--Come to think of it, it's been a long time.

　It's been a long time since the day you were murdered in the castle.
　How many people have I killed who betrayed me?
　Merwin, Beltran, Olivia, Dionysus, George, Lily, Marcus, and Ryuzas.

　And now, the last one stands before me.

　--Lucifina Emilior.

　My most trusted companion.
　The last of the party of the brave.

　It's been a long time. It's been a long time indeed.
　But I'm going to end a 30-year old feud today.
　I'm going to end it.

Iori-san, you ignored me before and went to Elfiszak-san's place, right? I was extremely hurt by that, you know. Iori-san ignored me when she said ......
...... Yeah. In return, I'll make sure you're taken care of today.
'Oh, phew. I'm glad to see you, Iori. You'll have to look at me rather than Mr. Elfiszak today, won't you?

　It's an exchange that makes me feel like I'm throwing up.
　Lucifina knows I'm uncomfortable, and she's grinning and enjoying herself.

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

　I turn my gaze to the equipment Lucifina is wearing.
　That pure white armor was familiar.
　It was one of the highest-grade magic items that the kingdom owned, and its name was called 'Tengai' (Heavenly Armor).

　It was supposed to have the effect of increasing the wearer's physical ability, magic power, defense, and magic resistance.
Although it couldn't be compared to the 'Tenri Sword', it had an unprecedented effect.
　The fact that she has been wearing that armor shows that Lucifina is also coming with a match.

''Even so, ...... it seems that the two of you are more tired than I thought. It seems that the demons downstairs worked harder than I thought they would. Lefeeze-san, you've been accumulating more strength than I thought.

　Lucifina looks at this one and spits out a few white words.
　The sticky way of speaking makes my irritation stronger.
　Still, the reason I didn't bypass it is probably because I've prepared myself beforehand.
　You can't win against this guy if you don't keep your cool.

''Oh, speaking of which, Elfiszak-san. Did you know that?　The current Acting Demon King, the daughter of one of your subordinates is serving as your deputy.

　Turning her gaze towards Elfi, Lucifina says happily.

'Her name is Lefise Gregoria. She said that she was very sad because her father was gone. When I think about how Lefise has lived up to now after losing her family, I can't help but cry in sympathy. ......

　Lucifina deliberately moistens her eyes and rubs her eyes with a scrubbing motion.
　Elfie, who is bound by the wards, doesn't move a single muscle, but stares at Lucifina with a cold expression.

''Do you have anything to say to the daughter who lost her father due to your blunders?''
No.

　Without being disturbed by Lucifina's agitation, Elfi clearly cut her off.
　At the sound of her dignified voice, Lucifina must have realized that she wasn't upset either.
　Bored, she let out a loud sigh.

''Boring person. As I've said before, Iori. What do you like so much about this person?　I'm not trying to stir things up or anything, it's just a genuine question. See, Iori-san, you liked me, didn't you? Why did you switch sides to this person?
'...... Don't blather on, it's obnoxious. I know what you're up to. You're stalling for time like that, waiting for us to wear out the wards.

　Even as I do this, I can feel my magic power draining from my body, although it's very little.
　Elfi, who is affected by the anti-demonic wards, should have a faster rate of attrition than me.
　It's useless to keep on talking like this.

''...... Not really, I didn't mean to. That's a terrible thing to say.
Don't make me laugh. That's some warding, man. When did you learn to do this kind of magic?
From the beginning. You just didn't know it was happening, did you?　Iori-san is so insensitive.

　--from the 'first'.

...... Oh, yeah?

　A waste of time.
　I found Elfi bending down with a giggle.
　I, too, put my strength into the Proof of Valor in order to activate the mental image magic.
　This is the moment when we tried to move at the same time.

"--If you move, I'll kill the sub-people below.

