NOVEL NEXT Chapter 552
Chapter 552. Theory and Sensation
【Zilbagias One-Mouth IF Story】
Demon Lord: “That’s right… an election. Let’s decide the next Demon Lord through an election. This way, we won’t have to split the country through a civil war, and no unnecessary blood will be shed…”
With that thought, the Demon Lord General Election was announced. Everyone with a title in the Demon Lord Kingdom had voting rights, and whoever received the most votes would assume the position of the next Demon Lord…!
As a result —
“Woooaah! Please grant me your pure vote! Or else, I’ll kill you!”
“Vote for me! When I ascend, I’ll raise the rank of everyone who voted for me by one, no, two levels!”
“What!? Then I’ll raise it three levels!”
“All of you vote for me! Hey, you over there! Duel me for the party leadership!”
One vote of blood for another blood…!
Assassination… bribery… anything goes!
A bloody election campaign begins here!
~~Believing that the election system will save the Demon Lord Kingdom…!~~
(Look forward to Goldgias’s next strategy!)
【Previous Chapter Summary】
Odigos: “Odigos is—!!”
Liliana: “Gaaaahhh!!” (An arrow pierces through her brain, throat, and heart.)
Odigos: “Gaaaahhh!!” (He breaks apart into four pieces.)
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“Thank goodness… I’m really glad you’re okay…!”
Liliana breathed a sigh of relief, but upon thinking it through calmly, things were not “okay.” Odigos was in a state that looked like he had been torn into four wooden pieces, and given that Liliana had been slashing countless demon soldiers, it was astonishing that he hadn’t exploded in this condition.
“Look closely…”
Despite shaking in pain, Odigos chuckled.
“I’m not completely broken. I’m still connected…!”
Upon closer inspection, she indeed saw incredibly thin fibers connecting him.
“If those break, it would be very bad, so please be careful.”
“Eh…?!”
So… so that one fiber, which seems like it could snap with just a little tug from a baby, is ensuring Odigos’s life…!?
“You’re kidding…!”
Liliana instinctively used her healing miracle. However, the miracle of the ‘Saint,’ which should instantly regenerate even a rotting ancient tree, had no effect on Odigos, as if it were trying to heal a lump of iron.
“Being a demon, it won’t work.”
The oldest demon chuckled apologetically. The ball of magical power and mere pseudo-living being that is a demon bears no benefits from the blessings of the gods of light—
Just then, Odigos, who had dissipated, floated back into Liliana.
“Thinking calmly, there wasn’t much point in maintaining my form at this point. Ouch, I’m slightly better off now…”
With an image of a human rubbing his waist, Odigos caught his breath.
“However, in this state, it seems I can’t fulfill my duties as a wand or bow for a while. Liliana, you will need to make use of the power of [Guidance] yourself.”
(Leave it to me!)
With a huff, Liliana nodded forcefully. Looking back, she had completely relied on Odigos to carry her all this time. She must respond to his expectations, who had protected her with his own body!
(I’ll make it happen…!!)
Thus, while pulling the power of [Guidance], Liliana suddenly felt every single piece of guidance flood into her mind the moment Odigos’s assistance vanished.
“Ugh…!”
Countless options. Infinite possibilities. They reached out to Liliana as if saying, “Choose and choose!” The overwhelming amount of information made her feel nauseous—
Which one is the right one? How do I choose…!?
“I don’t really like calling it the ‘right answer.’ Every path has its own correctness.”
With a gentle tone, as if watching over a child, Odigos said.
(That may be true, but what basis or criteria should I use to select?)
“Intuition! You just have to choose with your intuition.”
(Intuition…? You mean gut instinct!?)
Liliana screamed within her heart.
(This is impossible! Despite how it looks, I’m a logical person!)
Indeed, Liliana was a hard-core logical thinker. The magic of the Forest Elves is woven from traditions and legends. With broad knowledge, proper magical manipulation, the appropriate strength of magical power, and the right attributes, anyone could use it. Because there is a fundamental theory behind it. (However, very few from the human race meet those prerequisites.)
