CH 520

“You! !”

“Even with the help of Sephiroth, you’re still pretty good.”

“I just can’t show my best right now, that’s all. Yaah!”

“I can’t get hit with that.”

Vertical slams my fireball into the ground with one hand and makes it explodes it while using his staff to catch Sephiro’s blade of light. I’ve never seen anyone cancel out magic with their bare hands except for Makina’s Kaiser Knuckle.

“What about close-range! “Dragon Fang”!”

“So you’re coming.”

“What!?”

Vertical turned to face me, ready to intercept, but the attack was completely invisible, and the sword touched the staff only briefly, but the other blow sliced through his side. 

“Muh ……!”

“Too shallow! Then another blow ……! “Dragon Bite”.”

I used my new technique, Dragon Bite, one after another. This technique is a two-stage stance where the body is swung out from the upper slash with all its might. In addition to the fact that it is a complete two-stage attack, unlike the Dragon Fang feint, it can also be used to gain distance as it cleaves through the torso as if it were being swept away.

“It’s a heavy blow, where does your body get this much power …… “Demon King’s Cane”, shine in the darkness.”

I felt cleaving his torso, but when I turned around, I saw a black mist emanating from his belly, and a “black light” emanated from the cane Vertical had raised, flying straight at Sephiroth and me like a laser beam!

“Nnngh!”

Sephiro caught it with his blade of light, and her body fell backwards, gouging the ground.

“Are you okay, Sephiro? !”

“You can’t escape.”

“Kuh ……! !”

The black light that I thought would pass over where I was standing changed its angle and came up. The moment the magic struck, I fell, though I quickly used defensive magic.

“How powerful, I never thought it would be able to crack the Auto-Protection this much ……”

“Well, this is the end.”

Vertical is standing at the drop point, waiting for me in a pose with his bat at the ready, and saying something like that. I don’t think that’s the way to use a cane, but I have a bad feeling about that cane itself, and my intuition tells me that if I take a hit, I’ll die.

Well, I can’t just take it so easily, can I ……!!

“!”

“So you’re shooting in that position ……!”

This is the first time that Vertical has raised a voice that can be described as both confused and delighted, but this is not the end, and I use more magic.

“!”

“What!? You’re plunging in while in the middle of magic ……!”

Levitation Accel is an accelerated version of levitation that allows for explosive movement when flying in a certain direction. The duration depends on the amount of magic power, but it is possible to create an instantaneous explosive power like now.

Protected by Auto-Protection, I hold my sword and charge into Vertical with the Dragonic Blaze!

“Interesting, then I’ll use this Demon Lord’s Cane to turn you into a star! Muuuu!”

“Big brother!”

“Take this!”

The embodiment of the Dragonic Blaze opens wide, and at the same time, Vertical swings out the Demon Lord’s Cane.

“Nuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

The two sides’ attacks clashed against each other, and their movements stopped, indicating that we were almost evenly matched in power. But since I haven’t launched any attacks of my own yet, I decide to go for it.

“Dragon Bite!”

“Nuooooooohhhhhhh! I have no choice …… “Fallen Angel Strike”!”

“What? Uwaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!?”

I thought the sword would hit his neck and cut him open, but Vertical shouted something with a shocked look on his face, and the cane exploded with a powerful concentration of magic power. 

Both of us were repulsed by each other’s blasts, and I fell to the ground from my back, while Vertical fell from his face and was dragged across the ground. Isn’t the skin on his face going to peel off?

“Ouch …….”

“Lars-kun!”

“Lars-niichan, you’re being too reckless!”

I’m lying on my back, and Kudelica and Sephiro run up to me and call out. My back hurts, but thanks to my auto-protection and Sarge armor, I don’t seem to have any broken bones.

“I’m fine. Anyway, what about him!”

“H-He’s still standing ……!?”

“I guess that’s to be expected from the top, if the sun was shining, I could definitely take him down, but with this body, I can’t do it ……”

Aside from Sephiro, who laments that the [Solar Striker] cannot be used unless the sun is shining, Vertical walks here while holding his face down.

“Hmm, you’re certainly strong for a human. When Lilith told me to use the Demon Lord’s cane, I thought she has gone crazy ……”

“How rude!?”

As Lilith raised her voice, Vertical came up to me and held out his hand.

“…… No nosebleeds, huh?”

“I can do it if I want to be human and put on a spectacle, though?”

“Hmph, what do you think you’re doing? I didn’t go easy on you, but I didn’t mean to kill you, did I?”

“You’re a strong man if that’s how you’re thinking. I’ve tried to kill you twice, after all.”

“Get away!”

Kudelica was furious at Vertical for saying it so casually. However, Vertical doesn’t seem to care and continues to keep his eyes on me.

“Well, It’s still not enough to fight my true form. Be stronger, boy. I will help you when the time comes. Otherwise, it will be difficult to defeat Apollos.”

“What did you say ……?”

“Hey, haven’t you seen Lars-sama’s power? Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s not enough. But it’s true that there is still room for growth. You’re name’s Lars, right? I’ll back off here.”

“Hey! Are you running away?”

“I’m not running away. I’m trying to give you some time. If you’re on par with me at this point, you know it’s going to be tough to fight me after I tell you my true name.”

“……”

If this is Satan, then he must be one of the strongest imaginary beings in the world, so he can’t be easily defeated. I’d be willing to risk my life to defeat this guy if it meant the end of everything, but I’d prefer it if he’d just back off. 

“All right …… what are you guys going to do when you get back? Are you going to report that we’re going after Apollos?”

“Of course. Three of the ten chief priests have been killed, so a report is necessary. The fact that they are attacking the town of Gust means that this is unavoidable.”

“Then, there’ll be war ……”

“You plan to do that anyway, don’t you? However, King Berias is a coward, and he is unlikely to attack once he hears that our demons are defeated. If there is a possibility, it’s that the Lord Founder will attack alone. As long as he can use us as pawns, it will be easy for him to take you down if the remaining six of us to attack at once. So, while I’m over there, I’ll ask Lars to come with me. I will teach you my techniques and other things so that you can become stronger than me.”

“What!? What do you mean, “come with me”? You want me to come with you to Berias?”

“Yes. Hm, it looks like there’s movement at Eiiri’s side too.”

“Oh!? It’s Tigre-sensei!”

I looked over and saw that Eiiri, who had been having an argument with Hawk-san, was fighting with Tigre-sensei, who had somehow arrived. 

“So you’re one of the ten chief priests too!!”

“That’s some amazing power, human! Hahahahahaha!!!”

If Vertical had this attitude, we wouldn’t be killing each other either even if I go there. At any rate, I was going to the Everlide Kingdom anyway, so why not just follow Vertical ……?