Three of the five pieces that Diadora Astaroth had sent to rip my head off had already fallen, but there were still two left.
The surviving Rook, a woman with short hair and larger bones, roared with fury at the sight of another companion being defeated. Her axe rose, glowing with a green aura, and then came down on me. The instant the blade sliced through the air, I jumped back and used a simple magic shield to block the explosion of debris.
Even so, the impact of the axe against the ground was strong enough to raise a dust cloud. My eyes narrowed. Bishop was still in the field, and I didn't doubt that she had something planned while I was dealing with the Tower.
'Then I need to finish this quickly.'
I twirled my spear in my right hand and watched as the Rook emerged from the smoke and advanced towards me like a raging bull.
Despite her absurd strength, she was slow. The instant she raised her axe for another blow, I darted forward and closed the distance.
My right hand was glowing with crimson energy. Then I punched her in the chest, hitting her like a cannon. The impact threw her backwards, and her body crashed into the metal door with a deafening thud.
Without wasting any time, I turned to Bishop, and her glowing staff illuminated my face. Her eyes were focused on me as she launched the attack.
An intense blue flame stretched out like the maw of a flaming dragon, longing to swallow me up and consume me.
A normal magical barrier wouldn't be enough to stop an attack like this, and it was at that moment that I regretted not paying more attention to my mother's defense lessons.
Luckily, I had other resources.
The stone beneath my feet suddenly changed shape. A pillar rose, launching me into the air at the exact moment the fire hit the base of the pillar—the spot where I was standing.
The wave of heat passed beneath me, burning the air and destroying the pillar, but I had already jumped.
"Water Magic: Mirror!"
Out of nowhere, a spear made purely of crystalline water formed in my left hand. It was an almost identical copy of the spear I had in my right hand, with the only difference being its watery composition.
Bishop's eyes widened in shock as I dodged her attack. She tried to conjure a barrier, but it failed because she had used up too much Magic Power in her overwhelming strike.
The Magic Shield even formed for a moment, but the two spears combined easily pierced it, and the water spear hit her left shoulder.
"ARHHH! Bastard!!!" She let out a scream and fell to her knees.
"Sorry the blow wasn't deadly, but that's part of the game."
This time, the red blast of the [Power of Destruction] erupted freely and consumed the last enemy.
[The entity 'The Firmament Exile' admires your brutal way of fighting.]
[100 credits have been sponsored.]
[The entity 'Hermit of the Golden Moon' supports your judgment.]
[100 credits have been sponsored.]
I took a deep breath after that exhausting battle. I'd like to use my credits to buy a mana potion or something against fatigue, but I wouldn't want to do something like that with hundreds of thousands of devils watching me.
So I raised my head and scanned the scene. My throne room was in a state of complete chaos. Cracks cut through the floor, walls had been destroyed, and debris from the various pillars was scattered everywhere.
"Milicas!"
Asia ran up to me with a worried frown. She stopped right in front of me, and her eyes locked onto the cut on my left shoulder.
"You're hurt!"
I looked at the blood running down my clothes. It wasn't a serious wound, but it was the reason I'd started using the spear in my right hand instead of my left.
Despite this, I didn't enjoy seeing Asia with such a bad expression. So I smiled at her and said:
"It's nothing serious. I will not die from something like this."
"Even so, I need to heal you." She stretched out her hands over my wound. A greenish glow enveloped her palms, and a soothing warmth filled the previously cold area. It felt like a mother's embrace.
In a few seconds, the wound had closed and left not a single scar.
Asia smiled when she saw how well she had done. "How are you feeling, Milicas?"
I flexed my left shoulder, turning it slightly. "It's perfect. Thank you, Asia."
Her eyes sparkled with joy as I touched the top of her head.
"Glad to be of service, Milicas-sama!"
I smiled.
"Now what? What do we do?" she asked, finally looking around.
I looked at the gigantic door ahead. "Now we move on. I've already played my part as a decoy."
