Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

115 – Absolute Idol Hero 2

Once again.

Ellie’s party has an unusual composition of one Hero, and a pair of Black Sorcerers and White Sorcerers each.

Their roles when Dungeon Clearing is simply split.

Ellie is offensive.

The other four are support.

This isn’t unusual. The support roles don’t fight, and Ellie doesn’t support them.

At least, that’s how the general public sees it.

No matter how excellent the five of them are, it is difficult to carry out this style of Clearing without losing an ally.

I’m not looking down on them, rather that Dungeon Clearing isn’t so simple.

There’s a trick to it.

This, again, has to do with popularity.

Ellie’s appearance and personality obviously attract people and the other four complete the picture.

I’m sure there are people who are charmed by the sight of a beautiful woman leading handsome men.

Of course, they aren’t Adventurers that are so naive that they think they can survive on that alone.

No matter how beautiful or handsome, if only one out of the five in a party stands out, their popularity will fade quickly.

However, they are within the top 100 ranked, so their popularity is firm.

「Make Madam Ellie as fast as the wind! Quick!」

「Make Madam Ellie as fast as thunder! Quick!」

While the refreshing-looking Kent brushed back his chestnut hair, and while Jean, who is particularly fond of Ellie, clenched his fist, they each chanted White Magic.

It’s not strictly unnecessary, but generally, you should avoid announcing to your enemy exactly what you are buffing.

But I suppose it makes it easier for the audience to understand, and they are quite handsome, and above all else-.

「Lemege-」

Foras couldn’t call out to me in time.

He probably wanted to tell me to look out or to be careful.

But Foras’ words weren’t the only thing that couldn’t reach me in time.

In one flowing motion, I took Foras’ large shield and turned directly behind me to slam someone with it.

「…You can see me?」

It was Ellie’s surprised face.

Ellie was trying to attack from behind, but she avoided my counter-attack.

This time, she kept her distance just fast enough for a camera to record it.

She really is a professional Adventurer.

I mean, all official parties are, but in her case, I’m talking about her frame of mind.

Ellie doesn’t simply think about the outcome of a match, she also moves while thinking a lot about how to charm the audience in a Clear video.

Dungeons use high-performance cameras. Even if you move at a speed invisible to the naked eye, it can be slowed down in editing to show the audience your movements.

Nevertheless, always moving at a high speed means that all the audience will see in the video is a slo-mo version of the entire Clear.

Determine the speed at which you can move that can just barely be perceived as fast when the video is played at regular speed, and maintain that speed except during the deciding moments of a match.

And then there are the effects of White Magic, I guess. Those two aren’t prodigies by any stretch, but they are excellent White Sorcerers.

Rather than the effectiveness, I assume that they trained to extend the effect duration.

When they cast their magic, Ellie’s speed increases. The magic does have an effect, but Ellie intentionally moves faster.

This is very easy to understand.

From a speed that’s faster than an ordinary person to a speed that’s faster than the eye can see. Watching at regular speed, Ellie disappears after receiving the effects of White Magic, reappears at another location, disappears, appears at another spot…again and again.

The weakness of White Magic is that, aside from healing, it is hard for the audience to see the results of the buffs, so she acts in a way that clearly showcases the buff effects, playing up the magic users, which results in them gaining more than usual favor.

What’s amazing about her is her sense of balancing that combines「Performance」and「Serious Fight」.

「Hah, as expected of the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff! How fun!」

This is the issue of working while pretending to be a Majin.

Horns aren’t the only thing that differentiates a Majin from a Normal.

Their body is also stronger.

Their physique, arm strength, leg strength, five senses, Magical Energy organ, as well as their ability to manipulate Magical Energy.

No matter what you compare, on average, Majins are better.

But the only thing that’s Majin level about me is the horn, Magical Energy organ, and my ability to manipulate Magical Energy.

No matter how much training I receive from my master, there’s no way I can completely become a Majin.

It’s not like I got a special talent or something.

