A night glowing blue.

The Hellfire currents that had blanketed the Underworld's sky sank toward the southern horizon, and in their place, an eerily cold blue current blew in from the north.

As the flame-loving beasts retreated to the scorching lands and the cold-loving ones came out to roam—

"...It feels like a dream."

Ren gazed out through the window of his guest room.

The Demon King's Palace, Rieselschat, was surrounded by cliffs on three sides. From his room, all he could see was a bottomless gorge.

White fog shrouded the bottom of the cliffs, and rising from it were pitch-black winged demons. He had no idea what they were doing, but dozens of them were flying back and forth between the estate and the chasm below.

...Like us humans, going between towns, maybe?

...This really is the demons' world.

Lightning flickered within the gray clouds.

That, too, wasn't a natural phenomenon — apparently, it was the lingering aftershock from ancient battles between great demons who'd fought over the throne, still persisting to this day.

"Now it's just whether they find the Demon Seal or not. Hopefully it's somewhere in the palace."

The dark fairies should still be searching the estate in full force right now. If they couldn't find it, his group would have to help look.

Just as he was picturing that scenario—

Knock...

A tap at the door. The room had a doorbell, but whoever it was had chosen not to use it — probably so they wouldn't wake him if he was already asleep.

"Kyelse?"

Had the Dragon Princess, who always claimed she couldn't sleep alone, snuck in here again?

"What is it, Kyel— ...Huh?"

"I apologize for the late hour."

Standing on the other side of the door was the head housekeeper, the demon Lulu. Despite how late it was, she was still in her housekeeper's uniform.

"...What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

The blue-haired girl bowed.

"The Demon Seal has been found. I've come to inform you."

"Wait, where!?"

"In the Demon King's private chambers. It seems he hadn't cleaned in about two hundred years, and it was buried under all that accumulated dust."

"...Well, glad it turned up safe."

He nearly collapsed to his knees right there. The news that the lost item had been found in the Demon King's own room was one thing, but the reason it went missing was just too sad.

"That is the official story, at any rate."

"Hm?"

"It was indeed found in his chambers, but it wasn't lost — the Demon King had been hiding it."

"...What do you mean?"

"That is precisely what I've come to explain."

The Demon General of Ice, Luluphonica, beckoned him toward the corridor.

"Now then, if you please, Fake Brave Hero Ren. The Demon King Versalem is waiting."

The Audience Hall "Lid of Subjugation"—

The same cold air and black mist as the first time he'd visited filled the chamber. Deep within, the demon sat on his throne, chin propped on one hand, looking down at him.

"You came."

The Demon King, Versalem.

In his right hand was a crystal cut into a circular shape. At the center of the flawless, colorless gem, a purple-glowing object was faintly visible.

"...That's—!"

"Yes. This is the Demon King's Seal. The power that serves as the key to open the Isle of the End."

He rose slowly to his feet.

With a small glance toward his subordinate Lulu, the lord of demons turned his back.

"Follow me. If you desire the Seal."

And then he vanished — through a door beyond the throne.

"The Demon King has his struggles, despite appearances. The way he goes timid around Lady Elise comes from genuine respect for the former Demon King... They truly are close siblings."

"Lulu?"

"I have a request."

How many times had he seen this girl bow her head today alone?

But this time was different — he could tell. This wasn't the formality of a head housekeeper. In those crimson eyes burned something close to passion.

"Please — indulge the Demon King. This is his way of showing resolve."

Night winds howled.

Swirling currents hurled gusts that kicked up sand before spiraling back into the sky.

— A dueling ground of solemn grandeur.

At its center, pale ghostfire.

The bedrock underfoot was spider-webbed with cracks from ages of weathering and the aftershocks of brutal battles, and from those fissures seeped light the same color as the ghostfire.

"The Subjugation Duel Stage."

The Demon King Versalem turned to face him, the flickering ghostfire at his back.

"The hallowed ground where candidates for the throne gather during the Demon King Coronation Ceremony. My sister Elise once fought the Five Great Disasters here as well, and claimed the seat of Demon King."

A staff in his left hand.

And in his right, the gem containing the Demon Seal — the sovereign of the Underworld.

"Human. When you seek victory in war, what do you believe is the supreme strategy?"

The meaning of those words—

Ren couldn't immediately grasp the true intent behind what the Demon King was saying.

"The answer is 'peace.'"

Without waiting for a reply, the Demon King Versalem continued.

"Cultivating a false peace to lull your enemy into complacency before striking — there is no stratagem greater than this."

"...Even if that were true, what's your point?"

"Do you believe the current era is truly at peace?"

The Demon King held the crystal high, peering up at the Seal through it from below.

