Volume 4 - CH 4.4

Part 4

It was Baduta.

Unlike the guys that were naked at the bottom, he was properly wearing armor.

He held a spear tinged with magical power in his hand.

He poured a sharp glint of his eyes on Diablo.

「I’ve been waiting for you, Diablo or whatever it was.」

His heavy voice reverberated.

Being confronted like this raised Diablo’s tension all the more. It felt as if heat was rising from deep within his body.

This was without a doubt a Demon King-like moment.

Diablo turned the 《Staff of Tenma》 towards him.

「Kukuku……Baduta, lament on your carelessness of standing before my eyes!」

However, he was worried──If it was a powerful person such as Baduta, he should be able to guess the difference in ability between himself and Diablo.

What was with the opponent’s confidence-filled attitude? Was it a trap? Was it a bluff?

Diablo’s haughtiness and confidence-filled attitude was, of course, a bluff. It was a Demon King role play. Putting aside when it was in the game, whenever he fought in this world, he always suppressed his nervousness and fear.

He inquired.

「Baduta, what is this scene?」

「If you are a first-rate Magician, then wouldn’t you know?」

Since he was a mere Gamer, he didn’t happen to have any knowledge on things that didn’t have to do with battle like that on hand.

However, if the objective of this place was the same as the game……

「So you were performing the sorcery for the Marked Death Disease.」

「Fumu……Did you hear from Lumachina that it was sorcery?」

「You are saying that she also noticed?」

Baduta frowned.

「It can’t be, you mean to say not just the High Chief Priest, but even a Magician had noticed?」

「Fu, I am not some Magician. I am a Demon King that came from another world!」

「Such nonsense……」

──This is pretty unbelieveable, isn’t it.

He thought that Rem and Shera’s honesty, both of whom simply believed him, was priceless.

「Are those foolish fellows groveling at the bottom also related to that sorcery or whatever……」

「If you become my subordinate, I shall tell you anything.」

「You are talking quite arrogantly, aren’t you, Baduta. That sorcery……Did you learn it from a Demonic Being?」

The opponent’s eyes went wide open.

「Wha!? How, did you know?」

It was because it was sorcery that a Demonic Being used in the game──he couldn’t possibly say that.

「Kukuku……I said that I was a Demon King, did I not!」

He still didn’t know what this other world was, but he thought that it might be the source material for the MMORPG Cross Reverie.

Even in regards to this sorcery, only the R-18 portion was omitted.

He probably brought Rem and Lumachina here for some reason, a reason that was not narrated in the game, and make them do such immoral actions.

Diablo made a command.

「Release those two. In addition, if you atone for these vulgar misdeeds, I shall leave you with only your life.」

Diablo cast his eyes towards the altar.

It seemed that the damage from the magic just now hadn’t reached the altar where Rem and Lumachina were. He was relieved.

His own left hand wasn’t where it should have been.

Wasn’t it supposed to have brushed the spear away and prepare for the next attack?

A massive amount of blood spilled down onto the stone stairway.

Diablo’s left arm was, severed even through the bone, and it dangled only by his skin.

──Uowaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!?

He desperately held down the scream that was about to let out.

A greasy sweat spouted out.

Shera, who was watching the fight from the top of the stairway, raised a scream as if to do it in Diablo’s place.

And even though she shouldn’t know about the situation, Rem raised her voice at the bottom.

What happened to Lumachina?

Horun’s figure was gone. Did he run away?

Diablo still had the composure to worry about his surroundings.

Normally, he surely would have writhed about in pain, crying and shouting. Was it all thanks to his tough level 150 body?

He was somehow able to put himself on guard.

「Fu……Fufu……You are pretty good……Baduta.」

「You overestimated your own strength, and came to a place where you can’t exhibit that magic of yours. You might have thought that you used all sorts of methods and “ascertained the secret location” but……this was all calculated in order to call you here without suspecting anything. If I had left a letter behind saying “I am waiting at an underground facility”, you probably would have been cautious and come after making adequate preparations. But, because you had arrived here with information leaked by my subordinates, you came in without any vigilance.」

He couldn’t deny that.

Instead of clicking his tongue, Diablo showed a grin.

