Chapter 6 Gunner and Archer Part 2

This skybridge was the final choke point for enemy invaders in a siege.

A large army couldn't pass, so it neutralized any invading force's

numerical superiority, and it introduced the danger of falling to one's death.

With sentries wielding shields and spears holding the other end, the exposed

walkway was a truly loathsome obstacle for the attacking side. It was

probably only possible to brute force one's way through with a caster who

could use Fireball or some similar attack spell.

Chipping away at the enemies with projectiles was a disadvantage due to

their limited time and the fact that they would have to be stealthy about it.

That was why they needed to charge, even though the enemy would probably

respond with ranged attacks, and do away with the sentries at close quarters

where they wouldn't have the benefit of cover.

For that reason, they needed to close the distance as much as they could

before being spotted by the guards in the lookout post. But when they took a

closer look at the path, they found that the surface had been made uneven to

slow people down, and in some places, it seemed like it was purposely built

to cause invaders to trip and fall.

Wow, this isn't safe at all… And if the enemies knock us back or cling

onto us…we'll fall to our deaths… I have to be careful!

Having steeled her resolve, Neia realized Shizu was watching her. Being

stared at by Shizu with her pretty, doll-like features made her feel bashful

even though they were both girls.

"Wh-what?"

"...I'll use it... Neia, you wait here."

"Huh?"

"...I'll take care of the guards at the entrance. Don't come out no matter

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what happens."

"Wait, what?!"

Before she could even respond, Shizu was gone.

She had disappeared. It didn't seem as if she had sped off somewhere. It

was more like the Shizu who had been standing there dissolved into the air

like a mirage.

Neia was terribly confused. But Shizu had told her to stay put, so all she

could really do was wait.

Hiding near the entrance of the walkway, Neia focused her hearing to see

if she could pick up any disturbances either toward the spire or behind her—

back the way they came.

After a few seconds, it seemed like something had happened at the

lookout post. She could hear screams and the thuds of guards collapsing.

When she looked over to see what was going on, she saw Shizu's face

poke out of the lookout post. Shizu waved her over.

Seeming annoyed at Neia standing there, still overwhelmed by wondering

what had just happened, Shizu's waving grew more exaggerated until she

was flailing her whole body around.

At that point, she realized she had better go over there.

It was pretty terrifying to cross the windy walkway, but Neia kept her

body low and her eyes on her feet.

When she arrived, the lookout post was emitting the stench of blood.

Several expired subhumans were lying strewn about. In the middle of it all

stood Shizu with her usual blank expression. Her right hand was clasped

around a sharp-looking knife stained with blood. In her left hand was her

Mana Gun.

"...Clear. We move on."

"O-okay."

"...I can't disappear anymore today. We need to be careful."

"Understood."

Neia could tell Shizu didn't feel like explaining, so she followed her

without questions.

That's a demon maid for you, thought Neia.

She never would have made it this far without Shizu.

I owe this to His Majesty the King of Darkness for ordering her to help us.

Even when he was absent, her respect for him only grew.

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The fact that he was undead was really such a trivial issue.

I really have to let everyone know how great he is!

The spire was made almost entirely out of stone and only had narrow

windows, so it was even gloomier than the main castle. The corridor was

fairly broad, so Neia and Shizu could walk side by side. It was built in a

spiral that led up along the wall.

Their object, the zerun prince, was supposedly being kept somewhere near

the top, so they only listened for sounds on the other sides of the doors they

passed on their way higher and higher.

About two loops up, Shizu raised her hand in a signal to stop at about the

same time that Neia heard the footsteps of a creature.

It appeared to be wearing armor, as the sound was metal clanking against

stone.

"Just one, Miss Shizu."

"...Yes, but...those footsteps are heavy."

Neia wasn't sure, but if Shizu said so, then it must have been true. She

must have meant it was bigger than a human.

"What…should we do? Should we go back and hide inside one of the

rooms we passed?"

"...We've come this far. We kill it."

"Okay."

Following Shizu's lead, Neia readied her bow. She was prepared to shoot

as soon as the creature showed itself. They had been told that the zerun prince

was the size of a human child. And he wouldn't be wearing metal armor.

As soon as the hulking form appeared around the bend, Neia and Shizu

both attacked without hesitating.

The arrow and mana bullet appeared to sink into the giant body.

"Gahhhh!"

The large creature staggered and then began to retreat up the path. All it

had to do was backtrack slightly to break Neia's and Shizu's lines of sight.

If this subhuman could take the pair's attacks—especially Shizu's—and

still be alive, it had to be quite strong.

"Who are you people?!" A scream came from up the corridor.

"What should we do, Miss Shizu?"

"...Twiddling our thumbs here won't do us any good… Let's close in

and attack before our opponent summons all the guards in this spire."

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"Got it."

Neia and Shizu sprinted forward.

Since their opponent had been able to weather their surprise attack, Neia

figured it was safe to assume it was the guard—the va-um—because all ogre

types had not only excellent combat ability but impressive physical strength.

As they ran, Neia felt almost as if the amount of moisture in the air was

increasing; it smelled like rain.

"Gooooahhh! What are humans doing here?!"

When they closed in, they had a full view of the huge subhuman.

He had an air of violence similar to an ogre but appeared to be much more

intelligent.

His skin was a pale blue, but rather than looking unwell, it gave the being

an evil impression.

His forehead had one horn sprouting out of it. In his hands was a mace

larger than Neia.

With that appearance, he certainly resembled a va-um.

Even if he wasn't quite on Buser's level, he would be a difficult opponent.

The magic bullet and arrow from their previous attack had been direct hits,

yet he had no visible injuries. And Neia didn't smell any blood, which meant

he probably wasn't concealing any with illusions.

How had he neutralized their attacks—especially Shizu's?

"You came here to kill me?! Seems like even some humans are in the

know!"

He seemed thrilled.

Then maybe it was best to let him think tha—

"...No," Shizu said, firing her gun.

Something shot out with a psht of escaping air. Part of the va-um's body

dispersed, and the bullet flew right through it.

"...Mngh."

"Hoo-ha-ha-ha-ha! Projectiles won't work on me!"

Neia loosed an arrow at his brow, but sure enough, his head turned to

mist, and the arrow stuck into the wall behind him.

"It's futile! Futile, I say! Fear me, the mortal enemy of any sharpshooter,

and die!"

"...So you have perfect resistance to all projectiles? At that strength?"

Shizu grumbled to herself. "There must be something else going on."

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Neia looked to Shizu and shook her head. Unfortunately, the zerun didn't

know the details of the va-um's powers.

"What are you blathering about?"

"Fall back!"

The va-um closed in. He was so much larger than a human that Neia felt

like her sense of distance had been completely ruined.

She wouldn't be able to take a single hit from this guy, so she accepted

Shizu's kindness and backed up.

