Black Summoner: Volume 15

By Doufu Mayoi, Kurogin (DIGS) and DaiXt

The battle against DarkMel for the fate of the world has reached its climax and the action is heating up as Kelvin and his friends struggle to deal with her latest and most impressive transformation yet. Do they even stand a chance of winning against such a powerful opponent? And after everything is said and done, what will happen to DarkMel and the once-great goddess? The stakes are high, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether Kelvin will have to make his way through the world without half of the love of his life—or if he will soon be too dead to care.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J-Novel Club
• Release date: Dec 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781718375765

Book preview

Chapter 1: Final Battle

Central Ocean:

Though this development had been terribly abrupt, I was currently being moved while in Melfina’s arms. As for why I was being carried by Melfina, well, let’s think back.

First was Melfina and DarkMel’s fight. At the end of their fierce exchange of attack and defense, DarkMel’s domain had been cleanly broken. They must have synced up perfectly as they threw their strongest blows, and the moment their fists met in the air, the outer space-like area that had surrounded us shattered with the sound of breaking glass. The tinkling started from one place at first. Then, like peeling skin, it spread everywhere in an ominous chorus of destruction. Since I was completely out of MP, I didn’t have anything left with which to respond to this situation.

No matter what, I need to warn my friends about this.

I hurried to blast out a telepathic message through the Network, telling them to evacuate the ark. With that done, the next thing on my list was securing my own safety.

I’m begging you, what little magic I have left, please be enough, I wished as I tried to cast Fly. This domain’s destruction was already a done deal, and I had no idea where we would be flung once it was. In the worst case, I could be thrown out of the ship entirely. So, my spell was in preparation for the worst in order to prevent Mel from worrying and getting in the way. It was all I could do at that moment.

Hraaaaagghhhh!

Yoooouuuuuuuu!

With their wings spread as wide as they would go, the two combatants continued to raise their power, heedless of the destruction of the area around them. The more power they put behind their fists, the brighter their halos glowed. At this point, they were already too bright for me to look at.

Then, the next moment, the domain broke as I’d predicted it would. The backdrop that was made to look like space flew away, and our surroundings changed drastically. The pieces that used to be the scenery turned into particles of light before scattering, revealing the sanctuary we were in that had, up until now, been hidden by DarkMel’s domain. It was probably best for me to ignore any common sense I had or consideration that we were inside a battleship. What was unveiled before my eyes was an exact copy of the Great Cathedral in Deramis. Even the atmosphere—or should I say aura? Feel of the air? It was exactly the same as well.

Still, that didn’t stop Melfina and DarkMel from fighting. There was no way something like the austerity of the place or the feel of the atmosphere would stop two sworn enemies from fighting, and the two of them gave no signs of stopping.

Or maybe they’re so focused on their battle that they didn’t even notice the collapse of DarkMel’s domain? Yeah, that seems really likely. That happens to me every once in a while too. Getting caught up in something is only natural. If I was fighting someone just as strong as I am, then it would be even more natural.

You’re pretty good!

You too! As expected of me!

Oho, isn’t that the pipe organ from the Apostle headquarters in Abyssland there? In the end, I wasn’t able to break it back then, and DarkMel was able to make off with it all in the ark...

And now, it had been caught up in all this destruction and been destroyed really anticlimactically. DarkMel hadn’t even tried to fix it, probably because she didn’t even notice it’d been destroyed.

While enjoying the battle between two deities from my seat up close, I indulged in my own sentimentality, analyzed the fight, and worried about my surroundings all at once. I was approaching a state where I could feel the whole suite of human emotions simultaneously. I’d had Parallel Processing running full speed the whole time, so my brain probably resembled one that had been running without sleep while on drugs. And yet, I wasn’t actually fighting in this giddy heightened state, so my mind was only getting clearer and clearer.

That was why I instinctively understood that in a moment, the entire sanctuary would be pulverized into dust, the aftereffects of which would sink the entire battleship.

Now I understand how Sera feels when she gets a prophetic feeling! Just kidding. Now’s not the time to be messing around, though.

