—Tch!
Akuto deflected it as he jumped out of the way. He waited for an opening at a distance. Zero’s fists were punching far faster than his huge body would seem to be capable of.
A human could only use mana by passing it through his body, which meant that the most effective way to use mana was to have a form with both arms and legs like a human. Zero’s fighting style, even as a machine, was still similar to martial arts. He had made his attacks with both arms extremely efficient.
The ends of his massive limbs were moving faster than the speed of sound. His fists compressed the air, forming cone-shaped clouds of compressed steam that further amplified his attacks. But the timing and openings of his attacks were essentially the same as martial arts.
—Then I guess I need to play along with his way of doing things...!
“Uwoooaah!” Akuto howled. He gripped his hand into a fist and charged. His opponent was about ten times his size; it was worse than a child fighting a parent. But still, it was possible for them to fight.
Both of them came to a stop in mid-air as they began to violently flail their limbs. Zero tried to hit the center of Akuto’s body with a killing strike, and Akuto tried to wear down Zero with smaller, but still damaging, blows.
The two colliding fists were of vastly different sizes, and their styles were completely different, but still, they were able to punch at one another.
Zero predicted Akuto’s movements, and tried to direct his punches to where Akuto was going to be. Akuto knocked each gigantic fist away, deflecting the attacks as he smashed his own fists into the side of Zero’s hands. It was like passing a thread through the eye of a needle moving at high speed.
Zero’s processing abilities and Akuto’s mental stamina; it was a contest to see which would give first. Very few of Zero’s blows landed, but those that did hit Akuto head on and forced him to use all his mana for defense. At this rate, Akuto’s concentration would be worn down.
But Akuto’s blows were gradually destroying Zero’s fists, too. There was no telling whether Akuto’s concentration would fail him first, or if Zero’s body would simply be worn away.
The metal, plastic, and mana light that made up Zero’s body began to rain down on the ground below. It was physical evidence of the intensity of the battle.
○
Hiroshi had climbed back up to the sky above the palace. He felt something cold run down his back as he watched Zero and Akuto fight.
—Is he planning on dying here?
The battle was a terrifying thing to behold.
—I know Boss saw me. But...
A feeling like fear froze Hiroshi’s body.
—He’s really planning to die and leave me to handle everything!
Hiroshi knew what was going on. Akuto had once tried to destroy the system of the gods themselves. He probably still wanted to do the same thing. If that was the case, then Akuto would want Zero to be destroyed as well. But not to cause chaos. — he would want to do it so that the Demon King could be forgotten from the world. In other words, they both had to die for Akuto to get what he wanted.
It took a voice from below to snap Hiroshi out of his trance. He couldn’t hear what it said, but it was clearly someone cheering him — cheering Brave, that is. He looked down and saw that there were still a few people off in the distance, and they’d seen him too.
—So there is something I have to do, then...
He knew that the people wanted this whole thing to come to an end. He was still a hero.
Hiroshi looked upwards to see the two combatants literally tearing each other apart. Akuto seemed to have noticed Hiroshi’s return. He glanced down at Hiroshi just once.
—I know... No, I think I’ve always known...
Hiroshi understood exactly what Akuto’s glance met.
○
“Master, the battle...”
“It’s ending soon, then...”
Keisu and Yoshie were whispering to one another. It was clear the battle was coming to an end. Most of Zero’s body was gone, and Akuto had taken a lot of damage from the blows he couldn’t block with mana.
“The next round will determine the victor, maybe?” Yoshie asked. She looked to her side. She’d heard the noise of someone stepping through the grass.
“It can’t be...” Yoshie gasped in surprise. Kazuko was walking towards them. And she was dragging somebody behind her with her right hand. She must have had tremendous strength in her tiny body.
But what surprised them more than anything was the person she was dragging, who was lying there limp and powerless.
“Junko Hattori... Did she... kill her?” Yoshie choked.
Kazuko softly shook her head. “Without my mana I have only direct blows. And it’s hard to kill a person with them,” she said as she let go of both Junko’s arms. Junko let out a small groan as she slammed against the soft earth.
“She’s still alive...” Yoshie said, relieved. But things were still going in a bad direction. She began to back away, making sure she stood between Kazuko and Keisu.
Kazuko smiled. “So I’ve decided to put off killing her until later, and for now, simply acquire Keisu. A Liradan with the power to seal away Zero... I have to see for myself what it can do,” Kazuko said as she took a step forward.
Yoshie flinched back, but Keisu pushed past her to approach Kazuko. “I will handle this,” she said.
“No, wait...”
Yoshie didn’t know what to do. Keisu could still use her physical abilities, even without mana. She could easily defeat any normal human. But Kazuko was strong enough to drag Junko single-handed. Just like Akuto, she had probably been modified in some way. There was no telling what would happen if they fought. And without a sure path to victory, she couldn’t let Keisu fight.
—I should try to fight, even if I can’t win...
Yoshie tried to take a step forward. But now even the chainsaw felt too heavy for her hands.
“You’re going to push yourself past your limits, I see.” Kazuko smiled as she took a step forward. But then suddenly, as if Yoshie wasn’t a threat worthy of her attention, she turned to look upward. “Oh my. Everything has been changing quickly. And it seems the conclusion is an unexpected one...”
