Part 8
In the lounge, Leohart watched the broadcast of what was happening on the
stage.
"Galaliel Canyon huh…"
After seeing the spectacular landscape that had been constructed in the battle
space, he uttered its name. Those dangerous cliffs and majestic, rocky
canyons were chosen as a battlefield many times in the long history of the
Demon Realm.
"There is hardly any shelter there, so attacking range and manoeuvrability are
extremely important. If Luka was there, he should be able to tell us what
kinds of characteristics those formations have."
When Balthier said that—
"—What is it? Do you want me to head over to the infirmary to ask him?"
Having just finished his battle and returned, Lars was the one to ask. After
Luka's own high-level spirit was defeated, he was rather depressed, and so
Leohart ordered him to rest for a while in the infirmary. Having lost this one
duel, it meant that the Current Demon Lord faction had to take back at least
one victory, otherwise they would have no chance of winning overall.
Although Leohart had originally considered the possibility that one of his
subordinates would lose, he still felt that it was unexpected. Luka had fought
as a replacement for the injured Gardo, so it was hard to blame him for the
shock.
"There's no such need, now is not the time for a history or geography
lesson."
Leohart watched the broadcast intently as he said
"Also, this battlefield is not particularly beneficial to either of them."
"Indeed. I've heard that that girl is a magic-type spirit user, but if you
consider Admirath's fighting style, it wouldn't result in a handicap."
As a testament to what Balthier said, it also occurred in the broadcast.
Kurumi called forth wind magic as soon as the fight began, and she flew into
the air. Admirath swept his right arm horizontally — in the middle of the
magic circle that he had created on the ground, a tall Pegasus with two wings
and a head of strange bones appeared. Admirath jumped onto the Pegasus'
back, and then called forth his own weapon. The luminous particles released
from his left hand gradually formed into a long-handled slashing weapon, one
which was able to reap any life — a giant scythe symbolising death.
"...…"
Leohart looked at the young demon who smiled leisurely while mounted on
the back of the Pegasus, analysing the representative that had been forcibly
sent by the Council. According to the rules, it was not necessary for the
Current Demon Lord faction or the Moderates faction to publish their list of
representatives in advance, and within the Current Demon Lord faction,
neither Leohart nor the Council had shared information on their
representatives — in simple terms, this was not possible. It was because the
Council refused to reveal their candidates to Leohart, and even their lounges
were separate.
…The first one is Admirath huh.
Having said that, because Leohart's trust only extended to those among his
subordinates, it meant that the Council knew very well which candidates
were on his side, while Leohart remained unaware of the Council's
candidates. All they knew in advance was the order in which they would
fight. Admirath was once named as a candidate to become the Demon Lord,
so as a high-class Demon able to compete against Leohart, it was only natural
that he would be strong — that was why the Council chose him. Admirath
was the third warrior, while the remaining two candidates selected by the
Council were ordered as the fourth and the fifth; one of them was probably
already waiting in the passageway, whilst the other one was likely watching
the situation from their lounge area.
…The other two shouldn't be too dif erent from him.
Leohart was convinced that in this decisive battle, the only person that
couldn't lose was himself. Without a doubt, the Council that was in a tough
position had also gambled their future on the outcome of this decisive battle.
Part 9
The spirit magic user Kurumi and the Pegasus rider Admirath.
As soon as the two sides began to fight, the form that the battle took was
inevitable — aerial combat. Kurumi flew with magic parallel to the ground at
high speed while using her right thumb and index finger in the shape of a gun
to control the spirits with her gauntlet—
"Haaaaaahhh!"
She continuously fired highly compressed bullets of air from her fingertip
towards the front. Within Kurumi's vision and upon the Pegasus that
galloped in mid-air, Admirath smiled as he faced the storm of air bullets — at
the same time, a magic circle that appeared underneath the hooves of the
Pegasus caused it to instantly accelerate, and the air bullets that Kurumi
launched sprayed onto the rocks below, noisily kicking up clouds of dust.
Followed by the flapping of the Pegasus' fierce wings, it rapidly turned
around and soared at a speed greater than that of Kurumi's flight magic.
"——!"
Admirath's assault caused Kurumi to stop firing, and instead focus on
evasion. Simply moving to the left and the right would most likely not be
enough to escape from the giant scythe, whilst flying upwards would only
result in the Pegasus catching up to her. Hence Kurumi chose to make a quick
descent, while Admirath's giant scythe sliced at the air over Kurumi's head
with just the slightest margin. In the midst of her sudden descent, Kurumi
twisted her body around and extended her left arm out to release explosive
fire magic as interference which left a trail of sparks in the path that Admirath
followed. The fast-moving Pegasus was unable to dodge in time, and charged
into the sparks carrying Admirath — subsequently, countless chain
explosions occurred which turned the surrounding atmosphere into a raging
inferno. But—
"—Is that all you're capable of?"
Admirath calmly said that, and then continued to chase her after charging
through the inferno. In front of the Pegasus, a hemispherical magic circle
formed.
"A magic barrier…are you a magic type?"
"No? I just happen to dislike magic so I'm only at this level."
Kurumi asked out of surprise, only to find out that her opponent was a
technique-type, and Admirath answered as if it was a natural response — like
this, both of them increased the speed of their descent.
"...!"
Nonaka Kurumi glimpsed at her approaching opponent from the corner of her
eye, and couldn't help but clench her teeth. He actually dared to say that he
'only at this level'. Under the circumstances where it was impossible to know
whether or not they had really captured Basara as a hostage, how could she
possibly bring out her full strength?
