A Reincarnated Demon’s Life of Wonder

Zaria's PoV:

"HEEEEELP!!!" - Zaria

"*ROOOAAAAR!!" - Big bad dragon/jellyfish monster

The giant abomination chased me down the tower again! Iiiik! It released more lightning! It almost hit me! 

This beast just doesn't quit! I thought zooming past him and getting the Treasure would calm it down, but that just made him even more aggressive! And this lightning bolt-shaped thing doesn't seem to be of any usage, so it's trash! Even if it's called a "treasure"!!

"Fire at will!" - Black-clothed Swordsman

Why are these guys still here!?

The guys from before, led by the guy wielding the strange, sealed-looking sword, are firing at the dragon-creature...even if I'm in their line of fire! Stop that! And that black thing that covers their arrows, isn't that the same Aura-whatchamacallit that Garami sometimes uses!?

"Bat kiiiick!!" - Zaria

"Guh-!?" - Black-clothed Swordsman

I evaded the various spells and arrows-covered-in-darkness and gave the rude bastard a good kick to his face. I mean, I've transformed into a half-bat right now (so I could fly), so my legs were the only things I could hit him with. My hands are kind of busy trying to keep me afloat. 

"And here's one more!" - Zaria

*CLANG!!*

But don't think my feet aren't of any other uses other than kicking! I'm especially good at grabbing stuff and hitting people with them! The yakuza in my hometown can attest to that. 

So anyway, I caught the goon leader's sword and gave him a good whack with it. That should keep him KO-ed for a while-

"A big one is coming!!"

The black-clothed goons were making a ruckus around me. It took me a moment before figuring out what they were so afraid of. The dragon-beast was charging up the classic dragon-type attack: a dragon-breath. 

Feeling endangered, I slipped into the shadows to take cover for the attack. The breath resulted in a large explosion that I could hear even in the Shadow World, along with lots of electric energy that fried the goons into ashes. Even the leader whose sword I'm still carrying! There's even a huge hole in the otherwise impenetrable Treasure Tower! ...that's it!

The second the lightning sparks ended, I fled through the hole and managed to escape. Yahoo! ...or not! The beast is coming after me! And it's using another breath attack! HEEEEE-

*KA-BOOM!*

-eeeelp...? The dragon's mouth exploded...?

"Zaria, over here," shouted someone. Where...!

"Miiiiiraaaaaa!!" - Zaria

I flew into my best friend's bosom-

*Smack!*

-...only to be greeted by a heartless chop to my head. *Sniff*

"What in the world did you bring with you?" - Mira

"It's not my fault! Some stupid guys armed with strange weapons came and attacked me, then that beast started picking on me as well!" - Zaria

"You're quite the delicious target to pick on... Is this one of those strange weapons?" - Mira

Mira picked up the sealed sword that was laying on the ground...I was still carrying it!? I didn't notice that I was still carrying it with my feet while I was fleeing from the tentacled beast!

It was right then, right when Mira tried swinging the sword, that the seals on it flew off as if they exploded. Several pieces of the sword got detached and fell to the ground where they evaporated into black dust. And what remained was a huge sword. It has a cross-shaped guard and a jet-black blade that's relatively thin compared to how long it is. But it looks damn sturdy and strong for some reason.

"What the heck's this?" - Zaria

"No clue...but I can use this." - Mira

Mira gave the sword some practice swings with a smile on her face. ...ah, she's really in the mood now. To cut people into pieces. Just like back when we were trying to survive in the slums...

"Hmm? I think I'm forgetting something important..." - Zaria

"Ignore that for now. Also, go to the arena. There's a werewolf and a giant cat you need to beat there." - Mira

"Okay, but why aren't you doing that?" - Zaria

"That werewolf insulted someone I..., someone we both own a debt of honor to. It won't be good enough to just defeat him. One-sidedly crush him to atoms." - Mira

"O-okay. You're kinda scary now, Mira... Wait, that doesn't answer why you can't do it. You're better in fights than me." - Zaria

"These guys have a bargain sale on [Aura of Darkness]." - Mira

Oh...right. Mira is weak to Darkness. And they do have Garami's skill...? Hmm? Wait...who was that girl again? ...I sorta remember that she's important to Mira, so she must be a good girl.

