THE DEVIL AND THE HERO STAND STRONG IN SASAZUKA 3 page

?Heh-heh-heh??

Emi shuddered as he heard the low, guttural laugh.

He was darker than the most profound of darkness, his body emitting a light blacker than ink. The horn that Emi had smashed to pieces once upon a time was still missing, but there was no way to wipe away the magic force, the foreboding strength, the sheer presence looming over her.

His eyes were as red as a river of blood, but his skin was white, cold, as if not a drop of blood flowed through it. He was over two meters in height, his wings emitting an aura of sheer murky blackness.

What stood before here was not Sadao Maou, shift supervisor at the Hatagaya MgRonald branch, the man Lucifer had just murdered with a shot through the heart.

?You have my gratitude, Lucifer? Thanks to your hard work, I have finally regained this form.?

His form was as magic itself?enough magic to support the entirety of the expressway.

?Satan? The Devil King??

Before her eyes was the Devil King himself, the demon lord who had plunged Ente Isla into a hellhole of misery and gloom.

The long, slitted eyes of the terrifying demon tyrant were now fixated squarely upon Emi?Emilia the Hero.

At that moment, Emi was stuck with an indescribable wave of despair.

?Wh-why???

Lucifer stood there, panic-stricken, hand covering his face in disbelief. He knew he had just struck Sadao Maou dead. Even if he was the Devil King, no mere corpse could have drawn in magical force from the desperation that reigned around it.

But here he was now, the Devil King Satan, standing before his eyes.

The jaw-droppingly massive power he wielded, enough to keep the Shuto Expressway up with a single hand, was on a completely different level from what he wielded in the corridor in Shinjuku. This was the Devil King himself; that much was irrefutable. How much power did he take in? How many human beings were within his range for that?

To Lucifer?s credit, he felt no sense of fear or despair at the sight. The despair had all been sucked out of him by Satan. As Devil King, Satan was on a plane of existence he could never surmount. The difference between a Great Demon General and his master was like a sheer wall of strength, insurmountable by any force.

Then, things began to move.

?Emilia the Hero??

The Devil King opened his mouth.

The mere timbre of his voice was enough to make the crowd of uninjured onlookers still nearby quiver in fear.

?Ah?ah??

Chiho spoke for all of the human beings watching the Devil King. His existence itself was pure fear, the mere sight one of anguished pain.

Olba, for his part, was scared stiff at this unexpected turn of events. He did, however, still remain in the air, which must have required quite a bit of dexterity.

That was the amount of power, of will, of sheer magic instilled within the Devil King?s voice. There was no longer any trace of the bloody pulp that Lucifer had toyed with so malevolently just a moment ago.

?? ??

Emi could not respond.

Satan, the Devil King, had regained his original powers. In which case, no matter how one interpreted this, he was now the enemy. Lucifer and Olba were formidable enough as foes, but with the Devil King joining the fray, Emi alone had no way to compete.

There was no question what would come next. The Devil King would use his regained magic to throw this world into utter chaos, just as he had cruelly done to Ente Isla.

The mental image flashed across her mind in an instant.

The fear of death was quickly followed by a sense of utter despair, the despair of a world about to breathe its last.

Or it was supposed to, until the next moment.

??Jeez, Emi, you don?t have to ignore me!?

?Uh. Huh??

Even Lucifer, to say nothing of Emi, required several moments to realize it had come from the king of demons, the embodiment of evil that stood before them. Chiho, who was visibly shaking in fear, stopped cold.

?Um?me??

?Who the hell do you think I mean?! Snap out of it! You gotta do something about him!?

Satan used his free hand to point out Lucifer.

?Uh?guh??

Emi was flabbergasted, her brain having difficulty parsing his words.

?Hurry up! This is heavy, man!?

Looking up, she saw the battered remains of the expressway, held in the air by the Devil King?s magic power, begin to ever-so-softly float downward.

?I?m out of practice with this magic? Like, seriously, this really sucks.?

All Lucifer, Emi, even Olba could do was gape silently at the Devil King, who was whining like a sullen teen as something resembling a bead of sweat began to flow down his head.

Only Chiho was able to speak, her voice soft and detached at this strange creature before her.

?Is?that you, Maou??

