The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

At last, the turmoil at the ruins is over.

Keira is safe and we were able to stop Kannagi.

This time, we had a lot of trouble.

"Kannagi ......"

Ferrum, unassimilated with Amako, I lay her down in a place close at hand.

The sword of the hero sucked something out of her and sealed it.

It looked like a black aura similar to that of an evil dragon, but I am not sure what it was at the moment.

...... First, let's see if Kannagi will wake up like this.

"The sword of the brave has turned black too!"

Nair shows me the sword and scabbard she brought wrapped in a cloth.

The sword has turned so black that it is no longer a shadow of its former self.

I ask Nair to hold it for me, and then I do what I must do next: I call out to the two demons who are now turning their backs on us and heading home.

Koga. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you.

"All right, let's go home!　Ciel!

Ciel!　I'm hungry!

Ferrum, Nair, get him!

As Koga tried to run away, Ferrum's black magic and Nair's binding spell caught him.

What is he trying to do casually?

To prevent him from escaping by force, Koga is bound with several layers of black magic and further with binding spells.

"Hey, hey, Usato! You beat me with a wounded man and that's all you want?"

"......?　If you're unharmed as a result, it doesn't matter, does it?"

"...... Hmph, Ciel. Look, here's a healing wizard. Isn't he a scary guy?

"It's your stupidity that's scary!

Ciel, who is sitting next to me, though not tied up, is looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Please spare my life!　I'll give you as much as you want if it's this person!

"Hey, wait!　Why are you trying to sacrifice me alone?

It's your fault!

She continues to argue with Kohga, and we are all distracted by her venom.

Aside from Koga, Ciel's words and actions so far indicate that she is a non-combatant who has something to do with the Demon Lord?

"Leona-san, what should we do?"

"If we don't do anything, they'll get information about us. ...... should we try to ice them here?"

"Yes or no, ...... yes."

I really don't know what to do.

I'm the commander of the 2nd Legion of the Demon King's Army, but I can't be so ruthless because of my strange involvement with him.

Ciel is a non-combatant. .......

"No, wait. Now, don't we have more urgent things to talk about?"

"Yes, sir. Is there something else on your mind?

You!

He points at us and tilts his head.

"You were the one who was with Amako and Nair, weren't you?　And you were wearing Keira's magic on top of it!

"Oh, I heard that Ferrum made them assimilate with me.

"Wow, I'm not sure if it's that ...... my magic just started working on its own ......."

Keira, wearing a cloak made of dark magic, is flustered.

I, for one, did not expect the assimilation of Amako and Nair, so I can understand my senpai's reaction.

"I want to assimilate you too!"

"You're too desperate, Suzune......."

Amako is stunned by the senior who comes up to her.

Amako is stunned.

Being able to combine healing magic and electric magic may be an advantage, but considering the current strength of .......

"No, I think senpai is stronger fighting alone."

"They turned me down rather seriously!"

"In the first place, it seems that there are various conditions for being assimilated by Ferrum.

I don't know exactly either.

But I've heard that the number of people who can be assimilated is limited to two, excluding Ferrum and myself.

"Not everyone. You have to have someone I approve of to some degree."

"Huh, then I'll be fine, won't I?"

For some reason, the senior seemed very confident, but Ferm made him blatantly scowl.

"No, I can't."

"Why not?

"Because I'm not good at it."

"Gah!"

The senior is damaged by the normal rejection.

Well, I guess I was too skinshipy or something.

Then Koga, who is still tied up, starts laughing.

"Hahaha, it looks like your performance changes depending on the feelings you have for those you can assimilate. You're a real easy guy to understand, aren't you?

"Usato, let's bury him in the ground from the neck down and leave him exposed from there."

Ferm pointed at Coga with a blank expression on his face and said something like that.

He seems to have developed a tolerance for agitation, but he is still irritated.

...... or bury him in the ground from the neck down.

"......"

"Oh, come on, that's a little harsh, even for me, isn't it?　You wouldn't do something that bad, would you?"

Finally, I'm wondering what to do with Koga and Ciel.

I want to come to a decision and take them to Mr. Gref, who is worried about Keira.

And Kannagi too..,

"""---!"""

Then, without warning, a chill runs through my body as if I had been doused with cold water.

"What the hell is this feeling? ......"

Probably everyone there felt something.

Something is approaching this place where we are.

When I turned my eyes in the direction where I felt the presence, I saw a passageway leading somewhere, and I could hear the sound of someone walking from the end of the passageway.

"---Wow, this is quite a pleasant surprise."

A man of the demon tribe appeared.

He wears his silver hair in an all-back bun and is well over two meters tall.

