Chapter 247 High-Ranking Demon Naraku
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The vanguard of the Demon King’s Army¹, Ogres Sogog and Gomul, had been soundly defeated. For a time, the tide of battle favored the Human Army of the central continent—anchored by the forces of the Holy Kingdom of Alyurein². After regrouping with Sayumi Mineyama and Yukina Yuki, who had secured the cooperation of the maritime nation of Solis³, they shifted back to the offensive to shatter the stalemate.
It was a gamble of a strategy: concentrating limited resources and military might into a single spearhead to march upon Windhollow, the capital of the Union Kingdom⁴ currently occupied by the Demon King’s Army, in one relentless sweep.
”This is reckless!” a noble shouted.
”Shouldn’t we be drafting another plan?” a priest asked.
”Exactly! We cannot permit such a foolhardy operation!” an officer added.
”If we force our way through, there will be massive casualties!” a commander warned.
Many people of standing—nobles, clergy, and field commanders—pleaded for the halt of this reckless maneuver. However, those advocating for the strike had their own justifications.
”But we’ve reached our limit against the Demon King’s Army’s swarm tactics… We don’t know how long we can maintain the front line. Now might be our only chance to strike,” a strategist argued.
”Don’t be so naive! Since the enemy might be concentrating their reserves on the front to plan a counter-offensive, sticking solely to defense is pure folly!”
”Now, while we still have consolidated supplies and strength, is the time to go on a total offensive, crush the enemy’s momentum, and seize control of the war!”
Naturally, there were those caught in the middle who remained neutral.
”It’s true that we sometimes see the Monstrous Beasts⁵ fleeing in terror. If we deploy a grand army, we might indeed break the enemy’s morale…”
”No! But do those things even have a concept of emotion?! if their fighting spirit doesn’t break as we hope, what then?!”
”That’s right! We don’t even know the total number of enemies or if there are hidden ambushes we haven’t found…”
”True… but the enemy must be exhausted as well…”
”Indeed, right now might be when their numbers are at their lowest… Even at this moment, the enemy’s strength might be increasing, you know?”
The discussion followed parallel lines, and no consensus was reached among those holding high office. However, a war where one can face a military operation with all information obtained beforehand is a rarity. Thus, the operation was set in motion. Whether this gamble would yield fortune or ruin would soon be made clear by those who survived.
* * *
”Advance!! Don’t stop for a second!!!”
”Keep moving forward!!”
”Uwaaaaahhh!!!”
The die was cast. The human forces of the central continent shifted to a full offensive to collapse the Demon King’s Army’s defensive lines.
Naturally, the defending garrison of the Demon King’s Army had anticipated a human push. They had constructed multiple lines of defense—wooden palisades, temporary forts, and trenches—waiting with a posture of defending to the death, regardless of the cost.
Every time the lead units made contact with the enemy’s Monstrous Beast units, they engaged in fierce combat to pave the way for the rear. The following units bypassed these localized battles, striking at relatively thin spots in the enemy’s defensive lines—finally reaching the outskirts of Windhollow, the capital of the Union Kingdom.
Sayumi Mineyama had been told by those around her to conserve her strength throughout the fighting thus far. However, seeing the local otherworlder infantrymen being sacrificed to stall the enemy for the sake of the following units, she was driven by a powerful righteous indignation as she attempted to infiltrate the royal capital.
* * *
”Ha! …Ya!”
Sayumi’s family, the Mineyamas, were the head of a school of traditional Japanese martial arts. Because her home taught a style specializing in polearms like the naginata and nagamaki, it was only natural for her to have practiced martial arts since she was a child.
She had mastered the core fundamentals—stabilizing her center of gravity to ground her strikes and delivering heavy attacks such as thrusts and slashes by putting her full weight into the movement. Sayumi used her 168cm tall frame to its full advantage, knocking down Monstrous Beasts in high spirits as she surged forward.
She advanced toward the objective, becoming the vanguard for her classmates who were still weak-kneed and terrified of the enemy.
On the roads along the way, low-ranking infantrymen were engaged in a desperate, frantic struggle to support the Hero party. In her periphery, she saw the scattered remains of citizens who had failed to escape—heads and limbs missing, bodies already rotting—as crows pecked and fed upon the corpses.
