I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Holy Being (3)

The Emperor of the Kilvus Empire and the Pope of the Holy Nation.

Their meeting began at the elder's residence in the elves' village.

The five elders of the elves' village did not meddle in the meeting; they simply watched silently from the side.

Even if one side was swept away by an unfavorable opinion, the elders never tried to intervene or protect them.

They just silently watched as the Pope of the Holy Nation raised his voice in indignation.

The format of the meeting was nearly identical to the discussions that Bellain and Tyrone had had with the special task force.

The Holy Nation's side tried to shift all responsibility onto the empire, but the Emperor refuted every argument using all the information obtained so far.

He had already received all relevant information from the special task force.

As the Pope grew frustrated and shouted at the elders, asking what they were doing, they still only observed in silence.

Still, the Pope refused to give up, asserting that without evidence, nothing could be done—but even that did not work.

Within the special task force, there existed the only human who could control the small spirits invented by Ferus.

Everything the spirit's eyes captured—both the state of this village and the conversations—had all been recorded.

When the Emperor projected those recorded videos into the air, the Pope was left speechless.

Therefore, the meeting proceeded even more quietly.

"Khk...."

Meanwhile, while the higher-ups held their meeting, Bellain was receiving treatment at the village's medical facility.

Although most of the village had been scorched, the medical facility, fortunately, had survived.

"Urgh...!"

During treatment, Bellain let out a groan of pain.

In fact, it was more akin to a reconstruction procedure than actual treatment.

This was because it was a surgery to reattach the arm that had been severed by Louis.

"Are you all right?"

"The process of reconnecting the nerves hurts more than I expected!"

Tyrone, seated beside him, expressed concern for Bellain.

He had decided to replace his severed arm with a prosthetic.

As he was currently the Hero responsible for all the Holy Nation's combat power, losing an arm would mean too great a loss in strength.

Once the procedure was finished, Bellain had to rest for a while.

As he lay resting, someone approached and greeted him.

"Hey, uncle. How's your arm?"

Louis spoke cheekily, and Bellain, who had been resting comfortably, scowled at him.

"Did you forget who caused all this?"

"Uh...."

Louis looked thoughtfully at his arm, now replaced by a prosthetic, and then, after a delayed realization, exclaimed:

"Aha! It was because of me!"

"That's right, you monster! Why does someone like you even exist in this world? You never should have been born!"

"Uncle, that's a bit harsh."

"Did I say anything wrong? And why am I your 'uncle', anyway?"

The fact that Louis was laughing after having caused this to his arm made Bellain, as the victim, all the more incensed.

"By the way, do you know how the big shots' meeting is going? I'm peeking in on the situation through the small spirits, and everything's going smoothly."

"...."

Hearing this, Bellain's expression hardened, and Tyrone likewise asked anxiously:

"How's it going?"

"Isn't it obvious? You probably already know from experience, don't you?"

So the refutations they had received from Louis were now being used by the Emperor against the Pope.

It was clear how this would end.

"What kind of trick did you pull?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did you manage to leave all those countless records?"

"Oh, those?"

The videos contained in those records could also be watched by Bellain and Tyrone:

from the elders babbling about the true nature of this village to the conversations they themselves had had with the elders upon arrival.

If revealed to the world, the records would shake not just the Holy Nation, but the entire continent.

They had nearly had a heart attack the first time they saw those videos.

"It's certainly possible to leave records using spirits or magitech devices... but only at a small scale."

"Yeah, the maximum is like, what, a minute or two?"

The maximum video length was only one or two minutes.

Such was the current limitation of magic and magitechnology in this era.

If you wanted to record more, the only method was live transmission.

Of course, as soon as the broadcast ended, the recording would automatically vanish, as the file size—the record—was too great.

"I see you suffer a lot due to lack of storage."

"But how did you manage the impossible?"

"I doubt even the empire's technology could do it."

How had he forcibly increased the storage capacity?

The answer did not lie in magitechnology, but in Louis himself.

Because of Louis, the scholars had dared to attempt what had previously been impossible.

"Wanna know?"

"...."

"...."

Though they didn't respond, both men wore unmistakably eager expressions.

Anyone could tell they wanted to know.

"In that case, do me a favor."

"A favor?"

"Actually, that's the reason I came here."

As Louis spoke, Rio appeared beside him.

"To be precise, it's her favor, though."

Rio stared intently at Bellain.

"Ooh...."

If she was the girl, that meant she was the young girl who always followed that monster, Louis.

Though technically adversaries, Bellain thought she was a rather pretty girl—and it was a shame she was on the other side.

"You know who she is, right?"

"T-the Demon King?!"

Tyrone exclaimed in shock.

Ah, yes. On consideration, this girl was the one destined to become the Demon King.

That made Bellain feel all the more regret.

"Don't just think of her as the Demon King. For now, she's the Demon King fighting for humanity in place of the Hero."

"What a preposterous turn of roles that is!"

Were all the special task force members like this?

No wonder the empire had assigned them to the 7th Legion.

It was to make things difficult for the Holy Nation if it tried to find fault with them.

Of course, now it might be the reverse.

"Anyway, please do this friend a favor."

Looking him straight in the eye, Rio said:

"Uncle, fight me."

"What?"

What was this, a random declaration of battle?

Bellain snorted in disbelief.

"Turns out your true nature really is that of the Demon King. When you should be seeking reconciliation, you start a fight instead."

"May I ask why?"

Tyrone asked cautiously, to which Louis replied:

"She went through some changes while asleep and wants to try them out."

"Aren't you taking Sir Bellain too lightly? You should know how powerful he is, right?"

