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"—Heh, hahahahaha!"
Beal suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.
I wondered what was so funny. I didn't think I had said anything particularly odd.
As I watched him in bewilderment, Beal's lips curled into a smirk, and he fixed me with a piercing glare.
"I see, I see. So you are merely a lover of magic. ...Very well, Lloyd. Regardless of your motives, the fact remains that you survived my strike. I shall grant you the privilege of facing me. Now, show me that power of yours! Show me everything you have!"
Mana gathered in Beal's hands, reaching a density far greater than before. The swirling energy churned the atmosphere itself, making it seem as if the very heavens were wailing.
"A test to start. Prove to me that the previous strike wasn't merely a fluke."
A spear of swirling mana—or perhaps more accurately, a massive, sharp pillar of energy shaped like an inverted tower—plummeted straight toward me.
It was several times more potent than the last one. Still, an attack that simply relied on brute mana output was rather uninspired.
"Spatial System Magic—Void."
I snapped my fingers, opening a spatial rift dozens of meters wide in front of me.
This massive hole connected to a different dimension, erasing anything that touched it.
The power of the incoming attack didn't matter. It swallowed Beal's mana strike effortlessly, making it vanish into nothingness.
"Furthermore... Void: Eclipse."
With a dull thrum, the rift shifted its shape, extending toward Beal like a set of tentacles.
This was my personal modification of the Void spell formula. Unlike the standard version, I could alter the shape of the spatial opening.
It effectively neutralized the primary weakness of Void—its difficulty to aim.
Beal watched the high-speed spatial tentacles approach with a fearless grin.
Then—crack! A dry sound echoed as the Void was shattered into fragments.
"Hmph. To manipulate and transform high-speed Spatial System Magic is an impressive feat, but your spell formula is unstable."
Even if it was unstable, the effect should have remained intact as long as it was active. ...Wait, did he just make direct physical contact with the spell formula?
If one could intervene in the formula itself and destroy the foundation, the spell's effect would immediately dissipate.
But even for an "unstable" formula, to see through it in an instant like that...
"Why are you idling? Surely that wasn't all you had?"
"—!"
Boom! A tremendous impact struck me from behind.
He had looped a mana strike around my rear. Even after deploying five layers of Magic Barrier: Strong, the shock was still staggering.
I was launched into the air, spinning through the sky.
By the time I finally regained my posture, countless mana strikes were already hovering around me, waiting.
"Come now, I'm just getting started!"
Crash, crash, crash, crash! A rapid-fire succession of impacts roared around me.
I had deployed Magic Barrier: Ultimate.
As the name suggested, it was an advanced version of Magic Barrier: Strong, developed with the goal of achieving the absolute maximum hardness possible.
By compressing and optimizing a massive volume of mana, it possessed a density far beyond the Strong variant—and yet.
Spider-web cracks began to spread across the surface of the Magic Barrier: Ultimate.
Good grief, his power was absurd.
This barrier was hard enough to withstand my own High Magic without a scratch.
"What's the matter, magic enthusiast? If you just huddle there like a turtle, this can hardly be called a battle, can it?"
His words were punctuated by a mana-infused kick.
That single blow shattered the Magic Barrier: Ultimate. I was sent hurtling backward, slamming into a towering mountain of rock.
Ouch. That really stung. It was the kind of impact that resonated through the barrier and deep into the bone.
"...Gah! Am I dead?! Wait, I'm alive...? Hey, Angel! Didn't you say something about the Demon King being resurrected!?"
"Calm down, Majin. This is a dream. There's no way the Demon King could have returned. Hahaha. Hahahahaha."
It seemed the shock from just now had finally awakened Grimo and Jiriel.
However, between fainting and retreating into complete denial, they were both in quite a state of panic. I really wished they'd settle down.
"Actually, I'm in the middle of fighting that Demon King right now."
"Gyaaaaaah!"
They both shrieked, their eyes rolling back into their heads.
It looked like they'd lost consciousness again. Honestly, they were a handful.
"Though I suppose I can't really blame them for reacting that way."
This man's mana capacity and sheer aura of intimidation were in a league of their own compared to anyone I'd ever encountered.
While I generally didn't care much for simple combat power, even I had to be impressed when it was this overwhelming.
I see. He certainly lived up to the title of Demon King.
"That settles it. Grimo, Jiriel. Sorry, but you don't have time to be passed out."
"Gyaaaaaah!?"
The two of them screamed as they were jolted awake once more.
I had forced them back to consciousness by channeling mana directly into my hands.
Trying to handle such a ridiculous opponent by myself seemed like it would be a bit much, after all.
"Ugh... it really isn't a dream... To think that legendary Demon King is right in front of us... I don't want to believe it, but this is real, isn't it?"
"But if the Demon King has been resurrected, the world itself is in peril. If it is to save the many beauties of this world, then I shall offer up my very soul!"
Though their voices were trembling, the two of them settled into my hands.
Good. It looked like they'd steeled their resolve.
"—Now I can finally get serious."
Beal's eyebrow twitched, as if he'd caught my murmur.
"Oh...? What was that? Perhaps I misheard you. It sounded as though you said you were going to 'get serious'."
"I did."
Seeing me tilt my head matter-of-factly, Beal let out a low, rumbling laugh.
"Heh... hah... Your bluffs are quite something. Fine then! By all means, show me what you look like when you are 'serious'!"
"I plan to."
I slipped behind Beal while he was still speaking and whispered into his ear.
"Ngh!?"
Beal tried to spin around, but I drove my fist deep into his gut first.
"Gahhh!?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump! I hammered dozens of punches into him in a split second, sending Beal hurtling away in agony.
