Woooo—
A huge blue whale leaped up from the carved-open sea.
It didn’t look to be alive and well. This gigantic sea beast that had once wandered all over the ocean in search of its prey and had even devoured monsters had now lost all sense of self after being contaminated by a Demon King’s dark power. The thing that was now charging at them was nothing more than a hunk of rotten meat wrapped up in the hide of a blue whale.
However, its humongous size was still the same as it had been in life. To those on the Laversia, it looked as if a ship of comparable size to their own flagship was leaping at them.
The people behind Eugene let out cries of surprise, but his expression was as calm as ever.
When it came to large monsters, he had already seen far too many of them. Raizakia, whom he had fought last time, was even larger than this whale. And this whale was only as big as a single leg of Kamash, the chieftain of the Giant Tribe whom he had slain three hundred years ago.
The barrier that had been protecting the fleet disappeared as if it had been switched off. Immediately after this, Eugene kicked off the figurehead and leaped into the sky. Compared to the enormous shadow cast by the whale leaping at them, Eugene looked like a small black dot.
At that moment, light burst forth from the Holy Sword. The whale’s shadow completely disappeared, and the whole world was illuminated for an instant.
Riiiiiip!
The whale’s body was torn into dozens of pieces, its contaminated blood spilling all over the sea, but the golden waves didn’t seem tainted in the slightest.
Eugene flew past the dismembered whale. Coming to a halt high up in the sky, he gazed at what lay ahead.
He saw fog advancing towards them. And inside of that fog…. Eugene narrowed his eyes as he peered into the fog’s depth.
“Hah!” He let out a scornful laugh as his lips twitched in a smile.
He had spotted an ugly-looking pirate ship. Its jolly roger bore the image of an upside-down goat’s skull. With one pair of horns that curved outwards and one that thrust straight up, this upside-down, twin-horned mountain goat skull was the sigil that the Demon King of Fury had once used three hundred years ago.
There was only one crazy bitch who would so proudly hang up a flag like that.
Iris, the new Demon King of Fury.
The moment that Eugene spotted the pirate ship, Iris had also caught sight of Eugene. A pair of huge red eyes opened up in the midst of that black fog. The pupils of these red eyes were dyed a murky black.
These were the Demoneyes of Darkness. This ability, along with Iris herself, had evolved with the power of the Demon King.
The moment those eyes shone with light, the sea around the pirate ship turned black. The power of those Demoneyes was being spread across the whole surface of the sea.
Craaaaaash!
Ten ships burst out from the darkness, landing with a loud splash.
Eugene let out another scornful laugh at this sight. He would call them ships only because there was no better word for them, but the things that had appeared out of the darkness weren’t actual ships.
First of all, they were large, far too large. Several times larger than the largest of all ships, they were as big as a regular castle. If one wanted to exaggerate a little, they were as big as a mountain.
Each of them appeared to have been created by smashing dozens of ships into pieces with dark power before mixing those pieces together with living flesh. Those dozens of ships had been formed into the bones of these new creations, and then the flesh of sea animals and humans had been draped onto the wooden skeletons. With even more dark power infused into these monstrosities, they had been revived as bizarre demonic beasts that could no longer be called ships.
On top of each of these ten gigantic demonic beasts, there was also a new breed of monsters that, in a similar fashion to these “ships,” could no longer be called humans. Their appearance… looked as if a child had tried to make humans out of clay as part of a joke. They were only alive and moving because dark power was acting as a replacement for their lifeforce; if not for that, their forms were so misshapen that it seemed impossible for them to stay alive and well.
This was the fate of the thousands of pirates who had been under Iris’ command.
“It seems that I’m not that good a sculptor,” Iris admitted with a smirk as she idly crossed her legs in her seat on one of the ships.
With her Demoneyes floating in the sky, Iris was able to observe the entirety of her puny enemies.
Facing her was a fleet of a hundred ships. Among all these ships, the only one that caught Iris’ attention was the leading flagship, the Laversia.
Iris encouraged herself, “But even if you’re not too good at something, that just means you should practice more. Isn’t that right? After all, I’ll have plenty of materials to practice with starting from today.”
With a giggle, Iris raised both hands into the air.
Roooooar!
