“You bastard! You’re that demon from before!!”
Ido, covered in dirt from head to toe, glared furiously as he shouted in frustration.
So, even though he was buried alive, he managed to claw through the earth and make it back to this room?
Even if that were the case, he was way too fast.
Not even Lady Fiona would find it easy to get out of that trap. Was it because I had already turned part of the area into a passage, or because Ido had been inside it all along? It seemed the binding force of the trap was just barely enough to keep her restrained.
It looks like I underestimated the strength of a hero, even now.
“Wall Creation.”
I erected a wall in front of Id, but before it could solidify, she charged right through it.
Damn it… Her agility stat is supposed to be 75. Is he really this fast with just that?
“This time, I’ll kill you for sure!!”
No good. There’s no way my skills are enough to fight him.
I might have gotten a bit full of myself because of how useful my convenient skills have been up until now.
But clearly, I should never have considered stepping into the front lines, even as support.
“I won’t let you.”
Primilla intercepted Ido’s attack.
At the same time, some sort of silvery liquid substance surrounded me protectively before I even realized it.
Is this… Rigma’s mercury-like body?
“What the hell are you all?”
Primilla has the highest endurance stats among the Four Heavenly Kings.
Even before Ido’s resurrection, her strength was on par with his, so with his current power, breaking through her defenses should be almost impossible.
“Just a warm-up act for the Demon King, huh?”
“…!”
Primilla, who had been holding off Ido’s claws, began to be pushed back.
So a direct contest of strength isn’t in her favor? No, her strength should still surpass his current level.
Yet, here and now, Ido is clearly gaining the upper hand.
…An ability beyond the stats? Could it be something like a divine blessing, akin to that of a beastman hero, boosting his stats significantly?
“Man, you’re such a pain in the ass.”
Pilkaya surrounded Ido with flames on all sides, but he managed to escape even before the attack could land.
Again… Despite having lower agility, he can still evade Pilkaya’s attacks.
“Damn it. Even against the ‘warm-up act,’ this isn’t looking good.”
Still, with three of the Four Heavenly Kings here, Ido seems to recognize the disadvantage of his position in the battle.
It looks like we might be able to drive him off.
Ideally, I’d like to take him down here, but the reincarnator poses an even greater threat.
For now, I need Ido to retreat so we can focus on how to deal with this reincarnator.
“See? Reincarnators are just useless weaklings. Not only do they refuse to fight, but they also try to betray us. Isn’t that right, you?”
Ido shifted his focus to the reincarnator.
Though I’m a reincarnator myself, it’s clear Ido is directing his anger at the cat beastman.
As the cat beastman tried to retort, Ido raised his claws high and slashed downward as though cutting through the air.
“Both traitors and annoying demons should just die.”
A shockwave?! No, it’s more like a flying slash or claw attack!
Whatever it is, the problem is that it’s targeting everyone here except Ido.
“Watch out!!”
Rigma’s panicked voice rang out as the silver wall in front of me was shredded apart.
Primilla held firm, unharmed thanks to her durability. Pilkaya’s main body was untouched, though one of her avatars was destroyed.
But Rigma, likely because he was focused on protecting me, had both his main body and defensive wall slashed through.
The claw attack didn’t stop there—it reached me, standing behind Rigma’s wall.
“――――!!”
Hot. My arm suddenly burned as though set aflame.
Despite the searing heat, I felt a wet sensation spreading across my arm.
Oh, I get it… My arm was cut.
Clutching my left arm with my right hand, I checked its condition.
The moment I touched it, a sharp pain surged, but relief flooded over me as I realized my arm was still attached.
Thank goodness… It wasn’t severed.
Blood was flowing freely, so the wound seemed deep, but at least the worst-case scenario was avoided.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Even though my own body was slashed, Rigma’s eyes widened as he looked at me and shouted to Ido.
Perhaps because of his slime body, despite the dramatic slashing, he seemed to be in better shape than I was.
“Lord Rey! We should retreat immediately!”
Ah, this is bad. I’ve completely become a burden.
What’s this about creating an escape route with a skill?
Because of me, Rigma recklessly charged forward, and Primilla ignored the enemy and rushed toward me.
Ido wouldn’t let such an opening go unnoticed.
“What the hell…? Is that weakling really such an important demon?”
Ido tried to continue attacking me.
He must have immediately realized that by doing so, the Four Heavenly Kings would be distracted and unable to focus on him.
That was the correct judgment, and both Primilla and Rigma were left vulnerable, taking Ido’s attack.
This is bad. If we lose because of me, I won’t be able to forgive myself.
The pain in my arm doesn’t even register in my mind anymore.
How am I going to get out of this situation? Anything else is just a distraction.
“Wall Creation.”
I activated the menu once, then four times.
I created a wall around Ido, but he leaped before being completely surrounded by the walls.
There’s something off about his agility. No, his stats seem to be higher than listed.
Naturally, I expected him to react before I could finish making the wall.
I’ve obstructed him with a wall before.
If he knew that, then when I mentioned Wall Creation, he would likely make a move to avoid it.
“What!? You! Stop messing around!!”
So, while saying the creation method out loud, I simultaneously selected the menu for the creation method.
The menu I selected was for a massive rock. A stronger version of the rolling rock that could be created with 10 mana.
Since I made it to fall toward Ido in this area, it was supposed to crush us all.
But I made sure to create the wall at the same time to support the rock.
“I’ll kill you!!”
Ido’s head seemed to collide with the large rock falling toward him. I heard a painful sound and then the sound of something hitting the ground.
It seems like, as planned, the rock knocked Ido down as he tried to escape the wall.
I hear sounds of him repeatedly pounding on the wall from inside. He’s probably trying to break it, like last time.
“Pilkaya. Can you get fire into that gap?”
“Of course! This is going to be nasty, huh?”
If we don’t do this, he’s really a dangerous opponent, worse than he looks.
No hesitation is needed. We must take him down with everything we’ve got, no matter how ruthless or underhanded it may seem.
“Gaahhh!!!”
Ido, surrounded by walls on all sides and with the ceiling made of rocks, was burned by Pilkaya’s flames coming through the gaps.
He was being burned. He was even screaming.
…But the sound of him pounding the walls still hasn’t stopped. In fact, the cracks in the walls are spreading, and flames are leaking through.
“We’re retreating for now!”
“If we keep going, we’ll end up breaking that wall!”
“Really! This is why I hate beastmen! Their vitality is way too high!”
“Lord Rey, what should we do with this beastman?”
As everyone follows my orders to retreat, Primilla asks about the cat beastman.
Right now, it’s better to escape as quickly as possible and regroup, but like Tokito, I might be able to recruit him to our side.
If not, I’d still prefer to split him off from Ido. It would be troublesome if they attacked together.
“You’re a traitor, right?! How about working for us?!”
“Huh!? Oh, well, I can’t say no to that!”
“Primilla , it’s up to you!”
Luckily, it seems the cat beastman has no strong loyalty to his group, so I asked Primilla to carry him.
“Reset!”
Without even looking back, we run through the passage that connected the underground demon realm with the beastman dungeon.
I reset the wall that had blocked the way, dashed through it, and then reset the entire path.
“I’ll kill you!!!”
From far behind, I heard the sound of the wall being destroyed and a scream filled with rage and murderous intent.
It seems like Ido managed to escape, but we’ve already moved toward the underground demon realm.
We’ve already sealed up the hidden passage, and there’s no way he can catch up to us now.
