He succeeded in incapacitating the runaway Kaira by forcibly consuming the power of the Demon King.

It was a nasty enemy that kept healing endlessly, and it had a lot of power, so I'm really glad I managed to do it.

 

"Guys, are you okay?"

"I'm totally fine!"

"It was a lot of fun."

 

What is Rune like...... It's innocent.

It must have scared her, but it should be seen as her mental strength after living in a forest infested with monsters.

So, Nea .......

 

"yes, I'm totally fine, of course, right? I'm used to it."

 

He doesn't seem to want to make a weak noise in front of Keira and Rune, and he pats my cheek with his wings in a position where they can't see them.

You have to be prepared for this, as it may require a considerable amount of blood later on.

 

"Is Mr./Ms. Nagi injured?"

"No, don't worry, that's what you're doing...... Was it okay to make that strange move?"

 

I was worried because I was surrounded by a mess.

Nagi Mr./Ms. also not injured...... Then there's Koga.

 

「…… Koga, I will never forget you."

"No, don't die, don't kill yourself."

 

I turned around at Koga, who had come to me, and then looked forward.

 

"Don't worry, I'll tell Senri-sama about your feelings."

"Don't fabricate my feelings."

 

I knew he wasn't going to get hurt to that extent, so I knew he was fine.

But let's cast a healing spell on it for the time being.

I didn't realize it, but it's true that Rune lit the fire.

 

"Well, now that I'm finally able to calm down...... Usato, is there anything you want to ask this demon?"

「…… That's right."

 

The first thing I want to ask you is.

He looks sideways at Mr./Ms. who is still unable to move, and looks down at Kayla who is tied up.

 

"Who did the magic on Mr./Ms.?"

「…… Ha, I don't know. Aren't you one of us?"

"Don't you even know my face? Aren't you leading those twin dark wizards as well?"

 

Kayla snorts mockingly at my question.

 

"I'm not interested in that, I didn't find those useless bastards, they were just pawns that were given to me without permission."

 

...... treated an unidentified entity as a minion?

It's too much of a random thing.

In any case, I don't think I'll be able to get more information from this situation.

However, now that a fragment of the Demon Lord's power is still embedded in Kayla, she is worried that she will go on a rampage again.

 

"Do you want to keep me tied up with Koga's alter ego?"

"Why don't you leave it to Veena?" When it comes to the devil, the devil knows best, doesn't he?"

「…… Certainly."

 

I'm a little worried, but I feel it's best to ask Mr./Ms., who escaped the ruins first, for her opinion.

Maybe she knows how to neutralize Kayla in some way.

 

"Usato, shea!"

「!」

 

At the sound of Rune's voice on her shoulder, she looked at Shea and saw the film of light that had covered her flicker and disappear.

Was it solved by neutralizing Kayla ......? No, it's more than that.

As the film of light disappears, he rushes to her feet and catches her as she falls to the ground.

 

"Oh, it's healing magic for the time being."

"Shea! Are you okay!! Shea!!"

「…… Hmm."

 

Rune calls out Shea's name with all her might, and she raises her eyelids.

Has he regained consciousness?

 

「……」

 

She looked around and checked her situation to see what was going on, and when she noticed me, she smiled with relief.

For some reason, I felt uncomfortable with its defenselessness.

 

"Usato, you're here, aren'...... you?"

"Oh, are you okay?" Is there anything wrong with your body?"

 

A black robe that wraps around the neck down.

She has black hair that is less red than before, and beautiful black eyes.

The neat face that you can see when you look at it up close is the same as before, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Without a doubt, the person in front of him is Shea herself...... However, a strange feeling clings to me.

 

"I'm fine, Usato, thank you so much."

 

Shea tries to grasp her right hand, which is wrapped in a gauntlet, and she is tormented by a chill that makes her feel up.

 

"Can you stand?"

「…… Yes. yes, I can stand it."

"Shea!"

