Chapter 157: The Devil’s change, the awakening of the hero, an intruder appears (1/2)

Chapter 157: The Devil’s change, the awakening of the hero, an intruder appears

Translator Note (Quite Important one):

I know what you guys are thinking: “Dayum this update was so late”. Well, I have a reason for this, aside from the fact that the chapter is longer than usual. It is because I was suddenly told I will be going on a trip. The paperwork I had to do was no joke.

This also brings me to my next topic. This trip is 2 months long, meaning 2 months of hiatus. And it will begin at the 23.

This is really important and I don’t want to leave Tsuki stale for 2 months. That’s why I will be temporarily passing the baton. If someone wants to take it, you can send me an email. Better if it is within the 23, but there’s no real limit.

I will be putting out chapters till then though.????

“… Oh, they are flying~. If it’s that level of enemy, he should be able to easily defeat them though” (Makoto)

“To look somewhere else! Is that supposed to be leeway?!” (Io)

After saying so, an attack with no showiness came at me.

I cross my arms and stop Io’s fist.

“Nah, I am fighting hand-to-hand against an enemy that surpasses me in skill. I have no leeway at all” (Makoto)

“So you say. An enemy that my attacks are not connecting properly is saying that he has no leeway” (Io)

“You as well. There’s been 6 in total counting the ambush troops. Your subordinates are dying one after the other. Don’t you care?” (Makoto)

While stepping back, I evade several attacks coming my way.

The Minotaurus and the Centaurus have both turned into dust.

It seems Shiki activated the rings aware that it was overkill.

From what I see, it is the four basic ones.

“… Everyone that came here attacking the Kingdom were all prepared. To feel for their deaths would be an insult to them” (Io)

“Death soldiers huh. Even though this isn’t a period novel” (Makoto)

I remember the word ‘prepare for red’.

A kick huh.

Even though he is a giant, he is truly skillful.

A technical giant doesn’t match the image I have, but this demon general Io, even in my eyes, I can tell that he possesses excellent martial arts skill.

He may even be an expert.

This is the first ‘properly big guy’ I have met in this world, so it leaves quite the impression.

I even feel like killing him would be a loss for the world.

“Suffer for the death of your soldiers huh. As expected, an opponent hard to deal with. But!” (Io)

Magic power from the gauntlets?

The fist of Io which I was unable to stop in time, had fire spouting out of it.

Ooh~.

“An equipment with element endowed in it huh. Impressive” (Makoto)

An equipment that even a warrior would be able to use with a strong endowed element is valuable.

It’s even said that a hyuman blacksmith wouldn’t be able to make one.

Not only is it a wasted treasure for a person who has a relative amount of knowledge in magic, it is also, obviously, high priced.

It is a lot more economic to endow an element depending on the situation by using magic, it requires lower level of magic, and it is requested more often.

So this giant can use magic to a higher than average level.

“Even if you say that, not only did you say it as if it was nothing, you weren’t even send flying!” (Io)

Even when entering at point blank range, his techniques still show.

In all this twisting and spinning at close range, he still manages to add up strikes.

To be able to see this incredible technique so close, I am deeply moved.

“Hmph, I won’t receive that one!” (Io)

Io kicks away my pushed out fist.

Even though I did that with my small body and in point blank range.

I basically have better physical strength and speed than him, but it is still like this.

Can’t be helped.

Let’s repeat the steps and take distance from him.

“A warning and a confirmation. Do you have no intentions… to withdraw?” (Makoto)

“Of course. I also have no intentions to continue prolonging this fight” (Io)

I am an enemy after all.

Even if it’s a person I have respect for, if I am fighting him in a battlefield…

I don’t have any choice but to kill him huh.

It it were the usual me, I would have thought of a different way.

Why can I take a decision like this so easily?

Is it because of some evil addition from the Goddess when she was giving me the common language? Or is it something else?

My head is serene.

Thoughts fit for battle are being created by my head.

… It is really, comfortable.

“I see” (Makoto)

“Come at me seriously. I am not so simple as to be dealt with without showing your real power” (Io)

Right, if it’s this person…

No.

It’s not necessary to show my real power.

I can kill him even in this form.

To both fight at full power… why did I think about such a ‘useless’ thing?

How stupid.

In the future I may have to fight senpai, no, the heroes.

There’s no need to show it.

This is plenty enough.

“Looks like you are not at your full power either. Then I will keep you company” (Makoto)

Should I randomly use the powers that Mio attached to this?

Just by going like this and prolonging it, it would be checkmate for the demon race.

In that case, it would be better to not show my real power and just half-heartedly do this.

It’s the most efficient way and I won’t be showing my cards to the hero.

