Finally, we made it to the centre of the city. The townhouse was thankfully still intact to be our landmark, otherwise we would had lost our way with all the chaos happening around us. There were soldiers everywhere but not all of them were demons. We had to fight so many of them on our way which slowed us down. Sadly though, there were a number of adventurers who were either too afraid to do anything or just doesn't trust anyone any longer. Since they couldn't contribute in doing anything, I explained to them should they wished for the war to end, head over to the castle and help out. If they still had any semblance of rationality, they would be wise enough to help Onii-chan. My main goal is to escort Rose to the city centre and help her in casting the spell. Is there any preparation she need before casting it?
She looked up upwards at the townhouse and sighed. She mentioned that she'll probably need to climb the top of the townhouse to reach the highest point which was the bell tower. This would maximise the coverage of the spell as she had no idea on how far the spell would spread. I told her to follow her gut feeling and do what she needed to do as I'll fending off anyone who approaches the building. Gee, Zen is certainly rubbing off on me with his gut feeling believes. Rose nodded and quickly rushed inside the townhouse to climb.
A couple of adventurers and soldiers came charging straight at me as though they knew what we're about to do. Strange, demons usually don't have such intellect. Is there someone leading them nearby? Or perhaps they're just attacking anyone on sight.
I stood by the entrance of the townhouse and fought the enemies, making sure that none of them enters the townhouse. I was not in a good position to be pulling my punches, if there is any human soldiers fighting with me now then may you rest in fist.
More and more soldiers came charging at my position as I swung my punches and kicks even more. Why does it feel as though there are endless? I took a quick glance at the fallen soldiers and noticed that most of them were demons so I pressed on defending myself and the entrance.
A loud roar erupted that caused the soldiers and adventurers to back off. A tall soldier approached me in a calm manner. He threw his weapon away and started morphing. Is he— changing to his demon form? I guess it's pretty much pointless to remain disguised now. This demon was blueish in colour but had no wings. It looked slim but definitely have the muscles and claws to rip me apart. O his claws are extremely long and sharp alright. This must be a Great Demon that those three kept talking about. Now I have to fight one alone. Do I actually stand a chance? I get the feeling that it's imperative to use Concentration against such a strong opponent.
I took a deep breath and activated Imperfect Concentration. The demon roared and rushed at me with full speed. It leapt and attempted to take a chunk out of me. I dodged to the side and avoided the bite but held back in giving a counter. I have no idea what this demon is capable of so I should play it safe first. It took a swipe at me but I ducked low. It then proceeded to kick me which I decided to take advantage of. I blocked its kick with my gauntlets, yet I felt the weight of it which nearly threw me off balanced. I countered his kick by shattering his knee with a good solid punch. The demon roared in pain and held its broken knee. I pushed my advantage and continued attacking the demon offensively. Zen had provided me with a wax which is supposedly effective against demons and prevent them from healing; but, it's kind of useless for me. My gauntlets aren't bladed which means the wax just doesn't work for me.
We traded some blows but the demon was healing quickly. Even his shattered knees had already healed up by now. I need to find a way to end this quickly. The demon tried to stab me with it's claws. I dodged to the side and arm-locked its arm. Then I gave a punch that smashed its arm, resulting in a flabby mess. The demon pulled back its arm as it roared loudly in pain, but I gave no quarters. I gave a kenpo double punch to the demon's stomach and sternum. The demon spewed blood from its mouth as it took my hits. Now to aim for the head. I rushed in to deal the finishing blow but a blade suddenly pierced through its skull from behind. The blade twisted and sliced through the skull.
Who— Who's blade is this? Is it an adventurer? The demon slumped to the ground, revealing who was behind him. And standing there, was Rick. He performed a chiburi before slotting his katana back into his scabbard. He approached closer to me but I remained wary of him. I am certain Rick is dead when I made sure to confirm that was his body in the alleyway. He was either ambushed or assassinated by someone powerful to kill a Dark Knight that easily. This demon is certainly gonna be harder to kill compared to the Great Demon earlier. What I'm baffled was, why did it just killed its own kind? To gain my trust?
"Hey there, beautiful. Pretty crazy, isn't it? This war has certainly gone to hell. I'm surprised to see you still here in the middle of town. Why— are you doing here exactly?" asked Rick.
Wow, even his voice and mannerism is exactly like Rick. What the hell is John and the Elementalist doing? I thought they were supposed to be hunting Rick yet here he is in the middle of the city unopposed. Guess he doesn't know his cover was blown. No matter, I'll just play the fool and trick him instead.
"We got lost and fought our way here. It was then we were ambushed by the soldiers and adventurers. The Great Demon appeared out of nowhere and fought with me. Thanks for helping me, by the way," I smiled at him.
"I— see. Well, you better get out of the city while you still can. City Of Pines is lost now. There is no point in saving it anymore. I'll be leaving as soon as I found Zen. Do you happened to know where he is?" he asked.
