Kuro no Maou

The 14th of the month of red flames. The sun falls to the prairie that leads to the other side of the horizon, evening. I watched the little fort against the backdrop of a dazzling orange glow.

"Is that Manticore's nest?"

The fort had a brick shade of red brown and a large circular shape like the arena. An unusual shaped fort not to be seen in Sparda or Avalon, he said, was the architectural style of an old country that had already perished.

More than two hundred years ago, there is a history of war in which there was a country that had invaded the prairie of Partia, and although it occupied it until half of it, it was eventually torn and expelled by the bow cavalry of Centaur. This fort is one of the things the enemy nations left behind at the time. They still have a little bit of these fortifications and traces of the city on the prairie.

The fort, which is an important base for such enemies, is also a useless long product for Centaur. It is only left intact and has not been repaired or demolished. The fort here, too, has been half-baked to keep the memory of a fierce battle, and the ceiling part, more than half, has collapsed.

That's how the ceiling stays open, so I guess a big monster like Manticore goes inside and makes it a nest.

Originally, for a manticore living in a forest, a meadow with nothing this shield would be an unsettling environment. If there's a huge rock, or fort, standing there with only one potun, then we'll just have to nest here.

In the first place, it's a mystery how Manticore is coming all the way out of the woods to the meadows. Did a super nasty monster show up in the woods like Larspun and get kicked out? Even so, now I don't have to look for monsters of trials anymore, so I'm not going to stick my neck in that danger.

Though I'm an adventurer, I'd like to be questioned to be as useful to people as I can be. Even if the rewards are low, that's how I feel about choosing this manticore crusade. But that's also why I'm not going to undertake all of Partier's peace.

I'll do whatever I can. I know the limits of my power best myself.

"Well, then, I asked you, Lily."

"Yeah!"

I've confirmed my destination, and let's get to work.

Lily responded to my call, as well as taking one treasure ball out of the spatial magic of light (Dimension) and putting it over her head.

The treasure balls that fit over the small palms shine bright green as clear as emerald crystals.

The 'Red Crystal Ball (Queen Beryl)' I used so far has now completely disappeared because it has changed to Envy Ray. So this emerald-glowing jewel is the great magic tool (artifact) that transforms Lily anew.

Its name is "Red Crystal Ball (Princess Beryl)". Ex, it's Lily's left eye.

Her left eye still contains my eyeball, the Devil's Eye (Evil Eye). Is this a reflection on what went wild with this force, but I'm putting the color of my eyes back so that it looks like the original emerald green?

Instead of my eyeballs coming in, Lily's left eyeball would naturally have been chosen. When I did the sole, Lily threw away her eyeballs saying she didn't need them, but Envy Ray ate them, no, absorbed them, or whatever, they took them in.

And at the end of the battle against me, after Envy Ray was dedicated to the Demon King and vanished... for some reason, Lily's hands were back with her own eyeballs crystallized as' Red Crystal Balls (Princess Beryl) '. Probably a gift from the fairy queen.

It's a bit of a horror that the eyeballs you should have thrown away will return to you, but it's also certain that Lily, who lost the 'Red Crystal Ball (Queen Beryl)', will need an alternative jewel. Lily honestly said she offered a prayer of gratitude to the fairy queen.

Still, even though it's an emerald green treasure ball no matter how you look at it, the name stays' red crystal '...... probably glows red when Lily gets serious. I don't want to see that wretched crimson glow anymore. Let's hope it doesn't turn up.

"Heh-heh!

And by the power of the new 'Red Crystal Ball (Princess Beryl)', Lily transforms into a true figure.

With a dazzling glow, little Lily's back grows in the light, accompanied by a sudden increase in signs of flashing magic. Hey, enough to get goosebumps.

Even if my heart loves Lily, my body will never forget her horrible powers. I got a strong reflexive tension.

"- Phew, speaking of which, this was the first time I've ever been transformed in here, but yeah, it's not bad."

Since I saw it in Shangri-La's recovery pod, the girl Lily shows up.

I was unintentionally horrified to make sure that the feather on that back was the original thing of a fairy I was familiar with.

"Hey, Chrono, is something wrong?

