Part 2 of 8
That was just a few days ago.
“The enemy army is in full retreat.”
“Indeed.”
I nod at one of my apprentice’s words.
Ever since I took Julius on as my first apprentice, I’ve shifted my focus from training myself to raising apprentices.
I have grown old.
My end is in sight, no matter how much I train.
Better, then, to pass on what I have learned in my life to future generations.
Perhaps one of my apprentices will even go on to someday gain power beyond that of any human.
A faint hope, to be sure.
I gathered applicants from many different lands and put them through rigorous training as my apprentices.
Most of them were unable to handle my training and ran away before long…
Of course, that simply gave me more time to spend on the worthy ones who have remained.
Now they can finally handle the first level of my training.
Some have even learned to use Space Magic.
Still, they have a long way to go yet.
None has surpassed my first apprentice thus far.
Since my first apprentice is the hero, that much is inevitable, but disappointingly, none has managed to surpass my second apprentice yet, either.
My second apprentice, Aurel, was originally my helper.
I simply made her my apprentice on a whim because she seemed to have a knack for magic.
As a result, she’s not particularly motivated.
Even so, her strength is still second only to Julius among my apprentices, so I don’t know which is more infuriating: the inadequacy of the others or the fact that she could be even stronger if she only made more of an effort.
But in any case, the base potential of mages today has far outstripped that of previous generations.
That much is clear, especially after this battle.
We scored a decisive victory after engaging in a ferocious magical exchange with the demons.
A spell’s power is generally fixed, with very little variation based on the difference in the user’s stats.
This has long been accepted as common knowledge.
But after my meeting with the master and my later training with the spiders, I realized that it is indeed possible to increase the potency of spells.
The key is the caster’s Magic Power Operation skill level.
Until this discovery, it was thought this skill was necessary only to initially learn to use spells.
But I discovered that if you raise your Magic Power Operation skill level, you can alter the very structure of your spells and make them weaker or stronger.
This is a fundamental change in our understanding of magic.
It makes it possible to deal major damage to the enemy without using large-scale magic, which requires multiple casters and a great deal of time.
The demon army we faced seemed to specialize in magic, too, but they were focused on grand magic, the strategy of the past.
That is not enough to defeat the likes of me.
The enemy general appeared to be a little boy, but I finished him off easily with an enhanced long-range attack spell.
I doubt the demon even realized that he had died.
It’s difficult to tell a demon’s age from their appearance, but given his looks, he must have been fairly young.
His inexperience was obvious from how he commanded his forces, so I imagine I’m not far off the mark.
To become a general at such a young age, he must have had a great deal of talent.
It is a shame to see such potential go to waste.
But it would be foolhardy to show the enemy mercy.
As a general myself, I know there are soldiers who have put their lives in my hands, too.
You mustn’t think less of me for it.
But still, I believe I can at least spare a moment to pray that this boy’s soul passes on in peace.
“Our casualties are minimal. I was frightened that our forces might be too understrength, but at this rate, we should be able to defend the fort after all.”
“It would appear so.”
I nod at my cheerful-looking apprentice.
We were outnumbered, that’s for certain.
The exchange of spells was intense. We were able to win because the apprentices I’d trained had an edge over the demons’ antiquated magic techniques, but it was by no means an easy victory.
If it had been anyone but myself and my apprentices in Fort Dazarro, perhaps this place would have fallen by now to those demon mages.
Our victory came down to nothing more than a stroke of good luck.
If armies of that scale have been sent to the other forts, too, several might very well fall.
And for some reason, I am still haunted by a sense of unease.
I cannot help but worry that it might be a sign that something terrible is going to happen.
“Do not let down your guard. Our enemies are demons. They are bound to have stats higher than we humans.”
“Ah! Of course.”
My apprentice reins in that overflowing excitement and regains some composure.
“Make sure the wounded are treated right away.”
“Yes, sir!”
My apprentices scurry out of the room.
There are more preparations we must make.
I only hope this premonition of mine turns out to be an old man’s groundless fear.
MERAZOPHIS’S BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!
Welcome back to White Explains It All!
As you can see, the fort Mera’s attacking is situated between a lake and a forest!
And a lake can mean only one thing: NAVAL BATTLE!
Or so you would think, but this world’s sailing technology isn’t actually very advanced.
I mean, most bodies of water here are home to super-strong monsters.
If you try going for a swim in the ocean, a water dragon will pop up to say hi in no time flat.
Lakes are a little better, but if you try to sail on one, you’re still definitely gonna sleep with the fishes.
Is that scary or what?
Anyway, that means the lake is just a no-go zone for both sides in this battle.
The fort has the advantage of being able to just ignore the flank that’s covered by the lake, letting them focus completely on the land.
Still, you can’t rule out sneaking around to the back of the fort by using the forest as cover, so the defenders can’t let their guards down, either.
Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages given the terrain.
Guess that means it’s gonna come down to pure strength.
Well, Mera should be fine on that front!
I’ve got memories of my previous life, see.
A life where I grew up on a planet called Earth, in a country called Japan.
Hate to say it, but in that life, I was pretty much your average, run-of-the-mill high school boy.
Basically the only notable thing about me was that I had a childhood friend.
It’s not like my childhood friend, Asaka Kushitani, and I were especially close or anything.
At the same time, it’s not like we didn’t get along, either.
