“Dammit, which way is the exit…?”
I had a faint idea, but this facility is ridiculously large.
On top of that, every area looks so similar that there’s no way I wouldn’t get lost.
Not long ago, I had scattered a group I had never seen before, all wearing white light armor, but now I regret not capturing at least one of them to ask for directions.
But I couldn’t help it; they suddenly pulled out their swords and attacked.
My instinct to counterattack, which resulted in cutting down all of them, is probably a habit formed from mobile experiments where letting my guard down leads to instant death.
By the way, I took two of their double-edged swords with me.
I have no experience in swordsmanship, but I have other uses for swords.
The next time I find someone, I could use them as intimidation tools to extract directions to the exit.
While I was thinking this, I ran through a corridor and entered a somewhat larger space.
“Stairs!”
I saw the stairs leading up through a space lined with magnificent columns on either side.
I was overjoyed to finally spot a way outside and rushed towards it, but I sensed the presence of someone descending the stairs and halted in my tracks.
Thanks to the enhancements from the modification experiments, my senses had been fine-tuned, and I couldn’t dismiss this as just my imagination.
As I took a combat-ready stance, the sound of footsteps echoed.
Soon, the owner of the footsteps appeared from the dark staircase.
“A girl?”
My expectation had been that it would either be someone in a mask or light armor, but I was greatly surprised.
What appeared was a girl with hair, skin, and clothes as white as snow, except for her fiery red eyes.
With a youthful yet beautiful face and overly pale skin, I briefly thought she might be a moving doll created like a light golem, but I could distinctly sense vitality from the girl in front of me.
She wasn’t a puppet; she was a real albino.
“Stop!”
Though she was an oddly out-of-place beautiful girl in this location, wearing a white outfit with a cross emblem on her chest confirmed her connection to those in masks.
I approached without letting my guard down and said a word to still her.
“…”
Her steps halted.
“Who are you?”
I hadn’t considered anything but the possibility of immediate combat, so I hesitated for a moment on what to say, but what came out instinctively was a question of her identity.
After saying it, I figured it was pointless, since there’s no way she would honestly answer me if she had no allies on her side.
“The Seventh Apostle, Sariel.”
Surprisingly, she answered.
I had no idea what the title of Seventh Apostle entailed, but I understood her name was Sariel.
“I’m Kuroha Mao. I want to get outside; can you tell me the way?”
“I cannot do that.”
“I see—”
Well, I didn’t expect her to just tell me.
I was honestly curious about who this girl named Sariel was, but there was no time to pry, nor did I want to linger.
Against someone in a mask, I might have been able to deliver a shot to their legs to force them to talk, but I had no intention of being rough with a girl I bore no grudge against.
Though I may already be inhuman, I wasn’t that far gone.
So, I chose to ignore her and proceed ahead.
I enhanced my leg strength with magic and took off towards the stairs like a rocket.
To regular humans or weak monsters, my speed would have been difficult to track; to that girl, it must have looked like I suddenly vanished.
“Ugh!?”
The moment I took my third step at high speed, a shock ran through my left leg.
My control of the left leg was momentarily cut off, and losing my balance, I fell hard to the floor.
“Wha—”
Looking down, I saw a white stake deeply embedded in my left thigh.
“I will stop you here.”
As Sariel’s whispering voice reached my ears, a chill ran down my spine.
“No way…”
From her, I sensed a surge of magical power that was incomparably stronger than any monster.
The silvery aura surrounding her, while gaseous, was far denser in magical power than my pile bunker.
Even without my enhanced sixth sense, I understood instantly: she was a terrifying monster.
“Shotgun!”
As I pulled out the embedded white stake, I fired off a barrage of shotgun shells at Sariel.
The black bullets spread out in an instant, rushing toward her, who stood defenseless.
Without the slightest reaction, Sariel absorbed the rain of bullets with her body.
“Damn, not even a shield…?”
The bullets vanished the moment they touched the aura emanating from her.
That aura was stronger than the shields used by me or other experimental subjects, but to her, that aura was nothing more than a wasteful outpouring of magical power, not even magic.
