Farewell Old Sage

 

“Gidara!”

“Oh my, demons are unexpectedly tough even when they are aged”

 

At the center of the pool of blood, Gidara raised only his upper body and pointed his hand towards me.

Those eyes of his had already lost its light, telling me that it was no longer possible to save him.

 

“I have been defeated. But, I will not simply die”

 

The magic circle at my feet became even more active.

This is a transfer magic circle.

Gidara is trying to get me out of the castle.

 

“Wait, Gidara! At this rate, Eleira will be-!”

“Be relieved… Eleira is no longer in this castle. A reliable commander in some respects seems to have rescued her. The ones remaining would be you, Leona and Silvar”

“Gh!”

“Starting now I will teleport you outside the castle… I entrust the rest to you”

 

My field of vision warped.

He’s been so ready that I can no longer escape from getting teleported.

 

“So you think I would simply let you do so?”

“Goh――”

 

Reflected within my dimming field of vision was Violette kicking flying Gidara.

Although Gidara feebly hung his head after he struck the wall, he appeared to be smiling.

 

“Hah… it’s too late. Oh Hero… farewell”

“Aaah! This gramps is being annoying now!”

 

The scene I saw at the end was the moment Orange crushed Gidara’s head.

♦

 

“Uwah, what is this!?”

“Mh”

 

When I noticed it, the scene that was reflected in my eyes had quickly changed.

This place was inside the forest that was behind the demon lord castle.

Around me were Leona and Silvar.

 

“Adel! So you’re safe too!”

“ …Yeah”

“? What’s wrong? Come to think of it, I see neither Gidara nor Eleira…”

“Gidara――――is dead”

“ …Eh?”

 

Leona choked up from my words.

Silvar wrinkled his brows, probably because he had something considerable to think about

 

“There were two who were clearly in a different class from the rest of the rainbow association. After Gidara was beaten, he mustered the last of his strength and let us escape outside”

“In a different class you say… were they that strong?”

“Let’s say… strong enough to defeat Gidara without him being able to do anything. I wonder what would happen if I were to fight them like that…”

 

When we were conversing like that, Silvar began to look around us again.

 

“… I understand what you are saying. However, that would not be the reason why the demon woman is not here. You do not mean she is too, don’t you?”

“No, according to Gidara, she had already gone outside. It looks like they predicted our strategy and placed Luke in the basement, so…”

 

The next moment, we perceived signs of someone approaching us.

When all of us revealed our wariness and faced that direction, that person showed up in a flustered state.

 

“It is me, everyone. It is Eleira”

“Elei… ra…”

 

That person was a matter of fact, Eleira herself.

Although she was battered and worn out, her steps were steady.

And then another person, a man I recognize, showed his face from behind her.

 

“My goodness, a good day all of you. Have you been well?”

“! Phantom!”

 

That man, the first unit commander Phantom Lord, greeted us while showing a vague expression like always.

Judging from appearance, there were no signs of serious injuries, but I perceived his state where some of his magic power was in disarray.

 

“You, where have you…”

“Just like everyone, I had been defeated by Luke and the likes. In order to take care of myself, I have been concealing myself while healing my injuries. It would have been nice if I was able to assist you much earlier, but my injuries have not been completely healed, you see… I was fortunate to have just been barely in time in my subordinate’s crisis”

 

Explaining each other’s situation, Phantom exchanged greetings with Leona and Silvar.

Come to think of it, this is the first time these two and Phantom had met.

 

“That is right, Hero, allow me to hand this over to you”

“Eh?”

 

Phantom took out something from his pocket and threw it towards me.

What I received was a magic stone that was chillingly black.

It had the size that could be put on my palm, yet I felt immense power.

 

“This is?”

“That magic stone is the heart of the demon lord”

“Ooh――――hm?”

 

Needless to say, cold sweat began to seep onto me.

♦

 

“You called master Roy?”

“Yes. Well done coming here”

 

Violette and Orange were called to the basement and visited this place.

Luke was still looking up at his former friends who were imprisoned in the magic stone.

 

“Sadore died?”

“Yes. You even went ahead and gave him the color of Indigo, and yet that demon was easily done in”

“His enemy was Adel. Well, it was reasonable I guess”

 

Luke, after gently stroking the magic stone, turned his gaze towards the two.

 

“Call Red. We can’t afford to let him idle forever after all”

“Understood. What do you intend us to do from now on?”

“We will hasten the execution. The heart of the demon lord has likely fallen into their hands”

 

Luke’s feet headed to the inner chambers again.

And then he took out the imprisoned Isvel from the prison, and returned to the room he was in.

 

“Wake up, demon lord” “Ugh…”

 

Being strongly slapped in the cheek, Isvel woke up.

 

“Gh! You!”

“Silence. I won’t kill you here if you stay obedient”

“Who are you telling to be obe――――gh!”

 

Isvel reflexively tried to blow away Luke, but she was startled as she noticed she could not invoke her spells.

 

“Those handcuffs restricting you temporarily treats your magic power as completely nonexistent. The likes of you without the heart of the demon lord will be like this. You are already a mere woman”

“How much are you going to ridicule me until you’re satisfied…!”

 

Luke ignored Isvel’s words and forcibly made her stand up.

 

“Seeing that Sadore is dead, I will stop taking it easy to carry forward my plans. In a short while, the commanders of the demon lord army will be returning. I have to reach the conclusion before then”

“Guh…!”

 

Isvel was dragged upstairs while being pulled by her hair.

Followed after, Violette and Orange followed behind Luke.

 

“From hereon out I will show you a majestic act of aggression”