episode_0144

000

In the dark alley, only the laughter of women and the sound of flapping wings echo in the moonlit shadows. And dominating the place is a winged little devil descended from the sky. However, the power contained in that small body was in no way inferior to any incubi around, and rather, all those present combined could not defeat her alone.

Lilim, the partner of Ishtar, who became the mistress of the back alley, and a black succubus girl whose identity is unknown, looked down on the half-baked holy swordsman and the gray rat who had invaded her territory when she was in a bad mood, with the moonlight behind her.

The cause of her displeasure was that the magical eye for surveillance that Ishtar had sent was immediately destroyed by someone. But for them, it would be misfortune to find targets to play with just right while looking for someone to vent her anger on.

As soon as she waved her hand and chanted a spell, a black magical mist spread from her fingertips, engulfing the young man and the detective.

“Sleep.”

A sleep spell, gradually slowing down the life activities of the target and plunging them into an irresistible swamp of sleep. Of course, it was a low-level spell that would never work on targets of a higher level than herself, and it actually took time to fall asleep, but that depends on the user.

Rather, the succubi’s hypnotic spells are more powerful than those used by magicians of the same level. However, if Lilim, who has magical power higher than that of a mid-level demon, uses magic, it would be no problem to make them fall asleep on the spot as if they were fainting.

“Kuh… suddenly… sleepy…”

As Eustace murmured and staggered forward, Gray took out a small syringe from his pocket and stuck it into his thigh and Eustace’s thigh at the same time.

“…?”

Lilim tilted her head at the bizarre behavior, but Gray and Eustace still seemed to fall asleep as they were.

However, they soon opened their eyes wide, and Gray grabbed Eustace’s hand in dismay and ran toward the exit of the back alley.

“… Catch them.”

Lilim didn’t understand what had happened for a moment, but what she had to do didn’t change. The succubi, who were also embarrassed by Gray and Eustace’s escape, stopped moving for a moment, perhaps because they were caught off guard. As a result, after the two had moved some distance away, they began to fly between the alleys and chase after them.

`…The magic didn’t fail. The two of them definitely fell asleep. But… how did they wake up right away…`

Lilim quietly organized her thoughts and landed on the ground. There, some of the medicine contained in the syringe Gray had used had seeped into the ground.

As she moved her fingers, she extracted the liquid along the lines of magic.

The sky-blue liquid dancing in the air was emitting light on its own. A strong magical reaction could be felt inside. She could tell that it was a magical potion created using alchemy. However, as Lilim had no knowledge of alchemy, it was difficult for her to accurately identify what it was.

However, the magical reaction felt in the components of this medicine… somewhere.

There was even more reason to catch that rat.

Lilim thought so and looked in the direction her subordinates had been sent.

001

The two run through the maze-like alleyways. No matter how hard they think about it, they were running in the direction to get out of the back alley. The road is intertwined like a maze, and the dark space never ends. From behind, the sound of the approaching succubi giggling was closing in. If that powerful succubus girl appeared again, it was questionable whether they would be able to escape in the same way.

However, even in the midst of all this, Eustace asks Gray an irresistible question.

“Hey! The medicine you used earlier, is it okay!?”

“It’s okay, so I’m running! More than that, try to do something with the holy sword on your waist! Is it just for decoration!?”

Gray says, looking at the Mistilteinn hanging on Eustace’s waist, but the light of the Mistilteinn was much dimmer than before. The materialization of the magic sword was something he had done when he defeated the previous barrier tree, but at that time, he was able to release his power to some extent without limitation because he had used all the magic that had been accumulated for a long time.

After that, all the stored magic had disappeared, and he was in the process of accumulating magic little by little by using only the magic recovery supplied from Eustace’s low magic aptitude. Eustace only uses Mistilteinn when he is cornered. However, since he had used it recently, he had run out of magic again, and it took some time before he could use it again because he had forcibly exerted his power as before.

“So, you really were a half-baked hero…”

“Kuh… More than that. How far does this back alley go…!”

The two, who realized that it was strange no matter how hard they tried, as the exit was not visible even though they seemed to have been running a longer distance than when they had entered, were eventually driven to a dead end in the alley. When they looked up at the sky, the moonlight was hidden by the black clouds. Darkness was all around them no matter where they looked.