…But.
Kurumi hadn't yet given up on the possibility of victory. —After being
threatened by Admirath, Kurumi chose to stall for time. Regardless of
whether Basara had been imprisoned or deliberately concealed his
whereabouts, at the very least, he was currently in the outside world, in some
place where there was a barrier against magic and abilities. Kurumi was able
to control spirits, so before Basara rushed over here — she would
immediately detect his presence as soon as he left that place, and she would
know that he was safe. In other words—
…Even if he has been captured.
Basara would definitely try to escape. Therefore, Kurumi in turn used
Admirath's threat to 'fake it naturally'; she believed that Basara would
definitely come back as soon as possible, and the situation would change
once the opponent knew that Basara was safe. After all, Admirath would also
avoid any decisive moves, so as to avoid suspicion in case the victor was
decided too easily. He was just going along with the current state of things,
and since it was possible that Basara was actually imprisoned, he couldn't
casually make his move until Basara's safety was confirmed.
"...…"
However, her strength wasn't able to match up to Admirath's — although the
original situation was unfavourable, it was deteriorating the more she was
pressured, but Kurumi did not give up hope, and continued to courageously
step forward. Even if she eventually lost, the powerful Zest was next; if she
couldn't confirm Basara's safety for her beforehand, she would probably be
coerced into the same predicament due to her loyalty for Basara. Perhaps —
Kurumi was already doomed to defeat when she was threatened, but even
so…she wanted Zest to be able to fight with peace of mind.
…That's right.
Kurumi tightly clenched her fist. She couldn't lose in vain, she had to fight
until the very last moment. That was her currently her own — Nonaka
Kurumi's fight.
Part 10
Nonaka Yuki was currently watching her younger sister's fight from the
lounge of the Moderates faction. Mio had gone to the Moderates faction's
infirmary to visit the fainted Maria, while the fourth warrior, Zest, had gone
to the passageway to prepare, leaving Yuki alone in the lounge. —Kurumi
and Admirath's duel had turned into an intense aerial fight. In terms of
distance, Kurumi had the advantage as a magic user, but her opponent held
the advantage in speed. Because Admirath was able to create robust barriers,
the use of powerful magic capable of penetrating that kind of barrier would
take a considerable amount of time, giving the opponent a chance to get
close.
Thus, the basic structure of this battle revolved around Kurumi making use of
her time to chant powerful magic, while Admirath closed their distance
during those gaps to attack; the outcome of either side was hanging on that
theory — by reason, that should have been the case, but—
"…Kurumi?"
The current battle situation caused Yuki to furrow her brows in confusion. —
Kurumi's evasion timing always seemed overly early. At the beginning, she
thought that it was to maintain a lengthier distance just in case, but that
wasn't what was happening. If her evasion timing was a lower priority than
her accumulation of power, at the very least, she should have increased the
number of attacks, or done something else differently, but she wasn't doing
that. The possibility that she didn't want to imagine subconsciously slipped
out of her lips.
"She…isn't using her full power?"
Part 11
"…There's something strange going on."
At this time, Leohart also noticed that something was not quite right with the
battle. Aside from Admirath's overly rapid avoidance of Kurumi's magic
attacks, he occasionally used his giant scythe to slash, while pursuing with
his mount at the same time. Yet each time he only missed by a slight margin,
allowing Kurumi to narrowly escape. It was as if—
…Is he deliberately allowing his opponent to escape that narrowly?
If he and his mount were to seriously assault, his speed and power would not
be as simple as it was now.
…But.
Kurumi's performance was even stranger. Based on Admirath's fighting
style, she should have first tried a strategy to reduce his mobility, but her only
target was on Admirath himself; moreover, all of the magic she used was
flashy, but quite monotonous. An ordinary audience would not be able to see
through such contradictions, it was something that only people with a certain
level of power would notice. Generally speaking, Kurumi was a member of
the Hero Tribe who had come to the Demon Realm to help Mio, so she
shouldn't bear such a negative attitude. If this was justified—
"—Most likely, Admirath has made up a story about Toujou Basara's
absence to scare her."
Lars presented a possibility.
"Something like that could be possible…Leohart-sama, do you need someone
to deal with it?"
Balthier hinted to Leohart that he could take the opportunity to suspend the
duel, and hold the Council responsible for it. That was a possible move to
make. This decisive battle was nominally managed by the Council, so if it
was revealed that their side had threatened and coerced the other side into
holding a false battle, the public's trust in the Council would surely collapse.
When Leohart considered this and compared it to his original plan, the one
which was easier for him to achieve his objective was—
"There's no need — it'll be better to watch and see how this plays out."
Lars chuckled and then said
"We don't have any evidence of the Council's foul play. Even if that really is
the case, this isn't a sports game; this is a fight where each side bets on their
future and justice. The desire to have an honest showdown is something that I
can understand, but a psychological battle is also part of the fight. No matter
what she and her opponent have said, and no matter what plans the Council
and Admirath have made, if she's been affected by something like this, then
it simply means that that is her weakness. We don't have to have too much
sympathy for our enemy's weakness, do we?"
Moreover—
"That guy is a dog of the Council, so the psychological battle that they've
arranged may actually be there to lure us in. If we act rashly, we may fall into
their trap."
"Indeed…but, I want to know what kinds of plans the Council has first."
"I understand — I'll go and scout the situation."
After hearing what Leohart had to say, Balthier nodded and said
"After all, judging by the current situation, it will still be some time before I
head on stage."
