The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 1 - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

The Ex–Demon Lord’s Lessons on Magic, Part II

…A dungeon hole was one of the many gimmicks within a labyrinth. Whenever the trap was triggered, the floor would cave in to form a yawning gap that callously tossed anyone standing there down into the lower levels—without any rhyme or reason.

That was what we’d just tumbled out from.

“Huh. I’m guessing this is…the Boss Room,” I surmised, since each floor of the maze held a powerful monster known as a boss. “What is it this time? Is it a large…cow-looking person?”

“It’s a M-M-M-M-Minotaur! Yep!”

A Minotaur? Seriously? That runty cow dude? I’d seen the real deal before, and they were mighty beasts fortified with ornate armor and magical battle-axes capable of splitting the very earth in two. Sure, this one was…um, hairy and had the head of a cow, but there were no other points of similarity between them. It wasn’t even wearing armor, for crying out loud, and all it held was a dingy club.

…That said, I guess I could see it was the tiniest bit more challenging than a Black Wolf.

“All right. Let’s bring this lesson to a close. We’ll need your participation,” I murmured.

“Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhh!” the beast blared, ricocheting its cries off the stone walls down through the space.

“Eeek! Eeeeeeeek…!” Ginny shrieked, looking petrified by the full force of the Minotaur’s bloodlust and falling straight onto her bubble butt.

Sweat seemed to pour from her armpits and thighs as she convulsed in fear. Her blue eyes were on the brink of tears.

Ireena was in a similar state, breaking out in a cold sweat and chattering her teeth together in shock…but I didn’t get it. I mean, this seemed to be an overreaction for a dinky pushover.

“All right, class. This is our final lesson on Script Magic,” I declared, loping toward the Minotaur in wide strides.

“A-Ard! Please! Th-that’s dangerous—,” stuttered Ginny, just as it swung down its club on me.

Well, it’d tried to intimidatingly close the distance between us, but the attack was nothing to write home about, since all I had to do was use the most elementary of spells to strengthen my stats. And then I stopped it with an extended index finger.

“Mr. Minotaur,” I cautioned. “At this rate, you won’t even manage to squash a puny bug.”

I could have just been imagining things, but it seemed to scrunch its face in irritation. I let out a little chuckle.

“Lesson number one: Never cast Script Magic at point-blank range. You’d be giving your opponent too many opportunities to attack while you’re busy drawing your magic circle. It’s best to keep your distance,” I explained, slugging the Minotaur in the gut.

Well, I’d meant for it to be a light punch, but its oafish body soared through the air upon impact.

“N-no way…?!”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh! Nothin’ to it!” exclaimed Ireena, standing tall as if she’d knocked it out herself.

Ginny had her eyes wide open with awe.

“Lesson number two: Cast your spell while your opponent is caught off guard. The results are much more dramatic that way,” I continued as I swirled my finger through the air toward the crumpled beast.

As it staggered, trying to lift itself off the ground, I unleashed a Short Flare Bomb—calling forth a succession of explosions that swallowed its colossal body whole.

“Braaaaaaaaaaaaagh?!” it howled, stumbling forward even as I mercilessly pummeled it, watching it sink into a shimmering white-hot whirlpool.

“As you can see, it’s best used for attacks in rapid-fire succession, since it doesn’t require any cooldown time or magical power. Plus, once your opponent is debilitated, you can continue to unleash one-sided attacks.”

Our example was still engulfed in flames, totally at a loss as to where to move—or how.

Nice. Almost on the brink of death—which makes now the perfect time.

I stopped my attack and looked directly at Ginny. “Please give the finishing blow.”

“…What?” she yelped, gazing at me quizzically as if she had no clue what in the hell I was saying.

I assumed a stern expression. “Think of it as a ceremony: Gather your courage and discard your past.”

My eyes bored into her face, where an entire spectrum of emotions ebbed and flowed in and out of existence. It goes without saying that self-deprecation colored most of them.

I decided to give her a much-needed pep talk. “Didn’t you say you wanted to change? To take center stage? Show me what you’ve got,” I coaxed, and that led me straight to my main point. “Listen up, Ginny. Right now, your life is at a crossroads.”

That seemed to spark something in her heart.

“…Up until now, I’ve tried to run away from all pain,” she started. “I would shut myself in my room and pore over the ballads of the Demon Lord whenever I was slightly inconvenienced by anything—telling myself I’d be saved one day by someone like him…even though I knew that was super pathetic.”

But I don’t wanna do that anymore. She might have left that unsaid, but it was clearly visible on her face.

…I knew it. She had some self-esteem.

I mean, of course she did. If we could all help it, none of us would actually want to be weak. In fact, we’d yank that trait right out of ourselves. She was just like me, and now, she’d managed to suppress her submissive side, draw on her confidence, and move forward—physically and psychologically.

Ginny squared off with the Minotaur, trembling and absolutely petrified of the staggering beast, even as it stood on the verge of death.

“T-take this!” she shouted, slicing the air with her finger to invoke a magic circle and releasing an infernal blow on the monster.

“Grwaaaooooooooooooow!” roared the Minotaur, letting out its death throes, which Ginny mistook as a raging war cry.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!” she cried out, but her lithe fingers continued to sweep through the air and call forth attack after attack.

There was no stopping her rebirth.

The crumpling form of the hulking beast reflected in her teary eyes.

That’s good. Overcome your fears. Smash your past failures, I thought.

“I’ve had enough! I refuse to cry! I’ll become strong! I’ll reinvent myself!”

Become the person you want to be.

Ginny continued to hammer the monster with blows, each accompanied by a fearsome shout—until finally, the Minotaur reached the end of its life, crumpling onto the ground like a lifeless doll.

YOU DEFEATED A MINOTAUR (NORMAL)!

It toppled over with a deafening boom that rang out, hot smoke rising off its titanic form.

“Hah… Hah… I-is it over…?” Ginny asked in a ragged voice, chest heaving.

When she realized she’d won, her expression softened as she fell back with a soft thud.

I went up to her. “Excellent work. That was splendid, Ginny,” I congratulated from the bottom of my heart.

“…It’s all thanks to you, Ard.”

“Nonsense. The only thing I did was nudge you in the right direction. You’re the one who took action. It’s all you and your power, Ginny. Without a doubt.”

She gazed down at her palms wordlessly. I imagined those hands seemed very different now that she’d proven her worth.

At last, she let out a giggle. “Thank you, Ard.”

When she met my eyes, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in them.

…I must have looked at Olivia the same way when she had saved me back then. Ginny’s gaze held unlimited power and twinkled beautifully.