Chapter 176

CHAPTER 106 The Ex–Demon Lord and the Unexpected Ally Her voice rumbled, splitting the atmosphere. She pierced through the great blue sky, moving in a straight line. Flying farther…farther away. Away from that devil and the academy. It brought me no comfort, though. A massive question dominated my thoughts. “How?” I asked, looking up at her as she flew with me in her arms. No answer. Elzard only cursed under her breath. “How did you…?” She received my second question with silence. Her ivory beauty seethed with irritation. I…I don’t understand. I can’t get a read on her at all. “Did you take me away…so that you could deliver the final blow yourself?” At my third question, she snorted. “Did the shock of losing your friends rot your brain or somethin’? Nah, scratch that, you were a dumbass to begin with.” I would’ve been dead already if she’d meant to kill me, that’s what she implied. Unfortunately, that only succeeded in confusing me more. We weren’t allies by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, we were enemies. “I thought you hated me. You do hate me, don’t you, Elzard?” Memories came to mind while I stared at her profile. Elzard, the Frenzied King of Dragons, was one of the most powerful opponents we’d faced. I’d faced her twice in the past. The first time was in the spring of this year. She’d disguised herself as Jessica, a daughter of the nobility, to get close to us and kidnap Ireena. Our second fight had been only yesterday. She’d joined Alvarto’s scheme and gotten clobbered by Ireena for it. No matter how you looked at it, you couldn’t call our relationship a friendly one. If anything, Elzard hated me. Why had she come to my rescue? An overpowering sense of wrongness and confusion overwrote the despair that had consumed me only a minute ago. Elzard seemingly picked up on my emotional state but was content to say nothing and continue flying. “This oughtta be far enough,” she said, taking an abrupt plunge. She landed on a deserted field and flung me to the ground. I hit the dirt hard and rolled. Elzard peered down at me. “Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t rescue you.” Her lips were drawn into a straight line. Her beautiful face betrayed disgust. “Don’t flatter yourself, dumbass. I don’t care about you anymore.” “…Then why are you doing this?” Elzard fell silent again, but she wasn’t reactionless. She sighed, blushed, looked up at the sky, and scratched her silvery-white hair. Finally, she answered. “Has your little friend ever broken a promise to you?” “My…little friend?” “Y’know…that little friend who’s always with you.” “There’s lots of people who fit that description. You’ll have to be more specific as to who you’re—” “Ireena, you dolt! I’m asking, does that silver-haired airhead keep her promises?! Get a clue, you insensitive moron!” I didn’t know how, but I’d made Elzard angry. Her face was red, and her shoulders trembled with rage. Her behavior confused me, but I answered her anyway. “Ireena has never broken a promise—not once. She is the sincerest person I know. She would never fail to keep an oath. That’s why everyone loves her.” “…………………Hmmmmmmmmmm.” Elzard’s reaction was the height of indifference…but her lips were curled in a faint smirk. It was almost as if she were… “Do you, um, want something from Ireena?” I asked. “…Huhhh? What’s your deal? I’d never want to be friends with a lower life-form.” “Er, that wasn’t what I asked.” Silence. “Elzard, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were—” “Don’t ask me leading questions, you slimy bastard!!!” Her face flushed harder, and she hurled lightning at me. I dodged her attacks and asked, “Are you trying to rescue her? Ireena, that is.” “Shut up, you moron! Stop asking questions, blockhead! Drop dead, shit-for-brains!” Her defensive retorts were answer enough. Elzard had rescued me for Ireena’s sake. “Wow… Never thought I’d see you change so dramatically.” Upon closer inspection, there was something different about Elzard’s eyes, a lack of hatred. The anger she expressed for everyone but herself was gone. That must have been Ireena’s doing. She’d chased away the darkness in Alvarto’s heart and had evidently done the same for Elzard. “My best friend really is amazing.” I smiled as I dodged the torrent of lightning bolts. Upon hearing this, Elzard stopped her attacks. “Hmph… Sounds like you’ve finally calmed down a little. That being said—” She was cut off mid-sentence by another voice. “Oh, it’s so true. No matter what your mental state, reality doesn’t change.” The devil’s words echoed all around us. Elzard frowned, and I cowered. