Squeeze.
I tightened my grip.
The Deception Demon King dangled completely off the ground in my grasp, thrashing about wildly.
"Won't you let me go?!"
"Hey. Demon King."
"Urk."
"You'd better abandon any thought that this is going to end with just a little threat. I don't even know Chris's little brother, so killing you like this wouldn't bother me one bit."
The bastard struggled even more fiercely.
But my arm didn't budge an inch.
"What kind of strength is this...?"
"First things first—where's the real owner of that face you're wearing? Did you kill him?"
"Urgh..."
"..."
"Kuhahaha! Ahahahaha!"
Suddenly, the guy burst into mad laughter.
I was so dumbfounded that I squeezed harder and said,
"You're laughing?"
"Gack. Kek."
"No, seriously—why the hell are you laughing right now? This is exactly why I say I can never understand Demon King sensibilities."
"..."
"Anyway, let's see your real face. Your true one."
Of course, he didn't comply right away.
But when I tightened my grip again, he seemed to give up, and the Demon King's face soon changed.
To me, it looked like the White Squares vanishing in real time—a pretty novel experience.
On the other hand, the revealed true form itself held no particular thrill for me, who'd clashed with countless Demon Kings before.
His lower body vanished, replaced by something long and pole-like.
His face and upper torso turned into rustling straw.
His arms were spread wide open on both sides.
In other words, this form was...
"A scarecrow, huh. Then you should've just fooled some sparrows—why bother deceiving humans too?"
"Kuh."
Just then, I heard voices from Chris and Rennel.
"It's the Deception Demon King after all."
"Sir Chris, is that really the Demon King's true form?"
"Yes, yes. The Deception Demon King was always elusive, so its real appearance was unknown... but the Saintess described it precisely through divine revelation this time. Still pretty astonishing, though."
"Dai-il over there isn't even blinking. How is he so calm?"
"If you're asking me about that..."
I half-listened to their conversation as I spoke to the Demon King.
"Enjoy the view? No idea why you suddenly revealed your true self."
"You told me to show my face..."
"Now die."
"W-Wait a second!"
The Demon King cried out in shock.
"Hold on. Aren't you curious what really happened to Creed?"
Tch, I clicked my tongue softly.
Sure enough, Chris jumped in quickly.
"Wait! Dai-il, you can't kill him."
"A Radiant Knights Order executive saying not to kill a Demon King?"
"Urk. At the very least, after we hear about my brother's whereabouts..."
"Whatever. Spill it, Demon King."
The Deception Demon King answered.
"Oooover theeeere iiiin the weeeest diiiirection..."
Thwack.
I smashed my fist into his face.
Curiously, straw scattered everywhere, and blood poured out from within.
"Dai-il? What are you doing?!"
"This bastard's lying."
"How do you know?"
"Demon King. Tell the truth. Where's the real brother?"
Cough.
The Demon King spat blood as he spoke.
"Noooow, clooooser toooo..." Hurk!
Thud.
"I said speak properly."
"Y-You bastard. Why are you doing this? Iiii haaaave nooo iiidea whaaat you're taaalking abooout."
"Yeah. Let's hit you some more."
"Wait!"
The Demon King waved his hands frantically, forgetting all dignity.
"West. He's in the west."
This time, it wasn't the Quad wrangle's voice.
I shrugged.
"Obviously west. The Radiant Knights Order set out from the west."
"..."
"Be more specific."
"Urk. Diorre Village. The little village where the knights stayed during their march. In that place's..."
"You didn't kill him, did you?"
The final question came not from me, but from Chris.
The Demon King didn't answer immediately, but when I squeezed a bit harder, he yelped and opened his mouth.
"He's alive! Alive, I tell you!"
"Unexpected. That you'd leave the owner of the face you stole alive."
"...You're believing me?"
"Yeah. You wouldn't have hidden him right in the middle of Diorre Village. Tell me exactly where."
"Beeehiiind the viiiillage chiiiief's hoooouse."
Slap.
I slapped his cheek.
This time, nearly a third of the straw scattered into the air.
"You lie every chance you get."
"No, why won't you believe this one?!"
"Where'd you hide him?"
"Urk. In the very room he was staying in, fast asleep. I implanted a suggestion in the innkeeper not to open that room for a while."
"Why leave him alive? Good move on your part, but it's suspicious for a Demon King to suddenly show some humanity."
He answered honestly, as if completely defeated.
"Killing him right in front of that guy would be the most fun."
The "that guy" he meant was Chris.
I heard Chris suck in a sharp breath.
I glanced at Chris and said,
"This is how Demon Kings operate."
"..."
"Even after enjoying himself this much, he was saving the best deception for the climax—just for you. They're the worst kind, acting solely by their own twisted names, morals and conscience be damned."
"...No need to explain the Demon Kings' cruelty to me."
"You seemed clueless. You should've imagined every deception they could pull and prepared for it—like your most precious person being swapped out from the very start."
Chris ground his teeth.
Then, as if realizing something, he asked the Demon King,
"If you impersonated Creed, then naturally, the God's Mirror he had?"
"Of course I took it separately. What your subordinate brought back earlier was a fake."
"Hand it over. The real God's Mirror. It's a treasure the Radiant Knights Order borrowed from the Church."
"Why should I?"
Thwack.
I slapped his cheek again with my palm.
"Argh!"
"You really don't learn."
"Damn it. The God's Mirror's in that inn room too! Why would I carry around something that might expose me?"
"Why not destroy it?"
