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The battle has ended.

The large sea army led by Demon King Leviathan has been defeated.

Many lives were lost, but even more were saved.

There’s always death in war, but we cannot view every death on the same level.

We do not mourn the deaths of those who sought to pillage others.

Our mourning is reserved for the noble deaths of those who protected many lives through war.

– We must remember them.

The navy of Belselphia.

128 people. Dead.

Having over a hundred casualties against countless sea creatures was unprecedented for Belselphia.

No matter how accustomed to death the warriors were, the entire city lowered its head in mourning for the countless lives lost overnight.

And while mourning their deaths, we must keep moving.

The Demon King’s army gathered to take away the lives of Belselphia.

The corpses of numerous monsters were either floating on the battlefield or sinking, polluting the sea in real-time.

They say new life springs forth from a land filled with death, but to clear all the death from the ground will take considerable effort.

The bodies sprawled across the land decay, consumed by insects and microorganisms, but what about the countless remains of creatures scattered across the ocean?

Nature knows the answer.

No matter how strong a creature, a corpse is silent after death.

Even the tiniest microorganisms and little fish.

If there’s food spread all over the sea, even the creatures feeding on each other will target the strong and massive beings.

Crunch, crunch.

The remains of numerous sea creatures became food for the fish.

Fish smaller than fingers moved in schools, devouring the giant sea monsters, while sharks ignored them and feasted on squids stuck to the ocean floor.

Even with so many creatures dead, though it may be hard to clear them away in the moment, time will allow nature’s self-cleaning process to sort it out.

Nature is a cycle.

As life and death cycle, nature also ensures that the corpses of the dead return to be a part of nature so that the living can go on without the burden of death.

But sometimes there are things even nature cannot handle.

“What was it called again? Kkungkki?”

“Right. I never thought it would have such a cute name.”

Eastern and Jerka lay in a hospital room in Belselphia, gazing out the window.

After the battle against Demon King Leviathan.

Not much has changed inside Belselphia, but a trophy-like symbol has been erected atop the tower.

“I can understand how monster hunters feel when they hunt beasts and put their bones on display at home.”

“Right? I can’t stand having something like that stuck up there.”

Kkungkki.

The creature that was the pet octopus of Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor.

However, rather than that name, it gained infamy as one of the three great sea monsters in the area—the Kraken. Over the past 500 years, it has attacked numerous ships, and while it wasn’t exactly a demon lord level, it surely was a being of lower rank that had been killed.

Now, all that remains is its dismembered body, neatly mounted at the top of the memorial tower in honor of the battle.

“I really can’t grasp how they caught that thing.”

“Thanks to the hero, of course.”

“The hero? Hey, why are we calling them ‘hero’? Why not just ‘hero’?”

“What’s the difference? Anyone who saved us is a hero. Besides, the current hero isn’t the same person who harmed the Great Demon Lord 500 years ago, right?”

“That might be true.”

Is it alright for those from the demon race to defend the hero?

But thanks to the hero, Belselphia was saved, so isn’t it wrong to badmouth the hero?

Now, with no way to gauge the Great Demon Lord’s intent, the residents of Belselphia could only entrust everything to Celcius’s judgment.

– Hero Lucius is our savior of Belselphia.

Celcius recognized Lucius as a hero.

Acknowledged as the one who saved Belselphia, recognized as the ‘Demon Slayer’.

“If we don’t recognize the one who slain the Demon Lord as a hero, what will we do? We almost got our homes swallowed whole by those creatures.”

“Exactly. Who else could be the hero but the one who killed the Demon Lord?”

The man who killed the Demon Lord.

500 years ago, those who stood against the Demon Lord were called heroes, so there’s no reason not to call the one who truly defeated him a hero.

“Ugh. Only by killing a Demon Lord can one have such beautiful women around?”

“It seems all three have fond feelings for the hero, right?”

“Fond feelings? It was like honey was dripping from their eyes. That’s not just fondness; that’s love. Pure love.”

After the battle ended, it was inevitable that great interest would be directed towards the heroes who had played a significant role.

No matter how much the hero wielded the Holy Wind Sword, and no matter how much the party included a saintess.

In the end, this is Belselphia, ruled by the Spirit Celcius, and though the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess keeps silent about beings in the ocean, there’s really no reason to see them as adversaries.

“I heard that a High Elf saved my friend, who almost got killed by a Kraken’s breath.”

“Really? My neighbor claimed his swordsman friend cut down a shark trying to eat him. That big-hearted swordsman.”

