Part 1
For the future of the two factions of the Demon Realm — a decisive battle
was soon about to begin. The ancient arena that was the stage for it was filled
with audience members who had come to witness this historic moment. The
majority of the audience which was made up of various races were residents
of Lundvall. These people from the Current Demon Lord faction all believed
in and looked forward to seeing Leohart and the others obtain victory. Amidst
the cheers of the crowd, there was a single person who stood upon the stage
with everyone's eyes upon him. The youth with his eyes lightly closed and
standing still was the Demon Lord Leohart.
"......"
Although Leohart was bathed in the trusting eyes of the audience and their
expectant cheers, his mind was in a melancholic mood. —In order to forge a
truly meaningful decisive battle, Leohart originally chose the arena to be in a
place that ordinary people would not see, so that he, as the Demon Lord
would not leave a single trace of regret behind — more importantly, it was
for the atmosphere that the battle that would decide the future of the Demon
Realm should have. However, the Council which had interfered midway were
not satisfied with just forcefully adding in their representative members, they
also heavily modified the battle, and they basically turned it into some kind
of entertainment-festival event. Of course, Leohart also understood that from
a political point of view, making the decisive battle public would also
promote the authority of the winner. For Leohart, who had unified the Demon
Realm and now hoped to eliminate the Council, this wasn't a bad thing.
However — starting from the very instant that the audience entered the arena,
the political nature of the battle decreased, and it inevitably became more like
a performance. Despite this, Leohart still insisted on a serious decisive battle.
This was to be the decisive battle which consisted of seven one-on-one duels
— but currently, Leohart was the only one from the current Demon Lord
faction present on the stage. If the representatives were gathered in front of
the audience and introduced or identified one by one as they came out onto
the stage, this battle would become a competition — and the war itself would
become a trifling matter. Hence, the representatives of each faction were not
going to be announced to the audience before the battle, and neither would
their order of appearance disclosed, so that the battle between the two sides
would remain tense.
Taking into account some basic respect for the audience, they couldn't
simply start without warning, so the representative leaders of each faction had
arranged to meet face-to-face with each other before the battle, thus Leohart
was currently standing in the arena for this purpose. Unfortunately, these
thoughts and ideas of Leohart were meaningless in the eyes of the Council…
for them who had lived for so long and found it boring, the battle between the
Current Demon Lord faction and the Moderates faction which would decide
the future of the Demon Realm was nothing more than a form of
entertainment to stimulate their boredom. However — Leohart didn't mind.
Regardless of what the Council thought, or what kinds of evil intentions they
planned to commit, it would not change his only mission.
…You old bastards, just wait and see.
Leohart looked across towards the special viewing area that the Council was
in from the stage as he calmed his mind. After the Moderates faction, it'll be
you guys. Then—
…Aneue
[1]…
The image of Riara appeared in Leohart's mind, although she was currently
in Lundvall Castle. Within the secret chamber in the West Tower, there was a
magic device which was capable of receiving a magic broadcast, and she was
most likely looking at that now. Although any attempt to enter the top floor
of the West Tower would be met with resistance from a barrier, Leohart still
sent Gardo to protect her so that he could fight with peace of mind. Although
Gardo's right arm still had yet to fully recover, Leohart was able to rest
assured knowing that Gardo would be there to accompany her.
…Once again, you just need to wait for me to finish what I need to do.
Riara was the person that Leohart had made an important promise with. He
couldn't disgrace himself in this battle while she was watching him.
"——"
Leohart returned his gaze to the front, and then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
In the depths of the passageway that led to the opposing Moderates faction's
rest area — the silhouette of a person slowly emerged. A few seconds after
Leohart, the audience also noticed the same situation, and the arena suddenly
became silent. It was the calm before the storm, after which the Moderates
faction representative that was soon to appear would be jeered at by
everyone. The tension in the air suddenly multiplied, and amidst that
explosive atmosphere — the representative of the Moderates faction didn't
seem to fear any of that pressure at all, and they stepped into the arena. In that
instant—
[——]
The roar that the audience had prepared to unleash was stuck in their throats
— and all that could be heard was the silence of their breath. It was because it
was the figure of a girl that had appeared within their sights, and her powerful
presence had whisked away their voices. The person who walked into the
arena was a girl whose long hair was tied on both the left and right sides by a
ribbon. She was wearing a set of human clothing that the Demons did not
seem familiar with, and at a glance, the impressive curves of her body could
be seen — it was clear that Zolgear ignored Leohart in order to monopolise
her, and it was not only for Wilbert's power, but her own as well.
"...…"
Her determined eyes met with Leohart's, and she watched him as he stepped
forward. In the span of two days between their last meeting, what exactly had
happened…the girl's cute atmosphere was still present, but she also exuded
the stunning elegance of a completely different person. Upon seeing this—
"...So it's you."
Leohart looked back into her eyes, as he said that with a low whisper-like
voice — as if somewhat surprised. This was the conversation between the
representatives of both sides before the battle, so he had thought that it would
be the leader of the Moderates faction, Ramsas or perhaps Toujou Basara.
"I didn't expect that you would take up the duty of representing them on this
stage…so does this mean that the Moderates faction has finally unified their
opinion, and that they want you to become the next Demon Lord?"
The girl stood before Leohart's eyes as soon as she walked up onto the stage
and replied
"No…I don't intend to reign over the Moderates faction at all."
The girl — Naruse Mio, didn't look away or try to hide as she looked directly
at Leohart as she said
"However…even if that is the case, this is my fight. Even if I haven't seen
my father even once — the previous Demon Lord Wilbert, I don't want to
inherit his power, but this is still my fight."
Moreover—
"Before we start, there is something that I have to tell you. I haven't come to
this battle as the daughter of the previous Demon Lord…I have come here to
fight as Naruse Mio."
Also—
"Just wait and see, I…we will definitely defeat you guys."
"You can do whatever you want…either way, the result has already been
decided."
In response to the firmness in Mio's eyes and declaration, Leohart also
calmly stated that he would not give way. Just at that moment—
"—That's enough chatter between the representatives before the battle."
Someone butted in to their conversation from the side. Turning their heads to
look, it was a member of the Council who had stepped onto the same stage
that Leohart and Mio were standing on — it was Mardones.
"…Where is Belphegor?"
Leohart didn't seem to have any complaint about the presence of the Council
here, because they had already agreed that the Council would preside over the
beginning and end of the entire showdown; and the one who was supposed to
be in charge of this task was the leader of the Council, Belphegor.
"In regards to Belphegor-dono, he is not here yet…after all, all that he thinks
of nowadays is that playground. Perhaps to him, playing with women is more
meaningful than Your Majesty's battle."
Mardones said to the frowning Leohart
"However, Your Majesty, please rest assured…Mardones here will take over
the role of hosting this battle in place of Belphegor-dono, and I can guarantee
you that there will not be any problems."
"......"
"What's wrong, Your Majesty, what worries you…?"
"…Nothing."
There's a slight problem in the plan…Leohart thought to himself, and he
began to think of an alternative.
…And I thought that the Council would try to target me.
The direct reason why the attack on Wildart City failed was because
Belphegor's subordinate, Nebula, betrayed them halfway. The Council
covered this up as Nebula's individual betrayal, and avoided responsibility
for it with the single phrase of 'This has nothing to do with us'…but the
Council's attempted assassination of Gardo had a powerful response within
the Current Demon Lord faction, and this was beginning to seriously shake
the support and authority of the Council. As long as Leohart was able to
obstruct the Council, and defeat the Moderates faction in battle, then the
Council would easily lose its existing political power and influence, thus
falling to the bottom from their previously high position. Therefore, the
leader of the Council, Belphegor was likely going to be here in order to take
command of the Council's counterattack, so that they didn't lose ground.
