Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 23 - Chapter 6

The Defense of Arcatia

Satou here. You often hear stories overseas of countries defending their cities, but I feel like there are hardly any such stories in Japan. I guess attacks on castles were more common in the Warring States period.

“So this is the Bloodsucker Wetlands—?”

I had come to the Bloodsucker Wetlands to collect the underground lily bulbs for the contest between the lady from the large trading company and the Hero’s Rest.

“…According to the map, it should be around here.”

I had been avoiding other adventurers at the Wetlands by traveling just above the height of the weeds. The Wetlands were filled with crocodiles and ancient land beasts—the adventurers here weren’t looking for the lilies deep in the ground, but instead had their sights on the monsters here.

“I’ll dig around.”

I chose the magic spell Pit from my magic menu and used that to dig a hole around sixty-five feet deep to gather the lilies. As I was waiting, a lily bulb popped out, and I used my Magic Hand spell to grab on to it and pull it out. It looked like a writhing underground stem, twisting and squirming in a creepy way. After using the new spell Sticky Net from my magic list to immobilize it, I gouged out the core with my fairy sword and delivered the final blow. When I used it from a scroll, even the weakest enemy could only be held for a few seconds, but the Sticky Net from my magic list showed impressive immobilization power. Since it disappeared when the supply of magical energy was cut off, it seemed like it would be a handy, nonlethal binding spell in the future.

“Well, I’ve come all the way here. I may as well gather a few samples—”

I spent around three hours collecting various samples of the monsters, vegetation, and other items I could use in alchemy from the Wetlands. There were a lot of weak creatures in the labyrinth, but there were plenty around, so I didn’t have to worry about overhunting them. I found a place that looked like no one else went to and used Pit and Create House and built myself a small shelter underground. I marked it as a return point and engraved a seal so I would be able to return to do gathering in the future.

Kiikii.

I heard the sound of a bat. It was the bat I had hidden in Roro’s shadow. It seemed like something was happening where she was, so I used my Return spell and returned to the Hero’s Rest.

“I’m back, Roro.”

“Ah! Welcome back, Mr. Satou. What a relief. You didn’t go to the Wetlands yet, did you?”

Roro seemed relieved that I had returned. I didn’t want to confuse her and explain that I had just gotten back from the Wetlands, so I didn’t bother to correct her.

“If you’re here, you’ll be fine. All right, I’m heading off now. I need to quickly take refuge in the guild!”

It seemed the regular shopkeeper, Ms. Nona, was here, too. She didn’t say much more than that before she dashed out the door. She seemed to be in a rush.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes! Apparently, there’s a large group of undead headed for Arcatia!”

I checked my map to confirm what Roro was saying—and she was right. There was a huge group of undead headed here. There were a lot of monsters in the labyrinth, and with the distortion, it was difficult to see which way they were moving, so I didn’t notice until Roro mentioned it. It seemed to be a large group of various undead. There were a lot of them, but most of them were under level 20, and around a hundred of them were cursed knights that were around level 30 to 40. There were also undead Tauruses and ancient land beasts, too.

It didn’t seem like demons were involved this time. I couldn’t see any demons or demon lord believers. We probably had Ms. Tia and Fen to thank for that.

“Mr. Satou! It’s fine! We have the Great Sorceress here, after all! She’ll defeat all the undead with her amazing magic!”

“Mashter, relieved.”

“Mashter, okay.”

“Mashter, souvenirs?”

Roro and the hamsterfolk children tried to cheer me up. It seemed I had worried them as I had stood silently looking at the map. However, the youngest hamsterfolk child didn’t cheer me up and instead asked about their souvenirs.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m not worried or anything. I was just wondering if there is anything we can give the adventurers who are defending the city.”

“In that case—”

Just as Roro began to speak, the door opened with a slam! as a rhinocerosfolk wearing Adventurers Guild staff clothes came in.

“Hmph, a smooth-skin store, eh? As we’ve entered a state of emergency here in Arcatia, in according with the charter, I am to confiscate all your goods!”

He glared at us before slamming three sheets of paper on the table. I scanned over the contents.

“One hundred stamina potions, twenty antidotes, twenty Cure Paralysis potions, three hundred preserved foods, and as many arrows as we have—”

We had all of that in Storage, but it was a little difficult for us to give up as a store, I thought as I frowned, looking at the first sheet of paper.

“I see the other two pieces of paper are for other stores. I’ll hand you those back.”

I passed it back, but then the staff member angrily pushed it back to me.

“They’re not. I hear you’ve been profiting excessively through unscrupulous business practices lately. The other two stores are owned by tigerfolk and lionfolk who break their backs running them. This time, you’re covering for them.”

The staff arrogantly leaned back, gesturing for me to hurry up with a cocky motion of their chin. I used my “Pickpocket” skill to steal the other two pieces of paper from Roro’s hands as she picked up the three sheets of paper. I then rolled them up into a ball and threw them straight at the staff member’s throat.

“I refuse. Please hand these sheets out to the stores written on the sheets.”

We had more than enough at Hero’s Rest, and if I was helping out a store that needed help, I wouldn’t have minded, but the staff member’s attitude ticked me off. If the other stores were struggling that much, I’d help them.

“Huh?! What do you think you’re doin’, smooth-skin?!”

The enraged staff member grabbed me and Roro. Before he could wrestle me to the ground, Fen swooped in like a gust of wind, grabbed the staff member’s head from behind, and lifted him off the ground.

“What are you doing to Roro?”

“Ack, ackackkk.”

The staff member seemed to be in pain. I looked closely and noticed Fen’s claws were digging into the man’s head. It looked painful.

“Mr. Fen, that’s enough.”

Since it seemed like things were about to turn gory, I asked Fen to release his hold.

“Ack, you idiot! Yo—? You’re, you’re the Great Sorceress’s mooch—”

The staff member angrily turned his head around, only to turn pale when he realized who Fen was. He seemed easily intimidated.

“…Get lost.”

Fen abruptly spoke as the staff member, confused, ran out of the Hero’s Rest. I checked my radar and noticed around five skeletons were waiting outside—they seemed to be his escort back to the Adventurers Guild.

“Uhm, uh, thank you.”

Roro appeared from behind the counter and thanked Fen.

“Don’t mention it. I owe you a lot more,” Fen responded.

“Huh? What did I do?”

Fen ignored Roro, who didn’t understand what he was referring to, then looked at me.

“I’ll deal with the enemies outside. Look after Roro.”

“All right.”

Fen left the store like a gust of wind—just like he had entered. It seemed he was worried about Roro and came to check on her. Plus, it also seemed like he owed Roro for something, not that Roro knew what she had done for him.

“I wonder what that was all about?” Roro asked.

