Hell Mode: Volume 11, page 19
“Sh-Shia...” Beku groaned. His face twisted with pain as he tried his best to scream and breathe underwater, but his efforts turned into fruitless bubbles. “Run... You can’t defeat them!”
“Bask, hand over the Demon Sword,” Kyubel ordered.
“Like hell!” Bask, who was busy parrying Dogora’s attacks, rebutted. “You got eyes, don’tcha? Even I’ll struggle without this bad boy— Hey! Hey!”
Before the Demonic Deity could finish his sentence, Demon Sword Onuba flew out of his hands and into Kyubel’s with incredible speed. The moment Bask lost his sword, he leaped back as quickly as he could, toward the orichalcum greatsword that was stuck in the concert stage. He used his bare fists to block Cecil’s spells and managed to grab his blade in the nick of time to block Dogora’s attacks. Meanwhile, using a backhand grip, Kyubel raised Onuba high. His target: the lifeless Beku’s chest.
“What?!” Shia gasped. “N-No! Nooooo!”
The Beast Princess changed targets and swam around Bildiga’s long arms while Krena defended her. She tried to get to her brother, but her path was blocked by a Greater Demonic Deity with eight limbs.
“Move!” Shia bellowed as she attacked with more fury than she had ever felt before.
Hamon’s four arms managed to stop her, preventing her from getting close to her beloved brother.
“Brother! Brother!” Shia screamed with tears in her eyes.
“He’ll be fine,” Kyubel said. His voice was so hauntingly gentle that Shia froze on the spot and stopped her attacks.
“What?”
“Don’t worry. Your pain, sorrow, and suffering will all disappear. That’s why I’ve been alive for many, many years.”
Speaking kindly, like he was pacifying an upset child, Kyubel pierced Beku’s chest with Demon Sword Onuba.
Allen hastily Summoned a Stone C and had it head for Kyubel. With a single wave of the Greater Demonic Deity’s hand, however, the Summon was reduced to glowing bubbles.
“Sacrifice! Go!”
Allen refused to give up and called forth another Summon. But Beku had taken far too much damage. The Stone C could not absorb all of it, and it turned into glowing bubbles.
“Bekuuuuu!” Shia screamed.
As the Beast Princess’s voice filled the water, Kyubel pushed the sword farther into Beku until the entirety of the blade had gone through him. He was pinned to the ground, where he began convulsing.
“The time is ripe. I’ve offered the blood of the sacrifice. Rise up and come forth, Daemon God’s tail!” Kyubel shouted.
Color drained from Beku’s body. Blood gushed from the wound made by Demon Sword Onuba, but it then rushed back into the Beast Crown Prince as he lay on the ground. The blood that pooled under his body was also sucked below, as though the concert stage and the crystal petals were absorbing it. Dammit! I couldn’t stop Kyubel! Will the Daemon God come back to life now?
Just then, the ground underneath Allen’s feet began to shake violently, and a deafening rumble rang out. The Summoner instinctively jumped up into the water, but the quaking shock wave and the eerie sound permeated throughout the ocean. The unpleasant sensation enveloped his body.
“An earthquake?” Cecil shouted as she also jumped. “No, wait... This...looks pretty bad!”
BOOM! With another thunderous rumble, the Songstress Contest stage was cleanly split in two from where Demon Sword Onuba pierced the ground. The dish set atop a rod also split in two, with either piece sliding diagonally down, but they were caught by one of pillars that supported the flower style and stayed there.
Allen and his party had to focus on their own safety. Beneath the cracked stage was a massive flower style, penetrated by the tip of Demon Sword Onuba. A dark substance began to seep out of it.
“Is that the Daemon God?” Dogora asked, holding his two greataxes in one hand and using the other to grab Shia’s arm.
When the stage shattered, Bask, Bildiga, Shinorom, and Ramon-Hamon stepped away. Shia tried to use that opportunity to collect Beku’s corpse, but Dogora quietly stopped her. Perhaps understanding that it was dangerous to get near her brother, she gazed worriedly at him.
