Kenja no Mago
Volume 9 - The Astounding Invasion of the Devils
105 – Rushing Fortifications
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Author's Note: Thank you very much for your patience... My private life has been so busy that I haven't even been able to log in. I'm finally getting settled down so I will update. I'll try not to have a month-long gap between updates from now on, so please continue to support me.
Synopsis up to the last time: There were devils in each country, so we headed for them, but they escaped. Instead, disaster-class demons have reappeared.
"Disaster-class demons have appeared!"
Through the open channel, Mark proclaimed something outrageous.
[That's absurd! We already eliminated all the disaster-class demons earlier!]
I could hear Aug's confused voice on the open channel, but that was not surprising at all.
By the time I rushed over, there were no more disaster-class demons left, only devils.
"What do you mean?! Wasn't that all the demons that came out of the former imperial capital earlier!?"
[I don't know! Anyway, please come back as soon as possible!]
"Oh, alright! I understand!"
Mark was unusually disturbed.
Is that how urgent the situation is?
"Sicily! We better hurry back!"
"Yes!"
"Wait a minute, Shin! Take me with you too!"
"Mr. Garan?"
What should I do?
To be honest, I don't think Mr. Garan is capable of fighting a disaster-class demons.
Bringing someone unskillful along to the worst possible place and put him in danger was also…
"I beg of you. I just came back from the frontline the other day, and I can't sit back idly by while the people who replaced me at the frontline are in danger."
Since he mentioned that now, I couldn't strongly disagree with him anymore, and moreover, I didn't have time to continue on thinking about it at the moment.
"If that's the case… However, please don't even think about fighting any of the disaster-class demons, alright?"
"Yes, I think I know my place."
After receiving a promise from Mr. Garan that he wouldn't fight against the disaster-class demons, I opened the gate to the Earlshide's camp where I had just been.
"Oh, this is amazing… It took me over a week to get back from my rotation, but now it was... instantaneous."
Mr. Garan lets out an exclamation of admiration, after passing through the gate behind us, but it gradually faded.
It would be so.
I, too, was at a loss for words at the sight that greeted me immediately after passing through the gate.
I saw several gates opening as everyone, including Aug, was gathering here one after another while I observed around, but as soon as they passed through the gate, their eyes widened and were stunned.
"Wha-Wha-What the hell… is this…?"
No one was able to speak up until Mr. Garan finally managed to utter out his voice.
It was that kind of a scene.
"Bean! Is Bean here!?"
"Yes, Your Highness! Right this way!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Once again, Aug, finally regaining his senses, called for Mark and demanded an explanation of the situation
"It was after everyone reports were received. Disaster-class demons appeared from the former imperial capital."
"I understand that. But… this… what are these numbers!?"
A scene that left us utterly speechless.
It was a horde of disaster-class demons that completely filled the horizon.
It was a nightmarish scene that was slowly coming towards us.
"I received a report from a soldier who was monitoring the former imperial capital that the demons had come pouring out from it again. So I used my far-sight magic to check the situation…"
Then Mark cut off his words, glanced around at everyone, and uttered the following words.
"It was indeed true that the demons of a certain size that appeared to be disaster class had appeared from the former imperial capital. One after another… they kept appearing endlessly, and eventually led to this situation…"
The recalled scene at that time must have been so shocking that Mark spoke in a tone as if he still could not believe what he had witnessed.
"What the hell… could it be, that there are disaster-class demons were hiding throughout the former imperial capital?"
"All of the former imperial capital… how many of them are there…?"
Aug mentioned the possibility that he most honestly didn't want to acknowledge.
In recalling about the former Bluesphere Empire, which was considered to be a great power.
Its imperial capital was as large as the royal capital of the Earlshide's Kingdom.
If all of the capital had demons hiding within it, it would only mean…
It was not surprising that Maria couldn't help but wonder how many of them there would be.
"Hundreds… No, thousands?"
I muttered involuntarily.
Disaster class demons are classified as disaster class because their increased sizes, and they generally have massive physiques.
Even taking that into consideration, how could still have about this many out there?
