The hero I admired endlessly and the demon lord I feared continuously... they never really existed.
They were just fulfilling roles that had been assigned to them.
Those who save and those who destroy are "humans."
Humans have the capacity to destroy the world and the capacity to save it.
And it's not just one person.
The being I longed for, who alone bears the weight of the entire world, doesn't exist.
The heroes fighting valiantly to protect the world in storybooks belong only in the realm of fantasy.
"Ha..."
I'm done for. All I can do is sigh.
I thought I was just an ordinary person, but then I got caught up with spirits inhabiting divine swords used by heroes, collaborated and clashed with saintly sword wielders, found out I was the demon lord, and agonized over being prepared to be killed by the hero, only to be told by someone god-like that they're going to kill me.
Maybe I'm just destined to have everything backfire on me.
"So, am I about to be killed by you?"
"I'll definitely kill you. You, I will never forgive."
I thought that kind of line was more suited for a demon lord, but why does a demon lord who decided not to kill humans have to be killed by a god?
Is the correct answer to mindlessly kill humans and then be killed by the hero?
"Holly, Maris. I'm going to reset you two."
"Reset?"
"I'll erase all the bad influence from being with that man. I'll wipe their memories to bring them back to normal."
Is she planning to erase Holly's and Maris's memories and blindly make them fulfill the roles of hero and demon lord?
Holly, healing wounds while possessing Shion, and Maris, by my side, both began to tremble violently.
"Come back here. I'll reset you."
Kris flicked her hands, gesturing for them to come to her.
"Mother..."
Maris hesitantly started to move away from me, towards Kris,
"I refuse. I'd rather die than forget about Crow."
Holly, still possessing Shion's body, flatly refused her mother's command.
"Well, I suppose I could live with forgetting about Crow," she agreed.
Really now?
"But I absolutely don't want to forget about all the past heroes."
"Holly! Are you defying your mother's words?"
"Don't start playing the mother card now! We're strangers now! My body and soul belong to Crow!"
You don't even have a body, do you?
Considering the usual verbal abuse, it's debatable whether you have a heart either.
Watching Holly boldly defy her mother, Maris hid behind me,
"Maybe it can't be helped that Crow has to be executed, but I don't want to forget him either..."
Why is my execution something that "can't be helped"?
If you don't want to forget me, you should be opposed to the execution.
Faced with both daughters defying her, Kris's face twisted horribly.
"Crow...! CrowCrowCrowCrowCrowCrow!"
"Uh-oh..."
This is bad.
The anger is directed at me now.
"It's all your fault! Everything is your fault! My daughters turned out this way because of you!"
"No... I think your daughters were always a bit unusual..."
"Don't you dare joke! There are absolutely no beauties like my daughters anywhere else! And you've messed them both up!"
So, there's not a lack of affection for her daughters.
It doesn't feel like I'm talking to a supernatural being at all anymore.
"I'll kill you! I'll absolutely kill you!"
I shifted my gaze from Kris to Geranium,
"So, you think you're stronger than me because of Kris?"
I muttered with a sigh, and Maris gripped my shoulder.
"C-Crow... Mother is stronger than both of us... We can't win against her, even together..."
"Don't be scared, Maris. Possess me."
"Crow?"
Maris looked puzzled at my confident self.
"What's with that smug look, brat? Getting cocky because you became the demon lord? A lowly demon lord who can't even summon the Sword of Darkness."
"I'm not being smug. I've never been smug. I've always faced opponents I couldn't beat."
"…You really piss me off. You have a natural talent for infuriating people."
"You don't understand anything. Just like someone who's made her daughters fight endlessly."
"What?"
"It's your own setup, isn't it? The demon lord can't lose to anyone but the hero. The only one who can beat me is Shion."
"Don't underestimate me, kid. I told you, the demon is stronger than the hero."
"That's enough, Kris."
Geranium interrupted the conversation between me and Kris.
"Don't talk to him anymore, Kris. You'll be influenced by him as well."
"Right. Let's finish this quickly."
Kris then possesses Geranium, and an overwhelming aura of intimidation emanates from Geranium's body.
The sense of intimidation is truly immense.
It feels stronger than both Shion and Amaranth.
It's no joke that the progenitor of the hero and the demon lord is possessing him.
"Holly, take care of Shion. Maris, quickly possess me."
"...Holly... What do you think?"
"This is the first time I've seen Crow like this."
"Has he gone mad from fear?"
"I don't know. And who are you, exactly?"
"What!? Don't forget your sister's face!"
"Eh!? Sister!?"
"Would you hurry up and possess me!? Save the sisterly chat for later!"
When I shouted, Maris possessed me, and Holly, still possessing Shion, moved to where the Pegasus Sword was and mounted it.
"Crow, don't worry. You'll be the first to die. I'll only go after Shion once you're dead."
"So, if I win, Shion is safe?"
"That's right. If you can win, that is."
What's going on? Something feels off.
I can't understand Geranium's intentions.
Despite the still overwhelming aura, I don't feel the same sense of will as when we were enemies before.
Is it because Kris is possessing him?
As I pondered, a dazzling light emitted from Geranium's entire body.
The light resembled that of the Sword of Holy Light.
However, the intensity of the light was different.
Just being bathed in it, my entire body feels scorched.
The surface of my body is blistering and evaporating.
"Crow!"
"…!"
Behind me, Holly, who was possessing Shion, screamed, and inside me, Maris was in turmoil.
My body was being incinerated by the light emanating from Geranium's body, disappearing as if it were a moth drawn to a flame, burning up too close to the fire.
Too easily, my body vanishes without a trace.
Ah, I know it even without being told.
I have no power of my own.
That hasn't changed from when I was human to when I became the demon lord.
I've always been saved because someone else came to my aid.
I detested that feeling, found it embarrassing and pitiful, and sought power.
Yet, I had no power of my own.
Since childhood, I couldn't do anything without someone else's help.
"Isn't that alright?"
"There's always someone willing to help you by your side, isn't there?"
"...Dad...?"
"Yeah, well, I'm not actually back from the dead. Think of it as your life flashing before your eyes."
"I... died without being able to do anything..."
"Dislike being unable to do anything?"
"Who wouldn't? I want to be able to do anything... Dad."
"There's no one who can do everything. Haven't you realized that yet?"
"Still... I hate being unable to do anything..."
"Really... You've always been such a handful."
"There's always been one thing you can do."
"...?"
"The one thing you can do."
Ah, Dad.
I get it.
I've always overcome obstacles that way.
The one thing I can always do...
"Pass the buck."
In an instant, my body fully healed, sprouting large wings and horns.
My height and hair grew, and I was suddenly clad in a black robe.
That form must be what you'd call a demon lord.
But I can't take pride in it.
Because this power isn't mine.
"…!"
Geranium gasped at the sight of me.
Whether that expresshion was Geranium's own or Kris's, I couldn't tell.
"I can't summon the Sword of Darkness. Because I'm incompetent. I don't have a Sword of Darkness made just for me."
The Sword of Darkness varied in shape and function with each demon lord.
It was an expresshion of each demon lord's unique talents.
Lacking any talent, I couldn't produce any sort of Sword of Darkness.