Chapter 191

I, who used to be a demon race, is running the battlefield as a member of a rescue squad and saving humans who were fighting as enemies.

A strange story.

I wouldn’t have been able to imagine what I would have been like not so long ago.

“Bring in the wounded.”

“Guaaa!”

My mission as a black uniformed is to carry the wounded from the battlefield to the base.

I have to be careful that my true face is not seen, but I don’t have to worry about being discovered thanks to the hood of my magically created group uniform.

Talk to a knight nearby, while holding the knight firmly in place with the bleeding wound stopped by the belt on the back of the bullring.

“…… What happened here?”

“There are injured people who do not accept recovery or healing magic. Help is needed.”

Me and the other black-clad men who returned to the base, carrying the injured together with Bluerin, received such news.

It was decided that Bluerin, me, Tong and Alec, who can carry large numbers of people, would go to the scene.

Still wary of the flying dragons in the sky, one of the knights of the Kingdom of Lingle answered my question.

“An incredibly strong enemy has appeared. …… When we were attacked by it, even Usato-sama’s healing magic was no longer accepted. ……”

“No way. ……”

When I was in the Demon King’s Army, I heard that there was an incredibly powerful demon race with a demon sword that could cut off the flow of magic power, but you don’t think that’s him?

I don’t know what kind of guy he is, but from the sword he has, he’s a very bad guy.

No, it’s more than that. ……

“Usato came here?”

“Yes. That man …… gave us instructions here and then went alone to the enemy ……. We are now asking for support from the heroes…”

That bizarrely good guy could have headed off to restrain the enemy to avoid further injuries.

However, the other party is clearly not normal.

The knight looks in the direction Usato would have gone.

“……”

Usato headed towards the front line of the battlefield.

Above them, flying dragons are soaring through the sky, and the knights on our side and the soldiers of the Demon Lord’s army are engaged in a fierce struggle.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there, Ferum! Let’s get these guys out of here!”

“—-yeah! I know!”

I have my part to play.

I save people, not as a black knight in the Demon Army, but as a black uniform in the Rescue Squad.

If I were to be honest, I would like to go to Usato’s aid, but I know that he would be angry if I did that.

I returned Tong’s angry shout, which had just returned, and ran to Bluerin — at that moment, a tremendous gust of wind blew from behind me as I turned my back to the battlefield.

“Whoa!”

“Grua!”

“What the!”

I manages to turn my attention to the battlefield, almost losing my position.

A huge tornado was present in my line of sight.

I was stunned to see it generate a storm that knocked down even the flying dragons in the sky and blew away both friend and foe alike.

“What the hell was that?”

I have never seen magic on that scale.

Rather, it is unusual when something can be artificially equated to a natural phenomenon.

The place where the tornado is happening —- must be where Usato went towards.

”Bluerin! Follow the tongs!”

“Gua!”

“Huh? Where are you going?

Unable to stay put, he starts running in the direction of the tornado.

Many people were injured in that tornado.

Some people have fainted.

Some people need help.

But above all, I was worried about that guy who went off to fight alone.

If you asked me the question about the person I would least like to meet, this guy would be the first person I would think of.

Koga Dingal, a man who wields dark-system magic with ‘beast’ abilities.

In a single breath, I close the distance and catch Koga’s protruding claws with my gauntlet, which I quickly set up.

Gary!　with a grating metallic sound, Koga brought his mask-covered face close to mine as if he were looking into mine.

“I flew here cause I heard that you’re fighting old man Nero, but you look pretty good!”

“……Do I look well to you?”

“No! You look like shit!”

“If you know what you’re doing, I wish you wouldn’t have come.”

Gut-wrenching, I suppose, is what I’m saying now.

The joy in his voice, which is so obvious even through his mask, makes me feel as if my veins are bursting with irritation.

I don’t have time to be bothered with this brainless demon race right now.

“I ain’t got time for you, Puuunch!”

“Oh?”

I repel the claws and strike with a healing blinking fist that is imbued with a binding spell.

After taking one look at Koga, who was blown backwards by the impact of my fist’s blinding impact, I turned on my heel and ran out of the place.

I don’t expect to beat him with this.

But if we can get out of this place while they’re scared, so be it!

