Chapter 5: The Two Demon Lords

Thirty minutes before the Demon Lord awakened—the bell of the church struck six times, the sound piercing the air.

Diablo had entered the Adventurer’s Guild at dinnertime, so the dining hall on the first floor was jam-packed with people. Amongst the throngs of customers, he spotted Sylvie and Emile sitting at a table together.

The Adventurers of Faltra knew of Diablo’s strength, which is why they would collectively shut their mouths when they saw him. Without realizing it, Diablo was wearing a grim expression on his face.

Sylvie noticed him come in: “Hey there, Diablo. What’s up?”

“It’s rare to see you come alone, my friend. Did something happen?”

“Something... Yeah...” he faltered.

—How would a Demon Lord go about asking help from other people?

He wanted these two to join in the search for Klem. But all the Demon Lords Diablo knew of would give orders; there was never a time they had ever asked for help finding someone. It would certainly be a piece of cake to give an order, as he would just say: “Klem has gone missing, along with Rem and Alicia. Find them.” But could he ask for help with an attitude like that? No matter how much he sucked at talking with other people, he at least knew there was something wrong about that approach.

He couldn’t use his Demon Lord role play in this case. As such, he would have to rely on his real self.

He broke out in a cold sweat.

Emile cocked his head to the side. “What’s wrong, my friend? You’re not looking too hot.”

“...Ah... Well...”

He tried to explain what was going on, but flashbacks of all his failures interacting with others flooded his mind—

I was misunderstood.

I hurt others.

I was made fun of...

Even if they had been nice as they talked to me, I was just an object of ridicule afterward.

Remembering all this, his throat had closed up, rendering him unable to speak.

“I wonder what it could be?” Sylvie had a curious look on her face.

At that moment, a Grasswalker boy—who looked like a child, but his age indiscernible—came running over. He wore his tattered clothes almost like a cloak of sorts.

“Excuse me!”

“Heya, something happen?”

Sylvie turned her head, stretching an ear out to them. The Grasswalker in old rags whispered something to her in a hushed tone.

Now that Diablo thought about it, Sylvie had her own responsibilities as the leader of Faltra’s Adventurer’s Guild; while Emile was in charge of managing all the Warrior-class Adventurers.

—It might be silly to bother them with something like searching for a lost child...

He had said his own share of absurd things using his Demon Lord role play, but when he reverted to his normal self, he would come up with countless reasons to not speak with other people.

As Diablo was gripped with a sense of unease, he only thought of Klem’s disappearance as a simple search for a missing child. He had no idea of Rem’s dire situation, or Alicia’s betrayal, which is why he couldn’t even begin to speak. The only thing he could do was stand there.

After hearing what the Grasswalker in tattered rags had to say, Sylvie’s eyes shot open.

“Diablo! Rem and Klem were taken away by a Paladin!” she shouted frantically.

“What was that?!”

Several Adventurers had fallen out of their chairs when he shouted in anger.

“Listen up, everyone!” Sylvie stood up from her chair. “This is an urgent quest! We’re going out to save Rem and Klem! Now Diablo, where’s Shera?”

“She should be in the Central Plaza, looking for Klem.”

“Then we’ll head there later. It sounds like that Paladin’s wagon was heading toward the North District! We gotta hurry!”

“Do you know where?!”

“We don’t know for certain, but most likely the church near the city walls in the North District. The Paladin has made that his headquarters for the past five days!”

“Then that’s plenty to work with! You have my thanks!”

“...Huh?”

Diablo rushed out of the Adventurer’s Guild. He hadn’t been to it yet in this world, but there was also a church in the North District in Cross Reverie. It would only take about a minute to make it from one end of Faltra to the other in-game...

But in this world, the diameter of the town was more than three kilometers, so it’d take roughly 30 minutes on foot. The roads leading there weren’t a straight shot, either, so it would take even more time.

—This level 150 body of mine isn’t only for show! I’m just gonna have to sprint all the way there!

It was just starting to get dark, and the marketplace was closing up shop for the day. This meant the number of shoppers had dwindled as well, so Diablo didn’t have to worry about crashing into anyone as he ran full tilt toward the North District.

Sylvie stood in the Adventurer’s Guild, eyes round as could be.

“...He did say ‘you have my thanks,’ right?”

“That he did.” Emile nodded.

Sylvie smiled happily. “Diablo seems like he’s gotten much better than when I first met him.”

“That man has always been a good person. He’s an ally to women, after all! All the more reason behind why I wish to help him.”

“I guess you’re not wrong there. If the wagon’s almost ready, then I’ll leave him to you, Emile.”

“He’s going up against that Paladin, no? Will he even need the help?”

News regarding the incident that occurred at Pointy Ears had spread. Diablo was now famous around town for the fact that not even a Paladin was any match for him.

“It’s fine if he doesn’t.” Sylvie shrugged. “But I’m getting a bad feeling about this. You have a skillful healer in your party, right, Emile?”

