TWEM Vol. 5 Chapter 10 Part 2

 

“W-What is going on?!”

Liebert raised his voice and stood up.

Hearing the sound, the holy knights also gathered and took positions to protect Liebert and Ilmina.

When I looked toward the object that had crashed into the building, there was Zero, in a pretty bad shape.

His butler’s uniform was gone, and a large amount of blood was flowing from his abdomen.

Recognizing that it was Zero, I rushed over to him.

“Are you all right, Zero?”

“My apologies, Master Haruto, catching me in such an ungainly state…that devil is quite a tricky opponent. If not for the barrier, I would have wiped the floor with him…”

As soon as Zero said that, I heard a very amused voice out of nowhere.

“Fufufuu, what do you mean by tricky? Please come entertain me some more.”

With a steady thump of footsteps, a handsome man with horns on his head and bat-like wings on his back appeared.

“…It’s you, isn’t it?”

It might as well be rhetorical, because I could tell with just his presence.

That the one in front of me was in fact——the devil.

“Nice to meet you. You may call me Schwartz.”

The devil introduced himself.

And then——

“How utterly presumptuous, a vile devil giving out his name!”

One of the holy knights shouted and drew his sword, and the other holy knights followed his lead and attacked Schwartz.

“I have no business with you lot——Darkness Line!”

Schwartz waved his hand to one side, and a ray of darkness ran through the path. A beat later, the upper and lower bodies of the knights were cut in two and collapsed.

Because of the collapsed wall, some of the people in the garden seemed to have seen the whole thing and screamed. Panic ensued as the people tried to escape.

In the midst of all this, something white floated up from the bodies of the holy knights and flowed to Schwartz, and was absorbed.

“Hmm. The quality is not bad. Very tasty.”

I asked Schwartz, who was licking his tongue.

“Is that just now, their souls…?”

“That’s right. Pure souls and, conversely, souls filled with negative emotions are of high quality. They are quite essential for us to function in the mundane world, you see.”

Schwartz explained proudly.

What does he mean by the mundane world?

As I was wondering, I received an explanation from Ellis.

<<The ‘mundane world’ is the world where master is currently in. There are other worlds known as the ‘Demon Realm’ and the ‘Heavenly Realm’. The ‘Demon Realm’ is where demons live, and in the ‘Heavenly Realm’ is where god, who manage this world, and his servants, the angels, live.>>

Oh, I’ve met god before, but didn’t know there are angels as well.

While I was busy being impressed, Schwartz continued.

“So, who might you be, with such overwhelming presence and magic power?”

Schwartz asked with a hint of caution in his eyes.

Since he already introduced himself, I may as well do the same.

“I am Haruto. An adventurer.”

“Haruto. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Oh, how kind of you.”

Schwartz and I were staring at each other.

Then, suddenly, a voice called out to me from behind.

“Haruto! That devil is very strong!”

I turned to look in the direction of the voice to find Gawain.

“Kufufufuu, if it isn’t the one who narrowly escaped death a while ago. I spared you, and now you’ve come back…”

After saying this, Schwartz turned to me, as if he had lost interest in him.

I turned my gaze back to Schwartz as I replied.

“Oh believe me, I’m well aware of that. Even though he was weakened, he still did quite a number on Zero. It would have been a different story if it weren’t for that pesky unique skill.”

I was implicitly telling Schwartz that I can see his status.

Then Schwartz narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth curiously.

“Haruto. You are pretty pesky yourself, you know…when I first appeared in this world, I thought you could be a threat, but how could I have known you were this much of a bad news. How the hell did you raise your level to 300?”

Apparently, Schwartz can see the fake status I created with my Disguise skill.

My actual level is over 400.

“That’s a secret. Besides, do you think I’d bother to tell that to a mere devil that will soon perish?”

“A mere devil, huh…I may look like this, but I am actually a Demon Lord of the Highest-Ranking Devil, you know?”

At the same time Schwartz said these words, the pressure he was exuding increased.

Everyone except me and Zero turned pale and trembled.

No, Gawain seemed to be enduring as well. He must have experienced the pressure once before.

“D-Did he just say, Demon Lord…?!”

Liebert uttered with a face filled with despair, as were the faces of the others.

“It’s all over…no one can possibly defeat him…”

As someone muttered, Ilmina elaborated in a trembling voice.

“The Demon Lord…a legendary-class devil that is said to have destroyed many countries in the past. An existence that is said to surpass even the Demon King…how are we supposed to go against an opponent that even the hero of the long past could not defeat…”

Schwartz reacted to the word ‘hero’ in Ilmina’s sentence.

“Oh yeah, the hero. I have fought him before and he wasn’t that strong. His level was only 250, so he was a little weak. It’s such a shame that he ran away during the fight.”

Schwartz laughed.

“A level 250 is weak…? Who can defeat the devil freak…”

No one replied to Liebert’s words. The holy knights fell on their butts and seemed to have given up even trying to escape.

“Why do you all look like it’s the end of the world?”

My words echoed throughout the surrounding.

Ilmina looked up at me standing right in front of her.

“Haruto…?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me?”

She looked at me with a shocked expression on her face.

I guess she remembered who I am and what everyone calls me.

“——If we ask you, Haruto, will you accept it?! In this situation where we have nothing to give you as a reward!”

…It seems they think I’m someone who won’t move without a reward.

My delicate heart was a little hurt. Just a little.

I have more than enough money and I don’t need a territory. So, I have no need for a reward.

“If you’re thinking about a reward, I don’t need——”

“T-That’s right! For the reward, how about me? All of me, as a whole, will be staked as the reward!”

But before I could finish, Ilmina said something outrageous.

Liebert, Gawain, and the other knights were staring at her with expressions as if saying, “What the hell are you talking about?!”.

I was truly glad that Finne and the others were not here to see this. If they had been there, I would have been sent to hell by now.

“No, no, that’s not a very good idea…”

“Is it not good enough?!”

“Then——”

I patted her head.

“What’s going on?”

“Listen Ilmina. Iris asked me to save her dear friend.”

She listened quietly, and I continued.

“I don’t need a reward. Since it’s a request from my fiancee.”

“O-Okay…”

Ilmina’s face became flushed and she turned her head down.

I then instructed Zero, Gawain, and the holy knights.

“Zero, Gawain, and the holy knights are to protect the people.”

“Got it. Forgive me, Master Haruto.”

“You’re going to face that devil, Haruto?”

“Yeah, just leave him to me.”

I said that and stared at Schwartz.

He was staring back at me too.

“Good~. Do your best to defeat me——Darkness Line!”

Schwartz waved his arm and unleashed the magic he had used just now on me.

He’s probably planning to kill Liebert and Ilmina who were right behind me in one go should things go his way.

“Not gonna happen——Aegis!”

Schwartz’s attack was easily blocked by the barrier I deployed.

“…What?”

“You can forget about breaking this barrier.”

“Kufufufuu, looks like this is going to be fun.”

Schwartz smiled broadly.

“It’s too cramped here. What do you say, we change location? I’m sure that would be convenient for you too, right?”

“…What are you playing at?”

Schwartz’s suggestion aroused my suspicion.

“Oh don’t worry. I just thought that unless I defeat you, I won’t be able to kill these people.”

“You bet.”

“Fufufuu, follow me then.”

With that, Schwartz disappeared in an instant.

His presence appeared above the cathedral.

As I was about to head over as well, Ilmina grabbed me by the sleeve.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

I turned around.

“Uh, please save us all, and the holy city.”

“Sure thing.”

With that, I smiled and left the cathedral to join Schwartz.

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