The concept of magic power is one that doesn’t exist in reality.
Since it has fallen into a world where it does exist, I had to continually study how to utilize that power.
If it had been a virtual reality game or something similar, I would have known how to use it from within the game.
If I had shouted ‘Status Window!’ and a blue screen had appeared with instructions like ‘How to use it’, I would have used that method.
But neither of those scenarios applied. Instead, I learned magic by inviting wizards using my position as the Count’s heir or by studying the family’s magical texts.
And then I realized.
The most important thing is how to conceive the use of that power.
Whether it’s through imagination, conception, or fantasy, ‘the manifestation of thought’ is the fundamental method for handling magical power freely.
Thanks to this, I gained confidence.
Although I had never actually used it, I knew all about how magic was implemented and its ‘effects’ from the original game.
[Be careful, contractor? It seems like attacks will be coming soon.]
Not only the techniques I use, but.
[It will come from-]
‘Down.’
Just like the ice pillars erupting beneath me now, I also have a clear understanding of the techniques used by my enemies.
[Hii!]
[Hmm, could it be future sight?]
Rattatosk screamed because his attack pierced the air, and the Archduke of Hell-‘Pheonix’ began to contemplate me.
‘It’s not future sight.’
I can’t read the future. I only know a few things about what will happen.
‘But I’d prefer if that wasn’t mentioned.’
Just as Phoenix misunderstood that my special ability was future sight, that squirrel monster might misunderstand as well.
[Heh, you foolish creature! Revealing your contractor’s power!]
[…]
Phoenix kept silent. Since the conversation was in the Demon language, the vibrations in my mind flowed out, seemingly reaching Rattatosk’s ears.
That’s because I’ve fully drawn on the power of the Flame.
‘Azure Flames Domain.’
Descending Pheonix, from the Demon World, to the surface.
Originally, this method would involve burning my body and having Phoenix manifest through the remnants for a ‘Demonic Manifestation.’
However.
[Contractor?]
Currently, Phoenix had not taken possession of my body.
[Try using your full power. In exchange, you know what to do about that squirrel, right?]
Instead, she was lending me her full power and hoped that I would defeat Rattatosk.
Phoenix no longer saw me as a 7-year-old child, and Rattatosk felt the same way.
[This time is different!]
As Rattatosk extended his hand forward, a sphere of ice formed, much like he was holding an acorn. Since I was viewing it through Phoenix’s eyes, it was clear at a glance that the sphere was not just a single piece of ice but a cluster of hundreds or thousands of ice crystals.
[Let’s see, if you can see the future!]
As Rattatosk spread his arms.
[How you freeze to death!]
The magical power of the clustered ice crystals exploded, and ice spikes began shooting out in all directions from the sphere.
[Be careful. This is to control the area… Hmm.]
Even though Phoenix gave me a bit of advice out of caution.
[Shall I just watch?]
‘Do as you wish.’
Since I already knew that technique, I responded immediately upon seeing the sphere.
Flare.
I snapped my fingers forward.
Blue flames erupted before the ice spikes that were spreading towards me and the battlefield.
[Wha, what?!]
The blue flames that spread in a circular motion in the air began to swirl like a vortex, and as they touched Rattatosk’s ice spikes, they melted away.
“You’re lucky you’re using ice.”
Rattatosk, an S-rank boss.
Archduke of Hell, Phoenix, an SS-class demon.
The level difference is clear, but the type advantage is also much in my favor.
Flare.
Moreover, the ice spikes thrown at me by Rattatosk dealt no damage at all.
There was no need to use the wings on my back as a shield; the flames of Phoenix already melted the ice spikes before they even touched me.
[Ki, kihi…!]
Despite his ice attack being ineffective, Rattatosk just grinned bitterly.
[I know…! You’re reaching your limit now!]
Rattatosk raised just his index finger towards me.
[Only about a minute left, right?! Unless summoned with ‘True Name’ like me, there’s no way for the Archduke to stay in this world for long!]
[…]
Phoenix was summoned with her True Name.
