Rustle─!
The time, drawing a silver trajectory in the air, was truly but a fleeting moment. The movement of the arm, saturated with mana, was faster than imagination could comprehend.
Most mages wouldn’t even see it.
But the sensation in my hand felt strangely off. Of course, the Demon Lord wouldn’t just willingly offer his neck.
‘Clone?’
The feeling of slicing through the neck was overly easy. Not to mention, the Demon Lord’s mana was still intact.
It wasn’t hard to understand. I couldn’t kill him.
Even in that short moment, he had reacted.
Indeed, he was deserving of being called the ruler of the Demon Realm.
Having lost both of his eyes, I somewhat hoped he had weakened significantly.
But it wasn’t the case. He was missing only his eyes, yet his physical condition seemed better than ever.
“…Don’t mention Arcne.”
Ezekiel said, his grayish eyes blazing. The Demon Lord had somehow drifted away, standing in the air.
“Ahahaha…!”
The Demon Lord landed heavily before the man.
With a snap of his fingers, Valetta instantly surrounded them both with a pitch-black cube. He had erected a barrier so that others could not observe.
Valetta’s red lips curved into a crescent.
“Han-shin, you’ve grown even stronger since we last met.”
The Demon Lord seemed pleased as he stroked his own neck. Looking closely, there was a faint scar where it appeared he had been slightly cut.
‘So it’s not completely ineffective.’
This was significant.
It meant I had managed to injure the Demon Lord, which indicated that all the training Ezekiel had done was worthwhile.
Having newly mastered three energies, I had only just taken my first step. If I survived today, I might be able to confront the Demon Lord later on.
Meanwhile, the Demon Lord seemed satisfied.
“I’ve only had a piece of the Blood Sphere, and yet you’ve already created your own operational method? How could you achieve something even more beautiful than the demons…?”
He even covered his own face with both hands in utter delight.
“For the sake of the Demon Realm, if you continue to work hard, something truly beautiful will happen. Mana is beautiful. It’s so beautiful!”
From Ezekiel’s perspective, it was exasperating.
‘Arcne is still in critical condition.’
It was a life-or-death situation, yet right in front of me, the Demon Lord was idly wasting time. I couldn’t help but feel anger boiling within me.
“I’d rather you just leave now.”
“No, I cannot leave until our conversation is complete.”
The Demon Lord spoke with a voice full of potent mana, and Ezekiel’s sharp gray eyes widened.
A piercing sound slipped from his lips.
“I already warned you once, didn’t I? Never speak of Arcne.”
The Demon Lord was the one who had put her in that condition. How could I possibly tolerate his mention of her?
But still.
“…Really? Even if it’s tempting, you shouldn’t mention it?”
The Demon Lord said, his voice rather sweet.
“Han-shin, the Emperor placed Arcne’s life on the line as a condition for the compromise. But I’ve clearly left her alive… Don’t you still not understand why?”
He purposely paused, as if suggesting I should think for myself. Ezekiel’s mind began to race.
Then, a thought crossed my mind.
“…You intentionally spared Arcne?”
“Exactly! That’s right! You should think that way. I intentionally left her heart in place.”
“So, you expect me to be grateful or something?”
Whether he spared her or not, there was no denying that he had put her in a near-death state. Whatever the intent, this was not enough to quell Ezekiel’s anger.
“Hahaha─!”
But the Demon Lord burst into a hearty laugh.
“You don’t need to thank me. I simply want to propose a deal to you in this situation.”
“…A deal?”
Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel puzzled by that.
There were numerous points that didn’t make sense.
First of all, the Demon Lord was stronger than Ezekiel.
If he wanted something, there was nothing strange in capturing Agnes and Seina or threatening Ezekiel while attacking him. Yet, he mentioned a deal.
In other words, it meant he had to take the form of a deal to get what he wanted.
…What on earth did the Demon Lord want?
Ezekiel was curious about that.
“Han-shin, let’s make a deal. What do you say?”
The Demon Lord said, his face filled with a simmering desire.
Was this what one would call a devil’s whisper?
“You mentioned a deal, but what’s the content?”
“Blood Spirit.”
