Chapter 56 – The Demon Mask and Complete Recovery Magic

Upon exiting the「Gate」it was apparent that the fort was already in a critical state from the dark smoke that arose from it, the fort was under attack.

I used 「Long sense」no-attribute magic and looked ahead at the people inside the fort.

Being that the fort was slightly elevated on the mountain above, it somehow managed to hold down the enemy however there flames flaring up everywhere, it completely gave off the feeling of being nearly annihilated by the oncoming army.

Even in the face of an unfailing wave of flaming arrows, the enemy soldiers were climbing the fort’s rampart looking for a crack.

I took out the smartphone from my chest pocket and searched for 「Yae’s older brother」I searched for him once before so I should be able to do it……found him. He’s inside the fortress moving right and left. He looks safe for the moment.

「Your older brother looks like he is safe. I can’t find your father however……」

「! We have to hurry towards the fort……!」

「Just you wait. Do you really think you can just jump in like that and come out unscathed?」

Rin stopped Yae who was all set to run to the fort. Actually, with the fort enclosed by the enemy, it doesn’t look easy to approach. However, there isn’t like there is no way.

「I can use 「Long Sense」 and confirm the conditions 1km ahead then use 「Gate」to jump there. If we repeat that then we can come out inside the fort. It would be bad to stand out so I will go myself first, I will open a 「Gate」here again so I would like you all to wait right here」

「I see. That certainly does seem to be best」

Rin puts her hand to her chin and thinks. Are? Which reminds me……

「Um you know, those wings on the Fairy clan they can’t fly?」

「Eh? Aa, that’s impossible. Unlike the winged kind we can’t fly. They can be used to float a little. But it’s exhausting」

Too bad. I thought I could have Rin fly me up to the fort. Well, they might think she was strange and aim a bow at her, either way it’s a no-go.

I’ll have to use the method I spoke of before after all huh?

「Kohaku. Take care of everyone. If anything happens report it」

『Understood』

「!? This child can speak!?」

Rin looked at me wide eyed in surprise when Kohaku answered me. Huh? Didn’t I say? Was it bad to expose that to someone from Misumido? Well, she kept quiet about my powers, so it’ll probably be fine.

I used 「Long sense」 and visually checked 1km ahead. Alright this part looks good. I opened 「Gate」inside the forest close to the fort.

「Well, I’m going」

I exit the 「Gate」and come out into the woods. There is the war cry and roaring of the battlefield, the atmosphere was clearly not normal. The smells of blood and burnt things drift around.

I look at the fort in front of me and think about the best way to jump in. If I transport 2 more times I can be inside the fort, I don’t want to be spotted by the enemy soldiers if at all possible.

I used「Long sense」to find a place devoid of enemy soldiers to jump to. But, there wasn’t a place that wasn’t full of soldiers. It can’t be helped, I’ll just have to find the place with the least amount of them, then use 「Gate」to jump there.

I changed my point of view for a little while and searched for a place where there were relatively few enemies. After a little while I found a place that was just right to the side of the fort. If I could beat down the two bow soldiers then it would buy me some time.

「Reload」

I had the Remington New Model at my right side and loaded it with 「Paralyze」rubber bullets and loaded the Brynhild with bullets that worked against people with magic resistance charms.

「Gate」

I pull out the New Model Army (I wish he would just stick to one name for this gun) and aimed at the blind spots of the two soldiers from behind. Then just like that I shot them both, rendering them paralyzed. Uwa, I think that’s pretty cowardly even for me……

The pair that I thought had been paralyzed just stood up slowly and took out the katanas at their waist!? What are these guys!?

I was surprised because the paralysis bullets didn’t have any effect. But I was also surprised at their appearance.

They were wearing a Japanese style armor helmet with a katana in hand which isn’t a problem in and of itself. But, they had a strange mask that covered their faces.

Demon masks. It extended from the corner of the helmet all the way down to the mouth so it looks like a visor used to protect the face but that’s not it. The face has been completely converted into that of a demon.

What was even more strange was that the places not covered by the helmet, peering through tears in the clothing looked as red as a mask. It’s as if it was a red orge.

Because of the abnormality of the situation I didn’t holster the gun immediately but also pulled Brynhild and shot at their feet without mercy. I don’t want to kill people if I can avoid it.

But, regardless of my feelings, the people that I should have shot their feet just baring down on me with the katana without stopping. That’s dangerous!

「Slip!」

I changed the resistance coefficient to 0 at their feet and they fell immediately. Great! Slip is the best!

I took the opening and stepped on the left leg and petrified it then kicked their face as hard as I could. After the mask broke they stopped moving.

Could it be… these guys are being manipulated by the masks!? I substituted the New Model Army in my right and with the Brynhild in my left hand, reloading it with rubber-coated bullets I shot the mask of the other soldier that had raised his katana.

