Leave a comment

–––Lacus’ viewpoint

Most of them wore the robes of Lumiere’s priests, so I could surmise they were behind the spell we felt earlier. Only one of them seemed actually strong, while the rest were average humans. The standout one was probably their leader, and the strongest one. They looked at me with fierce eyes, and I felt in them the same presence as the spell that rendered all those monsters and demons useless. It barely affected me, a highly-skilled demon, but weaker ones like Ditoner would probably perform worse under its effect, so this could become a tricky fight. But the main issue was another girl who looked at us, specifically at Ditoner, with surprise in her eyes.

“I remember you, we met before.”
“Lapis…was it? Does this mean Bordaule’s hero’s party is also here?”
“I don’t recall introducing myself, but you still remember my name? I’ve really become popular, huh. And I’m sorry to announce, but I’m the only one from Bordaule here, but in exchange Lumielle’s hero Freya is here. This won’t be too different from our last encounter.”

Well…that girl turned out to be Lapis herself. I could sense an enormous amount of magic power in her, more than I had seen in any human. If I went all out I would still have the upper hand, but the average demon would definitely get killed in one hit. On top of that, Lumielle’s hero was here as well. If we took both of them out, the rest of our conquest would be much easier…but this also felt like a hassle. I really could not decide whether this was good luck or bad luck. But in either case, Lapis was here, so there was only one course of action.

“Ditoner, you take care of Lumielle’s hero and her group. I’ll fight Lapis.”
“What?! Why are you deciding that on your own?!”
“Because I know you won’t be a match for her. Or are you so dumb you can’t see the difference in skill between you two?”
“Ugh..!”

He grits his teeth in annoyance, and after staring dagger at me he went to face Freya. Sometimes he could really be a handful.

“Alright, I guess I’ll have to make do with you. Let’s see how fun you can make this.”
“I assure you it won’t be much. After all, this will be your last fight.”

Freya unsheathed her sword and got ready while those around her began chanting. It was time for me to move as well.

“Seems they’re busy over there, so shall we have a match as well? You look pretty strong, so I’m sure it’ll be a fun fight.”
“Sure, I guess soon we’ll truly know who’s the one having fun.”

She knew how to talk back. Though considering her strength, living amongst humans that were naturally weaker than any average demon would make her behave like that. I almost felt bad that she had to die just when she ran into the first obstacle of her life, but I still grinned as I leaped forward at the same time as her and we launched a greeting spell at each other.

–––Freya’s viewpoint

The fight between Lapis and the demon woman that arrived started above us. The demon lady looked quite strong, but knowing Lapis she should not have much trouble winning. I had to leave them to fight on their side and focus on the enemy in front of me though, the demon called Ditoner if I heard correctly.

“Heh! Look at you acting like you know how to use a sword! You really think you can take me on with a toy like that?”
“How was the saying again? All bark and no bite? Or are you delaying the fight because you’re afraid of me? You should just surrender in that case, at least I’ll be merciful enough to put you down without suffering then.”
“Now you’ve done it!”

My provocation worked, Ditoner jumping forward as if his feet had exploded while swinging his sword down, but I had already cast magic in front of me and was able to dodge at the last instant, while also swinging up in a counterattack.

“Tch!”

Ditoner barely managed to evade my blade. He attacked again, and this time I blocked him with my blade, sparks flying between us as they collided. Neither of us yielded any ground, merely exchanging blows and trying to push out the other with the weight of our bodies. He was more skilled with the sword than me, but I was calmer. On top of that, I had Lumiere’s holy presence on my sword, which slowly ate into Ditoner’s body every time my blade brushed against him.

“What is this b̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲! Move body, MOVE!”

I could not stop myself from smiling hearing that. He had finally started to notice.

“You f̲u̲c̲k̲e̲r̲! What did you just do!”
“Just do? It’s been there this entire time. The cleansing light I used has been numbing your body from the start. On top of that, you keep coming in close contact with the holy presence emanating from my sword, which keeps sealing your power away. You didn’t notice earlier?”
“Wha-?! You little trickster!”

If I had fought him in his best shape, he would have won. But under the current situation, I had the upper hand, and by a lot. I would make him pay for all the sins he committed against the residents of this country. Every time I swung my sword, I felt the far end of my mind slowly regressing to the raging mental state I had while living in the slums. But I kept swinging my sword, killing intent welling up with each blow. I would defeat Ditoner without having to rely on Lapis’ help.