She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

THE PARTY proceeded cautiously for some minutes. It seemed the demon hadn’t expected them, since they encountered no patrols on their way to the center of the burial ground. The amphitheater-like central area was massive, with a tower in the middle. Just as the reports said, the duke sat in the clearing, lit by the faint light of flames.

This demon was quite a bit larger than the baron Mira had encountered in Nebrapolis, with six wings on its back. Most striking of all was its jet-black skin. It looked more like armor than skin, and its face was truly demonic and terrifying.

Peering into the clearing, Mira first confirmed the location of the villagers. About a hundred meters away, on the side of the chamber opposite, she found a group of people bound and terrified.

“Hrmm… They’re pretty far.”

If they wanted to rescue the villagers as quickly as possible, the optimal way would be to circle around this clearing. Once they’d confirmed the villagers’ safety, they could analyze the enemy.

On closer inspection, they spotted the Oni Princess as well—she was on the other side of the demon as well, surrounded by nearly a hundred lesser demons. Unsurprisingly, this duke commanded powerful lesser demons. Each was two meters tall. “Lesser” was a relative term in this encounter.

Furthermore, black mist wafted about—probably emanating from the Oni Princess. Over and over, they watched as it tried to take form before failing and unraveling.

“It looks like she can’t fully wield her dharma powers yet,” Kagura observed as she eyed the black mist. She could tell from the Oni Princess’s appearance that the vengeful spirit had yet to fully acclimate to this piece of Tyriel’s body.

All this probably meant the Oni Princess had only just been born. She’d be quite a bit weaker than the one at Chimera Clausen headquarters. Kagura smiled; at this rate, she’d be able to get this piece of Tyriel without too much trouble.

“Looks pretty weak, huh?” Luminaria said, sizing up the duke.

“It certainly does,” Mira agreed.

Surprisingly, the duke-level demon also looked unusually feeble. It sat with its back to a pillar, occasionally holding its body and trembling as if enduring some kind of pain. After a moment, the Oni Princess helped it stand, and it rose unsteadily to its feet.

“It would have had to use the divine item to dig this hole,” Wallenstein explained. Once he said it, the situation made sense. The divine item radiated sacred power and was strong enough to gouge a hole in the side of the sealed oni tomb. Yet it was the polar opposite of dark demons’ evil energy. Using the item shortened a dark demon’s lifespan. The duke was still recovering.

“It’s almost too perfect a chance,” Solomon pointed out. Having their most fearsome enemy weakened was an ideal opportunity. Solomon turned to ask Wallenstein how he’d seal a duke-level demon.

“Good question. Though I’m unsure if we can avoid a battle in this situation…”

The demons’ darkness was inextricably tied to their incredible power. By sealing that power, Wallenstein could return them to the light and awaken them to their duty. That was the reason he’d been searching for this duke. But if they fought, the demon’s power could turn unstable. Trying to seal the demon in that state might damage its memories.

Normally, Wallenstein preferred to approach without his target noticing and begin the sealing process before the demon realized. This time, though, it was clear that they would have to fight.

Mira and Solomon were worried by this, but Wallenstein replied, “We can think about how to deal with that later. For the moment, we must prioritize stopping the demon’s schemes and rescuing the villagers. Leave the question of sealing to me.”

It was more important to put a stop to whatever the demon had planned here than to return it to its proper state. Wallenstein added that they should take advantage of the enemy not being aware of their presence and launch a preemptive attack. Weakened or not, dukes had overwhelming power. Battle was inevitable. There were innocent villagers who had to be rescued. They had to be thorough.

Wallenstein and his people would find a way to seal it, sooner or later. Solomon had full faith in him, so he agreed to the preemptive strike and began devising a plan.

“Okay, got it. Then how about we do this?”

Each Wise Man proposed their strongest firepower for the ambush, and Solomon brought them all together. Their plan took shape.

Solomon would circle around and use Shield Phalanx to cover the villagers; that would be the signal for their attack. Because they didn’t want to injure Tyriel, they would go for a single-target attack on the duke rather than a wide-range attack. They would put everything they had into it and hope to defeat the demon in a single strike.

