Faltra was protected by a barrier, and if the gate used to allow anyone to pass through was closed, the Fallen would have no way of getting inside.
If the brigade of Fallen were to push their way to the town, then this invasion would just turn into a siege.
That’s why they had this Gregore guy sneak in beforehand; it was obvious the enemy would be aiming for Celes.
But what about Rem?
—Had the Fallen realized that the soul of the Demon Lord was inside her? No, if they had, they would have attacked us when we had come close to the Man-Eating Forest.
—In any case, I have to make it back to the town!
Diablo looked at his enemy.
Edelgard’s breathing was returning to normal.
“Since Gregore, is doing so well... If I finish you off, this a victory, for the Fallen? Shall I play with you, a little more?”
“Boris!” Diablo yelled out in a deep voice.
“Y-Yes!”
“Tell those sightseers over there to get their heads down; I’m going to use my ultimate spell! If you don’t want to die too, then go curl up behind the stone wall over there!”
“Y-Yesshir!! Right away!!”
Shouting his response, Boris made his way back.
“Everyone, heads down! Something big’s coming! If you don’t wanna die, get behind the wall! Double time!!”
Diablo raised Tenma’s Staff as he turned to glare at Edelgard.
“I’m terribly sorry... But I no longer have the time to perform experiments with you.”
“Experiments?”
“I have no intention of showing compassion to a Fallen, but I praise you for managing to harm me. I would be willing to let you go if you retreated now.”
It took 30 seconds for Diablo’s ultimate magic to activate. He had begun chanting as soon as he heard what Boris had to say; but it would still take some more time.
After pondering Diablo’s proposition for a bit, Edelgard spoke.
“Saving the Demon Lord, is Edelgard’s duty, you know? That’s why, I try hard. Even if I die.”
“Hmph, save the Demon Lord? You?”
Diablo laughed heartily.
Edelgard puffed out one of her cheeks.
“...I don’t like, being laughed at.”
“You understand nothing. There is only one true Demon Lord—and that is I, the Demon Lord Diablo! Yet you, unknowing of that, devote yourself to a false master!”
“True, Demon Lord...Diablo?”
“That ignorance deserves to be met with certain death!”
—I made it.
He had finished his preparation for the spell while talking with her.
“《White Nova》!!”
A sphere of pure white, about the size of a ping-pong ball, emerged from the tip of his staff. Slowly and softly, it drifted to the ground.
The instant the sphere touched the stone tiles—
It burst into blinding white light.
A thunderous roar completely overtook his sense of hearing.
His vision was white; he was unable to hear anything; and because the spell had locked him in place, he was not even able to move. Maybe it was because it was just that kind of spell, or maybe it was the effect of the Demon Lord’s Ring—but while he himself took no damage, everything within the spell’s AoE should have been repeatedly breaking down on a molecular level.
A combination of both fire and light elements, this was the final spell Diablo had learned once reaching level 150.
The fact that it took so long to activate, along with the huge MP cost to use the spell, were both drawbacks—but it carried tremendous power. It was capable of felling colossal, high-level monsters in one shot.
The AoE of the spell spread out in a 20 meter semi-circle in front of its caster. The fortress should have been outside the spell’s range, but because the power of the spell was so overwhelming, Diablo didn’t know what was going on.
For a moment, he thought of Shera.
—She is hiding herself, right!?
She wasn’t the brightest bulb of the bunch, so he was a bit worried about her.
Color gradually returned to the world that had just been dyed white.
“Whoa...”
Magic in the game wasn’t able to change the terrain, but in this world, it was definitely enough to carve out a distinctive scar in the landscape.
The stone bridge in front of him had been vaporized.
The area beyond where Diablo was standing had been cleanly erased. It looked as if it was just about to come under construction.
Even his own footing had started to crumble away.
He quickly made his way back to the fortress.
In the game, having pieces of the ground become gouged out was just a visual effect that disappeared once the spell was finished. This world was different. Even if he wasn’t trying to damage something, it would end up being destroyed if he hit it.
The fortress was safe.
At first, he was shocked to see the guards not moving, but it turned out they were only shaking because of the blast and the noise. It seemed that there had been no casualties.
Most of the Fallen army had been obliterated.
Surprisingly, even after using up 15% of her HP and taking a White Nova head on, Edelgard was still standing.
—Is she one of the Fallen you would find back in the deepest parts of the Demon Lord’s territory?
—I don’t know whether to praise her with, “As I should expect of a commander,” or to hit her with a “Don’t just come rolling up out of the Man-Eating Forest! What the hell are you, a friggin’ glitch!?”
She had lost her armor, her war dragon, and even her spear.
“...Not... Not possible... Making everything, disappear...”
“Finish me off, you said? Play with me? Do not push your luck, you damnable Fallen. I have said it before: I am a Demon Lord.”
“...Demon Lord...Diablo.”
She was still moving, but it didn’t seem like she had the strength to keep fighting.
