CH 155

Chapter 155

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Archfiend Workshop, Part 10 — The Black-haired Swordwoman

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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「Hmm? There was definitely a sign of something.」

Titania was alone in the darkness, trapped in a puzzling thought. She certainly felt as if there had been two intruders in the shadows of this jar earlier. There was no way I could’ve misread the signs, and the result was inexplicable. In fact, the twin swords are still here.

Titania stood at the spot where the sign had been to see what had happened.

「There is a faint residue of magic… Anomaly!」

「Yes— yes.」

Anomaly called out touched the wall and lit the lights. The lights were lit in a grid pattern, starting from the wall and working their way up to the ceiling. It was much brighter than the light from a candle, and it was designed to turn on when magic power was passed through it. Although the brightness gradually diminishes, it lasts longer than a candle and can be used over and over again as long as magic power is passed through it. It was Anomaly’s invention, but one that isn’t yet available to the world. When the world finds out, humans will jump on this invention with glee.

「I hope they make a lot of these inventions.」

But Hidden once told Anomaly,「This kind of invention is not interesting,」which made Anomaly groan. It’s easy to imagine that Hidden wasn’t the only one who lamented that statement.

Anyway, the lights came on and the main body of Anomaly was revealed. Titania looks at Anomaly with a disappointed expression on her face.

「What’s the matter, Titania? Did the Sword Emperor let them go?」

「It seems that they have wandered into a dead-end room. It appears that they flew away by transfer magic.」

「I didn’t see any sign of them, though. If the magic is that powerful, I can see it from outside the room, you know?」

「I agree. Since there was certainly no sign of a convergence of magical forces, either some kind of tool was used or a special transition was made. In any case, it should not be that far away. Shall we follow?」

「Of course! They’ve killed me so many times. If I don’t repay them in full, it won’t be worth it.」

Titania, who was smiling ecstatically, inwardly wondered if it wasn’t a mistake to say『thank you』instead of『return the favor,』but she concentrated her efforts to detect the presence. Then, there was a sign of two people in the laboratory where the two intruders had just fought.

「I found them. They’re in a laboratory.」

「Oh, it’s farther than I thought. I wonder if this one will make it in time.」

「With your permission, I will do it. But first, I have one question.」

「What?」

Anomaly nods his head.

「What are you planning to do with this workshop?」

「Now that we’ve been found, we have no choice but to dispose of them, right? That’s also why I forced Bloody Maria to salvage it earlier. We’ve already unleashed all the instantly operational Archfiend that were here on the Prairie, and this workshop is old. There are more than 10 new workshops, including the one under construction, so if one of them breaks down, it’s nothing to worry about.」

「I am relieved to hear that. Then may I destroy this workshop?」

「It’s fine, but how will you do it?」

Coming to think of it, Anomaly don’t know how Titania fights. He could imagine that she was a swordswoman by the way she carried two large swords on her back, but that was all. It was obvious that the sword was too big for a woman, and with two of them, it was hard to imagine. They are a group of mages, so she should know magic as well.

Titania gives a charming smile to Anomay, who looks at her curiously, and strolls over to the room that is probably closest to where Elsa and Eliza are. Then she pulled out a sword as tall as her back, and whoosh! She swung it lightly. The blade of the sword glowed golden and illuminated the room.

「It’s easy. Cut down the intruder, through the workshop.」

「Hae?」

At the same time that Anomaly shouts dumbly, Titania holds her sword at the top of her large head.

「Five… no, six times, I would say.」

Titania mumbled something, but at the same time, she swung her greatsword down from the top step toward the ceiling at once.

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「Haah… haah…」

「Eliza, are you alright?」

Elsa and Eliza, who had activated the transfer magic with their lives, were returning to the laboratory where they had just left. What Elsa was doing by taking out chalk at various places was setting up a mechanism to simplify the transfer magic for the escape. Elsa didn’t simply display her talents in terms of combat ability alone. The most important part of a solo mission is the retreat, and the reason she is still alive after nearly a decade of pilgrimage is that she is good at escaping, however awkwardly put.

