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Chapter 15

There’s Nothing More Frightening Than Realizing That You’ve Underestimated Your Opponent

 

The Demon Lord.

I don’t exactly know what kind of being that is, but… even a normal person would have a general idea after hearing those words.

 

An existence that’s overwhelmingly strong and the enemy of mankind.

The greatest wall that the heroes from the legend must overcome.

 

And you’re telling me that such an existence is in front of me right now?

 

「…Hmmm~ our guests are a little bit low-spirited it seems. I thought you were going to be more excited now that you’ve managed to reach all this way and met me.」

 

The humanoid shadow figure in front of us said casually.

To think that a Demon Lord would appear on the second floor… there should be a limit to how unexpected things could go.

I feel bad about blaming the Goddess for every little thing but encountering the Demon Lord after getting kicked out of the Hero Party because of the 【Saint】 job she bestowed me is just a really bad joke. 

 

Do we stand a chance against it?

 

……No, I think it would be bad if we attacked first.

At least for the time being, the other side doesn’t seem like it’s going to attack right away and just wants to talk.

If that’s the case, then it’s better to keep it talking like this rather than provoking it unnecessarily and being put in a situation where we have to fight a difficult battle…. though I’m not actually sure if this is a good plan.

 

「……Just what is your goal?」

 

When I asked him that, the Demon Lord suddenly raised his voice and started talking amusingly.

 

「Good question! Right, you humans are trying to defeat us, the Dungeon Masters to prevent monsters from flooding out of the dungeon, no? That’s why, I decided to remove the most troublesome part among you humans.」

 

「You said “us”, so does that mean Dungeon Makers are sharing information with each other? ……And what do you mean by “the most troublesome part”?」

 

「We originally came from the same place after all! Fufu, this is the first time I’m talking this much, so I got a little excited. And well, rather than “a troublesome part”, it’s more like “a troublesome element”, I guess.」

 

Troublesome… element?

 

Somehow….. I had a really bad feeling after hearing that.

In the peaceful Adria Village, there is only a limited number of things that can be considered troublesome elements to the Demon Lord.

 

「Is Adria Village itself involved in the elimination of the troublesome elements that you’re talking about?」

 

「One hundred points for you! Yes, it’s that village! That orphanage in particular looks so delicious!」

 

「……The orphanage, you say?」

 

「Yes, that’s right! According to what my friend told me, the orphanage is an important place for the Holy Knight who protects the Hero, right?」

 

Damn it, the bad feeling I had was right!

This guy is after the members of the Hero Party.

To be specific, it’s Emmy that he’s after… and if it’s Emmy, then something important to her in the orphanage… is probably Gemma Baa-san or the kids, huh.

 

At the same time, there’s another reason that makes my tension rise.

This is no time to be carefree worrying about Gemma Baa-san and the kids at the orphanage.

 

That means this guy is also after me, the Saint.

 

「So your target is the Holy Knight? Aren’t the Hero more troublesome than them?」

 

「Heroes, you see, they are more fragile both physically and mentally than they seem, you know? There is one most important part in using this kind of strategy. Well, since you managed to come all the way here, I guess I’ll tell you.」

 

Strategy…… A Demon Lord is talking strategy?

What the hell is this guy talking about?

 

「Normal monsters don’t have the brains to think, right? But for someone like me, it’s easy to figure out how to deal with the Hero Party. My target is their Healer, so I need to get rid of the Vanguard first. Though it would be nice if I could get rid of the Saintess first right from the start since they’ll crumble right away.」

 

「…..What?」

 

「Ah, my mistake, I meant to say their Priest. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, in order to eliminate their Priest first, I need to crush the Holy Knight’s morale, and after the Priest is gone, the Sage comes next. Besides, I heard there’s no Saintess in the Hero Party this time, so they probably only have a Priest, which is weaker compared to a Saintess. If I can just destroy the Holy Knight’s emotional support, they won’t be able to protect the Priest properly and the rest will collapse in an instant. This is the basics of the strategy. Humans, which don’t have that much durability, won’t stand a chance in a long fight, and without a Healer in their party, they’re all just small fries.」

 

Hearing that explanation sent chills down my spine because of how absurd it was. 

 

……Somewhere in my mind, I had selfishly created an image of what the Demon Lord would be like.

A being that’s heinous, violent… and only relies on brute force without using its head.

 

And yet, what’s with this Demon Lord?

The way he talked about his strategy instantly overturned my image of a Demon Lord, which had been so licked and rotten.

 

He gathered information about the Hero Party in advance.

He also accurately understands the weaknesses of the human race and party composition.

Furthermore, he plans to corner them mentally before launching a direct attack.

 

——He’s strong.

Even with the power of the Demon Lord that he possesses from the start, he never lets his guard down and aims for a sure victory.

This kind of opponent is the most troublesome one.

 

But he missed just one thing.

He still doesn’t realize that I’m the Saint of the Hero Party.

Because the job 【Saintess】in this generation has turned into 【Saint】.

