I Became a Prisoner in the Game After Defeating the Final Boss Chapter 61
Just how long had it been.
Having finally faced Conlan after such a long time, Leila’s gaze swept over Conlan like a snake.
“I thought maybe you’d been dragged off by the Punishment Order and suffered hardships…… but your complexion is quite good? Looks like you’ve been eating well somewhere?”
They were words full of thorns, but in Leila's tone as she spoke, a sense of relief could somehow be felt.
“A lot has happened.”
“Hmph…… really? So, what could be the reason for my supposedly dead ex-husband to show his face here again? I’m extremely curious.”
“I need your help, Leila.”
Leila scoffed.
“Ha! What ridiculous nonsense. What reason do I have to help you?”
“Bernhard is in danger.”
“I can see that just by looking. So, what, are you suggesting we save the city together? Did you prepare a hefty request fee?”
“That’s……”
“You don’t have it, obviously. This is why you’ll never make it. If you come to make a deal, you should prepare a fitting price. What are you going to do coming empty-handed?”
The corner of Leila’s mouth twisted.
“Ah, and if you’re perhaps counting on old affections, thinking we would help, you’re mistaken. We’re planning to leave Bernhard.”
“……You’re abandoning Bernhard?”
“Yeah. Is there a reason why we shouldn't?”
“You don’t really mean that, do you?”
“I’m serious.”
Conlan’s eyes widened as he stared at Leila.
“You……! Have you forgotten what is in Bernhard?”
“As if I could forget?”
Leila’s gaze seemed to look elsewhere for a moment, sinking deep.
“I can’t forget, absolutely not.”
But that too was brief; Leila shifted her gaze back to Conlan.
She had things to do now, rather than just remain submerged in the past.
“……And yet you still say you’re abandoning Bernhard?”
“Is there any other way? It’s better than meekly meeting a glorious end here, isn’t it?”
“How could you……!”
Conlan gritted his teeth.
“……You’ve changed.”
“Ah, my foolish ex-husband, how can you be so unchanging? Even Bernhard's council members have all given up on Bernhard. They’re probably all running away by now. So, for whose benefit should we risk our lives to protect this city?”
“It’s not for anyone else. It’s for us. This place is…… our home, isn’t it.”
“Us? Haha, I don't know about anything else, but your joking skills seem to have improved. That was funny.”
At that moment.
Thud!
Ruuumble!!!──
The roaring sounds coming from outside grew increasingly severe.
It was powerful proof that Bernhard’s fate was rapidly approaching its end.
“It seems we don’t have much time left. If you’re done saying everything you need to, could you leave now? It looks like we need to get moving soon, too. For the sake of those old affections you’re hoping for, I’ll spare you the traitor’s punishment, so just go.”
Conlan couldn't say anything more.
Just as he had thought at first, he only kept repeating the thought that he should not have come here.
“……I will protect Bernhard.”
“Do as you please. Whether you die or not is your business.”
With that as his final word, Conlan turned and left the mercenary guild. Hamyul, who had been watching this, spoke.
“Is it alright to just let him go? Conlan is a traitor.”
“He said he’s going to die anyway. Is there really a need to dirty our hands? Besides, we still don't have any proof that he betrayed us.”
“But……”
“Hamyul, that’s enough.”
As Leila spoke firmly, Hamyul also could not say anything more.
“……Yes.”
“Are the preparations all finished?”
“Ah, yes. We’ve packed as lightly as possible, just as you instructed.”
“Good work. Then let’s go. We need to get out of Bernhard before it’s too late.”
“Understood. Everyone, move out!”
While Hamyul left the guild first with the guild members, Leila’s gaze remained fixed on the spot where Conlan had stood.
“……So foolish.”
Endlessly, continuously.
***
Thud!
Ruuumbles!!
The ground, which should have originally been perfectly still, trembled violently.
It wasn't an earthquake.
The countless uninvited guests visiting this once-peaceful land left great scars upon the earth, and everything screamed.
Alicia, who had been searching for the Mage of the Celestial Sound who caused this incident, also watched the scene, momentarily stunned.
“……”
Alicia knew instinctively.
That Bernhard was now done for.
Even if she managed to find the Mage of the Celestial Sound, could she change this situation?
Alicia was doubtful.
Magic was not some kind of miracle.
It always demanded a corresponding price, and a magic that caused an incident of this magnitude would surely have paid a fitting price.
To put it differently, it also meant that reversing this incident would require paying a corresponding price.
Who exactly would have to pay that price?
Alicia dared not guess the outcome of that.
At that moment.
Baaaaang!!───
A gunshot roar came from somewhere.
Although it was quickly buried by the bizarre cries and screams coming from all directions, Alicia knew very well what that sound was.
‘Vell Blackwood.’
It was definitely the sound of the magic he used.
‘He must have found the mage.’
Alicia’s gaze immediately turned toward where the sound had come from.
‘I have to go.’
Alicia instinctively moved her feet.
Toward the place where Vell Blackwood would be.
***
[You have defeated ‘Mage of the Celestial Sound, Edereon’!]
[The Demon of the Celestial Sound will be watching you.]
[Demonic energy lingers around you.]
[Demonic energy rises. (+1)]
[2 → 3]
It hurt.
It hurt so much I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength for that right now, so I just lay down and groaned in pain.
