Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 7 Epilogue (section)

===Part 1===
After the Demon God Chaos was defeated by Basara, Mio, Leohart, and Ramsas.

When the Council realised that their plan to assassinate Leohart and the others had fallen through, they decided to resort to their final trump card — using the device that was installed underneath the arena, they planned to completely destroy everything including the venue itself and turn it to dust.

“Seriously, I can’t believe that we even have to use this last resort.”

“It can’t be helped. Chaos has been banished into an unknown dimensional space, and we don’t have the combat power to directly take down Leohart.”

Despite this, the attitude and tone of the Council members was still quite easy-going. Using this arena as the battlefield for the Current Demon Lord faction and the Moderates faction was the Council’s decision. Once they activated the device that would completely erase everything, a chain explosion would generate the energy to swallow and destroy everything around the arena. Toujou Basara’s elimination ability was certainly troublesome for them, but based on its power, it seemed to have various other restrictions apart from not being able to be used for a counter, plus it didn’t have the ability to eliminate all of the explosions in every location. That was why they were so relaxed. But among them, only one of them appeared to be depressed.

“—Oh, it’s such a pity, Mardones-dono.”

“………”

While that was spoken in a light-hearted tone, Mardones clenched his teeth upon hearing it. Because Belphegor was absent, the role of coordinating this plan was handed over to Mardones. And in the end, this was the result. One of the Council members smiled thinly as they spoke to the silent Mardones

“And Admirath also said that he wanted to ‘clean something up’, but he ended up losing his life. The heroic spirits belonging to Chaos that were sent to attack Wildart were all slaughtered by Jin Toujou before their master was defeated by Leohart and the others, how unbelievable.”

“…Not yet, it’s not over yet! As long as we activate the elimination device, victory will still be ours, and we can follow the plan…there won’t be any problems then!”

Mardones couldn’t help but raise the volume of his voice in response.

“Certainly, as long as we can quickly dispose of Leohart and those Moderates faction people, it won’t have any effect on our plan at all.”

When they said that, another Council member laughed as they said

“But — has the situation truly gone according to your plan?”

“……!”

When that was painfully pointed out to him, Mardones gritted his teeth once again. Mardones originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of Belphegor’s absence to gain a foothold to become the next leader of the Council, and at the same time make his subordinate Admirath the next Demon Lord, but they ended up losing their treasured Chaos as well. With such a heavy loss, even if he compensated by completely eliminating Leohart, his position as the number two rank would be in danger, let alone the chances of improving his own status.

“Anyway, we need to quickly resolve the immediate problem. Especially Leohart and the other few, we must absolutely finish them off here. After all, if Wilbert’s daughter had not interrupted midway to save him before we sent Chaos out, Jin Toujou’s son would’ve killed him…even if the audience thought he was just a young Hero, after seeing him like that, his image would’ve changed into something more powerful than that.”

When Mardones clenched both his fists in order to supress his anger, another member said

“Currently, Leohart’s image as the Demon Lord has already been watered down…rubbish that has lost its use should be cleaned up as soon as possible.”

“…………”

It was certainly a valid point. Trying to clean or restore his sullied name at the moment would only make matters worse. Their priority should be to deal with the matter at hand, and then plan their comeback. Although they had failed this time, they definitely had to regain the upper hand next time. In this way, he would eventually be able to take his seat at the head of the Council. When such thoughts went through Mardones’ head and he began to recite his part of the elimination device’s activation code—

“Ah~ so you were here after all, onee-chan has sharp intuition!”

In the special viewing room that only Mardones and the other Council members were allowed to enter, a somewhat frisky voice was heard. As he turned around to look, there was a beautiful woman standing in the doorway. Although she was a demon, she had the characteristic blonde hair and blue eyes that were a trait of the Gods. Every single member of the Council clearly knew who she was.

“Fufu, hello everyone~ ♪”

The person who smiled innocently and greeted them was Leohart’s older sister — Riara.

“Princess Riara…what brings you over here?”

Riara should have been in her room in Lundvall Castle together with Gardo. Gardo had also been marked as one of Chaos’ sacrifices, so there were some heroic spirits that were sent to attack Lundvall Castle…at the time, Riara should have been inside the royal palace.

''…What does this mean?''

