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### Explanation of the Spirit Device

Adjustment regarding Lucius, Rosmas, and Droniel.

‘It’s over!’

Having completed all of this reliably, I felt I could finally rest easy and sleep.

‘Now, there’s nothing that can disturb me.’

Sleep is unnecessary.

However, the mental strain over the past few days was considerable, and I needed a moment of respite where I could think of nothing.

Yes.

A bit of rest.

As someone who uses their head, if I don’t take at least a little break, I might end up with a splitting headache later on.

No matter how well I manage my stamina and prepare for the tasks ahead, if a dangerous situation arises, it’s bound to become troublesome in various ways.

Thus.

The Demon King’s ultimate technique.

Blank—

Going blank with all my power.

I won’t think about Asydia, my own physical body, or anything at all.

Whether Lucius pairs up with Rosmas, whether Droniel grinds his teeth watching, contemplating whether to reveal his true identity or not, whether Lord Rapid is diligently calming the townspeople and trying to find a way to contact Odrone in the center of Ligret, or whether Liriez sets up the barrier again.

Whether Zephar is targeting me or not.

At this moment, I’m just someone who can think of nothing but rest.

With no thoughts, no worries, I enjoy this brief meditation.

Is sleep coming?

No, it is not.

This body is a dead one and does not sleep.

But if human sleep is a time that relieves fatigue of the body and mind and rejuvenates, then I suppose this moment of dazed rest could also be considered sleep.

‘I want to go home.’

As my consciousness drifted, I suddenly felt an urge to go home.

I want to lie down in my Demon King’s Castle and lounge in bed.

How much have I suffered as a Demon Lord? Why must I endure such hardships yet again here?

I just want to live and breathe.

The destruction of the Demon World.

The conflict between Celestial and Demon Races.

The confrontations of celestial horses unfolding in the Intermediate Realm.

And caught in between, the survival of humanity.

And far before all of that, the seven powers created by the two goddesses who formed the world and the spirits that control those powers.

The Spirit Device that imprisoned those spirits.

Such things only give me a headache.

All I desire is one thing.

Revenge against Zephar.

He must pay for daring to annoy me.

Five hundred years ago, I did everything I could, and I resolved to simply be defeated in front of the world’s destruction.

The Demon King, who chose to sacrifice all that he had built as the head of the Demon King’s Army for the sake of the Intermediate Realm’s existence, must surely die at the hands of Zephar, who forcibly dragged me back into active duty despite my weariness.

“…….”

It’s not easy to remain blank.

There are too many distracting elements to be vacant.

I intentionally lay still in bed to avoid a headache, yet the headache-inducing factors pile up like mountains.

Concerns regarding Lucius, Rosmas, Droniel, or other heroes could not matter less.

– How long will you keep living like that?

Satan said.

– The reason I train my body is to defeat stronger enemies. Lucifer trains his body for physical beauty. What purpose do you have for your exercises?

– Is there a reason to train my stamina?

– Of course. If you wish to live a long and healthy life, shouldn’t you save the world you want to continue living in?

Satan and Lucifer had missions.

– The Demon World is going to perish. There isn’t even two hundred years left. We need to cross over to the Intermediate Realm and make it ours. This world is already dying.

– So, you’re asking me to come along?

– There’s no better leader than you. Though it’s from a human’s perspective, we are Demon Lords and you are the Demon King. It’s only natural for the Demon Race to follow a stronger one, isn’t it?

– Is there some punk waiting for the opportunity to face me, thinking he can win anytime?

– In terms of brute force, yes. But your true value lies not in brute force, right? The ability to govern a group. That ability has already been proven to be just shy of ruling over the Intermediate Realm. If the hero hadn’t attempted a self-destruct to seal the world in the end—

– Enough. I feel phantom pain in my heart, so let’s stop that talk.

I remembered the conversations we had while forging steel.

While lifting and lowering the steel bar, refined in the hell of the Demon World, Lucifer’s domain, the physical powerhouse Demon Lord Satan always asked me…

No, not just Satan, all the Demon Lords questioned me.

– Don’t you have thoughts of going back to the human world to take revenge?

They asked if I didn’t feel justified for slipping at the final step.

How long will you hide in idleness, living just to breathe without reason or purpose?

– A being wishing to die alongside the planet without reason for living. Can such a being truly be called alive?

– The Demon World will fall. If there is a final living being left in the Demon World, it will be you. I will move on to the Intermediate Realm and live an eternal life, and you will perish.

– Wouldn’t it be better to go together? If you say you’re going back, all the Demon Race will rise and follow you.