If I had to pick one, I guess I’d say we got along pretty well?
We lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school from kindergarten to middle school. We went to the same high school, too, and even wound up in the same class, although we didn’t plan it that way or anything.
Basically, we were stuck with each other.
She never came over to wake me up in the morning, and we didn’t usually walk home from school together, either.
If anything, I usually left for school pretty late, so most of the time, meeting in the morning wasn’t a thing.
On the rare occasion that I woke up early enough, we’d run into each other and walk to school together once in a while, but that’s about it.
But weirdly enough, I had the vague feeling that I was probably gonna end up marrying her one day.
For some reason, it just felt relaxing to be around her, like she understood me even if I didn’t say anything.
Yeah, I knew I was half-assing it, and that if I kept trying to play it cool, then eventually some other schmuck would probably come along and steal her away.
But I just kept putting it off, dragging my feet and staying as nothing more than childhood friends.
It was so casual that we barely had anything connecting us except the fact that we were childhood friends.
Not like I minded that, of course.
“Normal’s not a bad thing” and all that.
But I guess I did feel like something was missing.
I wanted to go on an awesome adventure in a faraway land.
To have something exciting happen to me, like in a game or a light novel.
And yeah, I knew that wasn’t gonna happen, ’cause all that stuff is bullshit.
…Or so I thought.
But next thing you know, I wound up getting reborn in this world.
I’m gonna be honest: I don’t remember dying, and I don’t remember much about the moment I was reborn, either.
It’s like I was dozing off or something, and next thing I knew, I was a freakin’ baby.
When I woke up, I was like, WHA?!
Like, come on, the last thing I can remember from my old life is just sitting there in classical lit class, y’know?
Not exactly a thrilling end.
What the hell even killed me?
And then I was a baby somehow.
Who wouldn’t be weirded out after going through that?!
But the reason I didn’t totally panic is that Asaka was lying there beside me.
Yeah, that’s right.
My classmate and childhood friend, Asaka.
For some reason, she got reincarnated, too. We were childhood friends all over again.
She looked different—I mean, we were both BABIES—but for some reason, I could tell right away it was her.
And when I asked later, she apparently had the exact same feeling.
Not much crazier than that.
But more importantly, I figured this had to be fate.
Like the gods were telling us to stick together or whatever.
So while there was this vague distance between the two of us in our old lives, after reincarnating, we became super close.
Asaka couldn’t forget our old lives and was afraid she’d lose sight of herself if I wasn’t around.
And having Asaka meant I had someone to talk to about finally getting to go on a real adventure.
The world we were reborn into is some sorta fantasy setting, with monsters and adventurers—exactly the kinda thing I’d wished for back in my old life.
So I didn’t hesitate to announce that I wanted to become an adventurer and travel the world.
If Asaka wasn’t by my side, I dunno if I could’ve been that bold.
It’d be scary as hell to suddenly get shoved into an unfamiliar world where you don’t know a soul.
Seriously. I’m so lucky to have Asaka.
As soon as I was able to talk, the first thing I did was confess to her.
“I can’t live without you. Please marry me someday.”
I blurted this out in the middle of the day, with our moms watching and everything.
It was a public confession, but to hear Asaka tell it, it was more like a public execution.
Okay, yeah. In retrospect, I was getting a little ahead of myself.
Our moms just looked at me funny, saying stuff like, “They just grow up so fast.”
To be fair, there’s no way they could have known that I was actually a high school student from another world on the inside.
Maybe it was for the best that they just saw it as a kid imitating a confession for fun.
Asaka did seem super embarrassed and all…
But miraculously, she gave me the okay on the spot.
In our old life, I always figured I’d have to talk to her properly someday, but I never found the right timing, so our relationship was always stuck in limbo.
I never imagined that’d change when we got reincarnated or something crazy like that, but I guess it all worked out in the end.
In terms of dramatic timing, getting reborn together is about as good as it gets.
Thanks to that, even someone as dense as me managed to be honest about my feelings, so I kinda thought being reborn wasn’t so bad after all.
Asaka did seem to miss our old world more than I did, ’cause sometimes she would remember it and cry and stuff.
Whenever that happened, I just sat with her and comforted her in silence.
I’m probably the weird one for adjusting so quickly, y’know?
But Asaka’s got a good head on her shoulders, so she pulled herself together pretty fast.
…Which is a little bit of a shame, since she was really cute and clingy when she was depressed.
Still, I’m glad she was able to cheer up and all.
I got reborn in the fantasy world of my dreams and managed to propose to my childhood friend.
Definitely sounds like the makings of a bright future, right?
I knew tons of fun times were waiting for us—Asaka and me, traveling the world together, having the time of our lives.
I never doubted it for a second…
…until that day came.
“Ooooh, check it out. Here they come.”
“Kunihiko…why do you seem a little excited about it?”
As I check out the enemy army from atop the fort, Asaka frowns slightly at me.
“You kidding me? C’mon! Look at that and tell me it’s not cool.”
I point down at the giant army of demons.
You’d rarely see armed forces in these numbers in this world, never mind Earth, and now a whole mess of them is marching right toward our fort.
“Awesome.”
“It’s not that I don’t get where you’re coming from, but you realize we’re about to have to fight all those people, right?”
Asaka heaves a sigh.
