"Lady Koai, this is terrible! The mansion is surrounded by demon soldiers!!"

A betrayal? I realized it immediately, but I was surprisingly calm, if I do say so myself.
Perhaps one gets used to it after experiencing it so many times. Such is the nature of demons (people), I suppose.

The ringleader is either Kutyuruk or Ankuu. Considering their posts and abilities, it's likely one of them.

Hmph, if you don't strike me down, your rebellion is meaningless.
I muttered quietly beneath my iron mask, waiting for the ringleader.

"—So, you've come. Is it Kutyuruk? Ankuu? Or someone else?"
"It's me. I'm the one who did it."
A tall, skinny man with patches of reddish skin exposed stepped forward and announced himself.

"I've grown tired of being used by you."
"...Lady Koai, I will be siding with Kutyuruk."
A man of impressive build, clad head-to-toe in gleaming black armor, followed in a low voice.
The tall Kutyuruk and the armored warrior Ankuu walked side-by-side, boldly approaching the throne.

Oh? So both of you are in on this.

While slightly angered by the treason, I also felt a sense of joy, anticipating an all-out battle. A deep part of my body ached. It had been a long time, and it felt good.
"Kutyuruk and Ankuu, and soldiers outside as well... In that case, I won't hold back."

Kutyuruk laughed derisively as he punched a hole in the wall.
"Too bad for you. You're gonna kick the bucket without even being able to use your power properly. Take a look outside."
Feeling a bit of displeasure at Kutyuruk's sneering laugh, I glanced outside.

Are those... Kutyuruk's kin... and humans?

Kutyuruk... he wasn't the kind of man to side with humans, nor one to wear such a hideous smile... What could have changed him?
This man, despite his flippant remarks... used to be a cheerful man who purely wished for strength, running about in search of victory. He used to be a refreshing man who would look me and the other powerful ones straight in the eye, stealing our combat techniques to build his own skill.

"Apparently, if you borrow the power of both the demon ancestors (gods) and the human gods... you can seal away most of your opponent's power, even if that opponent is you."
"So you turn your blade on me, relying on human cunning?"
"Yeah, and I've prepared a secret art just for that."

I was utterly dumbfounded. A loyal vassal I had fought alongside for so long I couldn't recall if it was decades or centuries. That's what I had thought of him—but to him, it seems I was of less worth than a human who helped him just once.

As I mulled it over... even resisting started to feel like a chore.
However, that was no reason not to fight them.

"The rest of you, stand back..."

"Now, show me this so-called secret art."
"Of course, that's the plan."
Kutyuruk took a red stone from his breast pocket, and clenching it tightly, began to chant.

"Come, come, come."
"To purge the defilement."
"Come, O guardian, come."
"So that we do not lose paradise (the star). 'Welsta Gradi Flames' (Vortex Flame Sword)."

I would take Kutyuruk's spell, the phenomenon it would invoke, head-on.
And after that, I would crush them.

That was what I thought.

After the chant, a glowing red vortex shot from Kutyuruk's palm and enveloped me. But the heat and power it should have brought did not reach me at all.

With something of this level, you think you can... me?

"Is this some kind of joke?"
Dumbfounded, I bit my fingertip, drawing blood... and tried to invoke a blood art.
However.

"Alright! It worked!"
Nothing happened. My blood wouldn't move.

"Heheh, you fell for it! You can't do a thing, can you!"
"...How terrifying."

I tried recalling my magic power and chanting.

"O wind, be my blade, 'Air Slash' (Gale Sword)."
My magic power should have materialized as a sharp blade of wind, but.

"Kuh!? ...Ah, that scared me."
"Nothing happened to you. Calm down, Kutyuruk."
Nothing happened. My magic didn't activate.

"...What is the meaning of this?"
"It's just as Ursula said... I don't really get it, so Ankuu, you explain."

"With a spell that combines the power of the gods and our own, we have increased the boundaries of the world. Lady Koai now exists, so to speak... outside of this world."
"So basically, you can't exist outside of that vortex anymore."

"A seal, in other words."

It seems there was nothing I could do.
If this was my fate... then it couldn't be helped.

"In that case, let me offer you a single piece of advice."
"Hmm... I'll listen, for now."

"The fact that you could suppress even me by combining your powers means that, later, they can do whatever they want with the likes of you. You would do well to remember that."

Kutyuruk's reaction was faint.
"Hah, is that all? I believe in Ursula... in that girl, and in the humans she believes in."
"...And I believe in the you who says that."

