◆ ◆ Foca



　The moment a fellow priest, who had survived, held up something, the area around him was enveloped in a pitch-black fog.

　Or, to be more precise, a fog of poison.



　Fortunately, we were able to manage thanks to the antidote magic items lent to us by the temple, but the problem was that the most expensive of them all, the magic item that cancels the deadly poison, shattered noisily.

　Trouble is, this item was a disposable item prepared for emergencies, and it turned out to be useless with the always-on antidote magic item...



"d*mn!　You two, stay with me!"



　Fortunately, thanks to Ramiez's wind warding, we were spared another direct hit from the poison.

　But we were slowly getting sick, as if it was no ordinary poison.



Antidote!



　I repeatedly detoxify my companions with antidote magic.



"Oh my God, I don't know what I've used."



　I stare at my colleague, who smiles as he holds up a jewel that still glows black and continues to produce a poisonous mist.



"Ha-ha-ha!　This is awesome!　A magic item that emits a poisonous mist to incapacitate the enemy!"



"What a thing to use!　Stop that at once!"



　But she snickered at my words.



"Ha, I just activated it!　I would never do something so stupid!"



"And the poison is too much!　And you want us to get involved too!"



"If you don't want to get involved, just get the hell out of here. I will conquer the pilgrimage. But in return, my faction will become the mainstream of my divine teachings.



　d*mn you for bringing factional strife into this!



"Ha ha ha ha ha!"



　But for some reason, she was so proud of herself that she just collapsed to the ground.



"Oh, is that ......?"



"What's wrong?"



"Or maybe my body is numb and I'm ...... moving. ......"



　Could it be that ......



Did the poison get to you too?



"Bah, no way!　I have a precious, high-end antidote magic item!



　With these words, she hurriedly took out the antidote magic item from her pocket, but it was shattered beyond recognition.

　Oh, this is completely broken.

　Perhaps it was caused by absorbing too much strong poison up close.



"Help me!



　She's asking us for help.

　It's a refreshing reversal of fortune.

　But we can't just abandon her, since we are colleagues who also believe in the Mother of the Earth.

　Well, I'll make sure she gets her comeuppance later.



Then stop that magic item!



"No, no!　I don't know how to stop it!



Why did you use that thing?



　You can't plan for this!



"It was given to me by a collaborator sent from above!　Just by activating it, he said, he could kick the other participants' asses."



　And here we are.

　Even if it was a sense of honor, you still don't have enough sense of urgency!

　I guess that's why they took advantage of us.



Then at least dump them far away!　We can't even get close at this point!"



"Okay, okay!"



　My colleague hurriedly tries to throw the magic item far away. But for some reason, he just shakes his head and doesn't seem to throw the magic item away. What on earth is he doing?



"Hold on, it's stuck in my hand!"



　It won't come off my hand?　Could it be?



"I see, it's a cursed item."



　It was Rameez who immediately thought of the cause.




　But this is getting tricky.

　If it is a cursed item, we need to use purification magic to get rid of it.

　But there's a problem with using purification magic: ......



　While I'm thinking about this, my colleague is getting paler and paler.

　She is still barely breathing, but she won't last much longer.



　I wonder if she belongs to the faction that is least hesitant to take hard-line measures.

　What were they thinking, using an item that would cause collateral damage to their men?



"Hey, what are you going to do with that thing after all?"



　Roddy asks her, correctly or not, what she is going to do with the magic item he is holding in his hand.

　Now I'm their employer, you want to tell me whether I should stop them or ignore them and move on.



"We can't just let that thing go. We have to do something to stop it."



　We can't let our sacred sanctuaries be poisoned any more than they already are!





"Then the poison is in the way of destroying it. Rameez, can you get the wind up to him?"



"Impossible, this poisonous fog seems to have a tendency to gather around the jewel, and even if the wind blows it away, it will come back again. That's why we are affected by the poison. And that's where the poison fog comes from. We'll be affected much faster than here.



　It's too dangerous to go near the treasure trove, the lamise says.

　This is a problem. To be honest, I was counting on Ramiez's power.



"And by the way, destroying the cursed item should be a last resort. Worst case scenario, the curse condensed inside will overflow and wreak havoc."



