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The Black Demon Lord is currently using the weak body of that man, but she is maintaining a mana strengthening state that is almost on the same level as her original body with the special ability of her demonic sword.

But that’s all there is to it.

The mana the person herself has, the magic she can use, and the power as a transcendental being that Yugura gave her; she lost all of that and is not Omnipotent anymore.

There’s no doubt the Black Demon Lord here is the weakest in all of history.

There’s no better moment than now to face this Demon Lord.

“!”

But she is still strong despite that.

The Scarlet Demon Lord, Arcreal; I have faced many opponents that were stronger than me, but the Black Demon Lord is in her own league.

At the times when she takes distance, when she closes the distance, every single instance when our blades clash; there’s barely any wavering in the strength of her will in those instances.

She is eliminating stuff like the allowance of her movements, the wavering of one’s spirit, and isn’t giving any room to even search for an opening.

She is maintaining peak concentration at all times.

I have already lost the hesitation to direct my sword at that man’s body. I am definitely going to be the one falling if I hold idle thoughts.

“—Do you know the name of this continent?” (Black)

“Wa…?” (Ilias)

The Black Demon Lord spoke again while in the middle of our clash of blades.

I reflexively let out my voice, but I don’t have any leeway to think of what to say.

Even so, my head still tried to understand the question she asked.

I judged that it would be bad if she were to take advantage of this wavering, so I take distance for now.

The Black Demon Lord is looking over here with sword still ready. Her pressure is the same, but it doesn’t seem like she is coming at me immediately.

I once again enter in thought in this brief reprieve that was given to me.

The name of this continent…

It is not the Serende Nether. There must have been a name in the past, but that history has already been buried with the passing of time and there’s probably already no one who knows aside from specialists.

“Just for your information, I am not talking about the name of this land. I am referring to the place that encompasses all your countries and our Nethers. The name of this land that is surrounded by the ocean.” (Black)

“…”

I understand the meaning of her words, but I can’t think past that understanding.

What’s with this strange sensation?

I feel like His Majesty told me about something similar before…

“I will tell you if you don’t know. The name of this continent is Traced. The meaning of that name is…thirteen. This continent is the 13th miniature garden created by the god. It is an experiment ground that exists solely for the sake of fulfilling that guy’s curiosity.” (Black)

My head isn’t working well.

Am I flustered by the words of the Black Demon Lord? I feel like I am watching a dream just from trying to understand the meaning of those words.

But my body reacted by reflex when the Black Demon Lord moved.

An attack with no hesitation, aiming for my neck. I use my sword as a shield to block it.

“…Guh?!”

I should have been able to see through the speed of her stepping in and her sword perfectly, and yet, my body was sent flying.

What I could feel through my arms was unbridled anger.

The anger put into it alone was enough to send my body flying.

“And you people have been adjusted so that you can’t understand that reality. You are convenient animals for their experiments.” (Black)

“Experiments…” (Ilias)

Something is flowing inside my body.

What’s this? Is it the power of the Black Demon Lord? Interference from outside? No, this is…

“Oi, I don’t know what you have been saying for a while now, but isn’t it cheating to invite unrest with words?!” (Haaku)

“It is not cheating. Your thoughts have been limited by the world. You have been made in a way so that you can’t accept the truth of the world that Black speaks of. But the interference of that damn bastard is a coarse one directed at the general public. Your senses would be sharpened to their utmost limits if it is in the middle of a battle that decides life or death. A person with their survival instincts can receive the meaning of the words that overcome the alterations.” (Yugura)

“…No, what are you saying…?” (Haaku)

“Ahaha, I will say it in a way that even an idiot would understand. The two are speaking with their swords. I will kill you the next time you heckle, so shut up and watch, okay?” (Yugura)

“…O-Okay.” (Haaku)

Even though I normally wouldn’t have my thoughts mixed with the conversation of the gallery, I could understand that Yugura explained the reason for this situation.

I understood the meaning of the Black Demon Lord’s words when I took on her sword. And the emotions that I was trying to not create welled up.

I don’t know the logic, but according to the Black Demon Lord, there’s no way aside from fighting her.

“…Come!” (Ilias)

“—This world is the experiment ground of God. There are many continents across the ocean, different worlds, and that guy is observing their results. They have created humans in a way so that they don’t interfere with each other’s world and hold any interest. They continue living in their own miniature garden.” (Black)

The Black Demon Lord spoke indifferently as she unleashes a dance of slashes, telling me the emotions inside of herself. Lamentation; hatred that can’t be bottled up.

