The invasion of the capital city, Larrichmond, by the Demon Lord's army was still relentless.
Sounds of sword slashes and screams could be heard here and there.
The city walls were cracking, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Perhaps, Nyau was supposed to be fighting the Demon Lord Zoga on top of the city walls.
The worst-case scenario, she might have already died… No, let's not dwell on the worst-case scenario.
For now, let's focus on reaching Nyau as quickly as possible.
With that determination, I ran.
◆
"Haah, haah, haah, haah…"
With each breath, her shoulders rose and fell.
The sage Nyau was already exhausted.
"Quit your incessant dodging and fight fair and square! You're getting on my nerves!" taunted the Demon Lord Zoga.
Since a while ago, Nyau had been solely buying time. She used the Nebula Mist Diffusion to obscure his vision and the Air Jet Injection for swift movement, continually evading the attacks unleashed by the Demon Lord Zoga.
One should never try to face the attacks of the Demon Lord Zoga head-on. Probably, Grand Sage Aglupus underestimated the Demon Lord Zoga's attacking power.
Grand Sage Aglupus must have thought like this: "There's no way my barrier will be broken," and thus used his barrier to protect himself from the Demon Lord Zoga's attacks.
As a result, the barrier was torn apart too easily and went on to tear Grand Sage Aglupus's body.
The barrier cast by Grand Sage Aglupus was known to have the highest hardness among numerous mages' barriers.
The fact that the Demon Lord Zoga easily shattered it showed how exceptional his attacking power was.
Therefore, under no circumstances should Nyau attempt to withstand the Demon Lord Zoga's attacks. However, Nyau lacked the technique to dodge attacks, and she also lacked the physical abilities required to move swiftly.
As a result, the solution that had been devised was as previously described: obscuring vision with the Nebula Mist Diffusion and swift movement using the Air Jet Injection.
By the way, when Hero Eligion was killed, Nyau determined that she couldn't defeat the Warrior Gorgano and the Holy Knight Canaria, so she promptly used the Nebula Mist Diffusion and the Air Jet Injection to escape, while holding Kiska's body.
"Hey, hey, if you keep running away, we'll never settle this, you know!"
The Demon Lord Zoga taunted once again.
Nyau chuckled to herself. It's foolish, after all.
Due to the Nebula Mist Diffusion, Nyau couldn't grasp her surroundings. However, if the Demon Lord Zoga made a sound, Nyau could pinpoint her opponent's location.
"Ice Magic, Fourth Tier, Grand Chillwave Olafrio!"
Chant omitted. With ice magic, up to the fourth tier, you can activate magic without the need for an incantation.
Moreover, due to the Nebula Mist Diffusion, with moisture in the air, using Grand Chillwave Olafrio would result in twice the power than usual.
As intended, a massive ice formation, large enough to cover the field of vision, appeared.
The ice enveloped the Demon Lord Zoga.
Crack! The sound of the ice being slashed was heard.
"This… can't be true…"
Nyau stood in awe of the sight before her.
Could it really be that a single swing could cleave a massive block of ice in half?
"You were right there."
The voice of the Demon Lord Zoga reached Nyau's ears.
This is bad…
Nyau panicked.
When a magic is cast, predicting the magician's position becomes quite possible by determining the point of origin of the spell. She needed to prepare for defense immediately.
"Barrier Magic, Third Tier, Triple Barrier Trinity Esté!"
In an instant, she layered three barriers.
However, the Demon Lord Zoga would easily cut through even this.
"Wind Magic, Fourth Tier, Air Jet Injection."
Therefore, using the barrier as a decoy, Nyau tried to move as far away from the current location as possible.
As expected, clang! the sound of the barrier being cut through was heard.
"Damn it, you keep evading! I've had enough of this!"
The irritated voice of the Demon Lord Zoga could be heard.
"Hey, how about fighting fairly for once?"
The Demon Lord Zoga called out.
In contrast, Nyau remained calm.
She believed that if she patiently continued to evade the opponent's attacks, an opportunity to win would eventually arise.
"Ah, I've had enough. If you're in the mood for it, I have a trick up my sleeve too."
Suddenly, the Demon Lord Zoga muttered something with meaning.
Nyau couldn't help but wonder what he had in mind.
"I didn't really want to involve my subordinates, but oh well."
A sense of unease washed over Nyau.
Could the Demon Lord Zoga be planning something extraordinary?
With that judgment in mind, Nyau tried to keep as much distance as possible.
"Unholy Sword Technique, Grand Explosive Shatterfall!"
The Demon Lord Zoga raised his large sword high and then brought it down directly.
Instantly, a significant crack appeared in the ground.
The crack gradually widened.
The location where the Demon Lord Zoga and the sage Nyau stood was on top of the city walls.
A powerful blow from the Demon Lord Zoga struck the city wall.
To cut to the chase, the city wall collapsed due to the Demon Lord Zoga's attack.
Nyau and nearby soldiers of the Ritzken Empire were all caught in the crumbling of the city wall.
"This is bad!"
Nyau shouted.
At this rate, they would fall and be crushed by the rubble.
"Wind Magic, Second Tier, Gust Rafaga!"
In a quick decision, she summoned wind to clear the rubble and created a cushion of air beneath them to land safely.
"Hey, you were right there."
She looked in the direction of the voice.
The Demon Lord Zoga stood with an eerie smile.
The city wall had collapsed, and their positions had shifted, the Nebula Mist Diffusion had been forcibly drawn down to a location where the dense fog no longer existed.
