Another Side
The Demon Lord does not cease his smile in the face of God, an absolute supreme being. Whether it’s because he has resolved himself, or because he is a supreme being himself. No one knows his true intentions. The Demon Lord, who appeared with a calm and unhurried demeanor, surveys his surroundings. Jiro and Suella, who are barely conscious, and Himik, who is sealed.
“Well, first things first.”
“!”
With his mind made up, he lets out words without any pretense. The mere utterance of a word from the Demon Lord elicits such caution. Isal and his group are wary of every move he makes. The reaction clearly shows how feared the existence of a Demon Lord is.
Contrary to his initial words, the Demon Lord casually snaps his fingers, unfazed by their actions.
“The seal is broken!”
The magic power generated at that moment shattered the chains binding Himik, allowing her to escape the seal formation with joy.
“Now that you’re free, right? I apologize, but I have a big job to do soon. Could you please retrieve Jiro and the others and evacuate?”
The Demon Lord mentioned a “big job.” Himik could sense what that job was.
“…However.”
But she hesitated whether to follow his instructions. Himik beat her wings and soared into the sky, her words betraying her hesitation. Seeing Yukiera and Sachiera still crying in God’s hands, her expression contorted. She reasoned that only Himik could fight now, and it wouldn’t do to further weaken their fighting strength.
“Ah, please rest assured. I will save them properly too. You can trust me.”
He smiled at Himik as if to dispel her anxiety, and then leaked a terrifying amount of magic power.
“After all, God is someone who would tarnish my reputation. I’m serious too.”
She could not feel any falsehood in his words. The Demon Lord exuded an atmosphere that made her feel she would only be in the way if she stayed, so Himik decided to obey.
“…Understood.”
“I like obedient children.”
Then, Himik descended towards Suella, who was closest to her.
“M-M-Master.”
Suella, whom Himik was holding, was in a terrible state. Her body was covered in wounds, and she had overused her magic crest, making it difficult for her to even stay conscious. Suella, in her battered state, reached out a hand towards the Demon Lord. It was so difficult for her to think of words that, at that timing, the Demon Lord’s Army’s strongest force appeared. Relief caused her tenuous thread of consciousness to snap, and she was barely able to hold on.
“Ple-ase, save my daugh-ter.”
She could barely utter those words.
“Ah. Leave it to me. If I am a king, how can I not protect my subjects?”
Nodding at her faint voice, Suella lost consciousness after seeing it through. Having conveyed what she needed to, Himik, carrying Suella, flew towards Memoria.
“Well then, I apologize for making you wait.”
Himik, after retrieving Suella, Memoria, and Muil, was about to retrieve Jiro, but Isal’s group did nothing. No, they didn’t let anything happen. This man’s arrival alone had tipped the scales of power to equal footing. No, even with the injured, the scales had tipped the other way, making them unequal. So, what would happen if these injured individuals were retrieved? With Amili also recovered and Himik taking flight, they couldn’t pursue her. Moreover, from an achievement standpoint, the enemy commander was right before them. There could be no greater achievement.
Despite this, Eshery and the humans wished from the bottom of their hearts that Himik would not leave. They knew that the wedge that had stopped the storm was being released, and they couldn’t stop it.
“Eshery.”
“Nishia?”
Nishia, her fear outweighing her regret in this situation, called out to Eshery. The Demon Lord could hear even a whispered voice, and Nisiah, realizing that telepathic calls were useless, spoke to Eshery in a normal voice.
“I will send a signal, so escape when you have the chance. You, focus on defense.”
“Y-Yes.”
She knew that no futile trickery would work against the Demon Lord himself. The Demon Lord nodded with an “hmph,” and after pondering for a moment, he remembered something and threw out words with a hint of a joke.
“It’s been quite a while since I came to this world, so this is a good opportunity. There’s actually a line I’ve wanted to say for a while.”
His smile didn’t waver, nor did his fighting spirit.
“You cannot escape from the Demon Lord.”
The Demon Lord took a step forward, as if going for a casual stroll. From here, the Demon Lord’s advance begins.
“Nishia!”
That gesture, those words, were the signal for battle. God threw Yukiera and Sachiera. Seeing God’s movement, unable to fight while holding children, the Demon Lord, with natural movement, activated Teleportation Magic to secure the two infants. However, God attacked, not wanting his precious materials to be stolen, and interfered with its activation. All he could do was deploy a barrier to protect the two infants.
