Gunner and Archer*2

They would not be using this route on the way back, so she had pulled it back in rather than let it dangle freely, but there were merits and drawbacks to that.

The merit was that it minimized the risk of being spotted by the sentries on the walls.

The drawback was that if anything happened and they could not exfiltrate by their planned route, they would not be able to climb to the upper floor with this rope.

In the end, the two of them had decided that the drawbacks of being spotted outweighed the merits.

"It's done, Shizu-san. Next we need to get past the first obstacle…"

"…Mm. Let's go… Got to kill them. Can you do it?"

"Mm. I think I can."

Once they stepped out of this room, they would be in a position to shoot the sentries stationed along the passage.

If they could not kill them before they raised the alarm, all their effort would be wasted.

Neia took out her bow and nocked an arrow. Shizu raised her magic gun as well.

"I'll take the right, you take the left, Shizu-san."

Shizu formed a circle with her thumb and her index finger.

The two of them exchanged looks, and then Shizu pushed open the door.

Neia made eye contact with a nearby demi-human, about one and a half meters away. He did not know what was going on or who they were. The demihuman was so surprised that he could not parse the situation, but Neia did not hesitate and put an arrow into him.

With a katsun, the arrow pierced his skull through the forehead.

I did it!

While Neia's skills had played a part, most of the work had been done by the Ultimate Shooting Star Super.

Thank you, Your Majesty!

Just as Neia's arrow pierced the demi-human through the head, Shizu's spell gun blew off half of the other demi-human's head.

The demi-humans made more noise when they collapsed than Neia had expected. Neia hurriedly pricked up her ears. Fortunately, she could not hear anyone running towards this place. It would seem nobody had spotted them yet.

"…Hurry."

They had already assigned their tasks beforehand. As Shizu dragged the corpses into the room they had just entered with the rope, Neia used the smellclearing item Shizu had lent her.

After that, she reached for the waterskin on her belt and poured the powerful wine within all over the place, washing away the chunks of meat, brains, skull and bloodstains on the ground. As the stench of alcohol filled the air, Shizu emerged from the room, then produced an empty wine jug and poured a little bit of the jug's wine inside before quietly ripping it up and leaving it in place.

"…Let's go."

"Yes."

While they had tried to cover it up, it was very likely that the next shift would sense something was up when they came to take over. She would be able to relax if they could put the bodies into Shizu's mysterious pocket dimension, but Shizu said that she would not do so, thus they left the corpses in the room. Of course, they had made preparations there too, but there was no way to make sure that they would not be found.

They had to assume that they did not have the luxury of ample time.

Eventually, they reached the second obstacle, the aerial walkway. Of the several scenarios they had come up with, this was the closest to being ideal. They still had time and nobody had spotted them yet.

"…It's a race against time now."

"I know. If I slip, don't worry about me."

The path from the castle to the tower was roughly two people wide.

There were no walls on either side ― it was open to the air. Apparently several people had fallen off the side before, and after seeing this, all she could think of was that it was only to be expected.

This aerial walkway was the reason why this place was the final redoubt when engaging invaders during a siege.

A large force could not pass through here, so an advantage in numbers would be nullified. At the same time, there was also the risk of falling. If there was a spear line at the end of the path, breaking through would be very difficult. This design was the kind that attackers hated. One would need magic casters with attack spells like [Fireball] to take it down.

Using ranged weapons for a sustained attack was disadvantageous for Neia's side, which was operating stealthily and under time constraints.

Therefore, all they could do was charge into close range and finish off the enemy, while the enemy could hit them with ranged weapons and they did not have the benefit of cover.

In that case, they would need to close the gap before the sentries spotted them. But at a closer look, the path was uneven. It was designed to slow down anyone trying to run across and force them to slip and fall off the sides.

This is dangerous… if an enemy runs into me and grabs me… I'll fall off and die. If I'm not careful…!

After screwing up her determination, Neia realized Shizu was staring at her.

Although they were of the same sex, being stared at by Shizu, the doll-like beauty, made Neia a little embarrassed.

"W-What?"

"…Using it… Neia, wait here."

"Eh?"

"…I'll take care of the door guards. No matter what happens, don't come out."

"―Eh?"

Before she could get an answer, Shizu vanished.

She had disappeared. This was not some kind of high-speed movement. Shizu had been standing here until just now and then she had vanished into the air like she had been an illusion.

A wave of confusion assaulted Neia. However, Shizu had already told her to wait, so she ought to stay here and wait.

Neia concealed herself at the entrance to the aerial walkway and listened carefully to the tower and the path behind her for anything out of the ordinary.

Several seconds later ― something happened at the guard post.

She heard a scream and then the sound of a guard collapsing.

Neia poked her face out to see what was going on and saw Shizu emerge from the guard post. Shizu waved to beckon Neia over.

As Neia began to panic and wonder what was happening, Shizu's waving gesture grew larger, until her entire body was moving.

Could she not go, now that Shizu had done that much?

Neia bent low, then ran across the windswept, frightening aerial walkway as she paid attention to her footing.

After she was across, she could smell blood from the guard post. Several dead demi-humans lay on the ground, and Shizu stood inside, with her usual blank expression. She held what looked like a very sharp and large knife in her right hand. The blade was smeared bright red, and she had her spell gun in her left hand.

"…Clear. Move in."

"Ah, yes…"

"…Can't disappear again today. Be careful."

"Got it."

It would seem there was no need to explain, so Neia did not ask, but merely followed behind her.

That's a maid demon for you, Neia thought.

She could not have come all this way without Shizu.

And this is also thanks to the order His Majesty gave to Shizu.

Only the Sorcerer King could inspire greater respect in people even when he was not present.

Honestly, the fact that he was undead or whatever was a trifling problem.

I need to let everyone know, after all. I need to tell them how great a person His Majesty is!

The tower was almost completely made of stone and it only had a small window for light. It was darker than the castle that they had pass through earlier.

The passage inside the tower was quite spacious, big enough for Neia and Shizu to walk side by side. It spiraled up along the inside of the tower's wall.

Their objective, the Zern prince, ought to be near the top, so the only thing they did when passing doors along the way was check for movement inside while the two of them continued ever upwards.

About two circuits later, Shizu raised her hand to signal that they should stop.

This happened almost at the same time as Neia's keen hearing picked up some creature's footsteps.

It would seem it was wearing metal armor, because she could hear the sound of metal striking stone.

"It's alone, Shizu-san."

"…Yes. But… heavy footsteps."

Neia could not tell, but if Shizu said it, then it was probably so. In other words, whatever it was, it was not human-sized.

"What… should we do? Should we hide behind one of the doors we passed along the way?"

"…It's already here. Kill it."

"Got it."

Neia readied her bow after Shizu. Her plan was to shoot first and not bother with questions. She had heard that the Zern prince was about the size of a human child. In addition, he would not be wearing metal armor.

A massive object came into view, and Neia and Shizu attacked without hesitation.

The arrow and bullets entered its body, as though they had been sucked in.

"Gaaahhhh!"

The massive object stumbled, and backed up along the path.

Since it had retreated along a curved path, it was no longer in the line of fire.

The fact that it had survived their attacks ― particularly Shizu's ― suggested that it was a very tough demi-human.

"What! Who are you?!"

An angry cry echoed from the depths of the passage.

"What should we do, Shizu-san?"

"…Can't sit here and wait… Close in and attack before the enemy gathers the tower guards."

"Understood."

Neia and Shizu broke into a run.

Since it could survive Shizu and Neia's surprise attack, they could assume that it was the guardian ― a Vah Un.