Even the horn, I wasn’t able to use it as I do now during the beginning. From the day it was transplanted, where I wasn’t even aware of it, to today, where I use it as if it was a part of me, I kept training.

In other words, what I’m trying to say is this.

I have to fight in a way that doesn’t reveal to everyone that the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff’s endurance and close-combat skills are lackluster.

I didn’t follow Ellie’s movements with my eyes.

I watched their Clear footage over and over again, deduced her attack patterns, and counter-attacked her assumed speed.

I need to fight without showing my lack of ability.

The fight with the Fenix party went well because I knew them very well.

From now on, that won’t work.

No matter how many times I research Clear videos, unexpected things can happen in actual combat.

Taking that into consideration, just how far can I take this?

This battle is a good opportunity to test that out.

「Foras.」

「Yes, sir.」

「Black Magic, huh?! Bring it on! Take that! And that!」

Ellie, who was keeping her distance, stopped moving for a moment and exaggeratedly swung her arms.

As if in response to that, the sounds of gusts of wind were produced, and the walls and floor had cuts in them as if cut by a giant blade.

「Brr… It’s getting chilly in here~」

Said Shea, the One Horned Poet Amduscias, nonchalantly. [1 TL Note: You guessed it, another demon from the Goetia. Amduscias is in charge of cacophonous music and can make trees bend at will. Sound familiar?]

Ellie’s wind blades weren’t the only thing assaulting her.

Before their leader said anything, the two dressed in black suits raised their voices.

They chanted Black Magic, and soon Ellie released her attack magic. That Black Magic was…

「Let my enemy experience their feet being stuck in the mud, my magic! Quick Down!」

「Make my enemy move as if they were carrying a boulder, my magic! Quick Down!」

By the way, the names of Magic and Skills have been generalized in the industry for the time being. It’s for the sake of classification, although the users don’t often say it.

Lily’s Godspeed is like that. It is sometimes used in live commentary or later when talked about, but the person herself does not shout it.

Well, there are those that believe that skill names were made for shouting, and I can sympathize with them as a fan myself.

Skills are categorized by their forms, what is its purpose and what are the movements, and magic is categorized by its effects.

For both, in the case that someone has invented a never-before-seen skill or magic, it can be registered.

The move that Berith did where she creates a giant arm and hits someone with it while she uses her magic arms to strike the elbow of said giant arm to make it hit harder is treated as new and can probably be given a name.

In any case, those two cast Speed Down. Their target is Amduscias. [2 TL Note: Quick and Quick Down are the official registered names of Speed Up and Speed Down respectively. Lem still refers to them as Speed Down in his head.]

She was dashing towards the four in her Centaur form but her speed was lowered slightly.

The Black Magic of two excellent Black Sorcerers were overlapping each other. In their case, they emphasized instant casting rather than effect duration.

Similar to the White Sorcerers moments ago, Ellie would defeat the enemy the moment the Black Magic took effect.

During the editing process, the screen is split into two, easily comparing the difference in speed of the enemy before and after the debuff effect.

She acts to pro-actively show off the appeal of her support members’ actions. This is very unusual among Adventurers.

「…Not bad. You dodged that well.」

Said Ellie, impressed.

That’s right, Amduscias avoided that last attack.

The Black Magic of the two men was excellent, and the timing of Ellie’s attack was perfect.

The wind blades were aimed at Amduscias’ torso, possibly to split her in two.

However, the One Horned Poet is no ordinary Centaur. She can shapeshift between a Human and Centaur form.

And so, the moment before the attack, she shifted to her Human form, going from a quadruped to a biped, thus avoiding the attack. If the horse torso part disappears, then it’s a matter of course that the attack that was aiming for that part would miss.

Amduscias immediately shifts back into a Centaur and sprints towards the four supports.

「Here I come~」

She reaches into a cloth bag hanging around her waist and scatters its contents.

It looked like small grains…they were seeds.

They fell to the floor, wriggled, and changed their shape, growing larger.

They were Demi-Beasts. Plant-based, Human-looking Demi-Beasts.

