“…It really will be all right, won’t it?”
Aris peered anxiously into the barrier.
Inside it, Seo Uri had collapsed limply to the floor and had not so much as twitched since.
She wanted to rush in at once and check his condition.
But before it began, he had warned her not to enter under any circumstances, so all she could do was watch.
Aris clenched her fists in frustration.
“What is that woman to him, that he’d go this far…?”
The woman lying beside him, eyes closed as if asleep, looked weak at a glance.
Well, of course she did. That was why she had been done in by a demon like that.
From Aris’s point of view, there was no need to save that woman at all.
Was she as pretty as me?
Or as strong as me?
She wasn’t even worthy of reaching the toes of the great super-super-super archmage Aris.
Seo Uri had said he would let the demon race member contracted to him possess his own body for that woman’s sake.
Why?
‘Is it because she’s weak, maybe?’
Come to think of it, the Red Tower Master had said that women men wanted to protect were popular with them.
—Why on earth would anyone like someone weak? Isn’t it only natural for humans to like someone stronger than themselves?
No matter how much her past self had thought about it, she hadn’t been able to understand those words.
But now, she felt like she understood the reason somewhat.
Because even Seo Uri, having lost his memories and become weaker, was incredibly charming.
If the Seo Uri of the past had been like a wolf that tore into everything, the Seo Uri now was like a very small, adorable puppy.
It made her want to protect him, no matter what.
Seo Uri was probably feeling something similar toward that woman, and that was why he was sacrificing himself like this.
‘It’s not like he fell in love with her at first sight, right?’
He was a man who hadn’t given in even when she tempted him by saying she’d give him his first experience.
That was precisely why she was certain he was saving her out of goodwill.
‘He’s popular because he’s so kind. It’d be a problem if that woman fell for our Uri.’
She was in the middle of thinking that when—
“…!”
All of a sudden, a dangerous aura emanated from Seo Uri’s body.
Even she, a great archmage, flinched in surprise.
She had felt this sensation only once in her life.
Only when she had met that woman on the top floor of the Tower.
“…N-no way?”
Because she had not been summoned long ago,
the information Aris knew was still limited.
All she knew was that there were others who had formed contracts with Seo Uri,
and that right now, he was letting one of them, a member of the demon race, possess his body.
Aris’s mind spun rapidly.
‘So far, the ones we’ve summoned are two. This great super-super-super archmage, and Rachel, the hero who saved the world.’
She was not quite enough to compare to herself, but Rachel was certainly strong.
“Is Brother going to be all right?”
Not only was she not being pushed back against a first-class demon,
she even had enough leeway to look away from time to time.
In that other dimension, she had probably had no one who could stand against her, just like Aris herself.
‘The ones contracted with Seo Uri are presumed to be the strongest in their dimensions. And the one possessing him is a member of the demon race. The strongest of the demon race is…?’
The answer came down to one.
At last, Aris realized it and shouted into the barrier.
“Don’t tell me you’re letting the Demon King possess your body!?”
The strongest of the demon race was the Demon King.
Hadn’t she even beheld the Demon King in person?
That being was incredibly strong and dangerous.
And he had made a contract with someone like that?
The Demon King must have been planning to deceive Seo Uri and take over his body.
And after taking over his body, as always, the Demon King would try to destroy the world.
“I have to stop it.”
The moment the Demon King descended, they would have no chance of victory.
She knew that all too well, and yet…
“I can’t….”
Aris powerlessly lowered her staff.
The only way to stop the descent was to kill the sacrifice.
That meant she would have to kill Seo Uri with her own hands.
That was something she hated more than death.
“Even if the world is destroyed, as long as I have you, that’s enough.”
Rachel would probably have made the same judgment.
Because to them, Seo Uri was more precious than anything in the world.
Aris had no choice but to watch as he was swallowed by darkness.
“…”
The only thing she could believe in was that Seo Uri would not lose to the Demon King.
An instant that felt like eternity passed.
At last, Seo Uri opened his eyes.
That was all.
And yet,
the barrier Aris had painstakingly created shattered,
and the world was blanketed in darkness.
***
A plain covered in darkness.
Rachel glanced toward the place where her brother had been.
‘He’s awakened….’
She did not know the situation, but she could at least tell that that man was no longer her brother.
‘The one who has taken over that body is most likely my sworn enemy, the Demon King.’
As proof, the holy sword was ringing like mad.
It was telling her to cut him down at once.
But Rachel ignored that opinion.
Because her brother was tens of thousands of times more important than the responsibility of a hero that had come with taking up the holy sword.
“Kahahaha! He has come!”
If Brother had become the Demon King, did that make that demon their ally now?
Just as she let down her guard,
Lucius, strengthened by the Demon King’s aura, continued his attack.
Its power and speed were clearly different from before.
When the Demon King descended, all demons became terrifyingly stronger.
It was a fact she had forgotten because she had kept paying attention only to her brother.
She tried to block it belatedly, but she was a little too late.
Just as she closed her eyes to brace for the impact to come,
a warmth far too familiar wrapped around Rachel’s body.
Boom!
Dust billowed up.
Even though she had not seen it with her eyes, she knew who had blocked the attack.
Even the scent she could feel was far too familiar.
“B-Brother?”
As the dust cleared, Seo Uri appeared.
With an expressionless face, he was blocking Lucius’s fist.
