93 – Trash Hero
There was a little demon ghost named Shari who always stuck to my head.
Because Shari was a ghost, crossing cliffs like this was nothing to her.
Moreover, she had the ability to vividly unfold scenes in the human consciousness as if she had experienced them firsthand.
Isn’t she the perfect talent to meet the conditions for teleportation magic?
“Shari.”
I quietly called Shari’s name.
Then Shari, who was attached to my head, floated up and appeared before my eyes.
However, there was a slight problem even if I asked Shari for a favor.
Shari is invisible to Mariel.
To use this method, I needed to make Shari visible to Mariel so that she could accept Shari’s existence.
Otherwise, Mariel might not fully accept the scenes Shari shows.
“Miss Mariel, I have something sudden to ask.”
“Huh? Something? Do you want to know my three sizes? That’s a secret, you know.”
No, not that.
“Are you afraid of ghosts by any chance?”
“What’s with the sudden question? This great wizard shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts.”
Mariel made a face as if she didn’t understand English.
Sylphy, who was listening to me from the side, looked at where Shari was and spoke.
“Senpai, maybe…”
“Yeah, I’m going to introduce Shari.”
“Is it okay?”
“It’s fine. She’s a friend of Algot.”
It’s actually Sylphy who needs to be careful.
Sylphy can see Shari with her eyes, but she doesn’t know about the Demon Protection Center.
Mariel doesn’t know about Shari’s existence, but she knows about the Demon Protection Center because she’s a friend of Algot.
Even if Sylphy knows about the Demon Protection Center, it probably won’t cause a big problem, but it’s still important to be cautious about revealing the existence of that place to a new person without consulting Algot.
On the other hand, as long as the person who sees Shari accepts her existence, it doesn’t matter if she shows herself.
In the beginning, without asking for anything in particular, I would sometimes show myself to anyone.
“Miss Mariel, I always have a ghost following me. If I use that child, it might greatly increase the accuracy of teleportation magic.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”
“Shari, would you show yourself to this person here?”
When I asked Shari, Mariel’s gaze shifted towards Shari, who was floating in the air, after a moment.
Then, with wide open eyes, she exclaimed.
“What… what… what is this! You!”
“This child is the ghost that accompanies me. Her name is Shari, a demon.”
“Unbelievable! Is this really happening? Not a familiar or a summon, but a ghost?!”
Mariel’s reaction was more intense than I had expected.
But I didn’t sense any hostility or negative emotions from her.
What I felt from her was pure and explosive curiosity.
Well, I had expected that.
I briefly explained Shari’s existence to Mariel.
Mariel reached out her hand towards Shari and tried talking to her, her eyes sparkling like a curious child seeing something fascinating.
“Anyway, if we send Shari over the cliff, we might be able to increase the stability of teleportation magic and see the landscape on the other side. Mariel, I don’t doubt you, but wouldn’t it be better to go as safely as possible?”
Mariel’s magic was indeed unsettling… Based on the information the narration gave me, it was clear that this was the best option.
If we send Shari first, we can confirm for sure whether Milaia is really on the other side of that cliff.
“To ensure the stability of teleportation magic, we need to acquire information about the destination… Your words are definitely right. It would be much easier to teleport that way. By the way, can’t you lend me this ghost?”
Mariel approached Shari, who was floating in the air, and leaned her face closer to her as she spoke.
Shari flew higher to avoid the burden of Mariel and then returned to my head.
“Shari is not an object.”
“Uh… But this vivid ectoplasm is something I’ve never seen before. It has research value!”
“Give it up. Anyway, let’s focus on what we need to do now.”
I said firmly.
Ignoring the disappointed Mariel, I asked Shari for a favor.
“Shari, could you fly through that big cliff ahead and see what’s on the other side?”
Nodding.
Shari’s small body pierced through the cliff and disappeared.
While waiting for Shari to return, we took a short break.
* * *
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The heavy footsteps of the Bloodstain, the Lord of Blood, echoed through the ground.
The elite demons following him were approaching to end the life of the warrior.
But there was one woman protecting the warrior.
Bloodstain could recognize her at a glance.
Her muscular arm holding an axe, with bulging veins full of explosive strength.
The woman who faced his axe head-on at the Horn Canyon.
But even then, he felt a familiar presence.
He felt like he had seen her somewhere a long time ago.
I tried to recall for a moment, but nothing came to mind.
It didn’t really matter.
After all, the hero would die today, along with that annoying human girl.
Mireya stared expressionlessly at Bloodstain and his army of demons.
Without taking a step back, she prepared herself to meet them.
She was originally devoid of expression, but today, she had no fear of death.
Instead, she felt a sense of joy.
She had used the hero as bait to provoke them, but until now, only mediocre enemies had attacked.
At this moment, which could be her final battle, she considered it fortunate that Bloodstain, one of her major targets, had come.
“Charge.”
Bloodstain finally commanded, raising his massive axe.
Dozens of skeletal knights and Behemoth responded to his order and charged forward.
Bloodstain had gathered only the most powerful demons to ensure the hero’s complete defeat.
Mireya also infused her sword with magic, storing her special skill, the Time-delayed Sword Technique, in her surroundings.
Countless unseen strikes protected her.
And now, as the battle began, the hero Cain still remained far behind Mireya, doing nothing.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
This time, he would escape Mireya’s grasp and flee from this place.
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But if he tried to escape secretly, he could still be caught by Mireya.
And if he were caught this time, he might face something dreadful.
