CHAPTER 73
The Ex–Demon Lord and a Woodland Showdown, Part I
“Even piercing a single layer of my defense magic is an impressive feat. I must admit, you’re quite something. …Might I ask your name?”
The demon’s reply was sharp. “Why tell someone who’s about to die?”
And then he attacked.
Claps of thunder boomed, and flashes of lightning went shooting off in every direction. The attack was loud enough to rupture eardrums, and its brightness could sear the eyes. It was packed with overpowering force, but…
“Hmph! Is that all you have?!”
Ireena was right. The enemy’s repeated strikes didn’t have a hope of scratching any more of our protective shield.
“You know about my power, don’t you? Fool me once with your magic, shame on me. But you won’t be able to fool me twice. You have power… But it will never stand against my abilities.”
Analysis and control. They rendered all magic useless. The next round of lightning attacks wouldn’t harm a fly.
“You monster…!” The face peeking out from the hood seemed bitter.
“Take my advice and retreat. You haven’t the slightest chance of stopping us.”
The suggestion was made with the best of intentions, but my opponent refused to listen to reason. His face flushed red. “Don’t you dare underestimate me!”
Geometric patterns flashed all around us. Huh. So he could summon seven different types of magic at once. Unlike this guy, modern men couldn’t even handle a Double Cast these days, much less a Seven Cast.
I see. No wonder they dispatched him to keep us busy.
That said, it wouldn’t be enough.
“Eat this!” screeched the demon, launching enough elemental magic from his magic circles to take down an entire army of mages.
Magic thundered in our ears, and the surrounding trees were blasted away.
Apparently, he could transform the ecosystem all by himself. But he would be no match for me, no matter what sort of trick he had up his sleeve.
His attacks all faded away without leaving a single scratch on my defensive wall, yet the demon continued in his endeavor. I might have called him reckless…but apparently, I was mistaken about one thing.
Those flashy attacks turned out to be decoys.
Open! My Domain!
That two-line chant was another spell and must have been his trump card.
As soon as he cast it, the space around us warped…and our surroundings completely transformed. The nighttime forest we had teleported into was suddenly a desert at high noon.
“Wh-what is this?!”
“An Eigen Space.”
“A-an Eigen Space?”
“The highest form of space magic, more powerful than some of the weaker Originals. I thought it was lost to this era… But this really is something.” I gave the demon before us a round of applause, but this seemed to rub him the wrong way.
“I’ll beat that attitude right out of you!” he howled, summoning a sea of swords from the sky.
They instantly dropped down on us. I tried to cast defensive magic against the swords that were slicing through the air toward us, but…
“…Ireena. Try not to scream.”
“Huh?”
I tried to form a barrier around us, but…this wasn’t going to happen in the Eigen Space.
What could be blamed was a little something called Jamming. My power had reduced to one-thousandth of its normal strength, meaning I could do nothing more than elementary magic. I had to protect Ireena with a wall that could just barely hold out against the incoming attack.
I understood then that we didn’t stand a chance against the onslaught…and suddenly realized that I’d been torn to shreds.
“A-Ard?!”
I knew I looked like a mess. It was so bad that Ireena’s face paled at my grisly condition.
The demon, on the other hand, cackled triumphantly.
“Fwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I, Galamon, am basically a god in this Eigen Space! Anyone who gets caught in it, even a child prodigy, will—”
“A god, you say? That’s a bold claim and not fit for someone who can’t even manage to kill a child,” I stated, cutting him off.
His eyes widened. “Wh-what the hell…?! Y-you should have died…! There’s no way you could have survived if you’re bleeding out…!”
“You’re right. I did die. But—” My lips curled into a smile as I explained all. “—You’ll need to kill me—the Demon Lord—more than once.”
My wounds closed as if time were rewinding. I looked no different than usual, even though I had just been on the brink of death.
“Y-you’ve gotta be kidding…! No one should be able to hyper-speed recovery magic in here…!”
His shock came as no surprise. In the Eigen Space, whoever cast the spell assumed the role of god, so the demon had been right about that. The caster dictated the rules of the space, which could not be bent for any reason. Even I had to follow them.
