Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu
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TL Notes:
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Chapter 338
This time, the story is told from Auru's point of view.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
When I woke up after dying, somehow everything was already over.
The war against the Demon King's Army, which I thought was about to begin before I died, had already ended, and it had even concluded on surprisingly good terms, which honestly caught me off guard.
What shocked me the most was that Rose, the terrifyingly strong captain who was like an ogre from the Lingle Kingdom, had founded an organization called the Rescue Squad, and on top of that, had trained Healing Mages just like herself.
When I heard that, the first thing I questioned was whether the boy who had received her training was still sane.
After all, he had been seriously trained by that absurd Great Demon King of Unreason, and had even reached a level where she acknowledged him, so I could only wonder if he had managed to keep his sanity.
"There are no blind spots with Healing Perception! Muuun!!"
... No, seriously, I have no idea how someone like that could even exist.
Now that I had seen him with my own eyes, the captain's disciple was truly an unbelievable person.
"He's really... unbelievable..."
As I moved around him, surrounding him, I muttered those words with a self-deprecating smile.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that nothing had changed after I died and came back to life.
Deep down, there was a part of me that resented the captain for forgetting about us and creating a new organization.
———Well, that was just a side effect of the magic that brought me back to life, something closer to the childish irritation of a tantrum.
Rather, there was no way the captain would ever forget about us.
So, to be honest, I should still be sane... or so I think.
If I could, I would immediately take Usato-kun's side, but the magic binding this body wouldn't allow it.
"You corpses, work harder!!"
Ignoring Kaira's furious shout, I let out a sigh.
The moment the girl carrying a fragment of the Demon King's power escaped from this place, the Devils' plan had already failed.
We should have pursued her immediately.
Before the Devils ended up in the worst possible situation, Usato-kun decided to stay behind and hold us back.
"I want to go home."
As I muttered my complaint, Kaira and the twin Demons seemed to be preparing to do something.
It looked like they were planning to attack Usato-kun with threads of Dark Magic.
"Go!"
The twin Demons' threads wrapped around Usato-kun's torso and split him clean in half———or so it seemed.
But that wasn't what happened.
What the threads had cut apart was the residue of the Healing Magic that Usato-kun had left behind. He had shed the Healing Magic surrounding his body like an empty shell, leaving it there while he himself leaped into the air using the magic power gathered in his legs.
Kaira, who hadn't seen that moment, mistook the magic power shaped like Usato-kun for his real body.
"An afterimage!?"
"It's healing magic."
Usato-kun suddenly came to a stop, then leaped high into the air. His kick landed right on top of Kaira's head.
As Kaira was about to be slammed into the ground, I used my Impact Magic to save him while bringing my sword down against Usato-kun as he tried to follow up with another punch.
"You didn't use that technique before, did you?!"
"I just came up with it. I call it the Healing Afterimage Fist...!!"
"Ehhhhhhh..."
You came up with that just now and used it in a real fight right away?!
Even though there is nothing threatening about his Healing Magic itself, his control over magic power and his extraordinary physical abilities have brought this eleven-against-one fight to a standstill.
"Move!! You dead people!!"
"...Tch."
Clicking my tongue, I stepped back as a barrage of magic bullets poured down on Usato-kun's position.
It was an attack using the Devils' unique magic power that bewitched people's minds, but it wasn't affecting him. ...Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that it wasn't even hitting him.
Without taking his eyes off me, Usato-kun ran, dodging the magic bullets raining down from above.
"...Hm?"
I tilted my head at his strange movement as he repeatedly accelerated and slowed down at irregular intervals.
However, the next moment, an afterimage composed of the same green particles as before emanated from him as he ran, and his form blurred, changing into a behavior that made it seem as if he was creating clones.
"Eh~, he's adapting it way too fast~..."
So he was changing his speed to make his movements harder to read.
Casting magic from above, Kaira must have been unable to even aim properly, with Usato-kun's figure overlapping the afterimages of his magic.
Ah, he hit another magic afterimage.
"His combat experience is just too extraordinary..."
He couldn't have developed a fighting style like this just by fighting ordinary monsters.
———He had grown on battlefields where he was constantly forced to evolve.
———He had fought enemies he wasn't even sure he could defeat.
———And he had overcome every one of those trials to become as strong as he was now.
The countless life-and-death battles he had survived more than made up for his lack of real combat experience in less than a year.