?How do you get?out of practice with magic?? Emi finally came to. This was not how the Devil King spoke back in her homeland.

?I just?am, okay? Please?hurry??

Apparently his one-handed magic performance was meant entirely just to show off. Once his strength reached its limits, the Devil King began to crouch down heavily, as if bearing a great weight with both arms. His magic was keeping up not only the heavy panels that comprised the Shuto Expressway, but the other cars and people caught up in the collapse, all of them stopped cold in the air.

?Ngh? Oof!?

Satan repositioned himself, standing squarely on the ground to spread the weight evenly. Emi realized that the effort had actually boosted his magic power for a few moments.

?This is so stupid.?

Emi smiled as she chided him, then scrunched her face as the pain from her broken leg came back to the forefront.

?You have to be the dumbest Devil King in the universe. I thought you were dead! Why are you standing there??

The pain wasn?t enough to stop her.

?How should I know? They said on TV that you don?t die right when your heart stops. Like, your brain?s supposedly still alive for a few minutes after, you know??

Satan smirked at Emi as he spoke. Emi was dumbfounded.

?So?that?s what you did? Because we were in so much trouble??

?Pretty much. I mean, if Lucifer started just fighting you normally, you would?ve been dead in two seconds. But the weird thing about bad guys? We?re lazy, so we try to finish people off with one shot. That?s what I was betting on. Kinda cut it close there, though, huh? Good thing they were working off a B-movie script.?

The Devil King acted like he couldn?t care less as he continued, but his tactics seemed impossibly reckless to Emi. If Lucifer hadn?t triggered a disaster of epic proportions for him, Sadao Maou would have been dead by now.

?But quit derailing. Can you help me out? This stuff?s heavy! Like, seriously, I?m begging you here!?

He had put Emi through an emotional roller coaster, and this was the thanks she earned. She was beyond relief, beyond exasperation, and comfortably settling into a quiet, intense state of anger.

?Not gonna happen. I?m the Hero! Heroes don?t lend a hand to the Devil King!?

?Mmh?!?

Lucifer grunted as he saw Emi stand up, gingerly handling her injured leg.

The Devil King?s words were completely beyond his understanding. But he could still see what was unfolding. Even after regaining all of his demonic powers, he still wanted to join arms with the Hero to save the people of Earth.

?So stay where you are for just a few more moments.?

Emi brought her right hand up to her forehead.

?That?s all I need to finally end this!?

?Y-Yusa???

Emi smiled at the completely awestruck Chiho.

?Just sit back and watch, okay??

Emi raised her hand over Chiho?s head. In an instant, Chiho?s body was covered in a transparent sphere, shining its golden light against the ground, an antimagic barrier powered by her holy force.

?Yusa! What?s going on??

Emi flashed Chiho a brighter smile than before.

?I don?t know, Chiho? I think I just want you to know.?

With that, Emi quickly brought her hand downward.

The transformation happened in milliseconds.

Emi?s jet-black hair flowed in the wind as it emitted a pure, healing light. A blinding shine, like a bolt of pure sunlight, imbued itself within her right palm.

?O great power, I summon thee, to smite the forces of evil!?

?Wh? Whoa?!?

Lucifer edged backward. A gale began to blow, Emi at its center. No simple wind would be strong enough to physically affect Lucifer. The power Emi summoned was something quite different.

?Holy?magic??

?I am the Hero. Worlds may change, but the truth will never waver!?

A pillar of sunlight shot upward from the ground, out from the darkness beneath the cloud of twisted rubble above them.

Her hair now shone like silvery strands of silk, and her scarlet eyes were fiery enough to crush any evil they perceived.

A flash of light ran across Emi?s right hand, forming the shape of a sword. Her body was infused with Holy Silver, the heavenly metal guarded by the Church of Ente Isla since ancient times, and now it resonated at the call of her holy force.

The name of the sword that Emilia Justina forged with this Holy Silver was the Better Half, an evolved blade whose scintillating powers were charged by the holy force of its owner.

The golden light that protected her body was the Cloth of the Dispeller, woven with the wings of the mighty Seraphs, a garment worn only by the Hero. Its power depended greatly upon the holy force of the one who bore it.

Now this holy force filled her body, healing all of the wounds ?Emi? had sustained. Her broken leg, and the scar on her forehead, all disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

?Hmm? I can?t manifest my sword past the first level. This might get a bit hairy.?

