Kuro no Maou

On my side, Lily, in her small form, is sleeping while making *suusuu*, lovely sleeping breathing sounds.

There is the presence of a single person right outside, Fiona has been doing the night watch.

「......Dream, eh」

With somewhat absent-minded head, I mutter that.

But, I soon deny the words in my heart. Meeting with Mia in a black throne room, I remember that very clearly as if it occurred just right now. In that case, I will be able to use ‘power of divine protection’ now. However, let’s get outside first, if the power turns out to be explosion type, it would be a catastrophic.

Without waking up Lily, I swiftly get out of tent,

「Good Morning, Kurono-san」

With sun of dawn at her back, Fiona does a morning greeting. Of course, she wasn’t in her underwear form, but her normal witch clothes.

「Yeah, morning」

Her white body had been vividly ingrained in my brain, I, feeling embarrassed, try to greet like normally. I intentionally turn away my eyes from Fiona and survey the surroundings.

The morning sun illuminated the surroundings, the traces of fight last night are clearly visible. By setting up tent in this vacant land, we were able to pass the night and take rest too.

Either chasing the Wrath-Pun or going down the mountain, both cannot be done unless the sun is up.

「Are you still injured?」

I cannot keep on ignoring Fiona all the time, so I bring up a safe topic.

「Eh, Yes......It is fine, now......」

But, the person who showed unexpected reaction was Fiona, for some reason she blushed and turned away. For some reason, no, I get it, after all the person who must have felt embarrassed upon being stared in underwear form was Fiona.

Wait, or rather, I even watched her embarrassing form and cut her―― c, cut her, does the injury lead to that, responsibility, etc cetera!?

「I, I see, it’s good if you’re fine」

While letting a stream of cold sweat running inside my mind, I was only able to return those safe words, truly, I am a good-for-nothing. Well, I wouldn’t let Fiona do the night guard, even if it has only been an hour since we changed the turns.

Though I cut deep, but as expected of miracle drug, it healed the injury as if it didn’t exist, now just if her lost blood is recovered, she would return to her normal healthy condition.

That’s right, there should be no injury left.

「Fiona, thanks, if not for your cleverness, we would’ve been annihilated」

「At that time, I did what I could have」

She returned to her sleepy expression, and said as if it wasn’t much of a thing. Hum, looks like the thing about injury was just me being paranoiac.

Setting it aside, as for my true feelings,

「But, people don’t say ‘cut me’ so easily, yet you said it means you trust me that much, thinking that, I’m, that, happy」

It surely, isn’t my conceit, if she didn’t trust me she wouldn’t have even said that.

「No, I am too am happy for being helpful to Kurono-san」

Fiona smiled saying that, the reason I wasn’t able to look straight in her eyes, was not only the bright sun behind her.

Her smile was more fascinating compared to normal girl of marriageable age, seeing that I felt startled. Her golden eyes looking a bit feverish and excited, is certainly my imagination.

「Ah, that’s right, because we defeated that guy, I am now able to use the power of divine protection」

Though it might be too much forced and obvious, but as to forget the presence of suspicious Fiona, I opened up a new topic.

「Divine Protection, is it? Now that I think, you did say it might be a trial」

Though normally if I tell that I met god in dreams and got hand over the divine protection, they will think I went insane, but I frankly tell everything to Fiona, who knows the situation from before.

I tell her about the things that happened in the dream quite vaguely,

「I see, conversing with god in dreams is a common phenomenon」

And she easily accepted it.

In this world with magic, the phenomena of getting oracles via dreams also exists.

「The jewel has gone from the right hand of Wrath-Pun, so it must be true」

I took out the only loot, the right hand of Wrath-Pun from the『Shadow Gate』only to find the crimson jewel on the back of its hand gone spotlessly.

Mia said, it would fetch me a high price......well whatever, what’s lost is lost.

Let’s pray that the other parts of right hand, the fur, bones and stuff become good materials.

「So, what is the power of divine protection you received, Kurono-san」

「I will be checking it right now」

I’m looking forward to it, Fiona said that with an expressionless face saying she’s not so much looking forward to it, well this is normal, she truly might be looking forward to it. Fiona’s expression doesn’t change but her feelings are truly great, my prediction when I first met her was not wrong.

「Well then, here I go――」

While Fiona looked over me from back, I increase my concentration in the same when I use black magic. According to Mia, the power of divine protection is now a part of my power, so there’s no way I wouldn’t be able to understand it.

「――This eh」

Sure enough, I was able to grasp that feeling pretty fast.

That was the feeling I hadn’t felt till now, an unknown power. However, it is a part of my own power, I could use the same way I use black magical power that is present within my body. No, this is made with black magical power as the source, it would be better to say that it’s nature changed and it『Materialised』in my body.

And I know about this ‘power’.

「『Black Flames』」

I hold out my right arm, and blazing jet-black flames rise out of my palm. My right hand, now covered in black flames from the tip of finger to shoulders, resemble the Wrath-Pun from last night.

No, in truth, I am able to control these black flames made from black magical energy, just like Wrath-Pun.

「Err, let’s go with Fireball」

With the newly gained flame of different nature, I immediately mix the magic and logic to control and use it. The structure of magic sequence is simple, after all I just need to make it into ball and throw it, the feeling is almost same to Bullet Arts. Like that, just like I imagined it, the cluster of spherical compressed black flames, completed its formation in my right hand.

I fire it in air, though not with same speed of Bullet Arts, it flew with considerable speed leaving a black trace and exploded in mid-air.

「Whoa, I can finally make my black magic go boom!」

I won’t let Fiona say「It is plain」anymore!!

Confirming my victory, I face Fiona standing behind me.

「How was it Fiona」

「Err, you have become able to make flames from black magical power」

That’s right. It’s not like, without the divine protection, the black magical power cannot make flames. The first person I killed, that young boy, was using flames without any divine protection. Till now I hadn’t been able to use different attributes with my magical power, but looks like this divine protection covers up for those lost parts.

「So you can only make flames?」

「Eh, Ah......that is, right」

What, being able to create flames alone is not great!?

「Can you create lightning?」

「No, lightning is impossible」

「I see now――」

Fiona looks at me as if looking at some pitiable child.

In fact, wait, the way this talk is going feels to me like......

「It is really plain, though being a power of divine protection」

I, at that time, thought that I need to complete the next trial as fast as possible, and strengthen my divine protection.