WM – Chapter 192: Takatsuki Makoto heads to the battlefield

The rain and wind are strong.

A violent wind that feels like a storm.

It was just as expected.

The ability of Sakurai-kun -of the Light Hero- is to change the light of the sun into Mana and Aura.

Then, in order to defeat the Light Hero, you just need to block the light of the sun.

Even a child could reach that conclusion.

That’s why I was expecting the demon lord army to control the weather. 

On that point, I can control the clouds (water) with my Spirit Arm and clear the sky.

To bring back the sun.

And then, Sakurai-kun who is powered up by the sun will defeat the Demon Lord.

That’s the gist of my thoughts. 

But that thing that spread in the sky crushed my plans.

“…Pitch black clouds.” (Makoto)

I ended up saying it out loud.

1,000 years ago, at the time when the world was ruled by 9 Demon Lords…the sky was covered by black clouds that never cleared up. It is said that the light of the sun never reached the land.

Because of that, the time before Savior Abel defeated the Great Demon Lord and the black clouds cleared up were called the Dark Era. 

The legend of Savior Abel who defeated the Great Demon Lord, which I was told countless times at the Water Temple when I came to this world. 

This is my first time seeing the real thing, but this is most likely the God Rank Spell ‘Pitch Black Clouds’ that the Great Demon Lord used.

It is a famous legendary spell that I was also told of countless times in class.

When I look up at the sky, I could tell that there was strong mana swirling in the black clouds.

Is it possible to blow away this legendary spell with Spirit Magic…?

Also, that wasn’t the only point that bothered me.

I closed my eyes and used Eavesdrop.

What reached my ears was the sound of big drops of water hitting the ground.

The sound of the rain is noisy beyond belief, but that’s all it was.

Oracle Esther said that the human and demon side have 300,000 in numbers.

The shouts, the shaking, and the sound of clashing weapons that comes from a battle between two big armies…none of that could be heard.

In other words, this isn’t the battlefield. I was teleported to some faraway location. 

It is the result that Lucy was worried about. 

“Noah-sama!” (Makoto)

I looked up at the sky and shouted loudly. 

(Yes~☆. You called, Makoto?) (Noah)

Noah-sama’s happy voice resounded in my head. 

I calm down my shaking heart and request of her promptly. 

“Please tell me where Sakurai-kun is.” (Makoto)

(Around 70km to the north. Go diagonally straight to the right from where you are facing right now.) (Noah)

I got an answer really quickly. 

“[Water Phoenix].” (Makoto)

While Noah-sama was speaking, I had been gathering mana for Spirit Magic, and activated a water spell.

A giant water phoenix appeared, and I climbed up its back and aimed for the north. 

The rain hitting from the side, the raging wind, and the creepy sky that felt like an endless night; I had the water phoenix fly at full speed through all that.

(With that speed, you will be arriving in around 1 hour.) (Noah)

The tone of Noah-sama as she spoke to me was bright.

She seems to be having a lot of fun.

“Noah-sama, I have a number of questions.” (Makoto)

(Okay, ask away.) (Noah)

I take a deep breath.

“Has the Great Demon Lord resurrected?” (Makoto)

(It hasn’t.) (Noah)

Her answer was straight.

“Then, what’s this God Rank Spell…” (Makoto)

According to the legends, this should be a spell that the Great Demon Lord used.

(Who knows. Maybe the Snake Church used a sacrificial technique and offered the lifespan of believers to activate the spell. Those dark clouds will clear up in one day, you know. It can’t be compared to the ones of 1,000 years ago.) (Noah)

“I see.” (Makoto)

That’s a relief.

The Great Demon Lord hasn’t resurrected.

When I saw those pitch black clouds, I had a bad feeling, but looks like the enemies this time around are only the Demon Lords.

That hasn’t changed.

“Then, next question. Can I clear up these pitch dark clouds with my Spirit Magic?” (Makoto)

(…Don’t know until you try, but…it is most likely impossible.) (Noah)

“I…see.” (Makoto)

This is something I expected as well, but I am still a bit sad about that. 

So it really wouldn’t work, huh…

I did have some slight hopes that maybe it could work though.

That’s a legendary spell. It isn’t something that a single person can do something about. 

I look at my thin and blue arm. 

The Spirit mana in that right arm is strong, but just how useful will it be this time around? 

(Oh my, you are acting pretty weak there. That’s not like you, Makoto.) (Noah)

The voice of Noah-sama is cheerful. 

Completely contrary to my own feelings.