“Who knows? Maybe Ms. Tia asked him to come check on you.”

Roro first tilted her head in confusion, but then seemed to accept my explanation as she returned to preparing the special items the guild requested.

“I guess so. Guys, help me with this, please.”

“Roro, help.”

“Roro, do our best.”

“Roro, like.”

The hamsterfolk children followed Roro to the storage room. I finished preparing the potions and produced several barrels of a basic health recovery potion equivalent, enhanced with a Water-Boosting spell. With Fen getting involved, I doubted they would be fighting the undead for long, but I suspected there would be a lot of injured adventurers if they got involved, too.

“That’s everything. All right, please take them to the guild.”

Roro politely bowed as the skeletons nodded, their bones creaking as they made their way to take the goods to the guild. I didn’t like horror movies or anything, but I found the skeletons endearing.

“All right, should we take refuge?”

“Please wait. There may be more customers, so I want to wait here at the store a little longer.”

Since I was there with her, Roro wouldn’t be in any immediate danger, so I decided to go along with her wishes.

“Fine with me. But if no customers come, we’ll go take refuge, okay?”

“Okay, Mr. Satou.”

I prepared a variety of good-value item sets to hand over to customers if any came to the store. Then there was a voice calling for Roro as she returned to the storefront.

“Roro! Have you seen my son?”

It was the lizardfolk lady. She saw Roro and had come running up to her.

Her son was a necromancer Roro had known since she was younger.

“Shashi? No, I haven’t seen him.”

Roro shook her head. The lady then looked at me, a pleading expression in her eyes. I looked at the map and noticed he was right in the center of the huge mass of undead. He was riding on the back of an undead Taurus, trying to flee. Judging from the speed he was going, it didn’t seem like they’d catch up to him.

“Your son is a necromancer, right? Maybe they’ve summoned him to the guild.”

If he made it back to Arcatia, there’s a high chance he would report to the guild. It would be better than searching through the city in this state of chaos.

“Good point. I’ll try asking at the guild.”

The lady thanked us several times before leaving. She seemed to half believe us and half doubt us. Once she had left, a bunch of our regulars came in and bought up all the potions and support items.

“I’m so glad you’re still open!”

“We’ve just gotten back from the labyrinth. We had no time to restock.”

“Is it really okay to take all this?”

“Yes, of course it is. Please come back safely.”

“All right! Leave it to us! We’ll protect Arcatia no matter what!”

The regulars all left wearing smiles. We had given the regulars trial calorie bars that could be eaten in battle, antidotes, stamina potions, and wooden tags with lucky runes carved into them. We had a lot of them in Storage, so it was no big deal. They cost mostly nothing—other than the work I had put in. The regulars never called Roro a smooth-skin, so we ended up being fairly generous with them. Once we had finished serving customers, I used the Space Magic spell Telephone to inform Arisa and the others about what was happening in Arcatia.

“Oh, my goodness! I know it’s probably fine with you there, Master, but we’ll finish up here as soon as we can and head back.”

“It’s really fine. You don’t need to rush back.”

“In that case, we’ll hurry back—but we’ll be careful.”

Arisa spoke and then hung up the call. Judging from where they were at the moment, they weren’t far from the place they needed to be to get the frogs, so I couldn’t imagine it taking them long.

Around the time the store quieted down, I heard the sound of a gong in the distance, followed by a cacophony of voices.

“It looks like the battle has started.”

“Don’t worry, Roro. Believe in Ms. Tia and our regulars’ abilities.”

I used the Space Magic spells Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to monitor the battle from afar.

“Don’t attack recklessly! Follow the commander’s orders!”

The defense team and adventurers seemed to be attacking the large horde of undead advancing on the ground from the balcony-like towers built on the dome’s outer walls.

“Shoot your arrows after applying magic to them, or a Decaying Enhancement potion! If you fire them as is, it’ll do nothin’ to the undead!”

“The Fire Magic team, along with the Fire Staff squad, burn the enemies’ front lines! Don’t accidentally incinerate the thorn barrier and speed up their advance! Leave the flying undead to the wind mages!”

“Light Magic team, don’t attack, focus on defensive spells! They’ll be throwing Dark Magic spells and curses at us!”

The veteran adventurers were advising the new adventurers in the fight against the undead. Thanks to their efforts, it seemed their attacks were successfully ravaging the undead’s front lines. It seemed Fen had no long-range attacks. I found him standing in the defensive unit command post, arms crossed as he watched over the battle. Even the Great Sorceress herself wasn’t attacking the small fry undead with her advanced-level skills. I wondered if they were aiming to let their subordinates handle the attack, allowing them to improve and level up, rather than just preserving their mana and power. The commander was skilled, and so far, there had only been light injuries and no victims. However, it seemed that the sheer numbers of the undead were overwhelming.

“The leading undead have clung to the outer wall… They’re climbing up!”

The undead were climbing up the steep wall.

“Shall we use the oil?”

“Yeah… Actually, wait.”

A small bird flew to the commander and perched itself on his shoulder.

“We’ve received an order from the Great Sorceress! Ignore the undead climbing the walls! Focus on the undead that are closing in!”

It seemed they trusted the Great Sorceress, as both the defensive team and the adventurers followed the orders without question. When the undead climbing the wall got close to the balcony, the wall shone with light and sent the undead flying backward. The undead fell around thirty-two feet, colliding with the undead beneath them, inflicting enough damage that they were unable to move afterward. It was a pretty efficient way of defeating them.

It didn’t seem like the enemy had revealed their true power, and if it continued as it was, I wouldn’t need to get involved. Fen and the Great Sorceress were covering the rear guard, too.

“Roro, screams.”

“Roro, outside is strange.”

“Roro, scared.”

Hearing the hamsterfolk children’s voices, I returned to the present situation. The hamsterfolk children that were peeking through the store entrance to the outside came running up to me.

Red markers.

On my radar, several red markers appeared. I used Warp to move toward the entrance, and I carefully kicked the skeleton that appeared after the hamsterfolk children, making sure not to destroy it as it landed in the street. I made sure no one was in the street and then used a Sticky Net spell to restrain it. Considering that this may be someone’s ancestor, I was gentle with it.

“That’s the post office’s…”

I heard Roro mumble in a daze. Now that she mentioned it, the skeleton I had ensnared was wearing a sash from the post office. I heard another cry.

“Roro! Close the door and wait here!”

I shouted as I ran toward the source of the scream. Its owner was a deerfolk woman surrounded by skeletons. I knocked the skeletons down and trapped them in place with a Sticky Net, making sure the woman didn’t see.

“Please take refuge at your home.”

“O-okay! Thank you!”