The va-um swung the massive mace at Shizu, who remained in front. It

was like a gale-force wind, but she evaded it with elegance.

To wield a weapon as big as Shizu with one hand, he had to be

extraordinarily strong. When the mace hit the floor, cracks radiated from the

point of impact, and chips of stone went flying. It almost felt as if the huge

tower had shaken.

"Tch!"

Neia shot an arrow.

Though he was in close combat with Shizu, he was so much larger than

her that if she aimed for his upper body, Neia could target him without hitting

her.

The arrow sliced through the air, but just as before, he turned to mist and

evaded it.

"It's no good! It's pointless! I'm telling you, arrows won't work on me!

You foolish— Uoagh!"

He was going to keep shouting at her, but Shizu interrupted.

Shizu's prowess as a shooter far surpassed Neia's, but she didn't appear to

be very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and unfortunately, the va-um

blocked her attack with his mace.

Neia drew her bow again.

Next, she aimed for the hand holding the mace. It was possible that he

wouldn't drop his weapon even when he turned to mist, but she had decided

that if there was even a slight chance, it was worth trying.

And the result…

…was that his arm turned to mist, but he didn't drop the mace.

"Give it up, human!" He thrust his free hand out at Neia. "Water Splash!"

A liquid missile flew at Neia.

It struck her right shoulder, knocking her back so hard, she went

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sprawling.

It hurt as much as if she had been punched with full force. Bones were

possibly broken.

Carefully attempting to move her right arm, she found herself able to

without any issues. But pain zapped from her shoulder through the rest of her

body. When she put a hand to the wound, she felt sopping wetness. At first,

she was worried it was a massive amount of blood, but a moment later, she

realized it was just water.

"Hmph! Making me use a wimpy spell like that!" the va-um fairly spat,

brandishing his mace.

The gust of death that would've broken Neia to pieces, Shizu nimbly

dodged as she muttered, "...Why her? Why attack someone who posed no

threat to you? It's incomprehensible."

"Hmph! You fool! Don't get—"

"Are they actually effective? Is there a limit to how many times you can

use that power?"

The va-um's expression changed. In other words, that was the answer.

"Neia!!"

"Yep!"

Neia loosed an arrow. The va-um turned to mist and evaded. Then she

shot another—and this time it hit him.

The va-um yelped in pain, and Shizu said, "...I see. So you can avoid

projectiles seven times. Is that…in one day? Or in one hour? ...It doesn't

matter now. You will...die here."

Realizing he wouldn't be able to take Shizu out because of her brilliant

evasion—seeing, in other words, that he would be one-sidedly attacked and

killed—the va-um's face stiffened.

"Wh-why, you! Fog Cloud!"

Fog billowed up.

It was even thicker than the fog Neia had seen in the Nation of Darkness;

she couldn't even tell where she was standing. She couldn't see Shizu's back

ahead of her, yet she heard her Mana Gun going psht, psht.

When she thought about it, the situation was actually quite simple.

Even if he created fog in the middle of the corridor, he was still in the

same place as a moment ago. She could just shoot at that area. Neia followed

Shizu's lead and loosed an arrow. She was a bit nervous, so she aimed higher

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up to make sure she didn't hit Shizu.

The arrow disappeared into the fog immediately, and then she heard it

strike the wall. Apparently, she had missed.

"He's behind you now."

The remark from Shizu made Neia think, What?!

Considering the width of the corridor, the huge va-um wouldn't have been

able to get around them without them noticing. But having traveled with her

this long, Neia knew that Shizu was a trustworthy demon. Or perhaps it was

less that she trusted Shizu and more that she trusted the King of Darkness

commanding her.

Neia spun around, and sure enough, the fog was thick there, too, but she

took a shot.

The arrow hit the wall just like the previous time.

"Where…where is he?!"

"...Mm. He's in the direction you're facing. He must be trying to

escape. Get down!"

Hearing what was a forceful voice for Shizu, Neia promptly got out of her

way.

"...I'll switch bullets and...Full Burst."

There was a high-pitched ring, and then a boom, so loud Neia had to plug

her ears, filled the corridor.

Neia heard a blorgh sound like vomiting and the crash of a large body

crumpling. Then the fog dispersed, and the fallen va-um came into view up

ahead in the curving corridor.

Parts of his body had been blasted away, and there were marks on the

walls. How was it possible to wield such a power?

The subhuman tasked with guarding this place was supposed to be quite

strong. And in reality, Neia hadn't seen any way to defeat him. Meanwhile,

Shizu had killed him the instant her weapon specialty became effective. She

really was a difficulty level–150 demon maid.

"How…did you…? Well, I suppose with magic you can do anything."

Neia moved the shoulder that had taken the attack spell. The heat of battle

had caused her to forget about the pain, but it was starting to hurt more now.

"...Are you all right?"

"Yeah. But it hurts to draw my bow, so my aim won't be very good."

"...Do you have a healing potion?"

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"No, but I have a healing item His Majesty lent to me."

In the battle back then, she had been able to use it only once, but now she

felt like maybe she could use it a little more. Still, she couldn't waste mana. It

could end up that she would need to heal Shizu at some point.

"It's okay. All that's left is to rescue the hostage and escape."

"...Mm. If you say so."

Neia nodded and ran onward with Shizu. They had beaten the va-um who

was supposed to have been so tough.

All that was left was to collect the prince and make it back to the pantry

they had started in.

3

"...We're here."

"Yes."

Upon reaching the top floor, Neia and Shizu exchanged glances. There

was a single door. This had to be their destination. They nodded at each other

and kicked it in.

They were no longer in the mood to enter quietly. This was after their

battle with the va-um. But they did move to either side of the door to be ready

in case an attack came lashing out.

But their caution was for nothing. So they rushed in, with Neia, her

shoulder hurting, taking the left side and Shizu taking the right.

The first thing Neia saw when she entered the room was a bed with a

canopy. What had surely been originally snow white was stained with age.

There was also a simple dresser and a plain wooden wardrobe as tall as a

human. All the furnishings befitting a noble were old and banged up; they

seemed less like antiques and more like secondhand acquisitions.

At first glance, there didn't seem to be a subhuman in the room.

When Shizu gestured with her jaw, Neia approached the wardrobe and

opened the door. Of course, she stood off to one side so she would be safe

whatever happened, and Shizu trained her Mana Gun on the inside.

"...There's no one."

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Then they looked at the bed.

After peering underneath to make sure no one was hiding there, Neia went

over to it.

There was a little lump.

When she looked to Shizu, they nodded at each other, and Neia pulled the

sheets down.

There was a shiny, purple, almost attractive chunk of meat. No, perhaps it

would be better described as a large maggot. It was about three feet long and

had protrusions that couldn't quite be called legs.

Shizu pointed her gun immediately, but Neia rushed to stop her.

"Wait! This is the zerun prince we're here to rescue!"

"...This thing is?"

