16-77. Saga Empire, Battle at the Imperial Capital (7)
"It's payback time! Let me show you what serious Arisa-chan's capable of."
Arisa declared so while staring at the Lamia demon lord.
Faint purple lights are blinking on Arisa's body.
It marks the activation of her Unique Skills, [Over Boost], and [Never Giveup].
Arisa's sure-kill combo that managed to Giant Kill even god Zaikuon.
"I'll make you regret missing your chance to kill us with the meteor."
"Arisa--"
Arisa lightly shook her head at the worried Hikaru.
"Haste makes waste, was it."
Arisa unleashed space magic Space Smasher instead of the anti-god magic.
The two heroes have shown that Aegis cannot cope with attacks that are beyond its cognition.
The attack that had been strengthened multiple folds broke through the demon lord's defense, tearing off its body.
As if delivering the coup de grace, Lulu launched a special holy shell from her Floating Fort's storage at the demon lord's head, but it was deflected by Aegis.
◇
"Lamiko-san, are you okay?"
『Okay, not.』
A flat sounding voice replied to Hero Fuu.
"Is there anything I can do? I'll do anything I can you know?"
Hero Fuu is asking while healing her with healing magic through the power of [Master Wizard].
『There, is』
"Really? Then let's do it!"
Hero Fuu readily made a promise without asking first what it would entail.
『Danger, ous.』
"I don't care about danger as long as I'm with Lamiko-san! The two of us are one in body and soul after all!"
Hero Fuu intensely proclaimed with a red face.
The flesh walls blinked several times reflecting the demon lord's hesitation.
"...Lamiko-san?"
『One body and soul, turn.』
A voice responded to Hero Fuu who couldn't bear the silence.
The room protecting Hero Fuu begins to pulse.
"Lamiko-san? What are you--"
Before he could finish his words, the walls swallow Hero Fuu whole from all directions.
『To, gether』
Sounds of bones getting crushed and fibers getting torn off continued for a while.
『Permission, got.』
Four blue lights lit up in the demon lord's body.
As if marking her procurement of God Parion's Authorities that dwelt in Hero Fuu--Unique Skills.
◇
"--The demon lord is gone?"
Right after four lights began to dwell in the demon lord's body, she suddenly disappeared.
"Arisa, can you tell?"
"Nope, I can't see her--Tama!"
『Nyu~, she's here, but not here~??』
Both Arisa's space magic and Ninja Tama's perception can't seem to detect the demon lord.
『Above! Nanodesu!』
Just as Pochi gave the warning, the demon lord appeared on top of Throne and thrust at it with two holy daggers.
Holy daggers and the defensive barrier protecting Throne clashed, scattering intense sparks and flashes everywhere.
"No way!"
Arisa screamed out loud seeing it unfolded.
The defensive barrier protecting Throne was broken off with a single hit.
"Emergency evacuation!"
Nana slided Throne out of the demon lord's attack.
"Giant Shield."
"Hyper Deracinator."
Hikaru and Arisa's defensive magic counterbalanced demon lord's attack before falling apart.
Snake beam flew off from her direction.
"Phalanx!"
Just when the defensive shield installed in Lulu's armor got all used up to defend against the beam attack, Nana's Throne defensive barrier managed to get rebooted.
After seeing that, the demon lord wrapped herself in a dark blue light before disappearing once again.
Nana moves around in the air randomly to avoid getting ambushed by the same trick.
"Tama, bring everyone back here."
『Aye aye sir~』
Liza and Pochi leaped out of Tama's shadow, and after a slight pause, she came back along with the two heroes.
"Uwaa, where is this?"
"Gaudy armor, purple hair--Hero Nanashi!"
"Then are we inside that sphere?"
"Oh my? You brought these kids along with you--"
After thinking a bit, Arisa throws a question.
"--Got any idea where the demon lord is?"
"Seigi."
"I do."
Hero Seigi who's good at searching nodded when Hero Yuuki replied as such.
"That's Fuu's Unique Skill the demon lord has snatched away."
