We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Where the Responsibility Lies
The Heavenly Revelation Sword and Spirit Current Sword clashed violently.
Sparks flew, and shockwaves rippled through the trees.
“You’re not bad, kid!”
Magdalia shouted, a wicked smile befitting a demon race plastered on his face.
As he unleashed fierce slashes, Magdalia also cast magic.
Several fireballs appeared around Magdalia and me as we exchanged blows. Then, fireballs as large as a person’s head exploded simultaneously!
Enveloping Magdalia himself, who had cast the magic!!
“It’s not a particularly powerful spell for us demons, but it should be devastating enough for you humans!”
You’re using the human race’s weakness against magic to try and defeat me with indiscriminate magical attacks!
“…That’s right. Even low-level magic can be a considerable threat to humans.”
However, I would like to add that this only applies to humans who have no means to defend against magic.
The smoke of the explosion cleared.
I swung the Spirit Current Sword, as if to sweep away the dust.
“Tch.”
As the dust settled, Magdalia glared at me with hatred.
“I heard about you, but it seems you’re not an ordinary human after all.”
“I’m an ordinary human. It’s just that my past experiences have been a bit unusual.”
“Unusual?”
Magdalia glared at me, as if measuring my abilities.
His gaze was heavy, filled with killing intent, anger, and intimidation.
But I won’t flinch from mere glares like that.
“Magdalia, was it? Have you no intention of reflecting?”
“Elnea, was it? Reflect? What am I supposed to reflect on?”
Magdalia laughed, deeming it a pointless question.
Seeing this, I made a decision.
“I see, you have no intention of reflecting. In that case, it can’t be helped.”
With a small sigh, I slowly knelt down. Then, I placed my hand on my shadow and shouted!
“Great Summoning!”
My shadow, extending from my body, eerily bulged.
A jet-black darkness, as if rejecting light, was born from it and began to consume the world.
Magdalia gasped as miasma emerged from the darkness before his eyes.
The miasma, which corroded the spirit just by looking at it, increased in density and formed a large mass.
“W-what are you doing…!?”
Perhaps unconsciously, Magdalia stumbled backward.
I said to Magdalia mercilessly,
“Realize that the sins you’ve committed are more terrifying than anything else. Appear, Demon Lord!!”
“A-a Demon Lord!!?”
The dense miasma, consuming the world, was struck by several small bolts of lightning.
And then, guided by the pale blue lightning, a giant Demon Lord appeared from the depths of the miasma!
“That was a rather crude summoning. However, I shall permit it from you.”
“Fufufu, Elnea-kun is truly an interesting person. Few others besides His Majesty and myself can summon him so casually.”
Of course, if the Demon Lord appears, his close subordinate Charlotte would come along.
Following the giant Demon Lord, Charlotte, with her sideways rolled blonde hair, emerged from the miasma.
Wielding a whip imbued with magic power.
“The black dragon you attacked is under the protection of the Demon Lord. Attacking that black dragon is equivalent to attacking the Demon Lord!”
That’s what the Demon Lord himself said just now.
So, he came to offer his own punishment in response to my foolish summoning.
“I trusted that you would make the right choice.”
“I don’t know about being trusted by a Demon Lord…”
“Elnea-kun, that is a wonderful thing, you know?”
Fufufu, Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes further, and flicked her whip.
“To elaborate on Elnea-kun’s words, if someone under His Majesty’s favor is attacked, his close subordinates cannot simply stand by.”
“Y-you…!”
The Demon Lord, who exuded an overwhelming presence just by standing there.
Even more than him, Charlotte, who radiated immeasurable magic power and killing intent, had Magdalia completely on the defensive.
Prompted by Charlotte’s “Elnea-kun?”, I will introduce the being who will bring despair to Magdalia.
“She is the chief subordinate of the giant Demon Lord, who is known as the oldest of the demon race.”
Of course, I won’t carelessly utter names even when introducing them.
If I were to casually say Charlotte’s or the Demon Lord’s name, everyone who heard it would surely be killed.
“Fufufu, either way, I’m killing you today.”
Charlotte, who read my mind as if it were natural, finally unleashed her magic power. To trample on Magdalia’s life.
The magic emanating from Charlotte became visible as golden light and swallowed the world.
The clear summer sky was instantly dyed golden.
“Im-impossible! This is just like the Golden Sky of Death from ancient legends…!”
It seems that the true history of the demon race is not preserved in the Eastern Continent, but in a sense, Charlotte’s despair-inducing power, which drove the great demon empire to the brink of ruin, has been passed down in legends.
However, I cannot carelessly discuss such historical matters.
After all, there is no need to explain it to Magdalia.
I took a step back and entrusted everything to Charlotte.
Unlike me, Charlotte moved forward, whip in hand.
“Now, shall we administer punishment?”
Saying that, she flicked her whip!
The magic-imbued whip extended infinitely.
And with a crack, it struck deep into a distant forest.
With just that, a massive explosion occurred, obliterating a section of the forest.
“Hey, don’t destroy the forest!?”
I can overlook the punishment for Magdalia, but destroying the Great Forest, the habitat of the beast race, is forbidden!
I panicked, but Charlotte wouldn’t listen.
“Fufufu, it’s all the fault of the fool who dared to lay a hand on His Majesty. Now, how shall we atone for your sins?”
Charlotte swung her whip. Each time, the forest was annihilated!
The ground shook violently, and I was almost blown away by the shockwaves. Lord Reed, who had been following me as if it were natural, supported me as I lost my footing.
With each massive explosion, the trees trembled impossibly, and their vibrant green leaves were brutally blown away.
