—Can I draw it? No, if I can’t...
“Tch!”
Junko grabbed the smaller sword instead. She drew it and held it with a backhand grip as she slashed at Akuto.
Akuto blocked her simple attack with his bare hand. He’d grabbed onto the blade itself.
“Guh!” Junko grimaced. She couldn’t move the sword, no matter how hard she pulled or pushed on it. And there was no blood coming from Akuto’s hand, either.
Akuto was staring at her wordlessly. The lack of evil in his eyes made her flinch.
“Wh...Why are you making that face?”
Junko used the katana as support as she spun her leg around to kick at his face. He dodged the blow by slightly moving his head, and at the same time let go of the sword. The momentum of her own attack carried her away from him.
“Tch... Wh-Why?!”
She didn’t cry, but she bit down on her lip. It was frustrating that he didn’t even think of her as an opponent. She hated her own weakness.
—It’s like he doesn’t even care about me! And he doesn’t seem upset at all, even though I’m his enemy! Am I too weak for him to think of me as a threat? Or do I just not matter to him at all? Gah...! Why am I even thinking about this?
She put the smaller katana away. And then, she put her hand on the Sohaya no Tsurugi.
—If I had the power to at least wound him once...! Then he would give me his attention!
“Why don’t you care about me?!” she yelled.
And then she realized that she’d shared her deepest thoughts without realizing it.
—No... That’s not what I meant! I mean, it is, but... No!
Junko charged forward, her hand still on the Sohaya no Tsurugi, but she couldn’t draw it.
Her face took on a look of shock as she realized she didn’t have a weapon, but once she’d started moving, she couldn’t stop. She approached Akuto fast, her hand still on the hilt. And ridiculously enough, she slammed right into him.
“Aah!”
She realized that Akuto had wrapped his arms around her, and squirmed. But Akuto didn’t let her go.
“S-Stop it! What are you doing?”
“I didn’t realize you felt that way.” Akuto said. Junko froze.
“Huh?”
“You’re so much more important than me. Even now, you have so many people serving you. So I had no idea you wanted me to care about you,” he whispered into her ear, his voice completely serious.
“A-Are you stupid? Don’t you realize what’s happening now?” she said, but he just nodded and continued.
“My battle is something that only I can fight, so I became obsessed with it. Once it’s over, I promise to treasure you.”
“T-Treasure me?” Junko felt her face getting so red she thought it might explode, as all the tension drained from her body.
“Be careful,” Akuto said as he gently set her down. Her flight magic was still in effect, so her body slowly floated towards the ground.
—Y-You dummy... If you say that, then I won’t know what to do...
○
Junko was still in control as she fell towards the ground, but the Iga Ninjas were too far away to realize this.
“Th-The mistress was defeated!”
“Curse you, Demon King! Did you use magic on her at a range too close to dodge?”
“Let’s go! Attack again!”
“Eight-Pointed Magic Circle of Rage!”
This time, eight of them attacked Akuto at once.
Peterhausen sighed when he saw them.
“I guess I take back what I said. They’ve evolved, but only enough to learn one attack...”
The dragon knocked the Iga Ninjas away with a wave.
“They’re just angry. You shouldn’t be insulting. Though what they’re angry about, I don’t know...” Akuto said.
“...More importantly, my master, what do we do now? If there’s no one here who can threaten you, there’s no need to be up in the sky. We should go achieve our goal.”
“There’s someone we need to stay up here for. We can’t leave just yet.”
Akuto was looking down at Yuko. Junko’s little sister, the popular idol. After her near-fatal encounter with demon beasts, she now had demon beast mana in her body. And Akuto’s appearance appeared to have affected her mind. She had almost lost control when she saw Junko fall, and now she was rising up towards Akuto.
“That girl? You can ignore her. If you want to save lives...”
Akuto cut him off and pointed behind her.
“I’m talking about that.”
