#183
Demon King’s Castle Escape Operation (5)
Olivia’s intervention during the princess and Hesperon’s escape had not been part of the original plan.
He had never imagined that she would immediately notice and come running over a minor disturbance that occurred in Siana’s jurisdiction, when Siana had been deliberately made to leave her post.
It was, indeed, the sort of meticulous work befitting the chief administrator of the Immortal Castle.
‘She must already be the busiest person in the Immortal Castle, and yet she even takes care of tiny details like this on her own. She’s capable—too capable, even.’
He could say that comfortably now that everything had gone smoothly, but in truth, when she had first appeared, even he had been quite flustered.
It was fortunate that he had set the operation’s start date to the day “Hans” would be visiting, just in case. Otherwise, he might have had to rebuild the entire plan from scratch.
‘Thankfully, making use of that situation let things flow even better than I’d expected.’
The added dramatic effect heightened the solemn atmosphere, and the sudden crisis had deepened the bond with Riley in a major way.
‘It’ll be hard to reproduce the ability I used in front of the princess later… Well, when the time comes, I can just say I unleashed superhuman strength in a crisis.’
Naturally, the one who had secretly intervened midway to block Olivia’s interference and move the two of them far away had been the Immortal King Hans.
As the master of this “Eternal Labyrinth,” he could manipulate the interior space at will, so that much had not been particularly difficult.
‘Hesperon will get stronger quickly from now on, too. Later, he should be able to show a similar ability on his own.’
From now on, he would be able to grow rapidly in a comfortable environment with the full support of the Fifth Princess.
The karma that came along with it as a bonus would be nothing to scoff at either, so in many ways, it was a satisfying development.
[You have come, Immortal King! I have been waiting for you!]
And now, Hans was facing the archlich Dwell inside the undead production workshop within the Immortal Castle.
Because the preliminary process for “Salma,” which he had waited so long for, had finally been completed.
‘Though in Earth time, only about a week has passed.’
On top of that, the process would normally have required all sorts of rare materials to be poured in, followed by about a year of maturation. But perhaps because they had actively utilized the power of the abyss and death, they had managed to achieve a similar effect in just a little over two months.
[Khuhuh— Good work, Dwell. It must have been quite troublesome, but you handled it well.]
[You honor me too much! I, Dwell McCain, will make certain the processes for the other specimens are finished properly as well, so that you may be satisfied, my King!]
Leaving behind Dwell, who was prostrating himself on the floor in emotion at the light praise, Hans quietly gazed at the human figure floating silently inside an incubator filled with the abyss.
Salma, the corpse of the first transcendent-class Awakened he had obtained.
Though still incomplete, it was already emanating an extraordinary presence.
‘To turn an Awakened from Earth, and a martial artist of the Profound Realm at that, into an undead using even the abyss. I’m looking forward to seeing what the result will be.’
Since the being serving as the foundation was special, he had put considerable effort into its undead conversion as well.
Rather than creating one of the ordinary specimens that had existed in the world up to now, he had created an entirely new process from the ground up.
He established the foundation through “Forbidden Knowledge,” assisted by the “Immortal Heart,” then tuned it once more with “Wicked Wisdom” and “Path of Magic.”
After that, he refined the channels through which the abyss would pass with “Eye of the Abyss,” optimized the spell formula with “Magic Domination,” and mobilized every skill he possessed.
The result was what lay before him.
An original undead of the Immortal King Hans, one that had never existed in the world until now—provisionally named “Abyss Revenant.”
[Then I will handle the rest myself. Proceed with the remaining specimens just like this.]
[Yes! Please leave it to me!]
With that, Hans retrieved Salma, which had only the final process left, inspected the work here one last time, and quietly crossed over to Earth.
In order to become not the “Immortal King,” but “Hahoe Mask” once more.
***
Immediately after escaping the Immortal Castle.
Riley carried Hesperon on her back and headed south, constantly keeping watch over their surroundings.
She still did not know their exact location, but there were far too many monsters wandering around for this to be a secure area, so she could not relax for even a moment.
“Hoo— hoo—.”
“…Riley? I told you I’m fine now. I can walk on my ow—”
“Ah, be quiet. How much time has even passed for you to already be fine? Don’t overdo it for no reason and just stay quietly on my back! Huaa—.”
Several hours had passed since they began moving like that.
Though she had even used magic, she was already exhausted and barely managing to put one foot in front of the other.
‘No, the fact that she’s endured this long is impressive in itself.’
