As we arrived at the ice castle, Guy immediately ordered Rain and Misery to take Milim to one of the guest rooms in his palace.
As for us, we sat ourselves down on the chairs, getting ready to begin the conference.
Sariel: 「So, are you content with that?」
Guy: 「Like you've never known.」
I looked at his proud expression with a tick mark on my head.
I mean, I was busily fighting God's daughter while he was happily watching me dunk it out.
「Notice. An attempt to copy your skill was also made.」
Oh? How brave. And you weren't mad or anything?
This just shows how much you've matured. Why do I feel insulted?
Kalisha: 「That would be because you are immature.」
Ah, the roast. Whatever.
Sariel: 「You thought I wouldn't notice? How tactless. You lack proper manners.
Attempting to copy my skills instead of helping me calm the situation down. So bold...」
Guy: 「You say I'm tactless, but you are mean.
I thought with you following those angels all day, you would become one as well, given your kind nature.
But you're a demon through and through. You've cleared all my doubts about you.」
Eh? What does he mean?
「I allowed him to copy your skill.」
Oh? That's unlike you. I would be worried if it was one of my unique skills, though.
「Incorrect. The ability I allowed him to replicate was the skill『Thought Deceleration』. This skill can only affect him and not others.」
...Isn't that something I don't have...?
「Correct. I made a copy of the ability 『Thought Acceleration』 and altered it with the ability 『Existence Alteration』, making it possible for the individual Guy to decelerate his thought processes to millions of times.」
Wait, isn't that a curse? He wouldn't be able to perceive anything in time.
I mean, even a snail would seem to move at light speed with this ability. Isn't that useless?
「Precisely.」
..... You are the tyrant...
「You are the master of tyrants.」
..... Wow, just wow. She's so evil. To do something like that.
I mean, that ability can help you get through time. But that's all.
It would make your perception of time quite low, so some years would feel like seconds to you.
Then it was all but useful. It can't be used in battle.
Even using it in life would be dangerous as anyone could attack you, without you even knowing when you died.
You won't even know you died. I never knew an ability could be so useless.
And he can't even use it on others, how lucky.
You'd have to be in the safest place in the world to use this ability to pass time. Raziel-san had defied logic and odds once again.
Well, all I have to do now is act as if I did it out of volition, and it would be alright.
Sariel: 「That would teach you to never try that again.」
A cryptic and distinct sentence.
That would not make it seem like I didn't know or make it seem as if I was trying too hard to convince him.
In the end, Raziel-san saved the day once again.
「Everything was according to plan.」
What do you mean?
「By doing this, he should've known that you are capable of altering your abilities.」
Wait, I don't.... get... it? I see. Since that ability was altered, he should know that I did it on the spot.
That would make him wary of me. Is that your plan?
「Notice. He was already suspicious of you being capable of doing so. But he kept trying to replicate your skills to see your reaction or to get the skill, thereby getting an answer.
But, by doing this, it would lead him to think that there is an ability you constructed to prevent him from copying your skills, making him cease such fruitless actions.
It would also hinder any plan to go against you, taking into consideration your authority over skills.
Even though there has been a leakage of information, the benefits have outweighed the consequences. With this, he has gotten an oblique answer, and he would not bother you again.」
Wow. Just as I expected of you. You have once again outdone yourself.
A burden has been lifted off my life. Thanks a lot, Raziel-san.
You are really the best. Where would I be without you?
Kalisha: 「Probably in the void, awaiting your millionth rebirth.」
On the other hand, we have a useless time spirit whose soul purpose in life is to comment on things of higher value compared to their pathetic excuse for existence.
Kalisha: 「Gugh! My already fragmented heart.... Ouch... So cruel...」
If you ignored her annoying side, you'll find out that she's really cool
Raziel-san really is the best partner to ever have. I really lucked out.
I guess I've been nagging a lot, especially when I already have some cheat abilities.
Guy: 「Oi! Why are you blushing? We're discussing serious matters, and you're busily blushing. Or... have you fallen for my charms~?」
Sariel: 「Go die in heaven demon!! Like hell that's happening! To hevean with your advances!」
Guy: 「*Sigh* How unfortunate.」
I didn't know I was even blushing. Wait, was I? Why would I be..... eh?
