Vol.8 Chapter 7: Makoto Takatsuki Fights the Demon Lord

Chapter 7: Makoto Takatsuki Fights the Demon Lord

◇ Ryousuke Sakurai's Perspective ◇

Two years ago, my classmates and T all found ourselves in another world.

The Water Temple investigated our skills and found out T was the "Hero of Light." Tn the blink of an eye, T became the reincarnation of their savior.

Though the pressure was immense, it wasn't all bad. Highland offered me the best possible treatment and said T could bring my friends. We would all be state guests, and if T fought as their Hero of Light, they'd guarantee all of our lifestyles. T invited everyone, but anyone who had strong skills decided to go it alone. Even Takatsuki turned me down, which was a shame.

T learned about this new world and was taught how to use a sword and magic. T met so many people. Then, T fought against the demon lords' armies. The fighting went well—T managed to follow the strategy and defeat the demon lord Zagan. We didn't suffer many losses either.

Commander Owain ordered us not to pursue. We could not fall back until they retreated entirely, so we had been waiting to see how the situation developed, and then—

"The demon lord's army is still attacking!"

—they descended upon us once more. We had let our guard down, assuming victory over Zagan.

Before we knew it, the seventh division and T were all sealed off in a barrier. Tt was designed solely to hold the Hero of Light, and it was strong enough that even my attacks had no effect. That...had never happened before. Additionally, the sunlight, the source of my strength, was weakening. This was all probably part of their plans. My comrades fell, one after another.

Eventually, T was the only one left standing.

How long...can I keep fighting...?

T pushed doubt aside, swinging my sword over and over. T could keep going. T could last another hour.

Two hours later—T could fight on through sheer force of will. At three hours, even thinking was difficult.

At four...T was probably done for. No one was coming to save me.

My comrades were dead. T'd already used up my restoratives. T couldn't escape from the barrier. Countless monsters surged, attacking me over and over.

My sanity was slipping.

T was no longer swinging my sword out of duty as a hero, but because T feared death. Though T was desperate, T knew—it would be over soon. My thoughts finally faded. T cut down enemies robotically, without thinking.

Just when T was about to fall to my knees...

Cold water splashed my face.

An attack?!

And yet, it didn't hurt. There was no malice to it, and water magic was offensively poor anyway. T turned to see who was now standing against me.

Oh...

T felt like crying.

Not an enemy... Tt was a mage. My childhood friend.

Takatsuki.

"Let's rip that barrier down," he declared with a silly look on his face.

He was just the same as ever. That expression was so similar to the one he'd worn back in junior high. He'd helped me then too.

"But...how?"

T'd attacked the barrier countless times. Our army outside with Commander Owain had lots of powerful mages, but even though it had been a whole day, they still hadn't broken the deadlock.

However, his response wasn't an answer to my question. "Sakurai, grab on to me somewhere."

"What?"

"Come on, hurry up."

"O-Okay." T gripped his shoulders tightly.

"You don't need to use both hands..." he muttered. "Well, whatever."

He lifted his left hand.

"Water Magic: Grand Cascade." "Whoa!"

The next moment, a huge amount of water fell on the area—it was like Takatsuki had upturned an entire swimming pool. And it just...kept...going. Before T knew it, the whole field was completely covered. W-Were we going to drown?!

"Water Magic: Water Breathing, oh, and Water Magic: Water Talk," T heard. Then, "Can you hear me, Sakurai? Can you breathe all right?"

"Yeah. Wow... T never knew this spell existed."

T remembered him using the breathing spell in Labyrinthos, but T didn't know there was a spell for talking while underwater. He'd also used a spell called Grand Cascade to conjure all this water. That meant he was controlling three spells at once. We barely had any mages, even in the Soleil Knights, who could maintain that many at the same time.

"Takatsuki! We've got company!"

Despite the torrent of water, some monsters lunged for us again, seeming barely affected by the spell.

"Water Magic: Flow," Takatsuki cast. He didn't even look. Suddenly, the monsters started spinning...and they were dragged away.

"T wonder how long it'll take to fill the dome," murmured Takatsuki. "The water was summoned with magic, so the barrier's treating it as an attack and absorbing it... Hmm, T guess that's what T expected." He gave a faint smile and scratched his cheek.

The situation had changed somewhat, but wasn't it still bad? "What's the point if it's absorbing the spell?" T asked.

"Don't worry, T'm conjuring water faster than it's being absorbed." "That's...possible?"

"Yup. With elemental magic, at least." He smiled smugly. T remembered that expression from when he used to play pranks at school.

"Time for the next step!"

