Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

Chapter 261 – Wraith Party VS Asmodeus Party 3 / O Black Spirit

261 – Wraith Party VS Asmodeus Party 3 / O Black Spirit

「Come, Dark!」

The existences known as Spirits lend their strength when called upon by those that they have taken an interest in.

I am not a Spirit contractor, so Dark’s power can only be used through the Holy Sword.

The Knight Lord Arthur of the world’s 2nd ranked party can only use light elemental through his Holy Sword.

The Future Reading Knight Eligor’s sword clashes with mine.

Then, my Holy Sword emits black flames.

「…?!」

Eligor squints his open left eye.

That is to be expected.

They most likely thought about the possibility of me using my Spirit Magic.

They must have predicted it and planned countermeasures for it.

However, this was definitely never even considered in their plans.

And why would they?

After all, to the rest of the world, this is magic that only a Demon King should be able to use.

Theoretically, the magic that Demon Kings use should also have a Spirit that governs it.

However, it’s cruel of me to expect anyone to have predicted this.

Because such a thing has never appeared in the annals of history.

Originally, Spirits, other than the Lesser Spirits entrusted by the Four Great Spirits, don’t want anything to do with Humans.

The world’s 2nd ranked Jet-Black Hero Ex’s Shadow Spirit, and the Knight Lord Arthur’s Light Spirit are exceptions.

Dark is also an exception like them.

『It’s all over once you catch the flames of the underworld.』

Through the sword, the flame spread to Eligor’s right arm.

This is what her Highness used during the Raid Battle and in the preliminaries of the All-Heaven Festival Contest.

Just as it appears, this magic known as Ebony Flames burns brighter by feeding on a person’s life force.

Using the target’s life force and Magical Energy as firewood, it is impossible to put out until those have been completely used up.

This is popular magic used by Demon Kings, so you can imagine how out of the ordinary this is.

「Impossible…!! For a mere Normal to use these flames is…!」

Impossible, yeah.

「Yet I can.」

This is how I can catch an extremely competent Majin such as you off-guard.

When fighting using an Avatar, even the equipment it wears is recreated with Magical Energy.

His blade was already wreathed in black flames.

He can no longer use it to cut his right arm off to stop the spread of the fire.

Once you’re caught by the Ebony Flames, there is no way to survive other than to cut off the part that caught fire.

Although, there is a way to prolong one’s life before it ends.

Since the flame uses Magical Energy as its source, then why not reduce the intake?

In other words, it’s possible to weaken the intensity of the flame by drastically limiting your own Magical Energy.

However, I am a Black Sorcerer.

Suppressing one’s Magical Energy is akin to abandoning Resist.

This series of thoughts should have occurred in Eligor’s mind, albeit a little slower.

Even with Intelligence Down cast on him, a knight with so many battles under his belt would falter so easily.

The problem is, no matter which action he chooses, they will both benefit me.

So what he chooses to do is…

「Before this flame consumes me, I shall have your head!!」

…to use an even greater amount of Magical Energy.

He focuses on Resist.

He will perish faster, but he will avoid being weakened.

Of all the choices he could have made, this is the one I didn’t want the most.

I expected no less from the Demon King’s closest aide. Even when facing an incident that destroys all common sense, he immediately makes a move.

He moves his burning body towards me.

After the first clash, I immediately swung the Holy Sword that I had already drawn to intercept him.

But he uses his right arm like a shield and lets the sword cut into the bone.

He then skilfully swings his arm to divert my slash.

The way he handled himself in the spur of the moment was truly the actions of a true Knight. He approaches me as my posture was broken.

His outstretched arms, however, didn’t reach me.

The fire completely engulfing him, Eligor screams out with his burning throat.

「YoOoOuuUuu…!」

「I may be a young ogre, but I’ll still protect my allies!」

Josh came from the side and pulled me away, out of reach of Eligor’s strike.

By Eligor’s calculations, he was supposed to have just enough time to at least strike me down.

I guess he didn’t put Josh, who he kicked away earlier, to come back at such a time in his calculations.

「Black Sorcerer Lemmmmm…!! White Sorcerer Jooshhhhh…!」

To his last breath, the Future Reading Knight Eligor disappears into particles of light before he can even show his true worth.

