NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53
“Huh… Done! Success again today!”
The little witch, Niabelara, smiled brightly as she successfully summoned a small flame.
Now she had something to talk about with her sister again.
While she felt proud of her progressing magical abilities, she also felt gratitude toward her sister, who believed in her and brought her into the party.
Truly, it felt like she would have to repay this kindness for the rest of her life.
“The Fire Giant, that’s what I called it.”
The giant flame that went berserk while she was unconscious.
Still, even though she had summoned it, Niabelara couldn’t create the Fire Giant now.
“I’ll surpass that version of myself.”
One day, she would create incredible magic that would far exceed that giant.
So her mentor and benefactor, her sister, could feel proud of her.
“Let’s go!”
With determination, Niabelara took her stance to continue her magical training.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
“Huh…?”
Niabelara, who had been crouched in a corner of the mansion’s garden, slowly got up and surveyed her surroundings.
And she noticed something slowly rising between the mountains to the north.
“What… is that?”
It was something so massive it could easily overshadow the Fire Giant that had swallowed her.
An overwhelming amount of magical energy radiated from it.
“Could it be… a Magical Creature?”
Something like that is a Magical Creature?
“Lady Niabelara!”
Just then, a servant from the mansion came running breathlessly.
So hurried was he that, despite his usual composure, his face was drenched in sweat.
“At the gate, at the gate!”
“Calm down! What’s going on…?!”
“A huge number of Magical Creatures have gathered at the mansion’s front gate!!”
At those words, Niabelara followed the servant towards the front gate.
“Block that side!”
“Keep formation! Otherwise, they will break through!”
There stood the District Guards facing long cylindrical Magical Creatures.
“Raul!”
With a short incantation, flames launched and incinerated the Magical Creatures attacking the guards in an instant.
“Pant… pant… Thank you…”
“It’s fine, it’s okay…?”
Then, she caught a glimpse of one of the Magical Creatures, and it looked oddly familiar.
It resembled what had just burst out of the mountain. Yet it was only about half the size of a human.
“What on earth is happening…?”
“Lady Niabelara, where is the Hero?!”
The Hero.
Of all times, he had gone to carry out a request outside the city.
Even if he turned around immediately, it would surely take quite a while for him to return.
“Lady Niabelara, if possible, please issue orders…”
“…”
Marquis Lakr was now descending into the city.
All the eyes of the servants and the District Guards turned towards Niabelara.
She was truly confused and frightened.
But she was a member of the Hero’s party.
“Sister. Please leave the mansion to me.”
“…Let’s start by sealing the front gate.”
Thus, she mustered her courage and began to direct the people.
*
“Hurry, evacuate the citizens into the Church!”
At the shout of the Saint, Ariya, the priests moved the people without missing a beat.
At the same time, a Magical Creature dove towards Ariya.
A bug-like creature, about the size of a person, aimed for Ariya’s neck but was pierced by an incoming arrow and fell dead.
“Ariya, what’s the situation?”
“Not good! I can’t even detect where the Magical Creatures are appearing from…!”
Rapirie clicked her tongue.
This situation was worse than when Alphares had attacked.
In a battlefield mixed with people and Magical Creatures, those who had too much to protect would suffer greater losses.
And right now, the ones who needed protecting were the citizens of the city, led by the Hero’s party.
“······Can you set up a protective barrier?”
“Yes, I can do it!”
“I’ll go rescue the citizens with the mercenaries and bring them over here. You take care of them.”
“Got it!”
“Do you know the whereabouts of Serelin and Rui?”
“Serelin is likely at the District Guards’ headquarters! As for Rui… ah.”
Ariya’s complexion went pale.
“She’s working in the mine.”
“What…?”
Rapirie hurriedly turned her head towards the mine.
That giant Magical Creature had appeared right by the mine.
Then that meant she was currently…
“Rui is strong, so it should be fine.”
Saying that, Rapirie notched her arrow.
“When we meet Serelin, I’ll tell her to look for Rui. For now, we should focus on evacuating the citizens.”
Fortunately, that giant Magical Creature hadn’t moved since its appearance.
They had to take advantage of that and evacuate as many people as possible out of its attack range.
With a determined glint in her green eyes, Rapirie embodied her resolve.
*
Boom!
“Uagh!”
“District Guards, spread out! Focus on evacuating the citizens in the area!”
Serelin commanded as she glared at the massive bug-like creature that snapped its jaws in front of her.
It was several times larger than a human, about the size of a building.
