87 - Chapter 13: The Demon King, the Vixen, and the Intruder
Geoglyph and Julia, having stepped out into the castle courtyard, observed one another.
Julia was a former knight, but she was not particularly skilled with the sword. No, if it were against those of the same age and gender, she had always been at the top. However, when mixed with men, she could not remain the strongest. Even though there was physical reinforcement via magic, the same applied to the men. While there were individual differences in output and the amount of mana held, the same was true for the physical abilities that served as the foundation.
There were times she felt frustrated by being a woman. However, she did not have a personality so weak that she would break because of it.
Therefore, she decided to train in a different direction.
(Now, lately I have done nothing but paperwork, so it has been a while since I have fought a magic battle face-to-face...)
Julia snapped her fingers and gave a wry smile.
Yes, she concluded that if her physical abilities and physical reinforcement had hit a ceiling and she could not be the strongest against men, she should simply use magic as her weapon instead of the sword. Julia Radock... Julia Forsemeyer, a knight who did not take up the sword but used magic as her weapon, had long been called the Bladeless Knight in this country.
After getting married, she was not called that as often, but the military prestige from that time was still effective and was a name she could use well, both domestically and abroad.
(Hmph... He certainly lives up to the pretension of calling himself a Demon King.)
That was how she evaluated Geoglyph, who stood opposite her.
Holding a great staff taken from storage magic, the blue eyes looking down at her were chillingly cold.
The amount of mana he cloaked himself in was also abnormal. During their discussion earlier, she had not noticed it much at first, perhaps because he was concealing it, but she remembered that the moment his tone changed, a vast amount of mana dominated the room.
(How many years has it been since I was overwhelmed by another person? Honestly...)
When she searched her memories for the last time she had been intimidated, she remembered her husband who had died young.
Come to think of it, that man was weak-willed, yet he was incredibly strong and bottomless at night. Until she awakened halfway through, she had been handled as he pleased, and she had been amazed, wondering if he was some kind of bed mafia.
(Once I got used to it and counterattacked to drain him dry, he just popped and died, but well, he connected the next generation, so he did the bare minimum of his job.)
It was a pressure she had not felt since then.
Realizing that she could not win before the fight even began.
"Pierce, 'Ice Bullet'!"
As she spoke the activation formula with a shortened chant, shards of ice appeared around Julia and accelerated all at once toward Geoglyph.
It was a low-level spell corresponding to the Eighth Magic Formula, but because of that, the burden on the caster was light and the casting was fast. Julia herself specialized in a combat pattern that assumed all ranges from long to medium and short, so it was a formula she often used as a starting point.
It was likely the magic she was most proficient in, and its power and precision were above those of an average mage.
"Decode."
However, the moment the target, Geoglyph, spoke a mysterious activation formula, an invisible wall appeared, and upon contact with the ice shards, they exploded. This caused a sympathetic detonation that swept up the following ice shards.
The 'Protection' of the Ninth Magic Formula. Originally, it was a simple single-use barrier, but Geoglyph had added an arrangement to give it a directional sympathetic detonation reaction, so like reactive armor, it defended by sweeping up the surroundings in a single burst.
"Pierce, 'Ice Bullet'!"
Julia redeployed the ice shards that had been wiped out. No.
"Pierce through, 'Icicle Lance'!"
Using the shards as a distraction, she mixed in one spell with high penetration power.
"Decode..."
Facing the storm of shards, as Geoglyph murmured the activation formula, a wall of fire appeared from beneath his feet and shot toward the heavens, licking the sky in an instant. Faced with that obstacle, the ice shards evaporated and were neutralized in an instant, but one icicle, driven by a lethal will, managed to pierce through the wall of fire.
'Icicle Lance'... a large icicle. Originally, it was about the size of an adult man, but it had melted slightly from the heat of the fire wall, shrinking to the size of a child. However, its sharpness had not dulled.
The timing and the setup were excellent. It was truly a guaranteed hit. For an average mage, this would be checkmate.
However.
"...Replace."
The SF otaku here was no average mage. Even if it was a joke, he was pretending to be the Demon King.
As Geoglyph spoke words that remained a mystery to Julia, the wall of fire wavered and changed. The wall of fire that had been ascending to the sky transformed into chains of fire, which slammed down from above and crushed the icicle.
The fire that spread from the aftermath scorched the garden, and its reflected light vividly illuminated the Demon King at the center. Feeling a chilling pressure from the emerging shadows, Julia thought.
(Interesting. In that case, I will drag you down from that throne...!)
Furthermore, with her fighting spirit boiling, she spoke the chant.
"Dance, 'Freeze Seeker'!"
●
At the same time Julia spoke the activation formula, Geoglyph leaped to the side to get out of the line of fire.
Immediately after, multiple ice chains leaped from her hand, rushing through the spot where Geoglyph had been a few moments before... and recognizing that they had missed, they began to track him.
"Ho...!?"
