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Chapter 260 – Wraith Party VS Asmodeus Party 2 (Part 2)

260 – Wraith Party VS Asmodeus Party 2 (Part 2)

And then, Melanie throws her shield.

The shield winds the spiderweb that was stretched across the Field and crashes into the opposite wall.

「Fran!」

Thanks to Melania, the majority of the webs were taken care of, giving Fran some much-needed leeway.

She manages to pull most of herself forcefully out of the webs. She’s still entangled, but it looks like she’s able to move.

「…I’m…fine.」

At Fran’s words, Melania breathed a sigh of relief.

She hurriedly searched for Eligor, but he has already run under her legs.

「I-I won’t let you!」

Melania turned around and stretched out her arm but…she couldn’t reach him.

She was moving slower than usual.

「Sorry, but I just stole your Agility. If you want it back, you’re gonna have to catch me.」

Shax flies around the air, drawing attention to herself.

She stole Melania’s Agility and then flew away at terrifying speeds.

「You think you should be so preoccupied with this old man, kiddo?」

The number of Water Blades increased, but they didn’t reach Crocell.

They literally vanished.

「I think you’re old age is making you worry too much.」

Wraith unsheathes his Holy Sword and runs towards Crocell.

「It’s nice to be so full of energy.」

The water vapor around him wriggled.

They changed into Water Blades via Crocell’s magic and attacked Wraith.

「I won’t let you near Lem!」

「Move aside, young Ogre.」

Josh stood in his way to cover me, but the Future Reading Knight Eligor kicked him aside.

His initial slash cut Josh’s staff in two, then immediately turned around and kicked him.

Josh blocked the kick with his arms, but the force pushed him away.

Taking that chance, Eligor closed the distance between me in one breath.

「You are an excellent support Job. In that case, I shall eliminate you before you display your true ability.」

That alone makes them wary of me.

I am thankful, and also…I knew they would.

I think back to the strategy meeting I had with the party.

◇

「I believe the enemy will aim to eliminate either me or Wraith first.」

In the dining hall of the inn we’re staying in, we are holding a strategy meeting.

「Most likely. Pretty much all the contestants already know that you’re trouble, and I’m…well, I’m me.」

Wraith nodded like it was obvious.

Fran nodded her head in agreement as well.

「I agree too. In terms of members who would be troublesome if left alone, an all-rounder and powerful leader, and an excellent Black Magic user like Lem are surely the threats of the party.」

「Fran and Melania’s attack power along with Josh’s White Magic and endurance are threats as well, you know? But when it comes to which threat to take out first…yeah, it’s definitely gonna be me and Wraith. Let’s think about how things will unfold if they aim for me.」

「Crocell is definitely gonna mess with me. From their point of view, he’s the perfect one to neutralize me.」

「Yeah. I want you to keep him busy. To the audience, it might look like you struggling, though.」

「That’s fine. Truly suffering but then overcoming adversity is totally something a Hero would do, right?」

The enemy probably won’t interfere with the Wraith VS Crocell fight, either.

「If it comes to that, then I think Shax will aim for me. I have something that might take care of that, but whether she will be obsessed with me or aim for someone else, I’m not sure. Considering her personality, I think she’ll keep trying until her Steal works…」

Though I also think Asmodeus will stop her.

「It depends on whether or not she listens to her Demon King, huh? They’re usually in different strata, so it is impossible to know until it happens. If she continues to aim for you, then good, but if not, who’s in danger? Fran?」

「She might steal her Attack Power. Actually, she might steal that from Melania, too. She can’t steal spells due to limitations on her magic, but she can steal any of your five senses, so please be careful, everyone.」

If you get your Thinking Power stolen, then magic will become useless.

I, too, have to be careful.

「Bael is primarily good at fights where she can spread her spider webs wait for her prey to fall into her trap. In the tournament, she will spread her threads as soon as the match begins. It is unlikely that she will suddenly aim at me and Josh in the rear. But just in case she has some sort of long-range attack, we must be on guard.」

「All that’s left is the Demon King Asmodeus and the Future Seeing Knight Eligor.」

Said Josh.

