I held Stella in my arms.

　Her slender body is still shaking.
　She was breathing hard and must be quite upset.

　I didn't say anything, but waited for her to calm down.
　Had I done so long enough?

''I'm sorry...''

　Stella looked up again.

'I... no, I'm not...'
Are you feeling better?

　When I asked her, she nodded her head.

　Hmm, your face is a little red.
　She's glancing at me.

You're still restless, aren't you?　You're blushing.
Huh...!　

　For some reason, Stella blushed even more.



　The next morning, the crystal that covered the castle had disappeared without a trace.
　No, on the contrary, as soon as I went outside, the castle itself disappeared.
　The next thing I knew, it was in its original place.

　It's as if the night we spent in the duke's estate was a dream.

　Why in the world did Feria do such a thing as locking us up for the night──?
　Why did she lure us to the ducal estate....

　I don't know why, but we can't stand still.

　We set off towards the outer edge of the western part of the demon world where she is said to be again.
　After advancing for a while, a huge shadow appears from ahead.

''That's........another golem!

　Lilim shouted.

　And there are many of them.
　There are probably thirty of them just from a quick look.

　It seems to be another illusion that has substance.

"Don't always rely on the Demon King. Everyone, let's go!

　The Lirim gives the order to the soldiers.

'Oh!'
This time I'm going to show you, Formation Zamato Kai!

　The air battle demons take off and release flames and lightning from the air.
　Alternatively, some dared to take advantage of their flying speed to collide with their bodies.
　Lilim also turned both arms into slime and used them as whips to attack.

''Kyaaaaaah........''

　However, the punches that the golems unleash create a blast that blows away all of the Lilim and the others together.

What power...!

　Lilim seems to have softened the impact by slimeing his body.
　The other demons also regained their positions in the air and escaped from the difficulty.

　The golems attacked further.

　The difference in power is obvious.
　The golems' overwhelming physical strength left the Lilimu in a state of war.

"If they're going to come at you with force, then I'm going to come at you too.

　I thrust my right hand straight out.

"'Storm'!

　It's a low-grade spell of the wind system.
　The storm blew in, reaping and crushing over thirty golems together.

''Wow ... wow.''

　Lilim gulps.

'We're useless we're the guards.
No, I love your spirit in the face of the enemy. When there's an enemy that can deal with you, I'll leave it to you.

　And I'll follow up.

　In fact, my magic power is not infinite.
　If the enemies are endlessly rushing in, the possibility of running out of magic power is not zero──.



　However, the enemies that appeared on the road were almost all killed in the blink of an eye.
　Every time they appeared by the dozens, I would use my low-grade magic to blow them all away.

　The opponents were not real demons or monsters, but all of them were illusions.
　There was no need to shy away from them at all.

　I will only burn, reap, crush and annihilate everything.

''Are you alright, Demon King-sama?''

　Stella asked.

'Even though you've defeated all the enemies in a single blow, it's still a series of battles. If the wear and tear seems to be too much, you should rest early.
Yeah, I'm not tired and I'm fine for now.

　I nod.

'It's all lower level magic that we use,'
I'm sorry I can't help you.
Stella's got a spotter on us. You've helped me enough.
Thank you very much.

　Stella smiled.

　Maybe it's my imagination, but her expression feels softer than usual.
　She's still basically cool, but........



　A few days later, we reached the outer edge of the western region.

　All around us are trees with odd silhouettes reminiscent of screaming humans.
　A light red blur hung in the air, and visibility was quite poor.

''The 'Forest of Demons' spreading on the western outer edge of the Demon World. This is a place where many trees with poisonous and paralyzing effects are inhabited. Please be careful.

　Stella told him.
　Incidentally, the 'dead ice field' where I fought Belle the other day is the northern outer edge.

''I'll use my 'eye' to find a safe path for you, and you demon kings should follow it.
You're in charge.

　Following her clairvoyance, we made our way through the forest.
　We must have gone a few miles that way.

Hey, look what I found.

　Lilim pointed ahead.

　Beyond the light red blur, there was a huge crystal with a strikingly red color - like blood.
　Inside it, a slender figure can be seen.

''Feria........!

　It's just like the female demon I saw in the Duke's Domain yesterday.

''It's nice to finally meet you.

　One of the Demon King's entourage and one of the Seven Great Demon Army Chiefs.

　She holds the title of Dream Demon Princess (Dead Charm), and is a member of the succubus.
　A powerful demon race that controls dreams and controls the mind - a powerful demon race.

"It looks like she's sleeping through the night.

　She doesn't talk to me like she did when we met before.

'Wake her up and the dream world will be disarmed.

　Stella explains.

'How do I wake you up?　If we break that crystal, we'll all be damaged, right?
Perhaps....
All right, everybody. In times like these, we have to be the ones who make the difference.

　Lilim exclaimed cheerfully.

'Oh!'

　The demon soldiers are getting excited.
　I wonder if they have some kind of plan to wake her up.

Look at this, Feria-sama~. I'm going to show you a special trick that I rarely show you, my slime trick.

　Lilim's arms, legs, slime and stretch in all directions.
　Furthermore, they are a parade of tricks, such as tying a bow with their left and right arms, or wiggling their legs to draw various shapes.

What are you doing...?
With all this fun and games, I'm sure Master Feria will be quite awake.

　Lilim confidently answered my question in a dumbfounded manner.

''Is that so...?''

　Sorry, but I don't think it's going to work, that plan.

　Sure enough, Feria didn't respond as if.
　She's still asleep.

"Hmm, maybe I shouldn't do tricks...
Captain, I propose a plan to catch the fish by cooking.

　One of the soldiers said.

'I see, you might wake up to the delicious smell of rice... okay, adopted.

　Lilim nodded with a smirk.

'Guys, I'm going to get the food ready!

　No, no, no, no, no, no, you can't do that strategy either.
　And.

"...you guys. You're not just playing around, are you?

　Stella glanced lightly at Lilim and the others.

'Oh no, we're very serious.
Yeah, yeah.
The odds are in my favor.
M....is that right? I'm sorry.

　Stella is confused, but apologizes honestly.

''But I don't think this is going to wake up Feria, but...''

　It was a plausible opinion.

　.........

Wait.

　I eyed the feria inside the crystal.

'My eyebrows twitched earlier.

　Don't tell me that the Lillim's plan really worked?

　Finally, Feria is going to wake up...
　The next moment when I thought that, a powerful light flashed ahead.

　And then──he appeared.

　It's not Feria, it's not.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get it right.

"Well, this can't be...

　Stella groans with a stunned look on her face.

'You know him?'
'I've only seen it in the records myself, but...'

　Stella tells me in a trembling voice.
　The blood was draining from her face.

"That is──no, that's Vrizela-sama. It's the former demon king who is known as the 'Knight King of the Slaughterhouse'.