Volume 5 - CH 12

Chapter 12 – Another World

The moment the magic circle appeared, Schwartz shouted clearly,

“——Hell Flame!”

Black flames spiraled up from the magic circle at Haruto’s feet.

For the time being, I protected myself with Aegis, but…

“These black flames won’t go away until the target is consumed. Now, how are you going to deal with it?”

Muddafucka, how do I deal with this now?

As I pondered on this, I heard Schwartz’s voice again.

“Now then, how about I add something extra to the mix——Endless World!”

At that moment, the presence of the holy city that should have been directly below me, vanished.

…No, it seems I was transported to a completely different space.

I used time-space magic to stop the time of the magic circle at my feet and the black flame that clung to Aegis, and sealed it in another dimension.

With this, the threat of the black flame was gone, but all I could see was complete darkness.

“Think you can break out from my world?”

I heard Schwartz’s voice coming from the depths of the darkness.

“Well, we’ll see about that!”

My world, as in…could this be another world he created?

While wondering about this, Ellis answered.

<<This is a world created by Schwartz that exists in another dimension.>>

So that’s how it is after all.

<<It seems that in this space, Schwartz’s physical abilities and magic power are amplified. The current Schwartz may possess the same level of strength as master’s in your current state, so I do not recommend fighting here.>>

Hmm. In that case, I’d very much like to find a way to escape somehow…

Just as I was thinking about this, my detect presence and detect danger skills reacted. The direction was right beside me.

I caught the approaching Schwartz’s claw with the arm I applied Diamond on and struck with the other arm, but didn’t feel like I landed the hit.

Instead, I heard Schwartz’s voice.

“That really surprised me. I didn’t think you could react to a blow like that under these circumstances. Could it be that you can see me?”

“Well, something like that.”

Schwartz’s voice came back, “Oh”, as if he were surprised or impressed.

To be precise, I’m not seeing with my eyesight, but rather grasping the entire space with detect magic, detect presence, and the map function.

According to these, the place where he’s standing is——

“Is this a city of ruins…? Is this world storing these ruins?”

That’s right, the entire place was in ruins.

However, compared to the current Perdis Kingdom or the Holy State of Belifaire, the structure of the buildings look a bit old.

There’s a building in the center of the city that looks like a castle that has collapsed in some places.

Then I heard Schwartz’s voice, sounding a little excited.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it?”

“…a shame?”

What’s he talking about?

I’m in fact standing in the middle of a city in ruins. That much I can tell.

Then Schwartz elaborated,

“This place holds all the countries I have destroyed.”

Hearing those words, it finally made sense.

Come to think of it, Schwartz had the title of ‘Destroyer of Nations’.

In other words——

I widened the scope of the map and couldn’t believe what I found.

Yeah, there were several ruins, not just the one I was standing in the middle of.

“…I can’t believe you destroyed so many countries!”

“Yeah well, the ones who summoned me ordered, ‘Destroy our enemy’s country’. I remember some having heroes in their ranks, but that didn’t stop me from destroying them altogether. Oh, and trust me, I made sure to collect my dues for destroying these countries.”

Schwartz licked his lips.

I simply replied, “that so”, and glared at Schwartz.

“Oh, but you don’t have to worry. The holy city and everyone in it are safe.”

Since I couldn’t take his words at face value, Schwartz explained.

“Time passes differently in this world than it does back in your world. No matter how much time you spend here, it only amounts to a moment outside.”

“…Oh I see, so in the end, I still have to kick your ass to get out of this world, right?”

“You got that right. So you’d better give it your best shot!”

With these words, I felt a presence that was even greater than before.

I had at most twenty minutes left with Limit Break.

I braced myself and approached Schwartz.

However, in an attempt to intercept me, Schwartz swung his sword at me.

“!!”

“Oh, so you’re able to deflect it, huh? A strike containing my full strength…”

Schwartz looked surprised but elated.

So I asked Schwartz while evading his sword,

“I can’t help but notice that you look somewhat happy?”

“You bet I am, or rather, excited!”

Schwartz continued to speak amidst the sparks from the clash of his sword and my blade.

“In the Demon Realm, where we devils live, strength determines everything. But the majority are weak. I found myself reigning as one of the strongest, and all the devils below me submitted and stopped challenging me.”

Schwartz recounted, sounding truly bored.

“If no one challenges you, then isn’t that a good thing? Since no one is causing you any trouble.”

“You’ve got that wrong. The nature of us devils is one fraught with strife. We’re all about fighting.”

“…Is that so!”

I swung my sword sideways to catch Schwartz by surprise, cutting him in half.

But there was no feedback and his figure faded away.

Tsk, an afterimage…

Immediately after, his presence appeared behind me, and as I quickly crouched down, his sword passed over my head.

“Your reaction speed is as ridiculous as ever.”

I continued to dodge his attacks that unfolded from there, adjusting my stance, and firing a series of fireballs at his face.

“Mmh!”

Schwartz leapt backward to avoid being hit by the fireball, a beginner-level magic, and unleashed his magic to cancel it out.

A roar echoed through the pitch-black world.

“…I didn’t expect you’d put that much magic power into a fireball. It looks even more powerful than poorly executed advanced magic.”

Schwartz muttered in admiration.

“It’s hard to believe you’re human, don’t you think? Even I, a Demon Lord, cannot see through the depths of your magic power.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is. Your capacity is even larger than us devils. So, I genuinely and sincerely respect you.”

“I see. In that case, would you mind leaving this country alone?”

“Fufufuu, no can’t do. I have already received the compensation after all. And not once have I ever failed to fulfill a wish.”

As soon as Schwartz finished saying this, he pressed closer to me.

It’s all right, since I cut off his left arm earlier, this guy should only be able to attack with his right hand, that is, from the left.

