Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 91



90 – The Heart Begins to Beat (1)

I shoved the necklace at the Major.

“Is this yours?”

“Well, it came from my body, so it’s mine. Whose else would it be?”

“What symbol is it?”

“Just a normal ornament.”

“Don’t lie. I know it has a special meaning.”

“It’s really just a normal necklace? Give it back. It’s an artifact bestowed upon me by the Führer. Too precious to be in the hands of a guy like you.”

“No.”

The Major spat when I refused. It was so close it hit my face.

“Ah.”

I scrubbed my face roughly with my sleeve. A dark red stain remained on my uniform. Valkyrie and Riyo, who had seen what the Major did to me, pinned down the Major’s arms. The Major didn’t even seem strained.

I chuckled.

“You’re laughing?”

“I must have had too dark of an expression on my face. Now that I’m smiling, you won’t spit, right?”

“Ptooey.”

I had to rub my face again.

“This guy’s a pushover. How could you even torture me with a mindset like that?”

“Why would I torture someone who’s already being tortured?”

The chief clicked his tongue, a “tsk” sound.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You’re already figuring things out, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“You’re a real card. Torture me if you can. Just so you know, my lips are sealed. If you want to hear anything good, you’ll have to put in some serious effort.”

“Hmm, in that case, I’ll thoroughly shake you down.”

That was the end of the conversation with the chief. I brought my hand to his chest. The chief laughed, incredulous, then growled in a low voice.

“You piece of trash.”

The Saint and I prepared for the procedure. We prepped a blood donation kit and stuck it in Riyo’s forearm. Riyo frowned. It wasn’t likely the needle that hurt.

Miyo spoke.

[“I don’t like this woman. The fact that a symbol of a pseudo-magician group was found on her, the way she talks. She seems to discriminate against beastfolk? Should I offer my blood to save a woman like this?”]

I didn’t say things like we need to get information, or that she’ll change if we just remove the curse. The fox sisters already knew all that anyway.

Instead, I answered the foxes’ question like this:

[“Wouldn’t it be interesting if she’s still a beastfolk bigot even after the treatment?”]

[“Why?”]

[“Because she’ll have been saved by the blood of the beastfolk she hates so much.”]

[“Ooh.”]

The fox sisters’ eyes curved like crescent moons.

[“That’s right. What kind of reaction will she have? Will she keep being shameless? That would be boring. What if she stays hostile?”]

[“Hey, did you forget our promise?”]

I stroked Miyo’s head and continued.

[“I’m a first-class mage, remember? I told you I’d take care of anyone flashing these emblems around.”]

[“…Erich.”]

Miyo glanced sideways, then whispered only to me.

[“Let’s make a baby.”]

[“Don’t joke around.”]

And the rocks, having understood the conversation, were quick to start a noisy clamor.

“A! Ba! By! Ma! King! s*x—!!”

“Don’t make such a fuss, Kalon-senpai.”

“To call this a fuss is laughable, David. How long are you going to cling to the Saintess? It’s not too late to side with the fox sisters, you know?”

“You clearly don’t understand long-term investments, senpai. That’s why you lose everything on the stock market every time.”

“Aha, you speak as if the dead can’t speak back, eh?”

“The Saintess, with both social standing and a good nature, is the only one suitable as Erich-senpai’s partner. Any religious barrier can be overcome with the power of love.”

Good thing they’re speaking in Magocracy tongue. No one but me can understand.

Just as I was thinking that, I met the Saintess’s gaze.

The Saintess’s eyes were pink.

“Ah.”

I’d forgotten, it’s too familiar.

These people, no, these rocks are for real. I need to gag them next time.

“Uwaaa! What am I gonna do! At this rate, I’m gonna have even more rivals!”

“Didn’t he say Giffold earlier? I know that family. They’re a really famous military family in the Magocracy. That woman was born with a silver spoon in her mouth!”

“Seriously, what if he falls head over heels once we save him?”

“Don’t jinx it. We don’t know yet. Besides, even with all the women around, our Captain’s the prettiest. One wiggle of her hips the way she rides dragons and that mage will be a goner too, you’ll see?”

Good thing it’s just David and Kalon talking nonsense. Valkyrie’s other comrades have to be in the realm of normal, right? They wouldn’t be cracking jokes in a serious situation like this.

“Rachel, yeah, let’s totally tap that guy.”

“Let’s give him a hands-on lesson about the importance of foregone conclusions.”

Anyway.

From this moment on, the attempt to remove the Anti-Talisman begins.

The Anti-Talisman is a curse with no known cure. At least, no magic I know of can fix it. But, we have the Saintess of Purification with us now.

“Chain going in.”

Divine Sound, Chains of Purification.

A ring of light made of Sephiron plunged into the Commander’s chest. Passed right through. That’s the first barrier protecting the Commander’s heart from the curse.

“——.”

The indescribable followed, and the second barrier unfolded.

Divine Eye, the Watcher’s Gaze.

If the Chains of Purification passively protect the heart, the Watcher’s Gaze tracks down and eliminates anything that tries to attack it.

While the Saintess focuses on protecting the heart, I’ll locate and remove the ‘tumor.’

In the Anti-Talisman, the tumor is called the Amulet.

The Amulet is a being made of a mass of magical energy.

Which means a mage can manipulate and remove that lump.

The Saintess could burn it out with Sephiron, but that would cause too many problems. The Amulet is a tumor with a will of its own. Trying to neutralize it with Sephiron will cause a violent reaction. Worst case scenario, it’ll go wild and send his heart into shock.

