Ch.78The Correlation Between the Demon Lord and the Hero – 5

“You want me to find a way to destroy the demon sword? Why?”

Instead of answering, Elysiere gestured into the air. A vertical red line appeared, and from within it emerged a sword that looked like a crude stone block. The Demon King grasped its handle.

As soon as the demon sword appeared, a sticky killing intent filled the room. Even Priscilla seemed affected, curling up like a baby. I stroked her head to calm her down.

I wondered about the sudden murderous aura, but judging from Elysiere’s expression, it wasn’t by her will. The killing intent only subsided after she gripped the handle so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“Do you remember when I told you this thing released killing intent toward the Hero on its own, my dear?”

I nodded. That incident had sent Brunhilde into a panic, even causing her to hyperventilate.

“Since then, I have been hearing its voice constantly. Or rather, I should say a kind of thought-like presence echoes in my mind.”

“Thoughts? What does it say?”

“It says a coward who retreated before the Hero is not worthy of being called a Demon King. It also says I am not worthy to wield it.”

“The sword has its own ego? Is it some kind of ego sword?”

Elysiere chuckled at my joke.

“That’s not entirely wrong. After all, the one inhabiting this body is merely a possessor, not the true Demon King Elysiere.”

“Well, I understand now. You want me to find a way to destroy it because of that voice, right?”

“There is one more reason. Perhaps an even more important one. It’s because of the being this sword mentions as worthy of possessing it.”

Elysiere frowned mid-sentence. The hand holding the demon sword trembled. From the looks of it, the sword was quite disobedient.

“It said it would inform its creator, the Demon God, of this fact to punish me and establish a new Demon King.”

“…Demon God?”

This was the first time I’d heard of such a thing. And it seemed Elysiere was just as unfamiliar with it.

“It’s a concept even I am not aware of. I’ve heard of a Goddess in this world, but never of a Demon God. Judging by the name, it might be a god of demon-kind, or perhaps an entity that stands opposite to the Goddess… but it doesn’t exist in my memories.”

If it wasn’t in Elysiere’s memory, then it wasn’t a concept that appeared in the original story. After all, the death of the Demon King was the end for the three possessors and the beginning of the next cycle.

“Whether this is truth or merely a threat, I cannot say. However, if there’s even a one-in-ten-thousand chance it’s true, it would be best not to get entangled with such a being. That’s why I’m asking you to find a way to destroy it, to prepare for any possibility. Once this body is shattered, it shouldn’t be able to contact this so-called Demon God.”

I fell into thought. Setting aside this Demon God business, I couldn’t think of any way to destroy the demon sword. It would certainly withstand any ordinary impact.

Since it was said to have broken when the Demon King died, perhaps the holy sword could do it, but I wasn’t certain. And I had absolutely no intention of pushing Elysiere to the brink of death just to test it.

“You need not worry yourself under time pressure. I am not so weak that I cannot withstand mere voices.”

Elysiere smiled lightly, seeing my concerned expression.

“It has consistently threatened to call for judgment from this Demon God, yet I remain unharmed. This suggests it’s likely just lying. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to destroy it as soon as possible? We can’t just ignore even a small possibility. I’ll think about it as much as I can.”

“Thank you, my dear.”

Elysiere gave me a brighter smile.

I thought our conversation was over, but even after putting the demon sword back into the red space, Elysiere didn’t return to her room. Instead, she kept glancing at me nervously.

“What? Is there something else you want to say?”

“Well… no. Could you come closer to me for a moment?”

I placed the pillow I had been using in Priscilla’s hand instead of my finger and got up. I moved right next to Elysiere, who surrounded the area with a sound-blocking spell.

“Do you remember when we first met, when you punched me in the face?”

“Of course I remember. How could I forget that?”

It was a shocking encounter in many ways. At that time, I couldn’t even imagine that the Demon King was a possessor, so every part of our conversation was filled with confusion.

Blushing, Elysiere stroked the spot where she had been hit and continued.

“I don’t know how this will sound, but I cannot forget the sensation I felt when you hit me. It was like electricity running through my entire body, like fireworks exploding in my head.”

“…?”

While I stood there dumbfounded, not knowing how to react, Elysiere’s cheeks grew even redder.

“The day I met you, after returning to my room, I struck my own face hundreds of times… but no matter how much pain I inflicted with my own hands, I couldn’t recreate that sensation. So I ask you, my dear. Could you hit me just once more?”

“…”

“If, if you’re uncomfortable with that, it doesn’t have to be my face. Any place where I can feel pain will do. For example… yes, that’s it.”

Elysiere gently lifted the hem of her clothes. It was casual attire she had acquired to avoid suspicion from Beatrice and Nika.

Her taut abs and cute navel were revealed, but Elysiere didn’t stop there. Her other hand pulled down her pants slightly, exposing her slightly protruding lower abdomen and hip bones.

