How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 10 Read online

  Normal rings were simple pieces of jewelry. Diablo, however, was after the magical tool called a “Wedding Ring.” In-game, it was a useless item, but... in this world, it apparently had the effect of allowing one to have children with members of a different race.

  “The monsters that spawn in the Viridian Cathedral are...”

  “They won’t be an issue.” Cutting her off, Diablo hurried forward. Pushing the stone door open, he descended the staircase.

  The Viridian Cathedral, First Underground Level—

  The dungeon was carved out of stone. The moss illuminated the caverns, saving Diablo the trouble of having to cast a light spell in order to advance.

  “Diablo, no using any bombastic spells, you hear?” Sylvie said warningly. “Getting buried alive isn’t on my bucket list.”

  “So annoying...”

  “Heheh... It feels kinda funny♪ I think this is the first I’ve ever had to ask an elemental sorcerer to tone down the firepower.”

  Elemental magics weren’t fully developed in this world. Summoning was the main school of magic that sorcerers employed.

  “Well, I suppose summoning magic is much safer...”

  As he traversed the dungeon, Diablo thought, There aren’t any monsters hiding behind the pillars, right? I won’t get ambushed the moment I turn a corner, will I? Are there any traps on the walls or floor?!

  A summon would be able to scout ahead. An elemental sorcerer, on the other hand, needed to chant their spells and was weak to surprise attacks. In the game, getting ambushed and killed by a monster or dying to a trap would only result in a light penalty, but here, no matter how unfair the attack or how slight the blunder you made, death meant it was all over. That was why it was only natural for most sorcerers to lean toward summoning.

  “Diablo!” Sylvie called out.

  “I see it!”

  Giant claws swung down on him from behind, which he avoided with the slightest movement possible. Turning around, he was faced with a bear, or rather, a monster in the shape of a fancy stuffed bear toy—a blessing bear. But its cute appearance was deceiving, it actually being a level 99 monster.

  “I’ll blow you away!” Diablo brandished his staff, the Tonnerre Empereur. “Lightning Bullet!”

  A bullet of light fired off, gouging a hole in the blessing bear’s torso. The monster was blown back—but a level 80 spell wouldn’t pack enough of a punch to take it completely out. It rose to its feet, even with the hole in its stomach. Worse still, more blessing bears appeared behind it.

  “Holy Wood Bind!” Sylvie called out. Glowing vines grew out from the stone floor, coiling around the group of monsters.

  The monsters growled ferociously. It was support magic. Given they were level 99 monsters, it would only stop them in their tracks for several seconds. Diablo charged a spell and unleashed it.

  “I’ll burn you all to a crisp! Chain Lightning!”

  A spell designed to hit a large number of closely packed enemies with bolts of lightning, sparks sizzled off the bears. The group of bears spasmed, and as Diablo and Sylvie charged at them, the surface of their fur became charred and black.

  Diablo clicked his tongue. “They’re surprisingly durable.”

  In this world, monsters tended to be weaker than they were in Cross Reverie. Perhaps they avoided unnecessary battles, too. But these blessing bears had the same HP values as they did in-game, and were terribly aggressive, too.

  Is it because they’re monsters created by magic?

  “Ice Storm!”

  A powerful gust of icy wind burst from the tip of Diablo’s staff, raging around the monsters and freezing them in place. They roared in anger before shattering into ice cubes.

  Finally... Diablo sighed in relief internally. But Sylvie, who’d slipped out of sight, called out more.

  “More are coming!”

  As she said, Diablo had defeated a few, but more blessing bears were heading out from within the dungeon’s depths. They may have only been level 99, but in these large numbers, things would get tricky.

  “Hmph...” Diablo’s lips curled upward. “Just what I was hoping for. You keep coming out like lambs to the slaughter. There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to try!”

  Diablo created a Lightning Bullet in his right hand, generating a bullet of light inside it. He fired it from his right hand and caught it with his left, reflecting the spell. He then caught the reflected spell with his right hand, reflecting it again. Doing so, he’d trapped the shining ball of magic between both of his hands.

  In this world, I know I can pull this off. The scope of what I can do is much larger here.

