26 Black fog (2/2)

He returned from the tower and after reporting to the king, he went to see Alumina, armed and intact.

And it started when I was talking to Alumina when I suddenly heard a scream.

I sensed something was wrong and was running to get Alumina and the king to safety when I met Lucullus.

Lucullus had just defeated one of his fellow knights at the time.

When he looked, he could see the guards and some other knights down as well.

I honestly didn't know what was going on.

And then Lucullus suddenly came towards me and swung his sword at me.

It was a spur of the moment thing, but I managed to catch the first blow.

'Why? Lord Lucullus!　Why are you attacking us!

But Lucullus has no answer. It looks like his own voice isn't being heard.

That's when I finally realize that Lucullus's eyes are not sane. It's as if he's lost his emotions.

But right now, he didn't seem to have time to worry about such things.

He crossed swords with Lucullus. The opponent's sword was so fast that it was barely possible to prevent it.

And I've been somewhat powerless since a while ago.

''Lember ......''

Alumina, who is behind me, calls out to me anxiously.

As long as Alumina is behind me, I can't let myself fall down.

Lucullus unleashes more swords.

That sword is fast and heavy. He was barely able to protect it.

As expected of a temple knight. He is much stronger than I am.

I bring out my sword and block Lucullus' sword.

It was when we were meeting swords for the umpteenth time that Lucullus suddenly pulls his sword back.

'What is ......'

Before he knew it, one person was behind Lucullus.

''You are Medicine Man Orua ......''

I knew that person.

He was Orua, the medicine man who came to this country two weeks ago.

Orua was blind and always wore a black cloth around his eyes. It has been removed.

'You were a strigess: ......

Orua's eyes were not human eyes. The eyes were round and large and white and yellow, they were the eyes of an owl, the eyes of a strigeth.

And then I notice something. That the first place where the fallen temple knight was brought in last night was Orr's shop.

'Well, at that time ......

I notice, but only later.

'You seem to do a bit of that, unlike the other knights.

Orua laughs and approaches me.

I didn't expect someone to come in disguised as a human.

As a general rule, no one is allowed to enter the kingdom without being introduced by a citizen of an allied country or a citizen of Roxx.

But of course there is an exception. That is if the applicant has a special skill such as a sorcerer. The reason for this is, of course, that it is in the country's best interest to have such a skilled person in the country.

Orua was also allowed to stay in the kingdom because of his knowledge of medicine.

However, from now on, it might be better to restrict the entry of even skilled people into the country.

'Well, let's have that princess handed over to us. You will be the tool to defeat the brave.

I'm not gonna let you do that!

It looks like he's going to use Alumina as a hostage and use her as a shield for the heroes, but I won't let him do that.

I'm going to brandish my sword and charge at them.

If you defeat this woman, everything should be over. Orua has let his guard down and is letting Lucullus down. Now's our chance.

Feather Arrow!

Orr waves his arm and something flies out.

''Nah!''

I hurriedly take a defensive stance.

'Guh. ......'

The pain in my body is intense.

Unable to prevent everything, a flying object stabbed into his body. The stabbed object was a bird's feather.

The bird's feathers pierced through the armor and into my body.

'd*mn. ......'

On your knees. I can't move.

'Lember!

Alumina lets out a distressed cry.

'Alumina, run away ......'

But I don't think we can. To escape, we'd have to go back the way we came, and that way would be a dead end.

I was on the verge of tears. Why am I so helpless? I can't even protect the one woman I love.

”Hmm, I guess I underestimated the importance of being the only woman.

I kick myself as Orua approaches. He kicks me away and I roll straight to the end of the aisle.

Orua goes straight up to Alumina.

'Such ...... alumina ......'

I was so sad that all I could do was watch.

Come here.

I can't see his expression from Orua's back, but I can see that he's laughing.

''No!　Help me, Rage-sama...!

Alumina calls out the name of the brave.

You're going to call the brave one? Well...

Orua was about to say something when Alumina's front glowed.

''What!!!''

Orr jumps backwards over himself.

'Rage-sama!

Alumina's happy voice.

After the light subsided, there was a brave man.

''Alumina! I'm here to help!

The brave man laughs.

Alumina's expression as she looked at the brave man was an expression she had never shown herself.

Silone, the maiden of the sword.

'Deyahhhh, Sunlight Blade!

I wield my sword and take down the zombies.

'What the hell is this shadowy thing already!

