Chapter 2: Coming Face to Face with It
Diablo used his 《Flight》 magic. His EX rank boots, the 《Empty Sky’s Gambol》, allowed him to effortlessly land on solid ground.
He looked up at the castle wordlessly. Noah’s spell seemed to have torn the Magimatic Castle Viovix apart. The fissure expanded and branched off, and by now it was impossible to see where the rest of the group had fallen. He could only hope they were fine. Between having to evade the falling rubble and the tentacles pursuing them, he couldn’t keep his attention fixed on anyone else.
—I only protected two of them.
No... Only one of them. He couldn’t say he protected both.
Diablo reflexively grabbed onto Klem’s hand in mid-fall, and she had her arms wrapped around Edelgard.
Or rather, Edelgard’s top half.
Everything below her stomach was missing.
“De...mon...Lord...” Edelgard said with a dry, fading voice that didn’t sound anything like her.
“Edelgard...!” Klem looked utterly shocked.
“Are you...un...harmed...?”
“Thanks to you, I’m completely fine!”
“That’s...gooo...d...”
“You can’t disappear!” Klem glared at her aggressively. “I won’t allow it, Edelgard! You’re this Demon Lord’s only subordinate!”
Edelgard’s lips hung open limply.
“I won’t let you disappear, understood?!”
“...Y...Yes...”
Edelgard’s body began crumbling into particles of light — the mark of a Fallen dying. Diablo felt his heart throb painfully. He’d eaten with her, traveled with her... She may have been a Fallen, but she was neither stranger nor enemy.
And the Edelgard he knew as a friend was...crumbling away...
Klem spread her hands, pulling the particles together, as if trying to hold them close to her heart.
“Edelgard... I won’t let you disappear...”
And then Diablo heard a gentle chime, like a bell.
—What?!
He looked around in shock. There was rubble all around them, making the place look like a ruin. All of this rubble likely came falling down from the castle, but the place they were in was probably originally some kind of wide cavern.
The sunlight didn’t extend to here, making it difficult to discern exactly what kind of place they were in...but at least there were no enemies in sight. He couldn’t hear tentacles slithering or the sound of Magi Guard engines. All he could hear was that gentle, bell-like chiming.
“What is that sound...?”
Klem opened her hands, revealing a small, sleek, azure bell.
“...It’s Edelgard,” she said.
“Huh? You don’t mean... She’s... Really?!”
“It should be her. I’ve never tried doing this before, so I don’t know if it even means anything.”
She turned a Fallen on the verge of death into a...bell? Diablo had never seen that kind of event in Cross Reverie. Could a Demon Lord really do that?
“I leave her in your hands, Diablo,” Klem said, handing the bell over to him. “If this Demon Lord hangs on to it, I might end up breaking it.”
After a moment of wavering, Diablo accepted it. It reminded him of the color of Edelgard’s eyes. He stored it in his back pouch — a magical item that, despite its small size, was spacious enough to store a large number of items.
“So Edelgard wasn’t destroyed?”
“Given enough time, magical energy, and the right place, she could be restored — at least, that’s what this Demon Lord believes...”
“Hm?”
That was vague.
“I’ve never tried it, so I don’t know,” Klem said, grimacing. “Fallen just gather around me, but they’re not of much use... At least, this Demon Lord used to be indifferent to them at the time, so I didn’t care.”
“Really?”
“Remember how Modinaram consumed the other Fallen?”
“Right, he did.”
When the Demon Overlord Modinaram was backed against the wall, it began consuming the rest of the Demon Lord’s Army to replenish his lost magical energy. He only saw them as emergency rations. Apparently, Krebskulm saw the Fallen in the same light in the past.
“I’ve kept her soul earthbound so it won’t disappear,” Klem continued. “It’s the first time I’ve thought to do that with a Fallen.”
“Edelgard is special to you, after all.”
“Yes! She buys this Demon Lord biscuits! Ahaha!” Klem laughed jokingly.
This girl wasn’t the Demon Lord she used to be. She wouldn’t kill the mortal races for no reason, and she treated those around her with kindness and affection. The peaceful days she’d spent living in Faltra had changed her.
†
“Mmmm. There’s something else that I need to try for the first time,” Klem said, scratching her head roughly.
“What is it?”
“At this rate, we won’t beat the Emperor.”
“...So you can tell.”
“I am a Demon Lord, after all,” Klem said as she began walking ahead.
They were surrounded by rubble, and Diablo had no idea where they currently were. Admitting he didn’t know which way to go wouldn’t be very Demon Lord-ly of him, though. Of course, Klem probably knew Diablo’s true identity, so that wasn’t so much of a problem.
But if he didn’t act like a Demon Lord, he couldn’t speak properly. This was a limitation inherent to his personality, and had nothing to do with whether acting that way would improve or worsen his position.
And so, Diablo simply walked beside her, acting as if he obviously knew where she was going.
“Hmph... We’re up against someone who could build that castle, leads an army of Magimatic Sols, and can wipe out a city in the blink of an eye,” Diablo said. “We wouldn’t beat him by just charging in blindly.”
“Noah and her group were careless,” Klem agreed.
“...I just hope she’s still alive,” Diablo muttered. “We still need to ask her how she was going to beat the Emperor.”
“I thought you could beat him if you fought seriously, though,” Klem said.
“Huh?”
That was surprisingly high praise. It was a long while ago, but Diablo did defeat a partially awakened Demon Lord Krebskulm in battle. It was throwing a childish tantrum, which gave Diablo the time he needed to prepare an 《Apocalypse Abyss》 spell. That spell had a wide area of effect, which meant that its efficacy wasn’t as focused. It could work if Diablo knew exactly where the Emperor was, and the Emperor stayed there until he shot the spell, but...
“Emperor Gelmed isn’t a child or a mindless beast. When we entered his castle, he pretended to be overwhelmed so he could lure us in and attack us from all directions at once. The spell I used on you back then wouldn’t be useful against someone that smart.”
“I’m not saying that because I saw you cast that one spell. Besides, in terms of firepower, Noah’s spells are stronger than yours.”
“Mm? Nng... Well, I... No! I am a Demon Lord from another world! If I were to take this battle seriously, I’d be that much stronger! But my power would be too great, and could end up shattering the very fabric of this world!”
“This world...” Klem repeated pensively.
Ugh! Diablo realized a moment too late. Would a Demon Lord worry about destroying the world?!
He could imagine Klem sneering at him and calling him a kind Demon Lord.
“Ah, no!” Diablo denied what he’d just said, flustered. “I don’t actually care if the fabric of this world were to shatter! I am a Demon Lord, after all! And so, erm—”
“We should take any option possible, so long as it destroys the Emperor,” Klem said. “We must destroy that one at all costs.”
“Hm...”
“Because if we don’t, he will cover all worlds with his disgusting flesh,” Klem said clearly, walking through the darkness.
This made Diablo certain of something.
“Klem, what do you know about the Emperor?”
“I once fought someone with the same ability as it.”
“What?!”
Klem sniffled and grimaced.
