“Let me return the favor. Diablos Rain.” Seiya crosses his arms just like Lucifer, instantly causing the monster in the opposite direction to explode as well. It, too, emits jet-black energy, which pursues Lucifer’s rays. Hundreds of jet-black energy trails coalesce before clashing with a bang. “A-Amazing! He’s canceling out Lucifer’s Diablos Rain with his own!” Cerceus shouts in admiration, but I immediately notice something terrifying. A trail of dark energy evaded Seiya’s attack and is rapidly heading straight for Nina and Rosalie! “Watch out!” I scream, and Rosalie promptly throws herself over Nina as if to protect her. But right as the dark energy is about to hit Nina, another trail of dark energy sweeps in from the side, crashing into it and canceling it out. Rosalie and Nina fall speechless. “Thank goodness…!” I instinctively say, overcome with relief. Seiya glances at me with a “hmph.” “I didn’t miss any of them. The attack has a one hundred percent interception success rate. I perfectly Mimicked the total number of energy rays that Diablos Rain can produce, after all.” “R-really?!” I gulp. It didn’t really hit me when I watched Seiya Mimic that dragonewt’s doppelgänger ability, but this really is the essence of Joker’s Mimic skill! He was able to perfectly imitate a dark skill which humans shouldn’t even be able to learn, then use it to cancel out the original attack! I had no idea Mimic was going to be such an amazing skill! This almost makes acting like a gorilla and making a fool of myself in the underworld worth it. However, contrary to my carefree expression, Lucifer’s face skews at Seiya. “He imitated my unique skill Magic Bow? Not even a god can do that.” “I didn’t learn how to do it from a god but someone from the underworld. More importantly, Lucifer, there is something I need to check.” “Seiya?! What in the world do you want to check at a time like this?!” “Lucifer Crowe, I told you a few moments ago to do as I say. I still haven’t gotten an answer from you, though.” “Seiya…! She answered that when she used Diablos Rain! It’s pretty obvious she’s not interested in cooperating!” “She didn’t clearly refuse, though.” Seiya persistently presses Lucifer for an answer. “Allow me to repeat myself. This is your last, last chance. Do as I say.” “…I have already told you that I grow weary of your drivel.” The irritation is plain in Lucifer’s voice. Even I start to feel a little annoyed. Just give it a rest already! You’re not going to convince her! Lucifer has absolutely no interest in ever cooperating with a human! She simply glares at Seiya with her three eyes while calmly analyzing him. “You can unconditionally copy any move you see once, regardless of its magic type and form. Hmph. A filthy skill only fit for a thief. Allow me, then, to show you a move which you have never seen before.” Lucifer begins chanting in an ancient language unfamiliar to me while simultaneously moving her hands in swift, complicated patterns. All of a sudden, distortion appears in the palm of Lucifer’s hand. O-oh, no! Seiya can’t Mimic skills he has never seen before! He has to either dodge it or block! But that’s when I notice that Seiya is mumbling something to himself. When I shift my gaze from Lucifer to Seiya, I notice he’s creating a distortion in the air over his palm just like she is. “But how?! He’s never seen this move before!” It doesn’t make any sense! More importantly, Lucifer is already pointing her hand toward Seiya! “Invisible Magic Bow, pierce my foe: Master Wind Arrow.” ‘Invisible’?! Did she literally make that arrow out of thin air?! Vrrrm. After a dull sound reverberates, I manage to catch a glimpse of the distorted air soaring out of Lucifer’s hand. “S-Seiya…!” The invisible attack causes me to panic, but Seiya was already aiming a hand at Lucifer, calm as ever. “Master Wind Arrow.” The instant Seiya utters those words, the space between them greatly distorts! The blast from the two invisible arrows colliding is so strong that I can hardly stand. As I’m fighting against the wind, though, it all makes sense. So that’s how he does it! If it’s a magic spell that you chant before using, he can Mimic the spell and movement before it’s even cast! Chaos Machina seems to be just as astounded as I am by Seiya’s Mimicking skills. “Wh-what is the meaning of this?! It’s like she’s looking into a mirror! Lucifer…!” “Calm yourself, Chaos Machina. It may be an unusual skill, but it does not have the power to damage me. He is merely crudely imitating my skills enough to defend against them.” Overhearing their conversation, Seiya mutters: “I am wasting too much MP Mimicking your skills, so I suppose I’ll just fight normally now.” “A-are you okay, Seiya?! I remember that Mimic takes a lot of MP, but…!” “I