Chapter 3: Fighting the Emperor
Diablo thrust out his right hand. He tried to mitigate Gelmed’s attack with a 《Cyclone Jet》 spell, but it failed to completely disperse the cold air.
“Is that the Emperor?” he asked Noah, who turned to face him.
“A-Are you...?” she stuttered, her face pale and her voice shaking.
Diablo raised a hand to touch his face.
—Yeah, I figured I’d look something like this...
He recalled how Aira assumed he was an enemy when he picked her up from the drainage pipe. There weren’t any mirrors around, so he couldn’t check, but apparently he now looked completely different. From what he could gather from looking down at his body, he’d taken on an appearance similar to the purple, armored form of Demon Lord Krebskulm. When Klem gave him her “Demon Lord’s true power,” he’d transformed into this.
—I guess I should be grateful I didn’t turn into a skeleton or a slime...
Diablo unleashed another spell from his thrust-out hand. And again, he left out the incantation. 《Aero Shredder》 — blades of condensed air severed the tentacles coiled around Gewalt.
“Bwaaah?!” Gewalt spat out pieces of the severed tentacle that had penetrated his mouth.
He fell with a splash into the water and then cowered away. Apparently, he was terrified of being in the same water as Diablo, but said nothing more.
“So you survived. You’re one tenacious bastard.”
Even as he sat with water up to his chest, his own vomit spreading before him, Gewalt glared at him reproachfully.
“Ugh, that voice...” he groaned. “You’re Diablo?”
He would realize after this much. Gewalt had met him more times than Noah or Aira.
“Where are the others?” Diablo asked.
“They’re dead,” Gewalt spat out bitterly.
Diablo felt his breath catch in his throat. He didn’t know them that well, and he’d only just started remembering their names... But they were still part of the same party for a time. His heart throbbed painfully as the weight set in.
“...I see,” he eventually managed to say.
“You come here now, you good-for-nothing?!” Noah bellowed at him angrily. “What did you even come with us for?!”
Diablo couldn’t refute what she was saying. Klem may have given him a Demon Lord’s power, but he was still too emotionally bruised from the loss of her. He’d only just worked up enough motivation to get moving. Hearing Aira’s scream as she fell into the water duct snapped him out of his sorrow... But while Noah and her group were fighting for their lives, Diablo was curled up on the floor.
As a party member, he needed to at least apologize to them — Diablo knew that much. But the words wouldn’t come. Conversing with people normally was too difficult for him, especially when he was being blamed for something and shouted at.
If he tried to apologize now, he would just look away and stutter. Diablo couldn’t talk without acting like he was in the game, after all. Just like how an ape couldn’t fly, weeds couldn’t walk, and bugs couldn’t write. It was impossible.
And so, Diablo spoke grandly.
“I am Diablo, a Demon Lord from another world! Anyone who turns their blade against me will be wiped from existence!”
Noah stiffened in place, her eyes wide. Maybe those words, coupled with how he looked now, overwhelmed her. Or maybe she was simply disgusted beyond words, since she knew who he really was.
—I won’t know what you’re thinking unless you say it.
“A man of the mortal races may say what he wants...” Emperor Gelmed remarked. “You are all equally powerless before me.”
“Hmph. It seems you’ve grown senile, old man,” Diablo retorted, not allowing his composure to crack. “I just told you, I am no mere mortal.”
The Emperor had absolute confidence in his powers. Diablo, by contrast, could only pretend. He was, in fact, terrified. He broke into a cold sweat as his heart beat faster.
—If this were in the game, I’d be flaming the forums like crazy about it being a broken event! No walkthroughs, no redos, the location’s hard to reach, it’s all decided by one fight, and if you lose, you die!
While Diablo spoke with a Demon Lord’s haughty dignity, his gamer mind was working at full throttle. Noah could fire powerful spells in quick succession, so the fact that the Emperor was able to block them all implied that he had some ability to nullify magic. Either that or rapid HP recovery.
“...That’s what Emperor Gelmed looks like now,” Noah said to his back. “It’s called ‘the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie.’”
“What?!” Diablo replied, shocked.
“I don’t know how it’s related to the game...”
The MMORPG Cross Reverie. The game Diablo and Noah had played. The very same one that his character, Diablo, whom he was summoned into the body of, was from. It wasn’t clear how the MMORPG and this world were related, and based on what Noah told him, this world didn’t even seem to conform to the same flow of time as their old one.
But just then, Diablo heard a sound in his head. It was some kind of alert, perhaps part of the Demon Lord’s power. Emperor Gelmed — the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie — floated up into the air. Diablo braced himself for battle. He was in front of a powerful raid boss and didn’t have the time to bother with its name or lore right now.
“There’s a barrier around Cross Reverie,” Noah added. “Swords and magic don’t work on it.”
“Hmph. Same as me, then,” Diablo said.
“What?”
His 《Shining Wing Armor》 had a barrier too. On top of its thankfully-high defense, ordinary magic and attacks were ineffective against it.
—How do I hit this thing, though?