It seemed like it was either the offspring of the gigantic Magical Creature that had appeared at the mine or a similar entity.
Crack!
—-!!
Another one.
Serelin didn’t stop as she climbed onto a rooftop to survey the nearby area.
Amidst the screams of the citizens, she spotted another squirming creature in the distance.
“Aswel.”
It was unfortunate that he was absent right now, with the Hero’s party scattered all around.
Still, they were trusted allies, and surely they were all doing what they could somewhere in the city.
They had to hold out for as long as they could until the Hero returned.
Serelin swung her sword with a resolute expression once more.
*
Merkhad Karachioni.
In fact, in the original story, she never directly faced the Hero’s party.
Because she played the role of attacking this world while the Hero’s party was trapped in the Demon Realm.
Thus, it was impossible for Merkhad to be here now.
Then, how did I know about her?
It was thanks to a story told by someone after the ending.
“Hm~. Heh~.”
The giant bug, Behiraja, was humming a cheerful tune from its massive head.
“Absolutely do not make eye contact with that Demon Race.”
Her magic was so vile that an ordinary person couldn’t withstand it and would melt away.
The only fortunate thing was that she still hadn’t realized their presence.
“Is there a shortcut to the city from here?”
“Yes. It hasn’t been used in a long time, but there is one.”
“Please take that route to the city.”
Saying this, she cast spells on their weapons.
This way, even without her, they could at least protect themselves.
“What will you do, Rui…?”
“I have to stay here.”
“What?!”
“Let’s just run away together…! Escape and…!”
“She won’t just sit still. If we want to buy some time, I have to confront her directly.”
Only the Hero could kill a Duke like Merkhad.
Others in the party could try, but it would require many times the effort compared to a direct confrontation by the Hero.
So the goal now had to be to endure until the Hero returns.
“…… Now, go.”
“I’ll gather citizens as quickly as I can…!”
“Be careful!!”
With that, the miners headed for the shortcut.
Now, there was only me left in this mine.
“Have they left?”
“…… So you noticed.”
“Heh, I couldn’t pretend not to see your presence.”
As the miners departed, Merkhad slowly turned her head towards me.
She already knew about me and the miners.
Yet she had chosen to ignore it until now because of her personality.
“Oh~ It’s about to get really interesting. What’s your name?”
It was precisely because she preferred only the strong; she disliked unnecessary conflicts with the weak.
“Rui.”
“Rui…? Wait, Rui?”
She paused and repeated the name, and I nodded slightly.
Simultaneously, I took out the Master Key, preparing for the battle ahead.
“Are you possibly the Mage of the Hero’s party?”
How did she know about my existence?
As I silently answered, she began to laugh uncontrollably.
“Haha! So you’re the one who exterminated those Vampires?! Hahaha!”
Tears streamed from her eyes as she laughed harshly before taking a breath to regain her composure.
“Thanks to you, I was able to descend here. Thank you. Now I must repay you, right?”
Slash!
“Oh dear.”
In an instant, Merkhad vanished only to reappear behind me.
However, her deadly strike was blocked by my barrier.
“I anticipated it.”
Quickly turning around, I aimed the Master Key at her.
Boom!
“Your magic skill is impressive.”
She lightly dispelled my magic and praised me with a wave.
Then the colossal bug, Behiraja, slowly began to move.
“I’ll see your skills. Let’s see how long you can hold out against me. The time limit is until Behira destroys the city.”
The destruction of the mining city, Lakr.
If that happened, all the efforts made to purify the city would go to waste.
That cannot happen.
“Honestly, did I not anticipate such a situation?”
No.
After possessing this body, I ended up in the Hero’s party by chance.
I considered many possible variables, including encountering a Duke in another form.
So in a way, everything was part of the scenario I had envisioned.
Even so, getting emotionally swept up and facing such a situation was ultimately my responsibility.
So, I would block both of them.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
For Merkhad, though indirectly, I had prepared to face the Duke.
Specifically, it was conceived as a safety measure for one particular spell.
“Ah…”
The confusion that had been unresolved became clear through the presence of Merkhad.
My head felt clear.
Now, it seemed I could inscribe spells more precisely and manifest magic more vividly.
“Merkhad.”
“You know my name?”
“From now on, you and Behiraja will not be able to move here.”
Because I would confront them.
To do so, I drew the card I had prepared.
“Master Key. Shape Transformation. Form Two.”
Click.
In an instant, the two rings of the Master Key began to rotate violently, altering the entire structure of the staff.