Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 108

Tadat, tadadat!

Pzzzt-

I dashed towards the battlefield with lightning-fast speed, using electric magic.

Thanks to my fully recovered condition, my body felt as light as a feather.

"Phew."

And so, I arrived at the battlefield in an instant.

I quickly scanned the situation.

'Quite a lot of damage, huh?'

I had expected some damage since this was the 3rd wave, which was supposed to be threatening, but the damage was greater than I thought.

I could see hundreds of corpses of allies at a glance.

Of course, there were even more corpses of demons, but that didn't change the fact that the damage was significant.

What was the cause?

'There it is.'

It didn't take long to find it.

The number of rifts had increased to 13.

And there was one creature openly rampant in one of them.

Haaaaak-

Shhhhiiiii.

With a roar like a monster's, it sprayed poison everywhere with its nine heads.

There was no need to recall its name.

[Demon Hydra].

It was a creature that occupied the top rank among the higher demons in terms of combat power, and it was the right-hand man of Valefor, the Legion Commander of Greed.

Slash!

While I was watching, a high-ranking knight cut off one of the [Demon Hydra]'s heads.

However.

Haaaaak!!

The creature twisted its body, and soon a new head grew from the severed part.

Seeing this, the high-ranking knight cursed.

"You damn bastard! Just die already!"

Knights, who valued honor and dignity, did not use vulgar language carelessly.

The fact that he was cursing meant he was extremely angry.

Well, there was no reason to be surprised.

Even I, who was more patient than anyone else, had cursed dozens of times when I first fought this creature.

'Still the same, you snake-headed bastard.'

The [Demon Hydra] had a regenerative ability that could be described as transcendental.

No matter how many times its heads were cut off, it would regenerate them in an instant, just like now.

As such, it was a tricky opponent, and the difficulty level increased significantly if you didn't know how to defeat it.

Of course, it wasn't Valefor's right-hand man for nothing, so even if you knew the strategy, it was still difficult.

The way to defeat the [Demon Hydra] was to inflict damage on all nine heads simultaneously.

It was easier said than done, to cut off all nine heads at once... naturally, it wasn't an easy task.

Especially for a swordsman with short arms.

'I'll take care of it.'

Pzzt!

Tadat, tadadat!

After grasping the situation, I immediately jumped into the front lines.

My current condition was perfect.

It was better to step up and finish it off quickly before the damage increased further.

"Huh? Is that...?"

"It's that mage, isn't it?"

Fwoosh!

I passed by the people murmuring as they looked at me and leaped into the air.

And with a shout, I detonated the flashbang I had materialized in my right hand.

"Get down!"

Bang!

"Uwagh! My eyes!"

A few people, unable to react to the sudden instruction, clutched their eyes.

But it was alright.

I had anticipated this and detonated a micro-flashbang.

Compared to the large one, its duration was very short, and it wouldn't cause permanent damage to their vision.

However, that was only true for ordinary humans.

Haa, Haaaak...!

The [Demon Hydra], facing the flashbang head-on, screamed as its nine heads twisted like a pretzel.

It was an excessive reaction for just one flashbang.

The reason was simple.

'It has many eyes.'

The [Demon Hydra] was, strictly speaking, a reptile. Among them, it was closest to a snake, but unlike ordinary snakes, it had good eyesight.

Moreover, it had nine heads.

In other words, it had a total of 18 eyes.

With 18 eyes that had good eyesight, even a tiny bit of light could be fatal to it.

And there was also the simultaneous strike bonus.

- You have inflicted damage to all 9 heads of the [Demon Hydra] simultaneously.

- As a bonus effect, all resistances of the [Demon Hydra] are reduced by 50%.

This message appeared when you struck many of the [Demon Hydra]'s heads at the same time.

50% reduction in all resistances.

If nothing had changed from the game, it should be the same now.

And the key to defeating the [Demon Hydra] was to seize this moment.

Still positioned above the creature's heads, I immediately created a sword of light.

Not the size I usually used, but several times larger.

But then...

Shing!

Despite requiring an enormous amount of mana due to its size, the sword of light was completed at a speed that surprised even me.

In that split second, I realized it was thanks to the increased magic manipulation skills I gained from saving the residents of Area 7.

'Good.'

The admiration was brief.

I didn't stop my movement and swung down.

Slice!

One, two, three, four...

Hak, Haaaak!

All nine of the creature's heads were cut off with a single stroke.

Its severed heads fell to the ground and let out labored breaths.

But it wasn't over yet.

Even when it was dying, the [Demon Hydra] always had a knack for getting on people's nerves.

As expected...

Shhiiiiik!

Suddenly, a thick, viscous poison poured out from its severed heads.

I had already been prepared and immediately created distance to avoid the poison.

Tadat!

Sssshiiiiiik-

The ground melted before my eyes.

Perhaps because I knew the power of that poison, a strange sense of exhilaration welled up inside me.

"I've lost dozens of suits of armor because of you, you son of a bitch."

In a way, I was living my second life.

Such obvious tricks wouldn't work on me.

Haaak...

Missing its final attack, the creature gave me a regretful look and scattered into gray dust.

And behind me, the soldiers cheered in hushed voices.

"Uwaaaa! The mage did it!"

"Mage! Mage! Mage...!"

