Volume 7 Chapter 6 The Strongest Vs The Fiercest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
What are they doing?
…
As I dodged the enemy’s attacks while observing the scene, I noticed that one of the Living Dead, with a hand placed on the back of the Magician, was dissipating into a black mist.
I understood what Gertroud’s army was up to.
Those with their hands on the back were replenishing the Magician’s magic power.
And when their magic ran out and they dissipated, a new Living Dead would attach itself to the Magician’s back, beginning the replenishment all over again.
”…Hey, this isn’t a joke… If we don’t crush them quickly, it’s going to get dangerous… Hoping for their magic to run dry was a waste of time…”
I had misread the enemy’s magic supply.
It turned out their magic was incredibly abundant.
”If we don’t take down the Magician squad, the infantry will suffer tremendous losses.”
A cold sweat started to bead on my back.
Continuously, energy bolts and fireballs rained down on me from the ground.
I deployed a barrier to deflect the magic and leaped toward the source of the attacks.
As I hovered above the Magician squad, I commandeered a fireball that the enemy had been chanting and made it self-destruct.
Once I successfully took control of the magic, a chain reaction of explosions spread through the Magician squad.
”Thinking you could hit me with magic? You’re a thousand years too early.”
The self-detonation of the commandeered fireball caused the clustered Magicians to scatter in disarray.
I aimed my Fire Arrow at the surviving Magicians, ready to deliver the final blow.
Then, I focused on the incantation to activate my magic.
At that moment, a chilling shiver ran through my entire body.
”W-What… my magic isn’t activating… No, it is activating, but… GAAAH!”
The Fire Arrows that were supposed to lock onto the enemy suddenly changed their target and came flying directly at me.
Hit by my own magic, I lost focus and swayed in the air.
”Hey! You spirited little True Demon brat over there. If you thought you were the only one capable of magic alteration, that’s a grand misconception!”
A loud voice rang out across the battlefield.
Turning to see the source, I laid eyes on a young man from the Asura Clan, staring me down with determination.
”Spit! You’ve stolen my magic, haven’t you? How the hell can a nobody like you wield the secret arts of the True Demon Clan?!”
As I used Healing Magic to mend my wounds, I fired back at the Asura Clan man.
”Hey! You brat! Watch your mouth! I am one of your precious ancestors from the True Demon Clan! Was Fortesia incapable of raising her kids properly?!”
The young man from the Asura Clan seemed outraged by my words, shouting back with fury.
”You! Are you mocking Lady Fortesia, the mother of our True Demon? I’ll turn you to ashes if you keep this up! Hey!”
Lady Fortesia, revered as the mother of the True Demon, was one of the concubines of the first Demon Lord, Orphée Bleu, who had led her clan alongside him in their fall from grace, and she played a crucial role in the founding of the True Demon Kingdom.
Thanks to her achievements, she was granted the title of True Demon Duchess and lands by Demon Lord Orphée Bleu, making her a source of pride for our True Demon Clan.
It was this woman that the young man from the Asura Clan dared to mock.
”She was good with magic, sure, but she was a serious woman with no sense of humor…”
I faced the Asura Clan youth and launched a light spear (Energy Javelin) without chanting.
The glowing javelin surged forward toward the man.
However, just as it neared him, a white mist seemed to envelop him, causing the light spear (Energy Javelin) to halt, piercing the ground instead.
I continued to channel my magical power into it, increasing the javelin’s potency.
Cracks began to form in the mist surrounding him, but as soon as one broke, another layer of mist materialized.
Eventually, the Energy Javelin lost its momentum and vanished into mist.
”Hold on. Who the heck are you? Blocking my Energy Javelin? Even an S-Rank Magician couldn’t do that…”
”Brat. Do you understand the meaning of magic you’re pointing at me? The magic you know is just a part of the magic I created. Do you know this magic?”
As the man gave instructions, the surrounding Magicians began their incantation.
I could feel the magical elements around me converging on the Magicians.
”””Conjured magic elements (Mana)! Become the shining Victory Staff and pierce my enemy! The War Maiden’s Victory Staff (‘Pallas Rod’)”””
A beam of light ten times hotter and more powerful than the Energy Javelins I had fired came hurtling towards me.
This magic required dozens of magicians to expend their bodies to activate it, but the man continued the incantation without a care.
It was a new magic, but I had searched for it and knew it was a lock-on magic.
He’s using magic I’ve never seen before…
Judging that I couldn’t deflect the magic, I unleashed all my power into a barrier.
The first layer dissipated the instant it was touched, the second lasted only a few seconds before vanishing, and the third managed to reduce the power slightly but couldn’t hold.
Finally, with my last bit of strength, I deflected the magic with the 4th layer.
The Pallas Rod, which had missed its mark, slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater and sending up a plume of smoke.
No way… Even after weakening it that much… That kind of power… If I had taken that head-on, I wouldn’t have been left with a single piece of flesh…
I was terrified by the power of the magic I had just dodged.
For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of fear that I might not be able to win.
”Brat. You dodged well. That was my finishing move… You’re a skilled brat. Tell me your name.”
”Your name first! You’re not Gertroud, are you? You know too much magic. I heard Gertroud was a master of magic, but I didn’t know anyone else was that skilled.”
The man from the Asura Clan cackled, his body curling with each “Kuku.”