That's what they had heard from the zerun messenger. But she could

understand Shizu's doubt. She had been pretty confused when she heard the

description, too.

The zerun was a race of subhumans in which the royal family differed

greatly in appearance from the others. Not only that, but perhaps there were

also significant male and female differences?

"Um, can you speak, zerun prince?"

"Sure I can. You don't seem to be my food…"

It was a boy's voice. When she took a closer look to see how he was

speaking, she saw a little maggot-like mouth flapping.

"That is correct. We were asked to come rescue you. First, we'll get you

out of this room."

He may have looked like a maggot, but he was a prince. Neia had to treat

him with the proper respect. They would also need his race's assistance when

searching for the King of Darkness. She needed to make them feel indebted,

not offend them.

"By my fellow spawn? Who? Who asked you to do it?"

"It was a zerun called Beebeebee. Is that someone you know?'

"Beebeebee? Ah yes. Mm… But if I leave this place, Jalda— Er, Emperor

Jaldabaoth will be upset. That would put many zerun and our king in danger."

"I don't know all the details, but the reason we were asked to break you

out was that the king has died, and they want to at least save you."

"No!"

It was absolutely impossible for Neia, a human, to read the emotions of

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this giant maggot prince. But she could hear the grief clearly in his voice.

"My one and only father… I see—that Jaldabaoth… In that case…is it

possible to escape here safely?"

"Your aides have made arrangements, so please consider it doable."

"I see… This is a rather shameless request to make of the human heroes

who have come all this way to rescue me, but could we pretend that you

dragged me out of here against my will?"

He must have meant if it came to that.

"Understood. That's what we'll say."

"I appreciate it."

The prince raised his head. He was like a maggot rearing up, but that must

have been a gesture of thanks for his race.

Neia wrapped him in a sheet and put him on her back like one would a

baby (although she had only done it a couple of times because the babies

would cry without fail).

She tied the ends of the sheet fast in front of her so that even vigorous

movement wouldn't loosen the sling.

The weight on her shoulder hurt. Wiping the sweat that had oozed from

her forehead, she cast a spell.

That instant, her wounds were completely healed. Now she would have no

trouble running while carrying the prince.

"Do you feel all right? Please let me know straight away if anything

hurts."

"I feel fine, but… You sure smell good. I'm starving."

The words spoken into the nape of her neck made Neia shiver.

"...What do zerun eat?"

Shizu asked the question Neia would rather she hadn't.

"The bodily fluids of living things, alive or dead."

A chill went up Neia's spine.

"...I'll be mad if you pull anything weird with my protégé."

"Don't worry. I'm not so hungry that I'd do something like that to a hero

who came to rescue me. I haven't been allowed outside even once since

coming here, but they have been feeding me properly."

Neia felt like if she heard what kind of food he'd been eating she might

want to hurl him to the ground, so she plugged her ears. Luckily, Shizu didn't

ask any more questions.

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"...All right, time to go."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thanks."

With that brief exchange, the two—three—of them were on their way. It

wasn't as if they had time to stand around chatting while they were on a

stealth mission.

Fortunately, they made it back to the pantry with no trouble. Then Shizu

raised a hand.

"...There's someone in there."

"Please take care of them."

Shizu readied her Mana Gun and threw the door open.

Then she froze. She turned around.

"...I don't know who they are, but there are zerun in there. A lot of

them."

Perhaps it was the recovery team? More specifically, the group that was

supposed to guide them outside. If they were already there, it must have

meant that Neia and Shizu were running late.

When they went inside, the five zerun turned to look at once. Neia

couldn't read the grotesques' expressions even a bit, but when they all made

the same motion in her direction, a wave of something that wasn't quite fear

or disgust came over her.

Neia undid the sheet and showed them the prince.

"Oh! Our prince!"

It was Beebeebee. Without hearing their voices, it was impossible to tell

them apart. They looked so different from the prince that it was impossible to

even tell they were the same race.

"My kindred. I heard my father has died. I've realized that Jaldabaoth

doesn't intend to keep his promise to us. But where can we run to if we

betray him? He has taken over our territory completely, and one of his

demons now governs it… Wouldn't escaping from here merely be going

down the path to destruction?"

"You're quite right to be concerned, Your Highness. But he only sees

zerun as slaves or livestock. Our valiant Boobeebee lost some shoulder flesh

for being slightly late to a gathering once."

"What?! He did that to Boobeebee?!"

Neia gathered from the prince's shock that Boobeebee must have been

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quite the zerun.

"When this is all over, will there be a place for us under Jaldabaoth? We

think not. Prince, there's no time. Let's disc—"

"—You fool. Could we do it after we flee? This is a borderline. Once we

cross it, we'll have no choice but to follow through on that plan. There'll be

no turning back. Tell me now. How are we going to return to our nest, to the

hills, and survive?"

"Well…the land is vast. I think we can find somewhere to hide."

"You think? You're leading our entire race down a path of destruction

based on such a fuzzy prospect? Come up with something more realistic and

concrete!"

"W-well, not everyone is devoted to Jaldabaoth. We could create a rebel

army and—"

"Idiot. It would just be annihilated by his aides. One ant might be

overlooked, but an infestation can't be missed."

Rebutted at every turn by the prince, Beebeebee fell silent. Things were

looking bad. They had come all this dangerous way to cooperate on this

mission, but if the prince declared he didn't want to go, their efforts would be

for nothing.

Then Neia thought of a way to resolve the prince's worries.

"Then what if all the zerun went to the Nation of Darkness?"

"The Nation of Darkness? What in the world is that?"

It wasn't only the zerun who turned to look at her—Shizu did, too.

"The hero who repelled Jaldabaoth back in the Re-Estize Kingdom,

Momon, is there."

She had the feeling the zerun were staring at her, but she didn't know

what sort of emotion was contained in their gazes. There was no way for a

human to tell what a zerun was feeling.

"Is that true?"

That one remark made her realize what the zerun's silence was about.

They must not have believed her. But that made sense. The more one learned

about Jaldabaoth, the more impossible it seemed to drive him off.

"It is. I was told so by someone I trust. Actually, Miss Shizu?"

"...Yes. What Neia says is true."

"And so…" This was the hard part. Neia psyched herself up. "If you all

went to the Nation of Darkness, I'm sure they would accept you as refugees."

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"Refugees…?" There was a definite sourness in the prince's tone.

"But if you brought them news of their ruler, His Majesty the King of

Darkness, I'm sure no one would look down on you."

"Wait, wait. News of their own king would make them happy? What's

that supposed to mean?"

"The king is… Well…he's currently missing…"

"That won't work, then. He could very well be dead."

"Please wait. It's impossible for the king to be dead. We have proof of

that."

When Neia explained how he might have fallen in the hills and they

wanted the zerun's help, the prince fell silent. So that wasn't good enough?

she thought, but she had already taken her best shot, so she didn't say any

more. It was in the prince's court now.

