And what was worse, the battle between Akuto and Hiroshi was continuing. The sheer scale and intensity of their fight was lowering the infantry’s morale. A battle beyond what humans were capable of was taking place right above them. Only the highly-trained Hattori and Teruya forces were capable of fighting the demon beasts under such circumstances.
And while the Hattori had caused the demon beasts to fall back, the beasts were now regrouping near the front entrance. And the ones at the other entrances were mostly unharmed.
“A... Are we going to lose?” Eiko’s face went pale with terror as she realized the possibility.
If she lost here, the whole empire would know she was incompetent. And not only that, they’d probably find out that she was the one who killed her father. If that happened, she was finished.
“I-I guess I could order the whole army to attack...” she whispered.
“No, there’s still things we can do,” 2V said hurriedly.
Eiko still had most of her forces in reserve. They were in chaos, but with the proper orders, they could regroup and attack. And the carrier and its ace air units were still completely unaffected. She had simply given into fear and lost the ability to make good decisions.
—If she’s this incompetent, it’s actually hard to use her. I guess I’ll have both sides be destroyed, then.
2V came up with a new plan inside his head.
“Let’s have the ground troops fall back and attack with the carrier. I told you to avoid damage to the surroundings if at all possible, but at this point, no one will complain if the school building is destroyed. It’ll look like the Demon King’s forces destroyed it.”
Eiko seemed impressed by 2V’s words.
“Y-You’re right... You’re right!” And then she ordered the carrier to advance.
—Sheesh...
2V smiled to himself. And then he concentrated his mind.
When he did, the trap he’d laid earlier began to activate. Soldiers in each unit, indistinguishable from the ones around them, began to move in accordance with his will. They were Liradans disguised as humans that he’d placed there in advance. They weren’t autonomous; without 2V’s magic, they were just dolls with no will. There were around 50 of them in all. And of course, 2V’s Liradans were aboard the carrier bridge, as well.
“Advance. Approach the school building and wipe out the demon beasts on the wall.”
The captain nodded at Eiko’s order, as one of 2V’s dolls listened intently from the pilot seat.
—Now, let’s see if this works...
○
“This is a big problem,” Fujiko said as she stood in thought before the altar.
“What’s wrong?” Keena asked.
“The carrier Genkaku is on the move.” She pulled up several mana screens displaying the Genkaku from a variety of angles. The carrier was a distance away from the schoolyard, slowly approaching it.
“Is it bad if it comes here? You had a plan for it, right?” Keena asked. The innocent way she asked the question only annoyed Fujiko more.
“I did have a plan! But it was a last resort... blowing up the school building.”
“Blow up the school?”
“If I destroy the upper floors of the basement with the demon beasts, the school building will sink, right? Then the carrier can’t attack. But I’m only going to do that if we lose. That’s how I was planning to make our escape.”
“Then we were going to lose the minute the carrier moved?”
“God, would you stop asking questions?! That’s right. But the plan was for the carrier to go after Akuto. I didn’t expect that stupid Brave to show up and interrupt him.” Fujiko sighed. And then she turned towards a different mana screen. “And I’m not happy about losing sight of that rubber thing once it got inside the school, either.”
“Yeah? Why did you lose it?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t have a problem, would I? Who knows where it went... I have my sharp-nosed demon beasts looking for it, but I hope it doesn’t turn into a fatal problem for us... Oh, jeez! If only Akuto would just take down Brave already!” Fujiko yelled as she tore at her hair.
“I told you, don’t fight. It’ll go bon... bon...”
Suddenly Keena fell silent.
“What’s wrong?” Fujiko looked back towards her. Keena didn’t seem to have changed that much, but she seemed like she was dreaming, somehow.
“It’s nothing. Hey, what do you think about the way the world is?”
“Huh?” Fujiko turned around in surprise.
“People who want a world without conflict are fighting each other. Don’t you think that’s sad?” Keena asked.
Fujiko thought there was something strange about the way Keena looked, but since there didn’t seem to be any danger, and it would feel strange to ignore her, she answered as she continued to work.
“In this case, fighting is good. If we have to choose between slaughter and war, we have to welcome war. A world without war is a world where anybody can slaughter anyone,” Fujiko said, but there was no answer to her words.
“But then you’ll go ‘bon.’” Keena said. She was back to the usual Keena.
“...Is that some new word you learned or something?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Keena tilted her head to the side.
○
—Is this Anti-Demon King Mode?
Hiroshi was confused by the fact that nothing seemed to be happening. His power output, weapons, energy transfer speed — none of it had changed. But now his hands were blocking Peterhausen’s claws much more easily, and he realized his own attacks were stronger.
—What’s going on here?
Hiroshi was surprised to see the effects his attacks were having. Each attack was growing stronger, until finally he was able to knock back the dragon.
“Our mana is being canceled,” Akuto said to Peterhausen.
“Oh, so that’s what this is? The mana in my body isn’t being affected much, but I’m losing the ability to transfer power outside my body.” Peterhausen sighed.
“Let’s fall back,” Akuto suggested, but Peterhausen shook his head.
