Chapter 82 Along with That Name
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In order to stop the curtio implanted in the body of a criminal slave, each of us started to take actions.
The first to move was Gaadhir-san, who approached the criminal slave with a gait as if he were going for a walk, and called out to him as if exchanging morning greetings.
”Yo! Today, it’s kind of hot, isn―”
”―!”
”Hey, watch out!”
As he approaches, Gaadhir-san moves away slightly, easily avoiding the fist that is swung at him.
”I guess he’s not in a proper state of consciousness after all.”
”You mean he didn’t sleepwalk in and attack me?”
”Well, it’s easier for us to do it that way, isn’t it?”
As soon as he says this, Gaadhir-san steps in and slashes the criminal slave’s arm.
The wound bubbles and bubbles, and after a few seconds, it heals as if there was no wound at all.
”That’s a weird way to heal, but this confirms that his body heals wounds in some way, huh?”
”Otherwise, he would have been burned to death by the heat he generates.”
”Enough chitchat, we’re going to focus on wounding and healing as planned, and speeding up the magic drain as much as possible. But avoid damaging the organs. Healing the organs will consume more of his strength than the magic power.”
”Got it!”
”I receive your command!”
Gaadhir-san and Diana nodded at my words, and the three of us started attacking the criminal slaves.
Our role as fighters is to wound and heal, to drain as much magic as possible, and to attract the attention of the criminal slaves so that the others can do their part.
The reason why Lewya and my teacher are not counted as combatants is that both of them are magic-based fighters.
If the magic drains their magic power, the goal of draining his magic power cannot be achieved, so they are assigned to other roles with the non-combatants.
”I’m sorry Einsulhurst, but I’m doing this to help you.”
Gaadhir-san parries a downward fist with the middle of his sword, and at the same time cuts with a swipe of his fist.
The combination of attack and defense must be the result of the skill he has accumulated over the years.
He steadily accumulated damage with minimal movements without any sense of danger.
Diana, too, repeatedly strikes a blow from the side while Gaadhir-san is distracted, and then moves back to the ground, gaining damage without any difficulty and accelerating the depletion of his magical power.
I can’t afford to be outdone by these two who are steadily performing their roles, so I take advantage of the opportunity to move behind the criminal slave and step in.
As soon as I raise my sword and try to slash him across the back, the scene of the time when I was protected by the criminal slave appears in my mind’s eye in the previous silver world.
”Huh!”
”Master Neil!?”
Diana shouts in concern as she sees me draw my sword without lowering it, even though I had the perfect opportunity to do so.
What am I doing? I know I’m doing this to save him, not to harm him, but I hesitate.
”I’m fine, don’t worry!”
I shake off the vision in my mind, grip the hilt of my sword tightly, and look for another chance.
Yes, there is no need to hesitate, do it! Do it!
”Haaaaa!”
I swing my sword as hard as I can at the back of the criminal slave.
But the sword is not sharp, and as a result of my excessive force, the sword digs deeply into his body without breaking free.
”Damn―”
I pulled out my sword in a panic and tried to keep my distance, but the criminal slave turned his body toward me and raised his fist.
I quickly prepared to catch it with my sword, but the blow, reinforced by the curtio, was too heavy to be caught head-on, and the sword itself was shattered by the swinging fist.
”Ggh!?”
A shard of the shattered blade pierces my body, and my face contorts in pain, but I succeed in getting away from him before he strikes again.
”Master Neil! Are you all right!?”
”I’m fine!”
I pull out the shard of shattered blade from my body and close the wound with healing magic.
”Master Neil, stay back! We’ll take care of the rest!”
”But!”
”You can’t help it if your weapon’s shattered! And I don’t mean to be rude but Master Neil is in the way!”
”―!”
Gaadhir-san’s words left me speechless.
Even Diana, who would normally be outraged by Gaadhir-san’s words, didn’t say anything now.
”…Damn!”
I’m sorry, but he’s right.
Instead of saving the man, I’m just dragging them down, and I’d be better off without them.
I kept my distance so as not to disturb them, and watched them fight.
”Master Neil!”
Then Liana comes with a couple of people carrying a large object from the mansion and sets it down beside me.
”Liana, what is this?”
