Published at 8th of February 2021 11:58:45 AM
Chapter 251
Raining Fire
Putting Rodd-sama aside, it would be dangerous to leave Mei and Alea on their own .
Claire-sama and I decided that we needed to go, even if we’d be targeted from behind . The moment we turned away to leave,
“Why not just watch over the fight between Rates and Rodd-sama? So long as you don’t try anything, I won’t either . ”
The Demon Queen said something strange .
“You think we’d trust those words?”
“It’ll just be some entertainment, Claire-sama . Besides, it’s just on my whims that I haven’t personally gone after your trump card . Or… do you have some way to break through my barrier without your trump card?”
“Why you…!”
Claire-sama was visibly a mix of anger and hesitation .
I’m sure she wanted to rush over to her daughters as soon as possible, but if she were to do that the Demon Queen’s attention may also shift to them .
“Claire-sama, let’s do as the fiend says for now . ”
“Rei…”
“Let’s believe in our daughters, and Rodd-sama . ”
“…”
Digging her teeth into her lips, she silently lowered her magic wand .
“Perhaps I’ll begin by destroying that nuisance of a toy . ”
Laughing through a human-like mouth on his bee head, his mantis-like arms stretched toward the Magi Shibley .
“No you don’t!”
“I won’t allow it!”
In unison, Mei and Alea readied their weapons .
However, a single figure stepped forward from behind them .
“It’s not time for you two to step up . Leave this to me . ”
It was the handsome ore-sama with spiky hair―Rodd-sama .
Rodd-sama held a longsword in one hand .
Looking closely, the sword also had a magic gem inserted, it likely doubled as his wand .
“Come!”
In response to Rodd-sama’s sharp shout, an army of flame soldiers appeared .
Though his magical aptitude was average, his true worth lay in his exceptional magic capacity .
As he had previously displayed in his fight with Misha during the entrance exams for the Academy’s Order, overwhelming his opponent with quantity was his go-to .
Minions―the soldiers created by fire magic were slowly increasing in number .
“Hmm… That small sword of yours and those insignificant underlings have no chance of even scratching me, you know?”
“You think so?”
Immediately converting words to action, Rodd-sama left an afterimage as he closed in .
The next time I saw him, he was already swinging his longsword down on Rates .
Though not quite as fast as Dorothea, it was exceedingly fast .
However―
“Hmph, did it not turn out as I said?”
A sharp metallic sound rang as Rodd-sama’s sword seemed to bounce off Rates’ skin .
Though the blow did leave a mark, it was horribly shallow .
“Would you like to be the first to go?”
Rates used both of his sickles to assault Rodd-sama .
Sliding his longsword to match the trajectory of the attacks, Rodd-sama aimed to parry the attacks rather than accept them head-on .
“It’s something I picked up from Yuu . Even I know I can’t leave everything to brute force . ”
With a fearless smile, Rodd-sama launched himself off of Rates’ arms, which were now out of position . Flipping himself while in the air, he aimed for Rates’ neck .
“Hmph . How childish . ”
Without even bothering to correct his position, Rates calmly accepted Rodd-sama’s sword with his throat .
With a dull sound, his sword was repelled .
“Damn, your skin really is tough . This sword is known for its sharpness back in the Kingdom . ”
“Should you wish to scar my body, you should bring both sword and skill on par with the emperor’s . ”
Taking the opportunity at Rodd-sama’s landing, Rates used the front legs of his bug-like lower body to sweep the area .
Rodd-sama also parried these strikes .
“The weak are such a bother . The truly strong have no use for technique and strategy . ”
“Hey I’m with you . This kinda thing really isn’t for me, but I don’t have much say here . ”
Rodd-sama momentarily moved back to create some space .
They had only exchanged a couple of blows, but Rodd-sama was already visibly sweating .
It goes to show how much concentration Rodd-sama needed to maintain in his tense exchange with Rates .
“Is that all that you wanted to try? If so, I’ll go ahead and kill you . ”
“Hey hey, isn’t it a bit too quick for that? Let’s enjoy the fight a bit more . ”
“Unfortunately I prefer taking things easy . I’d like to finish the job and take a nap . ”
Having said that, Rates yawned .
“You’re pretty different from Plato, hey? Though he had a twisted attitude, he was pretty serious about everything he did . ”
“Though he was a bit crude, he was earnest . His loyalty to the Demon Queen and his longing for nihility were many times greater than most . . ”
“And you’re different?”
“Me? As for me, I’ve lived too long to obsess over either . I don’t carry the same passion as Plato . ”
“It seems there’s all sorts amongst the demons as well . ”
Even while keeping his guard up, Rodd-sama laughed curiously .
