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nVandalieu’s rapid-fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ was a version where he fired after only a short time spent concentrating his Mana. By sacrificing power, he shortened the time needed to cast the spell. Its targets, Rikudou and Heinz, began moving at the same time.

nRikudou quickly gathered his own Mana in order to cast a spell to block the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon.’

nMeanwhile, Heinz recited an incantation. “‘Radiant Turn!’”

nThis was not a defensive spell; it was a spell that increased the speed of his movement. Heinz had been waiting for Vandalieu to target him and Rikudou at the same time, and he had been ready to cast this spell.

nBut it wasn’t Vandalieu who became flustered by this, but Rikudou.

n“What?! ‘Magic Absorption Shield!” Rikudou shouted.

nHe finished casting his defensive spell, but even with the power of the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ having been significantly reduced, it was difficult for him to block it completely.

nHe shouted loudly in exertion as he squeezed out as much of his Mana as he could to stop the torrent of powerful black Mana that streamed towards him. But the shield of Mana that Rikudou had produced looked like it would be pierced at any moment.

nBut with this, I should be able to manage to avoid being lethally wounded! If I don’t die, then this body that’s made from the fragments of the Demon King can quickly regenerate! Rikudou thought.

nHe knew that he would somehow survive this attack. But a moment later–

n… Hmm?

nRikudou saw Vandalieu, who was firing the rapid-fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ from one hand, move again.

n“‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’” Vandalieu said.

nHe raised his other hand and fired a second ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon.’ But he hadn’t fired it at Rikudou, nor was it aimed at Heinz and his companions; it was flying in a completely different direction.

n“W-what are you doing?!” Heinz shouted.

nHaving escaped the rapid-fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’ he and his companions watched in bewilderment but stayed wary of what Vandalieu might do next.

nBut Rikudou knew what Vandalieu intended to do, and a chill ran across his entire body.

n“‘Teleportation gate,’” murmured Gufadgarn.

nA teleportation gate appeared in the path of the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’ and its exit appeared behind Rikudou.

n“‘Magic Absorption Shield!’ So, you were able to fire two at the same tiiiiime!” he bellowed in fury.

nThe moment Rikudou cast a second defensive spell at his back, the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ crashed into it.

n“I’ve let one of my targets get away, but I shall make sure to crush the one that I’ve caught,” Vandalieu said.

nHe had fired the first ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ to prevent Rikudou and Heinz from moving. The real attack lay in the second ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’ which had been fired with plenty of Mana concentrated in it. Gufadgarn’s teleportation gate had changed its trajectory so that it would strike the back of his immobilized targets in a pincer attack.

nWith this, he would be able to defeat his targets that might be able to survive a single cast of his spell… Even in the worst-case scenario, they would certainly be almost fatally wounded.

nHeinz had managed to escape, but Vandalieu wasn’t worried about that. Heinz wasn’t attacking Vandalieu to protect Rikudou, nor was he trying to attack the people of Orbaume.

nIt would be difficult to justify killing Heinz and his companions, who were S-class adventurers and honorary nobles, after Rikudou was already defeated. Thus, he didn’t even mind if they simply ran away, but–

n“Has he done it?!” exclaimed Edgar.

n“No, not yet!” said Heinz.

nIt seemed that they had no intention of running away. It was unlikely that they would be willing to do so until they witnessed Rikudou’s death with their own eyes.

nI suppose I have no choice but to be pleased that they’re not attacking me while I’m unable to move because I’m attacking Rikudou, Vandalieu thought.

nBut simultaneously casting two ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannons’ took a great toll on him. If he didn’t have the Staff of Five Sins, his arms would have broken apart from the recoil, scattering pieces of his flesh onto the ground below… though the only consequence of that would be that there would be more Demon King Familiars to exterminate the monsters at ground level.

nMeanwhile, Rikudou groaned as he resisted his own destruction with all his might. “Damn you, you wannabe idol!” he cursed.

