CHAPTER 34
“Keoheok.”
Was it because my ribs were broken, crushing my lungs?
The moment my airway opened, a cough was the first thing to come out.
Another resurrection.
My resurrection magic brought me back to life, never tiring of its job.
As my blurry vision cleared, my brain started working furiously.
I was chased by Arachne, got hit by its leg, fell, and died. Recalling up to that point, I immediately surveyed my surroundings.
I saw Babiyen shouting something as she unleashed a torrent of flames.
She was aiming the flames at the criminals standing at the exit.
It seemed there was a mage on their side as well, as they were desperately blocking the exit.
They had to be insane to be blocking the exit while Arachne was rampaging over there.
Still, Babiyen’s firepower was superior.
As expected of a former disciple of the Red Flame Lord, she was steadily melting through their defensive magic.
I also saw Vandal gathering his party members.
His head must have been cracked open, as blood was constantly flowing from his forehead.
There was a possibility of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Miren was blankly cradling Callen’s head.
Her clothes were nearly torn to shreds, so she wasn’t in good shape either.
Her relationship with Callen seemed to be more than just casual; they might have been lovers.
If neither of them got treatment soon, it wouldn’t end well.
Pingle was still nowhere to be seen.
Maybe he ran away when the situation went south.
Gnomes have almost no combat ability, so he probably fled to save his own skin.
Many of the criminals were trying their best to subdue Arachne.
As I’d thought, there were some skilled individuals among them, and they were somehow buying time.
Still, it felt like they were no match for Arachne.
But they were steadily buying time.
Perhaps those bastards had another objective.
I finished assessing the situation.
This wasn't a situation where I could just lie around.
Not much time had passed.
As my Seed bloomed, the performance of my resurrection magic had improved along with it.
On top of that, it seemed the time required for resurrection depended on the injury. This injury was relatively light compared to the ones I’d suffered recently.
That must be why I was able to revive so quickly.
“Horizon.”
I opened my lips and looked beside me.
There lay Horizon, her bones and muscles shattered.
She had thrown her body to save me, only to meet the same end.
I had seen her do her best with my own eyes.
It wouldn't be right to just ignore her here.
The situation was chaotic, so no one was looking our way.
We were just two corpses anyway, so no one was paying us any mind.
I activated Resurrection on Horizon.
A pure white light began to seep into her.
KUGUGUGUNG!
At that moment, a commotion erupted from Arachne’s direction.
As expected of a creature that reacts so violently to Holy Magic, it was going berserk.
“Wh-Why is this thing rampaging even more?!”
“Goddammit, really!”
I could hear the frantic cries of the criminals who were trying to hold Arachne back.
Just then, the magic I was using on Horizon finished.
Her body returned to its original, unharmed state.
She recovered faster than I expected.
It seemed the performance of my resurrection magic really had improved as my own level increased.
“Ugh, ughh?”
Soon after, Horizon opened her eyes.
“H-Harua-ssi, how?”
What excuse could I give here?
“I just kept healing you with Holy Magic.”
“Y-You did?”
I just pushed ahead with it.
“It’s my Ability. As long as someone isn’t truly dead, I can heal them somehow.”
Transferees have Abilities.
Especially No-Named Transferees, who possess powerful Abilities.
This was common knowledge in this world.
Given that I had somehow returned alive, Horizon had no choice but to believe me.
It was a shame that my return from death was discovered, but my resurrection magic itself wasn’t revealed.
The fact that I can revive others was still unknown.
“I-I see!”
Horizon eventually accepted it.
I could smell the acrid scent of something burning.
It was because the fire magic Babiyen was shooting was also burning the surrounding moss.
I glanced at Miren, who was holding Callen’s head, then immediately walked over to Babiyen.
“Babiyen.”
“Did I use too much magic?! Now I’m hearing the voices of ghosts!”
Babiyen screamed like a madwoman as she poured out fire magic.
“Stop treating me like a ghost.”
“Heek!?”
When I poked her in the side, Babiyen’s magic cut off and she let out a shriek.
She turned to me with a startled expression.

“H-Harua? How?!”
“Yeah, good to see you too. More importantly, switch to defensive magic from now on.”
How I came back to life was a secondary issue; we were done with attack magic for now.
It would take too much time to wrestle with breaking through the criminals’ defensive magic.
“Horizon, take good care of Vandal and Miren.”
The only reason those bastards were buying time at the exit was because Arachne was tied down over there.
The story would change if Arachne came over here directly.
And here, we had the world’s best bait.
The world’s best bait.
“Get ready to run. You’re going to have to run for your lives.”
KWAAAAAAANG!
Just then, a sudden explosion roared.
I shifted my gaze and saw a large group of people pouring out.
All of them had faces steeped in gloom.
The revengers.
In their hands dangled the heads of the criminals who had tried to flee out of the cave.
It seemed they had caught the ones who were running away and had come to check on the situation here.
“You evils of society.”
“We’ll kill every last one of you!”
The moment they saw the criminals, their eyes went bloodshot.
Ignoring Arachne, they drew their swords and charged, solely focused on wiping out the criminals.
“What the hell are these guys now?!”
“Fuck, this is a total shitshow!”
At the appearance of the revengers, the criminals screamed as their weapons clashed.
And thanks to that, the force holding Arachne back was reduced.
This was our chance.
“Now!”
I shouted to everyone and kicked off the ground.
The criminals blocking the exit were thrown into confusion by yet another sudden turn of events.
As we charged madly toward them, they belatedly raised their swords.
Babiyen used a defensive spell, and a transparent barrier formed around us.
Go on, you savage This-worlders, raise your weapons all you want.
Weapons only work on opponents they can actually hit.
I raised my hand high above my head.
In that hand was the finger of a precious comrade who had been with me on this journey.
Criminal-mon, evolve!
A pure white light gathered in my palm.
The intense light flashed so brightly that even those in the middle of combat glanced over for a moment.
And because of that, it was clearly visible to the one who hated this light more than anyone.
In a space filled with the clang of weapons.
Thud—
The only being with an overwhelmingly massive physique planted its front leg.
It was that persistent stalker who had chased me with bloodshot eyes even as her hatchery burned.
A savage smile spread across my lips.
“Hey, you savages.”
I smiled brightly at the criminals who were staring in terror at what was behind me.
“Make way.”

