The Hellhound is running around inside the Demon King's Castle, that is.

''Oh, I'm sorry...''

　Stella was hemmed in.

''That's a precious thing that has been passed down to the Demon Lord for generations. To have it taken away from me...''
Don't worry about it. I'll get it back for you soon enough.

　For Stella's sake, she's depressed.

Tell me where the hellhound is.
Yes, sir.

　Stella nodded and opened her third eye.
　She searched with her clairvoyant eyes.

''You are currently on the third floor of the royal castle. It looks like the guards are chasing after you.''
All right, I'll be there.



　When I went to the third floor of the royal castle, I saw a number of soldiers running through the corridor.

　Hmm, where's the Hellhound?

This thing is fast!
He's disappeared.
Hey, relax, we're going faster than you can go at full speed and it's biting us!

　The soldiers are in an uproar.

　When I looked closely, I saw what looked like a black flash among them.
　Could it be - is that a Hellhound?

　They were moving so fast that they could see the afterimage.
　The guards were completely unable to keep up with their speed.
　Was it because of this overwhelming speed that they were easily allowed to enter the royal castle?

　And then the hellhound stopped moving.

　A dog whose entire body was completely black.
　It was less than a meter long and had a golden crown in its mouth.

　Stella said this guy was a demonic beast, but on the outside, he's just like a normal dog.
　He's round and cute.

"Leave it to me, Demon King!

　It was Lirim who advanced.
　I heard that he was leading the soldiers and hunting down the Hellhound.

We're going to get them!

　You're a fighter.
　Hang in there, Lilim.

'I'm growing even more than usual~!

　And Lilim extended his slime arm like a rope.
　The slippery arm extended and approached the Hellhound at breakneck speed.

　But.

''........Oh no, fast~!''

　The dog quickly accelerates and slips through Lilim's arms.

　Can it still accelerate?
　I'm the only one who could barely follow it with my eyes, but the other soldiers don't seem to be able to react.
　Lilim's slime arm also only grabs the air in vain.

"d*mn it, get him!
"The Demon King's crown!

　The soldiers chased after him in unison.
　The Hellhound sloshed through them as if to mock them.

''Shelter.''

　I use my magic power to create a dome with a radius of a few meters.
　The Hellhound stops moving.

'There's no way to escape with this.

　I'm inching closer and closer, while at the same time reducing the range of the shelter.
　No matter how fast this guy is, it doesn't matter how fast he is, as long as he limits the space he can move super fast.

　I was able to catch it without much effort.
　And then...

Ugh.

　With a small bark, the Hellhound's body floated up.

'This guy...?'

　In the next moment, the Hellhound flies at breakneck speed while in the position I've caught it in.
　Towards the wall of magic power.

　Are you planning to break through it with a body blow?
　I hurriedly deactivated the 'Shelter' magic.

　The wall built by the Demon King's magic power would not be able to be breached by at least a bodily blow.
　But the Hellhound might get injured.

''Gahhhh.''

　The Hellhound jumped out of the castle window with me and went in a straight line through the air.

'Hey, where are you going?'

　I'm holding on to it to prevent it from shaking me off.
　I put up a defensive field of magic power in case of wind pressure and frictional heat from the air.

　The Hellhound kept flying.
　It leapt up to an altitude of about 1,000 meters and moved forward from there.
　It accelerated rapidly.

''This thing is going to fly until it shakes me off?

　I'd like to lower it to the ground while I catch it, but I can't find a suitable magic.

　In the meantime, our flight speed continued to increase.
　The air around us became red hot, and we flew through the sky with our glowing red tails trailing behind us.

　In the meantime, the landscape below us changed.

　From a grassy field to a wilderness.
　More black mist rutted across the ice field like a pool of darkness.

Where am I...?

　The white of the ice and the black of the fog spread out all over.
　The Demon King's robe has a cold-resistant feature, or maybe it's just a little chilly.

''It looks like we've reached the outer edge of the demon world.

　I heard a voice.
　The hellhound looks at me.

"You can talk?
Who do you think I am?　I'm a lot smarter than most demons.

　A huffing and puffing hellhound.
　His voice and tone of voice sounded like a teenage boy.

　The Hellhound slowed down its flight speed and eventually stopped in mid-air.

'The outer edge........is that the edge of the demon world?　So this is the view...

　It was the first place I had ever seen.

　The Devil's World is, simply put, a huge land area shaped like a rhombus.
　The four regions from east, west, north, south, and west spread out to surround the royal capital.
　There are many unexplored areas on the outer edges of the land, and there are still many mysteries to be solved.

''What? You don't know?　You're the new Demon King, aren't you?

　That being said, I haven't been a Demon King for a very short time.
　There are many things about the geography of the demon world that I still don't understand.

''Hmm, that smell........could it be a former human?''

　The hellhound's golden eyes narrowed.

　It gawked.

''Oh, figure~ ... hmmm...''

　You are a bumbling hellhound.

And you've got some divine power inside you. I can smell that too.
...the power of God?

　What are you talking about?

'I just wanted to say hello to the new demon king, really.

　The Hellhound sniffs again.

'I stole the crown, too, hoping to lure you in.
Why did you even bother doing that?

　Why don't you just come and see me normally?

'It's a bit of a prank, isn't it?'

　The Hellhound said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I've changed my mind. I'm a proud rider for the Demon King. I'm not going to let a former human being have my back.
I see.

　Well, there's no point in pushing it.

''There's a replacement Demon Dragon, I'll take that one.
Oh, yeah, okay, so?
No, you said you didn't want me on board.
No, no, no, no, no, no. That's where we stop them.

　A forceful hellhound.

'You're the only rider I've ever had,' 'Please let me ride you, my lifelong partner,' or something like that, right?　Do you have one?
You can't force a guy who doesn't want a ride.
Stick with it!　Good luck!　Hang on!　Please, please, please~!

　The hellhound is becoming more and more desperate.
　This guy.........is he just being a picky eater?

Okay, you know what? I'm gonna test you to see if you're a natural candidate for the role of Witch King.
I'm not.

　I don't feel comfortable.

''Even though I'm a former human, I'm still the Demon King who inherited the sigil. Then show me your power and follow me...!
Listen to me. I'm talking to you.
Okay, let's get started.

　The next moment, a tremendous amount of energy radiated from the Hellhound's entire body.

''Wha........?''

　I was blown away by the pressure of the surprise attack.

''Windburnia.''

　Use a wind spell in the air to control your attitude.
　He also slows down his fall and lands slowly.

"That was...

　When I looked up, the Hellhound was surrounded by a pitch-black aura.
　Bam, bam, bam, bam, spreading red sparks, its body became huge.

　A huge body covered in black scales.
　Leathery wings.
　Sharp claws and fangs.

''You are...''
"I am Belga Elfida, the Dark Lord dragon.

　Once again, the jet-black dragon said in a solemn tone.

"The strongest dragon that has obeyed the Demon King for generations and flown over many battlefields as his rider.