My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 132

Peremus relaxed his fist. The hostility diminished. He was still watching the Demon World beyond the border.

“What did you say?”

“I’m saying I don’t have time to deal with you right now.”

He glanced sideways at Tina and Iris.

At present, Tina and Iris were summoning the Spirit King and unleashing their full power. However, their condition wasn’t as great as one would think. After countless exchanges with Peremus, they were in a considerably exhausted state.

They had managed to corner two heroes despite the penalty of not having magic beasts.

As he looked at them, Peremus thought that he should kill them while he had the chance, but the priority was now the life or death of Pero.

No matter how much he liked violence, he wasn’t irrational enough to abandon his own subordinates.

“If we meet again, I’ll make sure to take your heads.”

“Aren’t you running away because you’re afraid of dying?”

Peremus scoffed at Tina’s bravado.

“Haha! You’re fighting with a penalty and yet you’re so cocky. Next time, without the penalty, I’ll shove my fist right into your face.”

Leaving that warning, he pressed down on the ground and instantly crossed into the Demon World.

*

“Cough!”

I gasped, holding onto the spear embedded in my abdomen.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

I felt like I was going to die. No, was I really going to die?

I had sworn to myself not to push my limits after coming to this world, but once the opportunity appeared right in front of me, there was no room for hesitation.

My opponent was a demon ranked 7th.

Thanks to him acting alone, I could kill him, but if I had to face Peremus or his legion, it would have been much harder. It might have even been impossible.

It truly was a stroke of luck.

“Teacher!”

“Praus!”

Maria and Ariel rushed over, flustered. They were fidgeting in front of me.

“Oh no, the mana is being consumed by the magic beast…!”

“What, what should we do?!”

“The bleeding is more important… First, there are potions… but before that… I need you to pull out the spear…”

“Ah, okay!”

Using Wind Magic, I cleanly cut the shaft of the spear. The vibration from the cut intensified the pain, but I had to endure it.

“I’m pulling it out now.”

“Ugh!”

The shaft came free and blood began to seep out. I clutched my abdomen and shook my head. I needed to keep my vision from fading.

They say a stab wound feels hot, but honestly, I had no idea what that meant; it just hurt like hell. I felt like I was going to die!

I fumbled in my pocket for a potion and hurriedly swallowed it down along with the blood. I poured the remainder directly onto the wound.

“Grr…”

Thank goodness there were potions in this world. Without them, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to escape death.

Slowly, the pain began to subside, and the bleeding lessened. My heart rate, which had been racing from the pain, gradually settled down.

“I’ve recovered for now, but if we can’t purge the magic beast, you’ll feel the agony of rotting flesh like Ella Todiah.”

I forced a wry smile at Ariel, who raised her voice and spread panic. Of course, I knew she didn’t mean to scare me.

Ariel was simply worried. Right now, I was the only one who could connect her with Pasma.

“For a while, I won’t be able to use mana, but it’s still okay.”

I took out the Purification Stone from my pocket. Although it wasn’t a perfect Purification Stone, as long as I pressed it against my skin, the magic beast would be expelled in a few days.

“If I keep this on my skin, I’ll be fine, so don’t worry.”

“I see, it’s the Purification Stone… Phew, thank goodness. Really.”

“So, Teacher, you’re okay, right? You’re not going to die, right?”

“I’m not dying.”

“That’s a relief!”

Maria, who had been looking like she was about to cry, rushed in and cheered. The pain was gone, but I was still bleeding a lot. I knew if I hugged her, I’d get blood all over her, so I patted her back with my clean hand.

“If you stay like that, you’ll get blood on you. Move away.”

“I don’t want to.”

“… We can’t stay like this forever. We’re in the Demon World. We need to escape quickly. We can hug when we get back.”

“Did you just say that? When we get back, I’m going to hug you a ton! You worried me!”

If I hadn’t stepped in, things would have been a real headache. What is she saying…?

I nodded vaguely and wriggled out of Maria’s embrace. Brushing myself off, I glanced at the red spirit floating above my head.

“Pasma, good job.”

[…I’m sorry, my friend. I wasn’t able to respond properly this time. It seems my training was lacking.]

If one doesn’t know the pattern, anyone can fall victim. Even if one realizes it later, it’s natural to suffer damage.

This happens in games, so why wouldn’t it also apply to reality?

“No, you did your best.”

If there was a problem, it was that I was weak.

“Ariel, you did well too.”

“No, Praus did more.”

