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Chapter

４５２．The Price of Valor

「【Unity is Forbidden】」

The curse of the forbidden Great Demon God unleashed by me, a Duke-level demon, mercilessly drove a wedge into the people’s unity.

「Wha—」

「The protection…!」

「I’m losing my power…!」

Panic spread along with the commotion.

…Ah.

The magical barrier that had firmly enveloped the army surrounding me was crumbling, much like a tower of blocks collapsing in an instant.

No matter how much holy silver protection or talismans there are, by uniting those, humans amplify the effects manyfold.

That “amplification” becomes painfully fragile once unity is lost.

Even Arthur can no longer shield it. As I concentrated the dark magic and glared at the Sword Saint—

「【Absolute Defense Zone!】」

Arthur immediately deployed a barrier around the Sword Saint to interrupt my teleportation spell.

—You fell for it; that was a bluff. I wouldn’t use the magic I’d built up for a teleportation spell, instead concentrating it at the tip of my sword-spear.

「【Despair!】」

Curse shot. I directed the dark, ominous force of Adamas, not toward the Sword Saint but rather, with earnest intent, toward Arthur. A mighty swing, layering my entire strength behind it, aimed to crush the hero from above…!

「…!!」

Arthur, who met it with his silver holy sword, grimaced at its weight. The tangible power was countered instantly by the mass of holy silver magic, but it seems it wasn’t enough to completely diminish its physical impact…!

Furthermore, it appears that the 【Absolute Defense Zone】 has the capability to bind the wills of humanity within its range and convert that into magical power, strengthening its user.

Now that unity has been declared forbidden, it’s clear that its effectiveness has weakened.

Unlike before, I am no longer overpowered! …Well, that was probably also due to the fact that I caught Arthur off guard while he prioritized attack over recovery with his burned body.

「【Wither your arms!】」

As I explosively released dark curses, the nearby Royal Guards amusingly lost their stances.

—If the 【Absolute Defense Zone】 is converging the wills of the humans present into Arthur’s power.

Reducing the number of humans here will lead to Arthur’s weakening.

I swiftly turned, thrusting blades into the disarrayed Royal Guards. Swinging wildly. Cutting them down. The elite of the Empire plunged into a sea of blood, powerless.

「Hahaha! So weak, so weak, so weak!!」

I laughed hysterically as I deflected the sporadic slashes from the Sword Saint, blocked the magics from the Vampire Hunters, and took down Royal Guards one after another.

I was glad I practiced curse shots with those Light Blade cultists earlier. The Royal Guards with weakened magic resistance became sluggish against the curse to wither their arms, making them easy targets to kill when I aimed for gaps in their armor.

Arthur was desperately applying magic resistance to every knight opposing me with 【Absolute Defense Zone】 and attempting to interrupt my teleportation spells, but it was merely a temporary reprieve.

…Wait, I just realized.

This curse shot isn’t merely dark magic but carries a “curse” embedded within the blade’s tip, which differs from the previous focused magical power.

Right now it’s a curse of 【Despair】—

But any curse will do.

「【—Teleport】」

I jabbed a Royal Guard with my sword-spear. The teleportation spell, whose intensity was inexplicably heightened by focusing my magic, tore through even the magical defenses of the 【Absolute Defense Zone】, baring its fangs at an otherwise healthy knight.

—The pain from my entire body suddenly vanished.

「Gagghh!」

The Royal Guard, burdened by burns from the holy silver and neck wounds, exploded away, dying instantly after an excessive infusion of dark magic.

…I might have found a way to bypass the magical resistance boasted by even powerful opponents. While my excessive magic might be overkill against humans, it certainly has its merits.

「You monster…!」

Arthur spat with apparent frustration, abandoning support magic and cutting at me again.

Oh sure. I’ve been told since I was a baby I would become a Demon Lord, beaten by demons to study since I was two, and trained in actual combat with lethal wounds back from the Demon World, day after day.

It hurts when my body gets injured, but that’s it.

Unless I’m killed instantly, I’ll keep moving…!

That’s just how I was made.

This Demon Lord’s Prince, Zilbagias!

『When that temperament fuses with the teleportation spell, it becomes a nightmare for enemies.』

Hehe, Antendeixis laughed.

『That woman’s educational policy was indeed correct…』

I’ve undergone intense training, you know…!

『However, I’ve finally revealed the forbidden magic.』

With a sticky tone, Antendeixis announced.

『We must silence them. How regrettable, truly regrettable…!』

How disingenuous, Antendeixis. At least sound a little more regretful. Though I appreciate the sentiment, I have my own plans—

—I fixed my gaze on Arthur’s holy sword descending before me.

