Chapter 288: Misogi-senpai the Human Tool!
"Wait! You can't do this!"
"Waaah, s-stop! Hurry and stop!"
Splurt—!
Misogi Utakata, who had been thrown forward, was instantly cut into pieces by several vacuum slashes, then revived beside Touka, Stella, and Ikki.
Then he was grabbed and thrown over again.
Of course, before doing this, they had first carefully tested Utakata's ability and confirmed that it could take effect. Only then did they feel relieved enough to proceed.
However, Misogi-senpai, who had been treated as a human tool, was clearly not in a very beautiful mood.
"Waaah, Touka, save me!"
Splurt—!
Touka looked away somewhat awkwardly.
"I-Ikki-kun! You definitely won't just watch me die, right?!"
Splurt—!
Ikki scratched his head awkwardly and also looked away.
"Princess! The princess must be kind! Hurry and stop those other two demons!"
Splurt—!
Stella touched the spot where her hair had been cut off at first. After hesitating for a moment, she silently looked away.
"Y-you people… this is too much… too…"
Splurt—!
Just like that, thanks to Misogi-senpai's great sacrifice, Stella and the others gradually arrived at the central area of the battlefield.
"…If I remember correctly, the area Luke was responsible for investigating… sh-should have been a mountain region, right?"
Ikki looked at the battlefield, which was now flat ground in every direction, and spoke with some conflict.
"Uh… in my memory, that should be right…"
Touka was also somewhat conflicted.
It was not only the two of them. Stella and Misogi-senpai, the human tool, were also staring at the surrounding environment in surprise.
The deeper they went, the more the terrain looked tragic, like a ruin.
This area, which should originally have been a mountain region, no longer showed even the slightest trace of its former appearance.
"Just what kind of person did Luke fight…"
"A rather powerful swordsman."
"Eh?! Luke?!"
Just as they were moving forward while observing their surroundings, a familiar voice came from behind some broken stones not far away.
"You're okay!"
"That's great. To be honest, when I saw how terrible the battlefield looked, I thought you had… uh??"
After successfully finding the boy and discovering that he was safe, Stella immediately jogged around the stone.
However, the moment she saw him, the words in her mouth immediately stopped.
At the same time, Touka, Ikki, and Misogi Utakata also walked over.
What appeared before their eyes was a strange scene.
Luke's injuries could indeed be described as "miserable."
The two huge wounds crossing over his chest, along with the dense small wounds all over his body, made it unbelievable to anyone else that he was still alive right now.
The problem was that, despite suffering such severe injuries, Luke's behavior did not show any discomfort at all.
With a sun umbrella above him and a cushion beneath him, he was comfortably leaning against a rock. From time to time, he even picked up some food from the small low table beside him and put it into his mouth.
No matter how one looked at it, he did not look like someone on the verge of death.
A retort got stuck in their throats, unable to come out. Stella and the other three just stood there blankly, staring at the strange scene in a daze.
"Hmm? What's wrong with you all? Do you want to sit down and eat something together?"
"I just finished fighting not long ago and used up a lot of stamina, so this is the perfect time to replenish it."
"Besides, with the rain this heavy, it isn't convenient to go down the mountain anyway."
Luke did not think too much about it. He casually took out a few cushions and spread them on the ground, signaling Stella and the others to sit down together.
The crimson-haired princess first looked at Luke, then looked at the cushions. After that, she turned to Touka and the others beside her and asked in a complicated tone.
"Should I actually be worried about his injuries or not?"
…
In the end, they still listened to Luke and sat down together.
First they had fought, then rushed here without stopping, and then braved the rain to pass through the sword traps left behind from Luke and Edelweiss's battle.
Stella and the others really were tired too.
"By the way, are those injuries all over you really fine?"
"If it were an ordinary person, they would have died long ago, right? And you're not even bandaging them a little…"
"No matter how strong your body is, you can't treat yourself like this."
While eating snacks, Stella complained to the boy.
After all, his injuries really looked far too frightening.
Touka, who was beside her, also nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! Stella-san is right!"
"Luke-kun, you are being far too careless with yourself."
"It would be one thing if there were no treatment available, but the medical kit is right there beside you, isn't it?"
"If you do not know how to use it yourself, I can help you. I have specially studied first aid methods."
Seeing the two girls eating while criticizing him, Luke helplessly rubbed his forehead.
He understood his own body better than anyone. During the time he had spent talking with Edelweiss after applying medicine, his injuries had already started recovering.
By now, they basically only looked frightening.
They did not affect him as much as the weakness caused by the complete depletion of the energy inside his body.
After silently sighing in his heart, Luke decided not to dwell on this issue for too long and decisively changed the topic.
"How did you get in?"
"The outside should be filled with residual sword energy and sword intent. There should even be many vacuum slashes left behind by her."
"This might sound a little rude, but with your strength, you should not have been able to reach me without taking damage."
Actually, when Edelweiss left, Luke had also planned to leave.
However, the completely exhausted him was forced back after only taking a few steps.
His own sword energy and sword intent were still manageable, but Luke had no way to deal with Edelweiss's traces.
Without energy to support him, relying only on his body to pass through the marks left behind by "Twin-Wings" Edelweiss would be no different from seeking death.
Even if they were only aftershocks or remnants from the battle, they were absolutely not something the current Luke could withstand.
That was why he had honestly stayed here, recovering his Prana and magic power while waiting for the rain to stop.
Who knew that after a short while, "reinforcements" would arrive?
"The residual traces outside probably won't disappear in a short time. Did you use some special method to get in?"
Luke was a little curious and also a little expectant.
After all, staying in the wild was not exactly comfortable. Since his physical condition had fallen to rock bottom, he naturally hoped to return to his room and rest as soon as possible.
However, what surprised Luke a little was that after hearing his question, Touka, Stella, and Ikki all subconsciously glanced at Misogi Utakata first, then hurriedly looked away.
As for Misogi Utakata, who had originally been happily eating dessert, his face suddenly turned gloomy as he collapsed onto the table and pretended to be dead.