"Battle" at Kishirika Castle

[give me power stones!!]

The Immortal Demon Queen Atoferatofe was famous.

For the past few hundred years, her notoriety remained firm even though she hadn't lifted a single finger to uphold it.

The Laplace War ended, then the North God Kalman married her, and since then, Atofe hadn't left the Demon Continent to incite any war.

During the First Great War between Humans and Demons, the hero Ars had chosen six companions and killed the Five Great Demon Kings.

He was the hero who defeated Kishirika and brought down the curtain on a war that had lasted for a thousand years.

Atofe had barely fought anyone since then. At most, Atofe had been annoying other demons with her rank.

As a result, her current personal guard had never dealt with challengers before. However, there were several wandering knights who ended up visiting the castle, so they knew how to treat visitors.

which is why the soldiers did not treat me with hostility.

When I accepted her request to fight, she smiled maniacally and took flight, leaving through the hallway where I entered.

"Haa...she always does that..." The elderly guard whose head had just burst completely a few moments ago sighed in resignation.

I refrained from making any comments, he must be some immortal demon or something.

[Ha! Pardon my manners young man, my name is Moore, I am the leader of the Atofe guard and you are?] The elderly guard asked as he approached me.

[My name is Paul, is Atofe in a bad mood or something today?" I asked him.

[Haha...no, she's always like that and I must say you must be crazy to accept to fight her young man, she's a North God and her rank was granted by Alek Kallman 1st himself] Moore said in a tense tone and I just nodded.

[Don't worry...I'm more powerful than you think] I told him with a smile.

Moore simply raised an eyebrow as he looked me up and down, then retreated through a door behind Atofe's throne.

[The guards will take you to the combat arena] he said before leaving and I nodded.

And just like he said, two men in black armor started walking towards me and told me to follow them.

I walked behind them for about five minutes until we arrived at a combat arena, It was average sized, maybe about thirty meters long and wide and there was no roof so it was already dark.

The arena was surrounded by black walls and we still seemed to be in the castle because there were guards in what seemed to be a fort.

There were guards at the four corners of this place and they all carried swords at their waists as they stared at me.

But suddenly four figures advanced from among the guards and stopped at the beginning of the arena.

Three of them stopped and one of them continued moving forward, took off his helmet and spoke.

[Hero! We congratulate you on reaching the heart of the Fort!!] he said

[You must certainly be strong enough to have challenged Lady Atofe!!]

[We commend you! No one can deny your courage!]

[Even so, we are Atofe's personal guard! We must defend our honor and our pride!]

The other three guards answered him while I stared at him.

[If you wish to test your strength against the Immortal Demon Queen Atoferatofe and be able to speak with Lady Kishirika!...] he said with an unnecessary pause [You must first defeat the pinnacle of Atofe's personal guards: the Four Primes!] The guard said and immediately they drew their swords, struck the pommels of their blades against their armor, letting out a loud metallic clang, and then raised them high.

I simply stared at them. Only the captain had his face uncovered, and I could see the embarrassment on his face. He certainly wasn't used to this.

[Am I supposed to fight the four of you at once?] I asked, unsheathing my sword, Sakka.

[Oh, no! We'll attack one at a time, so it'll be a fair fight!] the representative said, and I nodded as I got into a fighting stance.

[I am Calina! A King-ranked knight of the Northern God Style and part of Lady Atofe's Four Chiefs! Calina of the Wind!]

The first guard to step forward was a woman.

She immediately took off her helmet and threw it off the platform. The other guards rushed to catch it. It seemed her equipment was expensive, and they'd be in trouble if they lost it.

[Hero! I've been waiting for you!] The woman's face beneath the helmet was reptilian.

She had yellow scales, hair like a mass of needles, and a pointed nose; her entire face was covered in scars that told of her long life as a warrior.

[You may be wondering why I'm training in a place like this! It's all so that, one day, I can challenge Lady Atofe! For every hero and paladin I defeat, I will earn the right to challenge Lady Atofe! Now, Hero, let's fight! Lose quickly so I can use you to become even stronger!]

