Death Mage Side Chapter 34 – Everyone’s battles – shape-shifting, transformation, and great transformation

There were two soldiers left behind on one of the watchtowers built along Morksi’s outer wall just in case, and their attention was on the battle between Vandalieu’s side and Hajime Fitun’s side.

“It’s so far away that I can’t see properly, but isn’t that some really crazy battle?” one of them said.

The soldiers had relatively good eyesight but ordinary in every other way, so they were unable to keep up with weapon swings that were too fast. On top of that, they didn’t have any deep knowledge when it came to magic.

As Vandalieu’s ‘Hollow Bullets’ were small and his extended tongue simply looked like a whip-shaped object, they couldn’t confirm much at all. And as Vandalieu’s back was towards the tower, they couldn’t see the Demon King’s eyeball on his forehead.

Thus, they were unable to notice the strangeness of the way Vandalieu and Hajime Fitun were fighting each other, and could only vaguely tell that it was an incredible battle.

“Yeah. The bandits didn’t run away even when a Thunder Dragon charged in… Those bandits might be as strong as B-class adventurers or even better,” said the other soldier.

“What the hell do you mean, bandits that are as strong as B-class adventurers?! Why the hell are they bandits if they’re so strong?!” the first soldier shouted.

It was commonly considered that no bandit would be as powerful as a B-class adventurer. Someone with that level of strength would be able to live a luxurious life by hunting monsters that were just weak enough for them to hunt with ease.

But it wasn’t that people with the strength of a B-class adventurer would never do bandit-like things.

“Aren’t those guys from another Duchy… No, maybe even from Duke Alcrem’s special forces?”

“Y-you fool! You can’t just speculate about things like that!”

“No, I mean, according to the rumors –”

“Shut up!”

Vandalieu had a familiar that looked exactly like the duke’s missing younger sister, and he and Darcia were spreading Vida’s teachings, taking a negative stance against the Church of Alda. There were rumors among some that the current Duke Alcrem did not think well of them.

One of the soldiers seemed to suspect that those rumors might be true, but his companion was quick to stop him.

“They could be Alda extremists who refuse to accept the peaceful faction or assassins sent by Vampires who worship an evil god, couldn’t they! And there’s no point in us trying to use our brains here! Our job is to keep a lookout! Now that I’ve made that clear, shut your mouth and –”

“Hey, look over there!”

“I said, shut your… What the hell is that?!”

The soldiers’ eyes opened wide in shock as they saw mysterious flashes of light appearing in a part of the Devil’s Nest forest on the other side of the field where Vandalieu and Fitun were fighting. Trees were falling and a large amount of dirt and smoke was rising into the sky.

On top of that, the Mountain Giant that had been thrown in Kanako and Melissa’s direction got onto its feet, as if new life had been breathed into it.

“M-monsters fighting each other? But we’d be able to see them from here if they were Dragons or Giants… I-in any case, we need to report that there’s something fighting inside the forest!”

“What about the Giant that got back up?!”

“We’re reporting that too!”

And so, the soldiers’ attention was drawn away from Vandalieu’s battle with Fitun and divided.

Meanwhile, Miles and the ‘Rapid Wind Demon Cutter’ Kizelbyne were battling in the forest, the shockwaves from their attacks causing flashes of light to shine towards the sky and numerous trees to be felled.

“‘Stardust Blow!’” Kizelbyne shouted, his martial skill unleashing a series of rapid stabs with his dagger that had been enchanted with light-attribute magic.

It had been said that his movements were so fast that his arm was impossible to see, and he looked like nothing more than stardust falling from the night sky.

The battle had already dragged out too long, so Miles’ ‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall’ had expired. With a grunt, he tried to defend himself with his extended claws, but he could not block all of Kizelbyne’s dagger attacks. Blood sprayed out from across his entire body.

He staggered backwards a few steps and fell onto his knees.

Miles gave a deep sigh that expelled as much blood as air. “… Impressive. To be honest, I didn’t expect that you’d be this powerful. It seems that I have underestimated you.”

He had transformed partially into a beast with ‘Beast Transformation.’ And yet, even after being forced into a state where anyone would immediately notice he wasn’t a human with one glance, he had been cornered by this foe.

The effects of both his ‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall’ and ‘Transcend Limits’ had expired. His entire body had sustained deep wounds, and his ‘Rapid Regeneration’ was no longer keeping up.

Up until now, that is.

“So, shall we begin round 3?” Miles said, his tone of speech somehow full of life as he returned an empty porcelain bottle to his pocket.

“… Are you immortal?” Kizelbyne muttered, his expression stiffening.

The wounds inflicted by his Orichalcum-coated dagger were deep, but they were healing before his very eyes.

He emptied his 3rd-grade Potion and threw away the empty bottle.

His hair, soaked in sweat, was stuck onto his forehead, and he had several not-so-shallow wounds on his body as well. Though Miles had put some distance between the two, fatigue had accumulated in Kizelbyne’s entire body to the point where he couldn’t give chase and deal a finishing blow.

Like Miles, he needed time to recover as well.

Kizelbyne was far more powerful than Mortor, the confidant of the Pure-breed Vampire Birkyne whom Miles had defeated previously. On top of that, he was a user of light-attribute magic, with experience from his mortal life in hunting not only Kijin and Majin, but Vampires as well.

Using this strength, he had already driven Miles into a corner twice, but… each time, Miles had consumed something that healed his wounds and restored his lost stamina, putting Kizelbyne back at square one.

Kizelbyne was the only one who had accumulated damage and fatigue.

“How many of those advanced Potions has the Demon King given you? I’ve slain countless Vampires before you, and yet you survive my deadly attacks, recover and continue fighting. You’re like an Undead!” he exclaimed.

“Potions? What Boss gave me is something far better than that,” said Miles.

The substance that he had been consuming repeatedly… was Vandalieu’s blood, the main constituent of Blood Potion.

It was no ordinary blood; it was the blood of a Demon King who had become a demi-god. Such blood had even greater restorative properties than if it were turned into Blood Potion, especially for an Abyssal Vampire.

With the ‘Bloodwork’ Skill, it boosted the Attribute Values and stimulated the ‘Rapid Regeneration’ Skill. On top of that, it made the body’s fatigue vanish as if it had never existed at all.

“‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall!’ Third time’s the charm! Die, Vampire hunter!” Miles shouted.

“I don’t recommend that you do this repeatedly within a short period of time though,” chimed in the clone of Vandalieu that had descended upon Miles.

Kizelbyne could no longer conceal his fatigued state.

Fully recovered and with a black light enveloping him for the third time, Miles threw himself at Kizelbyne once more.

The city’s back gate, on the opposite side of the gate that the monsters were advancing upon. The evacuating citizens gathered on the inside were waiting for the evacuation order. This was because if they were to leave too early, it was possible that the monsters would detect the presence of this large number of humans and