nThe Demon King Familiar in Prime Minister Tercatanis’s office was firing numerous beams of light at Rikudou through the window. With a gaze filled with hatred, he looked down at Kanako, who was replacing the Demon Kings’ luminescent organs and eyeballs that were necessary to fire those beams of light.

nBut he was under so much pressure that even looking down at Kanako had taken some time.

nRikudou groaned again. “A-at this rate… Demon King’s right arm, left arm!”

nHe activated the Demon King’s right arm and left arm, which he had kept concealed as one of his trump cards. Multiple of the fragments that Tercatanis had gathered, such as the Demon King’s right thumb and left wrist, had fused to form these arms.

nThese arms had extraordinary strength, hardness, and anti-magic properties. Rikudou attempted to use these to suppress the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon,’ but… they began tearing apart, unable to withstand the torrent of black Mana.

nImpossible! According to my calculations, the Demon King’s right arm and left arm should be able to withstand even attacks from Orichalcum weapons! Are you telling me that Vandalieu’s prowess at magic has surpassed that of the Demon King Guduranis?! … No, that’s wrong!

nRikudou poured more Mana into the Demon King’s arms to increase the rate of their regeneration as he desperately looked for a way out of this situation.

nThat’s wrong! Vandalieu hasn’t surpassed Guduranis! It’s just that I haven’t drawn out the original potential of Guduranis’s body!

nThe Demon King Guduranis had possessed enough strength to vanquish the Dragon-Emperor God Marduke; even the champion Bellwood would have stood no chance against him on his own.

nIt was true that Vandalieu was powerful. There was no way to describe him as anything other than extraordinary. But he did not surpass Guduranis in pure fighting strength. If he did, he wouldn’t be having so much trouble fighting against Heinz and his companions.

nSo then, why? It was because Rikudou wasn’t as powerful as the Demon King Guduranis, either.

nWhy?! I trained for months on end, and yet I cannot make full use of this body?! And it’s not just Guduranis’s body that I possess; I even have fragments of his soul! Just what must I do to surpass Guduranis… or stand equal to him?!

nAt this rate, his body would break apart and he would be destroyed, his soul devoured. His survival instincts were screaming at him out of the fear and danger he felt, and he felt like his ability to reason was going to burn out.

nAnd at that moment, he gasped in realization.

nThat’s right. I have been unable to wield my full power because my reasoning has been holding it back.

nThe fragments of Guduranis’s soul that were embedded into my own soul were his instinct and his memories! The instinct cannot show its true power when my reasoning is suppressing it! In order to defeat Vandalieu, I must unleash the instinct! It’s alright, I know I will be able to remain myself!

nThe moment these thoughts ran through his mind, power welled up through his entire body.

nWith a great roar of exertion, he instantly restored the ‘Magic Absorption Shields’ that were on the brink of vanishing, blocking both ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannons’ for just a single moment, which was enough for him to escape.

n“Something has changed about him,” Vandalieu said as he stopped his spells and regenerated the broken bones in his arms with the Demon King’s bones.

nRikudou let out a low laugh. “You can tell? Experience leads to the growth of gods as well, not just humans. By being exposed to danger, I sensed that I will prevail in this battle by unleashing my instinct!”

nAnd then he laughed, emanating an even more sinister presence than ever before – one that would cause anyone nearby to cower and feel their spines tremble.

nNow that I think about it, it is obvious. The instinct to survive, the instinct to hunt, the instinct to fight… Instinct is necessary for battle. So why did I ever think to suppress the instinct with my reasoning? By listening to the whispers of the instinct, I can use the Demon King’s memories as my own!

n“Here I come! First… you!” Rikudou declared.

nObeying the whispers of his instinct, the target of his focus wasn’t Vandalieu or the Five-colored Blades. It was the nuisances in the castle – the Demon King Familiar that was firing beams of light, and Kanako.

n“Take this! ‘Flame Prison Bullet!’” he shouted.

