Published at 5th of August 2023 5:55 pm

Chapter 399: The Magic Halberd’s Transformation

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

I informed everyone about the battles up in the sky while making it easy to understand by using Japanese.

“I understand that it was you who saved us, but I don’t have a single clue what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t get it either. In the first place, why can you fly? A huge beast is lumbering around nearby and flying around while ignoring all gravity. That’s scary. The pads are cute, however.”

The tone of their words hadn’t changed much in comparison to back when I explained things a while ago. At times Hina and Sana helped me out by expanding on their own theories about world transfers in order to make my explanations easier to comprehend.

But, it looked like only a few of the former passengers possessed flexible thinking. The majority was unwilling to accept the facts.

Well, it’s understandable since it’s a different world all of a sudden for them. But, if they can’t accept and adapt to reality soon…only death is going to await them.

Right after I thought that, a woman in a flight attendant’s uniform and a man in a suit were raised into the air. The flight attendant, who had a voluptuous chest she could be proud of, and the muscular guy had branches of plants growing out of their chests.

“Eh?”

“Guaaaah!”

“Nooooooo!”

“What are thooooose!?”

Everyone started to scream.

But, I didn’t sense the movement of magic elements. There wasn’t any sign for an incoming attack either, yet…

『Branches? Your Excellency, it’s an unidentified attack. Everyone is…』

Just as Helme pointed out, the tips of sharp branches grew out of everyone’s chests, except for Sana and Hina.

An assault from behind, huh?

By reflex, I checked my back, but there was no incoming attack to be found behind me. Immediately turning back around, I checked everyone else.

A swarm of branch-like tentacles was floating while fanning out behind all those who got stabbed… The tentacles had penetrated all the way from everyone’s back to the front, making them now dangle from the branches like fruits.

『It has the same magic source quality as a tree. That’s why I didn’t realize』

『Me neither. It’s not like I was careless, but for us to suffer a sneak attack like this…』

Sana and Hina were safe. Matabe, who was guarding the two, had chopped up all the branches with splendid spear work as if to exhibit his skill as a warrior. Wood chips were whirling through the air in front of him.

“Nn, no magic source presence.”

“So you didn’t sense anything either, Eva?”

“No, as you can see.”

I noticed one branch tentacle being wrapped up by violet <Mind Force> while agreeing with Eva. It had been a silent attack by the branch with its sharp end.

The attacks that befell the passengers didn’t aim at my partner and me. Neither did they go for the spirit world knight who had been turned into an iron maiden and left lying around in the back. The Burning Knights on my sides had been ignored as well.

“How incomprehensible.”

“Ahh, Kisara, those things are creepy…”

Kisara and Rotalz, who were on the right side behind me, made sure to talk while staying vigilant. They didn’t get attacked by the branches either.

Suddenly, the branches,which had pierced the passengers, withdrew. While converging into a single, thick branch, they were retracted into a tree, and assimilated with its trunk. After being absorbed, a head abruptly grew out of the trunk. It was the head of a woman. Its composition combined human flesh, bark, and leaves.

Moreover, the instant the pair of her eyeballs squirmed around, a womanly figure with model-like, long and slender legs was formed in an instant. The color of her skin was light brown. Her surface somewhat resembled Nemus’s bark.

The woman standing on two feet was a plant demon. She moved her lips that looked like a crack in the bark.

“――Hehe, those humans have no power. They piqued my interest since they spoke in a weird tongue and wore strange outfits, but how boring.”

Her voice was quite high-pitched.

Did she imitate the shape of a tree like a chameleon or octopus? Ah, maybe she’s a subspecies of a Torrent, the tree species I encountered in the Great Forest of Demonic Haunts?

No, she’s different. She got the head of a woman, and her appearance differs too much from the tree monsters who prey on demons.

“By the way, spearmaster. The black beast over there sure is amazing. It looks like she can also shrink her body. Earlier I tried to hit you with ancient magic only I can use, but she easily dodged it,” the female plant demon rattled on while extending one of her branch tentacle arms diagonally above.

The flight attendant’s corpse was stabbed onto its sharp end. Once she brought the corpse right above herself, she spread her mouth as if the lips were tearing open at the seams, and gulped down the corpse. Her whole conduct was just like that of a snake swallowing prey. As she expanded her throat, you could hear a gulping sound.

“…The flesh and blood isn’t overly tasty, but well, it’s still meat, so I guess it’ll do.”