Calina continued her speech without any regard for who was listening.

[Oops, sorry. I'm talking too much, aren't I?] said Calina, stopping.

[Time to fight! Here I go! Just-]

I moved as Calina said, "Here I go."

That was quick and efficient.

Mysword was raised high above my head, and I swung it down.

It was a movement that I practiced a hundred times every day since my time at the Ars mansion.

I must have done it tens of thousands of times—a downward diagonal slash.

Even as Calina's sword began to move, it was already too fast for the human eye to perceive: this was the Longsword of Light.

It didn't make a sound. Before anyone knew what was happening, it wasdone.

My blade stopped on the other side of Calina, after which I slowly raised My sword back above her head.

Well, it wasn't strictly speaking accurate to say that no one knew what was going.

Calina knew it.

She didn't completely avoid the attack.

She managed to move her upper body about ten centimeters out of the way.

Ten centimeters were enough to save her life.

She felt the blade slicing through her body perfectly clearly.

Calina saw me slashing downward from her upper left side, entering through her left shoulder and exiting where her left leg connected to her torso.

She saw both her arm and leg being severed from her body, a perfect cross-sectional diagram of a set of armor.

She had never seen such a clean cut before. Her left leg was severed, and, unable to remain standing, she fell to the ground with a loud metallic sound.

Her arm hit the ground at the same time, leaving only her severed leg, covered by its armor, still standing.

"..."

[that was too fast] one of the guards muttered and the whole arena fell deathly silent.

These guards would fight to the death and time is not something I have in abundance so the sooner it ends the better, it's not like it's the first time I'd kill someone.

[I-I give up...] Calina muttered and I nodded, lowering my guard slightly to half guard.

The common soldiers rushed to take her away, I didn't know if she had regenerative abilities or something like that, but her severed limbs weren't bleeding so I guess that she would be fine.

"Don't think you've won the war, kid! Calina was the stupidest of Lady Atofe's Four Primes. I won't allow you to judge us all by her performance!] The leader of the remaining three spoke.

[Yeah, we're not that stupid. We're smart!]

[Hehehe. That's right, we'll cut you to pieces with our intelligence!]

The other guards continued as I watched them with a sigh.

They looked like a damn caricature.

[I am Benebene! A Saint-ranked swordsman of the North God Style and one of

Lady Atofe's Four Primes. Benebene of the Water!!]

The second of the Four Primes looked the definition of average.

He didn't remove and throw away his helmet like Calina, and he was no bigger than the other two.

He was possibly from a particularly hairy race, because white hair protruded from the gaps in his helmet.

[A North Saint, you are a rank lower than the previous one?] I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

[Heh, that's true. I can't compare to Calina with a blade!] he agreed. [But skill with a blade isn't the only thing that decides a battle!] he continued.

[True,] I said tersely, then raised my sword above my head in the same position as before.

[Shall we begin?] the man said. [Come at me from whatever angle you prefer.]

The screeching of metal on metal was heard as he uttered his last syllable.

And I had already landed my attack.

My blade followed the exact same trajectory as before and stopped in the exact same place.

I was so fast that no one present even had time to blink.

Just like Calina, Benebene's left arm and left leg were torn off, and her body began to wobble... except her body didn't wobble.

His left arm and left leg didn't even come off, though Eyo was sure he'd severed them.

I was alarmed by this and jumped back. Benebene took a haughty stance, thrust the tip of his sword into the ground, and leaned on it.

[I have the blood of the Sticky Clan and the Hea Clan! Swords have never worked on me!] Benebene said.

Sticky, antenna-like strands of hair formed the shape of a hand, which then gripped his sword.

He held it ready to attack, staring at me.

"Hmm! If that's the case!" I muttered in the human language and launched a frost nova at him.

[What?!!] Benebene screamed in despair as he tried to avoid the attack, but it was too late, and his entire body turned into an ice sculpture.

"Gaaahhh!" he cried as he was sliced in half.

His upper body slid from his lower body and fell heavily to the ground.

