Sharltar"s End
The morale of the troops seemed to rise once I stepped onto the battlefield in place of Tos.h.i.+zou.
At the same time, the enemy seemed to stir.
The human and demon commanders were pointing towards me.
"It"s the Demon King with the price on his head!"
"The castle will go to the man who kills him!"
And so their attacks would concentrate on me. However, there was nothing to worry about.
Jeanne and Tos.h.i.+zou might win on a one on one fight, but I was good against mobs.
And so I unleashed battle magic one after another and destroyed the enemy.
The terrain ensured that the enemy were only ever in front of me, and it felt good not having to worry about hitting your own men.
Pillars of fire.
Lightning bolts.
Storms of ice.
Wind blades.
All manner of magic tore through the air and cleaned the field of undead. The attacks were so strong that it was as if the swarm was melting. However there always seemed to be another undead to take the place of the ones that fell.
It was as if the enemy had an endless supply of soldiers.
I was starting to get anxious about how long this could continue, but then things got even worse.
Sharltar had seen that his subordinates were struggling and decided to come out to the frontlines.
The dangerous man"s eyes burned with a l.u.s.t for vengeance.
"So you are the imp who buried me in the dwarf lands!"
"I"m a bit tall for an imp, but otherwise, yes."
"Not only did you anger King Eligos, but I had to sleep underground for months."
"I would have preferred eternity."
"That will not happen. I intend to live for a very long time."
"Well, survive a one-on-one battle against me, and you may get your wish."
"Oh? So you wish to fight me alone, imp? I, the Necromancer. Sharltar."
"Unless you lack the courage."
"…FOOL!"
Sharltar was sitting astride his horse as he began to chant angrily.
Then he unleashed his magic.
A death reaper came at me with it"s skull face.
I would die if it touched me.
It was instant-death magic, but not too hard to avoid.
I cast levitation magic on myself and shot up into the air.
"You think that will help you?"
Sharltar waved his hand and changed the course of his spell.
It had a homing ability, it seemed.
It was clever, proving that Sharltar was quite advanced as a sorcerer.
"You are not too bad, Sharltar."
"I am Demon Lord Eligos"s most trusted man."
"In that case, your death will affect this army greatly, I suppose?"
"That will not happen. And regardless, you would have to kill both I and the Demon King in order to stop this army of undead."
"That is quite a relief. In other words, Eligos will likely stay holed up in his castle."
"Wrong again. King Eligos is coming here at this very moment. To kill the arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d that you are."
"Huh…"
I could not help but smirk at this.
"Why do you laugh?"
Sharltar asked.
"Well, it just struck me that it is rather cowardly for both of you to come at me at once."
"Silence! It is strategy, not cowardice!"
"True. Well, I suppose I will have to kill you before he arrives then."
"That is not possible!!"
Sharltar shouted. At the same time, two warriors appeared to his side.
It was Tos.h.i.+zou who appeared to his right and Jeanne who appeared to his left. And they cut at him at the same time.
Sharltar immediately shot up into the air above them.
"Dd.a.m.n you! You coward! You challenged me to a dual!"
"I have to be realistic. The situation has changed, so I will have to go back on my word."
"Cowardly sc.u.m!"
"As someone who murdered those dwarves and humans while raising an army of undead, you have no right to protest."
"Humans are nothing but resources!"
"And to me, you are nothing but trash. You have no use. If there is a next life waiting for you, I hope you will act better."
I said. Then I began to chant.
"On the dying soul, dark words are carved!
Flames of the beginning,
Ultimate flames,
Burn all evil!"
I said. And with that, my body began to burn bright red as magical energy exploded.
It then concentrated into my right hand. What then shot out was as hot as the fires of a dragon.
This spell was called "Flare" and it raised the temperature in the area at a rapid pace. The undead began to burn.
And Sharltar did not escape that light.
"No-no! F-flare? A novice sorcerer should not…"
"A novice perhaps, but no ordinary one. I would not lose to the likes of you."
"…You! Ashtaroth. My flesh may perish here, but my soul will not. I promise to haunt you. You will be cursed and die."
"Feel free to do so. But it may be quite a task to claw your way out of h.e.l.l."
"…King Eligos remains. He is a Warrior from h.e.l.l. You will never beat him."
"Perhaps. But I am counting on beating him through wisdom, and not strength."
"What a laugh. I look forward to seeing it. I will see you in h.e.l.l then."
"Aye, and even in h.e.l.l, you will not be able to beat me."
And with that said, Sharltar was swallowed by the Flare and disappeared.
Only dust remained.
Not one speck of his body would be found.
It was a fitting death for such a villain, but the battle was not over yet.
"Demon King, how wonderful! You have killed Sharltar."
Jeanne said reverently, but there was no time to return the favor.
"The undead are still here. Demon King Eligos now controls them."
"So we must defeat Eligos?"
"Yes."
"…And so the battle continues."
"Yes. However, Eligos should arrive here soon. Then the rest of my plan can be put into action."
"Indeed!"
Jeanne smiled. She did not know the details, but she had faith in me. And this gave her courage.
There was always a bit of exaggeration in how she felt, but at least it raised the morale of the soldiers.
And so Jeanne and I held off the attacks of the undead.
We had to fight for an entire day after that before Demon King Eligos"s arrival.
He came on a black horse, as if he were some dark prince from h.e.l.l.
Translator: Thanks for reading. I"m quite tight financially this month, so any small contribution would really help.