「It is weaklings that think about the various small details.」

「It is just as you say. I do not believe myself to be strong. I do not get self-conceited. I always make thorough preparations, drop formidable enemies into my plans, and defeat them in situations where I have the absolute advantage. Relying on ability, equipment, and techniques, that is what a greenhorn does.」

There was a terrain effect even in the game. Special restrictive conditions as well.

However, times where the Player side prepared it, that almost never happened. A majority of the time, the administrators would prepare the special terrain, and the Players would think about the considerations for conquering it.

Diablo curved his lips.

──True, I might have been self-conceited. My thinking was shallow. This has seriously become a good reference, Oji-san.

Even if there was a need to take not damaging the stone wall into consideration, 《Grand Mine》 was the wrong choice against a Warrior-type that was greater than level 130. It was too weak that it couldn’t even slow him down.

It seemed that the opponent had piled up a lot of practice in regards to moving on the stairway. He could evade magic on the level of 《Explosion》.

That being said, if Diablo were fire high powered magic with a vast range, the stone wall would end up being destroyed.

Truly, this was a really well thought out countermeasure for Magicians.

──Even so, I will win!

「Baduta, magic that you do not know of exists in this world as well! 《Lightning Sphere》!!」

*Baribari* A purple lightning traveled through the air.

A sphere clad in lightning came forth. For its size, it had a diameter of about three meters.

If Baduta were to touch it, an intense electrical shock would run through him, and only Baduta would receive an electric shock without damaging the stone wall.

The drawback of this magic, was that it was slow.

It slowly flew towards the opponent.

In a normal situation, it could easily be evaded but……This was on top of a stairway. There was no where to avoid it.

「I see. So there was this sort of magic as well.」

Would he meekly go down the stairway as far as possible? He probably wouldn’t do that.

If he had level 130 leg strength, he should be able to jump over the three meter sphere even while wearing armor.

──Come!!

He had planned to force Baduta towards the cliff with a 《Grand Mine》 he set up on the wall.

*Jirijir* The sphere of electrical shocks approached the opponent.

──What? Is he not going to jump?

*Hyuu* Baduta’s figure disappeared.

It wasn’t upwards. Incredibly, the guy jumped down towards the cliff.

──You’re kidding me, right!?

「Your aim is quite obvious, greenhorn!」

For a moment, it looked as if Baduta had fallen, but one of his hands remained on the stone stairway.

The spear lodged itself into Diablo’s chest.

The sharp spearhead, it tore through his 《Hollow of Jet Black》, severed his muscles, smashed his bones, and pierced his heart.

A large amount of blood spouted out from his mouth.

The pain was so great that, without even realizing that it was pain, his brain burst and it felt as if he would lose consciousness.

Death.

He fell into darkness.

His heart was crushed due to the high level Martial Art. This was without a doubt instant death damage.

The 《Staff of Tenma》 fell from Diablo’s right hand.

It rolled on top of the large amount of blood that was spilled.

Crumbling down, he fell to his knees.

The one that raised a high-pitched scream, was probably Shera.

Baduta was confident of his victory and expressed a smile.

Diablo’s right hand grabbed onto Baduta’s left wrist.

Breathing out rough breathes like a beast, and his eyes shining with a blazing radiance, his bloodstained lips opened.

「You’ve finally, stopped……you senile old man.」

「…………………………Wh………………Why, are you alive!?」

Baduta tried to get away, but Diablo’s grip wasn’t so weak as to let him shake it off so easily. Diablo invoked a magic whose condition was “contact”.

「……Send everything to the world of stillness……《Absolute Zero》.」

Starting from the part that Diablo was in contact with, Baduta’s left arm turned white.

One of the Water Attributes strongest magics.

Any and all kinetic energy is completely and eternally lost. The target was limited to one person, and the spell won’t activate unless done at zero distance.

Baduta’s eyes went wide open.

「UOOOOOOHHHHHHHH──────!?」

「Go and become a sculpture of ice!」

While hurling blood from his mouth, Diablo shouted.

Baduta invoked a Martial Art with his right hand. With the 《Finger Blade》that turned his hand blade into a drawn sword──