Chapter 192
The underground city was the last legacy Deliaspi Dyne left to the world.
…Or rather, would it be better to just call it a pit, since it was completely devastated by the aftermath of the battle?
In truth, it didn’t really matter what it was called. The Master of this place had been used as a sacrifice for the Demon God to manifest anyway.
More importantly…
“How long will it take to escape this place?”
Franz was currently in a situation where he couldn’t even draw on his magic power, let alone use magic. It was also unknown when he would recover.
Therefore, the escape had to be entirely entrusted to Yuna, Hera, and Yusti-ah.
First of all, Yusti-ah wouldn’t even be able to get out of this pit on her own, so she was out of the question. Between the remaining two, Yuna would definitely be faster, but…
Considering that this was an eastern country on the continent where they had no connections whatsoever, it was unknown how long it would take afterward.
They might even die of dehydration before backup arrived.
“Should I think about it later…”
After pondering for a long time, Franz completely emptied his mind.
Trying to think about this and that didn’t seem to work well in a situation where his entire body ached as if it were broken.
Let’s get some sleep first and ask Yusti-ah for healing. It wouldn’t be too late to think after that.
Unable to overcome the mounting fatigue, his eyelids slowly slid down.
It was then.
“U-uh?!”
Yuna, who had been sleeping while leaning against Franz’s chest, opened her eyes.
Her gaze naturally turned toward Franz’s face…
“F-Franz?!”
Startled by the sight of Franz with his eyes closed, she let out a cry.
Since he was someone who had truly been dead just moments ago, it could be said to be a natural reaction.
Of course, Franz hadn’t actually died, though.
“Let me get some sleep too…”
“Ah, yes. Sorry…”
Relieved by the fact that Franz was fine, Yuna closed her eyes once again.
A brief moment passed after that, right before Franz was about to fall asleep.
“U-uugh…”
Suddenly opening her eyes, Yusti-ah wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
And she, naturally.
“Franz…?! You aren’t…?!!”
“I’m sleeping.”
“I-I see… You must be tired too. I’m sorry for waking you.”
First Yuna, and now Yusti-ah. Since it was already the second time, it was understandable to be a little annoyed, but Franz couldn’t bring himself to say anything to them.
It was because the image of them crying out of worry for him still remained vividly in his memory.
Anyway, let’s just sleep now.
It was the moment he thought that and was about to fall asleep.
“Wait, Yuna and Yusti-ah did that…?”
It was a moment that brought to mind the inevitability of a pattern, and given this pattern, it was obvious that Hera would do the exact same thing.
Thus, Franz decided to wait until she opened her eyes.
He judged that it was better not to sleep at all than to fall asleep and be woken up.
It was a very brief moment after that, right around the time he would have just fallen asleep had he closed his eyes normally.
“H-hueh?”
“Hera, I’m sleeping.”
“I see… Have sweet dreams…”
Hera spoke in a voice that sounded like she wasn’t fully awake yet, and then she fell back asleep, breathing softly.
Now that there was no one left to disturb him, he would surely be able to sleep soundly.
Franz let go of the consciousness he had been holding onto, and his mind immediately began to drift far away.
But who could have known that there was someone else to disturb his sweet slumber besides the three right in front of him?
At least, the Franz of this moment had absolutely no idea.
It wasn’t long after that. To be exact, it was right at the point when Franz had just started dreaming.
“Magic Tower lord-! Yuna-! Hera-! Saintess-!”
At the voice coming from above the pit, the four who had been sleeping opened their eyes.
Of course, Franz was included among them.
“Is everyone safe?!”
Opening his eyes, Franz shifted his gaze to look up.
The person up there was none other than Arian.
“How is she here…?”
Franz was simply bewildered.
The distance from the empire to where the pit was located was by no means short.
Furthermore, wasn’t the means of transportation in this era a carriage? There was no way she could have arrived in just a single morning.
But apart from that fact, he was glad to see her.
Her arrival meant that they could get out of this place.
“Hngh…”
Yuna moved with all her might, barely managing to turn her body over and look at the sky.
She answered on behalf of everyone who lacked the strength to do so.
“Arian! We’re all safe!”
“Thank goodness! I’ll come down to save you right away!”
The conversation between Arian and Yuna ended with that.
Arian immediately disappeared from sight, and not long after, she appeared in front of Franz.
Using Spatial Movement Magic, no less.
However, Arian wasn’t the only one who appeared. Seri-ah and Zeni-ah were with her as well.
“Is everyone really okay…?”
Arian said with a worried expression.
Everyone’s clothing was torn and tattered all over, so it was a natural reaction.
“Well, we’re still alive, at least.”
Even as Franz said that, his conscience needlessly pricked him.
Still, well, they were alive right now. It wasn’t exactly a wrong statement.
“I’ll hear the details later. Getting out of here seems to be the priority for now.”
With those words, Arian took out a stick from somewhere and held it in her hand. Then, together with Zeni-ah, she began to draw a massive magic circle.
