How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 4

by Yukiya Murasaki

  Just ahead of the girl was Tria, a female Paladin.

  “This way, Lady Lumachina! If we can make it out of the forest, we will arrive in town!”

  “A-All right!”

  “Ngh!? Look out!”

  The ground burst open; Tria embraced Lumachina, saving her from the danger.

  “Haugh!?”

  “Ngh... So, they have already caught up to us...” Tria muttered as she drew her sword.

  Lumachina screamed as a gigantic worm appeared from the earth, blocking their path. It had slimy, green skin, and a mouth large enough to swallow a person whole. It didn’t appear to have any eyes or a nose, but it had a precise understanding of both their locations.

  “Don’t stray far from me, Lady Lumachina!”

  “I-I can fight as well!” she said, clutching the holy symbol she carried.

  With a smile, Tria nodded. “All right... Then I am counting on you for healing, though I have no intention of losing to an enemy like this...!”

  Brandishing her sword, she stepped forward, but the ground in front of her suddenly caved in.

  “Wha—!?”

  What looked like an opening of a pitfall in the ground was actually an enormous mouth.

  —A gigantic worm!?

  It seemed this worm had been placed there as a trap, separate from the first.

  “Tria!” Lumachina cried out.

  The female Paladin struck out at the second worm, her silver sword tearing through the mouth of the monster. However, in the face of this damage, the enormous mouth closed on her.

  “Wah!?”

  The lower half of Tria’s body was forcefully taken into the worm’s mouth. Her armor was crushed, her flesh was torn, and her bones were broken.

  “GuAaAhhhAargh!?”

  The worm began dragging Tria into the earth with it as Lumachina desperately reached out with her hand.

  “Tria, grab on!”

  But the Paladin made no attempt to do so. If she had, they would both most likely be devoured by the worm.

  “R-Run, Lady Lumachina!” These were the parting words of the devoted female Paladin as she disappeared into the dark depths of the hole.

  “...Tria...”

  Shoulders trembling, Lumachina stared at the gaping hole in the ground. She could no longer hear the female Paladin’s voice; the only thing that reached her were the tremors of the earth.

  —And then, footsteps. Slowly, steadily, they approached her from behind.

  “Oh my, my, my... Done with your little game of tag, Lady Lumachina?”

  “Mgh...”

  Standing up, she turned around. From the depths of the forest appeared a “man,” a Summoner, wearing the armor of the Paladins—Gewalt. He was of tall stature and rippling muscles, carrying a longsword at his waist that was left it in its sheath.

  “Oh? I wonder what happened with little Miss Tria? Ohh, did she get eaten by one of my cute little 《Trap Worms》? Mm-hm-hm... She was just a girl, after all. My lineage isn’t the only thing wonderful about me, let me tell you.”

  He was a man with a strange way of speaking.

  Lumachina thrust forward her sacred symbol as she questioned him.

  “Can you swear to God that your actions are moral and correct!?”

  “Who knooows. But those big-wigs at the Church are paying me handsomely for this; makeup and dresses cost money, too, you know.”

  “You wicked, nondevout man...!!”

  “Mm-hm-hm, oh trust me, I’m very much a believer, darling. I just believe in gods who give me money! That silly little God you are oh-so-devoted to is useless, so I’m not afraid of him.”

  “You dare call God incompetent!?”

  “The miraculous healings and answering prayers for a bountiful harvest are amazing, of course... But in a fight, power is everything.”

  Paladins were instruments of the Church, and usually held deep conviction in their faith. However, it was painfully obvious that this man did not have a shred of piety in his entire body.

  Lumachina clutched the holy symbol she held as she knelt down. “...Oh, God...”

  “Mmm? Ahaha! Praying at a time like this? Hoping for some ‘divine punishment’ to make me disappear, is that it? Kuhaha, you are just too much! Oh, God, you religious types! Ahyahah—*cough* *cough*! ...Phew, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death!?”

