LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 242
“Recall, huh? My magic?”
I nodded at Acella’s question.
“It’s the magic that the Royal Princess developed. It brings something from afar.”
Acella didn’t seem too pleased.
“I did take down the dragon with Recall back then. But that was more of a coincidence due to my low level. I can’t expect the same effect if I try it on the Demon King now. In the first place.”
Acella swallowed hard, looking tense as she glanced at Mephist.
There was no hiding his power. Mephist was radiating a fierce, dark magic and casually looking at us.
“Just look at that overwhelming magic. Any normal spell would bounce off.”
“No, I’m not asking you to use it on the Demon King.”
“Then?”
“Could you bring a Teleport Gate here? Also, you can throw it to a different location.”
Acella tilted her head.
“If it’s inanimate, it’s much easier. Just punch a hole, and that’s that. But sending it somewhere else would require different magic.”
“Different magic?”
“Vanish. It’s a 6th tier spell reformed from the Bringer’s technique. It can move objects to a location within my line of sight.”
“Line of sight, huh? Can it be very far?”
“How far?”
“About 100 times from one end of the continent to the other?”
Acella blinked and soon nodded.
“I haven’t tested it, but if it’s within line of sight, then there’s no problem.”
“Good. We need two Teleport Gates. An entrance and an exit.”
Acella nodded.
“First, we hide until the Blue Moon ends. A strategic retreat; a wise decision.”
Acella wasn’t wrong to consider it that way.
The situation was desperate. Lishe was down, and the Demon King was activating his infinite mana cheat.
Tanya was holding up well, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
But that wasn’t my intention.
“No, Your Majesty.”
[No. 100: 9th tier 50%]
The win rate was fifty-fifty.
“It’s still doable. We need to finish this.”
Acella’s eyes sparkled at my response.
“What’s the strategy?”
“Summon one Gate here when the time is right. The other one…”
Acella’s eyes widened as she heard me.
“That’s an incredible plan, but… can we really trap the Demon King in the Gate just by setting it up?”
“Yes, we can win.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”
Acella’s grip tightened. She drew a magic circle with her wand.
I signaled the other party members to get ready. Tanya immediately understood and blocked Mephist’s movement with her aura.
“Something’s brewing. Space magic technique. Is it a transformation type?”
Mephist clenched the overwhelming magic in his hand. Swish! Without warning, he shot it towards me like lightning.
Crash! Tanya reacted swiftly, her aura swirling around to withstand the blow. Slam! Just barely deflecting it, her sword met its end and shattered.
“Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m on guard, you know.”
Tanya replied coolly and picked up a chunk of obsidian from the ground. She intended to protect us until Acella finished her casting.
“What’s the strategy this time, Healer?”
Mephist asked me while preparing for an attack.
“In all the futures I’ve glimpsed and even now, you are the one who twisted the possibilities. You mentioned that you have already defeated me before.”
Whoosh! The magic in his hand thickened, radiating an ominous energy.
“Is it bluster, deceit, or just part of your strategy? What is your true identity? An adventurer, a hero, a strategist, a healer, or just a madman?”
Mephist was quite curious. I wondered if that curiosity had helped him reach such a level in magic.
I pulled a candy from my pocket.
Tinkle, I opened the wrapper and popped it in my mouth, responding.
“Didn’t I say? I’m a doctor.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Well, I am a bit of a special doctor.”
I grinned.
I placed both hands on Acella’s shoulders and looked directly into Mephist’s eyes.
“I’m the attending physician.”
Mephist’s arm tightened. I too pressed down on Acella’s shoulders.
“Now!”
Whoosh!
The world turned golden.
Of course, in the grand scheme of the universe, it might just have been a feeble light unworthy of notice.
Boom!
Suddenly, two Teleport Gates fell from the sky.
Right behind Mephist.
At the same time, Acella looked up, gazing at the sky.
Her golden eyes shone brighter than ever as they emitted mana.
Whoosh, one Teleport Gate disappeared.
“I’ll send you.”
Acella’s fingers danced gracefully as she cast the next spell.
It was the activation of the Teleport Gate.
“To the place you wanted to go so badly.”
The Gate behind Mephist gleamed.
Just that alone unleashed power beyond any ultimate magic.
“Hold on to something!”
At my shout, all party members reacted quickly. Tanya, Ambrosia, and Valen ducked low and wedged themselves into nearby strong crevices.
I also bent over, shielding Acella and gripping the cracked obsidian beneath us.
At the same moment.
Whoosh!!
The Teleport Gate activated, and an overwhelming pressure began to surge.
“Ugh…?!”
Mephist panicked, losing his balance. In an instant, he was pulled towards the Gate. No time to regain his composure as his lower body crossed the threshold.
Thud, he tried to grab the pillar of the Gate, but his limits were apparent. With only one arm, it was difficult to do so.
The Gate, pulling everything in with an immense force, firmly grasped the Demon King’s body.
Crash, crash! Each fragment that flew hit Mephist’s head and upper body. With each blow, his balance deteriorated further.
“What the hell…?”
He couldn’t comprehend it.
He knew nothing of the place he so desperately wanted to go.
What Acella pulled out with Recall was merely a Teleport Gate: a device that linked two coordinates.
