Dagon’s Liver

The giant struggled in agony as the flames enveloped him.
At the same time, his army was attacked from the back, and his formation was in disarray.
For a moment it seemed that the battle was all but won. But things were not so simple.

The surviving moss giants covered their master, and then they used the water inside of their bodies to put out the flames.

I could only watch them in silence. I had put so much of my power into the first shot, and was not able to unleash a follow-up attack so soon after.

Besides, it wasn’t as if I could just focus on using magic. I had to send out orders to the Berneze soldiers and lead the reinforcements that had arrived from the other cities.

First, I let Jeanne and Toshizou know that our allies were here, in order to raise morale. They were on the verge of being pushed back, but were able to make a comeback. Then I sent a message to Ryoma to start the pincer attack.
And like that, the enemy forces that had been putting up such a strong fight began to collapse one after another.

“Wonderful work, master.”

Said Eve.

“They don’t have eyes on their backs. So this is what happens when you poke them from behind.”

“Still, it was your skill that drew the enemy in.”

“Was my acting dead so believable?”

“Yes. My heart was nearly torn into two when I momentarily thought you were really dead.”

She said with a hand to her chest.

“That’s no good. When I do die, I want you to build my grave.”

“But you are invincible. You will not die.”

“Good words. Maybe I’ll include them in my will.”

Even as I joked, my eyes moved to Robin.

He was still standing in the same spot and staring into space. The death of his lover had come as a great shock to him.

“I understand how he feels, but he is only making himself a target for the enemy.”

“Yes. Even if he can’t fight, I need him to step back…”

It was as we said this that I noticed a furry green creature near his feet.

Robin called the creature Su, and it was leaning against Robin as if for support. However, it seemed to come to the same conclusion as us, as it climbed up to Robin’s shoulder and wiped at his eyes.

Robin remembered then that he was on a battlefield and picked up his bow and aimed his arrow at Dagon.

Apparently, he still had a will to fight. No, perhaps it had grown stronger, now that he knew of the death of his lover.

He stared at Dagon with eyes full of hatred.

As for Dagon, now that his Moss Titans had allowed him to escape the inferno, he glared back at us in fury.

He no longer looked like a noble giant of the sea. He was more of the embodiment of the fear people held towards the sea.

And like that, he struck at me with malice and the strong will to kill. I dodged the attack.

And then I ran up his army and onto his body. However, I was followed by someone. It was Robin.

“Ashta. I will kill Dagon. As god is my witness, I will kill him!”

I respected his passion, but if this continued, I could see him burning up until there was nothing left. And I did not want this Hero to die.

And so it was with equal rage that I turned to Dagon. I would kill him before Robin could die.

—That was my intent. But Dagon was a very powerful Demon King. Robin unleashed arrow after arrow, but none of them dealt a deadly wound.

All of them cut deeply into Dagon’s face, but they were not able to penetrate his skull.

“Monster! But if ten arrows are not enough, then I will unleash ten thousand! And when I run out, you will taste this sword. I will cut through your throat even if I have to use my teeth!”

Robin’s attacks did not slow down.

On the other hand, neither did my magic attacks. Fire, thunder, water, and wind. I used all kinds of attacks in order to support Robin. However, it all seemed futile against the giant.

(In order to kill this monster, I’ll need to hit him with a powerful attack in his weak spot.)

I realized this from experience and decided to change tactics.
Instead of attacking him together, I left it all to Robin.
After moving away from the giant’s body, I created some distance between us and prepared to chant.
I would use forbidden magic.
But what magic? As I wondered this, I heard a voice whispering in my ear.
The green creature had climbed up to my shoulder, and it whispered in human language.

‘King Ashta. Its weakness is its liver. It has a similar function to its heart.’

I looked at the Carbuncle in surprise. But she still looked like a cute little animal.

Eve looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Eve. Did you hear this Carbuncle’s voice?”

She shook her head slowly. Apparently, I was the only one who was able to hear it.

“…Was I hearing things? Or…”

I could think of different explanations, but this was not the time to speculate about the Carbuncle’s identity. I would believe its words and try to carve out Dagon’s liver.

And so I started chanting the magic for ‘Enlarge’ in order to kill Dagon. This was magic that enlarged objects. And while it was forbidden magic, it was not supposed to be something that was useful in combat.

However, depending on how you used it, it could be more powerful than meteors or nuclear fusion magic. And I meant to prove it.

The only problem was this magic took longer than most forbidden magic. As for whether or not Dagon would allow it, it was a gamble.

And I lost. Dagon ignored Robin as if he were a fly, and instead moved towards me. As a Demon King himself, he must have realized how much of a threat my magic was.

I would be killed if I didn’t do something. However, I couldn’t stop chanting. We would not be able to win unless I could finish it.

I looked towards Eve, urging her to move away. But she would not move a single step.

It was clear from her expression that she meant to stay with me until the end. However, her resolve was for nothing.

Because two shadows appeared between me and Dagon.
It was Saint Jeanne and Toshizou Hijikata.
Jeanne shouted as she slashed at Dagon with her holy sword.

“Demon King! We have come to help you!”

Toshizou cut down the soldiers that tried to attack me and then he unleashed a kick.

“We can’t have you die here. You have yet to keep your promise, master.”

The promise that involved a hundred thousand arrows. Indeed, none of the battles we had been in were on that scale.

I nodded as a show of gratitude while continuing to chant.

“Demon King, we will be able to hold Dagon back for at least five minutes. Will you be able to hit him in that time?”

I nodded.

“That’s good to hear. But can we really fight this giant for five minutes?”

Sweat dripped from Toshizou’s forehead as he cut at the giant’s legs. But Dagon seemed unfazed by these attacks.

Upon seeing this, Jeanne corrected herself and said, ‘actually, three minutes.’ But I didn’t think I could make it any earlier than four minutes. I wanted at least four minutes to concentrate on my spell.

They must have detected this, as the two Heroes did their best to work together as they took on the giant.

Usually, they did not get along at all, but they were completely in sync now. I wanted to tell them that, but I knew what their answers would be.

“Don’t compare me to that womanizer!”

“As if I could work well with a glutton saint.”

And so I imagined their angry reactions as I chanted the forbidden magic. I was already halfway through, but there was still a lot more to go.

I wanted to finish it quickly. and felt frantic. But knowing that the lives of so many depended on its success, I had to continue carefully.

Next Chapter

The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King