Chapter 5 Contract Crusade Part 3
The ability to materialize a person's desires—<Idea>.
Because of its nature, no matter how skilled an adventurer is, they could only wield one type of ability.
That was the law of the world, and everyone believed it to be true.
Even Kanami Sayu, a self-proclaimed genius adventurer, was no exception.
And because of that, she had focused entirely on honing the flame ability that had been granted to her.
The firepower capable of evaporating iron wasn't something that could be created overnight.
However──.
"What is this...!!"
Fire, water, wind, earth...
The celestial being unleashed a variety of attacks from both hands, one after another.
Seeing such an abnormal sight, her sense of common sense was on the verge of collapsing.
──〇●〇──
"Wind Shot! Flame Shot! Water Shot!"
Femdus, who had turned parts of its body into bats, launched an attack.
I, too, countered with a barrage of offensive magic, repelling those red mist-like attacks.
The number of bats seemed endless, but gradually, their numbers began to dwindle.
"Shadow Shot! Holy Shot! Dimension Cut!"
From the five main elements to light and darkness, and even special attributes.
It was a grand display of power, as if I had been waiting for this moment.
At this point, I had already resolved to show Kanami-san my true power.
There was no need to hold back.
As I continued to unleash magic without stopping, Femdus' expression began to worsen.
"Impossible!? How many abilities can you use!?"
"I told you, right? Over a thousand."
"That's insane! It can't be true!"
The composure Femdus had earlier vanished, and its tone grew more aggressive.
It seemed that, indeed, its stock of minions was running low.
By the way, even though Femdus doesn't believe it, I can actually use over a thousand types of magic.
I didn't count them precisely, but in reality, I probably have access to even more.
For a magician, the number of spells is directly tied to their power.
The more cards you have to play in an emergency, the better.
In my past life in Venolind, it was common for top-tier magicians to be able to use hundreds of types of magic.
Well, even by that standard, I'm still on the higher end.
"Shall we wrap this up? To be honest, your durability is really low compared to your abilities, isn't it?"
"Ugh! That's not true...!"
"You've got a cut on your neck. A normal vampire wouldn't get injured from that."
A small rock, sent flying by the aftershock of my magic, had cut into Femdus' skin, and a tiny bit of blood was flowing from it.
For a vampire of a relatively high rank to be injured by something like that is normally unthinkable.
Even if they were wounded, they should heal instantly, leaving no scars.
Considering that, it seems natural to assume that the trade-off for gaining the ability to make the same technique ineffective twice is having low durability.
"You've got a good sense! But it won't be that easy to defeat me!"
With that shout, Femdus' body turned into bats and dispersed.
The swarm of bats, resembling a red storm, tried to fly away with great speed.
For a vampire of high rank, it was pretty cowardly behavior!
"No matter how skilled you are, you can't catch me now!"
"Don't underestimate me. Divine Wall!!"
"Ugh!?"
As the swarm of bats, flying in all directions and attempting to escape from me, tried to flee, a translucent wall of light suddenly appeared in their path.
──The advanced light magic, Divine Wall.
Although the time was limited, the barrier that could even block the intrusion of large monsters was more than enough to stop the bats.
The swarm of bats, easily rebuffed by the wall, lost its direction and began to swirl around in the cavern.
"Dammit... You can use a barrier too...!"
"Gravity Ball!!"
I shot a black, ball-shaped mass of magical energy into the center of the swirling bats.
──Earth's intermediate magic, Gravity Ball.
The magic generated a powerful gravitational force through earth magic, pulling in everything in its vicinity.
Being an intermediate-level spell, its pulling force wasn't incredibly strong, but it was devastatingly effective against small monsters like bats.
It was as if a vacuum cleaner was sucking in dust.
As the bats became immobilized, I fired successive offensive spells at them.
"<Shining Rain>! <Chaos Eater>! <Soul Flame>!"
"Ughhh...!!"
A storm of magic, fired like a machine gun, was unleashed using the abundant magical energy in the dungeon.
It put a strain on my body, but as long as I was using outer magic, there was little concern about running out of mana.
In response, it seemed Femdus decided that remaining in bat form wasn't going to work.
The swarm gathered together, and Femdus' body was rapidly reconstructed in an instant.
"If it's come to this, I'll crush you!"
With a twisted expression of rage, Femdus charged toward me at full speed.
Its wings folded and cutting through the wind, it came at me like a bullet.
However, it was actually advantageous for me that the main body was charging in this way.
"You've fallen for it! This is the end!"
I drew a mithril knife and concentrated the surrounding magic into its blade.
The vast amount of magical energy gathered in one spot, causing the entire knife to glow with a brilliant white light.
It was as if the light of the sun had been condensed into the blade.
I slashed it in a cross shape toward the oncoming Femdus.
"<Holy Cross>!"
"Ughhh...!!!"
Unable to withstand the overwhelming magical power, the mithril knife shattered.
At the same time, a burst of white light engulfed Femdus' body.
Explosion, flash of light.
The searing light made me instinctively cover my eyes.
"...Phew, it's over."
A few dozen seconds later, I muttered as I looked down at what was left of Femdus.