It was a shocking sight that made one want to cover their eyes, but it seemed crows weren’t the only ones scavenging.
Monsters resembling dogs with protruding ribs, their eyes white and skin rotting away in patches, stopped their scavenging and swarmed toward Mineyama and the others!
Faced with monsters of such terrifying appearance, the other girls let out screams of “Kyaaaahh!!” like sheltered maidens, and the boys were also rattled, shouting “Uwaaaaahhh!!” Amidst them, only Mineyama and Yukina Yuki turned to the counter-attack.
Each of them cut down a leaping monster dog. Sayumi Mineyama used a Western-style great naginata called a glaive—replacing her light-attribute halberd that had broken long ago—to fight while keeping the monsters at bay. Meanwhile, Yukina Yuki fought with a one-handed sword, suppressing the enemy.
However, the monster dogs didn’t take it lying down!
With a howl, reinforcements appeared from nowhere and swarmed Sayumi all at once!
Sayumi instantly guarded against the bite of a leaping monster dog with the shaft of her weapon. However, another monster dog bit into her leg, and with savage ferocity, it shook its head, widening the wound and causing a jagged laceration.
”Aaaagh!!” Sayumi screamed.
Noticing her cry, Yukina cut down the enemy in front of her and tried to head over to support, but she was surrounded by other individuals and blocked. Just when it seemed they were in a desperate situation—
Marika Sakashita, Yuka Miyake, and Yuka Yuzuki, who had been in the rear formation as precious healers, moved to the front.
”Hey! You boys! What are you doing, just letting the girls fight at the front?!” Marika shouted.
Expressing her anger at the boys in her class who wouldn’t even try to help Sayumi despite having melee weapons, Marika cut down several of the enemies. Yuka Miyake kept the monsters at bay with arrows from behind, and Yuka Yuzuki moved in to treat Sayumi—it was a perfectly synchronized display of teamwork.
Yukina Yuki also cut down another monster dog. Then, an arrow released by Yuka Miyake struck the crown of another monster dog’s head, and it didn’t take long for the remaining beasts to be annihilated.
As Yuka Miyake finished off the last monster dog with an arrow, she couldn’t contain her joy, jumping up and down. “I did it! I hit it again!”
Regaining momentum thanks to the effort of the three from the late-arriving group, and with Sayumi Mineyama’s treatment successfully completed, the classmates finally set out to secure the Great Cathedral within the massive city walls surrounding Windhollow.
* * *
Battering rams smashed through the tightly closed double doors of the cathedral, and Mineyama and the others rushed inside. It was already evening, and though it wouldn’t have been strange for the sun to still be out, the outside was perpetually dim due to a mysterious cloud and mist—yet the inside of the cathedral was so dark it had to be lit by torches.
Everyone looked toward the windows to secure their vision, and they all screamed in terror together!
Nailed to the windows and walls were the corpses of countless crucified victims—believers, clergy, and townsfolk!
While many of the classmates were devastated by the ghastly, gruesome sight, a waterway—likely a trench that once flowed with clear water—suddenly burst into flames. Deep within the building, a massive demon with brownish-tan skin sat entrenched!
Secretion was flowing ceaselessly from its brownish skin. Could the oil overflowing in the cathedral’s waterway be this thing’s sebum…?
”To think a mere human army would attack this place… Heh, heheheh… How foolish… I’ve been bored for a long time, so I’ll play with you for a bit,” the demon said.
”You’re the leader here, aren’t you?! How could you do something so cruel… The human army is already right there! Give up and surrender!” Sayumi demanded.
Despite her opponent being a demon, the serious Sayumi generously warned him to surrender. However, the brownish giant demon simply laughed her off with a lecherous expression, as if mocking her. “Heh, heheh… What a stupid woman!”
”I’ll turn your life force into nourishment for Lord Naraku, this High-Ranking Demonfolk!” Naraku shouted as he opened his mouth wide, his long, tentacle-like tongue capturing Sayumi’s body!
”Kyaaaahhh!!! Nooooooo!!!”
