NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25
25. National Crisis
Cities across the country are being destroyed one after another by the sudden appearance of a demon.
Upon receiving the breaking news via magic communication, an emergency strategy meeting was held in the depths of Adonis Castle.
(Has the demon appearing in Egil City destroyed three cities including the same city and nearby ones?)
One of the attendees, Count Benedict Lafiel, replayed the report he had just received in his mind.
Forty-five years old this year.
Lafiel has sharp eyes, a rich mustache, and overflowing vitality. He was a formidable man.
He had a wide network of contacts domestically and internationally. He had established a firm position within the court.
In particular, in magic research related to military matters, which could be directly applied, he provided significant support and controlled most of the results.
Because of this relationship, he effectively served as an advisor for the organization of Adonis’s military forces.
The king was not enthusiastic about military matters and had essentially delegated authority to Lafiel.
Lafiel would take the lead in dealing with the demon threat.
“The demon is targeting the capital, it seems…”
Inquired the Minister of Internal Affairs, Lloyd, who was Rafael’s political rival.
He was a small man in his fifties with a greasy face.
“His mode of transportation is on foot. There have been no confirmations of abilities like flight or spatial movement. If they continue on their current path, we estimate they will reach the capital in about 3 days.”
Rafael read aloud from the report.
“It’s indeed a crisis of national survival.”
He sniffed quietly and glanced around at the attendees.
All of them had pale faces.
Unfortunately, none of them showed a vigorous attitude.
“Three days…”
“Should we evacuate by then…?”
“But fleeing first when we’re at the heart of the country is a matter of dignity…”
Although it was supposed to be a strategy meeting, most attendees only discussed fleeing or self-preservation.
Rafael sighed inwardly.
However, perhaps it was more correct to consider fleeing first like them this time.
After all, the demon heading toward the capital was not ordinary.
According to the report, they referred to themselves as one of the Six Demon Generals, Gyrasvrim.
(One of the Six Demon Generals. Could he be the six trusted aides of the legendary demon king?)
Generally considered to be in the realm of fairy tales, but actually not so.
High-ranking demons claiming the title of demon general had appeared several times in the past hundred years.
They wielded power beyond human comprehension and destroyed several countries.
They returned to the demon world within a few days, but if they had stayed in the world, human society would no longer exist by now.
Such an overwhelming threat.
However, just because he called himself a Demon General didn’t mean it was true.
Moreover, combat magic technology has made significant advancements in the past century.
There were also more individuals with ‘Factor’ – the power of the extraordinary.
In terms of military strength, there was no comparison between then and now.
(However, even so, the fact remains the demon general is overwhelming. At least enough to destroy guilds and several cities in an instant.)
Even the strongest Rank S adventurers would find it difficult to confront them.
Should they request reinforcements from neighboring countries or guilds as much as possible without shame or concern for appearances?
Or should they deploy their own forces and then make a decision?
Considering the current crisis and the future relationship with other countries and guilds after overcoming it, Rafael chose the latter.
“We will concentrate our forces and annihilate them with maximum military strength.”
“Even if he’s truly a demon general, the level of human military strength is different now from a hundred years ago. Defending the capital should be entirely possible.”
When Lafiel proposed this, no one raised any major objections.
Lafiel thought Lloyd might object, but fortunately, he agreed.
It seemed he understood that if the capital got attacked, there was no time for internal strife.
“Let’s set up a defense line on their route. The location is the Quadra Canyon seems suitable. Since the demons are heading straight from their current location, they’ll have to pass through here to reach the capital. It’s also possible to sandwich them from the front and rear by dividing the troops into two.”
Rafael explained to the gathered ministers.
“Please hurry the selection of troops for the demon interception unit in the Royal Knights. And also send a request for mobilization to the Adventurers Guild. Naturally, focus on Rank S adventurers.”
He quickly gave instructions to the man standing beside him.
“Understood, Count Lafiel.”
He was the Minister of Military Affairs, and although he was supposed to be in charge of the military, he was like Lafiel’s subordinate.
If the demon’s target was a peripheral city, adventurers would suffice. But if there was a chance the capital would directly get attacked, they needed to use the military.
“I inquired with the Guild earlier, but it seems that the only Rank S adventurers available for summoning at the moment are Ice Blade Luca Abasta and Konkou Kekkai Dokuratio Fore.”
“Only two of them? Can’t the other Rank S adventurers be called?”
“They are in distant countries or other continents. Three days won’t be enough for them to arrive.”
The Minister of Military Affairs bowed apologetically.
In any case, Lafiel inwardly smirked at the idea that the Adventurers Guild would readily send over several Rank S adventurers as valuable assets.
