Volume 2 - CH 25.2

Act 2 – 25.2 : He Who Drove The Darkness, He Who Cast Light 2

After his sudden shout, Zagbar turned around and stabbed Orua’s chest with his sword. Things happened so quickly that Orua couldn’t react in time.

「W-why… Zagbar-sama.」

「I’ll take your power. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to avenge your descendants.」

Pulsating aura coiled around Zagbar’s great sword as he finished his eerie sentence. The sword kept on sucking Orua’s mana at a rapid pace, making her body mummify bit by bit, losing its life force. By the time Zagbar plucked his sword, all that was left were some scattered bones, which slowly turned to ashes.

「It seems you’ve been saving up a lot of mana in preparation to fight the Hero you hated so much. Don’t worry, I’ll use it properly to avenge your descendants.」

After his mutterings, Zagbar’s armor transformed and grew in size. The ornament placed on its chest transformed into a laughing face and the helmet vanished, showing that it was truly empty all along—this was Zagbar’s true form.

「Here I come, Hero!」

After sucking Orua’s power dry, Zagbar made a beeline toward Reiji.

「Guh! He’s faster than before!」

Reiji somehow managed to parry a few blows from the great sword. Though it would’ve been easier in his normal condition, the current Reiji felt as if his body was as heavy as lead. He could barely defend himself against Zagbar’s attack.

「What’s happened to you, Hero? Is that all you’ve got? Uhn…?」

Just as he was about to gloat, Zagbar finally noticed a strange phenomenon. His own power had suddenly considerably fallen, while Reiji’s aura was clearly becoming stronger than before.

The dark mist was starting to dissipate.

「Impossible! How can this be?!」

Zagbar couldn’t hide his surprise.

「That’s only natural right! It’s because Chiyuki and my other companions did something about this situation! My women aren’t your average women after all!」

Reiji’s body felt lighter as the seconds passed, power had started gushing out of his every pore.

（As expected of Chiyuki! I ——(censored)）

Reiji thought that it was Chiyuki who drove away the dark mist.

The reason he could fight this long was because he trusted that his comrades would do something. (TL : You and your comrades would’ve died by now.)

「HERE I GO!」

Reiji readied his sword of light and charged towards Zagbar. Zagbar tried to catch the blow with his great sword, but Reiji, who had regained his original power, was way too fast for him.

Reiji’s sword once again tore Zagbar’s torso.

「GUUUUUUUUUUUUH!」

Zagbar raised an agonizing scream. He had already lost the dark mist’s protection. Even with his night robe magic still active and protecting him, without the dark mist it was simply far from enough to protect his body from Reiji’s sword.

Zagbar retreated.

「Reiji-senpai…」

「Rei-kun!」

Two overlapping voices called out Reiji’s name.

It was Rino and Sahoko.

Naturally, they had come to assist Reiji.

「Oh, how the tables have turned.」

Reiji grinned towards his opponent. It was a grin filled with the gloating of a winner, similar to the one Zagbar’s armor had shown a while ago.

Seeing the situation turn and realising his impending defeats, Zagbar turned around, trying to escape from the place that would become his grave.

「EAT THIS!」

Zagbar kicked the unconscious Lucullus towards Reiji. However, his real aim was Almina, who had stayed behind Reiji all along.

「Whoopsie!」

Naturally, Reiji didn’t neglect his duty to protect Almina, which, of course, created a momentary gap in his attack.

Seeing his opponent turn his attention away, Zagbar invoked levitation’s magic and flew toward the ceiling.

「Are you okay, Almina?」

Reiji asked while smiling at her. Almina, on the other hand, had already recovered her strength to the point that she could stand on her own.

「Reiji-sama… the monster is…」

「It’s okay, Princess Almina. That guy is far weaker than me. That’s why please wait for me in this place.」

「Understood, Reiji-sama. Godspeed.」

After their small talk, Reiji and Almina proceeded to stare at each other.

「Rei-kun!!!」

「Reiji-senpai…」

Sahoko and Rino had already closed in on Reiji and Almina’s location before they had noticed. The two were looking at Reiji and Almina with displeasure.

「Sahoko, Rino, I’ll go after that monster. Take care of Almina!!」

After saying that, Reiji separated himself from Almina and flew towards the hole in the ceiling Zagbar had created.

「Wait a minute, Reiji-senpai!!」

「Geez, Rei-kun…」

Despite hearing their vexed voices, Reiji ignored them as he needed to catch up to his fleeing opponent. He immediately conjured his flying magic to catch up with Zagbar.

Rino and Sahoko, who were left behind, couldn’t do anything but look at Reiji’s departing figure.