The demons have gathered their armies and are attacking humanity.
Until recently, there was nothing more than a couple of quiet rumors, but once the guild started assembling adventurers to fight in the war, it all became very real very fast.
On top of that, participation was mandatory for B-rank adventurers and up.
C rank and below were given the option to decide for themselves whether to participate or not, but the guild made it clear that they wanted as many people as possible to enlist.
Asaka and I are A-rank adventurers, so we don’t have the luxury of choice.
All the high-rank adventurers are being sent right into battle, even the ones who normally protect towns and cities from regional monsters.
That means those places will be temporarily unprotected, but that just goes to show how bad this war situation is gonna be.
If that wasn’t proof enough, they’ve opened up the teleport gates, which are normally off-limits to ordinary folks, in order to transport soldiers and adventurers to the battlefield.
Although this is all just me repeating what Asaka told me.
I don’t think about stupid little details like that—I’m just gonna follow my orders and fight demons.
“Heh! It don’t mean squat how many of ’em there are as long as you and I are on the job.”
“Kunihiko, don’t get cocky.”
Asaka sighs again, but she doesn’t look particularly worried, either.
A lot of the other adventurers here are high-key nervous—I can tell.
Can’t blame ’em, either. People say demons have better stats than humans, and there’s a hell of a lotta demons coming our way right now.
From what I hear, it’s been years since any demons attacked, too.
Before that, there were small scraps every couple of years, but then even those stopped, so the only humans who’ve ever actually fought demons are walking fossils at this point.
In other words, this’ll be the first time most human warriors have ever faced a demon, not just youngsters like Asaka and me.
Adventurers usually fight monsters, and occasionally some bandits or whatever, so we’ve never experienced battles like this.
Not to mention, most adventurers don’t work well with anyone except maybe their own party, but now we have to form up in a big group and cooperate? Yeah, right.
We’re not trained for that kinda crap. Not a chance in hell.
But I guess the big shots on our side get that, too, so they pretty much just told us adventurers to do whatever we want.
We’ve been gathered at the fort’s last line of defense, while the soldiers who’ve actually been trained for this are on the front lines.
You’re allowed to stick around here and defend the fort if you want.
Or you can go out on raids to take the fight to the enemy army.
But if you do something crazy and get yourself killed, that’s on you!
…Is basically the idea.
Even if we don’t do anything crazy, I’m pretty sure lots of people are gonna die anyway, given how huge the enemy army is.
Which is why just about everyone’s nervous.
The only ones who aren’t are the ones like Asaka and me, who have total confidence in our own strength, or the veteran fighters who’ve been champing at the bit to stand on a battlefield like this.
“Kunihiko, Asaka.”
Hearing someone call our names, I turn around.
“Hey, good to see ya, Master.”
“It’s been a while, sir.”
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t look nervous at all, though, Kunihiko. Dunno if that’s a good thing or not.”
I already had an idea who it’d be before he said anything, but sure enough, it’s our adventuring mentor, Mr. Gotou.
Gotou’s an A-rank adventurer who’s been looking after Asaka and me and saving our butts since we were kids. He showed us the ropes when we first became adventurers, too.
“I’ve heard the rumors about you two crazy kids, y’know. They say it’s only a matter of time until you hit S rank.”
“Yes, just a few more years now.”
“Whatcha think of that, Master?”
“Damn, and you used to be such scrawny kids, too. Where’d the time go? Now you’re gonna pass me before I even realize it!”
Mr. Gotou sounds just like an old-timer.
Asaka and I have traveled the world as adventurers and taken on all kinds of tough quests.
That’s how we wound up reaching A rank, and we’ve even hit all the S-rank requirements except the minimum number of active years.
All we gotta do is keep going as adventurers for a little longer, and we’ll automatically get S rank.
Which means we’d technically be ranked above Mr. Gotou, but…
“If you wanted to, I’m sure you could hit S rank anytime, Mr. Gotou.”
Mr. Gotou’s crazy strong, even for an A-rank adventurer.
And that’s coming from me, a guy who’s been all over the world, so you better believe it’s the truth.
We’ve even met a couple of S-rank adventurers out in the field, but let’s be honest, me and Asaka were stronger than the best of ’em.
But anyway, Mr. Gotou’s no slouch next to any of them, either.
After adding in the power of his magic sword, it’s probably no exaggeration to say he’s almost in the same league as the top S-rank adventurers.
His nickname is Lightning Sword, referring to the power of lightning that lives in that iconic weapon of his.
It’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen—they say its lightning is on par with a grand magic spell.
But there’s a downside: Some dumbasses claim that Mr. Gotou reached A rank only thanks to his sword.
He didn’t even get that sword until after he hit A rank! Idiots!
“Eh, too much pressure. My strength’s all thanks to this guy here anyway.”
Mr. Gotou pats the sword on his belt.
I know he’s simply being modest, but saying stuff like that just makes people even more jealous.
“Besides, I only work in my hometown anyway, so A rank’s more’n good enough for me.”
“I know I should keep my trap shut if you’re happy with that, but still…”
Noting my dissatisfaction, Mr. Gotou grins.
“That reminds me, Mr. Gotou. Wouldn’t Fort Okun have been closer to your hometown?”
Oh yeah, Asaka’s got a point.
