Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Resolution □

I was watching the duel between two proud mages in the sky when I quickly jumped off my wyvern as the evenly matched battle suddenly tilted, leaving Dorothea on the verge of a one-sided defeat.

“Ouch, those burns.”

She talks tough but can’t stand losing.

If it weren’t for her carelessness, her win rate would have been over 50%. She’s a classic case of wasted talent.

As we approached the ground, Baron Betendorf’s deep voice rang out as he pointed his staff at Dorothea, who had frozen stiff.

“Give my regards to your students when you meet them in the afterlife. Tell them their teacher has avenged our enmity.”

It seems that the apprentices I accidentally killed earlier while blowing up the city gate were his disciples sent from the capital.

Well, otherwise, there’d be no reason for someone who should be at the royal castle to be here.

Having grasped the situation to some extent, I used wind magic just before hitting the ground and landed precisely on the rooftop where the two stood.

“You should do that yourself.”

And with my entrance, I delivered a quick jab.

There was no way I could let Dorothea die while I was watching with wide-open eyes.

Unless we were enemies like in the past, now that we’re eating from the same pot under the Demon King, it wouldn’t do.

Dorothea, whose magical system, like mine, specializes in 1:many, is the weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings, but she’s essential to the Demon King’s Army, which lacks numbers.

Annoyed by the sudden third-party interference disrupting his revenge, Baron Betendorf frowned and asked.

“And who might you be?”

Knowing I couldn’t fight sloppily against such a great mage, I threw off my cumbersome robe as I moved and replied.

“Captain of the Demon King’s Foreign Legion, Nero’s hound, Partarth.”

“If you flee now, I might spare your life…”

Sorcery Weaponry – Whirlwind Bone

In a single breath, I slipped into his body and drove a tornado-wrapped fist into his abdomen.

“You talk too much.”

A man’s fight is supposed to be settled with fists.

BOOM!!

The old gentleman, unable to react to the surprise attack, flew back like a toy.

But having observed all the abilities of his Sorcery Weaponry from above, I didn’t let my guard down and immediately launched a follow-up attack.

‘One Clear Wind’

The blade of wind shot from my toes aimed to shred the limbs of Baron Betendorf, who was rolling on the ground, at high speed.

And as expected, the old man, rising abruptly from the mud, noticed the approaching magic and shouted.

“Cowardly!”

“There’s no such thing as cowardice in a fight!”

Immediately, the nobleman struck the water puddle with a mana-filled fist.

A rectangular water barrier narrowly blocked the One Clear Wind’s blade.

But my attack wasn’t over yet.

Thousand Miles Same Wind

Invisible blades appeared from all sides and carved up the barrier along with the baron’s body,

Gentle Wind Warm Sun

and I battered the immobilized baron’s body with hurricane blasts using tornados wrapped around both hands as propellants.

“KRAAAH!”

Blood spurted and flesh flew from Baron Betendorf’s body as he was hit one-sidedly, but I continued firing spells without giving him a chance to recover.

Though the healing effect of Sorcery Weaponry was annoying, it was obvious that there would be limits to regeneration unless the user had infinite mana.

Moreover, since he’d been fighting Dorothea until a moment ago, despite his calm appearance, his remaining mana must be almost depleted.

As I watched more new wounds appear faster than the old ones healed, my suspicions turned into strong convictions.

I could finish him off this way, but deciding I needed a definitive finishing blow, I stepped into his embrace again while stamping my feet.

Then, the baron, who had been getting beaten by my magic one-sidedly, swung his staff in a surprise attack.

“Tranquillo!”

But despite clearly uttering the incantation, nothing happened. And just as I instinctively sensed something amiss, what leapt out wasn’t from the puddle but from the baron’s shadow—a unicorn made of water.

“Ugh!”

Close call!

I barely dodged by throwing my body to the side, narrowly avoiding having my neck pierced by its sharp horn.

Meanwhile, the old man, having retreated to safety and straightened himself up, brushed his blood-soaked hair aside and asked with a hostile gaze.

“…That magic, that martial art—if my eyes don’t deceive me, they resemble those of the Executioner who accompanied the Hero Party. What’s your relationship with him?”

Still stroking the wooden mask firmly stuck to my face, I replied.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

At this, Baron Betendorf muttered with a grave expression.

“In that case, it doesn’t matter. Now, my only interest is in wiping out those detestable demon tribe members who mercilessly slaughtered my beloved apprentices.”

Though I thought he must have used up all his mana, a massive amount of magical power began to coalesce around the staff gripped by Baron Betendorf.

Apparently, he had reserved some strength.

‘A big one is coming.’

It must be Hexa Spell (x6), the ultimate technique of a grand sorcerer.

As someone who has reached the same level, I recognized it instantly upon seeing it.

Since using original spells meant abandoning any attempt to hide my identity anyway, I approached Dorothea, who was still frozen, and melted the ice covering her mouth with warm wind.

During the journey with the hero, Dorothea had encountered my magic many times, so she looked at me as if she’d been blindsided.

“You little rat! You tricked me completely!”

“For heaven’s sake, cursing even in a situation like this?”

After melting the ice myself while Dorothea was busy muttering curses, I gestured toward the baron behind me.

“I’ll explain the situation later, so you retreat for now.”

Then, Dorothea, who had been raining all sorts of unspeakable curses, hesitated and asked.

“Are you sure? You’ve been recklessly using magic nonstop until just now.”

Suddenly worried about me, I waved my palm dismissively at her.

“Just take care of yourself. I can handle it alone.”

Saying this, I pulled out a magic stone from my pocket.

“I saved these for moments like this, so I need to use them sparingly.”

Whooosh—

As the virtual magic circuits in my body started working, the mana inside the magic stone began to be rapidly absorbed.

Crack—

I discarded the cracked and dimming magic stone and pulled out a new one to repeat the process of absorbing mana.

Normally, I avoid doing this.

If a large amount of mana is suddenly absorbed into the body, it can cause nerve damage due to mana oversaturation.

But now, I had to take that risk and act crazy.

Because otherwise, everything would collapse.

“…Here it comes.”

Finally, it seemed all preparations were complete as Baron Betendorf raised his staff high above his head.

He began to manipulate the water elements around him as if they were his own limbs.

“Tempestoso!”

A giant whirlpool rose from the puddles on the ground.

“Tempo l’istesso!”

The remaining water vapor in the air began to freeze rapidly.

“Tenuto!”

Fist-sized hailstones began to rain down from the sky like rain.

“Vivace!”

Finally, a massive wave appeared beneath his feet and surged forward like a tsunami.

The pride of the royal court advisor, Baron Louis von Betendorf—the Hexa Spell combining offense and defense.

The Fury of Neptune.

This was the first time I was seeing the real thing.

As I watched this truly magnificent tactical-level magic worthy of its name, I extended my gloved hands forward to block it.

To counter a Hexa Spell, I too must use a Hexa Spell.

And there was only one spell that suited the current situation.

Ultimately, wind is atmosphere.

And atmosphere is essentially fluid dynamics.

I forcibly condensed an enormous pressure bomb within a sphere of wind.

The principle isn’t much different from the magic I used to thresh crops in the village below the castle.

Only, this time, it contains a super-low-pressure typhoon made entirely of pure mana.

“You brat! So you really are the Executioner from the Emerald Tower!”

Whatever Baron Betendorf riding the wave shouted, I ignored it and yelled.

Wind Hexa Spell—

“Triumphant Majesty!”

A magic named exactly for its unmatched power clashed head-on with the baron’s tsunami.