Sword, Magic and Academic Society-Chapter 309Vol. 1 - - King of Flies - Beelzebubble (3)

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Chapter -

"—O' King of Flies! I knew it! You. You have been flying using wind magic to amplify the dynamic force!"

I dampened the flow of air swirl above King of Flies head via my Wind Magic.

Having lost the support of the dynamic force that made its flying possible, King of Flies lowered down to atop the Tower of Genesis where we were lying in wait.

This was my trick at how I had managed to stand out as invincible against minions earlier inside the tower. I faced them as if they're the Beelzebubble itself, and made them my training partner.

I would manipulate my Wind Magic to reap away the dynamic force of minions just before swinging my sword at them. They'd lost their balance, creating a moment of vulnerability for me to exploit. But—

"Grrrrraaaaa! W-wings! Please target its wings first!"

Groans escaped from my mouth as I urged everyone to hurry. Kiana-san immediately shot an arrow at King's wings.

Beelzebubble was using its mana to override my control over the wind I forcibly seized. I had expected this scenario. I mean, Beelzebub had an obscene level of mana that I was simply incomparable in terms of holding out for long.

I would sometimes increase the intensity of the air vortex, or change air flow to more turbulent, or on another occasion completely isolated the flow of air to hinder it from flying away while Kiana-san supported me by firing a non-stop barrage of arrows at it.

In the constant struggle of our control—which had Beelzebubble sometimes flying high in the air, or below near us—it shot small-size water bullets in our direction.

My Master, the in-charge of defense, faced it and readily dealt with it. And not much after that, the Beelzebubble crashed into the side wall of the tower and fell below.

Without wasting even a second, Dante-san jumped from the roof of the tower, the mana channeling inside him, and drew out his broadsword against the King. He swung it at Beelzebub, but—

The King of Flies had already planted its feet on the ground, fixing its stance, and conjured a water bullet again at an alarming speed before shooting it in the direction of Dante-san.

"Rrrrghhh!!!"

With no room to escape in mid-air, Dante-san held his blade horizontally and used its flat surface as a shield.

"I am borrowing your shoulder, Dante!"

At that very moment, my Master, who was supposed to look after our defense, had already jumped out of the roof, and using Dante-san's shoulder as springboard, he launched his attack at the Beelzebubble's wing.

Albeit, the latter instead pushed out its right hind leg to defend and succeeded in protecting its wing.

"Tch!!"

Having lost the target, Master shifted his attention to the front leg, and chopped it off in one single swing.

In trade of a leg, it allowed Beelzebubble to bounce back, creating distance from Master and flying back into the sky.

Beelzebubble took an altitude that was completely outside the range of Wind Magic, and this time, its attention was in my direction. In the meantime, Master and Dante-san hurried back to the roof, and put me in their protective circle, our initially devised formation.

"You all right, Dante?"

Master inquired of the condition of Dante-san. The latter barely managed to avoid a direct hit by a hair breath, albeit he couldn't escape from being slammed into the tower.

"It's alright... but my apologies for the blunder."

Master shook his head as Dante-san spoke with a bitter smile.

"No, you jumped at perfect timing... but who would've expected it can conjure a magic of that intensity in such a short timeframe. It must've been waiting to retaliate. Alas... it didn't appear we can bring it down again for the time being." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Out of the range, Beelzebubble's purple eyes had taken shade of red, displaying a burst of animosity toward us... and in particular at me.

"Hm, now that it's far away to fly unhindered, my arrows are useless. ...If only it had thrown a fit of rage and charged at us, but of course. It's not a mindless beast."

Kiana-san lowered her drawn bow, and glared at the sky with a grim gaze.

"...Truly. But surely, it shouldn't be capable of firing the giant water ball from earlier and the magic against Dante in succession. Besides, Kiana-san's damage on its wings have made its flying unstable. However, biggest gain is—|

I transferred my attention to the two temples.

«I-Incredibe... they went toe to toe against the King of Flies.»

«...So this is the last weapon of Yuglia, their famed Knight Order... m-maybe......"

«Yeah, we may be able to face it one way or another then!»

The wind carried such hopeful voices to my ears.

"—Everyone has found hope."

The priests and paladin, who had completely lost into despair, finally began to face the situation with an optimistic view through our act.

