Excalibur

"Wait a minute..."

From afar, Mika thought that there was a waterfall here, however when he looked closer at it, he realized that the waterfall was completely frozen.

But what caught his attention the most was the creature in the center of the frozen water.

"Isn't that..."

His eyes widened after he saw the impaled head of a monster that resembled the monster that was chasing him not too long ago.

"I'm quite surprised, too..." Ophelia commented with a nervous smile.

The whole group assumed that there would be only one ape-like monster that matched the description from the quest.

Now, after seeing there was another monster like that, they were shocked.

"Are you done with talking?"

"!"

"?!"

Unable to notice it sooner, Zantar managed to get between Ophelia and Mika.

Hastily, the two jumped away from him.

"What a cold reaction... I have feelings, too, you know?" he said as he acted like his feelings were hurt.

His demeanor was relaxed as he had his hands in his pockets the entire time.

Ophelia gritted her teeth and rushed at him while equipping herself with her relic, Encore.

Dark matter enveloped her hands and in a second that dark matter turned into black metallic gauntlets.

Fused with her lightning magic, she launched a straight punch at him.

But before the punch could connect, he grabbed her wrist tightly.

"..."

Zantar looked intensively at her relic and heaved a sigh.

"He is a damn monster..." he muttered to himself with unease.

When she noticed that he let his guard down a little, she used the chance to free herself from his grip and created some distance between them.

"Ophelia!"

Mika wanted to come and help her, but Ophelia raised her hand with the palm facing Mika.

"Stick to the plan!" she shouted as her eyes did not wander away from her opponent.

"Plan? Do you really want to defeat me?"

Zantar sounded honestly confused.

"One minute, right? I have to stall him for just a minute, right?" Ophelia shouted.

"..."

Mika bit his lips.

He may have proposed the plan, but he was still worried about leaving her alone with Zantar.

[Don't waste your time.]

"..."

[Trust her.]

"One minute will be more than enough!" Mika shouted boldly and yet nervously as he ran.

Ophelia smirked.

"One minute?" Zantar tilted his head.

He watched Mika rushing to the ape-like monster.

"Hey, system. Shouldn't I already get the reward for the quest? After all, it seems like Sylvia and Lily beat the monster." Mika asked.

[As much as I want to reward you, it may not be possible yet.]

"What?!"

[There was a slight change in the quest.]

"Huh?! Are you kidding me?! Why are you telling me this now?!"

[You were busy with running away from those two.]

"Jeez! Whatever! Tell me what changed!"

[In order to clear the quest, you have to capture or kill the monster alone. Additionally, it was decided that you may use the sword again.]

"That's it? Fine, I was going to do it anyway!"

As he was already near the monster, Mika drew his rusty and dull sword.

The sword began to shine in a bright white.

"..."

Zantar narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Mika's sword.

Even the monster felt something bizarre.

The monster's hair stood up.

A natural reaction in the face of fear.

But what was there to fear for the monster?

It looked at Mika.

And then at the sword.

"I'll end this swiftly!" Mika announced vigorously as he jumped into the air.

The monster came to an understanding.

The danger it felt came from the sword.

At the moment, when Mika tried to vertically slash its body, it evaded the sword by leaping greatly to the back.

"Hey, hey... Are you kidding me...?"

Zantar grinned sinisterly and anxiously.

Mika's sword, which was stuck in the ground with its tip, transformed again into the sharp and powerful sword, which was shining in gold and white.

"Haha..."

Zantar placed his palm on his face and began to laugh maniacally.

"Hahaha! I found it! Your Majesty! I, your humble servant, have found Excalibur!" he shouted euphoricly to the sky while spreading his arms.

"Your Majesty? Excalibur...? Just what in the world is he blabbering?" Ophelia wondered while staying on guard.

"It may have been just a short time, but I had a lot of fun with you! Now, if you will excuse me~"

Then, dark matter spread from his back and formed black featherless wings resembling those of bats.

[Mika! Don't let him get away!]

"Hm?"

Mika turned around and saw how Zantar was about to leave.