She turned her attention to an Adventurer wearing a white robe sitting at a nearby table. They looked down, embarrassed. While they were clearly shy, their abilities were the real deal.

Emile held his sword aloft.

“I don’t completely understand, but if you say so, Sylvie, then I will heed your words! Let’s go, everyone!”

Answering his call to arms, a great number of Adventurers, the one in the white robe included, stood up from their seats. Sylvie began giving instructions to the people around her as well.

A large cargo wagon pulled up in front of the Adventurer’s Guild, and a crowd of Adventurers clambered into the back.

“Are you not going, Sylvie?” Emile asked.

“It seems like things are gonna get pretty noisy, so I think I’ll go check in with the governor.”

“Understood... Being surrounded by soldiers after we beat up the Paladin doesn’t sound like much fun, after all.”

“Nope, it sure doesn’t. Also, I didn’t have the chance to tell Diablo...but it seems like there was someone else with Saddler when he took Rem and Klem away.”

“Oho? Someone like him actually has allies?”

“Well, it looks like it was Alicia...” she said with a sigh.

Emile wore a complicated expression on his face. “She’s...hmm... She’s an Imperial Knight, so maybe it has something to do with her position?”

“Yeah, it definitely seems like she has her own circumstances she’s dealing with, so I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me! And I’ll be counting on you to deal with the governor, Sylvie!”

The wagon sped off.

Just minutes afterward—

A shock wave spread across the town as wings of light pierced the sky. A magic circle expanded in the air while the howl of the Demon Lord resounded throughout Faltra.

†

Diablo was out of breath, having sprinted the entire way to a cemetery. He saw graves knocked over, scattered along the ground; but this wasn’t because the graveyard had been abandoned—

All this was because of the monster there.

Its horns were warped and twisted, and it possessed five red points of light on its face. It almost looked like someone wearing a suit of armor, but upon closer inspection, it became apparent this was a veritable giant that one needed to look up at to even see its face. It was even floating slightly off the ground. The surface of its body was covered in a hard exoskeleton, like that of an insect. Wings of light spread out from its back, stretching toward the sky.

It was the Demon Lord, Krebskulm.

Behind it were the ruins of something that looked like it had once been a church. Even the rubble had been incinerated, with the only thing left being a wall that came up to one’s waist. It seemed the Demon Lord left only that one single part of the wall standing, demolishing everything else around it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Diablo spotted a round object flapping its way through the air.

“Hm...?”

It was a round bird, about the size of a basketball—Turkey Shot! The Summon made a loop of the area then disappeared. Shortly afterward, someone came running from the far side of the cemetery; it was none other than Shera.

“Diablooo!!”

“So, it was you... But why are you here?”

“I mean, that’s supposed to be Klem, right?! That’s why I rushed over here!”

“So I see.”

The Central Plaza was closer to the North District than the Adventurer’s Guild, which is why they had both made it here at almost the same time.

“That’s right! Diablo! Rem’s inside the church...and...”

“What is it?!”

“Blood...! There’s lots of blood!”

Shera’s face was deathly pale, while a shiver crawled down Diablo’s spine.

How many hours have passed since Rem had been taken away by Saddler? Diablo couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened. But no matter the case, Rem was inside that church, and Klem had transformed into her true Demon Lord form.

Diablo reached into his pouch and pulled out every single HP potion he had, all nine in total.

“Take these! I’ll draw Krebskulm’s attention while you go save Rem!”

For a second, Shera was frozen in fear; but, even so, she grabbed hold of the potion flasks.

“Okay...! I’ll go save Rem!”

“Good. Make sure you circle around to get there.”

“Yeah! Oh, and Diablo—”

“What?”

“Don’t hurt her, okay...? Please save Klem...!”

Looking at the disastrous spectacle before him, he could no longer think of the being in front of him as that of Klem, but the Demon Lord Krebskulm. Could he even manage to talk to her?

—No! No matter how bleak the situation, a Demon Lord is never pessimistic!

Diablo brushed back his cape—

“Who do you think you’re talking to, Shera. I am the Demon Lord Diablo! Leave everything to me!”

Tears welling in the corners of her eyes, Shera nodded and started to run.

Diablo walked in front of Krebskulm.

—I’m not here to defeat her, but to save her...

As he stared up at the colossal Demon Lord, he wondered if he had the leeway to even do that.

†

Diablo confronted Krebskulm head on, glaring directly into her face:

“Klem, do you know who I am?!”

“ROOOOOOOOOAGH!!” Krebskulm bellowed in lieu of a response, swinging her fist at him.

Diablo had no way of knowing, but this very attack had extinguished the lives of a Paladin and his three subordinates previously, so there was immense power behind it. Of course there would be: This was a giant many times the size of any of the races, who was trying to smash her fist into Diablo with the same form a pitcher would use to throw a baseball.