"Hey, Terra Sol to Zaria. You there?" - Mira

"Sorry. Kinda lost myself there. Anyway, there's a wolfie and some kitten you want to be crushed?" - Zaria

"Yeah. Some girls are fighting for us already at the arena, so just assist them. I'll keep the big bad dragon occupied." - Mira

"Oki-doki! Leave it to me!" - Zaria

I went for the sky and flew to the arena. I don't wanna be too close to Mira when she's in one of her "moods", especially if she's going against that electrical beast-dragon. Poor thing. The dragon, I mean.

Oh, there they are. Some white-haired, pathetic-looking girl is fighting a werewolf armed with yet another sealed sword. At the other end of the arena is a giant lion attacking a giant golem...

Mira! You didn't mention that C-rank monsters were involved! 

But looking at the situation more calmly...it seems to work. The lion is busy with the golem, and some feline-looking shrimp is assisting the golem. Wow, now a Loong came down and bite the lion! Hey, that's Ling's former boss monster! He also came?

Other than that, there seem to be lots of black-clothed guys wrapped up by shadow-like ropes in the empty audience seats. Was the Loong busy with them before it came to assist?

But yeah, I can fulfill my promise with Mira this way. While the lion's busy, let's capture the werewolf...did his hand just glow?

*CRASH!*

And now the Loong...almost hit the golem with a shadow-type skill? Did it miss the timing for when to use it? ...now the cat released something like an illusion right when the Loong was in the way. And the werewolf's hand was glowing again. 

You don't need to be a detective to understand that wolfy is the culprit! 

I used [Shadow Mantle] to improve my stealth abilities, landed on the arena, and snuck up behind the wolf, then...

"[Rust Storm[, max power!!" - Zaria

"GUEHHH!?" - Werewolf

I used my most heavy-hitting skill at full power at the werewolf's unguarded back and sent him flying into the audience seats. 

"What!? Why!? How!? ...who are you?" - Shiro

The white-haired girl asked me in her confusion while tilting her head. She acts just as unreliable as she appears.

"Zaria. I'm Mira's BFF." - Zaria

"WOW! Japanese vampire-ninja!" - Shiro

"Huh...? So she's as stupid as she's unreliable..." - Zaria

"I'm what?!" - Shiro

Our banter was cut short when a part of the audience seat was thrown at us. It was the werewolf.

"Damn you, bat! You dare humiliate this great Henry Gardenolf with such a lousy sneak attack!? ...why are you laughing!" - Werewolf

"Hihihihihi...that's right...his fur's made out of steel...HAHAHAHAHAHA!" - Shiro

The white-haired girl fell to the floor while clutching her sides and laughing her guts out. Not that I'm any different. Because...PHHT!

"......where did all my fur go!!?" - Henry Gardenolf

The werewolf's fur had completely "rusted" away! If what the white-haired girl said is true, then the werewolf must have transformed his fur into some metal. And my Rust Storm...

"BWA-HAHAHAHAHA!! Oh, this is too hilarious!" - Zaria

"Why you little-!! [Acid Tidal WAVE]!!" - Henry Gardenolf

Eh...what? Tidal wave? ...the damn mutt summoned a real tidal wave! One that's made out of green water-, no, out of acid!? Time to run-*Bonk!*-ouch!!

What was... some shadows are clinging to my feet. [Shadow Chain]? Did the werewolf use that? No..., I was the one who used it!! But when!? And why?!

Don't tell me...that werewolf can force the activation of my skills!? And the wave of acid is getting too close! I-I got to run..., but this damn chain is in the way!! Tinkletop! Save me! ...where did that coward of a rat run off to!?

"[Bloody Tidal Wave]!" - Shiro

Right before the green wave of death hit the stage, the white-haired girl created a wave of her own made out of red water...blood!? She has the Blood attribute that I couldn't take!? Ugh, once again I hate my bad compatibility with Water-aligned attributes...

"Damn...lost too much blood..." said the white-haired girl as she collapsed...hey! 