Basically…the phenomenon he just witnessed was not high-speed recovery magic. This fact brought a bigger smile to my face.
“But I used no magic. You might say there’s…something unique about my astral body.”
I possessed an almost infinite number of astral bodies, which meant I’d keep living as long as they weren’t all destroyed at the same time. This curse was practically unrecognizable in this original form.
“That’s impossible…! There’s no way you could pull that off…!”
“Yeah? It’s not like I made myself immortal or anything. I don’t feel like it’s anything worth bragging about.”
I was only expressing my feelings, but he seemed to think I was trying to piss him off. He glared at me, seething with rage, then…fixed his eyes on Ireena standing next to me.
“But even you’ve got a weakness! And I know just where to strike!”
Ireena vanished from my side and was teleported beside the enemy.
“?!” Ireena’s eyes widened.
The demon grabbed the back of her neck and yanked her close.
“Ard Meteor! Kill yourself if you want me to spare this woman’s life!”
“Oh. So you’re just another lowlife after all. I thought I saw some raw talent in you, but this forces me to reevaluate my assessment.”
“Say what you want! I’ll gladly become a sinner if it’s in the name of justice!” His grip tightened. “It won’t even take a second to snap her little neck! If you don’t want that to happen, then kill yourself!”
“Hmm? But I thought your organization considered Ireena a vital sacrifice.”
The demon remained silent. Obviously. He’d be pretty third-rate if he blabbed about their internal affairs here.
…The organization’s plans had changed, I imagined. His homicidal intentions were real. He would kill Ireena. Had she realized that as well?
“A-Ard…!” She called my name, fear in her eyes.
She wasn’t your typical damsel in distress, however. Ireena was a girl with a competitive streak and a heart of iron.
“I-I’m okay. You can bring me back even if I die, right? …Just finish off the both of us already!” The fear burned out of her eyes, leaving only fiery bravery.
“Tch…! Save your breath! I’ll end you, woman!” He started to sweat and held her even tighter.
Ireena didn’t flinch.
End the both of us, she seemed to signal with her eyes.
Of course, I’d do no such thing.
“No, Ireena. You shouldn’t treat your life like that.”
“B-but…!”
“Have no worry. I have no intention of hurting myself, either. After all, we already know how this battle will end.” I called out to the demon with a blinding smile. “You say you’ll kill that girl if I don’t take my life. Go right ahead. If you can.”
His face flushed as I egged him on.
“How dare you…! You think I won’t do it?! I’ll show you! I’ll strangle your woman to death!”
This guy was a serious hothead. A dead hostage would be useless, and he was seconds away from giving into rage.
Not that he’d ever get to kill her anyway.
“N-ngh…?!” A glimpse of the face under the hood revealed his bewilderment. “Wh-what the…?! My power is gone…!”
I imagined he was trying to snap her neck, but I already knew he would be unable to do it.
“No…! What did you…?!” He seemed to think I had something to do with it and glared at me with reproach. He feared me, but with reverence, as if he were face-to-face with an unknown being. This may have influenced his final decision.
“If this is how it is…I need to make a run for it…as much as I hate to admit this! Before I do, I might as well carry out my original task of obstructing your path…!”
So his plan was to hide in this Eigen Space and change its rules. That meant we’d never find him, even if we wielded high-level spells.
But…it was no use.
“Ngh?! Wh-why?! Why is my body…?!”
I knew it. He thought he could hide himself, but he was still visible.
“I imagine you’re thinking, ‘I prepared the spell, but it won’t cast for whatever reason.’ I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Mister Galamon…you’re not using magic at all.”
“A-Ard Meteor…! Wh-what did you do?!”
“Nothing special. I just seized your godly throne. That’s all.”
I laid down my own rules on his space: To release Ireena and keep him at least ten merte away from her.
He instantly let go of Ireena and leaped back. “H-how is my body moving on its own?! What’s happening to me?!”
“I thought we’d already gone over this. I’m the god in this space now.”
