I manipulated the undead in the room and sent them rushing towards Henry.\nOpposite them, Henry swung the long desk about, clearing his path.\nHe was going to bull through their approach.\nWhile dodging the undead approaching from both sides, he approached me with ferocious momentum.
Itās a mess. But I already predicted that move.
I compressed magic in the palm of my hand, solidifying it and releasing it.\nIt was a primitive shockwave with no finesse.\nIt fired into Henry, undead and all.
āWhoaā¦!?ā
Henry braced to withstand the shockwave.\nHe dug the fingers of one hand into the floor to keep from being blown away.\nUnlike the Wind Blades, this time it was a wide range attack.\nSince he could not avoid it, even he had to defend himself.
āFuck, thatās an annoying attackā¦ā
Henry, who cursed, was mostly unharmed.\nThe shockwave just now did not seem able to inflict a fatal wound on him.\nBut that didnāt matter to me.\nI didnāt believe in the slightest that this shockwave alone would bring him down.
I let out another shockwave as I saw Henry stirring.\nHe once again defended.\nAs expected, attacks of this extent canāt do any damage.
I fired a third shot to corner him.\nAt last, Henry could no longer endure, and his knees gave way as he fell to the floor.\nEven he seemed to falter under the continuous barrage of attacks.
I had no intentions of stopping the attacks there, and released more shock waves.\nI fired one shockwave after another, leaving no gaps.
It wasnāt just Henry, but everything around him was reeling from the collateral damage.\nMy undead subordinates were scattered all around as the shockwave tossed them in the air.\nThe rows of long desks spun and crashed into the wall.\nBefore I knew it, Luciana had disappeared.\nShe must have retreated to a safe place.
āHahā¦ You cheeky bastard.ā
Grumbling, Henry maintained a half-kneeling posture.\nHe gritted his teeth and inched closer to me.\nOccasionally, the shockwave knocked him back, but it never blew him away.\nWithout raising his body, he steadily tried to close the distance.
He had tremendous dedication, and endlessly asserted his greed for victory.\nI had to recognize his strength.\nI would probably have been no match for him when I was alive.
But now I was a true monster.\nThe new Demon Lord who surpassed all.\nEven if he was a human whose strength rivaled a heroās, there was a gap between him and me that cannot be bridged.
I increased the amount of magic power I poured into the shockwave by tenfold.\nI condensed more power than ever before and unleashed it on Henry, whose movements grew dull.
āā¦Tchā
The explosive recoil shattered both my arms.\nThe rebound made everything below my wrists disappear.\nA numbness that even my body of bones could feel washed over me.
The shockwave I released reached Henry in an instant.\nHis stance crumbled as if heād been pushed. He tried to hold on, digging his fingers into the floor.\nBut the shockwave blew him away mercilessly, and he rolled on the floor.
Flying backwards, Henry crashed into the wall.\nA crack ran across it, with Henry at its center.\nHenry grunted as he sunk into the wall.
āOi, oi, are you for real?ā
āIām afraid this is the truth.ā
I shot another shockwave of the same power towards him.\nThis time everything from my elbow down exploded due to the recoil.\nHenry sunk further into the wall.
I turned up the power and fired an additional shot.\nEverything below my shoulders exploded without a trace.\nThe shockwave released with a thunderous roar, and finally caused the dining hall wall to collapse.\nNaturally, Henry became collateral damage.
My arms are gone, but thatās not a problem.
I activated a small-scale barrier spell and connected it to my shoulder sockets, molding it into a cylinder.\nShaping it into a gun barrel, I aimed at Henry and fired a shockwave at him.\nThe barrier spell cracked and disappeared.\nI immediately rebuilt a barrier of the same shape, and once again fired.\nI launched many shockwaves in succession, repeatedly breaking and regenerating the cannon barrier.
The shockwaves went through the wall of the dining hall and began to destroy the room behind it as well.\nI could sense Henryās position using magic.\nFrom the information I received, he didnāt seem to be moving, and had completely retreated.\nAll my shockwaves were direct hits.\nAmazingly, despite taking so many direct hits, Henry was not dead.\nHe was inhumanly sturdy.
However, that did not imply he had any hope.\nIt would be impossible for Henry to fight back in this state.\nIf he didnāt close the distance, he wouldnāt be able to take advantage of his one-on-one attack skills. And if he threw something, it would be shot down by the shockwave.\nMy dominance was near unshakable.
After that, I continued launching shockwaves one-sidedly.\nI showered him with little hesitation, knowing that my opponent would not die that easily.\nWith each shot, the prison crumbled, creating a line of straight holes in the walls.\nAnd thus, at last, I tore down the last remaining wall, connecting it to the outside.
Having lost both arms, I move to the border of the outdoors using visual transfer.\nI looked around and searched for Henry, who had been flung outside.
Henry was lying on the grass.\nDebris was piled upon his body.\nHe moved sluggishly while removing the debris, then got up calmly.
