Chapter 194

When I saw the manipulated person, I immediately knew it was the work of a magician of my lineage.

Unlike my illusion magic, they are skilled at deceiving people and has a wide range. And it can deceive not only their vision, but also their consciousness.

And they’re terribly cunning, and will use any means at its disposal.

The …… situation is terrible.

The formation has been severely disrupted by a single demon tribe, and the manipulation of their allies has caused anxiety and confusion among the knights.

On top of that, they are being outnumbered by a snake demon and a smaller demon of unimaginable size.

But still, they must do something.

Now that Kazuki and his men are facing a strong opponent in the form of the Legionnaire, I will find and deal with the magician the knights are controlling.

“–I’ll give you credit for finding me.”

“Hah ……!　Hah ……!”

A female demoness with pale purple hair, looking down at me from a flying dragon in the sky, looked down at me with cold eyes as I kneeled and breathed heavily.

Her dressing gowns were black, unlike those of the soldiers of the Demon King’s Army, and multiple purple magic bullets floated around her.

They are probably manipulating people with those magic bullets floating in the air.

The fact that she rides a flying dragon must be to aim at the knights from the sky.

“I didn’t realize it was such a troublesome opponent. ……!”

I finally found them.

In order to show the illusion, you have to make contact with the magic power in some way.

In my case, I can create illusions by cloaking my palms and weapons with magical power and bringing them into contact with my opponent. If the opponent had similar characteristics to mine, I could have determined their location by finding out the affiliation of the knight being manipulated and where they were fighting.

As I had planned, it was good that I found the magician who was controlling the knights, but the other party was more troublesome than I had imagined.

“I knew I’d find it someday, but I never thought I’d find an elf,……, but you can’t do anything about me with your power, can you?”

“…….”

Around the largest flying dragon carrying a female demoness are four flying dragons driven by a soldier who appears to be a kingsguard.

They are so skilled that it is easy to see. It is almost impossible to kill them with magic or bows and arrows.

“Then it’s time to move on. Do it.”

The woman who is looking down at us gives orders to the manipulated knights on the ground.

As she says, the knights who have taken up their weapons turn their bloodshot eyes towards me and the knights who should have been my companions.

“Oh, Flana-dono! What should we do ……!”

“Watch out for the magic bullet above you and deal with it! If you get hit by it, you’ll be controlled!”

“Yes!”

It’s not only the knights that are being manipulated that are attacking you. It’s not just the knights that are being manipulated, but also the soldiers of the Demon King’s army that are attacking you.

While we hesitate to attack those who were our allies, that woman in the sky is using magic to manipulate more and more of our allies.

While gritting my teeth at the current situation, I hold my sword up to the knight who rushes forward to pierce me with his spear.

“Ooooooh!”

“Ha, wake up …… up!”

A friendly knight attacks with empty eyes.

The sword is clothed with magical power from illusion magic and slashes shallowly.

The slashed knight stares at his palm as if agitated, light returning to his eyes.

“—Wow, what am I ……?”

“Take it down!”

You can bring the knight back to sanity by offsetting the magic power that controls him with my illusion magic.

He drops his spear, removes his gaze from the knight who has returned to himself, and uses illusionary magic to bring the other manipulated knights back to their senses.

But only a limited number can be brought back to sanity at a time.

My own magical power is also limited, and I have to do something about that woman who is the main source of power.

While thrusting my sword at the demons who joined the knights and attacked me, I took out the bow on my back and plucked an arrow.

“Please hit ……!”

The arrowhead is encrusted with illusion magic and is aimed at the woman in the sky.

The arrow goes straight for the target, but it is quickly knocked down by a flying dragon driven by a soldier of the Kingsguard.

“Ku…. it’s defense is strong…..!”

I’m sure she’s a commander or close to it.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so heavily guarded.

But we don’t have any way to target them directly.

At the very least, at a time when the archery of the elves, who excel at hunting with bows, could not be penetrated, they need someone like Kazuki who is skilled in manipulating magic bullets with unparalleled accuracy.

“Are we of the same lineage? You seem to have a better depth of vision than me, but when it comes to lures, I’m better.”

“What are you, ……?”

Looking down at me from the sky, the woman put her hand over her mouth as if in slight distress.

“Hmmm… okay. I’ll tell you. My name is Hanna Lomiya. In the meantime, I’m the one who’s in charge of the Third Legion of the Demon King’s Army.”

“Third legion leader ……!?”

The woman—Hanna smiles coldly at us, surprised that the other party is one of the highest forces of the Demon King’s Army.

“You didn’t think that all the corps commanders were capable of doing anything but assault?”

“…… What’s your magic?”

“It’s the same illusion magic. There are some differences in their abilities, though.”

Hanna pulls one of the magic bullets floating around her into her palm and looks at me.

