The Demon King VS The Sacred Edge Of Earth.

Riding on the Abyssal Emperor Dragon, Bell, I arrived at the Demon King Castle.

It appeared the space in front of the main gate had turned into a battlefield. The enemy—was a single individual. It was a knight clad in full body armor, wrapped in a rainbow-colored Aura.

“That guy is—”

Seeing him from up close, the staggering intensity of that Aura became undeniably clear. In terms of raw Aura quantity alone, he was likely on the same level as the Heavenly Host’s ultimate weapon, the “King of Light,” whom I had faced before. Nay—he might even be beyond that.

The opposing demon army had encircled him from a distance. Maintaining a certain gap, they were fighting primarily with long-range attacks like magic and bows. The commander had likely judged that entering close-quarters combat would mean instant death.

The one directing that command seemed to be Stella. Near her side, I could see the figures of Feria and Olivier. I dismounted from Bell, controlled my flight magic, and touched down right beside her.

“Demon King-sama…!”

Stella looked at me, a visible expression of relief washing over her face.

“I am glad you have come.”

“You are the one who deserves praise for directing the army so well. You have my thanks.”

“No… I was unable to accomplish anything of note.”

“What are you saying? Even against a formidable foe, the army’s morale remains high. That is proof that you inspired everyone and held the line. Hold your head high, Stella,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Once again, you’ve saved me.”

“Demon King-sama…” Stella’s cheeks flushed red with warmth.

“From here on, I shall lend you all my strength. Stella, please continue directing the army. Feria and Olivier, follow up with Stella and the army, and support the combat based on your own judgment.”

““Hah!””

The voices of the three Demon Army Commanders synchronized.

“What happened to Zegart and Tsukuyomi?”

“Tsukuyomi has been destroyed, and Zegart’s whereabouts are unknown,” Stella reported.

That was a significantly shocking report, but for now, I swallowed it down.

“…I see. Then I leave the army to the three Demon Army Commanders. As for me—”

Turning my back to Stella and the others, I faced Rearvelt.

“I shall suppress that guy.”

“The ruler of all things evil… the Demon King, huh. I shall strike you down and bring peace to the world.”

The knight in full body armor made the rainbow-colored aura enveloping his entire body flare up like a roaring fire.

“…Rearvelt, one of the Sacred Edge, is it?”

Back when I was human, the only member of the Sacred Edge I had ever crossed paths with was the man standing before me. He was a warrior specialized in superhuman charging power and absolute durability. He was always clad in full body armor, never revealing his true face, leaving his true identity shrouded in mystery.

Well, whatever his identity may be, I simply have to defeat him. To protect my comrades.

“Be blown away—”

From my hands, a chaotic barrage of offensive spells—fireballs, lightning strikes, wind blades, and water torrents—flew out in rapid succession. Armed with the magical energy of the Demon King, even the lowest-tier spells transformed into a destructive power capable of erasing mountains. If that was the case, I would prioritize volume over the grade of the spells.

The opponent was no ordinary foe, but he wouldn’t easily be able to withstand numbers like this. Conversely, if he could deflect them, that in itself would allow me to grasp his combat capabilities.

—And yet,

“Lukewarm.”

Rearvelt continued his charge entirely unperturbed. He was neither evading nor defending. The moment my offensive spells came anywhere near touching him, every single one of them vanished into nothingness.

What on earth is this—

In a fraction of a second, Rearvelt had closed the distance and breached my range. His charging power was truly exceptional.

“Lucifer’s Shield!”

I instantaneously generated a defensive barrier.

“Hmph!”

Swinging his hammer down regardless, Rearvelt shattered my barrier to pieces.

“Kuh?!”

Taking a backstep, I unleashed a chaotic volley of spells as a diversion to keep him at bay.

“Mu…”

Pinned down by the explosive pressure, Rearvelt was unable to launch a follow-up attack. Taking advantage of that opening, I widened the distance between us once more.

For the time being, I had managed to withstand it—however,

This guy, his attack and defensive power are abnormally high…!

He had explicitly surpassed the level of a human. No, he had surpassed it by far too much.

“My strength is a gift bestowed by God specifically to strike down the Demon King! With the Power of God that has slumbered since antiquity—I shall kill you right here and now!”

Converting his rainbow-colored aura into propulsion force, the heroic knight charged with explosive speed. The swung-down hammer shattered the atmosphere, scattering shockwaves as it closed in on me.

“Convergent Form • Vanity Blade!”

I generated a sword that converged every shred of my magical energy and caught the strike.

The raw power was perfectly even. The rainbow radiance wrapped around his miraculous armament and the void emitted by my sword collided, violently repelling one another. His attack could not reach me, but conversely, my lethal magical sword could not slice through his miraculous armament either. I was pushed back heavily and leaped away.

“Shatter to pieces, Demon King!”

Refusing to retreat, Rearvelt charged in yet again.

“Kuh…!”

Catching each blow with the sword of void or utilizing magic as a diversion, I kept widening the gap. My magic wasn’t reaching him at all. As expected, half-hearted attacks stood no chance of getting through.

If that was the case—

“Feather Air!”

I chanted a flight spell and leaped high into the air.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Rearvelt leaped to pursue me. Flapping the rainbow-colored wings that sprouted from his back, he soared through the sky at a speed superior to my own. In the blink of an eye, he caught up to me—.

“You no longer have any place to run, Demon King!”

“Running? Incorrect.” I smiled beneath my mask. “I allowed you to catch up.”

Yes, this had been my objective. If I lured him into the sky, I could unleash my absolute maximum-tier magic without having to worry about collateral damage to the ground—.

“Explode and vanish—Hero!”

I thrust my right hand straight out toward Rearvelt.

“Thunderbolt of Heaven • Mega Thunder!”

The bursting golden lightning split into over a dozen streaks, ensnaring Rearvelt mid-air. The blinding flash erupted, illuminating the darkness-shrouded Demon Realm as bright as midday.

And then—

“Futile. The Power of God is absolute and inviolable.”

Every single bolt of lightning shattered and dissolved the exact instant before it could touch him!

This guy, he can deflect even top-tier magic?!

—No, that wasn’t it. I recalled the scene from just a second ago. The dozen or so streaks of lightning had ceased to exist before they could touch Rearvelt.

Don’t tell me—

My magic itself wasn’t reaching him at all. This wasn’t defense. It was something else entirely.