nHe created a condensed mass of sebum from the Demon King’s sebaceous glands and ignited it, then hurled the flaming projectile at Kanako and the Demon King Familiar. It was a death-attribute spell that mimicked Vandalieu’s ‘Flame Prison Death.’

nHe was attempting to get rid of Kanako and the Demon King Familiar without any consideration for the possibility that Prime Minister Tercatanis might still be in the office and get caught up in the blast.

nVandalieu ignored Rikudou’s ‘Flame Prison Bullet’ and fired a barrage of ‘Death Bullets’ and ‘Hollow Bullets’ at Rikudou.

n“What?! You’re not going to save your friend?!” Heinz uttered in disbelief.

nA moment later, the ‘Flame Prison Bullet’ struck Prime Minister Tercatanis’s office in the castle, and an explosion of black-red flames erupted from the window.

n“The castle!” Heinz shouted.

nBut the Demon King Familiar, now missing the upper half of its brain, emerged from the smoke with Kanako clutched in its jointed legs, and flew into the sky next to Vandalieu.

n“Welcome back. Is Tercatanis still alive?” Vandalieu asked.

n“He is,” Kanako replied. “Jane took him away, so he should be in a safe place now. But thanks to that, Bug-Brain-kun has become just Bug-kun.”

nAs the two conversed calmly as if nothing had happened, Rikudou interrupted while still sweeping away the ‘Death Bullets’ with his arms.

n“Hmph, it seems that you’re being treated quite well. Or should I say that he’s just having his way with you? In exchange for his support for your activities, you’ve let him alter your body and mind, and now he’s using you. Even after betraying Murakami, you ended up being nothing more than Vandalieu’s pawn. You’re incapable of anything other than being used by others, Kanako-kun,” Rikudou said contemptuously.

n“More importantly, Van, you’re not really putting on enough of a performance, are you? This is the perfect chance to show everyone Vida’s religion and how capable Vida’s races and Undead can be,” said Kanako. “By the way, I think that nose-body-man with abnormally swollen arms is trying to say something to us.”

nWith his scornful words ignored, and having been called ‘nose-body-man’ due to the Demon King’s nose being activated on his arms, legs, chest, and back, Rikudou’s face twisted in clear anger.

n“YOU BIIIITCH!” he shouted in rage, transforming his entire right arm into a nose of the Demon King – this time, in the shape of an elephant’s trunk – and unleashed an air cannon of disease and poison at Kanako with far more power than before.

nKanako gave a revolted scream. “That’s disgusting!”

nBefore the air cannon of disease and poison could reach her, Gufadgarn opened a teleportation gate to try to send it back to Rikudou.

nBut a moment later, Gufadgarn made an irritated noise.

nA moment before the air cannon of disease and poison was about to pass through the teleportation gate, its Mana was erased.

n“Since I have fulfilled my purpose, I shall go,” said the Demon King Familiar as it handed Kanako over to Vandalieu.

nIt charged into the air cannon of disease and poison, then promptly fell apart into pieces.

n“Ah, Bug-Brain-kun!” Kanako said tragically.

n“That was actually me,” Vandalieu reminded her.

n“But I still have tons of replacement eyeballs left in this sack, you know?!” said Kanako.

n“Let’s make good use of them,” said Vandalieu. “Gufadgarn, why did your teleportation gate disappear?”

n“Most likely–” Gufadgarn began.

nBut even as this conversation was taking place, his arm that had transformed into an elephant’s trunk was swelling up to release another air cannon of disease and poison. But Heinz and his companions began attacking Rikudou once more, seeming to sense an opportunity, or perhaps feeling that the people were at risk after seeing the castle was attacked and partially destroyed.

n“‘Familiar Spirit Descent!’ Everyone, summon your heroic spirits!” Heinz ordered his companions.

n“Don’t get in my way, you fake champions!” Rikudou shouted.

