Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 33 – Even though it’s supposed to be our Reunion②

Holding the sword that got overwritten into the Hero’s Sword in one hand, I glared at Dangoon.　

Who the heck was this, seriously?

I never saw someone like him in the game, though? I guess he wasn’t a named character? Seriously, who was he?

He wasn’t that pile bunker old man.　

The pile bunker old man was a cheerful guy wearing sunglasses and holding huge equipment.

Even though both of them were old men, the vibe was completely different, though?

“I never thought there could be a greater demon I hadn’t’t met yet.”　

I glanced at the others and confirmed that they had evacuated to a safe zone (or rather, they had been evacuated by Kuyumi and Julietta-san).　

Then as I pointed the tip of my sword at him, Dangoon shrugged and smiled.

“It’s true it’s the first time meeting you with this appearance. But personally, I’m already tired of seeing your face, Haruto-kun.”　

“……? I don’t know who you are though- no wait, could it be-”

I didn’t even have the time to tilt my head before the distance was closed.　

A fist struck out toward me. Did he attack me?

I tried to strike it away with my sword, but the defensive technique applied to my opponent first blocked the blade.　

No, the defensive technique itself had been destroyed, but it seemed like they were being replaced with new ones, one after another.

……This is!

“I’ve seen that technique before. It combines attack and defense, converting magic power itself into power. Sometimes it can be used as a shield, other times for attack as an explosion, and its name is…!”　

“It’s my combat magic formula, [Killing Star Inferno Club]!”

As he declared that name happily, I could feel my expression distort dramatically.　

I recognized him.

I knew this guy’s attack pattern, and he also knew mine with terrifying precision.

“Indeed, this is not the first time we have crossed paths. That said, the last time we met, the tone was completely different~ To begin with… I look and feel different… every time anyway? So I can definitely understand why you don’t remember me at all every time, haha, it’s because there’s no way you could’ve thought I was someone you encountered before, hahahah…”¹　

Dangoon spoke while laughing, changing the tone of his voice for every sentence.　

I recognized all those tones sprinkled throughout the series of sentences just now!

I’ve fought this demon before! He must have pretended to be another human! 

I thought that the battle formula – in other words, active skills – he used were commonly used by demons.　

I never thought it was actually the same being with a different appearance that I fought each time.

“I understand your plans, but hearing it all done in an old man’s voice sounds creepy!”　

I swung the Hero’s Sword as I vented my feelings.　

He blocked it, and the mysticism of the Hero Sword and his magic power clashing created a bright spark.

“So you have fought me many times… but every time, you ended up vaporized in the end.”　

“Aah, thanks to you, the stock of souls I’ve worked so hard to accumulate is rapidly decreasing, how hateful.”

“Even though your master has been sleeping all this time, what a lively dog.”

“Don’t say that, I’m a loyal dog who does his best to make sure my master wakes up comfortably, after all.”

“You should praise me for that at least,” said the demon as he shrugged, then he looked at me with his strangely shaped eyes and sneered in disgust.　

“But I did learn something. I learned that I can’t beat you in a head-on clash, even if you fight me upside down.”　

“Heeh.”

In other words, it was a declaration that he would use a sneaky method from now on.　

At the same time, Dangoon banged his left and right hands together with a high pitched-sound. 

“Fue?”　

Immediately after that, Mariemaia appeared in his arms.　

Mariemaia was supposedly evacuated across the athletic ground of the school with the help of Kuyumi and others.

But no matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t an illusion, but the real person. The most important girl blinked in confusion, unable to understand what had happened.

“The place a princess is supposed to be isn’t a free grassland, but a hideous birdcage, right?”　

“────You bastard.”

　

He must have applied teleportation magic on her beforehand.

I thought I was the one who made the first move, but it seemed he came prepared.　

Apart from the rage that rose from the depth of my guts, my thoughts accelerated with a calmness that was frightening even for me.　

I could feel a presence approaching from behind.

It was probably someone who sensed that Mariemaia got teleported and rushed to aid me instead of protecting the others.

Well, it was probably Julietta-san or Kuyumi.

My accelerated thoughts wasted less than a second of real time.　

The world went beyond slow motion and practically entered a frozen state.

　

It was a bad situation── but it was actually not that bad.

Mariemaia wouldn’t be able to make effective attacks against a greater demon.

However, a mere greater demon wouldn’t be able to hurt Mariemaia either. There was no point in doing so since she would be healed in an instant.

In fact, even though he had Mariemaia in his arms, he still allocated all his attention and energy to me.　

I guess he planned to finish me the moment I made a poor move of trying to help Mariemaia.

