Sekai no Owari no Encore:Volume 1 Record.5

Record.5: It, the Conqueror of Fire——

1

The Great Volcano of Galia.

An active volcano which erupted approximately one-thousand years ago where you could still see gas billowing out from its crater. Even now the ground was covered by pumice stone, volcaniclastic materials from back when the magma cooled down and solidified.

At the junction of its three paths.

“Elise should have taken the right path and Fear, the middle path, aiming towards the summit.”

“Then we will be taking the left path huh.”

To reach the summit, the junction of the three paths should each connect to the three different routes.

The middle path which Fear took should be the shortest, but there would most likely be many Demons guarding it. Predicting that, Elise took the route which would have the longest distance to reach the summit.

As such, the route Ren would take would be the remaining route which was the left path from the junction of the three paths.

“——We should move fast.”

They climbed up the volcano’s path. Even though they should already have reached halfway up, not meeting the other parties implied they had a late start.

"It's natural that at this time, the parties that advanced up the mountain should have started battling Achendias' minions. Don’t lower your guard since we don’t know where a high-level Demon could be lurking.”

“......Roger that. By the way, do you know the situation of the battle?”

“The parties have mostly been annihilated. The Demons have left their miasma everywhere.”

“It can’t be!?”

“They were weak parties lured here by hearing the name of the Five Great Disaster. This would be a natural outcome if this was their first battle with high-level Demons. There won’t be a problem though since Fear and Elise would be rescuing them.”

Kyelse lightly climbed up the mountain as if she was skipping.

“If the parties worked together, they may have been able to put on a decent fight.”

“……That’s only if they headed to the mountain together.”

Not only did they not work cooperatively, it instead turned into a time attack battle where each party would first aim for the Five Great Disaster.

And the one who triggered such situation was none other than the five member party formed by Ren’s seniors. As a result, each party would get taken down by the Five Great Disaster’s henchmen on their own game.

And then——

Without any warning, a circular symbol, glowing crimson appeared on the ground.

“A spell!?”

Ren kicked the ground to evade it.

That moment, flames shaped like a giant dragon almost grazed Ren’s back and soared up into the sky.

“Huh? He dodged it, Ranaku.”

“That’s a rare sight, isn’t it? Looks like he has good reflexes for a human, Kanaku.”

Two winged Demons appeared from the sky.

Pale skinned children with solid yet transparent wings. Despite their adorable appearance making them appear like fairies, the expressions on their faces were like carnivores who had found their prey.

“It will be a competition since we can report this to Achendia-sama.”

“Which one of us can——”

“Eyesore.”

The two Demons, with their miasma around them, were blasted away by explosions around them.

“……H-Huh? It ended already?”

“I don’t have time to waste for novice Demons that don’t even know who I am. Let’s get going.”

The Dragon Princess started running ahead without waiting for Ren’s response.

“H-Hey? Was it okay to blast them away like that?”

“Dang it. I should have blasted them away after making them tell us where Achendia’s location is.”

“That’s not what I meant! Wouldn’t they also be considered as Elise’s former henchmen?”

The Dragons, the Angels, and the Demons were the three beings representing the Earth, the Heaven, and the Underground, respectively. If Kyelse who was a Dragon carelessly attacked them, then there would be a possibility that it will hinder the balance of the three worlds.

“The Demons strength lies in their toughness. Just like Elise’s ability to reincarnate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if I did “destroy” them here, they won’t be “annihilated”. Either way, the Demons here are a bunch that betrayed the Demon King of the Underworld. It won’t be a problem if I lay a hand on them. More importantly, don’t assume it would end with those two. There’s more coming.”

The area where the battle took place between the parties and the Demons. If those two were the scouts——

“What……is this powerful presence? A Dragon!?”

“No, wait. What is up with this abnormal pressure? It can’t be?”

“That legendary——”

“Just get lost.”

Three Demons appeared from the ground. But even they were defeated by Kyelse's round kick, without putting up a fight.

“Ah, geez. I can’t stand this! Because of that seal!”

“……Even though you are saying that, that was too easy for you.”

Kyelse was taking down the Demons as they appeared.

Not even one of the Demons, who would be a threat to the human’s party, could be a hindrance to her.

And then——

“! Are all of you okay!?”

Ren in a rush, headed to the party of six that were on the ground.

Maybe they received a surprise attack from the Demons which Kyelse had just defeated. The party formed by the two MASTERSKnights, the two ARIASCasters, a HUNTERPredator, and a HEALERCurer were all burned up and lying on the ground.

“……Did you two h……help……us……?”

The HEALERCurer girl opened her eyes a bit.

“Your injuries?”

“……It’s not a fatal injury. Even I can heal……injuries of this degree……”

She stood up weakly.

“Go ahead. There were parties ahead of us. Elmekia Dusk and a party formed by young people.”

“Elmekia Dusk!? So they passed through here!”

“Yes. That party……their strength were on a different level……they headed for the summit while overcoming high-level Demons.”

“Thanks, I was wondering about them.”

Ren faced towards Kyelse and nodded. Then they ran up through the path heading towards the summit.

“Ren——”

“I know. The young party that girl mentioned must be my seniors from the academy. I assume they progressed through this route by using anti-Demon barrier since one of them was a ENCHANTERBarrierer.”

“But that spell won’t work on high-level Demons, you know?”

You could separate the sources of spells used by humans into two major categories.

The destruction-type spells copied from the spells used by the Demons——magic and attack spells would be included here.

The protection-type spells copied from the spells used by the Angels——de-spell and defence spells would be included here.

Among these two categories, the anti-Demon barrier would be taken from the Angels’ spells.

The effect it has against the regular Demons would be high, but it was merely an inferior spell used by humans. It wouldn’t work against high-level Demons with overwhelming power.

“……I thought I already knew this.”

Ren realised once again after witnessing the fallen party.

The ones that were able to compete with the high-level Demons, the rulers of the Underworld, were a portion of the parties such as the Elmekia Dusk. They were not an opponent that a novice party should challenge in a rush.

——Screams.

It was then when Ren heard familiar screams coming from above.

“We were late……! Senpai!?”

The ARIACaster who barely was conscious had his knee on the ground.

The MASTERKnight student who was using his sword to support his body didn’t move an inch. Standing next to him was a ENCHANTERBarrierer girl who was looking at the Demon in front of her with an expression filled with terror.

“Ren!?”

The MASTERKnight opened his eyes wide while breathing heavily.

Without even answering him,

“The aura of your power isn’t bad. You are such a waste to be Achendia’s henchman.”

“This smell, the Heavenly Silver Dragon!”

Kyelse’s punch and the large Demon’s punch. Both fists clashed creating a flash which burned the eyes. A powerful shock which could even distort space passed through the scene.

“What the……!?”

The silver haired girl who took the attack of a Demon head on.

Seeing such a situation, the five academy graduates screamed in shock.

——Unbelievable.

——Such small girl countered the attack of a high-level Demon.

Everyone had their eyes pop out while such thought passed through their mind.

“Senpai, behind you!”

Only Ren was staring at a completely different direction.

A dangerous presence which appeared behind them.

