Book 5: Chapter 3 (10)

Dark Continent (3rd)

My situation may have improved, but the danger is still there.

I can still feel the suspicious eyes of the coalition party burning into my back. Goggoru-chan’s presence caused most of them to leave, but the Heroes of the East and West, Professor Journal, the Chara Bros, and the thick Dark Elf remained.

“There’s something I’d like to check with you.”

The hero of the West was the one that spoke.

“…what?”

“Is the rumour about the Demon King’s resurrection true? I find it hard to believe that us meeting a high-ranking demon is merely a coincidence. I think it’s my responsibility as a hero to learn the answer.”

“I can’t give you an answer. What about you?”

I passed the question off to the masochist demon.

“Why would I bother answering a human’s question?”

At first, I assumed he didn’t know, but I noticed the emotionless mask he wore falter for just a moment.

Maybe I can take this chance to free myself of this situation.

Let’s give him a little push.

“You can at least give them an answer. Or has the Demon King already resurrected and he’s nothing more than a weak caterpillar that doesn’t even possess the power to evolve into a butterfly. Maybe that’s why you were maintaining this place.”

“How —”

I casually tried to goad the Kimoronge but now he’s frozen.

“Eh? Is that actually true?”

“Damn you….”

It looks like I hit the nail on the head.

Anger washed over his face.

I wasn’t expecting this big of a reaction.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to make a joke….”

“Be quiet! Even in his current state, he could defeat a human like you!”

“Sure, sure.”

If that’s true, the prophecy of the saint from the Great Holy Land seems more credible. The fact that the Demon King is alive in a weakened state has also just been revealed to many of the great powers of this world.

That’s a big issue for the Kimoronge.

“I can’t allow any of you to live with this knowledge! I’ll kill you all!”

“….”

Of course.

The masochist demon started to raise his hands.

This is the deciding moment.

I need to find a way to calm the Kimoronge while simultaneously showing the coalition party that I’m on humanity’s side. I’ve relied solely on Fireball to get me to this point, but this will require something with a bit more finesse.

“Stonewall!”

I created a wall that completely surrounded the masochist demon.

“Gu!? W-What is this!? What have you….”

The Kimoronge began launching attacks at the stone walls that imprisoned him.

While he’s contained, I’ll issue instructions to the coalition party.

“You all need to get out of here as quick as possible!”

“B-But, what about you!?”

“If it’s a demon of this level, I can handle it on my own!”

I need all of them to leave for this to work.

They’re not safe here anyway. The masochist demon won’t be targeting me if he breaks free. I wouldn’t be able to protect them all while trying to get him to listen to me. I doubt I’d be able to save them all.

At the same time, I need to avoid ending my relationship with the masochist demon.

By imprisoning him like this, I’ve exposed my weakness to him. I just have to hope he hasn’t noticed. I’d consider myself lucky if I can make it out of here without him noticing.

“But I’m a hero! It’s my destiny to defeat the Demon King!”

“I’m sorry, hurry, get out of he–!”

“Wh….”

Before the words could leave my mouth, blood sprayed across my face.

The Hero of the West had been split in two at the waist.

A massive fan of blood splattered the cave walls and the people gathered within.

The Kimoronge appeared outside the still fully intact Stonewall prison.

“Such childish tactics won’t work on me.”

“…ah, of course not.”

Just like the magic circle, he has the ability to use spatial magic. The ability to teleport wherever he wishes in an instant. The magic the masochist demon is best at. I remember during the conflict when we fought, I thought he was moving too fast for me to see, but he was most likely teleporting.

The ease in which he was able to escape my stone prison hurt my pride.

I should probably help out the Hero of the West.

“Heal!”

I used my flight magic to position myself between the two. The Kimoronge tried to hit me with an elbow as I moved by him, but I was able to narrowly avoid it and block him from the injured Hero.  I’ve noticed an increase of control with my flight magic lately.

I could hear unpleasant squelching sounds coming from behind me.

I must have got to the maimed Hero in time.

I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to revive him if his head had been cut off.

But the hero’s involuntary multiplying act comes with a positive. He was killed in a single blow which should be enough to convince him that he and the rest of the party need to leave. After they get out of here, as long as I don’t make any mistakes, I should be okay.

