Chapter 86

Aries looked at the ever-increasing water and frowned in vexation. 

There was no way to deal with it if the water could reform from mana no matter how much of it he evaporated or attacked. When a demon was killed, it would lose its form and revert to mana. It was the same with magic that had completed its task. However, this did not mean that they were completely lost.

Substances were transformed from mana. The mana that made up these substances would never decrease and always remained behind. Now, Mercurius had become a literally immortal monster. Even if his body was completely destroyed, he would still reform from the mana.

Aries had no way to disperse mana, so he was out of options. He would not lose as the overwhelming difference between their power was still there. But it was impossible for Aries to defeat Mercurius. 

As far as Aries knew, there were only three people who could defeat this thing. 

The first was Aries’ master, Ruphas Mafahl. She could condense the surrounding mana into a golden apple and stop the regeneration of Mercurius.

The other person was Aigokeros. He could use the mana to create his own illusions. In other words, he could use up all of the mana before Mercurius could use it to regenerate.

The last person was Parthenos. Her secret skill, Vindemiatrix, could simply disperse the mana, thereby cutting off the regeneration at its source.

But none of these people were currently here. 

…No, it was not three, but four people. Aries glanced at Virgo who remained at a distance. If it was her…As the successor of Parthenos, she could destroy this monster too. But this was too dangerous a bridge for her to cross.

Aries would rather just abandon this country and leave instead of fighting such a pointless battle. However, he knew that Virgo would not agree to this. In that case, he had no choice but to support her while she played the central role. Strangely enough, just as he had been ordered to by Ruphas, Aries was now actually a.s.suming a supportive role for Virgo.

“Vindemiatrix!”

As Aries pondered, a flash of light pa.s.sed by him and struck Mercurius. The mana that was struck completely vanished. Virgo flapped her wings and came next to Aries.

“Has the evacuation been completed?”

“Yes. They have evacuated to the capital. Kaineko-san will probably think of something next.”

Apparently, Virgo seemed to be really motivated. Such an overly good-natured person, Aries thought, but he did not think badly of her. Although her power was limited, she was desperately doing what she could. This left a good impression on him. Her image somehow overlapped with that of his old self who struggled desperately to become stronger. This strangely made him happy.

“All right. Then, I’ll block his attacks, while Virgo, you try to disperse as much mana as you can. Even if it couldn’t be completely dispersed, it should reduce his power considerably.”

“Hmm. I’ll try!”

Aries, who decided to support Virgo, emitted a flame and spread his hands apart. He then put his hands together and thrust out his palms, releasing the flame that had converged there in an instant. Immediately after, hot air blew with his palms at the center, making Aries’ hair flutter. 

The ground where he stood sank from the force as the torrent of flames released from his palms evaporated Mercurius. In coordination, Virgo dispersed the mana and shaved off Mercurius’ body. However, the rate of regeneration was faster than they expected. Mercurius was now a huge ma.s.s of water like a mountain and was steadily extending his reach towards the capital.

“If—If this continues, Draupnir will…!”

“Calm down, Virgo. The mana that const.i.tutes this guy isn’t infinite. If you keep reducing it, the damage to the capital will be reduced.”

As he stopped Virgo who was trying to return to the capital city in a panic, Aries used his flame to evaporate an incoming water tentacle attack. As with the fight with Levia, he lamented that he never had a good match and was always facing opponents with incompatible attributes.

Why do I end up fighting enemies with Water attribute all the time?

At any rate, it was certain that this was working. The question was whether the capital city would be engulfed first or Virgo would completely wipe out the enemy before that happened. Well…he was convinced that the capital city would probably be safe, so there were some leeways. 

For now, the top priority was to protect Virgo. With that in mind, Aries decided to use his full power.

☿

“What’s that noise?”

Having failed in her search for the Archer in the capital city, Dina raised her head and looked towards the mountain. In response, Aigokeros also looked towards the mountain and saw a torrent of water approaching like an avalanche.

It seemed that something had gone wrong in the mountain where Virgo was headed. If the water continued as it was, it would surely flood the capital city and inevitably drag them along. 

However, Water magic was Dina’s specialty. She swiftly moved her finger, lifting the approaching water up into the air and directed it to collect in one place. Then, she activated the X-Gate. 

With the destination specified as another world, it swallowed all the collected water and was then interrupted in the midst of the process. As a result, the ma.s.s of water had nowhere to go and was banished to the s.p.a.ce between dimensions. It would never be able to get out on its own, forever drifting between Midgard and another world.

This Subs.p.a.ce Seal skill was established by exploiting the faults in the X-Gate. Even if another user could use the skill, they would not be able to abuse it unless the nature and nuances of the skill could be completely understood.

“Hmph!”

Aigokeros unleashed a black wave from his hand to scatter the water. But the water, which should have reverted to mana, regenerated and approached again as if nothing had happened. Seeing this, Aigokeros understood at a glance. This unusual water was able to immediately regenerate itself from mana.

Normal magic would revert to mana after losing its form and that would be the end of it. Yet somehow, this magic was able to transform back into water after reverting into mana. This seemed like an impossibility. It was as if the caster was nearby, recasting the magic each time it ended.

But it was too early to speak of it transforming back from mana. In short, he just had to use up the mana first.

