Felicia

Oh my, so this is the place...

Felicia's lips formed into a smile the moment she entered the room.

It was massive, around the size of a city's central square. Everywhere the eye looked one could find magic crystals of all colors and shapes, intertwined with runic globes resting on top of thin, black pedestals. A large and complex mess of runic lines was carved on the floor, walls, and even ceiling.

This is it... The control room of this flying fortress... And that large runic globe on the middle pedestal must be the main control globe...

"Hey, you." She glared at Adele. "Turn off every defense this place has. And land it as well. Gently."

Adele gave her a glare. "You know that since I've died, my pact with my familiars is now null and void. I need my imps to work all these runic devices."

"Then allow me to help." Felicia smirked. "I know a thing or two about runemancy. Just tell me what I should do."

The elf sighed. "Very well. Begin from that globe to the northeast of the room."

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Hugo

Tch, he survived. Of course it wouldn't be that easy to win against a Demon Lord.

My spell... Did he just absorb it with that snake of his?

Standing in front of me was the Demon Lord himself. But he was no longer alone. Wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning on top of him, was the Archfey from before. And not only that, he now had a black snake wrapped around his left arm, hissing at me.

The moment I fired my Super Boom Cannon, the snake popped out and ate the whole thing, sucking the mana and neutralizing it in its body.

An anti-mage familiar... And an Archfey... Two familiars... Just like me...

Maybe he still has more up his sleeves...

"Rank Up Magic! Manifest your true self, Selene Treskios!" The Demon Lord yelled.

Crap! A Rank-Up Magic?!

A whirlwind of leaves gathered from the surrounding trees, hiding both of them from view.

When the leaves dispersed, the archfey looked considerably different. No longer did she wear a white-brown dress. Instead, her dress was now pitch-black, with a ballroom mask adorning her face. Grinning, she released her arms from her husband, hovering above him instead.

"Kill him."

"My pleasure."

With a laughter that sounded more like a shriek, the transformed archfey flew right towards me, leaving a trail of black-purple smoke in her wake.

And whatever that smoke touched, it decayed.

Shit! It's the same fog from before!

I took off in a flight, putting as much distance as I could away from the fey. Flying backwards with my Wind Step, I kept my vision at the fey and her master. And, as I feared, the latter began to cast a spell. I could reckon just what spell he would cast.

Take down the archfey first. The anti-fey barrier covering this fortress is most likely powered by her, judging by the magic I sensed floating in the air. Then if she's gone, I should be able to use my summons fully.

The question is, how should I do that?

The decay cloud surrounding her only grew the more she flew towards me. The trees around me didn't stay still, growing their branches and firing their leaves in my direction. Nothing I couldn't handle but it was quite annoying for sure.

It's coming!

I could sense a massive amount of mana rapidly approaching my direction. And sure enough, a massive beam of darkness was coming my way. The very same beam that would've annihilated the ogres if I didn't stop it.

Oy oy! You're going to kill your wife too, you know!

Fine! I'll dodge!

Using the full strength of my Wind Step, combining it with the full strength of my Feather Step, I jumped as high as I could up to the sky.

Just in time before the forest below me was utterly obliterated by a wave of darkness, reduced into nothingness.

...Behind!

Sensing a shift of mana behind me, I dashed forward.

Once again, just in time to dodge another attack, this time coming from the Archfey who had teleported behind me.

If I had stayed there, her cloud of decay would've reached me. And I'd rather not imagine what would happen to me then.

"You two are a crafty duo, I'll give you that." I declared with a smirk. "You try to distract me with your powerful spell just so your fairy could catch me off-guard."

No response. Balthazar just went back and began chanting all over again (how could he do that without a staff or a wand anyway?) while his fairy flew towards me once again.

They don't want me to give any time to chant, do they?

Fine! I'll just be on the offensive then!

I flew downwards as fast as I could towards the Demon Lord. The snake was still there, wrapped around his body, hissing at me as if daring me to fire a spell at it.

