Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 8

The Price of a Miracle 

Satou here. When the era of home video-game consoles first dawned, there was a time when there were no real save files. Instead, they say you had to write down a long code called a “Spell of Restoration” to pick up where you left off. 

Whew, that was exhausting. 

Thanks to my heavy use of Forge during the battle, the underground cavern was as hot as a sauna. 

I used Freeze Water from the magic menu to cool things down a bit, then chugged a pinch of salt and some sweet fruit juice to rehydrate and replenish my salt and sugar. 

Once I’d taken a little break, I drank a stamina recovery potion and a nutritional supplement to fully restore myself physically. As I did so, I checked the clock. 

It hadn’t been as long as I thought. Only about an hour had passed since I arrived underground. 

I opened Storage and checked to make sure that the items I’d lost during battle, like the Holy Shield and the Magic Sword Balmung, had been recovered via the automatic loot collection. 

Since my clothes had once again been burned away in the last battle with the demon lord, I put on some cheap ones from Storage. 

Before I went to collect the two kidnapped maidens, I ventured into the dust cloud to take care of that teleportation device. The last thing I needed was for a new group of creeps to find it and start some more trouble under the old capital. 

“So the base is about six feet around…” 

With the help of a Spellbladed fairy sword from Storage and the “Light-Speed Attack” skill, I sliced through the base of the teleportation device. 

Of course, once it was cut off, I put the teleportation device in Storage. 

Between this and the Magic Cannon I’d picked up in the castle in Muno Barony, I was beginning to build up a serious collection of junk. 

But with the unlimited space of Storage, that shouldn’t be a problem. 

On the base that had housed the teleporter, I found a cross section of what looked like red wire. 

It had probably been started up by external magic powers. 

Well, I could worry about all that later. 

Now I was covered in dust, so I hopped into the air with “Skyrunning” and washed off with water from the great river. Then, after quickly toweling off, I changed into more proper clothes. 

This time I chose some chic, high-class robes that resembled a clergyman’s outfit. 

I also donned a white mask and a spare purple wig. My silver mask had been incinerated in battle, and I didn’t want to wear my dust-covered blond wig. 

Once I put on a cloak over everything, I was ready to return aboveground. 

I went back to where I’d left the oracle priestesses and removed the walls I’d put up around them. 

It turned out they were already awake, huddling against the far side of the shelter and trembling. 

“Wh-what are you planning to do with us?” 

“Please, just let us go back to the temple.” 

The maidens looked alarmed when I released the spell and approached them. 

…Well, if a suspicious-looking man in a mask approaches you when you’ve been kidnapped, of course you’ll think he’s one of the kidnappers. 

“If it’s money you want, our parents will—” 

As the braver one tried to negotiate, I handed them some clothes and blankets to cover themselves up. I had no interest in middle schoolers and could hardly let them stay naked any longer when they were already in such distress. 

“Here, put these on. Or did you want to return to the temple naked?” 

I disguised my voice just in case they were friends of Sara. 

When I had imitated a voice actor during the battle of Muno City, I acquired the “Change Voice” skill, so now I could easily make myself sound like a different person without even thinking about it. 

“…Y-you’re letting us go home?” 

“Of course. There’s a battalion fighting the kidnappers right now. Once you’ve changed clothes, I’ll bring you to the surface.” 

I turned my back to the maidens as I spoke. 

There was no battalion, of course, but it would probably be more alarming to tell them that a demon lord slaughtered all the kidnappers. 

“We’re done changing.” 

“Good. I’ll carry you out, so hang on to my neck, all right?” 

“Wh-what…? Cling to some strange gentleman?” 

“H-how improper!” 

Their reaction was fitting for a pair of pure holy women, but if we tried to walk out of an underground labyrinth like this, it could be days before we made it aboveground. 

“Just think of me as a carriage or a golem. If we wander around in a place like this, there’s no telling when the kidnappers might find us.” 

With the help of my “Fabrication” and “Persuasion” skills, I talked the young women into letting me carry them. 

“Please forgive me, Goddess Parion.” 

“My purity has been sullied…” 

When they said that, I noticed for the first time that these two were the oracle priestesses of Parion Temple and Garleon Temple. 