A simple plan, indeed.

“I’m off. Give the signal when you’re ready.” Solomon squatted low, waved goodbye, and concealed the sound of his footsteps like a special forces commando as he circled around the amphitheater.

“How long has it been since we executed a joint preemptive strike?” Luminaria murmured with a nostalgic smile.

“Back then, this was an everyday thing for us.” Kagura remembered the old days, too, smirking as she watched Solomon sneak carefully around the edge of the chamber.

“You’d always jump the gun, Luminaria.” Wallenstein shot her a caustic glance, causing her to gulp nervously.

“Hah! You’re right. When we fought the Lord of Fiends, he avoided all our other attacks thanks to her.” Mira sighed exaggeratedly, smirked, and added, “You’d best get the timing down today.”

“Hey, big talk coming from you. You jump the gun almost as often as I do.” Luminaria glared at Mira. Kagura and Wallenstein agreed.

In truth, there had been countless occasions where their timing had been off. Mira insisted that she’d never done it on any top-level raids; she didn’t jump the gun when it mattered. Luminaria had done it way more often.

Kagura was surprisingly good at keeping pace with the others, and Wallenstein was a pro at it. Neither of them had ever attacked prematurely.

“You’re both awful at this,” Kagura said.

“Agreed.” Wallenstein sided with her.

“Nrgh…”

“Ulp…”

Mira and Luminaria fell silent. The other two Wise Men glared at them, as if to say, You’d better do it right this time.

Unable to bear the silence, Mira said, “Oops, I’d best prepare myself too,” and ducked back into the corridor.

The demon and its cohorts might notice the mana and light of a summoning circle, so Mira summoned the youngest of the Valkyrie sisters, Christina, far from the central chamber. Christina would be the one to handle this ambush.

“Thank you so much, Master!” Christina’s joy at being summoned only lasted a moment, replaced by fear as she timidly looked around in the dark. “Waaait. I thought I was getting out of training, but now I’m in this dark and grimy place? Spooky…”

“Speaking of dark, those are…a lot of black marks on your face. What happened?” Mira asked.

Christina’s skin was normally bright and beautiful, but now, her face looked like it’d been scribbled on. She frowned deeply and answered, “This…is the number of times my sister bested me…”

Apparently, it was some kind of shuttlecock punishment game. Naturally, she’d lost over and over. Mira silently offered Christina a towel, which she accepted while issuing a steady stream of complaints about her sisters.

When they returned to where the others waited, Christina greeted them. “I-it’s a pleasure seeing you all again…” To her, Mira’s friends were worthy of nearly as much reverence as her master herself.

“Oh, hey, Chris.”

“It’s been a while.”

“You’re still a cutie, huh?”

The other Wise Men welcomed the tense Christina with smiles and informed her of her role: to deal an all-powerful blow to the duke-rank demon along with the other mages.

“Did you say…a duke?” When Christina spotted the demon in the middle of the chamber, she tensed up even further. Dukes had power that outstripped even the oldest Valkyrie sister, Alfina. Was she really meant to attack that thing at the same time as the Wise Men? Christina always boasted that she wasn’t much weaker than Alfina, but now she started pleading, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! Please, ask one of my sisters!”

“No, I think you’re perfect for this,” Mira declared, despite the unconfident Valkyrie’s panicked protests.

Out of all the summons in Mira’s arsenal, Christina might have boasted the strongest single surprise attack. Her Christina Slash from the other day, despite the silly name, had destructive power even greater than any of Alfina’s strongest blows.

“Take a good look,” Mira said. “It’s weakened right now. All you have to do is give it a little Christina Slash. After that, our friends here will deal with it. It’ll be okay. You can do this.”

“With my power…” Easily flattered, Christina’s eyes gradually filled with fighting spirit. “On my master’s honor!” she declared, putting Mira’s honor on the line for no particular reason as she roused herself.

“There you go. That’s the spirit!” Mira cheered her on. With this, they each had their own offense decided. Now, they just had to finish the prep work. “Now, where is that Solomon right now?”

