Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Bastia Mountains (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Seven Lords.
They were raid bosses who appeared in mid-boss positions in Rilteia, and the Demon King's closest confidants.
Naturally, they were composed solely of the most powerful and dangerous figures in the Demon King's army, each one possessing martial prowess comparable to the Seven Stars.
In the original story, these Seven Lords were supposed to rampage across the entire continent, plunging the whole land into massive chaos.
The Hero, the Saintess, and the rest of the Seven Stars would be tied up dealing with incidents in their respective regions, unable to join the subjugation party.
The core of Rilteia's first act storyline was for the player to assist the Seven Stars in slaying the Lords in each region, then rally them to defeat the Demon King.
Of course, since I'd subjugated the Demon King before they could even start rampaging, that plotline had become utterly meaningless now.
"...Should I kill her now...?"
"Do you know that demon's identity?"
"...More or less."
The problem was this. I'd killed the Demon King, but his vassals—the Lords—were still out there.
With the Demon King dead and their binding force gone, seven continent-wide time bombs had been created.
If this were the old me, who only cared about slaying the Demon King and returning to my original world, it wouldn't have mattered.
But now, with the need to complete all achievements, the Seven Lords were nothing less than enemies that had to be eliminated.
And one of those Lords had just appeared right in front of me.
The weakest among them in terms of raw power: Liliana.
'This is my chance.'
"Hmm... Still, the situation isn't ideal right now."
Liliana still seemed unaware that we'd approached this close to the gate.
If it were just me, maybe—but with Karl here too, the odds of letting her slip away were practically zero.
It was the perfect opportunity. If I missed this, who knew when I'd get another shot at her.
Catching a Lord normally required far more preparation, time, and manpower.
But...
"...Let's head back."
Taking her down now would demand far too many sacrifices.
Olivia and Cloe were still out scouting inside the mountain, and our frontline forces were woefully inadequate.
If the Hero's position got exposed in this situation, those guys would definitely mobilize the magical beasts.
The chances of the frontline holding without the Hero, Olivia, me, and Cloe... were slim to none.
I couldn't gamble the lives of the frontline troops, the people of Prifre, Olivia, and Cloe just to rack up my achievement right now.
'This is ridiculous.'
At first, as long as I could go back, I wouldn't have cared one bit.
These people were just NPCs in a game—mere data.
I had no particular affection or interest in them.
Thank you.
That's how it definitely was.
So why was I acting so foolishly now?
"Good call. Rampaging now wouldn't gain us anything anyway."
Right, it was because the Hero was beside me.
If I went wild in front of him, he'd figure out my identity in a flash.
If he weren't here, I wouldn't even be having these idiotic thoughts.
Sticking around a fool makes me feel like one too.
"...The one who just said they wanted to take a swing at her sure is saying that now..."
"Ahem... Let's send the signal and pull out soon. The duration's almost up, right?"
"Yeah... It'll be tight getting down in a hurry."
The scouting team consisted of four people: Karl and I in one pair, Olivia and Cloe in the other.
Whichever pair found the hatchery first would mark the location, signal the other pair, and return to the frontline—that was the key to this operation.
Once we sent the signal after confirming the hatchery's location—which we'd now identified as the gate—the mission would be a success.
"Red...?!"
If only Karl's signaler hadn't lit up red.
The signaler had three colors.
Blue meant the target location was confirmed—pull out.
Black meant no confirmation, but further scouting impossible—pull out.
And red was the emergency signal: spotted by the enemy, requesting backup.
At this moment, with Karl and me having done nothing, for the signaler to turn red meant—
Something had gone wrong with Cloe's side.
'Cloe...!'
30 minutes earlier, before Karl's signaler turned red.
Like Sion's group, Cloe and Olivia were investigating the mountains to uncover the cause of the magical beasts' rampage.
"Surprisingly... there aren't many magical beasts around?"
"Yeah... This doesn't make sense..."
Oddly enough, the number of magical beasts inside the mountain wasn't that high.
Given the horde invading the frontline, there should have been enough to fill the entire interior and then some.
