Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

49 – On That Day, I Became the Hero I Always Dreamed of

With the Magical Energy drawn from the horn, I use my Black Magic, no, my Black Sorcery.

I can make one die of illness in seconds, plunge one into darkness for all eternity, trap one in a prison of one’s own mind, make one unable to perceive anything of the outside world, and make one’s body as immobile as a rock.

Just by merely knowing all that is possible is what makes the world regard Black Sorcery as dangerous.

However, Fenix Resists all of that with his unimaginable Magical Energy.

I expected this, but he truly has an unusual amount of it.

My goal is to force him to use up all his energy by resisting my spells.

First, I will reduce both his physical and magical offense and defense.

Fenix ignores it.

Hmph, stubborn, aren’t you?

Normally, it is rare to be able to use several Black Magics at once, but if it’s hard to do, it’s also hard to undo.

Even if it’s Fenix, focusing on fighting while dealing with several Black Sorcery spells infused with massive amounts of Magical Energy will be difficult.

And so, compromises must be made.

To be able to focus on the fight, he must be determined to let himself be affected by certain debuffs.

So he will completely Resist those that are fatal or spells that affect his mind.

I thought he would try to preserve his offense but he took that together with the Defense Down debuff.

I understand taking the Defense Down. You just have to defeat the enemy before they hit you.

But to allow your all-important offense to be affected…

…No, wait.

As he is approaching me, his resistance towards my Magical Attack Down debuff is increasing.

So he thinks he’s fine as long as he has his Flames of the Gods.

I hear the sound of something sizzling, like the sound of a drop of water being poured onto a hot pan.

It was the sound of the Magical Energy Field, that I deployed in order to protect me against the heat of the Flame, breaking. The membranous-like shape was unable to hold and began to dissipate.

This flame can burn you up just by getting close.

In order to overcome this, I need something to guard against the heat. So I stack up layers upon layers of Magical Energy and project them in front of myself.

I tried to buy myself some time before he got any closer.

This worked, but the layers were being destroyed at a tremendous rate.

With every step closer, he destroys several hundreds of layers.

Give me a break…

Do you know how long it took me to save up all this Magical Energy?

Good grief, someone’s having fun.

Every time Fenix takes a step closer, the floor, pillars, and ceiling lose their shape and disappear due to the Flames.

Dungeons are empty spaces shaped by magic and the interior can be easily changed so I can’t really complain, but even so, that doesn’t give you the right to make everything disappear without leaving a trace!

In his wake, nothing is left.

Nothing.

Just pure darkness. That is what a naked Magical Space looks like.

The white Flames destroy the world while approaching me.

「What incredible Magical Energy, Lem!」

「Same to you…!」

「I will win! If I beat you, it’ll prove that you were right!」

「Is that so, O Hero? Then allow me to teach you that Heroes can lose, too!」

「The Heroes I know of don’t lose! They will always win in the end!」

「You’re right, and that’s no different today, Fenix!」

I wonder what Fenix is thinking?

If two fellow Heroes fought, one of them would lose.

But the Hero he’s thinking of is most definitely the past me.

Looking up to me, there is no way that he would ever allow himself to be defeated.

Even if he ends up defeating his「best friend who always wins in the end.」.

Even if he defeats me, he will see it as a victory as the Flame Hero.

Even if it means defeating a friend.

In order to not give up on the dream that you set upon and strove for.

That’s the way, Fenix.

「I will ascend to the very top of the World Rankings in the form of the Hero that you have shown me!」

Are those…wings?

It’s too bright to get a good look but I saw a pair of crimson wings.

Fenix grew wings of flames on his back.

The blazing Flames seem to spread out like the scales of a moth and then I heard the sound of an explosion…followed by Fenix’s accelerating body.

Just like what I saw during his fight with Marchosias, he was moving at high speeds with the use of fire.

The pace of my deployed membranes being destroyed drastically picked up.

「I told you! I will surpass you! Today! Here and now! I shall be the victor!」

I also grew a wing. Well…just the bones of a wing…which is actually just the transformed form of the horn.

But because it is the horn, Magical Energy is stored there.

Refined, highly dense, and highly pure Magical Energy.

It’s because of this that I’m able to use true Black Sorcery, it’s because of this that I’m able to form a membrane to protect me against Fenix’s heat, and it’s because of this…that even I am able to move at high speeds.

Even if you had a large amount of regular Magical Energy, you can’t perform a miracle outside the bounds of magic.

But if it’s the compressed and condensed Magical Energy from a horn, it’s possible.

By making the Magical Energy jet out of the wing, I can boost myself around.

My body felt the G-forces, and my cheeks were flapping around. My whole body shook violently.

My vision flew by at terrifying speed.

My membrane was torn off. Then it was burnt. It was gone in a flash.

I made Fenix use up a lot of his Magical Energy. I lowered his defense to the lowest it can go.

What he does have, is the strength of his Flames.

His Flames of the Gods is not normal magic, which means it also uses up an appropriately large amount of Magical Energy.

Also, there is a slight delay between casting it and when it’s actually activated.

That’s why Fenix didn’t use it just before he cut me, but rather just before he clashed with me.

You most likely can’t keep up magic like this.

No need for a protracted battle. There is no point in playing games anymore.

「LEM!!」

He says.

「FENIX!!」

He is right in front of me.

「Heed my call, O Spirit…!」

On the opposite edge of Fenix’s downward swinging Holy Sword, there was an explosion.

He made the slash move even faster.

Looks we thought of the same thing.

From the horn sticking out of my elbow, I make Magical Energy jet out of it.

My fist rushed to meet the blade.

