Chapter 659 – Siege and Reunion?

000

＂Illenu!＂

＂Yes!＂

In response to Cleon’s shout, Illenu and Cleon stabbed their swords as if aiming for each other’s heads.

A straight blade that advances without the slightest hesitation.

However, just before they pierce each other’s faces, they open a narrow gap by slightly bending their necks and plunge towards the back of each other’s heads.

Then, the beast that was targeting the two was pierced by the black magic sword and silver rapier, and on the spot it turned into smoke and disappeared.

“I guess my skills haven’t rusted just because I have new colleagues.”

When Ilenu said that, Cleon suppressed her laughter and answered her.

“Even though you look at it like this, I met many more dangerous enemies than the vampire I caught with you back then. Something like the goddess of death.”

＂Haa?＂

She seemed to have taken Cleon’s words as a joke, but she looked dumbfounded.

At the same time, he saw animals running in from three different directions, so he took out the silver knives he had hanging on his waist in his pocket and threw them at the two animals without even looking.

And, as he destroyed the other one by slashing it with his own rapier, it was seen that his swordsmanship skills had become stronger than when he had seen it in person before.

Her rapier, which moved like a dance even in the darkness of a cave with no lighting, stood out thanks to the silver magical light every time it was swung.

And the exact opposite of her sword is Cleon’s magic sword, Galatea.

Unlike Illenu’s rapier, which reveals itself even in the darkness, Galatea hides her body even more darkly in the darkness.

She hid herself in the darkness to the extent that her blade could not be seen unless it were Cleon who was wielding the sword herself.

It may be said to be cowardly, but the enemies attacked in this environment to begin with, and the opponents are nothing more than beasts.

Can a sword that cannot be chased by even the eyes of such an animal really be said to have substance?

To their eyes, the sword suddenly disappeared, making it appear as if Cleon had been disarmed.

Should I say that the fact that intelligence is not that high is the fate of the beast?

The beasts thought Cleon had suddenly lost his weapon and rushed towards him in a straight line.

The number is roughly five.

But of course, Cleon’s sword was still in his hand, and it was not only Cleon’s sword that could blend into the darkness.

The next moment, Cleon’s figure disappeared in front of them.

When the target enemy suddenly disappeared before their eyes, they stopped on the spot and tried to find Cleon using senses other than sight.

However, it is too late for that.

From the beginning, there was no ‘right answer’ option that would allow them to survive.

Just as they thought they heard a spark and suddenly Cleon’s body was above their heads.

Galatea also revealed her figure once again, drawing a semicircular trajectory like a half moon, and cutting off their necks.

When Cleon’s sword blade, which had once again borrowed a common technique from a maid somewhere, was swung, they would fall to the ground on the spot before they even realized they had been cut.

Before landing on the ground, if all five beasts were swept away, Cleon’s body landed silently on the ground like a light feather, and turned its gaze straight toward the other enemies surrounding them, attempting to clean up the next enemy.

＇Amazing… This is my first time seeing it in person, but this is Lord Cleon’s swordsmanship…!’

Thinking like that, Aine’s gaze was focused on that direction, and Dryne tapped her sister’s back and pointed at the animal running right in front of her.

“Don’t just look at your sister, Prince Cleon…!”

“S-sorry… I’m sorry.”

With that said, she immediately returned her own sword to her scabbard and cut down another enemy with her fast-drawn Iaijutsu.

In some ways, it’s a smooth process of annihilating the enemies that surround them.

However, Cleon’s face was not that bright.

Of course, it would be strange to laugh needlessly during battle.

As Cleon was dealing with the beasts that blocked her group as they entered her cave, she felt memories of her that were not her own creeping into her head.

It was the memory of the Demon Sword Emperor Cain, the person who ordered them to be created.

These are like tools made for war in the empire.

The opposite direction from the kind of high-end experiments that Laplace used to make.

A biological weapon designed to be mass-produced by drastically reducing costs and only accepting simple commands.

The cost of making two of these beasts is 1 gold coin at the kingdom’s current price.

Their lifespan was so short that they only lived for about 3 days, but that was enough.

In the first place, it wasn’t made with love and hope for a long life.

Poltuk, who not only designed the design but is also one of the black giants.

Even if he died, could it be that there are scholars who can reproduce the technology itself because it was simple?

＂Haaa!＂

Thinking that the sound of a sword cutting through the air sounded at the same time as the sound of Aine’s fighting spirit coming from behind her, one of her beasts that had rushed towards her split her in half and fell to the ground.