　Lucifina uttered that as if she was trying to get out of the way.
　At the same time as those words, a snapping sound of fingers could be heard.
　Immediately after, an image was projected in the room.
　The image is projected from a sphere, in Lucifina's hand.
　It's probably using some kind of magic power granting item (magic item).

　What appeared was a scene of unseen demons lined up in a group.

''This is a collection of demons I have collected over the years. There are a lot of ferocious ancient species that are said to be extinct now. These kids are quite strong, they can easily devour a village or even a city.''

　This scene reminds me of.
　The village of Distortions, where I stopped on my way to save Elfie.
　That village was also attacked by a demon I had never seen before.

'Now, the question is. Where are these kids now?
"...... around the Great Aldrin Forest.
Good answer.

　A lecherous smile sticks to Lucifina's face as she speaks as if it were a waste of time.
　I didn't need to ask, but I knew what this guy was thinking.

''With just one signal from me, those girls will be eating up the great forest. Do the two of you understand what I mean?
'You're going to tell me you're holding a bunch of subhumans hostage.　...... the outsider.

　Elfie spits at Lucifina as if she can't hide her disgust as she talks happily about it.

It's true. A lot of villagers will die depending on what you guys do. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. But even so, ...... there is no doubt that the death toll will be in the hundreds.

　The demons of the ancient species have gathered in such large numbers.
　Lucifina is right, there will be quite a few dead people.

............
Oops.

　Lucifina snapped her fingers again as I looked out of the labyrinth.
　As soon as that happens, the strength of the wards covering the labyrinth increases.
　It's a level of strength that even we can't easily break.

"We don't want you to be able to escape with weird magic like before, so we've made the wards even tighter and covered the area around you.
............
''This warding is based on the warding I set up, as well as the warding in the Void Labyrinth. I have confirmed its sturdiness with the Tenri Sword, so there is no doubt about it.

　Grinning, Lucifina continues to speak as if she is smirking and jingoistic.

''Well, if you really want to break the wards and go save the people below, I recommend you take the labyrinth nucleus first and then break the wards of the labyrinth. That way, the hardness of the wards will be lowered, and they will be easier to break.

　Would you like to try it?　Lucifina tilts her head at him.
　I understand on the way here that I can't do that lightly.
　This time, the void labyrinth is because if you take the labyrinth core, it will fall down on the spot.

''Gee, it seems you already know that, don't you? Yes, that's right!　If you take out the labyrinth core, this labyrinth will fall down!　If such a large object falls, the great forest will be in chaos!　Hahahahahahaha!　My heart aches and pains just thinking about it, I can't help it!

　If we move, the demons will attack the large forest.
　If we want to save the large forest that is being attacked, we must take the labyrinth core and release the wards.
　However, after losing the labyrinth nucleus, the void labyrinth would fall into the Great Forest.
　Naturally, Lucifina will attack us in the meantime.

　In other words.
　Lucifina is right, we can't save the hostages in any way.
　If you want to save Sepul and Coo, Lucifina will have to torture you to death.

...... A joke of a travesty.

　Except for Elfi, the person who understands my naivety the most would be Lucifina.
　That's probably why she took the measure of hostage.
　To make sure that he kills the sweet me.

'...... The Four Heavenly Kings are dismayed to hear this. That you would take such a lowly means because you can't win in a frontal fight.
I don't care about vainglory, pride, righteousness and other trivial things. You see, if you care about such things, you might end up being sealed away like some former demon king!

　'But,' said Lucifina, raising her index finger as if to suggest.

'If you guys abandon the people below you, ...... you can fight me head on, can't you?

　'I'm fine with that,' sneered Lucifina.

"You wanted peace in the world, and now you're abandoning people for the love of your life!　Isn't that most amusing?　Even if there's an eventuality that you make it out of here alive, your way of life will be twisted to the point where you've abandoned so many people!　Hmm, hahahahahahahahaha!