"Here I come!"
The Demon Lord Zoga charged.
Nyau felt anxious.
Using the Nebula Mist Diffusion at this point wouldn't help her hide anymore.
So, instead…
"Barrier Magic, Third Tier, Triple Barrier Trinity Esté."
Nyau generated a barrier to protect herself.
"Hmph, even if you put up such a barrier, you must know it's futile!"
There was no need for him to remind her. But at that moment, it was all she could do.
"Please…"
Nyau whispered, almost in prayer.
With a mocking smile, the Demon Lord Zoga raised his greatsword to shatter the barrier.
Clang!
The sound was not that of the barrier breaking.
"Huh?"
For a brief moment, the Demon Lord Zoga couldn't grasp what had happened and let out a dumbfounded sound. It turned out that the one shattered was his own greatsword.
"If you thought I was running around aimlessly, you're sorely mistaken."
Nyau said, smiling slyly.
"First, when I began our battle, I secretly cast a magic called 'Fragility Fray' on your greatsword."
Yes, when she started battling the Demon Lord Zoga, she secretly cast a spell called 'Fragility Fray' on his greatsword to make it more fragile.
For a typical weapon, the moment 'Fragility Fray' is used, it would break. But, as expected of a greatsword wielded by a Demon Lord, it hadn't broken until now.
Therefore, Nyau needed to keep evading his attacks until it finally shattered. However, if it had taken a little longer to break, she would have likely suffered a fatal blow, so she considers herself extremely fortunate.
"With this, your attacking power has significantly weakened. Therefore, it's Nyau's victory."
"You talk too much!"
Saying that, the Demon Lord attempted to strike her with his fist instead of his greatsword.
However, there was the Triple Barrier Trinity Esté that Nyau had set up.
No matter how much of a Demon Lord he was, breaking a barrier with his fist was impossible.
"Huh?"
This time, it was Nyau's turn to be astonished.
After all, right before her eyes, the Triple Barrier Trinity Esté was shattered by the Demon Lord's fist, so easily.
"The greatsword breaking was surprising. But that's all it was. I don't need a greatsword to deal with the likes of you."
Saying this, the Demon Lord Zoga struck Nyau's abdomen with his fist.
"Ighh!"
Nyau let out a low groan.
In the next moment, her body was slammed into the city wall.
But the Demon Lord Zoga wasn't done with Nyau. In an instant, he moved to her location and delivered a spinning kick.
"Ughh!"
Once again, Nyau groaned in agony as she rolled across the ground with force.
Intense pain coursed through her entire body. The pain was so overwhelming it felt like she might lose her sanity.
(This is bad… I need to get up quickly before I get attacked again.)
With that thought, Nyau tried to muster strength, but her efforts were in vain. It was clear that the bones in her legs were severely fractured.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, She hastily began constructing a spell.
"Healing Magic, First Tier, Cure Heal…"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Nyau looked up and saw the Demon Lord Zoga standing right in front of her.
"I… I…"
Nyau let out a feeble scream.
The thought of enduring further torment filled her with terror.
"Die!"
The Demon Lord Zoga raised his foot above the fallen Nyau and brought it down forcefully.
The ground cracked and caved in from the impact.
Her body arched significantly from the shock.
Nyau's frail body was already severely battered and bruised all over.
◆
"Hey, are you alive?"
As the Demon Lord Zoga called out, he roughly grabbed Nyau's head while she lay on the ground.
"I…uh…"
Nyau didn't seem to have any strength left to resist, and she showed no reaction.
For the Demon Lord Zoga, this was boring.
So, he tightened his grip on Nyau's head, as if intending to crush it.
In an instant, an excruciating pain surged through Nyau's head.
"Aaaahhhh! Aaaahhhhhhhhh!"
Unable to bear the pain, Nyau let out a scream.
"Hahaha!"
The Demon Lord Zoga found it unbearably amusing.
But after some time, Nyau stopped making any sound, becoming like a lifeless doll.
(Is she dead?) The thought crossed the Demon Lord Zoga's mind.
If she was dead, there was no further need.
So, he roughly threw Nyau's body aside.
Nyau's body tumbled along the ground.
Now, the troublesome sage Nyau had been dealt with.
With the city wall destroyed, the Demon Lord's army continued to advance into the town one after another. It was only a matter of time before the town would fall.
Already, the Demon Lord Zoga was confident in his victory.
"…Not yet"
"Huh?"
Demon Lord Zoga suddenly turned around.
There, struggling to rise, was Nyau.
However, even standing seemed difficult for her. She used her staff as a makeshift cane, making a great effort to get on her feet.
It was evident that she was battered all over.
Blood was oozing from various wounds, and her skeletal structure appeared distorted in places, possibly indicating broken bones.
"I'm not defeated yet," she declared.
However, there was no sense of threat.
Nyau might be able to unleash powerful magic, but at this distance, the Demon Lord Zoga knew he could end her life much quicker.
So, the Demon Lord Zoga slowly walked toward Nyau.
It seemed that Nyau's vision had become compromised, as she made no sign of noticing the Demon Lord Zoga's presence, despite his close proximity.
"Die."
Without hesitation, the Demon Lord Zoga struck with full force, intending to deliver the final blow.
"Ah?"
His fist swung through thin air.
Despite having aimed a full-force punch where Nyau should have been, he felt nothing.
"I made it in time," a voice said.
Standing at a distance, Kiska was supporting Nyau's body.