[If you let him go now, everything will be over!]

He did not understand what the system meant, but it was the first time the system sounded so desperate.

"Ophelia, you have to stop him!" Mika shouted.

"Huh? But wouldn't it be bett-"

"I'll explain later, so please stop him!"

As soon as Zantar leaped off the ground, Ophelia jumped as well.

"?"

Powered up with her magic, she kicked him midair and slammed him back to the ground.

The impact caused dust and smoke to come into the air.

"..."

Despite her speed, Zantar was able to block the kick with his arms.

"I see... I see..."

He patted the dust on his body away.

"You want to prevent me from escaping from here, right? That's a smart decision, you brat." Zantar told Mika with a confident grin.

"But at the same time, it was a dumb decision. Your goal is to keep me from spreading the information about Excalibur. But if you want me to keep my mouth shut, then you have to kill me." he added.

Ophelia landed beside Mika.

"What is he talking about?" she asked Mika.

"..."

But he did not say anything as he averted his gaze from her.

"To be honest, I would rather avoid fighting against you, but if you want to kill me, then I will have no choice but to fight back."

He raised his hands and snapped his fingers.

"Let's get serious."

On his signal, the ape-like monster started to act strangely.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm the great Zantar, one of the top B-ranking demons. And even if I'm still a B-rank, I alone should be enough to kill you two!"

The monster screamed loudly and at the same time, it spread its two additional arms, which previously were wrapped around its back and chest.

"What the heck is that..." Mika remarked stunned.

He stared at the completed form of the monster.

"Is one minute still enough for you...?" Ophelia asked tensely.

Mika smiled wryly.

"We will see!" he stated as he rushed towards the enemy.

"Fine, then I will- Huh?"

Ophelia was about to turn back to Zantar, but he vanished in front of her.

"By the way, how did you get your hands on this?"

"?"

Zantar appeared right beside Mika and grabbed his right arm.

"How could a normal human like you possess Excalibur, one of heaven's holy relics?" he asked pensively.

"Just what are those damn angels planning...?" he continued.

Before Mika could react properly, Ophelia came to his aid.

"Focus on me!" she yelled as she launched another kick at him.

Like always, he dodged her and stepped back.

"M-Ms. Ross..."

"Hurry up and defeat that creepy monster already!"

Mika tightened his grip on his sword.

"Yes!"

Ophelia's eyes were completely locked onto Zantar.

This time, she would not allow him to do how he pleases.

"Why are you so fixated on his sword?" she asked.

"It may be able to negate magic, but that's it, right?"

"Hmpf. Of course, there's more." Zantar scoffed.

"This sword... It is as if it was filled with hatred towards us, demons."

"What do you mean?"

"Its true power will be displayed in a fight against a monster or a demon. In the eyes of you lowly humans this sword appears to have just the trait of negating magic, however in our eyes it's far more dangerous."

He took a glance to the side, where Mika was battling the ape.

It seemed like a difficult fight due to the monster's four long arms, but Mika was able to slash one of its forearms leaving a wound.

It was not a deep wound and looked rather like a small scratch and yet the monster's scream was louder and more agonizing than the scream one of its kind had during its fight against Lily and Sylvia.

"Do you understand now?" Zantar asked Ophelia.

"..."

Ophelia could not avert her gaze from the screaming monster.

"The pain monsters and demons feel from the sword is not comparable with the pain humans would feel." he explained with a grin.

"If one of my fingers would get slightly poked by it, then I would most likely cry to death." he exaggerated jokingly.

He proceeded to do some light stretching.

"For years, decades, centuries and even before I was born, Excalibur was in the possession of heaven. As long as the sword was guarded in heaven, it was impossible for us to retrieve it."

He continued.

"But who would have thought that the sword would wander into the hands of a brat?"

His mischievous grin widened.

"This could be the turning point for the ever-lasting war!"

"I still don't understand everything you've said, but what exactly are you planning now...?"

Ophelia tensed up more as she sensed a change in the atmosphere.

"Isn't it obvious? I'll kill the brat and take the sword!"