I took control of the undead in the room and commanded them to swarm Henry.
In response, Henry hurled a long table aside to clear a path. He clearly intended to force his way into close quarters. Dodging the undead closing in from both sides, he lunged toward me with ferocious speed.
(He’s reckless. But I anticipated this move.)
I condensed magic power in my palms, solidifying it before unleashing it all at once. It was a primitive shockwave, raw power devoid of any complex magic formula. I blasted it directly at Henry, along with the undead caught in the middle.
"Whoa...!"
Struck by the shockwave, Henry braced his feet and endured. He dug his fingers into the floor to keep from being blown away. Unlike a wind blade, this was a broad-area concussive attack. Since evasion was impossible, he had no choice but to tank the hit.
"Damn, you sure use some annoying attacks..."
Henry spat the words out, looking almost entirely unhurt. It seemed that single shockwave was nowhere near enough to inflict a fatal wound.
I didn't particularly mind. I hadn't expected to defeat him with a single blast anyway. As Henry prepared to move again, I unleashed a second shockwave. Once more, he defended. And once more, he took no significant damage.
I fired a third shot in rapid succession. This time, Henry was forced to drop a knee to the floor. Even a man of his caliber began to flinch under the relentless pressure of the blasts. I didn't give him a moment to breathe, firing off one shockwave after another.
I kept up the barrage without pause. It wasn't just Henry; the entire room was caught in the carnage. My undead subordinates were torn limb from limb and sent flying. The long dining tables spun through the air before smashing into the walls. Luciana was nowhere to be seen; she must have evacuated to a safe distance.
"Haha... You’re a ridiculous bastard, you know that?"
Henry grumbled as he endured in a half-crouch. Gritting his teeth, he slowly dragged himself toward me inch by inch. Though each shockwave made him recoil, he refused to be knocked back. He kept his center of gravity low, steadily closing the gap.
His tenacity was staggering. He wore his hunger for victory on his sleeve, asserting his dominance through sheer will. I had to acknowledge his strength. In my previous life, I likely wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
But now, I was a monster in the truest sense. I was the Demon King of a new era, a being meant to transcend all things. Even for a man who approached the level of a hero, there was a gap between us that could never be filled.
I increased the magic power poured into my shockwaves tenfold. I applied a much tighter compression and released it directly at the slowed Henry.
"..."
The explosive recoil shattered both of my arms. Everything from the wrists down vanished in the blast. I felt a numbing sensation that vibrated through my very bones.
The resulting shockwave reached Henry in a heartbeat. His stance finally broke as if he’d been struck by a runaway carriage. He tried to stay upright by thrusting his fingers into the stone floor, but the shockwave was merciless, peeling up the floorboards and hurling him away. Henry flew backward and slammed into the far wall.
The impact sent cracks spider-webbing across the stone. Slumped against the crater he’d made, Henry groaned.
"Whoa, whoa... Are you for real?"
"The truth is often disappointing."
I fired another shockwave of equal power. This time, the recoil blew my arms apart from the elbows down. Henry was driven even deeper into the wall. I increased the output again and fired once more.
Everything from my shoulders down vanished without a trace. The shockwave, released with a deafening roar, finally caused the dining hall wall to collapse entirely. Naturally, Henry went with it.
(My arms are gone, but that's no issue.)
I manifested small-scale barrier magic, shaping the fields into cylinders attached to my shoulder sockets. Using them as makeshift cannon barrels, I took aim and unleashed another wave.
The barrier magic shattered and vanished from the pressure. I immediately reformed the barriers and fired again. Repeating this cycle of destroying and regenerating the cannon-type barriers, I hammered Henry with a continuous barrage of shockwaves.
The blasts tore through the wreckage of the dining hall wall and began pulverizing the structure beyond. I tracked Henry’s location through magic; he was unable to move, being pushed back perfectly by the assault. Every single blast was a direct hit.
Astonishingly, despite taking such a pounding, Henry was still alive. His resilience was inhuman.
However, that didn't mean he had a chance. In this state, it was impossible for Henry to mount a counterattack. Without closing the distance, he couldn't use his physical strength, and any object he tried to throw would be vaporized by the shockwaves. My victory was all but assured.
I continued to hammer him with one-sided blasts. Knowing he wouldn't die easily, I laid into him without hesitation. With every shot, the prison was torn apart, a straight line of destruction carved through the walls. Eventually, I punched through the final exterior wall, opening a path to the outside.
