Chapter 43

43 – The Work of a Chief of Staff

「…! Oh no! He plans to utilize Alba’s Magic Sword!」

Bella noticed as I was activating the Magic Sword.

To make them think that I merely learned how to use it through imitation, I use it just like Alba did.

Except, I’m only using one hand because my strength hasn’t been decreased like Alba’s was.

Now then, who shall I aim for?

「Dammit! He’s mocking me!」

Shouted an enraged Alba as he glared at me.

Milla’s swords grazed his sides while bats chomped on his thighs.

「Yes, burn his visage into your eyes to your heart’s desire. For you shall suffer a crushing defeat from the magic of he, who is the Dark Sorcerer.」

「You’re really pissing me off…!」

As expected, Alba, unarmed and lacking arms, cannot compete with one of the Big Four.

「Bella! Create a wall!」

Bella shook her head at Lily’s cries.

「That Majin saw through Alba’s movements. He knows this party well! He might change the Magic Sword’s trajectory!」

「Then if you deploy a larger wall-」

「If I do that, then I would need to regenerate my Magical Energy! During that period, I won’t be able to use my freezing magic!」

Clever.

If my attack was a straight line, She could create an ice wall in anticipation of my trajectory. It’s possible for me to avoid that wall.

Anticipating that and creating a larger ice wall so that I cannot dodge left, right, or up will cause her to be temporarily cut off from using her Magical Energy and must regenerate.

How long it takes to produce Magical Energy and how long it takes for said Magical Energy to be stored in the body varies depending on the individual.

While Bella may have a lot of promise, it has only been three years since her Job was confirmed. A Hero possesses a growth speed that far surpasses that of the ordinary man, but it is difficult to develop Magical Energy-related abilities in the first place.

For her, she cannot recklessly use large-scale magic spells.

「If that’s the case, then the other enemies…!」

Even Lily seemed to realize.

If an ice wall is created in the space between them and all the enemies, that should work out.

Fenix should be able to force Furcus to retreat, and Lily should be able to hold the dragonkin at bay.

Lark, too, can repel them with his shield.

However, Alba will be left behind.

Regardless of the method, the outcome still results in one of the party members being separated. Even now, Alba is being toyed with by the Vampire Queen.

If they abandon him, the four of them will be guarded against the Magic Sword, but if they choose to defend him, there are still other threats besides the Magic Sword that remains.

Bella will be placed in a vulnerable position to be attacked because her freezing magic will be temporarily unusable.

「Help Alba. Hurry!」

Commanded Fenix, Bella immediately obeyed.

The ice wall that appeared separated me and the Magic Sword from the rest of the world.

My Magic Sword stopped just before the ice wall that was created to thwart me. Soon after, the extended blade returns.

Just as planned.

The goal was to force Bella to use her Magical Energy.

No, there was another.

「To me, Marchosias, Naberius.」

The wolf shaped Chief of the Werewolves Marchosias and the Cerberus-like Watchdog of Hell Naberius appeared by my side.

「Splendid of you to summon me, Chief of Staff, sir!」

「I am at your service.」

I only had one order.

「Destroy.」

「I couldn’t agree more!」

「As you wish.」

Marchosias starts beating on the ice wall and Naberius, in a position a little further down, breathed fire from his three heads.

I continued to summon more Contracts.

「Glasya-Labolas, Kimaris, Leraje.」

The Invisible Slaughter, Spirit Commanding General, and Black Wound Hunter appeared in succession.

Gla-la was wagging his tail as he sat down.

「…To summon five of us in succession…your Magical Energy is to be admired.」

「It’s for that very reason that he is fittingly our Chief of Staff. Your orders, Lord Lemegeton.」

「It is as I told you beforehand. Glasya-Labolas.」

On my command, Gla-la makes all three of them invisible.

I have also decided the right time for them to move.

「UoooooOOOOOOOH! The way will be open soon, Chief of staff, sir!」

Marchosias was punching the wall at a speed that could not be seen by the naked eye.

「This side, too, will soon melt.」

The ice was melting with such force that it was evaporating.

「Match your timing, you two.」

「Aye, aye, sir!」

「As you command, Lord Lemegeton.」

I once again ready the Magic Sword.

Next, I plan to take one of them out with this sword.

◇

The enemy was fighting skillfully.

The Black Knight Furcus’ movements were aiming to keep me at bay rather than pushing me back, he wards off my attacks with unimaginably faster movements than his armor would imply.

「I thought you desired a rematch with me, but it feels like you are simply stalling.」

「I am merely acting on the promise of one meal per battle.」

His voice sounds like it’s going through a poor-quality voice changing device.

His choice of words was a little strange but…I think he means that he is obeying the Chief of Staff’s orders.

「You believe him to be a trustworthy man, huh?」

If I’m right, and there’s no way I would mistake him for anyone else, they barely know each other.

However, his answer cleared everything up.

「The Chief of Staff will lead his allies to victory.」

As if that were sufficient enough an answer, Furcus brandishes his spear.

No matter where he goes, he never changes.

Just that the Monsters seem to understand his contributions.

That is slightly mortifying. Because I couldn’t do the same.

「How splendid. However, it is we who will triumph.」

「Is there a point to your words?」

「For me, I believe there is.」

By saying that, I encouraged myself.

Soon after the ice wall was created, I was astonished…

…at the increased Magical Energy response I felt beyond the wall.

Moreover, judging from their Magical Energy signatures, they were Floor Boss class Monsters.

Five of them.

「Lark, to Bella.」

「You got it…ngh!」

Repelling a dragonkin’s fist with his shield, Lark goes towards Bella’s side.

「On your guard, everyone. There are five Monsters beyond the wall. All Floor Bosses.」

「Wha-? But there are already two of the Big Four here!」

Lily fired an arrow that hits a dragonkin in the arm. Piercing through the scales.