Eustace and Gray are embarrassed by the situation and stop their feet.

“Ahaha☆ You still don’t get it, you idiots? This back alley is already our Astarote’s territory… Making your sense of direction strange with illusion magic is nothing.”

Then, a high-pitched voice is heard from behind. The voice that treats the two as fools was, of course, the voice of the succubus who had been chasing them.

Pink hair, golden eyes. And white skin. She had red horns, and she was wearing a unique outfit compared to other succubi.

She was wearing black pants and a sleeveless black t-shirt on top. Chain accessories shimmering in the moonlight were dangling from her waist and pants.

Her figure was also a little petite compared to the surrounding succubi. No, saying “a little” is really putting it nicely. She was almost flat.

“Wow! A cliff! Was there such a succubus until just now!?”

“Who are you calling a cliff! You sewer rat with that color!?”

“No. There wasn’t. At least not a petite one like that… If she was even more petite than that black succubus, she would have stood out.”

“Petite, petite, shut up…! Listen carefully. My name is Kamala. I am a servant of an unbelievably high-ranking demon, As… No, no. This name was a secret.”

Getting angry, getting embarrassed. Her expression changes from moment to moment, and then she becomes smug. The demon who introduced herself as Kamala makes a slip of the tongue, perhaps thinking that she has completely seized the victory over the two people cornered in the corner.

“As…”

“Anyway! I’m a servant of such a great person, and I’m a much more powerful demon than a mere succubus! If you understand, quietly become our food☆”

As she points her finger in the direction of the two, the tail attached to her butt stretches out like rubber. Her tail, which was hidden in the shadows and not easily visible, had a structure that could be opened at the end. It was a shape that could be stretched out enough to completely swallow the target to be devoured with it.

“Kuh! Even I can handle that much!”

Eustace quickly swings his sword strongly to chop off the approaching tail. He certainly thought it would be soft because it stretches well and wiggles, but the hardness felt where the blade collided was more than steel.

“What the hell is wrong with a demon’s body…!”

“Hmph. Do you think you can hurt my beautiful body with such a shoddy sword? You shoddy thing!”

“Then how about this…!”

The next moment, Gray takes out a glass bottle containing the blue glowing liquid that he had injected into Eustace earlier from his waist and throws it.

Kamala glances at it and sneers, opening the end of her tail and gulping it down. Then, the sound of crunching is heard from inside.

“Hehe. My tail is the tail of greed that melts, digests, and absorbs anything. And. Common poisons don’t work… Ugh…!?”

Kamala, who was shaking her tail while showing off, suddenly grabbed her stomach in pain and turned pale.

It was a reaction similar to that of a human when they eat spoiled food.

“Sorry. That’s not poison, it’s holy water.”

“Ho, holy water…!? But holy water doesn’t glow like that…”

Also, it’s expensive. Throwing it, injecting it directly into the body. Eustace knew very well that it was not something that a detective could easily obtain and use while still having some left in their pockets.

“Ahaha~ Of course it is. It’s something I made myself. But the performance is top-notch.”

“You made holy water…!? A detective, how-”

Gray shrugs and answers to Eustace, who looks at him in astonishment.

“It’s a trade secret.”

Anyway. If things continue like this, Kamala, who has absorbed the holy water, will weaken, and if that happens, the illusion magic she mentioned will also disappear.

Perhaps wary of the holy water that Gray has, the surrounding succubi were unable to approach easily.

It was at that moment that the two were certain of their escape.

“Aah… Really…! Don’t piss me off…!!!!”

Kamala suddenly raises her voice and opens her tail wide.

Seeing the pieces of glass falling from there, Eustace and Gray prepare themselves again-

The tail was not directed at the two, but at one of her subordinates, a succubus, who was nearby.

“Huh!? Wai, wait a minute! Kamala- Kyaa!”

Perhaps they had never imagined that the direction of her anger would be directed at them. The succubus, who was standing still and suffered the wrath, was swallowed by her large, swollen tail, and it was possible to see her writhing so hard that her hands and feet were sticking out from inside.

Not only the two of them, but even the surrounding succubi look at Kamala with pale faces. They had no intention of moving at the strange sight.