You can only call that attitude bold. Her tone has a nuance that makes it clear that she’s saying everything very naturally. But, 『hit you with ancient magic』, eh…? I suppose that means it was her who had fired that ancient magic pebble at us.

Come to think of it, Shaysad, the Time Tapir, and Hazes had been fighting demons with caterpillar-like legs while earth pebbles were shot into the vicinity. Hoffmann’s subordinates and the divine domain’s forces were also hit by those pebbles.

I guess she’s a whimsical demon just like the Death Butterfly women.

Although I analyzed her psychologically, going by her actions…

Immediately after I considered all that, the corpse of the man, who had collapsed face-down, got up with a swaying. As if being pulled upwards by countless transparent threads sticking to the corpse from above…the corpse moved like a marionette.

The corpse lifted its ghastly pale face upwards. Its eyes were glowing suspiciously. It was still wearing the sullied suit. But, its whole body was clad by a layer of light brown mana, and bark had become visible after breaking through parts of the suit. That bark was reminiscent of dragon scales. The bark had tapered ends and moved in wave motions.

The dead man had apparently transformed into a humanoid demon that was covered by shady bark. The other dead people also stood up as if having revived.

“…Hey, what did you do to everyone’s corpses?”

“I changed them. My sap contains the blood of destruction and Kyulha-sama power after all.”

“…Kyulha-sama’s power? You’re saying you possess blood similar to the roots of Kyulha who appears in the Harvest Myth? Then, you’re related to the roots located beneath the Rhinoceros Lake…” Kisara was clearly shaken.

“I have no direct relation to the one at the Rhinoceros Lake. But, you could call him a relative, I guess?”

“And you’ve mixed the blood of destruction with Kyulha?” I asked.

The plant demon nodded slowly, and then ripped her mouth apart as if laughing. Next she spat out the flight attendant’s body with a “Peh!”

The flight attendant’s corpse was also engulfed by mana blended with murky, light brown blood. Suddenly, the attendant bent her spine, and stood up in an unnatural posture while staggering. Her weird motions aligned with those of the other corpses.

As I thought, they look like marionettes who are being manipulated by a puppet master. Just like the man, this woman had been transformed into bark as well.

Something similar to plant vines grew out of her body all over while mana dwelt in her eyes.

“…Yep, the blood of destruction.”

“What’s that blood of destruction? Do you also possess vampiric powers?”

Is the blood of destruction mentioned by her the power making the corpses move? Zombies?

“Nn, maybe…”

Eva appeared to suspect something.

“The corpses have been reviving…”

“It’s okay to purge them all, right?”

Kisara and Rotalz were getting ready to fight. Rotalz was indirectly asking whether it was okay to kill them since he knew that they were people we had earnestly tried to explain things while also feeding them.

“Not yet. But, it’ll be fine to do so when the time’s ripe,” I restrained them, but got ready myself just in case.

“…To watch a zombie movie in real life…”

“Hina, stay by my side. As long as we have Matabe, we’ll be able to cut our way through.”

Sana and Hina nodded at each other. I could sense a strong will to survive from their eyes.

“The blood of destruction belongs to the King of Destruction Rashinz Lebioda,” explained the plant demon honestly while watching our actions.

“Nn, I’ve heard that he’s one of the chief gods of the Spirit World and that his apostle is rampaging in the Fujique Federation…further east of the 【Independent Stronghold City Relic】. His apostle is called “Six-Armed Raid King Kai” or something like that.”

“Ah, the one who destroyed the tiger beastmen’s hometown, huh? If I remember correctly, <Servant Leader> Mamani mentioned having encountered him on the battlefield.”

“So, she’s related to him?”

Eva had apparently analyzed. It made me remember the hero tale of Donarque & Sieglan. I heard about it when Viine and I were buying vanilla beans on the market. The store owner told us about the hero tale that took place in the Eastern Mahaheim area.

“…Are you a kin of the king of destruction? Does that make you one of his apostles?”

“No, not really? I don’t intend to obey anyone, nor am I anyone’s apostle.”

Eh? It was wrong? Is it some other kind of connection then? But, when it comes to the ability to create zombie-like kin in an instant…

“Even though she has the same smell, she is no apostle of Kyulha?” Kisara murmured while readying her witch spear.

Which reminds me, Kyulha was an object of worship in the Black Witch Church, wasn’t it? But, if we’re speaking of plants…Evil Spirit Spear Iglued comes up.

