The battle against the Demon King was in its final phase.

''Die, brave men!''

　A beautiful woman wearing black robes - the Demon King Yulisha brandishes a jet black great sword.

　I swept it away with my right hand long sword and aimed the gun I pulled out with my left hand at the demon king's chest.

　A roar.
　The demon king retreats while bleeding from his chest.

''As expected, Master Freed!

　The boy in line next to me smiled at me.

　He had blond hair and blue eyes and a fresh smile.

　I'm forty-two years old, I'm as old as my father and son, and this guy's name is Lyle.
　I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do.

"I'm on the right. I'm going to be on the right, and you'll be on the left. All right?

Yes, now is the time to use my power to...

"By the power of my darkness, you will disappear!

　The demon king interrupted our meeting and shouted.

"'Ragnabomb'!

　A jet-black energy ball is released from the outstretched sword's tip.

"d*mn it, the highest level spell without chanting...

　As expected of a demon king, that's an extraordinary amount of magic.

"Miracle Armor 'Gram' - Maximum Jamming Interference with Magic Power!

　Quickly, I raise the long sword in my hand.

　The Miracle Armor.
　This is a sacred treasure given by God.

　My gram has the ability to interfere with and obstruct all magic.

　The black ball of energy melts away in front of me.

"My magic is a dud?

　The Demon King is puzzled.

''Then I'll have to hit you directly!

　And then he pulled out his sword and slashed at me.

　I also held up my "Gram" and fought back.

　The arms are almost evenly matched.
　I continue to receive the fast and heavy slash with my long sword.

　Now, Lyle!

　He signaled with his gaze to his beloved apprentice who was coming around from the opposite direction.

''Bark, 'Levatein'!''

　Lyle raised the great sword with its crimson blade and swung it down.
　A swirl of outpouring flames.

''Such flames - 'Rune Shield'!

　A blue defensive field appears in front of the Demon King as he turns around.

'Jamming Interference (Jamming) Maximum Deployment'

　But the Miracle Armor that I activated again caused the field to dissipate without a trace.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh...

　Lyle's fire exploded on the defenseless Demon King.

''Guaa.....................!

　It seems that Yulisha, as expected, has received a decent amount of damage from the fire of 'Levatein', which boasts the strongest class of attack power.

　She stumbles weakly and collapses on the spot.

''Now──''

　I quickly gave chase.

　I cut off its head with my long sword and scattered a rain of bullets across its remaining torso.

'Lyle, one more blow. If you leave it alone, the Demon King will regenerate. Before that, the flames of Levateen will completely annihilate it...



　Slurp.



　Suddenly, there was a hot shock at my chest.

"What...?

　For a moment, I didn't understand what happened.

　I turned around and saw a smiling face in my field of vision.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find it.

You....?

　Lyle is thrusting a large sword into my back...?

It's a very good idea to have a good time with them.

　Laughing against the flames, Lyle looked like an evil demon.

''My master is the brave among the brave that will be talked about for a long time, and I'm the bonus - but I think there's a different scenario...''

No....scenario...?

　A clot of blood gushed out of my mouth as I asked for it.
　My consciousness rapidly faded away.

'The brave man Freed died a violent death and his apprentice Lyle took his revenge - wouldn't the public be more pleased with this one?　Isn't it dramatic?

Oh, you... what...?

　I can't keep up with my understanding.

　For ten years, I was a beloved disciple who was hand-bred.

　I'm not married and I don't have children.
　But I thought of Lyle as my own son.

　Lyle also looked up to me like a father.

　I've always believed that.

　Why?

　Why did you betray me...?

"Now, blow it all away, 'Levatein' Demon King and my master.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.
　The flames that sprouted from it wrapped me and the demon king together.

　In the next moment, my consciousness vanished.


　The first memory I had was of a whole area of fire.

　I remember when I was a child, when the demons attacked my home village.
　My parents and everyone close to me were killed.

　A brave man rushed to the scene, but I barely survived the attack.
　I was left alone and struggling to survive, and eventually I awoke to the qualities of a brave man.

　I learned how to fight as a brave fighter at the country's training institute, and I quickly emerged as one of the highest-ranking heroes, fighting against many demons.

　At first, I was proud of myself.
　I was proud to be a righteous hero who protected people.

　But I soon realized that this was a mistake.
　Ugly jealousy and power struggles swirled among the brave men and women.

　A brave man dragging the feet of other brave men who have a better record than him.
　Others are cozying up to the country's upper echelons and accepting bribes.
　The brave men do not give a thought to helping others, they only seek their position and satisfy their desires.

　It is an ugly battle between the brave - or those on the periphery of it - that is truly ugly.
　Many schemes and betrayals.

　The only exception to this was Lyle.

　Ten years ago - Lyle, who was only six years old at the time, came to me as an apprentice, wanting to learn how to fight as a brave man.
　Lyle's honesty and dedication slowly melted my heart, which was on the verge of distrusting people, little by little.

