(Immortal: Untouchable)
Only human heroes could beat the immortal demon lord – that
was a tale as old at time itself in the realm. That was the story she had been
told as a child. Was the legend true, whether or not it was, she, a young human
woman clad in black and violet, was doing the hero’s job that moonless night.
“So this is the castle of one of the four generals…”
With a black scarf covering her face and her long black hair
tied into a braid, she had stealthily snuck her way into the headquarters of
one of the demon lord’s strongest. Past the guards and defenses, she made it to
the deepest part.
Click!
“Alright. I’m inside. Now where could he be…? His private
quarters...? Looks like he’s drinking...”
When it came to the realm they lived in, humanity never was
the strongest. In fact, they were considered amongst the most short-lived
species. With a life span much shorter than dwarves and elves, they were an
ephemeral existence that only shined brightly trying to make the most of their
limited years. Their numbers were so great that they had much potential to grow
and spread – having a far greater variety of abilities and affinities than the
other stagnant species. In the long run, very few left their mark in the world,
but that was why they tried so hard to carve their names into legend.
“Before the Hero can get here, I’ll take care of this small
fry.”
To the elf that was her mentor, she was one of those humble
humans - still yet a wee babe. But the nearly 3 decades of her life had been
worthwhile to her to the point where even beastkin and demons knew her by her
nickname as a mercenary.
‘…The Immortal Devil…
how do I do this...?’
To take down an immortal general, they needed the Immortal
Slayer – The name was an oxymoron. While long lived species had an end, there
actually were immortal beings in the realm. From phoenixes to Daywalkers to
elementals – they all existed. Thankfully, many preferred to avoid contact with
humanity, but those under the service of the demon lord were an undying thorn
in humanity’s side.
‘…What kind of
immortal is he? Should I use weapons or magic?’
Whenever she was hired to deal with immortal beasts like
vampires, their presences somehow always vanished after she was done.
“Oh? It appears I have a guest.”
“Huh?”
Whaaaaaam!
However, though she was doing the hero’s job of fighting the
demon lord’s general, she was no hero. Before she could ready her spell, a
powerful fist had slammed into her side, knocking her from her high ground into
the wall of the floor down below.
“Blargh!” she spat out blood as her body peeled off the
ruined stone wall and onto the cold floor. She found herself standing at the
feet of a tall, muscular horned man who stood at least 200 elfin centimeters
tall. He had visible scales under his eyes and a pointed tail. He was a demon.
“Hic! Well would you look here – I thought it was too quiet
tonight. Guess I know why now,” the Immortal Devil’s arrogance poured out of his
mouth with every word. His face was flushed. The strong smell of alcohol and
the sight of empty barrels told her he had been drinking plenty. “Don’t you
know whose territory you’re in, Missy?”
It wouldn’t matter in a short second, as she answered with
actions rather than words. From her prone position, her body vanished into
mist, immediately appearing behind the demon. From her robe, she unveiled a
concealed holy dagger and quickly thrust it at his throat.
“-?!”
“Heh, I guess you don’t,” the Immortal Devil continued
speaking as if nothing was amiss. Nothing was because the dagger aimed at his
throat was stopped in place upon contact with his skin. “You humans call me the
Immortal Devil, but in demon language, I’m Vole the Untouchable. My body’s been
bathed in the Black Dragon’s blood. No weapon, not even that blessed anti-demon
dagger of yours can’t hurt me. And is it dipped in some sort of poison? That
won’t affect me either.”
Vole grabbed the anti-demon weapon in her hand and crushed
it. If his assassin hadn’t let go of the weapon in time, she wouldn’t have been
able to evade the claw swipe that quickly followed.
“Tch… I made the wrong call. He’s invulnerable to physical
attacks,” the mercenary clicked her tongue. “How troublesome – an immortal I
can’t poison…”
Now that she had taken a step back, Vole took a moment to
look at the intruder to his castle. She was a short woman, possibly only 160
elfin centimeters tall. She was clearly was an assassin clad in all black but
there was a mage’s touch to her clothing. Purple lines with intricate woven
patterns were at the ends of her sleeves, mantle, and where her black shorts
met her black tights. The other distinguishing feature she had was the clover
shaped symbol in her hair.
“Hm… That clover…,” the devil actually recognized the
design. Upon realization, he let out a hearty laugh. “Gyahahahaha! I see! So
the humans sent the Immortal Slayer after me. And to think she’s such a
weakling. I guess those rumors my advisors were warning me about were
unnecessary.”