Still, even if direct assistance was impossible, they would surely fulfill

their promise of sharing knowledge.

"…I see. If we make them owe us…but will they accept subhumans? The

Nation of Darkness is a human country, no?"

"No, it's not. It's ruled by an undead."

"An undead?!" The prince yelped in shock, as did all the other zerun.

"You would have us go somewhere so dangerous?!"

Every race had a strong aversion to undead. Neia had been no exception

before she met the King of Darkness. Being confronted with herself from

only a short while ago made her a bit emotional.

"Please wait. He may be an undead, but he's a wonderful person, and I

saw humans and subhumans living in his country in harmony."

"An undead a wonderful person? What do you take—?"

"—Enough. Please bear with my rude retainer. But is this King of

Darkness really as wonderful as you say?"

"Yes," Neia answered confidently, standing proud.

"…We can't understand human facial expressions at all. But you're brave

enough to infiltrate deep into enemy territory to rescue me, so if you say it

with such steady conviction, then I can understand. I will believe in this

undead king…in whom you place such trust. Let's turn to him for help."

An "Ohhh!" of happiness rose from the zerun.

"That's settled, then. Please flee to the Kingdom of Darkness as fast as

you can, Your Highness. One problem is that one of Jaldabaoth's great

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demon aides has arrived. I thought he would be visiting a few days later…

There will be trouble if he spots you. Hurry!"

Most zerun were female. Males were exceedingly rare. Really just the

king and the prince. If all the males in a tribe were wiped out—though

females sometimes changed sex—the tribe would basically go extinct.

They suggested the prince run first because they absolutely needed to get

him somewhere safe—to the Kingdom of Darkness.

"One of Jaldabaoth's aides? Here?" There was no way to overlook those

words.

"Yes. You didn't see him? He has three demon aides. It's one of those."

"...We'll defeat him here."

At Shizu's sudden remark, the prince flip-flopped on the floor. "Don't be

ridiculous! If you two could save me, you must be quite strong. But that

doesn't mean you can beat this demon."

The only strong one was Shizu, but Neia didn't want to interrupt.

"...We heard that he teleports among different cities... If he's here

now, it's a great chance. If we let it go by, the next one might not come so

easily."

"What you say is true…"

"Prince!"

"Let's be sensible. If we kill one of Jaldabaoth's aides, there will be a

disturbance in the chain of command, so it would probably be difficult for

them to detect us if we went straight from here to the Kingdom of

Darkness… But is it really possible to defeat him?"

"...I don't know. But this is our chance."

"…Then I'll make the wager—on your strength that killed the va-um!"

said the prince, who had been astonished to see the corpse on their way over.

"Okay, everyone? We're going to cooperate with these two and kill

Jaldabaoth's aide!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Two humans. Six of us. Eight who were enemies until a few days ago

unite against a more powerful enemy. Sounds like a saga in the making."

Huh? thought Neia and counted the zerun in the room once more to make

sure she wasn't mistaken before hurriedly interjecting, "Hold on. Please wait.

Don't make the prince fight. We're here to save him."

And more importantly, even if he did participate, what could he do?

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Putting it as kindly as possible, he was still just a big maggot on the floor. If

he meant to go along as a figurehead, she would rather he spared them the

trouble.

"You consider your job done as long as I escape? Aha, I see. But! I think

with my help it will be a bit easier to defeat Jaldabaoth's aide. No—without

me, it would be quite difficult, even for heroes who beat a va-um."

It was Shizu who had beaten the va-um; Neia couldn't claim any part in it,

so it felt shameful to be counted as a hero.

"Uh, do you mean without all of you zerun?"

The prince emitted a strange cry. "No, no, hero. I may not look like it, but

I can use tier-four psychic magic."

"Tier four?"

Neia was amazed. Tier four was what a human with genius-level aptitude

could just barely reach if they devoted everything they had to the pursuit. In

the Sacred Kingdom, only the high priest Kelart Custodio and Holy Lady

Calca Bessarez were capable of it.

Neia turned, thinking to share her shock, but Shizu had her usual blank

expression on. Perhaps, as might be expected from a difficulty level–150

demon maid, tier-four magic wasn't very surprising.

"U-uh…are zerun all that powerful?"

With another strange cry, the prince flopped around again like a fish out

of water. "I'm special!"

"Yes. That's why he's the prince."

Ohhh. Hearing the pride in his voice, Neia remembered something from a

class she had taken long ago. Right, some other races have royalty that are so

different from the common people that they are practically a different race.

"But I have a weakness. I'm…er, not very quick."

Yeah, thought Neia. That was clear at a glance.

"If he closes in on me, I'll die helplessly. So I hate to ask, but will you

carry me? Then I can use magic on your signal."

"I see. I understand what you're asking, but couldn't the other zerun—

your guards—carry you?"

"Unlike the prince, we excel at close-quarters combat. You fight at range,

correct?"

"That's…true. I suppose Shizu or I should ca… Wait, we're getting off

topic. If we take His Highness into battle and he dies, that would be a huge

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problem."

"...Neia. There's a point to him being there... That's why he's

suggesting he go."

"Heh-heh-heh. That's right. Are you familiar with this aide of his? The

demon like a dead tree decorated with trophy heads."

"...There are several types of demons like that. In order of power: silk

hat, crown, circlet, corolla." She counted on four fingers. "...The aide has

to be one of those. But…if it's a silk hat, we should run for it. I can't beat

those."

"You knew that?!"

Neia was surprised, and then anger began to smolder. She had said during

their prep meetings that she didn't know anything about the aide.

Was that a lie?

If she was purposely avoiding giving intelligence on Jaldabaoth to troops

under the Sacred Kingdom, that would mean she was never under the King of

Darkness's control. Which also meant that Shizu's mere presence would no

longer be enough to calm her worries about His Majesty's safety!

"…You went and gave me hope! But it was all just to make me feel

better?!"

Together with her outburst, she grabbed Shizu's shoulders. So hard. But it

didn't seem like the demon maid sensed any pain. Not because she was

expressionless—because she actually didn't feel any.

Neia felt so pathetic, she nearly began to cry. What a fool I was, thinking

we had managed to grow a little closer. She couldn't help but criticize

herself.

Shizu remained expressionless as usual. Still, there was something subtle

there that only Neia could detect.

Hesitation, thought, or perhaps regret.

"...I'm sorry."

The words Shizu forced out after a long silence were those. It was an

apology so lacking in explanation that it only fueled the anger of the person it

was meant for. But Shizu seemed somehow uneasy in that moment, which

helped calm Neia down a little.

"...I thought that if you knew how powerful his aides were, you would

all decide not to take on this mission. But in order for Lord Ainz to achieve

victory...this mission has to succeed. That's why I lied."

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Carefully selecting each word in turn, she took great pains to express her

thoughts. But she was also sincere, and her unshakable faith made her

reliable.

