What Are You?
What are you? The arena fell completely silent. Everyone had lost their words, and I was no different. No, I was probably the most shocked out of all of them. Who wouldn't be stunned if someone you knew suddenly declared they'd become the Maou just to claim you?
What made it even more terrifying was that those words actually had a real chance of coming true.
"...You."
"Are you serious?"
"This mad..."
Our group, who knew who Sibylius was, immediately hardened our expressions. Viol turned deadly serious, Arios looked shocked, and Ares ground her teeth. The ones who hadn't grasped the situation yet were those seeing Sibylius for the first time.
"Wh-who is that?"
"One of ours?"
"Insane mana, but..."
The demonkin, finally coming to their senses, stared at Sibylius in bewilderment. They didn't know who she was, but the atmosphere suggested she was a powerful demonkin—still, their reaction was utter disbelief.
"How dare you casually mention becoming the Maou. You're insane."
One demonkin addressed Sibylius. He had long brown hair and looked quite strong.
"Even if you're one of us demons, it's hard to tolerate such madness."
"Why is that mad talk?"
"It's only been a mere thousand years—surely you haven't already forgotten that one's power?"
Indeed, demonkin. Calling a thousand years "mere" was an astonishing sense of time.
The brown-haired demonkin approached Sibylius as if lecturing her.
"I'll give you a chance to take it back now. This is for your own good."
"Hmm. I don't see why I'd need to retract something that's not impossible."
"I see. Words won't get through to you, then."
Sibylius retorted, stepping forward as if ready to fight, and the brown-haired demonkin scowled. Then,
"Decompose."
"...What?"
"Where'd he go?"
The demonkin looked around in confusion, as if they thought the brown-haired one had dodged somewhere. I might've thought the same without prior knowledge. But having read the original novel to the end and knowing what kind of monster Sibylius was, I could tell. Since Sibylius said "decompose," the opponent had clearly been decomposed and vanished from this world.
"Any more?"
Sibylius, having completely decomposed a person just moments ago, casually walked among the demonkin and asked,
"Who opposes me becoming the Maou?"
"What nonsense is this...!"
"Instant Death."
The demonkin who lunged to grab Sibylius's collar collapsed. Since she said "instant death," he was surely dead.
"...What?"
"N-no way?"
The demonkin murmured in shock at their dead comrade. Earlier, without a body, it hadn't felt real, but now with a corpse as proof, they were starting to grasp it. That the opponent wasn't just bluffing.
In the heart of the empire's capital, which held the founder who defeated the Maou, boldly declaring she'd become the Maou in front of the empress and countless demonkin—that she was a being with the power to back it up.
"S-Sibylius?"
Has stammered Sibylius's name only after witnessing the power, finally recognizing her. As the opponent's identity came to light, the demonkin grew even more uproarious.
"Sibylius? That half-demon doing mage work in this empire?"
"The ridiculously strong one?"
"Strong or not, she's only half!"
"She's not just any half. I heard she's the child of some top-tier demonkin."
The demonkin's reactions split in two: those tensing up from rumors, and those still complacent despite seeing the power firsthand.
"...I've heard the rumors."
Has was in the tense camp. Her face ashen, she addressed Sibylius.
"But from what I know, the emperors kept her from entering the capital, right?"
"I've decided to ignore that from now on."
"Is that so?"
Has rolled her eyes. She smirked, as if deciding how to take Sibylius's response.
"...Looks like you've finally grown sick of the human world. Why not join our side instead?"
Still trying to recruit her since she was half-demon, it seemed.
"No thanks."
Sibylius's answer was firm.
"Didn't you hear me earlier? I said I'd become the Maou to have Seres. How could I side with you, a follower of the old Maou?"
"Why do you want Seres?"
"Because I love him."
"What?"
"When a woman wants to claim a man, does she need any other reason?"
Has's expression changed. That answer made it clear no amount of persuasion would work.