Their limbs looked like a bundle of plant roots and leaves grew on their heads like crowns. Their hips were covered by flower petals like a skirt, and their breasts were covered by ivy. Green life-forms that looked like Human females.

Alraune.

While it is true that a Beast Master is normally accompanied by Demi-Beasts, it’s difficult to have a mutual understanding with plants, which makes Amduscias uncommon.

Among the countless Alraune that appeared, they ranged from small girls to young maidens. Their preference seems to be females.

「Don’t get too excited just because they’re handsome boys, okay~? Let’s have clean and pure relationships~」

The Alraunes approached those four with smiles on their faces.

「Tsk, don’t you dare flock around my pets.」

Despite her annoyance, Ellie is not going to help.

She doesn’t want to create an opening.

That’s what makes the video so popular. She doesn’t run to protect them. There is no scene where the one with the highest fighting power is put at a disadvantage because of her four support members. She has a style of Clearing that strips down to the bare minimum any elements that could make someone have the opinion that the Black and White Sorcerers are burdens.

So then why is it that not one of the four has ever been defeated?

She doesn’t let any enemy get past her. To some extent, this is the reason.

But this isn’t the case for every Dungeon Clear.

So how do they survive?

Many viewers believe that the four of them support each other by buffing each other and debuffing the enemies, buying time.

And then once Ellie is finished with her fight, she will finish off their enemies.

This is correct as far as what is happening.

But in fact, what is being done to make it a reality is not so simple.

An Alraune stretches her arms as if to embrace the white-suited Jean.

He crouched at the last minute to avoid it.

I knew it.

I was convinced that my prediction was correct.

They’re holding staves.

Not the kind that I used in the tournament. It’s longer. Wooden staves with spiral shapes at the tip of the upward-facing part.

From the start of the battle, they were flowing their Magical Energy into it.

The large sword wielded by Foras also incorporates a staff function into it.

「It seems that the Hero Ellie thinks more of her allies than society does.」

「…It seems that way. Just as Lord Chief of Staff predicted, she uses Wind Magic to notify them of the enemy’s attacks.」

Foras is talking about what I said during the preparatory meeting.

The four of them are excellent, yes, but they weren’t trained by the Demon King. It’s difficult to train the body while also training your magic. Even so, they are increasing their effectiveness by limiting them to specific uses.

Looking at their bodies, they are more trained when compared to the average magic user, but no match for a combat Job.

But then how is it that they can survive so well?

Looking at it now, I understand.

They are not seeing through the enemy attacks by themselves. For example, if an enemy’s attack were aiming for one of their heads, Ellie’s wind would blow onto that person’s forehead. If that person crouches the moment that the wind stops, the attack can be avoided.

The reason that they wear tight-fitting suits instead of the usual magician’s robe is probably to avoid having it be blown about by her wind.

Ellie’s invisible support has its limits, of course, so the four in question have to make efforts to be aware in their everyday conduct. The minimum amount of bodybuilding is essential. This cannot be neglected.

The Undefeated Hero Ellie.

She is honest with herself to a fault. Her attitude is prone to cause misunderstandings, but could a strong person filled with only arrogance be able to form a party such as this?

The reality is, while showing off her beauty, speed, and strength…

…she is an entertainer that shows off the charm and hard work of the allies she fights alongside, who happen to be unfortunate Black Sorcerers and White Sorcerers, thoroughly and clearly to the viewers.

「…You really are the Chief of Staff for a reason. But-」

She runs in a straight line. She was as fast as lightning, but I’ve already experienced this once before. If I can’t react, then-

「A lady doesn’t reveal all her secrets.」

I can see her right in front of me, but her voice came from my upper right.

…An afterimage?! No, it’s Spirit Magic! She used magic to create a mirage!

Foras slashes the Ellie in front of his eyes, but she just sways as if she were made of smoke.

She wasn’t the real person.

It’s a new technique!

I’ve never seen her use this magic in any of the videos I watched.

「Be a dear and keep this magic a secret, please?」

She is floating in the air with wind magic and accelerating.

Oh crap!