Vah Uns were beings which possessed very good overall fighting power and a shocking amount of stamina.

As they ran, the humidity in the air seemed to increase as well ― Neia's nose picked up the scent of rain.

"Goooaahhh! To think there'd be humans here!"

After closing in, they saw a massive demi-human.

While it possessed the savage air of an Ogre, it looked much more intelligent than an Ogre.

Its skin was bluish-white, though it looked more demonic than unhealthy.

It had a single thick horn on its forehead. It carried a mace that was bigger than Neia.

Judging by its physical appearance, it was quite similar to the descriptions of the species known as Vah Uns.

While it was not as bad as Buser, it was still quite a dangerous opponent. The arrow and bullets had clearly hit it, but it did seem to be wounded. There was no smell of blood either, so it would seem it had not covered it up with illusions.

Somehow, it had negated their attacks ― particularly Shizu's.

"So you're here for my life, are you?! You've got good eyes on you, humans!!!"

It seemed very happy.

In that case, she would let it remain mistaken―

"…No."

Shizu fired as she spoke.

There was a pop-hiss of expelled gas as something flew through the air. After that, part of the Vah Un's body dissolved into mist and the bullet passed through.

"…Hm."

"Wahahahaha! Ranged weapons are useless against me!"

Neia loosed an arrow at the Vah Un's forehead, but its head also sublimated into mist and the arrow sank into the wall behind it.

"―Useless! It's useless! Now quiver in fear of me, for I am the bane of all archers, and then die!"

"…Immune to all ranged weapons? On something that's only that strong?"

Shizu muttered. "There must be a trick."

Neia glanced at Shizu and shook her head. Unfortunately, the Zerns did not know any details about its abilities.

"What are you blathering about!"

"Back up!"

The Vah Un closed the gap. The sight of its massive body approaching them felt off, like her sense of distance was messed up.

Neia would not be able to survive a single hit from it, so she obediently listened to Shizu and fell back.

Shizu stood on the frontline, and the mace slammed down on her. The strike was like a howling storm, but she elegantly evaded it.

The Vah Un's strength was extraordinary, given that it could swing a weapon that was as tall as Shizu with one hand. The stone was shattered where it had struck the ground, and cracks radiated in all directions. It felt like the massive tower was shaking.

"Tch!"

Neia loosed an arrow.

While the Vah Un was locked in melee with Shizu, there was a huge difference between their body sizes. If she aimed up, she could strike the Vah Un without hitting Shizu.

As expected, the Vah Un transformed into mist in order to avoid the arrow whistling through the air.

"Useless! Useless! I told you arrows are useless against me! Foolish ―uwoooooh!"

The Vah Un roared even louder than before. Shizu seemed to find it annoying and hacked at him.

While Shizu's shooting skills were far superior to Neia's, she was not as skilled in close combat, so unfortunately, her strike was blocked by the mace.

Neia nocked and drew back another arrow.

This time, Neia aimed for the hand holding the mace. While it was very likely that the weapon would not drop even if it turned to mist, she decided that she had to try, however small the possibility.

In the end―

The mist-formed arm did not release the mace.

"Aren't you going to stop, human?!" The Vah Un presented a palm to Neia.

"[Water Splash]!"

A ball of water flew out at Neia.

Something hit her right shoulder. Neia was sent flying and fell to the ground.

It hurt like she had been savagely beaten. She might even have broken bones.

After nervously trying to move her right arm, she found that it could move without issue. However, a torrent of pain spread from her shoulder inside her body. She touched her shoulder and found that it was wet. While she was afraid that it was blood at first, she immediately realized that it was water.

"Hmph! You made me use a petty spell!"

The Vah Un swung its mace as it spat its reply at them.

Shizu muttered quietly to herself as she nimbly avoided a deadly stroke that could have smashed Neia to bits.

"…Why that girl? Why attack someone who can't hit you? I don't get it."

"Hah, you idiot! That's because she's a pain―"

"―Because it was effective? Limited uses?"

The Vah Un's face changed. In other words, Shizu was right.

"Neia!"

"Got it!"

Neia loosed an arrow, which the Vah Un avoided by turning into mist. After that, she fired again ― and the arrow pierced into the Vah Un.

As the Vah Un grunted in pain, Shizu spoke.

"…I understand. You can only defend against seven ranged attacks. Is that… per day? Per hour? …Doesn't matter. You'll die here."

The Vah Un could not catch up to Shizu, who dodged with amazing skill. In other words, if this kept up, it would take a one-sided beating and die. Perhaps the Vah Un had sensed this would happen, because its face knotted up.

"Damn you! [Fog Cloud]!"

A bank of fog sprang up.

It was thicker than the fog she had seen in the Sorcerer Kingdom, and Neia did not even know her own location. While she could not see Shizu fighting against the Vah Un, she could hear Shizu's spell gun going pew pew pew.

When she thought about it, that was obvious.

Even if the Vah Un conjured fog in the middle of the passageway, she still knew where it was. All she had to do was keep shooting. Neia followed Shizu's lead and launched arrows. She was a little worried, so she aimed up high; that way even if she missed, she would not hit Shizu.

The arrow she loosed melted into the fog, and it was followed by the sound of something striking the wall. It would seem she had missed.

"It's moving behind you now."

As Shizu said that, Neia thought Eh?

When one considered the size of the passageway, it was impossible for the massive Vah Un to get behind Shizu and Neia without bumping into them.

However, along the way here, Neia had come to realize that Shizu was a trustworthy demon. Or rather, she did not trust Shizu so much as she trusted the Sorcerer King which she served.

Neia turned, and while the fog was still so thick she could not see anything, she loosed another arrow.

Just like before, she heard the sound of an arrow striking a distant wall.

"Where, where is it?!"

"…Mm. You're looking in the right direction. It's trying to run… get down!"

Neia instantly dropped prone as Shizu spoke in a tone that was very forceful for her.

"…Reloading… full burst."

There was a piercing kyuuuuun and then a cacophonous dakka dakka dakka dakka thundered down the passageway. Unlike the pew pew sound from before, this was a sound that was filled with an oppressive brutality.

"Gobooh~" There was the sound of someone coughing up something, followed by a crash as a massive body hit the ground. After that, the mist cleared, and she could see the body of the Vah Un lying along the curved passage.

Its body was covered in holes, and it looked like it had been blown apart. There were similar marks all around the nearby walls. What had happened to cause this?

As a demi-human assigned to guard this place, it should have been quite strong. In truth, Neia alone would not have stood a chance at all.

Yet Shizu could instantly kill a demi-human like this as long as her weapon was effective against it. That was a difficulty 150 maid demon for you.

"What… was… no. With magic, you can do anything, huh."

Neia worked her stricken shoulder. She had forgotten the pain during the excitement of battle, but now it was starting to hurt more and more.

"…Okay?"

"Mm. But it hurts to draw a bow. I don't think I can aim well."

"…Got a healing potion?"

"No, but I have a healing item His Majesty lent me."

Neia could only use it once during that battle, but now she felt like she could use it more often. Still, that did not mean she could waste mana, because she might need to heal Shizu if the situation called for it.

"Don't worry. We just need to rescue the hostage and retreat."

"…Mm. Then let's hurry."

Neia nodded and ran with Shizu. The Vah Un, which was most definitely a worthy opponent, had been defeated.

All that remained was to rescue the prince and return to the larder.

***

"…Here."

"Yes."

Having reached the topmost level, Shizu and Neia exchanged looks. There was only one door here. That would mean it was undoubtedly their objective.

They nodded to each other, and then kicked the door in.