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! “What a rare treat! I don’t usually see you in that position! “It’s thrilling, yet so vexing, my darling.” He sighed and seethed. I held my silence. The budding peacefulness I’d enjoyed with Elzard withered and died. Remembering the reality I’d fled, my psyche crumbled. “Shit, pull yourself together, Ard Meteor,” Elzard spat. “You can say that again!” the devil said. “You lack presence, but you do seem to be self-aware. “Let’s seeeee. Elfart, was it?” His playful quip riled her up instantly. “It’s Elzard. Don’t ever mess it up again, you little shit.” “Ohhh, okay, I got’cha. El-shart it is. Your wish is my command.” That was probably Mephisto’s way of picking a fight. Veins popped on Elzard’s forehead, but the devil didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. “Your intrusion was completely outside my calculations. “I never even considered aid might come from outside the campus. “It’s quite intriguing, truly. “Cards on the table, I’ve known about you for some time. “But only as an unremarkable villain, so I didn’t pay much attention. “You can imagine my surprise when you threw a wrench in my plans.” Mephisto’s voice brimmed with vigor, as if the setback at the academy had never happened. Then he declared that the game would resume. “Okay, honey, I’m giving you another chance. “Let’s take back what happened at the school. “We can begin a new farewell game here and now. “The rules are simple. “Either you extinguish me, or I snuff you out. “That’s it. “No curveballs. “Let’s have a simple contest of strength to determine the winner.” His words only brought me despair. In my reincarnated form, I possessed an average level of magic, by old-world standards. The experiences from my past life and my Original powers did raise my base level, but not enough. There was no way that I, a typical nobody, stood a chance against an Evil God. Mephisto was well aware of my dampened morale, but he ignored it and continued his speech. “I shall await you at the academy. “Attack me at your leisure. “Just remember…I am a creature of chaos. “So be a dear and don’t blame me if your school is in cinders when you arrive.” The brazen threat made my blood boil with rage. However, it wasn’t enough to shake my broken heart to action. “Okay! Let’s check our game pieces. “I’ll let you keep that El-emenopee girl. “I could easily make her mine if I wanted to, but that would give me an unfair advantage. “The game really is a drag when it’s clear who’s going to win. “So I’m going to give you a chance, albeit a small one. “Then again… There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to seize it in your current state.” After making it clear that there was a vast chasm of despair and only a faint glimmer of hope, the devil said, “Well, let’s get this game started.” It was a rather subdued start to a battle, but not a moment after, I was beset upon from all sides by intense, murderous beams. It felt like all of creation had become my enemy. No, it didn’t feel like. It was. That was the harsh truth. “GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” The scream resembled the squawk of a great mythical bird. Elzard and I stood back-to-back, both our gazes directed overhead. “How did they get here so fast…?” “It’s like a murder of crows…except these guys are actually murderous.” The sky was not the same blue it was a minute ago. It had turned a greenish-black from the giant flock of wyverns approaching. Their ridiculous numbers completely blacked out the sky. With another mighty roar, a second mass of them flooded the sky. Meanwhile… “GHYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” …an enormous worm burst its head through the dirt with a terrifying roar that shook the earth. As the two forces assaulted us from the heavens and earth, their war cries sent shivers of icy terror down our spines. The curtain rose on a ferocious battle. “GREE-YAAAAAAAAA!!!” “GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” The giant wyverns and worms roared at each other, then attacked us in tandem. From the sky came slashing talons and a torrent of fireballs. From the earth came the digestive juices dripping from the giant worms’ jaws. A normal person wouldn’t last three seconds against this onslaught, yet Elzard maintained her composure. “Hah! Don’t get cocky, ya little pests!” A blinding flash burst forth, swallowing everything. It was an agglomeration of destructive light beams. As it expanded in all directions, it wiped every wyvern and worm out of