Vol 4: Chapter 6: Another Formidable Opponent

Demon City Aquarius

Another Formidable Opponent

Like an agile beast, Aleph gathered momentum and pounced on Karma, but his attacks, fuelled by his rage, were monotonous and easily dodged.

"No~ no~, if you attack in such an obvious way, you won't reach me."

As if to mock Aleph...

The gentle, admonishing tone only made Aleph feel even more irritated.

"Shut up! I'll never let a crazy bastard like you get to Chris!"

With this determination in his voice, he poured all his anger into it and once again pointed his holy sword at Karma and pressed forward.

He attacks by mixing slashing, thrusting, and even punches strengthened by physical strengthening.

But... it doesn't reach him. Sometimes it's dodged, sometimes it's deflected, it feels like there's no response at all.

["Aleph! Stop it already. If you keep going like this... you'll die!"]

Chefs is angry at Aleph's lackluster attack.

With Chefs's words, Aleph regained a little of his composure.

"Indeed, if things continue like this, it won't be good.... He doesn't seem like an opponent that can be defeated by just letting my anger get the better of me."

["Of course. He may have a rotten character, but he is one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He is one of the Demon King's greatest fighters."]

As the holy sword's words of intent, which showed a deep understanding of its opponent, Aleph gradually returned to his normal self.

Karma saw this, but unlike before, he felt that he had reached his limit in simply ignoring it.

"Is it okay to talk like that so carefree? I’m going to violate the precious Saint-sama--"

"...I won't fall for that trick again. If I think about it, if I kill you here, that kind of situation won't happen."

"Huh? You say a lot. You don't think I'll ever leave here?"

"You think I'd let you go? Besides, there's no one under your command who could stop me."

Unless one possesses the power of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it will be difficult to even hold Aleph off for long enough.

Aleph was certain that it would be impossible for this man to find Chris and the others.

"I see. That's certainly a reasonable opinion."

"Right? Then let's get this over with."

"That's .... only if there was only one of the Four Heavenly Kings here."

Aleph's face crumbles as Karma utters those ominous words.

"What...? What do you mean by that――"

While Aleph was asking his question, a spear came flying at great speed from the entrance of the room.

["Aleph! Behind you!"]

"Hey!!"

As Chefs spoke, Aleph turned around and deflected the spear that was flying at an abnormal speed with his holy sword. A heavy impact hit Aleph. An explosion of flames rose from the deflected spear, and it was blown away by the impact.

["What on earth? The spear exploded?"]

"Karma, I can't believe you've revealed my existence to the enemy so easily... are you an idiot?"

At the same time that Chefs muttered to himself, the person who had thrown the spear hurled reproachful words at Karma.

"Sorry, sorry, I blurted it out. It's a bad habit of mine. Can you forgive me?"

"Hmph, that's why I don't want to team up with you. I can't believe that someone like you is one of the Four Heavenly Kings like me."

The two of them talk to each other in light tones.

The new, well-built man doesn't even look at Aleph.

He was over two meters tall, with fiery red hair that stood on end like a lion's mane.

At first glance, he appears to be human, just like Karma. However, he has a presence that is different from that of a human.

"Suddenly, a surprise attack... You're a big guy, but you're acting like a pathetic person."

Aleph yells at the red-haired man who had burst in, but the man just looks at Aleph with a cool expression.

"Hmph, it's foolish to show your back on the battlefield. Why should I have to be considerate to my enemy?"

"In the first place, you also attacked me unexpectedly..."

A red-haired man with a condescending look on his face and Karma who had jumped on board with an exasperated look on his face.

While the other side had plenty of time, Aleph had no time for that. Judging from the attack earlier, the red-haired man was clearly a formidable opponent.

["Why don’t you at least tell me your name?! A surprise attack is one thing, but if I’m going to risk my life to fight someone, I want to know their name at least."]

"Oh, the Will of the Holy Sword seems to have quite a good-natured personality. Very well, I shall introduce myself as well."

With that, the man lowered his weapon and stepped forward in front of Aleph.

"I am Exos, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Kings. This is the name of the man who will take your life. Remember that."

["It really is the Four Heavenly Kings! I never thought there would be two of them in one place!"]

Chefs had expected it, but the situation is terrible.

There are two people who he doubt they could win one-on-one...the odds of winning are close to zero.

"Two of the Four Heavenly Kings have been defeated, so there's no way we'd just be waiting around by ourselves, right? We're not stupid after all."

"Ugh..."

Karma speaks in a relaxed manner, while Aleph looks anguished in his desperate situation.

If they had both been attacked here at the same time, his fate would have been sealed.

However.

"Well then, Exos. I'll leave the rest to you. I have to go on a date with the Saintess, after all."

"Don't give me orders. When I get back, you'll no longer be needed."

"Eeeeh... At the very least, please keep him alive even if he's barely breathing. We need to show Aleph how disgustingly changed the Saint has become."

"...Even I still don't understand your hobby. Well, if I feel like it, I'll let him live."

After this conversation, Karma quickly heads outside.

The one-on-two situation returns to one-on-one; normally this would be considered a golden opportunity, but for Aleph, it was anything but that.

Karma's words were a sign of despair.

"Wait! Fight me, Karma! I'm supposed to be your opponent, right!?"

"My opponent is the Saint-chan, so it's not you, you know? Although... my way of dealing with her is different from yours, you know? Fufufu..."

Karma smiles as he leaves the room. He can't help but understand what that man is going to do next.

After all, Aleph had once had something similar done to him by a hero.

"I told you to wait!!!"

Aleph loses his composure once again and tries to chase after Karma, who has left the room.

"To show such composure in front of me... you're underestimating me, aren't you?"

The Four Heavenly Kings Exos blocked the area in front of him, and blew away the enraged Aleph with just the wind pressure from the great sword he was holding in his right hand.

Aleph was blown away and slammed into the wall at the back of the room, coughing in agony.

"Now, that annoying bastard out of the way. This time, let's fight fair and square... shall we kill each other, hero of salvation?"

"This is not the time for something like this... damn it."

["Aleph, first we need to do something about Exos, otherwise there will be no point in worrying about the Saintess. The enemy before us is not an easy opponent to defeat with a frivolous heart."]

Chefs tries to do something about Aleph, whose mind is full of thoughts about Chris.

For Aleph, Chris is more important than the world, so Chefs' words don't reach him.

"That bastard... if he does anything to my Chris, I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Hey, Holy Sword... is it okay?"

["There's no need for the enemy to worry about us... Aleph is probably just a little worried about the Saint..."]

"...Well, whatever. As long as it entertains me, I don't care if it's a little broken."

"Aaaaaaahhhh! Chrissssssssssss!!!"

Letting out a frenzied cry, Aleph closed the distance in an instant and unleashed a holy sword technique towards Exos.

With that as the signal... the curtain rose on the battle.