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173 Chapter. Demon King vs Apostle of Justice (2)

The moment they laid eyes on Mary, they fainted.

She hadn’t even cast a spell; it was just a simple gaze that triggered a hypnotic effect.

This was not particularly unusual for Mary.

From a young age, with an innate magical talent, she could unleash multiple spells simultaneously just by blinking or flailing her arms.

When she stumbled and cried on the street, a rainstorm ensued.

When the neighborhood kids teased her for being small, her body spontaneously ignited, causing the surrounding temperature to rise sharply.

When she heard a scary story and got frightened, a gust of wind blew, ripping the roof off the Magic Tower.

It would be hard to believe that all of this was done by a child who was barely a teenager.

Even her parents, powerful sorcerers, were astounded by her remarkable abilities.

Yet, for Mary, all these memories were joyful.

Although she was labeled a troublemaker, there was no one who genuinely hated her, allowing her to grow up in a nurturing environment.

Her habit of eating bugs could be brushed off as part of her magical training, and her quirkiness was often seen as endearing.

However, there was one exception: when she was teased for being small.

– “You are a kind young lady.”

Despite some officials from the White Magic Tower knowing Mary’s true identity, they treated her without malice.

From Mary’s perspective, they were just kind uncles.

But now that she realized a Demon King was sealed within her, arrows of distrust began to pierce her heart.

Was she truly the biological child of her parents? Was her magical talent actually derived from the Demon King’s powers?

Above all, could her once-happy daily life have been a lie?

It was unbearable to consider.

Even if it were true, she thought it best to simply ignore it.

After all, revealing it would bring nothing good, only chaos.

She could just carry on as usual. But why did she feel fear lurking even subconsciously?

The cause became clear during her history lessons.

She had learned about the creature sealed within her body that had been called a monster 30 years ago.

Mary easily recognized that the source of her fear was guilt.

To laugh and socialize as she did now was utterly unacceptable for her.

The nightmares had begun around that time, and her guilt only grew.

But…

– “Those people desperately concealed the existence within you. Thanks to that, you’ve grown up purely until now. Sure, you had your eccentricities, but does that mean the judgment of those who saved you was all wrong?”

Her friend had said this.

Even after revealing her identity, they didn’t become hostile but embraced her instead.

She had completely forgotten about being haunted by fear. That there were people who believed in her, regardless of her identity.

In that case, she should believe in them too. If they were in danger, she must be prepared to risk herself to save them.

『Mary, why are you going this far just to save a tiny spirit-wielder?』

The wind spirit, Dolkan, said with concern.

The spirits flanking her were friends she had known for a long time.

While they wanted to stop her from what she was intending to do, it was too late since she had already transformed into the Demon King in front of everyone.

『What will happen if this form is revealed to the world? Are you sure you won’t regret it?』

Now the lightning spirit, Blitz, spoke.

Although they tried to reassure her with the news that the boy Radon was still alive, it seemed insufficient.

However, even if that friend managed to escape, with so many enemies still around, surviving wouldn’t mean much.

“Radon is alive, really?”

Mary said.

He wasn’t the same spoiled brat she had always known.

『It looks like some sort of ritual is happening below. To use that hellgate as a foundation to survive? He truly is beyond common sense.』

“Then I must hold this place until then.”

『Mary…』

Many had worked hard to conceal Mary’s identity.

Yet, they didn’t expect such things to happen.

Even knowing their efforts would eventually be in vain… they built friendships with Mary.

But Mary had now resolved to give all of that up.

For the sake of one friend.

『As the fight goes on, you might lose your sanity. At that point, the Demon King’s consciousness will take over your body.』

“I just need to sweep them away before that happens.”

The little girl soared into the air, creating a powerful gust of wind.

Even Luthis had to struggle to maintain his footing, and just withstanding it wasn’t the end of the challenge.

“Sleep.”

As a magic circle formed in Mary’s eyes, violet waves spread from its center.

The soldiers touched by the waves all closed their eyes and fell asleep.

With just her gaze, she activated a hypnotic magic that reduced their numbers.

Only the spirits remained.

“That’s… no way!”

Luthis, who barely weathered the sleep magic, trembled upon seeing Mary’s changed form.

There’s no doubt now; she is no longer human. Moreover, the Rosaria she held responded to Mary’s neck.

As if longing to strike once more.

“This is truly regrettable. I’ve heard Aligieri Academy is the best magic academy, yet they secretly nurtured such pests.”

Rosaria’s dark blade glowed red.

The sword, imbued with the daughter of the Spirit King’s spirit, heightened the tension among the spirits.

“I admired the legendary Saint Maria and aimed to become a knight. Anyone who has studied her achievements would recognize it. You’re connected to the Demon King whose head Maria severed!”

