156-Episode 156: Lilliera Fights the Demon!

The battle against Venom Beat, which was expected to be a fierce battle, turned out to be an unexpectedly easy resolution.

''I didn't expect to be able to defeat him so easily...''

I was overwhelmed by the lack of response, but then it occurred to me that there was a possibility.

But then a possibility came to me.

''No, maybe that seal was meant to diminish the power of the Venom Beat that was born as a mutation!

Oh well, I wondered why they bothered to go to the trouble of sealing it, even though it's highly toxic, that's what it was all about!

He was so strong that he couldn't be weakened without going that far.

I'm sure the people involved at the time were very worried about leaving a seed of uncertainty in the future.

But thanks to you, we were able to defeat them!

"I wonder why. No, no, that's not it. I feel like something inside of me is screaming, "I'm sorry,

Hmm? Is there something that's bothering you, Liliella?

'And more importantly, we need to deal with the Venom Beat carcasses. If we don't do something about that thing, it's going to contaminate the land again, even if we purify it.

High Area Purification!

After activating my wide-area purification magic, I used my wind magic to approach the Venom Beat while deflecting the newly emerging poisonous air just in case.

''Yeah!''

He then stored the Venom Beat carcass in a magic bag.

'So now you've eliminated the source of pollution from the land.

Now we just need to re-purify the surrounding land that has been contaminated again, and the people in the surrounding land won't have to worry about the corroded earth.

And that's when it happened.

There was a violent explosion in the sky.

It looks like it's about to reach its climax over there too.

Liliella.

While I was dealing with the demon, Lex-san easily defeated Venom Beat while I was dealing with the demon.

Honestly, I was expecting it to take longer, but he defeated it much faster than I expected.

Well, it's natural since it's Lex-san, but I was convinced to think of some reason why he was able to defeat Venom Beat so easily.

Yeah, I feel like I'm definitely mistaken.

'Whoa, whoa!　How dare you take my Venom Beat, oh my!

And when I was dumbfounded by Lex-san's toned down, the demon who had been let loose by being easily defeated by Venom Beat revived.

Shame, I should have attacked him while he was dumbfounded with shock.

I couldn't resist tweaking it too.

''I won't forgive you!　I won't forgive you, you trash, ahhh!　I won't let you do this for free!　He's going to kill me after all the pain and suffering I've endured!

The keystone of their plan, the Venom Beat, was defeated and the Majinins were enraged.

It's true that a giant hexenbiest that spreads poison that could endanger the lives of even mages is something that could normally destroy the world.

But how is she going to rule over that thing?

'You first!　He's going to show that little boy his mate's head!

The demon thrusts a spear made of magic power toward me, who was in front of me.

Although you seem to be losing yourself in anger, the spearmanship is not blurred.

The magician aims at my shoulder and shoots the spear.

In this kind of situation, the basic aim is to aim at the foot to slow down movement, but since we can fly both of us, it doesn't affect our evasion even if we injure our feet, right?

It seems that the demon knows that, so he has been aiming at the arm that holds the weapon.

''But I'm not going to hit you!

It's not easy to hit an attack in combat while flying around at high speed.

Even though you can fly around freely, it's hard to do that there's no ground to step on in order to make an attack.

Lex-san says that if you use magic to create a foothold on the sole of your foot when attacking, it's easier to hold on, but it's not easy to get used to it.

That's why my style of aerial combat is basically evasion, and when I see an opening, I attack.

No, really, it's not at the level of being difficult to sputter through enemies in the air like Lex-san does!

I evade the demon's attack just in time as much as possible.

That's when the demon lifted the corner of his mouth slightly in response to me avoiding the attack.

''Huh!''

A chill ran down my spine, and my instincts told me to avoid it.

While dropping backwards at an angle with all my strength, the moment I obeyed the instincts that still told me it wasn't enough, the tip of the spear in the demon's hand exploded.

Impossible, the tip of the spear extends right to the side and pierces the spot where my head was just a moment ago.

''Tch, you missed it?''

''........Come to think of it, that spear is made of magical power. I didn't expect it to be able to change its shape at will.

Humans can't do this much?

You're provoking me.

But it's still tricky.

If your opponent can change the shape of his spear at will, it's dangerous to engage in close combat.

''But I can't stay slowed down forever either!　Ice Rush!

I continuously release the ice cubes created by my magic to attack the demon, but the demon comes towards me without a care in the world.

''Fuhahahahahaha!　What a toy!　Is this still offensive magic?

But you know what? I'm well aware of that!

Waterblast!

''Whoa!''

Taking away the demon's vision with a barrage of ice, I changed my position in the meantime and hit the demon with a large chunk of water.

