Black Iron Magician
chapter-268

Chapter 268 The Great Eight Demons Lecture That Even a Muscle-Brain Can Understand

Nell, her sword, and her dress are dancing with the fire of hell on them. It’s a relatively slow movement, with the speed suppressed as much as possible in consideration of the audience, but I’m sure everyone feels that Nell’s figure is blurred. It’s a sword dance by the world’s best swordsman and the incarnation of fear, Nell. It’s so beautiful that you will be fascinated by it.

「Beautiful….」

「I didn’t know Leader has such a beautiful fighting style….」

「Me too….」

The knights, who couldn’t even follow the afterimage until now, are fascinated when they can see it. It’s a scene that tells you how important the process is. After all, there’s a big difference in the impression between seeing the process like that and the sudden destruction of the target. Nell doesn’t care about that at all, so there’s a prejudice that she’s scary. Well, that prejudice isn’t wrong, so there’s no need to correct it. But for now, I just want to brag about my wife’s beauty.

「H-Hey, that girl is amazing too!」

Nell’s opponent, Maria, is also gathering attention. Maria is parrying Nell’s sword with the red wind beasts that she created around her. The beasts she’s controlling are all small and might look cute at first glance, but that’s a big mistake. After all, Maria’s magic, which is strong already, is strengthened by the blood I mentioned earlier that’s on par with the Philosopher’s Stone. Seeing that she’s repelling Nell’s sword, it’s easy to guess that the power is immeasurable. I wonder if each of the beasts has their own will, all of them are acting independently. Maybe they are programmed to protect Maria, the main body that attacks freely.

Moreover, this wind explodes at the moment of being attacked, playing the role of both a shield and a bomb. Just like Nell, it’s a magic of offense and defense. No, saying it offense and defense is misleading, I guess. After all, Maria herself gets caught in the explosion every time it occurs. ‘Then, isn’t it pointless to defend Nell’s attack?’ It makes you think something like that. It’s also amazing that new beasts are being created at the same pace as they are being destroyed.

「It’s hot! Nell, that’s not――ouch!」

「Ah jeez, this is troublesome!」

Maria probably prefers to be caught up in her own magic rather than receiving Nell’s attack. The wind around her is repelling Nell’s sword, and she’s challenging her to close-range combat, not minding that she would get caught in her own explosion. She screams that it hurts and is hot, acting to be a pitiful girl. …… Is she really acting?

「Shishō, are you okay? You are sweating a lot, you know?」

「… Yeah, I’m okay. Chinatsu’s Refresh is working, so it’s a lot easier mentally.」

「Please use it on me too~. This work is hard!」

What are you talking about, the first rank Agalia-san? You are the top of the Great Eight Demons, so you should be able to endure this much. Me? I’m a human, so I need Chinatsu’s generous care. Hmm, maybe this is the same way of thinking as Lily….

Well, I’ve been trying to escape from reality by thinking about many things, but it’s still hard. No matter how much I try it, the reality of this impossible game is clearly appearing in my body. Even Agalia is telling the truth about how hard it is.

The way the two fight is much calmer than before. After all, they’ve adjusted their speed so that the audience can see them. Even so, each of their attacks is filled with a certain killing intent to kill the opponent. It’s as sophisticated as a demonstration by experts, but the power inside is no different from that of monsters rampaging against each other.

It may be hard to understand from outside the barriers, but every time Nell swung Pluto at that speed, it released heat enough to burn down a village in one blow. Maria is similar, so the collision between the two increased the power even more. As the flame sword and wind fist crossed, Nell’s Red Dress shook and a part of Maria’s body disappeared. And then, by repeating the recovery and regeneration, we are back to the first step.

「I-I wonder how many more of those annoying pets I should blow up?」

「F-Fufu… are you going to give up? As for me, I still can go on.」

To make matters worse, they hate losing, so there’s no sign of them giving up to end this. A simple fight has turned into a contest of endurance.