  “O great Lord in heaven, hear my voice: bring destruction to the wicked. Purge the land in cleansing fire, and save those who believe in you...”

  Lumachina’s body was wrapped in light—but nothing happened to Gewalt.

  “How worthless. Vishos was the one who ordered me to end you, and he prayed, too, you know. Said something like, ‘This will be a holy battle...’ In the end, that’s what ‘God’ is. It simply means there are as many gods as there are people.”

  Vishos—the name of someone Lumachina knew. Suppressing her feeling of shock over learning this truth, she continued to pray.

  “O great Lord, there is one here who cannot hear your voice. Please, reveal your power and shine your righteous light upon this land. Just as the flowers bloom in the fields, as the fish swim in the streams...”

  Gewalt looked down upon Lumachina as she knelt in prayer, his eyes dripping with impurity. “Mm-hm-hm, such beautiful skin you have... It’s making me jealous—jealous enough to tear it right off your body!”

  He took out a crystal, dropping it at his feet. Then, a noise like shattering glass—it was a Summon, and a plant-type one at that. Once it settled into the ground, it transformed into a mushroom several times the size of Lumachina, squirming tendrils growing from where its roots would be.

  Light enveloped Lumachina’s body as Gewalt’s mouth twisted into an unpleasant grimace.

  “Th-This is...”

  —So, this is a bona fide miracle, is it? Well, isn’t she something special.

  As far as Gewalt knew, there weren’t any others who could cause an actual, visible phenomenon simply by praying. There could be no doubt that Lumachina excelled when it came to the power of miracles. Many people of faith even believed her to be a “child of God.” It was not as if he couldn’t understand why Tria had betrayed her superiors in the Church and tried to help her escape.

  “But, orders are orders. I’ve already been paid, you see.”

  Gewalt licked his lips. Being able to break a girl called a child of God... He was ecstatic at the thought of being able to fulfill this dark desire of his.

  “Go and finish this, my 《Beast Mushroom》!”

  The Summon stretched out the tentacles growing from its roots.

  “Eeeeek!?”

  The thin tendrils wrapped around Lumachina’s arms and legs, suspending her midair. Gewalt’s breathing grew wild with excitement.

  “Gufufu... Oh, yes! Just like that! Tear off all that nasty clothing in the way!”

  “Wh-What are you doing!?”

  “If gods do exist in this world, they’re nothing more than little pieces of shit that like to play favorites, that’s for sure. You were born beautiful, while I’m stuck in the body of a burly man... Truly an injustice. That’s why I’m going to defile that body of yours and send it straight back to the heavens!”

  “Huh? Defile!?”

  “Ahaha! And by using a Summon, of course! I hear it’s better than you’d think!!”

  “Eek!? S-Stop this folly at once!”

  “Oh my, now that’s a nice reaction. You’re getting me all hot and bothered here!”

  The tentacles found their way underneath Lumachina’s dress. Her body stiffened up as they rubbed against the sensitive parts of her body normally covered by clothes.

  “Hyagh!?” Lumachina’s back quivered with disgust. Her hands and feet were bound, and she couldn’t use offensive magic. There was nothing she could do.

  At last, the Beast Mushroom’s tentacles began tearing her dress to pieces.

  “Noooooooo!!”

  “Mm-hm-hm... We’re only getting started, hone
y. I’m going to have these tentacles pierce riiight inside you. A holy woman losing her precious virginity to a Summon—oh, it’s just too much!!” Gewalt let out a vulgar laugh.

  Having received the first shaming of her entire life, Lumachina’s head went blank, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “S-St... Stop...it...”

  “Looks like you have what it takes to be a prostitute as well. Oh my, yes... Make that face at them, and any guy would want to get it on with you.”

  “That’s not my inte—!?”

  “Well, your first—and last—partner is going to be a Summon! Now, go and get her, my Beast Mushroom!”

  “N... No... God, please... God...!!”