"Thousands of disaster-class demons… ha-ha… you've got to be kidding me…"
Mr. Garan, who overheard my muttering because he was standing beside me, let out a dry laughter and then looked at the slowly approaching horde of demons with a despairing expression.
From the perspective of Mr. Garan and the others, who were unable to fight the disaster class demons alone, the scene before them could only be described as an utter nightmare.
Even for those of us who can fight a disaster class demon on our own, it's a sight that makes us wish it was merely a bad joke.
"What are we going to, Aug…?"
"…What do you think we should do… do you think we can defeat these numbers with just us alone?"
"……"
To be honest, there's nothing that is truly impossible to do.
However…
"…If you don't mind about the terrain changing completely."
"Okay, let's try to stall them somehow."
You just dismissed it immediately. Hey.
"I didn't think it was possible, but I know you can really do it…"
"I rather not do it either if I can help it. If I do this, I might be labeled as an enemy of the world."
"…I'm glad you finally learned some prudence."
There's something about the way Aug statement that bothers me, but I can imagine at least that much.
However, then it becomes more difficult…
"But what should we do, Aug? As expected, these numbers are too ridiculous for us to handle alone."
"Mmm…"
"They're approaching us pretty slowly right now, but we can't afford to be complacent."
"I know. I'm thinking about it at the moment, so hold on just a minute…"
"Wha-What is this!?"
Suddenly I heard a loud voice interrupting Aug's words.
When I turned around, there was a large group of soldiers and a man who seemed to be a commander had shouted.
"You've arrived at the best time…"
"Huh? What's this army?"
"When the previous disaster-class demons appeared, it was reported that rescue teams had been sent in from each country…"
"I see, because they didn't have a wireless communication device…"
"We had no way of contacting the troops that had already left. It seems they have arrived at this very moment."
"Your Highness August! What the hell is happening here? I've heard in the reports that there were only dozens of them."
I don't know which country's commander he is, but I can tell from his equipment and his other personal things he had on himself indicated that he was a high-ranking person, and the way he spoke to Aug.
"We don't know either. We've already eliminated all the demons we reported earlier…"
"Tha-That's terrific, too, but… nevertheless, this is…"
That Mr. Commander, also choked on his words when he saw the hordes of demons that filled the horizon and were slowly advancing towards us.
"Something like this… Can humans handle something like this?"
Another person who seemed to be the commander of a different country joined the conversation.
The commanders of each country were staring hopelessly at the horde of disaster-class demons that were now only visible in the distance.
The troops behind them were also staring ahead with the same baffled expression.
Even so, they were approaching us very slowly.
When seeing it from a distance like this, I felt as if I had wandered into a zoo or safari park…
"That's it, a cage!"
"A cage?"
"Yes! That horde of demons is moving extremely slowly. I think we can make a cage to isolate them at the moment!"
"I see! Ultimate Magicians! All of you gather around immediately!"
I remembered the zoo from my previous life.
At the zoo, they used cages and fences to prevent dangerous animals from getting out.
At this stage, while they were still visible from a distance, I thought about the possibility we could create huge walls with magic to isolate them.
"Listen up, everybody. We're going to create a surrounding wall to confine those demons! Shin! How tall do you think we should make the walls?"
"Well, let me think. If possible, I'd like it to be about 30 meters high and about five meters thick."
"A wall five meters thick and thirty meters high!?"
Mr. Garan interjected his voice in response to what I'd stated earlier as Aug's consultation, which was roughly the necessary requirement.
A disaster class demon is only about ten meters tall, so thirty meters should suffice, and I thought five meters thick would be enough…
"Is it too thin and short? Then maybe we should make it fifty meters by ten meters…"
"Wro-Wrong! Wrong! I meant that it’s too thick and too big!"
"Ah, so that's what you meant. Well, it's better than having them breaching a thin and small wall, right?"
"Tha-That's true, but…"
"Your Highness! How long do you want to make the wall?"
Mr. Garan was holding his head for some reason, but in the meantime, the discussion about making a wall continued.
Alice asked how long we should make the wall.
"If possible, I'd like it to surround everything, including the former imperial capital…"
"Isn't that indeed impossible?"
"We can do it, right?"
"Huh?"
Aug wanted to surround the former imperial capital completely, but Thor thought it was impossible.
So I proclaimed to all of them believing that I might be able to do it.
"I will fly from the other side of the Former Imperial City and start building my wall towards you from there. That way, even the devils, let alone the demons, won't be able to get out, right?"
"Such a thing, can you really… do it?"
Aug was about to say something dismissive for a moment, but he immediately reconsidered.
It's nice to have such a trusting friend.
"…Though, it's easy to imagine what you're thinking. I'm just well aware of the nonstandard nature of your powers."
"Just say that you trust me here, even if it's merely a lie!"
"I'm sorry. I'm not good at telling lies."
"That's definitely a lie!"
Aug shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile while displaying a "good grief" pose, and then let out a sigh.
Damn, he didn't say that out of trust?
"Well, I kind of trust you with all your anomalies. So I'm asking you now."
"… I can't help but feel some malice in each of your words, but oh well. Well, I'll go and make a wall from the other side of the former imperial capital, so you guys should take care of making the wall directly in front of here."
"Okay! Leave it to us!"
Alice, on behalf of everyone, replied with her thumbs up.
"Shin."
Then, Sicily stepped out from Alice’s side after her cheerfully response, and approached me.
"Are you going by yourself?"
"Yeah. I want everyone to build the wall here, so I need as many people as possible."
"I, see… That's right. I understand. We will do our best to make the wall. But…"
Sicily, who was convinced that I was able to make the portion of the wall all by myself, gently snuggled up to me.
"The king of the devils is in the former imperial capital. Please… please be careful."
"Don't worry. It's not like we're flying right above the Former Imperial Capital. I am going around it, so…"
"Ah…"
While no one else was worried about me, only Sicily was seriously concerned about me.
I was so happy that I couldn't help but embrace Sicily tightly, who was already cuddling me.
"Sicily and the rest of you, be sure to make a sturdy wall."
"Shin… Yes! I'll do my best!"
After saying that, Sicily and I were staring at each other…
"A-Amazing… I wouldn't be able to do the same in front of so many people…"
When I suddenly became aware of Maria's voice, I noticed that the soldiers, who had a despairing appearance a while ago were now looking at us with warm eyes.
"… Oh well, whatever. It's a tad late for that."
"Ah-uhm."
How many times have I done this? I'm getting used to it.
In the first place, we already had a proper engagement party. I think it is fine to flirt with her in public!
"Think about the proper time and place! This idiot!"
"Oops. Well, I'd better be off then."
"Ahh."
Aug's literal thunder was about to strike, so I kissed Sicily's forehead with a quick peck and floated away with levitation magic.
I guess I'll head to my side of the scene before I get petty about this.
When I glanced down, I saw Aug with his hands on his hips with a dumbfounded look on his face, while Sicily was glowing red up to her neck and looking like boiled lobster.
"Well, I'm off then."
Shouting out to everyone on the ground, I took off to my starting point where I would make a wall while using my flight magic.
"Doesn't he have any sense… of tension at all?"
"Well, it is indeed Sir Shin after all, isn't it…"
Disaster-class demons appeared in numbers that completely filled the horizon, and they were heading toward them, albeit slowly.
Aug sighed in dismay and Thor smiled bitterly, while they watched Shin flew away in his usual light-hearted manner, despite the end-of-the-world scene that was unfolding in front of them.
For the commanders from each of the countries, the sight of the demons advancing towards them was unbelievable, but they also couldn't understand the actions of Shin and the others who were supposed to be their allies.
"So, Your Highness… why are you fooling around? Especially in such an emergency like this."
"Th-That's right! And what about what the King of Magicians (The Demon King) remarks earlier, how can such a wall be built so quickly?"
The complaints of the country’s commanders were understandable.
Before them was an abnormal outbreak of disaster-class demons and their invasion.
In the face of a threat of an obvious world's destruction, the friends were joking around with each other.
That was what it appeared to be like to them.
"Um-hum. That's true. Then let's get started. How many meters do you guys think you can do?"
"I'd say about ten meters at a time, right?"
"I think I can do about five meters… I'm not very good at earth magic."
"Me too."
