Auraniess, having knocked down all the lasers, admonished Marius.
“Marius. Just to let you know, I don’t recommend using regular magic power attacks on me. After all, it’s the power I used, so it’s called magic power.”
Marius was unable to reply immediately.
He felt as if Auraniess had revealed something incredible to him.
“It’s like you’re the originator of magic power…”
“That’s right. You didn’t know, did you?”
Auraniess nodded vigorously, thinking, “I need to teach him properly.”
“That doesn’t make sense, though.”
Marius, knowing they were in the middle of a battle, couldn’t help but retort.
“You were supposed to be just a beast. It would be strange if a monster wasn’t the first to use magic power.”
“Why?”
Auraniess asked back with a bewildered expression.
“Why…?”
Because he said it so strangely, words failed him on the spot.
Auraniess looked somewhat disappointed at Marius’s lack of a response.
“Are you surprisingly rigid in your thinking? Just because I’m a monster doesn’t mean I could use my power well from the start. If that were the case, even I might have been killed.”
Auraniess’s words were filled with conviction, making Marius feel like it was wrong to doubt him.
“Is that so? I’m sorry for doubting you.”
As Marius apologized earnestly, Auraniess chuckled magnanimously, “I forgive you.”
Thinking it would be a loss to point out they were in the middle of a fight, Marius changed the subject.
“Shall we get to the main event now?”
Yes, it was a provocation.
It was clear that Auraniess hadn’t used his full power yet.
This was because he hadn’t used any techniques.
While he was launching an overwhelming barrage of attacks, each one potent, it didn’t feel refined.
If he didn’t have his ultimate techniques from the game, that would be a relief, but it was impossible that he had no techniques at all.
Auraniess wasn’t born with his current strength.
This could be inferred from the fact that his race, the Tyrant, aside from him, was extinct.
The Tyrants were the strongest species, but that was only in the era before monsters were born.
“Eh?”
Auraniess reacted with dissatisfaction.
For him, he wanted to fully enjoy the battle with a decent opponent he had finally met.
“<…Become strength>【Vajra】”
Marius unleashed a top-tier lightning magic spell again.
Auraniess frowned as he intercepted it, thinking, “I just broke that!”
He countered by creating tens of thousands of magic bullets and nullifying them.
“So, what’s after the opening act?”
“【Refrain】<…Cannot exist>【Absolute Zero】”
Due to the effect of Refrain, dozens of Spears of the Thunder God appeared once more, and the freezing cold that would freeze everything blew towards Auraniess.
“Oh, a wave attack of top-tier spells!”
Auraniess rejoiced, thinking, “Is this Marius’s true power?”
Indeed, being hit by consecutive forbidden spells, and those of different types, was a bit tough even for Auraniess.
It was easy to forget because Marius could cast them repeatedly without issue, but forbidden spells were inherently difficult to handle.
He converted magic power to flame to counter Absolute Zero and generated countless magic bullets to counter Vajra.
He narrowly escaped being frozen by the cold, only to have the Spears of the Thunder God fly at him.
Auraniess managed to dodge them, though he was hit a few times, and then heard the next incantation.
“
Agni, a top-tier fire magic spell, exploded.
The divine flames that burned everything threatened to engulf Auraniess.
Furthermore, Marius was already preparing for the next incantation.
(He’s truly amazing, Marius!)
It was astonishing that he could unleash continuous attacks like this, having just cast forbidden spells one after another.
However, if he thought he could win with this, then…
“You’re underestimating me too much.”
Auraniess further amplified his magic power, gathered it in both fists, and then released it.
One of his proudest great techniques.
“Juggernaut!”
An explosion rang out, as if piercing the heavens and crushing the earth, the divine flames that had been approaching were extinguished, and a violent tidal wave that trampled everything surged towards Marius.
Juggernaut, one of Auraniess’s ultimate techniques.
It was a simple technique of concentrating immense magic power into both fists and exploding it, but combined with Auraniess’s overwhelming physical ability and vast magic power, it created unprecedented destructive power.
Although it was treated as a mere striking technique, it had a past where a certain player named it “Unstoppable Destruction,” and it was eventually officially adopted.
The terrifying aspect of this technique was not its power, but its equipment destruction effect and its ability to nullify all special effects and skills.
Auraniess’s exclusive skill, “Wrecking,” activated only when he used this technique.
Furthermore, its range was wide, making it a brutal specification that melee-focused fighters could hardly avoid.
Initially, it had caused curses and complaints like, “Are they trying to make it impossible to clear?”
(He had it.)
Marius, who had anticipated this, wasn’t surprised.
An attack that was the nightmare of those who fought hand-to-hand combat could be avoided by Marius, who fought from a sufficient distance.
The consecutive attacks using top-tier magic were merely bait to force Auraniess to use a technique.
That was why he only attacked from a distance.
He had anticipated that by launching consecutive attacks from afar, forcing Auraniess into a situation where normal defense wouldn’t suffice, he would use a counter-attack with a great technique.
It was precisely as Marius had predicted.
He warped to Auraniess’s side and, immediately after Juggernaut was activated and the Demon Lord’s reaction was unusually slow, he struck with his strongest magic.
