Chapter 401 Battle against a Spirit World Knight & Relief

Around the time when a fierce battle between the spearmaster and his Light Demon Lucival forces, and Queen Sardyne and her demons unfolded in the Sea of Treesa spirit world knight was in the middle of cras.h.i.+ng into the Sea of Trees.

His name was Delhart. Delhart crashed violently against a tree, rebounced from it in exchange for his big frame knocking down the tree, and slammed against the trunk of a tree in front of him. Bouncing back once more, he fell down while snapping off the branches of another tree on his way, before heavily impacting on the ground.

At the time of him rolling across the ground, Delharts consciousness recovered as he spat blood. His beloved, violet magic spear also came falling down with a force as if to stab into Delhart. Its spearhead tore off Delharts ear before stabbing into the soil next to his head.

The sound of his eardrum being crushed reverberated through his head.

Guguguguuua

It wasnt as though his favorite spear Glukinus had stabbed him, but even so, Delhart vomited a large amount of blood. As he kept groaning in pain, he scattered blood and other bodily fluids containing rich magic elements.

Delharts armor had been cleaved open. Going by the damage to the armor, the wounds looked terrible, but the shoulder injury caused by Holy Spear Arosts

was already in the process of regenerating.

Buauuu.

Delharts body spasmed while he breathed out deeply. The spurting of blood came to an end. Getting up and placing a knee on the ground, he shook his head. He felt like the ground was swaying.

Soon he stood up while checking on his magic spear once more. Although Delhart, who possessed an abnormal toughness, got defeated in the battle against the spearmaster, he was a high-ranking pract.i.tioner of the demonoid martial arts style and a spirit world knight of the Demonic Moth King. On top of that, he was a warrior strong enough to wield Glukinus and hold the rank of Ruler, a rank exceeding the Extreme rank. 1

And he had acquired

, a divine protection of Dark G.o.d Ardin, an eccentric war G.o.d of the Spirit World who only recognized those using the spear as a weapon.

was another secret art of

.

Furthermore, he was a mighty fighter who had fought against Mad Spirit World Knight Hazarn on equal terms in the compet.i.tion for King Demon Denregas sacred treasure. During the fierce fight against Hazarn, his body was. .h.i.t by

and developed an unknown skin disease which resulted in Delhart obtaining the recovery skill

. That skill came with a resistance against Evil Spirit Sound Wave-based attacks, and was labeled as one of the best recovery skills. It was no match for

, the Extra Skill which Revenge G.o.ddess Mehlad granted the transferee Yos.h.i.+yuki Takebayas.h.i.+, who fought against the spearmaster in the past, but it was a skill on the same level as evolved recovery skills that had gone through various fusions with many other recovery-based skills.

Because of that, the effect of

allowed Delhart to barely get away with his life after having his back stabbed by Baldok, and having his body cleaved open by Arosts slash.

Dark G.o.d Ardin, whom Delhart was wors.h.i.+ping, had a connection to Dark G.o.d Rivograph. Rivograph liked magic swords while Ardin preferred magic spears.

Dark G.o.d Ardin was famous for his magic spear duel with Tyrannous King Bos.h.i.+ad at the Grand Graveyard of Heavenly Magic Mirrors. While they competed with spear techniques at the graveyard, killing each otherthey eventually ended up at the Great Plains of h.e.l.l, just beyond the graveyard. And as such, they trespa.s.sed into the domain of Bad G.o.d Desalobia, unfolding into an epic battle against Desalobia on top of it.

Vampire G.o.d Lugnad, who got upset over them picking a fight with Desalobia, kept showering Ardin and Bos.h.i.+ads bodies with blood bullets while also attacking Kyulha, who was trying to stop the battle. From there, the battle escalated much further, dragging many more G.o.ds into it, and thus having an unfathomable impact on the Spirit World. 2

The fragments of arms exceeding divine artifacts poured down on the plains of the Spirit World, creating new, large valleys of demonic steel. Moreover, pieces of Mythological-cla.s.s weapons and armors eroded the already existing Tears, and as a result of them merging with the veils mananew steel-loving kin of darkness came into being. It even affected the planet Sela, which is close to a dimensional junction, but the G.o.ds of the Spirit World didnt really care about all that. But that was yet another outcome of karma.