He wasn’t going to beat this opponent by staring it down. For a moment, Diablo considered his usual strategies. For example, waiting for the opponent to lift its barrier, or alternatively, striking it with high firepower attacks repeatedly until their defenses broke. But just then, an idea he wasn’t aware of surfaced in his mind: a technique he had never used before.
—A spell that can penetrate barriers?
He wasn’t sure if he could actually cast a bona fide Demon Lord spell. That doubt weighed on his mind for a moment.
—Can I really do it?! Just use it without ever trying it before, just firing it off against a raid boss in the moment of truth?! What’s this thing’s cast time? Its cooldown time? Its MP cost? Can I dodge while chanting it? Can it even break through Gelmed’s barrier anyway?!
Although he was panicking under the surface, Diablo’s attitude remained uncompromisingly smug.
“My magic will destroy you!”
“What?!” Noah stared at him. “You think you can beat him?!”
“Out of my way, girl! Get away if you value your life!”
—This spell might be dangerous. Please move away!
Diablo pushed Noah back behind him. Emperor Gelmed stole the power of God — meaning Diablo would have to use the full power of the Demon Lord Krebskulm. If Noah were to be caught up in his attack, she wouldn’t walk away unscathed, even if she was a level 300 sorcerer. Gewalt wasn’t anywhere in sight, of course. Thanks to his crafty intuition, he knew to make himself scarce.
Diablo thrust both arms forward. He wouldn’t use Tenma’s Staff — no, he used this body as his weapon, since it was close to his image of Klem and what she would have done.
—Bubbles.
Several bubbles, each of them a world of their own... That image formed keenly in his mind. As one bubble pressed against and then penetrated another... This was it — a blade that could pierce worlds.
“《Dimension Blast》!”
Flashes of light burst out of his extended palms. They reached the barrier around Cross Reverie and blew it away.
“Ugh?!” Emperor Gelmed screamed for the first time. “Ah?! Aaaaaaaaagh!”
All the tentacles around them were blown away along with the barrier. The water below them parted, and the previously submerged tree roots were crushed and carved out. The wall behind Cross Reverie crumbled, as did the surrounding walls and the floor under the roots.
—Wait, this is bad!
He did expect the attack to pierce the barrier, but it ended up destroying everything around them as collateral damage. Falling rubble blocked his field of vision.
—What happened to Emperor Gelmed?!
Diablo didn’t dare assume he had defeated him. Even if he did, he’d still need to finish him off. Diablo wouldn’t let such superfluous thoughts cloud his judgment. He was prepared for the worst, no matter what.
All the water that had been in the pool around them made an audible bubbling sound as it drained away.
“The floor’s collapsing!” Noah called out nervously.
†
Noah screamed as she fell. The massive roots still spread out across the floor now crumbled as the floor fell apart beneath them. Diablo assumed Noah could use flight magic at her level...but her eyes clung to him, wordlessly asking for help as her hands grasped desperately at thin air.
—Are you telling me a level 300 sorcerer can’t use flight magic?!
Diablo clicked his tongue bitterly and paused his offensive. The mental image of the next spell he was going to cast faded away. He spent MP on flight magic instead, an ominous magic circle forming around him.
Heat coursed through his back as four large, sinister, glowing wings of light manifested behind him. They resembled an insect’s wings, but were firm, with sections that were transparent. Kicking against the air, he took off after Noah. Compared to the speed of flight that his Empty Sky’s Gambol was capable of, he was now substantially faster. He felt like a fluttering bee in flight.
When Diablo fought the Demon Lord Krebskulm, she had never moved like this, so his ideas for this power must have differed from what Klem’s had been. He knocked away the rubble in his path and pulled Noah’s falling body into his grip.
“Aaah?!”
She held onto him for dear life. He pulled her closer, trying not to think about what he was doing too much. Being bashful about it now would be pointless. If he didn’t save her, he’d effectively be abandoning her to die. The situation was critical, so he only acted reflexively.
“Can’t you use flight magic?!” Diablo shouted at her.
“I-I can! I-I think I could... But I’m not...good at it...”
Diablo remembered something Noah told him once.
I tried to see if I could cast level 300 spells, but I’ve avoided combat, so I’ve never really tried to use offensive magic. You do know that dying in this world means you actually die, right? Why would I put myself in that kind of danger?
Diablo could agree with her logic. He became an adventurer without really knowing what this world was like, but if Rem and Shera, his summoners, were instead something like merchants or politicians, his life could have been very different.
Even so, Diablo spoke overbearingly.
“Fool! Having a grasp of your own abilities is the most basic thing you must do!”
“I did try! But now it won’t work...”
“That’s why I said you must grasp the extent of your abilities! You have to train until you can cast a spell at a moment’s notice! That is when you truly grasp your abilities!”
“L-Listen, I’m not a machine...!”
—Maybe, but high-ranking players in my time took doing that for granted.
During its closing years, the MMORPG lowered its difficulty, making itself easier for new players in a bid to draw in a bigger user base. Mastering the hotkeys and committing them to muscle memory in such a demanding manner simply wasn’t required of players at the time Noah played.
But they didn’t have the time to talk about this. Diablo heard another warning in his mind, like someone was alerting him to something.
