CH 77.2

PART – 2

Crono immediately leapt high into the air, directly across from Kageha and the others.

“You can not escape. I will kill you here, you suspicious bastard.”

With a flash of green light, Crono quickly caught up with Kahan’s Ten Spheres and continued his attack.

“Huh! This is?!”

A series of deadly blows were fired at him simultaneously.

He dodged and slashed his sword in the air, but the heavier the silver spheres were and the harder he striked, the more his body was sent flying into the air due to the recoil…

‘At this rate, I’ll probably end up in space…’

“Ah!”

Although he was not used to the sudden momentum he was gaining due to the recoil, he used it to dodge the incoming blows.

Then, he pondered about his biggest problem at the moment.

‘I can’t stop my magic from leaking. I think I can solve this by unleashing my magic onto them, but… I don’t want to do that.’

In the slight opening of the sphere diving at him, he shot a wave of magic power from his left arm, but the blemish caused by the… cursed strip did not disappear.

“Kaka! It’s a good thing you don’t have a clue about what you’re doing.” Molly laughed as she waited for his demise.

Crono slashed the threats that came at him from above, below, in front, and behind away.

But, because he had no experience in sword fighting in the air, Crono’s clothes were rapidly being burnt by the lightning. Although he was safe, he was being driven into a corner.

“…can’t be helped.”

………

……

…

“Ha, ha, ah, my Lord….”

“Ugh…”

As their Lord rose high into the sky, Kageha, Lilia, and the others watched anxiously through the fog that surrounded them.

“……”

In the sky above, the Ten Spheres of Kahan glittered in irregular orbits, like distorted fireworks.

As Molly relentlessly attacked the black blur that the Demon King became with her spheres, she suddenly remembered the words of her first contractor.

“–You will find your place. You’ll find someone who will embrace you. I’m sure… you and…”

The words said by the one on the brink of death echoed to Molly, who had been a poor, lowly messenger.

“…Ah, Kahan. My place is here. This is my kingdom… What?!” A shiver ran through Molly who stood on the ground. Her gaze fell onto an unknown entity which was far above.

“Is it possible…?”

“…Molly-sama?”

A figure landed onto the land with great force at that moment.

“Ah!”

“What?”

The black sword in the back of his palm had a luster that had not faded in the slightest.

“……”

“…I’m surprised. I never thought I’d see someone with the same level of strength in a place like this….”

The curse was no longer present, no sphere was following him, all that was left was an inappropriate smile on his face.

And then there was…

“……”

“Oh no!”

The ten spheres of Kahan fell around the Demon Lord one after another, breaking into two hemispheres.

“To be honest, I was in a hurry. I was as nervous as I was when I realized right before the test that I had studied for the wrong subject the day before.”

“What did you do….?” Molly asked, her voice tinged with surprise.

“Forget Kahan’s Ten Balls. But.. Hemkel’s Spellbelt. That’s not something that can be solved half-heartedly.”

If you had to guess which was more unusual, you’d probably guess that slicing through the Ten Spheres of Kahan was the most unusual. After all, that was a feat that would make even Molly tremble.

But Hemkel’s Spellbelt was a curse.

It could never be broken without thorough knowledge about it.

The only options are to avoid the curse in the first place, kill Molly herself, or cut off her… arm.

But the Demon Lord in front of her did not seem to have chosen any of those options.

In other words, she couldn’t understand what was happening at all.

The only thing she could detect was a strange presence that made even Molly shudder.

‘I just cheated a little, that’s all.’ Crono muttered in his mind.

“Answer my question, and I’ll let you live.”

“Oh… you still have a chance to win?”

It was true that neither of them were still harmed, but having defeated her three spells, he thought that Molly would admit defeat.

However, there was no sign of that, and she still seemed to have a few moves left in her back pocket.

“Looks like it’s just the beginning. Come and get me.”

“…Kaka! You’re not answering. Then, let’s bury you. I’ll examine you after you’re dead.” [Swamp Demon] puts her hands made purely out of bone onto the surface of the water.

“Servants of… wake up.”

“……hmm?”

At the call of the Swamp Demon, a group of skeletons carrying weapons that looked like… bones covered with armor ascended onto the land where the Demon Lord stood.

