We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
Snow Stage
If I let my guard down for even a moment, I would surely die.
I had to discern Kusharilla’s movements and deflect the blades of death that were closing in from all directions with perfect accuracy.
But that was the most basic prerequisite for performing the Dragon Sword Dance, and merely the minimum condition.
My assigned role was to keep Kusharilla’s attention, or rather, Kusharilla’s interest, focused solely on me.
If Kusharilla were to shift its consciousness to another battlefield, the front line would immediately collapse.
That’s how overwhelming Kusharilla’s power as a Demon Lord was.
My right hand, which was not holding the white-sword, felt insecure.
This caused me to grip the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword in my left hand with excessive force.
My tensed slash failed to perfectly deflect Kusharilla’s unseen blade and was repelled.
My posture crumbled.
Kusharilla laughed gleefully, exploiting my opening.
However, that was my deception.
As I spun around with my right foot as the axis, I conjured dragon lances around me, just like the Twin Princesses. Then I blew away Kusharilla’s attacks that were coming from all directions.
Furthermore, I unleashed the dragon lances indiscriminately.
Kusharilla didn’t even bother to dodge the dragon lances.
Even though I already knew it before releasing the Dragon Arts, Kusharilla remained unfazed even after taking direct hits from the dragon lances.
But that’s not all.
My true aim lies elsewhere!
Slaton and the others were continuing to struggle.
Ten formidable-looking high-ranking demons, black ogres, appeared and drove them into a defensive battle.
I intended to salvage the bad situation and impulsively responded with unplanned, indiscriminate Dragon Arts. Or rather, I feigned that and shot dragon lances towards Slaton’s battlefield.
The ogres’ movements faltered due to the attack launched from another battlefield.
I hope this buys Slaton and the others a little breathing room.
If I interfere too overtly, Kusharilla will notice.
Besides, if I had the luxury of paying attention elsewhere, I wouldn’t be in this situation either.
I sharpened my senses.
I had to give it my all to pinpoint Kusharilla’s invisible presence.
The Dragon Sword Dance summoned a storm.
The vortex of dragon energy kicked up the fallen snow, creating a blizzard.
The storm intensified, enveloping the battlefield between Kusharilla and myself.
The wind-blown snow, imbued with my dragon energy, turned into sharp blades, slicing anything it touched into countless pieces.
However, at the center of the storm, Kusharilla remained as if nothing had happened.
Thus, the Demon Lord.
The absolute ruler, known as the Fairy Demon Lord.
A fearsome existence that even withstood the lightning strikes of the Giant Demon Lord.
My eyes looked beyond this world and into the world of spirits.
A colorful, mysterious world. A paradise where spirits lived.
I could see the snow and ice spirits dancing energetically to the rhythm of my Dragon Sword Dance.
However, there were very few other spirits.
There seemed to be less than half the number of spirits living in this Heavenly Mountain Range compared to the Dragon Forest or the Dragon King’s Forest.
Given that it was a snowy mountain, I didn’t see any fire spirits in particular.
And in the world of spirits, my eyes caught sight of an anomalous existence.
Was it male or female?
Was it human or beast?
An indescribable entity drifted, piercing the real world and seeming to erode the spirit world.
No, that’s not quite right.
It was more accurate to say that it existed by eroding the spirit world and the real world from somewhere within the intricately layered worlds.
If I thought of it as human, it took on a human form.
If I thought of it as male, it appeared male.
If I perceived it as an old man, it became an old man.
I suspect its true form is something else entirely. However, by eroding multiple worlds, it concealed its own existence and prevented its true form from being perceived.
Why couldn’t I see it?
Why couldn’t I sense its presence?
That’s only natural.
The mysterious life form, in other words, the Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla, has its true body existing in a different place from our world.
If Kusharilla stopped eroding this world, it would become impossible to see or feel.
Just as ordinary people cannot perceive the existence of spirits, it would become impossible to grasp Kusharilla’s presence.
No matter how much I attacked in the real world, it would have no effect on its true body existing in another world.
