“I, I’m fine!”
Neia answered the prince, who was worried for her.
“I’ll call all the Zern―”
“―No. I’ll protect Neia.”
Shizu spread her arms, standing like she was shielding Neia.
The great demon was huge, and he made Shizu look tiny. Therefore, he must be able to see Neia without any impediment. However, Neia was very happy inside.
“What!? Ahhhh!”
The demon cried out in a hoarse voice. It would seem Shizu had done something to him, which had had an effect.
Did she use a special ability? Or was it a spell?
She was not sure what exactly had happened, but Neia sensed the great demon’s hostility weakening. Of course, she was probably imagining things. After all, there was no reason why this great demon should want to kill her any less right now.
If there was another attack like the last one, another spell as powerful as the last one, she ought to be able to bear it. No, she wanted to bear it.
She had recovered the mana she had lost during the battle with the Vah Un, but the number of times she could use 「Heavy Recover」 was still unknown, so it was best to save as many uses as possible. However, waiting until the last moment to heal also meant that the slightest mistake would send her over the brink. Accurately judging the right time to heal was very difficult.
“And she’s wielding the bow that Ainz-sama lent her!”
Shizu’s voice sounded very loud for her. She was probably raising her volume to better praise the Sorcerer King. This was a life and death battle, but she could not bring herself to mention it. After all, the person doing this was Shizu, the strongest person on their side, and there was an aura of veterancy. She might have a plan in mind.
“What!? You mean, that Sorcerer King!?”
There was surprise in the henchman demon’s voice. That was the Sorcerer King for you. He must have heard from Jaldabaoth that he was an opponent to be wary of.
“Yes! It’s a runecrafted bow!”
Having heard something she could not overlook, Neia cautioned Shizu.
“Shizu! Don’t tell him about us!”
“What! So it was a weapon made with the ancient, lost art of runecraft! A weapon like that might even be able to kill me!”
Why was he explaining that in such detail? As Neia thought that, she immediately felt ashamed. Right now, she was fighting with an incredibly powerful adversary with her life on the line. A weakling like herself did not have the luxury of contemplating such matters.
“So it was runecraft! Amazing!”
The henchman demon kept on speaking in a very cautious tone. Perhaps it was doing so to distract Neia. In fact.
“Runecraft?”
The prince’s surprised voice came from behind her. That was why Neia had to speak.
“No! This weapon isn’t like that!”
As Neia shouted, she sensed Shizu and the henchman demon freeze for an instant. That must have been it. When two opponents were evenly matched, all they could do was stare at each other without being able to make a move. There was no doubt about it.
“Rune…”
“No!”
Neia shouted without regard for anything else, and the henchman demon grunted under his breath.
“Is that so… then next, I’ll… 「Blindness」.”
The spell that came out of nowhere blackened Neia’s vision. He must have done so to render the healer powerless.
The item Neia had borrowed only allowed her to use 「Heavy Recover」, and not spells that could heal her blindness.
A priest or a divine magic caster could have cured the blinded status easily. Unfortunately, there was nobody like that here.
She did not know how long the darkness would last, but if she wanted to heal Shizu, she would have to get within touching range of her.
“I can’t see!” It was very important to tell her comrades what had happened to her. “Shizu! If you’re hurt, you need to tell me!”
“…Mm.”
“Sorry, I don’t know spells that can heal this condition of yours!”
“Don’t worry about it!”
After responding to the apology from behind her, Neia pulled her bowstring taut. She ought to be able to hit her target from memory alone. This was the fruit of the experience she had gained from fighting the Vah Un and many large-sized adversaries. The bowstring twanged.
“―Guwaaaargh!”
She heard the henchman demon wail in pain.
“You did it! It tried to dodge, but it had the opposite effect! Nicely done!”
After hearing the prince’s clarification, Neia realized how lucky she had been and prayed to the Sorcerer King.
“…Keep shooting like this.”
“Eiii!”
“Mm!”
Although the sound of the Zerns fighting the Shadow Demons around her made it very hard to tell what was going on, Neia focused on how much Shizu had been wounded and the henchman demon’s location and kept shooting at the latter.
Perhaps it was because he had been hurt and realized that he would lose if he did not defeat Shizu first, but the henchman demon focused all its attacks on Shizu. In addition, it kept casting 「Blindness」 spells on her, trying to disable her like it had Neia, but she resisted all of them, so they had no effect.
In that case, all she had to do was keep pressing it.
Just as the prince’s mana was about to run out, victory came to them like a matter of course. The prince’s cries of joy were even a little annoying.
The Zerns fighting around them had taken losses, but they had emerged victorious.
However ― the spell on Neia had not yet expired. She still could not see anything. Still, it was not a permanent spell. In all likelihood, it would wear off after some time had passed, and the only reason why it had lasted this long was because Kelart Custodio was very powerful.
While she could not see anything, she could sense the presence of the Zerns approaching her.
“My prince! I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Ahh… please consume Grand Mother-dono’s remains with all due respect.”
So you’re eating it? Neia thought.
And with all due respect. Since they had said as much, all she could do was accept it as a unique tradition of their species.
“Neia. What should we do with the human’s head? Shall we eat it too?”
“No, please don’t. We humans don’t have such burial practices. We will return it to the city with all due respect.”
“I see… human burial practices are truly a mystery. No, surely you must think the same of ours as well. This is probably what they call a culture clash. Also, I am deeply grateful to you. We alone could never have―”
“―Wait. There’s no time to keep talking. Let’s move.”
She could hear a disturbance in the distance. It would seem the Liberation Army had finally made contact with the Demihuman Alliance. Either that, or soldiers had heard the sound of the battle just now and come here to see what was going on. Whichever one it was, they could not stay here for long.
“That’s right, Shizu-san. Then, please help the Liberation Army attack Kalinsha as we arranged.”
“Umu, I understand. You lot!”
“Yes! We shall move right away. Will you and the humans be entering the barrels, my prince? We will carry you outside the city.”
While Neia could not tell because she could not see, she could sense Shizu hesitating. The reason for that was obvious ― she hated the barrels. Neia felt the same way.
“…I’ll help too.”
“Mm. I’ll lend a hand once I recover from my blindness.”
The prince was thrashing on her back like a caught fish. He was jumping for joy. Neia was a little dejected by how well she had adapted to the situation.
“If our allies are setting out, then let us go as well. Of course, my mana has been depleted so I cannot cast any powerful spells, so I shall cast strengthening spells on you instead.”