  Chapter 2: Flying Sky High

  Early afternoon on a sunny day—

  Diablo had taken a trip to the Eastern Lakefront forest, in a spot a bit farther east from where Shera had made a contract with her Summon. This time, he was out and about with only Rem and Shera. No matter how good their disguises were, he didn’t want to risk taking Klem and Edelgard through the gates if he didn’t need to.

  —It’s been a while since just the three of us did something...

  Klem and Edelgard were always together at the inn, and since there were still no quests that called for Diablo to be sent out, he would leave everything to Rem and Shera.

  They came out to a wide-open grassy slope. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the smell of grass was in the air.

  Shera gave a big stretch as she raised both arms in the air.

  “It feels amazing here!”

  “...I agree,” Rem said as she nodded. Though they would usually bicker with each other given the opportunity, right now, both girls were smiling.

  “Ehehe, so you feel the same way, Rem.”

  “Hahh... Yes, as strange as it seems.”

  “Makes you wanna go sunbathing naked, right~”

  “Excuse...!? It does not, you perverted Elf!”

  “Whaaa—!? But there’s no reason to go sunbathing with all your clothes on!”

  “Wanting to take your clothes off outside is strange in the first place!”

  “It’s sunbathing, so it’s not embarrassing!”

  “Nudity is nudity! That is NOT happening!”

  Being of different species and different upbringings, it seemed there was a deep divide in their lifestyles.

  “This will do.”

  Diablo found a dead tree trunk toppled over on the ground. Shera came over and clung to him.

  “What do you think, Diablo!? Wearing clothes while sunbathing is weird, right!?”

  Rem glared at Shera with scornful eyes. “...You say something to her, too, Diablo. Taking off your clothes outside shows an extreme lack in one’s sense of danger.”

  “You two sure like to fight, don’t you. I’m going to test a new spell now, so don’t get in my way.”

  As if they completely forgot their argument from earlier, the looks on Rem and Shera’s faces had shown immense curiosity.

  “...And what kind of magic would that be?”

  “New magic!? Oooh, what kind!?”

  “《Flight Magic》. But, since all spells are reflected away from me, I plan on casting it on a physical object and trying to ride on that.”

  Players couldn’t do things like this in Cross Reverie. In this world, however, there was a broad range of use for magic. It was worth giving it a shot.

  There was the chance his experiment wouldn’t end well, though. Yet still, he was confident his relationship with the girls was strong enough that it wouldn’t crumble away due to a failed experiment, which is why he explained his intentions to them beforehand.

  Diablo had gear enchanted with Flight magic back in the game, but since he’d been summoned from his dungeon in Cross Reverie to the top of a tower in this world, he didn’t have it equipped. All his other equipment was locked away in his Storage.

  The “Storage” system was a feature found in Cross Reverie and others of these types of games. It wasn’t something that could be carried, so it couldn’t be used just anywhere; but regardless, it was capable of storing an enormous quantity of items. Diablo kept countless rare and fantastic items inside his Storage, things he had no idea how to obtain in this world.

  —Thinking back to the game’s setting, I’d say it’s probably all inside the treasure vault within my dungeon.

  Players who achieved a fixed amount of results in Cross Reverie were given a plot of land to call their own. As such, Diablo turned the area he had been given into something that resembled the dungeon of a Demon Lord. It was located in the west, near a town within the Demon Lord’s Domain. He’d thought about it before, but it might be a good idea for him to try and seek it out at least once.

  Thinking about it rationally, it would only be appropriate to assume he was the only one who had been summoned here from the game. But Diablo had a separate reason for thinking his dungeon might exist here.

  The Demon Lord of the Mind, Enkvaros, had once existed in this world as well. They’d already been defeated, but it was unknown exactly who they were defeated by. Back in the game, Diablo was the first one to defeat Enkvaros. There was a chance that what he did in the game could have had an effect on this world as well.

