Ch.166The Demon Lord Belphegor (5)

# Demon Lord Belphegor (5)

One step.

Esmeralda pushed through the pouring rain of blood.

With just that one step, the downpour intensified, and the burden she felt doubled.

She stood still for a moment, blocking the falling streams.

“Hup!”

Esmeralda took another step forward. The same situation unfolded as before. The power behind the pouring attack doubled, and Esmeralda felt like her knees might buckle at any moment.

Then what about the two fighting in the center of that storm?

That scenery was too distant for her.

“Hahah.”

But she was a hero.

She was someone who could grow stronger in the face of trials. And wasn’t the trial presented to her now, though powerful, almost kind?

She shouldn’t be given time to get used to it. She shouldn’t be left alone with the realm of transcendence spread out before her.

It meant no one should underestimate her.

Because she was someone who could grow stronger just by seeing, experiencing, and enduring something once.

A warrior who had survived countless deaths.

“Haah…”

Esmeralda took a deep breath.

Her preparations were complete. Her resolve was firm. Her conviction had never been broken.

Bang!

She took a big step forward. This time, she didn’t stop there.

Esmeralda began to push through the storm.

Displaying a clear presence, she advanced through the red and dark storm using the golden radiance as her guiding light.

The feet that could barely step forward one by one eventually turned into a sprint.

“I told you.”

Thus, on the battlefield where First and Robeno fought to kill each other.

Esmeralda, who had to risk her life just from the aftermath, finally stepped into the center of that battlefield.

“That I would prove it.”

Because no one paid attention.

Because the difference in caliber was obvious.

Because neither ally nor enemy considered her a threat.

“Got you. Legion Commander First.”

Esmeralda’s holy sword, which had penetrated stealthily yet swiftly, cut off First’s head.

***

Arrogance is a sin.

Because it can choke one’s own breath.

And First was arrogant. Of course, he had the power to match that arrogance.

Still, the result of carelessness is fair to everyone.

Esmeralda, who had cut off First’s head, let out a cheer.

“Holy fucking shit!”

Oops!

It wasn’t a cheer, but a curse.

Esmeralda could tell. The holy sword had definitely cut through First’s neck, but there was no sensation at all.

The holy sword that cut through First’s neck without even resistance. Rather, it threw off her center of balance.

“Not bad.”

First murmured calmly despite having his neck cut.

Only then did Esmeralda notice another of First’s special traits.

Mist Form Lv. 72

A vampire-specific evasion technique that turns the body into mist to avoid attacks.

It was also a skill that consumed blood, so it could be called an emergency escape method, but…

‘For First, who can regenerate blood infinitely, such a weakness is practically nonexistent!’

Not only does he handle the absurdly powerful ability of blood manipulation, but he also avoids all attacks with Mist Form.

A power that is strong because it’s simple.

Just by removing the risk, such a monster is born.

“How did the Demon Lord defeat that?!”

Esmeralda shouted to Robeno as if feeling wronged.

Demon Lord Belphegor was five times stronger than First by simple numerical calculation, but the hopelessness she felt now made her question that.

Powerful strength and near-invincible evasion. How could one win against an enemy with both?

“With His Majesty’s method, it’s obvious.”

Robeno answered Esmeralda’s question with a smirk.

Inwardly, he was pleased that she had proven herself.

“He just crushed everything with pure power.”

“What’s that, that’s scary!”

What does it mean to crush an opponent who turns into mist and escapes with pure power?

Esmeralda made a sour expression at this incomprehensible terror.

Mist Form is a technique that can be maintained indefinitely as long as there is blood.

But she had gained a clue.

Of course, it has the disadvantage of consuming blood exponentially, but for First, who had dyed the sky itself red, that was nothing.

In conclusion, to face the current First, it’s like saying you need to bring down the sky.

“So we need firepower.”

You need to unleash enough high firepower to blow away an army against a single individual.

At least, it’s impossible for warriors with strong individual power like Esmeralda or Robeno.

And there’s only one person here who can do that now.

“Yes, I’m already preparing.”

“…”

Esmeralda broke into a cold sweat.

She could see Millia preparing ritual magic down below.

