The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 9

by Satoshi Wagahara

  “Erh!!”

  Alciel managed to avoid plunging in headfirst, but the incalculable amount of force applied to his frame shocked him. Raguel breezily stood up before he could recover.

  “Yeah, you can see how borrowing this kid for a bit kinda made ’em a little too big for their britches, huh? So go easy on ’em. Can you blame ’em?”

  He gave Erone a pat on the head, nonchalantly walked up to Alciel—and there, his Afro-crowned shadow covering the Demon General, he smiled an evil smile.

  “Not like the demon realms got any future. No matter which way you go.”

  “What…?”

  “’Course, that’s not necessarily true, either! Assuming you fight well enough in the battle comin’ up…”

  Just as the words echoed against Alciel’s eardrums, Raguel and Erone were enveloped in a soft light, only to blink out of sight the next moment.

  “Thing is, though, the demons have to die sooner or later. It’s for our future, you know? Best of luck out there.”

  All Alciel, Farfarello, and Barbariccia could do was lie there and watch as the viciously conniving angel left.

  “Wh-what is the meaning of this, Raguel?! We will have to let go of Efzahan if this continues, to say nothing of seizing Devil’s Castle!”

  “…What it means, you, is that the Malebranche were exactly the sort of dupes the angels needed.” Alciel sighed as he rubbed the wrist Erone just wrestled behind his back. “I have yet to ascertain how many of them there are aside from Raguel, but even one of them might prove too much for us. You were deceived, from start to finish.”

  It was clear from Gabriel that the heavens wanted Alciel and Barbariccia to do something for them. Barbariccia’s forming the New Devil King’s Army in the first place was likely all part of their scheme. None of the surviving leaders could even hold a candle to the late Malacoda—and given how readily they had danced for the angels in the face of their overwhelming force, Barbariccia’s fate was likely sealed from the beginning.

  “But…but Lord Alciel,” Barbariccia continued to plead, “we were fully aware of the angels’ power! The holy sword… If only we could obtain the holy sword, we would no longer have to accept orders from anyone. But that accursed Raguel… He rounded up this simple man off the street and claimed he was the father of the sword-bearer, Emilia…”

  To Alciel, however, the mere idea of demons attempting to possess a holy sword was, in itself, unthinkable. “Fool,” he began. “The Better Half Emilia wields is far more than merely a weapon. It is a holy presence, one with the jeweled Sephirah known as Yesod at its core—the fruit of the Tree of Life. We have no holy force—to us, it would be nothing more than a hunk of iron.”

  “Er…?” Barbariccia paused. “My lord, if I may, I think you are mistaken.”

  “…What?”

  The Malebranche leader reached into his pocket. “I believe you know that Farlo once had Erone under his control,” he said as he took something out. One look was all it took to shock Alciel all over again.

  “The power of the Sephirah is not something restricted to angels or humans, my lord.”

  At the tip of one enormous claw was a small purple stone. A fragment from the Yesod Sephirah, the sort that Alciel—or Shirou Ashiya, to be exact—had seen many times before.

  “This stone reacts quite strongly to demonic force, my lord. Let me show you.”

  Barbariccia murmured a word or two into the fragment, instilling it with dark power.

  “N-no… How could this…?”

  A shallow shade of purple began to erupt from the stone, a familiar sight to Alciel by now.

  “When we first sent Ciriatto’s forces to the land of Japan,” Barbariccia quickly explained, “we attempted to use this fragment and a Link Crystal to search for Emilia’s holy sword. Ciriatto failed to return in the end, sadly, but when we infused this fragment with dark power, it resonated with another fragment for a single instant.”

  Alciel wasn’t around for that exact moment, but he knew that Ciriatto had a Link Crystal with him over the seas of Choshi. Up to now, though, he had only seen Emi handle Yesod fragments. He assumed it required the touch of a holy-force wielder to successfully handle Sephirah and holy swords. Barbariccia just blew that assumption out of the water for him. He struggled to link his thoughts together.

