The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“What is… happening…?”

A strong sense of fatigue assailed Lucifer — and as he staggered, Asley’s fist swung toward him.

“Ngh…!? Tch!”

Sent flying, Lucifer planted his fingers into the ground, quickly regaining his stance.

After shaking his head, he glared at the advancing Asley.

In an instant, Lucifer’s arcane energy surged.

“…!”

Asley, anticipating the attack, leaped backward.

Maintaining the overflowing arcane energy, Lucifer emitted a powerful aura of anger.

“What did you do…!? What did you do to me!?”

More than anger, a murderous intent was directed at Asley.

Despite Asley’s tense expression, his movements were already set for evasion.

“Transcendence…!”

Immediately, Lucifer unleashed numerous spells.

“Instant Transmission!”

Avoiding them with the Instant Transmission spell, Asley reappeared, disengaging his Ultimate Limit to synchronize his spell invocation.

That spell, of course, was…

“Rise, A-rise! Perfect Invisibility!”

…The perfected transparent form magic.

With Asley becoming completely imperceptible, Lucifer unleashed a vast array of magic fueled by anger.

Meteorain, Grand Inferno, Beheading Vortex, Inferno Lance Rain, Lightning Call, Ground Needle, Absolute Zero, Sharp Wind Asteriskos, and various other spells and magecraft were used to corner Asley.

Feeling the overwhelming volume of magic, Asley revealed himself momentarily, and promptly activated Ultimate Limit to invoke Instant Transmission again.

At times, he used Giving Magic on himself, seeking to recover his arcane energy while confronting and evading Lucifer.

Escaping from the battlefield was not an option. Asley had to fight while avoiding and resisting, or else Lucifer’s fangs would turn toward Asley’s comrades.

However…

[Oh no…!]

Even if he attempted to conserve arcane energy, his opponent was Lucifer.

The depths of the Devil King’s arcane energy were like an abyss, making it extremely challenging to whittle down.

[We were… too slow!]

As Asley moved, considering Devil King Lucifer’s remaining arcane energy, the delay in the activation of Lucifer Break threw off his calculations.

Tūs, Irene, and Warren, fighting in the central formation, displayed a sense of urgency upon sensing Asley’s arcane energy.

“Shit! At this rate, Asley’s arcane energy’s gonna run out before Lucifer’s does!”

“I know that! But if we leave here–“

“–Monsters are further roused by Lucifer’s arcane energy! This is bad!”

There was no need to protect the Duodecad anymore.

However, the Duodecad remained crucial to the battlefield.

The storm of arcane energy caused by Devil King Lucifer’s anger and killing intent amplified the attacks of the monsters.

Both the right and left flanks were invaded by monsters, and the center was broken through, extending the battle into the rear formation.

In every battlefield, there was no room for a momentary lapse, and no one could go to Asley’s aid.

Above all, no one had the strength to be of help to him.

“Ha ha ha…! Damn it! Instant Transmission!”

As Asley invoked Instant Transmission with his dwindling arcane energy, Lucifer’s movements changed.

Looking at where Asley had moved, Lucifer spoke,

“Ah, I see…”

[…He figured it out!]

“I see… Targeting my arcane energy, eh? Trying to deplete the Devil King’s arcane energy is indeed foolish, but now that I have experienced the attempt, I can understand why you thought this might work. I must admit that your idea isn’t entirely bad — Well done, Asley.”

“Hah hah hah…!”

“Giving Magic!”

Immediately, the composed Lucifer disengaged his Ultimate Limit and invoked Giving Magic through a normal Circle drawing.

This significantly slowed the decrease in Lucifer’s arcane energy. While it was still decreasing, the rate at which it was going was less than satisfactory.

The light in Asley’s eyes faded.

Dealing with Lucifer’s attacks in his normal state was not particularly difficult. However, Asley realized that maintaining his own arcane energy until Lucifer’s depleted was beyond his capacity, complicating the situation.

“There, there, there! Now let us see whose arcane energy is exhausted first! Hahaha!!”

“Damn it! Damn it!!”

Thrown off by Lucifer’s relentless assault, Asley’s arcane energy, stamina, and mental fortitude were all nearing their limits.

Asley had no remaining strategies. No matter how he dodged Lucifer’s attacks, Asley would reach his limit before Lucifer.

