CHAPTER 21
Finally arrived at the 3rd floor of the Star Cluster Gathering hall.
I stuck right next to the door leading into the 3rd floor.
There is no presence from inside.
Next, I created a golden string with my Security Weapon.
I pushed the golden string through the crack of the door and moved it lightly up and down.
There were no magical effects on the door.
If there were, something would have triggered when the Security Weapon entered the crack.
When I lowered the doorknob very slightly to open it and peek inside, as expected, no people were visible.
I quietly gripped the dagger Aranseol gave me tightly.
Perhaps this might become my only escape route.
I opened the door enough for a person to enter and stepped inside.
The 3rd-floor corridor is in a balcony style.
I saw a row of private rooms inside the balcony.
Chae-eng! Chaeng!
Soon, the sound of weapons clashing came from below the balcony corridor.
It's the railing.
I hurriedly ran forward and looked down.
Then I saw the disciples clashing with the Black Dawn.
Flames are soaring.
It seems there is someone wielding power related to fire among the combatants.
For example, someone like Babiyen.
There are a total of seven Black Dawn members.
Two with long-range abilities, five with close-range abilities.
Three guys look exceptionally dangerous.
The eerie man who murdered the security guard earlier was also there.
It's not that large a number.
But perhaps because their individual capabilities are outstanding, the disciples were being pushed back.
The party hall naturally became a mess.
Looking at the glass shards fallen on the floor, it seems correct that they invaded by breaking the glass ceiling.
However, instead of the broken glass ceiling, the original ceiling was obscured.
Escaping toward the ceiling seems impossible.
My eyes turned to the disciples again.
There was already a difference in combat power, and they were even ambushed.
Some of them must be heavily injured, as they were catching their breath in the corner.
If the Black Dawn targeted specific people first, they would have been the most skilled ones.
Since the most skilled ones were taken out, it was natural for the disciples to be pushed back.
As expected, the situation isn't very good.
The disciples are holding out in their own way, but it seemed the outcome would be decided soon.
It's not a good flow.
If the disciples are defeated here, I can't buy time for Aranseol and Sohan to escape.
The moment the escape is detected, forces will immediately be invested in that direction.
If the disciples lose and everyone here goes rushing over, those two will be in danger.
Naturally, the probability of escape failure also becomes much higher.
We must prevent that at least.
Ka-ang!
"Kuaaak!"
One disciple was defeated and rolled on the floor.
The situation for the Black Dawn became more dominant.
I sensed a busy movement from the Black Dawn side.
My mind flashed.
Right, come to think of it, those guys are terrorists.
This is the middle of the city.
Time is not on their side.
In a situation where it's unknown who might appear knowing that the situation inside the Star Cluster Gathering is strange.
For them, they would want to end this situation quickly somehow.
I lowered my stance and ran quickly through the 3rd-floor corridor.
Since the battle was taking place below, no one was paying attention to me.
Thanks to that, I arrived safely at the 3rd-floor stairs.
As I descended the spiral staircase at high speed, I arrived at the 1st floor.
The sound of weapons became closer.
The desperate faces of the disciples were visible more clearly.
I left them be and headed toward where the injured were.
The injured were swallowing groans while leaning against the wall.
Many of them appeared unable to regain consciousness.
Checking their eyes, even their corneas were completely black.
Even if they look at me, their eyes don't follow.
Judging by the look of it, it seems to be an ability related to binding the mind.
They must have intended to subdue all the disciples with this and then kidnap them.
Vicious bastards.
Naturally, with my level, I cannot undo this kind of ability.
However, there is exactly one forbidden method.
The situation is that the Black Dawn hasn't noticed my existence yet.
I dragged a big guy who looked strong toward a pillar.
Damn it, he's really filthily big.
Since he's big, I hope he has some skill.
Groaning as I entered the pillar's cover, my vision was adequately obscured.
Flames are soaring inside the hall.
Thanks to that, the situation was brighter than most outdoor areas.
The light of Holy Magic would be lightly concealed.
"I need your consent for treatment starting now; do you agree?"
I threw a question to the man to forget the tension.
"Ugh, uuuugh."
Permission received.
"Then, I will proceed with anesthesia. It will sting."
The most basic foundation of Holy Magic is to promote the body's recovery power.
Beyond the basics, one reaches the stage of reviving the body's memory to restore even severed parts, but that is impossible for me.
However, because it is such a basic, there is one incredibly useful method.
The heart is an extremely delicate organ.
What happens if you forcibly boost the recovery rate of such an organ?
The heart, producing blood like crazy, cannot withstand the stress and stops right there.
It essentially becomes a state of cardiac arrest.
It looks like a terrifying ability that can assassinate a person at any time, but it's not really like that.
Starting with the fact that long contact is required for Holy Magic to permeate the heart.
The opponent wouldn't stay still while I massage their heart either.
Since the people of this world all use mana, they could defend against Holy Magic too.
Therefore, this method is a story only possible against an unconscious opponent.
And right now was exactly that situation.
The Holy Magic that flowed into the man's body stimulated his heart.
The man twitched his body in agony for a moment, but that was only for a short while.
His heart stopped as it was, and he died.
It's the first murder in my life.
But I didn't feel particularly moved.
Anyway, even I have already faced death countless times.
To me, death is too light.
It was funny to feel moved by someone dying at this point.
And honestly, why make such a fuss about killing one savage this-worlder.
Is it because I'm under too much stress?
I shook my head to shake off the feeling that my eyes were rolling back occasionally.
The man was safely anesthetized.
So, from now on, it's time to reveal my true value.
The light seeping from my grasp digs into the man's body.
His heart, which had stopped breathing, began to beat again.
It is Resurrection Magic.
"Keu-heuk, cough!"
