Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku Chapter 520

17-33. World Crisis (3)

Satou here. Angels and demons, Indra and Ashura, God and Demon, such confrontations can be found in tales as old as time. Must be because it's easier for people to accept the contrast between good and evil.

“Master, it's demons! Arm Exchange–Prepare Anti Demon Acceleration Buster.”

『Aye aye ma'am, Acceleration Buster Launcher, standby.』

Once she confirmed an army of demons appearing in the sky by sight, Lulu ordered her golden armor's support AI to replace her equipment.

The demons seemed to be faltering for an instant as they lorded over the ground before they made a nose dive.

–Huh?

“Aim, and–”

“Hold it, Lulu.”

Just as Lulu was about to pull the trigger, I made my little clone jumped out of her shadow, stopping her.

“–Master?”

“Look closely.”

“Aah, the demons!”

The demons are launching a furious assault on the ground with their nose dive.

“Why are they attacking the vanguard monsters?”

Indeed, the demons aren't attacking us or soldiers at the rampart, but vanguard monsters overflowing out of the purple tower.

Most of the vanguard monsters had been annihilated by Lulu though, so they were done cleaning up the remainders in a flash.

Seemingly feeling anti climatic, the demons begin surveying the surrounding area, looking for more monsters.

“Did those demons kill those monsters for us?”

“Yeah, as if. They're coming for us next, I'm sure of it.”

“Just look at those demonic figures!”

The soldiers couldn't hide their surprise at the unexpected action the demons took.

Only a minority believes those demons are friendly though.

“Master, are the demons allying themselves with people?”

“Hmm, I don't think so.”

Judging from all the demons I've seen so far, whenever one is acting friendly, it's almost assuredly not out of the goodness of their heart.

『Master, some demons appeared out of thin air and began hunting vanguard monsters around purple towers.』

『Master, same here so I report.』

『Master, the demons who showed up here seem to loiter around the tower without doing anything else once they're done dealing with monsters.』

『Same.』

『Pochi won't lose to demon persons nodesu! Those are Pochi's prey nanodesuyo!』

『Tama won't lose too~?』

Apparently, demons have appeared near purple towers all over the world and cleaned up the vanguard monsters that had overflowed out.

“Master! Look at the sky!”

Lulu points at the sky.

A woman who looks like an image of holy mother is projected in the sky.

She's neither Demon God nor gods.

『My beloved children living in this world.』

A voice full of gentleness reverberated in the sky.

The soldiers on top of the rampart have forgotten about the demons as they look up at the holy mother projection.

Since they looked a bit overzealous to me, I tried appraising them and found out that the lower leveled soldiers had been put under Bewitched state.

Lulu is fine thanks to her golden armor, but things could get ugly if this kept up.

It might be a good idea to halt the currently progressing plan I'm executing and circle around the world to undo these Bewitched states with my real body.

『Intruding the purple towers–[Tower of Trials] and letting Monsters of Trials flow out of the towers is a ploy by gods to reduce your faith toward Demon God-sama.』

That holy mother is apparently a familiar of Demon God.

Would the fact that Demon God didn't do it himself be a proof that he had been severely weakened?

I would have been willing to hear him out were not for the Bewitchment, but it's pretty clear that this situation we're facing now is a work of Demon God.

『Except for God Parion, you must not put your faith on [Seven Pillar Gods]–』

『O people! Let not thyselves be misled by Demon God's trickery!』

A dignified voice interrupted the holy mother's speech.

To the opposite of the holy mother's projection, a silhouette of a fine man made of orange-colored light showed up. It's god Heraruon.

Lit by the orange light, the projection of holy mother warped and transformed into a feminine-looking metallic demon.

And at the same time, the soldiers were freed of Bewitched state.

God Heraruon sure can be pretty handy at times.

『Demon God is attempting to reduce thine faith toward us, to take this world in his own hand.』

『People! Believe in your creators, us! That's the only thing those who crawl on the ground such as you can do! This great War God Garleon-sama shall annihilate the likes of demon god!』

『That's wrong Garleon! I, the great Zaikuon-sam will be the one who destroys Demon God!』

God Garleon's and Zaikuon's voices echoed after god Heraruon's.

Just when god Heraruon was acting like a proper god for once, these two gods just had to ruin it for him.

『Heraruon, Garleon's and Zaikuon's voices are dispersing through the Wide Area Oracle system. You must correct this defect at once. Karion said so too.』

『I didn't. But I'm in agreement about correcting defects.』

So the messy broadcast was because of a bug in the Wide Area Oracle system, huh.

Their voices immediately disappeared, the orange pulsing lights loosened up.

『pEoPlE. yoU MuSNt bE dECeiveD bY tHoSe fOOlisH gOds.』

Befitting of its now demonic mother form, its body swayed every time it spoke with its eerie voice.

Unlike before, the soldiers on top of the rampart are pointing their bows and spears at the demonic mother in dread.

『onLY dEmOn gOd-sAMa aND gOd pARiOn hOLd yOu DeAR.』

–Guess God Parion is in Demon God's camp then?

『Minions of demon god! By thrones of gods and Heraruon's name, I order thou! Be gone from this world, back to Netherworld with thee!』

In the face of a brightly shining orange light, the demonic mother projection is melting down.