No matter how much enhancement magic she used, it was not something that solved everything.
Support magic like this became more efficient the higher one’s original physical abilities were, and she, who had lived her life far removed from physical labor, was not very compatible with it.
Naturally, in order to increase its effect, she had no choice but to forcefully circulate her mana. And since her level was not that high to begin with, she grew exhausted even faster due to the mana leaking away through that horrendous inefficiency.
To make matters worse, that was not the only factor hindering their movement…
“…Riley, they’re coming again.”
“Ugh! How many times does this make now? Don’t tell me we’re still inside the Northern Mountains.”
Even as she panted, Riley, who had been busily moving her feet, muttered a complaint at Hesperon’s whisper from behind her, then hurriedly hid herself in the underbrush.
A small barrier activated around that spot and isolated the space.
And not long after—
“Krrk— khuk—!”
“Kheheh!”
A group of monsters swept past them, rushing off in one direction.
Fortunately, perhaps thanks to the presence-concealing magic tool that had been active even while they were moving, it did not seem as if the creatures had noticed them and come chasing after them.
“…Are they gone?”
“Mm, looks like they were just passing by.”
“Hoo— We’ve already run into nearly twenty groups in just two or three hours. No matter how I look at it, I don’t think this is inside the Northern Mountains. Surely everywhere outside the cities isn’t like this?”
“Huh? This is my first time outside too, so how would I know…?”
“I know. I was just saying it. …Then there really is only one possible candidate. No, I suppose it’s only natural, actually.”
A place south of where the Immortal King had settled, adjacent to the Northern Mountains.
And a territory whose defensive line had recently collapsed, ultimately leading to its occupation by monsters.
“The Duchy of Rohan. It was a small country north of the Empire… I don’t know what state it’s in now. All I know is the information from before I was captured.”
Since they had already settled down for the moment, Riley decided to rest briefly and explained what she knew of the situation here to Hesperon, who would not be familiar with it.
In truth, in an environment like this, it should have been nearly impossible for lower-ranking mages… much less a sheltered princess and a sickly patient, to survive.
“Here, take this. Something to drink too.”
“Thank you, Heron. This is another menu I’ve never seen before.”
But the supplies provided by his self-proclaimed Unique Skill, “Avatar Cloud,” were more than enough to solve all those problems.
Food and drinks, clothes, sleeping bags, and other camping equipment, of course…
“Grrroar—!”
“Woof, woof!”
Dudududu—
“Ah, they’re passing by again. Is this a route they often use?”
“But it really is an incredible ability. Magic tools of this quality aren’t something you can easily obtain just because you have money.”
“It’s not free, though. It’s not an ability I can use without limit.”
“I suppose so. Come to think of it, you did say you couldn’t use spatial movement for a while because you overdid it.”
Even all sorts of magic tools to protect themselves, such as presence concealment, surrounding detection, and isolation barriers.
Since he could easily supply whatever they needed, hiding themselves and moving would not be too difficult as long as no major problem arose.
“Then shall we start moving soon?”
“Yes, we’ve rested enough. Now! Hurry and get on my back, Heron!”
“I told you I can at least walk now. I’ll say something later if it gets hard, so let’s just get going for now.”
“Goodness— even when someone’s worrying about you.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Yes, as long as no “major problem” arose.
But this was the territory of the already fallen Duchy of Rohan.
It was a hellscape where all lands except the capital had been taken by monsters consumed by madness, and even now they were barely holding out with the help of the Supreme God Church and the Imperial Army.
But there was no way a nation would be driven to such ruin by lower-class monsters that only had numbers on their side.
Naturally, countless monsters capable of taking on whole units alone were roaming around here as well.
And as a matter of course—
Whoooong— whoooong—!
The senses of the highest-ranking monsters were so far-reaching that they transcended common sense.
“…Ah, damn it.”
“Heron? Why so suddenly—”
Their movements were overwhelming enough to surpass the perception of an ordinary person.
Shweeeeeek—!
Just as they had dispelled the barrier and were in the middle of setting off.
By the time the sound of a violently rushing wind reached Hesperon’s ears, “that being” had already approached within a hair’s breadth of them.
‘Danger!’
At the rapidly mounting sense of crisis, his thoughts accelerated, and the flow of time around him gradually slowed.
His superhuman mental strength, amplified in an instant, analyzed the situation in a fraction of a second.
And once he grasped the entire situation, he moved his body with extreme rationality.
