The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

A herd of demons chased us for several minutes.

The herd of monsters is still after us, and their number seems to be increasing, not decreasing.

Perhaps the demons are gathering in the area, but it's nothing but a nuisance for those of us who are being chased by .......

But that doesn't mean there is no solution.

If we keep going, we will eventually reach the lake where Mearaak is located. Once there, we can take a boat across the lake. Even the demons won't be able to get into the lake, so as long as we can get to the lake, we're all set.

"We are running out of trees!　We are almost there!　Are you all right, Mr. Usato?

I'm fine, I'm fine!

"No, it's funny that you're fine, since you're running alongside of Bulrin and his horse.

Ignoring Nea, who is muttering on her shoulder, I check on the safety of Amako, who is on my back, and Bulrin, who is running next to me.

At any rate, I am relieved to see that none of them seem to be hurt in any way.

"Usato, something jumps out from in front of us. ......!

"Is it a demon? ......!"

I was relieved for a moment, and then Amako, who had predicted the situation a few seconds later, put her hand around my neck and told me so in my ear.

Nair, too, must have heard this, because she activates her magic on my shoulder and sends a binding spell to my right hand. I immediately create a healing magic bullet in my right palm, and as soon as the frown in front of me shakes, I throw it as if to release a healing restraining bullet.

There is no time to stand still, if they try to block us, I will forcibly pry them open.

"Ooooooh!　Whoa!　ohohohoh?

......

As soon as it leapt out of the bushes about fifteen meters away, a healing restraining bullet struck it, a humanoid monster.

It was a humanoid monster. It was a humanoid monster.

The ferocious-looking demon looks like a muscular human being to the naked eye, but its reddish skin and the large club in its hand indicate that it is a demon, not a human being.

As I get a clearer view of the stiffened figure of the man who has been hit by the healing bullet, I have a strange feeling about the demon in front of me.

Muscular.

Savage weapons.

A face as terrifying as an ogre's.

Huh? ......Wait a minute, could this be .......

"An ogre?　Why is this guy-- Usato?

"Am I being identified with this ......?

Was I being described as this guy?

This is more like those tough guys!

I, who had never known what an ogre looked like before, felt an inexpressible sense of unreasonableness inside and clenched my fists even tighter than before.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!

"Usato!　You're free of your restraints!　This is no ordinary opponent...

Shut up! Amako!

Hold it right there, the Ogre can't react.

Hearing Amako's prediction, I stepped forward, separating Bulrin and the horse for a moment, and at once entered the ogre's bosom, thrusting a powerful healing punch into its dove tail.

"Wait, you're going straight into him?

I'm not this savage!　Eat me!

Listen to me for a second!

The fist thrusts soundlessly, and the ogre lets out a moan as if it is gasping for air, its eyes flashing white.

As soon as it slows down, I grab the ogre's right arm, turn around, and throw it into the crowd of demons that are closing in on us.

The ogre falls, crushing the lead demon, which slows down the speed of the herd.

I smile as I brush my bangs back at the sight.

"......That's totally rude, isn't it? It's rude of you to treat me like such a monster. ......"

"Yeah ...... it's not an ogre anymore. It's something more than an ogre."

"Oh, what?　I thought ogres were supposed to be as dangerous as Bullein. ...... Am I crazy?"

I start running again, ignoring the voices on my shoulders and in my back.

But ...... well, the ogre was pretty tough looking too, but not as tough as Rose. They are not intimidating at all, and if they can be sunk by a blow from a fist, I'm more afraid of the tough guys.

They're stronger than I am as a healer.

But there's one thing that worries me.

Nair, do ogres usually appear near where people live?

"Uh, no. No. They usually only come out in areas where there is a high concentration of magical elements. Maybe it was affected by the roar that brought it out of its dwelling place. ...... It's obviously not normal."

Maybe this has something to do with the voice I heard earlier.

In the meantime, after we enter Mialak and secure our safety, we should tell this to the Queen of Mialak. If there is an entity that has a strong influence on demons walking around Mialark, it could have a bad influence not only on us, but on Mialark as well.

I can see Mialak now!

I can see Mearrak!

Aruk-san's voice brought me back to myself and I looked ahead.

The trees are gone and a white city can be seen in front of the open landscape. It is not as big as Samaritan, but it is still a big city.

"......usato"

"Hmm?　Amako, it's okay. We'll be on the boat soon.

"No, no. ......"

Amako puts her hand on my shoulder and starts to look into the distance, her eyes widening as if she sees something incredible.

Curious, I turn my head and look in the direction she is looking, but all I can see is the mia lark on the lake, shining white in the sunlight,

"Wait a minute."

White light is good.

But why isn't the surface of the lake moving?

I accelerate to grasp the situation and move to a place where I can see the whole lake.

As I approached the lake, the first thing I felt was a chill.

I felt the temperature drop at once, as if the season had changed at that spot, and I looked around in frustration.

"What's going on here ......!"

It's frozen!

What was waiting for us when we arrived at the water city of Mearaq...,

It was no longer a beautiful water city surrounded by lakes, but a silver world dominated by ice and transformed without a shadow of a floating city.