"...Haha. Well, with that person as his master, I guess that's only natural."
Saying it out loud made me feel a little lonely.
... Shaking off the feeling, I guess it's time to get serious and fight.
"Kaira-saaan! You can't hit him anyway, so please focus on limiting his movements!"
"Don't order me around, you damn corpse!!"
Then get down here and fight him yourself.
Still, sadly enough, I was probably the only one who could keep up with his overly unpredictable movements.
Using my Impact Magic to repeatedly accelerate, I chased after him as he darted around the battlefield.
"I knew you'd be able to keep up with me. We're using the same technique, after all."
"No, I'm telling you, yours is completely different!!"
The last time we fought, he did something absurd by repeatedly causing magic power to burst out from his entire body, but now he was doing it only through the gauntlet on his right arm.
Instead, what stood out now was the magic power gathered around his legs.
As he stepped on it as if it were rubber and kept accelerating with its rebounding force, I couldn't help but twitch.
"Can't you just run away already!? As far as I'm concerned, I'd be perfectly happy if this were over already!"
"I'm going to buy a little more time."
"Twins!! Do it!!"
"!"
Before I realized it, the twin Demons had moved into positions with Usato-kun and me between them, extending countless threads from their outstretched hands.
The threads spread out, surrounding the two of us———wait, isn't this going to catch me too!!
"Well, I'm a corpse, so it doesn't really matter to me anyway!"
Ignoring the threads around me, I attacked Usato-kun.
But without slowing down, he swung the arm covered by his gauntlet with a loud whoosh!———and caught a bundle of threads so thin they were barely visible.
"If you think the same trick will work on me again, you're badly mistaken!!"
"!!?"
"Nuuun!!"
The twin Demons were pulled toward Usato-kun as if their own threads were dragging them along.
Even though they were supposed to be mindless corpses, the twins' faces twisted in a surprisingly comical way as Usato-kun hurled them straight at Kaira in the sky.
"—Haa!? Oguh!? The threads!?"
Entangled in the Dark Magic threads created by the twins themselves, Kaira was helplessly dragged down and fell back to the ground.
A~Ah, I told you so.
If only he had made better use of those two, things might have turned out differently.
"Do you really have time to be distracted?"
"! Oops!!"
Dodging the magic bullet he threw at me, I brought down my sword wrapped in Impact Magic.
His magic-clad fist collided with my sword, and purple and green magic power burst outward in every direction.
"To be honest, I never wanted to meet you again like this."
"Of course. ...I feel the same way."
"I respect all of you. And I still do."
... He's so straightforward.
If he acted normally, I'd almost forget he was the captain's disciple. He was just an ordinary kid.
And saying he respects us... Somehow, that's a little embarrassing.
Back when I was in the Lingle Kingdom, I was treated as a troublemaker. Respect was the last thing anyone associated with me.
But... the Devils hold control over me now, so I can't stop myself.
"Shhh"
"Hmph!!"
Firing magic bullets infused with Impact Magic, I followed up by slashing at him with my returning blade.
He knocked every one of them away with his fists, and we were soon locked in close combat once again.
"Healing Break"
"Auh!?"
Just before his attack landed, a wave of magic power enveloped me.
———!? Eh, what!?
Did he do something to me——, ... No, this technique is!?
"Hmph!!"
"That was close!"
I ducked to avoid his powerful punch, which came the instant I froze.
Whoa! He hit me with Healing Magic and forcibly stopped my thoughts!? If Kaira hadn't warned me about it beforehand, that would have hit me directly!?
"Impact Absorption!"
"Muh"
Absorbing the next punch, which came without a pause, with my Impact Magic, I jumped back.
Just as I expected, he didn't press the attack.
...This is bad.
"This is starting to be fun...!"
I wish I could fight him one-on-one.
I'm sure it would be fun.
As harsh as it sounds, my mindless former comrades and the twin Dark Mages have become nothing but dead weight.
Reali is scared of Usato-kun, and Kaira is so blinded by rage that he still refuses to come down to the ground.
Usato-kun has probably realized that too, which is why he keeps maneuvering to keep everyone mixed together in the fight. Because of that, the two of us will never get the chance to fight each other seriously in the truest sense.
"Reali-san, why don't we just retreat?"
