A scream echoed across the waters off the coast of Tsuranami.
Broken masts, tilting decks, and soldiers cast into the sea—regardless of whether they were from Kyokutou or the Federation, they all cried out in the same terror.
A massive black shadow towered in the center of the ocean. As its numerous tentacles writhed, it looked as if it were trying to swallow the world itself.
(…At this rate, hundreds will die!)
There was no time for hesitation. I readied Schwarzhase and circulated Ki throughout my body.
—I’ll slay it in an instant.
But at that moment, the Phantom Demon’s tentacles stretched toward the heavens and began to glow with black light. An ear-splitting vibration spread, crackling and popping with electricity.
"…Is it charging!?"
A bad premonition raced through me. If this continued, a high-voltage current would run through the entire sea, and those who had fallen into the water would—
"Don’t screw with me!!"
With a roar, I released my Ki all at once. The atmosphere trembled, and the sea surged. Using Psychokinesis, I lifted all the people around me—hundreds of castaways—at once.
The people pulled from the sea floated into the air one after another, as countless droplets of water scattered like mist. I felt the illusion of someone screaming inside my head. Forced into a level of concentration that felt like it was burning my brain, my nerves shrieked.
(Don’t drop them… Absolutely do not drop them…!)
I poured every ounce of focus into controlling the Ki. Even the slightest disturbance would result in a life being extinguished. In such an extreme state where I could barely move my own body, I heard the sound of the wind being torn apart.
In the corner of my vision, a giant tentacle approached. I couldn't avoid it. However, a golden trail flashed before me.
"—!"
In the next moment, the tentacle was sliced diagonally and fell into the sea. The one who had cut it was Oliver.
"If you want to slay the King, you’ll have to go through me first!"
"…Oliver, you saved me!"
"Orun, keep everyone safe. Leave this to me!"
Oliver held up his sword and whispered lowly.
"—Aegis."
Canary-colored mana enveloped his body, forming armor and wings of light. Flapping those wings, he charged straight at the Phantom Demon. The golden trail sliced through tentacles, carving wounds into the creature's black hide. His feathers rained down as fine blades, slowing the monster’s movements.
Meanwhile, I continued to maintain the Psychokinesis. The people’s terror rushed over me like waves, threatening to disturb the threads of my control.
"Calm down… It’s okay, I’ll save everyone…!"
I called out while refining my Ki once again. During that time, Oliver clashed head-on with the Phantom Demon. Golden and inky light intersected, sparks flying between blade and tentacle. The collision of such immense power made it seem as if the sky itself were screaming.
Oliver was fighting well. Whirling his wings, he coordinated his slashes with the feathers dancing in the air, steadily whittling down the Phantom Demon’s movements.
But there was no decisive blow. No matter how many tentacles he sliced off, the wounds regenerated immediately.
(…As I thought, mana-based attacks won't kill it.)
Phantom Demons were beings created from the Evil God’s mana. Striking them with the same type of energy would not lead to their destruction. To sever the main body, I had no choice but to strike its vitals with an attack composed of Ki—the power of life.
However, I was currently keeping hundreds of people afloat with Psychokinesis. I was doing everything I could just to control my Ki; reproducing an Ability was seemingly impossible—
But I couldn’t give up. The people in the sea were at their limit. While holding down those who had started to panic, I looked around.
There it was.
One ship, which had suffered relatively little damage, still held its shape. Its hull was tilted and its masts were broken, but it was still afloat.
In a situation where I was manipulating Ki to my near-limit, exercising an Ability derived from sorcery was extremely difficult. However, if I gave up now, a massive number of people would die.
I didn't want to lose anyone. I didn't want to let anyone die. The reason I fight is to let people live—and to connect them to the future.
"Return…!"
I reproduced Time Rewind. The creaking hull distorted with a groan, and broken pieces of wood returned to their original positions as if flowing backward through time. The sails unfurled once again, and the broken masts were restored.