Melania isn’t saying much, but she’s listening to the meeting with a serious expression on her face.

「Asmodeus will most likely not participate in the attack unless the situation changes.」

「A habit from her being the Coordinator?」

「She will see with her own eyes how we fight and how far we can go, then on the day itself, she will decide how to fight. This is assuming she fights as she does as the Northern Demon King.」

「Well, if she does go on the offensive, then I’ll take the Demon King, and Fran will take Crocell.」

The childhood friend pair look at each other and nod in unison.

「So, about Eligor. He…is extremely loyal to Asmodeus, right?」

With the Impregnable Demon King Castle as a comparison, he is similar to Agares who swears his allegiance to Luci.

「Ah, well, that Demon King seems pretty fixated on me and Lem, particularly Lem. As a loyal retainer, that would sit well with them, right?」

On the way to the lottery event.

Asmodeus used Black Magic to make it so that no one would notice her and spoke with me.

From that point, she seems to have acknowledged me as a Black Sorcerer.

If she told Eligor about that, he might think that she thinks about me more than anyone can imagine.

「When the battle starts, I’ll cast Intelligence Down on Eligor even though it might be a little unreasonable. If it doesn’t work on him and he’s coming at me like normal, I’ll retreat, but if he decides to seal his Evil Eye and bulldoze his way to me…I’d like to take him on.」

Everyone opened their eyes wide in surprise.

「Knowing, you have some kinda strategy in mind, but honestly, in terms of sword skills, he’s better than you.」

「I’ll try my best to back you up, but fighting against a Majin in close-quarters is still dangerous.」

Said Wraith and Josh.

I am grateful for allies that honestly tell me their opinions like this.

I won’t be overconfident with their trust.

「That’s exactly it. He’ll be thinking the same thing. That even though I have Holy Sword, I’m just a Black Sorcerer. Even with his Evil Eye sealed, he should be able to win.」

「…I see. As long as everything unfolds in the way they think it will, no one will suspect that it’s a trap.」

「H-hold on a minute. So…uhm, does that mean that you have some kinda plan to counter him, Lem?」

「Yeah. But I won’t tell you guys, either. I want you to stand around thinking that I’m in danger if Eligor gets past.」

「If we knew the plan, we might seem too relaxed when it happens, huh? Ahaha, interesting.　A secret plan that not even your allies know. Things are never boring with you around, Lem.」

「I…I understand. I’m confident in my endurance, so if push comes to shove, I’ll be your shield.」

「M-me too! I…I don’t really get the complicated stuff, but I-I’ll do my best!」

「Thanks, everyone. If all goes well, it won’t just turn into a five vs four fight. The enemy will be completely confused. They’re first-class Monsters, so it will probably only last for a moment, but they will be totally confused.」

Our party is still developing.

Even Wraith, who boasts top-notch strength, still has room to grow.

In regards to the total power of a party, the enemy is stronger.

But we’ll still win. There are no battles where the outcome is clear from the start.

「Let’s win.」

Everyone gave a big nod in agreement.

◇

「This is…」

Stepping a foot into my Full Resist, Eligor grimaces.

His movements slowed down.

Even when wrapped in Resist, the Magical Energy circulating around me can enter through the gaps.

The Black Magic will activate, activating Speed Down.

I unsheathe my Holy Sword.

Even with Intelligence Down and Speed Down, Eligor’s movements were quickly reaching the limit.

If he didn’t have the capacity to do that in the first place, he probably wouldn’t have tried to force his way through.

Still, it’s possible to stop his blade with mine.

『Want me to hit him hard, partner?』

A lively voice came from the black chick on my head.

『I’ll show you your new Divine Blessing.』

While swinging my sword, I open my mouth.

「O Spirit.」

Dark’s Spirit Magic…activated.