I complain.

It looks like Rage-kun called up the sun, but a black fog-like substance is covering this whole area and the light can't seem to reach it.

I also put out a sunshine, but it was blocked and couldn't reach me, so I had to fight it by granting it to my sword.

I breathe on my shoulder.

I feel like I'm more worn out than usual.

I look around and see Gallios and the other freedom fighters fighting the zombies.

If it weren't for them, the zombies would be avalanche in the city center.

It was a sudden thing, but the freedom fighters were fast enough to save us. In contrast, the knights and guards in this country seem to be moving slowly.

Could it be that something happened in the royal palace?

I want to make sure, but right now I have to do something about the zombies in front of me.

I slash at the approaching zombies.

Gallios and others also manage to hold back the zombies.

However, the zombies are coming incessantly. Sooner or later, they will reach their limit.

If it were true, I should be able to handle it on my own, but I don't have the strength to do it.

Is it because of this black fog-like thing?

Maybe it's this black fog that's limiting my power.

Could it be a very bad situation ......?

Rember, Knight of the Kingdom of Rox

Awesome ......

In front of me, the brave men and the temple knights were crossing swords.

I lay my wounded body down and watched the battle.

The brave men are blocking not only the opponents I couldn't match, but also the other temple knights and Orr's attacks.

''It's okay Lember. I'm sure Rage-sama will be able to help you.

Alumina balks at herself.

Blood was flowing from the wound, and she felt like she was going to lose consciousness.

But I thought it was strange. I think the One who was one of the brave man's wives was much stronger in the tower.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

''Master Rage: ......''

Arminna also noticed that the brave man was acting strangely and looked at him with concern.

'Goddess, please bless Rage-sama. ......

Alumina prays.

And I closed my eyes and prayed to the goddess as well.

Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man

I didn't know there were underground passageways like this in this country.

I muttered as I walked.

As I was magically searching for Nao's location, I found the entrance to an underground passage in an alleyway near the royal palace.

It might normally be closed, but the entrance was now open, and Nao seemed to have entered the underground passage from here.

When he entered, the passage was long and he couldn't see the destination.

''Even so, you're consuming a lot of magic power.

Just a little bit of the magic of the lighting is enough to make fatigue overwhelm me.

Perhaps it's the influence of the black fog that seems to be covering the country.

This black fog seems to be spreading over the entire country. I can see how high the magic power of the person who created this fog is.

I'm worried about Nao's safety. We'd better hurry.

As I walked, I found a door in the middle of the passage. It looks like Nao is in there.

The door opens into a large room.

The room is not very bright, but there is a light on, illuminating the room, albeit vaguely.

And a little away from the door, Nao was lying on the floor.

'Nao-san!'

I run up to Nao.

'Pull yourself together, Nao!

Chiyuki-san: ”Chiyuki-san: ......

I call out to her and Nao responds weakly.

Her life seems to be intact, but Nao's face is pale and lacks her usual energy.

''Nao-san, ...... I can't believe you were hit,''

I couldn't hide my shock.

Nao is the most evasive of all of us. Not a single person has been able to defeat Nao since she came to this world.

That Nao has fallen.

'No Chiyuki-san ....... Don't touch Nao. ......

Nao warns.

If you look closely, you can see what looks like black thorns wrapped around Nao's body.

Probably magical thorns. The thorns seemed to make it impossible for Nao to move.

Nao told me not to touch it, but I can't leave it like this.

I touch the thorns to try to peel them off.

'Ugh. ......'

I felt as if the slightest bit of the spikes took away my strength.

''What! You barra!

This time I tried to use a hand-held knife, but the spikes were in the way and there was nothing I could do.

'No, Chiyuki-san ....... Run away fast, before that guy gets to you .......

Nao shakes her head, urging her to run away.

'Who the hell is that guy!　Did it do this to you?

I asked Nao, but she didn't seem to be able to answer anymore.

'No more ......'

Then Nao doesn't answer anything.

'Nao-san!　Get a grip!

I called out to Nao, but there was no answer.

'Ho ....... It looks like another butterfly has taken over.

Someone comes out of the back of the room.

'Who?!'

I stand up and brace myself.

From the darkness at the back of the room walks a masked ...... probably a man.

The man's mask, decorated with spiders, was eerie.

'You're Nao-san?　Who are you?

I couldn't find this guy when Nao searched for him in the daytime. Could it be one of the demons he found?