He was no ordinary demon, and the atmosphere he wore, the mere presence he exuded seemed to overwhelm us, and when he saw us, the corners of his mouth twisted into a small smile.

"A brave man, huh?"

"Demon...... king......."

I don't know who muttered it.

We were in such a tense situation.

But when we realized that the person in front of us was the last enemy that Senpai and Kazuki were destined to fight, the Demon King, we moved into battle stance.

"I didn't expect him to appear at this time ......!"

"The Demon King ......!"

Kazuki, who is now clutching the hilt of his sword and beginning to wear electric shocks, and Kazuki, who is levitating magic bullets from his cage.

The two men standing in the front.

Their appearance shows no sign of composure.

It's only natural. I'm confused by this situation, too.

I never thought that the Demon Lord would appear here when the commotion was finally over.

"I knew he would come, but ...... he was coming to these ruins?"

The Demon King stepped directly into the hall without paying any attention to our obvious wariness.

He looked around the hall and let out a small smile when he saw Koga and Ciel being held captive.

"Are you all right, Ciel?"

"Well, Demon Lord,...... if you're going to come on your own, you might as well do it from the beginning,......."

"From the looks of it, you've seen some interesting things."

The Demon King puts his palm out in front of him, and a series of magical patterns are activated.

Just as I was about to make an immediate move, the restraints of Koga, who was being held nearby, were broken, and Ciel, who was supposed to be next to him, was being held by the Demon Lord with both arms.

"What, a princess's embrace of terror?

"Hey. ...... huh, well, whatever."

She screams, and the demon king looks stunned.

Was that witchcraft ......?

Even if it was, it came out too soon.

Coga breaks free of his restraints and moves away from us, but we ignore him.

Now is not the time to worry about Koga.

"Five armors and three heroes. You seem to have a lot of power.

"......!"

"Are you going to fight?　With me here, depleted?

The Demon King smiles coldly at Kazuki as he tries to activate his magic.

To tell the truth, my magic power is almost empty after so many battles in a row.

I'm feeling extremely drowsy and tired to the point of wanting to collapse right now.

Even though I seem to be in perfect condition, Senpai and Kazuki must be exhausted. Leona is the one who can fight the best, but even if she fights alone, we will be slowed down.

"This is the place where the battle was fought. It would be fun to fight you here, but that's something for the future.

"Are you going to miss us, ......?"

We have more important things to do than fight you. Besides--"

The Demon Lord's gaze turns toward us.

What the hell?　Is he looking at me ......?

"Fighting now would be boring."

The demon king mutters to himself and tries to invoke some kind of magic with Ciel in his arms.

I know he has no hostile intentions, but I still can't help but brace myself.

"What? Are you leaving already? The Witch King!

"!"

I hear a voice from behind me, and before I can turn around, a hand is placed on my shoulder.

Kannagi, the fox beastman who stepped out from behind me, undoes the bandage over his left eye and steps in front of the demon king.

"You're awake!　Kannagi-san!

"Thank you for believing in me. Usato, thanks to you I was able to save the other me.

Did you save Kannagi's life, too?

But the way he speaks is Kannagi's.

"Which Kannagi are you, ......?"

"Both of them. I'll tell you later, let's concentrate on the Demon King for now.

When she looked back at me, her left eye had turned purple.

She smiled softly and accepted the hero's sword, which had been transformed into a black sword, from Nair, and faced the demon king.

"It has been a long time, I should say.　Kannagi."

"You've grown so weak, demon king. You are a shadow of your former self.

You've changed, too. Have you mixed your souls?　You've gone to a lot of trouble.

We watch in surprise as Mr. Kannagi's tone changes to a more pointed one when dealing with the Demon King.

"I had no idea that you were also sealed in this place where I was sealed.

I'm gonna throw up. I can't believe I'm with you.

Now I miss that swearing."

Mr. Kannagi, who is wearing a stinging atmosphere, and the Demon King, who is coolly accepting it.

Ciel is in his arms, looking like she is about to vomit and shaking, but is she all right?　Regardless of enemies or not, that position looks heartbreaking.

"What did Hisago ...... that idiot do in the end?"

"I don't know. Well, I guess ...... you guessed it."

"...... I see."

Kannagi replied, trying to stifle his emotions.

The demon king turned his palm toward Kannagi as if he had changed his mind.

"Aside from the heroes, your appearance is unexpected, even to me. Shall I kill you while I still can?

"......What, are you going to do it?"

The Demon King, with his palm facing you, assumes a strange atmosphere.

With that, Kannagi-san, who had pushed up the tsubaki of his sword with his thumb and peeked out the black blade, released a pressure.

It was clearly different from the Kannagi I had fought.

It was not a recreation from memory, but the real Kannagi's own power, backed up by actual battle and training, made me feel something similar to Rose and Nero.

