Feeling the Demon Lord guy move to the World Tree through a portal gun, I entrusted Allen with wrapping up the battle and immediately flew toward the World Tree with Master Irene and Alicia.
“If we keep going like this, we’re gonna be late! Use my magic to fly ahead!!!”
“W-What about Alicia!?”
“I’ll rest up and get there somehow!!”
Noticing the lack of speed, Alicia transferred some of her magic to me, and with that power, I picked up the Master and flew at full speed to the western city of Tex, where the roots of the World Tree lay.
Instead of taking a day by foot, we arrived in just one hour. However, the city was already ablaze.
“Ah… no!!! The city!!! The World Tree!!!”
“Dammit!!!!”
The demons were wreaking havoc, and the city was in complete chaos.
But even more urgent was the World Tree.
I flew with the Master toward the roots of the World Tree, feeling the Demon Lord’s presence there.
It looked like the World Tree had already become tainted, with a purplish hue, alongside the fully restored Demon Lord.
“Looks like you showed up just in time, human!!”
“………”
The Demon Lord was covered in blood, presumably from slaughtering the soldiers protecting the World Tree.
He caressed the corrupted World Tree and spoke.
“Isn’t it hilarious!? I heard the roots of the World Tree connect all time and space to make the best choice to protect life on the surface. And look at this! Is this rotting mess really the best future the World Tree could choose? Isn’t it funny!?”
“………”
“This is boring if I’m the only one talking. What’s your name? Human!”
“Karuga.”
I introduced myself as Karuga, wearing his face.
The Demon Lord grimaced and replied.
“Not the name of the face changed by magic, but your true name of the soul!”
“…Yuren.”
The Demon Lord now seemed serious, with an overwhelming aura of magic.
Seeing no one else around but the Master, I dropped my transformation spell.
The Demon Lord, seeing me, burst into a maniacal laugh like the Joker from a movie.
“Yuren, huh!? Very well, Yuren, considered the greatest enemy of the surface invasion, I’ll show you my true form as a sign of respect. Fighting you will be such amusing entertainment!!”
At that moment, the Demon Lord’s body doubled in size, sprouting two additional arms.
This was Phase 2 of the final boss battle.
I thought it wouldn’t be over quickly, but to think I’d end up fighting a monster like this, what a pain!
“Time for the final festival!!! Yuren!!”
Pew! Pew! Pew!
The transformed Demon Lord began unleashing purple magic projectiles from its four arms, far beyond what it had done before.
The Master and I activated flying and defensive spells, starting to flee.
This situation was grim.
There were no tools like the portal gun.
We had to beat the transformed Demon Lord purely with magic, and it had doubled in power after transforming into Phase 2, becoming an unstoppable monster.
If this became a war of attrition, defeat was a certainty for the Master and me.
In the end, I decided to go all in.
“Master! Please buy me 10 seconds!”
“What are you planning!?”
“I’m going to use Barrier Magic.”
“Barrier Magic!? That’s too dangerous!!”
『Barrier Magic』
This was known as an ultimate spell, where the caster creates a small world favorable to them in a void and lures the enemy into battle within it.
While the caster gains god-like abilities in that world temporarily, it is said to be a magic of certain victory.
It sounds great, but it has clear downsides.
It consumes an enormous amount of magic, and after using it, the caster becomes unable to use magic. If multiple people invoke it simultaneously, a power struggle for dominance occurs, risking everything.
If you lose the power struggle, you become exposed in your opponent’s barrier without any magic or defense, leading to certain death.
“I have no other choice if I want to stomp that Demon Lord quickly. Just a moment, please!!”
“…Understood!! I believe in you, Yuren!!”
Irene stood before Yuren, activating defensive magic at full power while I began chanting with my hands clasped.
Seeing this, the Demon Lord realized what I was up to.
“Interesting!! Show me!! Human Barrier Magic!!! I’ll show you Demon Barrier Magic!!”
The Demon Lord also clasped his hands and began chanting Barrier Magic.
After a long yet short 10 seconds, Yuren and the Demon Lord glared at each other.
“『Obigiz(Barrier Magic)』”
“■ ■ ■ ■ ■ — !”
As both incantations finished, the black space expanded and began to mix violently.
The Demon Lord [Agareth] did not underestimate Yuren at all.
However, he was completely confident that he would win this barrier duel.
Inside him lay the essence of demon magic.
Additionally, he held at least double the amount of magic power compared to Yuren.
Thus, it was only natural that he believed he would win.
He simply felt a twinge of sadness at the end of this delightful festival approaching.
While waiting for his barrier landscape to manifest, the Demon Lord suddenly found himself in a massive coliseum.
“What… is this?”
“Looks like your expression has changed for the first time.”
The Demon Lord stood alone at the center of the gigantic coliseum.
Somewhere amid the chaos, Yuren and Irene had transported to the coliseum’s battleground.
Seeing the disoriented Demon Lord, Yuren spoke calmly.
“You see, since I started game development five years ago, I’ve averaged using 『Voyeur(Void Magic)』 thirty times a day, all to create another world within a barrier.”
The basic element of creating the world,『Obigiz(Barrier Magic)』, stemmed from that.
Since starting game development, Yuren had made a world with that void magic thirty times a day.
Yuren evaluated himself coldly, believing this to be his one true exceptional skill.
Yuren believed he could win against even a god of magic in a barrier duel.
“I don’t know what kind of Demon Lord you are, but thanks for accepting the challenge in the barrier duel. As a reward, I’ll present you with the entertainment you love.”
