Chapter 207: Missing Leon

"It's screwed up... even for a man like me, this is pathetic."

I move the debris off of my body.

Leon's advanced magic has caused a storm of destruction around the entrance to the dungeon.

I tried to counteract it by shooting dark magic as soon as I could, but... I didn't have enough time to hold it.

The magic that I had released with insufficient chanting could not cancel Leon's blow, and could only kill the momentum slightly.

"Hey, you guys! Are you alive!?"

"No problem. Looks like you're all right, my Lord."

"Zenon-sama! Are you all right!?"

Soon the voices of Nagisa and Aeris come back to me.

Nagisa was buried in the debris as I was, but she did not seem to be injured. She was brushing off dust and sand from her clothes.

Aeris is protecting herself with a white barrier using barrier techniques. Behind Aeris is Monica, who is being held by Urza. She too seems unharmed by the barrier.

"That's great... you protected them both with the barrier as soon as you could."

"This is my job... but I was only able to protect the two of them."

There must have been many people here, adventurers exploring the dungeon, workers clearing away the debris, and so on.

"Ugh..."

"Somebody, please help me..."

People buried in the debris are crying out in anguish for help.

There are no dead people within sight, but perhaps some of them are dead as well.

"Zenon-sama..."

"...I know. We will help them."

I nod to Aeris, and we set out to rescue the wounded.

I'm also concerned that Ciel and Melia are nowhere to be seen. Are they buried in the debris?

"He's done a terrible thing... That Leon."

When I looked up above me, Leon was nowhere to be seen.

He must have flown away with his wings, which he had gained after becoming a monster.

Leon Brave, who had professed to be a hero who would "protect all people," had committed such an indiscriminate attack... Does he no longer have any human reason left in him?

"Then, I guess I'll have to settle this myself..."

If Leon can't be human again I'll have to kill him.

That is the last mercy I can show Leon.

* * *

It took several hours to clear away the debris and rescue the buried adventurers.

There were many injured... but miraculously, no one died.

Ciel and the others were soon found. They were indeed the companions of the heroes, and they had somehow managed to defend themselves against the magic that Leon had cast on them, and they had not suffered any noticeable injuries.

Rather, the psychological damage of seeing Leon who had turned into a monster was more serious.

Leon's childhood friend Ciel, for example, collapsed due to the shock, and is now being taken to a treatment center where Aeris is accompanying her.

Now, since Leon was transformed into a monster, his whereabouts are unknown.

He may not be in immediate danger, since the soldiers on the walls saw him flying away from the city... but thanks to this, he is now completely missing.

Nagisa is searching around the town with Urza and the adventurers, but there are no reports of him being found.

As for me, I'm visiting the Duke Alterio's mansion with Monica.

After all. an unidentified monster appeared in the town and unleashed a powerful attack magic. I couldn't help but report this to the city's lord.

When I told her the whole story in the parlor, the duke or the duchess, Chrisrossa Alterio, nodded her head with a difficult face.

"So... such a thing has happened."

The duchess, who had just taken over the reigns of the family, had dark wrinkles on her forehead, ruining the beauty of her appearance.

It is understandable, though.

The scars from the monster attack have not healed yet, and she has a new problem to deal with. She must be in a mood to curse her fate.

"How is it possible for a human to be turned into a monster? And for a descendant of a hero to be turned into one... it's like a nightmare, isn't it?"

"Yes. But... this is not a dream but reality. And as long as it's real, we have to face it."

"So such is the duty of a man in charge. I feel like hating my father who died too young to take over the reigns of the family."

Chrisrossa sighed deeply and shook her head.

"But... I don't understand. Why did the general of the demon king's army turn Leon Brave into a monster? If he wanted to bury the hero, he should have just killed him. There's no point in taking him to the bottom of the dungeon and turning him into a monster."

"......"

As I listened, Monica sat next to me, biting her lip and looking down.

Considering what had happened, it was admirable enough not to start crying.

"Of course, he must have had an agenda... maybe he was going to turn him into a monster and use him as a pawn instead of killing him..."

I say what I think, but secretly I think this guess is wrong.

The other day, Leon didn't seem to have any sense of reason. Even if it was the Demon King, it would be difficult to make him a subordinate.

Nevertheless... the man who was once a hero has become a monster. If Leon were to go on a rampage now, he would be a great nuisance to us.

There was a possibility that that demon side had turned Leon into a monster as a random terrorist attack just to destroy the human camp.

"Marquis Baskerville. Is there a way to restore back a human who became a monster? I've never heard of it."

"Neither have I. It's unusual for a human to turn into a monster. I don't know how to deal with it."

There was no such event in the game, and there is no such information in my knowledge of 'Zenon Baskerville'.

In other words... my experience as a player is of no use at all in helping Leon.

"However... I can't just give up on Leon so easily. He is a hero. He's one of the few who can stop the Demon King. When we get back to the capital, we'll see if there's any way we can rescue him."

"Zenon-oniisan..."

Monica looks at me with clinging eyes.

I knew that Monica could be used as a substitute for the missing hero... but it would be bad for my sleep to abandon Leon.

I wanted to do what I could for Monica.

"I see. Then, Marquis Baskerville. You should visit the great library in the capital..."

Chrisrossa mentioned the name of a certain facility as if she remembered.

"They say that there are ancient books there, even those written before the founding of the Slayers Kingdom. You might even be able to find a way to save Leon Brave from being turned into a monster."

"The Great library, huh... Well, surely, there is a possibility that there are clues to be found there."

The 'Great Library', the largest library in the country, is filled with ancient grimoires and records of monsters, and is a place where players often come to seek knowledge when they have problems in the game.

There is also a 'true librarian' in the Great Library, a great sage who has been alive for more than 500 years. This person knows all kinds of things and teaches and guides the main character Leon.

"But you needed the king's permission to enter there. Even I, a duke, can't easily enter there."

"I hope it won't be too much trouble if I have to meet the king first..."

In the game, I remember that I had to do a tricky quest to get into the Great Library.

I failed many times and had to reset repeatedly to finally conquer it.

"...Slayer Kingdom is the land where legendary heroes were once born. It is a sacred land for warriors and adventurers with many dungeons. And the king who governs it is quite crazy. I dare say he's a bit of an unreasonable man."

Although the king was rarely mentioned in the game, he often forced his problems on the main character through his subordinates and subjects.

In a situation where the Demon King is about to be resurrected and the world is about to be destroyed, he would force the main character to deal with problems that have nothing to do with defeating the Demon King, so I can only think that he is crazy.

Even if I had asked for the permission to enter the great library, I did not think that he would have so easily agreed to my request.

"Either the demon will come out or the snake will come out. One crisis after another, huh...? My life has been like this lately."

Is it bad that I possessed Zenon Baskerville?

Before that, is it a problem that I came to the world of the game [DunBrave]?

With a sigh of annoyance, I think of a way to make a request to the king.