“You’re going to such lengths. While on a time limit.”
The Demon Lord did not miss the urgency in that attack. The speed and power of the slashes were clearly less than when he fought Jiro.
“However, I see, I see. You’ve taken great care in crafting this body. To be able to draw out this much power despite it being incomplete.”
The Demon Lord’s hands, impressed by the movement, met the divine speed with plenty of room to spare. Blades of darkness formed by magic power clashed equally with the Holy Sword enveloped in divine light. Magic power and divine power collided. Instead of sparks, magic power and divine power scattered, telling of their ferocity.
“Yes, if this weren’t Evia’s Dungeon, I don’t even want to think about the surrounding damage.”
The building was on the verge of collapse from that exchange alone. A normal building would have already collapsed without question. The fact that it still retained its shape was solely due to the sturdiness of the Dungeon. The Demon Lord, protecting the floating infants and keeping Nishia at bay, moved without any haste.
“In this case, I can afford to get a little more serious.”
“Damn you!”
“If you’re going to resent something, resent your own blunder of attacking this place with such an incomplete body. Now, for a preliminary test.”
Realizing that close combat was not yielding results, the Demon Lord deployed magic while engaging in close combat. The Demon Lord’s characteristic offensive, primarily of darkness. The God’s light magic responded. They collided and annihilated each other, but God was slowly being pushed back in this exchange as well. The classic exchange of light and darkness. The spear of darkness was cut down by the sword of light. The arrow of light was swept away by the scythe of darkness. The wave of darkness was blocked by the wall of light. The rain of light was swallowed by the tide of darkness. A stalemate, back and forth. The Demon Lord couldn’t press his attack because he was considering the damage to the two floating infants.
“Waaaah! Waaaah! Waaah!”
Even in the midst of battle, the Demon Lord did not neglect consideration for them. He erected double and triple barriers, and while considering keeping Nishia away, he attacked God.
“A subordinate of that guy, acting so high and mighty, preaching to me!”
“Such troublesome things don’t match the reward for the labor. If you would honestly offer your head in response to that lecture, I would do it, but is it necessary?”
“Blabber on!”
If he didn’t consider the two of them, he could obliterate the being before him and the entire area. However, that would earn him the resentment of his subordinates. He would execute it if it were necessary, but it was not necessary at this moment. In this situation, which was slowly turning in the Demon Lord’s favor, he saw no need to rush and did not loosen his offensive. While bringing up an absolutely impossible story, the Demon Lord cornered God step by step.
“What’s wrong? You’ve gotten considerably slower compared to at the beginning?”
The longer time passed, the more advantageous it became for the Demon Lord. Although at a numerical disadvantage, the difference in numbers did not matter at this moment. One plus one is two, but even adding one ten-millionth to one is just an error. At this moment, even Nishia’s support would be a hindrance in the battle. Although she desperately sought an opportunity to retreat, it was meaningless if the Demon Lord had no intention of letting her escape.
From God’s perspective, all he had to do was abandon this body and retreat. However, losing the body he had painstakingly prepared and the second-ranked Seraph was an unthinkable blunder for God.
“Hmph.”
God, while maintaining a composed expression, glared with hatred in his eyes at the Demon Lord, who was still at ease. The Demon Lord’s words were not a provocation but a fact. Gradually, Ishan’s body was becoming unable to withstand God’s power. He had not anticipated prolonged full-power operation. The fact that the incomplete body could not fully exert God’s power backfired here. Even if he tried to break through the current situation, he couldn’t devise an effective solution as he hadn’t expected the Demon Lord to appear so soon.
“Ishan!”
During this time, both God and the Demon Lord paid attention to the source of the voice. Kawasaki, worrying with all her might, clung to the rubble to avoid being blown away, concerned for the body possessed by God. Seeing Kawasaki, a stark contrast appeared within God.
“Come!”
What madness possessed him, making him forcibly pull Kawasaki towards him in the middle of the battle.
“Kya!?”
Suddenly floating, Kawasaki was dragged into the battlefield by a force like gravity. The Demon Lord suspected he intended to use Kawasaki as a shield to exploit the opening, but he chose to instantly eliminate Kawasaki, who couldn’t even be considered an obstacle, without hesitation. The Holy Sword of God, the demonic blade of the Demon Lord. Within the clash of these two blades, weak humans would turn to scattered dust in an instant. Every time the blades clashed, Kawasaki appeared in the Demon Lord’s vision as if in slow motion.