It had no function to suck in everything with such tremendous power.
He must have wondered what kind of place he ended up in this predicament.
Mephist looked behind him. The blue light pouring from the Gate. That color seemed familiar. It was the same as the magic he wielded.
“Could it be…?!”
Cold sweat trickled down Mephist’s face as he looked up at the sky.
A blue moon.
A giant, imposing Blue Moon that loomed in the night sky.
Of course, no one could see the surface of the moon from here, but did he sense a foreboding feeling?
“Is that where it is?!”
Mephist grinned widely, exposing his teeth.
Just as he guessed, I had asked Acella to place the other Gate on the moon’s surface.
The opposite side of the Gate was outer space.
The force drawing him in was not some mystical magic. It was the natural force caused by the pressure difference with a vacuum.
No matter how much air was blown into space, the pressure wouldn’t rise; hence, the suction power would not lessen.
“Ugh…!”
Mephist struggled to endure.
He was holding on better than expected. I thought he’d be pulled in at once.
In fact, it seemed as though he was slowly coming back out, and I hoped that was just my illusion.
“Lars! He’s getting out!”
Acella shouted, her silver hair swirling dramatically. If it was such a distance away from me that it felt like my arm was going to be pulled out, how could he manage to crawl back out of that gap with just one arm? A monster is indeed a monster.
“What’s the next move?”
Hiss.
“Wait, don’t tell me you don’t have one?!”
“Just give me a moment.”
As I was racking my brain, a figure with light steps zipped past me.
It was Lishe.
“Hey, Lishe!”
She glanced back at me with a proud smirk on her face.
I didn’t feel good about it.
That expression was just like the one I had seen from Charles before.
Lishe took a powerful run towards the source of the pressure and raised her Holy Sword high.
“Haah—!!”
Her Holy Sword shone more brilliantly than ever.
The trajectory was simple and clean; it perfectly sliced through Mephist’s arm.
Hit by that lethal blow, he had no strength left to endure.
His head tilted as he gazed towards the other side of the moon.
“…Oh, so that was it.”
What he saw from there was a mystery.
Whether he found the knowledge he desired or not, there wasn’t time to ask.
In an instant, his massive body was sucked in and vanished.
And Lishe too.
“Lishe!!”
The Teleport Gate engulfed her along with a terrifying wind pressure.
For a moment, my shout felt futile.
Thud! A rope wrapped around her leg. It was the arrow shot by Valen.
“What the hell is this? Is someone from the giant tribe pulling me? Hey, you guys!”
Desperately shouting, Valen was being pulled along. Tanya and I immediately ran to grab the rope tightly. With a mighty pull, we yanked Lishe back out of the Gate.
“Close it!”
Simultaneously, Acella dispelled the technique and finished her casting.
The Gate, having played its part, released mana and vanished into thin air.
Sizzle…
…The intense battle we just experienced felt like a mere illusion.
Only a quiet silence settled in.
Our hurried breaths echoed softly.
Lishe stirred and slowly got up.
She looked around at each of our faces, and with her legs giving way, she dropped her Holy Sword and collapsed.
“…Phew.”
Sighing heavily, Lishe stated what I felt too.
I slowly turned my head.
Perhaps she was thinking the same thing, as she looked at me at the same moment.
“…Is it over?”
At Acella’s question, I checked the Status Window.
―――――――――――
No. 005: Demon King’s Army Victory 22% → 0%
No. 006: Demon God’s Descent 6% → 0%
No. 008: Iron Fortress 11% → 0%
…
No. 100: 9th Tier 50% → 0%
· 10 Bad Endings have been deleted.
―――――――――――
I slowly nodded.
“We won.”
Acella smiled.
“Congratulations.”
“You too, Your Majesty.”
“I’m only satisfied if you are.”
She placed her hand on my cheek.
“Did we win? Did we really defeat the Demon King? My goodness, that hulking figure! I can’t believe it!”
Ambrosia jumped up and down excitedly. Then she realized her role and rushed over to tend to Lishe.
Lishe should be fine; I turned my gaze back to Acella.
“Your Majesty, I…”
Just then, messages began appearing on the Status Window in a flurry.
―――――――――――
· Healed a masterful wizard. Earned a large amount of experience.
· [Medicine B] has ranked up to [Medicine A].
· Great Achievement!
· Obtained the achievement [Perfect Victory]. You defeated the Demon King who broke through his limits.
· Obtained the achievement [Hope of the Alliance]. All of the continent will remember your deed.
· Obtained the achievement [Hard Worker]. Your effort in honing a talent shines.
―――――――――――
I pushed the Status Window aside. Right now, I could care less about messages like this.
“Is there something urgent?”
“It’s fine. More than that, I want to be with you, Your Majesty.”
“Looks like we’re on the same wavelength.”
Acella took my hand.
It was pleasantly cold, just like it always was.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but we don’t have much time left.”
At that moment, Tanya spoke to us.
“It seems to be the aftermath of slaying the Demon King. The Demon King Castle is becoming unstable.”
As she said, a huge tremor ran through the entire building. It’s a cliché that the castle collapses after defeating the Demon King.
“Shall we run?”
“Yeah.”
I took Acella’s hand and we started to run.