Chapter 24: The Emperor and Demi-gods 4 (Part two)

　Exceeding Lute’s expectations, the ice needle pierced Axia’s eyes, who hadn’t taken any action.

　Lute was so stunned by the situation that he lost control of himself. ‘Did I kill her? ’,The worst imaginations welled up in his head.……But, such imagination was drowned out by further astonishment.

“… cuck cuck. Well, well. I was a little surprised.”

　Axia, whose ice needle should have penetrated from her eyes to the back of her head, started talking as if nothing had happened!

“… what? No, eh, huh?”

　Unexpected. It’s such an unexpected sight. No matter how much a magician with the status of a demi-god has been released from the yoke of living beings and is a transcendent person who has deviated from the laws of physics. It’s impossible for her to be unharmed after being pierced through the head. 

Although there are various strange parts compared to normal human beings, the body itself still exists. It is possible to be injured and even die from trauma.…… Even if the difficulty level is remarkably high.

　For that very reason, if the scene in front of my eyes was called a terrible daydream, which I would agree with if I were told it was a bad daydream. Unfortunately, this is reality.

“Are you surprised? The flame is formless, isn’t it? If you apply its form to your own body—this is it.”

　In front of Lute, whose eyes were black and white, Axia grinned and pulled out the ice needles that were penetrating her head.

　Normally, blood would have gushed from the wound, or even before that, it would have been impossible to pull it out properly, and it would have killed her. However, Axia did not appear to have suffered any damage. Furthermore, in the next moment, the wound flickered like a flame—and disappeared. All that remained was her original inhuman beauty.

“…So that’s it? Is it a formless form of attack nullification?”

“That’s what I meant.”

“How much more of a monster could you be!?”

　For Lute, it was a plausible and unbearable expectation, but Axia easily affirmed it.

“… No, it’s true that the magic of a demi-god is like an arbitrary polar region…”

“It can’t be helped, right?”

“That said, I’d be stunned if you achieved serious immortality!!”

“No, no, no. It’s not true immortality. This is also the magic of a demi-god after all. If I were to receive a blow with more divine authority than this magic, I too would die.”

“…I know. The operation of divine authority depends on the will. The body has a very strong consciousness called ‘ego’ even if you are not conscious of it. That’s why the divine authority of the magic that relates to one’s own body is of incomparably high purity.”

“Hmm? Judging from the way you speak, you’re already using magic to tamper with your body, aren’t you? As expected, your comprehension and application skills are quite high.”

　When Axia nods her head in admiration, Lute lets out a big sigh.

　The fact that Axia, who is far more experienced than Lute, does not deny it means that the theory I just mentioned is an undeniable fact. And what this means is that Axia’s seed of immortality, the magic that should be described as a “flaming body,” can finally be shattered with the maximum output of the demi-god status.

“How can you say that without calling it immortal…”

“Well, it doesn’t happen often. Fortunately.”

“I can’t stand to be up and about…..”

　A full-scale battle between demi-gods is no longer a question of whether or not Axia can be killed. After all, without a doubt, one or two countries would be literally wiped out, and if the aftermath or something like that is not done well, a continent-wide disaster could occur. This is not just a matter of national prestige. It is a crisis of the very survival of the human race on the continent.

　No matter how sworn enemies the [Flame god] of the Empire and the [Apostle] of the Republic may be, they are not so crazy as to put the lives of all human beings on the continent in the balance for their own victory or defeat. Since both sides have lived for a long time, there are records that several direct confrontations have occurred, but there is no doubt that neither side is at full power.

　And that inevitably proves that Axia’s immortality cannot be broken.

“… Damn. If it’s all this bullshit, it’s going to be stupid to shoot each other.”

“──I see. Then let’s move on to the third stage, or rather, another second stage.”

　The next moment after Axia muttered this, Lute’s vision was filled with skin like light snow without a single stain.

　──Zugaaaaaan! ! ! And, the space shook with a physical impact that was different from before.

　The cause of this was Axia’s slender legs. It was a phenomenon caused by Axia’s super-fast step, which could not be imagined from her slender appearance, and her aerial spinning kick aimed at Lute’s skull, which closed the distance at a speed that left the sound far behind.

“──What the hell!”

　A hand-to-hand fight that suddenly began. For Lute, it was unexpected, but it was Axia who raised a voice of astonishment.

　It was no wonder. Axia’s kick easily shattered even the earth, and even a human skull was obliterated with a blow that left not even a piece of flesh.

