital, searching for the whereabouts of my friends.
“I’ve found them... but that’s not good.”
As I observed from above, I spotted my comrades in the midst of battle. However, the situation was far from favorable; since they were unable to mount a counterattack against the imperial soldiers, they were trapped in a defensive position.
Moreover, at that very moment, Lappy was struck by an imperial soldier, and her head took a heavy blow! The imperial soldier seemed determined to skewer her without mercy. Without hesitation, I mustered my spiritual power, drew my white sword from my waist, and hurled it towards that imperial soldier.
The white sword pierced the imperial soldier’s vital spot with precision, ending his life with a single blow before embedding itself in the city wall. But I didn’t stop there. I conjured a multitude of sand spears, this time unleashing them all at the other imperial soldiers.
These sand spears were deliberately less precise in their aim, and their speed was slower than the sword I had thrown earlier. However, I didn’t necessarily need to defeat the enemy now. What mattered was driving the imperial soldiers away from my comrades. It was more important to scare them away than to kill them.
As expected, the imperial soldiers began to flee in a panic. Witnessing their comrades pierced and gasping for breath, it was only natural for them to want to avoid the same fate. My plan had worked.
I created a sand platform in mid-air, kicked off it to increase my descent speed, and as I landed on the city wall, I removed the hood covering my face and looked around at everyone’s faces.
I finally realized it when I saw the stunned faces of my comrades. Ah, I had come back. I had returned to my comrades.
“Boss, you seriously made it out alive!”
“You guys thought I was dead after all, huh. As you can see, I’ve tenaciously survived....”
I was about to report my survival to Tigar, who was shouting loudly while holding my sword, but before that, someone leaped into my arms. I saw it coming but chose not to avoid it.
Jumping into my arms and hugging me tightly was Lappy. She seemed to regard me as her father, and she grabbed hold of my clothes, refusing to let go. She wasn’t trembling or crying; she just didn’t want to let go.
“I knew you were alive. But I was worried.”
“I see... I’m sorry.”
Lappy whispered those words to me. She couldn’t possibly know for certain that I was alive, so she must have believed in me. For the time being, it seemed that the imperial soldiers weren’t approaching, so it seemed fine to leave things as they were.
“Got it.”
After liberating Linardo, who said something rude while sitting down, I proceeded to release the wounded one by one. Next, it was Asumi and the others’ turn to be freed, but I needed to be cautious in their case. They were currently under the influence of Rinne’s sleep spiritual arts.
This tool had the power to nullify the spiritual arts of spiritualists of a lower rank than Aiwass without any issues. In other words, it could also dispel the sleep-inducing spiritual art that Rinne had cast.
So, there was a high possibility that using this tool would not only undo the binding spiritual arts but also dispel Rinne’s spiritual art. If the reason for Asumi and the others’ berserk behavior was due to the influence of a spiritual art as well, all problems would be resolved at the same time. However, considering how the sound had no effect on us, I concluded that this possibility was low. Most likely, Asumi and the others would soon start going on a rampage after I used it.
So, immediately after using the tool, I would have Rinne, who was on standby, use her spiritual arts again. It was going to be a heavy burden on her, but there was no other option.
“Gyaoooooooooooooooooo!!!”
“Whoa!”
“What’s happening now!?”
Just as I was about to start by freeing Asumi, a deafening roar shook the entire capital. The sound alone caused this empty house to tremble, and dust rained down from the ceiling. The room quickly became dusty, so I used my tail to break a part of the wall, allowing the air to circulate better.
At that moment, I intentionally destroyed the wall in the direction where the roar had come from. It was to quickly grasp what was happening by seeing it with my own eyes.
“Hey, hey, there’s something huge out there!”
“How ugly ...”
“Hmm. That thing looks strong.”
What roared in the middle of the imperial capital was a huge lump of flesh, larger than the palace itself. In terms of size, it exceeded that lump of synthesized beasts that I had twisted and crushed with my spiritual arts before, back when I was still a Hades scorpion while I was battling the old holy knight.
And its appearance was, as Zald had described, hideous to the extreme. To put it simply, it looked like a grotesque mixture of various organs kneaded together. It had an appearance that could only be attributed to a deranged artist driven by madness.
This ashen-gray monstrosity constantly convulsed, further expanding its already substantial frame. It was an eerie creature, but what struck me even more was an instinctual sense of impending danger. The spiritual power it emitted was immense, surpassing my own in sheer spiritual energy.
However, there was something else that bothered me more than that. It was the location of that abomination. If my memory served me correctly, that place held deep significance for many of the individuals here.
“Mika, isn’t that the place where the mansion given to Orvo was located?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
It appeared that my memory was accurate. That place was indeed where the emperor had bestowed Orvo with his mansion. It held nothing but unpleasant memories for me, as it was the place where I had been imprisoned in an underground dungeon, where Tigar and others had been synthesized into demons, where Orvo had been assassinated, and where Mika himself had been turned into a demon.
Even though we couldn’t see the mansion anymore, as it had likely been completely obliterated, we had no choice but to make our way to that place. The reason for this was that the source of the strange sound reverberating throughout the imperial capital seemed to be in the direction of that mansion’s remains.
With their keen hearing, all the demons here would likely have realized that the mansion’s vicinity was the source. It seemed that fate was not inclined to let us easily escape from the heart of the capital. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
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TN: Alright!