We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The prelude to the rhapsody.
“Then, I’m off!”
Waved off by Mistral and the others, we ascended into the sky.
The demon race army was approaching the Armēdo Kingdom. To intercept them, we each took on a role and began to move.
Ruisaine, Priscilla-chan, and I rode on Lily’s back, heading towards the Dragon’s Mausoleum.
“Prisilla is coming too.”
“Nyan is coming too, nyan.”
Before departure. Priscilla-chan and Nimia, who had thrown a tantrum, were added at the last minute, but this was within acceptable limits.
If Lily is here, Priscilla-chan should be safe.
“Nyan is also here, nyan.”
“No, no, I’m here too.”
“Yes. I’m counting on you, Nimia. Ruilala… Don’t get in the way!”
“That’s harsh.”
To the extent that such conversations occurred before departure, our agitation had begun to subside.
Lily flew north at full speed with us on her back. The landscape below blurred into lines due to her speed, which rivaled Nimia’s.
The army of the Great Evil Spirit Yahn, which should be starting to deploy north of the Wyvern Hunting Ground. The undead army led by Demon General Goldoba, who has already infiltrated the capital. The demons rampaging within Dragon Peak and heading east, and the Beast Demon General Neritz, who has disappeared.
Among these, the undead army, which has already begun to raid the capital, is the most concerning.
However, I deliberately did not head for the capital.
Dragon King Id and Hero Listea have arrived at the capital. I believe they will surely protect the capital.
In that case.
I had another, more urgent matter.
Demon Lord Kusharilla.
Kusharilla, who disappeared from her own territory along with the demon race’s army. There is still no clue to her whereabouts.
Where did the Demon Lord disappear to?
The most likely possibility is that she is hiding among one of the armies.
Then, which army is she hiding in?
When I considered Neritz’s army of Beast Demon Generals.
Neritz himself has disappeared, and it’s unlikely he’s among the demons and magical beasts rampaging randomly eastward. If an unfathomable being like the Demon Lord were among the disunified demons, the dragons of Dragon Peak would have noticed their presence.
However, there have been no such reports from the dragons. Therefore, she is not hiding in Neritz’s army.
What about Yahn’s army of Great Evil Spirits?
This can also be said to be unlikely. Although the warriors south of here couldn’t track Yahn’s movements, the Northern Dragon Race had accounted for Yahn’s army crossing Dragon Peak. If the Demon Lord were among them, they would have noticed their presence.
If that’s the case, the remaining possibility is that she is hiding within Demon General Goldoba’s army.
If the Demon Lord is in the undead army, she would stand out. However, the undead army, shortly after entering Dragon Peak, stumbled into the Dragon’s Mausoleum.
No. We thought they had stumbled in. Therefore, in reality, our vigilance against the undead army was the weakest. This applied to those south of here and those to the north.
There was a concern that Goldoba might be searching for dragons close to death. However, our attention was drawn to Orta, other demon armies, and the Northern Dragon Race, causing this to be put off.
If the Demon Lord were in that undead army, would anyone have noticed? Thinking about it, I concluded that it was highly possible that Demon Lord Kusharilla was indeed there.
Even the most skilled Dragon Race and Dragon Folk would find it difficult to deal with the Demon Lord. After all, she possesses a terrifying magic sword that can destroy the soul with a mere touch.
The Giant Demon Lord said:
“If you confirm Demon Lord Kusharilla, never fight her. The Giant Demon Lord, who is also a Demon Lord, will deal with Kusharilla.”
How grateful I am.
That’s why I decided to head for the Dragon’s Mausoleum instead of the capital of Armēdo.
Lily aside, Ruilala, who is a demon, seems to be sticking with me. If I don’t go to the Dragon’s Mausoleum, I can’t guide Ruilala to a place where the Demon Lord Kusharilla is likely to be.
Even if the Demon Lord isn’t at the Dragon’s Mausoleum and appears at the capital, Lily’s flight speed should be enough to make it in time.
“So, Ruilala, if the Demon Lord is there, please do something.”
“Eh?”
“…Eh?”
Ruilala’s bewildered question made me ask her back.
“Elnea-kun. I’m not going to fight the Demon Lord, you know? Even I, for that matter, am afraid of the Soul Spirit Seat.”
“No, no, I didn’t say fight. If Kusharilla is there, summon the Giant Demon Lord.”
“Eh?”
“…Eh?”
What is it? I have a bad feeling for the first time in a while.
