I had come to the Dragon’s Mountain Range in the southern Demon Realm to consult about the baby dragon.
The landscape was a jagged expanse of exposed rock, with massive crags stretching out as far as the eye could see. In a way, it was exactly the image I’d first had of the Demon Realm.
"…Alice, I’m only going to ask you one thing."
"What’s up?"
"…Was teleportation magic, or something like that, not an option?"
"Oh, it was totally an option. I have teleportation magic, I can use flight magic, and to be blunt, it would have been faster to just carry you and run rather than throwing you… but it seemed like it would be fun, so I just went with the flow—ow!?"
I was grateful that she had brought me this far, but as I thought, there were definitely other ways to do it!
I punched Alice as she told me, without a hint of remorse, that she had enjoyed watching me scream while being tossed through the air.
"…You, seriously…"
"Now, now, Kaito-san. Your screams were quite wonderful. I felt like I was awakening to a whole new preference… Huh? For some reason, I’m feeling a chill…"
The moment Alice muttered that, a massive pillar of ice erupted in our path.
Then, as the pillar shattered and the ice shards danced beautifully like flower petals, Isis-san appeared. Her eyes were completely cold.
"…"
"O-Oh… A-Ah, if it isn’t Isis-san…"
"…Die."
"Not even a chance to explain!? W-Wait, Isis-san!? Gnyahhhhh!?"
"…Trash… who bullies Kaito… I’ll kill you."
"Higyahhh!? Wait, stop!? Not Absolute Zero, anything but thaaaaaat!?"
Alice was blown high into the sky, half-frozen by Isis-san, who then took flight to pursue her.
And in the distance, the rocky mountains were being transformed into icebergs one after another.
『What is this? It is quite noisy…』
"!? Magnawell-san!?"
A scene beyond human comprehension unfolded before my eyes. To be precise, both the fleeing Alice and the pursuing Isis-san were moving far too fast for me to see, but as I stood there in a daze, a massive face appeared from between the mountains accompanied by a thunderous tremor.
Even though I understood Magnawell-san's size in my head, I was still struck with awe when he actually appeared.
『Hmm? Oh, it is Miyama Kaito! Welcome.』
"Ah, yes. Whoa!?"
Finding me, Magnawell-san let out a slightly happy rumble and took a step forward.
The crucial detail here was that, unlike our last meeting, Lilliwood-san was not by my side. In other words, I had no protective barrier.
I was knocked onto my backside by the earthquake caused by Magnawell-san’s step and the resulting wind pressure. Although the surrounding mountains had weakened the gust, it was still immense.
『Oops, my apologies…』
"…Don’t… bully Kaito."
『What!? Wait, Isis!? What are you doing all of a sudden—Gwah!?』
The moment I hit the ground, Isis-san, who should have been chasing Alice, suddenly appeared. In the next instant, Magnawell-san’s common-sense-defying, gargantuan body was sent flying through the air.
Apparently, because I had fallen, she misunderstood and thought Magnawell-san was bullying me. She showed absolutely no mercy.
I mean, Isis-san, you can actually blow away someone as big as Magnawell-san!? As expected of the Six Kings…
Then Magnawell-san crashed down, and a cloud of dust billowed up as if a missile had struck the earth.
Naturally, a tremendous earthquake and wind pressure should have assaulted me next, but before I knew it, a thin blue film had stretched around me, neutralizing the impact.
I could feel from the barrier—which Isis-san must have cast—that she was truly worried about me and trying to protect me. It was a bit inappropriate given the chaos, but I felt a little happy.
『Isis… you… if you are looking for a fight, I shall give you one.』
"…Shut up… you lizard… Don’t… bully Kaito."
"Oh, for heaven's sake! You’ve been doing nothing but firing Grand Magic since a moment ago!! Kaito-san is the only one allowed to engage in S&M play with me, you know!?"
Magnawell-san stood up amidst a clearly hostile atmosphere, and immediately after, an iceberg was smashed to pieces as Alice floated back into the air.
Wait. Isn’t this getting really bad? It feels like a Great Kaiju War is about to start…
Tremendous magic power clashed, and the air itself trembled.
Realizing that the entire surrounding area was about to be obliterated at this rate, I opened my mouth to try and stop the three Kings.
"Wait, everyone… please calm down…"
"Looks like something interesting is going on! Let me join in too!!"
"Where did this battle maniac spring from!?"
As if mocking my attempt to stop them, a pillar of fire rose from nowhere and Megiddo-san appeared.
Ah, this is hopeless. There's no controlling this now…
"…All of you… if you bully Kaito… I won’t forgive you."
『You have been saying incomprehensible things for a while now… however, if you wish to fight, I shall oblige!』
"I have my limits too, you know… honestly, 'I am the cause,' but I’ve decided not to care about that right now!"
"I don't really get the circumstances, but this is the best situation ever! I'll take all of you on at once!!"
Four of the Six Kings were gathered in one place, and a battle that could truly be called a natural disaster was about to begin.
I wanted to escape from reality. It was completely unstoppable now—especially Megiddo-san, who didn’t look like he would listen to a word I said.
If I remember correctly, I had some tea in my Magic Box… maybe I should just sit back and drink that…
The battle on the scale of a Great Kaiju War ended abruptly just a few seconds after it began.
Currently, Isis-san, Megiddo-san, Alice, and Magnawell-san stood before me in a battered state. Standing in front of them with her arms crossed in an imposing stance was Kuro.
"Honestly! I felt an incredible magic power and came to see what was happening! Isis, Shaltier, Megiddo, Magnawell, what are you all doing!? If I hadn't come, this whole area would have been blown away!!"
"…I’m sorry…"
"…I am deeply sorry."
"…My bad."
『…Forgive me.』
Yes, the battle of the four who shook heaven and earth was brought to an instantaneous end by Kuro. Or more accurately, Kuro had suddenly appeared and blown them all away.
Thanks to her, the surrounding area didn't become a wasteland. Furthermore, from the moment Isis-san had appeared, every living creature in the vicinity besides me had already fled, so there were no other casualties.
Kuro looked genuinely angry and was about to begin a lecture, but I stepped in.
"Wait, Kuro."
"Eh?"
"Isis-san was worried about me and got angry for my sake… so, um, I’d like it if you didn't scold her too much."
"…Kaito."
Even though it had escalated into a fight, Isis-san had originally gotten angry because she thought Alice was bullying me.
Magnawell-san had more or less been caught up in the crossfire, so I asked Kuro not to be too hard on him either.
"…Um, Kaito-san. What about me?"
"As for Alice and Megiddo-san, I’d like you to give them a thorough scolding."
"Yeah. Got it. I'll lecture them… and 'discipline' them."
"Wait!? Kaito-san!?"
"Hold on, Kaito! I was wrong! Anything but that…"
Alice was the original cause of the whole mess, and as for Megiddo-san, he had appeared simply because he wanted to fight, so I had no intention of shielding them.
Kuro nodded at my words, grabbed Alice and Megiddo-san by the scruffs of their necks, and dragged them away.
『…Um, Kuromueina? Regarding the cracked earth and the frozen mountains…』
"Sorry, fix them for me."
『…Yes.』
Lilliwood-san, who had appeared at the same time as Kuro and had remained silent until now, slumped her shoulders in defeat and began to repair the rocky mountains that Isis-san and the others had destroyed.
Dear Mother, Father—Because of Alice's messing around, a fight between the Six Kings almost started. It was settled thanks to Kuro showing up, but seeing them fight like that, it felt like they didn't hold anything back with each other. In one way or another, I think the Six Kings are close friends.