The timeline is roughly the usual vicinity.
The perspective is Kariya’s.
It’s a story about breaking horror.
“There is an interesting medicine, but the ingredient is ‘the Demon King’s hair’.”
It all started with a conversation like that, one day.
“Uh, isn’t that something quite nerve-wracking to get the ingredient for…?”
“But I think it is a medicine worth that much.”
What could it be? A medicine that can’t be made without the Demon King’s hair, and is worth that much… Is it an incredible healing potion or a powerful poison?
“It is a potion that can make you invisible. I’m very intrigued.”
“What, that’s a dream come true! Alright, let’s make it! Leave the ‘teleportation’ to me!”
“Stop it!”
…No, I understand, right? When you talk about a potion that can make you invisible, it’s every boy’s dream! I get it! I’m also a boy at heart! If it’s to become invisible, getting the Demon King’s hair is no big deal! The Demon King himself doesn’t seem interested in becoming invisible, but he might be curious! I’m sure he will cooperate!
“This will finally settle the eternal question of how to gain vision if you become invisible.”
“Oh, so that’s where your interest lies, President. …That’s so like you, President, not to want to misuse it.”
“Even I am thinking of misuse. If you become invisible and no one notices you, it’s easy to poison the enemy’s well. Or, it would be easy to infiltrate and cause internal collapse of the enemy organization. Furthermore, it would be easy to sneak into the enemy territory unnoticed and take down the leader.”
“Oh, that’s also a boy’s dream, indeed.”
“Is no one going to mention that there is a hypothetical enemy country?”
Invisible men are a dream, whether for noble purposes or for the more mischievous kinds!
“So, while we’re at it, why don’t we take a trip to the Abyss? We haven’t had much chance to look around.”
I’ll go with you! And I’ll get a share of that invisibility potion! Because I’m a boy too!
As we were bustling about preparing for departure, Maito suddenly came in.
“I heard the story! While we’re at it, how about having a picnic in the Abyss for lunch?”
Where did she hear that from? Well, it doesn’t matter where she heard it from. Because it’s Maito.
“Abyss picnic…?”
“You know, since we’re going there, and the scenery is beautiful. Why not invite the Demon King to join us? Hmm, what should we have for lunch? Instead of bringing a lunch box, how about starting a barbecue?”
“Abyss barbecue…?”
When Maito goes out, she usually wants to have lunch there. Well, it does change the mood and it’s fun. I think it’s a good idea.
“…Well, whatever. If we’re going, let’s go early. And we’ll eat and then come back?”
“Yeah. Okay, okay. So, while everyone is harvesting the Demon King’s hair, I’ll prepare the food.”
It seems no one is against going to the Abyss. So let’s enjoy it while we’re at it. It’s a bit dark, but I quite like the scenery of the Abyss.
So, we’ve arrived at the Abyss! It is dark, indeed. Here and there, there are glowing crystals and plants that give off a little light, making it look like a starry sky. It’s beautiful, like being in a sea of stars.
“Well, let’s go to the Demon King right away.”
“Is he at the castle?”
“Isn’t he? We’ve never seen the Demon King leave the castle.”
While chatting about such things, we knock on the Demon King’s castle door.
“Knock knock.”
“I’m coming in.”
“You’re not supposed to say that while knocking from outside.”
Well, anyway, despite that exchange… the inside of the castle is quiet. There is no response.
“Oh, is he really not here? Wow, the Demon King goes out. Unexpected. Haha.”
“Should we take a look inside just in case?”
“Uh… Are we really going in without a response…?”
And so President said, “Excuse us,” and bowed as he opened the door to the Demon King’s castle. He opened it, but, well, of course, no one was inside.
“I just thought, what if the Demon King was in the middle of changing clothes or taking a bath?”
“In that case, he would have likely responded.”
“Then what if he was eating a sushi roll?”
“There would be no problem entering at that time.”
“Then what if he was changing clothes, taking a bath, and eating a sushi roll?”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, what kind of premise is that, Hariu-kun?”
“But I kind of want to see the Demon King like that.”
