Chapter 47 – I Saw the Devil

A surging ‘north wind,’ and, returning immediately, a ‘headwind.’ One of Nefertiti’s own secret techniques, devised by herself.

For now, the first wind had landed successfully. Except for the small detail of having caused virtually no damage.

Next was the second, the headwind. But regarding this one, a groan escaped her lips first.

*Too slow…!*

Nefertiti bit her lip. Too much force was straining her body. Whether it was from excessive tension. Or perhaps from a faint tremor of fear.

A stiffness, something altogether rigid, had settled within her.

This made manipulating her arcane power more sluggish than usual.

Her pace fell just shy of the velocity she truly desired.

At this rate, her opponent would have no difficulty evading that attack….

—Thwack!

“…?”

Nefertiti had to question her eyes once more.

There was ample opportunity to dodge. No, it was practically *begging* to be dodged.

Unlike the first strike, it was riddled with openings. Anyone would have done so.

But the adversary, once again, hadn’t evaded.

She’d taken the blow head-on. Without a hint of movement or intention to dodge, just straight on.

“….”

Even the urge to fold her fan and conjure the next wind momentarily escaped her.

Nefertiti stared blankly at the red-eyed woman standing before her.

“Ughaaam.”

The yawn was thick with boredom and apathy.

A demeanor utterly incongruous with someone who’d nearly had their throat slit moments before.

And indeed, all that remained was a minor scratch.

“Oh. It drew a little blood, though.”

Hehehe! Watching her grin like that, Nefertiti involuntarily swallowed.

A sudden chill crawled over her skin, a frigid sensation coursing down her spine.

Tension. Fear. Dread. She barely managed to suppress the onslaught of emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

“But, I’m disappointed. I just took all that ’cause I thought it’d be a sharper stiletto. Lowly creature. Takes all the fun out of it.”

—Swish.

She dabbed at the blood on her neck with a fingertip and flicked it away.

With a *crack!*, a crimson whip erupted in her hand.

“Anything else to show me?”

“….”

“Guess not. Ugh, so annoying. Really. Need a new reason to move… Hmm. Let’s do this! If I step out of this little spot here, that’s it. Okay?”

Astaroth drew a small circle around her feet.

The area was incredibly small. Someone only had to nudge her to push her outside of the circle.

Or even a strong gust of wind.

“….”

Nefertiti bit her lip. Was she mocking her?

Was she doing this because her so-called trump card had failed to inflict any meaningful damage?

“Not playing? Then who knows what will happen to those bugs?”

Astaroth gestured, and the man sighed.

Then he seized one of the unconscious knights by the head.

Implying he could snap his neck at any moment.

“Come on, let’s play. Lowly creature? Bug? Whatever!”

Heh. He sighed inwardly, but soon, his eyes blazed anew.

Even so, wasn’t provoking the opponent like this just adding fuel to the fire?

Even a worm writhes when stepped on, and he’d be damned if he didn’t show them!

“Hah!”

He brandishes his fan. Once from top to bottom. Once from right to left.

And then diagonal slashes, beginning at the upper left and lower right respectively.

If this were an attack from a weapon-based ability user…

Or martial arts, or even just a Leg Enhancement type, attacks would have followed those lines.

But Neferti’s power wasn’t in that physical realm.

Rather, it was something entirely unrelated – what they called a Natural Element ability.

From start to finish, everything about it was as unpredictable as could be – the wind.

The unforeseen. The sudden shift after you thought you’d grown accustomed to it.

That was the wind. And it was Neferti’s greatest strength.

—Swish! Swish! Swish!

—Whoosh!

When the fan fell from above, a whirlwind suddenly rose.

When he swept in from right to left, a sudden gust of wind surged up from the earth.

The fan being waved frantically in front was, in reality, just a trick.

Or perhaps it was the faith he gave himself to better manifest his power.

The moment you were captivated by that dazzling movement, you’d miss the approaching wind.

“Hah… hah!”

Almost twenty minutes of constant power usage. Neferti’s breathing grew increasingly ragged.

This, despite never neglecting his physical training. If anything, he’d held out remarkably well.

With very few exceptions, all ability users in the Empire operated on the principle of teamwork.

Not only was it more efficient, but more importantly, using abilities took a tremendous toll on the body.

Acting alone meant using your power far more often.

That act overloaded the body, potentially causing permanent damage.

Therefore, most actions were undertaken with a party situation in mind.

How could he not know the risks he’d have to bear when he had to deviate from that ideal?

Instinctively. And because it had been drilled into his head since the cradle.

Neferti already felt his body slowly, but surely, breaking down.

Was it simply overexertion? A temporary impairment?

Or, even if he survived this, and received proper treatment, would he still be left with permanent physical damage he could never fully recover from?

‘…Scary.’

Suddenly, that thought surfaced.

It began as a tiny fragment of emotion.

But once it started, the contemplation rapidly grew in size.

What good was any of this doing, anyway?

Could he even survive this? Even if he did, would his body be intact?

And if he died… what expression would his father wear?

