Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 6

by Hiro Ainana

  This creature was on an entirely different level.

  Were demon lords truly stronger than this?

  Once he’d completely emerged, the demon dropped to the ground. He was more than three times larger than any human, and the tremors when he landed were almost enough to knock me off my feet.

  The sheer physical difference made my heart quaver.

  Impossible.

  I could never defeat him. I couldn’t even wrap my head around his existence.

  My soul screamed at me to run away.

  But just as my heart was threatening to break, an unexpected voice stopped me in my tracks.

  “Demon! No—demon lord! Prepare to meet your doom!!”

  The prince shouted at the yellow demon without a single ounce of fear.

  He wasn’t bluffing, either. If he was brave enough to bluff in a situation like this, I might not have ended our engagement.

  …He doesn’t realize how strong our opponent is.

  The yellow demon tilted his two heads, then looked down at the prince’s sword.

  “THAT SWORD IS CLAIDHEAMH SOLUIS, IS IT NOT? THEN YOU MUST BE A DESCENDANT OF YAMATO.”

  Underneath his harsh voice, I could hear something like a howl.

  Ah! His other head was chanting while he spoke.

  In an effort to interrupt his casting, I rapid-fired Quick Burst shots at the heads.

  But he was able to fend off the weak lesser magic with his hand. Speed alone wouldn’t be enough.

  I activated “Chant Reduction,” then started invoking Explosion.

  I probably wouldn’t make it in time. But I wasn’t about to let him cast a spell so easily. I could at least rob him of his chanting head in exchange.

  The yellow demon’s chant finished, and a summoning circle appeared on the ground to produce large monsters. There were scorpions, mantises, and two-horned beetles, all of them powerful enemies.

  Shortly after the monsters emerged, my Explosion spell struck the demon square in the head.

  Unfortunately, when the loud boom faded and the dust settled, the demon was by all appearances unscathed.

  Clearly, I hadn’t done much damage. The demon must have high magic resistance.

  “HMPH, THAT STUNG A LITTLE.”

  Ignoring the yellow creature’s mockery, I glanced around at the stands.

  Monsters were still overflowing from the summoning circle and surging toward the spectators, as well as the prince and myself. I wanted to rescue them, but the yellow demon would never let me take my eyes off him.

  Just then, inspiration struck.

  There were warriors from the tournament among the crowd; they could handle the monsters.

  I used the “Amplification” skill to address the fighters.

  “Brave warriors! You must protect your neighbors! Now is the time to prove your worth in battle!”

  Hearing me, most of the warriors started to fight to protect the other citizens. However, some of them were too overwhelmed by the chaos to think straight and started releasing attack spells despite all the people nearby.

  “Magic users, focus on strengthening the warriors, not on attack magic. Work together to defeat the monsters!”

  My words seemed to reach them, and they began cooperating to turn the tide of the battle.

  These men and women were strong. As long as they kept their wits about them, they should have no problem with monsters like these.

  I swung my lightning sword to dispatch a charging tentacled centipede monster.

  A lance beetle tried to attack while I was distracted, but it flew right through the illusion created by my magic armor Chaftal.

  Seeing the number of monsters I was fending off, some of the warriors climbed over the audience barrier to aid me.

  They could handle the rabble. I had to do something about the summoning circle!

  With the precious seconds they bought me, I chanted Break Magic to destroy the summoning circle.

  “HMPH, NOT A HERO IN SIGHT, IS THERE? WHAT AM I TO DO WITH THE GIFT I BROUGHT?”

  The yellow demon cast buff spells on the summoned monsters as he muttered to himself. He didn’t seem concerned in the least that I’d broken his circle.

  “HOW STRANGE IT IS. I THOUGHT THE BLUE ONE OR THE RED ONE WOULD SHOW UP RIGHT AWAY IF I MADE A FUSS.”

  A centipede devoured one of the warriors holding off the monsters for me. I hurried over to help, but we couldn’t seem to recover the front lines. As I pushed forward, the severely injured warriors retreated.

