Beings clad in radiant garments, their translucent bodies permeable to light.

No — could those bodies truly be called "flesh" at all? No matter how hard he stared at the presence hovering above, he couldn't be sure.

A substance as faint as a mirage. Almost like... a spirit?

"For example, I — a demon — cultivated a portion of my own tissue to prepare a new body for reincarnation. Without that, I couldn't maintain my memories or abilities. Kyelse's body is one of a kind, and Fear's is made of a special kind of matter, but they're still physical beings with real flesh."

Ren recalled those words from shortly after they had set out on their journey to find the Encore.

Elise had said them after being startled that he could speak to lesser spirits. In this world, spirits alone were the one exception — beings that possessed no physical body.

"But spirits are different. They're the sole exception in this world — pure Spirit Wave Bodies, freed from the shackles of the flesh."

A body translucent enough for light to pass through.

And yet, in stark contrast, the sheer presence these beings radiated was unlike any pressure Ren had ever felt.

— An overwhelming divinity.

Just looking up at them filled him with instinctive dread. There was no defying it. Independent of will, his very instincts screamed at him to prostrate himself.

......

The shining one said nothing.

But Ren hadn't expected an answer in the first place. He gripped the Spirit Sword Vierge, determined to take back the stolen Demon Seal.

...Who are you?

The one who had taken the form of a blond young man looked down at him from above the arena.

And spoke.

A living image of that swordsman from long ago. And that spirit sword, too.

"...If you're talking about Eleline, I'm a total stranger."

I know.

Not a flicker of expression crossed that impassive face.

I can tell from your Wave. You are different from that swordsman. And besides —

The hand holding the Demon Seal lowered.

That fingertip pointed to Salamander and Gnome standing at Ren's side.

If you can perceive my voice, then you are most certainly not him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

No answer came.

I am Isis.

With an imperious tone, the shining one declared their name.

You who hear the voices of spirits. Heed our guidance and surrender the Seals.

"Surrender them — and then what happens?"

We will execute order upon the unforgivable ones who infest this world.

"Unforgivable ones?"

Dragons, angels, and demons. All of them will be eliminated.

"...Picking up where you left off three hundred years ago?"

Precisely.

The answer from this member of the Silent Agency — this Isis — was blunt.

It brooked no follow-up questions. It permitted no dissent. Words of staggering arrogance.

And so, hearing that, Ren slowly nodded.

"Got it."

Your Wave is surging violently. That was not a statement of agreement, was it?

"Damn right it wasn't!"

Get down here — with that intent, Ren moved to level the tip of the Spirit Sword Vierge at them, but a massive beast stepped into his path and blocked the way.

Discant — take the Seals. I will destroy the Demon King's Gate.

Acknowledged.

A monstrous creature shrouded in a dull spirit-light. Something like a ground-crawler dragon crushed even flatter — a grotesque beast that slowly raised its head.

Human... if you claim to be Eleline reborn...

"You're gonna turn tail and run?"

I have been waiting for this.

The beast twisted its mouth wide — a maw that split all the way back to its ears.

My name is Discant. The unscathed beast, herald of the storm. Now then, human — draw your sword. Let us reenact that day.

An explosion.

The Demon King's Palace — a structure vast enough to be called a giant labyrinth — shook violently. The shockwave radiating from the blast center shattered the ceiling, then the stained glass lining the corridors, in a cascading chain.

Sensing that surge of power —

"The route goes through the eighth floor of the Demon King's Palace — the 'Hydra Corridor.' Looks like they smashed through the only back entrance connecting to the Subjugation Duel Stage and forced their way in..."

Elise bit down on her back teeth as she hurried through the corridor.

"Finding a crack in the space-time barrier this quickly, then prying the lock open like it was nothing. Something incredible has crawled back from the End War."

"Could it be the same one who destroyed the gate at the Vanessa Wetlands?"

Fear was running just behind her.

"Probably a different one, but figuring that out comes later."

She pushed forward through the corridors without a moment's hesitation, and arrived at a vast hall swirling with black mist.

The Demon King's audience hall.

"...Sheesh. I wanted to watch my little brother and Ren's duel, but I guess that's off the table now. Lulu, what's the situation?"

"I've been expecting you, Lady Elise."

Luluphonica, the Demon General of Ice, had arrived ahead of them and bowed.

Beside her stood Bao, the Demon General of Curse.

"From what I can sense here, the Demon King's magical power is in severe disarray. He appears to have taken an enemy attack. Ren's condition is unknown."

"Yeah, that figures."

Elise strode quickly to the throne, then reached for the door beyond it.

