Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 187: Reunion with the comrades

“…I never expected to get transported to a place like this.”

Just before the transfer by Aiwass, I had been very anxious. I had been warned that I might be sent to a strange place, so I was mentally prepared for that, but it was beyond my imagination to emerge in such a high place that made the vast imperial capital appear very small.

However, I remained calm even as I fell. I knew that I could always reduce my falling speed with sand spiritual art. In other words, no matter how high this was, I would not die. Instead, I decided to make the most of the current situation and observe the situation of the imperial capital while falling for a while.

I heard that a civil war was happening, but it seemed that the imperial capital had also turned into a battlefield. The attacking forces were rushing toward a part of the city walls surrounding the imperial capital, while the defending forces were desperately trying to hold them back from the top of the walls.

From the perspective of someone in the sky, it was clear that the attacking forces had the advantage in terms of individual soldier strength. However, the defending side seemed to resist due to their greater numbers, sturdy city walls, and powerful weapons.

However, for some unknown reason, there appeared to be conflicts within the imperial capital itself. Moreover, it seemed that the ones causing the disturbance were demons. They should have already experienced excruciating pain if they attempted to rampage due to the binding spiritual arts, but… as I approached the imperial capital, I began to hear a strange sound, and I couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.

“I may not understand what’s going on, but… it doesn’t really matter.”

However, I hadn’t come to save the imperial capital. My objective was to free my comrades, head to the southern lands of the continent, and establish a safe haven there. Frankly, besides my special operations comrades, the fate of others didn’t concern me.

Once I freed my comrades, I intended to swiftly withdraw from the embattled imperial capital and head south. To do that, I used all of my compound eyes to oversee the capital, searching for the whereabouts of my friends.

“I’ve found them… but that’s not good.”

As I observed from above, I spotted my comrades in the midst of battle. However, the situation was far from favorable; since they were unable to mount a counterattack against the imperial soldiers, they were trapped in a defensive position.

Moreover, at that very moment, Lappy was struck by an imperial soldier, and her head took a heavy blow! The imperial soldier seemed determined to skewer her without mercy. Without hesitation, I mustered my spiritual power, drew my white sword from my waist, and hurled it towards that imperial soldier.

The white sword pierced the imperial soldier’s vital spot with precision, ending his life with a single blow before embedding itself in the city wall. But I didn’t stop there. I conjured a multitude of sand spears, this time unleashing them all at the other imperial soldiers.

These sand spears were deliberately less precise in their aim, and their speed was slower than the sword I had thrown earlier. However, I didn’t necessarily need to defeat the enemy now. What mattered was driving the imperial soldiers away from my comrades. It was more important to scare them away than to kill them.

As expected, the imperial soldiers began to flee in a panic. Witnessing their comrades pierced and gasping for breath, it was only natural for them to want to avoid the same fate. My plan had worked.

I created a sand platform in mid-air, kicked off it to increase my descent speed, and as I landed on the city wall, I removed the hood covering my face and looked around at everyone’s faces.

I finally realized it when I saw the stunned faces of my comrades. Ah, I had come back. I had returned to my comrades.

“Boss, you seriously made it out alive!”

“You guys thought I was dead after all, huh. As you can see, I’ve tenaciously survived….”

I was about to report my survival to Tigar, who was shouting loudly while holding my sword, but before that, someone leaped into my arms. I saw it coming but chose not to avoid it.

Jumping into my arms and hugging me tightly was Lappy. She seemed to regard me as her father, and she grabbed hold of my clothes, refusing to let go. She wasn’t trembling or crying; she just didn’t want to let go.

“I knew you were alive. But I was worried.”

“I see… I’m sorry.”

Lappy whispered those words to me. She couldn’t possibly know for certain that I was alive, so she must have believed in me. For the time being, it seemed that the imperial soldiers weren’t approaching, so it seemed fine to leave things as they were.

As I gave out a wry smile at Lappy, who showed no intention of letting me go, Tigar walked over to us and extended the hilt of my sword toward me. I accepted it in silence and sheathed it around my waist.

“What’s with that attire? And I’m curious about that box over there…”

“I’ll explain what happened to me later, including the contents of the box. But more importantly… Mika.”

“…Y-Yes.”

“Tell me about the current situation.”

“Understood.”

Perhaps it was the shock of my survival, but Mika seemed completely dazed. However, when I requested an explanation of the current situation, he regained his composure and provided a concise summary of what was happening in the imperial capital.

I hadn’t received detailed information about the civil war from Aiwass. Conversely, it seemed that Mika had been regularly gathering information from Marcellus, which enabled him to provide a much more detailed account of how things had unfolded.

From the assassination of the emperor to the rivalries among the imperial princes and the declaration of independence by the various lords… I had no idea that all of these events had unfolded one after another. The cause of the dwindling number of people in our unit, which I had been trying not to think about, was also revealed to me by Mika.

“For the demon’s rampage, though… since you’re saying it started when that weird noise began, then that sound is likely the cause. In that case, prioritizing the elimination of the source of that sound should be our main concern.”

