Volume 4 Chapter 11 The Golden Realm
The door began to open on its own with just a touch.
With a dull, grinding sound like a millstone, it opened by itself. I let go of my hand, watching with a slight tension.
Beyond the opened door, there spread the expected throne room. And at the back, there sat a figure.
"..."
That figure had blue skin.
Wrapped in a crystal armor all over the body, with dark blue hair slicked back more intense in color than the skin.
Resting his cheek on one arm, with one eye closed, he glared at us with displeasure.
"Are you his vanguard?"
"Him...?"
Or rather, I was surprised that we could naturally understand each other. It was a different kind of communication from the mimicry of a Manticore.
"Hmph, well, it doesn't matter."
He said. He stood up.
"It matters not who you are. If you have trespassed into my Crystal Castle and stand before me, then you are no different from my enemy."
He opened his closed eye. Embedded within it was a vivid blue crystal, identical to those on his body and armor.
The crystal in his eye glimmered ominously.
"I am Eiosnight, Lieutenant General of the Underworld Demon King Army, and ruler of the Crystal Castle. Master of Crystals."
In the air, crystals began to materialize. Five blue crystals. Reflected within them were our images — specifically, our right arm.
"My mission,"
Eiosnight waved his hand.
"is to shatter you humans within the brilliance."
Instantly, the five crystals shattered. At the same moment, we lost our magic.
'―――――!?'
It manifested as a distortion in our sense of touch. Therefore, we were forced to realize that we had temporarily lost our magic.
"Ugh, aah!"
I hastily unleashed my iron lump sword. Having lost my gravity magic, the sword reverted to being a mere hunk of iron.
Simultaneously, I needed to remain agile to preserve what little speed I had left.
A flash of light rushed towards us.
And I barely managed to dodge it. It was thanks to my regular playtime with Moruru that I succeeded. The true form of the flying light was a crystal, and I caught it with my hand, swiftly moving it behind me.
Sandra also managed to avoid it by a narrow margin. Ice was lucky enough to deflect the crystal with the mace in her hand.
However, Clay and Toxy weren't so lucky.
"―――Guh!?"
"―――Aaah!"
Clay's right knee and Toxy's left arm were torn away from their bodies.
"Clay! Toxy!"
"Don't worry about us! If you let your guard down, you'll be killed!"
Clay shouted. In an instant, I turned to face Eiosnight, who had already closed the considerable distance between us and was swinging a crystal sword at me.
"Wait, you... Damn it!"
I remembered that I can't use magic, so I stepped forward and slipped into Eiosnight's pocket. The sword couldn't reach inside the pocket. I extended my hand from the inside and hooked it around the back of his neck.
"Nuh."
"Take this!"
I delivered a flying knee kick to his face. Eiosnight took it head-on with a strong impact. It was so tough that I bit my tongue and jumped back.
"..."
Eiosnight stood there, completely unharmed. My knee is hurting as if I kicked iron.
It seems like Eiosnight's basic body is completely different from that of a human. I landed a hit, but it didn't seem to have any effect. I can't use magic, but at least I need a weapon to stand a chance.
"Wade-kun!"
That's when Ice threw her rapier to me. I caught it and unsheathed it. I'm worried about Clay and Toxy, but if I divert my attention for even a moment, I'll be killed in an instant.
"Ice, I'll leave the two of them to you. Wade, I'll fight alongside you."
Sandra stands beside me. Even without magic, as long as we don't let our guard down, Sandra is quite strong. Lately, she's the only member besides me who has resumed playing with Moruru. Even without magic, she had sufficient strength.
"Ice, I'm counting on you too."
"Got it, leave it to me!"
And so, I face the demon Eiosnight alongside Sandra. A demon. Those who move under the demon king in the underworld. The master of crystals is observing us from a certain distance, scrutinizing us.
"Weak."
He spoke as his mouth opened.
