The body of the Great Demon Emperor is still shrouded within the black mist.
However, the feeling I got from the position of its mouth......
ââis that theyâre brought to their knees.
That is from what I see.
Moreover, thereâs that definite feedback from my strike and that bleeding.......
I suppose I could really assume that the humanoid body exists beneath that mist.
In other words......
(A direct hit will go through......!)
With this in mind, I touched the necklace that Hijiri entrusted to me.
I briskly made my decision.
Any hesitation here will result in missed opportunities.
At that moment thoughââââ the Great Demon Emperor spat out something.
(A gem?)
A jewel-like object rolled on the stone pavement.
Seeing that thoughâââ I started having a bad hunch.
Thereupon, from the black mist came out a âhandâ......
A black, humanoid hand, riddled with purple veins.
It seems to be trying to grab the gem that was thrown up.
Not coming to a stop, I flicked the nearby spear up with my toes.
Kicking it up in the air......
Fwooosh!
ââcatching it in mid-air, I threw it forward.
Thereupon, the spear struck the stone and bounced off.
I didnât manage to destroy whatever that gem is, but it still flung away from the Great Demon Emperor.
The Great Demon Emperorâs hand stopped, and their faceââââ their mouth turned to look at me.
It was obvious that they were planning to do something but......
[Thereâs no way Iâd let you do as you want.]
The weapons made with my Inherent Skillâââ I sent all of them to the Great Demon Emperor.
In response, the Great Demon Emperor increased their scythe-like limbs.
Just before they increased it though, I feel like they made this strange pause.
That pause that felt like one of resignation, I wonder if itâs just an illusion?
âFor the time being, Iâll try resisting her.â
That was what I had felt.
From this feeling I got, I suppose that gem is probably some kind of means for them to escape.
[......Youâre the biggest......]
[ ! ]
[â-miscalculation.]
They spoke.
The Great Demon Emperor just spoke.
Howeverââââ I wonât let such a thing shake me.
Iâll end everything here.
I want to go back to my original world.
Of course, that is my main motivation for bringing down the Great Demon Emperor.
However, I also had other feelings within my heart.
A lot of people died in the Anti-Demon White Castle.
All by the order of the Great Demon Emperor......
(No matter what reason they have, seeing that sceneâââââ)
I will never let you get away with this.
Doshuuuun!
A flash of light surged.
[ââââNo way......]
The swords crafted with my Inherent Skill were blocked.
And the thing that had blocked it......
A katana.
[Sogou...... Donât tell me you were planning on becoming Kirihara? No, that canât be.]
Kirihara Takuto.
[I am Kirihara......]
(T/N: Yeah, I donât know what the heck heâs saying.)
Unleashed from the sideââââ was a long-distance .
Riding that golden dragon was Kirihara.
No, it may be more correct to say that heâs hiding within that golden dragon.
He has learned to use it as a means of movement.
It seemed like he was safe.
He must have been unconscious until now and just woke up.
He seemed to be bleeding, but he wasnât that injured.
[K- Kirihara-kunââââ Please! Stop interfering!]
[......I return those words right back at you.]
I immediately made my decision.
I donât have the luxury to be concerned about him.
Iâm going to knock Kirihara out as soon as possible and put an end to the Great Demon Emperor.
Making sure not to injure him, Iâll neutralize him.
For a moment, I did hesitate striking him down......
However, I immediately pushed such thought aside and tried to knock Kirihara unconsciousââââ
Klaaaang!
[ ! ]
However, my inherent skillâs weapon that had transformed to a blunt weapon was repelled.
Repelling it away was the Great Demon Emperorâs scythe-like limb.
(The Great Demon Emperor saved Kirihara-kun......!?)
[Tsk...... I canât say that was a smart move. Even so, I acknowledge what you did.]
Retreating away once, Kirihara stood next to the Great Demon Emperor.
[Why...... is a Hero from Another World like you helping me?]
[No matter how hard you try, you wonât be able to understand.]
[ ? ]
[Leave the conversation for later...... Sheâs coming.]
Iâm not going to wait until they finish talking.
