CH 59

「A reason?」

「Yes. The reason why you judged the door to be dangerous.」

「…It says here on this door.『By permanently closing this door, the evil spirit is sealed. No one must open this door. When this door is opened again, it will suffer the same fate as Zea, the land of harmony and faith.』

My guess is that this Zea was destroyed by someone or something behind this door. Well, it is impossible for an ordinary person to break such a powerful sealing technique, so it is impossible to open the door first.」

「That sealing technique is a kind of spell seal, as you can guess from this pile of white bones, isn’t it? Apparently, they gave charity in exchange for their own lives. The red color of the door must be their blood. So much so that it had to be done, and,」

「…You know a lot about this.」

「That’s true, isn’t it, Alfiris-san the Swordwoman of the Cursed Brand?」

「! How did you know my name!?」

Alfiris instantly braces herself. The boy’s smile is becoming more and more distorted, although he is still smiling.

「Because dark magic is what I am best at. Besides, I’ve been watching you closely, you know? Last time you killed my favorite Archfiend.」

「Who are you!?」

「But first, I have things to do. You’re here anyway, right? Come on out!」

「…Strangely perceptive, are you…」

Another boy slips out of the wall. The mercenaries reveal their alarm at the boy’s soundless appearance. They were all beginning to sense that something unusual was apparently happening.

「How long do you think it will take to disable those wards?」

「…Let me see, I think two minutes would be enough…」

「What did you say!?」

This ward must have been sealed by the white bones here in exchange for their own lives. There are about 30 of them. How much magical power does it take to nullify that in just two minutes?

「Hey, do you even know what you are trying to do? You’re about to wake up a hell of a thing!?」

「Not really— That’s what I’m aiming for, though.」

「Are you saying that you don’t mind if people here die?」

「Eh, what’s the problem with that?」

「…What did you say?」

No longer had the boy’s smile turned from smiling to gruesome. The corners of his mouth were twisted, and it was clear that he was enjoying Alfiris’ surprise and anger. Here, for the first time, Alfiris noticed a cold sweat running down her spine. Why had her own eyes stopped on this boy? She said she should have thought more about that at that stage. The presence in front of her, that is.

「E–Everyone…… run……」

Lisa looks very pale and is starting to shake and wobble.

「What’s wrong, Lisa!?」

Nia notices the situation and runs over to Lisa.

「H–How did Lisa not see it before… that thing… Such a being cannot be called a human being, no, not even a fiend.」

「Heh? You know who I am?」

The boy’s figure seems to waver and then instantly appears in front of Lisa. Nia reflexively tried to punch him, but stopped her fist when she raised it. No, it was impossible to hit him.

「（Why can’t I move my fist? Don’t tell me that I was frightened, of this boy? But if I move now… it would be certain death.）」

The boy, showing no sign of concern for Nia’s condition, continues his words.

「What do I like… to you?」

「You are… a human, no, you’re not even a living being.」

「What’s wrong?」

「It is normal to have feelings of pity and compassion even for fiends. Because even fiends leave behind offspring, so there are expressions of affection for their own kind. But this being’s essence is… Only hatred, pleasure and destruction. That was all … That’s all there is to it. No living creature could ever do that.」

「Ahha!? How nice～ You can understand me. I like you! Perhaps do you want to be my bride!?」

Madness is in the eyes of the boy. The eyes have a dark, yet blazing light in them.

「I refu—— Geho! Ughhh——」

Lisa, sensing the emotion in her eyes from the front, can’t help but throw up.

「（No wonder my sensors were not working, it was my defense instinct. If I were to face this kind of person head-on, it would drive me crazy. Jake, help me——）」

「How cute that you throw up～ I wonder how long it would take for you to go crazy if I let you near me? Let’s find out!♪」

As the boy was about to reach out to Lisa, Alfiris slashed at the boy without warning. But even though she slashed at him from behind, the boy dodged the attack with a brilliant flick of her sword.

「Don’t you dare touch Lisa!」

「That’s cruel, Onee-san. How could you slash at such a tender child from behind?」

「I no longer consider you a child. Who the hell are you?」

「Ahh, I beg your pardon for this.」

The boy makes a grand bow.

「My name is Doom, well, I’m just a mage. By the way, that silent one over there… hey, hey, what’s your name again?」

「…Doesn’t it matter? …But the spell will soon be broken.」

「Eh!?」

Before they know it, the another boy is performing the unsealing in front of the door. The seal will really be broken in less than a minute.