''I said it wouldn't work........''

Then I unleash my real attack.

'Blizzard Breath!'

Nuh-uh!

A blizzard of magic that was released attacked the demon.

''Hmph!　It's a little better than the water play earlier, but either way, this me... what!

At this point, the demon finally realizes the phenomenon that is happening to his body.

"You know, my body is frozen...?　Isn't that what the attack was for?

Don't you realize that it's too late!

Yes, the first ice and the next water weren't just a distraction. They were foreshadowing the effects of this blizzard's magic!

I learned that you can increase the power of a spell by combining the same type of magic!　If you get a blizzard of ice and water where you unleashed a large amount of ice and water in a row with no chanting, your body will naturally freeze at a faster rate!

This one could be as powerful as Mina's, even if I'm not a wizard in my day job!

........However, the reference that Lex-san showed me was something that only he could do, no matter how I looked at it, so I recreated it the way I could.

That's why it can only work like this with the ice attribute magic that I'm suited to.

''Oh, geez!

The demon struggles to escape from the ice, but its body keeps freezing up and becoming unable to move.

"Eeeeee! It's annoying!

The demon shoots flames from both hands and begins to melt the ice.

''Fuhahahaha!　This is the extent of human magic, after all!

Yeah, that's good enough for me.

What?

If it gives me a chance to get in your pocket!

While the demon struggled to break the ice, I was right in front of it.

''You can't use that spear while it's putting out those flames, can you?

Shh?

Yes, that red-black spear is a spear made of magic, so to speak.

I'm not going to be able to use that spear while I'm using other magic.

"Don't eat me!

A spear clad in ice, thanks to the attribute enhancement, pierced the demon's chest.

''Guha-ha!

The magical power of the ice will freeze the mage from the inside out as well.

''Phew!

When I cleave the spear with the muscle power strength strengthened by body strengthening, the spear slips out while cracking the frozen body of the magician.

And as it is, the body of the magician crashes to the ground.

''Huh, I feel like I've managed it.

I descend to the ground to put an end to the demons.

''Good work, Liliella-san!

When we landed on the ground, we were greeted by Lex.

'Thank you, Mr. Lex. But I haven't put the finishing touches on it yet.

If we let our guard down and let the demons counterattack, it would be all for naught.

Since I've declared that I'll be the one to deal with them, you have to be firm to the end.

Uhhhhh.....

But the demon didn't seem to fight back, and was moaning as he fell to the ground.

It seems that the damage was real, since he even fell without being able to fly satisfactorily.

''I'll at least put a stop to it so it won't suffer any more.

I don't even have a hobby to tease my partner.

"Huh, hmmm...

But for some reason, the demon laughed.

Even though he was in pain, the demon did indeed laugh.

''It must be quite hilarious to defeat me but don't think that's the end of it all!

Stalling?　No, it's not even that kind of vibe.

There's something spooky about that.

'Sure, I was defeated by you and yes, Venom Beat was defeated by that little boy over there and I hate to admit it, but I have to admit it.

Surprisingly, the demon seemed to have accepted our defeat with open arms.

''But this isn't the end!　Yes, the Venom Beat disaster is just around the corner!

What do you mean?

Eggs.

Eggs...?

''Yes, the Venom Beat had laid a large number of eggs on the Corroded Earth before it was sealed in this land!　And the egg was waiting for the moment of its birth, fattening up the many lives that died in the vast, poisonous swamp to feed itself!

"What did you say?

Countless Venom Beat eggs?　If those eggs hatch, we're in big trouble!

The egg with enough nutrients stored in it will soon wake up in response to the resurrection of the Venom Beat!　Witness the moment when countless poisonous insects are unleashed to destroy the world!

What do we do, Mr. Lex?

Calm down, Liliella. We'll see how the Venom Beat child reacts to being hatched by exploration magic!

'But it's a big land of corrosion!　If she was laying eggs there, you don't know how widely she could have laid them!

Yeah, you're right!　And no matter how many Venom Beats you can defeat, it's impossible to defeat every Venom Beat cub hatched in this vast, corroded land!　The Venom Beat pups that escaped while you were fighting will create a new corrosive earth!

This is disgusting!　It's too disgusting!　I didn't expect this outrageous thing to happen at the last minute!

At this rate, the surrounding towns and villages will be hit by the Venom Beat!

...Huh?

But for some reason, the voice Lex-san uttered was not one of panic, but more of confusion.

''What's wrong, Lex-san?''

'No, that's why I've used my exploration magic to explore within a 100 kilometer radius anyway, but there's no response from a powerful demon.

