CH 56

The Orc King, an executive of the Demon King’s army.

He used to be one of the Demon King’s oldest followers and high-handedly carried out the most difficult jobs, but now, he had been reduced to the head of a disorderly mob.

Nonetheless, he had lost nothing of his fighting prowess.

In fact, he was much more full of life than when he was in the Demon King’s army, and his eyes seemed to be overflowing with fighting spirit.

Though she was a demon, Satis was physically weaker than the Orc King’s.

She knew that if she were to engage him in close combat, she would be quickly defeated.

In that case, she had no choice but to fight him using magic, which she specialized in.

Considering the area, her options were limited, but her strong will not to run away from this situation was still burning in her heart.

[Gehehe! How far will your magic take you against my onslaught?] (Orc King)

[Who knows. All I’m sure of is that I can fight more comfortably than back when I was an executive.] (Satis)

[Nuhyahya! How presumptuous! …But I haven’t been slacking off either. Did you think I would neglect to plan countermeasures against magic?] (Orc King)

[…In that case, I will personally put you to the test and see how effective your countermeasures are.] (Satis)

Satis released her mana.

A vortex of it swirled around her, emitting a sound as if the space was creaking.

She brought her hands together as she breathed the mana in and kneaded it as required for her magic technique.

Then, she spread out her arms at once, and a purple magic flame rose up to protect her.

[Nuhyahya! I’ll cleave you in half along with your annoying spell!] (Orc King)

As he said that, he held his huge ax with both hands and raised it high in the sky.

The blade, tinged with an ominous sunlight, was devastatingly swung down on the earth.

With a thunderous roar, the ground rose up like spines of rock in Satis’ direction.

That trick the Orc King performed was reminiscent of an earth spell.

Satis kept a sharp eye on him from behind her glasses, and unleashed a fire spell as a barrier and a counterattack.

Earth and fire collided, and a dust-filled deflagration rose up high in the sky.

[EAT THIS!!] (Orc King)

In the midst of it, the Orc King leapt unbelievably high for a character of his corpulence, and once again swung his ax at Satis, who could only assume a defensive position by crossing her arms.

She reacted to it in a snap as it flew right over her head while generating a tremendous blade gust.

Satis made use of her physical ability unique to demons, and evaded the attack with a light backflip like a dancer.

However, that attack was a two-strike combo.

Broken bits of rocks and stones flew at her like arrows without mercy.

[This is nothing…!] (Satis)

Satis immediately kneaded her mana, and fired a volley of air slashes created by her Wind Sickle spell, slicing the rocks and stones one after another.

And of course, the slashes flew toward the Orc King.

The latter, who fought with maximum power in every single one of his blows, narrowly managed to pull his axe out of the ground, but did not have enough time to dodge the Wind Sickles.

[Stay where you are and get cut to slices!] (Satis)

[You fool! Have you already forgotten what I said earlier?] (Orc King)

The Orc King carried his ax while resting the handle on his shoulder, and simply struck a daunting pose.

Satis was shocked by his unexpected behavior, but then, something even more shocking happened.

The Orc King suddenly held up his left hand.

Then, the moment the green gem embedded in one of his rings glowed brightly, Satis’ wind spell was instantly canceled out.

[Nuhyahya! How do you like that?! What I have on my hand aren’t just some plain old gemstones. They’re special items that nullify the spells of the attribute indicated by each color! And as a demon who only specializes in magic, you’re inferior to me in melee combat. …Hmph! Victory is mine before the fight even ends. A mage who can’t use magic is as good as a sandbag!] (Orc King)

The Orc King grinned widely.

Though the question of how he got his hands on them remained unanswered, those rings were probably the most dreadful items for all mages.

He wore them so he could counter the spells of pretty much every elemental attribute, and showed them off in full arrogance.

He snorted loudly and held his giant ax over his own head, as if to say that he was not scared one bit of any form of magic.