Three hundred years since the End War.

In that time, countless humans must have visited Heaven, the Valley of the Dragon, and the Underworld. Yet none of the Three Worlds' rulers had bestowed a single Seal upon anyone.

Because there had been no need to.

The End War was in the past. Whatever had threatened the world was gone.

"As Demon King, I have continued to observe the surface from the Underworld."

"Observe?"

"Yes. Because I harbored a single concern — that this peace might be an artificially constructed peace."

"...Hold on. The peace we have now was born from the Brave Hero Eleline's efforts, wasn't it?"

"Your claim is entirely valid."

The Demon King nodded.

"I, too, do not doubt that man's achievements. What I mean to say is this: is it not possible that the peace he won has persisted unnaturally long? He died three hundred years ago. In that time, the peace he built may have ended, already replaced by a false peace. I cannot shake this feeling. Though I grant it is harsh to expect someone not yet fifty years old — let alone a mere seventeen — to perceive such things."

"...You're right that I'm inexperienced in that regard."

He was human.

Seventeen years was nothing to the Demon King Versalem — barely an infant. He hadn't lived through the eternal passage of time the way demons had.

The sense that the world's "peace" had been swapped out — that was a perception only higher beings who had lived across the ages could possess.

"But what made you start thinking that?"

"The gate destruction. You have seen it yourself, have you not?"

"...You mean the Silent Agency!?"

"I, too, have been monitoring the destruction of the surface's gates. In all likelihood, it is the deliberate work of some party. Heaven has surely reached the same conclusion."

A false tranquility.

The gate destruction went unseen by the public, and it wasn't an attack on Heaven, the Underworld, or the Valley of the Dragon. But beneath the surface, the world was already being eroded. That was the Demon King's fear.

"...Do you have any idea who the Silent Agency really is?"

"Naturally. And I am certain you have heard as well. Those who waged the End War against Eleline three hundred years ago. No one else could destroy the gates so thoroughly."

The Demon King's suspicion aligned perfectly with what Kyelse and the others had speculated on the road to the Vanessa Wetlands.

"But even if remnants of the End War are still out there, why go about it in such a roundabout way? Instead of destroying the gates of Heaven and the Underworld, wouldn't it be faster to just attack directly, like they did three hundred years ago?"

"Precisely. And that is exactly why I believe the current peace is a 'false peace.' In other words, they are waiting for something. Lurking beneath the surface of history for three hundred years. ...But the moment someone obtains the Seals and sets out for the Isle of the End, they will surely make their move."

That was why anyone who sought a Seal had to face judgment.

"Even if I were to grant you the Seal, it would be a disaster if you lost your nerve and fled from the weight of that responsibility. Or worse — if those you call the Silent Agency were to seize the Seal from you. You understand that, yes?"

"...Yeah."

"And — this is a personal matter."

The Demon King paused, lifting his gaze to the clouds above.

"I must determine whether you are worthy of leading my kin. Gathering the Seals and heading for the Isle of the End carries unforeseeable danger. Even my sister Elise is no exception. As the one who seeks the Seals, I, personally, will verify your qualifications."

"...All right."

The Subjugation Duel Stage — sacred ground of the demons.

He'd had a feeling this was coming ever since he was brought to this arena.

All the commotion during the day had been theater. Even the absurd lie about losing the Demon Seal had been a ploy to create this stage, free from anyone's interference.

"Bring it on. If I can't beat you, I don't get the Demon Seal — right?"

"Correct. And a deal with a demon requires an exchange. Since I will surrender the Demon Seal if I lose, you must accept one demand from me if you lose."

"A demand? Like cleaning the palace? ...But fine — whatever the terms are this time, I'll take them. I just have to win."

"A fine answer."

The Demon King's wide mouth curled upward.

"Name your terms."

"Very well. Then—"

The jet-black great demon stepped forward.

And declared in a voice that rang across the entire arena:

"If you lose, you will become my sister Elise's husband!"

"............Huh?"

"And so it is. You understand, yes?"

"...Uh? No, wait...? Huh? Wh-what do you mean...?"

"'Whatever the terms, I'll take them' — those were your words."

"Hold on a second!?"

The demand was so sudden and so baffling that his mind went blank for a solid moment, his thoughts grinding to a complete halt.

"You can't just drop that out of nowhere..."

"Allow me to explain."

The Demon King spread both arms wide and declared once more:

"That brute of a sister — all violence and verbal abuse — surely even she would settle down and become a proper lady if she were taken by a human like you. I would no longer need to live in fear of the former Demon King. Yes — this is my supreme wish!"

"That's not the point! What's this about a husband!? Did you even tell Elise!?"