It was easier for Luthis to realize based on Rosaria’s obsession rather than his own understanding.

Whenever Saint Maria wielded that sword, she fought with her very life on the line.

The battle with the Demon King was the fiercest, embodying her will at its absolute peak.

That unwavering zeal still lingered in the blade.

“Now you’re saying that the Aligieri Academy, which was hiding you, was in league with the Demonic forces! Today is your lucky day! Your head will validate the judgement!”

“Is that really the only conclusion you can arrive at? Have you ever deeply considered whether that’s the right judgment?”

“Haha! Of course, harming a student like you would never be a good thing. But! If it’s tied to justice, then I have no choice but to act without hesitation!”

With a booming shout, Luthis reaffirmed his resolve.

Is that man really the captain of the royal knights?

What is the upper echelons of the empire even thinking?

The fact that he could say such things with a passionate expression made it even more disgusting.

“Strike her head!”

Under Luthis’s command, the spirits began to swell in number.

Tree-root-like spirits took to the air, quickly enveloping Mary.

In the midst of this, the spirits unleashed tempests from their mouths.

Though Mary took the brunt of their attacks distinctly different from basic wind magic, she unleashed her mana to rip apart the roots that bound her and negate all the attacks.

Then she summoned the spirits under her command.

– Vroooom!

– Meow!

A wind spirit in the form of a cheetah and a lightning spirit shaped like a lion stomped the ground, causing the spirits to lose their balance.

Not merely a part of herself manifesting and wandering, but a fully formed high-level spirits Dolkan and Blitz.

Moreover, numerous spirits following Mary appeared, all possessing red eyes like hers.

Those ready to forsake their instincts to follow their master began battling the hostile spirits.

– Roarr!

In that moment, colossal lizard-like high-level spirits lunged at Mary, baring their fangs.

There weren’t just one but two of them… however, Mary quietly gestured and unleashed the advanced lightning magic “Thunder Break”.

– Flash!

In the heat of battle, everything unfolded in an instant, leaving a clear trace of lightning in its wake.

The rushing lizard spirits vanished without a trace, and the forest beyond disappeared alongside them, leaving behind a cut mountain.

She wielded magic that could reshape the landscape with just a gesture.

“Ugh!”

A sudden headache made Mary clutch her head.

Using that potent magic exacted a price as the Demon King’s consciousness swelled within her.

But she couldn’t just sit still. The gigantic Triton was on the move.

Rumble rumble rumble—

Another quake split the ground. From below, an ominous aura like hellfire began to rise.

The sight of cracking earth opening the gates of hell seemed straight out of mythology.

To keep others from getting dragged into it, Mary quickly took to the skies.

Swish—

“Wooah!”

Flying faster than the speed of sound was a first for her.

Soaring higher than Triton’s head, she panicked in mid-air.

As a result, she couldn’t dodge Triton’s palm strike.

“Gah!”

Boom!

That enormous body made noise just by moving.

Struck by his overwhelming palm, Mary was sent kilometers flying, crashing into a mountain.

“Cough!”

Spitting blood, Mary got back on her feet.

Thanks to the involuntary defense magic, she managed to endure this much.

Yet, Triton continued and shot out green beams from his eyes.

As Mary hurriedly finished her high-level defense spell, the beam shot toward her.

Boom!!!—

The ground shook as a massive gust of wind whipped through.

Several mountains that were caught in that tornado were uprooted and flung away.

However, thanks to her defensive spells, Mary was unharmed even from the direct hit.

Yet, with that, another headache surged.

『We can’t prolong the fight!』

`I know.`

As Blitz’s telepathic warning rang in her head, Mary soared again and manifested numerous high-level spells.

Formulas to implement various elemental spells like “Thunder Break,” the same rank, blossomed in the air.

Meanwhile, Triton attempted to counter with the beam he had just shot, yet he was unable to nullify the oncoming barrages of high-level spells.

Boom!—

Crack!—

One by one, pieces of Triton began to disappear.

With the high-level fire magic Flare Drive obliterating an arm, the high-level wind magic Wind Storm devoured a leg.

But as a being of supreme life, Triton reconstructed his vanished body.

He wouldn’t fall just because she was bombarding him with magic.

Hence, Mary called upon finger-whistles.

– Fweee!

In response to her call, countless insects emerged.

The bugs hiding in the forest coalesced into a legion, their size capable of swallowing Triton whole.

Bzzzt!—

Triton fired his beam at the swarming mass of insects charging at him.

However, the insect legion simply dodged the oncoming beam, allowing them to pass through.

Eventually, the bug legion engulfed Triton and began to gnaw him apart.

During that process, they transmitted their internal structure to the “Queen.” Hearing that, Mary, the insect queen, immediately flew toward Triton.

‘There!’

The insects relentlessly focused on Triton’s chest area.

