In a move that didn't waste a minute, Ray carved out a step.
　The next moment, I saw his figure in front of me.

''...........Huh......!

　The Spirit God Human Sword gleamed.
　The divine light blinked dazzlingly, darkening even my demon eyes.

　In the next moment, Ray's figure disappeared as if he was melting into the light.
　I could feel the killing power from the blind spot.

　Before my eyes could catch it, the blade of the holy sword swung down like a flash of light.

''There.''

　The Four Realms Wall (Benno Yevhen) is condensed and worn in the left hand.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

I see it well.

I used your evil eye.

　The magic line of the , which had been cut off, was reconnected.
　Through it, we can share Ray's vision.　

''.........''

　Ray cuts the magic line between us with his Spirit Godman Sword.
　However, the cut magic line is immediately connected. Once the is established, at this distance, I can connect it again as many times as I want until I release it.

You can't have the benefit of the sanctuary for you now. Even with the body of a demon race, that's still no way to win.

''It's you like that, whose roots were pierced by this sword two thousand years ago. Even though it was intended to pour magic power into you, the Spirit God Man Sword is a holy sword used to destroy the tyrannical Demon King. Its root is still wounded, isn't it?

So you'll have to try it.　

　I draw a magic circle and use the magic of .
　When I dipped my right hand into the magic circle, it turned black from my fingertips.

　I elaborated my magic eye and looked into the depths of the abyss, and found that there are seven roots of the ray now.
　If it wasn't for this hand, it wouldn't be able to pass through so much damage.

''Demon Rock Crash Star Bullet (Gia Glaes).

　A huge magic circle was drawn far above the sky.
　A huge magic stone appeared from there, shimmering in jet black.

　As if a star were to fall, countless magical stones rained down on Rei.

''........Ha........!

　Ray slashed away all the demonic meteors that were falling towards him with his Evans Mana.
　Even though it's a holy sword, slaying a star with a sword is quite a feat, but with this, his hands were full.

''Hell Water Breaking Fall (Rio Edrum).''

　A huge magic circle now covers the grassland, and the overflowing water transforms this place into a shallow, black pool.

　Then, just as a fountain rises, a jet-black waterfall gushes vigorously toward the heavens from underneath Ray's feet.

''...................!

　Thrusting the Spirit God Human Sword into the black pond, Ray cut up as hard as he could. The pond was split in half with the waterfall that flowed backwards.

　Immediately afterwards, Ray runs through and avoids the that falls down .

''Too late!''

　As if to block his path, the fired 20 rounds at the same time. As expected, the jet-black sun enveloped Ray's body and flared up in black.

Ha!

　The moment I swept away the black flames with the blessing and anti-magic of the Spirit God Human Sword. My right hand had pierced Rei's heart, which had stopped in its tracks.

''............................''

First things first.

　 grips one of Rey's root sources with his hand.
　Although if you have one root source, the remaining root sources can be revived as many times as you want, it will take some time. As expected, if six of them are crushed, there is no way to resist.

''You must give up. Two thousand years ago, you have never defeated me.''

You're right, I couldn't beat you.

　Before yet another root source can be destroyed, Ray swings his Evans Mana at my right arm. The moment I play it with my left hand , he kicks the ground and moves away from me.

'No matter how many times I fight, no matter how many times I stand against it.

　Ray kicks the ground and comes straight at me.

'Hmm. You are prepared to abandon yourself? Then I'll take it without reservation.

　＜He pierces Ray's pigeon tail with his Root Source Killing Death (Bevsed) hand.
　With a crunch, he crushes the second root source.

　Normally, I would not be able to stand due to the intense pain.
　However, he swings the Spirit Godman Sword at my shoulder mouth.

''.........Haha.......!

　＜The left hand, clad in the Four Realms Wall (Benno Yevhen), dispels the sword strike.
　The sound of magic flickering in the air pierced my ears.

It's the third one.

　He grabbed the source of Ray's root with his right arm in the pigeon tail.
　As if that would frighten him, Ray closed in on me even more.