Liliana had devoted her nearly hundred years of life to theory and practice. Aside from her innate abilities as a High Elf—healing and dispelling with a mere touch—she was not good at anything that required feeling or instinct; she simply had no clue how to do it.
“Hmm, regarding guidance, I can only say it’s about familiarity and sensation.”
(At least, isn’t there some sort of guideline?! A standard for judging what might be good!)
“That’s not really how [Guidance] works…”
Odigos seemed to shake his head, as if somewhat exasperated.
“Pick something that resonates with you! You’ll be fine, Liliana. You are the best contractor I’ve ever chosen! You can definitely do it! Hang in there! Keep going!!”
(Even if you say that~~~!)
Liliana held her head, feeling confused. For example, when thinking about, “Who should I defeat next?”, a flurry of potential candidates appeared, almost saying, “This one, this one, no, over here!”
This directly stemmed from Liliana unconsciously considering “What criteria do I use to determine who should be defeated?” Is it rank? Strength of magic? Command authority that comes with it? Or bloodline? Charisma that doesn’t show in those indices?
(But… when I think about it this way, those solid candidates derived from logic don’t seem truly suitable for genuine guidance.)
Liliana logically concluded that she must choose something transcending such conditions, something destined.
(Because for instance, Alex, who now holds a pivotal role in the world’s fate, wasn’t particularly outstanding during his previous life as the hero…!)
He was indeed a resilient hero who survived any battlefield—though that was noteworthy talent against the demon army—but he was merely upper-middle or lower-upper strength-wise.
There certainly existed heroes or sword saints like Arthur Hilburn, who posed threats more directly. However, if Odigos had been on the battlefield in those days and been asked, “Who is the biggest enemy of the Demon Lord Kingdom?”, he’d have pointed to Alex first…!
What if — a demon soldier managed to take down Alex, who was stubbornly surviving on the battlefield?
And if Alex became unable to participate in the assault on the Demon Lord Castle?
The fate of the world would have changed significantly…!
(Which means… I must make a decision based on some fateful criterion.)
The power of [Guidance] transcends logic. Liliana thought she understood this, but when she tried to judge from such a perspective—
The world overflowed with infinite possibilities.
—Guidance filled Liliana’s vision.
“Uuuuh…!”
Her head spun. Could it really be that Odigos confidently selected the right guidance out of what seemed like an infinite amount with mere instinct? She found it unbelievable. She couldn’t imagine herself doing the same…!
From the outside, Liliana, as the wand broke, seemed to cry, laugh, and suffer alone, leaving the soldiers around her perplexed.
“Liliana, you don’t need to think so hard—”
Odigos seemed to be at a loss for how to provide advice.
“It’s a matter of feeling. Just select what you think is good, or what seems good, and carelessly choose. Trust in your inner guidance…!”
(Even if you say so… hold on, “My inner guidance”?…)
That phrase made Liliana snap out of it.
That’s right. While I’m unsuited for intuition…
There’s still someone else.
A true intuitive at heart…!!
(Couldn’t “you” manage it!?)
(…Wow?)
“……..”
Taking a branch from her chest, Liliana placed it in her mouth and got down on all fours.
“…Liliana?”
What on earth was she doing? Odarju asked with a somewhat fearful demeanor.
“Wow.”
Liliana, branch in mouth, answered with a serious face.
“……..”
Odarju froze. The surrounding forest elves and soldiers looked puzzled. Liliana, with a dazed look in her eyes, scanned around as though her reason had slipped away, inhaling heavily.
Suddenly enveloped in an unusual tension, Liliana shook her head and spat out the branch, then thumped it down with complete conviction.
“……I got it.”
Standing up as if nothing had happened.
“W-What was that?”
“…It’s a kind of secret technique.”
Liliana replied solemnly to the forest elf who asked cautiously.
“It’s about releasing one’s… well, beast instinct. I divined the location of the next enemy I must defeat based on my wild intuition.”
“I-I see…?”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing…”
“That must be what we call a secret technique…”
Though they murmured in surprise (and disbelief), the forest elves nodded in agreement. Only Odarju wiped the sweat from his forehead.
