Chapter 90

“If you surrender, I’ll guarantee your life! But if you attack, assume that even God’s mercy won’t be granted to you!”

At Cole’s speech, the enemy magician remained silent.

When Cole slowly stepped out from below the stairs, explosive flames immediately attacked.

“So this is your answer.”

As Cole absorbed all the magic, I also resolved myself and stood up.

Supported by me, Cole began walking through the raging current of explosive flames, and Kururu followed behind him.

The suggestion that he should defend against magic with annihilation magic while firing attacks from behind was rejected.

Apparently, this annihilation magic absorbed magic within a certain range, so it was not suited for team battles. Since it even absorbed the magic of allied magicians beside him, we had to wait until a moment when we could coordinate the timing extremely well.

“If we defeat him, there probably won’t be any magicians inside the tower. They surely never thought enemies would actually come.”

The explosive flames broke off for an instant, then came again.

However, that was like a smokescreen, and immediately after, a fierce wind spell raged, followed without pause by another burst of explosive flames.

The instant Cole ran out of strength, or the annihilation magic stone finished exerting its effect, we would be reduced to charcoal.

The enemy was changing tactics in various ways so our magic stone would quickly be used up, and so Cole would not be able to conserve magic.

However—

“You truly made a terrifying discovery.”

Cole, whose shoulder I supported, kept staring calmly ahead without panicking, hurrying, or even letting his breathing become ragged.

Thick purple smoke continued pouring endlessly from the magic stone.

Yet Cole still seemed to be having more trouble simply continuing to grip that huge magic stone.

“Is that all?”

After the explosive flames passed, I could see the enemy magician breathing hard, and he looked startled when he saw that we were completely unharmed.

He hurriedly searched his sleeve, and immediately after, there was a cracking sound.

It was lightning-type magic, so it reached us instantly, but its effect was also instantaneous.

It was unsuitable for stopping us, and if that was not a bluff, then he must have been running out of magic stones.

“Give up. This magic stone’s capacity is beyond second-grade.”

Cole and I advanced calmly.

Even after this much use, the annihilation magic stone still retained its original shape.

The reason was that it was extremely thick.

The magic stone, as thick as a double cheeseburger, had been made by using the magic stone clay dug out from Kururu’s accessories to join several magic stones together.

If kneading powdered magic stones together made them function, then after filling a magic stone’s magic circle with that clay and bonding magic stones to one another, perhaps multiple magic stones would become a single magic stone. It was an idea like connecting batteries in series.

The enemy magician searched under his sleeve with a stunned expression. But the next attack did not come.

The magician started running.

Toward the tower entrance.

“Cat girl!”

When Cole shouted, Kururu stepped forward.

That was the instant.

The magician turned around and fired explosive flames.

To pursue an enemy who had exhausted every measure and was trying to flee into the tower, the annihilation magic had to be turned off. At that instant, an attack aimed at our side would also get through.

However—

“To think he’d take the bait this easily.”

Beyond Cole’s disappointed words, the magician stood dumbfounded.

Once all the explosive flames had been absorbed, Kururu, who had been kneeling beside Cole with a magic stone ready, fired her spell at last.

It did not need to be strong.

As long as it was lightning magic that reached the enemy in an instant, fast enough that even if he had annihilation magic ready, he would not have time to cast it.

“Gah!?”

With a voice that could be taken as either a scream or a groan, the magician’s body twisted, and he collapsed on the spot.

When Kururu fired another follow-up attack, the magician convulsed like a pitiful fish, then went still while smoke rose from his ears.

Cole dropped the magic stone from his right hand, and Kururu also seemed to have used up her magic power, placing her hands on the floor.

I left Cole there and dashed forward with my longsword in hand.

I was afraid that magic might suddenly be fired at me, but the enemy magician had completely lost consciousness.

I stripped off his cloak, used the longsword to cut his clothes open from top to bottom and peel them off, then tied the magician’s hands behind his back with a belt. We knew well that we had no idea where a magician might be hiding magic stones, and that they could become the chance for a sudden reversal.

As I was doing that, Kururu and Cole came toward me while supporting each other.

“Hey, cat girl…can’t you walk…more properly?”

“That’s my line, but…damn it, legs, listen to me!”

Seeing the two sharp-tongued people supporting each other made me laugh a little.

But from the aerial corridor window, I saw the black Santas fleeing all at once.

“Please hurry! We’re running out of time!”

Immediately after that, Cole pushed Kururu’s back and sat down on the spot.

Kururu stumbled and nearly fell, and when I caught her, Cole said,

“I’ll protect this place.”

The only straight path connected to the tower.

In reality, he probably could not walk anymore, and in truth, he surely wanted to go save Iiria.

Kururu started to say something, but I opened my mouth toward Cole first.

“Please do.”

Then I added this.

