Episode 183 Operation: Escape from the Demon King's Castle (5)
Olivia's intervention in the princess and Hesperon's escape wasn't part of the original plan.
They hadn't expected her to immediately notice the small commotion in Siana's jurisdiction, which they had deliberately left unattended, and come looking for them.
It was truly meticulous work, befitting the general manager of the Immortal Fortress.
'She's the busiest person in the Immortal Fortress, and she's even taking care of such trivial matters. She's too competent.'
It was easy to say now that everything had worked out smoothly, but he couldn't help but be flustered when she first appeared.
It was fortunate that he had set the operation date as the day 'Hans' visited, just in case, or he might have had to rewrite the entire plan!
'But thanks to that situation, we were able to create a better flow than initially expected.'
The dramatic effect had heightened the sense of urgency, and Riley's bond with him had deepened because of the sudden crisis.
'It'll be difficult to reproduce the ability I used in front of the princess… Well, I guess I can just say I unleashed superhuman power in a crisis.'
Naturally, it was Immortal King Hans who had secretly intervened, blocking Olivia's interference and teleporting the two of them away.
As the master of this 'Eternal Labyrinth', he could manipulate the internal space as he pleased just with his will, so it wasn't that difficult.
'And Hesperon will also grow quickly. He'll be able to show a similar ability on his own later.'
He would be able to grow rapidly in a comfortable environment, receiving the Fifth Princess's full support.
And the Karma that would come with it wouldn't be insignificant either, so it was a very satisfying development.
[You're here? Immortal King! I've been waiting!]
And now, Hans was facing Arch-Lich Dwell in the undead production workshop of the Immortal Fortress.
Because the preliminary process for 'Salma', which he had been waiting for, was finally complete.
'It's only been about a week in Earth time, though.'
And it was originally a process that required about a year of maturation, even after pouring in all sorts of rare materials, but thanks to the active use of the abyss and death energy, they were able to achieve a similar effect in just over two months.
[Hehehe— Good work, Dwell. It must have been quite troublesome, but you did well.]
[You flatter me! This Dwell McCain will make sure to complete the process for the other individuals as well, so that Your Majesty will be satisfied!]
Hans ignored him, who was prostrating himself on the ground in gratitude at his light praise, and quietly looked at the figure floating in the incubator filled with the abyss.
Salma, the corpse of a transcendent-level awakened one he had obtained for the first time.
He could already feel an unusual presence from it, even though it wasn't complete yet.
'An Earthling awakened one, and a master of martial arts who had reached the Mysterious Realm, turned into an undead using the abyss… I'm looking forward to the results.'
Since the base material was special, he had put a lot of effort into the undead transformation process.
He had created a completely new process, not the ordinary one that had existed in the world so far.
He laid the foundation using "Forbidden Knowledge" with the support of "Immortal Heart", and then fine-tuned it with "Wicked Wisdom" and "Path of Magic".
And then he used "Abyssal Eye" to refine the pathway for the abyss to flow through and "Magic Domination" to optimize the spell. The result of mobilizing all his skills was this.
It was 'Abyss Revenant', Immortal King Hans's original undead, which had never existed in the world before.
[Then I'll take care of the rest. Do the same for the other individuals.]
[Yes! Leave it to me!]
And so, Hans retrieved Salma, who was only a step away from completion, and quietly returned to Earth after checking on the work here one last time.
To become 'Hahoe Mask' again, not the 'Immortal King'.
____________________
Immediately after escaping the Immortal Fortress,
Riley carried Hesperon on her back and moved south, constantly wary of her surroundings.
She didn't know their exact location yet, but it seemed like it wasn't a safe place, as there were too many monsters roaming around for her to relax.
"Whew— Whew—"
"…Riley? I'm okay now. I can walk…"
"Ah, shut up. You think you're already fine after just a few hours? Don't push yourself and just stay on my back! Whew—"
They had been moving for several hours.
She was already exhausted, even though she was using magic.
