Chapter 227: Demon King Diabolos Descends!
"So you've finally shown yourselves—Shadow Garden."
Mordred swept his sharp gaze across the surroundings. Unnoticed by anyone, the VIP room had become completely surrounded by dark-clad maidens lurking in the shadows. At least several dozen additional figures had appeared in an instant!
"....!!!"
Perv had only heard of Shadow Garden's notorious reputation—that they were an assassination group. But he had never witnessed their agile figures wielding daggers in the darkness! Let alone such a formation; the sudden appearance of so many people simply paralyzed Perv with fear.
"This should be our first meeting, Ninth Seat of the Knights of Rounds, the Transcendent Spellsword Mordred."
Alpha stepped forward, moving past Beatrix who stood in front of her. Her golden hair shimmered under the moonlight streaming into the room. Beneath her mask, her azure eyes slowly scanned the greatsword in Mordred's hand and the ancient inscriptions carved upon it. The corners of her lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.
"I never imagined the truth behind the so-called 'Transcendent Spellsword' was actually relying on a legendary demonic blade to release invisible slashes. Though I'm curious why you possess the lost ancient artifact of the elven race, 'Demonic Sword Vanisher,' there's no need to confirm that with you now."
Alpha detected the scent of elves from that sword. While mourning her destroyed homeland, she let out a soft sigh for the blacksmith who had forged it by burning their own life force. That which should have been preserved in the elven capital now appeared in the Cult's hands—the implication was already clear.
"Ha, save your bluster, you small fry."
Mordred sneered, then snapped his fingers. Immediately, a group of uniformed figures resembling military soldiers flooded into the room. Without exception, they were all first-class Children of Diabolos, with numerous Cult executives among them. These were all subordinates from Mordred's faction. Their gleaming blades were pointed at Shadow Garden's numbered members.
But Alpha merely lowered her eyelids slightly and said, "Is that so? Whether this is bluster or not, you'll soon find out—All members, draw swords!"
"We are Shadow Garden, lurking in the shadows, delivering divine punishment!"
At Alpha's command, all members of Shadow Garden immediately clashed with the subordinates Mordred had summoned. Splattering blood, scattered limbs—in mere moments the entire VIP room became a bloody hellscape. The thick scent of blood permeated the air.
The nobles tried to flee, but were mercilessly cut down by the Children of Diabolos. Yet from beginning to end, neither Mordred nor Alpha moved an inch, maintaining their silent standoff across the room. King against king, general against general.
"You... what are you doing in my territory?!!!"
At this moment, Princess Iris finally snapped back to reality. Witnessing the nobles of Midgar's royal capital and foreign guests being brutally slaughtered, seeing the knight order she had personally built becoming casualties in this conflict—Princess Iris could no longer contain her rage and let out an furious roar.
But just as she was about to intervene in the battle between the two sides, Rose grabbed her firmly.
"Princess Iris, I understand how you feel, but you must not act impulsively now!"
This was not a fight that could be intervened with using only surface-world strength.
Even Rose herself, if she rushed in recklessly, would likely end up as cannon fodder.
"Let go of me!"
Iris glared fiercely at Rose with a vicious expression.
She also understood that with her own strength alone, she was not qualified to step into a battle of this level.
But that was no reason for her to sit back and do nothing, merely watching as a bystander!
"I cannot tolerate you turning the 'Bushin Festival' into a complete mess, even more so I cannot tolerate my own people being slaughtered, and I have no way of letting you perpetrators roam free!"
"!!!"
In her rage, Princess Iris broke free from Rose's grasp.
"Wait, Princess Iris!"
"Even if I die, I will stop your atrocities!!!"
Rose wanted to stop her but it was already too late. She could only watch helplessly as Princess Iris drew her sword and charged toward Mordred on the other side.
As for Alpha, she made no move to stop her at all, merely lowering her eyelids slightly and murmuring:
"What a fool..."
Swish—
The moment she stepped into the range of the demon sword's attack, an invisible slash instantly struck.
There was no sign of Mordred moving at all; he hadn't even budged.
Immediately after, her fiery red hair was severed at the waist, scattering and drifting away in the wind.
Princess Iris only felt her vision spin wildly.
In her daze, she seemed to see her own body.
But for some reason, the body had no head.
Belatedly, she realized... she had been decapitated...
Creak—
At the same time, the door to the VIP room was pushed open.
Alexia, with her long silver hair, burst in.
She had wanted to have a good talk with her sister Iris and make preparations in advance, but the moment she opened the door, the overwhelming smell of blood that assaulted her completely stunned her.
What in the world happened here?
She saw two groups fighting each other, countless dismembered limbs scattered everywhere, so bloody it was like a slaughterhouse!
Most crucially, she saw a head roll right to her feet.
The face was all too familiar to her...
"Sister..."
"Sister Iris!!!"
