Chapter 94

(What's going on! What's going on! What's going on!)

Faced with the Demon King, whom I should never have encountered here, my mind was in complete chaos.

(Why, why! Why is the Demon King of One here of all places!?)

I had indeed been suspicious of the Demon King of One's prolonged absence and had wished for the "Encounter with the Demon King" event to happen sooner.

But not in this way.

(Why is the Demon King appearing in front of us, not the "Protagonist"!? This would never happen in a game...)

Just as I was about to dismiss it, I recalled the Demon King's words.

(No! The fundamental way of thinking is wrong! The Demon King has never appeared in front of us from the start. He is on his way to appear in front of the "Protagonist.")

This "Queen Ant Elimination Operation" is a joint operation of three major regions.

As we confirmed before, it's highly likely that the "Protagonist" is participating here.

And in the game, it was just omitted, but no matter how powerful the Demon King is, he doesn't have the ability to pinpoint the exact location of the "Protagonist."

He must have gathered information through some method and found the "Protagonist" as a result of his search.

So, what if he encounters human adventurers, "Mob Characters" who are not the "Protagonist," on the way?

The answer is simple.

-- He would crush them without hesitation.

That's what happened to the "Queen Ant," whose body was torn apart, and the Hounds lying in pools of blood, and to us, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Damn it! This is a joke! This is a joke!!)

I bit my lip tightly to suppress the overwhelming emotions.

(The Hounds, the Queen Ant, we could have handled them! But!!)

Even if it was unexpected, our base strength is different.

There was a high possibility that we could have managed with brute force, and in the worst case, we could have escaped.

But this... the Demon King is different!

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Demon King Brilg

LV ???

HP ??? MP ???

Physical Attack ??? Magic Attack ???

Physical Defense ??? Magic Defense ???

----------------

The "Insight" I reflexively cast, as expected, was meaningless.

(No way! There's no way we can win!)

During the battle with Velter, I felt the Demon King's aura and realized it.

-- They are a different class of existence from us.

In the game, the "Protagonist" managed to defeat the Demon King because they had the abilities of a "Hero" and the "Sword of Radiance."

As evidence, the battle with Brilg in the "Encounter with the Demon King" event is depicted as a complete event battle in the game.

While Brilg, the first Demon King, is the weakest among the Demon Kings, the Demon Kings themselves possess the power of the game's late stages.

Under the proper rules of the game, the early-stage "Protagonist" would have no chance of winning against such an opponent.

The overwhelming power difference was only bridged by the "Sword of Radiance's" cheat-like Demon King correction and the success of a surprise attack due to the sudden activation of the "Sword of Radiance."

Even then, they could only manage a retreat, not a defeat.

No, with such an advantage, if the event were removed and it were a regular battle, the "Protagonist" would have been killed easily.

And of course, we, who are not the "Protagonist," do not have the "Sword of Radiance" or the surprise attack event.

(We're screwed!)

I bit my lip even harder.

There was no choice but to try to get out of this situation with the cards I had.

"..."

"Huh?"

While still struggling to grasp the situation, I ordered Rad with all my might.

"Everyone, run now!"

"What are you talking about, old man?"

Even as I shouted, the sense of danger did not reach Rad.

I wanted to persuade him, but even the time to breathe was precious.

"What? There's no way I'm letting you go, you idiot!"

"Damn!"

I reflexively raised the sword of the Metal King to block the approaching shadow, only to realize its futility.

(No, don't think you can fight on equal terms!)

Only the "Hero" can fight the Demon King on equal terms.

That's the basic rule of this world.

So!

"--- V Slash... Knife Shot!"

While weaving Arts with my right hand, I launched the Orichalcum knife from my left hand's blind spot at the perfect timing, and it seemed to be drawn into Brilg's body!

But.

"...Hey, did you really think you could do something to me with this?"

"No way."

My all-out throw was deflected by Brilg's body.

(The stats are just too different!)

Even with the Orichalcum knife, the correction from the Arts in my right hand, and the surprise attack, the gap in ability was still too great.

"Is it over? If it's over, I'll take my turn now."

"Ugh!"

Since there was no chance of winning a head-on fight, this was the only thing I could rely on now!