「With…this horn…!!」

Using the horn that my master gave me, there’s no way that I’ll lose…!

We clashed.

The world shook.

And then, colors began to fade completely.

Everything was burnt away, even the things behind me.

Like the door to the Safe Room.

What was still there was the ground that we were standing on.

A foothold barely left behind by my deployed magic and the Fire Spirit that doesn’t allow its practitioner to be harmed.

The Flames are the only thing shining brilliantly in the world, and I aim to extinguish it.

「Uuooooooooh…!」

At the moment of impact, I can feel the horn and my body scream.

The reason I wasn’t blown away is thanks to the nine years worth of saved up Magical Energy.

But I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.

I stopped Fenix’s downward swing with my punching fist.

My fist is burning.

I know I’m being pushed back.

But I put more force into it.

I wanted to be a Hero.

I didn’t have enough strength as a child, so I had to use my head to chase away the ruffians who were bullying Fenix.

After I turned ten and didn’t become a Hero, I trained myself as a Black Sorcerer. Being the key to victory in a fight for my allies, I wanted them to recognize me as a hero.

Now I’m twenty. I got kicked out of the party. I met Milla and everyone in the Demon King Castle and discovered that I can be Hero to the Monsters by helping them win.

There were times I suffered, but I didn’t think that I was unhappy. Unfortunate, perhaps, but not unhappy.

Parents who didn’t abandon their Black Sorcerer child, a best friend who said that we should become Adventurer’s together, a master who had me inherit his most precious horn, Milla and the others who acknowledged my strength, Cashew who loves me dearly, Blitz who became my friend, and Aerial who invited me to his party.

It’s because of these men and women that I can believe in my own good fortune.

But y’know, deep down I still…

What I looked up to when I was a kid…

What I honestly thought was cool…

Is a Hero that faces his enemies head-on and defeats them, and leads his allies to victory.

I’m a Black Sorcerer. I couldn’t make any movements outside the realm of an Adventurer.

But now, there’s no one watching.

No one will ever see this.

That’s why this isn’t for anyone else, but for the me from ages ago who pressed his face up against the TV screen, the little me who dreamed of a bright future.

「I WILL BECOME A HEROOooo!」

I swing my fist.

How long did it last, I wonder?

It felt like minutes, seconds…even a moment. It was probably a moment.

But for us, that one moment will be remembered for the rest of our lives.

Such a deep moment will never disappear from our minds.

Holy Sword and fist both. Broken.

We both shifted.

Fenix’s Holy Sword cut into my left shoulder.

My fist pierced through his chest.

A stillness settled in that seemed to belie the events beforehand.

My body…wasn’t burning.

The Holy Sword was no longer wreathed in magic.

My fist pierced Fenix all the way through and out his back.

「…Even with one of the Four Great Spirits, it wasn’t enough to burn you, huh?」

Fenix laughed heartily. He seemed frustrated yet satisfied.

He let go of his sword and stretched towards my robes.

Then he pulled out my mask and put it on my face.

「…thanks, pal.」

The horn had disappeared. It already went back into my body.

All the Magical Energy was completely spent.

「I’ll see you again soon.」

「What a troublesome guest. Look! You burned everything until nothing was left!」

Fenix ignored my complaint.

「The one who wins in the end, is the hero. So I’ll challenge you again.」

「…Sure, but I’ll win next time too.」

「I want to fight the absolute best version of you. You’d better not use that horn on anyone else.」

「How often do you think I run into enemies who I need to use the horn against?」

「Heh…Lem.」

「Yeah?」

「You…looked just like those heroes we grew up watching.」

「…I did, huh?」

At that moment, a small yelp could be heard.

Somehow, the Recording Stone was unharmed so someone holding a camera was able to teleport to it.

However, that someone teleported to the area around a floorless, pedestal-less Recording Stone, so she’s just floating and wobbling in an empty Magical Space. Yet somehow she managed to point the camera towards us.

「Uh-uhm! Ah! We’re live! It’s The Flame Hero Fenix and The One-Horned Dark Sorcerer Lemegeton! Le-let’s find out what has become of them! Fenix’s Holy Sword is in Lemegeton’s shoulder and…huh? Lemegeton’s a-arm is…pierced through Fenix’s chest! What in the…!」

The Avatar, that’s made of Magical Energy, is leaking out a faint light. All for the act.

We both suffered large injuries, both of our wounds are leaking out Magical Energy particles which give off a faint light that makes it easy to see us.

Fenix laughed once more.

This time, as if to praise me.

He smiled as the Flame Hero Fenix.

「…A splendid battle, Sir Lemegeton.」

「…I could say the same, Flame Hero Fenix.」

And then…Fenix’s body turned into Magical Energy particles and scattered.

「Huh? Wha? But…? Fenix…was defeated? He was defeated! A complete loss for the Fenix Party! The Flame Hero Fenix has tasted defeat at the hands of the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff!」

「You are wrong on one account.」

I say to the Department-looking woman.

「Hyawa! W-wha-what do you mean…?」

「You are right about his defeat and the complete loss of his party. However, it was not a total victory. That’s because…」

When Fenix’s Holy Sword disappeared with him, the wound in my shoulder that it was applying pressure to was now open and Magical Energy was leaking out of my Avatar.

My body disappeared, and my consciousness returned to my real body in the Link Room.

When I came to my senses, I slowly opened my cocoon.

「I’d say that was a draw. Or, at least, a narrow victory for me.」

Perhaps that’s better left for the audience to decide.

All the Monsters were smiling and waiting for me, so I exited my cocoon.

In the tenth stratum, The Realm of Monsters, the Fenix party was repelled.

The defense of the Demon King Castle was a success.