NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57
Cherry blossom-colored mana pushes the magic away.
The completed rotation shattered the saw blade.
Then, I pulled the body in front of me closer.
“…Ah, Young Lady?”
The body of Yurasia, which has turned into rags, weakly collapses. I examined the body closely.
Blood gushed from her face, and a large wound was carved into her side. Her fingers were all twisted, her forearm was broken, and there were holes the size of coins drilled into both thighs.
Yet, her limbs were all intact.
She was breathing and could recognize who I was.
The mana blood wasn’t cut off, and there was no mana overflow. She only showed signs of simple mana exhaustion.
I thought that if she could go a little further, Yurasia might be able to cross the barrier of the 4th Rank, so I held back Fabiana, who was eager to rush out, and watched.
As I expected, or rather, much better than I imagined, Yurasia was doing well. Her body was fine, she leveled up, and with her swordsmanship, she sliced the demon’s arm.
Even after such a horrific struggle, to be in this state…
“Pretty decent, huh?”
“…Y-Yes…? I-I’m, I’m really hurting… hurting so bad? I almost… I- almost died… But… is that all you have to say to me?”
“Why? Should I give you a kiss after it’s over?”
I chuckled and picked up the half-broken sword lying on the ground.
“…Kihick, kik. Hah… Virgin!! VIRGIN!!! The scent of the purest virgin is overwhelming! Who are you, who are you, who are you, WHO ARE YOU!!!”
I then hurled it at the charging demon.
“Who gives a damn about a virgin on the first meeting, you bastard.”
THWONG—!
The sword, shot like a meteor with a pink trail, slammed into the demon’s abdomen.
“KIEEEEEE!”
With the sword embedded in its abdomen, the demon could not withstand the force and crashed through several walls, flying far away.
“Geez, that looks nasty.”
Shaking, I poured a potion into Yurasia’s mouth. Then I turned my head to see Fabiana hugging Silina and feeding her a potion.
Silina looked fine.
In fact, she was in better shape than Yurasia.
Yurasia must have protected Silina.
Before coming here, I had seen her standing in front of Silina.
And there’s one dead human, and what looks like a demon… No, it’s a mage.
Judging by the dead human’s state, it seemed like they tried to assassinate Silina.
The mage seemed to have been killed by the demon.
Still, somehow, it seems it was resolved well.
I trusted Yurasia, but I never imagined she would do this well.
The people I saw passing by, even the students, were all unharmed and perfectly fine.
The only problem was the magic addiction symptoms, but it was somehow solved with the antidote Fabiana brought.
Thus, Yurasia saved everyone within her reach.
So impressive, so impressive. Very impressive.
I wanted to ruffle her hair and praise her right away, but sadly, there was no time for that.
In one corner, I spoke to Fabiana, who was stabbing the body of the traitor while hugging Silina.
“Fabiana, the promise I mentioned earlier. It also applies to Silina, so please say something.”
“…Eliaernes. The opponent is not a monster, a mage, or a dark mage, but a demon. Are you really okay with that? Wouldn’t it be better to stick together?”
Stopping the stabbing, Fabiana wiped her face covered in blood and asked with a worried expression.
She’s definitely not your average psycho.
“No. Just keep an eye on the kids here. If you join me, they all will die.”
I shrugged and took off the hood I was wearing to place it over Yurasia’s shoulders.
“Thanks for your hard work. And congratulations on reaching the 5th Rank. You were cool.”
“…Hic… Huh, HAAAAAAN! I-I worked really, really hard… to save everyone… Hic, I-I tried to save the princess too… Hic… I tried…”
“Yeah. You did very well. As expected of Yurasia.”
I gently wiped Yurasia’s tears and stood up.
“Anyway, now that you’ve leveled up, I need to teach you something new.”
I split my loosened hair to tie it up on both sides.
“Watch closely.”
Wrapping the bandage around my hand, I began to walk.
“This is all a lesson that will turn into blood and flesh.”
