Chapter 88
"Don't put on a front. I understand your power now. It doesn't measure up to mine."
Furcas gave me a condescending look.
He must have felt from our bouts so far that there was no way he could lose.
It was true that, in all our battles so far, I hadn't been able to inflict any real damage on Furcas. Furcas hadn't damaged me either, but it was obvious he still wasn't fighting seriously.
He had probably been conserving his strength just in case, so he could resist his summoner.
But I hadn't been fighting seriously either.
"I see... Then give it a try."
I released the magical power I had been holding back.
I hadn't shown my true strength until now so I wouldn't frighten Linfia's little sister, but I'd already rescued her. There was no reason to hold back anymore.
"How many times must I tell you? Your power... I... cannot..."
"What's the matter? If you can't match me, then come at me."
Furcas seemed to have released the power he had been holding back as well, but it was at most twice what he had shown before.
By contrast, my power was more than ten times what it had been.
My dense magical power had risen to the point where it was visible.
It was rare for me to release this much power. It was difficult to fight without dragging those around me into it.
"There are fewer people here I need to be careful around than usual, so I'll be fighting fairly seriously this time, all right?"
"Fewer!? There are thousands of people down there!"
"That's on the low side compared to recent battles."
A few thousand was nothing compared to the people living in the capital cities of Kiel and Albatross.
I had also deployed a healing barrier like the one I'd used in Kiel, and because they were packed together, I could limit its range.
I didn't need to be overly concerned about the buildings, either. The conditions on this battlefield were fairly favorable.
Furcas gritted his teeth and readied his sword.
"No matter how great your power is! It means nothing if you can't use it!"
With that, Furcas rushed toward me at high speed.
Mages were weak in close combat. Knowing that was probably why he had chosen this strategy.
It was true that I couldn't use weapons. My martial arts were below average, too. That hadn't changed even after I became Silver.
No matter how much I enhanced my physical abilities, my martial arts instincts wouldn't improve.
But in that case, all I had to do was fight in a way that didn't require martial arts skill.
"Got you!!"
Furcas closed in from the left.
I leaned aside and teleported in an instant.
I reappeared in the sky above the city, far from Furcas.
There, I pointed my right hand at Furcas and murmured.
≪Burst forth, Blood Lightning—Bloody Lightning≫
A huge, pitch-black bolt of lightning, dark as blood, shot straight toward Furcas.
Furcas instinctively guarded with his sword, but he couldn't withstand it and was blown far away.
"Wooooooo!!"
Furcas somehow knocked the Blood Lightning upward and escaped, but his body had suffered severe burns. They were burns that would have left a human unable even to move, yet they healed in an instant.
Unlike Balam, he seemed to display more of his demonic nature because he was using a corpse as his vessel.
"What do you think? Are you starting to understand my power?"
"Don't get cocky!!"
With that, Furcas created five enormous swords, each several meters long, and sent them flying at me.
Those greatswords came rushing at high speed like savage birds.
They worked together to drive me into a corner.
I flew through the sky to evade them, but another greatsword swooped in from my blind spot the moment I dodged.
While I was chasing and being chased by the greatswords, Furcas approached from below.
"You won't be able to teleport now!!"
"Don't underestimate me."
I enclosed the greatswords in a barrier and stopped them, then countered Furcas, who had charged straight at me, with a straight right punch.
That straight right took the form of a gigantic, translucent fist and sent Furcas flying even though he was still some distance away.
"Gwooh!!??"
It was an advanced form of the magic that created imaginary hands and feet called Magic Hand.
Struck by the magical fist, Furcas was slammed into the ground.
As Furcas bounced high into the air, I made a kicking motion. It was a low kick so inelegant that Elna would probably say I had no sense, but it was enough to send him flying without bothering to aim.
A gigantic foot took shape and sent Furcas flying sideways.
"Ghk! Guh! Wooooooo!!!!!!"
As Furcas was slammed into the ground again and again, he stabbed his sword into the earth and tried desperately to stop himself.
However, stopping only left Furcas open to another attack.
≪O king of the earth, punish the insolent—Earthquake≫
The ground where Furcas landed began to rise higher and higher, eventually becoming a gigantic earthen spear that attacked him.
