Sousetsuka

Chapter 333 Strongest Sage, Raises Vigilance

 

"...She's as big as ever."

Iris's dragon form looks quite awe-inspiring from this distance.
It's still Iris on the inside regardless of her form though.

"A... A dragon outside town!"

"Wha? It's really... A dragon..."

"Any experienced adventurer here?! ...You're a rank B, aren't you? Do something about that!"

"Are you crazy?! Like hell anyone could beat that! ...let's hurry up and run!"

The sight of Iris caused a stir inside the town.
There are even people who fainted while frothing on their mouth due to excessive fear.

Dragons are feared as unstoppable calamities in this present era.
Though dragons themselves are barely around anymore... Their gigantic size and overwhelming powers are truly a symbol of fear.

And the townspeople are correct for fearing Iris.
After all, she's quite a high ranking darkness dragons amongst her dragon peers.
Were Iris shot her [Dragon Breath], this town would have vanished without a trace with Zadokilgias as the sole survivor.

"Oy, you there! You better run too!"

"It's a dragon! A giant dragon unlike anything showed up! Everyone, run!"

"Over here! Hurry! Adventurers, help carry children the elderly!"

Just as planned, they've promptly starting evacuation.
I'm a bit worried if the elderly and children would get away in time... But the guild and adventurers seem to be lending their hands.

This town's populace appears to have a strong bond between them.
Judging from Mana Reactions... I don't see anyone lagging behind.

While I was thinking that... Iris shouted out loud in dragon language.

『Oooh! My body feels so light! Mathia's treatment really works a miracle!』

I see that she's delighted at the state of her body.
Iris's body--especially her wings and magic circuits were all tattered after she got rolled up in Magic Fusion Reactor's meltdowns.
I had been treating her damaged magic circuits during our journey together all this time... Glad to see it's working.

『I can shoot [Dragon's Breath] just fine now! Thank you so much!』

Iris said her thanks to me even though we're on the eve of a battle.
Her voice--caused a panic in the town.

"T...the dragon's mad!"
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"What's a dragon doing here!"

"HIIIIIIIIIII! I-it's all over!"

Apparently Iris's jolly voice sounded like enraged roars to the townspeople.
They rushed out of town in a fluster.
Half of the town on Iris's side has been completely deserted already.

I talk to Alma and Ruli while watching that.

"You two, go wait at the planned spot... We're going with that plan we discussed on our way here."

"Yes!"

"Gotcha!　...Man, it's a huge responsibility!"

Afterward, Ruli and Alma ran out of town.
After confirming that, I headed to the guild.

(Figured.)

I murmured in my mind when I saw Zadokilgias.

Zadokilgias is walking slowly among the fleeing adventurers slightly behind other evacuees.
Its movement is unlike the townspeople who's seized with fear.
It's full of calculations and alertness of its surroundings.

This evacuation isn't necessary to Zadokilgias.
Even a [Dragon Breath] doesn't warrant that much vigilance since it's easily dodgeable so long you pay attention.
Iris by herself is no menace to this demon.

Zadokilgias is on the lookout for possible demon suppression units lurking among the populace.
Zadokilgias would easily perceive people trying to besiege it when it was staying still in the guild.... But that's not the case at the congestion of people trying to get out of town's entrance.

Encircling Zadokilgias in a crowd is a simple matter.
In previous era, a suppression unit that excelled in stealth were capable of disguising themselves as common populace beyond recognition.
If Zadokilgias focused only in pretending to escape and mixed itself in the crowd of evacuees, such a suppression unit would easily encircle it.

To Zadokilgias who boasts an overwhelming advantage in skill set yet falls behind in pure power, getting besieged is a huge disadvantage.
It would surely try to avoid getting driven into a situation where it gets squashed in a barrage of brute force where skill means nothing.
In reality, that kind of suppression unit doesn't exist in this current era... But Zadokilgias isn't aware of that right now.

And yet, not taking shelter here would mean disclosing itself to the suppression unit, rendering its human disguise pointless.
As such Zadokilgias purposely lag slightly behind the other evacuees to avoid congestion.
Yup, it's all going as planned.






Previous Chapter

17-46. Satou Dies

 

Satou here. In ghost or reincarnation stories, you tend to see scenes where the protagonists watch their own funerals. In older works, those scenes usually take place in the protagonists' homes, while newer works feature mortuaries, a sign of changing periods. Not like I want to experience something like that regardless of settings though.



◇



Innumerable lights disperse.

A sense of helplessness like I'm in a zero gravity assaults my body.

I can't collect my thoughts.

What was I doing?
What has become of me?

A golden light and a purple light flashed in the corner of my vision.

Someones are fighting.
Someones important to me.

That's--.

"Arisa-chan, I've taken care of the greater demon!"
"Got it! Mia, release the next demon!"
"Nn, Avenger."

Arisa's space magic [Dimension Labyrinth] and Mia's artificial spirits are holding demons down so they won't have to fight more than one at a time.

"Revenge brings nothing so I persuade."

Receiving Nana's Provocation-invoked shout, a knight-type demon, Avenger, lunged toward Nana's deployed barrier.

"Shadow Stitch no jutsu~?"

The shadow below Avenger stretched out and bound its legs, stopping it.

"Now's the time for finishing move, charge, Vorpal Strike Luxion nanodesu!"

Pochi clad in a golden colored light charged at Avenger.
If I remember right, that's the new official name Arisa indoctrinated Pochi who couldn't say 'Extra Mode Excellion' correctly, Arisa was like 'Yep yep, the new mode's called Luxion.'

Avenger blocked Pochi's charge with its jet black shield.

"Tail burst nanodesu!"

Pochi shot out unfocused Magic Edge Cannon from her tail to forcefully accelerate herself, piercing through the shield.
However, Avenger tilted its head to dodge her attack by a hair's breadth.

"Nin nin~? Tama's a precocious headhunter~?"

Tama appeared out of nowhere and swiftly cut off Avenger's defenseless neck.
Even Avenger couldn't react fast enough to a ninja that showed up of nowhere inside its barrier.

Avenger swung its sword at Tama even without its head.
Quite tenacious.

"Aim--shoot!"

Lulu's bullet flicked that sword away in the nick of time.

"Sankyu~?"

Flutter~ Tama escaped into Avenger's blind spot.
Avenger is still chasing after Tama.

Nana undid her defensive posture, and rushed toward Avenger with a boost from her powered exoskeleton's thrusters.

"Overlap, Blast Armor!"

Nana invoked her finisher successively, blasting away Avenger's barriers one after another.

"All defensive barriers destroyed, so I report."
"OK!"

Multiple utility pole-sized transparent spears rained down upon Avenger.

"I've sewed it down!"
"Affirmative!"

After confirming Hikaru's report, Liza activated her golden armor's acceleration circle, launching herself from catapult mid-air.

"--<<Dragonic Penetrator Hexa>>"

Liza's finishing move drilled open six holes on Avenger's body, blue lights overflowed out of those holes, tearing open Avenger from the inside before dispersing it into black mist.

Nicely done.

They managed to defeat an opponent stronger than an average demon lord without a hitch.
Looks like all the girls including Arisa and Hikaru have broken through level 100. Wonder if there's no level limit in Netherworld, or it's just easier to level up here?

Every one of them has gotten so much more stronger than when I first met them.

I can leave my back to them worry-free.

--Oh?

I could see black stagnation-like thing on the aura covering these girls, or am I just imagining things?

That's not a good thing.

I don't know why, yet I'm convinced of that fact.

