Shinka no Mi

Chapter 112: The Former Hero’s Party and The Apostles’ Move

While Eusto and Jade were dominating the Demon God’s Apostles, the members of the Demon Army were heading to 『The Sword Knight』 Louise and her 『Valkyries』 squad, while the S rank adventurers were heading towards the 『Black Paladin』 who lead 【The Abyss Schwarz】 squad. They separated from each other and went outside the castle’s walls.

「Oi, Nemu! Wake up already! We can’t reinforce the 『Barrier』 without you! 」

「Nnh~…?」

Being shook by Auburn, Nemu rubbed her eyes open.

「Hua~…What~…? I’m still sleepy~…」

「You can sleep as much as you want once the battle’s over. Just reinforce the barrier that has been deployed here.」

「Nnh~…I don’t get it, but~… Sure~…」

Drowsy as she was, Nemu pulled her cane from her waist and lifted it.

「Fua~…Well, the 『Barrier』 was deployed for Al-chan’s sake in the first place~…Ah, come to think of it… I haven’t seen Al-chan since I came back~…What’s she doing~? It’s dangerous for her to go out of the 『Barrier』 after all~… Is she still here~?」

「Hey, leave the thinking for later!」

「Hai hai, I got it~…『Barrier Arts: Evil Warding Layer』 」

Being dragged around by Auburn still, Nemu recited her spell.

Right after that, a pale beacon of light made its way from her cane to the sky.

The light burst in the sky and enveloped the capital Terveil.

——Nemu Dreamiere

She was an S rank Adventurer with the title 『Sleeping Beauty』, and she was well known amongst the populace of Terveil for a reason other than her rank.

It laid with the 『Barrier』 that enveloped Terveil.

In fact, she and Altoria were friends, and she did a lot of research to deal with Altoria’s innate misfortune.

And then, as to facilitate Altoria’s constitution, she put a barrier surrounding the whole town so Altoria’s misfortune wouldn’t befall Terveil.

「Yosh, good job! Then, let’s——」

「Zzz」

「You sure are fast to sleep! There are still monsters here, don’t sleep yet!」

「Mu! Do I spy an adorable lady over there!? Mademoiselle! Let’s spend a hot, passion nigh——!」

「Oi Yurinne! Where do you think you’re off to!? DAAAGH!! Eusto, so you’re having it this hard!?」

Auburn had his hands full just by dealing with the S rank Adventurers and their over the top free nature.

Despite all the hijinks, they managed to catch up with the 『Black Paladin』 somehow. When they did, they saw the fierce battle against the monsters unfold, with Elmina the 『Thunder Empress』 at the centre of it.

「Oi oi… It sure looks like a desperate fight from here…」

As such words escaped Auburn’s mouth inadvertently, Elmina was confronting a Dragon in front of her.

「Looks like it’s true, there are only S rank monsters here… I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve last seen a【Blade Dragon】?」

「GOOOAAAAAARRGGGHH!!!」

The monster Elmina was confronting was a grotesque-looking dragon that had sharp blades growing all over its body, a【Blade Dragon】.

Each and every blade on it was just as sharp as a sword forged by a skilled blacksmith, and due to the high magical power unique to the dragons, those blades were clad with mana and would sometimes attack.

However——.

「You have it bad, your affinity with me is the worst, you know?」

After she said so, Elmina pushed her right hand towards the Blade Dragon.

「『Octillion Thunder Spear』」

A large number of thunder spears emerged from Elmina’s arm. Those spears then merged and bundled into one, giant spear of thunder.

And while it was the same spell Robert used against Agnos in the In-School Tournament, the one he put his everything into, Elmina’s spell was many folds larger.

The produced spear of thunder flew towards the Blade Dragon at the speed it couldn’t perceive and easily pierced its bladed hide.

「GUGGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!」

Lightning ran through the Blade Dragon’s body, and not long after, it collapsed as black smoke rose from what was left of it.

Auburn who watched it happened said so, wide-eyed.

「I bet you can’t find a Queen as strong as that anywhere else in this world.」

「I agree… Now then, I can’t have Elmina-sama fight the war all alone. I’ll go too.」

Right after, Cornelia came forward with elegant steps as she covered her mouth with a paper fan.

「Ordinarily, you would have continued to lead your peaceful lives, instead of being defeated like this……」

Cornelia gazed upon the horde of monsters before her, with a hint of sympathy on her face, as she pointed a single, slender finger towards them.

「Then at the very least, allow me to return you peacefully to the soil from whence you came from」

The moment she said that, the earth around the horde of monsters started to corrode away, in a way that seemed as though it was trying to swallow the horde whole.

