Next Life – Chapter 173

“Ner, let’s train,” Marius suggested to his daughter one day.

“…Huh? Okay,” Nergal tilted her head in confusion, but quickly agreed, realizing she’d get to spend time with her beloved father. They then moved to a special space Marius had created.

“What are we doing?” Nergal asked.

“I won’t do anything. You come at me,” Marius replied.

“Okay.” Nergal, not quite understanding, nodded and attacked. The carelessly fired, compressed magic power bullets possessed a power that would force even the Demon Lord Zofi to desperately defend or evade. However, Marius did neither, taking the full force of the attack.

“Ehh?!” Nergal cried out. She had acted under the assumption that her father could easily avoid or block such an attack. To see him hit by every single one was unbelievable.

“D-Daddy?” she called out hesitantly, though she knew he couldn’t possibly die.

“Next, Ner,” Marius instructed in a strong voice, clearly showing signs of damage.

“Huh? Huh?” Young Nergal couldn’t comprehend and looked perplexed. “W-Why? Daddy, it hurts?”

“Indeed. Which is why this has meaning,” Marius said with a stern face. “I’ll let you attack me with less power so I don’t get seriously injured.”

“Eh? Eeh? Eeeeeh?!” It took Nergal a good few seconds before she finally understood what her father meant and screamed, “Th-That’s impossible! Daddy, it hurts you?” She was already on the verge of tears, likely aware of her own difficulty in holding back.

“If Ner can learn to hold back, it will be alright,” he said.

“Eeeeh…” The young girl looked around nervously, her shoulders slumping. Marius gently spoke to his dejected daughter.

“It’s okay. You can do it.”

“…What if I can’t?” Nergal looked up at her father with teary, anxious eyes.

“It would be good if you could before I die.”

“I-I don’t want that!!!” Nergal finally burst into tears. Marius scratched his cheek, looking troubled. (Was I too hasty?) He regretted it, but it was too late. He had to at least stop his daughter from crying.

“I’ll intrude!” someone suddenly smashed through a part of the space and barged in. It’s probably unnecessary to state who it was, but it was Auraniess.

“What the? Let me join!” she declared, her attitude making it hard to tell if she’d read the mood or ignored it.

“Tempest Roar,” Nergal spat a breath of lightning and gale-force winds at her mother.

“Hmph, a clever trick!” Auraniess swatted it away with her right hand. The young girl glared at her.

“Don’t interrupt when it’s just me and Daddy!” Apparently, she didn’t have the notion of the three of them spending time together.

“Don’t talk back when you were just sobbing like a baby. Are you really my and Marius’s child?”

“Ner is Daddy’s child!” Nergal asserted defensively. Auraniess smirked.

“Then prove it!” She conjured and launched a pale blue, glowing orb of lightning, slightly larger than an adult male’s head. It was one of her signature moves, Brynhildr. Nergal, her tears not yet dry, easily dodged it.

“Hmph. Fimbulvetr!” Tremendous cold, capable of freezing the entire world, erupted from her small body. The power was immense enough to turn the Taliant Continent into permafrost if it hit.

“Ha, are you just copying me?” Auraniess sneered and stopped it with both hands. “This is nowhere near my level.”

“You-!” Nergal glared at her mother, huffing. Auraniess watched her with a grin. It was hard to tell if she was teasing or training her. According to Marius, it was “both.”

“That’s enough, Auraniess. And you too, Nergal,” Marius intervened.

“Mhmm,” Auraniess grumbled in dissatisfaction, while Nergal responded with a cheerful, “Okay!” She then hugged her father.

“Hehehe~” Marius smiled happily and gently stroked his innocent daughter’s hair.

“Want to try against Auraniess?”

“Okay,” Nergal replied instantly. It was uncertain if she could truly hold back, but it was better than not trying, Marius told himself.

“Oh, what is it?” Auraniess asked, confused. As expected, she had barged in without fully understanding. Marius, not surprised, explained.

“I’m planning to teach Ner how to hold back.”

“Ah, right. Killing the weak is second-rate. The first-rate only weakens them, neither letting them live nor die,” the strongest Demon Lord agreed. Her statement was so ominous it could have made a listener faint, but no one present was bothered.

“Is that so, Daddy?” The two-year-old girl innocently asked her father.

“Mhm,” Marius answered immediately, seeing no reason to hesitate.

“If Ner can hold back, will you be happy?”

“Yep.” Hearing this, Nergal’s fighting spirit flared up, emanating from her entire body.

“Then, if Ner can hold back, will you spend more time with me?”

“Sure.” Nergal’s aura turned into a world-shaking magic power.

“Then, if Ner can hold back, will you marry me?”

“That’s a no.” Marius answered immediately again.

“Boo,” Nergal grumbled discontentedly but said nothing more.

“Mommy, sorry if I almost kill you?” she then said to her mother with an innocent smile. Though the world was vast, there was likely no other girl who could say such a thing to Auraniess.

“Hah, if she’s my child, she should have that spirit!” The woman, far from being angry, clapped her hands with delight. One second later, the two women clashed. The space vibrated violently, and blinding light repeatedly filled the surroundings.

“I taught you the meaning of holding back, didn’t I?!” Marius roared.

“Uum, I am doing it,” Nergal said with an apologetic look.

“She is,” Auraniess surprisingly defended her daughter. Though, for her, it was simply stating a fact. “An attack that would obliterate the continent has been reduced to one that would half-destroy it. She’s made some progress.”

“Is that so? Yes, if she’s made some progress, I should praise her.” Marius was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered and praised his daughter.

“Yay, I got praised!” Nergal became even more motivated, and Auraniess met her advance. For a moment, the space tore open, and the aftermath of their battle leaked out, but Marius immediately dealt with it, preventing any incident.

“Are you really doing it?” Marius asked, but there was no reply. Both were focused on their fight.

***

At a certain location on the Taliant Continent.

“Wh-What was that?” A person, witnessing a sudden brilliant burst of light that was extinguished in less than a second, exclaimed in surprise.

“That direction is the Kingdom of Tubant.”

“Then it must be Lady Nergal or Lady Auraniess?”

“Likely.”

“Oh, again?” The people returned to their lives as if nothing had happened, knowing the culprits.