Leonâs Feelings
The battle between Leon and Kazaream continued for a full day and night.
He was not simply calling himself Great Demon Lord for nothing, as Kazaream possessed an overwhelming amount of energy incomparable to what he had before.
Even after fighting a lengthy battle, he showed no sign of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Leon and Mizari were also the same, but even though they were fighting together, they were still toyed with by Kazaream.
The only reason why Leon was able to continue fighting was because Kazaream was going easy on him; Leon noticed this and ground his teeth.
âWill I meet my doom here?â Leon asked himself.
If that were inevitable, then so be it. Until Now, he had lived by crushing the weak.
Of course, when he thought about it as his own turn finally coming up, he could accept it obediently.
...No. Would that really be fine for him?
He spared no sacrifice when it came to his search for Chloe.
He even learned summoning magic himself, and had summoned several people in his selfishness.
One of them was Claude, and another was the burned girl.
Claude vowed his vengeance against Leon, challenging him countless times, yet before they knew it, his attempts at revenge had ceased, and the two came to recognize each other.
Leon believed himself to be selfish and cared not for othersâ expectations. That was natural.
He might not have been able to survive in this harsh world otherwise, finding and protecting that girl could be said to be his only reason for living, yet that seemed a dream within a dream.
Therefore, he thought, it canât be helped that he would be resented, and so he continued to cruelly cut down the weak.
That was Leonâs way of life, the true reason why he couldnât be a Hero even though he had awakened as a Hero.
A human is a creature who has a hard time understanding another personâs mind. They live without showing anyone their own mind. Therefore, there was no one with the desire to understand Leonâs feelings, even if he wished for it.
A person like Claude is an exception among the exceptions.
Ergo, he thought that for people whom he summoned selfishly had every right to enact revenge against him.
He saw the Silver Knight Alrose fall down from the corner of his eye.
Moderate Clown Troupe is a gathering of hedonists. They fight against anyone by request without any principle.
Kazaream gathered such people, possibly in part due him been warped by defeat in his fight against Leon.
It reached the point where he showed an obstinate obsession for Leon and lined up his subordinates for varied harassment.
The reason why Clayman acted hostile toward Leon could be traced back to Kazareamâs obsession.
Regardless of their appearance, these were once Kazareamâs companions. They wouldnât be weak.
No one would think that the devil called Footman with a body that fat could be toying around with Alrose and his quick movement.
Alroseâs swordsmanship was top class, but because heâs a master of proper swordsmanship, heâs weak against irregular attacks.
His weakness was seen through in no time and he received a blow.
If he hadnât gained the power of the Demon Duke class, he would be dead because of the blow just now.
Thanks to the fact that he became a half spiritual lifeform, even if he received injuries to the extent of having a part of his body blown off, it would recover in an instant. But, he might not able to continue this for a long time.
Itâs clear that Footman surpassed him in ability.
The combination of Yellow Knight Kizna and White Knight Maetel fought well against the girl-like devil called Tear.
So, it may be said that theyâre putting up a good fight. Because they are still alive.
In ability, Tear surpasses the two overwhelmingly. If Tear fought them individually, she could have reaped their lives immediately.
The pair was somehow still alive thanks to the demonâs power they gained and their combination.
Maetel canât master the demonâs power In the first place.
As she was a user of Holy Magic, her affinity with the demonic attribute was terrible.
Various applications were possible depending on the usage method, but unfortunately she didnât have enough experience.
Thanks to the defensive power of Kizna, they feel like they can get over Tearâs attack somehow by being devoted to a defensive fight.
It seemed that it was a matter of time before it be broken.
And the biggest problem was Laplace.
Heâs strong, too strong.
Heâs undoubtedly the strongest class.
Although he doesnât seem to possess any Ultimate Skill, it wonât be weird if he will master the ability once he acquired it.
Heâs still having some leeway even when the strongest knight among Leonâs subordinate, the Black Knight Claude and the Red Knight be his opponent at the same time.
