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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 102
Swoosh, whoosh
The flames that had blackened the battlefield were dying down.
Kayla's [Blaze Field] spell had ended.
[TL/N: I forgot to add a tl/n in the previous chap it will be [Flame Path] instead of [Path of Flames]. ]
From now on, the demons emerging from the rift would be free to roam as they pleased.
It was then that Thompson began to move in earnest.
Whizz! Thud!
Thompson, who had been on the receiving end until now, suddenly reached out and grabbed the [Succubus]'s whip.
At the same time...
"Let's finish this, demon!"
He pulled the whip with all his might.
"[Ah, no...!]"
The succubus was momentarily surprised by the sudden counterattack.
Thompson threw a punch at the [Succubus] who was pulled along with the whip.
And the fist landed squarely on her face.
Bam!
A sound that could not be produced by mere physical impact rang out.
The [Succubus]'s entire face was covered in blood as she flew far away and rolled on the ground several times.
"["Ugh, ack!"]"
The fallen succubus groaned and twitched her finger.
The moment she realized death was approaching; she had only one wish.
"[Ah, Asmodeus...]"
Asmodeus, the Legion Commander of Lust and Desire, her master.
Her last wish was to hear her voice just once more.
However...
"..."
Despite the [Succubus]'s call, Asmodeus did not respond.
Even though she must have been listening.
In that silence, the [Succubus] realized her situation.
"[A-as I thought...]"
Even though she had risen to the position of a high-ranking demon, treated as a direct subordinate of the Legion Commander, in the end, she was nothing more than a tool to her.
"[Ah...]"
Swoosh
Her body turned to gray dust and scattered.
What a miserable life it had been.
"[...In my next life, as a human-]"
To the point where she wished to be reborn as the race she had so despised.
***
"Am I... too late?"
I hurriedly headed towards the rift where the [Succubus] had appeared and finally arrived.
But it seemed I was already too late, as the state of the battlefield was a mess.
Not only were there black scorch marks everywhere, but the corpses of demons with their bones twisted from who knows what were scattered all over the place.
"Phew, but still..."
There was also a silver lining.
Among the many corpses, there were not many human bodies to be seen.
If my guess was correct, this meant our side had won.
Well, it would be most accurate to ask him directly, but...
"Oh, Mr First Place!"
Thompson spotted me and called out.
I immediately turned my head, about to demand an explanation of what had happened, but...
"What happened to you...?"
I couldn't bring myself to ask.
Thompson's terrible appearance caught my eye.
His once intact robe was completely torn to shreds, and his exposed skin was covered in reddish marks of unknown origin.
Judging from the marks, it looked like he had been beaten with something like a whip... What in the world happened?
At my question, Thompson scratched his head with an embarrassed look and said,
"Haha, well, it just sort of happened."
"Excuse me? No, what do you mean 'just sort of happened'..."
"What else could it be? I got beaten black and blue."
Just then, Kayla, who had approached at some point, cut in and answered for him.
"This old man, he's completely lost it. That demonic woman was swinging her whip, and he just stood there taking it all without dodging!"
"What?"
I had a feeling it was something like that, but it really was whip marks.
Well, it wasn't strange.
Any player of [Demon Fantasy] knows how threatening a [Succubus]'s whip is.
Although I wondered why he would let himself be hit so much, it was still within the realm of understanding.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped. That demon's whip is notoriously fierce..."
As I was nodding in agreement...
"No, that's not it. He got hit on purpose."
"...What?"
Kayla's next words bewildered me.
"He got hit by the whip on purpose? Why on earth would he do that?"
"Why else? To increase his endurance, of course."
"Mister, is that true?"
"Haha, well, it just sort of..."
Thompson scratched his head again.
Kayla let out an exasperated laugh at his appearance.
"Who in their right mind would let themselves get hit by a high-ranking demon to increase their endurance? Especially a mage! And especially during a war!"
"Hahaha... Well, it's a very important matter to me."
Thompson spoke as if he had no choice.
When I asked him about it, he said,
"The Dean told me so. To move on to the next level of Body Transformation magic, I need to increase my endurance."
Thompson added that getting hit was necessary for his growth.
Hearing that, I understood completely.
'Hmm, there are cases like that.'
When I thought about it, I had experience with this too.
Back when I was in the top 10 of the [Demon Fantasy] rankings, I came up with a way to make my zombie swordsman stronger by putting him in a demon cave and making him meditate.
Of course, looking back, it was something I shouldn't have done as a human being.
What if that zombie swordsman wasn't just a game character but a real person like us?
'...I'm sorry, bro.'
Just imagining it is horrifying.
Not only did I put him in a demon cave, but I also did a lot of terrible things to that character.
Perhaps they were sharpening their blades every day, eagerly waiting for the day to kill me.
Anyway, back to the topic.
