As we were flying away from the defense city, a man who had been watching us from the ground suddenly flew up and approached us.
“…Hey, you two, do you have a moment? You’re Iriya , right? And that over there… is the demon?”
He knows us? But I’ve never seen him before. He’s an adventurer wearing a withered-leaf-colored robe and holding a staff. A rank insignia briefly shimmered through the gaps in his robe.
We descended as prompted, and there were about six people on the ground. Including him, that made seven—two of them women.
The apparent leader, a man around forty years old wearing armor with a thick sword at his waist and an S-rank insignia, opened his mouth.
“Count Abakarov has sent us. He said a woman is being deceived by that terrifying demon over there and asked us to save her. We don’t intend to harm you, so step away from that demon.”
“…Huh?”
What kind of nonsense have they been fed…??
The unexpected turn of events made me let out a silly voice.
“That demon is a terrible creature that has destroyed villages and towns!”
The female mage holding a staff raised her voice. She was B-rank.
Well, terrifying, sure—but that’s not quite right.
“…Fufu… Hahaha!! Indeed, I am the demon that should be feared! So, what will you do now!?”
Belial seemed to be enjoying himself. If I tried to clear up the misunderstanding here, he’d probably get mad at me for interfering. And the adventurers had a job to do, so they wouldn’t back down easily.
Still, I never thought they’d use adventurers for revenge.
“As I thought…! Stand aside, woman! We will defeat this fiend!!”
This time, a mid-thirties adventurer stepped forward. He was lightly armored and wielded a slender sword—an A-rank.
The group consisted of an S-rank and an A-rank swordsman, an A-rank spear wielder, an A-rank mace user, a female archer, and two mages. The male mage had been the one who approached us using flight magic and was also S-rank.
For now, I stepped back, putting some distance between Belial and myself. I’d only get in the way otherwise.
“I’ll warn you once. If you attack him, I will consider you my enemies. I am his contractor, after all.”
“So, it’s true—you’re completely brainwashed! That cowardly demon…!”
The female archer shouted with a growl.
You’re the ones who are brainwashed here, I thought, but explaining that now would probably be useless. Still, they’d managed to gather quite the high-ranking group of adventurers.
“Let’s go, everyone! Stay sharp—it’s a titled demon!!”
“Yeah!”
They sure were pumped. What should I do?
“Flames, surge forth like a raging torrent! I am Belial, the King of Flames! My blade forged in inferno, manifest before me!”
Flames erupted from Belial’s hand, forming a sword that resembled a dark red garnet.
The two swordsmen rushed forward. Belial blocked the S-rank swordsman’s strike with his sword and doused the other with flames. Arrows aimed at Belial flew through the air, but they all burned up before reaching him.
“I’ve never seen a demon who could use fire at this level…! Its power exceeds what we heard!”
The female archer muttered while nocking her next arrow.
“Holy amulet, grant us your strength! O Great One on High! In the name of the mighty Sabaoth, seal the power of this wicked demon!”
The man wielding the mace began casting magic or summoning arts, raising an amulet to suppress the demon’s power.
I could feel Belial’s flames weakening.
“Ugh! How irritating!”
Belial spat out, clearly annoyed.
The two swordsmen seized this opportunity to attack. Belial retreated slightly, blocking their strikes with his hand and the flaming sword, but the magical fire streaming from his hand seemed weaker than usual.
“Even suppressed, it’s still this strong! What kind of demon is this…?!”
One swordsman backed off, and the spear-wielding man, who had been waiting, thrust his spear at Belial’s chest. Belial obstructed him with flames surging from the ground.
“Light, flash intensely and reveal your presence!”
The male mage who had approached us with flight magic began chanting a lightning spell. Since this spell is cast from the hand, it’s easier to defend against. I could use a defensive spell, but since it’s come to this, I might as well counter with the same magic.
“Light, flash intensely and reveal your presence!”
As I began chanting in response, the female mage’s eyes widened in shock.
“She can use that spell…? And she started chanting after him! What is she planning…?!”
“Ignore her—focus on attacking the demon with your magic!”
The female archer shouted her instructions, nocking another arrow.
““Resound, roar, O Hundred Bolts! Blazing golden radiance, grant me the thunderclap and lightning! Pierce and strike—Lightning Flash! Feuilles Tomber La Foudre!!””
I synchronized my magic chant with the man’s. My chanting speed seemed to be faster, so matching him even after starting later wasn’t difficult at all. I could fire first and stop his attack, but I wanted to see how the magic would react when they collided.
The lightning bolts released simultaneously roared with an intense sound and blinding golden light as they collided.
A deafening echo rang out as my lightning overwhelmed his, pushing forward.
“…I see, so that’s how it feels.”
Since I’d never clashed identical spells before, it was quite a worthwhile experience.
“Ugh!!! Impossible!?”
The lightning struck the S-rank man who had cast the spell. His body was enveloped in a flash of light, and with a booming explosion, he was blown several meters back. He collapsed, and the defensive talisman he was wearing shattered and fell to the ground.
The man was too stunned by the impact to get back up immediately.
Another mage began chanting.
“Water, solidify in my hands! Become an ice spear, my weapon! Fly straight and pierce the target! Ice Lancer!!“
This level of magic, even weakened, meant nothing before Belial, so I let it go.