The pillar of sunlight mumbled to itself, frustrated.

The thin-bladed sword, really more of a rapier, and the Cloth of the Dispeller that only covered her forehead, chest, and legs, were both a disappointment. The fact this had all manifested itself over her business attire also made for a less than flattering patchwork look.

?Well, so be it. They?re on just as unfamiliar ground as I am. No point worrying about my appearance right now.?

The blaze of sunlight that Emi?s form had become drew its sword, and leveled the coil of light straight toward its foes.

?Lucifer, the Great Demon General! Olba, the fallen archbishop! I hereby condemn you for the sins you have committed against this world!?

She was now Emilia Justina in body and soul, the Hero who had driven the evil from Ente Isla.

?Oooh, nice one!?

The Devil King marveled appreciatively at the celestial figure she cut.

?Shut up! You?re up next once I beat these guys, so hurry up and say your prayers!?

?Yeah, yeah. Try to be quick, could you?? Oh, but before that.?

Suddenly recalling something, the Devil King raised his right hand upward once more.

?Take a nap for me, people!?

He snapped his fingers as he spoke the very unmystical incantation. With that, all the onlookers staring from afar at the otherworldly demons beneath the expressway froze, covered in a dull green light. And that wasn?t all. Suddenly, silence reigned. Everything seemed to stop?not just the people, but time itself across the area.

?Hey! What?d you just do?!?

Emilia glared at the Devil King, who shook his head as he lowered his hand.

?Magic barrier. I don?t want people seeing too much of this, and besides, I don?t want to get too many more of them involved in the fight. That, and the media, too; forget those guys. So I shut away the local area.?

He acted like there was nothing to it, but it was impossible to guess how much magic force such a feat required. It was also impossible to imagine a Devil King who even cared about trivialities like being watched.

?So try not to let those guys escape the barrier, all right? ?Cause if they do, that?s gonna be a pain for both of us? Oof!?

Apparently the Shuto Expressway was a heavy burden, even for a Devil King with seemingly limitless power in his hands. Smirking a bit at the plainly encumbered demon master, Emilia readied her holy sword as she faced Lucifer.

?So! It seems I had best leave nothing on the table myself, then!?

Lucifer had all but resigned himself to his fate. As unbelievable as it seemed, the Devil King and the Hero had forged a pact in this world. And now they both had their sights upon him, the full brunt of their demonic?and holy?magic backing them up. Magic they had no simple way to replenish.

Were they even thinking of returning home?

??Hah!?

Lucifer flew high into the air, then unleashed a countless barrage of magic bolts, a seemingly endless river of light from his jet-black wings.

Emilia brushed away the barrage with a single swipe, but the bolts of magic changed trajectory. Every one of them struck the Devil King in the back.

?Owwwwwwww! What the hell, man?!?

?Sorry! Just an accident!?

Emilia shrugged off his protests as she drove her foot to the ground. It did not seem that powerful of a stomp, but it was all she needed to propel herself toward Lucifer, like a great arrow of gold.

?Haaaaaahh!?

Lucifer only barely dodged the divine streak of light.

With a flap of his dark wings, the demon began to dart across the air, faster than even Emilia?s sudden burst of speed.

?Think you can catch me?!?

The side of Lucifer?s hands glowed black, unleashing a barrage of dark blades as he himself struck at close range. It was an expertly timed wave attack.

Emilia did not even attempt to dodge. Her Cloth of the Dispeller shone even more brightly as she balled herself up in the air.

The dark blades, and Lucifer?s fist, all bounced harmlessly off of the bright light.

?Nice try. But not good enough.?

Lucifer snorted.

?Hah! Talk all you want! Your defense is far from impervious. And you failed to dodge my attack at all! In your state, your blade would never reach me!?

As if to confirm Lucifer?s assertion, a drop of blood began to fall from Emilia?s forehead. It trickled from the exact same location where ?Emi? sustained her injury in the food court.

?Your agility in the air was never a match for mine, even in times past. I can still gain magic force in this world! Time is on my side!?

He had a point. If Emilia, who had no way to replenish her holy force, was caught in a marathon struggle, she would inevitably peter out sooner or later.

?Sorry, but I will not allow that to happen.?