ãHah. Give up, that feint is obvious.ã
ãWhoops, danger danger. That juist now almost hit me. But, bad luck!ã
ãOh, oh my? Maybe, it already ended?ã
He cracks jokes with such feeling, doing an easy attack while provoking Claude and Fran repeatedly.
As one would expect, the two people didnât get provoked.
But, as Laplaceâs aim was to make fun of the two, thereâs no sign that he would stop his provocation.
Even if it didnât disturb the twoâs feelings nor hindering the twoâs thoughts, Laplaceâs disturbing words seem to show an effect.
In addition to it, Laplaceâs attack is not out of the ordinary, but the damage seems to be gradually accumulated, it could be perceived from the movement of Claude and Fran which gradually became duller.
With an opponent as troublesome as the devil Laplace, Leon should be the one to fight such a powerful enemy.
It might be said that the situation was very bad.
Putting such a situation in his view, Leon continues asking himself.
Claude came to follow Leon, the number of his companions also begun to increase, and before he noticed, Leon became a Demon Lord.
He united the oppressed demi-humans, small and weak demon race[1] and created a place for them to live in peace inside the Great Jura Forest.
This was because taking control of a domain by force was easy to establish a new country,
His purpose was to gather information.
He only wanted people who could investigate information to become his hands and feet.
He protects them with his strength and they work for Leon to realize his wish.
On such give and take relationship, a subordinate-superior relationship was run.
He built a castle on the territory of the Demon Lords and based in there. And then he sent his subordinates to various places and collected information about Chloe.
It was at that time that he repulsed Kazaream. If he thinks about it, that was the start of their connection.
The situation wonât be like this if he dealt the decisive blow properly at that time.
It was the same when he fought Yuuki, Leon ridiculed his naïveness.
He discovered a new continent afterwards and spent his time to build the current El Dorado. When he found Chloe, he wanted to prepare a country where sheâll be able to live in peace.
Therefore, it was necessary to protect the people who lived in the country.
Leon gradually came to think about the people who follow him and the people under his protection, not just about himself.
He canât jeopardize the country which he created with so much effort.
For such reason, he decided to appropriate Kazareamâs castle inside the Great Jura Forest as his cover.
He canât help but to use it as his first castle was destroyed in his battle with Kazaream, but unexpectedly it wasnât bad.
It was really suitable as a test site where he test out various magic, Leon performed various experiments in this castle.
Because the Great Jura Forest became a sanctuary where people who feared Veldora wonât dare to enter, it was helpful to avert the other demon lordâs eyes from him.
And, it was in this castle where he did his last summon.
The girl who summoned to answer Leonâs request was suffering major burns and dying.
He was able to save her life with recovery magic. However, she will only die because she was too young to have safely crossed the word boundary and her magic essence went amok.
Then it would be better for him to let her die this way, but it might be better to make her suffering prolonged. Thinking so, Leon takes an interest in the girl.
But,
ãelp, please help......ã
The girl said so, Leon saw the strong Will to not give up in her eyes and extended his hand to the girl.
And then he noticed her high compatibility to flame and recalled the existence of the high-ranking spirit thatâs Ifrit.
Thereâs perhaps a possibility of compatibility, but if it fails Ifrit will disappear too.
Butââ
Because he only took it from Ramiris in a fit of anger before, it wonât be painful to lose it.
The girl survived splendidly.
Then, against himself, who summoned her into this world without permission, the girl has the right for revenge.
If the girl named Shizue Izawa was going to kill him, he would accept it directly from the front.
At the time the strongest and the famous Hero attacked, it was for such reason that he left without hesitating.
As he might be defeated by the Hero.
But, the Hero will surely save the girl who is a former human. He had such prediction.
After all, unlike the failure the likes of him, who was only strong, she was called as the âTrue Heroâ, the strongest title in the history.
If he thought about it, if he had met the Hero there, he might have been able to realize that she was Chloe.
But, it didnât happen.
Ironically, one came from the other side, while the other one missed the other by running away.
(What am I really trying to do.....)
Leon blows out a sigh.
Kazareamâs attack is harsh without cutting any corners. It would be naïve for him to think that he can deal with it while heâs in deep thoughts.
