Chapter 5: Makoto Takatsuki Faces the Strongest Demon Lord
◇ Anna’s Perspective ◇
We were surrounded by five demon lords who ruled the world.
“M-Makoto...” My voice shook as I tightly gripped his hand.
“Calm down, Anna.”
His voice did not waver. Instead, he gazed at the demon lords and put a hand to his chin like he was thinking.
He was right—I needed to calm down. I took a shallow breath. The air was tense.
Eventually, the silence was broken by a deep voice that carried well.
“You heroes, destroyers of the Undead King. You shall fall here.”
I was momentarily taken aback by the new voice. But then, I realized who it was.
Zagan.
Suddenly, Goliath roared. It felt like the ground had suddenly become water as massive tremors shook the area.
Goliath was charging at us.
“Dia.”
“Yes, my liege?”
“Stop him, would you?”
“Of course.”
With that, Dia—and several of the Undyne—attacked the giant.
Thousand Ice Cutter.
Water Dragon Flock.
Blades of ice filled the air, and the water dragons crashed on the giant like a tsunami. It looked practically apocalyptic.
Goliath roared again. This time though, there was a tinge of pain to it.
“A-Amazing...” I murmured.
“Don’t wait around, Anna. Sword of Light, would you?”
“R-Right...”
I tightened my grip on Balamung—the sword bequeathed to me by my mentor. I converted light into aura and then poured that into the blade. As long as there was sunlight, I had infinite mana.
I readied my attack.
“What is he?” asked Valac. “He has arch elementals completely under his control.”
Barbatos tilted his head in thought. “Hmm, intriguing. While I am unfamiliar with this world, I believe such fluid control of elementals among humans is a rarity. Perhaps he would like to join my subordinates.”
The pair of them were chatting—their demeanors were relaxed.
Are they not going to attack as well? Just as that thought passed through my mind, the area was bathed in red light.
Pain. Every pore of my body screamed. It felt like I was being stabbed by red-hot needles.
Zagan had blasted a ball of flames from his mouth.
“Hah!” I exclaimed, bisecting the ball. Makoto’s magic was weak to fire.
“Oh... So what about this? Inversion Magic: Black Blade Blitz.” Erinyes flapped the black wings on her back, creating a huge whirlwind.
“Ice Frontier.”
Makoto’s spell stopped the whirlwind dead, dispersing it immediately.
“What? That’s not fair...” Erinyes pouted.
The view around us was absurd. Huge rocks had been blown away, and the ground was torn up.
“Darkness Magic: Thousand Darkness Cutter.”
Barbatos’s spell filled the air with blades of pure darkness.
“Anna, barrier.”
“R-Right!”
Frantically, I called upon my sun magic.
“Sun Magic: Holy Barrier!”
A sphere of light—centered on me—snapped into the air. The brightness blinded me for a moment. However, by the time the light was gone, the dark magic had faded away.
Barbatos seemed amused, despite his spell having been nullified. “So that is the Hero of Light, my natural enemy.” He turned to Erinyes. “You, fallen brat. You’re from up there—do something about the hero.”
“Aww, but I’m fallen, so I don’t do well with sun magic. It’s such a draaag.”
They were also just chatting. It was hard to call what they were doing “cooperating.”
Meanwhile, Goliath and Zagan were wary of the Undyne and didn’t close the distance between us.
“Makoto, what do you think?” I asked.
“They’re messing around.”
“So they’re...not taking this fight seriously?”
“Probably not.”
But I’m only barely managing each attack...
“It’s okay, Anna,” Makoto said, calming me down.
“My liege, what next?”
Before I knew it, Dia was waiting next to us. The other Undyne were with her as well.
R-Right...they’re all here.
“Have you simply been fooling around?” Zagan demanded as he looked around at the other demon lords. The menace radiating off of him kicked up a notch. Mana and miasma billowed around him like steam.
“Fine.”
“We’re ending playtime already? What a shame.”
“Lord Zagan has ordered it, so we follow.”
With Zagan’s words as a signal, the area around all five of the demon lords became blanketed with miasma. The ground shook, and a violent wind began to whip around. Flames flickered madly.
They’re serious now...
An earnest attack from all five of them. There was no way I could defend against—
Huh?
Before I could fully form my thoughts, I felt myself bathed in so much sunlight that it was almost hot.
Wh-What the...?
“Anna, I’ve gathered light for you. Is that enough?”
