Episode 63
An unprecedented event occurred—Frey, who held an equivalent rank and was a descendant of the hero family, challenged Demirkan, the long-reigning second-in-command of the Demon Lord's army.
"You all... how do you see the outcome of this fight?"
While everyone facing this historic event was filled with shock and excitement, one of the Demon Lord's army's combat officers asked his colleagues in a low voice.
"Well... I really don't know."
Then the man with a snake's head seated to the left answered in a low voice.
"He hasn't shown anything yet... how could we know?"
As the man flicked his tongue while speaking, the woman with ram's horns beside him sighed and said.
"Are you an idiot? Obviously that human boy will win."
"Hmm? How can you be so certain?"
Then a woman with cute eyes beside them drooled as she interjected.
"Since he's handsome, won't he be stronger?"
"Right... a sickly pretty boy like that hiding his power is a common cliché... definitely..."
When the rabbit-eared woman across from them joined in with a flushed face, the snake-headed man sighed and muttered.
"...Airheaded bitches."
As such foolish conversation continued, the man at the end of the desk quietly spoke.
"If I fight that boy, the outcome will be decided in less than a minute."
At that statement, the combat officers who had been chattering all turned to look at that man.
"Captain... is that really true?"
"Really? Really? The captain would win?"
"What... then he's weaker than I thought..."
"Still, since he's cute, should I raise him if he loses?"
"I want to eat him."
The combat officers then realized the voice belonged to the captain of the combat officers and their superior, and started glaring at Frey while whispering among themselves...
"I would lose."
When the scar-covered man added briefly, everyone started wearing blank expressions.
"...Should I ask him to raise me then?"
"...I guess I'll be the one getting eaten."
The woman with cute eyes and the rabbit-eared woman, who had been wearing blank expressions, broke their silence and started muttering.
"Um... Captain, you've challenged Lord Demirkan once before, haven't you?"
"That's right."
When the orc who had surrendered to Frey earlier and returned to his seat while watching carefully asked cautiously, the captain quietly nodded.
"Then... the match with Lord Demirkan was..."
The orc was about to ask another question with curiosity-filled expression, but the women who had been muttering interrupted his words and started scolding him in cold voices.
"You keep that up and you'll get beaten to death? Won't even leave bones behind?"
"Must be because he's new, he has no fear? That kind of spirit is good but... shouldn't he know his place?"
"S-sorry...!"
The orc quietly lowered his head at the two women's gazes that looked at him like he was a bug, and was hurriedly apologizing when their captain spoke again.
"It took less than a second for me to be defeated."
At those words, everyone's mouths fell open as they stared at the captain.
"H-how can that be? The captain is so strong..."
"Did you let your guard down? Or were you in bad condition? Or..."
"The match was decided in a single exchange."
The captain, who simultaneously cut off the women's questions as they stared with wide eyes, looked at Frey who had drawn his sword at some point and muttered in a low voice.
"...Let's see how long that boy can hold out."
.
"I never imagined this. I never thought you would challenge me."
"Neither did I. I never thought I would become a top executive of the Demon Lord's army."
I am currently glaring at Demirkan, the second-in-command of the Demon Lord's army, from the center of the dueling ground.
"Well, as Lord Frey said, having two second-in-commands is quite problematic. Orders getting crossed, different values... for various complex reasons."
Despite my full power being released, he was stretching with a relaxed expression.
"By the way... I've hardly had any battles lately because I've been so focused on the maintenance of the Demon Lord's army."
"What are you trying to say?"
When I tilted my head at his cryptic words, his eyes turned cold as he spoke.
"So I apologize, but it might be a bit difficult for me to control my strength."
Immediately after those words ended, suddenly the space all around began to distort, and the room started expanding even further.
"...We're having a single-exchange duel?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Seeing that spectacle, I roughly guessed his intentions and asked in a low voice, and Demirkan smiled and nodded.
"Good, that's what I want as well."
"It's good that we're on the same page."
And smiling back at him, I looked at Demirkan who was watching me with a calm expression and used my 'Information Exploration' skill.