“Behind her?” Peterhausen spun his head around again to see a shadow rising like a bullet behind her.
“Him?!” Peterhausen cried. “Uwooaah!”
Brave was slicing through the atmosphere as he rose up towards them. Brave, wearing his trademark special suit, was known as the hero who appeared out of nowhere to defeat demon beasts. The light surrounding him wasn’t the same usually emitted by mana use — it appeared that his suit didn’t use any kind of mana.
“I don’t sense any mana!” Peterhausen shouted in surprise.
“Be careful, he can probably use a mana canceler.”
Just as Akuto finished his words, he and Peterhausen collided with Brave.
There was a sound of clashing metal that could be heard even by the soldiers below. Then the two of them backed off from one another and faced off.
Brave was holding the high-frequency blade claw with a look of confidence, but Peterhausen’s body was shaking with excitement.
“Oh, this is a surprise! In my century of life, no one has ever hurt me before!” The dragon shook his wings to level himself out, as if trying to maintain his sanity.
“Hurt you? Are you okay?” Akuto asked, but Peterhausen just smiled cruelly.
“Okay? If anything, I don’t know what to do with all this power. This is why I was born! The claw on his hand is as hard as my own claws! He is a worthy foe! Foes like him are the only ones that can make me realize why I exist! You understand? You should understand, right master?”
“I do. Those who were born strong always end up alone. Especially those like you, who don’t grow weaker with time. But this time, we may need to be prepared to lose. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his claws’ power, and he has other weapons as well,” Akuto said.
In the video he’d seen before, Brave had caused the claw to vibrate at a high frequency. And he hadn’t yet used the wires that had ripped the demon beasts around him apart instantly, either.
“Prepared to lose? Heh. I’m prepared to die, but I’ll never be prepared to lose.” Peterhausen laughed.
“Glad to hear it,” Akuto said, though he sounded a little sad.
Brave was hovering in front of Yuko, who’d caught up to him from below, as if to protect her. He was whispering something in her ear. She must’ve agreed with whatever he said, because she headed back down.
“It seems he has a soft spot for women, as well.”
“As well?” Akuto ignored Peterhausen’s comments as he pointed to Brave. “Anyway, we won’t be able to leave unless we can deal with him somehow.”
“Ahh yes, so it seems. He’s a worthy opponent for us. Now, let’s go.” Peterhausen accelerated towards Brave.
○
Yuko went back down to the ground.
“Mistress, that was crazy!”
“Let us handle this!”
The ninjas worriedly gathered around her, but she shook her head. She didn’t try to tell them she was okay. Instead, she pointed upwards with a brilliant smile.
“Don’t worry. Brave will kill him for us. Let’s kill the other demon beasts,” Yuko said with an idol’s grin.
There were live broadcasting cameras on the battlefield. And there was a cameraman who covered Yuko, the idol, specifically. Her idol face was probably for that reason, but there was a madness in her that made it plain there was something more going on.
“Everyone! Forge
t the orders! Brave will handle them! So let’s get inside the school!” Yuko waved her hand for everyone to follow her, and then started to run.
The ninjas around her weren’t sure what to do. They’d just been told to disobey orders, and their commander wasn’t Yuko, it was Junko.
Junko had backed away from the fight, and was telling the ninjas that she was okay. When she heard what Yuko was doing, she approached her to scold her.
“Yuko, this is a battlefield, you can’t just...”
But her lecture was quickly cut off. A cameraman and a reporter had gotten between them.
“After being protected by the heroic Brave, Yuri Hoshino is about to head into battle! Yuri! Yuri!” The reporter knocked Junko out of the way, calling her stage name. “Yuri! Don’t you think it’s dangerous?”
“I’ll be fine! Brave is going to defeat the evil Demon King! So it’s my job to beat up the demon beasts!” Yuko said to the cameras.