Furcas tried to escape into the sky, but the spears kept multiplying and lengthening until they caught him.
"Tch! Nothing but troublesome magic!!"
Perhaps realizing there was no end to them, Furcas shrouded his sword in darkness and swung it with all his might.
That technique shattered the earthen spears to pieces, sending them back into the earth.
"Haa... haa..."
"You look pretty tired. Want to rest?"
"Guh... Why? Why didn't you fight seriously from the beginning?"
"Because it would have frightened your summoner."
"That's all...? You held back your true strength for that one reason!?"
Furcas's eyes widened as though he couldn't believe it.
Well, of course.
I act in pursuit of the best possible outcome. Some people criticize me for it. Sometimes I deliberately fight in unfavorable locations for the sake of a single village. Sometimes a battle drags on for the sake of one person.
Many say we should sacrifice them. They call it an unavoidable sacrifice and ask what we'll do if it results in even more casualties.
They may be right.
But I have neither the obligation nor the duty to follow that logic.
"That's all. Some people say that those with power have a responsibility. It sounds like a careless argument to me, but there's some truth to it. If someone is within reach, we should save them. But as much as I hate to admit it, I'm human too. I can't save those beyond my reach. That's precisely why I've decided to protect those within my reach with everything I have. Even if it puts me at a disadvantage, even if people call me a fool, that is my creed as an adventurer."
"I can't understand it... The strong are right! That is the law of the demon world!"
"That may be true in the demon world. But this is the surface world. This world has its own rules."
"But the strong are the ones who decide those rules!!??"
"Yes, that's right. And the strongest one here is me. Which means that here—I am the law."
"Don't screw with meeeee!!!!"
Enraged by my words, Furcas coated his sword in even more darkness than before.
Then he swung it at me.
As a demon, he apparently could no longer overlook my insolence. Having been treated with contempt by a mere human must have wounded his demonic pride.
But it was simply the truth.
The slash of darkness Furcas unleashed was caught by the barrier I had prepared.
It was a barrier that absorbed the opponent's attacks.
"You should have moved the moment you were summoned. It was arrogant of you to establish a base here and think you could bring other demons here."
"You're the most arrogant one here!!"
"I won't deny that."
Furcas put even more strength into trying to break the barrier, increasing the slash's power, but no ordinary means could break this barrier.
He should have given up on breaking through head-on the moment he allowed me time to prepare.
Furcas glared at me, but I didn't care.
Furcas wasn't the only one looking at me. Many people were watching me.
Silver, the SS-rank adventurer.
"An SS-rank adventurer... isn't like other adventurers. Everyone thinks, 'If it's Silver...' Silver has to be someone who inspires that thought. And today, the future emperor told me to show him my true power. He asked me to lend him my strength so he could see his convictions through. In that case, I have to show him, don't I? This is my repayment for his determination."
With that, I converted all the power I had absorbed into magical power and began preparing a grand spell.
Sensing this, Furcas tried to interfere, but chains sprang out and bound him.
"What is this...!!??"
"Stay right there. This spell will take a little time."
How long had it been since I last used this?
Since the struggle for the imperial throne began, I had been focused on working behind the scenes and pushing Leo forward.
I had more things to protect and more things I needed to do, so I hadn't been able to focus solely on fighting.
Things had been easier in the past.
Fighting alone and defeating strong opponents was all it took. It was simple and straightforward. Fighting as Silver had been easy.
Even so, I had decided to support Leo with full knowledge of everything that entailed.
Leo had proven that choice wasn't a mistake. He had grown and was drawing closer to the ideal emperor I had once envisioned. Someday, Leo would surely become an emperor everyone praised. He had shown me that potential.
Then I couldn't just keep taking the easy way out.
Now was the time to remind everyone of something.
That Silver was a being to be feared.
≪I am one who knows the principles of silver・I am one chosen by true silver≫
I am called Silver because I wear a silver mask.
But that isn't the only reason I call myself Silver.
≪The silver star comes from the sea of stars・It illuminates the earth and makes the heavens tremble≫
Ancient magic can be divided into several classifications.
