Chapter 151

151 – The Strongest Party

On that day, we were reminded of something.

Mankind’s strongest.

A phrase that seems clichéd and sought after by young boys, but gradually becomes harder and harder to say aloud as they get older.

There are only two people in this world who can be called that with every ounce of gravitas.

The Flame Hero Fenix.

The man who was acknowledged by the main Fire Spirit, which is said to be the world’s first-ever flame.

The compatibility between the two is outstanding compared to previous generations, which can be inferred because he unleashed an Esoteric Spirit Magic in the previous tenth stratum battle, the Flames of the Gods.

The Spirit Magic can burn anything that is of this world to cinders.

And then, there is one more person who also made a contract with a Spirit of equal power.

The Storm Hero Aerial.

The man who was acknowledged by the main Wind Spirit, said to be the source of all the air that fills the world.

There are many who have a long history as an Adventurer but there are also those that change their Clearing style as the years go by.

Aerial is no exception. Once, he would always go out first as the vanguard, hitting the enemy hard with his exciting Spirit Magic.

But now, he works in the middle guard, preferring to Clear in a way that supports his allies.

As might be expected for a party that has been doing it for a long time, they haven’t replaced party members even once or twice.

And yet, ever since the Aerial party became 1st rank, they have never once fallen to 2nd rank.

He, along with his companions, will surely win. If he is there, the Dungeon will absolutely be Cleared.

His Clears, which have become like a symbol to the Adventurers, give excitement and peace to all.

「Watch closely, Ewan.」

Says Aerial on the other side of the screen.

That’s right.

The one that the Adventurers revived for the fourth stratum Clear was none other than the Gale Hero Ewan.

Regarding that decision, this was their response in a later interview.

「I had my fill of fun. I don’t really feel like being the only one who is revived while my whole party was wiped out.」

Said the Hero of the Cursed Sword Hervor.

「I figured that I can only revive the fallen Caleena once I have earned the right to.」

Said the Thunder Hero Scathach.

「Fran and I weren’t defeated, so I wasn’t really interested in the whole revival rights thing in the first place.」

Said the Water Hero Wraith

「What better nourishment for development is there than personal experience? He will become a fine Hero.」

Said Aerial, and after getting the approval of his allies, Ewan was revived.

I wish to remember one thing here. Or rather, a strong impression was made on me.

In this Raid Battle, a leading party is appointed for each stratum. That’s the plan that they seem to have.

In the first stratum – the Realm of the Watchdog and Hellfire, it was the Scathach party.

In the second stratum – the Realm of the Necromancer and Traps, it was Wraith and Fran.

In the third stratum – the Realm of Vampires and Underlings, it was the Hervor party.

How about the fourth stratum – the Werewolf Realm of Fang and Claw?

If you go by order, it should be the Aerial party. And in fact, it was.

Those who saw the Clear video were excited, praising it for being exactly what people were looking for in an Adventurer, and even sympathizing with the Werewolves of the fourth stratum.

You guys aren’t bad. You’re probably very strong. But too bad you’re fighting that party.

And so on.

The Chief of the Werewolves Marchosias managed to land a blow on Fenix in the tenth stratum battle. That much is said of him by the Werewolves of the fourth stratum who he protects.

Oh, how overwhelming.

That much can be seen in the number of fallen Adventurers.

In the first stratum, one fell. In the second stratum, two fell. In the third stratum, four fell. The Demon King Castle was doing well in whittling down their numbers.

But in the fourth stratum…none were defeated.

Honestly, I was surprised.

The fourth stratum is tough. Even the Fenix party got caught in a dilemma despite me being in there. We somehow got out of that, but Fenix had to use his magic. Luckily, Marchosias responded in kind to have a one-on-one duel with Fenix and was defeated with one blow, but if he hadn’t done that, it wouldn’t be odd to say that one or two members would have fallen.

The fourth stratum stage originally looks like a mine. The newly added Tooth and Fang part is actually only there to emphasize the already existing things in that stratum. 