"Hu...... no, let's not. I'm not here for a fight."

"...... You don't even have the same personality you had before."

"I'm aware of that."

The Demon King, who had drowned out the magic in his palm, looked down at Ciel-san, who was holding him.

Ciel, let's go home!

"Ha, hahi!"

A white vortex appears in front of the demon king.

Just before he steps into the whirlpool, he calls out to Koga, using the same magic that Kannagi used to transfer.

Koga, you will come back with the others.

"Hey. See you later, Usato."

With a snap, he flipped me his palm and headed upstairs through the hole in the ceiling.

The Demon Lord looked back at us after he saw Koga leave.

"I will wait for you in my castle."

"""!?""""

"If you want to beat me, come. Of course, I will intercept you."

With these last words, the Demon Lord stepped into the white vortex and vanished from the scene.

A sickening silence pervades the place.

The Demon Lord had noticed our presence, but we were finally able to see him with our own eyes.

......The Demon Lord is a formidable opponent.

At last, the senior finally muttered something like that, but no one answered him, although some nodded their heads.

He had such charisma that even we, his enemies, were almost drawn in.

And the confidence that could be felt from every word he said.

He could handle multiple magic arts without any difficulty, perhaps even more so than Nair.

"Oh, thank goodness. You're back..."

Kannagi sat down on the floor with relief.

Let's talk about the demon king who has gone away later.

"Mr. Kannagi, are you all right?

"Well, I'm fine. I'm ...... glad you retreated from the meeting. To be honest, he's unbelievably strong even when he's weak. ......

I hold out my hand to her as she mutters tiredly.

She took my hand and stood up, and Nair, who was nearby, spoke to her.

"So, what happened to the two souls in you?　What did you seal in your sword?

"A part of the soul tainted by the evil dragon, if you will.　I took it into my soul and cut it out and sealed it.

"...... You don't mean to tell me that you cut your soul out of yourself and merged it with the soul of your other self?　How absurd ...... is that?"

"Haha ......"

Nea, who is smiling with an annoyed smile, is surprised at Ms. Kannagi's reaction.

Then she turns her body toward us.

Her eyes meet with eyes of different colors, blue and purple.

There is no longer anything fake or real. I am Kannagi now.

"Do you remember everything?　You know, when you fought me?

"Yes. All of it.

Suddenly, Mr. Kannagi turns his attention to Keira, who is standing behind me.

She looked at Keira, who looked somewhat frightened, and bowed her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry. Keira, for my own selfish reasons I put you in danger.

"......I'm so scared, but I forgive you. I'm finally ready to face my own magic. ......"

"You're strong. You are."

She stands up with a kind smile on her face.

Then she notices that a senior is talking to Leona.

"Leona, it's time to get out of the ruins.

"Right. We can't stay here forever. Are you coming too, Mr. Kannagi?

Of course. Of course. I've already been released from these ruins.

We're getting out of these ruins for now.

It's comforting to finally be able to see the outside.

Kannagi, who knows the structure of the ruins, is leading us toward the exit.

"Usato, you can call me Nagi."

"What?"

"That's what the guy who named me Kannagi called me. And you don't need to use honorifics. We're not that much older.

The person who named it, is it the previous generation of heroes or ......?

I used to use honorifics because I had the impression that he was a superior, but if he says it's okay, I'll call him that.

It would be rude not to call him that.　

"Well, nice to meet you again, ...... Nagi......."

"...... yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you. Usato."

Ka...... Nagi nodded with a nostalgic smile.

Just as she was about to walk away, she suddenly, without warning, hugged me.

What?"

I don't know why, but even Mr. Nagi was surprised.

My friends who were walking behind me also let out a gasp of surprise.

.......

What's going on?

Amako walks up to me, her face expressionless, as I freeze in the middle of a familiar situation.

"Kannagi, what are you doing?　Hey, what are you doing?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. My body's acting on its own!　It's different!　No, no, no!　It's not my will!　......

"No, just get away from him. Why are you being so calm?"

"Ha!　Calm down, the other me ......!"

She tries to move away from me as Ferrum points out to her, but her arm that holds me is stuck like a vise.

Rather, it is almost painful because of its unusual force.

In addition, I feel like I'm about to run out of magic and pass out.

As my vision in front of my eyes gradually became blank, something black jumped on Nagi-san's face, who was still holding me.

"Boo-hoo!"

"Aaah!　I'm sorry, I'm sorry!　My magic worked by itself again!

Keira's face turns blue and she gasps.

Against her will, the cloak belligerently clings to Nagi's head.

Even after the battle was over, I was confronted with a scene so chaotic that I fell unconscious.