Chapter 169
A large number of deformed demons unfolded around Marias .
It was truly a mesmerizing sight .
The front row was filled with the spirit beasts from earlier, and to the right of Marias, a demon with a large mirror and a mouth, and to the left, a demon that looked like a stone statue with a large number of eyeballs on its upper body was summoned .
And Marias herself is straddled by a demon with the body of a large red bull, with countless snakes from the neck up .
There are a wide variety of other demons waiting in the wings, including spider-shaped, humanoid, and demons that resemble Hamelin .
The hostage is being held by a prison shaped demon .
Maybe it’s just to prevent them from being harmed .
The stone statue demon with lots of eyeballs to the left of Marias is a demon that I had seen illustrations of demons with a similar appearance in a book from the Marlen tribe’s settlement .
It resembles Lapidestatoa, one of the thirteen pillars of Satan, who is under the control of the great demon called Satan .
It is said to be the least intelligent of the thirteen pillars of Satan, but the most sturdy and destructive demon .
If it’s real, it’s anything but nasty .
It’s a monster that makes Nalgarn look pretty .
Incidentally, the main body of Satan is said to have been created and reclaimed by Kudor at the height of his powers, creating a huge mountain and sealing it up safely .
“Carry”
I waved my wand and deployed a ten-magic circle, calling an equal number of Ortem around me .
Aside from the spirit beasts, I’m too uninformed about the demons in the back row .
I had to have my own guard ready to deal with a surprise attack .
“It’s that wooden doll again, all you have is trick, huh . ”
Marias said, then put her hand to her chin and looked around the battlefield .
“Hmm …… without telling me, it’s a sight like the Lyrus board . Let me tell you something good . I, in Lyrus board, have never lost even once since I learned the rules . ”
Marias laughed thinly and said with pride .
The Lyrus board was a board game that Marias had brought to the Fage territory .
From the way she spoke, it seemed to have originally belonged to the Riveras Nation .
It seemed that she always lost against Lark as an opponents, but that was just a hospitality play to get him in a good mood, and not counting it as a defeat, I guess .
Indeed, thinking back to that sticky and thorough attack on Fage territory, it was more of a glimpse of her pride than just an insurance policy .
“Come, Wood Pusher, I’ll give you the first move . ”
The battering ram is a metaphor for the amateur in piece play .
I guess he thought I was teasing him by saying that I only use Autem .
She may like the lyrus board very much, but her tone of voice shows a little excitement .
I’m glad she’s willing to give up the first move, but there’s no way to attack it .
The ability of the spirit beasts in the front row is cracked, so it’s just to make things lively, but the main camp at the back is too solid .
Probably the demon of the demon statue on the left, Lapidestatoa, is a lookout for a melee attack .
It’s impossible to neutralize that one with brute force .
And the Large Demon Mirror on the right would have some kind of countermeasure against long-range magic .
I’d like to break through with a blow with Ortem, but if I did so, I’d be blocked by the Lapidestatoa .
Even if we get close uninformed, we will only be cut down .
Marias’ words are pompous, but in fact, she seems to be setting up a pretty solid passive formation to attack me .
That snake ox that is being summoned as a vehicle is also presumed to supplement the mobility of Marias’ own body .
No matter what pattern of attack I use, it is in a form that allows her to escape the worst of it .
For once, I guess I hurried too soon…… .
I called them out after they saw me fight, so there was no way they had no chance of winning on the other side .
But what has come can’t be helped .
Whether you run or fight, you can’t be allowed to make a poor move .
In order to explore the information, we should send an Ortem for a lookout, knowing that the early stages of the battle would be damaged .
But a mere Ortem would really be a waste of time .
Now that I think about it, with this first move that the other side is willing to concede, we can confirm the ability of the three demons protecting Marias’ main body .
Then I must use an appropriate Ortem as well .
“Puppet, dance”
I pointed the tip of my wand at Asura 5000 and cast a spell .
I decided on Asura 5000 as the vanguard . With the breakthrough power of the Asura 5000, it would be most suited to draw out the opponent’s moves .
Besides, depending on how far the Asura 5000 could fight, it could decide whether it should go on the offensive, on the defensive, or even retreat .
The Asura 5000 swings its six arms around to the right and strikes into Marias’ camp .
The Lapidestatoa on the left side is tricky .
On the other hand, if the large mirror on the right side is really a long-range magic countermeasure, it may not be able to handle the Asura 5000 .
Smashing the large mirror would make it easier for me to shoot a direct attack with magic too .
Asura 5000 flails its arms and punched the spirit beasts in the front row with force .
The struck spirit beast’s face was punched and it flew backward, engulfing the demons in the back row .
Four spirit beasts jumped around Asura 5000, but Asura 5000 spun its body at high speed and flipped them away .
The spirit beasts that pounced on it let out a short scream, their bodies twisted and their legs were torn apart, and they quickly transformed into a collection of lights and scattered in four directions .