To make an attack land, it would require destructive power capable of piercing through the layered worlds.
No wonder physical attacks had no effect; I finally understood Kusharilla’s characteristics.
But this is no time for admiration.
I had to find a way to inflict damage on Kusharilla, or I would never win.
No, I don’t really need to win.
If I can just buy time…
Kusharilla’s laughter, like a rumbling throat.
Perhaps my desperate resistance appeared to Kusharilla as nothing more than an amusing game.
“How long do you intend to resist? Your defeat is certain. Give up with good grace.”
If it wished, it could kill me in an instant. It was merely indulging me with an encore because I was resisting. I could keenly sense that attitude.
But even so, I couldn’t stop resisting.
There are things I must protect.
There is a promise I made.
Besides, there are people waiting for me.
Therefore, I cannot give up.
I absolutely cannot lose!
“What about you? Are you really so at ease?”
Kusharilla appears as whoever it wishes to be seen as.
In that case, a beautiful woman is better!
I’d feel more motivated dancing with a beautiful woman than performing the Dragon Sword Dance with a rough-looking man!
“This battle is our victory. No matter how strong you are, no matter how large an army you send, the demons cannot cross the Heavenly Mountain Range!”
“Foolish babble. The Eastern Magician is on the brink of death, and your resistance is meaningless. How do you plan to win with that?”
Even as we exchanged words, Kusharilla’s attacks did not cease.
I, too, continued to perform the Dragon Sword Dance.
“Stubbornness alone cannot win. Hope alone will not fulfill desires.”
“Hahaha, are you talking about yourself?”
Kusharilla, who had plotted to establish its own kingdom, breaking away from the dominion of the Demon Lord ruler.
However, Kusharilla’s ambition was thwarted by us.
We can infer how great Kusharilla’s desires are, even from the fact that it still hasn’t given up on invading other races, even after being relocated to a new kingdom.
But still, that desire will not be fulfilled.
Kusharilla and the demon army could never cross the Heavenly Mountain Range!
I retorted to Kusharilla with not just wishful thinking, but with conviction.
“Amusing, amusing. You know of my ambition and understand my power, yet you make such boasts? Then, show me. Show me your strength. Draw, if you can, the Soul Spirit Seat.”
“…So, you already knew.”
I had expected it.
Soon after entering the country ruled by the demons, we were attacked. At that time, a question suddenly arose.
Why had the demons so accurately tracked our movements?
At first, I thought they were simply sweeping a wide area and we happened to be caught in their net. But on second thought, if they hadn’t known our movements beforehand, they wouldn’t have been able to track us at all.
Moreover, at the foot of the Heavenly Mountain Range, we encountered Ogre General Balvria.
Balvria immediately identified my and Listea’s true identities upon seeing us.
The idea that all humans with chestnut hair are Dragon Kings and those with blond hair and blue eyes are Heroes is ridiculous.
In other words, it means Balvria had obtained information about me and Listea from somewhere beforehand.
If that is the case.
It’s no wonder that the Kusharilla side knew that I had been granted the Soul Spirit Seat by the Demon Lord ruler.
No, rather, it goes without saying that they would know.
That’s why Kusharilla said, “What if you draw the Soul Spirit Seat and fight?”
But I will absolutely not fall for that provocation!
The Soul Spirit Seat must absolutely not be drawn.
Neither I nor Kusharilla.
Kusharilla itself understands this, which is why it did not use the Soul Spirit Seat even during the surprise attack that pierced the Eastern Magician’s chest.
Moreover, it has not attempted to draw the Soul Spirit Seat in this battle either.
Whoever draws the Soul Spirit Seat first will be the loser of this battle.
The Soul Spirit Seat, a magic sword of absolute power.
A fearsome magic sword that steals the souls of all it touches.
It is a weapon of the highest order, bestowed by the Demon Lord ruler only upon those who are recognized.
Even Kusharilla, formidable as it is, would not escape unscathed if struck by the Soul Spirit Seat.