“By the time we come back, please make sure you can stand in a cool way.”

Cole looked back over his shoulder in surprise, then smiled wryly.

“Shut up.”

Only in that moment, he was the arrogant Cole from when Nodon had still been around.

Kururu was also close to her limit, but if Iiria was locked in a cell at the top of the tower, I would be helpless by myself.

The enemy magician also had nothing that looked like a key, so I absolutely had to bring Kururu along to break open the cell.

I lent her my shoulder, endured the feeling that my thighs were about to tear apart, and climbed the spiral stairs while swearing in my heart that I would absolutely start strength training once we returned to the island.

From the windows opened in the tower, I could occasionally hear the sound of magic, probably fired by Gerario.

But the large town of Roran spreading out beyond them looked lively and normal, as if this conflict were not happening at all.

I did not even know whether we would truly be able to return to the island.

I did not know, but Kururu, who was gasping for breath, suddenly looked up with a start.

“It’s Iiria-sama’s scent.”

Kururu, who had been putting almost her entire weight on me, began walking on her own feet.

Without thinking about stamina for the return trip, I simply pushed Kururu up the stairs.

And after I had no idea how far we had climbed, a thick wooden door blocked our way.

“Iiria-sama!”

Kururu wrung out the last of her strength and blew away the hinges.

The half-destroyed wooden door slowly fell while smoking—

“Kururu!”

Iiria rushed out, hugged Kururu, and I caught the two of them as they almost fell down the stairs together.

“Kururu! Ah, Kururu!”

“I have come to receive you, Iiria-sama.”

She had apparently completely forgotten Gerario’s words about not hugging forever.

But in reality, I wondered what we were supposed to do now.

Go down the stairs again, retrieve Cole, and run to the harbor? In this situation where almost everyone was exhausted?

It was hardly realistic.

The word “siege” crossed my mind, but there were almost no magic stones left from the ones Cole had entrusted to me.

Could we peel off the synthetic magic stones stuck to the annihilation magic stone and enlarge the remaining attack magic stones? But we were in the very center of enemy territory. We would definitely lose to sheer numbers.

We were at the end of the road.

As I looked at the two of them immersed in the joy of reunion and started to open my mouth to tell them reality, it happened.

Something in the air wavered.

It felt like air being pushed out by a pump inside a narrow tube.

The atmosphere felt like the moment just before magic was released. I imagined the arrival of an enemy and prepared myself for death.

But what I soon heard was a tap, tap sound, like a large beast running.

Before long, when something large appeared from below the stairs, it was a beastman who followed Cole.

“We’re escaping.”

A beastman was worth ten sturdy men.

Carrying two young girls under his arms and putting weak little me on his back was nothing to him.

When we passed through the aerial corridor and descended, a large section of the wall had collapsed.

Beyond it were Gerario and a beastman carrying Cole under one arm.

“Took you long enough, you bastards!”

Gerario said that cheerfully, fired a huge explosive spell like a parting shot, and ran off with loud laughter.

Our destination was a collapsed section of the stone wall that surrounded the palace, and from there people were rushing into the palace grounds like an avalanche.

They were probably aiming to loot the place. Some carried hemp sacks, some carried wooden boxes between two people, and for some reason, there were even people holding pots.

The beastman kicked them aside and somehow got us outside.

Outside was also in complete chaos, and the elegant appearance of the town I had seen from the top of the tower seemed to have been an illusion.

“Which way to the harbor?”

At Gerario’s question, one of the beastmen answered with a question.

“Are there seats for us on the ship at the harbor?”

The way he said it felt like he was saying he would show us the way if we helped them.

That was when I finally realized it too.

What had Cole been planning to do?

We had discussed attacking, but we had not discussed what to do when escaping.

Could it be that after saving Iiria, he had intended to stay behind and die?

The one who answered was Iiria.

“Of course there are! I don’t really understand what’s going on, but no one should be left in a damn place like this!”

This was exactly the sort of thing that made me think Iiria was suited to be a lord.

“That’s what she says. Good for you.”

When Gerario slapped the head of Cole, who had been hanging limply under the beastman’s arm, Cole groaned in protest.

Apparently, he had been pretending to sleep.

“…Head for the harbor.”

When Cole muttered in annoyance, the faces of his beastman subordinates brightened instantly.

It seemed they had a good relationship with Cole…or rather, I could only think that he really had intended to die.

“Don’t bite your tongue.”

Iiria was on the beastman’s right shoulder, Kururu was held under his left arm, and I was carried on his back.

Of course, Cole was also being carried by another beastman, and the only human who could run properly was Gerario, who had come up from the battlefield.

From the outside, it might have looked like a kidnapping by beastfolk.

In that state, we hurried toward the harbor, and at the very last moment, we managed to slip onto the sleigh just as the evil Santa Clauses had finished preparing to set sail.