I stretch out my who-knows-where hands toward the girls and get rid of those black stagnations.

Done, they should be fine now.

As I watched over them, Arisa seemed to be surprised at something.

Did something happen?

Perhaps, Zena-san and the girls at the space ship are having trouble?


<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
◇



Light streamed, my view moved above the hanging garden where our large spaceship parked.

Countless demons are encircling the space ship.
Most are lesser and middle demons, but a few greater ones are also mixed among them.

"KARINA KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"

Karina in her heavy exosuit unleashed her finishing move at a greater demon while exterminating all the lesser demons that were in her way.

Unlike the ordinary exoskeleton, this one looks like a robot outwardly as you can't see the person wearing inside.
Losing to Arisa's and Hikaru's plea and getting carried away during their construction might have been a mistake.

"Karina-sama! Don't get too far ahead!"

Zena-san wearing the same heavy exosuit as lady Karina's exterminated a middle demon that was creeping in behind lady Karina.
I saw a cannon-type demon trying to snipe Zena-san from her blind spot.

Zena-san, watch out--.

Either my murmur reached her, or her sixth sense was at work, Zena-san made a sudden turn to dodge the cannon.

Oh good.
Gotta pay attention to your surroundings with these many enemies.

"Set the ship's defense at maximum output, intercept enemies coming from the sky with anti-aircraft guns."
"Defensive output is already at max. Deploying wand ship to buff up with sacred magic. Core two, please raise generator's output."
"No no can do! The generator won't hold up if we do that!"
"We'll think about that once we overcome this. Our top priority is to secure a place for Satou-sama and the others to come back at."

Princess Sistina, Sera and Core Two seem to be stressed out.

It's okay.

I've made it so the generator won't break easily.

Since Core Two isn't as experienced as Nana on this, I'll do it for her and raise the output temporarily. It might cost a bit of the generator's life span, but all is fine so long it's enough to get us out of Netherworld.

"Huh? The output's stabilized. Your side is getting power, Sera. We can afford anti-aircraft bombardment now. Will auto-tracking do?"
"Yes, Core Two, please focus on commanding ship repair golems. Turn over damages beyond self-repair functions to my golem units."

A golem army under princess Sistina's control are hard at work warding off lesser demons closing in above ground.

"Third golem unit, switch to close quarter defense. Fourth unit, continue to support Zena."
"... ■■■■ Sacred Dome."

Sera's magic passed over the space ship along with the light from her Unique Skill.
Looks like Sera's sacred magic is their final defensive line.

"Tina, done repairing the main ship. Only void sky circuits left."
"Thank you, Core Two. Sera, is the Miasma Barrier holding up fine?"
"It's consuming more power than predicted, but it should last us three hours more."

That's shorter than anticipated.

I turn my sight at the generator maintaining Miasma Barrier.
An improvement plan unknown to me during the generator's initial construction emerged in my mind somehow.

I'll fix it up real quick.

My fingers tempered with the circuits here and there.
The adjustment was a cinch since I could see mana flow and miasma law better than ever.

"Tina-sama! Miasma Barrier's generation circuits have regained power. We should be fine for eight hours more with this."

Yup, that's good news.

Everyone, give it your all.

My mind went blank due to the relief.
It kinds of feel like I'm watching a dream.

I saw Aze-san worrying about me and her guards, Shiro and Crow trying to cheer her up.
In the same view, I saw Sage Mouse Chuu Fat and his subjects, Raven Riders of Underground Empire patrolling Shiga Kingdom's skies.
Godbird Hisui is noisily singing 'pipiru piru piru', seemingly bothered about something.
You're making the little princess Doris anxious, pipe down a bit.
Hard working Echigoya Firm's personnels, Muno Marquisdom's people, Labyrinth City's populace, lady Ringrande and her entourage, I saw many people in various locations.

It's as if my consciousness has been dissolved over the entire world.



◇



--Master!

My vision suddenly refocused in a spot above Demon God's Castle hallway.

--Master!

Looks like I was drawn by Arisa who was calling for me.

Arisa and the girls are advancing ahead in a fluster.
A reckless march without a hint of their safe tactics earlier.

"OUTTA MY WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Dark purple light pulsed over Arisa's body, a dazzling white flame burned demons down.

"Arisa, advising to hold back the usage of Unique Skill!"
"Forget about me, it's Master! Hurry! I've gotta hurry to him!"
"That's not good, Arisa. Master wouldn't wish you acting recklessly like this, Arisa."

Yup, listen to Nana and Liza.

Look, you're turning into a demon lord already.
I brush Arisa's hair, and gently restores her [Soul's Vessel] which was on the verge of breaking.

It should be fine now, but considering Arisa's state, it's probably gonna break again soon.
Guess I'll make it a bit sturdier?

I tore off a piece of me and used it to reinforce Arisa's soul.
Yup, it should be fine now.

"More coming~?"
"Mwu, swarm."

A huge army of demons surged in ahead of the girls.

"Stop flocking out en masse like roaches youuu!"
"Arisa-chan, there's demon lords among those."
"Pochi's seen that broken horned Avenger person before too nodesu!"

Demon lords and knight Avenger they just defeated earlier were among the crowd of demons.

『As long as Demon God-sama wills it, we are indestructible』

A demon lord bragged.

--Indestructible.

That word echoed in my head.



◇



"Ooh, Satou. Just what happened, how could you die."

An altar-like location shining rainbow colored lights was reflected in my hazy vision.
The mysterious little girl in the painting is mimicking a shinto priest.

I know who she is now.

"Are you still sleepy?"
"No, I'm fine."

I straighten myself up.

"You're--."

I stare at the mysterious little girl.

"--Ama-no-Mizuhana-hime"

The patron god enshrined at Hikaru's family shrine--.

"Dragon God Akon Kagura who summoned me to this world, aren't you?"

The mysterious little girl stared at me from top to bottom before saying, "Correct."

"When did you find out?"
"I had my suspicion since quite a while ago, but that only turned into conviction just now."

That phrase was her most favorite within my memories of us playing games together.

"Where are we?"
"We're in an interstice between life and death."
"You mean, I'm going to come back to life?"

At my question, the mysterious little girl--Kagura nodded.

"Since you're a beginner at dying, Ichirou, your souls had gotten scattered all over the place. Those needed to be collected and recomposed here."

Souls got scattered all over the place?

--One worth of soul is not enough, you've gotta unite a great number of them.

That word suddenly crossed my mind.

"So you're saying I'm a unified collective being of Suzuki Ichirou from multiple worlds, right?"
"Correct. You're the collective one of all Suzuki Ichirou except the one that became Demon God. I said summon earlier, but reincarnation would be more correct here. You're the unification of every Suzuki Ichirou, while being Suzuki Ichirou himself."

So confusing.

So that's the reason for the hazy part of my memories, and the sense of having experienced something I had never done.

It didn't come as great of a shock, either because I had expected this, or because of this space.

Some things still bug me.

"So why isn't Demon God among those?"
"That Ichirou was special."

Kagura's nostalgic yet sorrowful words slightly pierced my heart.

"--Special?"

I peer into Kagura's rainbow eyes.

"Among the great many worlds, that child was the only lolicon."

My body fell limp.

"I'm being serious--"
"It's the truth. All other Ichirou saw me as his very best friend in every world, that child was the only one who sought me and my young figure as a love interest."

No clue how many is that 'great many', but from what I could feel from the souls inside me, that number must easily exceeds thousands, tens of thousands.
That there's only one lolicon among that many really merits a praise in itself.

That aside, some questions remain.

