“Is that… Demon Ore from a Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter)?”
“Yeah, I found it on the ground and brought it with me. The ability of this Demon Ore is probably…”
“Yeah, it’s definitely an ability that enhances ‘speed’.”
Demon Ore enhances abilities that correspond to the characteristics of the monster. If that’s the case, the greatest characteristic of the Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter) is its “speed.”
There’s no way that wouldn’t be reflected.
“Then, Yuma, why don’t you try eating it? It’s safer to eat than the Conglomerate’s Demon Ore, right?”
Rui recommended, but Yuma made a dubious face.
“You were the one who defeated the Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter), so you should eat it.”
“Eh!? Me?”
Rui was surprised and blinked his eyes.
“But, I’ve only ever eaten a Fire Magic Gem… and I wonder if it’s even usable by humans in the first place?”
“Hey! There’s a human using it right in front of you! What do you think I am?”
“Yuma isn’t a good reference.”
Rui chuckled at Yuma, who was fuming.
“Well, all jokes aside, I’m not confident if I have enough Mana. The Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter) is probably a 【Black Lord】, so his Mana Index should be over 10,000…”
Yuma replied in a light tone to Rui, who was worried.
“You’ve defeated a lot of monsters before coming to Germany, and more importantly, you defeated the Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter). Your Mana Index should have increased considerably. Besides, if you don’t have enough Mana, it’ll just come out as poop, so don’t worry about it.”
Yuma said, laughing heartily.
“You’ve always eaten with that kind of feeling? Amazing…”
Rui was dumbfounded, but nodded slightly, saying, “I understand.”
“I’ll take this. Then, shall we go back to everyone?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Yuma brushed off the sand and dust from his clothes and headed in the direction where Emilia and the others had evacuated.
◇◇◇
Emilia and the others silently gazed at the city where the battle had taken place.
The area in the opposite direction from where they were was completely turned into a wasteland. There were no buildings or houses.
Everyone was stunned by the sight, which was too unrealistic.
Felix was the first to speak.
“They… won, right? They defeated the Conglomerate, right?”
No one answered. Certainly, the Conglomerate, which boasted a size that covered the entire city, was gone without a trace.
It was defeated by the giant. Emilia realized that her legs were trembling.
The Conglomerate, the monster she had thought was the most terrifying. But the power of the giant she had just witnessed far surpassed it.
Power beyond imagination. Speed that didn’t seem possible for a giant. Using extraordinary 【Fire】 and 【Wind】 magic, he unilaterally trampled the enemy.
It was like raging violence itself.
That was… the power that repelled the 【Red King】. Emilia was convinced that the story of Japan defeating a Unique Monster 【King】 was true.
Suddenly, when she dropped her gaze from the rooftop, she saw two men walking down the cracked street.
Emilia turned around abruptly and started running.
Surprised by her sudden action, Felix called out, “Hey!” and hurriedly chased after her, along with Muller and Wolfgang.
◇◇◇
As Yuma and Rui were walking down the dilapidated road, Emilia and Felix jumped out from an alley.
As soon as Emilia approached, she grabbed Yuma’s arm, saying, “Mitaka-san! Amasawa-san!” and looked at him with a serious expression.
“Did you really… really defeat the Conglomerate?”
“Y-yeah, it’s okay now. The monsters are gone.”
Hearing Yuma’s words, Emilia collapsed to her knees.
Felix, who was behind her, supported Emilia’s shoulder, saying, “Hey, are you okay?” and slowly helped her stand up.
Emilia covered her face with both hands and seemed to be crying.
She had been trapped in the city of Berlin for a long time and was probably very anxious. Moreover, this person was the leader of the group. She must have felt a great deal of responsibility.
Yuma considered Emilia’s feelings and shifted his gaze to Muller.
“Muller-san. As promised, we defeated the Conglomerate. Please guide us to the government facility in Potsdam where the Magic Gem is located.”
When Yuma said that, Muller adjusted his glasses and made a troubled face, groaning, “Hmm.”
“Is something the matter? Muller-san.”
“No, I don’t mind guiding you… but the government facility is over there.”
Yuma and Rui turned around to look in the direction Muller was pointing. It was the place that the black giant had turned into a wasteland using the shockwave.
No buildings remained.
“D-did the government building disappear as well?”
When Yuma asked timidly, Muller sighed softly.
“No, the government facility is located in the southwestern part of Potsdam, so there’s a possibility it’s safe. But we won’t know for sure until we go there.”
Yuma felt a cold sweat break out. He was so focused on defeating the Conglomerate that he had completely forgotten that the place he was aiming for was over there.
Instead of Yuma, who was full of remorse, Rui discussed with Muller. They decided to go and check it out for now.
Yuma and Rui, Muller and Emilia, Wolfgang and Felix, a total of six people, crossed the state border of Berlin and entered the devastated city of Potsdam.
◇◇◇
“Oooooooooh!”
Yuma held his head and screamed. The building they were aiming for had narrowly escaped destruction.
“That was close! It was almost completely gone.”
Muller pushed up the bridge of his glasses with his finger and frowned, saying, “If the damage had spread another two hundred meters, the Magic Gem would have been lost.”
Yuma looked around. The damage caused by the Wind Magical Power was really close.
It was nothing short of a miracle that this place was safe.
What Yuma was looking at was a concrete building. He had imagined something bigger since he had heard it was a government facility, but it wasn’t that big.
The windows were fitted with iron bars, and there was a sturdy-looking iron door at the front entrance.
Muller walked to the door and entered the number on the electronic key installed next to it. With a click, the door was unlocked.
“Now, let’s go.”
Urged by Muller, the five entered the building. They proceeded down a corridor like an office building and stood in front of a door at the back.
“This place was originally used as a government document storage facility. It’s not really a facility where a ‘Magic Gem’ would be placed, but…”
“Is it to prevent theft?”
Muller nodded at Rui’s words.
“The world has become chaotic and the value of ‘Magic Gems’ has skyrocketed. Where to hide them has become an important matter.”
Muller unlocked the electronic key and opened the door.
They passed by many shelves of documents and came to another door. They unlocked that door as well and stepped into the room at the back.
It was like a bank vault, with large storage boxes lined up.
“This is…”
As Yuma looked around, Muller said, “It should be over here…” and opened one of the storage boxes.
He took out a metal box and brought it to the table in the center of the room.
When Yuma and Rui peeked inside, they saw a large, transparent gem.