Leave the berries behind. If you do, you'll be alive.

The young man made an overly arrogant proposal.

''Oh, come on, you can't be serious, can you? This is something we risked our lives for, you know. There's no way I'm going to give it to you just because you ask me to.

'Yes! And who do you think you are to let them live? You're one, but there are four of us here!

At that too arrogant suggestion, Tumor and Seine reflexively returned the suggestion.

'The two of you are right. We have no right to comply with your demands.''

I don't mind giving it away if you're willing to pay the price, but I can't give it away for free, can I? We have our own life to live.

Compared to the two of them, Kama and Taysis seemed somewhat calm, but their expressions were firm and it was easy to see that they were speaking with less discomfort towards the young man.

''Is that actually more important to you guys than your own lives?''

The young man with his arms crossed nodded his head as he looked at the four of them with a curious face.

With those words, the four of them lost their patience.

''Kama, Taysis. What this kid is doing is banditry. Even if we have to kill him, it won't work against us.

You were warned. If you hate me, hate yourself for not judging the situation properly.

We don't want to give away the results of the war. Unfortunately, we're going to have to.

''I'll take care not to kill you as much as possible. Of course, after that, I'll hand you over to the guild as a bandit.

The four of them quickly form up in a quick formation.

Carma sets up a shield at the front, Seine and Taysis in the rear.

Tumaa hides in a gap in the trees to make it easier to snipe.

Looking at the four people taking up a battle stance, the young man let out a deep sigh.

''Huh.... I gave you a choice (chance), right?''

The young man stands with his arms untied and lightly bent in his natural body.

Suddenly, a shimmering crimson light envelops the young man's body.

O red soul bearer...

His voice echoes around him, even though it is in the open.

I, the Seeker, Thou art (from the earth)...

Tch! Summoning! Everyone, strike while the chanting is still going on!

Kama closes the distance at once to prevent the young man from chanting.



"We're going into chanting, too! I'm going to give you a huge bite!

Okay! Let me deal with his interference! !

Return the enemy to dust.

'Looks like we ran out of time! !

Tumer's quick arrow and a blow that slices through even the rocks of Kama's approaching at once, a go-bang zan catches the young man...

"What?

He was unable to ━━, and it penetrated the young man's body.

''Advent .

The chanting of the young man, who only slightly warped his body, ducked from the two attacks, was completed.

The crimson light that enveloped the young man changed into a blazing fire, which formed a human mold.

The one revealed is a girl with a scarlet body, crimson hair and eyes, and beautiful yet sharp wings.

"Se-, spirit...!

Everybody get back! !

The three of them are surprised that it was a spirit that was summoned, but they quickly jump back in response to Seine's voice.

''It may not be very effective against that spirit, but what about the surgeon (anta)?''

Death Inferno, the highest level of flame magic in which Seine excels.

It is a magic that radiates hot flames that melt even steel in a wide area in front of the wielder.

It has the drawback that it takes some time to chant, but its simplicity makes it highly powerful, and it's extremely difficult to deal with and avoid after the chanting is complete.

The flames of hell envelop the young man and the spirit girl.

''Hmph. That wasn't much for you to come out and pick a fight with me.

Seine. You told me not to kill you if I could.

No, he can easily avoid me and Tumor's attacks. If you don't go in there with the intention of killing them, they would have killed us. Seinu is not wrong.

Yeah. Well, we don't want any more trouble. We're gonna get out of this mess.

Seinu's expression, sniffing with pride, but no, everyone's expression, confident of victory, froze.

This is because the flames, which had been burning in the surrounding trees, and which had been burning at a rate that could cause a forest fire, began to converge to a single point.

The infernal flames were extinguished in a few moments, and at the center of the flames were an unharmed young man and a spirit girl.

The girl alighted quietly and, looking at the four of them, asked the young man, ''What happened to the trees and flowers?

The trees and flowers have been burned. There's no reason to hesitate, right?''

I could see the hatred in his gaze for those who destroyed the nature of the forest.

'It spoke...? And disabling the highest level of fire magic... higher level? No, the highest spirit?

'So what's the problem? Humans. They tried to destroy our habitat and take the lives of our families. Don't think you'll get out of here alive.'

The heavy pressure (pressure) emanating from the spirit girl far exceeds the heavy pressure (it) of the Jewel Tree.

''Kudos! I can't do this one! Teisys, transference stone! Everybody get out of here now!

Kama, who sensed the overwhelming difference in strength, instructs the girl of the spirit to retreat while retreating inch by inch, relative to the girl of the spirit.

Theumar and Seinu, who would normally act as scouts, also take up positions to protect Tesis with the transference stone.

The transference stone is an item that flows magic power and instantly transfers to a registered point.

The price is so high that even the A-ranked parties are hesitant to buy it, in proportion to its convenience.

(It was a good decision to go out of your way to buy it. That spirit is not someone we can compete with. We have to report this to the guild as soon as we return.)

