For several kilometers in front of me, the magic unleashed by the Ghost King had devastated the streets of Tokyo. Although the hole the Ghost King had made in our barrier was hastily repaired, it became clear that the barrier could not defend against such a powerful spell…
Diasnexus turned to me, his skeletal jaw clacking in what could only be laughter. “Because you dodged, many have died. Now, for another strike.”
The Ghost King raised his right hand. His meaning was clear: every time we dodged, innocent people would get caught in the crossfire.
Behind me was the school where Mr. Wan should still have been at.
“Master, we must flee.”
“Wait, don’t move until my signal.”
“But…”
Another black spell was unleashed. A wave of darkness began expanding like a black hole.
“Accelerate,” I cast once again. Then, to draw the attack in as close as possible…
“Deflection.”
I’ll send the strike right back at him!
The black destructive magic changed direction, heading straight for Diasnexus.
But the skeleton grinned again.
Yeah, I know. You’ve seen this trick before.
“Go.”
“Yes, Master.” On my signal, Sha-Lau turned into lightning once again and accelerated, circling behind Diasnexus.
So, the other side possessed Deflection, too. The Ghost King was eager to use it, to bounce our attack back at us once more. However, Deflection was a spell that required precise timing to cast; even a slight miss in timing could be fatal.
And then… at that moment, at the instant Sha-Lau crossed paths with Diasnexus…
The Phantom Wolf King managed to kick the Ghost King’s shoulder ever so slightly. Diasnexus’s body swayed. The hit may have felt like nothing to him, but it was enough to throw off the timing of Deflection.
Right after my accelerated thought ended, right after we appeared behind the opponent…
Diasnexus murmured in astonishment, “No way.”
The next moment, his body was engulfed by the black destructive magic.
As he took a direct hit from his own spell, Diasnexus screamed.
The next second, we found ourselves in the White Room.
✦ ✦ ✦
“This is… it’s not because we defeated Diasnexus. He was still alive last I saw.”
Looking over, I saw Tamaki and Shiki breathing heavily, their faces pale.
“What happened, what was it?”
“These shadowy things started coming up from the ground… They started killing everyone, one by one.”
“If I hadn’t improved my Reconnaissance skill, I would have been in trouble, too.”
Was that the same black hand that attacked Arisu and them? I was so focused on the duel with Diasnexus that I wasn’t watching what was happening down there…
“It was probably the same thing,” Rushia said.
“I think so, too,” Kayla agreed.
As we kept talking, we learned that the black shadows attacking them only emerged halfway from the ground. Apparently Rushia and the others had been able to deal with them mostly thanks to their magic.
“It took quite a few of them to level up, so maybe individually, their levels are low.”
“That would make sense. That’s probably why I was able to detect them in advance with Reconnaissance.”
At the moment, Shiki’s Reconnaissance skill was at Rank 7—and that wasn’t just high compared to ours; it was high, period.
“For now, let’s call those guys ‘Shadows.’”
“No objections here… Well, all right, then.”
“By the way, one of them dropped a blue token. Might have been a Level 5 monster?”
So, same as an Elite Orc. To us, that might be minor, but for normal people, that’s a formidable enemy. On the day we’d been transported to this world, Arisu and I had fought desperately against such an enemy and barely managed to win.
“If Shadows are appearing in other places… that could spell trouble.”
“But if they’re about on par with Elite Orcs, I wonder if guns could kill them… I hope so.”
Shiki’s family had evacuated, but they couldn’t have gone far. And she probably had friends in the neighborhood who hadn’t been so lucky—although I hoped not.
“A few people around here died,” Shiki murmured matter-of-factly. I guess she didn’t want to talk about it.
Thanks to Tamaki, they’d mostly been able to deal with the Shadows.
“However, there are quite a few Shadows chasing people who panicked and ran away…”
“Isn’t that bad?”
“It’s really bad. That’s why I’m thinking of improving my Throwing skill. I’ll split up from Tamaki-chan and go take care of the Shadows. Sorry, Kazu-kun, everyone. I know it’s not good for me to put myself in danger right now. But still, I want to protect the people here as much as I can.”
There was no stopping her after she said that.
Given that Shiki’s family’s house was nearby, and she might have known other people who had just been attacked by Shadows, staying calm would be difficult.
“Just be really careful, okay?”
I know how careful Shiki is. I hope that’s enough.
It was Arisu and Shiki who’d leveled up. Shiki spent her skill points to raise her Throwing skill to 4. Arisu, having 4 skill points, decided to save them.
“Once we’ve dealt the finishing blow to Diasnexus, we’ll head over there, too. Don’t do anything reckless, okay?”
✦ ✦ ✦
We watched as the Ghost King dissipated. With a final scream, his skeletal form faded away until it completely vanished. However, that was all that happened. No gem was dropped, and no one experienced a level up.
“Wait a minute, does this mean… he wasn’t the real one?”
“No way! If that wasn’t a Four Heavenly Kings–level entity, why would I have had to fight so desperately?!”
Sha-Lau’s telepathy, unusually agitated, seemed to spread across the sky. I looked down to see several Shadows still wreaking havoc. Because they attacked while half-buried in the ground, even Arisu and the others were having a bit of trouble handling them. For the moment, I disconnected my synchronization with Sha-Lau.
My consciousness returned to my own body, and I rose from atop the red roof. The sudden change in perspective made my head spin for a moment.
“What does this mean? Could it be that the Ghost King was… a decoy?”
If that’s the case, where’s the real body? Could it be targeting me now, while I can’t defend myself up here?
I hastily looked around me. There was no suspicious presence. However, from this high vantage point, I could see Shadows attacking civilians here and there. I was powerless to help them; I had no MP left. If I was attacked now, I would be utterly defenseless…
As I was considering this, Sha-Lau appeared beside me.
“For now… since Familiar Awakening will wear off soon, I’ll send you back.”
“Be cautious, Master. The Ghost King seems to be quite the strategist.”
“I appreciate the warning.”
After dismissing Sha-Lau and regaining some MP, I thought, If Diasnexus doesn’t attack me here and now…
“Is Diasnexus’s real body not around here? Then, what’s the purpose of causing all this chaos?” I muttered to myself.
Was it all just a diversion? If so, what’s his real goal…?
I looked up at the eastern sky. On the other side of those buildings, there would be a giant black sphere floating over Tokyo Bay.
“Is that where the Demon King is?”