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“POWER POWER! DELICIOUS DELICIOUS! MORE MORE EAT!!!!!”
“Shut up! won’t be bullied any longer!”
The wooden Demon King, who had regained his human form, once again extended countless tendrils towards me. The surface of his body, which should have been charred black, spilled out in tatters, revealing the glistening skin beneath, and if anything, it felt more human-like than before the burning.
Or perhaps ,he got a power boost from consuming a piece of me. Damn, then at least give me my money’s worth!
“UOOOOO!!!!”
With a yell, I desperately swung my sword. I can’t seem to use my banishment skills this time either, but my swordsmanship was something I’ve honed myself, not the Demon King’s power. As long as my body moves, I can swing my sword and fight.
“Ed-san! I…”
“If you can’t fight, stay back, Eleas! I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to protect you!”
Behind me, I heard Eleas’ trembling voice. But I didn’t even have time to turn around. The fragments of tendrils that remained on my back were still rooted in my body, and the searing pain from them was relentless in its attempts to erode my concentration.
“Ed, are you okay!?”
“Yeah, I can still fight…… Tia, can you do that again just now?’
“I’m sorry, I can’t! It’s like the area without the power of the spirits extends all the way to the sky.”
“Damn, he is taking precautionary measures,…., A pain in the ass.”
The Demon King in front of me was not just wielding tendrils in the dark, he seemed to understand how to use his increased power properly. Not good … This is going in a bad direction.
(Should I step back? No, but…)
At the moment when I cut the tendrils with my sword, I started to think, “How am I going to fight?” little by little.
Considering the circumstances, it would be best to retreat and regroup. If we can somehow remove the tendrils, there was a chance that my banishment skills would return, and if we could get out of the range where the spirit magic was disabled, Tia could launch and aim her magic from a long distance, as she did just now.
But I don’t think the Demon King, who was definitely stronger than when we first met, would let us escape without a fight, above all, if I run away, I don’t know if I will be able to get close again to this same distance as I am now. However hard I try, my power didn’t seem to return. The space where Tia’s magic could not be used continued to expand, and the possibility of my sword not reaching seemed much higher.
(I want to retreat, but I can’t. But I can’t even think of a way to reverse the situation. …. What are we going to do!)
The number of tendrils of ivy extending from the Demon King was gradually increasing in number and power, but now that most of them were coming toward me, Tia managed to hold her own, but of course there was no room to spare.
And I’m slowly losing ground. My sword, in pain, was lackluster, and I had been forced to take several backward steps, since a while ago. If I go back any further, I won’t be able to protect the Eleas. ….!?
“GGGHHHH!?”
With a jerk, my body jolted against my will. That split-second gap was exploited, and black tendrils wrapped around my arm.. My freedom was instantly taken away from my body, and my body parts were sucked up again. …. I turned my only freely moving eyeball to look at my condition, and saw that the tendril, still attached to my back, had somehow become connected. Perhaps he reconnected by getting around my blind spot.
“D-Damn it…. Did I screw up…..?”
“ED!? Hold on, I’ll …… KYAAAH”
“Tia ……!”
The offensive against Tia was intensified by my capture, and the black tendrils wrapped itself around her body as well. Tia, who could not use spirit magic, could not do anything about it and was quickly entangled in them.
No, No, No, No, No! I was in a desperate situation and my thoughts were accelerating at a tremendous pace. I was thinking only about ending this crisis, willing to use any means necessary, when something inside me cracked.
“…… Eleas?”
Eleas, who had been slumped down on the spot, suddenly stood up unsteadily. In response, the Demon King’s tendrils attacked Eleas, but he cut them off nonchalantly.
“… It’s hot. ah, it’s hot. something hot is suddenly welling up inside of me. What is this?”
With each step, Eleas came closer to us. The tendrils, doubled in number since the previous check, attacked him, but once again, all of them were easily cut down and disappeared in a cloud of dust.
“Eleas, you ……!?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this. Even though it’s the first time…I understand. More clearly than the day I first held these twin swords. Ah, I was born to do this.”
All the tendrils, except that which restrained us, rushed at once around Eleas, who muttered quietly. But even these did not reach him. The twin swords that were being wielded became silver flashes that cut through the darkness and would not allow anything to touch it.
“I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. I overslept a bit…but it looks like I didn’t come late.”
“Ed, what is that……!?”
“Yeah, That guy, now Eleas is …….”
“KYUAAAHHH!!! HURTS! HURTS! NOT DELICIOUS! I HATE YOU! STOP!”
The furious Demon King extended black tendrils towards Eleas with the force of a muddy stream. But it was too late.The sun has set and a new sun has risen.
Oh, how dazzling it was. In order to destroy the Demon King and save me, the Demon King, Eleas was moving forward with ease. A defense mechanism created by the world to eliminate the power of the Demon King, a foreign substance imposed on it from outside by God. If its power is fully demonstrated, it can only bring about the inevitable end.
“NO! NO! SCARY! SCARY! STOP! STOP!”
“…I don’t know what you are. But if you want to deal with us for your own reasons, I’ll deal with you for mine.”
“SHUT UP SHUT UP! STOMACH HUNGRY, EAT!  THAT’S WHY!  I DON’T CARE!”
“Everyone’s important spirit tree… Ed-san and Tia-san. I’ll have everything back”
“NO! EAT! YOU, DISAPEARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”
A black mist suddenly erupted from the body of the Wooden Demon King, and darkness covered the entire area as if it were night. With all vision lost, the sound of wind rushing through the air echoed around the area,……, and the black mist that filled the place and the tendrils, all of it was cut into pieces by the twin swords wielded by Eleas.
“….IT’S OVER!”
“GIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?!?!!!!!!”
Under the restored light, Eleas, standing in front of the Demon King, plunged his sword into the Demon King’s chest with a fierce, piercing thrust. The wooden pieces that made up the Demon King’s body crumbled and decayed.
“Aa…..aaa….Stomach, hungry……”
All the pieces of wood turned to dust, and the red stone stuck at the tip of Eleas’ sword shattered. At the same time, the tendrils that had restrained us also vanished, and I hurriedly supported Eleas’ body as he fell down.
“There”
“Ed! Eleas-kun! Are you two okay!?”
“I’m fine. Eleas will be …… fine, too.”
In my arms, the unconscious Eleas was sleeping peacefully. There were no external injuries, and this was probably just him sleeping after using up all his strength. I could feel the presence of the Hero’s power in his body, but it would probably never be wielded again. After all, the Demon King had already been defeated.
He defeated the Demon King in just five minutes after his birth. That was the first and last heroic tale that the brave Eleas left behind in this world.