Some of those classifications contain especially powerful magic.
There is one category of magic that I excel at above all.
It is called Silver Annihilation Magic.
It was the magic I used to slay an ancient dragon, the first magic I used as an adventurer, and the symbol of Silver.
≪Its silver radiance is divine truth・Its silver gleam is heaven's blessing≫
When I decided to become an adventurer, I began by slaying an ancient dragon that had entered its active period near the Empire, then visited the guild headquarters with its defeat as a gift.
I hadn't even registered as an adventurer, but the adventurers in the subjugation party reported my achievement, and I was appointed an SS-rank adventurer as an exception.
≪A fleeting silver flash・An endless silver radiance≫
The name Silver was given to me then. In a sense, this name was more like an epithet.
The name Silver isn't just for show.
≪Silver light, dwell in my hands・To annihilate the insolent—≫
A silver sphere radiating an intense light appeared between my hands.
Sensing the colossal power emanating from it, Furcas summoned all his strength, escaped the curse chains, and took up a position to intercept me.
He was quite something. Even just escaping the curse chains proved he was unquestionably far stronger than the two vampires who had been classified together as an S-rank monster. But it was already too late.
The silver light was already in my hands.
≪Silverary Ray≫
When I crushed the silver sphere, a huge sphere of light appeared around me.
Once it locked onto Furcas, it fired a silver beam.
"Wooooooo!!!!"
Furcas hurled his most powerful attack at the silver light and tried to cancel it out.
After a long stalemate, Furcas somehow managed to cancel it out.
"See that!? Your greatest spell is..."
Furcas had been exultant, but he was soon at a loss for words.
Seven spheres of light had appeared behind me, each firing the same silver beam at the monsters below. The sight must have looked as though a god were passing judgment from the heavens.
Silverary Ray was an extremely wide-area annihilation spell. The spheres of light automatically annihilated anything I designated as an enemy.
Unfortunately, the attack Furcas had canceled was nothing more than one shot that had split off.
"Impossible..."
All the monsters that had been there vanished.
Only Furcas remained.
I used the curse chains to bind Furcas again and brought him above the hole in the center of the city. At the same time, all seven spheres of light locked onto him.
"What... are you...?"
"I'm Silver, the SS-rank adventurer. If you survive and make it back to the demon world, make sure you spread the word. There's someone dangerous on the surface."
"Damn you...!"
"This is a present from me. You came all this way in a group, after all. It would be a shame if you didn't even get to see the light."
With that, I raised my right hand.
If I brought it down, all seven spheres of light would fire their silver beams at once.
Furcas realized what was about to happen and called out for me to stop.
"W-wait!!?"
"I won't."
With that, I brought my arm down.
The spheres of light shone with exceptional brilliance, and a concentrated silver beam shot out.
It was beautiful, shining so brightly that it looked like the light of the stars.
In an instant, the silver light swallowed Furcas, then entered the hole and annihilated the monsters and demons that had been heading our way.
As the hole gradually shrank, the silver light narrowed along with it.
Finally, I slowly closed my hand, and when it formed a fist, the silver beam stopped firing and the hole closed completely.
Silverary Ray had wiped out the monsters.
The demons had vanished as well.
The children trapped inside the black spheres had been rescued, too.
I saved as many of the knights and adventurers on the battlefield as I could.
It was an excellent result.
So I made a declaration to all the adventurers.
"We have confirmed the defeat of the monsters that were our target! The disturbance in the south should end here! Therefore! I hereby declare the raid quest 'Rescue of the Azure Gull' complete! We are victorious!!"
The adventurers raised a cheer as if they had been waiting for it.
The knights were swept up in it, too, raising their swords high and crying out in triumph.
Before long, everyone raised their hands to celebrate the victory.
Thus, the disturbance in the south that could have shaken the Empire had been resolved.
There was still plenty to do. The cleanup would be busy, too.
Even so, for now, we should celebrate this victory.
There was something more valuable than victory itself.
What we had gained was immense.
Leo was now a hero, and the emperor himself would investigate the south.
"Perhaps it's about time we struck back."
Muttering that, I began creating a teleportation gate to return the adventurers from the imperial capital.