Before the decisive battle with the Demon King's army, relief supplies were sent from various countries to us and our heroic party.
　The supplies were supposed to be delivered via the church country closest to the area where the party was based .......
　However, the troops transporting the relief supplies were attacked by the demon tribe.

　The 'substitute protection' that will take the place of a fatal wound.
　The Wall of Sanctuary is a barrier that can be equipped to protect the user at all times.

　These and other national treasure-grade magic items were lost during the attack.
　Most of the troops of cathedral knights who were in charge of transporting the relief supplies at that time were also killed.
　For this reason, we are going to challenge the Demon King's Castle without getting the magic item that was supposed to arrive.

　Well, it's a simple story.
　Lucifina and the others were probably in the way of the 'substitute protector's charm' and 'divine protection here' that I was planning to use.
　Because if my target is equipped with these things, it would be hard to kill and unbearable.

　So George and Lily, who was the captain of the Cathedral Knights, turned their hands around.
　They embraced their own subordinates, who were assigned to the transporting unit, and snatched the magic item from them as if they were attacking demons.
　That subordinate's name is Marcus Pietro Sandalphon.

　He is the current captain of the second squadron of the Cathedral Knights.

　It seems that Dionis and others bought the magic item from Marcus for a high price.
　That's why Dionis had the 'substitute protection'.
　The other magic items are also apparently in the possession of Ryuzas and Lucifina.

　The above is what I heard when I tortured that guy in the Dead Swamp Labyrinth.

　To be honest, there is no direct connection between me and Marcus.
　We only had a few conversations with Lily and the others during our stay in the Teaching Country, and I only attached training to him once.
　Unlike the other traitors, you weren't planning to kill me.
　Even if Marx hadn't cooperated, Lily and the others might have taken the magic granting items (magic items) by other means.

　But because of that guy's betrayal, many of the people in the hauling unit died.
　Some of them were men I fought with many times, and some of them were like-minded with me in my heroic days.
　Marx killed them all for his own benefit alone.
　Purely out of frustration that he killed someone he knew.

　...... No.
　I don't need to give you a reason for this or that.
　You don't need to find a reason to get revenge on Marx.

　--I'm not going to have to look for a reason to get revenge on Marx.

　That's enough reason to get revenge.

　Nothing else is needed.
　Because after the orphanage thing, I've made up my mind.

　There will be no compromise (・・・・・・・) on revenge (・・・・・・).

　I don't need a reason.
　I don't care about conversions.
　I will kill every single traitor, every single one of them.

　No matter who it is.


◆.

"Hey, ......, how did we end up here ......?
I thought you got rid of the target a while ago.
...... Yeah. Well, I'll have to go report back to you then.

　After brainwashing the three of them, they walked out to report to Marx on the completion of their mission.
　They seemed to have a complete grasp of the geography of this city and proceeded through the deserted back alleys without hesitation.

'Alright, let's go.'

　With Elfie, I follow right behind the three of them.

'Is it okay to walk so close?'
'No problem. I've brainwashed you to look at me and Elfie and not think anything of it.
"So you can't find it suspicious. ...... If you think about it dispassionately, that woman Olivia has invented some extraordinary magic.
...... Well, yeah. He was a piece of trash, but I'll put this magic to good use at best.

　After more than ten minutes of walking down the back alley, the trio still didn't go to the 'Holy Light District', but walked through the 'Commercial District'.
　Instead, they walked into a lonely inn in the corner of the block.

I want a very nice room. A quiet room where I can get a good night's sleep.
...... Yes, sir.

　The innkeeper nodded and took a small key from the counter.
　The three of them took it and walked to the back of the inn without paying.

'...... Oh. I've read about it in books. Now that was some kind of secret code or something, right?　There's a lot of romance in that.

　I followed the three men, along with Elfie, who was oblivious to the presence of the people at the inn, with a glint in his eye.
　The men unlocked a metal door at the far end of the inn and entered it.
　We immediately followed them.

''It's quite a hassle to go through here every single time.
What could I do? I didn't want to enter the Holy Light District, but every time I tried to, I was seen by a knight.
Don't waste your breath. Let's get out of here.

　A staircase appeared with a bang as the man channeled his magic power into part of the floor.

'Ever since I started working with Iori, I've become oddly connected to the underground.
...... It's not my fault.

　They followed the men down the stairs and found a passage.
　There were no lights, and the three men proceeded to illuminate their surroundings with magic.

'...... I see.'

　Marx and the others must have used this underground passage to go back and forth between the 'Commercial District' and the 'Holy Light District' without being seen by people.
　This passage must have been used in the frequent disappearances that occurred in the Holy City.

When it comes to hiding something, a hidden room or passageway in the basement would be a good place to start.

　My vengeance targets have always had something to hide, you know?
　No wonder they take a closer look at the basement.

