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“Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu…”

“?”

While reorganizing the front lines around the Demon King’s castle, the castle itself crumbled away, revealing the Demon King seated on his throne.

The Demon King made a grand appearance, accompanied by seven Demon Swords.

If there are no soldiers to defend, there’s no point in trying to maintain the castle, so he must have decided to confront us instead?

Considering the summoning of the swords, it seems the castle didn’t actually collapse but merely went into hiding for a moment.

“Quite a few, huh? Strong-looking humans.”

The Demon King sat on his throne, his expressionless face looking down at the soldiers and heroes surrounding him.

For a Demon King, claimed to be so powerful, to merely think humans look ‘strong’ is rather unremarkable.

Isn’t that usually an insult? Like saying there are many humans here just waiting to die, or that their existence is meaningless?

“Are you scared or something?”

Since it seems I’m the representative of humanity, I step forward to face the Demon King.

“Not really, but…”

The Demon King’s response was blase, but it’s hard to tell if he truly feels that way since that’s just his usual demeanor.

“As you know, us demons derive pleasure from battle and find meaning in struggle. Our creatures may not speak, but they’re likely similar. We simply exist, fight, and die when defeated. Why were we created this way? You asked me that earlier, hero, didn’t you? Why I do what I do.”

It’s the answer I didn’t hear because I headed off to deal with the gate.

It’s a question I’m curious about.

Is the Demon King finally about to give me that answer?

“It’s just because we were born this way. You may find it hard to understand, but we can’t survive without opening a gate. It’s inevitable that we would all fight each other to death otherwise. Honestly, I haven’t felt the thrill of battle in a long time, but I’d rather not see my world perish in civil war.”

So the reason the Demon King opens gates and causes such chaos is plain and simple.

It’s just something he has to accept because of what he is born to be, a matter of destiny.

They too cannot refuse their innate tendency or the mission laid upon them.

Just like how I have to live as a hero.

But I couldn’t care less about that.

I feel no sense of kinship with the Demon King or his kind. None of the emotions that involve pity or sympathy either. I don’t see this fate as a tragedy, nor do I blame the Creator for bringing about our adversaries in this world.

If that’s their fate, and this is mine…

Then all that’s left is to clash and settle it.

“So what I want to say is that the reason I said you seem strong is…”

As I grip my sword and gather my resolve, the Demon King smiles and dozens of dark magic circles open up in the sky.

And once again, the seven Demon Swords point towards us.

Now that’s more like it.

“It’s been a while since I’ve found something amusing. Seems I still have some of that feeling left in me. Come at me, humans. And hero.”

“First wave, launch!!”

With Na-o’s order, several powerful spells and hundreds of magical strikes shoot toward the Demon King.

Naturally, the Demon King wasn’t just sitting around while spouting his nonsense.

From the magic circles positioned behind him, dark magic spells surged forth, colliding with ours and causing intense blasts that shook the battlefield.

And through that explosion, the seven Demon Swords charged at us.

“I’ve purified all the commanders. Not that it matters. Rising Death Knights.”

As the Demon King cast his spell, heavily armored knights of death arose from the ground, brandishing their Demon Swords.

“Second wave, launch!! We’ll respond to the Death Knights!”

The Demon King’s dark magic circles continued to maintain their state, firing off spells, meaning our mages and clerics had to keep responding continuously.

The front lines of each party rushed to engage the Death Knights assigned to them.

Although the Death Knights are high in stats and lack consciousness, they’re not too troublesome with heroes gathered in this situation…

“We’re up against Ego Swords imbued with Void Enchant! We need to focus on evading and respond with Material Filling!”

The overwhelmingly strong void-element Demon Sword is manipulating the Death Knights to move intelligently.

I warned the heroes to be careful to prevent a disaster when they rush in without any information.

“What? All seven of them?”

“Tch, I’ll clean this up quickly and cut down the Demon King too.”

Creatures continue to be summoned from the gate, and with the Demon King’s minions, magic circles automatically firing spells powered by the gate.

It may seem like an impending disaster, but all of this will end once we close the gate.

“Then that wouldn’t be any fun for you, hero.”

And now the Demon King directly challenges me, who holds the Holy Sword capable of closing the gate.

“If it’s a wish, I’ll slaughter you! No Resistance Rapture!!”

“Genocide Cutter!!”

As our blows clashed, a powerful shockwave erupted, and I found myself locked in combat with the Demon King.

Having gained immense strength since the last war, I could finally hold my own against him.

However, brute force wasn’t going to cut it, and in this stance, the Void was chipping away at the Holy Sword.

Since Aurora and Material Filling were quickly draining, I had no choice but to parry and retreat.

I’m a swordsman, and yet I can’t fight while my sword is locked against the enemy!

“Zion!”

After trading a strike with the Demon King, I suddenly heard someone calling for me.

“Na-o?”

The owner of that voice was Na-o, who was orchestrating the battle.

As I turned to see where the noise was coming from, I saw Na-o, Hanamana, and another hero advancing towards me.

“Material Filling.”

Hanamana returned to my side, casting buffs and enchantments.

“I’ll directly block the swords. You focus on the attack, hero.”

The eldest of the Judgment Sisters, Saint Leona Sillein, with her massive golden gauntlet, stepped forth to join the front lines.

“Commander Demiano is taking charge. Let’s go at the Demon King like this.”

Finally, Na-o takes up her stance, pointing her staff at the Demon King.

So now it’s a hero party with the saint at the forefront.