Neia didn't have a technique for seeing through lies. And when she was

talking to a demon—or really any girl with such a blank face—there was no

way she could know what was the truth.

But if Shizu really was a spy for Jaldabaoth or was secretly working to

destroy the Sacred Kingdom military from the inside out, then her actions up

to this point didn't make sense. She should have been able to integrate herself

more skillfully.

And regardless of the logic, Neia wanted to believe Shizu. Not only was

she pointing the way to the King of Darkness, but the strange affinity they

had for each other felt like something one of a kind to Neia.

"…I see. I believe you. But don't misjudge me again. I would brave any

danger for His Majesty the King of Darkness."

Shizu was visibly relieved. She couldn't possibly be a spy. She's simply

not cut out for it. The thought brought a natural smile back to Neia's face.

"Okay, so can I keep our earlier conversation going? If you know so

much, then do you know about his powers, too?"

"These demons all have the same general type of powers, and they aren't

that strong to begin with. They become an issue when they acquire the head

of someone intelligent…a caster's head."

According to Shizu, this branch of demons could accessorize with casters'

heads and use their powers. Silk hats could equip up to four; crowns, three;

circlets, two; and corollas, one. If the heads they wore belonged to

accomplished casters, the danger these demons posed ramped up very

quickly.

"Corollas can only use up to tier-three spells no matter what kind of head

they use. Silk hats can use up to tier ten, and—"

"Wait!"

"Hold on!"

It was the prince and Neia. Shizu fell silent at the sound of their voices.

Neia exchanged a glance with the bouncing prince. Though she couldn't

read his expression, she was sure they were both thinking the same thing.

"...Go ahead."

"Ahem… What's this 'tier ten' you mention? Isn't five the highest?"

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Exactly. Neia had heard that tier five was the upper limit. That was why

she guessed that the King of Darkness could maybe use tier six.

Shizu shook her head as if she was about to sigh and say here we go…

"...There are ten tiers of magic. The spell Jaldabaoth used to drop a meteor

from the sky was from tier ten."

"B-but there's no way we can win against— Hmm? Huh? So if His

Majesty was fighting on an equal level with Jaldabaoth, does that mean…?"

As Neia discovered something astounding, the prince shivered in

amazement.

"Tier ten? Huh? Nah. That can't be true, can it? Tier ten… Really…? And

here I was proud of being able to use tier four…"

Tier four was plenty commendable; he could definitely be proud of that.

Only a handful of casters ever became that accomplished.

"Shizu…I'm just wondering… But can His Majesty also use tier-ten

spells?"

"...Duh." Her tone was obviously annoyed at being asked something so

basic. It was perhaps the clearest Shizu's emotions had ever come through

during all the time they had spent together so far.

The prince, as a caster himself, seemed to be jiggling in shock.

"Huh? What? The undead king of the country I'm about to flee to is that

awe-inspiring? Tier ten… That means twice as strong as me?"

"...Hahhh," Shizu sighed. "His Majesty."

"Huh?"

"...You should call the king His Majesty."

"Oh yes, of course. His Majesty the King of Darkness is so aweinspiring…"

Shizu was being pretty pushy considering this was a prince of an entire

race they were dealing with, but what she said was correct, and Neia

approved wholeheartedly.

"That's right, Your Highness. His Majesty the King of Darkness is indeed

awe-inspiring."

"Ah, yes."

"...Prince, wouldn't it be great if you could get someone so amazing to

owe you?"

"Y-yes, you're right! Okay! We pledge our full support in the search for

His Majesty in the hills."

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Neia clasped her hands and squeezed. "Thank you so much, Your

Highness. So, Shizu, can you explain the rest?"

"...About how amazing Lord Ainz is?"

"Right now, we need to hear about Jaldabaoth's aide. Oh, but I want to

hear about His Majesty, too, so will you tell me after we get back?"

"...Mm... Demons who equip multiple heads can use all of them

together to cast several spells at one time. But there are limitations. One is

that the same head can't cast two spells at once. The other is that there's a

max cumulative tier restriction. For example, silk hats can cast spells that add

up to fifteen tiers—"

"Fifteen tiers?! Are there actually tier-fifteen spells?!"

"...No, obviously not. I said it's cumulative."

The prince wriggled in relief.

Neia was a bit freaked out by the way she had learned to read the prince's

emotions based on how he bounced around.

"...Moving on. The important thing is how many heads the demon

has."

"Two. One is subhuman. One is human like you two."

Neia had a bad feeling. The body Jaldabaoth was carrying around… Its

top half was missing. "…What was the human head like?"

"Sorry, but I'm no good at telling apart people from outside my race. The

other one I know, though. It's the queen of the pandexes, Grand Mother."

The words pandex and Grand Mother piqued her curiosity, but there were

other things she had to ask at the moment. "I'd like to inquire about the

human head. What color is the hair?"

"Hair is the furry part at the top of a human head, right? It's light black."

"Black? So it's not someone from the Sacred Kingdom?"

That provided her some slight relief. She had been worried for a moment

that it would be the Holy Lady. Being able to rule that out put her mind at

ease. She also realized it might be a hint for this puzzle.

She had heard that black hair was common of people in the south. Aha,

thought Neia—because she presumed that was where Jaldabaoth had come

from.

There were no human-majority countries south of the Sacred Kingdom.

Less than half of the people were human, and even if there were humans,

many of them were mixed with other races. She had heard that the only

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countries led by a purely human royal family were Sacred Kingdom Roebel,

Baharuth Empire, and Re-Estize Kingdom. There were no royal families in

the Theocracy or the city-state alliance.

Perhaps that was why news of Jaldabaoth hadn't reached this majority

human country.

"...Incidentally, demons that accessorize with heads can't use the

abilities of non-caster heads. Wearing a warrior's head won't give them

warrior powers. There are different monsters who can do that."

"Then that subhuman head… Your Highness, could you tell us about the

Grand Mother?"

"Sure. That's what I'm on your side for. Pandexes eat moss and look

similar to us in both face and body."

So like maggots.

Neia trembled for a second, thinking how creepy a demon would be to

wear a head like that.

"…Was she a psychic caster?"

"Yes, while I can manipulate the five elements of yin, she could

manipulate the five elements of yang. Yin and yang are in a bipolar

relationship; they can neutralize and interfere with each other."

"...I see." Shizu nodded. "Having you with us will increase our chances

of winning."

"I'm glad you understand. I, too, find the demon using the Grand Mother

in this way disgusting. Yes, because she was my first love."

"Prince!"

"What?! You fell for a member of a different race?!"

"Oh, it was just a little crush in my youth! I'm different now!"

It must have been a bittersweet tale, but to Neia, the first crush of a

maggot was just unpleasant.

"S-so if our opponent has two heads, we can guess that it's a circlet.

What's the cumulative number of magic tiers it can cast?"

