After the fight with the brave man, Zegert let out a small breath.

'Well done, Zegert-sama.
A little crunchy, but not my enemy.

　Zegert sniffs at the odds of his entourage of avian beastmen - Sigmund.

"I'll call for reinforcements to the Demon King's Castle, Sigmund.
More...?

　Of course, there was no need for reinforcements, since they had actually already won a complete victory over the brave army.
　We have another objective.

''I want to summon the Demon King here.''
But will the Demon King come in person?

　Sigmund asks quizzically.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it. My opinion is that it's about 50-50. He seems to be a little suspicious of me.

　Well, it's not unreasonable.
　Zegart laughs inwardly.

I need to know him. How he thinks, how he fights, what he cares about. What do we fight for? The parts that are strong and the parts that are weak.

　Zegert growled.

"How will we respond to the reinforcements? How would you respond to the reinforcements?

　I pick up the brave Miracle Armor lying at my feet and lightly put some strength into it.

　Vn.........!

　With a dull thud, the armament glowed.
　As if in response to Zegert's will.

"And when all is ready, I will strike him down.

　A flame of fierce ambition burned in the Beast Emperor's eyes.

　　　　*

　The Demon King's Castle...

"Zeggert is outnumbered?
Yes, sir. I received a message from the Fourth Army with such a message.

　Stella reports to me.
　The audience with all the Demon Army Chiefs together has already broken up, so it's just me and her here.

''Pushing Zegert into a corner...''

　After all, this time's heroic army seems to be more fierce than last time.
　Or perhaps there might be a Four Heavenly Holy Sword (Sacred Edge) class.

''Shall I send reinforcements to them?　Regal, or perhaps Judas, although he's a bit of a character and a bit of a dullard...

　Based on their combat abilities, either of those two would be the right choice.

　It would be Regal, after all.
　As I thought about it, a chill ran down my spine.

　What is it...?

　It was like a gut feeling.

　It's not an ability as a demon king.
　It's a power I've had since I was a human.

　A hunch, a warrior's hunch.

　That instinct told me that I had to move.
　It was my turn to make a move.

"Regal and Judas are on standby. I'll have them defend the castle and prepare for new enemies.

　Me standing up from my throne.

I'll take the reinforcements.
Master Freed himself...?

　Stella seemed surprised.

''It seems the enemy is stronger than last time. The morale of our allies will be boosted if I repel the brave men and women. I don't want the other soldiers to be upset because Zegert and his reinforcements were defeated.
You have an eye on the future of the war, I suppose. Nevertheless, I...

　Stella's expression clouded over.

'Are you worried?'
I believe in your power. Just.....
"I'm the greatest demon king who ever defeated the King of Light!

　He chuckles, half-jokingly.

'Don't worry, you'll be waiting for me.'

　For a moment, silence.

　Then Stella took a small breath.

'Now, please take this with you.'

　Stella bends down in front of me.
　I cut off a strand of her silver hair.

I'll tie this on Master Freed's finger.

　And he wrapped it around my fingertips.

'What's this?'
It's a form of communication. If there's an emergency, I can send you telepathic messages, images, etc., through this hair.
That's handy.
...be careful, Mr. Freed.

　Stella stood up and stared at me.

'And the enemy, and...'
I know. I'm aware of that.

　I knew what Stella was going to say without having to tell everyone.

　The brave army, of course, and Zegert never let up.



　I've arrived at the battlefield where Zegert and his friends are.

"Demon king, thank you for your service.

　The golden lion-beastman who greeted me bowed to me.

''How is the war going?''
"Our brave Fourth Army has made a clean sweep of the brave men.

　Around them, there was a sweltering smell of blood and a pile of corpses.

　The brave men seem to have been wiped out.
　Apparently, the war situation has changed drastically on the way here.

　They didn't need me to come down to reinforce them.

I was bothered by one of them. He asked for reinforcements, but I and my men managed to get them back with some effort. I'm sorry to have caused the Demon King to go on such a fool's errand.
Well no, I'm glad we won.

　As I said it, I bit my lip under my mask.

　I would be lying if I said I felt nothing at all when I saw the corpses of hundreds of brave men and women.

　But I'm the 'Demon King'.
　For three months, I've spent time with many demons.

　It's a war, so I have no intention of saying that one side is good and the other is evil.
　As expected, I don't harbor such green ideas.

　But I want to protect the people I care about.
　It's not going to change when I was a human hero and now that I've been reincarnated as a demon king.

　The people I care about now...

What's the matter, my Demon Lord?

　Zegart grinned and looked at me.
　I felt like he could see right through me inside.

''Well I admire your bravery.

　I look back at the Beast Emperor through my mask.

'Great battle result. Well done, Zegert.
It's a pleasure, sir.

　Zegert's grin deepens.
　The edges of his mouth flipped up to reveal long fangs.
　And.

My Demon Lord, we have an emergency.

　Suddenly, Stella's voice rings out.

　It's as if the voice is echoing directly into my brain.
　It seems that the voice can be heard through her hair wrapped around my finger.

''The Hellfire City Jiregga and the Black Thunder City Bardos have been attacked by heroic armies, respectively. I'm not sure if the city's garrison alone can hold them off. Shall we send reinforcements?

　Jiregga and Bardos are the second and third largest cities in the demon world after the royal capital, respectively.
　So it's a simultaneous two-point attack there?

"Send Regal's Second Army to Zilegga and Judas' Fifth Army to Bardos. I'll be right back.
Yes, sir.

　Communication with Stella is lost.

　As long as it's not too much of an opponent, Regal and Judah will be able to handle it well.
　However, this isn't always the only enemy force that comes in.
　There's a possibility that the third and fourth waves will come in addition.

"──Demon King-sama...

　Zegert said, confirming that hunch.

'It's a new move,'

　I turned around and saw the reinforcements of the brave army approaching.