Unfortunately, it can't be called a desert as far as the eye can see. Even so, a wide area [the world of the sand country (Muspelheim)] has developed, and the trees have turned to sand to form several small sand dunes.
　It could be said that the landscape has presented a dizzying aspect of change. It was as if I was dreaming.

　The desert, which had reflected the sunshine in a golden color just a few moments ago. A swirling black cloud had formed above it, creating a dim, sunless landscape. The weather was like a harbinger of a storm.
　Even though it is dim, the landscape is colored by the brilliant sunlight pouring down from the distant gaps.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get a sense of satisfaction from the battles you've fought so far. It's because they have never tried to face such a strong enemy before, and this is the first time they have used their magic power to this extent. It could be said that instinct, not reason, is the source of the elation that makes the fight to the death.

　This is the reason why I've been lamenting the troublesome nature of the fight. No, it's still troublesome. I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good reasons for this.
　This battle had been a good experiment for Ars. It was because he was able to use the numerous magic carved into the chains. How much awareness could be reduced to the power, accuracy, and composition process? These magics could only be confirmed to start because they slaughtered most demons in an instant.
　Since you can do that in the real world of practice, I guess you could say my arms are ringing.

　Even with this kind of leeway, if there was a third party who only compared their outfits, Ars would clearly appear to be at a disadvantage.
　Although there are no wounds that would be fatal, fine wounds that are blood-soaked can be seen all over the place. His clothes were torn as if they had been torn, leaving scorch marks as if they had been burned.
　He forced himself to rub it with his sleeve, unable to stop the blood from the cut that ran down his cheek. He pulled the scrape mark from the wound and stained one cheek red. The blood that had been dripping stopped flowing for a moment, but it wouldn't bother me if it started flowing again.
　The demons on the other hand, compared to the magic they received, it's not surprising that they are overwhelmingly out of breath. But even if you slash off your arm or slam the blade into your head, you will instantly recover, so it still remains unharmed as well as when you faced it. Even so, the internal magic power was significantly reduced because a reasonable amount of magic power is consumed in the exchange of magic and recovery as well - it should be reduced.

　As expected, if you absorbed hundreds of mages, even with Ars's enormous amount of magic power, you would lose in total quantity.

(But how much did this guy eat........)

　I was aware that I possess an extraordinary amount of magical power. It's not only the amount of magic manipulation and other types of magic, but also the amount of magic power is clearly different even if you look at it objectively. But, as expected, it is not comparable to the amount of magic power of hundreds of mages? Even though I knew it, I still feel discouraged.

　I exhaled heavily as if to switch, and stared at the demon. They are looking for each other's way out.
　Is it out of an instinctive sense of danger, or are they fumbling with their intelligence? Either way, the day will come to an end if you do damage to it.


'What do we do?　You're half as fast as you are in this desert.

　He spoke to his demon counterpart as if to ask if he had run out of ideas.
　I don't know if he didn't like it or not, but he started to rattle his sharp teeth.

(If you want to defeat it, you'll have to make it disappear with a single blow.

　Even if it is a sandbox that can easily be tripped up, it is extremely difficult to apply magic that has developed in the sky against that swift demon.

　I'm sure that the demon began to move when there was no such pulse - although I think it's against a demon.
　The sand is blown backwards in a zig-zagging manner at an angle without any regularity. The demon is impending at an abnormal speed even though it's not moving straight ahead. Just when you think you've run on all four feet like a beast, your arms, which had been buried in the ground scraping the ground as you lean forward and raise your upper body, are swung up with great force.
　Three strong claws ran three slashes vertically, blowing away the sand.
　It would be good to think that the last slash that Krama fired was three. The magic power that can be put into them is something that can be doubled.

　The slashes of the wind system do not all disappear when opposed to one part.
　Just because the clouds are also being created in the sky, is it standard practice to counter the wind with wind?
　Ars pulls the AWR chain and flows magic power into one near the butt of the hilt and thrusts out a hand.

''The Loss of Providence [Downburst].

　The blast blew up from above as if a mountain had fallen, crushing the slash with a thump and drilling a circular depression deep into the ground.
　Because of this, the blasts that hit the ground scattered as if they were escaping and blew up like a sandstorm, containing tiny grains.
　In the midst of the appearance of the sandstorm, Ars quickly shifted his attention to the demon, and two parallel lights came running in front of him. The heat rays pass through the gaze that is immediately turned away from the upper body and pointed directly upwards, burning the air.
　As it was, if you turned your gaze towards the demon, you could see that these heat rays were emitted from the mouths of the two tails. And while continuing to spit out the heat ray, the heat ray was swung around as if it were leaning on the sickle neck with a knee.