"Then, is there really a need to summon a collective of me?"
"I did it precisely because it was needed."
"Is it in order to fuse me with Demon God, perfecting him?"

That'd be sad if true.
Since that would mean she only regards me as a mere part to bolster her loved one despite me seeing Kagura as my best friend.

"No! That's wrong!"

Oh good.

"I wanted you, Ichirou to stop Demon God."

Kagura said that she wished for me to reform Demon God, who has been twisted from his failure to accept that he would never take hold of his ideal, by my own hand. She couldn't bear to look at his miserable self.

"Can't you do it yourself, Kagura?"
"I can't do that, I would never try to destroy Ichirou. I don't want to, ever."

Well, I suppose one wouldn't want to kill their dearly beloved.

"Can't we turn him back to his pre-twisted self?"
"It can't be done with ordinary methods."
"How about by rewinding time back?"
"Time manipulation is a taboo act, you know. Attempting that means the same as throwing oneself into an infinite circle. What awaits there is a vicious circle where you have to keep correcting yourself for all eternity."

No wonder there's no time magic.

Suppose that's the reason for my summon--.

"So you got yourself killed by my Meteor Shower on purpose then?"
"Un, Indestructible won't function until you've adapted yourself with the collective souls of Ichirou, thus I made you kill me and my familiars to raise your level so you won't die easily."
"Since you're a god and all, can't you just let me raise my level right after the unification?"
"Ichirou dreams too much of god. I didn't want to warp the newly unified Ichirou, so I made use of this world's system."

I see, so there's a reason for her roundabout method.
But--.

"Did you sacrifice your familiars for that?"

Arisa's smile flashed across my mind.
Familiars are like family to me, is that not the case with Kagura?

"Don't worry. Those children would come back along with me when I get revived."

So, no need to hold back from using the bodies in your Storage, Kagura gave her approval.

"Now that you mention it, why didn't you revive yourself sooner?"

I remember Kagura saying something about [God being omnipresent] back in Japan.

"Ahaha, it's mostly for your sake, Ichirou. I function like an adhesive that glues your souls together. I'll get revived on its own once that's over. The signal for that will be when your last Unique Skill gets activated, Ichirou."

I see, [Indestructible] is the only thing that gets activated this time, [Unit Creation] is still grayed out.

"Any other questions?"
"No, this is good enough."
"--Really. Then, can I hear your answer?"

Kagura is looking at me with a slightly anxious look on her face.

"I got it. I'll do it. I've got a lot to say about you abruptly ending my life in Japan without asking, prepare yourself then, okay."
"Oh, don't worry about that. The Ichirou now can resume your life in Japan if you want."

Whoa, that's good news.
I'll have Kagura teach me how once this is all over.
I'm probably gonna lose my power once I do that though, so that's a story for after I'm done with all the sightseeing I want.

"Well then, here I go."
"--Un. Ichirou, please take care of Demon God--the other you."
"Yea, leave it to me."

I left the rainbow space with that word.



◇



"--This cannot be! How are you revived?"

Demon God was right in front of me as I opened my eyes.

"I see you must have 『Return from Death』 Unique Skill!"

[Indestructible] to be exact.
Can't rewind time after all.

"Very well then, I shall completely obliterate your very soul into oblivion impossible to get revived."

Demon God produced Dimensional Sword and Nihilistic Sword on both his hands.

Well now, dunno how far I could go in this fight at level 1, but guess I'll give it my all and fulfill Kagura's request.








※ Next update is planned for 1/12

Happy new year!
We'll be glad to have your support on the web novel version, the book version and the manga version of [Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku]

Reiwa 2 January 1 Ainana Hiro




Previous Chapter

3





Lecan considered that was everything he needed to tell her. However, Eda had another idea and spoke out.

"Zepus-san knew how Norma-san's mother's life was like at the marquis house, and why she was there."

"Did he now. I had a hunch that was the case."

"He was saying something like, 'Noble's confidential matter', and 'our house's secret'."

"Hmph. He called my mother a <servant> though. Ah, I see. I suppose a servant is a member of a house."

"Prado-san asked Zepus-san if what he did to me was true. Zepus-san denied it, saying he was trying to protect me."

"Protect you?"

"Yes. He said, 'I'm protecting a talented young girl beloved by gods from the tyranny of an outlaw'"

"Tyranny of... an outlaw?"

"I told him. Lecan is a kind man. He accepts me even though I intruded on him, protects me and teaches me things. Even <Recovery> magic was a thing Lecan taught. I told him I like Lecan so much."

"Is that so."

"Yet you tricked me, knocked me unconscious and brought me to this mansion against my will without even trying to understand my situation, I said. Then Zepus-san said. You're being tricked by this outlaw. You will be given fair clothes, high wages, food, everything you want at this mansion, he said."

"That's, like"

"I thought of, one thing."

"One thing?"

"Zepus-san probably thought this when he found out about Norma's mother's power manifesting at the marquis house. That, to him, it was something that should have been ours."

"...I see. Now that you mention it, that person probably thought of it that way."

"While we were having that conversation, Zepus-san had an assassin sneak in the ceiling to kill Lecan. Lecan just went woosh and got rid of that assassin, Zepus-san fell down and demanded him to sell me for a one large gold coin while trembling."

Norma let out a sigh.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Then, Kanner-san the butler spoke. The values of <Dagger of Harut> and Solid Sacred Silver sword Lecan had exceeded this house's entire fortune. And adventurers who have delved in dungeon depths like Lecan are those who don't think twice to use such items up, he said."

Lecan recalled one thing as he listened to Eda.

"Right. Kanner said something about hiring the same kind of adventurer or at least training a dungeon knight if they wanted to oppose me. Norma. What's a dungeon knight."

"You're asking that part? Just where did you come from, really? You're really oblivious to so many things. Err, there are royal knights, lord knights, and noble knights. Are we clear so far?"

"No, we aren't. Aren't knights appointed by the king."

"Those are formal knights. Way back in the days, only those conferred by the king are allowed to call themselves knights. The so-called royal knights. Eventually, nobles with court ranks and nobles with territorial lands are able to confer knighthood to their subordinates as well. These would be lord knights. Nowadays, nobles would appoint their own knights as they please. These are noble knights."

"I see. Got it."

"On the kingdom's side, one has to be a knight to be a court ranked noble or a territorial lord. These kinds of knights are royally appointed knights. However, this custom has turned into a mere formality these days and any court ranked noble and territorial lords are automatically regarded as royal knights even without a royal appointment."

"Fumu? Well, let's just say I got it."

"Just a friendly reminder, don't say that lord knight is a 'lord knight' to their face, same with noble knights. It's gonna turn into a duel."

"Then what should they're called?"

"Just call them 'knight'. What are we talking about again? Err. Right. Dungeon knights, isn't it? Now then, knights under direct control of the king are very strong. The selection process is pretty strict to begin with, and their equipment are first class. They never fall behind in training either. Certain floors of Dungeon Finkel are used as exclusive training grounds for these King's Knights, which also double as an assistance in dungeon exploring."

Dungeon Finkel is a dungeon located right next to the royal capital, recalled Lecan.

"However, the strength of lord knights and noble knights are all over the place. They're not exactly useless as they've gone through some training and have some good equipment. However, there are times when their limited strength don't hold up."

Lecan could see where this is going.

"They're no match to adventurers who have delved in the dephts of dungeons. You can sometimes find ex-adventurers among bigger bandit gangs, and adventurers are a bunch who's not really particular about regulations, so troubles do arise. So then, how do you deal with them?"

