Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

I’m Satou. There are many words that have become common knowledge without people really knowing their origins. Well, nowadays you can find out a bit by searching online.

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“This place should be fine. Who wants to go first?”

To verify the unique skills lent by the gods, we came to another world that’s a replica of the Great Desert.

This otherworld has been reinforced repeatedly so it won’t break during the anti-god magic field tests, making it perfect for performance experiments.

Since it’s unbearably hot, we boarded a large airship equipped with air conditioning.

Aze-san is with us today, too. We can’t just let her return carelessly, since she’s targeted by the demon god and God Zaikuon.

“Master, I volunteer to go first,” Nana stepped up.

“In that case, I’ll be your partner for testing. Shall we proceed with Inferno and then the anti-Demon King skill ‘Myth Collapse: Lesser Mythology Down’ in order?”

Arisa was quite bold.

“If possible, try a weaker advanced fire magic before Inferno.”

“Since it’s a divine ability, it should be fine, right? Nana’s ‘Unyielding Fortress (Castle)’ can even block Inferno, so if you’re worried, just use Castle inside the godly barrier.”

“Master, I insist that it’s meaningless if it can’t block the demon god’s attack.”

True enough—

“Understood. I’ll standby next to Nana as well.”

That way we’re safe just in case.

Arisa sighed and said, “Master, you’re still so overprotective,” but I ignored it—better safe than having Nana get hurt.

I took Nana and moved toward the center of the desert.

“Ready?”

“Wait a little longer.”

I called a hold over tactical communication.

“Nana, activate your unique skill.”

“Yes, Master. I’m activating the unique skill ‘Holy Shield Guardian (Paladin Shield).’”

A crimson light flickered over Nana’s body, and a dome about 100 meters in radius formed around us.

“Can you change the size?”

“Yes, Master. The size can be adjusted from one-tenth to ten times the current size. Shrinking it increases defense up to three times; expanding it to the max lowers defense to less than half.”

It seemed she had a general idea of the details.

After activating the late-model golden armor version of “Unyielding Fortress (Castle)” inside, I gave Arisa the GO.

“Here goes—Inferno!”

Crimson infernal flames spread across the desert, engulfing us instantly.

When Inferno’s flames touched the dome of the Holy Shield Guardian (Paladin Shield), a translucent shield appeared on the dome’s surface, emblazoned with the holy seal of God Karion at its center.

“Master, the front defense has skyrocketed,” Nana reported.

As expected, it seemed the shield was especially good at blocking attacks directly.

Eventually, Arisa’s Inferno faded.

“Arisa, next, fire medium-level Flame Orbs from three directions.”

“Okay—Blast Shot!”

Powerful fireballs flew at the Paladin Shield dome from three directions.

“Master, the shield doesn’t appear without sufficient attack strength.”

“It seems the shield only manifests against attacks above a certain threshold.”

Then Arisa attacked from two directions with advanced fire magic, and the shield appeared properly on both sides.

“In this case, the defense appears to have dropped,” Nana reported.

I see—the shield must alter the density of the dome’s defensive barrier when it appears.

“Melee weapons like the Dragon Fang Sword are also blocked.”

When I struck with the Dragon Fang Sword, the shield-like surface peeled off in flakes, but each time a new shield appeared underneath.

It’s similar to the mechanism of the Divine Dance Armor used by the demon god.

That magic might have been modeled after God Karion’s “Holy Shield Guardian (Paladin Shield).”

“Master, long-term defense is impossible,” Nana said.

Indeed, it seemed the shield could only block Dragon Fang weapons like the Dragon Fang Sword for about 10 seconds.

After that, the Paladin Shield dome wavered and eventually collapsed.