The woman fixed her clothes before running off toward her home. Luckily, she recognized me as someone from the area. I checked the map and noticed that skeletons were attacking the humans in the center of the city and various battles were taking place. The damage wasn’t as severe as I expected, likely because some of the adventurers stationed on the outer wall had returned to the city.

Normally, I would have spammed the Remote Stun spell for crowd control, but against low-level skeletons, that could lead to total destruction. Considering the feelings of their families, I hesitated to choose that option lightly, but at this rate, it seemed like the civilians might become victims.

“Kyaaah!”

I heard Roro’s scream from the direction of the Hero’s Rest and the sound of something smashing. My radar informed me that one of the skeletons had broken in through the back garden. I used Warp to return to the Hero’s Rest and rendered the skeleton useless using Sticky Net. The golem I had left for protection already had a hold of the skeleton, so it got caught in the Sticky Net, too.

“Are you all right? Roro?”

“Y-yes, I’m fine.”

The hamsterfolk children had passed out near Roro’s feet, though they were still stuck in fighting poses. It looked like their fear had gotten the better of them. I should have fortified the Hero’s Rest more. I took the Sticky Net off the golem—who seemed less than impressed by it—before tying the skeleton up with the one from before and throwing them outside.

“The streets are safe! The civilians who were late to evacuate, head to the guild for safety!”

I heard a man’s voice shout in the streets. He didn’t seem like an official from city hall but instead an attendant to the Great Sorceress—though, it reminded me. I remembered Ms. Nona telling Roro to go to the guild for safety.

“All right, let’s head to the guild, too.”

“Okay.”

I picked up two of the hamsterfolk children as Roro picked up the youngest one, and we left Hero’s Rest. As far as I could see on the map, the skeletons were drawn to the living, and there were no skeletons in the empty buildings and areas. As we headed to the guild, we came across others who were also looking to take refuge there, and they joined us. There were some skeletons attacking civilians, but I didn’t need to get involved, as there were various capable beastfolk already taking care of them. It seemed there were a lot of people who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty—after all, they did live within a labyrinth.

“…Ah!”

Roro was looking toward a timber storage space. Hiding in the shadows there was a young necromancer. He was curled up in a ball, trembling as he mumbled something.

“Shashi?”

It was the lady from the candle store’s necromancer son. He had managed to escape the horde of undead and was hiding within Arcatia.

“Something seems off. Roro, wait here with the children.”

I handed over the hamsterfolk children, who were sleeping soundly, to Roro, and then I approached the young man—Shashi.

“I’m not bad, man. The bad one is Zanzasansa, man. He told me to do it. I’m not bad, man.”

Was he being crushed by guilt and trying to escape reality? He said a name I didn’t recognize, so I searched for it and found someone by the name of Zanzasansa standing behind the horde of undead.

“…Are you the one behind this?”

“Wh-who’re you, man? I—I don’t know. It’s not my fault, man. I’m not bad.”

I figured I’d ask him directly, but he seemed to be far gone.

“So, who is bad, then?”

“Wh-who? Za… No one. It’s society’s fault. Society exploits us.”

He didn’t want to rat out his friend, so he used society as a scapegoat instead.

“Shashi!”

The lady from the candle store saw Shashi and ran over to us. Since he wasn’t at the necromancer guild, she probably took to the streets to look for him in the chaos.

“M-Mom…”

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

The lady embraced Shashi.

“Let go of me! Why are you here? Why are you always like this? Everyone treats me like an idiot. Everyone says I can’t do anything by myself, that I’m some idiot that can’t do my job. Why does no one see me for who I really am?”

Shashi pushed his mother away and began yelling toward the sky. It was no way for him to be talking to his mother. Even if he was trying to escape reality, something seemed off. Even if he was suffering from some sort of mental affliction, something really didn’t sit well with me. I used my “Miasma Vision” skill and noticed his chest was filled with stagnating miasma.

“Excuse me a moment—”

…Ugh.

Within his heart, there was a bluish-black hand clinging to it. It was the source of the miasma. It could have also been the cause of the skeletons turning violent, too. I activated the Spirit Light at full strength and purified the spreading miasma.

“Shashi! Wh-what’s with that hand?” the lady asked as she looked at his chest.

“Shut up! It’s got nothing to do with you!”

“What is that hand wrapped around your heart?”

Although she was scolded by Shashi, she asked again. This time, Shashi actually answered. It could have been the result of my “Interrogation” skill.

“My friend put it there. He said I had a big part to play, man. I said I didn’t like it. But he said if I refused, I’d end up as a cursed object like Zozo.”

Shashi closed his upper jacket that had come undone and grasped it tightly as he mumbled. It seemed his friend had used and discarded him as a tool.

“Why—?”

“Don’t touch him.”

I pulled the mother away as she reached for the cursed object, and I summoned a tower of purifying light using the Holy Stone I retrieved from my pocket. It was a little flashy, but this was the best way to stun someone. I restrained the stunned Shashi with Hand of Reason, and, just like when I removed the remnants of the demon god from the hero’s body in Parion Province, I peeled the cursed object from Shashi’s chest. It was a little difficult, but it was a lot easier compared to the demon god remnants. I stored the cursed object and Holy Stone in my Inventory while overlaying the illusion of Light Magic that showed them turning to ash.

I then removed the light and informed Shashi’s mother that I had removed the evil. The mother clung to her son and burst into tears.

“You said you’d play a big role, right? What was your role?”

I figured it was to send the skeletons haywire, but I decided to wait for him to confirm it.

“I don’t know, man! I was just told to go right into the center of the city!”

“And you just went along with it?”

I at least thought he would have asked what was going to happen.

“I just followed along! I don’t want to die, man. If I die, then I’ll just be treated like other undead, just made some random necromancer’s slave for an eternity. I don’t want to be a slave!”

He spat out his true feelings. His face was wet with his tears.

“Father isn’t a slave! He’s working hard to ensure we’re happy, even in death!”

A group of children interrupted, grabbing Shashi by the scruff of his collar. Before I knew it, we were surrounded by people who were all looking at us. It seems the Holy Stone earlier attracted attention.

“The kid is right. My dad also became a skeleton, but he helped raise me. Once I was a grown man, his work was done, and he now sleeps peacefully in Arcatia’s cemetery. He’s no slave.”

A bearfolk man pulled the children away from Shashi as he spoke in a calm tone.

“A necromancer said we have to treat the dead with respect. We’re a city in the middle of a labyrinth. We might one day die and leave our children behind, but even then, thanks to the necromancers, we can look after our children even in death.”

Another woman spoke, wearing a proud expression as she looked at Shashi.

“You should know that yourself, being a necromancer here in Arcatia.”

