*Chronologically - This chapter occurs before the "Despairing dreams of the Hero"
"Haa, haa, haa"
I was running through the Dark Forest, where the tree trunks grow very thick. My HP remained adequate. The MP, on the other hand, was previously used to set up traps.
"Tsu!!"
Suddenly my Life Perception Boundary, which I had thinly spread around using my magic, alerted me. I immediately jumped to the side and a green beam landed where I had previously stood. It had been cast without a chant, thankfully I was able to dodge by rolling to the side.
A sound, as if something huge and heavy had been dropped from a high place, resounded; followed by a loud roar, rattling the surroundings again. A pitifully huge tree was blown away completely after a direct hit. It looked as if lightning had struck down, causing charred wood to fly everywhere.
Judging by the damage, it should have been Green Thunder-Lightning Flash, with quite a bit of power behind it. The power of the magic had been adjusted to a non-lethal level, aimed not to kill but paralyze me, factoring in my low magic resistance as well. As usual, the only one who can cast and control with such finesse was THAT genius.
"d.a.m.n it!!"
In this situation in which i was running low on MP, i was unable use my absolute Magical resistant Barrier [Sword Of Protection] due to the Time restrictions.
Although it was best to escape using the Sword of Teleportation, it used a similar amount of MP as the [Sword of Protection] and thus unusable, currently.
No...it's not like I could not utilize it, rather i was unable to activate it while running and evading.
"There is no choice but to do it...….su"
Kaito steeled his mind and quickly ran to a less congested area. At the clearing he stopped running from his pursuer and prepared his sword.
"Ara, have you finally decided to stop running?"
"Yumisu….."
My pursuer turned out to be one of my old companions. Wrapped in her usual [Dark Green Robe], which amplified Wind Magic, she smiled her unchanging smile.
The enemy magician - Yumisu Erumia.
"If you stop resisting, as I was your previous companion, I shall kill you painlessly. Unlike what the princess or that warrior would have done. I shall give you a second to think it over. Since it's necessary to obtain the materials with the least amount of damage as possible. "
There was no trace of friendliness or feelings of companions.h.i.+p in those words that she said with a smile. In her eyes, though, laid a glint of madness.
It seemed as though the Yumis who stood in front of me, had no traces of guilt in trying to kill me. Then again, that wasn't something I wished to confirm by staying here.
As expected, confrontation was inevitable. My hope for reconciliation, which laid in in some corner of my mind, were shattered by her eyes. She looked at me as if I was a thing, not even human. Those eyes which once looked at me with respect for being the strongest were gone, replaced with eyes that looked at me as if I was nothing, nothing but Materials.
"Tsu, WHY~!! WHY DO YOU WISH TO KILL ME!!"
It was a simple Question.
...Even though she no longer looked at me as a person, I wanted to know the truth behind her emotionless words.
"Why? It won't change, no matter how many times I say it! If I obtain your body, which has the strength to take down the Dungeon Guardian, the strength to take care of the Demon King while negating its power, I will be able to create a Tool! The Masterpiece of a lifetime. And then my name will be engraved onto the stone monument of Erumia, and i will gain recognition in Erumia, No!! i will gain recognition everywhere! And then my reputation will rise exponentially."
She said happily, with an innocent smile on her face.
"If Fame is your purpose, then you have more than enough of it already!!"
"Thats no good. The only fame I obtained was from being your Magician Companion. My dream is to have my name carved on the stone monument of Erumia, but as of right now that isn't possible. Only people who have created the greatest Magical Tool of their generation have the potential of getting their name engraved."
She looked sorry while saying this, but in the next moment her eyes light up with hope.
"And so, please die for me quietly. To be honest, I've had enough of playing around and am reaching the limits of my patience."
Her eyes shone vividly, because her dream was right in front of her eyes.
The only requirement for her dreams to come true was my death; such selfishness.
"You betrayed me... for such a pointless reason "
"Although it might be pointless dream for you, for me it's my most important dream desu~. The existence of an Demon King was already extremely disgusting for us, but if it wasn't for you..."
While saying so,, her tone slowly sinks to that of a retorting child; thinking that her actions were, without a doubt, righteous.
She continued to spit out those disgusting words.
