Shinka no Mi Chapter 226

I headed with Zakia-san to the place where the heroes were held captive, and the first thing we did was to go to the place where the teachers, who were supposed to be the first among the heroes to be locked up from the beginning, were.

“So, the teachers…… where were the adult heroes confined?”

“Since they are adults, we have been instructed to give them as little information as possible. They were imdiately thrown into a prison cell in the basent of the castle.”

“Uwah……”

Apparently, the teachers had been always confined in the dungeons of this castle. Just lightly imagining it made my voice co out involuntarily.

Tha,that’s…… while I was enjoying this different world sohow or the other, the teachers seed to have had a hard ti.

As we headed for the dungeon, we naturally went down the stairs leading to the basent, but as we went further and further down, the air was becoming damp and unpleasant.

In addition to the teachers, the prison should also be accommodating criminals, so the environnt seems to be quite bad.

I could easily imagine how difficult it would be to be confined in such a place for a long ti.

“Co to think of it, no monsters, in particular, appeared on the way from Alf-sama’s place to the dungeon in this manner.”

“……It’s definitely an effect of you being here. I don’t know what you did, including the magic that wiped out those creatures, but I already know firsthand that you have powers beyond our imagination.”

“……”

It’s different, I couldn’t quite say that it wasn’t the case.

I myself was not thinking of exterminating those creatures completely, but the world had been making considerations for thoroughly. It wouldn’t be strange if the world is making another consideration and erasing them entirely.

There were no soldiers standing on guard, no monsters appearing, and when we ran through the basent, we finally arrived at the place where the prisons were lined up.

But……

“What!?”

“Wha,what’s wrong?”

“If there’s no one……!”

Zakia-san’s eyes widened as he faced the empty dungeon.

I also took a quick look around, but I couldn’t feel any signs of people.

“The,then, the teachers have already been taken sowhere?”

“That’s what I’m going to say. But there is another problem. This place, as you can see, is a dungeon, and it should have several prisoners. But I can no longer see those prisoners ……”

“Eh!? Did they escape or sothing?”

“…..It’s hard to imagine that in this situation, but in the unlikely event that they did escape, the residents of this city would be in danger. Luckily in the midst of this disaster, it’s impossible to basically go outside or enter this city due to a strange force. Unless they have the sa ability as you. And since there aren’t many competent people among the prisoners imprisoned here, the chances of them escaping out of town are low.”

“The,then what the heck is……”

“…… If they disappeared together with the heroes, it’s likely that the prisoners were taken there as well.”

Speaking of which, I rember that so soldiers were trying to take the residents away from the city. ……

“Uhmm, I was looking around the city before I t Zakia-san, and there were soldiers there who were trying to take the residents away. Could it possibly have sothing to do with that?”

“Certainly ……. We were aware that so of the soldiers were acting like that, but we didn’t know what the hell they were doing that for. I really should have stopped them and questioned them directly, but because of the monsters, I didn’t even have ti to question them. Maybe that has sothing to do with it. ……”

“In any case, I don’t have a very good feeling about this…… Where else might the heroes be?”

“……Perhaps they are in the audience chamber. His Majesty passed away there at so point, never coming out of that room. That’s why the heroes are likely to be there too.”

After looking at each other, we returned to the surface and headed to the audience room under Zakia-san’s guidance.

◆◇◆

“This is……!”

As we head towards the audience room, I notice a strange presence dominating in the surroundings.

That presence, is more insidious and ominous incomparable to the dungeon.

Sohow, the surrounding walls of the castle also seed to be dyed black.

The situation was so unusual that Zakia-san’s eyes were wide open.

“Zakia-san?”

“It had indeed been so ti since His Majesty had been confined to the audience chamber, but even then, there had been no visible change in the castle that I could notice. But what the heck is this black aura ……”

It seems that the aura that is eroding the walls and dyeing the entire castle black as it is, was not just my imagination after all.

There is clearly a dangerous atmosphere here, but there’s no turning back now.

“……Then, let’s go.”

“Ah”

We nodded to each other and went straight into the audience chamber.

Then inside there ――――

“Wha,what is this space……!”

Since it was called the “audience chamber”, I had imagined it to be a space similar to the audience room in Ranze-san’s castle, but the scenery spreading out before our eyes was so strange that it was hard to believe that we were inside a castle.

It was a chaotic world of strange, indistinguishable colors mingled together, with no walls or ceilings in sight.

However, perhaps a remnant of the castle, only the ground was a floor made of sothing that looked like marble.

On such a floor, so kind of magic circle drawn in reddish black liquid was applied; there was a single magic circle in the middle, and many other magic circles were drawn around it.

Zakia-san was at a loss for words in this space, but I sohow rembered the space where I fought the Demon god.

