Dimension Blast had carved all the way down through the bottom of Castle Viovix. The castle grounds were supported in the air by gigantic legs, and now Diablo was flying through the air between the ground and Viovix’s underside. Behind him was the sight of Lyferia’s capital, Seven Wall. Much of it was in ruins from the war.
Diablo could see the twelfth district from afar, with the Inner Sanctum floating above it. That was where Rem — the Girl of the Vessel the Emperor was so dead set on capturing — was hiding, in addition to Shera and Lumachina. He couldn’t let Gelmed approach that place.
Diablo fired an attack to keep the Emperor distracted.
“《Nine Phalanx》!”
Seven magi-guns made of mana formed around him, firing a long barrage of magical projectiles. But then a spear of light burst through the barrage and came flying his way.
“Huh?!”
—What is he thinking?!
If that hit him, it would have dealt crippling damage, but it was only a single-target attack. Not only did it miss him, it wasn’t even flying in a trajectory that could hit him. Why even launch an attack like that?
But something instinctively told him that this was bad news. He thought to move and create distance between the spear and himself, but Noah wouldn’t have been able to withstand him moving at full speeds.
Being occupied with that worry stalled him.
The spear of light exploded, scattering bullets of light in all directions around him, each of them only the size of a speck.
—So that’s what he was trying to do?!
Diablo tried to dodge, but the bullets moved at dizzying speeds.
—I can’t dodge these!
At that moment, a voice rang out in his head.
“Barrier!”
It was the high-pitched voice of a child. Multiple magic circles expanded around Diablo, forming a spherical barrier that blocked off the projectiles. The moment the specks made contact, they exploded, showing that each one of them was charged with a vast amount of magical energy. The shock waves reverberated even through the barrier, shaking his body hard.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaaaah!” Noah screamed in his arms.
†
Once again, a child’s voice echoed in his mind.
“That was close!”
He couldn’t mistake who it belonged to. Diablo felt his throat seize up.
“I had enough time to do this because you moved away. Did you know that attack would split up like that?”
“I’m not foolish enough to be caught by something like that...”
“Diablo?”
—You’re still alive?
Diablo couldn’t manage to ask that question; his eyes were hot with tears. This was another moment where he hated the fact that he couldn’t speak honestly.
“Hmph... As tenacious as one would expect a Demon Lord to be, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am!” Klem’s voice replied proudly in his mind.
“...Can you return to your true form?”
“It’s my first time trying anything like this, so I don’t know... But probably?”
Diablo was overcome with relief. Having Klem live in his head forever would simply be too sad... Not to mention difficult.
“That was one reckless stunt you pulled, fool.”
“Heheh... If we lost to the Emperor, it would all be over anyway! If that happened, whether I can return to my own form or not would be the least of my worries.”
“...Mm,” he affirmed.
“Are you all right?” Noah looked at him, puzzled.
It really was only Diablo that could hear Klem’s voice, it seemed.
“...You cannot hear that voice? You truly are inexperienced,” Diablo said vaguely.
“Wh-What voice?” Noah asked, confused.
But of course she couldn’t hear it. Even if he’d tried to explain this situation to her, there would be so much to tell that she’d struggle to make sense of any of it. Only one thing really mattered, anyway.
—If I don’t defeat Emperor Gelmed, everything will be for naught.
“Right now, you’re exhibiting this Demon Lord’s regular power,” Klem said.
“It’s like my mana won’t stop overflowing.”
“That’s normal, isn’t it?” Klem asked offhandedly. “Comfort Mode, as it’s called. But if it were enough to beat him, this Demon Lord would have been able to stop him by myself.”
“Right, right.”
“So you need to enter Fanatic Mode, where you get all excited and destroy your enemy in a rage.”
Diablo immediately felt something thump inside him. His body heated up, and all the blood began climbing into his head.
“N-Nng...”
“And the level above Fanatic Mode...is Demon Lord Mode!”
His spine tingled and his thinking turned awfully cold — just like when he was pissed.
—Calm down! You can’t win if you lose your cool!
He tried suppressing his nerves. This wasn’t an opponent he could beat by letting his emotions get the better of him.
“Can you use it?” Klem asked him. “This Demon Lord gave you this power because I thought you would need it...”
He had no experience fighting anything similar to this opponent, let alone any information about it. He couldn’t even imagine what Emperor Gelmed was capable of, and he wasn’t the slightest bit confident he could win this fight.
But a Demon Lord wouldn’t lose heart!
“Don’t be foolish! No matter what manner of power it is, I am the true Demon Lord! I will contain and master it!”
“Heheh...” he felt like Klem’s voice was smiling somehow. “Then I entrust it to you, Diablo. Stay strong! Otherwise this form will consume you... And you will become just like the Emperor: a being consumed by its power.”
If that were to happen, the world really would come to an end. Still, pretending to be a Demon Lord only to eventually descend upon the world as a real Demon Lord would be terrible.
