The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

The massive demon fell, and the tide of battle turned in their favor.

However, they weren't letting their guard down. So far, Skato had only shown magic in battle. He could probably use some mystic arts too, and they hadn't fully grasped his skills yet. The shadow movement was likely a skill, but... they couldn't understand its precursors or rules.

"'Flare Purge'!"

"How tiresome."

Skato sank into the shadows to avoid the heat ray descending from the sky.

That ability to melt into shadows was quite convenient. Since they had seen him come out of other people's shadows, its degree of freedom must be quite high.

If that ability was Skato's racial skill "Dark Attribute Bestowal," it could be explained to some extent... but was he not launching surprise attacks from their shadows simply because he was weak in close combat?

No, they couldn't even be sure if his aged appearance was real. It would be dangerous to make assumptions.

"'Blade Shift'!"

"Whoop! No openings or gaps, eh?"

He avoided it again.

To predict by sensing the faint fluctuations of spiritual elements, his eyes must be quite good. As expected of a high-ranking demon.

But well, that's no reason to relax.

"We'll keep pressing on, Elen."

"Mm. 'Flare Wave'!"

"'Dark Shock'!"

The wave of flames and the black shock collided and dispersed.

Taking advantage of that opening, Ruruk launched a "Blade Shift," but as expected, there was no gap and it was avoided.

This isn't working.

Coordinate attacks are ineffective, and the fact that Ruruk's attacks are becoming linear is causing the situation to stagnate.

It's quite troublesome that they can't use Elen's advanced magic here because the range is too large, forcing them to fight with intermediate or lower firepower.

...Alright, there's no choice but to take some risks here.

Although his master had forbidden it, Ruruk's greatest strength was his ability to fight relying on the broken healing capabilities of "Autonomous Adjustment."

Close combat was his forte.

"Elen, I leave Saaya to you!"

As Ruruk leapt forward as the vanguard, Skato became cautious and began chanting magic. Although they didn't know what kind of formula it was, if it was to prevent close combat, it would likely be an area attack or something to impede movement.

Of course, the few steps Ruruk had taken were just a bluff.

"'Relative Teleportation'!"

Ruruk teleported directly behind Skato.

"What!"

"Urah!"

Ruruk swung his dagger at Skato, who had turned around after interrupting his magic.

However, as Skato raised his hand, something like a steel shield flew out from the shadows and collided with the dagger. Although mithril was harder, it wasn't enough to cut through in one strike. The blade sank about halfway before stopping.

"'Acid Pond'!"

Ruruk's feet sank as if the ground had turned into a swamp. His shoes began to smoke and sizzle as they touched the acid.

He quickly used "Relative Teleportation" to jump back several steps and escape.

Skato clicked his tongue, unable to hide his irritation at Ruruk's teleportation.

"Elen!"

"'Lightning Purge'!"

"Too naive!"

Skato sank into the shadows to avoid the lightning heat from the sky, and this time he leapt out from Ruruk's shadow.

Although his back was exposed, it was as expected.

Ruruk dodged by jumping sideways.

Skato took a step forward to launch a counterattack while chanting magic—

"Guh!"

The ground at his feet transformed into a spear, piercing Skato's calf.

It was a "Landmine" that Ruruk had casually set the moment Skato moved through the shadows. Although it was a placement type, the movement of spiritual elements only occurred during placement and activation. It would be difficult to notice if the preparation wasn't seen.

Skato forcibly pulled his foot from the earthen spear and sank into the shadows again.

...Where did he go?

He couldn't be seen while submerged in the shadows.

"'Full Survey'—Ruruk, above!"

At Elen's voice, Ruruk looked up to see Skato emerging from the shadow of a tree reflected on the mansion's outer wall. He had just finished chanting his magic and was about to fire.

"'Acid Barrel'!"

"That was close!"

Ruruk reflexively rolled to avoid it.

The acid bullet hit the ground where he had been standing, creating a large hole.

How powerful is that to even melt the ground?

Ruruk returned to where Elen and Saaya were, catching his breath while breaking out in a cold sweat from the potentially fatal magic.

"You saved me, Elen."

"Mm."

He had forgotten that battles weren't just fought on a single plane. Shadows exist above and below too.

Skato landed back in the garden, blood flowing from his foot.

"Well done. As expected, you're the most dangerous one."

"We're barely hanging on here too."

And this is two against one.

Probably couldn't win in a one-on-one situation.

Not only his magical skill and ability to see through spiritual element movements, but the shadow movement is too troublesome. As long as there's moonlight or city lights, they constantly have to be on guard against surprise attacks, which is mentally exhausting.

