To The Inferno City.

Demon King’s Castle, Audience Chamber—

“I will lead the troops to Jiregga myself.”

I was giving instructions to the Demon Generals.

“Stella, take command of the main army in my place if anything comes up. Regal, Felia, and Olivier will support you. Also, please contact Juda.”

“I am searching with my Clairvoyance, but I cannot find Demon General Juda anywhere. I will continue the search,” Stella said.

“Juda is a key fighter. As soon as you make contact, tell him to stay behind and guard the Royal Capital.”

“Understood.”

“I’m leaving things here to you all.”

I looked around at Stella, Regal, Felia, and Olivier one by one.

“Please be careful, Your Majesty.”

“…May fortune be with you in battle.”

“Do your best, Your Majesty.”

“Fight on!”

The four Demon Generals stared back at me.

“I’m off.”

Leaving those words behind, I exited the audience chamber.

Leading Lyrim and the other guards, I set out for Jiregga, the Inferno City.

I was flying at low altitude on top of Bel, the Nether Dragon. Lyrim and her squad followed on horseback.

“Your Majesty, we’ll protect you with all we’ve got!”

Lyrim was filled with motivation.

“Our enemy is Zegart, one of the fiercest warriors in the Demon Realm. Don’t push yourselves.”

I brought the guards along not so much to protect myself, but to guard the local civilians. I had already explained this to Lyrim and her team.

“I’m counting on you too, Bel,” I called out to the dragon I was riding.

“Zegart, huh… I always thought he was bursting with ambition, but to think he’d finally go and start a rebellion,” Bel remarked.

I was prepared for this.

I had a feeling it would come to this eventually. That someday, Zegart would stand in my way.

Now was the time to put an end to that premonition and resolve—

Upon arriving in Jiregga, I came face-to-face with Zegart’s army.

Lined up in tight ranks were beastkin-type demons. Every single one of them was an elite warrior with top-class hand-to-hand combat skills.

“H-He’s here! It’s Demon King Fried…!”

The army stirred in commotion upon seeing me.

“That’s right! I am the King who rules the Demon Realm! The existence standing at the peak of all demons! If you surrender quietly, so be it!” I shouted resoundingly.

The theatrical words were an intimidation tactic meant to crush their morale.

“Otherwise—”

I thrust out my right hand, casting the lowest-grade fire spell, Fire.

BOOM!

With a massive explosion, a giant crater formed in the ground. Even though it was a basic spell, cast by me, it possessed enough power to blow away a mountain. I had no intention of actually hitting them. It was strictly a warning.

“W-What…?!”

“Impossible! That was a basic spell…?!”

“What absurd power…”

Zegart’s army instantly fell silent. Every single one of their faces turned pale.

“This is the power of the Demon King. If you still intend to defy me—you shall experience this power firsthand.”

I delivered the declaration with dignity.

“E-Eek…”

“He’s an even bigger monster than the rumors said…”

“Don’t falter! We have Lord Zegart and Lord Tsukuyomi on our side…!”

Even so, the fact that they didn’t surrender right away proved they were indeed Zegart’s fiercely brave subordinates.

Still, I had no wish to kill them pointlessly. Originally, they were a precious military force meant to serve as the sword that protects the Demon Realm.

What I wanted wasn’t annihilation, but suppression.

To achieve that—

“Come out, Zegart! Tsukuyomi! Are you planning to hide behind your subordinates as human shields?” I called out to the surroundings.

Just in case, I cast a magic barrier, Lucifer’s Shield, around myself and Lyrim’s unit to prepare for a surprise attack.

To defeat the ringleaders and deal a fatal blow to the army’s chain of command—that was my goal, all to bring this rebellion to an end with as few casualties as possible.

Just then—

“I have no intention of hiding.”

The beastkin demons parted to the left and right, and a lion beastkin stepped forward with composure.

Beast Emperor Zegart.

Does he intend to fight me head-on…?

It was true that Zegart was strong. However, my stats were overwhelmingly higher. He should have understood that well enough…

“What is the meaning of this rebellion, Zegart?”

“There is no trick to it. I launched it so that I may rule this world,” Zegart stated nonchalantly. “Because I believed that I am the one most fit to be the Demon King. Wouldn’t you all agree?”

He waved his hand to his subordinates.

OOOOHHHH!

The beastkin cheered in unison. The soldiers who had just been cowering in fear of me had completely regained their fighting spirit. As expected, Zegart’s charisma was extraordinary.

“The Demon Realm is a world where the strong eat the weak. A world constantly exposed to threats by gods and humans. The King who rules it must be stronger than anyone else.”

The ferocious eyes of the lion glared down at me. I met his glare head-on from behind my mask.

“Are you saying my strength is not enough?”

“Indeed.”

With that declaration, Zegart kicked off the ground.

As if further talk was useless, he unleashed his claws, tail, and fangs in rapid succession.

“—Too slow.”

I slipped behind his back.

“Fire!”

I slammed a lowest-grade fire spell directly into him. Though it was a spell powerful enough to blow away a mountain when cast by me, Zegart was still a Demon General.

“Guh…!”

Letting out a groan of pain, he held his ground and turned back toward me.

“As expected… you are strong.”

“Surrender. You have no chance of winning.”

“A chance of winning? I knew from the start that no such thing existed.”

Zegart laughed.

No, wait—

His face suddenly began to transform. From the features of a lion into those of a bird.

“You’re…”

This isn’t Zegart.

This guy is the Beast Emperor’s second-in-command, Sigmund…?!