Henry staggered as he patted the dust sticking to his entire body.\nHe stopped just on the verge of collapsing.\nAs he did so, a streak of blood flowed down from his forehead.\nHenry wiped it with his fingers and stared at it.\nAfter a pause, he let out a laugh.\nIt looked like he was really enjoying himself.\nIt was as if he was happy to be bleeding.\nHe seems to be rejoicing in this rare event.
ā¦ I really cannot comprehend.
I opened my jaw despite Henryās odd behavior.\nOut of it jumped a silver snake.\nIt was a magical creature that possessed a dangerous nerve paralysis poison.\nThe snake crawled across the ground and tried to bite Henryās leg.
āShit! That was close.ā
Henry dodged the snake and stomped on it.\nSpitting out blood, the snakeās figure fluctuated. It transformed into a chain of the same color, coiling around Henryās leg.\nIn the blink of an eye, he had one leg locked in place.
āHey, you must be kidding me!ā
Glancing at the surprised Henry, I sent magic and miasma into the ground.\nCountless dead tree roots tore out of the earth and attacked Henry.\nHe promptly smashed some of them with his fist, but it wasnāt enough, and he was gradually restrained.\nFinally, unable to move, he lay face down.
āItās a multipurpose curse. Even you wonāt be able to escape this.ā
āHahaha, what a load of bullcrap. Stop it, thatās not funny.ā
I walked up to Henry, who was smiling bitterly.\nDuring our conversation, he had shredded the tree roots with his fingertips, but twice as many grew out of the ground.\nNeedless to say, he couldnāt break free of the restraints.\nIt had now become a vain struggle that could not even be called resistance.\nFor now, Iāll turn a blind eye to the fact that he could destroy a high-grade magic spell with his bare hands.
This is the end, huh.
I looked down at Henry, who couldnāt move, and judged so.
If I ignored the damage to my surroundings, something like this was possible.\nHenry was a match for a thousand.\nHowever, in the end, he was but a mere human who could not use magic.\nHis overwhelming physical strength and excellent combat instincts could be cornered with magic that he couldnāt handle.
However, while this method is possible in theory, it was nearly impossible in practice.\nFirst of all, it was hard to launch a series of attacks that Henry couldnāt handle.\nHe could easily evade most spells, and destroy others with physical attacks.\nEven if I succeeded in stalling him, if I gave him the slightest opening, he would evade and Iād face a severe counterattack.\nIt was a method that could only work if you had an aberrant amount of magic power like me, and the ability to use spells without chanting.
I created a translucent spear using magic and placed its sharp tip against Henryās neck.\nI ask him in that state.
āI guess I won the bet, huh?ā
āā¦Of course. I canāt match up to you. Itās my defeat.ā
Henry weakly gave a strained laugh.\nHis fighting spirit from just before had vanished, and he made a refreshed expression.\nThey said he had a personality that was quick to change.
I lifted the restraining spell on him.\nNow free, Henry srang up to his feet.\nIt looks like he still has a lot of energy to spare.\nI felt like he surrendered too soon, and wondered what he was thinking.\nAlthough I was a little curious, it would be thoughtless of me to ask.\nIt could simply be a mere whim.\nMaybe he got tired of fighting and wanted to surrender.\nNo matter the reason that led him to this conclusion, there was no doubt I had won.
I told Henry again as I erased the magic spear.
āHenry Blakin. From now on, you are under my command. Do you have any objections?ā
āAh, Iām fine! Iāll be in your care, Boss!ā
He responded in a friendly tone.\nWhile doing so, he patted me on the back for some reason.\nItās making my bones creak, do you really realize that?\nDue to the fact that it was right after our battle, he hadnāt been able to adjust his strength completely.
āTo tell the truth, Iām honored to join the Demon Lordās Army. I was just getting tired of prison life and was planning to escape by the end of the year. Your timing was perfect.ā
Henry spoke cheerfully while damaging my spine.\nFrom the way he spoke, it seemed that the rumors about him being moody were true.\nIām impressed that they were able to imprison a man like this for ten years.
āI donāt have any ambition, to be honest. I just said that I will take over as the Demon Lord because I thought that would make you serious about the fight. Itās not that Iām not interested in being your subordinate, I just think itās for the best.ā
āIn other words, you just wanted to fight with me while I was being serious?ā
āI didnāt expect you to become so angry though. Iām telling you, Iām really not planning to betray you or take over. Iām just a simple combat enthusiast. You can rest assured and send me off to the battlefield.ā
Henry spoke unabashedly.\nHis actions seemed to say that these were his true thoughts and not simply excuses.\nHe was now completely off-kilter.\nWell, itās not something that I, a Demon Lord standing against all of humanity, can censure.\nHe was just operating on his own set of values.
āā¦I see.ā
I suppressed the various feelings in my heart, and I stopped at giving him a simple reply.\nHasr: Canāt wait for Henry to pop up in the manga! Sorry for the late upload, folks on discord should know what a mess this week has been for me.