"I should be the one complaining. I never thought my specialty of shadow diving would be seen through. As expected of the Demon Lord's seed."

"She's our pride and joy."

Exchanging quips, they rethink their strategy once more.

It's good that they've sealed off the mobility of one leg, but it doesn't matter for shadow movement anyway. They probably don't need to worry too much about the damage they've dealt.

"By the way, Skato-san, is there any chance you'd consider backing off from Saaya?"

"Of course not. If I can't take her back, I'll kill her. Those are my orders."

"Yeah, figured as much."

There was no need to ask.

Ruruk regulates his breathing and refocuses.

He's a seasoned opponent. It's better to assume that the previous tactics won't work again.

If that's the case, then it's time to get serious.

"'Phantasm—Niagara'!"

"Wha—"

What Ruruk summoned was a fantasy of the world heritage site, Niagara Falls.

Suddenly, the scenery changed to the bottom of a waterfall, and the illusion of water spray drastically reduced visibility.

Of course, Skato probably realized it was an illusion created by mystic arts, but there was a sense that he had instinctively sunk into the shadows due to the unexpected loss of visibility.

At that moment, Ruruk dispelled the phantasm and shouted.

"'Demon, fly up to the sky'!"

The "Word Soul" burst forth with a spiritual impact.

Ruruk was also over level 50. It should be plenty effective even against a high-ranking demon.

At that instant, Skato's body shot out from the shadow of the bushes behind Elen and the others, as if being launched upward.

Of course, due to the level difference, he didn't fly all the way to the sky, but he did float up several meters.

"What—"

"'Blade Shift'!"

He probably can't sink into shadows while in mid-air.

Skato tried to dodge by twisting his body, but he couldn't avoid it completely, and a gash ran across his shoulder.

"'Wind Upper'!"

Furthermore, Elen's wind magic struck Skato's body from below, launching him even higher.

Aiming at Skato, who was now propelled to an even higher position,

"'Blade Shift'! 'Rupture Bullet'!"

Ruruk's consecutive attacks sliced across Skato's back in a straight line and then detonated a coordinate bullet.

Unable to even cry out, Skato fell as if he had been repelled, hitting the ground without being able to break his fall.

While this probably won't kill him, it should have dealt considerable damage.

"Gu, nunu... What did you..."

"Elen, the shadows."

"Mm. 'Shine Rain'."

The light magic Elen chanted created numerous light sources floating in the sky.

The irregularly falling rain of light destabilized the shadows in the area. This should make it impossible to sink into shadows. If Skato were to activate dark magic, Ruruk intended to cut him down at that very moment.

Realizing his defeat, Skato relaxed and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Nuu, you got me."

"...Any last words?"

"I need no mercy. Finish it with resolve."

He closed his eyes and lay on his back.

Lying like this, he looked like nothing more than an old father.

But Ruruk had no intention of showing mercy.

As long as the demons' objective was Saaya, there was no room for kindness in this fight to the death. Above all, Ruruk had decided to prioritize the safety of his companions over his own sense of guilt or regret.

He had been prepared to cut down or be cut down from the start.

"'Blade Shift'."

He sliced the neck.

In an instant, Skato's life drained away, and soon all signs of life vanished from his body.

The high-ranking demon died with a peaceful face, as if falling asleep.

After confirming that he was no longer breathing, Ruruk sheathed his dagger while praying for his soul.

"Ruruk!"

Turning around after confirming the battle was over, Saaya came running.

She looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Ruruk. Because of me, again..."

"It's okay, this is my role after all."

It's the path I chose.

As an adventurer living in this world, and more than anything, as Saaya's companion.

"More importantly, are you hurt, Saaya? You didn't get attacked secretly or anything?"

"That's fine. I almost got surprise attacked a few times, but Elenora protected me."

"Is that so? Sorry I didn't notice."

"No, it can't be helped. Ruruk can't sense the signs of magic, after all."

That's right.

I can react if I'm attacked head-on, but dealing with surprise magical attacks is still a challenge for me.

In that case, I need to prepare Unicorn equipment for Saaya as soon as possible.

"For now, it seems we've defeated the shadow demon who was operating behind the scenes in this town. The only one left is the demon who went to the master's place. According to what the flame-haired demon said, it seems even Saturn isn't sending any more reinforcements."

"That's right. Roze-san should be fine, right? I can't imagine her losing."

"Indeed. She's like the embodiment of a cheat character."

At that moment, Ruruk and the others had no way of knowing that their master was raining down meteors.

