Published: July 3, 2025
"〈Gravity〉"
The moment the red old man cast his spell, the priest-like man was crushed.
He was squashed in the space.
However, it was only for an instant.
In the next moment, as if nothing had happened, the priest-like man was standing again.
"You... are you Spelno?"
The priest-like man asked in surprise.
"The demon... It's annoying enough that you appear right next to my dungeon, but to think you would take action against them."
The red old man was not just annoyed; he was angry.
"Um, Lord Marlin...?"
Eto asked the old man in front of him.
"This one is troublesome. I'm not sure if I can win even if I try. You all stay back."
The red mage Marlin said this and readied his staff.
"To think I revealed myself near the Holy Capital... I never imagined there would be a dungeon inhabited by Spelno nearby... What a blunder."
The priest-like man... the demon referred to by Marlin laughed as he said this.
The content of his words expressed his regret for his own mistake, but his expression was the exact opposite.
Yes, it was a laugh that could only be described as grotesque.
"Well, since we've crossed paths, we have no choice but to fight. That's right, this can't be helped. It’s not my fault. The flow of various events was unfortunate. There was no way to avoid it, yes, it can't be helped."
The demon said this while laughing.
Thus, the curtain was raised for the battle between the mage Marlin and the demon.
"〈Gravity〉"
Marlin chanted.
There was no incantation, and not even a buildup.
The moment he cast, the demon was supposed to be crushed... but he wasn’t.
The demon moved the instant 〈Gravity〉 was activated.
"I saw that earlier. 〈Oh Flame〉"
While teleporting rapidly, the demon cast.
Huge fireballs were released from all the afterimages of his teleportation.
"〈Reverse〉"
The moment Marlin swung his staff and cast, all the fireballs' trajectories flipped and flew back to where they came from.
Upon reaching their destination, all the fireballs disappeared.
Perfectly, as if there was nothing there to begin with.
All had been erased by the demon.
The demon continued to teleport.
With a grotesque smile on his face.
"This is troublesome, truly a troublesome Spelno."
The demon said this while laughing and cast again.
"〈Stone Icicle〉"
"〈Invalid〉"
The moment the demon cast, stone icicles began to form from the ground where Marlin stood, but... when Marlin cast, they immediately disappeared and returned to the original ground.
"〈Pillar of Ice〉"
The moment the demon cast, ice spears emerged from all directions and rushed towards Marlin.
Probably, there were hundreds of them.
"〈Reverse〉"
As Marlin swung his staff and cast again, the icicles returned to the direction they came from...
However...
Thud.
"Guah!"
The moment Marlin swung his staff, the demon appeared right in front of him and stabbed the sword he had somehow obtained into Marlin's abdomen.
"I had to make you swing your staff."
The demon said, wearing a smile that could be described as ominous.
However, Marlin smirked back.
"… You finally stopped moving."
"!"
"〈Implosion〉"
Marlin grabbed the sword that had been thrust into his abdomen and, with a grotesque smile of his own, cast the spell.
At that moment, the demon in front of him was subjected to pressure from all directions and vanished.
If Ryo had been there, he might have said:
"Explosion!"
"Kukuku… That was quite interesting, Spelno. But you seem to be 'sleep-deprived.' I’d like to fight again after you wake up. Those who know of the fall from grace must act properly. Until we meet again."
Such a voice echoed around.
He had been crushed, but the demon was not dead.
Marlin collapsed, kneeling down.
"Lord Marlin!"
The group rushed over.
"I'm fine. In a little while, it will restore on its own."
Marlin answered with a steady voice, despite his face contorted in pain.
"But you all... have attracted the attention of a troublesome one."
"Lord Marlin, who on earth is that?"
"Well... we call them demons. Haven't you heard of them?"
"No..."
The group shook their heads, looking at each other.