After all, he was someone who still possessed a Swordmaster's power.

Although it wasn't his own, and he didn't fully know how to wield it, that power was certainly real.

"That's why she's asking. So, will you do it?"

As Bellain and Tyrone hesitated, Rio looked disappointed and teased:

"Uncle, are you scared?"

At that moment, Bellain responded with a face full of anger.

"Give me just one hour. I'll be fully recovered by then."

And so, one hour later, Bellain and Rio climbed a steep hill and drew their blades.

"No one will get caught in the crossfire here. Ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Just so you know, I won't be holding back. Now that I have a new arm, I'm eager to test its strength."

In other words: he was aiming to kill.

Even sensing this, Rio nodded calmly.

"I don't mind."

"In that case...."

In the blink of an eye, Bellain kicked off the ground and approached.

In a flash, he closed the distance and unsheathed his blade.

Rio, seeing the semicircular trajectory, lowered her head.

The boulder forming the cliff behind her was instantly sliced, but Rio paid no mind and counterattacked.

Kaang!—

Bellain blocked Rio's swinging blade, but was forced back by the recoil.

"Urgh!"

Bellain was startled by the power—much stronger than expected.

He had thought she was just a reckless, arrogant girl, but the truth was the opposite.

She was boldly challenging him because she truly possessed that level of skill.

"This won't do."

Assessing her power, Bellain gripped his blade tighter.

He picked up speed and struck at Rio's crown.

"Kh!"

Rio barely managed to block it, but her arm trembled.

Their auras clashed, creating a powerful shockwave.

Bellain continued to aim heavy downward slashes at Rio's head.

As the forceful blows rained down, Rio began to show signs of struggling.

Once, she wouldn't have been able to withstand it at all, and would've dropped her sword.

Yes, that would have been the case—once.

Kwaang!—

But suddenly, Rio knocked aside his strike.

"What the—!"

Bellain was stunned as his sword was knocked away.

At the same time, Rio's eyes glowed red, and the blade was enveloped with red aura.

And blood-formed sword energy swirled around Rio's blade.

"That's the power of the Demon King...!"

Bellain immediately shrouded his blade with aura, taking a defensive stance.

And as the red sword energy hurtled toward him, Bellain was left stupefied.

The sword he held was shattered like candy.

He managed to block some of it, but in the end, the blade couldn't withstand the force.

Bellain was forced to turn his body aside to dodge.

The extended red sword energy shot straight into the sky, splitting a cloud in half.

Just how far had it gone?

The sword energy, reaching past the distant horizon, was now beyond sight.

'Just how many kilometers did that travel?'

As he wondered, Rio's blade was poised at Bellain's neck.

"Wanna keep going?"

"...."

Bellain could fight no longer.

It was a humiliating result, but this fight was clearly his loss.

"Hey, uncle."

"W-what is it?"

"How many strong people like you are there in the Holy Nation?"

Rio asked, her curiosity genuine.

"I don't know if they're quite like me... but there are several who succeeded in the Hero's ritual like I did. Those guys...!"

"Could you introduce me to them?"

"Don't tell me...!"

The moment he saw Rio's sparkling eyes, Bellain understood.

"You're out of your mind."

"Yeah. I want to test this power some more."

In other words, she just wanted to go wild.

Bellain had never seen a girl so obsessed with shattering dojos.

"That match ended quicker than I thought."

"Young master!"

And then—

"So you had a Swordmaster's power, but don't know how to fully use it, huh. In the end, you still have to duel against the real thing."

This girl was fanatically following Louis, the monster.

The menacing figure during battle was gone, and with Louis, Rio was just an ordinary girl.

Bellain was left speechless at the strange contradiction.

Was she truly the Demon King?

And what manner had Louis used to bring the Demon King to heel?

"By the way, Rio. I forgot to mention..."

"What?"

Just then, Rio felt a presence behind her and dodged by leaning back.

"Oh? I almost had you."

Estelle had appeared suddenly, targeting Rio from behind.

"She wanted to see you."

"Hehehe... Miss Rio. It's been a while."

Estelle's gaze, as if starved, met Rio's, and Rio shrank back in fear.

"Since it's been a while, you know what comes next, right?"

"I-I have no idea...."

"Come on! Don't be like that!"

In the end, Rio was caught by Estelle and subjected to endless physical affection.

Estelle petted her, sniffed her, and showered her with all sorts of affection.

Bellain, watching this, was shocked all over again.

'Now even the Princess of the empire isn't normal.'

Especially when considering Rio's true identity, it wasn't something to let pass.

The Princess seemed to be a follower of the Demon King.

"Oh my, miss Rio... you've changed a lot since I last saw you."

"Me?"

"Your magic power is even higher than before. And..."

As a royal, Estelle possessed Mind's Eye.

With her ability to discern people's nature, magic power, and other abilities, she could see just how much stronger Pram had become compared to before.

"I've met many knight commanders and legion commanders... but the only comparison I can even make is with Sir Paulo."

"Really?"

Rio was astonished to hear this.

"That much...?"

"Yes! You've grown unbelievably."

Instead of feeling happy at the news, Rio only grew more worried.

"Who should I fight now?"

It was now hard for her to find worthy opponents to break dojos with.

"That uncle isn't much help..."

And that was just adding salt to Bellain's wound.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, a black spirit landed on Louis's head.

A letter was tied to the ankle of the avian-shaped spirit.

"...!"

Reading the letter, Louis's eyes widened.

"Rio. Assemble all members. We have to return immediately."

"What is it?"

Louis answered tersely.

"Something even more troublesome than a stampede has happened."