Chapter 234, Holy Warrior Poer

 

[Whew, Pochi’s finally gotten used to the fight. Oh, and looks like the buffs are about to run out.]

 

“Rise, All Up: Count 5 & Remote Control!”

 

Just before their enhancement effects expired, Asley cast his spells for all of his party members in battle.

 

“…I never asked for that!”

 

Lylia clacked her teeth in annoyance…

 

“…Hmph!”

 

Seki’teigyu snorted loudly, also annoyed…

 

“Niiice!”

 

…And Giorno was as casual as ever.

The effects of power-enhancing spells running out mid-fight could very well be a major cause of defeat in this large-scale battle.

One could be moving swiftly with a lightened body under the spells’ effects, but suddenly find themselves losing that speed while surrounded by monsters.

Asley remembered well how long the All Up spell lasted, and approximated the time in-battle in his mind.

He had not only cast the spell for all members present, but also invoked them in a way that fit each individual’s movements.

For example, he could not keep up with Lylia’s speed with his eyes, so instead he tracked her by detecting the fluctuations of her arcane energy.

 

“Rise! High Cure Adjust: Count 5 & Remote Control!”

 

The recovery spells healed even the slightest of wounds in an instant.

 

“Rise! Giving Magic: Count 5 & Remote Control!”

 

The newly-invented tracking fixed-position type Spell Circles were sent over to everyone, constantly restoring their arcane energy.

 

“Rise! Pochi Pad Breath!”

 

Detecting all vulnerabilities in the enemy army’s formation, he was quick to invoke Swift Magic spells to destroy countless monsters.

 

“Rise! Gravity Stamp & Remote Control!”

 

This helped limit the number of monsters Seki’teigyu had to take on at once.

 

“Rise, Air Wall: Count 3 & Remote Control! Now, Pochi! Zenith Breath straight ahead!”

 

“KAHHHHHH!!”

 

The combination prevented the monsters from attacking their sides and back, and then wiped out the enemies in front.

 

[There!]

 

“Rise! Grand Inferno: Count 3 & Remote Control!”

 

The moment the magical Air Walls wore off, pitfall traps appeared in their stead.

Flames of hell sweltered in the pit, burning the monsters to ash.

It was a combination with a spell that Asley had used to save Reid and his sisters. This composite spell combining the fire and earth elements had been deemed impossible, but as it turned out, a little improvisation was all it took – and he could even make three of them at once.

 

“Rise! Earth Control: Count 3 & Remote Control!”

 

And then the burning pitfalls moved, swallowing down and roasting even more monsters.

All the while, Asley kept up the directing of Giving Magic with Remote Control, maintaining its effect for his allies.

 

“…Impressive.”

 

Giorno stopped moving and looked at Asley. His usual carefree smile wore off as he blurted out a statement of admiration.

Asley was busy juggling all his spells, sweating profusely and straining himself so much that his face was wrinkled.

The man himself was unaware, however – only his Familiar Pochi, carrying her Master on her back and running as directed, noticed the others’ eyes on them.

Seki’teigyu, the Ox that was blowing away wave after wave of enemies; Lylia, the fighter who was throwing herself into a wild ecstasy rush; and Giorno-

 

-They all acknowledged Asley’s capabilities.

 

Despite being a Mage, this man was greatly contributing to the battle.

He was fixated on not leaving any one of his fellow fighters behind.

The knowledge he possessed was much more than the amount a human could attain in a lifetime, and the speed at which he invoked magic spells and magecraft was impossibly fast… and his body was even more robust than most warriors.

And then there was how he kept 8,000 monsters at bay, and his full trust in Pochi…

This was when Asley’s years of research and training finally bore fruit.

 

[…You’re awesome, Master!]

 

Pochi being Pochi, she was not about to say it straight out.

Pochi helped Asley, and Asley helped Pochi. The trust they held for each other connected them like a thread, becoming a menacing force that propelled them forward.

 

“-Rise! -Rise! -Rise, A-rise! AHHHHHH!! All Up: Count 5 & Remote Control!!”

 

Asley was the only one unaware of all the admiration he was being given, him concentrating on the fight harder than Pochi… and everyone else, for that matter.

In fact, he was THE key player in this large-scale battle against the Devil King’s army.

 

[“…Well done!”]

 

Another voice of praise for Asley…

…But because of his concentration, only his Familiar noticed it.

 

“Huh?”

 

It was a voice that she had heard before.

The voice of the faceless, suspiciously kind ‘old’ man.

Pochi immediately knew whose voice it was.

 

“That’s Gramps’ voice, sir! The Divine Messer!”

 

“Huh?! You said something, Pochi?! …What the-?”

 

And then Asley noticed a change in himself.