"--- Tri-Edge V Slash ---"

Even knowing it wouldn't hit, I wove a technique with my right-hand sword, but it was just a preparation.

I accelerated, closed the distance in an instant, and instead of my right-hand sword, I thrust my left-hand knife at Brilg.

"--- Final Break!!"

The ultimate attack that sacrifices equipment for a one-time use, the shockwave generated in my hand,

"Ugh!"

Barely penetrated Brilg's defense and sent his body flying back slightly.

(Yes!)

Even a small amount of damage got through!

I clenched my fist in spite of myself, but the glimpse of hope produced a moment of complacency.

"Get out of my way!!"

The enraged Brilg raised his right hand at me.

As my brain recognized the motion I had seen in the game, I leaped to the side.

"Ugh!?"

The shock grazed my left side, sending a jolt of pain through me.

(Just a graze, and this much power?)

A shiver ran through my head, but there was no time to be afraid.

"Danger!"

As I raised my head to the cry, I saw Brilg, who had closed the distance, raising a poisonous-looking knife at me.

There was no time to dodge.

"Damn! Final Break!!"

The remaining knife was running low.

Still, I used the precious Final Break to knock Brilg back, buying a tiny bit of time.

"Brother!"

"Lex, now for support!"

Voices from behind.

I couldn't help but turn and shout at their words.

"No! You need to run now---"

But,

"---Don't look away, you scum."

That moment was a huge opening in a fight against the Demon King.

"...Huh? What?"

A burning sensation in my stomach.

When I looked back, the Demon King's face was right in front of me.

With his dirty dark green skin, he was grinning with a mouthful of crooked teeth.

"This is game over."

His malicious smile shifted upward.

No, it was my body that was tilting forward.

"...Brother?"

I heard Recilia's voice from behind.

I needed to respond to her, but my legs wouldn't move.

I was on my knees, pressing my bleeding abdomen.

"Heal! Heal!"

Mana's panicked voice rang out, and for a moment, a warm light enveloped the wound,

"Why!? The healing magic isn't working!?"

As Mana's voice trembled with shock, the Demon King laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, of course! My knife is soaked with plenty of 'curses.' Your cheap magic can't heal that wound at all."

Losing strength, Mana's trembling voice contrasted with

"I won't forgive you!"

"How dare you, Master!"

The sound of Recilia and the others, trembling with anger, rushing from behind.

"Sto...p..."

But such resistance was

"Just bugs. Be quiet."

Suppressed by a casual swing of the Demon King's arm.

The shock wave from the swing scattered Rad and the others over my head.

(What... What is this?)

In just a few dozen seconds, in a battle that lasted less than a minute, we were trampled by a single monster.

"--- Are you disappointed? But this is 'reality.'"

As if reading my thoughts, the Demon King laughed.

"You scum tried your best, but there's a difference in class between you and me. You are just beings to be trampled by us, the strong."

A cheap line I had heard before seeped into my brain with a sense of reality.

And he slowly spread his hands in front of my face with the solemnity of an executioner.

"Brother! Stop! Brother!!"

"No! Lex! Noooooo!!"

Resistance was futile.

The desperate cries from behind were ineffective against the inhuman Demon King.

The magic power gathered in the Demon King's raised hand was more than enough to kill me...

"--- This is goodbye."

Just as the fatal blow was about to be delivered,

"What the hell!?"

A light that covered my entire field of vision separated me from Brilg.

(Warm...?)

The suffocating feeling that had been there before disappeared as if it were a lie.

Vitality returned to my limbs, and the blurred vision cleared up again.

And when my vision finally cleared, what I saw in front of me was...

"...A sword?"

Someone's murmur reached my ears.

Whose voice was it?

But it didn't matter anymore.

"...Haha, hahaha!"

Laughter escaped my mouth involuntarily.

"You! What are you laughing about!?"

Even as I heard Brilg's enraged voice, I couldn't stop laughing.

Because floating in front of me was the sword I had seen the most during the blurry game, the sword that had helped me the most in many places, the fated sword.

-- The Sword of Radiance.

The sword made to banish darkness and slay evil, the sword of the chosen one, was shining majestically above my head as if waiting for me to take it.

Next time, the decisive battle!

The next update is tomorrow at 9 PM.