“Noah-sama…why is it that you seem to be having so much fun?” (Makoto)

(Fufu, you understand, don’t you, Makoto? The Holy God Ira has messed up, and the only Hero that can come to save the day is you. We can get points like never before.) (Noah)

“Are you saying this situation is exactly what you wished for, Noah-sama…?” (Makoto)

Noah-sama had predicted this future?

(What are you saying? There’s no way I, in my current sealed state, would be able to see a future that even the Destiny Goddess missed.) (Noah)

“Right…” (Makoto)

No one saw this situation coming.

That’s apparently how it is.

“What did Eir-sama say?” (Makoto)

What does the Water Goddess, who is often with Noah-sama, think about this current situation?

(Eir hurriedly returned to the Divine Realm. She said there was an urgent meeting with the Goddesses. Well, the topic was their plans for the future if the Light Hero were to die, and what to do with Ira.) (Noah)

“…Sakurai-kun is still alive though.” (Makoto)

Aren’t they giving up way too fast? 

Is the Light Hero the tool of the Goddesses? 

Don’t talk about ‘what ifs’ for when he dies.

(All people of the mortal realm are pawns in the eyes of the Holy Gods. Of course, I am different☆.) (Noah)

“I believe in you, Noah-sama.” (Makoto)

I say this, but I am a bit uneasy. 

I have been lucky in a lot of areas until now, and I haven’t had people close to me lose their lives.

But I feel like this is the worst situation I have had until now.

The Destiny Goddess has stated that Sakurai-kun will be dying tonight.

(It is okay, Makoto. If it gets dangerous, you just have to run away.) (Noah)

“That’s…true, but…” (Makoto)

Noah-sama is kind.

She gives me a lot of information so that I don’t lose. 

She lends me her help so that I don’t die.

I am her only believer after all.

If I am gone, Noah-sama will lose her connection to the Mortal Realm.

That’s why I am the most important pawn for Noah-sama.

But what about people aside from me?

Sakurai-kun is the believer of the Sun Goddess.

It wouldn’t be a big problem for Noah-sama whether he is alive or not. 

But I want to save him some way or another.

At the time when we just arrived to this world and I was despairing about my low stats and weak skills, the only ones who treated me the same were Fuji-yan and Sakurai-kun.

Even though I was just a plain useless guy at that time, he asked me to come together with him.

(Makoto…) (Noah)

Noah-sama’s voice resonated gently. 

“What is it?” (Makoto)

(You are getting way too worked up. Take it easy.) (Noah)

“That’s not…” (Makoto)

(Haah, can’t be helped.) (Noah)

The next instant, a light appeared at my side, and Noah-sama showed up inside of it. 

“Eh?” (Makoto)

Below these pitch dark clouds, within these raging winds, in the real world instead of a dream, the Goddess was sitting by my side.

“N-Noah-sama? You could come out?!” (Makoto)

“Well, it is natural for you to be surprised. This is just an illusion. I am not actually here. You are the only one who can see me since I am simply inside your head.” (Noah)

Inside my head?

Is it like an imaginary friend?

“That’s a bit different. This conversation is being sent to the Deep Sea Temple where I am. It is just that this body doesn’t actually exist.” (Noah)

“I see.” (Makoto)

Even if she says that, the Noah-sama in front of me is like the real thing.

She feels more real than in the dreams.

“Then, even if I try to touch you, it will just slip through?” (Makoto)

Saying this, I stretched my hand to Noah-sama.

*Squish*

That’s the kind of sensation I felt from my hand.

“Eh?” (Makoto)

I get that squishy sensation as I move my fingers, receiving feedback from the upper arm of her soft arm.

Or more like, Noah-sama is super soft!

What’s with this skin?! 

Is this the soft skin of an angel?! 

“Can you not compare me to a mere angel? I told you I am the number one beauty of the Divine Realm, right?” (Noah)

Noah-sama pinched my cheek with a straight stare. 

It doesn’t hurt, but I certainly do feel the pinching sensation.

“Is this…really an illusion?” (Makoto)

“A God Rank illusion is not that much different from reality for mortals. More importantly, how long are you going to sexually harass me?” (Noah)

“S-Sorry.” (Makoto)

I let go at once.

I wanted to touch her forever…

“Looks like the tension got loosened a bit too much this time around~…” (Noah)

Noah-sama scratched her cheek as she sighed.

Even those casual gestures of hers were beautiful.

At any rate…

“If you could do something like this, why didn’t you do so before?” (Makoto)

“That’s not it. It is because of the pitch black clouds that are weakening the power of the Divine Realm, making the power of the Demonic Realm that the demons worship and the power of nature of us Titan Gods reach an equilibrium. That’s why I could show up in front of you as an illusion.” (Noah)

“Is that so.” (Makoto)

Then, that doesn’t mean this is good.

