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The Demon King contemplated the man’s “Ultimate State.”

What a ridiculous name. I can hardly contain my laughter.

Nirvana means extinguishing all suffering and breaking free from worldly shackles, like putting out a burning fire.

However, the mind is a mirror reflecting one’s heart, and before the Demon King facing the man’s “Ultimate State,” his inner self was fully exposed.

That human spoke of the futility of life with his mouth, yet inside, he was overflowing with lingering regret for what he had lost.

What a contradiction. What a comedy. How could I not laugh?

However, the Demon King did not laugh.

Without hesitation, without wavering, he simply watched the trajectory of the spear flying straight toward him.

“…I see.”

Perhaps it was because he craved it more than anyone else.

He didn’t want to be swayed by anger any longer, he didn’t want to be pushed by the situation.

He truly wanted to find out what the right thing was, and it manifested in his mind.

A life trying to wake from an egg is beautiful.

Similarly, how beautiful is a human trying to break free and be reborn from the confines that hold them?

The “Ultimate State” is revealing the inner image inherent within oneself to reality.

Thus, to the Demon King, who had only seen “Ultimate States” like the absolute kill, absolute hit, and absolute defense of his demon kin—with their efficiency all being about the same—this “Ultimate State” before him came as a fresh shock.

If there is an “Ultimate State” for the Grandmaster, then there must be techniques of the next realm for the Ascendant.

However, when faced with someone showing such a thing, the act of blindly overpowering them with “Ascendancy” felt like a sacrilege to the Demon King. It felt like violently tearing apart a finely painted masterpiece. Not to mention, he was confident he could win even with just facing it with “Ultimate State.”

Thus, with “Ultimate State” against “Ultimate State.”

“Come, Day of Wrath (Dies irae).”

The absolute image of destruction that turns all to ashes colored the world.

Two images intersected and brightly illuminated the ashen sky.

*

Flames filled the area. A blaze ignited from the ground that reached up to the sky.

No, black smoke completely covered the sky like clouds. The world was literally a sea of fire.

The air was so heated that merely breathing it in could cook one’s insides, and the ground melted under the heat, making it virtually indistinguishable from lava. If one were to search for hell while alive, it would be this place.

In the middle of such a hellish sight, the Demon King quietly looked down at the man before him.

“…I’ve won.”

Even as he declared his victory, the man did not flinch.

The armor he wore had melted into a single mass. The agony of being burned by the heated armor must have been terrible, yet he did not even let out a small moan. Was he dead? Or had every cell capable of feeling pain been destroyed?

The Demon King knew from the faint sound of the man’s heart that he was not dead yet. But he also knew that he would die soon if left alone.

However, that was the same for the Demon King.

“To defeat me… kuh-reuhp!”

Blood gushed forth.

The clothes the Demon King wore had burned, revealing his pure white body like a doe. And in the center of his chest was a large hole.

The earlier declaration of victory was not about saying it to himself. Looking at the results, it was a mutual defeat. Neither had avoided fatal wounds, leading to a draw. But unlike the Demon King, whose victory condition was to repel the intruder and survive, the man stood here fully prepared for death from the start.

By piercing the Demon King’s heart with his own life as a sacrifice, he had achieved his intended goal. Thus, this competition could be said to be a ruling victory for that man. …Thus thought the Demon King.

“How truly pathetic. Had I known it was that kind of ‘Ultimate State’… I’d not have bothered with a contest of strength from the beginning.”

The spear that thrust straight towards his heart at the last moment. He thought it frankly absurd. The man had merely done his best to endure up to this point, and what threat could that spear, which couldn’t even draw blood on him, present as an “Ultimate State”?

How beautifully it felt, how deeply it impressed the Demon King was an entirely different story. It’s unreasonable to assume that an image from a human who had lived for only a few decades could be sturdier than that of a Demon King who had lived for thousands of years.

When opposing “Ultimate States” clash, it is the one with the more robust image that destroys the opponent’s “Ultimate State” in a fight between users.

Therefore, intending to turn the spear into dust with an absolute destructive bolt turning everything to ashes, and merely burn the limbs enough to keep the man alive, then slowly tame and make him docile…

‘It was a miscalculation.’

That man did not stop even as his whole body burned in the bolt.

At first, he thought it was a manifestation of absolute defense. Such “Ultimate States” were common. It was hard to believe, but was it possible that a mere human’s image was equal to or even greater than his? He was momentarily horrified at the scene before him, but when he thought again, that wasn’t it. Then, there should be no explanation for the man’s body burning.

When “Ultimate States” oppose, the outcome is either one side prevails, or the other does. There are no ambiguous cases where effects are half-effective. So, if the man’s image was indeed an absolute defense, the attack should have had no effect at all.

Thus, there is but one possibility that can be considered.

From the very start, the two “Ultimate States” were not opposing.