A sense of unease welled up in me as Ruilala looked back as if she couldn’t understand my words.
“Uh… You’re going to summon the Giant Demon Lord, right, Ruilala?”
“Eh?”
Ruilala tilted her head. Then, she sighed with a “Haa.”
“Elnea-kun, you’re mistaken about something. I can’t possibly summon His Majesty the Demon Lord?”
“…”
“I wouldn’t dare summon His Majesty, it’s too blasphemous.”
As Ruilala laughed with a “Ahaha,” I grimaced.
“Even if summoning is impossible, you’ll let us know, right?”
“Eh?”
“…”
“I can’t use telepathy, you know?”
“Then how do you plan to call the Demon Lord?”
“Who knows?”
All of us on Lily’s back froze.
What do you mean?
If we confirm Kusharilla’s presence, we can leave it to the Giant Demon Lord, right? But perhaps, we don’t have a way to contact the Giant Demon Lord?
…Ah, I see.
I looked at Lily.
“I can’t use telepathy either, you know. I can only catch the one-way telepathy from the Demon Lord.”
“Eeeeh!”
This is a shocking revelation.
There is no way to contact the Giant Demon Lord!
What are we supposed to do after finding Kusharilla?!
My scream echoed in vain in the sky of Dragon Peak, where cloudy skies spread.
“More importantly, you know. Look, the undead army is coming into view.”
Lily casually reported, unfazed by the major problem of not being able to summon the Giant Demon Lord.
“E-Elnea-kun…”
Ruisaine looked at me anxiously.
“This is problematic. An unexpected development.”
“This is problematic. A desperate development.”
The twin princesses clasped hands and grumbled, “Mumumu.”
By the way, what are you two carrying on your backs?!
Yufilia and Nina each had a golden greatsword slung across their backs!
Those are definitely the Ryūhōken!
Why do you possess them as if it’s the most natural thing in the world?!
Something is strange.
There’s no tense atmosphere like there was before the fight with Orta.
Somehow, instead of the feeling before a battle, all that arises is a busy, thumping heartbeat like before a festival, and the tension is weak.
It’s not that we’re letting our guard down, but I feel like an atmosphere different from before the fight with Orta is enveloping us, or rather, the world.
Putting that aside.
At this point, there’s no turning back.
If Demon Lord Kusharilla is here, we’ll just ride Lily and run with all our might.
Another option is to fly to the demon race’s country and bring the Giant Demon Lord here.
“Everyone, battle preparations!”
At my command, Ruisaine drew her naginata and began to chant a prayer.
The twin princesses drew the Ryūhōken they were carrying.
…So you are indeed going to use the Ryūhōken.
“Lily, set us down in front of that ruin. And then, please deal with the surrounding undead army.”
“I can’t defeat them all, you know.”
“Yes, don’t push yourself. You just need to hold out while we enter the ruins.”
The undead army was surging towards what appeared to be an ancient ruin. The vanguard seems to have already infiltrated the ruins.
Indeed, the ancient ruins below might be connected by some kind of magic to the ruins near the capital of Armēdo.
We had another role besides searching for the Demon Lord.
That was the destruction of the ruins.
If the ruins are connected and the undead army is transferring from here, we will destroy these ruins and block the path. This way, at least, we can stop the flow of the undead army into the capital.
The twin princesses possess the most effective means to destroy the ruins.
And Ruisaine and I are here to assist them.
Now that we’ve discovered we have no way to contact the Giant Demon Lord, Ruilala is nothing but a hindrance!
Lily swooped down from above the clouds and approached the undead army on the ground.
And with a sharp roar, she unleashed her dark breath.
“We both have dark attributes, so it’s a little less effective, you know.”
Even so, the undead hit directly by the dark breath dissipated like mist.
Lily landed forcefully in the space created by her dark breath.
The ground trembled and dust rose.
Lily then rained dark rain, trampling the approaching undead army.
While Lily was scattering the surrounding undead army, we descended to the ground.
“As of now, there’s no sign of the Demon Lord, you know.”
“In that case, in the worst-case scenario, the Demon Lord may have already gone to the capital.”
“There’s no sign of anything like a Demon General either. It’s all just riff-raff.”
“I’m worried about the capital.”
Ruisaine’s complexion was pale.
She must be very worried about the capital.
Neither Kusharilla nor Goldoba are here. In that case, the next possibility is indeed…
No!
Worrying or being anxious here and now won’t solve anything.
