What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally? - Chapter 72 - Enemy Contact, and Magical Interference

The men stepped into the deepest part of the treasure vault. Because according to their information, the treasure they wanted was probably placed there.

However, there was nothing on the pedestal where something had originally been placed.

Only the pedestal sat there alone.

“Wh-what’s going on!? Where’s the black crystal…”

“That pedestal looks unnatural with nothing on it. It was probably originally placed there, wasn’t it? That black crystal thing.”

“Then where did it go!?”

“How would Miki know!? Someone must have taken it away~”

“Damn! Who the hell…”

The gorilla-faced man clicked his tongue while stomping the ground.

The sturdy treasure vault floor cracked slightly.

“Hmm~, if the thing we want isn’t here, shouldn’t we escape quickly? If we waste time, soldiers will come~?”

Jack advised with a bored expression.

The gorilla-faced man, still irritated, glared at Jack before sighing.

“…Sigh. Can’t be helped. Change of plans. We’ll rampage on our own. Let’s put aside taking Iris’s head for now and just cause damage to the Kingdom.”

“Roger.”

“Okay~”

“I have something else to do though~”

Everyone except Jack nodded.

Only Jack, who was unrelated, was simply thinking about revenge against Yugram.

Then the person in question arrived.

“—I have the thing you guys are after.”

▼△▼

“!?”

The five thieves who had snuck into the treasure vault all turned toward me at once.

“Y-you bastard…!”

“Hey there, suspicious gentlemen. Can you still play the clown?”

“Why the hell do you have that!? Don’t tell me you intentionally hid it!?”

“That’s exactly right. I had a feeling this was what you wanted.”

I took out the black crystal from my extradimensional storage bag.

The moment they saw it, their expressions changed.

I could feel their killing intent intensely.

“Oh boy… you guys look ready to go.”

I put the crystal back in the bag.

“If you want that crystal so badly, try killing me and taking it. If you can.”

“Kuhihi. That role is mine, boy.”

Jack stepped forward.

He drew his knives with his companions behind him.

“You’re my opponent? That’s a funny joke.”

“It’s no joke. I’m working with them to kill you.”

“For money, right?”

“At first, yes. But now I can only see you.”

“I would have preferred to hear those words from the girl behind you.”

I wouldn’t be happy hearing it from an old man.

“Hehehe. Amusing brat. I’ll definitely strip away that composure of yours.”

Jack readied his knives and kicked off the ground.

In an instant, he got behind me.

I didn’t even turn around.

Jack swung his knife.

Jack’s knife was blocked by a magical barrier before it could hit my body.

You saw this before, so why do something so futile?

“As expected, I can’t break through the magical barrier… magnificent mana.”

Jack immediately backed away.

He laughed while spinning his knives.

“What’s so funny? You’re weaker than me.”

“Hehehe. That’s still unclear, isn’t it? The one standing at the end is the strongest. That’s all, right?”

“True enough.”

“Hey, wait, Jack.”

“Hm? What is it? Hurry up and run away with your tail between your legs. You have other things to do, don’t you?”

“We can’t do that.”

The gorilla-faced man took up an axe.

The others also readied their respective weapons.

“…What do you mean? If you interfere with me, I’ll kill you too.”

“Don’t misunderstand. We have business with the bag that guy has. If we can get that, we have no complaints. So let’s cooperate here and defeat him.”

“Tch. Such a perfect opportunity… well, fine. It’s enough if I can make him suffer.”

“Five against one. Can you even buy some time?”

“Hah. That smart mouth ends here. Get on with it, Jack.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

Urged by the gorilla-faced man, Jack took out a small rod-shaped tool from his pocket.

He activated it.

Immediately after:

“—!? This is… my mana…”

My mana manipulation was affected.

I couldn’t properly manipulate mana.

“Hehehe. How about that? This is an artifact that disrupts surrounding mana. You’re probably troubled by not being able to use magic properly.”

“An artifact that disrupts mana? If you use something like that, you guys won’t get off easy either.”

“Don’t worry. This artifact can select targets in a narrow range. It’s convenient at times like this.”

“I see.”

So currently, I was the only one who couldn’t use mana.

The magical barrier had also disappeared.

Reconstructing it again would be impossible… couldn’t be helped.

“Then there’s only one thing to do. I can still fight if I have a sword. Right?”

“I wonder how long you can last against mana?”

Jack stepped into close range.

He quickly swung his knife, trying to carve up my body.

I skillfully blocked it with my sword.

Then the gorilla-faced big man appeared from behind, raising his axe.

A vicious strike fell toward my head—