Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Mock Demon King Battle (3)
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There was one piece of good news.
Thanks to the elves who had come looking for me out of worry, our battle became known, and the elf masters Latifi and Benuit had joined the fight.
Even so, Benuit couldn't use magic because of the "Cubele's Soul Totem," so effectively only Latifi was participating... but honestly, that alone was more than enough.
No, to be frank, she was sufficient by herself.
I couldn't properly distinguish it with my eyes, but at the very least, her arrows were dealing the most damage to the Demon King.
Point precision.
And now infused with spirit power.
Its power was enough to blow apart the Demon King's upper and lower body entirely, giving the warriors a fleeting moment of rest.
I had underestimated her a bit after she was helplessly suppressed up close before, but it seemed that was unavoidable at such short range.
If there had been even a little distance, it might not have been so easy.
"Ah... Aaaah...! Aaaaaah...!"
Otilib was in a near-death state.
After nearly eight days, at last.
"Haa, haa...!"
"Huuuk, huuk...!"
"Heok, heok...!"
But our party had reached our limits just as much, so everyone looked a mess.
The Aura Blade, which had seemed unbreakable forever, occasionally lost its form and leaked aura profusely. Our faces, haggard and layered with fatigue from lack of proper sleep, were deathly pale. Our breaths were irregular, and our limbs twitched now and then.
The situation wasn't good just for the warriors; the rear support was in the same boat.
"Saeak, saeaek...!"
Arpe had collapsed, head bowed, her voice gone.
Even after drinking potions, she wouldn't be able to fight for a while.
"Ah, Sir Alzen... Ugh..."
Cecilia staggered, groaning as she squeezed out holy power to somehow deal with the plague, demonic energy, and authority enveloping me.
"Damn it..."
Weller had used tier-1 magic three more times to buy rest time for the group and was now exhausted.
Even with Benuit helping to lighten the load.
Among our party, the only ones relatively fine were Lampon Pashtra and Vivian.
"Aaaaaah...! Haaaah...! Am I, am I going to die like this? I won't, I absolutely won't die...! I'll kill you all, every last one...!"
As the Demon King's voice poured out plague, demonic energy, and authority without end, spewing murderous intent and malice undeterred, poison and hatred began to frost over everyone's faces.
And beneath that lurked fear and terror toward the incomprehensible.
If Rubias of Space-Time had imprinted its presence and dread in an instant, short and intense, Otilib instilled fear slowly, like seeping in.
"Please, just die! Please...!"
"Huwook, no matter what, even for a Demon King, you're too persistent...! Hngh!"
"How long... until..."
"Heok! Heok!"
The sword trajectories slashing and cutting the Demon King had slowed to the point where even I could see them clearly.
Of course, the Demon King had slowed just as much, so the battle's flow hadn't changed... but it was clearly reaching the limit.
"......"
Truthfully, I was nearing my limit too.
I'd held out by drinking liquor instead of water, but it had been eight days since the plague, demonic energy, and authority swirling around me prevented me from eating properly.
Naturally, I hadn't slept properly either.
"Hoo..."
Everything else was fine, but resisting sleep was truly grueling.
Sleepy... just so sleepy.
Everything felt dull, unreal, distant.
I couldn't think of anything else.
"Eojek...!"
I bit my tongue again to snap awake.
...I'd bitten it so much, my tongue felt a lot shorter.
"Eojek, eojek... Gulp. Hooo..."
Probably the only reason I'd lasted this far was the "Permanent Flesh" and "World Tree Fruit" I'd consumed.
More tenacious than imagined.
If a clone was this tough, how unkillable was the real Demon King?
Even if the game became reality, this seemed too much, drawing a wry chuckle.
Ten days passed.
"Heok... Heok..."
"Huuk, hook..."
"Ah, aaaah... Aaaaa..."
Now both sides had nothing left to squeeze out; it was less a battle and more flailing filled with malice and killing intent—no one could argue otherwise.
"Hngh!"
Only Latifi, who had joined late, still had stamina to spare, vigorously shooting arrows infused with mana and spirit power.
"...It's time to end this."
I muttered in a raspy voice and slowly rose.
"Ugh..."
I'd drunk all the liquor long ago, and hadn't had water for the last two days.
Forcing strength into my trembling legs, I staggered, drawing worried gazes from the rear support: Pashtra, Vivian, Cecilia, Arpe.
