Chapter 96
Chapter 96
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Spring Arrives
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Aretia was utterly flustered.
Honestly, who in the world declares they're going to beat up their fiancée?!
But looking at the Death Star standing before her, she realized the man meant every word.
And despite dolling herself up for the occasion, her beauty was completely lost on this battle maniac—his heart didn't budge an inch.
In the end, if this negotiation table collapsed, the only one who'd regret it was Aretia, who had her "real objective" at stake. With a deep sigh, she relented.
"...Fine."
"Good. So, what will you say next? Act like a demon."
"What does 'acting like a demon' even mean...? Ah, no. So we're fighting right here?"
"This is a battlefield that favors you, so let's do it."
Balak unclenched his fist.
"You're a mage, right? I'll give you thirty seconds."
"What?"
"But I trust you know what happens after those thirty seconds."
A warrior offering time to a mage left Aretia dumbfounded.
On top of that, this was the control room.
A place where she wielded absolute authority.
It was blatant disrespect, and she was starting to feel a flicker of annoyance—but then Anima crossed her mind.
'The incredibly strong Anima said this guy is hundreds of times stronger than her....'
Judging that Balak's words weren't arrogance but pure confidence, Aretia shot up into the night sky in an instant.
"Balak, you'll regret this."
"My future spouse needs that kind of guts."
"Eek!"
Her face flushed at his words, and Aretia shook her head vigorously.
"S-So, how do we start?"
"Oh? Worried about me?"
"You're the one giving the mage time."
"You decide."
"No last words? Alright then...."
Aretia adjusted the clock tower's hands to just before twelve.
"The bell will ring in one minute."
"Perfect. Easy to track. So, Demon King—are you ready?"
"...I never thought I'd hear that from you."
Aretia flinched for a moment, hearing the word "ready" from the one Anima despised.
But she couldn't let her focus waver, so she closed her eyes calmly.
Thus, the Demon King and the warrior awaited the bell.
Donggggg~
Dooong~
Dong~
At the city-shaking toll, Aretia unleashed her magic.
*******************
Even before the bell finished ringing, the entire sky tore open.
Thousands of high-level spells filled the heavens and earth, all aimed at Balak.
Ominous black flames, spears of ice, and swirling voids that ripped through space itself.
Aretia orchestrated it all, drawing on every ounce of her power as a mage.
"Huh. Pulling off multi-casting on this scale in an instant—truly, a Demon King. And that wasn't even your full strength when you were with Anima."
"Hide half your power—that's basic combat doctrine."
"So now?"
"...One hundred percent."
The moment she finished speaking.
Countless spells rained down like a storm.
Balak took a deep breath.
KABOOOM!!
Aretia poured an endless barrage around the clock tower while layering on even more spells.
But—
THUD!!
In the deluge, something made a footfall.
The shockwave radiating from it shredded the magic formations in unison.
"Twenty seconds left!"
"Tch!"
Aretia swiftly activated her authority.
"Reconstruct. Repeat."
The incantation repaired every spell Balak had torn apart with his shockwave.
And without her lifting another finger, the spells looped endlessly.
That wasn't all.
"Accelerate, auto-adjust, amplify, assist...."
Like tweaking the laws of the world itself, every spell's properties twisted, unleashing attacks dozens of times stronger than before.
Yet even those failed to pierce Balak's battle armor.
"Ten seconds!"
"T-This can't be real?!"
Even from the sky, Aretia sensed Balak on the ground could reach her anytime.
He'd move soon, no doubt.
She deployed not just offensive spells, but defensive barriers and traps in midair too.
Just before the final ten seconds ticked down.
The spell she'd prepared meticulously from the start finally revealed itself.
"—Falling Moon!"
A massive five-layered magic circle formed around a crescent moon drawing violet silk from the heavens, and a colossal celestial body modeled after the moon began its descent.
At the same moment, Balak moved—or rather, a red star rocketed up through the magical storm, colliding fiercely with the two bodies.
KABOOOOOM!!
The spell Aretia had unleashed was a transcendental magic, one step beyond grand magic.
Amplified several times over by her authorities, she figured even Balak couldn't withstand it.
And as expected, the red star began to fade—but she worried he'd be crushed flat under the massive moon.
Or had she underestimated him too much?
Soon, a blue star blazed intensely, and an unidentified rumble echoed across the area.
Thud!! Thud!! Thud!!!
Hearing the heartbeat-like thumps, Aretia instantly grasped the anomaly.
The dimension itself was starting to shake.
And the massive celestial body closest to the epicenter's vibrations began crumbling away.
At last—
KABOOOOOM!!
Aretia's transcendental magic shattered against the blue star.
Spotting the intense blue star hurtling toward her, using the debris as footholds, Aretia got chills.
"F-Fixate!"
