A single massive battleship arrives in the territory of the Banfield family.

The one dancing in ecstasy on the bridge was Nias, who was reading data from the monitor.

Her eyes sparkled as she was moved by the magnificence of the battleship she herself had created.

"It's incredible! I want to show up those fools who mocked the theoretical values! Look at this data! It's producing numbers that exceed all expectations! The energy conversion efficiency is extraordinary. And this output! There's no better battleship than this. Ah, my own talent scares me."

Watching Nias rub her cheek against the monitor were the soldiers who had come to receive Liam's battleship.

They were the elites entrusted with Liam's battleship.

In other words, the cream of the crop.

The weapons factory staff were fed up with her ecstatic display, but they didn't slack off on their own work.

"Does this person even understand the current situation?"
"She's a prime example of how personality and talent aren't proportional."
"Hey, she's rolling around on the floor. Someone stop her."

It was unbearable to watch.

However, it was no wonder Nias was so excited.

Because it was demonstrating performance that surpassed all expectations.

However, its owner was still absent.

Then—Nias's movements stopped.

For what must have been the umpteenth time, Nias tilted her head as she looked at the battleship's data.

"Oh? It's picking up a distress signal. It's quite far, but to think it can pick up something like this... my child is amazing. Mother will praise you."

She called the battleship her child and spoke to it as its mother.

At this point, no one around her said anything.

But the captain stood up, pushed Nias aside, and glued himself to the monitor.

Nias fell and yelped, "Fugya!" but no one paid her any mind.

"This distress signal is—hey, contact the capital immediately! Gather all allies within communication range!"

At the captain's words, the bridge erupted into a flurry of activity.

◇

Nogo, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had been defeated.

The Demon Lord sitting on the throne in the Demon Lord's Castle—[Gorius]—was a flickering flame that had taken human form.

Two sharp points of light served as his eyes.

Gorius did not eat.

To be more precise, he feasted on negative emotions like malice, despair, and fear.

Upon learning that the beastman to whom he had granted power had been defeated, this Demon Lord Gorius looked vexed.

"So this is the extent of a beastman's power."

He had subjugated the beastmen in order to inflict terror upon the humans.

But he had planned to kill his subordinates eventually anyway.

He was merely acting efficiently to gather negative energy from the ever-increasing human population.

His subordinates stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please give me the next opportunity!"
"No, I am the one!"
"Oh, but I would be a better—"

The subordinates he had gathered were all clamoring to torment the humans in Nogo's place.

Gorius was fed up.

(I've grown tired of manipulating these low-level fools. I wish I could just hurry up and conquer the entire world.)

In the past, he had been defeated by heroes many times.

But the current Gorius had spent long years reviving and accumulating power.

Humans would fight amongst themselves even if left alone.

That negative energy became Gorius's power.

(It's all just a game anyway. Even if a hero appears, they cannot defeat me now. For I—am already a being that has surpassed the Demon Lord.)

As an intangible being, physical attacks were meaningless against Gorius.

Just as he was thinking of killing his subordinates and plunging the humans into terror himself—a blood-soaked giant stumbled into the audience chamber of the Demon Lord's Castle.

"M-My Lord—the beastmen have betrayed us. Led by the hero, they have stormed the castle."

With those words, he breathed his last.

The Demon Lord's eyes narrowed into crescent moons.

"Hoh—so he's come to take my head. What an impatient hero."

◇

The royal castle of the Aarl Kingdom.

Queen Enora was troubled by Liam's actions, having marched off so quickly.

The senior vassals were continuing their meeting in the audience chamber.

"To march on the Demon Lord's Castle without permission is unthinkable!"

"Why does he not seek our aid?!"

To subjugate the Demon Lord, their help would surely be necessary.

That's what they thought, but Liam hadn't counted on the Aarl Kingdom's military strength from the very beginning.

After resting for a few days, he took the beastmen and headed for the Demon Lord's Castle.

And with a small force of less than a hundred people, at that.

According to Liam, "Marching with a large army is pointless."

Unable to secure water and food, he had to leave a large number of beastmen behind.

Enora's worry was about the heads that had been delivered before Liam's departure.