"Snatched? Weren't the demon lord and Hero Fuu working together?"
"Yup, my 『Evil Search (Where's the bad ones)』 can tell the locations of monsters and evil beings. I knew that Fuu was inside the demon lord until a moment ago, but then he disappeared once those blue lights lit up... The demon lord probably ate him."
Seigi speaks with a gloomy expression.
"Requesting the current position of demon lord, so I tell."
There, Nana made a demand without reading the mood.
"Ah sorry, the Unique Skill 『Existence Pending (I'm nowhere)』 the demon lord is using is apparently an omnipresent power to dilute one's existence over a wide area. And--"
Hero Seigi got clad in blue light in the middle of his speech.
"--It's catastrophically ill matched with my Unique Skill 『Truth Eye (There's Always One Truth)』."
Hero Seigi usually only used the Unique Skill to see through evils, but when combined with [Evil Search (Where's the Bad Ones)], it will display another power.
"You're over there!"
The demon lord showed up at the location where Hero Seigi pointed at.
This was something Hero Seigi found out by chance when he couldn't find Hero Fuu during training and pointed out randomly.
Right as the demon lord showed up, fire gushed out of Lulu's Floating Fort's secondary armament, while Liza and Pochi unleashed Magic Edge Cannons with their weapons.
The demon lord immediately put up Aegis, but she was hit by the attack aimed at her lower half and got blown away.
"Fuu had four Unique Skills."
Hero Seigi begins explaining without minding the atmosphere.
"『Existence Pending (I'm nowhere)』 the demon lord used just now."
Lesser Fenrir bit off the demon lord's neck as she fell face up.
"A Unique Skill that allows one to warp everywhere within their sight when combined with Existence Pending, 『Free Warp (I'm Over Here)』. It also barely uses up any mana, apparently."
While chanting an anti-demon lord forbidden spell, Hikaru thought to herself that the Unique Skill sounded like a lesser version of Satou's Unit Arrangement.
Slightly after Hikaru started, Arisa also began chanting an anti-demon lord forbidden spell next to her.
"I don't get how it works, but a one-hit sure kill 『Underhanded Life Snatch (I Hate Your Guts)』. It was probably used to break through the barrier earlier. Since you could counterbalance that, does it mean this thing is a hero's Unique Skill?"
"It's equipment created by Master, so I respond."
"For real?! Your master is awesome."
Nana and the beastkin girls smiled delightfully when they heard Hero Yuuki's praise.
Apparently this Underhanded Life Snatch cannot be used regularly, the demon lord is stabbing repeatedly at the Lesser Fenrir's body as the Snake Beam turns it into stone.
"An area attack to clear up weaklings, 『Slaughter Resonance (Everyone Die)』. This can break through force and holy magic barriers, so be careful."
"That one was wild. During the initial test, not only the test monsters, that also got to several of the recording officials and maids who were watching. That was the reason why Fuu started to shut himself indoor."
Arisa and Hikaru thought that wasn't Hero Fuu's responsibility alone to bear, but they couldn't exactly stop chanting so they ended up feeling bad instead.
"No, wasn't it the fault of that idiotic attendant who insisted to put the blame on Fuu?"
"Yeah, and his father, that stupid prime minister too."
After finishing off the Lesser Fenrir, the demon lord erased her figure once again with the [Existence Pending (I'm nowhere)].
"Chanting complete."
"I'm done here too."
Arisa's and Hikaru's wands are clad in dangerous-looking lights.
Looks like it's quite a risk to defer the activation of Forbidden Spells.
"Seigi-cchi, can you do that move once again?"
"I can do it as many times as you want, but since the enemy can see us too, it's just gonna put up Aegis again won't it?"
"No worries. Green, please summon the dummy fenrir. Three of them if possible."
"Nn ■■■■■■■ False Magic Wolf Creation <>"
A Dummy Fenrir appeared before Throne to act as a decoy.
It looks exactly like Lesser Fenrir earlier. If you line up the two together, you could see that its platinum fur lacks the sublimeness compared to the real thing, but it's hard to tell the difference apart normally.