Makoto’s expression didn’t even flicker as he pointed up at the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud. There was, however, something round and transparent floating above us, and it was gathering light.
This was...an option?
“Anna, pray to your goddess,” said Makoto.
“R-Right... Althena, I beseech you—”
“Ah, stop right there.”
I stared at him. “Why did you interrupt me?”
“Let’s stop all that roundabout praying.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, he grabbed my arm.
Sun Magic: Synchro.
“M-Makoto, what are you doing?”
“Well, we’re dead if we lose, so this is how we should be praying.” His face had lost its expressionless mask—he was grinning again. “Althena, in exchange for our lifespan, please grant us victory.”
Huh? I’d never heard of someone praying like this...
You’re such a...bothersome child.
Abruptly, I heard a divine voice. Wait. Was that...?
Suddenly, it felt like my body was on fire. That wasn’t all—I was glowing with all the colors of the rainbow. B-But...
“Anna, eyes to the front. They’re attacking.”
“R-Right!”
I still didn’t know what exactly was happening, but I readied my sword.
The demon lords gazed at us as we braced for impact.
“It might be impure, but that light is anima.”
“That elementalist didn’t even hesitate to use sacrificial magic. What is wrong with him?”
Erinyes had seemed relaxed until now, but her face twisted. “Hang on, that’s supposed to be against the divine tenets, isn’t it?”
“Crush them first!” Zagan roared.
All the demon lords attacked at once. It was like a tsunami from every direction. There was nowhere to run, and the black wall of miasma seemed like it would crush us.
“Dia.”
“Right!”
Makoto cast a saint rank spell.
Ice Frontier.
I followed suit, throwing all the power I had into my magic blade.
Magic Sword of Michael.
The sword itself was engulfed in prismatic flame.
I-I did it...
Their attacks were almost upon us.
“Light Sword of Victory!” I swung Balamung casually. For a moment, it seemed like there had been an explosion of light, and I almost passed out from my own attack.
I looked around, coughing. Our surroundings as a whole had been neatly flattened.
I was lost for words for a second...but then I jumped in shock.
“Makoto?!”
“That was impressive,” he said.
His clothes were kind of beaten up, but he seemed fine. Ph-Phew.
Dia stared at us reproachfully. “Are you two done yet?”
I looked around frantically and saw four demon lords.
“So we only defeated Goliath...” muttered Makoto.
He was right—the giant was no longer visible.
Had...my attack defeated him? There were still four left, though. I was heaving for breath as I readied my sword again.
They didn’t strike. Instead, I heard them talking.
“The hell was that? That’s cheating...” Erinyes protested, flapping her wings to remove the dust.
“So the Hero of Light is already on the level of a demigod,” Valac said, glaring hatefully. “We should have killed her earlier.”
A demigod? Me...?
“You needn’t worry so much. That attack was her best. Her next ought to be weaker,” Barbatos pointed out calmly.
He was right. I tried not to let it show, but my stamina and mana were both at their limits. I glanced at Makoto, and while he still looked calm, I could see the exhaustion on his face. He was probably in a similar state.
What should we do?
“Aww, we dawdled too much and now the dragon lord’s coming.”
Makoto and I both swiftly turned to look.
Flying our way was a black dragon. He was even larger than Zagan. Every flap of his wings sent out gusts of winds that were like storms in and of themselves.
My eyes widened. “That’s—”
“Astaroth...” Makoto finished for me.
I gulped. King of the Ancient Dragons, Astaroth. He was said to be the strongest among all the nine demon lords—no, among all creatures of the planet. I could tell he was way above our level, even from a distance. He seemed so overwhelming that the other demon lords were little puppies in comparison.
Meanwhile, the demon lords were acting like they’d already won.
“The dragon lord himself...”
“Whew, it’s over now.”
But...this was actually what Makoto wanted. I’d asked him about his plan while we were “fighting” the army. He had said that if Astaroth appeared, I should “leave the rest to him.”
“Makoto?” I called. He turned my way, his eyes gleaming in all colors of the rainbow.
He’d already started. An inarticulate noise ripped its way from my throat.
“Anna, get a little ways away. Also, set up a barrier to protect yourself.”
“Got it...” I answered after a moment.
I’d heard the name of the spell he was about to use. But knowing ahead of time just made it feel even more unbelievable. Was it truly possible?
“Wait!” Erinyes cried out. “What’s he doing?!”
