Chapter 249 – Rescuing the Hostages

I reminded everyone who was present.
“The humans inside have all had Charm cast on them. And so I want you to suppress them without harming them.”
“Understood.”
“While there is a good chance that they’re unconscious, it won’t hurt to keep your guard up.”
Goran said with a smile.

The True Ancestor had fled. That being said, I had taken most of his magic energy, and he should be close to death.
And so if it had been him who cast Charm, then it was definitely possible that they had fainted.

“But I don’t know if someone who is a True Ancestor would bother casting Charm on mere humans.”
Eric said. And he was right.
Not only Lords, but even Arch vampires could cast Charm.
And we had killed all of the Arch, Lords and High Lords that we had found.

“If it was someone else who had cast Charm, then the likelihood that they’re unconscious would be even greater.”
“In any case, we should go and see. Can I open it?”

Kathe had her hand on the door knob. It seemed like she was restless.
Of course, as she was a Sorcerer, she had already checked for any traps before saying this.
Grulf was also next to her and panting. And so I pulled Grulf back and said,
“Yes, open it.”
“Mmm!”

When Kathe opened the door, we saw that there was a room that was big enough to have a party inside.
And there were five humans lying on the floor.

“They are unconscious. So I guess that means the person who cast Charm really was defeated.”
“Yes, that is likely.”
I said while carefully casting Magic Exploration on each one of them.
If it had been because the True Ancestor had run out of magic energy, then I didn’t know what would happen after it was recovered.
And so I worked very cautiously.

“It seems like they’re fine. Charm has been deactivated completely.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I’ll start treating them at once.”

I left that to Shia, Serulis, Goran and Eric. In the meantime, Kathe, Grulf and I searched the room.
I didn’t find anything like magic tools.
The people who had fainted were all women. There were also five beds and a bathroom.
As long as you had food brought to you, you could live here without much problem.

“Ohh? Could it be!”
“Huh? What does this mean?”
Goran and Serulis both raised their voices in surprise.

“What is it?”
“…This is one of my apprentices.”
Goran muttered as he picked up one of the girls.

“What?”

Just as I asked him to explain,
–Dagaaaan!
There was a thunderous sound a short distance away from the building that we were currently in.

“What is it!?”
“What has happened!”
“Grrr! Groof!”
Serulis, Kathe, and Grulf were all frantic. However, they were also prepared to fight. It was quite impressive.

“It sounds like something crashed through a wall.”
“Mister Ruck, it’s incredible that you can stay calm! In other words, is it an ambush?”

Serulis asked as she unsheathed her sword and went into a low fighting stance. Shia also unsheathed her sword and Grulf crouched and his tail pointed up.
While it wasn’t confirmed to be an enemy ambush, they were right to be cautious.

“Should I return to my dragon form?”
“No. It should be fine for now. I don’t see any Evil Dragons. They are humans.”
Obviously, I was continuing to use Magic Exploration and Magic Detection.
The people who had broken the wall in order to get through were a group of about thirty humans. And they were moving with wonderful, synchronized movements.

“Ruck. What do you think?”

Eric was very calm. However, he still took out his hood and put it on.
Considering that we were in a different country, he likely did not want to be recognized.

“It’s probably an anti-vampire unit… Should I cast some Disguise magic?”
“Yes, that would help. Though normally, I would refuse, as they might see through it.”

If they realized that you were using magic to disguise yourself, then they would become even more suspicious.
And so if there was a possibility that you would get caught, then it was better not to use magic to disguise yourself at all.

“Well, unless something very unexpected happens, they won’t be able to see through it. Also, I’ll remind you just in case, but don’t resist it, alright?”
“I know.”

Eric was a hero, and so his resistance against magic was very high.
And so it would be backbreaking work if I had to cast magic on him by force.
But if he didn’t resist, then casting Disguise magic wouldn’t be too hard.

Serulis looked very surprised as she watched.
“Amazing. You don’t look like yourself at all. It’s like an illusion.”
“It’s a little different from an illusion. Well, perhaps the principles are similar.”

Illusion magic allows you to trick all of the senses of those around you, including smell, sound and magic.
Disguise magic was just magic that changed your appearance, such as facial features and hair. It did not change things like height or voice.
However, it was similar in that it affected the senses of others. You could say that Disguise magic was like a lower type of Illusion magic.

Even as I explained such things, the invaders continued their march towards us.

“In any case, since we don’t know if they are friends or foe, I will deal with them.”
“Aye, we’ll leave it to you. Ruck is the best when it comes to nullifying an enemy’s power. We’ll take care of the hostages.”
Goran had not unsheathed his sword, and was still folding his arms. He really did mean to leave everything to me.

“There is a sorcerer with them too.”
“Yes, there is.”

Now, the invaders were lining up in front of the door.
—Daaan!
And just like that, there was an explosive sound, and the door was torn down.