Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou Vol 9 Chapter 1

Akuto took a defensive stance, but Zero’s jump took him away from Akuto. He stopped in midair a good distance away and ripped away the artificial skin on his arms to expose the internal machinery. Akuto watched on in confusion as countless L’Isle-Adams floated up from below and gathered around Zero. They gathered around his body by attaching to his exposed arms.

As if setting up building blocks, Zero created a giant body for himself.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

Akuto grimaced.

What finally stood before him was a 15 meter giant with exposed machinery.

“What a pain. Do I really have to have a fistfight with this thing?” he complained.

“That combination into a giant form isn’t meaningless. At first glance, it does look like the product of some silly belief that a steel giant is a symbol of power, though.”

That comment came from Kita Yos.h.i.+e. She had a habit of getting overly excited and she currently had her goggles lowered as she a.n.a.lyzed Zero’s new form that had appeared in the palace yard.

“You mean there is a meaning to that?” asked Hattori Junko.

They had been flying above the crowd in a floating boat, but they had arrived at one of the palace’s terraces after making their way over the wall.

“Even with the demon king or Zero, it all comes down to a struggle over the resource known as mana. And that struggle isn’t fought in the real world. It’s like running a program; their processing power decides who wins.”

Yos.h.i.+e turned back on the terrace as she explained.

“Does combining increase his processing power?”

“Yes. It lets him use parallel processing. Normally, Zero would be worse off because the demon king can use all of the resources, but this form might give him more processing power.”

“Then, how does the demon king… How does Akuto get processing power?”

“He isn’t a machine, so he uses his human brain. However, our magic system is created to react to human imagination and human emotions. Even if he’s losing in the struggle over power, he should win when it comes to using magic. His pa.s.sion will win in the end. Fwoh! This is so exciting!”

Junko glanced over at Yos.h.i.+e, leaned out over the terrace, and looked down.

“The onlookers have run away.”

Zero’s transformation and the hint of an upcoming battle had caused the crowd near the palace to leave, so the only ones on the palace grounds were Junko, Yos.h.i.+e, Keisu, and those inside the palace.

“What? You don’t find this exciting? I guess I can see why. We came all this way, but the situation has changed and Keisu can’t remember anything. It does feel like we’ve accomplished nothing.”

Yos.h.i.+e looked over at Keisu whose shoulders were drawn back.

Keisu was a short samurai-style girl with a ponytail. She was the only L’Isle-Adam not under Zero’s control and she held the secret to sealing Zero, but she had done nothing but travel alongside them so far.

“I am truly ashamed that I cannot remember anything,” apologized Keisu.

“No, it’s fine. Just try to remember if it comes down to it.”

Yos.h.i.+e rubbed Keisu’s head.

Keisu seemed to find it ticklish and she looked up at Yos.h.i.+e.

“You sure are kind, boss.”

“Boss?”

“I ask that you let me call you that. I offer you my life.”

Yos.h.i.+e gave a broad smile.

“Fine. As long as you feel this helps you in some way.”

“It looks like we might have to protect Keisu first,” said Junko nervously.

Yos.h.i.+e turned toward the inside of the palace and her expression stiffened when she saw who was there.

Kazuko had appeared inside a palace corridor.

“That is Keisu, isn’t it?”

Kazuko spoke kindly and walked elegantly toward them, but she was stained with blood.

“Your Majesty… That is… human blood…”

Junko had fought on a battlefield before, so she could distinguish between demonic beast blood and human blood by the smell. However, Kazuko showed no concern.

“Ho ho ho,” she laughed quietly. “I was merely handling a bit of a complex domestic issue. I am embarra.s.sed you had to see the evidence of the fight.”

“…!”

Junko let out a wordless gasp. She felt instinctual fear toward Kazuko.

“Oh, my. Do not look at me like I am insane. At the very least, I am more confident than anyone else that I am sane.”

As Kazuko spoke, an abnormal aura rose from her body. It was different from a flash of mana. It was a collection of emotion similar to killer intent and it seemed to freeze Yos.h.i.+e and Junko in place.

“She is…”

“Dangerous…”

The two girls began to sweat and they could not move properly.

In an instant, a voice seemed to wake them up.

“Let Keisu escape!”

The voice came from behind Kazuko and Junko recognized it.

“Keena?” she muttered.

That distraction allowed her to move once more.

And then a mana sphere shot toward them. When Junko blocked it with her sword, the mana sphere rotated around the sword as if stuck to it, but the instant it touched the blade, it split in two like a jelly confectionery.

“What?”

Junko was surprised to feel a bizarre sensation not present in normal mana spheres.

Kazuko had fired the mana sphere and it had flown directly toward Keisu.

Kazuko opened her eyes in interest.

