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

—Am I being followed?

It seems she was too hasty and neglected to be wary of her surroundings.

Moreover, the man in front of them was carrying a large sword on his back.

Fa'er's eyes widened.

"The Holy Sword, its wielder...!"

Even without seeing the sword inscription, she could sense the magical power. It was the "scent" of the holy sword that had killed her father. She hadn't expected that besides the woman Sagan had brought back, there were other wielders of the holy sword who knew about this place.

The burly man seemed to find it amusing, a smile appearing on his rugged face.

"It seems that even at a young age, a magician is still a magician. You recognized the sword even without me drawing it."

At this point, Fa'er finally saw his face clearly.

"Who are you……!"

There's absolutely no mistake. That face belongs to the man who drank Orobas's blood back then.

"Hmm? Who are you? I shouldn't know a little girl like you."

It felt like something had gone wrong in Fa'er's mind.

"You bastard──────!"

Her hands and feet instantly transformed into dragons, and green dragon wings extended from her back.

She even forgot to use magic, and only followed her anger, swinging her claws to attack the other party.

But the wielder of the holy sword drew his blade at a speed far exceeding that of Fa'er's full power.

"what……"

A stunned sound escaped his lips.

—This is the wielder of the Holy Sword…

Unless it's a "Demon King" like Sagan, the wielder of the Holy Sword is not someone to be trifled with. Fa'er understood this, which is why she strived to become a magician, however...

The sword, inscribed with words, is about to strike Fa'er's neck.

The last image that came to mind was that of Sagan and Neferpitou gently stroking his head.

"Sagan..."

She called out the name as if making a wish, her eyes tightly closed, but the pain she expected did not come.

Instead, there was the gentle touch of an arm around me from behind, and the soft whispers woven from an arrogant voice.

"Although I told you before that you could be a little more willful, it's still better to prohibit staying up late from now on."

"Huh...?"

It was Sagan's arm that blocked the blade of the holy sword for her.

◇

"Oh... I didn't expect you to block my attack, Demon King."

Raphael's holy sword was blocked by Sagan with his bare hands... Although he was bare-handed, there was actually a magic circle shield between his skin and the blade.

The greatsword has a silver-white blade with patterns on its surface that are unlike anything that can be magical, making it look quite different from Shess's holy sword.

Judging from the appearance, each holy sword has a different pattern.

So, that's the inscription on the sword?

While observing carefully, Sagan examined her own arm.

Raphael's sword flash was far sharper than Shess's previous swings, but Sagan's hand gripping the blade was neither cut nor burned as before.

—It seems that even the power of the Holy Sword cannot harm the Demon King's Mark.

If Sagan had relied solely on his own strength, his right arm would probably be on the ground by now. However, with the Demon King's magic, even the Holy Sword could not damage him in the slightest.

However, it would seem like I was abusing my power, which doesn't feel very good.

But since the other side also used an item called the Holy Sword, let's consider it even.

Raphael was caught with the holy sword and was now unable to move.

Meanwhile, Far, who was still in the form of dragon hands, feet, and wings in Sagan's arms, spoke with a trembling voice:

"Sagan, why...?"

"I happen to know a courier who's always available, and I figured you'd probably be around here, so I moved it here."

Sagan's feet remained shrouded in shadow.

But this is not Sagan's magic.

"I'm not some delivery person who's always available."

It was Barbarossa who spoke out in protest. He stood far away as soon as he emerged from the shadows, probably afraid of being implicated.

"Didn't I say I would pay? So stop complaining."

Sagan's original job for him was to monitor Shesty.

Magicians are always loyal to their contracts. Even after rescuing Shessty, the man remained by her side as ordered. Therefore, when Fal disappeared, he appeared immediately upon Sagan's summons.

"Mr. Sagan, is Faye alright?"

The shadows seemed to still lead to the castle, and Neferpitou's worried voice could be heard. Sagan answered as tactfully as possible:

"Fa'er will be fine. I'll take care of some chores and then go back. You stay in the city for now."

"OK."

Neferpitou probably wanted to come along, but she understood that Sagan still had problems to solve, so she responded in this way.

"...Okay, that's settled then. Now's not the time for kids to wander around outside, let's go home."

Sagan spoke arrogantly as usual, but Far shook his head.

"No, that's not what I meant. I betrayed Sagan, so why would you..."

--Oh, is that what she was asking?

Sagan looked at Fa'er, whose eyes were already filled with tears, and patted her head.

"Didn't we agree to be on the same wavelength? Don't take such a small thing to heart."

As soon as Sagan finished speaking, Fa'er buried her face in his chest. The dragon wings on her back disappeared, and her hands and feet transformed into human form.

"sorry……"

"Didn't I tell you not to take it to heart?"

Yes, these are all minor matters.

—Thank God I made it in time…

Sagan was just one step away from losing this girl. Compared to that, her sneaking into the Demon King's palace was a trivial matter.

Next, Sagan finally faced Raphael.

"I think I've already said this before: if anyone does anything excessive on my territory, I won't let it go."

Upon hearing this, the fierce-looking paladin responded with considerable surprise:

"Hmph, a magician actually takes sides with others?"

"She's not just anyone. She's my daughter."

And yet, he dared to point a sword at her.

—There's no reason to let this man go back alive now.

Now that Nefi is not here, and given that this involves the revenge for Fal, let's torture him properly before finally killing him.

Raphael narrowed his eyes as if he had given up.

"...I see, so she's your daughter? That's certainly a good enough reason."

"That's right... Fa'er, you should stay away for a bit."

Sagan pushed Fal behind him and released his grip on the holy sword. Raphael calmly created distance, raising his sword and resuming his stance.

However, Sagan frowned in puzzlement.

—Even at this critical juncture, he still shows no murderous intent?

Raphael didn't appear to lack any fighting spirit, but there was no killing intent emanating from his sword. Could such a sword truly stand against Sagan?

"...Let me give you some advice first. If you don't go all out, you could die."

"This is not what I wanted, but there's nothing I can do about it. After all, I can't die here yet."

After speaking in a deep voice, Raphael then released his killing intent.

"Respond—the Holy Sword <Medanzo>."

As soon as Raphael finished shouting, the holy sword spewed out blue-white flames.

"...!"

The force burned Sagan so much that he almost cried out, but he managed to hold back and realized that the tavern incident was nothing more than child's play.

Raphael raised his gleaming holy sword and continued:

"This is the 'Purifying Flame' that defeated the Demon King and burned away all demons in the past. Only the true master of the Holy Sword can control this power."

That is why the Holy Sword must choose its own master.

—Is this the original power of the Holy Sword…?

The "Purifying Flame" releases waves of heat-like energy into the surrounding area.

The magic circle disintegrated upon encountering this seemingly simple fluctuation, and even if one tried to condense a new magic, the "circuit" would be destroyed as soon as it was constructed.

If it were an ordinary magician, he would probably be completely powerless by now, and there would be no need to even fight.

"Hey, hey, hey... is this guy kidding me?"

Besides the power of the holy sword, Raphael's killing intent was so strong that even wild beasts would flee in terror. That aura naturally intimidated Barbaros, who retreated in fear.