Gardo was a highly faithful person, so it was difficult to imagine that he would break his trust with Leohart and leave Riara’s side. But right now, they were unable to sense Gardo’s spiritual reaction in the arena. Although they were unsure of how Riara had entered the arena by herself—

''…For the sake of safety, we should kill her.''

“Mardones-dono…don’t jump to such conclusions so quickly. Just because we’re getting rid of Leohart, it doesn’t mean we have to kill her as well.”

When Mardones vigilantly concentrated the magical energy in his body, another member smiled as they persuaded him, while their eyes stickily crawled over Riara’s body.

“She’s so beautiful, and her God-like appearance is very rare…this boring battle has made us suffer heavy losses, so at the very least, we could keep her as a little souvenir to play with.”

He revealed an even more wretched smile

“Come on, Princess Riara…please follow us obediently.”

After that, both the right hand that he had stretched out and his smiling head flew into the air.

“Eh…?”

After a small voice barely leaked out from the head that was in mid-air, vast amounts of blood gushed out.

“You…ah…?”

The arm and head rolled onto the floor in front of the stunned Mardones and the others — and then the body fell down and sank into a gradually expanding pool of blood. For a moment, the others were unable to comprehend what had happened, but Riara giggled out loud ‘hehehe’. In an instant — Mardones and the others were no longer able to move.

''…T-This is…!?''

The powerful sense of oppression that Riara disseminated — was so great that it momentarily took away their freedom of movement. The principle was similar to the mental restraint Zolgear used when facing an opponent with a significant gap in strength. But for Mardones and these members of the Council who secretly manipulated the Demon Realm, they all had similar or greater strength to Zolgear. Riara was still able to kill one of them, and completely halted the actions of the other four. —Why? It was because the sense of pressure that Riara emitted was even heavier than Chaos’.

“You can’t run away~ onee-chan thought that you could truly make Leo-kun strong, and because of my great generosity, I allowed all of you to live until now. But now that you’re thinking of such hatred and trying to kill Leo-kun…how could onee-chan possibly allow you to do something like that?”

While Riara said that, she approached them with audible footsteps.

“…Ah, ugh…!”

However, Mardones and the others were unable to move, and couldn’t even utter a single word. All they could do was cower in extreme fear at the strange presence before their eyes. And then—

“Ah, but one of you did say something rather meaningful, didn’t you? Um~ how did it go again…”

Riara poked her cheek with her index finger and tilted her head for a moment, and then she smiled when her expression suddenly livened as if she had remembered. Her seemingly innocent eyes carried a fierce expression within them.

“Rubbish that has lost its use should be cleaned up as soon as possible…right?”

The very instant after they heard that sentence.

''…W-What…?''

Mardones’ world turned upside down. Until the very end, Mardones didn’t realise that it wasn’t the world that was upside down, but it was his head that had separated from his body and flown into the air — that was how his long tenure had come to a miserable end.

All of the other members of the Council met a similar fate. And as the odour of blood began to fill the room

“…Hmm~ I guess onee-chan’s work is all done now?”

After Riara joyfully said so while looking down at the five dead bodies on the floor—

“By the way…the person over there, how long are you going to hide for~?”

She suddenly spoke towards the wall that had nothing on it.

“……Geez, so I was discovered. You’re pretty scary, ojou-chan.”

After a bitter reply came from the wall, a figure emerged from it. A seemingly male silhouette gradually became clear, and his face was also clearly visible. Riara knew the name of the man that had appeared in front of her. So, she opened her mouth in praise

“I thought a lot of heroic spirits were sent to Wildart, but after you dispatched all of them, you still had the time to hide in such a place…you certainly are incredible, War God-san.”

“I really don’t deserve such praise. Those old men of the Council didn’t notice me at all, so I thought that I’d completely eliminated my presence…”

Scratching his head as he spoke was a Hero of the Village — Toujou Jin.

“Onee-chan’s womanly intuition is rather sharp.”

When Jin put a cigarette into his mouth from his pocket, Riara proudly puffed out her chest and said

“But you’re so naughty War God-san, you were clearly in this room first, but in the end you left everything to me.”

After taking a breath—

“—War God-san, you also came to kill these old men, right?”