He was headed straight for the Academy Tower; I deployed a Magic Barrier just before impact to bounce him upward instead.
Beal spun at high speeds as he plunged into the clouds. A few moments later—
"Hah!"
With a roar, the clouds blanketing the sky were blown away.
As Beal looked down at me, blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Y-You... what is that form!?"
Beal's eyes widened as he took in my transformed appearance.
Personally, I didn't think my basic look had changed that much.
However, the arms housing Grimo and Jiriel were certainly different.
My right arm was stained jet black, sprouting a horn like that of a mountain goat.
My left arm was pure white, with the distinct silhouette of bird-like wings.
"Whoa! What is this?! I'm overflowing with an insane amount of power! I feel like I could actually take on the Demon King like this!"
"Yes! I can generate mana much more efficiently than I could in my original body! This is magnificent, Master Lloyd!"
Grimo and Jiriel, residing within the arms, raised their voices in excitement.
These were arm-shaped effigies I'd crafted to allow the two of them to manifest their abilities to the fullest.
With a vast network of magic lines running through the interior, my own mana could circulate through my entire body without any loss. The 'mouths' used for chanting were working perfectly, and both of my familiars were highly motivated. Yes, this was working out well.
To be blunt, my own body wasn't built for combat.
As a child, my frame was small, putting me at a disadvantage in physical brawls against powerful foes. Furthermore, my internal magic lines weren't fully matured, requiring me to use all sorts of tricks to perform High Magic or multi-chants.
Simply put, the vessel was too small to fully output the knowledge I had accumulated.
That was where these came in. I had generated a massive amount of external magic lines to ensure mana could flow without loss, then compressed and bundled them around my arms.
My earlier mimicry of Shneider's body had just been a preliminary step for this.
Building them from scratch instead of just mimicking was quite the task, but the battle with the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army had provided some excellent data.
Regardless, the resulting limbs were these—I suppose I'll call them the Magic-Armed Arms.
"Master Lloyd, how about adding Black Sheep to my side?"
"In that case, would you permit me to name my side White Swan?"
"I don't mind."
The names didn't really matter to me. If they liked them, that was fine.
And so, using the Magic-Armed Arms—now dubbed Black Sheep and White Swan—it was time for the experiment to begin.
"Hah!"
With a short exhale, I kicked off the air.
Beal tried to track me with his eyes, but his body couldn't keep pace.
—Hidden Langris Style, Martial God Arts. This state allowed me to use techniques that pushed physical ability to the absolute limit without any of the usual risks to my body.
I raced through the sky at high speed, circling into Beal's blind spot as I kneaded the ki within me.
Then, I drove the mass of expanded ki into his defenseless back.
"—Hundred Flowers Fist Secret Art: Blazing Ki Dragon Palm."
Sparks danced and lightning crackled. While ki-based strikes were decently effective against Demons, the real blow was what came next.
"Let's go, Majin!"
"You got it, Angel!"
I wove the spell formula to sync with Grimo and Jiriel's chanting.
"—Grey Demon Divine Fang!"
My palm erupted with a blinding light.
The sound of a thunderous explosion roared, and the recoil sent me flying backward.
Whoops, that was a massive shockwave. The chanting finished faster than I'd anticipated, so I was a bit slow on the getaway.
Since I was leaving the chanting to those two, I'd have to account for the significantly faster activation time from now on.
I righted myself in mid-air and swatted away the rising smoke.
"Hey, hey! That was too dangerous, Master Lloyd! Don't use Grey Demon Divine Fang at point-blank range like that! If I hadn't put up a barrier, we would've been in serious trouble!"
"Indeed. ...Still, that was a staggering combination of strikes. Even the Demon King shouldn't have been able to walk away from that unscathed. As expected of Master—"
Jiriel's voice trailed off.
The White Swan and Black Sheep effigies housing the two of them were mangled and twisted, torn in several places.
"W-What!? When did we take a hit!?"
"I didn't notice a thing... Ngh, the effigy granted by Master Lloyd...!"
At the very moment of my attack, Beal had reached out and grabbed both Black Sheep and White Swan, crushing them with sheer physical force.
I was glad I'd blocked their sense of pain.
If they'd felt the full brunt of that damage, they both would have passed out again.
"Heh... heh-heh..."
Beal's laughter echoed from within the plumes of smoke.
As the haze cleared, Beal emerged, wiping blood from his lip.
Though his clothes were torn where the hits had landed, he was almost entirely unharmed.
Even the few shallow wounds he had sustained were already knitting back together.
"He's unscathed after all that...? Not even Grey Demon Divine Fang—the spell that one-shotted the Four Heavenly Kings—can keep him down!?"
"I cannot believe it. So this is the Demon King...! His strength is truly on a different dimension...!"
Grimo and Jiriel stared in shock.
Hmm. To take almost zero damage was certainly a surprise.
Not only that, Beal was continuing to swell his mana.
It seemed he was only just getting started for real.
"Heh heh heh... A pity. That attack wasn't bad, but it was nowhere near enough to bring me down. I had high hopes for your 'serious' state, but I suppose you've disappointed me. Hah! Hahahahaha!"
His laughter cut short.
Black Sheep and White Swan—the arms he had just crushed—had already restored themselves.
Well, obviously I'd included a self-repair function. That was just common sense.
Of course, I'd packed them with plenty of other features as well.
Even with a wide variety of functions, there were many things one wouldn't truly understand until testing them in the field.
That was what I meant by calling this an experiment.
"Sorry. I'm still learning how to handle these myself. But don't worry, I think I'll be able to satisfy you shortly."
"...Interesting."
Beal wore a smirk, but his expression looked just a little bit strained.