Chapter 53 Marc Richard'S Actions
"Did Charles get devoured...?"
As Charles was enveloped in a dark miasma, he disappeared without a trace.
Marc's actions resembled that of a predator hunting its prey.
"Oh, Adel-sama..."
"What's that... about assimilating comrades...?"
I instinctively stood in front of Maia and Teti.
"He seemed to be only thinking about 'what to dominate' in the Total Domination of Humanity Plan. He apparently never doubted that he himself was the one to dominate."
Marc muttered while looking at where Charles had been.
"So, who do you think is the one to dominate in your Total Domination of Humanity Plan?"
"You've probably already noticed, right? Adel Vandale. ――I'm a demon. Defeated in a war with humans a thousand years ago."
"I see... So, is this about revenge as a demon race?"
"Revenge, huh... That might be it."
Marc lowered his eyes slightly at my words and said,
"My goal is to revive the demon world. Simply killing everyone is too lenient. We demons should dominate and trample over all humans. That's why Droplet of Soma was the perfect tool."
"..."
"Strange, isn't it? Wanting to be in a superior position compared to others is just a biological instinct, I think. I'm not trying to deny Charles' thoughts, at least in that aspect... Well, that's just me though."
Marc declared with a smirk.
That must be his way of thinking.
I have no intention of debating right or wrong.
――However, there are things I can't give up on too.
Receiving my gaze, Marc began to speak calmly.
"Assassin Largo Bright, Paladin Gale Bartley, leader of the merchant guild Wise Lowenthal, Local lord Dana Tempelar, Archbishop Klaus Elgenheim, Demon Marianne Rentzel, Assassin Van Bright, and King Charles Vandale—"
"...?"
"It was truly magnificent. Thanks to you crushing all my pawns, it took this long to execute the plan."
"I didn't execute it thinking they were just a pawn of yours. They were simply a group of people I disliked, trampling on others with unreasonableness."
"That may have been the case for you. Truly, the Black-Robed Executor was my archenemy. ...But, all's well that ends well."
Marc spread his arms and a black mist enveloped his body in response.
"Now, let's settle this! Adel Vandale!"
While keeping my gaze on Marc, I addressed the two people behind me.
"Maia, Teti. I'll take on him. You two take care of the cup in the meantime――"
"...Understood, Adel-sama. Good luck."
The destruction of the source of the black mist attacking the citizens of the royal capital - the (Chalice of Hygia).
I entrusted that to Maia and Teti, while I used a Job Ability on Marc.
====================
Target: Marc Richard
Execution Coefficient: 41,992,008 points
====================
――Stay calm and capture him. Use the Job Ability Reap to settle this.
I gripped Igarima and aimed at Marc.
"Alright, here I go!"
Marc rushes towards me.
So fast――
Just from his movements, I could tell he was tougher than any opponent I had faced before.
Marc, cloaked in black miasma, brushes past my black robe.
"...!"
Looking back, the spot where Marc's attack touched was melting away.
――This is...
"You dodged that well. How about this...!?"
This time, he transforms the black miasma into multiple arrows and shoots them towards me.
"――!"
I dodge them by spinning and quickly turn back towards Marc.
"Great job. You're truly a formidable opponent."
Ignoring Marc's words, I immediately consume my Execution Coefficient and launch a counterattack.
"Wind God Blade――!"
Wind blades strike Marc from all directions.
"――!"
As Marc leaps to evade them, I see an opportunity.
Using a stone pillar as a foothold, I dash up into the air where Marc is.
"(Reap, Igarima)――!"
――Swish.
A dull sound echoed as Igarima caught Marc.
――All right, this should do it...
As I landed and turned to face Marc, a flaming arrow came flying towards me from there.
"Whoa――"
"Adel-sama!"
I narrowly avoided it and faced Marc again.
"It's really frustrating, isn't it? It was a perfectly timed attack. How strong are you?"
"Maia, Teti! Where is the (Chalice of Hygeia)?"
"No good, Adel-sama! There seems to be some kind of barrier within the magic circle...!"
"Hehe. It's different from the barrier set up outside the royal palace. There's only one way to destroy the (Chalice of Hygia). That is to defeat me, the barrier caster."
Marc said, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.
――Why...? I should have definitely harvested the Job ability with Igarima....
I'm thinking about why Marc, who was supposed to have cut off the Job ability, could use another ability.
And then it hit me.