A Demon which had an appearance of a brown lion, whose colour was its main trait. Ren certainly saw the four legged beast stood firmly on the ground while it lit a crimson glow in its mouth.

“Senpai, watch out!”

“Ren!? Stop, you will——”

Kyelse’s scream could be heard. The instant the boy who was called the fake Brave Hero pushed away the ENCHANTERBarrierer girl, his body was enveloped by the crimson flames.

“Re————”

“Thanks. You saved me again.”

But the crimson flames were compressed in the empty air.

There was one boy who calmly stood right after the burning flames turned into small sparks.

He had a spirit which was glowing brilliantly and sitting on his right shoulder.

“The SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire!? Ren, where on earth did you master it!?”

“Ancient summoning! You are telling me there is a human who can command the spirits which exists in this era!?”

The Demon which had the appearance of a lion shivered.

Ren used that slight opening to mow down the lion’s body as he passed by it.

“……Splendid……”

That Demon disappeared like a shimmer of hot air.

Besides it, another Demon defeated by Kyelse perished.

“Ren, what’s going on!? Since when did you become capable of using spirit summoning!?”

“Ouch, it hurts! Rather, my eyes are spinning! Calm down!”

Ren, with Kyelse grabbing his collar, was being shaken around.

“That proves how amazing Fear-senpai’s divine tool is.”

“But……even so……no, let’s leave it for now. Though it was beyond what I expected——”

The spirit had the appearance of a winged lizard.

The SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire which looked like a small red Dragon disappeared. Kyelse who saw that turned around to Ren while looking happy.

“That was a great job from you. There isn’t much distance left till we reach the summit so we will keep on going while immediately taking down the enemies.”

“Yeah.”

Kyelse advanced ten metres ahead with a single step.

Ren ran while following after her.

At the mountain path where it had become silent——

The party of five members were watching such scenery in a daze.

==========

Near the crater of the Great Volcano of Galia.

“Looks like this is it for you.”

“Achendia the Demon General of Blaze. The great Demon who was even called a Five Great Disaster. We would never have thought you would flee while leaving your henchmen behind. Looks like the name of the legendary Demon had fallen.”

The five humans that were wearing black battle wear.

The Elmekia Dusk——. They were the only ones who managed to arrive at the summit, while the other parties were defeated one after another by the Demons who blocked their way, as they also aimed for the volcano’s summit.

“Pretty skilled there. I never have thought all of you would catch up to me by using tracepursuit spells.

The great Demon calmly stood there, smiling as she had the crater boil out magma behind her.

——Demon General of Blaze, Achendia.

Her crimson hair which looked like scorched heat was possessed by it. And her golden-coloured eyes made her look like a female leopard.

Simply, her appearance was that of a fascinating woman.

Her appearance was that of a woman in her mid-twenties. Though the dress she was wearing had a brilliant red colour, she was equipped with an unknown precious metal on her wrists and neck.

“Now then. What shall I do?”

Behind her was a precipitous cliff. If she stepped in the wrong place, she would fall into the boiling magma. Even though she was in a situation where she was cornered, the Demon General of Blaze kept her confident smile.

“We warn you. If you don’t want to suffer then leave this mountain immediately.”

“Oh? Is that supposed to be some human’s joke?”

The great Demon had a fearless glow in her golden eyes.

“So are you saying you'll fight us?”

“Such dummies. I wasn’t talking about that. What I was wondering was——should Mii reveal myself.”

The spouted flames enveloped around the Demon General.

“……What!? Who are you?”

“Hello there. I think your party was called the Elmekia Dusk, wasn’t it? Anyways, good job.”

The white haired little girl sat on the giant orb which was floating in the air.

“One of the Three Followers of the Demon General of Blaze Achendia-sama, Mii of the “Imitation”. Let’s get along.”

“A fake! Then where is the real Five Great Disaster——”

The Demon answered with an innocent chuckle.

“Achendia-sama was also bored so she could have played with all of you. But an interesting bunch, who would entertain us even more, showed up exactly then. So we needed the pests to be removed.”

“An interesting bunch?”

“Yup. Mii was also shocked. I would never have thought there would be a reincarnation of the legend from three-hundred years ago.”

“……Your words don’t make any sense. But we simply need to break through you and reach the Demon General of Blaze.”

The party of five humans in black attire.

Each and every one of them were professional MASTERSKnights, as well as being ARIASCasters and ENCHANTERSBarrierers.

“Terrific. It’s been a while since I met humans that are worth fighting.”

She sat on a pearl-coloured orb.

Mii of the “Imitation”, who was opposing the Elmekia Dusk, said it with a chilling smile.

“I will play with all of you on behalf of Achendia-sama. Shall we start then?”

2

The Great Volcano of Galia, the summit of the third route——

“This was unexpected.”

That was the first thing Kyelse said to the Demon standing in front of her.

“I thought more of your so-called trusted retainers would be waiting for us, but you came all the way here to meet us?”

“It’s called special treatment. After all, it had been a while since we last met.”

The one who answered was a crimson Demon, who was the highest-class Demon.

The Demon General of Blaze, Achendia. She had her crimson hair blowing behind her and didn’t lose her smile despite Kyelse glaring at her.

“Has it been three-hundred and five years ago since we last met? But I’m surprised. It seems like the former Demon King-sama and the strongest Archangel in Heaven is with you as well. I can’t believe it. If Eleline was also alive, then it would have been the reincarnation of the legendary party.”

“……Eleline isn’t here anymore. He was a human. So he had a lifespan.”

“Then is that boy over there the reincarnation of Eleline? He resembles him so much.”

The Five Great Disaster’s gaze moved to Ren.

The golden-eyes like that of a female leopard. She was looking at him. Ren couldn’t help but feel cold sweat pour down his back like a waterfall simply from that.

——She’s different.

The presence of the Demon in front of me is in a different league than the Demons I have encountered till now.

Even Ren who simply stood in front of her could realise that. She looked like a human from a quick look. But the miasma and pressure which poured from her body was completely different from the other Demons.

“So? Are you?”

“You should know the answer already. Don’t even think I’m Eleline’s reincarnation.”

Ren held the chills he was feeling and answered by keeping his tone down.

“Heh? I like it. You are the kind of human who knows his place.”

“……There’s one thing I want to ask.”

Ren looked straight at the Demon with such an overwhelming presence.

“You were a Demon General who was previously the subordinate of Elise, right? I heard that you rebelled because Elise resigned from her post as a Demon King and didn’t like the current Demon-Lord.”

“Hmm? Well, I guess you aren’t far off.”

“Then couldn’t you just remain as Elise's, the former Demon King’s, subordinate instead of the current Demon King's? Elise is having trouble since her body turned into that state. Didn’t you think of helping her?”

“That’s out of the question.”

That became the final verdict of a Demon who was once the candidate to become a Demon King.

“To be honest, the current Elise doesn’t appeal to me at all. Especially as someone who once knew of her beauty, strength, and brutality. More importantly, don’t you think there isn’t any reason for me to obey someone weaker than me?”

The highest-class Demon whose strength even surpassed that of a current Demon King.

That was the declaration of war from the legendary Demon who was called the personification of blaze.

