After receiving various points of feedback, I felt that the depiction was insufficient, so I have added and revised some descriptions and flags.
Another side
The Demon Lord’s lines were as if from a lie, or a joke. However, those who were drawn into the otherworld and confronted by his presence could not accept his words as a joke. They did not even wish they were a joke. After all, the God they would have wished upon did not deny the Demon Lord’s words.
“Well, I’ve said what I wanted to say. Unfortunately, I’m not a man of leisure. I’d like you to release my precious subordinates’ child soon, wouldn’t you?”
The Demon Lord’s composure conveyed an absence of irritation or impatience. It wasn’t carelessness. Nor was it arrogance. Although Isal’s forces, holding hostages, should have had the upper hand, that advantage seemed meaningless. It was simply his confidence that he could perfectly handle whatever happened next. His mere presence, standing there with dignity, exuded an overwhelming aura.
“What do you say, Seraph Nisia over there? If you honestly return these children, I promise on my name that I will kill everyone here without letting them suffer.”
However, even the Demon Lord possessed some measure of mercy and a desire to reduce the effort involved. “Without letting them suffer” meant foregoing any information that could be obtained, such as through torture. Bringing up negotiations indicated he wanted to save on trouble. It was a concession that, depending on the recipient, could be considered a good offer. However, only those who understood the Demon Lord’s sentiments and possessed the resolve to accept them could comprehend it.
“N-no!!”
“Stop it!”
Faced with overwhelming power and the reality of death, it was anything but normal to maintain rational thought. Despite being trained and gaining power in a short period, one soldier had been an ordinary person until then. He had received insufficient training to resist fear. Clinging to the security of the gun in his hand and wanting to escape his fear with all his might, he aimed the muzzle at the Demon Lord and pulled the trigger. The sound of the exploding gunpowder echoed, and as if pulled by it, the surrounding soldiers, unable to hear Nisia’s restraining voice, continued to pull the trigger. The bullets that had annihilated the demons within the company were, to them, bullets of hope. However, only the ones who fired them could not predict the outcome.
“Hmm, I see, I see. Bullets engraved with sacred markings, huh? They are effective up to a certain point, I admit.”
The Demon Lord, catching a bullet with his finger and gazing intently at the warhead, showed no signs of being affected. This only increased their fear, and they kept pulling the trigger, forgetting to reload their magazines, but naturally, no more bullets came out. Their thoughts went in circles, and their confusion made them lose even more composure. The soldiers’ self-exonerating words, saying they were only protecting themselves, repeatedly echoed in their minds.
“Alright, I’ll leave this matter to the Giants later… But now, I’ve been attacked, so is this previous answer acceptable?”
However, no matter how they made excuses, the fact remained that they had attacked the Demon Lord. It was the other side that had kicked away the mercy that could have been interpreted as such.
“Then, there will be no killing.”
And not killing did not necessarily equate to mercy.
“Scatter!”
How many managed to react to Nisia’s cry? The God moved the moment she smiled, and immediately after, Nisia shouted and moved, and in response to her voice, Eshlee and the others began to move. So, what about the soldiers frozen by fear?
“Gyaaaah!”
“My hand!”
“My leg!”
Black fangs suddenly appeared from the void. A merciless beast, not so gentle as to be called predation. It instantly tore off their limbs, leaving them like daruma dolls.
“Help me!?”
“No!”
“Mom! Mom!!”
They were dragged into the darkness.
“Hmm, eliminating the weak first. That’s standard procedure.”
The Demon Lord was satisfied with the result. And Eshlee and the others shuddered.
(I didn’t see it.)
Internally, Nisia was perplexed that she couldn’t see the Demon Lord’s attack motion. It wasn’t a matter of it being too fast. There was no motion at all.
“Now, next…”
He said he had broken the seal, but Nisia felt that the increase in his abilities was abnormal. She even suspected there was a reason he was moving so leisurely. However, they were not the only ones taking the initiative.
“Please don’t rush. You are my last opponent, after all.”
Ishan and Kawasaki’s coordinated attack, using their physically manipulated bodies, was effortlessly blocked by blades that materialized from space. Without changing his expression even as a white blade approached him, he parried their attacks.
“Or perhaps…”
Seeing that attack, they understood that this very space was the Demon Lord’s means of attack.
“Do you want to scatter first?”