After Jin lit his cigarette with his lighter and exhaled a puff of smoke, he replied

“How could you say something so scary…this fight is a matter between Basara and the others against your adorable younger brother. I’m here for insurance, just like you.”

A calm smile surfaced on Jin’s face.

“Anyway…I didn’t think that when I came to check-in on the Council that I’d discover someone like you on this side.”

He then narrowed his eyes and looked at Riara as he asked

“Your appearance is rather rare among demons, but that isn’t just an ancestral regression…what exactly do you have to keep fed in you to get that kind of monstrous aura?”

Riara giggled as she replied

“You can’t stare at me so much~ onee-chan’s selling point is her mysteriousness.”

Moreover—

“If you’re going to say something like that, then aren’t you the same, War God-san?”

Riara confidently said

“You don’t smell like just any ordinary human, you also have hints of a dragon’s smell…and not just any, but a high-level ancient dragon.”

“———”

These words surprised Jin so much that soot from his cigarette dropped onto the floor. But he didn’t change his attitude, and puffed out a mouthful of smoke and said

“Those kids really had a narrow escape from death…they’re lucky that you weren’t a representative of the Current Demon Lord faction.”

“Onee-chan wouldn’t participate because that would be against the rules. But—”

Riara continued

“If War God-san was to fight, then onee-chan would consider it.”

“I see, then it’s a good thing that I kept a low profile…I almost gave myself some extra trouble.”

“O-Onee-chan is not a troublesome woman! How rude!”

After Riara pouted, she continued

“But, onee-chan is really happy to meet this War God-san, because this solves the mystery of your son’s dimensional transfer ability.”

“……Yeah.”

“That boy’s smell is even more complicated than War God-san’s…not only is he an example of ‘three types of mixed blood’, but he’s also the only one with the power of dimensional transfer, so onee-chan was always wondering about it. So…he also has a dragon’s blood.”

And then, Riara coldly muttered in a low voice

“…It’ll be bad if that boy becomes Leo-kun’s enemy, what should I do? Should I take advantage of this time to—”

After saying that much, Jin’s aura rapidly expanded in front of her, and at the same time—

“Say ojou-chan…this time, I want to remain as insurance until the end, okay?”

“That won’t do, War God-san. If you scare onee-chan like that, it’ll only have the reverse effect, you know?”

Because—

“In this way, you’ll make onee-chan want to help get rid of another obstacle for Leo-kun.”

In the face of Jin who had released a powerful aura, Riara also released the power that she had concealed within her. Amidst the tense atmosphere, their tremendous auras violently clashed like fire and water, producing a frenzied airflow. —Just as neither side would back down, and the situation progressed towards an unavoidable fight. Someone rushed into the special viewing room that had almost become a battlefield. It was the youth who had just cooperated with Leohart to defeat Chaos not long ago. Toujou Basara. His eyes immediately homed in on Jin, who wasn’t supposed to be here.

“…Dad? W-what is…?”

He then noticed the corpses of the Council members scattered across the floor, and was so surprised that he took a deep breath.

[[Image: SMnT V07 009.png|thumb]]

But he wasn’t surprised at their death — but because of Riara. He thought that the person confronting Jin was a member of the Council.

“Onee-chan is a little impressed right now…you actually showed up here.”

With strength as great as Jin’s and Riara’s, he was able to detect the confrontation of their murderous intent from afar. The two of them had also released nearly enough pressurising aura to get rid of any interference, but Basara still stepped into this place. It was simply because of this courage that he had gained her praise.

''…More importantly~''

Basara didn’t come here because he was worried about Jin’s safety. Based on the distance between here and the fighting space, even if Basara was a speed-type, it meant that he ran towards this viewing room immediately after the battle was over in order to make it in time. In other words, it was before the confrontation between Riara and Jin — he was already on his way before the Council members had been wiped out. That meant that Basara rushed to the viewing room without knowing of the existence of Jin or Riara. —Then why had he come? There was only one answer. It was for the same reason as Riara and Jin. This youth had been in constant battle against Leohart and Chaos, he left the fainted Mio in the hands of Ramsas to take care of, and under circumstances where he had no other comrades to meet up with or to heal his injuries, he came directly for the Council members’ lives.