A flash —

Light like a bolt of lightning erupted. It coiled around Elise's fingernails as she tried to grasp the door, and with a dull crack, it seared her from fingertips to wrist.

"A barrier?"

Fear narrowed her eyes from behind.

"Strange that even you can't get through."

"This is the door to the Demon King's selection arena. Once the Demon King Coronation Ceremony starts, no one can pass through — that's the rule."

White smoke rose from the back of her hand. Elise paid it no mind and shrugged with an exaggerated roll of her shoulders.

Beyond that door were the Demon King and Ren. They were most likely already in combat with one of the shining ones, but the barrier blocked any attempt to help.

"Lulu — what about Achendia?"

"She sent word via Telepathy. She's fighting one of the shining ones in the palace courtyard. She confirms it's the same type of being from the battle three hundred years ago."

"So their targets are the Seals and the gates."

Demon King Versalem's Demon Seal. The Goddess's Seal in Ren's possession. And the Dragon Seal that Kyelse was holding on behalf of Dragon Emperor Calra.

All three keys to unlocking the seal on the Isle of the End were gathered right here.

"Could those beings be destroying the gates in order to isolate Earth?"

Fear combed her fingers through her brilliant golden hair.

"Three hundred years ago, dragons, angels, and demons rallied under Eleline's command and won the End War. Those beings fear a repeat. By destroying every gate in the world, they intend to trap the angels in Heaven and the demons in the Underworld — cutting them off from Earth entirely."

"Gotten awfully clever, haven't they."

A single sigh, and the one who turned away from the throne was Kyelse.

"You there — Demon General of Ice."

"Head Housekeeper, if you please."

"Doesn't matter. Take me and Fear to this courtyard right now. If these are remnants from three hundred years ago, it's my responsibility for not finishing them off."

"What shall we do, Lady Elise?"

"Go ahead. Get going."

From the throne, Elise waved her trusted subordinate off.

"Sorry about this, Kyelse, Fear. Dragging you into the Underworld's mess."

"I don't mind."

"We're party members, after all."

She watched the two of them run off, led by Lulu.

"Come here, Bao."

She beckoned the masked great demon.

"It's your turn. You can break through this barrier, right?"

......

Bao stepped forward in silence.

The sixth candidate who had appeared uninvited at the Demon King Coronation Ceremony — who had slipped through this very barrier without warning. Its true nature was a demon of madness, one that had pursued the depths of curse-craft until it had become a living, walking curse itself.

"Hurry. I don't care if breaking the barrier uses up every last bit of your strength."

......

"Right. From there, I'll handle it. This time I can't just sit back and watch Ren fight — not against an opponent like this."

She clenched her burned fingers into a fist.

Her lips pressed into a firm line, and Elise fixed her gaze on the door.

"Boss."

A whisper near his ear.

"Wake up, Boss. Come on, Boss."

Then someone shook his shoulder.

He cracked his eyes open, fighting off the pull of sleep. The blue glow of the aurora through the window lit up the figure of a girl standing beside his bed.

"...Oh, it's you, Misty."

"Don't 'oh, it's you' me. Wake up."

"...Five more minutes... then I'll switch watch shifts..."

"We're not camping, so there are no shifts."

"Then what is it?"

"Let's run."

"Huh?"

He shot upright.

Those unexpected words jolted his drowsy mind wide awake.

"It's dangerous here. We need to escape."

"What are you talking about, Misty? Sure, this is the Demon King's mansion and it's a scary place, but everyone here's been a decent guy, haven't they?"

"......"

At those words.

The white-haired girl staring at him went wide-eyed.

"...Good people? Do you really believe that?"

Her expression looked ready to crumble into tears.

Biting her lip, the white-haired girl shook her head.

Again, and again, and again, and again.

"You too, Boss... you're one of those who'd believe that... You just don't know... How sad it is, to be unable to tell someone the truth..."

"What are you even saying? This isn't like you, Misty. And — whoa!?"

An explosion.

An enormous shockwave rocked the palace in the dead of night.

"Wh-what was that? Was that an explosion!?"

"...Isis. They've already started. It was supposed to be after the humans and dark fairies were evacuated. Are they that desperate...?"

Misty muttered something under her breath.

"Let's run. There will be more explosions after this, even bigger ones. This building might not survive."

"Misty."

He placed both hands on her shoulders as she said it.

Facing the girl who was pleading with him, Dan spoke slowly.

"Then we've got even more reason not to run. Where are we right now? Smack in the middle of the Underworld. Without this place, we'd have died out in the wilderness. These people rescued us. They gave us a roof and meals. We even got a new family member in Mia. And you want to just —"

"I love you, Boss."

The words Dan had been about to say died in his throat.

