The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time C357: The former Demon King clashes with a self–proclaimed human and his companions

Heinz and his companions were fighting a difficult battle against Malacoda, who possessed a body of black-red flames.

It grunted, shouted, and laughed as it swung its flaming claws and tail in attacks that were so ferocious that it would have been impossible to block them without Heinz's holy sword and Delizah's shield.

Malacoda also possessed an ability that sapped the water from anyone who came nearby, dehydrating their bodies. This artificial spirit of fire and death also ruled over death by desiccation.

However–

“'Evil-Destroying Single Flash!'” Heinz shouted.

With his holy sword enchanted by 'Radiant Life,' an anti-death-attribute enchantment spell, he sliced through the arm that Malacoda held up to try and protect itself, and his sword continued to cut Malacoda in two.

But Malacoda cackled unpleasantly as it quickly regenerated and returned back to normal. It seemed that even after inheriting the holy sword that had slain the Demon King from Bellwood, it would not be so easy to kill this artificial spirit.

“It's like that legendary fire-attribute spirit,” Heinz muttered.

Malacoda's immortality was such that it reminded him and his companions of the Phoenix, an immortal bird that was spoken of in legends.

“Even a Phoenix wouldn't be as tough as this,” Jennifer remarked. “I do think it's about as tough as Legion over there, though.”

Given that it had regenerated its body within seconds after it was cut in two, it even reminded them of the copy of Legion that they had fought inside Alda's Dungeon of Trials.

“No, the fact that it doesn't have 'Counter' makes it easier,” said Delizah.

“Then we just need to break it to pieces in one go!” said Jennifer.

With her fists enchanted by 'Radiant Life' like Heinz's sword, Jennifer unleashed a series of punches against Malacoda. Her skin stung, despite her Magic Item that protected her from heat.

But Malacoda was not simply allowing these attacks to land. It laughed as it dodged Jennifer's fists, counter-attacked with its own kicks, and spat fire from its mouth in an attempt to gain some distance from her.

Ordinarily, Jennifer would not be the only one engaging the enemy; Edgar would be with her, disrupting and stopping Malacoda's movements, and Heinz would take that opportunity to finish the battle with one powerful attack. But Edgar was no longer here.

Even so, if Heinz were to draw forth a significant quantity of Bellwood's power in one go and then push through using force, he might be able to destroy Malacoda. However, that would come at a price – he would be extremely exhausted and only able to maintain 'Heroic God Descent' for a few more minutes afterwards.

If I do that, I won't be able to fight against Guduranis, and if he creates more artificial spirits, this will all be pointless. And I'd like to avoid 'Heroic God Descent' coming undone while I'm surrounded by Vandalieu and his allies, Heinz thought.

Heinz had hoped to cooperate with Vandalieu and his companions, but had instead been attacked alongside Rikudou, so he was now wary of Vandalieu. Nobody could blame him and his party for being wary after that had happened, but… even now, the lack of trust between them and Vandalieu was hindering them.

Jennifer and Heinz suppressed their frustration as they continued cautiously fighting against Malacoda, who specialized in offensive power and immortality, with the support of Delizah and Diana.

Seeing Heinz and his party doing battle while also fighting his own battle against Guduranis, Vandalieu considered himself lucky in two ways.

The first was that Heinz's party had drawn away the artificial spirit that seemed the most troublesome, and were continuously fighting against it. Thanks to that, Darcia and the others were fighting even or favorable battles against the other artificial spirits.

On top of that, the battle between Heinz's party and Malacoda was keeping them busy, delaying their ability to interfere with the battle between Vandalieu and Guduranis.

Vandalieu had decided to prioritize defeating Guduranis over killing Heinz and Delizah, but making the wrong choice in the heat of the moment… That was something that could happen to anyone.

If it isn't necessary for enemies to fight alongside one another, then it's best that they don't.

Even as these thoughts ran through Vandalieu's mind, his battle against Guduranis continued.

“Humans can't do anything without flocking together, and you are but a pitiful imitation of a human. And yet, you think you can defeat me alone?! 'Shining Blow!'” Guduranis snarled, using a martial skill with one of Edgar's Skills.

“'Flowing Willow,'” said Vandalieu, parrying the attack. “Who are you calling an imitation? I'm indisputably a human. 'Screw Sharp Tongue,'” he said, countering with an attack of his own.

“Even at this point, you still play the fool?! If you are so obsessed with being human, then why do you gather the fragments of my body?! 'Flame Prison Death!'” shouted Guduranis.

