Author's Note
Summary of the previous episode:
A hero from the future, Sera, faces off against the powerful Demon God.
The large shield she holds in her hand is to protect those behind her. The large sword she holds in her hand is to carve out the future.
The final battle against the evil Demon God who rules over the deadly sins has now begun.
What will be the fate of the Demon God?
"That was more unexpected than I thought. I think the Oni God was more promising," said Sera with a disappointed look on her face. At the very least, the Oni God would have been stronger in close combat—even though we beat it up while sitting down.
"Don't insult me you little girl!!!" Enraged, the Demon God unleashed a black flame that resembled ‹Purgatory Magic› from his remaining left arm towards Sera. It was much larger than the one aimed at me earlier, and attacked Sera, trying to swallow her.
"That's why I said it doesn't work," said Sera. When Sera swung her sword, the black flames naturally disappeared.
Just to clarify, Sera's ‹Hostile Magic Immunity› also applied its effect to weapons she was holding. Therefore, she could simply think of the weapon's special effect as being "Magic Nullify". It was a cheat skill that didn't require the user to directly use magic, and could completely prevent any effect on allies simply by blocking with a shield... I've been traveling with Sera for quite some time now, but I feel like this is the first time I've properly explained Sera's skills.
The Demon God floated up into the sky while Sera was dispelling his magic. Apparently, he decided that fighting Sera in close combat would be too difficult. It was too late.
"Ku, kukuku. It certainly seems that you have the ability to nullify magic. However, isn't there some kind of trick to have such great power? In reality, it's not like you can block all magic, but it's probably just making it seem that way," the Demon God spoke, as he regained some composure by putting some distance between himself and Sera.
Well, it was true that she only said, "Magic doesn't work" and didn't explain the details of its effect. And in the first place, there was no obligation to give a detailed explanation... Furthermore, it was strange to take what your opponent says during a fight seriously. It was normal and basic to only say what's convenient for you.
If you think about it like that, wasn't the Demon God who took Sera's words seriously and quickly gave up on magical attacks pure? There was probably no demand for a pure Demon God unless it was a romantic comedy.
"I should have done this from the beginning. It was a mistake to deliberately try to fight on the same stage as lowly humans…But does that magic nullification thing actually stop all the heat generated by magic? Hehehehe, [Sunrise Down]!!!" (Demon God)
The magic that Demon God activated was ‹Fire Magic› level 10 [Sunrise Down].
Although the words [Sunrise Down] were meaningless, it was a powerful wide-area annihilation spell, befitting a level 10. Naturally, the MP consumption was also extraordinary. I couldn't help but be amazed at the Demon God who was able to activate such a level 10 spell by applying the ‹Chantless› skill.
I hadn't explained the skill called ‹Chantless› in depth up until now, but the fact was that this skill had limitations and costs.
The restriction is that "Only magic with a ‹Chantless› skill level or lower can be turned into Chantless." In order to turn a level 10 magic spell into Chantless, the ‹Chantless› skill level must be 10. Next, the price. This is "When you use ‹Chantless›, the MP consumed increases according to the level of the spell." In a way, it makes sense that you would consume more MP in exchange for not chanting—while looking away from ‹Broad Interpretation›.
What happens if I used ‹Chantless› to cast a level 10 spell, which already consumes a lot of MP? Of course, the MP consumption would be ridiculously high. Even for a magic-specialized Demon God, it would consume about a third of his MP.
Huh? In my case? In my case, even if I fired 100 shots of [Sunrise Down] with ‹Chantless›, my MP wouldn't drop by even 1/100th. The [Sunrise Down] magic was a simple one that dropped a fireball about 50 meters from the sky. If it was not avoided, it might cause self-destruction. Currently, the Demon God was in the sky, so he was probably confident that he could avoid [Sunrise Down].
Just as the Demon God had declared, a giant fireball fell from the sky. Its power was worthy of being called strategic class, and was said to be enough to easily wipe out a city.
"Hahaha!!! This is the end for you all! You should regret ever having defied me..."