  If only Hayato and our friends were here to help…

  “Ah-ha-ha! Having trouble there, little lady?”

  “Don’t get distracted, boy. We must go help His Highness.”

  The young boy knight and Sir Reilus of the Eight Swordsmen passed by on their way to assist the prince. Without slowing down, the boy knight sliced off a few of the centipede’s legs.

  While the monster was distracted, I stole a couple of seconds for a chant and used three Explosion spells to defeat it.

  Each one took a long time to invoke, but thanks to the spell’s stun and knock-back effects, I managed to find success.

  “The legendary demon general… Truly a worthy opponent!”

  Sir Reilus’s shout drew the demon’s attention to him and his Holy Shield. He’d probably used the “Taunt” skill on his voice.

  The demon fired a red torrent at the older knight.

  Incredible.

  Reilus didn’t falter for a moment, protecting the prince and the other knight from the Inferno spell.

  He must have been aided by magic, but I still hadn’t imagined that anyone but Hayato could block such an attack.

  “OH? THAT SHIELD BRINGS BACK MEMORIES. HOW ABOUT THIS, THEN?”

  A ball of white flames flew toward Sir Reilus.

  The surface of the Holy Shield warded off most of the flames, but a few angled streaks licked around the shield and the knight behind it.

  I couldn’t let him be killed. Without Reilus, there would be no one left to hold the front lines.

  If Hayato were with me, I…

  As if inspired by my thoughts, blue light welled up from my chest through the gaps in my armor.

  …Maybe now was the time.

  I undid the clasps of my breastplate and pulled out the glowing blue talisman.

  When wishes for a hero join prayers to the goddess Parion, the talisman can create a miracle.

  And that miracle is called “Hero Summoning.”

  If the wishes and prayers are not enough, the miracle will consume the life of the user in exchange.

  I didn’t want to die, of course.

  But if I wanted to protect my hometown, I could only pray for a miracle.

  “O, Great Parion! Please, use my wishes and my life to enact a Hero Summoning!”

  This was no magic chant…

  “I am a follower! I am Ringrande, follower of Hayato the Hero!”

  …It was a prayer to the young goddess Parion.

  In response to my wish, the talisman on my chest blazed bright.

  Now, Jules Verne, come quickly.

  Bring the hero to the battlefield!

  Hayato the Hero

  It was the spring of my second year of high school when I was summoned to another world as a hero, nine years ago. At first, I didn’t know what to think when I was told I’d be a hero who defeats demon lords, but I ended up agreeing anyway. The young goddess was very cute, for one thing! (Hayato the Hero)

  “So, Hayato. Where do you think the demon lord’s going to appear?”

  “Who knows? Don’t ask me tough questions.”

  We had just finished investigating the Wilde Labyrinth in the Gray Ratfolk Emirate when Meriest brought up the topic. We were about to depart for our next destination, meeting up with Ringrande in the Ougoch Duchy.

  “If a demon lord appears, we get there as fast as we can and take it out. That’s our job.”

  By now, I had gotten used to speaking arrogantly
. As silly as it felt at first, I had to sound confident and full of myself if I wanted to protect my friends from the greed of others.

  “Ah-ha-ha, that’s our hero for you.”

  “True enough. They say it’s been hundreds of years since the Oracles all pointed to different places.”

  That was the tigerfolk Rusus and the wolffolk Fifi.

  They leaned on the back of my captain’s chair, so I reached up and touched their ears. They really were a nice texture. We’d been working together for five years now, but it took three of those to let me touch their ears.

  “I’d imagine it would be somewhere like the Living Labyrinth in Shiga Kingdom’s Labyrinth City Celivera or the Illusion Labyrinth in the Weaselman Empire.”

  As always, our priest Loleiya spoke in a calm voice.

  Without our secretary Nono and Magic Swordsman Ringrande, Loleiya was the only person left who could have an intelligent debate with Meriest.

  According to them, Yowork Kingdom’s labyrinth had only recently been revived, Ougoch Duchy’s labyrinth was dead and in ruins, and Parion Province had never had a labyrinth to begin with; those three weren’t strong contenders.