She never imagined that just being slightly delayed would lead to her witnessing Princess Iris being killed!
Who was it?!
With tears in her eyes and blurred vision, Alexia looked toward the two opposing sides. She recognized one of them—it was Alpha, who had no reason to kill her sister...
Then it must be you!!!"
For a moment, rage and grief nearly overwhelmed all her reason.
She immediately drew her sword and charged toward Mordred.
Meanwhile, Mordred widened his eyes slightly, his voice tinged with astonishment: "What is that?"
He certainly wasn't shocked by Alexia.
To him, it was no different from a child throwing a tantrum. What astonished him was the scene outside the window.
Under the starry night shrouded in endless darkness, a figure leaped into the air, hanging upside down as if dancing in the sky.
If that were all, Mordred wouldn't have been so astonished. What truly stunned him was the immense magical power emanating from outside.
And the light gathering in that person's hand.
The terrifying pressure generated by ultimate magical power seemed to solidify the very air itself!
Convergence-type magic "Meteor Stream" was the truth behind this starry night.
At this moment, Mahiro, suspended upside down in the air, raised his palm beneath the full moon, lightly forming a hollow grip as a strand of light gathered in his palm, as if holding a beam of moonlight.
That was the radiance of convergence-type magic creating artificial starlight.
Yet its terrifying nature far surpassed genuine starlight and moonlight!
He twisted mid-air, then swung down violently!
Ephemeral blossoms bloom and fade, the Milky Way pours forth dreams.
Moon Violates the Heavenly Pass!!!
Whoosh
A sword wave as pure and white as moonlight swept downward.
Like a massive brushstroke across the sky, it tore through the endless starry night, carving a ferocious scar across the firmament.
The dissipating night rolled back and fled to both sides, the gathered dark clouds instantly scattered, and the revealed twilight was torn into sparks by the sword's momentum.
The sword wave touched the earth, silently sinking in.
No thunderous roar, no tremors.
It merely soundlessly sliced through the ground and the distant VIP lounge atop the high platform, leaving behind a terrifying sword scar.
Then.
A sliver of heavenly light emerged from the depths of the fissure, instantly splitting the entire arena in two!
"What a fearsome sword technique..."
Everyone present swallowed hard in astonishment.
However, calling this a sword technique might be inappropriate, even insulting.
That power to alter heaven and earth, followed by that terrifying sword strike.
Such means could already be called divine miracle!
And what of John Smith, who received this strike?
He had vanished without a trace.
Just as everyone thought this, suddenly a deep, arrogant laughter, as if emerging from the abyss, echoed from the heavens above.
"Heh heh ah ha ha ha, as expected of you, my fated rival! You always bring me such wonderful surprises!"
His black coat seemed intent on blotting out the sky.
Shadow, now clad in black attire, reappeared and swiftly descended from the sky, his slime sword instantly slashing toward Mahiro.
"Come, let us begin the second round!!"
"Est."
[Yes, Mahiro.]
A stream of light manifested in Mahiro's hand, transforming into the Demon King Killing Sacred Sword, casually blocking Shadow's strike.
The violent collision between weapons sent scattered sword energy tearing through the entire arena floor, even spreading to the spectator stands.
Everyone in the seats fled in panic.
This was no longer a competition for the Bushin Festival championship throne, but purely a test of skills, a contest, a life-and-death struggle.
And Mahiro had long anticipated that Cid would be this troublesome.
But he never expected him to be troublesome to this extent.
Shadow's level far surpassed Level 5 Zodiac from the Black Bullet world, and greatly exceeded even the legendary Danger Beasts and cloud-dragons from the Akame ga Kill world!
One could say he might be the strongest opponent Mahiro had ever encountered.
Yet the next moment, another anomaly occurred.
An overwhelmingly immense magical power suddenly descended from the sky above.
Before anyone realized, the sky that had been cleared by a single sword strike had once again become overcast with dark clouds.
Massive clouds converged and churned like millstones across the heavens, gradually coalescing into a single entity.
Flashes of lightning illuminated the form of the gathering clouds.
It resembled nothing less than a "Black Rose."
And within that rose, terrifying ultimate magical power was gathering, overflowing with such intensity that it crackled forth like black lightning.
Subsequently, a thick arm the size of a giant's emerged from the gloomy clouds.
"Haha... Hahaha, it worked! He has arrived... the great ruler of the First Demon Realm—the Demon King Diablos!!!"
Mordred lay on the ground, gazing through the magic-crushed dome at the pitch-black sky, unable to stop his maniacal laughter.
Even though only half of his body remained, even as blood continuously spilled from his mouth, he couldn't suppress his laughter.
But then, his consciousness plunged completely into darkness.
Alpha crushed Mordred's head beneath her foot.
A frenzied storm of magical energy whipped through her flowing golden hair as Alpha looked up at the monstrous form gradually revealing itself in the sky, murmuring:
"Did we ultimately fail to make it in time?"
