“…【Greater Heal】…”
The healing magic I cast began to close the wound on Camille’s abdomen.
That’s Master Serejyura for you. Even though she herself had been poisoned, she had administered perfect first aid for a wound severe enough to pierce his abdomen.
A wound like this could easily have been instantly fatal. An inexperienced healer might not have been able to regenerate his internal organs, and he could have died. He was saved thanks to Master’s experience treating countless people on the battlefield, and Camille’s own high vitality.
Master Serejyura, who had switched places with me to treat Camille, had quickly dealt with her own poison and was now by Aisha’s side, speaking to her.
It was a conversation between sisters, their first in decades. It wasn’t my place to interfere. Even if, as a result… Master Serejyura decided to return to the Evil Race Nation, I’ve already said my goodbyes to Master each time I left that “house.”
…This isn’t the time to get distracted. First, I need to focus on treating Camille.
I used 【Feel】 to check the condition of his internal organs, pinpointing each internal injury and regenerating them with 【Cure】 as I went.
“…Camille-sama.”
Beside him, Izel remained close to Camille, continuously holding his hand as if to keep his life tethered.
I downed my second mana recovery potion and continued to cast 【Cure】. After about an hour, Camille’s complexion finally returned, and he faintly opened his eyes.
“…A…ria…?”
Camille murmured, looking at my face. It seemed there was no confusion or memory loss due to his severe injuries, like those mentioned in That Woman’s “knowledge.”
“I am…”
Camille, who hadn’t quite grasped the current situation, seemed to immediately recall being stabbed. His face tensed, and he started to sit up.
“Camille-sama, you mustn’t!”
“Izel?”
Izel stopped Camille as he tried to rise. Camille looked at her, and beyond her, he noticed Jesha, Kadri, and then Dowhill and Charleschan, who were watching us without a hint of a smile.
“Camille-dono. We have decided to follow the King’s will. However, even if we lower our blades against the human race, we will never trust them. Know that we will always be watching you, Your Highness, who carries their blood.”
“…Understood, Dowhill.”
“If you choose to walk a thorny path, we will not stop you. But for us, the Evil Race, strength is honor. If you wish for our acknowledgment, then show us that strength. That young lady has ascended to a new height.”
Camille’s eyes followed Charleschan’s words and gaze to me, and he stared in astonishment at my appraised combat power.
“I am…”
His words were the same as before, but his tone sounded slightly different. I couldn’t tell if he was recalling his fight with me or feeling anxious about the future. But—
“Camille. You need to look around you a little more.”
“Eh…”
At my words, Camille instinctively looked around, and his eyes fell upon Izel, who was holding out his recovered Demon Sword with a pained expression. Izel… has he realized she’s only ever looked at him?
I couldn’t know if my thoughts reached him, but Camille let out a deep sigh and gently placed the Demon Sword Izel was holding into her hands.
“Camille-sama…”
“You use this. It was something Father gave to Mother, but I’ll obtain that strength without relying on Mother anymore. …Izel. Will you come with me?”
“…Yes!”
Izel, like Camille, is a half-elf with one human parent. Having always been by Camille’s side, she would surely be able to walk the same path with him.
Sometime during all this, a gate of light leading outside had opened on the Altar of the lowest floor, just like in the previous Dungeon. Dowhill and Charleschan disappeared through it.
Unlike us, who had all been teleported here, they had gone to rescue the warriors and clan members still inside the Dungeon.
“Graa…”
“Mm-hmm.”
I approached Nero, who was lying down, and rested my body against his back. Jesha looked like she wanted to ask me something, but I took advantage of Nero glaring to keep everyone away and surrendered myself to drowsiness.
And then—
“Taciturn Disciple (Aria).”
“…Is it over? Master Serejyura.”
Called by name, I woke up. Master Serejyura, who had been talking with her younger sister Aisha, looked down at me, a slightly tired expression on her face as I leaned against Nero’s back.
“Yes, it’s over. I caused you trouble…”
“No, not at all. Because Master and Nero came for me.”
“Is that so.”
Master Serejyura lightly patted my head and then started walking towards the gate of light.
“…Is this okay?”
