The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time

While the royal castle was overrun by mice and King Corbitt and his subjects were evacuating, the city of Orbaume had taken no notice of these unusual events. In the important facilities and the upper-class nobles’ district near the castle, some had noticed that things were noisier than usual, but nobody in the more distant lower-class nobles’ district, business districts, or the residential districts had noticed anything at all.

There were two exceptions to this. One was the individuals who had received divine protections from the gods.

“Something is happening at the castle!” exclaimed Hendricksen, who had been loosening up in the training grounds on the Adventurers’ Guild’s premises.

Through a Divine Message from Elk, the Goddess of the Holy Spear, he had learned that extraordinary events had begun to unfold.

Knowing that today was the day they had stayed in Orbaume and prepared themselves for, he, his companions, and the rest of the potential heroes, stood up. But they couldn’t all dash out from the Adventurers’ Guild while fully armed, as this would cause panic among the people.

They put on cloaks to make it less obvious that they were fully armed, then left the Adventurers’ Guild as if nothing was out of the ordinary, heading for the castle.

“Thank you, Arthur. I was so restless that I almost broke out into a sprint,” one of the adventurers said.

“If we dashed through districts where the nobles’ mansions are while fully armed, the knights would come after us, after all. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to avoid unnecessary quarrels,” said another.

“Do not mention it,” Arthur said, looking embarrassed. “I want to rush to the castle as much as you do. However… If we were to sprint at full speed, the guards and Miriam would get angry at us.”

Another adventurer laughed. “Reliable as ever, isn’t she!”

Hendricksen and the others praised Miriam’s leadership, knowing that it was the reason Arthur and his party could remain as calm as always and look at things with a broad view, even at a time like this.

“That’s not true,” said Miriam.

That’s not why I said something to stop you all from running off… It’s because it would be inconvenient for us if you reached the castle too quickly, so stop praising me so much! she thought.

Miriam and her companions had stopped Hendricksen and the others and made them calm down before departing in order to buy time for the search for Rikudou Hijiri to be completed.

Although it was an emergency situation, it was difficult to imagine that Hendricksen and the others would be allowed to enter the castle over the appearance of a bunch of mice. In fact, they would only be impeded by the guards. Thus, there wouldn’t have been any potential danger to the Imp Mice.

But if Rikudou Hijiri were to appear outside the castle after being found, Hendricksen and the others would likely stop in their tracks and attempt to fight him. However, it was unclear as to whether they would be willing to fight against Rikudou Hijiri, Vandalieu, or both.

Vandalieu and his companions wanted Hendricksen and the others to help the people in the city to evacuate, so they didn’t want them to join the battle directly.

Hendricksen-san and the others wouldn’t want this. I’m sure it’s an insulting thing for us to do, taking these people away from the battle despite their willingness to fight with their lives on the line, but… we don’t want them being hostile towards Vandalieu-san, Miriam thought.

Hendricksen and the others had said that they had been ready to die in battle ever since they received their divine protections from the gods – no, ever since they first became adventurers. Miriam felt guilty, but nevertheless, she continued leading them.

The Goddess of the Holy Spear Elk and the other gods watched Miriam and the rest of the Heart Warrior Brigade from their Divine Realms, feeling a mixture of bitterness and admiration.

“Hmm, what in the world are we supposed to do? In the end, those individuals still have leadership.”

“Should we have sent Divine Messages to warn them after all? With our heroes, I’m sure it would not have ended up like the situation with the ‘Thunderclap’ Schneider.”

“We already decided that would be an ill-advised move, did we not?”

“If things were to turn out like this, we should have warned them to stay away right from the beginning…”

“There is no use in saying such things now.”

The gods who had given the potential heroes their divine protections knew of the betrayal of Bashas, Zelzeria, and Hamul. They knew that Miriam and her companions had connections to Vandalieu.

But they had been hesitant to send Divine Messages to Hendricksen and the others to be wary of Miriam’s party – because Miriam wasn’t evil, and neither were Arthur and the others.

The Heart Warrior Brigade hadn’t done anything evil. Their appearances made them look somewhat evil, but their actions and words were extremely respectable. They were among the most virtuous of adventurers. They hadn’t broken any rules of the Guild or even social etiquette, let alone the law.

