Chapter 91 – No Safe Place in Hell (1)

Crack.

When I swung the sword, the lightless skeleton head shattered.

Though it had already become ordinary bones with the death energy gone, I couldn’t just leave it.

“At least the sword is safe.”

I checked the sword that shattered the skeleton and sighed in relief.

Unlike the sword, the armor was ruined.

The armor had protected my body even in the flame magic, but was deformed by the heat.

The magic circles drawn by the mage were erased, and the joints carefully crafted by the blacksmith creaked.

“This is unusable.”

My face contorted while removing the armor.

Not just regret at the ruined armor, but it was extremely painful having flesh stuck to the armor torn off.

The clothes worn under the armor had burned earlier.

If I hadn’t wrapped my body in mana, my flesh would have burned with the clothes.

Though I survived thanks to the mana wrapped around my flesh, I wasn’t unharmed.

All my skin was blistered. My whole body was burned.

There were many places where flesh had stuck to the armor.

Originally it’s wrong to carelessly remove clothes or armor after such burns, but I had no choice but to remove them.

Because I needed to drink potions.

Gulp, gulp.

I drank one bottle and poured another over my head.

Though wasteful to use two bottles, burns like this were far beyond one potion.

Moreover, death energy still remained clinging to my body.

I clicked my tongue softly seeing the black energy flowing on my skin being washed away by the potion.

Using flames and death energy simultaneously.

It would have been a fatal attack if I couldn’t see death energy.

If I had only tried blocking the flames, the death energy would have pushed into my body.

Though I got burned blocking the death energy, thanks to that I preserved my life and could catch the lich.

I could feel cells reviving as the potion was absorbed into my skin.

Great pain changed to minor pain, and heat was felt inside my body.

It was the heat of the swallowed potion healing my internal body.

As the pain subsided and heat wrapped my body, I seemed to feel peace, relief, and even pleasure.

This feeling was why people became addicted to potions.

I smiled bitterly and drew up mana.

As the settled mana swirled through my body, my slightly addled mind returned.

When my mind returned, the pain was felt again.

As expected, I couldn’t heal immediately just from drinking potions.

Only famous clerics could heal people on the spot, potions couldn’t do that much.

They just reduced pain and made healing speed enormously faster.

Of course, even that alone was impressive.

Thanks to that potion I could move again this time too.

All the pouches were intact even in the flame magic. As expected of magic pouches.

I put the ruined armor in the intact pouch and pulled out whatever clothes I could find to put on.

Though not clothes fitting the current situation, they were rather proper clothes compared to my burn-covered body.

After putting on new clothes like that, I kicked off the ground while holding my sword.

I sprang up to the second floor, grabbed the window frame, sprang up again, and climbed to the rooftop where I fought the lich.

Unlike before, I couldn’t climb to the rooftop in one go.

It was due to the injuries.

Even now my whole body hurt with every movement.

Even with potions, without mana I would have been lying on the ground groaning from these wounds.

Honestly I wanted to rest too because of the pain, but I couldn’t.

“Should have died quietly. Threw shit until the end.”

I cursed at the lich that had returned to bones while watching the gradually distancing octopus monster.

And Zahina appeared beside me.

Seeing my appearance, she showed an uncharacteristically surprised face.

“You’re badly hurt.”

Come to think of it, Zahina hadn’t seen me get hurt.

Being used to getting hurt in the other world I hadn’t realized, but my injured appearance seemed unpleasant to look at.

“I’m fine after drinking potions. I can make it to the safe zone.”

There was an amazing cleric named Yerim in the safe zone.

That’s why I needed to move now.

“Let’s hurry, we need to arrive before that thing.”

I needed to meet Yerim before the octopus monster destroyed the safe zone.

Not just to get treatment from Yerim, but because if the safe zone broke, I needed to escape with her.

Though I received a message to guard the gate that would soon appear, if the safe zone broke, I had no choice but to disobey that order.

I muttered quietly while running across the rooftop.

“Well, this much is doing my best.”

“What?”

Zahina following me showed a puzzled expression at my muttering.

I waved my hand at her.

Perhaps because I was injured, Zahina had been constantly concerned about me for a while.

It was uncharacteristic attention from her, but with my own situation being urgent now, I pushed the question to a corner of my mind.

‘But will Yerim follow well?’

She probably wouldn’t listen to my words about abandoning people and running away.

Nothing could be done. If it came to that, I’d have to carry her on my back as thought before.

Fortunately the octopus monster moved slowly.

The octopus monster heading to the safe zone didn’t show enthusiasm like when chasing me.

Like doing something unwillingly, the octopus monster slowly returned while sweeping its tentacles everywhere.

Thanks to that I could return to the safe zone much earlier even with my injured body.

When I jumped down to the underground passage where Yerim was, everyone was startled seeing me.

People didn’t even recognize me.

Not wearing armor and appearing with a face distorted by burns, they couldn’t think I was the knight who had just left.

But my party members recognized me.

“Can the octopus monster use magic too? Those wounds are clearly from a mage’s magic.”

Hoffman immediately recognized how my burns were made.