『peOPle. dOnT bEliEve iN FooLisH gOds tRicK–』

The demonic mother disappeared in the middle of its speech.

『O people. Interfering with the world of men should not withal, I shall make an exception this time and grant thee a miracle.』

God Heraruon's light pulsed, then geometrically shaped apostles showed up in his place.

Though they weren't numbering in many, six kinds of apostles with six different colored ring light contours charged at the demons.

A lavish treatment you wouldn't think coming from these divinity-starving gods.

The gods must be trying leave a good impression of them to the people, thus stimulating recovery on faith.

“Do your best, apostles-sama!”

“Crush those demons!”

Soldiers on top of rampart cheered for the apostles.

Judging from their reactions, it's going just as gods wanted.

Those demons would probably just go back on their own once they eliminated the vanguard monsters even if those apostles never showed up though.

“How should we proceed, Master?”

“Let's just leave them be so long as the soldiers aren't in danger.”

After telling that to Lulu, I switched my consciousness to my other little clones to check on the other girls.

“Those apostles appear to be suicidally charging toward the demons, so I analyze.”

The apostles has the upper hand at Nana's location.

“Pochi don't really get it nodesu. Lyuryu, which one should Pochi fight nodesu?”

–ＬＹＵＲＹＵＲＹＵＵＵ.

A three pronged combat between vanguard monsters flowing out of purple towers, demons and apostles is unfolding at Pochi's location.

Pochi can't decide on to whether defeat the vanguard monsters or the demons.

Since the apostles run away whenever they catch sight of Lyuryu, they're not even under consideration apparently.

“Tama is a white angel-san~?”

A three pronged fight is happening at Tama's location as well, but the situation there is a bit different.

Cat Ninja Tama in her pink mantled golden armor is staying still on top of a spire, but the person inside that armor herself is busy going around treating people wounded in the fight using magic potions while cosplaying as a white angel.

“These apostles have no fight in them. They just charge straight ahead without thinking… They're no good as a sparing partner, unlike demons with their hidden tricks and sneak attacks, can't let my guard down against them.”

Liza was hunting down the demons while ignoring the apostles when she made a mistake and reflexively defeated an apostle trying to attack her.

Well, those apostles are kind of like autonomous mechs, so this should count as an act of self-defense.

“Mwu, weak.”

Mia's battlefield had apostles lay defeated, with the demons raising a victory cry.

Mia's summoned Behemoth is standing by in front of a rampart, keeping a lookout for the demons.

“Master, all sides faced annihilation over here.”

None of the three, not the demons, apostles, or the vanguard monsters remained on the battlefield Arisa was in charge of.

The majority seemed to have been swallowed up into the <> Arisa set up, getting expelled to some dimensional ends.

“So demons and apostles only show themselves up in locations with concentrated populations centers huh…”

“Yes, the vanguard monsters are still rampaging around in this area.”

Zensan who has finished her duty at Seryuu City tells me the results of territorial army's investigation at Kainona Town and surrounding villages.

I decided to convey that to others girls and ask them to concentrate on stopping stampedes at locations with no demons and apostles around.

『Satou-san.』

Sera called out to my little clone attached to her.

I switch my consciousness there.

“What's the matter, Sersan?”

“A Demon God's familiar had showed up at Puta Town.”

“Puta Town?”

“Yes, it fled after demolishing an alchemist store.”

“What about the alchemist?”

“It's an alchemist young couple who had just moved in the town from Saga Empire, they're nowhere to be found after the familiar left.”

–A married alchemist couple who just moved in from Saga Empire.

Kinda feels like I know this couple.

“Did they get abducted?”

“Oh no, according to the witness who was on site at the time, magic hunter Kena, the wife cast a spell to teleport themselves away after they repelled the familiar.”

Teleportation huh… So it's most likely Tactician Touya and the plain-faced reincarnated person with Teleportation Unique Skill after all.

According to marker list, they're hiding in one of their former hideouts in Saga Empire.

Since that place is supposedly protected by Yuika's barrier, they're unlikely to get sniffed out by Demon God's familiars there.

“Au, a–kuh.”

Sera sounded like she was in pain while clutching her chest.

A pale green light pulsed around her, but it doesn't seem like she's using the Unique Skill loaned by god Tenion in this situation.

Her agony quickly receded, Sera looked up at my little clone with a face full of sweat.

“Satou-san, I have received an oracle from god Tenion.”

That agony earlier was apparently a side effect of an oracle from god Tenion.

The reason why it was unlike the usual oracle is apparently because she was forcefully sent a highly compressed information by way of a resonance with the [God's Fragment], source of Unique Skill, within her.

“What was the oracle about?”

“Yes well, please allow me some time to decipher it since this one feels like it's been highly compressed.”

Afterward, Sera shut her eyes.

“O-Oh no, Satou-san, this is bad!”

As she opened her eyes wide, Sera cried out while hugging my little clone.

“The Divinity Crystal kept in the depths of the Garden of Gods, [White Imperial Radiant Crystal] has been stolen by Demon God.”

“–Divinity Crystal?”

That sounds bad.

Divinity is needed to maintain the barrier that keeps the Outside Invaders away from this world.

“There was a request from god Tenion to Satou-san within the compressed information. She's asking you to go to the Netherworld, and take back the White Imperial Radiant Crystal from Demon God.”

Great, another ridiculous task.

Chapter end