Interlude 7
Part 1
---Three thousand meters above [Underwood].
The spray of blood across her chest caused Sala to be stumped for words.
She had already mentally prepared herself for death as it was an unavoidable strike. The spear that was thrown at her at a speed far exceeding the normal ranges---had almost pierced Sala’s chest.
“……why?”
“…Urgh…”
If it weren’t for that guy---Sakamaki Izayoi who shielded her behind him…
“You…You…”
“Scram! Get Lost! Didn’t I tell you to run! Oi! Those at the back! Do you not have ears grown on your head to hear me?!”
Izayoi, who had leapt from Gry’s back in the nick of time to take the strike for Sala, placed pressure upon his pierced left arm as he roared to the rest.
And Izayoi’s roar seemed to put the flow of time back to normal once more as they started to disperse like a flock of birds sighting a larger predator---Leticia who had suddenly appeared. But this had also been taken into calculations by her.
The bloodshot eyes were locked onto every fleeing figure and whipping up numerous spears from the shadow of the dragon, she aimed towards them. The first strike had been blocked by Izayoi but it would be a different matter altogether if he were to try do the same thing for a hundred spears. For that would be too numerous to be blocked, even for him.
He opened his mouth to shout in the winds as he leaned on Sala to hold his weight up---
“Sala! Do you have any weapons?! Preferably one that has a long handle? I need it to be durable and strong!”
“I…I got it!”
Sala summoned a trident from her Gift Card which she handed over to him.
Grabbing the trident with his right hand, he leapt back to Gry’s back as Gry came over to fetch him.
“My left hand doesn’t seem to be able to exert much strength anymore. The most I can do is to use it to hold the reins so I’m just going to leave the maneuvering to you.”
“Okay, leave it to me---and here it comes!”
The shadow spears were launched simultaneously. And according to the estimation of what Izayoi could see, there were more than a hundred spears.
Continuously wielding his trident, Izayoi knocked away many of those spears that were traveling at five times the speed compared to the speed of Leticia’s spear on their first meeting.
Sala who couldn’t dodge them completely had released a wall of flames before her to change the trajectory of the spears. But if it weren’t for Izayoi’s help, this situation of coming to a draw wouldn’t have been possible to achieve.
Confirming that the hundreds of spears had been completely thrown, Izayoi gave a sidelong glance at the Citadel protected behind the back of Leticia as he started to think about the situation.
Why is this happening? Although it doesn’t seem to be the real Leticia, but given the fact that this is still during the period of ceasefire, the host shouldn’t be able to provoke a fight with us right? In other words, that thing should be [something] unrelated to the game……[36]
For example--- A self-activating Gift that the host had prepared from the start to deal with situations like [Trial Jurisdiction] that is independent from the Game.
And it was Izayoi’s speculation that it must have been a trap laid for them during the creation of the game and has been waiting for people to activate it.
A defensive Gift that belongs to the Vampire Citadel……That should be the closest conjecture right?
Izayoi who had reached that temporary conclusion decided to stop thinking about it and he turned back to ask Sala.
“Representative-sama, do you know what that Leticia-looking thing is?”
“No……but the sensation that was emitted from those spears shot at us seemed very similar to that of the Dragon Horn of Shodai-sama.”
“Shodai-sama?”
“The ancestor of [Salamandra], the strongest dragon of the dragon kind---Dragon King of the Stars and Seas[37]. The remains or relics of the Pure-blooded Dragons can be used as Powerful Gifts. Sandra’s Dragon Horns are one of those.”
“The remains of a Dragon……something equivalent to Śarīra, the sacred relics of Buddhism?”
“Yes. And it’s quite a Strong Relic.”
“I see…” Izayoi nodded his head.
Come to think about it, Ojou-sama did tell me before that Leticia was able to control the shadow of the dragon. Then, could it be that the shadow had taken the form of Leticia?
But if it were only that, things still felt a little off.
The strength that was behind the spear thrown at him on their first meeting was far inferior to what he had just experienced. If it were the former Leticia he had known, even if he gave her the upper hand, he would have been able to dodge it without any problem.
Although it could also be the increase in power level due to the return of her Demon Lord status……the biggest possibility might be the [Divinity] that the enemy took from Leticia.
And if that were so, things would click into place.
The reason for the enemy to take away Leticia.
The reason for releasing her sealed [Authority of Game Master].
For if things were that way…… the temporarily coined term of [Demon Lord Alliance]’s real identity might just be……
The mysterious Demon Lord that had laid waste to the [No Name]s three years ago.
Upon reaching that conclusion, Izayoi felt his fighting spirit fired up as it spread in a warm glow radiating in his chest.
Ha! What great luck we have! For them to come before us even before we go looking for them, this really saves us the trouble!
Izayoi exposed his incisors as he gave a savage laugh at that before giving a sidelong glance at Sala---
“Representative-sama, you should also return to the ground as well.”
“Eh?!”
“You will just be a bother here.”
Izayoi’s words were merciless as he knew for a fact that an aerial battle was already a disadvantageous position for him and to battle with a shadow of Leticia that had obtained Divinity? According to Izayoi’s judgement, protecting Sala while fighting would eventually cause him to reach his limits---
But Sala shook her head---
“No, I can’t. I’ve been entrusted to search for your comrade by Asuka and since there’s a strong foe appearing before us, I cannot just turn back so easi……”
---Ploom! The next moment, the sound of a huge explosion filled the air.
Thoughts of the Leticia that stood before them were wiped clean from their minds at that sound for the both of them looked down towards [Underwood]---
"---Gahouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhouhou----!"
The huge army of Titans came into view as they launched their attack upon [Underwood].
“The Titans?......How can it be?! How can they travel here in such a short time?!”
“Beats me. But since they are here, I guess there should have had some method to do so. And from what I see, things below have been thrown into chaos. Without someone to take command, wouldn’t that be bad?”
So what do you want to do? Izayoi asked meaningfully with his eyes.
Sala turned to look at the Ancient Citadel and back at [Underwood] before nodding with a bitter expression on her face.
“……I get it. Don’t overdo things yourself as well.”
“I will try my best.”
Izayoi replied while tearing off his uniform’s sleeve to make a tourniquet over his left shoulder to stop the blood flow. Making sure to see off Sala with his eyes as she rapidly descended, he then gave a bitter smile as he told Gry:
“Sorry bud, making you stay with me here.”
“Don’t mind it. After all, it’s just another enemy whom we have to face sooner or later.”
Gry gave a snort as he laughed.
However, the biggest problem that he was uneasy about was the possible difference in agility between them. Though Leticia might not be moving from her original spot, but her speed in flying should have also been heightened by the possession of Divinity.
Izayoi gave his trident a twirl as he gripped the reins of Gry with his other hand.
“Okay. So let’s first compare our speeds. I will handle all the spears that are shot from the enemy while I’ll leave it to you to push forth with the aim of making a landing on the Citadel!”
“Got it!”
Gry flapped his huge wings and controlled the whirlwinds as he started to close the distance. Leticia who was powered up by Divinity had also immediately turned to welcome the fight against Izayoi and Gry who were moving faster than before.
The collision between both sides caused the skies of [Underwood] to reverberate with the sounds of fierce metal clashes as each and every of the Black Spears of Shadow, that were shot towards them, were knocked away.
Soaring through the boundless skies while wielding the trident with such force that it would send tremors through mountains and rivers.
Rippling the air like agitated waves, the battle where the combatants willingly betted their lives on the line, displayed a surprising amount of strength and will as the fierce battle continued to unfold in the skies.
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