「Sink and Decay. 『Rotting Sea』 」

The erosion came upon the monsters before long, it’s edges creeping under monster horde’s feet, as it’s decayed surface started to resemble a bottomless swamp

「GAAAA……GA, GAGA――――」

「GIIIIIII!GI, GIGI――――」

「GOOOO、GOGO、GO――――」

Desperately, the monster struggled to escape, but the harder they struggled, the further they were drawn into the swamp’s depths, before finally, silence settled upon the battlefield as the monsters were completely submerged.

The plot of earth, that had just morphed into a depthless swamp, reverted back to its original state, and Cornelia, who had been overwatching everything, closed her fan.

「May you live your next life peacefully」

Cornelia Arnoldi

She was the only person in existence with『Rot Attributed Magic 』, and that, combined with the fact that she was a noble, earned her the title of【The Rotten Noble】

「Haah……It seems like neither Homon-sama nor the others are here……Shall we head over there instead?」

…… It’s definitely not because she’s interested in those kinds of things that she was 【Rotten】…… Or at least that was the hope.

[TN Note : Being “Rotten” as a lady in japanese culture means that you’re into Yaoi/BL]

While Cornelia was in the midst of cleaning up the horde of monsters, another adventurer of the same S rank, Yurinne, was also cutting down monsters at a terrifying pace.

「Really…… Because of you bastards, I can’t even go around picking up ladies to my heart’s content……!」

Though her reasons for fighting weren’t exactly pure, the fact remained that she was strong, and she was reliably culling down the number of monsters.

「Just how many ladies do you think live on this street alone!?　To attack this place……Even if the gods will forgive you, I won’t!」

Yurinne leapt high above the battleground, lifting her blade towards the skies

「Devastate――――【Hundred Lily Blades】!」

From within Yurinne’s sword, a swarm of flower petals appeared, gathering around it.

Then, she swung the petal-clad sword down, and the impossibly sharp flower petals were like a storm as they rained down incessantly upon the surrounding monsters.

『GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!』

「Silence! Shut up and die!」

『GY-GYAAA!?　GY――――』

For such an absurd reason, the monsters were culled into nothing before they could even cry out in their last moments,

Yurinne Rezy

The way she cut down her foes was as lovely as a lily, which earned her the title of the 『Lily Swordswoman』

…… Well, nowadays the reason for her being known as the『Lily』Swordswoman has changed somewhat, but unfortunately that’s not something that can be helped.

「Nnー……Every now and again I can find monsters I’ve never seen before mixed into the horde……」

Said Afros, as he scratched the massive afro resting upon his head,

One particular monster was rushing straight towards where he was.

「Nn? Oh, it’s that guy……」

The being charging towards where Afros was at was a monster that was known for its top class defence abilities even amongst its S-Class brethren, a 【Guardian Dragon】

Its scales were so hard that normal weapons couldn’t even leave a scratch on them, truly a monster with the absolute worst affinity for the S-Class adventurers like Yurinne and Gargand.

「GUOOOO!」

「Fuu……Well, it’s true that this guy is stupidly tough～……」

While Afros sighed as he complained about how troublesome it was to deal with this, the Guardian Dragon made full use of its respectable defensive ability as it continued its charge.

Even though the charge was so dangerous that even S-Class adventurers wouldn’t be able to get out unscathed if it crashed into them, Afros didn’t seem like he was panicking at all.

「Well, at the end of the day it’s just another day on the job」

Just as Afros and the Guardian Dragon were about to crash into each other, Afros suddenly bowed his head down towards the monster.

As a result, it seemed inevitable that Afros’s massive afro and the Guardian Dragon were going to slam into each other but――――。

「Nn, it’s in」

To no one’s surprise, the Guardian Dragon had charged straight into, and was consumed by, the afro

Then, as if nothing had happened at all, Afros raised his head back up, before reaching into his afro, grabbing onto something, and pulling it out.

「Yotto……As I thought, this guy was pretty big」

What he pulled out, were the bones of the Guardian Dragon that had stood facing him just moments ago

「Fighting is a real pain, but I’m pretty happy getting raw material like this」

Saying that, he was so merry that it seemed like he was going to start humming at any time, as he continued going around and gathering monster after monster into his afro, before pulling out only their bones from within it.

Afros Dynowahl

As the adventurer who reclaimed places that were known as savage lands and haunts of evil, he was a strange person who was given the title 『The Devil’s Cave』for his deeply mysterious afro.

