Kuro no Maou

“KyyyoooowwaaaaAA!!”

I had heard that orcs generally have a very deep voice but it cried out in a high pitch and then fixed its aim towards Lily as she conspicuously stood out with all the light surrounding her.

A sharp axe-like claw came attacking her. If it lands, it would probably go through her oracle field and reach her soft skin.

However, instead, and this is the obvious outcome, but the attack had not landed. The claw slashed through her glowing afterimage.

“Eii!”

Lily extended her arms like she would be giving a hug and flew straight towards the orc chimera. But what awaited the chimera wasn’t a loving fairy’s embrace, it was a dazzling slash of light.

The Star Sword pierced into the unpleasant chimera’s face and its divine white light went through the chimera’s whole body as if it was purifying it right there and then.

She had stabbed the chimera but as a result, the chimera was cut in exactly two half. It got cut off so cleanly that it made me think how symmetrical its body was. The same end as the harpy chimera from a while ago.

And as if to give no heed or interest to the enemy she had just cut, Lily perfectly completed a triple axel there and turned around.

She then extended her right arm like my bullet arts. And the gun she made with her hand aimed at the lizardman who had just gotten in range to cut me.

And then, along with a cute wing, Lily shot.

“Bang!”

About 50 centimeters in front of me, a completely white pillar of light rushed through. That feeling you get when a train passes by a station.

And weirdly enough, none of the heat reached my face. I wonder if it’s because all the attack power is densely packed inside that torrent of light.

And after it just passed by, it left nothing behind its path. As if the chimeras in front of me were just a hallucination.

“Ha, haha...... it’s over.”

“......We are all, done for.”

After sweeping away the chimera soldiers, I began running on the wall surface yet again but the despair and resignation of the war slaves made my feet feel a bit heavier.

After taking a mere 5 more steps, I will reach their ladder and will shred them with bullets. I wonder how many of them will be pierced by the bullets if I were to shoot from right above them... Or maybe before that can happen, the wooden ladder would break, throwing them off to the empty sky.

Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that they will have to get exterminated–

“Uwaah, Wait, oi! Damn it, it’s not my fault! I beg you, save meee!!”

With a single leap, I reached above the ladder. As I stood above the ladder like that, it looked as if the war slaves were at my feet, begging for mercy.

Of course, no matter how much they cry for mercy, I would just point my gun towards them—yes, just aim it at them.

“Damn it!!”

As if to run away, I jumped back from the ladder and left that place behind me. I headed towards the center of the wall, not where I previously was. The battleground where the chimera soldiers were rushing in, which was my first objective.

“I do not... have the time to be caring about small fries!”

That was the best excuse I could come up with.

“—Yes, that’s exactly right, Kurono.”

That moment, I felt like... I heard Fiona’s voice.

As I look back, I saw the ladder the pitiful slaves were clinging on to get swallowed up by a whirlpool of flame.

The rumbling tornado of flame just burnt, not allowing anyone or anything to exist inside it. It burnt all of it to the ground. Even the crude white robe, the hard scales and the soft fur, the flesh and the bones–it burnt it all, even the soul.

“As such, I have taken care of them. Now, please, go ahead.”

As I looked up, I spotted an elegant witch atop the wall, swinging her wand. She had already finished casting her spell. Small crimson fiery particles only scattered afterwards. She was composed enough to even give me a wave as she noticed I looked towards her.

The mid-level magic Fiona used, ‘Ignis Kris Sagita’, had a magnificent firepower to it as always and exterminated the ‘small fries’ all too soon.

The skeletons in underground tombs or these war slaves–it isn’t much of a difference to her probably. Both her enemies she needs to put down.

“Ha... hahaha...”

What am I doing, exactly? What have I come here to do?

“......Sorry, Fiona.”

Being a hypocrite at this point, am I? Am I an idiot or what? I am an idiot beyond help.

“Sorry to make you work more.”

What a sorry state I am in.

Because the war slaves just looked too pitiful and miserable–I ended up running away and making my ally dirty her hands with it.

Seriously, the thought itself is making me sick. Oi, Kurono, Kurono Maou, did you form this party to do that? To just kill the people you want to and leave the others to your allies?

Don’t jest. What are you, behaving like a naive child?

“I will do that, from here on out. I will kill them.”

At this point, even worrying is a sin. Look closely–the only ones here are reliable allies and detestable enemies. A simple extreme logic.

Fight the enemy. Kill the enemy. If you can’t do that, you do not deserve to be standing here.

Finally, after so long, I was resolute.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m up against... I will kill them all...”

I let go of the chains from my left hand and drew Kubitachi.

“Let’s go, Lily!”

“Yep!”

And then, I took a step forward. And that one step was surprisingly light.