Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

95 – Right Arm 3

Punch, then defeat him.

It’s extremely simple, but when magic, weapons, and fighting techniques are involved, it won’t be that simple.

『A heavy and dull sound just resounded! Contestant Berith had been maintaining her distance until the preparation for her great skill was finished, but she’s now abandoning that and is going for close combat! On the other hand, contestant Philip, who has been fighting a steady battle with his high defense, chooses to counter-attack instead of strengthening his defense!』

『I personally like this development. Well, since I’m a commentator, so if I had to say something more like a commentator, I would say that their actions aren’t the result of leaving everything to their emotions.』

『Ohh. Can you please tell us more details?』

『In the case of contestant Berith, she might have had an intention to solve the lack of offensive ability of her「Minor Skills」. The feature of「being able to manipulate it freely even if it’s away from the caster」consumes Magical Energy. If she uses it at a very short distance, she can save some of her Magical Energy and use it for increasing her offensive ability.』

『I see…! Then, what is the intention of contestant Philip?』

『They’re still exchanging blows, but his「Diamond」is still staying strong. With the current「right arm」and「Minor Skills,」Berith won’t be able to do much damage. So it’s not wrong for him to go on the offensive. If Berith’s「right arm」is completed, it’ll eliminate the need for her to incorporate the「combination」of her two skills, then her「Minor Skills」will be further strengthened,  so maybe he is trying to settle the fight before that future comes.』

『So you’re saying that, even though at the first glance, the both of them seem to be having a fistfight, they are actually sketching the path to victory in their head!』

As the commentary continued, so did our offense and defense.

No, that’s not accurate.

This is more like offense and offense.

I punched him. In the face, chest, abdomen, sides, and chin, and sometimes I even punch his fists that were aiming for my back and knees.

With my right arm, or with my『arm』that grew out from the ground.

However, his『Diamond』is still not broken.

Even a real golem would be easier to deal with. This defense is too hard.

Speaking of him, he didn’t take any defensive stance at all and just comes straight at me.

If there is an arm that gets in the way, he will tear it off, and if there is a wall standing in his way, he will hit it again and again until it breaks.

「The bigger your arms get, the heavier your movements become.」

「It’s still better than you with your full-body golem armor though.」

「It seems that you still have the composure to crack jokes.」

I felt like he grinned inside the helmet that looked like a golem’s head.

Speaking of accumulated damage, I’m at a tremendous disadvantage.

The exoskeleton that the Insect-Humans were said to be proud of is already tattered. Some parts are dented or tore off.

Although both the Insect-Humans and I have a contract with an Earth Spirit, each Spirit has different suitabilities.

Even though they are like alter egos, they were split apart a long time ago, and they have different personalities.

It might be similar to the story that says that if we trace the human ancestors back to the beginning, they are all one entity.

Even if in the beginning they are one entity, every one of them is now a different individual.

My partner is good at『Formation』. He was given the ability to transform a part of the earth, as long as it was silver.

Phil’s partner is good at『Hardening』. He was given the ability to give a rock-like hardness that cannot be destroyed by a person’s hands.

「It’s only…slightly heavier…!」

I was facing him, but then I started running in the opposite direction.

Phil pursued after me.

A silver slope was created right in front of me. However, there was something strange with its condition starting from the middle. It’s bent backward. I ran through it regardless, and just before the top and bottom turned over, I kicked the silver.

I twisted in midair and transmitted more strength to my fist.

Below me, there was the Diamond Hero, who chased after me.

My fist, which also has height added to its power, absorbed the silver used on the slope immediately after the jump and became even bigger.

「No matter how many times you do it, the result will stay the same.」

「Then, I’ll just do it again and again until the result changes.」

I swung my fist toward his helmet.

Just like before, he didn’t try to defend against it.

My right arm was already thicker than an Orc’s arm, but looks like not even this will give him any damage.

His arm tried to grasp my lower back.

Is he planning to break my body right in half?

But just before he did it, he jumped backward.

「…You’ve thought a lot about this, huh?」

Liquid silver was gushing out from the place he was standing before.

His armor is like a golem’s. It looks like a combination of stones of various sizes.

If I can sneak the liquid silver into the armor through the gaps, then I can damage him from the inside.

Although it’s not an appearance that he wants to show, he also won’t be able to ignore it. Since there are people watching.

「Although my sister is planning to hit and defeat me, even if I ignore her, she probably won’t attack me with this.」, it won’t play out like this.

「Do you think I’m an idiot?」

Phil didn’t respond.

He’s thinking about it. He thought that his sister is an idiot. Well, I can’t deny it.