The sea, which had been dyed a pitch black, surged upwards along with the movement of Iris’ hands. It appeared as if an entire patch of sea had been transformed into a larger copy of Iris’ hands.
“I’m still not quite used to this weapon,” Anise muttered to herself.
Bam!
A falling chunk of flesh from the dead whale was struck by Anise’s flail and sent flying.
Floating back down onto the figurehead, Eugene glanced at Ansie and said, “I didn’t throw that at you on purpose.”
“You’ve always been sloppy when it comes to the finer details,” Anise said with a laugh as she rested the heavy iron ball, the head of her flail, onto the figurehead. “No matter what, I think I still prefer the mace.”
[In that case, shall I come out, Sister?] Kristina offered.
“Alright,” Anise agreed with a wry smile, showing no sign of refusal.
The Saint for this battle, no, for this era, should and would be Kristina Rogeris. Anise had no intention of stealing or usurping Kristina’s role. That said, it didn’t mean Anise would stay out of the fight altogether.
Their consciousnesses swapped places. While sensing Anise’s concern and affection for her, Kristina tightened her grip on her flail. There was already a thick smell of blood in the air… and she could now see a fleet that appeared to be made of rotten meat sailing towards them.
Compared to the Demon King’s Army ahead of them, their own forces seemed small and weak. Although their fleet was larger in number, the individual sizes of their ships were much smaller. But Kristina couldn’t afford to pay any attention to this. Instead, Kristina kept her eyes on Eugene’s back as he again flew up into the sky.
Kristina’s gaze wasn’t the only one glued to Eugene’s back. The Slad Mercenary Company’s ship, the Formeri, was sticking closely to Laversia’s rear. Dozens of priests and paladins were also gazing up at Eugene’s back from Formeri.
After taking a deep breath, Kristina declared, “A lot of people are going to die.”
Her quiet voice managed to reach not only the clergy aboard the Formeri but also the rest of the fleet.
“But instead of looking back, we need to focus on what lies ahead,” Kristina reminded her listeners.
If their opponent wasn’t a Demon King and this battlefield wasn’t one with a Demon King present, the priests could have allowed their focus to widen slightly.
However, this was indeed a battle against a Demon King. As such, the priests’ focus had to become infinitely narrower. On this battlefield, the only two things that the Saint and the priests needed to pay attention to were the Hero and the Demon King. They couldn’t afford to look back at the rest of the fleet.
The Laversia would continue to sail forward, and the Formeri, acting as the support, would also sail alongside the Laversia. But apart from those two, the dozens of other ships in their fleet would be staying behind to fight against the mountain-sized demonic beasts and the now-inhuman pirates.
Kristina took another breath and continued, “As such… Sir Eugene, you should also keep looking ahead.”
The barrier of divine power had been removed. In this dire battle, continuing to protect the entire fleet would be too much of a waste of her divine power. Even so, Kristina still left a minimal layer of protection for them. The swirling sea of light gradually diminished until the only remaining golden waves were pooled within the small areas where the fleet’s ships were floating.
“Please open up the way ahead for everyone,” Kristina prayed.
This whole scene — if you could look down on it from somewhere high above — would look as if there were dozens of sparkling dots of light floating atop the pitch-black sea.
The waves of light would allow their fleet’s ships to move quickly, fluidly, and agilely. The magic engine attached to each of their ships gave them access to more maneuverability than manpower alone could offer, and the winds created by Tempest and Sienna would add even more acceleration.
“It is an honor,” Maise said as he gazed at Sienna’s back.
In this battle, control of the fleet’s magical defenses would be handled by Maise.
“Someone like me, a newbie who has just managed to reach the Eighth Circle…,” Maise paused, almost overwhelmed. “I can’t believe I am actually standing on the same battlefield as Lady Sienna.”
Maise’s Signature spell was called Battleship. It was a spell that allowed him to arm a ship with various enhancements.
Usually, Maise’s Signature was used in combination with the Laversia, a partnership where the Royal Family's strongest servant enhanced the Shimuin Kingdom’s strongest warship. It was because the union of the two was seen to be powerful that Maise, as the Commander of the Court Wizards, had been personally assigned to the subjugation expedition.
