"Don't be a dog...... !!"

 

Usato is swallowed by a skeleton in front of him.

Unable to move, I suppressed my desire to rescue him immediately, and continued to cast spells on Lucas and Eva.

 

"Nea-chan, Usato-san ......!"

"Take care of yourself now! If you leave me now, you'll be the second dance of Usato!"

 

Resistance spells can only be applied to a single target.

Now that I'm in touch with Lucas and Eva, the effect of the Resistance Spell is activated, and if either Lucas or Eva leaves, they will be out of the area of effect of the Resistance Magic.

 

"I'm sorry, I can't fight, so Usato ...... because I was stuck in a limbo."

"Oh, there's no way Usato would give a like that! Don't say anything that makes you anxious, just worry about yourself!!"

 

I shout at Lucas, who has a pessimistic expression on his face behind me, but I'm actually quite impatient.

Usato is as strong as an idiot against physical attacks, but weak against mental attacks.

As of last night, he had been suffering from the mental attack of only a few skeletons, but if he was able to eat them from countless skeletons, his heart might break.

My lord ends here, and I, the familiar without him, become a stray demon as before.

 

「...... Hehe, hehe."

 

I wonder what you're thinking, me too.

He should have been prepared to die before he became Usato's familiar.

There's nowhere to go back now. If I had to say it, Usato's status as a familiar is where he is now.

Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to lay down my life here and now, for the sake of the man who made me decide to go out into the outside world, even if only for a short time.

 

"I'll stick with you until the end, and whether I succeed or fail, I'll do my job as a familiar!"

"Geeee

"Gaa!"

"I'll show you a special one!!"

 

Just as I had captured Usato, I smiled faintly at the skeleton that threw its chains at me, and I used my resistance spell to add even more magic.

Then, the pattern of resistance magic that covers the three of us swells and transforms into a sphere of boundary.

 

"If you can do it, do it......!"

 

In this case, neither the skeleton nor the chain, which is the curse itself, can be touched. Instead, the magic is completely fixed in place, and it uses a lot of magic power, but it should be quite effective against these guys.

 

"Ji, ...... Whew!!"

 

All the chains thrown at them by the skeletons are also flicked by the barrier.

There are some individuals who ram you by force, but that doesn't make sense either.

 

"Nea-chan!? They do that to protect ...... us."

"Usato said he was going to help you, so I'm here!" So you should shut up and watch there!!"

 

In order to withstand the impact of the surging skeletons, he thrusts his hand forward and concentrates on maintaining his magic.

Resistance magic is indeed a powerful spell, but it is not an unbreakable magic. It can withstand as many attacks as you set up against it, but it's not very strong against other attacks.

Therefore, I have no choice but to reinforce the load of impact and weight with ...... magic power!

 

"After all, it's not easy."

「...... Whew!!"

 

As he endured the onslaught of the skeletons, an individual appeared on the floor in front of the altar that gave off a distinctly different atmosphere from the skeletons he had seen before.

It was still a skeleton, but it was a tattered robe and a staff that must have been expensive, and it was rattling its teeth as it spoke.

 

"You've finally appeared......!"

"What I have come out of is only a trivial whim, the healing wizard is already in my hands, and all that remains is to clean up the lords and my wish will be fulfilled."

 

Suddenly, the one in front of him raises his hand, and the chain extending from the skeleton's neck is pulled back, forcing the attack to stop.

It's a whim, but in reality, it's just that the victory was visible and it showed up.

What's more, unlike the others, he can speak the language, and since he stopped attacking, he can control the curse to some extent.

And from the word "my longing"--,

 

"You're a very vindictive geth bastard, sorcerer, and it's insane to bind your dead soul to a curse under the guise of a death penalty."

"Sorcerer, you say? Is that a sorcerer who sacrificed his people to witchcraft and was executed by the king?!?"

 

No wonder Lucas is surprised.

You wouldn't think that a man who lived hundreds of years ago would be so obsessed with the hero that he would bind himself to a curse.

 

"It's funny when you think about it, it was the king and the sorcerer who sacrificed the people of Samaritar for a curse, but for some reason only the royal family was cursed. Normally, it would be strange if the Fegnis clan, descended from the sorcerer, was also not cursed. Because you have shifted the direction of the curse to the royal family only...... Isn't that right?"

"It's almost right, but it's also to keep my curse alive."

 

In other words, Fegnis was also being used for this death.

If you think about it, the teachings that make the hero so obsessed are like a curse.

 

"What are you going to do with Usato?" Either way, you've lost your source of magic and are destined to disappear eventually. Even if we say we're confident of winning, it's only temporary."

"Kuku, Kukuku......"

 

? What's wrong?

With a shake in his shoulders, the sorcerer turned his hollow eyes to him and let out a chilling voice.

