Chapter 39: Sincerity

“Wow, they’re really the remnants of the Demon King’s army.”

A shocking fact. The old man who revealed himself as Shax was, as expected, a human from Acedia.

“Master?!”

Lucius stood in front of me to protect me.

Shax had been aiming his shotgun at me since before, and powerful magic bullets scattered from within, aiming for me.

An attack aimed precisely at the upper body. There were more than one or two magic bullets scattered.

“Tsk.” I stabbed my staff into Lucius’s side and spread out a protective shield.

The black protective shield that protected me, Lucius, and the four of us blocked the attacks of the other skeletons along with the shotgun volleys.

Thud. Numerous weapons fell to the ground, blocked by the protective shield.

“Scatter. Each begin interception!”

I immediately put down the protective shield while the enemy reloaded.

Ta-at!

Lucius was the first to jump forward and draw his sword.

I fiddled with my ring before I ran out, but I hadn’t given a signal to take it out yet.

“Oh, uh, uh?!”

“Don’t be so arrogant, fight!”

“Oh, yes! Yes!”

Morzen, who hadn’t figured out the situation, took out his gun and shot a magic bullet at the approaching skeletons.

The skeletons who had been approaching with spears and swords had their spines broken by the magic bullets and rolled on the ground.

Pavavavabat!

The one who defeated the enemy the fastest was none other than Rosemas.

She fired her arrows without any hesitation at the archers among the skeletons, and all the skeleton archers who had been shooting from a distance began to fall.

And.

“This is fun!”

My opponent was Shax. To be exact, Lucius and I should have fought that warlock together, but Lucius was tied up by the skeleton soldiers.

“What are you so worried about?”

“……”

Shax pointed the muzzle of his shotgun at me and taunted.

My staff was pointed at him, but I couldn’t fully focus on him.

“You seem to be using quite a bit of magic, but I’m sorry, but the world isn’t such an easy place. Hehe.”

“That’s what I should be saying, you’re the Demon King’s trash.”

The Demon King’s army isn’t trash, and the Demon King isn’t trash. Therefore, it doesn’t hit me at all.

“Insolent b*tch. How dare you speak carelessly.”

“You, Acedia?”

“Yes. Acedia. And Acedia doesn’t forgive those who speak carelessly to the Demon King.”

Clang. The magic bullets began to load again.

Firing multiple magic bullets in a single shot…

Wait.

Just now, how did the mana enter the barrel…?

“What the heck…!!”

Ta-ang!

“!!”

I built a wall in front of me again.

The wall that rose from the ground blocked all of Shax’s magic bullets, but…

Kwa-ang!!

The wall exploded.

I ran towards Morzen, who was in the range of the explosion, grabbed her, and rolled on the ground.

“Keukk…?!”

“Tch. What a shame. I finally got to land a hit.”

Shax’s tongue-clicking sound echoed throughout the cave.

At the same time, the skeletons’ jaws were clicking, as if mocking us.

“Dodging an explosive shot. What a shame.”

“You… what kind of warlock are you?!”

Morzen shouted in anger.

Aside from the fact that he summoned the undead, his attacks were on a different level from normal warlocks.

“I’m a warlock.”

“I’m a warlock, yes. That was warlock magic just now.”

Yes. Warlock magic.

“Bone Explosion. Corpse Explosion.”

“Wow, you know quite well. To have noticed that. You’re too good of an eye to kill me.”

“I knew it when you first shot. Your bullets… hit corpses.”

Corpse Explosion.

It is a magic that literally explodes parts of a corpse.

During the war 500 years ago, they fought by exploding real corpses.

But why is it coming from a shotgun?

It’s because the bullets he’s shooting aren’t ordinary.

“That shotgun, is it shooting bone?”

“It’s accurate.”

The shotgun Shax was holding had a fairly wide bore.

I’ll have to dissect the principle of how bullets fly inside, but these countless skeletons are his summons as well as…

“Bones, they look soft, but they’re surprisingly strong, right?” Bullets.

“Processing them and shooting them is good, but if you pull them out like this…”

He pulled out the finger of the skeleton next to him and put it in the magazine.

“If you shoot something that looks like a bullet, you can kill any enemy.”

Click, click, click.

A strange twisting sound rang out from inside, and Shax pointed his gun at me again.

“It seems like you know a little about us, but where are you from and who are you?”

“What are you planning to do with that knowledge?”

“I’m going to find out where such an insolent woman came from. You, the woman who dares to call the Demon King’s name carelessly and even curse at him.”

Why is he getting angry and making a fuss when I’m going to curse at him using my own name?

“Is it a sin to call the Demon King’s name?”

“No.”

He pulled the trigger without warning.

I extended my staff forward.

Ka-ang!

The bullet Shax fired bounced off something and flew away.

