I rode the Underworld Dragon Belga Elfida - Bells with Stella and came to the deepest part of the southern region.
　We lowered the dragon in front of a canyon that was shrouded in deep mist.

"Good work, Belle. From here, we'll continue on foot.
"Thank you, Belga Elfida, the Dark Lord dragon.

　Me and Stella thanked Belle.

''Originally, I'm the Demon King's personal rider. I've given you a special ride because you've been so good to me.

　The black dragon said and shook his huge body.

''Then you'll be in Hellhound form from here on out.

　Pop, smoke, and turn into a cute dog form.
　It's in Hellhound form.

'Kyawaw........'

　Stella's eyes sparkle and she picks up the dogified Belle.

''Oh, he's so cute ... fluffy~''
Oh, here, there, give me some more strokes.
Hmm. How's that?

　Stella strokes the area under her chin with her supple fingertips.

''Fenyah.''
'Oh, you're really cute. Rubbing.

　Stella lowered her eyebrows and rubbed her cheek against Belle with a big smile.

　She had completely changed her character.
　Where did the cool girl go?

Okay, I'm sorry.

　Noticing my gaze, Stella blushed and became upright and immobile.



　Me, Stella and Belle proceeded down the canyon.

''Hey, hey, Stella knows that the Demon King is a former human, right?''
''Wha...?''

　Stella's face stiffened when Belle asked her.

''Well, Demon King-sama...''
Yeah, he could tell from the smell and stuff. I've kept quiet about it to the other demons, so it's safe.

　Me nodding to Stella.

　There are not a few demons who hate humans.
　It's not a good idea to reveal the fact that I was a human being, even though I was.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about it.

It's a good thing that I don't like humans either. Or rather, what about Stella?

　Belle inquired.

'You seem strangely loyal, don't you care that the Demon King is an ex-human?'
''........Fried-sama fought to protect the demon race. Even though he was a former human, he fought against the human heroes.

　Stella quietly, but with strength, tells him.

'I believe in this person's will to 'protect the demon race'. Therefore, I will support this person.
Hmm.
Don't you agree?
''A lot of demon leaders don't know what they're thinking. I've seen the previous generation, and the one before that, and the one before that... and the one before that... and the one before that... I've seen many demon army chiefs with a lot of bellies.

　Belle laughs.

'But you seem to be different. There was a whiff of truth in what you just said. I like it better when it's that simple. Yeah, really simple.
...maybe you're being subtly stupid?

　Stella raised an eyebrow.

'I didn't. Besides, Stella's stroking feels good. And it's true that she's likable. See, most fluffy?
Oh, okay. Well, be my guest.

　The serious talk from earlier was nowhere to be seen, and Stella quickly lost her chemistry.

''Mufufu, your touch feels so good........''
Oh, and behind the ears.
Hmm, is this it?
Yeah, yeah ............................
"Dear Mr. Freed, my enemy...

　Stella suddenly turns a straight face.

'Huh?'

　It was great that he didn't neglect to properly search for the enemy while fluffing up.
　That switch was so sudden that I was confused.

　The next moment, a black shadow appeared from behind the fog.
　It's about twenty monsters.

''Demon race...?''
No, it appears to be a magically created biological weapon.

　And, Stella.

　Oh, oh, oh!

　The monsters roared and attacked us.

　Probably, they are a group of people with a good amount of fighting power.
　If we were to talk about the human standards, we could feel the hint of a powerful magical power of a class that the lower-ranked heroes cannot compete with.

　However...

"'Laguna Bomb'

　For now, I wiped them out with bombing-type magic.
　All the monsters turned to dust and disappeared.

''It's still a blink-and-you'll-miss-it!

　Belle said, neither smiling nor dismayed.

'I'll be back,'

　Stella warns.

　This time there are about fifty monsters.
　Is this another magic weapon?

"'Fire'.

　He blows them away with fire magic.

　But after a few more steps, we run into another group of monsters.
"How many more of these things are there?
There appear to be evenly spaced points of monster appearance for interception.

　Sighing, Stella explained to me.

''Even my 'eyes' can't completely see through it. There seems to be an effect in this fog that interferes with or blocks magical power.
I guess we'll just have to proceed with caution.

　While saying that, I shoot them all with Burst Arrow.

　I can't afford to be held back by these people.
　The sooner we get to Judas, the better.



　The road to Judas was mostly uneventful.

Energy Hand.

　Fling the monsters away with their magical arms.

''Aquablit.''

　Water bullets pierce the monsters.

The Wind.

　The wind magic blows the monsters away.

　None of these guys, who come out by the dozens, were my enemies.
　Eventually, I reach a place deep in the canyon.

"This is...

　We stopped in our tracks.

　It was a little different than before.
　There were a number of swords and spears sticking out of the ground.

　And they are not just weapons.
　This sign...

Miracle Armor...?

　But the brave men who invaded the demon world were all either defeated or driven away by me.
　I'm sure no brave man has ever attacked this place.

''Has a brave man ever attacked the demon world before?
''No, the last time the Hundred Braves invaded should have been the first time...''

　Stella responds to my question with a puzzled answer.

''Then what is this...''

　I tried to get closer to where the sword and spear were propped up.



'That's my research material, so don't touch it.



　A voice, I hear.

　I turn to see a boy standing there.

　　　　*

　In the forest, the training of the brave men and women was taking place.

　The second invasion of the magical world will take place in a little more than two months.
　It's the training for the candidates to participate in this operation.

　The selected heroes are wielding armed Miracle Armor, such as swords and spears, or autonomous Miracle Armor.
　Or they can use the autonomous Miracle Armor as their own hands and feet.

　These are fierce men who could defeat mid-level demons on their own.

　And then one of them noticed something and stopped his sword.

''That was...''

　A kind of black mist is rising from the grass.

　No, it's not fog.
　When I got closer, I saw that it was emitting a mysterious, jet-black glow.

　It's a piece of metal about the size of your palm.

"What is this?

　He tried to pick up the piece of metal.



　Behind him, a scream rang out.



''What........?''

　He turned around in surprise and saw a sea of blood all over the place.

　The brave men who were training had fallen to all of them.

''What in the world...?　Gahaha!

　The next moment, he was pierced by what looked like an arrow.
　No, it wasn't an arrow.

''Feathers........?''

　An arrow of feathers that pierced even the iron armor.
　The brave man fell as it was and became motionless.

''I've found it.''

　A silhouette like a bird──the demon race Sigmund advanced slowly.

　He picked up a piece of metal that had fallen on the grass and smiled.

''Piece of the Demon King's Sword.......you can report well to the Beast Emperor (Gigantroa) Zegert-sama.