only have enough MP left to use Hellfire a few thousand times now.” “That’s plenty, dammit! You’ve barely lost any MP!!” Nevertheless, Seiya himself seems concerned as he gets back into a fighting stance with his sword and faces Lucifer. “And that’s why I plan on ending this quickly if it’s all the same to you.” “You finally plan on attacking? Unfortunately for you, without your Mimicry, you’re nothing.” Lucifer already saw through Seiya’s Fake Out ability and knows his real stats. That’s probably why she seems so confident. But in the very next moment, Seiya’s hair and eyes begin to glow a darkish red. After transforming into a berserker, he instantly closes the distance and swings his sword. Although Lucifer blocks it with her long claws, she cannot hide her surprise. “Your stats have more than doubled…!” Flustered, she flaps her wings and tries to escape into the sky, but Seiya uses Flight and promptly pursues her. Perhaps feeling she would have an advantage in an aerial battle, he immediately slashes his sword vertically in a downward motion. Lucifer crosses her arms to block, but it knocks her back down to the surface and forces her to drop to her knees. “What is this power…? This speed…?” After blocking yet another attack, Lucifer’s arm begins to smolder, because before anyone had realized it, Seiya imbued his sword with fire magic. He’s using a magic sword as a berserker—something that should have been impossible. After experiencing Seiya’s power firsthand, Lucifer Crowe casts aside her composed, majestic facade and makes her bloodlust clear. “You… You are a threat that must be dealt with!” Her mouth suddenly opens wide, slit from ear to ear, exposing countless razor-sharp teeth inside. Her eyes turn pitch-black, and her hair stands on end. “Sh-she’s finally showing her true nature! Seiya, be careful!” The mask of a beautiful woman is now nothing more than the face of a hideous demon. However, Seiya doesn’t even feign surprise as he speaks in his usual tone: “Lucifer Crowe, this is your last, ultimate, final chance. Do as I say.” “How many chances are you going to give her?! What kind of demon would help you after all that?!” Of course, Lucifer has no plans to obey Seiya, and she immediately charges right for him with murder in her eyes. “I am going to swallow you whole!” “So that’s your answer… Too bad.” Seiya really does sound disappointed, and I start to worry as I watch. “Seiya! Don’t let your guard down!” He might go easy on her if he really is regretting the fact that it came to this! But being careless like that could cost him his life! However, in the end…my worries are all for nothing. Seiya suddenly shoots Lucifer a piercing gaze. “If you aren’t going to join me, then I’ll use my full power to destroy you.” He unsheathes the second sword at his waist, which he purchased in the underworld, then engages the enemy with the force of a surging wave. She screeches like a harpy while swinging her razor-sharp claws at Seiya, but he blocks them with dual swords and pushes her away. The sounds of claws violently clashing against blades reverberate. As Seiya dodges her strike by a thin margin, his swords faintly graze her body. Despite not using her Magic Bow, she’s keeping up with berserker Seiya in close combat! No, if anything, she’s…! Though Seiya is pressing the attack, he isn’t getting a single clean hit on her. Lucifer, on the other hand, is going only for his vitals, and each of her strikes is precise. She tries to sink her claws into Seiya’s heart, but he bends to the side, barely managing to evade. “Seiya…!” His swordsmanship is nowhere as smooth as it usually is! He’s leaving only small cuts on her! Sensing that Seiya is losing the battle, my body begins to violently tremble, and Cerceus is shaking even more. Uncontrollably so. “Brrr! It’s cold!” “…?” That’s when it hits me. My breath is white! I-is the temperature actually dropping?! Wait! Is that…?! When I look back over, both of Lucifer’s arms have already frozen over from blocking Seiya’s attack. She contorts her face in anguish as her limp arms dangle at her sides. Seiya then points the tips of his swords at her as a frigid air rises from the blades. “Frigid restraints: Fenrir Beat.” The demons are buzzing. Even Eraser grunts: “A-an ice magic sword?! But I thought his magic affinity was fire!” I don’t blame Eraser for being startled. Not only can Seiya Mimic even demonic skills, but he can also use a magic sword that’s opposite his natural type, which transcends magic theory itself. The moves of the underworld are outside the realm of understanding for both demons and us deities. During their exchange earlier, I felt as if Lucifer had the upper hand, but I was wrong. Seiya wasn’t getting a clean hit on Lucifer because he was