Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Northern Duke (10)
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The Archdemon, who had looked ready to charge straight in at any moment, halted at the entrance to the encampment.
The Archdemon lifted its head and gazed up at the Northern Duke in the command post.
"What do you say, shall we fight it out to the end right here?"
"What do you mean by that."
The conversation between the Northern Duke and the Archdemon echoed across the encampment.
"Just... winning this easily feels no fun, doesn't it?"
"Hah, do you not see the corpses of the spiders?"
I turned my gaze to survey the area around the encampment.
We had been periodically clearing and burning them, but even so.
Numerous spider corpses that hadn't been cleaned up yet were visible.
"Don't bluff. I just... saw the Northerners and barbarians having fun with it, so I thought I'd give it a try too."
"Are you proposing a duel of champions?"
Twenty years ago, when the Great Northern Wall was on the brink of falling.
The Northern Duke, then in his thirties, had fought a duel against the barbarians' great chieftain and emerged victorious—a tale known to every Northerner.
The defeated barbarians had kept their promise and stayed away from the Great Wall for the past twenty years.
"How about this? We'll fight 1-on-1 in my subspace. If you win, I'll lift the curse on your daughter."
"Father! You can't!"
The Duke's son, who had been guarding the labyrinth with the knights, shouted.
A Swordmaster being able to repel an Archdemon only meant holding out until it was forcibly recalled.
Whether they could actually kill it was another matter entirely.
But conversely, if the goal was just to endure, a Swordmaster could hold out indefinitely.
The dungeon interior, though weaker than the outside world, was still influenced by this world's laws.
The more power the Archdemon unleashed, the shorter its time in this realm became.
"We can win with our own strength!"
They couldn't annihilate the Archdemon, but they could drive it back.
This was the tried-and-true method their ancestors had discovered at the cost of countless lives.
But no one knew how many would die in the process.
"Don't let words like that sway you...!"
"Son."
The Northern Duke cut off his son's words.
"The North doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the Northern people. They've already fulfilled their duty by fighting with their lives on the line until now."
"..."
The Archdemon's subspace was their home ground, untouched by the goddess's blessings.
No matter how tough the Northern Duke was, survival there was impossible.
"Once the Archdemon is gone, conquering the dungeon will be easy. If I fail, I leave your brother in your hands."
"Father... no!"
"A father can't leave saving his daughter to others. I'll fulfill my duty as her father."
The Northern Duke gripped his greatsword and stared at the Archdemon.
"I accept the duel of champions."
"Good choice."
The moment the Archdemon smiled, both it and the Northern Duke vanished.
At the same time, the spiders filling the plains dissolved into light and disappeared.
I grabbed Ray's hand and leaped down from the command post.
"Huh? Hey! Say something before you move!"
Ray's voice rang out across the silent encampment.
As eyes turned toward us, Ray hid shyly behind my back.
The Duke's son stared in disbelief at reality.
He just kept looking at the spot where the Northern Duke had stood.
I quietly approached and took his hand.
"We need to go rescue the Duke, right?"
"Huh?"
Only then did the Duke's son turn to look at me.
"Let's head to the Archdemon's subspace."
Back at the academy, when I'd asked a Spatial School mage about subspace travel.
They had cited dungeons as an example of subspaces.
"Moving into an Archdemon's subspace? Even a 7th Circle space mage couldn't do it."
In a way, the example made perfect sense.
No history book recorded anyone ever interfering with an Archdemon's subspace.
I smiled at the Duke's son.
"Half a year ago, a space magic student at the Imperial Academy used position swap magic to enter an Archdemon's subspace. Didn't you hear?"
"Huh? That was..."
Light returned to the Duke's son's eyes.
The story of an Archdemon appearing at the Imperial Academy and a student rescuing another from its grasp.
The astonishing tale, backed by countless witnesses, had spread across the world.
The only case of someone returning from an Archdemon's subspace without forming a contract.
But the Duke's son's expression darkened again.
"That case was concluded to be unique to that particular student."
