Published: September 9, 2025
Satou here.
Why is it that when you hear “mass weapon,” it sounds powerful, but when you hear “catapult,” it sounds weak? I think a rock the size of a person’s head flying at you should be more than dangerous enough.
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A cloud of dust pouring down from the broken ceiling and the lingering glow of Liza’s demon blade cannon filled the room, with fragments of rock shattered by the cannon flying around.
Shortly after, rubble from the collapsed ceiling began to fall.
I swiftly grabbed a maid who was about to be crushed by the debris from the side and saved her.
The dust shielded us from others’ view, so I could use earth shrinking casually.
Two paladins seem to have been injured by the falling ceiling and rock fragments, their health bars down to half.
Meanwhile, a male sommelier-like waiter seemed to have escaped unharmed on his own. Well, that’s how a man should be.
Then, a heavy vibration that resonated throughout the belly struck intermittently.
Startled by the shaking footing, the maids I’d just saved clung to me from both sides.
Holding back the urge to loosen my cheeks with the help of my “poker face” skill, I opened the map to check the situation.
The 3D display on the map showed that the mansion’s collapse had begun.
No doubt it was because of those four consecutive rock shots from earlier.
Except for the one shot Liza intercepted, those catapult rocks, the kind used in siege warfare, had hit directly, so no wonder.
I hurriedly checked the positions of the servants inside the mansion.
Surprisingly few — only 23 in total.
Using my always-active “magic hand,” I began capturing them to carry them outside the mansion.
Fortunately, no one seems to have died instantly from a direct hit by the rocks.
A few were near death, but we could deal with them after escaping.
While I was desperately making escape arrangements within those few seconds, an incident occurred inside the room.
“—Ugh, wh-what are you doing?”
A muffled scream came from beyond the dust.
The AR display showed Mr. Bauen, the katana user, was near death, and beside him, Mr. Jureberg was severely injured, barely alive.
Next to them was a middle-aged man whose radar dot glowed red — Jizon, a temple knight.
—So the earlier air raid was to assist in assassinating this guy.
I kicked some rubble at him, relying on the radar’s position.
Beyond the dust, a heavy thud and Jizon’s muffled scream echoed.
A momentary clearing in the dust revealed a hollow where the rubble flew.
Jizon, who had stabbed the magic sword into Mr. Jureberg’s back, drew his blade reluctantly and retreated.
It seemed the rubble had crushed Jizon’s shoulder bone; one arm hung limp down.
“Tch, how dare you interfere unarmed—‘Mystic Blade Unmatched’.”
Upon uttering the last command word, Jizon’s magic sword darkened.
Then, as if the darkness spread from the sword to his body, his whole form turned black.
—Well, no one waits till the very end anyway.
Ignoring the collapsing floor, two attacks struck from both sides: Mr. Heim’s greatsword “Weeds” and Ms. Ryuona’s scythe “Grass Cutter.”
Jizon hooked Mr. Bauen, the katana user, with his toes and kicked him in front of Heim to block his advance.
Then, Ryuona’s swinging scythe grazed his shoulder slightly, but the blade slid over his blackened body.
With Ryuona’s large swing avoided and leaving her open, Jizon used a wide magic sword strike to suppress her, forcing her back and escaping.
The blackened Jizon dashed toward the direction where Liza and I were.
He must have seen me, hugged tightly by the waitresses from both sides, as an easy target.
True, since I was mostly focused on helping the servants escape, handling him would be difficult.
—But I have a reliable bodyguard by my side.
“Liza.”
“Roger.”
Jizon closed in and thrust a magic sword the size of a bastard sword at Liza, who blocked his path.
Liza parried it with a silver knife imbued with demon blade power.
“Impossible, a magic blade on a utensil?!”
Had he not seen Liza intercept the ceiling rock earlier?