“Such a horrible stench.”
“Hm?” Diablo tried sniffing the air too, but he didn’t smell anything.
He did recall Klem making a fuss about smell before. When she met Lumachina, she complained that she “smelled like God.”
There was something shining ahead of them. Diablo followed Klem and approached it. He felt something uncomfortable brew in his chest.
“It gives me a bad feeling,” Klem said unpleasantly, her thick tail slamming restlessly against the ground. “I can hardly recognize it now, but I can tell by the smell.”
Ahead of them was a boulder. And on it was a child...or rather, the crucified remains of a child. The child’s chest was gouged with a long lance. It had an impudent face and clown makeup, but its skin was dry and scorched, making it difficult to discern what they looked like before. It lacked its eyeballs, and its lips were cut off, as were some of its fingers and assorted parts of its body.
It was a corpse. A child’s corpse. And worse yet, Diablo felt like it was oddly, eerily familiar. Did he meet this child somewhere before?
“...What...is this...?” Diablo asked.
“It’s God,” Klem said with a shrug.
Diablo looked at Klem, his eyes wide.
“You don’t mean...?!”
“The world exists within a stream of countless possibilities. There are futures where this one is free to do as it pleases, and some where It’s reduced to a mutilated body. If the Emperor has the power to surpass God, then God’s future could very well change. It’s not all that surprising, is it?”
“No, no no no... It can’t be... Emperor Gelmed did this to God?!”
“Well, this whelp fooled around a little too much. This Demon Lord thought I’d kill it myself, but someone beat me to the punch.”
“So God was...killed...?!”
And it was the Emperor who killed him.
Klem looked at the lance gouged into the child’s body. It was a long, old wooden spear. Nothing about it looked all that mystical or strong, but...
“This is the 《Lance of Helvetia》, capable of distorting the laws of destiny. An Adh Artifact unfettered by the bounds of Akasha, that was brought here from another world. In other words, this is a Demon and God Slayer.”
†
Klem gazed at the corpse and heaved a sigh.
“He could have just crucified It... But the Emperor wanted God’s miracles, and so he stole Its flesh.”
“That’s a curse,” Diablo said.
“You’re a perceptive one,” Klem remarked.
—Yeah, well, it’s a fantasy cliche!
He who consumes the flesh of God is cursed with supernatural power.
“He defeated God and changed the future in doing so,” Klem said, crossing her arms. “But if you and Rem desire a better future for the mortal races... A future that isn’t extinction... You must defeat the Emperor.”
Diablo felt his mind gradually calm down. He thought back to Rem and Shera, and about why he even came to this place.
—I want to protect them.
“So Emperor Gelmed’s power is the power of God?”
“Aye!” Klem nodded firmly.
“Then won’t this lance work against him? This...Lance of Helvetia.”
“Mmm... One of the mortal races could wield it... But if a God or a Fallen tries to touch it, it steals away the majority of our powers.”
Diablo was stunned.
“So you’re saying that...you have to be from the mortal races to use this thing?”
“Yes. I mean, it’s called the Demon and God Slayer! Are you going to try to use it, Diablo?”
Diablo pondered on it for a moment, but...
“...What are you saying?! I am a Demon Lord!”
He couldn’t discard his role playing. It was his role because he stuck to it through thick and thin. Even if he was faced with the rarest, most powerful, one-of-a-kind weapon.
...Some part of him wept bitter tears at the missed opportunity, though.
Klem, however, nodded grandly.
“Do not worry! If we’re up against the Emperor, this Demon Lord’s power can overcome him! But when I unleash my power, my destructive impulses get stronger...”
“Like when you fought me?”
“I’ll be even more difficult to beat this time around, that’s for certain. I remember how to fight properly now.”
“Nng...” Diablo groaned, recalling the powerful spells he saw Klem cast.
He couldn’t see himself soloing her.
“Modinaram broke his own limits and grew stronger by consuming the other Demon Lords. That put him closer to the power of the 《Primordial Demon Lord》.”
“Yes, I remember him saying something like that.”
—The Ultimate Demon Lord, approaching the power of the Primordial Demon Lord... Something like that.
“Right now, I’m even stronger than Modinaram was back then.”
“R-Really?”
If a stronger enemy than the Demon Overlord Modinaram were to appear right now, Diablo didn’t know how he’d be able to handle it. Klem extended her hand out to Diablo. Her small, child-like hand touched his chest. It felt nice and cool to the touch.
“Then I shall grant you the power of the Demon Lord.”
“What?!”
This was what Klem meant when she said she “needs to try something for the first time.”
“Don’t tell me you’re cowering now after everything that’s happened...?” Klem glared at him.
“O-Of course not!” Diablo replied indignantly.
“Good!” she said with a smile. “That’s how Diablo, the Demon Lord from another world, ought to conduct himself!”
Something about the way she was acting felt off.
—I guess that makes sense.
Losing here could spell the end of the world. The Emperor wielded and was cursed by the power of God, and he could consume all of creation. And to oppose him, he’d need to rely on the power of the Demon Lord Krebskulm.
“And you’ve never tried this before?”
“The only thing I ever thought about before was killing the mortal races. I never imagined I’d give them my power.”
Diablo almost asked her “Can you really do it?” but ended up swallowing the words. It was her first try. She said she wasn’t sure, so pressing her on it wouldn’t move things along either way. He said something else instead.
“Demon Lord Klem! As a fellow Demon Lord, I shall use your power wisely! For the crime of intruding upon our territory, I shall etch true fear into Emperor Gelmed’s heart. I will strike him down, and any vestiges of God’s power he possesses!”
“Encouraging words. That is why you are worthy of being this Demon Lord’s master!” Klem spread her arms, beaming at him.
What little, scant armor covered her body vanished, leaving her completely naked.
“Nng?!” Diablo gawked at her.
“I leave it all...in your hands, Diablo...”
Klem levitated above him and brought her lips closer to his.
“Aaah?!” Diablo squeaked despite himself.
But her voice filled his head, as if washing over his mind...
“I declare in the name of Krebskulm. All of this Demon Lord’s powers shall answer Diablo, reside in Diablo, and obey Diablo.”
“Kle—”
A pair of small lips sealed Diablo’s.
“Mm...”
They felt soft and hot against his own. Klem’s body heat was gradually becoming vividly clear to him. He felt a swift heartbeat, and the swirling of overflowing magical energy.
“Mha...”
His mind felt numb. His consciousness receded, but just as he was about to let go of it, he was pulled back.
“Ugh...”
“Mm...”
“...Klem... Are you sure this is...necessary...?”
“Mm... I don’t know.”
“Hey.”
She chuckled, amused by his momentary annoyance.
“Let me have this. This might be the last sight this Demon Lord ever sees.”
“Wh-What?”
“Take care of Edelgard.”
“W-Wait! Klem! I don’t need the Demon Lord’s power if it means losing you...!”
“Heheh. You’re too kind to be a Demon Lord.”
Those last words only rang in his mind. The moment he wrapped his arms around her, Klem’s body disappeared, as if melting into Diablo’s.
