---

Next. The third of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings. The pinnacle of Necromancy. Self-proclaimed ruler of death.

No matter how many times it gets smashed, burned, or purified with holy magic, this tenacious skeleton keeps coming back.

But due to compatibility issues, it’s a weak skeleton that can never win against Alice.

Well, it just so happens that the opponent is Alice, otherwise it would logically be a very threatening fellow.

If the Church of Life’s priests were to face it directly, they wouldn’t be able to guarantee their chances against this formidable foe either.

It specializes in an endless supply of reanimated corpses as its main strategy while simultaneously employing the vicious tactic of raising dead bodies as undead on the spot, undermining morale and power.

Just its appearance on the battlefield carries significant influence.

But sadly for it, the opponent is the Dragon Priestess… um. Thanks to her wide-area purification magic, the undead melt away like snow in springtime.

Wrapped in a thick aura of death that allows it to withstand decent holy magic, this being is nothing compared to the overwhelming power of the holy magic wielded by the Dragon Priestess.

Getting sniped by a magical arrow imbued with divine power that leads to its annihilation happens frequently, and even when it tries to overwhelm with sheer numbers, the area purification sweeps it away too.

It failed to seize the hero even when teaming up with the mage to separate the hero from the Dragon Priestess before she arrived.

To be honest, when measuring solely power, it’s probably the weakest among the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings.

It has indeed faced a lot of humiliation… but despite that, it’s remarkably persistent and never gives up.

If it had used that persistence for good, it might have been quite useful… but as a necromancer, it’s just causing harm, so there’s not much to be done.

Before we talk about the last of the Four Heavenly Kings, let’s take a moment to mention someone who isn’t one of them but is worth mentioning.

The Golden Goblin. The lord of the Goblin Legion. Although it doesn’t belong to the Demon King’s four heavenly kings, it sits just beneath them with immense strength.

Shining golden all over, it’s a bizarre goblin that can manipulate lightning freely.

That peculiar goblin apparently used to be an ordinary goblin, but thanks to a fortunate event, it gained extraordinary power.

The power gained by an ordinary goblin was none other than a fragment of a god.

One of the fragments that turned into a fly fell to the ground and ended up in the hands of a goblin, resulting in that golden goblin.

Of course, the power is still far from that of the god! Even with the ability to control destructive lightning, it’s still just a goblin. It often got carried away with its own power, setting its fellow goblins ablaze in a panic before fleeing.

Nonetheless, containing such destructive lightning caused significant damage to humans.

Still, these days, when a golden goblin is spotted from afar, precautions are already in place to act as lightning rods.

In other words, many lives were lost before such measures were taken.

Anyway, thanks to the precautions put in place, the now manageable Golden Goblin… um. Its ability to escape is nothing to scoff at.

Transforming into lightning and escaping in an instant is beyond the normal means of capture.

Alice almost managed to cut off its escape route, but it fled without sustaining any fatal injuries. A bit frustrating, to be honest.

As for other characteristics… um. Is it because of the god fragment’s influence? Perhaps its lust for women?

Let’s skip over the things that women have unfortunate experiences because of that goblin… ahem.

It seems to have set its sights exclusively on the Dragon Priestess Alice now and isn’t bothering other women…

Well, let’s wrap up with the Golden Goblin at this point.

Now for the final of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings. The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight.

Clad in black armor forged from darkness, wielding a shapeless blade, the knight of terror.

Usually, it remains by the Demon King’s throne, guarding the king… but when it steps onto the battlefield, everyone thinks about fleeing rather than fighting.

Some say, it’s an opponent you can never win against with a sword.

Others say, just looking at it instills fear, breaking one’s will.

Some have said it drains magical power, nullifying magic completely.

The hero Eric said that if it weren’t for his sword, he would have been dead.

With such frightening testimonies flooding in, the Dark Knight was indeed a formidable opponent.

The only fortunate aspect is that it doesn’t leave the Demon King’s side easily, making its appearances on the battlefield incredibly rare.

Even with such limited appearances, it built a reputation for being vicious, and its strength can’t be denied.

