Chapter 287: The Calamity Witch and the Light Hero
Chapter 287: The Calamity Witch and the Light Hero
The Light Hero Anna-san waves her sword lightly.
Just that alone created a strong gale intense enough to almost blow me away.
Countless light blades were being released from the shining Holy Sword Anna-san was holding.
Each and every single one of those was comparable to saint rank.
The air shook.
The Calamity Witch Nevia facing her smiled silently.
Not only the black staff in her hand, there was pitch black miasma covering her whole body.
A clear voice that contrasted her wicked appearance resonated.
— “Dark Magic: [Black Hand Touch].”
Innumerable black hands grew out from the staff of Nevia and crushed the light blades.
“You are a human, right? Why are you taking the side of the Great Demon Lord?!” (Anna)
Anna-san shouts.
I thought she would ignore it, but she unexpectedly responded.
“I am a devilkin, not a human.” (Nevia)
Magic activated one after the other as she sighed.
— “Dark Magic: [Black Death Bird].” (Nevia)
Dark magic in the shape of a giant black bird.
It resembles the monarch rank spell of Lucy, Phoenix, but it is far more sinister than that.
The huge army of darkness birds flock at Anna-san.
“I was born from the mistress of the Laphroaig King. I have had miasma since the day I was born, and my power as a demon was strong, so I was confined straight away. I was supposed to pass my whole life in prison as a taboo princess…” (Nevia)
“That’s why…you ended up hating humans and…” (Anna)
Anna-san had her hands full dealing with the attacks of the Calamity Witch.
I want to help, but this is an exchange entirely of saint rank attacks.
“But I was chosen as the Moon Oracle. Naia-sama had given me the ability to Charm all living beings. It was easy to control the Moon Country with that power. I could just Charm the demons that attacked the Moon Country. While at it, I thought it would be fine to just pair up the humans and demons to make everyone into devilkin…” (Nevia)
Nevia speaks flowingly.
Even so…the devilkins were a ‘while at it’, huh…
“That’s not reason enough to take the side of the Great Demon Lord!” (Anna)
Anna-san lunges at the Calamity Witch with her Holy Sword.
But she was hindered by the countless black arms and couldn’t reach her.
“That great personage is a pitiful one.” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch says this with a sad smile while lightly deflecting the fierce attacks of the Light Hero.
(…This is bad.) (Ira)
Indeed bad, Ira-sama.
Looks like the Calamity Witch fused with the Great Demon Lord is stronger than the awakened Anna-san.
It is currently a fierce competition of supremacy, but there’s leeway in the Calamity Witch.
(How is it…Dia?) (Makoto)
I speak to the lifeline I rely on.
(Our King…my apologies. I most likely won’t only be unable to match her, but will most likely end up Charmed and taken in instead…) (Dia)
Dia would get Charmed?!
I was surprised for an instant, but it is true that I did borrow the power of Charm when I asked for the power of the Great Water Spirits.
Then, it won’t work.
I can’t borrow the strength of the Great Water Spirits.
“Iblis-sama was a weak God. He was chased out to Hell and was dropped to the Mortal Realm, but he couldn’t live there without a barrier… He had no allies, and what he created because he wanted a family were the Taboo Monsters…” (Nevia)
“…”
Hearing that, I directed my gaze to the many strangely shaped monsters in the floating castle.
The Taboo Monsters have run to the edges at the battle of the Calamity Witch and the Light Hero.
I see, so those were monsters the Great Demon Lord created because he wanted comrades, huh.
“It is okay. I have Nevia… —Your words bring me great honor, Iblis-sama…”
The first half was the Great Demon Lord and the later half was the Calamity Witch.
It came from the mouth of the same person, so it is really hard to tell.
The Calamity Witch was endlessly shooting saint rank spells while she was talking in a tone as if she were having a casual talk.
The ground of the floating castle was splitting and at times it would shake heavily.
It was to the point that I was beginning to worry whether it will eventually fall.
“Haaah…haaah…haaah…” (Anna)
Anna-san was breathing heavily.
Even I could tell that her feet were unsteady.
(N-No way… There’s no way the awakened Light Hero would get bested…) (Ira)
I can tell this situation is bad from the voice of Ira-sama.
But what can I do…?
“You are not as strong as I heard you were. Then, let’s make this the finale.” (Nevia)
The staff of the Calamity Witch began to release even more sinister miasma.
“This is bad, the Hero-kun is going to die!” (Mel)
“Let’s assist her.” (Johnny)
Mel-san and Johnny-san jump out at the same time.
Momo was still unconscious.
“Dia, I leave Momo to you!” (Makoto)
“Yes, Our King!” (Dia)
I also head to where Anna-san is one beat later.
“Fufufu…eat them all, okay, savage dogs of Hades…” (Nevia)
The spell of Nevia was completed.
— “Dark Magic: [Double-headed dog of Hades, Orthos]” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch activates the spell.
It was a demonic dog with two heads.
No, Orthos is a Divine Beast that’s said to be in Hades.
T-This isn’t the real deal, right?
