Chapter 1300: Side – Transcendents

Side – Lucif, Wielder of Diabolos the Demon King Blade

Demon King Asmodeus was locked in battle with a massive fragment of the Evil God.

It seems the other armies are maintaining their fronts as promised. I had suspected a trap when the envoy from the North Conquest Duke arrived, but it appears he spoke the truth.

Who could have thought that Phyllius, Belioth, and the North Conquest Duke would form a united front like this? Well, the plan went awry right when we were about to start.

His schedule called for us to storm the capital city simultaneously once our preparations were completed. Except the capital was completely obliterated before we even arrived.

Moreover, the red metallic golem, presumably the trump card of Raydoss, had been pushed into a corner.

As a result, the North Conquest Duke made a quick change of plans and charged in without us. At least him acting as a decoy allowed us to approach with greater ease.

「Hahaha! Been a while since I had such an entertaining foe! The restriction to avoid collateral damage isn’t half-bad either!」

Asmodeus laughed maniacally as he fought. He must hold back to avoid harming our forces, because I ordered him to do so.

As the Demon King who rules over hell, he has the authority to control his dungeon to some extent. Thus, I was able to evacuate Phyllius’s people into hell and protect them from the effects of the barrier.

Thankfully, dungeons exist in a space isolated from the surface world.

That said, Asmodeus himself is a very dangerous being. He views humans as nothing more than insects and would “accidentally” slaughter them with glee unless specifically forbidden from doing so.

What’s more, he has a charm ability powerful enough to force siblings or lovers to fight to the death.

There was one incident where a thoughtless wielder of Diabolos allowed him free reign over the battlefield. Then, the Demon King decided to turn it into a battle royale that ended in complete annihilation for both armies.

Consider how the most detested ability possessed by the Evil God Fragments is their power to dominate others and drive them insane.

What is so different between Asmodeus’s bewitching charm and the Evil God’s domination? If the Evil God is so vile, what does that make Asmodeus?

No, perhaps it is the Phyllius royal family that is truly the root of this evil. Asmodeus is the symbol of our darkness, as the power we obtained by sacrificing the saintess.

We needed to defend ourselves from our neighbors, to protect our country from hell, and to fulfill the request of the divine blacksmith. Any number of excuses can be made, but it doesn’t change the fact that we committed a grave sin.

So perhaps protecting our citizens is a form of atonement? We must maintain Diabolos to ensure the saintess was not sacrificed in vain? No matter what anyone says, it only sounds like the pitiful excuses of a criminal.

These same thoughts go through my head every time Asmodeus enters my view. The Demon King surely sees right through me, but he only ever wears on that same disgusting smile.

Wielders of Diabolos are chosen from among the descendants of the first wielder. Any son who can fuse with the artificial womb should be acceptable, but…

The divine sword sometimes chooses its wielder directly, as was the case with me. Factors such as mana similarity to the first wielder, or mana compatibility with the blade are often brought up, but I don’t buy it.

Asmodeus simply chooses based on his whims. He wants to laugh as the wielder of Diabolos struggles with their disgust at him. That is what drives him.

「Servants! Hand over your power!」

He’s begun absorbing mana from me as well as the other demons. Here it comes.

「Hahahaha! Drown in your worst nightmares! Final Lust!」

Asmodeus invoked a sorcery for breaking the target’s mind, which swallowed the Evil God Fragment whole. Yes, even fragments of the Evil God have a mind. And if broken, not even a god will survive…

Side – Kareid, Wielder of Chariot the Warmount Blade

「Pretty tough, huh!」

While engaged in a fierce battle with the Evil God’s Flame Sac, I wiped the sweat off my brow inside the cramped cockpit.

It simply keeps regenerating no matter how much damage I inflict. Well, I suppose the same goes for me.

The bigger problem is the density of the evil energy surrounding us. It’s degrading my fuel efficiency into abysmal levels, making it only a matter of time until I run out of mana.

My only means of countering the fragment’s regeneration is the Blood Maiden, which has the power to inhibit healing and destroy the enemy from within. Unfortunately, I need a little more time before I can activate it again. And that time loss is fatal, Chariot won’t be able to hold out until then.

Perhaps I might be able to pull off a win if I use my last resort, but Chariot’s mana reserves are already too low…

「Haha. What is there to be afraid of? I don’t have much time left either way, so I can simply make up the shortfall with my own life. It’s time for this false king to get serious.」

Who could have thought a barely educated child like me would really ascend to the throne? It’s a strange feeling, but now that I’ve accepted the role, I can no longer back down.

