The Demon King Won't Fall
The Black Dragon Guild.
This mercenary company, founded as a small outfit on the rural outskirts, had swept across the entire continent like a wildfire, leaving...
Ah, forget it. Who cares about all this nitpicky lore.
They were just fucking strong. Period. A guild so powerful even kingdoms didn't dare lay a finger on them. That was all you needed to know.
"...Why do you keep grinning like that...?"
The Demon King, who'd been leisurely washing dishes as if invaders were none of her concern, asked in a distinctly displeased tone.
"It's nothing. Really... pfft."
Ah, I shouldn't. I really shouldn't. But I couldn't stop the snickers from leaking out. I could already picture it crystal clear: the Demon King getting the absolute shit beaten out of her, dropping into a full kowtow and wailing, I'm sorry, I was wrong!
I wiped my freshly washed hands on a dishcloth, turned, and started walking out.
"H-hey."
The Demon King looked back at me.
I had to say it as casually as possible. No ulterior motive whatsoever. The way you'd kick a can you found lying on the ground.
"Can I come with you?"
At my question, all expression drained from her face. She just stared at me in silence.
Come on, answer already. This is killing me...
"...Why?"
Damn. Her eyes were packed with suspicion. She had the face of an owner clutching a dog's leash in a death grip, terrified it might bolt.
Don't flinch, Baek Dongha. You already sat down and ate a meal together. What's so wrong about asking a little favor?
"No reason? I was bored?"
That offhand answer drained the color from her crimson eyes, turning them a dull, lifeless gray.
Those eyes.
Yeah... the look you give a mosquito buzzing around a dark room in the middle of summer. The look of someone about to smash it with their bare palm.
Apparently I'd picked the wrong excuse.
THWACK!
No. Can't let that happen.
I need to change my answer.
She'd said she'd kill me if I left this place. What I'd just said was close enough to count.
...Ah, screw it.
"I-I wanted to cheer you on."
"Ah..."
The killing intent radiating off her vanished in an instant. For some reason, her crimson eyes sparkled. Her lips twitched, and through the gap I caught a glimpse of that little white snaggletooth.
She spun back around.
"F-fine. Let's go. Together."
Somehow, the ball I'd just chucked had sailed straight into the back of the net.
Hah.
Was I going to live long enough to die of old age?
This opportunity felt like it might be important.
The guild party was four members strong.
Judging by their gear: two warrior-types, one mage, and one healer? Supporter? Something like that.
"So you've shown yourself."
The Black Dragon Guild member who'd spotted the Demon King offered up the most painfully cliché greeting imaginable.
"Hey. Don't step on that."
The Demon King scowled, pointing a fingertip at the ground beneath the warrior who'd just spoken.
"What?"
"The carpet. I said don't step on it. Ah, you already did."
The Demon King's face crumpled. Are you fucking kidding me... the carpet? That's what you're worried about right now?
"Ahh... the carpet. You mean this?"
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
The asshole warrior stamped his footprints into it over and over. The Demon King's face twisted into a full grimace, and I just found the whole display exhausting.
Hey... you moron. Stop it. Why are you raising every third-rate villain death flag in the book?
"What's wrong with him... seriously."
The Demon King clicked her tongue at the warrior's behavior — whether he was being righteous or just childish, I couldn't tell. For once, I agreed with her.
Whatever... just... take her down!
I don't think I'd rooted for anything this desperately since the 2002 World Cup. If I could have, I would've waved a Black Dragon banner myself.
"Hm? And what are you?"
One of the guild members asked. He was talking about me.
"Ah, I'm..."
Wait.
What was I supposed to say? A stranded victim who'd been praying they'd show up and wreck the Demon King?
If I said I was on their side and they lost?
Everything I'd just blurted about cheering her on would become my last words, preserved for posterity.
And if I said I was on the Demon King's side and she lost?
I'd be tied up in the town square right next to her, getting pelted with rocks. That much was obvious.
"So, uh... I'm..."
That was when a woman — healer or support, I couldn't tell — cut me off.
"Give it up. Look at the bags under that man's eyes. That's the Mark of Darkness. It's already too late. He's been mentally rewritten by the Demon King. Treat him as one of hers and eliminate him."
...
You have got to be fucking kidding me! What kind of bullshit is that?! These are just dark circles from staying up all night playing games with the Demon King!
At the mage's words, the idiot warrior slowly closed his eyes.
"...So it's too late. I'm sorry."
If you're sorry, then don't give up on me! You could try a little harder!
Grr!
You know-nothing bitch! Why are you running your mouth when you don't know a damn thing?
Shit. I couldn't just sit here and take it. I needed to make my position clear.
"No. That's not—"
"Heehee... pffthihhihit."
A chill ran down my spine.
The Demon King was laughing that unhinged laugh of hers again. What was even the punchline here?
"That's right. He came to cheer me on."
...
No...
I mean, I did say that, but... still...
Fuck...
"Let's begin. Put up the buffs. This is the Demon King. Don't let your guard down."
The warrior drew his sword with a sharp ring, and the other three snapped into combat stances.
Their form's pretty solid.
Our party had been the same way, but this was airtight positioning worthy of the Black Dragon Guild. The two shield-bearing warriors took the front line. That gave them the highest burst damage of any class composition, and it meant the Archmage — whose body was paper-thin — had just gained a thick fortress wall. And the healer... if a crack ever formed in that wall, she'd patch it up on the spot.
Plus they're S-rank.