I Immediately tried to unleash an onslaught of attacks against them.
However......
[âââââ!?]
Kirihara and the Great Demon Emperor worked together to defend against it.
In the current situationââââ Iâm unable to attack them at all.
If itâs just against a single person, I could have done something......
But Iâm faced against two people.
Strangely, their pace is also well meshed together.
(......No, thatâs not it. The Great Demon Emperor...... Theyâre perfectly matching Kirihara-kunâs movements! Kuhh...... Their learning ability really is quite high......)
At this point, I started getting tired from attacking.
Iâve already known that a fully defensive Great Demon Emperor is troublesome.
But now that theyâre wounded, their fighting ability is somewhat diminished.
However, with the addition of Kirihara Takutoâââ-
Iâm unable to attack, and a stalemate ensued.
As I had such thoughts in mind, several golden dragons began surrounding Kirihara.
[Great Demon Emperor...... The reason why I saved you is that the people in 2-C, including Sogou Ayaka there, just couldnât understand anything. They couldnât see the vessel of this king......]
[.........................]
[Moreover...... The Holy Alliance, including that incompetent Goddess, was unable to make use of me. Thus, I pondered. What was the problem? Thereupon, I immediately understood. Because Iâm on their sideââââ They have never met the true me......!]
The Great Demon Emperor listened in silence.
It seemed like they were somehow trying their best to understand.
[And thus, I did this. To strike them with the reality of what I am, what I was meant to be...... Having the definite being of the real king as proof......]
As if heâs trying to show it to me, Kirihara firmly clenched his upside-down fist.
[I donât have any other choice but to stand against 2-C, becoming the enemy sideâs king......]
[The Hero from Another World you is going to side with me.]
[Thatâs why I saved you.]
[......You are a strange man. I found no falsehood in your words.]
[A true king needs no falsehood. His very existence is equivalent to âeverythingâ after all.]
Kiriharaâs words could be seen as betrayal.
Hearing that really made me shocked.
No matter how I think about thisâââ-
Him actually siding with the Great Demon Emperor is beyond my expectations.
I thought that such a thing couldnât have been possible.
It feels like my mind couldnât keep up with the situation.
However, realizing that this really is happening, I tried curbing my agitation.
[Kiââ- Kirihara-kun! If we bring down the Great Demon Emperor, we will have the means to return to our world! Now is our best chance! Please! Get out of the way!]
In response to my plea though, Kirihara let out a long sigh.
[It was because I realized it that Iâm doing this......]
[Eh? You realized......?]
[If I were to go back to the original world, I probably would be unable to make use of the kingliness within me...... That world has nothing left but a sense of stagnation that makes it difficult for one to move as they please. Even within the environment I was in, no matter how successful I am, I wonât be able to break through âthe peakâ......! Iâll never be a true king! But in this world, I have the chance to even have my own country! A completely new country would have been impossible in that world! But what about here!? If you possess power, such a thing is possible......! It is only in this world that I can finally be liberatedââââ As a king, I could only bloom! No matter what anyone does...... I will only blossom!]
[What the...... What in the world are you talking about, Kirihara-kun......? Seriously, what in the......]
[Ahh, also, Great Demon Emperor...... Iâll drop the matter of you attacking me earlier...... I could see it as nothing but a joke after all......]
[......I donât really understandâââ but alright.]
With those words, the Great Demon Emperor took a step forward.
[Your words held no falsehoods...... I acknowledge...... that youâre not trying to deceive me, and are telling your true thoughts.]
Thereupon, the Great Demon Emperor stood next to Kirihara.
[I accept youâââ- Kirihara, as my subordinate.]
[! Y- You canât, Kirihara-kun! Letâs talk about this again! ......Okay? I donât know if I could be someone who could understand what Kirihara-kun meant...... but for example, if itâs someone like Hijiri-sanââââ]
[This is no time for joking, Great Demon Emperor......]
[ ! ]
Have my words actuallyâââ reached him?
[ ? ]
[Subordinate? This me? If youâre sanely saying this, things would be dangerous for you......]