When he stepped out of the room — a change occurred in the battle between
Admirath and Kurumi. Both of them were originally exchanging blows in the
air, but they had now dived into cracks that existed throughout the vast and
rocky canyon.
Part 12
Travelling between these rock formations was like navigating a labyrinth of
narrow corridors. Because of the complex terrain, any delay in judgement
could result in a deadly collision. But Nonaka Kurumi was under the
guidance of the sprits as she flew at high speed throughout the canyon. —
However, she was still unable to shake off Admirath who chased behind her.
In order to get rid of her opponent, Kurumi flew in front and from time to
time, she moved from wide open spaces into narrow slits that only she was
barely able to pass through. Unfortunately, none of her feints worked on
Admirath, he always remained in hot pursuit by taking the shortest path that
he and his Pegasus could pass through. It was possible that the Pegasus could
feel changes in the airflow, and was able to detect the terrain of the canyon in
advance.
…If it was Zest…!
At such times — Zest could fly with her own wings, and use her earth magic
to control the surrounding terrain to create a variety of traps or obstructions.
A high-level magic user like Mio could also use wind and earth magic
simultaneously — but Kurumi was unable to do that. Kurumi's magic was
activated by borrowing the power of the spirits. Earth magic and the wind
magic that enabled her to fly clashed with each other. Using magic that
clashed at the same time made it very easy for their abilities to cancel out,
and even her flight speed would drop…she could even lose all speed and fall.
She could only use the same type of wind magic, or fire or water — but this
canyon was vastly dry, so it was difficult to use enough water for an effective
attack, and explosive fire magic like before would not be enough to delay
him.
"Then I'll…!"
Kurumi released a large wind blade towards the front, waited for a moment,
and then released numerous small wind blades in the same direction. Then —
a slate of rock tens of metres wide protruding out from the rocky wall
fractured, and began to fall. The myriad of small wind blades that came after
it from a variety of directions sliced it apart into a countless number of one
metre wide rocks that flooded down like a waterfall. It was not meant to
block anything. Kurumi flew past the downpour of falling rocks that almost
hit her, and then immediately twisted her body back—
"Haaah—!"
She extended both arms out in front of herself, and unleashed a powerful gale
of wind towards the large number of falling rocks from both hands. The rocks
that were blasted away by the powerful air currents all flew towards
Admirath at the speed of a cannon shell.
"Good grief…"
Upon seeing the array of rocks that whistled as they pierced through the air,
Admirath smiled wryly as he swiped his giant scythe; the resulting shock
wave blew the rocks away, while the shield around him and his Pegasus
blocked all of the remaining debris that fell from above. The blasted rocks hit
the left and right side of the canyon walls, and set off a billow of smoke so as
to impede his advance, but Admirath didn't care. His Pegasus had already
sensed the terrain and space ahead, so he did not hesitate to charge forward—
"...That's strange?"
When he passed through the dust, there was something that surprised him. He
thought that Kurumi was originally flying in front of him, but she was now
almost directly below him…on the floor of the canyon. Kurumi's right hand
was on top of the gauntlet on her left hand that she used to control spirit
magic, and a five-layered magic circle was prepared in front of her.
"...Ah."
The instant that Admirath realised Kurumi's intentions and let out an utter of
admiration — the sharp clap of a thunder strike resounded throughout the air
and lightning surged towards him from below.
Part 13
In that moment when she unleashed lightning magic, Kurumi saw her
strategy succeed. Kurumi used lightning that favoured speed over power.
Although the damage wasn't significant, as long as it hit, it would slow down
her opponent's speed. Having been threatened using Basara, this was the
most helpful attack for Kurumi who had to make the best use of her time. The
problem was — it had to land a hit first.
"Eh—…?"
Nonaka Kurumi suddenly widened her eyes. Before the bolt of lightning
could hit the Pegasus from below, Admirath's giant scythe was swung
downwards with a simple motion, and like a lightning rod, it changed the
course of the lightning, and it hit the scythe instead. However, Admirath did
not appear to have been injured. The lightning that Kurumi had unleashed
was stored inside the giant scythe, causing the blade to glow with a pale light.
"I cannot possibly accept such a plentiful gift."
Admirath smiled as he swept the scythe down towards Kurumi — along with
the violent roar of thunder, lightning that was amplified by several
magnitudes poured down on Kurumi.
"——!"
Kurumi hastily erected a barrier. The lightning struck the barrier that had just
made it in the nick of time, erupting with a loud explosive noise, and dying
everything around her completely white. Although she had blocked the
lightning strike, the dazzling electric light was still burning in Kurumi's eyes.
"Kuh…!"
Having closed her eyes shut tightly, Kurumi was anxious to restore her
vision, but—
"—Too slow."
By the time she heard Admirath's voice from the front, her entire body was
violently sent flying.
"Aaaaaaaahh—!"
Nonaka Kurumi's slender body crashed against the left and right rock walls
several times, falling slightly each time she hit a wall. She finally landed onto
the ground, accompanied by a cloud of dust.
"Ngh…ha…uh, gu…!"
The pain that she felt was so intense that it seemed as though all the bones in
her body were broken, causing Kurumi's face to grimace in pain when she
tried to lift her head. She then watched as the Pegasus-mounted Admirath
gradually approached her.
"!..."
Nonaka Kurumi understood what had happened to herself. In the instant that
the electric light blinded her vision, Admirath immediately closed in and
rammed into her with his Pegasus. He probably began to move at the same
time as the lightning that was released.