The chant to summon one is incomparably shorter than the chant for the forbidden spell [Mythology Eater] and [<>].
Mia called forth two more Dummy Fenrir.
"False Twilight of Fallen God (Dummy Ragnarok)?"
"Yep, have it as a decoy as well."
"Got it."
Mia gave an instruction to the dummy fenrir, and they opened their mouths wide, then six impressive-looking magic circles manifested, and then a gigantic magic circle got produced inside the six magic circles.
The magic circles are reproducing illusion just as they have been programmed with beforehand.
"All done now. Once Hero Nanashi and I are gone, make the demon lord show itself like you did earlier."
After confirming Hero Seigi's nod, Arisa turned to Tama.
"Pink, take us behind the shadow of the broken tower over there."
Arisa pointed at positions where they could catch the demon lord in a crossfire.
Looks like doing the warping herself while putting forbidden spells on hold is a tall order even for Arisa.
"Aye aye sir~"
Hero Seigi activated his Unique Skill once the two disappeared.
Right as the demon lord appeared, she deployed Aegis in front of herself.
"Fire."
With Mia's order, the Dummy Fenrir shifted their illusion of killing blow move into the firing phase.
Right then, Arisa and Hikaru who have been relocated by Tama's ninjutsu recite the forbidden spells' activation phrases.
"Mythology Extinction."
"Mythology Down."
The two girls cast their anti-god magic.
Next to them, Tama is squatting down while putting her hands on her ears, with eyes shut tight.
With a thunderous sound, the two forbidden spells exploded on the demon lord.
Innumerable glittering rainbow-colored lights coil around the demon lord, binding while also eroding the its body.
Arisa's Mythology Down reached the demon lord as it was screaming, blasting away the upper half of its body.
"I aimed a wee bit too high."
Even before Arisa could finish reprimanding herself, the demon lord has already started regenerating from its remaining tail.
"Don't worry be happy~"
Tama jumped into the shadow below her after saying that.
In order to accomplish her duty.
"Well, I'm sure it'd be fine."
Hikaru observes the regenerating demon lord while comforting Arisa.
It has already regained its former form.
Looks like it's incapable of regenerating the lost equipment, but the naked body it showed when it first appeared stood there.
Though, as its face and and skin are pulsing and distorting, there's no trace of its amorousness left.
――ＬＷＵＨＵＡＭＺＩＥＥＡ。
Four fragments of blue lights separated away from the roaring demon lord before disappearing.
Three shadows approach the demon lord that got off debris.
"First Sword~? 『<>』"
Ninja tama who split herself into countless body clones cut away the defensive barrier that protects the demon lord's body with her finisher.
The demon lord didn't turn its Aegis at Tama as it was still wary of Dummy Fenrir, instead it used snake beam petrification shower at Tama's clones as if mowing down bugs.
Pochi charged at the openings.
"Second Sword, 『Vorpal Strike Excelion』 nanodesu!"
Pochi who had latched on the white dragon Lyuryu with her dragon fang sword at the ready rushed out using the golden armor's accelerated board, piercing through the demon lord that had lost its barrier from above.
The demon lord shrieked out and shot out petrification breath at the white dragon.
Of course, there's no way an ordinary breath could catch up to the White Dragon's flying speed as it misses its mark.
Liza zeroed in from behind the demon lord.
"Third Sword, 『<>』"
Liza who had accelerated herself with her Powered Exoskeleton penetrated and gouged out the demon lord's medulla oblongata.
In reality, Pochi also had a finisher called [<>], but she didn't manage to master it before the dispatch this time.
"I'm shooting!"
Aimed at the demon lord that had fallen down listlessly, Lulu unleashed all the armaments of her Floating Fort to launch a saturation attack.
Flesh got gouged off, bones were broken down off the demon lord.
"Uwaah, savage."
"Girls are scaryyy."
Hero Seigi and Hero Yuuki were taken aback by the display of complete lack of mercy.