It was as if the Demon Lord had been waiting for that very word to exit my mouth. His expression was filled with joy and excitement.
“Blood Spirit?”
“Indeed, the noble spirit that lives and breathes within you.”
Whoosh!
In the next moment, the Demon Lord teleported once more.
Suddenly, he placed his palm on Ezekiel’s chest and closed his eyes, savoring the sound of the heartbeat for a while.
“Indeed, this marvelous spirit… the sort that not just anyone can hold…. If you want to nurture it, regular consumption of the Blood Sphere is essential. That is only natural, isn’t it?”
The Demon Lord’s words made sense.
Just as regularly consuming Sun Elixir nourishes the Sun Elixir Spirit and enhances the intensity of heat, the Blood Sphere would be necessary to boost the power of the Blood Spirit and mana.
‘No, I absolutely must have the Blood Sphere.’
It wasn’t just a nice-to-have; it was essential.
The reason Ezekiel could awaken while emitting grayish energy was that the three energies were harmonized at the same level.
What if one grew excessively? What if one lagged behind too much? I had no idea what could happen. The unbalanced energy might cause my heart to explode.
“You going to the Magic Tower for punishment, trying to use the artifacts of the Magic Tower to save Arcne… I won’t stop you. Furthermore, I’ll even provide you with some Blood Spheres.”
However, the Demon Lord had just mentioned the Blood Sphere.
Moreover, he promised he would allow this without interfering at this moment.
Just how incredible was it that he was asking for such a thing?
But moments later, the Demon Lord offered an undeniably unexpected condition.
“Do not be lax in your training in the future, and strive for achievements in the operation of mana. Well, if you need to, you can even fuse with the resurrected Arcne.”
“…?”
Ezekiel’s brows naturally furrowed.
So, he was promising incredible benefits merely for training harder to get stronger?
That was far from a deal.
It was closer to a form of support.
“Is that all?”
“Of course not!”
It was far from the end.
Immediately after, Valetta began to speak.
“…Someday, collide head-on with the Emperor.”
Now the Demon Lord’s conditions were sorted.
After Ezekiel achieved a realm of mastery, he was to clash directly with the Emperor. That was his entire wish.
“What?”
“Hahahaha! Why? What I just said is all there is to it!”
The Demon Lord laughed heartily, incredibly delighted.
“Han-shin, it means I recognize your potential. I hope you can grow by devouring my Blood Sphere and someday collide with the Emperor. What do you think?”
When Ezekiel fell silent for a moment, Valetta placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered softly.
“Han-shin, isn’t Arcne precious to you?”
“….”
“In the Demon Realm, there’s an unbreakable rule. A traitor will never be allowed to be happy and will be left to suffer endless torment forever.”
The Demon Lord Valetta, discussing the unbreakable rule, sounded quite rough, leading Ezekiel to silently ponder.
The demonic wrath of the evil spirits would likely echo similarly.
The whisper of the demonic fury continued.
“Yet this time was different…. Someone as great as me, the Demon Lord, went against the rule to keep the traitor alive… Why did I do that?”
Pop─!
The Demon Lord suddenly squeezed Ezekiel’s cheeks. It was an astonishingly fast movement.
“You, you, you…! Only you…! It’s because you shine. I kept that wretched thing alive just to have a chance to deal with you…!”
After exclaiming in a crazed manner.
After a brief silence, he blinked several times.
Then, out of nowhere, he burst into laughter and stepped back.
“Hahaha─! See, I can be this rough. My Demon God, don’t be too surprised. I’m just a woman full of ambition. Now, do you understand what the deal is?”
The Demon Lord subtly drew Ezekiel closer.
“Although from your perspective, it may seem unfair and like double-dealing, I’m perfectly fine with it. The Demon Realm prefers a little dirty play to overly straightforward actions, you see.”
As the distance closed.
“Arcne, who the Emperor wanted dead; I’m the one who has allowed her to live. In fact, couldn’t you say I’m less to blame? The terms of the deal shouldn’t be too bad, right? My dear.”
Then the Demon Lord asked in a sticky voice.
“…So, what is your intention? Will you not give me an answer?”
The abyss was enticing Ezekiel.
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