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Chapter 36

Victory, The End of The Demon Lord, and…

 

I checked the Demon Lord’s remains after I defeated him and walked toward Sybilla.

She looked at me and nodded in satisfaction with a big smile and her hands on her hips.

 

「Whoa, I’ve never seen Abyss Nail with double chant before, but that was so cool! To be able to one hit the Demon Lord, even in my long life as a Goddess, only you, 『The Black Kite Saint』, who could pull it off. Honestly, just how absurd can you be?」

 

「No, I wouldn’t even have been able to land both hits had you not presented the chance for me. Or rather, I should say the same to you, I didn’t think you’d use your chantless magic at such timing. You were able to outwit the Demon Lord, as expected of a cunning Goddess.」

 

Sybilla to me.
And me to Sybilla.

We each give our twisted impressions of the respective actions we took in the battle earlier.

We then looked at each other with straight faces… and started laughing quietly.

 

Sybilla then removes her leather gloves and raises her right hand with the palm facing forward.

I confidently tap my own palm against that slender, beautiful hand, which is hard to believe to be the same hand that completely outwitted the Demon Lord in the battle earlier.

 

「Ouch!」

 

Sybilla shook her wrist and repeatedly blew her slightly red, swollen hand.

 

No, no, no, would you normally get hurt with just that?

Just how lax she can be, really.

 

But well, I guess this lack of tension is also one of the things that makes Sibylla so special.

She’s like the Goddess of Victory, who makes me feel like I can overcome any challenge just by being next to her.

I don’t know for sure how strong I am, but when she assures me that I can win, I start to feel like I can win.

 

That’s how the girl named Sybilla is.

 

「You only have yourself for taking off your glove to blame for that. 《Extra Heal》」

 

「Uugh, how about you learn to be a little nicer toward girls? If it were any other girl than me, they would be crying, you know?」

 

「You don’t have to worry about that since I’m not going to hit any girls other than you」

 

「So cruel! No wait, is this perhaps how you show that you trust me……? A symbol of your affection towards me!? This is it, this is exactly what I’m talking about, a love story that began from our couple comedic routine, where you suddenly realize that you lov—Ouch!!」

 

Just like that, my arm landed on her head as a chop like a matter of course.

Seriously, I just can’t wrap my head around how you’re able to take one thing and twist it in a strange direction.

 

I mean, how can she keep so positive and optimistic through everything?

Should I have adopted that kind of uselessly positive mindset too on the first days when I was kicked out of the party?

 

……No, never mind, I might just become a completely laid-back guy just like her if I imitate the exact positive mindset she has.

 

「Hey, I can hear you, you know!」

 

「That’s because I made it so that you can hear it.」

 

「How can you be so unreserved when you’re talking to me, I wonder… even though you weren’t like this at all when you’re talking with the other girls from the orphanage who spent a longer time with you.」

 

As I look at Sybilla, who sighs with an exasperated look on her face, I can’t help but give it a thought.

 

It’s true that I’ve grown quite close to this girl. Or so I said, but to be honest, it’s more like she’s the one who’s been constantly trying to shorten the distance between us.

I think I was a bit more mature when I was still in the Hero’s Party. At least I don’t think I was close enough with them to say whatever I wanted like this, even to Emmy.

Well, if I were to treat Emmy as I treat Sybilla right now, I’m sure she’ll get teary-eyed right away so I don’t think I can do it though.

 

But if you ask me how it feels to be so close to a woman for the first time in my life, then… it’s not a bad feeling at all.

 

Joking around with Sybilla like this just feels nice.

It’s my first time experiencing something like this, and yet it feels as if we’ve had it for a long time.

It annoys me——it really does, but——it looks like I’m quite fond of this strange sense of familiarity between us.

I said “looks like”, because I don’t really understand it myself.

 

「Well, it’s fine. You did a really good job back there. Defeating the Demon Lord on the third day after your job change as a 【Twilight Sorcerer】 is a new record, even for me.」

 

「If you said so, then it must be really amazing. It doesn’t feel bad.」

 

「That’s the highest praise I’ve ever given someone, you know? Geez, I know I was the one who gave you the power, but it felt like I just gave birth to something terrifying.」

 

Tell me about it. Who would’ve thought that everything would’ve gone this well?

It still feels strange to me that I’m leveling up as a 【Twilight Sorcerer】, while still having my job as a 【Saint】.

And on top of that, there’s the mystery of how much magic power I have

 

Just what is going on with my body?

Dark Magic is said to consume a lot of magic power, but no matter how many times I use it, it shows no sign of being depleted at all.

And yet, the magic works as it’s supposed to.

 

……In some ways, it’s a far greater mystery than me becoming a Twilight Sorcerer while keeping my job as a Saint.

 

「Seriously, and that Demon Lord too, to think that he, who didn’t know anything about you, his opponent, would face you head-on without bringing his companion 『Pet』 along.」

 

The 『Pet』……Sybilla mentioned beforehand that it’s a monster that assists the Demon Lords in battles.

And apparently, this Demon Lord too, brought one along with him into this world.