Raziel-sa–
「It's just an illusion of yours.」
But what's with this strange and warm fuzziness? Like I'm happy and confused at the same time.
「....」
You ain't letting up, huh. Whatever.
Sariel: 「To the matter at hand, there has been a huge magicule poisoning in most parts of the world. I need to deal with that.」
Guy: 「Ah, that's already been dealt with by Ramires. Though, at a cost.」
Sariel: 「I see. How fortunate.」
I wonder how she dealt with such a huge problem.
Guy: 「Well, since that is out of the way, let's discuss the sudden emergence of insects.」
Sariel: 「Right, there was that. Honestly, that insect lord was trouble.
He was far stronger than I had predicted. I would say he was stronger than Norana at most.」
Guy: 「Really now? I've heard you saying bullshit like that girl is stronger than you.
I know for a fact that you are more than capable of dispatching the insect lord, so what is this now?」
Ah. He probably doesn't know about their real bodies.
From Raziel-san's deduction, Feldway and Norana's true body should be stronger and more durable than Guy's.
This should be because of the properties of [1]starheart.
「Notice. Even so, you would still be stronger than Norana considering your skills.
When you add that, along with your true body, it isn't far-off to say that you are definitely stronger than her.」
Eh? I get that you hate to lose, but I hope you are sure of what you're saying.
「I'm not judging based on certainty; I am simply stating facts as they should be.」
Wow. Cool, I guess. So, what you're trying to say is that even in this state, I would be able to beat her either way?
「Precisely」
Since you said it, I believe it.
Sariel: 「That was me in my naive days.」
Guy: 「Oh? Are you, by chance, implicating that you aren't naive?」
Sariel: 「What can I say. I still act rashly here and there, but I'm maturing as time passes on.
That aside, I can't sense his presence anymore. Could the pest be no more?」
Rose: 「You're damn right he is.」
Sariel: 「I see... That's good.」
Guy: 「....」
Rose: 「....」
Sariel: 「.... Eh?」
As I turned to look at the person near me, my eyes widened a little as it was someone I knew very well.
Seated beside me, on my chair's arm rest was Rose.
Rose: 「Missed me?」
Sariel: 「Definitely did not. What are you even doing here? Aren't you even supposed to be dealing with the chaos dragon?」
Rose: 「Idiot! You forgot all about us... about me! And... and you're here making love to Guy!」
What did this shit just let up?
Sariel: 「HOLD UP!! The hell is wrong with you!! Of course, I wasn't making out with him, fool! What goes on in your mind!? Like,... fucking hell man!?」
Guy: 「He's right, but I like the sound of that.」
Sariel: 「No way! Look, sorry about that, alright!? But I needed to return Milim safely before any other thing else.」
Rose: 「If you can make it up to me, then I'll pretend it never happens.」
Sariel: 「I'm a grown adult now. You can't give me candy forever.」
Rose: 「Fine... Hmph!」
Sariel: 「*Sigh* Just... make the demand within reasonability, alright?」
Rose: 「Hehehe~. I knew you couldn't witstand my charms!」
Seeing her giddy state, I sighed for the twelfth time today.
*Sigh*
Kalisha: 「That makes it thirteen.」
Let's pretend I didn't hear that.
Guy: 「You guys really look like a couple, you know?」
Sariel: 「Eh? Of course not. We don't look anything like that.」
Rose: 「But he's right, though.」
Sariel: 「Yeah, even she gets... Fweh!?」
I stumbled on my words as the meaning of what she said hit me.
Rose: 「Aw~. What's this? Are you shy? Am I too beautiful for your weak heart?」
Sariel: 「Sh-Shut up!」
Guy: 「A shy Sariel, eh? That's definitely something Blanc would like to hear. Heh.」
I gasped in shock before looking over to him with a threatening gaze.
