by J. J. Pavlov
Gram and the bard split up from us, while I move with Luna and Rolan, to cover more ground. At this point, it's quite unlikely that there are any enemies down here since we would have already come across them when we broke down the door.
"I found someone!" Gram shouts down the hallway, and Rolan rushes towards the location immediately. We quickly follow, so that we're not left behind alone.
The room Gram called out to us from is filled with more than a dozen bunk beds crammed into a small area. There's a group of beautiful young women wearing simple and dirty shirts huddled up in one corner and shaking in fear. Every single one of them has long pointy ears. There are thirteen in total, though none of them are dark elves. I guess those are extra rare.
In another corner, six dwarves are doing the same. I don't know about dwarf physiology, but I'd say they're all males. Wearing only a loincloth and bodies covered in curled red or brown hair, they don't give the impression of being female to me. Their magnificent beards are well-maintained despite the circumstances, so it's safe to assume that they're merchandise as well.
"Do you know where the others are being held?" Luna walks up to the elves and lifts the hair over her ears. They're long and pointy, but only half as long as those of the gathered elves. I guess a half-elf is really only half as elf as a full-blooded one.
Seeing this, the slaves begin to sigh in relief and let their emotions flow freely, with some breaking out in tears. One is able to gather her composure faster than the others and begins to talk to Luna. I'll administer some healing magic on those that have been mistreated. Even though I don't really care about people I don't personally get to know, I do feel angry at seeing beautiful girls getting hurt.
I don't care about the dwarves that much, though.
Under my palm, small cuts caused by whips close up quickly and leave no marks behind, while the discoloration from bruises disappears completely. Without my healing, wouldn't those wounds result in scars? How can you do that to a girl's skin - especially one you want to sell? I don't understand the way those people conduct their business.
"How many of you are being held here?" I ask the one I just finished healing.
"Twenty-eight..." She whispers, barely audible to me. It's obvious she's scared, even though we're here to save them.
No wait, she's looking at Senka. Damn, can nobody here understand the charms of her design?
I relay the information to Rolan, and we begin to move upstairs in our party. Just in case, we tell the slaves to remain here and wait for our return. It might seem a little cruel to do this, but it's better than taking them along into a battle. And we can't spare anybody to watch over them or lead them outside right now, so it's the best course of actions for the time being.
When we come up to the first floor, I see several thugs bound by ropes or lying unconscious. The adventurers that come to me for healing only have small cuts or bruises, and mostly want to be mothered by a cute girl like myself. It's quite clear from their expressions when they dramatize their wounds.
Judging by how easygoing they are, the raid must be going smoothly. I guess the slavers didn't have anyone well-trained or strong enough to stand up against adventurers in here? They've been on the back foot since the moment they clashed in the hallways, and several isolated members have surrendered already.
A few of them were killed because they resisted until the very end, but most have opted to stay alive rather than try and fight their ways out of this. Live to fight another day, they say.
At this rate, we'll be done quickly. But I just can't shake the feeling that it's going too smoothly...
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion rocks the very foundations of the complex. Everyone stops in their tracks and cover their heads from the dust raining onto them, fearing that the entire upper floor could come down.
There it is, the obvious unforeseen circumstance of somebody strong who can fight back showing up!
It's obviously always the best course of action to run towards the sound of an explosion inside a cramped building like this one. If someone's magic caused it, doing so is the best way to get taken out in a large group. I hope you can do the same when you choose to attack the demon castle one day.
Thinking this while I follow after Rolan and his party, as well as several other adventurers who temporarily split from their team, we come upon a hallway into which a big hole was opened on either side. It seems something exploded inside the room on the right side, and broke through two walls, into the room on the left.
When I peek into the right one, I see scorched furniture, with three burned bodies lying on the ground. They are pretty much unidentifiable, but I can see one of them has somewhat long and pointy ears. That must have been an elven slave. The others wear charred armor or are clutching weapons, so I guess they were adventurers.
Then I look inside the room on the left side and find that there's a huge hole leading to the street outside. The lookouts on the rooftops point towards us, signaling that whoever blew this hole into the side of the building hasn't come out this way. Why would they do that, when they could just break through the encirclement with this firepower and escape on their own?
In other words, there must be something they want to protect.
"Spread out and find whoever did this!" Ingrid joins us from the rear, and her voice is filled with anger. She just lost two guild members here.
Still, great idea! This mage burned several people with an explosive spell, and you think it's best to send more after him? I'm not sure I could withstand that kind of magic myself, so how could a normal human being?
I doubt everyone is like Luna and requires so long to chant a single spell. In fact, this mage must have been able to use an almost instantaneous spell. Otherwise, I can't find an explanation as to how he could overcome several adventurers carrying traditional weapons.
The offer for the academy rings even more enticingly in my mind, even if only to find a countermeasure against magic.
I follow Rolan and Gram, making sure to stay behind the latter's enchanted shield. Rolan seems fearless despite the danger of this powerful mage, and Luna doesn't appear especially alarmed either. Are you just that confident or is there something I don't know about battles between mages?
