The Unforeseen Victor
One week before the dispatch, a request for support from the government of Sack arrived at the Church headquarters in the Holy City of Heilen. The request detailed the appearance of an infamous Demon King known as the Hero Slayer. It reported that he had murdered the 157th-ranked Regular Hero, and subsequently slaughtered several other Heroes who had gone to hunt him down. However, the Church's first reaction upon receiving the request was suspicion. The behavior was vastly different from what the Demon King known as the Hero Slayer had shown so far. Until now, he had always moved in secret, hiding his identity and assassinating powerful Heroes in one-on-one combat. This time, however, he had openly revealed himself and was staying in a single location.
This sudden shift in behavior sparked intense debate within the Church. It was a rare opportunity for a Demon King to show himself so openly inside a barrier. Consequently, the decision to subjugate him was unanimous. Even if it were a trap, they agreed it was a risk well worth taking.
However, deciding how much military force to deploy for the subjugation was not an easy matter. The opinions were divided into two main camps: one side argued to send a vanguard led by a high-grade Hero in case it was a trap, while the other insisted on sending a Sacred Rank Hero immediately to minimize any chance of the target escaping. Ultimately, they decided to dispatch a Sacred Rank Hero.
This was because Stella, the 4th-ranked Sacred Rank Hero, had accepted the mission. Unlike the 1st and 2nd ranks, who were unreachable in the Chaos Zone, and the 3rd rank, who was currently on another mission, she had time to spare. Moreover, there was a firm belief that someone of her caliber could overcome any unforeseen circumstances. In the worst-case scenario, even if multiple Demon Kings ambushed them, she possessed the power to drag them all down to hell with her. Of course, Sack would not survive the collateral damage of such a clash, but that was strictly a worst-case scenario.
Thus, a dispatch team consisting of five Heroes was assembled. Two high-grade Heroes—a swordsman and a tank—to hold the front line. A high-grade archer to suppress the Demon King's movements, and a high-ranking Hero to provide healing. Finally, Stella, the Sacred Rank Hero who would annihilate the Demon King in a single blow with her high-tier magic. For a team put together in just a few days, it was a remarkably balanced and stable composition.
With that, they departed Heilen for Sack. By using a carriage specially reinforced with barrier stones, they didn't need to take the Gate and pass through Basil. Inside the rattling carriage, a high-grade warrior asked, "Come to think of it, Lady Stella, I heard you've slain Demon Kings multiple times before?"
He was a young Hero who had only recently risen to the rank of a high-grade Hero. While this spoke volumes of his exceptional talent and skill, he had earned his rank by subjugating a succession of powerful Chaos Beasts; he had never actually faced a Demon King. To his eyes, a Hero like Stella, who had slain Demon Kings multiple times, seemed to stand on an entirely different plane of existence.
"Well, yes," Stella replied casually.
"Could you tell us how you did it?"
Stella gave a nonchalant shrug. "It was simple, really. While a beanpole and a meathead held them down from the front, I just went *kaboom* with my magic."
"Excuse me?"
In truth, it hadn't been nearly as simple as she made it sound. To overcome a Demon King's regeneration outside the barriers, she had to unleash multiple spells of catastrophic scale—a feat that pushed even her immense mana pool to its absolute limits. She had to desperately cling to her consciousness, pouring out spells while burning through her very life force, just to bring one down. Even so, there was no reason to fear this expedition. The Holy Relics she wielded now were far superior to the ones she had back then. Her magic, too, had only grown more refined, defying the aging of her physical body.
And...
"There's no need to be terrified just because it's a Demon King. Sure, they're strong and have incredible regenerative abilities, but they're nothing special inside a barrier. That's the only reason humanity has managed to survive this long."
The Demon King they were hunting was, for some reason, holed up inside a building within the barrier. Barring any unforeseen variables, this would be an easier hunt than expected. Especially since the Hero Slayer was known to be an early-generation Demon King whose true form wasn't particularly powerful.
"Still, don't let your guard down. We're almost there, so get ready."
Ahead, a black, hemispherical barrier came into view. It was the barrier of Sack.
Has it been nearly eight years?
For the past eight years, she had devoted herself entirely to the research of magic, rarely stepping onto the battlefield. The lack of major incidents was the primary reason. The Church, too, left her in peace unless a threat on the level of a Demon King emerged.
It had been a long time since her last battle, yet her combat instincts felt as familiar as an old friend. With practiced ease, she pulled a pair of gloves from her robe and slipped them on.
The carriage passed smoothly through Sack's barrier. Recognizing the vehicle as a specialized Church carriage, the watchtower guards waved them through without delay.
As they entered the streets of Sack, the building in question immediately caught their attention. Being the tallest structure in the city, it was impossible to miss.
They said he's on the top floor, right?