  “So the holy sword… The Sephirah are not…holy in nature?”

  Then it struck him.

  “…!”

  The thought that had escaped him this whole time. And with it, part of the other, more personal objective Gabriel hinted at on that Heavensky balcony.

  “Barbariccia! Farfarello!”

  ““Sir!””

  “Where is Nord Justina? Emilia’s father? He should have been brought in here with me!”

  “I-I believe he is being held in a room within Heavensky Keep…but he truly is Emilia’s kin?”

  “You bear a Yesod fragment, and you still doubt it that much…?”

  Alciel’s mind flashed back to a moment in Villa Rosa Sasazuka. Out from the pouring rain, Maou had just deposited the unfamiliar-looking Nord into the room. Nord, and a silver-haired girl who disappeared into the sky with Maou.

  “Nord did not bear the holy sword with him, yes?”

  “Y-yes, my lord…”

  Barbariccia and Farfarello nervously looked at each other, unsure where this was going. Alciel, meanwhile, was juggling several thought streams at once. He took a moment to organize them in silence.

  “His motives remain unclear to me, but I think I know what Gabriel is scheming for us now.”

  “Sir?”

  Another moment of thought. Then Alciel mournfully snapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

  “Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. No way out, except to dance on top of his hand…”

  “M-my lord, what is…?”

  Alciel stepped up to the meeting table and began pointing at the map.

  “I will be brief. The person defeating your leaders and storming Heavensky is none other than Emilia herself.”

  “E-Emilia?!”

  “But I thought Emilia was in the other world! In Japan!”

  “Emilia returned to Ente Isla several weeks ago. Olba Meiyer and the angels made her do their bidding—how, I cannot say—and now they have rallied an army with which to seize the capital. Their mission: to have Emilia kill us all.”

  “What?!”

  “For…for what purpose?!”

  “I imagine Raguel and his cohorts in heaven are hoping to further weaken the demon realms through this farce. That, and use our defeat to build more support for themselves from the devout humans of Ente Isla.”

  Alciel used his eyes to trace the path of the “mystery force” that had made its way across the map of Efzahan, slaying every Malebranche leader it came across.

  “Curse you, Emilia… Acting so grand and self-important, and letting yourself be caught in this repugnant crisis…”

  “Um, Lord Alciel?”

  “Barbariccia, how many days has it been since my return?”

  “Er? Oh. Um, approximately seven days, by this land’s reckoning.”

  “Seven days…hmm.”

  Alciel did some quick mental calculation. Regardless of the wild card that Gabriel was proving to be, if Raguel and Olba wanted Emi to defeat the Great Demon General for the public’s edification, they would naturally have no reason to attack Heavensky until he had turned into Alciel. Now that he had, though, Raguel must have informed Olba about it and sent Emilia’s forces their way.

  As long as Alciel had no idea how many other angels were part of this conspiracy, not even he could afford to make any rash moves. And judging by now Emi seemed to be meekly joining the cause, she must have been in a similar position—all the power in the world, but no will to exercise it. And despite himself, Alciel couldn’t help but direct his thoughts toward another objective entirely: a way out. How could he escape the clutches of heaven and get himself and Emi back to
safety?

  “…Lord Alciel…”

  Farfarello’s worried eyes began to gauge the silent general. Alciel felt compelled to address his Malebranche comrades, but he used an unexpected language:

  “”

  “Farlo, do you understand our lord’s speech?” Barbariccia whispered.

  “N-no, sir… It appears to be from the other world…”

  “”

  Even before the confrontation at Villa Rosa Sasazuka, Alciel had made full preparations for Maou to follow the trail of Emi and Alas Ramus. If his message to Amane had been relayed over correctly, Maou was bound to make a move.

  “ …Barbariccia.”

  “…Y-yes, my lord!” Barbariccia straightened up his posture.

  “Where is the Azure Emperor? He is alive, is he not?”

