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

The expanded mud then fell into the lake.

Columnar sprays of water rose from the lake surface.

The ship rocked violently, and several skeletons of the band members were thrown overboard, while the magicians used their magic to protect themselves. Shessty and Raphael clung to the deck and escaped unharmed.

Silence.

I thought the mud was about to launch an attack, but it didn't rise again.

"...Huh?"

This seemed to have surprised Bivron as well, causing him to let out a stunned hum.

—No, the magic is still growing.

The magical reaction emanating from the bottom of the lake intensified and became even more powerful.

The 'mud' was probably not a living organism, and it wouldn't stop moving just because it sank to the bottom of the water.

The question is, what will 'mud' do next?

At this moment, not only Sagan, but also the magicians on the ship were all staring intently at the water, holding their breath in anticipation.

This action continued for the time it takes for the second hand to complete one revolution, and then the short hand moved a small increment, but nothing happened.

A magician wiped his forehead and chuckled.

"Ha, what's the big deal? Nothing's wrong at all."

But at that moment—

"Goo?"

The magician let out a muffled scream.

Upon closer inspection, a stake could be seen protruding from under the deck.

—No, that's not a stake at all!

Sagan felt goosebumps rise on his skin.

"Watch out! It's already taken over this ship!"

What I thought were stakes turned out to be mud seeping from the deck.

It rose up quietly, like a cotton ball that had absorbed water.

—If anyone were on the ship…

That man is surely dead. There should be no survivors left in the cabin.

The magician who was attacked is still alive.

"Gurgle, gurgle, help, help, I'm crying..."

The magician, pierced by an object resembling a stake, cried out for help as if he were choking on water. Finally, black "mud" flowed from all the orifices on his body and he disintegrated.

Nefi gasped, and Shestie covered her mouth with her hand as if she couldn't help but vomit.

—Was he devoured...?

This is quite different from Sagan's "devouring" magic.

He began to dissolve from the inside out, and was eventually swallowed up by it.

The horrific scene instilled fear, which spread among the magicians.

"Waaaah... Thunder, burn everything to ashes!"

"Reveal yourself, Crimson Flame!"

The magicians unleashed a barrage of lightning and flames, but all they managed to burn away was the surface of the 'mud'.

—No, it absorbed those magic spells?

The mud, attacked by magic, swelled up even further.

"Don't attack! Your attacks will only be absorbed by it."

As soon as Sagan roared, the magicians immediately stopped.

Having at least the strength to warrant an invitation to the Demon King's banquet, they quickly left the deck upon realizing they had no means of attack. The flight magic they employed was not a rare technique.

Sagan also picked up Nefi and Shesty and fled into the air, while Raphael, supported by Far who had grown dragon wings, left the deck.

Along the way, Shestie screamed in terror, her face deathly pale:

"Wait, wait, my holy sword is still on the ship."

"Is now the time to care about that?"

No matter where it is placed, the inside of the boat is already submerged in mud.

The magician, having left the ship, intended to escape, but—

"Ugh... what's going on?"

An invisible wall blocked the magicians, pushing them back onto the ship.

"Hahaha, the show's just about to begin. You're not going to leave like this before the main event even starts, are you?"

This was done by Bifron.

It seems he had already set up some kind of barrier to prevent the magicians from escaping.

—Since it's magic, it can't stump me.

Sagan clenched his fist, and Bifron, as if he had expected this, raised his index finger and said:

"Oh dear, Sagan, I advise you not to do that. In this intricate magical space, do you think you can destroy only my barrier? If you make a move, we'll all end up falling into the lake!"

"...Tsk."

The barrier set up by Bivron seems to absorb all the magic activated on site, making it extremely tricky.

This could perhaps be described as a kind of parasitic magic. As long as anyone is still using magic, the barrier will not be dispelled, but if Sagan wants to destroy it, he will destroy all the magic within the barrier as well.

Meanwhile, in the lake, the mud is gradually spreading.

"madman……"

The curses sounded like they came from Gomel, and Simonli was beside her. With their abilities, given enough time, they should be able to break through the Demon King's barrier, but…

Just then, screams came from the deck.

"Eek... Help... Someone please help me!"

On the deck where mud was overflowing, some people were still there.

"That is..."

Neferi's face turned pale.

It turns out that the one who hadn't escaped yet was the band's mermaid singer.

It seems she wasn't a magician, and the other members of the band—the skeletons—must have been swallowed or fallen to the bottom of the lake, leaving only a few instruments rolling around in the water.

She didn't have the means to fly, and the lake was already within the sphere of influence of "Mud".

Mud crawled up from all around, as if teasing a girl with nowhere to escape.

"Neffi, you can fly now, right?"

"……yes!"

Sagan had already taught Nefie some basic magic tricks.

Although she couldn't fly freely yet, levitation was no problem for her. Sagan handed Shestie over to Neffi, then landed on the deck.

A scream then rang out.

"Eee-yaa ...

"--It's so noisy. If you're a singer, sing something for us to hear."

As soon as he grabbed the mermaid girl by the back of the neck, Sagan slammed his fist down onto the deck.

This was a strike combining the magic power previously 'absorbed' from Bifron with his own. In terms of destructive power alone, it was a hammer blow capable of leveling a small village; even if all the invited magicians fought together, they couldn't withstand it.

This time, not only the deck, but the entire ship broke in two, and the impact also blasted away the mud.

Even if it can devour magic, it can't possibly absorb physical attacks.

Just as Sagan calculated, the mud was blown away.

"Tsk—"

But Sagan smacked his lips loudly.

It turned out that he had smashed the deck with his fist and accidentally gotten muddy fragments on his hands.

No matter how much he flicked or wiped the mud fragments, he couldn't get rid of them. They even absorbed Sagan's magic and began to grow huge.

—Is this thing planning to devour the Demon King's Mark?!

Since it is the dregs of the demon god, it is only natural that it would be attracted to the even greater dregs, the "Demon King's Mark".

The mud wasn't just sticking to his fists; it was even about to climb up his arms.

"My King!"

Raphael jumped behind Sagan, who was struggling.

Then, Raphael placed his right hand on his left prosthetic arm.

"Respond—the Holy Sword Metatron!"

He called out and drew the holy sword from his prosthetic arm.

Sagan believed that something was bound to happen at the Demon King's banquet.

Therefore, he modified Raphael's prosthetic arm to create a scabbard capable of holding the holy sword. The principle he used was the same as Barbaros's space-traveling magic.

The holy sword ignited with purifying flames as it was drawn, scorching Sagan's arm and the 'mud' on it.

"Ooh..."

The pain made Sagan cry out. The "mud" wrapped around his arm was successfully removed, but it left behind severe burns.