His ability to learn had been strengthened by Rikudou's cheat-like ability, and his spell was an imitation of Vandalieu's, using sebum secreted from the Demon King's sebaceous glands in place of the Demon King's fat.

“'Demon Fire,'” said Vandalieu, casting a spell to nullify the heat. “That's because it's safer and more convenient for me to absorb your fragments. But I must say, you are blocking and evading my attacks quite well.”

Vandalieu had been unable to land a direct hit on Guduranis since their close-quarters battle began.

Guduranis chuckled. “I'm making good use of the Status of your mother's killer, after all. Like this!”

In conjunction with Gufadgarn, Vandalieu attempted to take Guduranis by surprise with a teleportation gate, but Guduranis evaded it with a laugh.

“What's the matter?” Guduranis taunted. “If you can't land any attacks, then it doesn't matter how much Mana you have–”

“It seems that you're quite scared of my attacks,” said Vandalieu.

The moment Vandalieu said this, the elation vanished from Guduranis's face.

“It's the effects of 'Danger Sense: Death,' isn't it? Even taking into account that you can use Edgar's Skills, your reactions are simply too fast,” Vandalieu said.

Guduranis had originally not been able to fight in a way that emphasized speed and finesse. After all, he hadn't needed to. He had possessed a body that was tougher than any armor, immune to poison and disease, and possessed an incredible capability to regenerate. There had been no point for him to resort to cheap tricks.

As Guduranis himself had just said, he had become able to fight using his agility because he had acquired Edgar's Status… Because he had absorbed Edgar's soul and gained the ability to use his Skills. However, Guduranis was defending and evading Vandalieu's attacks too well to be accounted for by just that.

That wasn't because Guduranis possessed faster reflexes than Edgar, nor because he had used Rikudou's cheat-like ability to learn and improve within a short period of time. It was because he was immediately sensing the presence of death in Vandalieu's attacks with 'Danger Sense: Death,' and using that to evade and defend against them.

Ordinarily, one would say, “So what?” even after this was pointed out. After all, Vandalieu knowing this didn't put Guduranis in a disadvantageous position at all.

But to the Demon King Guduranis, it was a humiliating thing that he did not want to admit. He was partially influenced by Rikudou, as he had made up for the missing parts of his soul using Rikudou's soul.

“You filth… You dare suggest that I would feel the presence of death in your feeble attacks and fear them?!” Guduranis hissed. “DIIIIIE!”

“Even after turning into the Demon King, you still get angry when the truth is pointed out,” Vandalieu remarked. “'Soul Destruction Fighting Technique.'”

The enraged Guduranis produced arms all over his body and charged towards Vandalieu, and Vandalieu activated 'Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,' which covered his body in the physical materialization of his soul.

“'Screw Blow!' 'Hundred Furious Punches!'” Guduranis shouted.

“'Extreme Rapid Reaction,' 'Thousand Furious Whip Blows,' 'Disinfect.'”

Guduranis and Vandalieu's attacks collided with one another, sending Guduranis's murky black blood and Vandalieu's black-red blood spraying into the air.

Guduranis unleashed a thrust from a rapidly-spinning hand and a fierce barrage of punches, and he roared as he fired air cannons of deadly poison from the nose of the Demon King on his chest.

Vandalieu sped up his reaction time with 'Super Rapid Reaction,' dislocated his joints from their sockets to perform an 'Unarmed Fighting Technique' martial skill of the Ghouls with his now outstretched arm, and erased the poison in the deadly poison air cannons.

As a result, he received some damage even through 'Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,' but succeeded in landing several direct blows on Guduranis.

Guduranis had likely become so infuriated that his instinct to fight was having a greater influence on him than his instinct to survive, causing him to react more slowly to 'Danger Sense: Death.'

I wouldn't say that things went perfectly according to my calculations, but my suspicion that he would get enraged was so right that it's eerie, Vandalieu thought.

“I also want to say that I don't see how my absorption of your fragments makes me not human,” he said to Guduranis.

He was willing to admit that he was somewhat different from a human, but just because he was just a little different didn't make him something else entirely. That didn't change, even if he did absorb fragments of the Demon King.

Understanding that Vandalieu was implying this, Guduranis turned his seething anger into a killing intent, which he put into his next spell. “You made a mockery of my body! 'Death Herald Scream!'”