(It’s somehow worked out…)
“Indeed, you are my contractor… magnificent! I’m glad we could contract with each other.”
(Wuff-hun)
However, it might be hard to use in front of others—thought Liliana, looking over the city walls.
At this point, the commander was behind the [Stone Manipulation Curse] shield that she had just tried to shatter.
The second most important figure seemed to be on her right, within a large dome-shaped barrier.
She recognized that. The Sauroe Tribe’s bloodline magic, [Hunting Domain].
(Checking the logical option, it must be Spinethia.)
Considering him a key figure in this battlefield logically made sense.
Zilbagias’s sister—thinking of her, a slight pain ached in Liliana’s heart, and she surprised herself. She had never felt empathy for enemies on the battlefield before.
Demon Lord’s Prince No. 5 Spinethia Sauroe. She hardly knew him.
She had only seen him from a distance a few times in the Demon Lord Castle and attended the dinner with Zilbagias and Spinethia as a “pet” in the Evaroti Autonomous District—
“……..”
She vaguely remembered that he looked at her, who had become Zilbagias’s beloved pet, with eyes that seemed neither scornful nor hateful, but rather pitying.
And as she was surprised to see Zilbagias affectionately loving his dog, it offered a tiny bit of relief—
(…Kuwun)
Liliana shook her head and tried to wipe away the scenes that floated in her mind.
(He’s an enemy I must defeat.)
Shaking off sentimental feelings, Liliana readied her bow made of divine light magic.
She released an arrow in accordance with [Guidance]. As expected, the Sauroe Tribe’s defenses were solid; it was simply deflected. Even with Odigos still around, she wondered if she could pierce through the intricate barriers surrounding that place.
(The clan responsible for the Demon Lord’s palace’s barrier is no joke…)
Her lips pressed tightly together. They were an extremely troublesome foe, especially since they don’t particularly match well with arrows. She needed something that could either slip through or break that barrier, but… was that even possible? Was she left with no choice but to rely on the Dwarf Blacksmith Warriors’ breakthrough power?
And at that moment, the battlefield shook.
“Whoa, what is that?!”
“A giant!?”
“An enormous demon race!!”
Suddenly, a giant of rock stood up from the ground.
(! The rock demon I spotted during reconnaissance flyovers!!)
It was the one that had been digging up the collapsed Dwarf fortress at the front line. Seeing it up close gave her certainty; this was controlled by the Korvto Tribe’s [Stone Manipulation Curse]!
With its serious expression, the rock giant took up a long stone spear and aimed to smash the city walls—
“I won’t let that happen!”
Liliana took out a seed, infusing it with the breath of life.
“[Divine Benefit of Abundance]”
She fired living branches as arrows. While they weren’t as powerful as Odigos’s bow, they couldn’t break or hurt the [Stone Manipulation Curse].
However, the life force of the flourishing branches was certainly present.
In no time, the branches wrapped around the colossus. Continuing to shoot arrows, Liliana wrapped branches around the colossus’s arms, legs, and torso to hinder its movement—
Boom!
A dull sound, slicing through the wind. A rock projectile had come flying from the back. A Dwarf catapult.
A stone the size of a man collided directly with the immobilized statue. A heavy rumble echoed, and the statue, unable to withstand the impact, tilted and fell to the ground, kicking up dust.
“Ooooooh…!”
“Good! Take it down!”
“Don’t let it get close—!”
Cheers erupted from the soldiers. Both human soldiers and beastman soldiers, alongside the forest elf archers, each gripped their bows or Dwarf-made mechanical bows, tossing rocks and other projectiles onto the Demon Lord’s army below.
—Conversely, it also meant they had closed in enough to fall within those ranges.
“……..”
Now was the real critical moment. Liliana licked her lips—
“Wuff-hun!”
She got down on all fours again and focused on targeting her priority target that she could comfortably defeat—drawing the answer she needed.
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Odarju: “Can’t we do something about this?”
Liliana: “Kuwun.”
Odarju: “……..”
Next time, we’ll switch to the perspectives of other races on the battlefield→ plan to return to Alex’s viewpoint.
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