The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP8. The Coming Doom

The air was freezing. No one dared make a sound.

That was the weight of Grandis’s anger. Surely, if everyone there opposed Grandis, they would be able to defeat her, but regardless, her anger was heavy.

He felt as if his whole body was vibrating with the depth of that anger. Malecidus cried out in confusion at that feeling.

“That, Grandis…!”

Grandis looked at Malecidus, who was sweating profusely while kneeling on one knee, with cold eyes and said.

“What are you doing, hurry up and make an excuse. Or- do you want to die like this? Unfortunately, since we’re in the same camp, you’d better give up the idea of ​​letting me off easy. I’m so angry right now.”

Malecidus spoke stammeringly.

“That, that’s not important. The warrior’s party is running wild here right now, and like this-”

“Shut up. Is that an excuse? That’s a pretty lame excuse.”

Grandis said with a blood-scented smile.

“You have transformed the children of my vassals… the young children with the Demon King’s black magic, and you dare to expect me to show mercy to you?”

“That, that’s…! Uh, an unavoidable sacrifice…”

Boom! Malecidus’ head, with little strength left, crashed into the floor.

“Sacrifice… sacrifice.”

Grandis’ face distorted.

“That’s not for you to decide. What right do you have to kidnap those kids and make them do that, and then say something like that? Do you think I look ridiculous when I try to just listen to you?”

“This is what the Demon King wanted! Are you going against the Demon King’s will?”

“Oh, of course. I’m not the Demon King’s subordinate. I helped the Demon King only as a contractual relationship. But… the Demon King was the one who broke his promise first, and I was very angry at him. What does that mean?”

Malecidus began to tremble, as if he was beginning to anticipate his own fate.

“I mean, I have no intention of forgiving the Demon King for breaking the contract. So, what I mean is…”

Grandis closed her eyes and opened them. A strange light shone brightly in her eyes. She continued.

“I’m saying I’ll kill everyone, including the Demon King.”

Malecidus’ eyes twitched in confusion. Grandis brushed his hair away and said.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, this is the first time I’m meeting the warrior I’ve wanted to see for so long? What a shame. Right now, my anger towards him is greater, so I don’t think I can pay much attention to him.”

Ainzel glared at her quietly. Grandis was still one of the most hateful types of people to him.

“Hey, wait a minute! Sa, sa-”

Before Malecidus could continue speaking, dark magic shot out from Grandis’ hand.

The dark sword pierced Malecidus’ neck.

Grandis smiled as she looked at the corpse of Malecidus, who had fallen down with his head gone.

Then Grandis looked around and said.

“Hmm, well… I don’t feel like I’m welcome here… Are you trying to fight me?”

Ainzel and his companions were keeping a close watch on Grandis.

“Well, you must be tired from fighting Malekidus, so it doesn’t seem like a wise choice to fight me now. No, maybe you trust that warrior. Things always go wrong when warriors are out on the battlefield.”

Ainzel did not answer that. Grandis kicked Malecidus’ severed head and said,

“I don’t really want to fight here. Hmm…”

As the standoff continued, unbelievable words came out of Grandis’ mouth.

“I have no intention of attacking you right now anyway. My only concern right now is how to defeat the Demon King. So wouldn’t it be wiser not to fight right now?”

Ainzel answered that.

“How can we believe that? That’s ridiculous.”

Grandis heard that, exhaled a large puff of smoke from his cigarette, and then said.

“So, are you sure you want to see it end here?”

The tension continued as if a collision would occur at any moment, and finally, the moment came when they were about to make a move.

A man suddenly appeared in the air.

“…uh?”

Ainzel couldn’t say anything other than that stupid voice.

“…Malecidus, is dead? He couldn’t even properly guard the facility.”

Its gaze is lofty. Its fingertips are elegant. And its power knows no bounds.

I thought that the realm of transcendence was the end.

But what does this mean?

A power that cannot exist, that is beyond the realm of transcendence, beyond that… A power that cannot exist, and that is close to irrationality in its very existence.

The Holy Sword responded to that ‘unbalanced’ force.

Black hair, red eyes. All demons have them, but the atmosphere they carried was different.

The black hair looked like an abyss of endless depth, and the red eyes gave the illusion of being plunged into a sea of ​​blood.

But what was most striking was its power.

Neither the warrior’s companions, nor Malecidus’ direct subordinates, nor even Grandis could withstand the pressure.

The power that borders on the absurd makes it clear what kind of being it is.

Instinct sounds the alarm. Grandis has felt its power firsthand.

It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s the feeling that I can never win.

However, Grandis did not lose his composure in such a situation, and did not forget his anger.

“Is it because the Demon King came here in person to kill the people here?”

The Demon King frowned as soon as he saw Grandis’ face.

“Finally, you figured it out.”

Grandis spoke to the Demon King in a mocking tone.

“Yeah, I got it. I saw what you were hiding. But…”

The Demon King looked down at Grandis, and Grandis looked up at the Demon King and spoke.

“Was it a lie that he said he was for the good of all the demons? What kind of king would do such a thing to his own people?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. There’s no need to tell you about the sacrifices that are necessary, since you don’t even understand them. And… I don’t need subordinates who don’t follow my orders.”

bang!

Grandis gritted her teeth. Dark magic suddenly appeared without warning and attacked. Fortunately, she was able to defend herself, but a considerable amount of dark magic was consumed.

The Demon King who had launched such an attack spoke without even changing his expression as if he had done something routine.

“And not only you, Grandis, but also the warrior’s companions. You will all die here.”

Sein rushed at the Demon King and swung his sword.

He was blocked by the black demon king with one hand, and the demon king threw the person to the ground in an instant.

“Cough!”

“No matter how much you babble about transcendence and all that, in the end you and I are on different levels. How can you not know that?”

Feria started casting magic at the Demon King.

“It’s obvious,”

Those spells subsided with a single touch of the Demon King’s handprint.

Then, the Demon King began to emit black magic from his body.

They all lost their balance and staggered for a moment. This was because they were directly absorbing the Demon King’s black magic into their bodies.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Everyone let out a sigh. Lena started swearing.

“Fuck, my head feels like it’s going to burst….”

The Demon King’s black magic filled the air, and soon they all began to hear auditory hallucinations.

But if they were to be swayed by such things, they could not even be called transcendent. They somehow managed to withstand the Demon King’s attacks by swinging their swords, shooting magic, and healing their wounds, even in situations where their heads hurt.

Ainzel glanced at Grandis. Grandis was somehow enduring the Demon King’s attacks alone.

Ainzel gritted his teeth and swung his sword. The hallucinations became more severe, and as time passed, his head began to spin. As time went by, it seemed as if the negative emotions in his head were popping out.

Grandis continued to shoot black magic at the Demon King, but the Demon King easily blocked it.

In the all-out war, Grandis laughed as he realized his own situation was incomparable to that of the Demon King.

Yeah, I never thought I would be able to gain an advantage in a one-on-one fight against a being whose mere existence would upset the balance anyway.

Somehow, I had to kill the Demon King by choosing a method other than an all-out battle.

However, something was strange. Even though he was the Demon King who could wipe out everyone here, he strangely did not attack.

And the reason became clear in an instant.

“…uh?”

Ainzel looked around in confusion.

From the eyes of my colleagues, black tears were falling, drop by drop.