If you had the skills of Aine and Draine, you would have been able to deal with this enemy without difficulty.

＂… Whew…＂

All four people, including Illenu, who are gathered here and fighting against them, wipe the sweat from their foreheads and continue their confrontation.

＂There is no end…＂

＂Where in this narrow cave is there a place to hide like that…?＂

As the complaining Draine said, dozens of animals should have been cut down by now, but the party’s feet were tied up as they had to deal with the beasts that kept pouring in.

“Probably, it is not hiding, but is spreading. Even adventurers with a certain level of skill can deal with it without any problems, so do not use it in an all-out war.”

When Cleon talks like that while looking back at the memories that come to mind, Illenu looks at Cleon and asks a question.

＂Then, how do you use it?＂

“The original way to use these guys is to release them into areas where there are civilians. By infiltrating the wizard, a transfer magic circle is spread out. You wouldn’t know it if you were a soldier, but if you push against ordinary people in numbers, you can cause enormous damage.”

＂…＂

Everyone else must have looked displeased at Cleon’s words.

Although it may not be considered an effective tactic in war, it was an extremely inhumane method.

“… Anyway. “If you had the information, couldn’t you have told me sooner?”

“Sorry. Because I also thought of it just now.”

When Cleon responded to Ilenu’s words in that way, she nodded as if she understood.

Probably, from Cleon’s expression, he sensed that he didn’t want to remember this information either.

That’s right, some of the memories of the Demon Sword Emperor were covered like a lid, but as he watched this scene, they slowly came out through the cracks in the lid, turning Cleon’s mind upside down.

The scene of a massacre created using these beasts for the first time.

[My mind is shaking, Cleon.]

When Galatea’s voice is heard like that, Cleon nods his head and takes a deep breath.

As she says, now is not the time to be held back by illusions of the past.

“There must be a transference magic circle somewhere in this cave. Just destroy it.”

At Cleon’s words, Illenu sharpened her whole body’s senses and looked around, right under the innermost wall.

A weak, but ‘scent of the blood of one’s own people’ was wafted from the part where the surface was covered by the beasts forming a group.

“Cleon. Is that transference magic circle something that can be drawn even with blood?”

＂Any paint imbued with magical power. “Why?”

In response to his answer, Illenu nods her head as if she is convinced and asks him a favor.

“Okay. Then… Can you help me?”

“What? No, sleep…!”

Before Cleon could answer properly, Illenu tapped the front of her shoe. If you knock on the ground.

The next moment, her body was digging through the pile of beasts at lightning speed.

[Wow. Just leaving.]

When Galatea made her voice sound like she was embarrassed, Cleon looked at her like that and ran right after her without worrying about anything.

“Ah. It was like that before…!”

Recalling the time when she was hunting vampires together, Cleon immediately turned her magic to focus on keeping the enemies in check that were blocking Illenuga’s path, rather than swinging her sword. 〉

After that, it was like water flowing.

Illenu opened the way by only looking straight ahead and swinging the rapier to tear the beasts to death.

Poke the enemy in front of you between the eyes with a rapier and infuse him with his magic power, causing it to explode from the inside.

In the process, both sides naturally became empty, but by forming a hand seal, he manipulated the blood that flowed from the body of the enemy he had just killed, creating a bloody blade and cutting it.

Cleon, who follows behind her like a slaughter tank, keeps in check the enemies who try to attack Illenu from behind.

He grabbed Galatea backwards, opened his mouth and grabbed the neck of the one running in.

He pins it straight into the ground and explodes flame magic from his hand, turning the guy’s head into ashes.

And, in that state, he swung Galatea as if there were eyes on her back and pierced her from the chin to the snout.

And every time Ilenu steps forward, Aine and Draene see that all of her beasts in her cave are targeting her.

As she naturally teamed up with Cleon and saw her matchless, she couldn’t help but stare blankly at the two for a moment.

The reason they came between those two people was because they were so perfect that it seemed impossible.

When Ilenu finally reaches the place where she can smell blood.

There, what the beasts were desperately trying to protect – a ‘magic circle drawn in blood’ could be seen.

＂This is it…!＂

Then, a gap in space opens again in the magic circle, and the beast tries to pour out from beyond.

She raised the rapier in her hand.

＂Holy Sword [───]. Limited liberation…!”

If you shout out a slogan to release the power of the holy sword whose name is not pronounced properly.

The moment she thought the blade of the rapier was shaking, a silver inverted cross appeared above her head.

