Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

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Chapter 105

Unlike when I easily found a way thanks to my intuition...

Srrrk, srrrkkk!

The process of erasing Asmodeus's mark took quite a long time, more than I expected.

Well, not that long, actually.

It just felt that way to me.

"Huff... huff..."

How many hours has it been since I entered this place? I was so focused on erasing the mark that I couldn't even guess the time properly.

Because of that, my eyes feel like they're going to pop out, and my hands are trembling.

"Erasing a single mark is this hard..."

But at least there's one good thing.

Pasasasak!

I succeeded.

"Done!"

I shouted in joy as I watched the mark scatter like fragments.

I couldn't help but feel deeply moved, especially since I put so much effort into it.

Of course, it wasn't a situation where I could be completely happy yet.

Because I hadn't checked if the brainwashing had been undone.

'If it didn't come undone... Just imagining it is terrible.'

The man from Sector 7 had already struggled for a long time and fainted.

"Please!"

Hoping that what I did was the right way, I slowly removed the tape covering his mouth.

Jjeeeik.

Then, I gently tapped the unconscious man to wake him up.

And then...

"...Mmm."

The man tossed and turned a few times before opening his eyes.

Thump, thump, thump!

My heart pounded like crazy as I watched him.

If the man was still brainwashed, he would rush at me as soon as he saw me; otherwise, he would show a more normal reaction.

And the result was...

"...Wh, where am I?"

Fortunately, it was the latter.

It meant the brainwashing on the man had been lifted.

Ah, how can I express this overwhelming feeling in words?

Before I could even ponder that, a commotion arose.

"Ugh? Why, why is my body tied up? Wh, who are you! Untie this right now!"

The man, who had been muttering questions to himself, suddenly started to thrash around and cause a scene.

But for some reason...

Even this sight feels like an angel.

Perhaps because compared to the earlier rampage, this is cute.

When I started to destroy the mark in earnest, he struggled so much that it was exhausting just to watch.

"It's okay. Everything's okay. There's no need to be afraid."

"O-okay? How is this okay! I said untie this right now!"

"I'll explain, so just listen."

I started explaining the situation to the man, one by one, in the calmest tone I could muster.

From the disappearance of residents in Sector 7 right before the war broke out, to the sudden emergence of those missing residents from the rift, and then to my decision to try to undo the brainwashing...

"..."

As the explanation grew longer, the agitated man's demeanor gradually softened.

After I finished explaining everything, I felt he had calmed down enough, so I untied the ropes that bound him.

The man stared blankly at his freed hands and then asked, "...Is everything you just said true? All the residents of Sector 7 were brainwashed?"

His eyes were filled with confusion. It seemed he couldn't believe the situation.

It was understandable. This wasn't something an ordinary citizen could easily accept.

However, he had to accept what he had to accept.

"Yes, I've told you without a single lie. And it should be 'were' brainwashed, not 'had been'. Because you're the only one who has broken free from the brainwashing so far."

"Ha, haha..."

The man let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief.

I gave him a moment to gather his emotions before speaking again.

It was time to put the pieces of the puzzle together, one by one.

"Do you have any guesses? For example, did anything seem strange before you were brainwashed?"

The details of this incident should be known not by me, but by the man who experienced it firsthand.

As I expected...

The man nodded with a dark expression.

"...Yes, there were definitely more than a few strange things in my last memories."

"What happened?"

"It started with the children."

The man recounted what had happened, tracing his memories.

It wasn't particularly special.

Children and the elderly, women and men.

They began to show strange symptoms one after another, and those who reached the extreme soon disappeared.

And at some point, crimson flowers began to bloom everywhere in Sector 7.

Hearing that, I could grasp the situation.

We had a similar experience in the [Demon Turtle]'s lair.

'So it wasn't just in that lair.'

When our comrades in Sector 7 went mad because of the flower in the lair, I thought we were just unlucky.

That was because that was the only place with flowers in that vast land.

But listening to his story, the flowers weren't only there.

Countless flowers bloomed across that vast land, but they all consumed the residents of Sector 7 and disappeared after exhausting their power.

That's why we only saw the flowers in the sparsely populated [Demon Turtle]'s lair.

'We were unlucky.'

To think we were affected by the few remaining flowers. We were incredibly unlucky.

It was a relief that we resolved it safely, but what if we hadn't thought of using the dungeon as a loophole back then?

It was obvious what would have happened.

'We would have been brainwashed like the residents of Sector 7.'