The calculations were unalterable.

His only course of action was to endure, deflect, evade, and buy time against Lucifer’s relentless onslaught.

“HAHAHA! I wish you were able to see your own pathetic face, Asley!”

Lucifer reveled in pure delight, with Asley unable to retort or resist Lucifer’s attacks.

However, there was someone who voiced agreement — just like Asley had done earlier — someone who both supported and opposed Lucifer.

“Yes, he’s pathetic! But I’m the only one allowed to say that!”

In the intense battlefield where only Asley and Lucifer were supposed to be present, a husky voice echoed.

Lucifer was surprised, but Asley’s face held an even greater shock.

“…Wha– why!? Why and how the hell are you here!?”

The situation was beyond the comprehension of the person who had used the compulsory contract.

As Asley placed his hand on his chest, he realized that the contract for self-destruction had not been invoked.

Pochi, his Familiar, was present in this location. Bewildered by this intense incongruity, Asley looked puzzled.

Pochi, who had descended before Asley, spoke while wagging her tail,

“Master! I didn’t know you were here all along! I’ve searched for you all over the place! Oh, by the way, you gotta hear this! I defeated the Hell Emperor, just as you told me to! Hey, Master! Are you listening? C’mon, would it hurt to praise me properly for once!?”

“Pochi! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“Hup–!”

As Asley tried to question Pochi, the Familiar paid no attention, merely seizing Asley’s mantle and leaping into the air.

This was done to get away from Lucifer — the only one besides Asley concerned with time on this battlefield.

Pochi skillfully avoided Lucifer’s attack, while Asley’s face remained in a state of confusion.

Asley looked at Pochi again.

The Familiar, holding his mantle in her mouth, transmitted a subtle vibration to Asley — a tremor of Pochi’s trembling.

However, Pochi’s tail wagged, an unmistakable expression of joy.

[What the hell…!? What’s going on!? What about the contract!? What happened to that!?]

At last, Asley realized.

He recalled the clause of the contract he had made with Pochi.

–Run as far away from the battlefield as you can.

This was Asley’s command.

To avoid this directive, Pochi had visited the Philosopher of the Far East — and there, she had received shocking words from Tūs High-Order Muscle.

–I guess there IS a way for it…

–…!!

–But you gotta do it yourself, Pochi… Can you?

–I’ll do it! I’ll make it work!

–Yeah, right… saying that is the easiest part of it. You mess up one step — nah, one MILLIMETER — and Asley’s DEAD. And you’ll be the one who caused it.

–HELL YEAH!!

Hearing Pochi’s determined words, Tūs had let out a long, deep sigh before speaking,

–Hah… well, here’s the thing. That fool said ‘run as far away from the battlefield as you can,’ right? Then it’s simple — just think it’s not a battlefield, and you’re good.

–Huh? What do you mean by that…?

–There’s nothing to it. Think of it as a playground — Even when you’re in front of Lucifer, you’re in a place to have fun. Got it? Don’t make a mistake. If you think otherwise even for a moment, Asley will die right there.

Hearing these words, Bull had frowned, and Tarawo was left astonished.

–No! Pochi can’t possibly handle that…!

Lina,

–She’d have to keep herself constantly engaged with the Devil King! Her mind won’t be able to take it!

Fuyu,

–She’s going to die first!

Tifa,

–It’s too cruel!

And Haruhana, with tears in their eyes, had covered their faces with their hands.

Even without knowing the details, Asley understood.

He saw through Pochi’s outrageous act of covering fear with joy.

“You idiot…! Why!? Why would you…!?”

His vision blurred with tears as he could only stare at Pochi.

–Well, well, that doesn’t sound hard at all!

Pochi’s determination remained unchanged from that moment.

From the time when Pochi decided to run straight into this metaphorical playground for her dearest friend, nothing had changed.

From the day they decided to embark on a journey together, nothing had changed.

“I’m not going anywhere, you fool! So let’s have fun, Master!”

“…! Shut up! Shut up, you damn furball!”

There was no time for tears.

Asley wiped his eyes and looked at Pochi.

Pochi smiled brightly, looking at Asley while trembling.

And so Asley hopped on Pochi one more time — one more count to the thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps millions of times prior.

The strongest duo, staking the fate of the world, raced through the final playground — the final battlefield.