10-34. Fiend Drug (4)


    Satou’s here. I feel that assassins mainly use poison as their weapons. I wonder since when their attack variations increase, like strangling with wire, or long-range needle attack on the vital spot. Nowadays, what’s the weapon that’s in fad for assassins. I’m slightly interested.


    ◇


    "You’re Sokel right?"


    "W, who are you guys?"


    "We’re just running an errand."


    There are two burrs who have invaded the viceroy office where Sir Sokel is confined. Both of them havepletely covered their faces and worn thick brown mantles. Their hands are holding swords which leak out dubious light.


    "From who?"


    "From his highness of course."


    The burrs finally noticed my presence with that question and hurriedly pointed their swords at me. While one of them proceeded to restrain me, the other one probably continuing on to erase Sir Sokel. I was unsure since I kicked the burr before me away to the burr in the interior, stopping him. Maybe I kicked them too strongly, both of the men have sunk into the wall. They would havee out to the room beyond if they had been pushed further.


    "Goha, what a heavy kick."


    "The rumored Mithril explorer huh."


    "Wrong."


    You guys actually have some leeway right?


    The men look alright even after receiving an attack that should have normally fainted them. I think the coughed salivas have some red color mixed in, but they have enough mettle to stand up and ready their weapons.


    Both are level 30 [Human] races, and their Status are [Magic Body Bestowal]. I think that it’s most likely the status of someone who has drank fiend drug.


    As a proof, even without chanting spells, purple shes leaks out from their bodies, and then the area around their bodies are d in mes.


    "I don’t know who you are, but I’ll have you die together with that man."


    "We’ll offer you to the death. We are fiends. The ones who will be the protectors of the new world that his highness will build."


    Their words have strange ents mixed in. Their grotesque figures were hidden in the mantles which I saw for an instant. Half of their faces have be like tortoise shell, and their eyes are likepound eyes of insects. They look quite grotesque evenpared to various demi-humans I’ve seen so far.


    They are still humans despite the grotesque though, so let’s proceed without killing them. I have to at least draw that line, or else I feel that I will be a demon lord myself.


    Since they are tough enough to stand against a blow from me, I hit them with normal [Short Stun] instead of [Remote Stun]. Let’s go easy at first and go with 20 shots. The Rhinoceros Beetle back then could endure 20 shots, so let’s go with that many.


    One of them was hit with the magic, broke through the wall behind, and vanished into the next room. The other one seemed to have dodged several short stun orbs with his intuition, but the rest of the orbs caught up to him, and sunk him into the outer wall in a strange posture. The outer wall of this city seems to be quite sturdy.


    Neither lose their consciousness. The drug seems to be quite excellent as a boost medicine. There are probably some people who have drank it at least once in the battlefield.


    What should I do.... Ah, right. I didn’t think about it.


    Let’s test it on one of them.


    It’s a sess. After taking my blow, he’s fallen down unconscious.


    "Y, you bastard, what did you do?"


    "No way would I expose my secret to the enemy right?"


    While evading his attack, I destroy his reinforced state with [Break Magic], and then thoroughly snatch his magic power with [Mana Drain]. I also drain the magic power that’s circting on his weapon. I don’t know how great is the magic circuit granted by the fiend drug, but it shouldn’t work if the magic power that works as its fuel is cut off.


    Finally, I hit him, who has his magic power stripped bare, unconscious and it’s the end. The enemy still has sturdiness fits for his level, but his unreasonable toughness from just before has disappeared.


    I restrain the men with magic-sealing ivy. This is something that I’ve made from the ivy of Thorn Foot in the workshop earlier, it has the same effect as magic-sealing chain. Unlike the usual, the maker is Kuro this time, not Nanashi.


    I reported to Arisa with Telephone that I had taken care of viceroy office.


    ◇


    I can hear the footsteps of the viceroy office guards who have finally noticed the uproar, heading here.


    『Goha』


    『What? There’s an invisible wall here?』


    『There’s a magician among the burr. You guys go from another stairs. You go call magician-dono here.』


    Sorry for them, but I’m blocking the passage for now.


    "Now then, Sir Sokel. Would you answer questions from your life savior?"


    "Ah, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you, so please shelter me in a safe ce."


    "Alright. I’ll bring you to a safe ce if you answer honestly."


    I asked Sir Sokel who was desperately clinging to me about the mastermind.


    "His highness is a blood rtive of Shiga royal family. I think he’s a man who has juste of age. I don’t know his true identity since he always wore recognition inhibition mask whenever we met."


    "How could you make a dangerous drug like fiend drug from the order of such a man."


    "It’s because his guardian is Marquis Kelten. He also hid his face, but I immediately knew it was him from his peculiar way of talking. I thought that a chevalier like me would be able to be a bar if I cooperated with someone who had Marquis Kelten, one of the eight marquis along with his tremendous influence on the army, on his back."


    I think that’s a coup d’etat g though, will the next kingdom conference be alright?


    "In truth you’re just disposable huh."


    "That’s right, howughable."


    I get information about his highness like the way he speaks, his figure, and various things that weren’t hidden by the recognition inhibition mask from the listless self-deprecating Sir Sokel. It’s really not the third prince huh. ording to Toruma Memo, the fourth prince is 18 years old, the fifth prince is 14 years old, since the second child of the king’s younger brother is 15 years old, this one is suspicious. There doesn’t seem to be any unacknowledged illegitimate child of the king, but the previous king and the king’s younger brother seem to have strong lust, so there are a lot of candidates thate up.