“A Torrent, huh?”

“What’s that? Who cares about something like races anyway?” She said with a tone as if feeling bored.

Just like Iglued, this woman…probably possesses an ability allowing her to grasp mental or space abilities and plant confusion in her opponents.

“Certainly, it doesn’t matter, but then you don’t have any reason to kill other people, do you?”

With those words, I pointed Baldok’s red spear at her. Her coloring somewhat resembles Iglued. But, her shape is completely different…

She mentioned that she used ancient magic. That type of magic is quite sophisticated, but offers a high degree of freedom. Besides, there’s also the earlier silent attack by the tentacles none of us could sense…

That’s why I can’t fathom what kind of magic or skill she’ll throw at us.

“Hah?!? Who do you think you are!? What ridiculous thinking――”

Hearing my words, her mood worsened drastically, and she swung her slender, left arm upwards to the right. In response, the corpses all attacked us as if being linked to her arm’s movements.

The corpses were moving fast. I hurriedly adjusted the angle of the red ax blade by inclining Baldok. A faint, metallic sound could be heard from the halberd.

Just like that, I swung Baldok upwards, creating a crimson trace in the air. The ax blade clashed against the buttocks of the female flight attendant zombie, who had closed in on me from the front. Immediately following, her corpse was vertically bisected.

I checked the neck from the lump of meat that had been roughly parted int two halves, but no bug came out of it.

『Your Excellency, shall I come out?』

『No, not yet』

While sucking up the blood, I assessed that these guys weren’t kin of Evil God Hyuriox.

In the next moment, Eva said with a sorrowful look, “――Sorry, Shuuya. Even though you went out of your way to rescue these people――,” and deployed Sergilon’s Steel Orbs.

The five orbs raced back and forth through the air with a speed reminding me of Saraten, heading for the corpses approaching us. That speed was great and the quality of the attack was high. According to Suloza’s appraisal, those were Legendary items, but Sergilon’s Steel Orbs manipulated by Eva were so strong that I considered them to be rather Mythological.

I guess they possess such a power exactly because she’s added her blood mana as <Head Servant Leader> to them.

In an instant, the steel orbs crushed some middle-aged male zombies to death alongside the trees lining up nearby. Eva herself was floating in midair. Within milliseconds of her flying, the metal pieces forming her boots and feet separated from Eva’s legs like living beings. The metallic back fastener and silver tacks of her boots melted as well.

Even the metal stuck to her leg bones melted away, and transformed into parts of her magic wheelchair. Moreover, the magic symbol on the surface of her bone legs glowed powerfully.

In the next moment, the metallic parts combined, completing a wheelchair made out of metal and wood. The time all of this required was no more than an instant. But, the movements of the combining metal pieces looked damn cool as it was similar to a mobile armor changing into its flight mode.

Eva sat on a wheelchair that was slightly different from the ones so far. As she placed both arms on its armrests, she expanded her violet mana in all directions like an aura.

Immediately following, long and narrow trenches appeared on the somewhat bulging, two wheels that were installed on the inner side of the new wheelchair’s wing section. Disk-like, metallic weapons were created within those trenches, and quickly shot out into the air.

Next, metal pieces in all kinds of shapes and forms such as white stakes, green sword blades, and objects similar to broken glass shards were produced from corresponding holes in the frame, before being sent out into the air one after the other.

The speed of the swarm of metal pieces, which Eva was controlling with her <Mind Force>, was rather high. And then, the metal pieces, which had all acted on their own, unified their movements, adopting a formation similar to that of a sardine swarm.

Yep, their cluster looks just like a “Bait Ball.”

The metal pieces, which seemed to possess their own consciousness, swooped down on the corpses. But, although a “Bait Ball” was a spherical swarm created for the sake of escaping predators, Eva’s metal swarm did the opposite. It was clearly on the side of being the predators. The swarm vividly reminded me of ferocious killer whales.

Far from just piercing the corpses, the hungry killer whales repeatedly slammed against the corpses while pulverizing their flesh as if attacking sharks or whales. Their force was so strong that they ripped out the ground with its network of thick roots, digging and tilling through the soil. It happened at such a scale that it made my white flame hands appear like a cute tickling.

In the blink of an eye, all of the revived corpses had been wiped out.

The metal swarm headed next for the female plant demon. But, she dealt with the attack by transforming one of her arms into a shield, blocking all the attacks by Eva’s metal blades.

“Nn, hard,” Eva complained for a change.

