Around the time Suimei’s group found themselves in great danger, Reiji was pressed into an unexpectedly difficult battle.
“Why...?”
After Reiji found out Moolah wasn’t where he expected her to be, a tremendous power had suddenly appeared behind the group. He’d found himself in battle against a grotesque demon once again. This wasn’t Reiji’s first fight against this kind of demon, but he was having more trouble fighting it now than he ever had before.
Graziella and Titania had plenty of combat experience to rely on. Mizuki was focusing on hiding herself while providing support, so she could manage one way or another. Naturally, Reiji had succeeded in drawing power from the Sacrament and had a significant advantage. Even if it depleted his stamina rapidly, it was entirely possible for him to overwhelm his opponent in a short fight.
Well, that was supposed to be the case.
“Reiji-kun!”
Reiji could hear Mizuki’s panicked voice. Was this because she had apprehensions regarding his incompetence in battle? Or was she genuinely shouting a warning at him?
This time, I thought I’d be able to maintain the upper hand.
This time, I was sure I could beat this grotesque demon.
And yet, now that he was in battle, he found himself at a disadvantage.
“Why...?”
He kept repeating that question. Why? How? What was going on? Why couldn’t he manage?
“Reiji, what’s wrong?!”
“Reiji-sama!”
He kept hearing apprehensive... or perhaps worried voices. However, they were going in one ear and out the other. He swung the Ishar Cluster. His strike shattered the earth, shaking his eardrums with a thunderous roar.
But this outcome defied his expectations. He destroyed something he had no intention of destroying. His attack affected something he didn’t mean to affect. It was as if he had suddenly lost all control over his strength and had no idea how to recover it.
“Did I draw out too much power from the Sacrament...? No, that can’t be.”
Reiji muttered in confusion. When he took a step forward, the ground broke beneath him. When he dashed, he went too far and passed his intended target. He had too much strength now, and he couldn’t fight the way he wanted. It was distracting him so greatly that he could no longer fight.
“Why...? Why...?”
Even as he tried to bring it under control, he couldn’t. It was as if he were trying to move his body with a broken controller. What was going on? This question dominated his mind.
“No, this is no good...!”
Unable to properly control his strength, he overshot his target, leaving himself open for a hit he couldn’t deflect or avoid.
What am I even doing...?
His mind was filled with misgivings and self-recriminations. Reiji charged toward the grotesque demon as if calling for a do-over. However, just as expected, he was too fast and overshot his target. Despite hitting the brakes immediately, he couldn’t even turn around due to putting too much strength into stopping. This created an even bigger opening. Right as he finally managed to turn, Reiji saw the demon’s massive foot in front of his eyes.
“Reiji!”
“Reiji-kun!”
By the time he noticed, he had already been fully kicked in the face and was flying back from the force of the blow.
“Gah!”
However, he suffered less damage than expected. This attack would’ve killed him instantly before, but now it only hurt enough for him to complain about the pain. He hadn’t even suffered any internal injuries.
“Reiji-sama!”
Titania and Graziella rushed over to support him, but Reiji screamed to stop them.
“Don’t come near me! Everyone, get away!”
“But...!” Titania protested.
“Just do it! Don’t worry about me!”
As he shouted, Reiji saw the dark glimmer of miasma in the corner of his eye. The grotesque demon’s mouth was wide open and unleashing the Evil God’s power from within. Reiji immediately stepped forth to use the Ishar Cluster, deploying crystal pillars all around him as a multilayered shield. The pillars were positioned exactly how he imagined them.
“Everything else isn’t working, but this is...?”
Immediately following Reiji’s confusion, a beam of the Evil God’s power burst from the grotesque demon’s mouth. It mowed everything down in its path, but Reiji managed to defend against it just as he’d planned. The beam was diffused by the pillars, splitting it into weaker shafts. Despite avoiding direct hits, everything touched by these weaker beams was still torn apart, blown away, and flattened. Its destructive force far surpassed what anyone could imagine.
“What power...”
“A direct hit would be fatal...”
Titania and Graziella gulped at the disastrous scene, and perhaps reacting to their voices, the grotesque demon turned toward them and gracelessly swung its arm. They were too far away for even its claws to reach, but the gale generated by the gesture was more than enough to threaten the girls.
A random assortment of shattered earth and stones flew toward them. Titania narrowly managed to dodge, but Graziella didn’t.
“Gah...!”
The flying debris assaulted her like buckshot and threw her to the ground.
“Graziella-san!”
“Princess Graziella!”
Mizuki and Titania ran over to her, as did the grotesque demon, charging directly at them like a truck. The only thing Reiji could manage against it was a reckless shoulder tackle.
“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!”
Using his uncontrollable strength, Reiji slammed into the grotesque demon, sending them both tumbling across the ground. Shortly after, Reiji stood up and took a look around him. Graziella was wounded from the demon’s attack, with Titania focused on casting healing magic. Despite having far more strength than before, Mizuki wasn’t at a level to be able to fight the grotesque demon.
Reiji had messed up. Their forces weren’t enough to fight against this enemy, and worst of all, Reiji was absolutely worthless. Should Suimei have joined them after all? Reiji was racked by regret, but if he continued with this mindset, he really would be forever useless.
No, that’s wrong. That’s not true...
Something began encroaching on Reiji’s mind—his pride. His pride was slipping between his thoughts and interfering with his concentration.
What do I do? What should I do? What should I have done? What can I do to get everyone to acknowledge me?
Reiji could no longer make calm decisions.
And while he remained immersed in his thoughts, the grotesque demon opened its mouth again. A dark glow spilled out of it, manifesting intense power. It looked up, as if roaring at the heavens, then unleashed the beam straight at Reiji.
“Cra—”
He couldn’t repeat the same defensive feat as before in so short a time. All he could do was shut his eyes.
However, the impact Reiji was expecting never came.
He opened his eyes once more and saw a shadow descend before him like a savior from the heavens. Had his best friend come for him?
No. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Something smells awfully nice. It just reeks of my favorite scents—resistance and despair.”
The person who had arrived was a man with dull blond hair and mainly white clothes. What immediately caught the eye was the enormous blindfold he wore, one of intertwined black leather belts as if trying to seal his sight forever. However, what made Reiji particularly uneasy was that these clothes and the leather belts had come from his world.
The blindfolded man held a wine glass in one hand, dangling it upside down as he turned to Reiji.