Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

263 – Wraith Party VS Asmodeus Party 5 / Raging Fiery Ice Storm

A short and simple question.

I give an equally short answer.

「Give me a minute with her.」

「Isn’t a full minute against a Demon King who unleashed her horn too much? You say that like it’s easy.」

Wraith replied cheerfully.

「It’s for the sake of victory.」

「Then I’ve got no choice.」

Spheres of water float around Wraith. There were several of them, and they were two times larger than a man’s head.

A Water Blade shot out of each of them simultaneously.

So long as I leave it to him, Asmodeus’s attacks won’t be able to reach me for a minute starting from now.

Ever since the start of the match, I have been working my Magical Energy organ non-stop, pumping Magical Energy into the Holy Sword.

Although unable to preserve Magical Energy for long periods of time, Holy Swords and Wizard staffs are equipped with the function to compress and purify Magical Energy.

For a Holy Sword, the amount of Magical Energy that can be poured into it at once is incomparable to that of a normal staff.

Think.

The Six-Horned Demon King Asmodeus. She is also called the Coordinator.

A Demon King who chooses who will pass. Not just in her castle, but in this tournament as well.

What’s different is that she is deciding whether or not we are worthy to do battle with the strongest Demon King rather than proceeding to a different Dungeon.

It goes without saying that the criteria has gotten a lot stricter.

She didn’t even allow the All-Seeing Demon King Paimon party to pass.

Meaning to her, not even a fellow ruler of the five great Demon King Castles qualifies to do battle with my master.

No, perhaps she judged herself more appropriate than him.

Both Hero or Possessed and Majin horn alike preserve their Spirit Magical Energy.

For they are finite.

Wraith, Asmodeus, and I, we’re the same.

Even if I used up every last drop of Magical Energy to achieve victory like in the Fenix fight, it would be meaningless if I can’t win the next fight.

It is a strategy to win the All-Heaven Festival Contest.

The six-horned Asmodeus is aware of this as well.

She fought hard against a Paimon in a single fight.

She used the power of her horn to counterattack the Wraith party too.

To her, unleashing all six of her horns would be a last resort.

She herself is here to challenge my master to a battle.

Then, let’s find out.

Which side will win having mutually exhausted our finite Magical Energy, finishing in a state far from perfect?

To her, that would be the worst outcome.

So, if that’s the case, the side that will win is…

◇

And then, a minute had passed.

At the same time, her eyes turned to me.

As if to tell me that she is perfectly aware of the time while she is dealing with Wraith.

『It’s time.』 said Dark.

In response, I start to move.

Currently, the field is covered in Wraith’s ice.

The audience gasped at the scenery suddenly changing to that of a frozen wonderland.

Or…they are afraid of the Demon King whose attack caused all this without taking a step or getting injured.

Whichever it is, the venue was once again draped in silence.

「You came.」

Said Wraith without looking at me.

I, too, answer without looking at him.

「I thought it was about time.」

「Roger that.」

The plan went a bit awry, but I had always intended on surpassing this battle.

A strategy meeting now would be meaningless.

「Without dispelling your Full Resist, you are completely guarded against my Black Magic. Abusing your inhuman Magical Energy organ, you have poured Magical Energy into your Holy Sword. Now then, what are your intentions?」

When she moved in to strike me, she stepped into the Full Resist field. But she wasn’t affected by Black Magic. That’s because the Magical Energy from her horn offset it.

My weakness is that my body is ultimately that of a Normal.

I have a horn, but I’m not a Majin. I have a Holy Sword, but I’m not a Hero. No matter how far I go, I am a Black Sorcerer.

…I know that all too well.

I stand together with Wraith.

He makes a lump of ice appear from the ground. It stretched rapidly towards Asmodeus.

「Hmm.」

Trying to figure out our intentions, she looks at us while tilting her head.

Just before the ice attack disappears, the blue ice burns black.

The ice’s Magical Energy was used as a path through Asmodeus’s Magical Energy defense.

「Oh. But this won’t be enough to-」

She’s right, this won’t be enough to defeat her.

My Ebony Flames is already a known magic spell. If it’s known, it can be handled. She is veteran Demon King after all.

