Even Though I Defeated the Demon Lord, My Wife and Daughter Treat Me Like Trash ~ I Found Out My Wife's Child Isn't Mine, and When I Confronted Her, She Got Mad and I Was Exiled. The Country's in Trouble Because the Demon Lord Came Back? Sorry, I'm Getting Remarried to a Princess, So I Can't Help. - Chapter 40: Hero vs. Demon Lord

Chapter 40: Hero vs. Demon Lord

The Demon Lord laughed off my shout.

“Do you really think your combat skills improve with that kind of talk? Humans are so illogical, it’s bothersome. For the sake of their children, comrades, country… How many of those fools have I slain, I wonder?”

He bit into his thumb and waved his hand.

Blood flowed from his finger, forming a large scythe that he gripped with both hands, ready to fight.

“Well, I can’t be bothered to remember them all. Let’s just say you’ll be the thousandth, shall we?”

“Keep running your mouth. You won’t need to count anymore—you’re dying today.”

I drew my sword and closed the distance.

His weapon had a far greater reach than mine.

So, the key to this fight would be getting in close… but.

As I approached, the Demon Lord swung his scythe down to intercept me.

I stopped just before entering his range.

Normally, the blade would have cut through thin air, but—

The scythe’s handle slimmed down, extending its reach.

I dodged to the side, closing the gap even further.

Now in range of my sword, I slashed horizontally, but the scythe’s handle twisted unnaturally, snaking toward my face.

I abandoned the slash and dodged the strike aimed at my head.

In the brief moment that followed, the Demon Lord retreated, creating space again.

He then formed a spear from his blood and thrust it toward me.

I moved sideways to avoid it, but again, the handle twisted and bent, tracking me unnaturally.

I grabbed the spear with my left hand, stopping it just before it could hit me.

But the section I grabbed morphed into spikes, piercing my hand and leaving it full of holes.

“What’s wrong, Van Ismir? Weren’t you going to kill me?”

“That’s still the plan.”

“With that kind of— Guh!”

I channeled lightning directly into the spear I was holding.

It’s a difficult spell to control, a master technique that few can use.

For the unskilled, the risk of electrocuting themselves is so high that it’s rarely employed.

The lightning traveled through the spear and struck the Demon Lord’s body.

His muscles spasmed from the shock, and his right hand became stuck to the spear, unable to release it.

The intense heat caused his arm to char up to the elbow.

The Demon Lord dispelled the spear to escape the lightning, and the charred flesh flaked off, revealing new skin underneath.

While he recovered, I used Regeneration to heal the wounds in my left hand.

Neither of us, unlike Camilla, can keep Regeneration active all the time.

“Annoying little trick.”

“I’ve spent ten years thinking about how to kill you.”

“Hmph, for that lightning attack to work, you’d need to touch me first, wouldn’t you?”

“And so?”

Good, Demon Lord.

He’s right—lightning magic loses most of its power without physical contact.

Its short range is one of its weaknesses.

The Demon Lord sank into his own shadow and reappeared at the edge of the audience chamber, right next to the prison barrier I had created earlier.

“If it’s a contest of magic, I have the advantage. I’ll keep my distance and kill you with this spell.”

The Demon Lord began chanting a spell.

It was something I had never heard before, which piqued my curiosity—but I couldn’t let him cast it.

The audience chamber was vast, designed to accommodate many people.

There was plenty of space to create distance.

And—I wanted that distance.

Like most demons, the Demon Lord had too much confidence in himself.

To him, humans were no more than ants, easily crushed.

Because of that, demons rarely respect the flow of battle.

They act impulsively.

I had planned for this moment countless times in my head on my way here.

I had thought through every step of how to kill the Demon Lord once and for all.

Without overestimating my strength, without letting my guard down—I crafted my strategy.

That’s what it means to have the right to call oneself the strongest.

“Demon Lord, you’re about to die—because of your own actions.”

I began my own chant.

Hearing my incantation, the Demon Lord stopped his own spell and shouted.

“Impossible! That magic…!”

But by then, my spell was already complete.

At this range, he had no time to stop me.

If he had truly realized the danger of my spell, he could have easily teleported near me through the shadows and interrupted my casting.