Just then, the archer, who had been staring intently at the building's rooftop, gasped in surprise.
"There's more than one."
Among Heroes, those in ranged positions like archers trained their sensory perception as a fundamental skill. It was essential for them to maintain a broad view of the battlefield from the rear. Although she was an archer specialized more in combat than detection, she was one of the few who had reached the high-grade rank, and her sensory abilities were top-notch.
"What do you mean by that?"
"There are two Demon Kings on the top floor."
"What?"
Had a local government really failed to distinguish whether there was one Demon King or two? Then again, it seemed no Hero who had climbed to the top floor had ever returned alive to tell the tale.
"What about the identity of the other Demon King?"
"I can't tell that much..."
She could only sense them because a Demon King's energy was so overwhelmingly potent; distinguishing between the two distinct signatures was already an incredibly difficult feat.
Should I increase the output of my spell?
Her intended strategy was to launch a preemptive strike on the top floor with her magic. While her spells dealt massive, wide-area damage, she had calculated that targeting the very top of the building would minimize collateral damage to the surroundings. However, if she had to increase the spell's power beyond her initial plan, the situation would change.
I might have to accept some collateral damage to Sack.
As they moved into casting range, the archer's eyes suddenly went wide.
"There's one more inside."
Just as Stella was about to let out a curse, the archer quickly corrected herself.
"This one is human. His presence is faint, but he's holding his own against the Demon King."
"A human?"
It seemed there was still a Hero left in Sack capable of standing up to a Demon King. Under these circumstances, she couldn't just blindly bombard the top floor.
"Let's head up."
They couldn't simply wait around for the battle upstairs to end. Since they had two high-grade front-liners, they could step in to assist if necessary.
However, the moment they reached the building's entrance, the archer froze in her tracks.
"What is it?"
"The fighting has stopped."
"Is it over? Who won?"
Depending on the outcome, they would either blast the top floor with magic from here or continue their ascent. But the archer's response was entirely unexpected.
"Neither of them has fallen."
"What?"
"They've simply... stopped fighting."
It made no sense.
"Dammit, they were tearing each other apart just a second ago, and now they've stopped?"
Rushing in blindly when they couldn't grasp the situation was a recipe for disaster.
"Let's ascend slowly and gather as much information as we can."
Yet, the further up they went, the more baffling the situation became.
"One of the Demon Kings' energy signatures has vanished."
The human who had stopped fighting had clearly killed the Demon King. And then...
"It seems a battle has begun with the remaining Demon King as well, though I'm not sure if 'battle' is the right word..."
"If it's not a battle, then what is it?"
"It looks more like torture, or perhaps venting anger. The other Demon King has completely lost the ability to fight back."
By the time they finally reached the top floor, the archer spoke in a hushed tone.
"...The Demon King is dead."
This time, she didn't even need to say it. Everyone could feel that the oppressive presence of the Demon Kings that had saturated the top floor was now completely gone. And the sight that greeted them only confirmed it.
"He's younger than I expected."
"Did we just lose our achievement to some wet-behind-the-ears brat?"
Across the room, a boy was pushing himself up, swaying unsteadily with a sword gripped tightly in his hand. Though his frame was reasonably mature, his face still retained the soft features of youth. But most of all, he was weeping.
"Sniveling like a baby after killing a Demon King..."
As they approached the boy, sensing something bizarre, the archer suddenly noticed something.
"Wait, that kid..."
"What is it, Ryutmila?"
She had definitely seen him somewhere before. Back then, he had been a much younger boy, but...
"That's the boy who was with Gwen back then..."
He was undoubtedly the boy she had seen outside the barrier of the Basil Region. And the sword he held...
The Gravitus Replicant?
It was unbelievable. The boy she had seen back then had looked far too weak to even swing a sword. Even Gwen's claim that he was just a porter had sounded completely unconvincing.
And that same kid just took down two Demon Kings?
The energy radiating from him now was undeniably different. Yet, he still didn't seem strong enough to defeat a Demon King, let alone two. How on earth had a kid like him managed to slay two of them?
"Ryutmila."
"Yes?"
"I can see that the boy is far from ordinary."
Stella, too, did not view the boy as normal. However, in the end, there was only one course of action.
"Let's escort him back to the Holy City of Heilen first, then we can figure things out. At this rate, he's highly likely to become a prime target for the other Demon Kings."
The mission to defeat the Demon King in Sack was over. Now, it was time to execute a newly established operation.
"Hey, kid."
At Stella's call, the boy, who had been staring blankly at the Demon King's corpse, finally raised his head.
"Who are you..."
"I am Stella, a Sacred Rank Hero. As of this moment, I am taking you into custody and escorting you to the Holy City of Heilen."
For the record, the boy did not have the option to refuse.