Demon King Ashta"s Plan
The frontlines were in chaos.
The kobolds were shouting, and the wraiths cooley snuffed them out.
And then the lion-headed warrior sent the wraiths extravagantly back to their graves.
For a moment, there was an odd sort of balance to it, but this could not be sustained for long.
The kobolds had limited numbers, and there were even fewer wraiths.
The line would crumble soon.
And then it happened. Just as the last wraith was exterminated by Sabnac, the kobolds turned to attack me. But they became victims of my magic.
Well, martial arts.
My body was enhanced with magic, allowing me to dodge their attacks and retaliate with a fist full of power.
The kobolds went flying into the air with a single hit. The lion warrior saw this.
"Ho ho."
He snarled.
"I thought there would only be a green infant here. But, you surprise me… So, you are Ashtaroth."
"It"s an honor to finally make your acquaintance?"
I say lightheartedly, but Sabnac does not smile.
"I"ve heard the reports. The slender, magician-like man is the new Demon King. You match the description."
"I think they forgot handsome?"
"I don"t have time for your jokes."
"No, you don"t."
"You smeared mud on my face. You used me to attack the humans so you could steal from my storage houses. I don"t know if I"ve ever heard of such cowardice before."
"I did ask for your protection, but I don"t remember signing any official doc.u.ments."
"So anything goes without a promise written on paper?"
"I suppose. …Well, that makes me quite the villain, doesn"t it?"
I laugh self-deprecatingly and pick up a fallen short sword.
It had been used by a kobold not long ago.
And I did not need to ask for permission.
"In this case, we must let our weapons do the talking."
"I see. So you are fully prepared to have your head removed."
"Oh, I don"t know about that. It might be you whose head separates from his body."
"You are below a novice with the sword. I see no reason that I would lose."
"Yes, but my magic is quite different."
"So this will be swords against magic then? Amusing."
Sabnac spat, and raised his greatsword into the air.
It was a slow move, but I didn"t feel like pressing in for an attack yet. I would probably be split right down the middle if I did.
And that"s what happened.
A second later, Sabnac"s greatsword swung down and severed me in two.
It was a clean cut that went from head to groin, but I could still speak.
Because he had cut through an illusion.
Sabnac knew it immediately by the lack of resistance.
"Tsk!"
He snarled.
"You think you"re clever!"
"Maybe a little."
I attack from the shadows.
I was not within his range of vision and was able to slide my short sword into his side.
–Or not, he moved out of the way with an inhumanely quick reflex.
"You"re quick. Like a cat."
"I am a lion! The lion king!"
Unamused at being called a cat, the lion king swung his sword with all of the force he could manage.
The power was overwhelming, the blade barely slid past me and slammed into the ground. The impact was not too different from "meteor."