The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

"You are getting old, Farga.

Those were the words of the Demon Lord when he met the divine dragon Farga.

Although I am here as a guard with Koga, I cannot help but hide my surprise at the existence of a divine dragon.

I knew in advance that such a being existed,......, but it was still a shock to me.

"Hmph."

Falga, the divine dragon, sniffed grimly.

Near the fountain with him is Norn, the queen of Mialak, and a man named Karon, her bodyguard from the other side.

"You have grown remarkably weak, have you not?"

"I have nothing to say to you. It's true. But that goes for you, too, doesn't it?

I am but an old man. You've just been deprived of your power, haven't you?

A very bitter argument ensues.

The demon king and Farga are only facing each other, but they are under a tremendous pressure that makes them not want to be here.

The Queen of Mearrak in front of me is the same way, her pale face turning even worse.

"Well, my Lord, you have a ...... great beard. ......"

Then Ciel, who hides behind the Demon King, makes such a drinking voice.

With that voice, the bad atmosphere disappears, and the Demon Lord lets out a big sigh.

"...... huh, you keep quiet."

"Yes, sir?"

......We didn't have much interaction, but this lady-in-waiting has got some serious balls, doesn't she?

I'm sure you're right.

She is the personal attendant of the Demon Lord. Her boldness might be comparable to that of a corps commander.

"So much for greetings... Now ...... we're here as you requested..."

"I didn't expect you to come so quietly."

The Demon Lord smiles at Farga's words.

"I thought it would be more fun this way."

"Hmph, I'm talking about you. You already know they're here, don't you?

I'm sure you know that, too. Either way, they fear me in my weakness and will not set foot in this city."

Weak?　You can joke about that in your sleep."

Farga's harsh words, which seemed to be taken aback.

While I am surprised at the fact that the so called "devil" is already so close to us, I admire the power of the Demon Lord who has already detected its presence.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

If we poke him now, he'll just run away. Then, it would be better to lure him out. ......... and we've got just the right bait."

"Watch your mouth. He's not bait."

Him?　...... Who's that?

Both the Demon Lord and Farga seem to know. .......

"Then he's bait. If you're not careful, the main body will jump out and eat you."

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

"You're not wrong, are you?　He's just got that harmless skin that he doesn't even know he's wearing."

"......"

Farga is silent, as if troubled, as if no words of rebuttal are forthcoming.

Kohga and I finally understand who he is referring to in this conversation.

"You must be Usato.

"Yes, that's right. ......"

If you face him head-on, you can see his strong-willed eyes and understand how much he means to you, but from the outside, he looks like an ordinary boy.

Even his strong body is concealed by his thick white clothes, which do not let you know how strong he is.

"The perception of Usato over there is terrible. ......"

"What did he do to the Demon Lord's army? ......"

Mearaq's side is reacting a little bit down, but the lifeguard with him has been getting boiled for a long time.

In a way, he must have been more troublesome than the brave men.

"Well, I said bait, but he has to deal with the devil whether he wants to or not. So, it would be easier for us if he was in our sight.

It's because of your actions, isn't it?

No, he would have been targeted anyway. I would have had nothing to do with it, but the devil would have taken the tombs of the Lingle Kingdom, the corpses of Rose's men, and gotten involved.

--- Rose's men.

Men who fought my master's men in his lifetime.

If they come back to life, it will be very troublesome, since only seven of them managed to stop about twenty elite men who were recognized by their master for their abilities.

"No matter what happens, Usato is going to be involved in the commotion. ......"

"You seem to be buying him pretty well."

"I owe them a personal debt of gratitude, but they, including the brave men, have completed their mission. They should be living a peaceful ...... life away from the battle. It is even more so if they stayed behind to ...... abandon the world they are returning to."

I was honestly surprised to see that the divine dragons think more like humans and demons than I had expected. ......

I should say that they are standing on the same point of view.

There was a tone of reproach in his words.

"......You do not move carelessly. You will cause other countries to distrust you."

"I know. I will enjoy a short rest while you are busy.

"You can only talk in an irritating way, you ......!"

Farga's voice rises in annoyance as the demon king shrugs his shoulders.

I have a strange feeling that the demon king is speaking to me in a different way than when he speaks to us.

"I'm ...... surprised to see you showing so much emotion, Farga-sama.

They seem to be thinking the same thing as I am.

Meanwhile, the conversation between the demon king and Farga switched over.

"Well, then, this is more of a confirmation than the next requirement ......."

The demon king looks up at Farga and tilts his head at his words.

From the look of him, it seems that he is talking about something serious. .......

"Now I have less than 30% of the power I had in my prime, having been drained of it by the previous hero,...... Hisago. You already know that ......, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Otherwise, it would be impossible to defeat a monster like you.　Is that what you want to confirm?

Farga's eyes sharpen.

Even in the face of such obvious hostility, the Demon Lord opens his mouth without moving an eyebrow.

"Don't be mistaken. I'm not interested in power now. Before I came here --- specifically, right after I went out of the demon lord's territory, the seven chains that were tied to my body appeared.

"......"

"At the end of those chains, my divided power is hidden, isn't it?"

!　Are you talking about those chains from three days ago?

The translucent chains extending from the Demon Lord's body.

They stretched out in all directions somewhere far away, but I'm sure the Demon Lord himself tore them off.

Perhaps he saw the silence as a sign of affirmation, for he smiled wryly at me.