They had long since abandoned any thoughts of a covert entry. After all, they had just fought a big battle with the Vah Un. That said, the two of them leaned against the threshold of the door, in case someone attacked them in the instant it opened.

However, their caution had been in vain. Therefore, they both leapt into the room at the same time. Neia grit her teeth against the pain from her shoulder and went left, while Shizu went right, and they both covered each other.

The first thing they saw was a large, canopied bed. Perhaps its lace trimmings had once been white, but age had blackened them. The room also contained a simple dresser and human-sized furniture such as a cabinet and others. These pieces of noble-styled furniture were old and damaged, and they did not look like antiques so much as used goods.

A quick glance across the room revealed no demi-humans.

Shizu raised her chin to signal to Neia, and Neia silently approached the cabinet before opening its doors. Of course, Neia opened it from the outside and stayed out of its way in case anything happened, while Shizu pointed the muzzle of her spell gun at the interior of the cabinet. "…Not here."

After that, the two of them looked to the bed.

They checked that there was nothing underneath it, and then they approached the bed.

Part of it was bulging up.

Neia looked to Shizu before nodding to show she understood, and then she flipped up the blanket.

There was a pretty-looking lump of lustrous purple meat there. No, it would be better to say it was a huge maggot. It was about 90 centimeters long, and it did not have hands, but stubby feet.

Shizu pointed her gun's muzzle at it without any hesitation, and Neia hurriedly called out to her.

"Wait! That's the target we were sent to rescue, the prince of the Zern!"

"…This?"

That was what the Zern envoy had told Neia. However, she could understand Shizu's doubts, because Neia had been quite confused herself when the Zern had given her the description of the Zern prince.

The Zern were a species of demi-humans whose royalty looked very different from other individuals of their species. In addition to that, they ought to be sexually dimorphic too.

"Er, can you hear us, Zern prince-sama?"

"―Mm. Speak. It seems you are not my food."

He sounded like a teenager. Neia was curious as to where his voice was coming from and examined him, whereupon she saw that his maggot mouth was opening and closing.

"That's right. We've been asked to rescue you. Let's start by getting you out of here."

He was still a prince, even if he looked like this, so she had to abide by the rules of etiquette. In addition, she would need his race's help when finding the Sorcerer King. Therefore, she ought to do him a favor now, instead of offending him.

"Was it a request from my eggmates (comrades)? Who asked you to do this?"

"It was a Zern called Beebeebee. Do you know her?"

"Beebeebee, you say? Ah, her, then? Hm… But if I leave this place, Jaldabaoth…-sama will be angry. This will place the Zern people and particularly the King in danger."

"While I'm not too sure about the details, it seems the King has passed away, so we must rescue you at the very least. That is why the Zern made this request of us."

"What?!"

It was impossible for a human like Neia to read the expressions of the Zern prince, who could not be anything but a gigantic maggot. However, she could clearly sense the profound sorrow in his voice.

"Oh, Father was actually… I see. That bastard Jaldabaoth… In that case, can you get us safely out of here?"

"Your Highness' underlings will be guiding us out, so I think it should be fine."

"I see… oh human heroes, who have come this far to aid me, I have a shameless request for you. Can you pretend that you carried me off by force while I was resisting you?"

That request was probably just in case.

"I understand. We shall pretend it is so."

"Thank you very much."

The prince raised his head. While it looked just like a maggot raising its head, this was probably how his species expressed their gratitude.

Neia wrapped the prince up in the sheets like a baby ― if he had been a baby, he would have been scared to tears; she had experienced that twice now ― and carried him on her back.

She firmly tied the blanket around her chest, so it would not loosen even when she was moving vigorously.

The weight on her shoulder made Neia hurt. She wiped away the sweat beading on her forehead and used the necklace's magic.

Her wounds healed instantly. Now she would be fine even if she had to run with the prince on her back.

"Are you feeling alright? If it hurts, please tell me right away."

"No, I am not uncomfortable… but you smell delicious. It makes me hungry."

Hearing those words spoken from the vicinity of her neck made Neia shudder."

"…What do the Zerns eat?"

Shizu asked a question which Neia did not want to ask.

"The bodily fluids of living creatures, be they alive or dead."

A chill ran down Neia's spine.

"…I'll get angry if you do anything weird to my junior."

"There is no need to worry. I am not hungry enough to do such a thing to the heroes who came to rescue me. While I have not been allowed to leave even once since the day they brought me here, they took care to feed me, at least."

If she knew exactly what they fed him with, she would probably have dropped him like a ton of bricks, so Neia hurriedly stopped listening. Fortunately, Shizu did not ask further.

"…Alright, let's go."

"Okay."

"Please do."

After that brief exchange, the two ― three of them began to move. There was no time to waste on idle chatter during a clandestine infiltration.

Fortunately, they managed to return to the larder without incident. This was when Shizu raised her hand to stop them.

"…There are people inside."

"I'll leave them to you."

Shizu readied her spell gun and forcefully opened the door.

Then, she stopped. Shizu looked back.

"…Not sure who they are. Zerns. Many of them."

They ought to be the recovery team. Specifically, they were the Zerns who had brought Neia and Shizu here.

They had probably arrived first because Neia and Shizu had been later than they had said.

After entering the room, the five Zerns inside turned as one to them. The sight of these monsters with unreadable faces doing the same thing together generated a feeling inside Neia that was either fear or revulsion.

Neia undid the sheets on her back, and revealed the Zern prince within.

"Ohhh! It's the Prince!"

It was Beebeebee. Neia would not have been able to tell them apart if they did not speak. However, if they were as different from each other as the prince was from them, she might not even have been able to tell if they were fellow Zern.

"Oh eggmates of mine. I hear my father has passed on. I know that he ― Jaldabaoth ― does not intend to keep his word. But where will we flee after betraying Jaldabaoth? He has already conquered our lands, and installed his trusted demons as their rulers… are we not destroying ourselves by choosing to rebel?"

"Your Highness is correct to be worried. But to him, the Zern are no different from livestock. Our hero Boobeebee was a little late to arrive before him, yet it was judged enough reason to have the flesh torn from her shoulder."

"What! Boobeebee, you say?!"

The Prince's shuddering told Neia that said Zern must have been of quite some status.

.

Once everything is over, will the Zern find a place under Jaldabaoth's rule?

"We have determined that the answer is no. My Prince, there is no time, let us save these words for―"

"―You fools. Can we leave that question until after we run? This is the turning point. Once we cross it, we must follow our course to its very end. Now is the only time we can turn back. Tell me, once we go back to our hive, once we go back to our hills, how do you intend to live on?"

"That… that land is vast. Surely there will be a place where we can hide."

"You think so? Do you intend to have the species walk the road to destruction for this fleeting, wavering chance? Give me a more concrete, more practical solution."

"In, in that case, not everyone is in service to Jaldabaoth, we could form a resistance…"

"You fool. That will only invite destruction from Jaldabaoth. An ant swarm draws more attention than a single ant."

Beebeebee fell silent as the prince shot down each and every proposal. It would be bad if this went on. Neia and the others had carried out this dangerous operation to this stage. If the prince now went, "We can't do it after all," their efforts would have been wasted.

It was then that Neia came up with something to soothe the prince's worries.

"Ah, in that case, why not have the Zern go to the Sorcerer Kingdom?"

"The Sorcerer Kingdom? What is that?"

It was not just the Zerns, but also Shizu who looked to her.

"Yes. It is the country where Momon resides. He is the hero who once drove off Jaldabaoth in the Kingdom."