“…Haa…”

And when Kamala sighs, the tail that had swelled up returns to its original state. That means that the body of the succubus that had been eaten inside the tail was gone. Originally, demons’ bodies are just temporary bodies created through magic anyway. Their souls will be sent back to hell-. Even so. The way she unhesitatingly devoured her subordinates to restore her body was truly an act of a demon itself.

Kamala, who sacrificed her subordinate’s life and absorbed all of her magic power, used that power to neutralize all the holy water in her body.

Then, she opened her tail and spat out only the clothes that the subordinate she had absorbed was wearing.

“I’ll make you pay dearly for making Kamala eat her subordinate…☆”

“She’s, she’s crazy…”

The succubi are desperately trying to resist nodding in agreement with Eustace’s impression. To avoid becoming the next target, they slowly narrow the gap towards where Gray and Eustace are standing.

“If you have any other hidden cards, now is the time to use them…”

“…If it comes to it, I’ll convert my life force into magic power…!”

The meager magic power idles inside Eustace. The idling takes place in his heart, and the rising temperature burns his blood. The burned blood – the source of life – will begin to be converted into magic power.

His unique ability that he learned from handling Mistilteinn despite his lack of talent. A typical holy swordsman would be able to produce divine magic power on their own without doing such a thing, but Eustace did not inherit the talent for divine magic power from his mother.

“Ha, what is it. Half-baked hero. It looks like you’re thinking of doing something… Don’t you still know that even if you do that, you can’t stop this Kamala-sama?”

However, if there is a reason why he holds the holy sword despite that, it is certainly to become a shield to protect the meaningful life of someone that he has been living as he pleases until now.

Whether in Elesia or in the royal capital, what he has to do does not change.

At the moment when he, who was about to burn his body, pulled out Mistilteinn, accelerated the idling, and was about to detonate the accumulated magic power.

At the moment when Kamala’s hideous claws were about to pierce his neck.

At the moment when Gray, who had not reacted to the fast speed, looked up at the sky in confusion.

The sky opens, the clouds are torn apart, and the moonlight pours down.

At the same time, a giant divine hammer falls in a straight line from the sky, wrapped in lightning.

It slams into Camilla’s head from top to bottom.

With a clear sound like a chime, Kamala lets out a dying gasp and is buried in the ground.

“Se, Saint Princess!?”

“Did I take too long…!”

At the moment when the succubi were each flustered, there was a blade that emerged from the darkness, moved like dancing, and cut through their bodies as if water was flowing.

“Bead Stringing.”

With a sharp sound, the magic sword that had been drawn once returns to its scabbard.

The burning magic power follows the trajectory of the sword she swung, and the wounds of the succubi she had cut open all at once, pouring out a large amount of magic power.

The succubi, who could no longer maintain their form, were all forcibly evicted from that spot.

“…What are you doing here. You.”

She, who had risen to her feet, turns to Eustace with cold eyes and says.

“Ru, Rubera…”

Eustace is frightened by the fact that he has met someone he absolutely did not want to meet.

“Wha, what’s going on…!? A pretty girl with a hammer in the sky…! Woohoo…! Could it be the Saint Princess…!? The legendary Saint Princess!?”

As Gray’s eyes sparkle and he tries to get closer to Amelia, who saved them, Amelia is startled and steps back, and Rubera blocks her way.

“You. Why are you here at this time?”

“It’s for work. I came to investigate the missing person case from the Adventurer’s Guild. I thought there might be a hint somewhere around here.”

“Me too. …You, on the other hand. Why are you here…”

When Eustace asks that, Rubera answers with cold eyes.

“I have no obligation to answer you. Don’t stick your head too far into this matter.”

Putting aside Rubera’s own feelings towards Eustace. It was better to have as few people as possible know that the Saint Princess was Princess Amelia. Moreover, a cold evaluation was being made that Eustace, who was obviously lacking in skill, would only be a hindrance and a burden if he got involved in such a matter.

The same was true for Gray next to him. He was obviously a child. Moreover, he didn’t seem like he could handle weapons.

Wouldn’t it be better to take him to Lavita as he is and erase his memories? While she was thinking the same thing.

