Chapter 111: In Order to Break Free
I can feel a large amount of mana being sucked out of my penetrated abdomen.
Not good!
In my frustration, it is my sense of duty as an attendant to control my emotions, which are being upset. With murderous intent, I glared at the Demon King.
"W-what happened to Aquim? And where is Floria-sama?"
"Hah. That loyalty. But rest assured. The match with the hero is not yet settled. As for your king, look. There she is."
"What?"
Following her gaze. Before I knew it, a beautiful woman, her whole body stained with semen, was lying next to the Demon King.
“Floria-sama!? You... when did you switch places?"
“I came here around the time you had beaten a doll. It looked like interesting, so after that I just sat beside Floria and watched the show."
I didn't notice it at all.
Unlike other types of magic, which emphasize physical changes such as heat generation and loss, the dark magic in which the Demon King excels has the ability in interfering with the mind. It is possible to manipulate the perception of a lower rank being. If the Demon King had attacked without pretending to be Floria-sama, I might have died without even realizing that I had been killed.
I remember being horrified by the insurmountable difference in power between her and me.
The Demon King looked down at her own body. Perhaps it was Aquim who had done it. Her black dress was in tatters, and the tip of one of her breast was completely exposed.
"Isn't it cruel?"
"You look fine for that."
I joined in the conversation in order to buy time to deal with the situation. But in fact, compared to the damage to the dress, the wound itself doesn't seem to be that bad (is Aquim safe?).
"This is thanks to you."
"……What?"
"You've got some good magic potions in there. The wounds from that hero have healed a lot. I have to admit, you've been a big help."
"What... did you say?"
My whole body trembles more than my penetrated abdomen.
Saved? Helped? Who? ……Me? As an attendant, did I help Aquim's enemies...?
"Oya? Suddenly your resistance has weakened."
The Demon King tilted her head slightly. My power is being taken away by the succubus' tail. I could feel it gaining momentum. I was struck by dizziness.
“Really, you have great power for a human. When you destroyed one of my dolls, it was more or less remarkable."
For some reason, the Demon King smiled sadly.
"It can't be helped. There is no pain. You should just go with the flow and sleep slowly."
"Guh, w-wait!"
My vision blurred and my consciousness faded.
No. Not yet. Not yet, not yet.
Deciding to live as an attendant, I gave my body to Aquim. I had decided to fulfill this role, no matter how painful it might be. And yet, what have I accomplished so far? Not only did I not stand by my master whom I should serve in this crisis, but I ended up dragging him down to his death.
"Don't... joke... a-around."
At least one hit. The damage that leads to Aquim's victory with this hand.
But no matter how much my heart burned, my body would not move, and the blade I needed to wield was not in my hand. Tears welled up in my eyes because I felt so pathetic.
"Don't cry, you fool."
The Demon King's fingers wiped away my tears. I was prepared to have my eyes gouged out by her claws, the tips of which were sharp like blades, but I was surprised by her surprisingly gentle touch. And thenーー
"I think you're making my kohai cry, Punch!"
"Mu?"
At the same time as the familiar female voice, a barrage of bullets rained down on the Demon King's entire body.
"……Pu, nch?"
"Hora, over here."
Suddenly, the Demon King's body is pulled away. Blood from my abdomen overflowed. The moment the succubus's tail was pulled out, pain hit me.
"Guhh!? Cough*! Cough*, cough*... haa, haa... A-Aquamarine... san."
I was laid on my back. I was somewhat relieved to see her light green hair swaying as I frantically chased after it when I was still a child.
“I guess now you owe me two times, kohai.”
"Fumu. Something strange seems to have slipped in. Hey."
The Demon King snapped her fingers and one of the two dolls that were fighting Mina and the others moved to Floria-sama's side. It then picked up her body. Mina and the others could not respond. Even now that it was two against one, it was still difficult to win.
"Go."
Upon receiving the Demon King's instructions, the doll starts running toward the outside of the arena. This is not good. If we lose sight of Floria-sama here, we may never get another chance to rescue her. ......But what should we do?
Thanks to the pain, my consciousness began to clear up, but it didn't give me an answer.
Aquamarine-san shouted.
"Kurai-sama! Please take care of Floria-sama!"
In the midst of the disadvantageous battle of one against three, Kurai-san's eyes looked around for a momentーー she almost got hit by the doll's attack.
It was still impossible. She was dealing with three dolls by herself. There was no way she could afford to chase after Floria-sama.
"I'll support you. Transform [Gatling Gun]"
The gun that Quartz-san was holding was transformed by mana. From one-handed to two-handed. Numerous barrels rotate, and the ultra-high speed bullets fired from them greatly shred the doll's body.