[Name: Demirkan]
[Abilities: Strength 7 / Magic Power 9.8 / Intelligence 8 / Mental Strength 9.1]
[Special Notes: None]
[Disposition: Second-in-command]
[Goodness Value: -90]
'...As expected, his stats are extremely focused on magic power.'
Demirkan's martial prowess is actually nothing special. Of course, a strength stat of 7 is sufficiently high, but within the Demon Lord's army, there are plenty of stronger warriors.
However, the reason he has established himself as the Demon Lord's army's second-in-command and its real power is because of his overwhelmingly powerful magic.
His space magic, which is evaluated as not merely manipulating but 'dominating' space, is truly top-tier magic that has brutally slaughtered and massacred countless heroes.
In the previous timeline, even the Magic Tower's Tower Lord who boasted overwhelming magical abilities ultimately lost his life to Demirkan's space magic.
"Then, shall we prepare?"
"I'm already doing that."
And Demirkan was gathering his power to unleash his space magic's ultimate technique in front of me.
'As expected... his combat style hasn't changed at all.'
Seeing this, Demirkan's pattern appears to be the same as in the prophetic book and my memories from the previous timeline.
Normally Demirkan shows a serious and calm demeanor, but once he enters battle, he changes completely.
He proves this with his ultimate technique 'Spatial Onslaught' where he twists all surrounding space at once to pierce through his opponent, determined to grind down whoever stands before him.
- Zzzzt! Zzzzt!!
The spaces around him gradually began to distort and gather behind Demirkan.
He would probably pour all his power into this single exchange.
Because he absolutely hates prolonged battles, he's someone who puts everything into the first exchange—into that single decisive blow.
And the same goes for me.
'Star Mana' is specialized in explosively releasing power momentarily like a supernova.
Because of that, I'm at a disadvantage in prolonged battles, but for this single-exchange duel... in other words, I'm confident in an all-or-nothing match where I pour everything in at the start.
"I'm ready. When will you be ready, Lord Frey?"
While thinking such thoughts and gathering mana throughout my body, Demirkan smiled and asked.
"Why, are you going to wait for me?"
"Of course. Once you're ready, please attack. Naturally, there's no need to tell me."
So I smiled back and asked in return, and received quite a pride-stinging answer.
'...Well, for him, that's understandable.'
If an ordinary person had said that, I would have dismissed it as empty boasting, but when Demirkan says it, it's a different story.
He has never lost in a single-exchange fight.
The secret behind those fearsome achievements lies in the 'Space Domination Magic' he wields.
Since the magic he uses dominates 'space' itself, most attacks are blocked by his magic and vanish.
As far as I know, the only ones who could somewhat breach his magic were Irina and the Tower Lord from the previous timeline.
Of course, I'll soon be added to that list.
"I'm ready."
"Seems you're quite confident."
When I said I was ready, Demirkan smiled and asked.
"Well, if I die without even being able to react... it would be a great loss for the Demon Lord's army."
At my smiling answer, his eyebrows twitched for a moment. Seeing that, it seems his evil nature can't be hidden no matter how politely he pretends to be.
"Then... let's begin."
"Alright."
We took a moment to steady our breathing and glare at each other, then launched our attacks simultaneously without either of us needing to go first.
"...Hah!"
Demirkan's arm thrust powerfully forward.
- Zzzzt!
And at the same time, the distorted space gathered in one place, and cracks began appearing everywhere.
- KABOOOOOM!!!
The space that had been compressed to the point of tearing after being distorted suddenly expanded rapidly and exploded with a tremendous roar.
'...He shot the space itself.'
Similar to the principle of sword techniques that push out existing air at high speed to create sword pressure, or magic missiles that push out water or fire at high speed to create projectiles, Demirkan's ultimate technique finally revealed itself—compressing space again and again before shooting it out in one burst.
"Haaaaah...!"
And at the same time, I firmly gripped my sword and inhaled the breath I had been holding in one go.
With a deep breath, I awakened the Star Mana stored in every corner of my body and, with fierce eyes, began channeling the mana into my sword all at once.
"HRAAAAAAH!!!"