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
The moment I shouted, the stalker charged from behind me with an insane vibration. It ignored all the criminals and revengers tangled at its feet and made a beeline straight for me.
“Wh-wh-wh-what, why is it coming this way?!”
“You son of a bitch, run! Get inside, ruuuun!”
The criminals, who didn't know the reason, screamed as they all scrambled to dive through the exit.
“Run!”
At the same time, we also ran towards the exit at full speed.
Just before the distance between us and Arachne closed completely.
With the sound of Arachne’s roar at our backs, all of us leaped through the exit.
The moment we finally crossed the exit, the brilliant light of the midday sun pierced my eyes.
CRASH!
We took a spectacular tumble, but thanks to Babiyen’s defensive magic, it didn’t hurt.
“Heheheh, we’re alive.”
Vandal let out a half-dazed laugh.
He was right.
We had managed to crawl out of that hellscape alive.
Of course, I died one more time, but I survived somehow.
“Huu, ugh…”
Horizon collapsed onto the ground, large tears rolling down her cheeks. It seemed the tension from the ordeal had finally broken now that she was safe.
“...”

For some reason, Babiyen was staring intently at me. It looked like she had a lot to say.
Miren was still just clutching Callen’s head.
She was never a talkative person, so I figured it was just her way.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, I heard a cough.
I instinctively pressed a hand to my waist and looked up to see the criminals, now bound, in front of us.
And the Regular Army soldiers who had captured them were glaring at us with grim faces.
Since the criminals had already come through the exit, the situation must have been reported.
The Regular Army would have already been deployed through the other entrances.
And it was only natural for them to be waiting here to catch any criminals trying to escape through this exit.
We had come through right after the criminals.

It was obvious what would happen to us until our identities were properly confirmed.
“Detain them.”
At the company commander’s order, the Regular Army soldiers moved.
After all that goddamn work, this is the ‘arrested’ ending?
It sucked, but it was easier to just comply here.
It would eventually be revealed that we hadn’t committed any crimes.
“W-We’re pioneers!”
Horizon quickly pulled out her pioneer license and shouted.
But it was useless; the criminals before us had probably made the same protest.
“Stop.”
At that moment, Babiyen spoke with a powerful voice.
The Regular Army soldiers glared at her murderously, as if to say, ‘What nonsense is this?’
In a terrorist situation like this, resisting arrest could lead to immediate execution.
But Babiyen haughtily swept back her dirt-stained hair.
“I am Babiyen Asteria, daughter of Baron Asteria. This girl guarantees their identities, so I expect you to treat them with respect.”

Oh. An unexpected save from Babiyen.
So this kid Babiyen is useful after all.
Even though she was kicked out of her family, the Regular Army wouldn't know that yet.
The name of a noble still carries weight!
“A-A Baron’s daughter?”
At the mention of a noble family, even the Regular Army soldiers hesitated.
No matter if they were the Regular Army, they couldn’t treat a noble carelessly.
After all, it was the nobles who made the laws.
Seeing the soldiers’ reaction, Babiyen stood up even straighter.
A look of smugness crept onto her face.
Using power like that isn't a good look, but when that power is on our side, it’s reassuring.
Use it all you want, Babiyen!
At Babiyen’s declaration, the Regular Army soldiers faltered.
Unsure of what to do, they looked to the man who had just ordered our detention.
He appeared to be the commander of this company.
The company commander raised an eyebrow, observed Babiyen for a moment, and then stepped forward.
He then asked politely.
“Did you truly say you are the daughter of Baron Asteria?”
“Yes. Do I look like I am lying?”
“No, not at all. I apologize for the disrespect. In that case, are you, Lady Babiyen Asteria, the disciple of the Red Flame Lord?”
“Yes, of course.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
As Babiyen answered with a bright smile, I jabbed her hard in the side.
“Kyaaak!?”
Babiyen whipped her head around and glared at me.
She still had a stupid look on her face, unaware of what she had done wrong.
It’s my own damn fault for trusting one of these savage This-worlders.
A moment later, Babiyen’s face froze.
She, too, realized that in her smugness, she had answered something she shouldn't have.
Babiyen and I slowly turned back to the company commander.
Naturally, the Regular Army commander’s face was gradually turning grim.
The Red Flame Lord.
The new terrorist who had recently joined hands with Black Dawn, the group that attacked her own disciples.
How would her disciples be treated now?
“We have received orders from above to apprehend and investigate all individuals related to the Red Flame Lord.”
I didn’t know who ‘above’ was, but it was clearly a position that could authorize the arrest of a baron’s daughter.
“Arrest them all.”
My life.
The ‘arrested’ ending was inevitable.