Even I possess magical power that is naturally released as part of my metabolism, but it has no ability to defend against bullets formed from black magic.
If she could stop attacks without doing anything, then the intended deterrent effect of my shotgun was entirely wasted—a sheer waste of magical energy.
Nevertheless, the pure white magic that constituted that aura was something entirely different from the magical power I knew.
If black magic is associated with black magic, then that must be some sort of white magic.
To be honest, I didn’t want to face something so dangerous, but my body had already started moving in a combat direction.
“Blackening.”
In my hands, I held the two swords I had just taken.
The simple long swords were enveloped in black magic, their grips turning entirely black.
I named this state ‘blackening’ for lack of a better term.
Moreover, when weapons are in a blackened state, their power increases by one level, and I can manipulate them without actually touching them.
“Automatic Swordsmanship.”
The two blackened swords I released floated in the air, their tips automatically pointed at the opponent.
Instead of swinging the weapons with my own hands, I fought by directly manipulating the swords—this is automatic swordsmanship.
Furthermore, when using material that originally existed as weapons, the power is greater than bullets made solely with magic, so I should be able to pierce that aura.
“Pierce!!”
Along with my voice, the swords shot forth like arrows.
Sariel remained standing straight, but in front of her, white magical power rapidly compressed.
Then what appeared was a white shield shaped like an inverse triangle—it was indeed a shield.
“Rifle!”
As I fired off simulated full metal jacket rounds, the two swords that flew ahead struck Sariel’s shield.
Both were easily deflected and flew off in other directions, with the shield showing not a single scratch.
However, I continued firing my rifle without concern.
Although its power was inferior to that of the anti-material rounds, I could manage a bit of rapid fire.
Yet, given that the blackened swords had left the shield unscathed, firing any number of rifle rounds wouldn’t have any effect.
Whether I hit the same spot multiple times or not, zero times anything is still zero.
But that was just fine for me.
The rifle was merely a feint to draw her attention to the shield; the real threat was the blackened swords that had just been deflected.
Since Sariel had raised her shield against my thrown swords, it meant she was worried enough to do so.
While she could block the shotgun shells with just her aura, she couldn’t stop the swords.
I regained control of the two swords that had flown backwards.
The target was of course Sariel’s back, still completely defenseless.
If they were to stab her, it would deal instant death-level damage, but she was a mage, so she would likely survive.
Apologizing inwardly, I sent the blackened swords flying at maximum speed.
Sariel didn’t turn around—she absolutely did it.
“What—?”
Even at the moment the swords pierced her small back, Sariel didn’t move.
But somehow, at that moment, she had clutched the two black swords between her right hand’s fingers.
Could it be she stopped them with her bare hands?
When did that happen?
“…”
The jet-black blades pinned between Sariel’s delicate, white fingers quickly turned white like ash reduced to nothing and disappeared.
“Ugh, ah…”
I can’t win.
Instinct, intuition, reason, thoughts—every aspect concluded with ‘there’s absolutely no way I can win.’
I made a wrong choice; I shouldn’t have engaged in battle.
The moment I felt that immense magical power, I should have turned on my heel and made a run for it.
Because it’s true—I could have easily escaped without needing a shield; no matter how desperately I used my magic, she could effortlessly ward off all of it with her very presence.
From the moment I entered her line of sight, she could have surely killed me at any time.
I was simply spared from her whim.
Visions of my blackened swords disappearing like that crossed my mind.
“…”
Sariel dispelled her shield.
—Run, my instincts urged.
—Run, there’s still time, reason encouraged.
Don’t give up; there should still be a chance for survival.
For now, the only option is to run; I have to escape from that unbelievable monster, or I won’t have a free tomorrow!
“Black Smoke—ugh!”
A magic created from the black flames used by the experimental subject boy, fully utilizing it solely as a blinding effect.
By simply spraying black magic in mist form, it can be activated almost without a flaw, but she accurately seized the slightest opening, and a white stake pierced my right shoulder and abdomen.
Even so, the magic itself was successfully activated, and black smoke spread throughout the space to engulf my vision.