「Thanks, Josh.」

「No, I think I overdid it.」

「Not at all.」

To be perfectly honest, I had already prepared an escape plan.

But this strategy to defeat Eligor was kept a secret in the first place.

There is absolutely no reason to blame an ally for coming to save you out of concern.

「It’s gonna get harder from here on out.」

「Yeah…!」

At the same time as I unleashed Ebony Flames onto Eligor, the sight of to caused waves among the enemy party.

And then, without letting that chance escape, the defeat of the four subordinates, including Eligor, was completed.

As someone who was in the furthest back, I could see all of that.

First off, the battle between the Water Hero Wraith VS the Devil of the Aquarium Crocell.

This match also ended in an instant.

The moment when Crocell widened his eyes at the sight of my Ebony Flames, Wraith pulled out the strength of the Spirit for an extremely brief period of time.

The Water Blade pierced Crocell’s chest.

「Wha-」

For Crocell, who possesses a powerful element-specific magic that interferes with water, he has never experienced defeat by the use of Water Magic until now.

Astonishment was written all over his face.

「No matter how strong it is, it’s still magic, right?　Even if it works against your average Spirit Magic, my partner is the main Water Spirit. When it comes to the power to interfere with water, there ain’t anyone who can match this guy.」

The magic to interfere with water isn’t strong enough to subdue the main Water Spirit, the origin of all water.

In this era, only Wraith can call upon her power.

「To be betrayed by water at this age… It’s a little too much for these old bones.」

With a frustrated yet curiously satisfied expression, as if he had discovered something new and fun, the Devil of the Aquarium…is defeated.

And lastly, the battle of the Destroyer Fran and the Miner Melania VS the Robber of Reason Shax and the Thundercloud Ruler Bael.

Melania stretched out her arm to try and stop Eligor from getting to me, but when she failed to do so, she turned back around without chasing after him.

She glanced at Fran who had escaped the spider webs, then turned to face the Arachne Bael and dived.

Bael, too, could not hide her momentary surprise at the appearance of my Ebony Flames.

The Half-Cyclops Melania descended upon her.

Even if her Agility was stolen, her weight itself will become a weapon.

If she can’t dodge it, she will take fatal damage.

「…Yoink!」

But despite Melania’s fall, the ground barely shook.

「Stole your Weight! …uh oh, whoa, whoa, crap.」

Shax stole it.

However, as soon as she stole the weight of a Half-Cyclops, she struggled as she slowly dropped from the sky, getting closer to the ground. Her wings could not support her current body weight.

But it was only until Bael, who was about to be squashed by Melania, could escape from under her.

That thought process inched her closer to defeat.

The Destroyer closed in on her.

「Whaaaa?」

Shax let out a stupefied voice.

In time with Melania’s dive, Fran jumped and kicked off Melania’s back to reach even higher and adjusting her angle. She sped towards her foe like she was shot out of a cannon.

「…You gave me a fright.」

Shax holds her hand towards Fran.

What did she steal?

If it was from a Destroyer who was suddenly barreling toward you, I suppose it would be Attack power.

Her ability to cope with being caught off guard is admirable, but…that isn’t enough against Fran.

As she is motioning to swing her fist, she opens it instead.

「Huh?」

If Fran were to take a swing at her now, Shax probably wouldn’t receive any damage.

With her Attack Power stolen, it would feel like a gentle breeze on the cheek, no matter how monstrous her arm is.

Although, Destroyer isn’t simply a Job with high Attack Power.

It’s a Job shrouded in mysteries that is simply strong.

So it is said that those who have the Aptitude for it grab victory from the claws of defeat.

Perhaps through Fran’s ingenuity or instinct.

Rather than a sudden punch from the Destroyer’s right arm, the enemy is grabbed by the collar, pulling herself closer.

And then, Fran opened her tiny mouth as wide as it can go…and bit into Shax’s throat.

There was no scream. Because Shax’s vocal cords were damaged.

Only Magical Energy particles spewed out.

No matter how strong a person is, their weaknesses as a living thing aren’t so different from others.

It didn’t take long for the Robber of Reason to turn into particles of light.

On the other side, Melania was also fighting frantically.

Bael, who was pinned under Melania, was not crushed due to Shax stealing Melania’s weight. When she crawled out from under her, Melania grabbed onto her with her hand.

