Chapter 46:
Demons
“D-demons…”
The members of the Crimson Vow were stunned. They had been certain that they were dealing with beastmen, but now their opponents had suddenly revealed themselves to be demons.
“Wha?! But y’all already knew we were demons, didn’t ya?!”
The demons, who had lowered their hoods on the assumption that they had been found out, were equally surprised.
“Sorry! We really weren’t trying to deceive you or anything…” Mile scratched her head apologetically. “But since we already have a pretty good idea of what’s going on here, how about you all tell us the rest?”
Though Mile had asked cordially, it was only natural that the demons weren’t about to assent so readily.
“Q-quit messin’ around! It’s you who’s gonna tell us everything you know! Get ’em!” the leader ordered.
When they had fought the beastmen in the past, the Crimson Vow had assumed their opponents to be demons before they showed their faces and steeled themselves accordingly. It was the other way around this time, and the Crimson Vow were thoroughly unprepared.
The fight began, and they witnessed it—the demons’ superhuman strength, the stuff of legends. The Crimson Vow were taken aback, but of course, there was one among them who was primed to resist.
“Friends, there’s no need to fear! Whenever such devils appear in tales, a hero always emerges from among the humans. This means that the stories of their power are merely an exaggeration—they couldn’t possibly be as strong as all that. After all, it’s rare for a hero to actually be as mighty in real life as legends make them out to be. Demons are no different. They might be stronger than beastfolk, more magical than elves, and hardier than dwarves, but they’re still nothing more than just another type of humanoid!”
At Mile’s decree, Reina and Mavis straightened up a bit, their resolve renewed. However, Pauline had a question: “But…doesn’t that mean that they’re still superior to humans on every front?”
Reina and Mavis paled again.
“Please keep your logic out of thiiiiiiiiiis!!!!” Mile wailed.
Hm, she thought. This is bad. There are four of us on each side. If this turns into a one-on-one battle, people are gonna get hurt and maybe even die… I believe in everyone, but there’s always that million-to-one chance, and it’s possible that someone may have no choice but to deal their opponents a fatal wound. What to do?
That’s it!
The perfect plan popped into Mile’s mind fully formed.
“Please wait!” she shouted.
The approaching demons stopped in their tracks.
“What? Y’all gonna give up and surrender?” asked the leader.
Mile shook her head. “That’s not it. I was just thinking, if we jump into an all-out brawl like this, it won’t be very…aesthetic, will it?”
“Huhhhhhhh?”
All voices present, save for Mile’s, rang out in harmony.
Even Reina and Mavis were stunned this time.
“Wh-what exactly—”
“Do you mean by ‘aesthetic’?”
“What in the world is she on about?” the demons’ leader asked.
For once even Mavis could not answer.
“What we need is a one-on-one tournament,” said Mile.
Everyone else was flabbergasted at this proposal, so she explained:
“Don’t you think it would be sacrilege for us to have such a glorious battle as this and leave everyone stuck concentrating on their own matches, not getting to witness their comrades’ bouts?”
Two of the demons, who seemed particularly enthused at the prospect of fighting, nodded their heads in agreement.
“So here’s the plan. Each of our sides will put forward one fighter at a time, while the others observe without interfering. We’ll have four rounds. Whoever takes three rounds is the victor. The losing side will consider themselves captured and surrender at once. Should we end up with a tie, we will rule that the prowess of our groups is equal and confer with one another on equal terms. How does that sound?”
“Give us a moment.”
The demons held a quiet discussion among themselves. “All right,” they replied. “We’ve got no objections.”
More than likely, they assumed that the chances of demons such as themselves losing to a bunch of little human girls were… well, you should know the drill by now. Plus, the proposed tournament would be a good way to kill some time. The Crimson Vow had no objections either, already used to leaving negotiations to Mile, at least when commerce was not involved.
“Are we all in agreement, then?”
And so, it was settled.
“Pauline will be the advance guard, Reina will be up after her, Mavis is the lieutenant, and I’ll be the big boss.”
Mile arranged their lineup in order of strength, with the strongest members going last. The others would probably be doing the same.
Now and then, an enemy might switch it up on purpose, sending in their second against the other side’s advance guard, their lieutenant against the other side’s second, and their boss against the other side’s lieutenant. Then, once their victory was secured with those three matches, they’d send in their advance against the boss as a throwaway. However, Mile thought it unlikely that the demons would do such a thing.
“M-Mile, are you sure it’s all right to make me the lieutenant? W-wouldn’t it be better for me to be the advance guard?” Mavis stammered nervously.
Mile just grinned. “Don’t worry, Mavis, there’s no way you could lose! You’re an aspiring knight, after all!”
“I…I guess you’re right. Yeah, that’s exactly right!”
The tense expression faded from her face, and the corners of her mouth twisted into a smile.
The two teams hammered out a set of rules, with provisions allowing that, if the spectators judged that their team’s fighter was in danger, they could call off the match or step in to protect their teammate from the enemy’s attacks—though in that case, the round would be considered a loss for their side. This portion of the rules had, of course, been Mile’s doing. It provided a way for victory to be achieved without either side taking grave injuries or suffering fatalities.
Even if they ended up losing the tourney on the whole, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. As long as they could finish without anyone getting seriously hurt or dying, then the worst case scenario was just that they’d have to tell the demons the truth about taking on the job and go over the details of the previous incident. That was no huge loss. Even if they returned to town with only the intel that they were dealing with demons this time, their job would be regarded as a success.
Plus, since the humans already knew about the investigation being conducted by beastmen and demons at the elder dragons’ behest, the demons had no reason to detain the Crimson Vow. Once they had given their information, they would probably be released.
And if they were not released, then they could always run, of course. Running away after they had been captured would not constitute breaking their promise.
Not that Mile had even the slightest intention of losing in the first place.
On a small plain where the cliffside opened up, Pauline stood facing a demon around thirty years old. That said, even if the man appeared to be thirty, demons’ ages did not align with their appearances, so the girls couldn’t be sure how old he was.
Pauline appeared to be trembling—perhaps from fear or nerves. When they had assumed the beastmen to be demons last time, they had felt a sense of trepidation, even despair. This time, it had been the opposite at first—they’d thought that their opponents were beastmen and that their victory would be quick and easy. Yet here before them stood a band of demons. Now Pauline had to face one of them in a test of magic, face to face. No human would assume a straightforward victory was guaranteed.