  The seventh candidate from the Oracles was on another continent and would take some time to reach, so we decided to investigate all the others first.

  Noticing that I was lost in thought for a change, Loleiya hugged my head from behind.

  “Too heavy.”

  “Aww!”

  I pushed Loleiya’s heavy breasts off my head.

  Inexplicably, she looked happy about the rough treatment.

  Breasts were just sacks of fat, you know. A pervert wouldn’t understand that.

  “You’re as stoic as ever today, Sir Hero.”

  Loleiya murmured, pressing her hands to her red cheeks.

  Honestly. You’re supposed to be a woman of the church…

  Ah, why was I cursed with a party full of busty women? Couldn’t I have at least one little girl?

  I did have one silent type, at least, but Nono was twenty-three years old and, worse, an E cup. If a silent little girl wanted to join me, I’d welcome her anytime.

  That middle school–aged girl I rescued a while back was pretty cute, though. If we’d met five years sooner, I probably would’ve proposed.

  Just then, a regularly scheduled message arrived.

  From the communications seat, the long-eared Weeyari looked over with her report.

  “Hayato, we’ve received a scheduled transmission from Nono in Celivera. It says, ‘All quiet.’”

  “Good.”

  Meriest and Loleiya estimated that the Labyrinth City Celivera was the most suspicious candidate, so I was worried about leaving a noncombatant like Nono there, even with guards.

  “Could someone go trade places with Nono in Celivera?”

  “Whaaat? No waaay. I wanna stay with you, Hayato.”

  “Exactly! It’s too hard to fight without Hayato by our side.”

  Rusus and Fifi insisted that it would be too stressful to stay in Labyrinth City if they couldn’t go into the mazes themselves. I could definitely see them getting fed up and charging in anyway.

  About half an hour later, we received our regular communication from our spy Seina in the Yowork Kingdom as well.

  “The message reads as follows: ‘This crummy little kingdom is peaceful today as usual. I’m sooo bored.’”

  Like Nono, I’d like to have someone take her place, but Seina was the only one of us who could infiltrate the place safely. She was just going to have to tough it out.

  As a hero, I couldn’t say this out loud, but I secretly hoped the demon lord would appear in Yowork Kingdom. They deserved to suffer for sacrificing my honey to resurrect their labyrinth.

  When I heard the adorable purple-haired princess Arisa was sacrificed, the world around me went dark. I still deeply regretted that I’d been leveling up in the Saga Empire’s labyrinth and thus didn’t hear about the fall of Kuvork Kingdom until it was too late.

  Come to think of it, that was when I decided to hire a secretary to give me the information I wanted instead of depending on the empire.

  “We haven’t gotten anything from Rin yet?”

  Ringrande was always punctual, so this seemed unusual.

  As Loleiya had said earlier, the labyrinth beneath Ougoch Duchy was inactive. It was highly unlikely that a demon lord would appear there.

  It was probably just a mistake that the Oracle had mentioned it at all, then, but it was Ringrande’s home. Plus, her brother was getting married soon, so we decided to send her anyway.

  “You’re sooo forgetful, Hayato!”

  “He really is! So what’s he forgetting?”

  Rusus and Fifi were the last two people on earth to accuse someone of being forgetful.

  “Rin said she had business she couldn’t get out of. She’ll contact us later instead, remember?”

  Oh, right. She’d been complaining about her exhibition match with that idiot prince of the Shiga Kingdom.

  Just then…

  The scenery outside the ship turned dark gray.

  “…We’re traveling through dimensions?”

  Meriest gazed out at the gray expanse in surprise.

  If the ship was being warped without permission, then…

  “Someone must have used a talisman!”

  “Not just someone. It must have been Rin!”

  “Oh no, oh no! Is she okay?”

  All my comrades had reached the same conclusion at once.

  Damn! If she’d used the talisman for Hero Summoning, she could take years off her life span—or even lose her life entirely.

  “Everyone, get into your positions!” My voice was rough with worry.