And Spirit World Knight Delhart didnt get shaken overly much during battle so as to endure the mental contamination of Magic Halberd Baldok, but there was a reason for him to be shocked after seeing Shuuyas darkness techniques.

Its because he thought, Is it possible that the spearmaster and the black cat, who are active on the surface of Sela, have acquired the divine protection or blessing from Dark G.o.d Rivograph-sama or Dark G.o.d Ardin-sama? Even Dark G.o.d Astart-sama, who reached G.o.dhood from being a spirit world knight after going through a territorial conflict over the Grim Valley near the entrance to the Realm of the Dead, would take a liking to him if he saw the spearmasters martial arts. No, it might also be the divine protection of Darkness Spirit Bellard.

As he pondered about all that, Delhart leaned against a tree and looked up to the night sky. While looking refreshedhe once again entered the world of his thoughts.

The spearmaster and the black, demonic beast. They were truly a mighty warrior and a powerful beast. The agility of his fighting, which combined sword, spear, and a huge demonic beast, is the very definition of a spirit world knight. Even the fact of a spirit world G.o.ds apostle and a part of the demons connected to his kin joining the spearmasters side during the melee in the sky is a sign of that.

In reality, the G.o.ds of the Spirit World seem to have taken notice of the spearmaster, too. Using the disorder in s.p.a.ce-time, an illusion of Bad G.o.d Desalobias huge eyeball had appeared high up in the distant sky.

Crazy-Eye Togma and Demonoid Martial King Gangis were probably as strong as that man. He was truly remarkable

I recklessly picked a fight with him, though

Delhart felt grateful to the spearmaster for honestly answering his demand for a battle. Just like that, he kept gazing at the night sky, butremembering that he should probably give his report, he pulled on a special string attached to his wrist.

The string separated from his finger and formed a ring above his wrist. A thin, light green membrane expanded inside that ring, which was similar to the three-dimensional display of Shuuyas portable combat device.

By the way, Shuuyas item referred to as combat device or portable combat device didnt originate from Planet Sela. It was something built by a civilization which had spread across the wide universe. Its name was Na Palm Integrated Planetary Military Alliance.

Soon after falling into an inferior position during its s.p.a.ce war against the Galactic Empire, it lost a great number of s.p.a.ce knight masters and s.p.a.ce warriors. As result of thats.p.a.ce Knight Master Aoro Tohruhmal, who sensed the whole alliance to be in danger, advocated the adoption of the

.

He appealed the efficiency of the portable combat device at the Council of Fold One Gatrance Master. And after a long controversy, he received the permission of the heroic s.p.a.ce knight masters, leading to him immediately starting on the development.

And then, several years later, during the ongoing devastating battles of the great s.p.a.ce warthe s.p.a.ce warrior ability-nurturing agency owned by him succeeded in the development (Dr. Hoekaleido was in charge of the main development). Soon after, Aoro Tohruhmal presented a portable combat device, which contained the newly-developed

, at the Council of Fold One Gatrance Master.

Being at that meeting, he made an announcement: Searching the unknown, outer s.p.a.ce, the Fold One Gatrance will detect superb personnel worthy of becoming s.p.a.ce knights and s.p.a.ce warriors using this portable device.

This enterprise was called the Outbound Project.

And one day, many years after the Outbound Projected started, a portable combat device booted up on planet Sela of a star system that was at the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Indeed, when Shuuya Kagari was registered with the

portable combat device, he became an official Gatrance.

Delharts magic tool had a similar display. But, its inner workings were completely different as it was a circular membrane formed by a magic string.

A demon with two heads was reflected on that membrane. One head wore a skull helmet with the shape of a moth. The other head was an abnormality modeled after a moth with tongues and fingers. Furthermore, very broad, bulging shoulders could be seen in the display as well.

Zebal-sama

Delhart, huh? Whats the reason for you to use the precious magic, s.p.a.ce-time string? And why cant I see the other spirit knights?

Forgive me. Emilia is dead and Shuhelia has gone missing.

Youre telling me the whereabouts of Demonic Twin-Blade Shuhelia are unknown? I cant imagine her to have died, butwere the opponents strong warriors related to the divine domain?

