“Create Wall!”
I’m so panicked that I try using the skill verbally.
Apparently it works if the intent is clear and you name the skill, which at least means I’m not wasting a use. Small mercy.
The mana consumption piles more fatigue onto my body, but I don’t have the luxury of caring about that.
How much mana have I recovered?
Branching Path costs 5, and the text is still dark.
Which means I’ve recovered 4 at most.
Losing consciousness from mana exhaustion while being chased — if that happens, I’m not waking up.
“God, I knew I shouldn’t have looked!!”
For now, I just run — deeper into the dungeon, as fast as I can.
I keep just enough mana in reserve to keep running and spend everything else on walls to block the beast-kin’s path.
No holding back. These aren’t even in the same category as that lizard.
That’s not guesswork talking.
I saw it. When I touched those icons — the ones that turned out to be the beast-kin — something like their stats came up.
Ido — Mana: 90 / Strength: 120 / Technique: 85 / Fortitude: 120 / Agility: 99
Miriam — Mana: 99 / Strength: 42 / Technique: 83 / Fortitude: 55 / Agility: 90
Ravis — Mana: 67 / Strength: 85 / Technique: 63 / Fortitude: 65 / Agility: 99
Grant — Mana: 52 / Strength: 99 / Technique: 31 / Fortitude: 99 / Agility: 67
Every single one of them has a stat at 99 — I’d assumed that was the cap.
But Ido has two stats sitting at 120.
There’s no fighting these people. I’d be dead in seconds if they felt like it.
“Damn it! Another wall! I’m going to kill that demon!”
So they’ve already broken through the first one.
The only option is to keep building walls and keep running deeper.
Except I’ve already built two, which means from here on I risk losing consciousness with every one.
“Either way, I have to run!”
◇
I ran like my life depended on it. Because it did.
My mana must have recovered partway through — after each wall got broken down, I built two more to keep blocking the path.
But even so, to end up here…
I’ve spent at least 4 mana. The same amount that knocked me out the first time.
The only reason I’m still conscious is probably because enough time passed for some mana to recover.
Or maybe… it’s the terror of death staring me in the face.
“Pathetic little thing. I can’t believe you made us work this hard.”
The tiger beast-kin, apparently frustrated at being held off by something like me, doesn’t bother hiding his irritation as he levels his sword at me.
I really don’t want that… it looks sharp, and getting cut with that would obviously hurt like hell…
I ran as hard as I could. I managed my mana and bought every second I could. But it’s over now.
Whatever tiny scrap of hope I had left has just run out entirely. There’s nothing left to do but give up.
“What are you doing?”
Maybe that’s why.
When I heard that voice, what I felt first wasn’t fear — it was beauty.
“…And what are you doing in a place like this.”
The beast-kin aren’t even looking at me anymore.
They’re fixed, wary and sharp, on a woman with long, beautiful golden hair.
“Isn’t a Demon Lord supposed to wait on her throne?”
The rabbit beast-kin tries for a light tone, but her voice is trembling.
Demon Lord… Demon Lord!? That’s — the one the goddess said to defeat. The reason that game has its brutal reputation.
“Doesn’t matter where we fight! Kill it here and the glory of slaying the Demon Lord is ours!”
Unlike the others who can’t quite hide their hesitation, the tiger beast-kin alone is different.
Rallied by his voice, the others swallow their fear and steel themselves to face the Demon Lord.
…Just like heroes.
Which means that tiger beast-kin must be Ido — the one with 120 in two stats.
“First the human Hero, now a beast-kin Hero… you don’t seem interested in talking.”
“I’m not here to listen to you beg! And I’m not a hero. Unlike the humans, we beast-kin have a clearer term for it — we call it the strongest warrior!”
Ido, the strongest warrior, charges at the Demon Lord.
Ravis the wolf beast-kin uses his speed to harry her from all sides. Miriam the rabbit beast-kin launches magic from range. Grant the bear beast-kin swings his massive arms alongside Ido, pressing in to finish her off.
