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Chapter 181. Demon Lord’s Prince No. 7

――The hero’s arm shattered along with his shield.

The shield, imbued with layers of prayers, was utterly useless.

“Guuh――!!”

The hero clenched his teeth, a groan of agony escaping him. The Demon Lord’s Prince, spear thrust forward, wore a cold, pitying expression.

How dare he mock us――! I had to summon my willpower to feel angry.

Even for Barbara, who couldn’t sense magic at all, the abnormality of this Demon Lord’s Prince was evident.

The oppressive aura, the weight of his presence, was extraordinary.

It was a fear that everyone likely felt equally――.

But!

Still!

There were no cowards among us here――!!

“【Mother Holy Great Tree―― lend us your strength!】”

A loud voice resonated from behind, Master Lurol’s voice echoing out.

“【By the mercy of the earth, wounds, heal!】”

The ground emitted a delicate phosphorescence, stopping the blood loss from the hero’s severed arm.

No―― even more than that, a new arm began to grow!

“――Oooooh!!”

Gripping the Holy Sword with both hands, the hero instantly charged at the Demon Lord’s Prince. Barbara likewise thrust her rapier forward. The Sword Saint and the other heroes followed suit.

“Well done, Master.”

The Demon Lord’s Prince deflected Barbara’s rapier with his spear, casting a curse at the Sword Saint to obstruct him, yet he spoke as if he was impressed. Every slash from the heroes was thwarted by protective spells, but that didn’t warrant stopping the assault――!

“――――♪”

From behind, the Master’s humming rang out. A stirring melody filled our hearts, accompanied by magic――

“【Myth Reenactment, Hero’s Revenge】”

With Lurol’s incantation, light ignited upon everyone’s swords and claws.

Even the great sword clenched in Hessel’s lifeless grip shone brilliantly.

――That was the will of our fallen comrades.

A mystic light granting us the power to vanquish our foes.

Determination surged within Barbara and the others.

(We are――)

They glared at the Demon Lord’s Prince before them.

(――Not going to lose!!)

Raising their radiant weapons, they pressed fiercely against the Demon Lord’s Prince――!

“【In the name of Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias】”

With a thud.

A repulsive wave of magic surged from the Demon Lord’s Prince.

“【――Collaboration is forbidden】”

It was decreed.

“――!?”

Barbara was bewildered. There was a sensation as though her body stiffened. Not just Barbara, everyone’s movements became awkward, causing discord in the attacks they had intended to unleash in unison.

They had lost their sense of distance. The comrades with whom they communicated seamlessly now felt as unfamiliar as complete strangers――

(This is the curse of hampering cooperation that Palm mentioned!)

Barbara realized. Experiencing it herself, she felt the frustration of its insidious nature.

“Take that!”

Then, in an instant of opening, the Demon Lord’s Prince’s spear howled through the air. The blow aimed to behead the hero, who instinctively tried to block it with his shield, remembering the earlier intensity. Instead, he tried to defend with his Holy Sword――

Boom! A sound erupted, like a cannonball crashing against the castle wall.

The Holy Sword was knocked from the hero’s hand, and the spear’s tip pierced right through his torso.

Blood and entrails scattered as the hero crumpled down―― dead on the spot.

“You―― you bastard!!”

The remaining Barbara and her companions’ weapons gleamed with greater intensity. The more sacrifices there were, the power of 【Hero’s Revenge】 surged, but that alone didn’t mean――

“――Fight freely!”

The Master shouted.

“【The accursed spell shall not touch us!】”

Then, with pure magic, the curse was cleared away. However, instantly, Zilbagias unleashed a sinister wave of magic, overwriting the curse.

Yet, the meaning of “fight freely” was understood.

“Haah!”

Barbara dismissed thoughts of her comrades and focused solely on striking the Demon Lord’s Prince before her.

Now her body could move freely! Everyone seemed to challenge the Demon Lord’s Prince as they wished. They collided with each other but didn’t care. They would not give the prince a moment’s rest, relentlessly piling on the attacks.

“Ooooohh!!!”

Thrust! Thrust! Thrust! The Sword Saint’s superb techniques were unleashed in rapid succession.

Barbara’s rapier glittered. She felt the blade sink into the protective spell, which had felt as solid as a wall of steel.

The Master’s magic was working. Furthermore, the Holy Sword of the hero and the Sword Saint’s strikes combined, scraping away the intricate protective spells.

The significant difference between Barbara’s group and the common soldiers.

It was not just their teamwork but also the power of individual skill――!

“Truly, impressive――”

Clenching his teeth, yet smiling, the Demon Lord’s Prince glanced at Barbara’s group from behind.

His gaze fixed on―― the Master.

‘You are indeed the key,’ it seemed to say.

With a thud, Zilbagias’ presence swelled. He changed his offensive, releasing a multitude of magic. Despite being a small figure, comparable to a human boy, his aggression was the force of a great beast.

“I won’t let you through!”

Realizing the Demon Lord’s Prince was targeting the Master, the Sword Saint stood in the way――

“【Fighting is forbidden】”

A dense curse surged, targeted solely at the Sword Saint, blowing away the Master’s protective wards like dust.

“Ugh――!”

