In other words, the sorcery itself isn’t a means of attack.
It was sorcery which induced an awfully troublesome phenomenon. And being given such a friendly warning, Zagan made a show of striking the wound in his abdomen.
“You’re being awfully gentle here.”
“Damn straight. Aren’t old geezers meant to raise the youngsters with promising futures?”
“That’s unwanted consideration. I get the general gist of it.”
Andrealphus’ raised a brow.
“Hmmm. Doesn’t look like you’re bluffing. Okay, this time I’m not gonna hold back the slash, got it?”
Andrealphus replied as if implying that was a hint, to which Zagan replied with a strained smile.
“I’m telling you that’s unwanted consideration. Holding back is something the strong tell the weak.”
Zagan replied haughtily, conversely making Andrealphus smile happily.
“How nice. Youngsters needs to be at least that energetic.”
Andrealphus took the box of tobacco from his pocket.
“Whoops, that’s the last one, huh...? Hey, do you smoke?”
“No. I won’t smoke anything that seems like it’ll make my bride’s meals taste worse.”
“Well that’s unfortunate. You’re missing out on half of life here... You can just puff out all the bad feelings after doing some bloody work you see. If you win, I’ll hand this over.”
“I’m telling you I don’t want it.”
“Now now, just shut up and try it at least once. Here...”
Andrealphus tossed the box over. And at the same time, both Archdemons kicked off the ground. The magic circle at Andrealphus’ feet shined, and his mysterious sorcery activated.
The principle of devouring sorcery is drawing a magic circle identical to your opponent’s.
By weaving the exact same magic circle but a fraction of a second behind the other, it was possible to hijack the flow of mana. That was the principle behind Zagan’s power, and also the basic theory behind Decarabia’s ability to reflect sorcery. However, what would happen if it occurred too late? What would happen if the original sorcery finished activating in that fraction of a second before he hijacked the flow?
That’s why Zagan copied the magic circle even faster than before. He did so faster than what it would take to reflect the sorcery, faster than what it would take it hijack it. Faster even than Andrealphus himself. He stole Andrealphus’ sorcery before even absorbing it. And so, Zagan and Andrealphus activated their sorcery at the same time.
“Wh-Wha...?”
When Zagan tried to speak, his voice wouldn’t properly come out.
“Hmm. So you really saw through it completely after only seeing it twice. Pretty impressive.”
He could tell this was telepathic communication. They were in a world devoid of color. And everything, the box of cigars in the air, Nephy gulping down, Chastille gripping her Sacred Sword looking for an opening, the fluttering foliage of the tree branches overhead, had all come to a stop. If there was one way of explaining this phenomenon...
“Time Stop... That’s your sorcery!?”
And Andrealphus made a bitter smile.
“Well, it’s not like it really stopped or anything. Time is still flowing, just a little at a time. It’s the two of us who have been accelerated you see. One second’s become half an hour for us, give or take.”
It was a world which functioned at eighteen thousandths of a second. Zagan’s ability to devour sorcery took one tenth of a second and would be too slow.
Andrealphus brought the Confession at the ready.
“Well then, let’s settle this already.”
“Agreed. I’m in the middle of a vacation here.”
Zagan’s Eastern and Western Sky were still functioning just like Andrealphus’ Confession was. From here, it would be a pure match between sword and fist.
“So I say, but I don’t like the idea of going second when it’s my sorcery at play here. Here we go!”
Andrealphus was the first to take action. With a single oppressive step, he split the earth even more than before. However, Zagan had also advanced by that time. He opened his fist and held the palm of the Western Sky in front it. The Confession’s black spear came straight at him and collided with the Western Sky, causing cracks to form in Zagan’s defenses along with a dull sensation. The tip of the spear pierced through the Western Sky and closed in on Zagan.
Heaven’s Scale was broken!?
This was the first time it happened since Raphael had done so. However, the Confession’s spear also came to a stop.
“Not bad! But I still have this—Zachariel!”
A black light poured out of the Sacred Sword and came in with a horizontal slash.
However, it’s not as powerful as the Confession!
Zagan directed the Eastern Sky towards it.
“Stop it, Eastern Sky!”
And even as the blade cut through the gauntlet, it managed to splendidly catch the sword.
“Tch, seriously?”
Even though he sounded perturbed, Andrealphus was still an Archdemon. He immediately let go of his Sacred Sword and once more called to the Confession.
“But now you’re out of hands to play, do it—Confession!”
The Confession released the black spear and used it’s remaining arm wielding a shield to perform a ramming attack. With both his Western and Eastern Sky used up, Zagan was now defenseless, but nevertheless, Zagan had a smile on his face.
“You’ve chosen a poor move, Andrealphus.”
Now that the Confession was no longer holding the black spear, the Western Sky was able to devour it in its entirety. And with all of its damage repaired by the aura it gained from doing so, it was able to regain all of its functionality.
“Capture that bitch, Western Sky!”
It was actually the Confession who was now defenseless. With the Western Sky coming in on its flank, it had nothing it could do to stop it. Andrealphus’ voice even had a tinge of admiration to it.
“Splendid. But, you’re missing the decisive blow.”
