If we only thought of victory, there would have been other strategies.
　Or rather, protruding 【Black Mage】, who is essentially a support role, is not a very clever strategy.

　Even so, I still challenged him to a one-on-one battle with 【Flame Manipulator】Aim-san.
　No, I complied (...)

　It was gratitude and willpower.
　She somehow realized. The power of the master in me.

　And then she chose not to talk about it and to keep quiet even though she would have questions about it.
　Even if it was not out of concern for me, but out of gratitude and respect for my mentor, it was still a help.

　And she said, "I'll find out in a fight.
　We will find out in battle, she said.

　What?　There's no need to ask.
　I don't need to ask if the strongest Demon King is worthy of my attention.

　Even I know that. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but since I found out that my master is the previous monarch of the Demon King's Castle, I've been feeling this way even more strongly.
　Why did Master give his horns to a child from the middle of nowhere with not a shred of talent?

　When I think about it, it's strange. I was happy that he accepted me as an apprentice, but I was also happy that he accepted me.
　It was nothing for my master.

　Still, I'm his disciple, so I can't let anyone tell me that.

　--You can't let them say that it was a mistake to let your apprentice take over the corner, as if it was a mistake for your master to choose.

　Of course, I didn't jump in without a chance to win.

　My holy sword and Aime's staff collide.

　The beautiful demoness laughed fiercely as she couldn't help but look forward to the clash that followed.
　I, reflected in her eyes, unconsciously lifted the edges of my mouth as well.

　I slid the blade on my staff.
　The wand doesn't have a flange, so if the blade ran like this, Aime's fingers would fall off.

　She flicks the holy sword to push the entire staff as quickly as possible and retreats slightly.
　At the same time, the giant snake and fire-clad cat she's using attacked me - and they didn't come.

''Black magic--!

　Aym-san, who noticed it a moment too late, twisted her expression.
　That's right, those two bodies agilely reversed and attacked their original master, Aym-san.

　Resistance (Resist) is a technique that prevents others from interfering with magic power by releasing magic power from one's entire body.
　Just like in the tag tournament qualifier I participated in with 【Ginrei's Hero】Nicola-san, my black magic will even break through 【Brave Man】's resistance (resist) if I'm not careful.

　Aside from the players who recognize me personally, I don't think the two sub-beasts being used by Aime-san would deploy their magic power on the spur of the moment.

　In fact, the black magic succeeded.
　The serpent and the cat, who have been disoriented from identifying their friend and foe, attack the Lord with their fangs and flames.

　Aime-san, who retreated on the premise of supporting the two bodies, is not yet in a position to take advantage of this opening--.

''Hey.''

　It was a spear of fire.
　Two sub-beasts were pierced by the flaming spear and scattered with particles.

　It's not Aym-san.
　It was [Flame Spearman] Amie-san.

"You wouldn't want to bite your owner, would you?

　Amie-san, who is in the form of a human-sized flame, doesn't even look at us.
　He himself is in the middle of a battle with [Destroyer] Fran-san.

　Does he have the luxury of helping her while he is fighting her? Or, even if he didn't have the time, he couldn't help but intervene. Looking at where Fran-san's fist pierced him immediately afterwards, is it the latter?

''........''

No response, right?　After all, it's fire.

If you're alive, you're broken.

You're a scary little guy.

　I've missed the mark, but it doesn't change what I'm going to do.
　I myself will be fleshed out with her again.

　The basics of fighting against a wizard is to get in close anyway.
　If you're far enough away, you'll be left shot at.

　Somehow, I'll get close and interrupt the process of 'concocting magic power, constructing magic, and releasing it', while directly exploiting her low combat ability to defeat her.

'I can see you're thinking and moving. But--

　However, there are exceptions.
　The 【Brave man】 who combines the elements of 【Wizard】 and 【Warrior】 and a witch who is born with high physical ability and magical power.

　Even if my 【Position(Job)】 is 【Wizard】, Aime's physical abilities are not inferior to that of my 【Black Mage】.

　A flash of my side-napper is blocked by her staff.
　However, this is not a failure.

　Aime-san is a famous demon, and I know her well.
　Her maximum firepower is one of the best in the industry.
　If it were limited to the fire attribute, she would be in the top ten.

　However, she is not a blessing holder.

　The deepest depths of the fire spirit body that Fenix has contracted, the 'Flame of the Gods', will burn out without question if it's from this world, but the only thing it won't do is burn the contractor itself.
　His fire doesn't hurt him.

　It is also a blessing of the spirit.
　A person without this would be morosely affected by their own magic.

　In other words, if she uses a magic that damages me at this close range, she will also be damaged.
　Maintaining close range is itself a way to block her power.

　And while fighting at this distance, she constantly consumes a large amount of magic power through resistance (resist).
　It's because that's the only way to prevent my black magic.

''I can't shake it.......I see, it looks like you only have to set up a close fight.

　Eim has been trying to keep his distance since earlier, but it's not working.

　I'm not the only teacher.
　I also have a sword master named [Reaper Knight] Fulkas.

　With the skills she taught me and the 'observational skills' she approved of, it's possible to maintain a close fight with someone who isn't a warrior in their own right.
　There is no need to overwhelm anything.

　Of course, I don't have the talent for swords, so this move can only be achieved by thorough observation of the enemy - studying the battle footage of Aym-san's battle.

''You're a studious person. I like kids like that.

　She seems to be aware that her movements are being read, too.

'Thank you,'

　If she doesn't like the stalemate, she should try to force a breakthrough.
　Amie-san and her subordinates are both excellent, but we have a [Lake Brave] here.