Sariel: 「Don't you dare!」
Guy: 「Or what?」
Sariel: 「I'll burn your stupid palace to the ground!」
Guy: 「Then I'll have to defend my domain by fighting you.」
Sariel: 「I'll cook for you for a week.」
Guy: 「A month.」
Sariel: 「A week and half.」
Guy: 「Deal!」
Rain: 「Hell yeah!!」
Guy: 「....」
Rose: 「....」
Sariel: 「....」
She didn't even seem to realize what she had just done.
It was after a few more seconds of absolute silence that she understood it all.
Rain: 「S-Sorry...」
Misery: 「....*Sigh*」
Sariel: 「With that out of the way, let's discuss the details.」
Seeing as all the attention was put on Rain, I attempted to help her by changing the topic.
She looked at me with a grateful face that seemed to express her gratitude.
Guy: 「Right. You said that the insect lord had died, but how? Who defeated him?」
Rose: 「Oh. He pissed me off, so I thought it would be a funny idea to smack stupidity out of his existence.」
Sariel: 「Wait! The dude managed to piss you off!?!」
Rose: 「Huh? Yeah.」
Ah, my condolences, insect king. Even though we were supposed to be enemies, I can't imagine what you went through just to get me.
I always complain over an annoying Rose.
I don't know how you even managed to enrage her, not to talk of dealing with her.
You have my deepest respect, my fellow victim.
Sariel: 「Alright, that given, who dealt with the chaos dragon and sealed the dimensional crack?」
Rose: 「That would be Norana. She temporarily sealed the chaos dragon, awaiting your next orders.」
Sariel: 「Hm. It seems like most of the world's problems have been dealt with.
I think I'm gonna head over there to take care of her. She must be really tired now.」
She dealt with two problems that could've caused a major issue.
She really deserves praise. How nice it is to have friends to help out during tough times.
I guess that is why Makime was so worried about me all the time.
There were times when we would not be able to meet each other for about a week.
During that time period, she would always behave like if given a second of freedom, I would be found jumping off a cliff.
She would always scold me on how important it was to have friends to help out during times of trouble.
I guess she was right all along. I don't see myself capable of handling all those issues.
Well, I'll go pick her up.
Rose: 「Oh? You care for her that much. You couldn't even care less about me, but see how concerned you are for an angel instead of a demon!
It almost seems as if you have a sort of infatuation with angels.」
Sariel: 「W-Wah! N-No I do not!!」
Rose: 「Fweh!?」
It was Rose's turn to be confused.
Rose: 「You're stuttering? And what's up with the yelling? Wait, it can't be...? Do you actually have a thing for angels?」
Fuck! Damn it all!! She got onto me! Evasion technique! I need one immediately!! Raziel-san!!
You are literally wisdom incarnate, right? Tell me, how do I escape this!?
「Notice. The answer is–」
–Yes!?
Kalisha: 「–To suck it up and make the big reveal!!」
「Precisely!」
Outrageous! Are you actually abandoning me!? Blasphemy!!
Kalisha: 「Just face it like the man you always claim to be even though you have the body of a seventeen year old lady.」
Garhk! My heart... How did it reach this far...?
I thought I was... handsome...
Kalisha: 「Hah! You're even more beautiful than Ramires-sama. Just face it! Your beauty transcends time and space!」
Is that so? I guess I'm not getting a chick anytime soon.
Fuck it all!! I don't give a damn anymore!
Sariel: 「F-Fine... Laugh all you want. But if a word of it gets to either of the angels... Hehehe~」
I laughed as the images of multiple forms of torture flashed through my mind.
Seeing as I was giggling weirdly, they both shifted as far away from me as possible with terrified expressions.
Rose: 「R-Right. That doesn't stop me from using it to threaten you!」
Since they took my word for it, I decided to believe in them.
It would be pretty rude to leave Norana like that, not after she had dealt with a huge problem like that.
With that thought in mind, I stood up from the chair I was sitting on, turning to face Rose.
Sariel: 「I'm gonna go meet her. Are you coming along?」
Rose: 「Nah. I'm gonna head out to see how Alya's doing. See ya!」
Saying that, she teleported out the ice continent, heading towards Silverion if I'm correct.
