“So pretty... It looks like Father,” Foll let out a voice filled with amazement from Kimaris’ back.
“Heaven’s Scale — Dragon Form... Just think of it as a golem formed by Heaven’s Scale,” Zagan said, petting Foll’s head all the while. The mana that composed the dragon’s body was drawn in by Heaven’s Scale, which meant even celestial mysticism wasn’t enough to break through this armor. However, even more impressive than its intensity was the fact that it absorbed both mana and aura and made use of them to enhance itself. That meant all attacks which used either of those as a source would be weakened. Be it sorcery or Sacred Swords, they would be unable to draw out even half of their original power as long as it stayed up.
“Is this... a dragon’s magic formula?” Barbatos asked as he let out a groan.
“Yeah. Foll taught it to me,” Zagan replied. It wasn’t like Zagan kept Foll by his side just because she was cute. Even if she was still a child, there was much knowledge to be learned from one of the few living dragons. That was why Foll was Zagan’s beloved daughter, his colleague in learning sorcery, and also his teacher.
“Heaven’s Scale was originally sorcery based on a dragon’s scale, after all. This form is only a natural evolution,” Zagan claimed as he stroked the neck of the dragon golem. He wasn’t simply content with making sorcery that was just solid. Using this form as a base, he created Heaven’s Scale to reinforce his theory. Looking up at the dragon, which splendidly withstood Asteri Ekrexis, Zagan nodded in satisfaction.
Celestial mysticism really is powerful, but having said that, it isn’t like it surpasses sorcery entirely... In the end, it simply had a different structure. If used properly by skilled individuals, either could be the strongest. Zagan was unable to use celestial mysticism, but he was able to create sorcery capable of withstanding it.
“Well, it probably doesn’t actually compare with Wise Dragon Orobas, but there are dragons with this form too,” Zagan claimed. He didn’t know how it looked to Foll, who actually knew the real Orobas, but this was the form of a powerful dragon in Zagan’s mind.
“Daddy, so cool...” Foll’s amber eyes sparkled, and for some reason, she then took a deep breath as she said that. It seemed Foll thought this was an appropriate moment to call Zagan that.
“...Mm!” Zagan felt ready to fall to his knees as he desperately clutched his chest to withstand her assault. Then, he returned a smile to her and looked over to Orias.
“I’ll say it one more time... I want to blow that place away. Do you mind stepping aside?”
“...I see. Even I can’t put up much of a fight, huh?” Orias’ face twisted in displeasure as she made that fact known. The act of brushing off the sparks that happened to fall about you couldn’t be called a fight. That was why Zagan had no intention of fighting. Just as he declared, he wanted to blow away the elder’s manor and was just waiting for Orias to get out of the way. If it was a fight, Zagan would not ease his attacks at all until he choked the life out of his opponent.
But, I guess I waited long enough, huh? Zagan pointed at the manor with a snap. And then, the dragon’s head turned toward it in response.
“I’m the type who always follows through on their word. I won’t give you a third warning,” Zagan proclaimed. And following that, he spoke a single word as if passing judgment, “Fire!”
“Erk...” Orias opened her eyes wide and leaped off the roof as the dragon shot its breath at the manor. Immediately following that, the building was pierced by the light and disintegrated. Since she was protecting it, it was likely Orias had formed defenses around it, but the breath of light washed over everything easily. And at the same time, the dragon golem’s body dispersed and vanished.
Heaven’s Scale was sorcery that increased its strength by absorbing the power around it. Woven into the form of a large dragon, it ate all the surrounding mana and aura, including the celestial mysticism, to swell in power and transform into a breath attack.
Before long, after the light settled down, all that was left was the vitrified ground stretching out where the manor once stood.
Mm. How refreshing... It was the house of the elf who hurt Nephy. Honestly speaking, he felt it would be fine to revive them as undead and torment them some more, but Nephy did not wish for such a thing. That was why he decided to settle with just annihilating the proof of their existence.
“Hmm... Well, that’s about all it can do, I suppose.”
“That’s... about all, you say? Are you saying that destructive force is still lacking in some way?” Nephteros muttered while trembling.
Zagan pointed in the direction the breath was fired. Off in the distance, illuminated by the moonlight, was glassed earth that stopped after a point. And once they looked beyond that, they could see the same peaceful forest as before.
“The boundary of the barrier is probably somewhere around there. The dragon golem is unable to destroy this barrier. I have no objection to its defensive strength, but its destructive power is still lacking, yes.”
“How terrifying...” Nephteros muttered as a line of sweat ran down her cheek.
Eventually, Zagan looked over to Orias, who managed to escape the breath. It was unlikely that she got away unscathed at such a short range, but even now, Orias refused to remove her hood.
“Sorry for making a racket. We’ll be leaving now, so why don’t you undo the barrier around here?” Zagan asked.
“I believe I already told you that I cannot allow all of you to leave this place,” Orias solemnly stated.
“Well, you can insist on anything that you want, but is that alright?” Zagan asked for confirmation as if he was showing her mercy, which left Orias staring back at him in wonder.
“...What?”
“Whether or not you undo the barrier, we’ll be leaving this place. Are you sure it’s fine to keep opposing us?” Zagan inquired. He’d displayed a shield thus far, which meant he hadn’t even begun attacking. There was no way his fellow Archdemon hadn’t clued in to that fact.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Orias said as she audibly gulped, refusing to step aside. Then, she placed her hands on the ground and began muttering something.
Celestial mysticism again...? No, it doesn’t seem like it... The sigil on Zagan’s right hand began to heat up. It seemed she was using the Sigil of the Archdemon to do something.
I have a means of sealing it before it happens, but... Zagan had the option to use resonance to render the sigil powerless. However, he also felt like making use of the chance to witness another Archdemon getting serious. And so, he folded his arms and decided to wait for what Orias was doing to finish. And upon seeing that, Barbatos yelled out in shock.
“Oh, come on! We’re in deep shit here, Zagan! Kill that bastard already!”
Ignoring him, Zagan kept waiting, which eventually made him notice that he recognized the magic circle that spread out beneath Orias’ feet.
“I see... The magic circle for summoning demons, huh?”
Barbatos had used the entire entrance hall of a castle to create the magic circle, and it took him many months, yet Orias had managed it in the space between her two hands with no preparation.
Back when he first came face to face with a real demon, Zagan’s only option was to use the Sigil of the Archdemon to send it back. If he tried to fight it at the time, he would have perished. And that demon was once more appearing before Zagan. Miasma blew out of the magic circle, and the complexion of all the other sorcerers present changed.
“I’m joining in, Sir Zagan!” Kimaris let out a howl as the atmosphere warped.
“Tch, don’t resent me for this, teacher!”
“I’ll help.”
Gremory unleashed her evil eye and Foll matched it with her dragon’s breath. The three of them unleashed the powers unique to their races and wove sorcery into them as an attack. Each and every one of them possessed destructive power that made Barbatos’ heat ray look like mere child’s play. However, the three of them all t
urned pale. Before those attacks reached Orias, they all vanished, seemingly obstructed by an invisible wall.
“The miasma... became a bulwark!?”
Even the three of them combined were unable to pierce through the thick wall of miasma.
“Then, if it’s celestial mysticism—” Nephteros stretched out her hands to assist. And, as she chanted out a spell in Celestian, several crystal stakes shot out of the ground. They certainly did pierce through the wall of miasma, but...
“Th-They stopped?”
Right before the crystal stakes reached Orias, they came to a halt. Sweat ran down Nephteros’ brow, and a helpless sense of panic crept across her face.
“It’s no good... Ugh... The hegemony of my mysticism... is being snatched away... Agh!” Nephteros was clearly resisting, but the crystals wouldn’t budge an inch. In the next instant, the crystals changed directions and rained down on Zagan’s group.
