The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

The next day, the Hero party set off as soon as the dawn sun rose.

The night watch was Tanya, Lishe, Valen, and then me. I was a little worried because Acella was weak in the morning, but she woke up on time and got dressed properly.

It was kind of impressive and strange to see her doing well by herself.

We lightly refurbished and set out. Normally, the warrior would also act as a porter, but this time I had an item box, which was quite convenient.

Not long after moving forward, Lishe unfolded the map.

“The gate we rode through belongs to Unit 5. Our current location is the southern forest of the Demon King Castle.”

“How did you make this map?”

“It was made using a special measuring method from the Former Country. Of course, we must respond to the surroundings as well.”

Lishe answered Valen.

“The Demon King Castle has a barrier, and if we’re detected while trying to invade, we’ll have to face powerful demons all the way up to the 20th floor. Evading is the best strategy.”

“We need to infiltrate.”

“To sneak in, we need the four scattered barrier stones. Sort of like a pass.”

The materials showed illustrations of four stones.

“One of them can be obtained in this forest. The plan is to acquire it immediately and then transfer through another unit’s gate to finish quickly.”

The strategy to assault Demon King Castle was all my suggestion. In fact, even in the original future, it didn’t take a week to conquer the Demon Realm.

I had previously shared this strategy with Lishe and Tanya, so they were well aware of its importance.

“We must complete the infiltration within at least a week, before the Demon King’s army notices we’re here.”

“Once it’s decided, let’s move. There’s no time to waste, so hurry up.”

Just as Acella was trying to step forward hastily, I blocked her path with my sheath.

“Why?”

“It’s a trap.”

Acella looked down at the vine, which was twisted in an unnatural shape.

If she followed the line to the end with her eyes, there was a giant carnivorous plant with its mouth wide open in the trees above.

I said to her, “Getting hasty won’t help.”

“…You’re right.”

“I’ve paid my debts from the fortress. This way. Follow me.”

Though it felt like it happened seven years ago, I remembered the route well since I had traversed it many times.

Of course, there was a bit of a time gap, so the terrain wasn’t exactly the same. I planned to respond to any changes on the spot.

I drew my sword and cut through the vines, making a path forward as I felt Acella following behind me.

‘They’re making all sorts of sounds yesterday.’

Once, Acella directly conveyed her feelings to me.

Hearing those countless confessions of love in front of me made me unconsciously smirk. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask.

‘Could Acella be intending to directly fight the Demon King for my sake?’

I never imagined that would be the case.

I couldn’t explain the details about the bad endings, so I think I joked about world peace once.

I never thought she would take that seriously and throw everything at the Moonlight Palace to jump into this dangerous front line.

‘Yet, thanks to that, one bad ending has been erased.’

The Demon King is by no means a trivial opponent. With Acella around, of course, the subjugation would be much easier.

‘My strategy might not work, and variables might arise if that happens.’

I began to worry about Acella, not as her attending physician, but purely as myself.

‘But for now…’

―――――――――――

No. 005: Demon King’s army victory 19% → 14%

No. 006: Archdemon descent 4% → 2%

…

No. 100: 9th level 50%

―――――――――――

Following what I’ve done so far, it seems best to act according to the given milestones.

‘Bad ending 100 times, 9th level.’

This is the ending that appears if you lose in the ultimate battle against the Demon King.

So far, no matter what I did, the probability of this ending had been fixed at 50%, with not a single fluctuation.

A win rate of fifty-fifty, I guess.

‘I can’t take off the mask until then.’

I didn’t know what kind of magic was at play, but Acella also had confidence in her actions.

Once her identity is discovered, she would immediately try to cast me out.

Even if I were to get scolded later on, I decided I would have to wear the mask until we subjugated the Demon King.

Still, I couldn’t help but think about wanting to talk to Acella as Lars Gothberg, not Faust.

Was there some way to do that?

“Look, I see it over there.”

Tanya stopped and pointed ahead. In the middle of the forest, demon black magicians were set around an altar.

“Is it a cult?”

“Are they using a barrier spell for the Demon King’s castle?”

The magic they were leaking from around the barrier stone spread out in various directions.

“I’ll ambush quietly.”

“I’ll assist.”

I handed a flask to Lishe. The shadows enveloped her body after she drank the potion. It was a [Thief’s Potion] that boosted agility and stealth.

