A Mother's Command and the Demon King's Encounter
Mu stood before the magic circle, gazing up at the dragon soaring above.
It had been less than a minute since its ascent, yet the beast now appeared smaller than a speck. Her mother must have been on its back.
The one her mother pursued was none other than the Demon King.
Mu knew of the Demon King's strength, for it was the very one who had stood beside her mother whenever she murmured to herself in private.
“Mother always said, ‘Now is not the time to win.’”
The enemy her mother considered unbeatable.
A claim that seemed utterly implausible, yet the tomes Mu had studied for her lessons confirmed the Demon King’s might matched her mother’s exact words.
Still, despite declaring defeat herself, Mother had charged forward to face the Demon King.
For everyone’s sake. To seize the chance that might not come again.
The self-sacrificing resolve in her mother’s heart stirred new reverence in Mu.
If only she could fly beside her mother and fight side by side, yet Mother had commanded her to prepare the transfer spell.
The magic she was building would serve as Mother’s reserve life itself.
A backup soul in case she needed to save Mother in a moment of crisis.
Thus Mu set aside her longing to join her mother and refocused on the ritual’s construction.
But then—
The faint presence made Mu snap her head up sharply.
“Who’s there…!”
In places filled with people, one always kept one’s senses sharp. No matter how sudden the situation, Mu followed her mother’s command and turned toward the source of the sensation.
The Demon King’s aura had spread so overwhelmingly earlier that it had gone unnoticed, yet now that it had departed, the presence was clear.
Whether they had concealed it well or not, the faint trace was easily caught in this quiet spot.
If magic hid it, then doubly so.
The wall Mu had created with magic suddenly warped, and five women and a girl stepped out from the hiding place.
Mu almost lost control of the spell she had been weaving, staring at them in disbelief.
“You all….”
“I’m sorry, Professor Meiel. I wasn’t trying to hide, but when a giant like the Demon King suddenly appears, what else could I do but flee?”
“Ah, hello, Professor Meiel.”
“S-sorry for hiding!”
“Impossible… the Demon King?”
“I still can’t believe it…”
Principal Mira, Arin, Kana, Riana, and Shaty.
To Mu, who had attended every class Mother had once taken in their stead, all five were familiar faces.
The first three apologized, the latter two muttered in disbelief at the sudden event, and Mu, seeing them, had no choice but to ask.
“Why… are you here…?”
How had they ended up here? Piña must have been ordered to stop them all.
Mu pondered the impossible situation until a plausible reason surfaced, and she nodded to herself.
After all, Piña was merely a normal student. Far from being a perfect tool like her, her abilities fell far short.
Such a girl would have struggled to block even those with talent equal to or greater than her own.
“Piña couldn’t stop them properly…”
“Hehe, I secretly used transfer magic to come over.”
Yet failure was failure, so Mu muttered a complaint about Piña. As expected, Mira stepped forward, laughing as she announced her arrival.
If it was indeed the sudden transfer magic, a still-immature Piña would have failed to respond in time.
Thus Mu ignored the five who had appeared and turned her full attention back to the magic circle.
They had arrived; there was nothing she could do. Her priority was completing Mother’s command.
So she fell silent, gripping her staff, but it seemed Principal Mira had much she wished to ask.
Mira seized Mu’s shoulder, and Mu turned to her with a displeased expression.
“Senior Aria’s request requires full focus now… please don’t interfere…”
“Yet there are still quite a few questions I have.”
The coldness in Mu’s words was unmistakable. Still, Mira refused to release her.
Lua Academy’s principal held a position that could be called the king’s right hand.
Perhaps it was the responsibility of being the sole witness to the situation here. Her voice, filled with sincerity, asked Mu.
“Can you tell me why the Demon King is here? I will assist with the magic construction. In exchange, please tell me the truth I don’t know.”
The question left Mu at a loss for words except to let out a small groan.
The surprise attack had delivered the first blow, and success.
In the game, seizing the initiative through a preemptive strike had been the key to victory, after all.
Yet Mu realized through the Demon King before her eyes that this was far from the truth.
“Grrr…”
Despite the surprise attack, the Demon King staggered to her feet, pain evident in her movements.
The dragon’s scales had been tougher than expected, ringing her ears sharply.
But that was all. She had succeeded in shocking and enraging the Demon King, yet nothing more.
Thus the Demon King bared a twisted smile and glared at her.
“Fine. If you wish to kill me so desperately, I shall oblige. But it will not be pleasant.”
“Hmph, I hope that’s not the case.”
Damn it, she was terrifying!
Despite the Demon King’s calm declaration that she would fight seriously, Mu gripped her sword tighter with a trembling hand.
“Hoo…”
It was fine. The odds stood at 9:1; there was still about 10% chance of victory.
Considering the current situation, the odds were not negligible at all. So she forced her shaking body to calm with sheer willpower, pushing aside fear and allowing the thrill rising beneath it to flood her veins.