 

"I don't need a supply of magic anymore."

「...... What do you mean?"

"I can use my spell of bondage to bind my soul to my body, and if I can get a new body, I don't need a supply of magic or the curse I have."

"It is an act that is out of the laws of this world...... Those who have died are not allowed to come back to life! Let alone a dead person taking over a living person...... No way!?"

"You seem to have noticed, that healing wizard is my new body."

 

- The purpose was not to tie Usato to Samaria, but to take over Usato's body!

Now, Usato is being attacked by the skeletons.

If you were to pour dozens or hundreds of people's thoughts into it all at once, an ordinary person would have a broken heart.

When the thought came to him, and he looked at me with a change of blood, he let out another disgusting laugh.

 

"They are very simple, clowns who only possess and scream at the living in search of unfulfilled wishes. But there are still a lot of them. If ordinary people could show them their unbearable voices and memories, they would be able to break their hearts.'

"Then Usato ......!"

"I'm sure you'll be shown the scene of hell endlessly."

 

He looks at Usato, who is surrounded by skeletons.

Surrounded by a tremendous number of skeletons, we can't see him, but inside he is endlessly shown the hatred and abominable memories of the Samarian people.

A decent person would not last a minute...... Whew.

 

"Please stop...... Why would you do that......

 

In a soft, low voice, Ava asks the sorceress.

The sorcerer sneers with a hun and a snort.

 

"The reason is simple: I adore the brave. It is because I worship that I sought the brave. I tried to catch it and make it eternal. As a result, it failed.'

"That's right, there's no way you can tie up a hero who can defeat an evil dragon with your level of magic."

 

Sure, magic is powerful, but it's easy to deal with much higher opponents.

Not to mention, the target is a hero who has defeated even an evil dragon. His raw strength must be tremendous, and above all, he cannot be just a brawn.

 

『...... At that moment, he cut through my all-out curse with a single stroke. He disappeared without breaking the curse. It's as if this is my punishment, my sin.'

"Then, if you use that failure as a source of inspiration and make an effort--"

"Shut up, naïve little girl."

 

Here, for the first time, an emotionally charged voice emanates from the magician.

Eva trembles at the voice.

 

"I don't think a mere mortal would be able to reach that realm with effort...... But it's true that you can feed off of failure. I'm not stupid enough to do the same thing over and over again.'

 

The next words uttered by the sorcerer were the worst I could have imagined, and the ones I should have avoided.

 

"So I thought, 'I want to be a person with the qualities of a hero.'"

 

......。

I mean, this guy is a real monster.

I ...... that I would sacrifice the lives of many innocent people for the sake of it, and even I would become a part of the curse as a soul being.

 

"Now, if you sacrifice the curse quietly, you can join the healing wizard, right? I can also see my missing mother.'

「...... Oh, I hate it! Usato-san is still working hard! I can't give up living here and now!!"

"The healing wizard has already fallen into my hands, it won't take long for me to break his heart and administer my spell. ...... I thought it would be a mercy at least to let him choose the easy way out, but it seems to have been in vain.'

「...... Which mouth!"

 

I curse at the words of the magician.

Mercy seems to be a kind word, but it's like saying that it's bound to be erased anyway. At the point when he can only spit out words that narrow his options, you can see that this sorcerer is an outcast, far from the word compassion.

 

"You can never be a hero."

 

That's when Lucas told the magician.

The calmly uttered words were filled with quiet anger.

 

『...... What?'

"If you can only spit out such words, you will never become a hero."

"It's funny, a hero is a being with overwhelming power. Like that healing wizard, he is a unique being who continues to extend the limits of his body and become stronger by continuing to regenerate his body with healing magic. If I can become such a person, I can become a powerful being. Isn't it?'

"No, no, it's useless to tell you that you're only fascinated by power, but I'll tell you!"

 

Lucas stepped forward forcefully and moved beside me.

I silently shift to the side and face the sorceress so that he can speak more easily.

 

"It's not the power that's important, it's the mind of the person who handles it. He does have great power, but he uses it to save it, not to overrun it. You don't know how hard it is, do you?"

"So what? Is it possible to become a hero with aspirations and beliefs? It's such a stupid idea.'

"You are a fool, what do you worship the brave? That is the only power you worship......!"

 

Lucas's words caught the magician off guard, and he stammered for a moment.

Regardless, he spun the rest of the words.

 

"I'm sure the hero who defeated the evil dragon also risked his life for his people, but it was you and the king who made it meaningless. Yet, instead of regretting it, you continued to exploit the souls of the people you sacrificed for hundreds of years...... How can a person who tramples on the dignity of such a person be a hero!!"

 

...... Certainly, the heroes of the previous generations must have fought for the people of Samariar who were tormented by evil dragons. For this reason, he continued to fight without sleeping, and at the end of it, he jumped into the mouth of the evil dragon and plunged his sword into its heart.

