146. Invitation and Demonkind [10]

Even after dealt a powerful blow to his abdomen, Zerey stood up, like a ghost.

「……I must kill you… You must die no matter what!」

He held up〈Morsa Vector〉, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

Why does he bear such enmity towards me?

What is the『House Rodore』that Zerey keeps mentioning?

How does he know about〈Zeon〉?

(There is a lot I wish to ask him…)

But that has to wait until I finish this fight.

(It’s not a good idea to spend time talking right now…)

I saw Tenshi-sama and the president groaning in pain on the ground. They were suffering from the『curse』.

(First of all, bring down Zerey without delay, and then immediately lift the curse!)

I can ask the particulars from him after that.

「Here I come.」

Clad in dark robe, I closed the distance with Zerey in one step.

「Fast…!?」

My physical ability was drastically enhanced by〈Zeon〉.

Zerey couldn’t react in time, and was full of openings.

「Sakura Blossom One Sword Style – Mirrored Sakura Slash!」

Like a mirror match – four slashes from left and right each – eight unstoppable black slashes bared their fangs.

「……!?」

It was impossible to pull through unscathed, thus Zerey jumped back, resolving himself to take some damage.

「Guh…」

The black slashes caught his hands and feet. Fresh blood spurt out, dancing in the air.

(One more push!)

The moment I took a forward bent posture to launch a follow up attack,

「Don’t underestimate a noble demonnnn!!!」Zerey suddenly roared a war cry.

Immediately after that, the sword wound that was carved onto his body healed with every passing second.

「This is a demon’s recovery ability! It’s on a completely different level from the inferior race of humans!」

「…Certainly, it’s amazing.」

The abdomen, which was cut open by Instant Flash, and the sword wounds carved by Mirrored Sakura Slash were all healed in no time.

「Then, all I have to do is cut at a rate where your healing can’t keep up!」

「D-Don’t spout shit…!」

At the same time, Zerey and I started running towards each other, and a violent sword exchange unfolded. Slashes collided and collided, and sparks danced in the air. Every time our swords clashed, sword wounds accumulated on Zerey’s body. But they were all healed in an instant. As we crossed swords again and again, we fell into a locked sword state.

「HAAAAAAAAAAA!」

「UOOOOOOOOO!」

It was a contest I lost once due to the difference in physical strength between races.

「-RA!」

But, this time, I was strengthened by darkness, and gained an overwhelming victory.

「Shiiit…」

Zerey, who was blown away greatly, spread his wings, dexterously maintaining his posture in mid-air.

「Magic Flute – Slash Chapter!」

As he quickly swung his sword, hundreds of bare blades that appeared suddenly were shot at me all at once. Continuous long distance attack has been my weakness so far. But now, I don’t have any trouble dealing with it anymore.

「Dark Shadow!」

A giant mass of darkness, like a monster opening its mouth, swallowed all the blades that were shot at me.

「Tsk, what a really nasty ability…」

Zerey, who cursed me by saying that, seems to have misunderstood something.

「Oi, my attack isn’t over yet, you know?」

The darkness which swallowed the blades, now rushed to its next target – Zerey.

「Wha…!?」

Dark Shadow, boasting fearsome sharpness, rained down on Zerey. Huge clouds of dust rolled up.

When the cloud of dust cleared up slightly,

「Haa haa…」

Zerey was gasping for air as he lay sprawled on the ground, his body bloodied and bleeding.

Perhaps because the maximum damage he can take had been exceeded, his recovery was way too slow.

(That settles the match, I suppose.)

With those injuries, he shouldn’t even be able to stand properly.

(Well then… I have to quickly lift the curse cast on Tenshi-sama.)

The moment when my tension went down,

「A-As expected, I guess…. Unfortunately, I will have to retreat this time…」

Zerey flapped his battered wings and slowly rose into the sky.

「D-Don’t think you’ve won with this… Next time, I’ll bring a hundred of my brethren and brutally murder you! At that time, of course, all of the inferior race in this country will be massacred!」he yelled, with bloodshot eyes mixed with hatred and murderous rage.

「Do you think you can escape in such a wounded state?」

I stretched Dark Shadow again, steadily observing Zerey’s movement.

(This much damage was caused by a single demon…)

If a hundred of them were to invade… at worst, the entire country could be destroyed.

(Before it becomes more troublesome, I have to bring down Zerey no matter the cost!)

I poured my spiritual power into the True Black Sword and prepared to unleash Dark Roar.

Then–

「Fuu, that’s a disgusting amount of output… But are you really sure about that? Shoot it at me and everyone but you will die.」he said, swinging〈Morsa Vector〉with his battered hands.

「Magic Flute – Massacre Chapter!」

The next moment, thousands of naked blades appeared, tearing through the space; all of which were directed at Ria and everyone else.

「Wha!?」

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to win in a one-on-one, Zerey took them all as hostages.

(If I swallow all the blades at the same time with Dark Shadow… No, not possible… With this many of them, I won’t make it in time.)

As I was gritting my teeth in frustration,

「Kukuku… What will you do now? Are you going to kill me and let the hostages die? Or do you let me go and save all your friends? Only one of the two.」Zerey asked, with a smug look.

I can’t let him escape no matter what.

If a hundred demons were to invade, this country would literally turn into hell.

(However…)

I glanced around.

Ria, president, Tenshi-sama… and all the senior Holy Knights.

There’s no way I can let them die!

「…Understood. You can escape as you want. Instead, don’t hurt Ria and the others.」

「Kukuku…! That『naivety』is a great flaw that the inferior race of human beings have!」

The moment Zerey shouted so with a triumphant face,

『Shitty brat, I’ll lend you my strength. Before he could bring back the information… Make sure to finish off that demon!』

Cold, evil darkness engulfed the entire Ringard Palace, destroying thousands of the naked blades in a split second.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep