Chapter 27

- Down there, down.

Then, the voice came again.

This time, it felt like it was coming from a proper direction.

I instinctively turned my gaze toward where the voice was coming from.

There, a small girl, no bigger than a palm, was sitting on my legs, looking up at me.

"Nice to meet you. I was a bit startled when the seal was unintentionally broken, but if this is the will of the gods, then so be it."

A pair of horns sprouted from her head, pure white.

Her eyes, marked with a strange red pattern, glowed with a light that couldn't be compared to the horns of the vampire maid Shari and mine.

Her beauty was overwhelming.

As I looked at her, a memory suddenly came to mind, and I opened my eyes wide.

- What, you look confused, as if you see a strange window in front of you. Am I wrong?

* * *

- Hmm, what do you see when you look at me?

- You're the only one who would call those horns on your head handles. Yes, this girl is a demon.

- Is she beautiful? Of course, her beauty is overwhelming even compared to the crazy women having a party over there. Tsk, I've drawn her hundreds of times, so she's just stuck in my memory. Her name is Perserk.

Hares, the lazy sword spirit, pointed at the girl who looked about 18 years old and smiled bitterly.

- When she was still in human form, I adopted her and taught her swordsmanship.

- Yes, as you know, she is the Demon King of the Abyss, sealed in the sword Caldras to end the Great War.

* * *

“……”

I was truly amazed.

That forgetful sword spirit, who had spent thousands of years in the corridor, had one of his two lingering attachments right in front of me.

“Demon King... Perserk.”

- Oh... You know a lot about me. Indeed, my eyes were not wrong... Uh?!

I immediately released commanding mana to bind her.

If I had found the subject, there was no need to be confused anymore.

The commanding mana spread like ropes, binding her entire body and lifting her into the air.

- Ugh... You're quite rough, aren't you? I don't have a fetish for being restrained, you know?

“I don’t think this is the time for games.”

- This is our first meeting, isn't it? There's no particular reason for us to have a bad relationship.

I didn't let my guard down and smiled bitterly.

“Could you explain the current situation?”

She looked troubled.

- Since we are in a symbiotic relationship, I was going to tell you anyway.

Her words made my eyes narrow.

“Symbiotic relationship?”

- The holy scar on your back. It has become the vessel containing my soul. That's why its size is abnormal.

“The holy scar is the vessel for sealing a demon king? That's ridiculous. I don't understand the current situation at all.”

She let out a faint sigh, restrained by the commanding mana, and avoided my gaze.

- Then... could you release me? I don't have a fetish for being restrained, and this awkward position...

She averted her gaze, her face slightly flushed.

“Hmm...”

- It's a bit... embarrassing.

Seeing her embarrassed as if she had revealed her flaws, I felt my cold blood returning to its normal state.

With a light wave of my hand, the mana restraining her loosened.

I didn't mean to bind her in a specific way, but she ended up in a strange position when she tried to resist.

Of course, others might not find it strange.

- Phew... I feel like I can breathe again.

Although it's a big problem to release a demon king-level being, I boldly released the mana restraining her.

She is already a dead soul and cannot harm me any further.

“Alright. Can you give me a clear and concise explanation?”

- Hmm... You have a twisted personality.

“I’ve been told my temper is a bit twisted.”

- Hmm...

She looked up at me with a hollow laugh.

I could feel my reflection in her red eyes, marked with patterns.

“Right, why did you, the Demon King who should be sealed in the divine sword, come here?”

- Since you know my identity, there's no point in trying to persuade you.

She smiled bitterly and sighed.

Then, she looked up at me, bowed her head, and lifted the ends of her dress.

- Let me introduce myself formally. I am Perserk von Falan, the Demon King who gazes into your world from the Abyss.

The instigator of the Great War between the ancient middle world and the demons was right in front of me.

When someone looks into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks back.

She was the very origin of that saying.

In that sense, she was a bit different from a typical demon king.

She looked up at me, chuckling.

- The situation is simple. You already knew I was sealed in the divine sword, didn't you?

The divine sword Caldras is the sword that Hares, the sword spirit, used to end the Great War by slaying the demon king.

That's what is publicly known, but in reality, the demon king's soul was sealed in the sword.

Since I heard it from her, it must be true.

“Right. I didn't expect her will to be awake.”

- Caldras isn't so bad that it would restrain the will of a friend.

I looked at her with a questioning gaze.

“Friend?”

- What, do these trivial personal matters have any meaning? To be precise, I was transferred from Caldras to you by the will of the gods.

“...”

I was speechless, as if I had lost my words.

I don't know if the gods really exist.

What do I know about a god who has never descended?

However, the will of the gods definitely exists. That's why magic, the domain of the gods, is possible.

The turning point was likely the divine magic I used to completely nullify the Blood Police.

The question is why she, sealed in Caldras, came to me.

“Why did you come?”

I asked, genuinely curious, and she smiled wryly.

- If I knew, I wouldn't be this frustrated. Since you unintentionally formed a symbiotic relationship, you should take responsibility for me.

She spoke as if she were comforting a small child.

- Personally, I have quite an interest in you. You are the second person to possess the traces of a sword spirit.

“Hares' swordsmanship?”

- You speak as if you know him well.

“I do, he often talked about it.”

- I see... about my story...

The status window that appeared in front of me. If it was caused by her ability, lying would be useless for her.

No matter who it was, she would see through the truth and find the essence.

She nodded at my words.

- It's good that you don't hide anything.

“You have to see the context to hide something. With a demon king like you who can see through people, what's the point of lying? Besides, it's not a power a mere demon king should have, is it?”

She smiled bitterly at my question.

- The Hall of Heroes... I didn't think such a place existed. It's quite surprising. However, let me correct one thing.

“What?”

- I'm not seeing through you. I just have the power to borrow the will of a higher being. The status window that describes you. The somewhat crude expressions in it are not my taste.

“Higher being?”

- Isn't that what humans call a deity?

The will of a higher being, a deity, using such half-crazy and serious brotherly affection expressions made me laugh wryly.

What could I expect from a god who showed divine power out of curiosity for a guy like me?

She muttered, as if lost in regret.

The power she possessed, as I heard from the sword spirit Hares, was penetration.

The Abyss that looks back when someone looks into it was her very essence.

That's why she was called the strongest demon king of all time.

“So, because of the divine magic I used, I was transferred from Caldras to me?”

- When you used 9th Tier Divine Magic, a large amount of divine power was released, and I was dragged along with it. My soul, having nowhere to go, ended up in your holy scar. This was originally impossible...

She clicked her tongue and looked pitiful.

- There is no eternal seal. If I had known this would happen, I would have said goodbye to Caldras' self...

“Caldras? Does he know about this?”

- He might instinctively feel it, but you know. The aftereffects of the 9th Tier Divine Magic you used have put him to sleep.

“Ah.”

- He will be out for about four days. His chatter is annoying, but it wasn't boring. When he wakes up, he will probably scold you. Hehe.

She laughed like a child, contrary to her tone.

The demon king who became the pretext for the Great War, or the root of the continental war.

Her appearance was a bit different from what was known to the world.

I knew it wasn't an act, not because of some convenient psychological setting, but because of what I had heard.

She was a sacrificial lamb for war, and she was a poor father played by the dirty currents of fate.

The sword spirit Hares often blamed himself, expressing her and himself in such terms.

- When I first saw you with Caldras, I had a strange feeling. I never thought you would use the complete form of the sword technique left by my father, even in part.

To be precise, my sword technique was more like a collaboration between the sword spirit and the celestial horse.

At first, I learned the sword spirit's unique technique, but it changed later.

- If I evaluate it objectively, it seems to be a technique modified to suit you.

“That's right. It was created by two old men obsessed with swords.”

She smiled bitterly and slowly rose.

With small, cute wings sprouting from her back, she approached and extended her hand to me.

- Since it has come to this, isn't this a rather unique situation? A symbiotic relationship isn't bad, is it? I hope we can get along well.

If she had bad intentions, there would be nothing she could do now, as she said.