Chapter 666 - Chapter Seven: Above the Demon Lord's Temple ⑤
We managed to avoid flipping over. Though, since Lyudmila and Eleanor-sama deployed Wind Barriers under the bowl, we would have been fine even if we fell. Especially Eleanor-sama's was so wide it was like a stage had appeared in the air, so we wouldn't have fallen easily. It might have been better to just do that from the start.
Harold-sama safely steadied the bowl and returned its shape to the usual circle. Everyone stood up with a sigh of relief. Since we could confirm the target fortress, we descended slowly.
Fortunately, there were no injured people who needed Heal, and Harold-sama, who was pinned underneath, only complained of back pain. Since I had made it hard with Defend, it was just painful and not an injury. He'll just have to endure the pain.
"Honestly, don't you lot have any feelings of respect for your elders?"
Harold-sama was grumbling. However, from what I saw from above, the first one to fall onto the back of Harold-sama, who was lying prone to create the bowl, was the older Henry-sama. After Henry-sama landed on Harold-sama, he used Harold-sama as a stepping stone to quickly grab the edge of the bowl and dodge those following. That was probably the reason the bowl tilted all at once. Because of that, Will, Lyudmila, and I slid down one after another. In fact, what Harold-sama complained about was back pain.
"Umu. Let's all be careful next time."
Henry-sama was saying it as if to admonish everyone while rubbing Harold-sama's back, but those aren't the words of the person who caused it. I mean, is there a next time?
"Enemies! Directly above!"
While I was looking at Henry-sama out of the corner of my eye, Eleanor-sama's voice rang out.
"Light!"
I deployed a Light wall above our heads. For the purpose of blinding as well, I set the output to full power.
This is no time to be checking what's there. First and foremost, defense.
The bowl immediately began its descent. Since it's just falling, in short, we just need to let go, but I can't abandon the wall above our heads. Inevitably, the descent speed slowed.
"Dokan!"
It's lightning. The Demon Race? I repelled it well without receiving much pressure, but several black shadows can be seen beyond the Light wall.
"We will fight back and buy time! Wilhelmina, contact the Paratroop Jaegers to strengthen the fortress's defense."
"Understood."
Does not calling for reinforcements mean the opponents are no ordinary foes?
Eleanor-sama, who has immediate counterattack capability, was firing lightning magic upward. I decided to make the Light wall hemispherical to make it easier to deflect the enemy's lightning, and to make the output irregular to flicker and deter them.
The shadows, knowing our speed was slow, tried to line up beside us. They began to descend diagonally downward.
"There are five."
"Yes."
"Probably none of them are weaklings."
"Likely."
According to the one-person-two-roles act of the Priestess and Eleanor-sama, there were five enemies, and all five were of the same skill level.
Henry-sama and Bonnie readied their bows. The arrows they notched were, of course, silver.
"Fiona, let's do it. It's lightning. You can do it, right?"
"Yes!"
"Alright. Eleanor-san, I'm borrowing your left hand."
"Jeanne, me too!"
The Priestess and Fiona entered combat mode. Along with Eleanor-sama, the three of them fired counterattack lightning upward.
The Priestess's lightning was on par with the ultra-high-level Eleanor-sama. Fiona's lightning was about high-level. Both of them have properly powered up.
"North! Toward the sea!"
Harold-sama's voice echoed.
One that dodged the upward lightning and made a large detour came beside the bowl. It's the Demon Race. Its horns aren't as long as the executives'. It has short wings. It's a type I've never seen before. Its weapon isn't a sword but a bow. It notched an arrow and aimed at us.
"Fivaral Wind!"
Lyudmila, who was braced, created a gust of wind. It can't blow them away like Tempest, but it can break their stance and also block arrows. During that time, I set the output of the wall to the maximum I could do with one hand.
The Demon Race lost its stance nicely, and the arrows fired by Henry-sama and Bonnie pierced its shoulder and right arm. They were arrows with a tailwind. Since they flew at an unexpected speed, it probably couldn't dodge them. It opened its large mouth and roared.
Concentrated lightning followed. It seemed to still be able to move sufficiently, as it moved away while dodging. Since black blood was gushing out, we must have taken away its combat capability.
The enemy also fought back. A great wind blew, and the Light wall was blown away by the pressure. The bowl almost flipped over, but Eleanor-sama instantly made a lid, so we managed to avoid falling.
Harold-sama managed to steady the bowl somehow.