“…Suddenly a hand-to-hand combat. It’s too unexpected.”

　However, Lute, who was supposed to have received such a blow, was in perfect health. Rather, Axia’s leg, which was supposed to have made a hit, was broken and regenerated in flames.

“…..I had assumed that he was tampering with his body. Even excluding that, I thought he wouldn’t die, considering his body as a demi-god and the attenuation caused by his divine authority, but… It’s more than I imagined. What kind of seed is it?”

“I’d like to say that I’m not going to go out of my way to tell you what I’m doing, but you’re also revealing the seeds of immortality. I’ll explain.”

“What? Is that right? I thought I’d teach you the seeds of the current step instead.”

“You want to teach me… I can imagine that one. I’ve also been twisting the concept of freezing and changing it to ‘stopping’ or ‘deceleration’ and so on. I’m sure you’ve done the same thing, Axia-sama, changing it to ‘acceleration’, right?”

“Ooh, that’s correct! Look, bullets fly when gunpowder explodes, right? With that in mind, I made my body look like a bullet.”

“…So that’s it. Seriously, our magic is so random.”

　When told that such super-acceleration was achieved with such a vague recognition, Lute stared into the void with distant eyes.

“So, what was that seed just now?”

“The reason I escaped unscathed is because I have frozen my physical state. To put it simply, my body is “unchanging”. Therefore, no matter what kind of attack I receive, I will not get hurt. Even if I am hit by blows, slashes, and stabs, they don’t work. I think the reason why Lady Axia’s leg shattered is because she kicked me in an unbroken and immobile state, and the impact didn’t escape.”

“What the hell is that!? You’re immortal too!!”

　Axia was astonished to learn that Lute has the same level of immortality as herself. Axia’s honest impression was that she had never imagined that a young man of less than 20 years of age could achieve virtual immortality based on such an idea.

“No, no… I thought you were smart, but I didn’t think you were this far. No, I’m seriously surprised.”

“…as for me,  I’m surprised that a melee combat started all of a sudden, you know? Tell me the reason, seriously.”

“Hmm? Ah, that’s easy. The demi-god, or in this case, Stark, is a monster in melee combat. I thought I’d teach you that and have you come up with your own plan for dealing with it…….It seems that my concern was needless.”

‘Doesn’t the apostle just supercharge the army?’

“No? That’s a threat as well, but for us Lords, he’s more terrifying alone, you know? After all, he will endlessly strengthen himself and rush in.”

“That’s scary.”

　The astonishing information he was given instantly made Lute’s face turn serious. The demi-gods who use magic, which can be said to be the extreme of the “group,” were unexpectedly also the extreme of the “individual. The individual, strengthened without limit by the power of the demi-god, is the most powerful of all, isn’t it?

“Actually, in terms of simple destructive power and attack range, Stark is far below me and Lute-dono. In terms of the trouble he can cause, he’s usually better. If it weren’t for the immortality of the flame, I’d have been killed by now.”

“Scary.”

“Well, if he gets a serious blow from me, he won’t get away with it, so I guess we’re even.”

“So scary.”

　It seems that history has been formed as a result of the chemistry of compatibility in various ways.  If the chemistry had been even a little bit different, the history of the continent would have been different. It may have had an effect on Lute’s birth in a roundabout way, so in that sense, maybe we should be grateful for the relationship between the two demi-gods.

　As Lute was pondering his fate, Axia suddenly clapped her hands loudly.

“Mm! That’s right! I thought I’d teach you how to fight as a demi-god and how to fight Stark, but it seems like you’re doing better than I expected, so let’s just get this over for the time being!”

“…… I thought you suddenly started a melee combat, but this is the end of it. You’re really abrupt, aren’t you?”

“Kakakka! It’s often said that I’m unconventional!…Well, even without that, I’m starting to feel sorry for the rest of them.”

“……Oh”

　Axia’s mutterings unintentionally made Lute sound convinced.

　When I glanced at the dignitaries again, I saw that they were barely able to stand. Certainly, if you see this scene, it may be unavoidable to say that it’s about time to wrap up. …Well, it’s not like Lute wants to extend it. It’s just not clear.

　The other people in the throne room were too pathetic for such very personal feelings to take precedence.

“… Well, I was shown a lot of interesting things, and it was also a good experience. So I guess that’s good.”

“Umu. It would be helpful if you felt that way.”

　With that, the abrupt start of Axia’s guidance on the battle against demi-gods… the mock battle ended.

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