Ariel shook her head. Her gentle smile brought me a sense of relief.

“What, what about you? Are you getting worried about Ariel’s…?”

Out of the blue, I heard Oriente complaining. I glanced at her with an annoyed pout.

“I know you like Ariel, but you don’t need to explain that to me.”

“Ah, I don’t like her?! I’m just… just concerned about her, as a friend—that’s all!”

That kind of reaction invites misunderstandings.

Interestingly, Oriente becomes quite shy when dealing with someone she knows to some degree. With someone she doesn’t know or has no intention of getting close to, she can act normally.

It’s usually normal to chat comfortably with close friends and be awkward with strangers. This girl was the opposite.

To sum it up, it was quite strange.

“Let’s put that aside for now. Since I killed Pero, there’s no point in staying long in the Demon World. It won’t be long before the demon tribe sends a search party after us.”

Moreover, Peremus was still around.

I wished Tina and Iris would take care of him, but even without magic beasts, Peremus’s physical abilities were extraordinary. Facing him would still be tough.

On top of that, having rampaged like this made it possible that the Demon War would break out this year.

That possibility flickered in the back of my mind, but I pushed it away as I stood up.

There was nothing I could do about what had already happened.

It was greedy to expect the story to progress as it did in the game once I actively intervened in the scenario.

“Maria, Teleport—”

Just as I was about to instruct Maria to teleport, a giant figure landed in front of us.

Boom!

A grotesquely muscled giant with blue skin stood before us. It seemed like it was amplifying the magic beast power.

“Is it you guys? You killed Pero?”

Peremus’s gaze turned toward us. In the midst of this, his finger pointed directly at me.

“…It’s you. The one Habito mentioned.”

What? Habito?

Does Commander Habito know about me?

“You, the guy with mana similar to the Demon King. You’re the one who took care of Pero!”

“Maria, prepare to teleport.”

At my command, Maria began gathering mana behind her, keeping her gaze fixed on Peremus.

Peremus was not someone we could handle.

If Tina and Iris were here, we might have had a chance, but without anyone in the front line, we couldn’t contend with Peremus.

Plus, the ground we stood on was saturated with magic beasts. We could endure only once at best.

“Peremus…!”

Ariel shouted in anger. I grabbed her clothes.

“Ariel, don’t do anything reckless. The situation is bad.”

“What did you do to Pero? That guy is ranked 7th. He’s not someone who could be easily killed… No, someone who killed Pero wouldn’t tell us something like that.”

He clenched his fist.

“Prepare yourselves. I’ll personally kill every one of you here!”

Peremus’s shoulder twisted back.

“Oriente, do your best to block it!!”

Just as his fist shot out, a barrier of earth formed to counter it.

Crash!

Even though Oriente’s magic was fully consumed, the barrier was completely shattered. Thankfully, the shock didn’t reach us.

“Now! Quickly gather!”

“Do you think I’ll miss you!!”

Once more, a chilling energy wrapped around his forearm. I stepped forward and drew the Glass Sword.

[You have equipped the “Glass that Swallows Greed.”]

[Skill “Dynamic Action” can be used three times a day.]

“Teacher?!”

“Destruction Fist!”

“Dynamic Action.”

My sword precisely swallowed his magic. I was slightly pushed back from the overwhelming recoil, but I wasn’t harmed.

“What do you think you’re doing—?!”

“Now you’ll take it.”

I bent my waist as far back as possible and swung my sword.

“Destruction Slash!”

Surprised by the unexpected attack, Peremus was thrown back, kicking up a storm of dust.

Boom!

Seeing Peremus completely disappear, Praus inserted his sword and placed his hand on Maria’s shoulder.

“Did you just take down Peremus in one hit…?”

“How did you take down Peremus…?”

The two Spirit Kings gazed at me in awe. I spoke to Maria.

“Now let’s hurry.”

“Teleport.”

At Maria’s shout, teleportation was activated safely, and we left the Demon World like that.

*

“This bastard!!”

Peremus returned to where Praus had been. Soon after, other demons and monsters also revealed themselves.

“What’s the matter, Lord Peremus?”

At the question from another demon, Peremus walked solemnly. Where he stopped, Pero lay limp, head severed. The other demons who were following without thinking recoiled in shock.

“How could… Lord Pero?!”

A murderous aura emanated wildly from Peremus, who looked down at Pero.

“How dare you kill my subordinate and attack me? I will find you and tear you apart!!”

With his roar, a vast black aura shot up to the heavens.