I glared fiercely at the kids who were slandering me.
Did they realize their mistake? The kids began to open their mouths one by one.
“Uhm! Striking a demon from behind, what a brilliant strategy.”
“Zero, I believed in you!”
“You’re the hero of our academy!”
Clap, clap, clap-.
The kids began to cheer enthusiastically. A few leaves fell beside them.
What a bunch of sly little brats.
Annoying, but what can I do? The kind-hearted me has to endure it.
“The demon is in shock right now. Let’s all attack during this opportunity… huh?”
As I was about to give the next command, I noticed something strange.
They were all looking at me instead of the demon.
You can hear commands with your ears, so why are they all staring at me? How odd.
“…This is a golden opportunity. Senior, please attack.”
“Y-Yeah. I should do that. I’ll move right away.”
Rodelin started to back away towards the demon. Since she wasn’t looking behind, she could only move slowly.
Why was she moving so inefficiently?
I thought it might be a hidden technique of the Lucid family, but that wasn’t it.
As far as I knew, the Lucid family had no such technique.
“Hmm… should I start moving too?”
“Ah, Alex! Let’s go together.”
Alex and Raymon followed Rodelin, mimicking her movements.
“It’s hard to move because of the water. Since I’m out of mana, I guess it’s best for me to stay still?”
“Cough, cough! Of all times, my illness that makes me cough up blood when I look at demons!”
Yuridia and Victoria were the same. They kept making excuses, busy looking directly at me.
As if they didn’t want to show me their backs.
‘Their backs…’
Mabelga’s back came into my view.
Black blood was dripping from the gaping hole.
I finally understood why they were behaving this way.
“…So that’s what it is.”
“Uh, what do you mean?”
“We originally liked looking at you, Zero.”
“That’s right, that’s right!”
The kids all started to speak, saying it was a misunderstanding, but it was too late.
They would rather show their backs to the demon than to me? What kind of people are they?
“Hah, you guys are really something.”
At that moment, Luna pushed through the water towards me.
Right, there was Luna.
Anyone treating such a good person as a stalker or a nuisance must be a bad guy.
“Tsk, tsk, such a lack of trust. When you were all acting like friends…”
“Luna…”
“Hmph, now you know who your real friend is? From now on, don’t hang out with those guys. Don’t even talk to them!”
Luna raised her chin and gave Raymon a victorious smile.
Raymon glared at Luna with jealous eyes.
“Ugh, I should’ve gone first.”
“Hehe! You can stay there forever. I’m going to monopolize Zero!”
“Ugh, you witch!”
“What’s that? I can’t hear you over the sound of my friendship with Zero!”
As Luna kept teasing Raymon, tears started to well up in his eyes.
But this time, I had to side with Luna.
‘Even Rodelin and Alex, who had high affection for me, abandoned me. In this situation, anyone would be moved… huh?’
I quickly realized something odd about Luna’s behavior.
“Keke, Luna?”
“Yes, it’s just me. This is the difference between a real friend and a fake friend. So, do you have anything to say to your real friend?”
“You’re standing beside me rather than in front of me… Am I mistaken?”
Luna flinched. Her previously high chin began to lower.
That’s right. Luna wasn’t showing her back to me. She was only showing me her profile.
“O-Of course, you’re mistaken.”
“Is that so?”
As I moved slightly behind her, Luna also started to step back.
It was too clear to dismiss as a mere mistake.
“Whether beside or in front… it’s all the same, right? That’s what I think.”
“If the words have the same meaning, there’s no reason to express them differently. Now, stand in front of me. Prove your friendship.”
I firmly grabbed Luna’s shoulders and made her stand in front of me.
Luna began to struggle.
“W-Waaaa! Somebody save me!”
“…”
“Zero! We’re friends, right? There’s nothing fun about stabbing my back!”
Luna squirmed desperately. I was speechless at the sight.
Luna, who had the deepest trust with me, was reacting this way.
Was deceiving the demon and stabbing its back really such a bad thing?
“Zero, calm down! It’s not time to give up on life yet!”
Calm her down, not me!
And why are you talking about giving up on life here! Don’t make it sound like I’m some heinous criminal!
“Damn! You bugs…!”
“Oh no! Has he already recovered! Now is not the time for this. Everyone, attack the demon!”
I’ve been saying we should attack since earlier! I’m the only one who attacked this turn!
“Senior, there’s a swamp ahead. Move three steps to the right, then two forward! Alex, follow behind the senior!”
The kids belatedly started to act on turn 26.
“Earth Flip!”
“Lightning Strike!”
Rodelin and Alex’s attacks pounded Mabelga’s body.