Another explosion shakes the entire building. A wave of scorching air blows through the corridor but is mostly blocked by Gram and his massive shield, since he's walking at the very front. Good to have you here, big man.
The enemy mage must be close.
We soon round a corner and find a wide corridor where the slavers have erected a makeshift barricade consisting of crates and overturned tables. Half a dozen thugs wielding axes, hammers, and clubs, are making a stand here. Behind them is a heavy wooden door that must lead somewhere important.
Among the enemies is one man who stands out. He's wearing a dark red robe with a red feathered collar and has reddish-brown hair and tan skin. That must be the fire mage. He's even wielding a cane-sized staff with a large ruby let into its tip.
What's with this character? It's actually funny that just by seeing his outfit one can tell what his elemental affinity is. But at the same time, he's the first darker-skinned person I've seen in this nation, as all others are quite pale.
There's a group of adventurers cowering behind their shield-bearer just like we are. That shield must be an enchanted one, or they would have been blown away. They're trying to keep the enemies in check, but it's clear that they're at a disadvantage both in quantity and quality.
"Ignis!" The fire mage chants this single word in a commanding tone. A ball of fire the size of a grown person's head appears above the tip of his cane, which he then grabs with a hand and throws at the adventurers in a single fluid motion. Upon contact with the ground in front of them, it goes up in a fiery explosion.
"That spell...?! He must have a double fire affinity!" Luna exclaims in shock. Double? What do you mean by that?
Luckily, it seems I was right about the fact tha
t the shield bearer has an enchanted shield similar to Gram's, and is holding it at an angle. The wave of heat forces him back slightly, but nobody is hurt. However, the guy who just peeked out to shoot his bow does it too hastily, and the arrow flies off into nowhere. The melee fighters obviously don't dare to approach the fire mage while only wielding swords.
They're in a deadlock.
Luna, use water magic! It should be super effective, right?
Another fireball is flung at the shield bearer and hits the shield directly. The explosion throws the man behind it backward and into his party members. Seeing that opening, the enemy mage immediately chants another spell to attack the exposed group with it.
However, Gram reacts quickly and jumps in front of them with his massive shield. The enchanted steel blocks the fireball and causes the magic to dissipate completely on impact.
What level of enchantment is on your shield, oi? Look, the fire mage is also baffled!
"Protect me while I prepare my spell." Lifting her staff, Luna begins to chant.
Are you sure, Luna? You will become the target for a fireball when you do that right in front of the enemy's eyes. Now that the big man has left to frontline for the other adventurers, we have been exposed. Rolan moves in front of her and brandishes his sword as if signaling that he will shield her with everything he has.
Woah, this isn't some final battle where you have to sacrifice your life to get the win! It's just a side quest boss. Didn't you want to defeat the demon queen?
No wait, it's better if you die here rather than become more powerful, and one day, challenge Maou-mama! On the other hand, I still want to journey with you guys a while longer, to learn more about humans, and their strengths and weaknesses...
"Ignis!" The enemy mage's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
There, I knew it! A fireball flies towards us, but Rolan jumps forward and slashes it with his sword. The fire is cut in half and fizzles out harmlessly.
Are you for real? You can do that? I have to reevaluate this party's strength, compared to the other adventurers, who seem to be far weaker. They have neither the teamwork nor the individual abilities that Rolan and the others have.
Speaking of individual abilities, where's the bard? I feel like I haven't seen him for a while now.
A crossbow bolt hits a thug in the shoulder, as he just peeked out of cover to throw a knife at Luna. The bard was the one who fired it, now hiding behind Gram among the other group of adventurers. Their archer also tries to provide fire support and shoots at the mage.
I follow the arrow with my eyes and see it suddenly change its trajectory a distance away from its intended target. There's something like heat haze surrounding the fire mage, so it must have redirected the projectile. I can't help but feel that creating a heat barrier must be some high-level magic.
Though, it explains why there's some space between him and the thugs since the heat would hurt them, too.
"Tri-Natura!" Luna is finally done. This took about as long as the Elemental Overload spell she used on the wulfar back then. But that last one was four elements, and this one sounds like it only uses three.
An unnatural breeze forms and whips the half-elf mage's cloak around. From the tip of her staff water and fire form, and mix into a glowing sphere. A barrier of wind holds it into place until the sphere burns as brightly as the sun.
Don't tell me this is fusion? Is that even how fusion works?
The fire mage sees the spell and his eyes expand in shock before he quickly jumps behind a large crate - the heaviest cover available to him. This must be quite the powerful magic if he reacts like that.
Luna balances the glowing orb on the tip of her staff and points it in the direction of her opponent. From the sphere, a single narrow beam shoots out like a ray of light, right into the crate the mage is hiding behind.
That's a freaking laser!
A sizzling hole the size of a five-hundred Yen coin is burned into the crate. From behind it, the mage's scream can be heard, before he falls to the floor while clutching his shoulder. The laser went right through his cover, his body, as well as the wall behind him. Luckily, it was at an angle, or it would most likely have pierced through half the city or something.