[Then...... What is it that you desire?]
[It seems like you donât understand. We will only be allies.]
[Allies......]
[The Great Demon Emperor will be my ally. In other words, you and I will stand on equal footing, a king beside another...... This is the only condition I accept.]
[......................................Alright. You and I are allies. We will stand on equal footing......]
[Now I see a little bit of Kirihara in you. So youâve seen it huh, what Kirihara is.]
[ ? ]
At that moment, a golden dragon moved away from Kirihara.
I did try to make my moveââââ but the Great Demon Emperor and Kirihara restrained me.
I immediately understood that this is extremely troublesome.
The Great Demon Emperor was in perfect coordination with Kiriharaâs movements.
With the two of them coordinating against each other to fight against me, this would really be troublesome.
No, most of allââââ- Yes, most of all......
With my classmate as the opponent, I couldnât fight them seriously.
I was prepared to kill the Great Demon Emperor.
But of course, there was no way I could kill my classmate.
I need to avert attacks that could be fatal against them.
If I fought with this in mind, no matter how hard to try, the purity of my attacks would be dulled.
Yes, against a classmateâââ Even if Iâm aiming to knock them unconscious, somewhere within my consciousness, I will feel rejection in attacking them.
The brakes automatically pop within my consciousness.
At that moment, Kirihara spoke.
[Was this what youâve been thinking about since a while ago?]
Brought about by a golden dragon was the same gem that I had flicked away.
Kirihara handed it to the Great Demon Emperor.
Receiving itââââ the Great Demon Emperor firmly grasped it.
Thereupon, it started glowing.
[Kirihara...... Iâm going. Youâre coming with me, right?]
[Your intentions matter not to me...... but I have to go. For this is also the duty of a true king.]
[I understand...... Well then, we will now teleport to the farthest north.]
[! Waâââ Wait, Kirihara-kun! Itâs my fault...... Itâs my fault that I didnât face Kirihara-kun! Iâm sorry! Even though, no matter how hard I try, I canât understand your thoughts...... However, I should have tried to understand! As a result, I passively left that duty to Hijiri-san...... but I was mistaken!]
[.........................]
[Thatâs whyââââ Give me some more time! Please......!]
[Donât move, Sogou......]
With his katana at the ready, Kirihara points his arm towards me.
He was trying to restrain me, telling me that he can unleash his Dragonic Buster any time he wants.
Kirihara slightly tilted his head.
[Donât worry. Iâm going to keep the students of 2-C alive for as long as I can...... If they die, Iâll have no one to prove my true capabilities after all. Howeverâââ- Expect no mercy. At this moment, weâre already enemies......]
[Kirihara-kun......!]
Even after I throw all my words, it wouldnât work if he wonât listen at all.
My words wonât go through him anymore......
[You are...... Sogou, right?]
[ ! ]
The Great Demon Emperor spoke to me.
[Failing to kill me here will be a big mistake for you later on. You better remember it...... for this failure is something youâd definitely regret. You better wait for it...... For what awaits you is this worldâs nightmareââââ and I will trample everything beneath my feet. And...... Even though there was a miscalculation, after this battle, I completely understood. âWhoâ is the Hero from Another World that I should be wary of......]
Streaks of light in the shape of what seemed to be a magic circle appeared on the ground.
The particles danced in the air, and the bluish-white light gradually became stronger.
With eyes that seemed to look down on me, I felt Kirihara silently glare at me.
[What a shame...... However, you all were never able to grasp my true nature. You failed to see the true king. Itâs already too late to ask me to come back now...... and no matter how much you struggleâââ- Iâll have you realize it yourself.]
Kirihara, surrounded with his golden dragons, pointed the tip of his katana at me.
[And how big of a mistake youâve made. ......Keep this in mind, Sogou.]
As he was about to disappear, Kirihara only left a few words.
[You were unable to become Kirihara.]
That day, despite my efforts to persuade him otherwiseââââ-
[Kirihara-kun......!]
Kirihara Takuto disappeared with the Great Demon Emperor.
In the next chapter, we will return to Toukaâs point of view.