「You okay not joining the fray, Gargand?」

「Ah? There aren’t any humanoid monsters after all. I’ll pass」

「You……As rude as ever……But, from the looks of things, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting any stage time here」

Said Gargand and Auburn, as they beheld the scene before them.

As a matter of fact, in addition to Elmina, Cornelia, Yurinne, and Afros, there was the 【Abyss Schwarz】 led by the 『Black Paladin』, so the extermination of the monsters was only a matter of time.

The S-Rank adventurers were, in this way, composed mainly of perverts, but it was a fact that they were indeed skilled.

◆◇◆

「This is……」

「……Certainly, if you just look at the numbers then it does seem quite hopeless……」

Regarding the members of the Demon King’s army who had come to where『The Sword Knight』Louise Baruze, leader of the【Valkyries】, was.

They had left the safety of the castle walls, only to be left speechless by the sheer number of monsters advancing on them.

But, due to the effort of Louis and her 【Valkyries】, none of the monsters were allowed to get close to the castle walls.

While she stared at the scene before her, Leiyah asked Zerros something.

「So……How about it?Do you think they’ll listen to what we have to say?」

「……Impossible。None of them are monsters that are under our command as the Demon King’s Army。Furthermore, it seems like they’ve lost their sense of reason……」

The Demon King’s Army had various species of monsters under its command.

Because of that, depending on what types of monsters were there, they could have used various commands to force them to stop the advance, but after seeing the type of monsters that were attacking them, Zerros had judged that it was impossible to employ that method.

「What a waste of time。Even if we ain’t got that, we can just kill ‘em right?」

Said Zorua, yawning, as a layer of darkness started to wrap around his body.

Clad in darkness, Zorua dived straight into the mess of red-eyed monsters.

「Pierce」

A portion of the darkness that Zorua’s body was clad in split off into a sharp spear, striking at the swarm of monsters

The pile of monster bodies skewered upon the spear of darkness continued to increase, as it carried on with its task of exterminating them.

「Ora、daheck are ya doing lazin’ about?Get ya asses into the fight」

「……I’m rather reluctant to follow orders from one such as yourself, but I suppose you are right」

As he said that, sinister-looking mana started gushing out from Zerros.

「Numbers are just numbersI have a limit to how much mana I can spend, but a bastard like you should be fine right?」

「Ha!Unlike ya, I don’t hafta use mana. But this is a lil’ too much, even for me. Try and send ‘em off with as lil’ mana as ya can, would’ja」

「As if I didn’t already know to do that」

Raising both his arms towards the sky, Zerros’ sinister mana started to flow up his arm, gathering in his palms

「『Annihilation Cannon』」

Releasing the mana gathering in his hands all at once, a terrifying torrent of energy swept over the swarm of monsters.

Nothing was left of the monsters that were hit by Zeros’ spell, not even a single atom left to prove their existence.

「Do whatever ya want, but don’t go kickin’ the bucket on me so early ya hear?」

「Who exactly are you trying to be concerned for?You should be the one that’s careful not to die an early death」

As the two carried on with their little back and forth, they were rapidly culling down the swarm of monsters.

「……Those two are as monstrous as ever……」

「Truly……So, what should we do? Shall we go forth as well?」

「If we’re heading out, then perhaps we should head to where the defenses are weak? It’s impossible to completely protect the entirety of the castle walls after all……」

Said Leiyah, and the others that were left behind, as they watched Zeros and Zorua fight.

「Alright……Let’s do our best to protect weak spots in the defences」

Just as Leiyah had made up her mind, and was about to move out.

「――――Not bad」

「Huh-!　Who’s there!?」

Leiyah and the others were looking around, trying to find the source of the voice that had suddenly interrupted them

Thereupon, they found a single male, who had somehow gotten atop the castle walls without their notice.

「You’re……」

「……That’s right。I should introduce myself 。I am Rodius。An Apostle of the【Demon God’s Cult】」

「……An Apostle, you say……」

It seemed that the man named Rodius was an existence whose presence was hard to detect

With purple hair so long that it covered his left eye, and a gaze so sharp he seemed like he could see through Leiyah and everyone else there.

「And what business does the “Great” Apostle have with us?」

「……You’ve already heard from that guy Lester, haven’t you。I have but one goal。The revival of the Demon God」

「I see……And so if someone like you is here, then that means that……」

At the same time Leiyah’s gaze sharpened, so the gaze of Learetta who was standing behind her

「……As you all might have guessed、I have come to eliminate all of you」

「In that case……Then we’ll just have to take you out before we get taken out……!」

Cladding herself in flames, Leiyah rushed straight at Rodius.

