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

Sagan reflexively grabbed Shestie by the collar and pulled her back.

But in his haste, he overlooked the fact that there was someone behind Shesty who had previously stood up to protect her.

"—Fa'er, get out of the way!"

“Eh…”

The sudden turn of events left Fa'er standing there, bewildered and at a loss.

At the same time, light shot out from the monster's mouth.

The light swept past where Sagan had been standing and rushed towards Fal. But at the last second, something seemed to cover Fal.

When the flowing light dissipated, the ground had melted into a glass-like texture.

The ground was burned beyond recognition, but only a small patch remained intact, on which two people stood.

"Waaah, waaaah..."

It was Fal's soft moan, and Raphael standing up to protect her.

Raphael's left shoulder and below had disappeared.

Sagan's mind was racing.

The anger was unclear whether it stemmed from regret for failing to protect Fa'er, or from the defeat of an enemy whose battle was still undecided by a third party.

Regardless of the answer, it's enough for Sagan to take action and impose sanctions.

The monster opened its mouth again.

"...You puppet, don't get too cocky."

As soon as he finished speaking angrily, the Sagan had already leaped onto the monster's head.

"Turn into fragments—<Heavenly Scales>."

Two thousand "circuits" were assembled in the blink of an eye in Sagan's palm, forming a shield that was almost violently strong.

As soon as he grasped the magic circle, Sagan swung his fist vertically downwards.

The Fist of the Heavenly Scale shattered the magically formed mouth and the monster's entire head.

The wrist strength, already capable of shattering rocks, combined with the hardness of the Heavenly Scales, not only damaged the head but also cleaved the monster's body in two. Now split into two pieces, the monster was no different from a rock, slowly kneeling down.

Before he could even confirm the monster's fate, Sagan rushed to the side of Fal and Raphael, who had been struck by the light.

"Hey, you two are still alive, right?"

After he finished asking, Fa'er slightly opened her eyes.

"I'm... fine..."

For some reason, Raphael used his own body and the holy sword as a shield to protect Fal. The young girl was completely unharmed.

But Raphael was a different story.

Seeing the horrific sight of his entire arm being blown off, Fa'er's expression was full of confusion.

Why...did you do this?

It seemed that Raphael was still conscious, as he opened his eyes.

"...I was just doing my duty, it has nothing to do with you."

Perhaps because the injury was too deep, causing numbness in his sense of pain, his voice did not sound like he was in pain.

However, the wound was too close to the heart.

Sagan didn't know the workings of Raphael's regenerative abilities, but now his entire arm was gone, the wound was threatening his heart, and the blood loss was fatal. Even with the power of dragons, he was probably beyond saving.

But unexpectedly...

"Gurgle... Ugh...!"

Raphael stood up again.

Despite suffering a fatal wound, bleeding profusely from his body, staining his silver armor red, and even looking like he was about to die, how was he still able to stand up?

No. The question should be, why did he absolutely have to stand up?

Raphael, whose mouth was gushing blood, calmly began to speak:

"You just said that I am the enemy who killed Orobas, is that right?"

"...No, that's right."

Despite being intimidated by the man's almost obsessive and compelling aura, Fa'er nodded.

Raphael's unwavering gaze met that of the little girl before him.

"You're wrong. That great dragon would never be a lowly being subservient to us."

This has been a question Sagan has always had.

--The Holy Sword is indeed troublesome, but is it powerful enough to defeat a legendary dragon?

Even if all thirteen Demon Kings were gathered together, it would still be difficult to predict the outcome of a battle against a legendary dragon.

As far as paladins are concerned, Raphael's strength is indeed incredible, but he couldn't even defeat Sagan, so it's impossible for him to kill Orobas.

However, Fa'er refused to accept this fact and roared at the top of her lungs:

"Liar! I saw it clearly! You were eating my father's remains! You deceived him and killed him!"

"Then let me ask you this: Is the Orobas you know a dragon that will be defeated if betrayed by humans? Is he really that weak?"

"...Even now, do you still look down on my father?!"

"What I mean is, you look down on your own father."

Seeing the confused Fal, Raphael continued:

"I don't care what you think of me, but for the sake of Orobas's reputation, I must say—that great dragon could never lose to us mere humans."

"What does this mean?"

Raphael sighed quietly.

"That day, in order to annihilate a certain enemy, we asked the wise dragon Orobas for help, and he agreed to our request."

"enemy……?"

The paladin must rely on the power of the dragon to annihilate it. What kind of enemy is it?

--Is it "The Demon King"...? Probably not.

Sagan held his breath, waiting for what would happen next, when Raphael slowly turned his head.

But his gaze wasn't fixed on Far, nor on Sagan or Shestie, but rather on the pile of shattered stones further away.

"Demons—that's what they're called in ancient traditions."

Fa'er stared wide-eyed.

"Stop talking nonsense, I've never heard of any of those things surviving to this day."

"Otherwise, what is that now? Isn't it a monster beyond our comprehension?"

"this……"

When asked this question, Fa'er couldn't answer.

"I understand your doubts. I originally thought that thing had long since disappeared from the world. But the reality is that the demons have appeared in the world, resulting in the sacrifice of numerous paladins and great dragons."

Raphael continued in a sorrowful and bitter tone:

"They will likely make a comeback in the near future."

These unbelievable words prompted Fael to look to Sagan for help.

Sagan nodded firmly in response:

"It's true. I don't know if they'll make a comeback, but those beings called demons do still exist. I'm investigating those ancient traditions in order to find a way to kill them."

Although Sagan did not think the situation was as urgent as Raphael described, he realized that if he did not prepare for the future, he would have no means of resistance when he had to fight them in the future.

—Perhaps Barbaros's successful summoning of the demons was some kind of omen.

Barbaros was indeed powerful, but the ritual at the time didn't even have a living sacrifice; it was merely a product of Sagan's power accidentally triggering the event. The demons are not insignificant beings; there's no reason such an incomplete magic could summon them.

And Fal should understand that what Sagan said was true. The two of them had previously browsed through books about monsters together in the library.

Far looked up at Raphael and asked incredulously:

"So, Father fought against the demons, and was he defeated?"

Raphael shook his head at her question.

"He was not defeated, but successfully annihilated the enemy with his life."

This is just another way of putting it, but the words reveal the man's unwavering belief that the dragon had fought a glorious battle.

Not just him, Fa'er probably thought so too. Then, she bit her lip and whispered:

"...In that case, who should I hate?"

"You shouldn't hate, you should be proud."

Fa'er frowned.

"pride……?"

"Yes, pride. Orobars protected you and the world you live in with his life. If you're not proud of him, who should be?"

After saying this, Raphael knelt down in front of Far.

"But if killing me would make you proud to be called Orobas, then so be it. I'll offer you my head."

Raphael looked down at his body, which was mortally wounded yet still regenerating.

"The demons are powerful. If they were to be resurrected in this world where the church and magicians are enemies, we would have no chance of winning. We must be prepared. That's why, as despicable as I am, I drank the blood of Orobas to survive from this desperate situation."

This is probably what Fa'er saw.

Raphael then looked at Shesty.

"But my mission ends here. The seeds of symbiosis have sprouted. If my final task is to bid farewell to Orobas, I will do so without hesitation."