At that response, a cold something, like ice, shot down Nisia’s spine. The space itself had been occupied by the Demon Lord. This meant they were in the Demon Lord’s belly, so to speak. There was no safe zone here. The only reason for the current respite was the infant floating in the air. That was the only reason. If the Demon Lord went all out, he would blow them all away, including the infant.
“…”
However, even that was just a temporary reprieve. The outcome remained unchanged; if things continued like this, it was clear they would all be captured alive. They had to do something, but they realized that attacking blindly would be meaningless. Even in this situation, it was God who moved. Silently she raised her sword and, while feinting with magic, attacked the Demon Lord. The exquisite coordination born from one being moving two people. But…
“Well, that’s the kind of reaction you’d expect.”
He dodged attacks that ordinary people couldn’t avoid or even see, as if exasperated, but also as if he had expected it. Then, in the next moment, countless thorny spikes like brambles shot out from the surrounding darkness towards God. It went without saying that each one was a lethal strike. If hit, even a human body modified into a hero wouldn’t be unharmed; this was far beyond that. The place hit was mercilessly gouged out and would never heal. The dark thorns, even if they merely grazed, would cause bleeding. The Demon Lord’s attacks, with his words and actions not matching, gave the impression that he had no intention of capturing them. God unleashed magic towards the standing Demon Lord, but it was blocked by the thorns. Then, as if retaliating, a wave of thorns attacked God, piercing Nisia’s barrier and tearing into her body. Immediately, she used the flame of life to repair her body. However, despite her body being repaired, Nisia’s expression was not good. The faces of the three she was protecting were even worse. The Isal group was being steadily and gradually pushed back. Only God showed no outward signs of impatience, and no solution was in sight. Despite attacking with the Holy Sword and magic, they were forced to take three steps back for every step forward. Even though it was a six-on-one situation, the battle was one-sided. However, while the Demon Lord seemed to be attacking smoothly, he wasn’t necessarily at ease. Although he boasted a long lifespan, the difference in age compared to God’s lifespan was beyond that of an adult and an infant. Overturning such a difference in experience was no ordinary feat.
“…”
Maintaining his composed demeanor, he made gestures that would make his opponent think he was at a disadvantage. Conscious of the infant trapped in the air, he delicately manipulated vast magical power so as not to cause collateral damage. He cornered them with dark thorns, sharpening his nerves without haste so as not to let God realize his intentions. Slowly and steadily, if he showed even a hint of impatience, God would exploit it. The sealing technique he usually employed was to prevent his power from affecting his surroundings, but the Demon Lord had a reason for not unleashing it fully. It was because further release of magical power would cause an unacceptable level of damage to the surroundings.
“Tch.”
He unleashed the first seal to counter God, but even that brought them to the brink of affecting the infant. Controlling one’s own magical power is the most basic of basics for magic users. However, even the Undead King had not yet achieved mastery in it. The more one controlled it, the greater the trial that awaited, an endless task. And having immense magical power meant that controlling it became difficult. The difference in effort between transferring a bucket of water to the same bucket and transferring water stored in a dam to another dam was stark. The Demon Lord’s immense magical power was indeed incomparably powerful. However, it was easy to pick a small flower with small hands, but extremely difficult to do so with giant hands.
“You keep running away, but is that alright?”
“Foolishness.”
Swans, on the water’s surface, paddle their feet desperately to stay afloat, but they don’t let anyone know. The Demon Lord, elegantly and calmly trying to maintain his superiority, was significantly hampered by his need to protect a helpless infant. He couldn’t use wide-area annihilation magic. Engaging in close combat was something he should avoid as much as possible when facing two heroes. He had to wield powerful single-target magic and lure God away from the infant. However, God saw through his intention. Still, the Demon Lord had to act.
“Hmph!”
As the one who reigned supreme, he had to overcome this situation. He deployed magic he excelled at – dark spears, dark thorns, dark battle axes, attributes that dealt the most damage to God – meticulously controlling the scene as if playing a game of chess where not a single mistake was allowed. Even as the blade of the Holy Sword repeatedly passed by the Demon Lord’s flank, he calmly resisted God’s power, even though that blade could be a weapon that took his life.
“…”
However, his fight, which had seemed to be going smoothly, was interrupted as God cut through the thorns, creating a temporary safe zone, and then stopped Ishan and Kawasaki’s bodies. The Demon Lord sensed that something had changed at that sight.
“Nisia.”
