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

"...! If we really did that, shouldn't your 'mark' be completely unaffected?!"

Sagan nodded nonchalantly in the face of Bivron's questioning.

"Of course that's true. What are you trying to say?"

Like Biffron, the emblem on Sagan's right hand has also lost its luster.

It turns out that Sagan sealed his own "mark" and took Biffron's "mark" with him as if he were being buried with him.

Conversely, since this move can seal the opponent's power, it proves that the "Demon King's Mark" must be real.

—However, I don't really use that thing anyway.

From then until now, Sagan has only actually used that move twice.

The first time was to send back the demons summoned by Barbaros.

Another instance was when he fought Raphael. Sagan wanted to test what would happen if the Mark clashed with the Holy Sword, but the Mark remained unharmed.

This power certainly lives up to the name of "Demon King," but it is ultimately borrowed power.

—No one knows when they will lose what they borrowed.

That being said, Sagan did not shy away from this ominous "mark".

Borrowed power should not be relied upon. But aside from finding ways to cause destruction, Sagan made the most of it.

Moreover, Sagan only researched the Demon Lord Mark in order to kill other Demon Lords.

If Sagan continues to be so arrogant and willful, one day he will clash with them.

That might happen tomorrow, or it might happen hundreds of years from now, while a conflict just happens to occur today. That's all there is to it.

"You actually gave up your power yourself...?"

Bifron stared wide-eyed, as if looking at some hopeless idiot.

Even though he has lived for over a hundred years, Bifron, who has now lost the power of the "Mark", is just an "ordinary magician" to Sagan.

Bifron murmured with admiration:

"I see, that's amazing. I never knew there was such a method."

The magician, with a proud smile on his face, began to have magic flowing around his feet.

"I admit this trick works, but can it compensate for a lack of experience?"

As soon as the whisper ended, the Demon King's magic was complete. It turned out that while Bivron was looking on in surprise, he had already secretly constructed the circuit.

Now it's too late for Sagan to either resist or 'devour' him.

That should be the case, however—

"This magic trick is truly high-level. It's the first time I've seen someone construct such a circuit with just a few words. You truly deserve to be called a demon king!"

Sagan slammed his heel into the ground, and the circuit that Bivron was about to build dissipated. The power was then absorbed by Sagan and swirled around his arm.

The magic circle, several times more complex than the previous cryptic magic, was transformed into Sagan's power.

Bifron stared in astonishment once again.

"You actually 'devoured' all those circuits with just one glance...? But I clearly used circuits you didn't know about."

"Yes, I've learned a lot from it."

Sagan nodded nonchalantly.

If it's just about 'devouring,' circuits you haven't learned aren't a problem. After all, when Sagan first killed the magician, he didn't know any magic at all.

Bivron then twisted his body in amusement.

"I see, I see. What an enviable talent! We were right to choose you; you are showing amazing growth."

Logically speaking, Bivron, who was at a disadvantage, even had a hint of pleasure in his smile.

It seems he is not a low-level magician after all, and will not be helpless because of this.

Sagan recalled the unfathomable, sinister feeling he had experienced that day in "The Demon King".

—But the question is whether he will reveal his hand here.

The Demon King's trump card is unpredictable, so mysterious that it sends chills down your spine.

And every time the Demon King reveals a trump card, the mysterious veil of the Abyss Demon King will gradually be removed, revealing him as a powerful yet simple magician.

Bivron called this "entertainment" today. Since he might not even go all out, it's even harder to say whether he'll reveal his trump card.

Moreover, are all these questions really reasonable?

Sagan approached cautiously, fully on guard. But Bivron suddenly shed his previous unsettling aura and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Hehehe. Alright, I have a general understanding of your strength. I think we should call it a day."

"I don't think it's necessary."

"Huh...?"

Bivron unilaterally grasped something, but Sagan's anger showed no signs of abating.