With a sideways swing of my sword-spear, I deflected the sword flash!

「Not bad, hero.」

I smoothly measured the distance while grinning like a villain.

「To make me use “forbidden magic” so soon…!」

「Forbidden magic, you say…?」

Arthur grit his teeth as if to inquire further.

「Hehe… This magic seals the strengths of humans.」

In other words, it’s a forbidden curse. Without further explanation, I simply deepened my enigmatic and defiant smile.

Demons have various abilities like devil powers or bloodline magic; they simply have a wide array of cards to play. Moreover, even the Holy Church lacks detailed information on these.

Thus, Arthur and the others cannot pinpoint exactly what kind of magic I just used. Especially right after revealing information about the teleportation spell. They’re likely to mistake the forbidden magic for one of those bloodline arts.

『That’s because, as you mentioned, the Holy Church is unfamiliar with the internal affairs of demons. No matter how much you assert it’s forbidden magic, if word gets out that you used such spells in the Demon Lord Kingdom, the demons and devils will discover the truth of our pact with you?』

Ah, if detailed information from the battlefield circulates, that could be a possibility.

—But where are the Night Elves who would carry that information?

『…………』

The intelligence network is in shambles. Those spies we hunted down previously even warned that they couldn’t safely cross borders anymore.

Perhaps some surviving operatives could manage to carry back news of my rampage here. But it’s impossible now to investigate as carefully as before. No one is physically available to do that.

『…Ugh.』

It’s good to see the efforts in hunting those Night Elves paid off. Especially in the Aulitos Lake area, I was particularly thorough…! Well, I will refrain from using forbidden magic excessively; it could draw too much attention!

「【Great—】」

「Hahaha, I won’t let you!」

As Arthur attempted to use holy magic to purify the forbidden curse, I closed in, swinging Adamas with all my might.

Arthur must instinctively realize that allowing my attack to land would have dire consequences. He assumed a desperate defensive posture.

…No, that isn’t just defense, is it!?

「【Come now, Absolute Defense Zone】」

A dome of light that had been deployed above was instantly converged onto Arthur’s left arm. It turned into a small silver shield I was familiar with.

And it managed to absorb my full-power strike…! As expected of legendary equipment, it didn’t flinch against my curse! Noticing that the forbidden magic had disrupted the unity and recognizing that I began to cut down their numbers, he switched to using it as a shield!

In Arthur’s right hand remained the ever-familiar 【Absolute Annihilation Sword】. With my strike redirected by his shield leaving an opening—his holy silver blade, almost the embodiment of holy magic, surged forward!

「Whoa-oh!」

I abruptly changed direction and somehow avoided Arthur’s counter. His true holy sword flew past, stripping away all my protective magic. If it hits, we’re both in trouble! However, isn’t it a bit unfair that this legendary hero wields two legendary armaments?

『You’re the one who’s truly being unfair.』

…I have nothing to say back.

「…………」

Slowly, Arthur measured the distance. The shield-bearing hero is formidable, especially someone as seasoned as he is, and even more so, having a high-quality shield!

But that also implies! The barrier that had confined me to this land has vanished.

Though rather weak as a demon, I’ll be taking my leave! I’m worried I haven’t collected the Emperor’s head yet, but I can’t dwell on that. Plus, if I delay too much, Leila could get impatient and intervene!

The issue is that even if I try to flee, Arthur and the others would likely chase me to the ends of the earth… In any case, I’ll have to incapacitate them first!

「【Despair, now!!】」

I gathered all my strength and hurled the curse at Arthur. This strike is intended to kill; I trust that much in Arthur’s ability to handle it!

「Guh… Uooo!!」

Even while maneuvering away from the curse, Arthur struggles against my straightforward strength, naturally retaliating instantly.

With a clanging series of metallic sounds, I engaged in a furious exchange with Arthur. Our swords and blades clashed, and the silver and pitch-black magical energies swirled around as if to swallow each other. The Sword Saints were so intimidated by my curses that they couldn’t even intervene.

「Uooooooh!」

「Haaaah!」

Adamas and Excalibur collided, dazzling sparks flying. Neither side retreated, pushing forward! A deadlock formed in our blades—

「…What?」

I sensed something off.

Having closed the distance, I realized: Arthur, you…

The one before me is the descendant of the hero king of Aulitos Lake.

A young hero in his mid-twenties—was what I thought.

「You…!!」

But now, he bore the visage of someone in his late thirties.

His stern expression and the deep furrows carved into his brow made me realize this late.

Arthur clearly has aged.

Moment by moment.

Even now, at this very moment, a tremendous force surged from his hand, causing the silver holy sword to glow ominously.

 

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