CH 270

“Nn…”

The moment I grabbed my hands, meditated, and focused my consciousness on the three of them, I immediately understood what they were doing: something inside the three of them was like a black chain, holding them tightly together. The way it looked seemed as if they were holding them in place so that they couldn’t escape anywhere. There were so many chains that I couldn’t even tell what was holding them together. I wondered if the first thing I had to do was to rip off all the chains.

I tried to break them while pouring magic power into the three of them. The chains can be manipulated using magic power. The way they are bound is very similar for all three of them, and I can see how the success rate would increase after the second person.

Even including my previous life, the only experience I have of untying something is a tangled pair of earphones. Can I untangle dozens of chains that are so intricately intertwined? I haven’t even gotten to the stage of asking for help from Yug and the others yet. Such a situation makes me even more impatient and it doesn’t work. No matter how things go wrong, the time limit is surely approaching.

It was at that time.

“I understand that you are overwhelmed with a sense of mission to save the three of them after the battle with the heroes, but shouldn’t you have calmed down a little? Also, I gave you these skills, so you should take better care of them. You owe me a big, big favor. Remember that, okay? I’ll make sure you pay me back someday.』

“Eh?”

I heard such a voice in my brain. This voice was the voice of that goddess. While I was confused by the suddenness of the situation, I heard something in my brain again.

“Picone! 』

“[Title] The number of sets has increased by five.”

“The third time’s the charm.”

[Deceptive Spirits of Mountains and Rivers] has been set

[Monster Transformation} Set.

[Transcendent of the Hero] Set.

[True Hero] is set.

“……Eh?”

I stopped thinking for a moment due to the furious turn of events. But there was no time for that, and I immediately tried to solve it again.

“Oh, that?”

I had no idea what to do until a moment ago, but now I could tell where it looked good, though only vaguely. And even though I kept failing, the third time I got it right.

I kept doing that, and finally I was able to remove all the chains.

“…So that’s all there is to it…”

Bound by the chains was a cage containing a crystal-like object about the size of a fist. Considering that even the cage enclosing the crystals was not visible at first, it was clear that the amount of chains was quite large.

I knew intuitively that all that was left was to untie the cage and the three of them could be freed. However, the cage wasn’t equipped with a key. It was as if the cage had never been intended to be opened in the first place, and there was no way to open it. While I was wondering what I should do about this, I received support from Yug and the others.

“Wha— hey…”

I knew what they wanted to do when I followed the three’s manipulation of magic power. They were trying to forcefully destroy the cage with their magic power.

A forceful power move at the last minute! That’s what they were going to do from the beginning… but at first I couldn’t see the cage as I do now. So I didn’t know in what condition the crystals were being held captive. That’s why they couldn’t have done it in such a reckless way. Now that I had removed all the chains, they could forcibly pull the cage in all directions. If I cover the crystals with my magic power to guard them, there’s no need to worry about them being damaged by the broken pieces of the cage.

From this point on, it was now simply a game of the cage’s durability and my [magic attack].

Bakin Bakin Bakin Bakin!

I thought I heard such a sound. With that, the cage that enclosed the three crystals was destroyed cleanly. There was no longer anything binding the crystals anywhere. I had succeeded in freeing them. I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly opened my eyes.

“Success…Eh?”

“Thank you so much.”

I opened my eyes and tried to tell him that I had succeeded, but I stopped mid-sentence because the three of them were transparent. I was so surprised that I ended up canceling my Spiritualization, devilfication and beastification.

“Comrade don’t worry. We succeeded, but only just in time.”

The reason they’re transparent is because the time limit was approaching. Thank God…I thought we had missed it.

“I’m glad I believed in you. I’ll never forget this favor.”

“If you ever need anything, I’m always here for you.”

“You can always count on me.”

When each of the three said this, they disappeared with the light.

“E–eh…?”

“Don’t Panic, each of them has simply returned to where they were before. They wouldn’t be here without a contractor like we are.”

“Oh, I see…”

Good… I felt relieved. I was able to free the three of them safely, it seemed.

I fell backwards, as if the threads of tension had snapped.

“Nii-sama, well done for your hard work.”

“Sophie…”

“You did your best.”

But before I fell down on the ground, Sophie, who had arrived before I knew it, supported me from behind.

How long had she been there? I hadn’t noticed.

“If you don’t leave the stage soon, I will naturally come get you. Since you’re tired, shall I leave the stage with you in a princess carry?”

“No…as expected, that’s a bit… I’ll walk by myself.”

“I see.”

It’s indeed too embarrassing to exit while being carried as a princess by my twin sister. Please don’t do that.

“Oh, what about Bequa and the others?”

“After you defeated the saint, they work up after I splashed water on their faces. At that time, they were already normal. I had Claudia cast a spell for me, so I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Then that’s good…”

I’m glad to hear that Bequa and the others are safe and sound.

I put Yug and the others back in me and my sword and walked away to leave the stage with Sophie lending me her shoulder.