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

So, she's always considered me a friend?

"I'm truly defeated by her," Shessty thought. "I must stand by her and protect these things she cherishes most."

Shestia wiped away her tears and stood up.

"Sorry, you must have seen this funny."

No, it won't.

Besides—Neferpitou's lips curled up slightly. The movement was a little awkward, but it was undeniably her smile.

"It is also one of my tasks to remove the root of Mr. Sagan's worries."

"Are you referring to me?"

"Yes. After what happened with Mr. Barbarossa, Mr. Sagan was very worried about you."

Shessty couldn't help but doubt her own ears.

"But doesn't he not even remember what I look like?"

"That's not true. At least in my opinion, he cares about you."

Since Nephew said so, it must be true.

Now, Shess was no longer confused.

"Thank you. I should head over now."

Now, she is no longer afraid of losing anything.

—Well then, in this final battle, let's fight to our hearts' content and wield our swords according to our own will.

The man probably didn't need anyone's help at all, but Shess still wanted to do it.

Therefore, she stepped into the shadows.

Although he was not wearing baptismal armor, he held a holy sword in his hand.

"Okay, please take care, Miss Shestie."

As the girl who called herself her friend watched her go, Shisty gradually sank into the shadows.

◇

The location returns to the Demon King's Palace.

Raphael's baptismal armor was shattered and he was severely wounded, but he miraculously stood up again.

His appearance made Sagan wary, and he observed him closely.

—Magic…it shouldn’t be. Is it power obtained from a dragon?

If it were magic, Sagan should be able to "devour" it; besides, paladins view magic as a venomous snake and are unlikely to use it.

A wielder of the Holy Sword who can rise from a fatal wound is truly a nightmare for a magician. Even a candidate for Demon King would find it difficult to defeat him.

But Sagan laughed heartily.

"Great, Fa'er, it seems this guy isn't so easy to kill. You should think about how to teach him a lesson later."

"……Um!"

Fa'er, who had been holding her breath in fear, quickly nodded angrily upon hearing this.

Raphael silently watched Fal. Was it an illusion? There was something in his eyes—a look that was hard to tell if it was pity or sorrow.

He said in a heavy voice, as if sighing:

"It seems you really hate me to the core."

"Isn't it natural for you to be violent towards my daughter? Besides, you yourself killed five hundred magicians, and you expect others not to hate you? That's a rather selfish thought."

"Isn't that just your reason for hating me?"

Raphael was looking towards Farah's direction.

So, Fa'er gritted her teeth and glared back defiantly.

"The Wise Dragon Orobas—that's the name of the dragon you killed."

This was the first time Sagan had heard Farr mention the name.

—That's a legendary dragon, its name etched in magic books and ancient traditions.

If he were to be compared to a magician, he would be like Magasiah, the highest-ranking figure in "The Demon King." Sagan had no idea that Fael was actually his daughter.

But this fact puzzled Sagan.

—Could a legendary dragon be defeated by this level of power?

Of course, Raphael's strength is already among the top in the human race.

He felt weak only because he was facing Sagan, an extremely powerful magician. It would normally take thousands of magicians or humans to defeat this man.

Although Raphael survived a blow from Sagan, that was after he had consumed the dragon and gained its power. Based on the order in which they acquired their powers, it's clearly contradictory to say he defeated the dragon.

An opponent like Xianlong shouldn't be someone Sagan initially perceived as capable of defeating...

The name Orobas surprised Raphael.

"...I see, so it's Orobas's child?"

That was a sound tinged with weariness.

Raphael pulled the holy sword from the ground and relaxed the strength in his arm.

"In that case, I have even more reason to take action!"

Raphael raised his holy sword high above his head and charged towards Fal.

"Do you think I'd let you pass?"

Then, he was punched squarely in the face by Sagan.

If an ordinary magician had taken this blow, his skull would probably have shattered. The burly paladin who took the punch head-on was thrown backward and sent flying into the air.

Through the solid feel of his hand, Sagan was certain he had shattered his jawbone. The jawbone not only contains countless nerves, including those for teeth, but also, due to the structure of the skull, a blow to this area would violently shake the brain.

Whether it's a magician, a paladin, or even a dragon, none of them could stand up again after taking this blow.

—I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ll make sure you can’t move anymore.

I initially thought Raphael would fall headfirst to the ground—

"Hmm...!"

However, things took an unexpected turn; he twisted his body and landed on his feet again.

His towering frame, which even Sagan had to look up to, possessed an unimaginable lightness of body. In addition, his willpower surpassed his sense of pain.

"What……?"

Then, he sped past Sagan. Sagan, believing he had indeed severely injured his enemy, was caught off guard.

Meanwhile, Fa'er, having just emerged from her dragon form, was completely unprepared.

"Stop looking down on people!"

Magic coalesced in Fa'er's hands.

"Stop, Fa'er!"

Although Sagan tried to stop him, Far had already cast his magic on Raphael.

Is it too late? — Just as he was thinking this.

A sharp clang rang out as swords clashed against each other.

As the two silver-white holy swords locked together, a blue-white shockwave expanded outwards in a ring.

The halo, like ripples on a lake, spread out in the underground cavity, seeping into the interior of the Demon King's Palace until it disappeared.

Yes, another holy sword has appeared before us.

"...Please stop, Lord Raphael."

The one who took the blow was Shess, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh no, I forgot to turn off the shadow."

Barbaros muttered dismissively.

It seems she arrived through the shadows while Sagan was busy fighting.

She didn't know what had happened before she arrived; her eyes were streaked with tears, and her nose was red.

However, it seems that she didn't have time to put on the baptismal armor in her haste; although she brought the holy sword, she was wearing a blue top and skirt.

Even without the baptismal armor, she still managed to block the Holy Knight Commander's attack with her holy sword.

While his skill was astonishing, it wasn't this that truly surprised Sagan.

—This guy actually managed to neutralize both Raphael's sword and Fael's magic at the same time.

Far had just cast a spell on Raphael, who was attacking. But the spell that was supposed to pierce Raphael had vanished into thin air.

The magic trick didn't fail; it was simply shattered.

This was a sharpness she hadn't displayed when confronting Sagan.

"What are you doing?"

Farrell glared at Shestie with displeasure.

Shessie, deflecting Raphael's sword, said in a low voice:

"Even though you're always messing with me, it's all my fault. I barged into your life like that. Before we start fighting, can we try talking first?"

The useless state she was in when she stayed in the city seemed to have never existed; her words sounded firm and resolute.

—It seems this guy has just gotten rid of some inner demon.

Her figure no longer showed any confusion or bewilderment.

Left with no other choice, Sagan walked over to Fael and gently tapped her on the head.

"Yes, I also think you should sit down and have a proper talk... though not now."