The room fell into complete silence.
The Demon King's daughter was so stunned by Eiji effortlessly severing the hellfire with a single slash that she was momentarily at a loss for words.
Eiji silently took a seat on the throne symbolizing the Demon King's authority, his gaze settling on the group that had just burst into the chamber.
"Hahaha! What's happened? Has that old fossil of a Demon King finally kicked the bucket?"
The one who opened with such blatantly treasonous words was a man in a suit who sauntered in with exaggerated boredom.
Tall in stature and flamboyant in speech, he wore a mask covering only the upper half of his face—white on the left side and black on the right—obscuring his features.
Yet the smile on his face was all too familiar to Eiji.
It was identical to the grins worn by the gods of Orario—the unmistakable smile of someone who lived for chaos.
Moreover, his words made it abundantly clear he held no reverence for the Demon King whatsoever.
The Demon King's daughter shot him a furious glare.
"Oh my? Don't tell me he's actually dead?"
The masked man strode to the center of the room.
After glancing at the fallen Demon King on the floor and then at Eiji seated upon the throne, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Hahahaha! To celebrate the old bastard's demise, let's break out the champagne!"
In an instant.
Every member of the Demon King's army present directed looks of pure disgust his way.
"Mmm! Excellent, simply excellent! Such delicious negativity—I'll gladly take it all!"
The masked man spread his arms wide, basking in the atmosphere with evident relish.
"This masked guy... must hold considerable status here?"
Eiji remained silent.
His attention was fixed on the array of demonic creatures below.
Despite the masked man's blatant insubordination, not a single one of the demons—including the Demon King's daughter and several others whose auras clearly set them apart from the common rabble—uttered a word of rebuke.
Even the Demon King's daughter simply stepped forward in silence, gathering her father's lifeless body into her arms.
"His Majesty the Demon King... It seems he truly has perished."
A woman in priestly robes, with a beauty mark beneath her eye, surveyed the devastation in the hall and sighed.
Her presence wasn't particularly strong.
Yet unlike the cannon fodder, she stood at the forefront.
Beside her were a headless knight clad in jet-black armor and a stunningly beautiful woman in a Western-style dress who stood nearly two meters tall, her aura strangely discordant.
Five individuals in total.
Judging by their positioning, they were likely the highest-ranking leaders under the Demon King—the so-called Demon King's Army executives.
According to the late Demon King, there should have been eight executives. Were the other three absent from the capital?
"So that's the intruder?"
The Western-dressed woman crossed her arms, accentuating her impossibly generous "baby food storage."
"My, my! What an absolutely dashing man!"
The moment she laid eyes on Eiji's face, she began fidgeting, her cheeks flushing as she shamelessly batted her eyelashes in his direction.
"Do any of you Demon King executives actually get anything done?"
Eiji barely suppressed the urge to voice his thoughts.
But he made sure to commit this woman's face to memory first.
Though she was half a head taller than him, fate truly had a way of playing tricks, pushing the rankings in the fate memory bank down a notch!
"Lady Serena, please save your infatuation for the right time and place! And Lord Vanir, kindly refrain from indulging your twisted humor at a moment like this!"
The headless knight held his own head in both hands, looking utterly exasperated.
He scolded Serena with the frustration of a mentor disappointed in their pupil, while his tone toward Vanir was one of reluctant pleading.
"The issue at hand is that the intruder killed His Majesty the Demon King and is now sitting on the throne reserved only for him. No matter what, we must avenge His Majesty...!"
United in their hatred, the members of the Demon King's army all glared at Eiji, who sat upon the throne.
"Huh? Wait a minute!"
But the headless knight suddenly thrust his head forward—perhaps his version of squinting for a better look.
"That's strange. If His Majesty the Demon King is dead, why do we still have his blessings?"
His words instantly jolted everyone present awake.
Now here's a capable officer!
Eiji felt a surge of relief.
All that time spent posing here wasn't in vain—you finally noticed.
"What? Your blessings are still intact?"
The woman with the teardrop mole looked at the headless knight in astonishment.
"Yes, Miss Serena!"
The headless knight shook his head in lieu of nodding.
"As a human, you didn't receive any blessings, but I can clearly sense that the blessings His Majesty bestowed upon us haven't disappeared!"
His tone was deadly serious.
The priestess named Serena was the only human in the Demon King's castle and the sole human officer.
So she didn't receive the Demon King's blessings? Seems like those blessings were only for demons, huh?
Eiji silently pieced together the information.
Sylvia and Serena quickly looked up, while the Demon King's daughter frantically checked her father in her arms.
"...He's still breathing!"
Upon confirming this, the Demon King's daughter was overcome with emotion.
"His Majesty is alive!"
"Thank goodness!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd of demons.
"But how is this possible?"
Overjoyed yet deeply puzzled, the Demon King's daughter voiced her confusion.
"I clearly saw that blade pierce my father's chest... Why isn't there even a drop of blood?"
Him being alive could be chalked up to his vitality.
But the spot where the blade struck showed no trace of blood—that was downright inexplicable.
"I never intended to kill him."
At last, Eiji spoke.
He lounged sideways on the throne, hands folded in his lap, several golden swords of light hovering around him.
His entire demeanor exuded the aloof arrogance of a final boss.
"I only used the blade to drain his stamina. Once he's had a good sleep, he'll wake up naturally."
That's right.
When Eiji struck the Demon King, he had activated his Noble Phantasm's illusory form.
In this state, the Bling Blade left no physical wounds—it merely sapped the target's energy, rendering them unconscious.
"But... didn't Lord Vanir say...?"
The Demon King's daughter gaped at the masked man in shock.
"I did it on purpose!"
The masked man flashed a radiant smile.
In an instant.
Every demon in the Demon King's army—including the Demon King's daughter and the headless knight—fixed him with looks of utter disdain.
"Muahaha! This kind of disdainful negative emotion is exactly what I love most! Thanks for the treat!"
The masked man laughed heartily from the depths of his soul.
This guy's got screws loose!
Eiji made this judgment in his heart.
I must never have anything to do with this guy in the future!
"What exactly are you after?"
Seeing that her father wasn't dead, the Demon King's daughter finally relaxed.
Her murderous hatred toward Eiji quickly faded, but then her delicate brows furrowed as she looked at him with confusion.
Breaking into the Demon King's castle, having the chance to kill the Demon King but not taking it—what exactly is this guy playing at?
Looking closely, the girl was indeed quite beautiful.
One mouth, two eyes, one nose, two ears—everything Eiji had, she had too, with beauty that could rival his.
"My purpose? At first I just wanted to ask for directions and maybe get some travel expenses."
As Eiji said this, he stood up from the throne, a victorious and arrogant smile on his face.
"But now I've changed my mind—I'm going to become this world's Demon King!"