An unfamiliar voice came from above the two of them.

A large mass of rock flew downward, zooming between Lucifer and Emilia.

?You!?

?Him??

It was a gigantic body, one with bloodless white skin and a demonic, gnarled, locustlike tail. At its tip was a forked, clawlike spike.

?Far be it from me to fight in tandem with the Hero?but I have sworn my loyalty to Satan, the Devil King!?

It was Alciel, the Great Demon General, and a demon who once plunged the Eastern Continent of Ente Isla into a tornado of despair.

?And thus, my current foe?is you, Lucifer!?

The jarring voice, like running one?s fingernails across a chalkboard, was clearly reminiscent of the human Ashiya?s sarcastic tone.

?Oh, yeah. Guess you weren?t around, huh? But how?d you come back to life from that??

Whether here or at the Shinjuku food court, Alciel was apparently doomed to be forgotten about quickly, whenever crisis struck. It was difficult to tell if this bothered Alciel, given that his animal-like demon face betrayed no emotions that a human could pick up.

?I was near death, Your Demonic Highness, and you granted me enough magic force to revive myself. No more, and no less.?

?Huh. Neat. But what?ve you been doing since then? You weren?t here.?

?I had?ripped through my pants, so I went back to the apartment to fetch my general?s cloak from the closet.?

He was, come to think of it, wearing a gigantic robe. It was made of a thick, heavy cloth emblazoned with the seal of the demon realm, a garment designed to symbolize the dignity of his role as Great Demon General. On one side was the bright, glittery general?s emblem, a mark that only the Devil King?s four closest officers were allowed the right to bear.

It allowed him to strike a bold presence, one truly worthy of the name Alciel, Great Demon General and commander of the successful invasion of Ente Isla?s Eastern Continent.

For the first time, Emilia discovered that a demon?s garb was for more than mere flash or intimidation. Though, for a human going face-to-face with a demon, whether said horrid monster was flashing his privates or not would never be the first priority.

??Well, great. Don?t expect me to get all friendly with you, though.?

?Nor will I, Hero. Once this battle is over, we will be enemies once more.?

?Perfect.?

As she spoke, Emilia looked Lucifer squarely in the eye and slashed her hand to the side.

The beam of light this emitted instantly melted away the gun in Olba?s hand as the archbishop attempted to shoot Alciel in the back. ?Gah!?

Alciel did not so much as toss a glance behind him. ?Do not expect my thanks for that. That bullet would hardly even faze me.?

?Oh? Lofty words, there. That wasn?t exactly the case a few minutes ago, if I recall.?

??You worthless fool!?

Lucifer interjected, showering Olba with abuse. ?You had almost brought the Devil King to his knees! You could at least fight like you mean it!?

?But?but we?ll be unable to return.?

?Perhaps not! But we certainly won?t if we lose here!?

??Damn you all??

Olba finally recollected himself, his face belying his resignation. He seemed to be wholly unarmed, but the holy power within him was palpably welling up.

A clash between holy and demonic, between heaven and hell, was about to begin.

?Jeez, Alciel. Thanks for running off like that.?

Meanwhile, the Devil King was muttering to himself.

?Ugh? I?ve got nothing to do. And I probably look terrible.?

UniClo?s line of sweat-wicking T-shirts and stretch pants, utilizing the latest advances in sewing technology, was proving remarkably resilient. Unlike the fashionable denim he had ripped through in the Shinjuku underground corridor, they were still managing to cover up the important bits without tearing, even after the wearer ballooned in size. In terms of keeping the Devil King safe from indecent-exposure charges, no one had anything to complain about.

?This?this isn?t a movie, is it??

Chiho was still conscious, the sole witness to this clash of holy and demonic forces. Inside her holy antimagic barrier, she watched on, a stunned look on her face, as the unearthly battle unfolded. Her mouth was agape, and even the pain in her body seemed to fly away, no longer relevant.

Alciel used his force to throw countless enormous pieces of rubble into the air. As if on cue, they hurtled toward Lucifer and Olba at dizzying speed.

Emilia climbed aboard one of them, thrusting herself toward her foes. Although it pained him down to the bottom of his soul, Alciel took control of the rock Emilia clung to, the spike on his tail twitching.

?Heavenly Flame Slash!?

