Chapter 879 – Turtle Rescue Operation

000

A room not too far from the power unit.

That room, which could not be reached either from the data room or the passage leading from the power room, was a monkey mask – that is, security measures were taken to allow only those with a rank of seeker or higher to enter, but there was no way to know what was in it and why it existed. The only ones who knew were Dharma, Enma, and the owl masked holy swordsman.

If the above said ‘there is no need to worry’, the natural attitude below to accept it was ‘obedience’.

Because that was the true picture of the organization called the Expulsion Church.

And, no one cares – and now, everyone who knows who’s in there is dead or frozen.

Tenchi sensed the flow of magical energy rapidly escaping from his body and quietly looked at the chains that bound him.

He looked quite haggard, probably because he hadn’t eaten anything for several days, but his eyes didn’t lose their shine.

To some extent, he had expected this to happen.

On that day, Tenchi, who had been trapped here by Dharma who had kidnapped him, predicted that it would be in the distant future that he would be able to escape from this place.

Because he thought that Cleon and others would not notice that he was gone.

This room, due to the barrier set up by members of the Expulsion Church, has an effect similar to a kind of ‘limited area’.

And, those who entered the realm of jeolgye had the characteristic of being quickly forgotten from people’s memories as time passed if they did not have a deep relationship.

If you couldn’t remember who was captured, there was no way to rescue them.

In any case, the Exiled Church asked him to provide the magic power to operate the fortress.

Since it was not something that Tenchi could refuse just because he disliked it, his hands and feet were equipped with machines and chains to extract magical power.

As I recalled my own advice that, as a creature created by the power of the Earth Dragon Gaios, I could certainly provide the magic power to withstand the flight of the fortress to some extent, but even that would not last that long.

At least, there will be a need to hold this fortress until it can land safely on the ground.

However, it was unknown to Tenchi what was going on outside, and on the other hand, the fact that the fortress had lost control and was ascending into the sky was unknown to Tenchi.

The more strength he exerted and squeezed out his magic power from his body, the more the fortress was using that magic power to increase its altitude.

Without knowing that the actions taken out of concern for the damage that would be done to the surrounding area when the fortress falls were, on the contrary, endangering the ground.

‘Please. I hope Miyeom-gong and everyone else in Asteris are safe…’

He who was created with Gaios’ magic power will not be able to form a physical body once all that magic power is depleted.

In other words, depletion of magical energy meant that it would bring about ‘death’ and ‘extinction’ for him.

Therefore, as a small wish before I die, I leave a prayer for the things that my creator tried to protect.

He slowly tried to close his eyes, feeling the residual magic power slowly disappearing from his body.

That is, until I felt the strange heat and crackling noise right after that.

＂… This?＂

It was an intense magical power of flame that I had never felt before.

And Tenchi, who noticed that he was getting closer and closer to where he was, raised his head and turned towards the direction of the sound.

The very next moment.

Jiing!

With a sharp sound, one of the walls surrounding the room he was in glowed red, melted, and a heat ray extended from beyond, passing by Tenchi’s face.

“For a moment! Stop! It’s that room!”

And what was heard right after that was a high-pitched female voice.

After a while, Tenchi’s eyes, which had been accustomed to darkness for a long time, were flooded with light coming from beyond the wall, and he couldn’t help but frown.

The girl who appeared with the backlight on her back was looking confidently at herself with her red hair tied into two pigtails.

And, behind her, holding a staff in her hand, a girl with gray hair carefully peeked out her face from beyond the wall.

Both were wizards with considerable skills, judging by the magical power they felt.

Among them, Tenchi knew a girl with red hair.

＂Miss Lila…? Are you Miss Laila Flamewatch?”

“Uh? That’s right… How do you know my name?”

Looking at Lila suddenly appearing through the wall in front of her, Tenchi asked a question as if she couldn’t believe it, and Lila answered even though she was a little embarrassed.

