Spattered sweat, rising cheers. That is youth.
Spattered blood, rising screams. That is the battlefield.
As if pushed back by the gravity wall I was sent flying into, for some reason, Priscilla’s halberd turned its aim towards me.
“Guh!”
“Gah!”
The tip of the halberd exiting my chest, and the Orietta Knife exiting the Demon Lord’s chest. I had thought about it too. What if my sure-kill thrust didn’t reach?
Along with my extended tentacle prost, I grabbed the Orietta Knife towards the back of Alana’s clone. The tentacle prost that would pull me back even if I was sent flying, so it could pierce through the Demon Lord’s back with the Orietta Knife.
It’s natural to anticipate tactics one step ahead. I didn’t expect Priscilla’s halberd, though…
Was the surging heartbeat Christine’s urging, or a dying ember? I concentrated all my nerves.
Godspeed! Mode Seven!
Along with the gravity wall that stood before the Demon Lord, the Demon Lord’s head flew through the air. Koharu Sasaki’s head rolled on the floor, its reverse horn clanging, and its torso collapsed while spewing blood.
It was anticlimactic. Even a Demon Lord dies the same way… The relief of “it’s over” was greater than the fleeting joy of “I did it!”
Having overcome numerous hardships, the Hero took the Demon Lord’s head. Peace will come to the world now. Glory to the Hero, Harm forever…
Cast.
Hero. Silver Swordsman.
Mikael Sin.
White Lily Corps, Vice-Captain.
Lycanthrope.
Priscilla.
White Lily Corps, Member.
Alias “Goddess of Support.”
Christine.
White Lily Corps, Member.
Alias “Sophia of Platinum.”
Sophia.
White Lily Corps, Member.
Alias “Alana the Cavalry Killer.”
Alana.
White Lily Corps, Member.
Alias “…”
“So, who gets Mikael?”
…Huh? Don’t you understand the flow of events? The end credits were rolling in my head just now! Priscilla, you’re the type to not watch a movie until the end. You should watch them all the way through. There are NG scenes and plot twists. Sometimes previews for the second season.
“P-Priscilla! More importantly, please prioritize my treatment first…”
“Are you an idiot!? How can I put something this important on hold!? Well, I guess I can’t help it. Given the situation, I, as Vice-Captain, will take him…”
“Wait! If you’re going to say that, I, who fought the most, have the right!”
“That is not necessarily true. We engaged the most. Isn’t that right, Rossa?”
“Yes, my lord. Mikael’s body belongs to us.”
“Everything was blocked~. Ori-chan was countering the Demon Lord-chan’s weird powers~.”
More importantly, give me the right to live! What will you do if the merchandise dies? My life is more important than your fight.
I forced my weak legs to move and collapsed at Sophia’s side. It hurts terribly; I’ll die if this continues. I’ll truly die this time.
“As I thought, the Captain is choosing me. I believed in you.”
That’s because you can heal this wound. I chose you because there’s no one else who can.
“I don’t care who I belong to.”
You don’t have that right. Just pass out. I’ll get a little warmer from Sophia before I escape.
However, if the wound healed, cardiac arrest would follow. The only woman who had been continuously suffering in this battle opened her mouth.
“…Captain, what do you plan to do after this?”
“Are you talking about marriage with me?”
I’m not asking you. …But, if the conversation has gotten this far, I guess I’ll have to choose someone. The choice not to choose anyone would hurt them all, and ultimately hurt me.
“I-I…”
“…There’s no Demon Lord…”
“Hah?”
The Demon Lord’s corpse, whose head and body were separated earlier, was nowhere to be found, and even the bloodstains had disappeared. Demon Lords these days are so tough they don’t die even with their heads severed. And they’re so neat they even clean the floor.
“Alma!?”
“No, no! I didn’t do anything. In fact, I wish the Demon Lord would die.”
Put aside the pride of the demon race for later. If the Demon Lord is gone, where did he go, being so shy?
“…If there is no Demon Lord, does that mean they haven’t died? …Then, to choose someone…”
Having someone to choose is one thing, but the absence of the Demon Lord’s corpse is problematic. Without a corpse, the police won’t act. It’s troublesome if they’re missing.
“Putting aside choosing someone… the absence of the Demon Lord is bad. If they die and there’s no corpse, it’s useless as evidence to stop the Demon Army.”
The Demon Army and the Allied Forces are gathering at Lauenstein. If we show the Demon Lord’s head here and make the Demon Army return home across Nebel Bridge, that would be the best outcome. Alana, just because we’re standing side-by-side doesn’t mean I’m choosing you.
I was planning to send Alma to persuade the Demon Army, and then we would merge with the Allied Forces, but what will happen if there’s no Demon Lord’s corpse?
“What do we do now?”
What should I do? The plan is ruined. It’s as ruined as a train stopping on the day of my university entrance exam. Not only ruined, but I’m panicking.
“Ev-Everyone! Form a defensive circle around Christine! Hurry!”
The Demon Lord is dead. That’s good. Because I killed them. It’s heavy to think I killed Koharu Sasaki, the cute high school girl in the blazer, but she was the Demon Lord.
