Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: It's Over
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"It's over."
"Ended quicker than I thought. And it was a legion commander."
"If you set a trap like that, even I wouldn't stand a chance."
Was it because of all the outrageous stunts I'd pulled so far?
The party reacted more calmly than expected.
Everyone except Bagran, that is.
"What the hell just happened...?"
Bagran asked, his eyes wide open in circles.
Unlike the others, he clearly hadn't grasped the situation yet.
Instead of me—who was focused on spatial magic—Thompson answered.
"We trapped that Bune bastard inside the magic. Number One's specialty is spatial magic, after all."
Bagran couldn't hide his shock at the casual explanation.
"S-So... you're saying the demon legion commander is inside that black magic right now...?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Th-That doesn't make any sense!"
Thinking it was a joke, perhaps, Bagran raised his voice.
And that was the moment Bune's resistance began.
Thung!
With a dull thud, part of my spatial magic bulged out and then sank back in.
It repeated several times.
Thung! Thung! Thung! Thooong!
'Damn it, just stay put...!'
He was rampaging inside, but as expected of a legion commander, his resistance was fierce.
I could feel that if I let my guard down even a little, the spatial magic would unravel.
Noticing something off, Thompson asked.
"Number One... you okay?"
"For now... yeah."
Thooong!
The spatial magic bulged out once more.
"Urk!"
Each time it did, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen like I'd been punched.
'I thought it'd be easier this time...'
This wasn't going to work.
I wouldn't last much longer.
Of course, I wasn't too worried.
I hadn't gone all out yet, after all.
'It is a bit risky, though...'
No choice but to use that method.
Shwaaak!
With a flick of my wrist, the thing wrapped around it like a bandage unfurled.
[Lich's Wand].
The one I'd received from Cailius.
And the change happened the instant the [Lich's Wand] unfolded.
Srrrr!
Mana flowed along the wand, enveloping the spatial magic I was casting.
In that moment.
Shwoooong-!
The spatial magic visibly expanded and grew far more solid.
Incomparably stronger than before.
Thanks to that.
Dung...
Even Bune's seemingly stronger resistance felt much weaker now.
This was enough to hold out.
The problem was I had no time to worry about that.
'Control it...'
My mind was already filled with thoughts of somehow controlling the spatial magic.
If I failed, not only would Bune escape, but the backlash from the collapsing magic would hit me hard.
So.
'Focus.'
I poured all my concentration into manipulating the spatial magic.
Tremble tremble tremble.
Gripping the shaking [Lich's Wand], I infused my will into the mana.
'Compress it as much as possible.'
I began shrinking the spatial magic that had expanded unintentionally.
Crunch, craunch!
The spatial magic slowly contracted.
Feeling the pressure, perhaps.
...Dung! Dung! Dung!!
Bune rampaged wildly.
The more he did, the harder I clenched my teeth and poured in stronger control.
How much time passed?
Drip.
The spatial magic shrank smaller than a human body, and beads of sweat rolled off my mask to the ground.
...Thooong.
With one final resistance, Bune's struggling stopped. Only after waiting a sufficient time did I finally exhale the breath I'd been holding.
"Hah...! Hah...!"
"N-Number One!"
"Y-You okay?"
My comrades rushed over in a panic, supporting my staggering form.
Even then, my eyes stayed fixed on the spatial magic.
I couldn't be sure it was over yet.
Fortunately.
Plop-.
It seemed to end without issue.
A single unfamiliar arm fell limply from the vanishing spatial magic.
Seeing that, my tense comrades let out sighs of relief.
"It's really over..."
"Way too easy."
"Even a legion commander is a pain when trapped like that."
Bagran was no different.
Relieved as well, he muttered with his mouth agape, still unable to believe it.
"What the hell did I just witness...?"
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he clapped his hands.
"Th-This isn't the time! I'm heading back first!"
With that, Bagran dashed off somewhere.
I didn't need to ask where.
He was the dwarf clan's leader, after all.
It was obvious he was going to check on the infected dwarves.
"Let's head back, Number One."
"...Yeah."
Curious about the results ourselves, we soon made our way to the village.
***
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
His urgent heart made the ground shake more than usual.
But Bagran didn't care in the slightest right now.
His mind was replaying only what had just happened.
'A legion commander... all by himself...'
He'd never faced a demon legion commander directly, but he knew well what they were.
The elite demons commanding thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers.
That was a demon legion commander.
Their power went without saying—immense.
Yet one had just been obliterated by a single mage.
Without even putting up a proper fight.
'Even with the trap...'
It made no sense.
At least not within his common sense.