When something that clearly contains her divine energy appears, Galatea makes a ‘gyaak’ sound as if her eyes are slightly hurt.

However, Cleon looked shocked when he saw her cross.

＂That idiot…! Such great technology in such a small place…!”

Immediately, she spread both her hands and created a wall made of magic, surrounding Illenu’s entire area.

And the next moment-

When Illenu swung the sword he was holding downward, the inverted cross followed him and fell to the ground like a mace, smashing the ground with blood drawn on it.

Thud! When you think you hear a loud sound, silence sweeps the space for a moment.

However, the shaking of the ground immediately followed.

From the silver cross stuck in the ground, divine magic flowed out and split the ground, causing an explosion of intense light.

＂Wow…!?＂

Even Dryene, who was standing a little far away, almost fell from the vibrations, so she knew what would have happened if Cleon hadn’t blocked her with her magic barrier.

Still, thanks to the crack of divine magic, the transfer magic circle is completely destroyed, and the beasts can no longer expect reinforcements.

Her power did not stop there, and the holy magic that flowed through the ground purified the dark magic that made up the beasts’ bodies, turning most of the beasts into ashes on the spot.

＂… Is it… Done?＂

When Aine says that while looking at her situation, she nods, sighing after using her strength.

So many beasts had all disappeared thanks to the power of the holy sword used by Aine.

To be exact, since the beasts were not that strong, it would be true that they disappeared the moment they were touched by the intense divine magic.

Looking at that scene, Cleon stays quiet for a moment until the vibration and light subsides, and then Ilenu, whose cross has disappeared, stands up and looks back at him.

Cleon couldn’t help but sigh and get angry.

＂Ilenu, you…! What would you do if I hadn’t stopped you…! The cave almost collapsed!”

After hearing Cleon’s reprimand, Ilenu silenced him for a moment, then slowly approached Cleon and grabbed his hand.

“Yeah… I’m really sorry. But this was the fastest and most reliable method. … I thought you would definitely be able to stop it if Cleon was with you.”

Cleon is speechless for a moment when he sees Illenu smiling at him with a slightly sad face while saying that.

Moreover, there were tears at the corners of his eyes, and he was wiping them away with one hand.

“… I’m reflecting on myself, so will you forgive me?”

And Illenu asks carefully.

Somewhere, the atmosphere flows into a warm atmosphere where it feels like it is okay to forgive.

Then, Cleon doesn’t say anything for a moment, and then answers her words, holding her hand as if covering it.

“No. I wonder if that will work…!”

＂Shit…! I can’t believe I can’t get over this…!”

When she tries to let go of Cleon’s hand, looking fed up with her not giving in to her own tear attacks, Cleon’s nagging follows.

And, after looking at the two people with a puzzled expression for a moment, the child approaches the wall at the end of the road where the beast disappears.

“Lord Cleon. Is there something beyond this? A hideout where elves are hiding.”

“… That’s right. ─Ilenu, it is true that we need to hurry, but…”

“I know. I also thought about controlling my strength. … Then. Let’s go in. Is it Pamela or someone else waiting for us inside? Let’s check it out.”

As she said that and tapped Cleon’s back with her hand, Cleon sighed again and moved closer to the wall.

As I had seen before, I raised my hand and called out the ‘kanon’ that was inside.

For a moment, no reaction occurred, and then it jolted. And when you hear the sound of the inner lock opening.

As the wall moved, the iron passage hidden within it was revealed.

“It’s really a different space inside…”

Aine responded as if she was quite surprised, and Cleon looked at the ceiling in silence.

The only person who can open this door is the person who has control from the inside.

Whether it was canon or someone else, I still had no choice but to go inside and check.

＂Let’s go.＂

When Cleon took the lead and went inside with a nervous look on his face, the inner door was also open, so he could pass through without any manipulation.

Cleon and his companions enter the dark hideout because almost all the lights are off.

When they look around, the first thing they see is Kanon lying unconscious in the corner of the room.

Since I could hear his breathing, I knew he had simply lost consciousness.

“Canon!”

When he confirmed that there was no response when he called out, Cleon tried to walk towards him.

And-

“You’re here. Cain. I was waiting.”

A low, deep male voice coming from inside.

＂…＂

Cleon’s face suddenly became grim, and he tightened his grip on Galatea.

And when I look back towards the direction from which the sound was heard – there was a man with a formidable appearance who was much taller than Cleon.

With a happy, evil smile. He was standing with his arms outstretched, greeting Cleon.