  Everyone quickly slid into their seats, donning their headset-like magic items.

  “Calm down, Hayato! We have to have faith in Ringrande!”

  Even so, Meriest’s voice was shaking with anxiety.

  I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down and figure out what to do.

  “I’ll wait on the stern. Wee, you’re in charge of navigation.”

  “Of course.”

  I hurried to the stern of the ship with Arondight in hand.

  The ship passed through the world of gray and back into this one.

  Beyond the canopy, I saw a swarm of monsters.

  Is Ringrande safe?!

  As I searched the ground for my friend, I gave the necessary instructions.

  “Wee! Open fire from all mobile turrets!” I shouted into the headset.

  A roaring sound and a flash filled the sky, and charred monster corpses began falling to the ground.

  Meriest reported in over the hatch’s speaker.

  “Rin is safe.”

  Thank goodness for that.

  “The enemy is…” Meriest trailed off.

  Looking around, I saw what Meriest was trying to say.

  I had a dark history with this opponent; I never expected to see him here…

  It was in my third year of being a summoned hero that I met him.

  That yellow freak defeated the party I thought was unbeatable. If my friends hadn’t sacrificed themselves to buy me time, I would’ve been killed, too.

  But I’m not the same man I was back then.

  And now I had the chance to prove it.

  No holding back. I was going all out from the very beginning.

  I activated my Unique Skills “Unstoppable Spear” and “Invincible Shield.” Finally, I activated “Infinite Regeneration.”

  “Infinite Regeneration” was a trump card I could use only once a month, so I would have preferred to save it in case of a demon lord battle, but I couldn’t be stingy if I meant to defeat this demon.

  I wanted to use an Accelerate Potion, too, but I held off, since that could come back to bite me if the battle went on for too long.

  I jumped over the canopy and sprang onto the battlefield.

  There, I gave my usual introduction. />
  “Look upon me!”

  Yep, that felt good. The fear that threatened to shake my heart when I saw the yellow demon was swallowed in wrath and determination.

  In response to my “Taunt,” the monsters attacking Ringrande flocked toward the Jules Verne instead.

  I thrust my Holy Sword at the armadillo type leading the charge.

  The blue light of my Unique Skill “Ultimate Spear” created a field in front of the Holy Sword that pierced the monster and split it apart.

  Black thorns like a sea urchin’s shot toward me, but my “Invincible Shield” created an invisible barrier that warded them off.

  I was at the top of my game, as usual.

  “HAYATO THE HERO, IS IT? HAVE YOU COME PREPARED TO DIE THIS TIME, THEN?”

  “I’m not the same man I used to be! Today I swear to enact my revenge!”

  Leaving the smaller monsters for my friends to handle, I focused on the yellow freak.

  Once my party had descended, the Jules Verne flew on autopilot and disappeared into a dimensional gap.

  We couldn’t afford to lose our precious ship now, after all.

  “Stay out of this, you Saga Empire dog! I shall prove that your empire is not the only one that can produce a hero.”

  …What was that?

  Looking for the source of the blue light, I found Prince Sharorik of the Shiga Kingdom and his Holy Sword Claidheamh Soluis.

  Still, I wasn’t impressed in the least.

  If anything, I felt bad for the weapon with such a pathetic master. He couldn’t tap into its true power at all.

  “Your Holy Sword weeps, Prince. This is one of the generals of a powerful demon lord of old—the Golden Boar Lord. He’s a demon of the highest caliber who’s survived for hundreds of years. If you wish to live, you had best retreat.”

  That’s right—just you watch!

  I’ll show you how to really use a Holy Sword!

  “, Arondight!”

  The blue glow of the Holy Sword in my right hand intensified.

  I activated my flying shoes and leaped toward the yellow demon.

  Arondight was on fire today!

  …How long have we been crossing swords now?

  I thought the yellow demon specialized in magic, but seeing his skill in close combat was shaking my confidence a little here. Whatever it might be, this yellow light extending from the demon’s claws was dangerous. And it kept growing back no matter how many times I broke it, which was downright unfair.