The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Asley’s Gate Eater had its limits.

The immense doors to the void, initially seemingly capable of devouring everything, gradually shrank as it swallowed more and more monsters.

“Hmph, that is quite a potent spell. It took a tenth of my forces with twelve invocations…”

Lucifer muttered as he observed the monsters fleeing down below.

Various monsters, Betas, and lesser Devils were engulfed, and eventually, the gates disappeared.

The monsters that witnessed the Gate Eater’s vanishings displayed expressions of relief.

However, even though the twelve invocations had disappeared, one remained in effect.

The gigantified Tzar and Tarawo — in his original form of Wolf King Garm — unleashed powerful Breath Attacks. Ryan, cooperating with Dallas, destroyed monsters, while the original Silver trio cut their way through hell, guiding everyone forward.

They could not afford to distance themselves from the enemy. Their ‘poison’ strategy required them to be within the midst of the Devil King’s army. The place where monsters concentrated was the only place they could survive. If they were to distance themselves from the enemy army, another clash would inevitably occur. They did not have the reserve strength to endure that.

Of course, the same could happen on both flanks. Lylia, leading the guerrilla unit, prevented that from coming to pass. She strategically dispersed the monster army’s advance, making use of the ability of flight of the four Heavenly Beasts to move freely. Lylia read the flow of the battlefield and directed her forces accordingly, sometimes charging and instructing aerial support to the left flank when stationed on the right.

If this balance were to collapse, it would lead to the breakdown of both the right and left flanks.

After all, the forces of the Resistance were decidedly inferior to the Devil King’s army.

“Hey, Dragon! Help me out here!”

“Yes!”

“”GAAAAAAHHHHHH!!””

Maïga and Baladd’s Zenith Breath attacks soared toward the group of monsters.

“”Rise, A-rise, A-rise…! All Up, Count 10 & Remote Control!””

Viola, Jeanne, Lina, and Hornel invoked support magic.

The recipients were the remaining members of the Royal Capital Warrior Guardians led by Egd, who had split from Lylia’s guerrilla unit to fight the monsters. They joined the Resistance after the battle with Cleath in T’oued. In the Resistance, they held lower levels compared to mages and warriors, but they still stood on this nightmarish battlefield. It was thanks to Charlie, who once led the Warrior Guardians Brigade, and because they knew Egd’s determination to fight at the forefront of this battle.

“High-frequency Blade!! All right, that was awesome! Next! Shockwave! Aerial Dancer!”

Egd skillfully wielded numerous weapons, preventing anyone from approaching the right flank.

He did so because there was someone he needed to protect more than anyone else.

Lina gazed at his back with concern as she cast support and attack magic.

Hornel, who had learned Egd’s true intentions the night before, had the same concern.

“Anyone with arcane energy to spare! Lay down as many Giving Magic Circless as possible! Warriors, position yourselves to make it easier for them to fight!”

Following Hornel’s instructions, the ground on the battlefield was covered with numerous Spell Circles.

This was an attempt to prevent the depletion of the warriors’ arcane energy. Even if the monsters tried to destroy these Circles, whenever one did get destroyed, it would promptly be replaced by a new one. It was widely understood that surviving on this battlefield without depleting arcane energy was challenging for warriors. This issue was not unique to this battlefield, but rather occurred in every war.

Even though the war had just begun, many warriors were struggling to catch their breath.

Before them, countless Alphas approached.

“Watch out for Arcane Drain!”

Viola’s command directed everyone’s attention to the Alphas.

However, an even greater threat appeared — their nemesis. Billy, also known as the Holy Healer, had become a formidable enemy as a member of the Devilkin.

Naturally, the warrior responsible for the guerrilla unit, Lylia, also noticed Billy’s presence.

However, before Lylia, Lloyd of the White emerged.

“…Leon! Damn it! Weldhun, Haiko, and Kokki, move over to the right flank! Shi’shichou and Kohryu, to the left!”

“Bah, our plans just went out the window… But I understand!”

“Better get used to it, because it’s a common occurrence on the battlefield! Besides… we saw it coming!”

Lylia leaped down from Weldhun and faced Leon.

Leon’s strength was an unknown factor for Lylia. In their previous encounter, he had effortlessly dodged all of her attacks. That was why Lylia could not simply go to aid Lina and the others on the right flank.

“If I kill him, Asley will be mad at me… But if I don’t go at him with the intent to kill, I can’t defeat him. I know that, but still…!”

Lylia’s face — and expression — gradually changed. It was not the maniacal delight she had before.

It was the countenance of a warrior sinking into murderous intent.

The overflowing hostility frightened the surrounding monsters.

Billy, feeling that murderous intent run down his back, chuckled in front of Lina and the others.

“Oh, how scary. However, only Master Lucifer and Leon can face her. Yes… I cannot… Not yet, at least.”

Before the unsettling smile of Billy, two mages stood.

“Oh? Here to avenge Gaston, are you?”

These two were not present at that offending moment, but they felt the regret more than anyone. Lina, Hornel, and Baladd could not move — they were essential for Lucifer Break. Indeed, the two standing before the Devilkin Billy were Viola and Jeanne.

The two, with fire and lightning fiercely flashing in their eyes, were glaring at Gaston’s enemy.

With the promise entrusted to them by Konoha, they confronted Billy.

“”Vestment Fullspark Rain!””

Jeanne cast the lightning vestment spell she had invented. With both of them having sworn revenge, Jeanne felt the need to fight alongside Viola. The instant the two were enveloped in blue light, Billy’s face cracked with delight.

“Good. Very good. Excellent! If I devour you and gain that magic, I can become even stronger…!”