“You, you can hit me here too…”

“…”

At that incredibly explicit and obscene gesture, I quietly held my throbbing forehead.

‘If I do this here… and there…’

Late at night, Roxana was in an underground space. It was the location of the core of the defensive magic array that surrounded Bellium Academy like an iron wall.

The area was surrounded by dozens of layers of detection and defense magic personally installed by the chairman, but Roxana wasn’t caught by any of them.

This was thanks to the ‘Ring of Night Whispers’ on her left index finger.

‘This is amazing.’

Each time detection magic periodically swept over her body, Roxana marveled at the ring’s performance.

Publicly, it was known merely as a sacred relic that darkened the user’s body. But its true value manifested from the time the sun set and night fell.

At the moment darkness arrived, it made the wearer immune to all magical concepts.

Attack magic passed through the target’s body, detection magic failed to find intruders, and even high-tier magic became equally useless.

On top of that, it covered the wearer’s body in darkness for visual concealment, truly deserving of its status as a sacred relic.

‘No wonder they kept it so hidden.’

There was a reason why the ring’s true capabilities were passed down only to the Pope in direct succession, while the outside world only knew it as simply covering the user in darkness.

‘Good, now if I just change this… done.’

Having completed the core’s manipulation without any interference, Roxana left the underground with a satisfied smile.

Of course, she didn’t forget to erase traces of her breach of the physical defense facilities. Such things were well within Roxana’s capabilities.

‘How did she come up with such an idea?’

All of this was due to the Queen’s foresight. Even that Black Dragon wouldn’t dare imagine that the very walls protecting the academy would turn into bombs.

Considering that people typically increase the strength of barriers when under attack from outside, it would be even more devastating. The stronger the barrier, the wider the explosion radius.

‘This time, even that guy won’t be able to do anything about it.’

Roxana shuddered as she recalled Astaroth’s near-hysterical fit when he complained about Mira Crate interfering with his plans again.

Dozens of succubi suffered severe injuries, including uterine ruptures, from bearing the brunt of his hysteria. Six of them permanently lost their value as succubi.

If the plan failed again because of that guy, there’s no telling what might happen.

‘I must succeed no matter what.’

Roxana headed toward her dormitory with renewed determination. This plan had to succeed at all costs.

No matter what sacrifice it required.

“Thank you for your hard work, Beatrice.”

“I only did what was expected of me.”

“You too, Nika, thank you.”

“I, I only did what was expected of a maid.”

We left the mansion only on Monday morning. Beatrice and Nika, who had served us for two full days, saw us off to the dimensional gate before returning to their main house.

Following Elysiere’s advice, I didn’t tell Nika the truth about her being the next Succubus Queen candidate. It might unnecessarily trigger something.

Instead, I shared everything with Priscilla and Rosaria, who didn’t need to be kept in the dark. When I told them that Nika was actually of Succubus Queen lineage, Rosaria was incredulous at how I’d managed to find such a person.

“So you won’t do it after all. How disappointing.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Even as we parted, Elysiere looked at me with lingering regret in her eyes. I worried what would happen if the others started asking questions.

Of course, it was because I had refused her request to hit her. Though she seemed to understand it was a strange request, she still looked disappointed but didn’t press the matter further.

‘Well, she’s been through quite a lot too…’

Elysiere had experienced no less than 89 cycles of regression. Though it seemed relatively few compared to Priscilla’s overwhelming number, it still amounted to over 450 years of lived experience.

So I could understand if she had developed one or two unusual preferences. Understanding, however, didn’t mean I had to indulge them.

“…Huh?”

As soon as we returned to the academy through the dimensional gate, we sensed something was off. There was unusual activity near the main entrance. Rosaria tilted her head in confusion.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll have to see for ourselves.”

As we stood there bewildered, nearby students noticed us and rushed over.

“It’s the Holy Maiden candidate!”

“Are you really returning to the Papal Office?”

As students swarmed around, Rosaria tried to calm them with a confused expression. From the dozens of questions being fired at once, it seemed they were concerned about Rosaria returning to the Papal Office.

‘That matter should have been resolved already.’

Why was this coming up again?

“Ah! Mira!”

Aria pushed through the crowd, panting. Brunhilde was nowhere to be seen. Seeing a good opportunity, I asked her:

“What’s suddenly happening? Why is everyone in such an uproar? And where did Brunhilde go?”

“She’s with the Captain of the Starlight Order’s Holy Knights.”

“The Holy Knights? The ones from the Papal Office? Why are the Pope’s personal guards here?”

Hadn’t they completely backed off from the Holy Maiden candidate after the Pope’s own son died?

“There’s an order from the Pope to bring back the Holy Maiden candidate.”

It seemed that man still hadn’t given up on the Holy Maiden candidate.