"Ahaha! There really is nothing past Allen Rovenne! It didn't take long to push the button of that legendary monster, eh? Hell, it's just a matter of time before Beelzebubble feels the fear of him!"

«S-scaring that... monster?»

"Uh-huh, Dew-san really goofed this time. He kept saying he was having a headache for a while, and his execution lacked sharpness. Hmm, it should be an easy victory if Dew-san gets over his hangover. A pity. It appears we really have to waste our strength until he gets better!"

«H-he's having a hangover in this situation?!»

......Riding on the momentum, Parth-san and Justine-san fanned another wave of optimism using sly words.

Frankly, it would be an upheaval battle if the King kept his distance in the sky out of vigilance. It was beyond our reach to inflict any frontal strike, and the magic attacks or so would lose much of their might at that distance.

"......We're now the main threat in Beelzebubble's eyes. Now, as long as we follow the plan, it's more of a battle of endurance... right, Dew-san?"

"............If only it follows the plan."

In response to Dante-san's remark, Master spoke with a grim expression as his gaze glanced at the sky.

◆◆◆

As the Holy Land finally became clear in their eyes, Marquis Leverance—rushing toward their distance with fifty something knights from Leverance's nearest post alongside Coco— gulped nervously as he gazed at its sky.

He'd picked the best of his soldiers, while leaving the preparation and transportation of ranged weapons and so on to his other subordinates, and left for Holy Land the earliest he could.

Just as they'd expected, the sky of Holy Land was swarmed with King of Flies and its minions.

"What...... in the world is that bubble?"

They watched as Beelzebubble spun toward the Tower of Genesis, and rained down a torrent of thin purple bubbles of magic.

"This...! I knew it. It was Beelzebubble who had ravaged Ancient City Rubika...!"

Coco, who had been leading everyone, murmured as if in daze, his eyes peeled wide.

"Rubika? Might it be the same Fort City-State of legends that once existed somewhere in the range of St. Angol Mountains? It was said to be a grandeur city which met its devastation overnight mysteriously."

Coco gave a firm nod to Marquis Leverance's doubt.

"There are records of investigations of an ancient ruin, believed to be the Rubika, left in archives of Canardia. The investigation ultimately ruled the cause to be a downpour of large scale poison from the sky. I fear... the bubbles are that."

Marquis Leverance tilted his head when he heard him.

"The ruins of Rubika? How come I didn't come across any such discovery in the record of Leverance's family?"

This time, Coco's voice carried an awkwardness.

"My ancestor, err, must have been unable to disclose it since it'd involved trespassing the off-limit area."

Often when the disasters involving monsters, such as stampedes, occur, the affected regions would be set off-limits. It was a policy of the kingdom as a whole.

A mishap in such regions could put lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands, in risk. Thus it was a severe felony.

As a fact, the reason the Canardia family had lost its once lofty status—the monster specialists of Royal Court—was precisely due to such unlawful activities being disclosed by their political rival.

"...The discovery of Ancient City Rubika is an incredible achievement and honor. If presented well, it would've even revived the Canardia family. Why did they refrain from receiving a due permission, and didn't initiate re-investigation?"

Sebas casted his doubts, and this time, Coco tilted his head.

"I don't know. Perhaps, they'd thought mobilising a large-scale investigation would be a risky manoeuvre, or maybe they're simply content with their discovery. The records only described the investigation, so I would presume it's the latter."

Marquis Leverance and Sebas both displayed an incredulous expression at how Coco shrugged the weight of discovery with no after thought.

Then, Coco came to a complete halt from his lead, and turned around.

"And above all, there are traces of the King of Flies, Beelzebub, that can be seen in the ancient times. It's quite possible the people of that era might have known about Beelzebubble's magic. And yet, as far as my knowledge goes, there has not been a single mention of the city brought to its ruins by that poisonous bubble's magic. Maybe this one is just a unique species, but......" (T/N - Yup, it’s not a typo this time. Beelzebub and Beelzebubble seems different entity.)

Marquis Leverance promptly guessed the implied meaning in Coco's words.

"—Anyone who has seen that magic didn't survive. This can be another reason, eh?"

Coco nodded.

"At the very least, you should wait here, Marquis. If any per-chance, both you and Jeu-chan get caught in the situation—"

Marquis raised his hand, interrupting Coco's suggestion.