Neia sensed the Zerns were staring at her, but she did not know the implications of their looks. How could humans understand a Zern's expressions?

"Is what you say true?"

That single sentence was enough for Neia to understand why the Zerns had kept quiet. They doubted the truth of Neia's words. But that was only to be expected. The better one knew Jaldabaoth's power, the harder it was to believe that anyone could defeat him.

"I mean every word. I learned this through reliable channels. In fact ― Shizusan?"

"…She's right. Neia speaks the truth."

"Also―" this was the crucial part. Neia psyched herself up internally. "If you go to the Sorcerer Kingdom like this, I am sure they will accept you as refugees."

"Refugees, you say…"

There was bitterness in the prince's voice.

"But if you can provide information about the Sorcerer King of the Sorcerer Kingdom, I am sure that you will not be slighted even when you go there."

"Hold on, hold on. Why would they be happy to hear about their own King?"

"Ah, yes. Right now… ah… The Sorcerer King's location is unclear…"

"Is that not very bad? In the worst-case scenario, he might even be dead, is that not true?"

"A moment please. His Majesty cannot possibly be dead. There is concrete evidence, and we are verifying it now."

Neia told them about how the Sorcerer King might have fallen to the hills where the demi-humans lived, so she wanted to count on their help to search for him. The prince fell silent. Is it not going to work? Neia thought, but since she had already made her pitch, she could say nothing more. The ball was now in their court.

Also, even if they could not provide any direct assistance, they ought to be able to at least provide knowledge, as they had promised.

"…I see. If we do them a favor… but will we be accepted, as demi-humans? The Sorcerer Kingdom is a nation of humans, is it not?"

"No, it is not. The Sorcerer Kingdom is a nation ruled by one of the undead."

"The undead?!"

Both the prince and the Zern surrounding him exclaimed as one.

"Are you telling us to go to such a dangerous place?!"

Every race harbored a strong hatred of the undead. Even Neia had been that way before she had come to understand the Sorcerer King. She was moved by the realization that the people before her were similar to how she had been not too long ago.

"A moment please. The Sorcerer Kingdom might be ruled by one of the undead, but its great ruler is an open-minded and noble king, and I have personally witnessed humans coexisting peacefully with demi-humans within the country."

"You're actually calling the undead great, I can't believe humans are so―"

"―That's enough. Neia-dono, I apologize if my subjects have given offense.

However, is the Sorcerer King truly as great as you say he is?"

"Yes."

Neia held her chest high as she replied to the prince's question.

"…We cannot read the expressions of human beings. But I understand that someone as brave as you ― who has delved deep behind enemy lines in order to effect a daring rescue ― must be making such a statement with the utmost confidence. Therefore, I shall believe in him as well ― not the Sorcerer King who is one of the undead, but the Sorcerer King in whom you have placed your faith. Let us entrust ourselves to the Sorcerer King, then."

"Ohhhh!" the Zerns cried out in joy.

"It seems we have reached a decision. In that case, I pray you will flee to the Sorcerer Kingdom with all due haste, my prince. Unfortunately, there is some very bad news, namely that one of Jaldabaoth's trusted demons will be coming soon. I thought it would be a few more days before he arrived… but it will be bad if we are found. Alright, let's go."

As a species, the Zern were largely composed of females, with very few males.

Pretty much only the king and the prince fell into the latter category. If a tribe's males were wiped out ― although there were cases where females could change sex ― the tribe would be set on the path to extinction.

Therefore, the prince needed to flee to an absolutely safe place ― the Sorcerer Kingdom, which was why they had had the preceding discussion.

"Jaldabaoth's trusted demon? He's coming?"

There was a word the Zerns had said which she could not ignore.

"Mmm. Have you not seen him? He has three trusted demons by his side, and one of them is coming here."

"…We need to defeat him here."

As he heard Shizu's words, the prince ― who had been left on the ground ― suddenly thrashed around.

"Are you insane?! You two must be quite strong to have been able to rescue me, but even then, you'll never be able to defeat him!"

The label of "strong" only applied to Shizu, but Neia could not find a chance to cut in and thus she could not clear things up.

"…They say he teleports between many cities… Him coming here is a rare opportunity. If you miss it, you won't get another chance."

"That is true…"

"My prince!"

"Calm down and think about it. If we can kill one of Jaldabaoth's aides, his chain of command will fall into chaos, and it will be harder for them to find us, who are not heading for the hills but for the Sorcerer Kingdom… then, is it possible to defeat him?"

"…Don't know. But this is the only chance."

"Then let's take it. I'll bet on the strength that let the two of you kill the Vah Un!" the Prince said. He had been quite shocked when he saw the demi-human's corpse on the way back. "Listen well, all of you. From now on, we will help the two of them defeat the wicked Jaldabaoth's minion!"

"Yes!"

"There are two humans, and six of us. Until recently, the eight of us were mutual enemies, but now we are comrades in arms. Such is the stuff of which heroic sagas sing."

Eh? Surprised, Neia rechecked the number of Zern present, and after seeing that she had not been mistaken, she hurriedly spoke up.

"Wait, please wait. You don't need to get involved in this, my prince. After all, we came here to protect you!"

In addition, what could this prince do in combat? However kindly one wanted to interpret his intentions, he was still a gigantic maggot that crawled on the ground. Honestly, it would be less troublesome if he simply followed them like a battle standard.

"I see, so to you, your mission is over since you have helped me escape. I see, I see. However, with my help, it should be easier to defeat Jaldabaoth's henchman. No, I should say that without me, it will be very hard for you to defeat him, even if you are the heroes who defeated the Vah Un."

Shizu had defeated the Vah Un by herself. Neia had nothing to do with it. Even so, the prince still counted her as a hero, which made her very embarrassed.

"So, do you mean that we can do it if we get the help of all the Zerns?"

The prince made a strange noise.

"No, no, great heroes. It's not like that. I can cast spiritual spells of the fourth tier."

"The fourth tier?"

Neia was surprised. The fourth tier of magic was a realm that only geniuses could barely reach after much hard work. In the Holy Kingdom, the only people who could cast such spells were the high priestess Kelart Custodio and the Holy Queen Calca Bessarez.

Neia glanced to the side, thinking Shizu would be as surprised as herself, but Shizu's face was as blank as ever. That was a difficulty rating 150 maid demon for you ― such things did not even faze her.

"A… ah… are all the Zern as powerful as you?"

The prince made another strange sound, and thrashed like a caught fish.

"I am special."

"Precisely. That's why he is the prince."

After hearing the Zern's proud voice, Neia mused, I see, and recalled the contents of the classes she had once taken.

That's right. The royalty of some species are so much more powerful than the commoners that they seem like a different species entirely…

"That said, I do have a weakness… namely, I am very slow."

Well that's true, Neia thought. That much was obvious at a glance.

"If someone gets close to me, I'll be killed without the chance to fight back. Therefore, may I trouble you to carry me? I can cast spells when signaled."

"I see. I understand what you wish to do. However, could the Zern ― that is to say, your royal guards ― not carry you instead of ourselves?"

"Unlike our prince, we specialize in melee combat. The two of you fight from a distance, I believe?"

"That is true… hm. It would be better if Shizu-san or I carried him… no, let's leave that aside for now. It would be bad if we dragged the prince into this and he ended up dying."

"…Neia. There is a special meaning to carrying the prince… That's why he suggested going with us."

"Fufufu. Indeed, there is. I say, do you know anything about him? That withered-tree demon who decorates himself with heads?"

"…There are several demons like that. Silk Hats, Crowns, Circlets, and Corollas."

Shizu counted the four types off on her fingers.