...... It's all very well.

　Perfectly, Elfie sticks to his body.

'...... Oh, bad,'

　Elfie wasn't a fan of the dark.
　Soon, I'm going to use my magic to turn on the lights.
　Elfi's body stopped shaking, but he didn't move away from me.

'If you get separated, you'll get in trouble. Iori, don't leave me.
Yeah, I get it.

　I followed the three of them and moved through the underground passage for twenty minutes.
　After a while, a large ward came into view out of sight.
　At the end of the transparent ward, a large iron door could be seen.

''It's the type of ward that physically blocks the way, that one.
How do I disarm it?
You can simply destroy it or you can recite the ...... predetermined wording. Of course, if you destroy it, it will be transmitted to the surgeon.
It's like a seal from the kingdom's treasury.

　As I was listening to the outline of the wards I saw with my demon eyes from Elfi, the men began to chant something in a whisper.
　They seemed to be chanting a predetermined statement that Elfie had said.

'Let's give those guys a run for their money.

　As the men finished chanting the password, the wards that were blocking the path disappeared.
　Before the wards were put up again, they followed the men to the inside of the wards.
　He then followed inside the iron door that the men had opened with a key.

'...... The landscape has changed,'

　What was beyond the door was a small room just like the one before.
　Perhaps this is already the 'Holy Light District'.
　This place might be the basement of Marx's mansion.

It's dusty. You should at least clean up. My clean body is covered in dust.

　Elfi was right, the room was dusty inside.
　However, it seemed to be used frequently, and there wasn't much dust around the door.
　As I thought, this passage seems to be used a lot.

　There is a door in a small room that leads further on.
　The men used a key further and opened that door.
　The warding, this door, and this door, are quite a bit of care.

"...... Well, you're late.

　As the men open the door, we hear a man's voice from the other side.
　We stay in the room and look outside.
　It seems that there are two armed men standing in front of the door.

I'm sorry. Sorry for the delay.
'Mr. Marx was getting on my nerves, wasn't he?　I heard there's going to be a visitor in the middle of the night today, so you better hurry or you might get arrested.
That guy's a real pain in the ass. Let's go.

　Besides the guards, there were no wards or traps.
　After figuring out their strength, we walked out the door.

'......!　Oh, hey, what's with these guys?

　Our arrival surprised the man on guard.

'......?　What?

　The trio were unperturbed by the effects of their brainwashing.
　The naturalness of the situation caused the men on guard to relax for a moment.

''--Huh.''

　The two guards were able to penetrate the gap and strike the two men on guard.
　The two men who were attacked fell to the ground asleep, without a voice.
　I lifted them up and placed them on a chair near the door.

　Now, at a glance, it would look like they were dozing off.
　Well, I'm going to get things done before there's any commotion, so it's an unnecessary trick.

...... It's time for you to meet this Marx or whatever he's called. Are you already thinking about the customary thing (...)?
Some of them.
You're probably thinking of another crazy one anyway.
"...... cana

　Well, I have a few great ones in mind.
　There are many ways to make them suffer or despair for a long time, but not many that can be achieved.
　When it comes to what I can implement, the options are limited in their own way.
　I'll just have to pick the best of them, though.

.............

　Suddenly, I thought about what I would do after I returned to my former world.
　Subjectively or objectively, I'm not decent now.
　To the point where it seems impossible for me to live a normal life, like I did before I came to this world.

　Maybe since I started killing demons and demonkind as a hero, my resistance to killing living things had waned.
　And when those guys betrayed me, I was completely off the hook.
　It's probably the influence of the creations he saw on Earth that made him come up with a brutal method of revenge, but it's crazy when you can practice it.
　If a normal person were to look at it, they would be able to take revenge that would be disgusting.

You were aware of these concerns from the beginning, weren't you?

　Elfi's words, as if to break the thought.

'...... every time, Elfie. You're reading my mind, aren't you?
'Fool. I don't know what you think of yourself, but your thoughts are too in your face.
...... Really?

　I don't think so.

'Yeah, it's all out there, messed up. Even when you're looking at me, the thought of 'Lord Elfiszak is beautiful and intelligent' is leaking out.
Didn't think that was ever enough, though?
...... When you say that with a straight face, it hurts me as well as the quicksilver.

　'Anyway,' says Elfie.

'Don't worry about it until after the thing is over. Isn't that right?'
...... Yeah.
"You're like me, strong-willed, but fragile in spirit. If you ever have any concerns, you can always talk to me.

　...... Yeah, that's right.
　My mentality is not very strong.

Thanks to .......

　I thanked him in a small way, and with a grin, Elfie smiled.

'Hmm, can't you hear me?　You can say it again. Here, here, here, here.
It's impossibly annoying.
Yeah, .......

　Shortly after that conversation.
　We followed the men into the room beyond.

　We saw a disgusting sight.