Without sheathing his weapon, nor deploying any attack magic. Without even looking at the infant floating above, God called out the name of her daughter.
“Yes.”
“We will use Divine Flame.”
“!” Yes.”
And then, a word the Demon Lord could not ignore was uttered.
“Oh? You’re going to use it?”
The smile vanished from the Demon Lord’s face. He directed a look of pure contempt at God.
“Certainly, if you want to break through the current situation, that’s the only way. But…”
Eshlee, hearing “Divine Flame,” watched the situation with a step back due to the Demon Lord’s dramatic change. Divine Flame, according to church teachings, was a sacred fire that dispelled all calamities and endowed warriors with strong bodies and magic users with immense magic power. But why use it at such a cornered moment?
“You think you can make us use it?”
“We will make you use it.”
If it had the effect described in the teachings, why hadn’t they used it from the beginning? Why did the Demon Lord, assessing it as a threat, show disgust instead of impatience? As the Demon Lord and the hero clashed again, such out-of-place questions arose in Eshlee’s mind. Was it because she had been cornered to the point of becoming strangely calm, or was she simply in denial?
“Then, I shall bestow it upon you.”
Seraph Nisia was to perform the task. At this fact, the Demon Lord began to attack; however, the wall formed by the two heroes was thick. Even the Demon Lord could not easily reach Nisia.
“Wow! Are you going to use the rumored Divine Flame?! If so, give it to me!”
“Are you an idiot? It’s too good for you. Give it to me!”
Seeing the two filled with joy at the prospect of receiving the power of the Divine Flame from legend, and dreaming that such power could even defeat the Demon Lord, Eshlee felt even more compelled to stop them calmly. But a conflicting thought arose in her mind: what would happen if she stopped them? If she stopped them now, she might indeed resolve this unpleasant feeling. But in exchange, she couldn’t deny the reality of being killed by the Demon Lord. With a heart unbefitting a saintess, she weighed her own safety against the danger that might befall them. The result?
“Understood. By my father’s will, I shall bestow the Divine Flame upon you two.”
Silence. They could only stare at the golden flame, different from the flame of life Nisia produced, born from Nisia’s hands. Eshlee, who had chosen an outcome that led to self-loathing over her own safety, could only watch as the golden flame was pushed into the chests of Arben and Mages.
“I’ll make you disappear!”
From the corner of Eshlee’s eye, the Demon Lord’s magic, unleashed with full force without any restraint, aimed to obliterate them and the heroes. Drawing a spiral, a vortex of red and black magic collided with God’s defense. This uncontrolled strike, if it continued, would pierce even God’s defense and reach Eshlee’s location. It seemed too late. As if to answer Eshlee’s heart, filled with a mix of expectation and anxiety for any change, a change occurred at that moment. It was an explosion sound, like a lightning strike. And a golden radiance that repelled the Demon Lord’s magic.
“Whoa! Is this… the power of God!”
“Amazing, my magic is surging.”
The source of that sound came from Arben and Mages. The magic that repelled the Demon Lord’s attack gushed out from the depths of their bodies. Its color was golden, the same as the Divine Flame bestowed upon them earlier. Seeing them in a state of excitement and joy, they looked divine, but to Eshlee, it seemed like a rather fleeting scene.
“Foolish Sun God. Why can you so easily cast away your life?”
As if agreeing with her sentiment, the Demon Lord, while increasing the power of his magic with sadness, dismissed the excited pair and condemned God.
“…”
Ignoring the Demon Lord’s words, as if there was no longer any need for discussion, God glanced back and pushed the two excited men forward.
“Show me that power.”
“Alright!”
“No need to be told!”
“Ah.”
She shouldn’t have pushed them. She should have stopped them. Eshlee’s hand reached out towards the backs of the two brave men who, pushed by God’s words, charged at the Demon Lord. Arben, running without looking aside, approached the Demon Lord at an unprecedented speed and slashed at the Demon Lord who was unleashing magic. From the opposite side, Mages, at an angle that wouldn’t hit Arben, unleashed magic of four attributes – fire, water, wind, and earth – with an unprecedented power and speed of formation. Power beyond human comprehension. Eshlee thought, could humans so easily approach the Demon Lord? But…
“…”
With sadness, or rather, pity, the Demon Lord blocked their attacks.
“They’re reaching him! Our attacks are reaching the Demon Lord!”
“Yeah! We’ll take the Demon Lord’s head!!”
