**- Demon Lord’s Castle – Treasure Vault**
Freed from the curse of the former Demon Lord, I, along with Melfina and Gerard, moved to the castle’s treasure vault, where the survivors’ swords were kept. The Four Heavenly Kings of Demon were tasked with guarding my father-in-law, who had gotten drunk, and Bel, who was not yet at full strength.
“Whoa, it’s neatly slashed. A steel door, completely bisected.”
The first thing that caught my eye was the treasure vault’s main door, split in two and lying on the floor. Was it cut in one stroke? The door alone was cleanly severed. Furthermore, the survivor’s sword in question was nowhere to be found within the treasure vault.
“Hmm, judging by the cut, it’s a sword mark from the inside.”
“We had already moved the castle’s treasures to another location, so there was no need to worry about anything being taken… but it was from the inside, after all. Melfina, our prediction wasn’t wrong, was it?”
“Yes, we’ve taken another step forward in solving this mystery.”
“Moving forward is good, but the survivor themselves is still on the run, you know? Why are the King and Princess so relaxed…”
“We’re not being relaxed. It’s just that I have a rough idea of how their ability works now.”
Besides, the survivor isn’t using instantaneous movement, nor are they here to eliminate us or Bel. They came as a guide to the apostle’s stronghold. If they simply escape here, it would render their appearance before us meaningless. They are likely lying low somewhere right now.
“I believe each apostle has their own assigned orders. Perhaps the order assigned to the survivor is something like ‘bring them to me by such-and-such a date’?”
“To deliberately let us chase them, luring us to the ‘Heart of the Evil God’ where their base is— Is that what’s happening? Given the nature of their ability, if they truly tried to escape, they might be even more troublesome than Serge.”
As for the location, I’ve heard about it from Bel, so I know it already. However, the Holy Key confiscated from the survivor won’t work without them. Without the key, the survivor might not be able to return to their base, but I don’t care about that. Well, they are saying they want to be invited, so I have a feeling they’ll let us in once we reach the Heart of the Evil God.
“Kelvin, I found them!”
“We’ve also detected their presence!”
Oh, it’s Ange and Sera, who were investigating, sending a telepathic message.
“Their stealth proficiency is quite high, so it took a while, but can anyone escape from this Ange?”
“Um, the survivor is hiding in the castle town of Grellverelka. They are moving little by little inside to avoid being seen from the outside!”
“Ah, Sera! Those are my lines!”
They’re moving through buildings. The survivor probably doesn’t expect to escape Ange and the others’ detection network. They’re likely just buying time by increasing the distance.
“What should we do? Shall we pursue them?”
“Hmm…”
Honestly, just chasing them feels insufficient. I still haven’t investigated Silvia’s person to search for, and I haven’t contacted Touya and the others yet. Shutra’s Golem hasn’t started its adjustments either. There’s still a mountain of things to do before the next battle.
“—Mudo, Boga.”
“Hm.”
“Y-Yes.”
Alright, let’s do this. I’ve thought of a good method.
“It’s not a punishment for letting the survivor escape, but I’m going to have you two capture the survivor. The condition is to capture them with long-range attacks only, without getting close. Yes, at least 1 km apart. The deadline is until the survivor reaches the Heart of the Evil God.”
“Long range!”
“Ah, um… Mudo is good at sniping, but I—”
“I know Boga isn’t accustomed to this body yet. So, this is also a form of training. You don’t have to attack with the purpose of capturing them from the start, so try various things with your power and think creatively. Fortunately, the opponent has instant regeneration, making them the perfect opponent to get used to your abilities. Play around with it to your heart’s content.”
“T-Training…!”
Boga is good at brute force and close combat relying on status, but their control over flames is still at a basic level. I definitely want them to refine their skills against the fleeing survivor. They seem motivated, so my training with Gerard will have to wait.
“Master, is it okay if we capture them from the start? Boga won’t have a chance to act.”
“If you can.”
“Understood. I’m looking forward to the sweets after we return.”
Mudo, as they call themselves a sniper, is quite confident, aren’t they? There’s no harm in capturing them, so that’s fine too. In that case, I might have them use a Simple Transfer Gate from Kuro’s storage to bring them to my house. If they happen to be in danger, both of them are my subordinates. I can immediately return them to their magical bodies and release the summon. Let’s go with this.
“The Heart of the Evil God is quite far from here, as it’s in the central area. Whether you adjust your sleep and meals to match the opponent along the way is up to you. If you lose sight of them, send me a telepathic message. I’ll give you further instructions then.”
“There will be no need for that. I will finish it quickly.”
“I-I will also do my best.”
“Haha, that’s a good response. I’m counting on you.”
Did eating Efil’s cake boost their motivation? Both of them have surprisingly high morale. I expect considerable growth from this.
“Your Highness, what shall we do?”
“After the survivor leaves Grellverelka, we will first continue the celebration. Once my father-in-law wakes up, I’ll ask him if there are any usable Transfer Gates in various places. Depending on the location, we might be able to get ahead of them.”
As I walked towards the party venue, I took out a pendant from Kuro’s storage. I hope things are going smoothly with Silvia and the others as well.
***
**- Grellverelka Empire -**
“Phew, I can finally catch my breath— Not likely…”
For reasons I don’t understand myself, the survivor awoke beside their beloved sword and, after passing through the Demon Lord’s Castle and its town, was hiding in the outskirts of Grellverelka. The tall grass in the meadow was enough to conceal the survivor if they crouched. However, I can’t let my guard down. No matter how high my stealth skill is, I never thought it would be enough to outwit a former assassin like Ange’s detection abilities. It’s a miracle that there haven’t been any pursuers like this until now.
“I’m being deliberately let go, aren’t I? It would be great if they chased me discreetly, but it seems they took the old man’s Holy Key too. I wonder if the proxy will forgive me even if I reach the Sanctuary safely…!”
I reached for the hilt of my sword. My gaze was focused on the vicinity of the Demon Lord’s Castle rooftop. A change was occurring there.
“A big dragon, one, two… No, no, how could the Judge face something like that head-on? I’m about to cry.”
A dragon like a mountain, showing off its black rocky hide, and a divine three-headed dragon were hovering above the castle, aiming their maws towards us. These were clearly preparatory movements for an breath attack, and it was clear my location was known.
“—*Kyuiiin!*”
One of the three heads fired a laser-like blue beam, not at the survivor’s location, but further beyond it. It struck the ground, tracing an arc. The point of impact rapidly froze, forming an Ice Wall.
“Blocking my retreat, huh? Well, that’s a common tactic. Though I think I can cut through it.”
By now, there was no point in hiding my appearance in the grass. The survivor stood up and began to run towards the direction where the Ice Wall was being formed. In the meantime, the dragon’s other mouths were targeting the survivor.
(This old man won’t have a moment to rest, will he…)
With that thought in the back of my mind, the survivor cut down the approaching rain of bullet-like magma and continued to run.
Chapter 9 concludes here.
The fourth volume of “Black Summoner” will be released next month.
I am thinking of asking for a section in the reader survey on Overlap’s website to allow readers to choose who they want as the protagonist for the fifth volume’s short story SS.
There will be about five short stories, so perhaps for the top five most popular characters.
It has not been officially decided yet, but I would appreciate it if you could answer the survey.