It was true that my mind was much sharper than usual, but my ragged body couldn’t keep up. In the end, it was all I could do to dodge crumbling chunks of rubble. If the Elpis were to sink, then getting out would be extremely tough for me.

It’d be such a joke if I weren’t able to save myself after sending that telepathic message to everyone. Maybe I have enough in me for one more cast of Rubber Counter?

I suddenly gasped in alarm. Both Melfinas had already busted through the wall of the Great Cathedral and forcefully opened a hole in the battleship’s armor plating from the inside. They were fighting all over, free in the air. As a battle junkie myself, I couldn’t help but respect and be in awe at their fight, which was on such a high level that they were able to ignore the terrain completely. Unfortunately, the ship, like this cathedral, would probably be going down soon. All I wanted was to continue watching their fight, but there was no replacement for my life in the end. I put all of my Parallel Processing ability into intoning another spell, using what little MP I had left to its fullest. It seemed all the emotions I was feeling were translated into my magic, as I was somehow able to create a barrier on the level of Rank S.

Great, this should somehow—

We’re escaping, honey.

But right after I created that barrier, Melfina had shown up out of nowhere. She treated my barrier with as much respect as she had the ark’s walls, busting right through them and picking me up by the armpits without waiting for any sort of consent.

All my efforts in making that wall turned to nothing right before me... Wait, that doesn’t matter!

Whoa, Mel?!

No need to worry. I am the Melfina with a clean and pure heart! Melfina boasted, a musical lilt in her voice.

Though I bragged about my mental state being unusually clear and sharp, I had been caught and picked up all too easily. It was fine, since Melfina was the one doing it, but I wouldn’t be able to face Sera like this.

Sorry, I got too full of myself. But Mel, nobody with a clean and pure heart would actually say it like that.

Ah, not that! What happened to DarkMel?! Did you kill her?!

No, not yet. We exchanged punches many times and I have damaged and exhausted her, but as expected of myself, I should say...no matter what, we are evenly matched. Look, I’m all worn out too, though my heart is being fulfilled as we speak.

O... Ooohhh?!

That sneak attack from Mel had me blushing so hard I thought I might fall into a panic, but I didn’t have that sort of time. Mel kicked off the ground at an incredible speed, bringing me along with her as we flew through the hole in the wall.

::I’d love to take our time and talk, but we should get out first. I ended up getting caught up in things and snapped this ship like a twig... Ah, please reply with telepathy. You’ll bite your tongue otherwise.::

Like a twig? I replied. You... No, never mind. That doesn’t matter. Judging from the surroundings, I can kind of tell.

::I would expect nothing less, honey. Then let us get out of here for real. We’re going after DarkMel!::

What? You can go faster tha—

And, well, that was how I got here, carried around by Mel as the situation demanded. While Melfina had prioritized my escape, DarkMel had left the ark on her own. The destruction of the Elpis had oddly enough served as a gong between rounds for the deities.

As we were leaving the battleship, which was falling apart around us, I was able to witness the Elpis snap in two from the middle. Ah, exactly like a twig. There’s no better way to describe it. Once again, I was impressed by how incredible Melfina as a goddess and DarkMel as someone trying to usurp her were.

::The principle governing everything DarkMel does is your enjoyment, honey. I don’t think she would do something as base as taking hostages, even if the end is at hand now.::

Yeah, I know. If she were to try anything, it’d be something likely to make me happy, wouldn’t it?

::That’s pretty annoying as well, though... Anyway, it’s goodbye to the ark. We’re going straight outside!::

We finally made it out of the battleship, which was amazingly large, and found ourselves under the big blue sky. I wanted to thank someone from the bottom of my heart since I’d survived to see the sun again, but as expected, I didn’t have much time to leisurely enjoy that feeling.

◇ ◇ ◇

Now that we’d left the Elpis, which had indeed snapped like a twig, we hurried to get a sense of the situation. The giant battleship made a huge noise as it started to fall out of the sky, and the Aqua Swallows were trying to leave with full haste so as not to get caught in it. They must have had good acceleration, as not a single one was caught under the sinking battleship, though there were armored angels and angel monsters everywhere. Now that the Elpis, which had been spewing them out endlessly, was no more, they would soon be unable to enjoy the superiority of their numbers. They probably wouldn’t pose a threat at this point. I could leave them to the Aqua Swallows, so I stopped paying attention to them.