“No. He’s faster than we are. We can’t turn our backs to him.”
“...Let’s try to think of a plan, then,” Akuto said. And then he saw the carrier slowly float into view. “That’s not good. It’s started to move.”
“And it’s heading for the school, too. We don’t have any time to waste.” Peterhausen saw it too.
The soldiers below must have been relieved by the sight of the carrier, because they were beginning to form up into ranks once more. Akuto had no way of knowing this, but 2V’s dolls had played a part in the recovery of their morale.
“Do we have to fight two enemies at once?” Akuto whispered. Peterhausen grinned.
“That’s right. But it’s not all bad.”
“You’re happy to fight strong enemies?”
“No, that’s not all. From my experience, large weapons like that have mana generators inside. They use mana to power their weapons, after all.”
“I see. It’s dangerous, but we should get close to it to fight, then.” Akuto sent Peterhausen flying towards the carrier.
Inside the Genkaku’s huge bulk was a unit of flying soldiers. The soldiers were all equipped with special flight uniforms that would allow them to do everything from bombing to mid-air combat. Their equipment made it look like they were carrying airplanes strapped to their backs, and they were feared in the countries outside the Empire. The carrier carried its own mana and power source, and could fly to areas without mana. It had defeated enemies from the old era that had used internal combustion engines.
All of the flying soldiers could, if needed, function as cannons. They would stand on the carrier’s decks with ultra-long range cannons and, with their judgment and magical talent, accurately perform long-range bombardment.
Right now, they were arranged on the deck with cannons on their backs. When they saw
Akuto, they prepared to fire.
“Our target is the Demon King and the demon beasts. You may pick your own targets until given further orders. Keep the damage to Constant Magical Academy and the surrounding areas to a reasonable level. Do not target the one named Brave, but do not worry about accidentally hitting him.”
These were essentially the orders the commander had given. The soldiers readied their cannons and awaited further orders, without seeming particularly afraid.
“Begin the attack.”
The soldiers began to fire their weapons all at once, but Peterhausen dodged expertly through the hail of cannon fire as he approached the carrier.
Hiroshi followed them, dodging the attacks as well, but then he realized that the particles of light surrounding him were vanishing, and stopped dodging any but those that would definitely hit him.
“Our power has returned, but we’re still at a disadvantage.” Peterhausen laughed.
“You hadn’t thought about what happens now?” Akuto sighed.
“Is that a problem?” Peterhausen said calmly.
“I get it. It’s not. We’ll just have to come up with something here.” Akuto answered.
Several of the soldiers leapt off the carrier. They were carrying weapons shaped like spears; probably the perfect weapons for fighting a black dragon.
“There’s no need to think now.”
“Don’t sound so happy,” Akuto said.
“Joy is a thing that should be expressed plainly!”
Peterhausen let out a roar of pleasure as he flew between five of the soldiers. They were forced to use all their power to keep up, but he toyed with them like he was playing with puppies, spinning around, charging in fast, then stopping suddenly and unleashing a furious attack.
Akuto himself knocked away the spears that were aimed for him, or grabbed them with his hands and bent them, or flung back fireballs.
“Seems like these guys are good!” Peterhausen was as happy as a child in a playground.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” Akuto shrugged.
But then Peterhausen’s fun battle came to an end. Someone else had joined the fray. It was, of course, Hiroshi.
“You’re in the way!” Hiroshi struck at one of the soldiers circling Akuto. It wasn’t an attack, just a push, but the man lost power and fell to the ground.
Hiroshi was only looking at Akuto.
“I guess this is our only real enemy, huh?” Peterhausen grunted.
“Looks like we’ll have to finish this,” Akuto said, his voice filled with resolution.
The carrier bridge was in an uproar.
“Our troops don’t stand a chance! What’s going on out there?!” the captain shouted, his voice filled with more fear than uncertainty.
There were several points of light on the screen that displayed the battle layout. These points corresponded to his soldiers’ IFF transponders, and they were all quickly showing that their owners had been knocked out of the fight. Even on the screen showing a feed of the actual battle, the soldiers’ disadvantage was clear.
“We’re the only people in this operation with combat experience! How can we let this happen?”
The captain was continuing to shout, but no one answered. He was the commander of the ship, and he wasn’t just lashing out. Tactically, they’d done nothing wrong; their enemy was just too strong. Each of them was going to have to do their best to accomplish anything at all.
The biggest problem of all was Hiroshi. He wasn’t trying to attack the army, but anybody who got close to him was drained of their mana and instantly knocked out of the fight. Proper combat was impossible.
Of course, Akuto was a terrible foe as well. Peterhausen thought nothing of using the flying soldiers as shields. Akuto himself wasn’t participating much in the battle, but he was stealing weapons from the soldiers and guiding Peterhausen behind the decks of the carrier to use it as a shield.
“Don’t let them get away with this! We’ll lose the trust of the people!” the captain howled, but there was still only silence. No — one person answered.
“Shall I handle this for you, captain?” a voice said casually. The captain went pale when he heard it.
“Who said that?!”
The ship’s helmsman casually raised his hand.