“Shine — Sacred Sword Azrael!” Chastille forced her way to the front and brought forth the Light of Purification from her Sacred Sword. This was the first time Zagan witnessed her drawing out her full power with both her Anointed Armor and Sacred Sword equipped.
“HYAAA!” Chastille roared, unleashing over ten slashes to smash the crystal stakes to pieces.
Hm... So when she’s decked out, she can even destroy celestial mysticism, huh? Zagan admired her strength, but Chastille’s expression remained stern.
“Ugh, the wall is already repairing itself...” Chastille complained.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the holes Nephteros made in the wall of miasma were repairing themselves to protect Orias. As things stood, even if Chastille cut into it, she would never reach the Archdemon.
“Hm... I guess nothing can be done, then,” Zagan claimed in a tone of surrender. An Archdemon was right before them, brazenly weaving together a magic circle, which was rather fitting for someone of her stature. After all, there was no way someone of their power would just expose themselves.
“Can’t you break through that, Zagan?” Chastille glared back at him sternly, clearly not believing his words.
“No, it’s useless. That’s not sorcery, so I can’t devour it. Plus, the dragon golem is defensive sorcery, so it’s only able to display that destructive force after it’s attacked.”
The dragon golem was, effectively, a barrier of sorts. It couldn’t launch an attack on its own.
“What about Heaven’s Phosphor?”
“Did you forget that she just defended against it? Do you think an Archdemon is dumb enough to get hit by sorcery they’ve already avoided before?”
In short, Zagan possessed no means of stopping Orias from summoning a demon. Well, there’s a need to keep her alive, after all. If it was fine to kill her, then I have options, but...
“Well, it’s a good opportunity. I’ll have you show me the power of a demon,” Zagan said, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.
“...P-Please cut the jokes. Did you forget? That is not something human hands can deal with. Even Wise Dragon Orobas had to trade his life to defeat one!”
Hearing Orobas’ name made Foll tremble.
“You’re right. It’s an enemy that even a legendary dragon couldn’t overpower. If we can get away without having to fight it, then we should do so,” Zagan said as he aimed a nod at Chastille.
“Then—”
“However, when one eventually appears before your eyes, what do you plan to do?”
“Ugh...”
A demon had already appeared in this world. Orobas and Raphael fought against it and lost something far too great in the process. Given their strength, if the demons ever appeared as a group, then the world would surely be in peril, and this girl would have to face them head-on.
“That’s why... I think this is a chance for us to learn about demons. You aren’t a sorcerer, but you still shouldn’t waste a research opportunity like this,” Zagan said as he placed his hand on Chastille’s head with a thud. Then, he looked over to Orias and watched a dark mana accompanied by a grotesque ‘something’ crawl out of the magic circle. Chastille tried to step to the front with her Sacred Sword at the ready, but her hands were shaking. The other sorcerers were reacting much the same. Even Nephteros couldn’t get her voice out.
Before long, a strange figure appeared. It had a flimsy body that was thin as paper, and though it had a head, it seemed to have no face. Its limbs took on the form of some sort of twisted pinwheel unlike any type of living creature. And above all else, it was big. Orias was riding on its shoulder, high up enough to look down on the area’s treeline.
“H-Hey, compared to the one last time, this is...” Barbatos gasped and opened his mouth to speak.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Zagan said as he nodded in agreement.
This one is far more powerful than the demon Barbatos’ magic circle summoned... Perhaps it was because of the power of the Sigil of the Archdemon, but all anybody could do in the face of such a thing was turn pale and open their mouths in shock.
“Don’t think you can stop this with the Sigil of the Archdemon. If you are unable to defeat this, your future will be forfeit,” Orias claimed as she let out a laugh. She also possessed a sigil, so even if Zagan somehow made her lose control of the demon, she could simply regain it. However, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight.
“Since it’s a demon, it’s fine to kill it, I guess...” Zagan said, itching to pick a fight.
