Chapter 134 : Chapter 134
Chapter 134: Blood (2)
Kain's office was located at the highest point of this castle.
And even if most of the soldiers had gone to the arena to watch the duel, a minimum number of guards to protect the castle remained.
So to walk out of this castle, not only would it take time and effort to go from the highest point back down to the lowest, but more importantly, we couldn't help but make a commotion.
Until now, we had been able to deal with them quietly, like the guys sprawled in front of the office, but the more soldiers we encountered, the higher the probability that our stealthy(?) actions would be discovered.
Then, in the worst-case scenario, the alarm would sound, the duel would be interrupted, and all the soldiers there would come rushing into this castle.
Yes.
If we were to leave ‘on foot’.
So, we decided to just ‘fall’.
Fortunately, we have ‘wings’.
The 「Aerial Maneuvering Gear」, that is.
Of course, we had received this in Daian before Toric had joined the party, so Miki's 「Magical Travel Bag」 only contained wings for five people.
But as it happened, Ibi was unfortunately temporarily out of the party, so her wings were left over.
In other words, there was no problem for the five of us to jump from here together.
“A-Are you guys serious……?”
However, for the reason mentioned before, Toric, who was the only one who had not yet experienced these ‘wings’ firsthand, showed a very worried reaction to the four of us standing in front of the shattered window.
“From this height, you’re going to fall… and fly……?”
His eyes said, ‘Are you out of your minds?’.
Moreover, he was a man who had lived secluded in a remote mountain village for 19 years, with almost no connection to the outside world.
It was highly likely that he had not even properly heard the news of Daian's magitech, which had rapidly developed after the appearance of the young engineer Khamsin, let alone experienced it.
“A-Are you crazy to want to die…?!”
So it was only natural for him to be afraid.
No matter how much of a veteran he was, having been through all sorts of things, the idea of flying in the sky with such ‘wings’ on his back—and him a dwarf, no less—was something he had probably never even imagined.
“Rest assured, Brother Toric. They are much sturdier than they look.”
“They held up fine even when I was wearing my armor!”
Lily and Miki tried to reassure Toric, but he still couldn't shake off his anxiety, as if he were still very suspicious.
“I still think, it would be better to just take the stairs…”
“It's fine, it's fine. You won't die.”
“The most anxiety inducing words…”
Toric, was fundamentally an old geezer… to say that would be a bit too harsh, but it was undeniable that he was an old-timer, so he was somewhat conservative about accepting new technology.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s not a good idea…”
To explain to such a Toric how safe these ‘wings’ were, would have taken a long time, and it also felt like I was showing off my intellectual vanity, and it was boring and pedantic.
“Then die!”
“Waaaah──!?”
So I pushed him.
Well, to be precise, since I didn't have the ‘strength’ to do that, I nodded at Miki to push him.
“Press the button, Toric!”
At my shout, Toric hastily reached for the button.
Whoosh!
Soon, Toric's ‘wings’ spread wide, and he began to glide stably in the sky, just like the four of us.
“O-Ohh…!?”
Toric, who had finally stopped screaming, looked down at the black-and-white city with eyes of disbelief.
And so, we succeeded in safely escaping ‘Midrashi Castle’.
But one of us was still trapped in the ‘Midrashi family name’.
Ibi.
Now it was time to go to her damn father and declare that we were taking his daughter back.
***
By the time we arrived at the arena, the duel had just ended and the spectators had all left.
So, just like at the castle, we were able to reach the door leading to the basement without any problems, taking advantage of the lax security.
However, at the same time, we ran into a problem.
Because the large door leading to the basement was firmly shut.
And this door was impervious to any physical attack, and there was no lock to pick with [Finesse].
Nor could we open it by deciphering the [Magic] like before.
There was only one way to open this door.
The ‘blood’ of the Midrashi clan.
Not a metaphor, but literally, only the blood of one with Midrashi genes could be the key to open this door.
And not just any Midrashi, but only the blood of a direct descendant who had inherited the genes of Baron Kain Midrashi himself.
In other words, there were only two people in Krom right now who could open this firmly shut door.
Kain Midrashi himself, and.
“……Fuck, that look on his face again.”
Kain's daughter, Evie Midrashi.
That's why I had said before that without Ibi, we ‘literally couldn't reach the place where the truth was hidden’.
“That, smug grin that says everything is going according to plan.”
And as it happened, Ibi appeared before us.
“No, just.”
So I couldn't help but smile.
“I'm happy to see you.”
By now, Kain would have sent his soldiers all over the city to find us.
And because I firmly believed that Ibi would find us before those soldiers did, I had come straight to this door without delay as soon as we escaped the castle.
Of course, this was a plan that could be made thanks to my near-certain belief in her tracking skills.
“…I should have known then, you cunning bastard.”
Before coming to Krom, I had put a ring on Ibi for enchanting.
And as you can see from the sparkle on her little finger now, it was no ordinary ring.
It was a ‘couple ring’ of the same shape, forming a pair with the ring I was wearing on my left hand, which I was now showing by taking off my glove.
Similarly, the ornament was also sparkling.
Towards each other's rings.
“There's no way you'd give me something like this without any intention, right?”
That's right. This pair of rings was connected.
Because they were ‘wedding rings’.
Of course, I don't mean the kind of rings that a real married couple would wear, but in the sense of an ‘item’ commonly seen in games.
You know, those items that allow the two people who share the rings to teleport right next to each other, no matter where the other is.
In the case of these rings, instead of 「Teleport」, they served to ‘guide’ each other to their location with light, just like now.
In the sense that they allowed you to find the other person no matter where they were, they were the same.
