“Judging by that Sword Magic, they’re no ordinary person.”
“I thought the same. Let’s take care of that first.”
‘I could only hope that the dark magician had poured all their strength into Eldakrad.’
‘If not, the worst-case scenario would leave my right hand shattered from the battle. Huh?’
Suddenly, Eldakrad disappeared.
No, he was already right in front of me.
‘How could that massive body move so fast?’
Clang!
I barely managed to create a sword with Sword Magic in time to block him.
But then, A blue sword extended from Kiriel’s hand as well.
‘She’s using Sword Magic? Who in the world is Kiriel?’
“Wait a minute, aren’t you from the Ashtar clan? Even if Eldakrad uses it, it’s odd for you to know Sword Magic!”
‘That’s what I want to ask!’
“And what about you? How can you use Sword Magic?”
‘Ah. Well, that’s a fair point. No, wait—this isn’t the time to think about that!’
“How many people even use Sword Magic these days?”
“I’m from the Land of Ruin, that’s why!”
“What kind of—ugh!”
Eldakrad’s attack pressed down on us more and more.
‘In sheer strength alone, he might even surpass Pector. Can I withstand the assault of a hero from decades ago?’
Well, considering his strength, it’s no surprise he had directly advanced into the Demon King’s domain back then.
“Wait, we won’t hold out much longer!”
As we struggled against Eldakrad’s force, we had no choice but to retreat.
But Eldakrad’s mana blade, now unrestrained, shattered the second-floor ground beneath us.
Crash! Rumble!
We fell to the floor below.
Without using mana to shield ourselves, we would’ve been done for.
“My right arm… it feels like the bones are completely shattered.”
I could still fight, but my right arm seemed worse off than before. It felt completely numb.
‘This body hasn’t fully returned to its prime state from the Noah era. Maybe it was inevitable after fighting Pector.’
“Damn it. Where even are we?”
We seemed to have fallen to the third floor.
Or maybe this was our goal all along.
“For now, we need to deal with that guy quickly. We can talk afterward.”
“He’s your grandfather, right?”
“Do I look like I care about that when I’m about to die? Does it even matter right now?”
“If someone tries to kill me, even if it’s my sister, they’re the enemy.”
‘Why would I show mercy to Olivia’s grandfather in this situation? Actually, do I even have the luxury to?’
“Wow, you’re swearing so casually now. Haha!”
Clang!
“Damn it. He’s so strong.”
“You managed to beat Pector, didn’t you? Can’t you do something?”
‘What kind of nonsense is that?’
‘Does this girl think Eldakrad is a joke? Does she not see the terrifying mana blade created with Sword Magic?’
“He’s on par with Pector. And I only beat Pector because I got lucky. Plus, my right arm isn’t even in good condition right now.”
“So, in short…”
“You deal with him.”
“If you’re part of the Hero Party, at least do that much.”
At my words, Kiriel’s invisible face seemed to contort.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
‘She’s giving me a look that says, “Are you serious right now?”‘
But she wasn’t an idiot.
‘If you want to survive, you have no choice but to fight.’
Kiriel had no option but to block Eldakrad’s oncoming attacks.
***
Whoosh!
Eldakrad’s mana blade, already in motion, swung with all its might.
“Dammit! This is pissing me off!”
Clang!
Even so, she held out, albeit barely.
‘She’s holding her ground better than I thought. Maybe we can actually manage this?’
“Hold him off. I’ll go after the dark magician.”
‘It might be better for me to retreat and take down the dark magician. No matter how strong they are, they must have used up a lot of energy controlling Eldakrad. If so, there’s a chance to strike.’
“Do you even know where they are? And didn’t they say his subordinates were also in the Mausoleum? What if they’re awake too?”
“Ah, damn it.”
‘In other words, we have to defeat Eldakrad here. This is a problem. We might really die.’
I had no choice but to bet my life on this fight.
“For now, we should focus on him.”
“Damn it. This is really annoying.”
“You’re really my brother, huh…”
“If you’ve got time to chat, fight properly!”
Eldakrad’s blade came crashing down again.
At the last moment, Kiriel also drew her mana sword.
Crack! Zzzzzing!
With her mana sword, she blocked Eldakrad’s attack.
Even though we were fighting together, it was exhausting.
‘This is insane. How is he this strong? With this level of power, he’s practically Four Heavenly Kings level.’
“This is crazy. He’s stronger than Pector.”
Even though my body is in bad shape, this is ridiculous.
I unloaded a barrage of magic bullets.
‘If I’m going to do this, I’ll go all out.’
Boom! Crash! Rumble!
Eldakrad staggered and fell.
Taking advantage of the moment, I grabbed Kiriel’s hand and bolted.
“Do you know the way out?”
“No!”
We ran aimlessly, as far away from Eldakrad as possible.
As long as we didn’t encounter anyone else, even his subordinates would be easier to deal with than him.
Eventually, we reached a hall with knight statues.
“Do you think these will move?”
“If they could, they’d have moved already. The dark magician is probably far from here, which is why they aren’t active.”
It was a clear deduction.
‘The fact that even these knights haven’t moved means the dark magician must be far away. Controlling Eldakrad alone must be draining enough.’
‘After all, reviving such a hero as an undead isn’t something any ordinary dark magician could pull off.’
“Why is that old man so strong anyway?”