The spirit beasts in the front row were fine, but what I was concerned about were the demons waiting in the back row .
In front of the spider-shaped demon, the movement of the Asura 5000 stopped .
After Asura 5000 stopped, the remnants of the spirit beasts, and the space between the spirit beasts and Asura 5000 glittered, and threads of magic power began to appear .
“It looks like you were caught in a trap as soon as possible . ”
“…… You had the spirit beast plant a magical thread in the spirit beast?”
It seems that she had planned to entangle the spirit beast itself with a magic thread from the beginning and entangle the opponent who jumped in .
She must have decided to use it as a discarded piece from the beginning, as she had stepped on the fact that even if she did it normally, she wouldn’t be able to do anything with the spirit beast .
It’s not just a thread .
It was circulated with magic power and seemed to be receiving the power of the Asura 5000 .
It’s the worst match with the pure-strengthed Asura 5000 .
Of course, it wouldn’t be a coincidence .
It seems that in anticipation of me going out to destroy the large mirror with my striking system, she had placed demons around the large mirror that could control the stiffness with softness .
“With that, Asura 5000 won’t be able to break through, huh……”
Physical attacks are crushed by the spider-shaped demon .
However, even though she was about to launch a magic attack, the blatantly large mirror demon is concerning .
“Let’s take the first piece, shall we? It was true that his magic skills were spectacular, but that’s all . In the peaceful Dinrat Kingdom, you probably didn’t have a history that had a hard time with . It’s not that you are stupid, but you are by far the least experienced in proper combat……”
At that moment, the spider-shaped demon’s body floated softly .
If you look closely, you can see the strings being pulled .
“Oh, I think I can handle it somehow . ”
“Yeah . ”
Asura 5000 spun its body around, shaking off the thread .
The thread created a small explosion and broke off .
As the spider-shaped demon took a step back, Asura 5000 approached for three steps .
“Hiii, step back, Gunifilasca!”
At the same time, Marias shouted, the leaping Asura 5000 crushed the spider-type demon .
The spider-shaped demon became gooey and its dismembered limbs transformed into particles of light .
It didn’t look like a human language type of demon, so it would be meaningless if you didn’t give orders in spirit language, but Marias was too shaken to think that much .
“Stop that guy!”
Marias shouted as she howled .
The demons and spirit beasts all jumped at Asura 5000 at once .
Asura 5000 crushed the gathered demons one after another with its six arms .
They immediately turned into particles of light, and the spirits disappeared softly and fluffily into the air .
Only a hole was left in the area .
“I was just going to be a scout to see how things went, though……”
With this, as long as we’re careful with the demon statues under Satan’s former dispensation as an example, it looks like we can handle it .
I might as well have all the rest of the Ortem gone into battle already .
In the blink of an eye, the Asura 5000 smashed through the large mirror demon .
The mirror surface bounced around the area . A woman’s screaming decapitation echoes, and the large mirror transforms into a collection of light .
“This, this has nothing to do with strategy or anything else!”
The snake cow demon that Marias was riding came around behind the demon of the demon statue, Lapidestatoa .
Lapidestatoa swung both arms of the large stone down .
Asura 5000 also returned fire, raising two arms .
As the arms engaged, the forces seemed to be in competition, and the wooden surface of the Asura 5000 and the stone surface of the Lapidestatoa scraped against each other .
“…… Is that thing like that?”
Lapidestatoa is a pretty high profile demon .
Sure, the Asura 5000 is my masterpiece, but it’s strange that it’s taken so easily .
Was it a bogus one? Or was it originally not as big deal of a demon as the story says?
The lore should have said that the blow of both arms of the Lapidestatoa gutted all things…… .
Marias, in the shade of the Lapidestatoa, watches with bleary eyes as the arms of the Asura 5000 and the Lapidestatoa clash .
She rubs her fingers frantically as she clings to what appears to be Levi’s summoning crest, in the palm of her hand .
She seems to be hoping the Lapidestatoa will crush the Asura 5000 .
The power is about even as far as I can see .
It’s hard to discern which one is better from the side .
“Le-, Levi-sama……”
“Well, the Asura 5000 is a six-armed, though . ”
The four remaining arms slammed a series of blows into Lapidestatoa’s abdomen .
Lapidestatoa crumpled and the pieces of it flew apart . The eyeballs sticking to his body spun around and fell to the ground .
The figure of Marias, who had been hiding in the shadows, was exposed .
“Im-, impossible! La, Lapidestatoa is ……”
From Marias’s mouth came the name of Lapidestatoa .
As I thought It’s the real…… no, but, right……?
“W-, why, why…… assuming the worst many times and moving so far…… why, why is this…… Le-, Levi-sama……”
At that moment, Asura 5000 and Snake Cow’s eyes met .
The snake cow’s body trembled and shook .
“R-, run ……”
When Marias twisted her body to change the direction of the snake cow, the snake cow stepped forward and lowered its posture .
