The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 6 - Chapter 72

CHAPTER 72

The Ex–Demon Lord, Interrupted

Five major powers ruled this continent.

The Laville Empire of Sorcery, our home.

The Republic of Goldenia, dwelling of dwarves.

The Federal States of Saphiria, melting pot of many species.

The Vyheim Empire, a place where elves enjoyed special rights.

And…the Asylas Federation, state of savages.

These five powers had played a large part in the mess in Megatholium that had roped in me and Ireena. To fight back against Lars al Ghoul, a demon-run crime organization that was growing stronger by the day, Megatholium had been trying to mediate and bring the nations together by gathering their leaders…but the five-way alliance fell apart.

Everything had been orchestrated by Lizer Bellphoenix, the leader of Megatholium and head of the world’s biggest religion, the United Creed. As it turned out, this scheme—formulated by the greatest officer in my old army and one of the Four Heavenly Kings—was a perfect opportunity for some self-reflection. The problem was, it also made Laville the most despised nation on the continent.

Things seemed to calm down when Olivia threw herself directly in the line of fire, so I figured we were safe from a major shake-up. Apparently, however, I hadn’t taken the madness of Asylas’s King Dread seriously enough.

“Raising an army at a time like this? What could they be thinking?” I wondered aloud, frowning in the doorway.

“…I agree. It seems like tyranny to me.” Kalmia must have had some thoughts about this, as a hint of disgust had surfaced on her masklike face.

Ireena seemed to feel that same way. “How could they deploy their troops now…?! If things go south, we’ll end up with a five-way war on our hands…!”

Laville and Anti-Laville forces were staring each other down. The situation was like a balloon about to burst at any moment. The one thing holding it all together was political motive. As it stood now, Saphiria was the only nation that supported us. That automatically put Goldenia, who were anti-Laville in name only, in a tough position. After all, the two nations had a close trading relationship, but it was more like a master-servant kind of deal.

No other nation had any need for exports from the Republic of Goldenia. The Federal States of Saphiria, on the other hand, had a booming industry centered on food, and their water was in high demand year-round. Meanwhile, Goldenia was dotted with deserts, and their water supply was constantly low. For Goldenia, water from Saphiria was more crucial than life itself. No other country had water resources that afforded them enough of it to export.

If some nation picked a fight with Laville, Saphiria would naturally join the Empire in a united front. I could see Saphiria threatening Goldenia to team up with us, leveraging their water resources, but who could say what Goldenia would do in response? Either way…there was no question that political egos and obligations would intensify the madness once the battle began.

That was why those against Laville had, thus far, done no more than weakly protest. The Asylas Federation, however, apparently had trouble picking up on that vibe, and had decided to wage war. I imagined the other leaders of the Five Powers were losing their damn minds.

“…And what would Her Majesty have us do?”

“First, you will go to the territories ruled by the Salvans and the Spencers. Then—”

“—We’ll go save Ginny and the others!” Ireena said.

Kalmia nodded.

The Salvans were Ginny’s family. The Spencers were Elrado’s. The two houses had maintained a master-servant relationship for generations and had protected their swath of land since the founding of Laville. The town under attack was positioned along the border, and I’d heard it was awash in a sea of blood.

I imagined Ginny and Elrado, as the eldest of their noble families, would be preparing to head into battle themselves, even though they weren’t adults yet. In times of crisis, it wasn’t unheard of for such offspring to be entrusted with the entire army.

“Ginny will be perfectly fine. It’s Elrado we should be concerned about.”

When we’d traveled to the past at the hands of a mysterious young man, I had created and armed Ireena and Ginny with magic equipment. Since they could summon these protections at will, there was no danger of the enemy seizing them. As long as nothing crazy happened and her armor and weapons remained in good condition, I imagined Ginny would be just fine.

Elrado, on the other hand, was a wild card.

“…Though we had our differences when we started school at the Academy,” I said, “I believe we’re almost friends. I refuse to let him die.”

Elrado was among my classmates who came rushing to my aid during the incident in Megatholium. I didn’t want him to die.

“I understand the mission. We’ll make haste to our destination. I apologize for the trouble, Kalmia, but I ask that you fill in our parents.”

“Understood.”

There was no time to inform them. In fact, we would forgo standard modes of transportation…like carriages.

“We have to teleport. Are you ready, Ireena?”

“You betcha!” She nodded in my direction.

