6

"You moron!" The manager yelled in a hostile manner "This is not some game in which you can pause at any time you like! He needs to be healed as soon as possible, or else he won't make it!"

After hearing those harsh words directed at me, I audibly gulped down some air. To tell you the truth, I couldn't hold it against him if he yelled in rage. After all, it required a significant amount of work to keep up the appearance of composure in the face of the imminent danger to his life. But despite this, I was aware of how challenging it must have been for the boss to maintain his composure throughout the conflict. After all, the members of the Red Order had bows and arrows at their disposal, which were more than capable of penetrating his thick skin. Were they not the ones who repeatedly tried to kill us by attacking us? To make matters even worse, they had unprovokedly hurled rocks and boulders in our direction. Despite this, he never lost his composure and never engaged in hostile retaliation. Instead, he merely defended himself while maintaining complete and utter stillness. The explanation for this was very straightforward. The boss, in contrast to the majority of demons, did not possess extraordinary physical prowess; rather, he possessed magical powers that could render him invisible. Even though he was outnumbered ten to one, as long as he remained perfectly still, nobody would ever suspect anything was wrong. It brought to mind the ways in which I had concealed myself from the adversary in order to stay alive. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but wonder why he elected not to use his ability to become invisible during the course of the battle instead. It was possible that he lacked the necessary level of concentration to cast spells while being subjected to continuous assault. It's possible that this is why he chose to maintain his composure throughout the whole ordeal. After all, it wouldn't have been much use for him to eliminate every single cultist in the area if a new group of them appeared not long afterward. Regardless, it was certainly admirable on the part of the boss that he was able to keep his cool in spite of the overwhelming challenges he was facing.

Apologizing in advance, I stated, "I'm sorry." "However, healing magic does not take effect immediately. Especially in situations where the victim is unconscious."

"The manager rolled his eyes and grunted angrily, "Fine then. Use your own damn mana then! But you can't count on me to come to your rescue once your strength runs out!"

His concluding statement took me by complete surprise. It is reasonable to expect that he will be able to quickly restore his energy, given the enormous strength he possesses. As a result, I reasoned that in order to regain his strength, he would merely draw the life force from another individual. However, it appeared as though he preferred to rely solely on himself rather than resorting to such measures in order to get what he wanted. That indicated that I shouldn't put any faith in him coming to my rescue if things turn sour. At least, that is what I told myself before I climbed the stairs leading deeper into the building after following the boss. We were soon at the point where we were about to approach a door that was being defended by two burly men who were clad in red leather armor with golden tridents embossed onto their chests. The one was holding a sword, while the other was holding a crossbow that had a bolt that was loaded with poisoned darts and was equipped with an equipment. Both of the men were of a tall and imposing build, their physiques having been honed to a razor's edge through countless hours of practice in the martial arts. It goes without saying that they were not simple adversaries.

The manager commanded, "Open sesame," right before pulling a key out of his pocket and opening the door. "Open sesame,"

After that, he moved aside, exposing a dim corridor that was surrounded on all sides by closed doors. In every room there was both a bed and a number of chairs, which were arranged in neat rows. In addition to that, each of them had a small table that was placed in close proximity to them and it contained various bookcases that were stuffed with old books. The interior design of the place was far superior to that of the commoner quarters located in other parts of the city, despite the fact that it was devoid of any furnishings or decorations of any kind. The fact that these chambers had previously belonged to a powerful member of the Red Order led me to believe that they must have been quite expensive. The only issue was that they were currently being held hostage by a large group of cult members who were reciting religious chants. This compelled the boss to make a choice between putting an end to all of them or allowing some of them to survive. It appears that he settled on the second choice in the end, judging by the expression on his face. Reinforcements were likely to arrive at some point in the not-too-distant future, which meant that we needed to evacuate the area as soon as we could. Therefore, we went around the sleeping cultists in a stealthy manner so as not to wake anyone up.

We continued forward until we found another set of double doors. The boss used the same key he had used before to unlock them so they could be accessed. After that, we made our way through a constricted corridor that led to a circular room that was packed with people sitting in silence. The majority of them were attired in what appeared to be identical white robes with crimson crosses embroidered onto the collars of their garments. Some of them even wore crowns that were embellished with gemstones that were set into their heads. Because they were clenching their eyes so tightly, they were unable to register our presence as we entered the room. I kept my distance from everyone there because it was obvious that they might take me for an assassin who had been sent by the Black Lord. I was afraid that they would think that I was working for him. To our good fortune, nobody seemed even remotely suspicious enough to trigger an alert. They, on the other hand, did not let anything stop them from chanting religious mantras. When I think back on it, I regret that I wasn't able to observe the ceremony that they carried out. On the other hand, given how terrified they appeared, I seriously doubted that it was anything pleasant. Sadly, due to the presence of the security guards who were stationed at the entrance, I was not allowed to proceed with my investigation any further. To tell you the truth, I felt sorry for the wretched scum who were confined within the circle. They most likely believed they were safe while they were inside the sanctuary, but that was not always the case. After all, it was common knowledge that the Red Order carried out extrajudicial killings of criminals just like any other group operating in the world at the time.

In spite of this, the manager of the business ignored the security personnel who were standing watch around the room. Instead, he marched in a direct direction toward a substantial wooden platform that was located close to the center of the area. There, he was seen standing next to a pedestal that had a bowl made of silver perched atop it. From that point on, he started to pour water that had been infused with holy symbols into the bowl from the basin. After he had completed the process of filling it up to the halfway point, he removed a cloth that was wrapped around his hand carefully and dipped it into the liquid. Finally, he removed the piece of fabric to expose a miniature gold figurine that was an exact match for the one I had. It was resting in the palm of his hand. The rest of us stood around and watched him work in silence, hoping against hope that the statue would suddenly come to life. Unfortunately, nothing took place.

"Is there any chance that this will actually be successful?" My curiosity got the best of me, so I asked, "Or are you just messing with me again?"

"Don't be concerned, the boss reassured me; everything will turn out okay. Trust me."

At long last, he put the figurine inside the bowl, which resulted in the entire container being filled with an excessive amount of water. After a moment, the water started violently boiling, which resulted in the formation of bubbles that rose to the surface. Immediately after that, there was a deafening popping sound, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air, which made everyone who was seated within the circle jump in surprise. The following instant, a massive ball of fire materialized from the middle of the bubbling water. Its flaming form rapidly expanded to fill the entire room as it moved through the chamber.