The spectators all sat together, Crimson Vow and demons alike. Sitting in two groups would have made them more vulnerable to any wayward spells, and this way they would be able to glean information from one another as they talked among themselves. The demon who had previously been pierced by Mile’s bullet had been dragged along by his companions and now sat among the spectators as well. Though his wounds had been healed, the magic the demons used was not the somewhat unnatural power Mile and Pauline wielded. Therefore, it would still be some time before he regained his strength. For now, he was down for the count as far as combat went.
Finally, Mile shouted from the makeshift stands:
“Okay! Ready, set, fight!”
“Ice Javelin!”
“Earth Wall!”
A wall of dirt arose from the ground to protect the demon against Pauline’s icicle attack. To shield against the barrage of materialized ice, a physical, rather than a magical, barrier was necessary. Conjuring rock would require a sizable amount of magical energy and skill, but dirt was nothing. Both spells were simple things, with the full incantations omitted.
“…Ice Needle!” Pauline attacked again, this time muttering a short spell in a soft voice. The small needles of ice that materialized were swiftly warded off by a blast of wind magic.
“………”
Not in the least bit distressed by the attack, and showing no signs of incanting a spell, the demon man began to approach Pauline, who now stood unmoving.
“It’s useless,” he said. “A little human girl’s magic could never touch us, and any spell of ours is sure to break through your barriers. Whaddya think? How about you surrender now? That way you won’t have to get hurt, yeah?”
Pauline shook her head from side to side, tears dotting her eyes.
Of course, if she took the full brunt of a demon’s magic, it would easily break through any barrier she could conjure.
That was, if she took it head-on.
“Well, I gave ya the chance. I’ll try and settle this quick, then. Hopefully it won’t hurt ya too bad.”
The demon brandished his right hand arrogantly, taking on a languid spell-casting stance, but Mile made no move to intervene. “Water, bind around that girl’s limbs and freeze in place to—”
And then, as he began to cast his spell…
“Gwah!” He stopped, a look of utter disbelief upon his face as sweat began to stream from his entire body. “Gyaaaaaah!!”
He clutched his behind and began writhing on the ground.
Pauline appeared to be shaken by this, unable to do a thing.
However, that was not Pauline’s MO. Not at all.
“I was trying so hard not to laugh, I almost started crying…” Apparently, Pauline was not trembling in fear but actually holding back laughter. As she feigned terror, she had secretly and quietly begun to cast a short-range “heat” spell underneath her opponent’s feet. A weak air current raised it into the bottoms of his pant legs, aiming straight for his most sensitive mucous membranes.
“Wh-what happened?! What the heck just…”
The demon spectators were in a panic. Still, they watched as their companion wailed, cried, and writhed on the ground before them, showing no signs of being ready to intervene and forfeit the round.
And then, Pauline began another spell.
“Blade of ice, pierce my enemy’s heart! Ice—”
“Enough! Enough, we forfeit! The match is over!”
The demon leader’s face twisted at this show of excessive force, and he quickly called an end to the match.
If we can just win the next three rounds, we’ve still got this, he thought to himself, though an inescapable premonition of doom began to bubble up within him…
First round winner: Pauline of the Crimson Vow.
The next round, round two, would be Reina versus a boy demon of around twelve or thirteen years old.
In fact, though the boy physically appeared to be around the same age as Reina, as with the previous contender, there was no way of knowing his true age. Then again, Reina herself was actually sixteen years old anyway.
The two squared off against one another.
Unlike Pauline, who was the sort to resort to dirty tricks, Reina was an in-your-face type of mage, a devastating force of nature. However, this meant that she was not well suited to fighting an opponent with even more powerful magic at their disposal. Such as a demon…
Naturally, Reina was well aware of this. Still, no matter how unfavorable this matchup, she had no choice but to fight. It wasn’t as though she would always be paired up with opponents over whom she had the advantage.
“Fire Lance!”
This time, the demon boy was the first to attack. He had just witnessed something of a tragedy in the previous round, so he was likely on his guard—and understandably so.
“Barrier!”
Reina, of course, was not limited by the fact that she was an attack-type mage and released the protective spell she had silently been holding.
However, no matter how well defense magic guarded against an enemy attack, it didn’t guarantee victory—especially when you faced an opponent who far outranked you in magical strength and skill. If your defense wasn’t perfect, then you were better off spending your energy on attack spells from the start. Still, for some reason, Reina’s first move was to defend herself.
The barrier spell that Mile had trained Reina to use was also far stronger than the norm, so no matter how powerful the demon’s attack might have been, it would not break through easily.
“Wh…?” The demon boy was shaken. Somehow the likes of a little human girl had managed to ward off his magical attack.
“Firebomb!”
“Magic Wall!”
This time, the demon boy was the one who had to guard against Reina’s attack.
“Flare Storm!”
“Barrier!”
“Hellfire!”
“Wall!”
The match dragged on and on as their volleys continued, neither able to break through their opponent’s barrier. If things continued this way, it was sure to spell disaster for Reina, who fell somewhat behind the demon boy in magical power. Both the demon boy and Reina herself were becoming increasingly aware of this fact.
After innumerable rounds of this, Reina’s turn to attack came once again. However, she did not incant a spell.
Instead, she rushed toward her opponent at full speed.
“Huh?”
The boy was struck dumb with shock for a moment but quickly regained his cool.
“I see, you’ve realized that your magic is no match for mine, and you’ve come to strike me directly with your staff then, have you? You do realize that I am still a demon, do you not? Magic may be my specialty, but I have mastered the basics of the art of the staff as well. That you might expect a mage like me to fall short in martial combat against a little human girl is just—”
The boy jabbered on and on until suddenly Reina’s staff flew from her hands and landed on the ground in front of him, stunning him into silence.
“Huh…?”
She let go of her staff just before a direct attack?
What was the meaning of this? Why would she do that?
There was no way that an empty-handed little girl, especially a mage, whose physical skills were not especially well honed, could defeat a demon by striking or throttling him.
Perhaps because he was so rattled by this incomprehensible action, the boy’s response was delayed. His certainty that he could defeat a weak, unarmed human girl with a swing of his staff was a testament to the naivete of his youth, which left him paralyzed.
Squeeze!
“Wh…?”
By the time the boy finally realized what was going on, he found Reina clinging to him tightly.
There was a warm, soft sensation against his chest.
Th-this is…
The boy turned bright red. To date, he had never had a girlfriend, and so had never had a chance to embrace a girl, or even hold hands with any young ladies who were not his own sister. And now, a girl’s sweet fragrance was wafting into his nostrils…
His vision went blurry. Just then, he heard the girl’s gentle voice in his ear.
“Suicide attack: Megaten.”
