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The Southern Imperial Territory of Lesvos. Mobile Fortress Mamon.

The Empire’s Absolute Barrier, crumbling.

It goes without saying that the Empire’s barrier is the shield that protects the Empire, and the fact that it has begun to break down directly correlates to the Empire’s doom.

“We need to head to the Empire. Right now.”

There’s no need to weigh anything further.

“I can sense it through my long experience. The Empire’s Absolute Barrier won’t hold against the Demon King’s army. It’ll surely be breached, and the Empire will be pushed to its limits.”

“But it’s the Empire…”

“I guarantee it.”

“…If the Witch says that, then the Empire must be even more incompetent than I thought.”

Mamon sighed deeply, placing a hand on his forehead.

“But, Witch. The Mobile Fortress needs repairs. It has sustained major damage while swimming through the gorge and requires immediate maintenance.”

“For how long?”

“One day.”

“That’s too late. One day would be more than enough time for Satan to reach the Realm.”

The Realm is vast.

But in a broader sense, the Realm has long been shattered since the first barrier was destroyed.

The current Realm refers only to the Realm of Leberced, the original Empire, surrounded by the walls of the inner Empire where the Imperial Palace resides.

“What exactly is the problem with the Mobile Fortress?”

“The corpses of the enemy, ground down by the fortress charge, are lodged in the fortress’s joints. It would take an entire day to remove them and get it moving again.”

“An entire day… again, too late. That’s out of the question.”

“Then what will you do? Run there?”

“No.”

I unfolded the map.

“If we run a little to the east from here, we’ll find a river. If we go upstream, we can reach the Realm directly.”

“But this river… no, calling it a ‘river’ doesn’t mean anything.”

“We have the Holy Sword.”

With Liriez’s power, going against the current of the river is faster.

It’s much quicker to alter the ‘flow’ of an already flowing river than to keep creating water routes on land.

“Now that Barbolado’s army has killed all the Holy Knights, that’s the closest way to reach the Realm. I’d love to fire Liriez off with the Hero Cannon, but…”

“The Hero Cannon isn’t on the Mobile Fortress.”

There’s no way to launch it with artillery either.

I lack the mana for a mass teleport.

Using the power of the Holy Sword is the best option now.

“So, Mamon, I’ll leave Bearnes to you.”

“…It’s not dangerous, is it?”

“Yeah. Bearnes is currently just unconscious. She’ll regain consciousness soon, but she’s exhausted from being brainwashed by the Demon King.”

Bearnes would be an excellent asset, but she needed rest on the Mobile Fortress.

“Probably only the injured from this battle and you will remain on the Mobile Fortress…”

“Can I trust you?”

“Of course. This Mamon can withstand any intruder’s attack. But.”

“But what?”

“…I’m uneasy too, so let’s take out an insurance policy.”

Mamon reached into her robes and fished something out to hand to me.

“Wait, what’s this?”

“My ‘core.’ To be precise, it’s an object that mimics the core.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m not crazy. This is perfectly normal.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because.”

Mamon took out her ‘magic core.’

An object that is akin to a heart for demonkind.

“I think it’ll be much safer in your hands than just sitting here with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll be here, but there could be others aiming for Mamon, right? Hehe. So it would be safest to stay near the Hero of the Holy Sword.”

“Still, handing over your core to me…”

“Or it could be inside the Witch’s body.”

“…….”

No way.

“You can’t be serious, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The burden on the body.”

“…….”

Mamon just kept smiling.

On the surface, she appeared perfectly healthy, but the Mamon handing over her core to me looked quite strange.

“No way, you lunatic. Where in the world do you find a demon just handing over their core? What if I do something bad with this?”

“I can trust the Witch.”

“Trust me for what?”

“Because the Witch I’ve watched all this time is different.”

Mamon slightly lifted the shoulder of her robe.

Crisp.

What was inside her body was a bit… disturbing.

Should I say it’s rotting, or was it decaying?

She isn’t turning undead.

Just like the ‘Demon King’s core’ cannot reside in an ordinary human body, Mamon’s body—Endymion’s flesh was being consumed by mana.

“…Hehe. I think I’ve done a good job hiding it until now. The truth is, I’m on borrowed time!”

Mamon spread her arms wide and smiled broadly.

“To be exact, this body is on borrowed time. The body I inhabit, a dying patient’s body, you see.”

“You looked fine until now.”

“I was fine because I moved properly. Inside, it’s rotting away. I can move thanks to the power of mana, but doing that…”

“Mana is eating away at the body.”

