As the Demon King, I have married a slave elf. How should I express my love?

"It's not over yet! You still have me as your opponent!"

"Hey, that's enough! Get out of here!"

"I will never back down, Lady Shestie. Ooh o ...

With both hands raised high above his head, the knight unleashed a vertical slash from above.

Sagan responded coldly, then with a wave of his left hand, his hand, enveloped in the glow of a magic circle, extended two fingers to form a sword shape.

The longsword clashed with Sagan's fingers.

A sharp clang followed, and the longsword broke in two.

The knight's eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets.

"Impossible...!"

At that moment, Sagan gently reached out his hand.

"What...what are you going to do...?"

He flicked his finger at the bewildered knight's forehead, like a child's prank.

"Cough?"

With that flick of the finger, the knight's head slammed hard against the ground.

The man collapsed to the ground in pain, rolling around as Sagan's foot mercilessly stomped on his nose.

"Woo-coo-coo-coo..."

"Do you understand now? If I just apply a little more force, your head will be crushed like a tomato. The sound of crushing skulls is unforgettable once you hear it. I'm still a little bothered by that unforgettable sound."

He was captured by a magician. It is said that the deeper the despair of a living sacrifice, the better its quality, and therefore Sagan was subjected to a series of severe tortures.

Therefore, he was well aware of the immense fear this could bring.

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the girl.

"Oh dear, don't make any rash moves! His head will be turned to mush before you even draw your sword. If someone who could have been saved dies because of you, I bet you won't be able to sleep well tonight, will you?"

"Help, help me... Squeak!"

Hearing the knight's shameful scream, the girl had no choice but to remove her hand from the greatsword on her back.

--It seems she's quite sensible.

Actually, if the girl didn't care about his life or death and wielded her sword, Sagan would have a real headache.

These three knights were insignificant to their opponents, but the Holy Sword was a different story. Even against Sagan's fist, it could easily cleave through the condensed magic within. Even within her own territory, whether Sagan could defeat her remained an open question.

The girl's eyes glared fiercely at him.

"Hmph...why torture people like this? Is this some kind of toy with the loser?"

But the girl's eyes didn't show anger when she spoke; they looked more like disappointment.

Sagan looked helpless, as if mocking her for not understanding such a simple principle.

Do you know how fear spreads?

"What……?"

A wary look appeared on Shess's face.

Sagan's goal was to let their fears take root and to make their superiors understand how unwise it was to challenge them, and that avoiding any involvement with her was the best way to protect themselves.

That's why he goes to such lengths, tormenting his opponents instead of killing them.

Sagan ruthlessly trampled on the knight, planting fear in his heart.

"People are afraid of the unknown. But what makes fear spread is people's words. If I were to kill you all now, the people who sent you would only see the number four dead. To let fear spread, you have to go back alive."

He applied even more pressure with his foot, and the knight beneath him let out a scream like a frog being crushed.

He should be considered a person of considerable status, but now he was covered in tears, snot, and mud, his face so filthy that it was unbearable to look at.

But the girl said:

"These are all lies."

"oh……?"

Sagan feigned interest, widening one of his eyes.

"I think you must have some reasons for self-preservation. Although we are a church, every organization has that aspect you mentioned. However, that's not your real intention."

A wave of tension made Sagan tense up.

—If someone dies in the territory, it will frighten Neferpitou…

Therefore, if possible, he hopes to drive people away rather than kill them.

The girl seemed to see right through Sagan's thoughts, and smiled with confidence.

"...I was right."

Then, she reached for the greatsword behind her back.

"Wait... I don't want to die..."

Despite the knight begging for mercy, the girl kept her sword in her hand.

—This is bad; they've seen through my intention not to kill.

A hostage is only meaningful if it can threaten the lives of others; a person who has no intention of killing has no meaning even if they hold hostages.

The girl finally drew the holy sword from her back.

"Shestia Liqquist. I am sent by the Lord to punish the magician Sagan!"

There is no room for mercy when facing an opponent wielding the holy sword, as there is when facing a knight.

But killing a girl around Nefi's age was something he found difficult to do, especially since she was someone he had saved, which made him even more depressed.

He refused to fight no matter what, but the girl, Shessty, refused to leave no matter what.

"Tsk—"

Sagan kicked the knight at his feet away. The knight, hit on the head, rolled on the ground and crashed into two other knights who were already on the ground.

At the same moment, the attack range of the Shestia Holy Sword had already locked onto Sagan.

"ha!"

The holy sword cleaved vertically downwards, and although Sagan raised his fist to deflect the blade—

"...Hey, hey, hey."

But unexpectedly, the magic circle protecting the fist cracked after just one movement.

Just deflecting the blade was already like this; the thought of what would happen if he were actually hit sent a chill down Sagan's spine.

Shestia followed up with a swift upward sweep of her sword. The fluid, coordinated attacks forced even Sagan to retreat.

—However, it seems that her strength wasn't that great.

Despite its incredible sharpness, the sword itself was not heavy. Although the baptismal armor could provide protection, its enhancement was still limited if the girl herself was weak.

Shestia shouted as she wielded her sword.

"Why! Why don't you fight back? Am I not worthy to be your opponent?!"

Yes. Sagan had been dodging the attack the entire time and hadn't launched a single offensive.

Sagan ducked to dodge the sweeping slash and replied:

"Don't force me to do things. I don't know anything about how to hit women."

Or rather, he was helpless in the face of this fact.

—Let me tell you about another girl who's the same age as Neferpitou. How could I possibly hit her?

It wasn't so much that he didn't want to annoy Nefie, but rather that even when he clenched his fist, that delicate, beautiful figure would appear before his eyes, questioning him, "Even if the opponent wasn't Nefie, but a girl the same age as her, could you really fight her?"

Therefore, he continued to look for other methods, hoping to avoid conflict.

Shestia gritted her teeth and said indignantly:

"Why would someone like you get involved in magic!"

It was less anger from being humiliated and more a lament with nowhere to vent.

Sagan was puzzled.

"I don't understand what you're saying. It's just using magic, is it really such a heinous crime?"

He knew he wasn't a good person, but that had nothing to do with magic.

Shestia roared angrily:

"Of course! It is because of that power that people suffer so much torment and pain."

"And what about your power? Don't you also use it to slaughter magicians weaker than yourself?"

"──!"

Such criticism shook Shestie's resolve. Her empty-handed holy sword pierced the ground.

Sagan quickly stepped on it. Once the sword's belly was pressed down, even a paladin would find it difficult to pull it out by brute force.

"Waaah..."

Sagan simply ignored the girl's efforts.

"I have no intention of justifying my actions, but there are a lot of people in the world who live by magic, and those who make a living by destroying all of this have no right to claim justice."

"what……"

Even if the words are spoken in a high-sounding manner, the girl must understand that this is the essence of the matter.

She turned pale and couldn't reply.

—Please don't react like that now, otherwise it'll be even harder for me to make a move...

If she continues to claim to be righteous, Sagan can act without restraint.

Even so, Shestie bit her lip and tightened her grip on the sword again.