Bwooom!
“Gaaaaaaaaah!!”
Both of their bodies were enveloped in a roaring flame.
“W-wall! Magic Waaaaaaaall!!!”
The boy tried desperately to enact a magical barrier, but so far he had only ever used the spell to erect a wall between himself and his opponent or to create a shielding dome over himself. He had never attempted to use it to ward off an attack that was directly attached to him. Thus, the wall did nothing but trap both Reina and the flame inside of it—with him—rendering his efforts utterly meaningless.
Reina, however, had been trained for just such a situation. First, under Mile’s tutelage, she had practiced creating a magical barrier that formed close to her body. Second, it was only natural that no flame conjured at her own instruction would ever direct itself toward her. Once Reina had mastered both the barrier and the flames, Mile had imparted upon her an ultimate technique, a special move to be used only when her life was at risk. The Suicide Attack: Megaten.
It was a miraculous attack in which one grappled the opponent with one’s own body and struck while the opponent’s eyes were round with shock.
Naturally, Mile was the one who had come up with the name.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!” As his magical barrier proved utterly without effect, the demon boy could only continue to scream.
“St-stop it! That’s enooooooough!!!”
The demon leader, who had been paralyzed by the unthinkable scene, now rushed out with a desperate look upon his face before leaping straight into the flames and tearing the two apart. Two more of the demons hurriedly summoned a water spell, dousing the smoldering pair. The fourth dashed forward as well in spite of the pain of his remaining injuries. Once the boy was separated from Reina, the flames on his clothing were quickly extinguished, and the demons frantically began a healing spell.
“You all interfered, so I guess that’s a win for me.”
Not a one of the demons had the presence of mind to care about Reina’s boasting.
“Now then, it’s time for round three: the battle of lieutenants!”
The demon leader grimaced at Mile’s announcement. At this point, of course, their side had no chance of winning. Even if they were to win the next two rounds, the lieutenant and the boss battles, the results would be two-and-two at best. And, on the off chance that they lost either of those rounds, it would mean defeat for them.
They, a band of demons—they, the chosen few who had been selected for and entrusted with a sacred duty—were on the verge of losing to a band of human girls who were scarcely out of the nursery. The shame would be a scalding brand, a black mark that they would be forced to carry for the rest of their days.
Due to demons’ general hardiness and the strength of their healing magic, the two who had lost were already right as rain. Mile lent an additional hand using magic to dispel the spice particles from the man in the first round, so he seemed to have wholly regained his senses. Yet though their burns and other physical injuries had been fully mitigated, the wounds to their morale ran quite deep indeed…
For now anyway, the two sat among the spectators. Or rather, they were forced to. Watching the upcoming matches would be a good lesson for them—and besides, the others got the impression that if they were not forced to do so, they would probably be curled up in a ball, crying somewhere in a corner.
At any rate, while magical ability really had nothing to do with age, it was a far different matter when it came to the martial arts. The two remaining demons fought with the sword, so catastrophes like the first two rounds would be out of the question.
So thought the leader of the demons. Just as any sensible person might.
“Mavis von Austien, leader of the Crimson Vow, swordswoman, now entering the ring!”
“Reltobert, swordsman. Let’s go!”
Just because the demons were a magical race, it did not mean that they were all mages. Just as there were mages among the generally un-magical beastfolk, naturally, there were those among demons who were weak at magic, wielding swords or spears on the front line, serving as archers and the like.
This swordsman, Reltobert, was one such demon. Yet thanks to his physical prowess, which still far surpassed that of any human, he had been trained into a fearsome combatant.
Mavis still had absolute confidence. As long as she had her secret ultimate technique at her disposal, she could not imagine losing to anyone other than Mile. She would not lose to any beastman. She would not lose to any elder dragon. And naturally, she would not lose to any demon.
“Secret technique, True Godspeed Blade!”
Her standard Godspeed Blade possessed only the speed of a B-rank hunter, or perhaps a lower-ranking A-rank, at best. At such piddling velocity, she would have no chance of laying into a demon swordsman. With the True Godspeed Blade, however, she could summon up the speed of an experienced A-rank. Such power was enough to take on even her eldest brother.
So thought Mavis.
Shing!
Clang, cling, cling!
After but a few short volleys, she quickly abandoned that thought.
It’s no use! I can’t do a thing like this! He’s just toying with me!
Mavis was not the type to be overconfident in her abilities, but if it was for the sake of her friends, she would eat dirt if she had to.
However, in this case, it was not dirt she would have to eat. It was that.
She took a single capsule from her pocket. She flipped open the lid and said a little prayer. “I’m counting on you, Micross!”
She chugged the contents of the capsule in one gulp and then faced Reltobert. “Here I come!” she shouted. “EX True Godspeed Blade!”
“What’s that, some kinda stimulant? Do you really think that some little potion’s gonna help you overcome the difference in our races, the contrast between our bodies, and the long years that I spent training while you were just a twinkle in your daddy’s eye? I’d thought that you showed some promise for a little shrimp of a girl, but I guess you’re just some fraud if you’re relyin’ on drugs to get it up…”
Reltobert brandished his sword again, looking as though he had all but lost interest in the fight. “Whatever, I’m bored now. Bring it already. Let’s get this over with.”
“EX True Godspeed Blade, 1.4 speeeeeeeeeed!!!”
Whoosh!
“Wh?!”
Crack!
Click!
Cling!
Shing shing shing!
“I-Impossible! How could you be faster than me?! A little human girl like you! No way! This can’t be!!”
Now Reltobert completely lost his cool. He was a demon who had chosen not the path of the staff but the path of the sword and spent many long years training, with the confidence and bravado to match. Yet here he was, unable to keep up with a frail human girl, perhaps not even twenty years out of the womb. Of course he could not believe it. And naturally, he could not allow it.
It was not that he could not allow his opponent to exhibit such strength. It was that he could not allow himself to fall short.
“Raaaaaaaaah!!”
If he could not keep up with her speed, he would overwhelm her with sheer cutting force. If he did that, her stance would crumble, and she would lose all momentum in her next move.
With this in mind, he swung with all his might.
“Impossible!” His swing interrupted, Reltobert took a step back in retreat. “Why?! How can you be faster than me? How can you strike harder?! You’re just some tiny little girl, not even twenty years old! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!?!” he screamed.
Mavis answered quietly in reply, in perfect imitation of Mile’s practiced phrase.
“Why? Because my heart is burning!”
“Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”
The man had now abandoned all pride. He wasn’t just distressed—he was desperate. Their side had already lost two rounds. He needed to win. His responsibilities as a demon were more important than even his pride. That was all there was to it. Plus, he could not allow their band, a band of demons, to lose against a group of little human girls for a third time in a row. He would not bring that sort of shame upon his race.
He took a sharp step forward and let loose a wordless spell.
“Fireball!”
“Ggh!”
Mavis’s stance faltered as she moved to dodge the ball of flame. In that moment, Reltobert let another swing fly. Though she managed to somehow ward off this blow as well, she was now at an overwhelming disadvantage.
“I may’ve chosen the path of the sword,” said Reltobert, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t still use a bit of magic. I’m not especially good at it, so I’d hoped to fight with only my sword for as long as I could. I thought it kind of embarrassing. But there are times when you’ve got no option but to win, even at the expense of your own pride. You get it, don’t you?!”
With that, he let loose a swing and a fireball in tandem.
Using magic and physical force at the same time seemed rather difficult, but if was effective. With the attacks coming one after the other, Mavis had no room to strike back, and her position grew worse and worse. At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before she lost.
Think, Mavis von Austien! You’ve gotta think of something! How can I pull a win out of this? Should I drink another capsule? No—even if it makes me a little faster, it’s still way too tough to react to both magic and a sword at the same time. Plus, if I use two Micross capsules to improve my physical abilities, all it’s going to do is make my body break down faster, like that time with the elder dragons. What do I do? There has to be a way…
It was then that Mavis recalled a conversation she once had with Mile.
Indeed, when it came to improbable schemes, the Crimson Vow always turned to Mile. After all, the scene before them now wasn’t one common sense could do much with.
And so, all the past conversations she had ever had with Mile spun wildly through her brain, which turned like a hyper-powered kaleidoscope.
“You just need to get used to my speed.”
“Strengthen your muscles with the power of your mind.”
“Pain is nothing more than a warning signal. So all you have to do is tell yourself, ‘All right, all right, I get it already!’ and keep on pushing.”
“You have to harden your heart!”
No, wait! That wasn’t it…
“Use your speed to raise your power.”
“It’s centrifugal force or something like that.”
“Cats are so adorable.”
No, that wasn’t it, either.
“When it comes to matters of the spirit, there’s both internal and external control.”
“I’m not sure if a dragon’s breath is a type of magic or if it’s just a type of spiritual control…”
There it was!!
Mavis might not be able to use magic, but she could manipulate the power of her own spirit to a certain degree. In which case…
She took a leap back, temporarily pausing the battle. Previously, when Reltobert had momentarily stood down, Mavis had waited politely for his next attack, so it was only fair that Reltobert allow her this pause as well.
“How about it? You ready to give up and surrender?” he asked.
“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be talking that kind of nonsense?” Mavis grinned and pulled a second metal capsule from her pocket, then unscrewed the lid.
“Let’s do this, Micross!”
And with that, she drank down her second capsule.
Mile, witnessing this, started to say something but stopped.
The last time Mavis had done this, Mile had lectured her for three hours until Mavis began to cry. So she had to have faith and trust in Mavis’s judgment this time.
“Another upper, huh? Just because you keep poppin’ those doesn’t mean it’s gonna get you anywhere. Usin’ too many’s just gonna stuff up your body and your head. You’re gonna self-destruct over there.”
Though Reltobert spoke, Mavis could not hear him. All her mental resources were devoted to focusing her chi.
I will destroy him. With power of my spirit.
Fire. Flame. Inferno. I am keeper of the blaze. I am wielder of the flames!
Suddenly, she felt a glowing heat within the pit of her stomach.
RED ALERT. RED ALERT.
CORE TEMPERATURE AND ENERGY LEVELS RAPIDLY RISING WITHIN THE USER’S ABDOMEN. SELF-DETONATION IS IMMINENT! THOSE PRODUCING HEAT MUST IMMEDIATELY EVACUATE THE USER’S STOMACH. ALL OTHER UNITS, FORM A SHIELD ON THE LINING OF THE STOMACH WALLS. WE MUST PROTECT HER BODY!
For a group of specially selected group of nanomachines employed only on specific occasions, injuring or placing a magic user in danger of death in response to that user’s will would be a disgrace to their kind as a whole! They had to protect her somehow!
This vessel is one with the flames. My being is the flame. The flame is my being. Blazing inferno, become this vessel’s will!
Seeing no results, Mavis altered her phrasing, speaking with focused intent to harness words of power. However, if that was her aim, even loftier language might have proved appropriate, such as imitating the speech of royalty…
EXPAND THE REPELLANT FIELD FROM ESOPHAGUS TO PALATE! CREATE A REFLECTIVE COATING ON THE ORAL CAVITY AND FACE AS WELL!
We are the flames. We are, we are…
Just as the nanomachines completed their protective pathway, Mavis opened her mouth with a shout, and a ball of flames burst forth.
“WE ARE THE INFERNO!”
All around, jaws dropped—both the demons and the Crimson Vow’s alike.
It would be little surprise to see a draconian type shoot balls of flame from their mouth, but scarcely ever was there a human or demon who could do such a thing.
After Reltobert dove desperately out of the path of the flames, his jaw dropped too.
Even Mile stared, her eyes open wide in shock.
“F-fire? Carried on a human’s breath…? B-Breath of Fire?”
“WE ARE THE INFERNO!”
Shing!
“Fireball!”
Bwoosh!
“WE ARE THE INFERNO!”
Bring!
“Fireball!”
Shing!
“WE ARE THE INFERNO!”
Bwoosh!
“Fireball!”
Shing!
Fiery shots flew back and forth, dispersed into sparks by the blades of each combatant.
This was no longer a fight between mortals. It would be appropriate to call this nothing less than a monster’s assault.
At first, the shots came in a volley, but as the exchange dragged on, the order began to crumble, and the flames soon burst forth simultaneously from each side. If things kept on this way, it was sure to be a victory for Reltobert, who held the advantage in physical and magical reserves. However…
“Mavis is…pushing him back…”
Just as Reina noted, Mavis suddenly had the upper hand.
And this was why:
“Fireball!”
“INFERNO!”
Indeed, the incantation for Mavis’s spell had suddenly become shorter.
“Is this her ‘Bug-Killing Punch’?!” Mile shouted, but as usual, there was not a single person around who understood her meaning.
The end came far too quickly.
It was thanks to the consecutive firing of her spirit rifle (now, in practice, her fire magic) that Mavis, even with her failing stamina, managed to eke out a victory. Reltobert, who had no choice but to keep resisting her with his own fireballs, finally lost out in his rate of fire and was struck. In that moment, Mavis made her move, and the demon found himself with a sword to his throat.