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「…The ice wall will be broken soon.」

Thrusting from Lark’s shadow with her rapier shaped Holy Sword, Bella has a displeased look on her face.

「The hell is going on?! At most, there should be six of them, how the hell are there eight?! That’s impossible!」

Alba’s shouts were reasonable.

One stratum is to have one Floor Boss, and up to either one roaming type that is equivalent in strength or a second-in-command type Monster.

That is a basic rule.

With the exception of the Big Four, there’s Lemegeton and perhaps a second-in-command.

At most, only six Floor Boss equivalent Monsters should be allowed to appear on this stratum.

But at this point in time, there are eight.

「Well it’s happening right now. If they are still following the rules, then the only possibility is that they used Summoning Magic.」

「But that requires the summoner to expend Magical Energy in order to construct their bodies! To have summoned five of them all at once…that is tantamount to a Demon King Majin…!」

If it’s him, it’s definitely possible.

The man who trained his Magical Energy organ continuously without fail since he was ten years old to this very day.

「Fenix, forget about us and use your magic!」

I don’t respond to Alba’s shout.

My large-scale magic will affect everything around me.

It’s not impossible to incinerate the enemy, but they wouldn’t allow the use of such subtle Magical Energy manipulation in front of them.

If he presses the attack, I could defeat Furcus with a sword technique, but that would separate me from my allies.

It’s clear as day that that is one of their objectives, so I won’t fall into their trap.

「The ice wall is being breached!」

In an instant, a large hole opened up in the wall, and in a separate location, the wall melted and red flames could be seen.

「Marchosias is my name! Flame Hero, I challenge you! Onward, brothers!」

Perhaps they were hidden or perhaps summoned, a large number of his werewolf underlings stepped forward.

「With my flames, with my fangs, I will defeat you this time…!」

It seems that Naberius was the one who melted the wall.

「…Aren’t there supposed to be three more?」

Said Lark in his melancholic voice.

I can still sense them, but more importantly…

「Watch out for the Magic Sword.」

「Yeah, yeah. Bella’s safe with…m….me…huh…?」

「…」

Lark was not at fault.

At about the same time that the ice melted and two Floor Bosses came to this side.

The Magic Sword extended.

In other words, he set the Magic Sword’s trajectory the moment he saw us or just before. As expected, the latter is unlikely.

It had to have been the moment he saw us.

He pointed the Magic Sword at Bella, extended it, and then Lark readied to repel it with his shield.

But the tip of the sword evaded the shield.

As if the blade had a mind of its own, it snaked around the shield and pierced Lark’s chest.

Right through his heart. A fatal wound.

「No…way, this is…weird…」

Lark’s usual sleepy eyes were now open wide.

Alba’s Magic Sword was expertly handled.

No, rather.

He saw through our movements and coordinated with his Black Magic.

「Enough, Carmilla. There is no need to toy with him further.」

「If that is Lord Lemegeton’s wish, I shall leave it at that.」

There were countless gashes over Alba’s body, a sword in his abdomen, and bats biting all over his body.

「I thank you, Warrior Alba. Thanks to your Magic Sword, the Paladin Lark could be felled.」

「…You bitch, I’ll remember you.」

Carmilla gave a sweet smile.

「Oh? I’ve already forgotten you.」

The bats began sucking blood simultaneously, Alba’s body withered in the blink of an eye and crumbled.

「Goodness, he wasn’t even good enough as an afternoon snack for my darlings.」

With that, his accompanying Magic Sword scattered into particles, making Lark’s efforts to somehow grab onto the blade and pull Lemegeton towards us all for naught.

「My bad…Feni-」

Alba and Lark were eliminated.

The enemy’s losses only amounted to the two dragonkin that Bella froze and were then finished off by Lily and Lark.

This was not a fair trade at all.

「Leader…in light of what happened, I am fully convinced.」

Bella said no more than that, but she’s telling me that she has realized his true identity.

「I believe I must press forward. Please give me your permission.」

His actions show that he knows us very well.

So the only right course of action would be to send someone that he doesn’t know well, like Bella, to face him.

「You should know that I’m not telling you not to go simply because you want to, right?.」

That’s not it. In fact, I wouldn’t want to make such mistaken decisions based on such feelings.

My fear is that if it’s him, it’s possible that he predicted that we’ll use Bella.

「While being vigilant of the remaining three entities, I will quickly eliminate Lemegeton. You stay and protect Lily and annihilate the surrounding enemies. It’s simple.」

Bella is confident she can do it.

「…Fine. I’m counting on you.」

「Yes.」

Bella jumps out.

And the enemies…none of them tried to stop her.

…I knew it, they saw this coming.

「BELLA!」

「I know that I’m being lured out!」

Lily was left behind, there’s no way she could follow her.

The Monsters get in my way to slow me down.

「Lord Chief of Staff has granted us a chance! A chance to have a rematch with you!」

Marchosias shouts.

「If we go by order, then I believe I go first.」

The Cerberus-like Naberius steps forward.

The Floor Boss of the first stratum. He was the first to be defeated, so he claims to have first dibs on a rematch.

「All of you aren’t gonna come at me all at once?」

「If we wanted to do that, there are a countless number of faster ways to annihilate you all. Lord Chief of Staff considered our wishes.」

Well someone seems to be a good boss.

As a friend, I’m proud.

Now then.

I am being underestimated a lot.

To say that they could have defeated me, the Flame Hero, in many faster ways.

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Certainly, the opponent has the upper hand.

However, the match hasn’t been decided yet.

「Then I accept. I shall take any number of you on.」

I’ll defeat them all, and then there is an opponent that I must face.

I confront my enemies with my scorching hot sword in hand.