"You have a very bad character when you didn't even let me notice it until that time. No way, just when I was about to start my invasion outside the territory of the Demon Lord, you tried to make me give up the connection to the 'power' that you yourself had stolen from me.

You would not have said anything if he had done so.

"Indeed. So I don't care about this. I don't care so much about power now. ...... but that's not the point.

Looking at his own palm, the Demon Lord speaks the next words.

"The power that was taken from me. It is a question of where it is hidden.

"......"

"Three of the chains were heading for my demon lord's territory. Three of the other four chains were in different directions, but I could not locate them... but I knew the location of the remaining one the moment I visited here."

After a beat, he pointed to the spring where Falga was soaking.

Looking in the direction he pointed, there was nothing but clear water with a pale bottom.

"I suppose that's what you mean when you say you can feel a part of my power from this spring?"

"I have only recently ...... come to the heart of the matter."

Is this where some of the power extracted from the Demon Lord is?

Why, in Mearrauk, a realm inhabited by humans!

So you have been a watchdog of this place...

If we had not done so, the disaster would have spread not only to Mialak but also to the surrounding area. Just like the demon king's territory where you are.

What the ......!　What does that mean!

Do you know why the Demon Lords are in the situation they are in now?

Just as he is about to step forward, he sees Norn, the Queen of Mialark, standing beside Farga, talking to him looking upset.

What do you mean? What do you mean, Mr. Farga? Isn't the Kureha Fountain the one that we, the royal family, have been protecting?"

There is no doubt that we have protected it. I asked the king of my time to do so. The nature of the Kureha Fountain, which deceives people and gives them excessive power, springs from the extraordinary power of the Demon King.

"Well, does that mean that the previous heroes took one of the powers they ...... wrested from the Demon King and implanted it in the source of water in Mialak? Is that what you're saying?"　

"I suppose so."

Kureha Fountain, so called, was originally powered by the Demon Lord. ......?

I don't understand.

What in the world were the previous heroes thinking when they did such a thing?

"It all started when a man died a strange death after drinking water that came from underground."

"A strange death?"

"The man was a timid delivery boy. But he was supposed to be a kind ...... man with a gentle heart who would never do violence to others."

Farga closes his eyes as if remembering something and regretting it, and his voice continues to be heavy.

"The man went on a rampage as if he had changed, destroying many people and buildings before he collapsed and never woke up again.

"That's the first victim ......?"

"At first glance, I understood that the water was unusual. A "poison" that gives one too much power, destroying body and soul. I immediately identified the vein from which the water came, and I made sure that the spring was controlled so that it would not reach man."

Poisonous enough to destroy body and soul.

No, if it is just that, we should not touch it, but the terrible thing is that the poison could mix with the water that we, living creatures, need.

If so, this is more than just a chilling thought.

"...... I guess we got lucky."

"What?"

"If we had been a little slower to react, many people would have sipped the cursed water and died, unknowingly spreading destruction and death all around them. It would not be surprising if the heartless, those who wish to fight, were aware of its existence, and would try to obtain it by any means necessary."

"Well, I guess you're right."

Here, the Demon Lord nodded his head in understanding.

"Though I am divided into seven parts, my magical power is nothing but a deadly poison to humans. No matter how much I try to dilute it, no matter how strong my body is, it is not something an ordinary human can handle.

"---I don't think that Hisago doesn't understand that either."

"Perhaps one of the reasons for dividing and hiding the power is to reduce it to a level that I can deal with the people of this age. And the second reason is to test you.

Isn't it too messed up what they are trying to do?

It seems as if you are acting on the side of the destroyer of mankind.

"And the rest, I suppose, is revenge against me and the demon tribe. It's a shame, but it looks like we've been dancing on his hand almost all along.

The demon king, with a frown on his face, pressed his forehead.

Then, Ciel spoke to the Demon Lord with a shy look on his face.

"The Demon Lord, you said earlier that three of your powers are in the Demon Lord's territory. ...... Isn't that quite a big deal?"

No, no. Ciel, it has already become (・・・・・).

"What?　What do you mean?

Everyone except Farga looks upset.

What do you mean it's already happened?

"The situation the demon tribe is currently in is due to the influence of the power extracted from me."

The reason why the demon tribe is being hunted down is because of the power of the Demon King, which the previous heroes took from him.

Ciel is distraught at this surprising revelation, but asks the Demon Lord a question. 　

"So, but if the power is being poured into the earth, it should get better, right ......?"

"Too much nourishment rots the fruit. Likewise, if the earth is continuously given too much power, the cycle of nature will break down. The earth was not depleted --- it was overfilled, and was therefore dying."

It's not hard to understand.

Just as too much power destroys you, so too much power poured out of the earth's receptacle will cause its contents to collapse.

"Well, my old enemy, you have a very bad character.

"I suppose you are not the only one who has made it so."

I don't know what the heroes of the last generation want.

I understand that he has a grudge against the demons he fought.

But why are they doing things that bring misfortune even to human beings?

It seems to me that they just want to destroy the human race that they themselves rescued.

So, what do we do now?

"Well, what do we do now? No doubt, it is a confusing one, but we may have to explain the details at the ...... meeting."

"I don't know if the opportunistic people of this day and age will believe it or not."

The reasons for the poverty of the demon tribe and the dark side of the previous generation of heroes.

I am a demon tribe, but this fact will be unbelievable news to those who regard the heroes of the past as heroes.

The confusion it will cause cannot be foreseen.