　While saying that, Lucifina understands.
　That I, will not abandon the villagers, and that I will not abandon them.
　That's why Lucifina's attention has been on Elfi from earlier.
　Just as the former Demon King may abandon the hostages against my will and attack them.

.............

　Zach.
　For a moment, I saw a noise in the projected image.
　So I say to Lucifina.

''That magic item is very useful.
...... Yes?

　Lucifina froze at my words, which were out of place.
　Regardless, I continued to speak.

'You've got the demons below you with a magic power granting item to pair with it, right?　It's convenient, isn't it? If it were more prevalent, it would have made a lot of things easier.
'...... What are you taking so long to talk about?　You don't think I'm bluffing?　You don't still think I'm kind-hearted after all this time, do you?

　Lucifina has a dubious look on her face as she looks down at the magic power granting item at hand.

''No matter. You'll move the demons around like I said you would.
...... Yeah. So don't move. I'm going to kill you now. Don't worry, if you don't move, we won't kill the people downstairs.

　Lies, I thought.
　This guy is definitely not going to keep his word.
　He will probably shake it so hard that we can't move, and then he will laugh and move the demons.

''Then it's time to end it.

　Lucifina raises the 'Tenri Sword'.

''--Goodbye, Iori-san.

　With that, it was the moment Lucifina was about to release a slash.

'----'

　Elfi, moved.
　Wordlessly, he shot ash bombs at Lucifina.

''.......''

　Lucifina stops firing slashes and cuts both sides of the ashlar blast.
　The blast split in two and roared out.
　Unharmed, Lucifina laughed sarcastically.

''Ha, that's right. You're the former king, right? Cutting down a few people for the sake of more people must have been an everyday occurrence. But you did a foolish thing.
............
I don't care about subhumans, you may be able to move, but Iori-san is not.

It's the same.

　At the moment, I was slashing at Lucifina.

''--?!''

　The jade sword was received by the 'Tenri Sword'.
　However, the unexpected attack caused Lucifina to lose her stance.
　At that moment, I slammed my fist into Lucifina's forehead as hard as I could.

''Gah! ......''

　With a small voice, Lucifina blows across the center of the room.
Lucifina stabs the 'Tenri Sword' into the ground, killing the momentum in the air and landing on the ground.
　She comes to stare at me uncomfortably while holding down the forehead I hit her with.

I'm ...... surprised. I didn't expect ...... you to abandon your hostages and attack me.

　Perhaps from astonishment, the roominess has disappeared from his face.
　But halfway through, it seems to have regained its tone, and the disgusting smile has returned to its face.

'...... You, who said such sweet and silly things!　The hero, Amatsu!　Abandoning innocent sub-humans for the love of his life!　Hahahahahahaha!　It's the best of both worlds!

　We're quietly glaring at Lucifina, who is laughing with her belly and laughing.
　It's not funny that we don't move at all, is it?

...... So let me show you now. I'll show you the misery of the hostages you've abandoned.

　Saying that, Lucifina snaps her fingers.
　She thinks of the scene of demons overrunning the great forest, and smiles a ripping smile - but

What about ............?

　The demons did not move in the slightest.
　They did not listen to Lucifina's instructions and did not move even a twitch.
　For once (...), it was unnatural (・・・・・・・・).

'Why ......?'
A useful magic grant, but have you checked it to make sure it's working properly?
......

　Lucifina turns to me with a bang and glares at me.

'What have you done?　...... No, it's not possible. All of that is being held by the most powerful demons of the ancient species. That's where the trick of interfering without me noticing is impossible!

　If I wanted to interfere, I could do it too.
　But it's impossible to do it without Lucifina noticing.
　It would be the same with Elfi.

'Yeah, not us.'
'We ......?　Then who the hell did it?

　The moment Lucifina said that, with an exasperated look on her face

"--It's me!

　The figure of the pink-haired girl--the idler--was projected on all the images.

''Hi, Iori-kun. And it's nice to meet you, Elfiszak. My plan is going well.

