CH 3

Chapter 3: Explosion

She gave me no time to speak.

True to her title, the Demon Lord makes a magic woven dagger appear in her hand and throws it at me. It's an attack method I've seen in games. The dagger, which splits the space, is covered with a transparent blue sky color, which changes to a white color as it melts around the edges. If it weren't for this situation, I'd take a closer look at it, it's so beautiful.

It is said that magic light reveals the soul of a person, but I wonder what the color of the sky means. In my previous life and this life, I have been too busy doing what I like to do to study mana colors, and yet I can't answer that question. By the way, my mana is in greenish-white color.

This is not the time to be lost in thought.

I'm also upset because I encountered the demon king. I didn't expect this to happen.

The Demon King - Velvet.

In the game, she deals with magic that controls space and was dressed in a deep blue dress that exposed her ample bosom, with a collared cloak over it. There were golden ornaments around the edges, giving a strong impression of dark blue and gold.

I stare at the girl in front of me.

She is a little younger and more delicate than the one in the game. Her appearance is different, but the sharpness of her eyes glaring at me to pierce me is the same. However, the corner of her eyebrows is much softer than I remember.

Perhaps she was frustrated that her attacks were not getting through to me, she kicked the ground hard and lunged at me.

I heard the light sound of her kicking the ground.

With a speed that I couldn't have imagined from the sound or her tender appearance, she soon reduced the distance between us to zero, I held her hand above her head and swung the frosted sword I had instantly created.

I called out to her as I blocked the attack by making her reappear.

"Wait, wait, wait. Calm down. Let's talk.”

"You humans killed my father and mother, and I will not forgive you!”

She was crying.

She stared up at me with red eyes without looking away from me, biting her lip hard as if to say she would not sob even if she had to. Her softly curved cheeks were dyed red, her brow wrinkled, and she let out a voice that could not be described as a growl or a cry, and continued to shed tears.

I was taken aback by her stubbornness.

“Hmm...It’s a white flag.”

Damn you, you're a pain in the ass. I really don't know what to do. I really don't know what to do.

As I was pondering this, I saw a light flicker ominously in the corner of my eye.

"It’s bad!"

This place is so dense with mana that it forms mana crystals.

Those who are wise can manipulate the mana to create all sorts of mysteries. I've heard of people like me who produce ice and flames, people like the Demon Lord in front of me who weave and manipulate swords and even can make people control life.

With such a mass of mana lying around in the form of crystals, you'd think this place was a treasure trove. If I could sell these crystals, I would have no trouble making money for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, no. There is no such sweet story.

It's difficult to process mana that doesn't belong to you, and moreover, mana crystals are extremely dangerous. I don't know what will happen if I touch it. I heard that there was a laboratory in Royal Capital that did many experiments on mana crystals, but it was abandoned after an explosion.

In the game, there was an event where the hero was chased by demons through a dangerous area and had to flee. Inside the cave, there were countless demons behind the main character. At the last moment, when he thought he was in danger, a fellow wizard used a fire spell on the crystals.

The sound of an explosion. A blinding light dyes up the screen of my phone and my vision.

The protagonist and his group are pushed back by the blast and flee for their lives from the cave. Well, it's a common event.

I wonder what would happen if a sword made of magic pierced the mana crystal.

It doesn't matter what I put on it. It will explode. My sense of danger is giving off a strong signal.

The demon king, who is holding her sword with her back to the mana crystal, probably hasn't noticed the ominous light.

Think for a moment. But as there is no time for hesitation, I let the mana flow through my body to strengthen my bodily functions. 

It's a technique called Enhanced Boost Magic. 

In the game, it is a buffing technique that increases attack agility and attack power. When used in real life, it raises the overall level of your physical abilities. The benefits increase depending on the skill level.

I stood up from my posture and presented myself to her with my sword at the ready to unleash a thrust. I'm not sure if she was surprised that I took action when I hadn't shown any desire to fight, but I held the side of the demon king, who stiffened for a moment.

The sword that the Demon Lord thrust out gouged me deeply in the stomach.

I felt intense heat for a moment. Soon, the heat is converted into pain as my heart beats.

I can feel the loss of vital heat from my body, but if I lose consciousness here, we will both collapse.

"Ooooooooooooooo...!”

What we lack in stamina we make up for in shouts.

What I lack in strength, but I make up for with my shouts. With a sense of urgency, I formed my magic at full speed and kicked the ground to create an ice floor before my feet touched the ground.

In the same way as the stairs, I run up to the sky at full speed.

I was holding a pot in my left hand and the Demon Lord in my right hand.

Behind me, I hear a series of explosions and flashes of light.

The blast pushed me back, and I ran through the air at full speed as if I were rolling.

If I stop, I'll fall from the momentum. If he threw her out, the only destination would be death.

The sound of explosions echoed from all over the forest in a chain reaction. The huge sound, the impact, and the flashing lights made me feel vaguely intoxicated.

As I ran up to a certain height, I began to feel a little more relaxed.

I wondered if she would be okay.

I'm sure she'll be able to figure out what's going on.

"... are you okay?"

There was no reply. The only thing is that her head moves up and down slightly.

"I'm glad to hear that.”

It was worth surpassing my limit. I was relieved, but at the same time, the pain was intense and a groan escaped my lips.

I'm in the middle of an immensely exciting air trip.

It consumes a lot of mana to keep the ice in place and requires a lot of concentration. If the magic fails here, both of us will fall to the ground at high momentum and we will not survive. I made a lid for the pot with ice and called out to the demon king.

"Sorry, can you hold the pot? We are going to land on the ground."

I held her with one of my hands and let her grab the pot without looking at her.

With my free left hand, I took out a recovery potion from my pouch and slurped it down in one gulp. A second later, the pain finally faded, and I could see the wound closing up as if it were on fast forward.

It's all magic.

The clear view of the night sky is more beautiful than I can describe,......, but unfortunately, I don't have time to appreciate it.

Carefully leaping through the air to avoid slipping on the spilled blood, I descended to the ground.

"Why did you save me from being injured?”

Suddenly, a voice sounded like a bell.

"Why I wonder, is it because I'm …”

Should I replay: Because you're a character in a game? 

No, it's not.

Maybe because I feel sorry for her? This is not entirely true.

It's because I admired her… No.

A simpler, more fundamental reason, maybe because I didn't like her ending.

As I've experienced a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, but I still love this world.

I don't have such a strong sense of justice and passion to eliminate misfortune or become a hero and annihilate demons.

But at least, if something happens in front of me. If I can respond to it within my sight, I will. 

It's not the most dexterous way to live, but it's how I've lived my life, and I'm sure I will continue to do so.

"Well, I'm happy that you and I both didn't have to die. So be it."

It was a very childish and embarrassing reason. I'm too shy to say it out loud, so I'll stop myself from answering explicitly.

"Since I’ve met you on this journey, why don't you tell me your name? It's not very nice to call you without a name. My name is Sanson. People close to me call me Sun."

Her voice was so quiet that it seemed to disappear into thin air, but the muttered words reached my ears.

"I-I’m Spica Velvet.”