I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Chapter Thirty-One: There's no going back...

At dawn, the sun rises as usual over the Millennium Science and Technology Academy.

The dawn's glow dispelled some of the long, chilly night, and under the warm morning sun, the academy began its gradually busier phase; everything seemed peaceful and serene.

However, unseen undercurrents are also occurring here.

"Are you ready for the final battle?!"

"Hmm... I feel like there's nothing left to prepare..."

"Alice is ready and waiting to strike down the Demon King!"

"Let's all... cheer each other on...!"

[BGM: Life Will Change]

(Video ID: BV1bZqNYFE3t)

(PS: This is a cover version by Alice that I made myself.)

Watching from afar as the game development department was surrounded by a large army of robots and about to be turned upside down, Momoi felt slightly uneasy, but at the same time, the fighting spirit hidden deep within her was also ignited.

"Speaking of which... the current situation feels just like the 'world' on the verge of collapse before the final battle against the Demon King..."

Momoi felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about the 'unexpected situation' that happened last night.

Just last night, their gaming department suddenly received an 'emergency evacuation' message from Sophia, which also specifically marked the evacuation location.

Fortunately, their gaming department has a 'bad habit' of staying up all night playing games, so they received the message in time and reacted promptly...

Otherwise, the game club would have been captured by the 'Dark Lord' by now...

I recalled that line from the game text Noah had compiled—'There's no going back...'

That said, the story synopsis also includes a segment where the Phantom Thieves are hunted in the real world, then steal desires in the virtual world and escape... which is exhilarating!

"Yes, we have no way out..."

Amamiya sighed, expressing her concern about the activity room, which had been temporarily shut down and would undoubtedly be turned upside down.

"I'm sorry... I've dragged everyone into this."

Jiu> Ling Liuliu! Qi Yu "It's nothing, it's nothing~!"

Momoi looked completely unconcerned: "We've already made preparations for this—putting aside the gaming equipment for now, at least all the game saves have been backed up to the cloud, so there's no need to worry about losing your saves!"

Amamiya: "..."

Ok.

Sometimes, for gamers, 'lost gaming device' isn't a problem...

Losing archives is a more serious problem than losing the device itself.

"Then... let's go."

"We have only one goal today... and that is to get our hands on the secret treasure!"

Amamiya activated the 'Otherworld App', accompanied by the familiar navigation sound, along with jazz rock music that began to resound as the alert level suddenly increased.

It's not a game.

I'm not a robot AI challenging you.

I'm not a phantom.

I'm right in front of you and I'm so close to you.

I'm he to see it through.

Thunder rumbled and dark clouds loomed over the Demon King's Castle, making the scene of lightning and thunder seem even more somber. The Amamiya group, who had returned to the entrance of the Demon King's Castle, could even clearly see that both the mechanical guards and the members of the 'Demon King's Castle' had retreated into the castle to defend themselves.

"Even the patrols have been withdrawn... The Demon King is really going all out to prevent us..."

After muttering a soft sigh, Momoi followed Amamiya and Sofia.

Little Green, Yuzu, and Alice followed closely behind.

The group slipped into the Demon King's castle through the pass previously guarded by the shadowy Nero.

As always, after 'entering the city', Amamiya first observed three directions—the [Dungeon Area] where Yuki was, the [Library] where Noah was, and the [Accounting Office] where Yuka was.

These three areas were now marked with 'special symbols' that only Amamiya and his party could see.

If necessary, Xiaoxue would release all the prisoners to cause unrest;

Yuka will then begin to sabotage the accounting office, causing the 'Black Demon King' to become momentarily confused.

Noah will then begin burning down the library, causing the Demon King to gradually forget his magical skills and significantly distracting him.

'They are all ready...'

After confirming the information, Amamiya led the girls straight to the 'underground weapons depot'.

The so-called underground weapons depot is a hangar that looks like it stores large armored vehicles such as Gundams. It is located near the lava pool, and ancient machinery and pipes are crisscrossed, extending all the way to the bottomless abyss below the lava pool.

The area around the hangar was very empty, seemingly cleared out in advance as part of the preparations for the "decisive battle".

"Welcome to the 'hidden place' of the Demon King's castle..."

In the empty hangar, the clear, crisp sound of high heels stepping on the metal floor could be heard.

A chilling aura swept over us, and the 'Dark Demon King,' with jet-black horns on his head, small black wings fluttering behind him, and a veil on his head, arrived as promised.

She wore a veil, but her entire body was dressed in a revealing outfit that was almost unbearable to look at, resembling a school swimsuit—her ethereal and indifferent aura seemed to constantly shift between 'justice' and 'evil'.

"That is... the Dark Lord of the Seminar...!"

"Heh... It seems there's no possibility of us reaching an agreement."

"Since you do not agree with my beliefs... then I have no choice but to eliminate you."

The 'Dark Lord' seemed to have no intention of uttering any more nonsense—after all, the nonsense had already been said in 'another world'.

She stopped walking, and a mechanical throne rose up beneath her feet.

The 'Black Demon King' naturally leaned back, crossed his legs, rested his right elbow on the armrest of the chair, and comfortably settled down, his cheek against the side.

"Then... let's see just how far you brave warriors can go."