The mana coursing through his body strengthened his physical abilities while making his body even sturdier…
“Mm?!”
Then he embraced Riley beside him and threw himself backward with all his might.
At the same time, he activated the barrier magic tool in one hand to conceal them.
Immediately after.
Kwaaaaang—!
A powerful shockwave erupted from where they had been, and thick clouds of dust exploded into the air.
And then…
“Kieeeeeek—!”
Whoooong—!
With a ferocious roar that shook the surroundings, a powerful flap of wings scattered the surrounding dust in all directions in an instant.
What was revealed was a massive body with the torso of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle.
Madness filled its eyes, crimson light burning in them, and its gaze kept sweeping the surroundings in search of something.
Drool dripped steadily from its beak.
“…A griffon.”
Riley, who had fallen to the ground and was staring up at its overwhelming majesty, muttered in a low, suppressed voice.
‘I’m sure we checked properly before releasing the barrier!’
They had examined the surrounding danger factors with a detection magic tool, made certain to prepare the presence-concealing magic tool, and only then stepped out of the barrier.
If Hesperon had not reacted and responded quickly, everything would have ended with that first assault.
‘No, in truth, our current situation can’t exactly be called good either.’
It seemed to have temporarily lost them because of the barrier activated in an instant, but a griffon was a highest-ranking predator capable of facing even an ogre head-on.
Considering that it was a flying monster, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was even more troublesome.
‘If it starts searching for us in earnest, this barrier won’t last very long either. Before that happens, we need to come up with some kind of plan.’
In other words, the situation was still a crisis that could spiral into catastrophe at any moment.
“Hoo, but Heron really is amazing after all. I owe you again. But our situation right now is… Huh? Heron? Wait, are you all right?”
Riley, speaking as quietly as possible out of tension, suddenly froze, then cautiously reached toward his back as he remained motionless while holding her.
Squelch—
“Ah?”
Something slippery and unpleasant touched her hand.
Seized by an ominous feeling, she hurriedly raised herself and carefully examined his body, soon biting her lip hard.
As if he had not managed to fully evade the sudden surprise attack, blood was continuously flowing from a long gash torn across his back.
Perhaps due to the aftershock of the impact, he had not regained consciousness either.
“…Potion. There was a potion.”
Riley tore open the potion Hesperon had prepared for emergencies and hurriedly poured it over his back.
But this much was only first aid. For proper treatment, more specialized measures were needed.
“What now…?”
But the situation only continued to worsen.
At the ominous presence she suddenly sensed, she slowly turned her head…
“Kiek?”
“……!”
She met a pair of red eyes head-on and froze on the spot.
The griffon, having somehow approached right up close, had lowered its head and was staring intently at her inside the barrier.
A brief silence passed amid the suffocating tension.
“Kieeeeeek—!”
“Ah, damn it.”
The roar filled with madness mixed with the lament that escaped her mouth before she knew it.
‘We finally got away from the Immortal King!’
Leaving that injustice behind, Riley embraced Hesperon, who lay collapsed on the ground, and squeezed her eyes shut.
It was an action with no meaning at this point, born purely of instinct.
But because of that, she did not see it.
That he was silently staring at the griffon with one eye he had opened with difficulty.
Immediately after.
Paaaaat—
“Kieek?!”
At the same time as a radiant cluster of light burst forth like dawn splitting the night,
A gigantic sword of light suddenly emerged from within it and swung as though to cleave the world.
“Hup—!”
Skakakak—!
Puhak—
With the griffon placed precisely at its center.
As though its wielder had gone all out from the very beginning, the sword of light was densely packed with tremendous holy power and honed to its limit in sharpness.
No matter how much it had been strengthened by madness, there was no way a mere monster, even a highest-ranking one, could endure such a surprise attack.
“Kihek, kie— kkhhek!”
Thud!
The massive body staggered and collapsed, the heavy sound echoing through the area.
It was a hollow end for the griffon, especially compared to its overwhelming entrance, but in truth, considering its opponent, it was not all that strange.
“Ah… ah? …C-could it be? Are you the Saint?”
“It has been a while, Princess. I had wondered if it might be possible, but to think I would truly meet you here. This must indeed be the guidance of the Supreme God.”
The man, his entire body wrapped in an aura of light, smiled gently as he looked down at the disheveled Princess Riley.
For he was the Saint of the Supreme God Church, and the hero who would save the world.
Heinrich Saint Landguard.