“Hmph, he’s too—”
“That mana is so far refined. Wait, it isn’t mana... Nor is it ether...”
“Impossible... A mortal with pure anima?”
So they’d realized. It was too late, though. Makoto used his dagger to knick his skin. Blood ran along the blade, dyeing it red.
“Ira...I ask for a miracle for this foolish human...” he mumbled.
Guh...
I-I couldn’t breathe. A chill ran throughout my body, and my heart seemed to cry out like an alarm bell. It was cold. Even with how glorious the weather was, it felt like I’d freeze to death. The demon lords—particularly Erinyes—had pinched looks on their faces.
Makoto held out his blue arm, which had transformed into an elemental, and quietly spoke the miracle’s name.
“Water Magic (Divine Rank): Cocytus.”
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
Before we arrived on the demon continent, I spent a little bit of time in Ira’s realm.
“Ira...uh, are you okay?”
She’d summoned me to her surreal abode, and around me, the dolls were working busily away.
“Ah...Makoto Takatsuki. My apologies for suddenly bringing you here.”
“I don’t mind the summoning, but you look really pale.”
There were dark circles around her eyes as she worked on some paperwork. Piles of empty energy drink bottles were littered around her desk. Was she overworking herself?
“It doesn’t matter. You will arrive tomorrow. I have several things to discuss with you. Sit down where you like.”
“Right,” I replied, taking a seat near her.
“Firstly, we need to talk about the barrier Iblis has over the continent. There is a possibility that my telepathy won’t reach you.”
“Well, that’s a problem,” I remarked. It really was. She’d given me a ton of advice, so not being able to hear her was a real issue.
“Oh? You’re being awfully agreeable. It isn’t like you.”
“It isn’t? I’m always counting on you.”
Her face showed a hint of happiness.
“Hmm, all right then. Still, you don’t need to worry. You won’t be able to hear me temporarily, but I can send my voice through gaps in the barrier. It might just take a while to adjust things.”
Oh! That was great.
I breathed a sigh of relief and she puffed out her chest (however much she had).
Cute.
“So, what else?” I asked.
Her expression turned serious once more. “You remember what happened with Bifrons? Specifically, the divine rank spell that reversed night and day?”
“Of course I do. I was sure we were going to die.”
“That spell would be impossible to cast with only the existing strength of the creatures on this planet. Hence why I mentioned that some divinity must have been lending miracle power. I’ve been searching for who that was.”
“And did you find them?” I asked, leaning forward without realizing it.
She shook her head. “Unfortunately not. I was unable to find the specific god who did it. What I did find, however, was that it wasn’t one of the Daemons.”
I looked questioningly at her. What did that mean?
“However much I looked, I could not find who assisted Bifrons. If it was one of the Daemons, that would be unthinkable. They aren’t skilled with Fate Magic, and it would be impossible for them to manipulate time without my notice. No, the Daemons were not behind this—it was someone even more skilled with time manipulation than I, and a higher divinity as well.”
“A higher divinity...”
I remembered that Ira was the youngest of the Sacred Deities, so there were probably plenty of candidates.
“Sh-Shut up! I’m the youngest, but so what?! And there are others, yes.”
“Apologies for my rudeness.”
“Well, whatever. The divinities against the Sacred Deities are the Daemons and the Titanea. It wasn’t the Daemons, and the only survivor of the Titanea—Noah—is currently sealed away. Which means...it was one of the neutrals.”
“The neutrals?” I repeated. There were gods that were neutral to the conflict?
“I thought we had discussed this before. Naya is an outer god. She’s a different type of god.”
“Naya... So the goddess that Furiae follows?”
According to Furiae, Naya never spoke to her. Apparently, they’d only ever had one conversation.
“Right. ‘Outer gods’ are gods who rule other planets. Normally, we wouldn’t interact. Keeping too separate could lead to sudden conflict, though. Therefore, each type of divinity sends one of their own to the others as an envoy. Or, as humans would understand it, as a hostage.”
“That all sounds rather harsh.”
They treated Naya like that?
“She isn’t exactly treated harshly,” Ira pointed out. “She is considered one of the seven goddesses and has authority. She even has the power to administer the world through priestesses and heroes...though she hasn’t shown any inclination to do that so far.”
“Is she strong?”
“I haven’t spoken much with her, so I don’t know for sure... According to my sister, though, she has a fair amount of power. More than me, at least.”