“Ah?! Aaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaah...!”
A voice he couldn’t even recognize as his own erupted from his lips. Magical energy surged up from the core of his body. Something enveloped him, a metallic sort of sensation — armor that was lighter than any clothing he’d ever worn.
Diablo fell to his knees and bashed his now armored fist against the ground. Klem was nowhere to be seen.
—She’s gone!
Diablo’s shoulders quaked. Something warm built up in his eyes.
“You stupid idiot... If it means losing you... I don’t need this power! I could do it without this! I’d defeat the Emperor, I’d defeat anyone else if I had to! Don’t just give me your power and disappear like that... Why... Why...?! Aaaaaaaaaah!”
There was no one left to answer his call. And yet, he screamed.
“Kleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem!”
†
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
“...Nn...”
“...ah—”
“...Mm.”
“...ah! ...dy Noah!”
“...Huh?”
“Lady Noah!”
Feeling someone shake her body, Noah’s consciousness finally surfaced. She sat up at once.
“Ah! I’m not sleeping! I’m not! I’m almost done filing those documents—”
Her hands blindly fumbled around, but the only thing she felt was the cold floor. Her fingers then slid over fabric, and she found that there was a thick cloak spread under her body. She turned her gaze upward, only to see Maximum gazing into her face, concerned. Utata and Daisy were behind him, visibly surprised.
“Did you just speak in some foreign language...?” Maximum asked her.
Noah felt her cheeks grow hot, then cleared her throat and spoke in the language of Lyferia.
“...Is everyone all right?”
“Yes. At least, we’re fine,” Maximum replied. “We don’t know where the Demon Lord, the Fallen, or Diablo ended up.”
Losing the Demon Lord was a big blow to their combat potential. The Fallen was simply her lackey, Diablo was opposed to teaming up, and Gewalt disappeared somewhere around the time they infiltrated the castle.
“...What about Alan?” Noah looked around.
Maximum’s expression clouded over while Daisy sighed. They didn’t lose their strongest fighter, did they?! No, based on what Maximum had just said...
She heard the footsteps of someone approaching them.
“Hey! I found a passage over that way!”
Alan.
“W-We all tried to stop him!” Daisy said, trying to make excuses. “But that idiot said he’d go on patrol and wouldn’t listen...”
“That’s fine,” Noah replied.
Alan stopped right in front of her.
“Oh, you’re up!” he exclaimed cheerfully.
“...Didn’t I tell you to obey your captain’s orders while I’m away?” she asked him sternly.
“I mean, Maximum was distracted because he was worried about you!” Alan replied defensively. “We kept telling him you were breathing, you weren’t bleeding, and that you were just sleeping, but he just kept going, ‘Lady Noah, Lady Noah.’”
Maximum’s cheeks flushed, “W-Well... Of course I’d be worried about Lady Noah’s well-being.”
“And if we had to wait for you to wake up before we investigated the situation, we’d be on the back foot again!” Alan raised his voice impatiently.
“C-Cut it out, Alan...” Daisy said, slightly distressed. “You’re being too loud. What if the Emperor finds us again?”
“We’re not sneaking thieves!” Alan said, frowning. “We’re here to beat the Emperor down, right?!”
“...Yeah, but like, we can’t,” Utata grumbled. “We need, like, a force three times our size to beat him head-on.”
“Should we bring more troops then?”
They only chose the Palace Knights’ elites for this mission. There were other soldiers in the Order they could bring, but they were weaker than anyone in this group.
“Bringing more people won’t increase our firepower by much,” Noah shook her head. “Especially not against that type of enemy.”
“Then what do we do, Noah?!” Alan asked.
“Well, we didn’t win, but... This is all within my expectations. We don’t have time on our side, though. We needed to know just how large the Empire’s ranks were and what sort of tactics they’d use.”
“You think we’ll make it next time?”
“Of course.”
But as encouraging as her words were, they couldn’t just forget how they nearly died and were forced to flee. Maximum looked at her anxiously, his loyalty just barely overcoming his fear. It seemed Noah would have to explain herself, but they didn’t have much longer to delay.
“The Emperor attacked us sooner than Aira expected, and she’s familiar with the structure of the castle. He went out of his way to take care of us as soon as possible. In other words, he feels that giving us time is dangerous.”
“I agree,” Aira nodded.
“He wouldn’t have gone out of his way like that if he didn’t feel that we were a threat,” Noah continued. “He pretended like we were taking care of his tentacles effectively to lure us into a trap, and we fell for it, even knowing the risks.”
“Huh, you knew we were going into a trap?!” Daisy asked.
Noah nodded.
“I don’t know how the Emperor was watching or listening in on us, so I didn’t say anything... But if we went about it too carefully while avoiding him, it would have taken us too long to get to the Emperor.”
“Yes.”
“And most importantly, if we broke through his traps, we’d know just how powerful the Emperor is.”
“Oh, I see,” Daisy said, bringing her palms together.
“It’s as you say, Lady Noah,” Maximum nodded in understanding. “He lured us to a spot where the tentacles could surround us and attack us from every direction at once. It was to be fatal, but your magic allowed us to escape.”
“So if the Emperor had some ace up his sleeve, he’s already used it?”
“That makes sense.”
“So we can safely assume the Emperor can’t do anything beyond surrounding us with tentacles.”
“Hm, but those squirmy things are pretty strong, you know?” Alan remarked. “Like, I cut and cut them, but they keep growing back. He’ll just surround us while I’m fighting. I could probably manage for myself, but I can’t cover for the weak ones.”
“The only reason you’re still alive is because a ‘weak one’ buffed you to hell and back with her enchantments~” Utata said teasingly.
“Aaah, that’s not what I meant!”
“And don’t call us weak, call us cute! We’re girls, you blockhead!”
“Get off my case!”
Seeing the conversation was going off course, Noah stopped the two of them from bickering any longer.
“Alan’s right,” she said. “If we could handle the Emperor’s tentacles, we wouldn’t have needed to run.”
“So not even you can beat it?! Then what do we do?!”
“Well, to start, we avoid open spaces where he can surround us. Aira, we’re counting on you to show us the way.”
“Yes ma’am.” Aira saluted perfectly, as a former soldier would.
“Alan, we’re counting on you to block the attacks from behind.”
“Just that? You got it, chief.”
“I’ll use my magic to dispatch the tentacles coming at us from ahead. Max, you protect me.”
“I’ll guard you with my life,” Maximum nodded.
“Utata and Daisy, back us up like before.”
“Roger dodger~”
“Leave it to me, Lady Noah!”
It couldn’t be called a concrete plan, but they had to act fast. They’d have to power through it.
“All right! We’re gonna have to be quick, so don’t fall behind!” Noah told them.
They all nodded. They went out through the passage Alan found and discovered that they were in an unused warehouse.
†
They moved ahead, Aira showing them the way.
“Take a right turn after this one!”
Since they’d fallen pretty deep into the castle, they were rather close to the Emperor’s position. That only meant the tentacles’ attacks were much more persistent, though.