Guduranis let out a scream that seemed to be based on the scream of a Banshee that heralded death; it was a spell that sapped the Vitality of anyone who heard it.

But at the same time, Vandalieu used the 'Scream' Skill, creating sound waves that drowned out Guduranis's scream. Because Vandalieu possessed the 'Scream' Skill, Guduranis could not outdo him in the volume of his scream.

But despite his newly-created spell being neutralized so easily, Guduranis laughed, seeming to have regained his composure. It was not angry insults, but words of ridicule, that came from his mouth next

“You seem to be quite relaxed! Or perhaps you haven't noticed?!” he sneered. “You cannot defeat me only by parrying my attacks and neutralizing the spells I create! And yet, you are continuously expending vast quantities of Mana in order to fight me!”

“It's exactly as you say,” Vandalieu admitted, as this was the truth. “I've already cast 'World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon' multiple times, so even with the Staff of Five Sins, I'm expending Mana at a rate that I've never done before.”

But he didn't feel much of a sense of danger. It was true that he had expended a great deal of Mana, but at the same time, his 'Constant Mana Recovery' Skill and 'Increased Mana Recovery Rate' Skills were replenishing his Mana even at this very moment.

If he continued to cast 'World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon' in quick succession, he would eventually reach the bottom of his Mana pool, but there was no problem in fighting mainly with physical combat techniques as he was doing now.

“You're the one who's in a bad spot because you've expended too much Mana, aren't you, Guduranis?” Vandalieu said.

Guduranis had spent much more Mana than he had.

“What did you say?! I am the Demon King who destroyed the great gods! You think you have seen the full depths of my Mana?!” Guduranis snarled.

“Then why did you create artificial spirits only once?” Vandalieu questioned. “Tai Sui and Gnosis have been defeated, so you have less of them around now, you know.”

Guduranis snorted dismissively. “Why is it necessary to re-conjure useless things whose strengths and weaknesses are already known?!”

“Then you could create different artificial spirits, couldn't you? Like Malacoda, the one that's keeping Heinz and his friends busy,” Vandalieu said.

Guduranis's expression changed completely, and he glared at Vandalieu with his face twisted in hatred. “If only my body and soul were in their complete states…!”

“You went to the effort of using the brain of the Demon King, which you'd kept hidden thus far, to create artificial spirits, so I thought something was strange. I suppose the brain was necessary to reduce the rate at which you're spending your Mana by controlling it and making your usage more efficient,” Vandalieu said.

Guduranis had been resurrected, but his body and soul were in an incomplete state, and he was making up for the missing parts of his soul with Rikudou's soul. Thus, the quantity of Mana that he possessed and the rate at which it recovered was far below what it was originally supposed to be.

At the very least, he had been cornered to the point where he was hesitant to create powerful allies like artificial spirits of Rank 13 or higher again.

“And you're not the only one who's improved themselves. 'Killing Blade Swarm,'” said Vandalieu, casting the same spell that Guduranis had cast earlier.

But there was only a single blade… and it was an enormous one, with a length of over ten meters.

“Oh dear, a small mistake from me. But, well, I suppose it will do,” Vandalieu said.

“You scum, thinking that you can imitate me with such crude technique by relying on your Mana–”

But Guduranis stopped mid-sentence and shouted in alarm as Vandalieu raised his hand.

The moment Vandalieu released the enormous blade, it exploded into a countless number of fragments that scattered in all directions, then flew towards Guduranis.

Guduranis roared in exertion. “'Magic Absorption Shield!'”

Although a huge quantity of Mana had been poured into Vandalieu's attack, Guduranis had thought it wouldn't be a problem as long as he evaded it, as it was still just a single blade. But after it shattered into pieces, the blade fragments pierced all over Guduranis's body, tearing into him like shrapnel. Unable to bear this, Guduranis hardened his defenses using 'Magic Absorption Shield,' a spell that absorbed Mana, but this ended up being a poor choice.

By the time he had cast his defensive spell, Vandalieu had formed a circle over his mouth with his hands.

“'Death Herald Scream!'”

Guduranis was instantaneously pierced by a sound wave attack focused in his direction, and he screamed in agony.

Unlike the 'Death Herald Scream' that Guduranis had used earlier, it did not disperse into the surroundings. The Vitality was sapped from the core of his body, and he felt an indescribably horrible sensation, as if something was physically stirring his brain into a mush.