Lacking arms, I used visual teleportation to blink to the edge of the courtyard. I scanned the area for his body.
Henry lay on the grass, buried under a pile of rubble. He shoved the debris aside with a sluggish motion and stood up as if it were nothing more than an inconvenience. He staggered while brushing the dust from his clothes, catching himself just before he fell. A single trail of blood trickled down his forehead.
"..."
Henry wiped the blood with a finger and stared at it. After a moment, he let out a laugh. He looked genuinely delighted, as if he were happy just to be bleeding. It was the look of a man rejoicing over a rare and precious gift.
(...I will never understand him.)
Ignoring Henry’s eccentricities, I opened my jaw. A silver snake darted out—a magical construct imbued with neuroparalytic venom. The snake slithered rapidly across the grass, lunging for Henry’s leg.
"Whoa, easy there."
Henry dodged and crushed the snake under his heel. The snake’s form flickered as it dissolved, transforming into a chain of the same silver hue that bound his leg. It immobilized him in an instant.
"Hey, you've gotta be kidding me!"
Ignoring his surprise, I flooded the ground with magic power and miasma. The earth split open as countless withered tree roots erupted, lunging at Henry. He tried to pulverize them with his fists, but he couldn't keep up. He was slowly enveloped, eventually pinned face-down on the ground.
"A multi-layered activation of forbidden magic. Even you won't be breaking out of that."
"Hahaha, isn't this a bit much? You're playing dirty, Boss."
I walked toward the wryly smiling Henry. Even as we spoke, he was tearing through roots with his fingertips, but twice as many sprouted to take their place. His struggle didn't even qualify as resistance anymore. I chose to overlook the fact that he was actually able to tear through forbidden magic with his bare hands.
(That should do it.)
I looked down at the pinned Henry and made my judgment. If I didn't care about collateral damage, this was well within my capabilities. Henry was a warrior worth a thousand men, but he was ultimately a human who couldn't use magic. No matter his physical prowess or combat instincts, I simply had to overwhelm him with techniques he had no answer for.
Granted, while possible in theory, it was nearly impossible in practice. Most mages couldn't fire off attacks that Henry couldn't evade or destroy. Even if they managed to pin him, the slightest opening would lead to a lethal counterattack. This strategy only worked because of my abnormal magic reserves and my ability to cast forbidden magic without incantations.
I manifested a semi-transparent spear of magic and pressed the sharp tip against Henry’s neck.
"I assume you concede the wager?"
"...Yeah. I'm no match for this. I give up."
Henry relaxed and gave a wry smile. The bloodlust from before had vanished, replaced by a strangely refreshed expression. He seemed to be the type to move on quickly.
I dispelled the forbidden magic restraining him. Once free, Henry hopped back to his feet. He looked like he still had plenty of energy left in the tank. I wondered if he’d surrendered a bit too easily, but perhaps he had his reasons. It would be tactless to ask; it might have just been a whim. Maybe he’d just had enough of the fight. Regardless of his reasoning, the victory was mine.
I dispelled the magic spear and addressed him formally.
"Henry Brarkin. From this day forward, you are my subordinate. Do you have any objections?"
"Nope, none at all! Looking forward to working with you, Boss."
He replied in a casual, friendly tone. Then, for some reason, he slapped me hard on the back. My ribs creaked under the impact. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it; his post-battle adrenaline clearly had him forgetting his own strength.
"To be honest, I'm actually honored to join the Demon King's Army. I was getting bored of prison life anyway. I was planning on breaking out by the end of the year, so the timing's perfect."
As he continued to damage my spine, Henry spoke lightheartedly. Based on that alone, the rumors were true: he was a creature of pure whim. I was impressed the kingdom had managed to keep him locked up for ten years.
"I don't actually have any ambition, you see. I only said I'd take over your army because I figured it'd get you fired up. I don't have any problem being a subordinate. In fact, I think this is the best outcome."
"So you only said all that to ensure I fought you seriously?"
"I didn't expect you to get that pissed off, though. I'm not actually planning any betrayals or coups. I'm just a battle junkie. Just point me at a battlefield and let me loose."
Henry spoke without a hint of shame. It wasn't an excuse; he genuinely lived by that logic. He was a man with no restraints. Then again, as a man who had become a Demon King to spite humanity, I wasn't exactly in a position to judge. He simply moved according to his own values.
"...I see."
Suppressing a myriad of complicated thoughts, I gave him a simple nod of acknowledgment.