But she kept her mouth shut to prevent providing information to Rattatosk.
Flare.
The flame in my right hand flared up nervously.
I wanted to say something, but the frustration of being unable to refute erupted like flames.
‘Half of it is true.’
Phoenix can maintain her existence as long as she desires, but in reality, I only have about one minute left.
This isn’t due to the contract or Rattatosk’s problem, but because of the Goddess watching from the sky.
[Hahaha! It seems that the Goddess does not recognize your existence! Vanish from this world, Archduke of Hell!]
Rattatosk cheered as he pointed towards the numerous shining pillars of light aimed at us.
[Come forth, angels! Kill this Archduke of Hell!]
“Do you think you’ll be safe?”
[Hah, hahaha…! Me? After being sealed for centuries, I’ve lost much of the Demon World’s ‘magic’…!]
Although this world doesn’t revert to a game format, system-wise, let’s put it this way.
“So, you plan to escape while the angels target only me?”
[Flee? Ha, that’s a laughable notion! I want to see you get torn apart by the angels!]
Since the angels sent by the Goddess have Phoenix as their top priority, Rattatosk hopes that I will take heavy damage while fighting them.
[All I have to do is lie back and watch! Hehe, all that’s left is to exact revenge on that damned family…!]
“Habsderk?”
[Kiiaaaa!!]
The mention of the Habsderk name provokes a violent reaction from Rattatosk.
[That damned bloodline! Hehe, he probably didn’t know until he sealed me! I saw it! My curse has persisted into this era!]
“Curse?”
[The offspring of that b*stard were cursed so that their bloodline couldn’t mix with others! Kihihit! I bet they struggled to have children! How disheartened they must have been when they realized the only way to continue their lineage was through inbreeding! Khyahaha!!]
“…”
This was new knowledge.
I hadn’t expected such a hidden backstory between Habsderk and Rattatosk.
‘I thought I knew 100% of everything, but there’s always something new.’
Had I known this beforehand, would things have been different?
Not at all.
“Rattatosk.”
“Rattatosk.”
It became even more certain.
“You die by my hand.”
[Kihihit, you are not the Archduke of Hell, just a contractor, what can you do?!]
“I am Regif Habsderk.”
At the mention of my name, Rattatosk, who was trying to step back, halted in his tracks.
“I am the last descendant of the founder Habsderk who sealed you in this land.”
[……K, kihihit, hihihit…!!]
For humans in this world who live an average of 60 years per generation, it might not resonate much.
[I’ll kill you!! With my own hands!!]
But for demons and demonic beings, several centuries are enough to consider themselves and their sealers as being in a familial relationship.
[Was I so frightening! To the point of making a contract with an Archduke of Hell?! Kihihit!]
Rattatosk’s eyes turn red.
Ice slowly begins to glow red around him, and the red ice in the air rises like spikes aiming at me.
[I can’t just let you die to the angels! Die, Archduke of Hell and that damned bloodline!!]
Phut phut. Spears of ice raining down like light.
And behind me, more armored angels emerging from the pillars of light.
All of them firing their magic at me, I closed my eyes quietly.
Thunk, thud, thump.
Ice spears and divine light piercing through my body.
Like a paper doll being pierced with punches, holes were made all over my body.
[Kihihit! What good is using the Archduke of Hell’s power! The contractor is so weak!]
Rattatosk laughed as he looked at me with holes all over.
In his red eyes, I was falling apart.
“Indeed.”
[Puhuhuh.]
A laugh.
Not me, Phoenix laughed.
Or maybe it was me.
[Do you look like that?]
[W-What are you laughing about?! Your contractor…!]
[Aah, I see. You wouldn’t be able to see it.]
Taking a light step forward.
[From the moment the first flames were ignited, you were already under an illusion.]
[Illusion…?]
[Yes. It seems my contractor is better at handling mental magic rather than offensive spells.]
Landing behind Rattatosk, I extended my fingers forward.
[Now, it’s time to wake up from the illusion.]
Click.
[!!]
