I told you I was going home, didn't I?

　It took a long time to summon the Demon King-sama. Naturally, it would take the same amount of time to prepare a return trip.
　It's a problem on the summoning system's side.

　I don't know if [Lightning Hero] Skaha was thinking that far, but as a result, he succeeded in holding back the Demon King-sama.
　Defeating the Demon King is the role of a brave person.
　As a 【Brave Man】, this is the right action without more.

　However, it's different from what's possible.
　At the very least, it's not a wise idea to attack the Demon King alone, with the Holy Sword lost and wounded.

　Of course, knowing that, there are situations where you still can't retreat.
　He had lost all of his fellow members in the same party, and he himself was also badly wounded. He must have thought about it.
　What could he do?　What should we do?

Well I must apologize to Remegaton for that. A king consuming the prey under his command...

　The Demon King-sama had been suppressing his power to the limit all that time.
　Otherwise, the breakage of the Holy Sword and the Demon Sword would not be enough to cause that much (,,,,) damage.

　That's why he avoided Skaha-san's kick(,,,) and prevented the 'Lightning Region, Guiding Needle'(,,,).
　Don't make the mistake of killing him.

　However, Skaha-san is the fifth ranked adventurer in the world and is the fastest in the industry.
　The king couldn't help but put his hand out to the swift and bold attack that blocked his way home.
　Fist, one.

　With that alone, it was erased from Skaha-san's right half of his body.
　While taking damage that would have killed him if he were a normal human, the [Lightning Hero] still tried to unleash his spirit art.

　However, along with the thunderbolt, there was something that clung to him.
　It was black, reminiscent of the darkness of the night that was about to be swallowed up, a flame.

''... a reward for your masterful skill and persistence. I will let you die with the flames of the demon world.

　The names given to the depths of the spirit arts, such as "Flame of the Gods" and "Heavenly Garden," give us a sense of heavenly existence.
　It's like borrowing the reasoning of the world in which such beings as gods and angels live.

　There used to be such a thing on the side of the demon race as well.
　The counterpart to the heavenly world, the demon world.
　Most of the demons that use the magic said to originate from the demon world are owned by the 【Demon King】.

　It's not that unusual for a magic used by a demon king's owner to use black flame.
　It's a flame that burns with life. Creatures that are on fire will burn black until they die.
　Lucifer-sama's is an order of magnitude more powerful.

"...then...

There won't be a next time.

　The black flames raged as if they were eating Skaha-san, and with the disappearance of her magical body (avatar), it disappeared.
　Only the Demon King-sama was left behind.

　For a moment, I felt like I met eyes with the Demon King-sama.
　She then leisurely split the space and disappeared.
　[Lightning Hero] Skaha challenged the Demon King, and then she was defeated.

　◇

　The first person to drop out of the final area was Skaha.
　There were five adventurers left.

　[Immortal Demon] Benuu is engaged in an aerial battle with [Lake Brave] Wraith.
　While blowing blue flames, Benuu avoids the wind blade. As it is, he approaches the wielder, Wraith-kun.
　If Benou releases a fireball, the boy deploys his 'Air Shield' to prevent it.
　After confirming that, the next fireball avoided the shield.

''........Ah, yes.''

　Wraith-kun has trapped the fireball that he pulled to the very edge - in a small 'air box'? The fireball is unable to head towards Wraith-kun, as if it had hit something.

'Excellent accuracy and speed.'

I guess it's not just magic for you, either. Could you be the floor boss?

Phew!

　I think it's safe to leave things to them.

　The same is true for the match between the hero of the demon sword, Helwor, and the strong arm of the silver sand, Belito.

"That's good, isn't it, Belito.......!　But I'm still--soft...!

　Two arms as big as a golem on a human body.
　They clashed head-on without mercy, with one side being a rugged giant rock and the other being silvery white armor.

　The weight of each hit is higher for Helu.
　But in terms of the number of hits, Belito has more.
　And as for the strength of his arms - Helu's seemed to be better.

　If the fists collided with each other, only Berit's side would get a dent. Although he immediately tried to repair it with his natural dexterity, Helu-san's attack gradually grew more and more caustic, and he found that the awareness he devoted to repairing it was being squeezed.

'Then I'll fix it as many times as I can, until I hit you as many times as I can.

Great, let's just punch each other in the face until one of us can't stand up.

　There's no need for me to mess with the four great spirit contractors and those who settle things with their fists.
　You might as well say that Aerial-san won't let you mess with him.

　His 'Heavenly Box Garden' is capable of swapping space.
　It seemed that he was using that ability to keep his fellow fighters out of the way.
　At the same time, it might also be for him to focus on his own battle.

''Wraith........''

