That was the moment he entered the small room.

'Douchite human here?'

　A voice that seems to speak directly to the spirit.

'There you are at last,'

　As soon as they thought they heard a voice, Sotatsu descended from the ceiling, carrying a spear in one hand.

　Lara and Marlies are not able to fully react.
　When that spear was about to pierce Lara.

''Mu.''

　The spear was played against the invisible wall and that guy surfaced once more.

''What?　What the hell is that?
'Now ... something went through Lara ...'
You're both demons. Your warding spell may have blocked the first blow but be ready for battle.

　At the same time as I said those words, the two of them developed a magic formula.

''But where are you...?''
Lara!　Upstairs!

　Marise looked up at the ceiling of the cave and exclaimed.

'Kukukuu ... ningen, it's been a while. It's a good time to be here. Let me feed you, Morazo.'

　Its appearance was deformed.
　It had a human-like body structure, but its face was like a cow's.
　And it had wings sprouting from its back and was flying near the ceiling, basking in the air.

''Kurt. Is that...?
It's a dark demon, isn't it?

　Apparently, this is what I had detected as a "strong demon".

　Dark Demons are a subspecies of the demon race.
　Although I felt a little disappointed at that point, but compared to the demons I've encountered so far, it's still much stronger than the demons I've encountered.

It's the Military. It's a party hindrance. It's a party hazing.

　Essentially, the demon race can completely manipulate human language, and some individuals are even able to blend into human society.
　In comparison, the lower species of dark demons have a strange pronunciation in some places.
　Furthermore, it has a unique voice. No.........this is probably closer to a sound wave than a voice.

　When the Dark Demon announced "the party is about to begin" or something like that, out of nowhere a large number of bats surrounded us.

'You two!　You can't afford to be afraid. I'll take care of the Dark Demon. You two, take care of the small fry (bats).
Okay, okay!
If you can't do this, there's no way you're going to graduate from the school at the top of your class!

　The two of them trembled a bit, but they put together a magic formula relatively calmly.
　Just in case something happens, let's put a ward around their bodies.

　Hmm.
　I'm not worried about it.

''Hey, Dark Demon.''
What?
How long have you been alive?
"I thought you were going to beg for your life, but you're not. I am a man of 300 years. I have lived for 300 years, and I have never known you to be afraid of me, you short-lived nincompoops.
Three hundred years...
"Hmm?　What's wrong with your face?　You're scared.　Weak ningen. Gahahaha!

　The Dark Demon smiles high.

　I'm not scared.
　He is disappointed.

　Some species of demon race are quite long-lived.
　Some of them even live for more than ten thousand years.
　So........if they live for, say, a thousand years or more, I thought they would know something about the decline of this world, but.......
　It's a terrible disappointment.

"...what do you know about the decline of this world?
'Decline...?　What are you talking about?

　Still, I asked him once, but he still didn't know.
　Without knowing that I was disappointed, the dark demon continued to speak pleasantly.

"You can't even touch me.
What a surprise. I don't want to touch a dirty demon either.

　Saying that, I draw my sword from its scabbard.

''Death!''

　Fire Spears are released from the Dark Demon's hands.
　In all, twenty spears of fire coming at me.
　Among the demon race, there are many species that control magic.
　This guy must have been one of them.

　However..........

''What's the matter?　You, maybe you're even lower among the lower species of the demon race... quite weak, aren't you?

　The same goes for the Fire Spear, offsetting it with the same power.

"Wa, dato prevent my mahou?
Is that for real?

　Good grief.
　If it was like this, I wasn't going to be able to get serious again.

　They've only lived for 300 years, and I've learned that they're quite weak.
　Let's get this over with.

　I strengthened my body with Rise Power and jumped up with a kick to the ground as hard as I could.

''Mph.''

　The same eye level position as the Dark Demon.
　I raised my sword as it was and flashed the Dark Demon a single(er) eye.
　

''Feng. It's the first time I've seen a ningen using such a mahou, so I'm a bit disappointed. It's like they can't even touch me.
I told you. I don't want to touch you.
"What are you talking about?