—But it’s not that hard to dodge.

As long he wasn’t slowed down by her piercing howls or her mighty attacks, it became a simple matter of avoiding her on account of her gargantuan size.

—Do I just keep trying to talk to her without attacking her myself...?

He mulled things over.

“...If I was gonna be a good guy, I guess that’s what I’d have to do, huh.”

“ROOOOOOOARGHH!!”

He dodged the second assault which gouged a hole in the ground, smashing gravestones to pieces. But he couldn’t bear to just keep running and dodging the entire time.

“Klem! Unfortunately, I will not be such a kind person to you, for I, too, am a Demon Lord! If you’ve forgotten my face, or even how to speak, then I shall make you yield by force! I will make you remember, even if you wish not to!”

He stabbed Tenma’s Staff into the ground, sending his magic energy through it. Once finished, he was immediately on the move again.

Krebskulm’s fist came to mow him down from the side, but he lowered his posture to dodge it. Her movements were like a child throwing a tantrum, but there was no mistaking the extraordinary force behind her attacks. No matter how much of a damage-reducing effect his Ebony Abyss had, it would be impossible to withstand a direct hit from her.

This wasn’t the kind of power fit for a one-on-one fight. Under normal circumstances, it would probably be best to put some distance between them and launch a series of powerful spells at her.

But the walls of the city were close, and the barrier towers not that far off, either. If Krebskulm were to destroy a tower in her rampage, then Faltra would be defenseless against the Fallen and other monsters being held at bay. At the very worst, it was fine for the wall to be destroyed, but the towers absolutely had to be protected at all costs.

Diablo stabbed his staff back into the ground, sending magic through it once again.

—Eleven more places to go.

He was preparing to use a large-scale spell, one that required a bit of preparation first. This wasn’t his normal Chant-type magic, but something similar to the Magic Circle vein of spells. Not only did it take time to set up, there was no point to it if the opponent didn’t stay within the area where the spell was placed, which is why you couldn’t really use it for one-on-one fights...

But Krebskulm was fighting like a child. If he could see through her patterns, there just might be a chance for him to activate the spell.

—It would be so much easier for me if she just kept swinging her fists around like this the entire time.

But Krebskulm suddenly stopped moving. It looked like things wouldn’t be that easy after all.

The giant took in an enormous breath of air. Diablo’s intuition spoke to him, so he responded by unleashing a spell of his own:

“《Volcanic Wall》!!”

A level 80 Fire and Earth elemental spell, the ground erupted with a wall of flames gushing from the newly formed fissure, almost seeming like they could reach the sky itself.

Now finished inhaling, Krebskulm spewed forth a jet-black 《Breath》 attack with a thunderous rumble.

—Looks like 《Darkness Breath》!

Breath attacks in Cross Reverie were classified as pure elemental attacks. Since they weren’t spells, they couldn’t be reflected using the Demon Lord’s Ring. And since it wasn’t a physical attack either, the damage-reducing effect from his Ebony Abyss wouldn’t activate.

Diablo had chosen and refined his equipment to be able to deal against as many situations as possible, but it wasn’t enough to stand up to every variety of attack thrown his way. Still, his Volcanic Wall managed to block Krebskulm’s breath attack.

“Hmph... It would seem technique covers the difference in our abilities.”

“Heheheheheh...”

With a sinister laugh, Krebskulm spread her arms wide.

Diablo knew he was fighting against Klem right now, and while it was true he wanted to save her, his gamer instinct told him that being mocked by an opponent in this fashion was definitely not a pleasant feeling. He had been fighting a defensive battle this entire time, so he couldn’t do much about it now...

—Just you watch, I’ll beat you yet...!

Diablo stabbed his staff into the ground and paused; crackling arcs of purple lightning ran across Krebskulm’s hands.

“A Lightning-elemental attack...?!”

Diablo kicked off the ground as he retreated. Countless lightning bolts came down from the sky, pursuing him. What should have only been a single bolt turned into many, falling down one after the other as if they were attacking the entire area itself.

—Is this the spell 《Lightning Meteor》?! I’m not wrong, am I?

Diablo’s lips curled upward.

“I thought I had shown you this during the fight with Eulerex...but it appears you truly have lost Klem’s memories after all.”

The effect of the Demon Lord’s Ring activated. The countless bolts of lightning were reflected away from him, instead raining down upon Krebskulm. For a second, he worried whether or not the attack would kill her.

Plumes of white smoke rose from Krebskulm—but it seemed like she had not taken any damage from it.

Diablo clicked his tongue. “That magic defense of yours is way too high!”

If this was an enemy the Cross Reverie devs had put in the game, it would be bad enough that they would be sure to receive complaints from players who played as Sorcerers.

“Then how about this! 《Stardust》!”

Diablo fired off a Water-elemental spell. It was only around level 30, so it was fairly weak, and it had a gaudy effect when used: Sparkling snowflakes scattered and danced through the air.