'Yes, sir! Gather around, please! Turn over...

Teisys pulls the transference stone out of its storage space and begins to glow...

I'm not going to let you get away with this.



''What...?''

That arm is pulled out at once and Taysis collapses.

''Koffu... Gopopo...''

Feeling a great deal of blood flowing out of her, her consciousness fell into deep darkness.

I knew you had it. The guys who come up to this area often have a transference stone. It was a good thing I was so vigilant.

The transference stone she had tried to activate was held in the right arm of the young man who was dyed red with Teisys' blood.

''Teish... Su?''

Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me.

Oh... oh...

The three of them freeze at the sight of their companion, who has changed into a wreckage in an instant.

And the young man and the girl are not so naive as to overlook that large gap.

You've been so proud to spread the flames, but do you know the pain of being burned alive?

Oh... no...

The spirit girl grabbed the stunned Seine's head and lifted it lightly.

I will engrave that suffering into the very core of your soul. Repent for what you have done, repent, and taste it for yourself before you die.

'Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

No, no...

The flames created by the spirit girl enveloped only Seinu.

It's a good thing that she is good at her job, so she has the fire resistance to be able to nullify most fire magic.

However, it is not possible to resist her flame magic as the top spirit.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

No, she fought back.

Aww.... Dazge... de... de... Dazge... dazge... deh...

Because he had fire resistance.

That body was burned alive, and it would have been more painful if he had gone crazy.

''Vu... ah...''

Having been charred to the point where she could barely be judged to have been a person at the earliest, she was finally relieved of her suffering.

'Say... Nu.'

Hee... ahhhhh!

After witnessing the horrific deaths of the two men, Tumor runs away in a half-crazed frenzy.

It's a full-blooded sprint that just wants to leave this place as soon as possible.

There is not a shred of the usual fine movement, it's just running, moving its legs straight ahead.

I'm not going to be able to get a good look at you. You were ready to kill me just now, but you're not ready to die?

The young man is running alongside Tumor, who is the undisputed leader in terms of speed, not only within the party, but also within his guild, and the young man is not even breathing hard.

''Don't come! Don't come to me!

Tumor, who is no longer able to make normal judgments, wields a dagger that would normally only be used as a check or defense, in a mess.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!

He grabs Theumer by the throat with one hand and tightens his grip on Theumer's throat as he flails around to untie his arms.

Tumor is also struggling to flail, but is unable to shake the restraints.

On the contrary, Tumor's body is gradually being released from the ground.

''Ah...gah...hagh...''

Tumor's breathing gradually weakens.

'Kahiu... gi...'

Watching Tümer's suffering form with cold eyes, the young man lifted him up and put some strength into his bloodied arms.

"Gosh," a raw sound resounded, and Tümer's life of nearly thirty years came to an end.

'....Tumor.

The remaining Kama sat in stunned amazement.

She looked up at the young man who had killed Tumor and walked leisurely back to him and asked him.

'...Why did you kill them all? Even though Seine and Tumor had lost their will to fight.

'Then I ask you, would you guys have stopped killing Jeweltree if he had lost the will to fight?

Instead of Kama, who is stuck for an answer, the spirit girl who has moved next to the young man replies.

''There's no chance of that. Basically, Jewel Tree is mild-mannered. The fact that they were fighting against the Jewel Tree means that these guys were the ones who messed with it first. The goal is definitely the fruit of the Jewel Tree, so even if the Jewel Tree had lost the will to fight and escaped, it would not stop attacking until it was defeated and obtained the fruit.

"...what's wrong with slaying a demon?

Kama asks further, with anger in her resignation.

It's just that this world is after all, the weak and strong. I'm not going to complain about you guys killing the Jewel Tree.

You're gonna...!

But it's a different story if it indirectly affects me, my family and our home. As I said before, when you bring back that fruit, many adventurers will come looking for it. I've been told that adventurers will do anything to get what they want. There's a good chance they'll come to us.

The young man continues, meeting Kama's weakly glaring eyes squarely in front of him.

'I gave you the option (chance) to get out alive. They didn't even listen to our suggestions, much less try to kill us. We were stronger than you, we don't want to die ourselves, let it go, that's not going to pass.

A young man stares at Kama as he looks into her eyes.

Unable to look directly into his eyes, Kama averts his gaze and falls silent.

''You shut up when it's not convenient. Well, that's fine. I'll send you to your friends right away.''

A spirit girl spawns flames in her right hand that she points at Kama.

Kama closes her eyes, nodding her head as if she is resigned to her own life.

You're not going to be able to get your hands on any of them, but if you don't resist, I'm going to kill you without making you suffer. ...Goodbye.

A super-hot flame, spawned from a spirit girl.

It enveloped Kama in an instant and turned her into charcoal without leaving any bones.

The A-ranked party, the Will-less Magic Sword, entered the depths of the Forest of Demon Mist to search.

They, too, were unable to return from the unknown territory.