Chapter 460: Flame Performance

「「「「「「「「「――♪」」」」」」」」」

What was unleashed in the jet-black space was unmistakably a natural disaster. The tornadoes, larger and stronger than the ones released by the monsters, connect heaven and earth, and such natural disasters are occurring in all directions. Furthermore, as if in retaliation for what Deris had done to her, strong winds that would blow away even mammoths are stirring up the place, not allowing them to remain there. Of course, breathing is forbidden in this area, and there’s also a heavy rain of storm swords. There are also other abnormal phenomena occurring, and they probably extend to the entire subspace. The scene that embodies the end of the world was instantly formed by Maria’s singing.

The greatest characteristic of Maria’s 『Humpty Dumpty』 is that it can create up to ten mouths (nine at present since her brilliant left arm 『Bandersnatch』 is still outside) and simultaneously chant many highest-rank magic for that number of mouths. The magic is also further strengthened by singing, and it’s possible to sing simultaneously while fighting just as Maria is doing now. If she had not been poisoned by Deris, she would have been able to add an infinite regeneration and infinite supply of magic power to the mix, so it can be said that her very existence is an anomaly.

「Now, what will you do, Nell!? If you can’t breathe, you can’t prolong this battle, you know!? After all, Alezel can’t jump into this fierce battlefield to put the mask on you!」

「…Tch!」

The oxygen mask that Alezel put on her before was already melted by her own flame. As Maria said, it will be difficult for Alezel to put a new one on Nell. Considering Nell’s lung activity and other things, even a few minutes is the limit.

(Deris, ain’t it the time to use the super-strengthening drug made by Quitet? If you’re gonna die anyway, there’s no time to worry about the after-effects. Don’t worry, you probably won’t be able to move only for about three days. It’s a good chance to be pampered by your disciple and wife, y’know?)

(Don’t take out that syringe while having a dead eye, you damn elf! Well, that’s cardiotonic that you said to be your trump card, right…? Fine, just do it. My waist is at its limit, so do it quickly! …… Also, I can’t leave Nell as it is.)

(Sure~, I will do it now~, prepare yourself~)

――――Stab.

(~~~~~~~~~!)

What Alezel took out was a syringe with a size that made Deris hesitate. Then, she stabbed it mercilessly. At that time, Delis raised a soundless cry and his eyes were opened wide. From the side, it looked as if he was being injected with a very dangerous drug.

「What, are you trying to restore your magic power again? But what are you going to do with my large-scale magic? Are you going to eliminate them one by one even though you can barely deal with my Riway Press? Or are you going to come at me together with Nell? Well, either is fine for me!」

Perhaps it’s because she’s singing to her heart’s content, or perhaps it’s because she’s enjoying the battle with Nell, but Maria is very talkative. Even her daughters have never seen her that happy.

(Can you do it? It’s about time I’m blown away, y’know?)

(…. Yeah, no problem, except it hurts like hell. I will get up now.)

In the raging strong wind, Deris stood up on the spot while borrowing Alezel’s shoulder. While Alezel is holding on to the ground with stakes, Deris does not seem to be blown away by the wind, as if he is controlling his own weight.

(Too bad, Maria. All of your expectations are wrong. There’s no way I, whom you kept calling dirty, will do it fairly like that.)

The drug given to Deris by Alezel has the effects of raising concentration, status, and natural recovery of stamina and magic power for a few minutes at the cost of later backlash. However, that much won’t be enough to counter the many magic that Maria sang at the same time, and it doesn’t give him enough power to jump into the fierce battlefield of the two. At best, he would be able to stand up and use one or two magic with his full power. It is impossible for Deris alone to change the battle situation significantly. Then, how will the fire extinguisher Deris overcome this situation?

(Concealment barrier, removed. Sorry for the wait, it’s your turn.)

The answer is to call a special guest.

「Haaa!?」

Maria raised a surprised voice when she saw a huge mountain floating in the sky. She didn’t feel its presence at all until a while ago, but it suddenly appeared there. Moreover, she’s familiar with the mountain.

「Why is Rimudo here!?」

Yes, the true identity of the huge mountain is the fourth rank of the Great Eight Demons, the 『Dragon King』. He’s so huge that Maria can’t see the full extent of his body at a glance, but she could instantly understand that Rimudo has opened his big mouth and he’s about to shoot his breath.

(It’s true that I don’t want the castle to be burned. But, I never said that there was no collaborator in the place I prepared. Well, it’s a good thing I asked the husband for his cooperation when I was making the items with the kidnapper. As promised, we will forget the kidnapping case completely, so please go all out, Dragon King-sama! In this space, there will be no problem even if you shoot your breath seriously!)

(Was Rimudo hiding in this space from the beginning….? No, just like with Alezel, Deris was hiding him with his barrier. If so, the reason Deris was trying to forcibly recover his magic power was to put a barrier to protect himself and Alezel! I’ve never seen Rimudo shoot his breath seriously, but if he were to bet all his power on this one shoot, he might be able to break all of my magic. And if I’m not wrong, it’s a flame breath. Even if Nell gets caught in the breath with me, it will only recover her…! You thought it well, huh, you dirty Deris!)

The composed smile on Maria’s face disappeared. Looking at her, Nell shows a smug face.

(It seems that you’ve finally realized it. There’s no way that much will be enough to stop my Deris!)

(What’s with that face!? What’s with that attitude!? It’s so irritating! B-But, receiving Rimudo’s full power breath in this situation is bad…!)

Just before the breath was fired, Maria racked her brain even while feeling irritated. Her mind was dominated by impatience rather than uplifting feeling. Even in this situation, Nell’s onslaught didn’t stop at all, and she kept increasing her firepower. They were still bound by Chain Lava, and Nell showed no sign of letting Maria escape from there.

(――Kuh! I hate it because it seems as if I’m running away, but I have no other choice!)

Maria’s choice was to evacuate to a safe zone using a teleportation magic. Due to Chain Lava’s characteristics, Nell will be teleported together with her, but she judged that it’s better than receiving Rimudo’s breath directly. Maria uses her mouth that’s not singing to chant the magic, and she teleports herself and Nell from the spot. The destination was set at a place far above Rimudo’s position, the exact opposite of where the breath would be fired.

「With this―― eh?」

However, what was waiting for her at the destination was a special seat where she could see Rimudo’s wide-opened mouth, the worst possible place where she would receive the breath directly. Maria’s mind went blank and she didn’t understand the meaning of this.

(Gravietas, it’s the last magic that I can give you, and now my magic power is completely empty. I’m relieved that the amount of magic power was exactly as calculated, though just barely. Well, Maria’s magic power is on a different level from Hund-kun’s subordinate after all. Sigh, I can’t do it anymore. What the hell is that monster….)

(Don’t worry, Maria. I will take it with you…!)

The waist of Deris shattered as he generated a special black hole, which attracts magic power, right in front of Rimudo. And then, at the same time when Maria returned to her senses, Rimudo shot his breath at maximum power.