"...She would tear me limb from limb if I told her first, would she not?"

The Demon King flinched, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Apparently, he'd actually pictured the scene.

"For now, we should keep this from my sister."

"No way — she'll be even angrier if you tell her later..."

"Even a Demon King has his troubles! For the sake of peace in the Underworld, I cannot afford to lose!"

"That's completely selfish!?"

"Naturally. However—"

The Demon King grinned.

Not a sneer or a cold smile. It was an expression brimming with the dignity of one who stood at the apex of all demons.

"Never forget — it is precisely that kind of brazen determination that can become the most powerful catalyst for changing the world. That man changed the fate of the world through sheer willpower. He rallied the princesses who reigned over Heaven, the surface, and the Underworld, and challenged the calamity of the End."

"Insolent wretch. Allow me to teach you the weight of defiling Heaven with your impure presence."

"Human. You dare give orders to me, the ruler of the Underworld?"

"Disappear at once. Do you have any idea who I am?"

"...You're talking about Eleline?"

"Yes. From the start of his journey and throughout, no one believed in his resolve. Not even his fellow humans."

Understood by no one, unable to find a single ally, he had traveled the world alone.

But he never gave up. His tenacity eventually reached the Archangel, then the Demon King, and finally moved even the princess of the Heavenly Silver Dragon.

"Remember this. That man — Eleline — never once raised the shield of 'justice' to justify his goals. No one was as greedy, as self-serving, and as willing to stake his life on that ambition as he was."

"............"

"What is it? Why the dazed look?"

"No... I was just thinking — you really are something, aren't you?"

There was unmistakable wisdom in his eloquence. It was different from the Dragon Emperor Calra or the goddess Resflaze — the presence of someone who had lived through the long ages was undeniable.

"I think I kind of get it — why even Lulu follows you."

"I haven't lived dozens of times your lifespan for nothing. And one more thing — allow me to teach you the law of the Underworld."

The Demon King Versalem raised his scepter high.

Jing... The metallic sound of the rings atop the staff rang out, and he waited for it to fade.

"I have kept you waiting, Morrigan."

The birds that had been circling above the Subjugation Duel Stage let out a shrill cry.

They were gray crows — each with two heads.

"Familiars?"

"Indeed. They are the ideal familiars for my judgment."

The Demon King hurled the crystal toward the swooping familiars. Before Ren could stop him, the gem arced through the air.

The twin-headed monstrous bird caught the Demon Seal's vessel in its beak.

"It swallowed it!?"

The crystal vanished down the bird's gullet, and the creature burst into a blizzard of feathers that scattered on the wind. As Ren watched with bated breath, every last feather began to writhe.

— The magic beast multiplied.

What had been feathers twisted and transformed into Morrigans — enough to fill the sky.

"Use any means you wish. Seize what you desire."

"...That's the law of the Underworld?"

"It is. Humans interpret demons as a warlike and savage race, but that is not entirely accurate. Demons are creatures of desire. Thus, our guiding principle is always 'certainty of acquisition.' It is true that most of our methods amount to taking by force, but that is merely one approach."

Take it, steal it, trade for it, or negotiate — any method would do.

The most avaricious race, and therefore the one most devoted to the surest means of obtaining what they wanted.

"In the Underworld, the strength of your desire decides everything. Now then, Fake Brave Hero — transform your desire into wit, strength, and strategy, and come at me."

The Demon King's Palace — Guest Room "Kaen."

White wallpaper lined the walls, and a lavish chandelier bearing over a hundred candles illuminated the room. Wine-red carpet covered the floor, and rare fragrant flowers from the Underworld were arranged in a fresh display.

On the sofa in that room—

"...Haaah."

Kyelse stifled a yawn before it could escape.

"I was just about to go to sleep, too."

"Honestly. Sleep deprivation is the arch-nemesis of beauty."

Seated on the neighboring sofa was Fear. She'd clearly been moments from turning in — she was dressed in a nightgown with a plunging neckline.

"What's this about, Elise?"

"Ahh, sorry about that. Looks like my little brother got all fired up. Maybe he felt like doing something Demon King-ish for once."

Elise sat across the table from them.

She was clutching a teacup of hot milk in both hands.

"Lulu."

"Here we are. Lady Elise's favorite tea."

The head housekeeper appeared carrying a teapot and cups on a tray.

She set a cup before Kyelse and Fear each, then poured fragrant tea with practiced ease.

"This is a rare tea made from dried leaves of a tree called Bloodcall, found only in the Underworld. It's the first time I've served it to a dragon and an angel, but I believe you'll find it to your liking."

