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

—If I had taken this hit when we faced each other before, I probably would have died long ago, right?

If Shess had used this move from the very beginning when she first faced Sagan as a paladin, Sagan would probably have had no choice but to surrender.

But now, she is a trustworthy companion.

Sagan grasped the woven "Heavenly Scales" in his hand and then wrote another "circuit".

"Burn to ashes—<Tianlin>."

Then, his fist struck the monster's body, making a thud.

Yes, it was just a light punch, so weak that it didn't seem like it came from the hand of Sagan, who could crush even stone.

This left Shisty, standing behind her, bewildered, and she asked:

"Did it fail?"

"...No, it's over."

Sagan murmured and raised his right hand into a fist, making a crushing gesture.

Immediately afterwards—

The stone monster was instantly engulfed in black flames.

But the burst of flame lasted only a moment. The flames burned across the surface of the rock—as if coloring it—before disappearing.

And then, it all ended there.

The statue, now stained black, collapsed silently.

Even with the strongest regenerative abilities, once magic is lost, it's nothing more than a pile of stones.

The falling debris vanished into thin air before it even touched the ground. Soon, nothing was left.

When Sagan turned around, he saw Shestie standing there dumbfounded and bewildered.

"What did you just do?"

Sagan wove a magic circle in his palm.

"I have a magic technique called 'Heavenly Scales,' which is a shield that can endlessly absorb surrounding magic power to strengthen itself. I just reversed the technique and injected it into its body."

"Reverse operation...?"

"That is, endlessly absorbing magic power and burning it all. The reason the flames were black just now was because they were burning magic power."

"Heavenly Scales" and "Heavenly Phosphorus"—two sides of the same magic, employing the same principle. This was the result of several weeks of work by Sagan after he received Magasiia's legacy, in order to fight against the Holy Sword and the demons.

With the power of this move, the synthetic creature <Chimera> created from the remains of the demon race was instantly burned away, and human magicians would have no chance against it. Once other <Demon Lords> learn of it, they will most likely classify it as a forbidden spell.

"However, this method is not good enough. If it cannot be further improved in efficiency, it probably won't work against the demons."

The demons that Sagan encountered possessed even more bizarre and immense magical power.

Against a character like that, <Tianlin> might be countered before it burns the opponent to ashes. Just like <Tianlin>, which is not yet perfect, this move also has a lot of room for improvement.

"You really are a terrifying magician."

Shess seemed to tremble, but there was an element of respect in her voice.

Therefore, Sagan responded in the following way:

"Aren't you quite capable too, Shestie?"

However, as soon as she finished speaking, Shessti's eyes widened for some reason, and she covered her cheeks with her hands.

"...What are you doing?"

"My name... because of you, you called my name for the first time..."

"Oh? Is that so?"

He hadn't paid much attention to such things, but upon reflection, he realized that his conversation with Shesty had indeed been a back-and-forth exchange from beginning to end.

"I'm really sorry."

"You...you actually apologized to me?"

"You're Nefi's friend, after all. Of course I'll give you the respect you deserve."

However, the so-called magician's etiquette is probably the same as discussing principles with bandits.

Shessie puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not just here for Neferpitou. I want to prove that I can fight alongside you too."

Sagan's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're saying a magician and a paladin can fight side by side?"

"That's right, magicians and paladins can fight side by side!"

There was a certain reliability in Shisty’s words that Sagan had never seen in her.

Having someone you can rely on behind you definitely feels good.

Although it doesn't suit his personality, he is about to express his feelings.

"Sagan!"

As he turned around at Far's call, he saw Raphael finally collapse from exhaustion.

◇

"I have already witnessed the Paladin Commander's fastest sword technique."

Raphael, lying on the ground, grinned, revealing a ferocious smile like a beast about to bite. It seemed that this was just his usual smile.

"Say less. Healing magic isn't my forte."