…No, it's hard to say.
That Belphegor was extremely cunning, and even if it was unfavourable to
Leohart, it was possible that he was wary of a sudden counterattack and
deliberately chose not to come to the arena; it was the same as how Leohart
didn't invite Riara to the special viewing gallery near the spectators, but left
her in the West Tower. Right now, he was probably staying in his hideout…
the playground of Zolgear that he had made his own; he was watching this
battle whilst being surrounded by women.
"It's good if there are no problems. Well then, are we almost ready to begin?"
After saying that, and observing that Leohart was silent, Mardones turned his
gaze towards Mio.
"Is the Moderates faction also ready to begin the battle?"
At this time, he also grinned with a 'hmm', as he continued
"The one who has formed a master-servant contract with you, Toujou
Basara…doesn't seem to have arrived?"
"......"
Mardones' words caused Mio to become silent as her expression sank.
…I see, so that's how it is…
The situation was quite simple. Mio was standing here as the representative
of the Moderates faction not because of any political considerations, but
because she was forced to.
—The Council wished to maintain control over the Demon Realm as if it
were in the palms of their hands forever, so naturally, Leohart wasn't the only
one, the Moderates faction was also a thorn in their side. Moreover, aside
from those who remained an ally of the Moderates faction in Wildart, Basara
was capable of dealing with Gardo, and also prevented Nebula from
detonating the high-class spirit to destroy Wildart; he was a far greater
destabilising factor to the Council than Mio. Furthermore, Basara was also an
emotional pillar for Mio and the other female members of the team.
…In other words. As long as only Basara was not here, defeating the girls
who were representatives of the Moderates faction would be much simpler.
Based on the slight unease in Mio's expression, Basara's absence was surely
unexpected. In that case, it was likely that he had been ambushed
somewhere…based on Mardones' tone, it was possible that Basara's
disappearance had something to do with the Council.
…I see.
Leohart himself had wanted to defeat Basara in return for him defeating
Gardo, but it seemed as though there would not be an opportunity for that.
However — Leohart did not have any sympathy for him. This was war, and
for them, this was enemy territory; nevertheless, Leohart still provided Basara
and the others with his guarantee of safety — so long as they did not leave
the guest house. If he was attacked, it would mean that he had left the guest
house of his own accord. Leohart had not received any reports of this, which
meant that he may have concealed himself from the maids who were
monitoring them. If he had not considered how dangerous it would be to act
in secret whilst in enemy territory, then it was naturally his own fault, and he
did not deserve any sympathy.
"—It seems you agree. Well then, please allow me to perform the opening
announcement."
The second-in-charge of the Council revealed a deep smile at Mio's silence,
and then expanded a sound amplification magic circle and declared
[Dear audience members, the battle between the representatives of our
Current Demon Lord faction and the Moderates faction is now officially
starting!]
Amidst the heated cheers, Mardones began to speak about the rules of the
decisive battle first. The mode was going to be one on one, with no time
limit, and in order to maintain the safety of the audience, the space upon the
arena would become a separate dimension from the one that the audience was
in as soon as the match began; and at the same time, so would the
environment and area within the dimension. It would also change into an
environment that was suitable for both sides. Then—
[Once a person can no longer fight, or voluntarily surrenders, the winner will
be declared immediately. Being no longer able to fight naturally also includes
death; but if anyone continues to attack or kill a person that has surrendered,
their victory will be retracted…under such circumstances, it will be
considered a tie for both sides, and not a loss. Because this battle is a war,
and not a competition, such judgements are made in order to maintain its
actual nature.]
Having said that, Mardones made an elaborate wave with his hand towards
Leohart, and then continued
[In addition…the Moderates faction have come to us despite being enemies,
and they have also accepted the change in the original form of the battle; in
order to pay tribute to their courage and to maintain fairness, His Majesty
Leohart has made a special consideration. A voluntary concession — if they
are able to defeat His Majesty, they will gain the equivalent of three wins…
that is, three wins with one fight.]
Mardones' statement of a handicap to the Moderates faction caused the
audience to go into an uproar.
…So he actually said it like this.
Leohart couldn't help changing what had originally been a team battle into a
series of one-on-one duels because the Council forced him to allow their own
subordinates to be included, and it was also three at once…although it was
not more than half, the risk was too high in having so many of his enemy's
subordinates in a team battle; if a wrong step was made, it would be easy for
the outcome of the decisive battle to be manipulated by the Council. And for
the people who were not familiar with the situation, perhaps this rule could
be regarded as Leohart's own risk. But—
…It's up to them what they think.
If even an adversary of this level couldn't be overcome, how could he
possibly fulfil the oath that he and Riara had made? While Leohart was
secretly thinking this in the depths of his mind, Mardones narrowed his eyes
and grinned as he faced the audience's doubts; he seemed to have enjoyed
using an exaggerated tone to incite their expectations.
[Please do not worry. We of the Council believe that…even with such
conditions, knowing His Majesty's brilliance, he will certainly be able to
defeat the Moderates faction to become the most absolute ruler of the Demon
Realm that has ever existed!]
The excited yells that slowly arose soon become a wave of cheers that
flooded every corner of the arena. At that moment, the stage that would
decide the future of the Demon Realm was finally complete.
[Very well, it's time…the fateful battle that will decide the future of the
Demon Realm is now officially beginning—]
Part 2
After Mardones had made his announcement about the beginning of the
battle.
Leohart turned around and walked back to the rest area of his side. However,
Mio did not do the same as him, instead, she remained motionless upon the
stage.
…So their vanguard is Naruse Mio huh.
Leohart had already gained an understanding of Mio and the others' objective
in coming to the Demon Realm based on Lars' report. If Mio was to fight as a
representative of the Moderates faction, and also use this decisive battle as an
opportunity to escape from the shackles of the Demon Realm's political
conflicts, it was best for her to avoid facing Leohart at the end. If the
daughter of the previous Demon Lord was to face off against the current
Demon Lord, it would inevitably appear to be a battle for the Demon Lord's
throne in the eyes of the audience. If she was to win, she would be
proclaimed as the new Demon Lord; but if she was to lose, she would be
criticised for having 'shamed the reputation of the great Demon Lord
Wilbert'.
…However.
The Moderates faction should have known that the Current Demon Lord
faction would choose Leohart as their last combatant. If Mio wanted to
reduce her presence, let alone the final battle, she should have avoided the
most prominent first battle as well; it would have been better for her to take
the second, third, or even later positions in which the outcome of the fight
would have less impact on the overall battle.
…Is it because 'this is her fight'?
To fight in order to prevent oneself from being dragged into further conflicts
— despite the contradiction in that, it felt as if Mio's faith and determination
in this decisive battle both ran deep. —But that alone was not worth
admiring. It was not the case that she had unshakable faith. Which is why,
when he stepped into the passageway towards his rest area, Leohart said
"…Are you shivering?"
"N-No…I'm fine."
The person who replied to Leohart was tightly clenching his fist. This was the
youth who was acting as the front-runner for the Current Demon Lord faction
— Luka. However, his expression and his reply were at odds with each other,
for upon his childlike face was a nervousness that could not be concealed.
