It wasn’t a mere coincidence that we met them.
Queen Auraniess sought enjoyable opponents for battle, and for those who view us demons as enemies, she was their leader.
“You are the Demon Lord Auraniess, aren’t you?”
It was a young woman of the human race who spoke.
Accompanying her were a dragonewt warrior, an elf, a dwarf, and an elderly human.
“That’s right. And who might you be?”
Queen Auraniess asked, her face bored, as if it were a mere formality.
To her, humans were nothing more than beings that could be blown away with a puff of air.
“My name is Melinda. We have come to defeat you.”
“Oh?”
It was then that Queen Auraniess’s interest piqued, and she scrutinized them.
Then, she gave a slight nod.
“I see. It seems Demon Lords have been defeated in various regions recently. Is this the work of you?”
At her words, a tension spread through us, including Iris and Sophia.
While we couldn’t treat them as equals to Queen Auraniess, I had heard rumors of several who were called Demon Lords being defeated or sealed.
Did *they* do that…?
“That’s right. And we have finally found you.”
The woman who called herself Melinda raised her staff.
As if responding to her, the others also immediately assumed combat stances.
Zagan and I hastily prepared ourselves, but Queen Auraniess remained nonchalant.
“Hmph. If you can defeat Demon Lords, then it’s not like bullying the weak.”
With that, she stepped forward.
“I was looking for a playmate, so I’ll entertain you.”
Melinda’s expression didn’t change upon hearing this, but the dwarf spoke unpleasantly.
“You underestimate us quite a bit. You might be the strongest Demon Lord, but we’ve defeated Demon Lords before!”
“Still, it’s better to be underestimated,”
the elf said to the dwarf.
That’s true.
Striking with a decisive blow when the opponent is careless is the safest and surest tactic.
However, I don’t think it will work on Queen Auraniess.
This person dodges purely on instinct.
“Radius.”
Melinda chanted a spell unexpectedly.
A blinding light, so bright it felt like my eyes would be scorched, enveloped the entire area.
“Meteor Burn.”
The elf loosed an arrow at the spot where Queen Auraniess had been.
It reached its target with lightning speed and exploded with a tremendous force.
It was a magnificent opening attack.
I probably would have died two or three times if it were me.
But, as luck would have it, it was Queen Auraniess.
When the dust cleared, she was standing there, unharmed.
She was still holding the arrow the elf had fired.
“N-no way…”
“Impossible.”
Melinda and the others couldn’t hide their surprise.
No one would have a hard time if they could be defeated by such a surprise attack.
But on closer inspection, Queen Auraniess had deployed a thin magical barrier.
It was amazing that these people could force Queen Auraniess to defend herself.
“Don’t tell me it’s already over?”
Instead of being angry about the surprise attack, Queen Auraniess seemed discontent that there were no follow-up attacks.
All I can say is, “As expected.”
“She truly deserves the title of Great Demon Lord. She’s in a class of her own among Demon Lords.”
The dragonewt muttered bitterly.
That’s only natural.
She’s called the Great Demon Lord because she’s overwhelmingly the strongest.
“If you think about it differently, if we can defeat her, we can defeat others too.”
The dwarf said with determination.
That makes sense, but why not just target them in order of weakness instead of going for the strongest?
Although, if they did that, I would be targeted first.
“You lot, don’t interfere.”
Queen Auraniess warned us, but I don’t think any of us intended to.
We couldn’t imagine Queen Auraniess losing, and we’d probably be killed if we interfered unnecessarily.
Though, if things got really dangerous, Iris and Sophia would likely join in.
And of course, so would I.
I wouldn’t be able to do much against someone who could put Queen Auraniess in a pinch, but I had no intention of letting her die.
However, I doubt it would come to that against these opponents.
Perhaps, against them, Queen Auraniess wouldn’t even need to revert to her true form.
Seeing an opening, the dragonewt attacked with his greatsword.
It was impressive how quickly he closed the distance, but Queen Auraniess stopped it with one hand without even turning around.
“Too linear, Zero points.”
She said with room to spare, as if grading them.
They were no longer surprised.
“Congelatio.”
“Abrogation Impact.”
“Meteias.”