There was a clinking sound like shattering glass

as his armor shattered, leaving behind two masses of pure white hair.

Both were covered in ice and writhing weakly.

"Urgh," he grunted. [Damn it... Not my personal guard armor...] He muttered unhappily, and just like that, he stopped moving.

I stared at the last two guards, the leader without a helmet had a tense expression but kept that mocking smile which had him looking grimacing.

[Heh! Don't think you're too smart! Benebene was without a doubt...the stupidest of the four main Atofe!!] The leader shouted.

[Yeah, don't underestimate us!] The guard next to him shouted.

[Yes! So let's continue!!] The leader said and so he continued with the battle against the two of the four primes.

...

"Pathetic..." I muttered irritably as I cleaned my sword.

The other two had been more of the same, the third was one named Peridot from Earth who was a swordsman mage.

It was a little more interesting but with disturbance magic I was able to nullify it and split him in half.

The fourth and the leader was called Arcantos of the fire who summoned spirits which he called familiars and attacked me with them.

They were shaped like black wolves and...it was too easy.

I simply used disturbance magic again and they turned into smoke before Arcantos's astonished gaze.

Honestly, I was disappointed. I was used to having the floor mopped with my face, so a fight in which I had all the advantage seemed boring to me.

"Hehehehe, hehe, muahahaha, haha…"

A creepy laugh echoed behind me.

It was deep and sounded very distant, as if it were rising from the depths of hell.

Turning around, I discovered that the arena was already completely dark because of the smoke.

The sun had already set, and the bonfires had been extinguished, enveloping the scene in gloom.

The darkness wasn't absolute.

A magic circle was glowing.

Usually, magic circles glowed a pale blue, but this one glowed purple.

Perhaps they had used special paint.

Or perhaps the effect of this magic circle was to emit a purple light?

The clouds of smoke were illuminated by the purple light.

It felt as if a megastar was about to take the stage.

The echo of a voice resonated through the arena.

[Muahahahahaha! You've defeated my elite guards, the Four Primes, who were positioned throughout the castle. You've done a great job reaching me!]

They weren't positioned anywhere in particular... I stood out within myself.

But hey, it doesn't matter.

It's all part of the show.

[Traversing the Demon Continent and besieging my castle... you must be truly powerful to have come this far! I commend you! You are truly worthy of being called a hero!!] Atofe shouted in a terrifying voice.

[Now you must be rewarded!] she continued.

It was at that moment that I began to take things seriously.

A wind blew through the arena, carrying the smoke farther and farther away.

At the same time, I felt a chill.

From the depths where the smoke was being blown, I sensed an oppressive murderous aura.

I gulped involuntarily. I even wondered what could emerge from there.

Even though there was only one option.

[Her reward…] Atofe muttered.

At that precise moment, a strong gust of wind blew, clearing the smoke in a matter of seconds.

With a "whuush!" all the bonfires were relit, brightly illuminating the arena.

There was a woman standing there in the center.

She had blue skin and white hair, and wings

like a bat's.

A single thick horn protruded from her forehead.

Although she was only slightly taller than me, the battle-worn black armor she wore made her appear taller. She wielded a large sword that looked too heavy for her slender arms.

[It is the right to challenge me!]

Before me stood the Immortal Demon Queen Atoferatofe Raiback.

[I am the Demon Queen Atoferatofe Raiback!! If you defeat me, I will acknowledge you as a hero and grant you what you most desire!! But if you lose... you will serve as my puppet until the day you breathe your last!]

Atofe radiated malice.

A solitary figure lay before her, the hero, I

[I am the Sword Saint Paul Greyrat] I declared, facing Atofe.

I raised the Sakka Sword, one of the 49 swords forged by the legendary Yulián Jalisco, above my head.

[The Sword God Style!!] Atofe exclaimed happily.

She drew her own sword, without taking her eyes off me.

[Just so you know, the Long Sword of Ligth won't work on me!] she said with a devilish smile, but I didn't react.

I already knew. I'd heard the legend of the immortal demon kings. It wasn't a matter of technique; Atofe was slow, and her blade was heavy.

