When the wall where Vigo was at split to left and right, a passage appears, as if telling us to proceed ahead.
âFrick-san, Al. Sorry, we only became a burden.â (Meila)
âAl-oniichan, Frick-san. Maribel and Meila-neechan are okay, so go ahead.â (Maribel)
âIâll definitely protect them, so you go first, Al.â (Sophie)
âYou allâŠâ (Al)
Al is worriedly staring at the three trapped in the glowing grid.
âI hate moving according to Vigoâs wish, but looks like we have no choice but to go ahead to save Noelia and the three.â (Frick)
âI agree. Staying around wonât improve the situation. Since the opponent told us to come, we can do nothing but go.â (Gawain)
âIndeed. We have no choice but to go ahead. Iâll definitely save all three of you, so please wait.â (Al)
The three captives silently nod.
âCinzia-sama too; going any further will be dangerous for you, so please wait here. Iâll definitely save Noelia.â (Frick)
âWell, with me being unable to move, Iâll only be a burden to you guys. My bad, Frick. Iâll leave saving Noelia to you. Make sure you save her.â (Cinzia)
I reply with a nod towards Cinziaâs armor, which are scattered apart on the ground.
âLetâs move on.â (Frick)
âUn.â (Gawain)
âRight behind you.â (Al)
Leading Gawain and Al, I start running to the back of the newly opened passage.
As we proceeded through the metal-floored passage, lights begin to illuminate our path ahead, and after proceeding for a while, the walls change into glass ones.
The other side of the glass walls are filled with green liquid, and monsters that look like a mixture of a human and an Abyss Walker are staring our way with resentful looking expressions.
Are they corpses of Abyss Walkers?
Creepy⊠It look as if humans have turned into Abyss Walkers.
To arrange such a thing to be visible from the passage, I can only say what a bad hobby.
Al and Gawain seem to think the same, as they go down the passage with a frown on their faces.
Eventually, the passage comes to a dead end.
At the next moment, lights thatâs been illuminating our path all the way here turn red, and no sooner than they begin blinking violently, a noisy sound rings out in the passage.
âWhat!? Whatâs going on?â (Gawain)
Along with the loud sound, consecutive sounds of glass breaking come from the direction we came.
âThose are the sounds of glass breaking. Perhaps, the guys from before werenât dead.â (Frick)
While the red lights inside the passage are dancing wildly, I see mix of a human and an Abyss Walker monsters running on all fours like hunting dogs from the way we came.
âTheyâre coming!â (Frick)
Avoiding the claws of a monster running up to me, I pierce its human-like head with my blade.
Pierced in the head, the monster twitches, before collapsing to the ground.
So weak! Is it not a new Abyss Walker!?
Itâs the weakest one so far.
Although many, the attacking Abyss Walker-like monsters are so weak that they canât be compared to those that have appeared so far; I can take them down without even using Spell Sword.
âKill me, kill me⊠I want to be in peace.â
They talked!? For Abyss Walkers to speak, Iâve never heard something like that!?
Are they not Abyss Walkers?
The monsters that are running up to us all scream, âKill me,â as they attack us with their long claws, trying to cut through our necks.
âFrick-san, these monstersâŠâ (Al)
âYeah, they are weird for Abyss Walkers.â (Frick)
Al seems confused by the lack of resistance too as I can see her swordsâ movement becoming dull.
âFriiiiiiiick! The door has opened! I alone am enough to handle these guys. Hurry up!â (Gawain)
I regain calmness at Gawainâs voice.
The wall that was a dead end is now split up, and a passage to further inside appears.
âGawain-shishou, just donât do something reckless, okay? Gawain-shishou is the only one I can rely on to repair Dayle, after all.â (Frick)
âI know. I have no intention of dying and leaving my magnum opus alone. Go and get Noelia back already, so I can give her a hug!â (Gawain)
âThat will be decided by Noelia!â (Frick)
âKuh, disciples who donât follow their masterâs words will be excommunicated! Ahh, dammit. Al, too, go quickly!â (Gawain)
âY-yes. Stay safe!â (Al)
Al and I jump into the opened up passage as if to change place with Gawain who rams into the swarming monsters and sends them flying.
The opened wall immediately closes at the same as we jump in.
âNow, we are finally able to talk. Whoops, please be aware that if you move, youâll be preyed on by bullets. Now that you canât create a barrier with magic, even you two canât possibly dodge a rain of bullets, right?â (Vigo)
Inside the room, in addition to Vigo and Noelia, there are about 40 white-robed people with metal ball-shooting cylinders in each of their hands aimed at us.
If I canât put up a barrier, even if I were to use body enhancing magic at maximum, I still wouldnât be able to avoid everything as Vigo said.
But if I can somehow catch them off guardâŠ
Perhaps they read my thought as a metal ball is shot from the tip of a white-robed manâs cylinder, grazing my cheek.
âI would appreciate it if you could throw away strange thoughts and concentrate on the negotiation with me. When the negotiation is concluded, Noelia-dono and the three who were caught earlier will be released safely.â (Vigo)
âI have no intention of negotiating with you. But Iâll have you return Noelia safely, and also stop your ambition.â (Frick)
âThatâs exactly the answer one would expect from someone that is the hero of a heroic tale. As I thought, my decision to switch to Frick-dono is correct.â (Vigo)
The eyes of the smiling Vigo hold a sparkle so bizarre that I can no longer consider him a normal person.