  During his entire stay in Heavensky Keep, Alciel had yet to set eyes upon the theoretical font of all power in Efzahan.

  “Yes, sir. That old man’s authority was a prerequisite in order to gain the support needed for our declaration of war. We are holding him in the Cloud Retreat, a smaller keep on the premises. He is being guarded by Regal Crimson Scarves holy-magic wielders to prevent anyone from casting demonic spells upon him.”

  “Hmph. A rare intelligent decision on your part.” Alciel nodded. “Bring me to him. I wish to speak to him.”

  “Ah? B-but…”

  “Do not worry about the angels,” Alciel ordered, the confidence clear in his voice. “I will dance just as they wish me to. If he wants my choreography, he will certainly get it.”

  Gabriel, listening from the keep’s roof as the two conflicted Malebranche leaders guided Alciel to the Cloud Retreat, stifled a laugh.

  “Your choreography, hmm? Fair enough, fair enough. Just make sure you start dancin’ when you get your cue, yeah?”

  Then he clapped his hands and disappeared into thin air.

  EXTRA CHAPTER

  THE DEVIL BLOWS CHUNKS

  The next morning, Suzuno awoke to the sensation of someone slapping one of her cheeks. She opened her eyes, concluding that Acieth had flopped over to her side of the tent yet again…

  “?!!!!!!!”

  …but when it was Maou’s face she saw through the dim darkness, her heart almost leaped out of her throat.

  “Mao—mngh!!”

  Maou immediately put a hand over her mouth to stop the screaming.

  “?!?!?!”

  Her eyes turned into dots, her face flushed red at this sudden threat to her well-being. She knew she wasn’t quite herself last night, but had she really driven him to do this? Panic began to set in, and Maou bringing his face close to her ear almost drove her to asphyxiation.

  “Don’t say anything. Someone’s close.”

  But those few words were all it took for her blood pressure to fall back to normal. Maou’s eyes had deep rings around them—he must not have slept much—but that mattered little to her.

  “…Pickled meat chocolates, microwaved in oil and thawed sashimi…mngh…”

  Then Maou leaned over to quiet down Acieth, the dreams of whom he could no longer imagine, as he used his eyes and a finger to point out a direction to Suzuno. She was still cocooned in her sleeping bag, but a few quick zips and her arms and legs were free. She took out her hairpin, waiting, her long hair spilling out from the top of the colorful bag, making her look more like a carnivorous plant than some insect larva. Either way, she was ready for battle.

  Maou peeked out from a slit at the entrance.

  “Enemies?” Suzuno whispered.

  “If it’s a friend, I’d love to know right now.”

  “I would have no idea who it is. A passing traveler, I would hope.”

  “…Doubt it.”

  Suzuno grasped her hairpin, ready to summon her magical hammer at any moment. The sound of footsteps was unmistakable now—somebody, through the morning mist of the forest, was approaching. A single person, at least—but few travelers would be curious, or foolhardy, enough to wander this far into the forest from the main path.

  “Does Acieth work while asleep?”

  “Apart from having her whine at me afterward, I think so.”

  Maou seemed no more optimistic than Suzuno was.

  The owner of the footsteps made no attempt to hide the sound of their boots against the underbrush. They were making a beeline for Maou’s camp. There would be a fight soon, no doubt. The scooters, and most of their camping equipment, would have to be abandoned. If their luck ran out in front of the capital…

  Then a familiar rumbling voice muttered to itself:

  “”

  Both Maou and Suzuno could understand it. It was an Ente Islan language—“scooter” being something of a recent new loanword.

  “Ahhh… Ahem, who’s there?”

  Then, after clearing its throat, they found themselves being greeted in clear Japanese.

  “The Devil King? Or Alciel, or Lucifer? That Sasaki lady, perhaps, or maybe even Crestia Bell?”

  “Wha…?”