“Even if that’s the truth, why does that lead to eradicating humanity?!” (Ilias)

“Didn’t I say so already? We humans are just animals to experiment on by that god. Traced has been used as a test case for alterations from the outside that have been caused intentionally. While inviting beings that have talent from a parallel world: otherworlders.” (Black)

The figure of Yugura showed up at a corner of my vision.

The history of this world was changed each time the people from a parallel world showed up.

I did hear that was the case, but I didn’t even think about the possibility this was done by the will of someone. No, I wasn’t even allowed to think about it.

“The differences of the worlds created changes in our world. The result of that was that warring era. Different races were born, discrimination took place, and decline happened from the desire to have prosperity only in their own surroundings!” (Black)

Change that was created for the sake of a single objective doesn’t stop with just fulfilling that objective. It can create cruel results at times, and leave many regrets.

I have heard stories about the era of the Black Demon Lord from the other Demon Lords.

The people in the era when they didn’t have a common enemy that were the Demon Lords were fighting against people who were different from them.

Races, dwellings, lineage; a tragic era where enemies were created for varying reasons and tried to eliminate them.

There’s tension between the nations even in this era. There’s most likely a decent amount of discrimination towards demi-humans.

Even so, that’s no reason to kill people. This current era is one where most countries think that must not happen.

“The sight of my hometown burning, the feeling of loss from your precious ones losing their strength in my arms, even the emptiness after ending your sworn enemies! The otherworlders are simply a result for that god! They simply show interest in the reaction of their pets in the garden! That’s why they will repeat it. Stirring up the world over and over and over and over. A new tragedy will be created with one pang of curiosity!” (Black)

The feelings of the Black Demon Lord must be the real deal.

The irreplaceable everyday life that she spent together with her beloved comrades.

The anger and hatred of those things being taken away, and the withered heart after achieving your vengeance.

Her mental state when she discovered that everything was a result from the experiments of God and the otherworlders, and it is seeping into my heart through her sword.

“That’s why you are eradicating humans?!” (Ilias)

“That’s right! As long as you live in this world, you can’t escape from the interference of God. That’s why I am trying to free this world that’s made into a convenient experiment ground from their hands!” (Black)

“Are you telling me there’s a point in what lies ahead of that?!” (Ilias)

I must not accept the ideals of the Black Demon Lord -is what I thought as I swung my blade to shake off those feelings.

The talk of the Black Demon Lord is true. I can understand that.

The things I felt through that man and the answer to why otherworlders appear in the world was that.

The god that created this world should have the thoughts and means to call people from other worlds. Their objective also makes sense when I compare it with our history.

It is shocking.

If the deeds of the previous heroes in history and Yugura creating Demon Lords are all changes that this god wished for, what about the people who were caught in those changes and had their futures messed up?

“There is…! God doesn’t even lend an ear no matter our pleads. They only think after seeing the result. That’s why I will shove the future of destruction in their face. That their interference will only lead the world into destruction!” (Black)

“! The god that you speak of sounds like the embodiment of selfishness. Even if you were to eradicate all of humanity and destroy this world, do you think such a being would look back on their actions like you wish?!” (Ilias)

“Emotions don’t work on that guy. The only thing that would get through them is the statistics after the result is out. If their excessive interference brings about thorough destruction, they would have no choice but to rethink their ways.” (Black)

“Thoroughly…?” (Ilias)

“Do you think this is the only world that has been made a mess with the selfish interference of God? Do you really think this is the only world that has fallen?” (Black)

This continent, this world that we are in is the 13th. Then, there’s at least 12 more and they have had a history equal or longer than ours.

This continent was already on the verge of falling a few centuries ago because of the Demon Lords.

If the other continents have had similar dangers, there might have been other worlds that have fallen.

There’s an unknown world across the ocean, and they have fallen at some unknown point in time.

I can’t feel the reality of it.

Even though there’s no way I would feel negative emotions from this, I accepted the reality that the Black Demon Lord spoke of, and such emotions were trying to well up in me.

“If in the off-chance that god is a being that looks back on the results and there’s already worlds that have fallen, why don’t they correct the futures of this world?” (Ilias)

“I saw the logs of God with my Omnipotence. The fallen worlds… the last moments of the people who lived in a future ahead of ours. They all just mourned the fall of their world and didn’t complain about it. God didn’t try to blame them by saying ‘it is your fault’. Therefore, that guy still hasn’t determined the reason as certain. That’s why I will tell them with clarity. I will send my words directly to them and tell them that they themselves are the root of the destruction of the worlds!” (Black)

My bones creak at the pressure of the sword weighing on my arms.