…I miscalculated…!
Her own strategy was used against her, it was entirely her own fault that she
had subconsciously let down her guard.
…Ah…
While Kurumi clenched her teeth in regret, she noticed that there was
something on the ground in front of her. It was the thing that Admirath had
given her before the battle began — a button from Basara's uniform.
…Basara, onii-chan…!
"…Ugh…!"
Although Admirath was already close, Kurumi still stretched out her left
hand desperately, trying to grasp Basara's button — but that hand was pinned
down by the Pegasus' front legs with such force that even the ground beneath
cracked.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
It was so painful that Kurumi instinctively lifted her head, and a horrid
scream was let out from her mouth.
"So you were thinking about how you could deceive me huh…didn't I ask
you to lose more elegantly?"
Admirath said with a volume that only Kurumi could hear
"But by doing this, it does make the battle a little bit more interesting. Well
then, I should also arrange an ending no lesser than that — I will kill you
with one strike."
Accompanied by a brutal smile, he raised the giant scythe up high.
—The rules state that one cannot attack an opponent that has surrendered.
However, Kurumi hadn't yet surrendered; and based on the speed of the
scythe that Admirath would use to behead her, it would definitely be much
faster than her cry of surrender. Kurumi didn't want to increase the burden on
others by asking for help, but they had all agreed in advance that as soon as
they encountered a certain-death situation, that they would immediately
surrender — all of them had to return safely. But Admirath would not give
Kurumi the option of surrendering.
"Thank you for accompanying me for this pleasant dance…young Hero girl."
"——!"
Kurumi wanted to call out Basara's name, but she was unable to make a
sound. Admirath's giant scythe swept down towards Kurumi's neck. In this
manner, Kurumi was beheaded by this strike and lost her life — or so that
should have been the case. In the next instant, the sharp 'gakin—!' of a
metallic collision coldly rang out. That kind of solid noise was not one that
would be produced by the removal of Kurumi's head.
"...?"
Having closed her eyes during that moment as she awaited her death, Kurumi
now opened them again slowly. In her painfully distorted vision, there was a
something by her side protecting her — an obsidian barrier. The person who
had stood in front of Kurumi and effortlessly blocked that powerful strike
from Admirath was a beautiful female Demon with brown skin — Zest.
When Kurumi saw the back of a sister-like Zest, she knew that she had
already been rescued; so she slowly closed her eyes, and relaxed her entire
body. She fainted.
"Oh? …And what are you doing?"
Upon the back of the Pegasus, Admirath asked with a smile.
"—The victor has already been decided."
Zest quietly stated the truth. Kurumi was in a state in which she could no
longer fight.
"I don't think so — since she has not surrendered, the fight goes on."
"Then as a representative of the Moderates faction, I declare that Kurumi-san
has lost, is that alright?"
In place of Kurumi, Zest surrendered to the frivolous Admirath.
"However, according to the rules…"
Just when Admirath seemed as though he still had more to say—
[—Very well, I accept the surrender of the Moderates faction.]
The voice of the Council representative, Mardones, resounded throughout the
battle space…the battle space was then lifted and the stage was restored to its
original state. Being able to save Kurumi's life caused Zest to feel relieved,
but—
[However — even if it was to save your comrade, you still interrupted this
battle before the outcome was decided. Such outrageous behaviour that
insults the noble spirit of the duel is something that I cannot turn a blind eye
to.]
"...…"
Amidst the overwhelming echo of the audience, Zest was unable to make any
words in defence.
[The one who has violated the rules is not the girl named Nonaka Kurumi —
it is you, Zest.]
Mardones said with a smile
[So in my opinion, I think it is most fair that you receive an automatic loss in
the fourth round that you were to take part in due to the rule violation of the
Moderates faction…what do you think of that?]
"...…!"
Zest unwillingly bit her lips. Even if she was filled with dissatisfaction, it was
a fact that she had committed a major violation, and continuing to fight
against it would only serve to worsen her side's position, and it could even
put Kurumi into a dangerous situation again.
"…I understand."
After Zest accepted the penalty of disqualification, the centre of the arena
became silent again. Surrounded by malicious outbursts from the audience,
Zest carried Kurumi off the stage. After walking some distance into the
passageway leading to their lounge, she saw a person standing before her. It
was the fifth warrior who was supposed to go after Zest — Yuki. Upon
seeing her, Zest lowered her eyes and said
"I'm sorry…I simply couldn't help it."
Including Zest's automatic defeat, the Moderates faction had now suffered
three losses. Perhaps she should have asked Yuki or sought the opinions of
her other team members before acting. Although this battle had taken the
form of one-on-one duels, it was in fact the decisive battle between the two
major factions of the Demon Realm. Even if everyone had agreed to do their
best to return safely, the battle was always something where they could lose
their lives at any time, and Kurumi must have held that thought in her heart.
—But, Zest could not restrain herself. She could not allow Kurumi whom she
treated like her own younger sister to simply die in front of her own eyes.
"…How is Kurumi?"
Hearing Yuki ask this with a whisper, Zest carried Kurumi in her arms until
she was right in front of her. Kurumi was bruised and injured, but her
breathing was stable.
"She's fine…at least, her life is not in danger."
"...Thank you for saving Kurumi."
"You're welcome…"
When Zest replied shortly, and Yuki's expression relaxed a bit — something
fell out of Kurumi's hand, and it made a crisp sound as it rolled to the side of
the stone slate ground. Looking closely, it was a button from the uniform of
Hijirigasaka Academy that Basara wore.