The plant demon shifted the huge shield sideways, and turned her murky, light brown, dully glowing eyes in our direction.

At that moment, plant vines protruded out of the ground right beneath Eva. While taking on a humanoid form in an instant, the vines spiraled upwards towards Eva.

Eva responded while sitting in her wheelchair, “Naive――,” with a cool expression and a sharp glint in her eyes.

And then she caused blood to clad her wheelchair, seemingly having strengthened her <Blood Mana>. With her wheelchair gleaming from her blood and violet mana, she suddenly swooped down. Within the blink of an eye, she crushed the humanoid vine bundle from above with her wheelchair, counter-attacking the plant attack instead.

“Why did you only extend your branches to her?”

“That chair. It releases the stench of a Gudola tree. Still, spell me surprised, god-slaying spearmaster. Since you’re someone emitting a smell similar to Kyulha-sama, your kin are, as might be expected, fairly powerful as well…” The plant woman remarked while peeking her face out behind her shield.

Her face clearly showed her surprise over her vine attack, which had a touch of a surprise attack, being easily blocked.

But, I’m unrelated to Kyulha. I’ve absorbed a part of Evil God Steertop’s power, so it seems this woman is misunderstanding something.

While the demon was blathering, the semi-transparent warrior protecting Sana circled around to her left side. He had been moving while keeping his spear pointed downwards.

The woman directed her glowing eyes to him, “What a strange appearance. Who are you? You possess a mana quality I’ve never seen before. Is he another of your kin, spearmaster?”

She assessed Matabe like that, but I didn’t comment on it in any way.

“Nn, nya,” Rollodeen purred throatily while in her black panther form.

As if to match with everyone else, my partner had assumed that this was going to be a ground battle. She turned her head in my direction. After meeting her cute, red eyes, I nodded to affirm her.

Immediately following, my partner growled, and stabbed the trunk of a tree with a tentacle bone sword. Contracting the tentacle, her body was quickly drawn towards the trunk. As soon as she got close, she kicked off the tree with her hind paws, jumping atop a big branch on the right side. The workings of her muscular limbs were impressive to watch.

Being on that branch would allow her to attack the plant demon at any moment.

The demon said, “…Still, it’s weird. Going by your appearances, you’re humans, demons, or maybe vampires, and yet your mana smells different from any of those. You don’t feel like divine warriors of the divine domain either. So you are unknowns, huh? My Blood of Destruction throbs…”

I won’t tell her that we’re Light Demon Lucival.

“It’s not my intent to borrow your words, but that stuff doesn’t matter at all, does it? Anyway, you yourself won’t fight?”

“I wonder what I should do~”

The plant demon shifted her eyes diagonally above her.

Is this her thinker pose or something?

I summoned Baldok, and held up my left palm towards the demon. While tilting Baldok in my right hand…I shifted my body sideways, into a stance of the Wind Spear Style.

“Whoa, a weird weapon! An ancient dragon…no, Demonic Ogre Princess Mephalla? Huh? Gods of the Spirit World? Thick crest mana of an ancient god which makes your hair stand on end, and even mana in the shape of an unknown tiger…,” analyzed the demon while staring at Baldok.

『Helme, lend me your “sight”』

『Ahnn』

Even when looking at her with Helme’s Spirit Sight, it didn’t change much, did it? Her temperature was no different from the trees around us.

Given the situation…I guess I have no choice but to search for the vine attack she used on Eva with my normal eyesight.

“…Scary, everyone has…”

“Hina, don’t leave my side.”

“Okay.”

Sana was a mage of the Twelve High Families or whatever. I think she’d be able to deal with attacks, using Matabe or her spells, which were unknown to me, but I still told them, “Hina, Sana, if you want to save yourselves some trouble, fall back further.”

The two immediately moved behind us.

Rollodeen jumped from her elevated position, landed close to Hina and Sana, and walked over to their side in order to protect them. Matabe also matched their retreat, fell back from the left side of the demon and took some distance in order to protect the two. Matabe took a look at Rollodeen, and nodded.

“Nn.”

My partner purred and extended several of her tentacles in the direction where Hina and Sana were walking. Did she give Matabe instructions?

“Burning Knights, I leave Sana and Hina in your hands. Focus on defense.”

“Affirmative. Rollo-dono, please wait. That semi-transparent, cheeky spear wielder isn’t our new subordinate.”