Even though I doubt there’s that much stamina in her current body, her momentum isn’t lowering. On the contrary, it is increasing as she speaks.

The Black Demon Lord learned of the truth of the world, and lamented how the future of humanity is being expended into being the toys of this god.

She is trying to sacrifice this world to appeal to the god. For the sake of getting humanity out from the interference of this god.

Anger, hatred, sadness; just how many emotions do you need to have to be determined to become the last person in the world?

This Demon Lord wasn’t crazy. She was simply struggling to protect the future of the world without hesitation.

Not the world she is living in currently, but the peace of the worlds that will be born in the far future, with a prayer.

“…I see.” (Ilias)

The conversation will end if my heart breaks. The Black Demon Lord would take my life and will continue moving for the sake of destroying the world while maintaining silence.

The winner of the war has already been decided.

The Black Demon Lord won’t destroy this world and will end up falling. And then, Yugura will use space-time magic and the world will be rewound.

Even so, the Black Demon Lord herself is unfaltering, and the reality that she tried to lead the world into destruction will remain.

Even if Yugura uses space-time magic to turn it all into zero, the god should be able to recognize that as a reality.

That someone who lives in this world is blocking the interference of the pioneer otherworlders that have been invited by the god, and is trying to smash the result of their will onto them.

Yugura using space-time magic is not a defeat for her. It is proof of victory that the apostle of this god, Yugura, couldn’t change her.

I felt for a bit that the Black Demon Lord is similar to that man.

It reminds me of the match we had against the Gold Demon Lord in her simulated world.

The moment the other him realized the world he existed in was an ephemeral bubble, he directed his fangs at me and the him of the real world.

My memories were erased and I only know the result, but it is pretty hard to believe the reality that he went as far as cornering me to the point of killing my heart.

But I can understand that now. The him in that world was angered in the same way the Black Demon Lord is.

Created by convenience, lamenting the disposable world, and being the result of blaming them as a person who lives in this world.

The Black Demon Lord swings down her sword without mercy towards me whose movements were dulled.

If I accepted her feelings that are similar to that man, receiving that sword with my body wouldn’t be a mistake.

“—But!” (Ilias)

“—!”

I repel the full power strike of the Black Demon Lord with a full power strike of my own.

I certainly do understand it.

The Black Demon Lord’s feelings, the validity of what she is trying to do, and the meaning, the worth; I managed to take in all of that through her sword.

It is understandable that she would have that anger. I can’t say she is wrong. I can’t tell her to stop.

Even so…despite all that…I wouldn’t desire the destruction of this world. I won’t accept everyone losing their lives.

“If we are talking about the conclusion alone, your actions may be correct. If your wailing were to reach this god, countless lives and hearts might be saved in the far future. But I have no intention of accepting the conclusion that you are trying to bring forth.” (Ilias)

“Are you saying that humanity and this world should be run down through the ground as toys of God for an eternity?!” (Black)

“That’s probably the only future you see. But I don’t see the future far ahead. I am accepting the present; the reality of this world alone. We are currently living in this world! No matter how much this god or the otherworlders stir things up, no matter how much chaos they create, that reality doesn’t change!” (Ilias)

“You talk of the world with such a narrow vision?!” (Black)

There’s unhidable anger in the expression of the Black Demon Lord.

The amount of slashes and their power are increasing.

They are already attacks that are beyond my strength. I normally wouldn’t be able to block them.

I simply listened to the words of this Demon Lord.

A conversation is an exchange of words between two parties. I still haven’t said anything I wanted to say.

“Then, let me ask you a question, Black Demon Lord. Just how clearly do you see the people you loved and your own world within that wide vision? Just how straight can you face them? Don’t tell me you see them the same as the other worlds you are trying to save. That’s already not the vision of a person…it is the same vision as this god that you despise.” (Ilias)

“—!”

The words of a being like me would normally not reach her ears. But I am currently clashing swords with the Black Demon Lord and transmitting my will through my blade.

She is using the method that would resonate the most in my heart to break it.

But that is also the opportunity for even someone like me to shake her heart.

I understand it clearly now.

The reason why that man led the world to this war was for the sake of this.

He offered his own body for the sake of speaking to the Demon Lord through the sword at this moment, at this place, and guided me here.

——

Author: Just how many readers still remember ‘him’ (Third)?

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