“We survived thanks to the saintess… If they hadn’t been there, half of those lying in this hospital would surely be dead.”

And above all, the hero party saved the people of Belselphia.

Buried deep is the evil past of 500 years, but they survived together amidst the threat to their lives.

Not just surviving, many lived thanks to the help of the hero party, so how could they treat them poorly?

“So what do you think?”

“Huh?”

“Who do you think will become the hero’s ‘partner’?”

“…Hmm.”

Partner.

It carries many meanings, but the partner they are talking about has only one.

“Only one, right?”

“I think so too.”

Eastern, Jerka, and everyone who fought on the front lines shares this consensus.

The partner of Hero Lucius.

That woman….

*

“Why me?”

“If not you, then who else?”

“Am I crazy?”

“Not crazy?”

“Stop it with the nonsense.”

I raised my hand in refusal towards the blue woman in front of me.

“I’m too busy absorbing the core. Can’t you see?”

Using the mana filling my body, I revealed the magic core within me through magical projection.

Thump, thump.

The circular magic core had two masses attached to it.

One was peacefully sleeping in purple, while the other blinked in cerulean, resonating with the red magic core in the center.

“Just calming your mana is tough enough right now. I need rest too.”

“Haven’t you already enjoyed enough rest?”

“Not yet.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

The blue girl smirked while shrugging her shoulders.

“Surely the mighty Great Demon Lord doesn’t need to get involved in such things.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. It simply seems more worthwhile to talk to you than to dance at the party.”

“Hmph…”

The blue girl rested her chin on her hands, leaning forward.

“Do you really like me?”

“Crazy talk.”

“Or what was the reason for saving me? Just like this.”

“There’s no reason to kill you. Besides, you’re a being called one of the seven Demon Lords in the Demon World. And if you die, I lose the power of your mana. That’s it.”

I quickly explained the reason for saving her, ensuring that she wouldn’t fade away into nothingness.

“That must have hurt a lot from Lucius’s Holy Sword. I’m sorry about that. But Lucius knows. He knows that even a being like the Demon Lord can utilize their power if they have magic stones.”

“You know I’m a Demon Lord?”

“Of course. But you’ll remain clueless for your entire life. There’s no reason for you to know.”

I must become Sage Bel, who uses the power of the Demon Lord, not Great Demon Lord Belphegor absorbing power.

“During the final battle, Lucius severed your flesh and cut your heart, then took the magic stone separately. I’ve taught you before that if you can, always take the magic stone.”

“What if he hadn’t taken it and stabbed my core with the Holy Sword?”

“That wouldn’t have happened. If it did, I would have acted.”

Though they had disengaged from the battle, they did not fall unconscious.

Lucius swung the Holy Sword against the Demon Lord Leviathan.

In an overwhelmingly one-sided fight, the only concern was fear that Leviathan’s magic core might get destroyed.

“I told you I would take care of your wishes. I’ve already reached an agreement with Beelzebub.”

“What’s that guy’s promise?”

“That’s a secret. I can’t go around sharing promises made between Demon Lords.”

Both Beelzebub and Leviathan share similar wishes.

It’s just that Leviathan refers to the ‘demon creatures living in the sea’, which is a broader yet more specific category.

The fundamental desire was similar.

“I’ll do my best for you. Initially, I planned to seek revenge after being summoned to the Intermediate Realm, but now that this has come to pass, I’ll give it a shot until the very end.”

“Are you trying to dominate the Intermediate Realm?”

“No. I’m not attacking the Intermediate Realm. The targets I truly must address are separate.”

I pointed towards the sky.

The blue girl gazed up at the sky for a moment, then smiled.

“That sounds fun. I wonder if there’s an ocean in the sky?”

“Maybe not in the sky, but there might be a sea beyond the sky. If there isn’t, I’ll make one for you.”

“What, such great confidence?”

“I’m not weak enough to make promises like that without having that level of confidence.”

I reached out to the blue girl.

“When the day comes that we meet again, I’ll let you swim to your heart’s content. Your kin too, and you as well.”

“It’s not going to be a normal sea, is it?”

“Don’t worry. Once you become a ‘God’, that’s child’s play.”

I gently stroked the blue girl’s head, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“So, goodbye, and sleep well.”

“……Yeah. I’m a little sleepy now. Then….”

Leviathan buried her face in my embrace.

“…So will you be dancing at the victory celebration as the hero’s partner?”

“…….”

“The dress should be… V-neck….”

That was.

The last thing Leviathan left behind.

 

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