It seemed that the significant reduction in numbers was not solely due to death; it was because the Karelvo-type demons, including Asumi, had gone berserk. While I mourned those who had perished, I felt relieved that there were still more of us who remained alive.

However, as I tried to act of my own accord as if it were only natural, my comrades observed me with curious expressions on their faces. They probably thought it was impossible for me to do such things. When I thought of the “me” from not too long ago, I could empathize with their feelings all too well.

“Eliminate it, you say… Have you forgotten? We have no freedom here. We can’t stray far from this place.”

“That’s not true. Lappy, could you step back for a moment?”

“Hmm.”

I told her to step back, but for some reason, she ended up wriggling her way up to my shoulder from my chest. Well, it didn’t bother me. I carefully retrieved the key-shaped tool that I had received from Aiwass from my pocket.

As I infused the tool with my spiritual power, the inscribed spiritual circuits began to glow with a soft, ethereal light. While maintaining that state, I touched the tip of it to Tigar’s body. In response, a sound that resembled pottery shattering emanated from his body.

“Um, what was that just now?”

“Do you feel any noticeable changes in your body? Though you might not feel it, this should have set you free.”

“Could it be that you’ve undone the binding spiritual arts!? Where did you get something like that?”

“I’ll explain everything when it’s all over. So, for now, please trust me.”

I used the tool to quickly free everyone who was here. Since there were no visible changes, they didn’t seem to grasp the reality of their newfound freedom. I had also woken up to find myself free, so I could understand their feelings.

After liberating everyone, we descended from the city walls and headed to an empty house where Asumi and the wounded were located. The people in the empty house were puzzled by our return, and they were in awe when they saw me.

“Bo-Boss!? Did you come back as a ghost!?” Linardo exclaimed.

“I didn’t turn into a ghost. But more importantly, let’s wrap this up quickly. Rinne, please.”

“Got it.”

After liberating Linardo, who said something rude while sitting down, I proceeded to release the wounded one by one. Next, it was Asumi and the others’ turn to be freed, but I needed to be cautious in their case. They were currently under the influence of Rinne’s sleep spiritual arts.

This tool had the power to nullify the spiritual arts of spiritualists of a lower rank than Aiwass without any issues. In other words, it could also dispel the sleep-inducing spiritual art that Rinne had cast.

So, there was a high possibility that using this tool would not only undo the binding spiritual arts but also dispel Rinne’s spiritual art. If the reason for Asumi and the others’ berserk behavior was due to the influence of a spiritual art as well, all problems would be resolved at the same time. However, considering how the sound had no effect on us, I concluded that this possibility was low. Most likely, Asumi and the others would soon start going on a rampage after I used it.

So, immediately after using the tool, I would have Rinne, who was on standby, use her spiritual arts again. It was going to be a heavy burden on her, but there was no other option.

“Gyaoooooooooooooooooo!!!”

“Whoa!”

“What’s happening now!?”

Just as I was about to start by freeing Asumi, a deafening roar shook the entire capital. The sound alone caused this empty house to tremble, and dust rained down from the ceiling. The room quickly became dusty, so I used my tail to break a part of the wall, allowing the air to circulate better.

At that moment, I intentionally destroyed the wall in the direction where the roar had come from. It was to quickly grasp what was happening by seeing it with my own eyes.

“Hey, hey, there’s something huge out there!”

“How ugly …”

“Hmm. That thing looks strong.”

What roared in the middle of the imperial capital was a huge lump of flesh, larger than the palace itself. In terms of size, it exceeded that lump of synthesized beasts that I had twisted and crushed with my spiritual arts before, back when I was still a Hades scorpion while I was battling the old holy knight.

And its appearance was, as Zald had described, hideous to the extreme. To put it simply, it looked like a grotesque mixture of various organs kneaded together. It had an appearance that could only be attributed to a deranged artist driven by madness.

This ashen-gray monstrosity constantly convulsed, further expanding its already substantial frame. It was an eerie creature, but what struck me even more was an instinctual sense of impending danger. The spiritual power it emitted was immense, surpassing my own in sheer spiritual energy.

However, there was something else that bothered me more than that. It was the location of that abomination. If my memory served me correctly, that place held deep significance for many of the individuals here.

“Mika, isn’t that the place where the mansion given to Orvo was located?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

It appeared that my memory was accurate. That place was indeed where the emperor had bestowed Orvo with his mansion. It held nothing but unpleasant memories for me, as it was the place where I had been imprisoned in an underground dungeon, where Tigar and others had been synthesized into demons, where Orvo had been assassinated, and where Mika himself had been turned into a demon.

Even though we couldn’t see the mansion anymore, as it had likely been completely obliterated, we had no choice but to make our way to that place. The reason for this was that the source of the strange sound reverberating throughout the imperial capital seemed to be in the direction of that mansion’s remains.

With their keen hearing, all the demons here would likely have realized that the mansion’s vicinity was the source. It seemed that fate was not inclined to let us easily escape from the heart of the capital. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

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TN: Alright!