　I know. Some, but not all, cursed items are dangerous because they can cause collateral damage when broken.



"Then, should we use purification magic to lift the curse?　Can you do it, Foca?"



"Impossible. To perform purification magic, you need to be in a sanctified cathedral with several priests. But here it's very ...... difficult to do that with the poisonous fog that's pouring in."



　Practical purification is impossible, and destruction would endanger not only us but also the people of the Holy Land.

　I don't know what to do. ......



"Well, we can go out of the poisonous fog and freeze the magic item with ice magic. If we can freeze it with ice, we won't be able to blow out the poison mist.



"You can do that?



　I ask Rameez, and he nods quietly in reply.



"But it's impossible to freeze the item without damaging the owner. He will be involved in this."



"Well, you'll get what's coming to you. Foca's restorative magic will save your life.



"Right. If that's all you have ......"



　After deciding on a course of action, we immediately tried to get out of the poisonous fog, but for some reason, Ramiez did not want to move the wards.



"What's the matter, Ramiez?



"This is not good. The density of the poisonous fog and its ability to gather in the center is increasing. He's not going to let us go."



　Oh my God, that magic item seems to have trapped us in the poisonous fog.



"d*mn it, we're going to run out of magic and get killed!



We're going to have to destroy that thing one way or another!



"I told you it's dangerous to destroy it without purification!"



"But the situation will only get worse. Then we'll have to get to that jewel as fast as possible and destroy it."



　Roddy tried to jump out of the way of our attempts to stop him, but he suddenly dropped to his knees and fell to the ground with his hands on the ground.



"What's wrong Roddy ......?



　Not only Roddy, but Risou, Rameez and I also felt dizzy and fell to our knees.



"What the hell is this ......?"



　Dizziness, palpitations, body numbness ......



"No way, poison!　A, antidote!"



　I immediately activated the antidote magic, but the numbness did not seem to disappear.



"The magic doesn't work!



　That means this poisonous mist is too strong to be detoxified by my antidote magic!

　I thought my magic would be able to handle it so far, but it seems that the poison has been poisoning our bodies without us noticing it.



"This is finally dangerous. ......"



　If we can't escape or heal, there's nothing we can do. ......

　The dizziness got worse and worse, and my body fell to the ground of its own accord.

　I never thought that we, who were called S-rank adventurers, would be killed by the poison set by our allies. ......

　It is also the holiest place for us servants of God. ......



"High area antidote!"



　That's when the numbness suddenly disappeared.



"What?"



"Thank God, it looks like you all made it in time."



"What?"



　I looked up to see what had happened, and there was the face of a familiar girl.



"I believe you are ...... from the Lord God's temple."



　This girl is a priest named Tracy who works at the Lord God's Temple, I believe: ......






"I'm here to help you. Are you feeling okay?"



Uh, yeah. I'm fine. ......　



　She's taking us?　But he's only been a priest for a short time. I don't think he's capable of detoxifying this toxic fog. ......



"It's okay over there, too, because Norie is there to help you."



　Norie?　Oh, I believe that's the alias of one of Lex's friends. ......?



No way!



　Tracy's word "over there" made me look around immediately to find Norie.

　And I found her.

　I saw Ms. Norie heading toward her fallen colleague.

　Beside her, that jewel is still releasing its deadly poison. ......



"No!　Run!"



　No matter how many of Lex's friends you are, it's suicide to approach that deadly poison without any countermeasures. ......?　Why are you still pinching yourself?

　We were hit by the poison that seeped in even though we were warded at a distance.

　Norie easily reached her fallen colleague.



"I see, so this is what's been causing the trouble. I guess we have to do something about it first, even if we try to detoxify it.



　Norie did not seem to get sick at all, even though a highly poisonous mist was being released right next to her.

　Why on earth!



"Well, let's purify it right away. Let's purify it right away!



　The moment Ms. Norie invoked some kind of magic, the black jewel was enveloped in light!

　Then, with a cracking sound, the jewel broke in half and vanished into ashes.



"What?



　No way!　He purified the cursed item all by himself?

　Without any assistance?

　That's impossible!



"Hyantidote!"



　To my surprise, Norie-san casts an antidote spell on my fallen colleague.