“I know!” he hissed, as if to silence that alarm in his mind. Diablo maneuvered through the air evasively, twisting his body as he performed steep turns. The enemy was firing a barrage at him from above, and he still needed to avoid the falling rubble.
“Ngh!” Noah let out a suffocated cry in his arms.
She might have been a level 300 sorcerer, but she was still a human woman, and his wings were carrying them at high speeds. He was protected by his armor, but the strain of his movements was too great for her. With all the water and rubble raining down on them, visibility was poor, and at times like these, he needed to focus on either defense or dodging.
—We really burst all the way out of the castle...
Dimension Blast had carved all the way down through the bottom of Castle Viovix. The castle grounds were supported in the air by gigantic legs, and now Diablo was flying through the air between the ground and Viovix’s underside. Behind him was the sight of Lyferia’s capital, Seven Wall. Much of it was in ruins from the war.
Diablo could see the twelfth district from afar, with the Inner Sanctum floating above it. That was where Rem — the Girl of the Vessel the Emperor was so dead set on capturing — was hiding, in addition to Shera and Lumachina. He couldn’t let Gelmed approach that place.
Diablo fired an attack to keep the Emperor distracted.
“《Nine Phalanx》!”
Seven magi-guns made of mana formed around him, firing a long barrage of magical projectiles. But then a spear of light burst through the barrage and came flying his way.
“Huh?!”
—What is he thinking?!
If that hit him, it would have dealt crippling damage, but it was only a single-target attack. Not only did it miss him, it wasn’t even flying in a trajectory that could hit him. Why even launch an attack like that?
But something instinctively told him that this was bad news. He thought to move and create distance between the spear and himself, but Noah wouldn’t have been able to withstand him moving at full speeds.
Being occupied with that worry stalled him.
The spear of light exploded, scattering bullets of light in all directions around him, each of them only the size of a speck.
—So that’s what he was trying to do?!
Diablo tried to dodge, but the bullets moved at dizzying speeds.
—I can’t dodge these!
At that moment, a voice rang out in his head.
“Barrier!”
It was the high-pitched voice of a child. Multiple magic circles expanded around Diablo, forming a spherical barrier that blocked off the projectiles. The moment the specks made contact, they exploded, showing that each one of them was charged with a vast amount of magical energy. The shock waves reverberated even through the barrier, shaking his body hard.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaaaah!” Noah screamed in his arms.
†
Once again, a child’s voice echoed in his mind.
“That was close!”
He couldn’t mistake who it belonged to. Diablo felt his throat seize up.
“I had enough time to do this because you moved away. Did you know that attack would split up like that?”
“I’m not foolish enough to be caught by something like that...”
“Diablo?”
—You’re still alive?
Diablo couldn’t manage to ask that question; his eyes were hot with tears. This was another moment where he hated the fact that he couldn’t speak honestly.
“Hmph... As tenacious as one would expect a Demon Lord to be, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am!” Klem’s voice replied proudly in his mind.
“...Can you return to your true form?”
“It’s my first time trying anything like this, so I don’t know... But probably?”
Diablo was overcome with relief. Having Klem live in his head forever would simply be too sad... Not to mention difficult.
“That was one reckless stunt you pulled, fool.”
“Heheh... If we lost to the Emperor, it would all be over anyway! If that happened, whether I can return to my own form or not would be the least of my worries.”
“...Mm,” he affirmed.
“Are you all right?” Noah looked at him, puzzled.
It really was only Diablo that could hear Klem’s voice, it seemed.
“...You cannot hear that voice? You truly are inexperienced,” Diablo said vaguely.
“Wh-What voice?” Noah asked, confused.
But of course she couldn’t hear it. Even if he’d tried to explain this situation to her, there would be so much to tell that she’d struggle to make sense of any of it. Only one thing really mattered, anyway.
—If I don’t defeat Emperor Gelmed, everything will be for naught.
“Right now, you’re exhibiting this Demon Lord’s regular power,” Klem said.
“It’s like my mana won’t stop overflowing.”
“That’s normal, isn’t it?” Klem asked offhandedly. “Comfort Mode, as it’s called. But if it were enough to beat him, this Demon Lord would have been able to stop him by myself.”
“Right, right.”
“So you need to enter Fanatic Mode, where you get all excited and destroy your enemy in a rage.”
Diablo immediately felt something thump inside him. His body heated up, and all the blood began climbing into his head.
“N-Nng...”
“And the level above Fanatic Mode...is Demon Lord Mode!”
His spine tingled and his thinking turned awfully cold — just like when he was pissed.
—Calm down! You can’t win if you lose your cool!
He tried suppressing his nerves. This wasn’t an opponent he could beat by letting his emotions get the better of him.
“Can you use it?” Klem asked him. “This Demon Lord gave you this power because I thought you would need it...”
He had no experience fighting anything similar to this opponent, let alone any information about it. He couldn’t even imagine what Emperor Gelmed was capable of, and he wasn’t the slightest bit confident he could win this fight.
But a Demon Lord wouldn’t lose heart!
“Don’t be foolish! No matter what manner of power it is, I am the true Demon Lord! I will contain and master it!”