“M-match over!” the demon leader shouted, and the bout was officially ended.
Reltobert was utterly speechless. He stared up at Mavis, who had moved in close to land the decisive blow. What he saw on her face was the smile of a goddess, sparkling warmly down at him.
“………”
Reltobert swiftly turned away, a suspicious expression upon his face.
Naturally, the source of the sparkling was the reflective coating that the nanomachines had formed around her face in order to protect her skin.
“………”
The demons were silent.
Three rounds. They had lost three rounds in a row. Both their magic and their swordsmanship had been surpassed by a group of human girls—still green behind the ears, no less.
“………”
Their muscles were more potent than those of the elves, their wits sharper than those of the beasts, and their magic greater than any dwarf’s. Yes indeed, the demons were the superior race, and yet they had been bested by mere humans…
There could be nothing more shocking, more humiliating.
They couldn’t believe it. No, they did not want to believe it…
They were stunned silent. The five could do nothing but stand stock-still and wordless.
You know you’ve had enough, right? Come on and give it up already, the Crimson Vow urged them silently.
Standing around forever waiting was not going to get anything accomplished, so finally Mile opened her mouth. “You made a promise. Now hurry up and tell us what we need to know!” she demanded.
However, the demon leader shook his head.
“No. It’s not over yet!”
“Are you intending to break your promise?”
Mile’s voice swiftly lowered, her face shifting from a peeved pout to an utterly blank expression.
Oh no, she’s angry now!
Indeed, just as her cohorts feared, Mile was angry.
Mavis had literally surpassed the limits of human power, setting her heart, her soul, and even her innards on fire to eke out a victory. If the demons intended to invalidate what she had achieved, then Mile would have a thing or two to say about that.
“I see… I see.”
“W-wait! No wait, that’s not it! Don’t be hasty!” The leader quickly waved his hands in denial, sensing the dangerous aura forming around Mile. “We’ll keep our promise! Please, you gotta believe me! We couldn’t bear to be embarrassed any further than this, and even if we fought all out right now, I don’t think that we could win… Anyway, we didn’t plan to do anything bad around here. We’ve got no problem taking you to where the rest of us are.”
“Then what is it?” Mile asked, her face still without expression.
“Our loss as a team has already been decided, but I still haven’t gotten a chance to fight. I know that, as a leader, it’s my duty to take responsibility for our loss, but I still feel kinda shamed as an individual. That’s all it is. I still wanna have a fight, just you and me. If I win, it’ll satisfy my pride, and we demons can hold on to some of ours. If I lose, though…” He took a short breath and continued, “Then I, not as the leader of this group, but as an individual, will do one thing that you ask, no matter what it is.”
And so, the fourth round began.
Finding nothing objectionable in the leader’s words, Mile quickly returned to her usual disposition, her anger quelled. As for the demon leader, however…
Sorry about this, guys, he thought. If I can report this as, ‘Of course I won, but I had no idea that those other three might lose to some little human girls…’ I’ll still have to take some responsibility, but at least my own pride won’t be tarnished. I’m sorry, guys! I’m really sorry!
The leader cast a quick glance at his comrades, who were watching him nervously.
He was scum.
And furthermore…
This little one here seems to have a pretty high status. Maybe she’s the kid of a noble or somethin’—if she were one of ours, she’d be the granddaughter of a village chief. So I betcha she can’t use magic or even has any physical combat skills. It’s only because she’s got these three top-level humans here as her guards that she can act so high and mighty…
Indeed, like so many fools had before, he was underestimating Mile.
The fact that she was dressed like a sword wielder meant that magic must not be one of her strong suits. Plus, he could tell just by the way she carried herself and moved her body; from her fine, smooth, and delicate hands, which were completely free from calluses; and from her small and slender physique, that when it came to the martial arts, she was a complete amateur.
“Now then, let’s get started. Don’t you worry, we’ve got healing magic too, so you won’t end up with any scars, and I won’t hurt you too much, either. Of course, it’d be even better for you to forfeit before ya get injured at all…”
He took a few precautions with his words, certain that if he hurt the girl even a bit, her fearsome guards would come leaping into the fray. Their side had already won the tourney, so they had no reason not to intervene to protect their master at the first sign of trouble.
“All right, let’s do this! Binding Ice!”
He was wracked with worry that should he use any particularly dangerous-seeming magic, those guards would be on him in the blink of an eye. So he started off with a restrictive spell, one that would do no more than bind her arms and legs, with no chance of doing any fatal harm. Naturally, given that it was intended for the battlefield, this restrictive magic was still a type of combat magic.
The girl showed no signs of resisting, and balls of ice quickly formed around her ankles and wrists, snapping them straight together, when—
Crack!
They were shattered.
“Huh…?”
The demons were stunned. The Crimson Vow barely appeared to care.
“Did he cast the spell wrong? No, it was definitely right! He must’ve just misfired a bit. That’s what it was…” the spectating demons judged, but the combatant himself had no time to be entertaining such thoughts.
“D-damn it! I was tryin’ my best not to hurt ya, but I guess we’re gonna do this the hard way now! Ice Javelin!”
“Ice Shield!”
He had launched the icy spear at a slow speed, its tip blunted. In an instant, it was dashed away by the wall of ice that arose in front of Mile.
“Are you planning on taking this seriously?”
“Huh…?”
“I asked if you’re planning on taking this battle seriously!”
Everyone reflexively looked to Mile’s face.
It was expressionless.
Waaaaah!
The Crimson Vow knew very well what this meant.
Once again, Mile was angry.
She’d finally gotten the chance to have a one-on-one fight, just like the one against Gren of the Roaring Mithrils or against Mavis’s father. So she’d assumed she would get to have a bit of fun. Those other two times had been sword battles, but this was a test of magic against a demon, for whom magic was a specialty.
A magic battle against a demon!
Her first real magic battle, one where she could go as hard as she wanted, no holds barred. Plus, with this framed as an already-decided contest, there was no one and nothing else for her to worry about.
And yet, though her heart was pounding, she had been greeted with this weak display.
“If this is what you have in mind, then I have a thing or two to say about that…”
“You all might want to step in a bit closer!” Reina shouted to the watching demons.
They had all been standing together at the outset of the tournament, but a small divide had naturally opened between the two sides as the battles went on. Apparently, Reina deemed this to be a hazard.
“Hm?”
Hearing this, the youngest demon, who still remembered Reina’s warm embrace and her sweet scent, went red in the face. The other three were slack-jawed.