“You cut the Yasakani no Magatama!? That sword was given to you by the G.o.ds, wasn’t it?”

“It was…but what happened?”

Junko was confused. Some technique she was not aware of had been used.

That confusion made Kazuko grin.

“My attack could not have been destroyed otherwise, so I was just making sure.”

She raised her hand to fire another mana sphere.

“Not good!”

Junko quickly turned toward Yos.h.i.+e and Yos.h.i.+e took action before Junko could warn her.

“Run, Keisu!”

Yos.h.i.+e activated her chainsaw and climbed up onto the edge of the terrace.

“But I dislike fleeing,” grumbled Keisu.

Yos.h.i.+e decided to change her wording.

“I’m going to jump down, so protect me.”

Yos.h.i.+e then toppled off of the terrace and disappeared over the edge.

“Boss!”

Keisu leaned over the terrace.

She could see Yos.h.i.+e falling.

“I am on my way!”

Keisu jumped down after her.

After seeing that, Junko held up her sword and prepared for Kazuko’s mana sphere.

But the attack never came.

“You still have not given up?”

Kazuko had stopped moving and she was looking down. Someone’s hand was wrapped around her leg. It was not simply grabbing the ankle. An entire forearm was stretched out like rubber and wrapped around the entire leg.

“As long as I don’t think I’ve lost, I won’t lose even if I die.”

It was Lily s.h.i.+rais.h.i.+. Her body was lying on the ground a few meters from Kazuko. She had clearly been struck many times because her clothes were torn to pieces. Her boyish face was horribly swollen, so she had obviously been punched quite fiercely. Even so, she stretched her arm out toward Kazuko.

“Yasakani no Magatama.”

Without even turning around, Kazuko held her hand back and fired a mana sphere toward Lily.

“Tch!”

Lily returned her arm to normal and slowly stood up.

But it did not appear she could move faster than the mana sphere.

“Watch out!”

Junko ran past Kazuko and stood in front of Lily. She used her momentum to swing the sword and instantly cut down the mana sphere.

“President! What is going on?”

Junko had reacted as she saw fit, but she did not have a proper grasp on the situation.

“Well, you could sum it up by saying the empress was the mastermind,” answered Lily with a sarcastic smile. “She took out 2V and is now trying to eliminate those of us who know the truth.”

She said it so simply and Junko did not think she was lying.

Junko’s expression stiffened and she turned toward Kazuko.

The empress laughed.

“Ho ho. You make me sound like a horrible person. Then again, you were telling the truth, so I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Junko frowned.

“I despise you, Your Majesty.”

Kazuko laughed that off as well.

“Some thrones cannot be won without becoming despised. We cannot have peace otherwise.”

“Are you saying the people want someone to sit on the throne?” asked Junko without thinking.

Kazuko nodded.

“Didn’t you hear them cheering?”

“Kh.”

Junko was unsure what to say.

“Give it up,” cut in Lily as she stood up on unsteady feet. “She isn’t going to listen. More importantly, what are you going to do if those that escaped tell the truth?”

Other than those present, Etou Fujiko and Soga Keena had both witnessed Kazuko killing 2V and they were nowhere to be seen.

“That’s right. Where are Etou and Keena?” asked Junko.

Lily grinned.

“Keena quickly stripped off her clothes and Etou-kun ran off at the first opening while I fought.”

“I see. So that’s it.”

Keena was able to turn invisible. She became undetectable even by those who could sense mana. However, she could not turn her clothes invisible as well, so she had to strip naked. That must have been why Junko had heard Keena’s voice earlier.

Kazuko narrowed her eyes in suspicion while listening to the comment about Keena, but then she shook her head as if to clear those thoughts.

“Whatever they have done, I can find and silence those who have fled.”

Kazuko held up a hand.

With the sound of mana, a sword of light appeared.

“Ame-no-Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.”

That was the name Kazuko gave to the two meter sword of light that appeared in midair.

It glowed as if a portion of the sun had fallen to the earth. Even at a distance, Junko could feel the heat radiating from it.

“Watch out. That’s really powerful,” warned Lily who had seen 2V pierced by one of those swords.

“Okay. I have the perfect defense.”

Junko held her sword in front of her eyes and twisted it slightly to the left. This defensive stance let her immediately cut in any direction.

“That isn’t what I meant! Its power is-…” cried Lily.

“It is too late.” Kazuko narrowed her eyes. “I will pierce both of you at once.”

Kazuko swung her hand and the sword of light flew toward Junko.

“Ee!”

The power of the sword could be heard in the roaring of the sliced air and the tremendous rumbling of mana. It was created from mana, so it should have had an upper limit to its power. However, the heat and waves emanating from the sword were much more intense than anything Junko had seen before.

“I can’t stop this!”

