Arifureta : King Of Demons

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A massive explosion erupted simultaneously with an intense flash of light.

Freed and Aletia looked up at the mushroom cloud soaring high into the sky, their expressions half-amazed by its power.

"Aletia, thanks for that."

"Mmm, that was surprising."

The aftermath of the massive explosion caused by Tio's breath reached Freed and Aletia, who were waiting in the sky. However, Aletia managed to activate "Sacred Severance" at the last moment, narrowly avoiding being blown away.

"That breath shouldn't have had that much power..."

"Did something ignite, like gunpowder?"

"That's probably... the most reasonable explanation, isn't it?"

Although it wasn't gunpowder that ignited, the cause of this situation was similar. Using one of Aiko's skills, "Fermentation Manipulation," she fermented all flammable items on God Mountain, generating combustible gas. Tio then condensed it at a single point far away on God Mountain using wind magic. The reason for gathering it far away was to prevent Aldias from noticing the smell and to avoid being caught in the explosion themselves. Even Hajime wouldn't last a second if he were caught in that explosion right in front of him. Moreover, the people around them would definitely not be able to withstand it.

The classmates had already started descending. Kaori, Suzu, and Liliana had deployed "Sacred Severance" at a distance. Both groups were visibly safe from their current vantage point. Tio, who had unleashed the breath, seemed to have been blown away by the unexpected explosion, but fortunately, the distance allowed her to quickly regain her composure.

However...

"Nagumo Hajime. Shia Haulia. And the girl who was with them. I don't see them..."

"...There, look."

Following Aletia's point, they saw cracks in the debris-filled ground, and from beneath, Hajime, Shia, and Shizuku emerged.

"I see. He dug a hole with 'Alchemy' and escaped into it."

The moment Hajime blew Aldias away, he used "Alchemy" to create a hole in the ground, jumped in with Shia and Shizuku, and then sealed the hole to protect themselves from the explosion. He had considered taking out a large shield to defend themselves, but that would only protect them from the blast, not the intense heat.

"I never thought Lord Aldias would be blown away like that."

"A little surprising. But..."

Despite Aldias being caught in the explosion, the two showed no signs of panic. They knew why.

"If you think that level can do anything to Aldias, you still have a long way to go."

At that moment, debris was blown away from the explosion site.

" " "Tch!?" " "

Hajime and the others involuntarily gasped at the sound.

It was a clear sound of something shattering, mingled with the sounds of collapsing rubble and buildings.

Imagining the figure of the man who was likely the source of this sound, Hajime's face paled.

"Damn it!! Is he really immortal!?"

"I'm not immortal."

" " "Tch!?" " "

A voice no one wanted to hear echoed right next to the confused Hajime.

"Unscathed...! Give me a break...!"

"No, even I was careless. It would have been bad if the magic activation was delayed."

The moment Aldias was caught in the explosion, he activated the spatial magic "Shibara." With this magic, he fixed the space around him, protecting himself not only from Tio's breath but also from the heat and impact of the explosion.

"Well, because the activation was a little delayed, this is the result."

Aldias said, raising his right hand. The surface of his skin on his hand was glowing red and seemed to be twitching slightly.

However, it was only for a moment. After a faint light enveloped Aldias's right hand, he casually shook it off, and an unblemished hand appeared.

"Now then..."

"Tch!"

"I won't let you!"

"Give me a break!"

Sensing Aldias's intention to move, Hajime, Shia, and Shizuku moved... but.

"Don't move."

"Gah!? M-my body...!"

Aldias spoke a single word. With just that, Hajime and the others couldn't move a single finger.

CRASH!!

As Hajime and the others were confused by their suddenly immobile bodies, something suddenly crashed from the sky with a tremor.

Ugh! Sensei, are you alright!?

"Y-yes! I thought I was going to die..."

It seemed Tio had also fallen due to Aldias's "Divine Word." Hajime glanced in Kaori's direction, and seeing her gritting her teeth, they likely couldn't move either.

As he thought this, Aldias walked up to Hajime.

"You bastard, if you could do that, why didn't you use it from the start!?"

"Because then I wouldn't have been able to see your power."

Aldias reached out to Hajime. This time, however, Hajime didn't avert his gaze even slightly, looking directly at the hand aimed at his forehead. Though his body couldn't move freely, a strong will resided in his eyes.

Just then, a faint magical power overflowed from Aldias's hand...

"That's enough."

A faint green light enveloped Hajime and the others.

"Tch!?—...This is..."

What seemed like an attack magic for a moment, the instant it touched Hajime and the others, began to heal their injured bodies.

"What are you planning...!"

"I'm not planning anything. I never intended to kill you in the first place. Didn't I tell you at the beginning? That I could tell you the entrance to the labyrinth. With you as you are now, you should be able to clear this labyrinth."

