Chapter 78 - Rescue
On a moonlit night, at a late hour, I felt something moving in the biggest mining pit in the abandoned mine.
Sitting down beside Ziruko, Faran and I brace ourselves, staring into the darkness.
Lights began to flicker sporadically in the depths. Numerous footsteps echoed. It wasn't an animal; it was the sound of human voices. Without a doubt, they were human. Leaving Ziruko, who had a bewildered look on her face, to Faran, I stood up with them behind me.
Emerging from the depths of the mining tunnel, holding a lantern in hand, was a group of men who looked rather unsavory. There were eleven of them. As they caught sight of us, they simultaneously reached for the weapons at their hips, wearing a thin smile.
「Who the hell are you guys! Oi, oi, don't tell me you lot are trying to snatch away someone else's prey? Huuh?」
The largest man at the forefront shouted angrily, and the bald man beside him pointed his finger at me.
「Aniki, Aniki. Aren't these the ones? The men and women the Boss Brisken mentioned, the ones who could be sold off.」
「Aahh... come to think of it, that dude actually mentioned somethin' like that. He was like, 'Let 'em ride the carriage and snatch 'em up,' but since they're already here, we ain't gotta go through all that clumsy shit no more.」
「Brisken... huh.」
From the conversation just now, I could roughly imagine who these people were.
These guys are here to collect the beastkin left here as sacrifices and sell them off.
Brisken is their accomplice. Is the elder being deceived, or is she part of the scheme?
Ziruko was confused. While being supported by Faran, she raised her voice.
「W-What it is! W-Who are you all!? Then what about the Evil Dragon!?」
Immediately, the men exchanged glances with each other and burst into laughter as if they were being mocked.
「Hyahahaha! Evil Dragon? Stupid, like hell that thing exists!」
「There's no way it exists.」
Faran nodded in agreement. Her "There's no way it exists" probably had "Because Ozma-sama defeated it before" attached to it.
「You guys are here to collect the sacrificial beastkin, right?」
I glared at them, and the leader at the front hoisted his drawn sword on his shoulder, twisting his mouth in a lewd manner.
「Well, something like that. Them female beastkin, especially them cat tribe ones, they go for a damn high price, I tell ya. They're pretty fierce too. If ya try to catch 'em, they won't just let ya off easy. But here, they're handin' over their own damn comrades without us even liftin' a finger. Ain't that a sweet deal?」
「Then, the children who have been sacrificed so far are ......」
Ziruko murmured in shock, and the big man shrugged his shoulders.
「You're comin' with us too. You'll be some sicko noble's pet, ya know? But don't worry, our clients ain't all that bad. If ya bust your ass tryin' to please 'em, they'll treat ya real nice.」
The men burst into laughter all at once.
It seemed there was no room for leniency.
「Oz, let's do it.」
Faran frowned displeased and urged me on.
There was no need for her to say it. As I readied myself, the big man shouted.
「Get 'em! The guy ain't worth much anyway. We can kill him. But as for the woman, well, she can fetch a good price from those lolicon clients, ya know!」
Men came rushing towards me with swords in hand. However, before they could reach me, the man at the back cast a spell towards me.
「Fireball!」
It was an ancient language spell, a junk magic from a time before I even organized my spell formulas. And it was fire magic, no less. To direct flames toward this Crimson Ozma.
I casually brushed aside the incoming fireball, and the men halted with expressions of astonishment on their faces.
「W-What the fuck?! You deflected the magic with your bare hands!?」
「Are you fucking kidding me...」
It's not that surprising. I simply nullified their magic with my own. If it's such junk magic, I can handle it even while picking my nose.
「I'll show you guys what real magic is. Though it'll cost you a bit!」
And then, I raised my hand high and swung it down.
「Third Tier Modification: Flame Curtain!」
Suddenly, scorching flames spread out as if drawing a curtain, engulfing all the men and setting them ablaze.
I had no intention of holding back from the start. Their methods, preying on people's weaknesses, are what I despise the most.
Although it was not as potent as it would be four hundred years later, the concentration of magic elements in the atmosphere during this era is quite high. The power is sufficient. The men were engulfed in a curtain of flames, screaming in agony and writhing in pain.
Eventually, when there were no more movements within the flames, I dispelled the magic.
What remained were the men, turned into charred corpses. For a moment, I thought I might have gone too far, but Faran let out a "hmph" and proudly raised her thumb. It seems she's satisfied with this outcome.
「We're safe now.」
I helped Ziruko to her feet, and Faran cut the ropes that had bound her with an ice blade.
「Eeekk... Th-Thank you. U-Um, um, who are you guys... exactly?」
Ziruko looked at me and Faran with completely frightened eyes, her gaze shifting back and forth. Though even if she asks who we are, I honestly don't know how to answer.
「...I guess we're just ordinary people who are good at magic.」
Faran nodded, but Ziruko looked at us with a skeptical expression and muttered.
「I wouldn't call that ordinary...」
Still, we couldn't afford to linger around forever.
「Faran, I'll leave Ziruko to you. I'll go check if there are any more of their allies left in the mining camp.」
「Got it, be careful.」
I nodded once and stepped over the charred bodies of the men, entering the mining camp.
The hole was quite large. I pulled out flames from my palm to use as light and advanced further. Not far from there, two carriages were connected, and beside them was a smaller carriage that seemed to belong to the men.
It's hard to believe that eleven people could fit inside, so probably some of them were stationed here.
And as I continued further inside, I arrived at a place that exuded a strong sense of living.
There were rugs laid on the ground, and empty bottles were scattered everywhere. It seemed like they were having a feast just a moment ago, as there were plates with skewered meat and bread strewn about on the rugs.
(They sure got quite a feast. It's been a while since I had bread. I wonder if I can take some with me?)
While I was contemplating that, I heard faint moans coming from further inside. I raised my flame and focused my gaze ahead. Then, I caught sight of a woman chained to the wall deep inside.
Approaching cautiously, I recognized a familiar beastkin.
「Yoo ...... Boss ......」
Covered in bodily fluids and dirtied, it was the eyepatch-wearing cat, Kairi.
I used flames to sever the chains binding her hands together and lifting her up.
「Are you alright?」
「Alright... as if. I've been through something terrible.........They took advantage of me without even considering my heat cycle... Doing whatever they pleased.」
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