 

Rune, who is on her shoulder as she smiles, calls out frantically.

At this point, she finally noticed Rune's presence, and she had a surprised look on her face.

 

"Oh! The cat is talking!!"

"It's not me, it's not a cat, it's Rune! You can't tell by this appearance!"

 

Rune jumps off my shoulder with joy and returns to her original child.

Seeing Rune like that, Shea tilts her head slightly and puts her finger to her forehead.

 

「……」

「…… Shea?"

 

She smiles softly as she removes her fingers from her forehead as Rune looks up at her anxiously.

 

"It was Rune! Surprised! Did you come all the way here from the forest?!"

「! Was it safe?! Trapped in such a white place!!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm still feeling a little crazy...... Usato and the others came to my rescue."

 

Perhaps relieved, Shea's appearance seems more stable than before.

I had the impression that I was frightened by the memory of Mr./Ms. Hisago before.

 

"Mr./Ms. Usato, isn't it a little strange how Sia Mr./Ms. is doing?"

「…… Do you think so too?"

 

I nod to Keira, who speaks in a small voice in my ear.

This kid should have seen Shea for the last time before.

If that's the case, don't ignore what she said.

 

"I don't know about the last time I saw Shea, but I think she's too good to be true for a place like this."

「…… I don't want to doubt it too much, but maybe we should be on our guard."

 

There are some things that bother me, but for the time being, I was able to suppress the power of the Demon King and protect Shea.

The overall investigation is still ongoing, but it's about time we returned.

He takes her to Koga and Mr./Ms. Nagi, who are keeping an eye on Kayla, and keeps an eye on Mr./Ms. Nagi.

 

"Nice to meet you...... I wonder? I'm Kannagi. Do you know me?"

 

Mr./Ms. Nagi casually spoke to Shea.

One of the reasons he called her is to let Nagi meet Mr./Ms. Sia, who has memories of Hisago Mr./Ms., so he listens to their interactions.

 

"Oh, nice to meet you, eh, uh, the beastman I saw in Hisago's memory, isn't it?"

"......, yes, that's right. After all, I have memories of him. I heard you were distraught before, are you okay now?"

"Oh, I can't hear you anymore, so don't worry."

 

Did something happen to you when you came to this ruin?

I think it's good that you don't get confused by memory, but in the end, the mystery remains a mystery.

While thinking alone, Mr./Ms. Nagi, who was suddenly facing Shea, turned back to me while touching the hilt of her sword.

 

"Whew!"

 

At the same time, it responds to the healing sense that has been stretched out for a while.

He immediately glared at the space where Kayla was being held up, and saw him slipping free of his alter ego's restraints.

 

"Ha, haha!!"

"Oh, Kayla!!"

"Slip through the spell of restraint...... No, the technique was disturbed!?"

 

Is it Kayla's magic that I heard about beforehand?

Mr./Ms. Nagi, who sensed it with her precognitive magic, immediately thrusts her sword into Kaira's body, but even so, Kaira does not stop.

 

"Usato! Kayla's target is Shea!!"

"Healing Flying Fist!!"

 

He uses his healing sense to read his movements, and blows Kayla's body away with his fast-paced healing fist, but he forcibly regenerates his body and approaches Shea at an unusually high speed.

Even if the Demon King's magic power is still there, it is a formidable obsession...... Whew!

 

"Don't mess with Shea!"

"Damn it! Kid!!"

"Oh!?"

 

She hurriedly catches Rune, who was about to be beaten and slammed to the ground by Kayla, and looks at Shea, who was standing next to her, with her sharp claws dug into her neck.

Hostage!? No, he's ......!

 

"I'm not going to disappear here, but if I can get rid of Temeje here...... It's okay ......!!"

"Shea!!"

「……」

 

Perhaps shea is too scared to speak, but she remains face down and does not move.

No, he's not going to take Shea hostage.

Before her life is in danger in revenge for me——— someone approaches!