Just to be sure, he left her with a threat: “If you wish to do battle, then come to the town. Next time, I will utterly annihilate you using a different ultimate-level spell.”
There were still some Fallen stragglers around, probably because they were out of the spell’s range. All Diablo could do now was leave them for the guards here.
Right now, the town was his main concern.
Looking past the fortress, he stared in the direction of Faltra.
Shera ran up to him.
“Diablo! Are you all right!?”
“It is needless to worry about me.”
“Then let’s get going! The town’s in trouble!”
“Hm... Then I shall test my Return magic.”
He firmly grasped Shera’s hand, whose body had stiffened up in surprise.
This spell was the utmost of basics, and would warp the entire party back to the last town they had visited.
...But he didn’t have any scientific reasoning to base this one on.
—But if the Celestials and the Mage’s Association in the royal capital can use it, then I should too!
Diablo clearly imagined the procedure for using the return spell in his head. Never before had he been so anxious about using magic.
—Please, let me be able to use it!
—Please!
“《Return》!”
Back in Faltra—
A pillar of light appeared in the center of the western plaza.
Frightened by the sounds of the unexpected fighting that had broken out, the people who had been trembling in fear there panicked and ran away.
The surrounding air shook, and the particles of light took the form of two people’s silhouettes.
When the light disappeared, in its place stood a Demon clad from head-to-toe in black, and a visibly shaking Elf girl with her eyes wide open.
Diablo scanned his surroundings.
I’ve never been here befor
e—he thought as he looked around the plaza.
The familiar stone walls proved without a doubt that this was indeed the city of Faltra.
The most basic of all transportation spells—Return—had activated.
He was feeling a bit of motion sickness, but other than that there wasn’t anything significantly wrong with him.
Whenever you teleported in the game, there was a small animation of the scenery rushing by you at high-speed. Having just experienced it himself in real life, it was exactly that.
It felt like he had turned into incredibly fast-moving particles of light and flew through the sky.
They had only walked through them before, but watching the grassy plains fly by; it moved him in a way that he had never experienced in-game. It was a feeling he would never forget.
But he didn’t have time to celebrate his success in using some new magic.
He had been anxious about where he would end up, but just like the game, they had been transported to the town plaza.
Weak in the knees, Shera was clinging to Diablo.
“Fa-Faltra!? What!? Why!?”
“I’ll explain later! Right now, saving Rem takes priority!”
“Oh yeah, that’s right!”
“Damn... Where is she!? The inn!? The Adventurer’s Guild!? The Mage’s Association!?”
If this were the game, you would be able to send messages to any player you had registered as a friend.
Apparently, you could also chat between party members as well...
But Diablo had never used it, since he had no one to talk to.
For Diablo, in this world...
—There’s a pretty good chance I can’t use that here.
Teleportation was something established to be a part of this world’s lore. The message and chat systems, on the other hand, were things programmed by the devs.
The same went for item storage and trading. Anything not established as being a part of the world itself wasn’t able to be used.
Diablo was panicking.
—Where should I go?
Shera pointed towards the main road, which led to the inn and the Adventurer’s Guild.
“I’m getting some really bad vibes coming from that way, Diablo! It feels the same as what was coming from the Man-Eating Forest!”
“I’m counting on those words, Shera!”
Diablo took off at a sprint.
Hearing the voices of people fleeing, he knew that Shera’s intuition had been correct.
He reached the front of the inn—
And found a mountain of corpses.
†
The inn was half-destroyed.
The walls had been knocked out, and it wouldn’t be strange for the second floor to come down at any moment. It was just barely keeping itself from crumbling apart.
In the surrounding area, fragments of the walls and beams were scattered everywhere. Amongst the damage, a sea of people laid on the ground, covered in blood.
They were all dead.
And it wasn’t from wounds caused by arrows or swords; they had all been crushed to death.
Corpses of guards could be seen as well, with some other victims who wore the robes of the Mage’s Association.
There were several Adventurers as well, all who risked their lives to protect the townspeople.
“...This is awful.”
Shera’s voice was shaking.
There had never been a disaster this horrible in the game before.
“So, he’s the one who did this...”
Diablo had found the grotesque-looking Fallen, and shot a piercing glare at him.
Rem and Celes had been pushed up against a wall.
Rem was on her knees. Her shoulders heaved as she gasped for breath, while blood was trickling down from her forehead.
Celes was unharmed, but if that Fallen had managed to get his hands on her, then she likely would not have been alive.
Standing in front of the two girls was a man, covered in blood.
His golden armor now full of holes, it was no longer able to fulfill its purpose.
His sword was broken, and he did not seem to have the energy to keep up the fight.
And yet, he was still standing.
“...I... I will not fall... Never, while in front of women...”
“Stop, Emile!” Rem shouted. “Why are you pushing yourself to keep fighting!? You are going to die!”
“...I will...protect women... No matter what... That’s, what I swore to do...”