Then, icy magic, the dwarf’s war hammer attack, and the elf’s ranged attack came crashing down.
A tremendous roar echoed, and Zagan and I were blown backward by the gale.
This was intense.
It was understandable that Demon Lords were defeated.
Wouldn’t you die if it wasn’t Queen Auraniess?
This time, the group didn’t stop their attacks and launched further wave attacks.
However, a fierce wind arose, and they were blown away.
“Boring. I’m tired of this.”
A voice could be heard.
It was undoubtedly Queen Auraniess.
Her clothes were tattered, but she didn’t seem to have a single scratch.
Even I was surprised by this.
I had thought she would have at least one or two wounds.
Melinda and the others were the same, looking at Queen Auraniess with disbelief.
Well, she *is* Queen Auraniess, but I doubt they can simply accept that.
“Wh-what is this thing…?”
The dwarf groaned.
The others also looked pale.
“To think there would be such a gap…”
Melinda bit her lip in frustration.
It seemed they had reached their limit.
“Is it over already?”
Queen Auraniess asked with a disappointed expression, causing them to tremble.
“We won’t beg for our lives. Kill us if you will.”
Melinda declared with a determined face.
The others followed her lead.
I doubted they would actually be killed, though.
“Oh? I quite like that courage. I’m a little impressed.”
See, she sounds incredibly pleased.
Queen Auraniess loves strong and courageous individuals.
“Until we meet again, become stronger than you are now. Strong enough to defeat me. I’ll let you go this time.”
“What? We don’t need such mercy!”
The dragonewt roared in anger.
Then Melinda stopped him.
“Stop it, Ganov. We don’t even have the right to choose whether to be shamed or not.”
“Hmph.”
The dragonewt looked resentful, Melinda was resigned, the elf seemed somewhat relieved, and the dwarf was various.
Their expressions were all over the place.
“I’ll take you up on your offer and withdraw. I promise we won’t regret letting you go.”
“Indeed. We await your challenge again.”
Queen Auraniess accepted their gazes and words, burning with animosity, with pleasure.
Melinda and her group retreated.
After they left, Zagan approached.
“Queen Auraniess, what if they hadn’t become stronger?”
“Hm? I have no interest in those who can’t become stronger. They are humans, so I believe there’s still room for growth. They were all young, after all.”
Queen Auraniess seems to be able to gauge their age, strength, and potential for growth at a glance.
It seems Zagan and I were picked up because of that.
Although, it’s only an “approximate” assessment.
However, Queen Auraniess’s “I’m not interested” is equivalent to “You can take it,” so their lives won’t be guaranteed anymore.
All they need to do is become stronger.
And the same applies to us.
We won’t be killed if our growth stagnates, but we will be abandoned.
There were quite a few who could be called “companions,” but only a few remain now, including Zagan.
I’m not exempt from this.
Even though I managed to become a Demon, it’s not enough.
Because Queen Auraniess has never called me by name.
My immediate goal is to have Queen Auraniess call me by name.
I have to try harder.
“Well, now I’m bored.”
Queen Auraniess muttered.
A tension ran through everyone except Iris and Sophia.
Now, what will come next?
Personally, I hope she doesn’t order us to hunt sea monsters or charge into dragon lairs.
“Alright, you all, go hunt dragons.”
The order was given as casually as asking someone to pick up a stone.
We wouldn’t be killed if we failed or couldn’t do it, but we would be killed if we refused before even trying.
There were individuals who were disposed of because she said, “I don’t need cowards.”
“Do you know where they are?”
It was Zagan who asked.
Right, there are four of us, but we need four dragons to fulfill the command.
Queen Auraniess, as if anticipating the question, didn’t get angry.
“Over there, there, over there, and… that way, I think.”
She indicated based on her intuition.
To an outsider, it might seem vague, but her intuitions have never been wrong before.
We each headed in our respective directions.
What kind of dragon will be my opponent?
I really hope it’s not a Blue Dragon lineage.
It was tough fighting one before.
Water and ice are not compatible with me, a slime.
Everyone else is flying, but I’m just rolling on the ground.
I possess the skill “Learning,” but I have the drawback of only being able to use what I’ve learned.
Perhaps the only exception is a headbutt, which any slime can use.