At the same time, cherry blossom-colored mana went berserk.
*
Ordinary humans cannot stand against demons.
It’s outright impossible to even compete. Therefore, winning is naturally out of the question.
The mana emitted by demons can tear ordinary humans apart in an instant, and their lightly swung hands can shred weak bodies into pieces.
On the contrary, ordinary humans cannot even scratch their flesh. It would take multiple hits from a 5th Rank with strong magic or 5-circle magic to cause even a scratch.
The only level at which one could escape from those demons is the 6th Rank. And the only level at which one might stand a chance against demons is for those who have transcended the 7th Rank.
Yet, what on earth is that sight?
CRASH—!
“KIEEEEE!”
SPLAT—!
“KIAAAAAAH! YOU INSUFFERABLE GIRL!!”
THUD—!
“I’M HURTING, I’M HURTING, I’M HURTING!!!!”
A human is facing off against a demon.
A small girl is cornering a demon.
Without even a weapon, without wearing armor.
With her fists, she’s pummeling the demon.
Not a single hit lands on her. It’s as if she knows beforehand, evading, dodging, and countering every attack.
And simultaneously, she delivers dozens of blows.
Where she’s hit, she hits again.
Where she kicks, she kicks again.
Where she slams down, she slams down again.
That’s all there is to it.
Simply.
She keeps hitting.
It’s apparent that she’s doing something remarkable.
But it’s incomprehensible. I can’t see it properly.
Unable to see it,
The defeat of Eliaernes is unthinkable.
Fabiana had tapped the walls of the labyrinth countless times as she passed by.
She stabbed with swords, kicked, and body slammed.
Yet, the labyrinth’s walls and ceiling never broke.
Yet now, before my eyes, everything is shattering. And Eliaernes is effortlessly deflecting those attacks that are destroying the labyrinth’s terrain.
As if that’s not enough, she’s pounding the demons with her adorable little fists. Those fists look so weak and soft, but the demons she hits cough up blood and stagger backward.
No, it’s not just fists.
Fabiana let out a hollow laugh.
“Ugh…”
It’s a fist wrapped in strong magic.
To be precise, the moment she lands a hit, the cherry blossom-colored mana glows brightly and encompasses the strong magic.
It bursts simultaneously.
“It was only a moment ago that she was a 4th Rank, so when…?”
Just before coming here, Eliaernes was a 4th Rank. Yet, she awakens to a 5th Rank the moment she encounters a demon?
What’s more, right after rising to the 5th Rank, she shows such miraculous control of strong magic?
This is insane.
A genius, a monster, even surpassing that.
It feels as if she’s not human at all.
Even Yurasia, who’s collapsed behind her, only managed to sever the demon’s arm with her sword skills.
That alone would be enough to claim that her talents surpassed common sense.
Yet, what on earth is this?
“…The hero’s reincarnation?”
Though I thought it was nonsense,
what’s unfolding before my eyes now seems even more nonsensical.
Fabiana de Herman.
Until now, she thought of herself as a genius.
She had never once thought herself weaker than others.
Yet, she was not consumed by her talent.
She had put in tremendous effort to the point of almost dying when her mana ran amok during training.
Yet now,
she felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
Could she possibly join that place and match their steps?
“…Huh.”
It’s possible.
If she jumped in with the intent to die, she could match Eliaernes, even if just for a moment.
But that’s all.
Once that moment passed, she’d die.
That’s why she doesn’t.
Fabiana knew how to differentiate between courage and recklessness.
“…Beautiful.”
Thus, as she pushed through the aftermath of battle, she simply admired it.
“Since I’ve protected both princesses, I guess it’s time to open the treasure house of the royal family.”
And so, she decided to prepare the best she could offer for her.
The same goes for Silina.
Her unhealed wounds were painful, and her consciousness was faint, but her eyes were clearer than anyone’s present here.
Because of that, Silina could see, albeit hazy.
The strength of the demons.
And beyond that, the unmatched might of Eliaernes.
And Yurasia.
