Chapter 94: Life And Death Struggle

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

The next day, Marle and Marielle ended up being transferred to our “home”.

It was determined that keeping them in the care of the guild would be dangerous.

The reason being Hans’ father.

Being nobility, he firmly insisted that Demon Lord Masayoshi be killed in return for murdering his heir.

But even he himself must have realized that wasn’t a possibility.

Being the one who subjugated the entire barbaric region, it was questionable if he could be taken down even if the entirety of Novelius’ army moved to do so.

As such, Hans’ father changed the target of his anger.

To the companions who couldn’t protect his son.

The ones who brazenly survived when his son didn’t.

The commoners who didn’t protect the nobility.

I’m well aware that this is the anger of a parent whose son was killed.

But turning that anger on those who had nothing to do with it is just wrong.

Likely feeling the same way, those at the guild recognized that letting the girls die didn’t make sense.

So they sent them over to people who would protect them from nobles, and would let absolutely no harm come to them. In other words: us.

And there was one more thing.

His murderous intentions being directed at a sage’s apprentice, Marielle, was definitely a problem.

Most of the situation has already been reported, and even without the details being told to everyone, there’s a reasonable degree of information on it spreading throughout the city.

What would Ondine do if she learned that his outburst resulted in her granddaughter’s death?

It’s possible that they would have, not only the Demon Lord, but also a Sage become their enemy.

And then it might spread through the network of the four great Sages, and they could all become enemies of Novelius.

Though the guild may not know it, at the very least, Haster would definitely become their enemy.

Such a situation is something the guild would also prefer to avoid.

Especially with the powerful Demon Lord situation they already have on their hands…

~*~

“Please use this room, Miss Marielle. My apologies, but all the guest rooms on the second floor are occupied.”

“I do not mind. And besides, leaving and returning will be easier from the first floor.”

“About that, you should probably hold back on…”

“Fear not, I still maintain enough reason to contain myself.”

Even she, herself, must understand the situation she’s in.

About the Demon Lord who appeared in the Labyrinth. And that she swore vengeance against that powerful being.

Among the adventurers, that information ran through the ranks like a flash of lightning.

Resulting in not a single adventurer remaining who wanted to team up with her.

She can’t do it on her own… That reality is something that she is well aware of.

As such, she is seeking companions.

And the strongest candidates are us.

My ability to use magic just as ridiculous as his power is something she learned from the entrance exam.

A week passed after she came to stay with us.

Miss Alma’s funeral was taken care of. Along with they reality setting in, the mood in the house gradually grew heavier.

Marle would hardly leave her room out of fear.

Opposite her, Marielle wanted to tag long with us to the labyrinth.

Practically running away from the fear and murderous intent of the two of them, we delved into the labyrinth.

We left Marielle behind with the excuse that someone needed to look after Marle.

She could hardly ignore the person who saved her life, so she behaved and stayed home.

Just in case, we left Yig to watch them too.

“We don’t have Yig for overhead surveillance today, so be more careful than usual, okay?”

“Got it.”

“I wonder how those two are doing.”

“Well, she ain’t gonna do nothin’ stupid. Marle’s her savior, yeah?”

We got on the limited express heading to the 51st floor, and discussed our plans for the day to shake off the heavy mood.

With our fairly rapid growth, and our high speed in reaching the middle floors, we’ve become pretty famous. So our fellow riders spoke to us familiarly.

They said—

“Don’t have the winged lizard with you today?”

“Are those girls doing okay?”

“To think some Demon Lord really exists…”

For adventurers, who rely principally on power, connections with promising up-and-comers like us are hard to get.

Well, among them, half were throwing curses into the mix though.

“She really is a “Grim Reaper”. This time she got her housemate’s companions killed.”

“Whoa, hey!”

“Hah! I’ll say it all I want. It’s the truth, after all.”

We were already used to slander like that too.

No matter how much they disparage Miss Levy, once she joins the top runners, we know they’ll be singing a different tune.

Which is exactly why we need to reach the upper floors as soon as possible…

As I was thinking about all that, when we reached the 30th floor—

That’s when he appeared.

~*~

“Hey, wassup. This carriage is going up, right? Give us a ride too.”

He had a lighthearted tone, like he was out asking to hitchhike.

His clothing was light enough to make one doubt he was out exploring the labyrinth.

And he also had a stereotypical Japanese face.

“You’re… Demon Lord Masayoshi?”