“Heheh...” he felt like Klem’s voice was smiling somehow. “Then I entrust it to you, Diablo. Stay strong! Otherwise this form will consume you... And you will become just like the Emperor: a being consumed by its power.”
If that were to happen, the world really would come to an end. Still, pretending to be a Demon Lord only to eventually descend upon the world as a real Demon Lord would be terrible.
“You can leave things in my hands, Klem!”
He spoke boldly while shaking like a baby fawn on the inside, terrified.
—I can’t even speak with my own words, and you’re telling me to “stay strong”?
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Klem howled inside his mind.
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him directly.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Diablo screamed back.
His consciousness faded away.
†
“Diablo! It’s Emperor Gelmed!” Noah’s voice pulled him back from the darkness.
Cross Reverie was floating in front of them.
“Your presence, it’s changed... Who are you...?” Emperor Gelmed asked.
It was hard for Diablo to hear what Gelmed was saying. It felt like there was a constant wind roaring in his ear.
“How many times will I have to say it?” Diablo replied with a voice so hoarse he didn’t recognize it as his own.
—It feels like someone’s stirring up my brain with a spoon...
He couldn’t gather his thoughts. Meanwhile, Cross Reverie retreated from him. The dark ground was sprawled out before them, littered with water, rubble, debris from the tree roots, and the burnt remnants of the tentacles. The early morning showers were now becoming a storm, and the increasing gales of wind were making visibility that much worse.
“Go after him, Diablo! A Demon Lord’s eyes can always see where their opponent is!”
“That’s convenient.”
Suddenly, it felt like there was nothing between him and Cross Reverie. Not only was his enemy easy to detect, he could even sense all forms of life above them. Tree roots were spreading out of the bottom of the Magimatic Castle Viovix, winding and wriggling like tentacles. Right next to him, however...
“Diablo, are you all right?!” Noah raised her voice at him. “We should retreat for now! We should reorganize our forces and challenge Emperor Gelmed lat—”
“Oh, you’re still here?” Diablo interrupted, realizing she was there.
“What?! You’ve been holding me the whole time!”
His physical strength was so high at this point that her weight didn’t even register for him. He honestly had completely forgotten she was there, and he did feel a bit guilty about it. A single human’s weight was lighter than a feather for him right now.
—I don’t know if I can say it’s thanks to Noah, but...I’m calmer now.
Diablo exhaled heavily. Every part of his body cried out in excitement as a frightening amount of mana overflowed from him every second. He had no intention of fleeing. For the sake of both those who had died and those who were still alive, he’d defeat his opponent here.
And that meant he couldn’t take Noah along. He wanted to tell her that — to ask her to try using flight magic and get out of here... But he didn’t have time to explain. And besides, telling an ally to run wasn’t very Demon Lord-ly.
And that’s important.
If his role playing were half-assed, he wouldn’t be able to talk, and that would get in the way of concentrating on the battle.
Ever since he entered the Magimatic Castle Viovix... No, ever since he decided to work under Noah... And perhaps even earlier, when he wound up in a position to fight and defend other people... Diablo hadn’t been at his prime. And Emperor Gelmed was too powerful an opponent, so he couldn’t fight him with his mind so lulled.
And so, Diablo repeated it to himself like a mantra.
—I am a Demon Lord. A Demon Lord!
—I am the Demon Lord. The one true Demon Lord.
—I am the Demon Lord, Diablo!
His lips contorted into a devilish grin. His expression was sadistic and hostile — an authentic Demon Lord’s expression.
“Out of my way!” he barked, throwing Noah away.
“Eeee?! Aaaah!”
“Hmph! Begone!” Diablo said, not even sparing a look in her direction.
Her scream of despair was cut off when one of Gewalt’s summon beasts — 《Flying Worm》 — soared through the air and swallowed her up. Standing on top of the worm, Gewalt puffed a kiss in Diablo’s direction, as if to say, “I’ll handle this.”
Same here, Diablo thought to himself.
Gewalt could have run away on his own, but he hid and waited beneath them. If Diablo had to fight while having to worry about Noah, who wasn’t used to combat, it would make things needlessly difficult for him. Gewalt, knowing Diablo’s personality, offered him the right sort of support.
—You’re an evil bastard and a freak, but just this once I’m glad you’re here.
Now he could focus on fighting.
“Use the Demon Lord’s staff!” Klem’s voice said in his mind.
—There’s a Demon Lord’s staff?
Diablo thrust his right hand forward and a jet-black staff appeared out of thin air. Its name drifted in Diablo’s mind. 《The Staff of Annihilation》. He gripped it and glared at Cross Reverie.
“Pardon the delay, you lowly thief. But now I shall strike into your heart the sort of terror only a true Demon Lord can!”
†
At the Inner Sanctum...
As the hours went by since Diablo and his party infiltrated the Magimatic Castle Viovix, the people hiding away waited with bated breath. They could hear the explosions from afar. Suddenly, the Gelmed Empire’s moving castle’s contours bent and twisted. Its bottom crumbled away and spilled onto the ground below.
