episode_0122

Upon returning to the capital, Piphnel, chaos reigned supreme.

The rebel forces that emerged from the underground river had broken through the kingdom’s encirclement and started to make their way out of the slums.

Clearly, this was not a hastily organized operation by the kingdom to protect the dark alleyways leading to the underground river.

These rebels had been honing their skills and waiting for the right moment for a long time, with a clear purpose in mind.

One word came to mind.

Coup.

These rebels were truly taking over the entire capital of the kingdom of Piphnel.

The kingdom’s large-scale operation to clear out the underground river had inadvertently aided the rebels.

With the slums and underground river being complex and having limited escape routes.

If they could lure the kingdom’s forces further inside, the rebels’ efficiency in dealing with them would be remarkable.

“As Yunoa predicted, the rebels were overwhelming the kingdom’s army and knights.

Especially, some of the underground assassination group, composed of skilled individuals gathered over a long period of time, were already heading towards the palace.”

The narration revealed the dire situation of the kingdom in crisis.

An assassination group heading towards the palace… This was truly turning into a major event.

But where exactly was Mirabel fighting?

Was she still unable to escape from the underground river?

Passing through the slums filled with the bodies of kingdom soldiers, I descended into the underground river.

Mirabel had informed me of the escape route and the area she was in.

Perhaps I could find her by following the area she had mentioned.

Flames were rising from inside some of the shops in the underground river.

The bodies of rebels and soldiers were scattered everywhere, and there were also corpses of people who seemed like merchants or civilians.

The sound of metal clashing, screams, and angry shouts could be heard from all around.

“Where on earth…”

As I searched for Mirabel’s location, a man who appeared to be from the kingdom’s army attacked me.

Drawing my sword, I easily parried his attack and knocked him unconscious with a strike to his abdomen, avoiding a fatal blow.

“Ugh… You… rebel scum…”

It couldn’t be helped if he misunderstood.

Walking around here in a ready-to-fight stance meant I was either from the kingdom or the rebels.

As the two sides clashed, I navigated through them, searching for Mirabel.

Fortunately, the rebels seemed to ignore me, thinking of me as one of their own.

As I hurried through the underground river.

I came across Mirabel surrounded by dozens of rebels, fiercely fighting off those approaching her with her sword.

Mirabel, covered in wounds, gritted her teeth and desperately blocked the attacks coming from all directions.

But she couldn’t block every weapon flying at her.

Each attack that found an opening inflicted a new wound on Mirabel.

Despite that, she skillfully avoided fatal blows and continued the seemingly hopeless fight.

“Mirabel!”

As I shouted her name, the attackers’ attention momentarily shifted to me.

But once they confirmed I wasn’t from the kingdom, they resumed their assault on Mirabel without much concern.

“Mirabel did not hear Yunoa’s voice. She was backed into a corner.

She was putting all her strength into retaliating against the surrounding attacks, causing her other senses to dull.

And behind a pillar, the assassination group was preparing their final attack to cut off her breath.”

As I tried to break through the rebel ranks to assist Mirabel, the narration came through.

Was this the same assassination group that had been slaughtering kingdom soldiers with daggers on the rooftops of the slums?

Mirabel was facing off against the rebel army, each member of which seemed to possess skills on par with experienced adventurers, but the assassins appeared even more formidable.

In such a surrounded situation, there was no way to deal with the sudden dagger attack from the assassin.

Quickly scanning the area near the pillar where the narrator had mentioned the assassin was hiding, I searched with my eyes.

“There!”

And as the assassin prepared the dagger, I unleashed a blade of magic-filled energy from my Dragon Knight sword.

Boom!

The fierce blade flew towards the assassin hidden behind the pillar.

Although I didn’t want to harm people if possible, the current situation didn’t allow for such considerations.

“What, what is this?!”

As the pillar exploded, the rebel army turned their heads to assess the situation.

But before they could comprehend the situation, I swiftly moved through them, clearing out everyone within reach of my blade and making a path to Mirabel.

“Come on! Attack! Charge!”

At that moment, Mirabel mistook me for an enemy and swung her sword at me with her injured arm.

Clang!

“Ouch! Mirabel, it’s me! It’s me, Yunoa!”

In response to the unexpectedly threatening attack, I barely managed to deflect the sword and shouted my identity.

As blood flowed from a wound on her head, Mirabel’s once clear eyes clouded with confusion.

“Yunoa…?”

“Let’s get out of here for now!”

“But…”

“Can you move?”

Even as Mirabel and I exchanged a brief conversation, the enemies were surrounding us once again.

Where on earth did such an absurd force hide in the underground waterway?

“That… That guy! He’s on the side of the knights! Is he a puppet of the kingdom?”

“Kill him! Don’t let him escape!”