Marias was thrown off the snake cow’s back and rolled on the ground .
The snake cow shuddering and trembling, and froze in a hanging head posture toward Asura 5000 .
He instinctively sensed that he couldn’t escape .
Thrown out, Marias tried to get up on her knees, staining her body with dirt .
When she looked up, her eyes widened as she saw one of Asura 5000’s arms closing in on her head .
“How could such a…… mistake in my tactics…… with all those precautions, with the next best thing, the most reliable way……Be-, because I’ve never been defeated by anyone on the Lyrus board……”
Marias repeated in a whisper, mumbling .
“Well, unlike chess, the pieces we use and stuff like that are different . ”
The other demons haze and disappear .
They seemed to know they didn’t stand a chance and fled .
The snake cow was about to disappear as well, so I had Asura 5000 hold her head in her hands to check it .
The summoning crests that were showing on Marias’ body also disappeared more and more as the demons and spirits disappeared .
Eventually, only the dying Lapidestatoa, the shrunken and diminished Snake Cow, and Marias, who was pale, dirt-covered, and trembling, were left behind .
The summoning crests of Levi, which were showing in Marias’ palm, also swooshed and mercilessly disappeared .
“Le-, Levi-sama…… ah, ahhhhh……”
Marias watched it with stunning eyes and stopped moving, her head hanging down in a disappointing way .
“Oh, there’s no way I’ll let you go!”
Firmly grabbing Marias’s wrist, I flow my magic power to analyze the summoning crest .
The magic circle is deployed and the summoning crest of Levi’s summoning crest is fixed in Marias’ palm .
After all, it is Levi’s summoning crest that Kudor should have destroyed more than five thousand years ago .
If this is genuine, it would be great news that would turn the history of the Dinrat Kingdom upside down .
And if Levi is really there, I’d love to see him . I’d like to meet him .
And if possible, I’d like it if he can lend me he’s magical power too . And I’d like it he can introduce me to a few high-ranking demons a little bit .
Marias was stunned with her mouth open for a while, but she immediately seemed to sense the situation, and with an expression of hatred, she took out a small sword from her pocket and gouged out his palm .
When I stopped the magic in a hurry, she pointed the small sword at me .
However, Asura 5000’s arm reached out and blocked the space between us .
“…… Le-, Levi-sama, long live!”
Marias flipped her small sword and stabbed herself in the abdomen .
“H-, hey stop……!”
Mixed with the blood, a thin gray liquid was dripping on the small sword .
Probably some kind of poison . She can’t be saved now, I think .
Marias’ body wobbled and she fell on her back .
“I’m sorry to Lark-san, but…… maybe this is for the best . ”
I patted the shoulder of Marias’ body lightly and let out a sigh .
I think Ringus that escaped would be found soon enough . As expected, there is no more excuse for this .
Although it is a bit of an aftertaste ending …… this time, the case of the Fage territory is over .
–Five minuted later, Marias waked up .
She raised her body, tilted her head as if she didn’t know what had happened, ran her hands over the wound in his own body’s abdomen, and let out a breath .
“A nightmare…… what bad luck……”
She looked back at me as she said this .
I stop my hands from working to stop Lapidestatoa from returning to being just a spirit .
Demons come in two forms .
One in which the spirit body that changes its form, and one in which the spirit body is possessed by a relying party .
Lapidestatoa was the latter, and it seemed to have a stone statue as its retainer .
That’s why I’m creating a magic circle on the ground, guiding the spirit body of Lapidestatoa after protecting it so that its magic power won’t be scraped off the statue and dispersed, and then sucking it into an empty bottle .
It’s quite a nerve-wracking process .
I looked up and locked eyes with Marias .
“Ah …… good morning . ”
The battle had come to a halt, and I was so relaxed that I couldn’t help but speak respectfully out of habit .
Somehow, I managed to administer first aid .
However, there were not enough materials to detoxify the body, so it is currently in the prolonged stage of life, and the antidote must be administered again .
Marias lost her expression, rasped her arms and shook them, then fell to the spot, blowing bubbles .
“It looks like it’s over . As expected of the High Priestess . To sink that mass of magical power, that monster man, so easily……”
I turned around as I heard voices, and I could hear Ringus’ voice from behind the trees .
It’s been quiet for some time now, and it seems that he decided that Marias had won and came back to check on me .
As he approached, he seemed to sense something was wrong and quickened his steps, stopping when he showed himself to me .
“Do it,”
As I raised my left arm and gave the command, the snake cow beside me jumped at Ringus .
On my left arm is the summoning crest of the snake cow .
The snake cow gave me the summoning crest while Marias was asleep .
On the back where Ringus showed me, he was trying to escape, countless snakes sprouting from the snake cow’s face tangled around Ringus and took his freedom, pulling him down on the dirt as it was .
Ringus’s screams echoed through the forest .