As the pitch-black smoke filled the room, I retraced my steps, regrettably, but the stairs were too far away.
I poured gel-like magical energy into the wound left by the stake in my foot to seal it up. For now, it would stop the bleeding, and I wasn’t soft enough to worry about this level of pain.
Once more, I enhanced my leg strength, running as fast as I could to get away from her.
The stakes embedded in my shoulder and abdomen could wait.
“Anti-Material.”
Without looking back, I fired three large caliber bullets toward the spot where she would still be standing.
I knew full well they wouldn’t work; I just hoped it would slow her down even a little, but right after firing the third shot, five stakes pierced through my back.
I was supposed to have raised a shield, but the stakes totally passed through as if it wasn’t there at all.
“Ugh!?”
I nearly toppled but somehow managed to keep running down the corridor.
The stake embedded in my back was thinner compared to those in my feet, shoulder, and abdomen, so I was able to endure the shock somehow.
Thus, without once looking back, I ran madly and rolled into the room I had instinctively chosen.
“Hah… hah…”
Did I escape her line of sight for the time being?
I couldn’t hear any presence or footsteps.
I didn’t think I had fully escaped, but I needed to treat my injuries while I had the chance.
“Ugh, it hurts…”
I was used to pain, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt; I had merely become more resilient.
I pulled out the stakes in my shoulder and abdomen, struggling to remove the five stakes from my back that were difficult to reach.
“I hope my insides aren’t damaged…”
The gel-like magical energy that sealed the wounds would naturally blend with my body over time and fully heal.
As for disinfection or anything like that? I wondered, but if it would heal completely, it should be fine.
Thanks to this magic, I’ve managed to heal most of my injuries on my own.
However, complex organs like the intestines, with their intricate functions, can’t be fully healed.
Previously, when a dinosaur-like creature had ripped into my abdomen, I couldn’t regenerate my intestines completely, and I ended up fully healing only thanks to the magic of those in masks.
Just how much can magic actually do? I questioned but had no way to verify it.
For now, I have to think about what to do next.
I certainly don’t expect that powerful magic-user girl named Sariel to easily let me get away like this.
Her senses were likely superior to mine; there was a chance she’d track me by smell, and at worst, she might find me with her sixth sense just by ‘feeling’ my presence.
So, taking the option to hide and wait it out is way too risky.
—Tap
I faintly heard footsteps.
Was she taking it easy, walking toward me slowly just like when she first appeared?
Even so, the previous battle had proven there was no way she would let her guard down that much.
As the footsteps grew louder, she was undoubtedly heading straight for this room.
“Damn it, what should I do…?”
She was not a monster I could somehow beat with effort like the others.
In front of an opponent with such an absolute power gap, I couldn’t honestly say I was maintaining any semblance of calm thought.
Even so, I noticed that there was another door in this room separate from the one I had entered.
I had no plan, but it seemed much better to go further in through that door than to simply step back out into the open.
However, if the other side of that door was just another room, I’d be completely out of luck.
“—What is this!”
Today, I was completely lucky, I thought as I opened the door.
On the other side was not another white room similar to this one, but a long spiral staircase leading down.
Peering in, the bottom was so deep I couldn’t see it.
I didn’t know where it led, but if it meant I could gain even a slight distance from Sariel, that long spiral staircase looked incredibly appealing.
I stepped forward without hesitation and sprinted down the stairs at full speed.
—
Sariel continued to walk down the corridor at a constant pace.
She wasn’t walking to give even greater fear to the foreigner with the same name as the Demon King, “Chrono Mao,” who was clearly of a lower magical rank.
This pace was suitable for precisely tracking the black magic she sensed, which was why Sariel wasn’t running.
Moreover, there was another reason: she was clearly showing some compassion towards Chrono.
Had she been intent on killing him, all eight of the white stakes that pierced Chrono could have easily struck his head, of course before he attacked her.
It was apparent that Ars’s words about “it should only take about ten minutes” were meant to consider the longest possible duration for battle.