　【Destructor】 Fran had lost her right giant arm that carved destruction like a natural disaster within her reach.
　The magic outflow was also severe, a serious injury that would normally prevent her from walking.
　Even so, the girl still proceeded to walk to get as close to her childhood friend as possible.

　Aerial-san didn't interfere with that either, and she reached right underneath the air where Wraith-kun was fighting.
　Guh, Fran-san put strength into her legs, but her body did not bounce like a spring.

''........Black Magic?''

　These are the goblin [Black Mages] who practiced in the [Elementary, Beginning Dungeon]. The one with the staff pointed it at her and seemed to have applied a 'slowdown'.
　Fran-san looked up once more, and then bit her lip. A small, muttered whisper.

''Don't interrupt me,''

　The one who stepped forward was [Generous Sage] Ronoway.
　His endurance is extraordinary. He even fought with Nicola's older brother, 【Vajra's Brave Man】Philip, and continued to fight without stepping back.

That was a nice kick. Wouldn't you say it was the end of the world?

　Like me, he has a different tone of voice in his demon demon body (avatar).

''Okay.''

...what?

　Koten, her head turned to Ronoway and the others.

'We'll break everything and go to the Wraith.

I'm underestimated.

　Even in front of the battle-hardened Orcs, Kobold and Kobrin, Fran-san's face has no expression on it.
　They were excellent demons who had withstood the training of me and Fourcas-san and never neglected to improve themselves thereafter.
　They have the ability to make the 'all levels' dungeon known to those in the know.

''Underestimate?　No, the enemy is the enemy. That's all.

　However, it seemed that to Fran-san, the enemies were only enemies in equal measure.
　The demons rushed to the 【Destroyer】 while shouting heroically.

　On the other hand, 【Gale Hero】.

''Skaha-dono!''

　Is it a sign of growth that he was concerned about Skaha-san who had exited, but not having his consciousness pulled to that side?
　He even had time to shoot down the wind blade that suddenly attacked him with the same amount of wind blades.

　Ewan-kun is growing at a tremendous rate through this raid battle.
　No, having learned to behave as a 【Brave Man】, has he been able to demonstrate his abilities?

''Oh, you're excellent, boy.

If I'm not mistaken, aren't you a [brave]?

　Smiling, Ellie smiles.

'Then what?'

　Ewan-kun made a reluctant face at Ellie's attack.

''I don't understand. An adventurer taking the side of the demons.

Who needs to know?

　At Ellie's teasing words, Ewan-kun looked at her with a huff.

''.......No, no. I'm going to defeat you and save my friends. As long as it's that clear, it's enough.

　The upset had already subsided.

'Good girl. I was angry when that man sent me away, but it's okay. ''It's Ellie, the immensely brave man. Just like my boy, I'm good at the wind attribute.

'.........Gale Rider] Yuan, I will win.

　Mr. Aerial carved out a battlefield in The Celestial Box Garden.
　Sometimes, even flying people through entire spaces.

　Bennu vs. Wraith.
　Belito vs. Helvall.
　Fran vs. "Elementary and Beginning Dungeon".
　Ellie vs. Ewan.
　Aerial vs. Remegeton.

　In the midst of the concurrent phases, I had ordered one of my three direct subordinates, [Unicorn Poet] Amducias.
　Black Searcher] Phoras is standing by my side, while [Devil's Eye Assassin] Botis is hiding in plain sight.

''Amdusias, do it.''

Okay. Well then, good luck, everyone~

　She has a spiral horn growing out of the center of her forehead, and is currently in human form. She can also take a horse-man form, and although her main job is as a [trainer], she has an aptitude for fighting, and is said to be good at singing.
　She has long light purple wavy hair, and eyes that are narrowed into an arc-like shape. She has a soft demeanor, but it may be a rare talent to be able to fight while maintaining it.

　Countless Alraune and the others responded to her instructions with a "Wow~". A plant-based sub-beast, a demon in the form of a human.
　They are all juvenile individuals in appearance due to Amducias' taste, but they obey their master's orders.

''Folus, be a shield for a while.

Ha.

　For a while, we must focus on one thing.
　Watch.

　Arraune and his men are scattered.
　Anyway, they are going to be spread out over the whole field.

"....Arlaune...

　Aerial-san seems to have confirmed this, but chose to wait and see.

"Wow, I ran into a wall!" "I went forward but I'm oops!" "I came back!" "I can't go to my uncle's place!" "Is there a way to go?

　'Heavenly Box Garden' is a spirit art of space control.
　Just like I did with Agares-san, by swapping spaces, I can also place parts of the enemy's body in a different space.
　And just like that time, just by swapping them around, they are still connected.
　As long as you don't break the spatial connection further from there.

　Let's say we divided this final area into countless blocks.
　Suppose the blocks were arranged in order from '1'.
　Under normal circumstances, '1' would be bordered by '2'. For example, if you walk straight from "1", you will reach "2" right away, and so on.