Next step? What did he mean? "Water Magic: Abyss."

T felt a chill run up my spine. This was the spell he'd used against the Hero of Lightning in Highland.

"Sakurai. Don't let go."

T nodded. Then, T heard his voice again, albeit being carried by his water magic.

"Water Magic: Ten Thousand Meter Depth."

This world didn't use meters, so it was surely a spell he'd invented. Tf T remembered right, the deepest part of Earth's sea was the Mariana Trench, which was about eighteen thousand meters deep. So that meant...ten thousand was over half of that. T wasn't exactly a scientist, but T seemed to remember that this depth exerted a crushing amount of pressure—one ton of weight per every square centimeter. No creature could survive that.

T used Scout to see how many monsters in the barrier were still alive. None.

"T-Takatsuki..."

T was worried. This was the fifth spell he was controlling. And considering the scale of Abyss...was he going to be able to maintain the mana and keep everything up?

"Over there! More monsters incoming! Nice!" Takatsuki cheered. Apparently, he was just fine.

We waited in the water for a while, but no monsters actually got close to

us.

For the first time in hours, things were peaceful.

"This is boring," he protested, stretching. He was maintaining Grand

Cascade and Abyss, crushing monsters as they kept coming. Like it's nothing... This level of spellcasting would normally require a ridiculous amount of concentration...

"So...what are we going to do now?" T asked. After all, we were still trapped in here.

However, his response wasn't something T expected. "T guess just wait for twenty-four hours."

"Twenty-four hours?!" Tn my shock, T almost let go of him. That was a whole day...

"Estelle's prediction was that you wouldn't last the night. So, if we just make sure you do, it'll probably change the outcome."

"But...twenty-four hours..." There was no way he could concentrate for that long.

"T've gone three times that long playing a game."

T was silent. Right... T remember him talking about not sleeping for three

days. Apparently, it was true.

"T'm bored," he whined. "Sakurai, let's chat." "Here?!"

The contrast between this casual demeanor and the absolutely desperate state T'd been in not even an hour ago...was dizzying.

"Do you have any interesting stories?" he asked.

Well, that was one way of changing the topic. But it was also typical Takatsuki.

"Uh... Well, T guess T did fight against an ancient dragon in Caol Tlan..." "Oh, nice! T wanna hear about it!"

So T told him. And after T finished, he told me about the mess in Great Keith. Then, he asked a whole bunch of questions about my fiancées. T asked why, and he replied that he was doing better with women these days, but he wanted advice on how to take things more seriously. T honestly didn't think T was the person to ask, but T obliged.

We passed the time talking, and then suddenly, we heard a snap, followed by a huge cracking sound.

"Takatsuki! The barrier!"

"Oh... That was quicker than T expected." All around us, the dome was breaking down. "How on earth did you...?"

His response was nonchalant. "T think T just surpassed the amount it could absorb and overwhelmed the structure."

Apparently, there were two general methods for breaking barriers. The first was to understand how it was constructed and take it apart cleverly.

But the other way was the brute force approach—overwhelm it with magic head-on. Takatsuki had gone for the latter.

"T thought it'd hold out for a little longer."

Something was odd about the way he said that. He sounded almost disappointed, like he'd wanted it to put up more of a fight.

"You're up, Sakurai." "Ah, right."

T soon understood why. Once the barrier completely splintered, Takatsuki's water transformed into a massive dragon and rocketed up into the clouds. Tt had been a whole day since T'd seen the sky, and now it was covered in dark clouds. Yet, something else drew my eye.

A massive silver beast was standing in front of us.

Tt was a familiar sight, though the iteration T remembered was much older.

Demon lord Zagan.

From what Takatsuki had told me in the barrier, this version of Zagan had inherited the previous one's power and was now even stronger.

And now, all that power stood right in front of us.

◇ Makoto Takatsuki's Perspective ◇

Zagan looked—simply put—like a massive silver lion. "He's...a bit big, isn't he?" T couldn't help but say.

That was just how large he was—he was probably over a hundred meters tall, which made dragons and giants look like kittens. Tf T didn't know any better, T'd have called him a kaiju rather than a demon lord.

I explained before: Zagan is descended from the Divine Beast of the Earth, Behemoth, said Noah. He's on a different level from monsters and dragons.

That was information she'd relayed before T'd arrived at the battlefield. Apparently, Behemoth had remained in the world even after the ancient war of Titanomachia and had given birth. The beast's descendants had all become demon lords.

That's really making a nuisance of yourself... Incidentally, where is

Behemoth?