Spatial School mages who saw the potential had tried entering others' subspaces, but.
Not a single one succeeded.
But that was other mages' stories.
"Half a year ago, it was solo travel, so now wide-area should work too, right?"
"Wait, that student's name was definitely..."
I took the Duke's son's hand and smiled.
"Those who want to rescue the Northern Duke and claim the reward, grab on!"
They must have heard me clearly.
Yet no one stepped forward right away.
As I pondered how to convince them.
"A disciple of Archmage Everrund wouldn't spout nonsense."
The chief mage approached and grabbed the Duke's son's hand.
"You lot better snap out of it! Get over here!"
The old knight who had guided us at the entrance grabbed the chief mage's hand.
Knights began approaching one by one, joining hands.
The line of linked hands soon filled the encampment.
"Damn it, this ain't worth just 20 gold!"
The mercenaries, who had been hesitating, started joining the line.
"Spatial transfer means mana flowing into my body, right?"
"Even for a fortune, that's impossible."
"What if it's a real fortune?"
"Then hell yeah!"
Of course, not all mercenaries joined.
The chief mage, who had been the first to grab the Duke's son's hand, scowled.
"Those bastards..."
"There might still be monsters left. We need some non-combatants guarded too."
But the vast majority of mercenaries had joined the line.
"Northern men scared of that? Cut off your balls."
"Hah! Looking down on Northern women? Go back to the Empire then!"
Confirming most people had joined, I pulled out top-grade mana stones from my temporary subspace.
'I already prepared them... but two are better than one.'
The top-grade mana stone from the promotion exam and the one I'd prepared myself were in my hand.
Ray's hand overlaid mine on the top-grade mana stones.
"You were saving mana for this?"
"Amplification magic. You can do it, right?"
"What do you take me for!"
Ray frowned at me and began chanting.
I circulated the mana pouring from the top-grade mana stones through my body and connected it to the next person.
One, two, three... the mana spread through hundreds of bodies.
Even with mana dozens of times greater than a typical 4th Circle mage, it depleted in an instant.
The depleted mana was replenished from the top-grade mana stones.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah! Sorry!"
Some instinctively rejected my mana, but.
Once someone pointed it out, they accepted it right away.
My mana flowed through over three hundred people.
I closed my eyes and recalled the scene the Duke was seeing.
A vast cavern.
Red lighting illuminating the dark cave.
The texture of black rocks underfoot.
A gigantic spider leg over 10 meters long.
A massive female body extending more than 8 meters atop it.
Archdemons hid their true forms when manifesting in the human world to conserve causality.
That changed after the dimensional barriers weakened in the future, but...
'If we can take down a commander-type Archdemon now.'
A lot would change.
"Ready!"
Ray's voice pierced my ears.
I felt the mana I'd spread vibrate intensely.
The mental image solidified, and imagination became reality.
The place in the novel where the heroine and hero cornered a commander-type Archdemon.
Fortunately, the novel I read had plenty of illustrations.
The 2D images in my mind converted to 3D.
I opened my eyes, and the plain before us shattered, revealing a massive cavern.
"Crazy, I didn't think this was actually possible."
"Knights, provide support! Focus on ranged attacks!"
"Don't go ahead of the Duke! Defense requires at least ten people!"
Everyone here was battle-hardened with real combat experience.
The moment they saw the enemy's size, they seamlessly shifted into giant monster hunting formation.
"Hm? What is this..."
The Duke's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of people.
"What?!"
The Archdemon, seeing them, expanded all eight eyes.
A massive boulder crashed into the back of the flustered Archdemon's head.
"Uahaha! This is my world now!!!"
Surrounded by rocks on all sides.
The excited chief mage shouted.
Normally, small forces meant nothing against an Archdemon.
But the opponent was a commander-type specialized in leading legions, not raw power.
And these were elite soldiers handpicked even among the tough Northerners.
The massive body became a target, gradually whittled down.
"I'll block the big attacks! Focus on wearing it down!"
The Northern Duke deflected a gigantic spider leg.