'Your enemy. The black-haired sage.

He clearly states that he is the enemy.

I feel like a pretty powerful enemy. I have a feeling that this is not an ordinary demon.

If it's a demon like this, maybe it's from Nargol.

''Could it be?　Do you think it's the hand of Nargol?

I asked and the masked man nodded.

'How true.'

Apparently, it's definitely under Modes' control. There was no one like this when we attacked Nargol.

Does the Demon King have a habit of being generous with his offerings?

'Well. I'll have you guys, who are under the control of that d*mned goddess' daughter, become my sacrifices!

I can feel a powerful wave of magic from the masked man.

It's like he's trying to use some kind of magic.

I decide to make the first move.

''Ultrasonic Wave!!!''

As I chant, a sound wave attacks the masked man.

However, the sound wave disappears in front of the man.

'No! I prevented it without defensive magic!

And then an amazing feeling of exhaustion comes over me. There's no way I'd be this tired with this level of magic. Something is wrong.

”This country is already my domain. ”This country is already my domain, and those who do not have Nargol's blessing will be deprived of their power within this realm.

The masked man was right, there was no strength in his body.

'How about it, you won't have any strength. You seem to have powers comparable to the gods of Elyos, but you can't do anything within this realm.

The man comes closer.

I fall back.

I can't win by myself. I'm sorry for Nao, but I should call for help here. I try to leave.

'I won't let you. 'Binding of the Black Blood Rose!

The masked man senses that I'm about to retreat and uses his magic.

A black thorn comes out of the ground and binds me up, just like Nao.

''I ...... hurt ......''

He is tied up by Ibarra and moans. I have no strength.

'Lucky me. We were going to take the life force of the only humans in this country, but we didn't expect the brave men to come to us.'

The masked man laughs.

'I had to look into the brave men because I was going to kill them eventually. It was easy enough to find out about you guys. After all, you stand out, you guys. The girl there is good at detecting things, but she's not so good at hiding herself, is she? There are many ways to avoid detection as long as you keep an eye out for that girl. Now let's get this over with.

A man's hand reaches out to me.

”You will be my sacrifice. I will not kill you immediately, but I will slowly, slowly suck the life out of you.

Fear rises in me.

'No!　No!　Help me, Mr. Rage!!!

I cry out and call for Rage.

'The brave cannot come to help. This room is warded and it is impossible to communicate with it by magic. And now the brave man is fighting Orr to save the princess of this country. I don't think he can afford to help you. You're not going to be able to do that as long as you're in my area. I'm here to help, and I'll return the favor.

The heartless words of the masked man.

Am I going to die like this? No, someone help me! I scream in my mind.

The masked man's hand touches my cheek. His hand is so cold, it freezes my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I was so terrified that I couldn't handle it.

Then I heard a door open from behind me.

''What!''

The masked man lets out a panicked voice.

Suddenly his body comes free and he moves away from the masked man.

'Are you okay?'

The voice that was called was a very gentle voice.

When I looked, I saw someone there with a mask covering his face. From the sound of his voice, he was probably a man.

I'm being held by the man's right arm. I felt the warmth of the man and the fear I had felt before was gone.

'I want this girl ......'

The man who hid his face was holding Nao in his left arm. Nao has already been unbound in Ibarra's bindings, as have I.

I am lowered to the ground and handed Nao to him.

'Ugh. ......'

Nao moans. He's fainting, but he looks alive.

I put Nao's right arm around my shoulder to support him.

'Who are you?'

He appears out of nowhere, removes me and Nao's thorns, and then steps back to the door with me in his arms. It's incredibly quick. This is not just any man.

But the man who hides his face does not answer the question, but points to the door behind him.

”Take the child and run away quickly. I'll take care of the rest.

Who is this man? The masked man is dangerous; I wonder if I'll be able to handle it alone.

But somehow I felt reassured by the man's words.

'Okay, ...... thanks. But don't take it easy, I'll go get help.

I'm going out the door. I'll have to call Raige. It won't be safe for him to be alone.

I walk down the underground passageway, supporting Nao. I'm so powerful in this world that I can move fast, even if I can carry at least one person. But right now, I could barely walk with no strength.

You have to hurry. But my steps were not getting faster.

'I should have asked for your name: ......

I'm going to regret it a bit.

If it helped, I'll find him and thank him.

I kept walking towards the ground.