Confrontation

I made my way through the forest with Stella.

“Fried-sama, how do you view this upcoming battle?”

Stella, walking beside me, asked the question. Her expression was cool and composed as always, but looking closely, I sensed a faint trace of anxiety mixed in.

“That thing you said to Regal… about how you might be slain yourself…”

“I wasn’t being pessimistic.”

I let out a wry smile beneath my mask.

“The Sacred Edges are certainly strong. I’ve never met them in person and only saw them in that footage just now… but if I were still human, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“Fried-sama…”

“But I’m different now. What I said to Regal was partly just a tactic to persuade him. Don’t let it worry you.”

“…I am relieved to hear that.”

A small smile touched Stella’s lips.

“Then I shall devote my full strength to detection.”

“I’m counting on you. How is your recovery? You’re still unable to engage in combat, right?”

“My sincerest apologies.”

“No, I’m not blaming you. I just wanted to confirm our current status… I should be the one apologizing.”

Stella and I pressed forward.

“…May I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why did you bring that along with you?”

Stella shifted her gaze toward my coat. With her Clairvoyance, she saw right through me.

“Oh, this?”

I gave another wry smile and pulled out the object tucked inside my robe. It was a ruggedly built revolver—a weapon that used gunpowder to fire bullets. The technology to mass-produce them hadn’t been established yet, making it quite a rare item, but as a Hero, I had been prioritized for its distribution.

…That said, while it was effective against humans, this weapon rarely delivered a deciding blow against demons. It was difficult to inflict a fatal wound with a bullet against a demon’s immense magic and vitality. When I was a Hero, I used the pistol primarily as a distraction.

Now that I possessed the power of the Demon Lord, there was little practical reason to use this revolver in combat.

“…Sentimental value, I suppose.”

“Eh?”

Stella looked puzzled for a moment, then immediately sharpened her expression.

“I sense the presence of a Miracle Armament ahead. Likely a Hero.”

“How many?”

“Just one. For some reason, they seem to be acting separately from the other Heroes…”

“That’s convenient. We’ll take them alive to get information.”

With my power, that shouldn’t be difficult. I moved straight ahead. Pushing through the thicket, a figure appeared before me.

“You are—”

I stood rooted to the spot, my breath hitching. Even though I thought I had prepared myself for this encounter, my mind went completely blank. My heart began to pound so hard it was painful.

It was a face I knew. A face I could never forget.

“…We meet again, Lyle.”

“That voice… no way, Master…!?”

The person—Lyle—let out a shocked cry.

“LYLEEEEEEEEEEE!”

An uncontrollable explosion of emotion erupted from me. I ripped off my mask and hurled it aside. It felt as though everything that had been stagnating in the depths of my heart was bursting out at once.

“Fried-sama…?”

Stella sounded bewildered, but I didn’t have the luxury of answering her.

“It is you, Master…!? But that outfit—”

Lyle looked stunned. His gaze dropped to the back of my hand. More accurately, to the red crest glowing there.

“The Demon Lord’s Crest…!?”

“I am the new Demon Lord.”

Silence dominated the clearing. A cold wind blew through the trees.

“Heh… the Demon Lord, is it?”

Lyle let out a thin smirk.

“That crest is certainly the same as Demon Lord Yurisha’s… but why…?”

“I was reborn. After you killed me, I became the Demon Lord.”

Just providing a minimal explanation—just exchanging words—made anger boil in the depths of my chest. He betrayed me. He trampled on my trust. Even though I believed in him the whole time. You… to me…!

“I was acting solo to hunt down demon stragglers,” Lyle said, appearing perfectly calm, as if he didn’t feel my rage at all. “Most of the credit went to Ludmila, after all… but to stumble upon such good luck.”

“Good luck?”

“My great mentor Fried, to whom I owe so much, has actually been resurrected as the new Demon Lord. Since there’s no way to turn you back, I’ll at least grant you a peaceful end. And bring peace to the world—this is the duty of the disciple left behind.”

Lyle spoke with a full, radiant smile.

“Are you happy?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m sad, you know?”

While still smiling, Lyle leveled his crimson sword.

“But I’m grateful. Thanks to you, this time for sure, I’ll become the Hero who slew the Demon Lord—”

He clearly felt no guilt whatsoever. He didn’t harbor even a shred of regret.

“…Is that your answer?”

“Just so you know, don’t keep looking down on me as just a disciple forever. If I put my mind to it, I can even beat you, Master… I have that much confidence.”

The red blade was wreathed in flames.

“I’ll show you right now—howl, Laevateinn!”

A swirling vortex of fire engulfed me.

“Now, burn to ash!”

It was hot—. A terrifying sensation of scorching heat attacked my entire body.

“—This is nothing.”

I gritted my teeth.

“As expected of the Demon Lord’s body, you’re enduring it! But the flames of Laevateinn will never go out until I release them—never!”

Lyle roared with laughter. It was just like that time. The time I was betrayed by Lyle and incinerated by the flames of Laevateinn.

“…It’s not.”

“Huh?”

I stared straight at the bewildered Lyle.

“I said it’s not hot.”

The sensation of heat had already vanished. I am—different from how I was then. I will break away from that past. I’ll make sure of it.

“Fire.”

With a pea-sized fireball I generated, I effortlessly blew away the flames of Laevateinn that were supposed to be inextinguishable.

“Eh…?”

Lyle let out a stunned sound. I walked forward slowly. Once I reached the frozen Lyle, I threw a punch with total indifference.

“Gu… gehh…!”

Lyle took the heavy blow to his stomach, his handsome face twisting in pain as he was sent flying.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you supposed to be able to beat me if you put your mind to it?”

I walked up slowly and looked down at the fallen Lyle.

“Wh-what is this power… pant, pant…”

Lyle glared up at me with pure hatred. I remembered the first time I met him. The young Lyle who looked up at me as if clinging to me, depending on me. That Lyle was nowhere to be found anymore.

“No—he was never there to begin with. Nowhere.”

The Lyle I trusted and loved like a son. It was all a delusion. A feeling between resignation and emptiness welled up inside me. Tucking that thought away in my chest, I held my hand out toward Lyle.

I concentrated my mana. A faint glow dwelled in my palm.

“H-hiieee…!”

Lyle groaned with a terrified expression.

It was time to break away from the past.