Soon, the man coughed up and opened his eyes.
The black curse-like thing that filled his eyes had also disappeared.
As expected of Resurrection Magic.
Curse or whatever, it returned him to the best condition.
"H-here is."
A bewildered voice flowed from his mouth.
Since he came back to life just a moment ago, there seemed to be confusion in his memory.
"Are you conscious?"
"Y-you are."
"I am Harua, a disciple of Lady Rapiel. You were taken down by the Black Dawn, do you remember?"
"Black Dawn."
At the word Black Dawn, his mind snapped back.
"The situation?"
Still, he is the disciple of a renowned figure.
Rather than being confused like a civilian, he tried to grasp the situation first.
That's a relief.
Judging by this guy's eyes, he's quite skilled.
"Still in engagement."
"Did you treat me?"
"Something like that."
Everyone here knows Rapiel's name.
Since they know she belongs to the Grace Magic Tower, it was natural that I am a Holy Mage.
"Thanks. I'll join immediately."
"Alone?"
He is someone who has already been taken down by the Black Dawn once.
Even if he is deployed to the force here, the situation won't change dramatically.
Perhaps knowing that too, he paused.
"Do you have an idea?"
And he understood my intent too.
I'm glad I revived the quick-witted guy first.
"There are people lying over there who have been attacked. Can you bring them here without being detected?"
The input of one person cannot change the situation dramatically. However, if that becomes several people, the story is different.
What the Black Dawn finds most troublesome is time. If that time becomes tight, they have no way out either.
"An easy task."
The man accepted my opinion immediately.
At that moment, his figure disappeared from before my eyes.
This guy, don't tell me he's in the assassination field with that bulk?
It's surprising that such bulk can disappear enough to hide its presence.
I now understand why he could judge the situation so rationally as soon as he revived.
If it's the assassination field, he would have trained steadily mentally as well.
I'm lucky.
No, if I were lucky, would I not have been in this situation?
Anyway, a ray of hope appeared.
The man transported the injured at high speed.
After anesthetizing them just like I did to the man, I revive them.
As I repeated that, the number of injured began to decrease one by one.
My fingertips started to tremble.
It seems to be the price for overdrawing mana.
Fortunately, as Ririran said, my heart didn't hurt or anything.
"How is it. With this much, I think it's a force worth trying with."
Hiding my hands, I looked back at the man I revived first.
Since he moved the injured secretly, the Black Dawn hasn't noticed the situation on this side yet either.
But they will notice the anomaly before long.
Then now is the right time to ambush.
"The odds are not high."
However, the man who had faced the Black Dawn spoke with a dark face.
It seems the enemy's power is beyond imagination.
"Still, we can buy time."
But he wasn't the type to just sit and take it either.
I read the fighting spirit boiling in his two eyes and nodded.
"Thanks. It's thanks to you."
He left a word of thanks as a representative and joined the battlefield.
"These bastards!"
"I'll pay you back exactly what I got!"
The disciples were definitely at a disadvantage.
The number of disciples rolling on the floor after being beaten by the Black Dawn was continuing to increase.
"What, is this?"
"These guys surely."
However, when those they had knocked down suddenly joined in large numbers, the Black Dawn side also revealed bewilderment.
The Black Dawn deployed few personnel because deploying many would risk their infiltration being detected.
And that acted as a weakness for them.
Trying to choose a quick battle ended up catching their own ankles.
The moment bewilderment spread among the Black Dawn.
My eyes were quickly looking for one person.
A secluded place.
I saw a woman hiding her body there, gripping a staff she picked up from who knows where, hesitating.
Red hair and a face that looks like a brat.
However, unlike before, anxiety and bewilderment cast in her eyes were crossing busily.
Found her.
It's Babiyen.
I moved quickly through the shadowy spaces.
There exists a possibility that Babiyen is on the side of the Red Flame Lord who might have created this mess.
But if that were the case, she wouldn't have bothered to speak to me.
Since there was nothing good about standing out uselessly.
Of course, making her stand out was my doing, but anyway, it's my own intuition.
Look at that imbecilic face!
She is truly a foolish imbecile who knows nothing and doesn't know what to do!
If that thing planned all this and moved, I would slit my throat with a dagger.
I can't be kidnapped.
Like that, I arrived in front of Babiyen.
"Babiyen."
"Hiek!"
Babiyen swung her staff as soon as she heard the call.
This crazy bitch.
As I quickly pulled my foot back, the staff brushed past.
Traitor or whatever, she was definitely a crazy bitch.
And it is also certain that she is too stupid to follow the will of the Red Flame Lord.
"Trying to kill a person. Look straight."
"Uh, y-you are?"
Only then did she recognize me and reveal her bewilderment.
"I need your power to stop that."
I pointed at the Black Dawn.
The first man I revived could not guarantee victory against the Black Dawn. Even though the opponents were only subduing them without killing, he couldn't guarantee victory.
There is no need to explain how big that difference is.
This fight will ultimately be a victory for the Black Dawn.
Furthermore, due to the variable that is me, the injured have returned.
Since time has become urgent, those guys will stop choosing their means.
If they get really desperate, they will really consider even killing.
So before that happens, I must give them more variables somehow.
A variable that can tie up their actions.
I am not trying to buy a tremendous amount of time.
Just, a little bit of absurdity for them.
The bewilderment that their backing might have been caught.
I just want exactly this much.
And Babiyen fit that perfectly.
Even if she has no value to them, it was fine.
What I want is time.
It is a trolling act solely to buy that!
"I have a plan to stop those guys."
Babiyen has experienced firsthand how well I can troll.
Therefore, she bit her lip tightly while gripping her staff.
"......What is it?"
The bee bit the honey.
Author's Note (Afterword)
I will become the troll.