Demonic Nature

With Ei, Eula, Xinyan, and Jean forming a perimeter around Moore's bound body, Paul asked, "Why did you attack us?"

Seemingly oblivious to his circumstances, Moore maintained an ostensibly calm and composed demeanor as he replied, "It was a trial. Our Mistress, the Immortal Demon King, Atoferatofe Raibaku, has developed an interest in you and your Party. You should prepare yourselves."

"Right..."

Instead of regarding Moore's words as bluster, Paul turned to Ei and said, "Try not to kill anyone once they arrive. Most of Atoferatofe's central forces possess some form of immortality, but it's better to be safe than sorry. We may end up fighting, but we're not enemies."

Since the blast that had drawn their attention had targetted the 'road' rather than the carriage itself, Paul assumed Moore and Aldrich hadn't been trying to kill them. They likely just wanted to stop the carriage so they could pass on their Mistress's words before testing their strength. Unfortunately for them, Ei was more of a 'strike first, ask questions later' kind of person.

Not expecting such a 'sensible' response from Paul, Moore craned his left brow ever so slightly as he remarked, "You're no ordinary human..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Paul replied, "I can't afford to be." before asking, "Are you going to cause trouble if we release you? I'd rather your Mistress not assume we're holding you hostage."

Without shaking or nodding his head, Moore replied, "Your ally has bested me in single combat. Unless ordered to do so by my Mistress, I will stand aside in the coming conflict."

Though he didn't exactly trust the silver-haired Demon, Paul nodded his head before removing Moore's bindings. They were formed using Dendro Elemental Energy, so he could will them away whenever he wanted.

Freed from his bindings, Moore retrieved the lower half of his bisected armor before holding the severed pieces up to the parts that were still intact. To the surprise of Paul and Party, the severed parts seemed to 'snap' back into place as if drawn by a powerful magnet. Moments later, the armor was completely whole again.

Unable to contain himself, Paul remarked, "That's pretty handy..." in an audibly impressed tone. He knew the ashen black armor worn by Atofe and her subordinates had to be special, but the novel and anime rarely went into the specifics of magical items and artifacts that weren't integral to the plot.

Though he understood Paul's curiosity, Moore cautioned, "It's an armor specifically crafted for Immortals. It draws upon the wearer's vitality to enhance their physical parameters, increase its durability, and repair itself. Unless you have a death wish, I would advise against trying to steal a set for yourself..."

While dismissively waving his hand, Paul assured, "Don't worry. I'm not really into the whole armor thing. A breastplate is one thing, but full plate armor? No thanks."

"Hmmm..."

Giving Paul a quick once-over, Moore noticed he was wearing very little protection. He had a gauntlet on his left hand, a mithril undertunic, and a thin breastplate that appeared to be treated with orichalcum. These were top-quality defensive garments against monsters and mundane threats, but they were functionally useless against opponents Saint-Ranked and above.

"You must be confident in your ability to protect yourself..."

Catching Moore a little off guard, Paul shook his head and admitted, "I still have a long way to go." before gesturing to Ei and the others as he added, "Fortunately, I'm blessed to have capable allies."

Recalling how Ei had sliced through both his Saint-Ranked Fire Magic and his body before he could get out a single word, Moore didn't doubt Paul's claim. Instead, he gave the purple-haired Archon an appraising look, his eyes lingering a little longer than they should have on her ample cleavage.

Narrowing her Electro-purple eyes, Ei coldly remarked, "My body is mine and my Master's alone. If you intend to keep those eyes, you will control where they look..."

Immediately averting his eyes, Moore remarked, "It was not my intent to offend. However, your-"

Interrupting before Moore could finish, Ei coldly stated, "I do not require your compliments." as the air began to crackle around her.

Realizing he was up against an uncompromising force, Moore swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat before turning to meet Paul's gaze as he said, "They're a lot more than capable..."

Adopting a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Paul replied, "I am well aware." before asking, "Any idea when your Mistress should be arriving?"

Shifting his gaze to the sky, Moore hesitated for a moment before saying, "With her speed, she should have arrived by now. If I had to guess, she is probably spying on us from a distance."

Instead of looking around himself, Paul looked to Ei, Venti, Ghislaine, and Ganyu, asking, "Sense anything?"

Though Ei, Ghislaine, and Ganyu either shook their heads or replied in the negative, Venti emulated Moore's act of looking skyward as she playfully inquired, "Does she have blue skin, a large horn, bluish-white hair, a large sword, and black panties~?"

Looking skyward, Paul had to cover his eyes to filter out the brilliant white sunlight. Even then, he still couldn't see whatever Venti and Moore were staring at. However, considering his eyes were photosensitive enough to see clearly in the dark, that wasn't too surprising...

Trusting in Venti's eyesight, a wry smile developed across Paul's face as he waved towards the presumed direction of Atofe and said, "Yo. Nice to meet-"

Before Paul could finish speaking, a figure impacted the ground like a tungsten rod dropped from orbit. A large explosion of dust and debris erupted from the area where the figure made contact, followed by the sound of several sonic booms and deranged-sounding laughter.

"Bwahahahahahaha! You've finally come, Paul Greyrat and his infamous Party, Einherjar...!"