This was natural, and Luka clearly understood the importance of the frontrunner in this decisive battle. Tension and fear…these two emotions had
definitely snowballed together within him. Thus Leohart gently pressed his
hand on top of his shoulder as he said
"Luka…although you may be young, your knowledge on magical research
can already be said to be at an expert's level in the Demon Realm. Not only
do I, but Balthier, Lars, and even Gardo all recognise your ability."
"...!"
After Leohart stated the truth with a serious expression, Luka couldn't stop
his entire body from trembling. This helped him to eliminate his unnecessary
tension, but it didn't make him let go of the sense of responsibility that was
generated in his mind — for this battle. Then, Leohart once again enthused
Luka as their eyes met with each other.
"Do you think that the you that we trust in…is worse than the girl who
simply inherited the power of the previous Demon Lord?"
"…N-No. I certainly don't. Leohart-sama!"
Although the first affirmation was weak…the second one was loud and clear.
As Luka raised his head and looked towards the stage, a new expression was
present upon his face.
"I will definitely win…!"
The Luka who said this as he walked towards the stage no longer appeared to
be a mere boy. Rather, as he marched steadily onto the battlefield, he looked
like a true warrior.
Part 3
Naruse Mio looked towards her opponent in this decisive battle — while the
current Demon Lord's vanguard set foot onto the stage. It was a boy whose
appearance seemed as tender as Maria. —Having said that, Mio wouldn't
underestimate her opponent based on appearances alone. The appearance of a
demon wasn't always aligned with their age, so youth and cute looks didn't
necessarily mean that one was weak. Yet — from this youth who stood
before her, the atmosphere and stance that he exuded did not appear to give
off the feeling that he was particularly strong. His hands carefully held onto a
large book similar to a dictionary which seemed like his weapon; but he
seemed to have difficulty even holding it, so it would be somewhat
cumbersome if used as a weapon and he also had fairly large openings in his
stance. After Mio subconsciously carried out such an analysis, she was
reminded again that this was the front-runner that the current Demon Lord
had chosen, so she cautiously asked
"…So you're my opponent?"
The youth facing her immediately answered with a
"Yes."
"—However, the one you are fighting is not actually me."
After declaring that, the youth opened the book with his right hand, and at the
same time, not far away — a magic circle appeared upon the floor of the
stage. The thing that slowly began to emerge from it caused a wave of
exclamation to ensue from the audience. The first thing to appear was an
enormous head…followed by thick, muscular shoulders, a torso, and finally,
the even sturdier-looking lower body and feet. At last, Mio's 'opponent'
appeared before her eyes in its entirety. Mio knew exactly what it was,
because she had seen similar things during the defensive battle against the
Current Demon Lord faction in Wildart City a few days ago, only its
appearance and size differed.
"Heroic Spirit…"
After Mio whispered that name under her breath—
"Indeed. However, this Heroic Spirit and the ones that were used to attack
you the other day are different. Naturally, it is different from the high-level
spirits that were used by those who were sent by the Council. It will not
passively follow plain commands, it is capable of thinking of tactics to suit
the situation and implementing them autonomously as a high-level warrior
spirit…in the records of the era of the Demon God War, there have only been
a few of these."
The youth who stood before the great spirit continued.
"I used all of my knowledge and experience to forge a contract with it…
although you might think that it is cheap of me not to take you on
personally."
Upon hearing this, Mio said to the youth with slightly closed/narrowed eyes
"I don't care…you are also fighting with your own strength."
Just like how Basara used his speed, Maria used her power, and Yuki used
her various techniques, Mio also used her own magic to fight; and so this
youth before her was simply using his knowledge as a weapon. If that was
called cheap, then it denied all battles that involved abilities. So, Mio did not
mind. Then — after both sides had confirmed their opponents and were ready
to begin the battle, the entire ring transformed into another dimension just
like Mardones had described. The familiar scenery was part of their daily
lives, it was also the starting point of where they had once fought against the
Hero Tribe in the past — it was the nearest station square from the Toujou
household and Hijirigasaka Academy. It was evening. Aside from Luka, who
was not actually fighting, Mio, and the enormous spirit that towered above
her like a building, there was no one else in this dimension, all that existed
were the shadows of false motorists as they drove along the road. Rather than
a copy of the station itself, it seemed to be a copy of the entire situation.
"I see."
Naruse Mio quietly expressed her understanding. The stable and peaceful
daily life that she enjoyed was interrupted by the Current Demon Lord
faction who were after the power that she had inherited from Wilbert because
they thought of her as a threat that had to be ruled out; in some ways, fighting
with a spirit here was more meaningful than anywhere else. After feeling
satisfied by this stage for their battle, a sound echoed throughout the station's
modern square. It was from the large gong at the side of the arena — a signal
for the beginning of the battle. Then—
"——"
[——]
Mio and the enormous spirit began moving at almost the same time. In order
to widen their distance, and so that she could prepare more powerful
offensive magic, the first thing that Mio did was use flight magic, whereas
the first step that the spirit naturally took was an attack that utilised its
enormous body to the limits — it thrusted its bulky fist out. —However, the
spirit did not go for a straight jab, rather, it drew out a curved hook. Thus it
sacrificed the shortest possible distance and took slightly longer, but more
than made up for that in its second attack.
"!——"
Upon seeing it, Mio gasped whilst flying in mid-air via magic. The spirit's
hook punch had hit its target — not Mio, but the lofty building in front of her.
Following the sound of the collapse of the building, a sea of shattered glass
and debris was flung forwards toward Mio due to the impact, and everything
around her was instantly consumed. Then, after that stunning wide-area
attack — was a follow-up by the spirit's massive right fist. Isolated outside
the dimension of the battle, Luka saw it in that very instant. A stream of the
dimension that the battle was occurring in was projected onto the stage,
showing the scene of the debris and dust that submerged Mio, as well as the
fist of the spirit that chased after her, resulting in an explosive and earthshattering noise which caused the city of the human realm — the entire area
to be razed to the ground. As the audience witnessed this scene, and also
because of the impact that seemed akin to a meteor striking the earth, they
became euphoric and shouted endlessly in excitement.
"...…"
Despite the cheers of the crowd from all directions, only Luka's expression
remained serious. Although he did not possess any combat strength on his
own, he had keen eyesight which allowed him to clearly see — something
had flown out of the cloud of debris just before the spirit's fist levelled the
square in front of the station. The projection was still showing the site of the
original incident, and showed the body of the spirit that had turned towards
something in the distance — Naruse Mio, who flew through the purple sky at
high speed. Even if she had been engulfed in the shockwave and debris, she
appeared unharmed. Not only that, her clothing didn't have the slightest trace
of having been dirtied. Although it was not known how she had done it, it
was clear that she had gotten away unharmed from that attack. But—
"—It's not over yet."
As Luka whispered, the projection returned to show the spirit. It pulled its fist
out from the ground as it slowly stood up, and then turned towards the northeastern corner.
[——]
And then it narrowed its eyes — tightly locking on to the flying enemy that
remained within its sight as it curled its body forwards. It was preparing for
the next pursuit. Naruse Mio continued flying away from the source of the
explosion towards the horizon. She was able to escape from the shockwave of
the building's debris thanks to this flight magic. —However, she did not get
out in time before the debris swallowed her. At that time — the instantaneous
shockwave's area was too vast, and it was necessary to get away from that
debris as soon as possible. If she simply used flight magic to ascend, the
debris and shards of glass would have certainly collided with her and she
would be hurt all over, but she didn't temporarily suspend her flight magic to
create a barrier either — if she did do something like that slowly, she would
have been crushed by the spirit's fist so hard that not even any residue would
remain. A shield made in that brief amount of time would not have been able
to defend against that enormous spirit's attack. So she continued to chant
flight magic, and cast it — not on herself, but on the surrounding atmosphere,
which successfully transformed it into a powerful gust of wind, and by
wrapping herself in this wind, she was able to borrow its momentum to safely
escape from the site of the impact.