However, even so......
ãLeon-oniichan, you had searched for me this whole time right.
Ehehe. You see, Iâve always want to meet you too.]
He was finally able to meet her the other day.
With Chloe, whom he searched all this time.
She seemed to be fine. But, because of the curse, she doesnât seem to be able to act freely currently.
Still,
ãYou see, Rimuru-Sensei had promised me that he would surely save me.
I believe in Sensei.
The Sensei who received Shizu-Sensei, Shizu-Sanâs feelings and saved us!ã
Chloe said so with straight eyes.
The girl whom Leon saved whimsically seemed to follow a strange fate and ended up as Chloeâs teacher.
On the contrary, she met Demon Lord Rimuru and led him to Chloe.
It will be an unbelievable story to say that all of it is by coincidence.
If he didnât save Shizue Izawa, perhaps Chloe would be dead due to the magic essence rampage.
If you think about it so, then all the things that he has done all this time wasnât for vain or so he thinks.
No, he might only want to think so.
However, even soââ
He was able to meet with Chloe again in this way. Then it was enough.
(Therefore, have I been satisfied with it? To the extent I accepted my death?)
Chloe has someone named Rimuru who she can rely on.
Even if heâs gone, he can entrust her at ease.
But, is he fine with that?
Heâs conscious that he never did anything in his life that he can be proud of, but Leon thought that he canât afford to left everything to Chloe and ended up doing nothing.
Besides, he canât give up if the Demon Lord Rimuru that Chloe believed in was killed.
(I donât think that guy will be killed so easily though......)
He cannot help but to say that heâs still naïve by having such thoughts.
In the first place, he couldnât leave his important Chloe to such worthless guy.
(Ffu. I still have a long way to go. Itâs not in my character to easily give up.)
Leon, who was blown off and thrown to the ground, calmly stood up.
His eyes are calm, as his hesitation is cleared up, his body overflowed with energy.
Leon remembered the meaning to fight and regained his unbroken will.
Looking at Leon, who stood up, Kazaream knit her eyebrows.
He snickered as he would torment him after he completely broke Leonâs pride.
Apparently, Leonâs mind didnât seem to be broken yet
ãHey hey, did you get scared of dying suddenly?
You who canât match me, you wonât able to do anything even if you stood up!ã
Kazaream speaks in sickening womanâs tone in spite of her body which already turned into a stubborn man.
However, it didnât look like his sex has changed; it can be said that the only change is that his body had been optimized.
After all, his voice still remains that of a female elf.
Leon stares at Kazaream while thinking that his voice is unpleasant.
His Ultimate SkillãPurity Lord Metatronãis the ultimate power of holy attribute.
But, Kazareamâs Ultimate SkillãDominion Lord Melchizedekãis a ultimate power with both attributes of holy and demonic.
Therefore, all Leonâs attacks are counterbalanced and heâll only suffer damage from the power which exceed his.
Itâs not about affinity or anything, only that his ability is completely inferior to Kazareamâs ability.
For example, he might be able to seal him if he used Triangle Pyramid.
But, even if he honestly tries to seal her, it was bound to be avoided.
Moreover, thereâs a possibility that even his strongest sealing technique may be broken in the worst case. After all, itâs an absolute sealing barrier against demonic attribute, but Kazaream also have the holy attribute.
This side might receive a fatal attack in the gap when he tries it carelessly.
(Sheâs a troublesome opponent.)
Leon was thinking about the means to fight Kazaream while handling her attacks calmly.
ãLeon-sama, do you have a good plan?ã
Mizari asked.
ãI have none. Youâre the same too, arenât you? All demonic attributed attacks would be nullified wonât they?ãn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Mizari was in the same situation as Leon, all her attacks were counterbalanced and she received damage from the excess energy.
She seemed to begin to do some makeshift attacks, but everything was pinned down by Kazareamâs power.
Naturally, all magic was nullified. Thatâs natural, since magic doesnât work against Ultimate Skill.
ãYes. Itâs very troublesome as he has the ability with both attribute of holy and demonic.