  This surprised Suzuno even more than having Maou violate her personal space first thing in the morning. Not many people on Ente Isla or Japan could name those five people in the Japanese language.

  “I have no idea what this is about…” Maou must have thought the same. He leaned away from Acieth, relaxing his body. “…But shockingly, I guess you’re friendly, huh?”

  He stood up and walked out of the tent, Suzuno hurriedly following behind.

  The morning intruder was as broad and stout of body as the trees that surrounded them all, his skin tanned by the sun. They had to crane their necks upward to see his face—but when he looked down at Suzuno, his face scrunched up.

  “Wh-whoa, what’s that?” the figure asked. “Some kinda new race of demon?”

  “A new race of what? How dare you!”

  Maou rolled his eyes. Suzuno was still in carnivorous-plant mode.

  “Yeah, I can’t blame you. Freaky, ain’t it? But you didn’t just happen to run into us, though, did you? Think we could have a friendly little exchange of information to start out, Albert Ende?”

  “In…deed. And you are sure she’s not a demon?”

  “I am not!”

  To Albert Ende, mountain sage from the Northern Island and one of Emi’s companions on her Devil King conquest, the sight of Suzuno in a modern zip-up sleeping bag was far more bizarre than encountering the Devil King himself.

  “But how did you home in on us with such pinpoint accuracy, anyway?”

  After slapping Acieth awake from her dreams of transforming into fanciful dinner menu items and yanking the sleeping bag off Suzuno’s frame, Maou turned to face Albert once more.

  “It wasn’t that difficult, I’ll tell you,” Albert replied as he carefully eyed the newly awake larva in front of him. He pointed at the scooters hidden under the shadow of a nearby oak. “I heard tell of a woman in Church robes riding some strange manner of wagon, and I tracked them down to here yesterday.”

  “Uh, we’re already the subject of rumors?” Maou and Suzuno exchanged glances. They had made an effort to keep away from the prying eyes of people and settlements, but remaining completely undercover proved even less possible than they had hoped.

  “I wouldn’t be too concerned,” Albert assured them. “Y’all aren’t standing out too much. There are thousands of rumors
flowing across Efzahan at any given time. I just happened to pluck out the right one, y’see? Besides, everyone here’s on the edges of their seats right now—far more than when you were invading, Devil King. It’d be one thing if it were all over and we were under demon control again, but all these vague rumors about Heavensky being taken over, without much else being affected… The anticipation is killing everyone.”

  It must have been. The tavern keeper from yesterday confirmed as much.

  “The most common stories are eyewitness accounts of this-or-that demon, I’d say. Mostly animal sightings, if y’ask me, or cover stories for criminals. But that tale of the strange wagon being driven around—it reminded me more’n a bit of what I saw in your land. Japan, I mean. And since I had business in Heavensky anyway, I thought I’d just poke around to see what I could find, y’know?”

  Albert settled down on a nearby fallen tree trunk, sizing up his audience. “So,” he said. “Y’all here to help Emilia?”

  “Indeed,” Suzuno nodded, “but before we discuss that, I need to ask you what is happening to Emeralda. I sent an Idea Link to her the moment I lost contact with Emilia…but she never replied. Until certain events transpired in Japan to open our eyes, we had no confirmation that Emilia was being held captive.”

  “Ahh, well, that’s a bit of a long story, innit?” Albert gave the side of his head a scratch. “The short of it, though, is that Eme received a summons from Saint Aile the day she was supposed to regroup with Emilia.”

  “A summons from the empire?”

  “Yep. I guess Eme’s cover story was that she was inspecting the area around Emilia’s village so she could expose some of the corruption that’s been goin’ on, but…”

  “Was she found out?!”

  “Even worse, in a way.” Albert pointed at Suzuno’s Church vestments. “Your friends are on the move. She’s finally been branded a renegade by the Church. They’re doin’ everything they can to keep Olba’s crimes under wraps. They say she’ll have to face an inquisition at the bishops’ headquarters in the capital.”