To everyone’s shock, the saliva of this High-Ranking Demonfolk named Naraku was specifically designed to melt only metal armor and clothing! Because of the residual growth hormones in the canned meat she used to eat, Sayumi’s areolae had grown larger than the other girls. Despite her M-cup size, her beautifully shaped breasts were being licked by the tongue!
But naturally, such an outrage could not be permitted for long. Yukina Yuki immediately hacked off Naraku’s tongue, and Yuka Miyake fired arrows to keep him at bay while Yuka Yuzuki took off her own robe to wrap around Sayumi, protecting her dignity as a girl.
Therefore, the moment the boys in the class felt a surge of excitement—thinking, “Uwooooohhh!!! First time seeing this outside of an adult anime!! Sexy tentacles!!!”—it was only for an instant.
Of course, there was no way the girls wouldn’t sharply sense the improper and wicked gazes and moods of those boys.
”Even though Ms. Mineyama is fighting with her life on the line, you’re trying to peep at her private parts just because her clothes are torn?! You’re the worst!” one girl yelled.
”Hey, what are you thinking when we’re doing this with our lives at stake?!” another added.
”You’re too scared to fight properly, yet you act like this?! Boys are gross! Drop dead!”
Accusations rose from the group of girls. The boys, whose guilty consciences were pricked for directing wicked eyes and thoughts at the exposed Sayumi, were violently shaken—and then they became indignant.
”Huh?! I-I wasn’t looking! Besides, the girls are the same, just letting Ms. Mineyama do all the fighting!” one boy shouted.
”In the first place, you’re the ones always making us play the tank role! Do girls who stay at a distance and fight with magic even have the right to talk?!” another boy replied.
”That’s right! Why do we always have to be the ones forced into the vanguard at close range just because we’re men?! It’s unfair!” a third boy asked.
At the boys’ counter-argument, which could be called a reverse-outburst, the girls raised their voices in unison, shocked.
”Hah?! I don’t even know what you mean! You’re boys, so it’s obvious!”
”To not protect a fragile girl… don’t you think you’re being worthless?!”
”In the first place, the physical strength of girls and boys is different!”
”Are you saying girls should be cut up in flashy swordfights and get scars on our skin and faces too?!”
”You want to use girls as shields or decoys?! You’re the worst!”
”Normally, it’s a man’s job to take the lead in protecting girls at a time like this!”
Even though it was a reverse-outburst, the boys’ words had struck a core truth, making the girls furious! To think they would justify their own actions by using their gender as a shield without even reflecting on themselves.
”Hah?! Those are values from our peaceful old world!”
”Yeah! Don’t screw with us! That’s just sexism against men!”
”Besides, sword wounds can be healed instantly with a Potion without leaving a mark!”
”Don’t go shouting about men’s duties and women’s rights only when it’s convenient for you!”
”That’s right! Don’t try to escape hard labor just because you were lucky enough to be born female!”
Thus, they criticized each other while dragging along the sexist values of their original world.
Naraku was the type of enemy who was cautious and prudent enough to consider fleeing if his opponents were capable of synchronized attacks. However, seeing the Hero party fall into internal conflict and make a huge scene despite a powerful enemy being right in front of them, he saw a vision of victory.
As his tongue regenerated with mounded flesh, he laughed. “Oh…? What’s this, what’s this? A lovers’ spat? Is it really okay to have such a relaxed attitude in front of me? De~ju.”
He was convinced: The Heroes are nothing to fear!
With that thought, he began to run at a high speed that belied his massive frame. While shaking the fat of his protruding belly, he launched a solo assault on the Hero party with swift movements, going for the win!
Sayumi was struggling to settle the situation, saying, “Eh?! Wait… everyone? Now isn’t the time to be arguing…” while Naraku let out a war cry and charged into the center of the party!
Having succeeded in splitting the party both mentally and physically, he began his attack!
”Kyaaaahhh!! Hey, you boys! Do something!”
”Uwah?! Don’t just stand there, somebody go!”
”Hey! Don’t push me!”
With an eerie smile, his entire skin began to writhe, and tentacles erupted from his whole body to assault the Hero party!