Once I lifted them up, I ran through the course I’d plotted to escape, using “Skyrunning” and “Warp” to speed the process along. 

Thanks to my “Transport” skill, I was able to carry them without too much jostling, but I was so fast that it probably felt a bit like a roller coaster. 

Prim priestesses though they might be, they were still adolescent girls, so I had a chorus of high-pitched shrieks next to my ears. 

By the time we reached the top floor, they were sleeping, possibly fainted. They had been kidnapped and nearly killed, so I was sure they were just exhausted. 

Also, I carefully avoided looking at their status conditions. 

“Hmm, the path forward is blocked here…” 

As far as I could tell, there had once been a stairway here that led from the top floor to the underground of the old capital, but it had been completely filled with Earth Magic. 

My best spells for excavation were Rock Smasher and Polish. Anything else would be highly inefficient, MP-wise. 

It would have been ideal if I could use Pit, the spell I’d used to dig down to a mithril streak before, but the nature of the spell restricted its use to ground that was underfoot. 

…Underfoot? 

I looked down at my feet, then up at the ceiling. 

I hopped up with “Skyrunning,” then took out my fairy sword to cut through the earth above. 

After storing away the heavy stones that fell, I landed on the exposed earth of the ceiling. 

Then, with the help of the Earth Magic spell Pit on the “ground” that was “underfoot,” I created a passage to the surface. 

That was pretty difficult, let me tell you. 

“Skyrunning” was based on jumping around on invisible footholds in midair, so while I could stand in the air easily, it wasn’t meant for ignoring gravity. 

To combat this, I made “footholds” for my hands and “landed” on the ceiling by doing a handstand. 

Well, either way, I got us back up to the sewer system of the old capital. 

I had eyeballed the distance, though, so I messed up and came out several feet away from the room with the transportation device to the old capital. 

I covered the exit with some nearby stones, then threw some dirt over the pile to conceal it. 

Thanks to certain skills like “Disguise” and “Destruction of Evidence,” the cover-up job was so effective that I suspected I might not recognize it later, so I put a marker over it on the map just in case. 

Collecting the oracle priestesses, I headed to the teleportation room. 

After a little reconnaissance via the map, I found that the room was unstaffed for some reason. The man who’d been on guard outside the door was gone, too, as was the Wings of Freedom member whose clothes I’d stolen earlier. 

That concerned me a little, but my only business here was with the teleporter, which I disconnected and put in Storage like the one in the large cavern. 

With that, it should be impossible for anyone to get up to no good in the underground labyrinth. 

That was the last item on my to-do list, so I shouldered the unconscious maidens and headed for the exit. 

Checking on the map, I found a path that let out right onto the premises of the Tenion Temple, so I used “Skyrunning” to follow that route. 

As I mechanically stuck to the course, I checked on Sara’s body in Storage. 

The item name read Corpse of Sara. Damage: Maximum. Blood Loss: Great. 

First, I attempted to drag-and-drop the blood Sara had lost back to her body, which successfully combined the two. 

The item name changed to Corpse of Sara. Damage: Maximum. 

In that case… I tried using the same method to combine a healing potion with her, but no such luck. 

Maybe there was a title that would allow that sort of thing, like the Hero title being necessary to wield a Holy Sword. 

It was just a thought, but there was still a little time before we reached the temple, so I decided to give it a try. 

I tested out a few titles: Paramedic, Doctor, and Saint, in that order. 

For some reason, it was changing my title to Saint, not Doctor, that allowed me to combine a healing potion with Sara’s body. 

However, it didn’t bring her back to life. 

The item name simply changed from Corpse of Sara. Damage: Maximum to Corpse of Sara. Damage: Great. 

After I synthesized several more potions with her body, the item name eventually changed to simply Corpse of Sara, so hopefully it hadn’t been in vain. 

As I flew along the tunnels during this operation, I saw some interesting things—mysterious humanoid creatures with glowing eyes and clad in rags, for instance, as well as countless white crocodiles—but they showed no aggression toward me, so I ignored them. 

Once we managed to do some sightseeing in the old capital, it might be nice to come down here and bring them some gifts or something. 