“Look, just get over here already! If you don’t, then the emergency barrier can’t protect you!”
Her meaning was unclear, but the four somehow caught the gist that this was a matter of life or death for them and quickly clustered in with the members of the Crimson Vow.
Indeed, those who were not at least that sharp would meet a swift end in this world. Just like their leader, who was still caught in the fray…
Now it was Mile’s turn to attack.
“Phaser, fire!”
Bwoomf!
“Wh…?”
The leader got the impression that something faster than the eye could see had just flown past his face. Timidly, he looked back to see that a rock behind him now had a hole several centimeters wide As his head creaked back to face Mile, he saw the girl grinning at him—though the smile did not reach her eyes at all.
“Would you like to try taking one of those head-on?”
Psssh!
Sweat began gushing from every pore of his body.
Yes, the leader finally understood two things:
First, that the girl standing before him was not some mere jackalope.
More like a f-ferocious, venomous jackalope from hell…
And second, that the path he had chosen was not the stairway to heaven, but in fact, very much the opposite.
If I don’t get serious, she’s gonna kill me!
Mile glanced briefly away to confirm that Reina had corralled all of the others within the barrier. Everyone would be safe, no matter what kind of magic she might send flying their way. Everyone, that was, except for the man standing in front of her.
The terrain around them was also mostly rock, dotted only here and there by thin shrubbery, so she had no fear of damaging the environment, either.
“Here I come!”
Fwoom…
There was a vibration from Mile’s brandished sword, and the blade began to glow blue.
“Wha…?!”
A magic sword.
Just when the leader had thought that Mile was some privileged girl decorated only by status, who could use neither magic nor blade, she had let loose an incredible bullet so fast that it could not be seen by the naked eye. Just when he thought that she only had some middling magical skill, she had produced an impressive blade. And now she was using a high-level technique, her sword itself clad in magic.
Yet even if she was equipped with a magic blade, it would mean nothing if her sword skills were insufficient. As he had previously determined, there was no mistaking that she was a novice in the way of the sword, with her poor stance, her lack of muscle, and the fact that her arms and legs were clear and smooth, without a single sign of a scar or callus anywhere.
His assumption that she could not use magic had stemmed only from the fact that she was equipped with a sword, so he could not be blamed for making a false call there. However, his judgment this time was based on careful observations. There could be no mistaking it.
If she was using a sword now, and not her rather decent magical ability, it was probably because her power was limited and she had given her all in that one shot.
Though if that were the case, then how could she still be using her magical blade, which required her to maintain a continuous spell? Besides, if her power was that limited, it would have been smarter for her to aim straight for him the very first time.
Just what was she thinking?
A sick thought drifted across the leader’s mind.
Was she toying with him?
It couldn’t be. That couldn’t possibly be.
He had been chosen as the head guard for the investigation team. How could someone like him become the plaything of a fragile human, a girl of sapling years?
Impossible. Absolutely, absolutely impossible!
For a moment, the leader’s head went blank. In that moment, he silently incanted a spell.
“Fire Laaaaaaance!”
Overtaken by the flames of rage, he allowed himself to let loose an attack spell—an excessively powerful one.
Damn!
The instant the spell went off, he returned to his senses, but it was already too late. A fire-type attack spell with a high fatality rate was flying directly toward the little girl. Now that it had been cast, no one could stop it—including the man who had fired it.
She’s dead! the demons all thought at once.
Just then…
Fwish!
The fiery lance was cut down by a blade. Casually, as though it were but a twig.
“Impossible!!!”
Mile’s mouth was a flat line. Normally such a thing would be a sign of nerves or unease, but in Mile’s case, it meant something different—that she was trying not to show how relaxed she felt.
“Well, it looks like she’s back to herself,” said Reina.
It was just as she suggested; things were finally getting good. That was what Mile’s face said to her companions.
Mile was not going to use a barrier this time. Letting all of her enemy’s attacks be immediately deflected wouldn’t be any fun. She would lower the power of her own attack spells as well. It would be pretty boring if she broke straight through the demon’s defenses every time.
Was she just playing around with him? No, this was a real battle—but she was taking on a handicap.
If this match had had any bearing on her team’s victory, she would not have done such a thing. However, the tourney had already been decided in their favor, so Mile reckoned it was all right for her to relax and enjoy herself just this one time.
“Fire Shot!”
The quick spell that the leader fired off was not some tiny flame bullet. It was four shots at once, aimed at her head, her abdomen, and both sides of her body. She could crouch, jump, or dodge to the side, but at least one of them was certain to hit. Plus, unlike normal fireballs, these shots would explode on impact. They hit fast and packed a punch.
The leader had already abandoned all pretenses of holding back for he had finally come to realize that this was not an enemy he could hope to defeat by doing so. As long as he didn’t kill her, it was fine. As long as she was still alive, she could be fixed with healing magic.
The four shots flew toward Mile. They were moving quickly, though naturally far slower than any bullet fired from a gun. Mile could easily calculate their trajectory and simply move her body to avoid them…but that wouldn’t be any fun.
Instead, she decided to chance them head-on, sword in hand.
Ka-bwoosh!
“Whuh?”
They vanished.
All four bullets vanished in the blink of an eye.
All Reina and Pauline could tell was that Mile had moved her sword. Even the five demons and Mavis, with her keen eyes, could just barely discern what had happened. Mile had swung her sword four times—twice vertically, twice horizontally—slicing each of the bullets in two and destroying them.
“Why didn’t they explode?!” the leader shouted.
Indeed, these were explosive-type shots, so even cleft by a sword, they should have detonated on impact. This should have caused some moderate injury, or at the very least, occluded her field of vision and ruined her stance. It should have made landing his next attack a certainty.
And yet, they had been extinguished without so much as a ka-boom. They had simply vanished.
With a normal sword, the bullets would have exploded on impact. Mile’s blade, however, was coated with magic. This magic had cancelled out the magic of the bullets.
As she swung her blade, the phrase ‘particle annihilation,’ had popped into Mile’s head, but the nanomachines could not fathom that she was actually proposing to create antimatter, so they instead enacted a simple offset of energy. Such flexibility was one of the nanomachines’ truly awe-inspiring capabilities, though Mile was utterly unaware of this.
“Fire Shot!”
Mile now let off the very same spell. Four bullets just like her opponent’s, aimed top and bottom, left and right.
Battleships were usually designed to withstand the same battering force that the vessel itself could muster. In the same way, these demons should be trained to take the same intensity of attacks that they could dish out, Mile thought.