Oh, you'll get a spell alright. But the kind that you won't be able to absorb!

"Sand Grave!"

The ground under the Demon Lord immediately turned into a quicksand. After all, I wasn't targeting the snake. I was targeting its surroundings instead.

This should keep him from running away, even if for just a little bit!

I drew my sword from its sheath, enchanting its sharpness with wind.

And then, I swung.

Just for him to block it with his left arm.

What the... that didn't do the trick?

A disappointed look manifested on his face. Damn it! I'm trying here! I guess the armor, combined with natural durability, is just too much for my mediocre sword skill! If Sherry were here, she'd have cut his arm right off!

His other hand reached forward to grab me, barely missing as I promptly dashed backwards away from him. The snake lunged forward as well, trying to chomp my head clean off. Luckily, like its master, it wasn't fast enough that it could reach me before I distanced myself entirely.

Damn. He's surprisingly fast. But I'm still faster.

And, just for the heck of it, I fired a Boom Cannon right away.

Just as I expected, the snake was still fast enough to absorb it entirely. Or rather, it didn't even have to open its mouth to suck it. The moment my spell made contact with it, it just got absorbed into its skin.

Tch, what is that thing anyway? What kind of a snake can absorb that much magic?

The Demon Lord then floated away from the sand, nullifying the effect of my spell entirely.

STOMP

Huh? What was—

STOMP STOMP

I glanced behind me, towards the source of the tremor.

And saw a massive skyscraper-sized treant standing.

No, not just one. There were three of them, with rotting wood that looked all sickly and decayed.

And in the middle between them was the archfey, smiling.

Did she summon them?!

I quickly flew back upwards, just in time to dodge one of them slamming its hand to the ground.

"Surrender, human!" The archfey shouted. "You are completely outclassed!"

"Oh really?" I smirked. "If you think those oversized trees are anything more than an eyesore to me, think again!"

They're practically the same size compared to the giant treant I had to fight back at Fiania.

And, if I can win against one back then, I should be able to take care of three of them with no problem, now that I'm a lot stronger and all.

And I better do it fast. I think they emit the same decay cloud like their mistress. I can't be caught flying too close to them.

Let's test this spell out, shall we?

"Explosion!"

I cast the Master-level spell right on top of the nearest treant, specifically aiming for its legs. As expected, it immediately fell, with the rest of its body being eaten away by the flames.

"Heh, one down!"

I didn't have much time to celebrate, however, as immediately after, a massive magic circle appeared in the sky.

Balthazar! I glanced down at him, seeing him still casting his spell. It's the same spell from before again!

The archfey laughed as she charged towards me. Her other two treants walked forward, their long steps making them able to keep up with their mistress's speed.

They want to keep me from running out of range of this spell!

"Explosion!" I took out another treant, all the while dodging the archfey who was now blowing her cloud of decay in my direction. Oddly enough, even though she was quite close from the epicenter of my spell, she was completely unschated by it, even though the treant near her was up in flames.

Even if I give her a Boom Cannon to the face, something similar would probably happen. Whatever she is now, she can't be affected by spells normally.

"Air Sunder!"

I used the Advanced-level magic to blow away the decay from where I was, all the while still flying away from the Archfey.

And then, I saw it — out of the corner of my eyes, a gash on the sky above me.

Wait, that's—

The gash opened, revealing exactly what I was hoping to see.

A completely, from top to bottom naked, Sherry.

"Sherry! You've come!" I laughed. "Oh, you guys are so screwed now!"

Why is she naked though? Did her clothes get ruined in her fight? Damn it, wish I've been there to see it...

She looked at me for a short while with a blush on her face, covering her body with her hair. Before she turned her attention towards the giant magic circle that was in the sky above her.

Wait, can she—

She lifted her sword upwards with both hands. And then—

She did exactly what I thought she would do.