　I thought of him as a friend, a partner, an apprentice, and a son.

　But in the end, Lyle betrayed me.

　Is there no one I can trust?

　My life ended in frustration....



What is this place?

　When I woke up, I was in a large hall.

　The red carpet and the opulent furnishings were laid out.
　It looks like the inside of a castle.

　But is it somewhere in the Demon King's Castle?
　It's not the same place where we were fighting earlier, though.

How is it possible to be in a place like this...?

　A shuddering pain in my chest.

'Yes, Lyle made me...'

Are you awake, my Demon King?

　When I turned around, I saw a girl standing there.

　She was wearing a black outfit that looked like a military uniform on her slender body.

　Flowing silver hair that reaches to her waist.
　Purple eyes with a mystical glow.
　A breathtaking, beautiful girl of the highest order──.

I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Stella D. Arzelwein.

　She knelt at my feet.

'Call me Stella, please. I am a faithful servant who will obey any order of the Demon King.

You keep calling me the Demon King or something like that, what are you talking about?

　I looked down at my body, confused.

　I should have been engulfed in Lyle's flames, but I didn't have a scratch on me.

　Moreover, his clothes had changed.
　Instead of leather armor, he was clad in a jet black robe that was decorated in a rather flamboyant manner.

　A long purple staff was propped up beside him.

''You still have the senses from your human days. I haven't been revived long enough, so it's not surprising.''

　Stella smiled.

　A beautiful girl who can be called the greatest of all time stared straight at me and made me nervous.

　Yeah, what am I being embarrassed about, I'm not worthy of my age.

　Moreover, the other party is not human.
　It's a demon race.

You will eventually get used to the power as a demon king.

'I don't see what you're talking about. What are you talking about now?

　I'm perplexed.

"The previous Demon King - Master Yulisha had the ability to revive.

　The ability to revive... in other words, it can bring you back to life even if you die?
　As expected of the demon king, he has an extraordinary power.

''It seems that the Miracle Armor you possess interfered with Yulisha-sama's power and caused a malfunction.

...Gram's magic jamming ability.

As a result, you, not Lady Yulisha, have the power of the Demon King and have been revived.

I have the power of a demon king...?

　Suddenly my right hand became hot.
　When I looked, I saw a red emblem resembling a six-pointed star floating on the back of my hand.

That crest is the proof of the Demon King.

　Stella tells me.

　Originally, Yulisha would have revived her, but I've been revived instead, right?
　And with the help of the Demon King...

Don't you believe it yet?　Now, look at this - 'Status Display'.

　Along with Stella's spell, a series of glowing letters and numbers emerged in the air.


　Name: Freed
　Rank: Demon King
　Overall LV: 4702
　H P: 35566
　M P: 91005
　Attack: 70330
　Protection: 45200
　Averted: 31785
　Hit: 55539

　Equipment
　　　　　The Robe of the Supreme Being
　　　　　The Demon King's Staff

　skill
　　　　　Intimidation (Lv 250)
　　　　　: Waves of miasma (Lv 536)
　　　　　: Demon Army Submission (Lv 1)

　incantation
...

　After that, there's a string of letters in a row.

'This is... this... this is amazing.

　Stella has a surprised look on her face.

　I think it's a representation of the Demon King's abilities in terms of content.

''The level of the general demon race is around 50, our executive class is around 200, and the successive demon kings are roughly 500 to 700. However, your level is much higher than 4000...!

　They literally had the wrong idea.

"Please use your power to save us, Your Majesty the Devil King.

Save it?

The demon world is on the verge of destruction. The brave men's offensive is being opposed by the chiefs of the demon army, but they are being pushed back. The keystone, the Demon King's Castle, is on the verge of being attacked at any moment.

　I see, each of the brave men who invaded the demon world are active in their own right.

"I'm a hero. I have no need to save the demon tribe.

Demon King....

"Don't call me the Devil King. I'm a hero. I'm a hero, a freedman who saves the world from demons.

　I'll tell you.

　Gosh...!

　Suddenly a distant explosion sounded from the distance.

''What...?''

It seems..... ...as if the humans are attacking us.

　Stella's expression tightened.

'Human?'

I'm going to check out the battle with my clairvoyant now.

　The eyes on Stella's forehead as she announced - a third eye appeared.

''They must think that they have defeated the Demon King in the battle just now. It seems that the rest of the army attacked near the Demon King's castle.

　Apparently, Stella can detect the situation outside the castle.

''The Demon King's Castle's wards are already not working either. The castle's defenders are intercepting us, but how long can they hold out? I was also drained to the limit of my magic power from the recent battle, and I haven't recovered to the point where I can fight.''

　She looked straight at me and said.

''You are the only one who can stand up to the humans in the current situation - I ask you once again. Please save us, Demon King Freed.

I've already told you. I'm not going to save the demons.

They will kill us all if we don't do something. Please...

　I was speechless.

　The eyes with tears in them were too sad, sad and fragile.

　For an instant, I was fascinated.