＂”I am Tenchi… I was collaborating with Cleon on matters related to Lord Enrai… Then, I was kidnapped here by Lord Enrai and the Expulsion Church who smelled it…”

When Tench tries to explain at such length, Lila says, “Wait a minute!” She raises her voice and holds out her own hands.

“I know you have a lot to say, but. I think the first thing to do is to get you out of here.”

“You’re taking me out? But if that happens, this fortress will completely lose power and fall.”

When Tench shook his head, Laila nodded in reverse.

“Don’t worry, I know. Because the preparations for that have already been completed. Rather, if you don’t get it out even a little sooner, your calculations will go astray. Bea. Please take care of the left side, I’ll solve the right side.”

＂Ugh, yes!＂

As Lila approaches Tench while saying that, she removes the magic extraction devices attached to his body one by one.

Then-

[Warning, connection to auxiliary power is being lost. Residual power is rapidly decreasing. The altitude of the fortress cannot be maintained.]

A whining whirring sound was heard, warning the people remaining inside the fortress, but Lila was smiling with the bridge of her nose and concentrating on unlocking the locking spell on her device. 〉

“Yes, yes. I know~ It’s really noisy. Anyway, we are the only ones left inside.”

If Lila said that, Tenchi couldn’t help but make a naturally surprised face.

＂… No way, all the other church members…?＂

Tenchi himself knew well that all the high-ranking church members gathered in this fortress were extremely talented.

First, even Dharma was a powerful man who had enough power to overthrow the country single-handedly.

Not only that, but also Enma and the Holy Swordsman who saved the world in the past.

Each one of them is a very dangerous being.

However, if they say that there is no one there even though there is no way they would abandon this fortress on their own – that means they have eliminated everyone else inside.

“That’s right. Thanks to my foolish defense that allowed me to defeat each one, I was able to defeat them all.”

When Lila answered lightly like that, Tench was speechless for a moment.

No, even if it were possible to defeat them individually, they wouldn’t be an opponent that could be easily defeated.

“Then… Really? Is Asteris okay?”

“The palace was attacked and destroyed here and there, but no one died. Duke Miyeom was seriously injured, but fortunately he saved his life by asking the kingdom’s priests for treatment.”

As Lila continued to speak word by word, Tenchi’s expression changed moment by moment.

And the next moment.

With a clicking sound, Lila finally removes the device attached to him.

[The power of the fortress is completely separated… Altitude cannot be maintained…]

As it slowly slowed down, the weak voice continued, and the lights from the magical lights attached to the outer hallway also disappeared.

Finally, the fortress completely lost its power.

And, as the guidance voice said, not being able to maintain altitude.

Squeak… Then, an ominous sound like a twisting machine was heard.

＂! This is a big deal! The fortress will fall!”

If the fortress began to fall, it was clear that the entire fortress would lose its balance and fall, and if it rolled around without balance, it would be life-threatening.

When Tench raised his voice, Lila and Beatrix nodded, held each other’s hands, and transferred their magic power to the entire room where the three were.

Then, that magical power functioned like a cushion, protecting the three people even if they shook around in the room and bumped into something.

“Good. It’s safe inside with this.”

“But if it falls like this, there will definitely be damage to Asteris…”

“Don’t worry about that either. Because I’ve already prepared it.”

When Lila says that, the next moment.

Thud! And a shock rang out surrounding the fortress.

However, the fortress that seemed to be falling quickly was slowly slowing down.

＂Okay, it seems like they are taking it well…＂

When Lila said that, a little bit of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and Bea let out a sigh of great relief.

“I really thought it was a reckless strategy, but I’m glad it worked out somehow…”

And, within the trembling fortress, Tenchi stands up hesitantly and looks around.

The fortress was still shaking slightly, but its momentum was much reduced compared to just a moment ago.

If it stays like this, even if it hits the ground, there will be no damage to the surrounding area.

“The fortress is still on its way down, but has it slowed down? How on earth…”

When you ask Lila that question, she smiles as she looks at Tenchi.