If I were to get hit by that, I wouldn't fare better than that guy did. I don't have a conceptual defensive shield that I can summon to block this positron sniper rifle! And Luna is still keeping the sphere up, meaning she can shoot it more than once.
"Surrender, or my next shot will not miss any vitals." She announces and raises her staff dangerously.
"Don't shoot! We surrender!" The thugs behind the barricades immediately react by standing up with their hands in the air and dropping their weapons to the ground. After seeing their leader getting sniped through his heavy cover, they lost all the confidence in their own much flimsier ones.
"I... surrender..." The fire mage raises his one good arm while still lying on the ground, and presses these words out between his clenched teeth. He's fortunate to be still alive, considering that beam was shot through cover blindly. If it had been off by just a few inches, he could have pierced through his spine or even his head.
This battle here seems to have been concluded with an overwhelming victory.
"But really, why would someone with a double elemental affinity become a criminal?" Luna wonders after the slavers are bound and gathered up to be taken away. "With his talent, he could have applied at a great magic school, maybe even the Royal Academy."
Apparently, that guy didn't think so. I'm sure he has a reason for doing this, and talented people resorting to crime exist everywhere. Crime is the easy and fast path in life, high-risk, high-reward. It's like gambling, staking one's future at all times. You either keep winning, or you never get to play again.
In either case, I'm interested in learning about that double elemental affinity thing, so I ask Luna directly. Wondering about it by myself won't get me anywhere since all I can think of is that it means to have an affinity for the same element twice. That doesn't really make any sense now, does it?
"It means somebody who would normally have an affinity for two elements, but both of them are focused on the same one." The half-elf responds with a sigh as she watches the mage being led away. That explanation isn't very enlightening. "These mages have much more control over that element, and can greatly enhance even the most basic spells. He was using 'Ignis', right? No matter how talented one normally is, the fire created from that spell cannot cause such explosions."
"I see..." I think I get it somehow. As expected of fantasy, such things are possible, too.
Now that it's been cleared up, I want to see what's so important behind that door the fire mage and the thugs wanted to protect. Why would they make a stand here instead of trying to flee using his destructive magic abilities?
Rolan seems to be curious, too. He asks Gram to have his shield ready so that he can block whatever may come out from the other side when he opens the door. Other adventurers gather around, their weapons gripped tightly and pointed forward, as they focus on the entrance before them.
The anticipation is rewarded with a boring nothing; rather than an enemy springing forth, there's only a large storage room beyond the door. It's filled with crates, cages covered in sheets and stacked barrels most likely containing all kinds of goods. Maybe this is their vault?
Among all that, a man is cowering behind a crate too small for his rotund frame, doing a lousy job at hiding himself. He looks like a typical rich sleazebag who made his fortune in underhanded ways; greasy hair combed over to cover the balding top, beady nervous eyes, a fat nose with a hairy wart sticking out on the side, and thick lips that flap open and closed, desperate to find words under the present circumstances.
I guess the thugs outside were trying to hide him, so he must be someone important. Considering there don't seem to be any escape routes from this room, they were making a final stand to try and take all adventurers down. Maybe they would have suc
ceeded, if not for our party's intervention.
"If it isn't Lord Mogens." Ingrid walks forward with a furious expression while cracking her knuckles. She lost two adventurers in the raid, and one tracker was killed trying to find this place, so her anger is understandable.
Wait, 'Lord' Mogens?
"The lord governor's brother?" Rolan mutters in disbelief. If that's his brother, it's possible that the lord governor himself is in on this, too. Did we uncover a big scandal?
"T-thank you for saving me!" Lord Mogens' voice is befittingly high-pitched for a human pig, and he's breathing hard despite not having moved much. Honestly, he's just a disgusting creature. "These scoundrels were keeping me imprisoned here!"
He's acting the victim, but judging by the fact that he was hiding here, not bound and still in possession of his expensive clothes and accessories, it's clear that he's either a buyer or the mastermind behind it all.
"Is that so. I'm glad we could be of assistance. Now, let's go and have a talk with Lord Severin." The guild master waves over two adventurers, who apprehend the fat and sweaty man. His attempts to struggle are so hilariously weak that I have to suppress my laughter.
"H-huh? W-what are you doing! No, please!" Even when it should be obvious that they've seen through him, he tries to worm his way out. His pleas fall on deaf ears, as he's taken outside. "Believe me! I have nothing to do with what was going on here! Please, don't bring me to my brother! Unhand me!"
Well, I suppose the lord of this city isn't in cahoots with this guy, or he wouldn't be so obviously afraid of being taken to him. I guess I don't have to worry about that end of the matter, then.
Now that everyone has time to look around, they begin to take the sheets off the cages. Most of them are empty, but there are three with wild animals in them. And every one of those animals is noticeably corrupted.
A medium-sized cage holds a cat-like animal that has a large horn growing from its forehead. Aside from that, it doesn't seem any special. It doesn't seem to exhibit any aggressive behavior normally ascribed to cursed animals and just watches us quietly.