「Let me go this instant, young lady.」

There was a flash that made the audience involuntarily close their eyes.

In addition to that, a powerful electric current was coursing through Melania.

The smell of something burning was in the air as Melania lets out a pained scream.

「I-I won’t!」

「You are as sturdy as I expected. But with the next one…」

There was another flash.

Even if she’s a Half-Cyclops, receiving several lighting spells from Bael, who is called the Thundercloud Ruler, is no trivial matter.

But still, she doesn’t loosen her grip.

「I won’t let go! I…I’m still weak, but…! I…I want my friends…who trusted me…to win!」

Far from letting go, she brought in her other hand and proceeds to crush Bael.

Bael continues to shoot lightning, but suddenly…it stops.

「…You are wrong, young lady. You are not weak.」

Saying that, Bael’s figure disappears as Melania is holding her.

From the fact that she turned into Magical Energy particles, it is understood that she received fatal damage.

Damage from just her gripping with all her might trying not to let her escape.

Big, brave, and powerful.

Bael was right.

Our ally, Melania, is not weak.

After that, the Six-Horned Demon King who had lost all four of her subordinates at almost the same time…was clapping.

She was praising us.

The sound of her clapping was surprisingly loud.

Not only the audience, but even the commentators were unable to keep up with the situation and weren’t making a sound.

That’s to be expected.

There are five Dungeons that are called the Demon King Castle.

Of them, four of the elites from the one called the Northern Demon King Castle were gathered.

Yet they were defeated, by a new party who hasn’t even entered the rankings yet, even if they have the Water Hero.

Not only that, they were all defeated almost simultaneously and in a very short amount of time.

And what triggered it all was the Ebony Flames emitted from the Holy Sword of the Black Sorcerer who was chased out of the world’s 4th ranked party. Of course, they’d be speechless.

「Splendid. Truly splendid. To be honest, by the simple addition of combat power, we were overwhelmingly superior. There are two reasons as to how you overcame us.」

Asmodeus held out two fingers as she spoke.

「The first reason is, needless to say, Lem’s Ebony Flames. You got us a good with that one. Who wouldn’t be surprised? It was just our luck that we were the first to be hit by it.」

This is true.

The first time it’s used is the first and only time the enemy would be completely caught off guard.

To put it another way, the Asmodeus party is so strong that I couldn’t afford to not use my trump card.

In order to advance to the battle with my master, we have to fight and win four times against powerful foes.

In the very first bout, I had to use Dark’s Spirit Magic.

「The second reason is your party working to perfection. The period of time since both our parties were formed may not be that different, but perhaps it’s a matter of awareness. My party is a collection of powerful people. They are all amazing individually. However, you all came together hoping to become 1st ranked as one. Our coordination was a joke, while yours was simply stunning.」

The members of Asmodeus’s party are usually active in different strata. Also, aside from Eligor, each of them is the leader of their respective strata.

Just because you gathered a bunch of excellent leaders doesn’t mean you’ll create an excellent party.

Even still, they are all completely top-notch Monsters. Coordination itself is possible, and normally they would have no gaps to exploit.

The moment of turmoil created by the Ebony Flames derailed their ability to compensate with their excellent skills.

However, for example, this probably wouldn’t work on an Adventurer party that’s worked together for many years.

The five of them will win together. If it were five people who all had the will the win ingrained into each of them, they might not have crumbled even if they were thrown into chaos.

The awareness of Adventurers is different to that of Monsters, who are not limited in numbers and normally lie in wait for them in each stratum.

This isn’t about who is right or wrong, but simply a fact.

「There’s one more reason we overcame you guys, right?」

The Northern Demon King tilted her head at Wraith’s words.

「Oh? Do tell.」

「There were four of them. Their all-important leader was just standing there at the back.」

「Harsh.」

Asmodeus smiles.

「But you are right. I shall apologize to them after this.」

「After this meaning…after you’re defeated?」

「That shall be decided from here on out, young man.」

In an instant, the very air screamed.

It was one of Asmodeus’s six horns.

The release of Magical Energy from just one was enough to seemingly strain the world.

「I think I shall confirm whether or not you lot are worth of facing that man. If you cannot win against me with one horn, then it would be pointless for you to move on.」