「Uuh…」

It was at this moment that Rember finally raised a groan, making the two girls finally notice his existence.

「Eh, Sahoko-san, is this person injured by any chance?」[EN: You don’t say!]

「This person is… Rember-dono, right? Are you okay?」

Rember finally calmed down after they noticed his existence. Frankly speaking, he wasn’t alright. It happened just like before, when the Hero and Almina had forgotten all about his existence and drowned in their own world—it was truly vexing how all of them had just completely ignored him. He was on the verge of dying both physically and psychologically.

After Sahoko casted healing magic on him, the pain that assaulted Rember’s body vanished. Tears streamed down his face as he realised that at least he had gotten another chance at life.

◆

「Are you okay, Nao-san?」

Nao nodded at Chiyuki’s question. She had woken up after the dark mist had cleared up from Rox Kingdom. She was then treated by Chiyuki who, though didn’t have healing magic as effective as Sahoko’s, still could use a bit of it. It was enough to salvage Nao’s situation.

Sahoko and Rino had gone to the royal castle since the fight there hadn’t seemed to be over yet. Chiyuki and Nao, on the other hand, had headed towards the underground passage again. Their goal was to reunite with the man who had saved them.

（He might be the one who drove out that masked man, in short, he is our savior.）

Chiyuki and Nao were waiting at the entrance since they wanted to thank him. Though she wanted to enter the underground passage, she couldn’t take Nao, who had just recovered, nor could she go in by herself. That’s why they had decided to wait at the entrance.

Naturally, she would enter the underground passage if he didn’t come out soon. She had to make sure he was safe.

「Chiyuki-san…」

Nao called at Chiyuki. As Chiyuki turned to face her, she noticed that Nao wasn’t paying attention to her, but was rather looking towards the sky. At Nao’s bewildered face, she followed her line of sight, only to see a black shadow flying above them.

「What is that? An armor?」

Something clad in black mist was flying under Reiji’s sun. The armor stood out since it was a pitch black dot in the middle of the brightest of lights

「Ah, Reiji-senpai!!」

Nao suddenly pointed at a figure chasing the armor. It was a man clad in shimmering light, who had come out from the same location as the black armor. Of course the glowing man was none other than Reiji.

Though the armor seemed to be running away from Reiji, its escapade ended in a matter of seconds since its flying speed was much slower than Reiji’s. As he caught up to the armor that was almost moving in slow motion, Reiji started facing the black armor.

「Hero, don’t think that you already won! I’ll crush the humans in this country!」

After he shouted, the armor’s size expanded, becoming many times bigger. The swirling dark emotions in the armor’s voice caused mass panic all over Rox Kingdom. Chiyuki noticed that right now, every single citizen in Rox Kingdom was looking up at the sky.

「NOT AS LONG AS I’M STILL ALIVEEEEEEEE―――!!!」

Now, it was Reiji who shouted at the armor, his voice resounding in the entire kingdom.

Chiyuki listened to the pleasant voice as she recalled her first memory of hearing it; at the time, they were both still in Japan and Reiji was singing a beautiful song. She couldn’t help but miss those simpler times.

「TAKE THIS!」

The armor fired several lumps of darkness towards Reiji.

「TOO WEAK―――! Thousand Light Bullets!」

Countless light bullets formed around Reiji as he chanted his magic. Those light bullets easily extinguished the lumps of darknesses coming his way. It was his best spell to swat away any dark magic, his own foolproof armor.

""

「NOW IT’S MY TURN!!」

At his roar, a gigantic magic circle appeared in front of Reiji.

「That’s…」

Chiyuki unintentionally muttered in astonishment.

The magic that was about to be used by Reiji was a magic that could only be used by the God, Oudith, before Reiji’s arrival; it was called Light Cannon of Heavenly Might. Chiyuki still remembered Rena’s shocked face as she explained to them this magic and its mightiness after seeing Reiji use it with ease.

「TAKE THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!」

The torrent of light from Reiji’s magic circle swallowed the giant armor in an instant.

「GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!」

The armor was slowly vanishing in the torrent of violent light as it raised an agonized screech, and the light that slowly extinguished it, illuminated the dark night till the ends of the kingdom.

After the armor vanished, only Reiji and the pseudo-sun remained in the sky above Rox Kingdom.

The whole kingdom was wrapped in silence. This, however, didn’t last long, as tempestuous joyful cries erupted one after the other.

Though no one was beside Nao and Chiyuki, the joyful cries of Rox Kingdom’s citizens could be heard from their position.

The cheers that praised Reiji resounded in every part of Rox Kingdom.