"Tch, damn vampire. But for you having a Light-aligned attribute was the end of your luck, Therianthrope." - Henry Gardenolf

"Stop flaunting and get talking, baldy!" - Zaria

An anger vein showed up on the (bald) werewolf's head as he walked down the audience seat. 

"You want me to talk? As if you could ever understand the greatness of the treasures the pope has given us!" - Henry Gardenolf

"What pope? Of some no-name cult that nobody cares about?" - Zaria

"You got spunk, kid. I'll give you that. But our glorious pope of the Church of Chaos is far from a nobody. Not that you can remember him even if you wanted to." - Henry Gardenolf

"...what are you talking about?" - Zaria

"I bet you've started to notice now, the missing parts of your memory. That's due to a colleague of our great pope, and the same person is the one who suggested the idea of extracting the Demonic Sea of Invidia to this place, so to mess with the plans of those blasted knights of Avalar." - Henry Gardenolf

"-! You were the ones behind the black water?!" - Zaria

"'Course that was us! That those yakuza came and took over the facility before we could arrive was a possibility we didn't predict, but you can't win all the time. And it was also that great person's idea to include that lightning brat as a temporary Lord to serve the Demon King. And to make sure she acts as a distraction, our great pope gifted me this!" - Henry Gardenolf

The werewolf showed his right hand. On it was a plain, golden ring. 

"This ring used to be the possession of a certain Calamity that walked these lands. With it, I can forcefully activate any Light-aligned skills or magic spells of anyone near me. Even that thunder brat can't stand up against me with this!" - Henry Gardenolf

"That's a fancy ring, alright, but it seems that we and Blot arriving here was another possibility you guys didn't predict." - Zaria

"Au contraire. That is the whole reason we made one of the Treasure Towers appear here in this backwater place! Your man Blot's teleport abilities? They're all based on the Light attribute!" - Henry Gardenolf

"Then all this was to..." - Zaria

"To keep that damn teleporting Incubus stuck on this continent! All so that the Demon King's plans could proceed without that bastard's involvement! And I'd guess one of the biggest projects was finished without problems, seeing how that shitty bastard was reacting." - Henry Gardenolf

"One of the biggest projects?" - Zaria

The werewolf smirked at my question. 

"The Dungeon-Eater project! The one where a certain Dungeon is gobbled up and used as materials for a different plan!" - Henry Gardenolf

"Too bad for those guys." - Zaria

"You must be the slow one in your Dun-" - Henry Gardenolf

"*Squeak*!!" - Tinkletop

The bastard wolf couldn't say anything else before Tinkletop, with his small size, had managed to get up close to him and released a Black-Lightning spell right in his sorry gut. The werewolf lost consciousness there for a second, long enough for his control over my [Shadow Chain] to slip, so I could deactivate the skill. 

Now free, I leaped at the worthless mutt and cut off his right arm with my fan that had been turned into a sword of wind and rust particles before I kicked him to the ground.

"M-MY HAAAAAND!!" - Henry Gardenolf

"Shut up," I told him with a voice darker than even I was surprised by as I mounted his sorry body and kept my wind sword close to his eyeballs.

"Keep going. What "certain Dungeon" were you talking about?" - Zaria

"Hurts...it huuuurts!" - Henry Gardenolf

"And it will hurt even more if you don't talk. What Dungeon has been "eaten". What did you bastards do to it? What did you do to Mira's home! What did you do to Damavand!!" - Zaria

*CRASH!*

I was about to gorge out one of the mutt's eyeballs when the sound of broken glass could be heard behind me. The space in the middle of the arena looked like it had "broken", and from the broken space came Blot flying out. And to add to the list of impossibilities...he was wounded. Badly. Enough to have lost one of his arms. 

"Ga-hahahaha! Sorry, Blottie! But you're not the only one who can enter sub-dimensions!" shouted a loud voice from inside the broken space.

"Tch." - Zaria

I clicked my tongue in frustration and settled with knocking the bastard mutt unconscious before having Tinkletop take him and the fainted, white-haired girls away so they wouldn't end up casualties in the upcoming battle. 

...I could swear I've heard that voice before...

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Kigal-Note/Attack Skills: [Rust Storm]