"!…I've finally succeeded in finding cover."
Mio let out a sigh of relief. She had chosen an area outside of the shockwave
generated by the spirit's destruction of the station — and descended into a
station three stops away. Chanting powerful offensive magic whilst also
casting flight magic required more time; in a situation where she had lost her
concentration, she was unable to draw out that power. By stopping in a
moving train, she would be able to focus on chanting offensive magic whilst
moving away from the spirit at the same time. Luckily, Mio had landed on an
express train. This dimension had faithfully reproduced the situation of the
real world, thus the next station that it would stop at would be six stations
away; it was faster than an ordinary car and would be able to increase her
distance away from the spirit. She could not let go of this opportunity.
"——"
Thus, Naruse Mio immediately began chanting offensive magic. However, a
large figure was still in the far corner of her vision, now bent down up in a
crouching position. What did it want to do…that question was answered as
soon as it was asked. Like a beast, it unleashed the power that it had stored
within its body in an instant, and charged towards its prey with explosive
energy. As she felt a slight tingling sensation on her skin, the premonition she
had became a reality. The spirit had levelled everything that stood before it to
the ground with one punch…yet its legs seemed far more powerful than its
arms; so when those legs exerted their full power against the ground, that
large mass instantly flew off with a frightening rocket-like speed. In the blink
of an eye, that enormous body flew through the debris, parallel to the tracks
over the river on the southern side. It charged in a straight line towards the
city, approaching the express train that Mio was on.
"…Damn it!"
Mio hastily cast her explosion magic. The magic circle unleashed a torrent of
flames that burned through the atmosphere and landed a direct hit on the
spirit's head — amidst the sound of the violent explosion, the rest of the
spirit's body became engulfed in flames.
"—?"
However, Mio widened her eyes in amazement. Even though her magic had
struck its head directly, its speed didn't decrease at all and it continued to
charge towards the source of the inferno. Of course, that blow was only
meant to delay it, but Mio hadn't reduced her firepower, and the spirit's head
should have been damaged severely. She did not expect that—
[——]
Not only did the spirit continue to move, but the parts of the spirit's head
which had been damaged restored itself in an instant, almost as if time itself
had been reversed.
"How could…!"
It was truly an incredible recovery rate. The spirits that attacked Wildart City
could be temporarily immobilised with an attack to the head, which is why
Mio aimed for its head directly…being able to recovery so quickly under
such circumstances basically meant that it had an immortal body. There was
no time to be surprised though, the spirit was quickly charging through the
horse racing track alongside the road like a hot knife through butter — as
soon as it caught up to the last carriage, one sweep of its arm would knock
the whole train over.
"Haahh—!"
Mio jumped backwards, and at the same time, she cast wind magic.
Following a sharp metallic sound, the gales of wind sheared the connection
between the carriages apart — soon after that, the carriages following the
fifth one that she had originally gotten on at were detached and fell off to the
side with a 'clang'. After narrowly avoiding that situation, the distance
between Mio and the spirit had also been increased slightly, thus she
immediately began to chant offensive magic—
[——]
But the spirit did not seem to care that the train that Mio was on was further
beyond its reach, and continued with its next move. It cupped its left hand
and continued to move it as if digging a hole — but before it actually began
digging into the ground, it grabbed onto a particular thing. It was the train
track. It was too late by the time that she realised that it was bad; the spirit
pulled the tracks from the surface in an instant, catapulting Mio and the
express train that she was into the air.
"!—"
This forced Mio to temporarily change her offensive magic into flight magic,
and by re-enacting what had happened the previous time, she cast magic onto
the surrounding atmosphere to keep herself safe. The impact that the spirit
created on the ground was akin to a giant tsunami as it pounced towards Mio
in the air — facing the overwhelming impact, Mio chose her route of escape
as upwards. Since she couldn't attack right now, she had to retreat first. Thus
Mio focused on flight magic, and flew in a straight line to pull away from the
spirit, and in one fell swoop, she had reached an altitude of several thousand
metres above the ground.
[——]
But the spirit below her suddenly crouched down again — and in the next
instant, it carved out a crater in the asphalt road as it jumped upwards with
incredible force, and was likewise able to fly up into the air without the use
of magic. Like this, the enormous body thrust itself upwards from the ground
and gradually approached her at a pace even faster than flight magic.
…There are still other ways…!
She absolutely could not lose — that was what Mio impatiently thought. Of
course, this was a set of duels, so even if she did lose, it would still count as a
victory to Mio if the others were able to win.
…But.
Basara and the others came here of their own volition. If she lost, and had to
rely on their help…no matter how much she wanted to stay together with
Basara and the others, she would not be able to raise her head alongside
them. In the face of this desperate situation, the thought of liberating
Wilbert's power flashed across her mind. However—
…I definitely cannot do that!
Just as she had declared to Leohart, this was her own fight. As soon as she
used Wilbert's power here, it would mean that this was a battle between the
Moderates faction and Current Demon Lord faction — the previous Demon
Lord against the Current Demon Lord. Everyone wanted to help unshackle
Mio from the fate of being the Demon Lord's daughter, and from the political
calculations of the Demon Realm; they were willing to lend their strength…
they were even risking their lives to accompany her. Mio could not betray
their intentions.
…Basara…!
Facing the spirit that was getting closer by the second, Mio recalled the youth
who was more important to her than anyone else. —Late last night, Basara
left the guest house on his own and did not return. She did not want to think
about what the consequences would be if he was discovered to have taken
individual action whilst in enemy territory. Mio and the others were worried
about Basara's safety, and had asked him to bring one of them along, but
Basara insisted on acting along until the end, and remained firm on that.
[For the sake of this battle, there is one thing that I absolutely must do.]
That was all Basara had said before he asked Maria to hypnotise the guard
maids while they were cooking, and ask them for information on the structure
of Lundvall Castle and its guard configuration. He simply said
"I'll do my best to come back before dawn"
He set off to take advantage of the night — but in the end, he did not return.
Even though the sun had risen high — and the battle had begun, he was
nowhere to be seen. According to Maria, the master-servant contract would
immediately lose effect upon the master's death, so as servants, Mio and the
others would definitely notice; and so, they could confirm whether Basara
was alive at the very least. As for the tracking ability, it was the same as
Sheera had said; because the level of their master-servant contract had
improved, they would not be able to sense Basara's location so long as he
refused. If that really was the case, it would mean that Basara's
consciousness was still normal, so there was no need to be too worried; but if
Basara was inside a special barrier such as the one at Zolgear's hideout, the
effects of the master-servant contract would be nullified, and it would be hard
to say whether he was safe or not. Moreover, that man on the Council called
Mardones knew that Basara was not present. Basara was able to use
[Banishing Shift], and that was a threat to them. If they found out that Basara
had ventured out on his own, it was highly possible that they would seize the
opportunity to ambush him. But—
…Basara will definitely be fine!
Naruse Mio's trust in Toujou Basara was unshakable. Basara had also told
Mio and the others what to do in case he did not return. Basara being the
finisher, and Mio acting as the front-runner were all pre-arranged things. So
— he wouldn't be an exception this time either, he would definitely return. In
this regard, Mio was certain. If Basara returned and what awaited him was
the bad news of their team's loss—
"If I disgrace myself here, how can I ever look him in the eye…!"
