Chapter 177: Zodiac Small Key

Mixed forces of revolutionary army and knights. A mixed army of monsters and humans.

Under the sun, whose surface is hidden by the total eclipse, the two armies clash.

The number of soldiers of the latter army is greater than that of the former, but the morale of the former is superior.

Now, these two armies are fighting back and forth, and neither side is willing to give in to the other.

"Goshujin-sama—, we're here!"

"Zenon-bocchama—!"

Urza and Levienna came running toward me while breaking through the fighting soldiers.

My comrades, who had just pulled out of the revolutionary army, came to me.

"Well done! You did a good job!"

"Hehehe~, Goshujin-sama praised me!"

"I did what a servant of the Baskerville family should do. I'm also glad to hear that Bocchama is safe and sound."

Urza smiles shyly at his master's compliment.

Levienna also smiles clearly, but she cannot hide her joy as her lips quiver.

"I'm going to kill the leader of the enemy. Follow me!"

"I understand! Goshujin-sama's enemies must be slain, desu~no!"

"Yes, I've had enough of traveling in the desert... Let's settle this!"

With two companions behind him, I head back to the 'Altar of the Snake God.'

As we headed, monsters and brainwashed soldiers were coming toward us as well, but they were all low-level enemies.

So, we cut them off by force and made our way to the altar.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!?"

"...!"

But then enemy reinforcements appeared.

From an unexpected direction, something huge appears beneath the desert sand and bites one of our soldiers.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!?"

"A-A monsterrrr!?"

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!'

"Is that... a sandworm!?"

What jumped out from under the sand was a monster called a Sandworm.

It is a huge worm, about 30 meters long, with a huge mouth at its tip, which it uses to catch soldiers and chew them to bits.

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!'

In addition, a second sandworm pops out of the sand.

It attacks and preys only on the soldiers on our side. From their looks, these monsters should not be wild monsters that just happen to appear. They must be used by Rujanaga.

More and more sandworms appear from the ground until five of them finally appear.

"Tsk... what a troublesome monster!"

I clicked my tongue sharply.

Sandworms, along with the Falcon Pharaoh, are among the most powerful monsters in the desert.

They are encountered as small fry, but they are as strong as the boss monsters in the game's later stages.

"If they are left alone, all the soldiers on our side will be wiped out. On the other hand, it's too much trouble for us to deal with them."

It is possible to defeat the sandworms.

However, it would consume too much time and energy, and we might miss Rujanaga.

Although Rujanaga would stay where he was now to hold off the total solar eclipse... if he knew he could not get Priestess back, he would retreat without hesitation.

"What are we going to do, Goshujin-sama? Are we going to fight!?"

"We don't have time to deal with such a big thing. Then... there's only one way."

I pulled out an item from my pocket.

Like the feather of Horus, it was one of the rewards for clearing the king's tomb. It was a golden jade seal, in other words, a seal.

"Still, a trump card should be reserved. So, is this the right time to use 'Zodiac Small Key'?"

However, I decided to take out the jade seal and throw it forward.

The golden jade seal shatters, the ground glows red, and a magic circle appears.

Immediately, a huge amount of magic power is released from the magic circle with geometric patterns, and a black shadow appears in the center of the magic circle.

"Appear, Demon of hell! Destroy the enemy!"

A figure emerges from the bright red magic circle.

She had long red hair, ruby pupils, and a black dress with an intricate lace design.

This so-called "Gothic Lolita" outfit was worn by this summoned girl, who was about the age of an elementary school student.

She was a mysterious girl in a flashy outfit, but... in her right hand, she held a huge weapon.

The weapon was jet black and did not reflect light. It was a huge scythe as big as her height.

"......"

Now, the little girl, who is holding the Scythe of the god of death called "Death Scythe," is staring at me silently from inside the magic circle.

At the same time, Urza and Levienna are startled by the strange little girl who appears and pulls me back.

"٩(๑`^´๑)۶... A loli girl just like Urza!? I didn't expect such a powerful enemy, desu~no!"

"Zenon-bocchama, what was that item you just threw...?"

"...What a surprise. I think I've summoned a terrible thing."

Without answering their questions, I admire the strength of my luck.

The item I had just used - the 'Zodiac Small Key' was an item with the power to summon demon boss monsters.

Although disposable and broken after one use... it can summon powerful monsters and use them as allied characters until the end of the battle.

There are 72 demon monsters that can be summoned. Which of them will be summoned is random.

Some of them are as weak as slimes, so there is a strong element of randomness in the game, but this time, I drew the strongest demon with extraordinary power.

Her adorable appearance has made her a firm favorite among players. Many fans have saved and reloaded hundreds of times to meet her.

"The Grand Duke of Hell, Miura Agares. I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Hmm..."

The red-haired girl in the gothic-lolita outfit looks at me with sleepy eyes.

Her eyes seemed to be urging me to give her an order quickly, but then her eyes suddenly widened.

