A Weak Demon Lord Started Livestreaming in a Bottom-Tier Dungeon and Went Viral?! After Completely Crushing Rude S-Rank Explorers and Annoying Streamers, the Internet Erupted in Praise. Um, I'm Supposed to Be the Enemy of Humanity, You Know? - 22

Chapter 22: The Outcast of the Explorer School Uses a Secret Trick

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“U-Um, now I’ll explain the rules of this duel!!”

Erika held a microphone in one hand and began explaining the rules to the students and media in the audience. 

However, sweat was forming on Rio’s forehead. For some reason, the three members of the Golden Generation were glaring intensely at Rio. Not knowing why she was being stared at, Rio looked genuinely bewildered. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under their gazes, she waited for Erika to finish explaining the rules.

“The rules are super simple!! The duel ends when one side either surrenders or becomes unable to fight!! This time, the fake-goody-two-shoes Saint—ahem—I mean, the Saint formerly of the ‘Hero Party,’ now known as Saint Otohime, is waiting in the back to provide healing, so everyone will be fine even if you’re down with major injuries!”

Rio thought to herself.

(Even if they can be healed, I really don’t want to get seriously hurt. And what does “major” even mean here?)

“U-Umm and due to the wishes of the participants, today’s duel will be one versus three.”

Erika glanced at Rio with a worried look that said, “Are you really okay with this?” Not understanding what that look meant, Rio simply tilted her head. It was the students in the audience who were the most surprised.

“Hey, this is seriously reckless, isn’t it?”

“Taking on those three alone? No way…”

“But didn’t Mushigami become the apprentice of a Demon Lord? Maybe she’s got some kind of plan?”

The crowd buzzed with concern—understandably so. Even without the “Golden Generation” factor, winning a one-versus-three duel was difficult, even for a professional fighter. No one could readily believe that Rio, who had been considered a failure just a month ago, could do it.

But then, the battle began.

“Begin!!”

At Erika’s signal, each combatant readied their weapon. Grace drew her sword, Nikuo clenched his fists, and Midari summoned magic circles in both hands. Rio raised her staff and began to chant in front of the famed “Golden Generation” of the Explorer School. It was a spell she had learned from her skeletal mentor.

“Come forth, come forth, my familiars—”

“Did you really think we’d let you finish chanting!?”

Grace was the first to move. She closed the distance between them with lightning speed and slashed at Rio without mercy. Focused on her spell, Rio couldn’t react in time and took a slash to the arm.

Blood gushed out in a heavy stream. The spectators all thought the duel was already decided in that instant. But that judgment was premature.

“—Creatures of the Demon Realm, I, Rio Mushigami, command you—”

Despite her face contorting in pain, Rio continued her chant. Anyone else would have been writhing on the ground, bawling from that level of pain. Grace attempted a follow-up attack without hesitation, but she was a moment too late.

“—Answer my call and destroy my enemies!!”

“-!!!”

“Summon Familiar!! Come, everyone!!”

With Rio’s chant completed, several magic circles appeared beneath her feet. From them crawled forth bugs. Not the kind of bugs a person could swat away with ease. These were humanoid ants clad in jet-black, armor-like exoskeletons. They looked more like child-hero fantasies than insects.

“My liege. Your orders?”

“Protect me, Ant-san!!”

“Understood.”

After the brief exchange, the ant punched Grace—the girl who had slashed its master—in the stomach.

“Guhah!? Wh-What was that!?”

“…I am my liege’s knight. My name is Antman, a name bestowed upon me by my master.”

Calling himself Antman, the ant raised its fists and stood in front of Rio. Grace eyed THE BUG warily but quickly realized that was the least of her problems. The magic circles Rio had summoned were still glowing. More insects emerged from within.

“KSSHHHAAAA!!”

“CHITTER CHITTER CHITTER!!”

“PIII! PIIII!”

“――――”

“KYUU KYUU!!”

Giant spiders larger than a person, centipedes easily over ten meters long, butterflies large enough to carry a human on their backs, mosquito-sized fists, enormous pill bugs… And not just one or two of each—there were dozens, maybe more. To someone who hated bugs, this would have looked like a hellish nightmare. But Rio smiled sweetly at them and thanked them.

“Th-Thank you all for coming! Ehehe, let’s do our best today, okay?”

The bugs responded with excited sounds, almost like they understood her. Thus began Rio’s counterattack.

“Hii! D-Don’t come near me!!”

Grace, who had a severe fear of insects, went pale as a giant spider charged straight at her. She swung her sword instinctively, but the spider jumped as if it had predicted her move and dodged easily. It then spat out sticky webbing. Grace was ensnared, her movements sealed. Then, a massive centipede rushed in.