“If I force you to stop moving to defend yourself, it doesn't matter how fast you are. In fact, if you wanted to make the best use of your body, you should have absorbed a shield-bearer or another frontline fighter rather than a scout. How unfortunate for you that you ended up absorbing Edgar, of all people,” Vandalieu said.

“Y-you filth, why are you imitating my spells… No, why are you able to cast spells that surpass mine in power?! You don't have the talent for that!” Guduranis spat.

“… How many years do you think I've been a mage? It's true that I don't have any talent, but I have more experience with death-attribute magic than Rikudou did,” said Vandalieu.

In truth, his experience only accounted for thirty percent of the spells' power, and the other seventy percent was just him casting them forcibly using the sheer volume of his Mana, but he didn't intend to tell Guduranis that.

“I'll call the first spell 'Cruel Killing Torture Scatter Blades,' and the next one 'Dark Herald Frenzy Scream,'” Vandalieu decided. “Leaving that aside… Guduranis, it seems that you've gotten all excited after acquiring human skill and ingenuity, but haven't you forgotten that I am also a human who uses skill and ingenuity to fight against powerful enemies?”

“Y-you think you have the right to say that?!” Guduranis spat, looking astonished for some reason.

Vandalieu nodded with no insincerity at all. In fact, he had some inkling of why he was being asked this question, but he convinced himself with everything that he had that he had no idea whatsoever. He had no idea, so it wasn't insincere.

Since coming to this world, for over ten years, Vandalieu had relearned magic literally since he was a baby, and learned physical combat techniques as well, so he was allowed to do that much, wasn't he?

“And you were wrong in saying that I'm alone. Or rather, I'm sure you already know. Or have you been so disrespectful that you've been counting my friends as objects rather than people?” Vandalieu said. “'Bone Flame Claw,' 'Black Lightning Claw,' 'Death Ice Tongue.'”

He produced tentacles on his back to take the Staff of Five Sins from his hands, imbued his claws and tongue with Princess Levia, Kimberley, and Orbia, then engaged Guduranis at close range once more.

Guduranis groaned in frustration. “'True Rapid Reaction!' 'Million Slashes!' 'Great Strong Fist!'”

With his reaction speed increased, Guduranis performed a series of high-speed chopping attacks with both hands, as well as a big punch swinging down from above from an arm on his back.

“'Transcend Limits,' 'Transcend Limits: Fragments,' 'God Steel Tear,' 'Screw Sharp Tongue.'”

Vandalieu performed an advanced martial skill with the claws on both his hands, along with fragments of the Demon King that could even deal damage to Orichalcum, and took aim at Guduranis's head with his tongue, which was capable of stretching infinitely.

Guduranis shouted again as Vandalieu's tongue grazed the side of his head, and he quickly severed it with a chopping strike. The claws coming at Guduranis from both sides severed his arms of the Demon King, straight through the paw pads of the Demon King, and gouged chunks out of the Demon King's nose on his chest. But Guduranis produced new fists and smashed Vandalieu's hands from the wrists down.

With a comical-sounding noise, black-red blood spewed forth from the nose of the Demon King on Guduranis's chest… No, it was grease, gathered from the sebum produced by the Demon King's sebaceous glands.

“'Searing Flame Prison Death!'” Guduranis roared.

In the next moment, Vandalieu's vision was filled with flames. Guduranis had instantaneously created a spell with more explosive power than 'Flame Prison Death' and used it to detonate the grease.

A moment later, there was what sounded like five voices screaming in tears.

“'Dark Scythe Hollow Prison Sever.'”

Vandalieu sliced through the flames and emerged, wielding an enormous black scythe. Its handle was the Staff of Five Sins in which Fidirg resided, and its blade was made of compressed death-attribute Mana. Vandalieu raised it up and swung it down at Guduranis.

“'Phantom Slip!'”

Guduranis used one of Edgar's most advanced evasive martial skills, then attempted to immediately deflect Vandalieu's weapon with chopping attacks performed with his hands.

But he failed.

The scythe cut through Guduranis's arms and sliced him into two, and his screams, one coming from each half, echoed across the sky.

Has he done it?! Randolf thought hopefully as he saw this, despite still being in battle with an artificial spirit.

“C-come forth, my arms!” Guduranis groaned.

He grew arms that grasped each other and pulled the two halves of his body back together and forcibly rejoined.

Guduranis clicked his tongue in frustration. “If I were able to break souls, I would break your unsightly soul to pieces!”