“Me. The helmsman. I’d like a free hand to deal with this situation.”
Everyone was astonished at his tone, which didn’t sound like that of a soldier at all. The entire bridge stared at him. And then they realized that they were seeing something impossible: they had no idea who he was. How had they not noticed?
“Who the hell are you?”
“I told you. The helmsman. For the moment, anyway,” 2V said.
“You bastard! Did you use some kind of mind-control magic to get aboard?” the captain screamed.
He gestured for the second helmsman to attack. The second helmsman nodded and blasted the stranger with explosion magic. It struck him right in the head. The flames spiraled up for a single moment, and a small shockwave shook the bridge. It was a perfectly controlled explosion, designed to kill the target without damaging the bridge.
The helmsman’s head was totally gone. The second helmsman put his hand on the console to take control. But he found that he couldn’t.
“What?!” When he looked back at the first helmsman, he saw an eerie sight. The headless helmsman was still at the controls.
“A-A doll?!” He realized he wasn’t seeing any blood.
“That’s right. And by the time you noticed, it was too late,” the headless helmsman said, the voice coming from somewhere unknown.
The other crew members jumped out from their chairs to stop him, but in that moment, the carrier shook. It was then that the captain and the rest of the bridge realized what 2V was trying to do. The carrier was gigantic, but its high-powered engine was enough to let it turn in mid-air like a small plane. It could use its mana to control the air around it, reducing the air resistance.
The carrier flew in a way that wasn’t at all safe for the crew aboard. The huge airship, more than 350 meters in length, did what would have been an Immelmann turn if it was an airplane. It did a rapid climb followed by a spin, and then a rapid descent.
The crew inside who weren’t belted down, and the soldiers on the decks who hadn’t seen it coming, slammed into the ship’s bulk.
But the Genkaku didn’t slow down. And soon, its target became clear.
○
—Why is this happening?
Hiroshi was growing frustrated. It felt like his whole battle with Akuto had only happened because he wasn’t sure what to do about his frustration.
In the end, he knew that he was frustrated because he’d believed in Akuto. And that’s why Akuto’s actions had made him so angry.
“Uwooaah!” Hiroshi slashed at Akuto again. He’d noticed that the carrier was replenishing Akuto’s mana, but he was still able to make this an even fight. And when the carrier was far away, he was at a huge advantage. His last strike had sent a huge shockwave through Peterhausen’s body, and the dragon had been blasted back a long way.
—I just need to neutralize him! If I can just defeat the black dragon, at least!
Hiroshi flew forward, realizing that now was his chance. He dodged through the soldiers falling from above as he charged. He was getting closer to Akuto, close enough that he could see the expression on his face.
But he was concentrating so much on Akuto that he wasn’t noticing what was going on around him. Why had the carrier suddenly disappeared? And why were soldiers falling down from the sky? He hadn’t even thought about it.
“Haaah!”
He deployed his high-temperature plasma ball as he charged, but he didn’t know what to think when he saw Akuto’s expression in that moment.
Akuto was looking in a different direction than Hiroshi at first, and when he turned to look back at him, there was a gentle look on his face.
—Why... why is he making that f
ace?
Akuto threw a spear he’d stolen from one of the soldiers at Hiroshi, or more precisely, at the high-temperature plasma ball.
“Gah!”
Hiroshi could’ve dodged an attack aimed at himself, but it wasn’t as easy to dodge an attack on the ball. The plasma was unleashed and exploded, enveloping the spear. The mana canceler was useless against this. Hiroshi was blasted backwards.
—That look on his face was a feint! But I’m not done yet! I’ll just get back in the fight right away!
Hiroshi spun in mid-air, keeping his eyes on Akuto, only to realize that his field of vision had suddenly turned grey.
—What?!
In that instant, Hiroshi finally realized what was happening. The “grey” was the hull of the Genkaku; the prow of the huge ship had just passed in front of him.
It was moving at an impossible speed. The carrier had passed by moving at the same speed he’d been going.
But Hiroshi had seen it: Akuto and Peterhausen had slammed into the prow.
—Impossible... That’s impossible...
Hiroshi ordered the suit’s computer to display the video on his visor. It played back the footage from just a few seconds ago.
The sphere-shaped prow had slammed into Akuto and Peterhausen from the sky. It had landed a direct hit and then continued onwards to the ground.
“Aah! Boss!” Hiroshi let out a cry mixed with surprise and regret.
The Genkaku continued to fall without lowering its speed, and then just before it hit the ground, it leveled out... before slamming into the school building.
A huge shockwave shook the whole area. The prow of the ship had embedded itself in the school. There were corpses of demon beasts scattered around the smoking rubble. And it was likely that many of the troops hadn’t gotten out of the way in time.
—He was crushed...?
Hiroshi shot down towards the school. He passed through the smoke and traveled down the deck towards the prow, where he saw a huge hole opened in the school’s wall. Pieces of the wall were scattered across the deck, but when he went inside, things only got worse. The spherical prow was almost entirely buried in rubble, and there was no telling what was under it.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 5 Page 5