　The Dark Demon's eyes are opened.
　My attack isn't over yet.

　I was putting magic power into the sword that flashed out.
　This is a magical technique that uses the sword's momentum and wind pressure to send magic power flying and attack the opponent.
　This is a technique I created a thousand years ago.
　Depending on how well you get used to it, you can reduce the amount of magic power consumed, and it's very useful in battle.
　This is what I called 'magical attack' a thousand years ago.

''It's boring.''

　After that, the frightened dark demon is bombarded with the magical blows of the chase.
　The Dark Demon's figure was getting tattered and its prized wings looked like trash.
　The Dark Demon was helpless in its onslaught.

''My Ningengo Kinney!

　As it is, the Dark Demon falls to the ground while letting out a scream of demise.

　He's a disappointing guy.
　I also landed on the ground, and after confirming that the Dark Demon was doomed, I tried to join Lara and Marise.

''Well.... Looks like that won't be necessary.

　In this short amount of time, the two of them had almost knocked the bat off.
　As I taught her, Lara was at close range. Marise is releasing her magic from a little distance away.

　If this was the case, it would be good to leave it to the two of them.
　It would be a good experience gain.

　I decided to sit on a nearby rock and watch the two of them fight.
　And then.........maybe after about five minutes.

''Whew!　I finally got it down!
I did it!　We've taken down so many bats on our own!

　Lara and Marise were holding hands, jumping up and down in little jumps of joy.

'You two are awesome. You seem to be doing well enough at what I've taught you.
'As for Kurt.........!　That strong looking demon from earlier is dead!
'It's true I was so distracted by the fight that I didn't notice it.
I haven't explained it yet. They're dark demons, a subspecies of the demon race.
Well, demons?

　Hmm?
　The two men leaned forward and opened their mouths with an ache.

"Demons!　If even one of them shows up, isn't there a danger of the city being destroyed...?
A higher-ranked species might be able to do that, but a lower-ranked species doesn't have the power to do that.

　Scratching your head.
　When you think about it, you two might have a point.

　Then why didn't the Dark Demon come out of this cave?
　I'm afraid I have a bad feeling about this.

Good. I'll put the dark demon inside and put it under a storage spell. Let's take it to the guild. Maybe you'll get something for it.
'I have a feeling this is going to be something outrageous...'

　The same as in the past.

　Lara was right.

'Hey!　There's that little receptionist standing there fainting again!

　When I put the Dark Demon out to the receptionist, it caused more commotion than if I'd brought the Hydra with me.

''This, this ridiculous guy... where was he?''
At the end of Payago's cave.
Back?　Maybe ... you've gone down to the lower levels?
He's gone.
'My God!　That place is also known as the Cave of No Return, and none of the adventurers who went to the lower levels ever came back!　And now.... is it weird to tell you that?
This is the Skeleton King or rather, the Immortal King, whom I defeated with a single blow on the road. We have six of them.
I don't know what's going on here!

　After that, the guild staff was busy floundering to deal with the Dark Demon.
　But you can do what you want with that part of the guild.

''Um........can I go home now?''
Wait, wait!　You haven't talked about your reward yet!　...But I'm sorry. We don't have a reward for this kind of thing in the guild right now. Could you wait a moment?　I think I could have it ready in a week, so...

　You'll be out of this city in a week's time.

　So the reward for defeating the Dark Demon will be given to me through the guild in King's Landing.
　Let's leave it at that, for your enjoyment after you return.

''And I'll also contact the mayor of this neutral city!　Where are you going?

　It's a bit of a pain in the ass to have this conversation get any more complicated and protracted.
　I'll be grateful for the reward, but I didn't do it this time because I wanted to be appreciated by people.

I'm sorry. Lara, Marise. Let's go back to the inn now.
Yes....did we do something terrible?
'I think it's preposterous enough, if not...'

　Well.
　I'm done killing time, and now it's the Empire's turn.