But he didn’t—because he never imagined that he could lose in a long-range magic battle.

Above my head, the curses of the people killed by the Demon Lord’s army gathered into a single mass.

“The Cursed Death Sphere, Gaboldniard. When the Hero King Resian was killed, it required more than a hundred sacrifices… but the lives you took in the city below far exceed that.”

“Stop, Van Ismir! This isn’t a plea—it’s a warning! The Cursed Death Sph—!”

“After it kills you, it’ll come after me, right? Doesn’t matter.”

This spell had fallen out of use, not only because it required sacrifices, but also because the caster often lost their life in the process.

Only those who could use Self-Resurrection Magic, like Galforne, or those immune to curses, like me, could survive the spell’s activation.

“Damn it! Then…!”

The Demon Lord sank into his shadow and reappeared near Emilia.

He was likely planning to harm her, triggering his sealing as a way to escape the curse.

But he was a step too late.

“Die, Demon Lord.”

The Cursed Death Sphere above me teleported and surrounded the Demon Lord.

In an instant—

“GUAAAAAAAAAAA!”

The Demon Lord’s body began to be eaten away by the curse, little by little.

He tried to hold on with Balance Ward, but the rate of destruction was too fast.

When the curse finally consumed his head—the source of his magic—the disintegration accelerated, and he was completely erased.

Even after the Demon Lord disappeared, the Cursed Death Sphere continued to float ominously.

But then—something unexpected happened.

As I anticipated, part of the curse turned toward me.

However, the rest… attacked Emilia.

“S-Stop…!”

The Cursed Death Sphere wasn’t targeting the caster but was instead attacking the nearest living being. Was this its true nature?

As the sphere floated around me, I suddenly heard voices.

“Thank you, Hero.”

“For avenging us.”

“We are grateful.”

They… didn’t seem intent on harming me. 

After a short while, they faded away. 

Emilia was safe, too.

“Dad, they… they were thanking you.”

“Yeah.”

Maybe with the Demon Lord’s death, their hostility disappeared?

Or perhaps it was because I’m immune to curses?

But then, why was Emilia…?

Well, whatever the reason… I probably shouldn’t use this spell again.

Emilia stood there in a daze for a moment, but then she slowly staggered toward me.

I spread my arms, ready to embrace her—but she stopped just short of me.

“I… I don’t deserve to hug you, Dad. I said so many awful things over the past year.”

“I don’t hold it against you anymore. And I’m sorry… for being late and making you go through such fear.”

When I placed my hand on Emilia’s head, she lifted her gaze.

Her eyes were filled with large, unshed tears.

In response to her emotions, those tears first trickled down her cheeks, then burst forth in a flood.

Emilia buried her face in my chest, clutching my shirt tightly.

“I was so scared… so scared.”

“Yeah, being alone with the Demon Lord must have been terrifying…”

“That’s not it…”

“Hm?”

When Emilia said it wasn’t that, I was confused. 

She lifted her face and, through her tears, looked me in the eyes.

“I was scared… that if I failed, Dad would die! I was so scared… so, so scared!”

Watching my daughter sob uncontrollably, I felt both deep regret and a sense of love for her as she let her emotions flow so openly for the first time in a while.

Not knowing what to do with my hands, I finally wrapped them around her back.

Suppressing the surge of emotions within me, I managed to say,

“…I’m sorry. I won’t make you go through something like this again.”

I thought those words would comfort her, but surprisingly, Emilia shook her head.

“That’s not okay, either…”

“…Not okay?”

She nodded firmly, staring even more intensely into my eyes as she spoke with conviction.

“When you’re in trouble, don’t hesitate to rely on me… because we’re family, right? That’s why you came for me, right?”

Looking into Emilia’s pleading eyes, I barely managed to reply in a short whisper.

“…Yeah, that’s right. You’re my precious daughter.”

I felt like if I let my emotions take over, I’d cry even harder than she was.

I didn’t trust myself to speak any more without tears, so I just held her close, unable to say another word.

—Thank you for growing up to be such a good kid.

As I expressed my gratitude silently in my heart, I kept gently stroking her back until we both calmed down.