Looking back, from the moment I received life as a devil, this is the complete worst battle I've ever gone into.
Even if you count the time I was powerless, huddled in a corner of the slums, I'd never experienced humiliation to this degree.
It's been one hour since her Tentacles turned purple.
Death lingers all around. The number of Third Brigade members left is easily countable. You could even call it our complete annihilation.
The Demon Lord's power is tremendous, and I'll bet there's no real difference to her whether she's facing a General or any ordinary Demon.
There weren't many soldiers that tried to flee, but the portion that did was instantly shot down by tentacles from behind, and dissolved.
Putting aside Deije, who still has Demon Blades on him that allow him to attack the tentacles, the only reason I'm still alive is that Zebul doesn't seem to have intentions to kill me yet.
Because the Food Preparations for me are taking her time.
She licks her lips. Perhaps because our numbers have decreased, the number of tentacles surrounding her has decreased, and her human form has become visible again, but that doesn't really hold any meaning.
They're too fast for me to dodge.
"Fufufu, as expected of Lust… what pretty skin you have there. You may be lacking in physique, but you look like you'll taste splendid. What fun."
The hunger that floated in her eyes made the inside of my head burn bright red.
The clothing on my body had all been melted, and had disappeared into her stomach.
In the desert land, with nothing to cover myself, and no chance to even conceal with my hands as I ran away; the sight could only be looked on as humorous.
My body feels heavy as lead, and from my first extensive exercise in a long time, I'm getting light headed.
But I cannot give up.
"But this is strange… for a Lust Demon, the scent of Lust on you is too weak… you, Closet Pervert?"
She threw out those words in a joking tone. How rude.
"Ki ki ki, Exactly my sentiment. I'd have liked to see you like that on the bed and not in a place like this!"
He lets out some impudent words as he tries attacking again after tens of failures.
The only thing he has left is Celeste. But his sword still had powers in it beyond a normal one. Its divine flames manifest a violent maelstrom of fire, and send it at Zebul.
"Well, well, you don't know when to give up… honestly, the flames are tasty, but they won't settle down in my stomach. I guess I don't really like them."
But even that doesn't work. In a motion I've seen countless times by now, Zebul opens her mouth.
As if it were being sucked in, the flames are drawn to that small hole, where they dissapear.
"… Damn, no matter how you look at it, that's cheating…"
"Fufufu, don't mind it, you guys are… much stronger than that Demon Lord I ate the day before last. That's truly a frightening sword."
"Ki ki ki, so it's just the sword!"
"Fufufu, in ten thousand years, perhaps you may be able to reach at least the footholds of my desire, I guess."
"… So do you have any intentions of letting us off?"
"I'm too hungry for that!"
Wrapped by the tentacles, yet another Demon was sucked in.
The ground the purple liquid touches desolve, and many holes open up.
"Oy, Medea…"
"… What?"
"Just one, there's still something we can try."
Deije speaks with an expression overcome by fatigue. His treasured swords were eaten, and his eyes are filled with hostility towards the Demon Lord in front of him.
"You… give me your 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』."
"…Ha? What are you talking about?"
Deije glares at the Lord with stern eyes. Is the fact she's not launching an attack right now due to her leisure?
"That skill… it's one that births illusions with physical form, right?"
"… Yeah, to put it more specifically, it creates illusions, and the real body can freely swap to any one of them if within range."
When you're killed, it's a skill that can make your real body the illusion. Such is the power of the skill you have to climb up quite high on the Luxuria Skill Tree to obtain, 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』. It's a powerful skill where, until one of them is attacked, all of them can be classified as the real body. That's why any resistance to Mental Corruption cannot see through it.
"Close enough. Girly, listen close. Right now, we have no means of beating Zebul. Just barely, if a chance is ever to come, our hope lies on this sword."
He holds up the cracked and torn Demon Blade.
Truly, attacks from Celeste are the only ones she takes the time to defend against. No, she's still eating them, but there's no doubt she has to take some sort of action. Since she does that every time, if she doesn't she should take some damage.
But I doubt we'll be able to take her out in a single strike.
"I'll take your 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』 with my 『Skill Ruler』, and using it, I'll fry that bastard with Celeste from all directions."