What happens when mana consumes a human body?

It becomes ‘fixed.’

The core completely settles into that body, and Magic King Endymion will truly become Demon King Mamon.

“I’ve used it for over a year, so it’s been a long time. It’s about time to swap bodies.”

In just a month, this dying body will become her own.

Of course, anyone would try to avoid such a situation.

“You should have said something.”

“I thought about asking multiple times, but I thought that would be an insult to Lord Bel Pegor.”

“Do you have a spare body? Did you bring one?”

“Not on the Mobile Fortress. And… I have a very enticing spare body, which is why I’m leaving it with you.”

Mamon shook her head with a wry smile.

“This body surely has less than a month left. Then I’m going to think, ‘I need to find the next candidate for the Magic King.’ And I’ll surely fall for the temptation. Since there’s a suitable body at hand.”

“Bearnes.”

“Yes. I will steal the Mercenary King’s body. Without a doubt.”

Mamon’s gaze was serious.

“…Demon Lord.”

Mamon pressed her magic core firmly into my hand.

“I still don’t quite understand what kind of picture the Demon Lord is painting. To be honest, I have no idea what you plan to do by using the Heroes of the Holy Sword. I’m just a measly little demon who has only lived about three hundred years, barely clawing my way onto the throne of a Demon King with the power of Magic Engineering.”

“Mamon.”

“But I’m certain of one thing. The Demon Lord isn’t wrong. I can trust and leave everything to the Demon Lord. At least the current Demon Lord… will surely strive for the Demon Race and the Demon World.”

“That doesn’t mean you should hand over your core like this, right? You know how I might use it.”

“No.”

Mamon’s eyes glimmered with certainty.

“I believe that the Witch I know will surely use it well. Just one thing I wish to ask.”

Mamon nodded heavily.

“Please take care of the Demon World.”

“…That’s a rather broad and heavy request.”

“Will you grant it?”

“…….”

In the past, I would have ignored it and told her to handle it herself.

“…Well, if I have the time, I’ll think it over.”

“Hehe. I knew you’d say that.”

I received Mamon’s core like that.

“Hey. But if you give this to me, what are you going to do now?”

“Oh, that. Well.”

Mamon winked at me.

“I’m a dual core, you see.”

“…….”

“As long as one of the cores is intact, I can manage to survive… Ah!”

Joint.

*

A short while later.

I explained the situation to the Spartan warriors and Holy Knights, then packed my gear and sprinted toward the Realm.

The distance to the river is several dozen kilometers.

Being strong warriors, they’ll arrive in just a few hours if they run non-stop, and once we reach the river, we can easily swim upstream.

“Witch.”

“Yes, Hero.”

Liriez, holding me tight, asked cautiously as we ran at the front lines.

“Are you sure I don’t need to worry about what’s behind us?”

“Yes. The Mobile Fortress will be well guarded by the Magic King. After a day, we’ll move straight toward the Empire.”

“I’ll trust in your words, since you said it. Though I am somewhat anxious…”

Liriez glanced to the north.

“Right now, the Realm is more urgent.”

Currently.

Even though this place, Lesvos, is very far from the Realm.

A crimson aura-like presence could be seen in the direction of the Realm.

It was truly the epitome of ominous energy.

Even from a distance in Lesvos, we could see that ominous energy wrapping around the Realm, so we had no choice but to make haste toward the Empire.

“Liriez, Hero.”

“Yes, Witch.”

“…My main body is in the Empire. But what the Demon King is aiming for is not me, but the ‘Spirit Device’ in the Empire.”

“…Demon God.”

“Yes.”

I firmly warned Liriez.

“If anything happens, focus on repelling the Demon King, not me.”

“Understood.”

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

Liriez’s response was not very reassuring, but still, I trusted her.

Because she’s a Hero.

Surely, it’s impossible to think she would act against the great cause for someone like me.

Like she would.

*

Whoosh.

The wind blows.

Above the gorge leading into Lesvos, a black whirlwind swept over the water-soaked gorge as someone landed above it.

“Well, at least I managed to create as much disturbance as possible before dying.”

Click.

The black-haired woman in a black robe—Half-Dragon Electra pressed something inside her robe with her thumb.

Whir.

Her robe merged with the color of the ground, and despite the sticky mud, Cassandra leaned her body forward.

“The Magic King hasn’t gone out.”

Click.

“As soon as he appears, no, even if he doesn’t appear.”

Whoosh.

“I will kill him right here.”

Electra, with her magic sniper raised ahead, had eyes slit like a serpent.

 

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