“Oh my, what an excellent assassin they’ve sent tonight. I’ve never had one get so close without my noticing them before.” 

I crept into the room of the Tenion Temple’s head priestess, but unfortunately, she immediately mistook me for an assassin. 

I couldn’t blame her for not trusting a purple-haired man in a white mask out of the blue. 

“Dear me, are you a kidnapper as well as an assassin?” 

Noticing the girls I was carrying on each shoulder, the head priestess seemed bewildered. 

She had skills like “Holy Magic,” “Analyze Person,” and “Sense Danger,” so I’d set my title to Hero and changed my level to 89, the same as the ancestral king Yamato had in the legends. 

“Nice to meet you, Head Priestess Yu Tenion. I am Nanashi. I mean you no harm.” 

Her “Analyze Person” skill should solve the misunderstanding before too long, but I decided to introduce myself first to save time. It was only good manners anyway. 

I laid the maidens down on the guest sofa. They showed no signs of waking up just yet, so I figured it was better to let them rest. 

“These two are priestesses from Parion Temple and Garleon Temple. They were kidnapped by demon-lord worshippers.” 

“I do seem to remember them. Say, Mr. Nanashi… I don’t suppose you could show your face? It’s quite difficult to hold a conversation with a mask like that.” 

“My apologies, head priestess. It is my policy to conceal myself when I carry out good deeds. I hope you will forgive me.” 

“My, what a bashful hero you are.” 

Her voice sounded quite young. Looking at her in the moonlight, I couldn’t believe she was eighty years old. I would probably have believed her if she said she was in her twenties. 

“So, Mr. Nanashi. I don’t suppose you’ve seen Priestess Sara of the Tenion Temple?” 

“…I have.” 

My face was hidden, but my voice became darker than I intended. 

Her features stiffened, as if she’d somehow guessed everything from my simple statement. 

“…She’s passed away, hasn’t she?” 

I nodded once. 

“Mr. Nanashi, will you answer me this one question?” 

“If I know the answer, I certainly will.” 

Her voice trembled a little as she spoke. “Was it a human member of the Wings of Freedom who stole Sara’s life? Or perhaps…” 

She hesitated for a moment before answering her own question. 

“…a demon lord. Sara was sacrificed to a demon lord, wasn’t she?” 

“That’s right.” 

A stream of tears rolled down her graceful face. “So she was unable to escape her destiny…” 

The head priestess wept as she told me the story. According to her, several oracles had predicted that a demon lord would appear before too long. 

However, the location of his appearance differed depending on which oracle priestess saw the vision, and there were seven all told, so each of them chose to abide by the vision their respective gods had shown them. 

The head priestess had prophesied that it would happen in the old capital. 

At the end of the vision, she saw an image that alluded to Sara’s death. 

Sara knew this, which was probably why she’d acted like she was on borrowed time when I met her in Muno City. 

The urgent summons that had called her back to the old capital was because the Wings of Freedom had learned about the prophecy and were targeting her. 

The Tenion Temple had made every possible effort to protect her, but earlier that evening, she had suddenly disappeared from her room in the temple. 

That was probably the work of the Space Magic–wielding red demon or the leader of the cult. 

“Thank you, Mr. Nanashi. It pains me to hear of Sara’s loss, but as the head priestess, I must confer with the goddess Tenion about the demon lord’s revival, send word to the duke, and sound the alarm bell to warn the city.” The head priestess slowly rose from her chair, narrowing her tear-filled eyes. “If the demon lord challenges you, then I am willing to help you with whatever strength I can provide.” 

“Just a moment. You see, I have already defeated him.” 

“…Really? But your title…” 

Only when the priestess spoke did I realize my blunder. Instead of Hero, I should have set my title to True Hero, which I’d acquired after the battle. 

I discreetly made the change before I spoke. 

“I swear by my title and my Holy Sword that I speak the truth.” 

I showed the priestess Durandal, which had done the most heavy lifting today, like an ID card. 

“I believe you. True Hero Nanashi, allow me to thank you on behalf of the entire city.” 

The head priestess gave me an elaborate bow. 

I learned later that this gesture was an expression of gratitude of the highest degree, normally reserved only for gods. 

At any rate, it was time to get into the main reason for my visit. 