Launched spider silk melted against the Duke's aura.
Any attacks not handled were blocked by mages and knights.
Mercenaries armed to the teeth relentlessly struck the sturdy spider body.
At a glance, it seemed unscathed, but.
To my eyes, the Archdemon's movements were visibly slowing.
The tough exoskeleton began cracking.
Realizing the battle was decided, I leaned against a rock.
"Hah... hah..."
Glancing aside, I saw Ray panting heavily.
"You okay?"
"Hoo... I used up all the mana stones they gave me too."
I looked at the small box in Ray's hand.
A dozen mana stones inside had lost their glow and were rolling around.
"Looks like you're fine though?"
"Ancient mages learn to cast without risking mana exhaustion first."
"Last time was."
"That couldn't be helped!"
A fierce battle raged ahead, but.
We weren't in any shape to join it.
Even the lowest-circle 4th Circle mage among the mercenaries was a veteran of decades.
Their experience couldn't compare to us, barely a year into 4th Circle.
The moment we transported everyone here, our role ended.
"Not using formal speech anymore?"
"Ah! Well... um..."
Ray avoided my gaze.
After glancing around, her eyes suddenly widened as something clicked.
"Wait. The student who fought the Archdemon last year was a freshman, so now they'd be..."
My head started aching. My eyes kept drooping.
'I practiced hard exploring the labyrinth with the Northern Duke, but... was it too much after all?'
"I'm 18 now, so last year they'd have been 16..."
I gazed at the collapsing Archdemon and surrendered to sleep.
"I'm the older one!"
Ray stopped counting ages and turned to look at Eric.
"Younger than me but using formal speech... Huh?"
Eric's body began tilting sideways.
"Hey! What's wrong!"
I caught Eric's falling body.
"Hot!"
Eric's body was burning red.
"This is... mana circuit overheating..."
I laid Eric down and looked around.
"Ugh... not enough mana for cooling magic..."
I suddenly recalled when I'd collapsed before.
'Sigh... he was burning up, should I have just left him?'
My face heated up.
'Ugh... guess I have to strip him first...?'
I carefully undid Eric's buttons one by one.
'A mage with a body like this?'
Contrary to expectations of a scrawny frame, a toned physique came into view.
"What now? Should I fan him with my hand...?"
As I seriously debated hand-fanning versus blowing, something poured out.
"Ah! The subspace released!"
With Eric unconscious, his temporary subspace unraveled, spilling items everywhere.
"Pickaxe... saw... axe... sword... you carry this stuff?!"
Ferocious tools, not the mana stones I'd expected.
I spotted a fan among them and started fanning Eric.
After a bit, color returned to Eric's face.
I stared at his face, lost in thought.
'Not even my dad, but always insisting on formal speech... telling me to ask only him...'
Memories of my father from childhood surfaced.
Always urging me to raise my circle faster, yet smiling as he answered my questions.
He'd flick my forehead for rudeness, but.
Ultimately, he'd hug me laughing—my only family.
'If I'd... gone home sooner...'
As my thoughts turned dark.
"Whoa... real dedication there."
"Good timing. I used to be like that too."
"You? All I remember is some gorilla—urk!"
Mercenaries had snuck up and were staring at us.
"N-no... it's because of mana circuit overheating..."
My face burned.
My hand flailed in the air.
"We'll take the patient. You rest now."
A cool breeze blew from somewhere.
A blue-robed mage pushed through the mercenaries and checked Eric.
"Is Eric okay?"
"Good emergency care. He'll wake up after some sleep."
The Archdemon's screams echoed from beyond the crowd.
"Looks like they're wrapping it up. Prep to head back."
As the screams cut off, the world began to fragment.
Beyond the shattering world, the plain reappeared.
This was the moment the Archdemon that would later ravage the great plains, massacre nomads, and lay waste to the east met its end.
★ Northern Duke route has been eliminated.
★ Northern and Empire's cold war part has been eliminated.
★ Virus detected. Find and kill the virus.
Virus: 5th Circle Space Mage Eric von Berg