This wasn’t a spell strong enough to damage Krebskulm, of course—but it had an interesting use to it. For a Sorcerer like Diablo, the cast time for this magic was extremely short, which meant it could be used in rapid succession. He sent off another five shots of the spell, one after the other. Blinding her, Krebskulm was surrounded with the dazzling effects of Stardust. Even against an opponent where magic couldn’t damage them, there was still plenty of ways he could use his spells.

While Krebskulm was distracted by the flurry of low level spells, Diablo put a decent amount of space between them, piercing his staff into the ground and pouring even more magic energy into it.

“ROOOOOOOOOARGH!!”

Krebskulm let out another piercing howl, but he hadn’t seen her inhale for Darkness Breath. Her fists still couldn’t reach him, and he could reflect any spell she threw at him.

At this distance, there was no way he could make a mistake—

A large object hurtled through the air toward him.

—A coffin?!

Using the same brute force that was enough to tear apart the ground just by punching it, Krebskulm had taken a casket buried in the ground and chucked it at Diablo. Since it made it harder to discern his opponent’s movements, the disrupting effect of Stardust had backfired on him.

He couldn’t dodge out of the way.

†

Shera stepped foot inside of what had once been a building. Judging from the walls, floor, and pews that still remained, she surmised it to have been a church. She hadn’t taken notice earlier when scouting out the area with her Summon, but there was a vast quantity of red liquid spilled onto the floor. Bucketloads didn’t even begin to do justice in describing how much there actually was.

“Eek?!”

Realizing it was blood, a small scream escaped Shera’s lips. If there was this much, there was no way Rem could be alive.

The muscles along her back froze up.

—But this blood didn’t belong to Rem. There were bodies on the ground: four of them. Men wearing armor...

No matter where she looked, she could only find the lower halves of their bodies. Shera had no way of knowing what happened to them from the waist up. She couldn’t even imagine the fact that Klem’s fist had vaporized them the moment it made contact with their bodies.

—But more than that, I have to find Rem...!

She walked over to where several ominous instruments laid strewn about the ground.

“Reeeeem!!” Shera shouted as she rushed over to her.

Rem was lying in the exact spot Shera had found her using Turkey Shot. Her black hair was soaked in blood, and she suffered multiple wounds from being stabbed and slashed by swords.

—This is awful... These weren’t caused by Krebskulm, but Saddler most likely.

“Rem! Rem!!”

The was no response.

Shera crouched down beside Rem. It felt like she would burst into tears at any moment.

But there was no time for that. Without even checking for signs of life, Shera took out the potions she had received from Diablo.

“Rem! You can’t die!”

She pulled out the cork from the potion flask, sprinkling the liquid held inside over Rem. As Shera prayed silently, she poured on the next potion. She didn’t think whether or not this was too much, or if this was pointless because Rem was already gone; she just continued covering Rem in the contents of all nine potion flasks.

“Rem, you have to live! Don’t die on us! You just became free, after trying so hard, and for so long! Oh, please, Gods above, I beg of you! Don’t take Rem away just yet! She’s worked so hard for everyone’s sake by protecting the seal on her, and now she’s finally free! She’s going to work in a café with me! So please, don’t take her away! She’s done so much and worked so hard, so I think you should be able to cut her some slack!”

Softly, slowly, a warm beam of light drifted down from the heavens.

*Cough*...

“...Don’t...just decide...*cough*...we’re doing that...together...”

“Oh, thank the Gods!!” Shera jumped on Rem.

“That hurts, stupid Shera!”

“But...! But...!”

“Ah, but...it really does hurt. Until now, I couldn’t feel a thing...”

“That’s awesome! The potions Diablo made are really amazing!”

“...I see, so that’s what happened. That’s just what I would expect from Diablo.”

“How did this happen?” Shera asked. “You were almost dead, and Klem’s rampaging around...”

“...Alicia...betrayed us.” Rem had an anguished look on her face.

“No way?! Why would she do that? Are you sure that’s not some kind of mistake?”

“...That’s what I want to believe... But from the very beginning, it seemed her desire has always been to resurrect a Demon Lord that would kill the races.”

“What?! Why? I-It’s... It’s just like she’s...”

“Yes. Alicia is a Demon Lord worshiper.”

“How could that be...”

After hearing the whole story from Rem, Shera grew sorrowful, tears dripping from her face.

“That’s awful... That’s just so awful...”

“...I couldn’t agree more. Thanks to her, she made Klem go through this painful experience. It seems losing someone she cared about was the key to having her awaken as the Demon Lord.”

“That’s so cruel...”

“...Please, don’t cry like that.”

“But I just feel so bad for Klem...and for you...!”

“It’s true I almost died, but it happens all the time when you’re an Adventurer.”

“I don’t think you can say the same for things that hurt your heart, though.”

“...Yes... But now that you’re here, it does not hurt anymore.”