「Stop this immediately!」

This time Fenna is the first to point an arrow at the boy. Her voice is unusually harsh for her.

「…That’s an advice I can’t hear…」

「If so!」

Fenna shoots an arrow. The arrow hits him squarely in the shoulder, but the boy doesn’t seem to care. Fenna is inwardly upset, but she already has her next arrow ready.

「…That’s so sweet of you to take the sting out of it…」

「…will be applied to the head.」

「…Come again…?」

Fenna also does not hesitate on the battlefield, even though her temperament is gentle by nature. The arrow that is immediately unleashed hits the boy’s head with great success, but he still doesn’t seem to care.

「That’s ridiculous!?」

Fenna fired arrow after arrow at the boy, but no matter how many times she tried to hit him in the head, he would not budge. Fenna was completely frightened by this bizarre sight. Perhaps it was because she was frightened that she fired arrow after arrow. When the boy’s head was like a hedgehog with the arrows that had pierced it, the boy finally turned around.

「…How much more reserved can you get? …nothing short of spectacular…」

「Hii!」

Fenna unexpectedly dropped her bow and arrow and covered her mouth with her hand. As it should be, some of the arrows had pierced the boy’s face. One is poked in the eye. And yet not a drop of blood. It was an extraordinary sight.

「… Incidentally, you were the Seeker princess, huh…」

「Y–Yes, I am.」

Stifling her trembling voice, Fenna responds frantically.

「…Your comrades, they’re still alive, you know?…」

「Eh!?」

It was such an unexpected statement that Fenna involuntarily forgot that the other party was an enemy.

「…If you come with me, I’ll take you to see them… what will you do…?」

「That… I…」

「Don’t listen, Fenna!」

As if to intercept Fenna’s hesitation, Miranda’s huge mace swung down at the boy, as if from somewhere. It is a blow that reduces even a huge orc to dust. The boy seemed to have no way to catch it, but with a snap, it was easily caught with one hand.

「W–Wha?」

Miranda was surprised, but what surprised her even more was that the boy now began to grip the mace in his grip. A mace made of steel, that is.

「L–Let go!」

「…Okay?…」

The boy did as Miranda said and released her mace. Or, more precisely, Miranda and the mace pointed at the ceiling.

「Guaahh!!!」

With a violent crash, Miranda hits the ceiling, which must be 10 meters high. She falls, but Nia catches her in the nick of time.

「…And while I’m at it, the unraveling is over, but what now?」

The door opens with a heavy thud. It really took less than two minutes to unravel.

「Eh— I still want to play with you, Lisa-chan!」

「…That’s impossible… we got things to do first…」

「Buh—! Then we’ll have plenty of fun when we’re done, Lisa-chan. I’ll stay with you through the night for as many nights as you want, fufufu…」

Doom and the other kid tried to head for the door with the frightened Alfiris and the others in the background. The only one who seemed to be able to stand up to him properly in spirit any longer was Alfiris, but she was not in the mood to chase after him either.

With a clatter, a stone door suddenly came down from above at the entrance to the staircase and tightened. Perhaps it was a trap that was triggered when the red door opened. Or a precautionary measure to keep out those who are sealed.

The mercenaries, who had only watched in amazement as the situation unfolded, were brought back to reality. The sound of the stone door closing sounded to them like the sound of a room where prisoners were tortured to death.

Several mercenaries rush to the exit.

「Shit, it’s not opening!」

「This… must be reinforced by witchcraft?」

「Get me out of here!」

There were a variety of people around the door, some making a fuss, others watching further to see what would happen, and others trying to deal with the situation calmly, but Doom’s actions just before entering the door pushed the situation even further. He looked at the flustered mercenaries with amusement and clapped his hands as if he had come up with an amusing sideshow.

「Hey-hey, we’ve already got the number of people we’re supposed to have, so I can do whatever I want with the rest?」

「…That’s fine…」

「If that’s the case. Come here, Man Eater!」

【Summon】

A magic circle was drawn on the ground, and a being with some evil presence was summoned. Everyone noticed this and, although frightened, assumed a fighting stance.

「If you can survive against this girl until I come back, I’ll spare your life. Yes, if you survive… Well, this girl hasn’t eaten anything lately, so I think she’s pretty worked up. Ahahahaha!」

「…You really got a bad sense of humor…」

The two boys disappear through the door with a high laugh. Then, a scrawny, skinny little child appeared from the magic circle, contrary to their expectations.