"...What do you mean?"

Aldias explained the concept of God Mountain's labyrinth to a bewildered Hajime. The conditions for clearing the labyrinth were to possess proof of clearing at least two Great Labyrinths, to have no faith in God, or to overcome some influence of God's power.

In other words, it was about having a firm will that would not yield to God.

"When I cleared this Great Labyrinth, my spiritual state towards God was tested by shaking my subconscious with brainwashing and charm. You seem to possess the proof, and you don't have faith in God, but you did have fear. In that case, you wouldn't be able to clear it anyway. That's why it was necessary to remove the fear within you."

"...Could it be, your subordinate in the royal capital overlooked us because..."

Tio, who had been listening to Aldias's explanation, asked, breaking her dragon form.

While fighting Freed, the man suddenly showed signs of talking to someone, then stopped fighting and said he would let Tio go. Even Tio was confused. Of course, she considered the possibility of a trap, but he didn't seem like the kind of man to do such a thing, and more than anything, it was a race against time, so she decided to head to Hajime.

"It was my instruction. This one feared me, yet he also had a strong aversion to borrowing someone else's power. It was a bit of a harsh treatment, but it worked out well in the end."

"...Why go that far? Even if you're not an enemy, you don't owe me that much."

In other words, Aldias deliberately provoked Hajime and instigated a fight for Hajime's sake. Even if he wasn't an enemy, he was confused as to why Aldias would go so far for him, who wasn't even an ally. Even if Hajime couldn't obtain ancient magic, it shouldn't have been a problem for Aldias.

"It's my apology. Although I wasn't the root cause, I involved you all as someone from this world. I'd like to directly help you return, but I also have things I need to do."

It was undoubtedly Ehit who summoned Hajime and the others to this world. And it was the people of the kingdom who exploited that. Aldias, a demon, had no responsibility. However, Aldias also harbored some sympathy for them.

Naturally, he also felt that if someone, like Hajime, truly wished to return, he should help them.

"Well, that's right. I said a lot of things, but I like you. That's about the only reason."

"......"

Hajime's expression changed into something indescribable at Aldias's words.

He had a mountain of things he wanted to say, like "You're the original cause," or "Did I almost die just for that?" He understood that it was necessary to obtain ancient magic. However, he couldn't bring himself to be grateful for it.

He decided he would at least say something, having been put through hell.

Hajime resolved this and glared sharply at Aldias, but Shia, who saw his profile, suddenly noticed something.

"Hajime-san, isn't your face a little red?"

"Huh? What are you saying—"

"Indeed. Your ears are bright red, Master."

"Eh!? Hajime-kun, are you alright!?"

"Hmm? I'm sure your injuries are completely healed, though..."

Tio and Kaori reacted to Shia's remark, and Aldias also tilted his head, wondering if his healing wasn't enough. Ignoring them, Aiko, who had been staring intently at Hajime's face alone, let out a small "Ah."

"Could it be, Nagumo-kun is embarrassed?"

"Huh?"

" " "Embarrassed!?" " "

Everyone except Aiko, Hajime, and Aldias widened their eyes in astonishment. Hajime, that self-centered Hajime, embarrassed? Everyone looked at Hajime at this unbelievable phenomenon. Hajime himself remained motionless, staring blankly at Aiko with his mouth agape.

In an indescribable atmosphere, as soon as Uranus landed near them, Freed nodded deeply and called out to Hajime.

"It's no wonder you're embarrassed. You've been recognized by Lord Aldias. There's nothing wrong with that. You should be proud."

"Huh!? Don't mess with me!! Who's embarrassed!! And who are you!?"

Hajime snapped back at Freed, who spoke as if it were obvious.

Seeing Hajime like that, Shia continued, "Speaking of which."

"Hajime-san often gets feared, but he never gets purely praised, does he?"

"Oh? So, Master isn't used to being praised? Master has a cute side~. Now, let me praise you to death—heh!?"

Hajime unceremoniously sent Tio, who had approached with an undisguised smirk, flying. However, Tio was not one to be discouraged by such a thing. Rather, she writhed in pleasure.

"Nnn!? Haa haa, this is it! This is what I wanted!!"

Everyone showed indescribable expressions at Tio, who was as perverted as ever even at a time like this, and Aletia stiffened. By the way, Aldias just happened—really, just happened—to have Freed step in front of him, so he couldn't see Tio's expression. He seemed to have heard a strange voice, though...

In that atmosphere, Aiko once again exclaimed, "Ah!?" Her voice was somewhat louder than before. Hajime looked at Aiko with narrowed eyes, as if asking what it was this time, and Aiko, flustered, began to speak.

"Th-that's right!? The church! The church! I didn't think it would be destroyed this much!? We have to save the people inside quickly!?"