"Fumu. Dungeons huh."

"Yep. Raise their strength by training in dungeons. Those are dungeon knights. That said, the average dungeon knight isn't actually that strong."

"Hum? Why?"

"Oh my my. Are you really asking that? Listen now. You don't get to be a knight by being strong. You've got to be strong once you're a knight."

"Ah, I get it. I see. Make sense."

Assume 1000 individuals started going in a dungeon. Within a month, 100 of them either lost their lives or suffered injuries that halted their exploration, the same number of people also gave up. The number of participants would continue to drop each month, there would be less than 100 in a year. And most of those 100 would stop at floors that have a good balance between risk and reward. Either that or their pace would slow down to a crawl. There would be less than ten who stepped foot in the depths. After a year, it would be down to three.

Dungeons are simply that callous of a world. And adventurers who have delved into the depths of dungeons are those who have spent at least a decade wandering in such a callous world.

Though once you've progressed up to a certain point, you will have the equipment, abilities and the knacks to surviving, making you harder to die. You get to know peculiarities of each dungeon. Those who come later can purchase information from their predecessors. Lowering mortality rate even further.

However, to keep exploring means to always stay close to death. Not sure how it's like in this world, but in Lecan's original world, most adventurers are stuck exploring one dungeon while oddballs like Lecan who keep challenging one dungeon after another are a rarity. However, that world is entering an era of strife, many individuals bearing mighty powers are rising up to the world even outside dungeons, hence there is a gold rush of people coming into dungeons.

Conversely speaking, lord and noble knights must have gone through formal training already, and they're given nice equipment, which can't be used up for training inside a dungeon. Even if 1 out of 100 knights manages to rival the strength of a Deep Adventurer, they can't exactly sacrifice the 99 rest to achieve that, and there's no territorial lords who would allow 100 of their knights go off duty while they train in a dungeon.

Therefore, lord and noble knights must only spend a moderate amount of times exploring relatively shallow dungeon floors. Naturally, their strength remains moderate as well.

"Fumu. However, there is an exception to every rule."

"Exception?"

"Indeed. There just might be a real strong dungeon knight out there."

Lecan looked at Jinga.

Jinga quietly sipped his tea with his gaze downward.





Previous Chapter

1





The next day, Lecan and Eda went to the medical center after breakfast.

The one who welcomed them at the front door was Jinga.

Jinga greeted them first before they could.

"Norma-sama is currently enjoying her after meal tea. Please make yourself at home."

They were led to a reading room in the back of the house.

"Norma-sama. Lecan-dono and Eda-dono are here for you."

As urged by Jinga, Lecan and Eda went in the room.

"Eh. Lecan and Eda? Haven't you two gone to the dungeon? Is there something wrong?"

It was a reading room. The bookshelves inside are filled up with an amount of books Lecan had never seen in his life before. Some books are neatly bound. Must be made by professional book makers. As are there amateurishly bound ones. Both must be treasures of equal values to Norma. There's piles of unfinished documents on a side table.

"It's too cramped here. Let's move to the lounge next to the garden."

"Understood. Well then, Norma-sama. If you could please lead the way for the two."

"Un. Lecan, Eda, come over here."

The lighting on the ceiling and desk went off when Norma left the room.

There's a comfortably big chair in the break room. Big enough for Lecan to sit on.

The garden has got a splendid view inside. Tall trees and grass basked in the morning sunlight.

Absorbing the life energy of the earth, basked in blessing of the sun, with the grace of wind blowing over them, herbs are growing nicely into objects which save lives. A cycle of gods' blessings.

Jinga carried the tea Norma left in the study. Along with fresh tea and three trays.

After putting tea cups in front of Norma, Lecan and Eda, he put the last cup on a small detached side table and took a seat there.

Jinga is neither a butler or a servant. No idea how his wages are like, but he's not a mere employee. He's supposed to take care of miscellaneous tasks here, but he's not exactly below Norma in term of standings.

In fact, considering he's got a family name and being a knight, he's likely of a higher standing than Norma who's a commoner now.

It seems Jinga was originally Norma's mother's bodyguard. It's anyone's guess how the little Norma was reflected in Jinga's eyes during his time as her mother's bodyguard.

That mother eventually departed this world and Jinga became Norma's bodyguard.

Jinga probably followed her and her father when they returned to this town. How did Norma's father feel about that, was he glad or annoyed? No way of knowing that now.

However, there's no denying that Jinga's presence is like a reassuring guardian to Norma. Especially after her father died.

Seeing them from a sideline, it's clear how harmonious their relation is. It takes a long time for two individuals to form such a relation, it's not something a stranger should trample upon.

Lecan pondered that for a bit before cutting straight to the point.

"Eda was abducted by Goncourt House last night."




<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
2





"...Eh?"

"Eda and I consulted to Shira about going to a dungeon in the morning. Afterward, Eda headed home, I practiced magic under Shira and went to the orphanage afterward, it was already dark out by the time I got back."

Norma blinked a few times over as Lecan continued on.

"And Eda was nowhere to be found. Her important stuff were left in the house, hence I wondered the possibility of her getting abducted."

"A-and then?"

"I went to look at Goncourt House. And found Eda there. She had been made to sleep through some sort of force. I woke her up with a yellow potion."

"I'm surprised they let you see her."

"They didn't, I forced my way to the room where they put Eda asleep. According to her, Zepus's messengers dropped by our house looking for me. One of them knocked Eda out with a magic tool from behind her while another was talking to her."

"My goodness."

"I brought Eda to Prado's bedroom and demanded an explanation."

"I'm surprised they let you pass."

"Several people tried to attack me. How many was it again? I can't recall the number, but none of them was anything special."

"I could imagine what happened there, slightly."

"Kanner the butler called Zepus over to the bedroom. Zepus had an assassin lurking in the ceiling, trying to kill me. I disposed of that assassin by shooting a <Flame Spear> through the ceiling."

Eda added here.

"This huge hole opened up on the ceiling and the roof."

"Were you trying to go to war with Goncourt House, Lecan?"

"I did toy with the idea of killing everyone there. But after finding out that it was a deliberate act by Zepus alone, I settled with just killing him."

"...Eh?"

Norma's complexion changed.

"What did you just say. You did what, to Zepus-dono? Please say that again."

"I lopped his head off."

Norma stopped moving with her eyes wide open. Like a statue.

"I made Prado promise two things. One, to never mess with Eda again. And the other, to get rid of Norma's observers. I refrained from killing Prado after getting those promises off him. That's all."

It was Jinga who reacted to this.

"Norma-sama's observers?"

"Yeah. Zepus had people monitoring Norma at all time. That's how they found out about me and Eda training here. They even located our house on the very first day."

"I had no idea. So that was the identity of suspicious presences I sometimes felt."

"Ah, right, forgot one more thing. Norma."

"Eeh. Y-yes?"

"Prado had seen <Purification> during the King's Crowning ceremony. That's how he knew Eda's <Recovery> was in fact <Purification> right away. He also knew how advanced level <Recovery> is like."

"Goodness. That explains it. So, Prado-san had always known from the start."








Previous Chapter

Chapter 96 Budding Ones

 

In the beginning, I Air Bind-ed some mushroom monsters mid-air and let the girls gang up on them, but once they gained some levels, Oltea said this.

"Nobu-niisan. Come on, let us fight the moving ones too."

I lured one monster toward them while feeling slightly worried about it. I've got 『Provocation』 skill if things are looking bad and they've got Full Protection on, so they should be fine.