Once he made his judgment, Aigokeros used the mana in the surroundings to create an illusion. His figure grew quickly, creating the illusion of an enormous devil which was even larger than the one he used to fight Luna.

More than ten meters, more than twenty, more than thirty…Finally, the devil grew to a size that reached the heavens. The incarnation of evil had descended upon Draupnir. 

The sky darkened, the clouds were dyed black, and thunder resounded. 

This was the practically the manifestation of the devil king. It was as if the king of devils had ascended from h.e.l.l to bring ruin to the peaceful Draupnir.

“Mon—Monster—!?”

“He—Help—!?”

Naturally, the beastkin panicked and fled. Looking down on the pitiful beastkin like they were bugs, Aigokeros gave a spirited laugh in a voice that tormented the minds of the listeners.

“Hahahahaha! Foolish beastkin, be afraid! And run! That’s the most appropriate form for you! —Hahahaha!!”

Additionally, this goat was certainly in a good mood. It couldn’t be helped since he was a devil. He truly enjoyed the look of people in the grip of fear.

“…Uh, Aigokeros-sama. The enemy this time isn’t Draupnir.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

After being admonished by Dina, the enormous devil scratched his head. As he recalled the original purpose, he looked into the distance. Virgo and Aries were fighting there and they seemed to be having some difficulties.

What a sloppy bunch, Aigokeros thought and started moving after he decided to support them. Although his body remained that of an old gentleman, it was completely enveloped within the enormous illusion. 

From a third-person perspective, it seemed as if a huge devil that could reach the sky was advancing towards the mountain. At least, that was what it seemed like to Sei, who was some distance away.

“Wh—What is that…!?”

“Th—That’s…There’s no doubt! That appalling figure is one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars, Aigokeros of the Goat! The most evil among the Twelve Stars, who despises good and justice!”

“Good and justice…Co-Could it be…!?”

“Yes…I’m afraid so. I’m sure Virgo-san’s brilliance is more of an eyesore to him than anything else…I can only think that it appears here to eliminate the hateful angel!”

Sei turned pale upon hearing the remarks of Cruz, who had outrageously misunderstood the situation. The figure of the Black-Winged Overlord flashed across his mind.

I see. The master is a monster, so too is the subordinate.

If the enormous devil that looked like a last boss was a subordinate of Ruphas, he could accept it. 

As Aigokeros approached Virgo with her glittering white wings, it looked like the great devil had come to kill the angel. In fact, the opposite was true. The Goat and the Maiden were comrades, but who could possibly believe that at a glance? 

And then, the chaos accelerated further. Flames blew up from the direction of the mountain and a huge monster, comparable to Aigokeros, appeared.

“Meh—!!”

It was a giant sheep engulfed in rainbow-colored flames. That was one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars, Aries of the Ram! Gants, who knew that appearance, turned pale and his finger began to shake. And he thought, It couldn’t be worse!

Behind her was the Goat, and in front of her was the Ram. The white-winged angel was completely surrounded from both the front and the back. No matter how one looked at it, this was the end. In fact, Goat-san and Ram-san were Virgo’s friends, but this was too wild for anyone to accept at first glance.

“Hey, Sei! Where do you think you’re going!?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to rescue Virgo-san!”

“Don’t be a fool! What can you possibly do!?”

Gants stopped Sei by grabbing his wrist as the latter tried to rush over. If it was only Mercurius, perhaps something could be done. However, the current situation had completely changed. Having seen Aries of the Twelve Heavenly Stars, he knew just how terrifying they were. This was a monster among monsters that exceeded human understanding.

It was no longer at a level where one could consider victory or defeat if one were to fight. They were walking catastrophes such that the very concept of fighting against them could not be conceived. That was what the Twelve Heavenly Stars were. Moreover, there were two of them! This was not a good fight to get into by any means.

“Listen. Don’t confuse courage with recklessness. It’s just reckless to charge at an opponent that you can’t win against without a plan. You are still immature, but one day, you will be stronger than any of us. Until then, don’t get involved with that kind of monster. Endure it for now!”

“……!”

Sei clenched his teeth in frustration at his own powerlessness. He certainly could not simply watch Virgo die. However, he understood the real problem in that there was nothing he could do.

Why am I so weak? Why is my brain so bad?

He didn’t have the power to save a girl nor could he think of a way to overcome this situation. As he shook his fists in regret, the situation worsened further. This time, a huge scorpion monster that reached the sky appeared. And then a huge crab monster appeared from the woods, while the strongest golem in Midgard, Libra of the Scales, flew over with her vernier thrusters.

And so, the five stars—the Ram, the Goat, the Scorpion, the Crab, and the Scales—were gathered here. But in the next moment, they lowered their heads to the ground.

What was happening?

Sei narrowed his eyes to look. He could barely see someone in a crimson robe standing in front of the huge monsters. 

For these monsters to be submissive, who—?

As he thought this, a strong wind blew past, uncovering the robe that concealed the person’s face. And he saw her, a blonde woman whose hair turned from gold to red at the tips. 

There was no mistake. He would never forget it even though he had only seen it once.

“…Ruphas Mafahl…”

That’s right. Monsters beyond human understanding would submit only to another monster beyond human understanding.

Sei said as his lips shuddered. Draupnir was dyed in despair.

Then, Cruz fainted, muttering, “It’s the end of the world.”