It was like a scene from a movie, where a courageous idol overcomes her fear and heads into battle. She was clearly acting, but the battlefield was for real. It must have been tremendously exciting for the viewers.
There was no denying that this was the real thing.
Junko got a message from Eiko, her commander.
“Yuko can take command of the Hattori ninjas.” “Does that mean you’re changing your orders?” Junko asked.
“Yup. Her little stunt’s getting a good reaction. You’re pretty popular yourself, too. Maybe you could be an idol if you wanted to,” Eiko said sarcastically.
Eiko had allowed the broadcast only because she wanted the people on her side. She seemed to be receiving reports about viewer reaction, too.
“...Roger.” Junko said, frustrated. She followed after Yuko, motioning for the others to go as well.
The Hattori ninjas charged towards the school with Yuko in the lead. The units on standby near the building had already begun their assault.
○
“Heheheh... It’s always a pleasure to see an enemy fall into your trap.” Fujiko grinned as she watched the battle unfold on her mana screen.
“You sound kind of like a bad guy...” Keena said as she watched Fujiko.
“I am the bad guy,” Fujiko said matter-of-factly.
The Student Council President had already left, and except for the Cerberus, only Fujiko and Keena were in the small, screen-filled room.
Fujiko was looking from one screen to another, giving orders to her demon beasts. The screens were displaying the school’s security cameras, showing all the important spots for Fujiko’s strategy. In other words, the spots where the enemy was trying to break in.
“Just as I planned. The standard strategy in this situation is to lay siege to the enemy, but she can’t do that with the cameras rolling. She’s too scared of casualties to have everyone charge the school at once. In the end, her only choice is to attack the three entrances, the front entrance, the rear, and the connecting corridor, at the same time. It’s like she’s walking right into my trap! Hahaha!” Fujiko laughed as she waited for the right moment.
The right moment would be when the enemy just entered the school. The enemy had built barricades near the school, and had split into two groups: some firing assault rifles at the school, while others readied their katanas. The question was, when the enemy was going to move?
Fujiko had the demon beasts with hard shells, like crabs and turtles, stationed at the outer walls of the school. The Incantation bullets from a rifle wouldn’t be able to hurt them, but she had still ordered them to slowly retreat. She was luring the enemy in.
And then at Eiko’s order, the charge came. It was right after the Hattori had been given permission to attack, and just what Fujiko had hoped for.
The platoon commanders gave the assault order. The rifle fire intensified, as Incantation bullets loaded with explosive magic rained down on the entrances. In the next instant, the soldiers came in through the smoke, covering each other’s flanks.
But Fujiko’s orders came just an instant quicker.
“Begin the attack on the barricades! Aim from above!”
The demon beasts began to charge, all at once. The demon beasts that used echo-location to see were able to attack the enemy without being interrupted by the smoke, and the flying types were able to go over the smoke and explosions to swarm the barricades.
Each platoon had a few fliers, which were all carrying large steel greatshields to use as mobile barricades to defend from air attacks. But there were just too many demon beasts. Until then, demon beasts had never used any kind of tactics. Furthermore, very few members of the military had ever actually fought them, so they were quickly pushed back on the defensive.
The same thing happened to the soldiers who were trying to get inside. They hadn’t expected the demon beasts to attack, and the flying ones were now behind them, so they couldn’t return to the barricades.
“Split up and fight!” one of the platoon commanders shouted hopelessly.
The individual soldiers knew little magic, and had no way of winning in a one-on-one fight against a demon beast, so “fighting” was out of the question. They were quickly knocked back by the demon beasts and removed from the fight.
The few who could use magic protected their comrades, and tried to maintain order by falling back from the barricades, but the whole assault force was in chaos.
Fujiko saw the same thing happening on all three screens, and laughed loudly.
“Ahahaha! A great victory! I guess that’s just proof that I’m the better commander!”
But Keena sounded worried.
“Are all those soldiers okay, you think?”