My worries turned out unfounded though. Like, my eyes almost popped out watching their incredible teamwork.

A fist sent the monster flying after a whip struck down its legs. Then Tino-chan and Mashu's wind magic delivered the finishing blow.

Another monster got its legs Wind Bind-ed, then Oltea proceeded to beat it to a pulp on a mount position. Savage, just savage. Meanwhile, Gana and Tino-chan lured in another monster. Oltea welcomed them back with an enraptured look on her face.

They kept gaining levels afterward. I let Mashu took some breaks along the way since I hadn't used Differing Souls on them yet, but once Tino-chan learned Spirit Magic, the pace went up dramatically. Aren't you girls already competent enough to work as adventurers? Was what crossed my mind.


"Wind Spirit-san, feed on my mana and tie that monster up!"

A D-Lostshroom flailed on the ground like a caterpillar.


That was when Gana with a rapier and Oltea with a club, or rather a bat, beat the crap out of it. A monster I and Tama-chan once struggled hard against. Don't think anyone could blame me for having a distant look for a bit here.




Whoa, a Stealth Bat is creeping in on them from behind. Looks like they don't notice it?
I put my hand on Lunar Cat before immediately drawing it.

"Martial Art - 『Magic Blade - Severing Slash』."

A slash flew off Lunar Cat, cutting the Stealth Bat in two.

I only realized later on that my Katana skill level had gone up right before I was knocked out during my mock battle against Temuro-san. This is the weapon skill I learned.

『Magic Blade - Severing Slash』
Flying slash. Converts all kinds of things like mana, fighting spirits, life forces into flying slashes different from wind cuts.
Koji Hermett is said to be an ancestor of samurai. He is said to massacre a sentient iron giant-like foe with this technique honed to the extreme.


Thank god. Finally an ordinarily usable weapon skill!
And a very flexible one at that. A ranged attack for a situation where magic usage is not possible, awesome. I'm not gonna comment on that last part though!

Tino-chan and Mashu were surprised to see a Stealth Bath suddenly falling behind them.
They glanced at me but went back to focusing when I pointed at the monster. Mitama would have shoot down the Stealth Bat with her intuition, Futsuno-san would have a barrier to defend herself. I suppose this is a difference in combat experience. That said, this is their first real battle after all, they've made a good progress all things considered. I was much worse when I just started out after all.

"Nobu-niisama, thank you so much."

"I messed up. Thanksies Nobu-oniichan."

"Yup, I may be watching your back but don't let your guard down."

I'm actually in the middle of a certain training myself right now.
Per Sefi-san's suggestion, I keep constructing magic compositions while watching over these children. And not just one or two magic.
When I consulted to Sefi-san about how my magic got easily canceled in my match against Temuro-san, she told me, 'Nobu-chan's magic kinds of feel like it's brute forced through sheer amount of mana. It's like you're forcing your way to make it happen~. I'd suggest training your mind to process multiple things in parallel here~'.
At any rate, composition of my magic will get better if I just persevere on this training, apparently.


Whoops, looks like the girls are done exterminating all monsters around this area while I wasn't looking.
Let's see here now, how strong you girls have gotten.

Name: Gana - Gender: Female - Age: 11 - Race: Vampira
Class: Vampira Lv15 (up!) - State: Healthy
Title: None
【Skills】
Grappling Lv2 - Whip Lv2 (new!) - Rapier Lv2 (new!) - Small Shield Lv1 (new!) - Darkness Magic Lv2 - Life Magic

【Unique Skills】
Levellit's Protection (Large Serving)

【Racial Skills】
Bloodsucking Lv2

By the way, I've lifted the curse off Gana. According to her, the people who caught her put the curse on her to prevent her from acting out. Thus, I modified Dispel Curse spell into a curse back magic [Retribution] to return the curse back to its caster. Since I put a stupid amount of mana into it, it should turn pretty grim on that side.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

Name: Oltea - Gender: Female - Age: 11 - Race: Ogrefolk
Class: Ogre Lv15 - State: Healthy
Title: None
【Skills】
Grappling Lv3 - Club Lv2 (new!) - Magic Ball Lv1 (new!) - Body Reinforcement Lv2 (up!) - Life Magic

【Unique Skills】
Levellit's Protection (Large Serving)

She's learned some weird skills. Balls she throw would make a curve before hitting monsters. I don't get the mechanic, but that's just how the weapon skill works apparently. As a sidenote, techniques hailing from the east are called 'Bugi' (martial art), while all others are called Weapon Skills.


Name: Mashu - Gender: Female - Age: 10 - Race: Hakutaku
Class: Hakutaku Lv13 - State: Healthy
Title: None
【Skills】
Wind Magic Lv2 (new!) - Two-handed Cane Lv1 (new!) - One-handed Cane Lv1 (new!) - Alchemy Lv2 (up!) - Pharmacology Lv1 - Flora and Fauna Lv1 - Life Magic

【Unique Skills】
Levellit's Protection (Large Serving)

【Racial Skills】
Well of Wisdom Lv1

Yup, Mashu's normal. Please grow up well. That'd put my mind at ease.


Name: Tino - Gender: Female - Age: 10 - Race: Elf
Class: Pharmacist Lv15 (up!) - Miko Lv12 (up!)
Title: None - State: Healthy

【Skills】
Dagger Lv1 (new!) - Archery Lv2 (new!) - Spirit Magic Lv2 (new!) - Agriculture Lv1 - Compounding Lv1 - Life Magic - Flora and Fauna Lv2

【Unique Skills】
Levellit's Protection (Large Serving)

Tino-chan has learned spirit magic. From what that gentleman lolicon Gerukkun told me back then, apparently elves can borrow powers from spirits by feeding them mana. Tino-chan seems to have the aptitudes for wind spirits and water spirits. For the time being, these are the only two people(?) she can borrow powers from.


『Levellit's Protection (Large Serving)』
Additional protection bestowed by Levellit, goddess who governs over growth and talent. Gives plus rate to experience and skill points gained, in and out of battle.
『Can't win against temptation of tasty stuff. No regret.』 from Goddess.


Regret a bit! Geez, fine I'll offer her an extra serving of soy milk pudding and honey syrup when I get back later. I-It's not like I'm doing it for you!


Like anyone's excited with my tsundere-ness.


Nevertheless no-goddess's protection notwithstanding, these girls' growth is pretty fascinating. They've been devising up new ways to beat monsters with each encounter. I feel a bit jealous since I was all alone when I trained here.

Then, while I was thinking our plan next, a shrill scream and an abnormal-sounding voice reached us.


"Stopiiiiiiiiiiiitnooooooooooooooo"

"kikikiki, ill, ill, ill, ill, kill kill kill kill kill, let's kill kill kill 'em alllll"

The children are looking at me with frightened looks on their faces, not knowing what to do.

"I'll go take a look, you girls go hide behind something with Tama-chan. Don't get too close, okay."

They all nodded together.

I invoked Space Camouflage and ran toward the source of the noise.





Previous Chapter

Chapter 332 Urges Evacuation

 

"Found our target. Inside the guild."

I went back to the girls and informed them.

"It's really... In there then."

"It didn't engage you?"

"Yea. Our opponent didn't seem to notice me... It made no move."

Zadokilgias could have attacked me at any point.
We were only 10 meters apart, which is practically nothing to magic combatants with crests other than Disqualified Crest.
And even though that's beyond Disqualified Crest's range, it's actually within range for all intents and purposes with how instantaneous you can close that distance.

"Is that... Because the demon's going to launch a surprise attack when we let our guard down...?"