Yoshie glanced up at the battle there too. The two fighters were just barely capable of staying in the air But Kazuko wasn’t talking about them. She was talking about a single ray of light that passed through the corner of their vision. It was climbing straight up towards the battlefield.
“That’s...” Yoshie shouted.
“Brave. The demon killer. An enemy of the Demon King, then,” Kazuko said softly.
“Is he planning to kill them both, then?” Yoshie’s eyes went wide in surprise.
Brave was heading straight for the area where Zero and Akuto were fighting. Yoshie put her hand on her goggles. Her field of vision zoomed in to show Brave. His cape was fully deployed, and there were high-temperature plasma balls surrounding him. He was preparing to release his strongest attack.
The goggles showed that it wasn’t a mana-based weapon. Brave’s mana-canceller was deployed, and he was jamming any mana in a radius of several meters around him.
“That means they can’t block his attacks!” Yoshie shouted.
Both Zero and Akuto would die, then.
“Zero, and the Demon King... If both of them are lost, I’ll have to come up with a new plan. Without Zero, after all, the gods will lose their power,” Kazuko said.
“But...!” Yoshie tried to say something, but couldn’t think of anything to say.
Akuto was willing to die to not just seal Zero but destroy him. If Hiroshi knew that, he might be willing to destroy them both.
“Oh no...” Yoshie sobbed.
Brave and his high-temperature plasma balls passed first through Zero’s body, and then Akuto’s as well. Now nothing but a ray of impossibly hot orange light, he flashed through the battlefield in an instant.
Zero and Akuto froze
in the sky for a moment like a picture, but then Zero’s body exploded and engulfed everything in a sea of orange light. It was like a miniature sun had appeared on the battlefield. Even with her goggles on, Yoshie had to look away from the brightness.
When the ball of fire was gone, a massive hunk of charred metal and a single black object fell to the ground. Brave slowly came down after them.
“Aaah... aaah...” Yoshie moaned wordlessly.
The metal was Zero. Which meant the black object was...
“Well done,” Kazuko spread her arms wide to welcome Brave as he landed. When he touched the ground, he bowed to her.
“First, I must thank you for defeating the Demon King. You’re the mysterious hero everyone’s been talking about lately, aren’t you?”
“It seems so,” Brave said calmly.
“Then you’re fighting for the Empire, and fighting for me, aren’t you?” Kazuko said calmly, as if she was testing him.
Brave raised the corners of his mouth into a smile. The only part of his face that wasn’t concealed by the mask was his mouth, but still it was an imposing sight.
“Nope. I’m not fighting for you personally, or for this country. I’m just the kind of person who has to help people when they’re crying.”
Kazuko’s expression twitched. For the first time, her placid, perfect expression changed. “Who are you...? And why are you wearing such a dangerous suit?”
“You probably already know who I really am. But if you’ll allow me to give you my name, when I wear this suit, I am Brave. Nobody else. And I want two things: justice and peace.”
“Haha...” Kazuko began to laugh. “Hahahaha! What a strange thing to say! You were nothing but a cowardly student, with a power that wasn’t even your own. Where did you learn to talk so big?”
“You’re wrong. Nobody in the world ever gains power on their own. Most power is gained at birth without even wanting it, or given to you by someone whether you want it or not. And that means that the right way to live is to act like you’re worthy of that power, whether you feel like you are or not.” Brave’s voice was strong.
“So even though you defeated the Demon King, you’re not going to serve me?” Kazuko said, her voice wavering a little.
“No, that’s not what I said.” Brave shook his head.
“I see, then...”
“You’re going to serve me. You’re going back to your old life.”
“What...?” Kazuko fell silent.
“Zero’s gone. We’re going back to the society we had. That’s all I have to say,” Brave said shortly.
Every trace of expression disappeared from Kazuko’s face. But then a brilliant smile returned. “Hahahaha! You’re the first person to say that to me! But did you notice? The mana is still here! Which means the gods haven’t lost their power!”
Kazuko made another blade of light appear in her hand.
“What...?” Brave gasped as Kazuko swung the sword. Its blade came right up against the tip of Junko’s neck as she lay on the ground.
“...I suppose she’s still worth something as a hostage. Am I wrong?”
“You’re scum, Empress!” Brave waved a hand. The mana canceller activated and Kazuko’s sword disappeared.
“Scum? I’m nothing of the kind.” Kazuko grabbed Junko and jumped backwards. And then she looked at Brave with a cold smile. “You’re using the same trick twice, you know. That’s not a good idea.”
A VPS field appeared around Brave. It was the same one that 2V had used to nullify the subspace energy transfer that the suit used to recharge. But Kazuko wasn’t supposed to know about that.
“I see... She has 2V’s memories, too...” Yoshie said as she watched.
“Correct. Now, your energy is about to run out,” Kazuko said to Brave.
But Brave just glared back at her. “All I needed to know was what you were really like. I’m not that stupid.”