During the journey, Sienna had adjusted Maise’s Signature spell. As a result, it was no longer restricted to just the Laversia. Instead, the entire fleet could now be covered by Maise’s spell.
But as a result, the consumption of mana had also increased exponentially. Fortunately, the spell was still viable after attaching all the battle wizards in the Slad Mercenary Company to supply Maise with mana. It would have been difficult for Maise to last even an hour on his own.
“Make sure not to get carried away and advance too far forward,” Sienna warned Maise without turning her head.
Crackle Cracracrackle!
An overlapping mass of Circles churned within her fully expanded Eternal Hole. The violently swirling mana poured out from her chest and into Frost, which she was holding with both hands.
Yet Sienna still had some attention to spare, “If you get too close, you might get swept away by my magic.”
Everything that could be done for the forces assigned to cover their rear had been done. Sienna had strengthened the refuge ship’s barrier, adjusted Maise’s Signature, and even prepared a technique that would allow the other wizards to combine their strengths.
“Also, if you go any further ahead…,” Sienna muttered with narrowed eyes.
There was a staticky sensation in the air. It felt as if her magical senses were strangely off-tilt. This was… something familiar.
Most magic didn’t solely rely on the wizard’s own mana reserves. A wizard’s mana and their Circles were only the first step in casting a spell. During the following steps, the spell could only be fully manifested in conjunction with the natural mana in the air.
But something ahead of them was strange. Even in a devildom, mana still existed. No matter how strong a Demon King’s dark power might be, there was nowhere in this world where mana simply did not exist.
The only exceptions to this rule were places “not of this world.” Like the place Molon frequently visited, the other side of the Lehainjar. The dimensional gap where Raizakia had been sealed had also been one such place.
Finally, there was also… the precipice of Babel, where they had fought the Demon King of Incarceration.
Wherever the Demon King had spread his chains, which were part of Incarceration’s unique ability, magic didn’t work properly. All of the mana in the air had been tied up by those chains, and any magic circles that Sienna had constructed disappeared the moment that they touched one of those chains, with all of their mana getting absorbed.
Sienna had created the Eternal Hole in the first place to fight against the Demon King of Incarceration. If she wasn’t able to use the mana in the air, then, as a wizard, she would just have to train her own internal reserves. She had also learned how to manifest her magic solely through her own will, without having to draw on the outside world.
“...apart from me, no one else will be able to use magic,” Sienna revealed.
It was thanks to her past that Sienna could be sure of this assertion. The sense of ‘suppression’ wasn’t as powerful when she had fought against the Demon King of Incarceration. However, Sienna could feel a similarity between the Demon King of Incarceration’s suppression and what lay ahead.
Could the Demon King of Incarceration be involving himself in this battle? No, it was a long-established fact that magic could not be used in the Solgalta Sea. If the reason why magic couldn’t be used here had something to do with the Demon King of Incarceration, that meant the Demon King of Incarceration must have had ties to this sea in the distant past.
Sienna’s lips twitched and rose into a smirk.
How great was this? Not only would she be able to kill Iris, her hated enemy, but she would also be able to test the power of her Eternal Hole against Incercaration’s unique ability.
Groooooan!
In the distance, Iris murmured, “Have they arrived?”
Meanwhile, exceptionally strong tides of mana whirled around Sienna like a typhoon. Maise couldn’t help but bow his head in awe as he watched Sienna slowly advance forward.
“They’re here,” Iris said with a giggle as she got to her feet.
The fleet of demonic beasts began to advance. Only two ships on the other side sailed out to meet them. The two ships were so small compared to the fleet Iris had created that it looked like the two ships would be crushed as soon as the two fleets collided.
But no, instead, it would be her side that would be crushed. Iris smiled as she had this thought.
People like ‘them’ could not be stopped by the size of her fleet or her monsters. On this battlefield, the only one who could block them and drive them to despair was the Demon King herself.
The Demon King of Fury stepped out onto the deck. The one hundred and three dark elves bent their knees as they bowed to the Demon King. They had all been granted new strength due to Iris’ dark power. They all revered Iris, their Princess who had ascended to become the new Demon King of Fury.
Sephia slowly walked up to drape a jacket over Iris’ shoulders.
Carmen looked up at Eugene’s back as he stood in the sky. She recalled the words that he had whispered earlier.