 

"Usato, this is ......."

 

Mr./Ms. Nagi also has a puzzled expression on her face, wondering if she sensed it with her precognitive magic.

Naturally, it's not on our side that Kayla is silently approaching behind her.

He is a person who should have been stuck in this hall since he was fighting.

 

"Hahaha! At the very least, I will worship you as you sink into despair in Teme--"

 

Just as she was about to dig her nails into Shea, someone pierced Kayla's chest.

 

「…… Huh?"

 

The one who was covered in blood and grabbed the heart of the Demon King's power with a fragment of his power--the dark wizard twin that I had brought all the way here.younger sister・had an ecstatic smile on his face with firm and determined eyes.

 

"Oh, I've always wanted to do this."

 

She pulled her arm out of Kayla as if to extract the Demon Lord's power, and after throwing Kayla's body in front of us, she smiled at the power of the Demon King in her hands.

 

"But, oh, why, ......?"

"Why...... It's just that he was pretending to be dead from the beginning. Oh, but it's true that he was dead, so pretending to be a puppet? Heh, well, it's a good story."

 

She then looks at us, ——— no, at me.

 

"You don't seem to be too surprised."

"I thought I had a vague ego."

"You see, I couldn't imitate the corpse because of you."

 

I'm not too surprised that my twin sister is moving.

What I don't understand is that she attacked Kayla, who was supposed to be the same force.

 

"Won't you play!?"

 

Kayla falls to the ground vomiting blood and struggles while holding her pierced chest.

I cast a lineage-strengthening healing spell on him.

I couldn't extract information as it was, and I didn't intend to kill it unnecessarily.

 

"Can't ...... cured!?"

"Oh, don't touch it!!"

"Huh?"

 

Even though I was suffering, I was wiped out...... If you can't heal with lineage strengthening, Kayla is no longer .......

Kayla's twin sister is watching with amusement as she gradually disappears.

 

"A demon that is united with the impurity of the Demon King's power will no longer be immortal, it is really as I said."

"Who's right?"

「…… Kuku"

 

Smiling at Nagi's question Mr./Ms. she stood beside her, offering a piece of the Demon King's power to Shea, who had been freed from Kaira———

 

"Yes, go ahead, Master Sama."

「「「!?」」」

 

A crystal containing the power of the Demon King that was offered.

In response, Shea picked up the crystal normally without any sudden change, and spoke to her as if she were talking to a friend, with the same expression and tone of voice as before.

 

"Good job, Esta, it was hard, wasn't it?"

"No, no, it's heaven compared to when I was alive, and the road to this point is hell in another way...... Well, it was a funny hell."

"Funny hell ......? Hmm, well, we'll hear that later. Is your sister better than that, Mr./Ms.?"

 

Her older sister, called Esta, is in the place where Mr./Ms. and the others are still falling.

Seeing her unable to move, Esta looks somewhat bored.

 

"I'm not sure if I'll ever ......, the habit of the soulless cave will keep an eye on me forever. It's getting depressing."

 

Perhaps noticing our gaze, Shea looked at me and shrugged her shoulders regretfully.

 

"Ah, I wish I could have told you more, but it's really troublesome to be a demon left behind by the times. Don't you think so? Usato"

"It's not the shea we know."

 

It's also possible that Shea has been acting in the past.

But strangely, I thought that was impossible.

There is no basis for anything.

She was really frightened by the memory of Mr./Ms. Hisago and was asking for help.

 

"Who are you?"

".......

 

She laughed.

With a smile still on her face, she approached me unguardedly.

The distance between the eyes and the stone's throw away.

She stood as far away as I could reach her, looking up at me as if to make eye contact with mine———、

 

"Now, who am I?"

 

--I whispered happily.

_________________________________________

This is the story of Shea, who is still hiding a mystery.

And in fact, it was my sister Mr./Ms. who was broken by Usato's actions.