"Isn't it fine? The Kingdom is already your enemy and also there is almost no possibility for you to return to your previous world, since you cannot use magic, anyway. "
"SHUTUP! Evenso, I will find a way to return to my World!!."
"You're quite stubborn ne~. But there is no way. Since your precious dream has already been [Destroyed], help me fulfill my dream by becoming my ingredient. "
"Che~, YUMISUUUUUU!!"
I couldn't take it anymore. There was still a part, hidden deep in my heart, that still believed that she was my comrade. Those words though, completely shattered that part.
The person in front of me no longer had any room for negotiation. She was an enemy, whose existence itself could not be tolerated, anymore.
"Ardent Wind・Ten Flas.h.!.+"
An emerald, with tinges of red, katana emerged, the [Wave Sickle Katana]. He formed a cross and slash outwards.
Invisible wind blades were created from the crosses that attacked Yumisu. The blades were quite hard to defend against.
"[Water, Wind, Flame, explosion]"
Yumisu used Magic by only calling out their Magic Name, without chanting. The Magic exploded outwards to prevent the Wind Blades from reaching her.
The explosion was caused by the decomposition of water, obtained by using Water Magic, to hydrogen particles, using Fire Magic. The particles were then ignited by lightning from the rapid movement of Wind Magic.
I was the one who thought the principle. It was magic developed by the efforts of us two.
The explosion resulted in dust flying everywhere, limiting eyesight.
I had definitely expected her to use this magic, keeping her magical consumption to a minimum.
"Envelop Eternal Darkness -[Phantom Mirage]"
Pa.s.sing magic into the sword I had prepared previously the [Cicada wing Blade], I chanted the Magic Chant
Mirages of myself appeared around me. All of us spread out and flew out the dust cloud at the same time.
It was hard task to differentiate between 5 Magical Energies, even for Yumisu.
"Tsk, [Stinger Mountain]!!"
Of the 5 mirage's that were created, 3 of them, including the main body, rushed towards Yumisu's location.
Yumisu countered with dozens of conical stone spikes, which appeared out of the ground.
Fortunately or Unfortunately, the distance between us was short., One of the mirages tried to cut the spikes, but was penetrated and disappeared. Another mirage was. .h.i.t on the elbow by the stone spike tip and also disappeared
"The fact that the other two bodies have disappeared, means that you are the original. They were mirages formed from your sword. As I thought, you have almost exhausted your MP"
Another chantless GreenLighting stuck, leaving behind a green flash.
Of course Kaito avoided it, but Yumis's goal was not the mirage but the tree behind it.
The mirages could not avoid the countless flying charred wood pieces and the mirage that had avoided the lightning soon disappeared, leaving behind smoke.
"[Earth ,Fire,Cage ]"
"DAM-che!!"
A small cage of earth with hemispherical grid lines of magma enveloped me.
"Saa~, This ends our game of hide and seek"
"............Ah, yes. This is the end."
"If you stay in there for too long, then you will get baked which will cause the ingredient quality to fall; so won't you please accept the truth? Become an ingredient and pa.s.s on already! It would be so much less painful than being burned alive. "
Saying so, Yumisu laughed heartily. There was no choice but to accept that this was, Yumisu's true face.
She had not changed after I took care of the Demon King, Letisha. This was her true nature from the beginning.
I had met her on the streets of Eurmia and travelled together with her for more than two years. Why was I unable to see her true character sooner?
Not just her, but the princess and others as well. Why was I unable to notice.
Since the day I defeated Letisha, I've kept wondering, over and over again - Why am I so dumb? What was I seeing? Why couldn't have I noticed this sooner?
I still don't understand. No matter how many times I've repeated the questions in my mind...
"Do you have any final words? I will listen to them"
Maybe it was because she thought I had given up that Yumisu said these words with an amiable att.i.tude.
"Yes, but I do not have anything I wish to tell you. Even if there was something I wished to tell you, we wouldn't have enough time…. There seems to be an increase in the number of things I should apologize for though…."
"What are......he!? Wha!? That light!? [Green Thunder--------........"
"See ya, you psychopathic lady"
Then i was wrapped up in the light of transition....and disappeared from the Yumisu's eyes.