"Nah, Zadokilgias likely doesn't think there's any point in that. It's got its schemes instead though."

Zadokilgias isn't the only one disguising mana.
I purposely loosened up my mana control to make me look like an amateur mage when I approached the guild.
From Zadokilgias's perspective, it was probably, "Better than other adventurers here, but I could easily kill him anytime I want."

"...So like, is the demon buying time by ignoring anyone who's not immediately dangerous?"

"In short, yeah. It got nothing to do with buying time though."

I checked Dragon Veins running nearby.
Fortunately, quite a lot of the veins are running around these lands.
Connecting to Dragon Veins won't be a problem with the 『Man-eating Blade』 in our possession.

"I've told you girls our strategy on our way here. First off, we need to evacuate this town."

Our strategy is pretty large scale this time around.
Running rampage with 『Man-eating Blade』 means huge collateral damage.

Surely the damage is within tolerance, especially with the 『Nomination of Plenipotentiary Commander in States of Emergency』 I've got.... But of course that doesn't extend to lives.
First, we need to get the populace away from the town.

"...Okay then, Iris, you need to transform back into your dragon form outside town... Can you manage?"

"I should be fine now! ...I might end up stepping on a house or two if I get into town though, is that alright?"

"I'll notify you once the town has been cleared off the populace, stay put until then. You can break things all you want afterward."

Our strategy this time will likely cause a great deal of destruction in the town.
We can't make use of Iris's power otherwise since Zadokilgias is lurking in the middle of the town.

"There's no need to feel guilty... If we don't beat Zadokilgias here, forget losing their houses, people would have to part with their lives. The kingdom will compensate for their houses, but that can't be done for lives lost."

"I got it! Okay then... Don't mind if I do!"
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Iris ran off out of town afterward.
We've already decided on the spot she's going to turn back into her dragon form.

The populace will most likely run straight to the opposite of Iris once they see her.
Humans instinctively run away to the opposite direction of frightening things even if it leads to a dead end.
And dragons should be the very symbol of fear to ordinary people.

As such, Iris would show off her dragon self at the opposite side of the town's entrance.
Thus, the populace will effectively scramble out of town once they see her.

We simply don't have the leeway to lead this fight to an uninhabited location.
There's no choice but to let people take shelter on their own.

"Err... Can't you ask the town guard for help with that 『States of Emergency Thingy』 you got from the king? Would be far safer than creating a stir with Iris..."

"That would be nice... But do you really think this town's guards will be any use...?"

"Ah... Good point. Asking a random passerby for help would be more productive for sure..."

True, we could safely and reliably evacuate the town if only the town guards could be depended on to take charge.
However... That's only if we can depend those guards.

We had taken a look at the guard stations while we were scouting the area earlier, and state of affairs was just pitiful.
Forget working, those thug-like bunches were drinking in the middle of the day inside their stations.

The town lord probably fired all the upright guards and hired those ruffians to work as his underlings.
I don't believe for a second we could rely on them to help with evacuation. It would end up giving clues to Zadokilgias instead.

Meaning, we'd better off showing off Iris's dragon form to accomplish the evacuation.
Zadokilgias would likely slip among the crowd and pretend to flee, but I could just attack and stop him then.

I watch over Iris's position with detection magic.
Then she arrived at the planned spot a few minutes later.

"Well then, time to do this."

After confirming Iris's mana reaction had stopped moving, I shot up a kind of explosion magic at the sky.
An explosive sound reverberated in the vicinity.
A few seconds later--the Darkness Dragon emerged where Iris was.





Previous Chapter

17-45. Demon God's Castle

 

※ A bit longer than usual to make up for the break last week.

Satou here. A game freak friend of mine told me last bosses not simply being strong is what makes Computer RPGs different.
When he almost got me to believe him, I recalled how boss characters being unbeatable without the correct strategy had always been popular since the days of Yamata-no-Orochi, and it snapped me out of his trick. I admit it's a pretty apt gimmick for RPGs though.



◇



"I guess they're not sending any more?"

After defeating three gigantic demons and their mist disappeared, the demon god's castle stopped sending more reinforcement.

"Yeah, now's our chance."

I can't exactly use Meteor Shower or anti-god magic to erase the entire castle whole since there should be other purple little girls inside.

The best action to take here is me infiltrating it on my own.

"You're not thinking of going alone, are you Master?"
"No you won't, Ichirou-nii."

Arisa and Hikaru read my mind and gave a warning.

"We're fully aware just how strong master is, but you might still fall behind Demon God if you get yourself exhausted over a series of battle."

I wonder about that?

I feel like the me now can beat even a demon lord with one punch like some certain bald hero.

"Besides, who knows if Master's level up might be part of Demon God's scheme."
"--scheme?"

No no, I don't think so.

"Geez! Did you forget already?"
"Remember how he was trying to absorb you, Ichirou-nii?"
"Now that you mention it--"

Oh yeah, that did happen.
There were no more news after that one time, and the purple little girl here said Demon God had attained perfect form using the dummy those gods prepared, so all that stuff had completely slipped out of my mind.

"Milord's attained perfect form, you know?"
"But that doesn't mean he won't try to absorb more, does it?"

Arisa responded to the purple little girl.
The little girl who had been keeping silent up until now couldn't help but to join in the conversation since it involved Demon God.

"We'd like you be at your best if you really had to purify Demon God's [Impurities], Ichirou-nii."

I felt the nuance, "Please don't go if you could" from Hikaru's words.

"--I got it."

I gave in to the pressing Hikaru and Arisa.

Thanks to my level ups, I have full confidence in my chance against Demon God, but I'm not going to deny the very small possibility of me losing due to exhaustion.

Besides, the girls now should be able to easily beat the heck out greater demons, and even put up a good fight against Unique Skill-ed greater demons and demon lords.

"I'll be counting on you girls."
"That's what I'd like to hear!"

Arisa snapped her fingers and urged everyone to take their seats.

"Our target is Demon God's castle inner part! We got no time to engage in petty combats! Charge forward to where Demon God's at!"

A very Arisa-like daring strategy.
It's obvious where since the tallest building has very thick miasma on the same level of Black Sludge gushing out of it.

"Yes Arisa. Spaceship's main engine at full throttle so I report."
"Zena-tan, bring the small side ships' main engines at full throttle too!"
"Affirmative! Main engines, full throttle!"
"Garuda, push forward."

The spaceship flies toward the center of Demon God's castle at a velocity not even inertia control unit could fully cancel.

"Incoming!"
"Bombardment."
"Deploying 『Paladin Domain』 so I declare."

With warnings from Tama and Mia's Sanctuary Guard, Nana deployed multifold barriers.

Laser beams and missiles hit the barrier created by [Paladin Domain], scattering them into sparks and explosions.
A shock that exceeds Inertia Control's processing assaults our seats every time sparks fly.
Even so, the spaceship's barrier powered up by Unique Skills hold steadfast, it can defend against thousands of these attacks no sweat.

"T-this is bad."

The once sporadic bombardments are getting more intense by the minute.
Demon God's castle itself isn't equipped with many artillery, but there's quite a lot of cannon-type and beam-type demons prowling out there.

"I-it's so intense."

The amount of those demons exceeds hundreds, thus Nana's decided not to block with Paladin Domain but to skillfully evade or parry with Phalanxes.
Lulu helps with shooting the enemies down, princess Sistina and her floating gun fort golem units block the barrage of fire, and magical shields created by Hikaru's force magic along with Arisa's space magic assist Nana taking evasive maneuver.

They told me to preserve my power, but a little help won't hurt, right?