"............Cute."

"Hmm?"

"Cute...... Like."

When she says "cute"... is she talking about me?

Well, it seems that's right. Because Miura walked up to me holding the Scythe and she tried to hug me. But Urza stands in front of me, blocking her path.

"Piss off! Urza won't let you near Goshujin-sama, desu~no!"

"Hmm... Get out of the way."

"I won't move! Urza is the only Loli girl who gets Goshujin-sama's favor, desu~no! I won't give up my chair to some random guest character, desu~no!"

"٩(๑`^´๑)۶..."

Urza and Miura glared at each other head-on.

Urza, glaring with eyes of fire, is holding a spiked kanabō, and Miura, glaring with eyes of extreme cold, is holding the Scythe of the god of death.

The two loli girls with their dangerous weapons sparked their gazes.

"Aaaaaaahhhh! I'm going to be eatennnnnnn!!!!"

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

"Hey, this is no time to fight! We don't have time for this!"

I break in between the loli girls, who look like they're about to start killing each other.

"Ahh!"

"Hmm..."

"She's on our side, Urza! And Grand Duke, Miura Agares. You're supposed to be working for me with the key. You will do as I command! Destroy the enemy here. The monsters and the brainwashed humans!"

"......."

Miura nodded. She seems to be obeying my orders.

Now, after turning around in her gothic-lolita dress, she raises her Scythe at the sandworms chewing up the humans.

"Hmm..."

The next moment, a gust of wind blew through the air.

The head of the sandworm is severed in an instant, and Miura, who had been near the sandworm a moment ago, moves to the other side of the slain sandworm.

When making this attack, not a single movement was visible. It was as if she had moved instantaneously.

Miura was in a position to swing the Scythe, and I knew that she was the one who had decapitated the sandworm.

"She's fast, desu~no!?"

"No... not fast. But Miura's attack is unavoidable, even for me."

I sighed, thinking once again that I had just summoned a monster.

Well, Miura has a special ability. It was what made her the strongest summoned demon.

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

"Zenon-bocchama, there's a new one! There's another sandworm!"

Levienna shouts in panic.

But I keep my cool and turn on my heel.

"No problem. Let's leave this to Miura and go kill Rujanaga."

"But... isn't it too much to ask her to do it alone?"

"I told you it's no problem... she's one of the most powerful demons ever summoned. She's the second highest ranked demon in the order."

The Grand Duke of the Demons, Miura Agares.

The item to summon her is only available in additional scenarios, so I have not tried it... but she is the most powerful summoned demon, rumored by players to be stronger than the Demon King.

So, no matter how powerful a monster she was, they were no match against her.

"Let's go, don't let Rujanaga escape!"

"I understand!"

"Yes, desu~no!"

Now, I lead Levienna and Urza to the 'Altar of the Snake God.'

Miura, who had remained behind, looked at me with interest as I ran.

* * *

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

I, Zenon Baskerville, and two of my friends run off.

At the same time, sandworms rush toward Miura.

One is down, but there are still four Sandworms left.

Perhaps instinctively deciding that Miura is the biggest threat, the sandworms all rush to bite Miura.

".........So cute, seriously, so cute."

But Miura could care less about the sandworms. She stares at Zenon Baskerville's back, not even evading the sandworm.

To the eyes of the demon, who has a unique sensibility, Zenon Baskerville's evil face looks like a ridiculously beautiful boy.

"......"

Miura puts her hand on her chest, and her heart is beating fast.

Her face is hot. Her chest aches. And yet her heart is so light that it wants to leap out. Just thinking of Zenon's face fills her with happiness.

Miura must have lived for tens of thousands of years, but this is the first time in her life that she has ever felt this way.

"Like... cute... like..."

'GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

As Miura clutches her chest and is in her own world... the sandworm's mouth is about to close in on her.

And facing the huge mouth about to swallow her, Miura finally starts to move.

"Hmm... Time Stop!"

Instantly, the world comes to a halt.

The four sandworms stop moving. It is as if they are frozen.

Time Stop, a power that is considered the most powerful in all manga and anime.

This is the ability of the demon Grand Duke Miura Agares.

"Hmm..."

In the stopped time, Miura dashes with her Death Scythe.

The four sandworms are severed in half, and their huge bodies fall to the desert.

As time begins to move again, purple bodily fluids flow from the remains of the Sandworms, which had died before they had even had time to scream out their demise.

"Hmm..."

Miura nods in satisfaction and looks for her next prey.

There seem to be two forces at play here... but Miura does not understand which side Zenon is on.

There is a way to cut off all their heads... but if she kills his allies, Zenon might scold him.

Just the thought of being hated by the man she just fell in love with at first sight is enough to make her heart burst.

"Hmm... Decided..."

For now, let's just kill the monsters and leave the humans behind.

After making this decision, Miura raises her Death Scythe for the lovely master.