He couldn't find anything to follow them with.

"I love you, Boss. And I love Rin and Silk, too."

Over the hands he'd placed on her shoulders, Misty gently laid her own.

— As though holding back tears.

— Answering with a brave smile, put on for his sake.

A powerful emotion this quiet, expressionless girl almost never showed.

It was the resolve of someone determined to protect the ones she held dear.

"Venus Light gave me a place to belong. That's why I don't want to see any of you get hurt. I'm sorry. ...You can be as angry as you want later."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry for waking you. Back to slumber once more."

With those final words, the swordsman of Venus Light lost consciousness.

She lifted the fallen man with ease.

Isis, Spirit Beast Discant — I will return to Earth ahead of you. Eliminate the demons, dragons, and angels at the Demon King's Palace. You already know, but do not harm anyone else.

The shining girl vanished, taking the human swordsman with her.

"...A continuation of that day?"

Yes. Three hundred years ago, on that day, I fought Eleline on the Isle of the End. If you claim to be his second coming, then that is the fate binding you and me.

Spirit Beast Discant.

If one had to describe the creature in a single phrase, it would be "a dragon fallen from the heavens."

A four-eyed dragon that crawled across the earth on six powerful legs. Its full length rivaled the three-headed Cerberus, yet its body sat low by comparison — its lion-like head nearly scraping the ground.

As though peering up at its prey.

Surely you haven't lost your nerve already?

"Don't get cocky, beast!"

Demon King Versalem rose to his feet.

Unconcerned that the light from Silent Agency Isis had annihilated his right arm from the shoulder down, he raised his remaining left arm and hoisted his scepter high.

--- Four Underworld Dreams ---

A grating sound tore through the air.

The Demon King's enormous magical power interfered with the duel stage itself, forcibly warping the surrounding space.

"An inescapable chain of spatial collapse. Even you cannot escape this."

Oh? The secret arts of the Demon Kings... So you inherited them.

The black box materialized and imprisoned Spirit Beast Discant.

There was no time to evade, let alone deploy any defensive spell. The four corners of the black box buckled inward, crushing the Spirit Beast trapped inside with an audible crunch.

...Forcible spatial distortion layered with spatial fractures — a spatial-interference spell?

...So this is the Demon King's full power.

Spatial-interference spells were already nearly impossible to defend against. On top of that, this was a technique the Demon King himself declared inescapable. No human could hope to master it even after a thousand years of training. This was the true domain of the demons, beings hailed as higher existences.

"Fool of the old world."

The Demon King looked down at the crumpled box as it tore apart and vanished.

Gazing up at his profile, Ren spoke hesitantly.

"...Is your shoulder all right?"

"Our structures differ from a human's. It is merely a partial loss of body. Though I cannot deny that the light from earlier has disrupted the flow of my magical power."

Versalem let out a breath.

His movements favored the shoulder, but no blood seeped from the severed cross-section.

"Now then, I must make haste. I need to reclaim the Demon Seal."

"That Isis guy, you mean?"

"Isis?"

The Demon King's questioning reaction caught Ren off guard instead.

"Huh? Yeah, the Silent Agency member that looked human. He called himself Isis! And that huge beast called itself Discant too..."

"Called itself? Is that true?"

The Demon King's expression turned dubious, but his eyes narrowed as though something had clicked.

"Since the era of the End War, I have never heard their voices. Neither has my sister. We were not even certain they could communicate — yet you say you heard them speak?"

"...'Heard' — what do you mean? That's gotta be a joke. They were talking plain as day."

It is futile.

The beast's voice came from horrifyingly close.

Right behind the Demon King, who was leaning on his scepter.

Our voice does not reach demons. Just as the voice of spirits does not reach them.

"Versalem, behind you!"

"What?"

The Demon King spun around and leapt back, his expression twisting.

The one who calls himself Demon King — retreating?

Standing with serene composure right before Versalem's eyes — close enough to touch — was the beast.

Unscathed.

There was no sign that the creature had reacted in any way to one of the secret arts of the Demon Kings. It had taken the attack in a completely defenseless state, and yet —

"It recovered!?"

"No. That technique destroys the very concept of structural composition. Even Mia could not recover easily from it. But if there is one explanation... could this beast truly be..."

The Demon King slowly backed away, scepter at the ready.

"I see. So it is that accursed 'Invincible Beast.'"

His expression hardened further.

"Invincible Beast?"

"A warning passed down from the Demon King before my sister's predecessor. A radiant, majestic beast. By some unknown mechanism, no attack works against it. Demon spells, angelic weapons, a dragon's punches, a dragon's Breath — nothing can inflict so much as a single wound."