The problem is the absence of the Demon Lord’s corpse. Is it that? Is this a terrible game? A terrible game where you have to fight a new upgraded version if the Demon Lord dies?
“It’s gotten bigger, and it’s grown extra limbs, and it’ll probably say ‘This is my true form!’ The ending prepared by God is a terrible game!
“What are we gonna do!? We’ve formed a circle. Where did the Demon Lord go!?”
“…We will retreat! Although the absence of the Demon Lord’s corpse is unexpected, our supply lines are cut. We have achieved our primary objective, so we will retreat.”
We cut off supply to the Demon Army. Taking the Demon Lord’s head was “incidental,” so there’s no need to force it. I memorized the face, and though the bust size is unknown, I figured out what kind of cheats they had.
“Ugh, it’s hard to move! I told you to form a circle around Christine! Move a little further apart! Who’s behind me!?”
A defensive circle is a formation that defends against attacks from all directions, and the basic principle is to maintain a distance of about two meters from each other to swing swords.
They’re crowding me from the sides, and I can’t swing my sword with their arms linked. Someone’s hugging me from behind… Is it Christine!? It doesn’t feel bad, but move away. Everyone else, move away, it’s dangerous!
Slowly, like a caterpillar, we tried to leave the throne room. We have no business here anymore. I don’t want to see the grotesquely evolved Koharu Sasaki.
“Ngh!”
“Too bright!”
The shining throne. It emitted light so intense it hurt my eyes, and Alana, who looked directly at it, covered her eyes. I turned my face away, but it seems they’ve revived.
Even if I try to use my Mind’s Eye, I can’t see it; the light repels even confirming the object’s existence. After about ten seconds of that, the light faded, and a girl appeared, sitting on the throne.
“They’ve revived! First strike!”
Priscilla, who had returned to her human form, swung her halberd at them without changing her posture and attacked. I know their power. Attacking that cheat with numbers is the straightforward approach.
I followed, Mode Two. I struck the Demon Lord simultaneously at the same speed as Priscilla. In my Mind’s Eye of keen observation, the Demon Lord was still seated, and I saw a gruesome image of Priscilla splitting the high school girl in half… A high school girl?
“Wait! Priscilla, wait!”
I held Priscilla back from behind and embraced her. We were well within the range of the Demon Lord’s gravity wall, but something was definitely strange. The Demon Lord, Koharu Sasaki, had changed from her blazer to a sailor uniform.
A somewhat classic navy blue with a white scarf. White socks, black leather shoes. And most importantly, is she a little younger? Younger, or rather, look younger? A middle schooler?
“Let go! The Demon Lord is right in front of us!”
If a demoness who was roaring threatened a girl like that, any girl would be scared. Koharu Sasaki curled up on the throne, her body rigid.
“Wait! Let’s talk a little… Something’s strange!”
“Shut up! Let go! What are you doing!”
What am I doing? I’m holding back the person who’s yelling and scaring her… Huh? It feels like something like this happened a long time ago… In the past and now, I’m very satisfied with the unchanging fullness.
As I returned to my human form from Lycanthrope, the extended harness didn’t fully retract, creating a gap between the armor and clothes, and somehow my hand slipped in there.
“M-Misunderstanding…”
I meet the approaching slashes with Mode Six, dodge, and escape. What about the Demon Lord!? The Demon Lord!? You said they were right in front of you!
“■■■■, Thousand Swords.”
“■■■■, Thousand Swords.”
A double incantation. Two thousand swords fly from the pair of demons. Wait for now! The Demon Lord’s condition is strange! Something is wrong.
“Uoooooh!”
The two thousand swords didn’t aim for the Demon Lord but for me. Why!? Aim for the Demon Lord! They’re the villains! I’m the righteous hero…
“■■■■, Platinum Laser.”
Partly by coincidence, I deflected the laser. The laser, hit with a wooden sword, pierced the ceiling of the throne room and disappeared.
“I’m a home run hitter~.”
If I had been distracted by what was inside the gothic lolita skirt descending from above, I would have been crushed by the gravity wall by now, and it would have been worse.
I dodged Orietta’s hammer, scooped her up, and released her with a slide across the floor. During this time, halberds flew, swords came at me, and tiny lasers fired.
“Nnnyah!”
You too, Alana! Her clones created afterimages, and I didn’t have time to confirm how many there were. Am I really going to die? Isn’t this the ending after defeating the Demon Lord? But the ending appeared quickly. Quietly, very quietly, it squeezed everyone’s hearts.
“…The Captain wants to talk.”
Everyone vibrated and trembled on the floor, and the festival was over. Alma, I’m sorry for dragging you down even though you didn’t do anything.
“Damn it! Christine! You…”
Priscilla danced on the floor with cardiac arrest for the second time today. The other members… They seem okay; they’re breathing.
I wanted to confirm. When I touched Priscilla’s breast, did it feel a little bigger than before because of gravity pulling it down…? No, it wasn’t.
Perhaps Koharu Sasaki was revived not by her power as the Demon Lord, but perhaps by God…