It was expert observation, but he was immediately scolded by Yerim.

“No, is that the issue now? It must hurt terribly. Sit there. I’ll treat you right away.”

Yerim who scolded Hoffman ran to me as I landed on the ground and placed her hands on my arm.

Soft light spread from her hands and flowed into my body.

Yerim’s holy power was different from potions.

Without feeling drugged, I could feel my body healing completely.

Distorted skin fell off and new skin grew in real time.

The pain subsided. Disobedient muscles became firm again.

After a moment when Yerim’s holy power withdrew, my body had all returned to normal.

Yerim withdrew her hands from my arm and sighed softly.

“Thank goodness. It was easy to treat since only the skin and some muscles were damaged.”

Indeed, if I had holes through my body or shattered organs like the Apostle, she couldn’t have healed it this quickly.

But even so, it clearly wasn’t an easy thing.

Yerim who withdrew her arms was breathing heavily with sweat all over her body.

She had done her best to heal me quickly.

I patted Yerim’s shoulder and stood up.

My body felt light. Though probably psychological, I felt better than before getting injured.

That feeling immediately subsided at Hoffman’s question.

“Did luring the monster go well?”

I shook my head.

“Failed. Because the lich interfered… The octopus monster is coming back this way.”

“Seeing your wounds, you fought the lich?”

I nodded at Hoffman’s question.

“Then what about the lich…”

“Got it.”

Hoffman dropped his jaw at my answer.

He asked me again with an unbelieving expression.

“What?”

“Destroyed it. Shattered its skull so we won’t see it again.”

Though I explained again, Hoffman found it hard to believe.

“But, that lich? You caught it alone?”

Though it was an amazing mage in life and a Demon King’s corps commander after death, anyway I was the winner.

At the repeated questions I looked at Zahina who had followed, and Zahina nodded acknowledging my words.

Amusingly, Hoffman immediately believed when Zahina acknowledged it.

“Good heavens. That lich was a Demon King’s corps commander. To catch it one-on-one. People will go crazy if they find out. It’s an achievement even the Empire’s Sword Masters would find difficult!”

It was actually an impressive thing.

Thinking how the allied forces were in an uproar for a while when one of the Empire’s Sword Masters caught a Demon King’s corps commander leading a knight order, it was definitely impressive.

Unfortunately there would be no uproar.

“Useless. Even so, no one would believe it.”

“What? But… Ah, right. Since no one saw…”

I was a free knight from a small kingdom.

There was no way nobles from other kingdoms or the allied forces command would want to acknowledge that I alone caught a corps commander.

They would have struggled not to acknowledge it even with witnesses, so there was no way they’d acknowledge it without witnesses.

And I didn’t want such acknowledgment either.

Catching the lich this time was because the situation and timing were good.

I could catch it because it wasn’t with its corps and was careless, at another time I wouldn’t have even charged.

It would be troublesome if it became known that someone like me caught a corps commander alone.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered.

Becoming unnecessarily more famous would surely get me assigned to more dangerous operations.

Just like now.

That would be troublesome for safely returning to the kingdom and establishing an estate.

Being known as a decent knight was just right for me.

But there was someone here who opposed my thinking.

“Don’t worry. I saw it. I will be a witness to others.”

I hurriedly waved my hands at Zahina’s sudden interjection.

“No. There’s no need for that. Really.”

Even formal speech came out in my hurry.

Zahina looked at me with a puzzled face at my words.

She seemed not to understand my words.

Though explanation seemed needed, there was no time to explain now.

The octopus monster was coming.

After checking the underground passage, I said to Hoffman and Yerim.

“Since we could get buried here, everyone go outside.”

Though this underground passage was clearly built sturdy, it seemed difficult to withstand the monster rampaging above.

Earlier I left Yerim here because the situation was urgent, but now I couldn’t.

Moreover, with Yerim here it would be difficult to take her and run away.

At my words Hoffman started climbing up the vertical passage on his own, and Zahina also shot up riding the wind.

“Yerim, take the holy artifact.”

Yerim returned with the holy artifact at my words.

I carried Yerim on my back and tried to leave the passage.

That’s when.

The people who had remained in the passage until then shouted at me.

“What about us?”

I frowned at the sudden words.

“All go back. Since the entrance is still in the safe zone, there won’t be undead.”

“But if other people find out…”

“If you don’t like that, keep going where you were going.”

Everyone here was people trying to escape outside the safe zone with the Apostle.

My words couldn’t help but be cold.

The people froze at my cold words, and Yerim on my back buried her head in my back.

Then the young awakened one, Ihan, stepped forward.

“I will take these people back.”

The young awakened one seemed to have felt something during this time.

Now so different from when first seen, I looked at him again.

When I looked, he bowed his head to me.

“Please.”

I smiled bitterly inside.

Seeing people come to their senses occasionally like this made my heart ache.

It would be easier if they just remained bad people.

I shook my head and launched upward.

I could keep feeling him watching from below.

When I came up to the ground through the vertical passage Zahina had made, the octopus monster’s huge body was visible.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The monster had returned to the safe zone.