"‹Flying Slash›!" Interrupting the Demon God's words, Sera fired ‹Flying Slash› at [Sunrise Down] in the sky.
—Bang!—
The moment the slash touched [Sunrise Down], the 50m long fireball made a satisfying sound and disappeared without a trace.
"Huh?" the Demon God showed a dopey look on his face, while looking up at the vanished [Sunrise Down],.
"I've told you many times that magic doesn't work on me, haven't I? Haven't you heard me? Or have you made the hilarious mistake of thinking that magic can't be nullified unless I specifically touch it?" (Sera)
"Th-That's stupid..." (Demon God)
I could give Sera's weapon the effect of nullifying magic. Of course, even the flying slashes from ‹Flying Slash› could be given the effect of magic nullification.
By simply placing Sera alone, she could completely nullify wide-area annihilation magic, which has a long charge time and a large hit detection range. Anyone who saw value in wide-range, high-power magic was an easy target for Sera.
"Damn it! How about this! [Absolute Zero]!"
A level 10 ‹Ice Magic›, [Absolute Zero]. It was an incredible magic that lived up to its name of absolute zero, as it instantly dropped the temperature within a 500m radius to around -200℃. Another thing, it seemed like the temperature was not absolute zero (-273.15°C), which was a bit of a disappointment. Although it was not a direct attack, it could be said to be the ultimate attack in the sense that it created an environment where life could not survive. Naturally, the MP consumption was ridiculous, reducing the Demon God's_ MP to about 2%.
"Kuh……," apparently even a Demon God would feel unwell if he ran out of magical power. He looked a little distressed as he held his head.
The activation form of [Absolute Zero] was such that its effect did not affect a range instantly, but rather gradually expanded. The area of effect quickly spread from the Demon God floating in the sky, and reached Sera, who was suspended in the air by ‹Sky Running›.
"Ku, kuhaha! This time it's definitely over! This time there is no visible target to attack! It affects the entire space! Even you, as expected, will not be able to cut through space!" (Demon God)
—Bang—
The moment the sub-zero world touched Sera, there was a sound like something cracking, and [Absolute Zero] disappeared.
"………………………………………………………………how!!!" the Demon God shouted. After freezing for a while, he suddenly started running with all his might in the direction we weren't, with a shout.
"Ah, he ran away..." I muttered.
"I won't let you get away!" At the same time as I muttered, Sera also followed suit, making full use of ‹Sky Running›. It didn't seem difficult for Sera to catch up with the Demon God, who was missing one arm and staggering due to lack of magical power, and she closed the distance in no time.
Ah, while the Demon God is running away, Sera attacks him from behind.
> Expansion has reached level 2.
> A new ability has been unlocked.
‹Broad Interpretation Lv2›
The number of targets affected has been increased to 20.
> Expansion has reached level 3.
> A new ability has been unlocked.
‹Broad Interpretation Lv3›
The number of targets affected has been increased to 30.
For some reason, my Special Ability leveled up. What's more, it was only ‹Broad Interpretation›. Well, there's nothing bad about the number of targets increasing so it's fine...
"Master, it's over," declared Sera. She had returned using ‹Sky Running›, carrying the Demon God's corpse.
"Good job. That was quite an interesting battle," I said.
"Sera-chan, Good job!" added Mio.
"Good job!" added Dora via telepathy.
"Thank you for your hard work……" (Sakura?)
"Sera-chan, that was amazing." (Mio?)
"Yes, thank you..." Sera replied.
Sera's colleagues all congratulated her, but her expression did not look very cheerful.
"What's the matter? Are you unhappy about something?" I asked her.
"No, our chemistry is just too good... I don't really feel a sense of accomplishment," Sera answered with a dissatisfied look on her face.
"Ah, I see..." I muttered.
A giant who specialized in magic and had no martial art skills. Certainly, once you're up against Sera, there's no way you have a chance of winning.
"On the other hand, you could say that we got to see all of Sera-chan's specialties! She nullified magic, overwhelmed her opponent in close combat, and did a great job!" Mio said to Sera.
