Chapter 342 Azradelius (After)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Hiroya’s POV)
(What the hell… why is he using my father’s name…!?)
I desperately fend off his attacks as he slashes at me with blades sprouting from both arms.
As expected of the ‘Ancient Demon’, said to be the highest rank among demonkind, his speed is incredible.
But──
(I’m still faster)
Though there’s no opening to sheathe my katana, I still have the room to attack.
While deflecting his attacks, I take advantage of a slight opening and slash diagonally with ‘Yamikirimaru’.
”Hgh!”
Just before I can deeply cut into his shoulder, Azradelius grabs the tip of ‘Yamikirimaru’ with his bare hand.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t cut in deep enough to inflict a fatal wound.
”You’re being reckless.”
He intends to sever my hand with the blade, but I leap back.
”You, are you the son of that Obu Shinshi…?”
”So what? I’m also the son of Shinji O’Brian, and I’m the son of Obu Shinshi. ──And by the way, I’m also the son of Megumi O’Brian.”
His expression of anger begins to cool down just a little.
”I hate you. ──I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”
Azradelius raises his palm, which is barely connected by a thin layer of skin, to the sky and chants a spell.
’Here it comes!’
That voice warns me to be on guard.
I place my hand on Yamikirimaru, ready to draw it at any moment.
”Gravity!”
──Thud!
In an instant, my body is pressed down against the ground.
”Guh!”
(Ugh… I can’t move…)
On top of that, I’m being pressed down with tremendous force as if I were in a press machine, and a grinding pain shoots through my body.
(I… I’m going to be crushed…!)
”I’ll crush you to death like this!”
Azradelius, who roars like that, shows no trace of the composure he had at first.
There is ‘hatred’.
’Endure! Endure! ──Concentrate your magical power! And release the magical power you’ve gathered throughout your body!’
(Magical power…)
”Gathering magical power” is the preparation done when using magic. I focused my mind as instructed.
Despite feeling a sensation as if my insides were creaking due to Azradelius’s magic, I spread the gathered magical power throughout my body.
’Good. The amount is just right.’
His anxious tone from earlier faded, replaced by a voice that sounded relieved.
’Alright──slowly… slowly release the magical power.’
”Huuuu…”
I felt the weight pressing down on me gradually being pushed back, and the pain in my body eased.
(Alright… I can move now)
”You can push back my advanced-level magic?!”
I pushed myself up on my knees and slowly stood up.
I lifted my face and glared at Azradelius.
”Is your turn over? ──Then…”
’Stop! Stop it, my lord! If you go that far, you won’t be able to absorb all the backlash!’
”Physical Boost!”
I kicked the ground and instantly dove into Azradelius’s space.
I aimed a surprise strike at Azradelius’s torso, who was completely unresponsive to my movement──or so I thought.
”That’s enough, child of Megumi.”
Out of nowhere, someone grabbed my right arm and blocked my strike.
A huge man dressed in black.
His face looked like a “crying face,” but his voice was completely calm.
And on the other side of the man who stopped me──
”Why did you stop me…”
Azradelius glared at the man with hatred.
──The man had also caught the blade that Azradelius had been about to swing down at my neck.
”Neither of you wants to end up in a mutual kill, do you?”
”Hiroya… let’s call it a draw… You know that was dangerous, right?”
Doll holding me from behind whispered softly in my ear.
”But, my mom! Koichi and Aelia too!”
I tried to shake off the arm gripping me and Doll hugging me from behind, but… I couldn’t move an inch.
”You, your body has reached its limit. ──Don’t die here.”
Doll’s strength holding me tight increased.
”I will protect Megumi. I won’t let Azradelius lay a finger on her. Trust me…”
Doll’s voice trembled.
”Megumi’s child… was it Hiroya? ──Both you and Azradelius have already reached your limits. Accept that this is a draw.”
”Accept a draw!? After he kidnapped my mom, Koichi, and Aelia, what are you──”
”Megumi will be kept here as a countermeasure against Elberhardt, Shinji, and Milia. The Demon King originally belongs to us. He is just returning.”
The man with the tear-streaked face released my arm and disappeared into the darkness of the night with my mom, wrapped in Azradelius.
”W-Wait! What do you mean by Demon King? Are you saying Koichi is──Koichi is that?”
My shout did not reach those who had already vanished.
”That’s right, Hiroya… Koichi is the Demon King who was reborn in Seven Lives, One Revenge…”
Doll slowly released her grip on my body.
”…For more details, ask Shinji, the hero, and Milia. ──Well then, I’m going home too.”
Watching Doll’s sad face as she flew off into the night sky… I lost consciousness.
* * *
(Milia’s POV)
”What is this…!?”
”Did Azradelius get to us…?”
”They targeted us while we were absent…”
”Why are you all so calm!?”
Ignoring the stunned men, Barbara and I rushed over to Liz-Liz and the others who were tending to the fallen.
”Leave the healing to me.”
As expected of Mister Rudolf.
He is different from the other muscle-headed men.
The 3 of us──me, Mister Rudolf, and Barbara──worked together to cast ‘Healing.’
* * *
”I’m sorry for being here and yet… I’m sorry…”
Bone scratched his head apologetically.
”So… what happened?”
”Koichi was kidnapped. And Megumi and… a girl named Aelia…”
Summarizing the stories from Bone, ‘Rose Hip’, HelHel, and FriFri…
- When they arrived, Azradelius was already leading youma in an attack on the mansion.
- Even though they tried to intercept, they were all rendered unable to fight by Azradelius’s ‘ultimate’ level area attack magic.
At that time, Megumi, Koichi, and Koichi’s girlfriend were captured.
- Thanks to the Protection magic that Rena cast in a pinch, no one suffered fatal injuries.
- Then Hiroya appeared and fought Azradelius, but just before they could finish each other off, they were both stopped by a man emitting a strong miasma.
- The man took the severely injured Azradelius, Megumi, Koichi, and his girlfriend and left.
”That was Three-Face. I hadn’t met him before, but he had 3 faces just like the rumors said.”
”He must have fulfilled his purpose and avoided unnecessary bloodshed. That’s just like him.”
Shinji nodded at Bone’s story.
Bone certainly wasn’t at the ‘final battle’, so he didn’t know what Three-Face looked like.
But it’s easy to recognize him due to his distinctive features.
”A monster called Otto came to our place, but Hiroya took care of it.”
Ms. Hitomi, the wife of Knight Müller, trembled as she spoke, while her husband gently embraced her shoulder.
──How nice…
”I think it’s okay to leave this to Mister Rudolf. I’m going to check around the village.”
”I’ll join you. It seems like the main forces gathered here, so the others should be safe.”
Shinji and Van stood up.
Knight Müller tried to stand up too, but was stopped by Shinji.
”You stay here. More youma might appear.”
Van said this from behind Shinji, causing Knight Müller to bow his head and sit back down.
”There might be some healing needed, so I’ll go with you.”
I took Shinji’s outstretched hand and stood up.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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