  If all he wanted was to multiply his magic, his main weapon, the Tonnerre Empereur, was already capable of that, greatly increasing his MP consumption in the process. But by utilizing Magic Reflection like this...

  “Dark Bullet!”

  A bit cliché, I’ll admit...

  The bullet of light intersected with the Dark Bullet spell. Between Diablo’s hands, the pure elemental, magical energy transformed into a different type of magic.

  “Wha...?!” Sylvie, who stood beside him, opened her eyes in shock. “Diablo...what is that?!”

  “Composite Magic!”

  It was a new type of magic, one that didn’t even exist in Cross Reverie. The tip of Diablo’s finger touched the end of the magic, unleashing the torrent of energy between his hand and the flock of monsters.

  A rumble shook the dungeon...

  †

  “It blew up...” Diablo whispered.

  “It sure did~” Sylvie agreed with an utterly exhausted tone.

  “It was a pretty big explosion, too.”

  “It definitely shook everything up~”

  The moment the light and dark magic came into contact, a massive shockwave had shaken up the entire dungeon.

  “I didn’t think it’d blow up in my hands...” Diablo sighed.

  “I thought I’d get caught up in it and die, you know? Do your experiments alone next time...”

  “...Right.”

  He was unharmed because of the Demon Lord’s Ring’s effects, but Sylvie, who was near him, was in danger. The fact she was fine, if a bit thorny and sarcastic for it, stood as evidence of her skills as a guildmaster.

  It’s a good thing Rem and Shera weren’t here for this...

  In the end, his magic experiment failed, but the flock of blessing bears that may have brute forced him despite the level gap were wiped out. They were rendered into a group of charred, stuffed bears rolling on the now-blackened floor.

  Blessing bears had a special skill where they would attack the enemy with tentacles that came out from their stitching. However, since Diablo didn’t let them get close enough to begin with, they never used it on him.

  Damn, I wanna go home...

  When his MP was low, Diablo would become apathetic to everything. Matters he thought were important began feeling trivial. All he wanted was to curl up in bed. So, Diablo took an MP potion out of his pouch and drank it down. His doubts then cleared away like a fog being lifted, and his numbed emotions returned, jolting up his sluggish thoughts.

  All right. Next!

  He opened a stone door which led him to a place that felt different from the stone-based dungeon they were in until now. The moss that overran everything was gone, and the sleek walls were lit up by magical illumination. Diablo compared the place to the map of the Viridian Cathedral he recalled.

  “This is the deepest part.”

  “That’s right. There’s a strip of exposed earth up ahead. That’s where the Eternal Mythril should be.”

  “There’s no chance of it being depleted, is there?”

  “I don’t really get the logic behind it, but...when a man and woman go in here, they can always take a bit with them.”

  I guess that’s the same as the game, then.

  “It’s possible to leave and re-enter to take as much as you want, but the blessing bears and the other monsters are really strong. I wouldn’t have come here if I weren’t with you.”

  “I see.”

  Most of the adventurers in Faltra were around level 20. Not many people seemed willing to enter a place crawling with level 99 monsters.

  “This is your first time coming here, right, Sylvie...?” Diablo asked, suddenly interested.

  “Heheh... I am the guildmaster, after all. If there’s a quest for it, I’d explore the appropriate dungeons.”

  “Right...”

  “Ah!”

  Diablo made to advance further in, but Sylvie raised a hand to stop him. He, too, realized it a moment later.

  There’s something there...

  “Ooh, so you noticed. Impressive...” a low voice spoke out. “Guess that’s what you’d expect.”

  A dwarven man walked out from the pillar’s shadow. A thick beard covered most of his face, making it hard to discern his age. Though, judging by his voice, he sounded about middle-aged. He probably had dog ears and a tail, like all dwarves, but they were currently hidden by the full-body, metal armor he was wearing. He held a dark gray axe in his hands.

  “I didn’t think we’d find someone ahead of us in such a high-level dungeon,” Diablo said, seemingly impressed.

  “...Were you waiting for us?”