…Why does Kurumi-san…
Have this thing? …In front of Zest, whose mind was filled with such doubts,
that button drew a circle on the floor and then stopped moving. Since Zest's
hands were occupied while she held Kurumi, Yuki kneeled down to pick it up
— but she did not expect that she wouldn't even be able to touch it, as the
button seemed unable to retain its form and it turned into a powdery dust.
"——"
Seeing this — Zest immediately understood everything. The reason why
Kurumi's performance seemed dismal, as well as what tricks Admirath and
the Council had used against her, all of it was made clear.
"Those cowards…!"
With an indescribably repressed anger, Zest clenched her teeth and turned
around…she turned back towards the stage in order to correct the sordid
behaviour of Admirath — but she was unable to step out. Zest did not stop of
her own volition. There was a hand gently pressing down on her right
shoulder, as if to pull her back. Normally speaking — her anger would not be
stopped by something like this, it would be easy for Zest to free herself. But
— Zest could not do it. It was because the aura that was released from the girl
who stood by her side with her hand on top of her right shoulder felt so cold
that it might even have frozen her. —Her beloved younger sister who was
just as precious Basara, Zest and her comrades had been exploited and
trampled over by others. An unforgivable anger had instantaneously
transformed into a murderous intent that was as cold as absolute zero.
"…I'm leaving Kurumi in your care."
Yuki looked towards the other side of the dark passageway — the stage of
the battle. After softly saying those words, she left behind Zest and the
Kurumi in her arms, and slowly advanced forwards.
Part 14
Located at the highest part of the ancient arena was the special viewing room
that overlooked the stage.
Admirath arrived here to report that he had lived up to their expectations of
victory. Every one of the Council members smiled and applauded at him.
"Ahaha, a splendid victory…as expected of Mardones-dono's number one
confidant."
"Indeed. Not only did you obtain one win, you also caused the opponent of
the next match to break the rules and be disqualified, all according to plan."
In front of the master, Mardones, everyone praised his subordinate,
Admirath.
"As the recipient of everyone's great praise, I am deeply honoured. Since that
girl would have lost without a doubt, I simply gave it some further thought to
win in a way that would make all of you even happier."
After receiving a round of praise, Admirath grinned as he said
"Just by taking a slight advantage of the absence of Jin Toujou's son, I said
that we had taken him hostage, and she was scared into obedience, it was
really so cute."
In fact—
"In order to lure the opponent into interfering and breaking the rules, thus
causing an automatic loss, it feels a bit regretful that I couldn't kill that girl…
since victory in the end belongs to us all the same, I really want to finish off
that desperate girl personally."
While Admirath said that to the other members of the Council, he slowly
walked up to face his lord
"—You did well, Admirath."
After being praised by Mardones with a slight smile, Admirath respectfully
bowed. Mardones felt fully satisfied with his subordinate's performance as he
thought—
…During these four battles, we've had three wins and one loss.
Two of these wins were by the Council — moreover, they were both singlehandedly by Mardones' subordinate, Admirath. The credit for this was
undoubtedly monopolised by Mardones, and would not be covered by just the
'Council'. The fact that Leohart's subordinate lost one round was also a
miscalculation that made them happy. If the Council had not obtained two
wins, then they would only be even with the Moderates faction right now.
This would make Leohart's unity decline, and the public would once again
reconsider the importance of the Council. At this time—
"Excellent…this means we'll be able to stick to the plan, and preserve [that
thing]."
The words spoken by the other members of the Council caused Mardones to
feel even more satisfied. This way, not to mention the Moderates faction, not
even Leohart would see the treasure in his plan. The effect of this matter
would definitely be even greater in the future. Since Belphegor was currently
absent, the one in charge of this plan was Mardones. If it was successfully
completed, the positions within the Council would skyrocket/soar.
…Let's wait and see.
Mardones didn't want to remain below Belphegor forever as the Council's
number two person. By using this decisive battle, he could put away the
Moderates faction as well as Leohart and his subordinates. Using these merits
as a weapon, he could go after Belphegor's decision to make Leohart the
Demon Lord, as well as his dereliction of responsibility in being absent for
this key decisive battle, choosing instead to play with women, thus he could
force him to resign. Therefore, the future of the unified Demon Realm would
belong to Mardones. The position of the new Demon Lord to replace Leohart
would be given to Admirath, allowing him to deal with the political affairs on
the surface. Belphegor's mind was occupied only by his new toy, Zolgear's
playground; that old guy who had long been hiding in the shadows as he
controlled the politics of the Demon Realm should have long tired of the
political game. Racking one's brains all day long was better than not thinking
about anything at all, such as simply seeking amusement by soaking in a bed
of women all day.
…He can have as many playgrounds as he likes, so long as the Demon Realm
is in my hands.
Just when Mardones was secretly snickering with his own ambitions—
"—Speaking of which, where exactly has that son of Jin Toujou gone to?"
Unconsciously, the discussion between the Council members had shifted to
the whereabouts of Basara. Let alone the Moderates faction, even the Council
couldn't find out where Basara was; Leohart's side was unable to find any
clues either, he was completely missing.
"It would be funny if he ran away with his tail between his legs, but
something like that is unlikely."
"His opponent will most likely be Leohart. That elimination ability is indeed
a threat, but I don't think he'd be a worthy opponent even if he was to face
Leohart directly. If he had any self-knowledge of that, he might currently be
hiding in some place to do some final practice for his secret strategy."