　My right arm pierced Ray's belly.
　This is not enough to find the source of the problem.



　He flicks the holy sword swung down again with the .
　The left-handed raised wall (Benno Even) dissipates, and Evans Mana ricochets off.

　But the sword changed its trajectory and, as if to use the force that ricocheted off, swung down to my shoulder again.

　Fast--.
　My left hand is in time, but there's not enough time to condense the .
　I stare at Evans Mana with my and destroy its magical power.

''Huh.........!

　＜The magic eye of destruction and anti-magic pierced through, and the Spirit God Man Sword bit into my right shoulder.
　Fresh blood was spattered, and a number of holy scars appeared on the wound.

　But--

The fourth one.

　Pulling my right hand out of the dovetail, I now pierce Ray's right chest and crush the root source.
　But still undaunted, Ray further digs the Spirit Godman Sword into my body.

''Your hand is known to me.

　＜When you wear the Four Realms Wall (Benno Yevhen) in your left hand, you grab the sword barrel that was biting into your shoulder.
　I'm not going to be the only one who can do this. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

　But even so, the sword I grabbed didn't budge.

'Did you think you could win a powerball with a demon's body?

......

　He grabbed his right arm again and crushed the fifth root source.

''There are two left. There's nothing left to do.''

".........I've been losing to you for years........ I could have lost......... I tried so many times, and if only one miracle could have happened, I would have won....

There are no miracles.

　Regardless of how much power Ray put into it, the Spirit God Human Sword could not be moved.
　His magic power was completely suppressed by the and the at close range. It's not something that can be continued for long, but in this state of affairs, Ray has to run out of power first.

''There's only one left.

　Gulping, he crushed the source of the root.
　Blood dripped from Ray's mouth.

''Retreat. You are not stupid enough to fight in this state.''

　Once the roots were united, the canon was always a way out.
　Even if the present was impossible, it would connect hope to the future.

　He understood that he, the hope of the people, must never die.

"...One day I wanted to bring peace to the world, that was my wish... so I ran away. Even if I kept losing, I thought it would be enough to win one last time. I believed it was the right thing to do.

　Ray said in a muttered voice.
　His eyes are staring at me.

'No.' I didn't have the courage to do it. Now I have someone in front of me who needs help. I can't wait any longer to save him. I want to help them now. I want to help people who are suffering now. If you can't think that way, you can't risk your life even if the day comes!

　That's what he heard sometime, somewhere.
　Perhaps it made him ready for the end.

　He who has seven roots and will never perish, is ready to face the end.

''Even if no miracle happens, I can't lose, just for today...!　If I lose here, you will have to kill a human someday to get rid of the fire that's coming down on you.......!

　Even if you kill the small, you keep the big alive.
　That's the right thing to do. In fact, I've been doing it too.

　Otherwise, as a tyrannical demon king, there are some things I couldn't protect if I didn't destroy the things I should have destroyed.

　Lei releases his left hand from the Spirit Godman Sword.

''I can't let you, who wanted peace more than anyone else... more than anything else, I can't let you treat me like that!

　The space beyond Ray's left hand became squishy and distorted.
　The one that appeared like a mirage from it was the Unique Sword Sig Shasta.

　The sword emitted a mischievous purple light.
　The Unique Sword turned into a literal demonic sword with demons condensed to the extreme.

''Hah!

　Ray swung the Unique Sword Sig Shasta down to slam into the Spirit God Human Sword Evans Mana.
　As if the opposing forces, holy and demonic, repelled, a huge explosion of light occurred.

　Most of the surrounding trees were erased and my body was blown far backwards without saying a word.

''Hmm. That's a tremendous amount of magic.

　Slowly, Ray walks toward me.
　In his right hand, he carries Evans Mana, which radiates a divine light, and in his left hand he carries Sig Shesta, which shows a devastating radiance.

　Their light mixed and repelled, still just barely controlled, increasing the power of the holy and demonic swords many times over.

