Book 12 - 12-24. Sakura-colored Greater Demon
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"Stop! Even among the oldest greater demons that guy specializes in defense. Even forbidden magic will only damage it a little. Advanced magic casted chantlessly will be nothing more than a distraction to it."
Ten-chan the silver-haired beauty stands on my way and rattles on when she saw me invoking [Condense].
I have to redo my aim now even though I had a good one just now.
....I’ll forcefully remove her if she obstructs me again.
Communicating with [Tactic Talk], I instruct Arisa the plan for anti-greater demon measure.
At the same time, I receive the report about Liza and the others who exterminated a big-tree type monster that had appeared a short while before the greater demon.
While re-commencing my attack, I’m going to see how capable its magic defense is.
I invoke the [Implosion] magic that doesn’t need a line of fire toward the sakuramochi-like greater demon.
Countless explosions appear as if wrapping the sakuramochi demon’s all at once.
The explosive blaze and shock wave rush toward the inside, but the after-effect sweeps over to the surrounding.
"Wha--"
Ten-chan is surprised and turns around toward the sound of explosions behind her.
Immediately after, she got rolled up in the shock wave from the [Implosion], and got sent flying somewhere. It should be quiet for a while now.
Buildings and garden trees around the area of impact have been flown away by the blast.
This [Implosion] magic gives the least collateral damage to the surrounding area among the intermediate magics that I can use, yet I probably shouldn’t use it in the middle of a city again.
--Hm?
Three pink-colored feeler-like things pop out from the other side of the explosion blaze.
It seems the magic earlier didn’t manage to eliminate the sakuramochi demon.
Apparently, the information that Ten-chan said, [The guy that specializes in defense], is correct.
While evading the attacking feelers, I cut them with the holy sword Durandal.
They were cut easily without any problem despite its defend-specialist thing.
I burn the cut feelers that have been separated from the main body with [Furnace Flame (Forge)].
If the separated body parts of a greater demon are left alone, they will change into lesser demons, and it’ll be bothersome if they revive back into its original state, so it’s important to clean them up.
The sakuramochi demon shows itself while the smoke from the explosion is fading.
Polyhedron-shaped transparent defensive membrane of force magic is covering the sakuramochi demon’s surrounding.
It seems to have been badly damaged, it’s full of holes, and I see that it’s crumbling down and disappearing.
Moreover, the AR reading tells me that the main body has sustained around 10% damage.
"--What, it’s working well isn’t it."
Apparently, it doesn’t seem to be a perfect defense.
Its defense is probably around the same level as the demon lord I fought in the Duchy Capital’s underground.
『Attacking before giving your name, the hero these days is a coward poyo.』
--Poyo?
Have you guys run out of the material for the ending word, greater demons!
While mocking it in my mind, I listen to Arisa who reports that the preparation is complete, using [Tactic Talk].
I tell her to wait for orders for now, and I confront the sakuramochi demon.
"After launching a surprise attack on the royal capital and putting it into state of chaos, you’re calling me a coward, what a laugh."
『What are you saying poyo. We demons are evil poyo. Evil is coward, unfair, terrible, and cruel, such things are decided poyo. Our emperor has decided so poyo."
...Poyopoyo, noisy.
All the greater demons I had met so far had heads for chanting, but it seems the pink lump body of this sakuramochi demon is its head.
Even while talking with me, I could hear the chanting roar from the lump, and then the protective membrane re-appears around the sakuramochi demon.
"Fuhn, you’re fighting back huh--"
Oh right, let’s get the truth of the matter out of this guy.
It might talk fluently if it’s a template evil.
"--What are you plotting in this Royal Capital? Are you manifesting a demon lord?"
『Poyo? Violet hair poyo? An egg who imitates a hero poyo. Looks like you could hatch as the real one if we get the fake king help hatching you poyo.』
...Wait, what is this guy saying?
’Egg’ is probably a jargon for calling a reincarnated person.
It probably misunderstood me as a reincarnated person when it saw my violet hair wig hanging out of my golden armor’s helmet.
And, if the jargon for turning reincarnated people into demon lords is ’hatch’, then....
『It was worth responding to the demon lord believer humans’ summon poyo. As long as there’s the mana collected from the Royal Capital’s Source in the Chalice, hatching you is easy poyo. There are also a lot of wave of negative emotions used to convert the collected mana in the Chalice into Miasma, it’s difficult for this to fail poyo.』
So they turn Royal Capital into chaos in order to mass-produce the so-called miasma in it huh.
I couldn’t think of their objective, but it’s natural when the chaos itself is the objective.
I have to remember to tell the king the whole story later.
『Now come, I’ll show you the technique of an expert that has turned many poyo.』
"--Fuhn, I don’t have any intention of turning into demon lord or something."
Of course I don’t want Arisa to turn into one either.
『Everyone said the same thing at first poyo. But, when they fought with all their power, they exceeded their limit, and hatched into one poyo.』
I see, so it’s not like it has a technique that turn them into demon lords, but the defense specialist sakuramochi demon made use of its trait to make them overuse their unique skills, turning them into demon lords.
Then there’s no need to hesitate.
