Chapter 43

I was taken aback as I watched Satan cloaked in a red-black aura.

“He’s finally entered serious mode… This idiot, is he insane?—No, there’s no other way to describe it.”

This is why I hate fighting battle maniacs.

“Aah… I’m getting irritated after so long, but it’s getting fun… Hey, contractor of that damn old man…?”

“You’ve figured it out, huh…”

Feeling exasperated that I’d been found out, I converted more of my magic power into lightning to enhance my physical strength. Even though I can only use 50% of my usual abilities when possessed, I’m still pretty strong. This guy’s combat abilities are among the highest even among the great demons, rivaling “Pride,” so if I don’t go all out, I’m going to lose.

“From here on, I’ll fight in my specialty.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“《Thunderclap》!”

As soon as I gave my permission, I cast my spell. A streak of lightning roared and struck Satan in an instant. An explosion followed, filling the air with smoke, blocking my view.

“《Swift Thunder》《Lightning Spear》《Electromagnetic Wave》《Thunder Strike》.”

Using magic detection to pinpoint his location, I immediately deployed multiple spells and activated them all at once. Countless forms of lightning rushed to incinerate Satan. But—his red-black magic dispelled the smoke and nullified all of my attacks.

“Gahahahaha! You’re strong!”

“You don’t get to say that when you’re taking no damage!”

I launched a barrage of low-power, speed-focused spells to keep him in check, but Satan instantly responded, wrapping his fists in that red-black aura and punching the lightning away.

“No, no, no…”

Punching away lightning, which is arguably the most destructive force in nature? This guy’s no longer human.

“This is getting annoying…《Lightning Armor》《Hundred Bolts》!”

I cloaked myself in lightning and fired a hundred bolts in a wild barrage at Satan. But, just like before, Satan skillfully punched away every bolt of lightning falling from the sky, laughing even more gleefully.

“Gahahahaha! That hurts! I haven’t felt pain like this in a long time!”

“If it hurts, then I’ll make sure you feel a lot more!”

“Guh…!”

I closed in on Satan within a few meters, hidden among the lightning, then accelerated in an instant and delivered a flying kick. Lightning is at its most effective in close quarters, where it can reach maximum speed from the get-go. Satan, struck by the kick moving faster than any living creature could perceive, was sent flying like a super ball.

But I couldn’t afford to let up here.

“Haaah…!”

Exhaling lightly, I transformed into a streak of lightning, darting through the sky. Within a fraction of a second, I got ahead of Satan’s trajectory and, with all my might, threw a lightning-imbued punch, sending him soaring skyward. The area echoed with thunderclaps, and every time I struck, shockwaves rippled through the air, causing the very space around us to tremble. Thunderclouds formed in my wake, unleashing bolts of lightning.

Now—everything was ready.

I leaped again, racing to intercept Satan as he flew. I gathered all my lightning into my hand, creating a massive hammer several dozen meters in size. The hammer absorbed the surrounding lightning, growing even larger and more destructive.

With that divine hammer raised high, I swung it down and smashed Satan as he flew toward me.

“《Thunder God’s Hammer: Mjölnir》!!”

In an instant, the entire sky filled with lightning, all of it crashing down on Satan. The booming thunder and rumbling filled the surroundings, and the shockwave from the hammer’s impact reverberated through the subspace.

This spell, created based on knowledge from my previous life and overseen by the old man, was a joint project with power surpassing that of even the 《Divine Lightning》. It was a finishing move, deemed too powerful for normal use and abandoned for that reason.

“Phew… Finally over, huh…”

I exhaled deeply, watching Wilhelm, now unconscious, his red-black magic dissipating like mist. I released all of my remaining magic.

“Well done… Seems like I wasn’t needed after all,” the old man’s voice echoed.

“You watched the whole thing, didn’t you… Geez, you’re a nasty old man…”

As I muttered complaints—

“Shin!! You’re incredibly strong! This is the first time I’ve ever lost!!”

“…Wilhelm…”

Despite being beaten to a pulp, Wilhelm smiled with immense satisfaction.

Dude… how are you recovering so fast…? It’s already amazing you’re still in one piece after that, but being this chipper after taking a hit like that is beyond human.

“Hey, I’m the one who hit you, but… is your body really okay?”

“Gahahaha! I’m fine! It’s way better than usual! Though about ten of my bones are broken!”

“What do you mean, ‘fine’!? Even for a demon with high regenerative abilities, that’s serious!”

“Well, my body’s on a different level from most demons!”

Yeah, I bet. If you were the standard for demons, this world would have already been taken over by them.

“Oh, right, take this.”

It might seem a bit shameless, but with Hera watching, I wanted to look cool, so I handed him an elixir. I had 20 set aside for Hera and 10 spares, so giving him one wasn’t a big deal.

Wilhelm stared at the bottle for a few seconds before his eyes widened.

“This is—an elixir!? You’re giving me something worth as much as an entire country!?”

Even a battle maniac like Wilhelm knew the value of an elixir. Though saying it’s worth an entire country is a bit of an exaggeration.

“It’s fine. I’ve got enough left to hand out three more, no problem.”

Trying to sound cool (even though it’s true), I said, and Wilhelm’s next words shocked me.

“—Thank you, my friend!!”

“Uh… yeah…”

…Looks like I’ve somehow become best friends with the number one battle maniac in the game.