Belial blasted away an A-rank swordsman with magical force and dissolved the Ice Lancer back into water. It seemed that because he’d just deflected an attack, he couldn’t vaporize it immediately.
“As expected, its effectiveness is decreasing…!”
“Not done yet, I won’t let you rest!!”
The man with the spear charged at Belial again.
But even in this state, his attacks didn’t even come close to grazing Belial.
Now it was my turn. For water-based magic, I decided to go with a spell that came to mind.
“Cold blades nurtured from the primordial darkness, frozen forms that stretch across the void of icy blue! Fall brilliantly, like meteors! Stalactite de Glace!“
Three sharp ice pillars materialized from the air and struck down at the adventurers.
“W-What is this?! That girl’s an amazing mage…!”
The B-rank female mage, shocked by the ice pillars—each several times thicker than her Ice Lancer—looked up at the sky. She was currently casting recovery magic on the S-rank male mage struck earlier, leaving her unable to dodge.
“**O great holy one bearing a sacred name! Exalted Agra, who watches over all from the heavens, reveal your authority! Grant us the aurora that shields us from unseen threats! Magee Defense!“
It was a defensive light-attribute spell. It only blocked magic.
The man with the mace seemed to favor light-attribute magic, perhaps because it was effective against demons. Could his attacks also be light-aligned? Particularly, holy-type spells that invoke the names of divine beings would sanctify the battlefield, weakening demonic powers.
This time, he used the name “Agra.”
Since the injured S-rank mage joined to support the defense spell, much of my magic was blocked. However, the central pillar, powered by extra magic, pierced through the defense spell. Though weakened, it still hit the spearman.
The man winced in pain but quickly healed himself with a potion. The female mage turned her focus to healing an A-rank swordsman injured by Belial’s sword. She seemed to specialize in healing.
Meanwhile, Belial’s flames ran across the ground, erupting into explosions near the enemies. The S-rank swordsman skillfully dodged them while balancing attacks with evasive maneuvers.
The healed swordsman and spearman rejoined the fight, launching a series of coordinated attacks with varying tempo.
“…What is this strange feeling…?”
The archer’s attacks had stopped. I sensed two sources of magic power from afar.
While replenishing my energy with an advanced mana potion, I focused my nerves.
The S-rank mage invoked Storm Cutter, targeting Belial. He was well-trained; before the spell activated, the two swordsmen and the spearman had already distanced themselves from Belial.
Belial blocked the spell entirely with his magical power without even moving.
The vacuum blades passed, and the S-rank swordsman immediately charged at Belial. His reaction time was impressive.
The mace-wielding man finally began chanting a holy-type light-attribute attack spell, with the S-rank mage providing support.
“O holy, holy, holy one, lord of all hosts! Most exalted El Shaddai! In our joy, we call upon your name. Manifest the light piercing through the clouds, sharpen its brilliance, and deliver judgment upon all evil! Ciel Judgment!!“
It was an advanced holy-type light spell that strengthened its own attribute. In that case, I would counter with a dark spell—one that nullified magic and amplified darkness.
“From the deepest abyss of the earth, beyond the farthest eastern reaches, your path is endless! Pass through the seven gates and strip away all ornament! O gatekeeper, seal the seven magics! The gates of the underworld are open, and the path to the lightless land of the dead unfolds! Slethe Etandor!“
“Dark attribute!? What is that spell!? Can it really block this light spell…!?”
The mace-wielder was stunned.
With the S-rank mage providing support, they couldn’t fully nullify my spell. However, I still managed to suppress most of its power! A good result!
Both mages replenished themselves with mana potions, and I did the same.
“Lord Belial!! It seems they’re setting a trap—please be cautious!”
“Indeed! I sense something in all directions… power is being poured into it!”
While I warned him, Belial replied without stopping his attacks. Perhaps he had left it alone to observe something…
“They’ve noticed…!”
The archer woman bit her lip. She hadn’t expected us to catch on during the relentless series of attacks.
Then I’ll attack again with darkness!
“O moon of the dawn, beautiful and mysterious, waxing and waning! O fair maiden who leads the stars, come forth with bow and arrows to hunt your prey! Those who tread the earth, those who glide the sky, none can escape your target! Draw the bow and loose your arrows! Arc Fleche Tire!!“
Countless black arrows of dark magic appeared midair and shot toward their targets.
However, with three mages on their side, they managed to defend against my attack.
It was turning into a clash of darkness and light.
This was a rare sight. While I was truly better at water and light magic, leaning too heavily into holy spells would weaken Belial’s power, so I had to stick with darkness.
Suddenly, light burst forth with a pop, and a square barrier enclosed Belial and the adventurers.
Only I, the B-rank female mage, and the archer woman were left outside.
“This is…”
“It’s done! A barrier spell that cancels fire! Now, the flames are useless!”
The male mage declared triumphantly.
The flame sword in Belial’s hand vanished. Even the magical energy woven into his flame-stitched mantle disappeared.
This is…
What a foolish thing to do…
“…I thought it was an attack, but you’ve done it! How amusing! Humans, I shall praise you! Sealing the flames of the king of fire…! It is nothing but folly!!!”
Belial’s laughter echoed through the space. The adventurers, initially confident, hesitated as they watched him, unsure if this was a sign of arrogance or desperation.
