The Demon Capital Grelverelka, Demon Lord’s Castle Throne.
“Tch, so you even absorbed the Fire Dragon King’s power. You’re becoming more monstrous by the second.”
Bell spat out the words, her expression twisted as if she had bitten into a bitter gourd. From the throne room, she gazed at the sky through the ceiling. Her senses, sharp enough to cover the entire territory, accurately measured the length and weight of Boga descending from above.
The rocks enveloping Boga had turned black, forming a mountain-like structure of jagged lava rocks that seemed to scrape the sky. Its most prominent features were its immense size and seemingly super-heavy weight. The glow of burning lava leaked from the gaps between the black rocks, and its fangs, which towered like a fortress in its mouth, would likely devour anything in their path. From Boga’s completely altered appearance, Bell easily surmised that it had inherited the Fire Dragon King’s power through its Inferno Flame Mouth.
“The fall from that giant body, and directly from above too… Even if the Azure Wind Barrier itself isn’t destroyed, I won’t be able to shave off all its power, and it’ll rebound and reach the castle. This is what makes dealing with summoners so troublesome. Well—”
Bell tapped her toes on the floor two or three times, and the flow of wind emanating from her leg armor began to change.
“—And what about it? Is what I feel like saying.”
***
The Grellverelka Empire.
Immediately after Kelvin summoned Boga directly above the Demon Lord’s Castle, a change occurred in the azure cocoon that enveloped the castle. The wind concentrated on the upper half of the cocoon, partially reinforcing its thickness.
“That barrier can arbitrarily manipulate the strength and weakness of magic power. That’s good, really good. But that azure wind… it resembles the wind Bell used in Gaun’s arena. That means the caster is, more likely than not, Bell…”
A simultaneous surge of joy and frustration washed over Kelvin. He casually turned to look at Sera, and their eyes happened to meet.
“The one fighting Bell is me, right?”
“…Yeah.”
She hadn’t said anything yet, but Kelvin could only nod, having been preemptively warned with a smile. There seemed to be no room for negotiation.
Meanwhile, Boga in the sky began its charge towards the cocoon.
“Gururuarrrr!”
The destructive power of its voice, unleashed at a tremendous volume, had been further sublimated after its evolution, distorting the cocoon’s surface significantly just by its sound alone. Just before contact, the breath of sound released caused the cocoon to cave in, and Boga’s giant body descended. Boga, with its fangs opened wide facing downwards, attempted to tear through the cocoon. Furthermore, the black rocks on its back erupted like a volcano, causing increased strain on the barrier. Boga’s rocky skin was now only a short distance from touching the tip of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
However, Bell’s Azure Wind Barrier shifted to concentrate almost entirely on the surface Boga was about to touch. Coupled with the strengthening headwind, the repulsive force increased, while Boga noticed its own eruption gradually weakening. Breaking through the wind barrier seemed possible, but it looked like it would be repelled if it continued like this.
“With the side defenses now weakened, we can bomb the Demon Lord’s Castle. What shall we do?” Efil requested, loading her next arrow.
“Destroying the castle isn’t our objective, so for now, it’s fine— I’d like to say that, but “mercy shown to others is not thrown away,” as they say. Shall we give it another go?”
“Understood. However, Master, the meaning of that proverb is slightly different.”
“Oh, really?”
Kelvin briefly wondered about the fact that Japanese proverbs were understood in this world, but he interpreted it as not impossible, given the existence of Traage, which originated from Japan. He tried not to dwell on the fact that he was already starting to lose to Efil in terms of linguistic ability.
“Older Sister Efil, a slightly tough enemy has arrived! They might have a Unique Skill!”
At that opportune moment, a telepathic message from Rion arrived. If it were merely a golem, Rion wouldn’t need to send a telepathic message. That meant whoever was heading towards Efil’s squad was a stronger opponent. Kelvin inwardly groaned, wondering why he wasn’t the one they went to, and offered a selfish prayer to the God of Gourmet.
“Efil, I’ll handle this side with a different approach. I’m counting on Rion’s support. Mudo, if you have any leeway, prioritize reinforcing Melfina and the others. I have a feeling something might be heading their way too.”
“Understood.”
“Understood.”
He cut off the telepathic communication and once again considered Boga’s attempt to break through the Azure Wind Barrier.
“As expected, Boga’s power and eruptive force have weakened since touching that azure wind. Boga should be able to break through it, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before it’s repelled…”
Kelvin and his party had already reached the central part of the castle town. Surprisingly, there were few golems on security duty inside, and with Ange and Sera leading the way, they were cut down and pulverized without Kelvin needing to intervene. If things continued smoothly, the Demon Lord’s Castle would soon be within reach. In essence, Kelvin could simply use the Great Wind Demon God Scythe, so there was no need to go to such lengths to destroy Bell’s barrier. However, the competitive Kelvin didn’t want to compromise much. To be blunt, he was also strongly motivated to gauge just how far his opponent could go.
“The subordinate’s power is also the summoner’s power, so this is where I—”
Kelvin had no intention of apologizing, but he clasped his hands together in his heart as a formality. Then, magic power began to gather in the sky. Appearing behind Boga was a magic circle different from the one that had summoned Boga. When there’s a magic circle, something is bound to appear—
“G-Gaaah!?”
What rained down was another Boga. This even surprised the fully combat-ready Boga, its eyes widening. After all, a giant Fire Dragon King, identical to itself, appeared right beside it. However, its translucently black hue was familiar, and Boga understood everything in the next moment.
“He says he wants seconds. Kuroto, feast on him to your heart’s content.”
That’s right, this Boga was a mimicry created by Kuroto, who had pulled out his own body from storage. Normally, he would never enlarge his body to this extent, but he could if he wanted to. As a Kuroto combat body assembled with fighting strength, his intrinsic power was high.
One Boga was a match for itself. With Kuroto’s addition, the scales would tip, and the barrier would be destroyed. Just as Kelvin intended, the azure cocoon exceeded its capacity and broke. It was torn apart by Kuroto’s fangs coated in metalization and Boga’s solemn fangs of a Fire Dragon King.
“—Demon-Human Blue Battle Frenzy.”
At the highest point of the Demon Lord’s Castle, on the roof, a girl’s voice was murmured. As she stood up, azure armor adorned her legs, tail, wings, and horns, and above that, pure white leg armor had been reborn to adapt to her new form. As if reflecting her emotions, Bell Baal, a fierce gale continued to blow from the gaps in her leg armor.
“Guugaarrr!”
With clear hostility, Kuroto and Boga targeted Bell as their next target. Attracted by gravity, the onslaught of multiple giant fangs raged.
“Seriously, I didn’t intend to show myself in a place like this…! And you barge into someone’s house with your shoes on, and then try to destroy it? I’d love to see your parents, you know!”
The soaring trajectory of blue and white collided with the dragon’s fangs.