Overwhelming firepower that literally melted the barriers firmly built by former Legion Commander Twelve.

A ritual magic several times more powerful was unfolding around Millia.

“…Since when?”

Ritual magic requires as much time as it does power.

And its manifestation is noticeable. In other words, to use ritual magic, you need a strong vanguard to protect the front.

But Esmeralda had just reached her conclusion. Yet Millia’s ritual magic was already complete.

What could that mean?

“Were you planning to blow me away along with Second? Millia…”

She had set up a vanguard.

But she had deployed the magic with the mindset that it was okay to sacrifice them together.

Even First and Robeno wouldn’t have guessed such a ruthless mindset.

How could someone so unhesitatingly blow away their comrades?

“…”

For the first time in his life, First felt like he was facing someone similar to himself.

A monster who doesn’t understand people’s hearts. A life where one can only imitate what others do.

That’s why he’s bound by discipline and follows rules obsessively.

It was the only way to blend into society.

In that sense, First saw Millia as less socialized.

“Firing.”

“Wait, Milli—”

KWAAAAAAANG!

***

The intense ritual magic seemed to devour even the red-dyed sky.

The sky turned pure white, with a brightness that could blind the eyes.

An attack that would have surely reduced Esmeralda to dust had it hit her.

“A good attempt.”

But First blocked such an attack.

He countered and nullified the torrent of power that even Mist Form couldn’t withstand.

First stood still without moving, his hand outstretched.

Esmeralda, who had expected Millia to really fire, and Robeno, who had hurriedly fled seeing Esmeralda’s attitude, felt a chill at First’s calm demeanor.

He blocked it. And he didn’t take any additional measures because he thought he could block it.

That appearance represents the vast and deep total amount of power, like the sea.

“It certainly tingles.”

A power that could annihilate an army.

Millia’s one-hit-kill attack, concentrating all her mana.

Blocking it with one hand, and all he felt was a tingle.

After the blinding light disappeared, the blood-red sky spread out again, darkly dyed.

It’s hopeless. It’s impossible to even gauge where his limit is.

Esmeralda clicked her tongue while gripping her sword again.

“Well, it seems it did tingle.”

A positive mindset.

In any case, there was damage. That fact alone makes it worth challenging.

But there was something no one present could know.

“Hmm?”

First’s brow furrowed as he looked down at Robeno and Esmeralda.

As if seeing something impossible, as if it made no sense.

At that displeased look, Esmeralda unconsciously glanced sideways at what First was looking at.

“Huh?”

There stood Millia.

Millia, who should have fired a shot powerful enough to dye the entire sky white, was standing there unchanged.

And it wasn’t that she had mana to spare or anything like that.

“How…?”

Millia was still in the same pose as when she was deploying the ritual magic, just before firing.

Yes, her magic was still in an unfired state.

A strange phenomenon as if time had been reversed. The first to understand the cause of this phenomenon was…

“Hahahahaha!”

It was Robeno, who had been fighting First with a gloomy expression all along.

He laughed as if nothing could make him happier. And seeing Robeno like that, Esmeralda too could recall the possibility she had pushed to the back of her mind.

And at that very moment.

“Ladies and gentlemen! How is it? Are you enjoying the show? But we’re still far from done! Even more spectacular sights will appear from now on!”

A girl dressed as a clown appeared with a pop! in mid-air, grinning.

That powerful authority that elevated Lacrima to the position of Third.

The ability to turn fantasy into reality.

“How about that? Gotcha, didn’t I?”

She had first created an illusion of Millia’s ritual magic, deceiving the consciousness of everyone present.

“Now! It’s time for real magic without any tricks!”

Snap!

And as Lacrima snapped her fingers, this time Millia’s real magic began to dye the sky.

“…”

The moment he saw the magic being fired at him, First hesitated.

Is this real? Or is this also Lacrima’s illusion?

That gap in consciousness alone makes the illusion real.

Therefore, First had to respond. Whether it was an illusion or not.

His doubt would end up making it real.

“Come along! Behold!”

Lacrima said as she floated up into the air, dodging Millia’s magic by a paper-thin margin while swaying her waist.

“A spectacular show you cannot predict!”