"…I believe that henchman demon must be one of them. But… if we encounter a Silk Hat, we ought to flee. Even I could not win against one."

"So you knew?!"

Neia was surprised, and then that feeling was replaced by anger. When they had prepared for the mission, Shizu had said that she did not know much about the henchman demons.

Had she lied to them?

This was because if she was trying to keep information on Jaldabaoth's army from the Holy Kingdom, it would mean that Shizu had never been under the Sorcerer King's control from the start. It also meant that Shizu's existence did not prove anything about the Sorcerer King's safety.

"…I trusted you! And in the end you were lying to me from the start!"

Caught up in her emotions, Neia seized Shizu by the shoulders. She used a lot of force, but the maid demon did not seem hurt. It was not because Shizu had no emotions, but because that amount of strength was nothing to her.

The unbearable regret and resentment made Neia want to cry. She had thought that she had forged a bond with Shizu, but in the end she had turned out to be nothing more than a laughingstock. Neia could not help mocking herself.

Shizu's face was as blank as ever. However, there was a subtle change there which only Neia could read.

It was distress, contemplation, or perhaps ― remorse.

"…I'm sorry."

Shizu squeezed those words out after a long silence. It hardly qualified as an apology ― in fact, it only served to stoke the flames of her anger. But right now, Shizu seemed strangely helpless, and seeing her like this helped Neia regain a bit of her composure.

Carefully, like she was doing something she had never tried before, Shizu quietly continued.

"…If you knew how strong the henchman demon was, you and the others might have been afraid and not carried out the operation. But for the sake of Ainz-sama's victory… we must win this battle. That was why I lied."

Every word she said had been carefully considered before being put together into a heartfelt, agonized statement. But those words also contained a genuine and immovable faith.

Neia did not know how to see through her lies. Not to mention she was a demon ― no, even if she were not a demon, Neia would not be able to tell if a blank-faced girl like her was speaking the truth.

However, even if she were feeding information to Jaldabaoth as a spy, or trying to bring down the Holy Kingdom from the inside, Shizu's actions until now did not match up to those motivations. She ought to have acted more sensibly.

And more than anything else, Neia wanted to believe Shizu. Part of that was because her existence was a testament to the Sorcerer King's survival, but also because the mysterious connection she had to Shizu was irreplaceable to Neia.

"…All right. I believe you. But please, don't look down on me anymore. I would gladly face any danger or fear for His Majesty's sake."

Shizu looked visibly relieved. As expected, she could not have been a spy. As for why, that was because she was clearly not suited for it. As she thought that, a natural, unforced smile came back to Neia's face.

"Alright, alright, can we get back to the previous topic? If you know so much about them, can you tell us about that demon's abilities?"

"These demons all possess the same abilities, but they are not very strong in their base forms. However, the problem arises when these demons are able to obtain the heads of intelligent creatures… particularly those of magic casters."

According to Shizu, demons of that type could equip themselves with the heads of magic casters and use the powers of the heads' owners. Silk Hats could use four heads at once, Crowns could use three, Circlets could use two, and Corollas could use one. Their threat level rose exponentially if they managed to obtain the heads of exceptional magic casters.

"No matter how good a head a Corolla equips, it can only cast spells of up to the third tier. Silk Hats, on the other hand, can cast spells of up to the tenth―"

"Wait!"

"Hold on!"

Both the prince and Neia interrupted Shizu.

Neia and the prince exchanged looks. While Neia could not read the prince's face, Neia was certain that he was thinking the same thing as her.

"…After you."

"Umu… er, did you say tenth tier? Are fifth-tier spells not the highest tier of magic?"

It was as the prince said. Neia had heard that this was the limit of magic. The reason why she felt that the Sorcerer King could use sixth-tier spells also stemmed from that.

In response to the prince's question, Shizu shook her head as if to say, Haa, what will I do with you?

"…The tenth tier is the highest tier of magic. The spell that Jaldabaoth used to call down meteors from the sky also belongs to that tier."

"How, how can we beat ― eh? Eh? No way! Don't tell me, His Majesty, who stood with Jaldabaoth…"

As the shocking truth hit Neia, the prince was also shuddering in shock.

"The tenth tier? No. It can't be, right? The tenth tier… Could it be true… And to think, I was so proud of myself and my fourth tier…"

No, the fourth tier was already very powerful. He would have been justified in being arrogant. There were precious few magic casters who could reach that level.

"Shizu… I'd like to check something, but… can His Majesty use spells of the tenth tier… too?"

"…But of course."

Why are you still saying this? Shizu's tone seemed to imply. She sounded like she was rolling her eyes. It might have been the first time that Neia had so clearly discerned Shizu's feelings.

The prince, who was a fellow magic caster, was twitching from the tremendous shock.

"Hah? Hah? So the king of the land to which we are fleeing ― the Sorcerer King ― is such a powerful undead being? Does mastery of the tenth tier mean he is over twice as powerful as me?"

"…Haaa." Shizu sighed deeply. "His Majesty."

"Eh?"

"…Call him His Majesty."

"Ah, yes, yes. His Majesty is truly powerful…"

When one thought calmly about it, Shizu had actually been quite brusque with the prince of an entire tribe, but since Shizu was speaking about matters of fact, Neia tacitly acknowledged her actions as she expressed her agreement.

"Indeed, Prince-sama. His Majesty is incredibly powerful!"

"Ah, yes."

"…Prince. If you could find someone that powerful, he would be in your debt!"

"You, you're absolutely right! Then we shall give your earlier proposal ― to search for His Majesty in the hills ― our fullest support!"

Neia clenched her fists in excitement.

"Thank you very much, Prince-sama. ―Now then, Shizu, could you continue what you were saying just now?"

"…About how powerful Ainz-sama is?"

"We were talking about that henchman of Jaldabaoth. Ah, I'd like to hear about the Sorcerer King as well ― could you tell me more after we return safely?"

"…Hm. Multi-head demons with multiple equipped heads can use them all at once and cast multiple spells at a time, but there are several conditions. First, each head can only use two spells at once. In addition, there is a limit on how many tiers of spells which can be cast at once. For instance, Silk Hats can cast a maximum of 15 tiers of spells at once―"

"―15 tiers! Do spells go up to a maximum of 15 tiers?!"

"…They don't go that high. The tiers of the spells added together can be up to 15."

The prince writhed in relief at Shizu's answer.

The fact that Neia could surmise a bit of how the prince felt through his actions began to frighten her.

"…Moving on. The important thing is how many heads that demon can equip at once."

"Two. One is a demi-human head, and the other is the head of a human like yourselves."

Neia had a bad feeling about this. Jaldabaoth had been holding a human body back then. Had its upper half not been missing?

"What was that human head like, Prince-sama?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell apart individuals of species other than my own. Ah, I do know about the other head. It belonged to the queen of the demi-human species called the Pandecks. Her name was the Grand Mother."

Neia wanted to ask more about the Pandecks and the Grand Mother, but Neia had more pressing things she needed to learn.

"I'd like to ask about the human. What color was her hair?"

"By hair do you mean the fur on the head? It was light black."

"Black? So it doesn't belong to someone from the Holy Kingdom?"

Neia's heart was somewhat at ease. For a moment, she had wondered if the head belonged to the Holy Queen. Now that her guess had been proven wrong, she felt a sense of profound relief. At the same time, Neia noted that this might be a hint to another riddle.

She had heard that humans from the southern regions generally had black hair. So that's it, Neia thought. Had Jaldabaoth come from there? she wondered.

