Chapter 56 Betrayal (Patreon)

"Guh…!"

I glared at Doz's face as he looked at me with a confident look, but there was no point in doing so.

The situation was overwhelmingly in favor of the other side.

Whether we do as they say or fight, Youmu-chan's situation was still a concern. Even if we were to withdraw from the situation and go to rescue Youmu-Chan at a later date, it would take too much time.

But, would they fight with Youmu-chan as a hostage in this situation?

Now that we have gained experience by defeating Black Knight, would we struggle against this monster as much as we did before?

Nevertheless, the situation was worse than before...

Time was moving on without us being able to decide.

Then, should we keep on stalling and wait for Youmu-Chan to wake up? ...probably not possible. Even if she did wake up, it would only provoke Doz.

If that were the case, it would actually be better to attack Doz with all my magic power, using both body reinforcement and Ground Shrink.

Should we do it? Right now...

If we fail, not only Youmu-chan but also Chibi, Shiro, and Garum would be in danger. And above all, we haven't even rescued Luka, the very reason why we went to such great lengths to come here.

We had no choice but to do something.

I concentrated my nerves to activate my magic power...

"It's unfortunate, Liz."

Suddenly, the Evil Magician said.

Sensing magic power, that's what he does best, right? Was it possible for a high-ranking magician to detect magic even when it has not been activated yet?

As if in response to his voice, Liz...the pink-haired, robed female goblin snaps her fingers.

Damn it, could I even make it in time? Did I make a mistake...!

Doz's mouth hangs open.

However, I didn't realize it at the time.

Garum, standing behind me, was also looking at his trapped prey and smiling.

"It's all right, girl, just keep going."

Garum muttered casually, and at the same time, the goblins fired arrows with all their might. But it wasn't aimed at us.

"What? What are you...?"

The Evil Magician's smile broke, and he let out a spit of blood from his mouth at the same time.

Yes, the goblins' arrows were indeed fired at the Evil Magician's troop, the zombie goblins. At the same time, Youmu-chan, who had been hanging down helplessly until a moment ago, pulled out a dagger that he had hidden somewhere and pierced Doz's abdomen with it at blinding speed.

Did they have a fall-out?

Well, it doesn't matter!

Releasing all the magical power in my legs, I run to Doz instantly.

"You're in my way!"

I instantly brushed aside the Black Knight's attempt to defend him, and approached Doz, grabbing his head in an eagle grip. Then, using all of my magic power, I launched a pile bunker at Doz's head. The head exploded with a cracking sound, obliterating Doz's head, and he fell backwards.

[The Level of the special skill [Ground Shrink] has been increased from 1 to 2]

"Youmu-chan, are you okay...?"

I took Youmu-chan's hand and tried to pull her close to me, but then I noticed something strange. Although her clothes were Youmu-chan's, her arms were not white like Youmu-chan's porcelain white skin, but had a brownish tint. Her hair also gradually changed from silver to sooty pink. Even her face, although pretty, had changed to something far removed from Youmu-chan's original appearance.

"Hmmm, I'm glad you saved me, but I don't think it's appropriate to mistake a girl's name...behind you, that's dangerous, you know?"

"What?"

When I turned around at the woman's words, I saw Black Knight, who I had just knocked out, swinging his great sword and about to slash at me. With a single blow, the goblin Evil Magician should have been defeated, so why was he still moving? I was about to activate my blood weapon, but Shiro intervened between me and Black Knight before I could.

"You are a fool, trying to harm my master!"

At the same time, as she yelled this, she slashed down the approaching great sword with the reddish-black blood weapon that she had activated before I was aware of it.

At about the same time, Chibi entered the Black Knight's bosom at once and thrust her claws into the Black Knight's armor with all the dark magic she could muster. The dark magic was released from the tip of the piercing claw, and the shock of the magic power that had lost its destination caused the armor to wobble around. The black armor was deformed and swollen from the inside, and it crumbled, spraying something that was neither a reddish-black liquid nor a piece of flesh.

[You have gained 805 experience points by defeating the goblin Black Knight zombie.]

I hardly did anything, but I got some experience for the little shove I did to him earlier and for becoming a decoy. I

What...these kids were this strong?

"How is it!? Chibi-sama!"

"Yes, yes, Shiro-chan, you're doing great."

They may look like a pair of friendly sisters, but behind them was a lump of meat, that was once called the Black Knight... No, wait, that's not the point.

"Who are you...? Where is Youmu-chan?"

For a moment, I was upset by Black Knight's unexpected attack, but the fact remained that the purpose of the woman in front of me was unknown. And even if her appearance was a result of some kind of skillful transformation, it was unlikely to have been a byproduct of the transformation, since her clothes were still on. In that case, this woman must have obtained these clothes from Youmu-chan in some way.

I think of the worst, but in contrast to my nervous state, she responds in a carefree voice, pointing behind me.

"Youmu-chan is over there, right?"

I look at her, wary, and recognized the Arc Shooter Liz...or what I had assumed to be Liz, who had just commanded Archer's unit, removing her robe from her face and donning a pink-haired wig. Removing the pink wig of her hair, a beautiful azure-silver hair peeked out.

I looked at Youmu-chan, and she turned her head away from me, her gaze wandering.

So, that means the pink-haired woman in front of me is...

"What on earth do you think you're doing, Liz?"

Suddenly, such a voice leaked out from the Evil Magician's corpse. A moment ago, his head was definitely blown off...no, at that time...I didn't get any experience from him. He was, after all, an opponent of the same rank as Black Knight, and there was no way that the difference in level was too great for me not to get some experience. If that was the case, then he had not died from the blow he received earlier.

The Evil Magician's corpse rose, bobbing and bubbling from the neck up, and in the next instant had sprouted a new head.

"We made a deal, I'm going to be with this person. I'm sorry Doz - you see, you guys are so demanding and inconsiderate that I got tired of dealing with you..."

Liz made a scene as she said this, but Doz remained silent and stared at Liz.

As if he had given up on the idea, Liz's expression changed to a serious one and she turned to face Doz.

"Doz, this place is certainly much more prosperous than it used to be, but that's only because the flames of that candle had been kept hidden. If we continue on the path that the Arc Wizard has laid out for us, we may indeed become a force that no city, or even a single country, can compete with."

"Then why betray us?"

Doz asked when Liz quietly but confidently replied,

"But that's as far as it goes."

Doz was momentarily silenced by the force of the words.

"People are learning. If they decide that they can't handle the situation, given the precedents, they'll probably pretend that they can. Assuming we win this battle, the next force that will come next won't just be a nation, but an alliance formed among allied nations. The chance of us winning is close to zero."

".... Then why didn't the Arc Wizard mention this concern! You are the only one who thinks so shallowly..."

"That's because it was calculated from the beginning that we would perish."

Liz's words were so confident that Doz often stumbled over his words. No, perhaps it was because he had his own concerns, as Liz had pointed out...

Huh? We were totally left out of the conversation, weren't we?

Normally, I would have consulted Garum about betrayal, or conspiring with Youmu-Chan to trick us all...

I wonder why Garum didn't react at all to the furious developments that have been going on...

Don't tell me...

I looked at Garum and thought about the situation.

Garum, noticing my gaze, gently sheathed his sword and spoke using the resonance bell.

[Sorry~☆]

That phrasing is old!!!!! Or rather, that reaction is too sloppy!!!

[Oh, come on, you can't do tricks by showing your cards, you know? Don't worry, I already told Chibi and Shiro.]

Was it just me? Or rather, why only me!!!

I would like to argue some more, but…

Anyway, it seems like things have moved as planned.