MTLNOVEL Ch. 87
Chapter 87
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Hearing someone scream, Rifiris regained a bit of consciousness.
She had been lost in a dreamlike focus on Angel Summoning, but now the events before her began to register.
(...The Demon King is here.)
A boiling surge of rage welled up inside her.
She had to kill that being. It had to be destroyed here and now.
However, despite the impulse, her body wouldn't move. It was as if she had become a device for summoning angels.
From the start, it had been an unreasonable summoning.
Using the entire Holy Capital as the Ritual Site, sacrificing the lives of most of its inhabitants to summon a transcendent Archangel.
Such a spell, far beyond her means, had long since gone out of control.
(...Am I going to die like this?)
After defeating the Demon King, the Hero would have no more purpose.
Even if she fulfilled her role, it wouldn't be strange for her to die right after.
The God of this world seemed perfectly fine with letting such things happen.
(I didn't want to sacrifice tens of thousands of lives. But I had to. I absolutely had to kill the Demon King.)
Rifiris felt herself being pulled back toward Angel Summoning. The Archangel was powerful, but a complete summoning took a long time. It was originally a summoning far beyond her capacity, so she wasn't even sure it could be completed properly.
After so many sacrifices, it might end with only a half-summoned Archangel.
No, she couldn't let it end that way.
No matter what, the Demon King had to be defeated.
"......Hey, you, what's your name?"
The Demon King spoke to Rifiris.
A bewilderingly gentle voice. As if reuniting with an old friend after a long time.
"Can you hear my voice? Hmm, maybe not......"
The Demon King entered Rifiris's field of vision.
With murky white hair and pale purple skin, she gave an unhealthy impression, yet her face was well-shaped, resembling a cute girl. Despite wearing a crimson robe typical of a mage, the single sword at her waist looked a bit out of place.
"......Anyway, I guess I have to stop the Choir. Marionette... might not work. Seems like they're protected by holy attributes... What a hassle. Might as well kill them. They're part of my revenge anyway."
Countless Black Blades floated around the Demon King. The blades passed right over Rifiris's head.
Immediately after, came the sound of humans collapsing.
The Choir's singing stopped. Rifiris could move her body again.
"......Demon King, kill."
Rifiris stood up and, knowing it was reckless, charged at the Demon King.
"Calm down. I want to talk a bit first. Marionette... oh, it worked. Maybe because the Choir's song stopped?"
Rifiris lost control of her body again.
"I'm Yuurai. What's your name?"
"......Demon King, kill."
"Are you a broken robot or something? Is that all you can say?"
(Wait, did she just say robot? There aren't any robots in this world, right?)
"Demon King, kill."
Rifiris found herself intrigued by the Demon King. But all that came out of her mouth were violent words.
"Do you lose yourself when you see the Demon King? I feel kind of unsettled when I look at you too."
"Demon King, kill."
"......Yeah, I guess that's what this is. What should I do? We can't even talk like this... I want to weaken the effects of the Blessed Child or Hero or whatever... Maybe this will work? Perception Disruption—to make her perceive me as just an ordinary person, not the Demon King."
The Demon King placed her right hand on Rifiris's head.
As expected, the Demon King was probably using Dark Magic. Rifiris had Darkness Resistance, though...
"Ugh...!"
For a moment, she was hit by a sharp headache. But immediately after, her mind cleared, and the urge to kill the Demon King faded.
"How's that? Feeling calmer?"
"......What did you do? That was Dark Magic, right? It shouldn't work well on me..."
"Oh, you can talk properly now? Good. Should I release the Marionette Magic too?"
Control of her body returned to Rifiris.
(Why did she release the spell? Wasn't she here to kill me?)
Confused, Rifiris saw the Demon King smiling warmly.
"Even if Dark Magic doesn't work well, your Magical Energy is only in the tens of thousands, right? There's no way you can resist my power, which exceeds two million."
"O-over two million!? What the hell! That's totally cheating!"
"Seriously. It's not like I wanted to become this strong either."
The Demon King shrugged with a wry smile. Despite being the dreaded Demon King, she looked like an ordinary girl.
"Who... are you? Are you really the Demon King?"
"The title is Demon King. But inside, I'm just a little girl."
"Little girl..."
"So hey, just checking. Do you know what Japan is?"
Japan. Hearing the name of her nostalgic homeland made Rifiris's heart leap.
"W-why do you know about Japan!?"
"That reaction... you really are from Japan, huh? Me too. One day I just found myself here."
"......You mean, you reincarnated too? From the same Japan?"
"That's right."
"Judging by your appearance... you came here way before me...?"
"No, same time. I'm a Monster, so I haven't aged the way I look."
"How do you know it was the same time?"
"Well, it's a bit of a long story. More importantly, we need to deal with that Angel first. Can't you do something about it? The Choir's stopped, and you've regained consciousness. Can't it just disappear on its own?"
"......It won't disappear on its own. If anything, now that neither I nor the Choir are involved, the Archangel will go berserk. It'll take all the souls in this town...!"
"......That's bad. Don't you know any way to stop it?"
Rifiris shook her head.
"I don't know. I just summoned it. A being that powerful... I can't control it anymore."
"Coming here first might've been a mistake..."
"Hey, please! You're strong, right!? Even if it's by force, stop that Archangel quickly! I don't want any more people to die!"
Tears welled up naturally.
Though her mind had been warped by her instincts as a Hero, now that she could think clearly, the idea of taking tens of thousands of lives was unbearable.
"I want to stop it too... but that thing's way too strong to handle right away..."
The Archangel's scream echoed. Yuurai grimaced. Then came another massive crashing sound.
"So noisy... My head hurts... It's even stronger now... I wonder if Fia is still alive..."
"Hey! If there's anything I can do, I'll do it! Please, stop that thing... Stop it...!"
"......You're the one who summoned it, so you should be the one to take responsibility."
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But... I can't do anything anymore...!"
The Demon King let out a light sigh.
"The Church people really do nothing but mess things up. Hmm... what can I do... my full power... ah, maybe...?"
The Demon King seemed to realize something.
Is there hope? Of the seventy thousand people in the Holy Capital, more than half might already be dead. Still, Rifiris fervently wished the remaining half were alive.
"Demon King, please! Help us!"
A Hero begging the Demon King for help. It was truly mismatched and absurd, but Rifiris had no choice but to cling to her.