nIn the meantime, Gufadgarn explained her theory. “‘I believe he imbued his nose’s breath with a spell of the same nature as ‘Magic Absorption Barrier’ and his own version of it, ‘Magic Absorption Shield’… It would require a considerable quantity of Mana to erase one of my spells on contact, but… I am deeply sorry.”

n“There’s no need to apologize,” said Vandalieu. “Rikudou’s presence has grown larger than before. Looking at him… I feel incredibly hungry.”

nDespicable, repulsive, irritating, thirsty, my entrails are quivering, my teeth are throbbing, I WANT it!

nVandalieu had suddenly begun feeling these desires a few moments ago.

n“Why could this be?” Vandalieu wondered.

n“There’s no mistake! It’s got something to do with the instinct or something that he was talking about!” said Fidirg’s terrified voice from the trembling Staff of Five Sins.

n“Indeed, I feel that his presence became even more similar to Guduranis’s since that moment. I would assume that one of the parts of Guduranis’s soul that was embedded in him was Guduranis’s instinct,” said Gufadgarn.

nVandalieu made a disgruntled noise. “… The situation has become even more dangerous.”

n“I know it’s a cliché that people awaken to new powers when they’re driven into a corner, but why is he the one who gets to do it?” said Kanako.

nEven as Rikudou watched Vandalieu and his companions have this conversation, he was continuing to fight against Heinz and his party. Heinz hadn’t summoned Bellwood upon himself yet so that he could keep some of his strength in reserve, but he had summoned a familiar spirit upon himself instead. And all of his companions had activated ‘Heroic Spirit Descent.’ Thus, Rikudou couldn’t get rid of them easily even with the Demon King’s instinct fully unleashed.

nVandalieu was also busy using ‘Disinfect’ on Rikudou’s air cannons of disease and poison.

nRikudou snarled in anger. “Monsters! What are you doing! You call yourselves the enemies of humanity?! Obey me and fight! Kill! Destroy!”

nHis screamed orders were extremely simple. A few minutes earlier, they might have been meaningless screams. But Rikudou was currently emanating the presence of the Demon King Guduranis – the creator of the first monsters in this world.

n“And come to me!”

nRikudou’s roar echoed to the monsters whose instincts had been stimulated, and their movements grew more powerful.

nMeanwhile, in the high-class nobles’ district, the people were being forcibly rescued by Silkie Zakkart Mansion, evacuating on their own, being rescued by Sam, or fleeing into the basement of the mansion owned by the Alcrem house.

n“We just happened to be out to do errands, so please take the opportunity to evacuate while we defeat the monsters!” said Rita, calling out to the residents.

n“Forget about politics for now and focus on surviving, okay? We’ll help you even if you’re from the Sauron house!” said Saria.

nThe commander of the knights who served the Alcrem house had a wry smile on his face as he watched them burying monsters one after another. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but what’ll you do if someone from the Sauron house actually comes?” he asked.

nThe main reason for this concern was the Sauron house’s relationship with Elizabeth and her mother Amelia, but it was also difficult to say that Vandalieu and his companions had a good relationship with the Sauron house in the first place.

n“Ah, it’s fine. Father has already abducted the ambassador named Veedal, his retainers, and his servants… I mean, rescued them,” said Rita matter-of-factly.

n“Saying that we’re willing to rescue people from the Sauron house is just to make it clear that we’ll rescue anyone,” said Saria.

nIt seemed that the Sauron house already owed a great debt to Vandalieu and his companions. It was likely that this would be taken advantage of later. Rita and Saria had only urged the people to forget about politics ‘for now,’ after all.

n“Well, I guess we don’t have time to feel sorry for them. We must go and provide aid to that person there,” said the commander of the knights.

nHe led his subordinates towards a place where a single young knight was fighting. He wielded a magic sword whose blade was wreathed in flames, and although he wasn’t quite as powerful as Rita and Saria, he was fighting well against the monsters to help people evacuate.