So they still don’t realize that it would be impossible for them to find the 【Saintess】 no matter how long they wait. 

 

「So what are you going to do with us now? As you can see, we’re not the kind of party that can subdue a Demon Lord…」

 

I want to avoid a direct fight with this guy if possible.

With this in mind, I try to think of another way to deal with this situation.

It’s not very cool, sure, but I’m not so naive as to think that a Healer like me can beat the Demon Lord, no matter how high-level my job is.

 

「Nn~ Right, I took the trouble to explain all of that to you, so I feel like it would be a waste to crush you with my own hands, and there are still some things I want to do too.」

 

……Alright, going by the flow, it looks like we can avoid a direct fight with him.

I glanced at Sybilla and saw that she, too, relaxed a bit with a 「Phew……」.

As I thought, she also prefers to avoid a direct confrontation with the Demon Lord.

 

「Well, I guess I can use both of you as guinea pigs for the operation test.」

 

……Operation test?

Before I could comprehend what he meant by that, light burst forth from the purple ground.

The light grew in shape, and eventually, after the light gradually subsided, a huge creature with fire on its body appeared.

 

「As I was horrified by the sheer force of its appearance, Sybilla fell on her butt next to me and muttered its name in a trembling voice.」

 

「Fire… Dragon…」

 

「…What did you just say? Oi, Sybilla…」

 

「That thing… that thing is bad news. It’s a Fire Dragon. Rather than a dragon, it’s the highest species of salamander and one of the top monsters with a fire attribute in the Demon World……」

 

Dragons.

I never thought that such a thing would appear in this place.

 

「Umu, the manifestation is a success. Well then, since my work here is done, I’m going to rest for a while. It was a pleasure to talk with you humans.」

 

After saying that, the Demon Lord quickly disappeared into the distance.

What remains in this huge space are me, Sybilla, and Fire Dragon.

 

「We’re running away! Sybilla, let’s go!」

 

「Kuh, it’s no use! That damn Demon Lord set this guy as the 『Floor Boss』! We can’t use the stairs!」

 

When I turned toward Sybilla who was screaming, I saw a glowing wall blocking the path to the stairs behind her.

It’s a magic wall like the Wind Barrier, and it won’t budge no matter what we do.

 

『Grrr……』

 

Fire Dragon growled as it stared down at us.

 

……This is the worst situation.

I thought we would still have a chance of winning as long as it’s not a fight against the Demon Lord.

 

The magic that Sybilla can use is Fireball, Fire Arrow, and Fire Javelin. Even if she could use other magic, her specialty would probably be the fire attribute.

If anyone would attack the highest species of salamander with such a thing, they must be an idiot who would bring down the party.

 

I have no intention to fight it head-on.

 

「Run!」

 

「What? Ah…!」

 

I grabbed Sybilla’s hand and headed towards the side path of the cave at breakneck speed.

The image of the Fire Dragon with its mouth wide open appears behind Sybilla’s anxious face.

 

「《Wind Barrier》!」

 

(《Wind Barrier》!)

 

As I shouted the defensive magic out loud, I frantically reminded myself to activate it in time in my head as well.

 

As a result…

 

「……Ouch, it’s hot! …What the– no way…」

 

My Wind Barrier became quite thick and blocked the flames from the Fire Dragon’s breath.

I don’t know if the breath is using some kind of oil to burn or something else that mixes with the air, but the wind from my Wind Barrier blew them to the ground.

 

In any case, double-casting the magic turned out to be unexpectedly powerful.

 

「I can’t believe the wind attribute can reduce the power of fire attribute so much… Ah!」

 

Then I immediately used 《Heal Link》, which Sybilla seemed to have noticed right away.

By doing this, I can completely eliminate uncertain factors such as running out of stamina or slowing down due to burns and receiving slight injuries continuously.

 

The Fire Dragon on the other side of the wall of flames didn’t pursue us, probably because the flame from the first breath blocked its view.

 

Sybilla and I breathe deeply, trying not to make a sound as we walk through a narrow side path the dragon’s huge body can’t fit through.

…I can’t believe we’re still alive. We miraculously avoided death back there.

 

However, the situation isn’t going to get any better if we just stay here.

The only staircase to go to the upper floor is blocked.

I know this because we thoroughly explored the first layer. I don’t think there is another way up.

Besides, it’s hard to imagine that the quick-witted Demon Lord isn’t blocking another staircase if there’s any.

 

I know defeating the Fire Dragon is the only way, but…… it will be a tough fight and too reckless.

Just what should we do——.

 

「W-What is it, so suddenly?」

 

「……」

 

Sybilla didn’t respond when I called out to her, but instead asked me “that” question again with a serious look on her face.

 

「Do you… believe in the Goddess?」

 

「……I already told you my answer before, didn’t I? In the first place, she bestowed me a job that didn’t have the skill to allow me to fight in a crisis like this, so there’s no way I believe in the Goddess.」

 

「Is that so? Then…」

 

「…..Do you desire power?」