episode_0102

thank god.

It’s not too late.

Thanks to the shocking love affair between Ariel and Rachel, I was having trouble sleeping at night and was fortunate enough to see Lumiang loitering by the window as he left the dorm.

I might have thought he was going out for a night walk, but I had a strange feeling that he stopped walking and looked around the area for a while as he left the inn, so I asked the lender to look after Ariel and Rachel and followed him.

“Are you okay?”

If I had been even a little bit later, I would have been caught by those nasty tentacles and suffered a miserable fate.

I don’t know why he was here or how he lured Lumiang, but first he reached out to the fallen Lumiang.

“Yeah.”

Lumiang, who had been dumbfounded for a moment, smiled brightly and grabbed my hand.

That smile was so bright that it could purify the pitch-black darkness, so bright that it could even brighten the gloomy moonlight, and I thought that perhaps she had finally received the helping hand she had been longing for so much during her time at the Academy.

It seemed as if her smile contained how desperately she had longed for a single hand to lift her up, lying alone in the empty lot, trampled by those devilish things.

I feel a sense of duty for some reason, and something overwhelming is coming, probably because I feel like I am paying off all the debt owed to the original character through this touch.

It must be because the tears welling up in Lumiang’s blue pupils are filled with joy.

He held onto Lumiang’s hand tightly, almost as if he was about to let go, and helped her up.

“Lumiang-!”

“Your Highness!”

Then he handed Lumiang over to the members who refused the leader’s order to wait in the dormitory.

Ariel ran over and checked on Lumiang’s well-being by brushing the dust off his butt, and screamed when she saw Deron burning blackly.

“What the heck! What is that?”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that he looked like a corpse resurrected from the dead.

Black veins rose up on his face, making him look hideous, his pupils had completely turned black, and his exposed skin was covered in black spots and some were torn.

Knowing the causal relationship between what happened to Lumiang and Deron, he was damaged enough to be identified as Deron, and he looked exactly like the ‘host consumed by black magic’ that Rachel had heard about.

The bastard’s black eyes turned towards me.

It was ironic that even though the pupils were dilated and unfocused, I could still tell the direction of the gaze.

“I’ve never liked you since long ago. Elden Raphelion.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say. Deron Kelly.”

“… You’re such an impudent brat. You don’t know what you’re doing and you’re whining about letting go of the leash of the dog you raised.”

“You seem to be the one who doesn’t know the subject. Just surrender. You’re not stupid enough to gamble on a fight you can’t win, are you?”

“You’re so stupid that you’re gambling on a fight you can’t win?”

“… .”

It seems that if you are consumed by black magic, you will be given buffs such as increased speech speed.

Well, in the original memory, he was a guy who habitually spewed out words that would hurt one’s pride.

anyway.

He threatened to surrender obediently, but in reality, it was an unfounded confidence.

If it was ordinary magic, then it would be okay, but for a newbie who had only been in another world for six months, black magic would have been unfamiliar, and he lacked the knowledge to devise a method of destruction.

The only person I could rely on was Rachel, who had previously suffered a black magic explosion.

I stood facing the guy and muttered softly.

“Rachel.”

“Ouch, yes.”

“You said you’ve dealt with black magic before, right?”

“It would be more correct to say that I was dealt with rather than dealt with.”

“How do you think we should deal with this situation now?”

When I asked for a strategy that would likely turn the situation around, if not the vision to do so, the answer I got from veteran knight Rachel was quite astonishing.

“There is a strategy that is perfect for the current situation.”

Oh oh.

“What is it?”

“Power escape.”

“Escape?”

“Yes. The odds of winning are definitely against you.”

… The purple knight who has always fought back against the oncoming fights is now using the strategy of running away at full speed.

The black magic that has begun to encroach on the host is either difficult to deal with or impossible to deal with.

The problem is that we are the front line of battle, and the flight of the front line forces is a serious matter that could result in the destruction of the rear units.

If we run away, the rear units.

That means Lumiang, Ariel, and Render are in danger.

Even if the odds were slim, even if there were none, there was no reason to run away.

“That’s not your typical strategy, is it?”

“The contamination is already severe. The most important thing to me is the safety of the Confucius. For now, it seems wise to run away at full speed.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll just accept your heart.”

“I thought so.”

I saw Rachel.

Perhaps it was because of the sudden crisis, but the tone and atmosphere felt much more flexible and softer than the stiff answers he had given so far.

Rachel smiled, as if the feeling wasn’t wrong.

And that smile.

“Let’s do it together.”

It was more valuable, precious, and solid than having a thousand troops.

He followed Rachel, smiling and grabbing his sword.

Rachel followed me and picked up her sword, our sword tips pointed at Darron.

But Rachel spoke again, sword pointed at her.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

“I know this is off-topic, but… When the fight is over, can you treat me like a woman, not an escort knight? I’m not saying I’ll stop being an escort. I’m just… .”

“Rachel.”

“Yes?”

At the firm call, Rachel turns her head and looks at me with surprised eyes.

Rachel was the person I had been with the longest since I was possessed by another world, and the first person I had ever met.

Because I was with you at the beginning of your journey to declare your abstention to Lord Gelwood.

Of course, it was difficult to approach her at first, and Rachel didn’t think of me as anything more than an employer, but as we went through the engagement battle, the contempt and wariness in her eyes began to disappear, and in the end, the wall between us became lowered to the point where we could have drinks together, and now we’re close friends who care for each other.

Rachel, who always did her best for me and helped me beyond just ‘escorting’, was one of the most precious people to me, and my current food journey would not have been possible without her passionate teachings.

Just as Ariel, who allowed me to dream of a culinary journey, and Lender, who willingly followed me on my journey despite her old age, were precious to me, Rachel was also a precious person to me, and I never once considered the importance of something different.