The bullet impacts the forehead and splits splendidly in half. The pieces fall to the ground and the person falls as if their strings were cut.

「Just what are they, these guys……」

I approached the fallen soldiers. U, what is that sme…..hey wait, this is……they’re dead? Could it be that the masks manipulate the dead soldiers? They can do that!?

That reminds me there was no blood from the soldier when I shoot their foot a little while ago. They were already dead, so if the heart had already stopped then it makes sense.

「Manipulating the dead……it’s that Necromancy often seen in games?」

It didn’t feel like a zombie soldier. Probably because the movements were too quick. If these guys keep attacking then the fort won’t be able to withstand it. I need to enter the fort quickly and establish a counter plan as soon as the situation can be assessed.

I extended the「Long sense」 into the fortress. I didn’t want to unexpectedly run into an enemy attack. I decided to look for Yae’s older brother first.

Um…oh this person? Black hair, black eyes, a katana scar on the right cheek. He’s wearing black armor and has the appearance of not being an ordinary person, he’s rather calm. He’s covered in blood jumping to and fro.

「Gate」

Because of the possibility of being cut down for appearing right in front of them all of a sudden I kept 「Gate」open and slowly stuck my head through to check the situation and walked through and appeared in front of Yae’s older brother.

「! Who are you!?Are you someone from Takeda!?」

Yae’s older brother had his sword at the ready. The surrounding soldiers also took out their swords.

「Please wait. I am not an enemy. You are Kokonoe Yae’s older brother, Kokonoe Shigetaro-san correct?」

「I certainly am Shigetaro….How do you know Yae…?」

I held up my hands and told them I wasn’t an enemy, after saying Yae’s name Shigetaro-san gave me a doubtful glance.

「I became companions with Yae in Belfast. We came to help because danger was approaching you」

「Yae’s!?」

「Yes. She is nearby as well. I will use transposing magic to bring her here, is that alright?」

The soldiers nearby looked at each other and muttered 「Yae-dono」and「Yae-dono is here」loudly. Could it be that these are pupils from the dojo?

After a short while Shigetaro lowered his katana, and nodded slowly.

「Gate」

From the door that I just opened jumped out a single girl. She looked around for a moment, saw Shigetaro-san and ran full speed into his chest.

「Elder brother!」

「Yae……?Is it really Yae?」

「Yes!」

Elsie and the others who had missed the touching sibling reunion walked through the 「Gate」

「Who are they?」

「They are my companions. They are all reliable people ~degozaru」

If you say it like that it’s a little embarrassing.

「Besides that elder brother, where is father? Is he alright?」

「Don’t worry father is fine, please be at ease. Father is guarding Iyasu-sama. You can meet him later」

The sister that was worried about her father was talking with her older brother. How picturesque, this person.

But this situation certainly is terrible. There were some with wounds so great they could not move at all. If something is not done then it may not survive.

Alright, shall we give that a try?

I took out the smartphone and turned it on. I enchanted the map app with 「Mutiple」 and now just to program it.

「Program start/

Activation condition: Screen being touched/

Target object: Activate 「mutiple」for all targets of the same type as specified/

Program end」

With this it would be possible to target everyone at once and not have to target them individually. A single touch should be able to target everyone.

If I were to simply search for「Wounded individuals」then it would include the enemy soldiers so I only searched for 「Wounded Tokugawa army individuals」Pins began to fall on the screen one after the other, there were quite a lot of them. I adjusted the map range to include the entire fort.

When all the individual targets had been locked it was apparent on the screen. If you look at the soldiers directly then you could see a magic circle develop just above them. The「Mutiple」battle formation. Preparations complete.

「Come forth light. Tranquil healing, Cure heal」

The magic circles emitted a soft light. Before long the wounded were completely enveloped by the light and wounds closed and they were recovered completely.

After a while shouts of joy arose from the entire fort, even the formerly wounded soldier stood up strangely and moved about.

「Wait……what did you do? I see that you used recovery magic but could it be……」

「All of the wounded in the fort were healed. It looks like it went well」

At my words Rin showed me an amazed face. Well, I kind of understand what she wants to say.

「The wounded…… just what on earth……?」

「This is Touya-dono’s recovery magic ~degozaru」

The wide eyed older brother, who was looking around, at Yae’s words gazed upon me.

「I mearly closed the wounds, please do not force yourselves. The blood that was lost was not returned」

「Aa, I understand. I’ll be sure to tell everyone」

Shigetaro-san, who still had not recovered from the shock of my magic, gave an absent minded reply. For the time being, I’ve done something about the wounded. All that’s left is to take care of the enemy that still surrounds the fort.

Let’s make it showy!