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Chapter 304 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (26) / I Will Never Leave You Alone (Part 1)

304 – All-Heaven Festival Contest Final Stage “Demon King Castle Bloody Field” (26) / I Will Never Leave You Alone (Part 1)

I take to the skies in order to get close to Master, who is also floating in the air.

Then I recall a certain moment.

A conversation I had with Demon King Lucifa when I had my Avatar made.

— 『Lemegeton. Did it come out okay? I did what you asked for.』

— 『Yes. Since I decided to become a monster, I think it’ll do just fine. Thank you for making it just like I asked.』

— 『What a strange fellow. You know, don’t you? A Majin with only one horn is…』

–『Yes, I know.』

–『Hmmm…I see. Did my grandfather say anything to you? If I remember correctly, you also made a request for a dungeon name.』

Normally, a Majin having only one horn is proof that someone else has inherited their missing horn.

But to me, it’s proof that they have given one of their horns to someone who didn’t have one.

And actually, there was another reason.

It makes a crackling sound, like when an eggshell starts to crack from the inside.

The crack in my horn continues to grow, and a red liquid oozes from within. It clings to my Holy Fist and makes it glow as if it’s becoming red hot.

It’s the same brilliance I’ve seen in both our Demon King’s and Master’s Horn Armors.

Our Demon King, Fellow, and Master… You can see how the horns in this family change as they become more and more unleashed.

I know it from my own experience. My ability to condense and purify Magical Energy has become even better.

It’s as if the abilities of the horn itself have been improved.

The fact that our Demon King didn’t tell me about it means that it’s not something that can be taught with words.

I don’t know anything about how that works, but I’ll think about it later.

At any rate, when you have a power you can use, you just need to worry about using it.

『You really are fearless!』, says Saraquel in a cheerful voice.

「Kid.」

Clenching his fist covered with his Horn Armor, Master calls out to me.

「What?」

「Who are you?」

「–」

It doesn’t look like Master is asking me for my name at all.

In the first place, Master already knew my name.

Therefore, this is a question about my own way of existing.

I’m Lem. A human child who admired a hero and decided to become one himself.

The “Black Sorcerer” Lem.　[Black Mage] Leme.

The “One-Horned Dark Sorcerer” Lemegeton.

The “One-Horned Black Mage” Lem, who fought against Fenix.

The “Greatest Black Sorcerer” Lem, which is what some people have started to call me.

The “Black Mage” Lemegeton, who stood against his Master.

But today, none of those names are fitting.

I’ve already made up my mind.

This is a name that contains both what I inherited from this person and the way of life I set for myself.

「The “One-Horned Hero” Lem. That’s the name of the human that’s going to defeat you.」

It’s common for both adventurers and monsters to use distinctive words that refer to themselves in their titles.

Those distinctive words would indicate their race, the kind of magic they excel at, or their preferred fighting style.

And there are naming rules for a Demon King’s title.

The title of a Demon King should either mention a part of their body or make a reference to what that body part can do.

The “All-Seeing Demon King” Paimon, the “Vacuum Wave Kicking Demon King” Astaroth, the “Stardust Fist Demon King” Beelzebub.

However, that poses a problem.

The “horn”, a body part that can condense and purify Magical Energy, and a symbol for all Majin.

There are very few people who mention their horns in their titles.

There is an unspoken agreement of sorts.

“You should use your best body part to refer to yourself.”

If that was all there is to it, everyone would have the word “Horn” on their title.

But they can’t do that.

There are almost no Majins in this era who can do that, due to the sheer awe inspired by even a portion of the title of a certain Majin… a certain Demon King.

Or is it due to things such as stubbornness or pride?

Either way, that Demon King’s influence is enormous.

「The “Red-Horned Demon King” Lucifer. That’s the name of the Majin that’s going to kill you.」

The horn of the absolute Demon King turns crimson as he unleashes it.

Hearing this, how many people would think of using the word “Horn” on their own self-given titles?

But doing the same as he does, referring to their own horns with self-confidence in their own titles would be way too arrogant of them.

I don’t think that Lucifer– Master was even aware of that in the first place.

The only one who could do that was the “Six-Horned Demon King” Asmodeus.

Born with six horns, she was able to do so due to her peculiarity and ability.

She’s the only other person outside of Master’s family who is able to turn her horn into a “Perfect Horn Armor”.

No one would complain about her using the word “Horn”.on her title.

But she would be the only one.