Satis was glaring at the Orc King from behind her glasses and with one eye shut.

If her opponent had a way to nullify her means of attack, which were centered around magic, then Satis was now clearly at a disadvantage.

[…I’ll go help her.] (Seto)

Seto, who had been watching from afar, frowned and attempted to step forward with his magic sword in his hand.

However, Satis signaled him to stop with her hand.

[I already told you, Seto. I will finish him off myself.] (Satis)

[But, at this rate…] (Seto)

[Nuhyahya! Don’t bother playing tough now, Satis! Your defeat is in clear sight. You might as well back off and let that brat protect you instead. Like the disgrace you are.] (Orc King)

While staring daggers at the Orc King, who was ridiculing Satis, Seto tried to take another step forward.

Satis sighed at this situation.

It was not out of dismay.

It was to calm herself down.

[“Playing tough”… You’re right, I do put on a strong face quite often. My time as an army officer would be a good example of it. My pride was unnecessarily high, and I was constantly frustrated by my inability to produce results.] (Satis)

Satis removed her glasses in slow motion, and wiped off the faint dirt on her lenses.

Closing her eyes and talking as if she was looking back on her past, she put her glasses back on, and opened her eyelids to reveal her eyes full of light.

[Heh heh heh! Now you lament your past? How foolish… Are you planning to make it your testament?] (Orc King)

[Satis, what are you-?] (Seto)

Seto suddenly stopped moving.

He could feel something like a strong will coming from her back.

Seto’s heart was shaken by that little something that felt noble and different from what he usually saw in her.

[Seto, please stand back. …Because starting now, I’m going to use my “trump card”.] (Satis)

[Your trump card? …But it’s still magic, isn’t it? Can you bypass those items on his left hand with it?] (Seto)

[I think I can. …In the past, I’m sure my pride would have prevented me from using it. But now, I can pull it off. If I can use it to protect you, Seto, then I will put everything I have into it and then some.] (Satis)

Seto could not say anything in response to Satis’ powerful words.

However, considering what a bad match up the Orc King was for her, Seto still thought it would be better for him to join the battle as well.

At that moment, Chiyome, who had been silent until now, called out to him from behind.

[Seto, what’re you doin’? Hurry and pull back.] (Chiyome)

[B-But…] (Seto)

[No arguin’, c’mon.] (Chiyome)

Chiyoome said so and beckoned him while taking a few steps back herself to make space for him.

Seto followed her leaD.

[Say, Chiyome.] (Seto)

[Hm?] (Chiyome)

[Is there… nothing I can do? Can’t I do anything at all for Satis…?] (Seto)

[Right now, you gotta believe in her. …A woman’s resolve to protect someone is much stronger than a man’s mind-boggling strength, after all.] (Chiyome)

Chiyome smacked Seto’s shoulder as she said that.

Seto lowered his gaze and remained silent.

And although keeping his distance from Satis made him feel restless, he would watch over her fight.

[What’s buggin’ you? You’re unexpectedly cynic.] (Chiyome)

[…It’s just that the thought that Satis might get hurt makes my heart ache.] (Seto)

[You may be a kid, but you’re still in the sword-wieldin’ business, so what’re you gettin’ all nervous for? So keep your head up and stand proud!] (Chiyome)

After getting an earful from Chiyome, Seto decided to watch over Satis in silence.

What Satis called her “trump card” would put an end to this fight.

The wind blew between the Orc King and Satis.

As the beautiful sound of it echoed in their eardrums, the Orc King exuded even more bloodlust, while Satis, on the other hand, grew even more composed than usual.

[I promise you at least a beautiful, glorious death. The wind of this land will be just right for a requiem.] (Orc King)

[No, you’re the one who’s going to die.] (Satis)

Satis quietly kneaded her mana.

For her most powerful spell, which was originally intended for the destruction of the Hero’s party.

[—”The Seventh Heaven”. Let the show begin.] (Satis)