The Demon King’s “Day of Wrath” was undeniably destroying the man’s body. No matter what recovery magic was used, it would never be able to revert to its original state again. However, it simply wasn’t enough to thwart the man’s attack.

It began with the left arm and elbow, next was the ankle and knee, then the shoulder and right eye… He sacrificed one unnecessary body part after another while leaving only the absolute minimum for thrusting the spear forward.

The Demon King thought that it was no longer a matter of power control and aimed for his life, but the man thrust the spear through his heart even as he took the bolt of destruction to protect his attacking arm.

Was this a strike disregarding even his own life, or was it an attack premised on sacrificing his life from the very beginning?

An extreme “Ultimate State” that would abandon anything necessary to achieve a single goal. The efficacy was enormous. Even the Demon King thought just before the spear pierced his heart that it was inescapable.

“Truly… you draw only unfamiliar things. It’s strange and… remarkable. The more I see, the more I can’t grasp you as a human.”

Still, the man offered no reply.

The reason for that was vaguely anticipated.

Before him stood what was already a puppet with its strings cut, or a machine that had completed its role and broken down. All of his senses, such as sight, hearing, and smell, likely weren’t functioning normally.

Regardless, the Demon King continued talking.

“However, it’s futile. Even if you kill me, the war will not cease. This war is something that the entire demon realm has longed for… Someday, another Demon King will arise to take my place, and in the end, the endless struggle will merely repeat—.”

“No.”

The man slowly yet laboriously opened his mouth.

The Demon King, who had not expected a reply, was a bit surprised.

“…It will end. Surely.”

“Oh? How can you be so sure?”

“People cannot fight forever. Whether they be demon or human… there will come a time to settle things. I have only brought balance.”

“Balance?”

“From a desperate defeat… to a fight worth having.”

For the first time, it was a proper conversation. Though his handsome face was burnt black, and his voice cracked and became hoarse.

The Demon King thought it was somewhat regrettable.

“What will happen if we, in this war in which you and I have both fallen, ultimately lose to humanity?”

“That… I don’t want to imagine much, but if I’ve done all I can and still lose… then it can’t be helped. Humanity would simply be limited to this point. I just… thought this was the least deadly path.”

That statement was a partial truth.

How many casualties would there be when the human alliance faced the Demon King head-on? Thus he must have thought that if he could topple the Demon King with his life, it would be a bargain.

What would happen to humanity and the Demon King’s army amidst the chaos after the Demon King’s death, how many casualties would arise from that, well, that part was indeed God’s domain. It cannot be calculated.

“If your own life is included in that path?”

“…….”

It was a silence imbued with affirmation.

The Demon King pondered. There wasn’t much time left for both of them. No matter how ascended one might be, one could not survive with a hole through their heart. They were just barely enduring with a unique vitality.

Then how should he spend his last moments?

In fact, there were many things he could do. Right now, a battle where the fates of the Demon King’s army and the human alliance hung in the balance was still ongoing.

If he flew away with teleportation magic and fought to the last moment, he could deal a devastating blow to humanity, or perhaps draw on the remaining divinity of the Ascendant to challenge the True Divine Seat. Although imperfect divinity, it would be better to at least attempt something than to die like this.

Yet the Demon King, after a brief deliberation, cleanly gave up on such opportunities. Instead, he decided to use the remaining time on this human before him.

The Demon King embraced the man with his unadorned body. And as he released the magic that had forcibly stopped the bleeding around his chest, blood gushed out in torrents from the gaping hole.

The amount of blood loss was abnormal. No matter how large a hole there was in his chest, it was as if he was trying to pour out all the blood from his body, staining above the man, causing him to question.

“What’s going on— Gahhk!”

Before he could even respond, he screamed in agony, as if his whole body were being torn apart.

The Demon King whispered languidly into the man’s ear with lips drained of color.

“A Demon King is not determined by bloodline like a human. Only the strongest of the demon kin can become a Demon King. Originally, the Dragon Legion Commander would be the next in line, but… since your body is already no different from a demon kin, if you get drenched in my blood, you will be the next Demon King of the next generation. Of course, that’s provided you can overcome my blood…”

The man couldn’t reply, lost in screams.

Surely, the cells capable of feeling pain must have already burned away, yet the agony that tore at his soul was of a kind one could not endure. The whites of his eyes were gradually turning red.

“If you possess such noble will… then you become the Demon King and try to stop this war yourself. How much of this dark impulse you can overcome… watching that would be one form of amusement.”

And then the Demon King’s breath quietly ceased. Simultaneously, the sound of a man’s howl, desperately resisting his own transformation, echoed for quite a while.

Days later, upon returning to the Demon King’s Castle after the battle on the Great Plains, those of the Demon King’s army would see nothing but the ruins of the Demon King’s Castle and the scorched earth.

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