Manowa - Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Chapter 128 - Let's Eat the Devil




Excited cheering could be heard echoing from outside . If I remember correctly, that girl named Kazane should have appeared in the summoning final . . . the old man recalled .

「Hmm, I hope she won . 」

This world would end soon . This fabricated world would disappear . Genzo sincerely hoped that she would have good memories of the end . Then the old man Genzo Aida gazed at the black katana in his hand with a bloodcurdling face .

(Erosion Katana Zoaral . A magic katana created by attaching an outside devil's power?)

Genzo drew the sword and checked the blade again . It had a firm seal that would be difficult to slip through, a fixed ability, and could be loaded with devils' power . Its ability wasn't very powerful . It was mostly an ordinary sword, but it could read an opponent's mind, and it could read more deeply based on the power of the devils possessing the sword . Being able to read an opponent's habits after cutting them was useful in a real battle situation, but its weakness was that it was useless until an opponent was cut . After all, due to the bloodshed defense magic it was impossible to use in the tournament . However, when combined with Genzo's『Information Probe』he could read into the depths of someone's memory . If he could absorb the devil's power from Vanil he would be able to reach even deeper .

(God Norman; I will pierce that guy with this)

For that purpose he prepared and came her . He must not be misled by his child appearance . That was just an avatar a developer prepared to manage this world . But that was why he thought it would have a portal-like connection to the outside .


「Player Genzo, it is your turn . 」


A voice was heard from outside the door .

「Understood . I will go immediately . 」

Genzo replied while sheathing his sword . The problem was whether he could beat the next opponent, but

「I must win . 」

Genzo muttered to himself as he left the waiting room . One more until his wish came true . He personally gathered devil weapons and distributed them for his preparations . The plan was for each person to grow their devil until they would be collected at the tournament . It was certainly a problem when the tournament was postponed, but it finally came . He couldn't lose .



◎ Resurrect City, Middle Arena, Audience Seating


There were many spectators who came to watch the final, and Kazane walked with quick small steps to reach her companions .


「Well done, young lady . 」

「That cat-chan also really did her best . 」


As she traveled the path, voices called out to her, and she was correspondingly anxious until she arrived at her destination .

Then Kazane held out her hand, and the sound of each companion clapping it with their own rang out .

「Congratulations . 」

Yumika told Kazane when she sat next to her, and

「Thank you . 」

Kazane replied . However, Kazane's expression wasn't very spirited, so she asked「Did something happen?」and Kazane replied「Well, about that . 」

「You know how the summoning championship prize was an ingredient for strengthening a summoned creature? It was dragon meat . 」

「Ah, that reminds me, didn't Yuuko-nee power up from the meat of that Black Rock Dragon?」

「Yeah . We sold some of the meat of the Black Rock Dragon, and that was the prize . 」

After that Yumika and the other companions stared in wonder .

「Seriously?」

「I'm serious . Yuuko-nee already ate until she couldn't stand another bite, so she can't be strengthened with that meat any more . 」

Yuuko-nee had been immediately allowed to eat the Black Rock Dragon meat until she had strengthened herself as far as she could . Incidentally, since Mefirus was part of the Ruby Griffon it should have been strengthened after he ate, but its strength was still unknown because Tiara couldn't summon it for battle yet .

「I already preserved some meat in the Mysterious Pouch to be cooked at a specialist shop here in Hyvern, so receiving more is worthless . 」

A dragon's meat couldn't be eaten by humans as it was . The power of a dragon called Dragon Spirit was toxic and adversely affected the human body . Therefore, dragon meat had to be professionally prepared before it was fit for consumption . And there were several such restaurants in Hyvern, which was used to dragons . Even though a person's appearance wouldn't change like what happened to Yuuko-nee, it seemed that their ability would be strengthened .

「Then you can't strengthen her?」

Kazane responded「Well . . . 」to Tiara's question .

「Right now I am negotiating to exchange for the second and third place strengthening items . Well, I guess I can only wait for the results?」

The strengthening item was Kazane's purpose for participating, so that was why she currently wasn't delighted about her victory .

「I hope her fur continues to be bushy . 」

「It would be best if she remained cute . 」

Yumika agreed with Jinrai's words . Naoki didn't participate in the conversation because he considered Yuuko-nee a rival for his older sister's affection . He was an intolerant man .

Louise interrupted Kazane and the other's exchange .

「Everyone look, the final seems to be starting . 」

「Ah, it's true . 」

Then everyone's gaze concentrated on the center of the arena . The final of the general division was finally beginning .



◎ Resurrect City, Middle Arena


「So in the end, you were the one who did it?」

「Hahahahaha, well, maybe . 」




Genzo spoke and Vanil responded as the two walked to the center of the arena and faced each other .

The meaning of the conversation was unknown to the referee, but a person familiar with the circumstances would understand . He was the guy who killed the devil users . It was Vanil . But there was no way to interrupt the match and blame him for it . Since there was no evidence, he would be able to make excuses with only that level of detail in their conversation .

Then Genzo's ominous black katana and Vanil's sinister black sword were drawn .

As soon as they were drawn it was like the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, and that sensation assaulted the referee and cause his body to tremble . His instincts were screaming that he was about to be killed .

Nonetheless, he had a job to do, so he couldn't get caught by that sensation . The referee applied the bloodshed defense magic to both people, and the men crossed the tips of their blades and glared at each other .

「I'm thankful that you prepared such a stage . Truly . 」

After Vanil's words,

「I'm regretting it . I should have aimed for slightly weaker people . 」

Genzo replied . Vanil laughed at those words, and both people prepared to use their specialized weapons .

