The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 3 - Chapter 52

CHAPTER 52

The Ex–Demon Lord Versus the Current Demon Lord

A curtain of silence fell over us. A stinging nervousness crept across my skin. That was because the man in front of me…my other self, Disaster Rogue, was becoming increasingly hostile.

“…Why have you come to that conclusion?”

From the other side of his spiky helmet, I could feel his combativeness radiating toward me. He made it sound as if refusal wasn’t an option, and I balled my hand into a fist.

“Because she doesn’t want me to save her. I…know what she wants. She wants to bear the burden of Champion and…clear her own sins through death. That’s what Lydia told me.”

“…And you wish to grant that. Is your heart actually set on it?”

I didn’t reply. I could only glare at him in silence.

Under the noiseless, cloudy sky, Rogue talked to me, calm.

“…All right. In that case, let’s begin our ridiculous charade.”

In that next moment, I felt the curtain of conflict rise between us, and I bound to the side on reflex.

From the place where I was moments ago, a pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing through the stratosphere. If I had taken a direct hit from that beam, I would have probably been in real trouble.

“Just testing the waters, huh?” I muttered to myself, returning the favor—calling seven magic circles to manifest over Rogue’s head. A crash of thunder rang out a few seconds later.

It was an isolated Seven Cast.

To modern mages, it would seem like an incredible, superhuman feat, but…

To my opponent, it was nothing to panic over. He was me, after all.

A stream of earth-shattering lightning bolts crashed down from the sky. If he had been any ordinary person, it would have all been over in one hit.

“…Child’s play,” he scoffed.

I hadn’t accomplished anything. He’d taken the brunt of my attack without even taking a single step. The lightning struck his entire body, but…his black armor obstructed and eradicated it all.

“…That’s some nice magic armor you got.”

“Hmph. Your praise rings hollow.”

He went for a counterattack as soon as he replied. Magic circles appeared around me and released a raging hellfire. I jumped and evaded. As soon as I went to make my escape, another magic circle was waiting for me in midair, floating right before me and roaring with a golden torrent.

Again, modern-day creatures would have obviously been donezo, but even if I were an ordinary ancient person, the battle would have been nearing its end, too.

But it had no effect on me.

“…What a boring trick.” I thrust out one hand, magically constructing a defensive wall that rendered his attack completely useless.

Even after I landed, Rogue went after me with a whole range of spells, remaining rooted in place. In the face of my enemy’s onslaught, I focused on dodging and defending against what was around me. I’d occasionally launch a counterattack, but the armor absorbed everything, so it accomplished nothing at all.

“What about this?” I murmured. I wanted to test him; just as I nullified his attack with another barrier between us…

I discharged a spell that I’d been building up for some time.

A ring of magic circles formed around Rogue, a membrane spreading out from a peculiar shape.

And the moment the elliptical formation completely covered him, he fell to one knee.

“Ngh… Agh…!” Rogue cried out in anguish.

An outsider would not understand, wondering if something was happening inside the membrane. There was no doubt that he hadn’t been expecting it, either.

That was because it was a spell that I’d made up right there on the spot.

By applying barrier magic in a practical form, I could force pressure down on whoever was trapped inside. The average person would be compressed within moments, but unsurprisingly, this enemy wasn’t so easy to get rid of.

“NNNGH…!”

That said, the armor was beginning to crack all over. The first to break apart was the helmet. His scarred face met the air, and anguished sweat poured off him, scattering in all directions from the pressure.

He wouldn’t be easy to crush, but it was only a matter of time.

If he didn’t manage to hit back, it’d all be over in about another twenty seconds.

…I realized I was asking for the impossible.

“That was…an admirable…effort…!”

The next moment, my improvised magic suddenly vanished into thin air. Not that I was surprised.

“…Hmm, you analyzed its construction, huh,” I murmured under my breath, as Rogue broke through the barrier and heaved.

Analysis. Magic was my specialty. If it was constructed with the rune language, it took me three seconds tops. If it was made with something other than runes, it took me about ten seconds to get the whole picture, with some exceptions.

And…this would be the way that I’d construct a spell to cancel it out. With this, it was theoretically possible for me to nullify any magic and ability. My Original technique was a result of analyzing other abilities.

…And this guy had all that. He was me, after all.

In that case…

“This battle will never end, I see.”

Because how could I overpower him? It was a seemingly insurmountable problem. I’d been in a host of situations up until now and come up with canned responses for battles, but…how the heck was I supposed to fight myself? I hadn’t felt like I could clear this particular subject and intentionally decided to leave it be. It was apparently time to pay up.

Well then, what to do? I wondered.

“Hmph. As I thought, we shouldn’t be enemies. I may be singing my own praises, but…there is no more fearsome foe to be found than you.”

His armor vanished, as if he thought it was in the way, and switched to standard ancient wear.

…Before I knew it, my militancy no longer occupied my brain. He was acting as if everything was all over, and I couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Rogue curled his lips into a small smile. “You thought I couldn’t even see this coming? Then you’ve wildly underestimated me. You’ll get a chance to really understand who you are, Ard Meteor. You haven’t been able to accurately judge yourself.”

I didn’t understand what he meant… At this point in time, I had absolutely no clue what he was getting at.

“Did you never question why I called out to you on the same day that Varvatos announced his strategy? …The bottom line is, the point of this war is to draw you in as an ally. I’m willing to bet I’ll lose the war itself. But I have no attachment to this land that I stole. If I just have you as a pawn, I don’t care about anything else.”

As soon as I heard these words, I could imagine his scheme…

“You don’t mean that you…!” I choked, this uncanny feeling coming to life.

Smiling deeply as if assured of victory, he cast a certain spell. It was a magic technique that allowed long-distance projection—an enormous mirror appeared above our heads…

“Now, let me just give you a little push in the right direction.”

With that, the mirror reflected the progress of the far-off battle.

There was a dim room, which must have been underground, and a large red jewel, glowing ominously as it floated in midair. And nearby it…were two girls on crucifixes.

And I saw the heart-wrenching figures of Ireena and Ginny.