“That’s…”

“Those are the visitors who once came here. They are the fiercest of the decayed, having lost the final test of Molly-sama. Their souls have been summoned, and though they have not fully recovered, the skills engraved in their bodies remain. They are undeniably fierce.” Solnada replied to the unconscious murmurs of Kageha, who was watching seriously from the top of the tree.

There were various types of warriors: skeletal demons dragging split swords, skeletons holding rusty straight swords, and corpses swinging axes wildly.

They swarmed towards the Demon Lord in the middle of the Cursed Wetlands.

“Huh!”

The fierce warriors of the past spread their malodor, invading the land of the living.

The Demon Lord’s sword flashed with no hesitation.

With his refined swordsmanship, he made a grand stand and slashed one after another.

“Hey!”

When Molly realized that no matter how many strong people gathered, it would not buy much time, she drew out another level of magic power.

A poisonous dark green magic blazed high in the air.

The demon king sensed the magic and lit his black sword with flickering magic power that looked like a flame…

“Hmm!”

A single, rotating strike.

A fraction of a second later, black waves spread out in a circle, splitting the bodies of the surrounding attackers in half and destroying them.

“There it is. The one thing I dislike the most.” In front of the trees that surrounded this extremely intense battlefield, Molly looked at the vanishing black wave and said angrily.

“……”

A completely controlled manipulation of magic occured.

“The Night Swamp of Akranagar.”

“……”

Under Molly’s spell, the swamp was engulfed in a green abyss.

The land sank as well, allowing new fiends made of bone to swarm around the Demon Lord’s feet, almost as if they were trying to drag him in.

“Your skill in manipulating magic is nothing compared to me!”

As if to express Molly’s anger, a giant skeletal apparition crawled out from behind her.

Thick and vicious, the four-armed monster had the same spikes and ridges as Molly.

Its upper body was exposed above the water. Two ghastly skulls grasped the Demon Lord.

That was Molly’s only creation, ‘Miradoon, Lord of Misfortune’.

“Let’s see if you can shrug this off! –Trigor’s Thunderbolt Spear!”

A huge thunderbolt erupted in Miradoon’s bony hand.

“Kuh!”

“It’s too bright!”

The girls hid themselves in the shadows of the trees, but the immense heat made it difficult to even look directly at the battle.

“Molly-sama, are you planning to burn this swamp to the ground?”

It was a great spell, one that was much larger and stronger than Molly’s Lightning Spear. It emitted overwhelming heat.

“You’ve finally come out in full force. Then I won’t be using any more tricks either.”

The Demon Lord raised his black sword for the first time.

“…Now, let’s end this.”

Completely ignoring the skeletal soldiers at his feet, he turned to face the [Swamp Demon].

“……”

As green lightning illuminated the swamp, the Demon King and the [Swamp Demon] faced each other in a world separate from their surroundings.

As you increase your concentration, you eventually find yourself in a world where time itself is slowed down.

Kageha, who was confident in her speed, Solnada, who benefitted from the fog, and the undesirables who peeked at the battle insolently, watched on with difficulty.

In their private space, Molly waited for the opportunity to obliterate the Demon Lord from the swamp.

In an instant, once the thunderbolt is used, it’ll all be over!

But just in case, she waited for the perfect opportunity.

And then… a certain skeleton grasped onto the Demon Lord’s knee with his hand.

“Go!”

A great thunder spear was shot from Miradoon’s hand.

A blade of ruthless and swift lightning.

Along with the lightning, Miradoon’s body broke into a heap.

“……”

A sword of divine speed.

He left behind everything in the swamp. His men, the people he was watching over, Molly and the lightning… The Demon King appeared behind Miradoon, taking a posture that was the aftermath of him swinging his sword.

He sliced through the green lightning, cutting down both the monsters from the swamp that was basking in the early evening.

“……”

“…Your passion for magic, your pride… is highly desirable.”

Crono, whose feet were immersed in the swamp, talked to Molly, who was stunned after being defeated by a single sword strike.

He turns his black eyes onto Molly, leaving the bewildered spectators to their own understanding.

“I’ll say it again…”

He held out not his black sword, but instead….

“Would you like to… join me?”

〜・〜・〜・〜・〜・〜

Message:

Despite omitting a few bits… this chapter was still quite long. I need to write another chapter, since a few descriptions were missed too. It is quite short, so I’ll update that one soon.

Thank you very much.