One-way traffic

The battle between Weser and Izayoi was thus forced to stop, and the two glared at each other with fierce eyes.

As for Pest...

In fact... she was never injured once from beginning to end.

His entire body was completely unharmed, without even a trace of blood, and he had not actually suffered any significant physical damage.

This is only to be expected.

Because—the opponent only made one move.

The man with white wings on his back simply stood there, casually looking at himself.

That's all there is to it.

His own death wind, capable of taking all lives,... did not react to him at all.

and--

A strike he unleashed at will required a strike of almost all of one's own strength to barely withstand.

Tsk…

Pest frowned, and this situation was enough to remind her of the time she faced that white-haired, red-eyed human.

Could it be that this guy is the same way...?

"What, it seems the referee on the other side called a stop?"

Kakine Teitoku folded his wings and calmly looked at the black rabbit floating in mid-air.

"What a busybody! If it weren't for this interference, I bet the battle would be over by now."

According to Pest, the only threat in this game of grace is probably that white-haired, red-eyed human.

But what exactly happened now...?

"I said, you're the Demon Queen, right?"

The sound came from ahead.

The other person just looked at him like that, speaking in an extremely relaxed tone.

"The sweat on your forehead is almost dripping into your eyes."

pat.

As if her heart skipped a beat, Pest froze on the spot for a moment.

Kakine Teitoku said nothing. Since Black Rabbit, as the referee, had called a halt, he did not intend to force the Grace Game to continue.

And, in the end...

"Anyway, with this level of strength, there's no threat at all."

Pest came to her senses.

But when he came to his senses, the shadow in front of him had completely disappeared.

"Owner!"

Nearby, Rattin, who was riding on a Shutrom, quickly flew to his side, and Weser also returned carrying the magic flute.

However, both demons were stunned when they saw their master.

"Owner…?"

"Are you okay?"

Right now, even Pest herself probably doesn't realize it.

The expression on her face.

It has become something never seen before.

————————————————————————————————————

"Ah."

The distant other side.

High on a more distant cliff, two figures clad in black robes slowly observed all of this.

"Something completely unexpected has happened. That, no... that person, who is it?"

"Your Highness, you're not actually scared, are you?"

"What are you saying, Rin? You're saying things like this without even knowing the other party's background. Didn't I tell you? That's a big no-no."

"Hey~ But I really think those two guys are scary."

One was a girl, and the other was a boy.

Two figures stood atop the cliff, observing everything that was happening below the northern section of the miniature garden.

"So…"

The boy who was called His Highness.

Golden eyes, peering through the black robe, seemed to be gazing at the white-haired, red-eyed figure far away.

"If it were you guys, maybe you could actually take on that absolute evil—Azdahah?"

Chapter 790 The Spread of the Black Death Seeds

"…I see."

The Gift Game was forcibly stopped.

It seems that Black Rabbit used her authority as the referee of the Little Garden to forcibly stop even the Gift Game set up by the Demon King, who had the authority of the organizer, thus buying precious breathing room for everyone in the community.

Although for Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku, it was just an unnecessary action.

Both of them are strong enough to defeat the enemy 100%. They are the type who can do so without worrying about the enemy's special features or other unnecessary tricks.

Therefore, Black Rabbit's act of stopping the Gift Game should be interpreted as buying the enemy Demon King a brief respite, which would be more appropriate and reasonable.

However, Accelerator had no interest in worrying about the specifics.

He was standing outside the hall, arms crossed, leaning against the marble wall.

"So, what conclusion did those guys finally reach?"

The first-ranked absolute power user turned his sharp eyes to the other power user beside him.

Even if you ask me that, do you think I heard you?

Kakine Teitoku responded irritably to the first person.

After the Demon King's Gift Game was stopped, the three factions—NoName, Salamandra, and the Demon King's community (who were the organizers)—began to discuss the game's legitimacy and the timing of its next restart.

Then, the demon girl named Pest seems to have gained a huge advantage in this regard.

"From what I know, there's nothing wrong with the Demon King's Gift game. The start time for the next one... will be postponed to a week from now."

"Isn't that great? During this time, let that little fire dragon girl's community recuperate. When the time comes, even without the two of us, the combat power of the existing personnel alone will be enough to kick that little demon king's ass to pieces."

