Demon Lord VS Undead King

I stood facing Regal, who had drawn his sword.

“Regal, what are you doing!? To the Demon Lord!”

“Is this something for you to be surprised by? I have always been this way. Important things—I always confirm them with my own blade. That is all.”

Regal spoke firmly to the shouting Stella. A warrior to the core, then. I had complicated feelings about the story of him destroying three kingdoms in the human world, but for now, I had to focus on the fight in front of me.

“Stella, it’s alright. Step back.”

“But, my Lord!”

“This is Regal’s way of having a ‘dialogue,’ isn’t it?”

“Indeed. I shall strike with the intent to kill.”

Regal took a stance with his longsword, a blade designed like an interlocking set of bones. His posture was flawless—impressive.

“Come.”

“I am coming!”

With those words, Regal kicked off the floor. His speed was incredible, impossible to associate with someone clad in heavy metal armor. Since I fought primarily with magic, he likely intended to close the distance immediately.

“Energy Drain.”

—Or so I thought, but a faint white light began to leak from Regal’s entire body. The moment that light touched me, strength drained from my limbs. So this is Energy Drain. A life-force absorption spell used by undead-type monsters.

“To take that head-on. You are too defenseless—hm!?”

“Taking it isn’t a problem for me.”

I deployed a mana barrier and spoke calmly. It was just a spell, after all. It couldn’t pierce my magic defense. Though, it did sap more stamina than I expected.

“Then, take this—!”

Regal accelerated even further, slamming the bone sword against me. A metallic clang rang out as Regal’s slash was easily repelled.

“It’s useless. Neither physical nor magical attacks can pass through my barrier.”

While defending, I fired an attack spell as a deterrent. But Regal’s reactions were sharp. Fire, lightning, water torrents, earth spears—he swatted them all away with a single sword.

“I shall return those words to you. Before my blade, any magic is useless.”

“He’s strong…”

I let out an involuntary breath of admiration. As expected of a Demon Commander. In addition to his sword skills and sharp reactions, he wielded spells like Energy Drain; he was an exceptionally troublesome warrior to have as an enemy. In terms of pure combat ability, he might even surpass the previous King, Yurisha.

Why had such a man acknowledged Yurisha? The “strength” he spoke of likely didn’t refer to mere individual combat ability.

—Then, what kind of “strength” should I show him? My strength, which was different from Yurisha’s. If I could make him acknowledge that, would Regal become a loyal subordinate? One of the pillars for the defense of the Demon Realm.

“Why do you not attack, Fried-sama?”

Regal’s slashes grew sharper. Though he couldn’t break my mana barrier, shockwaves erupted every time he swung his sword. The walls of the mansion were pulverized and blown away.

“I have no reason to harm my own aide. I simply wish to determine your strength. Just as you seek to determine mine.”

“You do not wish to harm me, you say. How kind.”

A hint of mockery entered Regal’s voice.

“Had it been Lady Yurisha, she would have attacked with the intent to slay me.”

“…I am not the previous King.”

“Indeed, you are far too—naive!”

Regal’s arms suddenly vanished. —No, that’s not right. Killing intent appeared from behind. When I turned, there was a pair of skeletal arms and a longsword. Taking advantage of his skeletal body, he had detached his arms and sent them flying behind me!

“Hell Blade!”

The longsword, glowing with magical power, struck. A crack sounded as a fissure ran through my mana barrier.

“Fire.”

Spinning around, I dropped the barrier and released a fireball. Both the arms and the bone sword were incinerated in an instant. I fired another one—this time at the armless Regal.

“Tch!”

The skeletal swordsman backstepped and instantly regenerated his arms and sword. He sliced the approaching fireball clean in two.

“Why use a lowest-tier spell? If you had unleashed a more powerful one, you could have slaughtered me.”

Even if he said that, the Demon Lord’s power was just too immense. Even that ‘Fire’ spell could cause collateral damage if I messed up the control.

“To hold back… do you intend to mock me, Fried-sama!?”

However, that seemed to set Regal’s anger ablaze. True to his warrior nature, he found my holding back to be an insult.

“You are strong… but you are far too soft.”

Regal charged again, swinging his sword. How should I fight him? While hesitating, I deployed the mana barrier once more. I repelled the slashes easily.

“The iron rule of battle is to kill before you are killed—I have lived for thousands of years on such battlefields.”

Regal didn’t falter. No matter how many times his attacks were repelled, he came back without giving up. He must understand the difference in power, yet his fighting spirit was remarkable.

“The current state of the Demon Realm is the same. You possess absolute combat ability. I can tell just from your presence. It is likely a power that is worlds apart even from Lady Yurisha or previous Demon Lords—Haaaaaaaaah!”

A six-fold strike where the tip of the blade seemed to multiply. Another crack appeared in my mana barrier. Not bad, this guy—.

“And yet, why do you not invade the human world? You alone could destroy the humans!”

“It would only create a cycle of mutual slaughter. I want to stop that.”

The Demon Lord’s power is too strong. If I started a war in the human world now, it would cause massive damage before any hope of peace or a ceasefire. I would scatter destruction across the human world with a power I can’t fully control.

“That is exactly what I am calling naive!”

Regal swung his longsword overhead. The grotesque blade, looking like a collection of bones, was coated in purple magical energy. He intended to unleash a full-power strike.

“Energy Hand.”

Aiming for the gap in that moment, I created a hand of magical energy and grabbed Regal.

“Guh, this is…!”

I pulled him through the roof of the mansion and up twenty meters into the air.

“Fire Arrow.”

Then I released a flame arrow. It’s a flame spell one rank above the lowest-tier spells—though even the lowest-tier ones could wipe out a mountain range.

“Gua… aaaaaah…!”

With a cry of pain, Regal’s body exploded. Countless bones fell and scattered on the ground. Yet, the skeletal swordsman regenerated back to his original form.

“I told you that you were naive… As an undead, unless I am completely erased… I shall regenerate like this as many times as it takes.”

Yes, I know. I fired it with the power throttled down specifically so you could regenerate.

“Then, I want you to compensate for that naivety.”

I looked Regal in the eye. My gaze through the mask clashed with the flickering red light in the skeleton’s eye sockets, throwing off tiny sparks.

“Fight under me, Regal.”

With that, I raised my right hand toward the sky. Through the hole opened by our previous exchange, I could see the black sky. The sky of the Demon Realm, where no sunlight ever reaches. A sky that symbolized the dark anxiety hanging over the entire realm.

“Mega Fire!”

I unleashed it toward the heavens. The Demon Lord’s ultimate flame spell.

“This is—”

I heard Regal catch his breath. Crimson light filled the black sky. The Demon Realm, where sunlight did not exist, was filled with a radiance more dazzling than the sun itself.

“This is Fried-sama’s… power. To possess this much mana—”

Regal whispered, looking up at the glowing red sky.

“…I still cannot see the depth of your vessel.”

The skeletal swordsman turned back to me and let out a small breath.

“I acknowledge your absolute ability. I can feel the strength of your will. However, your ideals are still soft—”

“Then, serve by my side from now on. You can leave your final judgment for later, right?”

“…O King, you are…”

“If you decide after all that I’m not fit to be King, then challenge me again. I’ll take you on.”

Regal fell into silent thought for a moment.

“Then for now… I offer my blade to you, Demon Lord Fried.”

He knelt at my feet and bowed his head deeply. It seemed I had earned a bit of his respect. Even if it was only provisional.