Even though Zagan broke through Andrealphus’ techniques, both the Eastern and Western Sky were now sealed. And this man was capable of manipulating the Confession while wielding his Sacred Sword; he was more than capable of fighting without either. He took a leap back out of the range of the Eastern and Western Sky.
“A decisive blow? I have one right here.”
Zagan replied fearlessly to Andrealphus.
You’re not the only one who can fight, you know?
Zagan exhausted both the Eastern and Western Sky to seal the Sacred Sword and the Confession. And in his hands was all the mana he had absorbed from devouring sorcery up until now.
“Guh!!”
Zagan left fist went flying in. Andrealphus’ Anointed Armor shattered like glass. The sensations of ribs breaking and entrails exploding was passed to Zagan’s hand.
“Ga... hak...”
And what awaited Andrealphus’ head, now keeled over and spitting out blood, was Zagan’s right fist.
“It’s been quite a long time since I did this seriously. You’re supposed to be the strongest, right?”
Zagan drove his right fist into Andrealphus’ face. Color returned to the world. The frozen scenery began moving again. Andrealphus went flying face up and smashed through the trees of the forest.
Everyone who was watching the fight opened their eyes in shock, unable to understand what happened, as the foliage gently fell to the ground.
And as all that happened, Zagan held his right hand out into the air, right where the box of cigars fell. Zagan took out the last smoke, and imitated Andrealphus’ actions in biting off the tip. He placed it in his mouth, snapped his fingers, and took a puff.
Red hot ash fell from the tip, and a violent stimulus ran through his chest as he inhaled the smoke. It was the first time he ever experienced such a stimulus, and it gave him a sense of exaltation that he found difficult to
describe. And after enjoying that sensation for a while, he puffed out the smoke.
“I see. This isn’t bad, but it really isn’t something to have before meal.”
And thus, things were settled between Zagan and the strongest Archangel, who also served as the strongest Archdemon.
Epilogue
“This King’s Silver Eye is something I created, you see,” Andrealphus said as he picked up the artificial eye Foll spat out. “Well, I’m sure you already have a clue, but this is a replica of something I was researching, and a failure of a magic tool.”
Zagan held his hand out in front of his face.
Silver eye... huh?
The Silver-Eyed King, and the King’s Silver Eye which rivaled the power of the Sigils of the Archdemon. The commonality between the two was the color of the eyes.
Is this also related to Marc?
And how did chasing after Marc connect to Azazel? Zagan endured this haze of thoughts with a sigh as Andrealphus looked over to Stella.
“Well, since my research failed, this thing got considerably cursed, but a couple years ago one of my subordinates stole it and ran off. And I have no clue how it happened, but it fell into the hands of a bandit named Decarabia.”
“And he was killed by me.”
Precisely because he was nothing more than a novice sorcerer, it was easy to see why he would only look like a bandit. Andrealphus nodded at Zagan.
“But, that only made the curse in this thing more troublesome. Maybe because he was swallowed by the curse, or maybe because his broken mind surpassed the curse itself, the artificial eye ended up absorbing Decarabia’s personality.”
Zagan looked down at Stella’s face. She had Zagan’s yukata on her shoulders. Her face was covered by her bangs, but he could still see her right eye was missing entirely. Andrealphus looked at her with pity and continued his explanation.
“The artificial eye took hold of that girl and began to remake her body into that of Decarabia’s... Well, this is something that began with my failure. I thought I had to do something to fix it, but all I could do was slow down the encroachment of the curse.”
That was surely what the eye-patch and bandages were for. There was likely none other than the Archdemons who could seal a massive curse that approached the Sigils of the Archdemon in power.
“Well, those are the circumstances here. The curse suddenly got worse when I was out of the castle, my body double got killed, and I ended up here while chasing Decarabia. Coincidentally, I heard about you breaking through some nasty curse yourself. So I thought if luck was on my side, you’d be able to somehow do something about it.”
How impudent.
Andrealphus would have grasped onto the fact that Zagan was cursed around the time he went to Orias for help. A meeting between two Archdemons was a threat which could shake the foundations of the world. He was likely monitoring Zagan’s movements since then.
In any case, they may have been too late in undoing the curse. Stella was still blankly staring into space, and she wouldn’t react in any meaningful way when they called out to her. Andrealphus looked down at her with a heartbroken expression, and tilted his head to the side.
“So, those are my circumstances. Anyways, why didn’t you kill me?”
There was a pitch black fist mark in Andrealphus’ face, but Zagan didn’t go as far as killing him. It was entirely possible in that situation for him to send Andrealphus’ head flying.
“How did it go again...? Oh yeah. Pay respect to your elders, was it? You held back plenty against me, so all I did was pay respect to that.”
Andrealphus had plenty of time to move all he wanted in that frozen world. There was no need to stop at a single slash like he did. It was entirely feasible for him to strike Zagan down the first time he activated his sorcery.
“Man, you really aren’t cute at all, you brat.” Andrealphus paused, then put on a serious expression and said, “But, you get it now, right? Your ability to devour sorcery is too convenient. You’ll get defeated by means you shouldn’t lose to, you know?”
