Ridding the waves, I rushed into the iron ant fortress. It was much bigger inside and when I entered, there was no more sand.
I needed sand for my magic, so I decided to bring in some sand that had drifted in with me. It's a form of magic called 'Sand Sphere', and I'm manipulating the sand into a sphere.
We entered the iron ant fortress, but there were still many iron ant soldiers waiting for us. A large number of iron ant soldiers with spears are coming at me.
„Arii! Arii!"
„'Sand Binding'!"
My magic caused sand to cling to the iron ants, sealing their movement. I can now move on without hurting them.
I'm not sure what to make of this. There is a limit to the amount of sand I brought in….I have to be careful.
„Even so, It's a great fortress. I wonder what it's made of?"
Suddenly, Isis asked such a question. Certainly, with a fortress this big, I'm sure a lot of iron is used.
„It's iron sand. Iron ants have a habit of settling in places where iron sand is abundant."
„Eh?"
My voice leaked out at the Queen's unexpected words.
„So this wall is made out of iron sand?"
„I think so."
Oh, my God. If that's the case, could it be—
„'Iron Sand Binding'!"
I tried to use Sand magic while picturing the wall in mind. Sure enough, the walls collapsed and clung to the ants, sealing their movement.
„Horus-sama. It's as if the walls are alive."
Isis praised me. The surrounding walls were indeed like iron and looked very sturdy, but if it's made out of iron sand, I can control it.
„I'm glad we're in the iron sand fortress. This way I can use my magic freely!"
I brought sand with me, but there's a lot more sand here than that. Moreover, the iron sand has a stronger binding strength.
„'Iron Sand Binding'!"
「「「「「「「「 Arii!」」」」」」」」
The iron ants that came at me were all stopped by my magic. I can also manipulate spear in their hands if it is made out of iron sand. All I have to do is turn the spear back into iron sand and solidify it with iron sand and they can't use it anymore.
„Well, I'm not sure if it's okay to proceed so lightly."
The Queen tilted her head. The ants that are accompanying the Queen are also confused, but it's not like we came here to beat them up.
She had said that I should do as little harm as possible, and if I could just seal their movements like this, I could do what the Queen wanted.
As we proceeded, I was stopping the ants that were coming one after another at us with iron sand, and then we arrived at a large hall-like room.
A throne is placed there, and an ant with a somewhat dignified appearance is sitting on it.
Like a Queen, his body structure seems to be close to that of a human. His body is clad in heavy armor and he holds a long spear in his hand.
„I didn't expect the Queen herself to come ridding up here – with all these people in tow."
„King of the iron ants. I've come here today to talk to you in person!"
To my surprise, the iron ant King also understood human language and was talking to the Queen. It seems that the royal ant species is quite intelligent, and able to understand and speak human language.
„Talk? There's nothing to talk about!"
„Why, my King! You were never this forceful before!"
„ Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You are all going to die! You will die! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"
Hmm? At first I thought they were smart ants, but now I feel something strange about his tone. It's like he's speaking human language, but doesn't seem to be able to reason.
Also, the Queen said that he used to be a more understanding king, but the current iron ant King doesn't seem to have any sense of reason.
„I'll Kill you right now!"
„'Iron Sand Binding'!"
„Guh!"
The King of iron ants tries to stand up, but I use magic to seal his movement. The throne on which the King sits was originally made out of iron sand and I can control it with my magic.
I'm not sure what to do.
"Guh, untie yeah yeah yeah yeah!"
The King of ants screams, but it can't be untied so easily.
„'Sand Detection'"
I use more magic from there. The king himself is the one who I used 'Sand Detection' on. I can use the iron sand to detect him since I'm using iron sand to seal his movement.
„What? This is…."
„What's wrong?"
The Queen, who noticed my reaction, asked me.
„Yeah, there's another life reaction on that king's head."
„What? Another life reaction?"
„Ngo!"
This surprised both Isis and Raku, but I do know of such a demon.
„It's probably a parasitic demon. I think it's controlling that king by parasitizing his head."
„Oh, my God, so you're telling me that he…"
The Queen was surprised. She didn't think that he was being parasitized.
As long as there's a life reaction on his head, I'm sure of it.
„I'm not sure if my Life magic can help with that."
„It may not do any good right now. That's why im going to try to peel the demon off with sand. After that, I want you to use your magic to heal him."
„Okay, I understand!"
Isis nodded with a serious face. The Queen, on the other hand, showed a worried look.
„Are you sure you can succesfully remove the parasite from the head?"
„The fact that it's controlling his head means that his brain functions are safe. In fact, it can talk and react, and it hasn't penetrated that deep. I think it's the type that mimics the back of your head and stays close to you."
There's nothing you can't do, but even so, I need to peel it off with as little damage as possible, which requires a lot of concentration. Honestly, I can't maintain the effect of the 'Iron Sand Binding' while doing that.
„'Iron Sand Doll'!"
I use the surrounding iron sand to create an iron sand doll golems.
„Everyone, when the King makes a move, hold him down with all your might!"
The dolls nodded vigorously. Alright, let's get rid of the parasitic demon.
„Oh, the King!"
„Yeah, but don't worry, dolls will take care of him."
The effect of the 'Iron Sand Binding' faded, and the king stood up and approached with a spear in his hand. However, the iron sand dolls immediately moved to contain the king.
They were made out of iron sand, so they were quite sturdy, and I thought he wouldn't be able to blow them away that easily, but—
„Woah Woah Woah!"
The iron ant King spun his spear and the dolls were blown away. They immediately try to subdue him again, but the King's fighting power is too high!
I have to hurry up too. I need to be careful, don't panic, don't panic—
„Oh, I've lost another doll!"
„This is our problem, and we can't just leave everything to Horus-sama! We need to fight too!"
„Wait. Save your strength just in case. There are still some dolls left!"
While saying that, I made a few more dolls. Then I focused my attention on the King's head again. By making use of 'Sand Detection' and manipulating iron sand I should be able to succesfully peel of this claw-like part of the parasitic body, and while thinking that there is only one golem left, and he's coming fast, there's no more time, but if I peel it off here—
"Kisshaaaaaaaaaa!" (TN: sound of peeling it off)
„Okay, it came off! Isis!
„Yes!"
The iron ant King fell, and Isis immediately moved. She's going to use her Life magic to heal him. I caught the parasitic demon in the sand as it tried to escape.
„Kyupyiiiiiii!"
„This is a parasite?"
The Queen's repulsion is amazing, but I feel like I understand it. Parasitic demons look grotesque in appearance.
„I'm sorry, but I can't let you go."
I crushed the caught parasite with sand. Well, that's a relief for now—