”—Death!! Tentacle Dance!!!”
”Noooooooo!!!”
”Uwaaaaahhh!!!”
To their horror, what was released from the countless tentacles was venom and strong acid!
Venom and acid rained down. Several boys writhed in agony, screaming “Aaaagh!!!” Naraku’s tentacles coiled around Rin Imaizumi, Yui Mifune, and Kasane Nakaoin. Cruelly, the tentacles compressed and squeezed their limbs, snapping the bones in their forearms and legs.
Along with the dull sound of bones crushing, screams echoed through the cathedral. Seeing the ghastly sight and hearing their comrades’ cries, the morale of the Hero party plummeted further, and the situation worsened due to the resulting confusion.
”Hya… h-help…”
Naraku ruthlessly attacked Aoi Sakai, who was so terrified she couldn’t even scream, slumped over and wetting herself.
”—Noooooo!!”
She was easily caught by a tentacle. The coiling limb began to melt her clothes to absorb her life force—or rather, her Mana—and licked at her chest and private areas to humiliate her.
Gallantly trying to break the situation, Yukina Yuki bypassed the tentacle defenses with brilliant body movements and showered Naraku with sharp sword strikes!
Yukina’s sharp strikes caught his massive body!! —But…
Surprisingly, the blade slipped on the oil seeping from his skin, and the attack didn’t connect!
”Tch! …Then, with this…!” Yukina said.
She immediately changed to a thrusting attack with the tip of her sword. But this time, it was simply blocked by his thick fat.
”Ouch?! What are you doing, de-ju!” Naraku complained.
Since he felt pain, it seemed the attack had gone through a little, but he was virtually unharmed. Naraku wore an expression of anger, but immediately sensing the scent of a female from Yukina, he broke into a lecherous grin. “You… could you be a woman…”
”I’ll convert your life force into my Mana too, de-ju!” Naraku said, switching his target to Yukina and attacking!
However, the classmates wouldn’t stay silent during Yukina Yuki’s pinch!
To support Yuki’s retreat, other female students like the gal group—Risa Tsukishima, Rio Momoi, and Sora Hazuki, who always hung out with Marika Sakashita and had a decent relationship with Yukina—rose up and began chanting offensive magic!
”—|Ignis Fora⁶!”
”—|Arc Lamina⁷!”
”—Anemos Folma⁸!”
An array of magical attacks struck Naraku simultaneously. The water magic was repelled by the grease and had no effect, but the wind magic pierced Naraku’s skin, and the fire magic turned him into a ball of flames!
”Aaaagh!!! Ah! Hot, it’s hot!!! You guys!!! I’ll never forgive you, de-juaaaahhh!!!”
Since the effect of fire magic was found to be immense, those with an aptitude for fire magic switched their attacks to it. Unable to bear the heat, Naraku released the classmates he had captured and secreted fire-extinguishing fluid from his tentacles. While he tried to put out the flames, the Mineyama party rescued the captured classmates.
They retreated from the cathedral!
Outside the cathedral, the delinquent group led by Shogo Gotanba⁹ was waiting. They had been ordered to standby to minimize exhaustion from combat. They were sitting lazily on the roads or against the walls of houses, looking bored, but seeing the Mineyama party retreat from the cathedral, they cracked their knuckles, looking quite ready for action.
Ryuga Onizuka, Rengai Kojou, Rasho Katani, and Kujo Itadori followed Gotanba.
Behind them, Takuya Kiritani’s new party was also standing by.
Scarlet Starkwelt (Light Infantry), Lucamira Verian (Holy Knight), Adelheid Weissbenger (Magic & Alchemy), Dietlinde Folgan (Magic Swordsman), Elise Silvana (Spear/Magic/Healing), Elfmeret (Archer), Eremia Wolfstein (Witch), and Acris Menor (Cleric).
Seeing the injured from the Mineyama party, Elise and Acris, members of Takuya Kiritani’s party, offered to help. Sayumi was about to gratefully accept their kindness with a “Thank you,” but Kiritani himself stopped them.
”That’s no good. Don’t be needlessly considerate… Conserve your Mana for the time to come,” Takuya said.