Basara had once said that when faced with life and death not to worry about
the meaning of the battle, it was more important to stay alive, and even if she
did have to use Wilbert's power, she had to live on. Thus — along with
Naruse Mio's cry, she released the power that was within her. As the spirit
soared through the air towards Mio with its fist prepared, Luka believed that
he had obtained victory.
…She will die.
In the face of the attacking spirit that had such immense strength and
dominance, Mio's defences were paper-thin in comparison. Even if she was
somehow able to escape the first hit, the spirit would simply continue to
attack until a winner was decided. Sooner or later, Mio would eventually
reach a junction where she would not be able to evade or defend, and even if
she counterattacked, Luka's spirit was able to regenerate its wounds
instantaneously — as long as she used the power that she had inherited from
Wilbert, she could use gravitational magic to crush it into a patty; on the
other hand, if Mio showed any openings during her attack, the spirit instead
would completely crush her.
…If possible.
Luke hoped that she would take the initiative to surrender before that.
Leohart did indeed want to get hold of Mio's power, but not by killing her.
Although Leohart publicly declared that Wilbert's only daughter who had
inherited the power of her father was a great threat that could not be ignored,
his true purpose was to obtain the so-called strongest power of the previous
Demon Lord so that he could use it as a trump card against the Council. Once
he succeeded in doing that, the Demon Realm would be unified by absorbing
the Moderates faction. In order to achieve the latter, it was necessary for Mio
to survive. Hence, Leohart immediately replaced Zolgear after he ignored his
task when he tried to kill her, and chose the spy, Lars, whom the Moderates
faction had sent as her new monitor and bodyguard to keep her safe. Even in
doing so, it greatly increased the risk of the Moderates faction bringing Mio
to the Demon Realm to endorse her as the new Demon Lord. When Leohart
received the order from the Council to attack Wildart City with the spirits, he
still asked Gardo to protect Mio's life as much as possible. This was because
Leohart himself — also felt a pain in his heart towards Mio who originally
lived and grew up in the human realm, but lost both of her parents simply
because she was the daughter of the former Demon Lord and was forced onto
the path of revenge. Even so, Luka could not intentionally allow his opponent
to win in front of the Council. Having come so far already, he could not allow
the Council to use such faults as excuses. So — Luka did not control the
spirit. And in that moment, the spirit threw out a right punch that was enough
to turn Mio into dust.
"Eh—…?"
In that instant, Luka let out an exclamation of surprise. Just before the spirit's
colossal right fist struck Mio — from the fist to the elbow, the entire lower
arm had vanished as if it had been instantly vaporised.
"That is…"
In the projection that displayed the dimension that the battle was occurring in,
Naruse Mio's body glowed red, and was emanating a red aura.
"—How could it be?"
Although the spirit began to regenerate immediately, its speed couldn't keep
up at all…the spirit didn't even have a chance to repair its flesh as it seemed
to be eroded by the red aura that Mio was radiating, and it's body continually
evaporated and disappeared.
[——]
The spirit then thrust out its other fist, but that wasn't able to touch Mio
either, as it disappeared before her as if it had been vaporised. The kick from
its right leg suffered a similar fate, causing the gigantic spirit to lose its
balance, and it crashed down into the city with a loud sound like a clap of
thunder.
"The spirit's body and self-healing ability have both been eliminated by
her…?"
While Luka stared at the projection and murmured in shock, Mio landed in
front of the spirit. The choice that Mio made when put into that desperate
situation was not to use Wilbert's gravitational magic. But the power that she
possessed on her own. —In the past, Mio had also used this power when she
destroyed Zolgear's right arm. Now, her master-servant relationship with
Basara was far deeper than it previously was, so she was able to instantly
unleash her own strengthened power. And the result of that was the spirit that
lay before her, unable to get up from the ground. The red aura encased
around Mio also caused the very space around her to become unstable.
"…I know that you also have certain goals for which you must win."
Mio extended her right arm out towards the spirit before her, and said to
Luka, who was presumably watching this scene unfold from the broadcast on
the stage
"But it's very unfortunate — because I need to return to see Basara with my
head held up high."
At the same time, the red aura that she released swept from the feet to head of
the spirit — destroying that gargantuan body without a single trace.
Part 4
In another lounge for the representatives of the Moderates faction, separate
from the one that Mio and the others were using.
"—It seems like the outcome has been decided."
After Lucia saw the change that had occurred in the battle dimension that
Mio was in, she stated the results of the first duel. At that time, the projection
device in the lounge showed Luka, who knelt down motionlessly on the floor
of the arena, as well as Mio, who had safely exited the dimension of the
battle.
"...…"
And Lucia's master, Ramsas, simply watched the projection of Mio, and
didn't say a word.
"How wonderful…that makes it a win. It is important to defeat the vanguard
in a battle."
There was someone who seemed relieved as they replied in the place of
Ramsas to Lucia, whose words had almost become a soliloquy. It was the girl
who had voluntarily accompanied Ramsas and Lucia to the territory of the
Current Demon Lord faction — the maid Noel. Noel was the childhood
friend of Lars, with whom she had grown up in the same orphanage…she
was still unable to believe that Lars had joined the Current Demon Lord
faction, and so she begged Lucia to bring her along. Noel was the maid of
another significant elder of the Moderates faction, Klaus; since Klaus was in
opposition to Ramsas in the way that they treated Mio, Lucia originally had
no need to allow this from her. But, the work that Noel did under Klaus was
not something that she had a say in, the feelings she had for Lars were
genuine, and in addition to all that, Mio and the others had also asked Lucia
to take care of her — after Lucia obtained permission from Ramsas and
Klaus, she brought Noel along as an assistant. Since they were both
representatives of the Moderates faction in this war, Noel shared the
workload for some of the tasks that were required for assisting Ramsas.
Presently, Lucia was watching the projection on the wall, while Noel poured
a new cup of tea for Ramsas in the corner of her vision. The display switched
to show Mio returning to the lounge through the passageway as she gradually
moved further away.
"My Lord, how about taking this opportunity to speak with her for a
while…?"
Despite being aware that she would most likely not receive an answer, Lucia
still asked.
"…There is no need for that."
Although Ramsas' reply was brief, the tone conveyed by it was serious.
Indeed, perhaps from his point of view, he simply needed to continue staring
at her performance. Even the tea that he liked the most was left untouched.
…It really is cruel.
This was the path that 'he' had chosen. While Lucia was not present, Ramsas
seemed to have spoken about a lot with Jin and Sheera — it was not known
what kind of result this was in his eyes. Just as Lucia plunged herself into
these deep thoughts, Ramsas watched the projection on the wall as he asked
"…Has that guy's son returned yet?"
"Not yet…there has been no news so far, I'm afraid…"
Lucia had heard about Basara's disappearance from Mio and the others rather
early. When the format was changed to a seven-on-seven duel, Lucia was
almost forced to compete on behalf of the Moderates faction, and under the
circumstances of Basara's disappearance, it was very probable that Ramsas
himself would take to the stage.
"Is that so…of all the nice things he's said, the result is that only his mouth is
powerful."
In response to Ramsas' disdainful words, Lucia made a rare objection
"…Wouldn't it be alright to delay your judgement of Basara-san until a bit
later?"
Although Ramsas did not have a good impression of Basara, Lucia still said
that for Basara.
"At the very least, that boy has protected Mio-sama until now…not only did
he help her defeat Zolgear, he also repelled the spirits sent by the Current
Demon Lord faction several days ago. It should be harmless to agree with
him on this part."