It will also match my objective of protecting the hero, and if I just have Rona get wind of the warning I made towards Stella Fortress, there won’t be any problems.

Right.

I should also have Shiki move and reduce the amount of damage to the town.

It might be a bit boring for Shiki to do a job like buying time, but right now he has the most suitable power for it.

“Larva, half-release the seventh step” (Makoto)

Shiki’s power has an incredible power in dealing with varying situations.

There’s points like not being able to release it unless he has until the fourth step activated, and that he can’t activate more than one or two others. And if he changes them in the moment, he is able to advantageously fight against most opponents.

If he trains those weak points, he will be able to conquer them in given time, so a day might come where he is able to turn all that power to his own and release them all at the same time.

Shiki bows, giving me the sign of his positive response.

Then me as well.

Let’s fight in a deserving manner.

To fight seriously in this form means that after all.

I will probably… be able to kill him.

◇◆◇◆ Io Pov ◇◆◇◆

A sinister power is gathering at the fingers of the Lich.

He continues an incantation that hurts my ears.

If possible, I would like to interfere with it, but sadly, the thing in front of me won’t let me do so.

I know the basics of how to move my body, but I don’t have experience in martial arts.

This is my diagnosis.

Although, from what I heard of the name, this martial art technique is most likely only known by a part of the demon race and the demi-humans.

The hyumans normally prefer to use weapons instead of learning techniques to move their body after all.

I have also heard that it is hard to bestow the blessing of the Goddess to people who train in bare-handed combat.

It is not like the people who don’t like the Goddess will develop in this path.

… Seriously.

Being intruded by these unknown people and having to fight them. A soldier really doesn’t have it easy.

I miss a little those times when I fought as a common soldier in the way I desired.

“When you say full power, do you mean being supported by that Lich there?” (Io)

“By no means. I have mostly understood the state of the battlefield already, so I am just having him buy time” (Makoto)

“!! You have that much power, and you still don’t intend to fight properly huh. I thought your ideology was close to ours, but it seems it was my misunderstanding” (Io)

That’s right.

In the beginning, from this white guy’s way of speaking and thinking, I thought he was similar to us.

But after the fight began, I felt like he had some sort of… gap.

As if he were changing into something else while we were clashing. A strange sensation.

At first, I felt honesty and drive in those fists, but now I feel coldness. I even felt like it was devoid of emotion.

It is rare to encounter an opponent that changes this much in the middle of battle.

If it’s now, I would be able to agree if they told me he was a golem, but well…

“Our objective is the safety of the hero and Stella Fort’s capitulation. That’s it. I don’t have any real problems in prolonging the battle. To pointlessly show my cards in a situation where I don’t know who will be hostile against me, that’s only plain foolishness” (Makoto)

The hero will overcome this situation. At least that’s what’s going to happen if he reaches his objective.

Then, what he means by not knowing who will be hostile against him… does that mean he is also thinking about confronting the hero?

Just who in the world is this guy?

“I have understood this in the fight we have had until now. You are not a golem. That attire is an equipment that has quite the high performance. You… have an inside” (Io)

I try throwing a lure.

“Of course. I am not a golem. This is equipment. When I put it on, I am unable to use magic though. Even if it’s inelegant, the reason is just awful” (Makoto)

Not even trying to deceive huh.

I have never seen nor heard of a full-body armor that has this much strength. But at the very least, this is indeed an equipment.

That leeway of easily telling me this…

I will have you regret it.

“It is actually not that compatible with me. If I forcefully use a spell, it seems it will self-destruct, so it is quite problematic” (Makoto)

“Even when you have obtained an equipment of that degree, you say such extravagant things” (Io)

There’s a restriction huh.

It’s inadvisable to use magic.

So that means it practically doesn’t have restrictions towards warriors.

There’s no real merit in having a magician use it, so it is not an article that has an actual restriction.

“Here I come. The Heisei series is a standard, so it is a demonstration” (Makoto)

The white guy politely gives me a sign and I take my stance.

But he suddenly squatted.

Right in front of me, he bend his knees.

What?

What is he intending to do?

“Claymore” (Makoto)

Along with those words, right next to his bend legs, a box-looking thing appeared.

Just where did that come from?!

“Wa?!”

Hibiki is shouting something.

As if shaking off her shout, around 4 things were fired from that box!

A projectile weapon huh!

It isn’t that fast.

Even if I receive some of them, there’s no need to take them all.

More like, there’s nothing to lose in evading things I don’t know the power of!

“Hm”

I evade the cylinder-like things coming at me.

Umu, I was somehow able to evade th– what?!