"Have a go~go~?"
Tama who had gone back to Throne asked the two heroes.
The two heroes looked at each other and nodded.
"Right. I've got to avenge Fuu. I never got to talk much with him, but he was still a classmate."
Hero Yuuki fired his fire magic White Inferno at the still surviving demon lord despite all the wounds.
As the demon lord lost its regeneration from Lulu's bombardment, the magic burn down the flesh left in its body.
"Sorry, but could you take me there?"
"Aye."
Escorted by Tama, Hero Seigi appeared on top of the demon lord that had turned into nothing but bones and hair.
It should have not survived no matter how you look at it, but the demon lord is yet to cease moving.
It's truly persistent as expected of a demon lord that had been turned into undead by Hero Fuu.
"Hot, hot hot--Huh, it's not?"
"Water release jutsu~?"
Oh yeah, there was a ninjutsu like that I think? Such was Hero Seigi's impression, being one ignorant of ninja ways.
"<>"
Hero Seigi's holy sword shined blue once he recited the holy verse.
"--Evil Perish (Justice Wins)."
The holy sword clad in Unique Skill power got lodged into the demon lord's cranium.
Its strength was nothing compared to the absurd firepower of the golden knights, but it was apparently enough to finish off the demon lord whose life force had been completely deprived off.
The demon lord stopped moving as it crumbled down from tips.
"Good bye, Fuu."
Hero Seigi murmured with a languid expression while looking at horizon.
The white bone crumbled down and disappeared into black mist.
Which includes Hero Seigi's footholds.
"Uwawawa, I'm falling. I'm gonna die. Save meeeeeeeee."
"Don't worry be happy~"
After watching Hero Seigi panicking for a while, Ninja Tama took him to a safe spot.
"I guess this means it's over here?"
"Yup, all's that left is over there."
Arisa and Hikaru stretched out after they joined up with other girls.
"Disaster relief still remains so I inform."
"Aah, that's right. Even if we leave the relief to Shiga Kingdom and the neighboring countries, seems like several shelters have their roofs collapsed in, let's go take care of those. We're all going together since Master may send a request for help okay."
"Hear hear~?"
"Yes nanodesu!"
With Arisa's encouraging yell, the girls begin to move out.
"Hey, Yuuki."
"What."
The two heroes lying in exhaustion on top of a huge debris are exchanging words.
"Who do you think the master of those monstrously strong party of heroes?"
"Who knows? Probs God or something?"
Hero Yuuki responded to Hero Seigi randomly, laid down his body sprawling and fell asleep just like that after declaring, "I'm tired."
"Get it together you. Well, I'm all worn-out too."
Hero Seigi then proceeded to lie sprawling next to Hero Yuuki and closed his eyes.
There should be no one complaining.
After all, Their battle at the Imperial Capital is over.
◇
--Time goes back a bit.
"WOOOOOOOOOO"
The emperor reflexively screamed out when a quake big enough to almost threw him off his throne hit.
"Damn you demon lord... Don't think you can run around rampaging forever."
What brought about the quake was actually the attacks on demon lord unleashed by heroes, not the demon lord itself.
The emperor would have known that fact were he kept the city monitoring system on, but right now he's fully focusing on the function given to him by someone who called themselves God.
That function is using up all the resources of a City Core that reigns over an entire empire, it's truly dreadful.
"Just a bit, just a bit more."
In front of the delirious-sounding muttering emperor, rainbow-colored lights gathered to form something resembling an orb.
If people who were present during the event in Parion Holy Land were here, they would have noticed that the orb gave off an aura that resembled that of [God-Sealing Rainbow Gem] capable of sealing even gods.
Eventually, the orb transformed into the shape of a huge key.
The once beautiful rainbow-colored key has turned dark before anyone noticed.
"The world is for us humans to take. I shan't let you lots have your ways."
The emperor broke out a ferocious smile as he reached out to the key.
"O Guardian Spirit (Mitama) of Saga Empire---"
The emperor brandished the key like a wand as he called out to the City Core.