Chapter 106: The Sage Defends the Capital

A large amount of meteorites fell at the same density as that of heavy rain.

Every single one of those meteorites were protected by magic and couldn’t be destroyed easily.

While it was without a doubt Baruch’s handiwork, he wasn’t the one who had cast the magic.

In general, offensive magic was ill-suited for Baruch, who specialized in shamanic spells.

It was definitely impossible for him to be able to use great magic like the one that was used to conjure this large amount of meteorites.

…This is beyond what a forbidden spell can achieve.

I already knew who had used the magic.

When I was in the Republic, the owner of the magic reaction must have been the caster. 

I really wanted to deal with that issue, but I had to do something about these meteorites first.

The capital would be ruined in an instant if I left them alone.

As expected, I needed to avoid such a result.

I stared at the meteorites and completely analyzed them at the same time.

I confirmed the flow of magic power and the structure of the spell.

This would make the spell I cast more effective against it.

I shot a gravitational wave upwards, weakening the momentum of the meteorites.

Their descent speed slowed for a bit.

However, it was only a minor difference.

Due to the resistance magic imbued on those meteorites, they were less susceptible to the effect of gravity.

It seems he is seriously trying to destroy the capital.

While maintaining the gravitational wave, I continued to use other magic.

As I waved my hand, spears of miasma appeared in front of me.

There were 30,000 of them.

Each of these spears contained enough power to obliterate a badly made fortress.

It was not a spell designed to be used against a single person, but rather an army.

I shot the lined up spears of miasma towards the meteorites.

The spears received acceleration from the gravitational waves and approached the meteorites, producing a roaring sound as they collided with their targets.

One spear would hit its target, producing cracks on the meteorites’ surface, which would explode as the next spear hit the same meteorite.

And so, the meteorites got pierced, and broke down one after another.

Even with their resistance, they probably hadn’t expected them to be hit with this much destructive power.

Soon, most of the meteorites were crushed, reducing them into fine grains of rocks as they rained.

This will alleviate some damage, but it’s still not enough.

I added another spell into the mix.

The miasma spears in the sky lost their shape and spread, becoming amorphous ivy.

That ivy would entwine itself on the broken meteorites starting from a single spot.

As soon as they touched the ivy, the meteorites’ fragments began to melt.

I added 10 more consecutive forbidden fire spells into it to finish them off.

A raging jet-black fire covered the sky and burned the meteorites entwined in the ivy.

With the combination of heat and miasma, all those meteorites were finally erased.

As soon as the fire went out, what remained above me was a cloudless blue sky.

There were no remains of the meteorites anywhere.

It seemed the predicament had been solved for the time being.

At that moment, I felt a killing intent from afar.

I turned around and swung my sword.

This is…

I cut the small thing that approached me in half.

I saw what just fell.

The thing that had flown towards my blind spot was ice the size of a grain.

There were tremendous amounts of curses imbued within it.

It seemed to have been released at a high speed from a distance.

The attack method was similar to sniping that was done with a bow or a gun.

It had just been reproduced in the form of magic.

Those meteors were to grab my attention while that snipe just now was the real deal…

As I was somewhat impressed by their meticulous methods, I transferred myself to where the magic had been unleashed.

It was a place that was far from the capital.

It was in the midst of a clear meadow.

In front of me was a man with an unfamiliar atmosphere.

The man had well-combed blonde hair, and a pair of green eyes; he wore a stylish aristocratic outfit.

Contrary to his neat appearance, he had an evil smile on his face.

The malicious intent I could feel on his whole body proved he was no longer human.

—What's inside doesn't match.

I could feel a discrepancy between his body and soul.

It wasn’t because he was being manipulated.

It was more like his body had been hijacked.

I was familiar with the mysterious atmosphere of this man.

Since we had just talked earlier, it further convinced me about it.

“You’re Baruch, right?”

When I asked him, the man was overjoyed.

He was smiling as if he had been waiting for such a response.

‌“That’s right. Thanks to a certain someone who ripped my flesh apart, I had to take over someone else’s body to survive. How utterly inconvenient.”

Baruch flagrantly lamented.

While his words voiced his complaint towards me, his face was plastered with an unpleasant smile.

From the beginning, Baruch wasn’t a man who had an attachment to his body.

I didn’t know how much he meant it when he said that it was an inconvenience.

Looking at the amount of his magic power, it was about the same as ten years ago.

In fact, he probably didn’t care that much about it.

Baruch turned his gaze towards the capital.

He snorted in a bad mood as he saw that there was no apparent damage.

‌“To think you had it in you to block a forbidden spell of that scale. Though I don’t want to admit it, at least the power you have seems worthy of bearing the title of the Demon Lord.”

Baruch put his hand on his face then laughed so hard he staggered.

It was broken laughter, like that of a doll.

He then started to rapidly spew out sentences.

‌“…Hahah, you’re always the same. Every plan I prepared, destroyed at its crucial moment. You’re always getting in my way. Even now, I want to annihilate you, eradicate you, kill you so much that I can’t wait!”

I saw Baruch's eyes, which were visible through the gaps between his fingers.

His unblinking gaze was burning with intense hatred.

In addition, he was shedding tears of blood.

That was definitely not an act.

That was Baruch's genuine feelings.

‌“Do you enjoy ruining my plans every time…? All my plans. Just a little push was all that they needed. Enough of such boorish actions…”

“I don’t know about your circumstances. I'm just acting for the sake of my own goal.”

I replied simply to him.

Meanwhile, I observed Baruch's actions.

Despite his emotional outburst, he hadn’t shown any openings that I could take advantage of.

If I forcibly attacked at this moment, his shamanic magic would teach me a lesson om painful retaliations.

There were a few shamanic magic that were permanently effective.

Since I was currently a Demon Lord, perhaps I could naturally resist it, but I wouldn’t take any chances.

I wouldn’t underestimate Baruch.

As expected, I needed to stay cautious.

“Aah, you haven't changed at all…you are the only one worthy of being my nemesis. At least you are more troublesome than that hero. Now that you have become the Demon Lord, you have learnt how to act like a ruthless evil. I hate it… I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT!”

Baruch screamed as he scratched his head.

He repeatedly took rough breaths.

Blood was spilling from his fingers that had lost their nails.

After this brief tantrum, Baruch returned to normal.

He stroked his hair and wiped his tears of blood with the sleeves of his clothes.

His nails were regenerating before I knew it.

Baruch exhaled and a wry smile crept up on his face as he calmed down.

‌“— I’m sorry about that. It seems I lost my calm for a moment there. It appears that having my nemesis right in front of me excites me too much.”

As he said that, Baruch reached into his bosom.

The thing he took out was an arm of a demi-human.

It had gray skin and indigo scales on each end.

It shone brightly as it reflected the sunlight.

“Well then, Dwight. Do you know what this is?”

“…”

I stayed silent in response to his question.

I was almost certain of what it was.

I felt an abnormal magic reaction from that arm.

It was what I had sensed at the capital of the Republic.

The meteorites from earlier must have been cast by that very arm.

After the silence, Baruch shrugged dramatically.

He fondly caressed that arm.

Then, he spoke the answer I was expecting.

“So you refuse to respond. Then I’ll just answer it in your stead then. This right arm once belonged to a supreme person — the Demon Lord.”