But what awaited him at the end of the battle was the betrayal of the country he was supposed to have saved, and the corpses of the people he was supposed to have saved, who had been sacrificed to bind him.

...... In this case, it may be natural to have a crush on humans.

 

"It's because of him that I'm here now, because I gave up thinking I couldn't help my daughter, and he said he would help me, so I don't give up hope...... Can you do that? Can you make people feel hope? He sacrificed hundreds of innocent people and even used their souls in the end...... How can a coward who wants to take over Usato's body do that?!"

 

Lucas said this with a hint of emotion, but the magician didn't say a word.

Instead, the ridicule that had been rattling from earlier had disappeared, and only the eerie atmosphere was noticeable.

 

"Enough...... After all, it is the nonsense of a king who cannot do anything. I'll destroy your soul and make you a puppet.'

"Huh?"

 

As soon as the sorcerer's arm moves, the magic power is trapped in the suppressed barrier and activated.

At that moment, the skeletons that had been blocked by chains rushed to the barrier all at once.

 

"Uh-huh......"

"Nea-chan!"

"Are you okay!?"

"Get down!"

 

Catching the onslaught of skeletons with a barrier, Lucas and Eva drop down as they worry about me for making a pained voice.

 

"It's a lot of magic...... No, I'm going to call you a vampire out of respect. However, no matter how much magic you use to repel curses, if you continue to receive this many curses, your magic will eventually run out.

"I know what it's like without you telling me......!!"

 

He grits his teeth and says back as he endures.

What I'm doing now is just buying time.

 

"Why endure so much?" What you're doing now is pointless. The healing wizard will no longer be able to help you, you will soon break your heart, and I will enter the shell of it, and my plan will be accomplished."

"Heh, heh, it's taking a long time to break Usato's spirit for that......!"

 

It's been many minutes since Usato's skeletons were caught, but the skeletons don't want to leave him at all.

Doesn't that mean that Usato hasn't given up yet?

Seeing the sorcerer go silent, he is convinced that the fact that Usato has been able to endure so far is something he did not expect.

 

『...... No matter how strong the body is, the mind is still human, and it is still an immature child. No matter how much hope you have, it's useless.'

「...... Huh."

 

I don't know what it is, but I smile at this guy's words even though it's a hopeless situation.

 

"It's so ridiculous that you're so ridiculous right now, so sure you're going to win, and you're going to be in a good mood, and you're going to be so ugly that you can't bear to look at...... It's a tantrum, but it's really similar to my situation at that time."

 

I'm sure that I looked the same way I was looking at the sorcerer in front of me. It's the same as me, who was hurt as a result of my plan working and insulting my opponent.

 

"Any plan made by a little thing like you will definitely go awry, after all, the man you're about to get is a guy who does outrageous things that can't be measured by ordinary measures. If you think things are going the way you want them to, you're going to get seriously hurt ......!!"

 

Ordinary humans don't use healing magic in combat, and they don't dare to fight evil dragons head-on.

First of all, it's strange to assume that the man is made up only of a strong body.

This magician doesn't know that.

 

『...... I'm going to throw all my souls at you in this place and I'm going to finish it.'

 

The sorceress raised his arms wide with a somewhat irritated word.

Hundreds of chains stretched out from the floor in response to the movement, revealing an unprecedented number of skeletons.

 

"I don't need a spare, either way, now that I have a body, I'm done. I'll use it up until my soul is worn out.'

"You're a real outsider......!"

"You will be able to help me in your final moments, and what could be more joyful?"

 

As expected, if I were to take this many attacks at once, I wouldn't have any magical power.

However, there is no other way for me to protect myself now.

My heart is about to break at the hopelessness of the situation, but I still desperately shake myself up and put my magic in the barrier.

 

"Go"

"Huh!!"

"'Gaaaaa'"

 

The skeletons that floated flooded my boundary.

Close your eyes to prepare for the coming shock and load.

 

"Gar!?"

"Ah, ......!"

「......?」

 

But the coming shock does not come.

The voices of the skeletons that I heard changed from beastly screams to a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment.

I slowly opened my eyes in confusion.

 

「...... What's this?"

 

In front of me was a translucent white figure standing as if protecting us from the skeleton.

If you look closely, you can see that there are a number of white figures surrounding us, preventing the onslaught of skeletons.

 

●

 

"Are you protecting us ......?"

 

A white figure suddenly appeared.

The one that caught my eye the most was the figure of a woman with long hair who was protecting us from the skeletons with her arms outstretched in front of us.

She was the same as the other figures in that she was emitting a white light, but her long hair that reached her waist was colored blue, and her appearance was somewhat similar to that of Eva in Lucas' arms behind her.

 

"You came, you gave it to me......

"Do you know what this is? Eva"

 

Eva said happily and asked about the white figure in front of her.

 

"These people are not bad people, they are kind people who have always protected me from scary dreams......

 

...... protected me from scary dreams.

Could it be that they were the ones who protected her heart from the curse of the Samarian people who wanted to hunt her down mentally?

Why did it come out now?

Does that mean she jumped out of the curse during Eva's crisis?

 

"Father, it's all right! These people will protect you!"

「......」

「...... Father?"

 

Lucas didn't hear Eva's words, staring at the white figure in front of me.

After staring at her for a moment, Lucas gasped, his voice trembling with tears as he tightened his grip on Eva and opened his mouth.

 

"Oh, I see...... I guess you did, even though your body was gone, you were still watching this child grow up, ....... No, I'm no match for you. You didn't need to say goodbye, because you've been with Eva all along......"

 

At Lucas' words, her voice trembling, the blue-haired woman turned around and smiled kindly.

Hearing Lucas' words, Ava blinks her eyes.

I see, this woman is Lucas's .......

This means that the figures around them are successive generations of royalty who have been erased by curses.

 

"No way!!"

 

At that moment, the sorcerer's angry cry echoes in the hall.

 

"Why are you coming out now?!" You're just a human being who doesn't even remember magic! As a consolation for the curse, you who have erased your body and captured your soul will come out ......! No, it doesn't matter!! Now that you're out, my dominance won't move!!"

 

With these words, the sorcerer pulled the chains even further, causing more skeletons to rush into the figure.

 

"Ha, ha, hahaha!! No matter how many people gathered, the grudges of hundreds of dead cannot be stopped!

 

As the sorcerer said, the surrounding royalty alone could not stop the skeletons.

In fact, every time he catches the skeleton, the white shadow flickers like smoke and the figure turns into a vague one.

The figure of the woman in front of us is no exception. However, the woman didn't seem to care about the attack of the skeletons, so she turned to face him again and slowly moved her lips.

 

『―――』

"What?"

 

I can't hear the voice.

But it is certainly trying to tell us something.

What the hell ...... doing?

 

"Are you okay...... I'm saying."

"Eva, do you understand what this person is saying?"

"Ha, yes, somehow......

 

Could it be that the effects of protecting Eva, who was under the curse, have allowed her to communicate to some extent? Or is it simply that this woman is this child, and that's something we should be thinking about right now?

I wonder what is okay. The situation is as close as before, and even if you are told that you are okay in such a situation, I don't think it is true at all.

The woman smiled reassuringly at my concerns, and spun a short follow-up of words.

 

『――――――』

"He's already awake, ......?"

 

Confused, I tilt my head at Eva's words.

I don't ...... to say that it happened in this situation.

 

"Hahaha, no matter what you do now, it's all in vain! My long gambling plan succeeds! You will all have your souls broken and become my puppets! Ha, hahahaha!!"

"Oh, that's annoying...... He'......."

 

- A magician who exposes his true nature, and who laughs without a shred of character.

I glared at the sorcerer, wondering if I should say something back, but I understood the meaning of the woman's words when I saw the skeletons that surrounded Usato, who was behind the sorcerer, scattering spiderlings.

 

"Hahahahaha!!"

 

A figure approaches from behind the magician, who is smiling without noticing the abnormal situation behind him.

At the same time that we could see him clearly, the movements of the skeletons that had been attacking us for some reason gradually slowed down. By the time he was close behind the sorcerer, the skeletons were so weak that they were being pulled by their chains and forced to hit the barrier.

 

「...... You wake up late...... What?"

 

I'm triumphantly slapping my lips, but I'm horrified when I see him looking down.

After all, I could see the anger that could be felt even here at a distance, and the arm that was so strong that the blood vessels floated.

 

"Hey."

"Huh?"

 

With a thudding voice, a hand stretched out from behind the sorcerer, who was laughing, grabbed his head.

 

"What, what...... You're ......."

"What's wrong? Laugh at me. It's ridiculous. I need to laugh now--"

 

As it was, he slammed the sorcerer's head into the floor with such force that it crashed into the floor.

Looking down at the large shattered floor and the shattered skull of the sorcerer with cold eyes, Usato's fists clap with his usual smile.

 

"You'll never be able to laugh again, will you?"

 

I've heard from travelers from somewhere that when people are really angry, they naturally smile, but I guess that's the state of Usato now.

- The appearance of being completely sharp made me think from the bottom of my heart that I was really glad that Usato's did not have to do such a sharp thing.

 

 

___________________________________________

It's a bit long, so I've split it into two episodes.

I didn't think the announcement part wouldn't fit .......

 

The second half will be updated at the same time tomorrow.