I wrap our spaceship in space magic <<Physical Reflector>> to reflect enemy's attacks.
Unfortunately, the reflected physical bullets didn't reach back to their shooters, but the beam ones did, killing many beam demons at a stretch.

"Shield Reflector, the real deal! My magic could barely do that on a single point, so this is quite a sight!"

Arisa got into high spirits at the spectacle.

It's pretty convenient for sure, but adjusting it to follow our large spaceship is a pain, so I'm switching to Divine Dancing Armor.
But it can only cover limited areas and is incapable of dealing with attacks that snipe through gaps.

The defensive power doesn't have to be as high as the original, so I'm gonna make some adjustment to the code here and there--done.

"Master, we're suffering no more damage so I report."
"I've wrapped our ship in a slightly adjusted Divine Dancing Armor. Like this--"

I put Pochi in the new magic--Divine Radiant Armor.

"Nyu!"
"Pochi is shining like platinum nodesu!"

The original Divine Dancing Armor is purple colored because it's Demon God's personal color, but my version is platinum colored due to the code modification I did to it.
Probably because it's deployed over her golden armor and the added beam reflection function.

"We can do this! Master, can we launch attack out from this side?"
"So long as it's not a forbidden spell or anti-god magic."

Unfortunately, it's not versatile enough to let anti-god magic and forbidden spells to slip through.

"That's good enough! We can escort Master quite deep inside with this!"

Arisa declared with a pumped fist.



◇



That aside--.

Less barrages are assaulting us now after flying all over the place above the castle.

"Think it's a good time to charge in?"
"Yes, Master. It's possible to make a forced landing if we switch our destination to this point, so I report."

Nana drew a clear circle in a corner of Demon God's castle displayed on the monitor.
The spot looks like a giant hanging garden.

We're still getting bombarded left and right, but it should be fine now that we've got Divine Radiant Armor.

"Alright, let's get landing on that short-staffed looking spot."
"Yes, Master, after burner at full throttle so I report!"

The mechanism is actually unlike that of a jet plane's afterburner, but since it holds ultimately the same meaning, I choose to keep silent.

"I-incoming cannonbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalls"

Arisa screamed out loud as our ship made its way through a rain of cannonballs.
Our pilot, Nana's heart rate is increasing as well.

"Liza."
"Yes--Hero Heart!"

Liza who's next to me brought forth courage in everyone's heart with her Unique Skill.

"Hyahha~?"
"Pochi and co. have become the wind nodesuyo!"

Tama and Pochi who've got their courage boosted are twirling around in front of a monitor showing the approaching cannonballs.
This skill could end up mass producing berserkers with just a slight error.

The ship is approaching fast toward the barrier protecting Demon God's castle.

"--Brace for impact! 3,2,1, impact!"

With a loud boom, the ship's naval ram and the barrier clashed, sending sparks everywhere.
Looks like Demon God Castle's barrier is made of a similar mechanism as Divine Dancing Armor.

"Now's the time for that line! Fight barriers with--"
"Decoupling the naval ram, activating Dragon Fang Pile Bunker."
"--Wut?!"

Arisa who was about to shout out a parody was interrupted by Zena-san.

The pile bunker itself is not made of Dragon Fang in entirety, there's simply a coat of Dragon Fang powder over it. I imitated the technique used on Weasel Empire's white swords.

"It came off~"
"It broke off nodesu!"

And yet the authority of Dragon Fangs, [Pierce All], worked on the barrier, piercing and breaking it off.

"Warning! Miasma density is 128 times higher than outside level!"
"Detecting abnormality on Sacred Stone Furnace. The output is decreasing."
"Miasma Barrier is overloaded! We're in a pinch! It's gonna fail to neutralize the miasma at this rate. That's really really bad! It's true!"
"Satou-sama, incoming high density cannonballs and giant rockets!"

Whoa, we're in a pinch.

"O-oh no! What should we do Master!"
"It's all right."

--Miasma Barriers, multiple deployment.

"Miasma density decreasing. Lowered to four times."
"Zena-san."
"Yes, permeating [Saint Prey] onto Miasma Barriers."
"Sacred Stone Furnace's output is still decreasing. The ship and propulsion system will stop functioning at the rate it's going."
"Unable to take evasive action so I report. All hands to brace for emergency landing so I report."
"Fine then, I'll use Over Boost here and teleport us away!"
"It's okay, no need for that."

Our destination is in a clear view from here.

--Unit Arrangement.

I made our space ship land at our destination.


<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
◇



"We ended up getting saved by Master's cheat after all."
"That's not true."

Thanks to everyone's effort, I have barely done anything.

"This place is so quiet..."

The spaceship's external monitor shows us a well cared garden with rose-like flowers growing in it.

"Master, we're not getting bombarded anymore so I report."
"Satou-san, the Sacred Stone Furnace's state is still getting worse. It's still enough to supply 『Miasma Barrier』 and the ship's circuitry, however we don't have enough power to restart the ship."
"We are getting warnings from the spaceship's main body as well. Maintenance golems have been dispatched, however the repair is expected to require from a half to two hour time."

The girls reported our ship's condition.

"Incoming infantrymen."
"Responses on the radar. Dots that appear to be demons are drawing near from all directions."

Lots of demons, but they're all of lesser demons.

"Satou-sama, please leave this spot to us Silver members and proceed ahead toward Demon God."

Princess Sistina made that suggestion as a representative of Silver members.

"But--"
"It will be fine desuwa! We shall annihilate anything that comes close to our ship."
"I'll do my best too!"
"It's just Karina-sama and Zena-san said. Please entrust this ship to us."
"We will finish the repair by the time Satou-sama and the others return."
"Master Satou, leave the ship to me while Nana's gone."

Lady Karina, Zena-san, Sera, princess Sistina and Core two spoke.

I could get them with Unit Arrangement if push comes to shove anyway, and the inside of this ship is of course safer with how dense the miasma outside.

"All right then. But make sure to prioritize your safety more than the ship's repair."

I give a detailed instruction to Core Two to push the emergency button right away if they're thrust into a situation beyond their hands. I'm sure she'd push it without any hesitation.

I put [Miasma Barrier] and [Divine Radiant Armor] up once again and went out of the ship along with the golden members and Hikaru.



◇



--ＺＳＨＥＥＥＺＡＡＡＡ.
--ＢＲＲＲＲＯＳＳＳＳＳＹＥ.

Rose monsters and gardener demons carrying scissors blocked our way in the hanging garden.

"I'm not actually against this style. But now's not a good time to deal with you."

Arisa mowed them down with [Dimensional Slash].

"Let's run through them!"
"Aye!"
"Yes nanodesu!"

The sparkling beastkin girls blasted our opponent's vanguard units.
Lulu's magic guns, and swarms of small sylphs Mia's spirit magic summoned expanded a passage the beastkin girls opened, then Hikaru's force magic and Arisa's space magic maintained that passage.

"Irregular, you see, there's a gate over there."

The purple little girl I'm piggybacking told me.

There's a gate leading deeper into the castle in the corner of the hanging garden's rose garden.
There's two gatekeeper demons in front of the gate.

"Liza!"
"Acknowledged!"
"Pochi will get the left one nodesuyo!"

Liza defeated the right demon with her dragon spear, while Pochi cut the left one in half.

A demon who was camouflaging as a gate's decoration ambushed Pochi from above.
Pochi only stared up, not getting ready to engage.

"Pochi, above you!"
"It's okay nanodesu."