They did behave and speak suspiciously sometimes, but even that was harmless.

In fact, they didn’t even make any attempts to convert people to Vida’s faction or propagate the worship of the gods who had given them their divine protections, and they didn’t make any active attempts to spread the ideologies of Vandalieu, who used Undead and members of some races created by Vida as familiars.

Elk and the other gods did have to question whether that was the correct thing to do for worshipers, even if they worshiped gods who were enemies. Still, such old-fashioned heroes were not unusual – those who kept their distance from the Church’s authority and displayed their worship of their gods through their actions. They were far better worshipers than the kind that had grown in number recently – clergymen whose actions did not match what they preached.

Honestly, I am impressed with Bashas and the others for choosing such good individuals, even though they betrayed us.

Elk possessed qualities as a goddess of war, and that was her evaluation of Arthur and his companions.

Due to circumstances such as these, she hadn’t sent Hendriksen a Divine Message to instruct him to be wary of the Heart Warrior Brigade.

Of course, it would certainly have been possible to send a Divine Message describing the Heart Warrior Brigade’s appearances and warning him to be wary of them and keep his distance from them, before he became acquainted with them.

Hendriksen and the others weren’t exactly fanatical worshipers who treated the words of gods as absolute and were willing to throw away their lives to carry out their orders. But if Elk had sent such a Divine Message, then even they might have done as they were told, keeping their distance from the Heart Warrior Brigade. And with a distance between them, Hendriksen and the others would have only judged the Heart Warrior Brigade by their appearances; they would never have gotten to know what kind of people they were.

“But there is no problem at this point in time, is there? We are also gaining information about Vandalieu from the Heart Warrior Brigade. They are not impeding our heroes from facing the approaching threat; in fact, they are giving them advice,” one of the gods said.

The reason Elk and the other gods hadn’t sent such divine messages was because they had aimed to gain information about Vandalieu and his allies from the Heart Warrior Brigade.

And they had indeed gained some information, but…

“What nonsense are you spouting?! What use is there in learning that Vandalieu practices dancing every morning, or that he has exceptional technique in brushing?!” another god shouted.

As a result of Hendriksen and the others getting along with the Heart Warrior Brigade, they had exchanged small talk, but there had been almost no useful information exchanged through such chats and insignificant conversations.

“No, that isn’t all,” one of the gods piped up. “Our heroes have also been saved from danger during commissions they carried out in cooperation with the Heart Warrior Brigade.”

“Perhaps we can still turn them against Vandalieu, but isn’t it impossible to have them view the Heart Warrior Brigade as enemies as well? After all, despite how suspicious they seem, there isn’t anything actually suspicious about them,” said another.

“… Enough,” said Elk as she struck the floor with the end of her spear’s shaft, creating a dull, echoing noise that silenced the other gods. “All of you, reflect on our past decisions later. A great trial is upon Orbaume, and we must first overcome it.”

“Elk. Do you believe Vandalieu’s claim that the reincarnated individual named Rikudou Hijiri has been reincarnated in this world?” one of the gods asked.

“I do not, but I will not declare that it is false, either,” Elk replied. “However, there is no doubt that this uproar at the castle is a sign that something is about to occur. We must simply deal with the situation that is about to unfold… if we can, that is. For that, we have no choice but to trust in the heroes that we have nurtured.”

“That goes without saying! My newly-chosen hero is already rushing to the castle!” said Rubicante, the God of Heat Hazes.

“Our heroes are sure to aid Heinz and his party, and play a role in defeating the Demon King,” said Milione, the God of Suppression.

Rubicante had previously granted his divine protection to the potential hero named Carlos, but because he had been guided by Vandalieu, he had stripped the divine protection from him and given it to a certain knight of the Orbaume Kingdom instead.

Believing that he had no time to nurture another new hero, he had chosen a knight who was already highly capable to begin with. He, Milione, and some other gods had chosen mages of the royal court, knights, and guards as potential heroes rather than adventurers.