Beku’s body turned into a translucent crystal when another quake came from below, fully destroying the concert stage and quietly sending it below. Upon seeing the remnants of the stage silently fall, Allen turned back to the bare style. In doing so, he spotted a dark, humanoid silhouette. Is that...the Daemon God’s tail? It doesn’t look like a tail to me. Looks more like the sea monster from Tales of the Prostia Empire. And I think this all went according to the Demon Lord Army’s plan. Can we beat a portion of the Daemon God?
Allen, unsure of where to go from here, chose to begin by observing his opponent. The Daemon God’s tail was as dark as the void and looked humanoid. Reddish-brown lines covered its body, pulsating like veins. But its similarities with humans ended there. The entity did not have eyes, a nose, or a mouth. It looked around as though to gauge its surroundings, then finally spoke.
“Where...am I?” it asked in a hoarse voice.
“I thank you for awakening from your slumber,” Kyubel said, kneeling at the entity’s feet. “I’ve been eagerly awaiting this moment for over a million years.”
The Daemon God’s tail’s smooth face turned to Kyubel. “You...know me? Wait... Who...am I?”
The raspy voice that came from its mouthless face seemed dazed, as though the entity were still half asleep. I think Tales also mentioned that the sea monster didn’t seem to be fully awake. Wait, the Goddess of Arbitration’s approaching that thing? Falnemes, with the greatsword-wielding Krena still on her back, walked forward. She stopped on the other side of the Daemon God’s tail, across from Kyubel, and folded her four legs to lie down.
“Huh?” Krena gasped in surprise.
The Daemon God’s tail turned toward the goddess.
“You...look familiar,” it said in its hoarse voice. “You...must be...”
“Oh, you poor thing. You’re a deity called Axillion,” Falnemes replied in a clear voice. “Did you also lose your memories when you lost your head?”
“Axillion...”
Falnemes nodded. “That’s your name. Axillion, the God of Law. And I’m Falnemes. You rode on my back as we traversed the three realms...”
“Ah, yes... Yes, I remember now. You’re Falnemes. Ah, I see... It’s good to see you.”
The Daemon God’s tail extended its veiny hand and petted the Goddess of Arbitration’s head.
“You as well,” Falnemes replied. “Yes, I’ve eagerly awaited the day that we reunited.”
“I’m happy to hear that, Fal!” Krena said, gently patting the goddess’s neck.
Wait, the God of Law? Oh yeah, the Goddess of Arbitration mentioned that she was the guardian of the God of Law or something. But the God of Law is the Daemon God’s tail? I’m confused here. It seemed the Daemon God’s tail had the same question as it patted Falnemes’s head.
“Axillion... That is my name?” it wondered.
“Indeed,” Kyubel, still kneeling with his head low, answered. “You are in charge of the rules of this world, my lord. Your steed, Falnemes, and I, your First Angel, can be sure of your identity.”
Wait, the First Angel?! Allen was completely flabbergasted by the revelation.
“My First Angel?” it asked, twisting its body to look at Kyubel. “Which means you’re K... Kyu... Ah... I just can’t seem to remember your name. Perhaps it’s because of that peculiar mask of yours. If you truly claim to be my First Angel, I ask that you remove your mask at once.”
Kyubel shook his head. “I’m terribly sorry, but I cannot obey your orders. I cannot remove this mask until I complete my mission.”
“What is the meaning of this, Kyuplus?” Falnemes asked. “Is this not what you meant to do? I thought we had both braved the past million years so that we could resurrect Axillion, the God of Law.”
Kyubel did not respond. Instead he simply stood up. At the same time, within the large dish on the conical altar behind him, the dark flame stretched upward through the water like a snake rearing its head.
“You’re right, Falnemes,” Kyubel replied. “I can’t deny that I’ve lived for the past million years with the goal of resurrecting the Daemon God’s tail. But that’s just part of the process to fulfill my actual mission!”
When he outstretched his arms, the void flame shot out from the altar and attacked the Daemon God’s tail from above.
“Aghhh?!” the entity cried as it was enveloped in flames. It fell to its knees as its body began to bubble and deflate.
“Lord Axillion!” Falnemes shouted, jumping to her feet upon seeing the Daemon God’s tail suffer.
