“...What?”
Barulk let out a hollow, stunned sound.
His gaze darted back and forth between the spear impaling him and the Demon King.
Blood dribbled from his agape mouth.
“Eh... No, this... Why...?”
Barulk finally began to grasp the situation.
He fell into a state of severe confusion, his mouth spilling senseless fragments of speech.
It wasn't an act.
Barulk was genuinely panicking.
Then, a sharp snort echoed.
It came from the Demon King.
“—Pathetic. Did you truly believe you could bind me?”
The Demon King spoke in a low, resonant voice.
It wasn't anger that colored her tone, but a profound sense of exasperation.
Meanwhile, Barulk attempted to plead his case while hacking up blood.
“D-Demon King... This is, you misunderstand. No, the truth is—”
“Enough. Your words are a trial to my ears.”
The Demon King swept her spear.
Caught by the centrifugal force, Barulk was hurled through the air.
He tumbled across the ground, landing a great distance away.
There he lay spread-eagled, a pool of blood widening beneath him.
His limbs twitched feebly; it did not look as though he would be rising again.
The Demon King placed her hand against her chest.
Magic power condensed there, and dozens of Black Snakes were dragged out from within her body.
The Demon King crushed them in her palm.
The snakes evaporated into plumes of white smoke.
The Subservience Formula that Barulk had woven into her had been utterly destroyed.
The Demon King lightly shook her scorched hand.
“Foolish creature. To think you could chain me—the heights of naivety.”
Exhaling a sigh, the Demon King slowly turned toward me.
Our gazes locked.
The scales and chitinous plates shielding her head began to peel and crumble away.
Revealed from within was the face of a grey-skinned woman.
Deep blue hair swayed in the wind, and two horns protruded from her temples.
Her golden eyes possessed a mystical, piercing radiance.
The Previous Demon Lord was a woman of the Dragonewt race.
Her true face had not changed in the slightest since those days ten years ago.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Now the nuisance is gone.”
The Demon King lowered her spear, a thin, knowing smile playing on her lips.
She spread her arms in a gesture of strange familiarity.
“Sage. I did not expect to encounter you again.”
“……I feel the same.”
I had intended to end everything ten years ago.
To prevent such a situation, I had meticulously obliterated her corpse so that no one could ever hope to resurrect her.
I suppose perfection in prevention is a fool’s errand.
The one situation I had most hoped to avoid had come to pass.
The Demon King stared intently at me.
Then, she turned her eyes toward the Royal Capital.
Using Sensing Magic, she expanded her range of perception without limit.
She was probing the world.
As if to fill the ten-year void in her memory, she was absorbing the countless pieces of information scattered across the lands.
Having finished her assessment, the Demon King turned a gaze filled with pity toward me.
“You spoke with such conviction of slaying me to bring peace to the world, yet from the look of things, it did not go quite as you planned.”
“……Did you predict this development?” I asked instinctively.
The Demon King’s tone suggested that this outcome was only natural.
Her attitude was almost one of affection or kindness.
She nodded at my question.
“Of course. Mankind is foolish beyond measure. They will always consume themselves at the end of their cycle of errors.”
It was a biting irony.
The Demon King possessed a truly detached, philosophical outlook.
I could not deny her words.
On the contrary, I agreed with her from the bottom of my soul.
I knew all too well how foolish humans were.
I had experienced that truth with my own body.
The Demon King gave a wry smile.
A sense of sympathy for me flickered in her eyes.
“Though, I never imagined you would become an immortal. The source of your power is the Valley of the Dead, isn't it? Honestly, you have dabbled in quite the taboo. Even I would not wish to approach that place.”
“It’s not as if I jumped in by choice.”
The events of my previous life flashed through my mind.
It was a memory accompanied by sharp pain.
I felt the phantom sensation of a non-existent heart throbbing in my chest.
The Demon King spun her spear a few times and settled into a light stance.
It was the exact stance I remembered.
A transcendent level of spearmanship capable of repelling attacks from every direction.
“Now then. We have much to catch up on, but it is time we fought to the death. Steel yourself.”
“So it comes to this after all……”
Barulk, the man who plotted this revenge, was dying, leaving only the Previous Demon Lord.
I had wondered if she might lose her reason to fight, but she was eager.
The Demon King rested the spear across her shoulders and exhaled.
Her golden eyes gazed into the void.
“This body contains the Hero and Saint Factors. They urge me to kill you.”
“I see……”
I recalled Barulk’s explanation.
The Demon King standing before me was infused with the essences of the modern Hero and Saint.
Those had served as the foundation for her resurrection.
While her personality was identical, she had been transformed into a different existence from the one I once knew.
“Well, even putting aside physical circumstances, I find that I wish to fight you. It would be frustrating to remain defeated, wouldn't it? Call it the pride of a Previous Demon Lord.”
The Demon King wore a ferocious smile.
She was more bellicose than I expected.
She truly desired a duel with me.
There was no falsehood in her gaze.
“Predecessor…… So you recognize me as the Demon King.”
“Hmm? Is that so strange? You surpassed me, and you have even slain the heroes of this era. There is no reason you shouldn't claim the title of Demon King.”
The Demon King tilted her head as if the question were beneath her.
To her, I was unmistakably the Demon King.
In a sense, we shared the bond of predecessor and successor.
It seemed I had earned her respect without even realizing it.
“However, I have been brought back at great pains. I shall not let you have your way entirely. By winning this battle, I shall claim the title of Demon King once more.”
The Demon King radiated a refined, razor-sharp Killing Intent.
Her stance was flawless.
The moment one stepped into her range, she would unleash a devastating blow.
The movement she had used to pierce Barulk was merely a warm-up.
Gazing at me, the Demon King let a smile spread across her face again.
“……Fate is a cruel thing. To think I would become the tool meant to slaughter the Next-Generation Demon King.”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“Not at all. It isn't that I harbored regrets, but I have been granted a glimpse of the world after my death. And I have been given the chance to redeem my life's only defeat. There is no reason for me to be anything but satisfied.”
The Demon King advanced a few steps.
Then, she heightened her honed Battle Aura to its absolute limit.
She glanced at the empty space beside me and muttered with a hint of genuine regret.
“The only pity is that the Hero is not here. Where did that woman…… No, that is a tactless question. I can guess well enough without asking. That is simply the way of the world.”
“…………”
The Demon King had sensed how that person’s story ended.
Had she predicted this future back then, as we stood before her trying to save the world?
(……She surely must have known.)
Knowing her character, it wasn't impossible.
Even so, she had faced us and engaged in the battle that decided the fate of the world.
“Two Demon Kings killing each other—a rare opportunity indeed. Let us both enjoy it to the fullest.”
The moment the Demon King spoke, the air began to creak.
It felt as if the very atmosphere were being pulled taut.
The earth shook, and fissures raced across the ground with a thunderous roar.
“—Former Sage Demon King. I shall show you the full extent of my power.”
The carapace and scales writhed, once again concealing her head.
In an instant, they reformed into the shape of a helm.
In a flash, she kicked off the earth.
The Previous Demon Lord lunged forward, spear in hand.