An alligatorfolk man spoke, wearing a wise expression.

“…You’re wrong.”

Shashi shook his head. He looked exhausted.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’ve never heard the voice of the dead, so you can all easily say that,” Shashi spat out, his face filled with anguish.

“The undead, those who have died, they all let out a cry of regret. You’re all being fooled by the Necromancer Guild and the Great Sorceress.”

“That’s not true!”

“Exactly! He’s lying!”

The people around us began to deny Shashi’s shocking statement.

“Look at this. My mother returned to her grave, but she stays within this protection talisman, and she’s looking over us even now. You can’t fake the warmth I feel from it.”

A gorillafolk man took out a bone talisman he wore around his neck and showed it. I used my “Miasma Vision” skill to look at it—there was a female presence within the talisman.

“If you were a real necromancer, you’d be able to hear her.”

“I can hear her, man. She’s suffering even now.”

He’s wrong.

The spirit of the man’s mother in the talisman was shapeless and completely white. The miasma… Or rather, there were no negative emotions or any stagnant miasma.

“What did you saaaay?”

“Did that upset you? But it’s the truth, man.”

Even though the gorillafolk man had Shashi by the scruff of his collar, Shashi looked up at him with a twisted, submissive smile fueled by sadistic pleasure. It felt less like he was trying to provoke the man than looking down on an ignorant fool.

Wait a minute.

I used my “Miasma Vision” skill to have a closer look at Shashi and noticed in the space between his eyebrows there was a small amount of miasma—it looked as if he’d been marked with a curse.

“Hold on.”

“Keep your nose out of this!”

“I’ll sort this out.”

I pushed aside the gorilla man, who couldn’t bring down his raised fist because Shashi’s mother was in the way, and reached out to Shashi’s face.

“Stop! I swear, he’s a good boy!”

Shashi’s mother pleaded from behind me.

“Is this something every necromancer carves into their forehead?”

“F-forehead? Do I have something there?”

If he didn’t know he had it, did that mean he had been cursed?

I was able to easily dispel the curse—it was a lot easier than removing the curse from Rei back on Paradise Island. The moment I dispelled the curse, the evil spirit of a frog appeared from Shashi’s forehead and attacked me, but I was able to get rid of it with just a wave of my hand.

“…Zanzasansa?” Shashi, who saw the evil spirit, muttered. It seemed he recognized the spirit.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head feels a lot lighter. What did you do?”

“You were cursed. Have another look at that man’s talisman.”

Shashi did as I told him, and he looked directly at the talisman—he looked astonished.

“You’re the person from before, right?”

Shashi was having a conversation with the woman residing in the talisman.

“You don’t regret anything, right? Are you satisfied?”

I couldn’t hear anything, so it seemed they were using a specific ability.

“You really weren’t a slave, huh…?”

Tears poured down his face as he hid his face in shame from the onlookers. I was glad everything was resolved. Even then, while I didn’t know who put the curse on him, it was a horrific thing for them to do.

“There he is! One of those awful necromancers!”

A man wearing priest clothes made his way through the crowd of people. I remembered him being one of the priests invited to talk with the Great Sorceress.

“That miasma! There’s no mistaking it! He’s the one controlling the undead within the city! Under the name of Heraluon, I will punish you!”

The priest charged toward Shashi, brandishing a mace.

I should have kept the light from the Holy Stone out for a bit longer.

“Wait, wait a moment!”

“Keep out of it, woman!”

The priest looked at Shashi’s mother, who was covering him, with a disdainful look. It looked like he was about to hit her with a mace, so I got between them and stopped him.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The priest glared at me as I stood in front of him, blocking him.

“Let’s not be hasty now.”

He tried to swing his mace again, so I stopped it in its tracks and held his arms down.

“How dare you interrupt my righteous justice!”

“I’m just stopping any unnecessary violence.”

“Who do you think you are?! I’m a priest employed by the Great Sorceress herself!”

That, I knew. But according to Ms. Tia, he was here to deal with the high-level undead, the Evil God.

“Did the Great Sorceress ask you to deal with the skeletons going out of control within the city?”

“Sh-she didn’t! I took it upon myself to cleanse the streets of them based on my righteousness and sense of duty.”

The priest mumbled, choosing to be cocky, and relayed his virtuous deeds instead.

“That’s right! I saw it! He turned all of the skeletons into ash using his Holy Magic!”

“Exactly! I got rid of the evil undead with my Holy Magic!”

The priest probably thought he was being praised for his deeds, but the young man who had spoken up was wearing an expression of disgust.

“That’s right. You turned them into ash… I’ll never be able to see my father again.”

“Wh-what?”

“Give me my grandfather back!”

“And my grandmother!”

The children began to throw rocks at the priest. It was probably their ancestors whose skeletons the priest had turned into ash.

“I-it’s my duty as a priest—”

“I know that you’re the ones who brought the undead to Arcatia in the first place!”

The priest’s excuse was interrupted by another beastfolk man.

“What’s that? It’s his fault!”

“N-no, you’re wrong! It’s a misunderstanding!”

The priest began to plead. From the way they anxiously darted their eyes around, it seemed that it was indeed true that they brought the undead to the fortified city.

“Gyaah! Shutupshutupshutup! It was the necromancer’s fault in the first place! That’s right! They’re the ones that turned the skeletons into brutish monsters!”

The priest was eager to get the heat off him, ignoring the main point at hand. However, that did nothing to quell the anger of those whose families’ remains were turned into dust. Just as people were starting to throw the rocks with more force and quantity, the priest made a run for it.

“Shashi, is it really your fault that the skeletons are attacking?”

“It’s not! It’s not my fault. I was cursed! I’m a victim! I’m—”

“Shashi!”

Shashi’s mother smacked him with her hand right as he started to play the victim again. The dry sound of the slap reverberated around us as Shashi stood speechless, an expression of shock on his face.

“If you truly are a real man, then take responsibility for your own mistakes!”

“M-Mom?”

“I’m sharing half the burden of your crime. That’s why I’m here—I didn’t run. I’m accepting the punishment.”

“Mom—”

Shashi seemed lost for words after being scolded by his mother.

“All right. I’ll take responsibility. Zanzasansa said if I use this, everything will stop. With my life as a sacrifice—”

I quickly snatched whatever Shashi was trying to activate from his hand. Shashi looked determined.

“The hell you doin’?!”

“This is a Magic Item that turns people into demons. If you use this, it’ll fix nothing. If anything, it’ll just make it worse—though I suspect that was the intention.”

“What…?”