“On another note, would she help us against the demon lords?”
“No. Or, at least, I can’t think of any reason she would.”
Right. From what I’d heard, she sounded like a particularly mysterious goddess.
“Why doesn’t she have any motivation?” I asked. It would be nice if she could give Furiae plenty of advice. After all, she was in the middle of reestablishing Laphroaig.
“Eir asked once, and apparently, she just said it was boring. What about this is boring?! Who expects work to be fun?! Does she realize how hard I studied for my exams to become a goddess...?”
“Ira, Ira,” I called out as the light began to leave her eyes.
Yeah, she’d definitely been working too hard. She was starting to get unstable.
“Well, now you know,” Ira said briskly. “Still, we don’t know who helped Bifrons.”
I nodded along. “That’s not good.”
“Rest assured, though. You now have the anima I’ve given you. You can only use one divine rank spell, but it should be plenty.”
She was looking assuredly at me...but I couldn’t say that I shared that confidence.
“And I’ll manage that...how?”
“What’s with you? Where have all your guts gone?”
“Well, when I used Synchro with you and managed to reverse his spell...I passed out right after...”
Ira had been literally at my side and I’d still only barely survived. We were up against Iblis this time, and while Anna had grown into her role, I still wasn’t entirely confident.
While I was considering that, Ira gave me a blank look. “Speaking of that, why did you use fate magic?”
“Well, if I hadn’t set it back to daytime, the Hero of Light skill would have been useless,” I explained.
That’d been our only option. However, Ira’s response was far from what I’d expected.
“Huh? What are you talking about? You could have just used water magic to kill him.”
“What? No... What are you talking about?” There was no way water magic would have worked for that. It was the weakest element.
She shook her head, immediately rejecting my opinion. “I’ll say the same thing again. Obviously, using water magic, it would’ve been a cinch.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why does she let these misunderstandings continue?” Ira sighed. “I know she doesn’t like fighting, so she might not have said anything because of that, but Noah could have told you...”
As I watched Ira mutter to herself with a hand on her chin, I began to doubt my assumptions.
“Ira, water magic is weak, isn’t it?”
The goddess stared at me.
“No. Not at all.”
“Uh...?” I heard the sound of everything I’d learned at the Water Temple falling apart. “B-But when you compare a fireball and a waterball, they’re completely different in terms of destructive strength, right?”
That was one of the reasons water magic was considered weak—its low rank spells were far less powerful than those of the other elements. After all, a waterball couldn’t even defeat a horned rabbit.
She looked sympathetically at me, then beckoned with a single finger, telling me to come closer.
I walked up to the petite goddess.
“Come on—get over here.” She reached out a slender arm to grab my collar and yank me forward. Her face gradually got closer and closer to mine.
Eventually, her forehead clonked against my own.
“I-Ira? What are—”
“Quiet and close your eyes.”
“Uh...”
“Just do it!”
“R-Right.”
Her breath was tickling my face.
R-Relax! Calm Mind 99%!
I closed my eyes and saw a globe hanging in the darkness. It was a blue sphere, mottled with irregular shapes of green. It was almost like...
Earth?
It looked like pictures I’d seen of the globe back in my old world. The continent equivalents were all completely different, though, so it definitely wasn’t Earth.
“This is the world where you currently reside.”
“Huh...”
It felt a little late, but I finally knew for a fact that this world was a planet. The land was shaped differently, but it still looked similar. So, why did she want to show me this?
“Now then...”
She backed away from me and the image vanished from my vision. When I opened my eyes, I was met by a beautiful face marred by exhaustion.
“You didn’t need to include that last bit about exhaustion,” she muttered.
“You should rest a while.”
“I’ll nap when we’re done here.”
She let out a long sigh. I quietly waited for what she’d say next.
“Makoto Takatsuki, you are a water elementalist, are you not? What dictates the elementals’ strength?”
Even as I tried to work out her angle, I trawled through my memories of learning the basics.
“Well...the number of them present. With water elementals, there are usually more near water, so using magic close to bodies of water makes spells stronger.”
“That’s right. Incidentally, anima would let you control all of the elementals in the world.”
“I...”
The memory of the planet she had only just shown me flitted through my mind. I understood what she was trying to say.
“So, what color is the world?” she asked, her eyes drifting slightly closed.
The famous quote from a cosmonaut in my old world went through my head: “The Earth is blue.”