"Thanks. Still, times sure change. Three hundred years ago, it was a human—Eleline—challenging the Demon King—me. Now it's the Demon King—my little brother—calling out a human—Ren. Right, Lulu?"

"Indeed. But I must say, I'm surprised none of you tried to stop this little show. I was certain you would."

The Demon Seal, wagered in battle.

The Demon King Versalem himself had challenged Ren to single combat to test his worthiness.

When Kyelse and Fear sensed what was happening and moved to investigate, Lulu had stopped them — and that was how they'd ended up here.

"This time, the Demon King chose the Subjugation Duel Stage for the fight. That arena has only ever been used for the Demon King Coronation Ceremony — the selection of the next Demon King. In other words, the Demon King considers this battle to be of equal importance. He won't hold back. Depending on how it goes, Ren may not walk away unscathed."

A declaration that bordered on a warning — from the Demon General of Ice.

Meanwhile, Kyelse and Fear exchanged relaxed glances.

"Let him do what he wants. Calra tested Ren's mettle too."

"As they say — 'if you love your child, send them out into the world.'"

"Yes. However, if Ren loses, the terms are that he must accept one demand from the Demon King."

The Demon General of Ice, Luluphonica, let a bold smile cross her lips. For someone who kept so strictly to her role as head housekeeper, it was a rare, openly defiant expression.

"Don't care. It'll be something like 'serve me for a day.' That sort of thing."

"A demand or two from a demon is a small price to pay."

Kyelse and Fear showed no concern at all. The two of them gracefully raised their teacups to their lips—

"If Ren loses, he becomes Lady Elise's husband."

Both of them spat out their tea at exactly the same time.

"...Explain, Elise."

"...Even I can't let that one slide."

They kicked the table in front of them aside and closed in on the little girl who was supposed to be their party member.

"If you lay a hand on Ren..."

"Wait, hold on — hold on! I didn't hear a word about this either! Why would Ren become my husband!?"

Elise leaped from her chair, her voice trembling with embarrassment.

"Lulu!?"

"It is the Demon King's decision. Even if you are the former Demon King, you are not the current Demon King — you have no right of refusal, Lady Elise."

The head housekeeper answered without missing a beat.

"Ren... as my husband? ...I-if that actually happened..."

Elise stared vaguely upward.

But after a moment, some thought or another crossed her mind, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.

"...That might not be so bad."

"ELISEEEEEEEE!!"

"I'm kidding!?"

Confronted by the two of them bearing down with murderous intensity, Elise finally stumbled backward.

"— At any rate, the Demon King's little diversion will take some time."

Having finished wiping up the tea that Kyelse and Fear had spilled, the head housekeeper turned away.

Her steps carried her toward the guest room door.

"Please make yourselves comfortable. I'll be attending to another guest outside."

The words carried a barb.

The faint undercurrent of hostility, however slight, was enough — Kyelse, Fear, and Elise all turned back to Lulu.

"Lulu, we've got nothing to do anyway. Want a hand?"

"You are a guest, Lady Elise. If I troubled a guest with my duties, I'd be unworthy of the title of head housekeeper."

"...All right. I'm not worried, but be careful."

"Thank you."

Elise brought the hot milk back to her lips.

With a deep bow to the little girl who was once her liege, the Demon General of Ice set off down the corridors of the palace.

The corridor lay in dead silence.

Someone was moving through it — slipping past the patrol beasts' sense of smell, invisible to the eyes of the demons who called this palace home, heading straight for a certain location.

No scent, no presence.

Even the figure itself seemed to dissolve into the chandelier light, faint and hazy...

"Where might you be going?"

A sharp click of heels echoed through the hall.

"I'd very much like to hear your reason for wandering the Demon King's Palace in the dead of night, seeing as you are a guest."

This was not the face of a head housekeeper.

The one who stood here now was Luluphonica, one of the Five Great Disasters — the Demon General of Ice. The most senior of the Great Demons, and counted among the Underworld's greatest fighting forces.

"I'll ask once more. Where are you going?"

"...I got lost."

"Is that so? Because from where I was standing, it looked rather like you were heading straight for the courtyard where the gate is located. Am I wrong, Lady Misty?"

The chandelier's glow illuminated a girl with white hair.

"A party that infiltrated the Underworld the moment its gate was shattered. Did you think you wouldn't be suspected? Or did you assume that even if you were, you could simply deny it?"

"............"

"You're the one who destroyed the Underworld's gate."

Lulu pointed directly at the silent, white-haired girl.

— the curses of Bao, the Demon General of Curse.

Every gate in the Underworld bore a curse laid by Bao, the most powerful curse-wielder alive.