…… At that ti, the status said that the Demon god should’ve disappeared, but could it be that he was still alive?

Otherwise, even though he was the emperor of a country with the technology to summon heroes, it would be hard to believe that he could create such a mysterious space.

“Wha…… the entrance!”

While Zakia-san turned around and was surprised, I hurriedly checked behind and found that the entrance that had existed earlier had disappeared. We’re trapped……

As I looked around for a way out, I noticed sothing wriggling in the center of the magic circle, which clearly looked like it was dangerous.

“Hi!?”

A mysterious mass of flesh, shredded, bundled together, and writhing about, splattering blood, was present in the center of the magic circle.

“That’s……”

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like it’s dangerous……”

However, I don’t even know if it’s sothing we should attack, so I can’t put my hands on it carelessly.

Well, even if I attacked it sowhat appropriately, I felt that this planet would handle it to so extent, but my heart was not so brazen enough to be able to rely on sothing uncertain.

Or rather, that wriggling lump of at……. sohow it looks familiar ―― I thought…… Isn’t that similar to what happened to when I was in my final evolution?

By any chance, should I say that that lump of at is also in the process of evolving?

In any case, I was also like that when I was in my final evolution…… No matter how you look at it objectively, it’s really bad!

It was really amazing that Saria, who saw such a disgusting thing, didn’t pull back and worry about ……. She was so worried about that she thought I was going to die completely, so she swung her arms down on my hunk of at and tried to give a heart massage. Because in the end, the pieces of at which are scattered all over the place! I’m so glad to be alive!

When I casually look back on such nostalgic mories, Zakia-san notices sothing.

“Wha……that’s, a human!? And a hero as well……!”

“Eh?”

Involuntarily, my eyes had been drawn to the huge hunk of flesh in the center of the magic circle, but upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was a stack of what appeared to be human beings placed on top of the magic circle that surrounded it.

“Ah……elp……”

“N……no……”

“Uah……”

“Tsu!”

The humans placed on top of that magic circle are all parched and shriveled up, as if they’ll die at any mont.

Among them were the teachers I was looking for and the other heroes.

I had no idea that the situation was this dire, and as I exclaid, Zakia-san, the first to co to his senses, raised his voice toward .

“Let’s hurry up and rescue them!”

“Tuh! Yes!”

We hurriedly rushed over to the humans gathered in the magic circle.

Fortunately, everyone is breathing and not a single of them is dead.

However, it was clear that if we leave them unattended, they would die.

“Tsu! As I thought, the prisoners and townsfolk were here too …… and even the maids and butlers …….”

As we approached the magic circle, I could see the human figures gathered there, and so of them seed to be familiar to Zakia-san.

Certainly, among the piles of humans, I can also see people dressed in maids’ and butlers’ uniforms.

When I approached the heroes, too, I found my classmates and teachers there groaning in a completely dried up state.

“Ah……”

“Uhh……”

“This, they’re on top of the magic circle, but is it okay if I put my hands on them……? No, now is not the ti to worry about that!”

I summoned up my courage and lifted all the heroes stacked on top of the magic circle together.

“Alright…… the magic circle doesn’t seem to react in particular at all……”

For the ti being, after breaking through the first barrier, I invoke my recovery magic on the heroes I’m carrying.

Nonetheless, not a single one of them returned to their original form with that recovery magic.

Is this what they had beco because they have been deprived of their powers as heroes?

If that’s the case, then I don’t know why the people in the city have the sa appearances as them, though……

In the anti, when I checked the heroes and people of the city with my 『Advanced Appraisal』 skill, I found out that the heroes had already lost their titles as heroes, and their power as heroes had already been robbed away.

But other than that, I could not identify anything particularly strange with my skill.

I activated the skill on the lump of at as it was, but nothing was displayed, so I couldn’t make out anything more than it being a mysterious hunk of at. It’s really creepy……

“Zakia-san! I have to bring these heroes back at once!”

“Back!? No, can you even get out of this space!?”

“Yes, maybe!”

“Maybe!?”

I’m planning on heading back using my transfer magic, but if that magic doesn’t work, I’m thinking of slashing through this space in order to get out.

For the ti being, I tried activating the transition magic at once, then the magic was activated without any problems, and I was teleported to the front of the castle in the Kingdom of Welmburg with the heroes in my arms.

“Uooh!? Se,Seiichi-dono?”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

The soldier who was guarding the castle gates raises his voice in surprise because of my sudden transition. Even though I was in a hurry, I should have given the teleportation a little more thought. ……

“N,no. I was a little surprised, but…… since it’s Seiichi-dono. It’s too late.”

“Too late!?”