　Ars makes a light kicking motion with his foot and the sand in front of him rises as a wall. In a blocked moment, he twisted his body and shifted to the side - and immediately afterwards, a white heat ray penetrated from the wall of sand dyed bright red and was swung around yada yada yada. It snatched my head, but I quickly got down, so there was no problem.
　I then tried to deploy multiple layers of barriers in front of the sprinting demon, but the demon opened them as if to insert its hands into them. One after another, the barriers are broken with force.
　The heat rays stop, and the demons focus their magic power into the oral cavity while destroying it, as if destroying it has become too much of a hassle.
　--It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You've made your magic power count!

　Instantly, with a bang, the mouth opened nearly 180 degrees and a compressed magic bullet was shot out from inside. The huge magic bullets easily crushed the barrier. It was like an iron ball dyed in pitch-black because it was produced by a demon.
　If swallowed by that, it is guaranteed to cause physical damage as well as disrupt magic power.

　It's a good idea to have the same scale of sphere, but it also looks like magic and a small sun.

Purgatory [Astral Sun].

　It was indeed a shrunken sun.
　The two giant spheres crossed paths as it rode into orbit, blazing in a spiral across the surface.
　Ars immediately creates a thick wall of sand to prepare for the impact and the heat wave that would come crashing down. A sand wall that looks like a tidal wave stopped time in the middle.
　Immediately after creating it, an explosion that could easily blow away a human being would strike with the impact - no, he would be burned to death by the heat wave.
　A magical explosion occurred and two enormous magical powers blew up the entire area.
　The impact stopped and Ars tried to stand up through the wall - but--.
　Two tails came through the sand wall with their mouths open.

'----zz!

　I cut off one of them with the knife, but the other one didn't make it in time and stuck its sharp teeth into my left shoulder mouth, spinning it around and gouging out all the flesh.
　I cut it off with the flipped knife, but a chunk of bloody meat spilled out from the tip of the fallen tail.
　When you look at the wound out of the corner of your eye, blood is flowing out like a throbbing pulse. I open and close my hand to check for movement, relieved to be able to move my fingertips, but I can't get up to my arm.

''Well let me give you a whack before I kill you!

　Ars glares at Guillory as if to return the favor, and concentrates his attention on his prone position. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　It's a scene of darkness manifested as it is. It can be visible like magic.
　I'm not sure if the tail has sensed the horrible sign or not, but when the tail recovers, it is pulled back at a terrific speed to return the way it came.

''Where are you going........''

　I lift my right hand waveringly - the darkness stirs.

''Devour [Violent Predator (Gla Eater)]''

　The magic power flashed as if it had a will and flew at high speed towards the target. The tip curled up at too much speed........................and its mouth opened with a snap. It wasted no time in hitting the ground and rippling as it ran.
　Several thick streams of magic power spit out a huge amount of magic power from the open mouth, and then split into several and open their greedy mouths again - it's like tentacles grew out of Ars as a starting point.
　Repeatedly, the predators that attacked around the demon were split into nearly a hundred.
　It may not be a frog staring at a snake, but the Gla Eaters are relentless in biting the demons that are unable to move. It attacked from left and right, but there was no demon there, and it had retreated significantly. They collide in the center - they bounce in the air with a clatter, but they quickly combine and chase after each other.
　The demon slashed with its claws firing a slash at the magic power to intercept it, but it passed through the Gra Eater's magical body.
　An enormous amount of magical power flows into Ars due to the addition of magic. Since the Gura Eater is magical, it has no substance, and the only way to counter it is with magic, but that doesn't mean it can't be annihilated and absorbed. In other words, attacks with magical power are meaningless.
　It swings its arms and bites with its tail, but every time it touches the Gra Eater, its magic power is eaten away. There is no need for anything to be a mouth. You just need to touch its body.

(Is it about time........)

　The amount of magic power absorbed at one time was much more than I expected, so I let him pull it before he lost control.
　A substantial amount of replenishment magic power can be used as both nourishment for the Gla Eaters and as energy to use the magic of Ars. A predator that has increased in volume considerably. I pour my nerves into twisting and pulling back the resistance of the Gra Eaters.
　The magic power that was moving at the craving fades away next.
　Seeing the demon that had been attacking the insubstantial Gura Eater when it was sure it was back in Ars, he looked at the demon that had been attacking the insubstantial Gura Eater.



　Cowering my shoulders in a dumbfounded state I raise my gaze.

''Vo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!

　It realized that its magic power had been eaten, and its angry roar was enough to shake the atmosphere and break its eardrums. The demon leaned forward with its hands on the ground and ran at an initial speed that made you think it had exploded. A gush of magic could be seen from its mouth and tail, and magic power poured out of its body. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

''It's still a monster.

