13-30. Behind the Orbs (2) ◇Liza"s POV◇

"Fui~"
"I give nodesu."

Tama and Pochi who have been fighting Heim of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords plop down to the ground.

"E-err, Heim-dono--"

The teacher of knight school is trying to talk to Sir Heim, but being somewhat excited, he pays no attention to the teacher and turns toward me.

"What splendid talent. To be that skillful at those ages. Dame Kishreshgalza, are you the master of these girls?"
"No, these girls" masters are Master and the elves of Boruenan Village."

While feeling bad for the teacher, I answer Sir Heim"s question.

"By Master you mean Viscount Pendragon isn"t it.... I"d like to have a match with him once, but isn"t he a magic swordsman? Isn"t Dame Kishreshgalza more skilled in pure skill?"
"No, I cannot be compared to Master."

I"m confident that I"ve become slightly stronger, but Master"s spearmans.h.i.+p is extraordinary.
My ideal ultimate spearmans.h.i.+p is in there.

One day, I want to reach that stage.

"Fumu, I really should have a match--"

As if interrupting Sir Heim, screams break out from the school building.
The school building has been noisy since awhile ago, but this time the scream are echoing even though there are no cheers here.

"--What?! I"ll go see it for a bit. Teacher Datz, evacuate with the students if you sense anything amiss."

After saying so, Sir Heim leaves for the scream at terrifying speed.

"Tama."
"Aye~?"
"Follow Sir Heim. If you find anything, return immediately to report."
"Aye aye sir~"

After getting my order, Tama disappears from the place.
Ninjutsu is quite a wonderful thing.

That reminds me, I wonder what was the fire wall beyond the royal capital that was burning during Pochi and Tama"s fight.

Master might be fighting a newly appearing demon lord again.
I have to better myself to become an existence that Master can rely on.

◇Tama"s POV◇

Ninja runs.

Running in the shadow, byun byun.

Ah, it"s He~m.

A monkey-like black demon person jumps, running away to the other side.
The demon person was carrying a pink-haired girl under its arm.

Enviable hair color, nyan.

Tama follows He~m, who runs after the demon, from behind.
A plump kid called Souya is also running after it desperately, but since he"s slow, he"s getting left behind gradually.

Do your best~ Tama cheers in her mind.
Tama can"t talk, Tama is a ninja after all.

It seems the goal is the cemetery ahead. For now Tama is going back to inform Liza.

"I"m back~?"
"Good work. So, what is happening?"
"A demon kidnapped someone~"
"Kidnapping is bad nanodesu."
"Right.... Let"s report to Master."

Liza operates a magic tool, clack-clack.
It"s glittering, pretty.

"There is no response.... For now let"s go ahead and confirm whether we can eliminate the demon."
"Aye aye sir~"
"Roger nanodesu."

Tama runs toward the cemetery together with Liza and Pochi.

◇Mito"s POV◇

"Let go! You human woman! Kicking this great Enes.h.i.+epet-sama who"s connected by blood to the nine founder clans of Weaselfolk, what rudeness!"
"Be quiet."

Catching the weasel who ran around from place to place took more time than I thought.
Even if I go back now, s.h.i.+n-kun and his friends probably have carried the stolen goods to the warehouse.

I tie up the stubborn weasel, and decide to bring him to Echigoya Firm ahead.
Roaring noisily on the ground would trouble people, so I go to Echigoya Firm by jumping on roofs.

When I"m halfway to Echigoya Firm, flapping sounds from something like a flying gigantic bird is resounding in the royal capital.
It"s near the cemetery from earlier.

"Oooooo!!"
"Mou, how noisy--"

While frowning at the weaselfolk who"s tied like a bagworm making a ruckus, I turn to look at the place the weaselfolk is looking.

--Geh, an infant green dragon?

Its sight is locked on to me.

I throw the weasel on the roof and then run into the sky.
I don"t have Sky Drive skill like Ichirou-nii, but there are a lot of force magic to create foothold I can use, so it"s alright.
Fearing damage to the surrounding, I ran to the sky.

