CH 243

「And what do you want, you who’s called the Demon King?」

The army of spirits pointed their weapons at the Demon King.

The Demon King, accompanied by one of her comrades, replied in a cool voice.

「Your wars are ultimately just the sport of those who live on the surface. It has nothing to do with us who live in the depths of the earth. However, your viciousness in destroying countries due to your infantile willfulness is unbearably annoying to me」

「Oh-ho. If your name and appearance aren't a sham, then you should at least entertain me a little」

The spirits charged ahead mercilessly.

Their numbers exceeded a hundred.

The sheer number of spirits was too much for just three people to handle.

「There's no need to be in such a hurry, boy」

The earth ruptured.

Massive trees sprouted from the ground, hurling the army of spirits back.

As if the continent itself had stirred, the terrain changed, widening the distance between us and the enemy.

The Demon King chanted.

「Gormlaith Melforuna Gastolfo offers my wishes to the great origin of my lineage. In the holy name of fertility, gather in this earth, O numerous souls scattered throughout this land, O descendants of the wise who adore him, I am the one who grants you renewed life」

She recited the chant emphatically.

A massive column of earth rose up and formed itself into an 18-meter tall giant.

「By the grace of our covenant, grow the roots into bones as the elm tree does its numerous bounties. Even without rain, without sunshine, without flesh and blood, without the bounty of the earth, make them grow through a miracle. And now, let all the blessings come together and become a force of resistance. The time of the rebirth is now」

The trees entwined themselves around the giant, becoming its armor.

The giant tore off a huge branch that had grown from its shoulder and held it like a spear.

But this giant had no face.

The part where its face would be was a gaping hole.

「O Wise King Lars」

The Demon King extended her hand.

I had no idea how he had gotten there, but on her palm was a small wooden golem.

「My old friend, I ask that you lend this young man a helping hand for a while longer」

「Bo」

Lars nodded and he was picked up by the giant and brought to its face, where they became one.

At the same time, the army of spirits closed in on us.

I could see the prince sneering at us in the distance.

Having become a giant once more, Lars mowed down the spirits with his giant spear.

The knights dissipated into light particles.

However, as if time had rewound, they once again regained their forms.

But that was fine.

The spirits surged towards Lars. They raised their blades, trying to cut off his limbs, and threw their spears, aiming to pierce his heart.

Kicking away the spirits swarming him, Lars advanced.

In a straight line towards the prince.

「The gate of the boundary, the depths of the hidden valley, the forbidden land that is the sacred mountain. Be it at the end of a long journey or the conclusion of a short one, the souls of humans must return there」

The Demon King started another chant.

She finished the words of the now-gone Lys.

「O those who stand in the procession of the dead. I turn the black reaper back and grant you temporal light. For the sake of obsession, for the sake of hatred, for the sake of friendship, I release the chains that bind your souls. Now, appear before him」

Lars' spear reached the prince.

No, it had stopped just short by barely a paper's width.

What had restrained Lars' gigantic body was the spirit of an even more gigantic beast. It was bipedal, had a slender face much like a fox's, long, sharp claws, long exposed fangs, and long hair that looked like they were on fire――――――no, like real flames, they set Lar's body aflame.

The wooden armor was burned away by the【Beast of Flame】. The fruits dried up, and the bountiful vitality of the trees was scorched away. The moment the mass of earth crumbled and turned to ash,

Lars looked at me.

I was able to understand him from his gaze alone.

It was a parting between men. There was no need to say anything more than that.

And yet, what came to my unmanly mind was the memories of us tilling the soil in the vegetable garden while I complained about all sorts of things. That had let me forget about my many burdens. Those were short but important times of comfort for me.

「Farewell」

The flames died out and Lars was lost to the night wind.

Like he had been no more than an illusion, nothing remained.

「Souya-san, I’ve fully opened the gates of the netherworld which that girl had begun to open. Now, "they" will be able to help you」

「They?」

With those words, the Demon Lord and her companion disappeared into the darkness.

Leaving nothing but her voice.

「It's really goodbye for good this time. Umm, those nights where we rambled on and on……I will surely think back on them fondly on my dying day. Thank you and goodbye」

「Goodbye, Demon King-sama」

「So long~, Souya」

「Take care, Gashuraku-san」

Carried away by the wind, their voices vanished.

In front of me is a beast of flame and an army of spirits.

If I were alone, they would likely crush me with ease.

I don't know who the "they" the Demon King referred to are. But she's not the type of person who would deceive others with stupid lies. She's a conscientious Demon King who keeps her word diligently and faithfully.

For that reason, I'll believe in her and wait.

I crossed my arms and waited brazenly.

The beast of flame roared, making the air shake. It charged forward, knocking the other spirits out of the way. In a flash, it was right in front of me, opening its massive maw wide――――――when it suddenly vanished.

The beast of flame's head had gone sailing through the air.

「Not good enough」

I heard a voice.

A sword was floating in mid-air.

That sword had slain the beast with a single blow.

It was not the magic sword. It was an ordinary longsword that had been forged to be thick and sturdy.

Blue light gathered together to form a single man.

The original owner grasped the sword in his hand. It was an old knight with a marred cloak.

His name was……

「Zamonglass?!」

……Zamonglass, the Scarlet Knight.

「Boy, you seem to have improved a little, but you're still too green」

With his ferocious swordsmanship, Zamonglass cut a swath through the spirits.