“Whoa, I’m not letting you get away!”

“……!”

However, I turn around at the sound of the voice behind me and avoid the black belt that was extending out to pierce me.

When I glared at Koga with my tongue out, he lifted only the mask covering his face and waved his hand fluttering towards me.

“You’re stubborn. I wish you’d fallen over earlier. ……”

“Wow, that’s an unbelievable statement for a healing magician. Well, I didn’t expect that attack earlier either. But still…”

Koga confidently pointed to the dark magic he was clad in.

“It doesn’t work on me now, does it?”

“……”

From the looks of it, the spell of restraint has also been broken.

Did you break it with brute force right after the attack?

No. On closer inspection, isn’t Koga’s appearance also slightly different? Unlike before, his claws are more compact in shape and the black band is swept down its back like a mane.

I feel that the figure, which was close to that of a beast, has become more human-like.

“The figure is ……”.

“After that battle, I rebuilt it a bit for close quarters. Faster and more robust.”

From the way you talk, you’re also being prepared for a continuous fist.

You don’t mean to say that Koga’s dark system magic has been altered by the effects of fighting me, right?

……I don’t want that to be the case.

“I never wanted to see you again. ……”

“Don’t be a bore. When I heard you were engaged with old man Nero, I flew over to worry about you.”

“Worried? You’re worried about me?”

“Yeah.”

After a few seconds of silence, a pale-faced Nea flattened my cheek with her wing.

“Usato, this guy is weird. ……”

“Yeah. I feel the same way.”

“Isn’t that just plain awful? Even I can cry, you know?”

Nea is right, saying such a thing to a man in full black tights wearing a mask would only make him more subtle.

And it’s too bad that worrying isn’t about me dying, but worrying that I won’t be able to fight him.

“Well, let’s stop wasting time here and get on with it.”

“……”

Can’t we spread this guy somehow? …….

As I was thinking of a way to break the deadlock, Koga smiled wickedly at me.

“Alright! If you escape, I’ll snap the necks of the soldiers who are unconscious here. Every last one of them, of course.”

“What?”

“I’d also like to go on and run into the base by myself and take out every single non-combatant I can find.”

“……”

The tone of his voice as he cheerfully mutters this makes it hard to tell if he means what he says.

Having fought him once, I know that Koga is not a one-sided killer of people who can’t fight.

But it’s the same as during the fight at Hinomoto.

“Maybe this guy could do it.”

Koga wants a fight with me from the bottom of his heart.

He’ll choose any means to achieve that.

Once I had the idea that he might take such action, running away was no longer an option for me.

“How’s that? You’re motivated, aren’t you?”

“…… You’re still the worst character I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re still the same. That’s why I like that kind of stupid honesty.”

Koga covers his head with a mask, and I also hold my fists up while wearing a binding spell on both arms.

Healing blink fist after blinding with a healing flying fist. The healing fist is then followed by a series of healing fists from a close contact position, taking away consciousness at once.

At the earliest opportunity, he reaps consciousness with maximum firepower.

I was about to fire a healing flying fist without any preliminary movement at Koga’s face, when—-

“Don’t be provoked by that idiot! You brainless idiot!”

With that voice, a black band extending from the side wrapped around Koga’s body and restrained his movements.

The black band is similar to that of Koga’s, but it is not his.

“Oi oi, don’t tell me this is……”.

“This voice is ……!”

When Koga and I looked in the direction from which the black belt had extended in surprise, we saw a demon girl in black uniform clothing, Ferum, there, out of breath, grasping the black belt that had extended from the cuff.

The moment I see Ferum, I shout angrily before I can think.

“Ferum! Why did you come here!”

Ferum’s role was to carry the injured and take them to the base, but she showed up in front of me.

Perhaps anticipating that I would be angry at her for abandoning her own job as a black uniform and coming here, Ferum yells back at me, clutching the black belt that is restraining Koga.

“I heard you were fighting a bad guy and I came to help you!”

“Don’t worry about me! It’s more about—-“

“That’s not good! You’re an idiot! You know that!”

I was startled by Ferum’s voice, which even sounded angry.

She shouts at me with emotion and continues to raise her voice at me, pulling at the black belt she clutches.