"That is reasonable, and certainly very possible. The Hero Tribe can use
barriers…as long as they use that, we can't track down his spiritual reaction."
"In any case, it's just his final struggle…no, it would be better to call it a
completely wasted effort."
"Indeed, that's what it is."
Everyone followed on from each other as they smiled from ear to ear—
"———"
It was only Admirath who expressionlessly opened the door to check on the
movements in the corridor outside of the viewing room.
"What's wrong?"
His subordinate's sudden action aroused the questioning of Mardones.
"It's nothing, please don't mind…it seems like it was just my imagination."
After saying that, Admirath gently closed the door.
In the quiet corridor.
"I can't stand this…they keep chatting back and forth about conspiracies, and
they seem happy about it."
Appearing out of thin air space was Balthier, who had been ordered to
investigate the movements of the Council. It should be said that it was not
unexpected for the Council to harbour such intentions. The most intriguing
thing was—
"…Like this, they can [preserve that thing], huh?"
Balthier stepped through the corridor as he thought about the conversation
that he had just heard. Based on that tone, it was probably a trump card of the
Council…but there weren't enough clues so it was impossible to guess.
Based on the possibilities of the present, perhaps the special ability to win the
fight that Admirath reserved—
"Perhaps…it's the representative for the fourth battle."
The Council hadn't revealed even a word of their list of members to
Leohart's side. Before they went onto the stage, there was no way of knowing
what kind of people the Council had chosen.
"Just in case, it would be best to investigate…"
Because the fourth round was won without a fight, the identity of the fourth
warrior would remain a mystery if ignored. Continuing the decisive battle
with such uncertain factors could actually result in fatal issues at a critical
juncture.
…If I remember correctly, the lounge prepared for the Council's
representatives was on the south side.
While those thoughts went through his mind, the sound of thunderous
applause was suddenly heard from the arena, causing Balthier to stop in his
tracks, and observe the situation on the stage through a window that seemed
as though it had been dug out of the wall. The fifth representative of the
Moderates faction was already on the stage, and the fifth representative of the
Council had just emerged from the passageway. The Moderates faction had
sent out a girl from the Hero Tribe…the elder sister of the girl who had lost
to Admirath. On the other side—
"That is — Lord Benares' subordinate."
As Balthier whisphered, a tall burly Demon appeared in his sight as he
stepped onto the stage.
Part 15
Nonaka Yuki frowned as soon as she saw her opponent. Her opponent's arms
were as thick as logs, and his enormous body left no room for doubt that he
was a powerful opponent. But that was nothing to be surprised about.
Although it was a physique that could not belong to a human, among the
Demons, there were even stranger ones out there. What puzzled Yuki was the
fact that she had seen this Demon's appearance before; and that Demon had
died in front of Yuki's eyes. And then, the large Demon opened his thick lips
and spoke with the same familiar voice to Yuki
"So you're one of the Hero Tribe. Based on your appearance…you were the
guys who killed my older brother, right?"
"—Older brother?"
"Yeah, the one that you guys killed before was my older brother."
Upon seeing Yuki's frown deepen, the Demon laughed as he said
"Don't misunderstand me…I don't hate you guys. That guy's physical ability
is roughly equivalent to mine, but in reality, he's just all bark and no bite. So
don't compare this Volga-sama, to that failure."
"..."
Yuki simply answered Volga with silence. While simply holding [Sakuya] in
her hand, she patiently waited for the starting signal. But—
"You really are such a cute woman. Is it because your little sister suffered
such a miserable defeat that you're too ashamed to even speak? Huh?"
"...…"
This mockery made Yuki's shoulders tremble, but she still kept her lips
closed as she narrowed her cold gaze towards Volga.
"What…do you even have any emotions?"
Under the gaze of Yuki, Volga laughed as he said
"The exalted I doesn't play the same kind of boring battles that Admirath
does…since you're the older sister of that garbage, I'll let you in on a little
secret, just so you put in a little more effort."
After saying that, he opened the palm of his thick right hand towards Yuki.
"———"
Nonaka Yuki could not help but widen her eyes. It was because she saw a
twister-like magic activate in the palm of Volga's hand — which then formed
into an object. It was Basara's uniform button. That was probably a technique
that was able to convert magic into material.
"...…"
To Yuki, the principle behind that technique was not important. The problem
was that the means through which Admirath was able to deceive Kurumi's
virtue – came from Volga.
"Do you see it, the exalted I is strong, yet delicate…how do you like that, and
it's pretty close to the real thing, right? Using this to deceive that simple child
was such an easy task."
"...I see."
Yuki only spoke those two words to Volga, whose shoulders were shaking
from laughter. She finally got it — she completely understood. Although the
one who actually harmed Kurumi was Admirath, the reason for it came from
the Demon in front of her. For Yuki, such provocations were too
uncivilised…it didn't disturb her mood. However, the truth that Volga had
spoken, as well as his insult to Kurumi — all of that was carved into Yuki's
mind.
"Hmph…"
Seeing that Yuki simply stood there without a word, Volga forcefully crushed
the replica button out of boredom, and then scattered the fine debris into the
air — and then, that moment came. —In each of the previous battles, an
appropriate fighting space for both parties was chosen before starting. But
this time was different. As if this arena was a suitable location for the duel
between Yuki and Volga, the space did not change, and the clang of the gong
to signal the beginning of the fight had already echoed out.