In that case, there was only one action I should choose at this moment.　

“Kuyumi!!”　

In the current situation, I shouted the name of the person I could trust the most, next to Mariemaia.　

It was in order to get his attention.

If his attention could be diverted from me even for a moment-　

Then I would be able to evaporate his neck and head without harming Mariemaia at all.

After hearing my call, the presence approaching from behind accelerated.　

I could just barely hear the sound of someone holding a hidden weapon.

At that moment, Dangoon’s smile deepened.

　

“……That’s checkmate, Haruto.”

　

It was all about a single moment.　

I made the right choice in order to win.　

That was exactly why it was a mistake.

　

　◇

　

……Ah.

So it’s not me after all.　

　

　◇

　

“It finally opened.”　

Dangoon aimed his right hand toward me.　

A cold sensation ran through my entire body, as if I had been plunged into ice.

I instantly realized it was my defensive instinct shouting at me.

“Back off, Kuyumi!”　

“Eh?!”

That wasn’t the proper words to be said to someone I had requested help from, but the circumstances had changed.　

Kuyumi slammed on her brakes and immediately retreated from the scene.

As if to protect her, I spread my arms and stood in between her and the demon──

　

At the same time, Dangoon’s eyes sparkled suspiciously.

Blood spurted out from the back of my throat, tremendous pain radiated through my body, and I almost fell to my knees.

“Gopo…?! Gah, fuh, fuhー……gh?!”

　

Everything inside my body was destroyed.

The reason I didn’t die instantly was because of my passive skill.

“You see, Mariemaia’s power is the best thing to kill you.”　

As I looked, I could see that just as Dangoon aimed his right hand at me, Mariemaia also aimed her right hand toward me.　

This- no way, did her mind completely fall under his control?!

Impossible!　

I had used the most concentrated measures to make sure to prevent that from happening to her!

“That should be impossible… that’s what your face says, you know?”　

“……Gh!”

“Actually, you did a great job, Haruto. The education you gave to Mariemaia was, to be frank, a perfect one. You didn’t give us demons any opening to take advantage of her at all.”

There was no light in Mariemaia’s eyes.　

Rather than being unable to move her body by her own will, she was probably in an unconscious state.

“But you see, Haruto… I know about her. Her wound, that is.”　

Dangoon spread his arms and mocked me.　

“It’s you. Out of all her former comrades, you and only you are her only wound. Using you was the only proper way to bring down the strongest healer in history.”　

I see── I understood what he meant.

“Mariemaia’s mental protection was perfect. To be frank, when I met her, it was to the point that I was scared that I couldn’t control her mind, despite the gaping wound in her heart. However… if I made her meet you when you still hadn’t acknowledged her… and if you called the name of another comrade during this time of crisis, I was sure her mind would crack, just for a moment── and it turned out to be a good bet!”

It meant everything went as he planned.　

He aimed for the moment when Mariemaia reunited with me.

It wasn’t to aim for my life, but to create an opening to interfere with Mariemaia’s mind.

“……So you value Mariemaia’s power so much that you went to this extent to obtain it. But for what purpose?”

“Just try it with your shiny toy over there! You are the protector of humanity after all!”

He didn’t need to tell me.　

Even as blood dripped from all over my body, I gripped the hilt of my sword and readied my stance.

But at that moment, magic emitted from Dangoon’s palm, serving as both an interception and a pre-emptive attack.

“You…?!”　

At the same time, I swung my sword down my sword and released a wave of light, but it couldn’t reach him.　

Even as the force was matched, shattering the earth in its aftermath, his power continued to make the space shake between us.

“Wonderful! It’s the power you cultivated! Are you watching, Haruto?!”　

The output became the same? But where was the magic power coming from?　

More importantly, how did he use so much force, yet his body didn’t shatter from the recoil?

There was only one thing that could explain it.　

My eyes opened wide and I shouted.

“──Are you using Mariemaia’s power to regenerate your body, which would otherwise crumble from overconsumption of magic power?!”

“Exactly! The power I wield is something close to infinite in this finite world!”

This bastard…!　

Was he aware of the danger- I mean, the versatility of building Mariemaia’s power for pure combat and devised a plan to make it his own? 

And to achieve that, he pretended to be her comrade.

“Hahaha! Perhaps I should call it a pseudo-Demon Lord form?!”　

Along with a noise, my vision went completely white for a moment.

My sword and his magic, which were competing against each other, disappeared at the same time.

Indeed, Dangoon’s words were spot on.　

Even if I could overcome him for now, I couldn’t completely defeat him, and even if I managed to kill him, I couldn’t completely kill him. After all, I didn’t have the qualification to whittle down the opponent’s infinite resources.