“The defenses are all broken.”

“Let’s do it.”

I fully placed my hand on the major’s flesh. The major screamed, asking if I was crazy, and thrashed. Valkyrie quietly silenced him.

Focusing, I pressed near the heart and felt a faint mana. There was a particularly unstable spot. Holding my breath, I pressed deeply on that part.

“Hngh!”

A strange energy touched me. It felt lumpy, like touching a grape. When I broke my concentration for a moment, the presence vanished like a ghost. Meaning it wasn’t an organ or bone.

“How is it?”

“I found it.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they really buried it deep.”

What kind of lowlife does this?

“Can you get rid of it?”

“The mass is quite large. It seems like it’s been there for several years, at least. It will take some time to remove it.”

Mana manipulation is my specialty. Even so, the process I’m doing now makes me nervous in many ways. If my concentration falters even slightly, I could suffer internal injuries.

Stay calm. Don’t rush, just cut it away little by little.

“Ugh!”

The major started spitting blood. The Saintess said calmly.

“The intricacy of the forbidden technique is too strong. He’s showing an immediate rejection response.”

“Let’s get moving quickly, like this.”

“What if he gets worn out?”

“We have to at least make a dent before we stop. If we stop here, it’ll adapt.”

Some restraints adapt to the environment by taking in external information. Those kinds are much harder to deal with. Because a method that worked once won’t work again.

“Keuheueueuk.”

The Major turned her head. The amount of blood she was spitting out was beyond imagination. Thick blood, dripping down the stone bed, formed a small puddle.

“Starting a transfusion.”

Judging it was no good, the Saintess ordered Riyo. Transfusion kits were a flagship medical invention of the Magic Kingdom. Designed to allow even those without medical knowledge to easily share blood.

Riyo’s blood flowed into the Major. Around this time, I was also tracking and crushing the amulet. If the Major could just hold on, we should be able to heal her smoothly.

However, something unexpected happened.

“Everyone, over there!”

Valkyrie shouted urgently, pointing towards the forest. At the irregular footsteps, everyone turned their heads. Mushroom monsters, their entire bodies covered in spores, staggered towards us.

“Damn it……”

“Of all times, an attack now?”

We were about to be attacked by monsters when it wasn’t even night.

First the bees disappeared, and now mushrooms, it seemed. It looked like this island didn’t just have one type of monster.

“I’ll go.”

Valkyrie, who had been tightly restraining the Major, drew her sword and left. The Saintess couldn’t move because she had to maintain her divine power, and I couldn’t move because I had to remove the tumor. It wasn’t possible for Riyo to immediately remove the needle either.

I said to the Major, who was spitting up blood and writhing in pain.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’ll save you, no matter what.”

*

Just hold on a little longer. I’ll save you, no matter what.

No one had ever spoken to Adora like that before.

As payment for fixing her congenital heart defect, Adora had become a puppet. A curse was placed upon her: If she said “Help me,” “Save me,” or “Please, I want to stop,” her heart would explode and she would die.

At first, she thought she’d lost everything.

It’s okay now.

As long as she listened to the Führer, she could manage to live.

She’d been stripped of her free will, but it didn’t matter. She was steadily being promoted, and her magical skills had become outstanding. If she kept going like this, success was practically guaranteed.

Her conscience asked if this was alright, but her heart ached whenever she entertained such thoughts, so she ignored it.

But then.

These four idiots shipwrecked on a deserted island said they would cure her and promptly tied her to a stone bed.

“Haa, haa, haa!”

Thanks to them, she was going through hell.

Her heart was under attack as payment for them trying to extract the mana tumor. Her circulatory system felt like it was about to burst and fly apart. Her entire body screamed for her to be saved.

She felt like she was going to die.

Adora was actually dying.

She writhed in agony as her chest felt like it was about to explode. She didn’t even know what was happening around her.

But still, it’s okay.

She could survive.

Everything that was difficult until now, it would all disappear if she just endured this one time. So, have hope.

Erich Rohnstein whispered. He encouraged Adora while simultaneously attempting to manipulate mana at the picometer level.

Impossible.

Adora was a mage. She knew exactly how difficult it was to manipulate mana with such precision. You’d have to be at least a Special Grade, if not better.

And on top of that, the Saint’s Sefirot were mixed in. Manipulating mana when Sefirot or Ekirel were involved was exponentially harder. Adora was sure of it. Haeju’s success rate hovered around zero.

In other words, it was a pathetic effort.

“Hnnn, urghhh.”

Looks like I’m gonna die like this.

Seriously, why’d these idiots try to show mercy beyond their capabilities and create this mess? Are they all stupid? Would they have gotten a rash if they’d just killed me during the interrogation? If they wanted to show mercy, they should have just shot me with a revolver.

Erich and Tiria were struggling just as much. And, in the middle of all this, Rachel was off on her own, fighting off a scout troop of mushroom monsters.

“Tch.”

The mushroom monsters were tough. Rachel wasn’t fully used to Jin’s movements yet. The sword was designed for mages, so it was difficult to adjust the output with Sefirot.

She was managing to swing it somehow, but even taking down a single monster took several times the effort than usual.

Adora spat out a mouthful of blood and muttered in self-deprecation.

“You b*stards. I’m gonna die because of you. Haa, haa, well, whatever, just ditch me and go save that b*tch instead….”

“Done, smashed it.”

“…Huh?”

From noble mtl dot com

Adora stopped coughing up blood.

Her heart, which had been pushed to its limit, was suddenly feeling refreshed.