Seeing that, Rachel superimposed upon him the image of Seo Uri from the past, when he had saved her.
But the alien aura emanating from his body was not the brother she knew.
Rachel was not the only one bewildered.
“…Your Majesty the Demon King. Why on earth?”
“Lucius, even though it has been so long since you last saw Us, you do not even greet Us.”
“Lucius, Archduke of Demons, greets Your great Majesty!”
The voice that came from his mouth still made her heart pound fiercely.
But the changed way of speaking and the atmosphere felt as if they were slashing her heart to ribbons.
As expected, the Demon King had taken residence in her brother’s body.
But why had he helped her, the hero?
That person’s actions were suspicious.
“It has been a long time, hero.”
“…What happened to Brother?”
“Do not look at Us with such eyes. We have merely borrowed this man’s body for a short while in order to grant his request.”
“W-wait. Are you truly the Demon King?”
“To become a hero and fail to recognize Us—your holy sword must be weeping.”
Rachel was flustered.
His way of speaking and the aura she felt were unmistakably the Demon King’s,
but his actions were completely different.
Hadn’t he originally been obsessed with destroying the world?
As if it could not understand either, the holy sword bent its blade into the shape of a question mark.
The Demon King, who had borrowed Seo Uri’s body, gave a faint smile at the sight.
“…May I be permitted to ask what kind of conversation you two are having?”
“…Do you think you dare ask Us a question?”
“M-my apologies!”
Lucius, who had cut in tactlessly, hurriedly dropped to his knees.
At some point, the Demon King’s face had turned expressionless as he nodded.
“Yes. If you have seen Us, that is how you should bow your head.”
“…I will keep it in mind.”
“Pray that you do not make the same mistake in your next life.”
Slice—
Lucius’s head fell to the ground in an instant.
“Wh-why on earth…?”
“Because Our patience is not so great.”
The severed head twitched.
Lucius was not dead yet.
Demonkind revived as many times as the number of souls they had devoured.
Since Lucius had devoured the souls of tens of thousands, he still had chances for resurrection left.
However, those were all authorities granted by the Demon King.
“We shall take back everything that belongs to you.”
The moment he finished speaking, the aura of death began devouring Lucius’s body.
Lucius’s corpse vanished in an instant.
The Demon King, still expressionless, looked up into the air.
“To falsely proclaim yourself a great being while understanding nothing at all—how truly pitiful.”
With Lucius’s death,
the collapse of the Gap and the misalignment of the Rift disappeared.
What he was looking at now was the sky that had turned blue in an instant.
Muttering words whose target was unclear,
he turned around.
The plain still stretched endlessly.
There stood two women who had once driven him into crisis.
The Demon King let out a playful sigh.
“If it were a battle to take the world into Our hands, that would be one thing. But to have to fight you again in order to win one man’s heart… We do not have confidence.”
Confidence that We would lose.
“…Pardon?”
At those words, Rachel, who was nearby, flinched.
Aris, farther away, was also aghast.
“No way. Surely not?”
“Whatever you are thinking, it is likely correct.”
Aris pressed a hand to her forehead.
“He actually went and seduced the Demon King?”
“Brother did???”
Rachel truly could not understand a single thing about the current situation.
“What amusing reactions, befitting Our expectations.”
The Demon King laughed playfully and stood before the collapsed Yu Seolhwa.
“Hm. It seems he holds no ordinary feelings for this woman, so We are jealous.”
The Demon King’s brow narrowed.
“But if We do not grant his request, We will earn your resentment. We dislike that as well.”
The Demon King waved a hand through the air.
That was the end of it.
“This woman will awaken in a few minutes. And Our time will soon run out, so We will return to Our original dimension. You need not look so worried.”
“No, that’s not it… Am I the only one who doesn’t understand? You’re the Demon King. The Demon King likes a human?”
“As far as We know, love knows neither race nor borders. What have We done wrong?”
“No, when you put it like that, I don’t really have anything to say…”
Aris looked utterly dumbfounded by the Demon King’s unabashed attitude.
This time, Rachel stepped forward and asked a question.
“Demon King, did you truly turn over a new leaf because of love?”
“Well, one could say that.”
“Then destroy the Tower right now. You could do it, couldn’t you?”
“Regrettably, that is impossible. We are nothing more than an impurity in this dimension, and thus have no authority here. Even if it were possible, you would stop Us then.”
“What does that mean…”
“We would like to answer, but Our time is almost up.”
The Demon King looked up into the air.
“Before We go, We shall truly, lastly, tell you one brief thing you may be curious about.”
The Demon King slowly extended a finger and pointed at Yu Seolhwa, who lay collapsed on the ground.
Then, in a calm voice, he said,
“This woman is this man’s first love.”
The moment he finished speaking, the Demon King closed his eyes.
After that, when he opened them again,
he had returned to the Seo Uri they knew.
“It feels like I just closed my eyes and opened them. Did it get resolved?”
Stretching as if nothing had happened, I looked around.
And then I found them.
The two women glaring daggers at me.
“…Brother, is it true?”
“Is this woman really your first love?”
“No, how did you two know that…”
Don’t tell me the Demon King went and told them my secret.
But how did she know?
It seemed she had been able to read my memories while possessing me.
‘I really can’t use this unless it’s a seriously dangerous situation.’
It was the moment I learned the fatal flaw of the possession skill.