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

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Her silver hair was dyed bright red, and she desperately tried to lift her head.

"Lord Hifuryu..."

The girl reached out her hand to her master pleadingly, but Bifron simply shook his head, as if the hand hadn't even caught his eye.

"All my painstaking preparations have been for nothing. It seems this is another failure?"

"—!"

Despair contorted Nephtros's features.

Next, the once-scattered 'mud' once again converged towards Nephtros.

"Hey! She's about to be devoured!"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. If we get too close to her, we might even have our Demon King's Mark devoured, and then even the Demon King won't be able to clean up the mess."

Nephtros burst into tears at the verdict of failing to save someone in distress.

"How...how could this be...Lord Bif, Dragon...Ah...Ahhhhh!"

Nephtros's body was already submerged up to her waist in the mud.

Bifron, as if watching a farce unfold, sighed and said:

"Sigh~ If it gets flooded there, it seems there's no saving it now. After all, the Holy Sword's flames can't just burn the 'mud' anymore. Oh well, being able to gain a deeper understanding of the Holy Sword's power this time is probably the biggest gain. Ahahaha."

Sagan roared.

He finally understood. He had thought the Demon King's banquet was just a casual event, but it turned out that everything had been planned all along, and everyone had simply done what they were supposed to do.

The choice of this location, the invitation to Sagan, and the request for Neferpitou and Shestie to accompany them... all of these are essential elements for testing the power of demons and divine magic.

Bivron, looking completely unconcerned, smiled at Nephtros and said:

"Then farewell, Nephtros. You may always mess things up, but I've never been disappointed in you, you know? After all, research is about accumulating failures to improve. Don't worry, you'll definitely do better next time."

For the first time, Sagan realized that this was what a person's expression looked like when they were truly in despair.

Those who do not know hope will not even have despair.

Neferi had no hope when they first met, and therefore never despaired.

Nephtros's pupils lost all their luster, and those pupils were subsequently submerged in mud.

The only sound left was a gurgling sound, as if something had been crushed.

After witnessing the entire process, Bivron turned to face Sagan.

"Well then, I should probably take my leave now. Oh, by the way, this 'mud' is something that only reacts to the 'mark,' it's like some kind of ghostly thing. So don't worry, it will disappear on its own after dawn."

After saying what he wanted to say, Bifron turned into dust and gradually disappeared.

It seems he used the transfer magic again.

Upon witnessing this, the magicians tried to escape again, but Bifron's barrier remained in place, and they were all pushed back in.

"Go to hell, you demon king! Open the barrier! Let us out!"

"Hmm~ But people always want to erase evidence of their failures, don't they? I'd be really hurt if everyone called me a failed 'Demon King' in the future. Besides, poor Nephtros needs someone to keep her company, doesn't she? Ahahahaha!"

According to him, the "mud" will disappear by morning.

But will any of the magicians here survive until then?

Seeing the vile deeds of this "Demon King" left Sagan completely dumbfounded.

Then, he muttered something under his breath:

"...It's really annoying to look at."

"What do you mean you don't like it? You, a magician, wouldn't be thinking something like, 'You stood by and watched that failed act fail, it's despicable'?"

Bifron was not wrong.

Magicians, as he said, are hopelessly selfish and ugly creatures.

But—Saganta said:

"I will definitely beat you to a pulp."

After speaking, Bifron blinked his wide-open eyes and then chuckled.

"Hahaha, interesting! I'll look forward to you coming to beat me up—provided you can leave here alive."

After leaving behind an unpleasant laugh, Bivron vanished without a trace.

What remained was a living hell from which there was nowhere to escape.

◇

After 'Mud' devoured Nephtros, it changed its appearance.

—It actually transformed into human form...?

The woman's figure, sculpted from mud, is like the embodiment of a young girl's despair. Her pointed ears are like those of an elf.

But she was frighteningly huge.

Although only the upper body surfaced, it was already so enormous that the wreckage of the cruise ship seemed like a toy.

Nefi clutched tightly at the hem of Sagan's robe.

"Mr. Sagan..."

Nefi pressed her lips together tightly, then spoke in a trembling voice.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"...What is it? Tell me."

With tears welling in her eyes, Neferpitou said:

"Please, please save her... save Nephtros?"

Sagan raised an eyebrow.

"Neffi, didn't you just suffer because of her?"

Besides, putting everything else aside, was it even possible for her to survive in that state? Even if she still retained self-awareness, was it possible for her to live?

Most importantly, magic doesn't work on mud.

Neferi certainly understood this, but she still placed her hand on her chest and said:

"...That person's singing was beautiful and moving, pure and flawless. To be able to sing like that, I think she must have a childlike heart."

What flowed in with the song earlier appears to indeed be Nephroth's memories. And Nephew must have seen those memories as well.

Then, she looked down at the raging monster below.

"And now she's become like that, weeping in her heart. How pitiful she is."

Neferpitou continued awkwardly:

"That person is just like me. Mr. Sagan, you saved me, but no one saved her. She is another unfortunate version of myself. So…!"

Sagan fiddled with Nefi's hair.

"That's enough. I understand."

But he could only shake his head.

"I understand how you feel, Nefi, but I'm powerless to help you on my own."

Sagan nearly suffered the same fate as Sagan with a single punch. Phosphorus might work on it, but whether something of that size could be burned away with a single blow is a big question mark.

Perhaps Sagan could win if he used the Demon King's Mark. But that "mud" is the remains of a demon god, and no one can say for sure what the consequences of using the Mark would be.

To put it bluntly, Sagan has no way to deal with it.

Neferpitou lowered his head and drooped his ears.

"...I'm so sorry to be putting you in such a difficult position."

"but--"

Sagan interrupted Neferpitou halfway through his sentence and continued:

"Raphael. Your holy sword seems to have some effect on that thing."

Turning my head, I saw Raphael take off his helmet and nod faithfully.

"Yes. Please give the order if needed, Your Majesty."

"Hmm."

Then, Sagan looked at Fael.

"Fa'er, can your breath burn that 'mud'?"

"...I haven't tried it, but it should work. Because dragon breath isn't magic."