Solomon hid at the edges of the amphitheater as he advanced. His concealment was perfect enough that Mira couldn’t see him, so she used her Biometric Scan to pinpoint his position.

They were up against a duke, after all. Solomon was clearly moving very carefully. He was two-thirds of the way there. At this rate, he’d make it with time to spare. Mira directed Christina to begin charging her power to the maximum. Even Alfina acknowledged the power of the Christina Slash. But to wield it to the fullest, Christina needed to charge her mana.

But because of how much she’d stand out, she needed to return to the dark, lonely corridor to charge. “Eugh, so gross…”

Five minutes later, she returned fully charged. Not long after that, Solomon reached the planned position. Luminaria, Kagura, and Wallenstein quietly began constructing their own spells as Christina stood nervously next to them.

“Listen well. Unleash your attacks the moment Solomon deploys Shield Phalanx and draws the duke’s attention,” Mira reminded them. She stood among them as she prepared her own magic. She wasn’t about to leave it all to Christina. Though she had almost no spells beyond summoning that would affect a duke, she could at least cull the numbers of the lesser demons behind it.

During the all-out attack, Mira’s role was to throw the lessers into disarray. They could be a handful when they mobbed people, so it was common to divide and conquer when battling against demon nobility.

“Now, I’ll send the signal.” Mira used a magical device to send a message that couldn’t be seen by the demons, communicating to Solomon that they were in position. He sent an affirmative reply.

The strategy was simple. After their first big strike, Wallenstein would deal with the duke, while Kagura would deal with the Oni Princess. Mira, Solomon, Luminaria, and Christina would mop up the lesser demons before joining the other lines of battle.

Solomon’s spirited roar signaled the start of the operation. “We won’t let you get away with this!” He raised his voice from atop a wall on the other side of the demon and jumped down with his shield at the ready, drawing the attention of all the enemies—just as planned.

The instant they all turned toward Solomon, the Wise Men seized their opportunity.

“Let all burn to naught but ash.”

[Sorcery: Scorching Sledgehammer]

“In my hands, I wield the dynast’s spear.”

[Banished Commandment: Evil-Piercing Spear]

“Five Phases, take form in scorching heat.”

[Celestial Arts: Fire—Scarlet Serpent]

The three of them finished the final lines of their casts and activated their spells. For once, they were unleashed with absolute perfect timing.

Christina swung her sword down in harmony with them. “Christina Slaaaash!”

The three spells struck the duke’s back with awe-inspiring force, and the blinding blade burst into particles of light. It was a magnificent blow, equal to the spells accompanying it.

However, their attack did not end there. Mira’s own Waning Windmill shot through the lesser demons, blowing them away.

“Now!” Mira roared as she and the others rushed into the fray—in the midst of the stunned duke, surprised Oni Princess, and down-but-not-out lesser demons.

“Outta my way!” Luminaria burned a group of fallen lesser demons to ash as she passed by. She then turned her attention further away and fired off spells to cull their numbers.

“We’ll be taking that body back!” Kagura made a beeline for the Oni Princess and readied her khakkhara staff. Reclaiming Tyriel’s body was her top priority.

An already weakened target, heavily wounded by their preemptive attack. Wallenstein would be able to suppress the duke alone now. He was hugely relieved. “This seems doable.”

“Know me as Solomon, King of Alcait. I will see my countrymen, the true treasures of my land, returned!” After fending off the entirety of his compatriots’ first attack’s aftermath with Shield Phalanx, Solomon swung his sword, cutting down the lesser demons who surged toward him.

Fighting with his people at his back, Solomon must have looked like the very image of hope. The villagers, who’d been cowering in fear, watched his powerful figure from behind.

“Ooh, it’s His Majesty!”

“King Solomon is here to save us!”

“Oh, thank goodness! We’re going to make it!”

“We’re here now. You’re safe,” Solomon declared. The villagers rejoiced and burst into tears.

I suppose that is one of his kingly duties.