"That's insane!"

"Even binding spells are negated. Other than fleeing, there was no strategy against this beast..."

Perhaps the Demon King had sensed it from the creature's appearance alone.

That was exactly why he had struck first, nearly ambushing it with his spell. To confirm what this beast truly was.

"Cry out, Morrigan."

The demonic beast perched on the Demon King's shoulder raised both its heads.

From the left neck came the wailing shriek of a woman.

From the right, a man's death scream.

The two voices alternated, overlapped, melted together, and echoed across the Subjugation Duel Stage.

"The call of the dead. The more of Morrigan's duplicates you destroy, the more ghost-flames it gathers. Annihilating every last duplicate was a mistake."

Purple ghost-flames burst into existence with a whoosh.

They scorched the Spirit Beast Discant's wings, charred its limbs, and engulfed its entire body.

...If demon spells don't work, then attack with a demonic beast's power instead.

...If even this doesn't work, then not even the king of the Underworld can stand against it.

Ren watched the flames, holding his breath.

What game is this?

The massive form stirred within the still-burning ghost-flames.

"It's no good, Versalem! Demonic beast attacks don't work on it either!"

Light flashed.

The same radiance that had appeared when the beast descended from above surged outward, and the ghost-flames engulfing it were snuffed out.

"Genuinely invincible...!"

"Stand back."

Ren stepped forward, taking the Demon King's place.

Spirit Beast Discant remained motionless. It had endured the Demon King's spells and withstood a demonic beast's power. Its confidence in its own durability was absolute.

...But my sword is special too.

...If it's the Brave Hero's sword —

A spirit tool imbued with the power of spirits. The sword that had once brought Eleline victory against former Demon King Elise and Archangel Fear. If anything could work —

Spirit Sword Vierge can reach me. Is that what you're hoping?

"...You —!"

He slammed the Spirit Sword down on the exposed shoulder of the defenseless Spirit Beast.

There was no sensation at all.

The sword neither cut through the Spirit Beast nor bounced off its scales. There wasn't even the shock of blade meeting armor.

Did I not tell you? I am the Unscathed Beast.

The beast moved.

Its six-legged bulk kicked off the bedrock with terrifying speed, gliding across the ground as it closed in.

"...Fast!"

Spirit Beast Discant bore down at a speed that didn't allow even a blink.

As the beast's fangs filled his vision, Ren kicked off the bedrock and launched himself backward.

Over here!

Guided by Gnome, Ren felt the pulse of the earth beneath him.

By timing his kicks to the heartbeat traveling up through the soles of his feet, his leg strength surged dramatically.

The difference between you and Eleline. You cling to spirits to compensate for your own weakness.

Spirit Beast Discant retracted the fangs that had snapped at empty air.

It lowered its already-low stance further, coiling power into all six legs.

By taking semi-physical form, I too am bound to the earth. True — if you beseech Gnome, you may be able to match my movements. But —

The beast laughed.

Do not presume that means you can fight me.

It leapt. With the lightness of a bird in flight, the beast soared higher than the duel stage walls and extended glowing claws from all six feet.

...Spirit Sword Vierge can't get through.

...But if I layer spirit power on top of it —

"Salamander —"

No!

Stop, it's wrong!

"What the —!?"

Ren turned back and saw something he couldn't believe.

Gnome, clinging to his leg, shaking its head.

Salamander, hovering in midair, staring at him with sad, clouded eyes.

--- We cannot fight this beast. ---

Their eyes said it all.

Both spirits hung their heads weakly, refusing to move.

"Why..."

Our bond with spirits stretches back to the dawn of creation. There is no room for you to intrude.

"What!?"

The beast swooped down at Ren's head.

He escaped the landing zone and aimed a slash at Discant the moment it touched down. But the sword carried no flame from Salamander.

Being refused by the spirits. That was a greater shock to Ren than even the Spirit Sword's failure to cut.

"...What's going on?"

Something was wrong.

Something was happening before his eyes that none of his accumulated knowledge could explain.

The "shining ones," who had been hostile to the ancient summoning arts of the Divine City Sieramiris.

The "calamity" that had caused the End War.

The "Silent Agency," systematically destroying the Gates of the Underworld and Heaven.

He could guess that the beast before him was connected to all of that.

...But a bond with spirits? The spirits can't attack it?

...I didn't know that. So there's still something more I'm missing.

The doubts he had carried since The Hegemon City Elmekia.

In that moment, they crystallized into certainty.

"You people are still hiding something important."

"What the End War really was — if the story so far explained everything, Kyelse would have told me from the start."

The unease he'd felt listening to the Three Sages of the Epitaph had never quite resolved.