Rem lifted herself up off the floor with Shera supporting her.

“A-Are you okay?”

“...Of course... Uh?”

A large quantity of potions littered the floor. Rem’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you use all of these?”

“Yup.”

“...Diablo gave them to you, right?”

“That’s right.”

A tremor shook the ground—Diablo and Krebskulm were fighting close by.

“Were these all the HP potions he had? Is he fighting against an awakened Krebskulm with no items whatsoever?!” Rem grit her teeth.

“Ah...?!”

Another tremor rocked the remains of the building they stood in.

Then, the sound of footsteps drew closer to them, accompanied by the metallic clanking of armor. Thinking they could be allies of the Paladin, Shera’s body tensed up.

Rem lowered her voice. “...Run. You can make it by yourself.”

“No! I will never...NEVER...let you almost die again.”

Shera wiped the tears from her eyes and readied her bow, nocking an arrow into it.

A man in unmistakable golden armor poked his head through the crumbling wall.

“Well, looks like we hit the jackpot. Fear not, beautiful maidens, for I am here! You need no longer worry!”

“Emile?!” Shera and Rem both shouted out in surprise.

The other Adventurers he had gathered began to appear from behind him.

†

Diablo was sent flying backward.

—A coffin, of all things!

His back slammed into a tombstone, shattering the stone to pieces and knocking the wind out of him for an instant. If it wasn’t for the damage reduction from his Ebony Abyss, this would have been the end.

Standing back up again, Diablo immediately started running. Coffins rained down upon where he had collapsed just a moment before.

“Not bad... Pretty clever, considering it’s you, Klem...”

He came to a realization: Throwing things around was merely another “attack” kids would normally use. In the end, Krebskulm was nothing but a child.

She possessed incredibly powerful magic, her Darkness Breath, and maybe even more unique attacks—but she had chosen instead to pick objects up and throw them at Diablo. As long as he could anticipate it, he could get a read on where she was aiming from the way she threw the coffins. They were large, but they weren’t impossible to avoid.

—Even so, I took a lot of damage from that last one.

Diablo groped around the inside of his pouch, but his grasping fingers found nothing.

“That’s right, what was I thinking...!”

He had given every single HP potion he owned to Shera.

—It’s fine if it was enough to save Rem, but...

He had always been a solo player, so he wasn’t used to dealing with situations where he had run out of items using them on other people.

Fresh blood dripped down by his feet; his head was bleeding. This might’ve been the first time he’d been injured this badly since arriving in this world.

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!”

Krebskulm let out another bellowing howl, rapidly making her way toward the city wall.

—Just what is she trying to do?

Krebskulm strode over to the ramparts that surrounded Faltra, slamming her fist into them.

—Is she going to destroy the barrier towers!?

If she were to aim for the towers now, there was no way he could protect them. But that wasn’t the case.

Krebskulm gouged out a portion of the wall, lifting it over her head—

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAGHHH!!”

“Wait, you can’t be...!”

Panicking, Diablo started to run as Krebskulm threw the concrete at him.

“Goddamn it!”

Thinking about it from Krebskulm’s point of view, he had managed to dodge her fists, guard against her breath attack, and reflect her magic. The only thing that had any clear effect was when she threw something at him; there was no mistake she now based her battle strategy around this tactic.

A part of the wall that once surrounded Faltra came hurtling toward him, almost crushing Diablo.

“Hoooooly crap that was a close one...! When the hell did Cross Reverie become D*nkey K*ng!?”

—Were the devs even planning on having the last boss do attacks like this!?

The sound of metal clanking against metal drew closer to Diablo from the interior of the cemetery. He could see someone wearing a suit of golden armor.

“Hello, my friend!”

“Get away! You’ll get caught up in my magic!”

“Yeah, I’m leaving that all to you! I only came here to tell you one thing—Rem is all right! Shera, too! We’ve already gotten them out of the church, so there’s no need to worry about them!”

That was better news than he ever could have hoped for. For an instant, the hint of a smile played on his face.

Emile gave a thumbs up and flashed his pearly whites with a smile. “Go get ’em, my friend!”

“Hmph... You’ve done well. As a reward, I’ll show you one of my ultimate spells. I was just about to put the final touches on the preparations.”

“What’s this now?”

Diablo stabbed the ground with his staff, sending magic energy through it.

“This marks the thirteenth spot... It is finished.”

“That’s a spell?” Emile asked.

“Indeed. These kinds of magic exist in the world, too... 《Forbidden Spells》, that is.”

“Wh-What? Forbidden Spells!?”

“Heh heh heh...”

—That’s what they called it in the game, at least!

This was a spell that utilized the thirteen magic power spots he placed on the ground, making it something similar to any spell that used magic circles. While it was incredibly powerful, it was almost never used since it took so long to set up.