“《Magma Eruption》!” Noah called out.
The floor became red and melted into glowing magma that seared all the tentacles in their way. A few of them survived due to their elemental affinity, but Daisy swiftly shot them down with her magi-gun. The fact that the tentacles were still alive was evidence that they were aligned with the water element, which resisted fire, so Daisy fired earth element shots to capitalize on this.
She didn’t quite stand out within the Palace Knights, but Daisy was a level 130 magi gunner capable of finishing the tentacles with a single blow. She was a match for even Laminitus, the governor of Zircon Tower.
“I did it!”
“Good work, let’s keep going!”
While rejoicing at Noah’s praise, Daisy kept running ahead with a grave expression. Keeping up with this constant march was the real challenge for her, even more so than the firepower required to keep the tentacles at bay. She was a Demon, a race lacking in muscular strength. Even if she put in the same amount of training as anyone else, her physical growth would never hold up to that of the other races.
Lyferia was a Human supremacist country, and Demons were believed to have mixed their blood with the Fallen. Daisy was driven out of her homeland, and in the midst of despair was saved by Noah. Noah gave her a place to live, her magi-gun, and something to live for.
—If it’s for her, I’ll fight as much as it takes.
She was a bit surprised when the person she felt so much for revealed herself to be a woman...but that didn’t shake Daisy’s loyalty one bit. She always had her eyes on Noah. Maximum was exceptionally zealous, and the other members looked up to her with something close to admiration, but Daisy was the most loyal of them all.
She noticed a crack at Noah’s feet, and Maximum hadn’t moved yet. She moved to warn her verbally, when...
The crack widened, and a tentacle burst from the ground. Its tip parted, revealing a large mouth as it hissed.
“What?!”
“Oh, no...!”
But before Maximum could defend her, Daisy jumped forward. Her magi-gun was already loaded with an elemental bullet, and if the tentacle resisted that, the bullet wouldn’t be strong enough to destroy it. And so... Daisy jumped ahead.
“Lady Noah!”
“Huh?! Da—”
The person she cared for so much called her name...but sadly, she didn’t hear it. The last thing she heard was the crunching sound of her skull being crushed.
†
“Daisyyyyyyy!”
Maximum and Alan slashed through the tentacle. It fell limply to the ground where it crumbled into dust like burnt paper and disappeared. All that was left in its wake were Daisy’s mangled remains, which were denied any of the beauty she once had in life.
“Come back!” Maximum slammed his 《Healing Fist》 into her.
But nothing happened. Noah was breathing out in labored gasps.
“There’s more of them coming!” Utata called out.
Noah hurriedly fired a spell.
“《Ice Age》!”
But the moment she did, the ceiling caved in on them. Maximum jumped aside, holding onto Noah’s body. An ominous crunching sound reached Noah’s ears, and blood began pooling all around her. He was bleeding from his neck.
“Ugh...”
“Max?!”
“Lady Noah... Are you...unharmed...?”
“Forget me, you’re the one who needs help!”
Maximum began healing himself. The entire situation was going off the rails. Was it because they lost Daisy’s fire support? No, it wasn’t just that. The tentacles were clearly getting stronger, which probably meant they were approaching the Emperor. After all, up until now, they’d been able to block the enemy so long as they remained cautious, but now they were growing faster, stronger, and harder to deal with.
—Do we fall back?
But what then? If they ran, who would stop the Emperor? He’d just blow the town away when the sun set.
“Don’t just stand there, Noah!” Alan screamed, his voice overlapping with the sound of a slash.
The tentacles that swooped down on her from above let out a cacophonous screech and spewed some kind of fluid onto the floor. Yellow smoke rose from it and spread with a foul stench. Thankfully, Noah had resistance to status ailments, but Utata hurriedly covered her mouth before she began vomiting violently.
“It’s poison!” Aira exclaimed from the back row.
“Goddammit, hang on!” Alan had poison resistance and used a status recovery potion.
But just then, the tentacles advanced. The number around them had increased since Noah had stopped attacking.
“Kuh... 《Sword Storm》!”
Countless swords made of stone appeared and sliced the tentacles to shreds. Noah turned around, breathing heavily. Utata lay on the ground, still. She looked like she’d just suffocated herself. Alan shivered and grit his teeth bitterly.
“Keep your eyes forward, Alan! There are still enemies coming!” Maximum scolded him.
“I know that! But Utata! She’s poisoned!”
“It’s too late! If you don’t keep fighting, you’ll be the next one to die! She knew what she was getting into! We all made an oath, didn’t we?! To protect Lady Noah!”
“Goddammiiiiiiit!” Alan charged ahead.
Whenever Alan lost his temper, he became uncontrollable. Noah doubted he’d hear her orders anymore. She didn’t intend to stop him though — they weren’t making any headway by going about this conventionally. Alan slashed all the enemies in his way in a blind rage while Noah and the others bolted after him.
More tentacles soon extended to intercept them, but were promptly cut down. Others began firing at them, but Alan swiftly dodged, clearing them away and continuing to sprint ahead without losing any momentum.
“Aaaaaaagh!” he howled like an animal.
However, he couldn’t possibly block every attack, and the damage gradually built up. Bones snapped, organs were crushed, and his blood spilled, but even so, Alan never stopped. He kept swinging his blade.
“Araaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Noah’s lips curled up into a smile. He was acting the way she’d hoped he would. He’d cut down countless tentacles... And toward the end of his rampage, he was faced with something that wasn’t so much a mess of tentacles as it was a wall of flesh. But he broke through it, and quite literally cleaved a way open for them.
†
They stepped out into a spacious area. The ceiling was so high it felt like it was reaching up into the sky, and while there were no decorations to speak of, there were patterns on the walls that shined faintly. It was clear that this place was different from everywhere else they’d seen in the castle so far.
Aira hurried after the rest of the group and spoke with awe and enmity:
“Th-This is Emperor Gelmed’s throne room.”
But atop the platform wasn’t a seat any man could occupy. In fact, what was there wasn’t even remotely human. It was a gigantic tree that stood where the throne should be, lording over them like a tower extending to the heavens. The surface of its trunk was rough and gnarled, and the tree’s branches extended up to the ceiling, but there were no leaves growing anywhere, almost like it was frozen in a perpetual winter.
And set in the rough, rock-like surface was the shape of a human face, moving and contorting like muddled clay. The ugly, wrinkled face of the Emperor surfaced, directing an evil glare at them.
“Who treads here? Seeking an audience with me...”
His voice echoed heavily through the vast space. It seemed like the sound was emanating from multiple places at once. The face on the tree trunk likely wasn’t his actual form, and destroying it would probably just make more surface from different spots.
Noah gritted her teeth, enraged by the Emperor’s words.
—Who are we...? He asks us that now?!
“Cease this foolishness, Emperor Gelmed... You fear us. You wouldn’t have sent so many pieces of your body after us if you didn’t.”
But the Emperor’s voice betrayed no signs of confusion nor bluffing. There was no emotion to his voice at all.