”Kuku, ready yourself to die if you must know my name. Very well, it matters not. If you wish to hear it, I shall tell you. I am Orphée Bleu, the first Demon Lord of the True Demon Kingdom and the first Emperor of the Demon God Empire.”
The man had declared himself as Orphée Bleu.
It might have been the ravings of a madman, but considering the man known as Gertroud was well-versed in magic, I couldn’t dismiss it outright.
”Hmph, trying to deceive the Demon Lord, the ancestor of magic, Demon Lord Orphée Bleu, with such nonsense! This imbecile!” He spat, “Buhaha!”
A sharp pain shot through my abdomen as if struck by an invisible mass.
Under Orphée Bleu’s instructions, the magicians began their incantations once more.
”Silence. To be unable to even avoid an Air Blow… Was that earlier just luck?”
”You fool! I am the strongest magician in the Kingdom! Do you think I’ll fall to this level of attack?!”
Recognizing the man calling himself Orphée Bleu as a formidable enemy, I intended to end this with a single strike of my elite-level fire magic, Megid Explosion.
If I could take him down, the Living Dead would lose their instructor and be rendered immobile.
Gripping high-purity Magic Stones in both hands, I began my magic incantation.
”Gather, magic elements (Mana)! Become a conflagration that consumes all and vanquish my foe! ‘Megid Explosion’!!”
I activated it, supplied by the magic from the high-purity Magic Stones.
A white ball of light formed in my palm, dazzlingly bright, descending towards the ground.
As it touched the ground, it rapidly expanded, enveloping the Magicians and Living Dead surrounding Orphée Bleu.
Moments later, the space wrapped in light transformed into a maelstrom of flames and explosions, reaping life.
”Did I… do it…”
Soon, the light receded, revealing Orphée Bleu standing unscathed at the epicenter.
The Magicians around him had vanished, but if you looked closely, you could see their white, faint armor flickering.
”Hohoho, ‘Megid Explosion,’ is it? That’s a spell Fortesia was good at. But it won’t work on me. [Anti-Magic Armor] neutralizes all magic.”
”You monster… To shrug off my ultimate technique, the one that can even defeat a Beast Monster, unharmed…”
Orphée Bleu stood there, the armor that nullifies magic, with a brutal smile on his face.
”I’m not unharmed. You’ve cost me quite a few of my precious Magicians. I think it’s time to end this game.”
Orphée Bleu glowed with the light of the surviving Magicians’ Support Magic, growing stronger.
His enhanced form flickered and vanished, leaving behind an afterimage.
Where’d he go!?
I can’t see him!
Then, out of nowhere, the tip of Orphée Bleu’s sword was thrust towards my throat.
I quickly raised a Physical Guard to deflect the blade, but the barrier shattered, unable to stop it.
Damn it!
I’m gonna get killed!
With great effort, I managed to extend my right hand to intercept the blade in front of my throat.
However, a stream of red blood dripped from the sword’s edge embedded in my flesh.
”Hey, don’t resist. Just hurry up and die.”
The Magicians surrounding Orphée Bleu began to chant, ready to strike again.
The magic they were reciting was composed of unfamiliar incantations.
”””Gather, magic elements! Shatter the stars and lower the curtain of life──’Supernova’!”””
As the Magicians finished their chant, an even larger orb of light than the Megid Explosion shone above my head.
Hundreds of Living Dead had dispersed to activate this magic.
This can’t be real… I’ve never seen anything like this… Is this really the Demon Lord Orphée Bleu…?
”It’s magic similar in power to original Divine Magic. It requires an insane amount of magic power, so it’s not recorded in any magic book. Well, how do you plan to defend against it? I can stay unharmed with my Anti-Magic Armor.”
Orphée Bleu grinned cruelly, a menacing smirk twisting his lips.
Then, a ball of light descended from above, hurtling towards me.
”Die here, you bastard!”
I raised my hand, gripping a high-purity Magic Stone, and began chanting magic at lightning speed.
”Gather, magic elements (Mana)! Transform into a barrier that wards off magic! Resist!”
White mist enveloped me as magic elements gathered around.
The moment the light ball touched the mist, the area was engulfed in blinding white light.
A hurricane of wind and a *BOOM* of an explosion battered my body, tearing at my flesh.
Blood splattered from the ripped skin, and my consciousness began to fade.
No use… I can’t hold it… This is all I’ve got?
What a joke… The Fabulanova will be furious…
My vision turned white, and the agonizing pain overwhelmed me.
In the midst of this, I realized I was going to die.
My hand, which had been raised to create the protective barrier, was gone, shattered by the onslaught.
My awareness slipped away.
* * *
*Ugno’s Perspective
”What is the meaning of this retreat order! What is Lady Fabulanova thinking?! With Clayd having decimated the Magician team, if we launch the Air Corps now, the Gertroud army would be nothing!”
I, as Lady Fabulanova’s messenger, was berating the Dragonia youth who had just arrived as a messenger.
Considering the current situation, Clayd likely discovered and destroyed the Magician team.
This should be the perfect time to deploy the Air Corps, which had been holding back, but Lady Fabulanova ordered a retreat.
For now, thanks to the valiant efforts of the infantry, we have managed to defeat nearly ten thousand Living Dead.
However, the enemy force is still a terrifying threat.
”However, this is a direct order from Lady Fabulanova. With the situation still favorable, the infantry is to mount the transport Dragonewts and retreat. The Air Corps is to also shake off any pursuing forces and fly west, that is her command.”
The Dragonia messenger lowered his head, looking troubled.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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