Death Beam was powerful enough when fired immediately. I didn’t even know how powerful it might become if I amassed energy like this.
I wanted to fire it already!
“Wh-What are you doing? Don’t you see that a piddling ball like that can’t possibly break the ice?”
“No, it can!”
“Ha, I’ll have to just watch and see, then,” Vlad said. “From a safe distance!”
He cut off his own head. He probably planned to move his devil stone to his head, have one of his brainwashed minions take it, and flee to some distant refuge. I wouldn’t let him!
I encased Vlad in a shield so that his freshly severed head would be stuck bouncing around inside.
“N-No! Stop that! Stop that at once and remove this stupid, horrid shield!”
“Oh, I will!” I said. I had finally finished charging up! I looked past Vlad at the looming mass of ice.
“DEATH BEEEEEEAAMM!!!” I shouted with all my might. I let loose the ball of light, now fifty centimeters in diameter. Even with no charging at all, the first Death Beam I had ever fired had been wide enough to swallow the entire three-meter-tall wood golem I had targeted. This beam, which had grown until it was fifty centimeters across, swelled explosively the instant it left my hands and rapidly expanded until it was big enough to completely engulf the enormous cluster of ice.
It was as if the sun itself were shining. I reflexively averted my eyes from the effusion of radiant light. The edges of my vision flooded with white. The glow of the Death Beam, which kept growing larger and larger, consumed Vlad and passed easily around his enclosure to annihilate the ice.
“Nonsense! Magic wielded by a mere mortal like you could never compare to the power of the Demon King!” Vlad shouted from within. It seemed the Shield Beam was holding up.
In this way, I’d be able to destroy the ice and protect everyone below, though the sight was undoubtedly terrifying from the ground. Cleaning up in the aftermath was bound to be a hassle, so the more of the ice I could completely evaporate with the beam, the better. Even if it looked scary from below, it was best to fire as big a beam as I could.
Besides, it felt incredible! Dopamine was practically flooding my brain. The pleasure was unceasing.
Death Beam is the goddamn best!
“It’s not magic!” I shouted at Vlad. “It’s a beam!”
With that cleared up, I let the shield surrounding Vlad vanish. It dropped in an instant to let the beam rush in and take him. I didn’t even hear death throes as he was swallowed whole.
I wanted to keep firing the beam forever, but the people down below were surely worried. Besides, I needed to be there with Cure Beam for the wounded as soon as possible. By the end of this day, I would certainly be satisfied by the plentiful opportunities to use my abilities.
When my Death Beam finally disappeared, there wasn’t a cloud left. Its great force had killed Vlad, destroyed the ice, and cleared the skies. I looked down to see the once brainwashed masses gazing up, dazed, at the heavens. As they made no move to attack me, I assumed the spell was broken.
I spun around to face downtown and let the giant dome shield dissipate as I flew straight to my friends.
“Kaito!” shouted Oltea and Frieze. The moment I landed, they both ran over to meet me.
“Kaito, that was incredible, that huge beam! You blasted the magic right out of the sky!” said Oltea.
“That thing was so huge that even I was scared, but you just smashed right through it!” said Frieze.
“I couldn’t have done any of it without your support, Oltea and Frieze,” I said. My words caused both of them to erupt with involuntary laughter. Seeing them do so, I couldn’t help but break into a smile.
It wasn’t lasers, animal ears, or collection that made my life in this new world so wonderful. No, this right here was the number one reason my time had been so special: friends. Friends I had come to hold dear.
I looked at the happy smiles on Oltea’s and Frieze’s faces and, once again, felt genuine joy.