Demon King

[Die!]

It wasn’t from Barbatos, who was struggling with the flames, but rather it was an arrow.

“Myu!” As soon as he completed his mission of killing Plauros, Solas had returned to my side and immediately recognized the situation through our shared senses. He jumped in without hesitation towards the deadly arrow aimed for my head, just as heavy as any of Barbatos’s strikes.

“…Reraje!” I shouted the name that went to my mind urgently. Just before Solas, surrounded by the mana of Jinma, hit the arrow, its strength was noticeably reduced.

[Shit!]

A man appeared from the direction the arrow was shot from, wearing a green cloak and hat in imitation of Barbatos. It was the demon sharpshooter Reraje, who was wielding a bow instead of a gun. He had apparently been waiting to snipe me while I fought Barbatos, but when I put him on the defensive, Reraje had become impatient. The power of a demon was warring with the elf inside him, weakening him now after I called his name. He had taken precautions so that it wouldn’t kill him right away, though.

[Fuck! King, why would you return when we don’t want you?]

“What a curious expression.” I grabbed onto Solas, who blocked the arrow with his teeth. The arrow had apparently been poisoned, and now that was rotting through his body. I burned the poison away with the Flame of Destruction.

[Ahhhhh!]

“Canis, go aid the others.”

[Gaooooo!]

Canis, who reached me a bit later than Solas, let out a brisk cry but ultimately obeyed my order. His fighting style wasn’t suited for aerial combat, especially not against two ranged fighters, even if his strength was considerable. I needed him more on the ground, aiding the situation there.

[This place has already lost its former glory.]

“I wonder who is behind that.” Reraje stepped up to provoke me, and I wondered if he was trying to buy Barbatos time to recover. Of course, it gave me time to let Solas recover, so I didn’t really mind.

[Ha…that flame is a dangerous combination.]

[I know, Barbatos. I’ll be more vigilant than you.]

The abilities of these two matched up pretty well, just like Andras and Plauros. I wondered if that was why they dressed so similarly, too.

“Solas, are you okay now?”

“Myu!” A red thread spewed out of his mouth, emitting heat. I could see that he was also learning how to use the flames in his own way.

[Nothing will defile the Devil’s Hand. You will die here today.]

“Solas, I’m going.” I used Ubiquitous to step through the air once more. Of course, arrows and bullets flew to the place I stepped in to face me, and the Goddess’s Touch, combined with my Predation, stopped them. At the same time, a Flame of Destruction bloomed in the air next to Reraje to strike him in the head.

[You’re wielding something that doesn’t belong to you!]

He shouted angrily as he raised his bow to stop the flame. Barbatos jumped through the air to help him but found himself in the spider web Solas had set for him.

[Huh?!]

“Myu!” The webs aggravated his wounds as a strong flame enshrined inside the thin web began to burn him.

[Gyaaah!]

[That spider!]

Arrows sailed through the air, hitting the defensive magic Solas had activated in preparation. That alone wasn’t enough, however. Even though the arrows were weaker than the bullets, they contained a deadly toxin. I reached out, and the Goddess’ Touch reacted by bursting into pieces of crystal to create a shield in front of him. The arrows failed to pierce the shield created by my artifact, which repelled the energy back at Reraje. I rushed straight at Barbatos. He was exhausted from the continuous hits he had taken.

[No way!]

“Now!” Reraje tried to shoot an arrow to stop me, but Solas was faster. His spider web filled the air, aimed right at him.

[Annoying!]

“Myu!” The arrow was caught in the web, deflected, and Reraje suffered serious wounds as the spider web containing the Flame of Destruction surrounded him. By the time his movement was halted, I was already in front of Barbatos. The Annihilation in my left hand flashed out.

“That’s it.”

[Huh…don’t you dare laugh, one favored by the Devil!]

Barbatos’s body, engulfed by the Flames of Destruction, shone white. Like when he had put the muzzle in my mouth, he moved beyond the range of my cognition. He was heading right toward L, who was silently watching us.

[If I can secure her…!]

[Don’t be stupid!]

[It’s no use, he’s already awakened!]

I couldn’t clearly explain what happened. Despite being aware of the impending doom coming right for her, L didn’t deviate. She was leading the flow that could be called the order in this battlefield and couldn’t stop for a single second. She continued with the absolute belief that she would be alright.

At some point, then, I noticed I was moving like Barbatos.

[Ubiquitous became Lv7. You will be harder to stop when moving.]

It was like I could see my own back moving faster before me like I was projecting a future me into the present. I was running to get to my destination, but it was like I was already there as well. Barbatos’s entire body had turned into a strange arrow-like shape as the flames greedily licked at his body. However, before he could reach L, A had stood before her with hands spread wind to protect her. Before he could reach them, I was already swinging my dagger at where he would show up as if I had been there all along.

[Death.]

No one said it, but rather it was the will of the countless souls inside of Annihilation united as one. It pierced through Barbatos’s head, and a scream that did not come out as a voice filled the battlefield.

[——!]

All of the demons on the battlefield stopped moving, unable to figure out who was screaming.

[You gained 645,918 experience.]

[You have received 439,271 gold.]

[You obtained Death Whisper.]

[Your level has risen multiple times.]

[Evolution is now possible.]

Only

[No!]

Reraje shouted out with his eyes wide open. The elves who had been climbing out of the hole the two created looked at me the same way.

“No way…already?” Somewhere on the battlefield, Rain muttered something like that.

[Evolution cannot be reversed. The closer you are to what you reached in the past, the more you will lose what you have instead of gaining more.]

[Will you still move forward?]

I devoured Barbatos’s body whole.

“Of course.”

My next evolution began.