With widened eyes, she closely observed Eliaernes’s movements.
And she was more surprised than anyone else present.
Even for Yurasia, who had spent the longest time with Eliaernes, what she saw now surpassed any expectation.
Despite countless sparring sessions and having gone through quite a bit together, she had never seen Eliaernes fighting seriously.
Sparring was merely sparring.
No matter how much it resembled real combat, it was still just sparring.
Moreover, Eliaernes was the only daughter of the Duke’s Family.
Direct descendant of Eustetia and the next in line for the head of the family.
Who would dare to threaten her life? At least not within the empire.
That’s why Eliaernes had never fought seriously until now, and Yurasia remained unaware of her full power. She could only speculate.
But she never would have imagined that her full power would be this formidable.
No, even now, could it be said that this is her full power?
She didn’t know. She could not be certain that this was her full power. After all, Eliaernes’s face wore the same leisurely smile she always had.
That’s why Yurasia was confident in Eliaernes’s victory.
And.
She thought with a heart strangely racing.
‘…If it really ends, will she give me a kiss?’
Faithfully trusting in Eliaernes, Yurasia didn’t even consider her defeat.
She simply reminisced about Eliaernes’s playful smile, her scent, her warmth, her touch, and her voice.
*
Finally, the battle reached its climax.
The demon, now a rag soaked in blood barely recognizable, staggered and stopped its attack.
But its momentum did not die down.
In fact, it became sharper. It felt too alien to still be considered the same demon.
That demon speaks.
“…Pink. You were pink. Yes, pink. Unforgettable color. Detestable cherry blossom. Hateful cherry blossom. Hero. Eustetia.”
It no longer lost its mind like before.
Its voice was no longer unpleasant.
With every word, its twitching body calmed, and its flickering eyes sank deeply.
“You are the descendant of the cherry blossom.”
At those words, Eliaernes tilted her head.
“Isn’t it a bit ridiculous to regain your sanity from taking so many beatings?”
“Ah… Finally, finally found you. Descendant of the cherry blossom. Blood of Eustetia. If only you are here… Just you will let me return to Lord Labyrinth.”
“Just say what you need to say, you piece of trash.”
Hoping it may know something about her allies, I provoked it, but indeed, its sanity had not fully returned.
It could hardly be expected.
The demon standing before her had been abandoned by the Labyrinth it served.
Such an abandoned demon cannot handle the mana given by its master. If it does, its form grotesquely distorts, and it loses most of its strength.
That doesn’t mean it’s completely useless.
It still retains enough power to slice through regular 6th Ranks in an instant.
The demon’s hardiness remained intact.
Anyway, it had lost its sanity.
A demon consumed by mana.
There was no need to discuss further.
With that thought concluded, Eliaernes stepped forward to end the demon’s life.
At the same time.
“So all the mana I’ve accumulated until now, I’ll use it for you.”
The demon moved.
It extended its tentacles towards the core of the labyrinth.
Soon, the tentacles wrapped around the core returned. They came back and shoved the core into its eight-split mouth.
GULP.
The moment it swallowed the core, all the mana in the area focused on the demon.
SPLAT—
The whole scene distorted. The ceiling collapsed, and the ground surged. Walls crumbled, and finally, the labyrinth vanished.
“Ugh. Can’t you just die nicely? Trying so hard to survive… tsk.”
What remained was the shattered interior of the museum.
And the veil of the labyrinth that separated that museum from the outside.
And a demon, now healed from all its wounds and filled with even greater power.
In the back, ordinary people, overwhelmed by the peculiar oppression emitted by the demon, had fainted, foaming at the mouth.
Silina and Yurasia, who had barely managed to rise, collapsed back into their places, trembling once more.
Fabiana was biting her tongue, clutching her sword in an effort to hold onto consciousness.
And Eliaernes.
“What’s all this…?”
She looked at the interior of the museum revealed by the vanishing labyrinth and laughed like a child who has just received a gift.
“There are so many weapons!”