Episode 150
The Great Demon Nahema.
The Great Demon guarding the top of the Tree of Clifrot, which constitutes Hell.
As befitting a Great Demon guarding the place directly connecting Heaven and Hell, his power goes beyond imagination. If not for Sandalphon, the corresponding angel, it would be impossible to counter.
Because of such a Great Demon Nahema, there were things that could be done.
‘Sky Shattering (滅天)’.
A magic that wields the meaning of breaking the sky. As the name suggests, this technique was devised with the intention of breaking Heaven, a ‘world’ itself, by the Great Demon Nahema.
Actually, it was ambiguous to even call it magic. While it is true that it uses magic power, the source of its strength lies in his sword strike.
It was difficult to regard this as either a sword blow or magic, but one thing was certain: it boasts an unimaginable level of power, as befitting its name. It was a technique created with the intention of destroying Heaven.
Uriel narrowed his eyes as he looked at his instantly broken sword. The giant and long line that followed was passing through the cracks in the clouds.
It was as if it had cut through the sky itself.
Naheon, who committed this outrageous act, slowly sheathed his sword and then looked at Uriel.
“Strange.”
Nevertheless, Uriel’s reaction was peculiar. Despite the single strike that shattered his Yehphado, he didn’t look surprised but instead appeared puzzled.
“Is this all you can do?”
“Is that all you can say after losing your sword? It’s a very peculiar impression.”
“Originally, this technique should’ve been impossible to counter. By presumptuously blocking that strike, not only your sword but my body should have been split in half.”
Uriel picked up the broken fragments of his Yehphado and then said,
“No… The entire Human World should have split in two. But this…”
Astoundingly, Uriel joined the broken fragments of Yehphado together, and instantly, the sword returned to its original state.
“Too weak.”
“…”
Naheon slightly narrowed his eyes. If everything Uriel said were true, the power he had shown a moment ago didn’t amount to a fraction of its original capability.
“For some unknown reason, if this is your current full strength…”
Uriel held his fully-repaired sword to the side. Droplets of magma rolled off the sword, set vertically.
“There’s no need for Them to come.”
Uriel changed his attitude entirely. Only moments ago, he had thought of retreating but now appeared ready to fight willingly.
“…I see.”
Naheon nodded. It seemed that the power restricted on him was about this level. Compared to those top-tier angels among Archangels, it was visibly weaker.
“Thanks to you, I understand well.”
At that moment, Naheon completely withdrew his magic power. And Uriel became deeply bewildered.
“…What are you doing?”
The power displayed by Naheon’s previous technique visibly weakened. In reality, it was the most powerful technique possessed by the Great Demon Nahema, and based on it, Uriel judged that his power was currently weaker.
This was close to the truth. The restriction on Naheon’s power prevented him from using it fully. Thus, Uriel judged that he had a chance to win.
Yet Naheon was withdrawing all his magic power when even fighting with his reduced strength might not be enough.
“I plan to fight properly, so I’m taking it seriously as well.”
“But why withdraw magic…”
“Because it seems it won’t help much even if I retain it.”
Naheon gripped his magic sword with a hand devoid of any magic power and said,
“Shall we begin?”
#
To conquer Heidelberg, Seere took Ersha’s advice and resorted to pillaging, aiming to resolve supply issues.
Though it was not something she naturally favored, given the danger of starving to death, she had no room for hesitation. Seere succeeded in a surprise raid on the first supply base, ‘Utts’, and seized the food there.
However, during this process, the human army deliberately set fire to some of the food, preventing her from securing an abundant supply. She then planned to attack the second supply base, ‘Kutbiche’.
At that moment, an urgent message arrived from the scout who was monitoring the battlefield.
“Your Majesty, the sky looks strange!”
“What do you mean?”
“That… You should probably come out and see it yourself.”
Meaning it was hard to describe with words. Seere came out from the temporary barracks with a puzzled look and looked up at the sky.
She widened her eyes. For the clouds were neatly split in half, as if the sky had been cut apart.
“I don’t know what that is…”
“…It’s the Teacher.”
“Excuse me?”
Seere, who moments before had been irritable due to various stresses, smiled faintly upon seeing the sky.
“Yeah, I should work hard too…”
“Your Majesty?”
“You don’t need to worry about this. We aren’t going to encounter any problems.”
“Ah… Understood.”
Seere turned around and headed back to the temporary barracks. Her face, which just moments ago had been full of irritation, no longer carried a trace of it.
“I need to live up to expectations.”
Seere, reinvigorated, ordered the food supplies to be transported as-is and headed towards the second supply base, Kutbiche, with the rest of her soldiers.
Kutbiche, having already received reports about Utts, had fortified strong defenses. They even seemed prepared to burn their food rather than have it seized.
“What should we do?”
Veronica asked Seere after receiving the reconnaissance report. After a brief moment of contemplation, Seere gave a simple reply.
“If they set fire, then we just prevent it.”
“…Is it a riddle?”
“It’s exactly what it means.”
There was no plan to use precious oil to set fire to the food. Oil was too important in war, needed for cannons and maintaining armor and weapons.
When they set fire to food, they would simply light an ordinary flame. Since most of the food was grain, it would easily catch fire anyway. Seere looked up at the clear sky.
“If we create an environment where fire cannot ignite, that’s all.”
“Excuse me?”
Seere stretched out her hand towards the sky.
“It’s a pity, but we’ll have to. This is not the Demon World…”
Several strands of red hair among her white ones lost their color and returned to normal. Then, stored external magic power and her available magic gathered, drawing a giant rune.