“Guh!”
As someone whose specialty was magic, all the demon leader would have needed to do was to put up a magic wall in front of himself. However, having seen the piercing power of Mile’s first attack, he wasn’t willing to take that risk.
Instead, this was his safety measure: Reduce the number of shots taken as much as possible and avoid being hit in any vital areas. To do this, he dodged to the left, avoiding the bullets aimed at his head, abdomen, and heart, and then deflected the remaining right-side chest bullet.
“Flare Lance!”
He had no way of knowing how strong his opponent’s attack was. At times like these, it was best to get off a strong spell as a counterattack—one that could fire fast.
It was a waste of magic, but it couldn’t be helped. Desperate times called for desperate measures. If he didn’t like it, then he should have gotten more information about his opponent or had more faith in his own magic. Having done neither of these, he had no right to complain.
Destroyed again! Maybe I’ll use a Fire Javelin or Fireball next. No, wait, if I use a weaker spell and hers happens to break through, then…
It was a sticky situation. Any error in judgment could mean taking an attack from a lesser foe and losing. Continuing to use a powerful attack every single time would result in the worst possible scenario, i.e. using up all his magic and losing to a human, particularly one who seemed to have an absurd amount of magical power for her race. Were such a thing to happen, he would be the laughingstock of his people in perpetuity.
Wait a minute! What am I, a coward? I don’t need to be concentrating on defense—I should be making sure she has no chance to attack. I need to attack her relentlessly and take back the upper hand!
For some reason, there was a gap in Mile’s attacks, and the leader took this opportunity to strike at full force.
It was a full-on continuous assault, the strikes emphasizing ease of movement over force—the same tactic that Reltobert had employed in his battle against Mavis.
This time, he was on the attack, not Mile.
When it came to attacks where speed was more important than power, there was nothing to use but the most basic of basics. Because they were already mid-match, there was no need for any silent casting. In order to keep up his speed as well as his power, he quickly recited the incantation for the spells in his head, releasing them with only the attack’s name.
“Fireball!”
Whoosh!
Five small, bright red balls of flame went flying toward Mile simultaneously. However, the assault did not end there.
“Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!”
More groups of five flew out, one after the other. Having already incanted the spell once in his head, all the leader had to do subsequently was voice the name of it again and again. Such continuous attacks were a demonic specialty. Because there were so many of them who could use such techniques, it became thought of as a standard ability of theirs and was perhaps the origin of the popular theory that it was impossible to win against a demon in a test of magic.
Working with that theory, it would not be unreasonable to claim that Mavis, who had outstripped her opponent with her own continued attacks, could beat a demon at their own game in everything but stamina. Much to the demons’ astonishment.
At any rate, countless fireballs now rained down on Mile like a meteor shower. If even a few among those were to strike, a delicate little thing like her would be sapped of all will to fight.
However, Mile only stood calmly, her sword gripped tight. As the mass of fireballs moved closer and closer, she showed no signs of moving to avoid them.
“Secret Technique: Meteor Bat for a B-rank Small Fry!”
Even if he were a “small fry,” the fact that the leader could use such a technique promoted him to at least B-rank, Mile thought.
She swung her sword swiftly back and forth in a stunning display, eliminating the fireballs one after another with nary an explosion—and without any damage to her sword.
“Wh…?”
“And now it’s my turn!” said Mile as she swung her sword again. Shock waves beamed out from the space left behind by its movement and flew toward the demon leader. She aimed for the area around his knees so as not to kill him instantly.
“Demon-Slaying Blade: Vacuum Knee-Cutter!”
“Whoa!”
The leader leapt as far as he could to the side, desperately side-stepping the white, crescent-shaped objects that suddenly came flying at him. He got the impression that if he took them head-on, he would lose both his legs.
“C-c’mon, now!”
However, just as he found a moment’s reprieve, Mile finished the preparations for her next spell.
“Snowball Fight of Doom!”
In response to the name of the spell, ten fireballs, each about the size of a fist, appeared in the air above Mile’s head. Granted, though they were fist-sized, the fist in question was Mile’s, so they were not very big. And the flames were red, meaning the temperature was about as low as fire magic could go.
“Fire!”
The mass of fireballs went flying toward the leader all at once.
There’s no way I can avoid that many. They’re all pretty small, though, and they ain’t movin’ all that fast. Fire magic’s not like ice magic, anyway. It’s just a bunch of balled-up magic putting off heat and flames, so you can deflect it with a magic wall, and even if they get through the wall you’ll only end up with one or two weakened flames hitting ya. It’s really no big deal!
If he stayed like this and kept up his volleys, the leader judged, the worst that would happen would be that he would run out of ammunition. So he psyched himself up and entered the fray. If he could just push past the magical barrage, he could get up close and engage in near-range combat, exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses.
“Magic Wall!” The leader brandished the staff gripped in his right hand as a magical wall arose in front of him, his left arm in front of his face for protection as he rushed toward Mile.
“Raaaaaaaah!!”
The flames, however, pierced clean through the barrier, not showing any signs of losing strength.
Damn it! Her magic is stronger than I thought! Still, the wall should’ve weakened them, so I bet I can stand to take a couple! If I can just land one blow with my staff, then this match will be in the ba—
Ka-thump!
He felt the force of a fireball impacting against his stomach. Thanks to the opposing kinetic energies, he was stopped in place. He pressed his hands to his gut, doubling up in pain—letting his left arm fall and exposing his face.
Bang!
A second shot hit him straight in the forehead with a terrible sound.
Thwump, knock, crack!
Three more shots struck. The leader’s body slumped slowly backward and then toppled.
Indeed, though the shots themselves were made of flames, just as the name of Mile’s spell had implied, this was a “snowball fight of doom.” As most people know, when you get unsavory elements such as young delinquents involved in a snowball fight, you’ll often find that the icy artillery ends up with rocks inside. Naturally, the nanomachines had read Mile’s intention to the letter when she let the spell rip, and just like those snowballs, her fireballs were generated with rocks inside them.
Therefore, though the magic wall had protected the demon somewhat against the forces of the fireballs, lessening the flames to a small degree, it did almost nothing for the physical force that resulted from the mass and kinetic energy of the rocks contained within them.
He had taken a rock the size of a little girl’s fist to the head. The impact was more than sufficient to render anyone unconscious.
The former fireballs, now rocks shed of their outer fiery coating, rolled to the ground.
The demons shouted as one from behind the spectators’ shield: “That’s messed uuuuuuuup!!!”
