Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 5 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 4===

In the path of the kick, a group were huddled up together.

They were the soldiers for the City. They had tried attacking from its sides, as well as trying to draw near it by approaching on a path parallel to it, but they were in the end caught up in the crossfire by another attack team. And right now—

“…Guu….aaA, uuh…. Damn-- ……!”

Amongst the remains of the houses hit by the attack, someone was still breathing. That someone was Glen who was taught a lesson by Basara in that narrow alley behind the café.

Despite blood flowing out from various parts of his body like his head and his abdomen, Glen stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

In this neighbourhood, every single building have already become uninhabitable.

The other soldiers in the same team as him – other than Glen himself, no one managed to retain their lives.

“…One after another, just what the hell…”

The time where Glen had come to Wildart City, was after Wilbert’s death – when the Moderates Faction was doing a large-scale recruitment. He had originally chosen to take refuge in the Current Demon Lord Faction whose power had begun to grow back then, but what had caused him to change his mind was that even if he managed to gain no prominent achievements in the Great War, he would definitely be able to gain a job in the government sector as part of the package to appease the public when they lose their troops after Wilbert’s death.

And sure enough, Glen was enlisted to be one of the city’s guards. However, as Glen had only chosen the Moderates Faction in order to get a free job, he held no feelings and relegations to his current job and to this city – at the very least, he used to think that way. However, with how dull life became with the days crawling by, he would begin to habitually visit certain shops to eat and drink, and enjoy his days with the like-minded. In the last resort Glen had taken by choosing the Moderates Faction, he had knowingly managed to gain some things of his.

And right now – as of now, everything before Glen’s eyes had disappeared. And the culprit, is the Current Demon Lord’s giant spirit.

“ ! <nowiki>-----</nowiki>”

Tightly gritting his teeth, Glen deployed the flying magic built into the back of his armour, locked both his eyes and began heading straight for the spirit who did the damage. On its shoulder, there appears to be the high-class demon manipulator. After destroying so many buildings and killing so many soldiers, they still continued onwards as if not bothered by it at all. Hence—

“ ! …JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EVEN THINK YOU ARE DOING!!!”

Glen screamed with his all, discharged attack magics towards the spirit. He shot electrical balls from his right hand, and while it travelled in a straight line while discharging some of its energy to its surroundings, it burst explosively on the forehead of the spirit.

“Haa….aahhh… Now you know just how powerful I am right…..---?”

That attack just now was one that he had put his all in. Originally it was just to vent some of his hate and anger, but yet as if to mock him, the spirit continued onwards as if that attack just now was nothing more than a gust of wind. When Glen froze up from losing his train of thought from that, the spirit sent its right fist flying backwards without even looking back, blowing away the roofs of the nearby still-standing buildings.

“<nowiki>------Ah.</nowiki>”

By the time he had noticed the move, a large piece of debris was already right before his eyes.

Without even a moment to blink, just as the debris was about to smash in Glen awaiting his death – a magic circle suddenly opened up before him as if to protect him, and the debris broke up into dust upon hitting the magic circle and fell onto the ground. With the sudden change in situation, Glen couldn’t process what had just happened—

“That isn’t someone you can fight against – hurry up and fall back, leave this place to us.”

A calm voice came from in front of him. When Glen looked up to take a look—

“…! Aren’t you…?”

It was a woman that he was familiar with. There’s no mistaking it, even if she isn’t wearing a maid’s uniform now, she is undoubtedly the one Glen remembered – Zest. However, her sight wasn’t on him right now, but instead on something else. That something else, was a youth running towards the spirit with a large demonic sword in his hand.

“That person—“

Glen had seen that youth before, and he would definitely never forget the look of that person who had bitterly humiliated him before.

But – within his anger, what Glen felt was surprise.

He had jumped away at the moment the attack landed. Jumping around amidst the flying debris of the buildings – the youth who landed on the arm of the spirit quickly ran up to its shoulder towards the high-class demon, and swung his sword at him.

“…………”

In response, the high-class demon raised his right hand and a wall appeared to defend against the attack, yet—

“OOOooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”

With an energetic roar, the youth brought down his sword with great speed and cut the wall into two, and continued approaching the high-class demon.

<nowiki>「——————」</nowiki>

With his defense cut down, the high-class demon was forced to retreat, and jumped backwards off the spirits’ shoulder. The youth also jumped off the shoulder going after him in mid-air.

“Isn’t that…”

The youth wasn’t using flying magic at all. The flying debris from the destroyed buildings, had become a solid trail used by him to move.<ref>like a improvised road</ref>

The cause of that was a magic from Zest who was in front of Glen.

“I will say it once more – hurry up and fall back.”

Zest left behind these words without even turning back to look at him, and flew towards the spirit – high-class demon vs the youth, and Zest vs spirit, with that, the battles began.