“Ruisaine, let’s move quickly to get rid of your unease.”
“Yes!”
In response to my words, Ruisaine regained her resolve.
While Lily buys us time, we need to enter the ruins and set up the mechanism.
As I raised my weapon and was about to enter the ruins,
“Wait just a moment, please.”
Lily said as she brought her face close to mine.
What is it? As I watched her, Lily inexplicably brought her nose close to my shadow and made a sniffing motion.
“What did you do?”
“In case we get separated in the future, I memorized Elnea-kun’s dragon energy by smell. That way, no matter where Elnea-kun is in the world, I can come running immediately.”
“Oh, is that some kind of dragon art?”
Lily is a black dragon. Even though she’s a child, she’s of the Ancient Dragon Species, isn’t she? It might be a preparation for some super-advanced dragon art that we can’t use.
When I confirmed that Lily had taken her nose away from my shadow, I turned my feet towards the ruins again.
“Ah, wait up. I’ll come with you.”
“Don’t suddenly go wild, okay?”
“That’s so mean, don’t you trust me?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“Not even a speck.”
Ruilala, pouting at the twin princesses’ retorts, lowered her shoulders.
“If you get in the way, I’ll strike you without question!”
“Hahaha. Elnea-kun’s strike is amazing.”
Laughing carelessly, Ruilala followed behind us, and we exchanged glances and sighed.
“There should be undead inside the ruins, so don’t let your guard down. Now, let’s go!”
With me in the lead, we entered the ruins.
And as expected, the inside of the ruins was filled with undead.
“Ruisaine!”
At my signal, Ruisaine cast her magic.
In front of the undead pushing in from the depths towards the entrance, a mist resembling the faint glow of the moon appeared.
The undead that touched the mist were purified, letting out a guttural sigh of “Oooh.”
The leading undead faltered at the power of the magic, but still, they swarmed in from the depths, and a grotesque exchange between rotting humans, faceless knights, and ghosts unfolded before our eyes.
I struck down upon them with my dragon spear.
The vanguard of the undead army that had surged towards the entrance was eliminated by it.
“Now’s our chance.”
“It’s our chance.”
A further follow-up.
Nina took out a small moon-like spirit tree jewel from between her breasts. She then tossed it into the depths of the ruins.
A wave of pure magical power spread beyond the walls, ceiling, and floor of the ruins.
And then, the death throes of the undead army echoed from the depths of the ruins.
“Well then, let’s go!”
I was glad we had prepared the spirit tree jewel, which was imbued with Ruisaine’s magic amplified by Mistral’s power.
After clearing the undead inside the ruins, we ran towards the depths.
“Please be careful. I can’t stop it all, you know.”
Behind us, Lily gave one last warning.
Even Lily would find it difficult to defend the ruin entrance against a ten-thousand-strong undead army. Surely some undead would seize the opportunity and infiltrate the ruins.
And in the depths of the ruins, some undead remained that had endured Nina’s attack.
The ruins extended many layers underground, and the effect of the spirit tree jewel didn’t seem to reach well.
However, the undead were considerably weakened, writhing in agony.
Led by me, we eliminated the remaining undead we encountered as we proceeded.
Berrig had told us the objective location beforehand. However, it was a place we were entering for the first time. We got lost several times while eliminating the undead.
And finally, we reached the innermost room, which glowed faintly.
“I’ll buy you time.”
“We don’t have much time.”
“Elnea-kun, please.”
The further we went, the more unharmed undead we encountered.
It was good that we reached the innermost room, but the undead that had been wandering inside the ruins began to gather.
Ruisaine and the twin princesses readied their weapons and faced the undead approaching the room.
Priscilla-chan, protected by Nimia and Ares-chan, moved to a corner of the room.
In the meantime, I had to set up a mechanism in the room.
The mechanism was quite simple.
Just set the spirit tree jewel with a timer.
If set with a delay between when the twin princesses threw it and when it exploded, it could be detonated at a desired time.
Our simple plan was to have me infuse the jewel with dragon energy while the three of them bought us time, then have us all escape and detonate it.
I went to the center of the faintly glowing room and took out the spirit tree jewel from my pocket.
Yufilia had said there were only a few left.
I concentrated my consciousness to send dragon energy into the jewel.
Then, I felt the flow of the dragon vein from beneath my feet and opened my eyes.
Was it a coincidence?
The dragon vein flowing beneath the ruins had a complex aura, like a wild, great river with a gentle flow. It was indeed the main stream of the dragon vein.