I see. A woman.

Kutyuruk had a completely slack-jawed expression. He wasn't a man who made such a pathetic face.
Ankuu was facing Kutyuruk. Looking at his face, was he perhaps a little exasperated? Even so, for me, who was betrayed for Kutyuruk's sake, it was of no concern.

Still, it was a set of values I could never understand. I had lived for a long time. I had seen many races, subjugated the demons, and lived by slaughtering many.
As a life born with intelligence, I should have known almost everything there was to know in this world, and had almost everything at my whim. The fact that someone like me couldn't understand, even in the slightest, something so familiar to them until the very end—that leaves a small impression on my heart, perhaps.

Lonely, I sat upon my throne... and without believing in anyone, I closed off my own consciousness.

......................................................................................................................................................................................................

"What are we supposed to do with this? We can't even scratch her, let alone take her head."
"...Magic has no effect on her either..."

"How about we go back for now and ask that girl?"
"Yeah, let's do that. It'll be a victory report, too!"

......................................................................................................................................................................................................

Suddenly, I felt a sensation, as if a fog that had been clinging to my entire body had cleared.

A while after that, I came to and found myself sitting on a very familiar throne.

What in the world is going on?

"S-Someone wearing a lot of layers just appeared..."
"What should we do, Miina-chan? A demon (person)? Their build looks like it, but we can't see their face because of the mask."
Where the voices came from, two small girls who appeared to be demon children stood bewildered. Their manner of speaking was a bit mature for their youthful appearance. Their pale ears were pointed upwards.
In other words, the girls had the appearance of typical Suimazoku (Green Demon) girls, the kind you might find anywhere near a forest.

"W...ait..."
"Eek!? It talked!?"

I tried to speak, but I couldn't get the words out properly. Is my body weakened? Have my other powers waned as well? Well, I'll figure that out in due time.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
"W...ait..."

The girls fled outside through the hole in the wall, a somewhat ominous-looking opening.
But I couldn't chase after them. My body wouldn't move as I wished, but more than that, I simply couldn't muster the energy to even think of giving chase.

The area was dominated by a clear silence. Right now, there was probably no one else nearby besides the girls who had just fled.

For now, I kept my body's movements to a minimum, only moving my gaze. Around me, I could only see the worn-out interior of what I assumed was once... the familiar layout of the throne room.

First, I should probably check the situation, at least what's outside the room. I thought so, but... I didn't want to move.

In any case, this world is a pain. I don't even know why I think that.

I feel sluggish. I'll just stay seated for now.
Sluggish.

────At some point, I think I fell asleep.
How long had I been sleeping? I don't know. I don't know, but I feel like I really should get moving soon. There's no guarantee those girls from before won't bring back hostiles.

However, my body refused.

In stark contrast to when the girls were here, the sensations in my body were clear. So it shouldn't be that I'm completely unable to move. But my senses were telling me: I don't want to move, I don't want to work.

But my thoughts... they don't feel bad. I feel like I might come up with something soon.

Hmm... yes, I've got it.
It's been a while, but I'll perform an 'Other-God Summoning'. For the time being, I'll have the summoned one do the work. If it goes well, I won't have to move, and it will also be an opportunity to measure the current quality and quantity of my magic power.

I took off one of my gloves and bit the pad of my finger. Blood seeped onto the skin. My blood connected with the outside world.

I commanded the blood on my fingertip. Draw the summoning circle (pentagram) I imagined on the floor at my feet, just as I envisioned it.

When I held out my hand, blood began to trickle from the tip of my finger. The crimson fluid slowly and deliberately formed the summoning circle, as if that was its natural state.
The bleeding from my finger had already stopped. Exactly the right amount of blood had been lost to form the circle, no more, no less.

So far, so good. It seems I at least have enough magic power left to control my own blood at will.
I was careful not to enter the ring formed by the blood... not that I had even stood up from the throne, but in any case, I raised my left hand high and pointed my finger toward the summoning circle.

And then,

"mgthathunhuag La-la!!"

I uttered a spell in a language different from this world's, one that I still remembered for some reason, though I had no idea where I had learned it.

The red summoning circle lost its color.
The summoning circle absorbed the surrounding colors and light, dyeing itself a lusterless, dark hue.........

The darkness further encroached upon the surrounding space, and soon everything but me sank into the deep, deep gloom────

And after that, there was light.