The reply that she received was—
"...Is that also the case for Maria?"
In response to Ramsas' low murmur, Lucia said
"Yes…that child is also one of the people that Basara-san has saved, and I
believe it is also similar for Yuki-san, Kurumi-san, and Zest. Basara-san's
movements are unknown for the time being, but they are still fighting for us
as representatives of the Moderates faction without any complaints; Miosama has taken up the responsibility of being our front-runner, and they have
successfully secured our first victory. Mio-sama only has her current fighting
potential because Basara-san is partially responsible for that; I don't think it
would be too late to make your judgement of him until the battle is over."
This time, Ramsas did not answer at all. He simply continued to watch the
projected image on the wall in silence. After the defeated Luka and Mio both
disappeared into the passageways of their respective rest areas — the
Moderates faction's next representative appeared. A full crowd of boos were
directed towards that young succubus, but Lucia stared at the projection, and
cheered for her in her heart.
—Make it a good fight, Maria.
After Maria set foot onto the stage — her opponent appeared very soon
afterwards. The next representative of the Current Demon Lord faction was
the youth who called himself Takigawa Yahiro in the human realm. Everyone
present in the room knew who he was.
"Lars…"
For Noel, who knew him the most, she sadly recited the name of her
childhood friend as she watched the projection.
Part 5
Upon the stage, the next representatives of the Moderates faction and Current
Demon Lord faction faced each other.
"So my opponent is you huh…"
"That seems to be the case, please go easy on me."
Naruse Maria looked at the flippant youth with relaxed shoulders in front of
her without hesitation. —The Moderates faction could be further divided into
two major factions, one of them was Ramsas' faction which hoped that Mio
would relinquish Wilbert's power, whereas the other side was Klaus' faction
which hoped to use Mio to revive the Moderates faction as the new Demon
Lord faction. Maria and her sister Lucia both belonged to Ramsas' faction,
and at first they did not know that Klaus was harbouring Takigawa — Lars.
Of course, in terms of the nature of his secret task of infiltrating the Current
Demon Lord faction, although Maria was Mio's bodyguard, she was still only
a front-line combatant, and naturally didn't know about Lars' existence; as
for those who knew the truth about the situation such as the leader Ramsas
and other high-ranked members like Lucia, they did not communicate this
information to Maria, a sign that they didn't think it was needed. Hence,
Maria did not feel deceived, and because Lars had cooperated with Basara
during the incident with Zolgear to rescue the imprisoned Sheera, she actually
felt grateful towards him.
…But.
Since she was now facing him with the identity of an enemy, those things
would have to be a separate matter. After Lars dealt with Zolgear's matter
and returned to the Demon Realm, it seemed as if he had cut off his ties with
the Moderates faction; the next time that he reappeared was after the spirits
had attacked Wildart city, to rescue Gardo, who had been captured by the
Moderates faction, hence there was no room for any excuses. Yet, Maria still
wanted to ask
"Did you betray our Moderates faction, and turn over to the Current Demon
Lord faction because you have fulfilled your revenge against Zolgear?"
Noel, who had grown up together with Lars had once told Maria about her
feelings for Lars, and that there had to be a reason for his move to the Current
Demon Lord faction. After Maria asked that question in the place of Noel in
order to dispel her doubts—
"Hey hey hey, what's the point of asking such a question at this point? If I
told you that 'I have my reasons', will you go a bit easier on me? It'd be great
if you could do that, as it'd help me save a lot of energy."
"...…"
Lars shrugged his shoulders as he said this, leaving Maria speechless. It was
entirely within expectations. Since the youth standing before her had elected
to assist the Current Demon Lord faction in this final showdown, it was clear
that he was an enemy. Although Maria was able to understand Noel's
concerns for a friend, her support for Mio was more important than that. —
So, Maria clenched her right fist, and the stage began to change at the same
time. The location chosen for Maria and Lars — was a forest at night time,
moreover—
"Isn't this…"
"…So it's here."
The familiar scenery caused Maria and Lars to murmur at the same time. The
place that they had come to was where Basara, Mio, and Yuki had once
gotten entangled in a desperate battle. This was the forest in the local public
park that was close to the Toujou household. Back then, Maria and the others
struggled to finally defeat Lars in a four-on-one confrontation, but they were
actually deceived by Lars, because he had already escaped some time ago.
…I see, so they want us to reiterate that situation.
Thus, Maria jumped and stretched lightly as she took a deep breath, while
Lars remained at ease. When the ring of the gong echoed out to signify the
start of the duel — both sides began to move at the same time.
Unlike Mio who pulled away right at the beginning, Maria took on a strategy
that was the complete opposite. She approached her enemy with an incredible
speed. Based on both of their fighting styles, this was the natural choice.
Maria was a power-based melee warrior, so being at a close distance
naturally meant that she would be able to make use of her potential;
compared to Lars, who was able to manipulate dark spheres of magic, the
further the distance was between them, the more disadvantageous the
situation would be for Maria. —What was most troublesome was the fact that
Lars was able to freely control the quantity, power, size and speed of his dark
spheres. Within the range of his magic, he was probably able to control the
power and size of his dark spheres, possibly even splitting them. They were
capable of both offense and defence, making him highly versatile. However,
there was still a way to take away the advantage of Lars' ability — and that
was by shortening their distance. Simply by charging towards his chest, he
would not be able to attack freely, and there would also be a danger to
himself. Simply put, the method that Basara used to repel him last time was
the best solution to dealing with Lars.
—Get as close as possible to him, and then hit him with surprise.
After she became certain of that idea, Naruse Maria put it into practice. Upon
seeing her low stance as she rushed towards him—
"—I guess this isn't very surprising."
Lars manifested a countless number of dark spheres, and sent them flying
towards Maria all at the same time. The barrage meant to delay Maria almost
instantaneously moved closer.
"——!"
Maria constantly weaved through the forest in an irregular manner, using the
branches as natural cover. She continued moving towards Lars without
decreasing her speed, and in the moment that she came within five meters of
attacking range, she pounced towards Lars.
"Jumping at a time like this…be careful not to jump into a dead-end, okay?"
Seeing Maria in mid-air with her fist raised, Lars jumped backwards; at the
same time as that, he generated a giant dark sphere between them to act as a
shield, obscuring her field of view. Stuck in a leap towards that location,
Maria was unable to evade; but if she attacked it with her fist, it would
definitely result in a large explosion that could blow herself away, and using
the swing of her fist to generate a 'soft strike' with its shockwave was also
unsuitable. Since she was unable to stop or turn back whilst in mid-air, she
had no choice but to plunge herself into the range of the explosion. Even so,
Maria's expression remained calm. Just as Lars expected Maria to actively
shorten their distance, Maria also understood that Lars would use such
attacks. He used a countless number of dark spheres in a volley to delay her
movements — even with her premature take-off, he had set up a trap for
Maria, but all of this was within expectations. So, Maria thrust out her right
fist —
"Yaaaaahhhhhh—!"
But she did not go all the way, she stopped roughly halfway — as if the air
was her goal. In the next instant, the air that was compressed burst out in
different directions with a shockwave, striking the large dark sphere that Lars
was controlling, resulting in an enormous explosion that blew all of the
surrounding trees away. But in actuality, the only things affected were the
trees to the left and right of the sphere. The shockwaves combined to form a
barrier of air, which allowed Maria to resist the impact of the explosion. —
That was the technique that had previously been used by that burly demon
against her. As the same kind of power-type demon, Maria had also studied
it, and practised to turn it into this as a secret weapon.
"Don't try to run—!"