"You could say that... Yes, I'll stop worrying about it! I'm satisfied!" replied Sera. It seemed that Sera's way of thinking had changed after Mio's support.
"So, let me see your weapon now!" urged Mio.
"Yes, this will be it," replied Sera.
When Mio urged, Sera showed the weapon she was holding.
Guardian's Great Sword
Category: Great Sword
Rarity : Mythical (Gods)[1]
Notes : When equipped with the Guardian's Great Shield, the effect is greatly increased, the number of allies behind you during battle is increased significantly, effective against demons, indestructible, fixed to the owner
Guardian's Great Shield
Category: Great shield
Rarity : Mythical (Gods)
Notes : When equipped with the Guardian's Great Sword, the effect is greatly increased, the number of allies behind you during battle is greatly increased, knockback is completely nullified, indestructible, and the owner is fixed
The guardian had become a guardian deity, the usual "indestructible" and "fixed owner" had been added, and the word "significantly" had been added to the strengthened parts—It was transformed as expected. Even though it was just a simple upgrade, the original set was pretty stable, so there was no way she'd be dissatisfied. Yep, everything's going smoothly.
By the way, in terms of visual appearance, the white base with blue lines, silver inlay and gold inlay had been added, making it even more sacred. If it became too flashy it could easily become vulgar, but this design had succeeded in only increasing its sacredness. Originally, Sera's Guardian's Set was left to Kastal by my best friend Asai, and he used the weapon designs from a game he played a long time ago. There were no higher-level or enhanced weapons, so the weapon was completely original.
"You can tell just by looking at it that it has been significantly strengthened. It's a fine weapon," Sera nodded in satisfaction as she looked at her improved equipment.
"Now, Jin-sama, I, and Sera-chan have acquired the ‹Transcendence› skill and enhanced weapons," said Maria.
"That means it's finally my turn next. I'm really looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of opponent they will be?" Mio nodded and came forward as she heard what Maria said.
It's okay. I haven't forgotten.
"Based on our experience, there are a lot of people who are something-gods or something like that," I said.
If we were to list the enemies in the Final Trial, they would be the Ancestor Divine Dragon, the Oni God, and the Demon God. They all have the character "God" in their names.[2]
"If they follow similar rules, then which god will be next?" I added.
"Are evil gods and sea gods common in games? Ah, and then there's the Grim Reaper[3]," Mio gave a common name.
"If all goes well, that's probably it. ...But if a mayonnaise god appears, then Mio won't have a chance to win," I said.
"Hey, don't say weird things, Master! What would you do if something like that really showed up!? No, I'd probably just get serious and take out my anger on you. I'd kill you all," declared Mio.
"Mio-chan... Your eyes are serious..." said Sakura.
"That's disgusting, Sakura-sama. It's not just the eyes, I'm completely serious," said Mio.
After being surprised by my joke and thinking about it calmly, Mio came to the conclusion that the Mayonnaise God had to be annihilated. Run! Mayonnaise God!
"Yes, that's right. Why don't you absorb the Demon God before you forget? Master will Absorption you again this time to use Demon God's special skills, right?" said Sera.
"That's right. I feel bad for Tamo-san, but I have to be the one to keep those with special skills safe," I replied.
As Sera said, I was the one who was supposed to absorb the corpses of monsters with special skills. With the level 8 effect of ‹Power of Life and Death›, if I absorbed corpses and magic stones, you would even be able to use special skills.
"By the way, we don't use ‹Parallel Mind› to generate pseudo-personalities. That one is unnecessary."
He was clearly enemies of humanity, and not a particularly interesting opponent. Ah, the part where he escaped at the very end was a bit funny though...
"Well, that's what happens if you're Master. I can't accept that someone like that is on my side either..." said Sera.
"Not at all!" Dora added via telepathy.
From what I could see, even Sera didn't seem to have a good impression of it. If the person he fought really wanted to, then there would be room for consideration of personifying him, but that doesn't seem likely.
Later, Dora learned the word "Not at all" which I often used.
"For now, let's just absorb it. That's it." (Jin)
"So fast!?" (Mio)
What is Mio surprised about? All I had to do was absorb the Demon God's corpse stored inside the ‹Infinite Storage›.