At the laugh, the woman felt insulted, putting her left hand
on her right wrist, channeling magic power into her hand. “You recognize the
Trifol mark and you still dare to mock it?”
“Of course I do,” smirked Vole just as several spheres of
pure energy were launched right at him. Despite his bulky body, he swiftly
evaded each one and closed the distance between the two of them.
“Gwah!”
Slaaaaaaam!
The drunken demon grabbed her using her own scarf and slammed
her into the ground. “Even if the Trifol elves taught you magic, a human like
you is far too slow and weak to land a hit on me.”
Unfortunately, this was the difference between humanity and
the other species in the realm. Their own strength was their diverse skills and
affinities, but they could never compare to the magical ability of elves and
fairies and nor the physical aptitude of beastkin and demons.
“G-Gyah!” the demon put his foot down on the mercenary’s
chest.
“Y’know, that sure was some weak magic. I guess you’re a
physical fighter,” Vole determined the woman’s strengths. The alcohol loosened
his tongue more than his judgment. “I heard plenty about immortals up and
disappearing whenever the Immortal Slayer’s around. I guess whatever method you
use to get rid of them doesn’t work on me thanks to my invulnerability.”
He wasn’t wrong. Though she was taught by an elf, her
aptitude for magic outside of her non-offensive based affinity was terrible.
Stealthy physical attacks and poisons were indeed how she was able to take care
of her previous targets. The demon’s invulnerability to physical attacks made
him one of her least favorite immortals to deal with.
“Well, I’m disappointed, but let’s end this here, Missy.
Normally, I’d make a show of killing the Immortal Slayer, but I’ve still got a few
more barrels of mead to finish.”
The demon pulled his arm back, readying his claw by pouring
magic power until it so that a green flame surrounded it. This was the end. His
affinity and hers were just terrible matchup…
… A terrible matchup for him.
“Heh.”
The woman smirked as a light began to glow from beneath her
thick clothing. Marks written on her torso began to glow as she channeled magic
into it. If she couldn’t hit him and if her magic attacks were too slow to hit
him, she’d just have to use a spell with an enormous range that he couldn’t
avoid. Invulnerability to physical attacks and the speed to evade targeted
magic meant nothing to the magic circle drawn on her body ahead of time. This
was the trump card she had prepared to use on him.
“What the-?”
In an instant, the entire room of Vole the Untouchable’s
chamber filled with a bright light. The demon had been ready to kill her
without mercy, but his talkative nature had dragged things on for too long. The
next thing he saw when he opened his eyes a place that he was no longer his
castle.
“W-Where is this? She had teleportation circle prepared?”
Vole sobered up from the shock. He looked left and right to find that his
surroundings were entirely black –a field of inky darkness. Had the assassin
transferred him to her home turf?
“A teleportation circle? That’s not quite right,” the woman’s
voice echoed in the demon’s head. He tried to look around for her, but to no
avail. Looking up, however, he saw a purple ceiling. Was this a cave? It looked
unnatural even amongst demon standards.
It was no cave. The mercenary’s affinities with most magic
were weak. Her teleportation magic was definitely not strong enough to teleport
him so far away from his castle. However, her magic affinity with another type
of magic had been successful in
accomplishing her goal. And her affinity with that type of magic was far more
perfect than anyone would ever believe.
Rumble. Rumble.
“What in blazes?”
The ground and ceiling began to move. It soon became clear
to the Immortal Devil that what purple ceiling he had been looking at was not a
ceiling. It was the purple outline of the cloak the woman had been wearing.
Upon it shifting away, he found himself staring at an enormous face as large as
his own castle.
Vole the Untouchable had been shrunken down to a mere 2
elfin centimeters. He was standing atop the now mountainous breast of her woman
he had been stepping on earlier.
“Oh, I love it when the tables are turned on you undying
fools. I couldn’t use the Redushroom Poison earlier, but it looks like the
magic circle I had Master draw for me worked wonders.”
This was the Immortal Slayer’s true affinity: the Mini
status - not just with Mini magic but also with Mini causing poisons and
skills. This was how she had become known as the Immortal Slayer.
Whaaaaaaam!
“Grk!”