In response to Aug's question, Maria said she could do ten meters, while Alice and Lynn said about five meters.
"I use a lot of clay-based earth magic in my blacksmithing, so I think I can do about fifteen meters."
Mark, who usually works with clay in his blacksmithing and engraving jobs, gave the largest number.
The commanders of each country could not hide their confusion at these words.
"Five meters, ten meters… what the hell are you talking about?"
"Well, you'll know it when you see it. Now, I want all of you to place them in the intervals you just declared."
""Yes!""
After muddying his response to the commander's question, August instructed everyone to get into positions and added one last thing.
"Do not worry about what happens on the other side of the wall! In fact, if we dig deeper, it will become an obstacle for the demons! Go all out!"
""Roger that!!""
The Ultimate Magicians responded to August's command in unison.
Then, a huge amount of magical power that had never been felt by any of the magic divisions from each country before began to surge all around them.
"Th-This is!?"
"What an enormous amount of magical power…"
"So this are the Ultimate Magicians…"
The magicians were astonished and dumbfounded.
With them (the troops) in the background, the Ultimate Magicians visualized the measurements that Shin had mentioned earlier.
Thirty meters high, five meters thick, and as wide… as possible.
Having completed the mental image, they put their hands on the ground in unison and activated their magic.
The moment they did…
"Whoa!?"
"E-Earthquake!?"
"Th-There!!"
The ground suddenly began to violently shake.
Immediately after that, a wall made with earth magic rose out from the ground as if it was growing out from it.
The earthen wall was about the same size throughout the area as the one they had just discussed earlier with the intended thickness and height.
Yet, they noticed that the wall's width of certain sections varied from person to person.
"I see… Their previous statements were their declarations of how wide the wall could be created in a single go…"
"That's right. You can still check the progress now, just by looking on the other side of the wall."
August, after finishing casting his magic, shouted out to the commanders that were not convinced of a number of things.
Then, as if his words had caught their interest, the commanders ran to the other side of the wall.
"Oh, do be careful. There's a cliff over there."
August pointed to what had been a flat plain earlier and said it had now become a cliff.
While doubting his words, the commanders slowed down their running speed.
The result…
"Wh-Whhoa!"
"Th-This is!"
"Amazing…"
The soil that was used to create this towering wall was procured from the ground on the other side of the wall.
As a result, there was a very deep moat behind the wall.
"So that's why, he told us to be careful, didn't he?"
If they hadn't heeded his words, they would have probably fallen off the cliff.
The commanders from each country broke out in cold sweats at that fact, and finally were convinced of August and the others' attitude earlier.
"If you can wield this level of magic, it's no wonder… they can afford to be so relaxed."
"Truly… I feel as if I'm dreaming."
The soldiers who were watching from behind the commanders also groaned in disbelief at the outcome.
However, August and the others who were receiving such praises remained extremely calm.
"Well, it's nice to get praised."
"Huh?"
August smiles wryly as he says that.
The commanders displayed a puzzled look at August.
"Well, to be honest, considering what Sir Shin might have done, I can't accept such honest praises…"
How did it compare to Shin?
With that in mind, the Ultimate Magicians could not be too boastful about their magic.
Just as Thor was about to state this, a cloud of dust rose in the far distance.
Then the cloud of dust slid sideways with tremendous momentum, moving to surround the former imperial capital and the hordes of demons.
"That is, could it be…"
August, a bad feeling about this, used his far-sight vision magic to investigate what the cloud of dust was…
"I knew it…"
He spotted Shin flying high above the ground with his flight magic, while creating a huge surrounding wall with his earth magic.
What was that about Shin? when they were having such a hard time creating a wall of five or ten meters in width?
How many dozens of meters of wall are you building at once?
And how long have you been continuously casting your magic?
August and the others were still dumbstruck, and the commanders were utterly astonished with their jaws hanging wide open.
"We too, won't be left behind in creating the wall! Come on, you guys! If you remain there like that, you'll be left inside the wall! Evacuate quickly!"
The astonished commanders from each country and Garan hurriedly evacuated at August's words, while imagining a future where they would be left inside a wall full of disaster-class demons.