Shashi placed both hands on the ground and hung his head in shame. The so-called Zanzasansa had no plans for Shashi other than for him to be a pawn to be used. Considering when the spirit appeared after I cleansed Shashi’s curse, and Shashi then saying his name, there was no doubt in my mind they were one and the same. He seemed like a real piece of work. I checked the map, and I couldn’t see any long horns or short horns. He was probably hiding them in an Item Box or some such place, so I decided to warn the higher-ups of the defense group.

“Do you know what Zanzasansa is aiming for?”

“Here. He wants Arcatia to fall at his hands.”

“Does he want it all to himself?”

“I don’t know, man. Maybe he wants to be king or something.”

So the mastermind’s plan was to have Arcatia fall and for him to take over… He might have had other motives, but we wouldn’t know until confronting him directly.

“What’re you all doing? Go take refuge in the guild now!”

The direct subordinates of the Great Sorceress urged the gathered people. Shashi followed his mother and gave himself up. I had no idea what kind of punishment awaited him, but that was something for the Great Sorceress and the city officials to decide. I went back to the guild with Roro.

“There’s a moat and a wall around the building so we’ll be safe here.”

The rabbitfolk Adventurer Guild staff woman spoke to everyone who had taken refuge in the guild in a cheerful voice. She seemed to be the receptionist. A fluffy one, at that.

“Plus, this is far from where the evil undead attacked, so this is probably the safest place to be.”

The rabbitfolk staff member smiled.

“It seems to have calmed down in the streets, but for your safety, please remain here for a little while longer.”

I checked the map. It seemed the skeletons in the city had calmed down and had all been locked away in a mausoleum beneath the Necromancer Guild.

Hmm?

I noticed that the movements of the undead that the defense group and adventurers were fighting were strange. Some of the undead that had yet to emerge from the jungle were splitting into two groups, moving as if to circumvent Arcatia. The mastermind behind the attack, Zanzasansa, hadn’t made a move. One group was moving clockwise around the city, and the other was moving anticlockwise. However, it seemed as if they had gotten lost as they were moving away from Arcatia.

I guess some people are bad at directions even in death.

“Mr. Satou, shall we go help with food distribution?”

“Yeah, good idea.”

“Roro, I’ll help.”

“Roro, leave it to me.”

“Roro, I’m hungry.”

The hamsterfolk children accompanied Roro and went to help. The three of them all seemed hungry, so I gave them all a branch cucumber.

“Can you peel the vegetables? If you can’t, you can wash them instead.”

An old woman gave the hamsterfolk children some orders, and we all set to work. The hamsterfolk children seemed skilled at cleaning the vegetables. They were drooling as they did it, but as they’d had a branch cucumber earlier, it seemed they were able to resist sneaking a bite of the food. I checked the map as I helped out. I noticed that in order to deal with the undead splitting apart and acting independently, a few silver tiger adventurer parties had been dispatched in our direction. We would be fine in that case.

“You’re good with using your hands. Can you cook, too? Make something with this.”

“Whoa, hold on a sec. You’re gonna have a smooth-skin cook for us?”

An adventurer passing by hurled abuse.

“That’s rich, coming from someone who isn’t helping! It’s even better if a smooth-skin does it! They don’t shed fur, so there won’t be any hairs in the food!”

The older woman in charge of the cooking scolded the adventurer, and he literally shuffled off with his tail between his legs.

“Apologies for using the word smooth-skin. It’s not like all of us beastfolk dislike your kind, so please, don’t get the wrong idea.”

“No, it’s fine—”

The undead outside had managed to infiltrate the walls.

“What’s wrong?”

“My stomach feels a little off—I think I need a moment. Can I leave the rest to you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Hurry back, now.”

“Excuse me.”

I ran to the toilet, and as I entered, I used the Space Magic spell Warp to return to the Hero’s Rest, then from there, I hurried along to where the undead had breached the wall. It seemed the undead had found the underground tunnels that the smugglers used. There were tunnels like this in both Seiryuu and Labyrinth City Celivera, but smugglers tended to create the best holes for their own security.

“Damn, my weapon doesn’t work!”

“Wrap the talisman around it, the talisman! It’s one of the Great Sorceress’s special ones, so you’ll be able to even cut down a ghost with it!”

Around twenty beastfolk adventurers were fighting with the undead. I wore a cloak to hide my identity.

“These are nothing! We have the lionfolk Mr. Tanpar here, and he’s practically golden lion–rank!”

“Pu-ha-ha-ha! You flatter me, you flatter me!”

There was a lionfolk man who seemed to have no trouble fighting the undead. Each time he swung his large bone sword, the undead collapsed and tumbled away. He seemed to be around level 37, and the undead he was fighting were no match for him.

“This one’s wearing armor! You think you’re a knight or something? Pu-ha-ha-ha!”

The lionfolk man goaded one of the undead knights as it appeared from the underground tunnel.

That’s not good.

“Don’t underestimate it! Those ones are a lot stronger!”

They were fighting an enemy that was of the same rank as a Taurus champion. It was a little too soon for him to be fighting one. Did he hear my warning? He blocked the cursed knight’s one-handed sword, which was aimed at his unprotected torso, with his bone greatsword.

“That all you got?”

“Watch out!”

The cursed knight fired a cursed projectile from his other hand that was holding a shield.

“Jeeeeeeeet!”

The lionfolk man yelled out something I didn’t quite understand as he successfully dodged the projectile. He was doing well facing an opponent that was five levels higher than he was for the first time.

However, that was about as much as he could do.

“Abbbeehhhhhhh!”

The lionfolk man yelled as the cursed knight kicked him, sending him in an arc over the other adventurers’ heads. I guess shouting weird stuff was a habit of his.

“M-Mr. Tanpar!”

“I’ll avenge yoooou!”

He’s not dead. He just took a hit and got cursed in the process. The lionfolk’s party tried to attack the cursed knight, but the other undead blocked their path. Pretty efficient—even though they were the enemy. I took advantage of the opening to close the distance with Warp and swiftly sliced through the opponent’s shield and armor with my magically enhanced Holy Sword. Then I leaped into the corridor and took care of the remaining nine cursed knights as well.

There were some small fry undead remaining, but the adventurers would be able to handle them, so I used my Return spell and returned to the Adventurers Guild. Of course, I unlocked the toilet door with Magic Hand, so don’t panic.

“Section Chief! Mr. Tanpar and the others have defeated the skeletons that infiltrated the city.”

“Oh, Tanpar, huh? He might have to get ready to take his promotion exam for the golden lion rank soon.”

As I was handing out the prepared food, I heard the rabbitfolk staff member inform the section chief about Tanpar. It seemed like they had safely returned from the front lines. Beastfolk were tough, after all.

“Section Chief!”

Another member of the guild staff ran to the section chief and whispered something in his ear.