Having infused Star Mana into my sword to its limit, I shouted with fighting spirit and swung my sword more powerfully than ever before, right as the spatial strike reached just before me.
One Flash.
And the next moment, the ferociously swirling sword pressure loaded with Star Mana collided with the space Demirkan had shot forth.
- CRACKLE!!!
Then, a deafening roar that felt like it would burst my eardrums began filling the expanded conference room.
"...Hah."
And at that moment, Demirkan let out a short exclamation.
Because his space was swallowing my sword pressure.
"Too bad, Lord Frey. It seems this match won't be decided after all."
But at the same time, my sword pressure was also swallowing his space.
In other words, our attacks were consuming each other and annihilating together.
'...Cunning bastard.'
Only then could I grasp his intentions.
He apparently wants to keep me as a 'joint second-in-command' quite badly. In other words, he doesn't want to fall to third place by losing to me, but he also doesn't want to remain as the sole second-in-command.
It's just like him—the one who hates troublesome things so much that he hid his power and climbed to second-in-command position after continued challenges, yet whose loyalty to the Demon Lord is greater than anyone else's.
His plan is probably that if our attacks annihilate each other, he'll declare an unavoidable draw and, according to the rules, establish me as joint second-in-command.
Then he can maintain his second-in-command position where he can maintain close contact with the Demon Lord he's loyal to without worrying about interference from others, while simultaneously using me—his fellow second-in-command—to reduce his own burden and annoyance.
Truly worthy of Demirkan, the second-in-command of the Demon Lord's army called the incarnation of cunning.
'But I won't let that happen.'
- Zzzzt...!
"...What?"
The moment I thought that and slightly raised the corner of my mouth, a clear sound began coming from where our attacks were colliding.
- ZZZZZZING!!
"Good."
Soon the clear sound that rang out again filled the conference room with blinding light, and only then did I smile in triumph and look at Demirkan.
"........."
He was just standing with his mouth agape, watching the scene before him. Well, even I find the situation unfolding before my eyes fascinating, so how much more must he feel?
- BOOOOM!!!
The moment my sword pressure and Demirkan's space that had been consuming each other completely vanished, a blinding flash of light fired from where the sword pressure had been and began flying toward Demirkan.
"Ugh."
Demirkan hurriedly tried to distort the surrounding space to block the stellar flash, but only a portion of the flash was blocked.
Having already distorted and compressed most of the surrounding space for his first attack, there was no space left for him to manipulate urgently.
'As I thought, I knew it would work.'
Of course, this was my calculated move exploiting the weakness of his space magic and his obsession with decisive single strikes.
Having anticipated the weakness by reviewing the space magic settings in the prophetic book and memories from the previous timeline, I deliberately delayed my attack preparation and waited for the surrounding space to sufficiently distort.
As a result, the surrounding space became excessively distorted and compressed, and thanks to that, Demirkan couldn't respond immediately even when an unexpected situation occurred.
"...Gah!"
Ultimately, Demirkan fell to his knees with various parts of his body pierced by the shining flashes, and after that, a cold silence filled the conference room.
"Cough... hack... I have... a question."
What broke the long silence was Demirkan, who was bleeding from his mouth and staring blankly at me.
"How did you... annihilate my space with just sword pressure alone?"
He asked me with a pale, drained face, and I answered with a composed expression.
"I swung the sword that hard."
At that, the executives behind me started buzzing.
'...Well, it's not wrong.'
My sword pressure could break through his space magic thanks to the 'Hero's Power' I inherited from my ancestor, the previous hero.
That power, which allows one to exert transcendental strength by consuming life force, is so formidable that it can even cut through space, which is why it could cancel out his magic.
Of course, since I poured in almost all the life force needed to use the Hero's Power, I feel like dying right now.
Thanks to that, I've already coughed up blood dozens of times but kept my mouth shut and swallowed it, and I'm enduring the excruciating pain from wounds that haven't fully healed with sheer willpower alone.
Well, for an attack capable of cutting through space, this much penalty is to be expected, isn't it?
"Let's say that's true... then what exactly was that flash from earlier?"