The fort we’re at now is pretty far away from Mr. Gotou’s home turf at the base of the Mystic Mountains. A place called Fort Okun is a lot closer to there.
And from what I hear, the demons are attacking all the forts on the border at the same time.
Why didn’t Mr. Gotou go there instead?
“Mm. Yeah, that’s true, but…” Mr. Gotou hesitates and looks around before continuing in a low voice. “This stays between us, but they’re gathering all the real strong adventurers here. See?”
Mr. Gotou gestures with eye movements toward a few of the other adventurers.
Following his gaze, I realize that every last one is a top-class adventurer, famous enough to have a nickname.
“How come?”
“…Because the soldiers here are weak,” Mr. Gotou whispers even more quietly, sounding frustrated. “The guy in charge of this fort is a buffoon who only became a general thanks to his social status. So obviously his troops are no good, either. Which is why they made sure to station extra-strong adventurers here.”
“Seriously? What the hell?” I can’t help raising my voice. “I thought the empire was all about strength! Why would they put some bum in charge of a fort?”
“In the old days, sure, everyone used to work together because of the constant threat of demon attacks. But ever since that danger went away, I guess there was some internal conflict.”
Asaka and I both sigh openly.
“The decline of the Vicow house was especially tough. You’ve heard about how the heirs and heads of the family died one right after the other, yeah? If they were still around, things might be a little better in the empire…”
“…You seem very well-informed about all this.”
As Mr. Gotou explains the situation in the empire, Asaka looks at him curiously.
“Nah, not really. I hear this sort of stuff whether I want to or not. The amount of info that’s leaked about ’em is proof enough that the empire’s in shambles.”
Mr. Gotou scowls and shrugs.
“And it’s ’cause of that mess that I wound up out here.” He pauses and studies the demon army. “But this assignment ain’t so bad.”
“It’s not?”
“Sure. I told you the general here’s an idiot, yeah? Worst case, he might’ve used us adventurers as sacrificial pawns by sending us out to keep the demons busy, then shooting at the ensuing melee or something. He’s just putting us off to the side like we’re in the way, so we got off easy.”
“Yikes…”
In other words, this general is so inept that he might’ve gotten us all killed?
Lucky for us that we don’t have to do what he says, then.
Technically, we’re under his command, but he told us adventurers to do whatever we please. He must’ve figured out that was for the best.
Huh? Hold up. How would this dumbass general be able to reach that conclusion on his own?
“Ah, this only got set up thanks to his much smarter aide making all those arrangements.”
Mr. Gotou’s timely explanation clears up my confusion.
He adds that this aide doesn’t have any personal ties to the general and was sent by the imperial court mages.
Unlike the general, this guy seems to know what’s up, which basically makes the aide the one who’s really in charge.
On paper, the general’s still technically the head honcho, so this guy is having trouble getting things done.
“And why do you know all this?”
“Oh, I just happen to know the aide, that’s all. She damn near chewed my ear off complaining about the general over drinks last night.”
“I suspected as much. So you’re getting all this information by cozying up to some big shot, hmm?” Asaka shakes her head at Mr. Gotou. “And you said ‘she’—is this person a woman?”
“Huh?! Wait, oh man, are you and her—?!”
“What?! No! ’Course not!”
I thought maybe Mr. Gotou was finally gonna get some romance in his life, but seems like I was wrong.
Not surprising, I guess, since he’s pretty much given up on marriage at this point.
“She’s practically a child compared to me. I ain’t thinkin’ about gettin’ hitched at my age. Though I gotta admit it would’ve been nice to have a partner picked out early on, like you kids.”
He looks warmly at Asaka and me in turn.
I hear a snort of annoyance from someone in the group.
Since we were chatting away in the middle of a bunch of tense adventurers right before battle, I knew we were sticking out like a couple of sore thumbs, but I guess that line pissed off some of the forever-alone types.
Glancing around, I see a good amount of guys glaring at us like we’re ruining the moment.
Guess we better shut up. If we keep chatting like this much longer, they’re probably gonna really start complaining.
“Hmm?”
But among all the glares directed at us, I sense that one gaze is different from the rest.
Following it to its source, I find a little kid in a robe.
I can’t make out a face with the low-hanging hood in the way, but someone that short and tiny has got to be a child. What’s a kid like that doing here?
“Damn, that doesn’t look good…”
The thought gets pushed from my mind when I hear Mr. Gotou murmur in a stunned voice.
“What the hell?” I blurt out.
I just laid eyes on something so bizarre that I couldn’t help it.
We’re not the only ones who are shocked—pretty much everyone else around is staring at the same thing with their jaws on the floor.
In a word, it’s a spear.
A huge jet-black spear suddenly appeared above the demon army.
“Dark Spear?! No, wait! Is that a Black Spear?!”
Black Spear, as in a Black Magic spell, the advanced version of Dark Magic?!
Isn’t that a grand magic spell?!
And even if it is, how’s that thing so damn huge?! I can feel my insides churning!
“Asaka!”
Just as I call out and start moving, the giant Black Spear shoots toward the fort.
I draw the magic sword at my waist, charge it with magic, and fire.
My magic sword has the power of lightning, just like Mr. Gotou’s.
It’s a katana-style magic sword, made from the parts of a lightning dragon we defeated.
At the same time, Asaka starts casting a spell.