In its agony, the Daemon God’s tail swung its short, thick arm around, knocking her and Krena back. “Kyuplus! What have you done?!”
“Those are the human souls we’ve been gathering,” Kyubel explained. “ I simply gave them all to the Daemon God’s tail. I’m sure it’ll feel better in no time.”
The dark humanoid continued to writhe around in agony, sandwiched between Kyubel and Falnemes, as its body transformed into a monkfish monster with arms and legs. It began to expand and inflate.
“How could a First Angel do such a thing?!” Falnemes cried with a glare. “You aren’t in your right mind!”
“This world isn’t in its right mind,” Kyubel replied as he began an odd dance.
“Fal, let’s go,” Krena whispered in the goddess’s ear. “Let’s save that person.”
“Miss Krena.”
When she turned to face Krena, Falnemes saw that the girl was staring at the Daemon God’s tail, her eyes filled with determination.
“That person was nice to you, Fal. Which means whatever it is now must not be its true form. It’s like that because it’s in pain, and if that’s the case, we should save it.”
Falnemes glanced at Kyubel, who was still dancing next to the fallen altar. The dark flames were gone. They had been completely absorbed by the Daemon God’s tail.
“I suppose we’ve got no other choice,” Falnemes said. “To stop Lord Axillion, we must weaken him first.”
“So, we have to attack it... That’s not a good feeling,” Krena said as she hugged Falnemes from behind and rubbed her face against the goddess’s scales.
“Indeed,” Falnemes replied quietly. “But I am the Goddess of Arbitration. I’ve done this countless times during the past million years.”
Falnemes charged, and Krena raised her greatsword in front of her chest, preparing to thrust it forward.
“Guys, let’s join the fight!” Allen shouted. He had struggled to follow the conversation between the Daemon God’s tail, Kyubel, and Falnemes, but he knew that he had to help Krena.
“Got it!” Dogora yelled back, running into the three Greater Demonic Deities that stood in front of Kyubel and the Daemon God’s tail.
“I’ll avenge my brother,” Shia growled, rage apparent in her tone. “Allen, we must not retreat. That is my order.”
She glared at Bask as he removed Demon Sword Onuba from Beku’s corpse, then turned to Kyubel, who was still doing his strange dance in front of the Daemon God. The Beast Princess quietly walked forward.
“Allen, I’ll support her,” Cecil said, readying her spells.
“Lord Allen, your order, please,” Sophie requested from beside the Summoner.
Yeah, this is great and all, but we’re running if things get hairy. His grimoire once again popped up in front of him with another alarming notification.
The grimoire flipped through its pages by itself and stopped at the messages section.
* * *
Mr. Allen,
We hope this letter finds you well.
We have been approved to issue an emergency quest. Please see below.
Emergency quest: Defeat the resurrected Daemon God’s tail.
This is a special quest bestowed only upon you, and the reward for its completion will be as follows.
Reward: Level +100
We hope you accept this mission.
We will also finish our analysis of the Holy Beast Stone soon. We hope for a bit more of your patience until we’re done.
Sincerely,
Goddess of Water Aqua
The Divine Realm Staff
* * *
All these messages I’m getting makes it feel like spam. When Allen was Kenichi, he had gotten familiar with emails and the like that had used keywords such as “only you” followed by lucrative rewards or prizes. Back in his previous life, he had regarded such messages as spam and fraud, but this time around, it seemed highly unlikely. We were fighting a tough battle, but now, with Ramon-Hamon joining the fray, the situation is dire—hopeless, even. It’s Kyubel who bought us time, but he’s not the only one who has. Ever since the Daemon God’s tail had awoken and Falnemes and Kyubel had begun conversing with it, Allen had been checking up on the battle to the north of Patlanta. Merus and the others had successfully defeated thirteen Demonic Deities, and Pelomas and Beku had also slain one together. All in all, their hard work had rewarded Allen with so much XP that he had gained fourteen levels in one go. He was now Lvl. 107.