“Rollo-dono, please give us your instructions! Make sure to not forget about us――”

The Burning Knights exclaimed while walking and bumping their bone swords against their bone shields as if to fire themselves up.

Matabe’s eyes seemed to observe the actions of the Burning Knights and Rollodeen. Does he have his own consciousness as well? Matabe wears a face guard even while being semi-transparent. That’s why I can’t tell much about his expression. The cheek guard beneath his eyes stands out as special with its slightly bulging form.

On the other hand, the plant demon was merely watching Matabe with a curious look. She didn’t try to chase after Sana, Hina, Rollodeen, and the others who had distanced themselves.

Is she really wavering whether she should attack as her question suggests? But, it’s a fact that she launched an attack against Eva a little while ago. And although Sana and Hina are still fine, the other people we saved got killed by her.

That’s why I’ll launch a surprise attack from my side this time.

Just as I thought that, I sensed magic sources from my right side. I unintentionally shifted my attention to the right edge of my sight. The magic source responses came from deep within a place overgrown with tree leaves, between the trunks.

『Your Excellency, new enemies from the right?』

“Leave the enemy on the right side to me.”

“Nn, Shuuya, right side.”

Just as Kisara and Eva pointed out, humans appeared from in-between the trees on the right side.

“Reinforcements? Should I crush them?” Rotalz asked whether he should squash them with his thick torso.

The part of him seeking my permission and not Kisara’s pretty much meant that Rotalz had approved of me as his master. Rotalz caused his forehead to expand.

“No, it doesn’t look like they’re enemies.”

Everyone stopped moving when I said so.

“Go for that new demon-type of a plant woman rather than the huge whale!”

“Usurping Path of Kingship! We’ll attack with the “Blade-shape Formation”!”

“Roger, I’ll get ‘er!”

“Let’s go――”

The humans charged while each making their own declaration. Among them, a guy <Threw> two gray daggers that were enveloped in light blue mana. Magic lines extended from the ends of the daggers’ pommels as they headed straight for the plant demon.

Both daggers squarely embedded themselves in the demon’s body. It wasn’t as though that served as a signal, but a guy who held two steel spears with two spearheads in his hands, a woman with a short wand, and a woman with a round buckler and a longsword assaulted just like an army with their movements being in perfect unity.

The one seeming to be the boss attacked the plant woman head on. The wand-holding woman acted like a rearguard. The dagger-throwing guy, who held two more daggers as he positioned himself as middle guard, manipulated the magic lines connected to the two daggers he threw through his own mana. The magic lines were no ropes, but he still pulled them towards himself as if hauling in ropes. At the same time, he deployed daggers, which were clad in his light blue mana, around himself.

Are those magic lines maybe some kind of <Guidance Sorcery>?

“Eh? My body…,” muttered the plant woman.

Bluish-white patterns had surfaced around the area where the two daggers had pierced her body.

Is it a magic effect of the daggers? It looks like the plant demon has become unable to move.

“Who are you people?” I naturally asked the intruders.

“…Those are our words, demonic-beast-using spearmaster.”

One of the humans answered me with doubt dyeing his voice. He was a handsome guy. He wore a special helmet that only guarded his brainpan and jaw. His forebangs were light brown, and so were his eyebrows. One of his eyebrows had been divided by a cut. He had clear blue eyes. Those very eyes were currently glancing at Baldok.

Just like with his eyebrow, a vertical scar was running from beneath his eyes across his cheek. He wore a pretty, thick-layered armor that was fastened with a pair of metallic fixtures around the collar.

I think his armor is something in the middle between a leather armor and an armor platelet. But, since the armor contains mana, it must be rather special.

He does have a certain atmosphere to him. Maybe an A- or S-Rank adventurer. Well, since there also exist superb warriors among C- and D-Rank adventurers, his aura alone isn’t enough of an indicator to make a call.

“…Sorry, I guess I’ll introduce myself first. Shuuya Kagari. Adventurer.”

“Hooh, an adventurer, eh…?”

“Ricks? Right now the demon, who killed all those people, matters more than the spearmaster over there, right?”

The light-brown-haired man nodded at the female mage’s words, “Yeah, you’re right, I guess. It’s better than nothing!”

He readjusted his hold of the daggers.

Suddenly, the female mage thrust both hands into the air, drawing magic seals with mana filling her fingertips. In the next moment, a magic crest appeared underneath the plant demon.

