CHAPTER 51
The Ex–Demon Lord and the Final Ancient Battle
When soldiers got ready for battle, they were accosted by a whole host of feelings: worry, fear, anger, joy, exhilaration…
However, here, there were two people who felt none of those things.
In the royal capital of Kingsglaive, at the Champion Lydia’s mansion, Ireena and Ginny were sitting on beds in one of the rooms, radiating disappointment.
Amber ornaments were in their hair. They were Lydia’s tokens of thanks for letting her steal away Ard back then. In terms of beauty and craftsmanship, the ancient world was far inferior to the modern one, but they were lovely, and the two time travelers did like them. But there was one thing that bothered them.
“Um, you know, I kinda feel like we’re being left behind,” Ireena lamented, fiddling with the ornament, letting out a small sigh that said she was a touch resentful about how things were developing.
Feeling the same way, Ginny nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Ever since coming here, it has been as if we are completely invisible.”
“…I get it. But that doesn’t mean I wanna accept it.”
Ireena intentionally didn’t say We’re nothing but a burden to Ard.
She wouldn’t say this cold and hard fact—in fact, she couldn’t.
“…I really want to be Ard’s equal. I’ve been working so hard. But I guess this is reality.”
Life doesn’t often go as planned, even when you have natural talent, Ireena’s father used to tell her.
She ruminated on this now more than ever, and she couldn’t help but feel low. On the other hand…Ginny was busy overcoming her dark mood.
“But we can’t give up, right?”
“…Of course not.”
“I see. If you gave up, then my plans for Ard’s harem of ten thousand ladies should progress smoothly!”
“Ten thousand… Since when did you increase it?”
“Is there a problem?”
“…Well, I guess the number doesn’t matter. I’ll never allow a harem either way.” Ireena glared at Ginny, though she looked sullen.
Ginny warded off this intense stare, looking cool as a cucumber as the wings on top of her head twitched.
“Haah… You’re calm about all this. I thought you’d be the most worried about being left behind.”
“…It would be a lie to say that I’m not. However…” Running her fingers over the ornament in her peach hair, Ginny squinted as if remembering the past. “We promised Lady Lydia. Just race forward without thinking about anything too seriously. That’s why I’m done with being depressed. If we have time for that…we should run where we want to go. It’s more constructive, don’t you think?”
“…You’re right. That’s exactly it.”
Ginny smiled, her doubts clearing as Ireena gave one in return.
“Well, let’s get racing! Let’s do the best we can until Ard gets back!” She suddenly wanted to be as active as possible. As if thinking the same thing, Ginny agreed with Ireena’s proposal. The two would head to the courtyard to hone their magic, but just as they were about to get up…
“Pardon me.”
A girl barreled into the room without knocking. It was Lydia’s subordinate and the former slave charged with Ard’s care…Latima.
As the tan girl with white hair stared at them with a mechanical expression…
“I have important news,” she said austerely—
The western Aralia Plains. In that corner was a wide region of hills with a slight yet noticeable shift in elevation…
It was the main stage for the current battle.
Marching in the ancient world was unbelievably fast compared with modern times. They had left in the early morning, and it hadn’t even taken them half a day before they arrived. The time was just past noon…but there was no hint of a brilliant, blue sky. One reason for that was because it was a cloudy day. However, the primary one was…the group of Wyverns soaring in the sky.
Whatever his methods, the Demon Lord had subdued a stream of monsters and amassed his army. The number of Wyverns capable of aerial warfare was already too many to process.
Obviously, as they covered the sky with their bodies, they weren’t just announcing their presence. Lording over the battle progressing below, they unleashed balls of fire. It was an air raid of Wyverns.
If any modern people were to witness it, they’d surely think it was the end of the world. However…for ancient soldiers, it wasn’t anything to get too worked up over.
Why would that be?
It was because Lizer Bellphoenix was among them.
He was both one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a veteran general known as the Invincible Defense. Especially skilled in both defense magic and revival magic, he and his forces were currently acting as safeguards.
They were on top of a slightly elevated hill in the back of the battlefield. As they looked down on its progression, Lizer and his army were at work as always, casting remote defense magic.
As fireballs rained down, Lizer continued to protect each soldier with his defensive magic, rending the Wyverns entirely powerless. Their accuracy and focus were fearsome, and their limitless magic was even more terrible. There were around ten thousand soldiers in Lizer’s army and over eighty thousand soldiers fighting on the battlefield. Modern people could never imagine continuously defending and healing over eight times your own number—with impeccable timing and over long distances.