I’m going to go and kill that Demon King.
In this day and age, who would dare to say something like that with any sincerity?
“If we are victorious here today…,” Carmen began.
Cla-clank.
The pocket watch Carmen was holding in her right hand transformed into a gauntlet.
She was wearing Heaven Genocide on her right hand, and the Gauntlet of the Demon-Dragon was on her left hand.
While clenching both fists tightly, Carmen muttered, “...the way people talk about the Lionhearts will change. It will no longer be Vermouth’s Lionhearts, but instead Eugene’s Lionhearts.”
Eugene smiled wryly as he heard Carmen’s words. Sienna, who came flying up from their rear, arrived by Laversia’s mast.
Whooooosh!
The gust of wind that arrived alongside Sienna pushed the Laversia forward even faster. The Laversia accelerated as she dove in between the fleet of demonic beasts. But these ships of rotten flesh didn’t move to block Laversia, which had been wrapped in a layer of light.
This was because they were following Iris’ commands. The fleet of demonic beasts was advancing in search of other prey.
So, for now, the Laversia was able to sail forward without any fear. But those who dared to shine so brightly in this devildom, the territory of a Demon King, were the prey that Iris needed to deal with personally. No, not prey, but living sacrifices to be offered as a celebration for the second coming of Fury.
Her father had been merciful. He had also loved his family. So, Iris wanted to emulate her father’s kindness.
That was why Iris smiled and told her dark elves, “You may have the rest.”
They were the family who had stayed with her for the past three hundred years. These one hundred and three dark elves deserved to share in Iris’ future glory, so Iris would allow them to partake in the sweet, fatty game that would be hunted in the upcoming festivities.
Of the humans approaching them in those two ships, there were only a few standout characters. On the flagship was one Carmen Lionheart, whom Iris had briefly encountered in Kiehl. And on the following ship was the Second-ranked Mercenary King, Ivic Slad.
‘Could Ortus be staying with the reserves?’ Iris wondered. ‘How stupid, what’s the point of dividing their forces like that?’
They were all going to die anyway, so they should at least make the most of their futile attempt.
Iris giggled as she stalked forward. She casually began floating up into the sky. As Iris flew into the air, she looked down at all that lay below.
With a flash, there was a sudden burst of light. Iris’ lips twitched slightly. Even as the light pierced through the darkness surrounding her, Iris saw no need to try and avoid it. Because the darkness that appeared wherever her gaze was directed could easily swallow up the light.
“Even though you’ve become a Demon King, your actual talent seems to be the same as ever?” Eugene commented mockingly.
Before Iris had even noticed it, he had appeared in the skies opposite her.
“You don’t seem any different from when I saw you in Kiehl,” Eugene observed dismissively.
This was a lie.
Eugene could sense it from the moment they had come face to face. A dark power so oppressive it felt like he was about to lose consciousness. Even the intimidation that he had felt when facing Raizakia couldn’t compare to this. It reminded him of three hundred years ago, back when he had faced the original Demon Kings.
Fwooosh!
Behind Eugene’s back, the wings of Prominence unfurled.
This was a harsh environment for magic usage. However, it was still much better than the other side of the Lehainjar or the dimensional rift. And the Ring Flame Formula that was based on the Eternal Hole had allowed him to cast Prominence even in those places.
Eugene had also reached the Seventh Star of the White Flame Formula. Now, even as a joke, Eugene’s flames could no longer be described as white. They had transformed into a purple shade that was close to black.
Observing Eugene in his current state, Iris giggled, “You don’t look much like the Hero, child.”
Iris was saying this sincerely.
With that appearance, along with that mana and killing intent, every aspect of Eugene was different from Vermouth. Vermouth — that inhuman bastard — even though she didn’t want to admit it had an appearance that was worthy of his title as the Hero.
However, even without fighting Eugene, Iris could tell there was a difference between Vermouth and the one currently standing in front of her. Iris was already certain of this, even with what little she could currently sense from him.
Even though they were already glowing, a light seemed to flash in Iris’ eyes as she recalled one of her many enemies from three hundred years ago.
Opposite her, Agaroth’s Ring was vibrating as Destruction was drawn from within the folds of Eugene’s cloak.