The court magician's robe.
　It is a specially made robe distributed by the kingdom to court mages.

　Ryusas is wearing a robe that has been modified by carving a large amount of magic tricks into it.

It's better not to take off this robe. It's designed to explode if you force it off.

　With a difficult look on his face, Elfiszak looked at Liuzas' robe and said so.

　From what I've examined, I've found that Ryuzas has planted magic all over his body.
　Healing magic, defensive magic, reflex magic, and so on, a frightening number of them.
　It seems that even Elfiszak can't handle the sheer volume of them.

Even you can't do it?
''Yes. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to disarm it.
...... Oh well, that's okay. Even without the robe, I can think of a million ways to kill this guy.

　Let them drown in the river while tied up.
　Let them chase wounds that don't kill them, and then zigzag them to death with blood loss.
　You can also give them a slow-acting poison.
　It would take a lot of work, but you could also set off the magic stone "break magic" and blast them to death with a time lag.

　But Elfiszak shook his head.

''You shouldn't do that. Look at this.

　Elfiszak turned the robe over and pointed to the back of it.
　The reverse side of the robe is inscribed with magic formulae and magic circles.

''It's true that there are a lot of nasty tricks, but even I can at least think of a way to get through this now.
It's not. Look closely. A large number of magic formulas and magicians, these come together to form the 'one magic formula'.

　Hearing Elfiszak's words as he activated his magic eye, he finally realized.
　That dozens of magic methods were combined to make up a single magic method.

''What ...... is this?''

　When I saw the self-destruction technique, I described it as a disaster, seeing the amount of magical power it had.
　But this isn't like that.
　It's so precise that it gives me goosebumps, and the amount of magic power that even the magic power of Liuzas would take several years to accumulate.

　It's a technique I've never seen in my long travels.

It's the ...... cause-and-effect magic. It is a magic formula that gives the surgeon the same result for all the people who created the 'cause of death' for him or her. In short, it's a spell that takes all those who have killed you along for the ride.

　I don't remember Liuzas ever remember remembering this kind of magic.
　Even when I was able to use the proof of magic power, I can assure you that I can't master this magic.

''If you want to prevent this, you'll need quite a bit of magic resistance. Not to mention Iori, even I can't stand this stuff.

　I've never heard of this kind of magic in my life.
　If that is the case, then this.
　This is a magic that is no longer used in modern times and has lost its very existence.

...... "Lost Magic"?
It's a good idea. The only person I know of who can use this kind of magic is ...... who was Ortegia's subordinate, the Grim Reaper.

　I've never heard of him before.
　You have defeated the five great demon generals and broken through the four heavenly kings, yet you have never met anyone called the 'Grim Reaper'.

Do you think that ...... is the one who taught you this?
I don't know. I don't know, maybe he got there on his own or someone else was there. ......, but either way, he can do some pretty nasty magic.
...... shit.

　I knew he was a filthy living man, but I didn't expect him to go this far.
　The magic of self-destruction, the magic of loss, the magic of loss, he really is a troublesome man.

...... Well, that's okay.

I wanted to do more than just kill him.

　I stole from the treasure room, a magical power granting item that could confirm the truth of the betrayal.
　It was difficult to find a use for it, and it was currently the best tool to use on Ryuzas.

　It's just that the timing was not good enough to use it on Ryuzas himself, though.

...... Thank you for coming all the way to the labyrinth. Now I can use it.

　From the porch, he took out a golden knife.
　One of the magic power granting items I stole from the treasure room.

The Golden Sword of Exploration?
Yeah.

　The Golden Sword of Exploration.
　It can be used to search for specific memories in the object it is thrust into.
　However, once used, it loses its effectiveness.
　Hence, it is a rather rare item that grants magic power.

It seeks the memories of the traitor.

　He said Lucifina and her friends tried to kill me.
　That they were working together, and that they betrayed you, too.

　I'm going to confirm the truth of that here.

　Designating the memories to be explored, I thrust the knife into the cross section of the slashed off arm.

''Gyaaaaahhhh!''