Curse — triggered by anyone who approached a gate with hostile intent. And Miasma — triggered by the destruction of a gate itself.

These curses clung only to the one who had destroyed the gate.

"They're marks that can never be removed. That said, the fact that you can stand here unfazed after taking both of Bao's curses is impressive in its own right."

"...How strange."

In the same voice as during the day — completely unchanged.

The girl called Misty tilted her head slightly.

"If you already knew what I was, why didn't you attack me right away?"

"I had my suspicions, but no proof. I waited until I could extract enough information to be certain — and here we are."

"From me?"

"From the humans in the party you've been hiding in."

During the banquet—

Placing the Demon General of Wave, Mia, across from Dan and the others had been Lulu's stratagem all along.

"During the dinner, I had the Demon King wait in his chambers under the pretext of searching for the Seal. If by any chance you'd gone on a rampage at the banquet, it would have been disastrous if the Demon King were caught in the crossfire. All I had to do was eavesdrop and piece together what Mia and the humans discussed."

She hadn't told Mia about this operation.

That was precisely why Lulu had been able to gather information in the most natural way possible.

"The party called Venus Light is a very unusual group. Dan, a swordsman, is the only human. The rest are Rin — a beastfolk — and Silk, a greater fairy. With non-human members already in the mix, it was the perfect party for you to hide in."

"............"

"Infiltrating a party was also a clever tactic. Human parties that venture into hidden realms would make the ideal cover for your sabotage. But this time, you rushed."

Misty remained silent.

Understanding that silence itself was her answer, the Demon General of Ice continued.

"Your mission was to destroy the gate at the Vanessa Wetlands. You arrived at the wetlands and pretended to be lost so you could reach the gate alone. You began your attack — but then something went wrong. Dan followed you, and he got too close to the gate."

"...And how was that a problem?"

"He nearly saw your true form. The radiant form you showed when you fought us in the End War. You broke off your attack on the gate to avoid being seen. As a result, the gate barely survived — damaged, but not destroyed."

And the miscalculations kept piling up.

"You tried to revert to your human form before the swordsman spotted you. You must have ducked into the brush or something. But in the brief moment you stepped away, the swordsman himself stumbled up to the gate and was transported to the Underworld."

The result — the two of them ended up exploring the Underworld together.

"That's what I've pieced together from what Dan said at the banquet. One more thing — did you time it to coincide with Ren and the others coming to the Underworld? It wouldn't have been hard to align the timing."

She was also aware that the gate to Heaven had been destroyed at The Hegemon City Elmekia. Elise had told her. They'd surely been monitoring the movements of the party called "Knight of Reincarnation" as well.

"............"

"Silence is all well and good, but it's time you stopped doing as you please. I have no intention of letting you through to the courtyard where the gate is. If you intend to force your way past—"

Cold air bloomed.

Ice spread from beneath the Demon General of Ice's feet, icy tendrils creeping across the corridor.

"I will remove you."

"Crafty demon."

The white-haired girl looked away, as though she couldn't be bothered.

"...Count your blessings. I'm not withdrawing because I want to avoid fighting you. If we fought here, we'd drag the leader into it."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't touch Venus Light. That human... knows nothing."

The words were practically spat out.

It was the first genuine emotion the white-haired girl had shown.

"Venus Light is supposed to be nothing more than a tool for your cover. So why do you care about them so much?"

"I have nothing to say to you 'uninvited ones.'"

The girl of Venus Light turned on her heel.

"This world will vanish before long. Cherish what time you have left."

"You haven't changed in three hundred years."

"Understand your position. There is no way left for you to avert the End. This world no longer has a human swordsman like the one from back then. And besides—"

The voice echoed deep through the corridors of the palace.

"Even if I withdraw here, the destruction of the gate is inevitable."

By the time those words dissolved into the air, the white-haired girl had already vanished from before the Demon General of Ice — as though she had never been there at all.

The Subjugation Duel Stage——

Beneath the glow of a blue aurora, the sky overhead was blotted out by monstrous birds shrieking in unnatural voices.

"Morrigan...!"

An ancient magic beast with documented sightings even on the surface.

A hunter once spotted a two-headed crow perched in a tree and loosed an arrow at it. The arrow struck true, piercing the crow clean through — but in the next instant, every feather that fell from its body transformed into a new crow, and the swarm descended on the hunter. So the legend went.

"A battle of one against a thousand — that is something even you have yet to experience, yes?"

The voice that delivered those solemn words belonged to Demon King Versalem.

"Bury him."

The crows moved.

The swarm blanketing the sky reversed course, spiraling downward in a steep dive. They plunged toward Ren as if to swallow his entire field of vision.

