Manadeshi ni Uragirarete Shinda Ossan Yūsha, Shijō Saikyō no Maō toshite Ikikaeru

C12: Spell test

“I’m counting on you to do your job, Regal.”

I nodded humbly to Regal, who swore his allegiance.

“I’ve repaired all the holes that the heroes made in the barrier. There won’t be any invasion for a while, and I’d like you and Stella to reorganize the army.”

“As the king wills.”

Regal kneels down and bows his head once more.

Some heroes torture demons before killing them, I want to protect them this time.”

I remembered the people who enjoyed killing demons as if it was a game. I didn’t want to see that scene again.

“That’s very kind of you, Demon Lord.”

“I’m just trying to prevent people from suffering.”

That was my wish when I was a hero, and now that I’m a demon king – it’s still my wish.

“By the king’s decree, I will defend this with my life.”

“Please.”

“I’ll leave you to it…but first, may I have a word?”

Regal stood up and looked straight at me.

“What is it?”

“The heroes who invaded the demon world……some of them may still be hiding. May I lead my men in hunting them down?”

In the recent battle, the heroes I saw were either defeated by me or driven away to the human world. But maybe not all of them, that’s for sure.

“……All right.”

“The one who defeated the previous king, Yulisha, may be among them. Let us offer their heads to Yulisha’s grave as a memorial to her.”

I had the illusion that the skull’s eyes were piercing me through the mask.

Regal left and Stella took care of the aftermath. I wanted to find out what they were up to, but they’ve all disappeared, so…

Is the Beast Emperor Zegart up to something? That is something I will have to find out. As for Regal, he has pledged his allegiance, but only provisionally…….Once again, Stella is my only trusted aide.

The path of the Demon Lord is a difficult one.

No, in the first place… Am I going to walk the path as the Demon Lord? Is it enough to go on like this? It might still be a little while before I get a solid answer from within myself.

The next morning, I was making my way through the wilderness. A female warrior with red hair in a ponytail is walking next to me. 　It was Lilim, the captain of the castle’s guard.

This is the royal capital of the demon world, with the demon king’s castle at its center – a wilderness area stretches outside of it. There are also other forested areas, scorching hot areas and extremely cold areas. Outside of the urban areas, nature seems to be quite harsh.

I don’t know much about the geography of the demon world. Although Stella teaches me in between her work as a demon king, she is also very busy……. I asked Lilim to follow me today because I didn’t want to add to her busy workload.

“It’s a lot bigger than I thought. I’ll be able to test my magic to the fullest here.”

Looking out over the red wilderness that surrounded me, I paused.

“Is there an urban area ahead of us?”

I asked Lilim.

“On the other side are the Mountains of Despair and the Abyssal Falls. It’s all nature.”

Lilim answers my question.

The names of the places are all frightening. It is indeed the demon world…….

“Let’s get started. Lilim, stay close to me. I don’t want any collateral damage.”

“Okay.”

“And……be prepared for enemy attacks.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll show you the power of the guard captain.”

Lilim raises her fist and shouts cheerfully. Well, if the enemy actually comes, I’ll kill them instantly.

My purpose for coming here was to test the Demon Lord’s power. As soon as I was reborn, I had no time to settle down, fighting against the heroes, doing my job as the Demon King, uncovering conspiracies, fighting with Regal, and so on.

Eventually, the barrier would be broken and the invasion of the humans would resume. Before that, I wanted to learn more about my abilities. The reason why I came to the deserted wilderness was because of the damage it would cause if I did it in the royal capital. The demon king’s destructive magic is too powerful.

“Magic Wall.”

The first thing I did was to put up a barrier of magic power for several kilometers in every direction. This way, even if the magic I tested was more powerful than expected, the power would not leak outside.

“So, let’s start with…[Fire].”

A fireball explodes in the wilderness, creating a huge crater.

“Awesome…….”

Lilim gulped.

Even mere basic magic, when unleashed by the Demon King’s immense magical power, becomes more powerful than even the highest level of magic.

“Let’s try some of that top level magic next.”

I let out a breath and concentrated my magic power. It was the highest level of fire magic that I had unleashed into the sky during the battle with Regal. It was dangerous to unleash it at maximum power, so I decided to limit the power to about 10% for now.

“Mega Fire!”

Flames and explosions of an incomparable scale filled my vision. The dirt and debris popped and blew away at a furious pace. They collided with the “Magic Wall” I had put up and rained down.

In the area around me and Lilim…the ground had gouged and caved in deeply for several kilometers in every direction, completely changing the terrain. But that’s not all.

“What the hell is this?”

It wasn’t just the terrain, the whole area was covered in a black blur-like substance. I didn’t really understand it because last time I shot into the sky, but does “Mega Fire” cause this kind of phenomenon?

“Maybe……the whole space has been scraped off?”

I touched the black blur, but it showed no sign of disappearing.

“Oh, my God! Demon Lord, what happened……?”

“I probably just incinerated it on a spatial level.”

I answer the shaking Lilim.

“It’s ridiculously powerful, but if I’m not careful I could hurt my allies.”

I’ll have to be careful when using wide area magic. I promised myself firmly.

“In the meantime, let’s look for offensive magic that can be used in the capital.”

It should be powerful and have a small area of effect.

I stared at the list of spells I was learning for a while. The spells I had picked out were all in line with what I wanted, but they all had their advantages and disadvantages.

“Oh, this could be good.”

I found a certain spell and mumbled to myself.

“Gravity Knife……creates a powerful gravity to crush the enemy, huh? The area of effect is, as the name implies, limited to the area sliced by the knife.”

This way, I won’t cause any collateral damage to my allies. Let’s give it a try.

“Gravity Knife!”

With the incantation, a black knife appeared in my right hand. When I cut with it, it seemed to generate super gravity in the area. I slashed lightly at my feet and the place turned black.

“Hmmm……?”

I don’t know what the hell is going on right now.

“Demon King……”

Lilim was also nodding her head. It’s hard to say how effective it is without actually using it on an enemy.

After that, I tried a few more spells. However, the ones that are more powerful are generally more widespread, while the ones that work on limited spaces are not as destructive (though they can still kill an ordinary enemy in an instant). It’s hard to find the right spell.

“I guess I’ll just have to look for it diligently every day.”

After completing today’s spell test, I returned to the Demon Lord’s castle.

“Welcome back, Demon Lord.”

When I returned to the office, I was greeted by Stella.

“Have you noticed anything unusual while you’ve been away?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

She put her face close to mine. A sweet, soapy scent drifted into the air, and for a moment I felt a jolt.

“What is……?”

I feigned calmness and inquired.

“A suspicious person has entered the Demon Lord’s castle.”

At that moment my destiny began to change.