The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Usato, Keira, Suzune, and Kazuki were sucked into the mysterious vortex and disappeared from this space.

If I had concentrated more on foreknowledge, I could have avoided this.

Disgusted with my inadequacy, I call out to Nair and Bulrin, who are looking for traces of the vortex where they were sucked into it.

"Nair, Bulrin, what have you found out?"

"Grua......"

Bullyn shakes his head.

The smell seems to have died out completely.

"...... there are traces of witchcraft in the air."

Do you know where it came from?

Nair nods at the sound of Leona's voice, who is keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings.

"It's barely there, but it's there. But with this concentration of magic, it may take a long time to find it.

"Just a clue is enough. If we follow them, we can find Usato and the others, right?"

"Yes, they are still here."

Nair puts his hand on the stone slab on the floor.

"Maybe this magic is a short-range space transfer.

"Like when I was brought to Mialak by this guy Farga?"

"...... No, the wielder must be very powerful, but even so, the magic is very poorly constructed."

What do you mean?

I tilted my head, as did Ferrum, and Nair put his finger to his mouth and growled in annoyance.

She seems to be at a loss for what to say.

"It doesn't feel right. You have the power, but you don't seem to know how to use it. I have no idea who set this up, but ...... honestly, it's bizarre."

"...... First, let's follow the trail and head out to find everyone who got sucked into the vortex."

"Yes. ....... The magic trail continues from the wall over there.

"Hmm. ......."

Nair pointed to a passage that was closed by the wall when we entered here.

Leona looked in the direction she indicated, nodded her head, and holding the spear in her hand, threw it against the wall.

The spear pierced the wall and produced an icicle of ice from its tip, destroying the wall from the inside.

"...... Okay."

Hey, hey, Leona!

We don't have time for this. Let's just go ahead and do it by brute force.

She grabbed the spear, which came back by itself, and walked ahead.

We follow her down the passage beyond the wall that she has destroyed.

"Usato, Suzune, Kazuki ...... and Keira, are you okay ......?"

"Don't worry about Keira, she has Usato with her. But Usato's the one who ...... pushed me and Nea out of the way first. ......"

Ferrum, who was pushed by Usato right after the vortex appeared and escaped from the difficulty, is in a bad mood.

Nair is also in a bad mood, although he does not say so.

He is probably annoyed that Usato was the first to protect Ferrum and the others rather than himself.

Usato basically puts himself on the back burner. .......

"Next time I see him, I'd like to complain about him."

"I'm going to hit you."

"It probably won't work, so use something else."

Nair and Ferrum exchanged these words.

As I watched their backs, I talked to Bulrin, who was walking next to me.

"Bulrin, are you worried about Usato and the others?"

"Gruaaaah!"

A bright voice.

His voice conveys a feeling of trust rather than concern for Usato and the others.

"......Yes, that's right. I'm sure Usato and the others will be fine.

"Guru."

"Hmm, thank you."

I pat the head of Bulrin, who makes one more sound as if he cares for me.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Something is different this time.

With this vague sense of uneasiness, we continue on our way through the ruins in search of Usato and the others.

I was so worried.

Immediately after Koga Dingal, commander of the Second Legion of the Demon Lord Army, appeared in front of us --- a vortex of white light appeared before us.

We were helplessly sucked into the vortex of light that appeared as if it was pulling only Kazuki-kun and I toward it, and the next time we opened our eyes, we were confronted with an all-white world.

"Senpai, is this ......?"

"I know that I was drawn into that vortex of white light ......, but other than that, I have no idea."

One thing is for sure, it was not Koga who led us into the trap.

After all, he was also drawn into the white vortex.

As we are checking our surroundings to make sure we have our own heroic weapons, something like a shadow appears in front of us.

"Welcome to our space.

Who are you?

I am Kannagi, the entity that brought you to these ruins this time.

I hold up my baskets and try to continue the conversation while waiting for Kazuki-kun who is about to release a magic bullet of light magic.

I would normally be too attractive as a "kemonomimi," but the being in front of me is too stinky.

Wait a minute, isn't it okay to have a stinky chemomimi?

Wouldn't it be better to seize them and try to make them do something?

"......"

"You're looking very alert. Your eyes are bloodshot."

Calm down. Calm down, sir.

Oh, no.

He switches his attention and asks Kannagi again.

"...... what's the purpose of us?"

"For your own good."

"What do you mean?"

At Kazuki's words, Kannagi smiles.

"I'm rooting for you guys," he said.

"Cheering ......?"

"The Demon Lord must be choked this time. I want to help you who are working for it."

"......"

"This may sound like a lie, but it is undeniably true. The Demon King is my sworn enemy as well."

There's no sign of catnip.

She seems to be telling the truth, but I still don't trust her.

She can say whatever she wants to sound like.

This Kannagi woman dares to leave out the important parts of her words.

"I'm having Usato undergo a trial."

"What are you doing to Usato, ......!"

Don't worry. Don't worry. I have something I want to entrust him with. For now, he's ...... uh, well, he's fighting very well."

Why did you hold back?

Kannagi's expression, which had been sternly smiling, becomes subtle for a moment.

But what is it that you want to entrust to me?　From the way Kannagi talks, it sounds like something special, but I don't think it's a good one.

"Of course, I would like you to go through the ordeal as well."

"......What if I say no?"

"You'll still have to take it. Because you will never win against the Demon King if you don't do what you're doing.

Kannagi continued to speak, pointing at us as we were unable to say anything with conviction.