After a brief bout of unconsciousness, their leader finally reawakened, returning to his senses. Demons’ sturdy bodies were not merely for show, after all.
“D-damn it…”
Somehow he managed to pull himself to his feet, still unsteady, and decided at once to give up on close-range combat to focus on his magic.
Honestly, what had he been thinking trying to go in hand to hand? If you were gonna take on a fearsome enemy at full strength, the only thing to do was to stake it all on your magic. He was a demon, after all!
“Graaaaaaaaaa! Certain Death! Flameburst Hell!”
“Whoaaaaaa, our leader’s really done it noooow!!”
Either he was risking everything for the sake of his warrior pride or he was still dazed from being knocked out and imagining himself to be on a field of war. The spell he was flung was released at full strength. In other words, it was an attack of absolute fatality.
This was not a simple one-shot spell. This was a continuous wave of magic, fed even after it was fired, its power maintained or even growing as the spell went on. It would not stop until its target had perished. Just as its name suggested, it was a spell that would lead to “certain death.”
As the roaring flames enveloped Mile, they only grew hotter and more powerful. Mile, of course, had reflexively raised a barrier and didn’t appear to feel them one bit. On the contrary, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
True, she had been forced to erect a barrier, something which she had elected not to do at the outset. However, all this meant was that her enemy was finally giving the battle his all.
The force of the flames grew stronger and stronger, and the temperature ever hotter. Mile’s special barrier could, of course, take this without difficulty, though if this were normal protective magic, she would have already fainted due to the heat and lack of oxygen.
Regardless, this was a powerful spell—too powerful, in fact. Wonder if I should send him a little poke back? Mile thought to herself.
“Fireball!”
Mile shot off a stock fireball in five weak rounds. Since they were products of her magic, they were able to pierce through her barrier with no ill effects.
Now then, how would the demon react?
Would he stop his attack and switch to a defensive spell? Would he carefully dodge the blasts? Or would he change the direction of his attack to intercept the—
Blam, blam, blam!
“Wha…?”
A murmur of confusion issued from both Mile and the spectators.
He didn’t even react.
The leader had taken three of Mile’s fireballs head-on without so much as batting at eye. Utterly unfazed, he continued pouring himself into his attack.
However, her fireballs had not been without effect.
A trickle of blood dripped from his mouth onto his singed clothing. His eyes were hollow…
“Everyone, shield with all you’ve got! Use all your magic! Mile! He’s on a magic high—and he’s about to blow! Ruuuuun!!!” Reina shouted at the top of her lungs.
A magic high.
Indeed, when using overly forceful magic without care, it was possible that one’s consciousness could end up locked in a place of complete concentration, causing an altered state of mind. The result of this was typically that the magic itself would grow too strong, leading to an explosion. The mage, their energy finally exhausted, would fall unconscious, their magical circuits (i.e. the parts of their brains and bodies devoted to casting magic) so badly fried that they could no longer use magic. It was a clusterfudge of a calamity.
It would be one thing if the extent of the damage was a temporary loss of consciousness. However, depending on the circumstances, the magic-wielder themselves or those around them could be severely injured. If things truly went poorly, they could even end up disabled by the injuries to their brain. Even Mile had been taught about such occurrences back at Eckland.
He stood back up, but he still wasn’t all there mentally, huh? And then he tried to use a ridiculous, recklessly massive spell…
She had to stop him.
At this point, even critically injuring him would do nothing; he was apparently so far gone that he could not even register the pain of an attack. In that case, there was no choice but to drain his power!
“All nanomachines assigned to me, distract the nanomachines helping my enemy with his magic!”
WHAAAAAAAAAT?!
The nanomachines were thrown for a loop by this most unprecedented order.
“Quickly!”
At Mile’s urging, the nanomachines rushed toward the demon leader. Mile rushed after them.
No matter how powerful her magical output may have been, the further away she was, the weaker her spells would be. Therefore, the closer she could get to her opponent, the more the numbers of her own magic-inducing nanomachines would increase and the more the demon’s would decrease. This way, she would be able to hold back any explosion. Now all she had to do was get the man to lose consciousness before he could self-destruct…
YO, WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?!
GET OUTTA HERE, YOU’RE INTERFERING WITH OUR DUTIES!
WE NEED YOU TO SETTLE DOWN. WE’RE ALL NANOS HERE…
WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU TALKING?! WHAT’S YOUR PRODUCTION LOT NUMBER?!
THAT DOESN’T MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO THE JOB!
The nanomachines seemed to be quarreling. However, as it was Mile who had given the order, they had no choice but to obey.
Just as Mile approached the demon leader, pushing back the eddy of flames with her barrier…
Ka-fwump.
The leader fell flat on his face. Blood was running from his ears.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Panicked, Mile began a healing spell, the most powerful she had.
How’s he doing, Nanos?!
ONE PORTION OF HIS BRAIN HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERE DAMAGE WITH INTERNAL BLEEDING. THERE IS DAMAGE TO HIS THOUGHT-PULSE-RESONATING SECTORS WITH SECONDARY DAMAGE TO HIS IMAGING SECTORS…
Gyaaaaaaaaah!! C-can we fix him? We can fix him, right?
AS LONG AS YOU SPECIFICALLY ORDER IT, LADY MILE, HE SHOULD BE FINE. FORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS WITH HIS MEMORY OR REASONING…
Fix him then! Fix him all the way!!!
Several minutes later, under the worried, watchful eyes of the spectators, who had let down their barriers and protective magic to rush over, the demon leader, who was laid out on the ground, finally began to stir.
“Where… Wh-where am I…?”
Anyone who self-destructed on a magical high that had reached the point of blood running from their ears would be lucky to make it out unable to use magic. If the fates saw fit, one could end up disabled or even in a vegetative state. Seeing that at least the worst-case scenario had been avoided, the demons breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Leader, wh-what about your magic?”
“Hm? What about my magic?” the leader replied, perplexed. Apparently, he was not yet aware of the circumstances.
“C-can you s-still use your m-magic?” one of the demons finally managed to get out, distress clear on his face.
Mile and Reina looked on with worry as well.
“The heck are y’all on about? Yeah… Light! See, look, there you go, good as ever.”
The demons’ eyes opened wide in disbelief.
“W…” one quiet voice started.
“Wa…” another chimed in.
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
The leader looked utterly lost as his subordinates suddenly burst into tears.
“Wh-what’s yer deal?! What’s gotten into y’all…”
And then, Mile proudly decreed, “Looks like it’s a wipeout victory for the Crimson Vow!”
“Yeeeeah!!!
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