“Blue,” I said.
“It is. Why?”
“Well...”
Around seventy percent of the Earth was covered in water. From what I’d seen, this planet was pretty similar. A water elementalist was stronger with more water elementals, and there were more elementals where there was more water. Since the planet was covered in water, that meant...
“Among the four elementals, water elementals are the strongest,” Ira declared.
“Th-The strongest?!”
“Of course they are. The planet has seas—it’s got a ton of water. Why haven’t you realized that? It’s so basic.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. Still...calling water the strongest element was an exaggeration.
“But, wind elementals...” I pointed out. “Surely they’re all over the planet.”
“Well, the wind isn’t always blowing. Also, you wouldn’t know this because you can’t see them, but there aren’t very many around usually. Unless we’re talking about storms and tornadoes, that is.”
“B-But when you think about what makes up the planet as a whole, surely ground elementals—”
“Underground, sure. If you were deep under the surface, then ground elementals would be stronger. Where do you fight, though?”
“Aboveground,” I answered after a pause.
“Right. On the planet’s surface. A surface that is covered with water. Aboveground, water elementals are the most common.”
That...made sense?
“Of course, a mere human could never control all the water elementals on the planet. You would need to be a god like Noah to do that. But you have my anima right now.”
I slowly mulled over what she’d said. So, being a water elementalist didn’t mean I was weak... I looked vacantly at my blue right hand. Then, Ira poked me in the forehead.
“So, what divine rank water spells do you know of?”
“Well, we learned about Cocytus.”
“Ah, the spell Eir used to annihilate the ancients. It’s a strong one.”
“Annihilate?!” I couldn’t help but yell. She said it like it was nothing. Eir did that? She was definitely a scary goddess. Ultimately, I was glad I’d heard about it from Ira, though—this stuff would definitely come in handy later.
“So I can just use that against Iblis, right?” asked.
“If Astaroth appears, use it. As things stand, Anna could quite possibly lose against him.”
“He’s that strong?”
I knew he was the strongest of the demon lords. But he was so strong that The Hero of Light would lose against him?
“Astaroth has much of the dragon gods’ blood in his veins. His existence is anomalous to the world as a whole.”
“D-Dragon gods?” That was another new phrase.
“They were a remote region’s gods. We drove them out in the distant past. Don’t worry about it. We don’t need to defeat Astaroth in this era.”
“He was still alive in the future.” Forcing a defeat wasn’t something we needed to do. Avoiding pointless fights was for the best.
“Right. Do your best not to fight any demon lords. Just go straight for Iblis. Then, you just need to use the divine rank spell.”
“Got it, Ira. Thank you.”
“Go well, Makoto Takatsuki.”
“I will.”
With that, I was no longer in her realm.
That dream had happened a few days ago.
◇ Present Time ◇
“Water Magic (Divine Rank): Cocytus.”
The world was slowly overwritten with white, as if it were drifting off to sleep.
It was a fantastical sight. However, contrasting the scene—
“Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Why did you just jump in between five demon lords?! I shouldn’t have told you about water elementalists being the strongest!”
—was Ira’s belligerent yelling.
“I know exactly why Noah didn’t explain it all! You get a little confidence and then go barreling headlong into danger!!!”
“I mean, there wasn’t much else I could do,” I replied. “It’s not like I could have abandoned everyone in Labyrinthos. Besides, fighting a million demon soldiers is just how history went originally, isn’t it?”
“If you wanted to follow history, then you should have fought them on the western continent! Fighting them here is getting carried away!”
“Eh, all’s well that ends well. Now, what do we do next?”
“Ah... This is going to be so much work to overwrite.”
Maybe—though that “maybe” should probably be “certainly”—Ira’s lack of sleep was my fault.
“U-Um? Makoto? Does that voice...belong to the Goddess of Fate?” Anna asked. She still gripped her sword tightly in both hands, maintaining the barrier.
“You can hear her?”
“I-I can. I don’t know why, but I was suddenly able to.”
“It’s because there is a divine rank spell in progress,” Ira explained. “The area around him is temporarily closer to other realms. That’s why you can hear me.”
“Huh, that’s convenient.”
“Actually listen to what I say this time.”
“Got it.”
There was a long pause. “Do you really?”
“You’re such a kidder. When have I ever not listened?”
“It’d be quicker to count the times you had!”
“M-Makoto, focus!” Anna yelled.