If your opponent were to leave the area of effect while you were still preparing, then it would all be for naught. If you made the perimeter for the spell too wide, then the power of the spell would drop significantly. Because Krebskulm had moved all the way over to the ramparts, Diablo had set up the spell so it would barely graze the city walls. They would just have to forgive him for melting the surface of said ramparts. As things were going, the entire wall would become ammo for Krebskulm to throw at him.

The barrier towers were outside the range of the spell, so everything should be fine, but he was still a little bit uneasy about it. This was the first time Diablo had used this spell since coming here. The effects of spells in this world were different than they were in the game, so he didn’t know what would happen until he tried casting it.

He turned his gaze toward Krebskulm. “Succumb to my attack, and be brought to your senses, Klem...

“《Apocalypse Abyss》!!”

Pillars of light burst forth from the thirteen areas of magic power he had laid down. A fierce tornado appeared within the affected area, the four basic elements raging about within, turning everything it touched to dust.

Flashes of lightning ran about as spouts of magma were thrown into the air. Everything frozen by the magic was shattered in an instant.

This was a spell that possessed attributes of the four basic elements—Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind—and was extremely effective against anything Dark-elemental.

“——————!!”

Krebskulm let out a piercing scream that would otherwise be swallowed up by the intense effects of the spell, never to reach the outside—at least, that’s how it should have been.

“RAAAAAAARGH!!”

A pained voice reached Diablo’s ears.

—So it leaked out after all...

The spell was producing an abnormal effect on things outside of its range. Though it should have just barely grazed them, the walls of the city were completely losing their shape.

Emile was at his wit’s end. “H-Hey, friend! You’re overdoing this!”

“Now’s not the time to think about that... We’re in danger here as well!”

The ground beneath Diablo started crumbling away. Backing off, Diablo sped across the ground.

“If you do not wish to die, then run!”

“Gahhhh!?” With a scream of his own, Emile took off at a sprint.

Diablo could see the depths of the earth from the cracked ground. Streams of magic energy were rapidly swirling about, with the four great elements whirled together to form a lightning clad tornado that rose up toward the heavens. The remnants of the destroyed church—as well as the ramparts of the city that should have been out of range—were completely caught in the spell.

Almost the entire cemetery of the North District was swallowed up by the earth.

†

A hollow crater had been gouged into the earth. Everything that had once stood here was now reduced to cinders. And in the middle of it all—

There was someone left standing.

Staying at the edge of the crater, Diablo stared in shock at the being in the center of the newly formed crater.

—Please don’t tell me she didn’t take any damage from that, right!?

To tell the truth, he didn’t have much MP to spare after firing off so many spells one after the other.

—Did I not prepare enough before using my ultimate magic...? Should I have made more high-grade MP potions before facing off against this newly awakened Demon Lord!?

Beside Diablo, Emile let out a voice of admiration: “Whoa—h my god... The graveyard is gone...!?”

“You should run while you can. The Demon Lord is still going strong.”

“Wh-What!?”

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARGH!!”

The Demon Lord let out a roar from the center of the crater. The surface of Krebskulm’s body cracked apart, her raised right arm crumbling off as if she were a broken stone statue.

—So it did get her after all!

In all honesty, he was relieved. If he hadn’t done any damage after all that, it was like being told: “Sorcerers can’t win against her.”

A multitude of tiny fractures spread along the surface of Krebskulm’s body. Yet even then, she did not lose her will to continue the fight. She clenched her remaining hand.

Along the edge of the crater, someone else besides Diablo and Emile had appeared.

“KLEEEEEEM!!”

Shera was waving her hands frantically, with Rem alongside her.

Diablo sensed danger; Krebskulm didn’t have the memories of when she was Klem, so it was extremely likely she would attack the two girls.

Krebskulm kicked off the ground and Diablo readied Tenma’s Staff. With a single bound, Krebskulm leapt in front of Rem and Shera.

“H-Hey, isn’t this kind of bad!?” Emile said, his voice frantic. “What’s going on here!? That gigantic monster...is supposed to be little Klem!?”

“That’s right!”

There was no time to explain the particulars to him; Rem and Shera were already too close. Krebskulm was on a completely different level then a Fallen since weaker magic had no effect on her.

—What do I do!?

Rem opened her arms wide.

“...Klem, I’m all right...! Everything is all right now... Please, come back to us!”

Shera took out a biscuit. “Look! Let’s eat these together again!”

The Demon Lord Krebskulm raised her left fist.

“Ooooooh...... Ooooooarghhh.........”

Diablo could only watch. If the two girls were just a little bit further away, there was a plethora of spells he could use. He hadn’t run out of MP just yet.

But one thing was certain: Krebskulm was reacting to the sound of their voices. Would Klem be able to make it back? Diablo fervently made a wish for it to be so.

Krebskulm lowered her enormous hand, holding it out toward Rem and Shera. Her cracked finger brushed against Rem.

“That must have hurt...but it’s all right now. I’m fine, so let’s go home.”