Moreover, itâs not just that.
Kazareamâs energy when converted into magic essence, seems to be more than 3 times than mine.ã
It was a hopeless number.
Right now, Mizari is equal to Leon, as she has become an awakened Demon Lord class. Her energy also greatly increases.
But, Kazaream has a three times more energy compared to Mizari.
Comparing it with himself, Leon estimated that Kazareamâs energy[2] to be a little less than 3 times of his.
Spiritual power to handle the energy of pure light. That source becomes the aggregate amount of the holy aura which become energy butââ even in that energy, Kazaream is above those people.
As in the performance of the ability and the quantity of energy.
That doesnât mean that he has 6 times more power than them if holy and magic combined.
He was simply changing the energy with his ability.
Thatâs why, heâs more troublesome. In a word, it means he completely put the ability under control.
Just like the name, Dominion Lord Melchizedek.
ãHoohohoho. Itâs useless, useless. You two canât beat me.
Thatâs right, beg for your life. And then lick my shoes.
If you do so, I may spare your life.ã
A distorted smile floated as Kazaream suggests, but itâs useless to hear it.
After all, he didnât intend to really spare their life and only want to satisfy his desire to want to see their ungraceful appearance.
Mostly because of such warped desire, heâs going easy on them.
It was foolish, but Kazaream made that grudge his reason to live.
In Leonâs view, he can see Footman tormenting Alrose.
If things keep going this way, itâd be dangerous.
But, he didnât have any room to help him.
Although he made his mind to fight until the bitter end, the situation remains at its worst.
At that timeââ
ãBufuou!!ã
Raising a scream, Footman was blown away
âWho is that!?â Without any time to even think so,
ãAre we late?ã
ãNo, looks like we barely made it in time.ã
Such conversation was heard.
Two people were standing still without letting out any presence could be seen.
âWho are they!?â such is Leonâs question,
ãNice to meet you, Iâm Benimaru.
The number one subordinate, the faithful servant of the Great Demon Lord Rimuru-sama.
The one who bear the title of âFlare Lordâ.
I wonder who should I kill?ã
A red-haired, handsome man declares while sprouting a refreshing smile.
And,
ãFaithful? Iâm certain that you are the most insincere one though......
Youâre overshadowed next by Diablo or Zegion you know?ã
A blue-haired, handsome man standing next to Benimaru while letting out such tsukkomi.
Receiving Leonâs gaze,
ãIâm not a person worthy to introduce myself.
I will only say that Iâm the faithful shadow of the Great Demon Lord Rimuru-sama.
Well, donât worry about it.
When I kill you all, there wonât be any chance for us to meet anymore.ã
He declared so while having a fearless smile.
ãHey, you...... donât tattle about it okay? Never spread the rumor about it, okay!?ã
ãStupid, donât underestimate Diabloâs intelligence network.
Even if I donât say it, that demon will somehow hear about it.
Put that aside, donât get carried away and thinking you can rampage around since itâs been a while.ã
Although the two are joking around, theyâre not relaxing their guard at all.
Obviously indicating that theyâre not an ordinary person.
(Benimaru and also Rimuruâs shadow? To make even such people as his subordinates.)
And from their behavior, Leon realized it immediately without any doubt.
The hearsay that âthe Demon Lord Rimuru is deadâ is to deceive the enemy.
Similarly, Kazaream seemed to realize it too.
ãDonât be joking? Demon Lord Rimuru is dead.
Such small fry introducing himself as a Great Demon Lord is so presumptuous!!ã
He shouted in a loud voice.
But, that shout made the two angry.
Benimaru lose his refreshing smile and his face becomes expressionless.
The other person, Souei who introduced himself as the Great Demon Lordâs shadow is expressionless by nature, but cold light flickered in his eyes.
The two shout at the same time.
ããI will kill you!!ãã
So.
And the situation of the war enters a new phase.
[1] Itâs not the same demon like Diablo, Diablo is akuma, here the kanji is Mazoku.
[2] Itâs written as amount of holy spirit here.