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

Sagan, who finally saw the whole story, said:

"So, the 'symbiotic' messenger that Shessty mentioned, was actually you?"

Raphael nodded silently.

"Indeed. As the Demon King and the Holy Knight Commander, you still share a bond with each other, which is very close to our goal. Therefore..."

"Hey, hey, hey, this guy is totally untrustworthy!"

It was Barbaros who raised the objection.

"Do you know you've killed hundreds of magicians? Who would believe that nonsense about advocating peaceful coexistence?!"

Sagan agreed on this point.

But Raphael nodded, seemingly understanding the point as well.

"Of course I know this fact, which is why I cannot become the benchmark of symbiosis, and therefore I need the Holy Sword Maiden."

The sudden heavy responsibility left Shessie feeling completely overwhelmed.

"Wait a minute, I haven't agreed to accept yet..."

There was no follow-up to that statement.

Because the collapsed rocks started moving again.

When everyone turned to look, the monster, which had been split in two, was about to rise again.

◇

"...Sigh. It seems there are quite a few immortal beings in this world."

One moment he's a Paladin Commander who survived having his entire hand blown off, the next he's a monster remnant of the former Demon Lord. Compared to these creatures, Sagan might at least seem more human.

"I'll take care of it one more time. You guys stay here for now."

"Can that thing really kill?"

After Raphael finished asking the question, Sagan shrugged.

"Although artificial life forms <golems> are not my specialty, I can destroy anything created by magic."

"That's not some artificial life form, a golem."

The confident tone made Sagan frown and look at him.

What does that mean?

"That should be what you call a synthetic life form. It's another type of life form created through magic, besides artificial life forms like golems..."

Hearing this, Sagan felt a chill run down his spine.

"Hey, you mean...?"

"Yes. It was created by Magasiia, a synthetic creature of the demon race called a Chimera."

Sagan couldn't deny that statement, because when he saw this monster, the first thing that came to his mind was the demon race.

—That old man Magasiah left behind such a troublesome legacy!

Raphael stared angrily at the monster before him.

"There's no mistake. These are the remains of the demons we defeated together with Orobas. Magasia must have recycled them to create this synthetic creature, the Chimera."

The remains are just remains at best. But even if its power is far less than before, it is still a demon. No wonder it cannot be destroyed by beating alone.

However, Sagan still smiled.

—Perfect timing. Let's test the performance of another move.

The rock-like monster, the demonic synthetic creature <Chimera>, is about to complete its regeneration. Sagan weaves <Sky Scales> once more in his palm and steps forward.

"Shestia, you come along too."

"...But I haven't agreed to that thing you mentioned yet!"

"But I think you've already decided what to do."

Although she didn't know what the man meant, Shessty nodded firmly and gripped the sword in her hand again.

"You don't need to tell me. I will wield the sword according to my own will."

Next, Shestie began to sing slowly:

"I will no longer be lost. Lend me your power—the Holy Sword Azrael."

"The Flame of Purification"—it's less a flame and more a light.

It wasn't a blazing flame, but rather a layer of faint light swirling around the blade. Though the light was small, it possessed no ethereal quality.

Sagan could tell what it was.

It turns out that she concentrated the power Raphael released in the form of fireworks onto the blade. The sharpness of the light condensed at a certain point might even be able to cut through the Heavenly Scales.

—If we only consider the power of the Holy Sword, this guy should be above Raphael, right?

Shestie came to the surprised Sagan's side and stood beside him.

"I will not ask you to trust me as a paladin, but I hope you will fight alongside me."

Sagan shrugged.

"I never thought you were clever enough to play tricks."

After seeing how pitiful she's been these past few days, it's impossible not to think that way.

"...Is this a compliment or an insult?"

What do you think?

Shessty puffed out her cheeks, turned her face away, and said:

"So, do we have a chance of winning?"

"I want to try out a certain move with it. But that would require injecting it directly into the body, so I need to get close enough to hit it first."

"Understood. I'll go first then."

Just then, the stone monster seemed to have finished regenerating, its sinister round eyes pointing in this direction.

"It's coming."

"I know."

The ugly mouth that opened on the forehead once again gathered magical light.

That was a breath of light that knocked Raphael down in one blow.

The two of them focused their attention on what was behind them.

—If I dodge, I'll hit the person behind me.

Although Barbaros was not within the range of his aura, two people were still unable to avoid it. Fal might be able to dodge, but Raphael was already immobilized. Besides, Sagan didn't want his daughter to be in such danger twice.

Just as Sagan was getting into position, her view was blocked by Shessty's back.

"Are you crazy? You don't even have baptismal armor. You'll lose your life like this."

"I told you, the task of leading the charge is mine!"

She had barely finished shouting when Shestie took off running.

The monster's breath was released, and the light was about to mercilessly annihilate Shestie's body—

"Haa!"

But with a loud shout, Shestie cleaved the holy sword from her hand.

The Breath of Light, struck by Shestie's sword, was cleaved in two. The cleaved light flashed past Sagan and the others behind him before disappearing.

"Let's go, Sagan, let's go!"

Shestia ran straight toward the monster.

—This guy's tone is really arrogant.

However, even Sagan was amazed by that attack.

He couldn't even see the moment the holy sword fell.

That being said, without the Baptismal Armor, Shessty's physical abilities were still far inferior to Sagan's.

Sagan leaped past Shestie in one breath, closing the distance to the stone monster in the blink of an eye.

The stone monster swung its arm.

"So fast!"

Barbaros exclaimed in astonishment. Despite its enormous size, the monster possessed a speed that was disproportionate to its size and comparable to Sagan's.

However, its movements are too cumbersome.

Instead of meeting this swaggering attack head-on, Sagan met it with his fist.

The stone fist, struck by that punch, shattered instantly, sending fragments flying everywhere.

"──?"

But it was Sagan's side that felt alarmed.

A sinister black mist had connected the scattered stone fragments. The broken debris, as if possessing its own consciousness, changed direction in the air and poured down before Sagan's eyes.

So that's why it can be restored even when it's broken!

The rocky body is just a shell; the black mist lurking within is the true form.

"Don't stop, Sagan!"

Countless stone fragments were shattered by the white light. Shisty, close behind Sagan, unleashed a series of sword flashes.

The white sword shadow had just passed by, and the fragments had not yet separated, when another sword flash passed through again.

The number of times the knife was swung must have been in the double digits.

It was a high-speed sword strike that seemed to appear simultaneously from behind all the sword flashes. Besides its astonishing speed, what was truly remarkable was that—despite the fact that there were more than a dozen sword flashes swung from behind Sagan to his front, Sagan remained completely unharmed.

This is not just breathtaking, it's chilling.