Elsa’s specialties are Fighting Arts, Offensive Magic of the sacred attribute (especially Explosive Magic), and simplified Transfer Magic. In particular, her transfer magic is so good that even Miliazar’s tongue is wagging, and with the last magic circle she drew, it’s possible to return instantly. Instead, she usually move from magic circle to magic circle, since she use about one-third of their magic power even when she was full. This is because this is considerably less of a burden on the magic.

But earlier, even Elsa was prepared to die. She was not horrified to think that Eliza had not grabbed her shoulder at that moment. She could only see part of it, but if she had been confronted by the owner of the dark hair earlier, she would’ve been killed without even time to move. Even without confronting them, Elsa knew that there was such a difference in their abilities. The same was true for Eliza. It must’ve been a terrible situation for a member of the Lazaar family, who is never afraid of anything, to make such a face. Elsa, who had no choice but to admit defeat without a fight, was kind enough to speak to Eliza.

But Eliza doesn’t even have time to react. She’s far more exhausted than in the previous battle, and she’s lying on the ground gasping for breath, not caring that her body is covered in the blood of those who have failed her. That is how much pressure she was feeling. While Elsa was concerned about Eliza, she began to prepare for the next transition, and at the same time, she sensed the presence of the enemy. The preparation itself takes only a minute or so, so as expected, they will not make it here in time from where they just left off, but it is worth being vigilant. Elsa didn’t think that Anomaly was all the people she had just defeated, either.

But as Elsa looked around the room, something didn’t feel right. Elsa tilts her head, not immediately understanding the nature of the discomfort. Something seemed different from earlier…

「Eliza, is there something strange in this room?」

「Hah… yes?」

「No, whatever.」

Eliza still didn’t seem to be in the mood for it. Elsa realized that something was missing, but before she could think what it was, the ground shook a little.

「What? An earthquake!?」

「No, this is a… shockwave?」

The ground shook two or three times. The shaking became stronger and stronger.

「No way, there’s no way!」

「Kuh, I have a bad feeling about this! What is it now?」

Then, with the fourth and fifth shaking, the impact was so strong that the whole room shook this time. With the sixth jolt, the walls of the room and part of the ground were blown away.

「Kuh!」

「Guuuh!」

A cloud of smoke was billowing in the air, but the smoke was quickly cleared away in the windless cave. And then there is the unusual killing atmosphere that surrounds Elsa and Eliza. It was the same one that had tied up the girls at the Archfiend’s production plant earlier. The Murderous Intent, or perhaps it was called Sword Intent, was what blew the dust and smoke away.

Titania stood far away, faintly illuminated in the darkness. Elsa caught a dim glimpse of her, but Eliza, who has very good eyesight, was able to read her expression clearly. Her long, magnificent black hair, which almost reaches the ground, is tied in the middle with a red ribbon, and she stands there with an elegant smile on her face. In her hand she carries a golden sword as tall as she is. Eliza couldn’t believe that such a weapon could be handled by a woman, but more than that, the woman’s beauty caught her attention. And also to the presence of strength that rose from her body. Eliza had never seen a creature with such a combination of beauty and strength.

Even Miliazar has the same kind of atmosphere, but there is something different about her. Miriazar has many other qualities besides strength and beauty, such as kindness and mischievousness, but this swordswoman had none of them, as if she needed nothing but strength and beauty. As Eliza is caught up in this thought, the female swordsman slowly takes up a large upper stance.

「Here I go.」

Even though she didn’t hear the voice, Eliza could clearly see that the female swordsman’s lips moved in that way. At the same time, their gazes crossed. She could see Eliza, too. The moment she realized this, Eliza clung to Elsa as if she had burst.

「Elsa-sama! Run!」

「Kuh!」

The shockwave emitted from the sword, which was swung down mercilessly from the upper deck, came at the two men. And the room that had been called the laboratory was cut in half.