The Inherited Sword

“What is wrong? Surely you haven’t grown timid?”

Vrisera spoke quietly. The blade of her leveled sword emitted violent sparks, crackling with energy.

Ultimate Technique: Magi Breaker.

An absolute finishing move that can neither be blocked nor dodged—so that’s it. Even with my Lucifer’s Shield, there was no guarantee I could stop it. My mana barrier boasted a defense that could be called absolute against ordinary opponents, but the person before me was, for all intents and purposes, a Demon Lord. Against their ultimate technique, I had no assurance that a shield born of my mana would hold.

And—if it failed to hold, I would be sliced in two.

“Then, there’s only one way…”

It was a dangerous gamble, but I had a sufficient chance of winning. The tension between us rose to its breaking point.

And then,

“…Here I come.”

Vrisera moved. Her pitch-black steed galloped at a supernatural speed. The Demon Lord closed in with the momentum of a fired arrow.

“Flasher Bomb!”

I unleashed a barrage of countless light orbs. There were about five hundred of them. I lowered the rank of the magic to play for volume.

“Too soft!”

Vrisera’s sword, as it intercepted, was truly a black flash. With a slashing speed comparable to light itself, she sliced through every single light orb in an instant.

“This woman…!”

I had seen many masters of the blade back when I was a human Hero, but she was in a different league. She was on a different dimension—.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

With a soul-shaking battle cry, Vrisera sliced through the final light orb. Her claim of being able to cut through any magic was neither a lie nor a bluff.

“You’re too slow, novice Demon Lord!”

Rider and horse, acting as one, Vrisera closed the gap with a speed that could be mistaken for teleportation.

“You won’t be in time to chant your next spell. It’s my victory.”

“True, I won’t be in time,” I nodded.

However, it wasn’t a problem.

“Using those Flasher Bombs just now, I was able to observe your movements thoroughly.”

And it was exactly as I had predicted. Therefore, her next move would be:

—A feint each to the left and right.

—Immediately after, a small feint to the right.

—From there, a downward thrust to the left side.

I predicted the entire sequence of movements and leapt to the right in advance.

“What…!?”

Vrisera’s slash tore through empty air, and—

“Aqua Edge!”

A blade of water unleashed as a counter sliced across her chest.

“Gu… uuuu…”

Black armor cracked, and fresh blood splattered.

“Y-you… how…!?”

Vrisera let out a pained cry and retreated.

“How could you move to where I was going—even faster than I could move!?”

“Because it was a movement I knew.”

I stared Vrisera down without letting my guard down and spoke.

“Zylas-style Basic Maneuver: Lightning Raid—your movement was the perfect textbook example of it.”

The number of feints, the timing, the trajectory of the movement—all of it. It was exactly the movement I had learned back when I was human.

“I realized it in the middle of our fight. Movements far too similar to the Zylas-style—no, that’s wrong. The Zylas-style is your movement itself.”

Therefore, it was easy to predict.

“…So the swordsmanship I taught that boy has taught me back, has it?”

Muttering, Vrisera gave a faint smile.

“If I hadn’t known the Zylas-style, I might not have been able to block that just now.”

“…No, it was magnificent.”

Vrisera let out a small sigh.

“So Zylas continued to polish it, did he? The sword I taught him.”

“…Yes. From ‘Sword Saint’ Zylas to those who followed. Even now, in the human world, your sword lives on.”

“Teaching him was a mere whim to pass the time.”

A slightly softer ring mixed into Vrisera’s voice.

“…It isn’t a bad feeling. Realizing the growth of a ‘disciple’.”

A disciple, huh. I remembered Lyle. I wanted to indulge in such sentimentality too. I wanted to entrust everything to him. That wish will never be fulfilled.

“…No, this is no time for sentiment.”

I gave a wry smile beneath my mask. That was something I had already severed. It was something that was already over.

“Right now, I have—”

I looked back toward Stella and the others. Yes, right now, I have people to protect.

“I’ll admit I was bested just now. But—I can still fight.”

Vrisera leveled her sword from horseback once more.

“We continue, Demon Lord of this era.”

“Fine by me.”

I braced myself, remaining vigilant.

—Then, at that moment.

“You’ve been chatting far too long. This is not a match we are engaged in. It is a slaughter on a battlefield.”

Estram the “Magical Emperor” was floating far above in the sky.

“Roar, my Blood Rod—”

Estram brandished his staff. But the direction he pointed was not toward me.

“You—”

The targets were Stella and the others.

“What are you…!?”

“I’ve noticed. You’ve been fighting while worrying about your subordinate demons this entire time. I thought you were conserving your maximum firepower spells—but I was wrong.”

Estram smirked from beneath his hood.

“It’s because you fear that by destroying this world, your subordinates will be harmed.”

“So what if I do…!”

Surely, this guy wouldn’t…

“Then I shall turn those precious subordinates to ash.”

As I feared, he intended to target Stella and the rest!

“Stop!”

“My magic, charged through a long incantation, versus your near-instant spells—you can guess which has the superior power, can’t you?”

The jewel at the tip of Estram’s staff emitted a blinding light.

“Burn to ash—Mega Fire!”

A total of about twenty fireballs erupted. There was no time to chant high-level attack or defense spells.

“Damn it…!”

I intercepted with Ragna Bomb. Simultaneously, I deployed Rune Shield to protect Stella and the others from the aftershocks.

“It’s heavy—”

My Ragna Bomb was being pushed back by the Mega Fire. Estram’s mana was indeed immense. While my level and stats were superior, he was attacking with his maximum mana. In contrast, because I had chanted my spell instinctively, I couldn’t manifest sufficient firepower. Collectively, his firepower was superior—.

“Ugh… uuuu…”

The black light bolts I unleashed were being pushed back by Estram’s cluster of fireballs.

“Now, it’s the end.”

“Fried-sama!”

Stella’s voice overlapped with Estram’s declaration.

“Please… win.”

I could see her face—anxious, yet staring straight at me.

“Stella…!”

I remembered the events in the Duchy. Stella’s past. How she had clung to me like an abandoned puppy.

“—Leave it to me.”

I smiled beneath my mask. Yes, as a King. I will protect them—.

In that moment, a faint radiance leaked from my chest.

“What is this—!?”

My heart began to race at an abnormal rate. This sensation—surely, it couldn’t be…!

Simultaneously, the cluster of Mega Fire fireballs that had been pushing back my Ragna Bomb wavered. The pressure of his attack eased slightly. The power of the Mega Fire was weakening—.

“Now…!”

I poured in every bit of mana I had. My Ragna Bomb began to push back the Mega Fire.

“Impossible! Why is my magic being…!?”

Estram’s voice rang out in shock. The overflowing black radiance scattered the crimson fireballs, and then,

“Shatter, Demon Lord!”

It swallowed Estram whole.