 

「Urk, w-well, t-that was… it’s just that it was so funny I can’t help but laugh, you see. A-Anyway, Floor Bosses are not as scary as continuous battles, since the basic idea is to work together as a party to defeat one powerful opponent. However, when it comes to fighting multiple bosses in close quarters by yourself, your chance of winning is basically zero.」

 

I see, if that Demon Lord is accompanied by a monster that assists him with close-quarter combat, our chance of winning will drop significantly at once.

Although he was called the Demon Lord, it somehow feels like he doesn’t specialize in fighting. However, as the “Lord” in his name suggests, he is probably unrivaled when it comes to things that involve creation.

 

I was able to protect myself from his offensive magic thanks to my sword and robe, but the Demon Lord was strong enough to cast two powerful magic that made me drop my sword.

 

「When it comes to a battle with multiple opponents, it’s better to run away first when you think you can’t win. If that’s not possible, use the stairs or narrow paths, for example, if that guy——」

 

As soon as Sybilla moves her gaze, her eyes widen in shock.

At that moment, I felt an intense bad feeling and quickly turned around as well.

 

In the place where the Demon Lord’s corpse should have been was now nothing but empty ground.

 

「——Ku, kuku…」

 

Speaking of which, this room still remains even though we have defeated the Floor Boss.

Defeating a Floor Boss always opens the door to the next floor.

 

I didn’t notice it right away since the Demon Lord suddenly showed up, but when I looked toward the other side of the Floor Boss room, which would have been closed up until now, was glowing brightly.

 

「Damn it that guy—!」

 

Ignoring Sybilla’s irritated voice, the Demon Lord smiles leisurely despite being covered in wounds from head to toe.

……It doesn’t seem like he’s acting strong, either he still has something that makes him so confident… or he’s completely lost it now.

 

「Hahaha… how’s that? It’s a move that lets me leave behind an afterimage of my copse! We shall meet again, Twilight Sorcerer… Ah, no, the 『Black Kite Saint』, was it?」

 

「He got us! We’re getting out of here, Russell!」

 

I immediately went up the stairs after her after Sybilla shouted.

The magic barrier that blocked the Floor Boss room was no longer there, and we were able to escape from the room quickly, but…

 

「『Save your trump card for the last』……huh? That was a good experience… and it was fun in its own way…」

 

I couldn’t get those last words the Demon Lord uttered out of my head.

 

There were already no monsters on the second floor, and there was only a straight path to home in front of us.

Sybilla who was running in front of me made a left turn without hesitation. Come to think of it, this Goddess has made a map of the entire dungeon in her head, didn’t she?

 

「That stupid Demon Lord just had to use self-destruct magic out of all things!」

 

A 『Self-destruct magic』 which was used by the Demon Lord.

I’ve never heard of such magic before, but even someone like me can tell how dangerous it is just from its name.

 

As I look back with that in mind, I can see the light behind us is getting brighter and brighter.

……Seriously!?

 

「We’re about to reach the first floor soon! Russell, healing magic, please!」

 

「Got it!」

 

I used 《Extra Heal Link》, which also serves as a stamina recharge magic, in my mind to restore our stamina.

We can’t stop running with all our might just yet.

 

「《Wind Barrier》!」

(《Wind Barrier》!)

 

Just right when Sybilla started making a doubtful look, the sound of an arrow hitting the wall echoed.

While Sybilla was in shock, I shot 《Dark Sphere》 into the wall and silenced all the Black Goblins.

 

「How did you know they were there?」

 

「No, that just now was nothing but my gut feeling. Maybe because the situation we’re in right now is so dangerous that my sense of danger has been replaced by a sense of calmness.」

 

「So you can be reliable when the time calls for it, huh! But to think you reacted first before I did, not bad!」

 

Even in a crisis like this, it doesn’t feel bad to be praised.

I feel like I can be more confident after she praised me for my brain. I’ll gladly accept that compliment.

 

We got out of the dungeon and looked back as we kept running without stopping.

 

「Russell, destroy the entrance!」

 

「《Abyss Nail》!」

(《Abyss Nail》!)

 

I used my magic at the entrance to the dungeon and a large magical claw collapsed the entrance area.

However… even after blocking the entrance, it couldn’t completely stop the Demon Lord’s self-destruct magic as the light was leaking through the gaps of the collapsed entrance, burning the area around it.

 

「…What… should we do…? It’s not stopping…!」

 

「Damn it! Not yet!」

 

I can’t give up here…!

At this rate, with this magic’s destructive power, the explosion will swallow up and destroy the whole village.

We have to stop it here no matter what…!

 

We are now close enough to the village, and just as I brace myself to do whatever it takes to block the light in front of me——!

 

「《Magic Coating》!」

 

——I heard a nostalgic voice.

 

The vision turned completely white, as the heat and other things I couldn’t tell were raging in front of me.

Strangely, however, no shock or anything like that reached me at all.

 

Then,  as I opened my eyes after the light faded away… the mountain in front of me was gone.

 

……In my arms, a figure that I barely recognized as my childhood friend, with her body almost completely tattered, was lying there.

 

Emmy looked at me with her usual calm narrowed eyes I wondered how she could look at me with such a gentle look while being in that extremely pained state.

 

「——」

 

As her mouth couldn’t form a word, and her throat was making a hoarse sound for trying, she closed her eyes just like that.

I can feel the entire weight of her powerless body in my arms.