Those words were something I could not believe.
I unintentionally raised my free hand to cover my breasts. Deije's eyes were serious.
"That can't be… 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』 is an SS Class Skill, you know? Using that on top of invoking Celeste's power is… impossible."
"Ki ki ki, so all it means is… it's a problem of Magical Power… even so, if we don't do something now, we'll just get eaten. We'll be turned into some strange fancy dish."
He's… correct.
Even if we nedlessly waste time here, defeat is inevitable. Then it's not bad to make a bet.
I give a small nod.
"Fufufu, have you finished your discussion? My hunger is just about at its limit, guys."
"Yeah… Ki ki ki, we'll roast you whole."
I take the hand Deije offered to me.
The second I touched it, a skill from the Greed Tree, 『Skill Ruler』 was activated.
『Skill Ruler』 is, as the name sounds, a Greed Skill that steals the Skills of others. It's the most famous skill on the tree.
There are various complex conditions that have to be met, so you can't fulfill them on the battlefield to take an enemy's skills, but you can still manipulate stolen skills freely, and you can even strengthen them. A powerful Skilll.
This especially goes for Class Skills that can only be unlocked by fulfilling Original Sin.
Skill Ruler can ignore the prerequisites, and unlock limitless merits. Because the harder they are to unlock, the more powerful a Demon's skills are.
I felt an uncomfortable sensation as if my entire body was searched over. I somehow stomached that disgusting feeling by gritting my teeth.
But Deije's face soon warped, and he muttered in amazement.
"This can't be… the Skill 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』… isn't there… what the hell!?"
"Eh!?"
He put in more power, and gripped my hand with force that made me question whether or not it would break.
My existence was probed left and right.
"Gone… dammit… this can't be. I should have fulfilled the conditions already!! Even if it's an SS Class Skill, it can't be that I can't find it… impossible!!"
"… Could it be that you're not proficient enough to use it or something?"
My words were quickly denied.
With eyes as if he was looking down at a monster.
"Nonononono, Skill Ruler isn't… that sort of skill. Girly, are you really capable of using that skill?
"… Didn't you just see me using it back then?""
"… Still… dammit, there's no time. No helping it, I'll lend you Celeste. You do it!"
Impossible. That's definitely impossible.
There's a clear difference in swordsmanship level between me and Deije. It's not just a manner of skill; muscle mass, the way we carry ourselves, and even our daily habits, the way we've lived our lives up until now, the small differences in movement outside of our perception.
I cannot handle Celeste. Even if it's just letting out flames, a Demon Blade of this level depends greatly on the wielder, and in the first place, I don't have the magic left in me to use 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』.
"No good… I don't have enough Magical Energy in me to use the 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』 skill."
"Ku, then I guess it's finally time… for us to be praying for a miracle."
His sharp eyes turned to the aloof Demon Lord.
Miracle?
That word made a light flash in my mind.
… No, not like that, but just one… there's just one way this'll work.
It isn't something grand enough to usher in our victory, but there was still one way I could use to recover magic.
Still, if I did use it, my true nature would leak out. No, I've already used it once before.
Being found out is only a matter of time…
I looked at Deije's face. It's not one I like at all.
He's a man who's built up more distinguished service than me.
But we're not at a level where I can care about like or hate.
I prepared myself, and opened my mouth.
"Deije… um, I'm…"
"… What? … What sort of miracle is this?"
His expression turned to one in a trance. It was the same expression as when he had scortched the desert, only to find Zebul still alive and well.
A face that came when something outside the realm of common sense had happened.
He overlooks me with eyes as if he doubted whether or not he was dreaming.
"Girly, can you feel that?"
Eh? …Ah! …Eh!?"
A few seconds late, I noticed as well.
The meaning of his words.
The wind was blown away. The unstagnating black wind that seemed to carry everything away.
I looked at the palm of my own hand, dumbfound. A slight bit of power returns to my exhausted body, and some magic returns to my empty tank.
The sticky feeling Zebul gave off was washed away.
"Leigie-sama's 『Abyss Zone』 was… revived!?"
"… Why… at this point, why is Boss's Zone…"
Right, after all this time.