With just a single clash, I felt the feeling of helplessness I felt when I fought against the Demon Lord’s shadow once again.　

……No, I didn’t. That wasn’t true.

“Even if that’s the case, you bastard, as long as you use borrowed power, you’re only close to infinity! If the resources have a limit, I’ll crush them from above with all my heart and soul!”　

I wouldn’t think of something trivial as the possibility of letting Mariemaia die.　

I converged the output of the Hero’s Sword at the maximum level that wouldn’t recoil back onto me.

A mysterious brilliance usually emitted a wave of light every time I swung my sword.　

By wrapping it around the sword, imbuing it into the blade, and making it take on a shape of its own, it became the ultimate sword swing.

“……Well, I knew you would do something like that, since it’s you.”

Dangoon had a blank expression, as if he had seen it several times before.　

Then he continued to spout something unbelievable.

“I don’t have confidence to deal with that right now, so I’ll just escape from here, okay?”　

“Hah?!”

My surprise spilled out in a shout.　

But he had a fed-up expression, as if he was stating the obvious.

“Right now, I managed to overwhelm you with a difference in power, but when it comes to a contest of power, you’re someone capable of incomprehensible reversals, right? I don’t want to deal with that.” 　

It could only be said from experience as someone who had been defeated by me many times.　

That was certainly true. When it came to a contest of power, I could increase my output several steps above my full power.

“That’s why I’ll run away from here. I’ll come back after I’ve learned how to use this power, so I can defeat you not just from a momentary advantage, but by completely and theoretically eliminating you… Aah, I won’t hurt your beloved Mariemaia, so you can rest assured in that regard.”　

“There’s no way I can believe that.”

In response to my words, Dangoon responded with a wink.　

“It’s true that she picked me up when I collapsed after all. Isn’t it a mark of a good man to never forget a favor?”　

“I won’t let you escape! Just die here…!”

I held up the sword with converged light.　

The output was so great that the ground around began to crumble and melt away.

As I tried to swing, Dangoon kicked the ground.

At that moment, the earth rose and became a single mountain that blocked my way.　

I wasn’t joking, it was really a mountain, toppling the entire school building of the adventurer school, blowing away trees, and scattering debris all over the place.

It was probably healing magic casted on the earth.　

The mountain was probably created in a matter of seconds by excessively promoting the growth and decomposition of organisms and plants in the soil.

“……Gh!!”

　

It didn’t matter to me.

With one swing, the mountain was uprooted and evaporated.

But, it took me some time to swing.　

And just like that, once the mountain was cleared, Dangoon and Mariemaia had already disappeared.

“…………”

　

And then──from the mountain that was supposed to be evaporated, an abominable presence began to pollute the earth.

“Damn, it…”　

I had no time to feel powerless.　

If he could possess practically infinite magic power, of course he would use large scale magic to make sure I couldn’t chase him immediately.

I took off my blood soaked shirt and threw away what remained of the sword. There was only the hilt left.　

I breathed in and out quietly.

I could sense that the vice principal protected everyone when the mountain appeared and evaporated earlier.　

In that case, I should deal with the souvenir he left behind.

“Kuyumi, give me something else to be used as a sword.”　

“……Sensei, this is-”

Kuyumi and Julietta-san, who had raced here, were at a loss for words when they saw the scene in front of them.　

When the ritual magic used by demons under the direct control of the Demon Lord reached its extreme, it recreated the Demon Lord’s castle.

It polluted the land and filled it with miasma, making it impossible for people to live in the environment.

“It is a garbage-like space. This world would meet its GAME OVER if demons manage to fill the world with this.”　

After receiving the dagger from Kuyumi, I loosened my tie.　

It emerged just a moment ago.

In that case, I could manage if I start dealing with it immediately.

……Although I understood this was also part of Dangoon’s plan, there was no helping it.

I stepped into the realm of demons in order to destroy the core that formed the space.

　

　◇

　

The very small demon realm that occurred at a remote adventured school met its end as I destroyed its temporary core at its center.　

But as I moved, Dangoon expanded new realms one after another.　

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any report that Mariemaia was moving with him but…

In any case, the conclusion was clear.　

Mariemaia had fallen to enemy hands.

　

It meant I would have to fight against the protagonist of the first game, the most invincible force closest to infinity. But that was nothing compared to the fact that I would have to fight against my beloved, top #1 choice. 　

　

　

……NOoooooooooooooooooooooo! Isn’t this too absurd?!?! I don’t want to fight against my favorite characteerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

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