Knowing this, Kusharilla issued the challenge.
But I absolutely cannot draw it.
Because.
I cannot handle it with my own strength. I absolutely cannot win. Therefore, I rely on the Soul Spirit Seat.
Normally, relying on a weapon would be no problem at all. In fact, the kind of weapon one wields is part of their ability.
However, in this battle, the meaning is different.
To rely on the Soul Spirit Seat is, in essence, to beg for help from the Demon Lord ruler.
We both possess the Soul Spirit Seat.
If drawn, the battle would be decided in an instant.
In such a battle, the one who first relies on the Soul Spirit Seat would be admitting their own inadequacy and declaring their own defeat.
However, if the Soul Spirit Seat is drawn, there might be a chance for a comeback.
But there’s also the possibility of being killed instantly.
Even a slight graze could shatter one’s soul.
I do not desire such a gamble of a battle, nor do I intend to beg for help from the Demon Lord ruler.
Instead, what we need right now is a battle we cannot lose.
If we don’t lose, we will definitely win!
For some reason, I had such a conviction within me.
Therefore, no matter how much I am provoked, I will not draw the Soul Spirit Seat.
And as long as I do not draw the Soul Spirit Seat first, Kusharilla will not wield its magic sword either.
“What are you plotting?”
“That’s what I should be asking you. What do you intend to do after crossing the Heavenly Mountain Range?”
“It’s self-evident. I will trample the lands where humans live and establish my own kingdom.”
“If you want to create your own country, you should just lay hands on a forbidden territory within the demon’s domain!”
Forbidden territories are lands not under the rule of a Demon Lord, but directly controlled by the Demon Lord ruler.
To lay hands on a forbidden territory means to declare war on the Demon Lord ruler.
You don’t have the guts to challenge the Demon Lord ruler, so you invade the territories of other races.
You make a move like rebelling against the Demon Lord ruler, yet you flee from them – I can barely believe you call yourself a Demon Lord!
Kusharilla, however, merely laughs and brushes off my provocation.
“You bark so boldly before me. Amusing, amusing. Well then, strange boy. Why don’t you join my ranks?”
“I refuse! I’ve even been recommended to become a Demon Lord before, so I’m not about to become a subordinate of a Demon Lord now!”
Well, I have no intention of becoming a Demon Lord either.
Kusharilla gives up the recruitment easily, as if to say, “If I can’t have it, I must destroy it,” as is the way of demons and Demon Lords.
A shiver ran down my spine as Kusharilla’s demonic power swelled more than ever before.
The sheer presence forced me to retreat while performing the Dragon Sword Dance. That’s how extraordinarily strong the demonic power Kusharilla emitted was.
“The encore is over. Isn’t it time to bring down the curtain? Now, with your deaths, the amusing stage on the Heavenly Mountain Range will draw to a close.”
Kusharilla said “your” plural.
This meant not just myself, but everyone standing on the battlefield.
Finally, Kusharilla’s consciousness expanded beyond me to encompass the entire battlefield.
I was in a no-win situation!
How can I break through this predicament?
Just a little longer. If I could just buy a little more time…
The Dragon Sword Dance and Dragon Arts are useless against Kusharilla.
However, I absolutely cannot draw the Soul Spirit Seat.
In such a situation, how many options do I have left?
Beyond impatience, despair began to encroach upon my heart.
“Go, go!”
“Don’t give up!”
Ares-chan, sensing my weakening resolve, encouraged me from within.
The Spirit Tree Wooden Sword tried to invigorate me, urging me to rouse my fighting spirit.
Ah, that’s right.
I’m not alone.
Ares-chan is with me.
The Spirit Tree is with me.
And everyone supports me.
Yes, I always have many companions and reliable allies.
If that’s the case, I can overcome even the toughest battles, even utterly desperate situations with no way out.
“The curtain will only fall with the defeat of the demons!”
I declared.
And as if in response to my declaration, the Heavenly Mountain Range ignited.
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