“Somehow Seri-ah and Zeni-ah are being quiet…”
He had naturally expected them to mock him the moment they saw his face, but they were unexpectedly docile, which actually bewildered him.
Was it simply because they were with Arian, or did they somewhat recognize the severity of the situation?
He didn’t know exactly which it was, but their quietness wasn’t too bad.
I wish they would just stay like this normally, please.
While Franz continued his thoughts, the massive magic circle was completed before he knew it.
It was already a widely known fact that drawing a magic circle directly reduced the amount of magic power used for the spell.
But even so, it should still be too much to use Spatial Movement Magic.
Just what kind of method did they use…
Even though his body was on the verge of collapsing, his mind couldn’t stop its act of inquiry.
“Girls, let’s begin.”
Arian held one of Seri-ah’s hands, and Zeni-ah held the other.
Following that, a blue aura began to waver from Seri-ah’s body.
Magic power taking on a color was proof that an equally powerful force was flowing.
“Just whose head did an idea like that come from…?”
Multiple Mages gathering to cast a single powerful spell was something that had been done since long ago, but the difficulty itself was quite high.
It was because there were many things to consider, such as the elements composing the magic and the speed, in addition to simply sharing magic power.
In that regard, drawing the magic circle in advance must have been helpful to the two of them. At the very least, they wouldn’t have to think about the magic circle.
Just as Franz thought, the flow of magic power moved along the path drawn on the ground, and soon, a complete magic circle was formed.
Seri-ah and Arian had used the magic power stored in Seri-ah’s body to manifest the magic.
“It might be a little dizzying, so please close your eyes.”
Just who was saying that to whom…
Franz let out a pfft-, bursting into a chuckle, and closed his eyes without another word.
Likewise, as Yuna, Yusti-ah, and Hera closed their eyes, a light flashed intensely and the magic was activated.
Eventually, when Franz opened his eyes, he had already escaped the pit.
“Magic Tower lord…! You are safe…!”
“What a relief…!”
“Without the Magic Tower lord, the Magic Tower won’t run…!”
Turning his head at the voices suddenly heard from his side, he saw old men making worried expressions.
They were, of course, Mages who had served in the Magic Tower for decades.
Perhaps this current appearance was just for show and they might actually be harboring other intentions, but…
“I apologize for causing you worry.”
It didn’t feel too bad.
Like it or not, it was also true that they had been of help.
Because the magic power Seri-ah had been storing in her body was definitely theirs.
After that, time truly flew by in the blink of an eye.
Seri-ah received magic power from dozens of Mages, and based on that, Zeni-ah and Arian used spatial magic.
Thus, the place they arrived at was Saint Seraphia Cathedral.
All four of them, including Franz, had drunk elixirs beyond their limits, so they couldn’t recover their bodies with potions.
“S-Saintess-?! Saint?! No, the entire Hero’s Party-?!”
The Clerics let out flustered voices but still did their best to heal them.
The extent of their injuries was so great that nearly ten Clerics had to be assigned to each person.
“We need backup over here! The Saint’s injuries are too severe!”
Amidst an atmosphere that felt like a battlefield, Franz was somehow able to recover his body.
However, intense movements like combat seemed to be out of the question for the time being.
It was a given, considering his mana core was on the verge of shattering right now.
“Magic Tower lord, it seems we’ll have to stay nearby for today…?”
Arian suddenly said such a thing.
The reason, once heard, was that the Mages who came with them had run out of magic power and couldn’t use Spatial Movement Magic.
“Let’s just stay at a nearby inn for a day. I’ll take care of the payment, so don’t worry.”
What could he say from the position of being a burden? He had no choice but to accept reality.
In the midst of that, an unexpected figure suddenly appeared.
No, perhaps it was a matter of course.
“This too must be the Goddess’s guidance. We will offer as many rooms in the Cathedral as possible.”
The Pope said with a benevolent smile.
To be honest, since he had only seen him briefly in passing, he was bewildered.
Apart from that, he was truly grateful for the consideration, but…
Unfortunately, Mages didn’t really like such pious places.
“Magic Tower lord, we will solve our own problems. We must not ask the Cathedral for handouts.”
Like that, the Mages slipped away one by one, and soon everyone except Franz, Arian, Seri-ah, and Zeni-ah disappeared.
“Your Holiness, that’s good…”
Feeling awkward, Franz needlessly scratched his head, as at this rate,, the meaning of the consideration shown to them had vanished.
“It is fine. How could I block the path people choose to take? Then I will assume that only those remaining here will be staying.”
With those words, the Pope laughed, letting out a ho-ho-, and left the area.
Because his retreating figure felt strangely lonely, Franz made a promise to himself that he would have tea with the Pope someday.
Afterward, Franz, who was assigned a room under the guidance of the Clerics, threw himself onto the bed immediately.
When he opened his eyes after doing so, he had arrived in a truly familiar space.
“…You’ve arrived.”
A temple covered entirely in pure white.
It was the place where the Goddess Luan resided.