“――The response of the Noble Youth vanished. I don’t want to even think what we’ll be told by Left Leader if we don’t catch this woman…”

I turned my attention from the complaining mage to the magic crest. Small vascular rings were created by the magic crest. Those rings attached themselves to parts of the plant demon’s body while emitting energy.

“What’s this? It’s a sensation I’ve never experienced before～”

The plant demon moved her head left and right, checking her own body. She was talking in a rather relaxed manner, but…it didn’t stop the forceful movements of the rings and the bluish-white patterns.

The female demon was lifted up through the power of the small rings, and floated towards the trees behind her. And then, just like that, she crashed against a tree, being crucified to its thick trunk after having her arms and legs stretched out.

The guy called Ricks barked, “Now, be a good demon and stay like that,” and caused his floating daggers to head for the plant demon. The daggers stabbed her body further.

Following that, the guy handling two magic spears charged towards the plant demon, and unleashed a <Thrust>-based technique at her. Both spears drilled into her torso.

――Not bad, that spear user.

It was a dual-spear <Thrust> technique different from Delhart’s. In addition to his technique and those magic spears, his way of manipulating his own mana into sending it into both hands was pretty smooth as well. It should require quite a mastery level.

“…” The plant demon didn’t scream even after being hit by his chain spear attack.

Does she feel no pain?

Far from it, I could sense how she was furiously moving the mana inside her body so as to amass power even while continuing to receive attacks by the spears. Seemingly having suspected the suspicious movements of the plant demon, the spear-wielding guy immediately pulled back.

“…Just who are you people?” I asked the dual-spear-wielding guy after he retreated.

Mana converged in the eye sockets of the plant demon, and in the next moment, hexagrams and pentagrams appeared in her eyes. Small magic crests extended in layers from deep within her eyes while rotating.

『Your Excellency, please be careful. Dark tree spirits and spirits I’ve never seen before have assembled in her mana. Taking the earlier, soundless branch attack into account, I think she might possess power equal to the demi-goddess』

『Roger. Let’s go with <Spirit Ball Conception> then』

『Okay――』

A part of Helme surfaced from my left eye to guard me. Helme’s mysterious patterns filled my left field of vision.

No matter how often I see it, <Spirit Ball Conception> is mysterious. …I won’t use <Elixir Law – Catfish Conception> yet.

And then Helme’s power took shape, making it possible for the unknown humans to see it, but…it can’t be helped.

“…We are the 【Savage Land’s Skill Exploration Party】. I’m the leader of 【Sea of Trees Hunt】, a group directly affiliated to Left Leader of the Exploration Party. My name is Uno.”

“My name is Ricks. I’m a member of the same 【Sea of Trees Hunt】.”

“I’m the Dual-Spear Wielder Malega. Likewise a member.”

“Aleyza. Likewise a member of 【Sea of Trees Hunt】.”

The organization mentioned by Nora, huh? Have they been chasing after the black-haired vampire who picked a fight with Eva?

Previously Nora had explained that 【Savage Land’s Skill Exploration Party】 might come after me, if they learn about me being part of a new race.

“So, why are you, the members of that exploration party, trying to catch or kill that demon?”

“Before answering your question, I see that a liquid has come out of your left eye. You don’t appear to be an ordinary spear user. Besides, that spear-wielding woman isn’t ordinary either. You guys seem to possess superb skills.”

“I guess.”

“So, what about it? Rather than that――” Kisara whirled her witch spear around.

She had pointed her spear at the exploration party guys, but suddenly she looked back at the plant demon while jumping so as to escape into the sky. Her intuition as Four Heavenly Witch was correct.

“――Sealing me with such fake powers? Don’t make me laugh, brats!” The plant demon swung her arms as she spat that ridicule out, freeing her own body.

It looks like the power of the layered magic crests from her Demonic Eyes has activated.

The daggers embedded in her body melted away. At the same time, the bluish-white mana enveloping those daggers dispersed. The magic crest at her feet evaporated at the places where the demon’s feet touched it, making footprints appear in the magic crest.

“Huuuaaaa, my Blood of Destruction…I cannot endure it any longer!”

The small rings that had been binding the plant woman dissolved as well. She pressed both her hands against her head, and moved her palms towards the back of her head as if fixing up the hair-like branches on her head into a swept-back-hairstyle.

At that moment, a diadem combining silver and gold manifested on her head. Revealing an ecstatic expression, she started to walk forward.

“――Tsk, that thing ain’t no normal demon, eh? She fucking forced her way out of the combination technique of <Skill Stakes> and <Ring Seal>.”