“If you were capable of doing that, I wouldn't be using 'Soul Destruction Fighting Technique' in the first place,” said Vandalieu. “Of course, it seems that you were never able to break souls as easily as I can to begin with.”

The two were facing each other once more. Guduranis's wounds were already healed, but he was significantly exhausted. All of Vandalieu's attacks contained the effects of the 'Soul Devour' and 'God Devourer' Skills, and Guduranis's Mana was being steadily chipped away.

At the same time, Vandalieu was also exhausted. The Mana he had expended to cast 'Dark Scythe Hollow Prison Sever,' a spell that he had come up with on the spot, and the Mana he was spending to maintain 'Soul Destruction Fighting Technique' and repair his soul armor, was far greater than the Mana that he was recovering. As proof of that, his soul armor grew thinner, then vanished like mist.

Guduranis laughed. “Before we fought, your Mana seemed as bottomless as the deep sea, and now, it is like a lake. It is still a large lake, but it does have a bottom. Or do you still insist that you are not struggling?”

“I do, because unlike you, I'm not alone,” said Vandalieu. “Everyone, give me a hand.”

“You fool, Vida and the others have their hands full dealing with my artificial spirits. There is no one else who can come and help you… Ah, there are,” said Guduranis, correcting himself.

In response to Vandalieu's call for aid, the space-attribute Ghost Jane Doe appeared behind him. Guduranis eyed her warily, but quickly turned his gaze back towards Vandalieu, seeming to not have deemed Jane Doe to be much of a threat.

… Although Heinz and his companions were in the midst of fighting against Malacoda, they took notice of Jane, who was an assembly of countless Ghosts that had Martina's appearance. They were so shocked that they left an opening that caused Heinz and Delizah to be sent flying by an attack, but this was of little matter to Vandalieu.

“Ghosts of that caliber are your reinforcements? You must be underestimating me!” said Guduranis, raising his hands and charging in to attack Vandalieu once more.

His intention was likely to ignore Jane and continue attacking Vandalieu so that he could kill him and reclaim the Demon King fragments that he possessed.

But Jane wasn't Vandalieu's reinforcements.

“Teleportation gate, to the Inner World,” she said.

A teleportation gate opened in empty space, and a countless number of Demons flew out. They screamed, screeched, and cackled as they charged at Guduranis.

There were Demons of all strengths, from Lesser Demons with goat-like horns to the more powerful Greater Demons and Archdemons. There were Demon Mages that cast spells, Crow Demons with the heads and wings of crows, Flame Demons that were wreathed in flames, and Demon Generals that gave commands. There was even an Ancient Archdemon that was as powerful as an evil god.

The endless horde of Demons that had filled one of Vandalieu's Inner Worlds after he acquired the 'Demon Ruler' Job attacked Vandalieu.

“Demons?!” Guduranis exclaimed in surprise. “But is that all you've got?!”

No matter how many of them there were, there was no chance that Demons that were Rank 5, 6, or 7 would put up any fight against Guduranis. Even the Rank 12 Ancient Archdemon was little more than a slightly stronger small-fry to him.

Indeed, Guduranis's chopping attacks were slashing the Demons in half, and their corpses were dropping down towards the ground below.

Vandalieu's blood and flesh, which had flown off his body when he was wounded earlier, had been kept floating in the air by his 'Group Control' Skill, and now, they adhered themselves onto the falling Demons' corpses.

The moment they did, the Demons were resurrected. Those that were missing their lower bodies grew new lower bodies, and those that were missing their upper bodies grew new upper bodies. The corpses that had been shredded to pieces grew all of their missing parts back.

One of the Demons roared as it was reborn. “We, RE, VanDALieu's, crEAtions!”

“What?!” Guduranis exclaimed, his eyes wide open in astonishment. “Impossible, you aren't ruling the Demons, you're–”

The Demons attacked him once more, and despite his surprise, Guduranis blew them apart with deadly poison air cannon attacks. However, the scattered pieces of flesh created and resurrected new Demons that attacked Guduranis again.

“As long as Vandalieu exists, we are immortal!”

“We die! And we are born!”

“COME and KILL us! As MAny times AS you WANT! We WILL be reINcarNATED as maNY times AS you wounDED VanDAlieu!”

'Demon Ruler' wasn't a Job just for ruling over Demons or even a Job for creating them. It was a Job that allowed one to create Demons with one's own body and Mana, a Job for one who was both a ruler and creator… a source of Demons.