“…Changing clothes while taking a bath, how would that even work…?”
The conversation was getting ridiculous, but we were already inside, so even if the Demon King was doing something like that, he couldn’t stop us!
“Well, it’s fine, isn’t it? If he really didn’t want anyone entering, he would have locked the door.”
“Yeah, he’s not the kind of Demon King who wouldn’t lock the door.”
Well, in the end, there’s nothing particularly interesting, right? Because it’s the Demon King, and sushi.
“Wait, I heard something.”
Suddenly, Maito said that and looked towards the back of the Demon King’s castle.
“…I’m being called.”
“Hey, idiot, wait.”
Moreover, Suzumoto grabbed and stopped Maito, who seemed about to wander off. Maito’s behavior like this can be pretty scary!
“Maito. Are you in your right mind right now?”
Suzumoto was looking directly into Maito’s eyes. That’s the look he gives to check Maito’s sanity!
“Yes. I’m in my right mind.”
“I see. But if you’re already in a state of madness, then that response can’t be trusted.”
“Uh, then why did you ask? Isn’t that weird? Asking and then not accepting the answer?”
Maito kept saying “Isn’t that weird? Isn’t that weird?” but I understand Suzumoto’s point…
You see, Maito’s previous spontaneous actions have led to things like getting eaten by a snake or disappearing into a book for a while…
“If Maito says she’s being called, then I think it’s a sign of trouble. What do you think?”
When Suzumoto asked that, the rest of us reacted similarly.
“I think we should stop her!”
“Well, honestly, I’m worried…”
“I also think we should stop, but even if we go check, we can leave her behind. She won’t be of any help anyway.”
“Oh no! Hagasaki-kun is being especially harsh!”
Maito seemed down, but I was more concerned about our current situation.
The Demon King is not in the castle! Yet the door isn’t locked! Maito is being called by something! Scary!
No matter how you look at it, something’s wrong here… Well, it’s hard to explain what exactly is wrong, but there’s something eerie, something terrifying…
“Oh no, I’m being called again…”
Kadomi-kun had Maito in a firm hold, so she couldn’t wander off, but she looked increasingly unsettled as if she was being called even more strongly.
“…By the way, why is it only Maito? I don’t hear anything at all.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s telepathy that only works on weird people.”
“That doesn’t explain why it doesn’t work on me.”
“So, President knows he’s weird. Got it.”
Maito seemed distracted by President’s comment, but she still kept glancing towards the back of the mansion.
“…Hey, is it really bad if we go? I’m really curious, and I have a strong feeling I’ll regret it if I don’t.”
With Maito being so persistent, we had to consider it seriously. Saying “no” is easy, but there’s undoubtedly something going on…
“…Alright, we’ll go first. You follow us. If anything happens, we retreat immediately. Got it?”
“Okay!”
In the end, Suzumoto gave in, and Maito was allowed to go towards the “calling” she felt.
“It doesn’t feel like a situation to eat lunch.”
“Were you seriously thinking about eating? What’s wrong with you?”
“My head is more food-focused than Hagasaki-kun’s.”
As we moved further into the mansion, a sense of dread grew stronger. Maito kept saying, “I’m being called again,” and I started to understand that feeling. While I didn’t hear any voices, I felt like something was drawing me in.
“There’s a staircase leading down. Is it this way, Maito?”
“Yeah, it seems like it’s underground.”
It looked like we were heading to the basement of the mansion.
…Something is definitely going on here! No way!
We proceeded with extreme caution down the underground passage! And finally, we arrived!
“Whoa.”
At the end of the underground passage was—
“Maito. Don’t look.”
“Huh!?”
…I could understand why Suzumoto wanted to cover Maito’s eyes.
What we found in the basement was a grotesque and nonsensical mass made of human blood, flesh, and body parts!
“Ugh… I really don’t know about this…”
“I question the Demon King’s taste.”
“Eh… Is this really the Demon King’s taste…?”
“I can’t understand keeping something you don’t like in your basement.”
“Why is everyone speaking so harshly?! What’s going on?! I’m still being called strongly! What’s here?! Tell me what’s happening already!”