“I do not care who is the first to strike a blow, or who achieves the greatest achievement. Compete amongst yourselves as you like,” said Elk. “The important thing is the result of this upcoming battle.”

Meanwhile, Asagi’s group hadn’t been notified of anything.

Asagi sighed. “I wonder how much longer we need to sit around on standby,” he grumbled.

Although the official reason for their presence here was that they had been hired as Zean’s guards, Asagi, Tendou, and Shouko were staying in an inn paid for by the Birgitt house.

The reason for this was that they wanted to keep their distance from the nobles’ district where Vandalieu resided, but… as a result, they were distant from any information as well.

The three of them hadn’t received divine protections from the gods of Alda’s forces. Thus, the gods couldn’t send them Divine Messages. It wasn’t that the gods were shunning them… but they weren’t relying on them, either.

However, the gods thought that Rodcorte was in charge of these three. Even if Alda, Nineroad, or Elk were to send Divine Messages to Asagi, it was unlikely that they would be heard, as Asagi and his companions did not worship the gods of Alda’s forces.

“Then it would be better to just go back… But it’s pointless to say that, isn’t it? This is our job, after all,” said Shouko.

“This was a request from Duke Birgitt, after all,” Tendou agreed.

“That’s not right! If Rikudou is up to something here in Orbaume, how can we not stop it?! We can’t just leave it all to Vandalieu, can we?!” Asagi shouted passionately.

“Actually, we probably can,” Tendou and Shouko said simultaneously.

They had things they wanted to say to Rikudou, and as former Bravers, they did question whether it was right to allow Vandalieu, who hadn’t been a Braver, to clean up the result of their mistakes.

It would be the logical thing for the three of them to do everything they could to stop their former companion who had betrayed them.

But Tendou and Shouko understood that Vandalieu didn’t trust them… That was only to be expected, as they were nothing more than strangers who happened to attend the same school as him two lives ago. And on top of that, they had connections to Rodcorte.

They were confident that they had strength to lend. Tendou’s ‘Clairvoyance’ might be able to see where Rikudou Hijiri was hiding. Shouko’s high offensive power provided by ‘Ifrit’ would certainly be of value in the battle, even if it wasn’t a difference-maker. And Asagi’s ‘Mage Masher’ was capable of erasing Rikudou’s death-attribute magic.

In addition to their abilities, the three of them had become far stronger than before due to the experiences they’d faced in the Birgitt Duchy. In terms of individual strength alone, they were as capable as A-class adventurers… though their actual rank was still B-class because they hadn’t accepted many commissions from the Guild due to focusing on their research on the Demon King fragments.

And their research on the Demon King fragments had produced some results – though it really was just some.

However, Vandalieu had refused to fight alongside them, and even warned them to stay out of the battle. That alone made it impossible for them to fight alongside him. In fact, it was possible that Tendou and Shouko leaving the city and dragging Asagi off with them was the most helpful support they could provide Vandalieu.

“But it’s true that I feel bad for leaving it all to him, and I do think there should be something that we can do,” Tendou said.

“When the situation gets serious, our being here might be able to save lives – even if it’s just one life. And it would be dishonorable to abandon the people of the Birgitt house who have been taking care of us,” said Shouko.

“Right?! So let’s get in touch with Vandalieu!” Asagi exclaimed, overflowing with enthusiasm. “First, let’s hand a letter to one of his friends in the Adventurers’ Guild, and–”

“Stop!” the other two shouted hastily as they grabbed his shoulders.

The three of them were indeed motivated to do something, but Rodcorte did not intend to give them any information about Rikudou, nor did he intend to notify them that Vandalieu had made his move.

Rodcorte was aware that Tercatanis had been knocked unconscious by Kanako’s frontal kick. But the reason he hadn’t said a word of any of this to Asagi’s group was because they intended to stand in Rikudou’s way.

Rodcorte wanted to use Rikudou to defeat Vandalieu and destroy his companions and the nation he ruled. To him, Asagi’s group was nothing more than a nuisance.

That was why he sent no Divine Message to them. And because they were staying in an inn outside the nobles’ district, it was only much later that they realized that something was happening.

In the sky above the royal castle, the battle was beginning to unfold.