“Priestess Yu Tenion, do you have the ability to use Resurrection Magic?” 

“Yes, I do,” the priestess said. Sara had said the miracle of Resurrection Magic came at a certain price. “However, there are certain stipulations.” 

I listened tensely. 

“Firstly, the subject must have been baptized by the Tenion Temple.” 

No doubt Sara would meet that condition. 

I should get the kids baptized here, too, for safety’s sake. 

“Secondly, it must be performed within four quarters of their death.” 

If I remembered correctly, a quarter was a period of around thirty minutes. 

In terms of elapsed time, we were already past that point, but her body in Storage was still in the same state as moments after her death, so it should be all right. 

…Please let it be all right. 

“Finally, there must be enough magic stored in the Treasure of Resurrection.” 

She removed the object around her neck and showed it to me. 

“Unfortunately, it was used twenty years ago to bring the duke’s child back to life, so it cannot be used for another ten years.” 

The priestess’s voice was bleak. 

What, is that all? 

I placed a hand over the Treasure of Resurrection she held out to me and began to push magic into it. 

However, I was met with a strange resistance, and the power evaporated. 

“That won’t do, Mr. Nanashi. You must be gentler, like this, as if offering up a prayer.” 

Her hands still under mine, the head priestess demonstrated how to pour magic into the object. 

This treasure seemed to be more complicated than I thought. In fact, maybe finicky would be the right word. 

Magic was required to open the path to the treasure’s core, but when that power was supplied, it would block the path to the core itself. 

And there were more than a hundred pathways with such puzzle-like mechanisms inside the treasure. 

No wonder it took thirty years to refill the core with magic. 

The head priestess’s MP was now decreased by half, yet the Treasure of Resurrection’s power gauge hadn’t budged an inch. 

However, thanks to her demonstration, I figured out the trick. 

“Allow me to try for a moment.” 

I took the treasure into my hands and started to push magic power into it. 

I narrowed down the flow of my magic to be fine as a thread—no, as molecular wire—and manipulated it along the treasure’s complicated channels, opening the path to the center. 

It was a very sensitive task, but I somehow managed to do it. 

By that point, it felt as if an hour had passed, but it was only a few seconds. 

The next part was the real challenge. I sent a steady stream of magic down the opened path. Even after two thousand MP, it still wasn’t completely filled. The process was quite difficult, as the path would start to close every time my focus wavered for even a moment. 

There was only one option. 

I took out the Holy Sword Excalibur from Storage to use it as a magic source. 

The head priestess started back in surprise at the fiery blue light of the sword. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop and explain it to her. I had to stay focused. 

In the end, it took a total of ten thousand MP to fill the Treasure of Resurrection. 

This sword’s magic storage capacity was really something else. I’d relied on it a lot as an MP tank in the fight against the demon lord, too. 

As I learned later, the Treasure of Resurrection was supposed to be replenished only by those whose titles were set to Saint or Holy Woman. No wonder it was so difficult to supply it… 

“Remarkable, Mr. Nanashi. The Treasure of Resurrection is indicating that it’s now usable.” 

The head priestess wore an expression of genuine surprise. 

“So you can use Resurrection Magic now?” 

“Well, yes…” 

She seemed confused because I hadn’t explained who I wanted her to use it on. 

“I’m going to summon Sara’s body here. For her, it’s only been seconds since her death, so the conditions should be satisfied.” 

“But…Time Magic is the stuff of fairy tales. It doesn’t really exist…” 

Time Magic doesn’t exist? That’s too bad. I wanted to go back and meet the ancestral king Yamato and things like that. 

Whoops. This isn’t the time to get distracted. 

“Here, use these potions to make sure you’re fully recovered first.” 

I handed her a health potion and a magic potion from Storage. 

It might not be necessary, but I wanted to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. 

I waited for the priestess’s status to fully recover before we proceeded. 

“All right, I’ll summon her now. Are you ready?” 

“Yes, whenever you are.” 

The head priestess held the treasure to her chest and nodded. 

I removed Sara’s body from Storage. 

“Sara…!” 

The priestess exclaimed in surprise. 

Her body was pristine, without so much as a scratch. 