To avoid the arrows and magic attacks, he began to descend while spiraling in a helix.
"Eleanor-san, we're fighting back."
"Yes. I'll deactivate the lid."
"...Dark!"
This time the Priestess released Dark. Not a wall. A pitch-black haze spread above our heads.
"They'll probably charge in. Lyudmila, do you know where they're coming from?"
"Ehh, I don't know."
"Roughly is fine."
"Hmm—then, over there!"
"Alright, keep pointing that way. Everyone, aim in the direction Lyudmila is pointing! Fiona, watch Eleanor-san's left hand."
Is the intuition of a Vampire Quarter really that amazing?
The bow team aimed in the direction Lyudmila was pointing. Will, who finished the contact, also joined, making three sets. Eleanor-sama also raised both hands and was aiming.
"Ah, I was wrong. It's this way!"
They came out from a completely different direction! The bow team is scrambling because they have to change direction.
"Raiden!" (T/N: Lightning Strike)
"Raiden!"
There was one that had been aiming in this direction from the start. Eleanor-sama's left hand and Fiona. My left hand was firing lightning on its own.
The Demon Race that came through the black mist was caught off guard and took a direct hit. The bow team, which had steadied themselves, reacted and fired three silver arrows at the staggering foe. They hit perfectly, and it fell. We got it!
"Lyudmila, nice!"
"Ehehe, thank you."
What does this mean? Lyudmila should have missed.
"They're coming again! Three at once this time!"
"Jeanne, directly above! In front of my Dark! The Light wall at full power!"
Lyudmila said, and instructions flew from the Priestess. I don't know what's what anymore...
"Light!"
Anyway, I release it.
Thinking an arc would be fine if it's directly above, I set it to full power. Almost simultaneously, the Priestess deactivated the Dark.
Almost directly above. The three that were charging in simultaneously were blinded and turned their faces away. One didn't give up and fired an arrow, but I blocked it with the Light wall. I felt like the arrowhead was black. If it had been flat, it might have been pierced.
Three bolts of lightning shot up. We caught all three.
I immediately deactivated the Light. Without a moment's delay, silver arrows flew, and lightning flew again as if following them.
None of them fell, perhaps because the wounds weren't fatal, but we seemed to have dealt damage. They went up unsteadily.
Just as I thought we had driven them off.
Go!
A sound echoed in the sky, and all three fell like swatted insects. Harold-sama operated the bowl and made a rapid approach. Arrows and lightning flew as if this was the chance. This time we seemed to have defeated them, as all three that had been struggling stopped moving and fell.
"That was Tempest. It's Wilson, isn't it?"
He wasn't just strengthening the defense. A flexible judgment. As expected.
"Flexible or whatever, we're already close to the ground. They just got caught in the aerial surveillance."
Harold-sama told me, and I looked down.
What, the treetops are quite close.
We managed to pull through.
With the two anti-air ballistas glaring at the sky out of the corner of my eye, we landed at the fortress. The reason there were no humans beside the ballistas was probably because they were hiding their presence.
On the contrary, voices saying "Good work" came from nowhere. Everyone is hiding. Come to think of it, every time I've come to this fortress, I've never seen people on the roof. I thought they weren't there, but I just couldn't see them because they were hiding.
"Keep the alert as it is. Don't push yourselves. We will rest for a bit."
Eleanor-sama gave instructions without addressing anyone in particular.
"Understood. Continuing alert!"
A reply was suddenly heard, and I was surprised.
"Ooh!" replies were heard from here and there, and I was even more surprised. I wonder how many people are hiding. Perhaps the anti-air ballistas that are visible are just decoys, and the ones they really use are hidden.
Anyway, we returned safely. At one point, I thought we were going to die in the middle of nowhere.
When we went to the station, the Paratroop Jaegers whose forms were visible poured us wine for refreshment, and I finally felt at ease. We also dissolved the merger and toasted together.
"I am sorry for putting you in danger. Thanks to everyone, starting with Jeanne, we were able to return safely. Thank you very much."
Eleanor-sama was bowing deeply, but being put in danger isn't something that just started now. Since around the fortress in the Eastern Plains, we've been crossing some pretty dangerous bridges.
"Eleanor. You weren't the only one who devised this plan. I, who joined in the end, also apologize to everyone. It seems I've become more senile than I thought. Everyone, I'm sorry."
Harold-sama too. Since he might have been senile from before, I can't really say anything.