As for me–
Sariel: 「Well, I'll head out now.」
Guy: 「Sariel.」
Sariel: 「Hm?」
Guy: 「Do you have an ultimate skill?」
Eh? What's this? What did this dude just ask? Do I have an ultimate skill? Of course I do!
But I can't just say that. I need to know his purpose for asking.
These are really difficult questions to answer.
If I ask for the reason he's inquiring about that, he'd probably have it in mind that I do.
But first thing's first. What would he do if I say yes, or rather, what does he want from my answer?
「Notice. Do not let him know that you do. It is likely to judge your threat level.」
I see...
Kalisha: 「It is a difficult question indeed. If you said no, he would doubt that given that you used a unique skill to defeat an ultimate life-form and an ultimate awakened.」
Wow, the implications... This is gonna be trickier than I thought.
「Supporting what Kalisha has said, he would likely believe that you wield multiple unique skills, a fact, which, in turn, will lead him to believing that your soul is extremely powerful, making you a possible ultimate awakened.」
Hmm... Judging from the sound of things, are you trying to say that he would see me as a threat?
「Precisely. Matching all the obsqure statements, it is safe to say that he intends to know whether you would be an individual who would awaken at most, two ultimate skills.
He likely intends to have you in his palm before that occurs. A ploy to keep his balance of power intact with you in his plans.」
Wow. It's such a complex scheming system. I can definitely see where things are heading.
「Notice. It may also be to have the upper hand in the game between him and Rudra.」
Received. Another possibility. Then, there's only one thing to do.
Sariel: 「What's that?」
Checkmate baby!! Now, it's time to pressure him with the high grounds in my dominion.
Guy: 「Fuu? You don't know about it?」
Sariel: 「Nope. I've heard Veldanava talk about it, but it didn't come to me to ask at the time, but since you know about it, there's no better time than now. So, what's that?」
Guy: 「A-Ah, I think we should move on to anothe-」
Sariel: 「Nope! You've broken my curiosity meter. Now I'm thirsty for knowledge.
From the sound of things, it has something to do with skills. Is it a higher level of skill beyond the unique level?」
Ha! Beat that bloody porcupine head!!
Guy: 「I think you should get going now. What if something happened to Norana.」
Sariel: 「Huh? Since when did you start caring for Norana? Guy. Tell. Me. About it!」
Ah, moment. This is the best.
Our banter went on back and forth from then.
With that, our short conference had concluded.
I later left the ice continent to head for the area where I battled Milim.
It was an absolute wasteland if I say so myself.
The land was so broken and scorched that one would think the whole earth would collapse into a hole.
There was no sign of life or anything of the sort.
But as Guy said, the toxic and dense magicules that were supposed to be present were nowhere to be felt.
Seeing as everything was taken care of, I teleported to the place where I had last sensed the chaos dragon.
The land there was also ravaged beyond repair but was in a far better condition compared to our former battlefield.
Using 『Universal Perception』, I expanded my perception range to the whole area.
It should be noted that using this skill would normally put a lot of pressure on one's brain.
It is like expanding the field of vision, thereby acquiring more information than normal.
This means that the more you expand your perception range, the more you actually receive more information than intended.
Thus, it makes using this skill on a large scale quite taxing for someone with a low and slow, thought-processing ability.
But the simplest way to handle this for a minor would be to increase their thought-processing speed.
As soon as I spotted the seal of the chaos dragon, I used my range of perception to receive the coordinates of the area, successfully teleporting there directly.
I turned to look at Norana, who seemed to be undergoing an evolution of the sort.
It peaked my interest as she was already a Seraphim, making an extra evolution quite rare.
I used Raziel-san's 『Analytical Appraisal』on her, receiving information on her new evolution.
「Notice. She appears to be evolving into a race tolerant of both magicules and holy energy; that is, a fallen angel.」
Wow. That's excellent! I must say, that's gotta be really nice to have.
I must say, even though I could use holy energy, it would be impossible for me to circulate holy energy through my body as it would just kill me depending on the amount used.
I am a demon, after all. A race tolerant to magicules, not holy energy.
