ALL NOVEL Chapter 239
Lishe’s gotten her hands on the Demon King’s arm, and, unsurprisingly, his blood is dripping everywhere.
Immediately, I catch it in a flask, and a new alchemical combination starts pouring out.
The most important one is this.
―――――――――――
· Time Rebound Potion
· Effect: Prevents the effects of time magic.
―――――――――――
If we have this, we can completely neutralize the Demon King’s magic. Everyone in the party will be free from his spells.
‘I can see a way out.’
I immediately pull out Atropine from my item box, draw the spell circle, and begin [Alchemy].
In an instant, a translucent potion glowing a pale yellow is completed. I toss the remaining Demon King’s blood into the item box and hand the potion to Tanya, Lishe, and Ambrosia.
“Everyone, slam it down. No time to waste!”
“Ah, got it. Faust, didn’t your speech change?”
“We don’t have time for roleplay, seriously. Let’s just figure out what to do about that thing first.”
As the strange-tasting liquid slid down my throat, I began to see Mephist freeze time clearly.
“Now I can fight too.”
Tanya concentrated her aura into her sword. The compressed sword energy sparkles sharply with her gaze.
“Hero, can you get up?”
“Yeah. Not much time left, so I have to hold on, right? Teacher.”
I nodded at Lishe.
The preparation wasn’t long.
Without even hearing each other’s words, our feet left the ground at the same time, rushing towards Mephist.
Tanya lunged for the right side. Lishe jumped on top of Mephist’s shoulder to aim for the back of his head. Mephist, freezing time, sensed it! A clean hit takes him right in the neck, and blood spills out.
“Hmm.”
Seeing that magic doesn’t affect us, Mephist focused more on defense and sped up.
But with one arm, there are limits to his movements. My reflexes were more than enough to dodge and squeeze through.
I jabbed a hook into his right side, sending vibrations straight to his pancreas. With a half turn, I struck behind his calf, making him kneel. Tanya seized the moment to land a sword strike.
“It seems like defeat is creeping in.”
Mephist was a cold man. He accurately assessed the situation, bending low and thumping his hand on the ground, spinning his body.
Since he couldn’t subdue us all at once, he tried to create space and regroup for defense.
In the brief opening after dodging his attack, Acella unleashed an ice spear from above and yelled.
“Don’t let your guard down! I’ve drawn a circle!”
True to her words, she had created a magic circle with her own blood on the ground she had barely touched. The pattern sprang up into the air instantly.
Bang! Magic erupted as the spell was cast, and at the same time, Acella’s ice spear struck him in the back. It meant that this critical spell had to be cast despite taking damage.
“What did you do…?”
As Mephist stood up, shrugging off his tattered vest, he took a deep breath.
“If you’re free from my time, there must be a fitting means of response.”
Hwaack!
Suddenly, the flow of air accelerated. Looking up at the sky, I distinctly noticed the difference.
In sharp contrast to before, this time, he had accelerated time.
“It’s normally suicidal to accelerate the outside world in a way that’s out of my control,” he said.
The Demon King could not only slow and stop time but also make it flow quickly.
It was obvious he had no reason to use this magic until now. For him, it simply sped us up, bringing no advantage.
But now we wouldn’t be affected by the acceleration of time. We’d only observe a world moving faster than us.
“What is the Demon King’s intention? Are you planning to age the girl to take her down? Oh no, what if I get hungry and can’t fight, Faust!”
“Not that fast. At most, an hour has passed. And we’re unaffected, so that shouldn’t happen…”
Everything around us brightened suddenly. I realized why he cast this spell.
A giant moon rises in the sky. It begins to turn blue and shines as brightly as the sun, pure magic itself.
“Blue Moon.”
So this was it.
A cursed blue moon visible only in the Demon Realm, releasing huge amounts of magic every few years, evolving the Demon race and monsters.
From the start, Mephist was buying time by constantly talking to us.
This was his aim all along.
“Lishe!”
There was no need to think any further. I shouted and charged at the Demon King, with Lishe and Tanya already swinging their swords.
But…
“Isn’t it a beautiful color?”
Mephist’s upper body had grown massive, having absorbed the azure magic. His spine jutted out as his facial features turned fierce, morphing closer to that of a monster than a human.
“The moon is on my side.”
He swung his fist—not at us, but down towards the battlefield.
KA-BOOM!!
With a thunderous noise, the Demon King’s offensive shattered and collapsed the area. The throne itself crumbled, and shards of obsidian obscured my vision.
I quickly turned my head, trying to find her.
Acella had lost her balance from the sudden chaos and was falling back.
“Ugh.”
Just as I was about to cast a protective spell on her, my view was completely obscured.
RUMBLE!
We fell into an unseen chasm.
*
“Damn it.”
Everything was pitch black. Given the time we had fallen, we must have dropped at least over 50 meters.
It hurt quite a bit. Fractured leg, plenty of scrapes.
Phew.
I took off my mask, putting it hastily into the item box to breathe easier.
I applied just enough emergency treatment to be able to move decently and stood up. It was an urgent situation. Our party members were scattered, and I couldn’t see Mephist either.
“A labyrinth.”
Though many places were blocked by obsidian shards, it appeared rather complex.