There’s this chance and all, so I’ll let it be the guinea pig for my experimental prototype.
"--Lulu, shoot."
I give an order to Lulu who’s arrived on the sniping point as I’ve instructed with [Tactic Talk].
I’ve had Tama to be her guard just in case there’s a surprise attack.
Blue light bullet hits the sakuramochi’s protective membrane like a laser, creating blue sparks.
It didn’t reach the sakuramochi demon, but its protective membrane that had just been restored broke like a glass.
It’s a new armor-piercing round that’s also called Holy Bullet I’ve created luxuriously using adamantite and [Blue Liquid].
I thought of using adamantite for its hardness, but it didn’t seem all that different with the mithril-made magic bullet that was used on the floormaster when it was against magic defensive barrier.
『You make your friends attack poyo? You’re really a cowardly egg poyo.』
The sakuramochi demon shakes its body and disparages me.
『Its power was something considering it destroyed the defensive barrier that could defend against the hero’s holy sword poyo, but it seems even the certain-kill blow was useless poyo.』
Sakuramochi demon muttered so and began laughing.
This laughter seems to be spell chant, its protective membrane is restored, moreover, twofold threefold of it are wrapping the sakuramochi demon.
--However.
『Aim Bullet, hit!』
Lulu’s refreshing voice reaches my ears through the [Tactic Talk].
『Floating Fortresses linkage』
『Yes, my Lady. Floating Fortresses, Link Connection.』
『Gun Turret aim.』
『Aye aye Ma’am. Phalanx System, target in sight.』
『Fire!』
『IT’S, SHOW TIME!』
....I want to hit myself who recorded that voice in high spirit.
Let’s avoid recording things after having a drinking bout from now on.
No one responds to such conflicts in my mind, an enormous magic power is coming from the direction where Lulu is.
I saw the sakuramochi demon who noticed it turned around in a hurry, but it’s too late.
A flare bomb-like red light bullet bursts open the protective membrane.
Next, red and blue bullets come flying and hit it one after another, before long, they rain incessantly like a squall.
Every time one of the light bullets hits, the protective membrane is smashed like a glass, and before long, the projectiles have begun to impact the sakuramochi’s body.
The protective membrane is smashed.
The demon’s body is gouged.
Its granular chanting organ is pulverized.
Every time the sakuramochi demon is hit, its body quivers.
Each of every shoot packs the same amount of power that pierced the floormaster.
The sakuramochi demon is being tossed around left and right like a sandbag getting hit by a boxer’s barrage.
In a flash, the sakuramochi demon is gouged like a decayed tooth, its body pieces are scattered to the surrounding.
While observing it, I incinerate its body pieces in the air with [Furnace Flame (Forge)], disposing them.
Yet, it’s really a defend-specialist type, it has enough leeway to scream poyopoyo.
--That leeway ends now.
『Plasma Cannon, standby...』
The continuous fire from before was just an opening act for breaking its defense.
『Main Armament Fire!』
A plasma sphere big enough to swallow a tower blasts the sakuramochi demon.
"Arisa!"
『Okayy! Leave processing the blast to me!』
A barrier wall created by Arisa guides the enormous heat, from the plasma blasting the sakuramochi demon, to the sky.
The slight heat that escaped made several dozens of the mansions behind the sakuramochi demon to disappear, but please overlook it since there’s no human damage.
The king probably would compensate it.
A red flame pillar burns the royal capital’s sky.
Inside of Arisa’s barrier wall, overwhelming heat changes the ground into glass form, hollowing it into earthenware mortar shape.
The figure of the sakuramochi demon is no more there.
It’s a disappointing end for a greater demon.
The flame is temporary extinguished on the other side of the barrier wall since the oxygen has disappeared, but after the explosion has gone to the sky, fresh air fills it and small conflagrations occur in various places once again.
I see Mia creating a water giant on a far away reservoir at the corner of my view.
『Situation end--』
I interrupt Lulu’s report, and Call Tama’s attention, who’s guarding Lulu.
"--Tama!"
『Dangeris~?』
I see the water tower where Lulu is, falls down.
Of course, the two are safe. I see the two landing on the nearby building’s roof.
--I’m glad that Tama was there.
It seems one of the two demons that appeared together with the sakuramochi demon attacked Lulu.
The other one seems to be disturbing Mito, I see it fighting against automatically moving Claiomh Solais and Ten-chan.
『I’ve collected Lulu and Tama.』
"Roger."
Report from Arisa who used teleport magic came.
I invoke [Laser] magic and quickly round slice the two demons, eliminating them.
Adjusting it so that Ten-chan wouldn’t be carelessly burned was a bit bothersome.
I want to burn the remains of the sliced demons, but they’re too far away.
I’d like to use Flash Drive to do the clean up, but I can’t afford to leave this place.
Because--
"Why don’t you stop pretending to be death right around now."
『You did well to notice poyo. Normally you’d be off guard, and then it’d end when I shot you from behind poyo.』
As if rising to the surface of the air, the translucent sakuramochi demon materializes.
....Apparently, its ’defend-specialist type’ isn’t just for show.