“Just hit that idiot army leader as fast as you can! Finish him off!”

“Stupid legion?? You can’t tell your former boss–“

Usato! Ferum’s right, now’s our chance, now that his movements have been blocked!”

“…… ah!”

Nea was also rushed and had no choice but to try to hit Koga with a series of healing fists.

However, just before the fist hit, the black band that Koga himself wears unfolded from his body like a blade, tearing off Ferum’s restraints.

“Nah!”

“I’m sorry, but my magic is more powerful than Ferum’s!”

I shouted and was hit by a direct hit from a spinning kick fired by Koga, knocking me to the ground.

—- I’ve been caught off-guard! Oh no, I have to avoid the follow-up attack. ……!

“That was close!”

With such a voice from Ferum, the black band wrapped around my arm pulled my body wide open.

The next thing I know, a claw wielded by Koga pierces the spot where I was.

I rolled over as soon as I saw it and took my distance from Koga and turned my gaze to Ferum, who had helped me.

“If it wasn’t for Ferum, it would have been a close call. ……”

“Oh, this is one time you can’t be mad at her. …… hmm?”

What the hell?　I feel strange on my arm where the black belt was wrapped around me. ……

Looking at the arm, there is still a black band wrapped around it.

It quickly returns to Ferum, but only the magic in the part of my arm that is wrapped around it sticks to my arm and reacts in a resistant way, moving away from me.

“……?”

“Do you have time to look elsewhere?”

“……I don’t want to fight you. ……”

“And that’s not my problem. Besides, I’ve been looking forward to the day I can fight you again. I’ve done a lot of preparation and I’ll let you have your way.”

Koga, with his hands on the ground, lowers himself.

He stared at us as if he were a four-legged beast, and a dozen black bands unfolded from his back.

“This time I’m even nastier than before, eh?”

The black band on the back of the Koga that uttered this bunches up and forms a kind of black sickle.

The number of them, four.

The sickles grow out of his back —- spreading out like a spider, the cohort of cohorts attack me with them.

“What’s that, gross!”

“You’re wrong, it’s cool!”

Snap!　One of the scythes connected to the belt is swung widely around my neck.

I crouched down to avoid it while protecting Nea, and next, Koga himself attacked me, accompanied by the scythe on his back.

“Sora-sora!”

“!”

Avoid attacks that can be avoided and parry the rest with a gauntlet.

While moving my eyes impatiently, I deal with each of Koga’s attacks one by one, but the difference in the number of moves cannot be bridged by any means.

“I feel like I’m fighting an octopus. ……!”

“I feel like I’m fighting a fast-moving iron pot!”

“It’s not even a living thing!”

Despite the light-hearted talk, Koga’s attacks accurately target my joints and vital points.

The target may have included Nea, and often the scythe on Koga’s back is aimed at Nea.

“Gyaaa!? Usato! Did that just happen?”

“Nea, in my world, there’s a saying that fire is cooler when you’ve got a clear mind!”

“What does that mean?”

“Giving up is the key!”

“Woah! That’s not encouraging at all!”

Sorry, I just said it very appropriately.

But despite the confusion, I slam my elbow into Koga’s torso, thankful to Nea for the resistance and restraint spells she is applying.

In doing so, she takes a head butt from him, but manages to hold on.

He has cut his forehead and blood drips through his brow.

“Ouch ……, man!”

“Ogu!”

In return, I return a vigorous headbutt to Koga, with my forehead covered in blood.

I take a few steps away from the startled and sprawled Koga, and brush my hair back with the hand that healed the wound on my forehead.

“Hahaha, ah, this is fun.”

“That’s why I don’t want to fight you. ……”

“Even if you don’t like it, I won’t end it. As Commander of the Second Legion, I also have to defeat the healing magicians who run the battlefield. ……!”

Having been made more specialised in melee combat, Koga’s movements are faster than the last time they fought, making it very difficult for him to do so.

As well as my concentration, I should keep my distance from the Korga, even if I have to force it a little, because the Nea is also very worn out.

Judging this to be the case, he unleashes a right fist wrapped in a gauntlet on the abdomen of Koga, who tries to pursue him, with a technique he has not used before —- the healing flying fist.

