Now, are you ready for this? Bring me to my knees in a show of force.

　The dragon growled provocatively as he hooked the crown on the edge of his fangs.

''If you take this crown away from me, I'll admit defeat. However...

　You drink the crown with a gulp.

'As you can see, I'm not giving you the crown unless you beat me.

　You demand that I show power worthy of a king and obey - the same demand you made with Regal.

I told you I'm riding another dragon.
You're afraid of me?
Because you want some attention, don't you?
So, buddy, buddy, buddy, I'm not behaving like this.

　The dragon is extremely upset.
　It's as if he's fessing up that he's the star of the show.

　It's a good thing.

　As for the special rider of the demon king, the demon dragon is probably more capable than the demon dragon used as a rider until now.
　When patrolling the demon world or in battle, a high-speed means of transportation is important.

　If possible, I'd like to secure a more excellent dragon as my rider.
　Besides, more than anything else.



Have strong, trustworthy subjects by your side. And as many as possible.



My senior demon lord, wasn't it?

　I think back to Yurisha's words.

'If I show my strength, you will be a rider?
If you're strong enough to get me to admit it.

　The dragon nodded.

'I promise to fly through many battles for you.
All right. I'll take it.

　I looked up at the black dragon flapping its wings in the sky.

This area is called the Deadly Ice Field, a place where no living thing lives. I'm not afraid to fight here.

　The Underworld Dragon 《Belga Elfida》 exhaled.
　The exhale became a shockwave that cleaved and shattered the icy earth.

　Just breathing is at this level?
　This guy is strong.

I'm a member of the moth family, the strongest rank among the dragon species - come on, demon king.
I'll tame the prancing horse.

　It's a dog, not a horse.
　No, a dragon.

"If they don't show up, I'll come to you, 'Shadowbreath'!

　A black lightbulb was released from the dragon's mouth.

''Runeshield.''

　I put up a magic barrier and let it pass easily.

　Then, with a levitation spell, I floated up to the same altitude as the dragon.

　Up close, it was even more powerful.
　It was a majestic appearance worthy of the strongest dragon species.

''Oh, so you're unharmed now?

　The dragon in front of me huffed and exhaled.

''The 'Shadow Breath' is a dragon breath of emptiness that wipes out everything. If it's at its maximum output, it has the power to wipe out this whole area.......
The firepower seems pretty high.
We don't want to be judged on this alone. That was just a quick check. I'll do better next time.

　As soon as he says it, the dragon spits out another round of light.
　This time, it spits out two.

　But they can't break through my magical barrier.

　No.

No. - Divide!

　Along with the dragon's spell, the two light bullets split apart and split into dozens.
　They surround me and close in on me all at once.

It's impossible to avoid them. You can't avoid this number of light bullets, new demon king?

　The dragon was victorious.

　The Four Heavenly Sacred Swords (Sacred Edge) Ludmilla fought during this time shattered the barrier by attacking the same spot in succession.
　If it received an impact equal to or greater than that time, even the 'Rune Shield' would be damaged.

　The approaching group of light bullets were at that level of power, or not.

''Lucifer's Shield.''

　I recast a higher-ranked defensive spell.
　In place of the previous magic barrier, a new magic barrier with a light purple color appeared.

　All the light bullets were blocked by that barrier and dared to dissipate.

''Endured...?
''If it was still 'Rune Shield,' it would have been smashed and damaged.

　I looked at the dragon.

''Could it be that you're stronger than the Demon Army Chief and the Four Heavenly Holy Swords (Sacred Edge), you?
I'm just a rider. Basically, I'm not a fighter.
You're so strong.
'I'd rather fly than fight, you know. I only fight when I'm in the mood.

　The dragon laughs.

'And one more thing - if it's to protect my pride. I'll fight for it with everything I've got.
Pride?　Is it so humiliating to have me on board?

　I mean, I'm not trying to force you to do anything.

'Yeah, it's the most humiliating thing I've ever done.

　The sound of the dragon's voice changes.

　From a bright, innocent sound.
　Now it sounds dark and full of hatred.

"In an era of mythology, demons and the gods fought a fierce battle...

　The dragon closed his eyes as he reminisced.

The demon army had the upper hand in the battle. But soon, the situation changed. The gods suppressed most of the demons' power and weakened them. At the same time, the humans were given the Miracle Armor.

　It was in line with what Yulisha had told me.

The demon army was defeated by gods and humans, and even afterwards the demons were hunted by the brave men and women. Many of my friends were killed as well...

　I heard a grating sound.
　It was the sound of a dragon biting its fangs.

''Is it because of that resentment that the demon race hates humans?
Yeah.

　The dragon nods in response to my question.

'Of course, I know it's not a one-sided grudge. Of course, I know it's not a one-sided grudge. They killed each other and were killed.

　The dragon took a deep breath.
　

'Killing calls for killing, and hatred is a chain of events - people and demons will continue to fight until one of them is destroyed.

　I myself have killed many brave men in the demon world and human world.

　If I didn't need to kill them to neutralize them or get rid of them, I did so.
　In order to protect the demons, there were times when I had no choice but to kill them.

''Isn't there a way to stop that...?

　It doesn't have to be pretty to get along with everyone.
　Can't we draw a line somewhere and become inviolable to each other - can't we just draw a line somewhere?

I don't know.

　The dragon's wings spread wide.

'Let's end the story, shall we? To determine your power - let's resume!

　In the next moment, the black behemoth turned into a whirlwind.
　It was even faster than when it was in its Hellhound state, super-duper fast!

Let's see if we can catch it this time!

　From there, he unleashed a triple combination: a gust of wind on both wings, a slashing wave from his protruding fangs, and a black lightbulb.

　My "Lucifer's Shield" didn't falter.
　It's a stable defense.

　The excess energy from the three strikes ran across the white and black ground and pushed far beyond.
　An explosive light flashed in the distance.

　It was an extraordinary destructive force, even more so than before.



　I scrunch up my face under my mask.

'Heh, worrying about your people in the middle of a battle?'
You're the king.
Hmm.

　The dragon growled.

　Fufu, his breath filled with flames and burned the atmosphere.
　The dark magic power spewing out of his entire body is increasing further.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

The more I fight, the higher my spirits rise, the more my reason and emotions disappear. Eventually, I will become a monster that destroys everything - if you want to stop me, come and kill me!
I'm not going to kill him.

　I focused my magic power.

　If this guy is against me, he'll be able to withstand a little bit of seriousness.

"You're going to fight with me. For the sake of the future.

　I'm going to gather a strong group of vassals.

　This isn't just to cover my strength, which is the weakness of the Demon King's Sword Piece.

　In order to end the battle between the demon world and the human world...
　I want you to be a part of that power.