“【Pure wind!】”

The Master quickly dispelled the curse, but that brief gap was significant.

“Shit!”

With a sharp exhale, Zilbagias lunged forward with his spear. The lethal point approached the hero’s throat―― but just before impact, the now-free Sword Saint deftly dodged, dangerously avoiding it. Beneath his golden fur, rippling muscles bulged.

“――Gahh!!”

In retaliation, he unleashed a punch infused with extraordinary power, crashing down like a colossus on the stone pavement.

The sound was akin to a massive crystal shattering, tearing apart Zilbagias’ protective spells.

And yet, the punch did not falter; the glowing claws aimed to tear at the prince’s neck――

“!!”

Zilbagias hastily raised his spear in defense. Unmercifully, he shattered its shaft.

He had disarmed him―― this was the finishing blow! As the Sword Saint aimed a follow-up punch—

“――?!”

He witnessed the unbelievable.

Zilbagias, holding the broken spear’s blade naturally, elegantly slid the sword into the hero’s neck――

(What a―― superb――)

That thought was the last, as the Sword Saint’s head was severed.

With the nuisance gone, the Demon Lord’s Prince’s crimson eyes locked onto Master Lurol.

However.

From the air, the Sword Saint’s head――

Dripping blood, the ancient Holy Sword――

Barbara’s vision turned red.

“You bastard!!”

With her rapier shining even brighter, she charged forward, her face contorted in rage.

“Don’t you dare―― use that sword!!”

――She felt a powerful push against her back.

The air exploded.

With a resounding boom, a hyper-speed thrust, trailing steam, stormed towards Zilbagias.

The undelared protective spells―― cut through by her radiant rapier.

Piercing.

Advancing――――!!

“Die!!”

The area with the least defense, her neck, was unprotected by armor.

The rapier, it reached.

The sharp blade sank into his blue skin.

A fatal blow―― to stop his breath――!!

But with a thud, the impact suddenly halted the thrust.

No, it wasn’t Barbara who stopped, but Zilbagias, who had jabbed the broken spear into her. Just barely, the armor on her chest absorbed the shock, but the tremendous impact dented the armor and expelled air from her lungs. Like a ball, she was flung back, crashing against the wall.

Even so, bright blue blood gushed forth from Zilbagias’s neck where Barbara’s rapier had slipped. He was wounded! This could be it――! The shield-less hero roared and charged–

A thick darkness of magic enveloped him.

It seized the hero and swiftly corroded the protective wards enveloping him.

“【Transposition】”

The blood gushed from the hero’s neck.

“――!?”

Suddenly clutching the gaping hole, the hero instinctively slowed his charge—

In Zilbagias’s hand, the ancient Holy Sword resonated.

“Haah――!”

――Stunned and breathless, unable to rise, Barbara could do nothing but watch in horror.

The rapier, gripped so tightly it hurt, shone even brighter thanks to 【Hero’s Revenge】――

(That’s…… isn’t that absurd……!!)

Barbara screamed within herself. Zilbagias’s bleeding had easily stopped.

She had heard the tales. A magic that could inflict one’s own wounds upon the enemy――making them die instantly!

But!!

That was impossible! This opponent wasn’t weak enough to die easily. And if she dealt any semblance of a wound, it would just come back at her!

(It’s my fault…… they died……!)

Staring blankly at the hero’s corpse, guilt and an overwhelming despair engulfed her. How could one possibly fight that monster……

And then―― her eyes met with that monster.

Ravaging red eyes narrowed as they locked onto her―― taking a step forward to finish her off――

With a whoosh.

Arrows pierced through the air, and even Barbara could tell something was off about their overwhelming magic power.

“Ah!”

The arrow struck, and cracks formed in the protective spells. Zilbagias looked on in shock as a radiant tree sprouted from beneath the Master Lurol’s feet, morphing into a living bow.

Once more, magical arrows were unleashed. Zilbagias couldn’t afford to take them head-on and swung his spear to deflect them. Lurol continued to release arrows, but sweat dripped from his brow, unable to hide his anguished expression――

Zilbagias shifted his aim toward Lurol and dashed again.

“I won’t let you through!!”

The last remaining hero stood before the Demon Lord’s Prince, radiating holy energy. Forest Elf Palm also shot arrows from the side, desperately trying to distract Zilbagias even slightly.

Their remaining forces included a few seasoned priests from the Holy Church――

“Barbara-san!”

Taking advantage of Zilbagias’s distraction, Priestess Charlotte rushed over. Swiftly, she removed the bent breastplate and began healing Barbara’s chest wound with miraculous powers――

“【Chains of Restraint!】”

The chains of light from the priests were still torn apart like mere paper by the Demon Lord’s Prince.

“Dieeeee!!”

The heroes retaliated. Additionally, armed priests capable of close combat launched assaults with glowing holy swords, but would it hold for even a few seconds――

She had to move soon.

Charlotte’s miraculous healing felt maddeningly slow……!

“――Barbara-san, listen to me.”

Just then, glowing healing light radiated from her hand as Charlotte spoke in a hushed voice.

“It’s all or nothing.”

With eyes burning for revenge, she gazed into Barbara’s eyes.

“I have a plan to take down that Demon Lord’s Prince. …Please, lend me your hand.”

 

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