The people gasped and began praying ardently. Having received a report from the Paladin Tria, Lumachina stepped out to the Inner Sanctum’s balcony. Another loud explosion rocked the air. Tria hurriedly covered Lumachina’s body, shielding her.
“Your Grace, you can’t be here! Please return indoors!”
“Thank you, Tria.” Lumachina shook her head. “But I’ll be fine.”
If an attack as powerful as that explosion were to come this way, being inside the Inner Sanctum wouldn’t save her.
“Is that... a Magimatic Sol?!” Rem said, leaning off the balcony.
She thought she could see some kind of mechanical unit flying between the pieces of small rubble in the distance. It was hard to tell, given the distance.
Diablo was probably fighting it. Or perhaps Noah, who was a high-level sorcerer as well.
“Is that Diablo over there...?” Shera said, leaning over the balcony’s railing too.
“You can see him?!” Rem said, squinting her eyes.
“There’s like...someone in black armor floating there? And they’re fighting this white giant.”
“...I can’t see anything,” Rem murmured bitterly.
In terms of racial attributes, Pantherians had better eyesight than the Elves. But Shera did have a higher level as an archer. Sylvie, who was standing nearby, wore a smirk. She was also gazing at the enemy castle, and nodded as if impressed.
“I’m surprised you two can see that far. All I can see is rubble and stuff falling out.”
“Grasswalkers are a race that excels at hearing, not eyesight,” Rem pointed out.
“Yeaaah, but with this rainy weather, all I can hear is debris falling and explosions,” she said, her bunny ears twitching.
“See!” Shera pointed ahead. “That black armor person is flying around!”
“...Doesn’t Diablo have a cloak, though? And I think there was some Elf with dark clothes in the Palace Knights.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think anyone in the Palace Knights looked like that...” Shera frowned. “It’s more spiky... But it’s different from Diablo too.”
“...I can’t see it from this distance,” Rem said. “But I can tell that there’s an absurd battle going on there.”
The Magimatic Sol that Rem and her group fought, 《Violanos of the Purple》, had impressive armor and weapons, but they somehow managed to squeeze out a win. Despite its strength, it didn’t have the kind of fighting power to make explosions that would be so visible from afar, nor any offense that could shake the ground like this.
That Magimatic Sol was different from the rest.
“But it’s hard to tell,” Shera said, shrugging.
“...We could get closer, but...” Rem trailed off.
She had summon beasts capable of flying. They would deplete her MP, but she had potions ready for that, so she could manage. But given her personal position, she had to hesitate. What if getting closer would just get her captured...?
Rem was the Girl of the Vessel that Emperor Gelmed was so keen on capturing, after all.
“Let’s check it out!” Shera raised her voice.
“...Getting closer would be dangerous,” Rem said tersely.
“Wouldn’t we just impede Lord Diablo if we do that?” Lumachina agreed.
Contrary to what he often said, Diablo seemed to care even about the lives of his enemies. Rem was capable of mercilessly attacking a hostile opponent, but Diablo always seemed to hold back. And if Shera was on the battlefield, Diablo would focus on protecting her, and the enemy could take advantage of that.
Shera had to have understood at least that much.
“I didn’t mean I’d go watch it myself,” Shera said, taking out a summon crystal from her pocket and invoking it. “Please, 《Turkey Shot》!”
The bird-shaped summon beast had a reconnaissance ability that allowed it to share its line of sight with the caster.
“Oh, right, you did have that option...” Rem said, clapping in realization.
“Wow, Rem, that’s rude! I’m a summoner, you know?!”
“...Just get going. It’s pretty far, isn’t it? You don’t have that much MP.”
“Boo!” Shera pouted as she sent Turkey Shot flying.
—Now we’ll have some grasp on what’s happening in the battle.
Rem’s fingers tightened around a summon crystal. The many pieces of equipment Diablo gave her greatly powered up her summons, and she now had more flying summon beasts. She knew she couldn’t afford to get any closer, but...
Rem looked around. They had a healer in Lumachina, an enchanter in Sylvie, and a thief in Horn. Rose was still damaged, and the other people here weren’t at a level where they should be on the battlefield. In other words, Rem was the only combat-capable person here. If the situation were to turn dire, it would be up to her to fight.
She resolved to do as such.
†
Below Castle Viovix...
The airborne battle continued. Emperor Gelmed, hidden within the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie, raised both its palms. Diablo, clad in his Shining Wing Armor, held the Staff of Annihilation at his hip and glared at him silently.
“What’s wrong, fool who dares call himself a Demon Lord? Where is that true horror you promised me? There is nothing left in this world anyone could teach m—”
“Haa!” Diablo raised his voice suddenly, swinging his right fist.
At that moment, he closed the distance with the Emperor at once. Thrusting the staff like a spear, he sank it into Cross Reverie’s chestpiece.
“Ngh?!” The Emperor let out a gasp.
He’d learned how to use the Glow from Solami, which doubled his physical attributes. He used a charge-type martial art, and with the Shining Wing Armor buffing his stats further, it almost looked like he had just teleported. Even his own eyes couldn’t keep up with these movements.