losing control of his body when using his opposite magic type outside of the underworld. His precision and hit rate decreased, but his magic power increased exponentially. Lucifer’s body is covered in fine cuts from Fenrir Beat. Ice begins to appear over each wound until her body is frozen in ice. “Ah…gu…!” Lucifer tries to say something, but even her head is immediately swallowed in ice. “She might have been able to shoot magic arrows out of her eyes and mouth, so I decided to freeze every last part of her just in case.” Seiya casually mentions this as he slowly approaches the crystallized demon. “Ice magic excels in binding force, but it’s a poor choice for delivering the final blow. Something with more destructive power like fire magic should do the trick.” Seiya deeply inhales in front of Lucifer, who can no longer move or even talk. “Mode: Double Eternal Sword EX Phoenix Drive.” As Seiya freely swings his fiery swords through the ice, a geometric pattern in the shape of a crimson magic circle appears before it. With his berserker-enhanced speed, he creates a dozen magic circles around Lucifer in the blink of an eye. After the patterns almost instantly vanish, they are followed by a blast wave coupled with a radiant light, instantly thawing Lucifer’s frozen body as it turns into fine pieces of charred flesh, which scatter about. H-he defeated Lucifer Crowe…? And he did it without even breaking a sweat?! Cerceus immediately throws himself at the feet of the Hero while rubbing his hands together. “W-wow, Seiya! That was amazing! Clearly, you never even needed Lucifer’s help in the first place!” “Lucifer’s Magic Bow was perfectly suited for assassinations. Even if the Dragon Lord killed her, she still could have done some damage. I would have an easier time defeating a weakened Dragon Lord.” No wonder he was so persistent in trying to get Lucifer to join us. He was trying to increase his odds against the Dragon Lord. This is the kind of caution I’ve come to expect from Seiya, now that I think about it. As I feel content in my understanding, Seiya says with a straight face: “Fortune decides the outcome of battle. One may still lose even if they are far stronger than their opponent due to various factors such as the environment or one’s condition, even. There is one thing that remains true no matter what, however.” “Um… What’s that?” “You never lose if you don’t fight.” “Obviously!” “At any rate, I failed in getting Lucifer to join our side. I’ll have to start thinking about new ways to convince the demons to join us.” “H-how about we not cooperate with any demons?” While I can’t help but roll my eyes, I am finally at ease, as is Cerceus. However, the demons around us begin murmuring excitedly. “Surround them!” Numerous demons surround us at Eraser’s command. Cerceus gets scared, but the demons just stand there. It’s only natural for them to be afraid after what happened to Lucifer. Seiya turns his distant gaze in Eraser’s direction. “You can’t always predict the outcome of a battle, but the possibility of you defeating me is nearly nonexistent.” Chaos Machina uncharacteristically shows panic and yells: “W-we could still defeat you if every demon in town attacks you all at once! Besides, I still have a trick up my sleeve. I can—” “Slicing your stomach open and pushing out your true bovine self isn’t going to change anything.” “Eeeeeek! How did you know about that?!” Seiya quickly surveys each and every demon with his swords still unsheathed. “Back off or die.” “…!” Both Eraser and Chaos Machina step back, intimidated by Seiya’s spirit. Rosalie and Nina are still collapsed on the ground nearby. Even as Seiya keeps a watchful eye on the demons, Rosalie gawks in disbelief. “The legendary monster Lucifer Crowe was utterly helpless against him…! Why…? How did he defeat her?! How did an ordinary human defeat her without relying on demonic power!” I then say to Rosalie: “That’s because he isn’t any ordinary human. He’s a one-in-a-billion man of talent who works hard and prepares for any and every outcome.” I hear Rosalie audibly gulp. “So this is the power of the Hero chosen by the gods! He’s the Salvific Hero!” “Um… Not exactly.” After running the demons off, Seiya deploys a few dozen Automatic Phoenixes. He then takes his swords and begins to collect Lucifer’s charred remains. And just as always, he starts using Hellfire on each and every one of them. “Wh-what is he doooing?!” “Wh-what is wrong with that human?!” Even the cunning Chaos Machina and seasoned warrior Eraser stop in their tracks, taken aback by Seiya’s bizarre behavior. While watching the fire performance, I smile at Rosalie as she remains stunned on the ground. “That’s just business as usual for the Cautious Hero.”
Chapter 183
13 min read