To the Holy Kingdom, the southern regions were not a land that was ruled by humans. Less than half the population was human, and many of those had the blood of other species, and that number was steadily increasing. According to what Neia knew, only the Holy Kingdom, the Empire, and the Kingdom were ruled by human royalty. The City-State Alliance and the Theocracy did not have royal families.

So that was why no news about Jaldabaoth had reached these humandominated countries.

"…Incidentally, multi-head demons cannot use the abilities of heads which do not belong to magic casters. They do not gain the abilities of warriors by equipping a warrior's head. That is because there are other demons with those abilities."

"In that case, the demi-human's head… Prince-sama. Can you tell us a bit about that Grand Mother?"

"All right. That is why I want to fight with you. The Pandecks are a species that feed on moss, and they look like us."

In other words, they looked like maggots.

Neia felt a twinge of revulsion at the thought of a demon that adorned itself with the head of maggots.

"…Was the Grand Mother also a spiritual magic caster?"

"Indeed. I use the Yin principle of the Five Elements, but the Grand Mother was the opposite; she used the Yang principle of the Five Elements. Yin and Yang are two extremes, and spells of one can resist or hamper spells of the other."

"…I see," Shizu nodded. "Letting him come with us would improve our chances."

"Mm. I am glad that you understand. Personally, I am very unhappy that a demon is using the head of the Grand Mother. Indeed. She was my first love, after all."

"My prince!"

"What are you saying! How could you fall for a female of another species!"

"Ahhh! That was a childish crush! It's different now!"

While it sounded like a saccharine-sweet topic, all she felt about a maggot's first love was utter disgust.

"In, in that case, assuming our enemy is a Circlet who can equip two heads at once, how many total spell tiers can it cast at one time?"

"…A maximum of six tiers. Incidentally, Crowns can cast a maximum of ten tiers."

"Then if I use fourth-tier spells, it will only be able to cast spells of the second tier. Of course, that is simply nullifying that bastard, so you still have to be careful…"

"…Next is that human head. We know too little about it. Neia?"

"I'm sorry. I regret to say I do not know the black-haired person. Still, I'm quite surprised. I thought that you would just jump right into the fight, since you're Shizu."

"…Ainz-sama said collecting information is very important."

"Ahh, as expected of His Majesty. What an excellent notion!"

As Neia said this, Shizu reached a hand out to her, and Neia immediately grabbed it and shook.

"…Good girl. If you were cuter, I'd put a sticker on you. Maybe a fuzzy sticker."

"…A sticker? Ah, you put one on me already, so I don't need another. Please paste it on someone else you like."

"…Mm. You're the first person to dislike my stickers."

"Eh?"

Neia exclaimed in surprise as Shizu said that she was her first. After that, she immediately realized that perhaps she ― as a demon ― had not had many dealings with humans. No, it was possible that others might have despised her in their hearts but had not dared to voice it, due to their fear of her as a demon.

While she wanted to poke fun at her for it, Neia could not do anything like spoil the fun of someone who was loyal to the same supreme being as her. Thus, Neia simply let it pass with a bitter smile.

"…Indeed, humans do not have fur, much like we Zerns. That is why they live in houses like these. Why not dig holes like we do?"

"Prince, we're straying off-topic. We don't have much time ― we need to deal with this before the humans attack this city."

"…Mm. In conclusion, the prince will be going too."

Nobody spoke up against it. Or rather, Neia had been the only one to voice her opposition to it.

"Regarding our tactics, we will handle the frontline, but what should we do if there are guards who block us? Allowing a spellcasting opponent to move freely is very dangerous."

"…I'll engage it in close quarters combat."

Nobody asked if she could do it. She was half of the team which could defeat the guardian Vah Un ― although that was all Shizu's work ― or so everyone said. Nobody doubted Shizu's abilities.

"All right. Then let's move. Before approaching the henchman, place us in the barrels and move us in. If you tell them you're bringing food to the henchman demon on his orders, you'll be able to get close to him."

By "us," the prince was referring to himself, Neia, and Shizu. As long as the three of them remained undetected, they could continue maintaining their deception ― the Zern betrayal had not been detected. This was a tactic that could only be put into effect now.

Once again, Shizu and Neia hid inside the barrels they had used to enter the city.

"Shizu-san. We're really lucky."

Shizu poked her head out of the barrel.

"…Why is that?"

"Look. Everything's going well for us. Thanks to the Zern's betrayal, we managed to save the prince, and even Jaldabaoth's henchman is here. If we defeat him, we'll have achieved a great accomplishment. That way, nobody will be able to speak ill of us anymore. We'll also be able to easily assemble a rescue party to find His Majesty."

"It was all coincidence."

Neia was defeated by Shizu's somewhat harsh tone.

"Eh? Ah, i-is that wrong? We're lucky because it was a coincidence… well, we were this successful because His Majesty made you his property, so I guess in that sense, it's not really a coincidence."

"Ainz-sama's… property…"

"Ah, maybe property wasn't the right word, huh?"

"…I don't mind. Neia."

"Eh?"

"…I like you very much. You're not cute, but I don't mind giving you another sticker."

It hurt a little to be called "not cute" over and over again, and as she thought this, Neia said, "Never mind," and ducked back into her barrel.

***

. The Zerns were stopped by other demi-humans several times as they moved Neia, Shizu, and the prince in their barrels, but none of the barrels were opened and searched. In this way, the three of them reached the vicinity of the henchman demon's office.

Neia and the others emerged from the barrels.

They had peeked outside from within the barrels, but security had not grown tight. It would seem the prince's rescue had not yet been exposed.

Neia slung the prince onto her back, and as she secured him with a rope, one of the Zern went ahead to seek an audience with the henchman demon. This was a form of reconnaissance.

Once everyone had finished their preparations to barge in, the Zern returned.

"He's alone, no guards."

Neia frowned.

Now that Jaldabaoth had been hurt so badly, was he ― as one of only three henchman demons ― not going to strengthen his defenses? Or had he relaxed now that the Sorcerer King was dead?

As all kinds of questions swirled around in her head, the only thing that mattered was the prince's summation.

"That means it's the perfect opportunity to kill him. Let's go."

In accordance with the prince's words, they all moved into action.

One of the Zerns opened the door, and Neia ― who stood at the head of the group ― could clearly see what was inside the room.

The expansive office had a ceiling that was a full five meters tall, and it was very spacious. Due to its many superior furnishings, it gave off the impression of a stereotypical luxury suite.

There was a black, solid-looking table, and behind it, a hideous monster, which spoke.

"Humans? Zer…"

It seemed to be saying something. However, they were not here to talk.

The prince immediately cast a spell from Neia's back.

"[Yin – Five Elements – Grand Fireball]."

A feeble, flickering flame flew past Neia like it had been thrown into the room.

She had heard along the way here that it was a fourth-tier attack spell that was named for its attack power. It was typically the first thing into a room because it would explode upon making contact with anything. However―

"[Yang – Five Elements – Grand Fireball]."

The flame vanished halfway, like it had been snuffed out by the wind.

"I knew it…" the prince muttered hatefully.

He did not cast again. That spell had been an experiment. While he had planned to press the attack if it had not been negated, unfortunately that had not been the case. Since he did not intend to waste mana, he would wait to cast spells in accordance with their attacks.

"…Is that the Zern prince on the human's back? It doesn't look like the humans captured him and brought him here… Kuhahaha. It's treason, then? Interesting."

The great demon looked like it had come from a nightmare as it slowly got to its feet, like a mockery of a human being.

It was completely naked, so its arms ― that reached down to its knees ― and its legs and skin-and-bones body were completely exposed.