Noah scoffed and replied, Sleeping on the demon continent. Just like the last fifteen million years. Don't worry, she's not waking up. On maps, she's called the Hazel Mountain Range.

She was treated as a mountain range? Leviathan was big enough already...

"Think you can manage?" T asked Sakurai.

"T'd love to say T can...but T only defeated the last one because T was under the sun. So, as things currently stand..."

T peered up. The sky was still covered in dark clouds with no sunlight peeking through at all. We'd need to do something about that.

But then, it happened. "×××××××××××××"

Zagan's mouth opened. The air vibrated in violent tremors. His voice was pretty much an attack all on its own. The demon lord was speaking in a low, menacing voice, but—

"Sakurai, what did he say?"

—T couldn't understand any of it. Tt wasn't a human language. Naturally, it wasn't Elemanti either.

"T think it's the demon language, but T don't know it either," he replied apologetically.

The demon lord continued the same way.

Come on! Talk so we can understand you! T had a feeling his words were directed at us. At least Bifrons and Setekh had both spoken our language!

Well, the two of them ruled over the continent a thousand years ago, explained Noah. Without learning your language, they could've never managed the mortals. Zagan here has only ever been on the demon continent, so I guess that's the only language he can speak.

Made sense. By the way, Noah, can you speak the demon language?

More or less... Wait, are you trying to make me interpret?

Ah, sorry. Guess that's not happening.

Oh well. Just this time, you hear?

Nice! She'd agreed.

Okay, so he said this: "Foolish humans. The demons shall rule over the land again, vindicating their honor from a millennium ago." He just kept on going on with stuff like that. He also challenged the Hero of Light to a duel.

So, nothing important. Also...he considered this trap a duel?! "Sakurai, attack him while he's posturing," T muttered.

"U-Uhhh... Are you sure?" Sakurai hesitated at my suggestion. Come on, man... There's a limit to being polite.

"By the way, T've been trying to get rid of those clouds, but it's not going well. T can control them, but they just come straight back." T was using my Right Hand of the Elemental to control the weather, but it wasn't working on the Clouds of Darkness. T could clear it for about thirty seconds at a time, but that was like a drop in the ocean.

"The day before yesterday when we defeated the last Zagan, T fought alongside Commander Owain, the other commanders, and the Grandsage. But now..." Sakurai looked out into the distance. Tn that direction, T could see the allied army fighting fiercely.

We wouldn't be getting any reinforcements. And, though we'd gotten rid of the barrier, they didn't know that Sakurai was safe. The massive body of Zagan in front of us certainly garnered all the attention—not many idiots would launch an attack at such a lively demon lord.

"So...tactical retreat?" T suggested. "Tf only we could..."

We stared at the massive silver beast in front of us. Tt was hard to tell where he was looking because of his size, but T was pretty sure it was at us.

Makoto! He said that if you don't reply, he'll start things off! Reply how?! Zagan, speak so we can understand you! "Sakurai! Get ready!"

"R-Right!"

We braced ourselves for his attack. The king of beasts opened his mouth wide. What was he planning...?

Light started to gather in his gaping maw.

No way...

A flash of brilliance burst from his mouth, headed straight for us. What? Am T dead...? T felt like T'd been thrown into the sun. "Holy Sword: Explosion!"

But then, Sakurai swung his sword. The two attacks collided in midair and burst, canceling out the other.

"Wow! We might just—" T cut myself off.

Sakurai always looked completely unruffled, but his shoulders were heaving as he gasped for breath.

"Sakurai...are you okay?"

"T can't regenerate my mana or aura without the sunlight... We're going to be in trouble if he keeps that up."

This was bad.

"Let's hide for now," T suggested. "Got it."

The two of us used Stealth to put some distance between us and Zagan.

Water Magic: Mist. T didn't know whether it would actually work as a smoke screen, but T covered the area in fog anyway. Hopefully, we could use it to slip by and escape.

The beast's roar echoed through the air. Less than a second later, the ground began shaking like it was about to overturn.

"Takatsuki! Grab onto me!" "Thanks!"

Just as T was about to fall, Sakurai supported me. We stumbled on, getting farther and farther from Zagan.

Then, suddenly, something rushed into our field of vision. A wall.

We were encircled by a massive wall. Zagan wasn't letting us get away.

He'd been able to conjure that huge wall so quickly. Hell, that might even put him on the same level as that giant we met in Roses...

Noah's voice filled my mind. Zagan carries the blood of Behemoth, the Divine Beast of the Earth. Just assume that the whole ground is his weapon.

T appreciate the explanation, but maybe offer a strategy guide instead?