I prepared the spell that would bring us to our destination. It only worked on places that a caster previously visited, but I’d been all over the country since entering the Academy, since I was always finding myself in some trouble. I’d even visited this border town on a prior occasion.

Obviously, we would be able to teleport there. There was no way the spell wouldn’t work.

After I cast the magic and our consciousness became hazy…Ireena and I opened our eyes in an unfamiliar place.

“Umm… Do you think the enemy’s assault turned the town into a forest?” Ireena asked, glancing around and blinking in confusion.

A forest. We were standing in the middle of overgrown foliage.

“…No, Ireena. We’re most certainly in a forest. It was never a town.”

“Oh, b-but that means…”

“Yes. The teleportation spell has failed, it would seem.”

“N-no way! B-but you never mess up!” Ireena looked at me in disbelief.

I shook my head. “I made no such mistake. We’ve fallen right into the enemy’s hands.”

“The enemy’s hands?”

“Yes. They must have anticipated we would teleport and tampered with the spell so we would be sent to this forest.”

An obstruction of sorts. Such techniques were popular back in the olden days when teleportation magic was used for just about everything…but very few people in the modern era could pull it off. I imagined it had to be the scheme of that man.

“Ireena. Do not let your guard down,” I warned. “I imagine this is a plot far beyond anything we could have expected. Nothing is off limits from here on out. Think of it as uncharted territory. Remain alert.”

“R-right,” Ireena replied, nodding.

I returned an affirmative nod of my own. “For now, we must do something about whatever is hindering us from saving Ginny and Elrado.” I looked around at the trees. It was night, so I could hardly see anything, though I could hear birds, bugs, and beasts.

It didn’t take long for me to detect a trace of the enemy’s spell around us.

“…As I thought. The ones getting in our way aren’t some nobodies.”

It was more than just a simple magic circle constructed in a forest. The plant and animal life had been incorporated into the spell. I only knew one person who could pull off something so complex.

The former Heavenly King, Lizer Bellphoenix. I could tell that the man behind recent incidents had planned this, too. His motives were unclear, but we could only do one thing.

“Let’s search the forest. The spell spreads across this entire area. I can work on nullifying it once I can properly analyze it.”

I fashioned a light source using a go-to spell for dark locations, Search Light. Luminous orbs popped into existence and showed us what we were working with.

“Visibility is often poor in the forest at night. Watch not only your step, but your surroundings, too.”

“Uh-huh. Or else we might trip and get all muddy.”

We were born villagers, which meant this was like our home turf, and we made speedy progress. Our feet were too nimble to get caught in the underbrush, and neither of us were bitten by any poisonous snakes. We walked through the forest like it was our own backyard.

And then, we found ourselves in the middle of a cliche.

Trap magic.

A confusing host of them were set up in the forest, preventing me from analyzing exactly how their interference worked. However…

“Ireena, do not step over there. Or you might be drowned out by a boom that’s all too familiar.”

“Got it. Sylphy is the only source of explosions I need.”

I spotted yet another ingeniously placed trap. “Whatever you do, don’t touch that tree.”

“What would happen if I did?”

“Your head will be blown to smithereens.”

“E-ew. How crude.”

We managed to see through and avoid each ruse. It was apparent our enemy was determined to hold us back, but that just wasn’t going to happen. I had finished analyzing almost everything. In mere minutes, I’d be able to nullify the spell.

As if waiting for this opportunity, the space around us suddenly shifted. Something in me tingled, and I instinctively cast a defensive spell. A three-layered Mega Wall. A semitransparent orb covered the two of us.

Lightning came whizzing at us from all directions. A cluster of purple flashes traveling at the speed of light tore toward us as thunder clapped. The bolts split like veins on a leaf, collided with my magic barrier, and faded into nothingness. However…

One of the three layers making up my Mega Wall were destroyed.

“Ah. Not bad at all,” I said with quiet admiration. Ireena remained silent, her face tense.

We looked at the one behind this attack. A figure in a black hood stood by a conspicuously large tree. He was a stranger, but I knew what he was.

“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”

No answer.

Instead, we got an intense glare, radiating murder.

“…Ard Meteor. And you, Ireena Litz de Olhyde. I swear on my life that I will nail you down where you stand.”

Looking into those eyes that seemed so full of homicidal confidence, I flashed a calm smile and spoke to him, just as I had when I was the Demon Lord.

“I’ll break that spirit of yours. And then be on my way.”