TWEM Vol. 8 Chapter 3 Part 1
Chapter 3 – [Fiery Sky] Lucifer I
The attack must have come as a complete surprise.
However, Lucifer saw the approaching magic and uttered the name of the spell.
“—Fallen World.”
Immediately after it was activated, fireballs landed on Lucifer one after another, and the surroundings were lit up with flames.
However, when the smoke cleared, Lucifer was still there, unharmed.
He was unharmed after all that!?
As I was shaken, Lucifer spoke in admiration.
“I never thought my technique would be stolen. I’ll give you my praise. But in my world, any magic used against me is weakened.”
What Lucifer said must be true.
Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why he had remained unharmed.
But that didn’t mean I was out of options.
“Then let’s give it a try. You said magic, but how about against physical attacks?”
I raised my index finger to the sky.
So, how would he respond to this natural disaster?
“—Meteor Impact!”
A meteorite appeared from outer space, blowing away the clouds covering the sky with a thunderous roar, heading towards the ground.
The sudden turn of events caused the fighting to stop, and the entire battlefield was enveloped in silence.
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
Behind Lucifer, who was muttering with amusement, enemy soldiers were fleeing to their own camp.
Of course, if our army were to be hit directly, it would be a bad thing… but I’ll put up a barrier so there’s no need to worry.
Finne and the others were probably dumbfounded anyway.
“—It’s true that it’s outside the range of its effect on physical attacks. But do you think I can’t destroy it?”
Lucifer took out a sword from nowhere and raised it towards the sky.
It was a long sword that was longer than his height.
Lucifer then swung it.
The meteorite approaching Lucifer was cut in half and fell to the ground.
I used gravity magic to manipulate the meteorite that had been cut in two in the sky and dropped it on the enemy army, increasing the damage.
I could have aimed it at Lucifer once more, but it would have probably been cut in two again.
“What a blunder on my part.”
Lucifer muttered as he saw the damage around him.
“You don’t seem to think so, though.”
“Well, you’re right. I don’t care about those rabble.”
I guess he really did think that.
I used Ground Shrink to approach Lucifer and unsheathe my sword.
He blocked the blow easily, along with a high-pitched clang.
But my goal wasn’t to hit him with my sword.
I pointed my free hand at Lucifer.
“—Explosion!”
A huge explosion swept the surrounding area in flames.
I quickly took out a marble-sized magic tool from my pocket.
“I created this using magic stones as a base, and it explodes with a force proportional to the amount of magic power poured into it.
I created some distance from Lucifer and threw the ball.
“—Blow away!”
The sphere exploded with a flash of light, displaying power far beyond that of the Explosion skill.
“Guh?!”
I couldn’t see clearly because of the smoke, but I heard Lucifer’s muffled voice.
It seemed to be working, but… I didn’t think it caused much damage.
When the dust cleared, a crater had formed, and Lucifer was in the center.
I called out to Lucifer, who was glaring at me as he stood looking down at me.
“What do you think?”
“It worked a little… Did you cause the magic stone to go out of control by channeling magic power into it, causing it to explode?”
“Correct, but enough with the small talk. For the sake of peace, please die already.”
“I refuse. The Lord’s wish is our wish.”
I could see fanaticism and absolute loyalty in Lucifer’s eyes as he said that.
“You pledge allegiance to a God with such a silly wish? What a strange guy.”
“…What did you just say?”
“I said a silly wish. World domination and the peak of the gods? You should say that when you’re asleep. What’s the point of being the top of the gods? What can a god who isn’t omnipotent or all-powerful do?”
I provoked Lucifer.
If he lost his cool, it would be a little easier.
“If He’s been sealed away once, that’s all He’s worth. After all, wouldn’t it be better for you to be defeated by me and contribute to world peace?”
Lucifer hovered with an angry look on his face, looked down at me and slowly opened his mouth.
“Very well. I’ll make you pay for insulting my Lord with eternal suffering.”
Lucifer’s body shook and he disappeared from view, and my danger detection skill sounded an alarm.
《Master! Up! I’m deploying three layers of Aegis barrier!》
Ellis’ warning rang in my head, and I quickly raised my beloved sword.
The barriers set up by Ellis were cut down without any resistance.
I managed to withstand the last one, but the force of Lucifer’s attack had not weakened, so I tried to parry it with my beloved sword.
Even though I had used the barrier to soften it, it was a heavy blow.
“Gugg!”
I let out an involuntary cry.
I managed to parry it, and stepped on the ground to slash at it. But it was evaded as I moved half a step, and I was blown away by the impact to my stomach.
It seemed that I had been hit directly by an earth magic bullet fired from the ground.
I stood up, enduring the pain in my stomach, and before I could reposition myself, countless fireballs were approaching before my eyes.
“–Tsk!”
I immediately jumped to the side, and when I couldn’t avoid it, I used the Aegis barrier to defend myself.
But this was a bad move.
《–Master! This is a trap set by Lucifer! Please dodge quickly!》
My presence detection reacted behind me, but I couldn’t avoid it completely from this unstable position.
Just as I was panicking about what to do, Ellis’ voice rang out.
《I’m activating Thor’s Hammer and the Aegis barrier!》
The Aegis barrier deployed to protect my back, and lightning struck behind me.
I quickly regained my balance and readied my weapon again.
The lightning seemed to strike exactly where I had detected his presence, but I didn’t think I could defeat him like this. The opponent was Lucifer after all.
I stepped back and observed the situation. Amidst the dust, I saw a shadow trying to get up, so I quickly poured magic power into a ball made from a magic stone and threw it.
You might call it cowardly, but this was a battle for life and death and the survival of humanity.
The magic stone exploded, and the blast hit Lucifer.
“Guh?!”
A muffled cry came from the flames.
It seemed to have done some damage.
Throwing more of them caused an even bigger explosion.
But this wasn’t enough to deliver a decisive blow…
As I was thinking of what to do, magic power exploded in the center, and the impact blew away the flames and dust.
Naturally, standing in the middle was Lucifer.
“How did you like my present?”
“Let me ask you this instead, is that all you’re capable of doing?”
Lucifer pretended to be calm, but I could sense anger in his words.
He didn’t come out unscathed of course.
“I can only pull this much trickery. Besides, I want to finish this battle with you as soon as possible.”
“What a coincidence, Haruto. I was thinking of ending it too.”
“Then go ahead and try it.”
“Then —Gehenna Gate.”
A pitch black gate emerged from the magic circle that had appeared behind Lucifer, and the door slowly opened.
Countless arms approached from the other side of the door, trying to capture me.
It was the same magic that Alogis had used before. If those black hands touched you, you would die instantly.
It was an incredibly powerful spell, but I had seen it before and had a countermeasure.
I raised my palms to the sky and chanted the name of the spell.
“—Heavenly Fire.”
Soon after, a thin, strong light slid through the gaps in the clouds.
The light struck the approaching arms, turning them back into dust.
The light then poured down on the pitch black gate and the surrounding monsters.
Soon the gate cracked and collapsed, and the monsters it hit disappeared as well.
The light also hit Lucifer, but it seemed like a barrier was blocking it, and nothing unusual happened.