"I can now use things like ‹Mental Attack›, but who should I try it out with...?" I asked.
"Don't look at me there?!" Mio shook her head in refusal while crying. No way. That would be too much, so it has to be a joke, right?
"Don't worry. I'll just feed it to a random monster later," I said.
"Really?! Really?! Stop it! It's no joke," Mio exclaimed.
"Jin-sama really loves toying with Mio-chan, doesn't he? I'm really jealous." Maria looked enviously at Mio, who clung to her desperately.
"Then Maria-chan, take my place!" (Mio)
"No, I asked Jin-sama before, but he said, 'There's no challenge with Maria because she only says yes.'" (Maria)
"Nooooo!!!" (Mio)
Seeing Mio's head hanging in disappointment, I nodded with satisfaction, saying, "Yes, that's the reaction I wanted." It was no good to overdo it, so I should end it here.
"Well, I can't keep on playing with Mio forever, so we should be heading back soon..." I said.
"What's the matter? Master?" Mio asked, standing up. Mio also seemed to understand that it was a joke and didn't dwell on the previous conversation.
"Well, I just remembered that almost all the monsters in this forest have been wiped out, right? I thought that since I had the chance, I might as well wipe them all out and take on some monsters that have bonus monsters." (Jin)
Thanks to all the luck, we were in an area where the number of monsters had been moderately reduced. It would be a waste not to face the rare monsters that came with the annihilation bonus. Plus, the Demon God had returned and this was the land where we fought, so I had a feeling something interesting would happen.
"There certainly isn't that much left..." Sakura muttered.
"Well then, leave it to Mio-chan!" Mio declared.
Immediately after Sakura checked the map and muttered something, Mio took out her bow and started firing arrows all over the place. Without missing her target, all the arrows hit the monsters remaining in the area, reaping their HP.
"Excellent."
"No no, this is a piece of cake." (Mio)
"Ahem," Mio said, puffing out her chest and looking like she'd accomplished something. Although it was not that much work to wipe them out, Mio was definitely the quickest to snipe them. You see, when other members attack from a distance, it's usually too much force.
About 10 minutes after the forest monsters had been wiped out, a red marker appeared on the map. It was almost certainly a monster with an annihilation bonus.
Judging from where we were now, it looked like it popped pretty close.
"It finally came out, huh?" (Jin)
"It was a bit longer than usual..." (Sakura)
As Sakura said, it took longer than usual for it to pop. It was not like when a rare item appears it takes a long time to repopulate, but it was inevitable that you would get a vague sense of anticipation, right? In games, if the loading time is long, a rare item may appear...
I decided not to check it on the map and just see it in person first. I led everyone towards the monster that had popped.
So, what kind of monsters will show up?
Baby Divine Beast (Rare, Lv1)
Notes: A beast cub bearing the name of a god. It has the potential to become one of the Final Trial imposed on humanity. It also has the potential to become the guardian of humanity.
I see. It's quite ironic and interesting that the "Final Trial of the future" was born on the site of the battle with "Final Trial". To begin with, it's unclear how they become "Final Trial"... Do they evolve like monsters in games?
[Yes, they do.] (Alta)
Ah, so they're evolving after all...
"So, so cute..." (Sakura)
"Yeah, it's really cute." (Mio)
Sakura and Mio looked at the baby divine beast and both said it was cute. By the way, its appearance was a strange little animal that is a cross between a white cat and a small dog, with white wings. It was certainly quite cute and boasted a great deal of fluffiness (this is the important part).
"To say that we have reached the Final Trial means that it is not a Final Trial at this point. It does not possess any of the skills, so there is no need to defeat it." (Jin)
"I'm glad... I didn't have to defeat such a cute monster..." (Sakura)
I felt bad for Sakura, but even if it was cute, if it was an evil monster I would crush it mercilessly. However, looking at the notes, it seemed like its future depended on how it was raised. It was just been born and hadn't done anything bad, so taming it would be appropriate.