n“Come, my lady. Now is the chance!” he urged one of the women.

n“Th-thank you. May I ask for your name?” she asked him.

n“I am but a knight who serves the Alcrem house!” he replied. “Now go, quickly!”

nDespite traces of boyishness still remaining on his young face, he spoke with the mannerisms of an older man and wielded his sword like an experienced fighter.

n“He’s the spitting image of Lord Bravatiyu, the ‘Knight of Roaring Flames,’ who was one of the Five Knights of Alcrem!” one of the knights exclaimed.

n“I heard that he’s an illegitimate son of Lord Bravatiyu, but it seems that we misjudged him,” said another.

n“Let’s go! We must support Bravatiyu Junior!” said the captain of the knights.

nThe knight’s name was Bravatiyu Junior. He was the illegitimate son of Bravatiyu, the Knight of Roaring Flames, who had fallen in the battle to retake the former Scylla territory… or at least, that was the public story. In reality, he was Bravatiyu himself.

nHe let out a ferocious roar. “Come and fight me, you filthy monsteeeers!”

nIt was possible that his shouting was an attempt to drown out what the knights behind him were saying about him.

nIn one of the city’s plazas, far away from the nobles’ district and the commercial district, the ‘Furious Mountain Shield General’ Ludario was helping the people evacuate into an underground theater beneath an inn owned by the Jahan house.

n“All this destruction… It seems that Orbaume will need a great deal of time to recover, Ludario,” said Hadros.

n“You must be very calm, given that you are already thinking about the recovery,” Ludario remarked.

nHadros himself was leading the evacuation efforts. He wasn’t strong enough to fight against the monsters, but he was strong enough to survive the current situation as long as he was accompanied by a bodyguard. And with the evacuation efforts being led by a duke in person, they were proceeding smoothly.

nBut because of the monsters continuously appearing from the countless number of gates, the damage was spreading. Up until this point, the monsters had acted on their own decisions immediately after emerging from the gates. They had checked their surroundings and stopped in confusion when they encountered monsters from other gates, buying precious seconds for the city.

nBut Rikudou’s order had caused the monsters to indiscriminately attack everything in sight from the moment they emerged from the gates.

nVandalieu and his companions were minimizing the casualties, but the damage to the city’s buildings and other structures was only growing larger.

nThe stone paving was being trampled and crushed, and the buildings were being toppled and crushed by the monsters’ enormous bodies. Stray projectiles were causing explosions and fires.

n“Duke Jahan! Is the evacuation shelter really safe?!” asked someone from one of the groups of adventurers.

nOrdinarily, this question might be considered insolent.

nBut Hadros glanced at the faces of the adventurers and the girl they were protecting. “Of course!” he said reassuringly. “I swear it on the name of the Jahan house and the god that I worship. This emergency shelter is safe!”

n“… Thank you, Your Excellency. Maxim, take Selen inside,” the adventurer said.

nThis group of adventurers were the A-class adventurer party known as the ‘Thundering Armaments,’ and the girl they were protecting was the Dhampir Selen.

n“Uncle Rembrand… Do your best. Make sure you come back safe!” Selen said.

n“Yeah. Leave it to us!” said the adventurer named Rembrand.

nLeaving Selen in the care of the mage of the party, who had used up all his Mana to get to this place safely, Rembrand and the others threw themselves into the battle once more to protect the people from the monsters.

n“… Are you sure about this?” Ludario asked his master.

n“I was asked to take them in if they evacuated here,” Hadros said. “And A-class adventurers are valuable fighters. Though it would have been better for the Five-colored Blades who brought them here to also fight against the monsters and help with the evacuation.”

n“Is that your friend’s opinion?”

n“It is my own opinion as well.”

nAs master and servant watched while having this conversation, Rembrand and the others were joining the battle.

nA group of six adventurers was fighting against the monsters coming from the gate near the evacuation shelter.