No, actually, their eyes were already filled with despair.
And rightly so.
The plague, demonic energy, and authority enveloping me had long surpassed any solvable level.
"...Ha."
A laugh burst out.
Who was worrying about whom right now?
I wondered if they knew their own appearances.
"I won't die. Don't... look at me like that."
Probably.
If unavoidable, I'd just die once.
"Hoo... Pashtra."
"Y-yes! Sir Alzen!"
Pashtra answered with teary eyes, lips trembling before clamping shut, her resolute face fixed on me.
"Prepare to pull the totem."
"Yes!"
"Arpe, prepare 'Forced Awakening.'"
"Finally, the final battle... I've been waiting..."
"Cecilia."
"Y-yes...!"
Cecilia, hands clasped in prayer, looked up at me earnestly.
"Prepare to use 'Miracle of the Goddess.'"
"...!! Understood...!"
She clutched the legendary relic in necklace form, "Holiness of the Early Dawn," and clasped her hands in prayer.
"Hoo..."
Staggering around, I saw the master-level warriors had already sensed it, tense like racehorses awaiting the starting signal.
Gritted teeth, twisted faces, abdominal breathing storing power... they were ready to squeeze out their last reserves.
And resolved to death.
"Final attack. If this fails, we all die... Well, at least I won't die alone. Right?"
Shrugging jokingly, the women's rigid faces softened a bit.
"Hoo... Pashtra. Pull it."
"Yes!"
The moment Pashtra pulled the totem, Demon King Otilib's suppressed authority exploded like a whirlwind.
But without flinching, I looked to Arpe.
"Arpe, Forced Awakening—only on the masters."
"─!!"
Arpe grimaced fiercely, squeezing out her voice with all her might.
It was nothing like her usual beautiful, enchanting voice—hoarse, cracked, pitch and rhythm a mess—but to my ears, that desperate tone sounded fine.
"Hoooou...!"
"Soooook...!"
Murel, Rebecca, Nazares Nemeus, Wendy, Lira, Katiola, and even Latifi.
Their auras expanded instantly, pressing down on the earth with a boom.
Though imperfect, the presence of seven Demi Gods was like that.
"Ka, haaak...!?"
What followed was similar to before in that the Demon King was sliced and shattered, but far quieter and swifter.
The invisible, soundless spiritual sword didn't just cut the Demon King's flesh—it severed parts of her soul and authority, literally slicing everything.
"Aaaah...! Aaaaaaaaah!"
But the Demon King resisted even the spiritual sword, regenerating her wounded soul and authority to endure.
Though it wasn't a perfected spiritual sword, that was still authority.
What a truly infuriating bastard.
"Hooo..."
I frowned, deeply inhaling the last remaining cigarette.
Was the timing too early? Should I have pushed harder first?
"Tsk..."
No use pondering what was done.
"...Cecilia. Pray. Use the Miracle of the Goddess."
"Yes."
Cecilia bowed her head and began chanting earnestly.
Now, what would happen?
In the game, miracles from "Holiness of the Early Dawn" were random.
Stat boosts, skill power increases, full recovery, weather change, bountiful harvest, debuffs, purification... etc.
Whatever came, the power was tremendous, but sometimes unrelated to battle, making it a gamble.
"...Hooo."
Following Cecilia's prayer, dazzling light emanated from "Holiness of the Early Dawn."
Then the sky split, revealing blue expanse—only to suddenly pour down torrential rain.
"We failed..."
I'd hoped the goddess watching reality would grant a fitting miracle, but I'd asked too much.
Resolved to death, I deeply inhaled the last puff of the cigarette and exhaled long.
...No, dying so easily felt off.
"Benuit. Can you use magic now?"
"Y-yes! The totem's effect is gone, so I can!"
"Then, help out. Join the battle too..."
"Kuh, kaaaaah!?"
My words were cut by a horrific scream echoing.
Turning, Otilib was writhing on the ground, clutching her melting body.
"What?"
"Hoo... Holy water, yes."
I turned to Cecilia at her voice.
"Holy water?"
"Yes. What's falling now isn't rain—it's holy water. Purety I've never seen... Truly the goddess's tears."
"...Huh."
I'd never heard of such a miracle.
This had to be the goddess lending power.
Sorry for doubting you, Goddess.
I briefly apologized inwardly and checked the Demon King's state.