No, I believe thatd be wrong. Emilia and I were defeated by the spearmaster who rode his huge, black demonic beast. In addition, a chaotic melee between the forces of the divine domain and the kin of the Spirit World G.o.ds, including the vanguards of Lugnad as well, started

The moth-shaped heads expression changed into one of rage.

Werent you guys supposed to clean up the vampires nesting in the Bay Coast City Terria and investigate the ruins of Roshmail?

That was the plan. But then, a new dimensional tear, like the one that was created in the Cross of Light Forest, manifested in the skies of the Sea of Trees located east of Benrack. Though it immediately closed up again.

Benrack? Did some ancient G.o.d, who had been sealed in the underground world or in the Sea of Trees during the strife of G.o.ds, manage to revive?

Yes. It seems like an ancient G.o.d revived. But, they were apparently slain right away.

Is that true?

I clearly confirmed a G.o.d-slaying flash of light. And when we headed over to affirm the tear in dimension that apparently manifested in the skywe found not only divine domain forces and spirit world troops fighting, but fellow demons involved in a melee with each other as if to show off each others strengths. During that fierce battle, Lugnads vanguards got in contact with the famous spearmaster of Pelneet. But, as soon as the divine forces gained momentum, Lugnads vanguards were dragged into a large-scale battle after receiving attacks by the divine forces. Just when the divine forces started to focus on Lugnads vanguards, we confronted the spearmaster, and got defeated in the ensuing battle.

Delhart continued his report to Demonic Moth King Zebal, just to get harshly insulted by Zebal afterwards and being told to stay away from now on in a frosty, fuming tone. Lastly, after being told, Youre a useless guy, and Partic.i.p.ating in a pointless battlenever show your face in front of me again, and finally receiving an annoyed tongue-clicking, the String of Magic Dimension one-sidedly disappeared.

Delhart vacantly stared at the place where the string vanished as if dispirited and dumbstruck. Strangely, he didnt look all that disappointed though. He felt calm, even after being dismissed by the master to whom he swore his allegiance.

But, at that moment, he sensed the presence of unnatural magic elements.

He directed his eyes to the place of his own blood pool.

I came to take a look because of the thick stench of blood, but

The one showing up was a black-haired man. He wore an overcoat with a black l.u.s.ter. The pants covering his lower body werent visible because of the coat, but the tips of his lame-leathered boots peeked out from underneath.

Who are you?

For now, someone who likes blood and operates in the Sea of Trees.

The Valmask family? You dont seem to be one of Lugnads vanguards who are currently fighting up in the sky, though

You got it totally wrong. Dont lump me together with lamers who specialize in sneaking around in the shadows.

A stray vampireand moreover, going by the way you handle your mana, one of the progenitors, huh?

Indeed. Will you understand if I mention the former Harzelma family?

I heard they got destroyed during a battle with the Ancient Wolfmen and the Pylon family, one of the 12 founding families. So theres still survivors around?

Looks like it, no? While repeatedly wandering from place to place, Ive taken a rest in this Sea of Trees since its teeming with wonderful prey, you see?

I see. Then, youre saying, Im prey as well? Hmm?

Delhart s.h.i.+fted his gaze from the vampire towards deeper inside the forest. The one arriving from there with a speed as if coiled by a dry wind was a largely-built ancient wolfman.

The leaves on the ground got whirled up. The ancient wolfman was wearing his claw armor. And behind him, the members of an ancient wolfman platoon started to appear.

Of course, those werent the wolfmen who lived together with Shuuya and his friends. Higlia, Daon, and Ryokline were stationed at Quiches village.

Oi, oi, youre a wolf, arent you? Then why do you resemble a leopardman so much? The black n.o.ble youth took out his beloved Sickle of the Supreme Ruler from within his overcoat while asking.

He concentrated on his

, but wavered whether he should invoke his

of his

.

This is going to hurt me as well

I planned to use it on the spearmaster, but I wasnt aware that he carried holy spears with him. If I got hit by one of those, itd cost me a ridiculous amount of blood. Of course, Im confident in my ability to evade by using

, but stillI didnt cross that dangerous bridge, the n.o.ble youth thought.

End of Part 1