-4-
LUNAÈRE AND I went inside Cocytus, with me riding Wolzottl as he ran and Lunaère flying beside us.
As you would expect considering she’d lived here for so long, Lunaère made the right choice at every fork in the road, leading us along the shortest route down, and down each level. She also destroyed any monsters in our way practically in no time at all.
Even so, we didn’t catch up with this demon that supposedly went in Cocytus first. Three days had passed by the time Lunaère and I made it to the ninety-ninth floor.
“We’re finally at the lowest point,” I said. “I wonder how they’re doing up top.”
“The other members of the Unseen Hand of the Gods will have joined them after collecting the pawns they were sent after, they only needed time. They also have Pomera and Philia, as well as Noble. I’m sure they’re doing fine,” said Lunaère before turning her eyes forward. “…It’s more important that we focus on our own opponent.”
Ahead of us was the giant staircase that led down to the hundredth floor.
Unlike the rest of Cocytus leading up to it, the stairs were made of transparent crystal. Below the crystal you could see an endless void. The demon we were chasing was probably waiting across that abyss.
We descended the stairs and walked straight across the crystal pathway. Sitting in the throne there, holding the skull-decorated staff, was not the usual guardian of Cocytus, Satan.
The current resident was a giant of a man, over twenty feet tall—his skin was gray, twisted horns sprouted from his head, and huge wings spread from his back.
Chains hung from various parts of his body, and there was a huge shackle on each of his wrists. The biggest thing I noticed was that the chains were snapped here and there and didn’t look like they would function as restraints at all.
He resembled Satan, but he was more humanlike in appearance, if far too thin for one.
The man grinned when he noticed us. “Good job making it here. Looks like we’ve got Kanata, traveler from another world, and Lunaère, the lich. I was starting to worry, and I was starting to think I was gonna end up crushing Locklore without any resistance.”
“You…”
“I am Lucifer. Would it make sense to you if I said I was the person in charge here before that other idiot? I went a bit overboard doing whatever I wanted, and they shut me in another dimension, but the higher beings change their minds all the time, so now I’m back. Ha ha ha, you’ve really screwed things up, haven’t you!” said the demon man, Lucifer, as he let out an amused laugh. So, this really was the second assassin, following up after Reniement.
“If you’re after me, you could have just come attack me directly,” I said. “Cocytus can’t even be that much of a reinforcement for you. Why would you intentionally come all the way to Cocytus and—”
“The ever-so-great higher beings plan to end Locklore. Because of you, Kanata Kanbara. I was told to stir this world up just a tiny bit as one last hurrah. How terrible is that?” said Lucifer with what looked like an intentionally exaggerated shrug. “Eh, I hate those higher beings…but I took the deal ’cause I wanted to see Locklore get all torn apart. I don’t get why, but the more people build stuff up, the more I want to tear it down.”
Lucifer’s expression was hostile. It seemed painfully clear that he wasn’t the kind of person to listen to reason.
“Ah ha ha ha! No matter how you look at it, you Locklorians are just mere dolls for us to play with!” he said.
“Huh… It seems like the higher beings are short-staffed. First, they send Reniement, now someone like you,” I said.
“Oh, you already met that nutcase? And you already beat him…? Hah! He was all preachy earlier, but then he went and died that fast. Humans, am I right?” Lucifer slowly stood and tapped the floor with the butt of the staff. Then he smiled, a cruel smile that showed his fangs. “All right then, let’s get this show on the road! You’ll see how you’re nothing but dust to the great demon Lucifer!”
Lucifer spread his wings and leapt into the air.
LUCIFER
Race: Demon
Lv: 8241
HP: 38732/38732
MP: 33521/33788
I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter.
His arrogant attitude wasn’t for nothing. His level was just way too high.
“Lunaère-san, please be careful. His level is over 8,000,” I said, feeling an intense overwhelming pressure from Lucifer.
“I’m surprised. It really has been a long time since I fought someone a higher level than me,” said Lunaère. “I’m only a little over level 7,000. But I don’t intend to let that make me fall behind this vulgar person.”
I wasn’t even level 5,000…and Lunaère was 7,000 and a bit. It wasn’t massively reassuring considering Lucifer was over level 8,000, but we had a good chance of winning.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! You are my toys! I hope you don’t break too easily! You’ll disappoint the higher beings watching!” said Lucifer as he readied his black staff. “I’ll wipe you out! Fire Magic Level 25: Stellar Bazooka!”
Black flames appeared above Lucifer’s staff, then they expanded, growing endlessly.
“No way…” I said, the words just coming out as I looked up at the ceiling. The black flames at the tip of the staff had turned into a gigantic ball of fire over three hundred feet across in the blink of an eye.
“Hah, you’ll die if you don’t dodge this! Ha ha ha ha ha!” Lucifer swung the staff down in our direction and the huge, black sphere hurtled down toward us.