Following the feminine outburst, a powerful gust swept through the area as a woman with features matching Venti's description swung a sheathed sword nearly as broad as her waist to disperse the cloud of dust. The only notable additions were the diminutive, bat-like wings on her back, the fact her hair was done up in a wild ponytail that fanned outward in defiance of gravity, and her height...

Though he knew Atofe was supposed to be short, Paul was slightly taken aback to see that the legendary Demoness was roughly the same height as Ganyu, approximately 160cm. She was remarkably well developed, but with her thick armor on, she actually appeared more dainty than muscular or athletic...

Recognizing the look on Paul's face, Atofe shouldered her comically large sword and asked, "What? Were you expecting me to be as big as my little brother?"

Shaking his head, Paul replied, "Not exactly...I just didn't expect you to be so...dainty?"

With an overbroad smile that revealed pearly white, surprisingly human-like teeth, Atofe playfully remarked, "Careful, brat. I didn't come here to kill you. Don't make me change my mind."

Though he didn't doubt Atofe could kill him, Paul adopted a smile of his own as he countered, "Shall we make a wager...?"

Narrowing her glowing red, black sclera eyes, Atofe's smile became even more prominent as she inquired, "Hoooo~? What kind of wager...?"

Gesturing toward Ei, Paul said, "If my Kagemusha manages to defeat you, you will welcome us as guests within Fort Necross. If you are dissatisfied with her performance, I will become your captive for the next three years. Deal?"

After mulling over the matter for quite some time, Paul realized that it would probably be best to settle down and train his ass off rather than wandering aimlessly around the Demon Continent. He also wanted to put Kishirika's theory to the test, so even if he had to 'suffer' for a few years, he was willing to swallow his pride if it allowed him to become immortal...

Without needing to consider her response, Atofe replied, "Sure. But if your side loses, I'll be taking all of you as prisoners. There aren't many females around Fort Necross, so I'll have them service my men while you undergo training as my pet."

Though he wanted to believe Atofe was joking, Paul's expression became severe as he stated, "We didn't venture here to antagonize you or become your enemies..."

Shrugging her shoulders, Atofe retorted, "Humanity does much worse to Demons they enslave or take prisoner. At least I offer people the chance to leave after ten years of service. You'll also be well fed and given ample opportunities to escape and grow stronger, so don't bother complaining to me about things like fairness or decency. Power and authority are the only things that matter in this world."

Without further word, Atofe launched herself toward Ei with enough force to cause a mighty explosion. She had yet to unsheathe her sword, but the speed of her movement was fast enough to ignite the air around her body and sheathe, giving her an even more demonic appearance.

Having been on guard the entire time, Ei didn't so much as flinch in the face of Atofe's surprise attack. Instead, she took a single step backward before her entire body abruptly disappeared, reappearing behind Atofe in an instant.

As her flaming sword swept through the area where Ei had been standing a single moment prior, a bemused, "Oh?' emanated from Atofe's throat as a series of purple lines appeared out of thin air. In the very next moment, the world around her began to spin rapidly as her head, leaving behind a corkscrewing trail of blood, spiraled through the air.

Brandishing her sword in a slicing motion, Ei's expression remained a mask of serenity as she gazed back over her shoulder to witness Atofe's body and armor separating like chaff from an aircraft due to her forward momentum. The only thing that wasn't even remotely damaged was her peculiar purple sword, which, despite receiving a cut, only lost part of its sheathe.

Though most opponents would have been killed by such a decisive blow, Atofe waited for her head to stop rolling before adopting a toothy grin and excitedly remarking, "Not bad! You even infused lightning into your attack to make it harder for me to regenerate! Bwahahahahaha~!"

Despite her words, the blood and individual chunks of Atofe's body rose from the ground and started to gravitate toward one another in a ghastly yet impossible to turn away from manner. Paul was briefly reminded of the scene of Majin Buu regenerating as Atofe quite literally turned into a ball of writhing flesh before morphing back into her original form, fully clothed and armored.

While rubbing and popping her neck, Atofe's smile became even wider as she stared at Ei and said, "I love that cold and arrogant look in your eyes. Perhaps I'll make you my pet and let that little boy replace you on service duty? You know what they say, a hole's a hole."

As Ei narrowed her eyes, Atofe extended her right hand toward her sword. In response, it spun towards her like a wayward propeller before stopping the moment she closed her hand around the forearm-sized hilt.

"Unfortunately for you, the lightning infused into your attacks seems to lack the purification properties of genuine Lightning Magic. You'll need to do a lot better than that if you want to protect your friends."

Removing what remained of her sheathe, Atofe held up her oversized sword with a prideful expression on her face as she attempted to explain what made it special. Before she could, however, a bead of sweat formed near the base of her horn, as, for a brief moment, Ei's form appeared to blot out the sky as she sliced toward her with an impossibly large sword...

"This one might hur-"

Interrupting Atofe's quip, Ei released roughly thirty percent of the Electro Energy she had stockpiled over the last year and a half. Paul had told her to try to avoid killing, but Ei would never allow her Master to be captured and subjected to maltreatment. Thus, for the first time since her arrival in the world of Mushoku Tensei, she exhibited her true power as the Electro Archon. As a result, a glowing purple channel nearly a kilometer long was spontaneously formed in the Demon Continent...

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