With that in mind, I took a defensive stance, but the next attack came from the right side as well.

I quickly jumped back, but perhaps because I was surprised, my reaction was a little delayed, and blood seeped from my side.

“——?!”

Analyzing his presence carefully, I found out that his left arm, which was not there just a moment ago, was beginning to regenerate.

“Hmm.  What? Is it that surprising that my arm is regenerating?”

“Oh, it sure is. How exactly did you do it?”

“Not tellin’.”

“Thought as much.”

The reason he didn’t attack with it till now despite having healed it up to this point is most likely to catch me off guard like this.

As I was thinking about this, Schwartz must have noticed that my wounds were healing with my Auto Healing skill, and he said curiously.

“How did you heal yourself without using recovery magic?”

“I ain’t tellin’”

“Fufufuu, I suppose not.”

Schwartz seemed rather convinced.

However, if he also has a means of recovery, moreover, something that can regenerate his left arm that was completely detached, it’s going to be even more difficult to defeat him.

I braced myself again and confronted Schwartz.

“——Darkness Line!”

“——Aegis!”

I defended against Schwartz’s attack, which cut off everything, with my barrier.

Schwartz quickly closed the distance, and when I swung my blade, a high-pitched sound rang out, and then an exchange of swords ensued.

Inflicting wounds on each other and then getting healed.

There was no end to it.

“Can you do me a favor and just drop dead already?”

“You took that right out of my mouth. To think that there’s actually someone who could drive me against the wall in this world. It’s really making my blood pump!”

This perverted battle maniac, what are you? Kusel’s twin?

Why do the inhabitants of another world love to fight so much?

…Nah, among my classmates who were summoned as heroes, there were those who seemed to enjoy fighting quite a bit. Is this some kind of otherworldly culture or something?

Such a silly thought crossed my mind, but I regained my composure and asked Schwartz.

“Why do you want to fight so badly?”

“As I said before, it’s our nature!”

I frowned at his answer, which wasn’t really an answer, and swung my blade.

This isn’t looking good, my body won’t be able to hold out for much longer.

And in this world, as Ellis said, my strength and Schwartz’s were in a deadlock.

In that case, I had no choice but to destroy this world, this dimension I am in.

“——Explosion!”

“Ughh!!”

Caught in the explosion, Schwartz was blown towards the ground and crashed into a pile of rubble.

A slash then came flying at me from the dust that was billowing up.

I defended against it with Aegis, and then briefly sheathed my blade.

Then I quickly lowered my back and assumed the stance to draw my blade.

“…You’re putting your weapon away in this situation?”

Schwartz, who had returned to the air, didn’t attack me, perhaps wary of my suspicious behavior.

“Well, I’ve had enough of this world already, so I’m letting myself out.”

“Fufufu, sorry to say this, but it’s beyond you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I channeled magic power into the black katana and then drew it out in a single stroke.

However, since the slash wasn’t visible, it must have looked to Schwartz as if I had just waved my blade through the air.

“What are you even——the hell?!”

Schwartz was tittering, but immediately afterward, a crack appeared in the dimension, and light permeated through.

“No, that can’t be…no one can escape my world…”

“It’s ‘cuz of our level difference. Besides, you’ll do well not to underestimate my blade.”

I said to Schwartz, who sounded incredulous.

The crack gradually widened, and soon the darkness completely collapsed.

As we stood in the air, we could see the holy city below us and the barrier I had put up.

Schwartz still looked incredulous, but then he began to laugh, “fufufu”.

I don’t know what was going through his mind when he laughed, but I could sense that he was enjoying himself.

“You’re certainly right, that weapon does have a shape unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s called Katana*. It’s a weapon from my country.” (TLN: Blade)

“How fascinating. To think that after roaming around for thousands of years, there are still some things that I don’t know…it’s so fascinating.”

Schwartz held out the sword in his hand to me and made me a proposal.

“If you defeat me, you can have this sword. It’s a divine-grade* weapon. But if I win…” (TLN: It says God’s weapon)

“Oh, sure. If you win, you can have this blade.”

“Fufufu, thanks a bunch. Yet another reason for me to want to win even more.”

Schwartz laughed.

Then, both of us raised our magic power, and resumed clashing again.

We struck each other again and again, and eventually Schwartz’s sword came close to my torso.

“Gotcha, it’s my——”

My win.

Schwartz tried to finish up, but at that moment, my silhouette vanished.

“That’s just my afterimage.”

“Wha—!!”

I moved behind Schwartz in an instant, called out to him, and swung my blade.

Schwartz twisted his body to avoid it, but my aim was one step ahead of him.

As if having homed in on him, the slash attack hit——

“——!!”

Schwartz’s left arm flew through the air.

Schwartz jumped back and let out a hushed sound.

It wasn’t a cry of pain, but one of shock.

Something misty like a black haze was leaking from the shoulder where he had been slashed again.

Schwartz muttered somewhat happily.

“I guess this makes it the second time you’ve severed my arm.”

“Yeah, it’s a rare experience isn’t it? ——Now, how about this last one as a parting gift.”

I closed the distance in one breath to finish him off, but——

But then I thought I heard Schwartz snicker.

Ellis’ impatient warning echoed in my head.

<<It’s dangerous. Quickly back away!>>

There was a magic circle glowing suspiciously at my feet.

A trap huh!

But by the time I realized it, it was too late.

The magic circle activated, and a black chain emerged from it and wrapped around my body.

“I honestly didn’t think I would succeed.”

Dammit, I must have let my guard down in my hastiness to win!

“Me too. Never did it occur to me that you’d set up a trap in that split second.”

“Now, it’s really over! It’s been fun.”

Schwartz, with a triumphant expression on his face, swung his sword downward and fresh blood flew in the air.