What's a blow?　And yet, to be able to wipe out a mountain...

　Stella murmured dumbly next to her.

　Fortunately, the demons didn't seem to have been affected.

　The area where the brave men were located, the floor, walls and ceiling are all gouged out.
　If my aim was off, I would have wiped out the demons as well.

"Shooting the most advanced flame spell, 'Mega Fire' without a chant... That's very impressive, Demon Lord!

Uh, not exactly.

　I scratched my cheeks with a plop and corrected Stella's words.

'That wasn't 'Mega Fire'. It's just 'Fire'.

　Let's look at the description again.

　Fire: The lowest level of fire magic. Its power is low, but its activation speed is fast.

　
　And even with that, this power....

　The level of 4000+, far exceeding the previous demon kings, is nothing to write home about.

"Eh?　What?　I, that's "Fire"...?　Demon King, you must be joking...

　Stella also rolled her eyes, as if she couldn't keep her cool beauty expression as expected.

　I didn't intend to kill the brave men.
　I just wanted to get rid of them.

　But──I feel relieved that I was able to protect the demons who were being slaughtered in front of me.
　There was no pity for the brave men.

　Maybe it's because I was betrayed by Lyle, and I myself was distrustful of people.

''Demon King-sama!''

You have saved us!

　The demon soldiers rushed to my side.

　Human and beast forms, bird forms, undead and dragons.
　They all look like monsters.

　But I didn't feel scared or creeped out.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　It was like my heart was being healed.

　After being betrayed by Lyle and seeing the brutality of the brave men and women just a moment ago, the heart that had been on the edge of tears.
　Now, it's strangely warm.

　It's a pleasure to help someone, to be appreciated for helping someone.

　I can remember the feelings I had when I became a hero.
　I clearly remember the feelings I had almost forgotten.

　Ironically, becoming a demon king.

　You'll be able to get your feelings of bravery back.



　After that, there was no enemy attack, and I had to rest in my private room.

　As I lay down on the rather large bed, I immediately felt sleepy.

''A lot has happened in one day...''

　I murmured sullenly.

　The final battle with the Demon King Yurisha.
　Lyle's betrayal of Lyle, whom he had believed in.
　The fact that he died once and came back as a new Demon King.
　And the fact that he fought to protect the demon race from the brave men.

''What should I do now, I........''

　To live as a demon king means to become an enemy of humans.
　Even if I was a brave man, I couldn't choose this path.

　But I can't just abandon the demon race for good.
　Other brave men and women might also attack.

　Once again, the slaughter might be carried out as we saw earlier.

I didn't know that such an atrocity was going on.

　I know that there are not a few brave men with personality problems.

　However, none of the brave men I've fought with so far had that kind of fighting style.
　Even though they were looking for honor and power, they knew the least amount of warrior courtesy on the battlefield.

　Maybe it's because I didn't have much of a chance to fight in partnership with any other brave men other than Lyle, but those guys are different.

　But those guys are different.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a good deal more than you think.

　Just remembering it makes me sick to my chest.

　I wonder if there are other brave men and women out there who would do such a thing.

　
　When I woke up, it was already morning.

'Maybe, but...'

　Because when I look out the window, it should be morning, but it's as dark as night.

'Morning and night are almost the same...'

　According to legend, there is no light of day in the demon world.

　It is a world of darkness.
　This is the demon world.

　I wonder if it's my ability as a demon king that I can see the scenery clearly in spite of the darkness.

　I got off the bed and left the room.

　I have no idea what I'm going to do now.
　In the meantime, let's go get some fresh air to assess the current situation and wake up the sleepiness.



'You're a wreck...'

　I looked up at the castle.

　The demon king's castle, shaped like a huge tower, was half collapsed.
　Since Lyle and I had gone through the underground tunnels, I wondered if it was the brave men of yesterday who destroyed the castle, or some other brave men.
　Or is it another group of brave men who destroyed the castle?


''I'm sure there are some demons who were killed.

　........I'm surprised at myself for reflexively thinking such a thing.
　The way I think, I'm completely leaning towards the demon race.

'Do you want to walk?'

　My head was hazy.

　I wanted to shake it off, so I took a walk and started to walk around the castle.

　...and 20 minutes later.

'I'm perfectly lost, man.

　I scratched my head.

　The outside of the Demon King's Castle was just huge.
　As I walked, I lost track of the original entrance.

'I should have asked Stella to guide me...'

Oh, Demon King. Good morning!

　There was a rather bright voice and a demon tribe rushed over.

　She's a vivacious-looking girl with red hair in a ponytail.
　She wears a simple leather armor.
　Her bare arms and thighs are white and dazzling.

　

''Ah, yesterday's--''

　He was the captain of the demon soldiers who were fighting against the brave army.

I'm Lilim Bargamougou, the captain of the castle's security force. I'm the commander of the castle's security force.

　Lilim salutes with a big smile.

''Ah, it's the Demon King!

Good morning, Demon King.

　And even the other soldiers came over.

'Are you guys okay, are you hurt?　We got rid of the human army, so why don't you take a break for a while?

　In fact, some of the soldiers are clearly not looking well enough to heal their wounds.
　I'm getting worried.

''My Demon King, please show mercy even to the likes of us...''

What a generous king.

Our demon king!

Our demon king!

　Suddenly, they all started praising me.

　No, no, wait a minute.
　I was just worried about you guys.

　Isn't the reaction over the top...?

''Ugh, this time the Demon King is a good man.......he won't have to be treated as a discarded pawn anymore.......''

　Lilim is in tears.
　I wonder if the previous demon king treated his soldiers badly.

"An abandoned pawn...?

　I mutter with a sigh.

　I, too, have had to die a terrible death, haven't I?
　The man I loved, the man I felt like a disciple, the man I felt like a son to, he betrayed me and killed me.

...hmm?

　At that moment, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

　Something, is there.
　.........I think.

　I brought up a list of available spells.



　Homing Ray: A tracking-type magic bullet. It automatically chases and attacks only those that the surgeon recognizes as enemies.




　I can find one of them that looks just right.

''Homing Ray.''

　I cast a spell.

　The white ball of light shot out of my hand and flew behind me.

　Dogo...........

　It causes a huge explosion.

　When I turned around, I saw a five-meter-long beast lying on the ground.

　No, if you look closely, it wasn't a beast.
　It's a quadrupedal beast that looks like a machine.

"An autonomous miracle armor?

　There are several types of Miracle Armament.

　There are armor types that are used as weapons, and wearable types that fuse with their owners to give them power.

　The autonomous type follows its owner's orders and acts on its own volition.

　It's not supposed to be able to give very complicated orders, so it's probably ordered to 'kill the demons as soon as you find them'.

The Miracle Armor released by the other brave men...?　Or is there a new guy in there?

　Either way, it might regenerate if left unattended.
　I released 'Fire' to make it disappear completely, just in case.

''Anybody hurt?''

　I look around.

'It's okay!'

Because the Demon Lord has protected us!

　The soldiers shouted cheerfully.
　I was relieved.

''This swift response and your generous heart that never forgets to care for us.......as expected of the Demon King!　That's great!

"Sasmao!　That's great!

"Sasmao!　That's great!

　The call for "sasumao" arose immediately.

Oh, oh....

　Anyway, I feel like every time I do something, it's in honor of me.

"There may be other autonomous miracle armor out there, and I'll just sweep them up...