"Wisdom God Technique! Magic-Devouring Slash!"

A massive aura blade formed at the tip of her sword, easily the size of the treants I just destroyed.

And with one single, powerful swing, she cut the magic circle in two, obliterating it completely.

Whoa, that's awesome!

Even the sky itself was split, with the clouds parted right in the middle.

It was the same technique that Quania used to cut down the fairy forest in one fell swoop. And the same one she used to the flying fortress back then as well. The barrier there was sturdier though. It only cracked instead of shattering completely.

Even though I've only seen it twice, it's still awesome!

I had to stop watching her though as the archfey resumed its attacks. The remaining treant fired a rain of branches at my direction, followed by her disappearing and reappearing right behind where I flew.

From the front and back... Heh, do you think I'm an idiot?

I dived towards the treant, erecting a Wind Wall that blocked the branches. Turning off my Wind Boost, I cast a Boom Cannon, firing it to shatter the frail arms of the treant as I flew by, preventing it from grabbing me. I then aimed my left palm to its right leg, firing another Boom Cannon to make it lose its balance.

Heh, piece of— whoa!

The treant—it was cut in two right in front of my eyes.

"Get away from him!"

And of course, behind the treant was Sherry, who had decided to aid me instead of  fighting off the Demon Lord.

"Sherry! Be careful! That dark fog of hers will decay anything it touches!"

"I know that! Do you think I'm an idiot?!"

I chuckled. Just saying, in case she isn't paying attention...

Her hair swarmed the archfey, assaulting her from every single conceivable direction. Yet as I feared, none of her tendrils reached her body. They simply decayed into nothing once they entered the fog surrounding her.

The archfey let out a shrill, banshee-like laugh. "Nothing can get past my miasma! Nothing! For this is the power given to me by my dear Balthazar and I am now as strong as Titania herself! And as autumn brings death and decay to the world, I shall do the same to you both!"

Sheesh, what a grandiose villain speech...

Does she even realize she can't win against her?

Sherry gave her an annoyed look before grabbing her sword with both hands once more.

Yeah... Just cut her down. You can't decay a sword slash after all. And since feys are mostly magic, the same technique she used to slash that magic circle would work against her as well.

She raised her sword up over her head, the exact same stance she used before.

"Ohohohoho! Go ahead! Do it! Try to strike me down!"

...Wait! I think I know what she's planning!

The same giant black sword made out of aura appeared. I quickly flew away, heading towards where Sherry was while making sure I was nowhere near the sword's path.

She's going to disappear at the last moment and then reappear right behind her!

She swung her sword, forming a massive line crater on the ground with a loud explosion that deafened my ears.

And, just as I predicted, the archfey was now right behind her.

"Sherry! Behind you!"

The archfey wrapped her arms around her waist while a sadistic, victorious grin was drawn on her face.

Only, she never did.

For Sherry skewered her into pieces with her hair, killing her in the spot instantly.

"W-what? B-but... but how... how could you..."

"Your teleportation technique is flawed. Your miasma thing doesn't appear the moment you pop out of thin air. That's why my hair can cut you this time."

"...N-no. But that's..."

She never got to finish her sentence. She disappeared in a flash of light as Sherry's slashes had torn apart her magical body.

...So cool! I was worrying for nothing! Of course she'd see through that simple trick!

"That was amazing, Sherry! You're the best!" I yelled as I approached her.

She glanced at me with a blush before looking away, her hair quickly covering her private bits.

"Idiot."

"What?" I replied with a playful tone. "You don't like me, your handsome and cute husband, praising you?" God, she's so cute whenever she acts all tsun tsun like this! "And how did you figure that out anyway? That weakness of hers?"

"I saw her teleporting around while she was chasing you." She glanced at me as she answered. "Don't tell me you didn't notice it."

...Shit. I don't think I noticed it. I was too busy defending myself to realize that fact.

Heh, does this mean she's stronger than me now?