"I'd love to!! But they've already recovered two fragments of the Demon King's power! At the very least, we have to make it look like we're doing our job, or we'll be stuck listening to more endless complaints!!"
Yeah, figures.
Reali may be arrogant, foolish, dim-witted, and far too full of herself, but she at least understands the danger right in front of her.
Still, this situation...
We're basically zombies, so we don't have the stamina to run out of. We can keep moving forever.
In a battle of endurance, we should have the advantage, but...
"But that doesn't mean much against a Healing Mage."
Against Usato-kun... or rather, a Healing Mage of the same type as the captain, that advantage means nothing.
I'm sure he could keep fighting like this all day and still be running around without looking tired at all.
"If that's the case..."
If it comes to this, I'll have to reveal a little information about the Devils' side and create a situation where they have no choice but to withdraw.
If that's the plan, then...!
"Hey, Usato-kun! Did you know this?"
"Are you trying to provoke me? Depending on what you're about to say, I have a duty to report it to the Commander."
"That's straight-up a threat!?"
I was trying to provoke him, and he instantly came back with an outrageous threat!
T-T-The trauma and fear etched into my very soul are... a-a-a...
"No, no..."
Think carefully, me!! Either way, the moment I let the Devils use me as they pleased, it was already guaranteed that the captain would put me through something that would make even the worst hell in this world seem mild!
In that case, even if I mess things up even more now, it shouldn't make any difference!!
"Listen carefully! We've only recovered one fragment of the Demon King's power!"
"!"
"But aside from the one here, the Devils found two other fragments of the Demon King's power! One of them has already been taken back!!"
"..."
Usato-kun quietly narrowed his eyes.
He stopped in his tracks and folded his arms, and for a moment, I saw the captain's old self in him.
...No, seriously, the way he carries himself and the pressure he gives off are so much like the captain's that it's honestly terrifying.
"Who took it back?"
"The girl you let escape just a moment ago. That child already has a fragment of the Demon King's power?"
"!"
He retreated without a moment's hesitation.
I had no reason to stop him, but as someone on the Devils' side, I still had to make it look like I was trying.
I ordered the mindless gorillas to move and stop him.
"Y-You think we're just going to let you go, Healing Mage!"
Thinking she should at least get one attack in before he left, Reali came up with the sneaky idea of firing a magic bullet.
Just before I and the mindless gorillas were about to cast our magic as well, Usato-kun suddenly changed direction———grabbed Kaira by the scruff of the neck, who had only just managed to free himself from the threads, shoved him in front of the incoming spells, and hid behind him.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"Healing Guard!!"
"Heh!? Bwaaaaaah!???"
In the next instant, every spell we had fired struck Kaira head-on, triggering a massive explosion.
""...Eh?""
Witnessing what had just happened, Reali and I could do nothing but stare in stunned silence at Usato-kun, who had just pulled off something even more devilish than the Devils themselves.
"G-Gah... agh... agh..."
"Don't worry. I've already cast Healing Magic on you, so you're completely unharmed."
... Is he a total fiend!?
Then again, he was dealing with Devils. It wasn't like he'd have any mercy for them in the first place.
Still holding Kaira, who was coughing smoke while being forcibly healed by Healing Magic, Usato-kun looked at us———and, unbelievably, swung Kaira around with one arm before hurling him straight at us.
"W-Wait, areh!? Am I supposed to catch him?!"
"Eh, I don't like him, so you catch him."
"Isn't your hatred for your own kind a bit too much!?"
As I was reminded of just how little the Devils cared about their own allies, I caught the Kaira flying toward me.
Acya~, He's completely out cold... Eh? Why are there magic bullets stuck to him...? Ah.
"Ah, those are a little gift. See you!"
"Isn't this a pretty strange way to treat someone you respect as a senior!? Gyaaaaah!? It's going to explode!?"
"Eh, eh? Eh?! I can't get away in ti———"
The last thing we saw was Usato-kun raising one hand with a sharp motion before our vision was swallowed by the light of Healing Magic and the blast wave.
The impact was unbelievable. Wrapped in the healing light while our entire bodies were battered by the explosion, we went through an experience I never wanted to relive again.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Author's Notes:
A simple yet wicked technique called "Healing Guard."
It can also be followed up with a combo where he sticks Healing Bombs onto the person he used as a shield, throws them at the enemy, and then makes a lightning-fast escape. (blank stare).
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