“<…Return to nothingness>【Annihilation】”
Marius’s strongest black wind, infused with all of his magic power, engulfed Auraniess.
A state of exhaustion overcame Marius, and he fell to his knees.
Fortunately, thanks to his magic recovery skill, he was able to recover quickly.
As his magic power recovered somewhat, Marius warped to regain distance.
He didn’t think Auraniess, who was not easily defeated, would be downed by that single blow.
The barrier “Gae Bolg” showed no signs of breaking either.
This was probably the best proof that Auraniess was not dead.
However, he wanted to inflict as much damage as possible and believed he had dealt considerable damage.
(I hit him with a full-power Annihilation when he was defenseless…)
If he had taken no damage from this, Marius felt he wouldn’t be able to win.
When the black wind dissipated and his vision cleared, Auraniess was alive, just as Marius had predicted.
He was on his right knee, arms crossed in front of him as if to shield himself, his shoulders moving greatly.
Even Auraniess seemed to have been forced to his knees.
“That one… it actually got me…”
Auraniess said in a low voice, then began to tremble.
He then stood up and burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha, this is wonderful! When was the last time I felt this kind of pain!”
He suppressed his laughter and looked at Marius.
“My apologies for playing around, Marius. As an apology, I’ll show you my true form! You won’t die, I guarantee it!”
Auraniess’s body outline blurred, and then he began to grow.
A colossal body with a shoulder height of five meters and a body and tail length of ten meters, with a neck extending further upwards, all covered in blue scales.
Golden eyes, white fangs, and a red, slender tongue.
The Tyrant, the terrestrial despot that went extinct long ago.
Its imposing presence was revealed.
(He looks just like a dinosaur.)
To Marius, the sight was a familiar one.
It was close to the image of dinosaurs he had heard about in his previous world.
A heavy pressure settled on Marius’s heart, then quickly vanished.
It was likely Auraniess’s skill, “Haven’s Might.”
It activated only when Auraniess got serious and forced those without a certain level of strength into a state of unconsciousness.
Furthermore, even those with the minimum required strength would fall into a state of panic, effectively rendering them incapable of fighting.
Perhaps this inability for ordinary beings to even confront him was proof of his strength.
“Hahaha, you’re amazing, Marius.”
Auraniess laughed, impressed.
Even though his form was far from human, he could still speak fluently.
“To be unfazed even when seeing me in this form! I’m glad I met you, Marius!”
To Auraniess, who shouted this, Marius replied calmly.
“I wish I never met you. Ideally, for the rest of my life.”
“Haha, don’t say such cold things. You’re the only one who can remain unfazed even when I’m serious. You must have never had anyone to let you go all out, right? Didn’t you want someone you could unleash your full power against? Haven’t you ever wanted to fight with all your might, just once?”
For some reason, Auraniess’s voice, which was beautiful and human-like, was now high-pitched with excitement.
“Let’s be honest.”
Marius felt he couldn’t just brush this off.
Auraniess was pure, innocent, and far too straightforward.
“I did want to fight with all my might. But I’d rather not fight someone like you to the death.”
This was his honest feeling.
He had the desire to fight without worrying about others, but he wasn’t necessarily seeking an equal opponent.
He had never even considered a fight to the death.
“Haha, well, you humans fight to survive, don’t you? It’s different from me, who lives to fight.”
“If you understand, then please die quickly. My wives are waiting for me.”
For some reason, Marius’s statement struck a chord with Auraniess, and he burst into laughter.
“You really are the best, Marius. You’re the first person who has ever told me to die in this form.”
It seemed he appreciated that Marius wasn’t afraid of his true form.
“Don’t worry. If you kill me, I’ll properly die. If you can kill me, that is.”
Auraniess leaned forward, the pressure he emitted increasing further.
(This is where the real fight begins.)
Marius mentally prepared himself.
The effect of “Haven’s Might” extended beyond the barrier.
The soldiers in the training ground all rolled their eyes and fainted, and Zofi, who was nearby, trembled on her hands and knees from overwhelming fear.
(Wh-what is this…?)
She desperately resisted the fading consciousness.
Seeing this, Sophia and Iris let out exclamations of admiration.
“To endure Auraniess-sama’s might, you’re quite something.”
“It’s rare for someone like a Demon to withstand it.”
Her subordinates could clearly see what was happening.
Finally, Auraniess was fighting in earnest.
Marius was that strong.
Sophia sighed.
“Marius is one thing, but will this city be alright?”
Her concern was well-founded.
Other than Zofi, everyone in the city who could withstand the intense pressure that suddenly enveloped the Royal Capital had collapsed.
The Royal Capital, Filat, had fallen into dysfunction.
As a side note, birds flying in the sky lost consciousness and crashed to the ground, and insects crawling on the ground flipped over on the spot.
For Iris and Sophia, however, this was a familiar sight.
“Is this… Auraniess’s pressure?”
Zofi muttered, sweating profusely and enduring with sheer willpower.
Sophia, who had been sincerely praising her, replied as if offering a reward.
“That’s right. However, what we are feeling is likely just the residual effect of what is directed solely at Marius.”
“R-residual effect…”
Zofi didn’t know what to say.
She only understood one thing: the strength of Auraniess, as recorded in legends, was likely not exaggerated.