::Honey.::

Yeah, let’s go there.

After doing a loop to look around, it was easy to see what piece of the battle was most in danger of being lost. With me still being carried by Melfina, we headed for the group of Efil, Sera, and Gerard—they were the strongest among the people who had stayed outside to combat the enemy forces.

::Master! You’re okay!::

::Whuh— Princess?!::

::I was revived thanks to the power of love. V for victory!::

::You’re giving the peace sign when you’re basically in tatters... There’s a lot I wanna say, but I’ll make this short.::

::Before that, do something about the way you look.::

As we arrived, we were met with joy and astonishment in equal measure, but they didn’t fail to point out that I was being carried by Mel either. Silently, Mel released me.

Now then, I’d love to give my friends a hug since we’ve reunited and all, but there’s something else I should be doing.

I shared what had happened inside the Elpis with everyone through telepathy, immediately starting an exchange of information as, at the same time, Sera and the others shared what had happened with them. From them defeating the machine-dragon, to the revival of Jildora and DarkMel’s attack—which had resulted in Jildora’s unexpected instant death—to what had happened to its body, which brought us to the current situation.

::The moment Jildora cried out, that cool thing was already there, wrapped around him. There were several layers, and he turned into that.::

A black sphere... I mused.

What she pointed at was a black sphere that was floating in the air. I wasn’t sure how to feel about describing it as cool instead of gross or disgusting, but as Sera had said, I could see signs of tentacles. It was certain that inside, covered in layers of tentacles, were DarkMel and the machine-dragon.

Has someone tried attacking it? I asked.

::Nope. I had a really bad feeling about it, so for now we’re just watching. It hasn’t moved since it became like that, so we were just talking about what to do.::

Sera’s instinct was on the mark. Those tentacles are more dangerous than they appear.

::Seems like it. According to your information, Master, anything that touches it is weakened...::

Still, what to do? I thought to myself. Leaving it all up to Clotho, who’s got a good matchup with the tentacles, is an option, but if DarkMel were to unleash her power rivaling a deity’s here, Melfina would be the only one able to deal with her. Also, Clotho was in my pool because it had just expended all of its MP. I wanted to come forward myself, I did! But in the end, is relying on Melfina going to be the best choice anyway?!

Hey, foolish son of mine. If you’ve got the time to wallow in your troubles, then explain things so I understand it.

Ah, sure. Touching that is dangerous. It’s better if you give up on the idea of attacking it directly.

Sera’s father was right beside her, and I reflexively answered his question. It was the first time anything had been said out loud.

Oh? You’re finally here, honey. I was so caught up in merging that I didn’t realize it until you spoke. As your wife, as someone who loves you, I’ll need to do better.

All of us gasped in surprise as a voice came from inside the sphere. Instead of sounding excited or tired, the voice spoke in a gentle, slow but still clear manner. After that, the tentacles that had been surrounding whatever was inside gradually unfurled. Everyone was wary of DarkMel, including me. Then, I laid eyes on what was inside: DarkMel’s changed form.

The unwound tentacles compressed together tightly, becoming a part of the machine-dragon as they were stowed inside its jet-black body. Her body, not transformed from the sphere, was familiar to me. It looked very much like Tristan’s familiar, which I’d seen before entering the Elpis. However, it was colored completely differently, with armor opposite the white-and-blue armor, which removed the sense of divinity that it used to have. In fact, it was now entirely black. When I looked closer, I saw that there were many details shaped by tentacles, which I could see wriggling about ominously.

I compared it to the form of Jildora after he was revived, which I had learned about from the information exchange earlier. The change from the mandala that Jildora had deployed from his back was great and awful. It was shining...technically, but it was like the shine was going through a filter of blood; it was a red so dark that it was basically black. As it was, it looked like a dark or wicked god, the kind you’d see worshipped by evil cults.

It seems my affinity for this flesh is better than I thought it would be. Is it because it’s made from parts of divine pillars, which were made by Elearis? Yes, yes...wonderful. With this, I’m sure Jildora is feeling fulfilled.