　The image switched to a roundabout way.
　The scene shown was of a large number of demons being sealed in a large scale ward.
　Sub-human warriors, including human dog breeds (war dogs), are attacking the motionless demons from afar.

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

　--Lucifina took a hostage to kill me.

　She was preparing in advance so that sweet me would not be able to touch her.
　And I was prepared, and so was I.
　I plucked the hand that 'this guy', who knew my weaknesses, would take in advance.

'We knew before we came here that you were hiding demons around the Great Forest.

　I couldn't predict whether it was a swarm of demons or an army of demons, but I knew that Lucifina was setting something up around the great forest.
　That's why I asked the idlers to check it out so that Lucifina wouldn't notice it.
　As a result, it was discovered that a large number of demons were hiding in the wards that blocked the air.
　We also discovered that some of those monsters were wearing magic items.

　From there, we devised a plan.
　In order to win, and not to take hostages.

...... stupid, it's impossible. Why are the demons trapped in such a ward? I've disciplined them not to move without my instructions, but ......!
'It's possible, isn't it? Those demons didn't even look aside when they saw me and chased after me. I almost died about 20 times. But somehow, I managed to drive them into the warding.

　Thanks to the fact that it was a demon that Lucifina brought with her, it was easy to take countermeasures.
　After all, idlers attract (...) demons (...) (・・・・・・・・).
　By using the idlers as bait, they induced the demons.

'There's no way they interfered with the magic granting item (magic item) and I wouldn't have noticed!　Besides, I was checking the Great Forest every step of the way!　It wasn't as if they were creating a ward like that!
"I was aware that you were watching me. That's why I've been hiding my work from you (・・・・・・・・) so that you wouldn't notice (・・・・・・・・・・).

　Through the screen, Nii and Idler smile at each other.
　Lucifina gives them a look of disbelief and retreats to the back of the room.

　We set up a massive ward to keep Lucifina from noticing us.
　So that we can neutralize the swarm of ancient species for a certain amount of time.
　And we told Sepul and the others about this.
　After the idlers sealed the demons in the wards, have them defeat the demons that couldn't move.

''--Ah. Also, the spy you had sneaking into the village. I had them all captured.
Is ......?
'There are nine of them, right?　Three half-elves, two elf breeds (elves), two earth elves (dwarves), one human dog breed (wardog) and one human cat breed (warcat). Isn't that right?''
......

　Lucifina's eyes widened as she folded her fingers and counted the spies that had been mixed in with the idler.

''You, who the hell are you!
''--"Reaper"

　Lucifina gasped at the mention of her name.

"You are ...... the god of death. You're a real person.
'Yeah. I'm a very beautiful girl, you see? I'm a real girl, you know?
'...... Why would that reaper stand in my way?　I heard that you were in the Demon King's army.
Revenge. I've got nothing but hate for you guys.

　With a thin smile, Idler answers Lucifina's question.
　From behind her, the roar of the demons and the angry shouts of the sub-human warriors can be heard.
　The fact that the idlers aren't paying attention to it means that the cleanup of the demons is proceeding without any problems.
　With this, it can be said that the problem of the demons that surrounded the village has been mostly resolved.

''Well then, let's just pronounce a death sentence like the Grim Reaper.

　Her peach-colored eyes shot through the screen to Lucifina.

''-- You, who are talking to me now, will die here today. And you will never go to the afterlife.''
...... what.
"You know.　We don't end up dead. We're not done with death. It's just that there's a world out there where you can go when you're ready to die.

　At Idler's words, Lucifina's face contorted with a look of heartfelt displeasure.
　It was the first expression of disgust that Lucifina had shown since she came here.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have the right information. It's foolish to have expectations of such a place, when you don't even know what's going on now.
''Hmm. So you don't want to go to the Underworld, then?
''Yes. I'm not interested in the underworld. I don't think I'll ever go there. I will continue to live a happy, joyful, and contented life forever.

