Raitani writhed in the pitch-black clouds that enveloped him,
After a while, he stopped moving much.
Anju then cast a finishing blow, a follow-up magic spell, without chanting!
“Wh-what is that black patch on the ground, is it a swamp?!”
Fiala, the second of the Asrik Twelve Heroes, her words were not entirely wrong. This is where I will explain.
“Ah, this. It’s a swamp like the bodies of Shadow-type monsters found in the Death Dungeon. So, if you get buried, it’s over.”
Raitani sank slowly, slowly into the mire. Nina then explained to the flustered Twelve Heroes.
“This is a magic called ‘Shadow Requiem.’ If it continues like this, this man will be trapped in subspace and will never come out again.”
“Hey, isn’t that cheating!”
“It’s not an instant death spell. If you dodge it a little, and roll around for a long time, you can get out without difficulty.”
However, it was clear that they couldn’t afford to watch, and more importantly, Raitani himself probably didn’t understand his situation.
“He’s incapacitated! Can’t you see that?!”
“No, he’s not fainted. He’s still struggling like this.”
He was exposed to a tremendous thunderstorm within the clouds, and at worst, he would be scorched black, but he was still alive and conscious, though battered.
(Ah, he’s sinking so slowly, so slowly.)
“Nooooo! Please, I surrender, I surrender! I’ve had enough!”
The enemy Female Hero was screaming, but Nina’s voice was calm and composed as she explained.
“I don’t see that intention yet. Rather, it looks like he’s desperately trying to escape from this cloud.”
Yes, the ‘condition for forfeiture’ that the opponent presented was not met. That’s how we interpret it.
“Please, if it continues like this, Lord Raitani will—!”
“Oh, a surrender that disregards the rules? Then, if we win, we’ll demand more spoils of war.”
“Wh-what do you mean? Name your price! I have plenty of money later…”
Anju made the clouds surrounding Raitani even larger! He was thrashing about, but it was debatable whether he was truly struggling.
(No, he’s definitely surrendering!)
“I’m not short of money. If you win, you’ll take the slaves, my Helen and three Tim Monsters, the Kelpies.”
“Th-the same as that!”
“All of you.”
Everyone looked surprised. Well, some of them were too worried about Raitani to pay attention.
“What do you intend to do with all of us?”
“Including you self-proclaimed Guild Masters, all of you will become slaves.”
“Th-that’s too cruel!”
No, no, no, that doesn’t seem like an equivalent exchange no matter how you look at it. After all, Helen comes with seven high-ranking Succubi that I’ve raised. A Goddess Succubus alone is worth as much as an Elixir.
“Then we will let this man sink into ‘Shadow Requiem’ as he is.”
He was already about a third of the way sunk.
“W-wait, let’s end the match and talk for now.”
“No, let’s have you become slaves quickly. We’ve brought Slave Traders from the Commercial Guild.”
They were standing by on top of the cliff. There were two of them. One was for the Asrik side, to transfer Helen’s rights if we lost, and the other was for the foreigner side, to enslave the Twelve Heroes if they lost. The Commercial Guild agreed to prepare both.
“Now, hurry up and go become slaves, or your entire bodies will sink and it will be irreversible.”
“Oh, are you threatening us? Holding Lord Raitani hostage?!”
“It’s negotiation, a demand. Either way, once he sinks completely, it’s a win for us by incapacitation. We’ll just enslave the remaining eleven.”
The Ent-Succubus and the remaining Succubi approached to the very edge of the Sanctuary’s barrier.
“Now, you’d better hurry. The moment you eleven become slaves, we’ll pull him up.”
“Ah, he’s halfway gone now—”
The Asrik Twelve Heroes panicked at Anju’s feigned reaction.
“I-I’ll go, so, everyone else, hurry too!”
“Nastasia! Are you betraying us?”
“Don’t you understand that this isn’t the time for that? Come on, hurry!”
The Silver Succubus, in her perfectly human form identical to mine, spread her wings and carried Nastasia up the cliff… The others also ran out of the Sanctuary and were taken up the cliff by our waiting Succubi.
“Now, two remaining. I don’t think it matters if you go or not, but… rather, this man’s life… I’m telling you it’s not an instant death attack.”
“Damn it! I’ll make you pay in the Imperial Capital later!”
“Don’t think you can get away with just being a slave!”
Is it okay to say something like that? You can’t complain even if you’re strangled. But I have to keep him alive for five days, right? No, it’s not an auction, so it’s fine.
(Ah, the slave traders from the other side are helping too.)
After a while, Clarice made a large circle with her arms, as if she had finished registering. The morning had fully arrived, so it was clearly visible. Yes, all that was left was Raitani, who was now almost completely sunk.
“Anju, release him.”
“Roger.”
First, the personal weather was dispelled, revealing armor that looked as if it had been exposed to rain for about twenty years. It was terrible.
“Heave, heave.”
Using her long staff like a lever, she lifted him from the swamp, and the Shadow Requiem was dispelled. Raitani fell backward.
(Ah, he’s rolling his eyes and twitching. He won’t last with his whole body electrified like this.)
“Lord Raitani!”
“Boss!” “Guild Master!!”
Raitani was tended to by his companions who had returned quickly. He needed treatment quickly, but ordinary Potions or the Healing Magic of a Hero wouldn’t suffice… Nina looked down at them coldly.
“What, don’t you even have an Elixir?”
“That’s in Lord Raitani’s Item Box.”
“You didn’t anticipate a situation where he’d have to use it, even though you picked the fight yourself.”
Ah, what will happen now? As I wondered, the Goddess Succubus flew to the very edge of the Sanctuary.
“That succubus can heal him, but of course, after he’s healed, she’ll put a Collar of Sub on him. Understand?”
“I-if it saves him! Damn it.”
“You are already our slave. Is it okay to say such a thing?”
Thus, the duel concluded successfully with a score of 12 wins and 1 loss for our Nina Starlights army.
“Well, I’m going to school~”