''I didn't expect you to reach that level here.

　The one-of-a-kind sword will only show its true value when it is used with exclusive dedication.
　The Spiritual God and Human Sword only recognizes the owner of a pure and tranquil mind.

　Lei fills his mind with demons in order to wield the unique sword, yet he is able to use the Spirit Man Sword designed to destroy demons.

　The demon and the holy, seemingly contradictory thoughts at first glance, but in his mind they must be different.
　A life lived as a brave man and a life lived as a demon, the two coexist in Ray. Holy and demon do not contradict each other. No, surely it's not that complicated.

　Humans and demons can coexist. That's his will.
　And both the Holy Sword and the Demon Sword recognized that noble thought.

''I can't let you die more and more.

　He wore the Benno Yevgen on both arms.
　I'm going to be the first to admit that I'm a bit of an idiot.

　I'm not sure I've ever seen such a thing before.

It's not a bad idea. I'll free you from the spell of the brave.

　Ray's feet dig into the ground gingerly.

''I'm going, Anos.''

　We run head-on into each other.

　Ray's twin swords and my magic collide, and in the aftermath, everything around us is blown away.

　While running through the forest, Evans Mana and Sig Shesta, and rival each other again and again.

　The entire forest of Torra was shaking violently, as if it couldn't bear the battle between the tyrannical demon king and the legendary heroes, and it was as if they were screaming.

　And so it was, how many times did they clash?
　Sig Shesta popped the , and the Spirit God Human Sword that was thrust out broke through both the and the .

　And so, Evans Mana had indeed pierced my chest--!

"................ How do you ... how do you ... how do you... ...?

　Ray spilled the words as he expressed his astonishment.

'I could have ducked you... and even if I hadn't, I wouldn't have aimed at the source of you...'

　I laugh.
　I dare to receive the Spiritual God and Man Sword in my body.
　This is the root of the holy sword that destroys the Demon King.

　Everything is as it should be.

"Take a look around,

　Ray looked around.
　Far away, but still visible to the naked eye, was the figure of the Gailladite Demon King's Defeat Army. They are looking at us as if they were on alert.

　While fighting, they were casually leading us to this place.

''The resurrected brave canon has destroyed the tyrannical demon king. This is just like your plot, the hatred of humans is also cleared up.

　I reach for Ray's mask and remove it.
　I put on the mask.

'My brethren,'

　I interrupt the intercepted and call out to the entire Dilheid army.
　My voice has become Avos Dilhevia's due to the effect of the mask.

　＜Using the magic of Ibis, I replicate the clothes Rey was wearing and put them on my body.
　On the contrary, Ray's clothes were changed to those of a brave man from two thousand years ago.

　　They will have seen the moment Avos Dyrhevia was defeated.

"....All forces, retreat to Dirheid. Until I am reborn in this land, there will be no vengeance on Azéon. Live. Until the day the Demon King returns...

　Ray was going to be killed by the army that defeated the Geiradite Demon King. And he was going to say the same thing I just said.

　He would come to check if he was alive or dead, but it's the life of a tyrannical demon king. If you're an imperialist, you'll protect it in the end. I believe I will come back to life.

"The Spiritual Blade is the holy sword that was used to destroy the Tyrannical Demon King your root is........ ...

　The Spirit God Human Sword Evans Mana has indeed penetrated my body and has already corroded the root of my body.

　It's not something that can be fooled by pretending to be dead.
　If that's the case, Rei didn't want to put his own life on the line either.

　He needed to show both humans and the demon race that the tyrannical demon king is destroyed.

''........Ano--''

　She touched Ray's lips with a blood-stained finger and gently closed his mouth.

'What's the matter?　Brave canon?　You have beaten me. You should be more proud.

　Ray glared at me with a grim expression.
　The Geiradite Demon King's defeating army was advancing towards us.

　Now, I would have been able to clearly see the Demon King's figure pierced by the Spirit God Human Sword.

　I need to show my strength.
　Proof that I am the Demon King of Tyranny.