“Grrrr…”
It raised a low growl and leapt onto Anna-san.
And at the same time as that happened, several hundred of black hands rain onto Anna-san.
A number of them wrap around the arms and legs of Anna-san.
This is bad!
We rush out in order to protect Anna-san.
““UOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!””
The double headed Orthos roared.
As it did, the legs of the White Dragon-san and Johnny-san stopped.
(…It may be a temporary magic living being, but it has faithfully recreated the Divine Beast in Hades… It has Quasi-God Rank power. For the people of the Mortal Realm, just hearing its intimidating roar would make them unable to move…) (Ira)
So it is God Rank pressure, huh.
The ones who can move here are me and…
“Run!”
The one who kicked away the black hands restraining Anna-san and pushed her away was the Demon Lord, Cain.
“Guaaaaaah!” (Cain)
The armor of Cain made terrible cracking sounds and was smashed.
That’s the Sacred Treasure made by Noah-sama.
There’s no way it would break…
“Oh my, Cain-san. To think you would protect the Light Hero. You are a devilkin like me, so I thought you would understand me…” (Nevia)
“Stop it!” (Anna)
Anna-san shouted.
— “[Light Sword]!” (Anna)
She shoots out the strongest light blade until now.
This gigantic lazer-like attack slammed onto Orthos and exploded into a light cross.
(That’s the technique that Sakurai-kun used to defeat the Beast King.) (Makoto)
Anna-san was also saving her trump card.
If it is that attack, it should be able to…
After the blast dispersed, the figure of Orthos with one missing head and the unscathed Calamity Witch showed up.
The head that had bitten onto Cain had dropped.
He was at the side with his partially destroyed armor.
His almost torn off arm was painful to look at, but it was healing while releasing light.
Looks like the Divine Protection of the armor Noah-sama made is not gone yet.
But it doesn’t look like he can participate in the battle anymore.
“Grrrr…”
Orthos glares at us in anger with its remaining head.
“Sun Magic: [Holy Fire]!” (Mel)
“Wind Spirits: [Wind Storm].” (Johnny)
The spells of the White Dragon-san and Johnny-san attack Orthos.
But they are barely scratches.
“Spirit Arm – Water Magic: [Ice Isolation].” (Makoto)
The ice barrier spell I activated captured Orthos.
But the ice cage soon cracked and was about to get destroyed.
— “[Light Sword]!” (Anna)
The attack of Anna-san dropped the one remaining head of Orthos.
The black savage dog collapsed and dispersed in the wind.
Did we…defeat it?
At the time when Anna-san and I looked at each other…
“Damn it…” (Mel)
“Sorry.” (Johnny)
In that time, the White Dragon-san and Johnny-san had been captured by the black hands.
(The two have been taken hostage…) (Makoto)
The situation was worsening by the second.
“Oh my, oh my, Orthos was my trump card… That’s a shame.” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch didn’t seem that troubled by it.
She once again continued the barrage of saint rank spells.
Anna-san was intercepting them while still unsteady.
I also fight back with my Spirit Arm, but we are lacking the numbers by an overwhelming degree.
(Even so…) (Makoto)
(This is strange. Why isn’t she using the hostages to threaten you?) (Ira)
The lives of the White Dragon-san and Johnny-san are in the hands of Nevia.
It should be easy to threaten us.
As if the Calamity Witch had read our emotions, she spoke.
“I won’t kill the hostages. That would just make the Light Hero stronger after all.” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch smiles.
She knows.
She knows about the special characteristic of the Light Hero Skill.
“Haaah…haaah…haaaah…” (Anna)
It seems like Anna-san doesn’t even have the energy to talk.
On the other hand, the Calamity Witch was smiling elegantly.
“By the way, Takatsuki Makoto-san, I won’t put a single finger on you. You are the loved one of the Light Hero after all. It would be terrible if I were to accidentally kill you.” (Nevia)
“…”
The thought of rushing in crossed my mind, but it looks like she read me there.
“The one I will kill first is you, Light Hero. Until then, I won’t kill anyone else. Please become the first sacrifice without any worries.” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch declared flatly.
She isn’t underestimating her here. On the contrary, she is using the best method to defeat her.
The Witch that has fused with the Fallen God.
There’s no weak points.
She isn’t lowering her guard at all.
(Strong…) (Makoto)
“Makoto-san…” (Anna)
When I look back, there’s the exhausted face of Anna-san.
It is my fault…
Because I pushed her into this battle.
— “Spirit Left Hand.” (Makoto)
(Takatsuki Makoto!) (Ira)
The irritated voice of Ira-sama resonated, but I ignored it.
I transformed both of my arms into Spirit Form.
If it is this much, it should be barely alright.
The mana flowing into me increased by twice in an instant.
The difficulty to control also shot up drastically.
A massive amount of mana rampages inside my whole body.
I can’t let my Clear Mind get cut off for even an instant.
Anna-san and I intercept the constant barrage of dark magic.
My mana comes from the Water Spirits.
Anna-san has an endless source of power from the sunlight.
