Volume 3 Chapter 8 Alice Rescue Operation – Part II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I, Dad, and Mom were flying through the sky with the wind magic ‘Air Flight’ at Ninth Rank, heading straight for the Sphere Kingdom.
The once-prosperous kingdom was now a mountain of rubble, a place where the demon race roamed freely.
We continued to fly without fear.
There were many demons, but most of them were scared to approach us as long as we had a huge amount of Magic Power surrounding us.
Any demon that got too close was instantly cut down by my sword or Dad’s, clearing our path.
By noon, we arrived above the Sphere Kingdom.
Looking down from the sky, the kingdom was in ruins.
There were no barriers, and the enemy’s defenses were weak.
We descended while defeating the demons and landed on the ground.
”Alice is said to be in the underground town. First, let’s find the stairs down.”
In front of the stairs buried in rubble, I thought hard.
The stairs on the west side, where Alice had taken me down last time, were completely collapsed.
We needed to find another set of stairs from here.
”I’m pretty sure there were 5 places to access the underground: the east, west, south, north ends, and the center…”
I pictured the map in my mind and decided on our next move.
The central stairs were the closest, but the demon race was crowded there.
So, it would be better to head for the southern stairs.
”I’m going to head south from here. Let’s stick to the edges as much as possible.”
”Rob, a stronger one is coming. While Izana and I deal with it, you go ahead.”
Mom’s ‘Magic Detection’ had a wide range.
A little late, I sensed the Magic Power.
A strong Magic Power from a demon race is approaching us.
”I got it! But first, I’ll take care of things with my new sword technique before we go.”
”New technique? …I want to see it.”
”Oh, a sword technique! It’s the first time I’ve seen Rob use something like that. Did you get that power from the goddess’s upgrade?”
[Huh, when did you learn that? I can’t believe there’s a technique of Rob’s that I don’t know about…]
”I came up with it in a dream… yesterday.”
[…Oh, I see.]
What’s going on? Both Dad and Mom are looking at me with strange expressions.
”No, no, it’s fine! Don’t look at me like I’m some poor kid!”
[W-wait, I believe in you, Rob!]
This is bad; no one would believe I came up with it in a dream… I should have said something better.
Then, 2 demon race figures flew toward us at high speed.
I focused on the one that seemed to arrive here first and got into a slashing stance.
I wrapped my body in fighting spirit and Magic Power, making a powerful leap.
”──’Holy Sky Slash’!!”
With a force that could make the ground collapse, I unleashed the slash, sending it straight toward the demon race.
The sound of air being sliced echoed, and in the next moment, that demon race was cut in half and fell.
”Alright, I hit it!”
I couldn’t help but strike a victory pose.
Just as I thought about taking down the other one too, the remaining demon turned and fled.
”…”
Dad and Mom are staring at me, dumbfounded.
I can’t believe the expression on their face.
[W-Wow! I believed in you, Rob!!]
(When they say it so many times, I start to think they don’t really believe it.)
[Sorry… I was actually a little doubtful.]
(Yeah, honesty is good.)
”Dad, Mom, there are no strong demon races left. Let’s move on!”
”Ah, yeah. No, it’s more amazing than I thought. I’m surprised.”
”Goddess’s modifications are incredible…”
We then moved forward, easily scattering the demon races without any problems.
Finally, we found the stairs leading down to the underground town.
We went down to where Alice was being held.
* * *
Sphere Kingdom underground town, which used to have the same amount of light as the surface thanks to Magic Tools, now had dim light, and even though it was still daytime, shadows lingered.
The air was damp, as if the whole underground was symbolizing a fate of captivity.
There were many people working in the fields, being watched by the demon races.
The demon races looked strong, but for some reason, they didn’t seem to attack the humans.
(Why is that? The demon races are just watching…?)
[Rob, why do demon races attack humans?]
(Hmm? …Now that you mention it, why do they?)
It’s no wonder Rumi had questions.
I had the same doubts.
”Mom, why do demon races attack humans?”
After thinking for a moment, Mom answered with a serious expression.
”…for the demon race, humans are food. They capture us alive, drain our Magic Power, and sometimes even eat our flesh. To them, humans are a high-quality source of nutrition.”