A week is a long time, and for Salamandra, whose members are mostly warriors, it will be the time when their combat strength is restored to its peak.

Although, in Accelerator's view, no matter how many of these so-called warriors there were, they were just cannon fodder in front of the Demon King. The ones who were truly worth mentioning were Izayoi Sakamaki and his group.

A week is enough time for these people to completely see through the meaning of the Demon King's Gift Game, including the Demon King's own weaknesses. At that time, as Accelerator said, even if he, Kakine Teitoku, and Hatsune Miku do not take action, they will be able to defeat the opponent with just 'NoName'.

however.

"...If it were that simple, there wouldn't be any fun to be had."

"what?"

Kakine Teitoku's words stunned the first person.

"what do you mean."

Accelerator looked at Kakine Teitoku, while the second-ranked esper chuckled.

"Although he's an unwritten brat, he's still a demon king after all."

"…you mean."

“That’s right, that Pest guy has tampered with all of us.”

As Kakine Teitoku spoke, he pointed his finger at himself.

——Buzz.

Platinum-gold light flashed at his fingertips, hotter than the sun.

But that's not the point.

Accelerator saw a deep black stream of light, like mist, being forcibly drawn from Kakine Teitoku's entire body by the platinum-gold light.

However, even Accelerator hadn't noticed the presence of this black aura before this.

"As the Demon King, that guy sprinkled something on everyone before the game started. To put it simply, it was some kind of plague. Given enough time, it would take root and sprout, and then..."

Accelerator narrowed his eyes as he stared at the black mist at Kakine Teitoku's fingertips.

"The virus of the Black Death, huh?"

“Smart. Although something similar to the plague can no longer appear in our world, it’s not hard to guess its nature based on existing knowledge of principles.”

Pest is the demon lord of the Black Death.

Therefore, she sowed the seeds of the Black Death in almost everyone present, and it only took a few days, or even on the spot, for the seeds of the Black Death to take root and sprout.

The terrifying Grim Reaper who claimed more than 25 million lives in the 14th century.

If no one can see this truth and Pest is allowed to prolong the pause in the Grace Game...

"Is that why you deliberately delayed it for so long...?"

"You know, they only managed to get the final result of one week after they put in all their effort to talk to that Demon King. It seems that at the beginning they planned to have a truce for a whole month?"

"Tsk, what a clever little brat."

Even without personally experiencing the Black Death, Accelerator, who was familiar with the characteristics of almost all living organisms on Earth, knew very well just how devastating the Black Death was.

Moreover, it wasn't a virus of ordinary severity.

"If it really comes to that, I'm afraid that kid won't even have a chance to make a move before everyone here has already died of illness."

"That's the idea, but then again, does that thing really work?"

What Pest implanted in people was not the Black Death virus in the conventional sense.

The virus itself is extraordinary simply because it is the power released by the Demon King, not to mention that it is also enhanced by Pest's ability to return all living things to their state after death.

Even so.

At Kakine Teitoku's fingertips, that black streak of light could do nothing.

"Hey, interesting. I deliberately ignored it, and it's still going strong?"

Enveloped in platinum light, the Black Death's fog remained in a state of struggle, yet it could never escape that radiance.

"It is something that carries the aura of a god, even though it has persisted for so long, but..."

Kakine Teitoku casually clenched his five fingers together.

"It's simply not enough."

Bang—!! Then, everything vanished.

Even if it tried to invade Kakine Teitoku's body, the black mist of the deadly disease vanished instantly under its absolute power.

Ultimately, the reason it was able to gather around Kakine Teitoku's entire body was simply because Kakine Teitoku deliberately brought it closer.

If the second-ranked member of Academy City needs him, let alone the mere Black Death virus, even if Pest's death wind were to strike directly, it wouldn't be able to harm him in the slightest.

"What to do next?"

"What else can we do?"

After easily eliminating the virus seed attached to his body, Kakine Teitoku looked at Accelerator in front of him.

The two began to discuss it briefly.

"The virus has no effect on me. You have a reflection on it, and even if that thing really landed on you, whether it would have any effect on the body of an absolute ability user is another matter."