"I understand you well-intentioned, but would you know what would happen if I coward out of the situation? I will undoubtedly be killed by my wife. And even beside that, if I left my precious daughter to die all alone, how can I find myself fit to lead my land?"

Marquis remarked with unwavering determination, and shouted at the top of his long.

"We are at the Demon Gate, everyone! It's time to hold tight! The King of Flies appears to be stuck in stalemate with knights! Keep your distance, and first look out for Jeu!"

" " "YES, SIR!!!" " "

◆◆◆

It had barely been a few moments since Marquis Leverance and his elite guards firmly stepped inside the Holy Land when Jeu herself came into their view.

She was at the Temple of Trials, raising the morals of paladins and priests—this specific group had ties with the Leverance family—while herself taking the frontline and swinging her staff around, protecting a group of children dressed in simple garb behind her.

"Jeu!"

"Jeuri-sama!"

Though the black mantle, the symbol of 3rd Legion, covered her, and the Choker of Virtue strapped to her neck, she only had a thin white piece of silk dress on her, now dyed in red from blood.

To anyone in know, she appeared as the personification of Saintess Agate dressed in raiment of Celestial Maiden mentioned in the Hyndrangea family's founding myth.

Marquis knew just what exactly Dolittle had in his plan. His expression warped in anguish, Marquis Leverance closed the distance between them, and pulled her in an embrace.

"I was awaiting you... father. Are you carrying the mana-tool cutter?"

The first thing Jeu spoke carried her flustered tone.

It wasn't a hard guess. The thought of a knife pressing close to one's skin would make anyone nervous.

"I am sorry... it's my fault I misunderstood the height of that bastard's idiocy. ...Where's that damned Dolittle? I will kill him myself!"

Marquis spoke in an enraged tone, though Jue shook her head.

"He had been instigated by Cardinal Cornal, and was merely a pawn, abandoned easily. He has left for heaven. I... too had taken irresponsible action. You must have a lot to scold me, and I will listen to everything later but we do not have the luxury of it for now. Have you brought the anti-mana tool cutter?"

As Jeu repeated in a rushed voice, Marquis nodded with a confused expression.

"Huh, ah, yes... of course I have brought it. However, even if you haven't taken an «Oath», we're in the middle of the battlefield. It would be too rash to do it in the current situation. I will have it removed later."

"Understood, I will leave it for later. More importantly, I need to have these chains removed immediately."

Facing Jeu's voice filled with urgency, Marquis and Sebas glanced at each other.

"...The chains of mana sealing...? You mustn't be intending to still fight yourself, Milady, would you? Please rest assured. Now that we're here, we will make sure no harm comes to you."

However Jeu denied their persuasion, and glared at the King of Flies casually spinning in the air.

"Now isn't the time to back down. The magic that Beelzebubble has been raining for a while is extremely troublesome poison. It's nearly impossible to dispel with mana technique alone. Fortunately, we have hundreds of priests providing the support to maintain the battle line, but even their mana has been consumed rapidly the longer they sustain poison dispelling magic.

There are too many minions with poison on them, and the concentration of poison is just rising upward. If... if we do nothing, a majority of the force would be left incapacitated to continue fighting in just tens of minutes, and turn into prey of minions."

"I-in just tens of minutes?!"

Marquis and his guard's expression scrunched in horror.

The deadline was too short. And no matter how far they raised their pace, it was impossible to summon ranged weapons against Beelzebubble any sooner.

Receiving a firm node from Jeu, Marquis received the mana-tool cutter from Sebas, and severed the chain himself.

"Thank you very much. My staff... well that would be asking too much, I guess. Only for this once, please allow me to borrow the wand of the family head, father. Besides, you're more of a swordsman to have any use of it, right?"

Jeu requested for the Leverance's family heirloom, and without further waiting for the reply, she immediately drew out the wand tied to her father's waist.

With calm strides, she arrived at the centre of the hall, where the people awaited for the poison cure, and took a deep breath. At long last, the dam blocking her overflowing thoughts burst open.

An intense will smouldered into Jeu eyes as she waved the heirloom—the wand of Saintess Sari who'd hailed from Leverance family—in a spectacular motion like conductor's baton before hoisting it up, and invoked the area in ancient lavandran, as if singing a hymn.

A brilliant, golden radiance spilled out from the top of the wand, and covered the entire hall and the purple poisonous miasma encroaching it.