Maria immediately charged towards the other side of the explosion, where
she found Lars standing before her, and so she immediately stretched her leg
back, and mercilessly swung her leg towards Lars with a spinning kick. Her
target was the right side of his head. Her right foot impacted him with a solid
blow.
"...I didn't imagine that you would use Valga's technique."
But, the voice that Maria heard from him remained calm. Lars had simply
raised his right arm, and generated a dark sphere on the back of his forearm
to block her kick. When she fought against him in the past, Maria's punch
had once broken through his defences, but that was because Lars had been
careless. Maria had already grown stronger due to the activities of Basara and
the others yesterday, she had absorbed a lot of excitement and pleasure to
increase her own power, yet she was still unable to break through Lars'
defences; there was only one reason for this. Lars' true power was still
greater than Maria's.
"Haah!"
Maria used her right leg as a fulcrum to bend down, and then swept her left
heel up to strike against Lars' jaw.
"—Oh?"
All Lars had to do was move his body slightly to evade this kick. —However,
her response time in a melee battle would definitely not be any slower than
his. Maria once again used her right leg to hook onto Lars' right arm, using
the strength of her lower body to forcibly pull him down and grab his
shoulders, ready to thrust out with a single punch…but—
"!——?"
Maria had temporarily jumped towards his back from above — and at the
same time, Lars' dark spheres moved to a position that was below her
original position.
…He's actually attacking from this kind of a distance…!
Maria could not help but curse the oversight of her own thoughts. So long as
there was a slight gap, Lars was able to put up a barrier, ensuring that he
himself would not be affected by the explosion of the spheres. Maria's
continuous assault of blows had to go on, otherwise it would give Lars the
opportunity to defend or counterattack. The last time, it was Maria's surprise
attack which had given Basara the chance to utilise his speed, and a flurry of
slashes to repel him; but Maria had no one to rely on right now, so such ideas
would be difficult to accomplish.
"Is this okay? —Why did you pull away from the shortened distance that you
tried so hard to establish?"
Lars got up and dusted off his clothes as he said so, and at the same time —
Maria paid the price for inadvertently letting the distance between them grow.
Numerous dark spheres appeared in the air to surround Maria, and soared
towards her simultaneously. Originally, if they were approaching Maria, or
had already come close to Maria's back, she would be able to evade them and
Lars would be able to defend or evade if facing the correct direction. Maria
was currently behind Lars, so such a problem did not exist. And even if
Maria used Valga's move to attack, such a technique could only be blocked
from the front, it couldn't be defended against from the back or the sides.
However—
"——!"
Maria punched with her right fist — towards where her own feet were.
Lars clearly saw Maria's right fist strike the surface of the ground. At the
same time, the area of the ground that she had struck offset large amounts of
rocks and gravel. —Put simply, debris alone was unable to defend against
Lars' black spheres. However, she stopped her fist just at the very instant that
it touched the ground, generating a shockwave which hit the ground and
rebounded with debris flying up, causing that rock and gravel to perfectly
cover Maria — finally succeeding in blocking Lars' black spheres.
…But.
During this time, Lars' wasn't simply standing in a daze, he further widened
the distance between them. He took into account their respective abilities,
speed and fighting styles; it was a safe distance that was enough for Lars to
attack Maria unilaterally whilst remaining outside of her attack range. Just as
he was about to make his move whilst he had this advantage, he noticed that
the debris surrounding Maria had dispersed along with a burst of pink
radiance from the inside. Looking closely, there seemed to be an object
resembling a key inserted into the chest of Maria who was floating in mid-air.
"Hmm…"
That key appeared to be rotating in Maria's sweetly heaving chest, and then
made a crisp 'click' sound as if something had been unlocked — at the same
time, a rose-coloured light enshrouded Maria's entire body. Lars knew very
well what had just happened before his eyes, hence—
"Hey hey…did you seriously think I would be so foolish to allow you to
finish that transformation?"
After saying that with a tone of ridicule, Lars unleashed a merciless attack.
An enormous dark sphere suddenly appeared over Maria's head, and then
crashed downwards almost as suddenly as it had appeared. Facing Lars' fullpowered attack, Maria simply replied with a leisurely tone
"Of course…this is the perfect countermeasure for those with shallow
thoughts."
In the next instant, as soon as Lars' black sphere touched the rose-coloured
aura surrounding Maria, it shattered into tiny fragments, and then vanished
without a trace.
"How could…?"
Seeing this, Lars couldn't help being startled. And now, Maria had already
turned into a beautiful mature succubus.
"—Hoho."
And right after revealing a soft smile — her figure suddenly vanished. Lars
reflexively erected a barrier in front of himself. There was currently sufficient
distance, and time to defend—
"Gaaahhh——!"
But in the next instant, Lars was struck with an intense impact, and was
immediately sent flying. It was Maria's fist that had relentlessly bored
through Lars' barrier with no regard, and landed directly onto his body.
After Maria's punch landed a direct hit on Lars, she immediately started
pursuing. Since Lars was unable to react to such a speed, and couldn't defend
against that attack—
…This will be the final attack.
Maria sped up and continued forth as she said this to herself. After being
pushed away, Lars tumbled across the ground several times, and he only
stopped when his back landed against the trunk of a large tree. Maria quickly
closed in on him, and leaned her body forward to prepare for a straight left
punch at the closest possible distance.
"Hm…!"
But Lars moved sideways and quickly avoided it. Maria's fist stabbed into
the tree trunk behind Lars, causing the mass of wood to immediately crack,
the impact from that strike sent shivers down Lars' spine whilst in mid-air
when he jumped to the side. Maria immediately pursued, with both of her
fists following prepared. Despite the rapid flurry of punches, each one of
them carried remarkable power. It was more powerful than Lars' barrier, its
speed was also greater than his own, and her victory was almost assured. Yet
—
"!...?"
Aside from the first punch which had sent him flying, he had evaded all of
the attacks which followed.
…Why?
Maria thought that she had cornered her opponent, but she was beginning to
develop serious concerns. At that time—
"—Ever since you turned into an adult, your strength has certainly increased
to an incredible degree."
Lars had completely seen through the method to avoid Maria's punches, and
calmly said
"But, you currently have no way to control that enormous power. Based on
my observations, you have only used this transformation twice. The first time
was in the human realm to save Naruse, the second time was after Basacchi
eliminated the barrier around Zolgear's hideout. So, this is the first time that
you've been able to release your full power as a demon in the Demon Realm,
right? Your thoughts are too naïve, despite having such little experience, you
thought that you could use this power that you are not yet used to in actual
combat and obtain a result from it. Moreover—"
His voice moved behind her.
"In order to obtain victory, you definitely must have absorbed a lot of energy
by taking advantage of the time when Bassachi and the others were
strengthening their Master-Servant contract, but that has actually backfired on
you. Even if you are faster, if your reaction speed can't keep up with your
actions, evading is not particularly difficult."
"! —Haah!"
Maria immediately sent a backhand swing of her fist towards the source of
his voice. But this blind assault caused her a fatal injury. Maria's fist struck
Lars' dark sphere — the next second, an explosion of light and sound
occurred before her. The object that Lars had thrown towards Maria was a
dark sphere in the form of a bomb. No matter how much her physical strength
was enhanced in this form, her consciousness had not grown powerful
enough to respond to or avoid such attacks; coupled with vision and hearing
that had become more sensitive than usual, the sudden shockwave blinded
her field of vision and deafened her eardrums, overwhelming her.
"—But you know, to be able to stand up like this, you've certainly got
enough backbone."