Junko was unable to move her sword. If she had tried to block it, the sword’s blade would likely have been cut in two. It would have then stabbed through Junko and Lily behind her.

But with a roar, Ame-no-Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi pa.s.sed by Junko to the left.

The sword stabbed through the palace wall behind them and the heat melted the area around the hole. Most frightening of all, it had produced almost no noise even as it had stabbed into the wall. That meant it had melted the wall with almost no resistance.

“She missed…”

Junko took a breath.

Junko knew better than anyone that she had not evaded the attack. The path of the sword had been off from the beginning.

This was due to Kazuko’s stance having crumbled. In the instant she fired the sword, something must have struck her because she was down on her right knee.

Junko spotted a s.h.i.+ning hair decoration floating behind Kazuko.

“Thanks,” said Junko quietly.

That hair decoration belonged to Keena. The girl must have tackled Kazuko just before she fired the sword.

Lily also breathed a sigh of relief, but she shook her head because she could not let her guard down.

“She missed, but it won’t happen again. She seems to like tormenting others, but she started using that sword once you showed you could cut her mana spheres.”

Kazuko stood back up and shook her head. It seemed she had realized what Keena’s power was.

“So one of you can turn invisible. But that is only a small problem as long as you have no real means of attack. I will not miss this time.”

Kazuko swept her hands around her to make sure Keena was not nearby.

“What was that sword or those spheres?” asked Junko as she turned toward Lily.

“Techniques only those of the imperial bloodline can use. With 2V’s ability to control L’Isle-Adams, there seem to be three in all.”

“Only those of the imperial bloodline?”

“Using them is the proof that you are part of the bloodline. Their use is a symbol of authority.”

“So that is why those attacks are so powerful.”

Junko understood Lily’s explanation, but that meant the next attack would finish them off.

“You run away. I’ll hold her here as long as I can,” said Lily.

Her expression did not look remotely tragic. It was as if this were only natural.

Junko shook her head.

“I cannot run off after you say that. And I have made up my mind as well. I left his side based on my own feelings once. As long as he is risking his own life here, I cannot leave. I do not want to regret my actions like that again.”

Junko’s expression did not waver. Now that she understood what was happening, she knew exactly what Akuto was trying to do. He was literally betting his very existence on defeating Kazuko and Zero.

It seemed Junko’s expression was enough to tell Lily who “he” was. Lily grinned and lowered the brim of her battered hat to look away from Junko.

“How old-fas.h.i.+oned. Well, I won’t say anything tasteless, but it’s meaningless if you don’t win. I hope you’re ready to be known as the killer of your empress,” said Lily.

Junko nodded firmly.

Kazuko laughed as she listened in.

“The killer of your empress? I have a hard time knowing how to respond to something as ridiculous as that,” she said calmly.

She raised a hand, compressed some mana, and produced another sword of light.

Junko’s legs froze in place when faced with that overwhelming presence, but she had to think up a way to fight now that she had made up her mind.

“I’ll disturb her with movement!”

Still holding her sword up, Junko seemed to slide forward and then she leaped to the side.

Kazuko moved her head. From her point of view, Junko had to have simply vanished.

She finally caught sight of Junko, but Junko leaped in the opposite direction.

But even though she could be seen jumping to the side, she was also still standing in that spot. Two Junkos now existed. This was the duplication technique she excelled at. She created other one of herself out of mana and this duplicate really was physically there.

“Iga Ninja Art – Scattered Moonlight!”

In the end, there were five versions of Junko and they all leaped around Kazuko as if trying to confuse her.

Kazuko was unable to focus on any one point.

The five Junkos used that as their opportunity to attack.

“Yaaaaah!”

All of the duplicates had physical forms thanks to the mana, so they were not simply illusions. That meant they could all attack. The five of them attacked with slightly s.h.i.+fted timing to prevent Kazuko from evading.

But…

“You created duplicates from mana? That method is useless against someone with precise control over mana,” said Kazuko calmly.

She lightly waved a hand.

“Wha-…!?”

The Junkos were dumbfounded.

The Junko in front of Kazuko’s hand had vanished. She moved her hand further and more and more of the Junkos disappeared.

“Tch!”

But Junko did not let up. Once the four duplicates were gone, the real Junko swept her sword horizontally and tried to cut at Kazuko’s side.

“Ohhhhhh!” she cried out.

But her shout was cut short. She suddenly stopped the swinging of her sword.

Kazuko was directly facing Junko and the tip of the glowing sword in her hand was pressed up against Junko’s throat.

“This is how you fight with magic.”

“What? Impossible…”

“No, this is was inevitable. At least be glad you were killed by someone greater than the G.o.ds,” said Kazuko with a grin.