Seeing the magic power released from Sagan's fist, Biffron's expression turned panicked, and Nephtros, who was standing next to him, also retreated with a pale face.

"Wait, wait! You've misunderstood. This is really just for fun. Think about it, I didn't harm your Pokémon at all, did I?"

"You have already seriously harmed her. You don't need to apologize, but I have my own principles."

At first glance, Bifron does not appear to be protected by magic or similar powers.

Sagan raised his fist again.

"You're supposed to be the Demon King, you can't just die from one punch, can you?"

If it were that easy and effortless, Sagan would have already taken the heads of the twelve Demon Lords.

Bifron shook his head so hard it looked like he was going to break his neck.

"If you hit me, even the strongest magician would die!"

Of course, Sagan would not allow anyone to perform healing magic in front of him.

Since both the Demon King's Mark and magic have been sealed, even the Demon King himself could perish. But a magician with hundreds of years of experience would find it hard to imagine that his life would end with death.

Whatever, none of that concerns me anyway.

Just as Sagan's merciless fist was about to fall—

"—Divine language—You should want to know the connection between your spirit and the Holy Sword, shouldn't you?"

Sagan's fist stopped abruptly just before it was about to touch Biff's nose.

Bifron, sweating profusely, raised both index fingers and said:

"Why would I deliberately let your elf witness Nephtros's 'power'? You can figure it out if you think about it, right?"

"...Are you saying that you only did this to make Nephi remember the divine language?"

"That's right. They can easily wield powers that even we 'Demon Lords' can't control. So, isn't it in our nature as magicians to want to explore them further?"

Bifron shook his index finger and continued:

"We're both Demon Lords with spirits by our side. It's understandable that we wanted to test your abilities, right?"

"You're lying through your teeth. You've been spying on me ever since I bought Neferpitou."

Sagan discovered this from the invitation, the contents of which were obvious even to a fool.

The magician had been watching Sagan and the others for a long time, so there was no question of testing them or not.

That's why I want to end things with him.

Unless the world understands that taking action against those around Sagan will be a losing proposition, those scoundrels won't give up.

Even if this matter ends peacefully, they will surely be harassed again in the near future.

It's unclear how Bivron views Sagan's current situation, but he put on a pretentious, serious expression.

"Oh? So you found out after that? Looks like I underestimated you... So, can you put your hand down now?"

Sagan glared angrily at the Demon King who was pleading for mercy, then sighed.

—It seems that even if I beat him up now, this guy probably won't feel a thing.

No matter how much murderous intent and anger were used to coerce him, no definite effect was felt. It seems that this approach has no effect on this magician.

This tactic won't work to get revenge on him; we need to think of other ways.

Sagan lowered his fist.

This is how the two "Demon Kings" met.

◇

Seeing that Sagan's hostility had dissipated, Shesty breathed a sigh of relief, and Neferpitou also stood up.

Bifron glanced at the silent deck and snapped his fingers.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? The performance has stopped. How about a melancholic yet upbeat piece?"

Bivron's contradictory demands caused the band's mermaid expression to twitch.

However, the mermaid singer was indeed a professional. She began to sing, turning the melancholic melody into a clever song with a lively and boisterous vocal style.

Although the atmosphere wasn't as relaxed as before, the flowing music still made the guests realize that the battle was over. The magicians lowered their guard.

Far ignored the situation on the deck and ran over to grab Sagan's robe.

"Sagan, is that the Demon King?"

"It seems so. You'd better be careful. That kid hasn't told a single word of the truth since just now."

Bivron's every move was so affected; every action seemed like an act.

When he attacked Sagan earlier, it didn't seem like he was serious. Now, even when cornered, he still shows no signs of tension or fear. And this isn't a tactic to lower the enemy's guard and catch them off guard.

So even now, Sagan still can't figure out his purpose.

If a magician could see through his lies, he would probably be speechless at his endless stream of nonsense.

—It's best not to trust magicians. All magicians in the world are frauds.—