　A brave man with overwhelming strength who won't allow himself to be reckoned with a young boy of his age.
　Each of the other three also have more endurance than me.

　Spending so much time on just me is a disadvantage in a fight between parties.
　I'm sure they'll make a move.
　If you can handle that...

"A-ha-ha!

　The black chick, Dark, who had been watching quietly until then, laughed happily.

　It was because Aime-san had launched a massive fire-attribute magic, ready to self-destruct.

　His vision turned red.

''Reme-san...!

It's another flamboyant thing you've done.

　I thought I heard Wraith-kun's worried voice and Amie-san's dismayed voice.

　--expected.

　The sub-beast has already left, and under her direction, the four subordinates are engaged with the enemy.
　If you adjust the power, only [Black Mage] Leme will be the one who gets involved even if he self-destructs.
　And in addition to being a mage myself, I can choose the timing of activation.
　And the enemy is a human (normal).
　So the chances of my survival are higher.

''It's pretty interesting, but it wasn't as much as my partner imagined.

　It's been proven in the fight against Fenix that high density and high purity magic power can offset magic.
　I used the magic power of the horns back then, but now I have the holy sword.
　If I get the timing right, I can prevent it from happening.

　The paved ground has been rolled up, the nearby coffee shop has collapsed, and flames and smoke are enveloping the surroundings.
　Even this wouldn't be at maximum power.

　It seems to be a blow that was kept to a level that didn't involve my friends.
　Even so, a direct hit would have instantly obliterated my body.

　The figure of a person peeks out from the smoke gap.
　It's Aym-san.

　Her dress is charred and her body is burned by her own magic.
　Still, she doesn't let go of her wand, and knowing from her magical reaction that I'm still alive, she immediately builds her magic again.

''Even considering that I passed through the holy sword, it's a tremendous magic power. What's frightening is the depth of your magic control and reading.

　Yes. It's not enough to just have magic power.
　Just as resistance (resist) is a technology that constantly releases magical power, it is very difficult to keep magical power away from your body as magical power.

　If you don't turn it into a form of magic, it will quickly dissolve into the world and disappear.
　Even with high-density and high-purity magic power, that basis doesn't change much.

　The act of preventing magic with that magic power is like resisting (resisting) the magic power passed through the holy sword.
　It's impossible to resist from the point of view of magic consumption and speed.

　You'd have to deploy it a moment before the enemy attacked you, or at least a few seconds before the enemy attacked you, or your magic power would be exhausted immediately.
　The technology required is high and the timing is severe.

That's why it's not something that can be done more than once...!

　That's right.
　The magic power I create is flowing into the Holy Sword.
　As long as I'm using my own magical organ, it's not inexhaustible.

　But--.

　She points her staff towards me and creates a giant fireball.
　Considering the distance between me and Aym-san and the speed and size of the magic, I can't avoid it in time.
　And also to prevent it.

　As expected of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of the "Southern Demon Castle" to be able to do so much right after such an attack.

　Yeah, but...

"My partner is much faster than me.

　I run towards her.
　Her fireball passes by me (,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,).

"N-

　She herself would be most surprised.
　Because someone as good as [Flame Manipulator] Aym would never fail in this situation.

　If he still failed, the reason was others.
　For example, 【Black Mage】's black magic, for example.

　Her wand is flicked off. With her burned arm, it's impossible to defend against it until just now.
　With the subsequent thrust, the holy sword pierces her chest.

''What on earth.......when?''

It is.

That's when Mr. I.M.'s magic was unleashed.

　Her eyes widen in astonishment.

'--no way,'

　Aime cut his resistance (resist) just before he was about to self-destruct.
　It is extremely difficult to pair another magic while releasing a large amount of magic power from his entire body.

　It's like manipulating two pens with one hand and writing letters at the same time.
　So I stepped on the high possibility that the resistance (resist) would be released.

　I just concocted and applied a magic to strike the moment.

　Her spatial awareness ability was distorted by the 'confusion' and she aimed at my position as being more right than it really was.
　The magic flew towards her wrong aim.

'It's no wonder you couldn't predict it. What you didn't do, your partner did. Releasing magic at the optimal time while simultaneously activating magic at the optimal time. It's amazing.''

　Normally, I should be able to show how well I can handle the power my master gave me.
　But at least now, I can't and won't do that.

　So at least I've shown it in my own way.
　I learned a lot of things from that man - I'm a [Black Mage], he said.
　Because the horns aren't the only thing my master gave me.

　Just before he was about to leave, Aime muttered.



　That's the kind of word that acknowledges my power.
　At the very least, it means that I'm not deemed unqualified to be that person's disciple.

''........Thank you.''

　Her body turns into magical particles.

''Winning without letting the opponent give it their all. It's the [Black Mage] way of winning, isn't it?

　Yes, it's great to fight each other to the best of your ability, of course, but that's not the only way to fight.
　Because it's a serious battle, it's also important to exploit the enemy's disadvantage in your favor.
　That's what black magic itself is all about.

　It's the 【Black Mage】 who forces the enemy to fight at a disadvantage and makes his friends fight to their advantage.

　As soon as I allowed the first approach, most of Aime's best magic was blocked.
　As for me, I can handle black magic regardless of the distance.

　I guess she had her own thoughts about it, since she was dealing with [Demon King] Lucifer's successor.
　I managed to win this time, but I don't think that was all of her power.

　Looking back at her companions, it seemed that the decision was close to being settled over there as well.