“You can leave things in my hands, Klem!”
He spoke boldly while shaking like a baby fawn on the inside, terrified.
—I can’t even speak with my own words, and you’re telling me to “stay strong”?
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Klem howled inside his mind.
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him directly.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Diablo screamed back.
His consciousness faded away.
†
“Diablo! It’s Emperor Gelmed!” Noah’s voice pulled him back from the darkness.
Cross Reverie was floating in front of them.
“Your presence, it’s changed... Who are you...?” Emperor Gelmed asked.
It was hard for Diablo to hear what Gelmed was saying. It felt like there was a constant wind roaring in his ear.
“How many times will I have to say it?” Diablo replied with a voice so hoarse he didn’t recognize it as his own.
—It feels like someone’s stirring up my brain with a spoon...
He couldn’t gather his thoughts. Meanwhile, Cross Reverie retreated from him. The dark ground was sprawled out before them, littered with water, rubble, debris from the tree roots, and the burnt remnants of the tentacles. The early morning showers were now becoming a storm, and the increasing gales of wind were making visibility that much worse.
“Go after him, Diablo! A Demon Lord’s eyes can always see where their opponent is!”
“That’s convenient.”
Suddenly, it felt like there was nothing between him and Cross Reverie. Not only was his enemy easy to detect, he could even sense all forms of life above them. Tree roots were spreading out of the bottom of the Magimatic Castle Viovix, winding and wriggling like tentacles. Right next to him, however...
“Diablo, are you all right?!” Noah raised her voice at him. “We should retreat for now! We should reorganize our forces and challenge Emperor Gelmed lat—”
“Oh, you’re still here?” Diablo interrupted, realizing she was there.
“What?! You’ve been holding me the whole time!”
His physical strength was so high at this point that her weight didn’t even register for him. He honestly had completely forgotten she was there, and he did feel a bit guilty about it. A single human’s weight was lighter than a feather for him right now.
—I don’t know if I can say it’s thanks to Noah, but...I’m calmer now.
Diablo exhaled heavily. Every part of his body cried out in excitement as a frightening amount of mana overflowed from him every second. He had no intention of fleeing. For the sake of both those who had died and those who were still alive, he’d defeat his opponent here.
And that meant he couldn’t take Noah along. He wanted to tell her that — to ask her to try using flight magic and get out of here... But he didn’t have time to explain. And besides, telling an ally to run wasn’t very Demon Lord-ly.
And that’s important.
If his role playing were half-assed, he wouldn’t be able to talk, and that would get in the way of concentrating on the battle.
Ever since he entered the Magimatic Castle Viovix... No, ever since he decided to work under Noah... And perhaps even earlier, when he wound up in a position to fight and defend other people... Diablo hadn’t been at his prime. And Emperor Gelmed was too powerful an opponent, so he couldn’t fight him with his mind so lulled.
And so, Diablo repeated it to himself like a mantra.
—I am a Demon Lord. A Demon Lord!
—I am the Demon Lord. The one true Demon Lord.
—I am the Demon Lord, Diablo!
His lips contorted into a devilish grin. His expression was sadistic and hostile — an authentic Demon Lord’s expression.
“Out of my way!” he barked, throwing Noah away.
“Eeee?! Aaaah!”
“Hmph! Begone!” Diablo said, not even sparing a look in her direction.
Her scream of despair was cut off when one of Gewalt’s summon beasts — 《Flying Worm》 — soared through the air and swallowed her up. Standing on top of the worm, Gewalt puffed a kiss in Diablo’s direction, as if to say, “I’ll handle this.”
Same here, Diablo thought to himself.
Gewalt could have run away on his own, but he hid and waited beneath them. If Diablo had to fight while having to worry about Noah, who wasn’t used to combat, it would make things needlessly difficult for him. Gewalt, knowing Diablo’s personality, offered him the right sort of support.
—You’re an evil bastard and a freak, but just this once I’m glad you’re here.
Now he could focus on fighting.
“Use the Demon Lord’s staff!” Klem’s voice said in his mind.
—There’s a Demon Lord’s staff?
Diablo thrust his right hand forward and a jet-black staff appeared out of thin air. Its name drifted in Diablo’s mind. 《The Staff of Annihilation》. He gripped it and glared at Cross Reverie.
“Pardon the delay, you lowly thief. But now I shall strike into your heart the sort of terror only a true Demon Lord can!”
†
At the Inner Sanctum...
As the hours went by since Diablo and his party infiltrated the Magimatic Castle Viovix, the people hiding away waited with bated breath. They could hear the explosions from afar. Suddenly, the Gelmed Empire’s moving castle’s contours bent and twisted. Its bottom crumbled away and spilled onto the ground below.
The people gasped and began praying ardently. Having received a report from the Paladin Tria, Lumachina stepped out to the Inner Sanctum’s balcony. Another loud explosion rocked the air. Tria hurriedly covered Lumachina’s body, shielding her.