Chapter 138.2

Chapter 138.2 \nTranslator: Jiro Editor: Ryunakama\n

I had already tried storing most of my spells inside Divine Sword Ainbelle, but I had yet to try storing Red Zero. And that was precisely what I was going to try now.

 

「Oh God of Fire, the one who stands at the peak of its teaching and truths, bestow me with your strength. Let the Crimson Blade spin and lay waste to my enemies… Red Zero!」

 

Claude looked at me in bewilderment, however I ignored her gaze and fired Red Zero towards Divine Sword Ainbelle.

 

「…AH-AH-AH…It’s hot!」

 

The flames were sucked into the Divine Sword, and the blade took on a crimson color.

Ain screamed in agony, as she tried to endure it, but… With a popping sound Ain’s Divine Sword form was lifted.

Ain fell to the ground, and held her skirt painfully.

Hm, it looks like she still can’t handle it. The amount of magic power released by the spell is probably way too much.

 

「D-Demon gramps…」

「You’re such a sore loser.」

「There’s no way something that big would go in, you idiot!!」

「Kukuku…」

 

As I made fun of Ain, even Claude was giggling in the back.

 

「Claude?! Even you…」

「I-I’m sorry Ain-chan.」

「Hmph.」

 

At first Ain made a sulking expression, however she then saw that Claude’s mood had lightened up a bit, so in the end it all turned out well.

Although it consumes magic power I guess it’s best if I leave Ain out. She’s gonna help lighten the mood.

After I easily defeated the Sti Beetle we once again continued on our way.

 

When we passed through the forest and came close to the cape the smell of sea water consumed our senses.\nMixed with it, there was a faint smell of blood.

As if having noticed it as well Claude and Ain frowned.

 

「Whoa, I have a bad feeling about this… Gramps, is this really gonna be okay?」 　

「You don’t need to worry. Who exactly do you think I am?」

「A brute, a cheapskate, and also a perverted old man who loves big breasts?」

 

I hit Ain’s head, as she was being extremely rude. She then held her head with both of her hands, showing a painful expression.

 

「That hurt…」

「Don’t over exaggerate it. It’s always the same with you.」

「It’s the same with your sadistic character, gramps. You should treat me, and other girls a little bit more kindly! Isn’t that right Claude!」

「W-Well… I think that Zeph-kun treats us fine the way it is…」

「What! You only say that because you don’t know gramps’ true personality… Hey, that hurt?! Why did you hit me again!」

 

Without saying anything I hit Ain a second time, to which she again exaggerated the pain.

Ain hatefully glared at Claude, who had a perplexed smile on her face.

I’m grateful that the tension has been lifted a bit, but unfortunately I can’t let it stay this way for long.

 

「Ain, turn into a sword. Claude, you concentrate as well.」

「Yea, yea, I got it.」

 

Despite her unmotivated reply, Ain’s eyes seemed to be burning with hostility towards Kane.

As soon as I held onto Ain’s hand, with a dazzling light she transformed into Divine Sword Ainbelle.

 

「We’re going all out Ain.」

「I know…」

 

Before coming here, I managed to try a few things, and found out that if I put two or more spells within Divine Sword Ainbelle, each time I swung it, its spells would activate in the order in which they were embedded.\nThe number of spells that I could put in depended on the power of the spells. I could stock up to two or three Intermediate Spells, and I could even stock up a single Great Spell, still I was only limited to some Great Spells. However, it also seemed that the spells that I had stocked up would disappear after a while.

 

「I don’t know when the battle will happen, so I guess I’ll stock up on some spells in advance.」

 

After stocking up some spells in Divine Sword Ainbelle I turned towards the quay of the cape.

When I concentrated towards it, even though it was a dungeon, I could feel that at an area around the back of the rocky mountain there was a place that had no magic power. 

It’s probably due to Kane’s Screen Point. It feels like the magic power of the area has been sucked dry. I feel like the first time I met him his Screen Point wasn’t this powerful.

Unique Spells often change depending on the training of their owner, or their owner’s change of heart.

Despair in particular could cause quite a powerful change.

It was probably also due to the despair that I felt when I realized that I had no talent for Red Magic, that I was able to create the spell that allowed me to come back in time.

 

「Claude, if something happens run away immediately.」

「Understood…!」

 

Even with her brother as an enemy, Claude’s eyes were still burning with motivation.

It seems like she’s quite fired up. Even though I just told her to run away, I bet that Claude would never abandon me and run. If by some chance I end up losing, she’ll probably face him herself. In other words, this is a situation in which I must not lose, no matter what… I really shouldn’t have taken her with me. Still there’s no point in thinking about this now. I just need to win. That’s all there is to it.

Clade and I both held our breath and slowly approached the place that had lost its magical power.

Thankfully the place that Kane had chosen as his whereabouts was quite far, and it didn’t seem like he had any intention of moving from there. 

After all, taking refuge in a dungeon meant that he would naturally come across monsters and adventurers.

That said, considering he needs to be wary of stuff like that all the time, it’s highly likely that he would have set some kind of trap.

Criminals would often choose to hide in dungeons, when they did so their go to method of defense were traps.

 

「Be careful where you step Claude.」

「Okay.」

 

When we entered the crevice of the quay I noticed that some threads had been stretched out in places where it was difficult to see, and a bell had been attached to the end of the strings.

Upon seeing that I signalled Claude and she noticed them as well so she nodded and returned. 

It seems like it’s safe to proceed.

Just as I thought that a number of Sti Beetles approached with a rustling noise.\n\nWhile occasionally checking on Kane’s position, we proceeded to make as little noise as possible.

It seems like he’s not moving. Still we’re getting pretty close to him. It’s only a matter of time before he notices us.

The Sti Beetles crawling at our feet were really annoying.

If we defeated them, a large group would then flock to us, so we had no choice but to ignore them.

Although sometimes some of them would jump at us. When that happened I put them to sleep with Sleep Code.

 

「Just a little bit more Claude.」

「…I know.」

 

The deeper Claude went, the more she slowed down and her breathing also became rough.

I couldn’t blame her. The smell of blood was already pretty dense, and the feeling of devilishness was lingering in the air.

It felt terrible, it was just like we were making our way to some kind of altar for evil spirits.

She’s probably scared.

Then Claude suddenly stopped. I turned to look at her and noticed that her face had lost its color.

 

「Claude.」

「Huh…? W-What is it?」

 

I grabbed Claude’s hand and hugged her from the front.

 

「You don’t need to be afraid, I’ll protect you.」

「Zeph-ku…n…」

 

I tightly embraced Clade as she was shaking. I then felt her hands run up my back and grab my clothes.

I did that in order to try and calm her down, but Claude’s body still continued to tremble.

… It really is too much for her. There’s no way she can fight properly like this. I need to calm her down.

However, Claude’s trembling got even worse.

Her legs began to wobble, and just as she was about to fall down she managed to lean on me.

It doesn’t look like it’ll get better any time soon. Still, if we continue with this we might get noticed by the enemy. This is gonna be a bit rough, but I guess it can’t be helped.