These villagers would be fervent supporters of Solomon for the rest of their lives. By protecting them, he earned their faith. Mira had to admit she was impressed.

“Now, I suppose I should clear the stage for their performance,” she mumbled to herself. Beyond rescuing the villagers, Mira’s role was to clean up the lesser demons so they didn’t interfere in Kagura and Wallenstein’s fights.

“This is fine!” Christina looked cheerful, perhaps because she wouldn’t have to fight the duke face-to-face. She used her sword and shield skillfully to engage multiple lesser demons at once, cutting them down one by one. It wasn’t flashy, but it was efficient.

“They may look strong, but they’re ‘lesser’ for a reason. Split them up, and they’re as good as dead.” Mira summoned Guardian Ash and Garm, as well, in order to throw enemy lines into disarray. Meanwhile, she toppled lesser demons with her fists.

“We’ve finished cleaning up over here. Please come this way,” Luminaria said with an unusually polite tone, perhaps because the villagers were watching, and pointed out an escape route.

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” Leading the villagers, Solomon ran through an area cleared of enemies—there was only ash there now.

“Whoa, it’s Lady Luminaria…”

“She’s gorgeous…”

“I’ve never seen one of the Nine Wise Men up close!”

The villagers exclaimed happily, amazed, as they followed him. At the same time, they whispered to each other about who the people fighting alongside her might be.

After leaving the amphitheater with the group, Solomon advanced a little farther in the tunnels and turned. “It’s dangerous. Wait here.” He set his shield on the ground and light poured from it, creating a defensive barrier all around the villagers. “You’ll be safe.”

Leaving them with those words, he hurried to rejoin the battle. The villagers gazed at him, intoxicated by their sovereign’s presence.

***

Back in the chamber, the duke repelled a wave of blue flames and jumped back. He surveyed the battlefield, his face warped in a grimace. “I wasn’t aware such humans existed!”

Though wounded, the duke was still strong. Even Wallenstein’s exorcist magic wasn’t enough to bring him down immediately. However, the demon knew it was between a rock and a hard place.

“You dare make a fool of me?!” the Oni Princess screamed. 

On the other side, the battle between Kagura and the Oni Princess was proceeding very much in Kagura’s favor. This was no surprise; she knew all the Oni Princess’s strategies from the last time she’d fought one, so an inexperienced princess didn’t stand a chance against her.

However, Kagura was struggling to pin her down. The last one hadn’t run away quite so much. “Give up and let me exorcise you!” she demanded.

After cleaning up most of the lesser demons, Mira and Luminaria focused on the last ten.

“These are annoyingly persistent…”

“They are the greater of the lessers, after all.”

These demons, which had numbered nearly a hundred not long ago, were vastly stronger than the average foe. Even so, they were no match for the Wise Men. The ten remaining were special among them; they’d withstood not one but three attacks. They were among the strongest lesser demons Mira and Luminaria had ever met. However, that was all they were. Mira, Luminaria, and Christina prepared to finish them off.

Realizing that they were at a disadvantage, the duke suddenly shouted, “We have no choice. Oni Princess, use my lackeys!”

What did he mean? What scheme could he devise in this situation? By lackeys, did he mean the ten lesser demons? 

Mira and the others raised their guard. The answers to those questions came quickly.

“I’m loath to use such defiled forms, but very well…” the Oni Princess muttered. Black mist spewed from her, enveloping the remaining lesser demons.

“What is that? Damn, what are they trying to do?!” Luminaria was curious, but she wasn’t about to wait around and find out; she pointed at the lesser demons and began casting.

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” Mira said, then gave new orders to Garm. No matter what the demon was plotting, they couldn’t afford to wait for it to come to fruition.

[Sorcery: Crimson Greatsword]

[Banquet of Fire]

A sword of flames birthed by Luminaria’s sorcery swung down. At the same time, a fireball launched by Garm exploded violently, sending flames flying. The black mist dissipated, and the lesser demons were charred and fell lifelessly to the ground.

“You all really just do things willy-nilly…” Solomon returned from evacuating the villagers and sighed at the sight before him. He pointed out that the black mist probably had a magic-reflecting effect.