Then we would probably be fighting against the soldiers of Asternon by now.

It was a moment when I realized how dangerous it was back then.

Anyway, that aside.

"Thanks to you, I think I understand what happened. Thank you."

"Oh, no. I should be the one thanking you. You saved me. I'm sorry for being ignorant and noisy earlier."

With this, I succeeded in undoing the man's brainwashing.

Now, what remained was the treatment of the other residents.

Since there were still a mountain of people to free from brainwashing besides this man, I needed to discuss with Elbert how to resolve this.

"You can rest here."

"Yes, thank you. Really..."

After guiding the man to the rest area of the barracks, I immediately went to find Elbert.

When I explained the situation, Elbert's eyes widened.

"...You already undid the brainwashing?"

He told me that it hadn't even been two hours since I entered the warehouse.

It felt like 4-5 hours had passed, but only two hours? It must have been that tough in there.

"Yes, I talked with him a little, and he seemed to be speaking properly and his memories were intact up until the brainwashing."

"That means he's completely back to normal. Magic is truly amazing. Good work."

Elbert sat down on a chair with a relieved expression.

Suddenly, an ominous feeling flashed through me.

'...Why isn't he saying anything?'

As I looked at him with that thought, Elbert shrugged as if asking what was wrong.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you returning? You'll have to switch out again soon, so it's best to get enough rest."

"Return?"

"Yes."

Damn it, as expected, my ominous premonition was right.

Telling me to just return here? What kind of nonsense is that?

It was obvious what Elbert was thinking, but I asked him to be sure.

"Shouldn't we undo the brainwashing of the other residents?"

"Hmm? No, there's no need for that."

He continued, with an unconcerned expression.

"Now that we know the method, if something happens, you can step up and undo the soldiers' brainwashing. The objective has been achieved. There's no need to waste our energy here trying to save those guys."

"Then what are you going to do? Are you going to leave all those people like this?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Well, I'll have to think about that later, but it's highly likely that will be the case. For now, ending the war is the priority."

"Huh."

I expected it, but hearing the reason made me even more dumbfounded.

Elbert really didn't see the residents of Sector 7 as human beings at all.

It was clear enough from the way he described saving the residents as 'wasting energy'.

However, I couldn't just back down here.

"You said before, right? That they are clearly evil. Do you still think so?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm asking if they are evil even though we found a way to undo the brainwashing."

"..."

"If that's the case, then there's no need for me to save other allies who are brainwashed, right? Because they are also evil."

Elbert pursed his lips with a subtle expression.

The more he did that, the more I pressed him.

"Are you perhaps judging them based on their social status?"

"..."

"They are also people. Please reconsider your judgment."

How much time had passed?

Elbert, who seemed to be in deep thought for a while, opened his mouth.

"I was told that you used magic to undo the brainwashing, right?"

What was he trying to say?

I nodded, thinking I should at least hear him out.

"Yes, that's right."

Then...

Elbert asked back, as if in doubt.

"Then how are you going to save those hundreds of people?"

"Ah."

So it was about the method.

Certainly, this was a problem.

Even if I was allowed to undo the brainwashing, I would have to restore all those people by myself.

Knowing this, Elbert asked again.

"Are you saying you can heal all those people alone? Seriously?"

"..."

It took me almost two hours to restore just one man earlier.

Realistically, it was nearly impossible for me to heal all those people by myself.

But even so...

"Yes, I can."

I had no choice but to accept this impossible task.

This was something only I could do, having practiced light magic like crazy.

It was something I had to do.

"I see, so that's it..."

Tap, tap.

Elbert tapped his chin with his finger, nodded, and said,

"Alright. Then I'll allow it. Go ahead and save them with your amazing magic."

Although his tone was a bit sarcastic, permission was finally granted.

"...Yes."

I bowed and left the command room.

Honestly, I felt lost.

I had no idea how to heal all those people.

Just then...

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the silhouette of a man came into my peripheral vision.

When I turned my head slightly, it was none other than the man from Sector 7 whom I had healed earlier.

"Ha, haha..."

The man, making eye contact with me, approached with an awkward look and handed me something.

It was a ring-shaped artifact with a gray hue.

"You dropped this earlier... I thought it might be important, so I brought it."

It was a consumable artifact that had already served its purpose and become useless when I detonated the large flashbang.

That wasn't important now.

I asked the man, just in case.

"Did you happen to hear everything?"

Then...

"..."

The man silently lowered his head.

His expression was much darker than before.

[Translator - Prøks]

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