“The Great Sorceress’s familiar is here. It seems the undead have finally breached the towers on the outer wall.”

“Damn, that good news was short-lived. Does it look bad?”

“The units there are holding out for now, but it’s hard to tell how many undead there are hiding in the forest, which is a cause for concern.”

“So what do they want from us?”

“They’re requesting additional shelter for the citizens who have evacuated to that guild branch, and they want you to check for any other possible entry routes aside from the one blocked by Mr. Tanpar and the others earlier.”

“Understood, I’ll do it. Let them know.”

The section chief and receptionist began to discuss food stockpiles and staff numbers. I continued passing around food while using the Space Magic spells Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to keep an eye on the front line.

“Shield bearers, stop the undead, even if it means you get hit! Don’t try and defeat the undead, just knock them down!”

The old commander shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice almost becoming hoarse. The defense team and adventurers dodged the attacks of the undead, who outnumbered them, looking for openings to strike.

“Aah, stay away, stay away!”

A spider-shaped undead was approaching a ratfolk Fire Staff user, causing them to yelp in fear. Paralyzing poison dripped from the spider’s fangs as it leaped for the ratfolk man.

“Aahhh!”

Hearing the screams, the hungry wolf–rank adventurer, Ms. Nona, charged in and knocked the spider off the ratfolk man. Another beetle chittered ominously as it attacked Ms. Nona from behind.

The ratfolk that had tumbled onto the ground fired off a fireball at the beetle.

“Caught you slackin’, smooth-skin!”

“Tch, too busy picking up after you, rat.”

Ms. Nona’s thrust knocked the bone sword of the monkey-shaped undead aside, and in the ensuing blade lock, a fireball from the ratfolk man struck the exposed torso of the monkey undead, delivering the final blow. Such gritty battles unfolded all over the front lines, maintaining a precarious balance despite the danger.

“What’s that?”

An adventurer, having just defeated an undead creature, paused as they gazed at the stronghold of the undead, positioned on the edge of the jungle. The undead the adventurer was attacking was finished off by another adventurer.

“Hey! No time for standing around. You wanna die or something?”

“Sorry. But… Look over there.”

“What? What are they doin’ over there?”

About ten undead cursed knights in the stronghold were discarding their armor.

“Have they gone insane with the heat?”

“Maybe they’re exhibitionists.”

The adventurers were bewildered by the cursed knights’ strange behavior as they continued to fight off the undead.

Out of the side of their eyes, they saw the cursed knights who discarded their armor break into a run before jumping off a large ancient land beast.

“Idiots, they’ll never make it here.”

“I wonder if their brains rotted out when they turned undead.”

The adventurers all shared laughs as they continued finishing off the undead before them. Fen was looking over the adventurers. He let out a sigh as he moved away from the wall he was leaning against. Three cursed knights, having reached the highest point of their arc in their jump, began to descend one after another. It looked as if they’d just fall straight to the ground but—

“…Did they just land in midair?”

“Oh man.”

“Ready yourselves!”

A cursed knight that had reaccelerated in midair burst through the barrier protecting the tower. Fen countered the first cursed knight with a flying kick, knocking them down before cutting down the other two cursed knights with the one-handed bone longsword he’d bought at Hero’s Rest. The remaining cursed knight fired a projectile at him. However, Fen blocked it all with his bone sword. The cursed knight then tried to run past Fen, but something caused the cursed knight to fall over. I had a closer look and saw that the bottom half of it was frozen solid. The adventurers were frozen, still unable to process what was happening.

“Don’t just stand there. Fight.”

Urged on by Fen, the adventurers continued to fight the oncoming cursed knights.

“Yeahhhhhhhh!”

“With you here, Mr. Fen, we’ll win no matter how many there are!”

“There’s only seven undead knights left!”

“Everyone, let’s go! Let’s finish this!”

“““Raaaaah!”””

The adventurers all yelled out with their new rush of morale.

However, it was short-lived. More cursed knights all appeared on the outskirts of the jungle.

“Hey! L-look over there!”

There were around fifty cursed knights, with more and more gathering. The adventurers’ expressions were soon clouded with despair. Even Fen looked nervous yet prepared.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous roar and a blinding flash of light. Although somewhat delayed, it blew throughout the battlefield like a vicious storm. White flames engulfed the jungle and Arcatia, the ground resembling lava.

“It’s the Great Sorceress! She’s blessed us with her magic!”

“…No, it’s not.”

In fact, the Fire Magic came from directly beside the line connecting Arcatia and the undead. I gazed at the forest, ablaze in a horizontal line, but its source remained hidden deep within the thicket.

“Fire Magic? Doesn’t the Great Sorceress use Earth Magic?”

“But there’s no one else who can use magic on this scale other than the Great Sorceress.”

“That’s true, but…”

Another loud rumbling sound, this time followed by a tsunami appearing, splashing water like a massive waterfall.

“Water Magic?”

“Just what is going on—?”

Before those watching from the tower could comment, the leading edge of the tsunami struck the molten ground. In that instant, vaporized water exploded into an overwhelming shock wave that swept across the land, uprooting trees and shaking the earth, making the shelter where I was—far away—shudder like an earthquake. It was just another familiar steam explosion. The once white haze cleared as rippling waves of air rolled back and forth, revealing the devastated landscape beneath. It not only tore through the jungle’s trees but also stripped away the ground itself, drastically altering the terrain. Almost all of the nearly ten thousand undead on the surface were scattered to pieces, leaving only a handful that had managed to take cover in the shadows. The trees and stones had all hit the dome that protected Arcatia, leaving it battered and beaten. The remnants of the barrier were also not unscathed, clearly illustrating the power of the steam explosion. The tower, which had been at the front lines just moments ago, was in ruins, but fortunately, there were no fatalities. While many had burst eardrums from the shock wave and deafening roar, it seemed that no one was gravely injured or on the brink of death. The Great Sorceress may have put a barrier up again before they could be.

“Ouch… What…happened…?”

“…This isn’t the work of the Great Sorceress, is it?”

I could hear the survivors from the tower groaning as they looked around in shock, disoriented. I used Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to find the source of the magic—what awaited me was the color silver.

“Yeaaah! Bull’s-eye!”

Arisa flung her arms up above her head.

“Let’s go, guys!”

“““Yeah!”””

“Sir!”

My friends all wore silver armor as they used Arisa’s Space Magic to head to the battlefield.

I expected nothing less from Arisa. I decided I’d take her somewhere nice to eat as a reward for this.

“All right, the cavalry has arrived!” Arisa declared the moment she arrived on the battlefield, feeling confident. This wasn’t a Western play, so I didn’t think anyone would understand what she meant by cavalry.