Though undoubtedly fearful, the excitement and anticipation for this battle sent a shiver through her body.
It had been nearly a month since she had transformed into her characters, yet this was the first time she had felt such stimulating emotion.
It felt as if stepping even one more step would change everything.
Her unchanging body took an impossible step forward, as if it would break apart at any moment.
“It seems you won’t come first. Then I’ll attack first.”
Thus Mu memorized the Demon King’s stance as she gathered mana into her hands.
This was not the game world. This was reality.
Therefore the patterns she knew of the Demon King were not the entirety of her attacks or defenses.
What she knew was only a fraction. The rest she would have to discern, evade, and defend in this very moment.
“—!”
The concentrated, chilling mana on the Demon King’s hand left her with no time to think.
If she could not charge, then she must evade.
As she judged and reacted, a mana arrow shot toward her. Mu slammed herself flat to the ground.
“Hah!”
Pressed against the earth, she felt the arrow whistle just above her head, scorching the tips of her hair as it sliced the air.
And the moment the arrow thinned, Mu kicked off the ground and closed the distance to the Demon King’s face.
“Triple Strike. Interference.”
Despite appearing before her eyes in an instant, the Demon King showed no panic and wrapped mana around her body.
Mu struck downward to probe the opponent’s defense.
Clang—clang—clang—!!!
Three strikes left claw-like marks, followed by ten more as she spun.
Yet the Demon King’s skin showed only minor scratches; no serious wounds. Moreover, the cuts had already begun healing the instant the sword withdrew.
As expected of the Demon King’s mana. Her defense was far stronger than anticipated.
Of course, mana had limits, but the amount consumed was nothing for the Demon King.
“Hmm, not bad.”
“I know.”
Even with mana wrapped around her, the Demon King had not expected a wound and shook her arm in praise. Mu responded with a casual remark and lowered her sword.
The Demon King’s defense was so strong that a direct clash would only shave a tiny bit of mana.
But from the earlier clash, Mu had learned that the Demon King wrapped mana only in the direction of incoming attacks. Her back was completely unguarded.
Likely an efficient strategy designed to minimize mana consumption.
It was undoubtedly a splendid way to block only what came at her.
But as she had said earlier, this was reality, not the game. Now that she knew the rear lacked defense, she would simply employ a new combat method suited to it.
And as Mu was thinking this, the platform beneath her feet suddenly shook.
“Kyaaaoooooooooo——!!!”
The dragon roared as if urging the Demon King who fought above to help her, yet the Demon King stomped the ground fiercely to silence it.
She then revealed her fangs and gathered mana into both hands.
“The arrow from earlier was merely a light greeting! Watch this!”
Unlike before, the mana gathering into her hands did not form an arrow but surged like a wave.
Before Mu could even identify the unfamiliar form, the Demon King clapped her hands loudly.
Crack—!!
The mana clashed, spreading like a net.
A frontal attack using mana collision. The ground beneath her feet was the dragon’s head, and the surroundings were entirely sky; nowhere to hide.
Thus the only option remained defense.
Mu crossed her swords and charged at the mana wave.
“That’s enough!”
“Flame Tough.”
A defensive skill for swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.
Feeling her body reinforced by mana, Mu charged forward and collided with the wave after enduring unbearable pain.
Crunch—!!!
“Grrraaah!!”
The grotesque, chilling pain felt like scalping without anesthesia, yet she endured it.
The blessing Iriel had granted her was not so lightly earned.
One step, another step—pushing through the net-like mana until she broke free.
The joy of breaking through she pushed aside, then charged straight at the Demon King in her vision.
“Well done!”
“I’ll cut you down in one breath—!”
Forced back by the net, ordinary charging was impossible.
At this distance, even a normal charge would allow the opponent’s attack to land first.
Since Mu knew her, she reactivated the skill she had used to catch up to the dragon earlier.
“Coordination.”
The distance between her and the Demon King, which had exceeded ten meters, narrowed to the point of touching.
And seeing Mu arrive before her in an instant, the Demon King smiled wickedly and wrapped mana around her body once more.
“So slow. As if I could see you.”
The wall of mana in front was as impenetrable as iron. Even with eyes peeled, no flaw was visible.
But Mu had anticipated this and reached out with her hand instead of swinging her sword, gripping the Demon King’s horn firmly.
“!?”
“If you’ve been hit once, learn properly. You fool.”
Shocked that her horn was grabbed again, the Demon King batted at her hand, but her belated movement could not match Mu’s speed.
As academy professor, Mu offered the Demon King new knowledge and hurled her with all her strength.
“Hyaaaaaat!!!”
“Kyah?!”
With a pitiful scream, the Demon King’s body was lifted into the air.
She flipped over, exposing her hollow back.
Mu brought her sword down toward the Demon King’s heart and added one more remark.
“And when fighting, you should remove the hilt of your head before coming.”
Otherwise this is what happens.
With a metallic ring and spurts of vivid purple blood, the Demon King’s body was sent flying into the distance.