”Yes! It’s a magic tool that you bought from us before!”
It was an installation-type magic tool purchased from Harvest Hoe to counter some magic such as mental domination after the Gipner incident.
Liana and the others had been entrusted with the role of reducing the magic surrounding the area, but what were they going to do with it?
”We’re calling it the ‘Let’s put the magic tools to work at full power and suck out the magic power of the surrounding area!’”
Whatever the name of the strategy is, apparently, if the installation-type magic tools, which have an area of effect that covers the settlement, are put into full force, it may be possible to reduce the surrounding magic power more efficiently than if it is removed by human power.
If possible, it might be able to nullify the magic that controls the person’s mind, but I don’t expect it to be effective enough to neutralize the mental control by the curtio embedded in his body.
”Then, do it!”
”Understood!”
As Liana manipulates the magic tool, the power of the tools suddenly increases, and the tool that is lacking in magic power flickers and begins to suck magic power from the surroundings to make up for the shortage, and at the same time a sense of emptiness hits me and the others.
”Ugh, I feel sick…”
”It’s sucking the magic out of our bodies too! Get away from the tool!”
”No. It’s better to stay still.”
My teacher quickly denies my words that we should keep our distance to avoid having our magic power sucked out of us.
”This magic tool is just barely working now, sucking magic power from the people around it, and if there are no more people around it, it will stop functioning completely and even stop sucking magic power.”
”In other words, in order for the tool to keep sucking in the surrounding magic power, it needs our magic power as well?”
”Ugh, did our plan fail?”
”No, it’s true that this magic tool is decreasing the amount of magical power in the air. If we manually collect the magical power in the air and pour it into this magic tool we can efficiently reduce the magical power.”
”I understand! For Rooney-san’s sake, everyone! Let’s work hard!”
”Don’t overdo it! If you feel that you’re in danger of being drained of magic power, get away from the magic tools immediately. Okay?!”
I remind everyone around me, and focus on gathering magic power from the surroundings and supplying it to the magic tools in order to lighten everyone’s workload.
However, there is a world of difference between intentionally consuming magic power and having it sucked out and consumed by itself, and the sensation of having magic power forcibly stripped from one’s body is enough to bring even me, a person who is usually used to consuming magic power, to my knees with the sense of emptiness that comes over me.
I don’t need to tell about Liana and the other people, all of them were slumped down on the spot, their faces contorted in agony.
”Everyone! I told you to take it easy! If you’re at your limit, get out of there!”
”But if we leave, it’ll be too much for the rest of us!”
”Yes, we can handle it! So please Master Neil don’t worry about us… just think about saving him!”
”Everyone…”
When I could not say anything to the slaves’ words, I saw Lewya running to the criminal slave with a group of people in tow.
They had ropes and chains in their hands, and they all threw them at the criminal slave at once.
When I checked what was caught on the body of the criminal slave, I found that some of them were pulling on it.
It seemed that Lewya and the others were trying to block the movements of the criminal slaves in order to cover Diana and Gaadhir-san.
”You guys! Don’t let go of your hands if you have to!”
”But, Madison (The slave whose leg injured)! The rope is about to burn!”
”What about the chain!?”
”That’s not gonna work too! The chain is too hot to touch with bare hands!”
”You idiot! What’s the matter with you? If you still can’t hold it with your hands, bite it with your teeth and pull it! That’s all we can do!”
”Everyone, don’t worry, I’ll heal the burns later.”
Saying this, Lewya holds the chain in her hand and pulls on the body of the criminal slave.
”Heh, you know what I mean! And everyone, don’t tell me that Lewya-sama is putting her body on the line and we men can’t do it!”
”Oh hell! This is the time to be desperate! Okay, okay!”
With these words, they all throw away their ropes, which are about to burn off, and pick up the heated chains.
”Geeaaaah!?”
”Aah!”
As soon as the chains are in their hands, screams are heard everywhere, but still no one lets go of the chains, clutching them tightly and pulling with all their might, the criminal slave entangled in the chains stop moving.
Not to miss the opportunity, Diana and Gaadhir-san attacked at once, making countless wounds on the body of the criminal slave.
However, this is not a sweet opponent who will just let them get away with it.
”―!”
The criminal slave grabs the chains entangled in his body and swings them with all his might.