"What!?"
I involuntarily open my eyes wide at that unbelievable power.
To do that much damage to that doll at this distance. As expected of Qua... No, it's wrong. The same goes for Aquamarine-san, who easily knocked the doll away, but compared to the other two I know, they're too strong.
Kurai-san must have felt the same thing, as she looked at Quartz-san with a suspicious look, but it was only for a moment. She left the arena and went after the doll holding Floria-sama.
Three dolls were trying to chase after Kurai-san. However, bullets that are as powerful or more powerful than my all-out magic block their path.
"Just stop right there. You goddamn dolls!!"
Shots fired. In the blink of an eye, the dolls' bodies are being whittled away. The barrage does not even allow for a counterattack. The power was truly amazing. Not only did it stop them, but it seemed as if it would take down all three of them.
Quartz-san's success, however, did not last long. His gun, which had shown a performance no less than that of a holy sword, disappeared from his hand without a trace.
"Ah!?"
I could see Quartz-san's eyebrows, which were hidden by his mask, furrow. The barrage ended, and the three dolls disappeared from the arena after Kurai-san.
"Fumu. Isn't it a piece of work from the kingdom of earth? It's a high-performance gun, but that's all it is. Who are you......? I have heard no reports of anyone in the Kingdom of Light possessing that much power, except for the Knights of Light?"
The Demon King ignored the distance and took a glance at Quartz-san's gun, which she had taken from him, and tossed it away as if she had lost interest in it.
The ring that Quartz-san is wearing emits light. The gun that fell to the ground returns to Quartz-san's hand.
"Hah. If you want to know, why don't you try to make me spit it out with your specialty, dark magic? Maou-sama!!"
Shots fired. The barrage of bullets that had overrun the doll, however, changed course on its own, as if afraid of the Demon Lord.
"Then I'll do so."
And so the battle between the Demon King and Quartz-san begins. Unbelievably, Quartz-san avoided all of the invisible magic that the Demon King had used and fired bullets precisely after the shadowy, elusive Demon King's magic.
"Hoh. This is... you, no way."
In the face of Quartz-san's unexpected ability, the Demon King's composure didn't crumble. In fact, no matter how much Quartz-san struggled, the difference in ability was clear to the outside.
“Guh, Aquamarine-san. I'm fine, so please help Quartz-san."
“What are you talking about, kohai? Kohai's wounds are pretty bad, you know?"
“Yes. But I'm no longer an asset in this fight."
If one tried to heal a magic attack with healing magic, one first need to remove the residual mana left in the wound, but my wound was caused by the Demon King. It would take a considerable amount of time just to remove the residual mana.
“I will burn the wound and stop the bleeding. I can take care of it myself, so Aquamarine-sanーー"
"Okay, it's healed."
"Eh?"
Aquamarine-san's hand, which had been holding my wound, left. Under the torn military uniform, not a single scar remained on my skin where the blood had been removed cleanly.
"What...... do you mean?"
Although Aquamarine-san was an all-around talented person who could handle anything, she was by no means so good at healing magic that she could greatly surpass healing mages.
"Kohai. Listen carefully to what I am going to say. This battle will be very serious if kohai loses."
What now. Perhaps such thoughts came out in her expression, but Aquamarine-san waved her hand in front of my face.
“Ah, no, no. Even if we win this war, if kohai loses here, the Kingdom of Light will end in the not-too-distant future. That's what I'm talking about."
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
Even if we win the war, if I lose this battle, the Kingdom of Light end? What does it mean? I don't understand what Aquamarine-san is trying to say.
"Hm~. It's hard to explain, but yes. You, kohais are the heroines now. If the heroine disappears from the stage, she will probably get bored with the current play. As a result, the play itself will probably change. And a very bad one at that."
"...Aquamarine-san. May I check the mana in your body?"
"Guwaah!? Does it hurt to see me stare directly at you? Wrong! It's not that I've lost my mind! Wait!? Look out!!"
Aquamarine-san leaped up holding me in her arms. Immediately after, the floor we had been on was scraped away by an invisible force.
Aquamarine-san, with her eyes half-closed, glared at the Demon King.
"Isn't it a little harsh? We were still in the middle of talking."
"Is that so."
Jewel-like purple eyes looked at me and Aquamarine-san alternately. Drip*. Drip*. Blood falls to the floor. In the Demon King's hand, she held Quartz-san's right arm, which had been shredded from his shoulder. Quartz-san, who had lost one arm, was kneeling a little distance away from the Demon King, breathing heavily.