"That's right. If Jeanne hadn't thought of the combined technique, we would have died. I'll be more careful too."
Priestess, careful or whatever, you're already dead, aren't you?
The three planners of this operation all offered apologies.
"We are the Henry Party, after all. The responsibility lies with me. I am the one who should apologize. However, fortunately, everyone returned safely, and we gained results, including various new things we learned. We should reflect on the points to be reflected on, correct them, and apply them in the future."
The finisher was the leader, Henry-sama. Inferring from Henry-sama's usual words, he probably just approved the plan the three of them put together. He's saying he'll take the responsibility.
For some reason, Henry-sama and the others are looking at me.
"Um, since we returned safely, in accordance with the town guard spirit, I will only tell you: next, next."
I don't think it'll happen, but if there is a next time, it will be led by the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church. The heroes will also participate together, so it'll work out somehow.
Eleanor-sama thanked me, and the situation was safely settled. Next was the debriefing.
There are a few things I don't understand.
Especially when she covered the overhead with the Dark haze.
"Ah, that. It's the same as the Light wall; ghosts, monsters, and the Demon Race can see from the back side. If you narrow the output, you can see from the front too. When you saw the other world, everything looked blackish because of the dense spiritual power, right? It's the same as that."
So that's how it is.
"Yep."
When we fought, the Priestess and Fiona were merged. Only Lyudmila is a Quarter. Since the others look like nothing but humans, the Demon Race figured they could manage if they just deceived Lyudmila alone, and one flew in while zigzagging to deter us, changing direction just before plunging into the haze. The aim was to stay lined up like that to draw our eyes, while the remaining three attacked from directly above. The Priestess had anticipated that, and just in case, she was aiming in the opposite direction of Lyudmila's instruction with Eleanor-sama's left hand, which she was controlling. As expected, the Demon Race that changed its entry angle plunged into the range where the Priestess and Fiona could attack. That's why they could aim immediately. That part is probably why battle maniacs are called battle maniacs.
And the question of what on earth was the place where the stone box we were in was also came up.
"Lyudmila, you were reluctant to go beyond that mist, right? I didn't ask in detail then, but was there a reason? If it was just somehow, that's fine too."
It's clear the Priestess holds Lyudmila in high regard. She probably trusts her the most among us.
Lyudmila usually dislikes being treated like that, but she's honest with the Priestess's claims. Do they have something in common?
"Hmm—well. I was scared. Before, when I entered the barrier Dune made, I wasn't scared. But that place was scary. Somehow, I felt like a very scary enemy was waiting."
When it was Dune, Lyudmila was single-mindedly doing experiments floating pieces of wood with strings attached to water. Indeed, she wasn't scared at all.
"We watched the fight with the Demon Lord, right? How about then?"
"Hmm, I wasn't that scared. It was just watching."
"How about at the window today?"
"I think that one wasn't much of an opponent for me. But Jeanne and the others might have been eaten."
Hmm. I understand, yet I don't.
"How about it? Do you understand?"
The Priestess asked.
"In short, it's the Vampire blood."
According to the Priestess, the monster called a Vampire is truly powerful, and in some places, they are treated as Demon Lords.
"That blood, you see. It warned her of danger. That there's an opponent she can't win against."
Lyudmila was nodding. Surely, there was an opponent she couldn't win against.
But even if it was the support of the heroes, she wasn't scared in front of the Demon Lord. Was there someone even stronger?
"Listen, I talked about the three worlds, right?"
"Yeah."
"Probably, the dark world where the Demon Lord is, is a convenient world for monsters. I mean, it's their original home, right? So, I think they can exert tremendous power. And when they come to this world, they can't show their true potential. That's what my master said."
"I see."
"I don't know, but I can only think so. I mean, even the place where the Pretas were was filled with such powerful spiritual power."
"But it's not mana, right?"
"About that, I've realized after facing them several times. The magic of the Demon Race is similar to the arts we ghosts use with spiritual power."
Is that so? I look at Fiona.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it might be."
A new discovery. Eleanor-sama is also leaning forward.
"How about it, Eleanor-san? Those guys usually drop lightning as their first move. If a human were to use that, it would be Energy Bolt, but doesn't the one they use look like the lightning we ghosts use?"
"I didn't notice until now. However, in the aerial battle just now, the Priestess fired it while merged, so I can understand well now."
I merged with Fiona several times, but I didn't notice at all.