Her staff, sorta like my sword, is made from the parts of a wind dragon we defeated, so it’s a magic staff that enhances the power of Wind Magic.
My lightning attack and Asaka’s wind spell both crash into the Black Spear.
Those aren’t the only ones, either—another spell, probably the Light Magic spell Light Beam, shoots out from elsewhere inside the fort and hits the spear, too.
The three attacks all counter the Black Spear, but it’s not enough to cancel it out.
BOOM.
From where I’m standing, I’ve got a clear view of the moment the Black Spear blows a huge hole in the front wall of the fort.
It’s gotta be at least thirty feet around, I think?
What’s left of the wall is already crumbling.
“What in the…?”
Mr. Gotou mutters under his breath.
Big picture, the damage isn’t too catastrophic. The fort has several walls.
Even if one is damaged, we can just abandon it, retreat to the next one, and keep fighting.
This does mean that we can’t use that wall to attack the enemy without fear of retaliation anymore.
Those guys are out of our range.
No normal magic can reach that far. The Black Spear that just flew at us defies known logic.
Especially since it managed to blow through three different counter-spells from our side and still damage the damn fort.
If me, Asaka, and some other person hadn’t put up some resistance, it probably would’ve wreaked even more havoc.
What’ll happen if a couple more of those come flying at us?
We’d be toast in no time flat.
“We gotta go out there and take ’em on.”
The enemy is way beyond our firing range, but somehow, we’re in theirs.
That means we’re gonna have to charge ’em and close the distance.
Since everyone’s gone dead silent, my voice echoes loudly.
“You mean out there? Are you crazy?” The adventurer who snorted at me speaks up, looking pale. “Didn’t you see that thing?! How are we supposed to stand against that?!”
“That’s why I’m sayin’ we gotta go out there and do something about it!” I shout at the wavering adventurer. “Let’s go! Anyone who can fight, come with me!”
With that, I run out of the fort.
Most are too damn scared to follow.
In spite of what I said, I’m guessing most of ’em can’t fight right now anyway.
But that’s fine.
As long as Asaka is by my side, that’s all I need.
“…We might’ve taken this all a bit too lightly.”
“Yeah.”
The two of us talk as we run.
Me and Asaka are strong.
The only times we’ve really come close to eating it were when we fought the lightning dragon and the wind dragon. Other than that, we’ve won every fight without a problem.
When we heard we’d be fighting demons, we weren’t too worried.
I figured there was no way they could be worse than those dragons.
Even if we lost the battle, I kinda just assumed that Asaka and I at least would survive.
Seeing that Black Spear changed all that in an instant.
There’s a real possibility we could get killed here.
But if Asaka and I run away now, then humanity’s gonna be doomed.
You can bet I’d lose some sleep over that one.
So we might as well fight for all we’re worth, am I right?
I can see the demon army coming into view.
Their spears are at the ready to fend us off as we come toward them.
“Yaaaaah!”
Charging on in anyway, I activate my magic sword’s power and bring lightning down around me.
The furious bolts toast a bunch of demons, sending them flying.
Then Asaka’s wind spell sweeps the rest of ’em away.
In this world, high stats can make you crazy powerful, enough to take on an army.
And I’m pretty sure Asaka and I are way past the limits of a typical human.
The most legendary human warriors have stats around 1,000, but Asaka’s and mine are more than double that.
Demons’ stats are supposedly higher than humans’, but it looks like they’re not much stronger than the two of us, if at all.
We can take ’em!
Which must mean that Black Spear was cast by a whole bunch of people together, right?
…Nope.
Even using Cooperation to cast a spell, all the people involved have to have the right skill to use it and be at the proper skill level, too.
Black Spear is a Black Magic spell, the advanced version of Dark Magic.
You gotta be really good at Shadow Magic to even get Dark Magic, so I seriously doubt that a whole slew of people all managed to reach Black Magic.
No, there’s probably only a handful of users in the whole world who know that skill.
So what the hell is going on here?
“Ngah…uraaaaaaaaaah!”
Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest, I focus on just blasting as many enemies as I can.
Nearby, I can hear similar lightning striking other enemies.
I guess Mr. Gotou must’ve followed Asaka and me into battle.
Maybe we’ll inspire some of the other adventurers to join, too.
We gotta take a stand, right here and now.
So we can crush whoever cast that Black Spear before they can whip up another one!
As soon as that thought flashes through my mind, I sense a huge amount of magic power swelling from deep in the demon ranks.
Another huge jet-black spear appears.
“Kunihiko!”
“I know!”
As if we’d just stand here and watch!
Ha! Thanks for showing us exactly where you are, stupid!
“Let’s gooooo!”
I unleash my magic sword’s lightning toward the source of the Black Spear in one powerful arc.
It blows away any demons in its path without a trace, flashing as it reaches the base of the Black Spear, and vanishes.
At the same time, the Black Spear melts into thin air without shooting forward.
Got ’em!
But just as I start grinning, I realize it’s too soon to assume we’ve won.
As the dust clears, my smile quickly vanishes.
My big attack hit the target dead-on—but the caster is still standing there looking cool as a cucumber.
“Seriously?”
That one word is doing a whole lotta work right now.
There’s the shock that he withstood my attack without a scratch.
Then add in the dread of knowing that the Black Spear was created by just one caster, not a bunch working together.
And most of all, it’s the fact that I recognize this man.