The infant dragon shoots out a green-colored breath.

I spread out the force magic [Giant s.h.i.+eld] urgently, blocking the breath.
As expected of dragon"s breath. It"s hard even with an advanced magic.

Right after I"ve finished enduring it, the green dragon"s fangs approach.
I evade it with a paper-thin difference.

"A nostalgic face zamasu. I never thought that I"d meet a descendant of Hero Yamato zamasu."

Yuck, it"s not a real dragon, but an avatar of the green demon huh.

Still, it"s noisy with its zamasuzamasu like always.
I lead it to outside of the royal capital while evading its attacks.

Along the way, I saw the s.p.a.ce on top of the royal castle split, and a huge rock appeared.

"Geh, Meteor?"
"That"s the false king"s magic zamasu. Let us have a nice fight while enjoying the destruction of royal capital zamasu!"

The green demon sneers at me who"s surprised.

"Read the mood. I can"t afford to fight you right now."

I have to do something fast.

"> Claiomh Solais! Take care of Zamasu!"

I leave it to the holy sword Claiomh Solais to take care of the green demon"s avatar, and then I head toward the royal castle myself.

I accelerate in the sky using force magic"s [Counter Cube].
But, it"s a bit too far. I won"t make it like this.

Even if I didn"t make it, the current king should be able to defend against it by using the city core"s power properly.
The whimsical Sakura Dryad probably would help too.

--That"s?!

An unexpected ending waited.
The huge lump of ruck was caught by a teleport gate, and got ejected outside the royal capital.

Humans should not be able to use that degree of magic.

If that was true, then it must have been with the help of a city core or G.o.d"s fragments, you"d need absurdness to break through the limit of humans.
And then, I found the kid who was being rash on top of the sakura tree.

I land beside that kid.

"You"re b.l.o.o.d.y all over! Hold on, I"ll use recovery magic--"
"It"s alright, Mito-tan. I"ve already drank recovery potion and blood-forming medicine. My body feels a bit light, but I should be able to move in no time."
"Leave the rest to me and Satou, you go get some rest."

Arisa shakes her head weakly to me.

"It"s no good. I can"t reach Master with 『World Phone』. It seems he"s in a place where magic can"t reach."
"Then I"ll do it myself. I"m still a leading hero of generation after all. I can do something about it as long as the opponent isn"t a non-standard demon lord like the wild boar-head or the dog-head. I have the holy wand this time too."

It"s an item I got from Ichirou-nii, not the wand that I used long ago, but the performance of its magic manipulation precision and magic convergence efficacy are higher than the divine gift holy wand.
He said that it was a prototype from the time he was making a wand for himself, but with this wand, I should be able to fight against a greater demon easily even alone.

I hit the green demon that"s shaken off the holy sword coming here with [Divine Hammer] magic.

It"d be troubling if it intruded during my fight with the demon lord.
I"ll finish this guy off first before fighting the demon lord.

"I"ll be going ahead, you should take a rest before Satou returns."

After telling so, I challenge the green demon in an air battle.

◇Arisa"s POV◇

Leaving Mito to handle the green greater demon, I, whose strength has recovered, am taken by Nana and Lulu to a spire overlooking the cemetery.

"Tell me about the situation--"

I tell about the thing I"ve heard from Liza and the others who are fighting in the cemetery from [Telephone] to everyone.
I tell them that a being that seems to be a demon lord has captured Princess Menea and Souya, and that Pochi, Tama and Heim of s.h.i.+ga Eight Swords are fighting a black greater demon together.

I confirm that Tama has rescued Princess Menea from the top of the spire.
Alright, it"s about time for our turn.

I ask Lulu and Mia to stay here, and teleport to the battlefield.
My new dress armor"s defensive power has remarkably improved compared to the time of the sakuramochi demon"s fight. It has higher defensive power than Nana during the floormaster fight.
I"ve also added s.p.a.ce magic"s [Dimension Reflection] too in addition.
Truly the invincible full armor magical girl Arischan.

