Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: 9

5-9 . Shadow and Magician

I'm fine with ghost or apparition, but I'm scared with faces of the characters who got into spasms in terror .

◇

The enemy who suddenly springs up comes from the direction of the owl just before .

Appearing from the stretched shadow behind the owl, it's a figure of a person wearing black robe . I can't see its face because its wearing a hood and long sleeves .

"I've come to pick you, Mia . "

Mia who's beside me is trembling .

" . . . No . "

This man with the bent back is, without a doubt, the magician . The owl from earlier is nesting on the man's shoulder . Is it a pet or a familiar?

I put myself to protect Mia behind me, and check on his status . His name is Zen, level is high at 41 . Skill is--- [Unknown] .

This unpleasant feeling, is he the same kind as Arisa and the heroes?

While agitated I continue to read his status--- What is this?!　Skill [Unknown] also appears there .

Mia is trembling behind me .

I can roughly understand the details . This guy is too dangerous for anyone but me . Let's deal with him carefully . It seems impossible, but I'd like to settle this with discussion if possible .

"Nice to meet you, magician-dono . I'm Satou, a merchant . "

"I don't have business with someone like a merchant . "

The magician doesn't seem like he'd even bother to introduce himself .

I wonder if it's because he looks down on merchants or he just has low communication skill .

"Even if you don't, I have a duty to protect this girl . I won't pass her to a suspicious man . "

"Fumu, you seem to be protected by generous and skillful mercenaries, but if they stand before me it will become a bloodbath, do you understand?"

The magician points his cane here while keeping his back bent .

"It's no good! Master, this guy is too strong . "

Arisa warned me from behind .

"I am the great King of Night . It's good that you know your place, but trashes don't have any place to call me 'this guy' . "

This is bad, the magician's attention is directed toward Arisa .

"■■■■　■――"

The magician begins to chant magic toward Arisa .

I don't want to leave Mia, but I can't afford not to now . I rush toward the magician, and strike his stomach with my fist .

But the strike is unable to stop the magician's chant .   My fist has penetrated the magician's robe, but there is no response at all . Is it this guy's unique skill?

"---Shadow Whip . "

When the magician finishes his chant, shadow stretches from his foot to form something that look like a spear that plunge toward Arisa . Is that the shadow whip?

I'm back stepping away from the magician, and I cut myself between the shadow whip and Arisa .

I block the shadow whip with my whole body . The shadow whip coils around my body, at that time I feel some small pricks .

>[Shadow Magic Skill Acquired]

>[Shadow Resistance Skill Acquired]

What do you mean with shadow resistance .

Ah, it's been a while since my scientific blood denies the fantasy .

But I'm profiting from this trouble .

I feel like the resistance skill will be of small importance in this situation, but let's increase the chance to protect Mia even if only a little .

I allocate points to shadow resistance and activate it .

◇

"Fumu, that's an unbelievable body . Are you really a merchant?"

"A friend of mine calls me nimble merchant . "

From behind our conversation, I can hear Arisa whimper .

"It's useless, it really didn't work . "

Did Arisa counterattack when the magician started to chant? Her magic power decreased for a bit . There is absolutely no change to the magician, he probably has resistance .

"To put yourself in front of a woman to protect them from my attack, you have my praise . "

"If you admire me then won't you back down?"

"That's a different story . Mia is needed to achieve my goal . "

I'm finally able to free myself from the shadow whip . This shadow whip only gives me insignificant prickly damages but it had no substance and no reaction so I couldn't tear it off . Yet it could be used to restrain thing, some fantasy substance it is .

"What is your goal?"

"There is no meaning to tell you that . If you want to save Mia, then bring a hero along . "

"Do you have some grudges on heroes?"

The magician doesn't answer and laughs loudly while looking up the sky .

Accompanying his laughter, countless shadow whips appear from his feet . Does the spell earlier retain its effect?

It's going to abduct Mia who stands listlessly . If physical attack isn't working then how about magic attack .

I take out magic guns from the pocket, equip them on both hands, and set the power scale to the MAX .

For someone of this guy's level, this much probably won't kill him .

"Way off the mark . "

Following the magician's word, the magic whips expand toward me and Mia .

I intercept the shadow whips with the magic guns . Dual wielding guns feels like a chuunibyou from somewhere, I don't like it .

It's working .

I succeeded in destroying every magic whips that had went toward Mia, while I let the one that came toward me to coil itself on me . I wasn't able to destroy them all as expected .

"Those are quite good weapons . "

"Is that so? If you leave Mia alone then I will give you one, how about it?"

While offering the trade to the magician, I smash the shadow whip coiling my body with the magic guns .

I hear Mia's short scream from behind .

I turn just my head, Mia is being restricted by shadow appearing from her feet .

More shadow whips appear from the magician and restrict me .

The magician begins to chant a new magic .

I can't let him casts more magic than this, I fire the magic guns to the magician . His health decreases but immediately recovers before the next shot . Is this guy's unique skill invincibility?