With Maito’s eyes covered, we had a quick strategy meeting. Yeah, that… thing is just… no!
“If that flesh pile is calling Maito, it’s probably a creature that wants to absorb her or something.”
“That’s a possibility.”
“Am I going to be absorbed!?”
I imagined Maito half-submerged and merging with the flesh pile, saying, “Kill…me…” But knowing Maito, even in such a situation, she might say, “I’m…going…to…kill you…”
“By the way, Maito. What does the voice you hear sound like?”
President bluntly asked Maito a question we were all wondering! And then!
“Huh? It’s a girl’s voice saying, ‘Break the shell and let me out of here.’”
…
“Uh… There’s something else inside that thing?”
“…I think we should just leave it alone…”
“I agree. I support Kadomi-kun. It’s best to leave that thing alone. It’s just too suspicious no matter how you look at it.”
We got an extremely suspicious answer…
Maybe we should get Maito out of here…
Then, since we weren’t making any progress, Maito’s blindfold was removed.
“Wow, that’s gross.”
“That’s why I told you not to look.”
“Well, but honestly, I’ve seen so many gory images with you guys that I’m kind of used to it now.”
“Can you not lump us together with that kind of stuff?”
Oh, I’m also used to seeing gory images! So, yeah, blood and flesh and bones don’t surprise me anymore!
…That’s probably not a good thing for a human being, though… haha.
“So, what do we do with this gross thing? Hmm? Should we break it?”
“Let’s break it!”
“Stop it. What’s inside is definitely a creature.”
“But the voice is a really cute girl, though.”
“So, a cute-voiced creature?”
“Are you all certain there’s a creature inside that thing?”
Maito seemed dissatisfied, but I don’t think there’s a cute girl inside that thing either!
“…Hey, wait… come here for a moment.”
Kadomi-kun, who had been wandering around the basement, called us over.
“Did you find something?”
When we all gathered around, there was—
“There’s something written here…”
“The seal of malice has been broken. If anyone is reading this, please release the angel.”
There was a blood-written message on the floor.
“That’s creepy! What is this? Creepy!”
“Scary! What is this! It’s my first time seeing a blood-written message!”
For most people, it’s probably their first time seeing something like this… Who sees blood-written messages regularly? A detective or something?
“What does this mean…”
“It says the seal of malice has been broken. Malice…”
…Our eyes naturally turned to the grotesque mass of flesh.
“It’s that, right?”
“It’s that.”
“It’s probably that.”
“No, no, no, no, wait! It’s not that! I’m telling you it’s not that!”
Everyone except Maito considered the grotesque mass of flesh as “malice,” but Maito seemed to want to argue otherwise. She was quite persistent.
“It’s saying ‘Break the shell and let me out’…”
“Maito. Stop listening to it.”
“Wah! Even if you tell me to stop listening! It’s speaking directly into my mind! In a cute girl’s voice!”
I’m curious about the cute girl’s voice, but Maito has a history, you know.
…But still, a cute girl’s voice…
“Maito-san. Maito-san. Can you let me hear that voice too?”
“Huh?”
“Hey, Kariya.”
“But come on! It’s a cute girl’s voice, right? A cute girl, right? Then I have to hear it!”
“Thanks, Kariya! Somehow, I feel like I have a bit of an ally due to your impure but straightforward feelings!”
Impure but straightforward means pure, right? 100% desire! A boy has to live honestly with himself!
“Alright, then let’s ‘share.’”
“Alright, alright. Go ahead.”
So, Maito-san ‘shared’ the cute girl’s voice with me.
…
“Break this shell. Let me out of here.”
It was such a clear, refreshing, yet sweet and slightly fragile voice.
“Kariya? Are you okay? I mean, you’re usually not okay, but…”
Hariu peered at me, but there’s absolutely no need to worry! Well, maybe a little!
“It’s incredibly! A cute girl’s voice!”
“Really? Seriously? Now I’m curious, Maito-san.”
“Sure, sure, ‘share.’”
“Wow, it’s seriously a cute girl.”