　Soon, the specified memories flowed from the blade to the hilt.

◆.


"That idiot trusts us so much, he'd believe in us. Why would you cut off his arm from behind?
We'll give you a signal. You'll have to follow our signal, Mr. Liuza.
"Yeah, sure. But I'll do the honor of killing the Demon King.
"Yes, I promise.

　Memories flowing in.
　It was firmly there, Lucifina and Dionis.

''I can't wait to see what kind of pathetic expression that person will show me when I find out that I've been betrayed.''
''I think I can picture the dumb side of Amatsu. But it's hard to hold back the laughter when you've been tricked into trusting me so easily.
It's because he's an idealistic idiot who doesn't know how to doubt. In the end, it's the fools who are deceived that are to blame.

　Lucifina, who had always been kind to everyone and always had a smile on her face, is smiling with a smile of lust-filled amusement.
　Dionis, who had always laughed aloofly, is laughing with a bare malice.
　The good-humored laugh of Liuzas echoes in the quiet room.

　Emotions from those days flowed in at the same time as the memories of Ryuzas.

　Malice.

　How to kill Amatsu.
　How would he react to being betrayed?
　How heartbreaking it would be when that dumb face was twisted into despair.

　The emotions that flowed in were just malice.
　The honor of killing a demon king belongs to me alone, and Amatsu is just a tool to get it.　
　So I've already had no use for it.

　Those emotions and thoughts are flowing in.

----

　A noise flashed across his vision and the scene switched.

　The words Liuzas had heard in the memory of the betrayal echoed in his brain.
　The many voices that echoed back were all familiar ones.

'Kill Amatsu?　That's good. That bastard's presence has been an eyesore for a long time.'
''Surprise attack, huh? As far as I'm concerned, if the demon king, the hero, and the interloper all disappear at the same time, I have nothing to say.''
''It's a lot of trouble when someone agrees with that man's ideas. Yes, I have no objection to that. I (I) would love to help you.

　The ones who helped you on your journey.
　Those who approached them, saying they would help.

　Various sub-humans were there, including tribal chiefs and imperial nobles.

''I'll help you to repay the debt you owe us for saving us.
"Let me help you make your dreams come true.

　The people who had approached them saying that were half-smiling and talking to each other.
　And everyone in the place was nodding at the reward Lucifina had given them and taking on the task of stalling the rear-end army.

''I have a plan to ensure that Amatsu is killed,''

　We all work out a plan to kill me.
　No one is opposed to it, and the meeting proceeds with glee.

　My dearest friends.
　My friends and allies, whom I trusted.
　Everyone I wanted to protect.

　The memory of them trying to betray me seared into my brain.

◆

　I finished looking at my designated memory and my consciousness returned to me.
　I saw the golden sword of exploration, which had completed its role, lose its effectiveness in my hand.

'...... so much.'

　The money and the honor is all you need.
　You wanted it so badly, you were willing to kill me for it.

　Hearing the stories and seeing it in person was different.
　The voice calling me an idiot and laughing at me for being in the way before is burned into my head.

'Oh ......, I'm going to kill you, every single one of you,'

　I wipe the liquid that had been wetting my cheeks at some point and laugh.

''Ahhhh!''

　Liuzas is screaming with a knife in his wound.
　It's deafening, but for now it's comforting.

'You're not killing me yet,'

　He whispered in Liuzas' ear.

'Just killing him isn't revenge,'

　I'm going to make him regret it from the bottom of his heart that he betrayed me.
　I will make him admit, by any means necessary, that it was wrong to betray me.
He will crawl to the ground, he will hang his head down, and I will make him apologize from the bottom of his heart.

　And then I'm going to kill him.

"You will suffer the pain of your missing right arm until I come for you.

　He took out a magic stone and threw it towards the lying Ryuzas' right arm.
　It exploded and shattered his right arm to the point that it was impossible to regenerate it with any healing magic.

''Ah ...... ah.''

　A look of despair appears on Liuzas' face.

''Kill me...ya.
Yeah. I'll take care of you.

