The Night Before: Mio's Folly and the Spear's Fury
Rowen felt a touch of exasperation. He couldn't understand why he wasn't revealing his identity right now. Instead of even grasping the hand of his old comrade standing before him, he was silently holding back. This idiot! A sigh escaped his lips. Rowen had at least thought Mio wasn't a fool. There must have been a reason she stayed in Pandemonium. But apparently not. She knew about magitech and the demon cult, but she hadn't heard they'd succeeded in creating golems. Father's death was the same.
"...I'm gonna lose my mind."
"I'm the one who's gonna lose it! Hurry up and tell me the location. If the coordinates aren't precise, I can't get out of Pandemonium."
Mio stomped her feet. Her immature figure paired with such childish movements—it didn't suit her at all, but it was a sight he'd missed all the same. ...A body that had matured just a bit more. Rowen subtly turned his head away to avoid her gaze. Arahan nodded in satisfaction.
"The Magic Tower."
"What floor?"
"The 300th."
"...Casually switching to informal speech... Ugh, I'll hold it in. Just hold it."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm holding back because you're Kadan's kid. Got it? Your 'great' Lady Mio is putting up with it!"
"Ah. Yes."
"Aaaargh!"
Mio threw a fit. Rowen felt a surge of satisfaction. How long had it been since he'd felt this way? Deep down, he might have been hoping for exactly this reaction. Teasing Arahan always backfired on him.
"...Wait."
"Ah, what now!"
Rowen blocked Mio just as she was about to step through the gate. She threw another fit at the sight. In truth, Rowen hadn't meant to stop her. He'd sensed something hurtling toward them at high speed. He'd only extended his arm to focus a bit more.
"Mana Zone."
Rowen's eyes flashed blue for an instant. They pierced through objects, revealing the essence of life itself. The flow of mana. Mana Zone showed the paths of mana. But what entered his vision wasn't mana. It was something alien and familiar, devoid of life's energy. A sensation he'd grown sick of during his fight with Muron. This wasn't life. It was death. A horrific scene flashed through his mind like a brutal afterimage. Rowen felt it clearly. And not just him—everyone present did too. This was demonic energy. The otherworldly power that had no place in this world, something that must never be allowed.
Mana overflowed within him, but his body felt a little strained. Honestly, he might have pushed too hard for the sake of revenge. This body hadn't yet caught up to the heights of his past life. At the very least... he needed to retrieve the holy sword or reclaim Snowfall. Only one of those would bring him close to that level.
Arahan stepped forward in front of Rowen.
"Please rest, Young Master."
"...Arahan?"
"To be honest, I was getting bored."
"Can't you feel it? It's a demon that's devoured countless people. At least from down there, it's brimming with resentment."
Arahan let out a light chuckle.
"We'll know once we test it."
"...I'll fight too."
Arahan hugged Rowen. Caught off guard by the sudden embrace, he stiffened. Arahan stroked his hair, soothing him.
"...Healing me like this is helping."
"Are you mocking me right now?"
"No. You need to rest, Young Master."
Again. Always the same thing. Yuria too, and now Arahan. They all told him to rest. What the hell did "rest" even mean? The King of Harsh Cold showed signs of revival any moment now. The demon cult had seized Arkanthia and even the Pentagon. They'd summon demons and dye the land in blood. He was weak. He lacked the power to stop them. Regaining his past life's strength would take too much time. To shorten that, he needed the holy sword. But Yuria wouldn't tell him its location. He'd asked Mio, but it had fallen in an unexpected place. Everything was piling up. His head spun. He couldn't just sit idle. Even a single hour's delay meant failing the mission his brother had passed to him. Above all, he'd "lose again" to the demons. Rowen clenched his fist. Red blood trickled down. Seeing it, Arahan grasped his hand. The crimson blood flowed along her touch, and she slowly brought it to her lips.
Slurp.
She licked the wound clean. At the somewhat erotic sight, Rowen's face flushed red. Whether from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. Nor did he need or want to know. He just understood that she was worried about him right now.
"What are you doing?"
"...As you can see, licking your blood."
"Yeah, but why?"
"Your blood is... a bit too precious to waste."
What the hell did that mean? Rowen sighed. Arahan licked up the last drop before smacking her lips suggestively.
"...This time, I'll handle it."
Arahan's mind was filled with a single thought: I have to be useful. Otherwise, she'd become useless someday. The Young Master was growing stronger even now. Watching his progress, the day would come when he surpassed her. If she wasn't helpful by then, she'd be discarded...! Of course, it was a baseless delusion. The kind Young Master would never do such a thing. But life had its "what ifs." That's why, in this moment, she had to step up in place of the weary Young Master. Above all, she needed to catch his eye more than those two vixens. Glaring at the massive demonic energy approaching, Arahan unleashed her own murderous intent. Golden mana, just like Uba's, dwelled in Rosbriel.
"Om ibeibe iya maha siriye sabaha"
⟨ Kalia Rune Exorcism Mantra ⟩
Mio forcibly opened the gate and escaped Pandemonium. She dispatched the two demons that had followed her out with a mere finger snap. She closed the gate. Her red hair whipped in the wind.
"Finally met you, huh?"