The city is now a silver world, dominated by ice, and without a shadow of a floating city.

The lake has frozen over.

The lake has frozen over, and over a very large area.

I was completely familiar with the world of fantasy, but I couldn't help but be struck by this spectacle.

"There can't be any boats out there ......!　Mr. Aruk!　I'm going to stop them. Please go directly to Mearaq with Amako and Bulrin!

If he runs normally, his horse will catch up with them.

There's no way to say that there's no possibility that one of the demons might be flying something at us, so we have to stop them here first.

"I'm sure you'll be fine ...... Usato-dono, but ......!"

I'll leave as soon as I'm stuck, so I'll be fine!

"...... understand!　Don't push yourself too hard!"

Aruk-san nodded with a bitter expression.

I nodded to him, and I lowered Amako on my back and put her on the back of Bulrin who was standing beside me.

"Bulrin, take care of Amaco!"

"Gruaaaah!"

"...... don't worry, but make sure you come back."

"Oh!"

I watched as the horse with Bulrin and Ark rode off toward Mialak, and then turned to face forward to catch Neah, who had flapped her wings to follow them.

"Néa, you're stuck with me!"

"No, I don't want to!　Who would want to fight in that place?　Why don't you two monsters go fight amongst yourselves?

Monsters get along. .......

He's a little annoyed, but keeps smiling.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"If you want to protect me, you're going to have to let go of me!　That line sounds insane when you say it now.

"Hey, it'll only be for a minute or two. I'm just talking about beating them up and distracting them.

That's not what I'm worried about.

So much for idle chatter.

He takes a half-step forward, fists ready, ready to run at any moment.

First, you hit the lead ogre and gather hostility.

Then, when you pick off other demons, keep your distance from them and try to evade them. Let's sink the ones we can by hit-and-away.

"Okay..."

At that moment, a tremendous crushing sound echoes from behind us.

"!!!?"

What is it this time?

I turned around to see what was going on, and saw two figures in the frozen lake about 30 meters away from me. One was a tall man with a naked upper body and hair so long that it was hard to believe he was a man. The other was clad in cracked armor and of indistinguishable s*x.

The man holds a large double-bladed axe with a silvery-white sheen in his hand, and he is staring at the armored figure with his arms lowered as if he were slouched and weak.

The man in armor on the other hand---perhaps struck by some tremendous force on the surface of the frozen lake, lets out a groan at the center of the shattered ice and glares at the long-haired man.

Judging from the situation, these two must be the ones who were making the battle noises that Amako mentioned..,

"......The movement of the herd of demons has stopped......?"

I looked at the demons, and they were shaking as if they were fighting, running away from the place.

I poke Nair, who is frozen on my shoulder, with a bad feeling as the demons run away into the forest as if they don't want to be noticed by the terrifying beings.

"Are you okay, Néa?"

"Hmph, hmph. I don't know what that thing is, but let's go after Aruk and the others as soon as possible. With the speed of the horses and the burin, they'll be in Mialak in no time, and there's no reason for us to be here anymore. ......"

I'm upset.

Nair, who knows nothing about discipline?

It's true that Aruk's horse and Bulrin will get us to Mialak in no time --- but I've never seen her so frightened.

"Ugh, ugh ......"

"---"

A long-haired man slowly walks up to a man in armor who is slammed against the ice and unable to move. The axe in his hand is raised lightly,

"First!"

Usato!

Reflexively, he leaps forward.

The man with the long hair doesn't look normal. I don't know if the man in the armor is one of them or not, but I'm not so much of an a**h*le that I'd miss a man about to be killed.

I light a healing spell in my fist, close the distance immediately, and at the same time, I slam a healed punch with a controlled healing punch into the abdomen of the axe-wielding longhaired man, punching him hard and loud.

At that moment, I feel a strange sensation in my fist.

"......!"

What's that, hard?

It's not blocked by muscles, nor does it feel like hitting a zombie.

It feels as if I've hit a hard scale like an evil dragon or a snake, and while I'm puzzled, I turn around and call out to the armored man who looks up at me dumbfounded.

"Did you hit ......?　I lightly ...... him."

Can you move?

"Uh, ah, ah... ......, ouch."

The man in armor holding his leg. Your voice is higher pitched than ...... imagined.

I can't see his expression, but I'm sure he's injured everywhere.

We must heal his injuries immediately with healing magic.

So I thought and went to him. I run up to him and try to cast a healing spell, but he grabs my hand firmly.

"Get out of here, ......!　No matter how successful the surprise attack is, he will get up soon. ......!

What do you mean, "get up?"

Usato!　Behind you!

I hear Nea's voice and the sound of something crushing behind me, and then I feel something wind its way toward me. I immediately turn around and see a long-haired man about to slam his fist into me.

I immediately thrust my right palm forward to catch the man's fist.

"---!"

"---!" "M......!"

A shock pierces through my fist.

Surprised by the unexpected power of the fist, he puts strength into his legs and withstands the impact, catching the fist in the opposite direction.