They were of myth—in every sense of the word.
“…There’s a sight worth seeing,” Lizer said in his deep voice as he performed his duties. Those shrewd, glinting eyes had caught sight of…an iron giant coming to help reap the fruits of war.
It was huge. It was heroic. It was—unbelievably strong. It was so large that you had to crane your neck to take it all in, and it was almost too much to handle. And one more thing: It was cool as shit.
It was all the wild fantasies of a young child and more. It was a mystical masterpiece and magical weapon created by the walking natural disaster, the genius magical scholar Verda.
Its name was Golem.
Its silhouette—big, fat, rough—was capable of handling a force of ten thousand horsemen. Every part of it was a lethal weapon, and it kicked aside hordes of monsters simply by moving. The group of Lizardmen racing across the earth was nothing to it. It struck the enormous dragons that came to face it with a deadly and destructive beam of light. It was a super soldier that flaunted its tremendous power as it conspicuously stood out in the middle of the battlefield.
And there inside the cockpit…
“GEH-HEH-HEH-HEH! I AM A GOOOOD!” shrieked Verda Al-Hazard.
With the new devices recently put in place, she could see every corner of the battlefield from the driver’s seat in 360 degrees. It was fully equipped with heating and an air conditioner, a variety of snacks, a massage chair, and anything else you could possibly ask for. However, with these comforts and incredible efficiencies, the magical input required of its passenger was a major hurdle… At present, the only one who could fully control the Golem was Verda.
“GO GET ’EM! EXPLODING PUUUNCH! NOW FOR THE FINAL BLOW! BRAINSTORM HURRICANE!”
She killed the hordes of enemy monsters like a child at play. Just as it looked like no one could tell how far the iron giant would go…
“BEEP! BEEP! HIT BY ENEMY FIRE! HIT BY ENEMY FIRE!” A warning alarm echoed through the cockpit.
…This magical soldier had a few faults. Its large size gave it limited mobility and…made it difficult to deal with small, fast enemies.
“Ummm… Shoot! A pack of Gold Werewolves, huh? I hate dealing with those things.” Verda wasn’t particularly flustered as she looked at the enemies darting about around her.
Gold Werewolves. It was a general term for the flaxen variety of Wolf People. Even their nails were made of sturdy iron and steel that could cut through you like butter. They were currently darting about the giant frame with a lordly air and mangling the armor plating. Verda was still not especially fazed by this. It was indeed sturdy, but…
The truth was that she was on the battlefield. This was the biggest factor.
“You should fight speed with speed, after all. In that case…I’m counting on you.” Verda gave a small smile.
The very next moment, the beasts running in circles around the giant all met their end as they were torn apart.
What could have possibly happened? Naturally, any modern person wouldn’t have a clue, but even among ancients, there were few who could give an answer.
But for a Heavenly King, this was a common occurrence not worth much concern.
“Welp, no surprise there,” Verda murmured at the sight before her…a group darting to the next location, having finished their job.
“Awesome as always, Olivia!” Verda cheered.
That group let off a somewhat odd aura. It was dark—a total and complete blackness that left room for nothing else. They were dressed for the highest amount of maneuverability in attire that seemed fortified by darkness itself, and their mouths were hidden by jet-black cloths. The name of this extensively shadowy group was…the Demon Slayers.
The group’s members were almost entirely Beast People who were taught by its leader. They raced by like a dark wind, cutting down passing monsters with incredible speed. At the head was one of the Four Heavenly Kings: the Greatest Demon Slayer, Olivia vel Vine.
She was dressed the same as everyone else, but the intimidating energy coming off her entire body was unlike any other. She carried the Demon Blade Elminage. The name was a very ancient one that meant to cut down. The length of its blade easily surpassed her own height, but it was so thin that it seemed it would snap upon striking anything with any decent amount of force. It was a specialized weapon representative of Olivia herself. Forged by her “little brother,” Varvatos, the Demon Blade could slice the whole of creation in two. Add in Olivia’s swordplay and unique skills as one of the Beast People, which allowed her to increase her mobility without consuming her magic, and she transformed into a chaotic and divine energy.
“…Cherry Blossom Formation,” she ordered, quietly and subdued, and the group quickly moved out.
They scattered in all directions at once and cut down the monsters like a ripple. Once they reached a certain range, they returned to the side of their leader, Olivia, and resumed darting about. Their teamwork and coordination were the best in the entire army. The way they all united to take down prey was just like a pack of wolves.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Gooo!” There was a certain someone who was the exact opposite of Olivia’s forces.