Magdalia, who had been stunned by Charlotte’s immeasurable magic and the world dyed golden, finally regained his senses due to the repeated explosions around him.
“Damn, how can I fight against such a monster beyond human comprehension!”
And then, without hesitation, he turned on his heel.
“Running away?”
So, I said to Magdalia’s back.
“You recklessly challenged the Ruler of the North Sea, didn’t you? The Ruler of the North Sea, like the Demon Lord and his subordinate, is a monster beyond our comprehension. And yet, you’re challenging the Demon Lord and his subordinate, and then you’re going to run away? That’s truly selfish.”
Magdalia, who knew fragments of the opponent’s terror, yet challenged them. And yet, when he realized he couldn’t win, he tried to run away with his tail between his legs.
Of course, I too believe that one should avoid the folly of throwing oneself into a battle one cannot win. But Magdalia has committed a decisive sin.
“You were the one who split the sea, weren’t you? How do you intend to take responsibility for that? Can you bear responsibility by running away?”
If he could get through this situation, perhaps I would let him go, reasoning that the split sea would return to its original state. But that’s not the case.
Magdalia is simply trying to escape without taking responsibility for his actions.
Magdalia does not answer my question.
He also realizes.
That he is merely trying to escape.
There are no traps set along the escape route.
Running away does not guarantee a chance of victory.
Escaping from this place means fleeing from one’s own actions without responsibility.
Still, will you run?
“The Holy Knight Academy is nothing special? It’s a superficial educational institution that only teaches techniques without teaching the spirit of a knight or the resolve to wield a sword!”
At my provocation, Magdalia, who had his back to me, was engulfed in anger!
“A human brat like you, don’t get cocky!”
With a face full of rage, Magdalia turned around.
Just then, Charlotte’s whip struck him mercilessly!
“This is how things happened on my end.”
And then.
I safely completed my mission and returned to the sandy beach where Lily and the others were waiting.
Everyone who heard my report wore troubled smiles.
“Elnea, aren’t you being a little too destructive?”
“You know, Mistral, I wasn’t the one being destructive? That blonde demon on your side was doing whatever she pleased. Rather, if I hadn’t provoked Magdalia and kept him there, I think the forest would have suffered much greater damage?”
Speaking of Charlotte. If Magdalia had escaped, she would have surely toyed with him until the Demon Lord was satisfied.
If that had happened, I’m sure the surrounding forests would have been left in ruins?
“So, how did everyone else fare?”
The troublesome trio of Magdalia, Karina, and Zeke fled in three different directions. So we also split up and pursued them.
We reported to each other. Nearby, the captured three were confined in a Sand Prison, quietly waiting.
Did we not kill them?
No, no, no, I don’t engage in barbaric acts like handing out unprovoked death as atonement for sins.
Of course, Magdalia, who was whipped by Charlotte, is also alive.
He’s a little… slightly? Well, he’s quite injured!
“Nina and I just unleashed the Dragon Lance Frenzy, so it wasn’t interesting.”
“Yufi Onee-sama and I were left unsatisfied with just the Dragon Lance Frenzy.”
“Muki! I didn’t do anything at all!”
“Um, Madrine played with Priscilla.”
“Laira-oneechan also played with Mei and the others!”
“Thanks to Madrine and Laira staying behind, we were able to pursue without worry.”
If Laira had joined, I’m sure Revalia would have happily joined as well.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“It’s just your imagination?”
“Waaaah, I want to play more!”
“Me too, Rim!”
While we were desperately working hard, the ones who stayed behind seemed to have had fun.
Or rather, it’s amazing that they could have fun so close to a raging tempest.
“That’s because Elnea-onii-chan is here, nyaan.”
“Are you leaving it all to me?”
I turned my gaze towards the vast ocean spreading to the north. The sky was still in a violent storm, and towering waves raged impossibly high.
And the sea surface, split by Magdalia, still bore the scar.
“The Demon Lord’s anger has subsided thanks to the blonde demon, but to appease the Ruler of the North Sea…”
After receiving everyone’s reports, I turned my gaze to Magdalia, who sat slumped in the Sand Prison.
“If you can cut it, can you also fix it? You don’t possess such convenient power, do you?”
To my question, Magdalia replied reluctantly,
“Heal a world that has been cut? If I had such power, I wouldn’t need to go on a training journey as the ultimate swordsman and would have remained in the East Continent.”
It seems Magdalia, despite his defeat at Charlotte’s hands, hadn’t lost his spirit. But I can’t let him go without atonement.
“Hahaha, what a predicament. In that case, it seems our only option is to offer these three as sacrifices to the Ruler of the North Sea?”
“Ruilala!?”
Just then, Ruilala appeared.
“Why are you here, Ruilala? And from the sea?”
“Elnea-kun, well, you see?”
Ah, Ruilala is the child of the Ruler of the North Sea.
Perhaps Ruilala was already working to resolve the anomaly in the North Sea for reasons separate from us?
Putting aside my doubts for now.
“I’ve been observing the situation from the sea for a little. Hmm, a graduate of an educational institution that trains swordsmen in the Eastern Continent, eh?”
“Ah, darn it!”
The three we captured in the Sand Prison are individuals who, while not adept at their race’s unique arts, have mastered swordsmanship and various techniques.
And Ruilala is an unparalleled sword-fighting fanatic.
“How about this, Elnea-kun? If they and I fight, and they defeat me, I’ll let this matter slide. If I’m not satisfied, they’re as good as sacrifices.”
“So it comes to this, then.”
I slumped my shoulders as Ruilala eagerly took out her magic sword.
By clicking the heart, you can easily express your support. (Login required)
Support
Login if you have an account
Learn more about the reading experience possible on Kakuyomu.