Sagan used magic to treat Raphael, but his injuries were too severe, and the effect was only enough to stop the bleeding. The dragon's regenerative ability was also gradually weakening, so it could only keep him alive for a few more breaths.

Raphael said wearily:

"Sester. Whatever you think, your actions have become our benchmark. Those who share my ideals will become your support from now on."

"Lord Raphael..."

Shessti gazed at Raphael with mixed feelings.

But—Sagan said it.

"Regarding that symbiotic faction, Barbaross just mentioned it too; some parts still don't make sense. If a benchmark is needed, why don't you set one yourself? Aren't you also the wielder of the Holy Sword?"

"If all you want to do is be a rallying point within the church, that's certainly one way. But as that man said, I've killed too many magicians, and now even if I wanted to discuss cooperation, the magicians wouldn't agree."

That's why we need someone like Shestie.

Shessty looked up as if she had just realized something.

"So that's why you borrowed the name Orobas? Because if you revealed your real name, no one would believe you."

"That's one of the reasons. But most importantly, my survival and the founding of the Symbiosis Faction are both Orobas's wishes, so his name is naturally the one who should be the leader."

It seems that, to this man, Orobas was such a sacred and absolute being.

Sagan understood now, but there were still some things he couldn't accept.

"Ultimately, why did you kill so many magicians? What grudge did you have against them?"

Sagan wouldn't call himself a good citizen; in fact, one could say that magicians are all villains without exception. However, even someone universally disliked couldn't possibly kill five hundred magicians without a deep-seated grudge.

But the man's answer was beyond everyone's expectations.

"Killing them is not my wish. For some reason, the magicians keep attacking me."

""""ah……?""""

This left not only Sagan, but everyone else stunned.

Raphael whispered in bewilderment:

"Why? I tried to communicate with them according to etiquette, using smiles to show my friendliness, but the magicians just ignored me and attacked me. Since I was attacked, it was inevitable to retaliate, and in the end, I dealt with them like this."

Sagan was stunned, unable to understand what he was saying.

"...Wait a minute. But you were quite arrogant and domineering back at the tavern, weren't you?"

"I'm sincerely trying to convey Shirley's crisis to you, aren't I?"

Sagan was now in a bind, and Shessie shook her head in confusion.

"But...but when we first met, didn't you ask me how many magicians I'd killed?...Ah! Could it be that you were afraid your symbiotic identity would be exposed, so you deliberately put on that act?"

"What are you talking about? If you've killed magicians like me, how can you become a role model for everyone? It was only when you said that number wasn't worth bragging about that I truly realized you were the right candidate."

Raphael's serious answer made Shessie hold her head in her hands again.

Then, she nodded again and asked:

"So, you were doing it for my own good back then, that's why you wanted them to return the Holy Sword to me... is that right?"

Without the Holy Sword, how can its wielder protect himself?

It seems something else happened between them.

Sagan also tried to recall his conversations with Raphael.

Although his manner of speaking was misleading, he never said he wanted to kill Shesty; and when he said Shesty posed a threat to the church, he did not say it in his capacity as a church representative.

—That's true. After all, if people saw a paladin chatting and laughing with a magician, he would probably end up like Shessty.

It turns out he just hoped Sagan would pick up on the unspoken message—even though the volume was far too low.

"But even with this method, will we kill five hundred people?"

"That's how it is when people come knocking on my door every day. And once a place is without a magician, I'll be sent to a new location."

It seems that he was sent to various places and was constantly being harassed by magicians, which unknowingly led to this number.

Although the answer was hard to accept, Sagan finally understood his helplessness, and he couldn't help but sigh:

"Please think about your appearance. With that face and those misleading words and actions, who wouldn't see you as an enemy?"

After making the accusation, Barbarossa froze, looking as if to say, "Huh? Are you sure you have the right to say that to him?" Sagan decided to settle the score with him later.

Raphael clenched his fists and slowly stood up.