If this continued, as the blades clashed for the third time, the tip of her body would enter this space. If that happened, her life would be over. Her body would be pitifully mangled, with no room for resurrection. God should have known this, and he should have known that she couldn’t possibly be a shield. The Demon Lord read what would come next. He mobilized all his senses, using all his knowledge, to find any potential danger. The first clash of blades sparked a possibility in his knowledge, and the second clash revealed a dangerous possibility that corresponded to intuition. At the third clash, the tip of the clothing Kawasaki was wearing was cut by the Demon Lord’s demonic blade. If this continued, her body would be torn apart next.
If this was a strategy to evoke pity from the Demon Lord, it was utterly laughable. The Demon Lord showed no mercy to traitors. However, it didn’t matter if it was as he expected. The blade, reflecting the Demon Lord’s heart to cut through such schemes without hesitation, accelerated further. At the fourth clash of blades, Kawasaki Midori’s body entered between God’s Holy Sword and the Demon Lord’s demonic blade.
He felt pity for being treated as a disposable item, a desperate measure, but he felt no other emotion.
“Well then, goodbye.”
With words of farewell, the Demon Lord swung the blade in his hand. As he watched Kawasaki Midori’s expression, unable to grasp what was happening, and was about to turn his thoughts to what was next, it happened.
“You’re quite capable of such skillful maneuvers. It was as I predicted, but it loses its value when it’s created so easily. Weren’t Heroes supposed to be special beings?”
Suddenly, Kawasaki Midori’s movements became faster. A dazzling light appeared from her floating body and stopped the Demon Lord’s blade. Like Ishan, Kawasaki Midori became expressionless. In other words, there were now two instances of God’s descent. The reality was that there were now two Heroes. It was a brute force move, as if to say that with such abundant divine energy, there was no problem creating another Hero.
Even in the face of this sight, the Demon Lord’s composure did not waver. Kawasaki Midori had likely undergone adjustments as well, though not as much as Ishan. It was within the scope of prediction, within the realm of expectation. He could still crush them.
“…”
Sensing a single will from the bodies of the two humans,
“Or did you think that with two Heroes, you could kill me?”
The Demon Lord, sensing arrogance in that will, shook his head as if exasperated.
“If you think so,”
He further unleashed the magic he had been holding back. It was common to feel pressure during battle.
“As arrogant as ever, I’m relieved.”
However, how many beings could unleash pressure that made the world creak? Within Isal’s party, Alben and Mages, top-tier practitioners among humans, turned pale. Eshery cast a barrier, but it was instantly encroached upon by the Demon Lord’s magic power and nullified. Nishia deployed a barrier in her stead, but it too began to creak. The Demon Lord’s words of “preliminary test” came to their minds. Was it truly just a preliminary test? Their hearts creaked at the power of the current Demon Lord, and fear reared its head. The space of the Dungeon gradually distorted due to the Demon Lord’s magic power. It warped and twisted, gradually expanding its area. The lacquered black space spread, and in contrast to the scene of a building covered in rubble, a space simply vast was born.
And then.
A shockwave emanated from the Demon Lord’s body, blowing away the surroundings, including God.
“Hmm, after being sealed for so long, I can really feel how sluggish my body has become. I must not, I must not; I’m out of practice.”
The magic power carried by the shockwave, and the magic power still leaking out, made one doubt whether it truly originated from a single being in terms of both quality and quantity.
“Ah, that’s right. I broke the seal. I shall offer you one more line that I’ve wanted to say.”
The Demon Lord, whose very existence had transcended to another dimension, threatened them with a smile. Eshery and the others braced themselves, wondering what he would say this time. Only the two possessed by God stood unhurried. However, the difference in fighting strength was obviously clear to everyone. Despite this, the Demon Lord spoke his words.
“I still have three more transformations left.”
Today’s Word:
Being told “rest assured” by a capable person can dispel anxiety.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018. An e-book version was also released on October 31 of the same year. Volume 2 was released on December 19, and the third volume was released on February 20, 2019. The content consists of revised and expanded material from the version posted on “Shosetsuka ni Narou,” with additional unpublished intermissions. Please also check out the new releases!
A comic adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.” We would be happy if you enjoyed that as well.
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