“Though meeting Elise would be the last entertainment for me. Until then, don’t you think it will be troublesome if I don’t crush you two and Fear till then? All of you also want to defeat me to protect the human’s town, right? So why don’t we get started now.”

“Ren, step aside!”

Kyelse jumped the same time as she shouted.

On the other hand, the Demon General of Blaze jumped to the rear towards the slope of the mountain while she made phantoms of herself.

The phantoms of the Demon General. All of the phantoms moved at the same time and spoke.

“This is so saddening.”

“For that invincible and unequalled Dragon.”

“Maybe it was due to that seal.”

“You don’t even have a trace left from back then.”

The crimson detonation——the scattered current of thermal expansion created by the spells of the four phantoms turned into shockwaves that burned and demolished the huge rocks.

“Just be quiet.”

Kyelse’s power of language.

The scattered blast swiftly turned into a pleasant spring breeze.

It must have been a spell to intervene with the energies and fluids within a wide-range. But it was in a level where a human like Ren couldn’t possibly understand the constitution of the spell even though he saw it up-close.

“Split.”

Kyelse’s raised feet stepped on the ground. That instant, a shock ran through the Great Volcano of Galia like a rumble caused by a huge Dragon landing on the mountain.

The lifted pebbles along with hundreds and thousands of small rocks headed towards the Five Great Disaster.

Every one of the rocks had the power and velocity of an arrow or even bullets. Even getting hit by one of them would cause fatal damage. But——

“This isn’t like you. A cunning fighting-style like that isn’t something a Dragon would do.”

They perished before touching the Five Great Disasters.

Miasma——a garment of curses that high-level Demons has around them. Metal objects would turn into rust. And mere objects such as pebbles would be disintegrated in an instant.

“You realise it, don’t you? In your current state you can’t——”

“That’s enough talk.”

The Princess of Dragons approached right in front of the Demon General. The many pebbles from before were for deceptive means. A trap used to deceive the eyes of the real Achendia and her four phantoms at the same time.

“It’s so obvious. And sadly, in your current state you won’t overcome my miasma——”

“Fall to the depth of the realm of the dead.”

……Shake.

The air shook. The punch created by Kyelse pierced through Achendia’s activated miasma and nailed her in the stomach.

“Who do you think I am?”

“!? ……k-ka……!?”

The Five Great Disaster held her enormous breast and couldn’t hide her pain.

Barrier breaker. Body destroyer. And the spell intervener. The punch which had those three different high-level spells reached the Demon General of Blaze.

“……Splendid. To be expected from the legendary Dragon Princess Kyelse. I guess that was roughly thirty to forty percent of the strength of your prime. And that was while being in a human’s appearance. Won’t you return to that beautiful Dragon?”

“That isn’t your concern.”

Kyelse simply approached her.

Seeing the silver haired girl doing that, the crimson haired Demon simply put on a cold smile and——

“I see. So you can’t transform back, can you?”

“…………”

“That’s too bad. If you could, then you would have been able to fight me even with only half of your strength.”

“What?”

“The cause of your loss would be that there hasn’t been much time since you woke up.”

The real Achendia. And the four phantoms.

Purple-coloured spell-circles appeared below the feet of the five bodies of the legendary Demon. Strange barriers made up of many complex spell-circles, symbols, and pentagrams.

“Anti-Dragon element barrier!?”

“You should have realised by the time I summoned the four phantoms. I pity you since your senses were still dull due to three-hundred years of being sealed.”

The light made from the barrier wrapped around Kyelse as if it was restraining her——

“Kyelse!?”

“Don’t come, R————gu……aaah……!?”

Before Ren could even reach her.

The silver haired girl’s scream echoed, where she then fell at the centre of the barrier.

“I already knew you were coming. It’s natural for me to have prepared barriers against you beforehand. I obviously have many anti-Angel barriers set around there against Fear.”

The four phantoms vanished.

The remaining Demon General of Blaze looked down at Kyelse with a bewitching smile.

“What will you do now? Good timing, I was hoping to have a henchman like you.”

“……Like hell……you low rank……”

She said while she had lights from the barrier restraining her to the ground.

She still tried to move despite that. The Dragon Princess bit her teeth hard, got on her four limbs and moved her head up.

“I’m astonished. You can still speak? Hmm, you are dangerous. If I don’t make you completely powerless before Elise and Fear shows up, you might break free from the barrier with some kind of trigger.”

The condensed flames.

She had a spell of intense heat, within her palm, which was burning so much that it was so bright——

“Anyway, I’ll have myself weaken her moderately.”

“Before that happens, I will have you go down.”

Achendia didn’t realise it.

No. To be precise, she knew Kyelse’s strength that she was very cautious of her. Thus she didn’t pay attention to the human who came behind her.

——The Angel’s feather in Ren’s left hand.

——At the same time, the divine item glowed, a crimson spirit appeared behind Ren.

“Don’t worry about me SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire, take me down along with her!”

“!? That spirit! Don’t tell me you are trying to intervene with my spell!?”

The fire spell compressed inside Achendia’s palm suddenly swells up in a rage. It spiralled around in the empty space where the intense heat of flames surrounded Achendia and Ren.

An instant flash.

“Ren!?”

Kyelse’s scream echoed——

The huge explosion thrusts up the sky. Ren and the Demon General of Blaze get dragged into the blast and both fell deep into the abyss of the Great Volcano’s slope.

==========

The Great Volcano of Galia, near the crater of the second route.

The earthquake shook the slope of the mountain.

The scattered shockwave passed consecutively through to the starting point of the mountain. Many small stones turned into fallen rocks due to the shock and started to roll down the mountain.

At the centre of that——

There was an Archangel and a high-level Demon, who were exchanging punches in close-range, within breathing distance.

“Destroy!”

Chorus of loud spirits between the two.

Fear bent her body to dodge the punch of a huge high-level Demon which came down at her. She went within his reach and thrusts her fist up from below.

The punch which could drill through the ground.

The punch which could cut through the sky.

Sounds of great destruction continued to echo. The punch from the Demon created a large crater on the ground and the punch from Fear which hit the air creaked the atmosphere. The two punches created a tornado-like blast.

“You are pretty good. It’s been a while since I had a fight which made my heart race so much.”

The Archangel who had a red face from excitement with her skirt gently blown by the air.

“I shall hear your name.”

“That would be an honour. Archangel Fear, the biggest battle maniac of Heaven who directly served under the Goddess Resflaze.”

The Demon who was wrapped in black and gold armour.

His actual skin turned into a powerful armour like that of an insect's exoskeleton.

“One of the Three Followers of the Demon General of Blaze Achendia-sama. The Veldred of the “Armament”.”

“That was a well-trained martial art. The name of your title doesn’t come from armed equipment but your “martial art” which acts as an “equipment” itself. I shall remember that name. ……However.”

The Archangel jumped as if she was dancing.

“It’s regretful that I don’t have the time to be dancing with you.”

“——That was my intention.”

The high-level Demon didn’t even try to dodge Fear’s punch. He crossed his arms. He used the back of his palm which was also the part of his body to take her attack directly.

“The Archangel who is the number two of Heaven. Even though you have weakened, I am still no match for you.”

“Oh my? You know when to give up.”