So, Toriumi listened to the cute girl’s voice, and then Hariu, who got curious, listened too, and then President for information sharing, and then even Katori just because of the atmosphere… In the end, everyone listened.
“…It’s definitely a cute girl’s voice.”
“Right. I thought this kind of voice might be Suzumoto’s type.”
“You’re not entirely wrong, but stop it.”
So, well, that voice was unanimously recognized by all of us as a cute girl’s voice.
“…So, we should break that? But still…”
Unfortunately, what we have in front of us is not a cute girl but a grotesque mass of flesh!
“No, I’m being called, and there’s definitely something here, and the Demon King isn’t here, so something definitely happened… Maybe we should break it?”
“Think the other way around. The fact that the Demon King isn’t here means it’s dangerous, so especially you shouldn’t do it, you idiot.”
“Ugh, Hagasaki-kun is being harsher than usual…”
Well, after hearing the cute girl’s voice, I’m a bit conflicted, but what’s in front of us is still a grotesque mass of flesh… Even if we’re a bit desensitized to this kind of thing now, there are still things we shouldn’t forget!
“…Yeah, I guess. Then, we have to ask the Demon King.”
So, Suzumoto came up with a plan!
“Let’s find the Demon King. If the Demon King wrote that blood message, then we won’t find him. Conversely, if we find the Demon King, then the blood message is a trap by the enemy. We shouldn’t break that flesh mass. How about that?”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll look inside the castle. Kadomi-kun, check outside with Terra.”
“Got it. I need Hagasaki-kun too.”
“Alright, Hagasaki-kun, take Shura and check the outside.”
“Why me?”
“You can use magic.”
So, Kadomi-kun and Hagasaki-kun went outside the castle. The Abyss is vast, but they’ll manage somehow. Probably.
“Then I’ll check upstairs!”
“I’ll check the basement then… Kariya, can you come with me?”
“Oh, understood.”
Since Suzumoto couldn’t use recovery techniques, if we explored dangerous places, we’d need someone who could heal! I didn’t want to explore this underground with grotesque chunks of meat, but I’d give it my best shot!
And so, our roles were decided…
“Okay, I’ll go ask Medirefiana-san.”
“Who is that?”
“The Goddess Book.”
The moment Maito-san said that, we all thought the same thing!
“Maybe that’s good enough!”
“I’m back! I asked!”
Maito-san said while holding up the Goddess Book!
“She said, ‘If he’s here, it’ll be in a hidden room in the basement.'”
“Oh, there’s a hidden room? Hahaha, as expected of the Demon King’s castle.”
Apparently, the Goddess Book said that the Demon King might be in the ‘hidden room in the basement.’ Additionally, ‘Even if he’s there, we won’t know if it’s the Demon King.’
“She said to do our best with the puzzles from there.”
“Do our best… uh…”
“What should we do? Should we check other places before going to the basement?”
“Well, it’d be faster to catch the Demon King and ask him… hmm…”
As we were debating what to do next, Kadomi-kun and Hagasaki-kun returned from outside.
“Oh, welcome back. How was it?”
“It was no good.”
With Hagasaki-kun looking a bit annoyed and Kadomi-kun looking dejected, we knew something had happened.
“Couldn’t find it?”
“No… we couldn’t get out…”
…And then we realized the situation might be more serious than we thought.
“Trapped, huh?”
“In a closed circle, there’s always a murder case…”
“We already have those grotesque chunks of meat; can that count as enough?”
Not being able to escape was quite serious. Both Maito-san and Toriumi had tried ‘teleportation,’ but neither worked. This was bad!
“Well… shall we head to the Demon King’s place for now?”
“Yes, that seems the fastest.”
So, with great anxiety, we decided to go to the hidden room in the basement.
“Oh, he was just here!”
And there he was! The Demon King! Silver hair! Crimson eyes! Super handsome! The Demon King! I always wondered if his face would explode!
“Demon King! Sorry for intruding!”
“Excuse us. The door was open, so we came in. It felt like an emergency.”
When we casually greeted him, the Demon King looked a bit puzzled, but he didn’t get angry. Handsome people are kind-hearted. Envious.