It looks like they changed their directions and came flying at me from angles I can’t dodge from.

Can’t be helped!

I use all of my arms to defend against it.

An ear-numbing explosive sound reverberates.

Heat and shock.

Smoke.

A weapon that has explosion magic endowed?!

This kind of thing, even we don’t have it.

“Scissor hands Knuckle”

While my normal senses still hadn’t returned, I heard his voice.

I received a shock, different from the explosion, on my chest.

“You, what did you…” (Io)

“Eh, this is not where the heart is?” (Makoto)

“Oooh!”

Leaving myself to the impulse welling up from inside me, I give him a strike to the sides.

His evasion won’t make it in time.

The guy was blown away in a horizontal direction.

“Hah… hah…” (Io)

I look at my chest.

There, two blades were pierced into it.

How annoying!

I pull them out and throw them away.

I glare at the guy that was send flying.

There, a white person stands up like nothing.

The scissor-like thing that is extending from the back of his hand, was broken around the middle.

“The scissor isn’t useful for practical use it seems. This is… an anchor. That Mio, she is being driven by her hobbies way too much” (Makoto)

It’s coming!

The white guy is casually running towards me.

This black skin is insufficient against him huh.

He is a preposterous monster!

In a place slightly farther from the range of my kick, he makes a sudden brake.

What’s coming this time?!

His gesture of abruptly lifting his left hand only makes me agitated.

He is going to shoot something.

Is he going to use another projectile weapon to attack?!

Wait, then why did he get this close?

No matter which it is, at this distance and with that speed, I have no choice but to defend.

I can tell that my irritation towards losing the initiative is increasing.

Slipping through my gauntlets, I feel something piercing the top of my shoulders.

But it doesn’t seem to have much power in it.

Just what in the world—-

“Uooh?!”

Suddenly, my body was drawn towards that guy in an instant.

I can’t oppose it!

Against someone that has practically the same stature as a hyuman, I can’t oppose it?!

“Guuugh!!”

While I was floating midair, I receive a right punch from him and was send flying.

This kind of thing… this kind of thing, just how in the world does it happen?!

The attacks of the white guy doesn’t stop.

The effect of the projectile weapon must have stopped already, he came at me himself.

But he doesn’t know about my high speed healing and regeneration yet.

I received quite a lot of damage, but I concentrate and return my condition to normal.

I made it in time!

He still has quite a lot of distance to cover, and yet, he kicked the ground and jumped to the air.

So this time it is from above huh.

… This is, a chance!

If he is in the air, he will obviously have to come down.

It is possible to add power with the descend, but on the other hand, it leaves lots of openings.

Then he is prey for a counter!

Matching the timing, I will do a turning kick with all my might and—

“Wh-at?” (Io)

My kick hit the air.

That guy, without showing any signs of using magic power, was standing still in mid-air.

To possess flying abilities even when he has that size and doesn’t have wings… just who would be able to imagine that?

“If I remember correctly, it was this, right? Kick” (Makoto)

That guy mutters something and in the moment he says ‘kick’…

In a speed I don’t know from how high one would have to fall to be able to reach that velocity, he pushes out his legs and plunges at me.

I twist my body.

But I did a turning kick just a few moments ago.

I can’t do a satisfactory evasion in time.

His kick connected at my flank and was atrociously gouged out.

I felt like screaming at the intense pain.

But my eyes reflected the figure of that guy that is landing at my back.

Heal, heal, heal!

If it’s in that stance filled with openings, I can use the combo attack that crushed Hibiki!

He has more weight than Hibiki, so I will definitely be able to strike the whole attack on him!

I confirm every part of my body.

No problem.

My decision speed and legs were faster.

One of my left arms grabbed his neck.

You damn monster.

Even so, I can’t lose!

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The white guy poured on Io an attack that looked like the ones special effect heroes do in commercials.

Unbelievably, it seems to be doing damage to Io.

A signature move of doing a jumping kick.

It seemed to have attack power surpassing mine. It gouged out a great part of Io’s abdomen.

And yet, Io regenerated in a few seconds and grabbed the white guy.

Even though he regenerated that much when he was fighting me, are you telling me his regeneration is bottomless?

There’s mamonos who specialize in regeneration, but they mostly have a limit to it.

When I think that Io still had a lot of leeway left, I felt my emotions growing darker.

As I thought, maybe to truly defeat Io, there’s the need of a big attack.

That is something I ‘still’ don’t have.

Io grabs the white guy and just like that, as if drawing an arc, he threw him onto the ground.

That’s it.

I had a hunch.

The combo attack I received where I felt like I was going to die and was unable to maintain my clad state with Horn.

