Though I felt an illushion of invincibility and omnipotence, facing the hero and just being exposed to that light caused me so much damage.
Well, it makes sense why the Demon Kings of the past died from a single strike of the Holy Sword.
"I'm tired. Sleepy."
"Why can you still talk like this after being possessed by me once? Your head should be completely messed up and incapable of doing anything."
"What? What's that about? All the previous Demon Kings had messed-up heads?"
That's a terrible story.
Terrible, terrible, terrible.
Well, maybe my head was already messed up or amusingly messed up.
But it doesn't matter.
All I feel now is the omnipotence of a transcendent being.
I have no doubt about being the Demon King.
So there's no problem.
"For now, since we've come to the Demon King's castle, why don't we sit on the throne and act the part, Maris? While my injuries heal, tell me everything about the Demon King's abilities."
"Hey, hey, hey. Answer all my questions honestly. You're like the instruction manual for the Dark Sword wielded by the Demon King, right? Do your job properly, Maris."
"It seems you're already delirious... but it's strange that you still have language abilities..."
Sitting on a throne-like chair nearby, I crossed my legs and rested my chin on my hand.
"The Demon King has the ability to create dungeons and monsters, right? I'm going to make good use of that, so start explaining, Maris. Hurry up. We're not making any progress."
"Don't order me around, you psycho! The Demon King's abilities are for me to manage! You don't need to know!"
"Hahahahaha! The spirit of a Demon King who's been completely defeated by the hero sure talks differently, huh? Your attitude is so clearly that of a woman who can't do her job."
"What did you say, you bastard!"
"But it's strange, isn't it? It's different from when I was with Holly. If you and Holly have the same creator, does that mean you intentionally lose to Holly every time? That means your goal isn't to annihilate humanity or defeat the hero. So what do you really want?"
"What...!"
"A Demon King who rants and raves at humans, slaughters the weak, and then gets annihilated by the hero. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. What purpose does such a being serve?"
Maris looked at me, her face twitching uncontrollably.
"Don't make such a cute face, Maris. Makes it hard to think straight, doesn't it? But yeah, you and Holly both look great, just by appearance. Why are you two so cute? Is it the creator's preference? Even though the outfits are in bad taste, I like them."
"Ah, what was it again? What was I pondering? Ah, the raison d'être of the Demon King? Yeah, does a Demon King who has never once annihilated humanity even have a raison d'être? No, no, no. Calm down, calm down. Something's off. If the role of the Demon King is to annihilate humanity, then after one annihilation, there'd be nothing left to do. So if the purpose is to annihilate humanity, what's needed isn't immortality that changes hosts to exist forever but just enough combat power to defeat the hero. How did something that lacks combat power but doesn't lack the ability to exist eternally come into being? And only in eras where the hero exists."
"What... are you...?"
"Ah? So, it's resolved if we assume it wasn't born to achieve a purpose but that its purpose has already been fulfilled? The Demon King was created by the same entity that created the hero, specifically to be defeated by the hero. That's it!"
As I pointed at Maris and shouted,
"Ah, ah..."
For some reason, Maris seemed to be repulsed by me.
No, no, no.
Being feared by a beauty, there's something deeply satisfying about that.
I've longed for this kind of life.
"...So, the Demon King exists to be killed by the hero? Why is such an existence necessary? Why was the Demon King born to be killed by the hero in the first place? If the same entity, let's say a god, created both the hero and the Demon King... Why did the god need to create both? Oh? Oh my, oh my? While I'm searching for the reason the Demon King was born, why do I need to consider why the hero was born? No, no, no. Since the hero and the Demon King were created by the same entity, the reason for their creation should be uncovered simultaneously, right, Maris?"
Maris stopped responding.
What's with that attitude?
Why isn't there any intention to build a good relationship like Holly and I did?
Well, whether my relationship with Holly was good or not is another question.
But really, if we assume that both the hero and the Demon King were created by the same entity, what exactly is the purpose behind their creation?
"For example, characters in a story are merely the author's imagination, so the reason for creating a villain who tries to destroy the world and a hero who tries to save it is just an element to construct the story.
In short, characters perform good and evil deeds just to kill time for the reader.
So, all the murders, assaults, and brutal acts performed by the characters in the story are all the author's imagination, and the hero who is thought to be cool for beating them is also an imagination.
The author is like a psychopath who sets a fire only to be praised for putting it out.
If you try to understand the story by siding with the hero, you'll miss that villains exist to be satisfyingly killed after intentionally performing actions that would upset the readers.
Assuming the Demon King is such an existence.
Then, for what purpose was the Demon King created?
The answer lies in the actions of the Demon King.
"...The true nature of the hero and the Demon King is just humans chosen by you and Holly..."
"Truly, if all humans are annihilated, there would never again be a hero or a Demon King."
"…And so?"
"You and Holly would never awaken again. You'd sleep eternally within the Holy Sword and the Dark Sword... You want to commit suicide with your sister?"
"No, that's not it. So, you're killing humans but don't want to annihilate them, that much is clear. I've seen this behavior before."
"…You…"
"Thinning the herd…?"
"…!"
"You want to reduce the number of humans. Not to annihilate them, but to act towards reducing their number. So, what is the purpose of reducing human numbers? If human numbers decrease, civilization declines. Then, the true purpose is to prevent the advancement of civilization, right?"
"…Even if that’s true, what does it matter to you…"
"I think the divine swords are man-made."
"…!"
"Despite the grand name of 'divine swords,' I can't believe a god would create such mass-killing weapons. Weapons designed to kill others efficiently are made by no one but humans."
I stared at my own hands while sitting on the throne.
"See, humans, by becoming bipedal rather than quadrupedal, began to suffer from back pain and shoulder stiffness. But that change allowed them to 'create' and 'use' tools. 'Creating' and 'using'—just these two abilities have allowed them to reign supreme over all other creatures."
"…"
"So, as a result of perfecting those two abilities, won't there come a day when our civilization has advanced enough to even create divine swords? That day might come when strong folks like Shion and Amaranth go to war with each other, right?"
"…Yes… The divine swords were… weapons created by humans in the past…"
"Then, the real purpose for which you were created is…"
"To prevent humanity from developing its civilization to the point where it could destroy the world… a safety mechanism…"
"Hey, hey, hey! So, humans need to be culled or they'll destroy themselves? That's not funny!"
Even though it wasn't funny, I burst into laughter.
"Because that's just it, right?
The notion that civilization's advancement leads to destruction is too devoid of hope, making it hilariously tragic.
"…I get it now… Just now, it dawned on me…"
Maris, gasping for breath, stared at me.
"Why you could reign supreme in human society without my assistance. At first, I thought it was because Holly helped you, and later, I believed it was because you had the qualities to be chosen as the Demon King, but that's not it… Seeing you retain your self-awareness even after becoming the Demon King, I'm now convinced."
"…What?"