"...The max would be six. Incidentally, a crown can do ten."

"So if I used a tier-four spell, they would have two tiers left to use. Of

course, that assumes the demon is aiming to neutralize my powers, so we

need to be careful…"

"...Then we need to think about that human head. We don't have

enough information. Neia?"

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"Sorry. I wish I knew about people with black hair, but I don't. I'm a bit

surprised, though. I thought you might go to battle without worrying about

it."

"...Lord Ainz said collecting intelligence is important."

"Oh! I'd expect nothing less from His Majesty. It's a brilliant idea!"

In response, Shizu stretched out her hand. Neia took it unhesitatingly and

shook up and down.

"...You really get it. I should have given you a cuter sticker. You

should grow fluffy hair."

"…Sticker? Oh, if you mean the thing you stuck on me from before, I

don't need another. Please give it to someone else you like."

"...Mrf. You're the first person who has ever disliked my stickers."

"Huh?"

Hearing she was the first surprised Neia. But then she wondered how

many humans this demon had really hung out with. And there was also the

possibility that everyone hated them in secret but wouldn't dare tell a demon.

She wanted to point those things out, but she couldn't be so cold to a fellow

devotee of the Great One. In the end, she settled for just wincing.

"…If I remember correctly, humans, like zerun, don't grow fur. That's

why they live in buildings like this. Digging a hole and living in it like we do

isn't bad, either!"

"Prince, we're getting off topic. We don't have much time. Everything

needs to be finished by the point the humans come to attack the city."

"...Mm. Conclusion: The prince should come with us."

No one disagreed. Well, Neia had been the only dissenter in the first

place.

"In terms of tactics, we'll take the lead, but what should we do if a guard

blocks our way? Leaving an opponent with casting abilities to roam freely

would be quite dangerous…"

"...I'll fight them at close quarters."

No one asked if she could. One of the people who had defeated the va-um

—though it had been all Shizu, really—was saying so. No one would doubt

her.

"Okay. Let's do that, then. Carry us in the barrels to near where the

demon aide is located. If you say the demon ordered you to bring food, it'll

probably work out."

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"Us" meant the prince, Neia, and Shizu. As long as those three weren't

discovered—if they could proceed in secret, meaning that the zerun's

betrayal wasn't found out—this would be doable.

Shizu and Neia went back into the barrels they had been carried to the

castle in.

"…How lucky, Miss Shizu, right?"

Shizu poked her head out of her barrel. "...What is?"

"I mean, everything is going so well. Thanks to the zerun rebelling, we

were able to come save the prince, and Jaldabaoth's aide just happens to be

here at the perfect time. If we defeat this demon, it'll be a great

accomplishment, you know? No one'll be able to argue with us anymore. It'll

make it easy to form the search party for His Majesty."

"That's just a coincidence."

Shizu's unusually forceful tone of voice weighed on Neia.

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah. It's a coincidence, which is why it's lucky… Well,

considering how powerful His Majesty the King of Darkness is and him

making you belong to him, maybe it's not a coincidence."

"Belong to...Lord Ainz...?"

"Oops, did I make you sound like an object?"

"...It's fine. Neia."

"Huh?"

"...You're my favorite... You're not cute, but I think you're worth

giving another sticker."

It stings when you keep saying I'm not cute, though, ya know…, Neia

thought as she declined the stickers and disappeared into her barrel.

4

Though the zerun were stopped multiple times by other subhumans as they

carried the barrels containing Neia, Shizu, and the prince, they managed to

make it to a location near the great demon's office without a single barrel

being opened.

Neia and the others finally emerged from their barrels.

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Neia had been watching from inside for a while, and there was no sign of

tightened security. It didn't seem like their infiltration and rescue of the

prince had been discovered yet.

Neia put the prince on her back, and while she strapped him into place and

made other preparations, one of the other zerun requested an audience with

the great demon aide—for reconnaissance purposes.

Around the time everyone was ready to charge in, the zerun returned.

"He's alone. No guards."

Neia frowned.

With Jaldabaoth seriously injured, would one of his only three aides really

not boost his security? Or had they lowered their guard because they thought

the King of Darkness was dead?

She had a lot of ideas, but the prince's next comment said it all.

"Then that makes it easier to kill him. Let's go."

Everyone took that as the signal to proceed.

When one of the zerun opened the door, Neia, who was standing right in

the center of the group, could see clearly into the room.

The office had a high ceiling—at least fifteen feet—and was extremely

spacious. Finely furnished, it was the classic image of a luxurious chamber.

Behind a dark, massive desk, a grotesque monster raised its voice.

"A human? Ze—?" He started to say something. But Neia and her squad

had no intention of chitchatting.

The prince on Neia's back immediately fired off a spell. "Yin Wu Xing:

Raging Fireball!"

Just barely missing Neia, a small, feeble blaze shot into the room. On their

way here, the prince had boasted about the power of tier-four attack spells.

The fireball would explode on impact, so the idea was to get one off before

they entered the room. But then—

"Yang Wu Xing: Raging Fireball!"

The fire disappeared in midair as if it had been blown out in the wind.

"As I thought…," the prince murmured bitterly.

He didn't attack again. The first had been a test. If it hadn't been

neutralized, he would have continued, but unfortunately that didn't work out.

In order to not waste mana, it was probably best to use his magic to attack in

coordination with the others.

"…Is the one on the human's back a zerun? It doesn't look like you

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caught the humans and dragged them here… Khuh-ha-ha-ha! A rebellion,

then? How fun."

The demon who slowly stood looked like a human caricature straight out

of a nightmare.

First, he wasn't wearing any clothes, so his arms—long enough that they

reached his knees—his legs, and his skin-and-bone body were all exposed.

His withered frame was so thin that even Neia felt like she would be able

to snap him in two, no problem.

There wasn't anything that seemed like a head that she could see. From

his shoulders came another set of shoulders. No, there was an awfully thin—

thinner than a woman's wrist—neck that rose up like a branch and carried

two fruits. Was that his head?

"Huh? Oh!" Neia yelped. The shock was so great, that was all she could

say at first.

Shizu had mentioned that circlets had two heads.

One of them was grotesque, like a big maggot. It looked a lot like the

prince, just as described. That had to be the Grand Mother. The issue was the

other one.

It was the head of a woman whose half-open eyes showed only the whites

and whose mouth hung partially agape. But though her face was pale, not

only had she not decomposed, but her blond hair had even maintained its

luster. Red flesh peeked out from the stump of her neck, and it looked so

fresh, Neia practically expected blood to start gushing out. The fact that it

seemed to have been recently ripped from its body could only be described as

strange, but it was also the reason Neia knew who it was immediately.

"Lady Kelart Custodio…"

She had only seen it from a distance, but there was no mistaking the

highest-ranking priest in the Sacred Kingdom.

Doubts swirled in Neia's mind.