The long-haired man looks into his eyes with a blank expression on his face.

"---!?!!"

"Lie ...... caught it, did you ......?"

For some reason, the armored man behind you looks surprised too, but let's focus on what's in front of us now.

Their eyes seem to have no intent, but I sense hostility. ---It seems that we are the enemy.

Then..,

"I'll fix you up, just keep flying!"

He pulls back his fist and throws a kick with his left leg, which he pulls backward.

But the long-haired man catches the kick with his axe arm. The man puts all his strength to kick the axe away from the defender, but the kick is completely stopped by the man's tremendous physical strength.

---He caught me head-on!

The long-haired man puts his arm into the fist that I'm holding. I also put my foot into the ice and tried to compete with him, but the other guy's physical strength is also quite strong, and the ice, which is my foothold, gets a big crack.

"......GGG......!?"

What power,......!

If you let up even a little bit, you'll lose!

It's as strong as me,...... maybe even stronger.

"You're competing with Usato's stupid power!

"Don't talk about relaxing, support me!"

Nair activates her magic and pours a restraining spell from her fist to stop her movement for a moment.

"---!?!!"

"Hmph!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he hits the chest with a healing restraining fist thrust up from below, striking him even harder than before and forcing him to move away from the foe.

It's good that you hit him, but the fist doesn't seem to have done much damage.

Shaking my left hand, I let out an impatient voice.

"What's with that guy, he's not human ......?"

"Hey, are you serious?　Do you understand that those words will come back to you?"

.......

"Even I could barely compete with him. ......!　d*mn ......, I should have trained harder if this is what I had to do. ......!"

"No, I didn't. You should know that there's something wrong with you when you're the antagonist."

I can't hear Nair's words as I am biting a bitter bug on my face.

I can't hear her.

I don't have time to heal the man in armor, because he'll probably be up ...... soon.

Wary of the longhaired man's attack, I lift the man in armor by his back and knees.

"What are you ...... doing?"

I'm going to get out of here.

You're the only one who can leave!　He's in armor. ...... He's not so naive that he can carry himself away!"

Does this guy know who the long-haired man is?

Then we'll have to ask him later.

"Don't worry. I'm used to it."

"What do you mean 'familiar' ......?

You leave the scene as fast as you can with the armored man in your arms.

Carrying people is what I do as a lifesaver. It is no different even if he is wearing armor. In fact, all the knights were wearing armor at the time of the battle of the demon king's army, so there is no reason for me to run after lifting this person up.

Besides, there's no way I, a healing magic user, would run away without leaving the wounded. ......!

"Isn't pain ...... the restorative magic?"

"It's healing magic. The injury is nothing serious and will be healed in no time!

Are you a healing magician?　And you're dealing with him?

Yes. ......!

You hear a loud noise behind you, and then you hear something coming at you, shattering the ice.

I don't know what it is, but don't think you can catch up with me on foot. ......!　As I speed up my steps, the presence moves further and further away from me.

The man in the armor I'm holding gasps, as if he can see behind me.

"Who are you, ......?"

"I am Usato. I am a messenger from the Kingdom of Lingle, an ordinary healing magician. I've come to give an important letter to Mialark. ....... Who are you?

Nair on your shoulder whispering, "There's no such thing as normal ......," but you ignore her and ask the armored man who leans forward.

Then he shakes his helmet as if to say something.

"I am Leo...?　Get away from him!

The armored man's panicked voice makes you jump back reflexively.

The next moment, a large pillar of ice shoots up from the sky, piercing the spot where I had just been. The icicles burst like shotgun pellets, spewing out a tremendous amount of cold air.

I move my eyes wide open in surprise and look in the direction from which the icicles have come, and there I see a long-haired man approaching me with a double-bladed axe, followed by a huge ice pillar falling from the sky. Lots of icicles...,

"Nnea, resistance spell!"

"It's already done!"

I don't care if I'm hit by those shotgunned icicles, Nair and the armored man are in danger!

I, who am probably immune to the ice gravels and wrapped in magic, concentrate on avoiding the falling icicles.

"......,what the hell!　This is beyond the realm of magic!

"I can feel great power from that axe, but it's not the ...... kind of power!

He supports the armored man with only one hand while knocking down a shotgun pellet with the other.

By the time all the icicles had fallen, the long-haired man who had pulled him away was quite close to the man.

"I'm sorry, I got you into our fight. ......"

The armored man in his arms said weakly.

In contrast, the long-haired man thrust his axe vigorously into the icy ground, took a deep breath, and shouted angrily in a loud voice that could not be imagined from his expressionless face.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

"......, this guy..."

I knew he was the one who was making the demons run wild. ......!

And the ice you just saw, is that the same thing that froze this lake?

He is ready to move at any moment.

His name is Kalon.

The armored man in my arms shivers as if he were looking at something tragic, and mutters something in a voice that only I can hear.

"He was originally supposed to be a human ...... hero."

"Originally" was human.

I was supposed to be a hero.

With those words, I couldn't help but realize that this situation was as bad as it could possibly get.