The demon began to move. And just as Zagan thought it was about to swing what it had for an arm with a flutter, a countless number of stakes jutted out of its body.
“Th-The hell!?” Barbatos yelled upon seeing such an unpredictable attack from its somewhat human-shaped body, but by that time, Zagan already had his left hand up.
“Heaven’s Scale — Dragon Form.”
He wove the dragon of light in an instant, and its body stood to protect Zagan’s group. The demon’s stakes were obstructed by the scales of light, and not even a single one was able to reach Zagan.
For the time being, it looks like even a demon’s attack can be mitigated... That was a pleasant discovery, as it meant even the demons used the same source of power as humans.
“With that power, even if you can stop a demon, you’ll never be able to defeat it!” Orias roared out at him. It almost sounded like Orias was telling him to show her that he could defeat it.
“That goes without saying,” Zagan said as he raised his right hand. He didn’t clench his fist, choosing to stick out his fingers as if scratching the air instead. Mana converged at his fingertips and wove a magic circle. And upon seeing that, Gremory and Kimaris’ faces stiffened.
“Erk... Everyone get back!”
“Lady Foll, Lady Nephy, please hold fast to my mane!”
Gremory grabbed Nephteros from behind and leaped back while carrying her, and Kimaris placed Nephy and Foll under his arms as he distanced himself from Zagan.
“Hey, Crybaby, this looks bad. Get outta there.”
“Don’t call me a crybaby!” Chastille yelled. Though she surely sensed the danger as well, since she leaped back with her Sacred Sword still at the ready.
After confirming that everybody had escaped his effective range, Zagan swung his right hand down.
“Heaven’s Phosphor — Fivefold Grand Flower.”
Five black strands ran down from Zagan’s fingers. They resembled both outstanding blades and a cluster of amaryllis. The five blades fired out in all directions, cutting through the demon’s stakes and piercing into its body.
“...Wh-Wh-Whoa!” Orias stammered.
Following that, a black flower bloomed. The upper body of the demon, which had been pierced by five blades, ruptured. The entity that Zagan could once do naught but cower against was annihilated by a single strike.
“Ridiculous... What did you do?” Orias muttered as she fell to the ground.
“It’s nothing impressive, really. All I did was drive five Heaven Phosphors into it at o
nce.”
Unlike the fire that spread out indiscriminately, the blade form was condensed and gave Heaven’s Phosphor a focused area of effect. And he used it five times. That was not as simple as he made it sound.
When I fought the Sludge Demon Lord, all it could reach was its outer surface, but this is different... Back then, if he could have just reached its core, then they wouldn’t have been pushed into such a tough spot. In order to make up for that, he went on to pile improvements onto the spell, and what he arrived at was the Fivefold Grand Flower.
Gremory and Kimaris both witnessed its trial run. And thanks to that, they knew getting caught in it would result in their deaths. After all, since it was a spell that burned its target from the inside out, anything struck by it would eventually burst. The way it did so was akin to a blooming flower, hence Fivefold Grand Flower.
“Whoops, looks like there was too much power and it ended up breaking the barrier...”
The remnants of what finished off the demon even seemed to bring down the village’s barrier. Orias sank to the floor and drooped her shoulders. As one would expect, she didn’t seem to have any more hands to play. All she did was bite down on her lips, unable to even speak. In other words, even a mighty Archdemon was unable to compete with Zagan.
“Just kill me. You won... and I lost.”
“Indeed. That is surely the proper way to go about things, but I still have one piece of business with you.”
“Business... you say?”
“Well, it isn’t that big a deal, but...” Zagan removed Orias’ hood, then continued, “You’re not really Orias, are you, Titania?”
The face under the hood was that of an old woman, but she very clearly resembled Nephy.
◇
“She’s... Titania? Wait, wasn’t she killed by Orias?”
As the battle came to an end, Barbatos and the others came back towards Zagan, and they couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“You didn’t get struck down by Orias. You defeated him and took his Sigil of the Archdemon, right?”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 4 Page 14