“Are you alright?”

“…Oh.”

It was Lucius.

Lucius tilted the blade of his sword so that the bullet was pointed toward the ceiling, deflecting it.

“Isn’t that great?”

“Thank you, Master.”

Perhaps he was jealous of how I deflected Rosemas’ arrow last time, as he deflected Shax’s bullet simply and quickly.

His speed, stamina, and strength were all due to his status as a warrior of the Holy Sword, but at least he was able to deflect the enemy’s attack with precise timing, which was definitely an encouraging achievement.

“You…well, it doesn’t matter.”

Again.

Shax pulled out another finger of the skeleton.

“If it’s not a finger, I can just shoot the toe, or if it’s not that, I can just shoot the spine.”

“You’re going to blow up your own bones, why are you blowing up the bones of the innocent dead?”

“You arrogant bastard.”

Shax’s expression distorted.

“Ah. Are you so old that even if you pull it out, it’ll just be bone dust?”

“You’re talking nonsense about a pierced mouth!”

“Then is your mouth pierced or is it still attached?”

“You arrogant bastard!”

Shax exploded in anger.

The bastard’s gun was only pointed at me.

That’s good.

If he was fixated on me, it meant he couldn’t notice the movements of others.

“I tried to leave the form, but it didn’t work! I’ll definitely kill you!”

That’s what I should be saying.

Three, two, one.

“Haaap!”

Without me having to say anything, Rosemas, who had gathered all her magic power, knelt on the floor and shot an arrow of wind toward the ceiling.

“What?!”

Shax didn’t notice because her gaze was drawn to me.

It was a clear defeat, and the wind arrows that Rosemas shot at the ceiling rose to the ceiling and became a circular cloud.

“Arrow Rain!”

Pavavabat!!

At the same time, countless wind arrows began to pour down from the clouds.

The arrows pouring in all directions instantly broke the spines of the skeletons, preventing them from getting up.

“Huh.”

“That’s amazing, Rosemas!”

“Huh.”

Rosemas smiled faintly at Lucius’s sincere admiration.

Perhaps this was the first compliment that Lucius had ever given with sincerity during their conversation?

Or not.

“This is a complete turnaround! Mine Shax! Just throw down your weapons and surrender!”

Morzen, who had become more excited as the situation turned around, aimed his gun at Shax.

The small pistol and shotgun were several times larger, but the situation was far more advantageous for us.

“Hmm, surrender.”

Shax’s gun was still pointed at me.

“This is ridiculous. I’m the one dealing with those who came into my house without permission, and you’re saying I’m surrendering?”

“Because you’re Acedia.”

“Ha.”

Shax just laughed as if he found it ridiculous.

Because of that laugh, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“Do you think I’m at a disadvantage right now?”

“Then?”

“Not at all.”

Kick, kick.

From somewhere, a mechanical sound began to be heard.

“I was already winning from the start.”

Soon, the walls of the cave began to blur.

As if a black curtain was being drawn, the darkness that had seemed like a wall disappeared, and the things inside began to reveal themselves one by one.

“What…is that?”

“…Automata? No, how are there so many automata…?”

Other automata, different from the Killing Spiders, were spread out all around.

Each of the automata, which aimed their shotgun-like muzzles at us, had a skeleton behind them.

Those skeletons would definitely be used as bullets while handling the killing machines.

“If I move my finger here, all of you will be wiped out.”

Morzen’s expression turned pale, and Rosemas’s gaze naturally turned to Lucius.

Then Lucius looked at me and asked for permission.

Now is the time to show the power of the Holy Sword.

No.

You shouldn’t make them rely on the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword is truly a last resort.

Saying you’ll use the Holy Sword just because it’s a little difficult is just childish.

Even if that’s true for Lucius, the other comrades shouldn’t rely on the Holy Sword either.

You could say that you’ll waste it if you save it up, but using the Holy Sword when there are plenty of other ways to deal with it is excessive.

I think I should show them my strength.

Let’s just show them a little bit of my original strength.

“Lucius. Rosemas. Come to me for a moment.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What method…”

“It’s simple.”

I leaned my body against Rosemas and reached out to Lucius.

“Rosemas. Just take care of my body for a moment. Okay? Lucius…”

I held Lucius’ hand tightly.

“Something scary is going to happen from now on. But do you trust me?”

“…Master.”

Lucius held my hand tightly with a face full of confidence.

“I trust you.”

“Yes.”

Possession.

I placed my consciousness into Lucius’s body.

And I had a gut feeling.

As expected, this body.

It’s so good.

It was so good for me to possess and use.

“…This is?”

“This is the spiritual world, Lucius.”

“…Master?”

Lucius looked.

A beauty who looked like the witch Belle had matured by ten years.

“Your body, can I use it roughly for a moment?”