Its body resembled withered wood, so slender and fragile that even Neia felt that she could break it.

That withered wood body did not have a head. There was nothing but a straight line extending from shoulder to shoulder. No, there was a slender ―

thinner than a woman's wrist ― branch protruding from its neck region. There were two fruits on it. Those must have been the so-called heads of this great demon.

"Eh? ―Ah."

Neia could not help squeaking like that. Such was her shock that it was the only sound she could make at first.

Like Shizu had said, this was the special characteristic of Circlets ― two heads.

One of them belonged to a monstrous-looking maggot. It looked very much like the prince, and given the impression of what she had heard, it was probably the Grand Mother. The problem was the other head.

It belonged to a woman, her eyes rolled up into her head and her mouth gaping open like a fish. Her skin looked ghastly pale, but the head did not seem rotted or otherwise damaged, and her blonde hair was even gleaming.

She could see bright red flesh at the plane where the head had been severed from the body, and it looked moist enough to bleed. While the fact that the head looked like it had been freshly removed was quite mysterious, that was how she could immediately tell who it belonged to.

"Kelart Custodio-sama…"

While she had only seen her from afar, there was no way she could have mistaken her for anyone else. She was the highest-ranking priest of the Holy Kingdom.

Confusion and doubt swirled within Neia.

What was going on? Had the Zern lied? Did they think Neia and Shizu would consider fleeing if they knew it was Kelart?

"I see. I see. I see. Oh Zern, does this mean you no longer care what happens to your king and the people in that land. I'll give you one last chance. If you seize these people, I can let you off with a mild punishment. How about that?"

The two heads― which looked like bizarre fruits ― did not move. Neither did those white eyeballs. They seemed like nothing more than decorations. In that case, where had that voice come from?

The prince paid no heed to Neia's question and castigated the great demon.

His Zern underlings immediately moved into position to attack at any time.

"Hmph! What else is there to say at this point? Who'd believe you after you killed the king?!"

"The king? Is that so…"

Neia heard what seemed to be surprise in that voice. Reading that was difficult because this demon did not have a head of its own and its expression did not change. That made it difficult to see if one's attack had been effective from the enemy's reaction. In that respect, Zerns were also troublesome opponents for humans.

"My duty is to rule this place. That matter was outside of my jurisdiction… I see, so it was killed? …That was because your king was a fool."

"What!"

"My. My. My. Dear traitors, don't tell me you came merely to speak? You came here because you thought you could defeat me, no? In that case ― what is your trump card? That human?"

A finger raised itself, tipped with a claw that should have been over 60 centimeters long. It pointed at Neia.

"As if I'd tell you!"

The great demon calmly responded to the prince's outburst:

"You don't have to. 「Shadow Demons.」"

The great demon's shadow stretched out in a sliding motion.

It swelled up, going from a flat plane to three-dimensional. It looked like the commonly spoken image of a demon, but dyed completely black. And there were two of them.

That was probably why it did not have demi-human guards by its side.

"Kill all the Zern other than the prince. I will seize the prince… Human, if you betray them, I can spare the people in the camps who are valuable to you, up to the number of fingers on two hands."

The great demon had made the same proposal Shizu had expected it to.

As Neia filled with respect for Shizu's keen insight, she decided to reply in order to make it careless.

"Really?"

After she carefully asked her question, she could hear joy in the demon's voice.

"What are you saying?! Are you betraying us?!" the prince shouted from Neia's back, and so the great demon's attention was completely focused on Neia.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. I'm talking to her… I am a being of my word. Tell me how many people you want to protect and help. If the fingers on two hands are not enough, we can continue discussions―"

The defenseless demon seemed to have forgotten the meaning of caution, and it was full of openings.

Their hidden trump card (Shizu) did not miss that. She leapt out of the shadow of the door and raised her spell gun.

The muzzle spat fire, and the great demon grabbed its shoulder and stumbled back.

Shizu had been waiting alone outside the room for the right timing to launch this surprise attack, and it signaled the start of the hostilities.

The negotiations which had been intended to manipulate their opponent into carelessness were now over. The Zern honor guards sprang at the Shadow Demons. Shizu rushed into the room with fearsome speed, slipped past the frontliners of both sides with lightning-fast footwork, and closed in on the great demon.

"What! The Sorcerer―"

"…No need to explain."

Shizu hacked with her dagger, and the great demon parried with its claws.

While she knew that there was little time for such things once the battle started, Neia vented her unhappiness on the prince behind her.

"What do you mean, black hair! Isn't her hair blonde?!"

"Blonde? How is that blonde! It's light black, isn't it?"

"Eh?"

He did not sound like he was lying. Could it be ― Zerns perceived colors differently from human beings?

Neia had once heard that certain species with complete [Dark Vision] could not tell colors apart, only black and white. There were also some who could not discern colors in dark places.

The light in the larder was probably so those species could see what color their food was.

"I'll tell you later! [Yin – Five Elements – Lightning Claw]!"

"Tch! [Yang – Five Elements – Lightning Claw]!"

A stroke of electricity hurtled through the air like the swipe of a beast's talons, but it fizzled out halfway through.

While there were spells like [Five Elements – Soften Steel] which decreased defensive strength and spells like [Five Elements – Harden Steel] which increased attack power, as well as summoning spells like [Five Elements –

Call The Lightning Lord], the opposition might not have negated those and instead cast a high-tier spell upon Neia and the others.

In order to avoid that, the prince simply cast attack spells, which the enemy could not ignore. In addition, he focused on using electricity-element spells, which the enemy should not have been able to resist, and then he used a special ability called [Wood Element Strengthening] upon them. While the demon's elementalism should have been able to protect against it, the prince's augmented spell could not be fully negated, and so it began to take minor damage.

While the original Grand Mother could have used strengthening techniques just like the prince had, she was now nothing more than an accessory for the great demon. The demon did not possess strengthening techniques of its own and the prince's spellcasting overpowered it.

Since Shizu was taking the role of frontliner, Neia had to do her job as the rear guard. She could not simply serve as transportation for the prince in the face of such a mighty foe. She loosed an arrow from the Ultimate Shooting Star Super which she held.

While her shot against the main body was highly accurate, the great demon easily batted it away with his hand.

"Out of my way. [Shock Wave]."

Kelart's face ― her lips moved, and she cast a second-tier attack spell at Shizu.

While Shizu's body lifted off the ground from an impact that was invisible to the human eye, she did not seem to have taken any damage which could have hampered her movements. Neia had expected nothing less of a difficulty rating 150 maid demon.

"[Yin – Five Elements – Lightning Claw]!"

"[Yang – Five Elements – Lightning Claw]."

They cast the same spells at each other again, and a feeble current of electricity surged past the demon's body.

"[Open Wounds]!"

That counterattack was a spell that would worsen any wounds. Naturally, it was targeted at Shizu, who was being attacked by the demon's claws.

All she could see was Shizu's back. However, her dexterity did not seem to have decreased.

Sweat ran down Neia's back.

Neia was the only one among her allies who could heal. Therefore, she was naturally the healer. However, while she could tell how badly she was hurt, she lacked the combat experience to tell how severe others' wounds were. In particular, unexpressive people like Shizu might exceed their limits and collapse before she realized something was wrong with them.

Therefore, Neia had to pay close attention to what Shizu and the prince were up to. It was just like doing one thing with her right hand while doing another with her left, and she was so busy that she began to get confused.

Still, she had to do this.

(Image)

The prince kept casting attack spells, while Shizu took minor damage as she swung at the demon with her knife. Both of them were carrying out their tasks to perfection, and she could not simply give up and say that she was the only one who could not do her part.