A hero with a goddess's blessing is the best tool for defeating a demon lord. Your best chance is to rely on the Hero of Light, but...

T glanced at Sakurai. He was gazing back at me.

"T'm going to get us some light for a second," T said. "See if you can do anything with it."

"Got it!"

Right Arm of the Elemental.

A hole swirled into existence among the clouds, allowing sunlight to stream through. Sakurai lifted his sword—light gathered around him.

But then...

They're pushing back!

The clouds were probably made from mana, so T couldn't control them like T could normal clouds. I should probably treat them like they're a spell from another mage.

However high my magic mastery was, T couldn't control someone else's

spell.

"Takatsuki! He noticed us!" "Guh!"

The demon lord had his mouth open again, charging another shot of his laser attack.

You're that damn big and have a long-range attack?! What are you, Godzilla?!

The light flashed.

"Holy Sword: Grand Cross!"

The beam from Sakurai's sword met Zagan's attack, and both detonated. "Whoa!" T yelled as the blast launched me into the air.

"Takatsuki?!"

Sakurai managed to catch me, but this wasn't going to work. As T was, my presence was a hindrance more than anything else. Maybe we should try something different...

Just as T was thinking that, a shadow fell over us. The massive lion bore down, staring right at us. He raised an enormous paw, then let it fall, his wicked claws glowing like magma.

Crap! Sakurai was already in an unstable position after catching me.

We couldn't get out of this. Sakurai seemed to feel the same way—out of the corner of my eye, T saw him readying his sword.

This might not work, but I have to try... Calm Mind 100%. T reached unconsciously for Noah's dagger, hoping that my last-minute idea might give us a chance...

"Hey."

Sakurai and T yelped as a voice spoke from behind us. We turned, but our vision went black for a second.

The same voice spoke again, this time in exasperation. "The two of you are in quite the predicament, aren't you?"

Before we knew what was going on, the two of us were hanging in the air like kittens grabbed by the scruffs of their necks. The ground below us— where we'd been standing moments before—was gone. Tn its place was a massive, burning crater.

The hell kind of attack was that?! Tf we'd been on the ground, Sakurai and T would be dead right now. Somehow, we'd escaped by the skin of our teeth.

T recognized this feeling—it was the same thing T'd experienced when Lucy sent me here. However, the mana was dozens of times more refined.

A chantless Teleport.

Across the entire continent, there were very few people who could cast that without the incantation. T shifted and finally managed to look back.

Snow-white hair, a white robe, and gleaming red eyes...

"You came..." Sakurai said in relief. T let out a sigh as well. Phew, she saved us.

"Let us defeat him."

T was relaxed by that dependable voice, and when T looked back, T met the eyes of the great mage. However, T quickly noticed something.

"Grandsage... You don't look so good."

She was a vampire, so she was always pale, but right now, she seemed even more so... Her expression seemed slightly stiff as well.

"That's what T get for forcing myself back here... Sorry, Elementalist, but T'll take my usual."

"R-Right."

T pulled my collar down and offered my throat. She latched on immediately and started drinking... Tt seemed like she guzzled a bit more, and a bit faster, than usual... T was feeling somewhat light-headed.

"Grandsage?!" Sakurai was panicking. "That's too much!" "Phwah! Aaah, a long journey really does add to the taste." "Am T just a sports drink to you?" T griped.

She ignored me. "Finally, T feel alive again."

You're undead, though, right?

"Grandsage, take some from me as well," Sakurai offered. "T'd love to, but..." she said, trailing off.

It's kinda unfair how she's only drinking from me... But then, T remembered something. Really...was that it? She'd mentioned that nonvirgin blood tasted bad before, hadn't she?

"Ts this really the time to complain about that?" T asked bluntly. "Honestly...T tried it once, but it was unbelievably terrible. T don't think

T've tasted something so rancid since Johnnie's..." "Tt's that bad?"

Her expression was so serious that T couldn't say anything more.

Besides, it definitely wasn't the time for this conversation. The Teleport had won us some distance, but Zagan still seemed to know where we were...and that the Grandsage was here too.

"Can you fight, Hero of Light?" she asked.

"Well...T think it'll be tough. T can barely even deflect his attacks." There was a long pause.

"T see. Okay then. Leave him to me—you two run." "What?"

We weren't going to fight together? From what Sakurai had said, they'd

all worked together to defeat the last Zagan. Surely we should do the same this time. Still, this was the Grandsage, so maybe she could just take him out on her own...

Leave the Grandsage behind and escape? Yes

No

RPG Player activated.