"Hello."
"Hmm... no informal speech this time?"
"I've never used informal speech."
Mio sighed. The way she denied it reminded her of her first love from a thousand years ago. The idiot Rian who'd charged into enemy territory alone and died. With that sigh, she gripped her staff. Mio was tall. Time had erased her childish form, leaving a beauty more mature than Yuria's yet retaining a touch of youthfulness. Such was her allure.
Boom!
Arahan's murderous intent exploded outward at the same time. The demonic energy drew closer. Its form was small. But its mass was tremendous. A vicious darkness energy hurtled toward the four of them. And right then.
"Kyahahahaha! Hi there?"
Tesiah of the demon spear and Mio Lizfeldt locked eyes. Just three seconds. In those three seconds, countless clashes unfolded.
Clang! Kang!
It wasn't Mio fighting. Arahan had blocked Tesiah, who lunged straight at her. At the very least, she wielded power below Uba's at his peak—but she wasn't outmatched in the slightest. With a finger snap, chains materialized in the air alongside the holy relic sword Rosbriel. The potent mana suppressed the demonic energy. If it could suppress mana, why not demonic energy? Tesiah dodged the chains nimbly. Leading with her dramatically twisted waist, she thrust her spear. She rode the spear's momentum, swinging her leg in a charge at Arahan.
"Whoa, you're seriously strong! On par with Angelica sis?"
"Pathetic!"
"Kyahahahaha!"
A golden flash erupted, birthing a black point. Not Arahan's gold. Pitch black. Demonic energy so dark it bordered on red, further corrupted by grudge-filled wraiths spewing hatred. That tiny point gradually formed a massive black hole.
Snap!
Mio's finger flick made the black hole vanish. In the blink of an eye. Tesiah blinked in surprise.
"...Whoa."
She couldn't not know. It was the face she'd seen in every book since her human days. The great mage, Mio Lizfeldt. Hero and now her enemy stood before her. Mio hadn't spun her core. No need—and she was merely excited at facing a demon cultist. Demons. Foolish humans who'd borrowed demonic power and fallen. Above all, they'd devoured Arkanthia. Brought magitech into the world. And killed the adorable Kadan from her childhood... with the golems that had once slain her own mother. A black sun rose behind Mio. A golden moon rose behind Arahan. Mana overflowing from their bodies manifested in their weapons. The holy relic sword Rosbriel for destruction. The sword said to hold the cosmic energy with which the gods shaped the moon, granting immense gravity and destructive power. The staff Ea for Mio. Among countless staffs, jewels, and orbs, the one most familiar in her hand was Ea. Made from the bones of the sun dragon she'd slain. Thus, the dark sun inevitably rose.
Rowen marveled. He could tell. Even without spinning her core to amplify mana, she had surpassed her prime. What had she done to reach such heights? What had happened while he was gone? He was curious.
BOOM!
Mio and Arahan stood back-to-back. The sun and moon illuminated the Magic Tower. Snow fell from the white sky. Tesiah leaped up in an instant, unleashing lightning.
Rumble!
Red lightning rode the snow, forming a massive arena of murderous intent. Mio clicked her tongue in annoyance and crafted a decomposition ritual. It fragmented like DNA, ultimately dissolving into shards of demonic energy. Mio swung her staff.
"Fireball!"
Fireball. The basics that novice mages learned. But in Mio's hands, it became a catastrophe. A fireball the size of a meteor surged into the sky.
BOOM!
The countless flying ships arrayed in the sky ignited. Rowen looked up, feeling a thrill pierce his chest. Watching magitech crumble was always soothing, no matter how many times. The rain of flames melted the snow—not into cold water, but scalding hot. The water evaporated into steam. Arahan's moonlight overwhelmed the intense heat, illuminating the surroundings in an instant. Countless lotus petals swirled like her golden mana fragments, blooming into flowers that danced in the air.
The ancient saint's exorcism mantra from Kalia Rune purified Arahan's power and spirit even further. Chains poured down like rain. Flames struck from the heavens. Such overwhelming force surged through the air that it blurred who the villain even was. Half the top floor of Yuria's Magic Tower had already been torn away. Her eyes gleamed coldly. She flinched. Then flew into a rage. Rowen averted his gaze.
"Not my fault."
"I know."
"...Then why are you looking at me?"
"In a way, you're the master of those two."
"Arahan, fine. But why drag Mio into it?"
"Hehe, who knows~"
Arahan swung Rosbriel. A golden flash traced a straight line along its path. Golden curves undulated like waves. The golden line crossed into an X, spewing sword ki forward. Arahan didn't like Mio, but she acknowledged her as her master's comrade. So she said nothing. Seeing the Young Master bicker with Mio made them seem precious to each other. She hated admitting it. So she thought of her as Uba's comrade.
"Pfft..."
"What?"
"It's nothing. Lady Mio."
"Hmm?"
A grandma over a thousand years old. Thinking that eased her worries. Her appearance might not change thanks to being a hero, but age couldn't be hidden. Compared to her, Arahan was young. She had a solid chance of winning. And at the same time.
"Let's play a bit more!"
She had a winning chance against the utter fool swinging her demon spear at her.