It is said the world within the barrier reflects the caster’s heart.
So, what kind of place would Yuren’s projected heart create?
As the lights flickered on in the coliseum’s audience area, the Demon Lord could see Yuren’s world unfold before him.
There were countless audience members present.
Among them was the mustached guy, 『Super Thomas』.
Martial artists from 『Legend Fighter』, including Alicia, Ryo, Kan, Blanc, and Curie.
The protagonist group from 『Eternal Fantasy』, including Sky, Tina, Aerith, and even Sephiroth.
A futuristic armored guy holding a shotgun and chainsaw; it was 『Dune』.
There were workers from 『Sim City』, digging busily.
The heroic units from 『Galaxy Craft』, including Terra, Zergs, and Protoss.
The cute Pikachu and other capsule monsters from 『Capsule Monster』.
Lurking in the background were hunters from 『Dragon Hunter』, carrying massive greatswords.
Gang members from 『Triad』 and dancers from 『Jump』 were also there, not wanting to be forgotten.
Suddenly—
The gigantic armored figure of the Magic Armor Knight,『Metal Core』, hovered outside the coliseum, glaring at the Demon Lord.
“What… what are these!?”
Feeling the bloodlust emanating from numerous diverse characters, the Demon Lord was taken aback, trembling back, and Yuren addressed him.
“Alright then— Game Start!”
The moment Yuren finished speaking, a flood of characters in the audience surged toward the Demon Lord.
『Doot de doot! Doot di doo♪ Doot de doodley doo♫ 』
Blocks started raining down from the air towards the Demon Lord.
Panicking, the Demon Lord began dodging the blocks and started hurling magic blasts toward the surrounding characters.
But he couldn’t stop the mustached guy who was rushing in with a shining body.
“YAHOO! Whoo~ Yippee! Ha! Yahoo!”
The mustached man, sparkling after consuming stars, chewed through the magic projectiles and lunged at the Demon Lord with an uppercut.
“YAHOO!!!!”
WHAM!!
The Demon Lord almost lost consciousness from the unbelievable impact, struggling to hold on as the onslaught had only just begun.
Ryo, Kan, Blanc, Curie, and other martial artists had surrounded the Demon Lord and unleashed their ultimate moves.
“Adoken!!”
“Waruyugen!!”
“Barbecue!!!”
KRAK! THUD! KA-BOOM!!
Coughing up blood, the Demon Lord felt a real threat to his life for the first time as the martial artists’ ultimate moves sent him flying backward.
Normally, losing a barrier duel meant having your magic reduced to zero and getting beaten to death, but the Demon Lord had a final trump card.
His arms sprouted to six, and another horn emerged as he regained his power.
Phase 3 of awakening.
The replenished Demon Lord launched his counter-attack.
“You damn trash!!! Get crushed!!!”
BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! ZZZZT!!!
Dozens of magic projectiles fired from the Demon Lord.
The defense team scrambled to react.
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
“BARRIER!!!”
“Blessing of Healing to everyone!”
Workers from Sim City created walls, while Tina from Eternal Fantasy cast defensive magic.
Seeing the injured characters, Aerith unleashed her limit break healing blessings to restore everyone’s health.
Once the Demon Lord’s barrage ended, the second assault team stepped up.
“This will be the last time we fight together!!!”
“Hmph… not bad.”
Blonde-haired Sky wielding a great sword and silver-haired Sephiroth with a massive sword charged toward the Demon Lord.
Thanks to the barrier’s effect, their limit break gauge was fully charged, and they activated their limit moves.
“Ultimate Martial Arts Technique!!!”
“Eight Extremes One Slash!!!!”
SWISH! SWISH! WHOOSH!!
YOW! YOW! YOW! SLASH! THUD! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The Demon Lord’s entire body was slashed as the two’s attacks cut off all six of his arms.
The severed pieces of the Demon Lord seemed to gain a will of their own, transforming into monster forms as they attempted to attack the characters, but their small foes were already preparing for their counter.
“PIKA—–CHUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
With a thunderbolt of 100,000 volts, Pikachu and the capsule monsters obliterated the Demon Lord’s severed parts into dust.
Unable to endure any longer, the Demon Lord poured all his power into creating a thick shield.
Seeing that, the silent hunter with a great sword and the demon hunter with a shotgun stepped forward.
“……………”
“…………”
They said nothing.
They were just doing their jobs.
CLICK! BANG!! CLICK! BANG!! CLICK! BANG!!
The charge shots of the shotgun and great sword dismantled the Demon Lord’s shield entirely.
The Demon Lord, having seemingly exhausted all his magic from the constant attacks, shrank back into the form he had when first seen.
Trembling as if gripped by fear, he could no longer laugh, shouting at Yuren.
“Yuren… who are you……… what kind of being are you with this incredible power!?”
“Who am I, you ask?”
Yuren raised his hand.
Characters who hadn’t participated in the fight, including Terra, Zergs, Protoss, the Magic Armor Knight, and the triad gang prepared to attack.
Those already engaged again gathered their energy, preparing for a second assault.
Looking at the numerous game characters he had created in this world, Yuren addressed the Demon Lord.
“I am a 『Isekai Game Developer』.”
Yuren lowered his hand.
All characters unleashed their attacks at the Demon Lord, leading him to his annihilation.
The Demon Lord, who loved 『entertainment』, was ultimately erased by the power of the 『game』.
