A Weak Demon Lord Started Livestreaming in a Bottom-Tier Dungeon and Went Viral?! After Completely Crushing Rude S-Rank Explorers and Annoying Streamers, the Internet Erupted in Praise. Um, I'm Supposed to Be the Enemy of Humanity, You Know? - 24

Chapter 24: The Weak Demon Lord Panics Over Concept Overlap

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Rio-san began calmly recounting the details of her month-long training, stirring the entire hall into a buzz. Once she finished speaking, Ryuugasaki-san, who was seated next to me, muttered to me.

“Ol-san, what the hell happened to your sense of ethics?”

“To preach ethics to me is like trying to milk a bull.”

“That analogy makes no damn sense!!”

Well, I had to admit, it had been a brilliant training regimen indeed. It was the first time I’d ever taught anyone anything, but seeing someone master magic so easily was incredibly satisfying.

Rio-san was a genius. Her physical ability was extremely poor, but she possessed a natural gift for magic. I could understand why the Explorer School hadn’t known what to do with her.

“Looks like the match is already decided. Once she cast enhancement magic on the summoned insects, there was no stopping her.”

“…Yeah. Actually, based on the rules of this duel, Rio-chan can’t really lose.”

The rules for this duel were that it ended either when the opponent surrendered or was rendered unable to fight. However, Rio-san could die and still come back to life.

With minor injuries, she could kill herself and use resurrection magic to reset her body back to normal. Even if she were somehow knocked unconscious, her summoned insects could kill her and resurrect her again.

It was a fight she couldn’t lose from the start. In other words, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say victory was always hers.

“By the way, do you think your objective has been achieved, Ryuugasaki-san?”

“Ain’t no doubt there. Just look at the dumbfounded faces on those students. Even the government folks are panicking. All that’s left is for me to wrap things up right.”

“Glad to hear you’re satisfied.”

While Ryuugasaki-san and I exchanged small talk, the match concluded. It was a complete victory for Rio-san. I thought her opponents had some talent, but Rio-san was just far beyond them.

While I could deploy more magic circles and do it faster, the monsters she summoned were far stronger than my skeletons. What made her even more troublesome was her immortality via resurrection magic. Unlike me, who would die if my core were destroyed, Rio-san wouldn’t fall as long as she didn’t give up.

Right now, the only strategy to defeat her would be to keep killing her over and over, forcing her to use resurrection magic and eventually draining her immense magical power. And of course, you’d have to do that while fending off the near-infinite swarm of summoned insects.

Even I couldn’t win against that.

Then, I realized something extremely important.

“…This is bad. Really bad.”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Ol-san?”

“I’m a Demon Lord. The ruler of a dungeon—the final boss, so to speak. I was planning to have Rio-san act as a middle boss in the dungeon later, but…”

I grabbed my head and shouted.

“The concept!! It’s the same!! If there’s a middle boss that summons a swarm of monsters for a numbers-based attack, and then the final boss does the same thing right after, that totally kills the vibe!!”

“Wait, that’s what you’re worried about now? I mean, honestly, there’s probably not even five explorers in the whole world who could beat Rio-chan and make it to you anyway.”

No, that wasn’t the issue. Unlike me, who could only summon skeletons, Rio-san could summon a wide variety of insect monsters. In terms of variation, I was completely outclassed.

Some of her insects even inflicted status effects, making her monsters a bigger pain in the ass than mine. This wasn’t good. I had to find something—anything—that gave me an edge over Rio-san!

“So with that said, dear viewers!! I’m taking suggestions for how I can power up!! As her master, I can’t afford to be outdone by Rio-san, so I need a super crazy, amazing power-up plan!!”

『Now you’re asking us, huh? lol』

『First things first, let’s arm your skeleton army with machine guns and build a mechanized corps.』

『How about a second form where Ol-san absorbs all the skeletons and becomes a giant?』

As I spoke to the camera, comments from viewers flooded in. Ooh! Great ideas just kept rolling in!

“Fufufu, I’ll try some of these out as soon as I get back.”

“Whoa, looks like Tokyo Dungeon’s about to get harder!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful with the balance adjustments. Hm? What’s this presence…?”

