"Woooooohhhhh!"

　In the pitch-black mist, I saw myself within a twenty-faced solid, denser than the rest of the darkness.

The Demon King Malcosias, furious and struggling to break free.

Yet, the coffin of darkness does not shatter so easily.

Within the Darkness Fog, darkness reinforces darkness, amplifying its strength even further.

A never-before-seen, continuous drain of spiritual energy from my body. A powerful binding spell, but the cost is immense.

Unlike simple bindings that consume a small amount of spiritual energy at a time, if not used differently, my spiritual energy would quickly run dry.

Thanks to the favor of spirits, I can draw power from the spirits themselves in addition to my own spirit energy, but that doesn't mean I can use magic endlessly.

It's like the spirits are shouldering ninety percent of the actual cost, while I still need to supply ten percent myself.

Perhaps it's more accurate to say that ten percent is consumed as the trigger for activation.

Either way, since that ten percent is always in use, even if I can cast ten times as many spells as an ordinary person, using powerful techniques continuously will quickly drain me.

It was a race against time.

I dove into the Dark Coffin.

Only a spirit mage cloaked in Darkness Fog could enter this dark coffin.

"Galluraaa!"

"Let's settle this...! Either the spell's restraint breaks, or you die before then...!"

Struck across the right side of the face by Refliah's photon ray, bleeding profusely yet still, the remaining left eye flickered with a bizarre crimson glow even in the darkness, radiating the demon king's endless stamina.

Leaping onto the demon king's back, desperately struggling to escape the shadowy bonds.

The back of the fierce lion, Malcosias, covered in stiff fur, was hot—pulsing with the demon king's life force.

But no matter how powerful and monstrous humanity's ultimate enemy may be, there is one weakness—!

I threw my full weight down, slashing the spirit's lifeline—the base of the neck—with a short blade.

"Woooaaaahhh!"

"Gaaarrrlululaaah!"

The demon king's roar, erupting from the depths of his organs.

In a state where movement was nearly impossible, I still shook violently, unrelenting in the bleeding from my wounds.

Still straddling Malcosias's back, I repeatedly slashed downward with the short knife.

To maintain the Abyssal Coffin, spiritual energy continuously drained from my body.

As my spiritual energy dwindled, my vision turned red even in the deepest darkness.

"GROOOOOWWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Demon King wasn't standing idle either.

Shaking violently, he poured every ounce of strength into his effort.

Each time, spiritual energy drained from my body.

Even with the favor of the spirits, I didn't possess infinite spiritual energy.

"Damn it! Even like this, can't I reach him!?"

"GARULULUAAAH!"

Blood gushed from the demon lord's neck, yet his robust body, strong enough to resist attacks on its weak points, proved difficult to pierce.

The dagger was sharp enough. The problem was my own lack of strength.

I couldn't deliver the final blow at this decisive moment.

"Damn it! What if I try this?!"

I swung the dagger high and brought it down with all my might.

　

"Gooooooaaarrrrgh!"

But the demon lord twisted his body sharply, avoiding the vital spot and sending the blade deep into his back.

At the same time, the restraining power of the dark coffin weakened slightly.

My spiritual energy was nearly depleted.

If this continues, it's bad—

The thought flashed through my mind just as,

'——Dispel.'

The dark coffin began to melt away under the demon lord's words.

At the same instant, I was abruptly knocked off my back and slammed hard onto the ground.

Looking up, I saw the demon lord—his face half-destroyed, yet still glowing with malevolent intensity from his remaining right eye.

He exhaled a hot breath of flame, as if laughing.

—Death.

I could feel its unmistakable touch gently brushing against my back.

Countless fangs protruding from the depths of the demon lord's enormous mouth, flickering flames peeking through.

In the next moment, my life would be taken by those fangs, claws, or fire.

There was no escaping it—the overwhelming, suffocating presence of death.

Under the demon lord's dispel, the darkness was erased, and the demon lord, fully focused on devouring me, lunged forward—just as a blinding flash surged before my eyes.

"Light!"

The intense glare was so fierce it felt like my eyes were burning.

I couldn't keep my eyes open.

"Yaaahhh!!"

A series of sharp impacts rang out, accompanied by a fierce battle cry.

The light tapping of steps, the thud of collision, and the whistling sound of swords slicing through the air.

"Gurrrlruuuaaa!"

"Haaahhh!!"

At last, my eyes adjusted, and what I saw was Refreia’s greatsword, deeply carving into the demon lord Malcosias’s neck, on the verge of severing his head.

The limbs of Malcosias, whose neck was nearly severed, lost all strength.

The light faded from the crimson eye.

"GooOOOOOOOOOOO…"

The demon king, screaming in its final agony, dissolved into nothingness.

At the same time, an impossibly vast 'Spirit Stone of Chaos' fell with a clatter onto the ground.

I remained on my knees, half-dazed, staring at it.

"I… I did it? Did I really defeat it…?"

A distant cheer echoed through the air.

I could see Alex and the others running toward me from afar.

—We did it! We did it!

—We beat the scary one!

—Kyakkyu!

The voices of the spirits reached me on the wind. The sinister presence that had once dominated the area had vanished.

The demon king—was dead.

We won.

We really did defeat the Demon King on our own.

'Congratulations! You, the first isekai transferor to accomplish "Defeating the Demon King." As a first-time bonus, 3 points have been awarded.'

'Congratulations! As the one who defeated the Demon King, you have been granted the title of "Hero." As a first-time title acquisition bonus, 1 point has been awarded.'

'Repayment of the borrowed 3 points has been completed.'

It had been a long time since the last divine announcement.

Probably, Alex received the same message. Though Refrea delivered the final blow, I'm being treated as the slayer, so Alex must be included too.

(Heh... me, the Hero? Honestly, Refrea's the real Hero, and I'm just her party member, really.)

Anyway, it's probably just a title given to everyone equally.

Getting one point was lucky, but the title itself meant nothing.

"Hikaru! Are you alright!?

Reaching me while I was sitting on the ground, Rifaia rushed over.

Her radiant smile, filled with joy from victory, seemed strangely dazzling to me.

The Demon King was far, far stronger than I had imagined.

The only thing that saved me was that he never unleashed magic continuously—if he had, I would have lost for sure.

Even if dispelling was possible, Fear was an immensely powerful spell with no way to defend against it.

"I'm fine... You're alright too... I think..."

"Hikaru? C-Can you really be okay...?"

"Yeah... I might have pushed myself too hard... I'm counting on you from now on..."

"Huh? Hikaru!? Hikaru!!"

Perhaps because I had just defeated the Demon King and felt relieved, my consciousness gradually faded away.

I couldn't bring Nanami back to life, but I felt a sense of fulfillment knowing I had done my best.

I let go of my awareness.