Since I had already used the counter skill [Water Dragon Bullet], Mabelga couldn’t block their attacks.
But not everyone succeeded in their attacks.
“Eek! Water bugs!”
“Damn! How dare bugs block my path!”
The gimmick activated when Mabelga’s health dropped below 50%.
Some couldn’t reach Mabelga due to the water bugs appearing everywhere.
“Should I use magic?”
“Not yet. Please wait for my command.”
Without mana, Yuridia had to conserve her strength and couldn’t attack this turn.
Lastly, our dear Luna…
“Tsk, tsk, can’t even handle that. They really can’t do without me, huh?”
Luna moved beside me, spending her turn, making it impossible to move towards Mabelga.
It was a wasted turn, but it didn’t matter.
Mabelga’s health had already dropped below 50%.
With my [Explosive Force], reducing his defense to zero with the ‘Destruction’ effect, and with Rodelin and Alex’s attacks, we could finish it next turn.
[Turn 27]
The fourth area, where turn 28 was the last.
Considering we had to deal with the [Water Shield] on turn 28, this was essentially the final turn.
There was something I had to do this turn.
‘I need to position myself in advance.’
The optimal position to attack the fleeing Mabelga.
With reduced movement range due to [Flood], I had to position myself in advance.
‘Initially, I had to watch Mabelga flee blankly.’
But now I was different. I had fought Mabelga thousands of times.
I knew his escape route like the back of my hand.
“I will change the formation! Everyone, follow my command!”
“Zero, is that really necessary? The opponent is already in a groggy state.”
“This opponent is too tough to be considered a low-ranking demon. There must be a hidden ace! It’s safer to be cautious!”
“I see… Alright then. Everyone, follow Zero’s instructions!”
The kids started to move according to my command. Though calling it a formation, it wasn’t that complex.
It was just positioning people on both sides of Mabelga’s escape route.
Raymon was placed closest.
Alex, Luna, Rodelin, and Victoria in the next row.
Finally, Yuridia and I were positioned further away.
Of course, it wasn’t a two-row formation.
We positioned ourselves at places within our movement range for one turn.
If they realized I knew Mabelga’s escape route precisely, it could lead to unnecessary suspicion.
We set up the formation for turn 28. The problem was.
“The distance is a bit far.”
“Except for Raymon, it’s impossible to attack, isn’t it?”
“L-Leave it to me! Take this!”
Boom!!
“Aaah!”
“Raymon! Are you alright?”
“I’m f-fine.”
Raymon’s attack was blocked by [Water Dragon Bullet]. It was expected since the turn had passed.
Despite having many people, it was a difficult situation where they couldn’t attack. Of course.
Everything was going according to my plan.
“Yuridia, how much mana have you recovered?”
“Enough to cast two big spells. Although that demon has a water attribute which doesn’t match well with me… if I use high penetration magic, it should work.”
“Good. Please cast it right away.”
Yuridia immediately began casting, and soon, the spell activated.
Flame Spear.
A higher-tier fire spell than [Fire Spear]. A crimson flaming spear pierced Mabelga’s body.
“Kuh…!”
Mabelga’s body shook violently. The spear was so powerful that it didn’t extinguish even after piercing through him.
“He’s enduring that…!”
“I thought setting up the formation was too early… well, safety is important.”
I had positioned the kids along Mabelga’s escape route. With water up to their waists, it was impossible to move far.
Realizing this, Mabelga roared loudly.
“You’ve made a mistake! You can’t attack from that distance!”
“Keke, are you sure?”
Seeing my confident smile, Mabelga’s face stiffened.
That’s right. I could use magic. And fairly strong magic at that.
As I used the skill stored in [Divine Imitation], a cool breeze surrounded me.
Then.
Roarrrr!
With a chilling wind sound, three sharp wind spears appeared in the air.
Wind Spear.
Crash!!
“Arghhh!”
Thud!
The ground shook greatly as Mabelga knelt on one knee.
At the same time, the water bugs floated to the surface, belly up towards the sky.
“D-Did we defeat him?”
“We won, we won!”
“Oh~ hohoho! Of course, since I’m here.”
They chanted a resurrection spell nonchalantly. I’ll have to set a day to educate them properly.
Swoosh-.
“Huh?”
It started as a small whirlpool. A tiny one, the size of a child’s palm.
It quickly grew to the size of an adult’s palm, continually swallowing the surrounding water.
Eventually, the whirlpool grew to the size of an adult’s body, wrapping around Mabelga.
Rumble-!
“Damn…! It’s not over yet! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
It was the moment Mabelga’s final gimmick, the [Water Shield], which we had never broken before, made its appearance.
–TL Notes–
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