--I saw something like a thick black lees pouring down from the sky.

　It had a viscous quality to it, and it was pouring down mercilessly on me as I looked up.
　The lees - or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it mud.
　The black mud engulfs my body and I feel a strange, warm feeling.
　Before I know it, my feet turn to mud, too, and I fall downward, helplessly.

　I understood from the beginning that this was a dream.
　I've been having the same nightmare over and over again.

　When did I ...... start having dreams like this?

　I try to think back, but my thoughts don't work, as if a haze has taken over my brain.
　A feeling of comfort envelops your body, as if you were sleeping in a bathtub.
　It would be good to surrender to this mud.
　Little by little, I feel like that.
　Eventually my torso is completely engulfed and I'm up to my neck in the mud.

'----'

　I heard someone's voice.
　It was a woman's voice.
　It was close by, shouting something hard.
　But the words were indistinct, and I couldn't make out the meaning.
　Really - really, I could hear it from so close.

　The frustration almost burned my body.
　My instincts are telling me that I can't let this happen, that I can't take it back.

'----'

　Eventually, as if someone was pulling me out of the mud, I got out of the mud.
　I slowly floated up into the sky, staining my body with the mud that was pouring down from the sky.
　That was the moment I lifted my hand to wipe the mud that was staining my face.

'■■■■■'s ■■ body is underworld ■■'

----

"But the ■ is ■■■■■■■■■.

　I heard a voice.
　But I can't understand the meaning of the words I heard.

　The voice is trying to tell me something.
　Wait.
　I was trying to say it.

"Take care of yourself.

　With a voice like that, my consciousness left the space for the last time.

◆

　I woke up with a gasp, as if I'd been holding my breath for a long time.
　I repeated my rough breathing, calming my furiously beating heart.

　I sat on the stump, asleep.
　As I recall, on my way to the Demon King's territory, I went down into the mountains to rest Verdia.
　And I'm sure I was preparing to camp out for the night as it was.

　It was completely dark around them, and they seemed to have slept for a good amount of time.
　A crackling campfire was making noise right in front of us.

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

　I suddenly felt a look and looked up to see Elfie sitting across from the fire.
　The moment our eyes met, I saw his reddened eyes change color to gold.

'What's wrong with ......?'
'No, it was nothing. It was just my imagination. ...... Good morning, Iori. It's unusual for you to sleep at this hour.
'......?　Yeah, I know. I was a little out of it.

　I have work to do.
　I don't have time to rest.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I didn't come down to this mountain just to rest for Verdia-chan. If you're tired, then you should get a good rest too, Iori.
I've rested enough. I've got more to think about than that.

　That's when Elfie opened his mouth to say something at my words.

'Oh, Iori-kun!　You're awake.
...... Did you have a good night's sleep?

　Idler and Verdia emerged from the trees.
　Idler has a piece of fruit in his hand and Verdia is holding some wild rabbits.
　Apparently, they had gone to get some food while I was asleep.

'Hmmm. I was going to wake you up with my pretty voice, which sounds like birds chirping, but alas.
...... Sure, your voice is grating like a bird. Shut up.
"You're being really harsh on me after all, aren't you!

　The two of them came over to the fire, screaming, mainly at idlers.

...... Sorry, I fell asleep. Give me the wild rabbit. I'm going to cook now.
No, Iori, you just sit there.
What?

　Elfi stood up and laid out the cooking utensils with his poor hands.
　Verdia and Idler followed suit and began to prepare the food.

''Hey, what are you doing?''
You're probably still awake. We'll cook for you today, at least.
'Yes, yes!　Just leave it to us!　I'll make you enough food to make even God turn over!

　I'm supposed to be resting.
　I'm not tired.
　You don't need to worry about me.
　I don't need you to worry about me.

　I was going to say it, but I didn't want to say it.
　What's the matter with me, I thought to myself.

...... Yeah, okay. Please.

　I decided to return to my floating hips and watch the three of them cook.
　...... It's no good.
　I'm feeling buoyant, probably because I had a weird dream.
　Dream ...... Come to think of it, what was I dreaming about?

"But what is this 'reaper' you hear about? I was surprised that he was so different from what I had imagined.
Haha. Haha, I get that a lot. Apparently, there are a lot of people who, when they hear my name, think of something like the Skeleton King (Grand Ritchie).

　Elfie and Idler are conversing with each other as they move their hands around.

But this is a big mistake. It's the most beautiful girl in the world and is feared as the "god of death".
'The prettiest beautiful girl in the world ......?　Isn't that about me?
...... yeah?
"...... Mm?

　They are tilting their heads at each other, but they are still working on their hands.
　But the fruit isn't peeled at all, and the wild rabbit's prep work is like no good.
　Next, they both began to cut their fingers with their knives and fuss about it.

　In the midst of all that, only Verdia is crisp and ready to go.
　Although it's poorly done, it's a much better hand than those two.
　It's unexpected.