　Therefore, Lucifina glares at the idler.

I'm sure after I get rid of this place, I'm going to kill you as well. That's exactly what I'm going to do, I'm going to make you suffer so much that you won't be able to go to the underworld.
"Hi, that's scary.

The idler deliberately shuddered at Lucifina, who lifted the 'Tenri Sword' and declared it.
　I'm not sure if I've ever felt such an attitude, but Lucifina's eyes narrowed.

'...... You, have we met before somewhere?'
"No. I haven't seen you before, Lucifina Emilior.

　When I responded simply, Idler took his gaze off Lucifina.
　She turns her face towards me and gives a small smile.

''The rest is up to you, Iori-kun. Good luck.''

　With a word of encouragement, the mumbling image ceased.
　The sphere in Lucifina's hand ceased to function and lost its luster.
　The hustle and bustle over the images disappeared and silence returned to the room.

'Looks like we've got another inexplicable nuisance on our side.

　Lucifina retreated to the back of the room and looked like she was losing her excitement.
　The hostages were gone, and there was nothing to protect Lucifina in the immediate future.
　But we didn't move.
　We know that this is not the end, because we know it's not the end.

'But don't think that we've won this.

　Lucifina snapped her fingers in affirmation of our idea.
　As a signal, three human-sized crosses moved from the back of the room to underneath Lucifina.

''--Because there are still hostages,''

　Lucifina's silver eyes gleamed with mischief and a mockery that seemed to boil over with malice.
　The three crosses had one sub-human woman strapped to each of them, just as Lucifina had said.
　They were probably the people Sepul had mentioned who had gone missing in the attack from the void labyrinth.

''You're quite prepared to bring a hostage directly here as well.
Yes, I do. I don't underestimate you guys like the rest of you. If it were true, I would have wanted to leave you guys to Mr. Ortega, but that's not the case. It's hard to do that, though.

　Lucifina's expression, shaking her head in relief, had already returned to a relaxed state.
　It's probably because the exchange we had earlier made me understand that hostages are still effective for us.

''You seem to like hostages quite a bit, don't you?
'Yes, I love it. You can torture him one-sidedly and also drive his mind away. It's a wonderful act that tastes good twice at one time. If you have a chance, why don't you try it too?

　Lucifina gleefully affirms Elfi's spiteful words.
　Hostage.
　As a brave party, this is the act that Lucifina had said she hated most when she was traveling.
　I can remember her impeaching it as a cowardly, despicable, and disgusting act, not just for a knight, but for a warrior.

'...... Hey, Iori-san. You've been very quiet for a while now. I'm one of the people who betrayed and killed you, you know?　Please direct more comfortable hatred at me like you did in the Abominable Light Labyrinth.

　Indeed, my usual me would have raged many times leading up to this point.
　I might have abused Lucifina with my hatred and verbally abused her.
　If Lucifina, who had been fighting with the Demon King's army for several years, had spoken these lines.

''Or are you trying to play it cool and dress it up?　If so, it's not a good look for you. You're a stupid, sweet, boisterous person with a burning passion, aren't you?　You see, you can shout disgracefully, 'How dare you betray me?'

　I could see that the Elfie beside me was giving us a look of surrender.
　So I give a small nod and turn my gaze to Lucifina.

...... Hey. You call the "underworld" the "underworld" the "underworld", right?
...... Yes?
The Underworld is a term that was used a long time ago and hasn't been used anymore for a long time.

　With a twitch, Lucifina's eyes twitched.

'...... So what does that say?'

　I'm sure of it.
　With that light I ate after defeating the wind demon generals, and with my words and actions so far.
　...... It's okay.
　"I'm sure you've been aware of it for a while now when you touched the wards Lucifina put up in the village of Distortion.

　And the truth is, I should have realized it at that time thirty years ago.

Nah.

　I ask.


"Who are you...?


　Lucifina gave a ripping smile.