—Get used to it! It’s like being shot with a magi-gun from close range! I should be fast enough to avoid it!
Cross Reverie swept its arm in an attempt to swat him away.
“Ha!” Diablo ducked to avoid the blow.
But even though he’d completely dodged the attack, it still impacted him. The shock wave made his field of vision swirl as he was blown back with a metallic screech. If he weren’t protected by his armor, the shock wave would have surely plucked his head right off.
“Ugh...!”
The attack had a 《Sure Hit》 effect. Diablo kicked against the air and flew back to his earlier spot. This new way of flying felt different from how he normally used flight magic. At first, he was a little panicked that he wouldn’t be able to properly use it, but now he had a better handle on it. It was capable of acceleration, braking, and was overall perhaps a little too responsive.
He rushed and landed a kick on Cross Reverie, but it felt like he’d just kicked a rock. The Magimatic Garment’s 《Divine Barrier》 was active again. He could hear Emperor Gelmed’s voice from under the crushed chestplate.
“You have my praises. You are the first to damage my holy garment. But it is all meaningless.”
Like a film rapidly rewinding, the chestplate returned to its former, unblemished form. It took no time at all to repair itself, like Diablo’s attack had never happened.
Diablo scoffed back at him.
“God’s miracles, like healing, protection, and purification. It’s not surprising you can do this, given the power you’ve stolen.”
“Then you finally see how powerless you are.”
“You think yourself a god simply because of the power you’ve stolen? You can restore yourself all you want; I’ll simply destroy you every time you do... For I am the Dark Lord of Annihilation!”
Diablo thrust his staff forward. The Divine Barrier stood in his way, but he nonetheless parted his lips and shouted.
“《Pulverize》!”
It pierced. This ability of the Demon Lord Krebskulm destroyed the Divine Barrier, which shattered like glass. The staff in his hand bashed into Cross Reverie’s headpiece, crushing and bending it out of shape.
“What?!” the Emperor exclaimed.
—I can fight him! With the Demon Lord’s power, I can penetrate Emperor Gelmed’s barrier!
“Get him now!” Klem ordered him.
“《Cold Ring》!” Diablo unleashed a spell at point-blank range.
A powerful water element spell. It would have taken Diablo a few seconds to chant, but the Shining Wing Armor allowed him to cast it instantly. Cross Reverie’s smashed armor froze over with white frost.
“Impudent fool!” The enemy again swept its arm through the air, like it was trying to swat away a troublesome fly.
Diablo evaded Emperor Gelmed’s attack and pounded another kick into Cross Reverie.
“《Grand Crash》!”
A powerful earth element spell that unleashed a shock wave strong enough to destroy the very earth beneath them directly hit Cross Reverie’s head, shattering the frozen armor.
“How many times must I tell you that it’s pointless?! My divine body can recover from this kind of damage at once—”
“You’re slow, old man!” Diablo exclaimed as he continued attacking. He thrust out his left hand, grabbing onto the now unarmored, soggy, slimy head. He then pierced his staff into it and cast one of the highest-level spells in Krebskulm’s arsenal at point-blank range.
“《World Halation》!”
The spell had enough force to it to twist the world around it, converting all matter in its area of effect into heat... And its effects kicked in faster than Gelmed could recover.
“Bwhaaa?!” the old Emperor croaked.
“Perish, along with your divine power!”
—Should I really destroy him, though?
He said those words in the heat of the moment, but he had some doubts about whether killing something so divine was the right thing to do. Still, this world’s god was dead, and leaving his powers in the hands of a man hellbent on destroying the races would only be bad for the world.
The Magimatic Garment began to contort, crumbling into a shape that wasn’t even recognizable. The robotic form melted like candy, but as it did, the Emperor’s voice echoed out clearly.
“《Apocalypse Combine》!”
“What?!” Diablo breathed out.
The air began to tremble.
“...W...We’ve lost... It’s over,” Diablo heard Klem’s shaking voice in his head.
“Huh?! What are you saying?!” Diablo chided her.
“Curse the Emperor! He drew on God’s power to such a level... This Demon Lord underestimated him.”
†
Large projectiles of light appeared from nowhere and began flying all around him.
“Ugh?!” Diablo winced as one of them grazed his shoulder.
Covering fire?! But where is it coming from?!
Diablo tried to avoid them, but his body felt oddly heavy, like something was pulling him into the line of fire.
—These things have Sure Hit too?!
He tried to deflect them with his staff, but the powerful impact of the blasts sent him flying.
“Ghaaa?!”
He was weak to this kind of damage and didn’t have any footing, so he couldn’t even brace himself. Another shot came his way from the Magimatic Castle Viovix, while more were also coming from Castle Grandiose on the ground.
—He had soldiers set up to ambush me there?! And their firepower is on the same level as Emperor Gelmed’s?! That’s absurd!
But upon gazing deeper at the projectiles of light, he realized these were Magimatic Sols. Arjanos of the Silver, Burix of the Red, Violanos of the Purple, Raumunus of the Ash, Viridinus of the Emerald, Erurenus of the Yellow. There were a couple more he didn’t recognize, colored navy blue and pale violet. Some of the units were half-destroyed, but they blitzed through the air, shining brightly. They gathered around Cross Reverie while Diablo was kept pinned down. Arjanos and Burix didn’t have hatches on their cockpits and were visibly unmanned.