''Foolish humans!

　I shouted at the top of my lungs to the army that had defeated Maj. Gen. Gaillardite.
　It's a travesty. But if this will bring peace, let's play the clown.

　I'm not going to die for free.

"I shall not die for nothing.

　I pour more magic than ever before and use the magic of .
　A magic circle rises in the sky and a huge magical stone appears from it.

　＜With the application of the Demon Black Thunder Emperor, the countless stones floated in the sky and were covered in jet black lightning.

　They are powerful enough to slaughter tens of thousands of soldiers.
　It doesn't count against things like magic wards.

"We will die together in this place.

　＜Demon Rock Crash Star Bullet (Gia Greas) and the Demon Black Thunder Emperor (Jirasd) descended from the sky.
　The Demon King's defeating army put up multiple magical wards, but as the darkness swallowed them up, the magical rocks fell.

　Dogaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..... A deep hole that seemed to lead to the abyss, with no bottom in sight.
　A tremor, as if the world was going to be destroyed, rolled around the area.

　Two, three, two, three magic stones drilled holes in the ground one after another.
　Although the bullets still landed at a distance from the Demon King's defeating army, it was all they could do to even withstand the aftermath.

　And there were still hundreds of magical stones floating above their heads, aiming at the Demon King Defeat Army. If that thing falls, it will die. Everyone must have been convinced of that.

　I'm sure everyone is convinced of that.

"Demon King Avos Dilhevia, I won't let you do what you want!

　He called out to the army that would defeat the Demon King.

Gentlemen, I need your help! I'm in heroic canon!　The power to put a stop to that brutal demon king!

　Ray uses the magic of the .
　Raising the holy sword and wearing a holy light, the figure that slices through the despair that descends is indeed a brave man himself.

　Someone said.

''........Is that the heroic canon.......?

''I don't know ... but that figure in the holy light ...?　They're protecting us....

　Someone said.

''You fought the Demon King of Tyranny. You retrieved the stolen holy sword all by yourself.

　In his appearance, humans always see hope.
　There was such a strange attraction in the canon.

　Someone said, ".........

'.........Kanon has come.......'

　His words quickly spilled over to the despairing Gaillardite Demon King's defeat army when they saw the magic stone floating in the sky.

''In order to save us, a legendary hero has risen!

Canon!

All the power to the heroic canon!

Bring down the Demon King!

This time, I will give the world peace!

　The magical power and thoughts of the Demon King's defeating army gather in the ray.
　The blessing of the Spirit God Human Sword swells dozens of times.

''.........''

　I heard voices.

　-- all the time, they were accusing me of --

　＜I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do.

　--I'm a hero.
　--I'm not going to be able to get out of it.

　--I was just a redneck who liked to wield the sword.

　--I didn't want to kill anyone.
　--I didn't want to fight.

　--But someone told me that if I didn't fight, more people would die.

　--I'm not a hero.
　--I'm neither strong nor righteous, and I don't have the power to save people.

　--Much more life spills out of my fingers than the life I've grasped in my hands.
　--Deluded by mindless words, toyed with by fate, I've been going right and left on the battlefield.

　--I have no courage. The only thing I have is the fear that people will die.
　--and I have been driven to be threatened by it, to be frightened by it.

　--Well.

　--I had to be brave.
　--I had to keep playing the hero.

　--I had to live up to people's expectations, even at the expense of my own.
　--I must remain the hope of the people.

　--The powerless want me to kill them.
　--The weak want me to die.

　--Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. People need hope.
　--I would rather die with this fate in my heart than see another suffer.

　--I'd rather die, again and again, and again.
　--reviving again and again and again.

　--and so I just fought for the people.
　--And then I suddenly realized...

　--So, what's my hope?
　--they had a brave man, but I didn't even have a little hope to hang on to.

　--a common, yes very common, tragic plot.

　--Yeah, but every now and then.

　--The last person to reach out to me was the supposed enemy, the tyrannical demon king.

　--It was you, Anos.


　--You were my only hero.