　Mr. Aerial can switch the order of the blocks as he pleases.
　So a block that goes straight from "1" can be turned into "13".
　In that case, the blocks are still connected, so if you back up, you can change the order from "13" to "1".

　Only Aerial-san knew the order in which the blocks were swapped.
　Moreover, since it's up to Aerial-san to replace them again later on, it's just the depths of spirit magic.
　Right now, this final area was divided into blocks like the previous example and replaced.

　However, just like 'Flame of the Gods' was, the magic power consumption in the depths is extraordinary.
　There is a limit to the amount of magic power that can be borrowed from the spirits.

　It's safe to say that they aren't constantly being replaced, but only when it's absolutely necessary.
　I don't think it's a waste of magic power.
　It's called spatial control, but it's extremely difficult to actually seize and manage it all.

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

　See (...). No, I should say I feel it. Checking, organizing, imprinting on the brain.
　Countless arraumas try to spread out across the field. It's not fully spread.

　It's a mess. There were some individuals who followed the path of stepping over the block and then going out near the heavens, and then appearing near the middle of the floor and the heavens when they thought they had fallen from there, and then the next moment when they thought they were going to continue falling further, they would be on their asses behind Amducias.

''........Are you trying to use the vast number of Alraune to find the pathway of the box garden?''

　I'm trying to figure out which blocks are connected to each other by the movements of the Alraunees.

........Is it possible?

　Mr. Aerial has realized that this is not a challenge (...) for me.
　It's certainly extremely difficult, but I knew it wasn't impossible. But I knew it wasn't impossible.

　I've been thinking a lot about getting to know my people. Folus and I talk a lot about black magic, and we often train together.
　Amdusias has started to join me for morning runs as well.

　It's not like we're going to be good friends or anything. No, I'd be happy if we could.
　I think it's very important to know your opponent as a companion in a fight.

　Even the countless Arraune that adventurers can't tell apart, are my friends.
　They are creatures with hearts that are gently cared for and bonded with every day by those under their command.
　I personally appreciated the fact that they were modeled after people. Easy to remember.
　I also remembered the name that Amducias had given them.

　It's not so hard to remember, if you've come this far.
　I'm a bit good at figuring out where my companions' magical reactions are at any given moment and deciding how I should move.
　It's something I've been doing for a long time during my adventuring days.

　Finally, the three Alraune reached Aerial-san.
　Forward, backward, and up from him, respectively.

''Did you see that, Remegeton-sama~. Ufufu, Para, Gal, and Luca are attached~

　Aerial-san did not leave the three bodies, but picked them up and released them to the side.
　Alraune and the others went through various locations with a "wow" and eventually the bodies appeared at the edge of the field.
　Another route turned out to be found, but I couldn't use it because I needed a separate route to reach the starting point.

'Ah, well done. Follas, Amducius. We shall follow.

Yes, sir.

Yes?

　Aerial-san looks at me in surprise.

''If you're worried, why don't you switch again, [Storm Brave]

Ha-ha, it's possible that's exactly what you're looking for.

　I haven't been able to figure out the maze, and it's possible that this is a bluff.
　In that case, if you're in a hurry to switch spaces, you'll only consume magic power.

You can unravel it and come to me now. You wanted a fight, right?''

It's a vexing problem. It's a vexing problem. But first, I'd like to make sure that your plan is real. If it is, then great, it's no problem. Because a fight with you is what I want, too.

　Can you win against Aerial-san by releasing only your right arm?

　The people here are not strong just because they are 【Brave Men】.
　In fact, most of the brave parties that come to the Demon King's Castle every day have been wiped out by the third level.

　The only ones who have made it this far are only a handful of the very best among the adventurers.
　Even the irregularities, Wraith-kun and Fran-san, would have been recognized by everyone through this raid battle.

　In order to defeat Aerial-san, we need to extract a certain technique from him.
　In order to do that, we have to break through the Hakoniwa first.

''Ah, Remegeton-sama. Have you decided whose route to use~?

Gull's, but do you understand?

　The individual identification of Alraune was obvious, but whose route would they be able to find out the directions to?

''No way~. But if Remegaton-sama can do it, I think he can.

Yeah, right. Don't worry, they're not gonna do it in vain.

'Yes, let's go then~'

　We step forward.
　The landscape has switched.
　We head for the next block.
　As we move, Aerial-san's expression shifts to astonishment, amazement, and delight as we move.

''Haha... you totally amaze me.

　The familiar voice quickly returned to that of the adventurer.

'Apparently you weren't bluffing, Lord Lemegeton.

　I say in a voice that only my friends can hear.

'Three more changes of scenery and then it's [Storm Brave].