“Wall Creation!”
In my panic, I tried to use a skill by calling its name aloud.
Fortunately, if I had a clear intent and stated the skill name, it seemed to work. I was glad it didn’t go to waste.
I could feel the exhaustion building up again in my body as my magical power was depleted, but I didn’t have the luxury to worry about that.
How much magic power have I recovered?
The forked path used up 5 points, but the indicator was still dim.
So at most, I must have only recovered up to 4 points.
If I fainted from magic exhaustion while being chased, I might never wake up again.
“Damn it! I shouldn’t have looked!”
For now, I just kept running deeper into the dungeon.
I left just enough strength to keep running and used everything else to block the beastmen’s path.
There was no room for holding back. This was no trivial threat like that lizard.
I wasn’t just making an unfounded assumption.
I had seen it. When I touched the icon representing those beastmen, I saw what looked like their stats.
Ido: Magic: 90, Strength: 120, Technique: 85, Resilience: 120, Agility: 99 Myriam: Magic: 99, Strength: 42, Technique: 83, Resilience: 55, Agility: 90 Lavisse: Magic: 67, Strength: 85, Technique: 63, Resilience: 65, Agility: 99 Grant: Magic: 52, Strength: 99, Technique: 31, Resilience: 99, Agility: 67
Each one of them had a stat at 99, which I assumed to be the maximum.
But Ido had two stats at 120.
These were not opponents I could hope to defeat.
If they wanted, they could kill me in seconds.
“Damn it! Another wall? I’m going to kill that demon!”
That must mean they’ve already broken through the first wall.
I had no choice but to keep creating walls as I fled deeper.
However, since I’d already created two walls, I risked losing consciousness if I kept going.
“I have to keep running!”
I ran wildly.
Somewhere along the way, I must have regained some magic power, as I was able to create two more walls after they broke through.
But this was as far as I could go…
I had used up 4 magic points. The same amount as the first time I passed out.
I was barely conscious, either because I had recovered some magic over time or because the fear of death kept me awake.
“You lowly pest, you’ve given me more trouble than I expected.”
The tiger-like beastman pointed his sword at me, visibly irritated at his inability to control me as he had planned.
I hate this… That sword looks so sharp, and being cut by it would definitely hurt…
I ran with everything I had. I used my magic carefully to buy time, but this was the end of the line.
Here, even the faint hope I clung to vanished completely. I had no choice but to give up on everything.
“What are you doing here?”
Maybe that’s why, in that voice, I felt beauty before I felt fear.
“… What are you doing here?”
The beastmen no longer paid any attention to me.
Instead, they stared intently at the beautiful silver-haired woman, whose hair had a hint of blue in it.
“A Demon King should wait on their throne, don’t you think?”
The rabbit beastman’s voice trembled, even as she spoke flippantly.
Demon King… The one the goddess had tasked me with defeating, the one who made the game absurdly difficult.
“It doesn’t matter where we fight! If we kill her here, we can claim the honor of defeating the Demon King ourselves!”
Unlike the hesitant beastmen, only the tiger beastman stood firm.
His voice seemed to rouse his comrades, and they steeled themselves to face the Demon King.
…They looked like heroes.
If that were true, then the tiger beastman must be Ido, the one with two stats at 120.
“First human heroes, and now beastman heroes… You don’t seem interested in talking, do you?”
“If you’re begging for mercy, don’t expect any! And don’t call us heroes. In the beastman kingdom, we call ourselves the strongest warriors!”
The strongest warrior, Ido, slashed at the Demon King.
The wolf beastman Lavisse tried to distract her with his speed, the rabbit Myriam attacked from a distance with magic, and the bear Grant swung his massive arms to crush her alongside Ido.
Based on their names and stats, I was sure of each beastman’s identity.
They had tried to kill me. But at the very least, I would remember their names…
…as the one who witnessed their end.
In an instant, it was over.
The Demon King raised her hand towards them, and in a flash, they were reduced to ashes.
It was unsurprising. Rather, it was inevitable.
Fiona Sylvana: Magic: 9999, Strength: 9999, Technique: 9999, Resilience: 9999, Agility: 9999
The icon deep in the dungeon must have marked the Demon King’s location.
When I touched that icon, I had seen her stats, and there was no chance of the beastmen winning.
“…This is annoying. Maybe I should just seal the entrance.”
Even though it only took an instant, the Demon King’s voice sounded oddly weary after facing the strongest warriors of the beastmen.
As for me, I was frozen, not knowing what to do, unable to take a single step.
Because of that, my eyes met the Demon King’s.
“Are you… a demon? I’ve never seen you before.”
This was bad… I wanted her to think I was a fellow demon, but now she was suspicious?
“In fact, I exterminated every other demon. I’m certain I didn’t miss anyone… so, are you a reincarnator?”
It seemed the goddess had sent more than a few people into this world if the term reincarnator came so readily to her mind.
Curse that goddess! She’s been doing this to others, too? Multiple times?
“Do you want to defeat me?”
This was bad. I was going to end up as her enemy.
If that happened, I would end up like the beastmen.
I had to say something…!
“I…”
“?”
“You said you wanted to seal the entrance, right? I can do it in an instant!”
Start with what I can offer.
The Demon King could probably do it more easily, but sealing an entrance was all I could do.
If I could prove useful, maybe she would spare me… maybe she’d think it convenient to keep me alive…
“You don’t look very strong.”
“I may not be strong, but I can do this instantly with my skill!”
“…Ah, so it’s one of those powers reincarnators have.”
If she knew even this, the goddess must really have sent a lot of people here.
“Alright, give it a try.”
“Y-Yes!!”
As I responded, I felt myself lifted and hurtling backwards through the dungeon at breakneck speed.
Apparently, the Demon King was carrying me at an incredible speed.
In an instant, we were at the dungeon entrance. But… I felt sick…
No, puking here might get me killed. I had to hold it in.
“…”
Suppressing my nausea, I touched the menu.
The wall creation skill worked perfectly, and a wall appeared to block the entrance.
The Demon King looked slightly surprised as she watched.
“…That’s convenient.”
“Then… would you consider letting me serve you, Demon King?”
“…Are you serious?”
“I-I’m serious!”
I’d probably die if I didn’t.
Not that she’d kill me—this world had no place for me.
Both the beastmen and the Demon King saw me as a demon.
The beastmen had tried to kill me, and the humans had come after the Demon King.
Meaning demons were likely despised by every race.
If that was the case, I’d die just wandering outside alone.
Damn that goddess. She reincarnated me as a demon, then called it a “bad draw!”
So, my best chance of survival was to serve the ultimate boss who made this world so dangerous!
“I am the Demon King, you know?”
“I am a demon!”
“My forces were wiped out, and everyone in the world sees me as an enemy.”
“I don’t!”
“…Really? It’ll be a tough life.”
Did her… aura of authority just fade?
Her voice suddenly sounded unmotivated and lazy.
“I-It’s fine…”
“Alright. Then, let’s start by fixing the dungeon. The heroes made a mess of it, and I was at my wits’ end.”
It looked like I managed to pass the initial trial period.
I’d just have to try hard not to lose my head—literally.
