Chapter 109
“Did you think I'd give you time to recover?”
Just as Kagami gritted his teeth in anger, the king appeared in an instant behind Tina, who was treating him.
“Sorry, Priest. With you here, this fight will never end.”
“...?!“
It happened so quickly that Kagami, who was being treated, couldn't react. The king spat those words and struck the back of Tina's neck, knocking her unconscious.
“Don't worry. I didn't kill her... As I said earlier, she's useful to me.”
Then Kagami prioritized putting distance between himself and the king over protecting Tina. He'd judged that if he didn't, he'd be next.
“Menou! Cover me!”
“...I know, but I'm in the same situation. My body's heavy... This power is no ordinary thing!”
Seeing Menou's face contort with pain, Kagami instinctively glanced at Alice. She, too, wore the same pained expression.
“That's just how my Skill works... I'm sorry.”
Militariel said this with a troubled expression, whether from confidence or genuine concern.
But the difference in power was so great that Militariel's composure was understandable. Kagami and Menou broke into a sweat.
Their reliable trump card, the Demon King, had been erased, and now Tina, their healer, had been taken out in no time. They'd been in situations where they might lose many times before. But never before had they been unable to escape.
This time, they had only two choices: win or lose, lose everything or hold out. Faced with such a clear disadvantage, Menou and Kagami broke into a sweat, their anxiety mounting.
“Now... let's see how long you can resist!”
Catching a glimpse of the anxiety on Kagami's face, the king smiled as if to say that was exactly what he wanted to see. He declared this and readied his greatsword.
For the next thirty minutes, despite their disadvantage, Kagami and Menou somehow kept fighting while protecting Alice. They endured the physical weakening caused by Militariel, the successive sword strikes from Rex and the king, and the magic raining down from Parna, surviving every attack by the skin of their teeth.
But even that was nearing its limit.
It was becoming impossible to keep fighting while protecting Alice. In fact, Kagami and Menou had fought to the very brink of their stamina, protecting her so well despite being battered to this extent that they deserved praise.
“Why don't you give up already? If you abandon that demonkin girl over there... you might still be able to fight.”
“I... won't give up.”
“Very well... then I'll end this!”
The king shouted and instantly moved in front of Alice. Then he raised the greatsword in his hand and brought it straight down with such force that he clearly wasn't holding back.
Immediately afterward, a beat behind the king, Kagami also instantly moved in front of Alice. But by then, the descending greatsword had already come close enough to strike him. His lowered physical abilities had thrown off his perception, causing the delay. Even Kagami hadn't anticipated it; at full strength, he should have been able to block the descending greatsword.
Kagami immediately judged the situation too dire to even release his restrictions. Rather than protect himself, he hugged Alice to shield her, turning his back to the king.
And then, the end came.
“K-Kagami-dono!”
A tremendous amount of blood spurted from Kagami's back like a fountain. The king's greatsword had slashed deeply into his back—so deeply that anyone could see it was a fatal wound.
“K-Kagami-san?”
Alice and Kagami crashed to the floor with a thud, still locked in an embrace, blood spurting from his back and his eyes staring blankly. Alice immediately got up and shook him, trying to see if he was all right.
“...Kagami-san! Wake up, please, wake up!”
Then a heartrending scream that made them want to cover their ears rang through the throne room.
Kagami lay motionless, his eyes vacant.
“Foolish... to die protecting a demon. No... I suppose I bear some responsibility for failing to react and stop it in time...”
Saying that, the king looked ruefully at his own hand.
“What are you talking about...?! You're the one who killed him!”
“I had no intention of killing this man. I, too... need strong people. I never imagined he would go this far to protect that demon girl.”
As he spoke, the king let go of the sword he had been holding and made it vanish into a warped space in midair.
“...What are you planning?”
“Out of respect for that Villager's actions, and as a small kindness... I myself won't lay a hand on you from here on.”
“So you're not going to let us escape.”
“That's an impossible request. There's someone here... who bears a grudge against you demons.”
As he said this, the king turned his gaze toward Parna. Parna, meanwhile, wore a slightly sorrowful expression as she looked at Kagami lying on the ground and Alice desperately calling out to him.
“What is it, Parna?”
“Ah... yes. Nothing's wrong.”
Seeing that Parna was acting strangely, Militariel spoke to her. Parna shook her head as if to pull herself together, then approached Alice.
“Move. If you stay there, you'll damage his corpse.”
Then Parna stood behind Alice and held out a hand imbued with magic toward her.
“P-Parna... you! What are you planning to do?!”
“...I'm going to kill her. Alice-chan, whom you cherish so much. And of course... I'll kill you, too.”
“Don't be ridiculous! I won't let you...! Wh-what are you doing?!”
The instant Menou took a step forward to stop Parna, who had declared she would kill them, Rex rushed over and pinned Menou down.
“This is the wish you asked of me. Do as you please. I won't let anyone interfere.”
“Y-you bastard!”
Having said that, the king turned his back on Parna, apparently having already lost interest.