With a big smile, this person launched attack magic right next to them. A thick, purple flash shot straight through and turned scores of monsters to ashes.
“Bah-ha-ha! You’re gonna be on the losing end of this next bet!”
“Aww, shit! I almost had it!”
Playful, childish laughter seemed out of place on this hellish battlefield. Look toward it, and you’d find—
“Guess there’s no helping it! Time for my punishment!”
One soldier left the rest of their companions and dove alone into a horde of monsters.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Nice, it’s the human explosion!” Shrieking loudly, the soldier exploded from the inside out with magic.
An intense heat spread and enveloped a stream of monsters. At this, the self-detonating soldier’s friends held their stomachs in laughter.
“…I suppose this is what they mean by birds of a feather flock together. Damn lunatics.”
How does a battlefield come about?
Some will say it’s because of tragedy. Some will say it’s because of fear and agony.
In either case, there was no doubt most of the words that come to mind are negative.
But they didn’t see battle with such a pessimistic outlook.
For Alvarto Egzex and his forces, the battlefield and war were…the greatest playgrounds one could ask for.
“All righty, next is the decapitation game!”
“What? No way, I’m up against you? You’re totally gonna win.”
Amid the angry bellows, sounds of destruction, and miserable scene around them, they were the only ones smiling and laughing.
No battle formation. No strategy. No cooperation.
The goal…was just to have fun.
Once again, Alvarto’s soldiers scattered as they pleased, fought as they pleased, and…died as they pleased.
As everyone howled with raucous laughter, Alvarto Egzex continued watching them from midair.
“Ah, my brethren. I’m pleased you are enjoying yourselves. However… I cannot help but feel a pang of jealousy. I did not think I could be so bored.”
Even he’d only recently gone all out. This action far outrivaled a force of ten thousand. But…at a certain point, he’d immediately halted his movements and flew into midair as if abandoning the fight. There was only one reason for this.
He’d had enough. He was sick and tired of fighting monsters.
“As I thought, the likes of beasts and monsters do not excite me. Battling is the ultimate form of communication; it requires love from both sides. But these monstrous foes are incapable of it… Ah, I guess this makes it masturbatory.” Lamenting in a dramatic tone, he looked up at the sky of Wyverns and screamed:
“But one of the creeds that I live by is to make the uninteresting interesting! Which is why I will take this terribly boring turn of events and transform it into something amusing!”
His androgynous face broke into a mad smile, and he spread his arms wide.
“We Who Are Born in Confusion.
“Live in Resentment.
“And at Last Embrace Nothingness.”
Geometric patterns flashed off and on—and each time, it brought one chant closer to completion.
“Our Life Has No Meaning.
“If Pure Idleness Is to Be Our End,
“Then I at Least…”
As soon as the incantation got to this point…all on the battlefield, human and monster alike, looked up at the sky.
In that moment, their militance dissipated, and a strange sense of unity spread across friend and foe. Everyone’s intent became one.
Someone has to stop that monster.
If he wasn’t thwarted immediately, something awful was bound to happen.
However, the most powerful, most insane soldier, Alvarto, took no notice of their sense of impending doom and continued—
“Hell’s Gate, Open.”
From the distance, someone had cut off his incantation, and in the next instant, Alvarto was cornered from all sides by black spots.
“Heh-heh-heh! Now that’s not half bad!” His crazed laugh deepened as he stopped his chant, bounding away from the place.
Seconds later, the black spots formed a powerful suction, vacuuming up the Wyverns flying through the sky. If he had been a second late in making his escape, Alvarto would have suffered the same fate.
“Heh-heh-heh…! Your love language is just so extreme, Master,” Alvarto murmured lovingly, eyes darting around before they finally came to rest, gazing into the distance.
“…Tch. He dodged it.”
In the back, far from the battlefield, Varvatos clicked his tongue as he sat on a simple chair in the middle of their main camp. Anger soured his face, and it was obvious he was in a bad mood.
There was only one reason for that: one idiot, pervert, and madman. Alvarto had just tried to play a dangerous hand without any consideration for the consequences.
“That damn clown. I knew he would go berserk. This is why I hate bringing him to battle…! Ugh, I can’t take it. My stomach is seriously starting to hurt…!”
Between his languid brow formed a deep crease, and his leg continued to bounce. But Varvatos’s beauty made even that look picturesque.