“Wrong. For that reason, I need to buy time and wait for Achendia-sama to arrive.”

“……Oh, that’s what you meant.”

She glared at the Demon who jumped to the rear.

This henchman of Achendia was a martial artist but more than that, he was her royal retainer. The plan where they would concentrate on wasting their strength at their spot so Achendia could later defeat their enemy one after another afterwards.

…..What shall I do now?

……We wanted to avoid fighting Achendia directly in our current state.

Elise, Kyelse, and herself. If two of them among the three joined forces, then they wouldn’t lose against a Demon General. Instead, if they were alone, then Achendia would be an opponent who would be extremely difficult to handle.

“Looks like we miscalculated.”

If the four of them, including Ren, had headed towards the Five Great Disaster together, then such a situation wouldn’t have occurred.

But in order to rescue the humans that were defeated by the Demons on their way, they needed to go through the different routes. That was the biggest loss.

“It would be a timely attack indeed. Would I join my comrades after defeating you who is concentrated on defending, or would Achendia defeat my comrades first.”

“That’s exactly it. Come, the strongest Archangel in Heaven.”

“No need for you to tell me.”

She scrunched her fist very hard.

The blonde Angel jumped ahead while she raised her fists which had the strongest hardness in the world and was only equalled by the fangs of the Heavenly Silver Dragon.

==========

The Great Volcano of Galia, near the crater of the first route.

Elise who was standing very close to the crater which was the origin of the flowing magma.

The one who was opposing her was——

“Let me think, I think you were Nesica of the “Reflection”. The follower of Achendia.”

“It’s a great honour to have the former Demon King-sama remember my name.”

The blonde Demon who held the side of her long skirt bowed to Elise.

She also had the appearance of a human girl. But what was clearly different was her long ears like a rabbit's and a tail covered by fur like a fox's.

“I think you specialised in reflecting spells? Geez, Achendia sure did pit me with a troublesome one.”

It would have been different if she was pitted against an all-rounder type like Kyelse. But Elise mainly specialised in spells. Just how troublesome would be an opponent who could reflect spells.

“I’m looking forward to it. Just how much would my ability work against the former Demon King-sama.”

“……Sure. But bye-bye.”

Elise clicked her fingers. As if it responded to her click, powerful spell-circles appeared and surrounded the blonde Demon.

“You won’t be able to “reflect” binding barrier, right?”

“——Wrong.”

The smile of a high-level Demon. At the same time, the loop of light which was about to restrain Nesica perished.

The barrier itself gets teleported to Elise.

“Wah, I didn’t hear that you could even reflect barrier-type spells!?”

Elise slipped through the loop.

“It would have been different if it was Elise-sama when you were an active Demon King. But if it’s a spell activated by you in your current body, then there isn’t any spell from you I can’t reflect.”

“……Hmm, this really is getting troublesome. I don’t even have the time to spare.”

Elise made a bitter smile while she scratched her head. She lifted her eyes which were burning with curiosity and glared at her opponent fearlessly.

“What should I do now?”

“Oh my. Do you still have that much confidence despite having that earlier spell reflected? Do you have a final trick up your sleeve?”

“Rather than a final trick, it’s more of a……but this is, no, it can’t be helped. I don’t have any more time to waste anyway.”

The dark-skinned girl shrugged her shoulder in an exaggerated manner.

The eyes of the girl, who was known as the former Demon King, becomes filled with ominous and cold light making Nesica who was standing against her feel the chills.

“I really wanted to save this for Achendia.”

“Eh?”

“————————I shall teach you fear which would even make Demons shiver in fear.”

The wind of spell powers suddenly stopped.

The area which had spells activated started to compress and what breezed instead was black wind.

The jet-black miasma which was even colder and chaotic than the black of night. Such wind swirled around Elise’s body as if it was enveloping her. Even the atmosphere around Nesica was tainted in black and continued to spread.

At the centre of that miasma——

One dark-skinned Demon appeared.

“Eh? ……Eh…………ah, n-no…………it can’t be…………”

Nesica’s expression froze in fear. There is no Demon who wouldn’t know her. In the past, she used her powerful and unrivalled black miasma to shroud the Underworld with. The strongest Demon who even had the Five Great Disasters serve under her——

“It’s been a while since I returned to this appearance.”

The one who said that was a tall dark-skinned Demon.

Her clothing changed to ominous colour and shape due to receiving her miasma. Her tied-up hair was now untied and was continuing to blow due to the powerful and black miasma.

She changed from her small girl’s appearance to the appearance of a woman with a fascinating body——

“D……Demon Imperial Princess……Eliselis Di Mariablaze-sama……”

“Indeed.”

The former Demon King looked down to Nesica who was standing in front of her with eyes which didn’t show the slightest mercy in them.

“You should be honoured. After all, you would be the first Demon to see me with this appearance ever since I reincarnated ten years ago. I haven’t even told Kyelse and Fear about it.”

The forbidden spell of the rebirth of the Demon King.

She spent ten years to create it after she reincarnated as a small girl. A secret spell which was solely created by Elise. Since it required the consumption of a great amount of spell powers, there was a restriction of being able to use it for only a very short time——

“I-It can’t be……!? I-I didn’t hear that you could......r-return to your previous form……”

“Fool. Did you really think I would head towards Achendia without any tricks?”

“Ugh……gu, fine……bring it!”

Even though she had to fight the motion of fear which had bound her whole body, Nesica looked up towards the former Demon King.

“What’s this?”

“Since your original body is that of that small girl, you would require a great amount of spell powers to maintain that body! Several minutes at most. Then if I could endure it here for several minutes, your spell power would reach the limit first. There’s no change in Achendia-sama’s victory!”

“Haha, to be expected from Achendia’s retainer. You are smarter than I thought.”

The Demon Imperial Princess answered with a smile on her face.

“But, let me give you a correction. The reason why I didn’t want to waste time wasn’t that I needed to consume an enormous amount of spell power to maintain this form.”

“Eh?”

“I am no longer a Demon King. I am merely a single Demon who left that position and lost all of my henchmen. But even for someone like me, I still have irreplaceable comrades. They aren’t my henchmen like all of you once were. But comrades who are equal to me. I just want to make it in time for that danger. That’s simply it.”

Those words.

The high-level blonde Demon made an expression as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

“……You have changed. Former Demon King-sama.”

“You’re right. I may have. But it doesn’t feel bad. A journey with equal comrades that is.”

She had an overwhelming dignity, and miasma enveloped her body. The charming Demon Imperial Princess walked slowly towards the Demon in front of her.

“And that’s how much I also want to watch over him. The possibility of Ren who is known as the fake Brave Hero.”

3

The Great Volcano of Galia, the midpoint.

At the midpoint of the mountain, where there wasn’t even the slightest sign of parties and the Demons that would counter them——

“……! ……Ku……looks like…...I overdid it.”

Ren used his sword to support himself and stood up on his own, while his body was full of cuts and bruises.

“Hmm. Ancient summoning. I wonder how many hundreds of years since it has been since I last met a human who can command a spirit. You sure came up with an interesting tactic when you commanded the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire to intervene with my flames and made it explode.”

The crimson Demon whose tone became lively in joy.