Moreover, instead of simply closing in on Geoglyph, they extended as if to cut him off where he was moving. Sensing that the situation had shifted from the way those movements resembled hunting dogs, Geoglyph realized.
(She has changed her tactics. Now that my stock is low, a short-to-medium range battle is convenient for me as well.)
They had both started from a long-range battle by keeping their distance, but Julia had likely realized she had no chance of winning that way. Geoglyph was impressed, thinking it was a good judgment based on actual combat.
Mages who primarily used magic... or more accurately, sorcerers, tended to want to keep their distance in battle. Since the chanting time and the distance between them were the keys to victory, it was inevitable, but that was not necessarily the correct answer.
No matter how powerful a great spell a sorcerer could handle, if they were approached and crushed by basic magic before activation, they were a useless ornament. Julia had realized this in the last exchange and judged that a clash of low-level magic at medium-to-short range... in other words, a high-speed striking battle, gave her a better chance of winning.
And that was correct. If Geoglyph had been an ordinary mage, that is.
"Decode."
Twisting his body to evade the pursuing ice chains and being gradually pushed back by Julia, Geoglyph spoke the activation formula. The great staff in his hand responded. A blade of light erupted from its tip, transforming into the shape of a great scythe.
"Decode."
Additionally, he deployed wind magic at his back. A gale, closer to a blast than a tailwind, occurred, and Geoglyph sprinted across the ground as if blown away by it. The distance to Julia was about 15 meters. He closed it in a single leap, but the opponent was also something of a professional, and she had taken an intercepting stance.
Geoglyph, who had intended to slash with the light scythe, changed his plan. He thrust the light scythe forward.
"Replace."
He executed the magic reconstruction command. The deployed light scythe changed, becoming shards of light that attacked Julia while spreading over a wide area. It was just like a shotgun blast.
"Clad me! 'Ice Armor'!"
Judging that she could not escape, Julia chanted the spell and activation formula, and a wall of ice appeared around her, repelling and defending against the shards of light. Geoglyph thought it was an admirable level of judgment. However, that was exactly what he had aimed for.
By prioritizing defense, her feet had stopped. Julia must be relieved behind the ice wall. Though it might be broken eventually, she could at least buy time to recover.
A Demon King would not give her such time.
"Stack... Decode!"
He activated the light scythe in duplicate. The blade extended to about five times its normal length. It was originally an Eighth Magic Formula, but by stacking it, he had raised the power to that of the Third Magic Formula.
With that.
"Hah!!"
He swung down from above, cleaving the ice wall head-on.
The shattered ice debris, the heat of the light scythe, and the steam and heat haze generated by the cleavage robbed Geoglyph of his vision. It should have been the same for Julia, but...
"Don't underestimate me too much, self-proclaimed Demon King."
As if blowing away the generated steam, Julia, with her right fist clenched, leaped in front of Geoglyph. In contrast, Geoglyph still had his staff swung down. She stepped in as if to hunt the opening, but...
"I'll return that exactly as it is, ice vixen."
Letting go of the staff in his hand, he parried the flying right fist with his left hand, then wrapped his arm around Julia's right arm, twisted his hips, and tossed her up. A variation of a shoulder throw. He thought he would end it by slamming her down... but the resistance was lighter than expected.
By the time he reached the correct answer, wondering if she had leaped on her own, the arm he was holding slipped smoothly from Geoglyph's hand. She had flown a considerable distance, but that was all. She landed cleanly, and no damage had been dealt.
Good grief, Geoglyph thought as he regained his stance and picked up the staff he had let go of, and Julia, who was similarly straightening her collar, came into view. He was the one pressing the attack and should have had the advantage, yet she was twisting the corner of her mouth.
"Honestly... you have even mastered close-quarters combat. I shall praise you, as expected of a Triad."
"Saying I cannot fight because I ran out of mana or am hindered by chanting time would be far too naive about the battlefield. Unless you are in a research position, most sorcerers who work as freelancers in the field possess some kind of close-combat technique."
"Hmph... I would like to let the magic corps of my country hear those words."
"Then first, drive them until they run out of mana, and then use a well-trained close-combat unit to crush them from all four sides, along with their pride. Every sorcerer in our Triad unit was made to go through that path. Now, they are a group of splendid Lotus-type sorcerers."
"Is your hometown some kind of demonic realm?"
Looking at the recent fanatical behavior, he could not deny it...! No, I'm the one who created it...! Geoglyph was at a loss for words.
"Now then, I am surprised. To think a sorcerer superior to me is rolling around in the field."
"Ho. For someone with such high pride, you are unexpectedly honest."
"If one cannot calmly view the enemy's strength, all that awaits is a dog's death. If it were a mere foot soldier, it would be one thing, but a general with subordinates cannot go far with that attitude."
That said, she continued.
"Sitting and waiting for death does not suit my nature. I will have you accompany me a bit longer, Demon King. Block! 'Ice Curtain'!"
"I do not think wanting to take the enemy down with you is what one calls being calm. Honestly...!"