“Disperse.”
‘Nimbus’
Seere chanted briefly, and astonishingly, dark, ominous clouds began to gather above Kutbiche.
Veronica, witnessing this spectacle, doubted her own eyes. Unable to believe the sight, she accidentally voiced her confusion aloud.
“Your Majesty… What exactly is that…?”
The gathered black clouds began pouring rain onto the ground. Standing under the torrential raindrops falling on her head, Veronica looked at Seere with a bewildered expression.
“This is the magic the Teacher taught me. For small areas, it’s possible to manipulate the weather.”
“…”
Veronica looked at Seere with an incredulous expression. Seere lightly acknowledged her gaze and moved forward.
“Now that the food won’t catch fire, let’s begin.”
Veronica, astonished, slowly nodded. Having been lost in the miraculous scene, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. Then, climbing onto a Bicon, she gave orders to her division.
“Occupy that place! Prioritize securing food supplies, and don’t bother sparing anything else!”
“Yes!!”
The invasion by the Second Division began, and Seere also climbed onto a Bicon. Slowly riding it forward, she drew her sword, Hyellei (Blood Tears).
“I’ll join quickly after wrapping this up, Teacher.”
#
BOOM!!!
Uriel was greatly bewildered. He could sense no magic power. The sword he swung had no magic power within it either.
Then, what was this?
What was this sword that didn’t melt while blocking his Yehphado without any surrounding magic power? And who was this man who was pressuring him with sheer physical capabilities without using a single bit of magic?
“Why are you hesitating? You seem to have lost confidence.”
“What…what kind of trickery is this!?”
“I have done nothing, Uriel.”
Naheon swung a punch.
WHOOSH!!!
Uriel blocked the punch with his sword but was pushed back due to the force. The shock from the tremendous strength almost made him drop Yehphado.
The fallen Yehphado melted everything it touched. Yet Naheon’s fist, despite coming in contact with Yehphado that turned the surrounding ground into magma, remained unscathed.
Uriel was perplexed. When he saw Naheon’s ‘Sky Shattering’ earlier and noted its significantly weaker power, he judged that he could handle it.
In reality, the magic power he was sensing was powerful, but it was considerably weaker than the magic power of Naheon’s that he remembered. Now, with all magic power withdrawn, Naheon was starting to fight purely with physical capabilities, making the situation baffling.
“You thought it was significantly weaker, didn’t you?”
“…”
“You’re correct.”
“What…did you just say!?”
Are you calling this ‘weakened’? Uriel wore an expression of disbelief. Then, Naheon answered.
“Certainly, compared to your memory, my magic has weakened significantly.”
“…What?”
“Somehow, there doesn’t seem to be a magic that continuously restricts physical abilities indefinitely.”
While there may be temporary spells, there was no magic that could indefinitely limit physical power. Naheon, whose knowledge of magic was not sealed, reached this conclusion after reviewing his memories.
In truth, even when fighting in Hell and subduing Massu, Naheon’s physical strength was superior. He even blocked Golraph’s punch head-on. These were evidences that his physical strength hadn’t diminished.
“Even if my magic has weakened, my physical capabilities remain intact.”
The physical body of the Great Demon Nahema was unchanged. Uriel gazed at Naheon with a rigid expression. He realized it.
Choosing to fight after deciding to avoid a confrontation was a mistake in itself. He was wrong in assessing his opponent based on magic power alone.
Uriel reset his mindset. The belief that he held an advantage was an arrogant illusion. Even among the Heaven’s mightiest warriors by force, he was clearly the weaker one when compared to this great demon.
“…To be at His side.”
“Hm?”
“To be at His side is indeed what I’ve dreamt of.”
Uriel picked up his Yehphado and slowly released all the divine power he possessed. The scorching heat around the sword dissipated.
Yehphado no longer heated the surroundings. There wasn’t even any steam rising from the heat.
Like a sinful person that burned away all their transgressions, only the remnant of a burnt and warped black stick remained.
The residual flame’s thorn.
This was the true form of Uriel’s Yehphado.
“So I will let loose and fight.”
“That’s the true form of the sword?”
God’s flame, Uriel.
He resolved himself. His eyes, now prepared to give his life, had changed significantly.
“Boldly, I will challenge. Oh, Exalted Great Demon.”
Naheon also faced him with a more serious gaze. The burnt black thorn in his hand, upon closer inspection, was already burning his skin.
A weapon that even burns its wielder. Seeing this, Naheon made a simple judgment.
“All-in for a one-strike kill…is that it?”
Then Naheon had no choice but to respond in kind. Though he usually avoided risky battles, somehow he was enjoying this fight now.
It must be the nature of the Great Demon Nahema. Though it’s not a good trait, he found it not unpleasant at the moment.
Because with his restricted power, he could properly test the limits of what he could reach.
“Then I’ll meet it.”
Naheon swung his magic sword upward, cutting his own forearm. Blood dripped from the sword and started being absorbed by his reddening eyes.
The movement of his previously erratic eyes accelerated to an eerie extent. Finally, what had been a blunt magic sword transformed.
It now resembled something with sharp thorns. Naheon drew all the magic power he could channel from this altered sword and imbued it.
Almost simultaneously, the two strong warriors took a step forward. That step then turned into a fierce leap.
Four white-feathered wings fluttered.
Conversely, behind Naheon’s back, black, vein-like wings unfurled.
Golden eyes stared at the enemy.
Flame-filled eyes stared at the enemy.
The pitiful thorn left only with residual embers,
Clashed against the huge, thorn-covered demonic sword.