Kyelse was right.

He still hadn't arrived at the truth. He couldn't understand the full picture of the End War without going to the Isle of the End. The weight of that fact hit him all over again.

"...Are your secrets hidden on the Isle of the End too?"

Know your place. You will never reach that island.

The monster who had called itself the Unscathed Beast proclaimed it proudly.

Demon spells, demonic beasts, your sword — none of it reaches me. You should understand that by now. Your Spirit Sword, your spirits — everything you possess is rendered powerless.

"But you were defeated in the End War. Eleline beat you."

History confirmed that Eleline had once quelled the End War. This beast had to have a weakness.

And if he read the psychology behind its "I've been waiting" remark —

"You want revenge on Eleline. You chose me as his stand-in. Is that it?"

Revenge? No. That is not it.

Light kindled on the Spirit Beast's wings.

A glow as faint as phosphorescence, flickering like a heat haze. It seemed impossibly fragile, yet the instant Ren saw it, a chill raced down his spine.

I have come to purify the stain upon my past. By facing once more the swordsman who broke my Invincible Suggestion.

"Don't touch that light!"

The Demon King's roar came at the same instant the compressed light fired as a flash.

A searing hiss.

The bolt of light grazed his jacket and buried itself in the arena's rock wall.

The rock showed no visible damage, but if the Demon King had shouted a warning that urgently, Ren didn't want to imagine what it would have done to bare flesh.

Meanwhile, the beast's glare fixed not on the Demon King who had issued the warning, but on the small figure at his feet.

Gnome. Why do you side with this human?

...

Without your power, this human could not have dodged that light.

...Because...

Spirit Beast Discant pressed forward in a reproachful tone.

In response, Gnome huddled against Salamander, the two spirits pressing close.

You —

"Don't pick the wrong opponent."

Ren cut the beast off mid-sentence. While Discant's attention was on the spirits, Ren slipped inside its guard and slashed at the exposed torso.

No response. The instant the blade touched the beast, all force and speed drained away as though caught by an invisible wall of cotton.

"Get back!"

Impact.

The Spirit Beast's tail caught him broadside, and his vision blurred. He tumbled through the air like a dead leaf, about to slam into the bedrock — when his body stopped, floating gently in midair.

"That was close."

"Yeah... thanks. I'd have been knocked out cold without that."

He wiped his split lip.

He'd genuinely braced for every bone in his body to shatter, but he could still move.

--- The Demon King's wind spell.

A howling gale enveloped Ren, cushioning the Spirit Beast's blow.

"Versalem. When you hear 'Invincible Suggestion,' what comes to mind?"

"...What?"

"The beast said it himself. That he's protected by that suggestion."

"Self-reinforcement."

The dark demon's answer was immediate.

"The same principle as a goddess bestowing a blessing upon herself. Using Kotodama to address oneself and applying a spell to one's own body. Humans cast defensive barriers on themselves through formal spells, but for beings of our caliber, the formal structure is unnecessary. Merely willing it produces the protection."

"Shielding yourself from curses and spells?"

"Correct. But if that creature truly called it the 'Invincible Suggestion,' then..."

The Demon King swallowed his words.

"...How arrogant. Is such a protection even possible!?"

This Spirit Beast had convinced itself that no attack could harm it — and that self-suggestion had manifested as actual invincible protection?

"No, it cannot be. Such a thing is —"

Know that the difference in our existence is absolute.

The Spirit Beast's foreleg sank into the duel stage bedrock.

My Invincible Suggestion operates as a law of the world itself. The weight of my Kotodama, which has existed since the world's origin — do not think you can measure it on your scales.

"We'll see about that."

Ren broke into a run across the duel stage, fighting through the agony in every muscle.

A futile struggle.

"Bet you said the same thing three hundred years ago."

The Unscathed Beast. Discant had called himself that, but it had to be wrong.

"You were defeated. Your Invincible Suggestion was destroyed."

Once, yes. I suffered wounds to both my Spirit Wave Body and my suggestion.

The glowing monster admitted it without flinching.

At the center of its four eyes — its forehead — an unhealed sword scar remained.

I finished repairing my protection long ago. No one can breach my invincible protection now. That is why I have waited so eagerly — for the moment I scatter Eleline's so-called successor and prove my protection absolute.

"Then I'll just destroy it again."

As long as the self-suggestion held, the Spirit Beast was invincible.

But the self-suggestion itself was far from invincible.

...If I can strip away his suggestion...

...That's the only chance I've got. If I can do what Eleline did.

The spirits huddled together at the edge of the duel stage.

He couldn't count on Salamander's Spirit Sword of Flame or Gnome's Golem.

But he could still feel the earth's pulse. They couldn't join the fight, but they were worried about him. He knew that much.

"Hah."

He exhaled and kicked off the ground.

He vaulted over the tail that lashed at him again, landed behind the Spirit Beast, and brought Spirit Sword Vierge down on the base of its wing with everything he had.

Did you think you could shatter the suggestion by accumulating destructive energy through repeated strikes?

"...That obvious, huh."

The Seven Luminaries' angels tried the same thing long ago. Your thinking is no different.

The Spirit Beast beat its wings.

The sharp gust created razor-thin wind blades. The invisible blades swept past him, and searing pain exploded across his back and flank.

"Ow —!?"

His jacket turned red in seconds.

Fall.

The beast's Kotodama generated a localized gravity field. Helpless, Ren slid off Discant's back and plummeted straight down.

At the end of the day —

"Then a single killing blow. One strike carrying maximum destructive force."

What?

"Have you forgotten this is my domain? My estate, my territory."

The Demon King squeezed the scepter in his grip. Pouring every ounce of strength into it, his crushing grip snapped the scepter in two with a clear, ringing sound.

That was the activation ritual for the Demon King's palace.

"'Demon Citadel Cycle.' Fire."

The palace lurched into motion with a rumble deep enough to shake the earth.

The roof, the gardens, the walls — spell arrays hidden across every surface of the estate activated simultaneously. Magical power accumulated by generations of Demon Kings erupted from the palace's gun ports in a single volley.

Dark flashes.

Thousands upon thousands of bolts of light rained down on Spirit Beast Discant.

"...It even has something like this."

"A last resort. Only the current ruler of the palace — that is, only I — can activate it. But if this fails..."

The great demon's voice was tight with tension.

"...then no means of defeating that creature exists in this Underworld."

Do you finally understand?

The beast's voice.

The dark flashes still firing were overpowered and extinguished by a greater, more radiant light.

I am the Unscathed Beast. The one who bears invincible protection.

"Even this has no effect!"

The Demon King spat the words in something close to a scream.

"But how can this be? If nothing works, then how did Eleline ever drive this monster back —"

Mid-sentence, the Demon King's body sailed through the air.

A single sweep of the Spirit Beast's leg launched him into the duel stage wall, and his body crashed down onto the bedrock with a sickening thud.

Degeneration.

The beast spoke in a detached observer's tone, looking down at the fallen, dark-skinned demon.

Both humans and demons have grown weaker across the ages. That is the difference between them and me, who has remained unchanged since antiquity.

"...Weaker, you say?"

Eleline no longer exists in this world.

No swordsman who could break the invincible self-suggestion remained.

So declared the beast who had lived since the world's beginning.

It seems proven. My suggestion has no equal.

The Demon King's spells, Morrigan's power, the palace bombardment, Ren's Spirit Sword Vierge — nothing worked. Even Gnome and Salamander couldn't move.

Hand over the Goddess's Seal.

"...I refuse."

Blood still dripped steadily from the gashes across his back and side where the wind blades had struck. The Spirit Beast's tail had slammed him into the wall. The gravity field had driven him into the bedrock.

Discant looked down at Ren in that state.

You do not understand. My word is absolute.

Light kindled on the Spirit Beast's wings again.

The radiance that Demon King Versalem had called dangerous at a single glance. Ren braced himself to clear the firing zone before the light discharged — and a bolt of pain shot through his back.

His wound tore open.

The bleeding across his back, which had been slowing, surged again the moment he tensed his body.

"Ngh..."

The pain scrambled his thoughts, and his reaction to the Spirit Beast's incoming flash was a beat too late.

That beat was fatal. The beast's light filled his vision and coiled around his right shoulder and right knee.

"What is this light?"

The light converged and vanished. No pain in his shoulder or elbow, no burning heat. Not even the faintest discomfort —

Drop your sword.

Spirit Sword Vierge clattered against the bedrock.

...Huh?

...What — why did I let go of my sword?

He had released his sword without any conscious intent.

Place your hands and knee upon the ground.

His right hand and right leg moved on their own.

Obeying Discant's command, his right knee buckled and his right hand pressed flat against the bedrock, impossible to lift.

His left leg remained standing. His left arm was fine.

Only the parts exposed to the beast's light were enslaved to Discant's orders.

"So that's how it works...!"

A self-suggestion of absolute invincibility, beyond any doubt.

And a power that could forcibly subjugate others through suggestion as well.

--- A beast of insolence beyond measure.

More arrogant, more overbearing, more savage than any king in history. That was Spirit Beast Discant.

A second wave of flashes fired.

An instant before they reached him, a grey shadow interposed itself between Ren and the light.

...Crows!

"I have seen your light before, three hundred years ago. Did you think I would not have a way to block it?"

Morrigan's duplicates became a wall of shadow, shielding Ren from the light.

The dark-skinned great demon came charging in behind them.

"Crude medicine. I am placing a demon's brainwashing on you."

"Ow!?"

Demon spell arrays surfaced on his right hand and right leg, and a stabbing pain like tens of thousands of needles ran through both limbs.

"Jump!"

Ren leapt back alongside the Demon King without hesitation. His body obeyed. Meaning the limbs that had been under Discant's control were free again?

"When two domination spells are applied simultaneously, they cancel each other. Neither my control nor that creature's would yield, and both were negated as a result."

"So that's why the brainwashing broke."

"Yes. But that creature's flashes are not mere brainwashing. Their true nature is the 'Light of Negation'..."

Right before Ren's eyes.

Demon King Versalem collapsed to the ground.

"Against humans, it forces submission. Against Morrigan's duplicates, it annihilates them. And for demons, that light becomes the most devastating thing of all... 'Purifying Fire'..."

"Versalem!?"

"...It seems a trace of that light grazed me."

The Demon King's left leg was dissolving into smoke.

And then.

"This is... my responsibility... I will buy time..."

--- Run.

That was the single word from the king who ruled the Underworld.

"Lulu and the others must have noticed the attack. Bao should be able to unseal the barrier around this place. Prepare to escape immediately."

"...What are you saying!?"

"As long as the Seals are not taken, that is enough. A Demon King who has lost his Demon Seal and cannot move, or you who still holds the Goddess's Seal — which of us has more value? Think."

"..."

"Fortunately, I still have —"

"Understood."

Ren broke into a run before the Demon King could finish.

Toward the glowing beast.

"I get what you're saying. But you're wrong. Just running won't get the Demon Seal back. And more than anything — I don't want to lose to this thing."

"Have you lost your mind!?"

"Morrigan, I'm leaving that loudmouth master of yours in your care."

The familiar refused to budge from the fallen Demon King's side.

"Stop this, Ren. Alone, you cannot —"

"Can't win alone? If that's the only reason, it's nowhere near enough to make me run."

He picked up the sword from where it had fallen.

Spirit Beast Discant was not the first. Even with the spirits' guidance, there had been opponents beyond his reach. He'd felt that gap keenly, painfully, over and over.

Now was no different.

Fighting to buy time was fine if it ended up that way. But going into a fight with escape as the goal — that was absolutely unacceptable. He had to fight to win, or —

What had been the point of learning from Kyelse, Fear, Elise, and the spirits?

...He had wanted to live up to their faith in him.

...Yeah. You've had more than enough of feeling that gap by now, haven't you?

The showdown with Knight King Zelbright.

The vow he had made in that battle would become a lie.

"Let's go, beast."

Foolish.

The glowing beast didn't even try to dodge as Ren swung with everything he had.

Not the slightest resistance — the sword stopped dead against the Spirit Beast's hide. No matter how much force he poured in, the blade wouldn't penetrate a single millimeter past the scales.

Why do you refuse to understand?

With a word of rejection, Discant swept two forelegs at him from both sides. Ren dodged one, but the second clipped his head.

--- Concussion.

The impact traveled from skull to brain, nearly snuffing out his consciousness. When awareness returned a heartbeat later, it brought a headache, dizziness, and nausea so fierce he couldn't stand.

"..."

Both knees buckled and he sank to the ground.

The beast's fangs bore down. He sensed them not through sound or presence but through the sheer pressure this massive creature radiated from its entire body.

A beast that didn't bother hiding its presence.

Remaining insolent at all times. That was the foundation of Spirit Beast Discant's strength.

"Not yet!"

He bit down hard enough to cut the inside of his cheek against his molars.

The sharp pain jolted his consciousness back. He spat out a clot of blood, got to his feet, and ran again.

"...Has he lost his mind!?"

The fallen Demon King shouted.

He'd tried over and over. The spirits could only watch helplessly from behind. Spirit Sword Vierge lost all power before Spirit Beast Discant. He'd confirmed that multiple times. And yet —

Why do you resist?

"...Because... you're... standing right there... in front of me...!"

His words lost their clarity to the dizziness and headache pounding through him.

But the boy's legs didn't stop.

What he was displaying had already gone beyond what the word "tenacity" could capture.

Why can you still run?

"Can't reach you with my sword if I don't get close."

—!

All four of the Spirit Beast's eyes flew wide.

A past Ren didn't know. Three hundred years ago, a swordsman who looked exactly like this boy had spoken those very same words.

...The damage to my suggestion has been repaired.

Discant reared its head like a threatening serpent.

There is no reason a human born in this age should match me, a being who has lived since the great antiquity.

"That's right."

The boy raised his sword.

Gasping for breath, shoulders heaving, he slashed at the attacking Spirit Beast's leg.

"And that's exactly why I refuse to lose to you."

A dull thud.

It was Ren who was sent flying in a spray of blood.

Not a scratch on the Spirit Beast. Of course not. As long as the Invincible Suggestion held, Discant was invincible. And yet —

You rise again?

Discant had bared its teeth in a threat display.

Before Ren — using his sword as a crutch to drag himself upright — the great beast of insolence realized it. The fight was not over. Something was wrong with this human.

Just like back then.

Just like the human swordsman who had kept standing up no matter how many times he was struck down, wearing that defiant grin as he charged again.

Why do you not fear me? I am a beast who has lived since time immemorial, who knows the ferocity of the ancient world. You were merely born into this tranquil modern age — your existence does not compare to mine. Why do you not fear me...

"..."

Why do you rise and continue to oppose me? Where does such will come from?

A paralyzing glare.

Ren received the beast's words — words that demanded an answer.

"I have no reason to fear you."

That was all Ren said.

"I know someone stronger than you."

You mean Eleline? Without the spirits' protection, you do not even merit comparison to him.

"No. I'm not talking about the past."

...What?

He held Spirit Sword Vierge level. Gripping the weapon blessed by the nameless spirit, Ren slowly closed his eyes.

"The Encore journey. Along the way, I've seen so much. Met all kinds of people."

He breathed in, and breathed out.

Reaching back through his memories.

"If the only people I'd met were Kyelse, Fear, Elise, and the angels and dragons and demons — I probably would've surrendered to you."

...What do you mean?

The Spirit Beast remained crouched, still.

Are you saying something else exists?

"Yes."

Spirits, perhaps?

"No."

...

"You can't think of it, can you? Yeah. That's the decisive gap between us. And the biggest reason I absolutely refuse to lose to you."

Spirit Sword Vierge held level.

"You call yourself invincible, but I can say with certainty that you're wrong. That's why I'll stand up as many times as it takes. Because I don't need to fear you."

He had seen true strength with his own eyes. That was how he knew there were people in the present day who would surely defeat even this self-proclaimed invincible beast in ways it could never imagine.

What are you getting at?

"I'm saying one thing. The Brave Hero Eleline from three hundred years ago was incredible, sure. And you, surviving since that era — you're something too. But listen..."

He could state it with absolute certainty.

There was a truth that beings who had lived across the vast ages had overlooked.

...Humans and demons have degenerated?

...The fact that you can say that with a straight face is exactly why I refuse to lose to you.

The strong were not limited to Eleline alone.

Past, present, future. In every age, without exception, fate would always produce someone worthy of bearing the world's destiny.

People called them heroes.

...A human born in the modern age has no reason to match a Spirit Beast who has known the world since its origin?

...Wrong.

"Beyond here, determination alone won't carry you. You'll need a strong resolve of your own."

"Leading a dragon, a demon, an angel, and even the spirits along with you. Where exactly do you intend to go?"

Sword Saint Shion, and Knight King Zelbright.

Spirit Beast Discant had made himself the strongest through an arrogant self-suggestion, but there were heroes of the present age who possessed none of those tricks.

The boy had traveled the world and learned that truth.

"A beast that does nothing but boast about the past has no right to look down on humans who live in the now!"

Insolent human!

...He'd lost count of how many times he'd been beaten.

...That was how he'd gotten this far. Because it was all he had.

But the insolent beast was different. Discant was so fixated on being invincible that all he could think about was erasing the bitter memory of his defeat at Eleline's hands.

"You can't even accept your own defeat. I've got no reason to lose to someone like that!"

He raised the ocean-blue Spirit Sword.

Even without the spirits' aid, even without the power of Spirit Sword Vierge, he could not lose to this beast of all things.

He swore it — to win as a single swordsman. Nothing more.

--- A shattering sound.

The tip of Ren's sword cut through something invisible.

...What have you done...!

The insolent beast staggered.

The space surrounding it buckled. The Invincible Suggestion — constructed from Kotodama of world-interference — shattered, and the space began restoring itself to its proper form.

I refuse. I am —

"You talk about the world so arrogantly — that's exactly why you can't change."

The battered, bloodied boy drove his sword into the ground at his feet and leaned on it like a staff.

"Come on, Spirit Beast. No matter how much you pretend to be 'invincible,' I'll go beyond that state!"