“We go with Ham Bottom.”

“Aye.”

“Roger.”

At once, they took a distance while keeping certain intervals and making sure to be in combat range. Aleyza, the woman holding a sword and buckler, stood at the front. She was looking just like an Amazon. And seemingly having invoked some skill or magic, a god-like illusion appeared above her shoulders.

I’ve never seen the being depicted by that illusion before. For an instant, it reminded me of the God of Justice Shafah, but it wasn’t him.

“Hee, a kin of the divine domain is part of your lil’ group?”

The instant the plant demon spread her hands to the side while commenting, countless flamberge-like swords appeared from her crooked fingertips, flying out in a fan shape.

In the next moment, Aleyza thrust out her buckler after pouring mana into it. The illusion floating above her imitated Aleyza by also adopting a shielding posture, and then it advanced as if to oppose the flamberges. The illusion swung her circular shield from the left to the right as if carrying out a shield bash, flicking away the flamberges.

Of course, those flamberges approached us as well, albeit in a smaller number. Helme’s liquid expanded from the left eye in a belt shape. She absorbed the flamberges temporarily in her body, but she didn’t take them in, but instead ejected the swords outside. While watching that, I swung Baldok upwards from below, repelling the point of a flamberge that had closed in.

When we had repelled all the flamberges coming our way, the plant woman overflowed with a rich mana. And as her body suddenly expanded, she transformed into a huge monstrosity while pushing down the trees around her. The diadem on her head also changed its form somewhat. It grew out symmetrical horns that reminded me of a spider’s legs.

“Destruction, Destruction, Destructiooooon!”

An intense flash of light was released from her Demonic Eyes. Moreover, a swarm of thick stakes flew out of her ripped-open mouth. On top of there being many of those stakes, they were fast.

I focused on <Elixir Law – Catfish Conception>. Helme’s <Spirit Ball Conception>, which covered a part of my left shoulder centered around my left eye, transformed into a catfish-shaped defense layer while expanding. My visual field took on a mysterious, turquoise blue.

After slashing the first approaching stake with Baldok, I bisected it. The left part of what used to be a stake, which got scattered towards the left, was absorbed by the catfish conception and disappeared. The right half stabbed into the ground.

While rotating, I continued to evade the chain attack of stakes. And as I did so, I observed. Just like there were stakes, the attack also had flamberges mixed in.

And then I moved Baldok right in front of my eyes so as to transfer the momentum of my rotation to Baldok. I revolved Baldok as if it was a pinwheel while retreating. The stakes got shattered by the rotating Baldok as I continued to block a big chain attack of stakes and flamberges.

In the meantime, I extended <Chain> from both my wrists, creating a chain shield around me. The stakes and flamberges crashed into that shield.

I guess I’ll protect the female spirit world knight behind me for the time being. Her expression still appears to be somewhat hazy.

Meanwhile, something like hands extended out of <Elixir Law – Catfish Conception>. Those hands dragged the stakes and flamberges into the turquoise blue and absorbed them.

『Helme, don’t force yourself too much』

No answer from her came back. Well, my will has been passed on to her, however. She doesn’t try to protect all of me, only focusing her catfish shield on my upper left.

Given that the defense effort eased up a bit, I checked my vicinity.

My partner has transformed into her divine beast form. She expanded a net of countless tentacles, and was offsetting the attacks by knocking them down, continuing to protect Hina and Sana.

Matabe also tried to protect the two girls by standing in front of them. He seemed as if he was gazing up to Rollodeen and the huge plant demon, who released an overwhelming presence.

Eva, Kisara, and Rotalz also devoted themselves to defending by using their respective weapons and abilities.

I don’t know about the guys from the exploration party.

“Eva, I’ll plunge in at that point. I leave the spirit world knight to you.”

“Nn, roger.”

The instant I finished telling Eva without looking at her, I clad my whole body in Magic Combat Style, and dashed off. I capitalized on my chain shield and the defensive layer of <Elixir Law – Catfish Conception> while rotating Baldok all the while.

Just like that, I ran up all the way to the feet of the plant giant. While running, I expanded water of life magic at my feet, and unleashed <Dark Water Moon of Nothingness> after performing a rotational evasion of <Hazy Moon Reflection on Water>.

I delivered a point-blank, vertical kick from a stooping posture against the plant giant’s leg. The part I hit was dented in with a print of Arzen Boot’s instep remaining behind.