Mira gasped in recollection. “Oh, you know, it might have. Though really, I just used Garm.”

“It didn’t work, though, so who cares?” Luminaria shrugged with a smirk.

There was an eerie sound—no, an eerie voice. “Gh… Gaagh…” The party looked over and watched as half of the lesser demons they’d blown away stood back up.

“That still wasn’t enough?” Luminaria clicked her tongue.

Garm’s ultimate move and Luminaria’s sorcerous incantations should have been strong enough to kill even tough lesser demons with ease. As proof of that, half of them were motionless. Yet, despite having sustained fatal damage, some still moved.

“Wait… What did you do?” Kagura demanded of the Oni Princess, who ducked behind the duke with a giddy smile. What had this creature done to the lesser demons?

Her grin turned evil. “Ooh… Ooh, my adorable little children…” She seemed to be talking to herself, but Kagura immediately grasped the meaning of her words.

“Everyone, be careful. The oni have been reborn!” she warned them. The Oni Princess had successfully brought some oni to life, though she used the bodies of lesser demons as vessels instead of the villagers. The five figures before them clearly had a different aura than before. “I see. So humans are optimal vessels, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use something else in a pinch.”

How strong the oni race was, no one knew, but at the very least, they were powerful enough to challenge spiritkind. Solomon observed these five new enemies carefully with a sword in either hand.

The creatures before them still resembled the lesser demons they once were, but their demonic features had now been replaced with oni-like features. Two horns on their heads, fierce visages, and increased stature that increased their height to three meters tall. It was clear at a glance that these resurrected oni possessed power far beyond the lesser demons they had inhabited.

They seemed groggy as they began to look around. When they spotted the lesser demon corpses, the Oni Princess, and the duke-level demon, they whipped around toward Mira’s party and roared. There was no intelligence in their eyes. Yet, perhaps due to the instincts of the lesser demons they subsumed, or because they felt the curse of the Oni Princess, or even because they sensed the power of spirits within the Wise Men, they lunged at the party with murderous rage.

Lesser demon, oni, or otherwise—whatever they were, they still had to be defeated. As the oni charged forward with a speed that defied their large forms, Luminaria fired off spells to intercept them.

“We know what we gotta do!” Her spells struck one after another, the raw impacts blowing the oni backward.

“We do, but our job has just become much more irritating,” Mira complained.

The oni flew back, but soon stood up as if nothing had happened. It seemed they were much more durable than the lesser demons.

“Be careful, now. That black mist around them weakens your magic by a lot.”

Kagura had resumed her game of tag with the Oni Princess. She’d been watching the five oni, so she shared what she knew: Their mist didn’t reflect magic like that of the Oni Princess, but it did seem to have higher resistance to spells and physical attacks. It worked especially well against magic, unfortunately.

Kagura had anticipated a day like today might come, so she’d had Tyriel and the old spirits teach her about oni. Now she could assess the evolving situation.

“Ugh, for real?” Luminaria frowned.

Mira reached up, patted her on the shoulder, and grinned. “Now, now. Leave the rest to us.”

On her command, Garm, Guardian Ash, and Christina charged forward. They each took on one oni in an intense head-to-head battle. In the midst of Garm’s howls, Ash’s roars, and Christina’s complaints of, “Hey, this one’s a little too strong for me!” Mira took out her Alabaster Oni-Slayer staff and leapt into the fray.

If the oni were protected by the black mist, then this weapon ought to be highly effective.

She wove between the three duels and ambushed oni with strikes of the staff. When she did, the black mist faded for a moment. In that instant, Garm and Ash unleashed powerful blows to corner the weakened target.

“Masteeer! Over here! Help me too, please!”

Mira had prioritized helping Garm and Ash, and Christina was stuck dealing with a mist-protected oni. However, the oni had clearly taken damage. Christina was quite the excellent war maiden, even if she was the youngest. Despite her protests, she honestly didn’t seem to need the help.

Mira cheered her on and got back to culling oni with her two furry friends.