"Are you truly not his vanguard? Losing tactics other than physical combat due to Transformation Magic interference. Not reshaping the castle to suit your own convenience. Easily injured by my crystal's debris. You don't seem like his vanguard at all."
"...So, who exactly is this 'him'?"
"He's the one. A mocker of dungeons connecting the Middle Earth and the Underworld. A wanderer in the realm of death as if strolling in a garden. A master of magic not through sorcery or spells, but through a more fundamental use of mysterious powers (魔の使い)."
"...?"
"...You truly seem unaware. In that case, there's no need."
Eiosnight hesitates. To the right. I realize I can't avoid it, so I brace for impact. Boom! I try to dodge in the direction of Eiosnight's sweep, but I'm blown away by the impact I couldn't fully evade, rolling on the ground.
"Ugh, ah...!"
I stand up. Eiosnight looks surprised.
"Hmm. I intended to kill you, but my strength didn't fully transmit..."
At that moment, he notices the rapier I thrust in a hasty manner is stuck in his chest, so he pull it out, muttering "How annoying."
Sandra doesn't miss this opportunity.
"You're wide open."
Sandra leaps and delivers a high kick to the head of Eiosnight, who is much taller than the average person. A dull sound echoed. Sandra quickly moves back to create distance.
"I'm surprised. You're too tough. It's Hot a defense that can be beaten with physical skills."
"It's troublesome... There's no way a person who doesn't use magic can defeat a demon. Well, if it's difficult to deal with someone sneaky, I don't have to engage with them."
Eiosnight shattered. And just when I thought it had decayed, it was back sitting on the throne at the deepest part.
"Crystal, grow, grow. Your mane is brave. Your fangs are large and sharp. Your body is supple and strong."
Addressing the crystal that appeared on his hand, Eiosnight spoke.
"You resemble a lion. But unlike a lion, you are loyal, wise enough to use sorcery, and ruthless. You devour enemies without mercy. There are no enemies before you..."
The small crystal floated in Eiosnight's hand, spinning around. Then Eiosnight grasped the crystal. Crushed it. And scattered it forward.
The shattered blue crystal began to reconstruct itself, taking the form of a lion.
"Alright, Lion, go. Crush the intruders."
And then, the Crystal Lion appeared. The lion roared. Numerous glimmers began to appear around it. Five, ten, twenty... and more.
"It's over."
Eiosnight leaned on his hand again, closing the crystal eyes. The lion roared, and the glimmers around it showered down on us all at once.
That was the moment.
The ceiling collapsed, crushing the lion and the crystal rubble together.
"Huh!?"
I quickly checked on the members. Sandra was looking up, avoiding the debris. Ice, for some reason, was protecting everyone with magic. Did he remove the magic disturbance?
"Hey! Just because you don't want to go down the stairs, it's stupid to destroy the ground!"
Then, an unexpectedly calm angry voice echoed in the situation. It belonged to a young woman. The response came from a man's voice, filled with laughter.
"It's fine, I prefer not to bother with troublesome things. Besides, look, we've arrived."
There was a man standing up from the pile of rubble. He was dressed casually as if walking through the city. He had no weapons, no armor. His appearance didn't seem like that of an adventurer at all.
However, shining brightly on his chest was the torch adventurer badge.
"Silver? No, that's not it. That is..."
Clay said, sweating profusely from his own serious injury. I blinked my eyes, trying to figure out who that person was.
He wasn't of silver rank. This was the territory of gold rank. But then, that person is...
"You, finally showing yourself."
Eiosnight said, his displeased face contorted with arrogance. Deep hatred seeped through. However, the man didn't break his smirk.
"Oh, look, the new guy is here. Well, let's just quickly take care of him like we did with all the others and return to the surface."
I realized. That wasn't silver, it was platinum. The proof of being at the peak of adventurers, given to only one person in the world.
Platinum Torch Adventurer.
"Let me have some fun, okay? The guy before claimed to be the Lord of Blood, but he was weak."
'Handless' sneered with crazed eyes from the depths.
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