　I mean, "Hyantidote"?　Could it be a phantom higher level antidote magic?

　She can use that?

　Then, my colleague's body, which had not moved even a fraction of a second before, shakes with a start.



"Ugh, ugh ......"



　And then my colleague's eyes started to glaze over.



"Are you okay?"



"Oh, you ......."



"I am from the temple of the Lord God."



"Temple of the Lord God?　Why would someone from the Lord God's temple help me ......!"



　No wonder she wonders. After all, we are now rivals on a pilgrimage.



"It is natural to help those in need."



"What?　That's why?



Then let's go back to the ordeal.



　Norie, who had saved our lives in this way, held out her hand to us to resume the ordeal as if nothing had happened.



　◆Santoy, priest of the god of war



"Ugh, this is ...... again."



　Suddenly we were in the middle of a fire.

　Fortunately, we were saved by a magic item for protection, but at this rate we would be engulfed in flames and die.



　This was not the only place where something unusual happened.

　There were other strange things happening in the other temples as well.

　The moment they held up the treasure in their hands, they were angered.

　It also involved the people who had used it.



"Huh, I guess it was a good thing we didn't use it."



　I look at the treasure I had hidden in my pocket.

　Yes, I had the same treasure as the others in the temple.

　The liaison with the higher-ups had brought me this magic item, which he said would be my trump card to victory, but the way things were going, I doubted it.



　I didn't use it, or couldn't use it.




　A little piece of pride left in me made me hesitate to resort to such a thing in front of her.　



"But it's funny that while I'm hesitating to use it, others are using it."



　The red treasure that spawned this flame is the priests of the Night God.

　They are protecting themselves with wards, but they can't keep it up that long.



　Trouble is, this fire is impervious to ice and water magic.

　Thanks to them, we can't get out of the wards.

　But the warding does not protect us from the heat of the flames.

　Our last moment will probably be when the magic items we're wearing run out of juice.



"d*mn, that's it. ......"



　If we can't move, what can we do?

　It's beyond pathetic.



"Hey, hey, don't give up now!"



　That's when I heard a voice I couldn't believe.



"What are you doing?"



"Hey, we meet again."



　I looked up and there was the face of Janet, whom I had just left.



"You idiot!　Get the hell out of here!　They'll burn you to death, too!"



　What the hell is he doing back here?



"Don't worry. I'll take care of it.



What?



　I'm gonna blow this fire out!　Are you crazy?



Miss Liliela! You're in charge here!



"Yes, yes."



　With these words, a cool breeze blew across the hot, scorched field.

　No, it was not wind, but cold air.

　A wall of ice surrounded the area.



"I can't use recovery magic, so you'll have to put up with the ice.



　It was the other girl who had been with Janet in the temple of the Lord God.



"Oh my God, ......."



　The girl called Liliela protected us from the heat of the flames with a thick wall of ice.　

　But I have heard.

　I have heard that it takes a great deal of concentration and magical power to use magic of opposing attributes in a place where the power of a particular attribute is strong.

　But this girl did it with a cool face. On the contrary, she has maintained the ice wall perfectly!



"Hey, take care of this one too.　"Hey, he's got something burning in one of his hands, fix it.



　With these words, a large woman was thrown in from outside the ice wall.

　The woman was dressed in the garb of a priestess of the night god, and her right arm was charred and not in the shape of a hand.

　So this is the one who used the jewel.

　And, fortunately for her, her arm is now charred and her hand has escaped from the jewel and escaped to the vicinity.



　However, even with the blessing of the magic item, his whole body was covered with severe burns from being exposed to the flames for so long.

　He would not last long in this condition.



"This is terrible. We'll just have to make do with potions until we meet up with the others. I think Lex gave me some from ...... Oh, here it is."



　Potions?　That's not going to heal this burn.

　Well, it might help with the pain.



"Yes!"



　Liliela sprinkled the potion on the priestess of the night god, and her body glowed so brightly that the burns on her entire body healed beautifully.



"...... huh!?"



　Huh?　Healed?　That terrible burn from the potion?

　And the arm!　Even the arm that was carbonized and crumbling has grown back!



"What, what, what?"



　I was about to ask her what the hell she had used, but I was distracted by the fact that Janet, who was outside the ice wall, ran out.