“Nah!”

He did not expect the attack to come without a preliminary movement, and the healing flying fist hit Koga directly in the abdomen, causing his body to fall backwards significantly.

This bought some distance.

“Okay, once the distance–“

As I tried to move backwards, two scythes extended from the back of the Korga pierced my feet.

When I looked at Koga, who had been sent flying in surprise, he was sprawled out, thrusting the sickle extending from his back into the ground and forcing himself to endure being blown to pieces.

On the contrary, it pulled itself together with the sickle it had thrust at my feet and came barrelling towards me with tremendous force.

“If you think I’m going to let you easily keep your distance, you’re wrong!”

“You’re even nastier than I thought ……!”

Unlike Nero Agents, the scythe extending from his back can be used not only for attack but also for movement and defence.

As I was planning to intercept the Koga with my tongue, Ferum wrapped a black band of dark magic around Koga.

This time, they are bound in layers so that they can be cut.

“Ugugu ……”.

While being restrained, Koga turned his attention to Ferum, who was desperately holding on to the black belt.

“Oh, you’re working for someone else. You’ve changed, you.”

“Shut up!”

“Also, I’m usually surprised to see you and Usato wearing the same clothes.”

“Shut up about that, really!”

They’re arguing about something, but I’m going to continue to use the restraining spells and continuous fists to block their movements, in conjunction with the black belt of Ferum!

“Even you, as expected, will be effective if I hit you with this ten times!”

“What? Hey, you ……!”

Seeing me, who had moved into a healing continuous fist posture with a binding spell on my right arm cage, Koga, with an impatient expression on his face, severed the band of Ferum that bound him with the scythe on his back.

“Nah!”

“I’m happy about your change for me, but ……! That move hurts like hell, so don’t eat it!”

“Whoa!”

As it was, he grabbed Ferum’s outstretched belt in the opposite direction and pulled it in force as it was.

The person at the end of Ferum’s rubbery recoil was me, who was about to slam my fist into the Koga.

“Ugh, Usato!”

“Ferum!”

If you are knocked to the ground with that much force, you cannot avoid serious injury.

I decided to do so and released my Renkei Fist stance to catch Ferum.

“—-Are you alright!”

“Uh, yeah.”

Less shocking than expected.

The moment she thought of this —- her body was wrapped in a black uniform outfit made by her own dark magic.

It was probably unintentional on her part.

”What?” just before she was enveloped. Her expression looked stunned, as if she didn’t understand the meaning of the word.

“””……”””

The suddenness of the situation makes both me and Nea – and Koga – stiffen.

But the situation does not end there.

As it was, she turned into a black, indefinite mass like slime —- she collapsed as if liquefying and dived through my arm, which caught her, and into the group uniform.

The slimy feeling transmitted from my arm and the unexplained situation made me and Nea scream in a normal way.

“Uwaaaa!!! Feruuuuum!!!”

“Usato is a parasite aaaaah!”

Fe- Ferum is alright!

I didn’t expect to get swallowed up by my own magic and end up like that!

Koga, who looked confused, voiced his confusion to me.

“I know I’m the enemy, but I think it’s …… crazy to liquefy her with nothing but healing magic.”

“Of course not! I’m gonna hit you!”

I yell at Koga, who is blatantly distancing himself from me, and try to remain calm.

No, wait. I remember this feeling.

This is the same as when Ferum used dark system magic for the first time in a long time.

A change like when some of her magic stuck to my hand and I couldn’t get it off, has now happened in this situation.

As I think about this, something starts to happen to my body.

“Oh, my arm is ……”.

The left arm and both legs become covered in the same black magic as Ferum’s.

“On Usato’s body, Ferum’s magic is ……”.

The sole that covered and formed the left arm and both legs —- was similar in shape to the hand and leg armor equipped by the black knights they had fought at some point.

With that, the hem of the troupe uniform I was wearing was shimmering with the same black magic as Ferum’s magic, like a flame, as if part of Ferum’s black troupe uniform had fused with my troupe uniform.

“What the hell is this? ……”

I don’t understand why.

Changes in arms and both legs.

White troupe uniform with black in-between.

I could only be stunned by the changes in my own arms and body, forgetting that I had a cohort.