''So you've done the dishes.
...... a little bit. I learned a lot from watching Iori and others do it.

　Come to think of it, you were gazing at your hands while I was cooking.
　That wasn't looking at the ingredients, it was looking at my hands.

'...... worked hard. Great?
'Yeah. Well done, unlike those guys who just make a lot of noise.
...... mmmmm.

　Feeling a little happy, Verdia proceeds to cook.

　It's been a while since I've had someone cook for me.
　To have someone cook for you like this.

　Turning her gaze towards Elfi and Idler, she saw that the ingredients were cruel.　
　The two of them didn't pay attention to it, and for some reason they threw both the fruit and the rabbit meat into the pot.
　It's going to be a terrible thing to eat that.

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

　Yeah, ...... the dish Lucifina made was like that too.
　There's a recipe, but for some reason she does something different with it.
　The Emiliole family secret!　What a way to try to hammer some unfamiliar grass into the pot.
　The first time I ate it, I even wondered if it was a surprise or something.
　I remember seeing the whites of the eyes of the rusas who ate it and shuddering when I realized that Lucifina was serious.

　I wonder what that potion was, after all.
　I couldn't ask her all the way through because when I asked, she tried to cook.
　I can't ask anymore.

"..................

　Then they ate the finished dish.
　Elfie and Idler ate what they had made and were white eyed.
　Berdia's food was delicious.

◆

　After we ate, we took a dip and went to sleep.
　I couldn't sleep, so I left the fire and went to hit the night breeze.
　I had something to think about.
　It was a topic I had discussed with Elfie and the others at great length.

　--I've been thinking about this for a while now.

　I'm going to do whatever I can to kill that scum bastard.
　I'm going to make him wail and wail in pain, and then I'm going to kill him brutally.
　I will make sure of it.

　But killing him will not be easy.
　Ortegia is incomparably stronger than any other target of revenge until now.
　I was in my prime, and even if I worked with Lucifina and the others to fight him, we couldn't defeat him.

　His strengths are many.

　It's a good thing that I'm not the only one.
　He has high mobility, high levels of physical strength and reflexes.
　When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, it's probably only slightly inferior to Elfi in his prime.

　But that guy doesn't do nearly as much meat-and-ball fighting.
　Ortegia uses a sword.
　The swordsmanship that comes from that outstanding physical ability is comparable to the demon sword.

　If he gets serious, he could change the terrain with a single swing.
　The current me, if I didn't have mind-image magic, I would be erased with a single blow.
　Even if I'm using mind-image magic, a direct hit would kill me instantly.

　And the most troublesome aspect of Ortegia is its defense.
　Its entire body is covered in armor of magical power, and it's as if no attack can penetrate that guy.
　Even advanced magic can only result in a graze.
　It's difficult to hit an attack, but even if it hits, it won't do much damage.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　Thirty years ago, I worked with my companions to hit them with the Demon Heavenly Crash, but we couldn't kill them.
　The demon's unique life force is also a problem.

　Besides, he has a power that he didn't have 30 years ago.
　That mysterious ward and the Tenri Sword that he took from Lucifina.
　If I want to beat him, I'll need to be in great shape, and Elfi and I will have to fight him.

　But even two against one, it's not a must-win.
　In order to kill Ortegia, we'll have to do something that will make her disappear from the inside.

　First, Elfi and his magic eye will destroy the magic armor.
　In the meantime, he fires an Eclipse.
　Then, he enters the interval and thrusts the Jade Tathagata, activating the Break Magic inside his body.
　After doing all this, he is finally able to deliver a fatal blow.

　However, Elfi said that even if he did this much, it might not be possible to kill him instantly.
　Even if he gave them a fatal wound, they could still attack him.
I might not be able to deal with Ortegia's attack after losing the 'Jade Tathagata'.

　Besides, there's no way I'll be able to do this well when I think about taking revenge and Ortegia's men.
　Elfi hasn't regained the power he had in his prime either.

　I don't think that we can't kill Ortegia, I don't think that we can.
　But I also don't think that we can win unscathed.
　Unlike Elfi and Ortegia, I am only a flesh and blood man.
　This battle may well result in my death.

　But still.
　And even then, I still, that d*mn demon king--.

Iori.

　Suddenly his name was called and he came to himself.
　When I turned around, I saw Elfie standing there.
　Apparently, he hadn't fallen asleep yet.

'Quite a long thought, isn't it?
"...... sort of.
Have you been thinking about how to kill Ortegia?
Yeah.
Have you got a better idea?
No.

　Elfie let out a small breath as he came up next to me and I.
　Then he said in a sincere tone.

'It didn't take you long to get here.

　Ignoring my confusion at the sudden change of topic, Elfi continues.