“Yes…”
Beyond my line of sight, Aisha wasn’t looking this way; she was adjusting her tattered equipment. I could see anguish on her profile, yet I felt as though the shackles within her had been released.
“Aisha is an adult now. She has her own life. It’s better if I’m not there. It seems Aisha will now lead the army and use her power not to strike down the human race, but for the sake of the Evil Race. Even if I were to return to the Evil Race Nation now, there’d be no place for me.”
“I see…”
Aisha had dragged many people into her hatred, causing their deaths. She had now chosen to live for atonement.
“If we’re alive, we’ll meet again. The lives of the Evil Race are long. Besides…”
Master Serejyura stopped walking, glanced at Aisha for a moment, then shifted her gaze to me.
“The place we return to is that ‘house’ in the forest, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Dark Elves live for five hundred years. Master Serejyura said she would spend a hundred of those years for my sake.
I probably won’t see Aisha again. We fought to kill each other, but there’s no hatred. There are no words to exchange. We simply chose different paths… that’s all there is to it.
It’s the same with Camille and the others. Even on the same continent, the distance between Claydale and the Evil Race Nation is endlessly vast. Even if we never meet them again, we will continue to walk the thorny paths we’ve chosen.
“Aria… I’m indebted to you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Without any words of farewell, we turned our backs on each other, like parting ways on a roadside.
You can do it.
And I, too, will return to the Kingdom of Claydale. To protect Elena. …To kill that girl.
“So, how are we getting back?”
After a simple farewell, as we were leaving the Evil Race’s fortress almost like fleeing, Jesha, who was accompanying us, asked with a somewhat resigned look on her face.
Jesha, the dwarf, had also received an offer to be welcomed as a guest in the Evil Race Nation. Having protected Camille during the Ceremony of Selection, the Evil Race should have readily accepted her, but she chose the path back.
However, rebuilding the town of Cutlass, which most of its residents had abandoned, would be difficult. So, Jesha decided to accompany us towards the Calfaan Empire.
Apparently, Jesha had been entrusted with a letter from Camille addressed to Ron, and she intended to seek employment with Ron, a noble in the Calfaan Empire.
Heading to the Calfaan Empire was fine, but when Jesha asked how we planned to do it, Master Serejyura and I exchanged a quick glance and answered in unison.
“”We’re going through Raceveil.””
“I knew it!?”
There are two routes from the Evil Race’s fortress towards Cutlass.
One is to avoid the ancient ruins of Raceveil and proceed through the desert. However, crossing the shelterless desert requires considerable equipment and preparation, and it also takes a lot of time, making it impractical.
The other is to break through the center of Raceveil. On an adventurer’s legs, it can be traversed in a few weeks. In fact, Master Serejyura and Nero also came through that way.
There are many dangerous Monsters, but if defeated skillfully, they can become food, and potion ingredients also grow wild there. Decaying buildings could also serve as places to hide and rest.
The reason Jesha and I couldn’t escape the Evil Race’s fortress on our own was because we figured it would be difficult for just the two of us to cross the desert or break through the ruins. But with Master Serejyura and Nero joining us, things are different.
Even Master Serejyura and Nero together couldn’t handle all the Monsters; they had forced their way through using Nero’s running speed. But if Jesha, who can act as a shield, protects Master Serejyura, Nero can also go all out, reducing the danger of the breakthrough itself.
The plan to force our way through again on Nero’s back was scrapped because Nero refused to carry Jesha.
Carrying three people would compromise his mobility, and to begin with, he probably wouldn’t even have allowed Master Serejyura to ride if it weren’t for me. As expected, neither Master Serejyura nor I are heartless enough to leave Jesha behind.
In any case, Master Serejyura and Nero can’t enter the Calfaan Empire, so from that point on, it’s planned to be just Jesha and me.
We’re supposed to part ways with Master Serejyura and Nero in Cutlass. I could accompany them there, but I chose to return to Elena’s side as quickly as possible.
“…Well, I guess it can’t be helped. We left without being able to prepare, after all.”
“That’s true… Leaving aside the clan leaders, if word gets out that I’m still alive, there might be some who’d call me a traitor and come attacking, you know.”
Jesha-san grumbled, and Shishou sighed, agreeing with him.