I just need to focus on keeping the Kimoronge away from them until then. It’s not like I can start negotiating with him with everyone still here. If we’re able to come to a compromise, it will have to be kept between just us two.

“I’ll hold him off while you all escape above ground!”

“Move aside, human!”

“Even if you kill all of them, I’ll tell anyone that will listen about the weak Demon King!”

We stared at each other from only a few metres apart.

He still possesses that beautiful, lustrous long hair.

It’s not like I’m jealous of him.

“…then I’ll just have to kill you as well.”

“You can try.”

“D-Do you think someone of your status is capable of backing up those words?”

“While you’ve been away from your Master, I was given the title of Baron in the Penny Empire.”

“Gu….”

In our previous encounters I’ve been able to fight him off when he’s had to protect Drill-chan. However, this time it’s just the two of us. My Stonewall proved ineffective as well. I’ve always thought that he would hold the advantage in a close range fight.

But I can’t forget about Goggoru-chan. With her help, we should be able to subdue the Kimoronge without much issue. I’m afraid that he also understands that fact.

“He’s right, we need to go! We can’t do anything to fight a creature like that!”

It was Professor Journal that spoke up.

Thank you.

I was hoping someone would take charge.

The people that had crammed themselves into Goggoru-chan’s small home rushed out of the door and upstairs. Most of them looked like they wanted to run the entire time but were waiting for someone to tell them it was okay. 

The room quickly emptied.

It was now just the Kimoronge, Goggoru-chan, and myself.

“…what are you going to do?”

“….”

Good.

He looks like he wants to talk this out.

“This is all your fault. Concede defeat and leave. You can spend the rest of your life taking baths in Dragon City with Doris-san. I won’t do anything to stop you from living that life. Just, please, leave this place.”

“What is your plan for the Demon race?”

“I don’t know anything about demons. All I want is peace. If the Demons are hostile towards me or anyone else, then I will have to take that into consideration. You needn’t be a part of what happens to them.”

“Hmph, just because you’re strong for a human you think you’re capable of defeating the Demon King.”

“I’ll never know until I’ve tried.”

“…and you plan on letting me go free? Just like that?”

“If you promise to return to Dragon City without harming anyone else, of course. I don’t like the idea of having a desperate demon causing me problems. Do you understand?”

“….”

“Can you go back?”

I asked again with a bit more confidence in my voice. However, the person that responded wasn’t the masochist demon.

“…do you need me to read?”

Goggoru-chan.

I don’t need to ask what she intends to read.

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’ve known each other for a while. I’m not exactly fond of him, but I like someone important to him. I’m sure he feels the same way about me.”

“You sure like to talk.”

“Did I say anything that’s not true?”

“….”

I want to maintain a friendly relationship with Drill-chan.

I want to take the masochist demon’s place.

Drill-chan is a rare big breasted loli that still possesses her hymen. She is a treasure to the world.

“All of that is true, but I still don’t want to take too big of a risk. If things can’t be settled like this, we’ll be forced to fight. I can’t allow you to leave if it means losing someone important to me.”

“Gu….”

“What do you say?”

“…I-I understand.”

“You do?”

“I’ll accept your proposal. You’ve left me no choice.”

“The other option doesn’t end well for you.”

“It may be true that the recently resurrected Demon King is in a weakened state. Even so, a weakened Demon King is capable of annihilating the entire human race. Spreading word of his current state to the masses will do more harm than good. Humanity will grow complacent, weak. They won’t prepare for the inevitable. Demons will conquer all.”

“That’s good to know.”

I’m not sure how true his words are, but I don’t feel like he’s completely lying. 

“If what you wish for is peace, albeit a short-lived one, then I shall grant you that.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I have more important matters I need to preserve my strength for.”

Good. Even if it’s just due to me being a lower priority, it seems we’ve reached a peaceful end to things.

Things were looking bad there for a moment.

It’s becoming a common occurrence for troublesome matters to appear that I tend to put off. It’s not uncommon for these problems to fade from memory and seem rather unimportant later on. This should be fine for now.

Still, I’ll need to remember to look more into the Demon race and the resurrection of the Demon King.

My first priority should be to learn exactly what this ‘Demon King’ is.

***