"Don't know. I thought he was still outside the city trying to find his way in. Weren't you tasked in protecting him?" I asked him.
I turned my gaze upwards at the townhouse and saw that Rose had finally made her way up the roof. She's close now. Just a few more seconds and she'll be able to climb her way up to the bell tower. I scanned my surroundings for any soldiers or adventurers that might potentially disrupt her. I was shocked when I saw a portable cannon being pushed all the way here. The cannon bearers were readying themselves to fire at Rose!
I rushed towards the cannon but felt a murderous intent behind me. I made a quick turn, only to find myself blocking Rick's blade. This bastard is trying to stop me from destroying the cannon.
"How did you know about my secret task? No one was supposed to know about it. Unless, he told you himself," said Rick as he placed more strength on his blade against my gauntlets.
Damn it, a slip of the tongue. I need to destroy that cannon before they fire at Rose!
BOOM!!
What the— shit! They fired that fast?! I quickly turned my head to see what happened to Rose and thankfully she had leapt towards the ladder that she needed to climb to reach the top of the bell tower. The cannon ball destroyed the roof portion that she was running on a second ago.
Nice one, Rose! They are gonna need time to reload for their next attack which I won't let them. I thought of rushing towards the cannon bearers but Rick was pressing his attack against me. His attack was fast and precise which made it difficult for me to run or counter attack him. This is definitely no ordinary demon. I need to use Concentration to fend off his attack and be aggressive instead of defensive.
The sound of a cannon ball being reloaded could be heard. Argh, damn it! I need to destroy that cannon now but this bloody demon is not letting me! I took a quick glance at Rose. She was still climbing up the ladder. That cannon is gonna fire again before she makes it up top. I don't have much time. I need to to start using Concentration now or I won't be able to defeat this demon. This demon is taking all my attention just to block his attacks. I am going to need to use Concentration to defeat this demon quick. I focused myself to use Concentration but was suddenly hit by a sudden pain on my stomach. Where— did that attack came from? It took opportunity to sneak in an attack when I was trying to focus.
I clutched my stomach as it was in terrible pain. I started hearing the familiar soft tssss which could only meant one thing. That cannon is about to fire once again! I pushed through the pain and dashed towards the cannon disregarding my safety. But deep down, I knew I couldn't make it. Rose will not be able to avoid the cannon ball while she's climbing. She might have to jump to safety but without reaching the top, is the spell effective enough to cast? I can sense the demon's blade aiming for my neck behind me. But I have to try. I have to save Rose. Zen will not be here to save me like he did before.
Something can be heard flying towards me from behind. The cannon that I was staring at and trying to reach misfired. That's— weird. The fuse fell off the cannon which puzzled the soldiers. It was then the Elementalist appeared behind them and incapacitate them by slamming his dagger hilt on their temple. Thank the goddess, the Elementalist made it in time! I quickly turned my gaze behind me and saw John blocking Rick's blade with his shiny legendary axe. Finally, the both of them are here. About time they started doing the job that they decided to take up.
I turned my gaze to Rose and she was reaching the top of the bell tower. Alright, she can start casting her spell soon. I can finally focus on beating the shit out of this impostor.
"After Rose had casted her spell, head to the castle and help Zen. The Elementalist and I will fight this impostor," said John.
"What are you saying? You need all the help you can get in fighting this impostor. This demon is strong!" I shouted at John.
"Zen is alone in the castle right now. Both of you must help him! Who knows what other strong opponents he will be facing alone. Go, the both of us will handle this. Keep your future husband alive," pleaded John.
"Damn it John, I'll be coming back to punch you for that. Don't you dare die on me!" I shouted and ran closer to the bell tower.
***
Rick leapt backwards as he saw the Elementalist walking over to my side. Seems like he's wary in fighting two guildmasters at the same time.
"You can stop your foolish disguised now. We know who you are," I warned the impostor.
"What are you talking about? Impostor? I'm Rick. Don't you recognise me? I don't understand why two guildmasters are trying to pick a fight with me," he pleaded.
"I had a clear view of you trying to kill Lily. Cut the chatter and bring out your halberd. It's your favourite weapon anyway," I grinned at him.
Just then, a bright ray of light engulfs all of us. I embraced the light as it was warm, calming and soothes the soul. The impostor, on the other hand, was screaming in pain as his face mask was searing. He quickly removed and threw his mask away, revealing who he really was. It turns out my suspicion was correct. It was him after all.
***
I reached the top of the throne in a blink of an eye. Just a swing from Inazuma and the Queen will be dead before the captain can even react if he really is hiding somewhere. It will all be over in just a second.
PING!!
No, that was not the sound effect due to network latency. The Queen stopped Inazuma by raising her index finger. How— is this even possible? Inazuma can slice through many things and fingers are absolutely one of them. How strong are her flesh and bones?
