Demon Lord And Demon Lord

Leaving the office, I headed toward the top floor of the castle.

At the end of the gently curving corridor lay a room that, officially, was designated as my private quarters. In reality, however, it was occupied by the Astral body—the spiritual entity—of the previous Demon Lord, Yurisha.

I had been summoned there once before to inherit the qualifications of the Demon Lord. Since she wished to remain in this castle, I had allowed her to stay in that room ever since. For me, having the predecessor nearby as an advisor in case of emergencies was a huge help.

This time, I intended to ask her about the fragments of Radis, the Purgatory Demon Blade.

Why did my power weaken during the fight with Lyle? I had performed an experiment with Stella to recreate the situation, but the intense weakening hadn’t occurred then.

What was the difference?

If another enemy possessed a fragment of the Demon Lord’s blade in the same way, I would be forced into a difficult battle. I wanted to establish countermeasures while I still had the chance.

“Hoh, you’ve come again.”

I stepped into the alternate dimension, which looked like a faint light had been lit within the darkness. A single girl stood there. Her height reached only about my waist. She had long black hair and a lovely appearance, wearing a black robe that was far too large for her, hanging loose and baggy.

“I came because there’s something I want you to tell me, Yurisha.”

I greeted the previous Demon Lord. To be precise, she was a temporary form made of spiritual energy—essentially a ghost.

“Hm?”

“It’s about the fragments of the Demon Lord’s blade.”

I told her about the events in the human realm. I explained how my power had been significantly sapped by the fragment Lyle held during our fight.

“…Lyle. That brat, is it? The one who incinerated me with flames… Curse him.”

A look of rage crossed Yurisha’s face.

“If I weren’t a spiritual entity, I would go to the human realm myself and grant him enough pain and despair to make him regret ever being born… Gunuuuu.”

“I’ve already delivered his punishment,” I said with a small sigh.

A lifelong, eternal, excruciating pain. And the end of his ambitions. Lyle is no longer capable of recovery—neither as a Hero nor as a human.

“Now, there are a few things I don’t understand. First, why did he have a fragment of the Demon Lord’s blade?”

“The Demon Lord’s blade was originally enshrined near the place where I fought you all. It likely chipped during the battle,” Yurisha answered. “That brat must have picked up the shard.”

“I see…” I nodded. “Do you know the reason why the Demon Lord’s power weakened during the fight?”

“Radis is more of a ritual implement than a weapon. It shouldn’t have such a function… In fact, such a phenomenon never occurred during my reign. Hmm…?” Yurisha tilted her head.

“When I had Stella hold it, the weakening didn’t happen… I don’t get it either.”

“…It may be because you are a former human. That might have something to do with it.” Yurisha stared intently at me.

“So you don’t know the reason either.”

“If there were someone skilled in the analysis of mana, they might find out.”

“Analysis…”

“If the former Demon Commander ‘Master of Sorcery’ Ziraam were here, perhaps he could have pinpointed it—but he was slain in the previous battle with the Heroes.”

“I wonder if he’s become a ghost like you?”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A GHOST?!”

Flames erupted from Yurisha’s hand with violent force.

BOOM!

A massive explosion occurred, but I remained unscathed behind my mana barrier.

“Don’t fire spells so suddenly!”

And that was Mega Fire, a top-tier spell. Ordinarily, I would have been erased without a trace.

“That is because you treated me like a ghost.”

I think she is basically a ghost, but I remembered that saying so makes her angry. I’ll have to be careful.

“Can other demons not create bodies like that after they die?”

“I am a special case. I was the Demon Lord, and above all, I had cast the highest grade of resurrection sorcery upon myself. It is only thanks to that that I can remain in this world as an Astral body.”

Yurisha puffed out her chest proudly.

“For ordinary demons, being killed is the end. In that regard… demons, gods, and humans—none are much different.”

“I see…” I put a hand to my chin and groaned. “I guess I’ll just have to figure it out steadily.”

“One should always grope for countermeasures. Besides—there is one other method.”

“Another method?”

“It is quite simple.” Yurisha looked up at me. “You simply need to increase the number of powerful allies who will protect you.”

“Allies…”

“The primary candidates would be the Demon Commanders. By your side currently are Stella of the Vision Eyes and Regal the Undead King.”

“Stella is always helping me. Regal… I haven’t had much of a chance to see him.” Our meeting had started with a duel, after all.

“Fumu. Regal harbors a deep hatred for humans. Be careful not to let him find out you were once one.”

“Is it that extreme?”

“Among demons, there are not a few who loathe humans. The reasons vary, but… the invasions of the human realm are led by those who form the ‘Pro-War’ faction.” Yurisha switched into lecture mode. “Regal is a leading figure among them. He likely believes that humans should be exterminated to the last man.”

“…That’s intense.”

“Then there is Zegart the Beast Emperor and Feria the Dream Demon Princess… neither of them will be easy to handle.”

I still haven’t established contact with those two.

“Surround yourself with strong, reliable subjects. As many as possible.” Yurisha laughed. “However—be careful not to let those subjects trip you up. A King is, by nature, a lonely existence.”

A faint shadow flickered in her smile.

After finishing the talk with Yurisha, I returned to the office.

“My Lord!”

On the way, Stella came running toward me. I thought I told her to rest—did something happen?

“There has been an incident…!” Stella gasped, catching her breath.

“An incident?”

“The crown has been stolen.”

“…What crown?” I asked.

“The Demon Lord’s crown, of course.”

“There was such a thing?”

When I was reborn as the Demon Lord, I had the robe and the staff, but I hadn’t seen a crown.

“Yes. Because the war continued, I had not yet had the chance to inform you…” Stella bit her lip. “I was polishing the crown just now to show it to you. A dog happened to wander in—”

Stella began her recollection. “It was so cute, I inadvertently let my guard down.”

Well, if it’s a cute dog, it’s only natural to let your guard down.

“Ah, for the record, I am a dog person.”

“I’m a dog person too.” I like cats well enough, though.

“…My apologies, I digressed. At any rate, that dog suddenly revealed its true nature.”

“True nature…?”

“It was a Hellhound,” Stella declared. “The dog, having transformed into a demonic beast, snatched the crown from my hands and vanished like the wind…”