--The center of the Demon King's territory, the Demon King's Castle.

　It's said that there was a castle town around it (...).
　Those who had no way to fight, those who abhorred fighting, women and children lived there.
　The castle town has now disappeared without a trace.

　In its place is a moat that surrounds the castle without gaps.
　The inside of the moat was filled with blue flames that must have been fixed by some kind of magic.
　It looks just like the Demon King's Castle in the game, but it's quite a pain in the ass to actually go over it.

　In order to enter the inside of the Demon King's Castle from the front, one would have to cross the moat, send down the demons on guard, and smash through the gate.
　In fact, thirty years ago, they did so.
　They filled in the moat, smashed the demon tribe, destroyed the gate with advanced magic techniques, and pushed their way inside.
　Naturally, if they did that, the demons and demonkind inside would overflow.
　Even with my brave strength, I remember that I struggled a lot.

　We had room to deal with them before, but not this time.
　So the conclusion we came to was a simple one: just don't go to the front.

　Sneaking past the surveillance, the idler grasped the structure of the Demon King's Castle.
　He also asked them to investigate the types of wards set up in the Demon King's Castle.
　He then figures out the easiest passage to get into the castle.

　The sound of destruction that can be heard in the surrounding area should be reduced to as low as possible by the idler's magic.
　Then, I sneak up to the Demon King's Castle and use Elfi's "magic legs" to cross the moat and approach the Demon King's Castle at once.
　Finally, I use a spell-diversion to partially remove the wards on the Demon King's Castle and break through the walls to get inside.

　With this, I was able to enter the Demon King's Castle.

"...Guy?

　The first thing I saw when I entered was the sight of several demons that had frozen in astonishment.
　I struck a merciless attack to the point where their eyes were peeled back and they stopped moving.
　They were annihilated by my slash and Elfi's demonic eye that was released without a pause.

''Ha, hahaha ....... I thought I was dead when they found me all of a sudden. That's right, if you smash through a wall, they'll know no matter how much you've been oblivious ......
'Good thing I caught you off guard. If they had called for reinforcements here, we'd have been in trouble.

　The only people around seemed to be the demons that were here.
　Fortunately, no one else heard the sounds we just made and came over.
　Nevertheless, it should be noticed soon enough that we've broken in.
　Or they've already been made aware of it.
　We need to act fast.

'Muguugu ...... I was complicit in this, but this way of doing things is evil ....... I knew this was going to happen, but I feel like there's something very cunning about it. Taking on the Demon King's Castle head on is the royal way .......

　With Elfie muttering with a bitter expression, I turn my gaze to my surroundings.
　The interior is made of black steel, just like the exterior, and has no decoration.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

It's a lonely place. If I was a glamorous person, I would decorate the castle a little more lavishly.
''The Demon King's castles of the past were more opulent and gorgeous. Only Ortegia would make such a drab castle.
Don't waste your breath.

　Even as he did so, the destroyed walls were repaired and completely blocked up.
　The Demon King's Castle was created using the first Demon King's mental image magic with the magic power of the current Demon King.
　Therefore, as long as the Demon King is safe, the Demon King's castle will be restored even if it is destroyed.

Just to be sure, I'd like to advise you again, sweetie. As long as you're inside the Demon King's Castle, you won't be able to sense the magic outside. You will not be able to sense the magic outside as long as you are inside the castle, so be careful when things happen outside.
''Mm, it's the effect of the Demon King's Castle. Except for those who are recognized by Ortegia, they will be cut off from all magical connections to the outside world. Well, it won't have much to do with us, I suppose.

　As Elfi said, it's not such a big disadvantage in a situation where there are no companions other than Berdia.
　However, it must be borne in mind that the battle situation between the Demon King's army and the allied forces will be impossible to grasp.
　If we don't take our time, there's a risk that 'Rain' and the other Four Heavenly Kings will return to the Demon King's Castle.

''Let's go as planned.

　Before entering, I've decided on about a dozen different actions to take after entering the Demon King's Castle.
　We will act accordingly and act quickly.

　The idler will use his magic to make sure that the eyes are safe to see in the direction he is going.
　Then, as a precaution, Elfie uses his magic eye to check for traps, and moves on.
　I avoided fighting to the maximum extent possible, and gave top priority to heading down to Ortegia.
　This is the basic policy for this time.

''It looks fine.''

　I nodded to the idler who finished checking and proceeded to the floor formed of black steel.
　Walking inside the castle, which is arranged in a miserable black, reminds me of the time when I came here thirty years ago, even if I don't like it.
　The color and atmosphere are the same, but the exterior and the inner structure are completely different.