“A spell created by compressing death-attribute Mana… I see! ‘Death Bullet!’” shouted Rikudou, swiftly recreating the spell that Vandalieu had cast at him moments earlier.

“‘Rapid Helix Strike,’” said Vandalieu, nullifying Rikudou’s ‘Death Bullets’ with a ‘Magic Absorption Barrier’ as he threw horns of the Demon King like throwing knives using the ‘Vengeful Throwing’ Skill.

Rikudou easily evaded these, but…

A moment later, he groaned as extremely thin threads twisted around his body. He had evaded the Demon King’s horns, but threads created with the Demon King’s silk glands had been wrapped around them.

“‘Vengeful Throw,’” said Vandalieu, using a martial skill to throw more horns of the Demon King while Rikudou was still immobilized.

“I won’t let you!” Rikudou snarled, swiftly slipping out of the threads.

The surface of his skin was glistening with a slippery substance.

Rikudou began trying to counter-attack, but a beam of light fired from the castle forced him to cancel his attack.

“He looks shiny all of a sudden. The Demon King’s sebaceous glands, perhaps?” said Vandalieu, analyzing Rikudou’s moves as he continued a barrage of small attacks to keep him in check.

“It does not appear that he directly produced any fat, so I believe so,” said Gufadgarn.

Vandalieu was aware that Rikudou had been reincarnated in a body created from fragments of the Demon King. It wasn’t that his body had been infested by the fragments, which was what normally happened with others who possessed Demon King fragments. The Demon King fragments themselves were his body.

There was no precedent of this, so there was no telling whether there was any difference between the two.

Vandalieu was keeping his distance while testing whether attacks using fragments of the Demon King would be effective against Rikudou. And he was also worried that if he became too focused on the battle, he might fail to block a shockwave of death if Rikudou chose to cast one.

“It would have been helpful to know exactly which fragments Tercatanis gathered,” Vandalieu said.

Many seals on fragments of the Demon King did not indicate which fragments were sealed inside them. The only exceptions were fragments that had been re-sealed after the seals were broken, which allowed for detailed records to be made.

That was why Tercatanis himself hadn’t known exactly which fragments he had gathered other than the Demon King’s nose… which had been sealed by the Five-colored Blades a few years ago.

“Perhaps you should try calling to the fragments?” suggested Gufadgarn.

Fragments of the Demon King that Vandalieu had encountered in the past had considered Vandalieu as their main body and deliberately tried to destroy their own current hosts in order to fuse with him.

But Vandalieu looked puzzled. “About that, something is strange. I feel that Rikudou’s fragments of the Demon King aren’t rampaging – though I suppose that would depend on how you define a ‘rampage.’ Gufadgarn, Fidirg, is there anything that you’ve noticed?”

The Dragon God of Five Sins Fidirg, who resided in his staff and had been silent thus far, responded immediately. “Y-yes! He’s really similar to Guduranis!” he said, almost screaming.

“Are you talking about his appearance?” Vandalieu asked.

“No,” replied a different head of Fidirg. “It is not that, but the air about him, or his presence… It is far too similar to Guduranis’s, or rather, identical.”

“Even more than a hundred thousand years later, I will never forget that presence. The fear and terror that causes you to tremble to the core of your bones…!” another of Fidirg’s heads whimpered.

“In any case, it’s terrifying! If you weren’t the one holding this staff, Vandalieu, I’d be running away!” said the first head.

Fidirg was frightened by Rikudou Hijiri, sensing the presence of the Demon King Guduranis in him. He was telling himself over and over that he was just imagining it, that he simply felt that way because Rikudou’s body was made from fragments of the Demon King. But his instincts wouldn’t stop screaming at him, ‘This is Guduranis!’

“… I feel the same,” Gufadgarn agreed. “Though, of course, I do not know why,” she added with bewilderment in her voice as she sent Rikudou’s long-ranged attacks with ‘Death Bullets’ and fragments of the Demon King flying back at him with teleportation gates.