The only one able to withstand the Void at their own with sufficient divine cost would be a saint of the Creator’s church.

An optimal position to face the Demon King.

“Here I go!”

With our positions set, Leona charged straight toward the Demon King.

“Haah!!”

– Ting!!

Leona deflected the Demon King’s strike with her fist.

Though the material on her gauntlet was grinded down, it was immediately replenished. She’s able to compensate for the damage inflicted by the Void with creation. If she fights like that, she can clash weapons.

Taking that opportunity, I stealthily moved closer to the Demon King, looking for a chance. Should I dash for the gate as a test?

The Demon King was still focused on me, but with Leona on him, it wouldn’t be easy.

‘Let’s do this.’

As I watched the Demon King’s movements while finding my footing, I swiftly turned towards the gate.

“That pattern is getting boring.”

Having focused on me, he had been measuring the distance, ignoring Leona, and promptly chased after me.

So this won’t work, huh? Even though Saint Leona has strong endurance and divine power, her speed isn’t swift.

The Demon King is too quick to snag when he’s intent on pursuing.

“No Resistance Dimension Slash!”

“Death Crescent.”

– Ting!!

With another clash of blades, shockwaves reverberated through the air.

In the midst of that exchange, Leona had sped back towards me.

With both hands clutching her sword, she slid in close to the Demon King’s side.

“Upper River Blow!”

She landed an uppercut against the Demon King’s side.

“……!”

The burst of divine power created a brilliant golden spark, causing the Demon King to take a step back.

“Thunder!!”

“Divine Enchant!”

Na-o instantly summoned lightning into the area, while Hanamana enhanced the lightning with attributes.

– Kwaaarrr!!

The Demon King’s eyes widened in shock as the golden lightning struck him, yet those eyes were clearly fixated on me.

It seemed like he took quite a hit, but it wouldn’t be fatal.

The real finish would come from stabbing at the shoulder that had been cracked by my previous blow with the Holy Sword.

Immediately following that, I conjured magic to thrust the Holy Sword towards him, but—

– Ting!!

The Demon King deflected my sword strike.

That bastard ignored my teammates’ attacks and distractions, only focusing on me and responding to my every action.

The rest of the attacks, no matter how holy, he didn’t seem to care about taking.

Perhaps he’s relying on the healing from being connected to the gate?

“I need to distract him while you focus on your attack, hero.”

“I get that, but it isn’t that simple.”

Once again, Leona surged towards the Demon King, persistently sticking to him.

If we keep this up, gaps will surely appear.

The Demon King is clearly struggling.

He is undoubtedly allowing damage from other holy attacks while focusing solely on making sure I don’t deal a lethal blow.

Even with support from the gate, if it continues like this…

“I just need to stall a bit longer, and I’ll arrive.”

Suddenly, the Demon King spoke something perplexing.

Even while clashing with Leona, he continually glanced in my direction.

Is that statement meant for me?

“What are you waiting for?”

Is he planning to summon something through the gate again now that he’s backed into a corner?

In this dire situation, does he have another trick up his sleeve?

“No, nothing will come here. It’s not about anything arriving; I’m talking about something I sent reaching the kingdom.”

“The kingdom?”

The kingdom? Could he possibly be referring to the Noden Kingdom?

“The space mage you cherish more than your life… Since she isn’t here, I imagine she must have returned to the kingdom? With Space Movement, she would have arrived in an instant. How convenient that is.”

What the hell is he talking about?

A space mage who isn’t present? There’s only one person that could refer to.

“Did you… Do something to Teacher Hop?”

“I told you I sent him off.”

“Sent him where?”

“Remember? The one who intercepted you when you went to capture Aurora.”

“……!”

Could that intercepting bastard be… the assassin?

I recall that he was quite a formidable assassin who hindered me from capturing Mirae and preventing her escape.

“I sent him off. After the gate was completed yesterday and you retreated, I had him head straight to that mage’s house, the one Aurora told me about. The kingdom may be far away, but… he could probably make it in a day. I even sent my best steed from the Demon Army. The demon steeds never get tired, you know.”

So the Demon King is saying that he sent an assassin to Teacher Hop, who would surely be returning to the kingdom?

Since it was obvious he’d return using Space Movement, he had his sights set directly on the house he’d be returning to?

“That can’t be! You’re just bluffing…!”

“If you want to think of it as a bluff, feel free.”

In an instant, my mind went blank and I felt dizzy.

My hand gripping the sword began trembling.

“Why are you doing something like this!!”

“The reason? You know it better than anyone.”

My entire body grew cold, and my breath became frantic.

Teacher… Hop is in danger!

The implication that I know why he’s doing this explained everything.

This isn’t some cheap tactic meant to shake me and find a gap or to induce panic.

The Demon King had a motive for going through with such actions, and it was to send me back to the kingdom.

The Demon King’s aim is for me to completely detach from the battlefield.

If I were to return to the kingdom from this position and situation, what would happen to those here?

No, is that really the priority right now? If I keep fighting here, what would happen to Teacher Hop?

Teacher would certainly die.

While Teacher can manipulate space, that bastard would slip in without her noticing and slit her throat long before Teacher even realizes it.

Then what would become of me?

After winning this war, I would be left all alone in a world without Teacher Hop…

“Hero!”

“Zion!”

I could hear my name being called from all around, yet the voices felt distant, barely registering in my brain.

‘Aah, aaah…!’

Right now, my head is completely…

 

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