Chapter 50: Leonor

Chapter 50: Leonor

Sorry for the late release!

The world had flipped.

Ryo could only express it that way.

All the signs of people around him had disappeared.

However, the scenery remained the same.

For example, his feet were still on the cobbled road of the City of Rune.

(It feels like I’m in a subspace ... as expected of a fantasy world.)

However, he had a throbbing feeling that something was dangerous.

(Should I do what the submarine captain would say, ‘Fire just one ping’ ... I’m certain there’s something, but since I don’t know where or what it is, I guess that is my only choice ...)

Ryo took a deep breath and imagined.

(<Active Sonar>)

At that instant, a wave of 『stimulation』 spread through the water vapor floating in the surrounding air centered on Ryo.

(I found it. About 200 meters ahead, the size is almost the same as a human, but the sonar reflection is strange ...)

After analyzing up to that point, he felt an abnormality from the front.

(『Ice Wall 10-Layers』)

A spell that severs, like a Sonic Blade, flew in from the front and hit the ice wall before bouncing off.

(What power ...)

So far, he had defended against many monster attacks with the ice wall, but that destructive power was overwhelmingly high among all of them.

“Hmm? Did a human get dragged in?”

He heard the voice not far away from him.

The being should have been about 200 meters away from the reaction of the Active Sonar, but the voice was much closer.

Then, as the voice gradually approached, Ryo saw it.

Height 175 cm. Almost the same as Ryo.

Bipedal gait.

Two arms.

The appearance was human at first glance.

However, if looked closely, there was a tail.

And there was something that looked like a horn.

The body was a woman by human standards. Because the chest was bigger compared to man.

The face was ... a beautiful woman.

Although she was a beautiful woman ... Ryo wasn’t charmed at all.

After recognizing its existence, the first impression he had was ...

(......Akuma?) (TLN: Refresher: Akuma = Devil, but the author made a distinction between Akuma悪魔 and Devilデビル)

In 『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner’s Edition』, there was a section on the ‘Akuma’ that Michael (pseudonym) seemed to have added on purpose.

Remarks: Pray that you do not meet one.

(Yeah, I might have met one ... and in an unusual space ...)

The presence of the Akuma (provisional) was staggering.

Perhaps around the range of Behi-chan or Griffon?

If that encounter was in the normal space, Ryo would have escaped as fast as he could.

Yes, he would escape like a genuine rabbit, without looking back. (TLN: The idiom for Japanese to ‘Escape as fast as possible’ is literally ‘Like an escaping rabbit’.)

However, he was in a space where escape was unlikely.

At present, Ryo’s back was drenched in cold sweat.

“Oh well. There will be no problem as long as I kill them.”

The moment she said that, a huge amount of magical power converged on the hands of the Akuma (provisional).

(That’s dangerous! <Ice Wall 10-Layers Lamination>)

In front of Ryo, 10 layers of Ice Walls were generated one after another, overlapping each other.

A multitude of Ice Walls stretched towards the Akuma (provisional).

The hellfire released by the Akuma (provisional) crashed into the overlapping Ice Wall 10-Layers and penetrated it with almost no loss of momentum.

(I wonder if this can stop it.)

Ryo channeled magical power into the stacked Ice Wall 10-Layers to strengthen it while shedding cold sweat.

The spell consumed the ice walls about halfway through. By then, its speed had slowed down a little too.

After it consumed another half more, it had slowed down considerably.

When the Akuma (provisional) said that, the main attack of 256 ice spears fell from directly above the Akuma.

A silent attack from the blind spot after attracting her attention forward.

As expected, even the Akuma (provisional) was delayed in responding to it.

“Ku.”

However, he didn’t think it could be defeated with just ice spears.

(<Icicle Lance 32>)

When she turned her attention up, he once again attacked directly from the front with ice spears.

The Akuma (provisional) created an earth wall to defend against that.

(<Abrasive Jet 256>)

And then his true attack, 256 water jets with ice abrasives were generated on the 『other side』 of the earth wall which fired in a random number of angles and sliced the entire space including the Akuma (provisional).

The earth wall created by the Akuma (provisional) was also dissected by the abrasive jet and collapsed.

Ryo, holding up Murasame, plunged into it.

But.......

He was just a split moment, a second, or even a millisecond, late.

The Akuma (provisional) certainly seemed to have been damaged to some extent by his Abrasive Jet, but by the time Ryo rushed in, her regeneration was already complete.

“Rapid Regeneration!?”

“Don’t look down on me, human!”

Ryo released the fastest frontal strike he could.

However, the Akuma (provisional) parried it.

Ryo stepped back and readied his sword without pushing too deeply.

The surface of the Akuma’s body was squirming.

(Is that the part that was regenerated? I couldn’t defeat it with a frontal attack ... in that case.)

For an instant, Ryo turned his gaze slightly upwards.

The Akuma (provisional) showed a dramatic reaction.

She retreated immediately.

She was wary of the fall of 256 spears from above.

But that was beyond Akuma’s expectations.

(Although it was a gaze to guide her attention as a distraction ... It is counterproductive if she retreats so far away.)

There was a distance of about 20 meters between Ryo and the Akuma (provisional).

He had no way of reducing that distance in an instant.

But the Akuma (provisional) had.

(I guess it will be a magic battle again ...)

After thinking so far, he heard the voice of the Akuma (provisional).

“Hmm ... Unfortunately, the time has run out. It’s been hundreds of years since I’ve had such a battle. It was a lot of fun, human.”

“Are you running away?”

Upon hearing that, ‘Kukuku’ the Akuma (provisional) laughed devilishly.

“There’s no use provoking me. This 『corridor』is a special space. Even I have restrictions that I can’t escape from. My name is Leonor Uraca Alburquerque. What’s your name?”

Ryo wondered if he should answer.

The name represents the body ... or because he grew up in the country where they believe words hold mysterious powers ...

He was wary that he might be trapped if he gave his name to the Akuma.

“Hm? Do humans not have names?”

The Akuma (provisional), no, Leonor, found it amusing.

“My name is Ryo. Akuma.”

Leonor was surprised to hear that.

“Akuma ... you know our true identity ... perhaps I should have killed you even if I had to force myself ...”

But she shook her head.

“I don’t have enough time and you are not an opponent that I can beat easily in the first place. It’s unavoidable. Let’s meet again, Ryo.”

“No, sorry but I don’t wish to see you again ...”

‘Kukuku’ Leonor laughed once again.

“Don’t say that. If you have that much power, we’ll meet again even if you don’t want to. It might be me, or one of us. Don’t be killed by anyone other than me. I shall be the one who kills Ryo. By then, I will be stronger than I am now. See you again.”

Then, Leonor’s presence disappeared.

And the world regained its color.