'Om—'

The sound of the machine being started and the sonic boom generated by some kind of arcane energy breaking through, accompanied by a rapidly approaching heat, descended from the sky.

"Abishu Armor... Activate."

"Activate annihilation mode... Objective: Annihilate the enemy."

A gigantic machine, over ten meters tall, descended from the sky, landed on the ground, and scanned the four members of the game club, as well as Amamiya and Sofia, with its scarlet mechanical eyes.

The crimson mechanical eye scanned Amamiya and his group, seemingly locking onto a target.

"Target confirmed..."

"Demon King... Alyce will shatter your delusions and correct your twisted and evil heart!"

The mech, made of black and red mud and gradually melting, took a step forward, kicking up clouds of dust.

Ultimately, this enormous figure transformed into a mecha creation that resembled an ancient emperor.

[The guardian of the law; grandson of a hero, Abishu] appears.

"wipe out……"

"Psona—Pandora!"

"You are me, and I am you... Come, Aristotle!"

A ghostly blue flame roared up as the woman holding the box and the ancient sage appeared simultaneously. Their semi-transparent figures, enveloped in ghostly blue flames, blocked the sweeping attack of the mechanical giant sword, which was probably over ten meters tall.

Ancient weaponry, super-heavy mechanical units, the overwhelming power brought by their height of over ten meters... is beyond doubt.

So... it seems we still need to weaken the BOSS's strength beforehand.

Amamiya slowly raised the [Destroyer Emperor] in his hand, pointing the muzzle directly at the mechanical giant shadow that was more than ten meters tall.

"If you think that simple tonnage and gravity can suppress a hero's determination, you're sorely mistaken..."

"In a world where the fire was dying down, there once lived this proverb: 'Only a storm can topple a great tree!'"

“Psona…Satanyal!”

The heretical archangel, with several pairs of demonic black wings fluttering, and holding a shotgun ready to fire its rebellious bullets to punish the gods, descended from the sky behind Amamiya.

One shot, one kill.

The Demon King's crimson eyes locked onto the creature that was perhaps no different from an ant to Him, and, keeping in sync with Amamiya's movements, raised the shotgun in his hand.

The bullet left the barrel with a light touch, then pierced through 'Abishu's' breastplate, leaving a violent, gruesome wound.

"One Shot Kill: Deals massive gun damage with a high critical hit rate to one enemy."

"Let me show you the true strength of the Hero Squad..."

The four members of the gaming club began their roaming operations—this initially not-so-mature 'warrior-mage-priest trio' finally demonstrated truly perfect teamwork at this moment.

"Developer weapon capabilities... One [Qi Li?u billion 彡?〩?谮...cutting reality!"

"Weapon Creation... Storm Ruler!"

Little Green's 'developer weapon' has the ability to 'temporarily draw'... although she has never used it before.

A sword, its blade wreathed in swirling wind, seemingly unleashed by a massive, hostile monster, surged forth from a rift in reality and landed in Little Green's hand.

—If it is a mistake made by God, then let the rebellious bullets of the Demon King finish it off.

...If it is the Demon King who is wreaking havoc on the world, then let the angelic light that restrains the Demon King be used to deliver the judgment!

A two-handed greatsword, swirling with an invisible vortex, was created, seemingly awakened from a world where fire was about to die out.

In order to fulfill its mission once again, this seemingly ordinary greatsword, which had never been entangled with a wisp of wind since ancient times, once again emitted a lustrous pale white light, and began to gather the wisps of wind existing in this world onto itself, condensing them into a giant sword surrounded by a blade of energy.

After raising the greatsword above his head and making a gesture of 'swearing an oath with the sword,' Xiao Lü slammed the storm-swirling blade down from a distance.

A shockwave, several meters high, instantly coalesced into a blade that struck the 'Abishu' armor, causing injuries that nearly paralyzed it on the spot.

"A successful attack!"

Throwing out her yo-yo, she helped the four members of the gaming club deflect Sofia's sword-sweeping attacks and missile strikes, while also taking care of her Navi duties.

"Pandora—Mahakgawon!"

"Makougaon: Deals massive damage with the Blessing attribute to all enemies."

Blessings and the light of hope from heaven pierced the darkness, descending upon the Demon King's 'throne' and the Abishu armor with a scorching heat that could melt gold and iron.

Right before your eyes.

Watch us multiply (Our team is growing stronger)

Come to claim our rights. It's time!

"As expected of the Hero Squad..."

A barrier rose from the throne of the 'Black Demon King', but it was instantly burned away like melting snow by the blessing light released by Sophia.

The rain of blessings fell on the 'Black Demon King's' head, mostly blocked by her veil, but a few raindrops fell on her cheeks and clothes, burning out grotesque spots that were instantly repaired.

"The hero's 'magic' is really hard to resist... Even with all the preparations, is this all we can resist?"

After exhaling, the Black Demon King stood up from his throne.

"To ruin their own future like this... what a hopeless bunch of 'fools'."

"Wreck off your own future? How so?"

Paradise Lost calmly slashed, the clanging blade severing a heavy, sparking mechanical finger. Amamiya responded to Rion's 'pointing and commenting'.

"You could have had a better future simply by following my instructions... Everything I did was for the academy... Not only do you not appreciate it, but you also plan to overthrow me and create your so-called 'future'..."