I change my aim to the cane, and fire the magic bullet .

"Help me nodesu!" "Help~?"

Pochi and Tama seemed to try to do something to the shadow whips but they slipped through it . Even just slipping through the shadow whip seems to give them damage, the two jump back while screaming .

Liza and Arisa are looking here from a cover while waiting for their chance and eluding the magic whips .

All the magic bullets that I fire are blocked by the shadow whips that appear from the magician's feet .

Then, finally the magician's magic, [Shadow Portal], is activated .

Mia's body is sinking into the shadow .

I give up on shooting the magician, and hold Mia's upper body from sinking with brute force .

"I'll have you return this girl . Since it'd trouble me if you're careless, I'll say this, if you try to forcibly pull her, Mia's life will be no more . "

The magician is sinking into shadow too . I still can't see his face .

"You are no match for a transcendent being like me, resign from your unreasonable struggle . If you wish for death then you're free to visit my maze, I expect a show of courage and wisdom to break through it . "

The magician disappears into the shadow while laughing loudly . He didn't see through Mia's sinking until the end, is it because he has allowance to do so or because of carelessness .

My body is almost dragged into the shadow too, but maybe because of my resistance, it stops at 1 cm deep .

The pulling power of the shadow for Mia is strong . My pulling power is even stronger, but Mia's health gradually decreases . If I put more power than this, Mia's body would break .

I have decided .

"Arisa! When morning comes, go ask for assistance at the worker's guild manager . "

After telling her that, I let myself sink into the shadow with Mia .

Arisa and the girls should be able to deal with the shadow stalkers somehow . If possible without injuries I hope .

That manager is unreliable but this time it's a crisis of a person from his tribe, Nadi-san should be able to arrange for it .

◇

After I'm sunk, there is only jet black space around .

There is no sound or light, it truly feels like inside shadow . Of course there is no air too .

It is indeed a bit painful . My health decrease faster than from the coiling shadow whip . Still, probably thanks to self-healing, it comes back up at fixed interval . Perhaps, I've become unable to die by suffocation .

Even with air, a person would go mad if they spend too long in this place .

Thanks to the lack of oxygen, I can't concentrate well .

Yes, how about Mia .

Since I can't even look at my own body, it goes without saying that I can't see her either .

I take out Light Drop from Storage and pour it magic power .

I thought that I could see my body then but it didn't work . The radar shows only me too .

I use [All Map Exploration] after a long time of not using it . But unfortunately, radar display remains as it is . It might really be only me around .

I open the map and see it .

There, something is written-- [It's an area with no map] .

"What's this a game!"

I retorted .

And then, as if the voice is echoing back to back, the shadow space with no sound is breaking, like a glass, vanishing into fragments .

<TLN: We Majin Buu now lol>

◇

I'm in a place like the one nobles use to have audiences with people . It's a vertical room, like a school gymnasium cut in half . The floors are made of stones, fat circular stone pillars are lined up along the wall, and candlesticks attached to the wall are emitting LED-like magical lights . There's a throne in the furthermost of the interior, and in that interior a sphere 2 meter big in diameter is blinking rainbow lights while floating at knee-high height .

Mia who is made to sleep is sitting on the throne . Beside her, an unknown beautiful blond woman is nursing her . Her face looks exactly like Mia, but her breasts are outrageously big . No, such thing doesn't matter now .

The magician who is running his fingers through something that looks like a music stand beside the throne notices me, before I could rush to him .

"Absurd!"

Even while surprised, the guy is not loosening his fingers from playing the music stand .

"Yes, absurd! How did you escape from my prison of shadow!　It's something that shouldn't be broken by a group of low level people like you bastards . "

Are you surprised, boasting or looking down, be clear about it .

My feet are a bit unstable, I wonder if it's the effect from the shadow space earlier .

"I have a light amulet with me . Shadow magic isn't going to work . "

Oops, I wasn't going to tell him the true reason but even for deceiving him the detail was too appropriate . Is it thanks to deception skill?

"I see, I cannot permit unfairness . This room is only allowed for people who have captured the maze, those who earn it can come here, that's the rule . "

The magician stops there, and nods to his own words .

"And then, the hero who is able to get here, is the one who is qualified to annihilate me, the King of Immortal . "

What is this guy saying?

Capture the maze, does he want to kill himself?

Furthermore, didn't he say that he's a King of Night initially? He can't decide the name for himself .

But, rather than that, I feel slightly mad at this guy's excuse . He got our girls and Mia in trouble for such reason?

"If you want to die then go do it yourself . Don't involve other people . "

"Fuhahaha, I have received blessing from the god, I am immortal . "

It's unpleasant, but if I continue this stupid talk, my feet will recover soon .

But, the other guy doesn't seem like he intend to continue .

"Well then, I'll have you leave from the master room . "

The door located beside the throne is opening and then--