「Leiyah, I’ll support you!　『Wind Jet』!」

The spell that Learetta chanted caused Leiyah to accelerate further.

「……Fumu、how rare。A member of the Phoenix clan」

「That’s right。That’s why, I’ll burn you to ashes with these flames……!」

「Fu……I wonder about that?」

Even with Leiyah’s accelerated attack, Rodius evaded her easily.

「Wha-!?」

「……Even among the Apostles, I am one that is part of a Combat Corps that is primarily focused on fighting。Unfortunately, an attack of that degree is unable to even scratch me」

「Then how about this?」

From behind Rodius who had just avoided Leiyah’s attack, Uls struck out with his body covered with his inner fighting spirit.

「『Oni King’s Blow』!」

Focusing his entire body’s fighting spirit into his right arm, Uls punched Rodius.

「……So this one is the Oni King。Interesting, let’s see who’s stronger between you and I」

「What!?」

But, instead of avoiding Uls’ punch, Rodius took it head on with a punch of his own.

By all rights, a being that could withstand a punch from an Oni, a clan that prized itself as one that possessed superhuman strength, should not have existed, much less one that could take on a Oni King.

However, when Rodius’s fist clashed with Uls’, Uls’ fist came to a dead halt.

「My punch……Stopped so easily……!」

「Uls、get down!　『Bewitching Gaze』!」

「……And that’s the Succubus Queen。The Demon King’s Army sure has an interesting cast of members」

As a member of the Succubus race, Learetta had used her unique ability to charm others of the opposite sex, but it seemed to have no effect on Rodius.

「No way……」

「……What’s wrong?We’ve only just started to fight haven’t we?」

「――――Well then, how about this?」

「!」

Suddenly, Rodius heard a voice coming from above him

In the split second that Rodius had taken to dodge, the space where he had been standing at moments before had been cut through by the sword that the 『Sword Knight』Louis had thrown at him.

「……And you’re……」

「Me? I am Louise Baruze。I’ve also been referred to as『The Sword Knight』、perhaps you might be familiar with that title?」

「……I see, so you’re one of the Winberg Kingdom’s two famous knights。Your counterpart seems to be struggling on the other side, however……」

「Indeed。If it’s the『Black Paladin』you’re talking about, then he should be fine。Furthermore, it seems that the S-Class adventurers are there on site as well.」

Louis’s entrance seemed to have surprised Leiyah and the others a little, but they immediately fixed their stances as they took distance from Rodius.

「From what I can see, it looks like you’re the holder of some sort of strange power……」

「……To think that you can see through to that。So, what will you do?Will you be the next to take me on?」

Even though his tone was unchanged, the air around Rodius took a complete 180, as razor-sharp mana started rising up from his body.

「……My apologies, you three there。May I ask that you assist me?」

「Eh?」

「……It seems that he is too much for me to handle alone。It would be a great help to me if you would grant me some assistance……」

As she said that, Louis’s gaze was intense, warily watching Rodius’ every move.

「……Indeed。Understood」

「You have my gratitude for your cooperation」

Leiyah accepted Louis’s proposal, and Learetta and Uls started to prepare something, even as they kept on guard against Rodius.

「……Four opponents, huh。But……very well。Come at me」

With Rodius’ words as a signal, the four of them simultaneously threw themselves at him.

◆◇◆

「Well then, let’s have a little chat shall we?」

「……What exactly is your goal?」

Asked Ranze and Lutia, who were standing in front of an incapacitated Lester and the slovenly-looking man.

Jade and Eusto were using themselves to hold down Lester and the slovenly-looking man respectively, rendering both of them immobile.

But, the slovenly-looking man was still managing to laugh, even in this scenario

「Kukukukuku……Do the bunch of you, really think you’ve won just because you’ve got us restrained?」

「What?」

「Why don’t you quit being a sore loser already?There’s nothing that the present you can do right now」

Replied Eusto, as he further pressed on the blade that he held against the nape of the slovenly-looking man’s neck.

However, the man’s attitude didn’t change at all.

「You might be right But you see we’re not the only members of the 【Demon God cult】。As long as the Demon God exists, new members will continue to appear. Besides, isn’t that bastard Rodius eliminating your buddies outside right about now?」

「Such nonsensical things you say. I’ve got no idea who this Rodius you’re speaking of is, but with there no way we could lose with that much extra firepower heading out to back them up」

「I wonder about that……You’re free to think what you like. But unlike us, Rodius is part of the Combat Corps. Don’t come complaining to me when your buddies die, ay?」

Ranze and the others frowned upon the man, who’s smiling face remained unaffected.

