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Chapter 296 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (18) / Self-Destruction (Part 2)

296 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (18) / Self-Destruction

　– Dark.

『What, partner?』

— Do you know what kind of technique demons use to give humans their horns?

『There is no special technique for that, so it must be a practical application of something else. Well, that Demon King can do it, right? That’s why you’re here. What about it?』

— To inherit the Demon King’s horn means to make a body able to accept the power of that Demon King, am I correct?

『That sounds about right. What’s amazing is that it’s made so that you can live as a normal human even after inheriting the horn. That’s probably the reason why he implanted his horn inside your body』

It would certainly be a problem if one day, some human child suddenly grew a horn.

Besides, I was fixated on being an adventurer at the time.

Although I wouldn’t say it’d be impossible, having a horn on your head can make it really difficult for someone to become a successful adventurer.

Master had been considerate enough to make it so that I could become an adventurer as a normal human, and that even if I were to give up being an adventurer one day, I could still live a normal life.

Someone like him would never say such things.

However, it is a fact that my body can accept the power of the Demon King.

— What would happen if you could remove some of the restrictions on the secret art that he used on my body?

『…That art was meant to change the structure of your body from the start. If you break the art that keeps your “humanity” in such perfect balance, I’m sure it’ll begin to transform into “a body that matches the horn”.』

That secret art was originally meant to transform the receptacle’s body into something that would match the horn it was being given.

But Master had placed a special lock to ensure that I would keep my human body even after having received his horn.

I would have to break that lock with my Black Sorcery.

Black Magic alone can’t affect magic itself, but fortunately, this lock has a physical target — me.

In other words, I have to use Black Sorcery to weaken the enhancement Master placed on my body.

If I can do that…

『Yes, you’ll become something closer to a Demon King yourself for a short period of time. However, the secret art used that holds your body together will collapse. Without any sort of stability, I’d say that… a few seconds at the earliest, regardless of whether that’s enough time for you to do what you must or not, your Avatar will crumble into magic particles.』

— But if I don’t do it, I won’t be able to follow any of their movements with my eyes.

『If your Avatar collapses, the Magical Energy of the horn will also dissipate. The Magical Energy of the Original Dungeon, the Magical Energy of the Demon King Castle’s core, and all of the Magical Energy you created and stored in your horn.』

— I’ve decided to use all of them to win over Master.

『…Oh. I see. Then go ahead. Cross the boundaries of this world only to defeat someone who is not of this world. Your path is determined to end in self-destruction, but its course is undetermined. I’ll just relax and enjoy the show.』

— Black Sorcery activated.

The secret art of the strongest Demon Lord…

The thing that, ever since Master decided that day to take a piece of his horn and give it to me, made it possible for my body to get used to the power of the horn over the course of a year…

I will weaken it.

「—!!」

Ah, if this had been my real body instead of an Avatar, I would be screaming in pain right now.

My body is overwhelmed by an extremely unpleasant feeling, as if it was being clawed away from within.

It’s as if it had been turned into clay.

As if it could change its shape depending on someone else’s mood.

The human named Lem is crushed, twisted, and turned into something else.

Neither human nor demon, but…

Into a creature called Lem, who inherited the Demon King’s horn and was closer to being a Demon King himself, albeit for a short time.

My vision was distorted for a moment, and in the next second, the world I saw had changed.

Not only does it seem as if time itself flowed slowly, but I also noticed that the speed of my thoughts has changed.

But at the same time, I also realized that my body was crumbling down rapidly.

Some people compare a lifespan to a lit candle, but with a fire burning this wildly, the wax on my candle is melting at a tremendous rate.

And when it burns out, my Avatar will inevitably disappear.

『…As expected of my partner. It seems that you have kept your appearance within the range that your body can process. That was the right thing to do. If you had tried to turn your entire body into that of a Demon Lord, it would have exploded. Bold, but not arrogant. You are very interesting after all.』

Since she didn’t say that at the beginning, I guess she’s quite the moody Spirit.

For someone who said she would “relax and enjoy the show”, what she said just now should probably come as a surprise to me.

『If only my partner called me “partner”, I’d do more…』

Ignoring Dark’s words, I unleash Magical Energy from my four wings once again.

But before doing anything else, I call out to Foras.

「Proceed as you like.」

「…Yes.」

Being on this battlefield and seeing the participants fighting up close is a rare experience.

Foras is a subordinate of Lemegeton.

An ally with whom we would work together to revitalize the 10th Floor, which is still far from being rebuilt.

This experience will never go to waste.

And also… No, that’s fine for now.

— Dark.

『What is it?』

— Now’s the time for your blessing.

I pick up speed.

Unlike before, I can now tell everything that’s happening around me. I am shocked to see that I can even see even the eyebrows of each spectator at the edge of my field of vision with great detail..

But I can’t process all the information, so I’ll have to focus only on the information I need. Remove the distractions.

Whether it’s at close, mid, or long-range, neither seems to be advantageous against Master.

Any of our attacks from mid and long-range are blocked, and leave us open to his own Black Sorcery.

So we have no choice but to find a way to shorten the distance enough for us to be able to actually attack him.

As our Demon King and I, joined by the “Flame Hero”, “Storm Hero”, and “Water Hero”, begin our simultaneous assault…

Master notices our approach and slightly lifts his foot before stamping it on the ground.

With just that simple motion, the earth shakes and cracks open.

Large lumps of rock suddenly emerge from the cracks in the ground.

Countless obstacles begin to appear on the field, forcing our Demon King and the others to choose a new route constantly.

This would make it impossible for them to attack exactly at the same time.

But we don’t have the option of reorganizing our positioning.

The mass of rocks that were standing in my way burned and disappeared.

「…Thanks for the wand.」

It was Fenix.

He approaches Master in a straight line.

Master had just repelled the attacks of Aerial and our Demon King who came at him from both sides.

His torso seems to be exposed, but even at this point, Master should be able to react accordingly.

But his body was once again frozen from the ground all the way to his waist.

「It still does its job for a moment.」

It was Wraith’s “Grief’s Hail”

Wraith is the only one among them who can’t fly, so he’s the one most affected by the sudden terrain change, but his ability to immediately switch to supporting those who can still advance is impressive.

Master blocked Fenix’s “Flames of the Gods” with his left arm.

His right arm sticking out towards me would also have blocked my own attack if it had been the “me” from before.

But my eyes clearly see his movements, allowing me to parry his arm with my own left arm.

「You…」

Maybe now my eyes are red like Master’s.

Because of the mask I’m wearing, there is no way for anyone to confirm it.

My right fist, which was covered with the Demon King’s Horn Armor and had gained a lot of momentum by pouring a huge amount of Magical Energy into it, slammed into him.

And that is not all.

『Oh my… This might be the first time in the history of Spirits that one of our kind gets to haunt a Horn Armor.』

Dark had bestowed her blessing on my right arm.

Not a Holy Sword, but a Holy Fist.

My fist, armed with both the Demon King’s Horn Armor and a Spirit’s blessing, strikes the strongest Demon King.

The “Grief’s Hail” breaks, and his body recedes in a big way.

A Demon King who has never left his initial position since the beginning of the battle.

It had taken this much from all of us just to force him to take a few steps back.

But this should be a significant step forward for us.

「Very well.」

A black substance wraps around Master’s body.

So you were able to react and managed to unleash it just before my attack could hit you directly?

「You used your Horn Armor.」