The reason we, the victors of the Ceremony of Selection, left the Evil Race’s fortress as if fleeing was because there was a possibility that those who couldn’t accept such an inconclusive outcome would attack us. In particular, a part of the military, the warmongering faction, might move for retaliation.
Shishou told me later that she had invited Aisha-san to come with us just once. Even so, Aisha-san staying behind also served the purpose of keeping the army in check.
“So, um… Aria.”
“Hm?”
“Did you reach Rank 5?”
“Yeah.”
So that’s why Jesha-san kept looking at me.
I had finally reached Rank 5, catching up to the Phantasmal Beast Nero in terms of combat power. For some reason, Nero seemed pleased to be caught up to, but from Jesha-san’s perspective, he probably felt like he’d been surpassed by someone who was his equal until recently.
My 【Dagger Technique】 had increased, but my 【Detection】 had also reached Level 5 from the assassination battles in the dungeon. I wonder if even my 【Abnormal Status Resistance】 went up because the battles since coming to this desert have been that harsh.
“‘Yeah,’ you say, so casually… my unsociable disciple. You’ve even surpassed your Shishou’s combat power, so you should be a little happier!”
Shishou said that with an exasperated look, but I quietly shook my head.
“No. It’s still not enough.”
Shishou and Jesha-san looked at me with exasperation as I muttered that. But to win against that child, I need one more “something.”
“Shishou… there’s a technique I’ve been thinking about.”
When I said that and briefly explained the gist of it, Shishou’s eyes widened significantly.
＊＊＊
Ten days have passed since the four of us entered Raceveil.
We’ve been making pretty good progress so far. The closer we get to the central area, the more powerful monsters appear, but the higher the rank of the monster, the fewer their numbers, so they weren’t that much of a threat.
Still, there are monsters that form groups as a species. A Rank 5 monster, seemingly a higher-ranking Ogre, appeared leading multiple Ogres, but—
“—【Dancing Reaper】—!”
“Guooooooooh!!”
The eight consecutive strikes of the murderous blade assaulted the higher-ranking Ogre, mincing its body. The higher-ranking Ogre instantly used a distorted greatsword made from monster materials to deflect the attack from its vitals, but even so, the moment it retreated—
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Nero’s claws lopped off its head, and it easily lost its life. Hearing its death cry, the subordinate Ogres scattered like baby spiders.
Even a Rank 5 monster isn’t a fearsome enemy if Nero and I, also Rank 5, take it on together. It’s not an opponent we can be careless with, but if Nero and I went to the front, had Jesha-san protect Shishou, and Shishou used her magic to keep the subordinates in check, we could handle multiple opponents.
But—
“…This is bad.”
“Yeah.”
Jesha-san came forward after the enemies were gone and said that, and I affirmed it.
The path we’ve been taking is one through the ruins with a low monster appearance rate, a road the Evil Race uses to move their army. Shishou knew that, which is why we came this way.
However, as we approach the central area, the number of monsters is increasing. There are monsters like Ogres that move in packs, but even those Ogres felt as if they were “driven out” from the other side.
It was as if a powerful presence from the direction of Cutlass was heading towards us…
“It seems they’ve come…”
—Affirmative—
Far in the distance, I could see dust clouds swirling. Soon after, I also felt the earth tremble as if something enormous was stirring.
A pack of multiple Armored Dragons. Those riding atop them, clad in black armor… were the Evil Race army. I understood from the Killing Intent I felt on my skin that they weren’t simply retreating.
The fact that there were no enemies pursuing us from behind suggested that Aisha-san was successfully keeping the fortress army in check. But a part of them that couldn’t be suppressed must have informed the garrison at Cutlass.
The majority of the Evil Race army retreated when Aisha-san returned to the fortress, but they still left a part of their forces behind to secure Cutlass.
Their numbers shouldn’t even reach fifty. But the number itself isn’t the problem.
I know that Shadow appearing from behind them, floating amidst the vast, swirling dust.
“…An Earth Dragon (Dragon)…”
“Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The strongest Phantasmal Beast, the Dragon, finally stands in their way!
A certain person appears before the fighting Aria.
Next time, Dragon Battle! Part 1