『Abyss Zone』 wasn't a skill that could be readily manipulated. Sure, if a Demon Lord had considerable power, the scope and output would rise, but that's based on their base abilities, and it isn't something they can consciously control.
Zebul noticed as well. She looks bewildered.
It seems her power isn't impacted in itself, but she's probably questioning how the territory she was able to construct without problem was suddenly broken without warning.
"… Oy, oy, what did you guys do? Is this part of your plan?"
As if.
『Abyss Zone』 is only reserved for Demon Lords. Neither me nor Deije are going awaken to it all of a sudden.
That in itself would take more than a miracle.
But the real miracle was yet to come.
Deije suddenly opened his eyes wide.
His lip trembles, and his arms lose power as Celeste falls to the ground.
An obvious gap in defense. If that Lord over there were to attack now, we would have been bitten to death.
"How… why, at this time… no, in the first place… that's impossible."
But I have no time to pay him any mind.
Because I had noticed what was in the direction he was looking.
Elegant black hair, well cared for (by the maids). Unhealthy pale skin without a single blemish. The jet-black overcoat he wore, befitting of one who reigned over the night, was said to be something handed down by the Great Demon King, but no one knows the truth of the matter.
Of course without a blade, or a weapon of any kind. Not even a crown to honor his title. He wasn't wearing a single ornament.
From inside his black clothing, that looked to be woven with high class silk, a sloven plain shirt was visible. Since he wasn't wearing a belt, he wasn't going to be doing any extreme movement, but even now, his pants looked like they were about to slip off.
In all sense of the word, that visage wasn't one that should be appearing on the battlefield. No, there's no way it could have appeared.
Even a random spear falling from the sky and accidentally killing the Demon Lord would be more believable.
"Medea… is that your illusion?"
"… Of course not."
I don't have the time, and there would be no meaning.
Making an illusion of my own master? He's too awe-inspiring for me to be able to do such a thing.
"… I see, so it's Zebul's illusion… Ah, that was surprising. I mean, there's no way Boss would appear in a place like this."
"… So that's it… if it's that, then I can believe it."
My frozen thoughts were thawed by Deije bringing up a situation that was actually plausible.
I see… just how vile is this Demon Lord? Even if we were on the brink of death, to show us an image of Leigie-sama… is this a part of her cooking?
Using the carrot and stick raises the flavor?
Regardless, don't scare me like that. I thought my heart was going to stop even before she killed me.
My heart is still going off like an alarm due to the impact.
Even so, that's really well made.
It's been quite a while since I last looked upon Leigie-sama's form. And seeing him walking around outside, just how many years has it been? Even if I look through all of my memory, the first time I met him was the first and last I ever saw him out here, and it probably won't happen any time soon.
The reason his hair is so glossy despite its messiness is because the maids are hard-put keeping it in order while trying not to wake him, and his pale skin is likely a result of him not going out three hundred and sixty five days a year. His nature and each and every detail was completely reproduced.
Even his expression was the sleepy one he made when in his room, and his swaying stance was one where I wanted to rush to him this instant to support his body.
"That's quite something… it really is identical. If the Boss ever actually stood up, he'd probably look like that."
"… Right …Ah!!"
At that moment, I noticed something important.
I'm… not wearing anything right now!
I hurriedly sit down to hide myself. Even if it may be an illusion, standing before my lord with not a cloth on my back is something that should never come to be. Even if Leigie-same isn't interested in me in the slightest.
The inside of my head is burning red, as if it had been painted with embarrassment itself, and noticing there were things I couldn't hide even in this position, I turned to Deije.
"Deije… mantle."
"… Sure."
He casts off his tattered mantle, and I somehow use it to cover my body. Like this, I won't be able to move well, but this isn't the time to be worried about that.
Deije keeps his eyes locked, on the illusion's actions.
"… Oy, oy, that boss has already started sleeping. In front of Zebul."
"They really are identical."
Still with a bewildered expression, Zebul raised her voice to the illusion of Leigie-sama that had suddenly appeared.
"… You. Who are you?"
"… I see."
The illusion, with an expression indicating he wasn't listening at all, let out some words completely irrelevant to the flow of the conversation.