“Here you go, a biscuit! Let’s go back to a café again!”

Shera placed a biscuit on the giant’s hand. The cracks along Krebskulm’s surface rapidly grew in number.

“Oooooh... Oooohhh......”

Krebskulm’s body began to collapse. Like a statue crumbling away due the constant weathering of time, the winged colossus lost her shape as fragments splintered and fell from her being. The wings of light that once stretched toward the sky were no more, and the magic circle that filled the sky had disappeared. The crumbling fragments turned to sand, and were blown away in the wind.

A small girl, with horns and a tail, was holding a biscuit in both hands as she crouched over the ground. She looked at Rem with her purple-colored eyes.

“You’re...alive...”

“...Yes, I am. I was saved, thanks to Diablo and Shera.” Rem embraced Klem.

“I... I have to say... I’m sorry. I broke my promise with you, Rem,” Klem said in a soft voice.

“...Yes.”

“When I thought you were killed, the inside of my head went all red...”

“...It’s only because you’re a Demon Lord; there was nothing that could be done about that. Even if no one else forgives you, I will stand by your side.”

Shera threw her arms around the two of them. “Me too! I’ll always be your friend too!”

“Phew...” Diablo lowered his staff.

Thinking it over, there was now someone else here who knew the whole story of what happened.

“The friendship between beautiful women sure is a wonderful thing, isn’t it!” Emile stood next to him, arms folded.

“How are you planning to report back on this?”

“Heh... You prefer not to stand out rather than touting your own accomplishments, right, my friend? No need to worry, I am an ally to all women! I will do nothing to make them cry!”

“You’ve always been that kind of person, haven’t you.” It seemed there was no need to worry after all.

Diablo’s mind slipped for a moment; it felt like he was on the verge of collapsing. Splotches of blood formed on the ground as it dripped from him bit by bit.

—I did take a good bit of damage back there...but a Demon Lord would never let people see him on the verge of collapse!

Diablo pulled himself together once more.

†

After saying that the townspeople were probably in a panic right about now, Emile and the other Adventurers hopped back into the wagon and left to maintain the public order.

Diablo was informed of everything that happened from Rem, including Alicia’s betrayal.

“I see...” He was at a loss for words.

His chest hurt knowing that he had been betrayed again. But Alicia may have had her own circumstances for doing so, just like what happened with Shera. He couldn’t just forgive her when he thought of how she almost killed Rem, but he couldn’t bring himself to hate her, either.

Just as he was thinking it was time to head back to the inn, a bright, chipper voice called out to him.

“Heya, Diablo! Good work out there!”

“Hmph...” Diablo snorted. “You and the other Adventurers have played a part in this, too. Do feel honored knowing you have served me well.”

He still couldn’t be honest and just say thanks. Yet Sylvie still gave a sarcastic chuckle.

“Why, thank you oh so very much. I’m delighted I was able to protect the town as well. Now, while we’re on that subject, there’s something I want to ask you...”

She turned her gaze toward Klem, who was holding hands with Rem and Shera. Diablo had a bad feeling about this.

“What is it?”

“She’s the Demon Lord Krebskulm, right?” The smile disappeared from Sylvie’s face.

—So she saw what happened...

Sylvie was the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, and an Adventurer’s primary duty was to “prevent the resurrection of the Demon Lord.” It was impossible to try and hide anything now.

“If that were true, what would you do? I’ll have you know, she has become another one of my possessions.”

He spoke in as coercive a tone as he could muster, trying to push through with his usual Demon Lord role play. Considering how dangerous it would be to fight with him, Diablo was fully expecting Sylvie to come to terms with and approve of the now harmless Klem—but Sylvie still wore the same hardened expression on her face.

“I can’t just let this go; I’m the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild, after all. You still weren’t able to beat her even after using a spell that annihilated the entire graveyard, right?”

—And she even saw that...

“Are you saying you’ll fight with me, Sylvie?”

“I trust you, Diablo, but I don’t think I can trust Krebskulm here after she killed a Paladin.”

“He was a murderer!” Rem shouted.

“If Diablo wasn’t here, the whole town would have been destroyed by Krebskulm. Right now, an entire army of Fallen are advancing on Faltra from the western front. Did you know of that?”

“Wha—!?”

Klem shook her head. “I didn’t call them! Edelgard said she would wait in the forest, but I didn’t call them!”

“We have no way of confirming that. In fact, I can only think of this as the perfect opportunity for you.” Sylvie’s voice was frigid cold.

“You’re a more stubborn person than I thought,” Diablo sighed.

“Gotta be tough on the things that need me to be. I plan to protect the future of the races; that’s what an Adventurer does, right?”

“So, you don’t think Klem is harmless.”

“I’m not convinced, no. I’ll trust anyone the first time, but if they betray me, then never again. Nice and simple, no?”

“Do you truly think you will win against me?”