n“We’re the Thundering Armaments! Allow us to help!” said Rembrand.

n“‘Extreme Provocation!’ Thanks a lot! Defeat the monsters while they’re drawn to me!” said a young man, a shield-bearer who seemed to be the leader of the group.

nThe other five members were a swordsman, a scout, a female shield-bearer with an unusual fighting style where she wielded a shield in each hand, a female warrior armed with two swords, and another swordswoman. It was quite the unusual combination.

nBut Rembrand could see that they were indeed skilled. The male shield-bearer stopped a Fire Giant’s kick with his shield, and the swordsman and swordswoman used the opening given to them to sever the Fire Giant’s leg from the back of the knee. Once it fell, they cut off its head.

nThe female shield-bearer was using her dual shields as blunt weapons to attack and defend at the same time, while the female warrior turned out to be a user of four blades, with which she decapitated Minotaur after Minotaur. The young man who was a scout vanished as if by magic, and he was piercing the vital organs of monsters from behind.

nWith Rembrand’s party joining the battle, the monsters were swiftly defeated.

n“Maybe you didn’t need our help,” Rembrand remarked.

n“No, we defeated the monsters quickly thanks to you. We can use the time we saved to defeat other monsters or take a break,” said the young man leading the group.

nHe took a potion from his pocket and began drinking it. It was black-red in color, and Rembrand did find it strange, but there was something else that he was more curious about – the names of this young man and his companions.

n“Could you tell us your names? We just got here from the Farzon Duchy, so we don’t know your names yet,” Rembrand said.

nFrom the battle that had just taken place, Rembrand had learned that this group was at least as capable as his own party, if not more capable; it was strange that he had never heard of such strong individuals.

n“Ah. To tell you the truth, we just arrived here in Orbaume today!” the young man said. “I’m Kasim, the swordsman over there is Fester, and the scout is Zeno. And that’s Kachia-san, Gaol, and Gerda-san.”

n“I see. So are Kachia and Gaol your familiars?” Rembrand asked. “It seems that they are wearing collars, but… they don’t seem to be the collars of the Tamers’ Guild in Orbaume?”

n“Yeah, we were just heading to the Tamers’ Guild, actually! But then this fuss happened while we were on our way, so we didn’t really have time for the Guild’s inspections, did we?!” Kasim exclaimed.

n“It can’t be helped, can it!” Fester agreed loudly. “The streets are filled with monsters, after all! But I’m sure the Guild will overlook it! Don’t you think so?”

nRembrand found Kasim and Fester’s behavior to be a little strange. But he accepted this explanation, thinking that it was a minor detail given the gravity of the current situation.

n“I suppose they will,” he said. “By the way, are you alright? You look rather pale…”

n“We’re fine, just a little tired. Now then, we’re going to go and defeat the monsters coming from that gate over there, so can we leave this place to you? Alright, thanks. Let’s see each other again alive,” Zeno said, forcibly cutting the conversation short and hurrying away with his companions from Rembrand and his party.

nIt would be troublesome if Rembrand were to learn that they had mutated into Dark Humans, or that Gerda was a Zombie, and they wouldn’t be able to carry out the aid that Vandalieu had asked them to.

n“But the Thundering Armaments are a B-class adventurer party, right? Being called skilled by them means we’ve gotten pretty strong!” Fester said excitedly.

n“Fester, it was years ago when the Thundering Armaments were B-class. They became an A-class party while we lived on the other side of the mountain range,” said Kasim.

n“Maybe it was a bad idea for me to come…” said Gaol.

n“Don’t worry. It seems like they don’t know about Empusas, but nobody’s in a state to be worried about things like that,” said Zeno.

n“Because Kasim-kun and the rest of you mutated into Dark Humans, it’s easier for me to blend in with you, since I’m a Zombie,” said Gerda.

nAnd so, Kasim and his companions, who actually weren’t even registered at any Adventurers’ Guild, headed towards the next battlefield.

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