The number of deployed Werewolves was increased, they will search out the Adventurers and rush them.

…That’s right.

That nice guy Marchosias’s subordinates are all pleasant people and…don’t like cheap tricks.

Of course, I appreciate their methods and he greatly appreciated my Black Magic. They’re good people, really.

However, they are people who prefer to fight using their bodies as weapons to the last.

Below, I shall list the actions the Aerial party took in the fourth stratum Clear.

Using that, Ewan senses where the Werewolves are coming and slice them up into tiny bits with Wind Blades before they can even encounter the party.

When checking the camera footage, the Werewolves on the way to the Adventurers were suddenly defeated.

Compound magic is when you mix two or more magic spells together and cast it as one spell.

If your breathing isn’t perfectly in sync, it will be very difficult to handle.

The two magic spells that she used were Roaring Explosive Flame and Wind Magic in order to raise its explosive force.

The Werewolves who were waiting to come out in a small wide area were turned to dust in one attack.

The same crossroads that almost got the Fenix party when they ambushed us from three sides. This time, they came from the path that the Adventurers came from as well, so they were attacked from four sides.

Aerial unsheathed his Wind Holy Sword and leaped into the path with the most enemies.

He was like a storm in Human form. As he passed them by, the Magical Energy particles of the shredded Monsters danced and mixed with the dust clouds.

Conversely, Masamune stood still, immovable. Like a wall standing in their way, he didn’t take a single step. Any that approached him was cut down.

Based on the structure of the mine, the Adventurers must go through narrow passageways by all means.

Even in such places, the enemy can attack.

On the other hand, if they were to counterattack with a high firepower spell, they might cause a cave-in.

That’s where the Alchemist Louie comes in.

He creates spears and daggers from the surrounding dirt. Aerial would take one of the weapons he already created and use them to stab the enemy, passing through without so much as a scratch. Louie himself fought bravely.

But after all that, the biggest shock has to be that.

Aerial is a contractor of the main Wind Spirit. This is why he can do anything that the Lesser Spirit can.

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Aerial can reproduce Scathach’s Thunder Domain, routing the enemy as fast as lightning.

As well as the air compression and release trick that Wraith did during the Vampire battle to blow them away.

Furthermore, in a one-on-one duel with the Floor Boss Marchosias, he crushed him Herv-style, meaning bare-handed.

Directing his party members to make full use of their strengths in the Clear, taking down foes as the mightiest Hero.

A Hero’s ideal situation.

As the Clear progressed from the first stratum to the third, the scales tipped ever more in the Demon King Castle’s favor.

But that has been overturned by the fourth stratum Clear.

The viewers who were wracked with worry can now feel relieved.

As if to say「It’s alright, for the Storm Hero is here.」.

I sensed three hidden messages in Aerial’s actions.

The first was aimed at the viewers. As mentioned above, a message that aims to reassure them.

The second is for the Monsters. A message saying that they are not so easily defeated.

And the last one is for Adventurers. A message that says「This is what 1st rank looks like, think you can climb up here?」.

He showed the technique and style reminiscent of each Hero who was formed in the Raid Battle.

If you are aiming for 1st rank, then you must accumulate even more striking achievements than Aerial.

He certainly is passionate about training the next generation.

But that isn’t just because he’s kind or that he’s ensuring the future of the industry.

I’m sure he has been looking forward to it.

To the day that a rival appears that can take the title of strongest.

After using their revival rights, the number of Adventurers has increased to eleven, and they have decided to proceed to the fifth stratum.

By Clearing the fourth stratum, they have earned another revival right.

The rotating leading party has come full circle.

While the Hervor party was totally wiped out in the fourth stratum.

The following fifth stratum is also a slightly peculiar stratum, I wonder who they’ll choose…

「HAH, I expected nothing less of mankind’s strongest! It was a pure and utter defeat!」

At a later date.

Marchosias came to visit my office.