I turned my gaze to the demon lords looking down at us, focusing on Astaroth.
“You’d better not lose while borrowing my power,” I heard Ira mutter.
“Of course not, Goddess,” I answered plainly. Oddly, despite being surrounded by demon lords, I didn’t feel any fear.
The influence of Cocytus was turning the sky, ground, and even the air itself white. Divine rank magic altered the very fabric of the world. Well, “world” was a bit of an exaggeration—this spell was only going to affect this continent.
It’s only barely divine rank...
Borrowing Ira’s power or not, I was still just a mortal, so I couldn’t perfectly replicate a miracle of the gods. Humans and gods were on different levels, to begin with, so there was an impassable gulf between us.
With that said, Cocytus was enough to defeat the demon lords.
“Can you move, Anna?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ll manage,” came a pained response.
That was the Hero of Light for you. She wasn’t cheating like me—she was legitimately on the level of this pseudo-divine rank spell.
In contrast, the demon lords—other than Astaroth—weren’t even able to move due to the spell.
Well, shouldn’t have been able to move, that is.
“This feels awful.”
That languid voice belonged to Erinyes. She was flapping her black wings and her expression as she looked down at us had returned to one of nonchalance.
“Eri used to be an archangel in the divine realm, so she’s resistant to our magic. Be careful.”
“Right...”
Ira’s comment made sense. That was annoying. Now we had to deal with both Astaroth and her. Could we do it?
Then, Erinyes spoke up.
“That voice... Is that Irrie, the goddess apprentice? What are you doing? Do you know how much your scary sisters will scold you for interfering?”
Huh, they knew each other?
“What?! Who are you calling apprentice?! I’m the Goddess of Fate!”
“Irrie? You went into fate of all things? That’s practically hell. Are you okay? Are you coping?”
“Sh-Shut up! I’m doing great! I’m capable!”
“You kept screwing up the little things while you were an apprentice, though.”
“It just happened sometimes!”
“You had to do the most punishment lines out of any of the apprentices...”
“Shut your mouth. I’ll throw you in Tartarus.”
“Aww, you used to be so cute and now you’re a scary goddess.”
The gravity of the situation had shattered into a million pieces. Behind me, Anna seemed lost.
“U-Um, they know each other?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Looks that way.”
A goddess and demon lord knew each other personally... What was the world coming to?
“I was one of the apprentices’ teachers back in the heavenly realm,” said Erinyes. “Man, that takes me back. Little Irrie went from all those screwups to becoming the Goddess of Fate...”
“Silence, you fallen angel!” snapped Ira. “Don’t you feel any shame about being a demon lord?!”
“It’s actually pretty fun. No quotas, and I can just laze around all day.”
So the heavenly realm was full of quotas. How disillusioning.
“Besides,” Erinyes continued. “I bet you’re taking on everything personally and losing sleep.”
“That’s right,” I interjected. “She works too much and I’m worried about her.”
“Makoto Takatsuki?! That’s too far!”
Ouch. I was just showing that I cared, and Ira flew off the handle at me. That’s not fair.
“Irrie, why don’t you fall too?” asked Erinyes. “It’s great.”
“Enough! Makoto Takatsuki, beat her into the ground!” Ira demanded, apparently realizing she wouldn’t win the battle of wits.
That was easier said than done since I had my hands full controlling the spell. The only option we had was for me to hinder them and allow Anna to attack.
She and I exchanged glances, considering our strategy.
“How long are you planning to flap your gums?” came an overwhelming voice from the sky.
I looked up to see a huge figure staring down at us. He was the strongest demon lord, carrying the blood of the dragon gods—Astaroth.
“My friend Bifrons is no more, and even Goliath failed...”
There was a hint of fondness in his voice. I thought the demon lords weren’t really close?
“But don’t assume you will have an easy death, heroes.”
“Guh!” Just his glare alone was enough to make Anna grunt.
“Sir Astaroth, surely you can’t be aiming to fight this Cocytus caster directly?” Erinyes asked, perching on his shoulder.
He glared at her. “And you would suggest otherwise?”
She shrugged. “As far as I can see, he can only use it once. It’s taking his lifespan to maintain as well. Perhaps withdrawing temporarily would be better.”
“Hmm...”
He turned to look at us. That was a demon lord, all right—disgustingly calm. He was right though. I could only use a divine rank spell once, so we had to beat them now.