"Aaaah! Kraaaah!"
She was in agony yet ceaselessly regenerating, clinging to life tenaciously.
"K-kill me...! Just kill meee...!"
"......"
No, perhaps she couldn't die even if she wanted to.
Like Rubias of Space-Time driven mad by her own authority, Otilib was one of the Demon Kings maddened by hers.
"......"
Sukra's instant-death "Primal Plague," with its semi-permanent penalty... no need to worry?
If she could use that in this state... well, nothing for it. I'd just take it and die.
"...Finish her."
"Yes."
The warriors deployed spiritual swords again.
Merciless strikes pierced her body alongside the melting holy water.
Eleven days passed.
Even in that state, the Demon King lasted a full day more before finally stopping her thrashing and slowly dying.
"Heok, heok..."
"Really, insanely, tenacious..."
"Sick of it... truly..."
"For a while... don't think I can even hold a sword..."
"......"
Those who had poured out everything until the end collapsed like dominoes the moment Arpe's "Forced Awakening" ended, panting as they gazed at the Demon King.
The Demon King, with fading vitality in her dim eyes, reached toward the sky.
"Ah, aaaah... I'm dying. Dying again... Peaceful. Comforting. This moment..."
Not timid muttering, nor mad ravings.
The calm, melancholic voice felt profoundly alien.
Her rolling eyes turned to me.
"Starnassila Alzen... I will remember you, who granted me death..."
"Don't... wanna see you... again..."
Moving cracked lips from dehydration, I barely spoke, and she smirked.
"Intriguing human... I eagerly await our next meeting..."
With that, the Demon King's body crumbled to dust.
"...Is it over...?"
"Really... over...?"
So tenacious until the end, yet her finale felt anticlimactic and unreal, leaving the party staring blankly for a while, unable to accept it.
"Hooo, hooo..."
In a way, it was natural.
Our party's power had been overwhelming from start to finish.
Just... yes, just took a bit long.
"...Sir Alzen."
Murel recovered first.
Far from joy, her eyes held worry and anxiety as she looked at me.
But she didn't approach rashly.
Because the plague, demonic energy, and authority still thickly enveloped me.
"......"
I'd hoped it would vanish with the clone's death, but no such luck.
"...Sir Alzen. What will you do?"
"Got one idea. I'll try it."
"What method?"
Cecilia eyed me anxiously.
"What method? This one. Honestly, nothing else to hope for."
Limply shaking the ring on my finger, Cecilia's face grew more worried.
"If that doesn't work?"
"Then I die."
"...Rather. Let's find another way..."
"Limit reached. Probably won't last another day."
"......"
Cecilia's lips clamped shut.
"Don't die, Sir Alzen."
Arpe glared at me with her hoarse voice.
"You're mine. So..."
"...Saying that suddenly makes me not wanna die?"
At my joking words, Arpe's eyes widened murderously.
Too scary for jokes.
"Hoo, well then..."
I tentatively activated "Ring of Absolute Taunt" toward the plague, demonic energy, and authority.
The ring didn't activate.
"As expected. Anticipated that far. Then..."
Sighing briefly, I deactivated "Invitation of the Forgotten," which had protected me all this time.
With the authority blocking all interference gone, the three energies lunged in instantly.
"Sir Alzen!?"
"Sir Alzen!"
"Brother!"
Spreading my arms toward the onrushing energies amid the party's cries.
"...It works..."
Grinning, I glanced down at my body, now translucent in purple light.
I'd wondered since the clone died, but as expected.
An attack left by a target already dead, without will or presence, satisfied the ring's "first attack" condition.
The ring hadn't worked because those things lacked ego.
"...But where's it going?"
Clutching my dizzy head, I focused on the "Ring of Absolute Retribution."
Black energy poured from the ring, thinly coating the plague, demonic energy, and authority before vanishing instantly.
...Hopefully straight to the real Demon King.
"Hoooooo..."
Exhaling long, I collapsed on the spot.
"......"
Now I could finally sleep a bit.
Closing my eyes, irresistible drowsiness hit, and I passed out like fainting.
"Sir Alzen!?"
"Brother!"
A faint smile at the party's urgent voices ringing in my ears.
You guys sleep too. You're sleepy.
And so, we won the mock Demon King battle.
A truly hard-won victory.
The heavy burden on my shoulders felt a tiny bit lighter, bringing peace.