92 – Trash Hero
From Noble mtl dot com
Squishy squishy.
Slippery slippery.
Sticky sticky…
“Ugh….”
Closing my eyes, I cautiously touch the surface of the “snowball.”
At the same time, I try my best to bring Milaia’s image to mind.
The sensation of touching the snowball with my eyes closed was so strange that it felt scary to even see my own hand touching it.
From behind, I could hear Sylphy gasping and swallowing her breath.
I also… don’t want to touch this weird thing.
Squish, squish…
Slippery…
“How long do I have to keep touching this disgusting thing?”
Unable to bear the terrible sensation any longer, I asked Mariel with my eyes closed.
“I’m doing my best to concentrate and bring the target I want to find to mind! The snowball can’t remember properly!”
“I know you’re doing your best. But it’s hard to concentrate because of this terrible sensation…”
“You’re saying you can’t do it because it’s hard?”
“If you’re going to make it, can’t you make it look a bit prettier?”
“It’s still an unfinished magic, so there’s nothing I can do. Can’t we focus on functionality and adjust the appearance at the very end? Stop complaining and just concentrate.”
That’s true.
I agree that functionality is more important than appearance.
But this sensation feels like it’s wearing away my sanity…
After a long time of thinking about Milaia while fidgeting with the snowball, Mariel finally gave the okay sign.
“Great! It’s done now.”
“Ugh…”
I reluctantly let go of Nuntaeng’s hand, as if I had been waiting, and finally opened my eyes again.
And when I looked at the hand that had touched Nuntaeng…
“Senior…”
Seolphi saw my hand and distanced herself from me with a bewildered expression, unable to find the words to say.
My hand was a mess, covered in a sticky mucus-like substance that came from Nuntaeng.
I hope this isn’t harmful to my body. I was curious about the smell, but I didn’t dare to take a whiff.
“Alright! We’ve set the direction! Let’s go!”
When Mariel pointed her index finger, Nuntaeng slowly started moving in mid-air.
It seemed like we were following Mireia’s trail…
“Just a moment, Mariel.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Let’s wash our hands first…”
No matter how much we needed to hurry, I couldn’t possibly go with this stuff on my hands.
* * *
Thanks to Mariel using magic to spray clean water, we set off with clean hands.
Nuntaeng was floating in the air, leading the way for us.
It looked grotesque, but as Mariel said, it seemed to be functional without any issues.
According to the narration, we needed to hurry.
If Mireia’s life was in danger, then it wouldn’t be an ordinary situation.
In my mind, I imagine her in a desperate situation.
Most demons and monsters wouldn’t dare to attack her, and they’d be done for.
The only ones who could pose a threat were the direct subordinates of the Demon King, like Bloodstain.
But even the battle in the Horn Gorge, in the end, Milaia didn’t come back unscathed.
“Milaia had made up her mind to die and created her own death. Furthermore, being with the hero was enough to attract the attention of the demons.”
Ah, I forgot about the hero’s existence.
The hero is the greatest enemy of the demon realm, born to kill the Demon King.
From the demons’ perspective, he is the top priority to eliminate, even if it means pouring all their power into it.
But something doesn’t add up.
The hero left the capital to subdue the Demon King, and Milaia made up her mind to die and created her own death.
Their goals don’t align at all. Surely the hero isn’t following Milaia to die together, right?
It’s a situation I can’t understand, but anyway, let’s find Milaia and think about it.
***
With a loud thud,
A small hill formed from the corpse of a heavily armored demon.
Milaia stood on top of it, facing the direction of the demon realm.
The sides and the back were blocked by high cliffs, leaving no escape route.
Milaia had trapped herself in the C-shaped terrain that was only open towards the demon realm.
And she wasn’t the only one trapped inside.
“Ugh… this woman is like a monster… when will she get tired?”
The hero, Kain, was waiting behind Milaia, never once participating in the battle.
No matter how strong Milaia was, she was still human after all.
If they continued fighting like this, without properly eating or getting enough sleep, eventually she would run out of energy.
Kain was waiting for the moment when Milaia would show signs of exhaustion.
If even the slightest opportunity presented itself, he would abandon her and run away.
At the moment, Milaia was a more terrifying presence to him than any demon or devil.
He had tried to escape several times, but each time Milaia blocked his path like a ghost.
“If you try to run away again, I’ll cut the tendons in your ankles.”
Milaia had warned Kain, who was trying to escape.
She seemed to think that as long as he could still breathe, it didn’t matter if the tendons in his ankles were cut.
‘Her eyes are completely insane. That woman isn’t joking…’
Kain thought.
Until now, he had never encountered anyone who could resist his status as a hero in the kingdom.
The existence of a hero was the only weapon humanity had against the Demon King.
If only it didn’t come with the pain akin to a curse, a pain that haunted him whenever he refused to subdue the Demon King…
He wanted nothing more than to knock down the idea of being a hero and return to the back alleys.
At first, it was satisfying to see even the highest-ranked individuals tremble in front of the title of hero.
But as time went on, Kain realized that the position of a hero was more like a curse than a blessing bestowed by the gods.
A severe punishment that descended like divine retribution when he gave up on subduing the Demon King.
The pain was unbearable for Cain, and he desperately wanted to quickly subdue the demon king, even if it meant pushing himself to the limit.
But the woman he had dragged along was insane to that extent.
Cain was regretting it belatedly.
If he managed to escape from here and return to the capital, it would be better to hear the story of the bishop and the saint from the Central Church and properly walk the path of a hero.