“You think you’re getting out?” I asked.
I had already cast the spell, and they were all within it. The spell included a barrier. It was a jail—you could neither enter nor leave it, and the caster was also the jailer. It took the freedom of those within the spell and stole their power, making it impossible to stand against the jailer. The worst part was that it caused constant pain for everyone inside it. After all, it was meant to punish sinners.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I could only barely cast it, so I couldn’t really inflict suffering. The spell was still effective, though.
Demon lords or not, Barbatos, Valac, and Zagan couldn’t even open their mouths. Their reactions were varied—eyes open wide and shaking in fear, falling to the ground, or just standing dazed.
This was...Eir’s spell, right? It was a scary one. Or more accurately, she was a scary one.
“Well, she said, ‘It’s kind since it doesn’t just kill them outright!☆’”
“Ah...I see.”
I could easily imagine her smiling as she said that.
“That blackhearted goddess’s spell...” murmured Erinyes. “It’s annoying, but fortunately, isn’t particularly lethal. Still, staying in here steals your power. I’m only around a quarter as strong as usual.” She remained calm, and black figures gathered in the air around her. Darkness magic? I didn’t fancy getting caught by them.
“I would say I am at about half strength,” Astaroth remarked, his miasma production skyrocketing. If it wasn’t for my spell, that miasma would have already engulfed and defeated us. This was half his strength, and he still had more mana than the five had used earlier while fighting... There was too much of a difference between them.
Was there anyone who could beat him fairly? The one thing I could think of was...
“Althena...I pay this price,” whispered someone behind me. “Please lend me strength.”
A rainbow of light engulfed us, pushing back the miasma. Anna looked pale.
“That was sacrificial magic, wasn’t it?”
“I was copying you... After all, we’re dead if we lose here.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
We turned to face the two demon lords. I didn’t want this to drag on for too long. Nor did they.
“Sir Astaroth, could I ask you for the opener?” I requested.
“Very well,” he responded.
I didn’t even begin to wonder what he was doing—it was obvious. A low rumble in his throat was joined by a huge mass of mana accumulating at his mouth.
Dragon Roar.
It was exactly what it sounded like, and coming from Astaroth, it would likely blast away the whole mountain. To face that, we’d need...
Magic Sword of Michael.
The area around Anna was covered in white flames, and she shone in prismatic light. Even more mana was coming from her now.
“Makoto, get behind me.”
“Got it.” I kept up the spell as I fell back.
Both sides were using their strongest techniques.
The ground began to shake and split; gusts of wind whipped through the area. It looked like the world was ending. The miasma gathering around Astaroth seemed like a black moon, while the area around Anna was gleaming like a white sun. Which would win?
Anna won’t lose...
After all, the Hero of Light was the savior, and that power was absolute. Right, Ira?
“O-Of course...”
Her voice was shaking. It was pretty close to the wire, wasn’t it?
All I could do was pray—to Noah, Eir, and Ira.
Astaroth’s mouth opened, ready to unleash the roar, and Anna moved to slash her sword.
“Let’s stop it there, everyone,” came a tranquil voice.
The black miasma and white light both faded away to nothingness. Tension, so thick you could have cut it, suddenly snapped.
Anna’s expression went blank. Even Astaroth’s calmed.
Only Erinyes had a look of unhappiness on her face.
“Anna?”
“Makoto...what was I...?”
She looked half asleep for a second but then snapped back to seriousness.
I’d seen that expression before, but it was impossible. It might have only been for a second...but she’d been charmed. The Hero of Light was untouchable to all curses, a perfect nullification of them.
So how...?
I looked for whoever had spoken and soon found them. With a flapping of wings, a huge creature came down between us and the demon lords.
It looked like a dragon at a glance, but it had three mouths, five arms, and seven wings, along with countless eyes all over its body. It was a foul-looking creature.
“That dragon...” Anna murmured.
“Is a blight dragon,” I finished.
Blight monsters—those with profane forms—were beasts created by Iblis. It was hardly strange for one to appear on the demon continent. The thing that bothered me more was its rider. She had long glossy hair, and her figure was visible through the dress she was wearing.
She was so beautiful that even looking at her would charm people. Also, she was very similar in looks to Furiae.
Similar, but not the same person. This was the second time we’d met, and I knew her name.
Queen Nevia of Laphroaig smiled from atop the blight dragon.
“It’s been a while, Hero.”
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