“Your illusion magic is more controlling and binding than mine. My magic, on the other hand, has a wider range and can show you a wider range of things ……. So I am using this magic to control your knights at will.”

“So you’re making them fight each other ……!”

“Oh, you’re angry, aren’t you?”

Hanna tilted her head curiously and glared at him with suppressed anger.

It was the knights who were on our side who were fighting before we got here.

Some of them were forced to fight on their own side and had to make hard choices.

And I don’t know what they’re being made to see, but from the anguished expressions on the faces of the knights being manipulated, I’m not sure they’re being shown any real illusions.

“But it is a great pity that the hero is not here. If they had been here, they could have been puppets and an asset to the war effort.”

“…… although I don’t think you can capture the hero.”

“You just don’t have to choose the means to do such a thing. I don’t think the hero, an inexperienced man, could make such a ruthless decision to pass up a hostage in front of him.”

“……”

Kazuki can’t just abandon them.

He is a kind-hearted man, and he might just comply with Hanna’s dastardly request.

“Well, I guess that’s enough of this useless talk.”

“…”

Hanna raises her hand and the knights in control take their stance.

The knights are shielded by soldiers of the demon tribe, and above their heads, the flying dragon and Hannah, ridden by a soldier of the Kingsguard, are vigilantly waiting for us to show an opening.

There is no point in fighting like this. ……

But if we don’t stop Hannah here, the number of knights being manipulated will increase.

“Then, let’s go.”

An incomparably greater number of enemies than before are coming at us.

Just as we were caught between our fear of death and our mission, a white figure broke in front of us with tremendous force.

“—What?”

“We made it just in time!”

The human figure, which created a tremendous amount of dust, charged without hesitation towards the soldiers and manipulated knights of the Demon King’s army in front of us.

“I’ll deal with them with healing punches!　I’ll bri g you back to your senses now! Oraa!”

“Gefu!”

Each time the figure swung its fist in succession, there was a ghastly sound and a green light that seemed to be magical power shining through.

“Usato, there’s a demon in the mix!”

“I checked!”

“Guhe?!”

Each time a limb is unleashed, the downed person is enveloped in some kind of pattern and is sealed against movement.

He is stunned by the sight of the enemy being incapacitated like a storm, when he sees one of his soldiers about to attack from behind him, and he shouts out

“Oh, that’s dangerous–“

“Don’t touch him!”

A girl’s voice came out of nowhere, and a whip-like object was extended from his back.

It easily repelled the demons who tried to attack it, and went straight to the surrounding enemies, accompanied by purple patterns.

Frankly, in my head, I know who came to my rescue.

But what should I say? …….

“It’s not what I remember …….”

In my memory, he had been moving …… in such a haphazard way, but now I think he is even more haphazard.

The figure, who had struck down the knights and soldiers of the Demon Lord’s army who tried to attack him with dazzling movements, turned around, fluttering his white clothes mixed with black.

“Flana-san, and also the knights……you look safe!”

“Oh, thank you …….”

“Ye-, yes …….”

The knights who are with us are also stunned by the shock that blows away the despair we have felt so far.

At any rate, I decided to ask them about the knights who were defeated by Usato.

“Are these people okay?”

“I stunned him with a fist filled with healing magic, so he shouldn’t have been injured.”

Eh, then you were injuring him when you hit him. …… No, let’s not think too much about it.

As a result, the manipulated people are unharmed and incapacitated.

Rather, we should be glad that Usato came along, who can accurately incapacitate the manipulated people.

“And what’s wrong with your outfit?”

There was one more thing to worry about.

The way Usato was dressed, which had changed since I had seen him before.

A silver gauntlet on his right arm and a black one on his left.

His legs have also been replaced with ostentatious leg armor, especially the white uniform he was wearing.

The majority of the troupe’s uniform is white, but there are black flame-like patterns wriggling around the hem and sleeves, and the areas visible through the gaps are stained jet-black.

“Oh, this is …… a lot of things have happened.”

“I don’t think it’s a lot of things though ……!?”

When I witnessed the fight with Rose, his movements were inhuman to say the least, but now Usato was too scary.

There was no way he could get away with this because of all the things that had happened.

“I’m here because Kazuki asked me to.”

“Kazuki did…….”

Still confused, Usato places his gauntlet-covered hand on my shoulder.

Then he cast a healing spell, and my cuts and exhausted body from the earlier fight instantly felt better.

It’s amazing, the fatigue is gone in an instant. …… The effect is so different from recovery magic.

“Do you know who is the magician who is controlling the knight?”

“……The purple-haired female demon in the sky’s the one. And it seems to be the leader of the third legion of the demon king’s army.”

“The leader of the third legion, …….”

When Usato looks up at the sky, there is the figure of Hanna, who is still riding a flying dragon.

She is looking down at Usato, but her eyes seem to be somewhat agitated.

“White attire, black hair, and green magic …… are different from the information, but is it correct to say that you are the healing magician of the Lingle Kingdom?”