Even though she had been blasted in the same explosion as Ren, she didn’t receive any wounds.

“You, a human who resemble Eleline. I think Kyelse called you Ren earlier.”

“——Yeah.”

“So, what was your intention? It seemed like you protected Kyelse but what are you planning to do?”

“I was desperate. To be honest, I didn’t have the leisure to think anything through.”

Ren shook his head.

Seeing Kyelse put in danger right in front of him, he suddenly took action without even thinking and finding the reason to do so, just to get the Demon General of Blaze away from there at all cost.

“But by having the discussion with the two of us, I now have two things I wanted to say to you.”

“What would those be?”

“First. Why did you betray Elise? I don’t care about the current Demon King. But Elise……is a good girl. The relationship between you and Elise may have been that of a master and her retainer, but still, you two were comrades right? I don’t want to see the two of you fight each other and hurt each other.”

“That sure is an interesting impression you have there, don’t you think?”

“It isn’t interesting since it’s something I experienced myself. It was the most painful experience I ever had.”

He continued to be called the fake Brave Hero during those three years at Holy Fiora Journey Academy.

No one took him seriously. Since he didn’t have any friends who would practice sword with him, he continued to swing his sword alone outside while using the empty air as his sparring partner.

——It’s because I wanted someone to acknowledge me one day.

——So I intend to understand very well what it means to have comrades, more than anyone.

“If I were you……I would never betray such precious comrades no matter what the reason would be. Why can’t you get along with her? It doesn’t matter if Elise is or isn’t a Demon King right now. Didn’t she fight till her body was battered three-hundred years ago!?”

Elise had lost her body in the battle from three-hundred years ago.

She lost her position as a Demon King and reincarnating into a younger but weaker body surely wasn’t something she wanted either. However——

“Wasn’t Elise, the Demon King, the one who fought alongside all of you who were her trusted retainers!? So don’t just betray her easily like that!”

“…………”

The crimson Demon didn’t answer.

“……So, what was the second thing you wanted to say?”

“I certainly am no Eleline. Yeah, I’m none other than the fake Brave Hero. I don’t mind to be called that in the academy, the town of the blazing cliff, and even from a Demon as yourself. ——But!”

Ren gripped his sword harder.

There was one promise he made which passed his mind.

“Don’t forget the strong spirit you showed when you protected me and challenged the Wyvern. That is the only requirement I ask from you to form a party with me.”

“There is something I also can’t give up on. I won’t break the promise I made with Kyelse no matter what!”

“Are you going to buy time so you can call the other three here?”

“No way. I don’t have time to do that. Your henchmen are doing whatever they like and are rampaging in the town located below this mountain.”

The story of the boy who was called the fake Brave Hero.

This was truly the beginning of it.

“I will! Now, right here! I will end this by defeating you!”

“Dummy. If it was Eleline from the past it would have been different, but you are merely a human. Know the power difference between us.”

The Demon General of Blaze raised her right hand.

Roar!

Cracks were created on the ground where a giant wall of flames blew up so high that you had to look up. Not only did the flames have a high temperature which was enough to melt the rocks it touched, but it was also a wide-range spell which covered your whole sight in flames.

“This should be the end of it.”

Torrent of flames which was heading at Ren.

Those flames————was cut in half by the swing of the boy’s sword.

“You stopped my flames for the second time!? ……I see that the spirit is quite fond of you.”

The SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire which was resting on Ren’s right shoulder.

It responded to the sword Ren used, as he swung it to intervene with the flames coming towards him.

“!”

The Five Great Disaster got stirred. Ren used that instant to jump.

The mass of flames which was created by Achendia fell down towards Ren after it spun in mid-air. Ren continued to dodge every one of them. No, there should have been flames which had hit him. But even those flames disappeared, leaving just white smokes as if it had been washed away by water.

——The Archangel’s feather and the former Demon King’s jewel.

As well a jewel to activate ancient summoning, it could also be used as a defence-barrier which had resistance to varieties of spells. It was the effect of those supports.

“Over there!”

Ren closed the distance with the Demon General who had jumped away and swung his sword slanted from a lower angle.

The tip of the sword grazed her.

But the whole body of the crimson Demon disappeared that instant like a mist.

“Mirage!?”

“Correct~. I distorted the layers present in the air with the heat of my flames in order to manipulate the refractive index of light. Since it was a genuine physical phenomenon, I can even confuse those who sense the spell-power of their opponent……well, you didn’t seem like such a skilful person so I was surprised by you. I had to take that measure.”

The charming Demon was smiling from far away.

“Ancient summoning and spirit summoning. Did you train at the Holy-land of Canaan?”

“Of course not.”

The heat of the flames lurked in the surrounding area.

Ren wiped away his sweats which were falling down like a waterfall and then shook his head.

……This is bad.

……I wanted to settle this with that attack just now.

She was a Demon whom even the current Demon King would be frightened with. Ren himself was fully aware just how much power gap there was between the two of them. For that reason, he wanted to settle this right away. He wanted to settle it before he revealed the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire as well as the divine tools given to him by Fear and Elise.

“That was unfortunate. Your expression tells me that you wanted to use it while I had my guard down, you know?”

She spoke as if it was an obvious act.

But she didn’t have the slightest expression of looking down on him as she had before.

“You are the same as Kyelse. It was a bit too early for you to fight me.”

The earth which the crimson Demon was standing on started to slowly give out a red glow.

The stones around her started to melt and fuse. As if it started following after her, the earth around her, the giant rock which was present, and all kinds of objects started to turn red and melt——

“The lava flow!?”

“The temperature is more than 1000 degrees. I guess it would be too hot for a human to bathe in.”

That instant, the lava flow which was glowing brilliantly spouted from the ground.

From Achendia who was standing normally in the centre of it, the lava flow came down to Ren who was standing below her eyes. The lava flow came rushing at him powerfully, like an avalanche, while devouring everything in its way.

“By the way, flames are the only factor the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire can intervene with. Lava which is made from rocks that were melted by heat cannot be guarded or intervened with. What will you do now?”

“So it’s a countermeasure against the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire……!”

Ren bit his teeth hard and looked around.

The bumps of the mountains created from natural causes were made from the earth and the sand. If the lava was coming from the higher altitude, then evacuating to a higher place would allow Ren to escape this situation……or could he?

“Dammit, come SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire!”

Ren jumped while he had the spirit obey him.

The lava flow was coming at him as it blew out flames. It approached so closely that he could feel the heat from it burn his skin——

“How unfortunate. Maybe you won’t make it?”

Achendia’s words of pity.

At the same time, Ren tightly gripped the amber he had received from Elise.

“I hope this will work……!”

Ancient summoning to teleport physical objects. The more complicated the spell was, the more powerful the activation substance would be and hence, the easier it would be to break the limitation of the distance and quality of the object you would have teleported.

——A huge rock.

A huge rock which Ren had seen far ahead gets summoned between him and the lava flow.

“Are you planning to stop the lava? Dummy, a simple rock like that would get melted as a whole.”

“That’s not what I’m planning to do.”

Ren simply said that and jumped towards the huge rock right in front of him.

……It’s obvious that I would only be able to summon that for an instant with my current skill.