'Well, it's actually amazing that she's endured this long.'
Strengthening magic didn't solve everything.
The effectiveness of such support magic increased as the user's base physical abilities increased, and she, who had been avoiding manual labor, wasn't very compatible with it.
Naturally, she had to overexert her magic power to enhance the effect, and she was getting tired even faster because of the terrible efficiency, as her magic power leaked out.
And to make matters worse, that wasn't the only factor hindering their movement…
"…Riley, they're coming again."
"Ugh! How many times has it been? Don't tell me we're still inside the Northern Mountains?"
Riley, who had been diligently moving her legs, panting, grumbled softly at Hesperon's words and hurriedly hid in the bushes.
And a small barrier, activated around them, isolated the space.
And after a while—.
"Grrr—!"
"Kehehek!"
A group of monsters passed by them.
Fortunately, it seemed like they weren't chasing them, perhaps thanks to the presence-concealing magic tool that was activated even while they were moving.
"…Are they gone?"
"Hmm, it seems like they were just passing by."
"Whew— We've already encountered almost twenty groups in just a couple of hours, this definitely doesn't seem like the inside of the Northern Mountains. Don't tell me it's like this everywhere outside the city?"
"Huh? I don't know, this is my first time outside…"
"I know, I was just saying… Then there's only one possible location. Well, it's only natural, I guess."
A place south of where the Immortal King had settled, bordering the Northern Mountains.
And a territory that had recently been overrun by monsters after its defenses collapsed.
"The Rohan Duchy. It was a small country north of the Empire… I don't know what the situation is like now. All I know is the information from before I was captured."
She explained what she knew to Hesperon, who probably didn't know much about the situation, as they took a break.
Actually, it was almost impossible for low-ranking mages… especially a sheltered princess and two sickly patients, to survive in this environment.
"Here, take this. And something to drink."
"Thank you, Heron. This is a new menu."
But the supply of goods from "Avatar Cloud", which he called his 'unique skill', was enough to solve all those problems.
Not only food, drinks, clothes, and camping gear, including sleeping bags…
"Kuhruung—!"
"Woof, woof!"
Thump, thump—
"Ah, they're passing by again. Is this a path they frequently use?"
"But it's definitely an amazing ability. It's not like you can easily buy a magic tool like this even if you have money."
"It's not free, though. It's not an ability I can use indefinitely."
"I see. Well, you said you couldn't even teleport for a while because of overusing it."
All sorts of magic tools, including presence concealment for protection, detection of surroundings, and isolation barriers.
Since he could easily supply anything they needed, it wasn't difficult to move while hiding, as long as there were no major problems.
"Then shall we get going?"
"Yes, we've rested enough. Come on! Get on my back, Heron!"
"I can walk now. I'll tell you if I get tired, so let's just go."
"Sigh— You're making me worry."
"Come on, let's go."
Yes, as long as there were no 'major problems'.
But this was the territory of the already fallen Rohan Duchy.
It was a demonic realm where they had lost all their land except for the area around the capital to the monsters consumed by madness and were barely holding out with the help of the Main God Church and the imperial army.
But there was no way a single country could be devastated to this extent just by low-ranking monsters.
Naturally, there were countless monsters roaming around here, strong enough to take on an entire army alone.
And it was only natural…
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
That the senses of the highest-ranking monsters were incredibly wide-ranging.
"…Ah, damn it."
"Heron? What's wrong…"
And their movements were overwhelmingly fast, beyond human perception.
Screech—!
They had just deactivated the barrier and started moving when…
The sound of a violent gust of wind reached Hesperon's ears, and 'that being' was already right next to them.
'Danger!'
His thoughts accelerated, and the surrounding time slowed down as he felt a surge of danger.
His superhuman mental strength, amplified in an instant, analyzed the situation in a split second.
And after grasping everything, he moved rationally.
The magic power that circulated through his body strengthened his physical abilities and made his body even tougher…
"Mmm?!"