"No, it's nothing, it's just the way it always is."

Know my heart or not, Lily asks with a bruised eye.

"Really? Hair, aren't you jumping?

"He said it was okay."

"Does this suit you, too?

The Enchanted Velvet Road piece that had been turned into a trademark ripped away into a snag with my hand, so naturally, Lily is dressed differently now. For one thing, I could only find one pair of clothes that fulfilled the tough conditions of defense that could withstand the battle, with the addition (enchant) of 'stretch (fit)' to fit even when transformed from a toddler girl to a girl, and yet a cute outfit that suited Lily.

No, one might be closer to saying love at first sight. The moment I saw Sole in the store, here it is! And it got pinned down.

That garment, if I may put it briefly, would be Alice in Wonderland. Yes, it's that white and water apron dress.

Those clothes, in Europe and America, they say pinafore or something. A costume that is simple but sophisticated and cute, like layering an apron and a piece that covers your entire body. Maid clothing is a classic style in this different world, but it simply feels like children's clothing, and they make casual outfits in part.

Not very major, but not wacky either. This means that this super luxury apron dress also existed sparsely.

Of course, as far as I can tell, it looks good on Lily as she put it on. Now I can go punch in in in wonderland or mirror country right now.

"It suits you, it's the right size. You're super cute."

"Well, that's fine."

Humph, and smiled at the victory, then the body of Fuwari and Lili floated, the next moment I thought, my face approached at once.

- Well, I'll be there.

Will this be included in your kiss?

I dropped Lily off flying straight towards the fort, thinking about not letting her down.

Well, here's the operation.

First, Lily boards the fort alone and provokes and evokes Manticore appropriately. There are two males and females in the fort, and probably only males should come out to defeat the outer enemy. Females stay in the fort to protect their eggs, so you can stay behind.

And where the males jumped out of the fort, I'll take them down.

No, you two can go in and knock it down now, but this time it's not just about knocking it down, it's also about practicing to test the power of my seventh protection. I mean, it's bad for Kay, but this is what we're here for.

Speaking of what I can do right now, I'm still proficient in protection. At last, we have survived all trials, and we have seven blessings. If I can freely manipulate that power, I will be able to fight even one apostle... should, perhaps, hopefully.

Anyway, the possibilities are unknown, but it is absolutely necessary to train protection. Even though there will be some respite before the Daedalus crusaders push against Galahad again, there will also be moves by the Aria Monastery and not necessarily when there will be another major battle. Or even the apostle could appear unexpectedly.

Like Mia said, I'm sure we can't afford much more. We need to be a little quicker and stronger.

Has it begun?

Dawn, and a fierce column of light protrude from the fort, as well as a loud explosion sounds. That brilliance is, without a doubt, Lily's light magic. I've seen it many times, and I've been shot a lot lately, so I'll never see it wrong again.

Looks like he blew a pretty big light, but he didn't die of a manticore in there, did he?

Gwwwwwwwwww!!

A loud demon roar echoes as it dispels my anxiety.

As you can imagine, a winged silhouette on a giant lion's body. But the motion was more agile than expected, and as he jumped out of the fort's ceiling, he stepped down to the ground with Hilary.

Apparently, Lily succeeded in luring Manticore. Around a fierce demon, a sphere of light flies around like a firefly. If Lily, who wraps around the fairy kingdom (Oracle Field), can fly right in front of her, she won't be able to help but wonder. Or if they relentlessly punch 'Light Arrow (Lux Sagitta)' in my face, it's set to hurt so much that I can't ignore it.

I heard his face was human, but when I look at it raw, I get the impression that it's harder like a sculpture or a mask than a human face. I guess it's an evolutionary form, such as a hard, developed facial crust that looks like a person's face as a result.

Manticore suddenly chases Lily if he raises a sharp growl. Swinging the tail of a razor covered in a togged crust with a boom, he fires a poison needle in a row, and from his mouth he releases bursts and thunderbolts, which appear to be quite rough.

I see, that rampage is certainly a danger comparable to the top even in Rank 4. At a side by side party, you wouldn't have your hands or feet just exposed to poison needles and magical indiscriminate fire.