"Wherever you were hiding, that was a truly awesome entrance!"

"Hiya! You're truly reliable! Reliable!"

Seeing their intense reactions, it seemed they had a lot of pent-up frustration towards this creature.

Considering that many of their comrades, who had fought alongside them, had died, it was only natural.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Don't even ask. That was the most terrifying moment of our lives! Even the knights couldn't do anything against that thing-"

"Damn. I really thought I was going to die here..."

"...It should be alright now. Where's the commander?"

It was then, as I was asking the soldiers about Elbert's whereabouts, that I suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Seems like you've recovered?"

Knight Commander Elbert Tyron had approached me from behind.

"Ah, yes. I... drank what you gave me. Thank you."

"Really? How did it feel?"

"Amazing."

"Huhuhu, I bet. It should be. Considering what kind of potion it is."

Elbert suddenly continued with a sly smile.

"I'll understand if you repay the debt slowly."

"Yes? Debt?"

"Why are you making that face? I'm stating the obvious. Oh, don't tell me you weren't planning on paying properly?"

"B-but you clearly said..."

"Just kidding."

Ha, did that man enjoy saying such things?

My heart almost jumped out of my chest.

'Was he the same kind as Roan?'

It was a very reasonable situation to suspect Elbert of being a psycho.

Anyway.

Elbert, who had nonchalantly said it was a joke, immediately turned serious and spoke.

"I'll brief you on the changed situation."

It seemed he was going to give me a briefing.

I nodded with a serious expression, and Elbert began his explanation.

"Ten additional rifts were generated today. Therefore, a total of 13 rifts are currently open. The royal family has sent a message that they have completed preparations to close the rifts, and in two hours, they will officially join us and carry out the closure operation."

He then went on to describe the types of demons that had emerged from the rifts, the extent of the damage our forces had suffered so far, and the overall state of the war.

Despite containing a considerable amount of information, Elbert's briefing was very concise.

It was like he was picking out only the essential points.

As I listened, a question suddenly came to mind.

'Why is he telling me all this? And in person, no less?'

It was as if I were the commander, not Elbert.

A 5th Circle Mage receiving a situation report from the Knight Commander. There couldn't be anything stranger than this.

As I stared at him, trying to grasp his intentions, Elbert seemed to sense something and shrugged.

"Why? Is it awkward?"

"Ah, yes. A little? I don't know why you're telling me all this."

"Well, it's because I've figured out what you truly desire."

"Truly... what?"

"Hmm, are you going to play dumb? Forget it. Now that the situation report is over, tell me what you think."

"..."

Although I couldn't understand what he was talking about, one thing was certain.

Elbert was definitely mistaken about something.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to say such things.

Well, anyway, that aside.

'What I think...'

I quickly pieced together the information I had just heard.

Although the scale of the damage was large, the situation itself wasn't bad.

Things were proceeding smoothly enough that we could close the rifts with the support of the royal family if we could just hold out for another two hours.

But then...

'What is this sense of incongruity?'

It was as if I was missing something.

Something quite important.

'Think, think...'

How much time had passed?

I finally figured out the identity of the dissonance I felt.

"The pattern... it's different."

"What?"

"The pattern is different from the usual 3rd wave that I know."

To summarize the situation:

In the 3rd wave of the [Red Moon Prophecy], a higher demon would emerge from each rift.

That was the usual situation.

However, the content of Elbert's briefing was quite different from that.

Although 13 rifts had been generated, only ten higher demons had emerged from them.

When I explained this point...

"Do you have any guesses?"

Elbert asked as if he didn't know anything.

But nothing came to mind.

'What kind of variable causes this to happen?'

It was then, as I was thinking that...

"Come to think of it, unstable demonic energy was observed in the third rift... Could it be related to that?"

Elbert's words hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Unstable demonic energy...!"

Fewer higher demons than usual.

And the unstable demonic energy observed on the second day.

All the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

But if this assumption was true... we were in grave danger.

"B-Barundel. Where is Barundel now?"

Barundel, with his [Detect Demonic Energy] trait, would know the exact answer to this.

I quickly asked about Barundel's whereabouts, and Elbert shook his head.

"I don't know. He rushed off somewhere earlier, saying he had something to prepare for. He's a skilled dwarf, so I just let him be. Is there a problem?"

'Damn it...'

Although I hadn't heard it directly from Barundel, his words were practically confirmation of my assumption.

For the calm Barundel to rush off to prepare for something, it meant something incredibly serious was happening.

Just as I was thinking that...

Crackle! Crackle!

Suddenly, an enormous amount of demonic energy began to pour out from one of the rifts.

The unstable third rift that Elbert had mentioned.

Gulp.

Elbert and I, along with all the soldiers here, swallowed dryly at the eerie demonic energy and stared at the rift.

And then...

Thud, thud, thud.

Goooo-

A creature emerged from the rift.

"Who is that...?"

"Wh-who is that? Is it a human?"

Our forces were collectively confused.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Only I remained calm.

Because I knew that creature.

I hadn't just seen it in the game.

I had witnessed this being with my own eyes since entering this world.

"...It's the former Magic Tower Head of Aldeon."

"...What?"

The former Magic Tower Head of Aldeon, Dercion Pygma.

It was a reunion with that crazy old man.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]