The holy sword fell, launching a horde of flaming blades that rocketed toward Lucifer?s shoulder. Lucifer staggered back midair, but the wound was not serious.

?Emilia, have you lost your mind?! Teaming with the forces of evil? The Church will never forgive this!?

Olba?s invective seemed hopelessly out of touch as he dodged the detritus Alciel flung at him. Emilia laughed, as did the Devil King, still engaged in his Atlasian labor on the far side of the battle.

?Silence, betrayer!?

?Don?t give her that crap, baldy.?

?That?s hardly anything you have the right to say.?

??You?re one to talk.?

Even Lucifer and Alciel felt impelled to comment.

Olba, not expecting this unanimously scathing response, was stunned for a moment?just long enough for one of the smaller pieces of debris to strike. It would have killed any regular man, but he was still an archbishop of the Church, fallen as he might be. He shook his head and grunted.

??Yes. So I let my guard down for a moment.?

Small shards of metal and concrete were scattered all around Olba. He must have guarded at the last moment. But he was still faintly bleeding from his head, where his protection failed to reach in time.

?? ??

?You call that letting your guard down??

As the Devil King commented from afar to no one in particular, Alciel went on the offensive, confronting Olba at close range.

?Away from me, foul demon!?

?? ??

?Whoa, Olba?s digging himself a major hole with his mouth.?

Alciel was in the habit of never speaking unless necessary, leaving the Devil King to provide running commentary instead.

?But this is turning into a kind of weird battle. Are those guys really aware of who?s on whose side any longer??

Out of a corner of his eye, he spotted Chiho?s eyes darting to and fro, her body still protected by Emilia?s power. She made eye contact with the Devil King several times, a puzzled, indecisive look on her face whenever she did.

?Dahh? Guess there?s no making excuses for this.?

The Devil King bitterly resigned himself to a long explanation afterward.

?Heavenly Ice Dance!?

Emilia?s sword clashed against Lucifer?s magical barrier, the competing forces producing a frigid tempest.

?Nn?gh??

Something resembling frost began to rain down upon Lucifer?s wings.

?That ice has the power to freeze out magic, blocking its effects. Your speed has abandoned you!?

Emilia?s sword boldly tore through Lucifer?s barrier, leaving a slash wound that ran across his chest.

?Grraaaahhhh!!?

Lucifer attempted to keep away from his foe.

?Not so fast!?

Emilia closed the gap, using the debris kept in the air by the Devil King and Alciel as footholds.

?Ngh!?

Lucifer shot out bolts of black flame to keep her in check, but Emilia let them hit her, not attempting to dodge. They were all dashed to embers by her Cloth of the Dispeller before they could strike home.

Alciel, meanwhile, was closing in on Olba.

Olba?s specialty in battle was maintaining the rear ranks, providing the support that saw the Hero Emilia?s band of fighters to victory. He alone against a Great Demon General was nothing even resembling a fair match.

Forced to devote himself entirely to defense, he looked toward Lucifer for support. But Lucifer himself was facing long odds before the Hero?s strength.

Just when Emilia and Alciel closed in on their opponents:

???!?

????

A loud roar echoed across the ground. Everyone stopped. They had felt the sudden release of magical power that accompanied the rumble.

?Satan??

?Your Demonic Highness??

Emilia and Alciel focused their gazes upon the Devil King.

The lord of demons responded with a contrived laugh, looking every bit the human being he was before.

?Ugh. That was so, so heavy. But I got it all down gently! So we?re all okay now! I rock!?

The rumble was the sound of the rubble from the collapsing Shuto Expressway landing on the ground, guided in slowly by the Devil King.

?So! I think now?s a good time for me to get involved.?

As he spoke, the cars, rubble, and people locked inside the magical barrier landed softly on the ground around him. For the Devil King, that much work required only a trivial effort now.

?Let?s get this over with, okay? Besides??

The Devil King?s magical force shimmered like a dark haze, the force of an erupting volcano behind it. Alciel flashed a faint smile, and once again, Olba collapsed in fear while keeping himself aloft.

As for Lucifer, the look on his face was one of pure frustration.

Only Emilia understood what the Devil King was most concerned about at the moment.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky. It was almost lunchtime.