But what he's dealing with now is Lily. They come straight under me, flying gracefully, while breezing at this level of aggression and so forth.

All right, everything's going as planned. All I have to do is decide.

"Come on, come on"

He has already worn the 'Tyrant's Armor (Maximilian)' and holds the 'Absolute' 'Neck Break' in his hand. I'll put the bamboo on the top, and quietly, wait for the manticore to jump into time.

The seventh blessing is already in me. It's the last seven, even if it's new to activation, I know how to use it.

"-!?

I feel, a great twist of power. This feeling is very similar to the first time you activated the protection. Forced to pour more power than allowed into the magic circuit running through your body, like that.

I'm just setting it up. Finally. My hands tremble.

"Chrono!

For a moment, it was Lily who stopped me from connecting my flying consciousness.

They call me by name. That's all it is, it keeps me trampling my consciousness, which is still about to be swallowed up by the darkness.

The boulder is my partner. Best follow up ever.

Thanks to you, it was activated safely. Seventh protection -

"-" The Demon King of Light (Overlimit) ""

That's when the black light flashed.

Whether it is dazzling or dark, it is not even discernible, the glowing darkness is spreading. Zero vision. No, rather than visually, it feels like all five senses have blown away.

I don't see anything, I don't feel anything - but I know everything.

The enemy is there.

Then I'll kill you.

As much as I even feel spared, in the quiet darkness, I grip and shake down the pattern of the 'neck slit' I felt as I recall.

"Darkness."

The moment, the darkness clears.

Out of the black light, I came back to reality. And by then, it was all over.

"... did I do it"

As for me, I accidentally crush it.

In front of me, a manticore carcass beautifully twofold from head to tail tip. The exposed cross section was flat like some specimen, free of any irregularities, but as you recall, the bowels that lost support fell zero and erupted a massive blood splash.

d The carcass of a manticore that collapsed all the time. Cut off the big monsters. Sure, it's a tremendous power, but it's never been possible for me.

So, what surprised me is that beyond that I smashed my manticore - for some reason, there are traces of slaughter carved deep into the meadows.

The bright yellow-green grass was swept away, and the black cracks ran into the earth, a beautiful straight line as if it had been measured.

And the crack continued to stretch upright everywhere, and a few hundred meters farther apart, even to the fortress to be erected earlier.

Come on, you're lying.

It's also surprising that the slaughter stretched that far, but I never expected it to be cut to the fort. I'm not the wack I aimed for, and I can't even aim for it.

I just slapped Manticore, to the best of my ability.

What is the result of this...... well, this is the ability of the seventh guardian, The Demon King of Light (Overlimit).

Enhancement of pure magic.

Buzz over the maximum amount of magic you can unleash from my body. This means you can multiply your instantaneous firepower.

If you unleash martial arts, the slaughter will be big, and if you shoot magic, you will have a huge explosion.

Whatever the cost of gaining that tremendous offensive power...

"Chrono! It's okay!?

"Oh, it's hard to say it's okay... here it is"

Lily screams a worrying voice, but literally flies in, and I finally realize the price of the seventh protective activation.

I can't move my arm. It doesn't even work with Pickle. I mean, I don't feel anything.

I guess the analogy came out, as if it had even turned into stone, because my eyes showed inorganic gray.

The lacquered black armor of "The Tyrant's Armor (Maximilian)" surrounding my arms was turning gray as if it had lost color and become a stone statue. It's just petrified from elbow to tip, and from there to fingertips, no, even the tip of the gripping 'neck break' is stained with gray.

"Unknown naerrors occurred. Both arms no circuit disconnected. Function Stopped"

Miriam gives me a status report as she sees it. After all, the armor on the arm itself seems to be working out. Whatever its contents, so are the biological arms...

"No, more than that, 'neck slit' is - good, I managed to be safe"

If you clear your ears, they'll respond right away. Well, the content is, as usual, a noisy twinkle like "kill" or "slash".

But this is the first time I've ever heard the resentment of 'neck break' sound so small that it's going to disappear. More importantly, I don't feel any power at all. Perhaps the 'neck break' now turned gray would have the same cleavage as Namakura.

My arms, armor, and armor are severely affected by petrification.