What a meddlesome ass.
Devouring sorcery was a power that could be practically considered as invincible against sorcery, but it also meant that he devoured sorcery before he learned what it was. Zagan’s ability to see through the structure of another sorcery in an instant and imitate it should have made it possible for Zagan to steal the sorcery itself. Just like how he stole Andrealphus’ Time Stop sorcery.
Andrealphus went out of his way to stop at a single strike each time just to teach him that. And just how did Andrealphus interpret Zagan’s expression just now?
“In truth, this kinda thing is supposed to be taught to you by your teacher. But you became a sorcerer through sheer effort. That’s terrifying in its own sense, but there’s a limit to what you can gain on your own. That’s why I advise you get a teacher now while you can.”
“And are you saying I should become your damned disciple?”
Zagan glared back at Andrealphus, who simply raised his hands in the air in surrender.
“I’ll excuse myself from taking on a troublesome disciple like you... Although, this in itself might just be unneeded meddling from me after all this.”
Andrealphus cast his gaze over to Gremory and Barbatos.
Well, creating new sorcery with others wasn’t all that bad either...
They may not have been teachers, but he had people with him learning sorcery at his side. Andrealphus put on a slightly strained smile, then looked over to Stella.
“I already have a demanding disciple in my charge here you see. I don’t have the leisure to take on more.” And of all things to do, Andrealphus bowed his head. “That’s how it is. Sorry, but could you return my disciple to me? I promise I won’t treat her poorly.”
“...You’re not screwing with me... right?”
If he was, there was no way an Archdemon would lower their head.
Zagan was left at a loss.
Of the three brats who hung around each other, one became an Archdemon, one holds some sort of secret, and one became the disciple of an Archdemon...
Just what was happening between the three of them? Stella was a clue to all of this.
Above all else, she’s something like an older sister to me.
If Marc was his older brother, Stella was his older sister. There was no way he could abandon her.
Zagan knelt down in front of Stella.
“Stella, can you tell who I am?”
“Za...gan...”
Her eyes were still hollow, but she certainly did say his name nonetheless.
“Then do you know about Marc? That guy who hung out with us when we were brats.”
“Ma...rc..”
Stella pinned down her head in pain.
Even Nephy’s mysticism can’t repair the heart...
Zagan had no way of saving Stella as he was now. And with his gaze still fixed on the pitiful girl, he addressed Andrealphus once more.
“Andrealphus. Are you able to save her?”
“I don’t know if you’ll even believe me, but I took her as my disciple for precisely that reason.”
“...Got it. Come on Stella. Try standing.”
Zagan stood her up, then brought her before Andrealphus.
“Take care of her.”
“I promise I will.”
It wasn’t clear if Stella could even tell where she was at the moment. Just as he let go of her hand, for some reason, she came to a complete stop.
“...? What’s wrong?”
Zagan cocked his head to the side, as Stella once more grasped his hand. And then, she slowly spoke as if searching for the right words one at a time.
“So...rry... Zagan... I said... something... cruel... to you...”
And that finally lined up the scene in Zagan’s memories. It was some time ago, when the girl that Zagan had saved disparaged him. If the bandit Zagan killed at the time was Decarabia, then just who was the girl that was there at t
he time?
Zagan let out a sigh.
“...Huh? So that was you? You were so pretty that I didn’t realize it.”
The Stella in Zagan’s memories was always covered in dirt. In contrast, the girl who was assaulted at the time was dressed up beautifully and looked like nothing but some noble princess. They were so different that he never figured they were the same person.
No... maybe I really did realize it already.
It may have been that he just never wanted to think about the girl he thought of as an older sister rejecting him like that. Ever since that incident, Zagan had stopped thinking of Marc and Stella to an unnatural degree, after all.
Stella continued to plead to him with tears falling down her face.
“I wanted... to thank... you... I had... to... but...”
Zagan had no idea what Stella’s perception of him was at the time. But if by some chance, she did realize who he was, and he had just stolen the life of her family like he was just a bug...
She may have been the one who was more hurt than me...
Zagan gently hugged the crying girl like it couldn’t be helped.
“I get it, don’t cry. I’m quite happy just knowing you’re still alive.” With that, he rubbed her forehead. “...Go already. Also... if possible... don’t get involved with sorcery. Be happy. That’s my wish.”
He wasn’t sure whether his words got through to her, but it felt like Stella nodded, if only ever so slightly. And after separating from him, both she and Andrealphus vanished completely.
I should have apologized too...
But even so, he wouldn’t apologize for killing the sorcerer known as a Decarabia. If he were to apologize over such a thing, Zagan would have to spend the rest of his life continuously apologizing. That was one reason, but he also felt like stealing Stella’s one reason for resenting him away would be far too cruel.
After confirming that Andrealphus’ presence was completely gone, Zagan let out a forced sigh.
“My goodness. This turned out to be quite the vacation.”
“Um... Master Zagan... Can I ask you something? Who... um... was that just now...?”
Nephy questioned him timidly with anxiety in her voice, to which Zagan replied with a slightly worn out smile on his face.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 7 (Premium) Page 18