“Awoooo!”
“Wol!”
Wolzottl jumped into the air a moment before I even called to him. Lunaère flew the opposite direction from us in order to avoid the flaming sphere.
The gigantic Stellar Bazooka crashed into the crystal pathway, and an incredible gale tore apart the crystal path.
“That’s too powerful!” I said as the blast rocked Wolzottl’s balance as he flew.
“Grrrr…”
Lucifer flew down right in front of me. I was ready for this, but he was still terrifyingly fast.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! I’m good at aerial battles too! Time to die!” He slashed at me and Wolzottl with his claws.
“Gah!”
I just barely managed to knock the strike aside with my blade, but Wolzottl was sent tumbling and lost his balance.
I clung onto the fur on Wolzottl’s back with all I had using the hand not holding my sword. I would fall into the abyss below Cocytus if I got thrown off now. Wolzottl moved, trying to put distance between us and Lucifer for a moment, but Lucifer pursued, closing any distance.
“How was that? How ’bout this? And this?!”
Lucifer slashed with his left hand. I scrambled to parry it, but Lucifer immediately followed up with another strike with his right hand.
While I was doing everything I could to block the attacks, I eventually lost my balance entirely, and the claw I meant to defend against tore deep into my chest, flinging me from Wolzottl’s back at the same time.
“Agh!!!”
Things are going dark…
If Lucifer had really been trying to kill me with that series of attacks, he could have. He was just playing with me.
“Kanata!” Lunaère screamed, and it was thanks to that cry that I managed to pull myself back to consciousness.
“Awooooo!”
I reached toward that howl and was able to touch Wolzottl. It seemed that he came over right next to me. I dragged myself back onto his back.
“Hah, you’re not half-bad,” said Lucifer. “There’s not too many people out there as strong as you. But I’m still stronger! I’ll show you that in the end, no matter how far you go, you’re still just a puppet on a stage!”
Lucifer rushed toward me. I hadn’t fully gotten myself back on balance yet, but I still had to stop the powerful claw strike from Lucifer with my sword.
I can’t find a way to get a counterattack in!
Lucifer’s flurry of blows was powerful, fast, and sly. He was trying to throw me off balance and play with me.
He also kept driving me back away from Lunaère, meaning she couldn’t really step in to help. He was skillfully avoiding a two-on-one style fight.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! Taking on a pair of lovers…I hit the jackpot! Listen up, Lunaère! I’m gonna toy with you once I pummel your man to death and you’re all raging with revenge!”
Lucifer stretched out his purply-red tongue and let out a crude laugh.
The moment he did, a vein throbbed in Lunaère’s temple and the glare from her mismatched eyes bore into Lucifer. She sped up. Before she’d been unable to catch up with us, but now her kick landed squarely into Lucifer’s stomach.
“Oof!” He went flying backward. “Ha ha ha! What?! You’re actually kind of fast when you’re really trying! You’re a simple girl, aren’t ya? You fall apart the moment your man gets—”
“Gravity Bomb.”
Lunaère’s follow-up spell went off before Lucifer fully righted himself again.
The second the black light expanded, it caught onto Lucifer and rapidly imploded. Lucifer tried to scurry away, but the gravity had a hold of him and wouldn’t let him escape.
“Tsk, that’s an annoying spell! God…dammit!” Lucifer used pure force to escape the black light, but he wasn’t able to avoid it entirely. His left arm bent awkwardly and shattered into pieces.
“Gaaaaaaah!” he shrieked.
“Kanata, is your chest all right?” asked Lunaère as she flew over to me.
A magic circle appeared and the wound on my chest closed in mere moments—Lunaère’s spell, Retrograde. It reversed the flow of time, completely recovering any wound or defect.
I smiled slightly. There was something nostalgic about that spell to me.
“Kanata…?” asked Lunaère.
“Uh, sorry. I was just thinking how we haven’t fought together since I left Cocytus. I know it’s not the situation for it, but it brings back memories and…sort of makes me happy.” And it’d been a long time since Lunaère cast Retrograde on me. “I can’t just be holding you back. This isn’t the same as back then, I graduated from your training. I didn’t get off to a great start in this fight, but let me stand beside you now. It’s been a long time since I’ve fought someone at a higher level than me, but it’s not the first time.”
Lunaère gave me a blank stare of amazement for a moment, but it quickly turned into a smile. “Yes, please do. This enemy looks to be just a little beyond me, if I’m on my own. And you are my approved disciple. I’m counting on you.”
“Don’t get cocky…” said Lucifer. “A wound like this isn’t anything to me.” He pressed hard on his left elbow with his right arm.
His left arm spasmed and jerked, then the forearm that had just been torn to pieces regrew, returning to normal in a matter of moments.