Unfamiliar faces, so they weren't Black Dragon executive-level. But the blue insignia on their shoulders was unmistakably the kind issued only to S-ranks.
They might even be stronger than my old party.
With a lineup like that, they could probably turn a small country into wasteland in three days.
They might actually have a shot.
I, a Luggage Porter with zero combat ability, had at some point started analyzing things on my own like this — like a walking Pokédex.
"Here we go!"
The warrior's thunderous shout served as the starting pistol, and the battle began.
Honestly... I had no idea who I was supposed to be cheering for.
The two warriors charged. The one who arrived first — not the idiot — pulled his sword all the way back, winding up for a thrust with everything he had. The Demon King raised a hand to catch it.
It's a feint.
The exaggerated motion. He'd deliberately baited the Demon King into defending. Blue mana gathered in the shield the warrior held.
Resistance Zero
!
That wasn't a warrior.
He was a paladin?
A top-tier debuff skill that, true to its name, drove the target's magic resistance all the way down to zero. The reason it shaved magic resistance instead of physical defense was obvious. From the start, the only blade meant to cut down the Demon King was the Archmage.
"I figured."
A translucent mirror materialized in the Demon King's hand. She'd known from the beginning that a skill was coming, not a sword.
That mirror...
"KYAAAAAH! Dongha! Friend Shield!"
"Let go of me, you fucking bitch!!!! Aaaagh!"
It was the same mirror that had reflected the fire magic Dorothy from my party had thrown.
A violent crackle of energy.
Resistance Zero flew right back and struck the guy who'd just fired it.
"Ghk, dammit! Heidi! Stop chanting Meteor Drive! My magic resistance just dropped!"
...So that was it.
The two warriors up front. Their builds were probably stacked entirely into magic resistance.
Which meant their plan was:
1. Strip the Demon King's magic resistance. Nothing else.
2. The two warriors pin her down.
3. Once her movement is locked, everyone tanks the ultimate spell — Meteor — together.
4. Only the Demon King, her magic resistance at zero, dies.
...They're actually fighting pretty smart?
Well. It was the Black Dragon Guild. Not that surprising, when you thought about it.
But against a Demon King who'd cut her teeth on countless battles, they weren't even allowed to complete step one.
The idiot stretched a hand toward the warrior who'd just had Resistance Zero reflected back at him.
A portion of the caster's magic resistance is shared with an ally.
A heartwarming little skill that split off some of your own magic resistance and gave it away. So they'd planned for the reflection, too.
"It's fine. We can tank anything that isn't the meteor. Just hold out for three minutes until the reflected debuff wears off!"
The Demon King answered the idiot's order herself.
"I can do that too."
"......What?"
Nobody except the Demon King understood what she'd just said. Not until they heard her next words.
⟨ Meteor Drive ⟩
"Ghk... ghhk..."
You didn't even need to look at the idiot to know he was done, and the unnamed warrior was out of the fight entirely. He smelled like those grilled squids they sell at highway rest stops.
"Th-that's impossible! No mana concentration! No casting... M-Meteor?!"
The Archmage named Heidi cried out, trembling.
...That was what I'd wanted to say. I carved it into my bones all over again. Just how strong this girl really was.
I'm so fucked. Seriously. She's way too strong.
That was the kind of thing you'd say about an enemy of humanity, but thank god I hadn't ended up siding with those guys.
Step. Step.
Her pale bare feet, having carved the entire fortress wall out of existence, walked toward the mage who'd been hiding behind it.
Step. Step.
"M-Monica! Get Resurrection ready! I'll try to freeze the Demon King in place with Blizzard!"
True to a ranker party's damage dealer, she made the best call she could even with the front line collapsed.
"Blizzar—"
"Don't. It's cold."
A whisper of displaced air.
The Demon King vanished from sight. When I turned my head, her forehead-flicking hand was already poised right in front of the Archmage's brow.
Even teleport...
Goodbye... I won't go far. Heidi.
THWACK!
Heidi: downed.
The healer behind her dropped into a full kowtow, trembling from head to toe.
"I-I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'll talk some sense into these guys and get them out of—"
A whisper of displaced air.
The Demon King approached her, lifted that neatly bowed head, and—
THWACK!
A nuclear-grade forehead flick, utterly unmoved by the healer's way with words.
...
The sight of her walking toward me barefoot was terrifying.
I swallowed hard.
She wasn't coming for me. She had business with the idiot — the one who'd shared his magic resistance and then taken a Meteor Drive to the face. The Demon King spoke in a voice like ice.
"Hey."
"Gh... ghhhk... w-what do you intend to do with me."
"You're gonna wash the carpet."
She rolled up the dirt-caked carpet and threw it at the idiot. Hurry up, you bastard. Before the Demon King gets even more pissed.
The Demon King slowly looked around.
...I'm scared out of my mind.
I'd gotten a little desensitized when she demolished our party, but I didn't think I'd ever get used to strength that defied all common sense.
"...It's a mess again."
She said it like that, then started wiping down the shattered furniture and trampled belongings with wounded eyes.
"I'll help..."
I went over and crouched down beside her to help with the cleaning.
Don't look at me like that... I'm only groveling because I don't want you to kill me...
"...Hey."
"...Yeah?"
"So... why'd you cheer for me?"
She didn't look my way as she swept up the broken shards of glass. With her bare hands.
This crazy girl...
Why did I cheer for her?
I couldn't think of a decent answer. No — I could. Because I wanted to get out of here. Because I wanted to watch you get wrecked.
"...Just because?"
After that, we cleaned up the broken and shattered things in silence.