"Yes! Yes! Mio-chan wants to tame it!" Mio raised her hand and hopped up and down to show off.
It was rare for Mio to want to tame. That just went to show how much she liked this baby divine beast. It was a wish from Mio, and I would be happy to grant it.
"Oh, that's fine. Of course, I'll fluff it too, is that okay?" (Jin)
"Yes, of course that's OK. Now I can finally have a fluffy friend who puts me first..." (Jin)
"Potechi?" (Jin)
"*sting*, grr..." remembering Potechi, Mio made a bitter face. It seemed that Potechi, the fairy wolf familiar of Mio, was not fluffy.
"Mio-chan, please let me pet it too..." (Sakura)
"Of course, Sakura-sama is OK too!" (Mio)
Even though we hadn't succeeded in taming it yet, we were still counting the raccoons we hadn't caught yet. Incidentally, the baby divine beast was currently in a daze, as if it had just woken up. It didn't seem to mind us making noise next to it.
"Are you really that unhappy with Potechi?" Sera asked.
"Eh? No, that's not true. Potechi is a cute little naughty boy. The only thing I regret is that he's not fluffy...,"Mio said with a look of genuine regret in response to Sera's question. I know it sounds odd for me to say this, but aren't we placing too much importance on fluffiness?
"If Potechi had a younger brother or sister, would he be a bit more responsible?"
"That's the position those two hold in Mio's mind."
"Yes, they are both beast types, and I want them to get along like siblings." (Mio)
If I may say something that might spoil the fun, the baby divine beast was overwhelmingly superior in terms of potential. I hoped that the big brother didn't rebel because the younger one surpasses him in ability... Incidentally, the baby divine beast was currently washing its face with its front paws, just like a cat.
"I see. Well then, it's time to tame a little brother or sister." ()
"Ohh!" Mio shouted loudly, causing the baby divine beast to flinch. Mio immediately activated ‹Monster Taming› and set her sights on the baby divine beast.
"Now, let's have a fair fight! Ah, Show Mercy, Show Mercy..." (Mio)
If she didn't use ‹Show Mercy›, it would be complete overkill.
As if realising that Mio had challenged it to a fight, the baby divine beast growled, "Meow." There was no intimidation at all.
"Um, knife... that's dangerous, let's use club! Here you go!" (Mio)
"Meow!"
In order to make ‹Show Mercy› work, she equipped herself with a striking weapon called a "Club (500 Gold at the weapon shop)" and lightly hit the baby divine beast with it. The baby divine beast didn't even dodge and the Club hit it directly on the head, causing it to stagger...
"Meow..."
It fell down with a thud.
"Weak!?" my and Mio's voice harmonized. We couldn't hide our shock at how weak the baby divine beast was.
"Ah, the taming was successful..." said Mio.
Just before it fainted, it seemed to have accepted defeat and chosen to follow Mio. It might sound cool to write it like that, but to be honest, I just gave in because I couldn't bear the pain any more.
Mio casually pet the unconscious baby divine beast while casting [Heal] on it.
"Fluffy... Ah, this one is a female." (Mio)
Apparently she also confirmed the gender. It would be obvious just by looking at the status, so why did she bother to check directly...
A while later...
"Okay, my name is Mio. Your name is Miao. I look forward to working with you."
"Meow..."
After the baby divine beast woke up, Mio gave it the name she had thought of while it was unconscious. The baby divine beast, or Miao as it was called, happily spun around Mio. It was a small animal.
"Does the name come from the sound it makes?" I asked.
"That's one thing, but I also added a character between the letters in 'Mio'. You know how 'Potechi' is made by adding a character to 'Pochi'? I tried to twist it a little bit using the same logic." (Mio)
"I see……"
Maybe Mio had a better naming sense than me.
Since there was nothing left to do in the forest, I decided to return to the Kastal mansion. To be precise, after I asked Tamo-san to clean up the corpses in the forest. Tamo-san absorbed the corpses and became stronger. The forest was purified as the corpses disappeared. It was all good news.
"Now, Potechi. This is my new familiar, Miao. She's like a little sister to you, so make sure you take good care of her." (Mio)
"Myaw!"