She simply wouldn't die.

No attack, no mortal wound could kill her.

No matter how hard you hit her, she would get back on her feet. In the end, Atofe would win through sheer resilience.

That was the Immortal Demon Queen Atofe. During the Laplace War, there were fewer than a dozen brave warriors who had been able to stand against her.

The Three Godslayers were among those warriors. The only individual who had ever defeated her in a one-on-one confrontation was the North God Kalman, or so the stories say.

I had already assessed whether my strength was enough to defeat the demon queen, and I already knew the answer was no. It was impossible to do it alone.

The idea of challenging a being of legend was exciting, but I knew there was no way I could defeat Atofe with my own strength; I had to use magic.

She touched his skull. [Here's my head, see. If you take it home, you'll be humanity's heroine for eternity!] Atofe was extremely confident.

The look on her face said, There's no way this child can kill me.

All around us, her personal guards were shouting. Something like,

"No, Lady Atoferatofe, she's letting her guard down again!"

I assumed that purposefully allowing the hero to land the first blow was an inevitable part

of being a descendant of the immortal demon kings.

[I don't need any glory,] I said sharply. [But I'll cut off your head and take Kishirika with me!!] I declared.

Atofe's smile widened, and her glare increased.

[Now those are brave words, Paul Greyrat!] Atofe roared, Her voice echoed through the arena. [Come and try!]

I knew that no attack would be effective against her, so it would be better to rely on magic as a last resort....

I crouched slightly and channeled mana into my hands while holding my sword.

(krooom!)

A crater formed where I was, I used wind magic to propel myself and in less than a second I closed the distance between me and Atofe.

"haaaa!" She noticed my attack but I was faster, my sword embedded itself directly into her neck but stopped halfway, Atofe's sword had stopped my attack but it had dented.

"Hmmp!" In less than a second I abandoned that strategy and moved away from her with a Sonic boom.

[Hahaha! Not bad at all!!] Atofe laughed madly as her body was stolen, my attack would have been fatal for a normal person, but her wound was already closing.

"Haha! You were fast! But if you want to defeat me you'll have to do more than that!" She screamed in human language, raised her wings and jumped towards me at a terrifying speed.

"plaaang!!!"

Both swords collided and the force of Atofe's attack buried my feet in the ground, but her sword dented even more, my sword cut the metal of hers slightly.

This was my sword's special ability, but apparently Atofe herself noticed.

"Hah?! So that's how it is, huh?!" She screamed and lunged at me again.

This is ridiculous, I'm wasting my time here.

"Haaaa!!!, nnngh!!, what?!" Atofe lunged at me but she froze just inches away from me.

Her Sword was already on my neck and her proud expression turned into one of pure confusion.

"W-what did you do to me?!, nnngh!!" She tried to move but with a simple raised arm she was unable to move an inch.

"It's simple magic" I murmured softly, the guards looked at me in complete amazement and from among the fort I could distinguish Moore who looked at me as if he was analyzing me.

I took Atofe away from me and in less than a second I crushed her into a pulp of flesh, blood and bones.

"..." The entire arena fell silent as I stared at Atofe's remains.

Will she be dead? No, she can't die with this, So why are these bastards looking at me like I've done something wrong!

(blorp, gurrh, fuoch)

Suddenly the mass of flesh, blood and bones began to writhe, it was a disgusting sight and at the same time it relieved me, she was still alive after that.

I could see that in the same way some soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and others made gestures of frustration.

I sat on the floor because I was taking too much and waited for her to regenerate.

The process took about twenty minutes, first the meat was spread on the ground and began to rise forming its body until it recovered its original shape.

Only this time she was naked.

And...too well endowed everywhere, I had to adjust my pants slightly at this sight.

After a few seconds she opened her eyes and stared at me.

She was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed while staring at me, but she was now serene...

"Do you want to keep fighting?" I asked her.

She sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then spoke.

"No...you win" she declared and immediately Moore ran to her and covered her with a blanket.

I had won