“...My body...? Ah, you mean earlier... I felt something touch upon an appendage of mine. So it was you.”
“You scum! You call that battle with us...a touch?!”
The tree seemed to inhale deeply.
“Again. It is all the same. Another repetition. Without so much as a glance from me, you come before me, speak of battle, and die of your own accord.”
He finally expressed some kind of emotion — exasperation. Weariness.
“You weren’t even...aware we were here?”
“You did not...bring the Girl of the Vessel, did you...? Then whoever you are... I have no need of you...”
And as if to finish the conversation one-sidedly, without so much as waiting for Noah’s response, the Emperor’s old, wrinkled face disappeared. The tree trunk returned to being nothing more than an unrefined pillar. His presence was gone.
And then they heard tentacles creeping in from every direction. The Emperor didn’t display any enmity or haughtiness. He didn’t order them to remove or eliminate the intruders. He treated them with complete and utter apathy, as if to say they would die on their own either way.
Emperor Gelmed remained entirely indifferent to anything that wasn’t the Girl of the Vessel. No intruder could harm him, so he didn’t even regard them as anything he had to deal with.
Emperor Gelmed was transcendent. He wasn’t simply strong — he was on a wholly different order of magnitude, and unremarkable beings like the Palace Knights couldn’t even so much as interact with him. To him, they were like insects. Blades of grass. Pebbles on the roadside. He could trample them underfoot and not so much as notice.
Noah was speechless. The difference in strength was more than she’d ever imagined, and it left her at a complete loss for words. They had lost precious comrades to someone who didn’t so much as acknowledge them as his opponents, something that had lashed at them in a way that didn’t even occur to it as a proper attack.
Noah had seen countless absurdities since coming to this world, but this one beat them all.
The first to step forward was Alan. His reckless charge left him grievously wounded, but Maximum healed him in time. His bones, internal organs, and crushed eye were all back to normal.
“Yeah, I get it... If we’re less than gnats to you... I guess we’ll just need to punch your face in and make you realize who you’re supposed to fear here!”
“Alan?!” Noah looked at him, shocked.
“Noah, cast all the spells you can at him!” he said, holding his sword aloft.
He was about to unleash a powerful skill, which made Noah regain her fighting spirit. It wasn’t her first time facing people who’d looked down on her, and they had all lived to regret it.
“That’s right... I’ll use you guys to defeat the Emperor! Show him hell! 《Apocalypse Abyss》!”
A magic circle formed around the great tree. Before Cross Reverie had had its balance changed, this was a difficult spell to cast, but by the time Noah played it, it didn’t take much windup time. It was a highly potent spell that used each of the four elements. Within the magic circle, the ground cracked, whirlwinds brewed, frost billowed, and magma erupted forth.
“Go to hell, Emperor Gelmed!”
†
Maximum thrust his broadsword into the ground.
“《Death Curse》!”
He had multiple titles, but his original class was dark knight. His healing wasn’t at all like the miracles the clergymen employed — all he was doing was transferring life force to others. Each time he healed someone, a summon stone in his inventory shattered.
The Death Curse, however, was a spell unique to the dark knight class. It was a malediction that inflicted a status ailment on the opponent that prevented them from healing. It had a limited-time effect, but it couldn’t be resisted.
The dark knight class was a debuffer. Its build included a number of spells that were exceedingly effective when fighting powerful single targets, such as spells that reduced speed or prevented the use of spells and physical skills.
Noah’s magic peeled away the rock-like bark of the great tree. The tentacles around them crumbled to dust along with all that was being stripped from the tree, incapable of recovering thanks to the Death Curse’s effects. Their efforts were proving effective.
Having finished charging up his attack, Alan swung down his longsword.
“《Solar Blade》!”
The light element slash tore through the massive tree. Cracks ran through the tower-like trunk, and it too began crumbling away. However, although it looked like it was over, massive amounts of magical energy spilled out of the remains of the tree.
Noah heard a hoarse voice echo in her mind.
“...It is too soon to crack the egg’s shell open... If I am not allowed to incubate within the Girl of the Vessel, I shall overflow throughout this world...”
There was a hollow inside the crumbling tree, with...something sitting inside it: a pure-white Magimatic Sol. It seemed to be the source of the massive magical energy being emitted, which produced a physical pressure that threatened to blow them away. It was like standing in the middle of a typhoon.
Aira, who stood next to Noah, opened her eyes in shock.
“I-Is that...?!”
“You know what that is?!” Noah asked her.
“The original Magimatic construct...said to have been lost in an ancient war. It’s said to be the source of all Magimatic technology. The otherworld gatekeeper... The Ivory Magimatic Garment, Cross Reverie! The cornerstone of the Gelmed Empire, and the holy garb of God!”
“Cross Reverie?!” Noah repeated the words, stunned.
“Yes, Cross Reverie...” Aira nodded. “Lady Noah, you’ve heard of it...?”
The MMORPG Cross Reverie never explained the reason behind its name. But in this other world, it was the name of some armor used by God? Was it related to the game somehow? Noah shook her head. She didn’t have time to ponder that now.
“What it’s called doesn’t matter! Tell us how to destroy that thing! Does it have a weakness?!”
“I...I didn’t even know the Magimatic Garment existed until now...”
“Ugh, you’re useless!” Noah clicked her tongue in frustration.
Aira took a step back, hanging her head.
—Gods and Demon Lords don’t just show themselves to people, dammit! Noah muttered to herself bitterly. This is absurd! This is why I hate fantasy game worlds!
Apocalypse Abyss had a limitation on how many times it could be used. The next time she’d be able to cast it would be tomorrow. She’d have to use something else.
Noah raised her left hand, deciding on another spell.
“Alan, get back! It doesn’t matter what armor the Emperor has on; this should send it to the void between worlds — 《Gravity Abyss》!”
Like Apocalypse Abyss, this was a spell that had a long windup time in older versions of the game, but when Noah learned it, she was capable of firing it off without needing to wait. It was a powerful dark element spell that dealt massive damage to one target. She fired a dark arrow toward Cross Reverie.
—You just had to make a scene when you showed up, so don’t you dare dodge it!
She’d heard Diablo used this spell to destroy a Magimatic Sol, so it should have been effective. After all, the Magimatic Sols were likely based on the Magimatic Garment and operated similarly to it. Just like them, it was three times the size of a person and covered in armor plates. The biggest difference was that the Magimatic Garment had three sets of white, swan-like wings on its back.
—What if those wings block the spell? Would Gravity Abyss just consume one of them and send it to the void?
That would be bad. Even a level 300 sorcerer didn’t have limitless MP.
But Noah’s concern proved to be unfounded. The Magimatic Garment remained still, and the spell hit it directly in the torso — where the Magimatic Sols’ cockpit hatches were.
Noah didn’t know what was inside Cross Reverie’s cockpit. Was it the old Emperor, or maybe just his soul? Maybe just some puppet made of his tentacles? Was the Emperor somewhere else, manipulating everything from afar?
She didn’t know. But either way, the Gravity Abyss spell triggered and began sucking everything around it inside. There was no stopping it anymore.