……Please make it!

The huge rock was to mould space for his footing.

Several seconds remained till the summoned rock would disappear. He stepped on the rock within those seconds and jumped once again from the top of the rock. He jumped over the lava flow that was coming at him.

“Good decision. But my lava doesn’t just flow————now explode.”

Rumbling.

Fragments of lava got shot out to the front. It came flying towards Ren in the same velocity as that of a bullet.

“————”

Countless flying pebbles which were burning in intense heat lands on Ren. The boy fell without crying out and had lots of blood spurt from his body............did not happen since he instantly disappeared from sight.

“Is that my mirage!?”

“That was your trick. You distorted the air with the heat of your flames in order to create a camouflage by bending the light!”

The boy who rushed right in front of Achendia swung down his sword at her.

——Emission of heatwaves by the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire.

Those flames distorted the air around Ren and created an artificial phantom on the spot.

The flash of the sword.

It was certainly the moment when Ren’s sword strike had caught the Demon General of Blaze.

“……Ren-chan.”

“!?”

Something cold passed through Ren’s back with that one word, said by the Demon. Ren took distance without thinking twice.

——The tip of the sword had rusted.

Right before the tip of the sword touched Achendia’s body, the blade made from steel rusted in an instant, by the high intense heat of the miasma which was enveloping and protecting her.

……I was prepared ever since Kyelse told me about it.

……So this is the threat of the miasma which is worn by highest-level Demons.

The protection which was given to him by the divine tools he had received from Fear and Elise. He had a faint hope of having his sword protected from her miasma. But the miasma of the Five Great Demon was overwhelmingly ominous.

“Now I get it.”

On the other hand, Achendia spoke as if she was talking to herself.

“I’m shocked. It was thanks to the power of the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire that you were able to copy my move by seeing it with your own eyes and it was thanks to Fear’s divine tool you were able to summon it. But the judgement you made to actually put that in practice in the very last minute was no doubt your power. …..If that sword was even a bit of a famed sword, I may have received some wound by you.”

Her dress which had a small cut.

The Demon stroked the small cut made by the sword on her breast. By that time not only wasn’t there a scratch on her crimson dress, but even the slightest crease was repaired.

“If there was one thing I fear about humans, then that wouldn’t be the population of the human species but their growth speed. Rather than being described as learning, it won’t be an exaggeration to call it an evolution. You know, with that in mind, Ren-chan? There’s one thing I’m sure of.”

“……What is it?”

“In the near future, you will become a threat to me. So I will kill you here.”

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

The glare of the Demon General of Blaze Achendia. Even inside the intense heat of the place due to the heat from the lava, she gave an intense cold feeling which was so cold as if you were thrown into the current of an ocean. ——No, this was a simple pressure.

“The forbidden chapter of blaze, the “Crimson World”.”

The sky of the night gets tainted in crimson colour which was close to that of blood.

……A barrier? No, it’s Achendia’s miasma.

……Did this whole mountain get covered by the miasma of Achendia’s flames!?

“I, the Demon General of Blaze.”

The crimson Demon raised her hand.

“The light, the heat, and the flames are within my control as close as it can eternally be.”

The red light which started pouring down.

Those came pouring from the crimson sky of night. There was a countless number of lights which poured like intense rain.

The single drop of light—— the moment it touched the tip of his elbow, the fibre was burned away without even flames actually appearing and burning it.

“Agh!?”

“The hellfire which would burn away this world. I shall show you what real spells are.”

The Demon General of Blaze just calmly stood there, while she had red lights pouring on her.

The rains of light, there were thousands of them.

When the raindrop touched the ground it melted away the stones and when it touched the grove of the trees it turned the whole trees into charcoals. Even though it was pouring like rain, it changed its course while dropping. There were rains where it dropped vertically even though it was pouring in spirals.

——The spell where the energy of flames all turned into light and heat.

——They returned into flames only when it touched the target and burned it away.

“Ku……a……!”

……It isn’t a spell a human can control.

……This is the highest-level Demon. She is indeed a true monster.

The SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire intervened with Achendia’s flames and weakened the flames that were attacking Ren.

On top of that, the Archangel’s feather and the Demon King’s jewel, which created a powerful and unrivalled protection-barrier to weaken the power of flames even more, played a role. But even still, a single drop of light had high intense heat.

Ren didn’t even have the will to imagine what would have happened to him if he wasn’t protected by both the spirit and the divine tools.

“Even still, it’s not over yet!”

Ren swung down his sword even though he was feeling intense pain on his shoulder.

The pouring rains of light with high intense heat. The single drop which could be called a raindrop or even a flash was accurately cut by the sword swung by the boy.

“————”

The boy didn’t stop.

While he was inside the pouring flashes, he concentrated only on the raindrops pouring on him so he could mow them down with the tip of his rusted sword. The blade itself would melt if Ren blocked them with the tip of his sword so the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire intervened with the course of those flames and distorted them.

“Magnificent.”

The praise from the crimson Demon which came from the bottom of her heart.

“To only cut the lights pouring on you. Or was that a coincidence?”

“No, I simply had done this training before.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your training and your hard work.”

“Seize the drop of water and a fraction of fire, and strike it down with a single slash instantly.”

……I really need to thank Kyelse.

He was an outsider at the academy. He couldn’t find classmates who would train with him so his training partner had always been the empty air.

——I have been swinging my sword against the pouring raindrops by following its course when it was raining.

Kyelse was the only one who acknowledged his hard work. She even pushed him to strive even further. That experience is now bearing fruit.

“But it was still too early for you to fight me.”

“!?”

“Burst.”

Lights covered his sight.

The next moment the detonations which shook the air attacked Ren.

“——Gah!?”

The rain of lights which poured on him. Those thousands of raindrops, which acted like very small bombs, exploded at once and the blast spread everywhere.

The sword fell from Ren’s hand and made a sound as it hit the ground.

......This is bad. For an instant, I really lost my consciousness with that impact.

Ren had his knee on the ground by the time he realised it.

“I guess this was your limit after all. Even though you have the appearance of Eleline, you are very far from being him.”

The broken sword.

The blade broke due to the impact of the blast. The Demon General of Blaze looked down at the bladeless sword.

“Well, you sure did put up a fight for a human. You did so well that I don’t mind making you my henchmen together with Kyelse. A human who can use ancient summoning is rare after all.”

“……Don’t……mess……with me.”

Ren wiped his cheek which was covered in his blood and sweat.

He tightly gripped the bladeless sword and glared at Achendia.

“I……can still……stand as you can see.”

“I can’t understand it.”

She had Ren in front of her, who had replied to her as such while breathing heavily.

It was none other than the Demon General of Blaze who tilted her head, eyes filled with wonder.

“Your sword broke and your body is battered. You can’t even completely control the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire which is your trump card. What can you possibly do in this situation? Are you planning to call out your comrades?”

“Nope.”

“Eh?”

“There’s only one thing I’m thinking of and that is the way to defeat you.”

Ren took a step, despite the fact that he couldn’t keep his body balanced, and showed a fearless smile.

“I……want to become a member of this party. I want to become the actual comrade of those three.”