“How would I know? How do we even deal with him?”
“Even if we defeat him, wouldn’t the dark magician just revive him? I think we need to find another way!”
‘Another way?’
“What kind of way?”
“Just use some grand magic or something! Losing an arm is better than losing your life, isn’t it?”
‘Is she insane? Grand magic, here, in the Mausoleum?’
“Even if you could use grand magic, what would you use? To call down lightning or meteors, you’d need open skies. And even if it were possible, the moment you use it, the Mausoleum would collapse, and we’d get buried alive!”
“No doubt about it, this girl’s head is screwed on wrong. Also, where have I heard that voice before?”
“Then what do you suggest? You’re seriously telling me to fight that thing alone? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Now I was certain.
That sharp, annoying voice could only belong to one person.
“You’re Noelle, aren’t you?”
I pulled back Kiriel’s hood.
Sure enough, it was Noelle.
Long black hair, and a face strikingly similar to mine—a girl.
“Now that I see you, I did think your attitude was like my brother’s despite your appearance. So, you’re really him?”
‘The way this brat talks to her brother, though…’
It was definitely Noelle.
“Wow. The runaway girl ended up in the Hero Party?”
‘As if she didn’t already waste enough time.’
“And what’s with you being a woman? Did you develop a new hobby or something?”
“Do you think there’s some magic that can just turn me into a woman?”
‘Is that even possible? Changing appearances might not be impossible, but who’d willingly go from Noah, the legendary hero, to a noble young lady?’
“You’ve always been eccentric!”
“No, I haven’t! Wait, that’s not the issue. What did you say earlier? You want to marry the hero because he’s handsome and reform him?”
‘Is the issue that Noah turned into a woman, or is it that my only sister is throwing her life away on an impossible challenge? She’s seriously betting her life on reforming the hero and turning him into an ideal husband.’
‘This insane little sister needs a reality check.’
“And what of it?”
“Drop that ridiculous plan right now! You think he’s husband material? Did you get hit in the head by a meteor or something?”
‘Did she lose her mind while she was out on her own?’
“You were the one who said it was fine! You literally just said so earlier!”
‘That’s because it didn’t involve my sister, idiot.’
“That’s because it wasn’t my business. If you weren’t my sister, I wouldn’t care if you married some stray dog off the streets! But as my sister, trying to reform that human trash and marry him—do you think I can stand by and watch?”
‘I have to stop this. No matter what, I have to stop this.’
“I can do it just fine! If I defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, it’ll work! Think about it—if I reform the hero, we can take down the Four Heavenly Kings together!”
“Right. And that’s why you got wrecked by Pector, and I had to come clean up the mess myself. If I had known you were my sister back then, I’d have let Yuria beat you up too!”
‘I should have realized it was her then.’
“Are you seriously going to keep being petty? Says the guy who’s walking around in skirts as a woman!”
“I got turned into this while fighting the Demon King! Do you think it’s the same as your nonsense?”
Boom!
‘Ah, my voice was too loud.’
Eldakrad smashed through the wall and appeared.
‘Right. That guy is still here. I’d almost forgotten.’
He was still far off, so we had time to prepare.
“Brother, how about we deal with him first?”
“Fine. Let’s take him down first.”
‘Stopping my sister comes after I survive this.’
I retreated further, away from Eldakrad.
‘There’s no way I can fight someone like him head-on. I need to conserve mana and go for one decisive strike.’
Back in the Land of Ruin, we siblings always fought strong beasts like this.
Instead of dragging out the fight, we’d retreat, regroup, and aim for a single, decisive blow.
Noelle glanced at my arm.
“How’s your right arm?”
“Completely numb.”
“Regretting that mana fusion now, huh? Honestly, what were you thinking, fusing mana in that body?”
‘Even now, she’s mocking me.’
“If I hadn’t fused mana, I’d have died in the fight against Pector. Normally, it’s convenient.”
‘Though right now, it feels like a shackle instead.’
I used Sword Magic.
As always, the pain radiated through my arm whenever I activated it.
‘There’s no room to hold back or pace myself in this fight.’
“Isn’t there any easy way to kill that thing?”
“Do you want me to die? Using grand magic would destroy the Mausoleum too!”
‘Has hanging around the hero fried her brain?’
“Then what? If we fight like before, we’ll just waste energy and both end up dead. Isn’t aiming for one decisive blow your specialty?”
“Yeah, but within reason. I didn’t want to use this.”
‘Who’d have thought I’d use Zerato’s trump card here? Not even against Pector did I go this far.’
I activated the demonic circuits hidden within my mana circuits.
Since I couldn’t rely solely on mana, I had no choice.
I could feel my appearance changing noticeably as demonic energy surged through me.
Noelle’s face twisted into an expression I couldn’t quite place.
“So, turning into a woman wasn’t enough? Now you’re dabbling in demonic power too? What exactly have you been doing?”
“When you were busy flirting with the hero, I got caught up with Zerato, idiot.”
‘Though, for now, this works out. It gives me a chance to gamble.’
I infused my mana sword with the demonic energy coursing through Pector’s broken blade.
At least now, I could stand against Eldakrad.
“So, demonic power against demonic power?”
“Exactly.”
I pulled out a shard of Pector’s blade from my dimensional storage and imbued its attribute into my mana sword.