In the end, those things had an effect, even on the manifestation of her ability.

The already precarious dam had finally crumbled completely.

“Ghk!”

“Eh? What’s this. Is this really all you’ve got?”

Astaroth, who hadn’t moved an inch from the circle he’d drawn, just yawning.

Not only that, but he’d even been dozing off, briefly. He finally speaks.

“Even if I offered you a chance, you’d refuse. Hmm. What to do, then?”

“Let’s wrap this up. You’re wasting too much time.”

“Is that so? Still, it was just a little bit amusing, which is a shame.”

“Save it for a greater pleasure. After all, the only reason you came here was because of that ‘Trumpet Resounding in the Dawn,’ wasn’t it?”

Dawn? Trumpet? Nefertiti, gasping for breath, looked up, startled.

‘This… right? They’re talking about Deus, my junior?’

She had gone mad and introduced herself like that to a devil, how embarrassing.

She even remembers clearly saying, after hearing it, “That’s cool! My junior?”

“What’s this? You seem to know something about the Trumpet of Dawn, or whatever it is?”

Astaroth tilted his head, lightly flicking his whip.

—*Crack!*

Writhing like a living snake, the whip lunged at Nefertiti.

She tried to avoid it, but it was impossible. A speed that would be difficult to react to even if her body was in perfect condition.

How could she possibly respond in a situation pushed to the very limit?

“Keugh! Cough!!”

The whip wrapped around her neck, dragging Nefertiti’s body along.

She struggled with all her might, but it was no use.

“Hey, insect. Be honest with me. You know something, don’t you? Don’t you?”

“Keheup! Hheeup!”

“Tell me. What do you know? Huh?”

The man, who had been watching the scene for a moment, cautiously raised his hand.

“Lord Astaroth.”

“You won’t talk? Huh? You still won’t talk even after this? Aah?!”

“Um, Lord Astaroth?”

“Ah, what is it now? If you’re going to nag, get lost.”

That’s not it. What am I supposed to do with you?

The man sighed and looked at Nefertiti before continuing.

“She can’t speak with the whip around her neck, my lord.”

“Huh? Oh. Ah ha! That’s right, isn’t it? My bad! Lower life form!”

“Keheuk! Cough! Keuk!”

She almost died. Seriously. Nefertiti barely managed to shake off the whiteout blurring her vision.

It was brief, but she even saw her life flash before her eyes. So this is what it’s like when death approaches, she thought.

“Alright. You can talk now, right? Quickly. That guy who goes around bragging about that ridiculous nickname! Who the hell is he!? That’s why I came all this way! So I can see his face!”

Hearing Astaroth’s words, the man beside him mumbled, “You said it was ridiculous, but you were practically bursting with laughter.”

Of course, she wasn’t the kind of woman to be easily pricked by conscience.

“Haa, haa…”

Neferti, catching her breath, speaks to the demon before her for the first time.

“To you… I have nothing to say!”

“Oh. Did you think saying that would earn you praise for your courage, perhaps?”

*That’s* why they’re called lesser creatures. They can’t tell courage from recklessness.

Tsk tsk, Astaroth clicks his tongue and cracks the whip violently.

“Last chance. Frankly, insect, it doesn’t matter to me whether you talk or not. We’re going to meet him anyway. This is just a whim of mine. So seize it while you can.”

Hearing those words, a cowardly thought slithers to the surface.

Fool. Don’t you value your life? Are you desperate to die like this?

It’s not like I’m asking you to betray your junior. Just tell them what you know.

It’s not about revealing weaknesses, or where their family lives. Nothing like that.

Say something. Offer any answer. Then you can live.

You haven’t even achieved your dreams yet. Do you want to die here like this?

Don’t worry. Your junior won’t blame you. So!

‘…So. All the more reason I can’t.’

One whose heart is broken can never rise again.

Even if a way out appears. Never would she comply with their wishes.

That was her first promise to her dream, and the vow she made before her brother’s gravestone.

“Kill me.”

“Oho?”

“I have nothing to tell you.”

“Really? It seems to me you do, though?”

“If there’s one thing. It’s that you will suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of my junior. A defeat more terrible than that demon who appeared in the Cradle. That’s about it, I suppose?”

My goodness. They call them lesser creatures, but they’re not even afraid of death?

Astaroth, erupting in mocking laughter, flicks the whip, saying, “I’ll grant your wish.”

The moment it hits, flesh will tear away and bones will shatter.

Neferti bit her lip. Please, don’t let her succumb to cowardice in the face of pain.

She had lived as a Cradle student, as its president, as an Esper.

Therefore, she earnestly desired to protect all of that, even in her final moments.

‘…Is that really true, though?’

Her father’s face appears in her mind. Her father from six years ago, having received the news of her brother’s death in action.

The thought of him wearing that same expression again brings a flood of regret.

“And here I went to the trouble of asking the Duke a favor, and you do this?”

—KWA-AA-ANG!!

It was in that very next instant that the War God’s jet kick slammed into the demon’s stomach.