“Ugh……”
I had barely managed to win the battle against the Mage of the Celestial Sound, but it was not a smooth victory.
In the process of dodging the Formless Thorn, I had received several wounds all over my body that were nothing short of fatal, and because of that, I was now in a state where I couldn’t move and needed to recuperate.
[The power of the ‘Orb of Water’ seeps into the user.]
[The ‘Orb of Water’ heals the user.]
If it hadn’t been for the power held by the Orb of Water, I would have been dying a lonely death from organ damage and excessive bleeding.
‘……That was dangerous.’
It wasn't to the extent of the Mage of Demonic Transformation I had faced before, but the Mage of the Celestial Sound itself was inherently a tricky opponent to deal with, and this time I was alone.
It meant that if I had made even the slightest mistake in that final, narrow contest, I would have been the one to become the demon’s sacrifice.
“Keuk……”
I tried to move my body for a moment, but I must have been cut somewhere bad, as no strength entered my body.
It seemed I would need more time to recover.
At that moment.
Creeeak…….
I felt a human presence from the floor below.
If it were an enemy, I had no strength to resist in my current state, but there was no need to prepare for battle.
Because the footsteps coming from downstairs were extremely familiar.
“So you were here.”
“Commander.”
Just as I expected.
The person who finally appeared was none other than the 4th Special Task Force Commander, Edric.
“How did you get here?”
“I came after hearing the sound. I heard the roar of the magic you use.”
“I see.”
I had thought that in all this chaos, a gunshot sound would be easily buried, but it seemed to be useless against someone with senses like Edric’s.
Well, it was probably also because Edric already knew the sound of the gunshot in the first place.
“Anyway, what happened here? You don't look to be in very good condition.”
I briefly summarized the situation I had experienced and relayed it to Edric.
“I encountered the Mage of the Celestial Sound. We fought, and I succeeded in killing the Mage of the Celestial Sound, but as you can see, I’m in this state.”
“Is that so……. The Mage of the Celestial Sound is already dead, then.”
“Yes.”
The fact that the Mage of the Celestial Sound was already dead meant that the method to reverse this incident had also disappeared.
Edric, who couldn't possibly be unaware of that fact, gazed out the window for a moment.
“Do you know the situation outside?”
“I have a rough idea, but is it very serious?”
“It seems we must leave Bernhard in a hurry. If we delay any longer, we might not even get the chance to leave.”
The current situation seemed bad enough for Edric, who had once before declared in front of Council Member Garrett Mason that he would change Bernhard, to say such a thing.
“So it has come to that.”
“Do you know something?”
“Before the Mage of the Celestial Sound died, he cast one final magic, paying his own existence as the price. The situation has probably worsened because of that.”
Edric’s expression turned serious.
“Is that so……. Did you find out what that person’s goal was?”
“It’s not certain, but it seemed they were hostile toward the Empire.”
“A mage hostile to the Empire possessed a conviction strong enough to sacrifice themselves……. This isn’t good, in many ways. Perhaps this is only the beginning.”
“I think so, too.”
Edric nodded his head.
“Let’s get moving. Can you walk?”
“It seems difficult right now.”
“Hmm, can’t be helped, then.”
Edric grinned at me.
“……What are you planning to do?”
“It’s nothing much.”
Saying that, Edric lifted me up in a flash and slung me over his shoulder.
“Keoheok.”
I wished that was all, but my injured stomach was pressed, causing blood to seep out, and my stomach churned, making me feel like I was going to puke.
“Kkeueuk…… I, I’d rather walk by myself.”
“What are you talking about when you can't even walk properly? Stay still.”
“I think, I think I’m going to die……”
“Haha, such a fussbaby. People don’t die from just this.”
No, I really think I'm going to die, you damn geezer.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Kkeu…… What are you going to do now?”
“Didn't I tell you? We're getting out of Bernhard. Bernhard is already done for. The internal political situation is now at a point where it doesn't matter.”
“……Is that so.”
With the situation having come this far, I had no intention of opposing Edric’s opinion any longer.
If possible, I wanted to prevent humanity’s territory from shrinking, but I didn’t have the loyalty to risk my life and fight here.
‘In the first place, I’m not in a state to fight anymore.’
Even being carried on his back was overwhelming.
Facing a horde of demonic beasts in this condition, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough.
“Is there…… no way?”
“Unfortunately.”
I, too, couldn't offer any particular opinion against Edric’s words, but even so, ending it like this felt unsettling somehow.
Really, was this enough?
As I left the building amidst my doubts, the scenery outside was finally revealed.
-A, a demonic beast! Demonic beasts have appeared!
-Run! Quickly!
-Kyaaaaak!
Screams, bizarre cries, roars.
All of those things combined were turning Bernhard, once a peaceful city, into a living hell.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Bernhard was not a place fully prepared for attacks by demonic beasts like the Winter Castle, and as proof of that, several demonic beasts had begun to cross the city walls and run rampant through the city.
-Kyaooooo!
-Kkeururu─
-Krrr…… Keong! Keong!
Bernhard’s soldiers were also screaming and trying somehow to block the demonic beasts, but the absolute numerical inferiority was not something easily overcome.
The situation gradually sank into despair.
Council Member Garrett Mason was probably moving diligently, but even if he convened the council at this point, what could he change.
Bernhard’s fate was now like a candle in the wind.
“The situation isn't good. Let’s hurry.”