But the God fused Calamity Witch was not running out of mana.
We were at a stalemate.
“There’s no end~.” (Nevia)
Only the completely out-of-place leisure tone of the Calamity Witch resonated.
“Did you know? There were a lot of times in history where the Sun Oracle and the Moon Oracle would oppose each other.” (Nevia)
The conversation changed suddenly.
What?
“And why is that?” (Makoto)
It looks like Anna-san doesn’t even have the energy to open her mouth, so I ask in her place.
“There were many cases when Naia-sama would choose a devilkin as her Oracle… That’s all it was. Because of this, the Moon Oracle would be isolated from her peers. That’s the same for me. Even now, I am fighting all on my lonesome.” (Nevia)
“Why does the Moon Goddess choose an Oracle from within the devilkin instead of the humans?” (Makoto)
Is there a specific reason as to why she does this?
“…I am grateful to the Moon Goddess Naia-sama. If I had been born as a human, I might have been mindlessly defeating demons and devilkin, blindly valuing that illusion of a ‘peaceful’ world. It is exactly because I am a devilkin in the oppressed minority that I can aim for that true peaceful world…” (Nevia)
“True peace…?” (Makoto)
The Calamity Witch wishes for peace?
“That’s right. I will Charm the people of the whole world and create a peaceful world ruled by Iblis…” (Nevia)
“…Isn’t that just domination?” (Makoto)
Basically conquering the world.
That really is Great Demon Lord-like.
“Splendid, right? If you tell the people that have been Charmed by me ‘you are happy right now’, they will be able to feel happy regardless of what treatment they once had. No misfortune. Don’t you think that’s the best kind of world?” (Nevia)
“Then why is everyone from our homeland suffering that much?!” (Anna)
Anna-san shouted as if her anger exploded.
It is true that the first time I met Anna-san, her master had been killed and she was despairing.
The West Continent is far from being peaceful.
“My apologies. I was eventually going to Charm all the people of the West Continent too.” (Nevia)
“What a joke!” (Anna)
“You are lacking concentration… See? Caught.” (Nevia)
“Agh!” (Anna)
“Anna-san!” (Makoto)
The conversation might have been to distract us.
Several black hands have wrapped around the Holy Sword of Anna-san.
*Gigigi…*
I could hear a terrible metallic sound from it.
“The Holy Sword is…!” (Anna)
The scream of Anna-san resonated.
The Holy Sword Balmung was bent into a V shape.
(Again?!) (Makoto)
In the Fire Country, it was broken by Sa-san too. This Holy Sword really breaks often!
That’s not it, right now Anna-san is barehanded.
She needs a replacement.
Right, what about his weapon?!
I look at the unconscious Cain.
He isn’t holding Noah-sama’s sword.
So it won’t do!
“Then, this really is the end now.” (Nevia)
Miasma gathers around the Calamity Witch.
It is as much as the time when she used the Dark Magic: Double Headed Dog of Hades, Orthos, or even more than that.
(This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!) (Makoto)
Mel-san and Momo don’t have swords, and the katana of Johnny-san is simply a magic sword.
In the first place the White Dragon-san and Johnny-san have been captured by the black hands.
What can I do?
Something that’s comparable to a Holy Sword…
—– “Hey! Have you forgotten about me, Makoto?”
It was as if a drop of water had fallen into my mouth after several days without drinking anything in a desert.
A beautiful voice that seeped into my completely dried out heart.
It felt as if I hadn’t heard this voice for several years…the voice of Noah-sama.
(Eh?) (Ira)
The confused voice of Ira-sama reached me, but I unconsciously acted.
“Anna-san! Use this!” (Makoto)
I gave the sacred treasure dagger of the Goddess to the Light Hero-san.
“Got it, Makoto-san!” (Anna)
Anna-san takes the sacred treasure I gave her and takes a stance.
It may be a sacred treasure, but it looks like a plain dagger.
It is honestly pitiful looking compared to a Holy Sword.
“…You are going to fight with that?” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch speaks as if worried about us.
— “Dark Magic: [Watchdog of Hades, Cerberus].” (Nevia)
What appeared was a jet black gigantic demonic dog with 3 heads.
A Divine Beast again…
“Now then, please kill the Light Hero, Cerberus.” (Nevia)
The black mad dog rushes at us with unbelievable speed -towards Anna-san.
“Kuh!” (Anna)
Anna-san wraps mana around the dagger and shoots a [Light Sword].
The blade wave is small.
And that shone rainbow for an instant.
“““Eh?”””
Several voices of surprise overlap.
The Light Sword released from Balmung dropped one head of Orthos before.
It couldn’t wound the Calamity Witch at all.
And this time around…
The light blade shot from the dagger of Noah-sama…
Blew up all 3 heads of Cerberus.
The balck hands that were protecting the fused Calamity Witch were cut as if they were paper.
And then, the body of the Calamity Witch was split in two.
“Kahah!” (Nevia)
The Calamity Witch puked out black blood and slowly collapsed.
■Author Comment:
We will be ending the arc after around 10 chapters more. It has been long.