“All that’s left are some skeleton knights—or rather, just cursed knights. Hey, everyone! There’s gonna be curses and poison coming your way, so make sure to not get hit!”

Arisa shared the information she had gathered with the “Status Check” skill and broadcast it to her party. Mia and Arisa had already taken out a good chunk of the undead, using a forbidden curse. All that was left were the cursed knights, of which there were around thirty, hiding in the shadows, and the Grudge Turtle that was around the size of a house. Though, all of them were injured. The cursed knights were pouring steam and had around only half of their health, whereas the Grudge Turtle was on its back, unable to move.

—CZRRRRZ.

One of the cursed knights spotted Arisa and ran toward her, followed by other cursed knights.

“Aim…and fire!”

Lulu took out around five of them as she fired her gun repeatedly.

“That rusty armor won’t protect you, I warn!”

Nana shouted using her “Taunt” skill, attracting the attention of the cursed knights.

“Hnng—‘Shield Bash,’ I declare!”

Nana stopped the charging cursed knight with her shield using “Shield Bash,” smashing through the cursed knight and stabbing him in the neck with a Magic Blade.

—CZRRRRZ.

Nana dealt with the cursed dark projectile using a “Magical Slash” skill she’d learned from the Sword Saint. Nana also deflected a stone that was thrown alongside the dark projectile.

“Projectiles don’t work against me, I declare.”

Nana spoke from the shadow of her shield as the cursed knights proceeded to jump forward and crush her. However, it was useless against Nana.

“Activating ‘Fortress,’ I declare.”

With Nana’s shout, multiple layers of defensive barriers—the “Fortress”—sprang up and sent the cursed knights flying.

A single shadow crept along the ground, closing in on the three cursed knights keeping their distance.

“Hi-ya, sir!”

Pochi dashed between the three cursed knights, suddenly stopping to sheathe the Magic Sword, and finished with a punch to the knights. The cursed knights crumbled apart and rolled to the ground as if responding to that cue.

“Pochi’s quick-draw slash will vanquish the enemy in a flash, sir!”

Although I couldn’t see clearly, due to the bulk of the cursed knights, it seemed a deadly technique following Pochi unsheathing her weapon.

“Nin-nin!”

The cat ninja in a pink cape darted through the gaps between the cursed knights, narrowly dodging their attacks without drawing a sword, unlike Pochi.

“‘Shadow Binding Technique’?”

As she struck a cute pose to activate her technique, shadows extended from beneath the cursed knights, wrapping around their legs and binding them tightly. It seemed she had set up her ninjutsu while running past them at close range.

A single shadow, trailing red light, approached the now immobilized cursed knights. “‘Instant Movement, Spiral Lance Strike—Overlap’!”

Liza used her ultimate technique to take down the seven cursed knights one after another.

CZRRRRZ.

The remaining cursed knights, having learned from this, unleashed cursed dark projectiles while splitting into three groups. The main force held the front line, while five knights each attacked the three rear guards from the left and right.

“Genomos!”

As Mia gave the command, the ground surged upward, moving the rear guard to a safe area. The three cursed knights who had climbed the rising wall leaped into the air, looking down at the rear guard with smirks on their faces.

“You are already dead.”

Arisa returned the smirk, quoting a famous line from her time. Arisa used her spell Dimension Slasher, decapitating the cursed knights. However, since they were undead, it did little to stop them. The cursed knights then acted like dullahans, continuing to attack the back line even though they were missing their heads.

“…Aw man, really?”

“Not good enough.”

As Mia spoke, stone spikes blasted out of the ground, attacking the cursed knights. The stone spikes were unable to pierce through the cursed knights’ armor. However, the force and movement of the spikes sent them flying through the air.

CZRRRRZ.

However, they were high-level monsters. It would take a lot more to beat them. The cursed knights caught their balance in midair and attempted to attack again.

“Aim…and fire!”

Lulu’s Fireburst Gun—which boasted around the same power as a turret—fired continuous shots at the cursed knights, finding a gap in their armor and piercing them right in the chest. Seeing the counterattack, the remaining seven cursed knights gave up on attacking the back line and ran in the direction of Arcatia. Lulu’s shots and Arisa’s Fire Magic made quick work of most of them. However, two of the cursed knights used their comrades as shields as they managed to slip past the attacks and get closer to Arcatia.

“Leave some for us!”

Two parties—featuring golden lion–rank adventurers—jumped down from the balcony that was set up for defense and later destroyed, and slid down the wall. They seemed ready to take on the cursed knights.

“Whoa, what gives? These guys are super strong.”

“They’re no stronger than a champion.”

The heavy and sharp attacks of the cursed knights scattered the adventurers, while their thick armor easily shrugged off the adventurers’ strikes.

“Strength in numbers!”

“Don’t let your opponent use any big moves!”

The beastfolk adventurers moved around freely, attacking the cursed knights before retreating in countless waves.

“Now—‘Blade Cyclone’!”

A bearfolk adventurer took advantage of a large opening and charged at a cursed knight with his special attack. It was a brilliant skill—the tip of the bearfolk’s longsword blade seemed to blur as it cut through the air at a terrifying speed.

“‘Helix Strike.’”

A leopardfolk adventurer lunged at a cursed knight from behind, using Liza’s unorthodox spear skill. The spear spun in a circle, drawing a red magic circle in the air before tearing a large opening in the back of the cursed knight. It looked flashy, but it used a lot of mana and therefore couldn’t be used in quick succession. I wondered if they were aiming to increase its power or increase its penetration ability.

CZRRRRZ.

The cursed knight kicked away the bearfolk adventurer as he spun around and sent the leopardfolk adventurer away with a horizontal slash of his blade. The leopardfolk adventurer threw away his spear, narrowly avoiding death. However, he had suffered a grievous wound—deep enough that his innards seemed as if they would spill out.

“Get them! Leopan!”

“Uooooooooohhhhh!”

A lionfolk adventurer, running from the back with a burst of momentum, kicked off the ground, radiating red magical energy all over their body.

“‘Leo Buster’!”

He swung his sword in an arc as he jumped, firing off his special skill. His bone longsword expanded and split into four red Magic Swords clawing their way into the cursed knight’s back like a set of lion’s claws. He struck with enough force that he even made a hole in the ground. Figuring he had beat the cursed knight, the lionfolk adventurer grinned. However, that was careless of him. Any other normal living being—or better yet, a normal undead—would have fallen from such a blow, but that was not the case for the cursed knight.

CZRRRRZ.

The cursed knight swung his blade. It was seconds away from hitting the lionfolk adventurer’s exposed neck as he attacked with his special move.

“…Too late.”

An invisible shield blocked the cursed knight’s sword right as the lionfolk adventurer finished his move. It was Arisa’s Deracinator.