And then, the demon lord we"re confronting in the battlefield is--

"Impertinent, who are you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"
"Isn"t it obvious! We"re the allies of justice!"

While replying to the slightly weak-looking demon lord"s question, we set up our battle formation in the cemetery.
It looks like we can defeat it since it"s only at level 50.

"Come now! Let the match be--"

While setting my arrival pose, I learned the demon lord"s name through [Persona Appraisal].

The demon"s lord name is [s.h.i.+n].
It"s the name of the local hero.

His looks has changed, but s.h.i.+n boy"s visage certainly remains.

"Huh? Why are you here?"

The demon lord looks at me like looking at a garbage.

"W-why are you... Answer me!"
"You servant, you"re being haughty toward the one who rules over magic, the omnipotent king, me!"
"Answer me, you who should have been a hero, why?!"
"I don"t care about the me whose memory was sealed."

The boy puts down his mantle and then produces several force spears to attack me.

"Useless useless useless, so I declare."

Nana who"s beside me blocks those.

"Are you obstructing me, small fries!"

As if interrupting the angry demon lord, a dragon wrapped in green colored scales falls down with a boom.

"Thank you for the wait, it"s the appearance of the star performer! Hero Nanas.h.i.+ Second, coming!"

With 13 holy swords s.h.i.+ning blue floating around her, Mito is taking a victory pose on top of the green dragon.

"Ara~? Your look sure has really changed."

Mito inclines her head when she sees Demon Lord s.h.i.+n"s face.

"H-hey, Mito, you"re late."
"Real sorry. This green greater demon was tenacious you see."

Mito shrugs her shoulders and then the greater demon in the shape of a green dragon disappears like a mist.
It probably couldn"t maintain the mock body (avatar).

"Now then, let"s fight."

Mito scowls at Demon Lord s.h.i.+n and declares so.

"Wait a minute. That guy is--"
"I know. However, I"m a hero, he"s a demon lord. That"s a reason enough to fight."

I try to stop her in a hurry, but Mito doesn"t pay any heed.

"Now then, let"s go Demon Lord s.h.i.+n!"
"I said wait--"

Still trying to stop her, I stop Mito who"s raised an arm.

"Give it up Arisa. There"s no person that can return once they"ve become a demon lord. They can go back to the ring of reincarnation if their soul vessel hasn"t been completely broken. The only salvation is to pluck their life when they"re still in the border of humanity, before going mad."

Mito speaks while staring at s.h.i.+n.
Bitterness seems to be hidden deep within that voice.

Still, you"d be out of the samsara if the vessel got broken huh.
For the sake of being lovey-dovey with Master even in the next life, I have to refrain from overdoing it like earlier.

"Is there any meaning dying as an ordinary man. Men have to aim for the top."
"Even if that"s from a given power?"
"I am the master of that power. Even if it"s a power given by that s.h.i.+tty father, I"m the one who decide how to use it."

--Father? Who is he talking about?

That question appears in my mind while Mito and Demon Lord s.h.i.+n are having a dialogue.

"Is that so.... We"re in parallel lines further than this. I"ll end it in a blow that won"t hurt. Divine Javelin."

15 huge force spears appear around Mito.
Detailed magic circles are being engraved on the telephone pole-sized spears over and over.

And then, the 13 holy sword Claimh Solais"s splits float in line with them.

"Hmph, a hero centered around magic usage huh--You"ve picked the wrong opponent."

When Demon Lord s.h.i.+n clicks his fingers, Mito"s magic disappears, and the holy sword Claiomh Solais that was floating in mid-air falls down to the ground.
At the same time, the defensive walls that surrounded our armor also disappeared.

Fortunately, the circulating magic power in the armor themselves haven"t disappeared.

Liza who"s fighting the black greater demon shot a magic edge cannon, but it disappeared in the middle of the way.

"No way, annulling magic with no regard to the level difference..."
"Fuhahahaha, any kind of magic is under my control for I am the one who rules over magic."