"We haven't won yet." She continued. "Don't celebrate too early. Look. That guy is casting another spell." She gestured towards the Demon Lord down below.

"Heh, you're right. We'll celebrate all we want once we take care of him." I gazed down towards the Demon Lord as well. Sure enough, I could see a massive amount of mana flowing around his body. "And speaking of that, I'd be very much grateful if you kill that snake slithering on him. That thing can eat magic. Can't use my Boom Cannon while it's still there."

"Got it. Anything else I should be worried about?"

"Nope. I'll disable his magic then you come in for the kill."

"Then, let's do it.

With a short nod, Sherry dashed down towards the Demon Lord, giving me a nice view of her naked ass as I chased after her.

I only got to ogle her cheeks for a few short seconds though as I needed to concentrate on dispelling the spell the Demon Lord was casting.

Hmmm, grghh, this is tough! His mana flow is too strong to interrupt! It's just like the flow of that Illusion Demon Lord chick!

No, I've trained for this. I just have to seek out any weaknesses in the flow that I can exploit.

...Wait, since the fairy is gone, shouldn't this whole artificial dimension collapse? How about my familiars? Can I summon them normally now?

...No. The magic is still there. Dammit, did Sherry fail to kill her? Or is the magic running independent from her in the first place?

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So she has fallen... I told her not to underestimate them. Yet she did anyway...

A shame... I enjoyed her company all these long years...

The Demon Lord's gaze rested on the naked long-haired brute who's now diving right towards him. It then switched to the blond human whose left palm was aimed at him.

He's trying to dispel my spell... He knows the secret of anti-magic... How curious... Such an art should be extremely rare... Where did he learn it from?

He's weak. His raw mana can't disturb my magic. Not from that range.

The threat for now is that girl. Though I wonder. Why isn't she using that technique again?

...Aah, such power. It reminds me of her...

He raised his right arm upwards, facing the palm to the sky.

"Dayless Domain!"

Darkness spread from where he stood, swallowing the world in a blink of an eye.

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Sherry froze, just meters away from the ground.

The Demon Lord had vanished.

Or rather, everything had vanished. She could no longer see anything. It was all black as if someone had put a blindfold over her eyes.

H-huh? What is—what is going on?!

It's that spell, isn't it? That must be it!

Hugo, you failed! You promised to stop his spell!

No matter! I'll just use my hair to find him!

...

...

...

Tch, I can't find him! I can only find Hugo!

"Hugo! Are you alright?!" She yelled at the direction she found him.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine..."

"Don't move! I'll pull you to my location!"

With her hair, she yanked Hugo to her location. It's too dangerous for him to be on his own... I have to protect him...

"W-whoa!"

Unfortunately, she overshot the strength necessary to do so slightly, leading to Hugo crashing into her instead.

"Kyah!"

The two fell, though thankfully, it was only for a few meters. And she was the one on the bottom, acting as a cushion for the squishier mage, a role that she would gladly take. After all, she had sworn to be his sword and shield, and that she would protect him from any harm that might come.

This, however, wasn't exactly part of that deal.

Chuuuuu~

Their lips touched and Hugo's free hand ended up squeezing her left breast.

"H-hey, this isn't the time for—"

A chill crept into her spine.

She swiftly formed a cocoon of hair around them, just in time to block a sword heading their way.

The Demon Lord—he was standing right beside them.

"Sublime Darkness."

"Hugo!"

"Thanatos!"

The Demon Lord's left palm shone with darkness. But before he could bring it to bear against the cocoon, the spell was interrupted as the Demon Lord suddenly coughed up blood.

Now!

Sherry disassembled the cocoon, using her hair to attack the Demon Lord instead.

Only, she failed to do so, as he disappeared into the darkness before any of her hair slashes could connect.

She gritted her teeth. How?! How can he disappear this quickly?

This darkness... he must be using it to teleport away or something!