And Bagran had no choice but to accept it positively.
'A great benefactor has come to Kazandur!'
An incredible powerhouse had arrived in Kazandur, and he was on their side.
He even seemed friendly with his nephew.
With his help, the war with the elves might end easily.
'First, the patients...!'
Shrieeek!
Bagran, sprinting at full speed, came to an abrupt halt.
Before him loomed a large single-story building.
It was surely filled with the unfortunate dwarves waiting only for him.
Clunk!
Bagran burst inside.
His heart pounded fiercely.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
'...The treatment?'
And there.
"B-Bagran, sir!"
"Ah, we believed in you..."
"As expected of our leader. You saved us all!"
No more weak, groaning dwarves.
All brimmed with vitality.
'...It's real.'
The words those people spoke were proven true in that moment.
That mage had truly captured the demon legion commander.
***
After leaving the red rock cliffs and returning to Kazandur.
We received incredibly lavish treatment.
"What's all this...?"
"Eat your fill. You're benefactors to our dwarf clan."
"Never gotten hospitality like this before."
We'd only closed our eyes for a bit, and luxurious food greeted us upon waking.
All dwarf specialties, at that.
Over eighty percent of the menu was meat.
"You dwarves were born in a great place!"
"Does that decide if it's edible?"
"Not really, but this changes everything!"
Chomp! Chomp!
Thompson, thoroughly excited, tore into huge handfuls of meat with both hands.
Kayla and the others hesitated briefly before joining in.
"I'll eat well."
"...We'll gratefully accept."
One by one, they took food, and Bagran watched with a pleased smile.
Then, our eyes met, and he spoke.
"I should get going."
"Something come up?"
"We're still at war. Those pointy-ears won't back off even with the plague cured. They're dead set on finishing us."
"Ah... I see. So what do you plan to do on the dwarf side?"
"What can we do when they act like this?"
Whoosh!
Bagran raised the hammer he'd been holding.
"We're going to show them the real difference in power. If they don't retreat, that is!"
His expression was utterly resolute.
He'd already made up his mind.
'So it comes to this after all.'
I was inwardly disappointed.
I'd hoped for no casualties on either side if possible.
'...Well, if it escalates even after the issue's solved, it was inevitable anyway.'
Seeing how far they'd go, the grudge between elves and dwarves ran deeper than I'd thought.
But now that we'd come this far, ignoring it felt wrong.
What to do.
I hadn't planned to intervene much, but I asked casually.
"What if I said I could end the war for you? Would that be okay?"
"You mean... you'd fight on our side?"
"No, I won't take anyone's side."
I simply added that I could end the war itself.
Strictly from a neutral standpoint.
Bagran seemed to understand, pondered briefly, then nodded.
"We'd welcome it. Honestly, no need to drag this war out."
"Is that so?"
As I thought, Bagran wanted the war over too, deep down.
In that case...
"You go ahead. I'll be right there."
I'd make it happen.
With that decided, I tore into the meat mercilessly.
I needed full recovery before stepping in.
***
"What? Is that true?"
Evheim scowled unpleasantly upon hearing the dwarf clan's situation.
"They cured the plague?"
An elf soldier had reported that the plague tormenting the dwarves seemed resolved.
And it was accurate.
Soon after, reports flooded in that even infected elves had recovered fully—before using the antidote.
It didn't take long to grasp the situation.
'...Not a cure. The disease itself vanished?'
From the looks of it, whatever caused the plague had been eradicated.
Otherwise, it wouldn't resolve like this.
Naturally, for elves who'd stockpiled massive amounts of Antilian leaves, this was bad news.
'Their resistance will stiffen even more...'
Soon, the recovered dwarves would rejoin the battlefield in force.
That would turn the tide against the elves, who'd been pushing with superior numbers.
Only one option remained.
'Our chance is now!'
She quickly signaled with a hand gesture, and the waiting elf musicians began plucking their harps.
Ding ding~!
At the same time.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Die, you stinking bastards!"
Shwick! Shwish shwish!
The elf soldiers' morale surged.
They planned to accelerate the tempo for a swift victory.
But just as things were going smoothly.
Kuuung!
Something crashed onto the battlefield.
Four of them, in fact.
All familiar faces.
The hulking human slamming his body into elf knights, sending them flying.
"Uryaaah!"
Roooar!
The flame mage disrupting their well-formed fiery lines.
Twaaang! Twaaaang!
The reddish-bearded dwarf fighting better than the rest.
And.
Paaat!
Even that unpleasant black-haired mage.
'These bastards...!'
Evheim clenched her fist in fury.
The tide was turning sharply.