'What?　What does that mean?

''Hmm, I'm getting about the same reaction as the Giant Poison Centipede I fought before, but I don't have a reaction that I think is the child of Venom Beat.

So you're saying the eggs were laid farther away?

Then I don't know where the eggs are!

No, I don't think so.

'What?　Really?　Why?

'The Venom Beet laid its eggs a long time ago, so I think the Corrosion Earth was still much smaller back then. In fact, it's said that the priests of the church were actually able to control the erosion of the Corrosion Ground.

Oh.

That's true if you ask me.

You're right, Lex, it's more natural to think that the land of corrosion was much smaller at the time it was sealed.

'But then, where are the Venom Beat kids?'

'It's a mutant species, so it may be hiding in the ground. Let's dig up the ground with a bit of magic and see what we can find out.

"Digging up the ground?

And how is that?　Before you can ask, Lex-san activates his magic.

''High Area Earth Quake!

In the next moment, the ground began to shake with a tremendous force.

''Kyah!

''Whoa!''

I hurriedly used my flying magic to get up into the air and saw the ground undulating like a living thing.

''How is this all done by Lex-san's magic?

Oh, I've got something.

What?

There she is.

I looked in the direction Lex-san had pointed and saw a large number of white, round objects springing up away from where we were.

'Shall we go see?'

Lex-san releases his magic and goes down to the round mass that appeared on the ground.

''Ooh, that's pretty big,''

Really, it's about the same size as ours.

'Looks like this is the Venom Beat egg.

Just as Lex-san said, it was a large egg that sprang up on the ground.

When I poked it with a scary spear, it was so soft that the tip of the spear slowly stabbed into it. Apparently it looks more like a soft egg, more like an insect or fish egg than a bird or reptile egg.

''But weren't the eggs supposed to hatch quickly?　Do you think they're going to be born?　Oh, if that's the case, you'd better destroy the eggs as soon as possible!

No, I don't think that's necessary. This egg is dead.

What?

As I hurriedly tried to break the eggs, Mr. Lex controlled me with that.

'What do you mean it's dead?'

The exploration magic isn't detecting any life force from this egg.

Really?

Yes, if the witch is telling the truth, there should be a baby Venombeet inside this egg that's about to be born. But magic doesn't detect the life force or magic power of such a Venom Beat child.

Is that why he's dead?

Yes, sir.

Mr. Lex assures me unequivocally.

'Nonsense!　It can't be dead!　The corroded earth has sunk a lot of corpses, and the nutrients that flowed out of it have nurtured the eggs!　There's no way I'm going to die without a foreign enemy!

The dying demon screams in protest, saying it's impossible.

'Well, let's check it out for a moment, then.

As soon as he said that, Lex ran his blade through the Venom Beat egg.

And in a flash, he cut the eggshell in half, revealing its contents.

''Ah, it's dead after all.

If you look at the egg, you'll see a small, but more than enough for us, Venombeet inside the egg.

But it was curled up on its feet just like its parents, though.

'It's definitely dead,'

I don't know why, but it seems the Venom Beat children were already dead.

'But how did they die?　If the story of the demon is true, it's not going to be so easy to die, is it?　Were you attacked by a natural enemy?

No way!　The Venom Beat eggs had sunk to the bottom of the corroded earth!　No daredevil would go after an egg protected by poison!

It seems that there are people who aimed at their parents and easily defeated them, though.

''Ah........maybe I purified them with a wide area purification magic, so I purified the nourishment that was poisoned as well.

'What?　What's that?

What the hell does that mean?

'Well, I'm afraid that the Venombeet eggs were fed by the moisture in the poisonous mud of the Corrosive Earth. The poison protects the eggs, so they didn't need to harden their shells. Instead, I think the egg is designed to absorb nutrients from the water in the mud more efficiently.

'It's just,' Lex tells me with difficulty.

'But I think the mud around it has been purified by a cleansing spell and returned to normal soil, so the poisonous mud that contained the nutrients is gone and the nutrients can't be absorbed. Ordinary creatures store essential nutrients inside their eggs or feed on the shells themselves, but with a creature as large as the Venom Beet, that may not be enough nutrition for them.

It was an ecology that required constant nourishment to maintain a giant body above a certain level from birth, Lex says.

'Well, in essence, you're saying that the cleansing of the soil caused the eggs to starve to death because they couldn't get the nutrients they needed?

I'm sure you will.

Starving to death...

The demon screams out, not expecting the Venom Beet eggs to have dried up due to lack of nutrition.

''Huh, don't be silly!　

But that's where the power ran out, and the demon fell down in a flurry.