“In the military, if you’re hurt, you drop back and leave the fight. Things are different than they were hundreds of years ago. They have medics, and not even a few percent will die instantly. And anyway, if we worry about that, we can’t win!” Fujiko answered excitedly, but she didn’t order her demon beasts to pursue. She was satisfied with routing the four platoons, so she drew her forces back. “Next, it’s time for the Hattori to arrive. These guys are tough. Even alone, they can fight demon beasts. I’ll have to change my strategy...”
Fujiko turned her attention to the Hattori Ninjas charging the front gates. She could see Junko and Yuko walking at their head.
“Oh, it’s Junko!” Keena exclaimed worriedly. But Fujiko grinned.
“That’s perfect. This is my chance to bury my rival!”
“Huh? You can’t do that,” Keena said, but Fujiko ignored her.
“Hohoho. Even if she gets hurt, it’s her fault. Even if Akuto forgives her for opposing him, I won’t!”
“Hey, you can’t do that! Right, Kelpie?” Keena said as she rubbed the throats of all three of the Cerberus’s heads.
“Would you not give my monsters weird names? Kelpie’s the name of an entirely different type of demon beast! And I thought you hated dogs!”
“Dogs are scary. But if he’s got three heads, he’s not a dog, right?”
“I don’t really understand how that works...”
“It doesn’t matter! If you fight too much, you’ll go ‘bon!’”
“‘Bon’? What are you talking about?” Fujiko asked, confused.
But there wasn’t time to worry about it. Fujiko had to deal with the ninjas.
“They’re here! Now let’s go, my demon beasts!”
○
Eiko had given the okay for the Hattori to attack, but she’d been astonished at what had happened in the battle just after that.
“N-No... Damn it! Don’t run just because the enemy showed up! I need units who can fight the demon beasts... I know. Hattori’s troops just went up there. I’ll have them do it and pull the others back... No, that won’t work. That’ll just make them more popular!”
She was only leading this command to gain popularity for herself. It would be no good if the Hattori saved the day.
“But the battle at the front entrance is too important t
o just shut the cameras off. Should I send the Teruya units in? No. It’s not a good idea to do that unless we’re winning. Maybe bring down some aircraft from the carrier? Or maybe use the carrier itself?”
“I can help, if you’re having trouble,” 2V said from behind her.
“Do you have some ideas?” There was nobody from the media in the command tent, so Eiko could rely on 2V without worrying that someone might see.
“There’s one more person from C-MID8 who’s here now. I can have them do some work for us.” 2V spoke as if he was having fun. His mind seemed to be concentrated here now, rather than in the Liradan he was controlling.
“Work? Who is it?”
“A specialist at infiltration and information gathering. They’re a bit of an odd one, though. Their code name is Lovers.”
“Lovers? That is weird. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. What do I do?”
“I’ll have them delay the Hattori. Then you can send the Teruya in.”
“It’s just that simple?” Eiko asked, and 2V nodded.
“It is. We, too, need a victory here. There’s no reason for you to doubt us,” 2V said casually. And then he pointed up to the sky.
“You need to hurry. That will cause the battlefield to get out of control.”
Eiko knew instantly what he meant by “that.” A huge explosion had just occurred, and she was blinded by an incredible light. It was followed by a huge shock wave that threatened to blow away the tent, and even her communicatory. Only after that did she hear the sound of the explosion.
Eiko couldn’t understand what had happened, until she took another look at the sky. A huge fireball had appeared — proof that Akuto and Brave were fighting.
“Wh-What the hell is that? No human could do that!” she shouted.
“Agreed. But it seems that that’s our opponent.” 2V laughed happily.
○
—He can block my plasma ball?
Hiroshi couldn’t believe it. He’d used the plasma ball as a means of defense, if anything. The enemy knew it would explode if it was touched. But Akuto, or rather, Peterhausen, had charged into it without hesitation. And they’d survived, only to attack him.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 5 Page 3