　Satisfied like that, he gouged the wound deep with the knife he had stabbed into it.
　He let out an unvoiced scream, and due to the excessive pain, Liuzas bubbled and fainted.
　The abominable thing is that even after gouging out the wound this much, the wound is still being closed up by the healing magic granted to the robe.

''I'll kill you,''

　Kills humans and subhumans.
　He kills sorcerers and swordsmen.
　And if they're highborn or spies for the Erlking's army, we'll find them and we'll kill them.


Is that why you are trying to get your power back?

　Elfiszak, who had been silent until then, threw a question at me.

'Oh, yes. I need my powers for revenge. The people I thought were my friends killed you because they thought you were useless. One of them wanted to monopolize your achievements, and the other two were spies for the Demon King's Army from the start. A masterpiece, right?

　I was the only one who had ever held up the ideal of peace.
　I'm disgusted at my own naivete.

Elfiszak. I'm not going to stop talking about this. What will you do when you get your powers back?
'--Vengeance,'

　The question was answered by a chillingly cold voice.

''I will kill the demon tribe that killed my men. I will also kill the woman who contained me and the demon tribe who mocked me. And I will kill Ortegia.

　'And,' said Elfiszak.

'I will be the Demon King again.

　His voice was different from the one before, a voice that was stifled with emotion.
　That's why the feeling of hatred inside stood out.

　Oh, I knew it.
　This guy is my kind.

''As the Demon King, this time I will--''
...... this time?
No. ...... is a good one.

　Shaking his head, Elfiszak broke off his words.

I knew we had something in common.
...... Yeah.

　I, who had claimed to be a peaceful man, was killed by my friends.
　The Demon King, who was a moderate, had his subordinates killed, and he himself was sealed away.
　Even though they were on opposite sides of the coin, their circumstances are laughably similar.

　This guy--.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

So I'll just say it again at ......

　Golden eyes look at me from the front.

'If you help me, I'll help you.
　If you help me get my revenge, I'll help you get yours.''

　The destination and the goal is the same for both of us.
　We must regain our strength to accomplish our revenge.

As long as you are my mate, I will not betray you.

　So--.

　The complete opposite of her previous distracting antics.
　She said with such dignity that her whole body trembled.

"Come with me--"Ex-brave

　The former Demon King said, extending his hand over here.

''----,''

　This time, I realized.
　The labyrinth has been strengthened and I can't defeat the demon general now.
　Even if I have the equipment, I'm still at the limit of what I can do on my own.

　If I can't do it alone, then I'll have to ask for someone else's help.
　Currently, the most suitable opponent to team up with, if not trust, is--.

　You look into the golden eyes that stare at you from the front.

　It reminds me of those guys who scoffed at the idea that you were the only one who had any ideals, that you were useless.
　You swore an oath.
　I swore to you that I would get revenge on them, no matter what it took.

　So long.
　We need to use whoever we have at our disposal.

　It's not about trust, it's about alignment of interests.
　If we're all in the same place, with the same goals, we can't all be that easy to betray.

　We can make friends and accept the risk of being betrayed.

　And in order to get my revenge, I will do it.

Uh-oh.

　He takes Elfiszak's hand.

"From now on, please, 'former demon king'."　

　Elfiszak smiled at those words in return for his will.


◆

　After stowing away the necessary items in the pouch.
　I forcefully shattered the closed path and went to the transition team.
　As Elfiszak poured his magic power into it, the transitioning formation began to shine.

''Kufufu.''

　Shoulder to shoulder with a good-humored Elfiszak, I climb on top of the transition team.
　The light of the transference wraps my body in the light of the transference.
　Before I'm completely covered, I turn my gaze towards the room where Ryuzas and the others are rolling.

''Liuzas. And Dionis, Lucifina.

　You betrayed me, all of it.

　I'll be right with you.
　I'll be with you soon.
　And you're gonna be sorry you did this to me.

　The next time.
　We were transformed and disappeared from this labyrinth.


　And then...

　"A former hero and a former demon king.

　The journey of the two men who were never meant to cross paths began here.