As I continued swallowing the blood that kept welling up with my mouth firmly shut, Demirkan asked another question in a trembling voice.
"I imbued my sword energy with magic."
I answered briefly again since speaking at length might make the blood flow backward, and the executives behind me who had been buzzing fell silent at once.
"That's... impossible..."
Meanwhile, Demirkan started wearing an expression of disbelief.
'...Well, it's understandable that he'd be surprised.'
Through the opportunity I obtained in the forest near the Duke's residence last time, I became able to use 'Star Magic.'
This alone would be surprising enough, but saying I imbued sword energy with magic and sent it forth is an event that would turn the entire continent upside down.
Because no one has ever been able to unify 'sword mana' and 'magic mana.'
In other words, I am currently the only 'Magic Swordsman' on the entire continent.
Moreover, the swordsmanship I use is the strongest swordsmanship that uses the previous hero's 'Hero's Power,' and the magic I use is the 'Star Magic' that my mother, the strongest star mage in history, used.
So to use my ancestor's terminology to conclude, I am currently 'completely broken.'
"From now on, I am the second-in-command of the Demon Lord's army. Anyone who has objections, come forward."
Thinking such thoughts while continuing to hold back coughing up blood, as soon as I stabilized slightly, I spoke coldly to the executives behind me.
'Please don't come out... please...'
Of course, inside I was praying that no one would come forward.
Right now I'm practically half-dead, so anyone here could easily defeat me.
For example, that orc kid who attacked me earlier could beat me down and take the second-in-command position if he wanted to.
"............"
But fortunately, they avoided my gaze and remained silent.
"Good, then..."
I was internally sighing with relief as I looked at them and tried to head toward the main seat with a calm expression...
"I have... one more question."
"...What is it?"
When Demirkan, who was breathing roughly, asked yet another question, I frowned and asked back.
"Are you... are you..."
Then Demirkan started continuing his words in a fading voice. It seems his durability is quite weak since he's never been attacked before...
"...are you the Demon Lord?"
"What?"
At the bombshell statement from his mouth, the sound of people gasping began coming from behind.
"Um... well..."
I hesitated at those words and ended up evading the answer without realizing it.
"...Who knows?"
And for a while, only silence flowed through the conference room.
.
"Um... Kania. Is Frey going to be okay..."
"The young master will be fine. So please don't worry at all."
"No... that's not it, I was trying to comfort you... haah, never mind."
Irina, who had been trying to comfort Kania who had been anxiously biting her fingernails while opening and closing a fountain pen lid, gave up on the conversation and started looking out the window as Kania kept saying in a trembling voice that Frey would be fine.
"Kania..."
"I've said it many times, the young master will have no problems. So..."
"...We've arrived at the Duke's residence."
"Ah."
Realizing the carriage had arrived right in front of the Duke's residence, Irina informed the half-dazed Kania and got off the carriage while asking.
"Um... do you remember what Frey asked you to do earlier?"
"The young master will be safe. So please stop..."
"No, I'm asking if you remember what Frey requested earlier! You young master-obsessed person!"
When Irina finally shouted, Kania snapped back to her senses, quickly changed her expression to butler mode, got off the carriage and said.
"...I remember it perfectly."
After saying that and heading toward the main gate of the Starlight family, Kania led the commoner students who had been hovering anxiously at the main gate into the Duke's residence.
"All servants, come before me."
Calling all the servants who had been standing in a line to welcome Frey before her, Kania spoke with a cold expression.
"All of you are fired as of today."
When the servants fell into shock at those words, Kania, who was slowly looking around at them, added in a low voice.
"...Until the end of the vacation."
The servants started wearing puzzled expressions wondering what that meant, and the commoner students who were similarly puzzled realized Kania was now looking at them.
"Everyone, from today you are servants of the Starlight family."
And hearing Kania's following words, the commoner students started doubting their ears.
"All females will wear maid outfits, and all males will wear the clothes of attendants, chefs, and gardeners."
Reminding the commoner students once again of their situation, Kania added calmly with one more statement.
"This is the young master's gracious command."