Cain stood at the crossroads of choice.
* * *
Shari finally returned from her reconnaissance.
While waiting, a distant rumbling sound, as if the earth was shaking, reached my ears.
And through Shari, I immediately learned the identity of that rumbling.
“Milaea is really over there….”
The landscape beyond the cliff, shared with me by Shari, was shocking.
Milaea was confronting the demon army led by Bloodstain alone.
The battle seemed to have already begun.
And behind Milaea, there was a man whom I couldn’t understand, staring at him with wide eyes, not knowing what he was doing.
Considering the information I had gathered so far, could that suspicious man be the hero?
“Let’s go right away.”
There was no time to waste.
Shari shared the scene she had witnessed with Mariel.
When Mariel saw the scene in Shari’s mind, she trembled with excitement.
“Oh! This is incredible! It’s like having the experience of being there! This is an amazing inspiration of magic….”
“No, we don’t have time to be amazed. We need to help over there, or it could be dangerous.”
“Ahem! I understand! Then, let’s go right away! Hold on tight!”
But how can we hold on when there’s nothing to hold onto?
What are we supposed to catch?
In that moment, when I mentally tackled it, Mariel’s staff shone brightly.
In a flash, the scenery in front of me disappeared, and I found myself standing alone in a space filled with blue.
And in that mysterious space, cracks appeared in the air, accompanied by a sound that seemed to be closing in.
Is this the dimensional rift that appears through teleportation magic?
Through the opened crack, I could see the scenery I had just witnessed through Shari.
Without hesitation, I threw myself through the opened crack.
And…
Boom!
I arrived safely at the scene where Milaia was, beyond the dimensional rift, crashing into it.
“Ouch…”
Did everyone else arrive safely too?
We ended up behind Milaia, where the warrior was standing, through teleportation magic.
As dimensional rifts continued to open around us, Sylphy and Mariel also revealed themselves.
“hehehehe! It’s a great success!”
As soon as Mariel arrived, she laughed triumphantly.
Fortunately, this time, everyone completed the teleportation safely without getting stuck or anything.
However, without time to admire the successful teleportation, we were immediately shocked by the situation in front of us.
Crack! Whoosh!
Milaia was fiercely fighting through the demons, turning the tide.
Just like the last time I saw her, she had terrifying skills.
But where is that warrior guy who was here?
He was definitely around here when Sharie showed me.
Just as I thought that, I witnessed a strange scene.
The warrior, who should have been here to assist Milaea in her battle against three skeleton knights, was lying down as if stabbed by a sword and rushing towards her.
Logically speaking, it would be correct to assume that the warrior also participated in the battle to help Milaea.
But something was off.
“Yunoa’s intuition was right. The target the warrior Kain’s sword was aiming for was not the demon but Milaea.
The warrior, who was practically kidnapped by Milaea, took the opportunity to harm her and chose to be chased by the demons instead.
Milaea didn’t have the ability to deal with such a warrior, but the holy sword that the warrior wielded from behind was deadly.”
Even though the narration explained the situation, I still couldn’t understand.
Why? Milaea kidnapped the warrior? And now the warrior wants to kill her?
If Milaea dies, she won’t be able to resist those Bloodstains and dreadful demons, will she?
What are you thinking?
Is that stupid guy, who I don’t know if he’s a warrior or a lunatic, thinking that he’ll be safe if he kills Milaea?
“Milaea! Behind you!”
I drew my sword immediately and ran towards Milaea, shouting at her.
But in the midst of the battle, my voice didn’t reach her.
In that moment, a thought crossed my mind.
Could it be that the threat to Milaea’s life was because of that warrior?
The hero was about to stab his sword into Mileia’s back.
There’s no other choice.
I have to intervene in his place.
And then retreat with Mileia.
I filled my Dragonite Sword with magic power and swung a blade towards the sword the hero was holding.
Of course, I had no intention of hurting the hero.
I just wanted to interrupt his attack on Mileia and buy some time.
Tsu-tsu-tzak! Kakang!
The blade that flew from the Dragonite Sword sharply cut through the air, deflecting the holy sword the hero was holding.
The hero let go of his sword and was greatly surprised.
And Mileia, upon hearing that sound, looked towards me.
“….!”
Mileia’s two eyes turned towards me, and surprise spread across her always expressionless face.
Yes! I’m perfectly fine! So let’s not waste our lives in a place like this and retreat for now!
I wanted to say that, but I didn’t have the luxury to speak.
That’s when it happened.
The fearsome demon with a monstrous appearance, Bloodstain, jumped to an unbelievable height.
And landed where Mileia and the hero were.
Kuwong-!
The ground shook, and the dust spread in all directions, obscuring the view.
What’s this? I can’t see anything.
But after a while, Mileia came running towards me through the dust.
Mileia was unharmed.
Great, Mileia has come this way too, now all we have to do is run away.
…But where should we run?
Why is the terrain like this here?
Surrounded by giant cliffs, with the only exit towards the Demon World blocked by monsters and Bloodstains.
If we want to retreat, the only option is to break through forcefully.
As I was thinking that, the dust gradually cleared, revealing the sight of Bloodstains and the monsters again.
“Uh…”
And I was slightly taken aback.
Bloodstains was crushing a warrior with one foot.
The warrior lay motionless on the ground.
Thud!
Soon after, a large axe came down on the warrior’s head.
The warrior couldn’t resist and turned into a lump of unrecognizable flesh.
…The warrior was dead.
* * *
I thought the warrior is important.