　Immediately after running in a single step, Ars's fingers turned upward with a quick snap.
　As soon as he started running, the demon's jaw jumped upwards as if it were being pulled upwards.
　Although it sounds like a big deal if you call it spatial seizure magic, all Ars did was create a rectangular bar-like space from underneath to above the incoming demon and poke it vigorously. It's a simple attack that could have been avoided if he wasn't in a rage.
　His body floated off the ground and he didn't miss the slightest opening away.

　Ars thrusts his hands out and crosses them.
　A dark green body that floats with its belly showing. And what came splitting out of the frozen ground was a spine of sand that spun at high speed to twist. Four of them pierced the abdomen from all sides.

''Vogyaaaaah!

　Even the scream that resembled a scream was painful to hear.
　The pierced sand stopped moving and hardened like a rock, nailing the demon in the air. As expected, if it was a permanently frozen world (Nibbleheim), it would have overwritten the sandy world (Muspelheim). However, it's a relief that the magic used by the demon was a first-grade level magic like Freeze, and it could only freeze the surface layer.
　Of course, in that case, he just thought of another way.

　The tail tried to destroy it with vigor, but it too would be wrapped in sand and lumped together. Even if a reasonable restraint could be put in place, that demon has enough power to easily break it.

''That stagnation is fatal........''

　The ground directly below the demon cracks open, leaving a large dark hole that seems to be connected to the abyss. Now the demon is still drilled into the sand spikes on top of the large hole.
　Then the sand that had been pierced without a moment's pause turns into the original fine grains and falls smoothly, and the demon's body falls according to gravity.

　Seeing this figure, Ars slowly raises his AWR towards the heavens.

(Come to think of it, if it was a new kind of demon, the first discoverer had the right to name it.

　The person who discovers a new species can be given that name, but no one is crazy enough to think of becoming the godfather of a demon. That's why it's usually decided by the agency [Integrated Demon Information Department] regarding demons in the country where the discovery was made.
　But at this time, Ars intuitively comes up with an idea.
　He eats demons that are his own kind and becomes one. One who is abhorred by everyone, one who lurks among the host.

''Yes, [Abomination of Disobedience (Demi Azure)] would be a good fit.

　A falling demon falls towards the bottom and disappears from view. As it was sand, there was no island to attach to by extending its arms or tail.
　Ars looked at the end of it and swung his AWR down.

''Black lightning 《Croikazuchi》''

　The jet-black lightning struck the large hole in the form of a dragon as if it were the reverse scale of a black dragon.
　The black lightning is blown out of the hole in countless numbers as if it were crawling, and the sound of the lightning strike is shouted like the roar of a dragon. In the blink of an eye, the ground disappeared without being blown away.
　A black world that lasts less than a second covers your vision. It's a dim world, as if you are meditating even though you have your eyes open. But soon the landscape regains its color from the center.
　Ars fixed his position and put up layers of barriers to mitigate the impact, so as soon as he saw the scene after the 【Black Lightning 《Black Kazuchi】 fell, there was no ground that should be there, and he fell after a floating feeling.
　The ground far below us was gouged out, the ground that was originally not exposed to the surface of the earth. The [World of the Sand Country (Muspelheim)] must have dissolved.
　The black clouds have disappeared as if they were a lie, and a clear, cloudless sky unfolds. And the unobstructed sun shines brilliantly on the huge crater.

　I was surprised that the magic power I absorbed was consumed by a third even though it had been recovered, but Ars outside the system exercised such a high-powered top-tier magic. Although I didn't agree with the poor fuel efficiency, I also thought it was a magic worth tinkering with.
　And to the position of being a top-tier class.

(This is going to ruin the reputation of magic...)

　Yes, it may be too early to rank all magic on three levels. These three levels are the evaluation criteria that were proposed more than 50 years ago. If you think about it since then, you could say that they no longer apply to the dramatic advances in magic.
　Ars seems to have a lot of work to do, and he cowers his shoulders.
　If he looked around, he could see some of the rocky area on the surface in part, peeking out in part as if it had been gouged out of the surface. My cheeks loosened somehow at the fact that my guess was correct, that it could possibly be part of a mineral deposit.
　Then he looked around--.

''-----!

　Ars bracing himself for a moment - after a bit, his strengthened body relaxes.

'I can't believe it hasn't disappeared...'

　In the center where the Black Lightning 《Croikazuchi》 had fallen, the demon had died out with a cruel look as if it had been thrown away.
　The dark green body was dyed pitch black without a trace. One arm had been extinguished and was gone from his shoulder, and the horn-like object that had extended behind him had also crumbled away with a sound.

　With that corpse as the last thing, Ars left the place and began to walk to the edge of the crater while lightly rubbing his shoulder as if he was stiff--.



　There was a series of popping sounds behind him as the bubbles came up to the surface of the water.