“Well then, that should be enough chatting . I’ll kill you now . ”
“Sure, if you can . ”
Rates very simply ran toward Rodd-sama .
Similar to the Pope’s failed assassination attempt, it was a simple but heavy strike .
Due to his large body, he wasn’t particularly dodge .
Unfortunately, if Rodd-sama were to dodge, the Magi Shibley would be destroyed . That was simply not an option .
“Uooooah!”
Rodd-sama braced himself to directly intercept Rates’ heavy strike .
With his longsword fixed upright to accept the attack, he was pushed backward .
“That’s not enough, you know . I have many hands and legs at my disposal . ”
“Guhh…!”
Rodd-sama’s body was sent flying backwards .
Though he had narrowly defended against the initial strike, Rates’ front legs had swept him away .
While it was a simple attack, it had the force of a head-on collision with a truck .
“Gahh… cough…”
While coughing blood, Rodd-sama tried to force himself up .
However, his longsword had already broken into two .
“You held out comparatively well . However this is the end of that, now then, let’s get back to the matter at hand . ”
Rates concentrated his sights onto the Magi Shibley .
Mei and Alea stood in the way .
“Please run, Mei, Alea!”
Claire-sama raised her voice to a shriek .
However, the two stubbornly refused to run .
“That is admirable for ones as young as you . However, that will only shorten your lives . ”
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Rates calmy approached the two, raising his arms .
“Hey now, didn’t I say that I’m your opponent?”
“!?”
A sudden explosion .
Rates’ body was blown away, travelling a couple of meters .
The explosion was well directed so Mei and Alea were unharmed .
“You again? To think you were still alive . ”
“That wasn’t nearly enough to kill me . There’s no way I could bear to show the woman I love such a pitiful sight . ”
Rodd-sama gave a smile that wreaked of manly pride .
“However, what can you do? Though that spell knocked me back, it did not injure―”
“Well yeah, I didn’t expect it to . ”
Interrupting Rates’ words, Rodd-sama shrugged .
“Then how about we multiply that by a hundred?”
“You really haven’t realized it yet?”
“Why you, what are you trying to say?”
In the face of Rates’ puzzled look, Rodd-sama pointed up .
“…?”
Once Rates looked up at the sky― .
“Wha!?”
In that space there were several hundreds, no thousands of minions floating .
“Y-you, you were just buying time!?”
“Yeah, pretty much . ”
Showing the minions early, he showed them to be ineffective . Keeping Rates’ attention with melee combat, he had continued to mass produce minions in the sky .
This had been Rodd-sama’s aim from the beginning .
“The truly strong have no use for technique and strategy? You’ve got it wrong . The strong who make use of technique and strategy, are truly strong . ”
“As if I’ll let you!”
In a panic, Rates made a rush for Rodd-sama who was the caster .
However, as previously mentioned, his large body was by no means quick .
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“Fire Squall . ”
Rodd-sama swung down his arm, which had been pointing at the sky, to now point at Rates .
The countless minions high in the sky rapidly began their descent .
“Uooooohh!?”
Flaming soldiers poured down from the sky like rain, exploding on contact .
While each on its own was only on the higher end of a regular explosion, the quantity spoke for itself .
Then upon further inspection, it seemed that all of the explosions were aimed at the smaller scars that Rodd-sama had previously made with his sword .
“To think something such trifle… magic as trifle as this could…!”
Even Rates was forced into a defensive position in this scenario . However, Rodd-sama continued to rain down his minions without a care . ”
“Guaaaahh…!”
Rates’ scream eventually disappeared within the barrage of explosions .
Even then, the minions continued their assault for another couple minutes .
Once the fire and smoke had cleared, not a trace of Rates’ body remained .
“… Phew… I’m exhausted…”
As expected, the attack had drained a lot of his energy . Rodd-sama collapsed and sat where he just stood .
“Rodd-sama, you did it!”
“As expected of you, Rodd-sama!”
The twins ran toward Rodd-sama and hugged him .
“Heh, how was it? Was I cool?”
“Yeah, about cool enough to be second to Claire-okaasama!”
“Just about as cool as Rei-okaasama!”
“… Heh, is that so . ”
Having received the disappointingly specific praise, Rodd-sama gave a wry smile .
However, that face instantly stiffened .
“What!?”
“You let your guard down, young one . ”
Just as a hoarse voice resounded from next to the Magi Shibley, a grotesque metallic lustre was regenerating before our eyes .
“Did I not say? The truly strong have no use for technique and strategy . I am but one of the weak who relies on strategy . ”
With those words, Rates swung his sickles at the Magi Shibley .