The world is engulfed in blue flames, and Rattatosk’s body starts to burn.
[The angels targeting illusions rather than you is because all the poison has already drained from you in this world.]
The red ice melts away, Rattatosk’s fur disintegrates, and the bones hidden beneath are fully exposed.
[You were dead from the start.]
The first Azure Flames Domain.
From that moment, Rattatosk had been dead.
[A ‘hypnosis’ that doesn’t even let you realize you’re dead… Well, we’ll discuss the details soon enough.]
Rattatosk’s skull turns sideways.
Although he still maintains his massive form because he believes he’s alive, that will soon change.
[W-What’s happening…?]
“To put it plainly.”
Fwoosh.
“Since when did you think you weren’t dead?”
[Kiiiaaa!!]
As I flick the Azure Flames once more, even Rattatosk’s bones begin to melt away.
“I was on your shoulder from the beginning. What you saw was just residual embers. Afterimage, if you will.”
[Kuh, hah, haaah…!!]
To be precise, even his soul.
No matter how much he had established his physical form in this world, his essence was made of ‘mana’, and in the face of the power that burns that mana, he is nothing more than a large rabbit’s hide.
[T-This… This is impossible… I…!]
“I think so too.”
I leaped forward from the disintegrating Rattatosk’s shoulder, spreading my wings in front of him.
“So you made a contract with the Archduke of Hell.”
[Kuh, Kyaaaah…! This bloodline, not just once, but twice…!]
“It was a life destined to end anyway.”
Had I not known, it might have passed unnoticed, but knowing it meant I couldn’t just let it be.
“Disappear. Source of the curse.”
[Kihihit…! Aah, I see…! I can see it now! My death…! And… you too!]
Rattatosk, collapsing from below, hurls curses at me.
[You’re already dead! By summoning the Archduke of Hell, your body was completely burned away!]
“Really.”
[Now, the bloodine of Habsderk…!]
“I have a younger sister.”
[…]
I put my hand in my pocket and extended one foot forward towards Rattatosk’s brow.
“Do you believe that?”
[Kih, Kiyashaak!!]
Thunk.
I stomp on Rattatosk’s forehead.
Normally, this would be a critical point to exploit for an S-rank boss, and attacking here would transition us to the second phase—
‘It’s strong, as expected.’
The power of Archduke of Hell, the Azure Flames, was so strong that I skipped that phase.
And, I couldn’t hold out any longer.
[Contractor.]
Phoenix points to the sky.
[The sky is opening.]
The sky, filled with dark clouds, tears open to reveal a vivid rainbow-colored crack through which something is descending.
[Oh my, it seems you’ve really made a bad impression. Planning to send an elite angel right away…?]
Opening the sky and sending an angel down.
The source of the power the Goddess had given to the heroines to confront the Demon King in the original story.
[Be careful. That woman has a really nasty personality. She’ll probably send the angel’s powers to someone who will hurt you the most.]
Among those currently closest to this place and who could awaken the power of an angel, there are three candidates.
[Because that woman has always been like that.]
Esta, Yurha, and Seia.
[It will turn into a fight of mutual destruction. Each fallen angel will be replaced by another. Until this power in the mortal realm disappears.]
Three people will come one after another to try to kill me.
Becoming the vanguard of the Goddess.
[What will you do?]
There is only one way.
“From the beginning. It was decided when we made the contract.”
I clasp my hands together.
[Hehe, you don’t want to give a final farewell?]
“It’s fine.”
And, with a twist.
“When I rise from hell, we’ll meet again later.”
With the activation of the [Blue Flames Domain].
Deactivate.
The blue flames envelop me, and I lost consciousness.
[Hehe.]
And that consciousness.
[Welcome to Hell, the underworld. My contractor.]
With the sensation of being pulled somewhere, I began to sink into the deepest abyss.
* * *
Habsderk territory.
Demonic Land.
The moment the blue pillar of flames shot up to the sky, creating a hole in the sky.
A vast, clear blue sky and silence descended upon the world.
Accompanied by a hint of burnt ashes.