「……It appears that our conversation has gotten a little side tracked, so shall we get back to making you tell us your objective?Of course, I’m not referring to all that talk about the Demon God’s revival。I’m asking about your reasons for raiding this place」

「Keh! Who the hell would tell someone like you――――」

「Ah, we were aiming for the life for the Demon King’s daughter over there」

「Edmund!?」

Lester was shocked when the thing he was trying to keep secret was so easily revealed by the man called Edmund, that he shouted out in surprise.

「Oi, aren’t you giving away these answer too easily, you bastard?」

「Isn’t this something that they’d be able to immediately figure out even without me telling them explicitly?」

「……Then, why are you aiming for her life?」

The moment Ranze asked that, Jade and Eusto, who were holding down their captives, released a dreadful aura of intimidation.

But, Edmund continued on smiling as if nothing had happened even as he faced their intimidation.

「Kukukukuku……Why we were aiming for her…huh……」

「Nn?」

Ranze sensed something strange about Edmund’s reponse, but at that moment Edmund made his move

「Unfortunately, we haven’t actually started aiming for her ya know!?」

As Edmund opened his mouth, a short sword came flying out from within it.

You might have thought that the sword was aimed at either Ranze’s or Lutia’s body, but for some reason it ended up piercing into Lutia’s shadow

Because of him suddenly spitting out the sword, Eusto struck Edmund’s head with all his might, forcing him to the ground.

「……You, do you understand the position you’re in?」

「Lutia-sama!Are you alright!?」

Asked Jade, even as he held Lester down, while Eusto was strengthening the restraints on Edmund.

『!?』

Lutia collapsed on the spot.

◆◇◆

「……How childish」

「Kuh……!」

Grumbled Rodius, as he looked down on Louise and the others on their knees before him.

A crest depicting an evil devil was floating above Rodius’ chest, much like the one that Demiolos, an Apostle that Seiichi had once fought, had too.

「……Thinking that I would get to fight the『Sword Knight』got quite a few of my hopes up but……What a let down this has been」

Looking at Leiyah and the other who were collapsed on the ground, all Zerros and the members of the 【Valkyries】who were fighting off the monster horde could do was cry out in frustration

「Leiyah!」

「Oi oi……Whaddya doin’ gettin’ taken out like that!」

「Louis-sama!?」

「Kuh!You bastard!」

Even though every one of the members taking on the monster horde wanted to rush to where Louise and the others were to rescue them, no matter how many monsters they slayed, more seemed to come out of nowhere to take their place, denying them the chance to help.

Rodius, who had been indifferently watching those fighting off the horde, once again directed his gaze at Louise and the others.

「……Unfortunately for you, it looks like no reinforcements are coming.」

「……It seems so. However, I don’t intend to simply let myself just taken out like this……!」

「……Oh?」

Louise mustered up the strength to stand again, before unleashing one godly-fast strike

「……It’s certainly fast, and if someone were to take that on, they’d be rendered helpless……But that’s only if that someone wasn’t me」

「Wha-!?」

As Rodius said that, he stopped Louise’s attack using a single knife, without moving an inch from where he was standing

「……Well then, I’d like to check up on Lester and Edmund for a bit. Let’s end this fight here shall we」

The moment he said that, countless knives seemed to materialise from nothing as they surrounded Louise along with Leiyah’s group in an instant.

「……I’ll kill you all at once」

「Louis-samaaaaaa!」

Screamed someone, from within the ranks of the【Valkyries】。

「――――Fumu, I thought this was supposed to be the Royal Capital Terveil……」

「-!?　……Who’s there?」

Right after Rodius reacted to the sudden intrusion of the new voice, a jet black spear pierced through the rows of the monsters, exterminating them.

「That was……Zorua, was that you?」

「……Nah, that 『Darkness』ain’t mine」

「Then who could it possibly……」

As it was similar to the Darkness that Zorua had unleashed, Zerros had instinctively assessed it be Zorua’s, but that line of thinking was shot down

Just as everyone was wondering what this new turn of events was all about, a new voice suddenly made itself known.

「――――Good grief、I’d thought it would be a good chance to come here given Seiichi-kun’s introduction、but to think that I’d come under attack from my own brethren……」

「……Who are you two……?」

The two people who possessed an overwhelming sense of presence, were slowly strolling to where Rodius was.

「――――Zeanos Zeford。I’m just the Heroes’ mentor」

「――――Lucius Arsahl。I’m just the first Demon King」

『So――――』

「Are you ready to face me?」

「Have ye resolved yerself to face me?」

――――The strongest possible reinforcements had arrived.

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