It would be unkind to leave her naked, so I covered her with a clean cloth. 

“Please begin the resurrection. Can I help in any way?” 

“No, I can handle it from here.” 

“All right, then. May you have success.” 

The head priestess began a very long incantation. 

Holy Magic chants were always long, but this one was particularly lengthy. 

As she chanted, I saw magic power cycling among the priestess, the treasure, and Sara, perhaps as a result of my “Magic Vision” skill. 

It manifested in the form of beautiful, sparkling light. 

Finally, the spell was completed, and the color began to return to Sara’s cheeks. 

At last, her information in the AR turned from Corpse of Sara to simply Sara. 

Her status condition read Weakened, but this was a temple, after all. Her fellows could probably take it from here. 

I left the head priestess’s room and the sacred ground of Tenion Temple without a sound. 

Well, that was a long night. 

It would’ve been nice to find an establishment where I could recover with some pretty older ladies for a while, but Arisa and the others had to be worried, so I decided to hurry home. 

I flew over the great river in the dark of night, stealthily returning to the ship in the harbor at Zurute City. 

The ship with the Wings of Freedom members that I’d marked when I left had sunk, but I wasn’t particularly concerned about such a trivial matter. 

After taking off my hero costume, I changed back into my usual robes. 

“…I’m back.” 

As soon as I walked in the door, everyone jumped up to greet me. 

“Master! You’ve come back!” 

“Welcooome!” 

“Sir!” 

“Master, you have returned safely; I rejoice.” 

“Satou!” 

After the beastfolk girls, Nana and Mia embraced me enthusiastically. 

“Arisa, master is back.” 

Lulu patted Arisa, who was hidden under a blanket in bed. 

As soon as she heard her sister, she sent the blanket flying as she leaped to her feet. 

“M-masterrrrr!” 

Arisa dove at me with her eyes red from crying, so just this once, I caught her gently. 

“You’re not hurt? You’re okay, right? You’ve got your legs, at least. What about your stomach? Did they get your belly button?” 

In her panic, Arisa was acting even stranger than usual. 

“I’m fine. I promised I’d come back safely, didn’t I?” 

“W-well, yes. Yes, you did, but…” 

Arisa rolled up my sleeves to check for wounds. 

I decided to humor her for today. 

“Welcome back, master. Are you certain you aren’t hurt at all?” 

“I’m all right, really.” 

“I’ll go and fetch you something to drink. Arisa, master must be tired, so don’t give him any more grief.” 

Lulu stopped Arisa from attempting to check under my pants. 

According to the map, Lady Karina was staying at the viceroy’s mansion. 

I had to return the demon-sealing bell to her, but I was completely exhausted, so tomorrow would have to do. 

I swilled down the mead that Lulu brought back for me, then fell asleep with the girls piled on top of me. 

Finally, I could get a good night’s sleep. 

As it turned out, the seven places where demon lord resurrections were prophesied were as follows. 

There was the old capital, as the head priestess had foretold; the Labyrinth City Celivera; Yowork Kingdom, which had taken over Arisa’s homeland; Parion Province; the Gray Ratman Emirate; the Weaselman Empire; and finally, a kingdom that was on another continent. 

For this to be the one out of seven to be correct, Sara, this city, and I must all have had terrible luck. 

When I told Arisa about it, this was her response: 

“The gods must be pretty careless, for the oracle prophesies to be so scattered.” 

“Yeah, really.” 

“But y’know, if this were a game, I bet a demon lord would show up in all seven places, don’t you think?” Arisa grinned with amusement, clearly not believing her own words. 

At any rate, the next demon lord shouldn’t show up for another sixty-six years, so I should be able to enjoy a carefree sightseeing tour from now on. 

“And then, once you defeat all those, there’d be, like, a great demon lord as the secret last boss!” 

“Yeah, I could see that in a game, but the whole world would be destroyed by now if that actually happened.” 

“Fair enough. Ah! Lulu! If you’re making potato chips, can you make two kinds? I want salt and consommé!” 

Her attention drawn elsewhere, Arisa skipped away. 

…No way that could happen, right? 

I murmured the thought aloud, and the words floated up past the full moon illuminating the night sky and disappeared.