Therefore, I had, as I said a moment ago, a certainty.
That even if Ibi became ‘Evie Midrashi’ and temporarily left our party.
She would never throw away the ring I gave her.
So that when I turned on the ring's function, she would follow the guidance of that light and find me before anyone else.
“Yeah, well. Fine. I'll play along once.”
It was in the blink of an eye.
Not a metaphor, but really, when I blinked once, Ibi was in front of me.
Then she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pushed me against the wall behind.
Pressing a cool blade against my neck.
“S-Sister!?”
Lily and Miki, who were flustered to see this, rushed over to stop Ibi, but I held out an arm towards them.
Meanwhile, Rine, who would have normally been the first to raise her staff in a situation like this, was just standing still and watching.
Unlike the two of them, Rine had already experienced this situation once.
Yes.
It was just like our first meeting with Ibi, which I now feel nostalgic about.
“Ahem. Nice to see you too, Ibi.”
A situation where Ibi was holding a knife to my neck, and I was slyly raising both arms to show I had no intention of resisting.
“You want to start over from our first meeting?”
Of course, there was the difference that now, instead of wearing a sack with two eyeholes, I was showing my full face.
And, there was also the difference that Ibi was not Ibi, but Evie Midrashi.
“What's the trick this time?”
Ibi twisted her lips as if growling and glared at me.
“Beyond this door, there are people trapped.”
“…What?”
“They are all innocent victims. And to open this door and save those people, we need your blood.”
“What, on earth are you talking about…”
“It's true, Sister Ibi!”
Miki hastily took out the evidence.
The contract, which we had stolen from Kain's safe.
The ‘truth that Ibi could never look away from’.
“Kain has made a contract with a devil! In exchange for performing this summoning ritual!”
Ibi, still holding the knife to me, turned her head slightly, and.
“……!”
Sure enough, she soon showed the same reaction as the other companions when they first saw it.
Her eyes widening, in horror.
“What is this, fuck……”
“He ordered Don Paulo to send people to Krom not to get slaves for the invasion. It was to offer them as sacrifices.”
In exchange for their souls, to summon a ‘monster’ from another world and use it as their own weapon.
“…It's similar, to what Stras was trying to do before.”
As Toric said.
“He also tried to sacrifice a whole city for a summoning ritual like this.”
The only difference was that unlike Stras, Kain tried to use people captured from the continent, especially from Tiaria, as a substitute for the people of Krom.
Either way, it was a terrible ritual.
“The devil who told Kain about this summoning ritual is the 6th Corps Commander of the Demon King's army, Portun.”
Then I took out the letter from my inner pocket and showed it in front of Ibi.
“He, just like Luce, must have been trying to cause chaos inside the Wall on the Demon King's orders. So Kain, who was blinded by the conquest of the continent just like them, must have been an ideal target to use.”
It was then.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of dry applause began to be heard from somewhere.
“──Well done, Evie.”
And the owner of the voice who said this was, of course.
“That's my daughter.”
Kain.
“You've captured them faster than anyone else in this city. That's our vanguard for you.”
He appeared with a gentle smile that would have reminded me of our first meeting, just as Ibi and I were doing now.
Of course, just like then, with a large number of soldiers dressed in dark-colored armor.
“…We know everything now, Kain! That you are a puppet of the devils!”
At that, Miki tried to provoke him in a loud voice so that everyone here could hear, but.
“Puppet?”
Kain just sneered, completely unfazed.
And the soldiers standing behind him also showed no agitation, just like him.
“Well, I guess if weaklings like you make a contract with devils, you can only think of such a relationship of obedience.”
As if they completely trusted him, no matter what he did.
“He wanted a contract, and I paid the price.”
No, in fact, it was probably closer to fear than trust.
A trained fear, where they couldn't dare to question anything he did.
After all, their heads could fly at any moment.
“With his head, that is.”
“…!”
Just as the devil, Portun, who had tried to use Kain, had.
In short, the 6th Corps Commander Portun was already a being who was no longer in this world.
“So shouldn't I be thanked instead of being taunted?”
And the man who had killed one of those seven strongest devils, was standing before us now.
“Isn't that right, Evie.”
Kain said with a grin.
“Since you're pointing a knife at him anyway, finish what you have to do.”
And let's go back quickly.
At those words.
“……Ha.”
Ibi let out an incredulous, hollow laugh.
Then, Ibi's hand, as she looked at me, was trembling.
“Yeah, I have to.”
She said, as if in self-pity.
“What I have to do.”
“Ibi──”
──Swish!
Then, the hand holding the dagger, she swung it roughly.
And the band of light that was drawn, did not cut my neck.
Instead, it flew towards Kain's forehead, which had been accurately targeted by 「Precision Throw」.
“……What are you doing?”
Of course, Kain easily caught it with his bare hands.
“Shut up, you crazy psycho bastard──!!”
Shink!
“──!”
Ibi, who had shouted, had anticipated that much from the beginning, and retrieved the dandelion── no, ‘Dosun’ back into her hand.
And the space between Kain's two fingers, which had at first caught the blade without a scratch, was now cut, scattering blood droplets.
“You, son of a bitch…! How dare you, try to make me do this…!”
She had managed to turn a blind eye and endure it until now, but this, she could not tolerate.
In other words, it was the moment when the ‘suggestion of domination’ that had been cast over her for a long time, using her pain, finally broke.
Carried out in the name of ‘blood ties’.
--
‘Evie’ is returning to the party.
--
In other words, she was no longer a Midrashi.
“──I'm taking your daughter back, Kain.”
Just our companion, Ibi.