I pulled back Inazuma, did a pirouette and attempted to decapitate her once more. This time, she stopped my blade by gripping it between her index and middle finger. It felt as though Inazuma was completely stuck between her fingers. Not good, I had thought she would be at the rank of a greater demon but she might actually be stronger than that. I hope she's not the actual Demon King in disguised.
I summoned Tengu-kaze with my left-hand as Inazuma was completely stuck and swung at her. Before the blade touched her, she kicked my stomach with her high-heel and sent me flying all the way down to the bottom of the throne steps. Bloody hell that hurts.
As I was clutching my stomach on the floor, I saw a sharp heels above inching closer to me in front of my vision. I quickly rolled aside and stood up, ignoring the blinding pain on my stomach. How is this woman jumping around while wearing heels and a big corset is beyond me. Demon or not, I'm certainly impressed she was able to pull such a stunt in the first place.
The Queen was smirking at me and had her hand on her hip as she stood there waiting for me. Trying to taunt me, is she? I returned a smirk of my own. If she were to die so easily after all the trouble she had caused me, I would had been unsatisfied. I closed my eyes and performed my breathing routine.
I activated imperfect Concentration to fight with this bitch. I unsummoned Tengu-kaze and focused on solely in using Inazuma as I had not learned how to use dual-wielding properly. I charged at the Queen full speed and attacked her from all possible angles. I couldn't hurt her no matter how hard I swung Inazuma. She was blocking all my attacks with just her hands or arms. I'm genuinely surprised that her flesh or bones were this tough.
Seeing as I was doing no harm to her, I summoned my trusty gauntlets, Hand of the Lightning God. Say goodbye to your roof, Miss Queeny. I lifted my left arm and a lightning struck through the castle from above to charge my gauntlet. I ran it across Inazuma making sure to coat the blade properly. The Queen changed to a more serious expression when she saw what I did. I'm able to destroy the Underwater Dragon King's scales using Shadow Strike and Lightning Charge combination. Now with my upgraded Dark Slash, let's see how your flesh and bones fare against this combo.
I lunged at her with maximum speed. The Queen leapt to the side to avoid my attack. Seems like she's wary of my attacks. Trails of lightning can be seen throughout Inazuma as I readied to swing it. She scratch one of her palm with her index nail causing it to bleed. Literally out of nowhere, a bluish looking dagger covered with thorns emerged from her hand and she tossed a couple of them at me. Does she— have blue blood? I dodged them skilfully, avoiding every single one of them. We were now fighting among the pillars of the throne room. Just as I had hoped.
As she continued throwing her daggers at me while maintaining her distance, I hid among one of the pillars and used Conceal. The Queen started scanning her surroundings due to my sudden disappearance.
"I can still smell you, you know? Playing hide and seek with me is useless," she said out loud as she continued sniffing around.
She walked closer behind one of the pillars and summoned more daggers at her hands. Upon reaching my hiding place, she threw all her daggers that she summoned. All of them struck the wall instead. She had mistaken the scent of my cloak and assumed I was hiding there.
I appeared behind her gripping Inazuma with both hands. I spun myself for more momentum before slicing her. The Queen reacted quickly and leaped backwards, but I was faster. I sliced her right hand below her elbow cleanly. She stared at her wound and shrugged it off. Strangely, there was no blood spilling out of that wound.
I kicked her severed arm nonchalantly and pointed Inazuma at her.
"Your head is gonna be next," I warned her.
She smirked and laughed as she walked away from the pillars. She was now standing in the middle of the room and taunting me to attack her. I quickly recovered my cloak and wore it. I obliged her request and dashed towards her in an attempt to decapitate her head for good. However, I was stopped midway when something grabbed my neck from behind. It was her severed arm! She can still move it even after getting severed?! The arm swung forward and attached itself back to her elbow while still gripping my neck. I can barely move from her strong grip. I tried to trash around to free myself but I was running low on oxygen. I couldn't even slice her hand off with Inazuma as I can barely even think now.
She brought me out of the throne room through her balcony while still choking me with her hand. This location is where she usually give her speeches to the common folks below. Now it's gonna be my execution ground. She easily lifted me higher with her one hand and brought me over the edge. I continued to struggle in an attempt to break free but it was getting much harder to think straight.
Just then, a ray of bright light showered across my vision. Rose did it. She managed to cast her Revelation spell. I squinted my eyes as it was intensely bright and noticed that the clothes of the Queen was searing and she her features was changing completely. Now I can finally see her true form. She was a demon wearing a seductive outfit, green eyes, horns and had wings that looked like a skirt.
"H— hey.. you're— not— as bad as you look," I managed to utter those words.
"Oh my, flattery from a human? I might had considered it if the Demon King had not set his sights on me. I am the Demon Queen. I commend you, for being able to sever my arm earlier. Not many beings are capable of hurting me in the first place. Remember this, as it's the last words you will ever hear.
She took a deep breath and released her grip. I thought I'll be free falling from what looked like 30 storeys high. But I was greeted with a loud scream that knocked me unconscious and sent me flying.