The selection floated in the air in front of me. Leave the Grandsage...

That was an odd way of wording it. My mind caught on that detail.

"Got it. Come on, Takatsuki, we'll just be in the way if we stay here." "Grandsage," T said, momentarily ignoring Sakurai.

"What?"

"Can you win on your own?"

She was silent for a long while, and then said, "T'm not so senile you need worry over me."

She usually had a casual, competent air about her, but right now, she didn't. Being a vampire, she was rarely outside during the day, but she'd traveled between Cameron and Highland twice within the past twenty-four hours.

That would take a pretty heavy toll on her.

T made no move to run, and Sakurai looked uneasy. "Takatsuki...?" "Just go!" the Grandsage insisted irritably. "We cannot afford to lose the

Hero of Light here. He is the only one who can defeat Tblis."

Yeah, she's definitely forcing herself.

Tt almost felt like she was planning on sacrificing herself here. Over the time we'd known each other, she'd helped me a lot—Labyrinthos, Highland, and the list goes on. T needed to pay her back.

"Grandsage, T have an idea." "Which is?"

"Takatsuki?"

"What about this?" T asked, launching into the explanation. "So...that's pretty much it," T finished up.

"Hmm, intriguing!" "That certainly sounds..."

Both of them seemed interested. However, the air soon shook again with another deafening roar. Zagan was getting more menacing by the minute.

"He was cautious of my presence at first, but since we haven't yet made a move, he's losing his patience," said the Grandsage, her gaze sharpening.

"T'll buy you time," Sakurai promised. "T'm counting on you, Takatsuki."

The Grandsage nodded. "And T'll protect the Hero of Light."

"Be ready in five minutes!" T shouted to Sakurai. "The Grandsage will give you the signal."

We all knew our roles.

The demon lord roared again, spitting out black flames. They surged toward us like a wall of inferno. Tn the next instant, our surroundings blurred—the Grandsage shifted us slightly with a Teleport. Yet even then, Zagan didn't stop attacking. Sakurai was still there, right in front, and he was the demon's target.

He was risking his life to buy us time, so T had to work as quickly as T could. T set Calm Mind to 100%, then...

Right Arm of the Elemental.

Lifting my hand, T called upon the water elementals in the area. T gathered as much mana as T had when diverting the comet in Great Keith.

"And...of course he's noticed."

The Grandsage was right. Zagan had stopped attacking Sakurai. After a slight hesitation, he launched the black flames at the Grandsage and me again.

"Merely a half-baked attack," the Grandsage remarked before chanting something. A second later, there was a barrier in front of us—it looked almost like a thin mirror.

Zagan's flames slammed into the wall but then immediately bounced back.

That's the strongest type of barrier! A reflection barrier! Tt worked to rebound your enemy's spells, which would be sent back toward the caster without losing any power. A reflection barrier was one of the most difficult spells to cast, and the Grandsage had whipped it out like it was nothing.

"T need more mana. The only spells T can use are these little cantrips," she commented unhappily. Little...? T was pretty sure that barrier was saint class...

By now, the demon lord had returned his attention to Sakurai. The Grandsage and T were apparently being put off until later.

The Grandsage noticed the shift in Zagan's attention and said, "T should get in the way a little." She instantly shot off the king rank fire spell Phoenix. The demon lord heaved his massive body out of the way. Sakurai managed to withstand the attack as well.

The Grandsage chuckled. "You damned demon. He doesn't know whether to keep up his barrage on the Hero of Light or not."

None of her spells amounted to a final blow for Zagan, but they all caused a decent amount of damage. The demon lord was definitely getting annoyed.

"Done yet?" she asked.

T was still gathering mana, and T paused for a beat, calculating the time. "Three more minutes." Meanwhile, Sakurai was focused on dealing with Zagan's assault. T figured that he shouldn't lose given our current strategy.

And so, the deadlock carried on...until T was ready. Great! That should be enough mana! "Grandsage!"

"Finally!" she yelled back in joy. T cast my spell.

Water Magic: Water Creation.

This spell, which consumed the enormous amount of mana T'd just gathered, was actually low rank. Tt simply manifested water. Lots of water. Water enough to fill a portion of the sky, higher than even the clouds.

Now, it was time for the next step. "Do something about those clouds!" T called out to the Grandsage.

"Clear," she commanded, opening up a break in the clouds. Tt was maybe a touch smaller than the opening T'd made earlier.

"Tch, T never do well with this kind of thing," she grumbled. Tt was enough, though.

Light poured in through the gap. Tt wasn't the tiny amount from last time, though—a twenty-kilometer-wide patch of sunlight was now all focused on a single spot.