「All right. I’ll defeat you while continuously moving. It doesn’t matter.」

「I told you already, we’re the ones that will win.」

Phil started running.

There are two chances. Neither of them is available now, but the chance will definitely come. I have no doubt about that.　

I created a wall to obstruct his path-.

「Eh?」

I’m dumbfounded.

I thought I had temporarily blocked his path. So, in the meantime, I also approached the wall and was trying to absorb the silver of the wall with my right arm while striking him on the other side of the wall.

But I couldn’t do that.

The wall was being lifted along with the ground it grew out from.

Of course, he was the one who did it.

「You’re trying to absorb this right. Feel free to do that.」

After saying that, he threw the wall. You’re probably wondering what it means to throw a wall, but there’s no other way to describe it because he actually threw it.

Not good…!

It’s good that I know what’s on the other side of this, but it’s troublesome that he used it as an attack. Even if I can absorb the wall that’s approaching, it will block my visual field.

On the other hand, if I choose to avoid it, the completion of my right arm will be delayed.

I hesitated. But in the end, I choose to absorb it.

I used my fist to attack the silver that I made.

「You made the wrong choice.」

He’s fast…but that’s okay!

That’s just how it should be.

He was undoing the『Diamond』on his body, other than his right fist.

He knew that I’ll choose to absorb it and threw off the best armor.

He raised his fist from a low stance to punch me in the jaw.

But it missed the target.

「…?!」

The wall that I was trying to absorb had changed its form into an arm.

The former silver wall, now the current silver arm grasped my right arm and raised me overhead.

My body fluttered in the air.

「…Ha.」

You’re making a sound that seems as if you’re having a lot of fun, aren’t you forgetting your character?

The first chance came at the perfect timing.

「…Mark?」

Given my brother’s personality, I thought he would choose Ruri, a Wizard who would look great for shows, as his partner.

However, this time he chose Mark, the Holy Paladin who usually protects his sister alongside himself.

He may have thought about what the audience wanted and decided that swordplay was better than brightly colored magic.

There are winners and losers in Hero Shows and Dungeon Clears, but for the customers, it has a strong aspect of performance.

In the case of Dungeon Clears, the party can decide how to present it themselves.

From which angle and which shot to use.

However, in the case of a Tag Tournament, there are people who watch the tournament live, regardless of the fact that it will be broadcasted on TV later.

If you think about it that way, the Fairy, Ruri, is small and hard to see, and even though the venue is full of Magical Energy, the concentration is not as high or as plentiful as in a Dungeon.

It’s hard to make the best use of Ruri’s strong point of gathering Magical Energy from her surroundings and use it as her own.

He might also have such thoughts.

But, those are probably not the real reason. Those are not the decisive factor.

Isn’t it because he wants to defeat Lem?

Isn’t it because he recognized that Lem is an excellent Black Sorcerer and is being cautious against him?

That’s why he teamed up with the Holy Paladin.

If that partner loses, he wouldn’t be able to stay indifferent, even if it’s in the middle of the match.

「Now!」

I reduced all of the『arms』that was located around my surroundings by one size smaller and turned those parts into spheres – and threw it.

Then, all of it merged with my right arm in midair.

The enormous right arm was used as a hammer and I swung it down on him.

The impact was big enough that it made the venue shake.

My large hammer smashing him right in the head…did not happen.

It was stopped by a right fist that was aimed upwards.

The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet, making his body slightly submerged in the ground, but the damage seemed to have reached him thanks to the lack of armor on the other parts of his body.

But still.

「It was the best timing.」

Then how can you still react to it?

With a slight sound, he stepped back.

There was a feeling of floating for a moment.

Having lost the support of his arms, my body started to fall down.

Then, Phil approached me.

「Ah.」

I put my left hand on my right arm, grasped it, and pulled it out.

I formed a sword from my right arm.

「How skillful. Aren’t you more suited for this?」

「…You’re noisy.」

The sword I swung was crushed, but I succeeded in deviating the trajectory of his fist.

The fist that was supposed to hit my head ended up hitting my chest and my body was blown away.

I pushed my right arm against the ground and slowly stopped the momentum.

When I looked back, the『Diamond』was already redeployed on his body.

「Don’t tell me, is what you’ve just done the best that you can do? If that’s the limit of what you can do when you get a good opportunity…you will never be able to smash this body of mine.」

「Of course, that’s not my limit.」

「I hope that’s the case.」

Did he think that I didn’t see that?

It was only for an instant, but I clearly saw it.

There was a crack in his right fist that resulted because of the previous attack.

It has already been repaired, but it was definitely cracked.

My attack power only needs to be slightly stronger.

The next attack will decide the result of the match.