”Eh? —Tch! I-I can’t believe it! Even for you, I didn’t think you were that kind of person! Many of your fellow classmates are seriously injured! To refuse treatment…!” Sayumi shouted.
Naturally, Sayumi recoiled at Kiritani’s cold words, as he would nonchalantly discard even his classmates. But Kiritani stared back into Sayumi’s eyes. “I’m the one who decides if they have the value to be treated right now. Besides, calm down… I didn’t say I wouldn’t lend a hand at all…”
”Adelheid… give them some of the Potions you made,” Takuya ordered, and then he stepped back.
”Hmph! Must you give me instructions every single time? desuwa,” Adelheid replied.
An exceptionally strong-willed and noble-looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes handed over the necessary number of Potions from a pouch at her waist.
”Thank you,” Sayumi said. The woman offered a smile on her beautiful face. “You’re quite welcome. I apologize… for him speaking that way. desuwa.”
She returned to Kiritani’s party. Even to Sayumi, who was the same gender, she was a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
(Is that the lingering scent of that woman’s perfume… it smells so sweet and wonderful.)
Though she was a woman herself, Sayumi found herself momentarily enchanted. Shaking off the feeling, she was tending to the wounded when a roar of “Boooooohhh!!!” echoed from inside the cathedral! Heavy footsteps approached, and Naraku appeared!
”—It’s punishment time, de-ju!!! You guys!!!”
Naraku appeared with a voice full of rage! As his entire body emerged from the darkness, his massive size was realized all over again. With a face full of wrath, his wicked countenance felt even more evil!
However, Shogo Gotanba and his delinquent group blocked Naraku’s path without fear!
”What’s this! You guys!!” Naraku shouted.
Naraku swatted Gotanba aside with a slap! …But the other delinquents didn’t waver.
Surprisingly, Shogo Gotanba, who should have been smashed against the wall of a house, leapt out from the cloud of dust kicked up by his impact and slashed at Naraku!!
Naturally, this was because his Heavenly Gift Skill¹⁰, ‘Berserker’, had activated. The effect of the Heavenly Gift Skill granted to him was powerful: if he received damage beyond a certain threshold, he would be completely protected from the initial strike, his sense of pain would be numbed, and both his attack and defense would skyrocket for a set period.
The recast time was one minute. While active, it had the disadvantage of causing tunnel vision, but his plan was to cover for that by fighting alongside his fellow roughnecks: Ryuga Onizuka, Rengai Kojou, Rasho Katani, and Kujo Itadori.
Naraku struggled against Shogo Gotanba’s fierce assault, which was more intense than he had imagined. A normal human would feel disgust at the slime of his tentacles and lose their will to fight, but his opponent was a Berserker! Even when poisoned, he didn’t seem to suffer much; even when sprayed with strong acid, he showed no signs of pain and never stopped his attack!
Naraku tried to seal the boy’s means of attack by melting Gotanba’s armor and greatsword with solution, but—
”—Uraaaah!” Gotanba roared.
This time, he switched to striking attacks with his hands and feet in a reckless, headlong rush!
Having no choice, Naraku prepared for sacrifices and swarmed him with tentacles all at once, rushing to break the bones of his limbs with a compression squeeze. However, several of the tentacles were torn off by hand! Naraku, enduring the pain, entered a state of fury!
”Aaaagh!!! I won’t forgive you! I won’t forgive you, de-ju!! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, de-juaaaaahhh!!!”
—But! At that bad timing, Shogo Gotanba’s madness wore off!
And those who had moved to cover Gotanba—Ryuga Onizuka, Rengai Kojou, Rasho Katani, and Kujo Itadori—were caught in Naraku’s torrential attacks. They were sent flying in all directions by slaps and lashings from the tentacles. Gotanba, whose madness had ended, was kicked and then stepped on by Naraku, leaving him in a state where treatment would be difficult!
To be honest, to Takuya Kiritani, people like Gotanba and his hangers-on were nothing more than annoying moths. However, it would look bad to the public if he let his fellow Hero classmates die.
Letting out a theatrical sigh and thinking to himself, Tch! Useless punks!, Takuya Kiritani moved!