Asia blinked. "Bait...? What do you mean?"
"Most of Diadora's strong pieces were lured here because of me. Meanwhile, Makima was clearing the way for us," I said as I started walking towards the exit. "Now, let's use the path she created by making so much noise."
When we walked through the door of the throne room, what we saw left Asia breathless.
The wall that should have been in front of the throne door was destroyed, with a massive hole at its center. The wall beyond that was also obliterated, as was the next one. As we walked along this path, we saw walls destroyed and entire rooms reduced to piles of rubble. It was a path of pure destruction.
"T-that... Was that Makima-sama?" Asia asked, dumbfounded.
"Yes."
If even I was impressed by the damage, it was no surprise that Asia was scared.
Makima wasn't someone who did things by halves. If she made way for me, then nothing would stand in her path.
I touched her shoulder lightly and said, "Come on, Asia. It's time we finished this."
So Asia and I continued along the clear path that Makima had created for us. Unlike just minutes earlier, when the mirrored castles rattled and the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the corridors and rooms, everything was now silent.
By the time we reached the last wall, it had been completely reduced to dust and rubble. For this reason, Asia and I could easily see an immense iron door identical to the one in my throne room. However, for me, the real highlight was not the door but the two people waiting for us next to it.
Makima stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall with a calm expression.
Gasper widened his eyes at the sight of me and ran towards me.
"Milicas!" He practically jumped on me. "Are you all right? I felt your energy fluctuating wildly!"
"Calm down, Gasper." I patted him twice on the head, making him cringe with embarrassment. "I'm fine. Asia took care of it."
The blonde next to me smiled shyly. "I'm happy to help."
Gasper looked relieved and finally took a step back. I then looked at Makima, who remained unfazed.
"Have you finished your part?" I asked.
She simply nodded and smiled, a little smugly. "Yes. And you took longer than I expected."
"Well, the opponent sent five pieces against me. I had to deal with them before moving on."
Asia looked at the enormous iron door and then at me. "So... Does that mean Diadora-san is on the other side?"
"Yes."
Gasper swallowed. "Does that mean the last fight will start now?"
"Exactly."
There was a brief silence.
Then Makima broke the mood by simply stepping forward and raising her hand toward the door.
"Let's get this over with. I'm hungry."
The iron door opened with a thunderous noise, revealing a hall with several pillars that, strangely, held torches with blue flames. This differed from my hall.
In the center of the chamber, at the end of the hall, a black throne adorned with silver was positioned on a raised platform.
And there, sitting with an arrogant smile, was Diadora Astaroth.
"Well, well... I expected you to come this far." Resting his face on one hand, he smiled. "But I confess I expected you to take longer. Makima-san, you've been efficient as always. I think I'm in love."
"Urgh. Just hearing that makes me feel disgusted. How could those women believe it?"
Diadora adjusted his posture on the throne as he laughed. "My love is volatile, and they know it..."
He opened his arms, and from behind his throne came three women. One of them stopped to the left, another to the right, and one descended the small staircase from the throne's elevation.
"Bold smile for someone who has lost almost all your pieces." I crossed my arms. "Or are you going to tell me you've got some tricks up your sleeve?"
Diadora laughed. "Of course."
He snapped his fingers, and the ground shook. The surrounding walls collapsed, revealing huge magic circles hidden under layers of stone.
Makima narrowed her eyes. Gasper took a step back, and Asia instinctively grabbed my sleeve.
"Did you really think I was unprepared?" Diadora slowly rose from his throne. "Throughout this battle, while you were wasting time facing my pieces, I've been preparing this. This is a demonic amplification spell, so all my pieces and I are much stronger than usual. But it's an ironic way to end things, isn't it? Four against four."
*
*
*
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/palmer1998
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
In chapters R-18, there are original and exclusive images for the patreons!
Discord: https://discord.gg/2pn9Twxrng