  The dwarven man smirked at Sylvie’s remark. Come to think of it, there were no fresh traces of combat when they headed inside, which meant this dwarf must’ve jumped down from the higher floor.

  “Is there some sort of tunnel to the Viridian Cathedral?”

  “Geheheh... Diggin’s my specialty, see?”

  So that’s it...

  Diablo shrugged. “There’s no point coming into this dungeon unless you’re a couple, a pair of a man and a woman. And I’m not one to share.”

  “Eh, that won’t be a problem. I’ll be takin’ what I came here for.”

  “Hm?”

  “I’m the king of the Gobble dwarf clan, Bulltheim!” the dwarf shouted. “An’ my wish is to crush happy couples who try to get their hands on Eternal Mythril to make weddin’ rings!”

  “Ugh?!” Diablo jerked back, grabbing his head. “M-Me...happy? Couple...?”

  He glanced toward Sylvie, who smirked back wryly.

  “Mmm... You and I aren’t like that, but...yeah, most people who want marriage rings are usually happy.”

  “Gaaaaaah!” Diablo sank to his knees.

  He’d known it in the back of his mind. Compared to how lonely he was before, he now had Rem and Shera. While things were still hazy at first, at this point they were showing clear affection for him. He could also talk to Klem, Sasara, and Sylvie while doing his Demon Lord role play.

  Am I...a normie?!

  “Aaah... I... I deserve...to burn in hell.”

  “Wait, what are you saying, Diablo?!” Sylvie panicked.

  Apparently, the idea that normies should burn in hell wasn’t in her set of values.

  Diablo then declared, as if spitting out blood:

  “The sort of idiots who keep bringing their stupid romantic feelings into things should burn in hell!”

  “A-Are you saying the races should go extinct?!”

  What Sylvie just said made sense. This wasn’t a game, but an actual, real world. If the normies didn’t make babies, the races would end up dying out.

  “Ugh... I understand...” Diablo covered his hands with his face. “I understand, but...”

  “Wh-What...?” Sylvie seemed nervous.

  A voice of utter resentment escaped Diablo’s throat.

  “Still, I...I loathe people who can naturally talk and make out with girls!”

  “Well, yikes, Diablo...” Sylvie reacted with a complicated expression. “What the heck happened in your past...?”

  Nothing happened, that’s the problem!

  Diablo’s very soul wailed in agony.

  †

  As the dwarf, Bulltheim, stepped forward, his metallic armor made a clanking sound.

  “The frig are you yappin’ about? Well, guess it doesn’t matter. You’ll be a stain on me Breaker Axe before long.” The dwarf pridefully presented his gray, gleaming axe.

  As the dwarves were masters at making weapons, the axe seemed to be just as high-quality as he boasted. Diablo didn’t recognize the axe, which meant it wasn’t an obtainable item in Cross Reverie.

  “A bandit?” Sylvie shrugged. “Look, we’re busy. Could you do this some other time? Still, you’re going after us, huh... You could work on your recon skills. He’s kinda panicking for some reason, but Diablo here...”

  “...Is the sorcerer who beat the Demon Overlord Modinaram, yeah? And you’re the guildmaster for Faltra’s Adventurer’s Guild.”

  Bulltheim’s words made Sylvie narrow her eyes suspiciously.

  “Ooh. So, you challenged us knowing all that.”

  “‘Course I did! If I beat a hero, everyone’ll fear me, and the other clans’ll submit to me!”

  “How stupid...” Sylvie moaned.

  Diablo’s mind, on the other hand, had calmed down. This dwarf knew who they were and made preparations to challenge them. This meant he was a challenger. Still, despite being an enemy, he was one of the races, so Diablo chose a weapon that wouldn’t kill him.

  Diablo pulled out the Prototype Great Scythe from his pouch.

  “To think there is a fool great enough to challenge the true Demon Lord, Diablo... Very well. I accept your challenge. Entertain me as you meet your demise!”

  He was rather shaken up emotionally, but went right back into his usual Demon Lord role play mode. Being challenged riled up his heart. This sense of competitive pressure was something he thrived on.

  “Know the taste of me axe!” Bulltheim charged at him.

  He was fast!