”Ye… yet another newcomer? Before you have a painful experience, disappear from my sight, de-ju,” Naraku warned.
Was he surprisingly kind? Lord Naraku specifically warned him to leave before getting hurt! However, Takuya Kiritani dismissed Naraku’s kindness.
”Heh. Don’t lump me in with the trash so far. Forget being hurt—from now on, you’re going to die,” Takuya said.
Feeling belittled and mocked, Naraku shouted, “Don’t make light of me!!” and attacked!
—But, immediately after!!
—A dazzling golden light illuminated the area!
”—Golden Flash Slash¹¹!”
Since he had been told that the cathedral would later become the headquarters and garrison post for the Central Continent Alliance Army, Kiritani used his weapon skill at minimum range to avoid destroying it.
In an instant, Naraku’s lower half—now missing its upper half—collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut!
He had defeated the opponent… Drunk on his own power, Kiritani acted cool as usual, full of conceit and arrogance. “Hmph… nothing special…”
Usually, he would be basking in the afterglow of victory… but this time, things were a little different!
Heh, hahahaha… Naraku’s voice echoed in everyone’s brain! The classmates looked around with faces of surprise and fear, hearing the voice of the opponent they should have defeated.
I’ll stop playing for today, de-ju… as if leaving those words behind, Naraku’s lower half turned to ash like sand and was blown away…
Naraku should have been defeated by Kiritani’s hand… and yet, not a single person present felt the certainty that they had truly struck him down… To be continued.
—
Summary:
The human forces launch a desperate offensive to retake the capital city of Windhollow. Sayumi Mineyama and her classmates infiltrate a dark cathedral, only to find it decorated with the crucified remains of citizens and guarded by a high-ranking demon named Naraku. After a chaotic battle marred by internal bickering between the male and female students, the demon is seemingly defeated by Takuya Kiritani, though its voice remains as its body turns to ash.
—
Character Insight:
Sayumi Mineyama’s sense of duty is challenged by the harsh reality of war and the immaturity of her classmates. Takuya Kiritani’s cold pragmatism suggests he views his classmates as resources rather than people, a stark contrast to Sayumi’s empathy. Meanwhile, the gender-based friction highlights the psychological strain on the group, showing they are still clinging to ‘old world’ social safety nets that are failing in this new, brutal environment.
—
Behind the Scene:
The author uses Naraku’s oily skin as a literal and metaphorical defense—his ‘greasiness’ makes him hard to pin down. The friction between the male and female students is a recurring theme in many ‘class-summon’ light novels, used here to highlight the breakdown of order and morale under pressure.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Sayumi Mineyama – Vice class rep, serious and disciplined.
• Mineyama – Vice class rep, serious and disciplined.
• Sayumi – Vice class rep, serious and disciplined. Daughter of a martial arts master family specializing in polearms. 168cm tall with a sturdy, well-developed build (M-cup). Disciplined and righteous.
• Yukina – Sayumi’s friend, a half-Eastern European girl with silver hair and blue eyes, who offers support and expresses concern about the recent events.
• Union Kingdom – The neighboring kingdom to Alyurein.
• Marika Sakashita – The fashionable gyaru who awakened as a Magic Warrior.
• Sakashita – The fashionable gyaru who awakened as a Magic Warrior.
• Naraku – A high-ranking Demonfolk. Brown-skinned giant with excessively oily skin and a long, tentacle-like tongue. Sadistic and lecherous.
• Nakaoin – A haughty, twin-tailed girl from a former aristocratic family.
• Gotanba – Leader of a delinquent group sprinting toward the school store. A student who first breaks the silence upon being teleported. Awakened as berserker.
• Shogo – Leader of a delinquent group sprinting toward the school store. A student who first breaks the silence upon being teleported.
• Kiritani – The class president who takes leadership and questions their situation. A smooth operator, laid-back and calm. The handsome one. And the one who sell the girls.
• Takuya – The class president who takes leadership and questions their situation. A smooth operator, laid-back and calm. The handsome one.
• Adelheid – A blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty specializing in Magic and Alchemy. Prideful but polite.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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