Kazuko suddenly lurched to the side. It seemed Keena had tackled her again while invisible. But that was all that happened. Kazuko had been wary of Keena and Keena was not all that powerful. With a look of annoyance, Kazuko swung a hand through empty s.p.a.ce. Junko heard an impact and a scream.

All the while, the tip of Kazuko’s sword of light did not move from Junko’s throat.

“There is nothing left to interfere.”

“Ee…”

Junko’s eyes opened wide in fear.

Kazuko gathered strength in her arm to stab Ame-no-Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.

And…

The entire temple grew dark as if the power had gone out.

Kazuko’s hand stopped. Junko doubted she was the type to lose her cool just because it was a bit dark. Plus, it was still daytime, so the light coming in from outside was enough to see with.

“W-was I saved?” muttered Junko as she leaped backwards.

Kazuko’s sword was losing its physical form.

“The mana in this s.p.a.ce is reducing.”

Kazuko pointed her palm upwards, used magic, and saw that it only caused a slight change.

“Is the mana in the atmosphere being reduced?”

While wiping away her cold sweat, Junko checked her sense of the surrounding mana.

“The energy supply is being reduced at the same time,” added Lily.

Junko was regaining her calm. She realized that, given the situation, it was entirely possible she could successfully fight back against the empress.

“This lowers my physical strength too, but I have a chance if neither of us can use magic!”

Junko charged toward Kazuko again.

Kazuko evaded with a back step.

“Zero is absorbing the mana and energy. No… The demon king can probably do that too.”

Kazuko looked out the window.

“Boss, that was not fair. You could get down on your own.”

“Of course I could. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

Yos.h.i.+e had stabbed her running chainsaw into the wall which had slowed her fall and allowed her to land safely on the ground.

Keisu had jumped after her, pa.s.sed by her midway, and landed first. Yos.h.i.+e had been forced to dig her out where she had sunken halfway into the soft ground.

The two of them were watching Akuto and Zero’s battle while making sure no one had followed them from the palace.

After transforming into a giant humanoid machine, Zero filled half of their vision as they looked up.

Akuto looked like a toy doll compared to Zero.

However, they felt equally powerful to Yos.h.i.+e.

“How strange. Their sizes are so different, but they give off a similar aura,” she commented.

“But the flow of mana is different. Look.”

Keisu pointed toward Zero.

Zero’s long arms spread to the left and right. The sound of his arms slicing through the wind rang out and the compressed atmosphere burst outward, but that was not all.

“Mana? …Oh!”

Yos.h.i.+e lowered her goggles and checked her surroundings. The goggles visualized the flow of mana.

The colored mana spread through the air like clouds. And if those had been real clouds, it would have meant a typhoon had descended low in the sky. Mana was being sucked into a whirlwind around Zero.

“Fwohhh! That’s one h.e.l.l of a cyclone,” muttered Yos.h.i.+e.

The rotating mana produced an air current that blew Yos.h.i.+e and Keisu’s hair about. As the surrounding mana was stolen, a physical storm appeared. Starting at the palace, buildings began to go dark in an expanding circle. All mana-powered devices became unusable and the people could not use magic.

“This looks like a scene from the apocalypse. A dark giant devours all and battles an angel that cast himself out of heaven. A modern day Armageddon is playing out before our eyes. We have to watch this. This could be the beginning of a true h.e.l.l.”

Yos.h.i.+e grinned as the storm raged.

—So he combined to absorb mana.

Akuto grasped Zero’s intention. By breaking down and recombining countless L’Isle-Adams, he had taken in a large amount of mana and gained the processing power needed to control it. However, he could not use complex techniques like a human. He could only use brute force.

And that was what he used. His fist let out a groan as it flew toward Akuto. The fist was wrapped in a storm of mana.

—I can’t do anything if that hits me.

Akuto controlled the flow of mana around him. He could not defeat Zero in the physical struggle between mana or the struggle over gathering an energy supply of mana. That meant he had to fight by minutely controlling the mana and turning aside his enemy’s power.

Kakei. Constant Magic Academy’s headmaster had taught him that fighting style and this would be similar to using it on a larger scale.

The coming attack was like a small cras.h.i.+ng airplane and Akuto evaded it at the last moment. He controlled the turbulent flow of mana and altered the direction of that giant power with the smallest necessary amount of his own power.

Zero’s comment was surprisingly considerate.

asked Akuto.

The empress was definitely trying to kill him, but Zero said he was not.

answered Zero.

realized Akuto.

The two of them held a strange conversation as they fought. But it was the fight that brought them close enough to confirm each other’s goals just between the two of them.

Akuto understood now.

Zero too seemed to have come to an understanding. He swung his giant fist once more.

Akuto moved toward the giant fist that pa.s.sed by his side, placed a hand on one of the giant fingers, and focused mana in his hand.