“Do you want to know? First, let’s get out of here. If the guy holding down the fort on the outside changes his mind, she will be left trapped here.”

＂Please don’t say such anxious things, Lila…”

Beatrix speaks as if her heart is trembling, but Lila smiles and speaks to Tench.

“Then, I’ll cast a flight spell on you.”

“… It’s okay. Because you can fly on your own.”

Laila blinked her eyes at Tenchi’s words.

＂But the magic power is quite…＂

Just a moment ago, Lila asked if there was little magic left because the fortress was building up magic quickly, but Tenchi shook her head and answered quietly.

＂My flight is not done with magical power.＂

And then, his appearance slowly began to change.

Surrounded by light, shedding her human form.

He took the form of a turtle with a snake’s tail.

Both Lila and Beatrix knew about it in advance because they saw it in the hologram illusion shown by Arnia No. 2, but it was amazing to see a person truly change into the form of a turtle right before their eyes.

Moreover, it was even more so if the turtle ignored gravity and floated.

＂Well, well. It wouldn’t matter if I could fly alone. Okay, this way. A straight passage has been dug from the outside to here.”

Saying that, Lila guides Tenchi and goes out of the fortress through the doorway they entered, or rather the hole.

It was a fortress that could not be breached by an attack from the outside, but there was only one hole that was broken by an impact from the inside.

Going outside through the floor of the power room, Tench couldn’t help but see threads of magic running across the base of the fortress.

＂This is…＂

“Oh, be careful not to touch there. The fortress is now being supported by these magic threads.”

＂With these threads…?＂

As if Tenchi had doubts about Lila’s words, he flew to the side to avoid the threads and check the overall picture of the fortress.

Then, surrounding the fortress, numerous golems were floating in the air, stretching out their arms and attaching ‘threads of magic’ to the ends.

Golems surrounding themselves in a circle, as if surrounded.

Even if you estimate that number, it was close to 100.

“Oh, you’re here, Lila. Did you save the person you needed to save?”

And, one more person.

A green-haired woman coming towards us with a magic spell floating on her fingertips to control her golem.

“How about like I said, if we did this, we could hold the fort?”

“… I hate to admit it, but I’m actually doing it right in front of my eyes. It has to be that way.”

Lila spoke as if she was a little dissatisfied, but Ventuna smiled and stroked her bangs.

“It would be nice to be honest and say thank you.”

“What are you talking about when you plan to get paid properly?”

It looks like she’s in the mood for another fight, but Tenchi speaks as if she doesn’t quite understand the meaning of the scene unfolding before her.

＂… Hey, I mean. This is-“

“Ah. In other words, she deployed numerous golems and spread out the threads of her magic, creating a web like a spider’s web. Because Ventuna’s golems can levitate her. And in her magic thread, she used the magic power of the wind to shoot wind from top to bottom, so that it could support the weight of the fortress even a little.”

Spider silk is strong enough to lift objects 50 times heavier than those of spiders.

The idea of ​​supporting the fortress using magical spider webs and the magical power of the wind, modeled after it, would have been an idea that could only have been achieved by the spirit Ventuna.

“Good! Then I will move it to an appropriate place on the ground. When I’m done, I’ll go straight to get the promised items. Do you understand?”

＂Haa… Let’s just finish the work safely.’

Lila answers Ventuna somewhat coldly, and then takes Tenchi down to the ground.

＂… Laila, are you really okay?＂

“… There’s nothing you can do, right? She said that or she wouldn’t help. Because time was urgent, she didn’t have time to threaten or anything.”

To Bea’s question, Lila answers with her sigh.

The condition that Ventuna placed on Lila to cooperate is-

＂… But no matter what, she wanted a night with her senior as compensation… Professor Anatis’ expression… I was completely scared… ＂

─At the shameless spirit’s declaration, only Bingryong, who had not yet been able to respond and act, was suffering.