──The highest-level light magic, Holy Cross.
Its power, amplified further by outer magic, sent Femdus' body flying with a single blow.
Originally, it was a spell strong enough to take down even a vampire of noble rank.
With Femdus' inferior durability, it seems there was no chance of survival.
Actually, it probably could have been a bit weaker.
Well, it was fine since I had the secondary goal of destroying the mithril knife.
"Now, then..."
With Femdus dealt with, I quickly returned to Itsuki-senpai and Naya-san, who had both collapsed.
I leaned in to check their breathing, placing my ear near their mouths.
...They're still unconscious, but at least their condition seems stable for now.
I immediately placed my hand on their chests and cast healing magic.
A soft light enveloped their bodies, and their pained expressions gradually became more peaceful.
"Now we can rest easy."
"That's amazing..."
Kanami-san murmured, dazed, as she looked at my back.
Blowing Femdus away with a single strike was apparently a shockingly dramatic sight.
However, as expected from someone entrusted with the role of leader, Kanami-san took a deep breath and regained some composure.
"Um, you're Sakuragaku-kun, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...First, thank you. If you hadn't been here, I would definitely have been killed."
With those words, Kanami-san bowed deeply.
...I had thought she was someone who wasn't very straightforward, but she was reliable in moments like this.
I couldn't help but revise my impression of Kanami-san just a little.
"I'll make sure to properly thank you later. But for now..."
"You want to know about my abilities, right?"
"Yes, honestly, it's abnormal. What was that?"
Her demeanor shifted completely from one of exhaustion to the usual strength and assertiveness.
Ah, well, I guess this was bound to happen.
I had gotten a bit carried away and used magic a little too flamboyantly.
Despite the pressure from Kanami-san's relentless questioning, I could understand her curiosity, so I couldn't bring myself to reject her too forcefully.
If the roles were reversed, I'd definitely want to know too.
In my past life, when I was called a sage, I might have even tried to force the answer out if I had to.
"Could it be considered a corporate secret?"
"Well, it's pretty common for adventurers with Idea not to disclose it..."
"True. So, how about this: my not investigating you will be my way of thanking you?"
"...If you put it that way, I really can't say anything, can I?"
With a thoroughly displeased expression, Kanami-san slowly backed off.
It seems like the immediate crisis had been avoided.
All things considered, I'm glad she knows how to be polite.
"I understand that you really want to keep that ability hidden. But in that case, how am I supposed to explain how we defeated the labyrinth master to the higher-ups...?"
"Can we say that Kanami-san defeated it?"
"...We could, but are you sure? If you claim to have defeated a humanoid labyrinth master, you'd gain a lot of fame. You might even get a reward."
"I'm not really interested in that kind of thing."
I don't think gaining fame is inherently bad, of course.
But there's also the concept of a "fame tax."
In my past life, I faced many troubles because I became well-known as a sage.
Strangers would show up claiming to be relatives and ask to borrow money, and poorly made magic potions with my name on them would be sold everywhere...
Considering that even in my past life, where there were no secrets, fame brought those kinds of risks, becoming famous in this life, where there are secrets, would be way too dangerous.
"...You're a rare type for an adventurer."
"Is that so? I think there are quite a few people who don't want to stand out."
"The Idea ability, which is essential for adventurers, is said to be a power that materializes human desires. People who have such strong desires to manifest them are usually pretty headstrong and love the spotlight."
Now that I think about it, it does seem like adventurers tend to have strong personalities...
Kanami-san right in front of me definitely fits the "headstrong and attention-seeking" type.
Even Naya-san, though quiet, has a pretty stubborn side to her.
It's just a hypothesis, but it feels like it could be a convincing explanation.
"...Anyway, I just want to live a peaceful life. In this day and age, if people find out I have some strange power, I can already see how troublesome it would become."
"...Understood. You saved me, so I'll help you cover it up."
"That helps a lot!"
Just as I bowed my head in gratitude, the walls and floor of the cave suddenly started to glow faintly.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, I immediately tensed up.
"What's going on...!? Could something else be coming...!?"
"No. Maybe... is this your first time exploring a dungeon?"
"Yeah, well. Until now, I've only been diving into managed dungeons."
A managed dungeon refers to a dungeon that is intentionally left unchallenged and is under human management.
Since I had only ever been to such dungeons, this was the first time I was witnessing an actual dungeon being cleared.
I had heard that dungeons that were successfully cleared would disappear, but is this one of those...?
The sight of the walls and floors returning to particles of light was both divine and, at the same time, a little terrifying.
Kanami-san didn't seem to feel anything in particular, but around us, vast amounts of magical energy were thrumming.
It seemed like the materials that made up the dungeon were being converted back into magic.
"It's about to happen."
"About to happen?"
The moment I asked, my vision was engulfed by an intense light.
Then, I felt that distinct sensation of floating, like when we first entered the dungeon.
In an instant, it was gone, and I found myself gazing at the distant blue sky.
"...Is this the base we were at earlier?"
"We managed to make it back."
Thus, our joint subjugation came to an end—though it wasn't exactly without its troubles, we somehow managed to wrap it up.
——.