"You are naive. You may be ready to defeat your enemies, but you are undeniably naive. It is absolutely impossible to defeat the Demon King with that attitude, isn't it?

"......"

"There was not a shred of gentleness in the battles of the previous generation of heroes. There was no mercy. There was only the will to ensure that their opponents would be eliminated. Compared to that, ...... you are no good."

It is true that we are different from the heroes of the past.

It is only natural that the way of the heroes of the past, who were called to the rough times in the first place, should be different from ours.

But that did not stop Kannagi from speaking.

Kindness is important.　But you will be asked to make a ruthless decision someday. You two, as brave men, must be willing to make some sacrifices for the happiness of many people.

"I won't let that happen. ......!"

"Kazuki. That way of thinking is already naive."

She says this to Kazuki in a calm voice and holds up her palm.

Then, out of nowhere, an unusual concentration of magical power gathers and transforms into a sphere.

"What are you doing!

"I'm just gathering the magic floating in the ruins. I won't use it for an attack. Instead... you'll have nightmares.

She put her hand over her left eye and began to knead her magic in a pained voice.

"---Strengthening the system."

The moment she said those words, the white space around her became greatly distorted.

The distorted landscape gradually became more colorful, and even the place where we were standing changed.

Kazuki-kun and I found ourselves standing in the middle of some unknown battlefield.

"Is it burning?　Where am I?"

There was no sign of Kannagi, who had been there a moment ago.

The trees around us were on fire, and the corpses of human and Demon Lord soldiers were lying everywhere.

While I was frowning at the sight of something real and not an illusion, Kazuki noticed something.

"Senpai, there's someone over there!"

Kazuki points in the direction.

>

>

There they are, the soldiers, raising a war cry.

The armor they wore belonged to the Kingdom of Lingle, but it was covered with scars as if it had been used many times.

There were also Samarriar, Calm Helio, and other unfamiliar soldiers in white and light blue armor, all heading in the same direction.

"...... Is that the Kingdom of Lingle?"

The place they were heading for was a familiar place to us, the Kingdom of Lingle.

The once beautiful castle was now filled with black smoke, and the castle itself, once filled with the liveliness of its people, was now engulfed in flames... surrounded by the soldiers of the Demon Lord's army, camped out with their own faces.

"Why is the Demon King's army in the Lingle Kingdom ......?"

What in the world is going on? ......

We were stunned.

While we were having a hard time understanding the situation, we spotted a familiar figure behind us in the direction where the Lingle Kingdom was located.

A dark-haired boy wearing a white troupe uniform with a hint of red in it.

He was sitting on something with his back to us, staring at the burning Lingle Kingdom.

"......!!!!"

"Senpai!

He might know something.

He runs up to him and notices that his body is covered in blood.

The hem of his troupe uniform and his arms are stained red, as if he had assimilated with Ferrum, and his uniform itself is also covered with scratches.

"Usato!　Are you hurt?

"......?"

He turned around with slow movements and rolled his eyes in surprise when he saw Kazuki-kun and me.

"Senpai ......?　Kazuki......?"

"Usato ku---"

Just as I was about to run up to the injured man, I saw Usato-kun in front of me trying to thrust his piercing hand toward my throat.

Quickly, I put on lightning and moved away from him, but I saw a small cut on my cheek caused by Usato-kun's thrusting hand.

"Aa......e......Usato-kun?"

I put my hand on the wound on my cheek and my voice trembled at the slight blood on it.

Did he, Usato-kun---did he try to kill me?

He stands up slowly, staring at his missing sword, his face contorted in anger as he sees us stunned.

"Oh, that woman. I knew I should have cut off her head. I can't believe she's giving me this disgusting vision again. ......"

Holding his head in his hands, Usato-kun swears.

If you look closely, you will see that he was not sitting on a log.

It was a pile of dead soldiers of the Demon Lord's army.

His throat had been crushed, a gaping hole had been made in his chest, and he had died.

"Usato!　Don't you recognize us?

"......"

Kazuki, who desperately insists that he is the real Kazuki, looks at him coldly and punches himself in the forehead.

Both Kazuki-kun and I are stunned by his sudden action.

"You still haven't woken up, have you? This worked out so well the other day. ......"

Fresh blood dripped from his forehead, but he looked up without caring.

"Senpai and Kazuki are dead. They died because of me, because I didn't get to them in time."

His voice was devoid of emotion.

A far cry from the man we knew, a cold, icy voice.

"That's why I have to fight for you ...... and protect the place you all go back to."

He turned his bright red eyes, which were smeared with blood from his forehead, toward me and readied his fist.

"If it's just an illusion, maybe if I kill it, it will disappear."

---Me and Kazuki are dead?

I can't believe he's lying. After all, his attack on me earlier was really an attack that was intended to choke me out.

"He's not the ...... Usato we know. ......"

His proud lifeguard uniform is soaked in blood and frayed.

His dark-skinned eyes and bright red hands were too fierce to be human---too painful to look at.

I looked at him from the front, and I realized.

Realizing, understanding, tears started to flow down my cheeks.

"...... such ......"

A world without me and Kazuki-kun.

The time when the Black Knight killed him and the Demon Lord's army won the war.

The Usato-kun we know is not here.

There is only the man who has taken on everything on his own and has become a true monster.

"Usato, you are ......"

Yes, it is indeed a nightmarish sight ......!　Kannagi......!!!

We are going to fight against Usato-kun, who has fallen into Shura. ......!