CHAPTER 9 - PART 9 & 10

Part 9

"How was it? Where did the Coronatite go? Is it nearby?"

Wiz and Aqua looked at each other when they heard me said that.

No matter what, we needed to leave this place first.

After exiting the room, we found out that the other adventurers had defeated all the golems on the deck, and the alarm had stopped. Everyone was getting ready to withdraw.

They rappelled down the ropes, and it was just us up here.

Looking carefully, the guys had carried the remains of that researcher down and placed it in a box.

They were probably planning to bury him in the public cemetery back in town.

We climbed down too, and headed towards where Darkness and Megumin were.

I carried Megumin who was resting in the shade, passing through the adventurers who were immersed in the victorious atmosphere and came to Darkness who was standing tall in front of the town.

Unlike the adventurers who were cheering, Darkness was the only one staring at the fortress seriously.

"Hey Darkness. We already stopped the heart of the destroyer, it's over. Ah— I am dead tired, let's go back to the mansion, we will eat something good tonight."

Darkness replied softly":

"It's not over yet. I can smell a strong enemy and the stench of danger… That thing is still a threat!"

In response to Darkness' words, the fortress trembled with a loud jerk.

Hey hey, I already tore out the heart!

"What is happening now? What is going with that thing?!"

"Calm calm, calm down! At such a time it should be something like this! You have to cut the red wire or white wire right?!"

"No, you are talking about a bomb! We are discussing why the destroyer is still moving even though the core has been removed!"

Not just us; the other adventurers realized something was wrong and fled from the destroyer.

"What, what should we do! It's probably the heat accumulated inside is able to be vented! I can't teleport something so big! And look at the front of the destroyer, there is a crack due to the power of the explosion spell right? Heat is escaping from there! If this continues, the heat will spray into the town…"

"I don't want to hear this! Kazuma-san— Kazuma-san—! Quick, think of something—!"

Aqua interrupted Wiz and made an unreasonable request to me.

No, there was no way I could think of anything…!

"Ma, mana! Can someone share some mana with me! If I cast explosion spell at that crack, it would neutralize the impact!"

Wiz started canvassing the adventurers around us.

I grabbed Wiz in a hurry and whispered into her ears.

"Hey, Wiz! What are saying all of a sudden! The other adventurers don't know you can use drain touch! What would you do if they discovered that you are a lich! As a human, I can let them inspect me even if I use lich skills, but if they found out that Wiz is not a human, it would be the end!"

"But, I can only stop that explosion by absorbing mana…!"

I extended my hand and stopped Wiz right here.

"I can use it too. So I will absorb mana from someone else and transfer it to Wiz. It will take an additional step, but that's the only way."

'Drain touch' can absorb mana and transfer it away too.

Mana, mana…

The fellow with the most mana among adventurers would be…!

"Nah, Darkness, don't say such stubborn things, let's escape! The farther the better! And we will start over… Wait, thinking carefully, our debts are being cushioned by the guild in this town, if this place gets destroyed…!"

"Hey, the one that proclaims to be a something, get over here."

I dragged that woman who was blurting out her schemes loudly over. I felt that she had the most mana among all of us.

"Hey, what are you doing?! I don't have time for you Kazuma. Let's just hyaaaa—?"

Aqua couldn't resist my sudden 'Drain touch' and shrieked.

"You HikkiNEET, what are you doing to me at a time like this!"

"I am only doing this because it's an emergency! Listen carefully! I will be transferring your mana to Wiz later, to let her cast explosion at the destroyer! That should resolve the crisis!"

"I don't wanna! Why must I share my mana with an undead! And Wiz will definitely be purified if large quantities of my holy mana is transferred to her!"

Hearing what Aqua said, I turned and looked at Wiz, who nodded repeatedly with a pale face.

"Erm… When I absorbed just a bit of Aqua-sama's mana the other time, my physical condition became bad…"

Something like eating food that didn't agree with you. But what Aqua said seemed to be true.

In that case, what's left would be—

"The main character's turn."

Megumin got off my back and stood up.

Part 10

"Are you listening to me? Don't absorb too much okay? Don't absorb too much!"

"I know I know, this is the request of the goddess of parties, right? Don't worry, leave it to me!"

"Wrong! I am not joking here!"

Aqua was sitting properly (Seiza) in front of me, ready for her mana to be absorbed at any moment.

Megumin was standing beside her, pointing her staff at the destroyer, ready to unleash her spell.

"Kazuma-san, choosing places where the skin is thinner allows you to absorb more mana, and transfer more mana too! And the source of mana is the heart. So the closer it is to the heart, the more efficient it would be!"

Wiz instructed me with a serious face. I see, a spot where the skin is thinner was necessary.

That's why she touched the corner of my lips when she absorbed my mana just now.

I can't do that, it would give me false hope.

… No, wait.

"I am ready, you can start anytime! Two explosions in one day, today is really wahhhh!"

I stuck my right hand into Megumin's back, making her scream and lean backwards.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?! Putting your cold hands on my back, I thought my heart was cramping! What is this? Sexual harassment? At a time like this?"

"No you idiot! Didn't you hear what Wiz said? This is not sexual harassment, it's the most efficient way to transfer mana! A place near the heart where the skin is thin, that would be the back! … Ah, wait, hey! Aqua, don't resist! I have a grand and proper reason of saving this town! You should be thankful I didn't put my hand in front!"

Hearing me say that, Aqua resisted even more, she didn't want my hands on her back at all.

"Everyone, there's no time!"

Wiz cried out loud.

After a compromise, I grabbed the base of Megumin and Aqua's necks.

I drew out mana from Aqua and sent it to Megumin.

"Amazing, this is amazing! Aqua's mana is super amazing! I can sense that this will be the strongest explosion spell to date!"

"Megumin, isn't this enough?! I can feel a lot of my mana had been taken!"

Just as Aqua said, a considerable amount of mana had been injected into the petite body of Megumin.

As expected, no matter how rotten she was, she was still a goddess.

No matter how much I absorbed, there seemed to be no end to Aqua's mana.

"Just a bit more! A bit more! Ah, this seems bad…"

"Hey, what do you mean by bad?! What will happen if it exceeds your capacity, you won't explode right?!"

Megumin who said something dangerous tore off the eye patch on her left eye and chanted magic with her staff raised.

It was the explosion spell I was very familiar with, echoing among the adventurers watching from a distance.

"Other things do not matter, but I can't lose to anyone in terms of an explosion spell! I am ready! My finest spell of destruction!"

Megumin's staff was aimed at the crack at the front of the destroyer that was spewing heat and might explode at any moment.

— Her crimson pupils shone, the arch wizard who refused to lose chanted her magic so loudly her voice was almost breaking.

"Explosion—!"