“NOOOOOO!! Don’t come any closer!!”

“CHITTER CHITTER!!”

Grace flailed her arms to try and scare it off, but the centipede just began circling her like it was having fun. Just then, a flaming spear of magic came flying in. The centipede dodged it easily, but the flames burned away the webbing binding Grace.

“KYAHHAHAHA!!”

“Th-Thank you, Onigawara-san!!”

The magic had come from Midari, who was still grinning maniacally. At that moment, a giant muscular figure—likely five meters tall—tumbled past Grace and Midari. It was Nikuo, who had been trading blows with Antman.

“Grrgh! That ant guy is insane!! He’s smaller than me, but he’s even stronger!! What kind of training does he do!? I need to know!!”

“GYAAHAHA!”

“Oops!! Right, Onigawara-kun is right!! I need to focus on the fight!! Now then, how should we approach this!?”

While Nikuo remained upbeat, Grace began to despair, fully aware of their situation.

“Th-This is impossible. That magic circle is still summoning more insects. We should’ve stopped her chant from the start…”

“Kyahahaha… There’s only one way to win.”

“Huh?”

“Rio-chan is the one who cast that spell. If we take her down, we win.”

“W-Wait a second!! Onigawara-san!? You can talk normally!?”

Midari, usually screaming incoherently, calmly spoke to the despairing Grace.

“I read once that a demure, smiling woman is the most ladylike.”

“S-Smile? D-Don’t tell me you thought you were quietly smiling all this time?”

“Of course. …GYAAHAHA!!”

Midari grinned her usual twisted smile. As Grace struggled to make sense of Midari, Nikuo stepped forward.

“The plan’s set!! I’ll charge ahead and clear a path! Miss Ahlman, take on Mushigami-kun!!”

“Uh, o-okay, I-I got it…!!”

“KYAAHAHAHA!!”

“Alright!! Onigawara-kun, back me up with magic!! Here I goooo!!”

Nikuo hurled himself like a muscle-bound cannonball into the swarm of insects. A giant pill bug bounced around like a rubber ball and slammed into him, but he didn’t even flinch. Midari’s support magic blew apart any mosquitoes that got in the way. He bulldozed through giant centipedes and spiders alike, finally slamming straight into Antman, who stood guarding Rio.

Antman met the charge head-on and flipped Nikuo over his shoulder with a throw. But Nikuo had already fulfilled his role.

“I’ve got you now!!”

“Kyaa!?”

Grace, hiding in Nikuo’s shadow, slipped past Antman and rushed Rio. Rio gave a short cry as she was slashed and collapsed on the spot.

“Hah… hah… W-With that injury, you can’t keep fighting!! I win!! That was easier than I expected!!”

Boasting, Grace had completely forgotten how she had just been terrified of the insects. But Rio wasn’t even thinking about her.

“What should I do, what should I do, what should I do? If I lose, Al-san is definitely going to scold me. And if that’s all she does, fine, but she might grill me alive like when I found her secret Olden bone collection… That was scary scary scary scary!! I didn’t want to do this, but…!!”

“W-What are you—”

“Ant-san!!”

Rio called out to Antman. In the next instant, he charged toward Grace. but instead of attacking her, Rio gave him an order.

“Kill me. Just once.”

“Understood.”

Antman brought down a hand chop, crushing Rio’s skull to bits. The audience screamed at the sudden gore. Even Erika, the judge, muttered in shock.

“W-What…?”

Only Rio’s skeletal master and her demonic minions understood what had just happened. A magic circle appeared at Rio’s feet.

“W-What is this!?”

Startled, Grace leapt back. Then, the flesh and blood that had scattered began to reform—Rio was fully restored. Even the wounds Grace had inflicted, old and new, were gone.

“Hah… hah… I did it… I finally pulled it off on my own, hahaha, ahahahaha!!”

Rio laughed. To Grace, that laugh looked more terrifying than anything Midari had ever done.

“W-What did you do?”

“Ehehe, it’s a secret trick Olden-san taught me! I die once, then use resurrection magic to reset all the damage!!”

“A s-secret trick…?”

But what Rio had just done could not be brushed off with a word like that.

“Mu-Mushigame-san… What kind of training have you been doing this past month?”

“Hm? Umm, I learned magic, made contracts with my familiars in the Demon Realm, oh! And I practiced dying every day!!”

Rio said it so nonchalantly. Grace felt a chill, sensing a madness in Rio that she couldn’t begin to comprehend. Just what kind of training had Rio gone through in this past month—?

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