“...What? There’s nothing left for you to do. The mana canceller has failed you,” Kazuko said as she summoned another sword of light. “But if I can disable your powers, I don’t need to kill you. Now, accept reality. The people expect great things from you. And you can do them in my name.”
“And if I don’t, you’ll kill Junko?” Brave said challengingly.
“That’s up to you,” Kazuko said sweetly.
But Brave just puffed out his chest. “I told you, I’m not that stupid.” He raised a hand.
Kazuko tensed up, but nothing happened. “Heh... What did you think you could—”
“I’m staying true to my own sense of justice. Some Demon Kings aren’t evil.” Brave grinned.
“...! Impossible...” Kazuko leapt away. A black shadow quickly passed through the space where she’d been a moment ago. “You tricked me!” she shouted. This time she had gone pale.
The black shadow picked up Junko off the ground and rose to its feet.
“I didn’t trick you. I really did get burnt to a crisp,” Akuto said with a sigh. He only looked like a shadow because his skin had been burnt to ash. Now the ash had fallen away to reveal healthy skin underneath.
“You mock me...!” Kazuko said in a low voice. This voice, unlike the others she’d used, inspired terror. But the smile on her face was as bright— no, brighter than ever.
“...I’m going to kill you all,” she declared, and waved her hand. The atmosphere itself began to vibrate and shake around her.
Yoshie saw what was happening and yelled, “This is a mana burst!”
A spell that caused mana to go out of control and explode. Of course, it wasn’t a spell you could just use if you wanted to, or even something that could happen by accident. It was an explosion that destroyed everything the mana touched.
“You’ll destroy yourself, too...”
“Have you gone mad?!”
Akuto and Brave shouted, but Kazuko just laughed.
“No. Zero can use his magic to teleport me away just before the explosion. I will be the only survivor. You can do the same too, if you wish, Demon King. But you’re just a human. You lack the processing power to teleport everyone away.”
“So you’re going to make Akuto choose who to save?” Yoshie said. She covered Keisu’s body with her own, trying to protect her. But Keisu didn’t react. She stood completely still and unmoving.
“...?” Yoshie looked at Keisu in surprise. The color of Keisu’s eyes had changed. She began to speak in a voice completely different than the one she’d used before.
“Zero, move to phase 2. Shift to network dispersion mode. Please take me to Zero’s main body immediately.”
“What are you talking about? Did you remember?” Yoshie said.
Keisu’s eyes turned their normal color again. She looked at Yoshie and nodded. “I remember. Zero is...”
But Kazuko cut her off. “It seems you’ve remembered, but it’s too late.” She smiled.
The very earth began to give way under an incredible amount of pressure. It crumbled and collapsed, except for a few meters around Kazuko’s body. And then the shock waves began to spread.
“Die,” Kazuko said coldly.
In that moment, the light covered everything. From above, it must’ve looked like a kilometer-long sphere of light had appeared in the palace. It was hundreds of meters high, and visible from a good distance away.
It didn’t last long, but when it was gone, there were no survivors. Only a crater remained.
2 - Let’s Go the Moon
When Junko woke up, the first thing she did was to stare at her hand in astonishment. All her wounds were healed.
She seemed to be in the sky. When she looked down, she could see a huge crater in the middle of the town below. She knew she wasn’t going to heaven because of the warmth she felt on her body.
When she looked up, she saw Akuto’s face. “Aah!” she screamed.
Akuto looked down at her and nodded, and then spoke in a soothing tone. “Looks like you woke up. You okay?”
“I-I’m fi
ne...” she said, turning her eyes away in embarrassment. She tried to go over what was going on in her head, and remembered the conversation Kazuko and Akuto had had before she passed out.
“...Y-You didn’t choose to only bring me back to life, did you?”
A horrifying possibility passed through her mind. Kazuko had said that Akuto wouldn’t be able to teleport everyone. Which meant...
“No...” Akuto smiled in embarrassment.
—Impossible. Did he really...
For a moment her body shook with delight. Did he really pick her out of all those people...? But a moment later, that thought was followed by guilt, and the terror that came with so many deaths.
“D-Did you really...” she stammered with a shaking voice. Akuto looked embarrassed when he responded.
“No, I teleported them all. The others too.”
“The others?”
“Everyone who was there.” Akuto said calmly.
“Everyone?” Junko’s voice shook.
Akuto nodded. “I tried, and it worked. I was able to find where each of them were, look for a safe enough place for everybody, and then teleport them.”
That’s right; the massive explosion in the middle of the imperial city hadn’t resulted in a single casualty. The blast had stretched over a kilometer in diameter, turning it into a crater instantly, but not a single person had died.
Of course, there were a huge number of people surrounding the palace that was the blast’s epicenter. All those people even remembered now was that suddenly they were somewhere else. They hadn’t even seen the blast until a moment later.
It took them a moment to realize that they’d even been teleported. Of course, they had no way of knowing who’d done it, or why.
“You can... do that?” Junko couldn’t believe it. There must’ve been around 30,000 people in the area around the palace. It was incredible that someone could simultaneously locate every one of their locations.
To be able to do that, and teleport them too, was a feat of impossible mental strength. It was like focusing on every single grain in a box of sand, and then moving each one individually to another box.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 9 Page 3