However, she had clearly let slip the chance to take a life at a moment’s notice against someone in her view.
In the future, if she cornered him completely, Sariel intended to call for his surrender.
Deep down, she wanted him to escape successfully.
“…”
Even so, Sariel thought.
Chrono’s black magic was only at the level she had fully anticipated.
Through numerous experiments, he harbored an immense amount of black magic power and even exceeded normal people in physical abilities without enhancements, but his fundamental magic skills were basically just the basics.
At this stage in the plan, the main goal is to develop a body with high base abilities, while the technical aspects of battle and magic were intended to be learned later.
He possessed a large quantity of magical power, but his control in terms of circulation, compression, release, etc., was too crude; firing even a single-action spell that simply shot compressed magic wasted a considerable amount.
Additional effects on weapons were erratic, and his remote control precision and presence concealment were lacking; it was no problem to perceive without being within view.
Nevertheless, achieving the attack power of an average magician with only the bare minimum skill set is certainly thanks to the benefits of enhancements.
However, what surprised Sariel was not the power gained through enhancements but the ‘creativity’ applied to the magic he cast.
The black magic he shot, named “Shotgun,” “Rifle,” or “Anti-Material,” was all in beautifully streamlined conical shapes, rotating at high speed as they flew.
Magic is shaped through imagery, and most mages take on the form of spheres, arrows, swords, or thrown spears during a single-action; in Sariel’s case, it took the form of stakes.
However, in terms of enhancing penetrating ability, she had never seen a form as aesthetically pleasing as those spiraling conical shapes he had launched.
Once learned, anyone could replicate it, but from where did that shape’s concept originate?
If he claimed to have created it himself, one could merely label him as a genius.
However, he was one of the ‘foreigners’ summoned from a world where magic does not exist.
The church treats those who cannot use magic as less than human, equal to monsters.
But perhaps the foreigners possess knowledge and technology from their own world—indeed, it must exist.
Moreover, if that cone shape was one of the technologies created by foreigners, one could speculate that Chrono had applied it to magic with prior knowledge of its superior penetration capabilities.
Sariel believed this theory holds more potential, and if correct, it indicates he possesses knowledge unknown to them.
Just how significant that knowledge is piqued her interest somewhat, but if she were to capture him again, it would not be put to good use, and in the worst-case scenario, she’d have to kill him, which she regretted somewhat.
“…”
Sariel abruptly halted her footsteps.
There was no doubt that Chrono had passed through the door in front of her.
For a moment, Sariel hesitated on whether to enter this room or not.
However, having come this far, she thought it prudent to check, completely defenseless as she opened the door.
No ambushes or traps.
It was reasonable to believe there was no time to set anything up as she moved towards the door at the back of the room, which was different from the entrance.
When she opened that door as well, what came into view was a dim spiral staircase leading straight down.
Sariel did not descend the staircase. Instead, she threw herself into the center space of the spiral staircase, free-falling straight down into an unseen abyss.
—
Thud!!
Without using any magic to enhance her body, Sariel landed directly.
She appeared as though she had not experienced any impact from the fall, but the stone tiles beneath her had shattered into pieces.
“…He escaped.”
It was immediately clear that he was not there.
Because at the bottom of this staircase, only a small well drawing directly from an underground water vein remained, and the remnants of black magic trailed off into that well.
This location was where priests came to purify themselves, and it represented the only space that led outside this underground facility aside from the main gate.
It was likely a coincidence that he had ended up in the upper room that connected here, but that serendipity allowed him to successfully escape.
“…Good for you.”
Sariel murmured towards the well.
It was a rare emotional expression from her, who typically kept silent and expressionless.
Why had she shown such compassion toward Chrono?
It was because his circumstances closely resembled her own past.
—
I thought I had finally met a girl in another world, only to get completely beaten down.
In any case, I successfully made my escape as Chrono. After all, what it means to roam freely in another world is a different experience altogether.
Since Sariel, who knows no kanji, only recognized my name as “Chrono” and not “Kuroha,” I was also referred to as Chrono in the narrative. It makes for easier conversion and is quite nice.