“You did it!” Alan pumped his fist.
“Oooh...” Maximum uttered in amazement.
†
A hole to the void formed on the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie’s chestpiece, pulling against everything in the room, including the air itself. The armor twisted and distorted as it was drawn into the hole. Aira felt herself being sucked toward the hole as well.
“Aaah?! Kuh..!”
“We’ve got you!” Maximum reached out his thick arm and braced his feet to catch her just as she was beginning to lurch forward.
“Th-Thank you!”
“Miss Aira, I’ve heard you slew Lieutenant General Kudanis in the citadel city of Kenstone...?”
When the Gelmed Empire first invaded Lyferia, she defeated a general guarding the border. He was a skilled high-level warrior.
“...I had my subordinates, Rikka and Erina, to help me back then. And more importantly, I was using a Magimatic Sol.”
She wouldn’t have beaten him in a one-on-one sword duel. If she weren’t compatible with 《Arjanos of the Silver》, she never would have been placed in charge of an army, let alone participated in the attack on Lyferia. Of course, if she weren’t compatible, the Magimatic Sol’s tentacles would have devoured her...
“I’m sure you had your reasons, but we can discuss it when we all return alive. And we have to give it everything we’ve got if we’re going to survive. I’m sorry, but I won’t always have the time to protect you.”
“I-I came here to help you so I can take revenge on the one who destroyed my homeland. I’d sacrifice my life if it means defeating Emperor Gelmed!”
“That’s the spirit!” Maximum said, then raised his broadsword and cast a spell.
Aira also drew her blade and moved slightly away from Noah and the rest. Maximum prioritized protecting Noah, but he was a kind man. He might have said he wouldn’t focus on defending Aira, but she knew he wouldn’t abandon her if she were to be attacked. So she took her distance so as to not be a burden to him.
Without Arjanos of the Silver, Aira was just a Kobold warrior who didn’t even reach level 100. But she should have been able to at least stall the enemy’s attacks. She glared at Emperor Gelmed — at the Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie. Half of it was already collapsing into the hole in space Noah’s spell created, breaking apart like it was being crushed by a vise. Its head began to crack.
“Wow...”
She’d heard the Demon, Diablo, used the same spell, Gravity Abyss, to destroy Rikka’s 《Viatonos of the White》. And it was working on the Magimatic Garment too.
Are we beating it?! Aira thought to herself, holding her breath in anticipation. She had always been too afraid to oppose the Emperor, but not for a second did she forget the deaths of her family and friends in her homeland, nor did she forget the hardships experienced by the survivors. The days of humiliating slavery she was forced to live through flashed in her mind.
“Aaaah, Emperor Gelmed!” Aira shouted, swinging up her blade and holding it aloft. “Know the pain...of those you’ve trampled!”
Aira unleashed a martial art. Compared to the attacks of the Palace Knights and the Magimatic Sols, its power was meager, but a flash of light intersected and combined with her attack — Alan’s martial art.
“Aaaaaah, get smaaaaashed!” he shouted.
The shining art pushed its way forward, causing the ground beneath it to tremble. It made a direct hit on the partially wrecked Cross Reverie, destroying the remaining half.
Aira swallowed in fear. She’d always waited for this — the moment when Emperor Gelmed would fall.
An explosion enveloped the Magimatic Garment. The air drawn in by the spell was expelled outward with a shock wave that sent Aira tumbling to the floor.
“Ugh!”
The pressure felt like it would crush her altogether, accompanied by a sharp pain in her ears. Once it passed, she heard what sounded like the din of rain. Did the blast ruin her hearing? No, it was still a little hard to hear, but her ears weren’t completely damaged. She heard what sounded like metal clanging against the ground. Aira looked up at the ceiling.
“What’s that?!” she exclaimed in shock.
“Hm?!” Alan looked up as well. It looked like the building was warping, and the distortion was getting bigger and bigger. A hole formed in midair, revealing a vast darkness behind it. Lights sparkled inside, like the twinkling of the stars.
“Is that...” Noah said, her voice strained. “Is that a hole to another world?!”
It was the same phenomenon as the Gravity Abyss, except much larger. As the air pressure in the room rapidly changed, a whirlwind blew Aira away, knocking her into a wall. As gravity pulled her down, she found she was near a large hole in the floor — some kind of drainage pipe. Realizing she was about to fall in, she hurriedly grabbed onto the ledge.
“Ugh...”
As the space above them contorted, the white mechanical unit appeared from within the void — from the gate it had opened.
—Emperor Gelmed came back?!
There wasn’t a single scratch on Cross Reverie. It flapped its wings elegantly, like some kind of white bird soaring through the heavens. The enemy supposedly expelled from this world by the Gravity Abyss spell appeared before them again with ease.
Emperor Gelmed spoke, every syllable shaking the room.
“Blind, foolish weaklings who crawl and writhe underfoot! I am the Emperor of the Gelmed Empire! Ruler of all that exists, a living god! Kneel before me!”
Before Aira realized it, tentacles appeared all over the room. The Apocalypse Abyss and Alan’s martial art should have destroyed the tree’s trunk, but the effect of the dark knight’s Death Curse had worn off, allowing the enemy to regenerate again.
More and more tendrils appeared. As Aira attempted to climb out of the drainage tunnel, a tentacle swiped over her head, forcing her to duck reflexively. At that moment, her hands slipped from the ledge. Even with her sharp Kobold claws, she wouldn’t be able to climb out of the tunnel when she was wet.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
She plummeted down into the dark.
†
Noah didn’t falter. Emperor Gelmed was dangerous enough of a monster to make even the Demon Lord Krebskulm join forces with them against him. His return didn’t come as much of a surprise. In fact, she’d seen so many surprises today she’d become completely desensitized.
“Tch... You come back even after I throw you into another dimension?!” Noah shouted. “Fine, then I’ll destroy you in this world!”
She thrust the staff in her hand forward.
“Let countless explosions reduce you to ash! Infinity Detonation!”
It was a spell the Demon Lord Krebskulm used — a level 260 fire element spell. Flashes of light enveloped the enemy, and a rumbling sound thundered in their ears. It felt like the explosion was powerful enough to reduce anything to ashes. But when the smoke cleared, Cross Reverie stood undisturbed with its arm raised.
“I see... You’ve reached the zenith of what the mortal races are capable of. Very well, I shall handle you myself. Feel the searing blaze of God upon your flesh!”
Noah felt a shiver run down her spine. Emperor Gelmed was finally attacking with the intention of defeating them. She could feel bloodlust prickling against her skin.
“Ugh...” a whimper escaped her lips.
“I’m not letting yooou!” Alan charged forward. He wasn’t one to just sit back and give the enemy time to attack. He unleashed a slashing martial art while Maximum chanted a curse.
“Slow Lock!”
This spell had the effect of slowing down the enemy’s actions. The spell and the martial arts’ effects intersected, and cracks formed in the floor and walls around them. Unlike Emperor Gelmed and his armor, their side didn’t have some legendary defense. Even though they collected the best gear they could possibly find in the Kingdom of Lyferia...
