CHAPTER 126: HELP…?

　A blonde woman wearing a black robe suddenly appeared. They don’t know when she climbed up, but she was standing on top of the devil’s head. The woman’s appearance was familiar.

“You……” (Lily)

“C-class adventurer Luka!” (Aaron)

　Before Lily could answer, Aron shouted in a voice that sounded like he was vomiting blood.

　No wonder he sounded the way he did. It was all her fault that Finlis was nearly destroyed, and that the Adventurers’ Guild was now losing the trust of the citizens of Finlis.

“To appear in this situation, it’s really hard to read the atmosphere.” (Aaron)

“No, no. I read the atmosphere, that’s why I waited until now without showing up, you know?” (Luka)

　The devil is still alive and well and may attack at any time.

　But it will be Luka who will be attacked first. It is because Lily thinks so, now that Aaron is talking to Luka even though they are in the middle of a battle.

　Like Aaron, who is trying to regulate his breathing in preparation for a rematch with the devil, Lily is also consciously regulating her breathing. While Luka is wasting her breath, she takes in as much mana mixed with the atmosphere into her body as possible.

　At that moment, Lily noticed a slight anomaly.

(…how strange. There are no spirits around her?) (Lily)

 

　Spirits are messengers of the gods that exist everywhere in nature.

　They are beings that circulate magical power around the world. They are also said to hide within seeds in flowers to carry them far away. The elf Lily possesses the ability to see such spirits.

　Aron also has elven blood, but he is a half-elf. It seems that he has not inherited the power of [Spirit Vision]. He does not seem to have noticed any discomfort.

(Last time, when she came to buy magic books, she brought a lot of spirits of light with her…) (Lily)

　As a person, it is so unnatural. But I don’t know why this is so.

　The situation took an unexpected turn for the bewildered Lily.

“Well, everyone was fighting with all their might. However, aren’t your stamina and magical power about to reach their limits?” (Luka)

“…I have no intention of wasting my time with you. Hurry up and get to your point.” (Aaron)

“Ahaha. Before that, I will have to do what I want to do.” (Luka)

　The next moment Luka smiles, a dagger appears in her hand.

　She spun her body and flexed her arm.

　Are daggers going to come flying at us? Lily thought

 

　Lily braced herself, but her prediction was very wrong.

“”””eh……””” (Lily, Aaron, & Graf)

　Lily, Aron, and Graf were all stunned by the scene.

 

　Luka thrust the dagger in her hands deep into the devil at her feet.

“What the hell are you doing…?” (Aaron)

“That can’t be, do you intend to help?” (Lily)

　She sabotaged Finlis. Is this atonement for her crimes?

　All kinds of thoughts rush through Lily’s mind. While everyone forgot to move, the devil with the dagger thrust at it slowly falls forward.

　—Zuuun!!

　A huge body of over twenty meters sank to the cobblestone pavement of Finlis.

“The devil that had remained uninjured even after being hit with so much magic…” (Aaron)

“…wow, that’s ridiculous.” (Graf)

　Aaron and Graf are puzzled. They don’t know how to react to this situation.

　The fact that the devil was easily defeated was by no means due to Luka’s superior abilities. The reason is that Lily had destroyed the devil’s barrier in advance with her annihilation magic.

　The shell (barrier) is very hard, but on the other hand, the inside (body) is very soft. This devil was like an egg.

　If Luka had not attacked, Lily, Aaron, or Graf would have easily defeated the devil. It was even possible that he would have been able to seal it to death even if Aaron had just used [Bind].

　In other words, Lily and his team’s victory was virtually assured when they broke the barrier.

“It was worth waiting and believing in you. I was worried that you might not make it. But I’m so relieved that Lily has safely broken the barrier with her magic.” (Luka)

　Luka laughed as he pulled a dagger from the devil’s spine. It was a horrifying smile.

“Thank you for breaking the barrier for me.” (Luka)

“…” (Lily)

　Lily had seen this smile before.

　She knew this way of speaking.

　Luka had never smiled so wickedly before.

　She did not speak in a stilted manner either.

　Why do I feel like we’ve met? Lily thought.

(Where did I meet her?) (Lily)

　…I can’t remember, Lily thought.

　It seems like a trivial question, but her gut tells her that she should remember.

　Lily was digging up her memory, and that was when it happened. The devil’s corpse crumbled like broken glass. The crumbled grains spread in the air and gathered in front of Luka.

 

　Each one of these grains felt like it contained extraordinary amount mana.

　What will happen next?

　Lily, who had been bracing herself, suddenly remembered the anecdote about devils.

 

“This is bad… Aaron, get Luka immediately!” (Lily)

“Hmm, oh, oh, I understand.” (Aaron)

　Aron moves at the sound of Lily’s urgent voice.

　But it was already too late. A slender sword appeared in front of Luka.

“…a sacred treasure.” (Lily)

　The devil has extraordinary power in his body.  However, a reward is given to the human who defeats the devil.

　—It is the power of from a devil.

“Shhh—!!” (Aaron)

　Aaron swung down his sword at the same time that Luka put her hand on her hilt.