The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 200

When we climbed up, it was indeed a kitchen.

The floor was tiled, and the thing I moved aside was apparently one of the tiles.

As soon as we finished climbing, Merell also came up.

“AI-chan, any search results?”

“No response.”

As expected…

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?”

Merell asked.

“The lack of response from AI-chan’s search means there’s no one within 30 meters. Also, with my detection, I can’t feel any magical power. Demons have high magical power, so even indoors, I should be able to sense something.”

“What’s the range of your detection?”

“About 500 meters.”

To be exact, it’s 550 meters.

“500… A monster… No, wait, you can’t feel anything at all?”

“No. Do you have any magical items like that?”

“We do, but they’re not something that’s commonly circulated.”

So not every soldier would have one…

“Do you think they headed to where Big Spider-chan and Big Centipede-chan are?”

“I think so. But not all of them…”

Normally, you’d leave someone behind.

Since this is their base.

“So it’s a trap…”

“It seems so… But this is within expectations. We know the enemy expects us to infiltrate.”

Yeah.

“We can’t retreat now. Leanne, I’m counting on you.”

“I understand.”

This means that if things go south, we’ll escape using teleportation.

We’re deep in enemy territory, and sometimes one small hesitation can turn into a fatal mistake.

“Leanne, your priority should be your safety and Master. Merell doesn’t matter, and I can revive as many times as needed, so leave me behind if it comes to that.”

“Understood.”

Leanne nodded.

“Alright, let’s go. Merell, what’s the plan?”

“First, let’s go to where our captured comrades are.”

Our comrades, huh…

“Got it. Lead the way.”

Merell left the kitchen, so we followed, walking cautiously down the hallway.

However, there wasn’t a soul in sight, and I couldn’t feel any magical energy.

Since AI-chan hasn’t said anything, it’s likely there’s no response in the search either.

“Merell, about that…”

“I know. I understand, but we have to confirm it.”

It seemed like Merell understood what I was trying to say, but she shook her head.

Then, she stopped in front of a certain room.

“This is it.”

“I see.”

I nodded and gently placed my hand on Leanne’s head.

Leanne, sensing what I meant, buried her face in my shoulder.

“I’ll open it.”

Merell said, and then she opened the door.

It seemed that the door wasn’t locked and opened easily.

Immediately after, the smell of blood hit my nose.

I hadn’t sensed any magical energy for quite a while.

What this meant was that there were no soldiers here, and…

“Was it a failure… and…”

The room contained chairs and equipment I hadn’t seen before, and I had a vague feeling that it was some sort of torture chamber.

Then, in the center of the room, several severed heads were lined up, and in the corner of the room, bodies without heads were piled up on top of each other.

“Beheadings, huh…”

“I think so. They probably did this knowing we would come here.”

“Did they get any information?”

They must have kept them alive for that purpose.

“No… They’ve sealed off the town, so they probably thought they could handle it. Their military strength is different from ours anyway.”

They must have judged it as insignificant…

“Should we take the heads?”

“No, the demons don’t have a culture of mourning the dead. If they’re dead, it can’t be helped. Let’s move on to the next objective.”

As soon as Merell said that, I felt magical energy.

“Master! Multiple hostile reactions! From that pile of bodies… Huh?”

AI-chan told me, but then seemed to get distracted.

Because, the pile of bodies started moving.

“That’s… Zombies?”

The pile of bodies that had been still suddenly began to rise, and one by one, headless corpses stood up.

“Monsters?”

“No, those are definitely comrades… However…”

“Merell, either way, they’re enemies. What should we do?”

I pointed at the rising corpses.

The reason being, AI-chan had marked them as enemies, and they were slowly moving toward us.

They were definitely going to attack.

“Tch! I’m sorry, but please handle it.”

Since Merell asked, I focused spiritual energy into my fingertip.

“Foxfire!”

The flames I released burned the approaching corpses.

I kept the fire controlled, continuing to burn them down one by one.

After burning the last one, I lowered my arm.

“Just small fry. They’re not here to kill us.”

I was surprised, but their movements were slow, and there was no sign they were casting any magic.

“It’s probably just to harass us. Some men like doing things like this to make an example of others.”

What a nasty personality…

“You guys sure are willing to serve someone like that.”

“I don’t really care about the higher-ups. As long as the pay’s good, I’m fine. And if it’s not worth it, I’ll quit.”

Merell stared at me intently.

“Is this job worth it?”

“It’s a huge deficit. However, they’ve already marked me as an enemy, and I can’t back down now. I can’t keep causing trouble for Sven-sama, and I can’t leave such a dangerous man unchecked.”

I agree with that.

“Then, shall we go?”

“Yes. We have to find Volker… Maybe he’s at the port?”

I thought the same thing at first.

“No, he’s upstairs.”

“Huh?”

“Right after the bodies moved, I sensed magical energy from above. It’s probably Volker.”

A provocation.

I’m not sure if he used magic to move the bodies, but it doesn’t matter. He’s telling us to come up.

However, something feels off.

What could it be?