In other words, it was a Job that automatically reincarnated Demons… or rather, created a system that did so.

“YOU PIECE OF VERMIIIIN!” Guduranis bellowed in fury. “You dare imitate even my great accomplishment that continues to gnaw at this world to this very day?!”

Guduranis had created a system for reincarnating monsters, based on Rodcorte's circle of transmigration system, but Vandalieu wasn't aware of that.

I wonder what he's talking about? he wondered, confused.

“CURSE YOOOOU!” Guduranis screamed, swinging his arms around to scatter the Demons that were only growing in number, as he closed the distance between himself and Vandalieu.

But the Demons weren't Vandalieu's only reinforcements.

Guduranis hadn't noticed, because his vision was obscured by the Demons, but two of Vandalieu's companions had left the city below to join him.

“'Strong Axe!'”

“'Zenith Sunlight Cannon.'”

A pair of Ghouls, mother and daughter, with their transformation equipment active, attacked him with a martial skill and a spell.

“So, this is the legendary Demon King Guduranis… His entire body is covered in noses,” murmured Basdia.

“Do not be misled by his appearance, Basdia,” Zadiris warned her.

Guduranis stared at the two of them with an infuriated expression.

One of his arms had been severed by Basdia, and another arm was hanging limply after being scorched by Zadiris's spell, but they quickly regenerated and returned to normal.

“This damage is the most that you insects can inflict on me, and you think you can buy time?” Guduranis murmured.

“We can buy time. Our attacks may never kill you, but we just need to hit you enough to hinder you!” said Basdia, raising her axe and closing in on Guduranis along with the Demons.

This was the plan that had been told to them by the split entities of Vandalieu who had descended upon their bodies through 'Familiar Spirit Demonfall.'

“So clever!” hissed Guduranis.

Thus far, he had been evading Vandalieu's attacks with 'Danger Sense: Death,' but he was the Demon King, not a human. Thus, he did not have vital spots like humans did. There was no heart that was necessary to keep him alive, and even if he were to lose all his blood, he would be completely fine.

Thus, he could never be killed by anything other than the attacks of Vandalieu, who could devour souls. Bellwood, the one who had defeated him in the past, had descended upon Heinz's body and given him his holy sword, but even Heinz's attacks could not kill him. Indeed, he had been defeated a hundred years ago and sealed away, but he had not died.

That was why Guduranis could not sense Basdia's attacks with 'Danger Sense: Death.' Of course, Guduranis could parry most of her attacks using his own reaction speed and Edgar's abilities.

And that was precisely why Vandalieu was weaving between the Demons and Basdia, attacking only sporadically.

“'Vengeful Throw,'” Vandalieu said.

He was throwing knives and spears made of the Demon King's horns and bones, and occasionally firing beams of light.

Guduranis screamed in frustration. “Cunning to the very end, aren't you!”

Feeling a response from 'Danger Sense: Death' from these attacks, his attention was diverted from Basdia and Zadiris.

And Basdia and Zadiris weren't the only ones to join. Godwin, Vigaro, Borkus, and Bone Man – all of whom were powerful enough to fight against Guduranis – had joined the battle, having flown up from the ground below using their own abilities or Magic Items.

“Hmph! It looks like we're late!” said Godwin.

“Basdia, let me join toooo!” shouted Vigaro.

Borkus roared as he charged in. “'True Elder Dragon Slayer!'”

“JYUOOOH!” bellowed Bone Man.

Already exhausted from his battle with Vandalieu, Guduranis found himself unable to move as he pleased due to the sheer number of attacks coming this way that surpassed Edgar's ability to deal with but were not powerful enough to threaten his life.

Meanwhile, Vandalieu was taking measures to replenish his Mana.

“Boy, how about having Darcia change places with me right now? Well, it looks like she's rather busy at the moment… There is also the option of waiting until Bellmond arrives…” Zadiris muttered hesitantly.

“I could do that if you're not comfortable with this, Zadiris,” said Vandalieu.

“… Curses! Ignore my momentary foolishness! Hurry up and take it!” said Zadiris, making up her mind and exposing her neck to Vandalieu, her cheeks flushed.

“Well then, itadakimasu.”

Vandalieu pierced her thin, gray-brown neck, not with his fangs… but with his tongue, which he had transformed into a proboscis of the Demon King. Zadiris's warm blood flowed gently from the tube of his tongue into his throat… which immediately and significantly boosted the rate of his Mana's recovery.

Chapter end