He did a quick analysis of the difference in their strengths: Sylvie could use spells that caused negative status effects, things like 《Bind》 and 《Silence》. But in the end, she was a Sorcerer, and Diablo possessed the ability to reflect all magic. There was no reason for him to lose.

“I think you have a misunderstanding of how I really fight.”

He felt an intense pressure from her, but he couldn’t let himself back down here. His instincts were telling him that making Sylvie his enemy was anything but a good plan.

—If what she just said is supposed to be the blurb she says right before we fight, then I’m already screwed...!

This was like a branching narrative in an adventure game—the kind where picking the wrong choice led to an immediate Bad End. It was a make-or-break situation, and he had no Save or Load options to help him; Klem’s life was truly on the line.

—Hold on a sec... Why are my only two choices “fight Sylvie” or “have Klem killed”? I can actually negotiate in this world; hell, I can even use magic. The choices should be endless!

“Do you hold the life you have in this town as something dear to you?” Diablo asked Klem.

“Hm? O-Of course I do.”

“But due to your little rampage earlier, it seems like you won’t be able to live here anymore.”

“Mmgh... That would be a problem for me...”

“I imagine it would, which is why I, the great and knowledgeable Diablo, shall educate you on a way for you to live in this town and continue eating biscuits. Without being hunted down by other Adventurers, of course.”

“There’s no way something like that could exist!” Sylvie exclaimed, leaning forward.

“You’ve said it yourself, Sylvie.”

“Huh!?”

“Oh, this is great!” Klem said excitedly. “I like the sound of your idea, Diablo! I do want to keep eating biscuits!”

Rem and Shera were in agreement as well.

“...If there really is a way, then please, tell us.”

“Yeah! It would be awful for Adventurers to come after her right after she finally went back to normal!”

Diablo nodded, and pulled a white stone from his pouch—a binding crystal.

“I shall cast 《Enslavement Magic》 on you! If you refuse, then the only option left is to fight!”

“You’re going to make me a slave!?” Klem’s eyes went wide.

“That’s right! You shall become a servant of the great Diablo!”

“What!?” Sylvie was in shock. “Isn’t that kind of off the table, Diablo!?”

“You’ve already said it yourself: ‘I’ll trust anyone the first time. If they betray me, then never again.’ Those were your exact words.”

“Y-Yeah, I did say that, but...”

Diablo puffed out his chest with another snort. “Exactly! Then you should believe in my enslavement magic at least once, am I wrong!?”

“Wow, just...wow... Now he’s being all gung-ho about this craziness!”

“Oho? So you’re the kind of person who goes back on their word when things don’t work out for them. How is that for someone who is supposed to lead other people? Can people put their trust in someone like this?”

“Man, never thought I’d be getting a lecture about trust from you of all people...” Sylvie sighed, then looked at Klem. “But would the Demon Lord Krebskulm be able to accept having that magic cast on her?”

Klem was deep in thought when Shera placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s all right! I’m supposed to be enslaved to Diablo, too. But once you get used to it, the worst thing about it is the collar kinda gets in the way when you try and wash your neck!”

“What was that!?” Klem’s eyes were almost perfectly round.

Rem nodded. “...It’s true, that is about the only inconvenience you will face, along with getting some curious looks from people around town. Oh, and I’m supposed to be enslaved to Diablo as well, by the way,” she said, touching her own collar.

“Being with Diablo makes you stand out anyway, so it’s pretty much the same thing!” Shera said happily.

“...I can’t say it is the same, but I’m sure it would be better than having Adventurers coming after your life.”

Klem nodded, showing her assent.

“Are you really serious about this, Diablo?” Sylvie grimaced. “Doing that...to a Demon Lord?”

“As long as it satisfies you, then yes,” Diablo said while glaring at her.

“Please believe them, Sylvie!” Shera begged.

“...Going off what you said earlier, you should trust them at least the once. I don’t want to make you out to be the kind of person who goes back on their word, Sylvie,” Rem said, following up with a logical argument.

Klem raised both her hands. “All right, I shall allow it! Put this ‘enslavement collar’ or whatever on me!”

As for Sylvie—

“Guess it’s my loss, Diablo.” With a dry laugh, she admitted defeat.

“Haha... If you’re going to use enslavement magic on Klem, then I have no choice but to trust her... Though I don’t know if that kind of magic would even work on the Demon Lord Krebskulm.”

“Just who do you think I am? I am the Demon Lord, Diablo!”

Klem puffed out her chest. “I shall allow it, so hurry up and use this magic!”

“I shall allow it! Let’s hurry up and use this magic!”

Diablo nodded. He took the white stone in his hand, thinking back to the steps Shera had taken to acquire her Summon the other day.

—Wait, I have to kiss Klem...?

Sylvie was watching; Shera, too.

Rem gave him a curious look. “...Do you not understand how to do it? Just chant the spell exactly as I tell you.”

—All right.

Diablo resigned himself to what had to be done.