Mila has been my ally from the moment we met until today.
　But the human mind is not that convenient to stop caring about everything just because she's on my side.

　I was surprised, but at the same time, it became clear to me.

''........When I told you before that I was going to meet with Aerial-san, you said that you couldn't go with me because of a situation. I wonder if that circumstance........is this.

　Mila's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled.

''........Actually, I do. The more active Reme-san became, the more frustrated I became.......well, I began to worry that I didn't deserve to walk alongside her....... Of course I'm happy to be with you, and I'd like to talk to you whenever I have a chance.

Uh-huh.

　I have trouble reacting when people say things like happiness to my face.

　When I'm at the Demon King's Castle, we talk a lot when I have a free moment.
　Even when I'm at home.
　So maybe what she is qualified to say is--.

I know you're not a person who cares about such things. So, it's my situation (...).

　I can't convince myself of that, not because of what they think, but because I can't convince myself of that. I can't forgive them.
　I can't deny those feelings.

　I would have voluntarily left the Fenix Party if I felt I wasn't good enough.
　That guy and I are friends, but if we chose the same path and I'm inferior to him, I'm so frustrated that I can't be with him. I can't allow myself to pretend to be an equal companion and walk side by side.

''Well no matter what field you're in, if your abilities are too open, you won't be able to talk to each other, right?

　It's a little different, but it would be something like, those who don't have a contract with a spirit don't really understand the relationship between them.
　Or if I were to say, it might be like an ordinary [black mage] can't understand black magic.

　The starting point is the same, even if there is one field or profession.
　If there is something that all the people in that field can relate to, it would be the hardships and joys they experience in the very beginning.

　It is difficult for a novice to understand the hardships of those who have mastered this path. In some cases, there must be times when you can't even understand what they are saying.
　I'm not talking about good or bad, I'm just saying that it happens.

When you're struggling, when you're happy, it's terrifying to me that you're so far removed from it that you can't understand why or what it's about.

　Is that what she fears?
　That as a demon, as someone in a fighting profession, she's grown fatally distant from me.
　That we'll be on the same stage, but we'll feel separated as if we're different creatures.

　'That's not true, I can't....I can't.

'And ... it may be a bit of a stretch to say this, but ...'

What is it?

　She hesitated, but she finally spoke up.

''Ku, isn't it frustrating? I respect Reme, and I would be willing to help you as much as I can if there is anything I can do to help. But I am also a demon. I guess I'm not good enough to give up my competitive spirit just because I'm one of them.

..........

I'm sorry. I don't know, I'm sorry, I don't know, I'm talking weird.

　She flaps her hand in front of her face and waves it. It's like she's trying to drown out the words she just spat out.

'No, I'm not. I'm just, yeah, I'm very happy right now. You could say I'm thrilled.

...What?

　It was true.
　My chest is trembling.

'Would you laugh if I told you that I think of Fenix as a rival?

'Well, no way. Leme-san actually won against the [Flaming Hero]. No one would argue the significance of calling the two of you rivals.

'That's what Lemegeton was talking about. For example, what if [Black Mage] Leme said that to you when you first met him before the Fenix Party fight?

That's..... Even so, I won't laugh at Reme-san.

Thank you. That's very kind of you, Mira. But I don't think the majority of people would take it up. It's not even funny that [Black Mage] thinks he's equal to the contractors of the four great spirit bodies.

Well there will certainly be those who think that way.

　She looks pained, but nodded her head.

'Yes. But I was serious. I know Fenix better than anyone else, and I'm confident that I approve of him. But I still didn't think I was inferior to him. I shouldn't have thought so. We teamed up with each other thinking 'I can come in first with this guy. I shouldn't have lowered my value on my side.

　Even when I had to leave the party, I didn't leave because I admitted I wasn't worthy of the fenix.
　It was only for the sake of the party's survival.

Yes.

　I smile sincerely.


"So are we. (..../.../...)


Hey...

　Even if he knows what I do with my black magic.
　Or that I am the Demon Lord's apprentice.
　Or that I have inherited the Demon King's horns.
　And I knew that I could practice black magic.
　And even if you defeat the Flame Warrior.
　Even if you successfully rebuild the dungeon and win the tag team tournament.
　Even if you sign up with a lot of powerful people and are able to borrow their help.
　Even if you are involved in planning other layers of operations.
　Even if I had to take on the crazy challenge of absorbing the magic around me from my horns.

　Still, she didn't treat me as a separate entity.

　Even though it felt far away.
　She didn't give up on me when I couldn't reach her.

　She is a very, very strong-minded person.
　I respect her so much.

　And at the same time, I'm very happy for her.
　It's like meeting a survivor in a world where people have perished.
　It was a shocking and emotional joy.

'You are my benefactor, my companion, my friend ... and my rival.

　Slowly, Mira's eyes moisten.
　With a voice that seems to squeeze out, she responds.