The heads of the ministers and generals who had attempted to assassinate Liam were delivered by his attendant.

Everyone was left speechless.

According to that attendant—Kunai—"You are not worthy of trust. When this is all over, you had best be prepared."

Kunai added, as if it were an afterthought.

That to rescue Liam, his comrades were already on their way to the Aarl Kingdom.

(A 'planet'? She used some words I didn't understand, but she said they would definitely come.)

If Liam's people, who use such strange magic, were to come, a response as a nation would be required.

Originally, they had intended to cooperate in the subjugation of the Demon Lord and build a friendly relationship.

However, due to Liam's selfish actions and those who carried out the assassination without Enora's knowledge, they had fallen into an irreversible situation.

"What do we do? If Lord Liam's country makes a move and comes to take him back, it will be war."
"There's no precedent for this. It's impossible."
"But what if their magic surpasses ours?"

Enora glanced sideways at Shitasan, the user of summoning magic.

"Shitasan, is there any possibility that Lord Liam's country could come to this one?"

"Your Majesty, that is impossible. That summoning magic is for calling forth individuals capable of defeating the Demon Lord from many worlds. It is a one-way street; sending them back is impossible. That attendant was merely bluffing."

Hearing that, they were relieved.

But at the same time, she thought.

(What a cruel magic. To just bring them here and not be able to send them back.)

When she thought of Kanami, her heart ached.

Enora may have been a failure as a queen, but as an individual, she was likely a good person.

Into the chaotic meeting, a single soldier came running.

"T-Terrible news! The Demon Lord's army is upon us!"

News arrived that the Demon Lord's army had attacked the Aarl Kingdom in Liam's absence.

◇

—The Demon Lord's Castle.

The executives and soldiers who opposed him were all cut down by the invading Liam.

Watching this, the Demon Lord Gorius showed interest in the sword Liam held.

"The material of that weapon is orichalcum, isn't it."

"You know your stuff."

The sword Liam usually carried as a spare was made of orichalcum.

In this world, it was an extremely precious item.

But to Liam, it was nothing more than one piece in his collection.

Facing Liam, Gorius was certain of his victory.

"For a human, you've done well to gather it. I'll praise you for that. I don't know how you processed it, but when pushed, humans can do good work. —However, with just that, you cannot defeat me."

Liam was looking at Gorius.

But in the next moment, the back of the throne Gorius had been sitting on was sliced off.

Seeing Liam twitch an eyebrow, he writhed as if laughing.

"Are you surprised you can't cut me? I have no physical form."

He didn't know how Liam had managed to cut him, but neither physical nor magical attacks had any effect on Gorius.

Even sacred magic of average power couldn't leave a single scratch.

Gorius stood up.

"How pitiful. A sword of orichalcum forged by humans, and swordsmanship beyond human comprehension. How much time did they spend preparing a human like you? —But it's all meaningless."

As he approached Liam, Gorius's body grew larger.

A black flame took human form before Liam.

And then, Gorius looked down on Liam.

"Everything—yes, everything is meaningless! Do you know what sustains me?"

Liam, perhaps irritated at being looked down upon, furrowed his brow and looked up at Gorius.

"Not interested."

"Kukuku, such a bold attitude. But I look forward to seeing how long you can keep talking like that!"

He swung his fist, and the wall of the Demon Lord's Castle beyond it was blown away.

"Hoh, you dodged that?"

However, Liam was dodging Gorius's attacks.

He was still looking up.

Seeing Liam like this, Gorius's mood improved—he would teach him despair.

"I have fought heroes many times."

"Is that so."

Liam was unfazed, but Gorius continued speaking cheerfully.

"I have been defeated many times, and each time I revive. In other words, I—am immortal."

Even when he revealed his immortality, Liam remained unmoved.

He must be thinking about how to defeat me.

"You're thinking of a way to defeat me, aren't you? But it's impossible for you. Neither swordsmanship nor magic works on me. Because I am a mass of malice!"

"Malice, you say?"

"Yes! I am malice itself! As long as negative energy exists, I will revive again and again! No matter how many times you humans try to defeat me, I will only return even stronger. Swords, magic, all attacks cannot reach this body! Even if defeated, I will be reborn! Do you know why? —It is because as long as you humans exist, I can never be destroyed!"