existence. Elzard took no pride in this. She was like an elephant trampling ants as she wiped out the massive army before us. I should’ve expected as much from a creature who was the stuff of legends. Meanwhile, I was losing focus. “Hnnff…!” I feel heavy. I can’t move the way I want. I know what I’m up against, I know Mephisto enhanced those monsters’ powers. But this battle shouldn’t be this difficult. “Tsk!” I kicked off the ground and jumped around the giant worm maw headed my way, then I cast a spell in midair. A beam of scorching heat shot out, burning all the enemies to ash. That was a close call… My reaction time had slowed by half. Whether because of my weakened concentration or magic distortions, I couldn’t cast as I intended, and my spells were weakened. I was in very bad shape. “Um…Ardy-boy? Is everything okay? Got an upset stomach?” Elzard’s attempt at a morale boost did nothing for me. My mind was a turbulent sea. I was not in any sort of mental condition to be in a battle. I simply couldn’t manifest the will to fight. Even if I escaped my current predicament, what would I do when the next one struck? And the one after that? And the one after that? A future where I won seemed impossible. In my past life, I’d joined that devil in his sick little games many times. And I never lost once. However, I didn’t win any of those battles, either. You could even call them psychological losses. Mephisto didn’t care about results. As long as he had fun, it was as good as a victory. And that was exactly why I’d been able to keep beating him, at least on a superficial level… But this time, that devil wasn’t pulling any punches. He had me utterly cornered, and he was playing to win. Try as I did, I couldn’t find the impetus to stand and face him. And what’s the use? Even if I did fight him, I’d merely be playing into his hands. And when the dust settled…I might discover I’d hurt my friends again. Images from the earlier scene looped in my mind. Ireena, wounded and splayed on the ground. She sank into a sea of blood, motionless. “Never again…,” I muttered weakly. “GHYAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The giant worms roared behind me. They were close. By the time I turned around, it was already too late. One worm’s open jaw was already inches from my face. I couldn’t escape. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain. Then I felt a gust of wind from the side, and I was suddenly floating. When my feet touched the ground, I realized Elzard had come to my rescue. “No!” I opened my eyes just in time to see the worm catch her, swallowing her slight frame whole. “Elzard! No!” I have to save her. The thought consumed me, but before I could move, sparkling beams of light exploded from the giant worm’s body. Elzard had attacked from inside the enemy. After a moment’s pause, the worm’s giant body shattered into pieces. “You filthy parasite.” Elzard was free and unwounded. Her white skin and hair were soiled with the creature’s fluids, and her dress was in tatters, but she wasn’t even slightly damaged. If anything, it was the opposite. The giant worm’s attack had energized the Frenzied King of Dragons. “Get lost, shit bugs.” A tremendous rage smoldered in her golden eyes. A second later, a brilliant radiance shot from her, so intense it was all I could see. The next thing I knew, every poor fool who’d come into contact with the dragon’s wrath had been erased. After reducing the army of monsters to nothing in the blink of an eye, Elzard muttered, “I had to use my full power against peons…what an embarrassment.” She cast me a look. I hung my head, unable to answer her hard gaze. I felt a sting on my cheek, and the next thing I knew, I was flying. “You’re pathetic, Ard Meteor.” Elzard looked down at me as I rolled on the ground. “Stop wallowing in self-pity, you dumbass.” With a sigh, she brushed her white hair from her face. “As you know…I lost to Ireena. The rage was unbearable, let me tell you. The little speech she gave me was all-around unpleasant…especially what she said after the fight was over. That really made me wanna kill her. Do you have any idea what she said to me?” Elzard waited, but I had no answer for her. With acid in her tone, Elzard answered her own question. “She had the gall to say that she wanted to be friends.” For just a moment, I saw a glimmer of a smile on Elzard’s lips. I was sure I wasn’t imagining it. “I thought, Wow, what a stupid bitch. I’m her enemy. I hurt her and her friends. Yet she offered me empathy. She really, really pissed me off…but that’s why I decided I could trust her.”