My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 228

Before the heroes came to this world.

Even as Peremus began to attack Praus, Soro and Ter still stood by, merely watching.

“Don’t we have to fight?”

“Our target is Praus and his disciples. If Peremus weakens Praus, it’ll be much easier for us to engage. Of course, killing him outright wouldn’t be a problem either.”

“Hmm~ I want to personally take down that beastman girl who stabbed my belly and Urka too.”

“That’ll have to depend on the situation.”

“One of them is over there.”

The tips of Soro’s fingers pointed towards a flaming pink cat beastman who was burning the demon tribe’s bodies.

“…Then let’s go over and handle it.”

“You’ve become really cold toward your sister since becoming a demon, you know?”

“I did have a wish to kill Praus, but I had no choice. Once I was dragged to the Demon King’s Castle, I had to accept death if I made any other choice.”

“So, are you going to betray the Demon Lord now?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just… this war holds no meaning for us.”

Ter understood.

The Demon Lord was merely using them, and he intended to kill them whenever he deemed them useless.

As he suspected, Blas was indeed thinking that way. Unlike when Stella had the genes to become a succubus, there was no reason to force humans to join him.

Blas was only using them to minimize casualties from the army that would arise due to the war.

“Getting a bit emotional, are we?”

“I’m not being emotional. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Hmph. It was pointless from the start. I just want to show others the hell we’ve experienced.”

Soro laughed and walked towards Urka. Ter shook his head as he watched her back.

“Urka!”

At that moment, Urka was bravely toppling demons. A torrent of icy air shot toward her.

“…Ignis!”

Quickly reacting, Urka donned Ignis’s armor. Upon receiving the cold air head-on, the tips of her skin began to freeze. It was an icy chill strong enough to pierce through Ignis’s armor.

“Ugh! What kind of cold is this…?!”

As flames gradually died away, Urka’s skin froze. Squinting against the harsh cold, she looked ahead.

There, Soro, now fully a demon, was grinning grotesquely.

Urka glanced back while covering her face with her arm.

Fortunately, the soldiers near Glair were protected, but those fighting on other fronts froze solid, allowing the demons to strike them down.

“I’ll go again!”

“Damn it! At this rate, the defense line will be engulfed in cold…!”

Urka made a quick decision and dove into the army.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The icy air relentlessly chased after Urka. The grass left in the wake of the chill froze and died, making the ground smooth.

Naturally, the same demon horde that couldn’t escape was frozen as well.

“I couldn’t produce this level of cold without summoning a dragon!”

Turning her back on the demon, Urka created a firewall to protect herself. However, the moment the chilling air touched it, the flames of the barrier began to die down, trembling as if it would break through.

“The flames can’t withstand the cold.”

“Glair!”

“It’s Grand Duke Glair!”

Glair gathered both hands to form a water sphere and sent it towards Soro.

“‘Tsunami Blast!’”

Unlike a standard tsunami, this technique exploded upon reaching a specific area, delivering a powerful shock to those within a certain range.

As the stream of spheres approached Soro, one burst in mid-air right before hitting him.

“Don’t interfere with a one-on-one, Grand Duke Todiah.”

Ter warned with his palms pressed together. Glair openly expressed his anger.

“Ter…! Why the heck are you siding with the demons?!”

“…Well, I thought it’d be nice if that damned empire governed by Praus was destroyed?”

“Is that your explanation?!”

“Enough with the chit-chat! I’ll freeze you all solid, so you can’t move! ‘Ice—’”

“Wait.”

Just as Soro began to cast her skill, Ter grabbed her shoulder.

“What? Ter! I was having fun!”

As Soro prepared to unleash her full strength, Ter held her shoulder.

“Conserve your energy.”

“…Why?”

Soro tilted her head with a sulky voice, annoyed at the interruption while focusing on the battle.

“Praus’s disciple has arrived. The beastman who made a hole in your belly.”

“…Huh, finally here?”

Soro’s mouth spread into a wicked grin.

“Be careful. That one… is way stronger than last time.”

Ter warned while gazing at the mana concentrated in Iris’s body.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll kill her anyway.”

He sighed at his reckless sister, lamenting that her personality didn’t change whether she was human or demon.

*

“Iris…?”

“Teacher! I missed you. Though it hasn’t even been a week in real time, it feels like I haven’t seen you for about seven years.”

Such exaggeration…

“Have you already achieved a limit break?”

I pushed aside the hologram floating in my way and asked. Right now, Iris’s current state was more important than managing my expression.

To my question, Iris seemed a bit embarrassed and hesitated.

“Um… I consumed a bit of causality.”

“Huh?”