[Demon Fantasy] is a game with endless ways to grow stronger.
Because of that, sometimes, like Thompson and I did, mindlessly taking hits can be helpful.
In fact, the torture I inflicted on my zombie swordsman exponentially increased his endurance and tenacity stats, which became the foundation for him to rise from the top 10 to the top 5 in the rankings.
That's how limitless the ways to grow are.
Of course, I understood Kayla's bewilderment.
This process isn't usually necessary for mages.
Well, I suppose neither I nor Thompson can be considered ordinary mages.
In any case, it seemed like Thompson was in that kind of situation now.
"Then you can surely understand."
"Oh, Mr First Place! As expected, you get it!"
"Oh dear, what are we supposed to do if the leader understands this?"
As we were having this conversation...
I put aside the small talk and moved on to the main topic.
The war wasn't over yet.
First, we needed to grasp the situation.
"So, the two of you took down the [Succubus]?"
"Ah, yes. She wasn't as strong as the [Demon Minotaur]."
"Huh, that's amazing! I didn't expect this outcome at all..."
I wasn't just being polite; I truly didn't expect the two of them to defeat the [Succubus].
After all, just a few weeks ago, it took all of our party members to take down a single high-ranking demon.
Maybe I could do it now with Barundel, but I never thought these two would be able to defeat a high-ranking demon.
But since things had turned out this way...
'I underestimated them.'
Thompson and Kayla's growth was more remarkable than I had thought.
In that case, I needed to adjust my strategy accordingly.
Originally, the next plan was for the four of us to go to the third rift and defeat the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger], but I changed my mind.
"You're not in bad shape, are you?"
"Of course not. I can keep going until nightfall like this."
"Good. For now, you two continue to take care of this rift. Barundel and I will move on to the third rift."
Although the [Succubus], the leader of this rift, had been defeated, residual demons were still pouring out from it.
More importantly, judging from the situation so far, there was a possibility that a second high-ranking demon would appear here.
That's why the original plan was for all of us to gather, quickly defeat the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger], and then gather our main forces here again to prepare for any variables...
But in the current situation, it was more stable to move like this.
Even if a second high-ranking demon appeared, these two would be able to hold out without any problems.
"Huh? Is that okay?"
Thompson asked, seemingly genuinely puzzled by the sudden change in orders.
He was probably like that because it was different from the deployment he had been informed of at the start of the war.
But there wouldn't be any problems.
Since I was the one who arranged the deployment of troops this time, I had already asked Elbert for his understanding in advance.
'It's a good thing I got temporary command authority.'
I had already secured temporary command authority, which allowed me to command troops under special circumstances.
And since two mere mages had just defeated a high-ranking demon, this could be considered a special case.
So it was okay to leave Thompson and Kayla here.
After explaining this, Thompson nodded in understanding.
"Okay, we'll take care of this place. You're sure there won't be any problems catching the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger]?"
"Yes, I think so."
If Thompson and Kayla stayed here, two mages would be missing from the forces deployed to the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger], but it was fine.
This was because I had already deployed most of the main force there.
'Six knights and a full headcount.'
As such, they wouldn't at least be on the losing side.
There would be no problem if we just went quickly.
"Then please! Don't get hurt!"
"Okay! You be careful too, Mr First Place!"
After saying goodbye to Thompson...
Thump, thump, thump!
Barundel and I headed straight for the third rift.
To defeat the final hurdle we had to overcome today, the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger].
If we could just get over this, reinforcements would come in the afternoon, and tomorrow we would start working on closing the rifts.
If we succeeded in that, the war would be over.
All that was left was to enjoy the rewards that would follow and the growth gained from the war.
But...
"...What in the world is going on?"
Contrary to my expectations, the situation at the third rift was not good.
"Haa!"
Clang! Clang!
"Fall back! Fall back-!"
The battle line was gradually being pushed back despite the presence of six knights.
I could see the reason at a glance.
Swish! Swish!
Screech! Screech!
Thud!
"Uaaack!"
The [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger] emerged from the rift and was rampaging across the battlefield.
Its movements were extraordinary.
'Tsk... It's strong? A variant?'
This happened occasionally.
Individuals that possessed greater combat power than their typical strength.
They were called variants in the game, and the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger] in front of me felt exactly like that.
Just in case, I looked around...
"..."
Elbert Tyran was floating in the air at a distance, watching the situation.
Judging from his posture, he seemed ready to jump in if the situation worsened even slightly.
Our eyes met, and I nodded to signal that it wasn't necessary.
And I turned my gaze back to the [Giant Scorpion with a Poisonous Stinger].
"Ha... Of all things, a variant?"
Seeing its swift footwork already made me sigh.
It felt like I was getting tired before even fighting.
Of course...
"You're dead."
It would just be a bit tiring, but now that we had arrived, there would be no problem in defeating it.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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