Chapter 259: Enemy or Ally

Translator: Tseirp

After casting the Holy Attribute Magic Dispel on Mr. Bazak, the slave crest that was imprisoning him disappeared … or it should have.

But it seemed that Mr. Bazak still raised his staff at us and started chanting.

It seemed so because even though his mouth was constantly moving, I couldn’t hear a word of the chant.

I couldn’t understand why he would chant if that was the case but magic spears made of the four fundamental attributes Fire, Water, Wind and Earth manifested above Mr. Bazak and their numbers were gradually increasing.

That scene was certainly a masterpiece.  Controlling that many spells at once was not an easy task. His ident.i.ty as the Magician who once pushed Lionel back in the past was not just for show.

No matter how much a person trains his Parallel Thinking and Magical Power Control, controlling that many spells was impossible for a regular person.

“If s.h.i.+sho and Lionel are at the summit of warriors, Mr. Bazak might be at the summit of mages.”

I was astonished by Mr. Bazak’s skill which was at far greater heights compared to myself.

But I couldn’t just remain impressed.

With so many spells aimed at us, even I felt the sweat trickle down my back.

I simulated in my mind how I could avoid that many spells and what would happen after I avoided them but unfortunately I didn’t think we would be able to endure all of them … well, there were actually a few methods but all of them would definitely deplete my magical power.

If my magical power was depleted, we would face numerical inferiority, Cloud might slip away and there was the danger of us facing total annihilation in the worst case scenario.

In that case, the only choice was to kill him …

… No matter how much I thought about it, my priorities didn’t change.

I will first prioritize my subordinates and my lives. Anything apart from that, I can consider with everyone after we survive.

Once I had organized my feelings, my next step was simple.

“Everyone, distance yourselves from Mr. Bazak!”

Following my order, Kefin and the others who have defeated almost all of the demons leaped back into the Sanctuary Barrier.

The visibility was poor due to the collapse of the ceiling just now but I could sense through his presence that Lionel was also all right.

Once Mr. Bazak releases his spell, the Sanctuary Barrier should weaken it a little.

But the issue was with that sheer number of spells. Even if I continue defending, there was the possibility that the barrier would break at any moment.

“Kukuku. Even if you distance yourself from him, you can’t run from Bazak’s spells. That’s right. If you somehow survive this, I will contract you as a demon so be at ease.”

Cloud announced like he had already won.

I could not comprehend why a person like Mr. Bazak would obey Cloud but that didn’t mean that I could give up here.

“Mr. Bazak and I would eventually run out of magical power. When that happens, judge the situation with Lionel as the core and decide if we will engage or retreat. 【Earth Dragon …】”

I raised my Illusionary Cane and constructed a defensive wall made of earth by borrowing the power of the Earth Dragon.

But Mr. Bazak got the initiative.

However, the target of the attack he took with his initiative was not us.

Mr. Bazak turned around on the spot and pointed his staff at Cloud’s Demon Research Center.

The outer walls of the research center including the door were blown apart by Mr. Bazak’s magic attack.

“St-stop! What are you doing!!”

Cloud shouted frantically but Mr. Bazak aimed at Cloud who was screaming … and not just Cloud but also the demons that might still be breathing and rained spells down on them without mercy.

“Bazak, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d ―”

Cloud ripped off the necklace he had on and slammed it on the ground.

Upon doing so, a deep purple barrier appeared and wrapped around Cloud.

The moment Mr. Bazak’s spells. .h.i.t the wall of miasma, the spells ground to a halt and were slowly absorbed into the wall of miasma, further raising its density and obscuring Cloud’s figure.

Then, Mr. Bazak looked at me … and I understood.

It was a concrete feeling as I intuitively understood what Mr. Bazak wanted.

“【By the holy hand, by the breath of Mother Earth, using my magical power as sustenance, like the wings of an angel, create a sanctuary that sears all evil and become a s.h.i.+eld that repels all impurities. Sanctuary Barrier.】”

I redirected the Sanctuary Barrier I was about to cast towards Cloud who was immobilized by Mr. Bazak’s spells.

After confirming that my Sanctuary Barrier was set up, Mr. Bazak continued to fire his spells at the Demon Research Center.

“He could fire that many spells?”

I could only watch that scene in amazement.

After verifying the demons in the surrounding, the demons cut down by Kefin and the others didn’t have the chance to move as Mr. Bazak reaped their lives with his magic.

I still maintained vigilance towards the battle but maybe because he was released from slavery, Mr. Bazak didn’t show any signs of attacking us and Cloud was confined inside the barrier.

“That guy is the same kind as Lionel-sama and Whirlwind nya. It will be slightly terrifying to have him as an enemy.”

“I have never seen somebody as skilled in magic as him. But, if it is now, I can trade my life to take his head.”

“But, why does it seem that he’s casting spells with such sorrow?”

Cathy and Kefin felt the same way as I did and recognized the threat from Mr. Bazak’s strong magic-wielding ability.

The spells were not directed at us at the moment but there was no telling if they would be.

However, Estia was different. She looked at Mr. Bazak and seemed to have felt an emotion coming from him that we didn’t sense.

“Estia, why does Mr. Bazak appear sad to you?”

His back was facing us so we could not see his facial expressions. Even though I could sense his presence and magical power, I could not read his emotions.