And then, it happened—so suddenly it was almost surreal. Something crashed through the gym ceiling, landing right in the center of the dueling field where Rio-san had just been fighting the Golden Generation trio.

It stood about three meters tall. Clad entirely in softly glowing golden armor, it looked almost robotic.

Everyone in the gym must’ve realized it at that moment. The overwhelming pressure radiating from this full-body armored figure, the almost hopeless gap in power between them and any ordinary being.

…Hmph.

“W-What the hell is that!? Why is a monster like that showing up out of nowhere!?”

“Hey, don’t look at me like it’s my fault.”

Ryuugasaki-san glanced at me, maybe thinking I’d orchestrated this armored person.

But I had no idea what was going on. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t imagine her, the Demon Lord from Nagoya Dungeon, barging into the Explorer School out of nowhere—

“OLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!”

“Uh, she’s definitely shouting Ol-san’s name.”

“No, no. She must be looking for Oldeeeeeen-san. I’m someone else entirely.”

“How can you tell it’s a woman when she’s in full armor and her voice is muffled by the helmet?”

“…Well, she’s an old friend of mine. If I recall correctly, she’s the Demon Lord assigned to Nagoya Dungeon. Though she’s clearly gone berserk from being mentally corrupted by her own armor, she’s usually intelligent and very rational.”

“Huh!?”

“Two Demon Lords in the Explorer School!? What kind of cursed day is this!?”

Just as I openly admitted I knew the armored person, it happened. She suddenly attacked Rio-san, who had been standing nearby.

“Kya!?”

“WRONG!! YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG YOU’RE WRONG!! YOU’RE NOT OLDEN!! THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU USING HIS MAGIC!? HE WASN’T THIS FRAGILEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”

With a single punch from the armored figure, Rio-san was turned into minced meat. Her insect swarm retaliated, but the thick armor shrugged off their attacks. Still, Rio-san resurrected herself using resurrection magic.

She immediately began summoning more insects, but the armored figure’s ferocious onslaught put her on the back foot.

“W-What is going on here!?”

“I don’t know!! I don’t, but we need to help Mushigami-kun!!”

“Kihyahyahyahya!!”

“T-Thank you!!”

Unexpected reinforcements joined Rio-san’s side. It was the trio from the Golden Generation. They had talent, sure, but frankly, they weren’t strong enough. I figured they’d just get slaughtered trying to help, and I was right.

Despite fighting well against Rio-san’s insects earlier, they were killed with ease. But Rio-san was merciless.

“Resurrection Magic, Resurrection!!”

She revived all three. Normally, when someone died and got revived, it took them some time to mentally process it first. But… Rio-san immediately barked at them.

“D-Don’t just stand there! Get back out there! The insects alone can’t hold her off!!”

“Eh, uh, r-right!! Yes!!”

“Gyahahahahaha!!”

“U-Understood!!”

Wow, my disciple is a monster.

Humans usually lose some sanity when they die and come back. Eventually, they go mad. I made sure to teach her that, but she didn’t hesitate to shove her peers forward anyway.

“That sadism… I wonder who she picked that up from.”

“Dunno, but probably you, Ol-san.”

“You won’t find a skeleton as kind and ethical as me, you know? I mean, I did toss my ethics in the trash, but still. Anyway, Ryuugasaki-san, please begin evacuation procedures.”

“Already on it. But what about helping Rio-chan?”

“She’ll be fine. The situation is dangerous, yes, but I doubt she’ll lose like this.”

“G-Got it!!”

Ryuugasaki-san rushed out of the VIP room, shouting orders. When I glanced at the comment section, I saw viewer complaints pouring in.

『Hey, bonehead! You’re just gonna let your disciple fight alone!?』

『Yeah, what the hell! You fight too!!』

“You people are asking the impossible. That woman is a stronger Demon Lord than me. If I fight her head-on, I’ll lose.”

And then—another unexpected turn.

“OLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUUU!!??”

“Ol-Olden-san is over there!!”

Wait, did Rio-san just point at me!? She just sold me out!! The armored figure’s head snapped around toward me, red eyes glowing in the darkness of the helmet.

Oh crap, she’s coming this way!?

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Afterword:

Rio is actually a sadist.