"Amazing... So top-tier swordsmen can even perceive things like this?"
The old Demon King couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.
But he quickly regained his composure, clearing his throat as his expression returned to calm.
"Fascinating. To think you could see through my condition... Your unpredictability is even more terrifying than I imagined!"
"You've already said something similar before."
"It's about the ceremonial atmosphere! A duel between the Hero and the Demon King must have proper ceremony!"
The old Demon King looked displeased.
"Listen well—every generation of Demon Kings accepts one-on-one challenges from adventurers who come knocking. This is an essential lesson for any Demon King, a crucial part of the ceremonial... Hey, what's with that look?"
Eiji was starting to think people who sat on the Demon King's throne might be a bit brain-damaged.
"So you'll accept my challenge then?"
"Ahem, in principle, there's no issue."
"And in reality?"
"I'm not done living yet."
The Demon King answered instantly with blunt honesty.
"...Aren't you the Demon King?"
Eiji looked utterly speechless. "Is it really okay for you to be this scared?"
"Even Demon Kings fear death."
The old Demon King sighed, his face full of melancholy.
"I have a daughter in the prime of her youth—exceptionally beautiful, filial, and my proud successor... Wait, did you just have a strange reaction?"
"No."
"But I saw your eyes light up?"
"Did they?"
Eiji asked with feigned surprise.
How dare you slander me? If my eyes had lit up, wouldn't I know?
"Uh... alright, if you say so."
The old Demon King looked at the blade raised before him and adopted a sincerely "you're absolutely right" expression.
"Back to the main point—as the Demon King, I'm not actually skilled in combat. My expertise lies in granting blessings to monsters. Moreover, I'm already old, past my prime. Most of my power has been inherited by my daughter. In an actual fight, I'd only be slightly stronger than that Dark Knight earlier... You'd obliterate me instantly..."
According to the old Demon King, at his peak, he could enhance an entire army to executive-level strength—in other words, create dozens or even hundreds of adventurers equivalent to Level 5.
Damn. Even Eiji was shocked hearing this.
That many Level 5s could probably steamroll Orario!
This was the old Demon King's most formidable ability—Monster Blessing. He wasn't particularly strong himself, but this single skill cemented his position as Demon King, earning the unwavering loyalty of his subordinates.
But after all these years, the Demon King had aged. His prime was long gone, and his body had weakened.
On top of that, most of his proud blessing ability had been inherited by his daughter. What was once an army-wide enhancement had dwindled to affecting just over a dozen individuals.
Had this been the Demon King at his peak, Eiji wouldn't have gotten him to back down so easily.
But now, weakened as he was, he was no longer the great Demon King who could command the winds and rains of old.
The old Demon King lamented the passage of time, his yellow beast-like eyes filled with the desolation of a setting sun.
Time ticked by.
"Father!"
An urgent shout came from the distance.
The old Demon King's face immediately lit up with joy.
"It seems you've stalled enough time."
Eiji spoke up upon seeing this.
"You knew I was stalling for time, so why did you let me keep talking?"
The old Demon King no longer referred to himself with royal pronouns, merely staring at Eiji in confusion. Having lived so long, he was skilled at reading people—Eiji didn't seem the type to grow overconfident and falter at the last moment.
"Your experiences just gave me some food for thought."
Eiji's expression was serene.
"Even invincible strength becomes insignificant before time. The strongest will eventually decay, and the undefeated will be buried by history... Indeed, to pursue eternal power, one must achieve immortality, no?"
He was still young, having only walked the path of cultivation for half a year.
What comes after becoming the world's strongest?
This was a question he'd never considered before. Until now, he'd simply sprinted full speed down the road of strength, occasionally glancing at the scenery along the way but never pondering what lay beyond the finish line.
The strongest is never absolute—the great enemy called Time stands at the end.
No pinnacle of strength can overcome time.
Unless one transcends time itself.
"I don't know what reflections you've had, but it seems you won't be killing me today!"
The old Demon King's smile returned.
A series of hurried footsteps approached from outside the chamber.
"Father, are you unharmed?"
The voice's owner stepped into the room.
Following behind came numerous monstrous auras, some strong, some weak.
"Perhaps you didn't notice, but all this time I wasn't just stalling—I've been secretly incanting magic. Yes, that very spell known as the greatest support magic!"
The Demon King confidently opened his mouth.
"—Teleport!"
The old Demon King's magical prowess was supreme.
Throughout his conversation with Eiji, he'd already woven the incantation!
"Shink!"
Eiji's blade flashed out.
To his eyes, mana flowed through the Demon King's body in a specific sequence.
His slash intercepted it.
The moment his blade pierced the Demon King's flesh, that mana flow was severed.
—"Nothing is beyond cutting."
This was the second effect of Eiji's [Sword God] skill.
To a swordsman of his realm, even ghosts were merely energy-based lifeforms, and magic just another form of energy.
A single strike could dismantle it all.
"Father—?!"
A shrill scream erupted.
The Demon King looked down in stunned silence at the katana buried in his chest, unable to speak.
"...To interrupt magic... with a sword... such swordsmanship..."
Had it been a normal wound, he could have healed himself with recovery magic—provided the teleport spell worked.
But cutting magic itself with a blade... Not even the legendary Sword Deities could achieve such a feat, could they?
This surpassed even the wildest fables.
As vitality drained from his body, the old Demon King closed his regret-filled eyes, his towering form collapsing step by step down the dais.
Thus marked the curtain fall of an era.
"You bastard!—Inferno!"
Amid the enraged shout, violent mana erupted in all directions.
A staggering wave of heat instantly engulfed the entire room as dark flames transformed into a tornado, charging toward Eiji from behind!
Eiji swung his blade in a backhanded motion.
A silent slash cleaved the black inferno in half in the blink of an eye.
"No way...?"
The woman let out a shocked gasp.
The strongest high-tier fire magic had been severed by a single sword stroke?
Eiji paid no attention to the flames that had been split like waves against a reef.
He turned around and gazed at the imposing black throne before him.
Then he plopped right down onto it.