It’s no wonder that even the hero Eric, who has gained sufficient experience, had almost no chance of beating it one-on-one.

No, rather, if it weren’t for Alice’s help, the hero’s adventure might have ended there.

Ordinary attacks are shrugged off by its armor, and any magic capable of harming it is nullified by draining magical power while employing swordsmanship skilled enough to easily cut down even battle-hardened knights.

Fortunately, thanks to Alice’s enhancement magic and support, the hero Eric was able to drive back the Dark Knight, which is something to be grateful for, I suppose.

“So, have you thought of a way to capture the Dark Knight?”

“Um… honestly, it feels a bit hopeless.”

Even mobilizing a considerable army would yield little chance of victory.

If it’s magic not used by a mage of Alice’s caliber, there’s a high risk of nullification.

Even Eric, wielding the hero’s sword, wouldn’t find it easy to take the initiative alone.

The only glimmer of hope lies in Alice’s magic, but…

“It’s not easy, I tell you.”

“Um…”

Projectile spells are mostly deflected or cut down, and even magic that creates physical objects is easily chopped down…

“I was even considering just grabbing a staff and going for close combat myself.”

“That could be one way, but…”

It’s true that while she primarily uses magic, Alice has taught Eric swordsmanship and is quite adept at close combat herself.

Additionally, with Sephiroth, who is under an indestructible spell, they could manage close combat effectively.

Close combat now becomes one of the options.

However.

“But I don’t think Eric would be too eager for that.”

“That’s the dilemma.”

Unlike the other Heavenly Kings, Eric harbors a fighting spirit against the Dark Knight.

“While it’s good to have some ambition, getting swept up in such thoughts and forgetting the real goal would be troublesome.”

“What can I do? It’s my first opponent that I couldn’t win against in an outright sword duel!”

Unlike the other Heavenly Kings, the Dark Knight simply wields a sword to confront its opponents.

Eric, hardened as a hero with honed sword skills, certainly had a reason to develop such a spirit.

“Still, that’s helped me think about certain things.”

“Think? What kind of thoughts?”

“Um… it’s a secret. You’ll see later.”

Keeping secrets from me… What is he planning?

It feels a bit ominous, but… well, Alice isn’t lacking in abilities, so it’s probably fine.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Alright… Shall we start our departure?”

“Um.”

Hero Eric and the Dragon Priestess Alice decisively revealed their resolve as they looked at the faintly visible Demon King’s castle and released the barrier that had hidden them.

On their journey here, they faced many battles, saved many souls, and defeated countless foes.

Things they couldn’t have accomplished alone; it was at the destination they could reach only by combining their hearts and powers.

At the story’s end, they finally arrived.

“Though I might say, you could have reached here on your own.”

“No! I shouldn’t be breaking the fourth wall at such a crucial moment!”

“But it’s important to touch on things like that. While Eric has grown significantly during this journey, this is a place you could have easily reached alone.”

In fact, coming along with Eric took more time than it would have otherwise.

“Honestly. God has no understanding of the human heart! What’s the point of shattering such a crucial atmosphere with just one word?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“If you ask anyone else, they’d all say you were at fault!”

Hmm… Is it really that severe?

While I agree that the more ups and downs there are, the more dramatic and interesting the story becomes!

“Anyway! I’ll be entering with Eric! Just watch quietly!”

“Okay. I’ll observe everything and record it to pass on. Your story will be told for a long time to come.”

“Okay! That’s a promise! I!”

Thus, Alice advanced towards the Demon King’s castle alongside Eric.

“However… calling it a castle feels too natural for an architectural structure…”

“I agree. It doesn’t look like it was made by someone.”

“That’s because it was originally a naturally formed mountain.”

The castle was completed after various monsters dug into and frequented the mountain that rose from the earth.

With their forms masked by magic, Eric and Alice carefully approached the Demon King’s castle.

In preparation for their battle with the Demon King, they avoided fighting as much as possible to conserve their strength. Using stealth magic, they moved towards where the Demon King is believed to be.

As they advanced through the inside of the Demon King’s castle without agitating other monsters, they finally reached the room where the throne was thought to be.

 

---