"...The opponent's a half-demon, no matter how strong. No pureblood demonkin would fear a half-breed like that, right? Don't be scared—keep fighting!"
In the end, Has resorted to incitement. She knew how dangerous Sibylius was, but stating facts would make no one fight.
...But so what? Could they win by ganging up?
The moment Sibylius stepped forward, I'd already relaxed. It wasn't just from knowing the setting—I'd felt her power firsthand now.
Yeah, thinking about it, I'd been overreacting. If this female Sibylius had the same skills as the original, there was no need to band together and stall for time.
The original was a romance fantasy novel, so characters only vaguely described her strength, but there was one solid setting: Sibylius was the strongest among the original male leads—stronger than anyone who actually appeared, excluding setting-only existences like the Maou or Heavenly God.
If this one decided to use force, no individual could stop her. Not even the other male leads.
In the original, Arios had caught her in the middle of vivisecting Seres and taken him away, but that wasn't because her power fell short. When Arios called her out, she must've realized how deranged her actions were and gave him up willingly.
That power was now fully on my side—no need to fear the enemy.
Viol and Arios also dropped their combat stances, confirming I wasn't alone in thinking that. They came to my side instead of fighting, freeing the demonkin they'd been holding, but there was no need to worry.
"Decompose. Destroy. Instant Death. Incinerate. Deadly Poison. Drown."
Demonkin died with every word Sibylius uttered, leaving no room for them to bother us.
"Is that Sibylius's true power? No wonder our temple's been on guard against her."
"When did you get here?"
As we watched Sibylius fight, Hames suddenly appeared behind me.
"Did you come from the temple after hearing about this?"
"No, I was already out when your mother left the temple."
She'd been hiding, ready to strike if I was in danger, she said.
"But it looks like that won't be necessary. I don't like her much, but she's an ally for now, so it's reassuring."
"Really?"
I eyed Hames suspiciously.
"Didn't you hear what she said? She's becoming the Maou to claim me."
"Her wanting you doesn't bother me. The Maou bit? Whatever. She's obviously just showing off in front of you, seizing the moment."
"How do you know?"
"...I sometimes feel the urge to do the same in front of you."
Hames averted her gaze as she spoke, leaving me dumbfounded. Becoming the Maou just to show off? Anyone else, maybe—but not Sibylius. She actually had the power, so even our allies were tense.
"Heard the rumors, but she's a real monster," Red muttered nearby, guarding me like a bodyguard, her tone incredulous.
"The, the Maou?"
"...Definitely on par with the Maou we saw back then."
"Being a mage makes her seem even stronger."
"Enough—don't get rattled!"
The Death Knights, who had actual experience fighting and being wiped out by the Maou, reacted even more intensely. Niobe barely calmed her subordinates, who had stopped fighting to stare at Sibylius in fear.
Sibylius was displaying such overwhelming power that even sword masters who'd lived a thousand years were stunned.
Before long, the demonkin were all annihilated, leaving only Has. She hadn't died or vanished from a single spell. She was just a ragged mess.
Having taken Sibylius's first proper attack spell head-on, she screamed in her wrecked state.
"Wh-what is this?!"
Her face showed disbelief as she looked at the demonkin corpses scattered everywhere—the ones at least preserved as bodies.
"Wiping out nearly a hundred demonkin single-handedly! H-how could a mere half-demon like you wield power like His?!"
Half-mad, she shrieked, then,
"Of all times—why now?! You show up and ruin everything just when it was all prepared! With Seres and Black Pain in hand, I could've revived Him!!"
Still scheming to use me, she mentioned my name.
"Seres, listen well. You must help us! Because you—!"
She turned to me to say something, but then.
"Want Black Pain? Then take it."
Ares, who'd been waiting for an opening, stepped forward and swung Black Pain at the half-dead Has.
"Too bad—you didn't get it."
After ambushing and finishing Has in one blow, she muttered coldly.
"...What are you?"
I hadn't heard Has's final words and could only stare in confusion.