Just when I thought I had defeated the boss monster, my companions were ambushed.
The Maafern sisters are seized, and the sight of Haddiss, stabbed through the chest, makes me move like a bullet.
"You bast*ard... Who are you!?"
I howl and slash at the red-haired, brown-skinned man, whose upper half of his body is naked.
I attack in no time after the appearance of the enemy. My reaction speed is so fast that I am proud of myself for my surprisingly quick response.
"FOOOOOOO! So quick, really quick, HAYAII! You're so good, it made this great lower half a little tense!"
"Huh...!?"
But... the sword I wielded sliced through the air.
Suddenly, without warning, the man's body vanished.
"Kahk!"
"Kkkkk...!"
As the man disappeared, Hadiss, who had been pierced through the chest, and Shakuna, who had been knocked to the ground and trampled, were released.
Shakuna stands up from the ground, while Hadiss falls to the ground bleeding.
But... Ryuna is gone. She has disappeared with the man.
"Ryuna!?"
I look around in panic... but the man and Shakuna appear a few meters behind me.
"HYU! It’s burning, it’s burning. Bro, you're a really charming guy. Coming to kill this great me out of the blue, without any question..."
"Kkh... Baskerville-sama!"
Ryuna moans in pain as the man grabs her neck.
I look at him and point the tip of my sword at the man who has somehow managed to get behind me.
"Let her go right now, or I'll let you die easy."
"FOOOOOO! Going to kill me? Okay then!"
He laughs at my intimidation and his deafening laughter makes me uncomfortable.
He shakes Ryuna whom he has seized and moves his shoulders up and down with a smirk as if he is proud of it.
"However... This great me can't listen to your order! After all the trouble, finally, the little bird that has escaped can be found. This poor, stupid, sacrificial Priestess-chan will be returned to us!"
"You are Guru... Rudanaga's hand! Give me back my sister!"
Shakuna yells as she gets to her feet.
She holds up her shamshir with a fiery look on her face and yells biting words.
"I will not let you sacrifice my sweet Ryuna! You're wrong if you think you'll get what you want!"
"Yes, yes, it's a beautiful sisterly love. If she's so precious to you, why don't you try to get her back by force?"
"I'll do that... and for now, die."
"Ohhh!?"
Dark magic—illusion ghost.
I create a shadow clone, and the clone slashes at the unidentified man.
A total of three clones are created. Although the man is slightly surprised to see me coming at him from all four directions, he quickly deals with the situation.
"HYUUUUUUUUU! Play a shriek of fear, Advanced Wind magic—Thousand Thorns!"
"......!"
The man activates his magic.
Numerous invisible blades of wind are released, slicing the other four and me in a single breath.
"I'm sorry... but it's all an illusion, and the real me is here!"
But... in fact, all those cut into pieces by the wind magic were the shadow clone created by the magic.
I, the main body, had disappeared in an illusion, and I was behind him. I came up straight behind him and started to slash his back.
Shakuna also leaps at him from the other side with both of her shamshirs in her hands. We worked in unison without a signal. This would have been unthinkable before entering 'The Royal Tomb of Salomon".
"SH*T! You two are good, it’s a crazy attack full of killing!"
Shakuna and I attack from the front and back at the same time... but the man's composure is unwavering.
"Ho-we-ver, this great me is the one who can't be killed in this situation, kay!"
"Huh...!"
"Eh...?"
"Sorry, this great me can’t take your attack! So, don’t cry, kay!"
The man disappears again.
This time he appears near the entrance of the room. Of course, he still has Ryuna in his grasp.
The perfectly coordinated attempts of a pincer attack are evaded. In frustration, Shakuna bites her back teeth and stares at the mysterious man.
"Khh... He's disappeared again, how did he manage to avoid us!"
"...It was his teleport Magic. But why could he use it in the middle of a battle!"
I finally realized what the man had done.
Teleport magic is used to move from town to town or to escape from a dungeon, just like Lula or Llemito.
I cannot use it, but a pure magician could learn it at a rather early stage.
