“Whoa, what’s going on!?”
The floor, having burst through the carpet, shot upwards, easily piercing the ceiling, and I was thrown into the air.
The floor, unable to withstand the extreme acceleration, shattered and scattered into the sky.
Eventually, I reached an altitude where clouds drifted, and my upward velocity reached zero. I activated my flight Artifact and began to float.
Then, I questioned the person who had been launched into the air with me.
“Um, what exactly is this…?”
“There’s no need to ask. I am simply saying that I will personally measure your strength,” the “Demon Lord,” holding a silver Royal Scepter, declared while standing imposingly in mid-air.
“No, this isn’t the time for that! Didn’t I tell you? Chaos is coming. We should be working together to come up with a plan… sir,” I said.
“Still spouting such nonsense? Very well, my answer remains the same as before. You are far too inadequate to stand alongside me.”
“If you doubt my abilities, I can just take down a 〖King Beast〗 or something, whoa!?”
“My patience is not limitless. If you wish to prove your strength, then struggle here and now.”
The Royal Scepter was gently swung.
That understated action unleashed a torrent of 〖Mana〗 like a great river.
If I hadn’t moved preemptively using 〖Trajectory Prediction〗, I would have been swallowed by it.
After that, 〖Mana〗 projectiles were fired in rapid succession, but I dodged them while keeping my distance.
“Ugh, damn it! You’re the one who started this! 〖Solar Lord〗!”
“〖Order Truth〗”
I took my whole body out of the Space Expansion bag and activated my 〖Skill〗, causing a crystal crown to appear above my head.
The “Demon Lord” also used a 〖Skill〗, donning a white crown adorned with intricate characters.
It was probably the human version of a Lord-type 〖Skill〗.
“Ho, so that is your true form. A giant body comparable to a castle, worthy of being called a 〖King Beast〗,” the Demon Lord said.
“Are you really going to do this? Honestly, with this size difference, I don’t see myself losing.”
“Absurd. To think that strength is determined solely by size is the thinking of a beast. 〖Order Alteration〗”
An amount of 〖Mana〗 that could not be described as merely enormous gathered around the “Demon Lord.” It was clearly more than the “Demon Lord’s” own 〖Mana〗 reserves.
The 〖Mana〗, which had been continuously condensed into a single point, suddenly burst and became eight torrents.
Each torrent of 〖Mana〗 was thicker than my diameter, and their speed was comparable to the “Polar King’s” light bullets.
They undulated, yet did not lose speed as they dispersed, baring their fangs at me from various angles.
“(I don’t… need to dodge them.)”
But my response to them was to stand still.
Until now, I had been reflexively dodging, but frankly, these attacks couldn’t harm me.
The torrents that touched my body shattered easily, like waves crashing against a cliff.
“…What?”
“My 〖Toughness〗 is high. Not to brag, but I’ve hardly ever taken any damage.”
Also, there’s probably a difference in 〖Level〗.
Judging from his actions, the “Demon Lord’s” 〖Level〗 is around 500. Considering that even hero-class adventurers are only around 〖Level 100〗, it’s amazing, but it’s not a threat to me.
I had said that hoping he would give up, but the “Demon Lord” just nodded as if he understood.
“I see. So that 〖Toughness〗 is the source of your confidence. Then how about this?”
This time, 〖Mana〗 was released like countless arrows.
I nimbly weaved through them, which seemed to have some kind of countermeasure applied, and used a Drone to intercept one.
A sharp, needle-like pain resonated.
“This is… defense-ignoring?”
“Indeed.”
“(Huh, so he can do this too, with 〖Order Attribute〗?)”
Taking advantage of the fact that the “Demon Lord” was calmly standing by without pursuing, I organized the information about my opponent.
The most famous and greatest mage, the “Demon Lord’s” abilities were known to everyone. That’s why I had obtained information about him from Paula.
The “Demon Lord’s” 〖Attribute〗 is 〖Order〗.
Roughly speaking, his power is to establish and enforce rules and laws.
For example, restricting actions, prohibiting the activation of 〖Skills〗, or stopping the beating of a heart.
“(If that was all, it wouldn’t be a problem…)”
These kinds of effects that restrict the abilities and actions of others can usually be mitigated with 〖Resist〗.
And with my exorbitant 〖Resist〗, I wouldn’t be easily controlled like the cult leader and his merry band… that much was correct.
But Order magic wasn’t just that.
Like an Artifact, it could interfere with the nature of 〖Mana〗, adding destructive power to it and releasing it. Not only that, but it could even grant defense-ignoring properties.
Probably, he changed the laws of 〖Mana〗 that he had under his control, or something.
In terms of the freedom of 〖Mana〗 interference, 〖Order〗 far surpasses my Artifact technology.
“(Well, this is within the expected range.)”
The “Demon Lord” was a hero who unified a warring world.
It’s only natural to think that he would have some means of direct combat, not just debuffs.
I hadn’t deeply considered it because this kind of head-on fight wasn’t in the plan, but I knew that fighting him would be somewhat troublesome.
Yes, “somewhat.”
“I said earlier that it was about the size difference, but actually, there’s also a considerable 〖Level〗 difference.”
I circulated 〖Mana〗 throughout my body and accelerated at once.
I unleashed the maximum of my 〖Level 928〗 〖Speed〗, and moved faster than sound to get behind the “Demon Lord”—,
“—I won’t allow it.”
“Whoa!?”
〖Mana〗 projectiles swarmed to where I was moving.
I stopped abruptly and evaded them, but failed to get behind him.
“(Then, Lightning Strike!)”
“〖Order Orbit〗, stray, Thunder.”
Kakun.
The Lightning Strike, which should have been heading straight for its target, suddenly changed its trajectory upwards and disappeared into the sky.
“(Maybe it’s also because I reduced the power for safety, but he can even manipulate Unique Skills?)”
“What does the 〖Level〗 difference matter? You thought that if you surpassed me in 〖Speed〗, you wouldn’t lose, didn’t you? How naive. I have greatly increased my reaction speed with magic. And the performance of magic is unrelated to 〖Level〗. Don’t think you can win so easily.”
So that’s the trick behind how he was able to react to my movements.
With the omnipotence of Order magic, it wouldn’t be surprising if there was a magic like 〖Clear Mirror Still Water〗.
But this is a bit troublesome.
Considering that I wanted to get his cooperation, I wanted to settle this peacefully, but it seems like I’ll have to get a little rough.
“Sorry, but I’m going to use this too. Be careful of the shockwave, 〖Territory〗, activate!”