“More importantly, what the heck are those people you’re holding ……?”

“Ah! I ca because I have a business about that……”

Actually, it would probably be better to take them under the care of Kannazuki-senpai, but these heroes are now dying in a state that I don’t know of. Even if I take them to her in this state, Kannazuki-senpai won’t be able to do anything.

More than anything, I have a favor to ask Ranze-san to hide the heroes once they have recovered.

In this manner, I head for Ranze-san’s location while being guided by the gatekeeper.

Ranze-san seed to be in the audience hall, and I walked to that place while holding the heroes, but ……although I thought I was being looked at strangely by those around , the mont they realized it was who was holding it, they changed their expression to one that seed to be convinced. Can you stop acting like you’re convinced just because it’s ?

“Oy, oy, ……Seiichi, you said you wanted to see , so I ca over, but what the hell, is that…….”

“Err…… the hero”

“……Their current state doesn’t feel like that of a hero, though…… are they still alive?”

“Tentatively……?”

While I was holding them like this, I continued to apply recovery magic on them. I don’t know what’s causing it for them to be like that, so this is probably just a temporary relief.

However, as I found out when I held them, they all seem to be extrely depleted of their life force.

“More importantly, what’s up with all those heroes?”

“Ermm…… I was requested by Kannazuki-senpai, so I went to the Kaizer Empire for a while and brought them back.”

“You, really are absurd!”

We,well, I’m usually being swung around by my body, but I’m thankful that it’s convenient at tis like this. It would be even better if it would listen to a little more.

“Well whatever. Oy! For now, get these guys to the first aid room! I don’t know what’s going on, but when they wake up, give them sothing to eat that will give them energy. That will bring them back.”

“I,is that how it is?”

“I don’t know! However, the fact that they don’t revive even though you’re applying your recovery magic to them probably ans that they sustained damage in a different way than wounds and illnesses. There is no other way they can recover from such a thing except by slowly making them recover their ntal and physical strength.”

Certainly, everyone, including these heroes and the humans in that space, had exhausted their vitality to the extre……. it’s not necessarily incorrect, right?

“Ah, then……”

“Ah?”

To test what had suddenly occurred to , I used the power to manipulate life force that I had acquired in the underworld and lightly poured it into the heroes.

Then……

『――――!?』

“Ah”

The heroes’ bodies sprung up greatly as if they had been struck by lightning, then they fell down limply as it is.

“……you killed them, huh”

“N-n-n-no, it’s different!?”

What are you talking about! I was just trying to do a good deed!!

……A,are they okay? Are they alive!?

None of them were moving at all, but compared to before I poured life force into them, their faces had regained their vitality, and most importantly, the life force I could sense from them had gotten stronger.

The,they’re going to be okay!

I,I really just poured a little bit of life force into them, but to think that sothing like this would happen……

I understood this without soone telling . My life force was too strong. ……

Thinking about it, the aftermath of that little life force, was enough to obliterate the evil spirits of the underworld. That’s unbearable for a normal person. ……

After confirming everyone’s safety for the ti being, the soldiers who were summoned by Ranze-san ca and carefully carried the fallen heroes with dubious expressions on their faces.

“So you went to the Kaizer Empire, right? What happened?”

“That’s……”

I gave a brief explanation of what occurred in the Kaizer Empire.

Then, Ranze-san puts on a grim face.

“……I see, Alf-dono……”

“Do you know him?”

“Indeed. The old Kaiser Empire wasn’t a tyrannical country like it is now, but it was a very well-grounded country. All of these were due to the skills of Alf-dono, but…… one day, the emperor suddenly changed, which surprised at the ti. When I gathered so information, I found out that he was cursed or sothing…… I just didn’t know who had placed that curse on him.”

“So that’s it……”

“However, according to your story, Alf-dono was safely revived, right?”

“Yes. It was the sa curse as the one Ranze-san was under, so it changed into 【Eternal Health】 after the reversal as well.”

“That’s all right. If Alf-dono is safe, then the Kaizer Empire should return to being a good country. More importantly, the current emperor …… Sheld-dono would be the problem. From what I’ve heard, there was no sign of Sheld-dono in the audience chamber where the heroes were, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Sothing that looked like a strange magic circle, the citizens who were brought to the palace, and a lump of at I couldn’t quite make out were there.”

“That strange chunk of at has a foul odor, you said, but…… at any rate, after this, Seiichi will return to the Kaizer Empire to assist Zakia-dono and the others, right?”

“Yes. Since I just found out that if I pour my life force into them, they will recover……”

“……Keep it in moderation”

I’m being very moderate, you know, I’ll be pouring in as little life force as I can, though! It’s truly a wonder!

―――― And thus, I was back to that eerie space once again.