Thanks to this, Mary could infiltrate the hole created and destroy the core sustaining Triton’s massive form.

– Grrrrrrr!

The lumbering giant of wood, Triton, screamed as it began collapsing.

Doused in fluids from the destroyed core, Mary was again beset by pain from a headache.

This time, she had exhausted herself far too much starting with the magic barrage.

She instinctively wanted to rest, feeling mentally fatigued, yet her adversary was still standing.

“That monstrous power. Truly, it’s like the Demon King!”

“…!!”

An arrow that looked like a toothpick flew through the air.

Realizing it was shot by Luthis, Mary hastily dodged, but was unable to move and fell to the ground.

As the Demon King’s aura howled more intensely, Mary forced herself to calm it.

Just then, Luthis appeared, drawing his great sword and bringing it down.

“You certainly seem quite exhausted from our recent fight. Don’t you agree?”

“Ugh!”

Mary barely managed to block Luthis’s great sword with her defense magic.

But Luthis pressed the attack with his sword while aiming his arm, which held a bow, at Mary.

In that moment, arrows began to form from mana and were shot.

Thump!—

“Gah!”

As an arrow embedded itself in her shoulder, Mary lost her defensive magic and was cut by the great sword across her chest.

Yet as a counter, she conjured wind magic to shove Luthis into a distant rock.

“Ugh! Was that your last struggle?”

Still, Luthis stood unharmed.

The gap had widened momentarily, but that was the only result.

Even if she wanted help from the spirits, they were also involved in battle.

The more magic she used, the more her mental state crumbled, while her enemies approached, still in good shape, leaving her unable to call for help.

But who else could protect Radon if not her?

“Submit to judgement quietly!”

With a cheerful expression, Luthis swung down his great sword.

Finding no other choice, Mary attempted to cast magic, but someone appeared, blocking with a spear.

It was none other than Tariel, who should have been asleep.

“Uh? How…?”

“How did I wake up? If you’re asking, isn’t that odd for that guy too?”

Heidern had also stepped in front of Mary.

Just as Luthis overcame the hypnotic magic through sheer will, they too had jumped into peril of their own accord.

“Uncles…”

“Don’t say anything. Just take care of yourself.”

Tariel said as he pushed against Luthis.

It was truly unbelievable. How could they act like that while seeing her in such a state?

Tariel pushed forward against Luthis again. Perhaps due to their difference in experience, the spear techniques overpowered the sword techniques here.

“Ugh! He’s strong.”

With dodging nearly impossible, Mary could do little more than brace herself with strength.

And yet, even as Luthis was clearly overpowering her, he drew back his bow, ready to shoot again.

The moment an arrow was about to be loaded once more.

“That’s not happening.”

“Ugh!”

Heidern’s fireball struck Luthis’s hand directly.

The bow he held was reduced to ashes, and he sustained burns as well.

Instantly, his remaining arm weakened, leaving him completely off-balance.

“Ugh! My arm…!”

“This is the end for you!”

“…Did you expect me to say that?”

Thwack!—

Something pierced through Tariel’s abdomen from behind. It was the scorpion-shaped spirit controlled by Luthis that had skewered him with its tail.

And the spirits began to surge once more.

“Tariel! Are you okay?”

“Ugh! I let my guard down.”

“There are still so many spirits!”

Even if there weren’t any high-level spirits, their sheer numbers were enough to restrain Heidern.

On top of that, they would have to fight while also staunching Tariel’s wounds.

With two distractions taken out of the equation, there would be no one left to protect Mary.

“The spirits that can be commanded by Rosaria have reached their limits. But with this, we can settle it.”

“….”

“Since Rosaria has struck the head of the Demon King, we can do the same this time!”

With the red-bladed sword drawn, Luthis charged at her.

He longed to be just.

He wanted to become a hero.

At last, the previously passionate expression on Luthis twisted with madness.

“Ugh!”

Mary braced herself to cast her defense magic again, knowing she might lose consciousness.

As she did, a heat swelled in her chest, and she felt something within her beginning to awaken.

The sign that the consciousness of the Demon King was being revived.

`No!`

Mary strained to revert back to her human form to prevent it.

She could no longer fight.

Her mana had run dry.

She couldn’t stop the glint of Rosaria’s blade as it painted a red line across her neck.

Clang!—

“Huh?”

She didn’t hear the sound of flesh being cut.

Luthis was perplexed that Rosaria had been blocked by something.

“Thirty minutes have passed.”

The barrier that intervened was a serpent’s tail.

At that moment, a voice rang out from above, causing Mary to flinch.

“It’s time to swap out players. Mary.”

Her friend, who had plummeted off the cliff, was perched atop a massive raven.

Mary was profoundly awed that this was not a trick.

“Friend…!”

Surviving as an academy scammer.

 

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