I was able to instinctively clad it again, so I was saved, but it was an attack that wouldn’t be strange for me to die.

“Hey there, Larva rear guard. Your master is in a pinch, you know?” (Hibiki)

Within the barrier, I call Larva who has stopped his aria.

The Lich is overflowing with incredible magic power.

Since the moment he put on those strange rings, his power clearly sprung up.

Right now, his magic power surpasses mine by more than 2 times.

The amount of spells he can utilize are plenty and I can tell he is on a completely different plane compared to the Liches I have battled with before.

Even in the moment when he first took out his scythe I thought: ‘He is a strong Lich’, after all.

“My answer is the same as before. He is not the type of person that would need support for something of this extent. Don’t think he is the same as you who thinks that everything can be resolved by joining powers” (Shiki)

“… I said it as an advice out of good will though” (Hibiki)

“Unnecessary. Rather, you should make sure not to make master feel at a lost with that severe exposure. Prepare something to wear” (Shiki)

“?!! You said that we shouldn’t leave the barrier you made, so isn’t that cruel?” (Hibiki)

“Fumu. Then I will randomly search something for you. Wait for a bit. Seventh step, ‘Hell’ half-release. Equipping and activating” (Shiki)

…

What?!

A disgusting presence as if blocking my breath was spreading.

It seems the inside of the barrier had no changes, but in every space of the audience room, there’s some sort of mist coming out.

… No, it isn’t only this place.

The whole castle?

Are you telling me that he activated such a wide ranged spell?

“… It should be fine until the outer walls of the town. Just by using mist, that person’s mood will be harmed, but right now he can stay relieved. Go, ‘Mist Temple, Nivlheim’. Bring about weakness” (Shiki)

Outer walls?

The town’s?!

Larva looks at the pinky finger that had nothing on it but now has a black ring in it, and nods in satisfaction.

“Outer walls you say. Just what did you do?” (Hibiki)

“I have covered this place in weakening mist. It was master’s order to only use it as weakening. You should be grateful” (Shiki)

Half-release huh.

As it looks, it is a spell that affects in a wide range.

If holding back is weakening, then I feel like if it is all-out it would be quite bad.

In this world, individual power can easily surpass the bounds of strategy.

The concept of numbers and way of fighting is totally different from the modern world.

Larva is without doubt a tactical level power.

Mio-san as well, there are way too many outside powers that are way too strong.

“Well then, I will go search for something to hide your skin” (Shiki)

At the side of Larva who was talking carefreely, a heavy sound was made.

Right.

The white guy.

When I look at the source of the sound, it was as I thought, the white guy.

A boisterous dance of fists and kicks.

Moreover, synergy with the gauntlet’s elements.

It is slightly different from Wu Xing, but he went from wind to fire; fire to earth; earth to water; is how it flowed in order to increase the power of the elements.

That it is not in a rotation is probably because there’s still a hidden element, but I don’t know what it is.

I don’t even know if there’s actually one, and it isn’t something I need to investigate immediately.

In other words, Io is using that function to increase the power of every subsequent attack even when it is supposed to be a combo attack.

I unfortunately couldn’t see it, but when I think about the lapse of time it took, he most likely increased the number of attacks compared to when he did it against me.

That white guy… is he still alive?

While I was looking, the white guy that was lying down at the bored out ground, stood up and cracked his neck as if it was nothing.

He is seriously a crazy existence in every meaning.

Ah, he staggered a bit.

Maybe it did actually have some sort of effect.

“Master, is it okay to look for something for the hero to wear?” (Shiki)

… Just what kind of master and servant relationship is this?

Those are words that make me doubt their relationship itself and the word ‘master’.

“Ah, yeah. Do so. Ah~ it hurt. You even used some sort of stiletto in the middle of it. It felt like a thud” (Makoto)

A stiletto he says?

If I remember correctly, it is like hidden daggers?

The one where they equip them in their fists and shoot it out to do damage to the inside of armors.

It exists even in this world.

In Japan I haven’t seen it, but I feel like it was a technique that I have been told to be careful of. But to actually hear it from someone is quite fresh.

“Master, I don’t think this brings too much harm but…” (Shiki)

“What?” (Makoto)

“I think that it isn’t good to get absorbed in the fight that much. I advise that you place everyone in a part of your head” (Shiki)

“… Understood. I will be careful” (Makoto)

“Then, be careful. Excuse me” (Shiki)

It is obvious, but his attitude is clearly different from when he is talking to me.

To have this Larva obey him, just who and what in the world is he?

My interest was piqued again.

He is… most likely not from Gritonia.

If it were Lorel, Chiya-chan should have known.

Then, Aion?