"Save them, you say..."

At Aiko's words, Hajime looked around again. It was a landscape of rubble, with charred and peeled ground in places. There was no way to expect survivors. When he told her this, Aiko's face paled, and she knelt, saying, "No way..."

Even though it was to protect Hajime, she had killed innocent people. She felt the contents of her stomach rise—

"No, that girl didn't kill anyone."

Aldias's words barely stopped her.

"Eh? B-but, the church is in such a state..."

"Did you forget why I came here in the first place?"

"Purpose...? Ah, I see."

Hajime tilted his head but immediately nodded with a convinced expression. Aiko, who still didn't understand, pressed Hajime for an explanation.

"When I met him after getting out of the dungeon, he said it, didn't he? 'I have business with the priests of the Holy Church.' And right now, humans and demons are at war."

"...Ah."

"Did you realize? The people who were in the church, I already killed every single one of them. You can't kill a person who's already dead."

Therefore, there's no need to worry. Aldias continued, but Aiko's expression remained dark. Even if she hadn't taken their lives, she had still blown their bodies away. That fact deeply wounded Aiko's heart.

As Kaori, Shizuku, and Suzu comforted Aiko, Aldias's gaze settled on the girl who had been silently watching him.

"You are..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Liliana S. B. Heiligh, Princess of the Heiligh Kingdom."

"I am Aldias, the current Demon Lord of the Demon Country Garland. You were in the group that came out of the prison earlier, weren't you? Helping to rescue the apostles of God, I presume?"

"That is correct."

"Unexpected. I heard the Holy Church made the decision to brand the apostles of God as heretics... Did you defy the Holy Church's decision?"

Aldias asked, genuinely surprised, as he understood that in the kingdom, even royalty could not defy the Holy Church.

"Yes. They were victims, caught up in our circumstances, so to speak. We should be grateful that they fought for us; punishing them would be unthinkable."

He stared intently at Liliana, who asserted this. There was no hint of a lie in her eyes.

"...I see, it seems the royalty wasn't entirely corrupt. I imagine you've deduced this, but the royal capital has already fallen. The King's person is already in our hands."

"Tch!?"

Liliana bit her lip hard at Aldias's words. She had been prepared for this. Given the current situation, if the demon race attacked, the kingdom would undoubtedly lose. And her own fate as a royal of a defeated nation...

However, even as she felt the fear of death, Liliana was slightly relieved. Aldias had just stated that he had no intention of killing Hajime and the others, and even seemed willing to help them return. Even if she couldn't be saved, Kaori and Shizuku might be.

Hajime had told her Ehit's true nature. While a large part of her still couldn't believe it, if it were true, they definitely wouldn't be able to protect themselves. Of course, there was no guarantee that Aldias, who liked Hajime, would care about others... like kouki and the rest. And she didn't even know if Aldias could oppose Ehit, but it would at least be safer than under the kingdom's protection.

She, with royal blood, would likely be executed, but the mere possibility of them returning to their original world was a relief.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble of tragedy, but I'm not planning to kill you. Nor do I intend to senselessly kill the people living in the royal capital."

"......Eh?"

Liliana, who had closed her eyes and taken a deep breath as if to say, "I'm prepared," was dumbfounded, unable to immediately grasp the meaning of Aldias's words.

"What do you mean? Don't royals of defeated nations usually get executed?"

As Liliana struggled for words, Hajime interjected. Aiko was also there, diagonally behind him, looking calmer than before. He also felt like she was looking at Hajime with a somewhat heated gaze...

"Well, ordinarily that's the case, but there are some circumstances. The Empire has also come under our control, but Gahard is alive. Among the upper echelons, the only one who died was that scum called Bayas."

"Eh!?"

Liliana involuntarily cried out at that fact. Was it at the fact that the royals of a defeated nation were alive, or at the fact that only her fiancé had died? Only she knew.

"Circumstances, you say? What are you planning? Do you have some strategy to kill Ehit?"

If both the Empire and the Kingdom had fallen, it could be said that the human race's defeat was already decided.

Hajime and the others had visited the Ankaji Duchy a little while ago. He didn't think that country alone could stand against the demon race. Gathering forces from surrounding towns wouldn't change that.

If that's the case, then God would definitely take some action. Aldias, as a labyrinth conqueror, couldn't possibly be unaware of that. At the very least, he must have heard God's true nature from Miledi.

It was irritating to admit, but this Aldias wasn't foolish. He didn't seem like a man who would turn away from obvious facts and blindly believe in God. Because, even during the battle, no words of faith in God came from Aldias's mouth.

"—?"

At that moment, Hajime felt something off. As if he was missing something incredibly important...

(What is this unsettling feeling? Come to think of it, something about his words has been bothering me from the start...)

—You can't win with that kind of resolve. 'God' isn't that lenient.