Geoglyph braced himself as Julia spoke the activation formula again, but...
"Hm?"
He stopped moving, realizing it was not an attack formula.
What appeared in all directions was diamond dust. The sunlight reflected erratically, and before he knew it, he had lost sight of Julia's position.
'O ice flame of the waterfall, lure this one to the depths of the earth'
"This is..."
By the time he realized it was a distraction, the chant had begun. The voice also reflected, making it difficult to tell where she was. What he did know was that what Julia was chanting was the Third Magic Formula... a high-level spell.
'Cocytus'
The activation formula was uttered, and ice thorns closed in on Geoglyph's feet with a cracking sound. It was the foreshock of a great spell, a precursor. Once activated, he likely could not escape at this distance. A spell meant to certainly finish him off.
The standard countermeasures were evasion, defense, or neutralization.
However, evasion was no longer possible given the scale of the magic. Defense would result in death if the power was misjudged. Neutralization was similarly a bit of a gamble. An average mage would probably chant a prayer and take the gamble, but... for a Demon King whose origin was a soul from another world, one more hand remained.
Geoglyph placed his right hand near his feet, which would be the starting point of the activating magic, and closed his eyes.
Not limited to magic, spells are precise formulas... in other words, they are constructed based on certain laws. Although the meaning differs, Geoglyph had realized in his childhood that the arrangement and correspondence were similar to binary code.
In other words, by tampering here, it was possible to shorten the chant, compress the magic itself, convert it into something entirely different, replace the activation body... and by collapsing a part of it, make it dysfunctional, or freeze it.
What he read was 'Cocytus' just before activation. Following its binary composition, he reached the progression procedure that must be stepped on in advance, where the code was flowing.
"...Undo."
Geoglyph erased a part of it.
Immediately after, the ice thorns that had been closing in on him stopped dead in their tracks, and after a short while, they began to self-destruct.
"...What did you do?"
"I erased a part of the magic formula just before activation. It is difficult with things like 'Ice Bullet' because they are fast, but high-level formulas that take time to manifest are easier to break this way."
Before he knew it, the diamond dust covering his vision had cleared. Julia was at the end of the voice, asking with a twitching cheek, and when he explained it to her, she was speechless.
"...I honestly take my hat off to you. It was not the maximum, but it was the strongest formula I could use with a shortened chant, and you decoded it in that instant."
"You shortened the Third Magic Formula to one phrase. Considering my eldest brother can still only shorten the same Third Magic Formula to three phrases, you are quite a remarkable person. My father became able to shorten the Second Magic Formula to three phrases a few years ago."
"Is your clan, the Triad, composed of nothing but monsters?"
I think they are just a bit muscle-brained, so it is not like that, Geoglyph argued in his mind, but if the Triad family were here, they would have probably shouted in unison, 'You're the one who's a mana idiot, don't talk!'
"Now then, have you shown all your cards? Then, it is about time... the farce ends..."
"Stop it!"
"Hm?"
Just as Geoglyph gripped his staff again, thinking he had let her use her trump card and it was time to wrap this up, a small shadow leaped in from the side.
A child with a wooden sword... specifically, a boy of about five years old. As Geoglyph felt a sense of deja vu at those blue eyes, the boy shouted.
"Don't bully Mother!!"
"Bertoni! Don't come out!"
I see, they are parent and child, Geoglyph understood, but not knowing why he had intruded, he looked around to see two idiots grinning at the entrance of the mansion and one old butler waving his hand.
"Hey, butler. This is..."
"I'll beat you up!"
Geoglyph, seeing through the fact that the boy seemed to be the main culprit, tried to raise a voice of protest, but before that, the boy raised the wooden sword in his hand and charged.
"Oh? Oh?"
Being the son of the current lord... the next head of the family, he could probably move better than children of the same age, but he was a five-year-old who was not a reincarnated person. The quality of his movements was predictable, and Geoglyph, while bewildered, dodged the swinging wooden sword.
During this, he glanced at Julia, who was covering her face with one hand and sighing.
She seemed to have lost all will to fight, and Geoglyph also shrugged his shoulders, thinking good grief.
"...................Guh!?"
He decided to intentionally take the incoming wooden sword.
"Kuh...! To think you would wound this Demon King of the Night Sky...! You are quite capable. Boy, as a reward, I shall give you the opportunity to introduce yourself."
"Bertoni Radock! The next Count of Radock! Instead of Mother, I am your opponent!"
Somehow feeling like a parent playing along with a child's hero game, Geoglyph resisted the urge to laugh and continued his Demon King play.
"Fu, fufu... Good spirit, boy... no, Bertoni Radock. In honor of that courage, I shall admit my defeat here. Look, like this, I surrender."
Then, he threw the staff in his hand to the ground and surrendered, and Bertoni's face lit up as he turned back to his mother.
"Mother! I won!"
Julia was in a position where she should normally scold a child for interrupting an adults' fight, but regardless of that...
"Well done! As expected of my son!"
This female head of the house was a doting parent.