“Kuh... So you summoned the Magimatic Sols?! How are they going to help you now?!”
Diablo once struggled against these things, but it was only because they were manned by members of the races. If they had no pilots, he could mercilessly destroy them. Now that he had a true Demon Lord’s power, it wouldn’t take him long to do it.
The Magimatic Sols flew about the battlefield before ramming themselves into Cross Reverie’s molten form. A gigantic magic circle formed in the air, the likes of which he’d never seen either in the MMORPG or in this world.
“This is...”
The gathered Magimatic Sols let out blinding glows as their forms changed. One unit became a giant arm, while another became a massive leg. Just then, a hole opened in the space between the limbs, and Viatonos of the White — the unit he had banished from this world using Gravity Abyss — appeared from within. Despite it having been crushed back then, it stood completely whole. Its large shield became a chestpiece, connecting to the rest and forming a gigantic robot. Normal Magimatic Sols stood three times the size of the races, but put together they were even bigger than a Large Dragon.
Diablo simply stared, aghast.
“Wh-What is this thing...?!”
At the core of this new unit was the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie, which he’d melted into liquid just moments ago. It stood brand new, without a single scratch on it, in the center of this combined robot. Emperor Gelmed’s old, raspy voice echoed from within the gigantic machine, in stark contrast to the super robot’s imposing size.
“Do you see this?! Behold, for this is a miracle! God’s majesty, manifested upon the earth! The Magimatic Sol, Ultimaaaate, God, Crooooooooss!”
The old man stretched out the name, like a child watching a cartoon might have.
“Forgive me, Diablo...” Klem said bitterly. “Even if all the separated Demon Lords were to gather, we would stand... no chance against him.”
The Primordial Demon Lord of this world was shattered into pieces by God. Even the Demon Lord Krebskulm was only one part of the whole, and some time ago, they fought against the Demon Overlord Modinaram, who had absorbed many of the other Demon Lords. His body couldn’t contain their power, so he couldn’t fully capitalize on that strength, but he was strong enough to manifest a false Demon Lord’s Castle.
But Emperor Gelmed wasn’t overwhelmed. He wasn’t some amateur who, despite having a high level, didn’t know how to put his power to good use.
—Of course not. This man defeated God, after all.
He might have been inhuman now, but he was originally a mortal man who overcame God on his own. His combat prowess wasn’t to be trifled with.
The God Cross lifted its fist. The air itself screeched as the colossal mass moved rapidly.
“Return to ashes, ye sinner who dares oppose me!”
“Tch... Don’t think you’re better just because you’re bigger now! I’ll melt you again! World Halation!”
“《Karmic Retribution》.”
A mirror appeared in the air in front of God Cross’ left hand.
—Oh, crap!
By the time Diablo guessed at what was going to happen, he was already blown back.
“Ghaaaa...!” Diablo gasped.
“Diablo?!”
He went unconscious for a moment, but Klem’s voice woke him up just barely before he crashed into the ground.
“All is a product of divine retribution,” Emperor Gelmed chuckled.
—Save your religious mumbo jumbo for someone who cares.
Diablo cursed in his heart. Maybe it was a translation issue. While everyone around him was speaking this world’s language, Diablo could somehow understand them. However, that automatic translation wasn’t always entirely accurate and only worked so well.
For example, the concepts of “bank” or “welfare” didn’t exist in Lyferia, so even if someone were to say those words, no one would understand their meaning. In much the same way, it wasn’t guaranteed Diablo would understand what Emperor Gelmed was talking about. Of course, it’s not like he had time to be occupied with the specific meanings of words...
Diablo clenched his fists, and a sharp pain shot through his left arm. Thanks to the Shining Wing Armor, it wasn’t torn off, but the bones in his left arm were likely crushed to bits. The pain was making him break into a cold sweat.
—I messed up.
Was his spell reflected? And if so, was the reflected spell not reflected back thanks to the 《Demon Lord’s Ring》? Or maybe World Halation simply wasn’t an attack that could be reflected?
“Diablo, what do we do?!” Klem asked him. “We don’t have a chance!”
“Ngh... Klem... You said you’ve regained your memories as a Demon Lord, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did any of the people who challenged the Demon Lords ever have a chance to win?”
“...No, they didn’t.”
Diablo’s right hand tightened its grip on the Staff of Annihilation. It was still healthy. Diablo’s lips curled up into a smirk.
“Then it’s the same for us.”
—You can’t call yourself a gamer if you give up just because the odds aren’t in your favor!
†
God Cross thrust his right hand to the sky.
“《Thunderfall》!”
Countless bolts of lightning rained down from above. Even with the Magimatic Castle Viovix blocking out the sky, it was a ruthless attack.
“Tch... Does having God’s miracles mean that literally anything goes?!”
Diablo evaded the lightning as well as he could, but his crushed left arm creaked noisily as he moved. He had to hold back the urge to scream in pain.