As I proceeded in the direction Queen Auraniess indicated, I saw mountains.
I’m getting a bad feeling about this.
Dragons that live in mountains are usually Red Dragons…
I hope it’s not a high-ranking one.
I want to believe I have a chance since Queen Auraniess chose them, but…
In retrospect, there were many difficult enemies.
As I rolled into the mountains, it was clearly a volcano.
The weakest dragon that makes volcanoes its territory is the Red Dragon.
It’s slow-moving and its attacks are predictable, so it shouldn’t be a strong opponent for me as a Demon.
The problem would be Salamanders or Fire Drakes… but the dragon in front of me, letting out a threatening growl, had four large wings and crimson scales that grew upwards along its back.
It was undeniably a Fire Drake.
Will I survive?
“What business does a slime Demon have in my territory?”
Its presence was intimidating, with awe-inspiring power and dignity.
However, if I ran away without fighting, I would undoubtedly be killed.
Which is the better chance of survival: fighting Queen Auraniess or this Fire Drake? There’s no need to even think about it.
“I bear you no ill will, but die for my sake.”
With that, the lava dragon in front of me laughed.
“How dare a mere weakling Demon claim such a thing.”
The oppressive aura blowing at me became even more intense.
The Fire Drake opened its mouth wide and spat a breath.
This is bad, isn’t that “Volcano Breath”?
I rolled and desperately dodged.
A stream of scorching liquid passed by me with tremendous speed.
I’m not good with ice or water, but what I’m worst with is “superheated liquid.”
Surprisingly few creatures can do that, but the dragon in front of me was one of those rare exceptions.
“Hoh, you dodged?”
The booming laughter was laced with mockery.
Just keep being careless.
I used “Warp” to get behind it and unleashed “Cold Breath.”
“Ngaaaaaah!”
The Fire Drake, taking the full force, cried out in agony.
Then, I activated “Life Drain.”
“Nnnnh!”
It swung its tail, so I dodged with “Warp.”
Then, from its blind spot, I unleashed “Cold Breath.”
Followed by a combo attack of “Life Drain.”
A regular Red Dragon would take considerable damage from this, but…
“You bastard!”
The Fire Drake roared in anger and leaped into the air.
This is bad, it can escape into the sky.
“Die!”
It unleashed a barrage of “Volcano Breath” like cannonballs.
There was nowhere to run.
Even if I dodged with “Warp,” I’d only be targeted from above.
There’s one exception… it’s a gamble, but let’s try it.
I warped onto the Fire Drake’s back.
“Wh-what the hell?”
Towards the startled and flustered Fire Drake, I unleashed “Cold Breath” and used “Life Drain.”
It’s troublesome, but I can’t activate skills simultaneously.
I want to be able to do that someday.
The Fire Drake desperately tried to shake me off, but I prevented it by using short-range warps.
The magic consumption was immense, but I was able to compensate for it with “Life Drain.”
While other attacks might be manageable, “Volcano Breath” could kill me with a single hit, so I was fighting desperately too.
By chipping away at its health little by little, I finally managed to defeat it, and I was exhausted.
“I-I won?”
High-ranking dragons are intelligent and sometimes feign death.
Just in case, I activated “Life Drain.”
Yeah, since it had no effect, it really is dead.
I began to roll back to report victory to Queen Auraniess.
As I left the mountain, the sun was peeking out from the sky.
It seemed I had been fighting for about half a day.
The Fire Drake was strong.
If I couldn’t recover with Life Drain, I might have died.
I would have died even without using Warp.
When I safely returned to Queen Auraniess and the others, only Zagan was there.
When I reported everything truthfully,
“You should have learned its Breath, you idiot!”
Queen Auraniess scolded me.
But I think I would have died if I had tried to learn it.
“Queen Auraniess. His current ability might not allow for that yet.”
Sophia intervened to stand up for me.
Thanks to her, I managed to survive.
And apparently, everyone except Zagan failed and was killed.
That’s very regrettable.
It’s going to be lonely from now on.
We worked hard together.
They were also Demons, but to kill them off like that, upper-class dragons are terrifying.
Basilisks, Vritras, was it?
Melinda appears.
She is a hardworking individual who relies on effort.