“Y-yeah, right! I cast the Eigen Space! Me—Galamon! You don’t make the rules!” He scowled at me, drenched in sweat.
Composed, I offered him a smile. “Have you forgotten about my skills? Analysis and control. Even the Eigen Space can’t offset them. After all—”
I snapped my fingers, and the space undid itself. The baked desert unfolded into the nighttime forest again.
“Now that I’ve analyzed the spell that formed the Eigen Space and taken control of it, you can no longer play god. You’re as good as the bugs in this forest. Or even lower on the food chain.”
His winning hand was crushed, and the enemy had no more moves to play. He looked like he was feeling pretty sorry for himself—
“If that’s how it’s gotta be, I’m not gonna take it lying down!” He had the eyes of someone about to throw their life away, all but telling me what he would do next.
That is…he was going to blow himself up.
“For the glory of my organization and kin!” the demon screamed wildly, and a bright flash seemingly obliterated his entire body—
At least, that was what the demon across from me had been trying to do.
“……Wh-why? Why isn’t anything happening?”
Moments passed, but he remained in one piece. This was because I would never let him go through with it.
“If we were fighting one-on-one, I would let you have an honorable death…but seeing as we’re in the company of a lady unaccustomed to seeing people die, I ask that you save it for another place and time.”
I had immediately analyzed his self-detonation spell and neutralized it. I hoped to spare Ireena from as many grotesque spectacles as I could.
…Well, I imagined we’d probably witness something foul once we arrived at our destination, but there was no need to subject her to a sight that could be avoided.
“Ggh…! So you won’t stop at mocking me…? Are you trying to make me live the rest of my life in shame…?!”
“I have the power of life and death. I will do as I please. As victor, it is my right. For now, I’ll leave you here alive.”
I cast binding magic. An instant later, a black, ring-shaped confinement apparatus appeared in the air and dropped down, constricting the demon’s entire body.
“Nnngh…!” he cried out, toppling to the ground under the sudden strain. I glanced at him for a moment, then turned to Ireena.
“I saw he applied a bit of pressure on your neck when he took you hostage. Does it hurt?”
“N-no, it’s okay. I’m perfectly fine.” She stared at me respectfully…but also seemed angry at her perceived uselessness. “I’m sorry, Ard. I totally dragged you down.”
“Not at all. No need for you to apologize.” I offered a gentle smile, but Ireena’s expression remained clouded.
“…You know, Ard, I’d catch up to you one day. That’s why I wake up trying my best. But it always turns out like this. I always need you to rescue me, and I can never fight by your side.”
Ireena must have sensed true danger in this fight. She’d been training to fight against these very situations, but things didn’t turn out the way she wanted, and…
Pause. That wasn’t the truth.
She was only down about the fact that she couldn’t fight alongside me.
“…You might be thinking that you have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me to be my real friend. But that’s not true,” I assured. “Whether you’re weak or strong, Ireena, you’ll always be my friend. Don’t beat yourself up over it, please.”
Ireena didn’t reply. She hung her head, frustrated with herself, no doubt.
…I knew she’d spring back into her chipper self with some time. I did care about her mental wellbeing, but we needed to focus on some other things first.
I was almost done analyzing the technique that had interrupted our teleportation. Nothing would stand in our way now. I prepared to cast the spell to send us to Ginny and Elrado’s rescue—
But just before I finished…
“Graaagh!”
Our eardrums were assaulted by a furious roar.
My body moved reflexively as a presence drew near, vaulting to one side and casting defensive magic over Ireena to protect her. When the barrier had covered her delicate body and I was certain of her safety, I glared at our surprise attacker.
“…Oh? So the mastermind appears early.”
The assailant was a single wolf.
But no ordinary wolf. Its eyes glowed crimson, and a red seal had been etched into its chest.
This was his doing.
Lizer Bellphoenix—and his Original spell.
It was clear the wolf wasn’t our only enemy.
All creatures in this forest were against us.
The troop of monkeys staring us down from the treetop canopy.
Earthbound beasts sizing us up.
Clusters of insects crawling along the bark and foliage.
Their eyes shone red.
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