"Well, I'm going to make this quick!



　Janet readies her sword and runs toward the jewel, which continues to burst into flames.

　What?　A sword?　Is she insane?




　The area around the jewel was engulfed in flames, and it was obvious that he would be burned to death before he could get close to the jewel in the center.

　Above all, there was no way he could cut through the flames with his sword!



"Burning Melt Sword!"



　Janet's sword is covered in blue flames. But what good will it do?



"Fool!　No flame magic can pass through a flame!"



　While she is saying this, Janet plunges into the flames.

　Oh, God!



"Heh heh, here we go!　My new special move!　Burning Melt Impulse!



　The blue flames from the sword engulf Janet's body, and behind her the flames flicker like a shimmering shimmer.

　Janet's body literally flies forward.

　Janet is no longer running on her legs.

　It is as if she is being pulled by a pale, burning sword.



　Incredibly, the blue-white flames are cutting through the surrounding flames.

　And then it pierces the center of the flames, the jewel.

　At that moment, however, tremendous heat and flames erupted from the jewel.



"Whoa!"



　What a tremendous flame!

　I can feel this heat even when I'm inside the ice wall!



"Ha!　Puss!!!"



　If we can feel this much heat here, what about Janet in the center?



"Little girl!　Little b*tc*!"



　No!　This must not happen!

　Only we who have gone astray shall be spared and that good-natured little girl shall not be sacrificed!



Don't worry!



　Liliela tells me that she is maintaining her ice magic as I try to stop her in a panic.



She can handle it. After all, fire is her specialty.



　You're going to do something?　How?

　But to my dismay, I couldn't even move to help Janet. I just had to wait for the raging flames to die down.



　After a long time, when the flames finally die down, Liliela puts out the wall of ice.



"This is terrible!"



　True to his word, the site of the ordeal was in a terrible state.

　The area around her was scorched, and of course, Janet was not there.

　She must have been caught in the flames, and her entire body had been consumed.

　Not even a single bone fragment remained.

　As if to prove it, a pure white circle had formed at the center of the flames.



"Hmm?　A circle?"



　What is that circle?　Why would something like that be in the middle of a swollen blast flame?

　At the same time, I heard something strange.



　Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud!



What the hell?



　A cloud of smoke appears just where the white circle was.



"That's stupid. ......"



　It was that little girl, Janet.



"Ouch, I didn't think I'd get blown up."



"Oh, hey!　Little girl!



　I run to Janet's side, unable to stand still.



"Hmm?　Oh, I see you're all right, too."



"I'm not asking if you're safe!　What the hell happened?　What did you do?　Why are you safe?






　I question Janet, unable to control my welling up of emotions.



"Wait, wait, wait, don't ask me all at once," she says.



　Janet then looks around.



"Oh, looks like the fire is well extinguished. That's just what my brother and sister taught me!"



"Taught you?"



"Yeah, my sister told me. She said that to put out a flame, you have to create a bigger flame and burn down the source of the flame.



"Oh, that's ......?



　Putting out a flame with a flame?　How is that even possible?

　And how can this guy jump into a treasure ball that was emitting so much fire and not have a single hair burnt off?



"I see, that white circle is a remnant of the space created by your superheat, isn't it?



"Hey!　It's a technique of trapping a very hot flame in a tiny space and squeezing it in to make it super hot!　Well, I got blown right up in the air as a reaction!"



　What the hell is that? I've never heard of such a technique!

　And who the hell is the person who taught him that technique?



"Anyway, the fire is extinguished!　Let's resume the trials."



　Despite all that she has done, Janet is about to return to the ordeal as if nothing had happened.



"Wait a minute!　Why did you save us ......?"



　Janet and the others' behavior was so inexplicable that I questioned them.

　But Janet looked at me with a truly mystified look on her face and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about.



"Oh?　Of course we came to help them because they were in trouble, right?"　



"What?　That's why you're here ......?"



　You came to help us because we were in trouble?　Without regard for your own safety?



We'll be on our way. You're not done yet, are you?



　With that, Janet ran off.



"You can't win against a ...... moron."



　For the second time, his back was shining so brightly that it was impossible to look directly at it. ......