The great Vandalieu is not being controlled by the fragments, and he uses them masterfully. And yet, I do not feel any similarities between him and Guduranis. Indeed, I have never felt the same presence as Guduranis from him. So why? Is it because the enemy’s body is made entirely of Demon King fragments? Even if that is the case, should his presence not be different, given that the body is being wielded by the soul of another? Gufadgarn pondered, but she could not come to an answer.

“The fact that Rikudou is a reincarnated individual might have something to do with it. But I don’t think it’s related to his cheat-like abilities… Has Rodcorte done something?” said Vandalieu.

“Now that you mention it… When Guduranis was defeated, his soul was divided into parts and sealed away, but Alda requested that Rodcorte guard some of the seals, as he is an expert when it comes to souls. He believed that not keeping Guduranis’s entire soul in this world would ensure that he could never be fully resurrected,” said Gufadgarn.

“That’s true, but… wait, don’t tell me–?!” exclaimed Fidirg.

“… Ah, that’s probably it,” said Vandalieu.

It seemed that Rikudou had heard their conversation despite the noise of the battle; as Vandalieu looked at Rikudou once more, the corner of his mouth rose in a smile. That smile was the clearest answer possible.

Fidirg screamed in shock. “That’s absolutely insane!”

“I find it upsetting that my sanity is being questioned by you people,” Rikudou said as he unleashed a whirlwind-like air cannon from the Demon King’s nose activated on his chest.

“I find it upsetting that you find it upsetting,” said Vandalieu, erasing the air cannon with a black beam of light… a ‘Hollow Cannon,’ which continued forth towards Rikudou.

“Everything is your fault,” Rikudou said as he easily dodged Vandalieu’s ‘Hollow Cannon.’ “Because you wield the power of so many of the Demon King fragments as you will, the power of the same Demon King is needed to defeat you. What’s so strange about that? Well, whether Rodcorte is insane or not is something that I couldn’t care less about. More importantly, you became a god before I did, and yet you don’t seem to have a lot of freedom, do you? It struck me that way even in my previous life. Are you aiming to become a god of benevolence?”

Rikudou fired another air cannon towards Vandalieu. Vandalieu made no attempt to avoid it; he again fired a spell that erased it – because the city was behind him.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call it benevolence. It’s just different from your total lack of sense and judgment,” said Vandalieu.

Orlock, King Corbitt and the others might object to the idea that Vandalieu had good judgment, even if he did have some sense, but Vandalieu believed that he did. When Rikudou trapped him inside his Dungeon, it was this sense and judgment that had prevented Vandalieu from escaping by destroying it.

The Dungeon’s entrance had been located on the bottommost floor of the royal castle. If Vandalieu had escaped the Dungeon by destroying it, it was possible that the castle would be struck by the shockwave of his attack. He had wanted to avoid that.

That was why he had chosen the option of eating a Demon King Familiar to raise his Attribute Values with the effect of the ‘Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism’ Skill and having Gufadgarn increase her magic’s efficiency with her transformation equipment to teleport them outside the Dungeon.

Even if the castle was completely lost as a result of the battle, Vandalieu didn’t care as long as he could limit the number of casualties. But even then, he wished to avoid causing great damage to the castle with his own attacks in front of King Corbitt and his subjects… though, of course, the biggest reason he didn’t want to damage the castle was because Kanako, as well as Isla, who was disguised as Tercatanis, were on the castle’s grounds.

“I see,” said Rikudou. “Despite becoming a god, you restrict yourself by worrying unnecessarily for worthless people who do not even worship you. The fact that you shackle yourself this way is convenient for me. But I do not like it!”

Rikudou fired three air cannons from the Demon King’s nose. But the air released by the two enormous nostrils was a venomous-looking purple, containing diseases and deadly poisons he had created with magic.

“You are a fool who does not know the value of your own existence! No being in this world infuriates me more than you!” Rikudou shouted.

Rikudou had a maddening desire to become special. To him, Vandalieu’s way of living was something that he could not accept.

That was why Rikudou believed that it was only natural that he had felt a fierce anger like it was scorching his brain the moment he first saw Vandalieu.

“That’s none of your business. And I’m sure you knew from the beginning that the two of us reaching a mutual understanding would be impossible,” said Vandalieu.