“As you can see, the seal on ‘Malice’ has been broken. I’m quite busy now… but feel free to relax.”
He even brought out a tea set with just a flick of his finger. Truly envious.
“Is that chunk of meat ‘Malice’?”
“Yes. I’m sealing it now. It should take about an hour.”
The Demon King said this with a smile. His smile was charming! Envious!
“I see.”
President said this and glanced at Maito-san. Maito-san looked extremely unconvinced!
“…Shall we step out for a moment?”
Following President’s prompt, we left the room, exited the basement, and returned to the grand hall.
“President! President! They’re calling me! I’m being called so much!”
“Let’s calm down first.”
Maito-san was already making quite a fuss, but Kadomi-kun quickly restrained her, and we started a strategy meeting.
“I felt something was off. How about you all?”
“Huh? Off? What do you mean?”
Hariu looked puzzled, but a few others made faces like “Ah, I see.”
“The tea, huh?”
With that remark, I realized too. Oh, the tea.
Last time we came here, the Demon King brewed the tea himself. But this time, he just summoned it with a snap of his fingers. It was indeed a bit off.
“Well, it can be explained by him being busy. But it’s a bit unsettling.”
Hmm, feeling unsettled over just the tea seemed a bit much. It’s subtle! …But, with Maito-san’s reaction and all, there was definitely something bothering us.
We knew from experience that gut feelings shouldn’t be underestimated. Yeah.
“So, Maito, why are you flailing around uselessly?”
“They’re calling me! Ahhhhh, not just in my mind, but in my heart! Directly to my heart! Ahhhhh!”
And Maito-san was on the verge of losing it. Being directly spoken to in your mind must be quite stressful… I always feel a bit sorry for Maito-san since she often ends up in these roles. Yes.
“…So, the Demon King is, in the end… weird, right?”
“That’s probably it… Well, can I share my thoughts?”
Katori raised his hand and began speaking.
“I think the Demon King we saw might be a fake.”
…
“No, no, no, no, come on. It’s the Demon King, right? Could he really be replaced by a fake? It’s the Demon King, you know?”
I understood Hariu’s immediate denial, but still, hmm… It’s subtle…
“If anything, there’s a possibility that ‘Malice’ is pretending to be the Demon King.”
“Huh? Then what about that grotesque chunk of meat?”
“That would just be a grotesque chunk of meat.”
Which would be even scarier!
“So, what do we do? Should we search the place?”
Amid everyone’s confusion, Suzumoto suggested that. Yes. I think that’s best. We should gather some information instead of staying confused!
“Yeah. If the Demon King knew about ‘Malice,’ he might have left some information about it. We should investigate. We can’t leave anyway.”
“Alright, I’ll check the upper floors.”
“Toriumi, take Maito with you. And Kariya too. It’d be bad to leave without a shield and healer.”
…And so, we started dividing the tasks for exploration. After all, in times like this, gathering information is crucial, just like in games! Right?
Then.
“No. There’s a simpler way to confirm if that Demon King is real.”
President said with his usual smile.
“We just need to make an invisibility potion.”
“…Ah.”
“Right, if that really was the Demon King, we could get some of his hair to make the invisibility potion…”
“And if it’s a fake, the potion won’t work! Got it!”
…So, we decided to determine if the Demon King was real by getting some of his hair and making a potion.
This definitely isn’t right, is it!? This feels wrong, doesn’t it!? This isn’t the proper solution, is it!?
With that, President swiftly headed to the basement, and within a minute, he came back with several strands of silver thread-like hair, which were the Demon King’s.
“Should we not ask how you got those?”
“No need to hide it. While I talked to the Demon King and got his permission, Hariu simply took the hair.”
“Yay.”
In other words, almost without permission!
“Is that… okay with the Demon King?”
“Well, he looked resigned once I had a hold of his hair.”
Ah, I feel a bit guilty…
“Well, this settles it.”
And with that, President put the Demon King’s hair in a test tube and concluded. That was quick.
“He’s a fake.”
“…I see.”