—We have to keep going!
“We’ll just keep attacking until you’re destroyed! 《Millions Rusher》!” This time, Noah chanted a powerful air element spell. Alan also continued unleashing martial arts.
“Ooooooh! Goooooo!”
Noah unleashed a second spell, then a third. All of them were spells approaching level 300, powerful magic she’d never had a chance to use before. She was now very nearly bottomed out on her MP reserves, which left her dizzy and her mind muddled.
“Haa... Haa... Haa...”
The smoke cleared, revealing a pair of pearly white wings flapping open elegantly. Cross Reverie was still unharmed.
“Have you realized the futility of your efforts?” Emperor Gelmed asked.
“I never quiiit!” Alan charged forward, his sword in hand.
“Fool.” The Magimatic Garment brandished an arm. The next moment, an invisible slash cut into Alan’s flesh.
“Aaaaaaaaagh?!”
“Alan!” Maximum called out. Normally, he’d rush over to help him, but this time he remained still. He didn’t know what the enemy’s attack range was, he still needed to defend Noah, and to top it all off... It was questionable if there was any point to healing Alan at this point. He’d been thoroughly cut up, and he sank to the floor, where he lay completely still.
“...Alan?” Noah whispered his name.
No response. She began breathing heavily, for reasons completely unrelated to fatigue. The strongest of the Palace Knights was downed with a single strike. They had no more buffs... No time to heal... Wild abandon could only carry them so far. They’d used all of their most powerful attacks to no effect.
—We’re...powerless.
Emperor Gelmed’s tentacles crept closer. Several of them swarmed over Alan’s body, blocking it from sight. Noah turned around, only to find that Aira wasn’t there. Maybe she ran, or perhaps the tentacles devoured her.
Something hot built up in the corners of Noah’s eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks unrestrained. She was afraid. She had failed, majorly, in a way she’d never be able to recover from. Her strategy was completely wrong, and she’d picked a fight with the wrong enemy.
And now she’d die. She was next.
†
Maximum stepped up in front of Noah.
“Use the magical tool to escape,” he told her.
“Huh?”
“I’ll attack and create a chance. Use it to escape.”
—I can’t leave my allies behind and run! If that’s my only option, I’d rather die in an honorable defeat!
...But of course, she was in no situation to cling to that kind of honor.
“Ri...Right... Understood.”
Noah shamefully clung to her one chance at survival. She was afraid. Afraid of death now approaching her... Of her own mortality... Of losing the life she had now... And Maximum remained loyal to her until the very end.
“Please stay safe, Lady Noah!”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...”
Just how pathetic and despicable of a person was she? Noah’s thoughts were in a state of complete chaos. Maximum filled his broadsword with magical energy.
“Emperor Gelmed, I put my life into this fatal blow. Take it if you can!” he bellowed.
“Your life? How foolish,” Emperor Gelmed replied. “The lives of the mortal races amount to little... You’re nothing more than fuel to operate a Magimatic Sol for a moment, at best.”
“Then try it! Nnnnnnnnnng! Dark Meteor Sword!”
Maximum’s broadsword lit up with black flames. He leapt up, holding the blade over his head, and swung it down on the Magimatic Garment. Cross Reverie remained still. But just as the slash was about to land, an invisible barrier blocked Maximum’s blade. The attack dug into the barrier, creating sparks.
“Take thiiiiiis!”
A loud cracking sound could be heard. It was awfully clear despite the loudness of the place. Cracks formed in the translucent wall, and Maximum’s blade finally forced its way through, connecting with Cross Reverie’s head.
“Aaaaaaaaah!” Maximum roared.
“Oh?” Emperor Gelmed exclaimed, surprised that the sword had actually made contact with him. The tone of his voice changed.
“...It is a pity,” he whispered, looking at Maximum. “I would have liked to have seen if you were compatible with a Magimatic Sol...”
Gelmed sighed.
“But you’ve already expired.”
Maximum stood motionless, his body still fixed in the position he was in when he swung down the sword, no longer breathing. Noah froze up, an item in her hand. She wasn’t just sitting back and watching this play out; she was trying to use the magical tools she’d prepared for an emergency, but they all proved useless and refused to activate just when she needed them most.
Noah began to hyperventilate. It felt like the air was thinner than it should have been. Cross Reverie turned to face her.
“None are allowed to cross my barrier... You may neither enter nor leave.”
He’d set up some kind of barrier to prevent intruders, which also stopped her from teleporting away. And the Cloth Gate she’d used to infiltrate the Magimatic Castle Viovix could only be used to cross into places she could see. No matter where she tried to move in this closed space, it wouldn’t mean much.
“I-I’m... I’m a sorcerer of the highest possible level in Cross Reverie...” Noah stammered.
Cross Reverie said nothing.
“I could beat any raid boss by myself...”
Again, silence.
“Kuh... Wh-Who are you?!” Noah shouted, her nerves finally giving way.
“Hm... I see... Those abilities, that knowledge... You’re an outsider...” Cross Reverie eventually said.
Someone who was either reincarnated or summoned into this world — an outsider. That’s also what the few scholars she had investigating the matter called it. Did Emperor Gelmed know about her old world too? The sheer power he wielded made Noah believe he likely knew anything and everything.
“...There shouldn’t be any enemy in this world my magic doesn’t work on,” Noah said, her voice shivering. “Be it an emperor or a Demon Lord, I should be able to fight you. Wh-Who are you...? Did you come from another world...?”
“I did not come this far through unearned talent or mindless ploys,” Emperor Gelmed said maliciously. “Through discipline and effort did I become a transcendent who would eradicate God... Do not waste my time.”
The wind roared in Noah’s ears. Her fingertips began to freeze. Everything suddenly turned cold, her face aching from the drop in temperature, but she was quickly losing sensation. Her body stiffened as the wind continued to howl.
†
Suddenly, Noah’s field of vision was turned upside down and the ground under her gave way.
“What...?!”
An animalistic cry pierced her ears. A large, tubular monster burst out from the hole that had just opened beneath her, its fanged mouth wide open.
—Another tentacle?
But just as Noah was about to unleash another spell, she realized that wasn’t the case.
—It’s a 《Trap Worm》!
A summon beast. An armored figure appeared in the giant, gaping mouth of the worm, reaching his arm out to her.
“Snap out of it, you ugly woman!” he chided her.
“You?!”
The former paladin Gewalt. He grabbed Noah by the collar and yanked her into the Trap Worm, which burrowed back down into the floor immediately.
“Agh?!”
“Don’t let go of me!” Gewalt shouted. “And don’t throw up either! No amount of washing would get your vomit off my clothes!”
“You come here now, after all this time...?!”
Gewalt gazed at Noah’s face with a dubious expression.
“You really are loved, aren’t you?” he said. “These were the orders Captain Maximum gave me. To get you out of here and run if all else fails.”
“M-Max told you to...?!”
“Let me tell you, my heart skipped a beat when he said that. I can’t just turn down a good man’s request.”