「I am ashamed of my inadequacy! A thousand pardons, Sir Chief of Staff!」

He’s in his Human form today. A large man with silver hair and red eyes. Perhaps due to his presence or smiling face, his wild and sharp facial features don’t feel intimidating.

「It’s nothing to apologize for. All we have to do is annihilate them at the end, together.」

Just like last time, I’ll be able to summon Contracts like Marchosias.

「…! Yes! Thank you! Thanks to you, I am able to fight them again! …But still, he truly was formidable. I checked the latest Clear video and he seemed like a different man.」

「Aerial was in a particularly good mood that day.」

Since I met Marchosias before my Lemegeton character was established, and also because it’s just easier to talk this way, I am dealing with him with my mask off.

We sat on sofas across each other with a table between us.

「Hm? Good mood?」

「Ah… Uhm… Your performance can change depending on your mood, right?」

「Hm, yes indeed. When fighting a man among men, my blood boils!」

While saying that, Marchosias clenches his fists tightly.

「Something like that, yeah. This hasn’t been said in a long time, but I read in a comment in an old Clear video that somehow Aerial is the type who gets better the tougher the situation becomes.」

「Oho! I could get along with the man. There is nothing more boring than a battle that you know you’re going to win. It’s when neither side knows which will win that they both fight their hardest. That is precisely when the fighting spirit burns brightest!」

There’s also that way of thinking, I suppose. On the contrary, there are those who don’t wish to see their Heroes losing a match.

Everyone has their own way of enjoying and engaging in a match.

「But they have always been the immovable 1st rank party. There are people who look forward to seeing how stylishly they win, but only small children are likely to be on the edge of their seats wondering whether they will win or lose.」

If they’re a young child who isn’t yet used to seeing their Clears, they’d be totally absorbed in the video, nervous over whether they’d win or lose.

Just like I was long ago.

However, adults who are used to it are different. They don’t even consider the possibility of them losing. Their victory has become absolute.

「It has become extremely rare to see his party on the verge of defeat.」

「I see, I see. So what Sir Chief of Staff is saying is the fact that he has lost seven members at the time of the fourth stratum in this Raid Battle has lit a fire within him?」

「Yeah. Also, I’m sure you noticed it too, didn’t it seem like he was enjoying himself?」

After saying that, Marchosias let out a great hearty laugh.

「Indeed! Despite me being twice his size, that man seemed happy as we traded blows and he truly laughed joyfully. I got caught up in it and ended up laughing myself.」

And at that timing, Cashew came into the office.

Her dog ears drooping slightly, her fluffy and soft cheeks, and her beautiful eyes that look like trapped stars. A dog Demi-Human girl

Once a small fruit seller, now the secretary to the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff.

「I brought you some tea…!」

She put down the tray on the table, she then carried the tea sets which were on the tray and put it in front of Marchosias and me.

Cashew made tea because we had a visitor in my office.

Although Cashew did it properly, I was worried about her handling hot water at first. She might get scalded.

However, when I asked her about it, she told me that she has some experience helping her Chef sister Maca at home, who watched her with some trepidation, but apparently, she did it very neatly, so I decided to leave it to her.

Marchosias picks up the cup on the saucer and brings it to his mouth.

Due to his size, it looked like he was grabbing a child’s toy tea set.

「Delicious! To be able to brew such delicious tea, I am envious of your talented secretary.」

Marchosias got along well with Cashew.

Cashew couldn’t say his name properly, so he told her to just call him Marco, and before I knew it, she started calling him Mr. Marco.

「Yeah, I’m proud of my secretary.」

Following Marchosias, I praise Cashew as well, which made her blush. I saw her ears start flapping, guess she’s embarrassed.

「…Ehehe.」

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After that, we talked for a while about the future defenses.

Until now, Aerial has respected and supported each party’s methods.

But in the fourth stratum Clear, he really resembled his past self.

Next is the fifth stratum. The Realm of Dream Demons, ruled by the Demon of Love Sitri, the second Big Four member.

Well then, what will happen?