“When we are fighting, just put your life as the priority.”

The Dragon Princess Kyelse, the Archangel Fear, and the former Demon King Elise.

And myself who was merely allowed to “join” them. But that isn’t it. There won’t be any meaning if it stayed like this. The party I am aiming for is——

“I just……want those three to really acknowledge me as their comrade. I want to continue journeying the world with them. That’s why I can’t lose at a place like this!”

His body was covered in cuts and burns due to the impact of the blasts.

Even so, the boy who was known as the fake Brave Hero declared it, while he had the legendary Demon standing in his way.

“Bring it, Demon General of Blaze. This will be the last battle!”

==========

The Great Volcano of Galia, the summit of the third route——

The faint purple light which came from the top of the mountain was a strange barrier made from a variety of different spell-circles, symbols, and the pentagrams.

The anti-Dragon element barrier. The pillar of lights would intervene the more powerful the Dragon was and would cancel their power.

“Gu……to use……such trick……”

Kyelse bit her teeth hard while the pillar of lights restrained her to the ground.

A mere barrier such as this would have been easily destroyed by her in an instant, without needing to transform back into a Dragon, if this was three-hundred years ago.

“……Ren……”

She said that name while she was in pain.

Ren commanded the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire to intervene with Achendia’s spell in order to protect Kyelse——. He fell down to the mountain’s slope along with Achendia from the blast. She possibly couldn’t know how far they had fallen but the biggest problem was that too much time had passed since then.

——She isn’t someone who you could beat alone.

——Even Ren should know that.

“Don’t play with me human! Why must all of you leave me and hasten to your death!”

The three-hundred years of imprisonment, being sealed.

She had the Sword Emperor Eleline, who had reached out to her, die before her——

And if she lost Ren here who she had reached out her hand to——

“I won’t allow it……I certainly don’t want that to happen! I won’t allow it!”

The silver-haired girl.

No, the Dragon who was in the form of a human howled.

“Return and reincarnate! I am the Princess of the Dragons. I shall abandon my body of a human once again!”

The magnificent howl. The silver-haired girl’s body vibrated for an instant. Then a bright silver-white glow was emitted from her body. It shined at the summit of the Great Volcano widely. And then——

“Disappear. Beautifully, and violently.”

The absolute power of words.

It shredded the purple pillar of lights which then disappeared into the empty sky.

The barrier perished without a trace.

In the centre of it was the silver-haired girl who crouched once again and was breathing heavily.

“……Sigh……a……ah…………I was able to……return for an……instant……?”

A large number of sweat droplets passed down her cheek and dropped from her chin.

But that only happened for a short time as Kyelse stood up and climbed down the mountain right away.

“Wait for me, Ren……!”

She wouldn’t get lost.

The girl climbed down the mountain path as if she was being guided.

4

The Great Volcano of Galia, the middle point.

At the steady slope of the mountain, there wasn’t any sight of either the parties or the henchmen of Achendia that were also Demons like her.

“The last battle? You should know your place.”

Crimson miasma appeared from the whole body of the Demon General of Blaze.

The magnificent and absolute power dyed the night sky of the Great Volcano with its colour. What fell from the sky which was dyed in crimson were numerous flashes just like a meteor shower.

The small light which had the size of a raindrop.

Each drop of light fused with the stones by simply being in contact with it and turned the ground into lava. Simply saying that you being burnt by it won’t be enough to describe the seriousness of the situation if a person was hit by it. Even so——

“I’m telling you that I won’t give up!”

Ren gripped his broken sword in which the blade was broken from the middle, and sprinted through the battlefield which had red lights pouring from above. Right behind him was the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire which was obeying him as it floated above in the air.

“Hah!”

He swung his sword against the flash of light which came from high above his head. Even though the tip of his sword was missing, the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire intervened with Achendia’s spell while responding to Ren’s movement. It moved away from the flashes which were pouring above Ren.

…...Elise and Fear-senpai.

……And Kyelse. I need to thank all of them.

The former Demon King’s jewel and the Archangel’s feather. Ren wouldn’t have been able to summon the SALAMANDERancestral spirit of fire without these two divine tools and he also wouldn’t have been able to endure Achendia’s attack either.

And Kyelse.

In reality, the attack which Kyelse gave to Achendia in the beginning, had left critical damage to Achendia even till now.

Ren noticed that since Achendia had been putting her hand over her stomach, she had been using resurrection spells on herself.

……This would be the only time for me to damage her.

……But what should I do? How would I be able to win against this enemy who is too powerful?

The only weapon he had with him was his broken sword.

The decisive method to attack Achendia which would be the most crucial point still hadn’t been found——

That moment.

What passed through Ren’s mind was a “certain thing” Kyelse had said to him.

............There is a way.

……There’s still one way left.

There was still one possibility left to defeat Achendia even under this hopeless situation.

“————”

Ren gripped his bladeless sword and sprinted as he gazed at the Demon General of Blaze.

However.

“I’m sorry. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the attacks would only come from the sky.”

“……G-Guh!?”

The flash of intense high heat burnt Ren’s back from right behind him. The lights which came from the sky moved in a complex angle; therefore: Ren couldn’t notice the attack coming from behind him as that was his blind spot.

“The spirits are indeed powerful, but they won’t take any action if the summoner doesn’t give them orders. So it means the spirit can only block the lights you are personally aware of.”

“No……since that’s good enough for me!”

Ren still didn’t stop running even though his body was covered in cuts and burns.

“What’s this? That face. You still haven’t given up? But it all ends here. I had more fun than I expected but I still have three individual I need to be more cautious about.”

The Five Great Disaster raised her hand high.

“The red star, fall.”

Meteor. The crimson miasma which had dyed the sky red turned into a burning star and came falling down to crush Ren.

“You were entertaining for a human.”

Was the smile the Demon General of Blaze gave for pity or for praise?

Rumble!

The red, scorching, burning star was falling towards the boy. A huge crater was formed on the earth and there were powerful, red molten lava bursting up high from the crater.

——But Ren wasn’t located below the falling burning star.

“Falling for the same trap. That isn’t like you.”

The atmosphere distorted and the boy suddenly appeared.

Ren who held his sword had already gotten close to Achendia.

“……It’s the mirage from before!?”

“There’s only one reason why you lost. I wasn’t even a threat in your eyes. You reserved your strength while fighting me and had only been thinking about the fight against Kyelse, Fear-senpai, and Elise.”

The boy swung his sword.

But the Five Great Disaster didn’t lose her smile even though she saw that.

“And? What will you do with that broken sword? Do you think you can break through my miasma with that sword——”

“No.”

The sword fell to the ground while it made a sound.

“!? You discarded your own sword!?”

“You are hundreds of times stronger than me. Then it’s obvious how I must win against you.”

The golden jewel which he held in his left hand.

The former Demon King’s jewel. It was the divine tool to activate the ancient summoning and the effect was to summon physical objects. To summon what you were imagining into the designated location.

“I need to borrow the strength of the one stronger than you. That’s simply it.”

The activation substance was glowing. Immediately after that——

What Ren held in his hand was a single sword glowing in a transparent blue colour.