This also went for Seraphims, but with her recent evolution, she could probably circulate both magicules and holy energy through her body for a performance boost.
It was a very wonderful thing to be able to do so.
I picked her up in a princess carry, getting ready to head towards where Silverion was.
But I was suddenly interrupted by Raziel-san.
「Notice. It would be advisable to allow the individual Norana to evolve out of harms way. That would make the transition smooth without any interference.」
Ah, I see. Well, I don't want to keep her here without any protection. I might as well just stay here with her.
Saying that, I decided to find a good spot to rest at, entrusting my friends to handle the rest.
◇◇◇
As the state of events in Silverion worsened, an ominous wave of danger buzzed through the city.
The battle between Akihiko and Mushito had concluded, with Akihiko being the victor.
But he couldn't assist in the fight due to his exhausted state.
He had lessened the burden of dealing with more opponents, so he didn't hesitate to leave the rest to his colleagues.
In Aika's case, things were far less destructive.
She had the upper hand in the fight, making things quite easy going for her.
Aika: 「Hm... Are you showing me your true strength, or are you just holding back?」
「D-Damn you!」
The insectar she was fighting, apparently named Shico, was a martial artist.
Fighting against someone who wielded a sword proved to be taxing as the sword actually did damage.
Her exoskeleton wasn't nearly as tough as that of Mushito's.
She wasn't even a direct descendant of Zelanus, making her ability to still hold her own in a fight against someone as strong as Aika quite the feat.
She hadn't yet exhausted her energy reserves, but that alone wouldn't help in a situation like this.
Dodging a slash aimed at her abdomen, she rushed in for another jab at her opponent's head.
Aika, seeing this, used her sword to parry the blow, making the blow graze her cheek slightly.
Just then, a powerful force from Shico's punch sent Aika back a little.
She had managed to block that deadly attack in time, but the force was enough to push her back.
With a beautiful twist of her body, she regained her footing and rushed back to Shico to land another well planned attack.
Applying the effect of Aspectual Magic, she created an earth spike, one that trailed its way towards Shico at a terrifying rate.
Seeing as the attack closed in on her, the only reasonable action would be to dodge.
But that was all accounted for. The instant an evasion was made, a precise yet destructive blow was dealt.
It wasn't just a normal slash, but one that was heavily imbued with Aika's fighting spirit.
If that wasn't enough, it retained the properties of Aika's unique skill 『Assailer』, making it a truly deadly and fatal strike.
A huge wound could be found on Shico's abdomen, making her groan in pain.
Her reaction was way better than Aika expected. The effect of the attack was extremely potent.
Even so, she managed to heal the wound over time.
Shico: 「Just die already!!」
Aika: 「What a stupid request.」
Her tone was as cold as ice, adding to Shico's frustration.
She seemed totally at ease with their battle and didn't even seem to be taking things a tad bit seriously.
In the realm of spirituality, this was already a win for Aika.
She had gotten under the opponent's skin, marking her victory as a spiritual life-form.
Even with Shico being a semi-spiritual life-form, the logic still worked that way as she also thought with her spirit body.
Shico released five tentacles from her fingers, each covered in spike imbued with toxic poison that could even affect Aika if care was not taken.
The speed of the sudden attack almost seemed unreal.
In a second, a huge attack was released, and in the next, it was right in front of Aika, ready to devastate her existence.
Seeing this, she used a new sword art she had developed from replicating Sariel's techniques.
Aika: 「『Spirit Break: Rotation Energy Slash』.」
With a circular energy wave, the tentacles were all destroyed with ease, spreading out vile poisonous liquid that melted the body upon contact.
The attack seemed to bypass the toughness of an insectar.
It was no shocker considering the formidable abilities of her unique skill.
Aika: 「*Sigh* Let's end this silly game. What do you say?」
Shico: 「H-Huh?」
Aika: 「『Spirit Lock』.」
A powerful technique meant to cause delayed response in the spirit of a target by releasing waves of information to the target.
She forcefully sent information waves throughout the battle space, causing Shico, who was definitely inexperienced in this type of thing to analyse the information sent to her.