Dim moonlight filtered through the cracks in the collapsed ceiling. Using it as support, I hastily moved forward.
Others in the party must be injured too. I have to find them and give treatment.
More than anyone else.
‘Acella.’
She was the one I was most worried about.
Compared to Tanya or Lishe, I hadn’t seen her fight in real combat until very recently. The odds of her handling such an unexpected situation properly were low.
“Is anyone there!”
I sensed movement ahead. Filled with relief, I dashed over, and a little white-haired figure bounced into view. It was Ambrosia.
“I’m so glad! You’re safe! …Gothberg, Teacher.”
Ambrosia gasped as she saw me. Only then did I realize my face felt different; the effect of the disguise potion had worn off.
She seemed to have been affected by Mephist’s magic. Did she perhaps get dispelled?
“Gothberg, where have you suddenly appeared from? Where’s Faust? Have you used some kind of magic to swap positions?”
“It was me from the beginning. I’ll explain later.”
“What?! You mean you’ve been lying this whole time! The girl wouldn’t forget you so easily…”
Interrupting her, KABOOM! a nearby wall crumbled as I whisked Ambrosia up into my arms. There was nowhere to set her down, so I ended up piggybacking her for now.
“This is bad.”
In front of me stood Mephist, still enhanced by magic.
Two against one wasn’t a good idea. I had to regroup with Lishe or Tanya.
“Sister.”
“You called?”
“The left and right are blocked by shards. It seems our only escape route is through the Demon King’s legs. I’ll make a gap; you slip through and find the others.”
“Can you hold on until then?”
“I’ll have to.”
I rummaged through the item box, pulling out potions to fortify myself.
The problem was that the buff’s duration was almost over. Maybe I’d have about three minutes left.
“I’m off.”
The saying that offense is the best defense isn’t just for show. The defending party has inevitably limited movement.
Before Mephist could establish his form, I aimed for a favorable position and thrust into the gap. Naturally, it was the best position to help Ambrosia escape.
THWACK! Ambrosia cast a protective barrier that shattered upon impact with Mephist, causing him to lose his balance. Seizing the opportunity, I sent her flying over to the opposite side as if rolling a bowling ball.
“That ‘between the legs’ was not a metaphor?! Just wait a sec over there!”
There was no time to confirm if she had disappeared from my sight before an attack came in. His punch collided with me, sending vibrations deep into my bones.
This was serious.
“I get it now. It was you.”
Mephist approached, looking more satisfied than ever as he stepped into hand-to-hand combat.
“The historical chances of this locating me here were slim, incredibly slim. This is practically a miracle. If it were the will of an unseen absolute being, I might have accepted it, but there are indeed no gods in this world. Only you, the healer of the Hero Party.”
Grrr! Mephist grabbed my collar with his remaining arm.
Whether it was an evolved form or what, his strength was outrageous.
I wasn’t the kind to fight physically, and no matter how many buffs I stacked on, I must’ve appeared like a child’s play to the Demon King.
Facing one-on-one made it easy to overpower me.
As Mephist tightened his grip, my breath began to be restricted. Just as I was barely holding on, he locked eyes with me.
“The one who handled time wasn’t just that wizard; it was you.”
“Can’t I just say no comment? Listening to you magic types gives me a headache.”
“Were you behind it? Taking down my Demon King’s subordinates, leading the Hero Party here, and breaking through my magic.”
“That’s way too much praise. I’m just a regular village doctor. I usually just hand out candies to sick kids in the neighborhood.”
“Ha ha ha.”
This was the first time I had seen Mephist laugh.
“I salute your persistence. From the countless options I’ve seen, and even in this very moment! There has been no one other than you to interfere with me and threaten my future.”
He shook his head in dismay.
“The fact that you are human is a pity. If you were part of the demon race, you would have achieved great accomplishments as one of my subordinates.”
Crunch, Mephist’s grip tightened further.
“O human, what is your name?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“What’s the point of telling a name to someone I’ve already defeated? Are you even going to remember it?”
Mephist’s expression hardened at my response.
He mulled over my words, searching for meaning.
“What magic did you use?”
“What magic? I can’t even cast Fireball.”
“…Aren’t you a magician?”
“I can use a spell, but magic? Does the item box count?”
“Stop the jokes—”
BOOM!!
The labyrinth wall burst open, and my aura struck Mephist’s head. The Demon King flew through the opposite wall and vanished from my sight in an instant.
“Teacher, are you alright?!”
It was Tanya. I bumped fists with her.
“Right on time. Where’s Lishe?”
“The Saint is looking for you.”
Just then…
Zing! I felt an electric tingle in my left hand.
At the same moment, a map automatically formed in my mind. It diagrammed the very labyrinth we were in.
In the center, a specific spot attracted my nerves.
It was a strange, unfamiliar sensation, but I knew exactly where it was coming from.
When I took off my gloves, a ring sparkled and vibrated.
“Acella.”
She was searching for me.
After an incredible three years.
“Commander, could you hold that off for a moment?”
Tanya promptly adjusted her grip on her sword, ready to fight despite my unreasonable request.
“Go ahead.”
I hurriedly pulled out the mask, quickening my steps.