Next I leaped by pushing myself off the ground with the other sole, and used the red ax blade that drew a semicircle in the air to slice through her leg while rising. At the same time, I activated <Demonic Brain Speed>. Accelerated by my trump card, I pummeled the waist and abdomen of the plant demon with mana fists of <Magic Hand guided by Thought> while heading for her head.

Fast, multi-layered chain attacks came in the shape of vine needles flew at me as if to deal with my trump card. But, my <Demonic Brain Speed> was superior in speed. I easily dodged the needles while using the plant demon’s body against her.

When I evaded all of them, I focused on <Tree of the Evil King>, and invoked <Dusk of Lancer>, creating a foothold out of trees in the air.

Kicking off those trees, I leaped, and shot <Dusk of Lancer> against the giant’s body while continuing to fly by sporadically hopping through the air.

“Fast――”

Just as the plant giant commented like that, I transferred the force of my accelerated body and all my muscles into Baldok without paying her any attention. I drew close to her head while somersaulting forward, and activated <Powerful Slash>.

The furiously rotating, mighty ax blade hit her chin. After cutting up from her chin, across her mouth, all the way to her nose in one swoop, the ax blade struck her diadem. At that point, an abnormal, discordant gong resounded. Something similar to a scream that made the atmosphere tremble thundered across the land.

Once the ax blade tore through a part of the diadem, light brown blood gushed out of the diadem’s cut ends. I attacked her chin and the rest of her body, and yet I see blood here for the first time?

Showered by the blood, Baldok trembled.

Nuuooo――

Dizziness――

I felt the tolling of bells while shaking my head. Immediately afterwards, Baldok released a scream of delight or something else that sounded weird. The skull patterns on its blade also released a flash of light.

At the same time, the time for my <Demonic Brain Speed> ran out.

Just as the plant giant’s head tore open, she squealed, “Guuuaaaaah, Mephalla!? But, for you to absorb my Blood of Destruction…”

“Aaaahhh! Shuuya-samaaaa! That is one of Damo’Anun’s magic spear techniques!”

Eh?

I was also surprised by the split head’s talking, but the transformation of the red spear and ax blade, as pointed out by Kisara, astonished me just as much.

Baldok has changed. But, right now I don’t have the leeway to calmly examine my weapon.

I triggered five instances of <Shining Chain Lance>, followed by the water-based 《Frozen Chain Snake Arrow》.

The head of the plant demon had been completely split apart. I stabbed the light spears and arm-sized Snake Arrows into the cut-sections of her head. The giant plant woman fell backwards, crushing many trees underneath her.

But, as clear from her screaming, she was still alive even after her head been cleaved open. As proof of that, she released nets of leaves, vines, and branches from her entire body. The plant demon shrunk down while those nets encroached upon a part of the Sea of Trees. In the end, her body returned to its previous size.

The horned diadem part became smaller than before. But, it looks like it hasn’t worked too well.

And then, a huge amount of plant-based demons spawned from the ground around her.

I landed while watching the plant demons as they appeared. Kisara and Rotalz launched themselves at those new enemies, routing them. The Burning Knights also sent them flying after bisecting demons with their swords. Rollodeen also released her flame breath, purging the nearby plant demons in one swoop.

But, the enemy’s state is weird.

――What does this mean? The new demons aren’t fighting back.

All of them were genuflecting, bowing their heads towards the shrunken plant demon.

“Queen Sardyne-sama――”

“Queen of Destruction and Trees Sardyne-sama――”

The other plant demons extolled in a way like Kisara’s <Magic Breath>.

Is that diadem the symbol of a queen?

『I’ve never heard such a name among demon queens, though』

『…She’s not recorded on the Picture Scroll of Sebdola’s Gods. Or rather, just how many devil-like existences are around anyway?』

『I think there exist countless, just like spirits』

I shifted my eyes towards Eva while talking with Helme telepathically. She shook her head so as to tell me that she had no clue either. The female spirit knight with her ahegao lay at Eva’s feet while covered by violet mana. Eva was protecting her properly.

“Shuuya-sama, the smell resembling Kyulha-sama’s roots, which are sleeping underneath the Rhinoceros Lake, has become stronger from Queen Sardyne. I think there is no doubt about her being a relative of Kyulha-sama.” Kisara had the filaments expand from her witch spear in a radial form while retreating.

Rotalz grew out a horn, and clad that horn in fire.

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