– It’s the path to become our true leader, the Demon God. Think about it seriously.

“……Hah.”

Demon God.

Just recalling that made me laugh out loud.

As someone who held the world’s secret which I could tell no one, their suggestion to dominate the Intermediate Realm as the Demon God and lead the Demon Lords was truly ridiculous…

“Master.”

“……Lucius.”

It’s time to wake from my thoughts.

Lucius’s urgent voice called me, and I grabbed the staff I had set on the bed.

“Is it an enemy raid?”

“…Yes. It’s entirely another entity.”

Lucius pointed out the window.

Beyond Liriez’s barrier, beyond the icy ramparts, a being entirely different from Narag Poison Bug was circling around the barrier.

“……!!”

At the sight, my hands and feet shook.

A form that was both familiar and strange.

A being I never expected to see in the Intermediate Realm.

“…What the heck is that?”

“Do you not know, Master?”

“…….”

The Sorceress of Crimson Lotus may not know, but the Demon Lord Belphegor does recognize the monster.

A servant of Beelzebub, Diptera.

With a legion of fly-like monsters the size of humans, I instinctively tightened my grip on the staff.

“…Lucius. From here on out, this is also a realm of knowledge for me.”

“Yes?”

“I haven’t personally experienced it, but I’ve read about it in books.”

A lie, but.

“That seems like a servant of a different Demon Lord than the Demon King.”

“…A different Demon Lord?”

“Yes. It looks like a different Demon Lord has been summoned, distinct from Belphegor.”

My head begins to throb.

Considering all the signs of Beelzebub that have appeared and Asydia’s movements, the worst-case scenario immediately comes to mind.

“…Perhaps Asydia is controlling the Demon Lord.”

“Is that possible…?”

“It wouldn’t be impossible. I explained before about the True Name Contract. If a Demon Lord-level one had fallen victim to it, they would be utterly helpless.”

Even I, the best in mental magic within the Demon World, almost fell prey to it.

Though my case was a bit different, if I had been summoned by a ‘true name’ which I couldn’t resist under any circumstances, I might not have been able to abandon this body for another.

“…How annoying.”

– Strike while the enemy is resting.

The enemy is employing the core tactic of the Demon King’s Army.

Looking at all the various factors, it seems the worst possible situation has occurred.

Zephar is controlling Demon King Beelzebub.

Even if this is merely my conjecture, it doesn’t matter.

At best, it’s ‘Demon King Beelzebub is assisting Zephar’, and whether controlling or assisting, it’s undeniably my worst enemy as a member of the Hero Party.

If.

If that’s the one I know.

“Run to Liriez and tell her. She needs to strengthen the barrier to its maximum.”

“Understood!”

Lucius didn’t even utter a word like ‘What?’.

Before questioning my order, he immediately followed through with it and went into action.

“Liriez! It’s Master’s instructions! He said to increase the barrier’s strength!”

“Yes? What suddenly….”

The problem is, while Lucius obediently follows my words, Liriez does not.

‘Yeah, Lucius is the best.’

Seeing him act quickly after giving orders, Lucius really is the best.

Bearnes and Liriez each have their own experience, so in situations like this, they actively respond rather than passively.

To be precise, they harbor doubts before following my precise orders.

And in the moment they miss that timing, the enemy’s attack will commence.

Creeeak!!

The Diptera screamed as they latched onto the barrier.

One by one, they clung to the ice barrier made by the Power of the Holy Sword, sinking their sharp claws into it and flapping their wings wildly.

“!!”

“It’s too late, Liriez.”

I used the window to fly outside.

Of course, Lucius, moving like the wind, reached Liriez faster than I could fly, but in that brief moment, she missed her chance.

“It’s too late to try and strengthen the barrier now. Normally, those things….”

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

The Diptera pushed their bodies into the ice wall.

No matter if their bodies froze, they squeezed and shoved themselves into the ice barrier.

“They will prevent us from reinforcing the barrier.”

“Don’t tell me….”

“Can you feel the mana from them?”

“…Indeed, I feel it. It’s the most wicked mana I’ve ever encountered.”

“If you’ve noticed that…. Hah, I’m sorry. I just started to feel some anxiety now.”

Having just turned the flow of mana within me, I became a bit anxious.

“…You see those beasts over there. Those.”

The bodies of the Diptera that had burrowed into the barrier began to glow red.

“It’s a bomb.”

KABOOOM!!!

It exploded.

Demon King Beelzebub.

Authority.

Transforms creatures made from his servants into explosives.

 

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