Beside her, the old king of Oriana was held in Rose's arms, weeping bitterly. On his finger was the ancient relic—the "Ring of Succession"—and as the ring continuously drained his magical energy, the king was clearly on the brink of death.
Nearby, Perv lay scattered in pieces across the ground.
Perv had died under Mahiro's earth-shattering sword strike.
But Alpha never expected that Mordred would take advantage of the chaos to directly place the "Ring of Succession" on the old king, opening the passage of the "Black Rose"!
This world was not limited to just this land or this single space.
Beyond it existed countless different worlds—realms existing in completely separate dimensions.
These worlds were what the Order referred to as the Demon Realms.
The so-called Demon King was the strongest being ruling over those worlds. Even magical energy itself was something brought to this world from those other realms.
And the passage connecting these worlds was the "Black Rose"!
This was also the truth behind the "Ring of Succession" guarded by Freya, one of the Three Heroes!
Opening the passage and summoning the Demon King—that was its purpose.
And now, the Demon King had appeared.
An ominous, colossal black arm reached out from within, tearing at the passage as if to rip it open, continuously expanding the entrance.
As more of the arm entered, countless demonic soldiers gushed forth from the opening, nearly filling the entire sky!
The legendary true form of the Demon King Diablos gradually revealed itself.
His massive black body was hard as steel, with thick, fierce arms ending in sharp claws.
He stood towering over the heavens like a giant, and with each beat of his enormous wings, catastrophic storms were unleashed. Just two flaps were almost enough to lift the arena below into the sky!
"What... what is this feeling? It's terrifying!"
Beta and Epsilon, who were guarding Claire in the hospital room, had no idea what was happening outside. They only felt a chilling magical energy coursing through their bodies.
The only thing they knew for certain was that this was the most terrifying magical fluctuation they had ever experienced in their lives!
Even the magic within them had become significantly unstable!
But they had no time to dwell on this, for a man in knight's attire had appeared before them.
"You must be from the Midgar Royal Capital Knights, right?"
Beta recognized him at a glance, having seen him by chance during a book signing event held in the royal capital.
"My, my, as expected of Natsume-sensei. Your memory is truly impressive."
The man smiled and bowed toward the two.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Viscount Jean, captain of the fourth squad of the Third Knight Order. However, as you can see, this is merely a superficial identity. My true identity is that of a Named Child—"
"'Wicked Smile' Jean."
"What terrible naming sense."
Beta bluntly criticized.
Her words instantly stiffened Jean's expression.
He had always been quite fond of this name—it was a mark of honor to him.
Epsilon, on the other hand, was even more direct.
"Is that so? Well then, pleased to meet you, Viscount Jean."
She responded with a smile of her own.
"And—goodbye."
The moment her words fell, a dark object sliced through the body of 'Wicked Smile' Jean.
In the next instant, Jean was cut into several pieces, scattering across the floor.
Looking down at the chunks of flesh on the ground, Epsilon crossed her arms and sneered disdainfully:
"Just a mere Named Child, what gives you the right to act so arrogantly? Trash should know its place!"
"Alright, Epsilon, let's go take a look as well."
Beta gazed out the window at the gloomy sky, feeling inexplicably uneasy for some reason.
"Going is fine, but what about the task Alpha-sama assigned us?"
Epsilon also wore a troubled expression.
Like Beta, ever since that terrifying magical energy appeared, she had grown restless.
So much so that she had even refrained from her usual bickering with Beta—a rare occurrence.
"Ara, it seems you two are in need of me right now~"
"Who's there?!"
"Who are you?!"
Beta and Epsilon instinctively turned toward the source of the voice, only to see a woman in a dark gothic dress sitting by Claire's bedside.
"You are... Aurora?"
"Mhm, that's right. Long time no see~ you two from Shadow Garden."
Aurora greeted them naturally.
They had no idea where Aurora had gone after the Sanctuary's destruction, nor did they know that Aurora had attached herself to Claire's body.
But compared to such trivial matters, they were more curious about—
"What did you mean by what you just said?"
"It's simple. You two should hurry and assist Mahiro. I'll take care of protecting this Miss Claire."
"Can you really do that?"
Aurora was currently in a spiritual state—the two were well aware of this.
How could a mere ghost protect a living person?
"Don't worry. When necessary, I can temporarily control this Miss Claire's body, so there's no need to fret."
Aurora waved her hand and stood up, speaking as she walked to the window. Gazing at the scenery outside, her violet eyes gradually took on a solemn expression.
"And Mahiro-san likely needs your help right now. The path of the 'Black Rose' has been opened—the true Diablos has descended."
"What did you say?!"
"I said the true Demon King, the ruler of the First Demon Realm, Diablos, has descended."
Aurora repeated softly.
The atmosphere in the hospital room gradually grew tense.