The Adventurers Guild always tried to curry favor with them in any situation.
They also made a big deal out of sending adventurers.
Especially in recent years, this trend has become more prominent.
To showcase their organization’s superiority to major nations.
(No, perhaps we’re doing the same.)
They wanted to minimize the loss of their own troops.
To achieve that, when defeating magical beasts, they used non-affiliated forces – adventurers.
Even if they died, it wouldn’t affect their own military power.
The Guild was likely aware of our intentions.
“Then request them both. We can negotiate the reward with the Guild.”
Rafael declared.
“After the Royal Knights have finished forming the demon interception unit, Luca and Dokuratio will join them. Let’s intercept the demons at the defense line we’ve set.”
As the meeting ended, Rafael took a breath.
(Now, the real challenge begins.)
It’s the arrival of such a formidable demon force as never seen before.
If he could suppress it, his position and reputation as a military advisor would rise even further.
But if he failed, his power would fall to the ground, and the country itself might perish.
(I want to do everything I can.)
Oh, come to think of it. The butler reported that my daughters are in the capital.
Alice and Lilith.
The twins were born from a maid who indulged in whims and dalliances and gave birth to them overnight.
They possessed magical talent, and curiously, both became adventurers.
I thought it would be good to have connections with the Guild, but when I heard they were languishing at Rank B, I immediately lost interest.
At least they should rise to Rank A, if not to Rank S.
Useless daughters, I disdainfully thought.
(No, wait.)
Lafiel’s lips curled slightly.
If I include my two daughters on the front lines against the demons, perhaps it could be recognized as my achievement.
Of course, they couldn’t defeat the demons with their power alone.
But just being there as part of the force could be considered my achievement.
Even if they died due to their inadequate power, they were just the children I had with my mistress.
It wouldn’t be a significant blow to Rafael.
On the contrary, if they were recognized for their achievements and promoted to Rank A, their position within the Guild would rise.
It could even be useful in the future to establish connections with the Adventurers Guild.
(If things go well, it’s a profit.)
Lafiel chuckled softly.
His eyes were fixed not on the present. But far into the future.
Adonis would grow larger and flourish even more from now on.
It couldn’t be allowed to be destroyed by irregular beings like demons.
(And controlling the strengthened Adonis won’t be someone like the king who has already lost his vigor. It will be me.)
※
“W-what… I didn’t even do any damage?”
The examiner looked at me with a bewildered expression.
In contrast, I remained composed.
─ Thirty minutes after my battle with Luca, the final mock battle took place.
As an examiner, he summoned monsters and spirits one after another and attacked me.
Physical attacks from monsters such as claws and teeth.
Magic attacks from spirits such as flames and lightning.
But all of them got repelled and scattered by my deployed defense, [Armor Phase].
I calmly observed the attacks of the opponent.
With the confidence that I would not receive any damage, I had room to spare.
While watching the colorful explosions around me, I organized my mind on the nature of the skills I had discovered in the battles so far.
─ After the battle with the dragon, I investigated my skills within the range I could.
One of those aspects was the duration of the skill.
However, to investigate the [Absolute No Damage] Skill, I needed attacks against myself.
Since I had school classes on weekdays and couldn’t make elaborate devices in my spare time, I mainly used methods such as hitting myself or attacking myself with simple pendulums tied with stones or tree branches.
There were also jumping off from high places and such.
Regarding the skill’s duration, the results showed it was about one minute.
However, there were still some unanswered questions.
For example, assuming the amount of damage the skill could withstand is fixed, even if I continued to receive one damage, would the effect last for one minute? Or if I received ten damages, would it last only one-tenth of a minute ─ six seconds?
Or would it last one minute regardless of the damage amount?
This area was difficult to investigate by myself.
However, during the battle with Luca, ‘apparently, regardless of the amount of damage, the duration of my skill lasts for about a minute’ was discovered.
There were other things I found out.
The basic form, [Armor Phase], could be switched to other forms ─ [Barrier Phase] or [Kaleidoscope Shift] ─ at any time.
And I confirmed that the skill’s duration did not reset even when switching to other forms.
In the battle with Luca, after deploying [Armor Phase] for nearly a minute, I switched to [Kaleidoscope Shift], and the duration limit was immediately reached.
“Has it been five minutes already? That’s it for today.”
As I pondered such things, the examiner sighed and stopped attacking.
It seemed the mock battle time was up.
With this, all three battles were over, and now all that was left was to wait for the results.
It was also a meaningful mock battle as a practical test of my skills.
Now, how many points did I score?
If I pass all three, that would be good.
But just thinking about passing with flying colors ─ it would be nice, but…