No matter how unfitting I may be, Chariot recognized me as king. I had resolved myself when I spoke with the black cat adventurer!

But just as I was about to fulfill my duty, I noticed an unknown figure intruding in our battle. Is that… an undead?

「Your Majesty! I have brought you the lost relic! Please accept this as the final gift from our mother!」

I recognized the emblem on his robe. He must be an undead from the Black Skeleton Corps. And if he can speak intelligently, that makes him one of the executives.

His hands held a small baton radiating powerful mana. That is… one of Chariot’s replicas. The lost relic capable of controlling wind.

One of the Chariot’s most prominent abilities is its power to spawn countless golems. And these golems can be modified into magic items known as “relics”, for use by the wielder’s subordinates.

Naturally, these relics do not come for free. They require an immense amount of mana to create, and the maintenance costs are no joke either. We must avoid creating too many relics or the strain on Chariot will become too great.

Moreover, relics that have been stolen or sealed away cannot return their power to Chariot, thus weakening the divine sword for good. In fact, several relics were lost over the ages and are still missing to this day.

And this baton was the strongest one among all of them, capable of bending the winds to one’s will.

「Ugaah!」

「!」

The undead got engulfed in the Flame Sac’s inferno…! This is no time to be reminiscing!

I piloted Chariot to gently lift up the undead. His entire body was on fire, clearly on the verge of annihilation. Even so, the undead offered me the relic with his last bits of strength.

「Thank you for delivering the relic. You did well in your service.」

「Yes…! I, Hideman, may have failed to realize Mother’s wishes until the bitter end, but now I have redeemed myself! Lowering my head and begging the Guardian of Alessa was worth it…! Mother, I can be proud to call myself your son…!」

The undead who called himself Hideman burned to a crisp within Chariot’s hands.

I have no idea what brought about this turn of events. However, it seems he saved me from certain doom. I quickly had Chariot absorb the wind baton.

This restored only a few percent of Chariot’s vast mana reserves, but that was enough. The last resort is back on the table!

「Divine power on! Convergence mana cannon, activate!」

No, just a bit more…! All the mana is being drained from my body! Hang in there… Everyone else is risking their lives too!

「Shimmer of red, strike down my foe! Scarlet Breaker!」

Side – Dimitris the Immovable, Rank S Adventurer

Fuhahaha! Excellent! My fists can reach the Evil God! As long as I have my dragon ki, I can damage its flesh!

The dense cloud of evil energy kept weakening my body and mind, interfering with my muscles and ki. But that’s exactly the kind of thrill I was looking for!

I’ve been dying for this kind of uphill battle, against a powerful foe that shrugs off everything I can do!

Such a wonderful training experience will never come again!

「Nuh! Haaah!」

「Gyarah!」

「Everyone, follow me!」

The North Duke is pretty fired up too! He rallied his knights after cutting down a high-level fiend in a single swing. Such brilliant skills with the greatsword would be equivalent to Rank A in adventurer terms. I have no doubt he’s stronger than Neidhart or the Forrund boy.

Who could have thought such a warrior was hidden in the far north! My only concern is that his skills are specialized in slaying monsters, since he hardly ever fights people.

I suppose his family knew of the eventual revival of the Evil God Fragments and has been preparing diligently for generations. There’s no helping that.

「Fuhahahahahaha!」

「Gorwoooooh!」

「Gworaaaah!」

I continued crushing the fiends spawned by the Tear Gland, all while perfecting my control over ki. The fragment had been releasing pulses of a power similar to dragon ki, and its essence was getting engraved into my body.

My school of martial arts has dragon ki as the most advanced technique, but now I’ve started to grasp something deeper.

With this, I might be able to reach heights that I could never reach before! No, I will make it happen!

Watch the flow of the fragment’s power! Imitate it!

This is true enlightenment. The realm of gods. And with my abilities…

「Fuhahaha! So this is how it’s done! To think, at this age, I could climb another step on the staircase of martial prowess! You have my gratitude, now let me test it out on you!」

I channeled all the dragon ki flowing through my body into my fists. The explosion behind each punch would be enough to annihilate a dragon, and I delivered eight in a single instant.

「Nuoohhh! Eight Legions!」

Eight successive impacts shook the fragment’s massive body, tearing gaping holes into its flesh!

This is the ultimate killing technique I’ve been building up to throughout my entire life! God or not, none shall survive!

The assault of the Northern Knights and Red Knights had left a gap in fragment’s armor, and my strikes landed perfectly in that undefended spot!

「Fuhahahaha! It’s over!」