    Now then, I guess I’ll shelter him since he listened and all.


    I release the [Mana Wall] that had confined the guards.


    "You bastard! Who are you."


    "I’ll shelter Sir Sokel for a while. Those men over there are assassins sent by the mastermind called his highness. They’re high levels and also users of fiend drug. Don’t let your guard down even if they’re unconscious. They’re as strong as low-rank demon at least. There should be a jail for high level criminals in thebyrinth city right? Put them there."


    I intentionally ignore their words, and tell the burrs’ motive and other things unterally. I change my tone from how Satou usually is, and speak in slightly high-handed manner.


    Since I’m currently in a disguise and all, I introduce myself as [Kuro].


    After I’ve finished telling them, I teleport away with Sir Sokel along with the bed he’s sitting on. The destination is in thebyrinth. I took him to the deepest working field of the fiend drug. There are multiple intelligence systems here after all.


    "H, here is?"


    "The inside of thebyrinth."


    "What? A, are you going to kill me?!"


    "I don’t have such intention. Here is a safety zone. There’s no gushing hole, and monsters and people won’te here except for some odd nts that are growing here. It’s the most suitable ce for a shelter."


    I take him to the row house where the abducted people had lived in. There is no rain in thebyrinth, but sometimes natural water drip down from the ceiling, so the roof is necessary.


    I put the bed from earlier in a rtivelyrge room. Since he asked if it was space magic, I nomittally affirmed it. I take out daily necessities like food and water from Item Box and put it on a table in one corner of the room. I also leave a cheap knife and hatchet, although I think it’s unnecessary. Any one of them are things that was used by the abducted people.


    It may look like I’m doing too much, but leaving a noble who can’t even cook for himself alone inside thebyrinth is cruel enough. However, I want him to taste a bit of the anxiety and pain of the people who have been captured and made to work hard by the lost thieves.


    I’ve told him that this is a safety zone, and even though it’s the truth, Sir Sokel still gets frightened from rustling sounds of the grass and small animals, he’s probably going to sleep while in fear of getting suddenly attacked by monsters.


    "Well then, I’ll supply you with food in 10 days time. If you don’t eat them sparingly, no one wille to save you even if you starve, so be careful."


    I leave behind Sir Sokel who looks like he’s going to protest, and go back to the mansion of ivy.


    ◇


    When I had returned to the mansion of ivy, fire and smoke from afar came into my view.


    『This is Arisa-chan, over?』


    I received a Telephone contact from Arisa. Her home-telephone way of speaking has finally disappeared, but this time it’s in transceiver style. Please talk a bit more normal.


    "It’s me. I saw the fire. Is that the west guild?"


    『Un, some men with the same clothing as the ones who attacked the viceroy office earlier came flying from the sky. They have wings on their back.』


    "I understand, I’ll go there immediately. I’m counting on you to keep watching the viceroy office."


    『Roger~』


    I fly in thebyrinth sky with Sky Drive. From the sky, I see that one section of the guild hall is burning. I tilt my head in puzzlement when I look at the stats of the people attacking the guild. I understand that they’ve used the fiend drug, but their skillpositions are that of an assassin, not a magician. It seem they can use magic, but since it’s wind magic, I don’t know the cause of that fire.


    The me stretches out from the ground.


    With my skill-strengthened vision, I see the man in dark brown clothing evading the me while flying in the sky.


    Oy, oy, that me is from the guildmaster’s magic huh. What are you doing burning your own base. Why are there so many pyromaniacs among fire magicians.


    I want to prevent the fire from spreading further so I strike down the flying burr to the ground with [Remote Stun] magic. People would have normally died from the fall, but they’re really some strong bunch. Big shield Jell and some high level explorers who havee out of the guild hall proceed to arrest the burr.


    You guys act too early.


    The burr forcibly flings away Jell and the others with his super strength from the fiend drug. When he was about to fly away once again, the me bullets of [Multi me] magic that the guildmaster had released hit him. The burr is roasted together with the ground around him from the countless me bullets, and rolls on the ground.


    As expected of level 50. The power is incredible as long as it hits.


    Since she had begun to chant [Inferno], I intervene. Just like the magic earlier, it’s not something that should be used in the middle of the city.


    By using sh Drive from the sky, Ind on the back of the burr who has put out the fire and stood up. The force was a bit too much, I could feel several of his bones breaking. Looks like it’s a bit too much no matter how sturdy the opponent is. Just like with the guys caught in the viceroy office, I cancel the reinforcing magic, snatch his magic power, and bind him with magic-sealing ivy. It’s a simple works that onlysted several seconds.


    "Who are you!"


    "Rather than that, put this guy into the prison. This happens just when I’vee to exterminate the lost thieves, looks like strange fellows are rampant here. As expected of Labyrinth City I guess."


    I vaguely swept off the guildmaster who had stopped her chanting and asked my identity, and then threw the binded burr nearby their feet. Then I fly to the sky, and take out ocean water from the storage to extinguish the burning guild hall. Once I’ve confirmed that most of the fire have been extinguished, I go back to the mansion of ivy.


    Good grief, I can’tugh at the fact that the guildmaster is the one who created the biggest damage here. I wonder how is she not demoted and fired like that.