He used the ‘Disinfect’ spell to erase all harmful substances from Rikudou’s air cannon of disease and poison, erased the attacks with ‘Hollow Cannon,’ and produced numerous oviducts of the Demon King from his sleeves.

“Fire.”

A stream of projectiles made from the Demon King’s horns and bones poured from the Demon King’s oviducts.

Vandalieu was also unable to understand Rikudou’s values – his desire to become a god. Vandalieu had determinedly opposed the construction of an enormous statue of himself and a Great Church dedicated to him, despite the overwhelming number of citizens who wished for them. A time where he and Rikudou could understand one another would likely never come.

“Hmph!” Rikudou grunted.

The surface of his body swelled to form a semi-sphere, and its elasticity stopped and deflected Vandalieu’s projectiles.

“Is that… the Demon King’s paw pad?” said Vandalieu.

“So, one attack wasn’t enough,” said Rikudou, deliberately not answering that question. “Then how about this?!”

This time, he produced noses of the Demon King not only on his chest, but also on both arms, both legs, and his back. With a noise that sounded like a groan, he inhaled deeply to unleash his air cannons.

“If I send my attacks in all directions, you won’t be able to–”

But before Rikudou could finish his sentence with ‘do anything,’ Vandalieu teleported directly in front of him and thrust his staff into his solar plexus, knocking the air out of him.

Vandalieu raised a fist. Behind him, Princess Levia appeared, and his fist was enveloped in flames.

“‘Flame Prison Death.’”

Vandalieu’s fist exploded, enveloping Rikudou in flames.

“‘Heat Removaaaaal!’” Rikudou screamed, attempting to use the ‘Heat Removal’ spell to erase the heat of the black-red flames.

But he couldn’t erase it completely; he only managed to lower the heat’s intensity.

“Experiment complete. It seems that he is unable to break souls,” said Vandalieu.

“‘Flame Prison Death’ was an ‘Underworld God Magic’ spell, not a ‘God Spirit Magic’ spell that borrowed the power of a Ghost. The reason Vandalieu had shown Princess Levia to Rikudou was to see if he could break and devour souls like he could.

But Rikudou had shown no attempt to do so.

“He also hasn’t shown any ability to nullify attacks using death-attribute magic or fragments of the Demon King through methods such as absorbing them. The only thing we need to worry about is the damage at ground level. Gufadgarn, ready a teleportation gate,” said Vandalieu.

“Great Vandalieu, I shall do as…” Gufadgarn stopped mid-sentence. “Great Vandalieu. There are intruders.”

Vandalieu and Gufadgarn intended to summon the allies who were on standby in Vandalieu’s Inner Worlds so they could make one large effort to defeat Rikudou, but they canceled this plan with the appearance of the intruders.

Vandalieu and Rikudou were doing battle in a conspicuous location – in the sky above the royal castle – but the only ones who had interfered so far were the Demon King Familiar and Kanako, from the window of Prime Minister Tercatanis’s office. Under the orders of Isla, who was disguised as Prime Minister Tercatanis, the knights of the kingdom and the potential heroes chosen by gods like Rubicante were prioritizing the protection of King Corbitt and other important people.

But five silhouettes, flying swiftly using Magic Items, entered this battle of god against god – or perhaps, Demon King against Demon King.

“‘Fierce Radiant Blade!’” a voice shouted.

“So, you’ve finally come,” said Rikudou, looking relieved despite being attacked while still enveloped in flames.

With the Demon King’s paw pad, he deflected the light-attribute spell that flew towards him.

“My attack was not at full strength, but still, he deflected it so easily… So, he’s Rikudou Hijiri,” murmured Heinz, the leader of the intruders – the Five-colored Blades.

He raised his new sword… the legendary holy sword that Bellwood himself had once wielded.

“Vandalieu, I know you are reluctant, but for the sake of the people, let us fight together until Rikudou Hijiri is defeated!” Heinz said.

He made this suggestion knowing that Rikudou was a common enemy who posed a threat to the people. But neither Vandalieu nor the Elf girl behind him (Gufadgarn) opened their mouths to speak. But because there was no refusal and no bloodthirst being directed his way, Heinz and his companions interpreted their silence as a sign of agreement.