Kak

Kakkakkakkakkakkak

Kakkakkakkakkakkakkakkakkakkakkak

...Creepy.

...What the hell is that noise?

It seeped through his eardrums and burrowed straight into his skull.

Was there some kind of power embedded in that cry — or a curse? Or was the sheer eeriness and volume just rattling his nerves? He couldn't tell, but one thing was certain: the cries of this beast shook the human mind.

...Crap!

A chill shot down his spine, and Ren spun on his heel and bolted. He traced the rim of the circular arena, desperate to put distance between himself and the Morrigan swarm.

Run? Run?

Gnome leapt onto his shoulder.

This way!

He didn't hesitate — he followed where the spirit pointed. The earth's blessing. A force pushed back against his feet from deep underground, adding raw power to his sprint.

——Wingbeats closing in.

He twisted his body and threw himself sideways.

A beak grazed his cheek in the next instant, and Ren brought Spirit Sword Vierge slashing down toward it.

But.

"Guh—!?"

A hard impact.

The tip of his blade had been caught — stopped dead by the Morrigan's beak mid-flight.

Each Morrigan was about the same size as an ordinary crow. Yet the heavy, rigid recoil that traveled through the sword felt like he'd swung a hammer into solid rock.

"The Morrigan's beak is exceptionally tough. Did that not go as planned?"

"No — this is where it starts!"

A light kindled above Ren's head.

It swelled in the blink of an eye, taking the shape of a winged fire salamander.

"Salamander!"

Got it!

Flames wrapped around the blade of Spirit Sword Vierge.

...If I can't cut it —

...I'll smash it out of the air with a superheated sword!

He seized the hilt with both hands. High guard. Ren brought the sword down with everything he had.

KAH—!?

The Morrigan slammed into the ground and dissolved back into a grey feather.

One down. But the sky was still thick with countless more Morrigans. They were clones, sure — but each one fought as a fully independent magic beast until it was destroyed.

...Any way to find the one that swallowed the crystal?

...Knocking them down one by one would take days, and there are way too many.

No good! Cold!

Salamander let out a shriek and shrank back.

Before Ren could even process what that meant, his body was already throwing itself flat against the arena floor.

——Ice Blossom.

Tendrils of ice crawled from the cracks in the bedrock.

More of the ground split and shattered, and one after another, breathtakingly beautiful ice flowers burst into bloom. Had this not been a battle, he might have stood transfixed by their beauty.

Except for the fact that over a dozen Morrigans were trapped frozen inside the blossoms.

...The Morrigans couldn't even resist.

...These ice flowers — they engulf everything around them when they bloom!?

The trapped Morrigans reverted to feathers.

If Salamander hadn't warned him in that split second, the ice tendrils would have snared his feet, and an instant later he'd have been sealed inside one of those blossoms without so much as a chance to argue.

"You reacted well."

The Demon King rang his scepter with a clear, crystalline chime.

Frost clung to the staff — residue from the ice spell he'd just cast.

"A spell favored by Lulu, the Demon General of Ice. Its strength lies in being undetectable by any spell-sensing technique until the moment of activation — but it cannot fool a spirit's Spirit Sight."

"I thought it was way too quiet!"

No matter how powerful the magic beast, would anyone really leave a fight entirely to their familiar? The Demon King, who stood at the apex of all demons, would never be that easy an opponent.

The instant that suspicion had crossed his mind — this happened.

"Isn't that kind of rough on your own familiar?"

"Rough? What do you mean, rough?"

The Demon King's reply dripped with composure.

If anything, his bearing seemed to take the observation as a compliment. The jet-black demon raised the scepter in his grip with stately ease.

"You mean rough like this?"

Pop...

A green sphere materialized midway between Ren and the Demon King. No bigger than a soap bubble, it spun at high speed as it rose into the sky.

And then — the surrounding Morrigans fled from it in unison, scattering away from the sphere.

The swarm of magic beasts scattered like baby spiders. That sight alone was more than enough to guess what was about to happen.

"Petrify."

The sphere overhead detonated, spraying a vicious curse in every direction. The droplets splattered against the ground, and white smoke erupted from the bedrock on contact.

A fusion of curse and acid. That was the true nature of the spell packed inside that green sphere.

"Go, my familiars."

At the Demon King's command, the Morrigans that had fled now began their descent toward the ground once more.

"They're flying through the rain!?"

Ren swung Spirit Sword Vierge down from an angled high guard.

He knocked aside a crow charging straight at him, caught another with a backhand slash, then shifted to level his blade horizontally — but hesitated, and retreated several steps instead.

The acid rain was closing in.

A rain cloud covering roughly half the arena was bearing down on him.