"Looks like you've figured it out. ――Yeah, I don't just have one Job ability."
"...Can you steal the abilities of those you've defeated?"
"Exactly. Although, it's different if they've already lost their Job ability like Archbishop Klaus or Charles."
"That's a threat."
"Not really, I'm not as skillful as you. It's not easy for me to just cut out the ability while keeping the opponent alive."
"..."
"Still, I'll show you that I can beat you with the multiple Job abilities I have."
Multiple Job abilities...
It means that just cutting off Job abilities in Igarima like before won't lead to victory against Marc.
"Alright. Let's go to the next level."
As Marc raises his hand, a faint purple light flashes.
――GRRROOARRRR!!
A group of black dragons appeared there.
The dragons surrounded me, destroying the stone pillars in the throne room.
"[Magic Beast Summoning] is a job ability I'm good at too. There are five SS-class Black Dragons. It would be tough for even you to fight me and these monsters at the same time, right?"
It's definitely tough to fight both Marc and the group of Black Dragons.
But, I have to defeat Marc in order to break the cup.
Then, Maia and Teti come to my side.
"Adel-sama, leave the monsters to us!"
"I'll fight too! I've decided to be Adel's strength!"
Their determined shouts.
I turn my back to them and reply with words only.
"...Understood. But don't push yourself. Make sure to come back to the Silver Apple Inn alive."
"Yes!" "Got it!"
After receiving Maia and Teti's feelings, I decided on a strategy.
――I can't defeat Marc by just reaping off his Job ability. So...
"Marc, let's settle this next time."
"It seems like you've come up with something. Well then, I give it a try. ――Freeze!"
In the blink of an eye, Marc unleashed ice magic this time.
As ice blades approached crawling on the ground, I leaped onto a stone pillar shattered by a dragon.
"Not so fast!"
This time, it's a fire arrow.
I intercepted it with Igarima.
"I won't give you a chance to attack! Before that, I'll kill you and win!"
While fending off Marc's fierce attacks, I looked for an opening to counterattack.
And at the moment Marc's magic barrage momentarily paused,
I commanded Igarima to throw towards Marc.
"(Slash, Igarima)――"
"What――!?"
He probably didn't expect me to throw a scythe.
Marc stopped using magic and tried to dodge.
The moment I was waiting for came――.
I instantly thought of using two job abilities.
==============================
Total Execution Coefficient: 21,302,647 points
Do you want to execute [Causal Grasp] of Silver Sword Saint by consuming 1,000,000 points of Execution Coefficient?
Do you want to execute [Chain that Binds Even Gods] by consuming 30,000 points of Execution Coefficient?
==============================
――Agreed.
"Darn――!"
Marc takes evasive action.
――――I saw it.
Thanks to [Causal Grasp], I visually captured the point where Marc would move.
And then, I activated [Chains that Bind Even Gods] towards that spot.
"This is... a chain!?"
The golden iron chain released from the void bound Marc's limbs, completely restricting his movements.
"It's over, Marc..."
"Uh..."
==============================
Total Execution Coefficient: 20,272,647 points
Do you want to execute [Subspace Manipulation Magic] by consuming 120,000 points of Execution Coefficient?
==============================
――Agreed.
"It's troublesome that you have multiple job abilities. But what if I seal you?"
"..."
A crack appeared, creating a space that seemed to be filled with black paint.
The black space began to engulf Marc.
"[Lost Ancient Magic]... It's my complete defeat, huh..."
It was clear that Marc was losing strength from his body.
He must have given up.
"You win, Adel Vandale."
"Yeah. Your plan ends here."
"...No, I won't give up."
"..."
"Someday, I'll find a way to escape from the subspace and get my revenge on you. Until then, see you again."
Surprisingly, Marc's face at the end was smiling.
And then――,
――GRRROOOOMUNCH.
Swallowed by the subspace, Marc disappeared.
* * *
"Well done, Adel-sama."
"Yeah."
After Marc disappeared, the dragon he summoned also vanished.
And the protective barrier covering the Chalice of Hygia disappeared as well.
We quickly destroyed the chalice and successfully stopped the black mist.
"That's the end of it."
Maia and Teti nodded at my words, and we congratulated each other on our efforts.
"Now, let's head back to the city. We need to regroup with everyone."
And we prepared to leave the throne room where the fierce battle had taken place.
"...That guy was so unpredictable until the end."
I looked back at the space where Marc had disappeared and muttered just that.
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