Even now, she immediately cuts off one layer of her Magical Energy protective films The flames don’t reach her.

But that doesn’t matter.

The ice burned. The ice that grew from the ground and stretched under her burned.

One, the Ebony Flames do not disappear until the target is burnt out.

Two, the Ebony Flames feed on Magical Energy and life force.

Lastly, all of our fights in the All-Heaven Festival Contest take place…in Magical Energy spaces.

fwoosh

The entire ground is wreathed in black flames.

Asmodeus’s eyes opened wide.

「Lem…I see. So you were aiming at the Magical Energy space with your Ebony Flames! Hahaha! How bold! Truly something only you would do!」

Her smile was filled with joy.

Among the magic that Demon Kings can use, the Ebony Flames is one of the basic ones.

However, Demon Kings are beings who normally lie in wait for the Adventurers at the deepest stratum of their own Dungeon.

They are also overwhelmingly powerful people.

They don’t need to burn down their own place of work to defeat Adventurers, and it makes no sense to.

A rule that’s different from the norm in the All-Heaven Festival Contest is that there is no penalty for destroying the Field.

Since a Dungeon is also a place of work for the Monsters, it would be intolerable if it was needlessly destroyed. Thus, there is a rule that says that destroying a Field will incur a fine.

But this time, this is a tournament where anything goes to achieve victory.

Any and all expenses will be handled by the tournament managers.

Even the Fury of the Flame God that Fenix used in the preliminaries to scorch the entire area is a move with high destructive power that he normally doesn’t use.

To put it simply, it is OK to incorporate battle plans that involve destroying the Field.

A plan not chosen by Demon Kings who are overpowered, a plan that cannot be chosen in a Dungeon Clear.

But a plan to use the Ebony Flames in such a way can be chosen right here, right now, precisely because I am a Normal, and because it is within this tournament.

「Lem!」

Wraith reached a hand out to me.

I feel a floating sensation as soon as I grab it.

A pillar of ice forms from the ground, raising us up as high as the sky.

Below, Asmodeus is surrounded by flames.

The ice that Wraith covered the surroundings in under a minute all became kindling, and it has now turned into a cage of ice, trapping her.

『Great balls of fire!! Contestant Wraith’s Ice Magic was all done in preparation for this plan!　Contestant Lem’s Ebony Flames has encircled contestant Asmodeus and she cannot escape!　Oh, please rest assured, dear audience! The area adjoining the audience seats and the Field may seem connected, but they are actually separate, so the Ebony Flames will not harm you!』

It is a unique creation of Magical Energy spaces. The match can be watched with a sense of realism, but no one from the audience seats can get out and run into the Field, for example. On the reverse, nothing from the Field can interact with the audience.

In other words, it’s like the audience is watching through a giant, powerful screen.

This allows the fighters to battle with all their might.

if the screen wasn’t there, they would probably be afraid to use large-scale magic.

「Well done, you two. I could fly away with Wind Magic, but…let’s reveal the ace up my sleeve.」

In the next moment, what grew from Asmodeus’s back were…wings.

They were the same texture as her horns, like they were made from bone.

「…!」

I know that.

With the horn transplanted into my body, a single horn would grow when I unleash it.

But that’s not all, the substance that makes up the horn can come out in various forms.

Like wings made of bone, or a hard skin around my right arm.

I was sure that it was a byproduct of my master using a process to affix the horn within me.

But clearly, it was just another Technique?

Her unleashed horn covered her right arm, giving her sharp claws.

「Even among Demon Kings, those who can do this are extremely rare. It happens from time to time in the body of those with high-performance horns, but are unable to generate enough Magical Energy. In order to store more Magical Energy, their bodies will be gifted the function of a horn.」

Emitting Magical Energy from her bone wings, she soars high into the sky.

She was looking right at us.

Was my master inspired by this phenomenon to try and engrave the function of a horn into my body?

And is that why it was a success?

「This is a Technique that deploys the inherent power of the horn outwardly. It’s called Horn Armor.」

At such a time, I couldn’t help but think…

Master, if you knew about this…why the heck didn’t you teach me…