  He didn’t know the logic behind it, but if something as abnormal as being summoned to another world with the same appearance as a character from a game he played could indeed happen, then it wouldn’t be strange for the dungeon he created to exist here as well.

  Putting his speculations aside, he returned his attention back to his original objective.

  He touched the fallen tree using the tip of Tenma’s Staff. The spell needed direct contact to work, and took a while to activate on top of that. To put it bluntly, this wasn’t the type of magic to be used in battle, but specifically for moving around the map.

  If you couldn’t use some means of flying transport in Cross Reverie—whether that be by magic, a Summon that could fly, or some kind of item—then you couldn’t fully progress in the game. Basically, this meant obtaining a means of transportation acted as a test for players to graduate from being a noob.

  —Never thought that I’d be going through that test again...

  Diablo chanted: “Obey my will and change to the position I desire—《Adzet》!”

  The dead tree trunk was lifted upward, swaying side to side as if it had been suspended in the air by a crane.

  Rem and Shera both shouted: “I-It’s floating!?” “Wow, amazing! It’s floating! It’s really floating!!”

  “...So magic like this exists as well.”

  “That’s so cool! Like, super cool!”

  “...Diablo surpasses our common knowledge so easily, doesn’t he.”

  “Cool! So cooooool!!”

  It was a bit embarrassing to see them that surprised by what he had done. In any case, the important part started now.

  “You’re in the way. Back up, both of you.”

  It was dangerous, so he had them step away. He placed a hand on the tree, which was floating at about waist-height. The surface began to crumble away.

  —It may be more rotten than I thought...

  He climbed onto the dead tree. Back in the game, Diablo was a level 150 Adventurer, which gave him strength far beyond that of a normal person, so it was a simpler task than he thought.

  “Mmgh...!?”

  The tree shook. This was a magic experiment, so of course it was possible he would fail, and that was perfectly acceptable. He didn’t think the girls would lose faith in him over a failed experiment.

  However, what he did want to avoid was making himself look lame here. Falling off the tree mid-air or having it flip around while he was still riding it like it was some kind of comedy routine would be too hilarious for him to recover from.

  Diablo cautiously balanced himself. It was unstable, but he managed to get on top of the tree without falling off.

  —All right! I’m flying!

  It was only at
a waist-high level, so it was more “floating” than “flying”... But, even so, Rem and Shera were in shock that he was actually staying afloat off the ground.

  —The experiment is a success!

  Diablo was striking victory poses on the inside. That being said, however, there wasn’t much practical use for this as it was. It wasn’t much different from standing on top of a big rock; being on a horse would probably be better.

  “Guess I’ll try going a bit higher.”

  He tried moving the dead tree around. First, he raised it up to a higher elevation, about three meters in the air, just so he wouldn’t die if he fell off. It slowly lifted him, swaying the entire time but not enough to make him fall off.

  —Maybe I can keep going?

  He rose even higher. Being at a height where his view was unobstructed by the leaves and branches of the trees around him was a fresh and enjoyable feeling, almost as if he was seeing everything from a Ferris wheel or some sort of viewing platform.

  “Ohh... Now this is something.”

  “Wooow, Diablo! That’s so coooool!”

  Shera was jumping around like an excited kid, but Rem looked concerned.

  “...Um, if this is supposed to be your first experiment, then please do not overdo anything...”

  “I know,” he said. But as he got used to it, the shaking was kind of like being on a boat rocking in the middle of the water, which was actually a nice sensation. It wasn’t half bad as a form of entertainment, but if he wanted to use it as a transport, he would need to be able to move it more freely.

  He went up even higher, the wind growing stronger once he was up above the trees. It became easier to lose his balance whenever he moved in any direction, which was making him nervous.

  —Would the safest thing to do here be to move it up and down like an elevator, to find spots where there isn’t as much wind? Seems like it’d be dangerous to use this thing as a transport, either way... Putting some kind of lifeline on this thing would make it safer, but a Demon Lord who puts safety first just seems a little...off.