…Probably, discovering the fact that ‘the Demon King in the hidden room in the basement is a fake!’ should have involved more exploration. But, well, with President around, it can’t be helped!
“So, what do we do? Maito-san is about to lose it. Should we cut up that grotesque chunk of meat?”
“Yes. Getting permission from the fake Demon King seems troublesome, so let’s just do it.”
And so, the discussion progressed quickly! That was fast.
“Wait. Is this okay? This might be irreversible.”
“We’ll deal with it then!”
“Oh, I just thought, why don’t we block the entrance to the hidden room? That way, we can avoid a battle with the fake Demon King.”
“That’s brutal…”
“Then I’ll weld it shut.”
“Wait, hey, Katori! Don’t rush it! Are you sure about this!?”
Suzumoto tried to stop Katori, who was heading towards the basement.
“Isn’t it fine? Maito is about to lose it.”
…Suzumoto couldn’t argue with that. After all, Maito-san was on the verge of losing it.
“Break it… please, break it… I can’t take it anymore…”
If SAN points were a thing, Maito-san would definitely be experiencing temporary insanity!
“Wow, Maito-san is really in trouble! Okay, I’ll go! I’ll reinforce Katori’s welding with my shadows!”
“Then I’ll reinforce it with earth magic. Hagasaki-san, please reinforce it with ice.”
“Got it.”
…And so, we used our skills to reinforce the door to the hidden room in the basement. It was fun, since we rarely get to use our skills like this outside of combat.
Yes.
Well, to sum up, we worked hard.
How hard? So hard that the fake Demon King couldn’t get out at all!
Katori welded the door shut with ‘Destructive Light’! Hariu materialized shadows to block the entrance! President buried the door in a stone wall with earth magic! Hagasaki-kun froze it solid! I added several layers of light walls! …And so, it was completely fortified. It was like the door never existed. What we saw in front of us was a wall. We might have heard some banging from the hidden room beyond, but it was just our imagination. Just our imagination, right?
“Okay, let’s cut it.”
“Please.”
Suzumoto seemed reluctant, but there was no other choice, so he cut into the grotesque chunk of meat.
At that moment, a tremendous light burst from the meat. Simultaneously, we thought we heard a scream from the hidden room, but it was definitely our imagination. Just our imagination. Right? Just our imagination.
…When the light subsided, there was a beautiful girl with silver hair.
“…A beautiful girl.”
“A beautiful girl…”
“She looks a bit like the Demon King.”
“Oh, Suzumoto, she’s your type, right?”
“Stop saying it like that.”
She had a slender figure, pale complexion, and an overall fragile impression.
The beautiful girl, who vaguely resembled the Demon King, smiled slightly as she looked at us. She was incredibly cute.
“This girl looks a bit like the Demon King. Could she be related to him?”
Maito-san, showing no fear, approached the beautiful girl and greeted her. Fortunately, the beautiful girl seemed to have no hostility, merely smiling a bit more as she sat there.
“Indeed. Regardless of what happened to the fake Demon King, I’m curious about the real Demon King’s whereabouts.”
“The Demon King surely noticed this situation. We need to find him quickly and ask about this hidden child!”
“Wait, is she really a hidden child…?”
Considering how much she resembled the Demon King, she must be. So, we set out to find the Demon King.
We found him almost immediately.
Why? Because the Demon King came to us.
“I’m glad you’re safe…”
The Demon King, coming from outside, met us near the entrance, and his face showed great relief. But I wasn’t fooled by his relieved expression!
“That’s fine, but there’s a hidden child, right?”
“I see. You mean ‘the Angel.'”
“The Angel.”
The Demon King nodded, looking at the state of the basement.
“Ah. This child is a collection of good fragments that accidentally fell into the Abyss, given my power.”
So, the Abyss was a place that gathered bad things to turn them into monsters to maintain the world’s balance. Does that mean good things that accidentally ended up there become this beautiful girl instead of a monster?
“I was surprised to hear ‘hidden child,’ but indeed, she resembles me a bit. It’s inevitable in the process of giving her power. I feel sorry for these children…”
“No, I’m sure they’re happy to look like such a beautiful person.”