Going by the stats and names I glimpsed on the map — I’m probably right about who’s who.
They were trying to kill me. But I’ll at least remember their names.
…As the one who was there to see their end.
It was over in an instant.
The Demon Lord turned her palm toward the four of them, and they were ash.
There’s no point being surprised by that outcome. If anything, it was inevitable.
Fiona Silvana — Mana: 9999 / Strength: 9999 / Technique: 9999 / Fortitude: 9999 / Agility: 9999
The icon deep in the dungeon — that was apparently marking the Demon Lord’s location.
Touching it had shown me stats like these, so the beast-kin never had even one chance in ten thousand.
“…Tiresome. Should I just seal the entrance.”
Brief as the fight was, even the Demon Lord seems drained — her voice has a peculiar heaviness to it, like even speaking is a chore.
As for me — I have no idea what to do. I can’t move a single step.
And because of that, I end up making eye contact with the Demon Lord.
“Before that — you, first. You’re a demon… but I don’t recognize your face.”
This is bad… I was hoping being a demon would make me look like an ally, but she’s suspicious.
“Come to think of it, all demons aside from myself are dead. There are no overlooked survivors… Which means — a reincarnate?”
She even has the word for it ready, which means this world has had more than a few people reincarnated into it.
That goddess — she’s been doing this to other people too?! More than once?!
“…You. Are you here to defeat me?”
Bad. If she decides I’m an enemy, that’s it.
I’ll end up just like those beast-kin.
Say something — open your mouth—!
“I—”
“?”
“You said you were going to seal the entrance! I can do that — right now!”
Lead with what you can actually do.
The Demon Lord could probably manage it far more easily, but right now, this is about all I’ve got.
If I can just make her think I’m useful — get her to the point of sure, I’ll keep this one alive, it’s convenient —
“You don’t look like you have much power.”
“I don’t have power, but with my skill I can do that much in an instant!”
“…A reincarnate’s ability. I’ve heard of such things.”
The fact that she even knows about that tells me the goddess really has been shipping people to this game world over and over.
“Then show me.”
“Y-yes ma’am!!”
Halfway through my reply, I felt weightlessness — and then I was hurtling back through the dungeon at roller-coaster speed.
Apparently the Demon Lord had grabbed me and was moving at an outrageous velocity.
We arrived at the dungeon entrance in an instant, which was great, except I feel absolutely terrible…
No — if I throw up here, I’ll probably be killed. I have to hold it together.
“…”
Swallowing the nausea, I reached out and touched the menu.
Create Wall functions perfectly — a wall appears, sealing off the entrance.
The Demon Lord watches it, and for a moment, something like surprise crosses her face.
“…Handy.”
“S-so then… would you possibly consider… letting me serve under you…?”
“…Are you serious?”
“I— yes! Completely serious!”
Probably because otherwise I’ll die.
Not die at the Demon Lord’s hands specifically — it’s more that I likely have no place anywhere in this world.
The beast-kin and the Demon Lord both recognized me as a demon.
The beast-kin tried to kill me. And before them, humans apparently came to defeat the Demon Lord.
Which means there’s a solid chance demons are treated as enemies by every other race.
In that case, wandering around outside on my own is just a slow death sentence.
Damn that goddess. Reincarnating me as a demon — no wonder she called me a dud.
Then I have no choice but to take whichever option gives me the best odds of surviving.
Which is serving this one final boss who singlehandedly cranks the difficulty through the roof.
“I am the Demon Lord.”
“I’m a demon!”
“My subordinates are all dead, so everyone in the world is hostile toward me.”
“I’m not!”
“…Ugh. It’ll be a lot of trouble, you know.”
Something about her… the dignity just kind of evaporated all at once.
What came back was a tired, can’t-be-bothered sort of voice.
“I— I’ll be fine…”
“…Alright. Then first, I’d like you to fix the dungeon. The heroes left it in ruins, and I haven’t known what to do.”
So it seems like…I’ve managed to land something like a probationary period at a mid-career hire.
I’ll just have to try my best not to get my head literally cut off.