And so they arrived at the hidden base of the "Shadow of the King."
It was a slightly spacious room with an altar.
"Uncles, send me hooooome!"
For some reason, a boy was on the altar, crying and screaming.
"Why did it fail!? The ritual steps weren't wrong! There's no way it should have failed! Could it be that Alan is still alive...?!"
The person who seemed to be the leader of the "Shadow of the King" was starting to panic.
"That's right. He was blown up, but he's alive."
I stood at the entrance of the hideout, calling out from behind so they couldn't escape.
"Alan!? He should have been scattered to pieces!"
"Oh, eight people here. Looks like the entire remaining 'Shadow of the King' is gathered in one place? How convenient. And that boy over there doesn't seem to be involved—let's get him out before he becomes a hostage. 'Transport.'"
For some reason there was a boy with a build similar to mine. I didn't know him at all, but I'd teleport him to Lord Harold's mansion for now. He'd probably shelter the boy for a while.
"Alan! A hundred years since we last met! Die! And this time, I'll finally use you as an undead servant!"
Ah, so that's why they needed a boy with a similar build to me.
"NO.2, NO.5, NO.8, NO.11—do it! 'Demon-Sealing Formation'!"
"Yes sir!"
At some point, four people had surrounded me and activated a special magic.
A pale barrier appeared, and my magic skills were sealed.
I tried to activate Teleportation, but it seemed that was sealed too.
"How's that!? We know full well that you froze the Pope with your Frost Magic! With your magic sealed, you're a bird with its wings clipped! Go—No.4, No.7, No.10—kill him! But don't damage the body too much!"
"Useless."
I immediately moved and in an instant cut down all four with diagonal slashes.
Every single hit was fatal.
"Gwah!" "Gyaa!" "Gagh!" "Guegh!"
"How—how can you move like that!? You cut everyone simultaneously in an instant!?"
NO.2, who was maintaining the barrier, was stunned.
Well, you see—since my magic was sealed, the gravity magic (12x) I'd cast on myself was also released. Thanks to that, my body was incredibly light. I could probably even fly right now. And since only magic-type skills were sealed, I could still use Sword God and the rest normally.
So, do you like an adventurer whose normal attacks are AoE double strikes? Because I can do that too if I want.
And so, I cut down the remaining four almost simultaneously.
Since I was at it, I hit each of them twice.
"I-I-impossible... This wasn't supposed to..."
With those words, NO.2 drew his last breath.
The other three fell as well, and with the Demon-Sealing Formation broken, the effects of my gravity magic returned.
Anyway—I should probably go after the real leader soon.
But it seemed like Lord Harold and Count Round were already making moves of their own.
Specifically, they were gathering supplies without being detected by the True King—food, weapons, magic items, and the like.
Since this was this country's problem, it was obviously better to solve it within the country.
Last time, Sharl had interfered, which had pissed me off enough to act on my own, and I'd ended up drawing Count Round to our side as a result. But now that I'd destroyed the True King Temple, reduced the factions, and taken out the "Shadow of the King"—maybe this time, it was better to stay put and observe quietly.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
NO.1, NO.4, NO.7, NO.10 (Physical Team)
NO.2, NO.5, NO.8, NO.11 (Magic Team)
NO.3, NO.6, NO.9, NO.12 (Speed Team)
Setting up twelve members was a bit too much, wasn't it...
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Fist God] [Spear God] [Scorching Magic] [Frost Magic] [Clear Storm Magic] [Rock Iron Magic] [Sacred Magic] [Dark Magic] [Space-Time Magic] [Thunder God Blade] [Phantom Gentleman Thief] [Ninja Master] [Truth Researcher] [Monstrous Strength] [Idaten] [Pain Dulling] [Complete Status Ailment Resistance] [Dark Spirit's Protection] [Ultra Intuition] [Heaven's Gate] [Abyssal Contractor] [Magic Hand] [Treasure Search] [Seduction] [Incitement] [Telmesmerism] [Eloquence] [Strong Luck] [Tenfold Growth Speed] [Growth Limit Breakthrough] [Afterimage Magic] [Dark Stalker]
Rank: Orichalcum