-Woooong!
"Ah! Mana fluctuation!"
"...Let's check that direction."
"Yes!"
Right on cue, a mana wave echoed through the mountains.
Olivia and Cloe moved to follow it—but
"Wait, Mayer."
"...Yes?"
"Someone's tailing us."
They had already been spotted long ago.
-Ching!
"Come out, no need to hide!"
Olivia drew her sword and zeroed in on a tree behind them.
"Oh... You've got sharper instincts than expected, miss."
And as if by magic, a man emerged from behind the tree.
A man in a black mage's robe, holding a staff in one hand.
'Can't see his face... Magic?'
Whether it was perception interference magic or not, the man's face—clearly visible through the robe—was obscured.
"You're that black mage, aren't you?"
But she could vaguely guess his identity.
The black mage who destroyed the purification facilities and mutated the beasts into frenzied monsters.
"As expected... You've caught my trail to some extent. Yes, I am that black mage."
Without any intent to hide, the man bowed gentlemanly.
"...So it is you."
And that casual attitude fanned the embers Cloe had barely suppressed.
"You bastard who ruined my hometown...!"
Cloe's top priority was still survival.
Even now, after meeting Sion and growing fond of her, that hadn't changed.
But that didn't mean she had no thirst for revenge.
Her patience wasn't good enough to just stand by with the culprit right in front of her.
"Mayer! Wait—"
Before Olivia could stop her, Cloe drew her dagger and charged.
'He's a mage... I've got a good shot!'
No matter how emotions overrode reason, Cloe hadn't rushed in blindly.
[Have you heard... of Half-Demon...?]
[It's probably... a power unique to Cloe in this world...]
[With that, you won't lose to most mages...]
Born a Half-Demon, Cloe was a natural counter to mages.
And that applied to this black mage too.
"Hmm... Looks like I'm not well-liked."
Underestimating the charging Cloe, the black mage maintained his leisurely demeanor.
'Endure... then stab.'
No matter what attack the black mage prepared, Cloe was confident she could tank it.
Unless he was on Rion's level, she could survive at least one strike.
Once she weathered that, her dagger would plunge into the mage's heart.
"A bit earlier than planned... but no helping it."
It should have been that way.
"Gahk...!"
"Mayer!"
Cloe collapsed.
With a single gesture from the black mage, her body slammed powerlessly to the ground.
"What...!"
'Casting that fast?'
No, no way.
There was no way he'd finished casting that quickly.
Even Rion had a detectable casting moment.
But this black mage hadn't cast at all.
Was that even magic to begin with?
"Sorry, but take a little nap. It'll all be over soon."
The black mage didn't give Cloe time to finish her thoughts.
He repeated the same gesture as before.
"Ugh!"
Strength drained from Cloe's limbs, her body swaying.
"What did you... do to me...!"
"It's fine. I don't plan to kill you."
Again, the black mage's ability activated without casting.
As her consciousness faded, Cloe began to sink into sleep like quicksand.
"You're a very valuable ingredient, after all."
"You... bastard...!"
No matter how she struggled, the relentless drowsiness overtook her.
In that moment as sleep claimed her, one question floated in Cloe's mind.
'That voice... where have I...'
After the signaler turned red, Sion and Karl rushed toward the source.
"Olivia!"
"Hero...!"
Fortunately, they reunited without being too late.
Olivia and Cloe looked injured, as if a battle had taken place.
Olivia had various wounds, large and small, while Cloe was completely unconscious.
"What happened?!"
"...We were ambushed by the black mage. He's probably behind all this..."
"Damn, what about Mayer?"
"She took a hit from him. I don't know exactly what technique... but she's still breathing."
Fortunately, Cloe had simply fallen asleep.
Sion felt relief knowing she wasn't dead, but that relief gradually faded, replaced by another emotion.
"...Who was it."
Sion's eyes gazing at the sleeping Cloe were calmer than ever.
Her dark blue irises, like staring into the night sky, were cold and sharp as winter.
An emotion she herself hadn't realized, but right now...
Sion was... more than a little angry.