In a place Glen can never reach. 



Gardo saw that youth, walk on a footpath created from the debris.

''…Is that Zest’s handiwork?''

Underneath him, a female demon began fighting with the spirit  whose shoulder he was riding on until just now. Gardo had known that under the Council’s Zolgear, there was a trusted aide known as Zest. Although he had known she specializes at earth magic, he had never witnessed her battle. Being able to avoid its attacks while fighting the spirit while supporting each other, indeed only these two were left. Reportedly, Gardo had heard that she had sought refuge in the Moderates Faction after her master Zolgear died – but seeing her battle now, it appears that the death of her master doesn’t seems to be affecting her. After Gardo ordered the spirit to eliminate Zest—

<nowiki>【——————】</nowiki>

The spirits recognised Zest as its enemy, and thus began the real battle against her.

''…And next,''

Gardo returned his attention back to the human youth sprinting towards him. Before he reduced the distanced between them too much, Gardo expanded numerous magic circles around him – and in the next moment, countless fireballs were shot towards the youth.

<nowiki>「！————」</nowiki>

The youth immediately reacted, gripping his sword in reverse, he swept out the footpath Zest had created. The fireballs then hit the debris indiscriminately, turning it into dust, and since the debris became an interference against the attack—

''ZzzBoomboomboomboomboomboomboomboom!''

Gardo’s fireballs exploded upon hitting the debris – and thus causing a chain explosion. Immediately after that—

“…---Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!”

The youth broke through the screen of explosions and continued towards him. Facing his cleave while he was twisting his body, Gardo engaged it while sending demonic power into his right shoulder.

In the next moment, just as the youth’s demonic sword made contact with Gardo’s shoulder—

''*Kake*<nowiki>————————————————！</nowiki>''

With that sharp shock resounding from mid-air in Wildart City, the two of them confronted each other in mid-air.

“…Toujou Basara, right?”

Gardo’s words caused Basara’s expression to slightly tighten up.

“The report had said, Wilbert’s daughter was being protected by Jin·Toujou’s son.”

“………”

The youth gave no reply, but it was obviously acquiescence. <ref>the reluctant acceptance of something without protest</ref>

From just now, he knew Basara is a speed type. Able to quickly ascertain the situation and then use the most streamlined method to evade or defend, and then retaliate with no lag at all—

''…I see, his skill isn’t bad at all.''

In Lars’s report, he had managed to fight with Zolgear for quite some time – but seeing his reaction speed, he would be able to put up a good fight against Zolgear even if they weren’t evenly matched. Since not much time had passed since his fight with Zolgear, it just shows just how much he had grown in this short period. However—

“…You’re too careless.”

Gardo said while looking at Basara in his eyes:

“Even if you are planning to hide Wilbert’s daughter, by standing out here so stupidly, you’re directly telling me that she’s right here in this city.”

“Is that so? Does me appearing here, really mean that Mio is definitely here in this place? Your words have no concrete proof, and they’re nothing more than speculation. I had heard that your reason for attacking was because that Mio was hiding here—“

The youth finally opened his mouth, and said with a shallow smile:

“—But could it be that just because Jin·Toujou’s son is here, you guys had taken it as that Wilbert’s daughter is also here, and thus attacked? If such a ridiculous reason was let known, you’ll be the laughing stock of the big guns of the other forces.”
Hearing Basara’s words, Gardo frankly replied:

“After I deal with you and your companions, and after I find her, you can have as much legitimacy of the reason of this attack as you want.”

“Similarly – if you and those spirits are defeated, forget Mio, when even your presence is questionable, your reason for attacking will also crumble.”

“--Do you really think you are able to do that?”

“That’ll be difficult to say…”

Basara’s expression suddenly became serious.

“If I have no other choice other than to defeat you here, I will do it – that is the reason I am here right now.”

Basara said while gazing firmly at Gardo, his voice completely void of complacency in being able to defeat Gardo and filled with the determination to win no matter what. Hence—

“—alright, I will fight against you for a while, Toujou Basara.”

Gardo said:

“However – if you really want to defeat me, shouldn’t you call your other companions over? Although Zest is present to fight the spirit, there are still two more of them, you know? If you were slow, Wildart City might be flattened just like that you know?”

Basara replied with a short laugh:

“Thank you for your advice – but something like that is obvious.”

At that time, Gardo heard a sound from somewhere far away.

Turning to look, the spirit entering the city from the east had received an attack to the side of its head and thus lost balance.

He saw someone else in battle with an spirit apart from Basara and Zest.

The shadows of two persons moved around the spirit quickly – and after seeing the owners of the shadows, Gardo’s eyes narrowed.

“That – that pair of succubus sisters?”