There’s no way I could ever forget him.
He’s the bastard who showed up when I was a kid, destroyed my delusion that our lives were gonna be fun forever, and taught me what hell looks like in this world.
It’s the man who wiped out the entire clan who raised us.
“Who woulda guessed we’d meet again in a place like this! Merazophis!”
My mortal enemy who I’ve never once forgotten is standing right before my eyes.
Sometimes, nightmares can come to life.
…I’m sure this strange thought was just my way of trying to escape reality.
Kunihiko and I are special.
You might think that sounds like a delusion of grandeur, but the simple fact is that we’re much stronger than any average person in this world.
According to Kunihiko, gaining overpowered skills when you’re reincarnated in a different world is apparently a common occurrence.
I’m not sure whether to take him seriously, since he’s talking about fiction, but…we really did get special powers, so I suppose I can’t say he’s wrong.
It doesn’t sit well with me that we’re seemingly playing out tropes from storybooks or perhaps even being forced to do so.
But these powers really have helped us a lot, so my feelings on the subject are complicated.
We’ve gotten stronger as adventurers, gathering fame and rewards so smoothly that it really has felt like a montage in a story at times.
As soon as we reach the required years of service, we’re guaranteed to hit S rank, the peak of adventurer rankings.
Once we hit that level, it might not be an exaggeration to say that the two of us would be considered higher in status than some lesser nobles, depending on the country.
In fact, if we wanted to stay someplace permanently, we could probably acquire a title of peerage if we really wanted to and live in peace for the rest of our lives.
I’m sure there would still be times we’d be asked to help out as adventurers, but I can’t imagine we’d have to fight anything as strong as a wind dragon or lightning dragon very often.
Monsters come in different classes, too. The kinds of dragons I’m thinking of are S rank, and there are even creatures of legend that humans could never hope to compete with.
But monsters like that rarely appear and cause trouble.
If they went on a rampage that often, humanity would’ve gone extinct ages ago in this world.
So as long as we didn’t foolishly venture into any dangerous areas where those kinds of monsters live, I was confident that the two of us would never be killed.
That’s just how strong Kunihiko and I have become.
People often tell me that I’m very methodical and reliable.
Sometimes there are comments that I’m cool and mature.
But honestly, I can’t say I agree.
The truth is that I’m a slacker who will do just about anything to avoid trouble.
I’m only “methodical” and “reliable” to avoid doing any more work than I have to.
And my so-called “coolness” and “maturity” are because I can’t be bothered to get worked up about every little thing, so I always opt for the path of least resistance.
Naturally, a dangerous and unstable job like being an adventurer is the last thing I want.
The only reason I’m doing it at all is to go along with Kunihiko.
I don’t like to be sentimental, but even I couldn’t help but get emotional about reincarnating and later watching the destruction of our entire clan.
Kunihiko is the one who helped me get through all that.
Without him, I’m sure I never would’ve gotten back on my feet.
I want to repay him for that. Besides, I want to be with Kunihiko.
That’s why I became an adventurer for him, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.
I would put up with just about anything for Kunihiko.
…Pretty sappy, if I do say so myself.
I certainly wouldn’t have imagined this in our old lives.
Back then, Kunihiko and I were just childhood friends who couldn’t quite take the next step into dating.
I always imagined I might end up marrying him someday, but I never once thought I would be so head over heels for him.
And since Kunihiko always flies by the seat of his pants, I took it upon myself to form a methodical plan for us.
When we became adventurers, I asked Mr. Gotou to teach us things so we wouldn’t end up neglecting the basics.
I manage our supplies, carefully assess the requests we take, research our destinations, and so on.
I do it all for Kunihiko.
And it’s for Kunihiko’s sake that I’m participating in this battle, too.
Of course, it was mandatory for B-rank adventurers and above, but it’s not as if we couldn’t have gotten out of it somehow.
If I really thought it was too much trouble, I could’ve pulled some strings and found a way to avoid participating.
But the reason I didn’t do that is because I suspected a certain man would be participating in this battle, too.
His name is Merazophis.
He’s the demon who wiped out our clan.
And Kunihiko’s goal is to someday defeat Merazophis.
He might not say it out loud, but I’m sure of it.
Kunihiko’s gotten stronger than necessary even for an adventurer, but he still never stops training, no doubt in hopes of getting revenge one day.
To free himself of the shame of being too helpless to do anything and being spared after everyone else we knew died.
Of course, there was no way of knowing that we would actually come face-to-face with him in this battle.
But I’m sure a demon who’s strong enough to wipe out an entire clan on his own must be fairly high-ranking, so it wouldn’t be so strange for him to be a commander in a large-scale engagement like this.
If anything, our chances of running into him outside of a major battle are probably far slimmer.
So I thought it might be worth taking the one-in-a-million chance.
I’m definitely regretting that decision now.
A blade flashes past Kunihiko’s face, a hairbreadth away.
If he had leaned back even a second later, the sword would likely have pierced his head.
The thought makes my blood run cold.
My body is warmed up from running around, but somehow I still feel a chill on the inside.
Kunihiko and Merazophis are locked in a furious sword fight.
With every swing of Merazophis’s sword, my heart nearly stops in fear that Kunihiko might be cut down.
My breath comes fast and hot, but I’m freezing cold at the same time.
I’m scared.