However, perhaps not noticing his expression, the two, excited, worked together as if their usual animosity were a lie, trying to defeat the Demon Lord. It was true that their power had visibly increased. It was truly overwhelming how they could engage in offense and defense against that Demon Lord.
“Eshlee, while those two are holding him, we will retreat.”
However, Nisia calmly stated this, facing that scene.
“What about those two?”
Her words implied they would leave the two behind and retreat. In fact, Nisia said so.
“There is no problem.”
And to Eshlee’s question, she replied with just that one word. Eshlee wanted to ask what wasn’t a problem, but Nisia didn’t allow her to ask. Furthermore…
“I knew you’d butt in at this timing!”
While fending off the attacking pair, God moved to snatch the infant. As the Demon Lord unleashed magic to interfere with that action, he widened his eyes. Ishan securing the infant with his body and Kawasaki blocking the attacks was within the Demon Lord’s expectations. However, one action surpassed his prediction. For God, two infants should have been precious vessels with high magical aptitude. The amount of magic power poured into the Holy Sword held in Ishan’s hand was excessive, to say the least, to break the barrier protecting that infant. Even if its power was concentrated and only affected the trajectory of the sword, one of the infants would surely be killed. The Demon Lord was not so dull as not to understand this and immediately grasped God’s intention.
“!”
The choice the Demon Lord faced as God attacked. Defend against the sword and let the infant in its path be killed, buying time to protect the remaining infant? Or block the sword, protect the infant in its path, and then overlook the other infant being snatched as he was doing so? If he did nothing, he would take both. The infant was already between the Demon Lord and God. Facing the two, enhanced by Divine Flame, there was no time to prepare for the teleportation to jump before God. Even the Demon Lord was not beyond time. This time, this very moment, when he misread God’s intentions, the Demon Lord’s options were limited. A choice made in less than a thousandth of a second, a fleeting moment.
“Tch!”
Gritting his teeth, the Demon Lord displayed an emotion he hadn’t shown until now: regret. The choice he made was…
“Too naive, this generation’s Demon Lord.”
“Isaliza!”
The outcome was to overlook one infant being snatched away. The slight delay in defending against God’s attack. With the Demon Lord’s leg strength, he reached the jump’s destination, and the Demon Lord blocked with one arm. God, seizing the opportunity, took the silver infant, Yukiera, into her hand, while the black-haired infant, Sachiera, was held in the Demon Lord’s arms. He called out the Sun God’s name, attempting to kill the Sun God, but…
“Where are you looking, Demon Lord!”
“I’ll take your head!”
Arben and Mages, with a madness-like craving in their hearts, lunged forward. Their bodies no longer had their original human hues but had turned ashen white.
“Farewell. I look forward to meeting you next time.”
Thanks to their desperate offensive, the Demon Lord in the air suffered another slight delay. Enjoying the sight, God showed joy for the first time. Upon landing, Kawasaki, Nisia, and Eshlee had gathered. With the power of God unleashed by Kawasaki and the dimensional transfer power of Nisia, a hole was created in the Demon Lord’s space. The group plunged into that space and disappeared. A split second later, the Demon Lord’s magic swept through that space, but it was literally too late.
“Not yet, not yet, I…”
“I, still…”
“Sleep, remnants of humanity. Souls who have departed this world, never to rejoin the cycle of reincarnation.”
Seizing the moment when the Demon Lord’s fighting spirit weakened due to his failure, Arben and Mages attacked. But their bodies were already on the verge of collapsing like burnt embers. As an offering to the warriors who had fought by using their very souls and bodies as fuel for the Divine Flame, the Demon Lord delivered the final blow. It was a mere minute. Those two, who poured all their energy into that single minute, burned themselves out, body and soul, and entered a sleep from which they would never awaken. The Demon Lord, bearing the fruits of their sacrifice, felt a sense of regret, thinking of the lives lost.
“Still, even after becoming this strong, there are things that slip through my fingers.”
Suppressing his magic, he stood amidst the rubble-strewn entrance. With the cries of the infant in his arms as background music, the once confident Demon Lord let out a moment of weakness. Those who witnessed the scene quietly closed their eyelids.
Word of the day: Even those with power cannot pick up the drops that fall.
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*The first volume of the novel has been published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content includes revisions and additions to the original serialization on Shousetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of unpublished interlude chapters.
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A manga adaptation is currently being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
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