Demon Lord s.h.i.+n laughs loudly to the shocked Mito.
s.h.i.+n"s unique skill is just one, the name is [Master Wizard].

Well, I"ve a.s.sumed as much.
I send a hand signal to Lulu at the spire.

Demon Lord s.h.i.+n is blown off from the flank.
Slightly later, the sound of a bullet arrives in the cemetery.

--Nice, sniper!

My older sister has stylish skill.

"T-to think you"re attacking from afar.... As expected of the same kind of people as father."

s.h.i.+n who"s lost one of his arm stands up while violet blood is spilling from his wound.

"This much is nothing."

An arm grows from his shoulder.
A second bullet attacks s.h.i.+n, but his defensive magic protects him from that.

It seems he can use magic even though we can"t.
What cheat!

"Eyesore."

s.h.i.+n clicks his fingers, and then the spire where Lulu and Mia are collapses with a roaring sound.
It"s alright, Lulu and Mia should have ridden Garuda that Mia"s created to the base.

"Your Majesty, I am not useful, I apologize."

The black demon that"s been stabbed by Liza"s dragon spear crumbles into dust.
Pochi and Tama seem fine, but Sir Heim has wounds all over his body, looking like he"ll die.

"I don"t mind. That means I just have to summon more."

Summoning magic circles appear one after another beside s.h.i.+n, black demons are appearing from them.

『Your highness, greater demon [Black Four] to your presence. I am deeply moved.』
『Your highness, greater demon [Black Five] to your presence. I rejoice.』
『Your highness, greater demon [Black Six] to your presence--』

In total there are 16 of them.

D-don"t tell me.... all of them are greater demons?

"Pinch~?"
"T-this is an adversity nanodesu. This is bad nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi were exchanging those words while drinking stamina and magic power recovery potion alternatively.
Pochi is flapping around in panic, but Tama looks like she"s composed somehow.

"You two, let"s decrease their number with the first attack. Withdraw at full speed once the combo attack is over."
"Aye aye sir~"
"Ro-roger nanodesu."

Liza readies her dragon spear, and orders Tama and Pochi with a face that looks like she"s prepared to die.

"Leave this to me, you girls run."

Mito tells us so looking like she doesn"t have any leeway.
But, I don"t agree to that.

"We can"t do that. I won"t be able to face Master if we leave Mito-tan to cover our rear and escape."
"That"s my line."

Besides, magic has been sealed, and I can"t use teleport after all.
I stand beside Mito who"s picked up the holy sword from the ground.

I glare at Demon Lord s.h.i.+n who"s lording over us with a composed face.
I"ll show you the rash joke items I"ve loaded in the dress armor together with Master in bad taste.

In the corner of my view, I saw Tama"s ears twitching, and then she looked up at the sky.

--What"s in the sky?

"Don"t worry be happy~"
"Keseran pasaran nanodesu."

Matching the two"s muttering, heroic music begins to resound in the battlefield.
It"s Wagner"s [Ride of the Valkyries] played by Mia.

When I look at the source of the music, I see Mia playing a musical instrument on top of a tree beyond the cemetery while looking up at the sky.
Garuda probably got rolled up in the magic purge and disappeared.

"To play the music for your own funeral, how resolute. In light of that spirit, I"ll kill you in one blow without suffering--"

Demon Lord s.h.i.+n raises his arm.

In the next moment, cold air with ozone-like odor sweep over the cemetery.
Kuh, this is demon lord"s attack--

The white fog that blocked my view disappears in an instant.

--He?

Before my eyes, there are the figures of the demon lord and the greater demons locked up in transparent gla.s.s-like pillars.

And then--.

"I"m back, is anyone hurt?"

Master who"s landed on top of the demon lord"s icicle is waving his hands with a carefree smile.

【Keseran Pasaran】
Kesaran Pasaran is a fluffy white ball UMA, but the words are a bit different.
Arisa the commentator didn"t do her job, so it"s unknown whether Pochi misspoke the text.