I’ve never felt this scared, even when we fought the lightning dragon and the wind dragon.
Those battles were about as desperate as this one, but they were completely different in an important way: the indomitable will of our opponent.
Dragons are still just wild monsters.
They act according to their survival instincts, and while they were determined not to be killed, that was ultimately just part of their nature.
But Merazophis is different.
I won’t lose.
I refuse to let you kill me, no matter what.
His resolve is so intense that I can almost hear the thoughts residing within his silent determination.
The powerful intent in his eyes, the likes of which I didn’t see once in the lightning or wind dragon, is so strong that I can’t help fearing for Kunihiko’s life.
I don’t know what kind of person Merazophis is, but I’ve learned one thing from this fight already.
Merazophis is strong.
Too strong.
And not just his stats, which are undoubtedly high. From his fighting style, it’s obvious how much training he’s gone through.
His textbook, flawless swordsmanship is evidence that he’s repeated each of these motions countless times.
Mr. Gotou made Kunihiko and me practice our sword swings, too.
But I’m sure this man has repeated those far more times than either of us.
Thanks to our reincarnation cheats, Kunihiko and I have higher stats than other people, so sometimes it can actually be frustrating that our techniques can’t catch up to those high stats.
But for Merazophis, it’s the opposite.
He’s the type whose stats have risen to catch up to his incredibly polished techniques.
His grasp of the fundamentals of combat is incomparable.
I made sure that we studied the basics so we wouldn’t someday get overly reliant on our high stats, and Mr. Gotou trained us accordingly.
But Merazophis is on a whole other level.
They say that demons live longer than humans, but I can’t even begin to imagine how many long years of training it would take to reach this level of performance.
The lightning dragon and wind dragon were dangerous because of their high stats, powerful breath attacks, wide-range magic attacks, and so on, but Merazophis is a completely different beast.
The dragons might have had higher stats, but Merazophis is undoubtedly more dangerous.
We haven’t been able to land a single attack on him yet.
I start forming magic.
Since I’ve been using powers beyond my limits to fire off spells at top speed, my head is starting to ache, but I ignore it and cast my next spell.
A compressed shot of air shoots toward Merazophis.
This spell was even able to hurt the lightning dragon—but Merazophis counters it with a Dark Magic spell that cancels it out.
As soon as the two spells crash into each other, Kunihiko slashes horizontally at Merazophis’s torso.
But Merazophis blocks that, too, without breaking a sweat.
We’ve both been attacking wildly for the past several minutes—Kunihiko with his magic sword’s blade and lightning alike and me with magic.
But Merazophis has expertly fended off both our attacks.
He blocks Kunihiko’s blade with his own sword or dodges it, then uses Dark Magic to cancel out the lightning or my wind spells.
My pounding head is already paying the price for casting magic nonstop, but Merazophis is keeping pace with a perfectly calm expression.
All while carrying on a sword fight with Kunihiko.
He’s fighting two of us at once and doing better than both of us combined.
He looks like an ordinary human, but clearly he’s a living nightmare, more powerful than any dragon.
Yes, we faced death when we fought the lightning dragon and wind dragon.
But our defeat never seemed so imminent as it does now.
If our attacks were doing damage to him, then it would be a matter of who runs out of strength first.
But right now, we’re not causing any damage at all.
My breath quickens.
I have to constantly shift my position to keep up with the constant, tempestuous movements of Kunihiko and Merazophis, so I’ve been running around like mad.
For each spell I cast, I immediately have to start preparing the next one.
My head hurts, and my feet ache.
I can barely breathe.
I’m fighting on sheer force of will alone, but my body could give out at any moment.
Kunihiko must be the same.
I can tell he’s breathing hard, too, and sweating like a waterfall.
While Merazophis still looks coolheaded as ever.
It doesn’t seem like he’s tiring out at all.
Even if that’s partly just an act, the fact remains that he’s clearly not as exhausted as Kunihiko and I are.
And as soon as either one of us runs out of strength, this already fragile balance will fall apart completely.
On top of that…
“Ah?!”
A Dark Magic spell grazes my face.
Launched by Merazophis, of course.
And at the same time, he brings his sword down toward Kunihiko.
“Nnngh!”
Kunihiko parries with his blade, but Merazophis’s strength is starting to overpower him.
Panicking, I shoot a Wind Magic spell to separate them.
Merazophis jumps back easily, still unscathed.
We’ve both been bearing down on him with attack after attack, but he isn’t focused solely on defense. Somehow, he’s blocking all our attacks and still finding the time to hit back at us.
If either of us lets our guard down for a second, we could be killed.
So will we collapse from exhaustion, or will his attacks bring us down first?
As Merazophis looks completely unfazed despite our desperate attacks, I can’t see any way that we might win.
All I see is our inevitable loss.
What should I do?
We’re still hanging in there for now.
But if this keeps up much longer, we’re going to fail sooner rather than later.
And yet, if we let this nightmare run free, humanity itself will lose all hope.
Merazophis is just too powerful.
He could easily take on an army and win.
I frantically calculate in my mind.
…The lives of Kunihiko and me versus all of humanity? It’s not even a contest.
To be honest, I don’t really care about the fate of humanity or anything like that.
And I don’t think there’s any real purpose in risking our lives here just to slow down Merazophis for a few moments.
That means the best thing to do is run.
