--You......

　The Demon King clearly had 'hostile intent' towards me.
　No, is this a killing intent?

　At that moment, a sense of intimidation (pressure), which can be felt even when wearing "divine armor," hit my body.
　Sweat trickled down my cheeks.
　When you notice, the darkness inside the demon's body is red and eerily pulsing.

　With the awakening of the 'Demon King Bifrons', who until a moment ago had only been sucked out of the magical power by a giant demon, the one controlling the place changed.

　The highest being in this place - the Demon King - has awakened.

(You have an ego, Mr. Setaker...)

　Nevertheless, the Demon King's body was in tatters.
　Although his limbs didn't seem to be functioning already.......yet, he hadn't lost his sense of intimidation.
　It had a greatness that far surpassed any enemy in the past.


...?
　The Demon King calmed his hostility and made an incomprehensible face.
　The awesomeness from earlier was ringing off, and his neat face was twisted into a somewhat sullen look.

''........Who are you?　The "human
Well, I'm a brave man who's here to slay the Demon King, but...
...Brave?
　The Demon King gives me a dubious look.
　No, it's normal, right?


...?
　Hmmm, am I still losing my mind?
　It's a conversation that's not happening.

...who am I, human?
　What a tricky question.

'The Demon King ... Bifrons ... right?
'Bifrons that's my name but you're going to disappear soon due to a failed reincarnation technique.
　The Demon King looks at his body with distant eyes.
　There are no limbs of his body grabbed by the many black arms, and he can see that his entire body is gradually being consumed.

''Even so........it's a poorly executed technique.
Is that so...?
　The art of reincarnation is too advanced for me to understand at all.

(What are you doing? !　(Take it down now!)
　Mr. Noah?

Yes, Mako!　It's not doing so well right now. You're going to have to sacrifice it.
　Eir-sama is also rushing me.

　It's true that the time limit for 'Divine Armor' is also approaching.
　Let's do it all at once here.
　I held the dagger in both hands.


　--I'm not going to let him go.


You're the messenger of the Dark Lord. It's a weapon, just like Cain. But you'll only be paying tribute to the Holy Spirit tribe with your magic.
....
　Pleading for your life...?

You'd better not use your magic to destroy me. If you sacrifice me to the Holy Spirit tribe, you'll be reborn as an asset to their war effort.
What?
(Huh?)
　Oh, you didn't know that Master Noah didn't know either?

(What?　(No, that's not true.)
　Master Noah, I don't think he knew.

"The souls sacrificed to them will be reborn as the loyal servants of the Holy Spirit tribe. I don't want to be a pawn in their scheme of things, being the Demon King and all. Besides, it's not good for you either, is it?
(Oops, I just found out.)

　He admitted it easily!　
　You planned to do that?
　That means the Shuri I dedicated to the higher demon tribe will be born as a beautiful Shuri.

Fufu, I've already been reincarnated☆ In ten years, she'll be a great hero of the Water Kingdom.
　Wow, it's outrageous.
So that's what the Sacrificial Technique/Artifacts was supposed to be used for...

(You!　You've been up to something like that with Mako!　(How dare you fool me!
(You'd be a fool not to notice.) I'm extending your life span!
Wait!　I'll tie you up in a knot.
(Caw.)
　Sounds like fun.


　I turned to face the demon king.
　He holds the dagger up quietly.

You won't... resist...?
　At my words, the Demon King's expression remained boring.

''Messenger of the Evil God. What is your purpose?''
　He returned with a question.

'Rescuing Master Noah from the undersea temple.
　There's a lot more to it than that.
　'I see,' the Demon King replied shortly, 'I see.

Soon, my consciousness will disappear and I will become an abominable monster. Before that happens, it would be a good idea to destroy me. Once I am destroyed, the source of the Immortal King's power, the magical stone, will be available to me. You, the messenger of the Evil One, do what you want with it. I don't want to be forced to be reborn as a warrior of the Holy God tribe.
Okay.

　Our first goal, the mission to defeat the Demon King, seems to be accomplished somehow.
　There is a gentleman demon king who is a reasonable man.

If you're a goddess and a hero, I'd be happy to take you along for the ride.
　Nee, and the Demon King with a fierce smile on his face.
　I knew it was scary.

(.........yes, I have to tell him that.)

Setecar says hi to you.
"...Setecar?　I remember that name.............him or that upstart.
　It's a terrible thing to say, though.

"After all the hard work I've done for you, you're still a fool to stand up for yourself.
Hey, don't talk to me like that...
　Let's just kill them all.

Hey, messenger of the gods, have a message.
...what?
It was loyalty, and from now on, be a force for the great One. Tell him so.
I'll tell you when I see you.
　In case you're wondering, does it fall into the thank you category?

Get on with it, I'm losing consciousness.
Oh!
　I'm ready, and I grip the dagger tighter.
　Then I take a few steps forward.


　--Noah-sama's dagger is thrust into the Demon King's chest.


　Instantly, an enormous amount of magic power was unleashed and blown away by the impact.

　--Ooohhhhhhhh!
　--Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
　--Oh, wow, wow!　

　A voice rang out, like a chorus of walkers from hell.
　The Demon King's body had disappeared.

　In front of me, there was a magic stone the size of my fist lying in front of me.
　I pick it up.