I think the Demon King should be more aware of how objectively handsome he is. Yes.
After that, the ‘Angel’ was set free.
The Demon King gave her a bit more power, and she grew wings and a halo, then flew up toward the ceiling of the Abyss. She was enveloped in light and disappeared.
“She disappeared.”
“Yes. That’s fine. Originally, she was a collection of good things, not a living being. She seemed to have a form but didn’t. Even if her form disappeared, she likely returned to the surface.”
…I didn’t quite understand, but it seemed like it was resolved.
As we were coming to terms with that, the Demon King spoke.
“By the way, you all seem to be a bit confused…”
Yes, exactly. That’s the look on our faces. Sorry. I don’t know what other expression to make in a situation like this.
“…Did you, by any chance, hatch the angel without understanding the situation?”
That’s exactly what happened! So I gave a big smile!
“In RPGs, you often skip necessary puzzles and progress the story, only to get confused later. I feel like that right now.”
Yes. We all probably feel that way.
…Apparently, we had made a major decision without obtaining the necessary information.
According to the Demon King, that grotesque chunk of meat was ‘Malice.’
‘Malice’ was supposed to be transformed into a monster and returned to the surface to be consumed, but it went out of control before it could be digested.
Normally, it was sealed by the Demon King’s power, but the seal broke when Malice used magic. The Demon King hadn’t encountered Malice using magic before and couldn’t handle it.
As a result, while the Demon King was creating the angel, Malice gathered power and enveloped the angel, turning into that grotesque chunk of meat.
Meanwhile, the Demon King was flying around the Abyss trying to reseal Malice. During that time, we visited the Demon King’s residence. Malice, having absorbed some of our magic, powered up and created the fake Demon King to contact us. It even created a barrier to prevent the real Demon King from entering the mansion.
So, in conclusion!
This whole incident wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t visited the Demon King’s residence!
…I’m really sorry.
“I knew you were here, so I thought you would find the truth by looking at my notes on ‘Malice’ and ‘the angel’ in my room, investigating what I was doing, or asking the fake me questions it couldn’t answer. But I never expected you to reach the truth without following any of those steps.”
It’s mostly President’s fault!
“Well, it was resolved safely, and I’m glad you’re all okay. Sorry for the trouble.”
The Demon King smiled and thanked us. No punishment for entering his house without permission! Handsome people are so kind-hearted and perfect!
“By the way, didn’t you come here for a reason?”
But! Even if the other party is handsome! We won’t back down! That’s the spirit of the Chemistry Club Extreme Team!
“We want to make an invisibility potion, so could we have a few strands of your hair?”
…And so, after all that, we successfully obtained the ingredients for the invisibility potion!
A handsome person like the Demon King would even give his hair for unclear purposes. I think he should be more cautious, but maybe that’s why he’s so trustworthy. Yeah, that’s it.
“This is surprisingly fun.”
“Just walking around town while invisible is enjoyable.”
“It feels like watching a town walk-through video since no one reacts to you…”
So, we had a lot of fun being invisible.
…But Suzumoto looked troubled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmm? Oh, nothing… It’s just something that’s been bothering me.”
When I asked what it was.
“Who wrote the bloody message on the floor?”
…
The Demon King, after the seal on Malice broke, flew around the Abyss alone to solve it. He wouldn’t need to write messages for anyone.
And afterward, the Demon King was barred from entering his mansion. So, he had no time to write the bloody message.
This means…
“…Is this something we shouldn’t think about?”
…Probably, yes!
So, although some mysteries remained, our strange adventure came to an end.
…But I think.
The message that said ‘I broke the seal of Malice’ was written by Malice itself, using magic.
So, I believe that the bloody message was written by Malice.
…Therefore, I think there was some whimsical goodwill mixed within Malice. It’s like Pandora’s Box, where among the various evils, hope remained at the bottom. Something like that.
And if so, treating it solely as Malice might have been a bit unfair.
So, if we ever encounter a chunk of Malice again… I’ll try to find if there’s any goodwill mixed within.
After all, it seems we were helped by that! Right!