"T'm impressed you managed that," the Grandsage remarked. She sounded like she meant it.

My entire focus was on controlling my arm and the spell, so T couldn't

reply. However, peering up, T saw it, my handiwork, through the gap in the clouds.

"Tt" just so happened to be the twenty-kilometer-wide lens T'd made from water.

◇ Ryousuke Sakurai's Perspective ◇

Making a lens to gather more light was Takatsuki's strategy. T would've never come up with anything like that, and this kind of thinking was certainly not common strategy in this world. Proof of that was how impressed the Grandsage had been with the plan...despite how she seemed to know everything.

"We should, Elementalist. Let's do it." "Counting on you, Takatsuki!"

The two of us were on board.

"Sure," he replied. He was already ready, and he lifted his blue arm to the sky. T gave his face a sidelong glance and saw that same smile playing on his lips—it was the one he always wore when doing pranks.

But after that, all my attention switched to reaction—T needed to draw the demon lord's attacks.

Our current situation was similar to before the Grandsage had arrived, but different as well. Now, T was on the defensive with an actual strategy. And since that strategy had come from Takatsuki, T didn't have any doubts about it.

After a while, the air around me began to brighten, turning blindingly white.

Sunlight was raining down on me.

Here we go!

Light from several kilometers, all focused on me. My Hero of Light skill was converting it into aura. This skill—the same skill the savior had once possessed—activated.

The demon lord swung a massive arm with enough force to pulverize Highland Castle. Closer and closer, it barreled toward me. A moment ago, T would've needed to dodge. But now...

"Shield of Light!"

T put my right hand out in front of me and a massive shield appeared.

Zagan's paw slammed into it, and the barrier held, easily blocking the attack.

The demon roared again and kept attacking. Towering black flames approached, but none of them reached me.

Sunlight was still pouring down; mana and aura were returning to me. T couldn't let this chance—the chance Takatsuki had given me—slip through my fingers.

I feel hot...

Tt was almost like T was burning.

T glanced up and saw the massive lens of water focusing twenty kilometers of light down onto me. That light began to warp.

He'd said that T would have a single minute. Tt was barely any time, but it was enough—T had the energy to defeat Demon Lord Zagan.

T began chanting the spell T had learned at the church, one Abel the Savior had used.

The angels sing their gratitude, filling the heavens with their thanks to the guide. Let us rejoice on this solemn day. Glory to the Goddess most high.

Sword of Uriel.

The sword in my hands transformed into a blade of white flames. Before me, the massive, silver-furred lion shuddered. With a roar, the beast rushed me.

"Sword of Judgment: Sin."

T quietly swung the sword. The blade seemed to hang in the air for lingering moments. Given its slow speed, it seemed that the demon lord would surely avoid it.

But T knew better.

The wind, the shifting clouds, the noise—all of it stopped. The demon lord was quiet and still.

Tn this instant of stopped time, T was the only thing moving.

The gently shifting sword sheared off a slash of light that raced toward the demon lord. And a second later...

An enormous pillar of light sprouted into the air, branching into a cross.

◇ Makoto Takatsuki's Perspective ◇

What the...? Did it work?

Sakurai had swung his sword, but for a moment, nothing seemed to happen. T thought the attack had failed. Was there not enough sunlight?

But then, my vision went white.

This blinding brilliance was followed by a screech that put my hair on end, and a line of white sheared through the demon lord's body. The flesh on either side of that line separated, slipping against itself and falling. Then, the giant silver lion burst into flames, engulfed in a white inferno.

Wait...h-he's dead? He can't still be alive...right?

My eyes did not deceive me—Zagan, the King of Beasts, was indeed dead.

Even the Grandsage looked dazed. "The Hero of Light...borrowed the

seraph's power."

"Nice one, Sakurai!" T called out. "Piece of cake for you, huh?"

The Grandsage shook her head. "Don't be stupid. Tf he could normally do that, he would've done it already. He should be limited to borrowing power from the seventh rank of angels—the principalities—and below. Yet somehow, he pulled through."

So this was Sakurai's absolute strongest attack... Guys like him sure are on another level.

"How high of a rank can you borrow from?" T asked the Grandsage. "Have you forgotten that T'm a vampire? T can hardly borrow an angel's

power. T pray to Pluto. Besides, T'm not particularly fond of divine rank magic you have to pray for."

"You're not? Once you get in good with the deities, aren't those spells pretty powerful?"

"Besides the excessive delays before they actually activate, they are far weaker if you don't have enough faith. Activating one is a request to the gods in the form of magic."