(Hot........)
　Not metaphorically, the stone was pulsing powerfully.
　This is the Demon King's Demon Stone........

(It's an item also known as the 'Philosopher's Stone' among the human race, Makoto.
(Oh, I wish I could create a strong, brave man with that.)
　This is ... the Philosopher's Stone!
　They say if you sell it, you get to live for seven generations!

You're not in need of money.
(Well, yeah.)
　It brought back memories of what I was taught in the water temple class.
　But I don't have any urgent use for it.
　What should I do...I'll have to talk to someone around Fujiyan about it.

　At that moment, the sun's light shone on my face.
　The darkness cleared and light shone in one after another.

(Dazzle!)

　The demon's body crumbled.
　The deformed demon that was trying to reincarnate from a demon king into something else was rotting away.

　All that was left was me and the 'Philosopher's Stone' that I held in my hand.

(Noah-sama, Eir-sama, it's over.)
　Report to the two goddesses.
　I think they were watching.

Good work, Makoto. (If only we had the Philosopher's Stone.)
(Oh, too bad. I failed to get the Demon Lord's soul.
　The goddesses saved me again this time.


　Then I felt the eyes on me.


"...the apostle-dono is alive?　Did you defeat Master Bifrons...?
　You're still here, Mr. Setaker.
　You're a very disciplined demon.

Mr. Bifrons, please try to rest.
　Setekar is kneeling in the middle of nowhere.


Speaking of which, I have a message for you.
!　You talked to him? !
　With a jerk, he turned to me with a shaky shoulder.

''It was loyalty, from now on, be that person's strength.
'Oh, oh!　........What a waste, what a waste of His words. ........to a lowly person like me.......
　Mr. Setaker is shaking with emotion.
　It feels good, though, like he's done a good thing.
　He's the enemy, in case you're wondering.

'So what do you do?　Will you fight?
'No way!　As for me, I would love to bring you on board!
No, I don't think Master Noah would allow me to side with the demon race...

(Yes!　(Demon race is a no-brainer!)
　Master Noah, it's vulgar to raise your middle finger.

　I heard you were tricked a thousand years ago.
　But I was tricked by Eir-sama just now, too.
　Isn't my Goddess too chocolatey?

The messengers of the Evil Lord are all fanatical believers.... The Word of God that you believe in is absolute!　And. Is it the same as Lord Cain....
　I don't know.
　I'm not under Noah-sama's enchantment, so I guess it's a little different for me.

Well then, wait for the Evil One to change his mind....
　That's where Setekar's words stuck.

'What's wrong?'　
"...Uh...uh...Apostle?　I mean.....
　Suddenly, Sekathe opened his bright red eyes wide and pointed at me.
　'What is it?'

"Lord Noah's Apostle!　You're petrified!
What?
　Gee!
　You're right, his left arm is petrified!
　Or rather, my body is becoming more and more immobile!

Aren't you sure the Petrification Curse isn't working?
Ah, time is running out.
　It seems that the 'divine armor' that Noah-sama put on me has lost its effect.

''And the pace of petrification is fast!　Can't you, a brave man, put up some resistance?　I wasn't petrified by surprise, like the brave men of the woodlands.
　I'm not going to be able to get it for you.
　I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

You can't solve it.
　I asked the person who has the petrifying magic eye to do it for me.
　Ah, my legs stopped moving.
　So this is what it's like to be petrified.

''Well, wait........ I can put the petrification curse on you, but I'm not good at breaking it........''
　He hurriedly wrapped his own eyes around the cloth while saying.

''Demon eyes, don't you have control?''
I've had my scolding from Master Bifrons for years!　As far as the eye can see, everything is petrified!　I don't care if you're with me or not!　You evil eye!　That's why I was always on my own!
　So that's why.
　So you were working with the apostle of Noah-sama from a thousand years ago, who is also a dwarf.
　Mr. Seteker, you're strong, but you're not the Demon King type.

　Just then, I heard someone's footsteps approaching.

"Mako!
Takatsuki-kun!
Hey, boyfriend.
　Oh, there's the Lucy we've heard so much about.
　You've all come to the right place.
　I hope you have defeated the horde of abominable demons.

Rosalie the Red Lily witch is here.
　Now that I'm out of 'divine armor' and I'm paper armored, I want Mr. Sekate to leave somewhere else.
　Rosalie-san, hayakkite!

d*mn it, you can't beat that witch!　If I could, I would have told you more about it.
　Setekar is scurrying around with a cloth wrapped around his eyes.
　You won't be able to see then........

'Finally!　Tell me your name!　Lord Noah's Apostle!
Didn't I tell you that?
　Come to think of it, you didn't say your name.
　That was bad manners.

"My name is Taka.
　Here, the petrification curse stopped my mouth from moving.
　The curse's effect, isn't it too fast?

Makoto is too weak to resist magic.
　

Next time, I'll have you tell me your name!
....
　I'm too petrified to reply, my mouth is petrified.
　Setekar spits out a discarded line that I don't understand and runs away at great speed.

　I can see Lucy and Sa-san approaching in a hurry.
　They all don't seem to be seriously injured.
　It's good to know that they seem to be safe.

(.........haha, this time too......I'm tired.)

　I can hear a grinding sound from all over my body.
　Is it the sound of petrification?
　That's a little less gruesome.

　--I'm blacked out.