"[Heavy Recover]."

Neia judged that Shizu had been badly hurt, so she activated the item the Sorcerer King had lent her and cast a third-tier healing spell on Shizu.

"I see!"

Neia's instincts told her that the attention of the faceless demon was on her.

The great demon's words implied that it knew the identity of the healer ―

who ought to be destroyed first. In fact, the great demon still had enough strength to cast an attack spell on Neia after negating the prince's spell.

"[Shockwave]."

An invisible pulse of force hit her like a warhammer.

She could hear sickening cracks from inside her body, and she writhed in agony from the pain which coursed through her.

It hurt more than the spell the Vah Un had used on her. She could not believe Shizu had taken an attack like this with such a straight face. She now knew why Kelart Custodio had been hailed as a genius. It was because of that powerful hit.

"Aieeee!"

Neia grit her teeth, but she could not prevent a choked cry of pain from escaping her.

"Are you alright?!"

"I, I'm fine!"

Neia answered the prince, who was worried for her.

"I'll call all the Zern―"

"―No. I'll protect Neia."

Shizu spread her arms, standing like she was shielding Neia.

The great demon was huge, and he made Shizu look tiny. Therefore, he must be able to see Neia without any impediment. However, Neia was very happy inside.

"What?! Ahhhh!"

The demon cried out in a hoarse voice. It would seem Shizu had done something to him, which had had an effect.

Did she use a special ability? Or was it a spell?

She was not sure what exactly had happened, but Neia sensed the great demon's hostility weakening. Of course, she was probably imagining things.

After all, there was no reason why this great demon should want to kill her any less right now.

If there was another attack like the last one, another spell as powerful as the last one, she ought to be able to bear it. No, she wanted to bear it.

She had recovered the mana she had lost during the battle with the Vah Un, but the number of times she could use [Heavy Recover] was still unknown, so it was best to save as many uses as possible. However, waiting until the last moment to heal also meant that the slightest mistake would send her over the brink. Accurately judging the right time to heal was very difficult.

"And she's wielding the bow that Ainz-sama lent her!"

Shizu's voice sounded very loud for her. She was probably raising her volume to better praise the Sorcerer King. This was a life and death battle, but she could not bring herself to mention it. After all, the person doing this was Shizu, the strongest person on their side, and there was an aura of veterancy. She might have a plan in mind.

"What?! You mean, that Sorcerer King?!"

There was surprise in the henchman demon's voice. That was the Sorcerer King for you. He must have heard from Jaldabaoth that he was an opponent to be wary of.

"Yes! It's a runecrafted bow!"

Having heard something she could not overlook, Neia cautioned Shizu.

"Shizu! Don't tell him about us!"

"What! So it was a weapon made with the ancient, lost art of runecraft! A weapon like that might even be able to kill me!"

Why was he explaining that in such detail? As Neia thought that, she immediately felt ashamed. Right now, she was fighting with an incredibly powerful adversary with her life on the line. A weakling like herself did not have the luxury of contemplating such matters.

"So it was runecraft! Amazing!"

The henchman demon kept on speaking in a very cautious tone. Perhaps it was doing so to distract Neia. In fact—

"Runecraft?"

The prince's surprised voice came from behind her. That was why Neia had to speak.

"No! This weapon isn't like that!"

As Neia shouted, she sensed Shizu and the henchman demon freeze for an instant. That must have been it. When two opponents were evenly matched, all they could do was stare at each other without being able to make a move. There was no doubt about it.

"Rune…"

"No!"

Neia shouted without regard for anything else, and the henchman demon grunted under his breath.

"Is that so… then next, I'll… [Blindness]."

The spell that came out of nowhere blackened Neia's vision. He must have done so to render the healer powerless.

The item Neia had borrowed only allowed her to use [Heavy Recover], and not spells that could heal her blindness.

A priest or a divine magic caster could have cured the blinded status easily.

Unfortunately, there was nobody like that here.

She did not know how long the darkness would last, but if she wanted to heal Shizu, she would have to get within touching range of her.

"I can't see!" It was very important to tell her comrades what had happened to her. "Shizu! If you're hurt, you need to tell me!"

"…Mm."

"Sorry, I don't know spells that can heal this condition of yours!"

"Don't worry about it!"

After responding to the apology from behind her, Neia pulled her bowstring taut. She ought to be able to hit her target from memory alone. This was the fruit of the experience she had gained from fighting the Vah Un and many large-sized adversaries. The bowstring twanged.

"―Guwaaaargh!"

She heard the henchman demon wail in pain.

"You did it! It tried to dodge, but it had the opposite effect! Nicely done!"

After hearing the prince's clarification, Neia realized how lucky she had been and prayed to the Sorcerer King.

"…Keep shooting like this."

"Eiii!"

"Mm!"

Although the sound of the Zerns fighting the Shadow Demons around her made it very hard to tell what was going on, Neia focused on how much Shizu had been wounded and the henchman demon's location and kept shooting at the latter.

Perhaps it was because he had been hurt and realized that he would lose if he did not defeat Shizu first, but the henchman demon focused all its attacks on Shizu. In addition, it kept casting [Blindness] spells on her, trying to disable her like it had Neia, but she resisted all of them, so they had no effect.

In that case, all she had to do was keep pressing it.

Just as the prince's mana was about to run out, victory came to them like a latter of course. The prince's cries of joy were even a little annoying.

The Zerns fighting around them had taken losses, but they had emerged victorious.

However ― the spell on Neia had not yet expired. She still could not see anything. Still, it was not a permanent spell. In all likelihood, it would wear off after some time had passed, and the only reason why it had lasted this long was because Kelart Custodio was very powerful.

While she could not see anything, she could sense the presence of the Zerns approaching her.

"My prince! I'm glad you're alright."

"Ahh… please consume Grand Mother-dono's remains with all due respect."

So you're eating it? Neia thought.

And with all due respect. Since they had said as much, all she could do was accept it as a unique tradition of their species.

"Neia. What should we do with the human's head? Shall we eat it too?"

"No, please don't. We humans don't have such burial practices. We will return it to the city with all due respect."

"I see… human burial practices are truly a mystery. No, surely you must think the same of ours as well. This is probably what they call a culture clash. Also, I am deeply grateful to you. We alone could never have―"

"―Wait. There's no time to keep talking. Let's move."

She could hear a disturbance in the distance. It would seem the Liberation Army had finally made contact with the Demi-human Alliance. Either that, or soldiers had heard the sound of the battle just now and come here to see what was going on. Whichever one it was, they could not stay here for long.

"That's right, Shizu-san. Then, please help the Liberation Army attack Kalinsha as we arranged."

"Umu, I understand. You lot!"

"Yes! We shall move right away. Will you and the humans be entering the barrels, my prince? We will carry you outside the city."

While Neia could not tell because she could not see, she could sense Shizu hesitating. The reason for that was obvious ― she hated the barrels. Neia felt the same way.

"…I'll help too."

"Mm. I'll lend a hand once I recover from my blindness."

The prince was thrashing on her back like a caught fish. He was jumping for joy. Neia was a little dejected by how well she had adapted to the situation.

"If our allies are setting out, then let us go as well. Of course, my mana has been depleted so I cannot cast any powerful spells, so I shall cast strengthening spells on you instead."

"My prince!"

"Be silent. Do you intend me to be a male who sends his comrades to their deaths?"

"…That ought to be enough. Let's go."

Shizu urged them on. She seemed eager to get away from the barrels as soon as possible.

"Then I shall send you to where our eggmates are gathered. Please get in"

.