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Act 2 – 23.2 : Black Mist 2
Though Nao had warned her, there was no way Chiyuki wouldn’t do anything after seeing her comrade in this kind of situation. As such, she grabbed the briar, trying to tear it away from Nao.
「Ugh…」
But, the moment the tip of her finger touched the briar, she felt that her power was sapped away.
「W-What in the world is this?!!」
She then tried to cut the briar with a knife she was carrying around without touching the briar directly.
「No Chiyuki-san… you have to run before that man comes back…」
Nao shook her head, desperately telling Chiyuki to run.
「Who’s that guy?! Who’s the bas*ard who did this to you?!」
Though Chiyuki tried to ask Nao, the latter couldn’t answer her question.
「Too late…」
「HANG IN THERE, NAO-SAN!!!」
Though she called Nao’s name, the latter didn’t answer her question.
Nao had already passed out.
「Hou… it seems another butterfly has come to visit this place.」
Suddenly, the sound of someone approaching came from the innermost part of the room.
「Who’s there?」
Chiyuki stood up, putting her guard up as a masked person closed in on her from the inner part of the room. The man’s mask had an ominous spider-like pattern.
「Are you the one who did this to Nao-san? Who are you?」
「Your enemy. Black Haired Sage.」
He calmly stated the fact that he was their enemy.
（We didn’t discover his existence during our search today. Is he in cahoots with that Strige? But, he doesn’t seems to be a normal monster.）
Chiyuki could feel a vast amount of mana from the man in front of her. This was the first time she felt this kind of power outside of Nargol. Sensing she was on to something, Chiyuki opened her mouth.
「That power… are you a Nargolian?」
「Indeed, you’re right.」
The masked man affirmed Chiyuki’s question.
（So he’s Modes’ subordinate. We didn’t meet someone this strong when we went to Nargol. Does he have some sort of grudge toward the Demon King to not follow him?）
A chill ran down Chiyuki’s spine upon knowing that there was another terrifying enemy in Nargol aside from the Dark Knight who defeated Reiji.
「Well then, you people, Rena’s annoying lackeys, will become my sacrificial lambs!!」
After vehemently exclaiming, the masked man started chanting an aria.
「NOT SO FAST! GRAVITY DESTRUCTION!」
Chiyuki completed her magic faster than that man. Her spell was one that squashed her enemies by using gravity.
The usual Chiyuki would have chosen to get more information from her opponent before attacking, but she knew that this option was non-existent against the dangerous man in front of her.
The heavy gravitational field headed towards the masked man, but her magic vanished right before it reached him.
「IMPOSSIBLE! HOW CAN YOU ERASE MAGIC WITHOUT A PROTECTIVE FIELD?!」
Chiyuki couldn’t believe the phenomenon she witnessed for the first time.
（Impossible… To be able to erase my magic so easily. Moreover, for this simple spell to drain such an enormous amount of mana from me…）
Chiyuki slumped on her knees.
「This entire country has already become my domain. Any living being in this country will lose their power as time goes on. You people seem to be as strong as the Elios Gods, but not even that power will help you guys come out of this situation alive.」
The masked man then inched closer to Chiyuki.
（Not good, I can’t win against him with my own power. I have to call for reinforcements…）
Chiyuki weakly pushed herself up and stumbled to Nao. She carried her and tried to get out of the dark basement.
「RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!! BLACK BRIAR!!」
The masked man who guessed Chiyuki’s intention used his magic on her. Black briar crawled up from the ground and then tangled around Chiyuki’s body.
「Kukuku, that will put an end to your futile resistance. Now then, it’s time to turn you into an offering for me. Don’t worry, you won’t die yet since I’ll take my time sucking your life bit by bit.」
The masked man’s hand slowly reached out towards Chiyuki.
「NOOOOOOOOOOOO! SAVE ME REIJI-KUN!!」
Chiyuki finally snapped, she cried out Reiji’s name as loud as possible.
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「That hero won’t come to save you. This room is surrounded by a barrier that cuts off all forms of communication. Moreover, that hero of yours is still busy fighting to protect the princess of this country. He won’t come to save you. In addition, not even that hero was spared from the effects of my domain. He’ll die by my hands even if he comes to save you.」
The masked man eerily uttered with a cold voice.
（Am I going to die? NO, I DON’T WANT TO DIE!）
A sense of dread assailed Chiyuki as the masked man’s hand started caressing her face. The man’s hand was really cold, so cold that it felt like it was slowly freezing her heart. She shut her eyes tight as if trying to convince herself that this was all just a nightmarish dream.
At that dreaded moment, the sound of the gate behind her being opened echoed in the room.
「What?!!」
The masked man clearly couldn’t hide his surprise.
「Eh? What?」
Chiyuki let out a shocked voice.
Suddenly, she regained her freedom and felt herself being separated from the masked man.
「Are you okay?」
Her saviour asked with a gentle voice. She opened her eyes, to peek at that angel, only to find her saviour hiding his face with a hood.
（Eh? Who? From his voice he seems like a man though.）
Chiyuki was embraced in that man’s right arm. The warmth she felt from that hooded man erased the dread she felt from the masked man.
「And this one is…」
She also found out that the hooded man’s left arm was carrying the unconscious Nao. The black briar that coiled around Nao’s limbs had also vanished, just like the one on her.
The hooded man then passed Nao to Chiyuki after he let her stand on her own.
「Uuh…」
Nao raised a moan.
（Thank God, she just passed out from exhaustion.）
Chiyuki hung Nao’s right arm around her neck, supporting the latter with her shoulder.
「Who are you? The fact that you came down all the way to this place and freed me and Nao from that briar only means that… you’re not an ordinary human, right?」
But, the hooded man just pointed towards the gate behind him in silence, seemingly refusing to answer Chiyuki’s question.
「Bring that girl out of this place right away. I’ll do something about that masked man.」
「But, that means you’ll face him on yo-…」
Chiyuki paused in the middle of her sentence. She realized that her priority right now should be to bring Nao to safety. Moreover, for some reason, Chiyuki felt that she could trust the hooded man.
（He might be able to buy us some time…）
Chiyuki genuinely believed so.
「Understood… Thank you for your help. But make sure not to force yourself too much, I’ll call reinforcements for you.」
Chiyuki left the room after she said those words.
（He’ll be in danger unless I call Reiji-kun to help him.）
Chiyuki walked along the passage while supporting Nao. Her strength had become comparable to that of superman after she came to this world. In her normal state, she could run easily while carrying one person. But, the current her barely had the power to walk on her own.
Though she was in a hurry, her walking speed was by no means fast.
「Maybe I should’ve at least asked for his name…」
Chiyuki regretted the fact that she forgot to ask the hooded man’s name. She promised herself to thank him once they got out of this dangerous situation.
Chiyuki kept walking towards the exit as she thought about that.