“That’s the sword used to take down the Archangel who was acting tough at the Heaven, and the Demon King who was acting like a boss at the Underworld.”

——Spirit Sword Vierge.

Achendia opened her eyes wide. There was no way that a Five Great Disaster such as her didn’t know. This sword which was used by the Brave Hero was the one used three-hundred years ago to——

“They say that Eleline fought Elise using this sword. If it was a sword which worked against the Demon King of back then, then it’s natural for it to work against you who was her henchman.”

……Please Eleline.

……This one instant will be enough so please lend me your strength!

He wished and made a prayer.

The boy who was called the fake Brave Hero swung the sword of the Brave Hero that he held in his hand.

And then——

5

The Great Volcano of Galia, the middle point.

There wasn’t any sight of Demons, Achendia’s henchmen, nor the parties. Simply the remains of the heatwaves, created from the red scorching flames, filled the place and the atmosphere was awkwardly quiet.

“Ren! Ren, where are you!? Dammit……Achendia, come out!”

She yelled so loud that she started breathing heavily. Kyelse forgot to wipe her sweat caused by the fatigue of breaking through the barrier and simply kept on running.

……I can feel the remains of Achendia’s spells. She must be nearby.

The scars left by the battle between Ren and the Demon General of Blaze.

Kyelse became frustrated as there were scars of great destruction spread in front of her.

She continued to run through the surface of the ground which continued to glow red even now.

“Kyelse!”

“Fear!? And Elise!?”

The ones who caught up to her from behind were the two other girls that went through the separate routes.

The Archangel and the former Demon King.

All of them had close to no wounds. But the expression on each of their faces was filled with tension.

“My apologies. My body was duller than I expected…… You would need to think carefully about staying in a human’s academy for a long period. I had a hard time remembering my battle instincts. And Elise, was it me or did I feel a nostalgic miasma coming from you before?”

“I ended up using an incomplete forbidden technique.”

The dark-skinned girl continued to run with a bit of fatigue on her face.

“I only had half of the power of my prime even though I used that much spell-power. So my battle lasted longer since I tried to reserve my power. By the way Kyelse, where is Ren!?”

“Ren is…………”

He’s fighting because he defended me. Kyelse stopped herself from saying that and continued to run through the roadless volcano mountain. Fear and Elise followed right behind her.

Just how long had she been running while having the wind blow her hair?

What awaited her when she continued to run without a word was——

“Ren!?”

Right after that.

Kyelse, the Archangel, and the Demon King witnessed the moment which they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

That was——

“It’s my win, Achendia.”

The boy who had swung the shining Spirit Sword.

The moment when the boy cut through the ominous miasma and defeated the Demon General of Blaze.

“T-That sword!”

“The Spirit Sword Vierge!? Did he summon Eleline’s sword!?”

Elise and Fear who screamed in shock.

“…………”

Kyelse had forgotten about the two girls and simply walked silently towards the boy as it became dawn right behind him.

Far behind him was the great crimson Demon, who was on her knees in silence, without even moving an inch.

“……Ren?”

The faint morning sunlight appeared from the other side of the horizon.

And the boy who had his back towards the sunlight.

The Demon General of Blaze who would be a powerful enemy with absolute strength. She had witnessed the moment when the boy who was called the fake Brave Hero defeated her.

……Words won’t come out from my mouth.

……I……Are you telling me I was……fascinated by Ren right now?

“Huh? Ah, that’s good. Kyelse, Fear-senpai, Elise, you are all fine.”

The boy turned around slowly.

“……Ren. Achendia, you actually……”

Won against her?

Kyelse was about to say that but she couldn’t speak out as her lips were shivering. She couldn’t even come up with what to say to him, so staring at the boy was the best she could do.

“Well, it worked more than I imagined. Make sure you give me a bit of praise, okay?”

The Brave Hero’s sword was returning to the triumphal town.

The boy who was known as the fake Brave Hero gave a big smile to Kyelse, while he gazed at the disappearing sword.

——His body was all covered with wounds and burns.

Kyelse also didn’t know what was in her mind, when she saw the boy smile firmly, even though he was in such a state.

“…………”

Kyelse however, had put her hand slowly onto her chest.

Her heartbeat started beating fast without realising it.

——It was the first time she felt like this.

The strongest force was led by the Sword Emperor Eleline. It was impossible to lose in battle three-hundred years ago.

But it was different now.

It was different from the sense of security she had when she watched over Eleline’s promised victory with composure.

The weak retaliated desperately against the overwhelmingly strong foe while being covered in wounds. To have your chest fill with heat by seeing such individual attain victory at dawn.

It was a feeling Kyelse had experienced for the first time.

“Kyelse?”

“………………Idiot.”

She approached the front of the boy while walking dizzily.

And then, Kyelse gently embraced the wounded boy and placed his head on her chest.

“I was worried. Don’t you ever act on your own again.”

“…………”

“This is a promise. Got it?”

The boy nodded silently.

Seeing his response, Kyelse embraced the boy again without saying a word.

6

The Great Volcano of Galia, the middle point——

“Oh well, it can’t be helped. I can’t be motivated to obey the current Demon King-sama but I just have to return to Underworld, for now right? I was beaten by Ren-chan after all.”

The Demon General of Blaze scratched the back of her head with an awkward look.

There wasn’t a single wound on her body which was covered with a crimson dress. The wound she received from the sword wielded by Ren was a small bruise which had already been healed.

——Even so, the Five Great Disaster declared her defeat on her own.

“So we are going back to the Underworld? So troublesome. Right, Nesica?”

“I sure wanted to enjoy a bit more of Earth which I haven’t visited in a while. Right, Mii?”

“Know your place, Nesica, Mii.”

The Three Followers stood behind Achendia.

All three of them were high-level Demons that stood in the ways of Fear, Elise, and Elmekia Dusk. The wound they received on those battle still remained strong, further behind them were dozens of Demons on standby, who are also Achendia’s henchmen and were waiting for her orders.

“I guess I’ll be returning then.”

“Achendia.”

The Crimson Demon who turned her back.

The one who called out to her was the dark-skinned girl who was known as the former Demon King.

“Are you still bothered about three-hundred years ago?”

“……Yes. It’s hard to understand. The End War from back then. Why did you, who was the Demon King, sacrifice yourself for me, who was merely your henchman? You lost your position as a Demon King because of it and ended up reincarnating into such a young body. I didn’t want to see it. That weakened state of yours.”

Achendia answered her while she sighed.

“Remember this, okay? I won’t acknowledge anyone but you as the Demon King who would rule the Underworld. So go and find the spell to return into your original body. I would rather be dead than to serve that weak Demon King.”

“……Yeah yeah. I never thought I would have my former henchman worry about me.”

Elise made a bitter smile while she put on an awkward expression.

The response the crimson Demon gave to the former Demon King, who acted in such a way, was a silent smile. That smile wasn’t the fearless smile she had till now but a smile which was pure and beautiful——

……Was the real reason why Achendia came to earth was perhaps——

……Not to rebel against the current Demon King but to send that message to her?

“Goodbye Ren-chan. Take care of Elise-sama, okay?”

The moment Ren thought such. The Demons including the Five Great Disaster disappeared as if they blended with the morning sunlight.

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