Chapter 102: The Matter Concludes, Heading for the Demon Lord's Castle
Looking at the overwhelmingly domineering Demon Lord before him, as well as the six people who arrived right after her, Potimas's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have underestimated this group.
However, what Potimas didn't know was that the red and white duo were actually still deeply headached by his Anti-Technique Barrier. Having specialized primarily in the field of magic, once their spells became useless, their raw combat power might not even match that of the three spider sisters. As for Merazophis, he was just there to lead the way; in the upcoming battle, he could only coast along and clean up minor underlings.
Fortunately, Ariel alone was enough to crush the entire field, so there was absolutely no need for them to step in.
Potimas was indeed powerful, but in the face of an absolute crushing disparity in strength, any trick he pulled was as flimsy as paper. Villains die from talking too much, while true powerhouses never waste time chatting.
With a sudden burst of speed, Ariel lunged forward and slapped Potimas right across the cheek, completely dazing him.
*SLAP!*
Another crisp slapping sound echoed. Potimas spun in place; two consecutive slaps turned him into a literal spinning top.
*THUD!*
He crashed heavily to the ground, battered and broken, exposing his internal mechanical body underneath.
"Everyone, scatter and retreat." Faced with such a desperate situation, Potimas calmly analyzed the field. Knowing they were no match, he immediately ordered his subordinates to scatter and flee. There was no point in making a useless last stand; a piecemeal rescue attempt here would be entirely meaningless.
"Hmph, you think you can run?" Ariel snorted coldly. Ignoring the scrambling elves running in all directions, she walked straight toward Potimas.
"Ael, handle those runners. Leave two alive," Shirazawa commanded.
With the order given, the three sisters drew their six long blades and charged out. Soon, agonizing shrieks began to echo from the surroundings.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Potimas's body distorted and shifted, transforming into a high-tech mecha that felt entirely out of place in this world. A dense cluster of gun barrels aimed directly at the slowly approaching Ariel and fired. Terrifying energy exploded in the air, whipping up violent gales of wind.
"Is that it? Potimas, after all these centuries, you haven't made a single bit of progress, have you?" Ariel mocked with a grin.
She opened her mouth and took a deep breath, activating Gluttony. Countless energy blasts were sucked in and swallowed down by her like normal food. With a few chews, the energy was absorbed and converted into SP reserves within her body. Whenever her health dropped, she could just convert that devoured SP back into HP, creating a flawless loop. She was practically invincible.
She strolled arrogably toward Potimas, her terrifying pressure completely enveloping him. A deep sense of utter powerlessness welled up in his mechanical core.
*BANG!*
She kicked the mecha away with a single strike and stepped directly onto Potimas's face.
This sight brought a massive array of imaginary black lines to Shirazawa's face as he watched. *Does this girl have a fetish for stepping on people's faces? Don't just go handing out free fanservice to the old fossil like that.*
With his head pinned beneath her foot, Potimas could only barely look up to lock eyes with her, his tone cold and furious.
"You won't be celebrating for long. Ten years? Twenty years? Your lifespan is rapidly drawing to its absolute end, isn't it?"
"Hahaha! Perhaps we can cooperate and explore the divine realm of the gods together. When that time comes, I will hand this entire world over to you on a silver platter. You should know very well that my singular goal is immortality." Potimas laughed wildly, his laughter filled with absolute anticipation for the future.
Ariel, however, remained entirely expressionless, even puckering her lips in pure disgust.
"Tsk. If you actually possessed that kind of capability, you would have achieved godhood long ago instead of being pinned under my foot right now. Keep that imaginary pie and eat it yourself."
Potimas: "As long as you cooperate, we can absolutely–"
Ariel: "You talk too much!"
The moment the words left her lips, Ariel forcefully stomped downward.
*BOOM!*
Potimas was instantly pulverized into scrap metal under her foot, leaving mechanical components mixed with broken artificial limbs scattered all over the ground.
This sudden explosion gave Shirazawa and the others a brief startle. As expected of the Demon Lord grandma–brutal, ruthless, and wastes no words. Otherwise, this fight could have easily dragged on for another whole chapter.
With the battle over, the spectators gathered around.
"Goshujin-sama, what should we do with this one?" Sophia pointed proudly toward Ms. Oka, whom she was carrying over her shoulder. Because she had caused trouble again, her way of addressing him had automatically defaulted back to "Master."
This was a curse. Whenever Sophia messed up, she would revert to this way of speaking. It was a lingering curse planted back during her elite education days; after achieving godhood, Shirazawa claimed he couldn't break it, so he just left it as it was.
Hearing this title, Merazophis's mouth twitched slightly, but he chose to say nothing. Within this team, his voice carried very little weight, so it was best to maintain a quiet profile to avoid triggering unnecessary trouble.
Shirazawa rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache over how to handle their former teacher. He glanced at Shiro beside him, his gaze running deep.
"Hmm?" Noticing his look, Shiro tilted her head in confusion.
"It's nothing."
"..."
Strictly speaking, Ms. Oka was the little spider's savior. The little spider, who was originally supposed to be beaten to death in that classroom, had been saved by their spider-obsessed teacher. Only after learning this truth did Shiro spare no effort to help her in the original timeline. If Shirazawa completely ignored the teacher's survival right now, would Shiro blame him once she eventually found out the truth?
After weighing the options over and over, Shirazawa decided to leave the teacher where she was. Even if they took her away right now, they wouldn't be able to guarantee her life.
Potimas possessed the Ruler Skill
To be safe, Shirazawa chose not to wake her up or arrange a meeting. Right now, for the teacher, living in blissful ignorance might actually be a blessing.
"Let's move." Seeing Ael and the other two return dragging two unconscious elven guards, Shirazawa left the two sentries by the teacher's side. Otherwise, a young loli alone would never make it back to the Elf Village; she would be snatched up by slave traders halfway through the journey.
Although the group didn't fully understand his decision, nobody questioned it. In her past life, Sophia was a disliked, invisible loner who couldn't even remember her classmates' names, so she had long discarded that past identity–Sophia was simply Sophia now. She didn't harbor much emotional attachment to her former teacher. As for Shiro, being a socially anxious introvert, she hadn't interacted much with the teacher either. Though she had her doubts, she trusted Shirazawa's decisions unconditionally.
The group quickly vacated the area and hurried back to the inn.
Shirazawa left behind a few palm-sized scout spiders to watch over the scene, ensuring the teacher wouldn't get eaten by passing monsters. It wasn't until dusk approached that the teacher and the two elven guards slowly woke up. After a brief moment of shock, the three quickly fled back toward elven territory.
To prevent any accidents on the teacher's journey, he didn't recall the small spiders, letting them continue tracking her trail. This would also make it much easier for them to travel to the Elf Village in the future. Spatial Magic could only teleport a user to coordinates they had previously visited; a path trodden by his mini-spiders counted as a path trodden by him, allowing him to simply teleport there directly later on.
After a brief two days of rest and reorganization, the party set out once more.
Their next stop was the Demon Territory. They were finally closing in on their ultimate destination.
Next up would be a laid-back, cozy life of luxury fully funded by the Demon Lord. Just thinking about it gave Shirazawa a little wave of excitement.
However, all along the way, Shiro seemed to be deeply burdened by heavy thoughts. Her Spatial Magic had successfully progressed into Dimension Magic, meaning the day of her meeting with D was right before her eyes. Shiro's heart couldn't help but feel incredibly restless and anxious.
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