My vision swayed violently. My knees shook. The core of my head felt as if it were burning. However, I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that.
A mere ten-odd seconds passed. While that time felt incredibly long, the ship regained the form it had before it was destroyed.
"Everyone—to that ship!"
Manipulating my Ki, I lowered the people onto the ship. Water splashed onto the deck as they landed one after another. I couldn’t fit everyone, but I saved more than half. Now that I had some leeway, I manipulated my mana.
"—Freeze!"
Flowers of ice bloomed across the sea, freezing the area around the ship in an instant. Using the frozen ice sheets as a foothold, I lowered the remaining people. The air grew cold, and the sea breeze turned into freezing frost.
When I finally finished lowering everyone, I let out a long breath. The taut threads of Ki unraveled, and my knees trembled. On the deck, the Kyokutou soldiers and Federation soldiers glared at each other, but no one tried to take up a weapon. They were still alive—that fact alone was enough.
Amidst this, a single Federation Soldier stood up unsteadily. He was covered in wounds, his face soot-stained. Even so, he asked me in a trembling voice.
"You… you're the Demon King, right…? Why… did you save us…? You're our enemy…"
At that question, I remained silent for a moment. The smell of the sea, scorched by the fires of war, stung my nose. In the cold wind, I answered slowly.
"…Just because you're an enemy doesn't mean I have a reason to abandon you."
The soldier gasped. Keeping my gaze fixed on the sea, I continued.
"There's no winning or losing here. There were simply voices calling for help. Hearing that and not reaching out—that's just something I can't do."
The sound of the waves filled the silence. In that stillness, the soldier knelt and bowed his head deeply. I said nothing, simply looking out over the sea once more.
The massive black shadow—the Phantom Demon—was still wriggling. Its tentacles sliced through the air, and it was about to go on a rampage again. There was no time to rest. It wasn't over yet.
I used Flowing Flight: Elceria to move next to Oliver.
"Oliver, thanks. You saved me by drawing its attention."
"I really wanted to take it down, though."
"It's enough. I'll deliver the finishing blow. Oliver, clear away those tentacles."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Oliver smiled. In the next moment, his golden wings flapped strongly, and he clashed with the Phantom Demon again. The moment the wind grew calm, I readied Schwarzhase.
"What I must do is harmonize the three powers."
As if whispering to convince myself, I bundled the flows of Ki and mana within me and made them clash in Mutual Antagonism. Into that, I summoned the third power lurking within my body—Yoryoku. The Yoryoku wavered in the gap between mana and Ki.
(I'll use Yoryoku to suppress the recoil generated by the Mutual Antagonism of Ki and mana.)
Inside my body, the three powers collided.
"—Dreigration."
The Ki and mana circulating through my body crashed into each other, snapping like lightning. The Yoryoku enveloped and dissolved the torrent of destruction. As the Ki, mana, and Yoryoku achieved perfect harmony, they became an inky power.
I enveloped Schwarzhase with that power. In an instant, the air fell silent, as if frozen. Pale black particles floated, shimmering like the night sea.
"—Integration."
The moment those words melted into the air, the world held its breath. Mana, Ki, and Yoryoku—three different powers harmonized and converged into the shape of a sword. What appeared was an Inky Sword, something similar to yet distinct from a magic sword.
The light overflowing from Oliver's body became blades, slicing through the tentacles attacking from all directions. Inky miasma blew out from the cross-sections, and the sea shook with a thunderous roar.
"Orun, now!"
Oliver carved a path. I swung the Inky Sword down.
"—Tengen."
The inky slash reached the Phantom Demon. The moment it made contact, it became a shockwave that destroyed all phenomena, erasing the Phantom Demon from existence.
The light subsided, and the wind returned. The storm stopped, the clouds in the sky split open, and sunlight shone through. The black mist drifting on the waves dissipated, and the scent of the tide returned once more.
"…Is it over?"
I lowered my sword while exhaling.