“What, word of me is already going around? Man, sure is tough being a go-getter of a man… Whoa, hold up, a silver-haired little girl—?!”

He looked at me, and seemed to get excited in a strange way. He even pumped his fists.

“And she’s even got a collar? Wait, don’t tell me someone already bought you?”

“Hih?!”

Masayoshi came close enough to be in spitting distance to me.

I let out a reflexive scream and hid behind Haster.

“She’s my wife. Sorry, but could you try not being so overly familiar with her?”

“Aw hell, so she’s used already.”

“Take that remark back.”

“Oh, I see, I see. So you don’t like people talking about how much of a slut your woman is, huh? I’m soooo sorry, I’ll neeever do it again.”

He spoke frivolously while waving his hands around lightly.

What’s with this attitude, like he’s some brat making fun of him?

“You son of a bitch…”

“What’s wrong now, I apologized didn’t I? Or what? You wanna go?”

“If you’re going to insult the dignity of my wife.”

—Wai-, Haster! He’s the Demon Lord! Let’s look for a peaceable solution…

I pulled on his sleeve to urge caution, but it looked like the blood was already rushing to his head.

From the looks of it, he just can’t stay calm when it comes to me.

Normally I would be happy about that, but in this situation…!

Reliable Alec also had his hand on Sentinel’s handle, preparing for an attack.

Thinking about it, he’s Marle’s enemy, so I couldn’t really expect anything else from him.

Miss Levy was also different from usual, with hands on both her swords, and spreading her bloodlust all around.

“What’s going on? You’re all acting weird!”

“He hurt Marle and Marielle, and now he’s even insulted you. There’s no way I’m letting him off now.”

“—Even so!”

“If you’re afraid, then “watch” from the back.”

At those words, I understood his true intentions.

If we can take him down here, great. Even if we can’t, I can “Appraise” him so his abilities are laid bare. That’s what he’s saying.

I immediately activated “Appraisal,” searching out his abilities and, most importantly, his gifts.

What he possesses are “Strong Arm,” “Full Guard,” and “Magic Talent”.

“Strong Arm” is a gift that grants superhuman strength; enough to take down a dragon with one blow.

“Full Guard” maintains the body so that neither swords nor magic will get through.

“Magic Talent,” this is one step down from “Peerless Magic”. Instead of “Peerless Magic’s” effect of optimizing abilities and understanding, this gift apparently only grants aptitudes for all attributes.

Before I knew it, the other passengers had gotten off the stopped carriage and were looking on from a distance.

They took a position from which they could run at any time, or assist if things are going well. That was the type of ambiance they had.

“I’ll give ya a fight. Get down here. Kinda hard to fight when you’re up in a carriage.”

“… … …”

We silently got off the carriage, and took up fighting positions. They also readied themselves for battle.

The woman in revealing clothes had bat-like wings coming from her back.

The lanky and light-weight men grew claws, and their bodies turned beastly.

And the robed man’s face changed into that of a skeleton…

The other robed man… He wasn’t even a living creature.

His entirety was surrounded in metal armor, and his eyes were cavities… Or maybe he didn’t even have a face at all?

Based on his footsteps, the ringing hollow sounds from him, there’s probably nothing inside.

Two lycanthropes, a vampire, a lich, a living mail… And the Demon Lord.

This was the Demon Lord’s party.

~*~

Who was it that started moving first…? I think it was all about at the same time.

“GRRRRRAAAAAAHHH!”

One of the lycanthropes came swinging his claws with a roar.

Against him, rather than harden his defenses, Alec took a large step forward.

In the back, the lich gathered magic power, and the vampire’s eyes glowed suspiciously.

That’s probably charm. But we all have [Rings of Mental Resistance] equipped.

In counter to the lich’s magic, I prepared my magic power, while Miss Levy rushed with her swords over to the other lycanthrope.

Haster decisively rushed the Demon Lord himself.

“Oooooooohh!”

He swung down Cleaver together with a war cry.

That attack was stopped by the armor of the living mail… Which was then thoroughly crushed by the blow.

“Oooh, holy hell.”

The Demon Lord muttered without an ounce of urgency. Now it’s five against four.

There was also a change on the lycanthrope front.

After stepping into the claw’s attack range, Alec used Sentinel’s weight to push the enemy back, then kicked him away.

Against the other lycanthrope, Miss Levy had surpassed her own usual speed, pressing the enemy with her quick swords. She sent one of his arms flying.