“W-What… what is that…?”
Something was approaching from far away in Cain’s line of sight.
There had been several demon attacks so far, but Milaia had always single-handedly dealt with all the demons.
But this time, something was different.
The demons were lined up as if they were a well-trained army.
It was hard to see clearly from a distance, but it was undoubtedly an enormous number.
“….”
Milaia saw it and tightened her grip on her sword.
What was coming this time was different from the mediocre demons that had come before.
There was someone leading the demon army.
Even from a distance, the enormous figure was clearly recognizable.
Bloodstain, one of the direct subordinates of the Demon King, was personally leading the demons.
* * *
Following Mariel’s detestable summoned creature, “Nuntangi,” we arrived in unclaimed territory.
We encountered demons a few times along the way, but we easily defeated them.
It was because there was a huge difference in combat power unless it was a demon directly led by a demon.
Following my advice, Seolphi changed her weapon, which proved to be a great help in dealing with minor demons.
Whenever we encountered demons on our path, Seolphi took care of them from a distance where they couldn’t detect us.
The power of the arrows imbued with magical energy, flying from a long distance, was remarkable.
Although Seolphi had a chronic condition of not being able to handle magic in close combat, she could unleash a terrifying power when provided with a quiet environment without any interference.
Mariel, who was watching from the side, showed interest in Seolphi’s abilities and even suggested her as the next subject of experimentation.
Of course, Seolphi rejected Mariel’s proposal with a shout.
“Hmm? Something seems off with Nuntang!”
As we followed Nuntang smoothly, Mariel suddenly stopped in her tracks and said.
“Is there a problem?”
“We’re almost at our destination. Isn’t Nuntang not turning around in one place?”
As Mariel said, Nuntang’s movement was slightly different from before.
It seemed like she was spinning around in one place, trying to convey something.
One might think she had thoughts about the summoned being created by magic, but it really seemed that way.
“So, does that mean Lady Mireia is nearby?”
“Well, it seems so, but…”
Mariel pointed forward with her index finger.
There was a towering cliff that seemed impossible to climb where she was pointing.
“Nuntang is pointing at this cliff.”
“…But it’s blocked.”
“But it must be true. Beyond this cliff, the person you’re looking for must be there.”
Mariel’s words ended with a sense of fear, and the snowball began to soar high into the sky.
Then, sticking tightly to the large cliff in front of her, she wandered around and then slowly descended towards where we were, starting to spin in place.
I looked up at the natural cliff of immense height.
It was not a cliff that could be crossed.
Moreover, the cliff was not only tall, but also wide.
Even if we turned around and went forward, it would take an enormous amount of time.
“There’s no choice but to turn around….”
From Noble mtl dot com
『Yunoa was blocked by a giant natural cliff and couldn’t reach where Milaia was.
But if she went around this giant cliff, there wouldn’t be enough time.
Milaia was facing her final battle, risking her life.』
At that moment, Nareisha confirmed that Milaia was beyond the cliff in front of us.
I thought about breaking through by force, but the cliff was too big for that.
Even if it was possible to break through, it might cause a landslide.
But there wasn’t enough time to turn around.
Is there no other way?
As I pondered, Mariel stood in front of me, straightening her chest and speaking.
“Hmm! Are you pondering? You! You want to cross this wall!”
“Well, yes….”
“You seem to have forgotten that the world’s greatest magic researcher is right here! I have magic that can cross this cliff!”
“You’re saying we can cross this impossible-sized cliff?”
“Teleportation magic! Finally, I can test it here!”
Mariel shrugged her shoulders, wearing a smug expression.
Teleportation magic…
In her mind, she recalled the first time she appeared with teleportation magic, wriggling around with her two white legs sticking out in the rift between dimensions.
Isn’t it too dangerous?
“I know what you’re worried about! But the probability of failure in teleportation magic decreases when the distance is short! If it’s just crossing this cliff, there shouldn’t be any problem!”
Mariel looked at my expression, as if she could read my thoughts, and spoke while flexing her muscles.
But didn’t she say before that she had never teleported someone else other than herself…
But according to the narration, there is no time to go around this cliff…
“The two main factors that affect the stability of Mariel’s teleportation magic are the distance of the teleportation and how accurately she can imagine the destination.
Currently, the distance is short, but the stability is greatly compromised because she has no knowledge of the scenery beyond the cliff.”
Should I leave it to Mariel? I thought, and then the narration came.
The stability is greatly compromised…
“Alright, get ready!”
“No, wait! Just a moment!”
“Huh? Why are you hesitating? I can send you off right away!”
Mariel had her hands on her hips, with a confident expression on her face.
Why are you so sure about it…
I couldn’t entrust myself to the “unstable magic” that the narration had certified.
To save Mileia, I didn’t want to split my body in half by slipping into the dimensional crack.
“But what if we can meet the two conditions to ensure the stability of teleportation magic?
If only the conditions are met, Mariel’s magic can function properly.”
After preventing Mariel from casting teleportation magic, the narration immediately followed.
So… if only the conditions are met, it means we can move properly beyond that cliff.
Honestly, even after hearing the narration, I was hesitant to entrust myself to Mariel’s magic.
But the truth was, there was no other way to save time if safety was guaranteed.
There are two conditions to ensure the stability of teleportation magic.
One is a short distance, and the other is that the caster has an accurate image of the destination in their mind.
We don’t know what kind of scenery lies beyond that cliff.
But if we can show that scenery to Mariel…
…you know, there is someone who can definitely show her that scenery.