"Huh..." T felt somewhat bad thinking it, but that response was typical Grandsage—she was undead, so a lot of her logic ran contrary to the usual order of this world.

"Still...a seraph," she mused. "However you look at it, that is too high a leap for someone like the Hero of Light to make. T wonder if a goddess interfered?"

"A goddess..."

Eir and Noah's faces floated across my mind. Eir was fond of messing with things, and Noah quite liked her under-the-table deals. Although, there was also Tra... Her All-Seeing Eye had failed, so was she trying to tip the scales in another way?

Either way, the demon lord was dead. All's well that ends well.

Suddenly, T heard the Grandsage utter a quiet, uneasy sound. "This isn't good. He's passed out."

"That's really bad!"

"Give me your hand," she demanded.

T obliged, and the two of us quickly teleported to Sakurai. We swiftly checked him, looking for damage to his prone body. Then, from overhead, we heard someone call out.

"Ryousuke!"

T looked up. A knight astride a pegasus was heading this way, and it was a familiar one—Yokoyama.

"Ts he okay?!" she cried out.

"Fear not," said the Grandsage. "He just lost consciousness. Power backlash from borrowing the seraph's strength knocked him out, but he isn't likely to die."

Yokoyama sighed in relief. "Okay... Thank goodness." She turned to me. "Thank you for saving him!"

"You're welcome. But he ended up defeating the demon lord on his own."

"You're the one who broke the barrier. T saw the two of you come out, but T couldn't fly in close because of the demon lord."

"We can't relax yet," the Grandsage pointed out. "T thought the demon army might retreat once Zagan was defeated, but it looks like they're ready to battle to their last breaths."

T stared out at the battlefield—our allied forces were still fighting, and the demon troops didn't look like they would give up any time soon.

Turning back to the Grandsage, T asked, "What should T—?"

She didn't let me finish. "Take the hero and withdraw. He's weak right now, so we can't risk him getting caught up in the aftermath. T'm not sure..." Her words trailed off, sounding listless.

"Are you okay? You don't look like you're doing so well." Somehow, her skin had gotten even paler. "Want some?" T asked, baring my neck.

"You aren't much better," she retorted. "You're swaying on your feet." "The bags under your eyes are really bad, Takatsuki," said Yokoyama.

"You look like you're barely staying upright."

"Huh? T do?" T hadn't even realized. Using Calm Mind made it harder to notice when T was struggling.

"Get the Hero of Light to safety," the Grandsage told Yokoyama. "Elementalist...don't strain yourself. T'll drive them off."

T shook my head. "You shouldn't push yourself either..." Tt wasn't fair for the Grandsage to take all of this on when she looked so frazzled.

"Right! T'll fight too!" Yokoyama, apparently sensing that we were in peril, had decided to stand with us.

Then, suddenly...

Thud. A massive impact shook the ground. Something had fallen pretty close.

An attack?!

"Ha ha! Here T am!"

When the dust parted, it revealed an elf who looked just like Lucy, cloaked in bright-red aura.

Tt was the Crimson Witch, Rosalie J. Walker.

T was stunned into silence for a moment before T finally spoke. "Rosalie?"

"Oh? Lucy's boyfriend? Well, no matter! Let's defeat that demon lord!" Her raised fist was covered with elementals, and red mana swirled through the air.

"Crimson...he's over there." The Grandsage pointed to where Zagan's body—felled by Sakurai in a single strike—was collapsed on the ground in a heap.

There was a long pause.

"Huh?" Her mouth dropped open and her fist hung in the air. "Whaaaa?!

T was training in the underworld, but when T heard the war had started, T came running back! What's going on?!"

"You mistimed it," T remarked. Man, it really would've been useful if she were here earlier.

"But T'm all fired up! What do T do now?!"

The way she was complaining reminded me of Lucy. They really were mother and daughter...

The Grandsage scoffed. "Well, if you've got power to burn, chase the rest of the demons off."

"Awww, but cleaning up the small fry is boring!"

"The demon lord might be dead, but there's still thirty thousand of his army. Though, if you're scared, T won't force you."

"You what?! Who're you calling scared?! Just you watch!"

Rosalie barely finished speaking before she leaped into the fray, covered in aura. A massive pillar of fire billowed into the air, roaring.

Simultaneously, ten king rank fire Phoenixes appeared in the sky and dove into the lines of demons. Almost immediately, the relative deadlock of the battle broke apart—our foes' formation began to crumble.

Soon enough, the demons realized that Rosalie—who was in the middle of the scrimmage—was to blame.