What did it mean? Was the zerun lying, then? Did they think that Neia

and Shizu would run away if they found out it was Kelart?

"I see, I see, I see. Well, zerun, are you saying you don't care what

happens to your king or the others living in your homeland? I'll give you one

last chance. If you apprehend those two, I'll let you off with a light

punishment."

The heads hung there immobile, like two strange fruits. And eyeballs

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showing only whites were the same. It was as if they really were nothing

more than decoration. Then where did his voice come from?

Having no answer for Neia's silent questions, the prince shouted at the

great demon.

"Hmph! It's a bit late for that! Why would we believe your nonsense

when you already killed the king?!"

"The king? Really?"

Neia could hear the uncertainty in his voice. Since this demon didn't have

his own head, he didn't have facial expressions, which, yes, was a pain. They

wouldn't be able to tell from his face whether a blow was effective or not. In

that sense, zerun were also tricky opponents for humans.

"My job is to rule this land, so that place isn't my jurisdiction, but…hmm.

So he was killed? That just means you had a fool for a king."

"How dare you!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You traitors didn't come here to talk, did you? You came

because you thought you could defeat me, right? So then what's your trump

card? That human?"

A nearly two-foot claw extending from the tip of the finger of his slender

hand pointed at Neia.

"As if we would tell you!"

The demon replied calmly to the prince's shout. "You don't have to.

Shadow Demons."

The great demon's shadow stretched.

Then it puffed up and went from two to three dimensions. What appeared

was a pair of demons, typical in appearance except that they looked as if

they'd been doused in black paint.

This must have been why he didn't have any subhuman guards.

"You two, kill the zerun aside from the prince. I'm going to capture

him… Human, if you turn on them, I'll free a number of people important to

you trapped in the camps equal to the number of fingers on your hands."

The demon proposed the deal Shizu had anticipated he would.

Impressed with that foresight, Neia asked a question to put their opponent

off guard. "Really?" She spoke timidly, testing his mood, and he sounded

delighted.

"What! You'll betray us?!" When the zerun shouted, all the demon's

attention fell on Neia.

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"Shut up, shut up, shut up. I'm talking to her… I keep my promises.

Count out who you'd like to protect and rescue. If you don't have enough

fingers, we can negotiate…"

Unprotected, as if he'd forgotten the words on guard, the great demon's

stance was full of openings.

Shizu, the ace up their sleeve, didn't fail to notice that. Springing from the

shadows, she aimed her Mana Gun.

When the gun spat fire, the great demon clasped a hand over his shoulder.

Shizu had been standing by outside, so this was a total sneak attack. And

it was the attack that kicked off the fight.

The talk of negotiations that they had used to distract their enemy was

over. The zerun attacked the shadow demons. At the same time, Shizu, who

had burst into the room at tremendous speed, didn't slow down for an instant

as she employed lightning-quick footwork to bypass the forward fighters of

both sides and close in on the great demon.

"What?! Aren't y—?"

"...I don't owe you an explanation."

Shizu used a knife to make a wide slash, but the great demon brushed the

attack away with his claws.

Neia knew there was no time for it now that the battle had begun, but she

still complained to the zerun on her back. "What do you mean her hair is

black? It's blond!"

"Blond? What is? Clearly her hair's light black."

"What?"

He didn't seem to be bluffing. Could it be that zerun perceive colors

differently from humans?

She had heard that some races who could see through any darkness were

color-blind and only saw in black and white. Or that some could only

distinguish colors in the light.

The lighting in the pantry had been like that, geared for multiple races—

probably so they could distinguish the colors of the foods.

"We can talk later! Yin Wood: Lightning Claw!"

"Tch! Yang Wu Xing: Lightning Claw!"

Lightning coursed through the air like the swipe of a beast's claws but

disappeared midway.

There were also the spells Wu Xing: Gentle Metal to lower defensive

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power and Wu Xing: Metal Strength to increase attack power, and Wu Xing:

Summon Lightning Storm, but there was always the possibility that instead of

canceling them out, the great demon would use a powerful spell of his own.

To avoid that, the prince only cast attack spells that couldn't be ignored.

He narrowed it down further to lightning, which he surmised was the great

demon's weakness, and boosted its power with a wood element skill. A

normal Wu Xing spell might have been perfectly neutralized, but the prince's

strengthened version could deal a tiny bit of damage that would add up.

The Grand Mother should have had the same strengthening powers as the

prince, but now she was an accessory for the great demon. He didn't have

skills to boost spells, so the power of the prince's magic kept the pressure on.

Since Neia was leaving the vanguard to Shizu, she needed to make sure

she pulled her weight as the rear guard. Against such a tough enemy, she

couldn't merely act as the prince's feet. She took aim with Ultimate Shooting

Star: Super and let an arrow fly.

Though her aim was extremely precise, the great demon had no trouble

slapping the arrow away with one hand.

"What a pest. Shock Wave."

Kelart's face—her mouth—moved, and the tier-two spell flew at Shizu.

The invisible shock wave took her slightly off her feet, but there was no sign

she had taken any damage, such as sluggish movement. One would hardly

expect less from a difficulty level–150 demon maid.

"Yin Wood: Lightning Claw!"

"Yang Wu Xing: Lightning Claw!"

They cast the same spells again, and a small amount of electricity coursed

through the demon aide's body.

"Open Wounds."

The counterattack was a spell that worsened wounds. The target was,

naturally, Shizu, who was the most exposed to the demon's claws.

Neia could only see Shizu's back, but she didn't seem to be losing even a

bit of her agility.

A drop of sweat ran down Neia's spine.

Neia was the only one in the party who could heal. That meant she was

also in charge of healing, but regardless of how well one could sense their

own body, it was extremely difficult to tell how injured someone else was

without a wealth of experience.

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Especially with someone like Shizu, who didn't show emotions on her

face, Neia was worried the maid would push past her limits before she

realized it and collapse. That's why she was keeping an eye on how both

Shizu and the prince were moving, but it made her busy in the complicated

way of someone ambidextrous.

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Nonetheless, she had to do it.

The prince continued firing off spells, and Shizu slashed at the demon

with her knife while being slashed at in return. Everyone was performing

their roles perfectly, so there was no way Neia could be the only one to

complain that she couldn't handle it.

"Heavy Recovery."

Having judged that Shizu's wounds had started adding up, Neia activated

the item from the King of Darkness to use the tier-three healing spell on her.

"Aha!"

Neia sensed that the faceless great demon's gaze was directed at her.

His exclamation must have meant that he had discovered the healer—that

is, the one he should take out first. And then he really did use the magic he

was still allotted after countering the prince's spells to attack her.

"Shock Wave."

An invisible impact hit as if she'd been clobbered with a war hammer.

A nauseating creak reverberated inside her body, and the pain coursing

through her made her want to writhe. This hurt a lot more than the magic the

va-um used. She couldn't believe Shizu had weathered this like it was

nothing. It was a powerful blow—no wonder Kelart Custodio was known as a

genius.