'Since I met Iori, it seems like a long, short time. There was no time to stop, it was one of the most hectic times of my life.
...... Right.
'After avenging a number of enemies, I finally got here. But I didn't expect that they would really go out and kill Iori and Ortegia. I had a hunch that it would happen, but I'm still surprised.
...... Maybe so.
'There is only one left. As long as we kill Ortegia, ...... there will be a lot left to do, a lot of hard work to do, but still, we can finally move forward.
...... Yeah.

　Yes, I was just about to give him a phase.
　Suddenly, Elfie caught me between his hands on both cheeks.
　As it is, I'm pulled toward Elfi.

...... Hey, Iori.

----

I don't want you to die, .......

　Elfie looked at me and looked terribly sad.

"I don't need the 'Grim Reaper' to tell me that. Iori right now, you look like you're going to die any minute. If this is the case, you will surely die in the next battle. ...... I don't want that to happen.

----

'I told you. You said that you would take revenge in order to move on. Then, if you don't stand alive when you finish your vengeance, you won't be able to say you've fulfilled your revenge.

　We move on.
　Yes.
　I had my revenge for that.

　But I've been turned upside down and I've lost everyone I ever wanted to be with.
　I felt like I had a hole in my heart.
　I can't stop thinking about the last time I saw Lucifina.
　I even thought that I would be willing to die if I could kill Ortegia.

'...... I am,'

　Knock, knock.
　Elfie brought his forehead together.

'And I don't want to see Iori killed. When you're gone, I'll be ...... crying like a bat out of hell and going on a rampage, I will.

...... annoying, that is.

'Right?　So don't die so that it doesn't happen. Live, cook for me, dry your hair, brush your nails, etc.

Don't be a selfish person.

''Humph. I'm a former Demon King. It's only natural for me to be this selfish.

　Keeping their foreheads together, Elfie put his hands behind his back.

'So. We both live and we both get our revenge. That's a must. Is that clear?

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

　I was going to think about it after I got my revenge, after it was over.
　So I tried not to think about it.

　But ...... yeah, that's right.
　It might not be a bad idea to keep an eye on this guy to make sure he doesn't do anything weird.
　Sounds like fun, I thought.

'...... All right, I get it. We're both going to get our revenge, and that's the deal.

'Mmm!　When I have time, I'll travel around the country and eat all the best food I can find. I've been all over the country, but I can't say I've eaten everything yet!
...... Right. That might be a good idea too.

　Talk about such a trivial future.
　After a bit, Elfie said.

''Come to think of it, I hadn't told Iori yet. Why I wanted to become the Demon King and bring peace to the world.

　I certainly hadn't heard of it.

'It's a good time to tell you about my brilliant half of life.

...... Does it have to be now?

　Somehow.
　I had an ominous feeling, though, and that's what I heard.
　Elfie shook his head.

'Before we fight Ortegia, I want Iori to know.

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

Actually, it's not that big of a deal.

...... All right. Let me hear it.

　Then Elfie started to talk.
　The story of the past.

◆

''With the three Demon Clans I've selected, I've filled the holes in the Four Heavenly Kings. As for the Five Great Demon Generals, I've already made a list of candidates, but I'll put it on hold for now, and we'll proceed with selecting them again after the war is over.

　In a room in the Demon King's Castle, Lefise Gregoria was in conversation with Ortegia Van Zarefedra.
　With a document in hand, Lefise proceeded with her report without stagnation.

'The report is confirmed. If you are the one you chose, there will be no problem. The quality is somewhat lower than it was thirty years ago, but it's inevitable. You and I will have no choice but to make up for the lowered quality. As for the Five Great Magistrates, that's fine. As long as the labyrinth has fallen, we can't leave our personnel to play around,''

　While munching on the cooked meat, Ortegia also returned the words without stagnation.
　A large amount of food was lined up in front of the chair that Ortegia sat on.

''The gate (gate) can be used, but what will you do?''
"You are forbidden to use it in any way until I give you permission to do so.

　At Ortegia's words, Lepheese made a somewhat surprised expression.

''Why, I wonder. Through Ortegia-sama's Demon King crest, the magic power to open the gate to near the limit has been accumulated, though.''
Just in case.
...... Yes, sir.

　Gates are quite important in this war.
　If included in the strategy, the Demon King's army can gain a significant advantage.
　Blocking it must mean that there is a reason for it.
　Without asking any more questions, Lefise nodded.

'Also, have everyone but the warriors head underground. Instruct them to go inside the thing, just in case.
Ha!

　Then they exchanged a couple of words and Lefise ran out of the room.

◆

　Six days later.
　The defenses of the Demon King's territory were broken through from three directions: the north, east and south.
　The allied forces crossed the sea and rushed into the Demon King's territory.

　The movement of the alliance army was halted by the Ravas Fort and other forts, but that was only for a time.
　In the blink of an eye, the fort fell, and the Alliance army pushed forward towards the Demon King's Castle.
　In order to stop them, the army led by the newly elected Four Heavenly Kings begins to move in.

　--The war has begun.