Compared to him, I'm certainly inexperienced.

Wait, the "they" the Demon King referred to, could it be………

Agathion suddenly moved on its own and tore through the army of spirits.

When the magic sword returned, it settled into the hand of a young knight. His body was formed from blue light, the same as Zamonglass. Around his shoulders was a luxurious cloak that had clasps with a design depicting a beast's face on them.

He glared at me with a goddamned cocky look on his face.

「Don't get me wrong. I'm not helping you. I'm only fighting because I really hate that guy's guts」

「I know. Do as you please」

The beast-hunter hero cut down the spirits with Agathion in his hand.

And then,

And then, the sword I was holding pulled out of my hand.

Blue light gathered to form the sword's owner.

A young, fearless-looking knight. The first party member that I had lost. His name, one that I would never forget, was……

「Irvin!」

「It's been a while, Souya」

He gave me a casual greeting, as if we had only parted yesterday and were just now reunited. It was so "typical of him" that it made me tear up.

After parting with him, so many things have happened. Stories of our adventures have been piling up. If it were at all possible, I would have loved to share them with him over a drink.

Even if this reunion is nothing more than a fleeting illusion, I can't help but think such thoughts in the midst of battle.

My naivete was cut down by Irvin.

Irvin cut in two the spirits that had broken through the battle line laid down by Zamonglass and the beast-hunter.

「In any case, Souya, we're on the battlefield. Leave the gawking for when you're admiring a woman's face」

「O, oh……………… Yeah」

I placed my hand on the handle of my katana.

「What happened to your bow?」

As if to show off to my friend, I performed the sword technique that couldn’t be seen.

「This is my weapon now」

The sharp swing bisected two ghosts.

Even I myself was unable to see the blade settle back into the scabbard.

「Now this is delightful. I never thought we would be able to fight shoulder-to-shoulder again」

「That's my line」

I'm no longer reducing to just watching Irvin's back. Now, I can fight alongside him. I don't think I'm better than him, but I don't think I'm inferior either.

It's no exaggeration to say that all those days of adventure that I went through are for the sake of this moment.

Together with the three knights, I’ll open a path through the army of spirits.

「This is truly a delight」

Zamonglass smiled.

「I had wondered who would rise up to fight even after death………but I never thought it would be the unluckiest and the most inept of my disciples」

「Tch」

Went the beast-hunter, who turned away.

「Unluckiest………」

The expression on Irvin's face also faltered.

After dampening the motivation of his two disciples, the teacher stepped forward.

His sword flashed through the air.

With his rough yet sharp swordsmanship, he tore through the enemy troops. With each flick of the sword, dozens of opponents were made to dissipate into nothing, paving the way forward.

「If anyone were to ask me who the best fighters are among my disciples, I would surely answer that it was the two of you. I'm thrilled, my foolish disciples. Let’s fight side by side, even to the depths of the netherworld」

「No thanks, old man. Perish here without leaving behind any shred of your soul」

「I'll be honored to, Teacher」

The two gave responses that were the opposite of each other's.

Against the horde of formidable enemies, the Scarlet Knight took the vanguard position, leaving the skirmisher role to the beast-hunter, while Irvin and I steadfastly cut down any enemy troops that came our way.

Defying their numbers, we advanced.

「Well done betraying me. I commend all of you, even though, other than the Scarlet Knight, you're small fry whose names I don't even know」

We had gotten close enough to hear his nonsense.

「As a sign of my appreciation, I'll instill in you fear so great that it will crush your souls」

Enough green light to fill the plain burst forth.

What those lights formed into were gigantic beasts.

There were dozens, no, hundreds of them, a veritable army of spirit beasts. Even now, their numbers continued to grow by the dozens.

「Let me share one piece of irony with you. The more that king of barbarians kills, the more beasts there will be here. The more he fights and kills, the more enemies you will have to face」

I smiled.

Zamonglass also smiled.

Influenced by us, Irvin smiled too.

Only the beast-hunter, not reading the mood, continued to glare at the prince.

『So what?』

But the words that came out of our mouths were the same.

Of one mind, we charged at the "beasts" with the aim of defeating the prince.

Larrssss! Bye-bye, Demon King. Zamonglass!!! IRVIN!!!!!!!

Yeah, this chapter is such a whirlwind of emotions for me. Why is it that Lars always appears just to die? I like that golem dammit, stop making him die! I wonder if he’s really the Wise King Lars of old though… And what am I going to do without our anime-voice Demon King?? And of course, tears were streaming when Zamonglass and Irvin returned…Eh, who cares about Varner…

So Lys was trying to use magic similar to the prince’s to summon allies for Souya, huh? Dammit, it really sucks that she died…though she’s dead to begin with, I suppose. Now, the differences between Lys’ chant and the Demon King’s chant are interesting(to me). It shows that Elysium indeed doesn’t have the knowledge that Misuranika-sama obtained on the left continent. It also shows how hurried Lys was with all the short-cuts she was taking with the chant. I just thought that the author’s way of showing that subtly is really clever.

Man…this battle is really shaping up to be an epic one, isn’t it? So much more to come! It’ll be the finale of the penultimate arc next time! Stay tuned!

On a side note, I've picked up another project and it took me a while to get things in a proper state, but that's settled now, so do check out Wisotoria's Wand and Sword! It's pretty interesting and is written by the author of Danmachi!