The question is whether Merazophis will really let us get away that easily.
Frankly, I doubt it.
Unless we can buy some serious time, he’ll kill us as soon as we turn our backs.
But how would we keep him occupied long enough to get away?
Can we even distract him at all if we haven’t been able to land a single attack on him?
No.
There’s nothing we can do.
I’ve already hit my limit.
If only we had a little help…
Just then, Merazophis suddenly bends his upper body.
An instant later, a blast of light passes through the space where his torso was just moments before.
What was that?
Magic?
I glance in the direction it came from, but I don’t see any possible caster in sight.
It came from the direction of the fort—but it couldn’t have, right?
We’re quite a long distance away from there.
If it really did come from the fort, it must’ve been cast by a powerful mage.
And not only that, but another shot follows right after the first.
Aiming solely at Merazophis, who moves around rapidly to dodge the attacks.
How could anyone manage to snipe at Merazophis from such an incredibly long distance without hitting Kunihiko?
I know I wouldn’t be able to.
This is exactly the help we needed.
And yet!
Merazophis is still weaving around Kunihiko’s attacks, my Wind Magic, and the magic sniper all at once.
He’s strong.
Too strong!
The addition of the sniper means Merazophis can’t counterattack as much, which allows us to press the attack.
But we still can’t break through his defenses.
In fact, I have the feeling that if we let up for a second, it will all be over.
It’s like we’re dancing on the thinnest ice.
Even with the extra help, it’s still not enough.
“Hrgh?!”
Suddenly, a Wind Magic spell hits Merazophis square in the back.
But it wasn’t me who fired it.
It was someone else—a child in a robe?
The child hit Merazophis with Wind Magic from behind and is already readying another spell.
I guess they’re on our side.
In that case, I’ll accept their help, child or not.
Besides, while they look small enough to be a kid, that magic was considerably fast and strong.
It doesn’t seem to have done that much damage to Merazophis, but the fact remains that it was able to hit him.
None of our attacks has managed to land all this time.
That means Merazophis wasn’t able to dodge this person’s attack.
Only with a four-on-one battle can we finally hope to be a match for him.
Since the hit didn’t do much damage, our chances of victory remain slim, but it’s still much better than the situation was before.
This is our only chance.
As soon as I decide that, I stop my constant barrage of magic for a moment and focus my energy on weaving a bigger spell.
Sensing that, Merazophis changes focus to target me with his next spell.
“Urgh!”
Kunihiko steps in with a quick slash to stop him.
Merazophis blocks his attack with his sword.
At the same time, the magic sniper and the child attack Merazophis with more magic.
“…”
For just a moment, Merazophis grimaces.
If he redirects the spell that was meant for me, he can cancel out the other two magic attacks.
He’s pulled it off all this time, so I don’t see why it should be any different now.
But Merazophis doesn’t do that.
He lets the sniper attack and the Wind Magic hit him dead-on, and instead of counterattacking with Dark Magic, he uses it to attack me instead.
“?!”
The sniper’s attack hits him in the chest, followed by the Wind Magic hitting the back of his head.
And a spear of darkness pierces my stomach.
But!
I finished constructing my magic!
Bearing the pain, I activate the spell.
Tempest Magic: Dragon Wind!
The spell engulfs Merazophis instantly.
“Ngh!”
Even Merazophis can’t dodge Dragon Wind, a spell that’s usually meant to cause destruction on a huge scale.
And it’s ultra-grand magic, which normally can’t be cast by a single person.
Ultra-grand magic surpasses even grand magic in power and is strong enough to take down a dragon.
I know, because this is the spell we used to defeat the lightning dragon.
Surely, even Merazophis couldn’t survive…
“Agh!”
A shout of determination.
The flash of a blade.
Just like that, my most powerful spell dissipates into thin air.
This can’t be happening… Can it…?
Of course he’s not unharmed, but Merazophis is still standing firmly on two feet.
Even though he was blasted in the chest and hit in the back of the head with magic right before the Dragon Wind hit, it’s as if he took virtually no damage from those at all.
How high must his stats be to make that possible…?
We’re doomed.
“AAAAAH!”
Just as the thought sinks in, Kunihiko slashes down at Merazophis.
Immediately, Merazophis prepares to parry.
But an attack from the sniper pierces his hand, and Wind Magic stops him from moving.
Then Kunihiko’s full-body strike cuts into Merazophis’s shoulder.
“Ngh!”
But while normally this diagonal sword slice should have cut straight through him, it just sinks into Merazophis’s shoulder and stops.
His defenses are too strong because of his sheer stats.
Kunihiko’s attack failed to deal enough damage.
Merazophis swings his sword and knocks Kunihiko away.
Then he puts a hand on his shoulder and bellows.
“Withdraw!”
With that, he turns his back and runs away from us.
That was a clear call to retreat, almost overly dramatic.
So much so that it practically seems put-on.
Kunihiko stares after him in silence for a moment.
Then he comes back to his senses and runs up to me.
“Asaka!”
“Mm. I’m okay.”
“You call this okay?!”
Right now, I’m lying faceup on the ground.
Merazophis’s Dark Magic hit me in the gut.
I’m guessing it blew a hole right through me.
Kunihiko hurriedly pulls out a recovery potion and pours it on the wound, where it sinks in stingingly.
Part 2 of 8