Chapter 732 – The Chaser and the Chased

000

The road extending from the gate leading to the south from Asteris leads to a place that was once an imperial territory.

As it was on the border with the empire, there were many places where the effects of previous empire invasions still remained, and traces of villages and cities that had given up on restoration due to contamination of the land remained like tombstones.

The fact that there are few people means that the impact of beasts and monsters appearing is high, so those who walk in these places of their own will are either fiery charlatans who want to improve their skills by dealing with such enemies, or people who want to reduce the number of monsters that flood in on a regular basis. The government troops of the Eastern countries set out for the war.

And, there are ley line researchers who travel around to measure the recovery of intellectual power.

In one hand, he held a wand imbued with magic to measure the state of the earth, and on his back he carried a large bag filled with various research tools, one step at a time. They walked slowly and had naturally learned how to walk while avoiding the eyes of monsters and beasts.

Therefore, it was said that if you ever need to go south, you can get to your destination safely if you ask them for guidance.

Of course, if you can fight on your own, you may not need such help.

＂Hmm… As expected… It’s starting to get worse little by little…”

He planted his staff deep into the ground, checked the results of his intelligence measurement, and spoke with a dark expression.

30 years have passed since the end of the war with the Empire, and during those 30 years, he has been measuring the state of his intellect every day and looking for a way to restore it. He is now approaching 60 years old, and his legs are slowly starting to walk. It felt like my knees were creaking every time.

I tried using various materials and experiments that were said to help restore intelligence, but the recovery was temporary or only for a small portion of the land.

It was absurdly insufficient to restore the entire vast land of the eastern country extending to the south, and he realized that only time would restore the vitality of the land.

And in fact, over the course of 1, 2, 10, or even 30 years, when the land’s regenerative power began to take effect, the damaged land slowly began to recover.

Even so, it will still be several decades before people can live there and plant crops.

Nevertheless, it was as if he had hope that this place could be restored someday, so he continued to walk several kilometers every day and take measurements in order to find the cause and solve any problems with the restoration. Br〉


However, recently, it was about 3 weeks ago that we noticed that the land’s recovery speed was starting to slow down.

I wandered around thinking that there must be a cause for the sudden change in the land, but the range I could check was limited by taking the path to avoid monsters and beasts.

Is there a need to find a skilled escort and explore such places?

It was a time when I was thinking like that and looking towards the land full of monsters and beasts.

From Asteris, I suddenly felt a low rumbling in the ground, like ‘du-du-du-du…’.

‘W-Is it an earthquake!?’

At the unexpected shaking, he lowered his body, looked for something to hold on to, and held on to his measuring stick, which he had sunk into the ground.

But what he didn’t expect was that the vibration was slowly getting closer to where he was.

‘So, it’s not an earthquake, but a horde of monsters!? However, there must have been no habitat for a group of monsters in the direction of Asteris in this area… Did new monsters that I couldn’t confirm appear…!?’

He hurriedly got up and tried to get out of the way, but at that time, his knees, whose cartilage had worn away due to aging, were not moving properly.

＂Ugh…!＂

What’s more visible is the dust rising from afar.

Looking at that amount, I could tell that something was running towards me at a considerable speed, and I had a feeling that if I collided with something like that head-on, something terrible would definitely happen.

However, as I was unable to move, there was no way to resist, and the moment I closed my eyes tightly to reduce the fear of death just a little bit…

Too doo, doo! With the sound of loud footsteps ringing right next to your ears, a strong wind blows past your body.

However, there was no shock from hitting his body, and when the man opened his eyes in surprise and looked back-

Things that looked like people carrying large bags like themselves were moving in a line and moving away at incredibly fast speeds.

＂W-what is that… Is it a new type of monster…?＂

The man, who thought it was impossible for a person to move at such a fast speed, was so relieved that he had somehow overcome the crisis safely that all energy drained from his body, and he was unable to get up for a while.

001

“… I almost got into big trouble just now. I’m glad Sasha found it first.”

When Cleon glanced behind her and spoke, Sasha, who was in the lead, smiled and scratched her head as if she were embarrassed.

“I didn’t know there would be someone like that standing in the middle of the street. There were few people passing by here, so I thought it would be okay to move like this…”

And Lila made an angry expression, squeezing one of his hands as if it was her mistake.

“Uh, yes… Still, does moving around like this look weird to other people?”

Also, when Kuon spoke with a worried look on her face, Amelia also responded with a slightly shaken expression.

“But I didn’t have time to rent a carriage or a horse. If I could move quickly, I think it was inevitable.”

＂Blood!＂

“Ah, Gonzalez! You shouldn’t try to fly in that state!”

To put it into perspective, the current state of Cleon’s group, which was in such a commotion, was that they were leaving Asteris and heading towards the southern hostage territory of the Eastern countries in order to catch the devil as requested.

However, since it was a waste of time to borrow her words, the method of movement proposed by Lila was to cast acceleration magic on all party members, that is, magic to speed up body movement and travel a long distance in an instant.

We had a lot of luggage, so we thought about renting a carriage, but unfortunately, there was no coachman who would give us a carriage when the group said they were heading south.

Opening a portal magic to a place you’ve never been to before was dangerous, and since you couldn’t move the power using flight magic, Lila concluded that if you had to move on the ground, this would be the fastest method.

Fortunately, I knew that there weren’t that many people passing by in the southern area, so the reason for using this method was that there was little chance of encountering passers-by on the road.

＂… Well, since it’s still moving at 10 times the speed of normal walking, if you think about it that it’s moving at a little over half the speed of riding a horse at full speed…”

“That’s right, it’s easier to follow the direction this guy is chasing magic if you walk like this rather than riding a horse.”