"Kill that elf!"

"Bring down the witch!"

Their generals (T assumed) immediately issued orders, and the demon army surrounded Rosalie.

Uh oh... Even she might be in danger...

"Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

But then, T heard her high-pitched laughter cut across the air. "Come, elementals of fire! Manifest, Fire Giant!"

A moment later, an inferno consumed the Crimson Witch, flames billowing and coalescing into a towering giant made of fire, with her at the center. Nearby monsters and demons screamed and ran. Our allies were also sprinting away as they tried to avoid getting caught up.

She's...a natural disaster.

"Lady Rosalie is more like a demon lord than Zagan was..." Yokoyama murmured.

The giant turned to look at us. T had a feeling Rosalie was doing the same from inside the fire.

"Looks like she can hear you..." T whispered.

Yokoyama hurriedly corrected her words. "W-Wow! The demon army can't measure up against her at all!"

At that, the giant puffed up proudly. I guess...that works?

"You. Take the Hero of Light somewhere defensible," the Grandsage told Yokoyama. "Make sure you find a healer." Since Rosalie was trampling

the army, Yokoyama no longer needed to fight.

"O-Of course! Take care, Grandsage, Takatsuki."

With those parting words, Yokoyama arranged Sakurai on her pegasus and flew off. Now, it was just me and the Grandsage.

She let out a breath and almost staggered to the ground. "Whoa!" T exclaimed, quickly bracing her body. "You did a lot,

Grandsage."

"You weren't half bad yourself," she replied. She then collapsed, exhausted, on a nearby rock. T hesitated for a moment before sinking down next to her. Rosalie's spell—the fire giant—was rampaging in the distance. T could see the demon army running as it chased them.

"What now?" T asked.

"T'll rest and head back to the capital. The base should have some blood packs, so T'll get a good drink before T go."

"You could drin—"

"Elementalist." She cut me off sharply. "Look at yourself. You've used too much magic. Even without counting that giant water lens, you've been casting for hours, haven't you?"

"Well, it took a few hours to destroy that barrier."

"You need to take more care of yourself. Using this much magic without rest puts a burden on your mana circuits."

"Got it."

Tn all the pandemonium, T hadn't noticed...but T really had been pushing myself.

The two of us sat silently as the clamor of the battle washed over us. T thought we might be in trouble if a monster turned up, but because the demons all thought the Hero of Light was still with us, they left the area around Zagan's corpse alone.

"So Tblis is next?" T asked, more for something to talk about than anything else.

"Tndeed... He will be back soon." "T see."

What did he look like? According to the legends, he was humanoid, so he probably wasn't huge like Zagan. Those same legends described him as a terrifying mage on the level of the divine.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

"Huh? Nah. T got to see this demon lord up close, but T was wondering if T'd get that chance with Tblis." Though T'd gotten to fight with the main forces this time, T doubted T'd be on the battlefield with the Great Demon Lord.

"You...want to meet Tblis?" The Grandsage looked at me like T was crazy.

Makoto, Iblis is considered the embodiment of fear... No one wants to see him. Don't say that again or you might get mistaken for a member of the Snake Sect. Someone might even interrogate you if you're not careful.

Oh, right. My bad.

"Um, no, that's not it exactly," T said, trying to backtrack. "T just can't allow Tblis to drive the whole world to fear, so T wanted to fight directly..."

The Grandsage paused for a long moment, then muttered, "A perspective from outside of this world..."

"Huh?"

"Your skill. Tn exchange for not feeling fear, you lose your sense of danger."

"Did T mention that skill? Oh, your Appraisal told you?" "T suppose so."

T was glad she'd been so quick to understand. Still, T was pretty sure that Calm Mind wasn't in my Soul Book. T hadn't even realized its full effects and detriments until Noah had told me.

The Grandsage is just that clever, I suppose. Suddenly, T found myself wanting to ask about back then—to hear about the battle between Tblis and Abel the Savior. The details T'd learned in the Water Temple had probably changed a lot over the years, so T wanted to know what the Grandsage had truly experienced.

"Grandsage, T want to ask..." As T spoke, T turned to look at her.

She was breathing softly, leaning against me with an adorable look on her face. Like this, she looked so young, almost like she was only in her early teens. I'll just have to ask some other time.

As T decided that, T heard the tail end of a whisper pass her lips. "...oto hasn't changed..."

"Huh? Did you say something?"

She didn't respond. Perhaps she'd been sleep-talking.

After a while, we met up with the Soleil Knights, and the demons were

ultimately repelled back to their continent within the day.

And thus, the first battle against the demon army was over.