Her command became a powerful incantation binding the blue star—but something was off.
The vibrations from the blue star were steadily weakening her hold.
Even the spells she'd deployed so far, and the ones she was about to cast, devolved into discordant chaos.
Now Aretia understood the blue star's power.
"Vibration?!"
CRASH!!!
The blue star, shaking everything in its path, broke free.
No footholds remained around it, of course.
But the moment Balak stepped on empty air, vibrations rippled out, creating platforms.
The distance between Aretia in the sky and Balak was nearly gone.
True to her title of Demon King, Aretia moved to evade the approaching Balak.
She flew desperately to widen the gap.
Trap spells restricted his movements.
She even used spatial translocation to force him back to the ground.
Speed reduction and gravity shifts to slow him.
If he got too close, the earth below would surge up, blocking his view.
But the more time passed, the faster Balak became.
Incantations used more than once grew weaker, until they stopped working entirely.
And one must never forget—Balak's weapons weren't just one.
KABOOM!!
The blue star suddenly turned red, condensed power itself hurtling straight at Aretia.
A fierce battle followed that threatened to level the entire city. While Aretia tired, Balak remained unscathed.
Of course, Aretia fought valiantly to shake him off somehow.
But suddenly, the Death Star vanished from around her, his presence gone entirely.
When Aretia finally located Balak, he was already behind her.
Spotting his fist flying from her blind spot, Aretia went wide-eyed.
The fist deliberately grazed past her.
But the oppressive pressure laced with death made her legs give out, nearly sending her plummeting.
Who caught her in that moment?
Thud!
"Gh... Good fight."
"Hnngh...."
Balak, catching the pale, soot-covered Aretia in a princess carry.
***********************
I'd dismissed her as just a mage, but damn, what power!
A true Demon King!
But the Demon King I'd thrashed lay on the ground wailing.
"T-This is cheating...."
"Demon King, jealous? Become a fighter yourself."
"That's not the point! What the hell is that power?!"
"The power of vibration I gained when you wrecked my dungeon back then."
I'd already realized during training how potent vibration was.
One day, I saw it neutralize a magic shield on a sandbag, so I specialized in anti-magic training.
Then I thought—what if I just scatter it around? Won't it neutralize all magic?
So I called Karian for a test, and like now, his spells all fizzled out.
Who knew the vibration power I'd turned into an anti-mage tool would prove so useful!
Plus, it resists weird forces too. Totally satisfied.
Keh heh~ Glad I fought the Demon King.
And she never gave up till the end, putting up a real fight. Respect!
"So, felt the weight you put on the scales?"
"...Yeah."
She seemed to grasp my power level, looking all downcast.
The scales weren't even close anymore—one side was so heavy it'd tipped completely.
In short, I now controlled the negotiation table.
So!!
I slowly removed my helmet.
"Let's start as friends."
"Huh?"
"I'm not into heavy promises like contract marriages or engagements from the get-go."
True bonds form naturally, not forced knots.
Walking and laughing together, sharing little talks....
Before you know it, that thread becomes unbreakable.
"First, friends who meet without conditions and share a drink. That's enough."
Sure, friendship starts fragile, but real friendship forged over time is stronger than any oath.
Her stunned face at my proposal was hilarious—I couldn't help but chuckle.
"So, Demon King. Won't you be my friend?"
"...?!"
In that moment, a crescent moon cast a soft glow over the quiet night sky.
Under that moonlight, Aretia faced Balak as he made his offer.
For a breath, it felt suffocating, and without realizing, her cheeks slowly flushed pink.
********************
We returned to my boss room in a flash.
But the Demon King vanished after muttering something about "I'll be back," looking unsatisfied.
With nothing else to do, I told the kids I'd become friends with the Demon King.
But....
"Mother ran off in quite the hurry."
"Hm?"
"So when's Father marrying Mother?"
My daughter-in-law latched onto me.
Even with her blank face, her eyes sparkled.
Dhampir nodded along after hearing the story.
"Even after the mood got wrecked, she blushed at the last words while seeing the boss's bare face... That's a green light."
"She was always interested in you, Father. And the Demon King proposed engagement after marriage talk. Even if it's contractual, she could genuinely connect with you."
What the hell are these kids on about...?
Plus, Dhampir started begging to see my bare face.
"The boss's face that made even the Demon King blush! I wanna see it too!"
"The original is very curious as well."
"Well... it doesn't wear out...."
Slide....
""Ooh.""
What're those reactions?
My sworn brothers, hearing the tale, grinned at me and chimed in together.
"Spring's here."
"Spring indeed~"
"That's right. It's spring."
And so Balak endured the marriage enthusiasts' onslaught for a while.
Outside, the weather had fully warmed, and life began stretching awake.
Spring had arrived.
Episode 9: Spring Arrives. END.