Noah bit her lips bitterly. She never realized how important those beside her really were until it was too late, after she’d lost them. The tears ran again with nothing to hold them back anymore.
—I lost someone so important.
“It’s too soon to let down your guard though,” Gewalt commented, his lips curling up into a smirk. As soon as he said that, Noah’s field of vision turned over again. Something had struck them, and hard. The summon beast was torn apart behind them.
“Whoa?!”
It was slimy and sticky and not at all a pleasant ride, but the beast still carried them away from danger...and now it had been split in two, crumbling in a puff of light. The summon crystal popped back into Gewalt’s hand.
“Tch! That old man won’t let us go, will he? What’s killing an ugly girl like you compared to governing all of existence?! Or is my beauty drawing him to me?!”
“I’ll knock your teeth out, you dick!”
Noah was thrown out into the open air. But even as she shouted at Gewalt, she looked around cautiously. She was probably at a lower level than the room where she fought Cross Reverie, since the summon beast was destroyed while still within the castle.
Held in Gewalt’s arms, Noah continued plummeting down. A fall from this height would kill a normal person, but her level 300 body was more durable. This wouldn’t cause her that much fall damage.
But the ground they were falling toward was black.
—What?!
She only realized it just before impact. They hit the black surface with a large, loud splash.
“Bwfah?!”
It was water. Indeed, it was a gigantic castle capable of moving, but despite that, there was no water storage facility on Viovix’s surface. Even if the castle was mostly populated by machines and tentacle monsters, it still needed a reliable source of water. The pool was relatively shallow, so that their legs reached the bottom.
“Let go of me,” Noah said, shaking off Gewalt’s arms and pulling away from him.
“Believe me, I don’t want to lay hands on a woman either! I don’t want your smell on me!”
“Kuh... Is this the castle’s water tank?”
“If it is, I guess it’s their drinking water.”
“Based on what Aira told me... Most of the defense here is handled by the Magi Guards, but there are also engineers and laborers here.”
—But if that was true, why haven’t we seen anyone since we got here?
“Ugh... The thought of drinking this makes me sick!” Gewalt said, grimacing.
“Really?” Noah asked. The water didn’t seem any different from well water, hygienically speaking...
“Look at this tree!” he said.
“Tree?”
“Isn’t the bark familiar? Its color is a little different though.”
Noah finally noticed that there was a massive tree growing in the water. And indeed, its size and rugged bark did remind her of something else.
“No... This is Emperor Gelmed’s tree?!”
“I don’t want to think there might be more than one of that monster. It must be the tree’s roots!”
This tree was Emperor Gelmed himself, and the source of those tentacles. Seeing its roots were submerged in the water, Noah suddenly didn’t want to have to drink this water either.
†
The water’s surface was undulating. The walls creaked as the roots began vibrating.
“The cooldowns on my summon beasts aren’t over yet...” Gewalt clicked his tongue in frustration.
“It’s coming after us!” Noah called out.
Countless tentacles splashed down into the water, approaching them rapidly. This time, there were no allies left to cut them off before they could reach her.
“Grr...” Gewalt gritted his teeth. “You were throwing spells left and right earlier, weren’t you?! What gives?!”
“I hardly have any MP left... I can’t cast any spells capable of sweeping them away...” Noah muttered helplessly.
“Don’t you have any magical tools?!”
“Yes, but only for producing clothes and food.”
“We’re not here for a picnic, are we, you idiot?!”
Noah did elaborately prepare for this attack with a number of contingency plans. She had tools that acted as lanterns, sound bombs, tools to repair broken weapons and armor, and so on...but none of them were useful here. Everything that happened was simply too unexpected.
And then it appeared, accompanied by the tentacles.
The Magimatic Garment Cross Reverie. Emperor Gelmed.
“I shall praise you...” his hoarse voice boomed around them. “You’ve managed to escape my watchful gaze a single time. Impressive...”
Gewalt drew the sword sheathed at his waist.
“Tch... I doubt 《Ifrit》 would even buy us time...” he muttered bitterly.
Cross Reverie’s chestpiece swung open. It was packed with tentacles inside which parted and revealed the wrinkled head of an old man.
“Are you the master of that summon beast from earlier?” the old man asked.
“And what if I am?” Gewalt replied suspiciously.
“Then I would like to try it on you, in place of my missing subordinates.”
“Try what?”
A few slender tendrils slithered under the water, grabbing Gewalt by the ankles. Before he could even react, they coiled around his limbs, and sooner than he could scream, a tentacle plunged into his mouth.
“Nnnngah?!”
Emperor Gelmed’s expression contorted into an eerie smile. His eyes narrowed so much they were indistinguishable from the wrinkles on his face.
“Should you survive, it will give you power. And should you not be suitable...it shall feast upon your organs. Serve me well.”
“Nnnngaah?! Ugh?! Bwaaah?!” Gewalt croaked and thrashed.
Noah was frozen on the spot. She felt that she ought to save him...but one wrong move would get her killed. No magic worked on the Magimatic Garment, and it attacked faster than the mightiest of warriors. The sheer terror she felt in that moment made it difficult to breathe.
Her past life, a time when nothing went the way she wanted it, flashed in her mind. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and rolled down her cheeks.
“Ugh...”
She couldn’t even resist. There would be no running away or fighting back. Emperor Gelmed glared at her.
“Let us try it on you next,” he said.
If there was any way of surviving this situation, it was being compatible with a Magimatic Sol and serving as the Emperor’s disposable pawn. Noah’s field of vision contorted.
“Heh... Heheh...” she chuckled, extending her hand forward. “I have to spend my second life...bowing down to shitty old men like you all over again?! Never!”
She would never again live her life licking the boots of a superior she hated. And with this, she triggered a spell, omitting the incantation.
—《Shining Lance》!
The Magimatic Garment’s chestpiece was still open, so she aimed her light spear at the wrinkled face inside it. It went flying, streaking through the air in a straight line.
“Get him!”
“You fool...”
But once again, an invisible barrier blocked Noah’s spell.
“Divine retribution shall befall whomever tries to harm me... And you’ve acted foolishly enough to earn such a fate. Let judgment be passed!”
A massive amount of mana gathered and launched a type of attack that was unlike anything Noah had ever seen. Freezing air was now washing over her. Noah screamed, her field of vision blurry with tears. But just as her tears froze to her face...
A hand was thrust forward from behind Noah, and it wasn’t a hand that belonged to any of the races. Covered in armor, it was oddly similar to Cross Reverie in that there were no seams in the metal. The cold air suddenly dispersed.
—Did Emperor Gelmed stop...?
No, that wasn’t it. Noah realized the owner of this armored hand stopped the attack and reasoned that it must have been a sorcerer who far exceeded her.
—Who is this?!
She turned around and screeched in fear again.
Before her was a monster.
Its body was clad in purple armor, and five crimson eyes gleamed on its angular head. Horns extended from its head and shoulders, and in place of its mouth was a long crease that extended all the way to its ears.
“Is that the Emperor?” the monster asked, speaking with Diablo’s voice.
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