"The God's Mirror and the other four 'Treasures of God' can't be destroyed by ordinary Demon Kings. Maybe an Arch Demon King level."
"I see."
"Now why do you believe this so easily?! Damn it all."
By now, I'd gotten all the info I needed.
Good thing Chris's brother was alive.
'Probably, before my regression, the Demon King killed him right in front of Chris.'
That final deception had landed perfectly.
Having lost his brother, Chris became an adventurer for revenge, eventually joining our Demon King hunting party.
I felt a swell of pride for stopping it this time.
Now Chris would feel grateful to me.
Naturally, he'd join me on the journey to kill the Erosion Demon King...
'...?'
But with his revenge target gone, would he really stick with me?
Sure, he'd be deeply thankful, but he might think repaying it with material support from the rear was enough.
Tch, I clicked my tongue.
But.
"Whatever. It's fine."
"Dai-il?"
"Debt's paid. Chris."
"Debt...? Dai-il, you don't owe me anything."
The debt from being a shitty leader before my regression.
I smirked at the baffled Chris.
'Gathering party members and making them stronger is important.'
But if possible, I wanted you all to be happier than before the regression.
The Saintess said it—we're not your tools.
I fully agreed, then and now.
This time, I wanted to treat them as true companions.
"Hey, how long you gonna keep this up?"
Then the Deception Demon King interrupted my thoughts.
As thanks for snapping me out of my overlong reverie, I replied,
"Oh. Sorry. Go on now."
Chris cried out in surprise at my words.
"W-Wait! You can't let him go."
"Huh? Of course not."
"You just said 'go on'..."
Thud.
I drove my fist straight into the Demon King's face.
My fist punched clean through his head and out the other side.
For straw, the sticky sensation inside was disgustingly vivid.
"Go to hell."
Whoosh.
I hurled him to the ground and turned away.
Then I felt stares like they were looking at a monster.
"How'd you take down the 91st-ranked Demon King so easily?"
"That guy's the one who split the village earlier."
"Does that even make sense?"
"Does smashing a Demon King's head in with one hand make sense?"
"No, but... at this level, he's straight-up S-rank."
"Probably is S-rank. No idea why he's stuck at B."
Chris just stared at me quietly.
Then, with utmost caution, he asked,
"S-rank skill at your age... What trials have you overcome?"
I shrugged and changed the subject.
"Anyway, get ready to head back. Not that there's much to prepare."
"Pardon?"
"Your brother's in Diorre Village, right? I'll escort you there."
"Why such kindness? You've already done more than I could ever repay."
Chris's face was half puzzled, half moved.
I was glad I could now read such subtle emotions from faces.
Suddenly, a pre-regression memory resurfaced.
To the furious Chris, I'd said, "Nice to meet you."
Looking back now that I could read expressions, my response back then deserved every bit of scolding from Rennel.
I scratched my head and answered.
"Apology for my rude words."
Doubt flickered in Chris's eyes for a moment.
Rennel clapped her hands, looking enlightened.
"Planning to use honorifics from now on?"
No.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We hurried to Diorre Village.
Even en route, Chris couldn't hide his anxiety.
"What if he's not there?"
"He will be."
"This is the Deception Demon King we're talking about. Can we trust his word?"
Then Rennel chimed in.
"This guy's got some weird ability. Like distinguishing truth from lies."
"Why do you think that?"
"Come on, he was picking out the Demon King's lies and punishing him for each one."
"You catch on quick. So, to ask again—you're not hiding anything from me, right?"
"..."
"If you ever feel like telling me, just do it. No plans to pry."
Rennel bowed her head and mumbled something.
It wasn't the Quad wrangle's voice, but I deliberately tuned her out.
I wanted to hear her true feelings when she opened up on her own.
In any case, we found the inn the Deception Demon King mentioned.
Small village—one inn only—so it was easy.
The owner, recognizing Chris's face, handed over the room key for a few coins.
And at the door.
Chris's hands shook so badly he couldn't even insert the key.
"Give it here."
Reluctantly, I snatched it and unlocked the door.
Up to then, I hadn't a shred of worry.
So I flung the door open wide.
And inside, Chris's twin brother, Creed, was...
"Gone?"
He was gone.
"Creed! Creed!"
Chris began ransacking the cramped room.
Wardrobe, under the bed—even knowing it was impossible, he opened the window to check the roof.
Poke.
Then Rennel nudged my side and whispered,
"What happened?"
Instead of answering, I rubbed my eyes.
Acting calm, but I was more rattled than Chris right now.
'What the hell? Did I misunderstand my changed Quad wrangle ability?'
No way.
Post-regression, I'd tested it countless times without fail.
The White Squares I see reveal fakes.
The Quad wrangle voice I hear detects lies.
The Deception Demon King's final words were undoubtedly true.
'Then what... Huh?'
That's when I spotted something on the floor glinting in the moonlight.
Glass shards.
More precisely, mirror shards.
Looking around, fragments were scattered everywhere—how had I missed them?
I said to the two,
"Watch your feet."
"Pardon? Ah."
"Mirror shards. Probably..."
Chris startled and began sweeping them up.
His fingertip got nicked by a sharp edge, but he ignored it.
After gathering them all and piecing them together, he sighed in lament.
"No doubt about it. This is the God's Mirror."
"..."
"Why is it shattered here? No, how could it even break...?"
The Deception Demon King had said it.
The God's Mirror and the other four "Treasures of God" can't be destroyed by ordinary Demon Kings.
'Ah. He added one more thing.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
-Maybe an Arch Demon King level.
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