「We will now start the Resurrect City Grand Tournament general division final . 」

Then the referee suddenly raised his hand .

「Begin!」


Vanil disappeared immediately with that voice . His figure literally disappeared .

「Guh!」

However, Genzo's『Intuition』sensed the fluctuation of space, and he moved .

A short moment later Vanil appeared behind Genzo, and he thought he sliced through Genzo's body, but it was only his coat . Vanil was deceived by the automatically reacting Substitution technique .

Then Genzo reappeared a slight distance away and immediately released three clones . The four Genzos fired shurikens at the same time . Vanil didn't move position as they were all repelled by the magical power covering his body, but without pause Genzo plunged toward Vanil . The separated Genzos thrust toward Vanil from all 4 sides, but Vanil disappeared again .

Only a few people on site recognized it as the Transition technique that could only be used by devil types . Most thought it was some kind of illusion, light warping, or thief deception technique . Like Genzo's Substitution technique .

Then Vanil appeared just above one of the Genzos . In an instant that Genzo was cut apart by Vanil . But the Genzo slain by Vanil meaningfully smiled .


Then an explosion occurred .


「Nuuuu, oooooh」

Vanil was blown away by the shock of the explosion, and he started rolling .

The venue stirred because it seemed like attack magic, but the referee didn't react . It seemed that it was judged to be support magic, not attack magic .



So the match continued . The remaining three Genzos, which should include the main body, started running towards the blown away Vanil .

All three held an Erosion Katana Zoaral . Vanil groaned as he tumbled, and he didn't know which one was the real body . But his sword technique was thoroughly trained . Although he couldn't release a satisfactory attack while rolling, Vanil, no, the man who was once famed as Lightning Val Nielsen brought certain death with repeated rushing thrusts .

「Uoooo !!」

Together with his fierce voice the first body, then the second, then the third body were torn apart and disappeared .

「What?」

Vanil involuntarily shouted . Three bodies disappeared . In other words, all of the Genzos that had been in front of him were clones .

Vanil noticed a presence from behind and swung his black sword to cover his back by instinct . The colliding metal rang out, but Vanil's body couldn't push that strong swing back .

「Gu, you've strengthened considerably, haven't you?」

「The strength of my swing is different from yours, since you concentrated the devil's power on youth . 」

His strength was obviously not that of an old man . Vanil's physical ability had certainly risen, but he was using a devil to get much younger .

「Uoooo」

Vanil was blown away by Genzo's slash, but after rolling on the ground he quickly regained his posture . And Vanil warily faced Genzo .

Watching that situation, Genzo immediately dashed forward and slashed at Vanil . Vanil blocked it and gave a toothy smile .

「Shall we dispense with the tricks?」

Genzo didn't respond to that . He only swung his katana . His swordsmanship was inferior . He had to drive forward and couldn't think deeply about his chances of victory 

From that point on it wasn't a battle of clones and Transitions, but a clash of sword against katana . The man who had Lightning added to his name due to his sword speed was certainly fast, and Genzo's skill was inferior, but there was a difference in physical ability, and he was determined not to lose .

Vanil already had a fulfilled expression . This was what he wanted, this chance . It was a world of difference from the time when he was near death and frightened of dying in bed . Vanil now felt like he was alive . This occasion was certainly what he wanted . He thought this would continue forever . He thought .

It seemed that difference in their obsessions for victory was reflected in their blades .


Crack .


And a black blade danced in the air . It was Vanil's sword that broke . It drew an arc and stabbed into the ground .

「It's . . . over?」

Vanil seemed lonesome as he stared at it . He was truly disappointed to see it . He looked like a sad child that had woken up from a nice dream . Something black gushed out of Vanil's body and was sucked into Genzo's sword .


The referee saw that situation and wondered what happened, but after he confirmed there was no movement he raised a hand and shouted「Winner: Genzo . 」An explosion of excited cheering accompanied the referee's words, and applause praising the winner resounded .


「 . . . . . . Is everything ready?」


Despite winning, Genzo didn't sheathe his sword . Neither the referee's voice nor the audience's cheers seemed to have reached Genzo . And he was looking at a certain place while holding his jet black katana .

「 . . . . . . ?」

When the referee noticed his gaze, he traced Genzo's line of sight to the VIP box seating of the middle arena . At the window of that room, the figure of this area's god Norman was visible . Genzo looked at him with a murderous light in his eyes .

The referee realized that it was an unusual situation, but his voice didn't come out . He noticed that the presence wrapping the old man in front of him was already not that of a person . And he understood that getting the attention of that elderly gaze would lead to death .


「 . . . . . Administrator . 」


Genzo whispered while watching the god Norman, and he leapt with the Skill『Transposition』he just absorbed from Vanil .



Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Ogre Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Magic Accumulator, White Magic Accumulator

Level : 29

Health: 101

Magic Power: 170+420

Strength: 49+10

Agility: 40+4

Endurance: 29

Wisdom : 55

Dexterity : 33

Spell : 『Fly』 『Torch』 『Fire』 『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』

Skill : 『Warrior's Memory』 『Night Vision』 『Crushing Blow』 『Dog’s Sense of Smell』 『Golem Maker: Lv2』 『Rush』 『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』 『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』 『Air Jump: Lv2』 『Killing Leg: Lv2』 『Fear Voice』 『Invisible』 『Tiger Eye』 『Wall Walking』 『Intuition』 『Cheat Death』 『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization』『Regenerate』『Rear Presence』『Stealthy Placement』『Thunder Chariot』



Kazane:「Eh, that Ojii-chan disappeared?」

Yumika:「Where to?」