Billy, transformed into a Devilkin, spoke, and Viola reacted to one particular word,

“Devour?”

That was her question. Billy’s implication was that he could learn the secret of magic, especially one not to be taught to an enemy, by ‘devouring’ — It was only natural for Viola to question what he had just said.

“Quite literally, you will be assimilated into my body.”

“I suppose the answer isn’t getting any clearer than that…”

Viola lowered her stance.

Jeanne leaped, moving past Billy to the opposite side.

Despite having Viola and Jeanne on either side, Billy’s smile never faded.

“HAH!”

Jeanne rushed toward Billy first.

She threw a punch, aiming for the back of Billy’s head. However, Billy caught it effortlessly behind his back.

Jeanne’s expression remained unclouded.

“This hand sure is in the way…”

“What?”

As Billy turned to Jeanne, she was no longer where she was supposed to be.

Exploiting a gap in Billy’s monstrous strength, Jeanne instantly distanced herself and, still behind him, seized his right elbow joint.

“Nwoh–!?”

That reflexive action was sufficient — While Billy was struggling against Jeanne’s movements, Viola, the former Brigadier of the Royal Capital Magic Guardians, closed in. 

If Billy had synchronized himself with Jeanne’s movements, he could have prevented getting injured, but Jeanne had made sure to disrupt Billy’s fundamental reflexes.

Viola slipped past Billy’s left hand and delivered two strikes to his abdomen.

“Gwoh–!?”

“All right!”

Viola’s level was initially around 120 after having used the Limit Breakthrough once, but it had been honed even further since arriving in the Nation of T’oued. This was, of course, to defeat Billy, who had defeated Gaston. Jeanne, too, relentlessly endured self-inflicted pain to enhance her combat abilities. Be it levels or strengths beyond numerical statistics, these two, nearing level 150, dealt definite damage to Billy.

Indeed, they were dealing damage — very little damage, but damage nonetheless.

Viola, who should have fulfilled the promise with Konoha with her two strikes to Billy’s abdomen, realized it first.

[No impact…!? What in the…]

In an instant, Viola was sent flying by a powerful kick from Billy.

Jeanne, who was grappling his right arm, was forcefully dislodged by his overwhelming strength.

“Hahaha… So naive! So very naive! Do you think only you two are capable of becoming more powerful? I’m not as complacent as the other two — My power has already surpassed that of a Heavenly Beast!”

Billy showcased his Ultimate Limit, and the surrounding monsters echoed with their cheers. It was unlike the arcane energy they had repelled together not long ago; it was on a different level.

“Is that so? Let’s see if that’s actually true!”

A giant foreleg swung overhead.

“Ngh–!”

Despite Billy’s increased strength, he failed to evade it.

The attack was from Haiko, who had jumped into this fight just moments ago.

Billy, taking the hit, got his face distorting. However, somewhere in that expression, there was a sense of composure.

“I see… Indeed, you are stronger than me.”

The Ashen Tiger acknowledged Billy’s strength in an instant and leaped backward.

“Viola, Jeanne, we must combine our efforts. The three of us will strike down this Devil.”

Faced with the proposal from the formidable ally, the two had no choice but to nod.

Without Haiko, this battle might have concluded much earlier.

While the right-flank forces were not inferior to the left, Lylia focused on Billy’s strength and positioned the three Heavenly Beasts on the right wing. 

Alphas assaulted the right flank. Viola and Jeanne, despite worrying about their own flank, kept their focus on Billy — so that they could honor the memory of Gaston, the Great Mage of Flame.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Leon, standing before Lylia, swayed back and forth, much like in the previous battle, only this time in response to Lylia’s intense intent to kill.

“There’s no time to waste. I’m going all out…!”

Lylia leaped forward, closing in on Leon and swinging her two swords from above and below. Leon swayed to the right and effortlessly evaded, flowing with the movement. However, Lylia altered the trajectory of her lower sword just slightly, causing it to connect with Giorno’s descending blade.

The swing from above was deflected toward Leon; deeming it dangerous, he promptly evaded it in an awkward posture.

A drop of red liquid ran down Leon’s cheek as he leaned backward.

“…A lot of people can use the Magic Direction technique now… It’s no longer just Giorno, Asley, and you.”

Leon reacted with a twitch to Lylia’s remark.

Indeed, what Leon had been using was the same Magitek as Giorno — the Magic Direction.

The swaying was to relax his muscles to the utmost limit, after which he would be able to react to attacks with the Magic Direction, forcing unconventional movements to evade just about anything.

Having realized this, Lylia had honed her skills to counter Leon.

As Warren had mentioned to Asley, Lylia, while technically unskilled, was originally one of the individuals who could naturally use this Magitek. Moreover, she had observed Giorno’s techniques more closely than anyone else.

With utmost effort, Lylia had endeavored to elevate this Magitek to its highest form, and was now unleashing it against Leon.

“Enemy…?”

Finally, Leon acknowledged Lylia as an adversary.

Though his movements remained unchanged, the released arcane energy was unprecedented.

“As expected, his magical prowess is exceptional. He’s probably better than anyone in this era…!”

Indeed, he, like Asley, was one who walked the path of eternal life.

The arcane energy he possessed approached that of Tūs.

“…With that said, I still can’t afford to lose!”

Lylia tightened her grip on Giorno’s sword and lowered her stance.

Immediately after, a colossal roar echoed across the battlefield.

It was the cry of the Goku’ryu, Hell Emperor of the Blazing Dragons.

It was a signal that Pochi, Asley’s familiar, had confronted the Dragon.

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