“The World Tree said our limit break was supposed to be a month away. However, seeing the situation, the World Tree judged that the empire wouldn’t last a month and decided to help us achieve our limit break by consuming causality.”

“…So, what’s the cost of consuming causality?”

When the World Tree consumes causality, unexpected events occur. Things that normally wouldn’t happen start to arise, providing potential advantages elsewhere.

“The Demon Lord will become stronger than he is now. It’s said he’ll regain some memories of his reincarnations based on the causality consumed.”

Regaining memories of previous lives?

How much? To what extent?

If he gets stronger, how much stronger?

I bombarded Iris with questions, but she shook her head with a dissatisfied expression.

“I’m sorry. The World Tree didn’t share anything beyond that the Demon Lord would become stronger.”

“Is that so…?”

Is there anything worse than the final boss getting stronger? But I should be grateful that I’m still alive for now.

“These bastards…! How dare they calmly chat in front of me?!”

Peremus clenched his unscathed fist with his other hand and swung it directly at Iris.

Boom!

A tremendous roar erupted, and dust shot up aggressively. However, contrary to the sound, his fist was blocked by a tiny Iris hand, not dealing even a speck of damage.

“You blocked my punch…?”

“How bothersome.”

She muttered as she kicked Peremus in the abdomen, sending him flying deep into the forest.

“Wait until our conversation is finished. Before I smash you.”

As they witnessed their commander flying, the demons hesitated. Naturally, the knights and adventurers seized the chance and rushed in, beginning to slay the demons.

With the possibility of victory arising, morale on this side was soaring.

“Are you alright? It seems your weapon is broken.”

“Ah…!”

Only then did I check the sword I was holding. I pulled it out and put it back, but there were no holograms appearing in front of me.

“Pasma. Answer me. Pasma!”

Damn it! I figured this would happen when the holograms didn’t appear…

The sword showed no reaction, and I couldn’t hear his voice anymore.

“…Iris.”

“Yes?”

“Can I leave this to you?”

I needed to repair my weapon. That thought was all that occupied my mind.

Without Pasma, I wouldn’t have made it this far. The reason I escaped the crises I encountered time and again over the past five years was because I had Pasma at my side.

I couldn’t just sit back and watch someone I had relied on for nearly five years leave me so easily.

“I would rather ask you. Teacher, it’s time for you to rest. We’ve arrived.”

Saying that, Iris pulled out another sword from her waist.

The unbreakable glory of the past. She placed the red gem against the blade.

“You… that.”

“Phoenix-sama gave me this gem from the World Tree. I was told it was what you requested.”

“Do you know what it does?”

It was something I had asked Phoenix to make several of. It was a consumable item to make up for Iris’s lacking attacking power.

“Of course. If you apply this gem to a weapon… oh? Why is there no response?”

“Can I borrow that for a moment?”

I took the red diamond-like gem from Iris.

[You have acquired “A handcrafted gem infused with the Phoenix’s passion.”]

[Touching it to a weapon allows temporary “Weapon Transformation.” The duration is 10 minutes.]

“Can you give me the other gems as well?”

Since I was a player, I could grant item effects. This was the causal power given to me in this world.

Originally, these shouldn’t exist at this time.

Receiving the other gems and providing them with effects, Iris had obtained a total of three gems from Phoenix.

Even if I used one here, I could use it two more times when fighting the Demon Lord.

I was worried about the short duration, but a fight between the hero and the Demon Lord could end in an instant, so I was confident it wouldn’t be a problem.

The real issue was that the Demon Lord would become even stronger.

“Alright, done—”

Clang!

Suddenly, a massive fist halted right in front of me. A thin sword stood between my face and the fist.

“You really don’t listen, do you? Well, demons don’t seem to either.”

“How dare you disrespect me?!”

Peremus clenched his fist for another attack, but his arm was already separated from his body. Before I knew it, Iris’s eyes were vertically slashed.

“If you’re asking to die like that, I’ll grant your wish.”

Swoosh!

I struck Peremus in the side with my knee.

“Ugh!”

Clutching his caved-in side, Peremus was pushed back, his arm snapping back as it began to recover. His severed forearm still lay on the ground.

“Looks like you trained a bit! But you’ll never win against us!!”

“Teacher, I’ll take care of this.”

Ignoring Peremus’s roar, Iris took one of the gems from my hand. Immediately placing the gem against her blade, it glowed red and resonated.

The double-edged sword began to transform gradually until it took on a familiar shape.

A red Japanese sword.

The All-Cutting Sword was born.

“You know the duration is 10 minutes, right?”

“I know. Let’s clean this up in under five minutes and head back. Oh, and don’t forget to praise me?”

Iris sent me a beaming smile before stepping forward.

“‘Absolute Domain.’”