Chapter 6: Prologue - The Demon Lord
Turns out, I was apparently the Demon Lord.
What a revelation.
After all the struggles to protect the young hero, to find out I was the very adversary of the hero.
It meant that my desperate efforts to gather the twin swords were actually boosting the enemy's strength recklessly.
What a fool I've been.
What have I been doing?
"Am I an idiot?" I found myself retorting to my thoughts.
"What's idiotic about it?" The woman in front of me, looking exactly like Holly, tilted her head and murmured.
It's because she calls me things like the Demon Lord that things get so complicated.
But then again, it's not even complicated.
"Why am I the Demon Lord? That makes no sense."
"Why? Do you need a reason to be the Demon Lord?"
"Of course, I do! That's obvious!"
"Then, what's the reason for a hero being a hero? Why is the hero the hero? Why was the wielder chosen by the sacred sword? What makes humans human in the first place?"
"Stop it! I'm not talking about philosophical stuff here!"
"Then what are we talking about?"
"I'm not the Demon Lord! I'm just a human!"
"Even the Demon Lords of the past were once human, you know?"
"What?"
"Just like the hero before obtaining the sacred sword. The Demon Lord before awakening is just a human."
I had always thought it strange.
The Demon Lord who always revives no matter how many times defeated.
The Eternal King.
But if revival was possible, why not immediately after being defeated? And an eternal king wouldn't be defeated in the first place.
It wasn't about revival or being eternal; it turns out every Demon Lord was a different person.
Just like the heroes.
"The Demon Lord... was human? The battle between the hero and the Demon Lord was a fight among humans?"
"Hmm, more precisely, it's probably the battle between me and Holly. The Demon Lord and the hero are just vessels."
"...All the Demon Lords were human? But why me? What makes me suitable to be the Demon Lord? Shion seems fitting as a hero, but I don't see myself as fitting to be the Demon Lord."
The moment I said that, Maris in front of me burst into laughter, holding her stomach.
"What part of that little girl seems hero-like? Without the sacred sword, she's just a brat. Without Holly, she's weak. So much for a hero."
Maris laughed as if she utterly looked down on Shion.
However, when she stared intently at my face, her expresshion suddenly went blank.
"You are undoubtedly the Demon Lord. No matter who looks, you are the most fitting to be called the Demon Lord in this world."
"Why do you think I am the Demon Lord? I'm just an ordinary person without any special powers!"
"Ordinary people can't see Holly."
"...!"
At that moment, I felt a shock so intense I nearly collapsed.
Maris was just stating a fact.
A fact I had always wondered about but never deeply considered.
Why can I see Holly?
After all, Holly is supposed to be visible only to the hero.
There's no need for anyone other than the hero to see Holly.
Holly exists to teach the hero how to use the sacred sword.
In fact, no one but me and Shion could see Holly.
Not even the exceptionally talented saintly sword wielders, without a single exception, could see her.
It was strange that Holly, invisible to such remarkable individuals, was visible to me.
But then, my connection with Shion, the hero.
The battle to gather all the saintly swords.
The encounters with various saintly sword wielders.
All of it started from the fact that I could see Holly.
I had always averted my eyes from that fact.
I continued to turn away from the truth of what I really was.
"Considering you're borrowing Holly's power, I think you were a bit abnormal even before. To reign at the pinnacle of human society as a mere ordinary person... before being possessed by me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your authority now transcends all humans. Considering the force commanded by the hero and the saintly sword wielders who follow your orders, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you've already conquered the world. Let me say it again. Truly, as expected of the Demon Lord."
"It's not my power."
"It is your power. No one else could do it. Who else, without the power of the sacred swords, could use the wielders to conquer the world? Who else could stop the infighting among the saintly sword wielders? And protect the strongest being, the hero, to the end. Impossible by any standard logic. From the outside, you seem to possess an extraordinary mental and judgmental capacity."
"It's just chance... It just happened by chance."
"Do you know the saying, 'Luck is part of one's skill'? In this world, people die every day due to misfortune, you know? Didn't you think it strange that you've survived so many deadly situations without dying? Well, actually, you've died a few times, you know?"
"Died?"
Is she talking about the time I was stabbed with the Timeflow Sword of Geranium and then healed by Jasmine's Healing Sword?
As if reading my thoughts, Maris shakes her head.
"Being possessed by Holly is akin to suicide for someone who's not a hero. Every time you're possessed by Holly, the part of you that was human dies."
"Excuse me?"
I do recall feeling that way.
Experiences of feeling like my heart had stopped, losing consciousness, my vishion going completely dark, and intense pain attacking every muscle and bone in my body.
Was that my physical body dying?
"No way... My enhanced reflexes and physical abilities were because..."
"When your heart stopped, it became the heart of a Demon Lord. When you went blind, you received the all-seeing eyes of a Demon Lord. Your muscles and skeletal structure, everything transformed into that of a Demon Lord's. That's why..."
"The dungeons... The dungeons that shouldn't appear until the Demon Lord revives started to appear?"
Maris smiled at my interruption.
"Your quick wits are quite pleasing. You're slow to understand when it comes to inconvenient truths, but once you do, you see the logic? Perfect. You have the makings of the greatest Demon Lord."
However, Maris added, pointing at me.
"Being possessed by me won't be so simple. I'll gift you a body with physical abilities on par with Shion and magical power enough to create anything. You'll produce an army of monstrously powerful demons, unmatched in quality and quantity, and bring about the annihilation of humanity."
"...! I... won't do such a thing."
"Whether you do it or not, demons will be born on their own and kill people on their own. Your will doesn't matter anymore."
"What...!"
So, the Demon Lord wasn't trying to destroy the world by their own will?
Holly, and the heroes before, were they killing such beings?
"I'm not as lenient as Holly. When your body fully transforms into that of a Demon Lord, your heart will too. There will be no room for your own consciousness."
"...I won't be possessed by Holly anymore...! I won't cross that dangerous bridge! I won't get any closer to becoming a Demon Lord!"
"Becoming a Demon Lord can also happen over time. Indeed, your mental structure must have been rapidly approaching that of a Demon Lord's."
"What are you talking about?"
"...The power over life and death of all humans..."
"!"
"You want it, don't you? The right to freely decide the life and death of all humans across the world according to your will. You've begun to desire the power to kill anyone other than yourself, out of fear of your own death."
"...Uh... ah..."
I felt as if she had laid bare something at the very core of me that I had never shared with anyone.
"You, who are adored by such a lovely hero, trusted by a group of beautiful saintly sword wielders, and blessed with talented friends... You wanted power more than anything else, didn't you? More than finding understanding, being blessed with comrades, or the joy of being helped by someone, you wanted the power to do whatever you wanted, all by yourself."
"You couldn't find joy in being helped by others. You couldn't find joy in having more companions. You couldn't find joy in more people trusting you. Instead, you only sought the power to solve everything on your own. You know? That's the exact opposite way of thinking compared to a hero."
"A hero rejoices with each new companion. With each person they must protect, they find strength in their resolve, growing stronger through friendship, love, and a compasshionate heart. But you? You didn't have a shred of that in you, did you? Instead, with each new companion, you felt disappointed by the reality that you were inferior. Wondering why you were so weak."
"...That is..."
That was indeed my heart.