"But Ruruk, if the demons' target is me, it's not good for us to stay in this town, is it?"

"...You're right, it seems they've got a rough idea of our location. If only we could be sure that the tracking spell was something only Skato could use, we could rest easy."

We can't be optimistic. The next assassin might be sent, so we want to leave this town as soon as possible, but...

The problem is, how do we prevent the tracking spell?

I don't even want to imagine a scenario where we're attacked by demons everywhere we go.

"Well, we'll have to discuss future plans with the master. Before that, we need to check on the people who were in a state of panic."

"That's right! I hope Father is alright—"

It was at that moment.

A fluctuation of magical elements arose from Skato, who should have been dead.

Only Elen noticed it.

Ruruk and Saaya hadn't realized. It was just a faint ripple of magical elements.

Elen didn't even have time to alert us before she hastily began to chant.

But the activation of the magic was just a fraction faster on the other side.

"'Gravity Control'."

Our bodies suddenly lifted off the ground.

Free manipulation of gravity is an extreme-level dark attribute magic.

Needless to say, it's registered as a forbidden technique, a super-advanced magic.

The one who used this trump card was Skato, who was grinning.

We didn't know.

We didn't know that Skato had a skill called "Shadow Double" that allowed him to revive from death once.

"'Flare Purge'!"

"'Dual Acid Barrel'!"

Elen's heat ray incinerated Skato almost at the same moment two acid bullets were fired.

One headed towards Elen.

And the other towards Saaya.

I noticed the potentially fatal acid bullets at the moment Skato died again from Elen's attack.

By then, all three of us were already floating in the air, unable to move. We had been subjected to the same tactic I had used against Skato earlier.

Elen tried to activate magic, but it was too late.

Only mystic arts that didn't require chanting could make it in time.

It's no good.

Saaya still can't use teleportation reflexively.

Even if I could use it, I'd only make it once.

Saaya was within arm's reach.

Elen was a bit further away.

There was no time to hesitate.

"'Relative Teleportation'!"

I used teleportation to send only the Unicorn cloak, enhanced to the limit with mystic arts, flying in front of Elen.

And with one hand, I pulled Saaya closer.

"Ruruk!"

Pulling Saaya closer in zero gravity meant that our positions would be swapped due to the reaction.

There was no time to respond to Saaya's sudden cry.

There wasn't even time to see my life flash before my eyes.

The acid bullet effortlessly pierced through my chest.

■　■　■　■　■

What lay on the ground was Ruruk's cloak that had protected Elen.

And Ruruk's body, with a hole in his chest.

"...Ruruk?"

Saaya called out with a trembling voice.

To her beloved person whose heart had melted away.

There was no response.

No response...

"Ruruk!"

Elen rushed over and took out an Elixir from her item box.

While sprinkling it over the hole in his chest, Elen directly breathed "Healing Breath" into Ruruk's mouth and into his body.

But it didn't heal.

While loss of limbs might be one thing, there was no sign of the heart returning to normal.

Elen desperately held Ruruk's motionless body and continued to apply healing. With tears streaming down her face, as if defying despair.

But the wound didn't close. The heart didn't return.

Gradually, the light began to fade from his eyes.

"No..."

Why?

Saaya stared at the motionless Ruruk and questioned herself.

He was dying again.

He had always been her only hope.

From when she was Azusa Ichinomiya, Gaku Nanairo had been her hope.

Even after she became Saaya, he appeared to her as Ruruk.

He was the most important existence to her.

But why...?

Why did she have to lose him again?

"...I don't want this."

I don't want this. I can't accept it. I absolutely didn't want to accept it.

Losing him again.

"I don't want this."

Why?

Why does the world try so hard to take him away?

Is it because of the gods that are supposed to be somewhere?

Or is it because of Saaya herself?

"I don't want this."

I don't understand.

I don't understand, but I don't want this.

A world where Ruruk dies.

A world where we can't live together.

"I don't want this."

I don't want this.

I don't want this.

I don't want this.

...I don't want such unreasonableness.

Ah.

I've had enough.

"Uu, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Even though she knew there was no meaning in crying out.

Saaya could only curse this outcome—this world—by doing so.

I've had enough.

I've had enough of this world.

A world where Ruruk disappears.

...Ah.

Such a world should just disappear.

At this moment, Saaya's numerology transformed.

The advanced skill "Indeterminate Existence" that had never been used—that skill governing probability and existence—became "negative" along with Saaya's despair.

"Numerology 'Negative One': World-Devouring Void"

The "god-realm class skill" that Roze had feared, capable of destroying everything, activated.

The end of the world had begun.