“You… came to… interfere again… Saint Princess…”

The voice that had been echoing in the darkness earlier was heard again from above their heads.

As expected, it was Amelia who was the first to sense her appearance and move her body. She stretches out her arm to take a stance so that she can protect the party here from any attack spell that may be launched from her.

“She has appeared…! The Black Magic Succubus!”

“…Haa. You should start remembering it. My name is Lilim…”

“I have no intention of calling out the name of a demon who causes the people of the royal capital to suffer!”

“I don’t care… But I also… have no intention of being friendly with you… who torments the succubi.”

As the hammer is once again surrounded by the sacred magic power of lightning, an offensive magic that she is showing for the first time appears behind Lilim.

A mass of ominous magic power, like a giant claw, nail, and fang, could tear apart all the existences in front of her at any time if she flicked her finger.

Just before the power of the strongest holy warrior and the power of the succubus who transcends common sense collide.

[Lilim. I’m sorry, but quietly take that idiot there and come back. Put off the fight with her for now.]

The voice of her partner is heard in Lilim’s ear. The idiot must be referring to Kamala, whose head was almost smashed by Amelia’s hammer.

Lilim narrows her eyes and stares at the party for a moment before flicking her fingers.

The entire party flinches and draws their weapons, mistaking it for an incoming attack.

What happened next was a small dimensional passage opening, and Kamala being sucked into it.

Amelia and Rubera were both momentarily flustered by the sight.

With a quick sound like a swish, Kamala’s tail wrapped around Eustace’s ankle.

And Gray, who was the only one not taking a fighting stance, grabbed Eustace’s collar. But because he didn’t have enough strength, Camilla quickly passed through the dimensional passage as is and was teleported next to Lilim.

“Kuh, let go of this…!”

“…You brought something strange with you….”

“Please call it spoils of war. Lilim Unnie…! We’ll take this guy! Don’t worry, we won’t take his life☆”

A vein popped out on Rubera’s forehead. She instantly takes a stance, thinking of cutting Kamala off with Eustace as he is.

Amelia also swallows hard, trying to somehow rescue Eustace, who was taken hostage, and prevent Kamala and Lilim from escaping.

“Aghh…!”

Amelia drops her hammer and loses her stance with the hot pain she feels in her shoulder.

“Wait…!”

Rubera knew her reaction. The wound she had suffered from Ishtar before. If she forcibly moved her body in a state where it could not be healed no matter what divine magic was used, the wound would react as is, causing Amelia to suffer.

“…? It seems that she’s hurt… Well, okay… Kamala. Let’s go…”

“Yeah~ It seems like we can ambush them as is since the Saint Princess is unable to move… But we have to take this hostage with us too… Okay! I understand, Unnie☆ Next time, I’ll swallow you all up, so be prepared!”

They say that and try to open a dimensional gate again and disappear.

“Wait! Leave that idiot… Kuh…!”

If you were to ask Rubera which one to focus on, Eustace or Amelia, she would immediately say Amelia 9 out of 10 times.

At that time, Gray looks at Rubera and says quietly.

“…I attached a transmitter. I can find him with my magic power detection.”

“… … Kugh…”

Rubera bites her lip as if suppressing her rising anger, and carries the fallen Amelia on her back.

“You. I’ll take you to the outside of the back alley. And-”

“You mean don’t tell anyone else about what happened today, right? Don’t worry. I know it well. Instead, I think I can help you too, so I would like you to visit Gray’s Detective Agency sometime.”

Rubera sighs and nods. She couldn’t shake off her suspicion of Gray, even though she thought she had heard the name Gray somewhere before.

And- Amelia.

The fact that her wound was not even known to the lady of the Tromeia family. It was only Rubera, who hunts demons with her at night, who knew the fact.

Amelia desperately asks her not to tell Orelia. If she knew about her condition, it was obvious that she would again do reckless things to heal her while avoiding the eyes of the royal family and her husband.

She was somehow suppressing the wound with purification magic and suppressing the pain through holy water.

However, the wound showed no signs of healing and even felt like it was gradually getting worse.

“…I have to do something about it.”

Rubera walked out of the back alley where the demons and illusions had disappeared, organizing the few methods that came to her mind.

The complicated feeling of whether she really had to use that method could not be erased.