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

C14: Succession

“The true power of the Demon Lord……”

I repeat her words. In other words, does this mean that my current power is incomplete? No, in the first place, before talking about that…

“No matter how I look at her, she’s not the same person as the previous Demon Lord Yulisha.”

“Megafire!”

“Whoa!”

I hurriedly deployed a defensive spell when she suddenly shot me with a top-grade fire spell.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Oh, you prevented that.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead now.”

“It is because you have taunted me. Your disrespect for the Demon Lord is worthy of death.”

A girl with a pouting mouth, I wonder if she’s sulking. Did you shoot “Mega Fire” at me for that?

“But you tried to kill me, didn’t you? It was the other one who actually killed you.”

You mean……Lyle. If she knows that, is she really Yulisha?

“The Yulisha I fought had more charisma as a demon king. You just look like a little kid.”

“Laguna Bomb!”

“Don’t just shoot off an attack spell!”

This time, I cast another defensive spell to fend off her magic.

“Is that the Demon Lord’s crest?”

I noticed a pattern floating on the back of her hand. It’s the same design as my Demon Lord’s crest.

“So you’re Yulisha……?”

“Hmm, you finally believe me.”

Little Yulisha folded her arms in a pompous manner and sniffed.

“I originally wanted to construct my mental body in my adult form, but for some reason, I was locked in this form. Or maybe it’s because of the miracle armament you were using.”

“You mean Gram?”

Gram, a miracle weapon with the ability to interfere with magical effects. It was my favorite weapon when I was a hero. After the fight with Yulisha, I looked for Gram but couldn’t find it. I did find my other favorite weapon, a pistol…….

“You interfered with my resurrection magic and came back to life as the Demon Lord instead. You’ve got a pretty nasty weapon.”

Yulisha glared at me. I couldn’t help but flinch at the look of resentment in her eyes.

“Come to think of it, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

I try to change the subject.

“My body has perished but my soul is immortal. You can think of this form as a spirit body, a temporary body made of spiritual energy.”

Yulisha puffed out her chest.

“I can’t influence this world now. You must do your best as the Demon Lord.”

“As the Demon Lord……”

“You don’t want to fight for the demons because you used to be human?”

“I died because that human betrayed me.”

It’s not that I hate all people.

“It’s not that I don’t want to protect them because they’re demons.”

It hasn’t been long since we met, but meeting Stella, Lilim and the others gave me a warm feeling. The desire to protect them came naturally to me.

“Well, I can see you’re still in doubt, but your feelings seem to be genuine. Let’s get started.”

Yulisha smirks.

“The ritual of the succession of the Demon Lord from the previous generation to the current generation. If the Demon Lord’s power is incomplete, it will hinder you from fighting at full strength.”

“It’s not that bad. I was able to hold off the invasion of the heroes.”

“What, you are that strong? Let’s take a look at your status.”

As she said this, Yulisha chanted, “Status display.”

───────────────────────────

Name: Freed

Class: Demon King

Total LV：4742

H P：35766

M P：91205

Attack：70530

Defense：45400

Evasion：31985

Hit：55739

Equipment

Robe of the Champion

Wand of the Demon King

Mask of the Demon King

Skills

Intimidate (LV261)

Miasma Wave (LV553)

Obedience to the Demon Army (LV19)

Crest of the Demon King (LV2)

Spells

───────────────────────────

Hmm? You’ve upped your game a bit since the last time I saw you.

“What the hell is this?”

Yulisha exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s not possible…… These numbers are more overwhelming than any of the previous Demon Lords! Even my current level is 631, how do you, a mere human reanimated body, have……?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

I don’t know, either.

“Did an error occur when transferring the ability values during revival?…..No, the values are still too large for that…….”

Yulisha growled.

“That’s not something to think about now, is it? The first priority now is to give you the true power of the Demon Lord.”

“True power, huh? But even in my current state, I can easily defeat my opponents.”

“I’m not talking about simple fighting ability when I say power.”

Yulisha shakes her head.

“Handing over your true power means qualification as the Demon Lord.”

“Qualification…..?”

For example, the right to hold the Purgatory Demon King Sword, the essence of the Demon King’s power, or the right to control the Dark Lord Dragon, the Demon King’s mount. In addition, the ability to activate the Demon King’s Castle, which is the final defense mechanism of the demon world, and several others.

None of this was new to me. It’s hard to imagine that Stella would forget to explain it, or maybe it’s information that only past Demon Lords know.

“I’ll give it to you as soon as I can. Give me your hand.”

“Here we go.”

A small key appeared on the hand I held out.

“This is the activation key for the castle. Don’t lose it.”

“Activation key…….?”

“There are a few other things I need to give you. I’ll explain everything to you at once.”

Yulisha raised her hands high in the air.

“The next step is to award the ‘Purgatory Demon King Sword’.”

Thus began the handover of the Demon Lord from Yulisha to me.

※※※

“Where’s the exit……?”

Lyle, the hero, was moving incessantly through the darkness. He no longer had any sense of time. No matter how far he walked, the darkness spread out before him. Darkness, darkness, and more darkness…

“No way, is this hell……?”

Suddenly, he thought about that. Was it the crime of killing his master? Was it a punishment for forgetting his debt and betraying Freed for the sake of honor?

“What about……?”

He gritted his teeth tightly.

Lyle did not regret his actions in the slightest. From the time he was picked up by Freed, all he had ever wanted was to stand above others. That was all he had ever wanted.

Ambition and the desire to control were all Lyle had. And yet, Freed was constantly preaching about the justice of being a hero and the compassion of saving others. It’s just a bunch of nonsense, he said, sneering inwardly.

But Fried’s skills were real, and he was an excellent teacher. So, on the surface, he posed as an obedient disciple and obeyed.

Eventually, Lyle grew up – he was chosen as one of the hundred heroes who made the decisive journey to the demon world. He made it to the Demon King and was one step away from defeating him. That’s when I realized something. He realized that even if he defeated the demon king, most of the credit would go to Freed.

At the same time, it hit him. That was the chance to fulfill his childhood ambition and desire for domination. If he could kill Freed here, along with the Demon King, he would be the hero who killed the Demon King.