He clasped his hands together and attacked Liam as if swinging down a hammer.

A hole opened in the floor, and the Demon Lord's Castle began to crumble, but Gorius paid it no mind.

He swung his fists at the fleeing Liam.

"As long as you humans exist, I will not perish!"

Gorius's fist was about to catch Liam, but he was dodged at the last second.

He aimed a kick at the spot where Liam had fled.

"As long as you are here, I will revive any number of times!"

As the Demon Lord's Castle turned into a pile of rubble, Gorius shouted to the heavens.

"Because I am evil itself!"

Gorius laughed boisterously, but hundreds—no, thousands of slashes flew into his flickering flames, mincing him for a brief moment.

However, he revived immediately.

"Hoh, you still haven't given up?"

Liam was unharmed.

"You may have trained to defeat me, but with orichalcum, you cannot even touch me. It was all for naught."

However, there was something that bothered Gorius.

(Why hasn't he suffered a single scratch?)

Liam was completely unscathed.

And yet, he was looking down, as if irritated.

"You are evil? —Don't underestimate humans!"

Gorius would be left speechless by the words Liam was about to utter.

◇

What's so evil about you.

You're just being fed by the negative energy of humans, yet you act as if you're their master?

On this planet, there's probably no one who can defy this guy.

But! —You've underestimated humans far too much.

"You've underestimated the very humans who are sustaining you."

"—What did you say?"

Shouldering my sword, I glanced at the bracelet on my left arm.

"As long as we humans exist, you can revive as many times as you want—which means you can't live without us humans."

When the Demon Lord fell silent, I looked up at the sky.

The ceiling had collapsed, revealing a sky full of stars.

"A puny existence like you probably can't understand, but the most evil being in this world isn't you—it's humans!"

"What are you talking about?"

You've probably only ever dealt with weak humans.

You don't understand anything.

It seems you don't understand that human society exists outside this planet.

"You can't even conquer a single star, and you call yourself evil?! The number of humans you've killed doesn't even amount to a fraction of the number I've killed!"

How many do you think I've killed?

How many have I destroyed?

I've killed so many it's a pain to even count.

From my perspective, a Demon Lord is nothing more than a local bully who thinks he's hot stuff.

The king of the monkey mountain.

"Does the number of humans you've killed reach a hundred million?"

"—It should be in the tens of millions. In the first place, there aren't hundreds of millions of humans in this world."

You've revived so many times, and that's all?

"They exist. They do. There are hundreds of billions—no, even more. And I—am a man who has killed hundreds of millions of people."

I've slaughtered pirates and enemies who defied me.

I am hated by many.

I am the evil one. I am the wicked one.

A small-fry Demon Lord like you has no right to call himself evil!

"Can you hear the voices of the dead? If you can, then listen—and find out just how cruel a man I am."

This guy seems like a ghost-type, so he can probably hear the voices of the dead.

If he hears the voices of the humans who hate me, he's sure to be surprised.

"W-What did you say?!"

The yellow lights that served as the Demon Lord's eyes went wide in astonishment.

Tossing my sword aside, I raised my right hand to the sky.

"A small fry like you has no right to call himself evil! Only humans are allowed to claim that title. That's right, I am the evil one! —Ellen, give me my sword!"

Then, a shooting star—no, Avid descended from the sky.

The Demon Lord was shocked as it landed beside me, blowing away what was left of his castle.

"W-w-w-what is this? What is this thing?! What in the world is it?!"

Peeking out from the cockpit of Avid, which now looked down on the Demon Lord, was Ellen, holding my sword.

"Master!"

What Ellen threw to me was my most favorite sword.

The hilt flew into my raised hand as if drawn by a magnet.

I gripped it tightly and drew it from its sheath.

"Rejoice, so-called Demon Lord. I'll bury you with my favorite sword. I'll erase you so completely you can never revive again."

I'll cut down this delusional bastard.

Brian (´；ω；｀): "Lord Liam is in a pinch... a pinch? In any case, this is painful."