“Hah! Hey, hey, you still haven’t gone down yet!? Damn, Humans sure are persistent, aren’t they! Just hurry up and die!!”
It was a giant Fallen with the head of a lizard.
A ruined robe was wrapped around his lower body. Though originally white, it was now stained a dark red.
His exposed skin was covered in shining black scales, like they were made of obsidian.
He brandished his fists, each the size of a human head.
Without mercy, he went to strike Emile, who was already on Death’s door.
“《Air Shot》.”
Diablo’s magic sent a gale of wind that flung the Fallen backwards and blew him out of range to use his fists.
“Woah-ho-hoh...!?”
For now, Diablo had sent him back about ten meters.
Diablo slowly made his way over to Rem and the others.
“Hmph... Looks like I made it, though I wouldn’t say just in time... Are you still alive, Rem?”
She opened her eyes wide.
“Diablo!?”
Celes also wore an expression of disbelief on her face.
Shera ran forward. She threw her arms around Rem and embraced her.
“Waaaah! Rem, I’m so glad you’re alive!”
“...Are you an idiot, Shera!? Why are you running out in front of a Fallen!?”
“B-But, I was so worried about you!”
“...Even though you say that... There’s no need for you to throw yourself into danger too, right!?”
Diablo went over to Emile and laid a hand on his shoulder. He was in such bad shape, it was a miracle he was still standing at all.
“Hey, boy. You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
“Ugh... I will...protect women...”
“Hm. You certainly have protected Rem and Celes. I acknowledge your battle... Now get some rest, Warrior. I, Diablo, will take on the rest for you.”
Hearing those words, Emile crumpled to his knees.
Diablo reached into the item pouch around his waist and pulled out an HP potion.
Looking at Rem, Shera was still clinging to her, keeping her unable to move.
He offered it to Celes.
“Use this. Even without drinking it, it should take effect if you just pour it on his head.”
“Wait, are you... Are you going to fight that Fallen? To protect us?”
“...Ah, no, you see... I was just going to give this insolent intruder an appropriate punishment for invading my territory, that’s all. Do not get the wrong impression.”
“You called yourself a Demon Lord, did you not?”
“Hm? Hmph, so what if I have? Do you not want to rely on the power of a Demon Lord, even after things have come this far?”
“No... It seems that there are good Demon Lords out there, too. Forgive me for having doubted you. Please, I humbly ask you: save Rem—and this world.”
Celes deeply bowed her head.
It was the first time anyone had ever asked something of him like this; he didn’t know how to feel about it.
Diablo turned his back to the girls.
“I’d do it even if you didn’t ask... This Fallen has made me angry.”
He went to confront the enemy.
†
“You really messed up now, didn’tcha?”
“I could say the same to you. Do not think you will be able to leave in one piece after invading my domain.”
“Kuhah! You ain’t a filthy Human and you ain’t a Fallen;
you’re just damn halfsie scum!”
Diablo hadn’t been expecting Demons to be discriminated by the Fallen.
—If I remember right, Edelgard said this guy was “Gregore.”
He had a vulgar way of speaking, but the wounds he had inflicted on Emile weren’t just from physical damage.
“...Hm... So you’re a Sorcerer who has developed his skills as a Brawler. Hard to believe there is an actual Brawler-Sorcerer amongst the Fallen.”
“Haaaah? What the hell you mumblin’ about? I don’t care how you beg for your life, I’m gonna kill you either way! I don’t got any more time to play around; I’m gonna smash this barrier, and fast!”
—Time? Oh yeah, if things were going according to plan, then the Fallen army would be showing up at the edge of the town right about now.
Diablo shrugged his shoulders.
“If it’s Edelgard you’re waiting for, I’m afraid she won’t be showing up.”
“What!?”
“I have already defeated about half of the one hundred Fallen. Edelgard also took some serious damage from me, you see.”
“Hah... Kuhaha! What the hell are you saying? That’s a pretty transparent lie there...”
“You will understand if you fight me. We’ll see who will be the one begging for their life... No matter how you beg for yours, however, I won’t be forgiving you.”
Even though they couldn’t reach Diablo, Gregore thrust his fists towards him.
“Diiiie! 《Dark Bullet》!!”
It was a rudimentary dark-elemental spell. It wasn’t supposed to be all that powerful, but possibly due to Gregore’s abnormally high stats, the cast spell looked completely different.
Pitch-black bullets of darkness sped towards Diablo.
—This guy really is a Brawler-Sorcerer.
In close-combat, which would normally be the bane of all Sorcerers, a Brawler-Sorcerer would just use his fists to fight. When his opponent was far away, or if he wanted a bit of extra firepower, that’s when he would use magic.
It was enough that people might think that it could be the perfect Sorcerer style. But, put simply, it was a “Jack of all trades, master of none” kind of class.
But, more than that, Gregore had used magic.
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 1 Page 20