”Whoa!”
”Watch out!”
Those who were holding the chains are swung by the chains and thrown into the air.
Just when I had the worst possible future in my mind that the slaves would fall to the ground and possibly lose their lives, the bodies of the slaves floated down to the ground just before they hit the ground.
And after killing the momentum, they slowly descended to the ground.
”Was that Wen!?”
I wondered if Wen, who had been hiding since my teacher came to the settlement, had saved them.
Reflexively, I looked down at my right arm, and saw that the sword had been shattered, leaving only its hilt, and that the wind was swirling around it as if it had replaced the sword’s hilt.
”Can you help me? But…”
I was glad to hear that, but Wen, a spirit who was almost a lump of magical power, could not wield that power, since there was a possibility that Curtio might suck her magical power.
What a pity that I, the one who asked for help, can’t do anything while everyone else is lending me so much power…
”Aaahh!?”
”What’s wrong!?”
I hear Liana’s panicked voice coming from the side, and I look up at her.
”T-the magic tool that was flickering just a moment ago suddenly flashed strongly for a moment and then it suddenly stopped moving…”
”What!?”
Damn, it’s a malfunction at a time like this, must be because it’s been running unsteadily… no, wait.
The malfunction at this moment when Wen appeared, and the fact that the magic tool, which had been flickering unsteadily until now, glowed strongly for a moment, could it be the result of sucking Wen’s magic power and the instantaneous inflow of magic power beyond the allowable amount?
At the same time, a conversation I had with my teacher a while ago came back to my mind.
”Teacher!”
”What’s wrong?”
”Teacher, you mentioned it before! You said that a large momentary load can damage the curtio…”
”Yes, I did say that… but―no way.”
I guess she understood what I was thinking, for she looks at me with surprise.
”Are you saying that you’re going to destroy only Curtio by instantly applying a large amount of magic power?”
”That’s right! How about it!?”
I ask her if there is any problem with this plan, holding out my right arm, which is swirling with Wen’s magic power, to her, and she shakes her head quietly.
”Well, it’s true that it’s a great amount of magic power, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to destroy that curtio for sure. If it fails to destroy it, it will only supply magic power, and if that happens, his physical strength will run out before the magic power does.”
”Is this still not enough, then―Wen! Give me more of your power (Harera Suul Rea Noomiipisis)!
As soon as I chant that, the wind that had been swirling around my right arm explodes into a powerful wind, and it storms around my right arm as if it were a small typhoon.
”Kuh―!”
I quickly improve my physical ability with my magic, and somehow I manage to restrain my right arm, and I ask my teacher for confirmation again.
”Teacher! How about this!?”
”Master Neil, what are you doing now in spirit language, what is Wen?”
”Teacher! I’ll answer your question later! How about this!?”
As a magician, my teacher must have immediately recognized that what happened in front of her was not just spirit magic.
But I interrupted her puzzled questioning by saying in a hoarse voice, and after a moment of hesitation, she nod her head this time.
”If it has such a huge amount of magic power, it should be enough to destroy Curtio. But at the same time, there is a danger that the cartio compressed to its limit will explode.”
”…From your point of view, which is more likely to win the battle, continuing to steadily reduce the magic power or destroying the curtio?”
”If safety is the priority, it would be more certain to continue draining the magic power. Master Neil’s plan is too risky. But the longer we wait, the less chance he has of coming back safely. No, to be honest, even if we could stop him now, he’s already…”
My teacher told me of this terrible possibility, so there was no more room for hesitation.
No matter how dangerous it may be, I know that I have no choice but to put my trust in it, even if it’s just a thin thread of hope, rather than letting him die like this.
”Everyone! Get out of the way!”
I shouted, and at the same time, I kicked the ground and ran in a straight line toward the criminal slaves.
With each step I take, the scene around me grows duller, and I hear voices around me calling my name.
Diana and Lewya, May and Narsht-san and Gaadhir-san, my teacher and slaves, some of them were calling not only my name but also the names of the criminal slave whom they had named in their own way.
They’re all so worried about me, and they’re all praying for my safety.
So…
”―Please come back, Pius!”
With that name, I plunged my sword of wind into the chest of the criminal slave who I call Pius.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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