Chapter 303 - 303. The Battle for the Fortress and the Eight-Headed Serpent
Fam and the others were released from their restraints. Silent, they picked up their weapons. My eyes remained fixed on Shaun.
"Master…"
The speaker was below my line of sight. It was Fam, standing before me, averting my gaze and clutching the hilt of her sword to her chest. Her shoulders trembled faintly.
"I was teleported to another location and realized I was alone. So I acted carelessly. I was reckless."
Fam gritted her teeth. She must have been trapped by the "Golden Pot" trap just like me. The others likely suffered the same fate—captured by the Crimson Brigade after being separated.
"Fam… this is my fault. I'm sorry."
I reached out and took her sword. I pressed the tip against Shaun. He stared at me with cold eyes.
"I'll kill you."
"Sure you want that? You'll die along with your dog ears."
"Didn't think you'd actually release us, did you? Just do it if you're going to."
"Defend me, Fam."
Fam flinched at Shaun's words and then stepped between him and me.
"M-Master…"
Fam raised her blade toward me. The tip wavered. Ignoring her, I took another step forward. At that moment, a hand landed on the back of mine, resisting my movement. It was Mizuki.
"Calm down, Mash."
"Mizuki, stay out of this. This is the second time for Fam. She can't just be enslaved by trash like this and treated as they please. I'm going to cut down Shaun with my own hands!"
But Mizuki wouldn't move.
"Calm down. Aren't we supposed to defeat the Area Guardian first?"
Mizuki turned her gaze toward Shaun.
"We defeat the Area Guardian. You remove Fam's slave mark afterwards. If we can confirm that, we'll let you escape to the Demon Lord's territory. We won't let the knights surrounding the fortress interfere."
"Do you really think you have those options?"
Shaun sneered at Mizuki's words.
"I don't know how long you've been in this world, but those who are summoned here can only live for ten years. The goddess who summoned you said your wish would be granted if you defeated those summoned by the other divine pillars. But there's no guarantee that will happen. You know that, having been with Claude and the others, right?"
She stopped, waiting for Shaun's reaction.
"The clue to undoing it is in our storage. If you keep treating Fam like a slave any longer, or if you kill us, your fate will be sealed, too."
Shaun's gaze shifted to Nefee, who still wore her usual smile. He narrowed his eyes slightly, then returned his gaze back to Mizuki.
"Are you threatening me? I've said it multiple times. You don't have a choice here."
Shaun replied in a chilling tone.
"Nor should you forget. The end of your journey is the end of our journey. If we have no choice, then the journey ends here. If the Crimson Brigade attacked Fam's village, we have no reason to keep you alive."
Mizuki narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Shaun. Her grip on her sword tightened. Maira moved to my side, while Marmy prepared her wand behind her. The members of the Crimson Brigade brandished their weapons, forming an offensive formation to protect Shaun. The tension lingered as Mizuki and Shaun locked eyes. Finally, Shaun clapped his hands, breaking the silence with a dry sound.
"Alright. I'll accept your terms. We'll remove Fam's slave mark if you defeat the Area Guardian. In return, you'll get the knights surrounding this fortress to let us escape to the Demon Lord's territory."
Fam lowered her sword from me, its tip now limp. Mizuki smiled faintly at me and turned back toward the door. Then she whispered in my ear.
"Calm down, Mash."
"You…you owe me…"
"'Owe' and 'borrow' don't exist."
Before I could finish speaking, she lightly tapped my back and started walking toward the door. Fam remained before me, hugging me tightly. Her slender frame still carried the allure of a young girl. Her soft hair smelled like sunlight.
"Master… I…"
"Fam, no matter what, we'll get through this together."
Her arms tightened around me.
Mizuki opened the door and entered the Area Guardian's chamber. Mizuki and Maira led the way, followed by Marmy and Nefee. I followed with Fam, and the door groaned shut behind us. The space resembled an arena, circular and covered in marble-like stone from the floor to the arched ceiling. Despite being a sealed space, the room was illuminated from an unseen source, negating the need for any light. I nudged Nefee's rear with my boot. The springy feel and the soft thwack it made were satisfying.
"What are you doing?"
She didn't stumble as she turned around. I regretted not kicking her harder.
"What are you thinking? You turned on us so easily. I wanted to give you asymbolic enema right here. You could've easily turned on us before the fight!"
Nefee slightly raised her eyebrows.
"Those are harsh words. I didn't betray Mash."
"What? Are you going to say you never thought of us as comrades from the start?"
Nefee shook her head.
"Private conditions were private conditions. I never intended to break it. The one holding things up is Mash."
There was a hint of anger in her voice, and she sighed softly.
"I was wondering too at the same time. Whether I had set that condition for nothing. But when I hugged you and kissed you, I felt a fluttering emotion. I just didn't know if the other side felt it, or if I had just imagined it."
Her cheeks flushed slightly red, which made mine feel the same.
"That's not the point! You turned your back on us!"
"stell I say it's not. It doesn't matter if I was caught or not, it would have been the same. There would be more people on the move, you know. It just shows that I have to rely on others."
The words sounded refreshing, but I couldn't understand how she felt.cripcion Whether it was the Crimson Brigade or Levante, I could not observe it at all.
And when I wanted to tell her that, "You guys talk a lot about us," at that time, one of the heads raised its scythe-like head and charged towards Mizuki and the others. The three scattered at once, and the monster's fangs cut through the air. However, the second and third heads attacked Mizuki and the others. A huge mass many times the size of the body attacked us from all directions, making me gasp. Mizuki barely dodged the attack and tried to stab her sword, but it was easily deflected by the hard scales.
"Mizuki!"
I shouted, and at that moment, one of the heads plummeted toward me at an incredible speed. Just before it hit, lightning flashed from behind me and exploded before my eyes. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
"Master!"
Marmy's lightning strike stopped the head. Fam brandished her sword and jumped toward the head, but another head attacked her as she swung downwards. A loud thud and Fam's body crashed to the floor.
"Fam!"
I shouted, rushing toward her, but a hand stopped me.
"I...I'm alright!"
As she struggled to get up, another attack was approaching. I rushed to her and loaned her my shoulder. However, a new attack was faster than our movements. While holding Fam, I rolled to evade. The monster opened its mouth to bite us, but another flash of lightning struck its head. In the meantime, I dragged Fam to the area near Marmy. She stood on her own power, but her feet were trembling. I handed her a stamina-recovering potion.
"One creature, but there's too many heads. At this rate, we'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers."
"...The Eight-Headed Serpent is weak against magic. Use a Magnum-sized Ground Penetrator spell to blast its body."
Marmy replied to my words.
"I doubt you'll give us the time to prepare that..."
The Eight-Headed Serpent had stopped attacking. The eight heads swayed and looked down at us, ready to launch another attack. The only damage we inflicted was Marmy's lightning strike. The frontline group of Mizuki and others could only dodge without landing a proper hit. Even so, they were panting. The fatigue of continuous battles had accumulated. As if mocking our impatience, the monster roared, signaling the start of its next attack.
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