TWEM Vol. 6 Chapter 11 Part 2
“…I got cut?”
“Yes. Your body feels heavy now, doesn’t it?”
I hadn’t noticed it at all.
At any rate, I thought I would notice it right away because if I got cut, my abilities should have decreased… but honestly, I didn’t feel anything.
So I replied honestly.
“No, I don’t feel anything…?”
“You think you’re being tough? —Demon Sword Dimios.”
Three times, this was the third time that the demon sword was restored by Damnatio’s words.
Then Damnatio disappeared again.
This time there was no response from Detect Presence, so I guessed that he must have disappeared somehow.
The next moment, my Detect Danger skill rang a warning bell, and Detect Mana detected a large reaction in the sky above.
I looked up to see Damnatio raising his magic sword skyward.
A huge amount of magical power was concentrated in the raised sword.
I didn’t know what on earth he was planning to do, but if he unleashed an attack with that much magic power, it would surely cause damage to the surrounding area.
“This is the end. Everyone, become prey to my demon sword! —Release, Demon Sword Dimios!”
As soon as Damnatio said that, the magical power that had gathered in the sword was released.
Then, countless replicas of demon sword Dimios appeared in the air.
They probably numbered in the thousands.
Moreover, all the swords were covered with flames.
I glanced at the others, and while most of them were looking up at the sky with expressions of despair on their faces, one was looking at me with expectant eyes.
It was Finne.
“Haruto-san.”
My enhanced hearing picked up her voice.
Finne was looking me firmly in the eye.
“We believe in you. You’ll defeat him like you always do.”
I couldn’t help but smile when I heard Finne’s words.
I can’t not live up to that trust, can I?
Then, Damnatio’s voice rang out.
“Can you stop this?”
Slowly, Damnatio’s raised demon sword swung down, and with that as a cue, all the demon swords came flying toward the ground.
In front of the thousands of approaching demon swords, I smiled, trying to look invincible.
I had sheathed my sword.
Damnatio laughed when he saw me do that.
“Did you really give up?”
“Does it look like that?”
I sat down and closed my eyes, and invoked one of the space-time magic, spatial grasping.
“Stop.”
At that moment, thousands of demon swords suddenly stopped mid-air.
The coordinates of all the swords were determined by space-time magic, and they were fixed in place.
“What happened?”
I ignored Damnatio’s voice of surprise and continued.
“Gravity Reversal.”
As I said this, the tip of the demon swords turned toward Damnatio.
With gravity magic, I fiddled with the sword’s direction.
“What!? No way!”
He must have guessed what I was going to do.
“I don’t need it, so I’ll give it back to you.”
After saying that, the demon swords were released toward Damnatio.
“Shit!”
Just as the approaching swords were about to touch his body, all the swords disappeared, as if the magic had been deactivated.
However, Damnatio was out of breath, probably because he was pushing himself too hard.
Of course, I’m not one to overlook such an opportunity.
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, which was still in its sheath, and uttered.
“Cherry Blossom Dance.”
The instant the sword was drawn with divine speed, a slash flew out, scattering crimson magic like cherry blossom petals.
Damnatio’s left arm was sent flying, and small slashes were created where the petals of magic power landed.
The battered Damnatio glared at me.
“How? How can you use such a powerful technique and skill when Dimios cut you?”
I had my doubts about that too.
While I was thinking about it, Ellis answered me.
《The effect of the curse of the demon sword Dimios is nullified by Master’s skill, Status Effect Immunity.》
Oh, is that so?
《Yes. Other than that, I also automatically resist skills and weapons that have a negative effect on us. It takes time to completely resist the devil class we fought the other day, who called himself Schwartz, but this time Damnatio’s magic sword was not that powerful. 》
That was as expected of Ellis. I guess I should just ask Ellis for information I didn’t have!
However, I was satisfied with this information for now.
Shall I answer Damnatio’s question?
“Status Effect Immunity skill is useful, isn’t it?”
“… Aaah damn it!”
Enraged, magical power erupted from Damnatio’s entire body and the demon sword, and then, the demon sword disappeared as if dissolving into the air.
The magic power then wrapped around Damnatio like a cocoon, making it impossible to see inside.
A slow thump-thump sound like a heartbeat could be heard.
The heartbeat began to grow louder and louder.
“…what’s that?”
“Where’s that sound coming from?”
Reid, Oskar, and the others seemed to hear it as well, searching for the source of the sound.
It was hard to tell because it echoed throughout the arena, but…
It was coming from inside Damnatio’s magical mass.
As I watched cautiously, an abnormal amount of magical power swirled around Damnatio.
“Haruto-sama.”
Zero rushed here.
“Zero? Do you know what is happening?”
“Yes. This is…”
“I see…”
On the other side of the magical cocoon, I could see Damnatio’s changing body.
I tried firing my fire lance, but before I knew it, it was deflected by the barrier that had been set up.
It seemed to be a barrier of considerable magical density, and it would be difficult to break through it with a half-hearted attack.
It might be possible to break it by using stronger magic, but there was a high possibility that damage would be inflicted on unrelated areas.
After waiting for a while, I began to feel a power similar to that of Zero coming from Damnatio, and the body visible behind the barrier also began to enlarge.
No way, he’s going to become a dragon of the same class as Zero!?
As I was bracing myself, Oskar came running up to me and Zero.
“Hey, Haruto! What on earth is this…!”
“Your Majesty, please evacuate everyone here.”
“I understand that, but what’s going on?”
“He’s about to become a dragon.”
“What!? You can’t stop it?”
“That’s impossible. The magic density of the surrounding barriers is high and attacks won’t penetrate. Even if you put in enough magic to break the barrier, you won’t know if it will reach the main body, and the damage to the surrounding area will be great. I think it would be safer to remain still.”
“But!”
Oskar was impatient, but I pointed to Damnatio’s arm and told him, “Look at that. The arm I cut off is regenerating at an abnormal speed. And that shape is…a dragon.”
“What!?”
Yes, just as I said, Damnatio’s body was transforming into that of a dragon.
Oskar was startled, but quickly nodded.
“…okay. Let’s evacuate.”
“That’s right… Ah, please wait.”
“What’s up?”
There was something I wanted to ask Oscar.
“What is the Conqueror’s Jewel that Damnatio is looking for?”
“What did you just say?”
“Conqueror’s Jewel. Apparently they came looking for it. They’re sure it’s here.”
Hearing that, Oscar looked even more sour than before.
“That’s what they came here for… I see, that’s what you meant. That damned jewel.”
“What do you mean? I don’t know what to do if it were taken away, so please answer my question so I can think of countermeasures.”
Oskar fell silent, but perhaps unable to bear my gaze, he eventually spoke in a heavy tone.