As she said that, Lila was pointing to the magic book she was holding in her hand.

Originally, it was used to assist in the use of magic by fixing it to a staff with magic, but now it was removed from there and changed into a more portable form.

A very profane design, with the eyes on the cover occasionally blinking and moving as if they were alive, and blood vessels or something writhing that I couldn’t tell.

Amelia and Cuon felt an instinctive repulsion when looking at it, but Cleon and Lila looked at the inside of the book as if nothing had happened.

Well, only Lila knew that the material for that grimoire was a devil’s head.

And, the fact that the thing to be chased away was a demon from Astaroth means that the demon’s energy could be chased away with this grimoire that was a former co-worker(?).

No matter how far away they are, the traces of the contract, the lingering scent of magical power, and the scent of sin that cannot be washed away are, for the devil, a link that cannot be broken.

The characters written on the strangely moving grimoire are the language of demons.

If you read it through translation magic, Lila must focus on cutting out all unnecessary noise except for necessary information, so it cannot be used at the same time as magic that requires delicate control, such as flight magic.

It was unavoidable to prevent mental pollution inflicted through the devil’s language.

It was for this reason that I chose to use magic that simply increases movement speed rather than flying magic.

“The demon we are chasing is moving near the border of the empire. When you see them coming and going, it looks like they are working on something there…”

“But you couldn’t enter the imperial territory, right? Because there is a barrier here.”

Kuon nodded his head at Cleon’s words.

＂Because it is impossible to deploy many soldiers like the kingdom to the border of the former imperial territory, it is said that the shamans have spread a strong barrier. So, I guess not only ordinary people, but also monsters and demons that may remain within the imperial territory cannot go outside through this way.”

＂Because there are no people living there, you can go inside once the barrier is broken.＂

When Lila responds to Kuon’s words, Amelia says she is worried.

“Then, is the purpose of that demon to break through the barrier to enter the imperial territory?”

“Astarote can be said to be a kind of remnant of the empire, so it wouldn’t be strange if it wanted to be within the imperial territory. What. Rather than that goal, it’s more important to catch him quickly and return. Everyone, as soon as you spot a demon, focus your attack! Don’t look at my circumstances! Let’s not leave a trace!”

To Laila’s words, waving her arms, Sasha nodded, saying, ‘Yes, yes!’

Of course, since we needed proof that we had exorcised the devil, we had to leave at least some trace.

“Hmm… But you don’t know who the devil you have to deal with that grimoire is?”

When Kuon asks Lila that question, Lila sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“Well, this grimoire guy, no matter how many times I ask him, he won’t answer. Perhaps, the effects of the oath still remain…”

＂Pledge?＂

“Oh, no. It’s nothing. Well, the strongest one among those guys ended up being Ishtal, right? And Ishtal’s skills were similar to or slightly below Cleon’s… And if you say they were the remnants of the defeated soldiers who were routed after Ishtal disappeared…”

“So it’s not that dangerous!”

When Sasha nods her head in understanding, Lila fits!
She speaks while raising her finger.

“That’s it. So, Sashak! Just do it and destroy it.”

“But don’t let down your guard.”

In response to Lila’s words, which seemed to be a bit belittling her opponent, Cleon pointed out that and restored the relaxed atmosphere of the party.

In the distance, a barrier stretched across the empire’s border began to be seen.

002

Bang!

With a strong explosion sound, the woman was breathing heavily, her bloodied arms hanging down as her smoke began to rise.

‘Isn’t this enough?’

The spear she had swung until her arm started to go numb had dulled blades, and when she attacked the barrier, she felt the pain of the muscles, veins, and bones in her arm being crushed due to the impact coming back. Br〉

However, it also recovers naturally with some rest.

Because her body, which became a demon, was made up of magical power, it could regenerate anything, including wounds, as long as it had magical power.

In a way, it was a blessing to have a body that didn’t have to sleep or eat or drink, but it didn’t seem like it to her.

Her red magic spear may also be the result of being corrupted under the influence of her master, and the blade of her spear is forged once again with the blood she shed.

Thanks to this, she was about to grab her spear again, which had become dull, and use her recovered arm to attack once again against the powerful barrier spread out in front of her.

Piing-! And the moment the sound of something flying through the air reached her ears, she looked up at the sky.

Then, when she thought that something was shining beyond her clouds ─

Next, arrows made of magical energy poured down from the sky like rain.

“Ugh, this is…!”

She immediately swung her magic spear towards the sky.

The spear pole and blade that rotate like a windmill block the pouring arrows, but of course underneath – her front is empty.

＂Infernal Chain!＂

The next moment, as the wizard’s chant is completed, the spell is complete and the voice rings out.

Sigh! And with the sound of chains clashing against each other, flaming chains shot out from the magic circle in the air, clinging to both her legs and arms and restraining her.

“Okay, good job Sasha!”

The one who seemed to fall from the sky while raising her voice was a girl wizard with flowing red hair.

And, the adventurers who appear to be her party appear after her.

Among them, the only male, a young man with black hair, and a blonde girl who looked a little younger than the others were frowning as they looked at the silver-haired woman who had been restrained by the wizard’s magic.

“… I never thought it was you, Remilia.”

Young man – The one who answers Cleon’s words is an executive of Astarote, Ishtal’s closest confidant, and the owner of the red thorn spear.

Originally, he had the title of hero, but he betrayed humans and joined the devil.

＂I never thought you would follow me all the way here… Looks like you’re doing better than I thought. Cleon, and – Princess Amelia.”

It was the magician, Remilia.