"———"
In response to this irregular situation, Nonaka Yuki immediately moved her
previously still body. She pushed against the ground of the stage, and dashed
in a straight line towards Volga. In Volga's eyes, this girl of the Hero Tribe
was rushing towards him like a bullet. She was ignoring this abnormal
situation, and planned to land a pre-emptive strike.
"Hah, how naïve…!"
However, something like this was already well within Volga's expectations.
So—
"Ngguuuaaaaaa!"
Volga roared at Yuki who was making a beeline for him, and with all the
energy in his body, his rapidly swelling body was covered with glowing
purple particles — in the next instant, his appearance had completely
changed. His entire body was covered in armour that he had created using his
magic, similar to the amour of the Demon Beast Behemoth. This was the
reason why Volga was able to ridicule his older brother Valga as a failure —
[Spirit Armament]. Arm strength, leg strength, physical strength, defence,
and various other physical abilities had been greatly enhanced by Volga, and
he also materialised a long-handled battle-axe. When Volga raised his
weapon, Yuki had already reached the area in front of his chest, and began to
slash at him continuously — but Volga did not care. Equipping this spiritual
armament was his most complete defensive stance.
"———"
Using a draw-sword stance, Yuki drew her blade to commence a flurry of
attacks.
"Uuoooooooohh!"
Volga fiercely swung down his axe as a counterattack. —What followed
from that was a loud shockwave that resounded across the entire arena and
caused it to tremble. With that one strike, Volga split the stage in half, and
because of the impact generated, he had lost sight of Yuki's figure. On top of
that, Volga didn't feel that his body had been wounded at all. From the looks
of it, that counterattack had scared her off so she had to temporarily halt her
attack and retreat. As a result, that delayed reaction must have caused her to
be hit.
"Ha…has she been turned into dust just by one strike? She's also too weak!"
When Volga, who had been ridiculing Yuki decided to lift his axe from the
split floor of the stage—
"Uh…whoa."
He had no idea why he was falling forward, but he quickly moved his leg
forward for support. But — Volga still fell forward as he held onto his axe.
"Huh? How could…"
It was the first time in a long while since he had last equipped his spirit
armament, and under these circumstances where he had dropped the axe with
all his might, perhaps it was his first time doing so. Could it be that he was
too excited and overexerted himself, and put the cart before the horse? These
thoughts caused Volga to subconsciously turn his head, and look at his lower
body.
"Oh—…?"
And then he frowned. Volga's lower body was still standing, his waist and
legs were still standing steady, yet Volga still continued to fall — those two
things were contradictory. It was as if his upper and lower body was not even
joined together.
"———"
And then Volga saw — on the other side of his own lower body that was still
standing there. The back of a girl who was holding a sword faced him.
Part 16
Even though Volga's enormous body had been cut into two sections, he still
seemed to want to fight, as his upper body continued to struggle. However,
the immense blood loss quickly caused his consciousness to fade, and then he
stopped moving.
"Come on…how could this guy die even quicker than his rotten older
brother?"
Volga's miserable state caused Lars to smile bitterly in the lounge. Upon the
display, when Yuki returned her spirit sword to its sheath with a 'ching', the
stage that had been destroyed by Volga was restored. Based on that, it
seemed that the battle space had not been changed, rather, the entire stage
was copied. Yuki then walked off the stage, and didn't even look at what was
left of Volga on the floor. Yuki's anger towards Admirath for deceiving
Kurumi didn't seem to have subsided yet, and that aura overwhelmed the
audience, so much so that none of them dared to say anything. When the staff
waiting at the side moved Volga away on a cart, Lars stopped looking at the
display of Yuki returning to the Moderates faction's lounge through the
passageway and said
"So, what now, Leohart?"
"...…"
Leohart replied to Lars with a heavy silence. The Council's candidate, Volga,
had been defeated, but that wasn't enough for him to let his grievances out…
because the sixth representative, his adjutant Balthier had gone to investigate
the Council's situation, but was still yet to return.
"It'll be a problem if he's not ready to head out, and I'm not able to reach
him with communication magic either, huh?"
"…Yeah, I'm not able to detect Balthier's spiritual reaction either."
This meant that let alone speaking to him, it wasn't possible to construct a
link to him at all. Balthier was Leohart's most loyal subordinate, it was
unlikely that he would be hiding at such a time, so the most likely scenario
was—
"After Toujou Basara, now even Balthier has disappeared…could it be
possible that both of them have been captured by the Council?"
"…I don't want to think that, but it's not impossible."
Lars seemed to sigh as he spoke to Leohart, whose expression was becoming
more serious
"I can't take this…if we don't deal with this quickly, we'll be giving the
Council an excuse for trouble again."
"But — we don't have anyone else who can go right now."
If Balthier wasn't present, the Council would definitely send their own
representative to fight. At present, Lars had one win, Luka had one loss,
while the Council had one loss because of Volga, but Admirath had defeated
Kurumi, and also caused Zest to lose through disqualification, a total of two
wins. Under such an unfavourable situation, if even Balthier's position was to
be filled by the Council, and if they won — then even if Leohart won his
duel, three of the five victories of the Current Demon Lord faction would
belong to the Council. It would be equivalent to the Council winning the final
substantial victory.
"So — you're not just going to sit here and watch, right?"
Lars lifted his eyebrows as he asked. The young Demon Lord shook his head
and stood up.
"How could I? I don't want to give the Council any more than they already
have."
Leohart then said
"Even if there's no one among us who can go — there are still ways to stop
them."
Part 17
"Forfeit…?"