"Woof!"
As soon as we returned to the mansion with Portal, Mio began introducing Miao to Potechi, who was acting as a guard dog at the entrance. Potechi and Miao seemed to have become friendly with each other right away and were playing around. Judging from their play, Potechi seemed to be stronger at the moment. What would happen in the future is another story... I hope Potechi has a happy future...
Since Mio seemed to want to watch the two monster familiars playing around for a while longer, we went ahead and entered the mansion.
"Welcome home," twenty maids welcomed us.
"Oh, I'm home," I replied.
The maids lined up in a row all bowed in unison to welcome us. It was like being a noble or something, but I had gotten used to it quite a bit.
"What happened to Latina?" I asked the head maid, Lucia, about Latina, who I had teleported earlier. I could see the current situation by looking at the map, but it was probably best to ask someone for more details.
"She is still unconscious. She seems to be sleeping deeply and is unlikely to wake up anytime soon. Would it be best to forcefully wake her up?" (Lucia)
"No, let's wait for her to wake up naturally." (Jin)
"Understood." (Lucia)
It seemed that after the madness effect was removed, it would take a lot of time for her to wake up, as it seemed that she would be under a lot of mental strain. It was possible to wake her up if we force her, but that would be a sad thing to do. If I told the maids to do it, they would easily ignore any sense of ethics... That was why I couldn't say anything unnecessary.
"I'm going back to my room to get changed, so please prepare dinner while I do that." (Jin)
"Understood." (Lucia)
I asked Lucia to prepare dinner and then I returned to my room. The other members all returned to their rooms. Dora followed me (I had some clothes for Dora in my room too).
"Jin, are you home?" (Aya)
"Welcome back" (Blue)
"Welcome home -nojaa!" (Elle)
"Oh, I'm home." (Jin)
"I'm home~!" (Dora)
I returned greetings to Grayman (Aya), Sky Dragon (Blue), and Ancestor Divine Dragon (Elle) who were in my room. I told them they would be given individual rooms, but they insisted on sharing the room with me, so currently all three of them were staying in my room.
I told them I would kick them out if they got in the way, so all three of them basically behaved themselves when I was around, but when I was not they seemed to be free to do as they pleased. The three of them were still playing cards (not for sale).
If I thought about it, Elle was supposed to be my familiar, but she didn't seem to care at all and acted separately. Well, it didn't really matter whether she was there or not, so it's fine.
"Jin has returned, so it's time to call it a day."
"Grrr... I ended up losing today. I'll just have to work hard."
"Elle, who lost the most today, will give the dessert to Aya, who won the most today, right?"
"I'll be treated!"
"It can't be helped..."
Apparently, they were betting on the dessert after the meal. None of these three were normal humans, but liking sweets seemed to be a common trait among girls regardless of race. Aya looked happy, while Elle looked frustrated. Me? If I asked for two desserts, they would come in two seconds...
I quickly changed my clothes and headed out to dinner.
"Well then, let's go." (Jin)
"Food. Food." (Dora)
Dora had also changed into a dress for the home.
"Oh, we're going too!"
"I'm coming with you!"
"Wait! I still have to put the cards away..."
The three of them hurriedly followed me.
The dessert after the meal that day was strawberry daifuku made by a maid who had trained at Izumo Kingdom. Elle had a very sad look on her face as she handed the strawberry daifuku to Aya.
I heard that Endo had been completely restored, so maybe I would stop by Endo at least once during my relaxing period.
Author's Note
Volume 8 will not come to Endo. At least not in the main story.
Translation Note
[1] I forgot about the equipment rarity. I believe I've never encountered the full list and I didn't have a note of it. (I've only encountered just a few of them)
[2] All of them contains 神
- 始祖神竜 (shisoshin ryuu), previously it was translated as Ancestor Divine Dragon. I still haven't decided what I should use.
- 鬼神 (kishin), Oni God.
- 魔神 (majin), Demon God.
[2] 死神 (shinigami)
As usual, thanks to Otaku Hikikomori for the corrections.