And if I beat that Daemon God in front of me, I’ll gain a hundred levels at once! How high will my stats go?! The Summoner also saw that Prostia’s First Imperial Army, stationed ten kilometers south of the battlefield, was heading north to assist the Allen and Hero Armies. No longer did the Summoner have any reason to hesitate.
“Attention Allen Army!” he declared using Bird F. “The Daemon God is being resurrected. We’re switching plans! All forces retreat! Fall back!”
He spoke confidently to his forces, and as soon as he finished giving his order, Merus appeared in front of him.
“Kyubel!” the King Me’d Angel A seethed.
The Greater Demonic Deity was still dancing by the feet of the writhing Daemon God’s tail, and the former First Angel rushed toward him. Simultaneously, Helmios and his party, Sacred, also appeared atop the flower style. Meruru had come with them to help, expertly maneuvering her hihiirokane golem, Tam-Tam, which was in Dolphin Mode.
“My oh my,” Kyubel said, narrowing his eyes behind his mask as he watched Merus charge at him. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Merus?”
“I’ll end you right here!” Merus bellowed.
The Angel A increased his speed and immediately sent out a whirlwind of kicks and punches, but Kyubel guarded himself with one arm while continuing his dance, being careful not to get stepped on by the Daemon God’s tail. True to his sobriquet of being the strongest Greater Demonic Deity, Kyubel was relaxed during the fight.
“Wow, even Hero Helmios is here!” Kyubel cackled. “Did your defensive line in the north crumble, Allen? Did you want to save your friends, the main firepower of your forces, before they were all mercilessly slaughtered? It’s a logical choice, fitting for someone like you. Maybe I underestimated you and you were able to somehow crush our forces in this short amount of time, though. If that’s what happened, I should probably apologize.”
“No need. Just worry about your own life,” Allen replied, refraining from providing intel to Kyubel.
Should I have called them from the start? No, I only think that because I’ve got hindsight now. Besides, we defeated the Demonic Deities in the north, and then my strongest allies got here safely. Allen used Bird A’s Awakened Ability, Homing Instinct, to teleport the Hero Army’s main forces to the flower style only after learning that the First Imperial Army of Prostia, led by Ignomasu, would be heading to the northern battlefields of Patlanta.
“You must not aim for needless glory and attempt to defeat the enemy general!” Allen commanded through Bird F’s Messenger. “Bolster your defenses and head south!”
He ordered the remaining Allen and Hero Army troops as the golem squad formed a square shield to guard their allies behind them. Ranged attackers used arrows and spells to keep the monsters at bay while slowly retreating south.
“What will the remaining forces do once they rendezvous with Prostia’s First Imperial Army?” Cecil asked. “Will you have them retreat here?”
“Yup,” Allen replied. “If they can make it all the way back to the capital, the Second Imperial Army can offer their aid, and they can probably hold down the fort for a while.”
“Which means we need to defeat that sea monster in the meantime. Wait, then what will we do if we can’t beat it? Are you thinking about moving the merfolk somewhere else?”
“Bingo. Lives can’t be replaced, after all. Even if this massive crystal flower is destroyed, without merfolk, the Demon Lord Army can’t do a thing.”
“Please don’t say that,” Sophie said, her face filled with grief and sorrow. “If the crystal flower is destroyed, I’m certain that the people of the empire will be devastated. While they might survive, they will have to spend the rest of their lives shouldering the regret of having abandoned their city. I can’t let them be shackled by such an act of cruelty!”
Much like how the elves of Rohzenheim treasured the World Tree, the merfolk loved the crystal flower more than anything. Rohzenheim and the World Tree, Baukis and the Tower of Tribulation, and Prostia and the crystal flower. As the Summoner traveled the world, he had come to learn that every massive nation had a symbol of its own.
Right when Allen began giving orders to his allies who were busy fighting the three Greater Demonic Deities, a member of Sacred stepped forward.
“Shinorom!” the elderly man barked.
Fifty years ago, Dverg had fought the Demon Lord Army. Their clash had led to the disappearance of his wife, Clasys. Ever since, he had called her name and charged into battle in search of vengeance against his enemies.
“Huh?” Shinorom replied.
“Where’s Clasys?!” Dverg demanded as he swung his blade around.