The rebel army finally recognized me as a complete enemy.

As Mirabel tried to raise her sword again, I shook my head and urged her to flee.

“No, please run if you have the strength.”

“Ugh…”

Amidst Mirabel’s stunned silence, blood trickled down her face.

Although I had avoided fatal injuries, she had sustained too many wounds, and delaying would be dangerous.

It seemed too chaotic to escape with Mirabel in tow, despite the interference from the rebel army.

Even if there were casualties, it couldn’t be helped.

I refilled my Dragon Knight sword with magic energy.

Honestly, dealing with the enemies here wasn’t too difficult, but I had an injured companion by my side.

If Mirabel were to be harmed after enduring so much, it would all be in vain.

“Let’s quickly get out of here.”

Focusing my mind, I ignited flames of magic on my sword and unleashed a blade of flame towards the rebels blocking our path.

Whoosh!

As the blade of flame struck the rebels, they were hit by the fiery attack.

The intense heat spread in all directions, forcing the rebel army to reluctantly open a path to escape the flames.

“Don’t… let him escape!”

One rebel broke through the flames and charged towards me from behind.

Without hesitation, I swung my sword and cleanly cut down the charging enemy.

…!

The sword, imbued with a powerful magic unlike anything the rebels had, effortlessly severed the human body.

The most effective way to deal with a group is to demonstrate an overwhelming difference in power.

I had heard somewhere that instilling the fear of being the first to attack and die would prevent them from easily rushing in.

There was no time to feel the guilt of killing a person.

I hurriedly took Mirabel and headed towards the surface.

* * *

Breaking the pursuit of the enemies with my strength, I escaped the kingdom’s capital, Pifnel, with Mirabel.

Since their goal was to occupy the capital and not to chase me, they did not pursue us once we were outside the capital.

“Ugh… Ugh……”

Mirabel, severely injured, leaned on me and staggered.

“Hold on a little longer. We’ll be there soon.”

The outpost was not far away.

Once we arrived at the outpost, we would be able to provide emergency treatment somehow.

I wondered if the demons were waiting patiently.

The outpost prepared by Algort was well-equipped, so it should be fine.

If they were ordinary people, they could have sent Mirabel ahead with a Kubele, but they were hesitant to send only demons, so they delayed our departure.

In case of any unexpected disaster, it would be difficult to handle without me, the responsible one.

“Ugh… Ugh……”

As soon as we arrived at the outpost, Mirabel collapsed, her body losing strength like a broken doll.

It was only natural, considering the many injuries she had sustained until now.

“What, what’s wrong! Mirabel! What happened to those injuries!”

Aruru, who was waiting at the outpost, ran out with a shocked expression and asked me.

Fortunately, the demons seemed to be resting well at the outpost.

“Everything okay?”

“It’s not okay! It’s Mirabel!”

I didn’t ask about that.

At that moment, the man who had prepared the carriage at the outpost also approached and examined her condition.

“This… the condition is serious.”

“Do we have anything for emergency treatment?”

“We have some bandages and emergency medicine, but it’s not enough.”

Was I too late?

Mirabel’s injuries were much more serious than I had thought.

I laid Mirabel on the ground and examined her condition. There wasn’t a single uninjured spot on her body.

It seemed like some bones were broken, and there were several stab wounds on her side and back.

Was she fighting against the rebel army in this condition?

Honestly, I didn’t know it was this serious.

“Mirabel! Mirabel! Wake up!”

Aruru shouted, holding Mirabel’s face in her hands.

But Mirabel didn’t open her eyes.

She was breathing shallowly, but seemed to be wandering in a daze.

『Unfortunately, Mirabel has already suffered too many serious injuries.

She was now crossing the threshold of death.

There was nothing Yunoa could do to save her.』

The narration declared like a death sentence.

What… So, was it all in vain to go through all that trouble to save Mirabel from the underground waterway?

If I had made a decision a little faster… No, if I had found Mirabel a little sooner without hesitating, would the outcome have been different?

That was when it happened.

“Aruru?”

Suddenly, Aruru drew the sword that Mirabel had been carrying, cut her own arm, and let the blood flow onto Mirabel’s lips.

The blood of a demon.

Indeed, demons had higher recovery and physical abilities than ordinary humans.

If they turned Mirabel into a demon not too late, they might be able to save her somehow.

Literally, there was a chance to save her.

“You… that’s……”

“There’s no other way. Yunoa said it. We have to survive first to have a future.”

Aruru’s blood slowly flowed into the unconscious Mirabel’s mouth.

In this kingdom, receiving the blood of a demon was akin to social death.

However, Aruru’s words were true, that it was better to live like this than to truly accept death.

I quietly watched as Aruru shared her blood, the blood of demons, with Mirabel.