When Mio heard the broadcast of the decisive battle from the Moderates
faction's lounge, she couldn't help but frown. The Current Demon Lord
faction had actually taken the initiative to forfeit the sixth individual duel.
…What happened?
Had something happened on that side, or was it another trap…either way, the
sixth duel that Lucia was scheduled to fight in had been won by the
Moderates faction, so both sides had now reached a tie situation with three
wins and losses each. Everything now relied on the final showdown. Aside
from Maria who lost to Takigawa due to the sheer difference in their strength,
the other side had resorted to despicable means to take advantage of Basara's
absence to deceive Kurumi into defeat, followed by Zest's loss by
disqualification; they were able to draw with the other side, so this could be
described as the optimal result.
…But.
Naruse Mio couldn't stop frowning — because Basara hadn't returned yet.
Although the speed of the decisive battle had progressed faster than expected,
that was slightly unsettling, but that wasn't the reason. At this time, Mio
heard an unprecedented and deafening round of applause from the arena.
Upon the display that was mounted on the wall, Leohart had appeared in the
ring.
"What are we going to do…if this goes on…"
This time, the Moderates faction would lose without fighting, which also
meant that the Moderates faction would lose entirely. Just when Mio
anxiously mumbled that to herself, someone entered the lounge. It was Lucia.
Because she had won due to forfeit, she returned without taking to the stage.
Upon seeing that Mio was the only one in the lounge, she said
"It looks like Basara-san still has not returned…so this round will be fought
by Ramsas-sama, there are no problems with that, right?"
"Lucia-san, please wait just a bit longer…right now—"
It's too soon to say that Basara won't show up — before Mio could say this,
the display showed that the stage had begun to change into a fighting space.
Perhaps because this duel would be between the two leaders, they wanted to
choose a veritable battlefield for the Moderates faction and Current Demon
Lord faction; the battle space gradually changed into an ancient city—
"…Now it's impossible for Ramsas-sama not to head out."
"What do you mean?"
Having narrowed her eyes, Lucia replied to Mio
"That is the royal city of the third generation Demon Lord, Lezonas, the
ancient city of Lada. Lezonas is a descendant of the first generation Demon
Lord, and after defeating the second generation Demon Lord, he ascended to
the throne as the new Demon Lord…this ancient city was their battlefield.
Because of its current historical value, it has been protected by high-level
magic, so only people of the Demon Lord's bloodline are able to enter. Since
the battle space is a replica, it should be safe to say that its special
characteristics have been maintained."
"No…then doesn't that…"
Lucia's words caused Mio to stare at the image blankly. In this case, even if
Basara was able to make it in time — he would be unable to stand upon the
stage to finish this showdown between Leohart and himself.
Part 18
In the ancient city that had been replicated as a fighting space.
Leohart stood atop one of central high-rise buildings in silence. This building
was the palace that Lezonas had elected after becoming the third generation
Demon Lord. Before his opponent could make his way onto the stage, it had
changed into this ancient city that only descendants of a Demon Lord could
enter, which meant that Leohart's only opponent was Ramsas. At least,
among the remaining representatives of the Moderates faction, there wasn't
anyone else who could stand upon this stage.
…In the end, Toujou Basara still has not appeared.
Despite feeling slightly disappointed, Leohart accepted that this was fate.
After Balthier went to investigate the Council's situation, communication had
been cut off with him soon after. It could be guessed that Basara was most
likely imprisoned by them.
…So be it.
The final outcome of this situation was not actually bad for Leohart. Not only
was Ramsas able to eliminate Nebula's high-level spirit in one blow, he was
also Wilbert's older brother, so he was more than qualified to act as the trump
card in this final duel between the Current Demon Lord faction and
Moderates faction. Leohart had actually hoped to personally fight against
Mio, who had inherited Wilbert's power and bloodline, in order to cut off the
last remnants of the dead — he had declared himself as the Current Demon
Lord under the shadow of the previous Demon Lord who was recognised as
the strongest in history. However, the opposing side had deliberately avoided
a confrontation between him and Mio, so expecting such a thing was too
greedy.
…It should be soon.
Soon, he would be able to achieve the cherished wish that he had held for
years. Leohart lightly closed his eyes as if to suppress the rising emotions
within him while he waited for his opponent to arrive. Ten seconds later —
accompanied by a shrill sound, everything in the surrounding space began to
shake slightly.
"..."
Leohart slowly opened his eyes, and projected his sight downwards towards
the opposite side — at the top of the opposite-facing high-rise building, at
some point unbeknownst to him, a youth had been quietly looking at him
whilst holding a large silver demonic sword in his hand. There wasn't much
need to explain who had arrived.
"I see…"
He had most likely used that elimination ability to destroy the barrier that
only allowed Demon Lord descendants to pass through. After whispering
that, Leohart also materialised the demonic sword Loki in his hands, and then
declared
"—Let's begin."
"Yeah…"
The youth who was once a Hero — Toujou Basara nodded in response to
Leohart's declaration. From here on, the two of them would no longer need
any other words. —The signal to begin rang out. But this was not the same
gong sound as it previously was. The bell of the grand clock in the ancient
city chimed at the same time. Was this to be the ceremonial bell to bless the
new order that was to be born in the Demon Realm? Both sides pushed off
from the roof at the same time. Like this, they leapt towards the space in front
of them, wielding their demonic swords to sweep out a full-powered blow.
Toujou Basara and the Current Demon Lord Leohart put everything that they
had behind this one blow, and in that moment, a hurricane of intense sparks
erupted from their clash.