That’s when the lich activated [Fireball].

—The activation was surprisingly fast for how complex the spell is!

I certainly didn’t think his confidants were third rate, but this spell deployment is really fast!

Just in the nick of time, I deployed a [Water Wall], effectively blocking the [Fireball].

The explosion’s power was enough to shake the labyrinth. We managed to avoid any problems because the [Water Wall] was in time, but we would have been destroyed in an instant if we took a direct hit.

—He put something together with that much power in such a short time…?!

Letting him keep the initiative is a bad idea. As I was shifting to the attack with that thought… The vampire interfered.

A distinctive movement of sinking into the shadows.

—If this is the same as against Tony, then… Behind!

I instantly pulled Third Eye out and guarded my neck.

She sunk her fangs into the bow.

Following up, I pulled out an iron arrow, activating [Body Reinforcement] at the same time, and drew back the bow I let her bit into.

But just as I released the arrow, she disappeared.

“Yuuri!”

“I’m… Fine… Over here!”

“Hey, you really got time to look away?”

Upon my being attacked, Haster dropped his guard for a moment.

The Demon Lord used that to attack with his fist.

Without defending, Haster aimed for a counter attack with Cleaver…

GOBAH! Along with a crushing sound, Cleaver was smashed.

“Wha?!”

“Hey, that rock is friggin’ hard! It might have hurt a little.”

You’re kidding me, right? Cleaver, with [Toughness] and [Reinforcement] applied to it, was crushed?

Just how bullsh*t is this guy?!

While Haster was pulling out his reserve sword, I assessed the battle situation.

Miss Levy is at a slight advantage, but Haster is extremely disadvantaged.

Alec and I are both in stalemates, and the lich has free reign.

Looking at it overall, I guess we’re at a disadvantage?

And with that chance, the lich faced Alec and Miss Levy, launching a [Light Arrow].

Except with its size, its practically a light spear.

I stopped moving and created an [Earth Wall] to counteract it.

The [Light Arrow] was blocked, but that one attack also pulverized the earth wall.

Then the vampire went back on the attack, but I somehow managed to dodge it.

The lycanthrope’s speed is giving Alec some trouble.

He’s a power fighter, so he’s not as good against more maneuverable opponents.

In contrast, the speed battle that Miss Levy’s side turned into is continuing in her favor.

“Alec, Levy! You need to leave!”

“How could we run and leave you here, Master?!”

Now that we’re mid-battle, Haster naturally started thinking calmly. I would have preferred he do so before we started fighting.

He slashed at the Demon Lord, but the Demon Lord didn’t even try to dodge.

“Alec, calm down. There’s no “second time” for you two!”

“—Kgh!”

The only ones who can come back after death are me and Haster.

Knowing I would be attacked, I sent a [Heat Strike] at the lycanthrope in front of Alec.

In response, the lich erected an [Earth Wall], but as if that barrier wasn’t even there, I succeeded in pulverizing the lycanthrope’s head.

And then the vampire attacked me, tearing off my left arm at its base, and sending it flying.

“Augh!”

“Sis?!”

“Guh, f-forget it… Just go!”

The sword Haster attacked with was crushed, and the regenerative powers of the lycanthrope facing Miss Levy was turning the battle into a stalemate.

Alec threw Sentinel at the lycanthrope facing Miss levy, creating a brief opening.

At that, Haster hit him with [Wind Blade’s] enhanced version, [Wind Dusting], tearing him to shreds.

And then he… The Demon Lord used magic to freeze him solid.

He must have broken through the high resistance from the [Ring of Mental Resistance] Haster was wearing to succeed in using [Freeze] on him.

“Haster?!”

“Master!”

“Don’t! We gotta retreat, now!”

Just as Alec was making to run over to Haster, Miss Levy met him and practically dragged him away.

With the feeling puking blood, I sent a rain of [Light Arrows] in his entire area.

“What in the…!”

The attack I launched, while consuming the limits of my magic power, made the lich exclaim in shock.

It was just a few seconds… Just that was enough to fire off an amount that scorched the area… I confirmed that after taking a direct hit, the Demon Lord didn’t have a scratch on him.

“Damn monster—“

After taking enough fire power to gouge into the World Tree’s pathways, he’s still unharmed?

While everything in front of me was going dark from blood loss, I took a counterattack, a [Fireball].

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Author’s Note: The fourth act ends next chapter.