「(Aga)Lia, do you still can do it?」

「To be honest, it’s hard~…. As I said earlier, I can borrow your Skill, but I’m not used to it…!」

「If you can afford to complain, it means that you still have some composure. Let’s do our best a bit more.」

「Ugh, I said I wanted to have an event, but I didn’t want something like this….」

Hang in there, you can do it, I can do it too!

…… Still, at this rate, it sure is going to be tough.

「Alright, it’s study time to escape from reality. Haru, Chinatsu, and Touko, listen.」

「Eh… we are going to study here!?」

Haru makes a blatantly displeased face. But, please give up. I can’t hold on both mentally and physically if I don’t talk about something.

「This time, even I think that it’s not the time for that…. Isn’t it better to concentrate on the barriers?」

「No, it’s not about technical stuff anymore. Now it’s about guts and that kind of mentality thing.」

「Err, doesn’t that mean you can’t hold on…?」

As expected of Chinatsu. You always come up with the answer that’s very close to the correct answer every time.

「Let’s see, I wonder what should we talk about…」

「Hey, Deris? Don’t make a joke like relaxing your guard down because you are too focused on the talk, okay? It’s too hard for me alone after all. I’m not joking, you know?」

「Don’t worry, I’m a man who has overcome many trials―― ah, that’s right. How about we talk about the Great Eight Demons?」

「Deris-san, your eyes are hollow, you know!? Is it really okay!?」

Hahaha. Now, it’s time to escape from reality.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Deris’s own opinion, the ranking of the Great Eight Demons’ abilities that even a muscle-brain can understand.

※ All rankings are based on my own judgment and prejudice.

◇ Physical destructive power

Maria> Rimudo > Vakala> Lilyvia > Zex > Agalia > Hund > Alezel

◇ Magical destructive power

Vakala > Maria > Agalia > Rimudo > Alezel > Lilyvia > Zex > Hund

◇ Degree of immortality

Vakala > Maria > Zex > Rimudo > Agalia> Lilyvia > Hund > Alezel

◇ Speed

Maria > Alezel > Lilyvia > Agalia > Rimudo > Vakala > Zex > Hund

◇ Military power possessed

Vakala > Maria > Rimudo > Zex > Alezel > Hund > Lilyvia > Agalia

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

「W-What’s with this sudden explanation?」

「As you’ve heard, it’s the information about the Great Eight Demons that’s mixed with my judgment and prejudice. You’ve reached the stage where you have to prepare yourself for a battle like that if you want to aim higher than now. So, I’m trying to get you to remember the information about them little by little.」

「U-Um… it’s not necessary to force ourselves to fight the Great Eight Demons, right?」

「What are you talking about, Chinatsu? The Great Demon Kings exist to be defeated, you know? You should learn from Haru, who’s forcing herself to understand that smoke comes out of her head.」

「Ehh….」

These guys are hungry for entertainment, so they are very interested in talented people.

「Well, don’t worry. As I explained earlier, Maria is one of the strongest among the Great Eight Demons. You won’t suddenly fight against her. As long as you can’t win against Hund, the lowest rank, in a party battle, it’s impossible to fight her.」

「Hund-san was very strong, but is he really in that position in the Great Eight Demons?」

「It’s almost certain for Hund. That’s how big the difference between them is.」

「Ugh….」

Hmm? I think I just heard a sulky voice somewhere…. Was it my imagination? Oh, I heard the sound of the dam breaking down. I’m really at my limit.

「As you can see, (Aga)Lia is at the top, but many of his abilities are in the middle. So, when it comes to dealing with the firepower-specialized type like Nell and Maria, you know, right?」

「Ehehe~. Yeah, it’s really bad~」

「D-Deris-san… the barriers are shaking, you know!?」

「「――Sorry, I can’t do it anymore.」」

*Crash*, there was a loud sound of the glass breaking.