Before the demon could react, the woman’s gloved hand came
down onto him. The sheer weight of a hand larger than a storeroom slammed him
down into the woman’s breast. Even with his demonic strength, he couldn’t fight
a mountain much less a mountain-sized woman.
“No damage. As expected of someone resistant to physical
attacks. But it looks like you can still be held down at this size. Good.”
“Y-you impudent brat…” Vole struggled to push himself up to
mumble.
The woman’s Mini affinity made her capable of hearing him. As
she had been successful, her voice grew more confident… more dominant. “I think
the impudent one is you. You’ve realized it now, haven’t you? Why immortals
seem to disappear whenever I’m hired?”
Rumble.
The mercenary couldn’t resist chuckling. Her laughter caused
her chest to shake, rattling the shrunken immortal pinned to it.
“If I can’t kill you, I can at least immobilize. And what
better way to neutralize with an undying monster than to weaken it until it’s
unnoticeable?” she was grateful Vole had been so talkative earlier because it
motivated her to speak up in his place now that he was speechless.
The young woman’s confidence was clear now that her spell
worked. Her affinity with Mini was so great that it could shrink down a demon
general to such a small state. And even more than that, Vole himself could feel
how long lasting the effects were. This was not a state which he could simply
recover from in a day.
“This affinity… it’s monstrous…” Even a demon knew how
absurd such a powerful Mini spell was.
“Monstrous?” the mercenary pressed him harder into her chest
as she stood up. The warmth of her body flowed into him from every direction
but the air around him vanished in the cramped space between her palm and her
breast. “I think the monsters around here are you immortals.”
Dexterously, the woman’s hand moved, grabbing the 2 cm tall
demon between her thumb and forefinger. He was helplessly held in place, unable
to move despite not being able to be hurt.
“Well, I suppose you’re more of an insect than a monster
right now,” the mercenary smugly smiled. “I’m glad you recognize my power
though. You see, while I would love to go take care of your immortal master,
the demon lord, that is apparently the hero’s job.”
“My king won’t be so foolish as to be defeated by the likes
of you,” snarled the shrunken demon.
“That may be true,” the woman sighed, knowing her own limitations.
“But because I know that: to make the hero’s journey even more likely to
succeed, it’s my job to deal with your unfair existences. I’ll at least make my
name known through making you undying beings disappear.”
How was she going to make him disappear? That was up to her
to decide.
“Let’s see… Where should I put you before I take you to
Master? I’m in a good mood now that I finally caught you,” the mercenary
wondered. Despite being in a demon’s territory, after shrinking its owner, she
now had a playful tone in her voice. “Since you’re the invulnerable type, that
does mean I have to make sure you’re restrained properly… Ah!”
Whoosh!
Much to Vole’s dismay, the woman’s hand moved rapidly. The
world around him became a blur. It was only when she stopped moving that he saw
his future prison. The shrunken horned devil found himself staring at a pitch
black net.
“Wait, this is-”
Of course, it was only a net because of his current size.
The flesh covered wall the mercenary started to shove him against was her leg.
“My tights should be quite tight, of course,” the woman had pulled
down her pants and rolled down her black tights to push him against her thigh.
She released him for a moment to re-dress herself, but his miniscule size made
him too small to escape in the brief second that she took to pull up her tights
and shorts. The black net of fabric instantly snapped back onto the woman’s
thigh, sealing his movements with intense pressure. The only space he had left
around him was filled with the smell of sweat. “There we go. Perfect. I think I
can keep you here to hold you until I collect my reward.”
With those words, the mercenary began to leave. A single movement
of her leg strained her tights as her thighs could hardly be constrained by
them. This resulted in a sharp spike in the pressure that pinned the demon to
her leg.
“Mmghh!” Vole’s talkative nature was sealed. His miniscule
squeaks were now completely muffled by the fabric, and his body was now
completely hidden away by the black cloth. The Immortal Devil – Vole the
Untouchable, had been successfully neutralized, sealed by mercenary’s black
tights. The quality of her magic affinity was simply too strong.
“Hm… I would’ve liked you to be a bit smaller so I didn’t
feel you, but I guess your resistance was fairly strong… Oh well, that
sensation alone is a reward for a job well done to me.”
This was the Immortal Slayer: Annelie of the Trifol - a
magic wielding assassin whose Mini Magic was unparalleled. After shrinking
immortal beings down, her very body could become their prison.
“Time to get going. I still have a few more targets I was
hired to deal with.”