He sheathed his swing and leapt to escape the downpour's range. But by then, Morrigans that had punched through the acid rain were already swooping at his back.

"Ow—!?"

A beak grazed his flank. If he hadn't twisted away by a hair's breadth at the last moment, that curved beak would have punched clean through his body.

——If he watched the rain overhead, the Morrigans attacked from every side.

——If he focused on the Morrigans, the pursuing cloud would overtake him and he'd be drenched in acid.

This was spell-grade acid, potent enough to melt the arena's bedrock.

A single drop on skin would eat through flesh, and keep boring down to the bone.

"...You really do handle your familiars rough."

"They are mine. No one knows how to make use of their traits better than I."

The jet-black demon stood unflinching in the downpour of his own curse and acid.

But even if the master was unscathed, the familiars weren't so lucky.

They dove through the acid rain one after another, launching themselves at Ren — but some failed to dodge in time, took the acid full-on, and crashed to the ground, dissolving into nothing.

"An infinitely expendable supply. That is the truly magnificent trait of the Morrigan as a magic beast. Pair them with spells, sacrifice them alongside the enemy, use them as decoys, offerings, time-wasters — and they make excellent shields for me as well."

"...Only as long as the original survives, right?"

"Indeed. Have you identified the original — the one that swallowed the crystal?"

The sky was choked with crows.

Ren had taken down far fewer than the Demon King's own spells had destroyed, yet the flock showed no signs of thinning. If anything, it seemed to be growing.

...They definitely haven't decreased.

...The "infinite" part isn't an exaggeration, is it.

"Salamander, can you keep going?"

I'll try!

"Then I need you to kick up a firestorm."

The floating spirit nodded at Ren's voice.

Salamander's flames surged across the arena, generating a massive updraft. The blast of rising wind drove back the acid rain and the Morrigans alike.

"...How's that?"

The flock, caught in the inferno, disintegrated en masse.

But when the pillar of fire died, only feathers drifted down from above. Not a single crow spat out a crystal. The original Morrigan was still circling somewhere in the swarm overhead.

"Not so simple, is it?"

The Demon King struck his scepter against the ground.

The moment the fiery updraft subsided, the two-headed crows gathered overhead again. They assembled into formations of dozens and rained down from the sky like a deluge.

...Where?

...Where's the original — the one that swallowed the crystal?

He broke into a run, charging the leading wave.

Spear-sharp beaks thrust toward him, and Ren hurled himself straight into the flock. He ducked under the first, dodged the second, crouched low to let the next wave pass overhead. Then he pressed on, taking beak strikes to his shoulder and thigh from the rows behind, but avoiding any direct hit as he kept running forward.

"There!"

He swept several of the birds at the rear of the flock away with a single slash.

"You guessed the original was hiding at the back of the formation? My, my — a rather clever little stratagem."

The Morrigans Ren's sword had struck all reverted to feathers.

The Demon King watched them disintegrate with an amused expression.

"But unfortunate. The original was not hiding there either."

"I know."

Ren pressed a hand to the wound on his pecked shoulder and clenched his jaw.

No matter how many times he tried, the Demon King's composure never wavered. The original would never be found. That kind of confidence radiated from his every move.

...What if the original broke away from the flock?

...No — that's unlikely.

Doing so would make it conspicuous. If anyone happened to witness that exact moment, the original's position would be given away. The risk was too high.

"You have stopped moving. I thought you wanted the Seal."

"I do."

He drove Spirit Sword Vierge into the bedrock.

Resting both hands on the hilt and leaning his weight against it, Ren gave a slow nod.

...Don't rush.

...That taunt is meant to make me rush. I know that.

"Demons are creatures of greed. Therefore, our guiding principle is always: 'Secure it beyond all doubt.'"

Those were Demon King Versalem's own words.

Then what was the most certain way to prevent the Seal from being taken?

The answer was to keep the original Morrigan — the one that had swallowed the Seal — as far from Ren as possible. Ren had believed that without question. But now, something nagged at him.

...The Demon King's composure.

...He's absolutely sure I'll never find the original? Really?

If the original was hiding in the attacking swarm, eventually a sword would connect.

Even if it fled beyond his reach, the spirits could shoot down airborne targets. And the Demon King's own spells had been wiping out massive numbers of clones — if the original had been among them, it would've been finished in an instant.

Yet the Morrigans kept coming, wave after wave.

Was the Demon King that confident the original carrying the Seal wouldn't be hit? Or was it something else entirely?

"...Ah. I get it now."

"Oh? What is that defiant look? Have you devised a way to defeat the Morrigan?"

"I finally figured it out."