''…Ah…''

Then, Riara noticed that there was one more person outside the room. They were hiding carefully, so as not to allow Riara to discover their presence, it was Lars.

''…That’s right, they killed Zolgear together before.''

Taking their safety into account, letting go of the Council would only bury the problem for Basara, and add to his risk. As for Lars, he held hatred towards Zolgear and the other despicable Council members who had killed the brothers and sisters that he had grown up with in the orphanage. Although she didn’t know who first proposed cooperating, both of their interests aligned.

''Interesting — truly interesting.''

As Riara thought that, she could not help but allow the edges of her lips to float up.

“…………”

Upon seeing this smile, Jin’s alertness elevated even further. Hence, Riara completely relaxed her expression and said

“Don’t worry, War God-san. Onee-chan isn’t thinking of doing anything reckless here anymore.”

She then smiled widely and dispersed her aura.

“The Council is already dead, and they can’t destroy the arena anymore. It seems like onee-chan did it herself, but it would’ve been taken care of either way. Don’t look at onee-chan like that, I’m very busy and have a lot of things to do, it’s time for me to excuse myself.”

After she said that, Lars presence disappeared.

''Ah, he slipped away. I’ll call you over directly another day to see how onee-chan will deal with you''…after deciding so in her mind, Riara felt that the agreed time was close, so she finished everything that she had to say

“Umm, can I call you Basara-kun? You seem to get along with Lars. Now that the Council of those old men are gone, the gaps between the Current Demon Lord faction, Moderates faction, and other factions will certainly disappear over time. Although a lot has happened between you and Leo-kun, you have to find ways to live in peace and be good friends with him, okay?”

“Umm…”

Basara couldn’t keep up with the sudden change, and was left dumbounded. But that didn’t matter.

“Alright then, War God-san, see you later?”

After Riara smiled and said goodbye, Jin also seemed to confirm that she had no intention of fighting and relaxed.

“Yeah…please find a place to meet without the smell of blood next time, and your attitude should be as cheerful as it is now, like ‘nohoho’.”

“O-Onee-chan never said anything like ‘nohoho’~!”

After Riara ‘hmph~’ stuck out her tongue, she left the special viewing room. Once she was at the corridor—

[—Aneue, can you hear me?]

She received a telepathic message from her adorable little brother, and she responded in her mind.

[Mmm, of course I can, Leo-kun. I’m sorry, although onee-chan wiped out the Council all at once, there was a minor unexpected incident.]

[…Was there a problem?]

[No, no problem at all! Onee-chan is really strong.]

As Riara walked, she energetically flexed her slender right arm.

[I know…but it’s my duty to worry about you aneue.]

What she then heard were words of delight. ''After saying such adorable things, we’ll see how onee-chan will pay you back for that''; after deciding that, Riara asked

[—How is the situation on that side? Is Belphegor there?]

Indeed, Leohart was not actually in the arena. He was in the playground that Belphegor was probably staying in. Just as Basara immediately went to the special viewing room to destroy the Council after defeating Chaos together, Leohart also went to Belphegor’s location as soon as possible.  The plan that the two of them had originally agreed on was…Riara would eliminate the Council members in the arena, while Leohart would search for Belphegor’s position, and would monitor the location until Riara arrived so that they could defeat him together. Not allowing Leohart to do it alone was because it would be too risky for Leohart to try and face the leader of the Council, Belphegor, alone. Hence—

[Just wait a little longer, Leo-kun. Onee-chan will use teleportation magic to get there.]

After moving some distance away so that neither Basara or Jin would be able to detect her presence, Riara prepared to initiate a magic circle, but before she teleported to the position of her little brother that she was communicating telepathically with, she noticed that he did not reply, and so she asked in puzzlement

[Leo-kun, what is it?]

[…To be honest, there’s been a bit of a problem here on my end.]

The answer from the other side sounded stiff.

[Hmm?]

Riara tilted her head.

[Could it be that Belphegor isn’t there?]

[He is…just come over first, and then I’ll explain it properly.]

After saying that, Leohart ended the telepathic call.

''What could it be''…his tone did not seem urgent, so it shouldn’t be a major problem.

“Mmm…I guess I’ll find out once I’m there.”

Riara did not want to waste any time on speculation and spoke her mind, and then she walked into the magic circle that had manifested before her eyes.