Before Lars' eyes as he said that with a wry smile—
"Ngh…uh, ngh…!"
The succubus who had been directly affected by the dark sphere and
subjected to a severe shock still stood up shakily; her fighting intent hadn't
yet dissipated, and she still clenched her fists with a fierce expression. But
her eyes were no longer able to see Lars, and neither could she hear him.
"You really wanted to be the second consecutive win after Naruse…I'm
sorry."
Thus, while Lars said this, he struck the back of Maria's neck with a chop of
his hand. The bigger the body, the easier it was to shake the mind. Hence—
"——"
After that single strike from Lars, Maria powerlessly fell to her knees, and
then flat onto the ground where she lay motionlessly.
Part 6
Gardo was currently in Lundvall Castle, watching the battle that was
unfolding in the distant ancient arena. He was at the top of the west tower —
in the room of Leohart's older sister, Riara. Through the projection device
that Leohart had prepared, when they witnessed the outcome of the battle—
"Mmhmm, Lars certainly did well~. he was steady unlike his opponent,
right?"
With a satisfied smile on her face, Riara sought his agreement.
"Yeah."
Gardo then nodded and continued
"That guy knows exactly how to beat his opponent, and he executed it
perfectly."
Gardo calmly commented as he watched Lars' laidback figure exit the stage
after being released from the dimension of the battle, leaving behind the
fainted Maria. In terms of pure fighting prowess, although Lars could not
match up to Gardo or Leohart, an important 'headroom' during battles could
always be sensed from his body — a bottomless impression. As for Maria
who had been carried off the stage by Lucia—
…Even if that succubus can master the power of adult transformation…
The majority of the outcome would not have changed, and Lars would still
have used other methods to defeat her. At that time—
"Gardo…if you were to fight against Lars, could you win?"
"…I don't know."
If Gardo was in a complete state, he probably wouldn't lose to Lars.
However, he was unable to predict whether he would win or not. In an
imaginary duel, even if he was able to corner Lars, Lars would most certainly
slip away right at the critical moment…that was the result of Gardo's
speculation. When faced against a stronger opponent, escape was somewhat
equivalent to victory. He simply felt that no matter where Lars was, and no
matter who his enemy was, he would be able to escape with his life intact…
being able to make people think in this manner was one of the things that he
excelled at.
"I see…so Gardo wouldn't be able to win so easily either~"
After Riara heard Gardo's uncertain answer, the shape of her eyes changed,
and they seemed to indicate delight.
"I once told Lars to 'get along well with Leohart'…fufufu, is this what one
would call 'having an eye for talent'?"
"Indeed…"
This woman's candid smile caused Gardo to naturally respond with a silent
smile. In order to protect this smile, Leohart was determined to become the
Demon Lord to unify the Demon Realm — despite knowing that he would be
manipulated like a puppet in the hands of the Council. That's why Gardo was
currently here. —Originally, Leohart did not allow any man aside from
himself into Riara's room. But, he made an exception for Gardo to enter the
room to act as 'insurance' in case anything was to happen.
Leohart wanted to use this decisive battle to eradicate the Council that had
killed his foster parents and scourged the Demon Realm; on the other hand,
the Council also wished to silence Leohart, who was becoming increasingly
difficult to control. Therefore, either during or after this decisive battle, a
great change more significant than the battle between the two factions would
definitely take place. In Leohart's past, the Council had murdered his foster
parents while he was away on the battlefield. Worried that they would make a
move on Riara at such a time again, he asked Gardo to accompany Riara until
the end of the decisive battle; Gardo promptly agreed to the request so that
Leohart could concentrate on fighting. Although Gardo had lost an arm and
was still in the midst of recovery, if something really did happen, he still had
the power to escort Riara to someplace safe.
"—Ah, it looks like the next one is starting."
Riara's words caused Gardo to direct his eyes back towards the projected
image of the arena. The third representatives from both sides were currently
on stage. The representative of the Moderates factopm appeared to be a girl
who was still yet to reach maturity. A spirit magic user of the Hero Tribe —
Nonaka Kurumi.
"Hmm, is that one of the members sent by the Council…do you recognise
him, Gardo?"
Riara asked about the youth facing Kurumi while she looked at him with a
neutral expression.
"…Yeah, I know him."
Also looking at the same broadcast, Gardo nodded as he replied. In the
middle of the stage, the person with a slight grin on his face as he sought a
handshake with Kurumi was—
"He is Admirath…a subordinate of the seat of [Greed] on the Council, that
which belongs to Mardones."
Part 7
Upon the stage, Nonaka Kurumi and the high-class Demon whom she would
be duelling against confronted each other.
"My name is Admirath…a pleasure to meet you."
The handsome young man smiled as he extended his hand, gesturing towards
Kurumi for a handshake.
"…Trying to get along with an enemy before fighting, is there something
wrong with you?"
But Kurumi felt that it was a boring joke, and so she turned around and
walked away to distance herself from him.
"—Ah, you dropped something."
"What are you saying…—!?"
Kurumi turned around to the voice that was behind her, but was instantly
startled. Because as soon as she turned around, Admirath was right in front of
her, and he had grabbed her hand as if it were his prey.
"Jin Toujou's son still hasn't returned yet after so long, it must be worrying
and troubling for you."
"...?"
Taking advantage of their forceful handshake, Admirath stuffed a certain
hard object into Kurumi's hand.
"!—"
When Kurumi looked down to see what the object was, she could not help
but gasp. The object that Admirath had given her was a button from the
uniform of Hijirigasaka Academy that belonged to Basara.
"You should understand what we want, right? Please make it seem as natural
as you can, so as not to let anyone find out that you're faking it…his fate
depends entirely on your performance."
After Admirath said that to the stunned Kurumi, he calmly turned around and
returned to his starting position.
"...!"
On the other hand, Kurumi was shaken and her face had gone pale.
…What can I do…!
It was likely that a threat at such a time was nothing more than a lie, but it
was also a fact that Basara had yet to return. For Kurumi, this meant that she
could not deny the possibility that he had fallen into the hands of the Council.
If what Admirath said was the truth—
…If I don't handle this well, then Basara will…!
Basara had told them to disregard him if he was captured. The decisive battle
was most important, and Kurumi and the others had agreed. Therefore, the
correct choice for her right now was to overcome the opponent in front of her
with everything that she could muster. Kurumi clearly understood this…so
much so that it pained her heart. But—
"——!"
Kurumi instantly materialised her gauntlet for communicating with the
spirits, and through the dark element, she asked the spirits of the Demon
Realm to verify whether or not Basara was safe. Though in the end, the
spirits' response was that they could not complete her request.
Upon seeing that Basara had not returned even after dawn, Kurumi had tried
several times, while Mio and the others who had a master-servant contract
with him were not able to sense him either. Regardless of whether Basara
refused to disclose his location or had been captured, the hope that the spirits
would bring good news was nothing more than wishful thinking.
…But, please, I'm begging you…!
Nonaka Kurumi still asked the spirits to search for Basara until the end of
battle. For the sake of Basara, as well as Mio, whose future life would be
greatly affected by this battle, this was the most that Kurumi could do. —In
any case, she could not afford to lose this battle. But even if they won the
decisive battle but lost Basara, it would be similarly meaningless. It was
because the youth called Toujou Basara was that much of an irreplaceable
existence in their hearts. Yet no matter how many times Kurumi asked, the
spirits were unable to find Basara.
The relentless sound of a gong to declare the start of the battle rang out, and
the space that Kurumi and Admirath were to fight in gradually appeared.