"The words that you told that little girl over there. The way you avoided the magic just now. That confirms it."
What in the world was she trying to say? Her enchanting smile, which attracts both the opposite sex, has turned into an innocent smile like a child's. I am surprised at this sudden change, but the Demon King's smile deepens even more. And thenーー
"It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you again."
She said something I didn't understand.
“It’s been a long time, Satanalia-chan.
Aquamarine-san does not deny the Demon King's words, on the contrary, she shows her attitude as if she were treating an old friend...... What? What in the world is going on?
"Even so, what are you planning to do this time? Up until now, when the Daimaou-sama was unreasonable, you'd show up at every opportunity to suppress the outcome, but this is the first time you've been openly hostile…… Is your main body in the Kingdom of Light, after all?”
"I think [main body] is a terrible way to put it. I am still living as me, though."
"Fumu. You are interesting after all. Unlike mere techniques, you are completely independent, yet you have not lost your unity as one. [life-creation], It's a magnificent power."
“…Did you learn that from your master?”
"The Daimaou-sama won't tell me about you. This was just slipped by one of the teachers."
There is no longer any room for misunderstanding. Aquamarine-san is an old acquaintance of the Demon King. I can only watch the situation in silence in the face of the unexpected relationship between a trusted senpai, which could even be considered a betrayal.
Aquamarine-san looked around. Her face looked tense.
"I can't seem to find the teachers. Where are they?"
"Don't worry. The teachers won't participate in the battle anymore. And you and the owner of this arm can go back now."
The Demon King pointed her finger toward Quartz-san.
"...What do you mean?"
"I've been indebted to you. If possible, I don't want to kill you. If you are living as an individual, you don't want to die, right?"
"Is that so? Well then, Satanalia-chan. Can I take my kohais with me?"
"No, I'm sorry, but they will die here."
"Can we negotiate, somehow?"
"Hmm... No, I won't."
"No matter what?"
"No matter what."
"Then it can't be helped. I'll protect my cute kohais as Aquamarine."
“Me too! Uoooohh!!"
Behind the Demon King, Quartz-san's gun erupted into flames. The storm of bullets, which did not seem to diminish in power even with one arm, however, slipped through the Demon King's body.
"What!?"
The Demon King's body shimmered like a heat haze. Quartz-san doesn't stop shooting even though he knows it's useless.
"Yare, yare. From the looks of it, this one doesn't seem to be a very powerful individual, but still, it's going to be a hassle to get rid of him without killing him."
The Demon King sighed and pounced on Quartz-san. Aquamarine-san suddenly clamped her hands between my cheeks and brought them to eye level.
"An advice from a senpai. You kohais are stronger than you think. But somewhere along the way, you've adjusted yourself to the people around you. I think it's because of that way of thinking that you try to live as an attendant, but I don't know if that way of thinking will work anymore."
Saying that, Aquamarine-san took out an S-rank magic potion from her spatial pocket and let me hold it.
"……This is?"
"If you plan to live as Aquim Bonvoul's attendant from now on, go ahead and drink it."
"No, but. If I do that..."
Certainly, if an S-rank magic potion could elicit the excess boost phenomenon, the effect would be immeasurable. However, the probability of success was too low. In fact, could an S-ranked magic potion cause an excess boost in the first place? Even in theory, it seems doubtful.
“Just like kohai thought, if it were normal, you would probably die. But you can't stay by that gentleman's side under normal circumstances, you know?"
"Aquamarine-san with Aquim..."
Do they have a connection with each other?
The first thing that came to my mind at this moment was not a silver-haired, silver-eyed man, but an incredibly beautiful woman with rainbow-colored eyes.
"Ah, is it bad already? Quartz is going to get hit soon. As expected, he can't deal with Satanalia-chan alone, so I'm going. Think carefully about whether you want to use it or not. If you don't feel like using it, run away now. For kohai's sake, this senpai will buy you some time."
After saying that, Aquamarine-san joined the battle. I looked down at the magic potion she handed me.
Needless to say, I would die if I drank it. The A rank magic potion is made for human use, and the S rank magic potion is made for ceremonial use. Moreover, this magic potion has a higher concentration of mana than any other S-rank magic potion I have ever seen. The only exception is Floria-sama, who can use this as a recovery medicine, and normally drinking it is not an option, no matter how cornered the situation may be.
"……Normal way is not good enough, huh?"
I remember Aquim being protected by the legendary Founder-sama. Can I continue to be his attendant as I am now?
My resolve was made immediately.
I opened the lid of the bottle and drank the contents in one gulp to break free from my current weak self.
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