That’s why I told you with all my heart.

“Thank you.”

A short greeting with a lot of sincerity, like that.

Rachel, who understood what was contained, smiled faintly.

Then he glares at Deron again with a solemn expression.

Her face is burning with fighting spirit, perhaps because she thinks that once this fight is over, she will be able to start living the ‘life of a woman’ that she had talked about one day.

Or maybe it’s a face that looks excited after meeting a great offering(?).

“I’ll crush that piece of trash-!”

“If you hurt even one fingertip of our Confucius and Rachel, I will beat them thoroughly with this old man’s staff!”

anyway.

With the cheers of Ariel and Rendler on his back, he raises golden mana and wraps it around his sword, entering a battle stance.

A stubborn, stubborn bad relationship.

The sins committed by the original character.

To clear it all up.

“Let’s go. Rachel.”

“Yes.”

soon.

We rushed towards Deron Kelrid, the last remaining of the regret trio.

**

Kuung!

“Ugh! What the fuck… !”

The battle situation did not deviate significantly from expectations.

Even if you borrow the forbidden power of black magic, it is difficult to win against them unless the gap in power is extremely large.

He didn’t have the stubborn sense of justice to challenge a vicious criminal with a human face and a heart to a fair fight.

In addition, since lightning magic was a good match for black magic, it was also dealing effective damage compared to the amount of mana used.

The problem is.

“How do we stop the rampage?”

Once the host invasion begins, it is only natural that it will lead to a runaway.

When the rampage reaches its peak and the host’s body passes the limit of what it can withstand, it explodes.

I knew this much from what I heard from Anna, but I hadn’t heard anything about how to prevent an explosion.

Because I didn’t know if Daron would show up or if Daron would dabble in black magic.

At that time, it was just someone else’s story.

So I asked Rachel, but she didn’t give me any concrete advice.

“… Should I get a hair cut?”

“If the reason that restrains black magic disappears, won’t the controlled body run wild even more?”

“That makes sense. Then should I cut out the heart?”

“Is that possible?”

“No.”

As we talked secretly, the bastard’s condition gradually began to worsen.

Even the breath he exhaled was so dark that black smoke rose from it.

The only good thing is that he called Lumiang ‘the last empty spot of strength’.

Perhaps there is not enough accumulated power to cause an explosion.

Since the blackening has already begun, the rampage is a done deal.

In order to go from a rampage to an explosion, it would require enough power to break through the limit, and perhaps if the erosion continues without that power, it will not be able to break through the limit and will end in annihilation… … A moment of hope.

A large bird flies in through the wooden window frame of the warehouse, and hope quickly turns to despair.

-Crash! Crash!

The bastard snatched the mountain bird away with his tentacles.

As soon as I realized what it meant, I bounced back like a water spring, but the bastard had already opened its mouth and sucked the life out of the mountain bird.

The mountain bird, with only its skin remaining, falls to the ground.

The crash seemed to portend an ominous ending.

“… Damn it.”

“Hehehe… , I tried to fill the last empty space with the life of that damn bitch… but there’s nothing I can do.”

The black smoke that was spreading around the creature gathers in the host.

It seemed as if it was preparing for something huge, like seawater being sucked out just before a tsunami strikes, and after a moment, black flames like flames burst out from its black eyes.

A sure sign of an explosion.

The bastard opened his mouth, raising a black flame in one hand.

“Although I don’t have enough power to wipe out the southern region… I think this will be enough for you guys. Hehehe… .”

Already consumed by black magic, only the last instincts and desire for revenge remain with one’s sanity.

“Be honored to be the companion of the great Deron Kellid in the afterlife… .”

I decided it was too late to restrain him, so I was about to deploy a defensive barrier when I suddenly remembered that there was a vast ice lake behind the warehouse.

‘If it’s there…!’

An explosion occurs when condensed pressure is released in an instant.

If the internal pressure that would burst could be suppressed by external water pressure, the casualties from the explosion could be minimized.

“Kuhuhuh… . Hehuhuh… Hehahaha!”

Deron Kelrid, who spews black mana like steam from every orifice on his body.

“Die! We all die here! Hahahaha!”

Even if a shield is deployed, it is unclear whether it can withstand the explosive power or how long it can withstand it.

There is no way to know how many casualties there will be in the surrounding area.

The best option is to just drown the bastard and minimize the explosion.

He put down the shield he was trying to put up against him.

“Oh, Confucius?”

Rachel called out to me with surprised eyes.

He answered with a grin.

“This is the only way.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately hugged the guy and rushed towards the ice lake.

But.

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard from above the warehouse.

“Found.”

When I looked up, I saw someone sitting on the roof support of the warehouse, looking down at us and smiling, as if he was watching an interesting spectacle.

And then he took out his magic wand while sitting on the support and started chanting a magic spell.

“El, Chelider, Rapunsinis.”

Then, a blue magic barrier appears around Deron.

“Ugh? What the heck!”

The bastard tried to attack the magic barrier, but the thick barrier did not allow any attacks.

-Bang!

-bang!

“Fuck! What the heck is this!!”

Meanwhile, the bastard’s body was repeatedly expanding and relaxing, entering an unstable state just before an explosion.

-Ku-kung!

-Bang!

Even though the bastard unleashes all kinds of attacks, the tightly-held barrier doesn’t even crack.

Deron is trapped in a barrier that he cannot move from.

After a while, the person who had been climbing the support lightly jumped up and landed in front of us.

A woman with red hair brushed back and smiling at us with blue eyes.

“… Anna Ventria?”

It was.

what?

This isn’t an area where mana detection devices are installed.

“How…?”