And, when I casually directed my consciousness towards the main stream of the dragon vein.
“…No. This place cannot be destroyed!”
Ruilala, who was watching with interest nearby, was surprised by my words.
“If we destroy this place, there’s a danger that the main stream of the dragon vein will overflow. Then, we don’t know what will happen to this entire area.”
“Th-that can’t be…!”
Ruisaine, who had just defeated a ghost trying to invade the room with her naginata, gasped.
“And… I feel like this place is connected to somewhere. It feels like it’s connected by something like threads, mixed with the main stream of the dragon vein.”
Somewhere, considering the situation, it’s probably the ruins near the capital of Armēdo.
When I briefly directed my consciousness to the dragon vein, I felt a pulling sensation from the thread-like connection.
Perhaps, if I had followed it, I would have been transported to the other ruins, a sensation like that.
At that moment, the room’s luminescence began to intensify.
“What is it?”
“It’s dangerous.”
The faintly glowing room gradually increased its light intensity.
We retreated from the room as a precaution.
Then, we looked back at the room.
“This…!”
It was a dazzling light, just like when Old Man Sleigsta used his transfer dragon art.
“Is it possible that we can travel from here to the ruins in the capital?”
Ruisaine’s words, but I couldn’t nod strongly.
A phenomenon in an unknown ruin, one I’ve never seen or heard of.
I couldn’t carelessly say, “Then let’s jump in and experiment,” when I had no idea what would happen.
While defeating the encroaching undead, I pondered what to do.
Destroying it is dangerous. But we can’t just leave it and go back.
“In that case, shall I jump in?”
It was Ruilala who made that unexpected proposal.
“I won’t die that easily. I’m confident I can withstand any danger at the place I’m sent to.”
“But, you don’t know what will happen, and it’s dangerous.”
Ruilala is a demon. She’s accompanying us under the instructions of the Giant Demon Lord. If you ask if she’s an ally, I’d shake my head, yet I can’t ask Ruilala, who is like that, to take on such a dangerous role.
“Let’s do this. I’ll go in first. If it’s dangerous, I’ll come back.”
“If it’s dangerous, won’t you be unable to return?”
“Hahaha. For that, I want you to trust me as a Viscount of the Demon Race. If there’s danger, I’ll return no matter what. Please trust in the me who endured your full power.”
It’s frustrating, but it’s true.
Ruilala has enough stamina to be unfazed even after taking my full blow.
“So. If I don’t come back, you all should jump in too.”
“No, no, let’s just return for now.”
“That’s not right. If it’s safe, it’s better for you to come without fussing over confirmation. If the Demon Lord and Demon Generals aren’t here, they’re likely to be there. It’s much faster to transfer from here than to go outside and ask Lily to move us. What if a slight difference in time leads to insurmountable consequences?”
“Gnuuu.”
To be persuaded by a demon is frustrating.
But Ruilala might be right.
“Then, I’ll be going. Wait a while, and if I don’t come back, it’s safe. In that case, you all should come too.”
With that, Ruilala jumped into the glowing room without waiting for our reply.
The moment she entered the room, Ruilala’s presence vanished.
She definitely transferred somewhere.
We continued to strike down the undead that still pressed in.
Since the room began to glow, the gathering of undead intensified.
The undead knew. They knew that when the room glowed brightly, it was an opportunity for transfer.
While defeating the undead, we observed the state of the room.
However, Ruilala did not return.
“Elnea-kun!”
At Ruisaine’s warning, I noticed something strange about the room.
Gradually, the room’s luminescence began to fade.
But Ruilala still hadn’t returned.
Does that mean it’s safe?
Should we wait, jump into the light, or ignore Ruilala’s words and retreat for now?
Ares-chan gave me the answer to my dilemma.
“It’s okay. Let’s move along the dragon vein.”
Ares-chan, who had been holding Priscilla-chan’s hand and observing, nodded strongly.
“Alright!”
After wiping out the surrounding undead, I called everyone together.
Then, holding hands, we plunged into the dimming room!
The light that filled my vision made me unable to see anything.
And then, immediately after feeling a change in the air and atmosphere, similar to when we arrived at the Moss Garden.
We were standing in a ruin with a different landscape.
“Ruilala, what are you doing?!”
And then.
For some reason, Slattun and Ruilala were clashing blades in front of me!
Without hesitation, I delivered a powerful kick to Ruilala’s back.
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