".........Yes.

　Then she closed her eyes once.
　Then she opened them. Eyes filled with determination revealed themselves.

''I'm [Queen of Vampires] Carmilla. Remegaton-sama's first contractor, and the one who the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army play a part in. I will definitely make the adventurers look at you with blood on their hands. And I will prove that I am a demon as good as you.

Yeah.

　I, too, as Remegaton, respond to her determination.

"Hmm.

　When she finished, Carmilla turned back to Mila.

I'm scared.

Those guys are tough guys, aren't they?

Oh, no, no, not you. It's Leme.

What, me?

Yes, sir.

　She smiled very happily. Her cheeks were flushed.

'I thought I adored you more than this, but I'm already more attracted to you than I was before.

　Then he deliberately peeked his fangs out.

'Oh, if I don't, I might just suck Lemé-san dry until she turns into a mummy.

Well, that's a problem, isn't it?

　My body shuddered as I remembered the supreme pleasure I had felt when she had sucked my blood.

'And then I will take my own life as well out of guilt.

Nobody's going to be happy...

　Apparently it's a joke. In this case, though, it might be half a joke.
　Even now, she's biting the second joint of her curled index finger with a jerk. As if to resist the blood-sucking urge.

'Uh, um, yeah, so, it's the third layer...'

　Returning to the subject somewhat forcefully.
　If I don't, I'm going to willingly give myself away.
　With a giggle and a smile, Mira-san also complies.

''Yes. Honestly, in terms of simple strength, the second layer is no less than the deep layer. To capture that second layer with only two exits....they are a formidable foe. We must brace ourselves.

　The deepest level in the Demon King's Castle starts at the sixth level. From there, the recommended attack level is "5", and only the best adventurers are allowed to challenge it.

　This time, Wraith-kun and Fran-san are exceptionally allowed to capture the levels beyond that.
　Of course, as long as they make it that far.

''Right.

　The Demon King's Castle has been upgraded to raiding specifications, and the usual 'Recommended Level' of attack can't be relied upon.
　The first layer is powered up from the realm of watchdogs to the realm of watchdogs and 'hellfire'.
　The second layer was changed from the realm of necromancers to the realm of necromancers and the "Pitfall".

　An uninhabited city. As you advance, [Skeleton Knight (Skeleton)] and [Living Corpses (Zombies)] will be found everywhere.
　The latter are the corpses (avatars) of adventurers who lost their lives (and left) in the second layer. The one who controls them is 【Dead Spirit Leader Brave General】 Kimaris-san.

　In addition, the dark elf [Lerger, Hunter of the Dark Scar] lurks in that city and shoots arrows that corrode the magic body (Avatar) from the stabbing points.
　The adventurers who are able to challenge the impregnable Demon King's Castle are astounded just by the fact that they stand as demons.

　Well, it seems that he was almost wiped out once in a battle with the one from Fenix, and Kimaris-san seems to have become very depressed.
　After obtaining [Ice Hero] Beulah's magical body (avatar) in the tenth layer battle, the new adventurers who collected it are also strong.

''However, that boy is really excellent. Just the one point that he recruited Reme-san is worthy of evaluation, but he certainly seems to have enough 'eyes' to do it.

You must be a studious person, Wraith. I'm surprised, too.

　The second tier was going to be centered around the duo of Lace-kun and Fran-san.
　However, it was only a party of two people there. Instead of pushing themselves to the front, they were successfully directing the top-notch party.

　It was the Skaha Party that they mainly relied on. Perhaps they had won their trust in the previous battle, but Skaha and the others acted according to Wraith-kun's decisions.
　The other sides also moved to set up the two people as the main axis.

　Theo-san's strings were stretched out in the direction of travel to check for traps.
　The powered-up 'trap' - that is, the part of the trap - was mostly ineffective.

　Anticipating that the enemy would attack when we came to the center of the crossroads, I asked Aerial-san to make two places and Ewan-kun to make a 'wall of air' to limit the enemy to one direction.
　This is defeated by the members of the Helvall Party.

　In this way, they showed how to make the most of their respective weapons.

　What's more surprising is--" "I knew it.

"I knew it. I was blindsided by the response to [Living Corpses (Zombies)], but...

　Wraith-kun himself joined the battle.
　Fran-san's 'deformed right arm' was terrific, so much so that just by snatching it, that part of it was erased.
　Both of their battles had a charm that they couldn't take their eyes off of.

　Fran's was an overrun.
　A small body and a right arm that is too big.
　Normally, it would be difficult for her to live her daily life. But she was like a storm.

　Everything that came close to her was blown away and destroyed, sending magic particles flying.
　It's an intense violence that embodies the [job title (job)] of a [destroyer].

　In contrast, Wraith-kun is truly fluid.
　It's as if he knows his opponent very well, and he defeats the living corpse (zombie) with a perfect response.
　I had expected it like this.

