A Lowly Demon Named Mephisto

"Three days from now. The Indoor Training Arena. Don't even think about running."

With the duel declared, Gripork turned and left.

Only X and Beatrice remained on the rooftop.

X waited in silence, a courteous smile fixed on his face. Beatrice stood vacant-eyed, her expression bleak.

It's over.

She could see no way out of this. If there was one, it was assassinating Gripork.

That won't work either.

The Imperial Princess Beatrice would be the official witness. Any assassination or ambush before the duel would be presumed the opponent's doing. Meaning if anything happened to Gripork, X would die with him.

Every path led to the same conclusion.

Should I just give up?

Abandon X here and now and find a new piece to play. A rotten card was best discarded as quickly as possible.

"Princess Beatrice."

X called to her in the middle of that thought.

"...What is it?"

"There's no need to worry. I don't pick fights I can't win."

"And what exactly do you expect me to do with that? If you started this whole mess just to grovel, you're sorely mistaken."

Beatrice stared at the piece she had already decided to throw away.

"I have no interest in you whatsoever."

X was on his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knees, observing every courtesy. Her words, cold as they were, did not move him in the slightest. Watching him kneel there like that only made her more irritated. She needed to leave this instant and rebuild the plan from scratch.

Then X spoke again, and she stopped.

"You're free to proceed with your plans."

"...Plans?"

"The great plan that Lord Andras is putting into motion."

At those words, Beatrice's entire demeanor shifted. Andras looked down at X through narrowed eyes.

"What are you?"

X trembled as if he had been waiting for that question, and answered in a voice thick with emotion.

"Ah! Standing before someone I have revered for so long, I was so overcome I delayed my greeting. I only hope my conduct has not given offense."

"That is not what I asked."

"Ah, of course... Allow me to introduce myself."

X lifted his head and looked up at Andras.

His eyes were no longer human. The black irises had flooded with red, gleaming with a sinister light, and his pupils had stretched into reptilian slits that glittered yellow. They were unmistakably the eyes of a demon.

Of course, it was a lie.

Andras faltered at the introduction.

"You're telling me you're a demon? How?"

"I understand your surprise. I never imagined a human foolish enough to use a demon's contract in a single day would actually exist."

"...Put those eyes away. Are you trying to advertise that a demon is here?"

X's eyes returned to those of a human. Beatrice read the demonic energy still lingering in them. That X was a demon was, without question, the truth.

And yet it did not sit right.

"Explain. Who are you, and how did this happen?"

"I'll explain immediately."

X bowed his head once more and continued.

"I was a lesser demon of Lower Hell, nothing more than a servant in Lord Andras's castle."

"A servant in my castle?"

"That is correct."

Andras sifted through his memory. Naturally, he did not know the name and face of every subordinate he possessed. So he cast a truth-detection spell and checked the result.

The result came back true.

This... I can use this.

In that case, the situation was excellent. It meant one of his own had possessed a human as a demon.

"Very well, Mephisto. What rank of demon are you?"

"I am ashamed to say I have yet to earn a ranking."

"...A pity. Then you have no epithet either."

"That is correct."

That was unfortunate. Had he been as strong as Flauros, there would have been any number of strategies to employ.

Well. This is plenty. At least I won't have to waste strength forcing him to submit.

Andras decided to be satisfied with what he had. Instead, he asked the question that had been bothering him.

"So what happened? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Did that human, X, really use a demon's contract in a single day?"

"Amazingly, yes. The moment he returned to his room, he sealed off every trace of energy and used the contract to summon me. The human is currently sealed inside this ring."

This, too, was a point of suspicion. Humans, no matter how much malice they harbored, did not casually abandon their convictions. That was why Andras had expected a week.

He used the truth-detection spell again.

The result came back true.

X went on, a faint, sardonic smile on his lips.

"He seemed quite desperate. The goddess's trust in him was already broken, and he begged me for power. He forced the contract, saying he'd grow stronger even if it meant selling his soul."

"What an absurd human..."

"He wasn't entirely reckless about it, though. Fancying himself a mage, he tampered with the formation on the contract — tried to force an unfair deal. Apparently he didn't anticipate that the Soul Trap would activate."

"Arrogant of him."

"Indeed."

The Soul Trap triggered the instant a demon's contract was sealed while the contractor was consumed by negative emotion. The mind was crushed and pulverized, consciousness collapsed, and what remained was sealed inside the ring — condemned to spend eternity as a lightning rod that did nothing but drink in holy power.

Andras accepted the explanation and moved to his next question.

"What's with that duel declaration? The venue is inside the academy, so you can't use demonic power. And the preparation time is far too short. What were you thinking, throwing out those terms?"

"That duel is a gift for you, Lord Andras."

"A gift?"

"Consider the terms of victory."

The condition of victory was that X would take over an executive seat. What that meant was obvious.

"So you were trying to seize control of Sword Rang?"

"Precisely. That's why I caused that whole commotion."

That wasn't bad. Taking Sword Rang would open up a considerable number of strategies.

"Fine — if you win, that is. How does a mere 3rd-Circle mage beat a 5-Star warrior? Are you confident?"

"I have a scheme."

Andras saw a peculiar confidence nested in X's eyes. What kind of scheme could possibly make him that sure of himself?

"And what is this scheme?"

"Well, you see..."

Andras listened as X laid it out.

"Fifty stone pillars... mana potions and long potion vials... explosion magic and a massive magic circle? You're going to do this?"

"That's why I chose the Indoor Training Arena."

Andras found the whole thing absurd. And then he decided it could work.

"Truly a scheme worthy of a demon."

"Hah..."

Andras's familiar had vanished as well. There was no longer any reason to keep up the act.

"Swallowing Sword Rang and offering it up to the princess... well..."

Obviously a lie.