?I?m gonna be late for work at this rate. I promised Chi I?d teach her how to do maintenance on the ice cream machine.?

?? ??

A passing glance from the Devil King would be enough in itself to knock a normal human being unconscious. To Chiho inside the barrier, the look instead made her blush despite herself.

Alciel?s eyes turned upward as he groaned to himself. Emilia noted how strangely charming the Devil King looked as he grinned, then slapped herself for entertaining the thought for even an instant.

?Right. Anyway. You guys. I had this wondrous plan for taking over the world, and you made me just stand by the side this whole battle like an idiot!?

That was what riled him the most. Apparently.

But before anyone had a chance to bash him for it, the Devil King brought the full brunt of his glare upon the still-collapsed Olba.

?Uhngh?hhh?!?

The sheer force behind the demon?s sharpened stare was enough to send Olba flying, as if batted away with a giant hammer. His body slammed against one of the fallen expressway panels, knocking him out cold as he made a depression in the concrete.

?Pathetic! Pathetic, Olba!?

Howling with laughter, the Devil King spent not a single moment looking back at the archbishop. In the next instant, it was Lucifer he stood before.

Neither Lucifer, nor Emilia as she watched from afar, could follow his movements with the naked eye.

?You? Your Demonic??

All Lucifer could do was nervously back away from his former commander.

?You think calling me that will please me at this point??

In demonic society, defying those in the upper echelons was generally a serious taboo. And even half angel as he was, Lucifer had long since fallen to the darkness.

?Yo, Emi. What should we do with this guy??

The Devil King turned toward his mortal enemy, face livid with sadistic glee.

The Hero seemed almost bored as she answered her own mortal enemy in return.

?Hmm, let me think? How about we make him take responsibility for messing up the city??

?Good idea. Also, if I?m late for work, that?s on you, Lucifer, you got that? If this screws up my perfect-attendance record, what?re you gonna do about that? Huh? What the hell are you gonna do about that?!?

?Wh-what?! I don?t understand!!?

As Lucifer screamed, bewildered, Alciel muttered to himself, ?Something the likes of us will never be able to understand, I fear??

?In any event, I?ll be helping myself to your magic power.? The grin on the king of all demons? face was gleeful.

?We?ll take care of your punishment after that,? the Hero whispered, her voice emotionless as she clanged her knuckles against the midpoint of her blade.

?Ahh?hhh??

Lucifer, faced with the glorious light of heaven and the deepest pit of darkness, could do nothing but gurgle helplessly.

?If you call yourself a Great Demon General, at least try to take it with some dignity!!?

With the Devil King?s shout, light and darkness thundered across Sasazuka.

?So, how do you plan to make up for all this??

Lucifer, no longer in possession of his fallen-angel form, could do nothing but be silent at the Devil King?s?or Maou?s, to be exact?question.

He was on his knees. On his knees, as a fragile, weak human being, atop the asphalt road, rubble, and chunks of concrete scattered to and fro, the postbattle scene one of total ruination.

Lucifer, the Great Demon General who had turned the Western Continent of Ente Isla into an inferno of punishing hellfire, was now upon his knees in front of the Hero and the Devil King.

In Sasazuka. In Tokyo. In Japan.

?I can hear the news guy now: ?Due to a disaster of unprecedented proportions, the Shuto Expressway and Tokyo-Gaikan Expressway are impassible from Hatsudai to Chofu,? et cetera, et cetera. Oh, and the Koshu-Kaido road. And the Keio rail line; that?s totally blocked just before Shinjuku. And, you know, I tried to be careful, but we might be dealing with some deaths here.?

?It would be a bit of a miracle if there weren?t any, Your Demonic Highness.?

Ashiya, back to human form and completely unscathed, was doggedly attempting to keep his Great Demon General robes from falling off his body.

?But if it weren?t for your great powers, anyone in the cars caught up in the Shuto Expressway collapse wouldn?t have had a chance. The cars on the Koshu-Kaido road, too. And it?s nothing short of a miracle that the nearby houses and such weren?t more badly damaged.?

?Yeah, well, people like us usually don?t start goin? at it in this world. I bet at least a few people didn?t evacuate in time. I tried to make the magic barrier as large as I could manage, but who knows if I got everything covered under it??

Lucifer remained silent.

Date: 2016-06-12; view: 161