“The girl will take care of the party.”

Acella poured her divine power onto the ground. Strength enhancement, resistance to curses, damage negation shield. All sorts of beneficial effects surrounded us.

Originally, it was difficult to cast even one spell, but since becoming a saint, the capacity had changed.

Impressive. I genuinely wanted to praise her vessel.

Lishe smiled confidently. Everyone prepared their weapons, and after she spread her hands, they began to fold one by one.

With her fists clenched, Lishe kicked off the ground, aiming for the backs of the black magicians, mixing in the wind.

Swish!

In an instant, Lishe ambushed a group and took them down.

“Leave the rest to me!”

Valen, moving faster than the eye can follow, loosed a barrage of arrows. The black magicians fell one by one without even realizing what was happening.

“Humans!”

“What are they doing here?!”

A counterattack came. Dark magic drew ominously, and curses rushed at us fiercely.

“Haeju.”

I activated the Amulet of the Dark Avatar I got from Hugo. In an instant, I seized control of the curses, suppressing and nullifying them.

The performance is decent.

I hadn’t tried it since the surgery, but it felt quite nice.

After swiftly subduing the black magicians, we walked towards the altar.

“I will cast the spell.”

“This is what creates the Demon King’s castle barrier, right? Won’t touching it get us detected?”

“We have a little time to spare. We can collect the other barrier stones inside and infiltrate the castle.”

Lishe answered Valen. Just as she said, she had accurately understood the strategy.

Boom!

After I poured residual black magic into the altar, the yellow stone that had been placed in the center was revealed.

“Wait a moment. Umm, according to the description…”

Lishe tilted her head as she looked at the densely written letters behind the map. Tanya pointed out the contents.

“It’s one of the four barrier stones. The time barrier stone. A peculiar phenomenon occurs to anyone who touches it.”

“What kind of peculiar phenomenon?”

“It stops time for everyone except the one who makes contact. It’s said that they can freely move for what feels like several days.”

“Is that true? Is it a trap? This sounds risky.”

“On the contrary, we can utilize this phenomenon.”

I said.

The time-stop phenomenon is a type of security system, but if used properly, it can help with our strategy.

“If one of us holds this barrier stone and moves within the stopped time, we can gather the other barrier stones.”

“Really! So, as soon as we grab that rock, another one will appear? What a good idea!”

“Yes. Considering the distance, one stone will be the limit. If the effect wears off midway and we get left behind, that could be dangerous.”

“Hmm… who will take on that role?”

“I’ll do it. I’ve got a bit of connection with the Demon Realm, so I’m familiar with the terrain. I’ll retrieve the closest darkness barrier stone.”

I stepped up. Given my repeated experiences with strategies, I felt confident.

“I understand. I’ll leave it to you, Faust.”

The other party members quickly agreed.

This operation can’t fail.

I took a light breath and grabbed the barrier stone.

Tap.

All party members except me froze in place.

The wind stopped. The rustle of leaves that had just been whirling around disappeared.

“Shall we get going, Mr. Faust.”

I heard a voice. It was Lishe. She placed the softly shining holy sword back into its sheath.

“I see you heard from Gothberg.”

“Yes. When I resonate with the holy sword, it keeps me immune to various negative effects from certain strange magic.”

“That’s right. The duration of the effect is uncertain. It will take at least a day to walk to the nearest place, so we should hurry.”

Lishe, who was resonating, wouldn’t be affected by various debuffs, especially time-related ones.

This is also the reason why Lishe is the only being who can defeat the Demon King.

Perhaps Charles crossing over time was also connected to this ability of the holy sword.

Just as I was about to step forward into the still world with Lishe,

“Wait.”

Another voice, other than ours, interrupted.

“Why can’t I move?”

It was Acella.

She was holding her wand, looking a little flustered, turning her head this way and that.

“Your Majesty.”

I was a bit taken aback too. Only the first person to touch the barrier stone and Lishe could move within the stopped time. Normally, they would have executed the operation together.

This was the first time for a situation like this.

After drawing a magic circle, Acella raised the corners of her mouth.

“I can use magic. This is great. The more people who can move, the better, right?”

“That’s true, but how…?”

“The wizard who made that barrier stone wouldn’t know time better than me. Come on, Faust. We need to gather not one but two!”

Acella cheerfully took light steps. Lishe and I exchanged glances, then followed behind her.

---