Conforming with Pochi's confident word, the demon stopped moving mid air.
No, looking closer, the demon has been bound by thin pink threads.

"Nin nin~, cotton candy no jutsu~?"

Tama's strummed a string of the pink thread with her finger, then the demon got diced up by the threads before disappearing into black mist.

"She's like a hitman in period drama."

Pochi and Liza pushed the gate open while Arisa was making her quip.
Beyond the door is an atrium with a great many spiral staircases inside and a nightmare-inducing number of demons crawling in it.

"Arisa-chan, the inside seems choke full of enemies."
"I gotcha. Let's blow 'em all away in one go!"
"Yup, you bet!"

Arisa's anti-demon lord [Lesser Mythology Down] and Hikaru's [Mythology Extinction] totally annihilated the demons inside.

"--Uuuu. Wonder if the demons here give easy level ups or something?"
"Un, looks to be it. My level went up too."
"Eeh? Hikaru-tan, you a familiar now too?"
"Nope, doesn't look like I am, but my level has gone up to 100."

If monsters give more experience points than ordinary animals, then it seems Netherworld's demons give more exp than ordinary monsters. Considering the extremity of my level up, that sounds very likely.
I have no idea how Hikaru managed to break the limit though.

"Then, does that mean we may be able to break through our limit as well?"
"Tama hanging on it~?"
"Pochi too, Pochi's hanging on it too nodesuyo!"
"Nn, serious. ■■■■■■■..."

The beastkin girls got fired up, Mia started Garuda summoning spell.

"Master, enemy reinforcement so I report."
"Aim--and shoot!"

The thought of letting them level up here crossed my mind for a second, but then I recalled we were right in enemy's territory and brushed away the idea.

"Where's the Demon God at?"
"Erm... That one! The spiral staircase with a ribbon wrapped on it!"

The purple little girl pointed at a spiral staircase after looking around for a bit.
Looks like the spiral staircase for these little girls' use has a ribbon wrapped around it to prevent them from getting lost.

We routed all the demons that emerged out in swarms, and headed deeper inside Demon God's castle while occasionally clashing with Shadow Guards, Unique Skill-ed greater demons and apostles along the way.



◇



"--They're strong."
"Demon Generals are on a whole other level, I heard milord saying that."

We encountered powerful foes that surpass demon lords just a little further from Demon God's living room.
In addition to Generals, the endlessly spawning Demon Avengers and the strike-resistant Shadow Guards are giving the girls a tough time.

"I'll take--"
"Hold it! Now that we've come this far, Ichirou-nii should save your strength until the end."

Hikaru stopped me just as I brought sheathed Divine Sword out of Storage and took a step forward.

"She's right, Master!"

Arisa spoke while routing more Demon Avengers with anti-god magic.

"Leave this spot to us, you go on ahead!"

Arisa looks so cool with explosions as a backdrop.
This little girl is as gallant as ever.

"Kwuuuu. I've always wanted to say that line at least once in my life!"
"No fair, Arisa-chan! I wanted to say that line too!"

Arisa expresses her delight with her whole body, while Hikaru looks seriously dejected in contrast.
These girls are on their pace even during this mayhem.

"Got it. Take care of this spot. Make absolutely sure to stay safe, you hear me."

After telling them that, I slipped past the door the Generals are protecting with Unit Arrangement.



◇



『Invaders coming this far, what are those generals doing de aru.』
『Indeed de aru, for us Kings to have to take the matter into our hands, preposterous.』

Four giant demons dressed like the kings drawn on trump card got off their thrones.

Didn't know there were other kings beside demon lords.

"Isn't this Demon God's living room?"
"Un, these kings are usually on other floors, you know?"

『There you are, traitor de aruka!』
『Instating ourselves on this floor to protect Demon God-sama was the correct decision de aru.』

These demons the purple little girl referred as kings are all level 350 each. They possess combat-oriented Unique Skills like Generals, and equipped with mantles and armors made from the same material as Shadow Guards.

The me before level up would have a hard time against them.

『『『『Come at us de aru, Irregular.』』』』

The kings roared all together.

"I'll take you up on it--"

I changed my title to [God Slayer], rushed below a King faster than Ground Shrink, and slashed up to its head faster than Flash Drive.
The King split in half and vanished into black mist before getting sucked into Divine Sword.

『『『What dearu?』』』

Other kings sounded shocked all together.

>Skill [Unimpeded] Acquired.
>Title [King of Demons Slayer] Acquired.

Whoa, looks like I got the higher version of Ground Shrink and Flash Drive skills.
Since I got practically inexhaustible skill points anyway, I maxed out the skill and activated it.

I put away the Divine Sword and walked toward Demon God's living room.

"Irregular, there's still kings here, you know?"
"No worries. It's already a check mate."

I spoke to the purple little girl I held under my arm.

『『『Think you've won after beating one of us?!』』』

The remaining kings were enraged and took a step forward.

A moment later, all three Kings got split in half before disappearing.
I had tested Unimpeded on them earlier before I walked.

I guess Arisa and Hikaru would have said, "You're already dead", here?
We stepped into Demon God's living room while I was recalling a signature phrase from a popular manga.



◇



"This is some dense miasma."

Very thick miasma--no, I sense Divinity, this must be Impurities.
I would have been swallowed in these Impurities had god Karion didn't teach me [Miasma Barrier].

I proceed toward Demon God's living room while letting Divine Sword suck the endless miasma in the vicinity. The living room is not so much a room as a space many times larger than the National Stadium.

"--There he is."

I found Demon God beyond several pillars decorating the living room.

He's sitting on his throne listlessly, slightly apart from him is a group of unmoving purple little girls lying on the floor.
Weirdly enough, there's no Impurities around those purple little girls.
It appears the rainbow-colored pearl scythe floating in the middle of those little girls is protecting them.

Demon God raised his face as he noticed me approaching.
His personal color, purple, is turning into jet black as the Impurities encroach him more. The same color as [Demon God's Offshoots] that raided Shiga Kingdom.

His eyes are focused on me.

"That damn Dragon God, went and summoned another Suzuki Ichirou huh..."

Even opening his mouth seemed bothersome to him due to the encroachment.
I was anticipating the worst possible situation where it turned into a battle right away, but it seems like we can end this peacefully.

"However, I'm already in my perfect form. You are unneeded."
"I'm fine with being unneeded. I never agreed to fuse with you anyway."

I'm cool with one less danger to mind about.

"You look like you're in pain. Let me help clear those Impurities away."
"Hmph, your gesture is uncalled for. I can handle this much on my own without a help from an imperfect one."

A smile painted in even more insanity than before glared at me.
He looks to be overdoing it, his black scaled face is full of sweat.

"Sorry, but it's an order from gods. I'll have to purify those [Impurities] even if I have to force my way."

I believe the me now can do it.

Knowing this wouldn't end amicably, I sent away the purple little girl on my shoulder toward the other little girls using short Warp.

"--Ridiculous."

The moment Demon God's eyes gleamed purple, my body felt heavy all of a sudden.
The sense of almightiness in my body has gone, replaced by what feels like a sickly unresponsive body.

"How does it feel to lose your transient power."

--Lose?

I grasped the meaning behind Demon God's word from AR readings' displayed status.
My level has gone back to 1. All of my skills and magic list have disappeared, back to initial state.

"What is so surprising? You're looking at the very person who set up the world's Level System."

Demon God holds out his hand with a look of superiority on his face.

"Gnash on your powerlessness--die."

A dark purple flash of light was the last thing I saw before my consciousness was reaped.




※Next time [Satou Dies] is planned for 1/5




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