　What goes through my head are the many instant-death traps that were in the former demon king's castle.
　Even Ryusas's magic detection couldn't find them completely, and there were many close calls.
　The end of overcoming that was waiting for Elfi, right?
　Now that I think about it, I was probably being led under Elfie's thumb at that time.

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

　Pointing to the door, Elfie nodded with a coy smile.
　Then he opened the door without making a sound as it was.
　I've confirmed that there are no demons ahead.

　Elfi nodded again and stepped into the room.
　I followed suit, just before I stepped inside.

''Iori-kun!''

　It was right after the idler grabbed the hem of my clothes and stopped.

'--what.'

　Elfie, who should have stepped into the room, had disappeared without even leaving a trace.

◆

　Apparently, they had been transferred to another place.
　Staring at the large door that hadn't been there earlier that appeared in front of him, Elfiszak concluded that.

　The fact that he was transferred even though his demon eyes couldn't find the existence of the trap, the trap must have been set up so that his demon eyes couldn't notice it.
　However, I don't think there are any traps that can't be detected by your own demon eye - the "demon king's eye".
　If so, the trap was not there when he confirmed it, and the trap appeared after he finished confirming it.
　In the Demon King's Castle, there is only one being capable of such an imitation.

''...... an abomination.''

　Despite the bitter expression on his face, Elfiszak never fails to check his surroundings.
　Despite being relocated, somehow the enemy could not be seen.
　At the same time, there is no way to get back to the original room.
　All there is is a large door in front of me.

'You're being invited,'

　With that understanding, Elfiszak decided to proceed.
　It was because he had such a prescient certainty that he should proceed onward.

(As soon as the transition was triggered, his plan to reach Ortegia without being distracted was ruined.)

　Okay.

Demon King Punch.

　Elfiszak slammed his fist into the door.
　With a roaring sound that could be mistaken for an explosion, the iron door bounced into the room like a bullet.
　Elfiszak's red eyes narrowed sharply as he saw that the iron door hit something that was in the direction of travel and disappeared without a trace.

　What was beyond the door was a room of a different aspect from the one before.
　Unlike the red carpet on the floor, the glittering chandelier that adorned the ceiling, and the corridor that was all black and unadorned, that room had color.
　The room was flamboyant, as if it could have been filled with nobles and royalty, but it was filled with a heart-gripping weight.

　At the far end of the room - in the direction the iron door had flown - there was a throne.
　And the one sitting there is the one who sits on it, scattering the heavy pressure in the room.

'You're finally here.'

　His voice sounded cold and low, as if his blood was freezing.

'----'

　Jet-black twin horns that seemed to pierce the heavens.
　Silver hair that seems to be trapped in the light of the stars.
　Golden eyes and black robes woven with magic.

　I always thought it was like looking in a mirror.

　The difference is that her body has none of the ups and downs that are characteristic of women.
　And the emblem that crawls across her skin is probably dyed red like blood.

　Its name is Ortegia van Zahlefeld.

I thought I would never see ...... your face again. --Elphiszak Guildegard.
"I've been waiting to see you for the last 30 years. --Ortegia (・・・・・) and Zahlefeld (・・・・・・・)

　The one who once stood at the pinnacle of the demon race and the one who now reigns at the pinnacle of the demon race.
　With a low voice, they called each other's names.

◆

So, it's not going to work out as planned?

　Seeing the hordes of demons rushing in from behind me, I wanted to click my tongue.
　Immediately after Elfi disappeared, the demons appeared as if they had been waiting for us.
　Unavoidably, I was forced to end my search for Elfi and proceed ahead with Idler.

''Whoa!　It's coming!　The yucky ones are coming after me, and they look delicious!

　The drooling, quadrupedal dragons that chase after you are known as "Tyrant Dragons", and they do not live in the labyrinth, but rather in the vicinity of the Demon King's territory.
　They don't live in the maze, but rather in the vicinity of the Demon King's territory.
　They are known to be dangerous demons that will never miss their prey and will devour both humans and dragons at the first sight.
　I'm sure you'll find more than thirty of them coming towards us, pushing away their friends first.

'What are you going to do, Iori-kun!　Do we fight here?　I'm going to fight!

　The idler is jittering around with me carrying him, screaming in tears.

It's no good. I'm sure that even if we were to kick those guys out, they would still be swarming with reinforcements. We should move on and not deal with them as much as we can.
All right!　Well, then, "Let there be light."

　The idler's eye-crushing attack, which I had seen before, exploded on the violent dragons.
　Multiple screaming roars could be heard from behind me.
　I ran as fast as I could to match their timing and pulled the rampaging dragons apart.
　He leapt at the same time as he turned the corner and stuck to the ceiling.
　He slowly descended to the ground when he saw the angry tyrannical dragons pass by unnoticed.