“Who knows. There’s still around 30 minutes before arriving at the battlefield. Let’s think about a countermeasure for the Demon Lord until then.” (Noah)

“You know about the Demon Lord?!” (Makoto)

“I don’t know much about the new Demon Lord though. I do know about the previous one. His child must be similar.” (Noah)

That’s reassuring.

“Then, first of all…” (Noah)

Noah-sama and I spoke about how to fight against the Demon Lord.

◇◇

“It is about time.” (Noah)

Noah-sama stands up.

It is around a few minutes in terms of time.

I have gained some knowledge about how to fight a Demon Lord.

“Thank you very much, Noah-sama. I will go save Sakurai-kun now.” (Makoto)

“I can’t go with you, but don’t be reckless, okay?” (Noah)

“You can’t go together with me?” (Makoto)

It would be reassuring if you were by my side though.

“Hmm, even if I were to talk to you by your side, I am not visible to anyone but you, so you will end up looking like a dangerous guy who talks to air, you know?” (Noah)

“…Let’s not.” (Makoto)

It would trouble me to be labelled as a nutcase.

“Then, I will be going.” (Makoto)

Noah-sama tapped my head, and disappeared. 

Only the sound of the rain remains around me once again.

The gloom disappeared. 

I could hear voices from afar.

The shouts of many, the sounds of metal clashing, the explosions made from magic, and the ground shaking of an army moving.

The battlefield is close.

I fly straight to the place where the sounds are coming from.

(I see it!) (Makoto)

A wave-like mass of people.

I see the battlefield where the humans and demons are clashing.

But it is not the one-sided battle I was expecting, but a pretty equal battle. 

It is by no means a battle where the demon side is on the advantage, and it was more of a mix of offensive and defensive clashes.

Well, I am a novice in this kinda stuff, so I can’t really say for sure.

(…That bothers me.) (Makoto)

A strange object is giving out a conspicuous color within this battlefield where many humans, demons, and monsters are fighting. 

It was a semi-spherical black dome.

It is pitch black and I couldn’t see the inside.

Is it the magic of the enemy?

Judging from the ominous mana that I am feeling from it, I don’t think it is from an ally.

But I don’t have enough information to judge. 

I want to get closer to gather information.

I watch over the state of the war from above. 

And also the state of the Spirits around.

Maybe because of the rain or because of the pitch black clouds that are weakening the Divine Protection of the Holy Gods, there’s a lot of Water Spirits.

I look at the battlefield once again.

(It is a free-for-all…) (Makoto)

If it were before the beginning of the battle like in the Moon Country where it is just a gathering of enemies, I could attack them all at once, but…with enemies and allies mixed in this manner, it is difficult to attack.

In the first place, the ones here are the elites even within the demon lord army. 

It is not like the demon lord army composed of weaklings that were used as a diversion in the Moon Country.

I don’t know if my Spirit Magic with low attack power will be effective.

Uneasiness creeps into me once again.

[Clear Mind].

Calm down. Remember what you spoke with Noah-sama. 

Do what I can.

I know what I should be doing.

What’s next is when and where I should do it. 

“Gaaaah!!” “Guooooh!!” 

I heard the ferocious roars that were heading here and raising threatening roars.

That’s…a dragon?! 

Moreover, two firedrakes that are said to be extremely fierce. 

If I fight them, I would have to expend Spirit Magic against them.

But if it is to reduce the number of enemies, it would be better to fight them.

After hesitating for a bit, I push my Spirit Arm to the front.

Water Magic…

“Holy Swordsmanship: [Sonic Slash]!” 

Two flashes of light passed by me before I could use my magic, and the wings of the firedrakes got cut into pieces.

The firedrakes that lost their wings raised pitiful cries as they fell.

Then a female knight in white armor riding a pegasus came over here.

That female knight was a familiar face.

“Takatsuki-kun?! Why are you here?!” 

The female knight was a female classmate of mine.

Yokoyama Saki.

Sakurai-kun’s wife and aide.

She is in the same division as Sakurai-kun, and that means Sakurai-kun should be close! 

“Uhm, where’s Sakurai-kun?” (Makoto)

“Ryosuke… Please save Ryosuke!” (Saki)

That figure of hers raising a desperate cry without her stout-hearted face she had the last time I met her was telling of the dangerous situation. 

“Calm down. Where’s Sakurai-kun?” (Makoto)

“…There. He has been locked up there for more than 24 hours and he can’t come out… I don’t know if he is alive or not anymore…” (Saki)

What Yokoyama-san pointed at was the black dome that’s releasing an unnatural presence in the middle of the battlefield.

So I really do have to enter that…

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