”Food…”
I felt a chill run down my spine at those words.
The moment I realized that the reason the demon race attacks humans isn’t just out of hatred or a desire to destroy, but simply for survival, the meaning of our fight against them changed.
Just like we eat livestock… they hunt humans.
──Just thinking about being the hunted filled me with fear.
We decided to split into 2 groups to search for Alice.
I headed toward the center of the underground town, trying to use ‘Magic Detection’ to find Alice.
The once-bustling commercial area was now in ruins, being used as farmland.
However, there was something strange in the air.
As I activated ‘Magic Detection,’ I quickly sensed it──3 powerful Magic Powers.
They were still, just staying in one place.
One of those 3 was likely Alice.
(Rumi, I might have found Alice. I’m heading there now!)
[That’s great! I hope she’s safe…]
As I tried to move toward that place, a powerful demon race covered in steel armor stood in my way.
This one was different from the others.
It was clearly on a higher level.
(Tch… I expected this, but I guess things won’t go smoothly.)
[Rob, I’ve unleashed ‘Swift Wind Lightning’! Do your best!]
(Thanks. Alright, let’s take it down quickly and rescue the captured princess!)
I activated ‘Swift Wind Lightning’, Space-Time magic ‘Time Boost’, and wind magic ‘Wind Dash’ all at once, rushing forward to slice through the demon race.
──Whoosh!!
”Whoa!”
Thud, roll, roll, roll, crash!
But I couldn’t keep up with my own speed and crashed into a wall, falling down.
”Ouch…”
As I held back the pain and checked the situation, the demon race had already been decapitated and was dead.
”Y-yes! It turned out okay!”
[Hehe, that’s kind of cute.]
(Mmgh…)
Finally reaching the building I aimed for, I found the iron door was shut.
It was locked, but I couldn’t let something like that stop me now.
(Rumi, I’m going to cut something hard, is that okay?)
[Yeah! Don’t worry, I can fix it!]
──Slash! ──Slash! ──Slash!
Creeeak… Bang!
I sliced through the door with my sword and moved to the other side.
I walked down the cold stone corridor, listening to the sound of my footsteps, searching for Alice.
Thanks to ‘Magic Detection’, I already knew her location.
I walked toward it and soon discovered 2 girls sleeping close together in a cage.
One was Alice, and there was another girl too.
Both were thin and weak, but thankfully still alive.
[Rob! It’s Alice!]
(Ah, I finally found her… but, Alice, she’s missing her left arm. …In this state… they’ve been trapped in this dirty, small place all this time?)
The moment I saw her, anger surged up from deep within my chest.
I couldn’t stop my hatred for the demon race that made me suffer so much.
”Alice! It’s me, Rob! Wake up!”
The two girls slowly opened their eyes and looked at me, their eyes wide with surprise.
”…Who?”
”Ah… Ahh… Sir Rob!!”
”Wait… This weirdly dressed person is him!?”
(…Now that I think about it, I’ve been wearing this sweat set for a while, but it really doesn’t fit in this world…)
For some reason, this sweat set repairs itself quickly when it gets torn, and it has great Magic Power flow, making it extremely high-performing as clothing.
So, if I didn’t care about how it looked, I could wear it all the time, but… it still feels weird.
”I’ll explain the details later. Right now, I’m here to rescue you.”
──Boom! Boom! Bang!
Suddenly, loud explosion sounds echoed from outside.
From the way the Magic Power was acting, it seemed like my dad and mom were clearly fighting against an enemy of Demon King level.
”Both of you, I’m going to cut through the iron bars, so back up to the wall!”
”Okay!”
”Y-Yeah!”
After confirming that the two had backed away, I instantly slashed through the iron bars.
──Slash! Clang clang!
”Alright, Alice, I’ve made it so you can use ‘Body Super Regeneration,’ so I can fix your arm.”
”Ah… Rob, right now I’m under a curse from the Demon King that prevents me from using skills or unique abilities.”
”Damn it… the Demon King. You two should stay here… no, it might be safer for you to be here. I’ll go defeat the Demon King, so just wait a bit!”
I gripped the [Dawn Sword] tightly and ran out toward the loud sounds of battle.
──To protect Alice and defeat the Demon King.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.