"I didn't think you'd really master Yoryoku…"
Oliver landed beside me and laughed faintly. His golden armor turned into particles of light and vanished.
"Yeah. Though I wouldn't say I've completely mastered it yet."
"Still, you'll get there eventually, right?"
"Naturally. I'll make it so I can maintain this state unconsciously. If I can't do that, I won't be able to defeat the Evil God."
I turned my gaze into the distance. Five children wearing red coats were there, staring this way with emotionless eyes. It was as if they were recording everything that had just happened.
I needed to get answers out of them—but the moment I thought that, they all turned their backs. Flapping their red coats, they flew away toward the western sky.
"Oliver, can I leave things here to you?"
"Yeah, go on!"
We nodded to each other, and I cut through the wind. I activated Flowing Flight: Elceria and pursued the five shadows.
After proceeding for a while, I found two familiar figures under a clear sky. It was Shion and Luna. Both were severely exhausted. Shion lay limp in Luna's arms, and Luna's hair had returned to its original indigo color.
A red-haired girl standing a short distance away raised their hand. In an instant, a fireball was released. The heat tore through the air, but just as the light was about to swallow the two of them, I dove in. I swung my magic sword and neutralized the fireball.
"—Evil-Bane Heavenly Flash!"
An inky slash tore through the sky, blowing the fireball away as I landed. Clad in my Inky Raiment and carrying the Inky Sword, I saw Luna's eyes waver.
"Orun-san…!"
Looking around, I saw the five children, the red-haired girl, and a Featureless Man. A total of seven people stood there, the hems of their coats fluttering in the sea breeze.
There was no mistaking the red-haired girl. That hair, those flames—it was Luary. They glared at me with a look of rage, but their body seemed to be near its limit already. They were battered, their breath ragged, standing by willpower alone.
"…This is as far as we go. Let us retreat," the Featureless Man stated flatly.
Luary clicked their tongue. In the next moment, flames expanded at their feet.
"—!"
A thunderous bang erupted along with white smoke. Flames and wind mixed, dyeing my vision pure white. From beyond the smoke, several presences moved away.
—Like I'll let you escape.
The moment I moved to follow, Luna grabbed my arm.
"Orun-san! Please look at Shion-san's condition, her body temperature is…!"
Shion's face had turned pale. When I touched her arm, a chilling coldness seeped into me.
"…How did she end up like this?"
"She used magic to stop time."
"No way, Fimbulvetr!?"
A voice of shock escaped me. That was magic that interfered with the Principles of Magic to manipulate the flow of time. Interfering with the Principles is normally done through the crystals at the Phoenix Shrine; to skip that process and interfere with them directly carried a heavy price.
"…It's okay. You'll be better soon, so endure it just a bit longer, Shion."
I held my palm over her and reproduced Nagisa's Ability, Soul Interference. At the same time, I activated the support magic Status Up. I captured the waves of Ki flickering within Shion's body and used Soul Interference to activate them.
Eventually, a faint color returned to Shion's cheeks. Her frozen fingers regained their warmth.
"…Phew. This should be fine for now."
"Is that true…? Thank goodness…!"
Luna let out a sigh of relief and hugged Shion. I sheathed my sword and looked up at the sky.
The battle was over. But a small thorn remained in my chest—the words that boy had said.
—"First Verification Experiment complete. Moving to Second Verification Experiment."
Did the "experiment" refer to the Phantom Demon? Or was it something else?
The wind blew. Sunlight reflected off the sea, enveloping the world in a light like dawn. I felt as if I could hear the curtain falling on this battle.
But the path I must walk still continues. The investigation into the Principles of Magic is proceeding smoothly. I have also learned how to interfere with genes using my own body. In the not-so-distant future, the sorcery to instill Evil-Bane into all of humanity will be completed.
That meant preparations to break the Wall of the Principles of Magic were steadily falling into place. At the same time, it meant the time for the final battle with the Cult, and by extension, the Evil God, was surely drawing near—.