"Chrono, this is... a recoil of protection, is it?

That's all I can think about.

"Heal me immediately."

"No, wait, that could be a bad idea"

If you hold the curse weapon and pinpoint the healing magic of light attributes with both arms wrapped in curse gear, you may crush it to pieces of wood terminal dust like you were stabbed with a todome. Depending on the time and the case, when the normal healing magic is applied to the undead, the phenomenon also occurs that the damage passes. At least, I'm sure it doesn't go well with the sober healing magic and the curse.

"It's okay, I can even use black magic nowadays - blackening"

When Lily softly wrapped my hands around them that cut them hard like stone, I faintly remembered the feeling of the jitters and warm things staining them. It feels as comfortable as putting a frozen hand on warm water, but what emanates from Lily's palm is a disastrous black aura. Because I'm exercising black magic, it's a natural effect.

"Oh, just a little bit, I feel my senses back"

"Good. After all, this symptom isn't petrification, it's a form of magic deficiency. It was a recoil that unleashed black magic beyond its limits, and within a flash it disappeared to life."

The superpower of "Darkness" that I unleashed was driven by the magic that I gathered so forcefully until I was able to root out all my vitality. It is probably the liver of effect that the seventh protection does not just increase the power, but also forcefully and instantly draws the magic needed to strengthen it.

I was forced to gather my magic, so I was forced to pull it out to life... and as a result, it was like eating a tremendous absorption of power (drain).

But then, wouldn't it be a bone? When Ursula stormed Anastasia to defeat Goblin's Dortos cavalry, they were whole white boned.

"If Chrono's flesh had been weak, he would have been boned."

"... thanks for your sturdy body"

"Thanks to armor and gloves, more physical damage must have been reduced."

"Thank you, Miriam, Sheep"

My arms are boned when I realize it. I can't believe I'm talking more zo than being chopped off.

No, wait, me and "Tyrant Armor (Maximilian)" have arms just part of their bodies, but sheep have gloves as their main body. That means that the most likely dried out risk is sheep.

"Hey Sheep, are you okay!?

"Oh, Shinji... Sheep don't seem to work anymore..."

"Good, you're safe"

This voice is actually a spicy, but even more spicy, acting voice trying to distract me. I also feel signs of curse properly, so if I let it go for now, I'll be fine with natural recovery.

Nevertheless, I'm glad I only needed both arms.

The power of the seventh protection, which is supremely engulfed to life force, is perhaps devoid of any treatment to protect the operator. Even stopping activation at will is suspicious in this sensation.

Once activated, he says, "Oh, shit, I'm dying!" It is also likely that you will be deprived of enough vitality to lose consciousness before you perceive it.

Then, it seems better to apply protection to just one shot of 'Demon Bullet (Barrett Arts)' next. If the original magic power consumption is small, we can see if it has also increased in power. From the beginning, I didn't want to use "Darkness".

"This recoil is too dangerous. I wish it would heal."

"Is it going to heal?

"If you take the time and magic. If Chrono uses blackening himself, he'll be able to undo it a little sooner... but with this kind of moves, we can't continue the fight anymore."

Bite me if you have to, but if you can, even if I'm a mad warrior, I just want to leave when my arms become unusable.

Activating weak magic would also reduce recoil for that matter, but then the power of the heart would not follow.

If you want a super powerful blow enough to kill the Apostle, you have to be prepared to pay enough to make yourself incapable of fighting.

"He's the least user-friendly I've ever seen."

"But for that matter, it's the most powerful."

Instead of sacrificing both arms and a 'neck break', even a remote fort is made in two. There can also be a return commensurate with the high risk.

No, maybe it's a demon king's unscrupulous gesture to be able to use this power with no risk. If I think I've crossed my last test, I feel like I've faced another new one.

"Oh, boy, it's going to be a long way ahead"

"No matter how long you go, if you can walk with Chrono, I'll be content."

Lily's smile is too dazzling and hard.

"Well, maybe I'll use that, too. Save Chrono's failure and I'll give it a try in" Light Arrow (Lux Sagitta). "I'll tell you when I know the trick to control it."

And, naturally, Lily, who can draw the protection of the Demon King from me, was too dependable and hard.