“UOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!”
With a yell of determination, I struck down the torrential downpour of tendrils with my sword. But the tendrils which caught my sword were difficult to cut off, and even if I did, it grew back quickly, so I was forced to stop where I was.
(Tsk. If my opponent wasn’t the Demon King, I could push him with the [Invincible]…).
What comes back to my mind was the previous deadly battle with the Demon King. At that time, I had my banishment skill sealed by being grabbed by the Demon King, and Tia cut off my arm as compensation for escaping from that restraint.
I learned two things from that. One was that banishing skills, such as [Invincible] do not work on the Demon King and may all be nullified. The other was that if the Demon King is touched, my banishing skills will be sealed and may not be restored until I defeat him.
Of course, both were just possibilities, not absolutes. I’m not absolutely sure, but …. I have no desire to test it. If that was the case, what was required of me was the extraordinary feat of dodging all of the Demon King’s attacks and striking a blow to its main body.
(Then, I’d like to create a bigger gap somehow. ……)
I glanced to the left and right and saw that Tia and Eleas were also fighting there. However, the scene was a little different from what I had expected before coming here.
“HAH! YAHHH!”
With a short shout, Eleas, who was wielding his twin swords in all directions, was able to handle the tendrils well enough with the number of cuts he was making. He was a warrior who had only just become an adventurer, so he was doing far better than we had expected.
“Kuh! You!”
Tia, on the other hand, was swinging her sword frantically with a twisted expression on her face. The thin sword was not suitable for cutting, and more importantly, the spirit magic was blocked. Her movements , which were less sharp than usual, looked quite dangerous.
“Tia, don’t overdo it! Stand back and support me with your bow!”
Don’t be silly! A sword can take down more of these just by standing here, but a bow with no spirit magic on it would be absolutely useless!”
“That may be true, but ….”
“Don’t worry, I have an idea. I’ll definitely make an opening, so Ed be ready to strike then!”
“…Got it!”
If Tia said so, I just have to believe it and wait . I took only half a step forward and continued to desperately defend against the slightly more violent tendrils attack.
A little harder, a little louder. A little harder, a little louder. As my strength and concentration were being whittled away, the distance between me and the Demon King was slowly closing.
But a little more. I want to get a little closer if I want to get the kill. The future hero responded to my intentions unexpectedly.
“YAHHHHH!!!!”
A life-threatening battle was a more valuable experience than any kind of training. Eleas’ swordsmanship, which had continued to grow in the course of the battle, finally began to push back the black tendrils. I glanced at Eleas and saw a large bead of sweat on his forehead, and he seemed to have no energy to spare. …. However, his sword dance, which could be called his final shining moment, slowed down the tendrils that had been attacking me and Tia greatly.
“Good job, Eleas! Take it easy and back off!”
–I took two steps toward the wooden Demon King, and without looking back, I threw my praises to Eleas. At the same time, the tendrils became more intense all at once, but I just barely managed to stay on my feet. All that remained was to–
“The spear of the red sunset shines red and swirls with flames, a pair of four-fingered spirit arms that cling to the light and pierce through! Piercing, tearing, burning, and extinguishing! In the name of Lunaritia, manifest the [Volcanic Lancer]!”
A chanting was heard behind me. But I couldn’t feel any heat behind me.
“Hah, hah …. If there are no spirits nearby, then bring a spell that can be activated in a place where they are present… Three seconds!”
I won’t check. I will not take my eyes off the Demon King. With all my might, I knocked away the tendrils, and as I sat back and gathered my strength, a spear of fire rained down from the …. heavens and pierced the wooden Demon King’s brain.
“AZIIIIIIIIIIIII!?”
The wooden Demon King cried out as his body was engulfed in flames. But there was one more spear of flame that rained down. The Demon King’s tendrils all crowded toward the heavens to prevent it,…. and an empty path formed in front of me.
“……………………!”
There was no need to go out of my way to inform the opponent who had exposed me. I just silently advanced and slashed my [Dawnbreaker], filled with my dreams and accomplishments as a Demon Lord killer.
In the blink of an eye, four flashes. The Demon King’s four limbs were cut off, and when I was about to send his head flying, his face, which had been looking up to the heavens, twirled around and looked at me.
“GOBAHHH!!!!”
Dozens of black tendrils sprouted from his gaping mouth. But that much–
“Whoa!?”
“Huh!?”
If the scream I heard behind me had been Tia’s, I would have sent the demon king’s head flying as it was. But because it was Eleas’ voice, I turned around …. and saw a large amount of tendrils growing from the arm I had cut off, extending toward the battle-weary Eleas.
“DAMN IT! ELEAS!!!!!”
Two, three. Eleas flicked the oncoming tendrils with his twin swords, but Eleas, who had used up all his strength, was unable to prevent them any further. I quickly swung my [Dawnbreaker] to cut off the tendrils extending toward Eleas, but there was nothing that could be done if the blade was connected the next moment after it passed by.
What then? Rationally speaking, the best thing to do is to abandon him. I don’t know what would happen if he touched those tendrils, but it would still be possible to treat him as long as he didn’t die instantly.
The worst thing that could happen, on the other hand, was that I would be injured protecting Eleas. I am the only one who can fight the Demon King here, and if I can’t fight, the situation will quickly become unfavorable.
――I should abandon the child brat who is not even a hero at the moment, having met him less than two months ago. He is just a necessary sacrifice for a sure victory.
――If me and Tia are still alive and well, we can reorganize as much as we want. If anything, the more Eleas attacks, the less the Demon King has to attack, so it’s better to have him hold back him a little to improve the odds of winning, don’t you think? Eleas would be happy to be of use.
――The power of a Hero is inherited by someone else when he dies, right? Then, even if Eleas dies, someone else will become a hero. Next time, if you can properly defeat the Demon King together with the hero…
“….the heck, I KNOW THAT!!!!””
I activated [Hermes Dash] and hugged Eleas body from the front to protect it. A moment later, the black tendrils touched my back, and from there something eroded my body as if it were taking root.
“GAHHHH!!!????””
“ED-SAN!?”
“EDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!”
The pain as if I had been stabbed through with a burning iron stake, and the discomfort of something inside me being sucked …… or even eaten away. I stumbled unsteadily, but this time, fortunately or unfortunately, my body was still moving!
“HYAAHHH!!”
I half-turned my body and smashed tendrils connected to me with [Dawnbreaker]. This time I was able to sever the tendrils without them reconnecting, but the weariness and sense of loss that overtook my entire body made me fall to my knees on the spot.
“ED-SAN! ED-SAN! NO No! It’s my fault….!?”
“Don’t flinch! This is just the beginning!”
“AHAHAHAHAHAH! DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS!”
I yelled at the upset Eleas, and looked up with energy. I was staring at the Demon King, whose arms and legs had been cut off and bound together with the outstretched tendrils, screaming with an ecstatic expression on his face.