The Water Magician

And then, Ryo appeared.

It was almost as if he had teleported…

"Ms. Marlin, I'm late."

"It seems your 'voice' reached us. Even after all these years, it's the first time I've experienced a voice-only transference. It's a relief that it worked out in the end."

The reason Ryo had spent a day in the West Dungeon before heading to the Republic was to set up this situation.

Marlin had also practiced this unfamiliar 'voice-only transference'...

Even if it goes well in practice, there's no guarantee it will succeed in a real situation.

This time, however, it succeeded in the real thing.

What a relief!

"That said, child of the fairy king, I've managed to buy some time... but I'm sorry, my magical power is running low," said the priest-like man opposite them, his smile fading as he frowned.

"That overflowing 'fairy factor'... you're Ryo, aren't you?"

"I don't know any demons like you!"

"Yeah, you probably don't know me. Leonor has told me not to engage with you... He’s... just woke up, so I'm stronger for now, but he will soon surpass me... when that happens, it’ll be troublesome... he will surely nag me endlessly."

As Ryo spoke, the demon shook his head slightly. The latter part was whispered almost inaudibly…

"Ah, Leonor... Yes, he wants to kill me, after all."

Ryo nodded in agreement.

"But it can't be helped now. It's not my fault. It’s your fault for getting involved. Yes, this was an unavoidable, force majeure situation. Leonor understands... no, he probably won’t understand at all, but it can't be helped. It's not my fault."

Despite repeating "it's not my fault" multiple times, the demon broke into a smile again.

"Well, it would be best for everyone if you just leave."

"Among 'everyone', I'm not included."

In response to Ryo's muttering, the demon's smile turned deadly.

And thus, the battle between Ryo and the demon began.

"＜Icicle Lance Shower＞"

Countless ice spears launched at the demon.

Not just icicle lances, but from the very beginning, it was a shower.

However, the demon dodged the shower with teleportation.

"＜Ice Path＞ ＜Icicle Lance Shower＞"

The ice path froze the ground beneath.

Even the teleporting demon must have to touch the ground...

"Whoa!"

The demon involuntarily exclaimed.

Countless ice spears attacked from all directions, not just one.

"＜Dimension Slash＞"

The spell that sliced through Marlin's ＜Implosion＞ and ＜Gravity Rod＞.

It also instantly cut through and erased Ryo's ice spears.

"...Dimension? Dimension Slash? What a fantasy..."

Ryo gasped, unable to help himself.

"Tch. To think a human would force me to use Dimension Slash... I can see why Leonor likes you."

The demon clicked his tongue while laughing, demonstrating impressive dexterity.

"By the way, didn't you say close combat was fun?"

The demon recalled, then drew a sword from nowhere.

But that wasn't all.

"＜Multiple 7＞"

The moment the spell was cast, the demon multiplied into seven.

"What the hell is that..."

Nils muttered involuntarily.

"I've never seen anything like it."

Marlin, who had moved beside the six, also expressed his surprise.

The demon wore a smug expression.

Yet, one person wasn't surprised.

"You’re using a continuous dimensional generation phenomenon, aren't you?"

Ryo explained.

"How do you know..."

The demon's smile faded, astonished.

"You... how far do you understand the truths of this world?"

"There's nothing shocking about it, demon. After all, humans are seekers of truth."

Ryo, taking advantage of the moment, spoke pompously.

Of course, he didn’t actually understand what the continuous dimensional generation phenomenon was.

He simply remembered Leonor using the term when he showed him ＜Multiple 7＞ once, so he just threw it out there.

It sounded cool.

And, as planned, he succeeded in slightly robbing the demon before him of its composure.

Robbing the opponent of their calm is the first step in combat.

And then...

"Demon, behold. ＜Avatar＞"

A faint light shimmered from Murakumo's sheath, and Ryo’s duplicates appeared... a total of seven.

"No way!"

The demon shouted in surprise.