"Nnnngh!" A hoarse scream escaped between the gaps in her gritted teeth.

"Are you okay?!"

"I-I'm fine!" Neia replied to the concerned prince.

"Next, I'll get the zerun along wi—"

"—No. I'm protecting Neia." Shizu spread her arms and stood in front of

Neia to shield her.

The great demon was tall; Shizu, in contrast, was short. She could stand

there, but he probably still had a direct line of sight. Nevertheless, the

sentiment made Neia so happy.

"What? Ahhh!" the great demon cried hoarsely.

Shizu's action must have done something to him.

Did she use some kind of special ability? Or a spell?

Neia had no idea what Shizu had done, but the great demon's urge to kill

seemed to have weakened. Of course, it was probably just her imagination.

There was no reason his hostility should have dropped at this moment.

Neia felt she would be able to withstand one more spell like the attack

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earlier. Well, she wanted to believe she could anyhow.

She had regained the mana she consumed in the battle with the va-um, but

she wasn't sure how many times she would need to use Heavy Recovery, so

she wanted to conserve it to the extent possible. That said, if she pushed

herself to the brink, one little mistake could send her over. It was an

extremely difficult thing to make out.

"And her weapon is a bow that Lord Ainz lent to her!" Shizu stated in a

voice that was loud for her. She must have wanted to talk up the King of

Darkness? Neia wanted to remind her they were in the middle of a battle, but

maybe there was some reason behind it if the most experienced, most

powerful person here was saying it.

"What?! That King of Darkness?" the demon aide shouted in surprise.

The King of Darkness really was amazing. Jaldabaoth must have told this

demon to be on guard against him.

"Yes! A bow made with runes!"

Unable to ignore what was just said, Neia admonished her, "Don't give

away our secrets!"

"Oh?! It's a weapon made with lost rune technology? With a weapon like

that, you might be able to kill me!"

Why does he seem to be explaining everything so conveniently? thought

Neia before feeling ashamed of herself. They were in the middle of a lifeand-death battle with a powerful enemy. A weakling like her had it hard

enough already. She couldn't afford to waste even a tiny corner of her brain

on idle thoughts like that.

"Runes, you say? Marvelous!" The demon aide spoke again, sounding

extremely cautious. Maybe the idea was to distract Neia, breaking her focus.

And in reality…

"Runes?" she heard the prince asking from her back.

So she said, "No! It's not that kind of weapon!"

Neia felt both Shizu and the great demon freeze. Oh, that, right. She

figured they were locked motionless, faced with the realization that they were

evenly matched.

"Runes…"

"No!" she fairly spat.

"Grm…," the demon aid groaned. "I see… Well, then… Blindness."

Suddenly Neia's field of vision went black. That must have been his way

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of disabling the healer.

The magic item Neia had borrowed could only cast Heavy Recovery, not

any spells that would cure a status like blindness. If their party included a

priest or other faith caster, it could have been healed easily enough.

Unfortunately, things wouldn't be that simple.

It was unclear how long this enchanted darkness would continue, but if

she wanted to heal Shizu, she would have to approach within touching

distance…

"I can't see!" It's important to communicate with one's teammates.

"Shizu! If you get hurt, let me know!"

"...Mm."

"Sorry! I don't have a spell that can cure a status like that, either!"

"Don't worry about it!" Replying to the apology that came from her back,

Neia drew her bow. A body that large she would be able to shoot at from

memory. She had learned a bit about fighting sizable opponents from their

clash with the va-um. The bowstring twanged.

"Gwaaaooohhh!" The demon aide howled in pain.

"Nice! He tried to evade it but dodged the wrong way! A perfect shot!"

Hearing the prince's commentary, Neia prayed to the King of Darkness.

How lucky was that?

"...Let's maintain this momentum and take him down."

"Yeah!"

"Right!"

It was difficult to hear through the sounds of the zerun fighting the

shadow demons nearby, but focusing every fiber of her being, Neia sensed

how Shizu was doing, as well as the demon aide's position, and continued

attacking.

Perhaps the demon had realized that he needed to crush Shizu first or he

would lose; all his attacks were aimed at her. And many of the spells were the

disabling type, like Blindness that he had cast on Neia, so pretty much

everything was neutralized.

At that point, all they had to do was keep pushing.

By the time the prince's mana had run out, they had won almost as if it

had been a matter of course. His joyous shouts at that moment were

borderline obnoxious.

The zerun had lost some members but also won their battle.

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The only thing was that the spell on Neia still hadn't lifted. Her field of

vision remained pitch-black. But it shouldn't have been a spell that would rob

her of the light forever; she was sure it would wear off soon. It was lasting so

long because Kelart Custodio was just that powerful of a caster.

She couldn't see, but from the feel and sounds, she could tell the zerun

had gathered around her.

"Prince! We're so glad you're safe."

"Yes… Please partake respectfully of the Grand Mother's corpse."

You're gonna eat her? Neia quipped in her head.

But he had said "respectfully," so she could only assume that it was some

sort of zerun mourning ritual.

"Neia, what will you do with the human's head? Do you eat it?"

"N-no, that's not how we humans dispose of our dead. I'll bring it back to

the castle."

"I see. Human funeral rites are quite puzzling. Well, you must feel the

same about ours. I suppose that's what they call a cultural difference. Still, I

can't thank you both enough. We never could have—"

"—Wait. We don't have time to chitchat here. We need to get moving."

A disturbance was audible in the distance. Either the liberation army was

advancing toward them, or they'd been discovered by the subhuman alliance.

It could also be some guards rushing toward them upon hearing the battle

noises. No matter what it was, they couldn't stand around dawdling.

"You're right, Miss Shizu. As promised, please assist the liberation army

with the capture of Karinsha."

"Yes, of course! Hey, you!"

"Sir! We'll get started right away. Would you and the humans please get

into the barrels, Prince? We'll carry you out of the castle."

Neia couldn't see so she wasn't sure, but she got the sense that Shizu, next

to her, was hesitating about something. She understood why. She must have

hated the barrels. Neia felt the same way.

"...I'll assist."

"I will, too, after my blindness gets cured."

The prince flailed on Neia's back like a freshly caught fish. It was

trembles of delight. The fact that she knew that, her adaptability, was a bit

stupefying.

"If my sisters-in-arms are off to battle, then so am I. Of course, I used up

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most of my mana, so I can't rely on any fancy spells, but I can cast some

strengthening magic on you."

"Your Highness!"

"Don't make a fuss. Are you telling me to be the kind of male who lets

those who fought beside me battle on alone?!"

"...That's about enough. Time to go." Shizu urged them to depart—as

if she wanted to be done with the barrels as soon as possible.

"Let's take the barrels to a place where many of my fellow spawn are

gathered. Please get in."