The black machine-dragon’s body had nothing above the neck. Thanks to DarkMel’s attack, the dragon head had been torn off. In exchange, DarkMel sat where the head would have been. Well, she wasn’t really sitting, I guess. Her bottom half was buried in the stump of the neck, and their connection was reinforced by tentacles. Just like a mermaid’s bottom half is a fish, she was a Dragon King from the neck down. Her light armor, which had been damaged in her fight with Melfina, had become even more sinister.

Very good!

Honey, your inner voice is leaking out. And your feelings are showing on your face.

Once DarkMel unfurled her black wings, I found myself unable to hold back my own body and heart, and I ended up letting my real feelings slip out of my mouth. I mean, I had never expected a surprise like this! Anybody would grin. I definitely grinned.

You operate as usual to the very end, don’t you, honey? You’re so lovely. But that ends now. It’s a bit sad to entrust all of my wishes to my last resort, but needs must. Goddess of Reincarnation Melfina, do you have the courage to face me one-on-one as I am now?

Melfina didn’t answer DarkMel’s challenge. The fact that DarkMel immediately got full of herself as soon as she gained the upper hand was very much like a side of Mel. But DarkMel, having shown herself and her unfathomable power, left even Melfina, who had regained her original strength, in a cold sweat. Efil and the others were feeling DarkMel’s intimidating pressure in person for the first time, and they withered in the face of it. I was the same, as DarkMel had become even greater than when I had faced her. Our reactions were, in a sense, natural and to be expected. The gap in power was too great.

Mel, be honest. What are our chances? I asked.

::Honestly, this is a pretty bad turn of events. While I’m fatigued from our earlier fight, DarkMel in that form isn’t showing any sign of exhaustion at all. It’s not her putting up a front either. I’m sure she’s fully recovered.::

That feels like good news and bad news at the same time. What about her strength now?

::She’s clearly gotten stronger. Enough to overtake me as the Goddess of Reincarnation. I expected her to pull some kind of trick when she escaped the flying ship, but I didn’t expect it to be this powerful... I made an error in judgment. No, helping you escape, honey, was the best choice in the end. I don’t regret that, but...::

It’s also a fact that we can’t win like this, huh?

DarkMel’s goal was to have me enjoy myself. She had made plans and factored in my strength, my bonds with my friends, and the power of Melfina as the Goddess of Reincarnation; and her purpose was to crush all of that anyway and give me the greatest time enjoying that fight. DarkMel was probably so fast that she could even sense the small moment needed for a telepathic exchange, but she most likely wouldn’t do anything during it. She would simply watch and wait for the moment I gave my final order.

::There’s no choice but to stop, is there?::

What? Stop? You mean this fight? I asked.

::Hee hee, no. I will pay the price and give you my final blessing as the Goddess of Reincarnation, honey. No questions; no matter what happens, this is our only hope.::

H-Hey!

Heedless of what I was saying, Melfina forcefully gave me what she referred to as her final blessing.

◇ ◇ ◇

Power overflowed from my body. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were wrapped in a beautiful white and blue light that reminded me of Melfina as the goddess. Just looking at the light filled my heart with warmth. It calmed me to the depths of my soul. The light was also surrounding those around me, like Gerard and Sera. That went for Boga and Mdofarak too, and— Hm? Not Efil? And not father-in-law either. So there are those with the light and those without?

Suddenly, DarkMel spoke up with a dissatisfied look on her face. Melfina, you’re going to step down from your position of your own free will?!

She’d said step down. Of course, that was probably referring to Melfina’s title.

What does she mean, Mel? This light, is this the blessing you were just talking about? Just what did you sacrifice?! Hey!

Mel had put her hand on my shoulder, and I could somehow feel her presence becoming fainter. In fact, she was actually looking somewhat transparent. The moment I saw her like that, I started to imagine the worst.

Don’t worry. It’s not what you’re thinking, honey. I won’t disappear. I just quit being the Goddess.

Q-Quit?! What for?!

In order to use our last resort to avoid the destruction of the world.

It was something prepared in case of the revival of the evil gods; a phenomenon in which Apostles can temporarily ascend to godhood, DarkMel