However, this magic is only to shortcut the travel time.
It should not have been possible to use it in battle... but unlike the specifications of the game, it seems that in this world, it can be used in battle as a matter of course.
"Activating advanced magic with shortened chanting, and using teleport magic continuously... who are you, really?"
"FOOOOOOO! Sorry for the late introduction. This great me name is Veinrune [ヴェイルーン]. This great me is one of the Knights of Hell and a mighty demon in a good mooddd!"
"Demon...?"
I mutter, staring at Veinrune, a brown-skinned man.
It can't be a demon summoned by Salomon. Such a monster would not have appeared in the tombs of kings.
If so, it must be a demon summoned and used by someone other than Salomon.
"The summoner is the Guru Rudanaga... or is it Rujanaga?"
"OH? If you know Master's real name, then you must be a real demon, ain'tcha?"
The demon named Veinrune reveals his master's true identity in a simple manner.
I had thought that it was so in all probability, but... now I am finally convinced that Rudanaga is the same person as Rujanaga, the fourth heavenly king of the Demon Lord Army.
"This is troublesome... Rujanaga has unleashed an assassin!"
I am not surprised that Rujanaga has summoned and sent a demon. After all, in the game, he had summoned a demon and sent it to the protagonist (Leon).
But... the demon in front of me is bad. This is a crossbow.
This demon has crossed the dungeon which we have conquered for several days, playing solo without a party. That alone tells us that he is a very strong person.
He is a man who can finally compete with others using overlimits.
But... Unfortunately, my overlimit was used in the previous boss battle. It could not be activated consecutively.
In addition, the damage I sustained in the boss fight has not healed. Before I could get Ryuna to cast a healing spell on me, I was in a continuous battle.
"...I have one more question for you..."
Anyway... there was one more thing I needed to ask him.
"...There must have been priest-soldiers at the entrance to the dungeon. What did you do with them?”
"OH? If it was the small fry at the entrance, this great me killed them first. This great me could let them go if they would have let this great me through quietly... but they insisted that they would never let this great me through. So, this great me sent them to hell lightlyy "
"No way... Everyone...!"
Ryuna groans as she is captured by Veinrune.
Tears stream down her cheeks as she is seized by Veinrune, hearing that the people who had escorted her to her rescue had died before she knew it.
"Well... Demon or not, I'm going to kill you! Can you die?"
"HYUUUUUU! It’s so sick! Bro, you're obviously in a different mood. The aura you're wearing, you're as powerful as a noble-class demon, ain'tcha? Your vicious killing spirit, this great me can't believe you're a human...?"
Veinlune stops mid-sentence and turns serious.
His red eyes look straight into my face and I raise my eyebrows in wonder.
"...What's wrong with my face? Is there something on my face?"
"...Your face"
"What?"
I listen to Veinrune's words, not understanding what he is saying.
And... immediately regretted asking back.
"Hey, hey, if it look closer, you're so cute, bro...! What a pretty faceee...!"
"...What the?"
"Sharp eyes like a man-eating dragon. A nose as high as a hellbird's. A lip color like the petals of a mandragora that has grown by sucking blood, and black hair like the black flames that spread in the depths of hell...! I have never seen such a beautiful and lovely creature! It's like a supreme work of art created by the demigods of the apocalypse!"
"......!?"
Veinrune's evaluation makes my shoulders slump.
What in the world is he talking about?
If his goal was to scare me by saying something outlandish... the plan worked perfectly.
After all, I feel fear much stronger than when I was shown the advanced magic.
"This great me had decided... bro, you're my destiny. My honey! My sweet loveee!"
"Hey... what are you talking about!?"
I exclaim, but Veinrune is unconcerned and says a self-indulgent thing.
"This great me is in love with you at first sight, honey! Please go out with me and have intercourse (gig) with me!"
"......!"
I felt unprecedented fear and shivers run down my spine.
I'm sorry for Haddiss and the priest-soldier who had been killed, but Veinrune's shocking confession sent such a horrifying shock through my heart that their deaths were wiped out.