“Uoooooh! ‘Raging Thrust’!”

The lionfolk man’s special attack pierced the cursed knight’s chest, dealing the final blow. It seemed he went in fully prepared that he would be unable to defeat the cursed knight. I felt bad for doubting him.

“There’s still one more—!”

Fen finished the final one off.

“I feel stupid feeling jealous when there’s such a gap in skill.”

“Not at all. I feel like we could say the same to the girls fighting over there.”

The adventurers spoke among themselves as they watched Arisa and the other girls fighting with the cursed knights.

“Huh, who are those? Weren’t they the smooth-skins that ranked up to silver tiger even though they came here around half a month ago?”

“I feel like we can’t pick on smooth-skins anymore.”

“Right?”

“You over there! Rather than chatting among yourselves, spare some thoughts for me!”

The leopardfolk adventurer—whose guts were close to spilling out—called over. His party members ran over to heal him, pouring a waterfall of expensive healing potions in his mouth.

“You’re looking better.”

“And strong. Those cursed knights were way stronger than the champions, right?”

“Besides all that unnecessary toughness, that final move they hit was way too scary. You dodged it well.”

“Nah, someone was protecting me with magic. If it wasn’t for that, me and the knight would’ve both knocked each other out.”

The lionfolk man looked over at Arisa and the others. Noticing their gaze, Arisa shot back a peace sign from the slightly raised ground. Fen ignored the adventurers’ conversation and headed over to where the girls were.

“Genomos, return.”

The raised stone spikes returned to the ground as the group reconvened.

Oh, thanks to that first spell they cast, Arisa leveled up. The others are all the same level, though.

“Looks like everything is resolved over there, too.”

Arisa spoke casually to Fen, who had walked over to them. However, he walked straight past them and headed over to the Grudge Turtle. Using the back of the large bone sword, he struck the Grudge Turtle from below, and as it began to move, he pinned down its head and ripped off its shell with a tearing sound. He then discarded the shell behind him—

“Whoawhoawhoawhoa, that’s dangerous!”

Arisa bumped into him, shouting at him to stop. Fen paid her no mind as he jumped on the back of the Grudge Turtle, whose feet were still frozen, and stabbed his large bone sword into it, forcibly tearing it into pieces.

“What is he doing? Ugh…”

I wondered if Arisa used Space Magic like me and saw the same thing I did. It was pretty gruesome, so I didn’t want to go into detail, but there were two necromancers hiding within the rotten insides of the turtle, controlling it by using its greasy entrails. Fen grabbed the two of them and pulled them out. Due to the Anti-Curse spell, both of them were unconscious.

“…Man, that stinks.”

“Hmm.  …”

Mia cast Bubble Wash and cleaned the rotten flesh off the necromancers. Fen remained silent as he watched, probably taken aback by the smell. After all, wolves had a keener sense of smell compared to humans.

“So…”

“Hmm,   Shoushourai Little Shock.”

Arisa shot Mia a glance, signaling for her to send off a quick, small lightning bolt using Spirit Magic. It hit both of the necromancers.

“Uughh…”

The middle-aged necromancer had a blank expression in his eyes as he gazed into nothingness. However, the spark of life returned to the older man’s eyes.

“Are you the guys behind this?”

“Arcatia was so close to falling by my hand…”

The older necromancer, Zanzasansa, looked so defeated, he was close to the point of bitter tears as Fen spoke to him.

“Is this one of your soldiers? Wait, no—it’s a cursed item.”

Fen swung his sword as fast as a ray of light as he cut off the middle-aged necromancer’s head. Then the Grudge Turtle stopped moving. It seemed the middle-aged necromancer was strengthening the undead. Fen then pointed his sword toward the elderly necromancer.

“W-wait! If you kill me, then the city will fall!”

“Don’t joke—”

“…Nana!”

Nana moved in an instant, coming between Fen’s large bone sword and the necromancer.

“Move out of the way.”

“Haste makes waste, I declare. Arisa, ask for an explanation.”

Nana spoke, her face expressionless, asking Arisa to speak in her place.

“So, sir, in what way will Arcatia be destroyed?”

“Judging from the amount of mana spilling out of you, you’re the grand mage who was controlling that Fire Magic earlier. I had no idea such a fine specimen as yourself was here in Arcatia.”

“Hee-hee, you’re gonna make me blush.”

“No, Arisa. Please ask him about the main topic at hand, I advise.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.”

Arisa turned to the elderly necromancer and asked again.

“Some of my followers have been dispatched to the Castle. If I die, they will probably invade here from the Castle.”

Oh.

So that lost group was actually a group attacking the Castle. Since there were no other settlements nearby except Arcatia, they didn’t chase after us once we had gotten far enough away, right?

“What for—? Wait, really?”

“Exactly, the subordinates will likely be defeated by the power of the Tauruses. However, the Tauruses, whose territory has been ravaged, will march forward in anger—toward Arcatia.”

“Master! Do you have an idea of the situation there?”

Arisa ignored the elderly necromancer’s smug expression and sent me a message.

“I know what’s going on. The other unit is right inside the inner wall of the Castle. Tiga and the others are fighting them, but I’m not sure they can stop them.”

“That’s no good.”

“Leave it to me. After all, that guy’s still got something up his sleeve.”

The elderly necromancer didn’t seem to think he was going to meet his fate. He seemed confident.

“I know. I’ll make sure to tell the others to not drop their guard,” Arisa responded.

I suddenly remembered something, so I warned her about that, too.

“The young necromancer the older man used as a pawn had a short horn on him. There’s a high chance he’s hiding something, too, so be careful.”

The elderly necromancer didn’t have an Item Box, but there were other ways of hiding things.

“All right, I’ll share that with the others. Don’t worry, we won’t drop our guard!”

Arisa responded confidently. Seeing how they were, I didn’t have to worry about them. I then made my way to the Castle before Tiga and his men had any casualties.

When I came back to myself, Roro was peering into my face.

“Mr. Satou, it’s been quiet ever since that explosion and shaking earlier. Do you think everything is over now?”

“Who knows? I’ll go ask someone.”

“I’ll come, too—”

I stopped Roro in her tracks.

“You should stay here with the kids.”

The hamsterfolk children had passed out as a result of all the commotion.

“Okay, I’ll stay here—”

Roro nodded before hanging her head down low. It looked like she had something else to say.

“…Mr. Satou. Please don’t get hurt. Come back safe.”

“Of course. Don’t worry about it.”

Roro nodded as she laughed, hiding her worry. It seemed like she had an idea of what I was setting out to do.

“I promise you. I’ll come back safe.”

After all, I was known as Pendragon the Untouchable.