“Gahhh!? What is this destructive power…!”
“What?”
Even though I unleashed my strongest attack, [Titan’s Sword], Xylas was still alive, albeit writhing in agony.
The sweeping blade had stopped around her ribs.
This resistance… Xylas’s body is tougher than an Archdemon?
And to my surprise, Xylas’s wounds were closing rapidly.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d have to reveal this form!”
Xylas’s eyes glowed ominously gold, and her body swelled explosively from within. Horns grew from her head, and fangs sprouted from her widely opened mouth.
“A, a Dragon!?”
Master Gaine gasped.
Xylas had transformed into a massive, upright dragon-like monster.
Beneath the torn robe, bright red scales covered her body.
Dragons are the most powerful race in this world—beings almost akin to gods.
“Behold… the Secret Art of Immortality bestowed upon me by my master, Saint-Germain!”
“This is the Secret Art of Immortality?”
“Indeed. Through alchemy, ancient dragon factors are embedded into the body, transforming one into a transcendent being, beyond mortality.”
Xylas opened her mouth wide. An immense amount of Magical Power converged within her maw.
She was about to unleash the Dragon’s most potent attack—Dragon Breath, said to reduce all to ashes.
“You frail humans… you dared to underestimate me as a mere Necromancer! Regret your foolishness as you die!”
“Haaaaaaaaaa!”
At the last moment, I slashed upwards with [Titan’s Sword], striking Xylas’s jaw.
The scorching breath, deflected upwards, struck the ruined fortress head-on. The structures pierced by the breath were reduced to cinders, and more than one floor of the fortress was blown away.
Dust billowed, and a torrent of rubble rained down with a deafening roar.
“[Dark Edge Wall]!”
I deployed a thick, shield-like [Dark Edge] above us, protecting Rena. She was too terrified and astonished to even scream.
“Well done, Luke! Unique Magic, [Berserk]!”
Master Gaine, with explosive force, kicked off the ground and thrust his sword into Xylas’s jaw.
“Guwoooo!? I, impossible…!”
Gaine-sensei poured all his strength into the wound I had inflicted.
Xylas staggered, spraying blood from her jaw.
“How dare you, insects… I won’t forgive this!”
Enraged, she swung her claws, trying to tear Gaine-sensei to shreds.
He evaded while relentlessly targeting Xylas’s wounds with his strikes.
“I will protect Rena!”
“Father…!”
Rena cried out.
Driven by his love for Rena, Master Gaine, consumed by his Unique Magic [Berserk], had lost all reason.
It was a truly terrifying battle.
However, against the dragon’s defense and regenerative abilities, said to be immortal, Gaine-sensei couldn’t deliver a decisive blow.
We lacked the offensive power to defeat this thing.
“Damn you, I’ll obliterate you with [Thanatos]!”
The few remaining undead began chanting [Thanatos].
…Th, that’s it. This is it.
I deliberately didn’t interfere with them, and listened intently to the incantation of [Thanatos].
I had heard the latter half of the incantation when [Thanatos] was activated earlier. If I could just grasp the first half…
“Gah!?”
Master Gaine was slammed to the ground. A torrent of blood gushed from his mouth.
“Did you really think you could defeat me, a transcendent being!?”
Xylas moved to crush Gaine-sensei as a final blow.
“Luke-kun, Father…?”
Rena cried out in anguish.
Half-hearted attacks wouldn’t work on Xylas.
Perhaps the only thing that could stand against her… was this magic sword.
I quickly dispatched the undead chanting [Thanatos]. To draw Xylas’s attention, I shouted.
“Hey, Xylas! I’ve completely deciphered the incantation for [Thanatos]!”
I incorporated the spell for [Thanatos] into [Dark Edge].
As expected, [Thanatos] was a derivative of [Hypnos], so I was able to pull it off on the fly.
Now, for the birth of a new magic sword.
“[Thanatos Magic Sword]!”
A sinister, dark-glowing magic sword appeared in my right hand.
This was a magic sword that instantly brought death to anyone it touched. As an anti-personnel weapon, it was truly the strongest.
Even though she had incorporated dragon factors, Xylas should still be human in terms of attributes. So, it should definitely work.
“No way… Ah, ahhh, impossible! The power contained in that sword is… [Thanatos]!?”
Xylas was visibly shaken.
For a moment, my mother’s voice echoed in my mind, telling me not to kill, that she didn’t want Luke to be unhappy…
But to protect my mother and Diana, I had to eliminate this one for sure.
“You dare steal the culmination of my decades of effort in an instant? A mere brat who only possesses Mazoku blood!? I won’t forgive you. I won’t forgive you!”
Xylas roared in fury.
“Don’t spout such nonsense. Do you have any idea how many people will be killed because of [Thanatos]!?”
I charged at Xylas with the [Thanatos Magic Sword] in hand.
[Thanatos] would be used for mass murder by Demon Lord Diana.
I don’t know when Diana learned this magic, but to prevent Diana’s fall to darkness, I had to bury it in the darkness here and now.
What suits that girl is the [Hypnos] magic that doesn’t kill people.
It’s my role, as her brother, to wield [Thanatos] and stain my hands.
“Damn youuuuu!”
Xylas desperately swung her claws, but I could see through her attacks now. I’d seen them enough times.
“I… I will become a being that surpasses my master!”
Xylas tried to unleash Dragon Breath one last time.
But faster than that, my [Thanatos Magic Sword] pierced Xylas’s skull.
“Ah, ahhhh!?”
The ultimate body, supposed to be immortal, crumbled easily before the magic sword of death. Xylas fell backwards, her body dissolving into particles of light.
“D, did we win…? Luke… you defeated that monster!”
Master Gaine, the effects of his Unique Magic [Berserk] having worn off, praised me.
“A, awesomesauce! Luke-kun!”
Rena’s eyes were wide with amazement.
“Luke-kun? Rena… as I said before, Luke is a prince of the Celestia Empire, you know. No joke.”
Master Gaine took out a Hi-Potion, drank it down, and wiped his mouth.
“Your mother, Empress Luna’s Hi-Potion is effective. Amazing effect.”
“Eh, eh? Father’s wounds healed in an instant!?”
Come to think of it, I heard that Rena was aiming to become an apothecary. She seemed to immediately understand how unusual my mother’s Hi-Potion was.
My mother’s Unique Magic [Demiurge], which enhances the effects of magical potions by more than threefold, is famous. That became the biggest proof that I was a prince.
“I, I’m sorry. Thank you very much, Your Highness!”
“No, Luke-kun is fine, Rena.”
I approached Rena, who was desperately bowing her head, with a wry smile.
I didn’t want Rena to distance herself from me if possible.
“…If you’re okay with it, I’d be happy if you could treat me casually as a friend.”
For me, who was a loner in my previous life, conveying this one sentence took considerable courage.
“Eh!? Y, yes! If I’m good enough, I’d be happy to!”
Rena blushed and took the hand I offered.
I had gained my first friend in this world.