"Don't let Shin bear all the responsibility! We also need to continue in creating the wall as much as possible!"
At August's words, everyone began erecting the wall again.
Shin, who had been flying at high speed while creating a huge wall, suddenly stopped, then crossed in between the hordes of demons and August's party.
When he reached a certain point, he now created a wall towards the former imperial capital.
(You mean you're leaving the rest to us?)
Shin didn't want to do everything by himself, but wanted August and the others to do their jobs as well.
That way, this achievement will belong to all of them.
August suspected that Shin had probably made that decision.
"Honestly… He's so ignorant about the ways of the world, but he's got good perception in the strangest places."
"He's a strange one, isn't he? As usual."
"Absolutely."
Thanks to Shin, August though they could manage.
August's mouth widely grin with smiles at that thought.
"Come on, we're almost done. Let's do this!"
"Yes!"
In this way, the wall that Shin had created up to the halfway point and the wall that August and the others had completed finally connected, and a full encircled wall that completely surrounded the former imperial capital was finished.
We were able to create a large wall completely encircling the former imperial capital.
This should buy us some time.
In the meantime, we can formulate countermeasures.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to eradicate the demons, but we have to discuss how to do that, and the demons from the Schtrom's side have finally shown up.
To be honest, I was worried that this ended up only as a stalemate.
With this thought in my mind, I returned to Aug and the others.
I released my flight magic and landed on the ground, where I was greeted by a loud cheer from the soldiers from each country.
"That was awesome! King of Magicians! (The Demon King)"
"No! I think we should call him Lord of Magicians (The Demon Lord) now!"
What the hell? The Demon King alone is already a devastating deal, and now you're calling me Demon Lord!
"Demon Lord! What the hell? It strangely fits very nicely!"
"Demon Lord! Demon Lord!"
I was stunned by the sudden outburst of the Demon Lord title.
…Whe-When the hell did we become the Demon King's Army…?
I was completely stunned while Sicily and also Aug came next to me.
"Shin! That was amazing!"
"Goof grief… What the hell was that? Honestly, it looked like a bizarre phenomenon, didn't it?"
"What do you mean by bizarre phenomenon…? We had to surround the place before the demon hordes arrive. I did it in a hurry and it turned out like that."
"Good grief, as expected since you are not aware about yourself."
"Huh? Was that no good?"
I didn't use any fancy offensive magic, and the soldiers were receptive, so I thought it was okay.
"That was just too much beyond a paranormal phenomenon for any of them to comprehend. It's sort of an escape from reality."
Escaping from reality… when I was having such an exchange with Aug, the commanders also gathered around us.
"No, no, as expected of the man who is known as the King of Magicians, the Demon King."
"Indeed. I thought His Highness August's magic was amazing, but this is a tad…"
"It's in a different order of magnitude, isn't it?"
Aug took over the line from the commander who was fumbling with his words.
The commanders squinted their eyes at Aug, who had said something that was difficult to say in a straightforward manner.
"What are you so surprised about? Don’t you understand that we know best about the tremendous difference in ability between Shin and us?"
The commanders once again looked surprised at Aug about his unconcerned comment.
That may be true. It was easy to forget that Aug was royalty.
You wouldn’t be able to say directly to someone's face that a member of the royal family was inferior to someone else.
It would be impossible for them to declare such a thing using their own mouths.
"If there's this much of a difference in ability, there's nothing to feel ashamed about. So don't worry about it."
"That being said, Aug, from now on…"
I was about to ask him about the future plans.
[Muh-muh-muh, ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!"]
Seemed like loud-speech amplification magic.
Suddenly, a joyful laughter rang out, audible to all of us at the front of the wall that we had rushed to create.
[No, no, as usual, you're performing extraordinary and ridiculous things.]
And this voice was familiar to me.
"Aug! This is!"
"I know!"
[Fu-Fu. It's been a while. Your Highness August, Shin Wolford.]
"You Bastard! Schtrom!!"
Yes, the leader of the devils. It was the voice of Oliver Schtrom.
[1] Editor Note: LOL. A bad pun in so many ways.
[2] TL Note: This is a Japanese joke, they are adding a suffix -sama to his previous Demon King title.