He pulled Spirit Sword Vierge from the bedrock.

And leveled its tip straight at the jet-black demon.

"You never gave the Demon Seal to your familiar at all. You've got it on you."

In that single instant——

A crack appeared in the Demon King's mocking smile.

"The original Morrigan is definitely hiding in the flock — I'm sure of that. And I saw the original swallow the crystal with my own eyes. But there's one thing I forgot to verify: whether the crystal you were holding on your throne actually contained the Demon Seal in the first place. I got played."

The gem he'd seen on the throne was nothing but an ordinary crystal. No Demon Seal had ever been inside it.

The faint purple glow visible within the gem had been nothing more than decorative handiwork. Even if Ren managed to seize the crystal from the original Morrigan, the Demon Seal was never in it to begin with.

That was the truly certain method of protecting the Seal.

"There was never a crow that swallowed the Seal. That's the answer. Elise likes gems, and I figure the Demon King's Palace has plenty to spare."

That was why the Demon King had exuded such absolute composure.

"Am I wrong?"

The Demon King said nothing.

But before long, his shoulders began to tremble.

"...Heh. Heh... Hahahahahahahaha! That's more like it!"

He slammed the head of his scepter mercilessly into the bedrock at his feet. With one last crystalline chime, the ornamental ring shattered. And from the broken fragments——

A tiny amethyst tumbled free.

"It seems you've begun to understand the ways of demons."

Amethyst. A gem revered as the crystal of the highest color.

Its name derived from the meaning: "that which cannot be deceived."

"This one's real, right?"

"On the pride of the Demon King, I swear it."

Demon King Versalem picked up the gem that held the Demon Seal.

"You needed to learn this. To lead dragons, demons, and angels — you must understand the ways of each race."

"...So that was the demon trial?"

"Let us say half of one."

The jet-black demon let out an amused laugh.

A single Morrigan perched on his shoulder. That lone crow, the only one to descend from the flock — that was almost certainly the original.

"Now, then — allow me to demonstrate my true spellcraft. Morrigan, you are free to fly as you please."

He raised the scepter with its shattered head.

"Let us resume the duel————............"

The Demon King's words were cut short before he could finish.

The spectral flame burning at the center of the arena — it had vanished without warning.

"Huh?"

An anomaly on the Subjugation Duel Stage.

It was none other than the lord of the Underworld himself who grasped the nature of this disturbance first.

"This is..."

The Demon King looked up at the sky above the arena. His voice was hoarse.

"Get clear! Morrigan, get away!"

He swatted the familiar from his shoulder in a desperate motion.

Light poured down——

Or perhaps even "light" was not the right word for it. The radiance Ren witnessed was something overwhelmingly divine, crushingly oppressive, and mercilessly absolute — the raw exercise of power made manifest.

The countless Morrigans in the sky were bathed in the light and annihilated.

And the Demon King's right arm — the arm that had moved to shield the familiar on his shoulder — crumbled the instant the light touched it, dissolving away like snow melting under the sun.

...What?

...What... just... happened?

Before that sight, Ren could not stop his entire body from shaking.

"As I feared..."

Cradling the stump where his right arm had been, Demon King Versalem looked up with the expression of a man prepared to die.

"Mere calamities felled in the End War. What business have you in this place now!?"

Through the blinding radiance——

Two silhouettes emerged from the torrent of light.

The amethyst, sent flying, shattered in midair.

What caught the resulting black ring as it hung in the void was a "something" that closely resembled a human being.

Foul key of the Seal...

A voice that reached him without disturbing the air.

A mystical wavelength that bypassed every medium and seeped directly into the depths of his mind. Ren stood rooted in place, half-dazed, listening.

That makes one. Two more remain, was it?

A young man with handsome features and flaxen hair.

But the celestial raiment he wore blazed with blinding light, and his body was translucent, letting the light pass through. He radiated a spiritual beauty that existed on an entirely different plane from human flesh and blood.

Discant — gather the remaining Seals.

The answer was a bestial roar.

From within that vast light, a creature rivaling Cerberus in sheer mass heaved itself upward.

...These are the calamities from the End War?

...The ones Eleline fought three hundred years ago?

A roving menace upon the world.

In the ancient past, they were the shining ones who had attacked Divine City Sieramiris. Three hundred years ago, they were the calamity that had triggered the End War. And in the present day, they were the enigma known as the Silent Agency.

Looking up at them, Ren spoke.

"...You've got to be kidding me..."

Those were his first words.

"You're going to take the Seals? Like hell I'll let you — these don't belong to you!"

The moment of encounter.

The instant when a boy called the Fake Brave Hero met the unknown apex of the world.