Beneath The Demon King Castle.

The audience chamber of the Demon King Castle.

With Freed and Juda out on the battlefield, five individuals remained on standby here: Stella, Olivier, Tsukuyomi, Zegart, and Feria.

“——They are coming.”

The third eye on Stella’s forehead snapped open.

“Is something the matter, elder sister?” Olivier asked.

“Someone is approaching the Demon King Castle. This signature is… from the underground,” Stella replied to Olivier’s question.

“The core of the Demon King Castle’s defense mechanism is located beneath the castle, for that matter. Are they targeting that, or perhaps…” Tsukuyomi muttered matter-of-factly. “At any rate, we should secure the underground.”

“Then myself, Tsukuyomi, and Zegart will head down. Understood?”

Since Demon King Freed was not present, she had no choice but to take command.

“Understood.”

“Roger that, for that matter.”

The Beast Emperor and the Alchemist General nodded in agreement.

“The rest of you remain here and stay on standby for an enemy assault,” Stella ordered. “There is a possibility that the intruder targeting the underground is a diversion.”

“Elder sister, please be careful.” Olivier clung to her, anxiously shaking her fox ears and tail as she gave her a tight hug.

“Zegart and Tsukuyomi are with me. It will be fine.” Stella smiled.

Stella advanced to the underground of the Demon King Castle along with Zegart and Tsukuyomi.

“——What exactly is down here, Tsukuyomi?” Stella asked. “A secret that hasn’t been revealed even to us Demon Army Commanders… you know it, don’t you?”

“I must remain silent, as this is a first-class top-secret matter, for that matter,” Tsukuyomi’s response was flat. “This information is passed down solely to successive generations of Alchemist Generals.”

Stella felt exasperated by such excessive secrecy. Tsukuyomi refused to disclose information regarding the castle’s underground even to the Demon King.

“That is Tsukuyomi’s official duty. It is not for us to concern ourselves with, Stella,” Zegart laughed open-handedly.

“But this is an emergency. Without a shred of information, we won’t even know how to respond…”

Just as Stella began to argue—

Bogooh!

An inner wall suddenly blew apart.

“As expected, the underground is heavily guarded. I could only submerge myself this far.”

Emerging from the dust was a knight clad in full body armor. In his hands was a colossal hammer adorned in pitch black.

“I am one of the Sacred Edge, Rearvelt. I have come to slay the demons.” Rearvelt declared in a creaking voice.

“One of the strongest heroes… and that dark miraculous armament from the reports.” Stella’s expression tightened.

It was a dark holy relic said to possess power far vaster than a normal miraculous armament.

“You guys step back. Direct combat is my domain.” Zegart took a step forward.

“Be careful, Zegart,” Stella called out to his back.

Zegart was a warrior of the absolute strongest class in the Demon Realm, but they could by no means afford to let their guard down.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

The golden lion smiled ferociously. The battle aura radiating from his entire body cast waves of heat into the surroundings.

“However, give me support just in case of an emergency.”

“Understood.”

“Then——here I come.”

With that, Zegart kicked off the floor.

The sudden gust of wind that raged was kicked up by the strikes they unleashed. The thunderous roar that followed was the sound of their battle cries and the clash of their respective attacks.

The colossal hammer-type miraculous armament struck with incredible speed, and Zegart forcefully deflected it with sheer brute strength.

A second strike, a third strike.

The atmosphere groaned with every collision. The ground beneath their feet shook like an earthquake. There were no petty techniques or tactical maneuvers—it was a head-on clash where both sides pushed their raw power to the forefront.

With a heavy clank that sounded like steel crashing against steel, the two temporarily separated.

“You’re different from the brat I fought before. I’m glad to have a substantial opponent,” the Beast Emperor growled. “In that case, I shall unleash my full power as well——”

With a loud bagooh, Zegart’s armor shattered and blew away. Red markings surfaced across his chest, which was covered in golden fur.

Demon Crests. These were the emblems that manifested whenever Zegart entered a state of full-throttle combat.

“Be torn to shreds by the claws and fangs of the lion!”

“Do not think a mere beast can match a hero of justice!”

Claws, fangs, and tail tore through the atmosphere, whipping up sudden gusts of wind as they were unleashed. The hammer of Rearvelt intercepting them was by no means losing out in power either. Each time their attacks collided, a heavy, dull sound of impact echoed, and shockwaves burst out in all directions.

The battle was perfectly even.

“Kuh, to think you can trade blows with me while I am using my Demon Crests——”

“To think you go this far——”

The Beast Emperor and the Sacred Edge hero groaned respectively. Just then—

“っ……?!”

Rearvelt suddenly leaped a great distance backward.

“The reaction of ‘that power’… as expected, it truly was here,” Rearvelt muttered. “It is just as the divine oracle stated.”

“What?” Zegart stopped his movements suspiciously, staring at Rearvelt with a startled look. “Don’t tell me you are targeting ‘that power’ as well——”

“Out of all the heroes, I am the only one who received a direct order from God. He stated that my ability is the most suitable for retrieving ‘that power.’ I shall not hand it over to the demons.”

(What power are they talking about——)

Stella listened to the conversation between the two with suspicion. Judging from the situation, ‘that power’ was likely something hidden beneath the underground of the Demon King Castle. She attempted to scan for it using her third eye as a test, but she could not discover anything of the sort.

In the first place, she had scanned the underground of the Demon King Castle with all kinds of ocular arts in the past, but there had been nothing particularly suspicious.

(A ‘power’ that not only Zegart but even the heroes are targeting… what on earth could it be?)

A premonition of danger stirred in her chest. Just then—

“Miraculous armament Uriel——unleash the power of ‘Earth’ at full throttle!” Rearvelt shouted.

The hammer in his hands roared violently. The floor rippled heavily. The next instant, Rearvelt’s body seemed to slip clean through the floor, vanishing into the underground.

“W-What…?!”

Faced with this instantaneous event, the three of them stood frozen.

And then—

Kooo…!

A brilliant golden light overflowed from the entire floor.

“W-What is this gargantuan Aura——?!” Stella trembled with dread.

“…Hmph. No matter who lays their hands on ‘that power,’ it will only be temporary. In the end, it shall fall into my hands,” Zegart muttered softly.

“It was just as God declared. The ‘power’ that was stolen and sealed away during the ancient war has now passed into my hands——”

Immediately after, Rearvelt emerged once again, as if bleeding back through the floor. However, his presence was completely different. The Aura Rearvelt was wrapped in had increased to an abnormal level.

“You… are…!” Stella groaned in a raspy voice.

The enemy before their eyes was no longer a hero. The enemy before their eyes was no longer even human. Nay——he had surpassed even the angel class.

“I have acquired it. I hold… the ‘Power of God’.”

With rainbow-colored wings sprouting from the back of his dark attire, Rearvelt soared into the air.

“Now, you wicked demons——I shall hand down divine judgment upon you from this moment forth.”