“……”

Perhaps taking the silence as an affirmation, Hanna nodded her head in agreement.

“Nice to meet you, I am the Demon King’s Army, Third Legion Commander, Hanna Lomia. As Koga-kun said, you’re not a human being, are you?”

“Koga again …… oh god …….”

He grunted, holding his forehead, and glared at Hanna.

“You’ve been manipulating the knights into attacking the healing magician?”

“Yes. I’m sure you’re aware of that….We still haven’t been able to get rid of any of the key healing magicians, have we? I’m surprised at how stubborn they are.”

“Stubborn ……?”

You can hear the sound of metal creaking in Usato’s right hand.

I fearfully look at his face, but I can’t read his expression and just look at Hanna overhead.

…… Is he perhaps mad?

“I can’t let you do whatever you want anymore.”

“……Oh, it seems that you are also very angry with me.”

Hanna also noticed Usato’s condition and gave a small smile.

The smile is cold, and it’s obvious that she’s looking down on us.

“Well, from your point of view, it’s upsetting, but from our point of view, we don’t want to consume the limited number of soldiers we have, so we just procure them on the battlefield.”

“……”

“Because, you know, it doesn’t hurt or itch if these people die, right?”

I couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable discomfort at the way Hanna spoke.

We don’t want to hurt our friends.

I want to keep the damage to a minimum.

Sure, what she’s doing is terribly rational and will minimize friendly casualties.

But her ideas, friend or foe, were unacceptable.

“It is to my advantage that you have come here. If you can control you, you can easily get rid of the base where the healing magicians gather and even the heroes.”

“…… You can’t defeat two brave men by manipulating me, can you?”

“You’re friends, aren’t you? There is also a strong bond between.”

How did the Demon Army know about the relationship between Kazuki and his friends ……!

I’m not sure if it was unexpected for Usato too, but his eyes widened in surprise.

“We’ve already interrogated the knights of the Lingle Kingdom, you know.”

“Interrogation, you mean ……?”

“Yes, I just showed him a little tortured vision and made him throw up, but it’s still enough information. You could know the weaknesses of the heroes.”

Kazuki and Suzune’s weaknesses are …… Usato?

I don’t know if it’s a weakness ……, but he’s just staring up at Hanna.

“Flana-dono, Usato-sama, demons and soldiers are coming from the front!”

“Reinforcements ……!”

When I turn to the front at the words of the knight behind me, a troop of soldiers with glowwolves is coming from that direction.

In frustration, Hanna above me exhaled in relief.

“Well, while I’m stalling the conversation like this, the reinforcements have finally arrived. The healing magician I’ve heard so much about is a chatty one, which is very helpful.”

Hanna set in motion the magic bullets that had been floating around her.

In the face of more than twenty magic bullets, Usato created a magic bullet in his right palm while the rest of us were bracing ourselves.

“If you want to avoid them, go ahead. But instead, the knights behind you will be attacked.”

With a sneer, Hanna dropped a magic bullet towards us.

She quickly tried to ready her bow against the magic bullets that were about to rain down on her, but Usato threw the magic bullets that he had created in his palm faster than that.

“Healing magic random bullet”

The magic bullet released from Usato’s palm splits and bounces to cancel out the magic bullet released by Hanna.

Even so, the magic bullets that could not be fully cancelled out are closing in.

“Ferrum”.

“Ah!”

A black sword extends from the gauntlet on Usato’s left arm and is swung carelessly to the side.

Even so, the magic bullets that could not be fully cancelled out are closing in.

“Aha!”

“Darkness, healing burst slash……!”

Ignoring Hannah’s surprise, Usato mutters something like the name of his technique.

While I think he’s just like Suzune in these ways, I’m reminded that his sense of style is similar as well.

“It’ll be lame to say the name of the technique later.”

“It’s lame even if you emphasize the darkness…..”

“Gu……!”

Usato, who stiffened for a moment at the sound of that voice but put his left arm back on, quietly called my name.

“Flana-san.”

“Eh, what?”

“Tell me the power of the Third Legion Commander.”

Despite the quietness of his tone, his mood seemed to be somewhat indignant.

Although he was upset by the situation, I told Usato the information about Hanna as briefly as possible.

“She’s in the sky, I’ll deal with her.”

“Eh! But the other party is flying in the sky, and even my bow can’t hit her, so how can I ……”

“–drop.”

“What?”

“The little girl who’s smiling and laughing over there, we’ll knock her off.”

Usato smiled at us so as not to worry us, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all, which was scary.

Rather, as if reacting to his emotions, something black crawled up from his collar to his cheeks – in many ways, he looked fierce.

The quiet anger that cannot be easily perceived is more terrifying than the fierce anger that can be seen.

Seeing him in front of us now, the knights and I had to agree.

Author’s Note:

Usato, frustration gauge max.