 

[My body feels… light?]

 

Asley immediately invoked his Appraisal Glasses and cast a reflection spell.

He could do that without worrying about the thousands of monsters in front of him – that went to show just how much more powerful he felt he had become.

Giorno, Lylia, and Asley all possessed the same ‘Holy Warrior Candidate’ title.

But because Asley had followed the Divine Messenger’s directive to devote himself to his studies, training and researching harder than anyone else-

 

[I’m… not just a candidate anymore?]

 

-He got the full title before the other Holy Warrior Candidates.

Suddenly, the vast amount of arcane energy that laid dormant within Asley began to run wild.

 

“Whoa?! What in the-?! My energy, it’s… overflowing with power!”

 

“How?! That’s not fair, sir!”

 

“Nonononono! That’s not it! If this keeps up, I’ll run out before I get to use it!”

 

“Then just stop the flow, sir! Just like how you always do it!”

 

“Ngh… gh… gh…!! Gah! MUSCLE! POWER!”

 

Asley exerted his strength, bulking up his muscles.

 

“It-it’s stopped…!”

 

“Wait, your muscles actually did that?!”

 

Pochi immediately called Asley out on his ridiculousness.

 

“S-shut up! I’m still trying to control it!”

 

Asley shouted back, somewhat embarrassed. Pochi looked ahead, seeming to have recalled something.

They were still in the middle of a battle. This was not time for bantering.

 

“Please hurry it up and look, Master! Looks like the monsters got intimidated by your aura…”

 

They were so frozen in place, in fact, that one would think they were toads being stared down by snakes.

All of the monsters saw their own deaths in the incomprehensible arcane aura in front of them.

And that effect was felt all the way to where Giorno was, in the center of the enemy army.

Giorno turned to look at Asley again. A drop of cold sweat ran down his cheek – this had never happened to him before.

 

“Did Poer really do… that?”

 

Asley held the Torrent Dragon Staff under his arm and gripped his right wrist with his left hand, squeezing and letting go a few times.

 

“All right… all right. I think I get it now. I can do this.”

 

“You mean controlling your power, sir?”

 

Pochi tilted her head.

 

“That’s one thing… but it’s more like HOW to use the power – and how to use attack spells in a way that I never knew was possible.”

 

“Wait, attack spells?”

 

Pochi tilted her head again, this time to the opposite side.

 

“Look, I already talked about this, right? How my attack magic rank changed from ‘Skilled’ to ‘Zenith’?”

 

“Aha! You did, yes! But what does that have to do with this, sir?”

 

“…All right! Let’s try this! Rise, A-raise… Rise! Holy World!”

 

He raised his Torrent Dragon Staff to the sky, invoking a light-elemental spell.

 

 

“Huh? Isn’t Holy World just a Skilled-level spell-“

 

A dazzling light filled Pochi’s field of sight.

The light overpowered everything as far as the eye could see, and all of the monsters touched by it broke apart into sand-like photons and disappeared.

Under normal circumstances, magic spells and magecraft were invoked by supplying the Circles with enough arcane energy.

Asley had instantly put in so much arcane energy that it went over the formula’s requirement, elevating the spell’s power to an even higher level.

Its range was far-reaching, its power was immeasurable, and its effect was more immense than ever.

More than a thousand monsters had instantly disappeared.

 

“…Holy shit.”

 

Even Asley himself could not hide his surprise.

The light of Asley’s Holy World was so powerful that all of his allies stopped in their tracks and looked his way.

The remaining monsters in the distance did as well, as they were totally disturbed by the sheer volume of arcane energy.

 

“THAT… WAS… LIT!! Did you see that, Pochi?! Awesome, right?! My Holy World just wiped out all the monsters around here! This is it – the new level of magic! Zenith Magic! Man, even I was surprised myself, and I know you are too! If Holy World can do THAT with my energy supply, then maybe I can also make the Pochi Pad Breath even stronger! Right, Pochi?! Hey, don’t ignore me!”

 

As Asley ran his mouth in utmost excitement, Pochi trembled.

 

[So she’s so impressed that she’s speechless, huh? Well, fair enough – this might help up invent even higher-leveled magic spells! Maybe I’ll start working on light-elemental spells after this fight is over with! Hmm, right, let’s do that! …Wait a second? Light?]

 

Asley tilted his head, feeling as if he had forgotten something.

…Then, by the time he remembered what it was, it was too late.

Asley’s face warped in horror. He had just now realized that he had failed to take the ‘usual defensive measures’.

And then it came. So briefly, yet so mercilessly…

 

“GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! THE LIGHT!!!!!! SO BRIGHT!!!!!! MY EYES!!!!!!”

 

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! SHUT UP!!!!!!”