  Sword Smite III?!

  Diablo blocked the axe’s blow with his scythe.

  “You fell for it!” Bulltheim smirked.

  What?!

  The moment the weapons made contact, the Breaker Axe shone, and the Prototype Great Scythe shattered in Diablo’s hands.

  “Weapon breaking...?!”

  It only made sense that Cross Reverie had never implemented the weapon in his foe’s hands. One would spend a lot of time and effort upgrading their gear, so if there were an effect that could destroy players’ weapons and gear like this, they’d surely riot.

  But the weapon-breaking effect wasn’t the only surprise. Another dwarf with a similar appearance as Bulltheim appeared from behind the dwarf’s back!

  There’s two of them?!

  He had a gray spear in hand, which he stuck out with the intent to stab. Diablo had no weapon in hand to fight back against this attack. His only choice was to flee.

  Diablo somehow managed to twist his body back, making it so the spear only nicked his shoulder, preventing a fatal blow. But then, from behind the second dwarf, a third one appeared! This dwarf jumped up, wielding a two-handed sword.

  “Give up your life, hero man!”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourselves, you mooks! Flare Burst!”

  A magical blast of fire erupted between them, but the dwarf with the two-handed sword simply laughed within the flames.

  Magic doesn’t affect him?!

  Diablo subconsciously took a step back. If he hadn’t, his abdomen would’ve been cut in half the next moment. Instead, a large slash ran across his chest, blood splattering onto the floor.

  “Guh...?!”

  The three dwarves gathered again, standing so only one of them was visible. The trick was simple: Bulltheim, who was the largest of the group, stood in front while his two comrades stood behind him. The three of them smirked.

  “The hero who defeated the Demon Overlord is just a normal elemental sorcerer in the end. There’s nothin’ to fear! Not with our full body armor, the Ward Erase!”

  Their armor had an anti-magic effect, not to mention that they were agile, unlike most dwarves. This was likely some other effect granted to them by their equipment. The dwarves’ expertise was in their nimble fingers, which allowed them to create exquisite equipment.

  “Are you all right, Diablo?!” Sylvie cried out.

  “Tch...”

  So, weapon-destroying weapons and anti-magic armor. This is a bad matchup for me...

  Enemies who used their heads were the most challenging.

  “Geheheh... Just wait right there.” Bulltheim threw a glance in Sylvie’s direction. “We’ll take our time tastin’ you once we finish off the man.”

  “What?!” A shiver ran down Sylvie’s spine as her expression turned severe. “What are you saying? Have you people been doing things like...like this, the whole time?!”

  “Ain’t you hear me? My wish is to crush happy couples. So we kill the men and make the women our playthin’s!”

  The three of them made obscene smiles. Diablo felt his excitement to fight cool down rapidly.

  So that’s what kinda guys you are...

  A switch of sorts flipped in his mind, and he clenched his fists. He thought he’d get to enjoy a challenge for the first time in forever, but...

  “You disappoint me.”

  If he had to describe it, it was like opening a box that required some sort of puzzle to unlock, and he loved solving them. But sometimes, he’d lose all interest in it and want nothing more than to smash it open with a hammer. That was how he felt right now.

  “You’ll die this time!”

  Bulltheim charged at Diablo again. He just stood in place, as if he’d been overtaken by lethargy, and Bulltheim’s axe crashed into his side, cutting deep.

  “Diablo?!” Sylvie screamed.

  “...Figures. Guess that’s that.”

  It hurt, yes, but Diablo’s thoughts were cold, like he’d been observing everything from a bird’s-eye view, like in the game.

  Diablo’s level as a warrior is over 100 right now. Even a high-level warrior couldn’t fell him with one blow, and if his weapon has a special effect like weapon destroying, it’s not going to unleash that much damage behind it.

  “I’ll cut straight into your guts!” Bulltheim bellowed.

  Too slow.

  Faster than his opponent could pull his axe, Diablo beat the dwarf with his hand like a sword. It was the martial art Finger Blade which used SP to grant one’s unarmed blows the force of a dagger. With the enemy’s armor optimized for anti-magic, its physical defense was lacking.