“《Cremation Arrow》!” Diablo swung his staff through the air in front of him and sent thirteen arrows of demonic fire flying forward. This attack would normally burn its target to ashes, and if the target was set aflame, the fires wouldn’t extinguish until the target was completely destroyed. The arrows connected with God Cross, burning off some of its armor, but it all soon regenerated.
“You call yourself a Demon Lord with such meager strength? Laughable,” the Emperor mocked.
As Diablo moved to evade one of the lightning bolts pursuing him, it suddenly curved and changed direction.
“Ugh?!”
It hit him directly, and while it did deal damage, his armor prevented it from being fatal. Still, it kept Diablo pinned down.
—Good at everything, aren’t you, stupid Emperor?!
It seemed God Cross’ attacks weren’t classified as magic — Emperor Gelmed was only referring to his attacks as “miracles” — so the Demon Lord’s Ring’s magic reflection didn’t kick in. Diablo clicked his tongue. It wasn’t unusual for old equipment to become outdated or obsoleted by power creep as one advanced through a game’s stages, but things in this battle were developing way too quickly for him to keep up.
—Raid bosses always were training grounds for new abilities and features... Goddammit, this really is a “real world” in and of itself...because holy shit, this would be one badly balanced game!
“World Halation!” Diablo thrust his staff forward.
“Do you never learn, fool? Karmic Retrib— ngh?!”
While Diablo did shout the spell’s name, he didn’t actually cast it. Unlike the game, in this world, one had to concentrate on their magical energy to cast spells, which meant it was possible to chant a spell without actually doing anything.
“You fell for it!” Diablo said as he charged ahead. He had observed in his battle with God Cross that when it used an attack, it couldn’t simultaneously use another one. Thus, Diablo closed in on the mechanical giant and thrust his staff toward it.
However, in the last second, he realized that Karmic Retribution’s mirroring effect didn’t actually trigger either. He could almost feel the old man’s nasty leer through his armor.
“I don’t have to activate my own miracles just because I call them out either,” he said eerily.
“Ugh?!”
He was lured in.
“《Purification》.”
A flash of light spilled from God Cross’ mouth, and Diablo couldn’t avoid it in time.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”
A loud voice filled his ears. The high-pitched tolling of a bell boomed in his head. It felt like something had yanked his ribs straight out of his body. Blood gushed from his flanks, and he felt as if he would soon lose consciousness.
“Gaaah!”
“Nha?! Diablo, are you all right?!”
Once again, Klem’s shouting kept him from slipping away. If he were to close his eyes now, he’d likely never wake up.
Even with his mind fogged over with agony, Diablo acted unflinchingly. Reflexively, he reached into the pouch on his waist and took out a potion, smashing the tube in his hands and letting the fluid spray over him.
Complete recovery. The potion healed him to full health, despite him being on the brink of death. Both his crushed left arm and his destroyed flanks had fully recovered. Still, that didn’t change the fact he was at a disadvantage.
“I can’t believe I fell for that...” Diablo whispered.
Losing in a gamble like that...
“The wisdom of man is powerless in the presence of God,” Emperor Gelmed said gravely.
“Kuh...”
God Cross folded its arms, its mechanical joints creaking. “So, you have the means to heal yourself. Then divine punishment that only injures you has no meaning. I will simply have to wipe you out in a single swing.”
“Heheh... Impatient, aren’t you?” Diablo said, sweating profusely behind his facade. “What, are you getting tired, geezer? Can’t fight long in your old age?”
“I haven’t the time for you,” Emperor Gelmed replied. “I must quickly seize the Girl of the Vessel. Once I destroy you, I will enter the city.”
And if that happened, there probably wouldn’t be anyone left to stop him. The intimidating air spilling from the Emperor increased in volume. It seemed that, true to his words, he intended to finish Diablo off quickly.
That only served to harden Diablo’s resolve.
“I’ll protect them.”
He took two rings out of his pouch: item drops he obtained when he defeated the Demon Overlord Modinaram. One was the 《Ring of Madness》, which greatly increased his offensive power, but reduced his defenses to nothing. The Shining Wing Armor obeyed his will as if it were an extension of his body, so he was able to remove the gauntlet and put on the ring. He then equipped another ring on his middle finger — a different Demon Lord’s ring. This one had an ability that was entirely unlike the powers of the Demon Lord of the Mind Enkvaros or the Demon Lord of Madness Modinaram.
Its effect was that it would allow whomever wore it to cast a certain spell, but in return, it didn’t allow the usage of any other spells.
—It’s a pretty significant drawback, but I have to make this gamble.
Diablo held up his staff.
“You will come to regret fighting this Demon Lord!” Diablo declared, role playing more earnestly than ever before. “I shall make a prophecy here and now: this grand magic will destroy you!”
In response, God Cross raised its right hand upwards.
“Come forth, Goldinus.”
“What?!”
—This thing can get even stronger?! Diablo thought to himself in panic.
Looking up, he saw a golden spark shoot skyward from the peak of Viovix. The final Magimatic Sol was flying toward them.
Goldinus of the Gold.
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