Secret Plan.

“In the end, you chose Freed over me, did you?”

A voice echoed from the sky.

“You are—”

Surprised, I looked up to see a silver, bird-like object.

A flight-capable magical apparatus?

Two demons riding atop it landed on the ground.

A golden lion beastkin clad in armor, accompanied by a silver knight-type homunculus.

Zegart and Tsukuyomi.

“Still, it seems you managed to exhaust the Demon King to some degree. That is more than enough,” Zegart smirked.

“I… wanted to confirm whether Freed had the capacity to be King or not. Once more…” Regal groaned.

“I am starting to feel that… perhaps he, not you, is truly fit to be King. I am wavering.”

The Undead King shook his head from side to side.

“I no longer… know.”

“Then watch from right there.”

Zegart stepped forward, baring his fangs in a ferocious grin.

“I shall make you understand the true power of a real Demon King—”

“So this time you are fighting me, Zegart?”

I turned to face him.

“Heh, so that is your true face under the mask. You really do look human—no, it’s the exact same face as when you were a human, isn’t it?”

Zegart stared closely at me.

Right, my mask had broken during the fight with Regal and remained shattered. So Zegart and Tsukuyomi saw my true face as well.

“…How do you know I used to be human?” I asked. “Did you hear it from Regal?”

“No. I knew long before that,” Zegart declared arrogantly. “I will never accept a Demon King who harbors a human heart.”

…The same words Regal had said.

“Holding a human heart, yet stealing the throne of the Demon King from me… I despise that.”

I see. Even with the same words, his feelings were entirely different from what Regal had harbored.

“Ambition and jealousy, then?”

“Yes. I believed there was no one else fit to be the next Demon King but me. No, even when the previous King, Yulisha, was chosen, I was maddeningly jealous. I resented it. I was furious. Why was it not me?!” Zegart growled.

“If it were me, I could make this Demon Realm even stronger, and make my name echo for eternity. And yet, neither the previous reign nor the current one—why can I never become the Demon King?!”

The lion’s eyes stared at me, burning with a dark flame.

“Then I have no choice but to take it by force! Power! The strength to defeat and trample everything, greater than anyone else—that is the one and only absolute rule in the Demon Realm!”

“If you’re coming at me with brute force, I’m more than ready for you, Zegart.”

I focused my magic power.

It was true that I was drained from my fight with Regal, but I could still fight on.

“Your Majesty, we will protect you!”

Lirim and the guards stepped in front of me, but I held them back.

“No, Lirim, you all fall back.”

Zegart’s power was immense. I didn’t want to cause useless sacrifices.

“I will take him down myself. As the Demon King.”

“Well said! Now, I shall strip the title of Demon King from you!”

Shouting, Zegart kicked off the ground.

“Let us settle this fair and square!”

Something shot out from behind the Beast Emperor.

“Roar, Miracle Armament Grásíða!”

“What…?!”

A Miracle Armament—a divine weapon that only Heroes were supposed to wield.

Zegart was using one…?

To be precise, the spear wasn’t held in the Beast Emperor’s hands, but in an auxiliary arm—a sub-arm—extending from the back of his armor, appearing to be a mechanical device.

“Meteor Blade!”

I instantly launched a dozen fire swords all at once to intercept him.

“Too weak!”

Zegart’s spear slashed through all the fire swords in a single sweep.

At full power, my Meteor Blade had enough force to scorch and slice through the earth itself. Clearing a dozen of them at once was a terrifying display of power.

No, wait—that’s not it.

Don’t tell me…

“Ragna Bomb!”

I fired off an advanced spell in rapid succession.

“Nrrroooaaargh!”

Zegart roared, raising his spear high into the air.

“Heavenly Resonance (Howling)!”

Along with the incantation, a black radiance burst from the spearhead.

“Ghk…?!”

A sudden, intense feeling of exhaustion washed over me.

My magic power is going wild?!

I couldn’t release my power properly—

The magic orb I launched fell far short of its usual output and was casually sliced apart by Zegart’s spear.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

Sweat dripped from my entire body as I panted heavily.

For some reason, the power of my magic had dropped drastically.

Come to think of it, something similar happened when I first met Zegart and sparred with him.

No, I remember this phenomenon from even before that.

Yes—it was the exact same as when I fought my beloved disciple, Lyle…