“Let’s go, everyone!” Heinz shouted.

Diana cast enchantments to raise their Attribute Values and Delizah used ‘Extreme Provocation,’ a ‘Shield Technique’ martial skill, to forcibly draw Rikudou’s desire to fight towards herself.

But Rikudou chuckled, finishing his erasure of the flames with ‘Heat Removal’ and ignoring Delizah as he transformed the surface of his body.

“It’s no good! Provocation-type techniques aren’t working at all!” Delizah said in frustration.

“I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but don’t think we’re just going to shut up and watch!” said Jennifer, flying towards Rikudou. “‘Thousand Radiant Exploding Fists!’”

Jennifer’s fast-moving, shining fists struck all over Rikudou’s bizarre, black, enormous body. But the elasticity of the paw pads of the Demon King blocked all of Jennifer’s attacks.

Rikudou laughed in contempt. “That tickles!” he said. “Now then, I shall have you riff-raff disappear! Katherine!”

A female Ghost appeared… The ‘Artemis’ Katherine Miller, one of his subordinates who had kept themselves invisible up until this point. Meanwhile, Rikudou released an air cannon of poison and gas from the Demon King’s nose on his back, in the wrong direction.

“Huh? Where are you – You’re kidding me, right?!” Jennifer uttered in disbelief.

With Katherine’s cheat-like ability of perfect accuracy, it changed its trajectory as if it were alive and flew towards Jennifer. Jennifer immediately tried to get away, but Rikudou wouldn’t allow that.

However–

“‘Shining Slash!’” Edgar roared as he flew towards Rikudou.

At that moment, Rikudou felt an irresistible impulse, and couldn’t help but focus all of his attention on him.

But the attack from Edgar’s dagger slipped due to the sebum on his skin, secreted by Rikudou’s sebaceous glands of the Demon King to protect him. However, this had successfully given Jennifer the opportunity to put some distance between her and Rikudou, and the air cannon of disease and poison, including the poisonous compounds, was erased by Vandalieu.

“‘Radiant Life!’ ‘Evil-destroying Radiant True Strike!’” shouted Heinz, preparing an attack with his light-bearing holy sword.

“‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’” said Vandalieu, taking aim at Rikudou.

“Wha–?!” Heinz uttered in surprise.

The ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ was aimed at Rikudou, but Heinz was in its path. Heinz hastily turned around, leaving his back exposed to Rikudou, and unleashed his ‘Evil-destroying Radiant True Strike’ at the spell that was flying towards him.

“Nanaya! ‘Magic Absorption Shield!’” Rikudou ordered, casting a spell that he had created himself not at Heinz’s back, but at Vandalieu’s spell.

A ‘Magic Absorption Barrier’ expanded in front of him in the shape of a shield, and the ‘Double Power’ ability of his subordinate, the ‘Ares’ Sugiura Nanaya, doubled its power… in other words, the quantity of Mana poured into it.

“… I was too distracted by having to erase the disease and poison,” Vandalieu sighed, seeing that Heinz and Rikudou had somehow managed to withstand the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon.’

Fidirg clicked his tongue. “Those guys got lucky.”

“W-what are you doing?!” demanded Diana. “Should we not be working together to defeat Rikudou, the one you claimed is such a threat?!”

“And just now–” Jennifer began.

But Vandalieu directed his bloodthirst towards them as he answered. “I haven’t said a word about fighting together. I simply remained silent, hoping that you would misunderstand the situation. I have no desire to fight alongside you, and doing so is absolutely unnecessary.”

His words of rejection were quiet, but absolute. Heinz and his companions gasped in shock that he would not work with them, even in the face of a common enemy.

Rikudou laughed triumphantly. “Just as I imagined! I was right in believing that you would never fight on the same side! Now what will you do, heroes of this world?! How about working with me to defeat Vandalieu?!”

“You know there’s no way we would do that!” spat Heinz.

“I don’t know why you’re taking so much pride in being right about something so obvious,” said Vandalieu.

And so, the battle turned into a three-way fight.