The information was mostly gibberish, with no actual content or necessary meaning, causing her to enter a confused state.
This was all done through the masterful use of magicules.
With this, she had enough time to cast her holy magic that would be the determiner of this battle.
Aika: 「"Redeem all of any evil spirit and shine brilliantly with the light of salvation!!"
『Exorcizing Holy Flash』!!」
Aika seemed to want to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Her friend, Akihiko, had just annihilated the enemy with style.
Hers would be to completely overwhelm and destroy the enemy with a condescending sense of superiority.
This was her way of doing things, after all.
Break the enemy's spirit and crush them without mercy.
As long as you are in the way of her lord's ideals, your days are numbered.
That was her way of doing things.
She didn't care whether what she did were considered good or bad as she had long discarded that way of reasoning.
If there was something to do, it must be done with the utmost precision and accuracy.
She wasn't all that adept at manipulating spiritrons but could at most do basic things with it.
As she made her final attack, a golden magic circle formed below Shico.
She created the magic constructs with precise control and accuracy, ensuring that it was completed with no found errors whatsoever.
With that done, Shico's fate was sealed.
A powerful blast as a result of the collection of overreactive spiritrons was formed, and with the power of this attack directed towards Shico's figure, a destructive attack was unleashed.
With the holy energy formed from this reaction, the process of erasure took place.
Shico's body began to break down at a quick rate.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, trying everything in her power to survive the attack, but it was only a matter of time.
It only took a few more seconds for the attack to die down, but that was more than enough.
No traces of Shico's body could be seen, and her existence was erased without a fragment left behind.
Seeing her work done, she had no other reason to stay behind anymore.
With that, another enemy had perished.
◇◇◇
The reinforcements that had been sent arrived, and the odds topped in their favor.
The demons used their superior magical abilities to wear the insectar down, and their leaders would perform the finishing touch.
Peliod's forces were reduced, but the lack of hesitation or concern bothered Akane.
But her next action made her realize why.
Peliod: 「Fufu. My children are so weak. It's almost unfair. But no worries. That would be fixed right about now. 『Life Domination』.」
In a fantastic display of power and authority, Peliod used the corpses of the deceased insectars, attempting to absorb their energy, experience, and information to reconstruct her body.
Meanwhile, Akane was about to launch another assault to stop her actions, but there was no need to do so.
Rose: 「Try that the next time you see that I ain't around. Bye! 『Light Proliferation Storm』.」
This attack marked the end of the long-term battle. Several light balls were sent towards her direction.
Without being able to do much, the light balls released several devastating light rays filled with the minus energy from hell.
With most of those several light rays piercing her vitals, her gate was all but secured.
Some of the light rays had assaulted the other group of insectars that had been fighting with the demons.
Even some of the demons were killed from the attack, as it couldn't differentiate friends from foe.
The corruption began to take effect in Peliod's body, and her life force was drained at a very quick rate.
She didn't even have the energy left to protest. And just like that, the insect queen was killed.
Her body disintegrated into ash, and no trace of her was left behind.
Rose: 「Hm. That's all the problem dealt with. Now, the most painful part of it all. Clean up duty. *Sigh*」
Akane, who was just about to land her attack on Peliod, was dumbfounded.
The superior opponent she was fighting with was killed like the bug she was and was given no chance to retaliate or escape.
An instantaneous death.
Seeing her confused state, Rose chuckled meekly and spoke.
Rose: 「Don't worry about a thing. Just make sure everything is cleaned up. I'll be heading out now. Bye.」
Saying that, she disappeared from the battlefield.
Akane: 「The dirty part of the job was just dumped on me, wasn't it? *Sigh*」
She sighed but proceeded to do so anyway.
With that, the five days battle had ended in the favor of the residents of the cardinal world.
—————————————————————————————————
[1] Starheart is a special material with extraordinary properties similar to hihi'irokane, allowing equipments made from it to reach Mythic grade.
Equipments made of starheart are capable of holding their holy or demonic alignments and possesses a terrifying performance that rivals or exceeds that of hihi'irokane, making itbone of the strongest in all of creation.