And he grabbed Riley, who was next to him, and threw himself backwards with all his might.
Activating a barrier magic tool to conceal their figures with one hand.
Immediately after,
Boom—!
A powerful shockwave erupted from where they had been standing, and a thick cloud of dust rose explosively.
And…
"Kieeeeek—!"
Whoosh—!
A furious roar shook the surroundings, and powerful wings scattered the dust in an instant.
And what was revealed was a giant griffin, with a lion's body and an eagle's head and wings.
Red ghost fires burned in its madness-filled eyes, which were constantly scanning the surroundings, searching for something.
Drool was dripping from its beak.
"…A Griffin."
Riley, who was lying on the ground, muttered softly, looking up at its overwhelming majesty.
'I checked properly before deactivating the barrier!'
They had checked the surroundings for any dangers with the detection magic tool and even made sure to have the presence-concealing magic tool activated before leaving the barrier.
If it hadn't been for Hesperon's quick reaction, everything would have been over at the first attack.
'No, actually, the current situation isn't that good either.'
It seemed like it had momentarily lost them because of the instantly activated barrier, but a Griffin was an apex predator that could even face an Ogre head-on.
It was even more troublesome because it was a flying monster.
'This barrier won't last long once it starts searching for us in earnest. We need to come up with a plan before that.'
In other words, they were still in a crisis that could turn into a disaster at any moment.
"Whew, you're amazing, Heron. You saved me again. But the current situation… Huh? Heron? Wait, are you okay?"
Riley, who had been speaking quietly because of the tension, hesitated and cautiously reached out to his back, which was motionless as he was hugging her.
Squish—
"Ah?"
Something slippery and unpleasant touched her hand.
She hurriedly sat up and carefully examined his body, a bad feeling creeping in, and then bit her lip tightly.
It seemed like he hadn't been able to completely dodge the sudden attack, as blood was flowing from a long gash on his back.
And he was unconscious, perhaps because of the aftereffects of the impact.
"…A potion, we had a potion."
Riley hurriedly tore open the potion Hesperon had prepared for emergencies and poured it on his back.
But this was just first aid, and more professional treatment was needed for proper healing.
"What should we…?"
But the situation was only getting worse.
She subtly turned her head, sensing an ominous presence…
"Kieek?"
"······!"
And froze in place, her eyes meeting a pair of red eyes.
The Griffin, which had approached them at some point, was staring at her intently, its head lowered.
A brief silence passed in the suffocating tension.
"Kieeeeek—!"
"Ah, damn it."
Her lament, which escaped her lips unconsciously, mixed with the Griffin's madness-fueled roar.
'We finally escaped the Immortal King!'
She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly, hugging Hesperon, who had collapsed on the ground.
It was an instinctive action that was meaningless now.
But because of that, she couldn't see it.
That he was staring at the Griffin with one eye open with difficulty.
Immediately after,
Flash—
"Kieek?!"
A brilliant halo of light erupted, like the dawn breaking through the night.
And at the same time, a giant sword of light emerged from within, swinging as if to split the world in two.
"Gasp—!"
Clang—!
Whoosh—
Right at the Griffin, which was in the center.
A sword of light, imbued with an enormous amount of holy power, sharpened to its limit, as if he had been using his full power from the beginning.
There was no way a mere monster, even a high-ranking one strengthened by madness, could withstand such a surprise attack.
"Kihuh, kki— Ugh!"
Thump!
The large body collapsed with a heavy thud.
It was an anticlimactic ending for the Griffin, considering its overwhelming entrance, but it wasn't strange, considering its opponent.
"Ah… Ah? …D-don't tell me. Are you the Saint?"
"It's been a while, Princess. I thought it might be you, but I didn't expect to actually meet you here. This must be the Main God's guidance."
A man, enveloped in a holy aura, looked down at Princess Riley, who was disheveled, and smiled gently.
He was Heinrich Saint Landguard, the Saint of the Main God Church and the hero who would save the world.