In the three days remaining, Sword Rang would fracture from the inside. They would be desperate to find who among them had a connection to the imperial family. The moment anyone turned up even a scrap of dirt, it would be war.

Like this.

"Whether I win this duel or lose it, Sword Rang is finished."

A plan years in the making to take over the academy, collapsing in a mere three days. Because of a few words.

The Sword Rang scenarios shouldn't come up anymore.

That had been the real objective all along.

The Hero's party needed to keep growing. Spending their time fighting petty villains was nothing but a waste. In that time they should swing a sword one more time, learn one more spell. Anything that got in the way of that would be eliminated.

Focus only on the main scenario.

This was the first step.

First, concentrate on the duel.

Once the matter had more or less settled, he returned to class.

"Commoner, are you sure you're okay?"

"Pardon?"

It was Thursday, which meant a heavy load of magic classes, so he had been walking with Lola — and Elia had tagged along. Lola asking that question, worry written on her face, was unexpected.

"I heard you're dueling Sir Gripork. Why would you do that?"

"Ah, that? It's nothing."

"For something that's nothing, your face is pretty scary right now."

X finally looked around. He had known the other students were avoiding him. Of course they were — he was the lunatic who had challenged Gripork to a duel. But that was not why they were steering clear of him now.

"...My face had gone stiff, hadn't it."

He understood at once. No matter how calmly he played it, a duel with Gripork was not nothing. Lives were on the line. He had been tensing up without even realizing it.

Well. I'm nothing more than Ordinary Citizen Number One.

He rubbed his face to loosen it.

"Better now?"

"Looking at it again, you're still ugly."

"Come here a second."

While X was considering which spot on Lola's head would hurt the least, Elia asked a question.

"Why did you challenge him to a duel, X?"

Low as Elia's intelligence was, Lola ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had explained the situation well enough for her to grasp it. Even so, by Elia's own measure, something did not add up.

"Sword Rang are the bad people, right? So why are you fighting them?"

Everything X had done over the past two days sat outside her understanding. X was an evildoer who would destroy the world, a wicked being. Fighting bad people, then, was a strange thing for him to do.

And there was something she understood even less.

"Why is someone like you going through a 'trial' like a duel?"

Trials were supposed to be the exclusive domain of heroes. Villains were the ones who became the trial. Which meant X was not supposed to be someone who underwent trials at all.

X, of course, did not answer her.

"Think about it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yourself."

He started toward the next classroom. Lola followed, then glanced back.

"Don't overthink it. He's just not honest, that's all."

"Not honest?"

"He's always lying, tricking people, pretending he's not..."

"Ah! Has he lied to you too, Lola?"

"All the time! He said this would be easy! That nothing would go wrong! And then we get there and it's a total disaster!"

"Goodness. He really is a bad person!"

At that, Lola's voice trailed off.

"He's not... a bad person..."

"Pardon?"

"Come on, hurry! If we're late again, the commoner's going to nag us!"

Lola ran after X. Elia stayed behind, turning Lola's words over in her mind.

If he's not a bad person, then what is he?

With the intelligence she had now, she could not know.

The academy grew restless. Students and professors alike took an interest in the duel declaration, and the rumor spread through the grounds in no time at all.

"The duel between Sir Gripork and X the Weed!!!"

"Minimum bet is 100,000 El!!!"

"Fifty million El on Sir Gripork!!!"

"On the commoner... I mean, on X — 20 million El...!"

Someone cheered for X. Someone cursed him. Naturally, the cursers were the majority. Even looking at the bets alone, those predicting Gripork's victory overwhelmingly outnumbered the rest.

Despite all of it, X's preparations proceeded steadily. Whenever he found a gap, he met with Andras to ready the plan. He honed his own combat power with bone-grinding intensity. The time that remained, he devoted entirely to training with Roxwell.

The immediate problem was countering the Auror Blade.

"Read the range! He controls the length of his auror!"

Steel screamed against steel. CLANG!!

"Don't even think about parrying! Your auror can't handle it!"

CLAAANG!!

"Stop thinking and move your feet!"

CLAAAANG!!

Roxwell drove X harder than he ever had. Four hours of sleep, and every remaining hour poured into training. He pushed as if racing the clock, and still it was not enough.

"Hah... hah... I'm going to die, Master..."

Roxwell looked at X sprawled on his back, gasping at the sky, and sighed.

"Not enough time. If you'd at least reached 4-Star..."

"Hah... hah... Is... that so?"

"Do you honestly think this is possible? The gap between 5-Star and 3-Star is beyond anything you can imagine. You know why."

"Because the density of a 5-Star Auror Blade... surpasses ordinary auror..."

"That's right. An Auror Blade is auror compressed into physical form. The hardness itself is on a different level from regular auror."

"That's why... 4-Star at minimum?"

"From 4-Star onward, you can condense your auror. And that's not all."

"An Auror Blade can... control its reach."

"On top of that, he uses Dremore Swordsmanship. The range he can manipulate is longer than you'd ever expect."

X knew that. In the original story, Leon had nearly died because of it.

"I know, but... I just can't do it..."

Knowing and doing were different things. X's combat sense simply could not read it.

"That's why... I'm using a trick, like I told you..."

"You mean that method no warrior would ever accept."

"A win's a win, Master... And besides..."

X raised his sword and ignited his auror.

"It was close, but... I got it."

Roxwell looked at the auror along the blade and let out a hollow laugh.

"Hah... Your combat sense is still garbage, but that speed of yours is absurdly fast."

"A man needs something if he wants to stay alive."

With that, it might just be possible. The odds were still vanishingly slim, of course. Which left only one thing to say, and only one thing to answer.

"Don't die."

"Of course."

And then, time passed.

April 4th. Sunday. Noon.

The hour of the duel had arrived.