There was someone else who did that before, even though he wasn’t even a Demon King himself…

The “One-Horned Dark Sorcerer” Lemegeton, in other words, me.

The vast majority of people don’t know this unspoken agreement passed on to the Majins who work with monsters.

But I know, and still I decided to call myself this.

Because I am proud of myself.

It doesn’t matter if my master is the strongest in the world or not.

There is no such thing as a disciple who isn’t proud of what he has received from the Master he respects so much.

That’s all there is to it.

Right after I introduced myself, I successfully punched Master a total of three times.

I speed up with my wings and go towards Master in an instant. In an attempt to grab hold of me, Master’s hand scratched nothing but the air and got a huge amount of Magical Energy drained away from him as a reward for trying to touch me, a being made of Black Sorcery itself. Had he not chosen that outcome, he would’ve been instantly affected by my Black Sorcery.

And so I am the only one out of the two of us landing hits on the other.

Each time, Master’s Horn Armor cracks, caves in, and shatters.

— It’s working.

With all the power I have now, my fist can finally reach the strongest Demon King.

And then, my fourth punch…

…was blocked.

My fist had met Master’s own.

「–」

「For you to be able to hit something with your fist, it needs to have a physical form.」

Both of us have no choice but to settle this fight in close combat.

Even if I transform my entire body into Black Sorcery, I can’t defeat Master just with that.

Therefore, at the moment of attack, my right arm certainly returns to its physical form.

Did you take my first three punches just to confirm that?

Even though those three punches happened in an instant.

The impact felt as if I had just hit a large rock, but I throw a fifth punch regardless.

My master tries to block my fist, but it phases through me.

And then I gave my master a headbutt.

It feels as if sparks were flying in the back of my eyes.

Neither of our foreheads were covered by a Horn Armor, so both of them were cracked by the impact, and magic particles started flowing out from them.

「I never said I was only going to punch you.」

「You’re a smart guy.」

The seven punches I immediately threw right after that were all caught by Master’s own fist.

Each time our fists came in contact with each other, they made a sound as if the air had exploded, and the entire field would shake as cracks appeared all over it.

After that, the field had been destroyed so much that it seemed as if it had been hit by a violent storm.

But it had been just our fists bumping into each other’s.

At this rate, how long will the connection with the audience seats last?

『Ladies and gentlemen, please rest assured. We have put a lot of effort into building the section that connects the field and the spectator seats, so no matter how much our participants rampage, you will be able to see it all through to the end.』

It’s Fellow.

Indeed, he must have taken measures so that even if his father were to do his best to destroy this place, the broadcast wouldn’t be interrupted.

If the son of the strongest Demon King guarantees that, then there is no need to worry.

As we move through the air, we keep on approaching each other and exchanging blows.

During that time, my Black Sorcery attacks Master, while Master continues to unleash his Magical Energy, which is unable to blow me away.

Ah, there’s no more land left already.

Every last bit of it has been hollowed out, revealing the pitch-black magic space underneath.

Oh, even the sky itself has collapsed.

No more fake blue skies prepared over a field large enough for giants to roam.

The space above us is pitch dark as if it had been filled with black paint all over.

In the midst of an endless darkness, the glow of each other’s red Horn Armors and the connection with the audience seats are the only colors left in the world.

On this battlefield where we exchange fists, everything is destroyed.

『He’s coming.』, says Saraquel.

Certainly, I can see Master approaching me as I keep moving at high speed.

But his trajectory is strange.

He isn’t rushing straight at me… is he trying to keep up the pace with me?

Well, in this case, he would be keeping up the flight instead, huh? Since we’re flying in the sky.

Then, Master stretches out his right hand toward me.

This time I try to dodge him sideways, but Master’s left-hand catches my right fist and pulls me towards him as if he had foreseen my movements.

『– He saw right through you, huh?』

After that, Master’s right-hand reaches out to… my wings.

— I see!

Wings need to have a physical form in order for them to grant any sort of propulsion.

Therefore, they have to materialize while I fly, turning back into Black Sorcery only at the moment of impact.

But that means that, whenever I am flying, my wings are susceptible to being torn off.

「Stop moving around so much, I can’t kill you like this.」

「I have no intention to get myself killed, thanks!」

I immediately transferred Saraquel’s blessing to my right leg and drove my knee into Master’s abdomen.

Our bodies were blown away by the impact, creating a distance between us once again, but… one of my wings was torn off.

I can still fly, but that wing was a part of my Horn Armor. It’s like losing part of my power.