” … The Darkness Spirit relayed that person’s emotions to me. That person has fallen deep into sorrow and carries extreme hatred towards that room he is attacking and Cloud there.”

Estia declared. Perhaps due to the influence of the Darkness Spirit’s possession, she could sense negative emotions.

“Luciel-sama, could you place this person in the Hermit’s Coffin?”

I turned my gaze to the voice that called to me and found that Lionel had returned without me noticing and over his shoulder was his unconscious son, Gladis.

“Is he uninjured?”

“Yes. Luciel-sama released his slave condition so there are no issues. I will properly settle the problems my stupid son caused later.”

Lionel had a somewhat serene expression on.

“All right. Please keep an eye on Cloud and also Bazak to be safe.”

“Yes!”

I immediately opened the s.p.a.ce to Hermit’s Coffin and took Gladis from Lionel and placed him in the coffin.

After depositing the fourth person in it, I left the coffin s.p.a.ce and saw a dozen strong golem army.

I totally forgot that I asked Paula supposed the collapsed ceiling with her golem.

Closing the s.p.a.ce to the Hermit’s Coffin, I confirmed my surroundings and saw that the ceiling was no longer crumbling and looking up, I saw places that seemed to be in the interior of the Imperial Castle.

“Paula, what about the golem just now?”

“I a.s.similated it with the ceiling and re-created the golem.”

… Paula was talented too. I decided to ask her to teach me how to operate golems in the future.

“Is your magical power all right?”

“I still have magic stones so I am all right.”

“I see … I think we’re already below the Imperial Castle. Could you bring your golems along and lead the way up?”

“I can.”

Paula confidently answered. She’s seriously reliable.

While praying that there were no Lionel or Mr. Bazak-cla.s.s monsters up there, I gave instructions to everyone.

“Cathy and Kefin will follow Paula and her golems up. I’ll hold the fort with Lionel and Estia here.”

” … Understood nya.”

“Understood. Please let us know immediately if we are to retreat.”

Looks like they could easily deduce the plan I had in mind.

“Yeah. Just don’t be careless. This is the Imperial Castle after all.”

“”Yes!””

“Paula, I leave this to you.”

“Leave it to me. Give me magic stones later.”

“Sure.”

Feeling relieved that Paula was acting as usual, I once again returned my attention to Mr. Bazak and Cloud.

Mr. Bazak was shooting spell after spell but it seemed like he was nearing his limit as the number of spells has decreased by a lot.

On the other hand, the wall of miasma surrounding Cloud was slowly thinning and I saw Cloud wrapped in a ball hugging his knees.

Was he being influenced by the miasma? Or perhaps it was the effect of demonization as Cloud’s skin was turning brown.

” … Did he undergo demonization?”

“Seems to be the case.”

Cloud checked his transformed body and slowly stood up.

Then, not only did his skin turn brown, a horn grew on his head, his ear became pointed, his skin turned slightly black and he grew a tail.

His figure resembled the demon of the former saintess Melfina and Cloud had completely thrown away his humanity.

“Guooooooo!”

Then, Cloud bent his body back and cried to the world that he had been reborn as he released all his magical power.

That magical power and sheer volume shook the Sanctuary Barrier for an instant … or so I thought but it didn’t waver at all.

Nevertheless, it didn’t feel like Cloud retained any intelligence.

“Do you think that has any consciousness?”

“No. Unlike that time with Melfina, it seems like the miasma has completely swallowed his consciousness.”

“I see. Then there’s only one thing to do …”

To be honest, I was quite troubled.

If I killed him while he has been demonized, his corpse would dissolve like mud. But I wanted the information on Blange and demonization which Cloud had.

More importantly, Cloud has been acting as Lionel and perpetrated evil acts so if he disappeared here, we won’t be able to show the people and it would be hard for Lionel to regain his honor.

At that moment, I heard a crack as the demonized Cloud started screaming while wrapping miasma around his fist and punching the Sanctuary Barrier as he endured the pain from touching it.

It looked like the Sanctuary Barrier that has been power-up from that time I fought the Evil G.o.d couldn’t be broken by Cloud.

Seemed like I still had time to think.

“Luciel-sama, the plan has strayed quite a bit but I will annihilate that person here.”

“But if I can recover him like I did Melfinsan, we can show him to the people.”

“There’s no need for that. I no longer have any lingering affection for the Empire.”

Lionel understood everything that was going through my mind and said with a smile.

I decided to defeat Cloud after seeing that smile.

” … Cut him down after I cast Purification Wave.”

“Yes.”

Lionel readied himself as he replied and I started chanting when Estia suddenly shouted.

“Luciel-sama!!”

I was startled by her scream and I saw that Mr. Bazak had his staff aimed at me.

The number of four attribute magic spears have decreased quite a bit but they were pointed in our direction without me noticing.

… Seriously, what does Mr. Bazak want?

“Real Mr. Bazak-san. Are you an enemy? Or an ally?”

” …… ”

But Mr. Bazak only shook his head and could not hear me.

I suddenly recalled that I couldn’t hear anything when Mr. Bazak was chanting just now.

“Extra Heal!”

“!?”

I didn’t have anything to lose so I cast Extra Heal on Mr. Bazak and the spears floating in the air above him all disappeared.

“Can we talk now?”

” … Thank you. But I must kill that man. If you hinder me, I will face you as an enemy.”

Strong hatred burned in Mr. Bazak’s eyes.

Author’s note:

Thank you for reading.