One of the king’s close aides, Rivelg, the knight of roses, smiled wryly.
“Your Majesty, if we did not have Lord Alvarto’s troops, it would be difficult to maintain the war front.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Judging by strength alone, they’re the best in our arsenal… Damn. Why did the heavens bless perverts with great power…?” He heaved out a sigh. “Rivelg, how’s the battle looking?”
“Right. We’re currently struggling.”
“In other words, we’re playing out our worst-case scenario.”
No answer came. That was all he needed.
“The number of monsters itself isn’t the issue. The problem is…that their stream of beasts doesn’t seem to ever end. Could they actually have an infinite army?”
New monsters cropped back up to replace their fallen companions. Varvatos couldn’t figure out for the life of him if it was some sort of spell.
“I know I said this would be over within the day, but I worry about that.”
“…It would be nice if the castle had some sort of secret door,” his attendant noted.
Varvatos smiled in a dark way. “Even if there was, we wouldn’t be able to find it. It is a secret, after all.”
In any case, the situation wasn’t looking good. If this continued on forever, they would never get any closer to the enemy castle. If there was anyone who could bust through them, it would be a certain someone…
“TAKE THAAAAAAT!”
Just as the silhouette of a certain woman flashed across his mind’s eye, the person he’d been thinking of belted out a war cry that echoed far across from the distant battlefield.
“H-her voice is as loud as ever,” Varvatos’s attendant commented.
“…Hmph,” Varvatos snorted, resting his chin on his hand, looking absolutely annoyed.
But that wasn’t the case on the inside.
I’m counting on you, Lydia, the handsome king thought, thinking about his friend’s bravery and gallant stance as he smiled to himself.
The troops led by the Champion Lydia looked disorganized at first glance. They had no discipline or order and moved around like complete amateurs. However, that was all due to the advanced tactics of the genius strategist, the Great Sage Champion.
The central raid team—consisting of Captain Lydia and Vice-Captain Sylphy—put on a furious display. A single swing of Lydia’s Holy Sword Vald-Galgulus cut untold enemies in two. Undaunted, Sylphy used both magic and swordplay to mow down one enemy after another.
In the midst of these efforts, Sylphy shouted sulkily, “Agh, enough! I’m exhausted! It’d at least be a little easier if he was here!”
This unspecified “he” was not with them—the boy known as Ard Meteor.
…It wasn’t as if the Sylphy of this era had spent much time with him. And unlike her modern self, she didn’t have any special feelings for him, either. Even then, Sylphy recognized his power. However, that was why she was upset he wasn’t around.
“I can’t believe! He would! Run off midmarch! Oh, don’t tell me! He lost his nerve!” she shouted between swings.
She’d wanted to fight alongside him and compete for the spoils of war. His whole disappearance made her irrationally irritated somehow.
Lydia flashed her a wry smile. “Well, I’m sure he had something to do… More importantly…” A shrewd look crossed her face. “…Don’t go doing anything weird,” she muttered cryptically, in a way that only she could understand. She looked to the east and once again spoke incomprehensibly.
“I knew it would come to this.”
On the western side of the Aralia Plains, the Ruined Earth. The name described the land’s condition and peculiar characteristics, of course, but it was also rooted in history.
Long ago, in a time before time, the region had served as the stage of a momentous battle.
On one side of the fight was the enigmatic existence that controlled the world, the Old Gods.
They were up against the deeply mysterious beings from beyond: those who were transcendental, the Outer Ones.
The clash between the two mighty powers impacted the land under them. There was no explanation on what had caused this phenomenon, but a weak curse continued to drift through the area. Any ordinary creature who stepped inside perished.
For someone like me, who had high magical resistance, it wasn’t anything special, but…the Ruined Earth seemed to reject every living thing—as if it had a grudge against the world. Therefore, the only sight to be seen here was destruction.
In other words…it was a forlorn wasteland that stretched out into the horizon.
And here in this image of true bleakness…I reunited with my other self: Disaster Rogue.
He was covered entirely by his usual dark armor, and I couldn’t read his expression. Maybe he was thinking of the battle going on far away and feeling uneasy. Or maybe he was going over a scheme in his mind and laughing to himself.
At any rate, we both had one thing to do.
“…Do you have an answer for me?” His voice made my guts rumble.
I took a deep breath. “I—”
I started to say the answer he had been waiting days for, the conclusion I had come to.
I spoke it clearly into the world.
“I’m not going to save Lydia.”
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