—God is not as soft as you think. Regardless of his true nature, his power is worthy of claiming to be God.

The many words Aldias had hurled at Hajime. It was as if he had faced Ehit before...

"Tch!?—You don't mean! You've already made contact with Ehit!?"

"...Ah, I suppose I haven't mentioned it yet. Ehit and Alva, I've already killed them."

" " "......Whaaaaaaat!?" " "

Everyone except Aletia and Freed widened their eyes in shock at Aldias's statement.

As everyone was speechless, Hajime, the first to recover, pressed Aldias for an explanation, and Aldias briefly explained the events so far. He had intended to tell Hajime and the royalty, Liliana, anyway.

The content of the story was like an extravagant, unbelievable fantasy tale, but if it were true, the Holy Church's seemingly reckless actions, the reason why they hadn't launched a full-scale invasion despite possessing such power, and the sudden increase in the demon race's activity all made sense.

Indeed, even though the Kingdom, which could be called the human race's main stronghold, had fallen, there was still no sign of divine intervention.

Having heard everything, Hajime's cheeks twitched, and he looked at Aldias with eyes filled with dread.

"You... while the whole world was dancing in God's palm, you alone...?"

"Not alone. Aletia and Freed here. And the people who believed in me. I could never have achieved it without them."

Aletia and Freed nodded at those words.

"Even so, it started with one person, didn't it? Seriously, what's wrong with you? You're not secretly a reincarnator with cheats or something, are you?"

"As I said earlier, what is 'cheat'?"

"Haah, that's my business..."

Sighing deeply, Hajime clearly brought the man in front of him into focus again.

While the whole world was being used as God's plaything, he alone noticed the anomaly, gathered allies in secret, and gained enough power to defeat God.

It was easy to say, but how difficult it was didn't even need consideration. Not only the human race, but even the demon race had given absolute faith to God. In such a situation, what would happen if one tried to defy God could be clearly seen by looking at the Liberators.

In such circumstances, over more than ten years, he steadily and surely advanced his plan, rose to become the king of a nation, and finally even accomplished god-slaying.

From the appearance of Cattleya, whom he had fought in the Orcus Great Labyrinth, and Aletia and Freed present here, it was easy to imagine that Aldias was given unwavering loyalty as a king. Presumably, it was similar with his citizens.

A formidable king who cared for his people, was cared for by his people, possessed superior intellect, and held the power to slay gods.

He was like a protagonist straight out of a manga or anime. Even Hajime, who had seen countless stories, from manga and anime to novels, to the point of being called an otaku in his original world, rarely encountered such a perfect superhuman.

(Haha, no wonder I couldn't beat him.)

Literally, their experiences and beliefs were too different. Hajime once again thought about Aldias. He knew he absolutely couldn't beat him right now. However, Hajime's expression, when he declared this, showed no trace of the fear he had felt before.

Hajime had accumulated many experiences, but at his core, he was just an otaku high school student. He had longed for and been excited by characters in stories more than once or twice.

(...He's so cool.)

It was natural to feel admiration for his power and his way of life. He didn't want to stand above others, but the way he faced God without a single step back and held firm to his convictions was the very ideal form Hajime desired.

"~~Tch!? T-then why didn't you say so from the start! If I had known that, I wouldn't have been needlessly wary of God...!"

However, Hajime was not as childish or innocent as he used to be to be able to say that directly and boldly. He raised his voice, as if to drown out the words he almost blurted out.

"My bad. But a fear that has taken root is not easily shed. You needed to overcome it yourself. I apologize."

"Ugh, I didn't say to apologize..."

Hajime scratched his head uncomfortably at Aldias's apology.

Seeing Hajime's reaction, Aletia inadvertently muttered,

"...Tsundere?"

"Who are you calling a tsundere!?"

Hajime yelled, his face slightly flushed, but at this rare sight, Shia, Tio, and even Kaori grinned, as if they had found something amusing.

Liliana, who was completely out of the loop nearby, looked dejected, muttering, "Even though I'm a princess...", and Shizuku, Suzu, and Aiko comforted her.

Despite having been in mortal danger just moments before, the atmosphere had suddenly turned incredibly relaxed. For them, who knew Ehit's true nature, the news that Ehit was gone was probably that much of a relief.

Liliana, as a royal of the Heiligh Kingdom, still had endless worries about the future of her country, but if she could trust Aldias's words, the risk of further harm to her people would be minimal. In Liliana's eyes, having seen various people as a royal, Aldias did not seem to be lying.

However, they did not yet know. That a threat incomparable to Ehit might be approaching this world.

Aldias hesitated to spoil the mood, but it was a truth that they would have to know eventually. He opened his mouth to convey it again.

—The moment he did, the sky was enveloped in pitch blackness.