''I think they were checking it out. I think I've been checking out the attack video of the party that advanced to the second level of the Demon King's Castle and had their friends turned into 【Living Corpses(Zombie)】.

　If you just want to count who has fallen, it's not difficult.
　However, in order to learn the fighting techniques of the adventurers who were turned into zombies at the second level, it's hard to study the strategies before that.

　Kimaris-san is controlling the 【Death of Living Corpses (Zombies)】, and there are two types of manipulation.
　Complete manipulation where he directly controls them in detail, and.
　There are two types of operations: full control, in which he directly controls the details, and partial control, in which he gives simple commands and leaves the rest to the living corpse (zombie).
　As long as the individual's brain is intact, it's possible to move it according to the criteria of the original body's owner.

　That's why Kimaris can control the [Living Corpses (Zombies)] while sitting in the Floor Boss Area.
　Since it's mostly partial manipulation, it makes sense to study the original body's owner.

''It looks like........................Reme-san.

Haha..... I'm not the only adventurer nerd out there with anything to do with it.

　Indeed, there are quite a few adventurers who don't watch the strategy videos of their peers.
　Many of them only check out the top ranks, the ones that are talked about, and the rest only when a promising newcomer shows up.

　Just because you're a novelist doesn't mean you can't read through all genres of books, old and new.
　You have preferences and you have your own manuscripts.
　The same goes for adventurers.

　You'll need a device to watch strategy videos, but this is not something you can carry with you on your travels.
　Inevitably, you can only watch it when you're in a city with equipment, but this is usually a job in progress.
　After work, it's dark when I finish eating or taking a bath. I'm tired and sleepy.

　The more popular you become, the harder it is to check out your peers.
　...Well, I was too busy to be the fourth party, so I was able to focus on watching videos, except for the dungeon attack time.
　While the other four were doing interviews, appearing on video boards (TV) and filming commercials.

I've collected and studied a lot of videos as a Leme supporter, but they take up a lot of my time anyway. Anyway, if it's something you like, it can't just be fun when it comes to researching for the sake of winning.

He'd do it.

　After all, the goal is to be the [Indomitable Hero].
　We will never give up and keep going until we win.

　By the way, the two exits were one from the Helvall Party and one from the Aerial Party.
　The Helvall Party was too enthusiastic about fighting against the adventurers [Living Corpses (Zombies)], who are usually unable to fight, when they were hit by Lerager-san's arrows and one of them fell.

　There was one act, such as destroying a building and burying it in rubble just to defeat Helvall-san alone, but she crawled out of the collapsed structure and laughed happily, as if it was natural for her to do so.

　In fact, Helvall's party was one of the higher-ranking parties that had a lot of exits during the attack.
　It's a powerful policy of charging head-on and doing something about it.

''Is he really ten years old.......Not only is he not terminal, he's already a terrifying boy.

　The Aerial Party's ostracist was [Gale's Hero] Yuan-kun.
　He had regained his composure and contributed to the attack after the incident where he was upset against Gura-san in the first layer.

　However, his movements slowed down when he faced Beulah's magical body (Avatar), and he took heavy damage as a result of the opening, and left the battle after a while due to a magic power leak.
　It's said that they were synchronized in the training period (school), and I wonder if they got upset.

　It's the same with Béla-san, but even people who are top-notch in terms of combat ability can fall apart depending on their mental state.
　Trying to gain experience on the big stage of a raid battle is surprisingly spartan for Aerial-san, too.

　

　In such a situation, Wraith-kun's calmness is outstanding.
　Kimaris-san was defeated before the combination of Wraith-kun and Fran-san pair.
　Since they were childhood friends since they were babies, their breathing was perfectly matched.

　The shallow layer has a good number of parties that can be reached. The same goes for the number of videos.
　And from the schedule of this raid battle, there's a limit to how much the strength of a floor boss alone can be raised in a short period of time.
　When Wraith-kun's research and countermeasures are added to that, he's as good as completely naked.

　[Brave] is an exceptional existence on its own, but apart from the element of being a 'contractor of the four great spirit bodies' like Aerial-san and Fenix, he's a threat.

''But he's going to win, right?''

　She nodded vigorously.

'Yes...!　I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you. Just like you rose to the fourth rank, I was chosen to be the Fourth Heavenly King of the Demon King's Castle. I've been watching you ever since that day. Now.........will you watch me, Reme?

Yeah, sure.

　The challengers were reduced in number to fourteen.
　The exercise of the right of resurrection for defeating the two floor bosses was put on hold.

　With fourteen players, the decision was made to advance to the third level.
　The next mainstay of the party was either the Aerial Party or the Helvall Party.

　Either way, the top three parties in the industry would take the lead in hunting vampires.

　Against this are the superior [Vampires] under [Vampire Queen] Carmilla, who will serve as the Four Heavenly Kings.
　The time of the clash is near.