''I thought I was going to die out of nowhere. ...... Dozens of tyrannical dragons are a joke. That's one or two in the innermost part of the labyrinth, that's a bad demon frame level monster.
That's good. I can still handle it at that level. More importantly, the problem is Elfie.

　Now that they're divided, the top priority is to join up with Elfi.
　However, even the idlers haven't been able to find Elfi's whereabouts.
　Rather than looking for him in the dark, it's more likely that he'll be able to join up with Ortegia if he heads to her location.

''It might be a little tasteless. Since it's her, I'm sure she'll manage to make it through if she's only surrounded by demons. ......
No wonder you're in such a hurry. Idler, are there any enemies in your direction of travel?
There are some big demons here. But I don't see any demons at all.
It's strange. It would be nice to have at least a demon tribe to watch over you.

　No matter how many personnel are out due to the war, it's still unnatural that we haven't encountered the demon race so far.

"Ortegia must have known that we were going to attack, so maybe they dared to evacuate us.
Evacuation?
''See, with you and Elfiszak against them, a comparable demon race won't even be able to hold them back. So maybe that's why they sent you elsewhere to prevent you from dying in vain.
...... I don't know if it's to prevent us from dying in vain, but I'm pretty sure they're deliberately keeping the guards only on demons.

　If there are no guards by design, then there must be some kind of trap set - but

...... Looks like you're doing okay so far. I've seen a few instant death class traps, but they're all only at a level you can get past if you're careful.
'Right. Anyway, report anything unusual to me immediately.

　I can't shake the feeling that there's a bad feeling.
　There's definitely something going on.

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

　And apart from that, there was an inexplicable feeling of discomfort.
　I didn't know what was wrong with me.
　It was weird.

　I used my idler's magic to block out the signs and get closer behind the demons.
　While they were silent, I put them together and cut off their heads.

　The demons that are wandering around, there are individuals who cannot be fooled even by the idler's air blocking.
　We proceeded to take care of the demons that inevitably hindered our progress, at the very least.

"!

　Suddenly, what sounded like an explosion could be heard from the upper levels of the castle.
　It wasn't that loud, but it was definitely.
　It was probably Elfi.
　The fact that it was coming from the upper level meant that they might be fighting Ortegia.

'It might not be good if we don't hurry.
Hey, Iori-kun.

　Suddenly, an idler walking next to me called out to me.

'Do me a favor,'

　I was about to tell him to do it later, and then I kept my mouth shut at the seriousness of his expression.

'What's going on, all of a sudden?'
Please, I need you to take down Ortegia.

　Her peach-colored eyes look straight at me.

'It's important to break my curse, but even more importantly, if we let Ortegia loose, this world will be ruined. It may not be right to ask you from another world, but please, by your own hand, I want you to return it to what it should be.
I'm going to do that without needing to be told by ....... I will kill Ortegia by any means necessary.

　Reassured by the answer, the idler huffed and smiled.

'Yeah. If you say so, it's a relief.'
Why would you say that?
Well, I thought it would be nice if my cute little girl could motivate you by asking you to do something. In fact, he was cute, right?　Isn't it a thrill?
I didn't feel anything, though?
Isn't that a terrible reaction?

　I feel like I'm getting used to talking to the depressing idlers.
　When he showed up with Berdia, I was thinking that it would be better to kill him before he did anything to me.

The fact is, I've been devoted to guiding Elfiszak since he was kidnapped, and both you and Verdia are too hard on me. ......
Of course.
Shit. If you mock the sweetest girl in the world, you'll be punished for it. You could have praised and honored me a bit more ......

　I decided to ask Idler, who was puffing out his cheeks, because it was a good opportunity.

'Hey, Idler,'

　"Idler, the Grim Reaper.
　You are, in fact.
　What is your real name?

Maybe...
......!　Iori-kun, the enemy is coming!

　As if to interrupt the question, the idler shouted sharply.
　The roar of a violent dragon could be heard from behind.
　Although there was still some distance between us, it was clearly advancing towards us.

''Let's move on!''

　It was the moment I pulled the idler's hand and was about to run.

'------ Iori-kun!

　The idler grabs my hand and pulls me forcefully to him.
　As it is, he pushes me backwards.

'Hey, what?'

　Faster than I could say, a tremendous roar rang out.
　It smashed through the walls and magic flew into the castle.
　I reflexively defended myself with magic, but the tremendous power of the magic made me retreat.

''You've shot magic into the Demon King's castle, ......!

　His eardrums shook, and a high-pitched keening sound rang out.
　Without a care in the world, he released a whirlwind and blew away the dust cloud that covered his vision.

'Idler!'

　I turn my attention to the idler who pushed me away.

'------'

　Idler was lying on the floor.
　There was a pool of blood on the black floor, I noticed.
　The idler sank into it.

　Most of the lower half of his body was obliterated.