Vol 1 Chapter 7 – So Which One’s the Villain?

To every living creature, lightning is a terrifying force of nature.

You can’t dodge it once you see it.

Yet a single strike can snatch your life away—heaven’s wrath incarnate.

Its deafening boom alone is enough to make any creature cower.

Keith was someone who could wield that lightning at will.

The very fact that he’d been sent alone into human territory for this mission showed just how much the demon elite trusted him.

“No matter how hard humans struggle, they can’t beat me. No living thing can outdo lightning.”

In raw combat ability, Keith ranked near the top even among demons.

He lacked some stamina for prolonged casting, but only because his power was absurdly strong.

With Keith’s strength, drawn-out fights were unnecessary—and in fact he’d never had one.

He finished things in a flash. This time would be no different.

“Then hurry up and die.”

A swelling mass of lightning formed above Keith’s head.

From it, a single bolt lanced toward Alvarado.

It was lightning, pure and simple.

The moment it went “FLASH”, it was already inches from Alvarado.

There is no dodging after you perceive it.

No—even before you realize a bolt’s been loosed, you’re already hit, thrown to the ground, and left twitching.

That had been the fate of everyone who’d ever faced Keith.

“Hmmm.”

“…Huh?”

So when he saw his bolt get knocked aside by the Holy Sword, Keith wore the dumbest expression of his life.

…Did he just deflect lightning?

“Wh-What the hell are you doing…?”

Keith asked, stupefied.

Deflecting the strike was one thing, but the method was the real issue.

He’d done it with the Holy Sword.

In other words, it hadn’t been nullified by magic—the bolt should’ve raced down the blade and inflicted serious damage on Alvarado’s body.

A lightning strike on human flesh is usually lethal.

Keith’s lightning was magical rather than natural, but it should still have left him convulsing on the ground, unable to stand from the pain.

And yet…

“Heh, that all you got?”

“What is this guy…?”

Alvarado’s body was making “BUZZ-BUZZ” noises as it tingled, yet he wore a fearless grin.

Even the spirit floating beside him was totally freaked out.

There was no divine blessing on the sword—it was simply his bare body taking the hit and brushing it off.

She’d known Alvarado longer than anyone here, but she still had no idea what he was.

“D-Damn you! Stay back!!”

Alvarado ground forward across the rubble-strewn dirt—”CRUNCH CRUNCH”—while Keith poured merciless, savage bolts into him.

Multiple streaks of lightning flashed and streaked toward him faster than the eye could track.

“Hmmm!” “Hmmm!” “Hmmm?” “Hmmm!”

“Why’d you slip a question mark in there?”

Yet Alvarado nullified every one simply by whipping the Holy Sword around through brute force.

Each bolt still ran through his body, but they didn’t affect him at all.

He swung the huge sword—complete with a chunk of masonry still stuck to it—like a club, wreaking havoc.

“I-Impossible…”

Keith stared, aghast.

He had, of course, never encountered an opponent like this.

Having his lightning deflected…

Well, maybe he could imagine that happening.

He’d never tested it, but his own superiors could probably manage it.

But this man looked like he was taking the bolts head-on even while batting them away.

And he stayed perfectly calm.

It was obvious he wasn’t just toughing it out.

If he were, he would’ve rushed to finish the fight.

Instead, he advanced slowly, almost savoring Keith’s terror…

“M-Maou…? The Demon King…?!”

“How dare you address me—the very embodiment of virtue and justice—with such vile words.”

“Honestly, he’s not entirely wrong.”

The man before him called to mind the apex of evil.

An absolute symbol of malice, the worst calamity this world could spawn: the Demon King.

The resemblance was uncanny.

Such was Alvarado.

He himself looked distinctly displeased at the comparison.

“And yet, after all that chest-beating, acting like some great power…”

With a weary shake of the head, Alvarado sighed.

“Is this really all the demon race amounts to?”

……!

Keith felt the blood rush to his head.

What stung was that there wasn’t the slightest hint of mockery in those words.

If it had been a cheap taunt, he could have brushed it off.

But Alvarado wore a look of pure, unfiltered pity.

He pitied Keith from the bottom of his heart.

Being looked down on was one thing; being pitied was more than Keith’s pride could bear.

“Evil is powerless before justice.”

Alvarado said it without the faintest concern for Keith’s feelings.

Absolute justice.

That conviction within him never wavered.

“Rest easy. I’ll wipe out evil—and I’ll kill the rest of you soon enough.”

“That’s… quite a murder declaration…”

The spirit’s sidelong glare didn’t faze him in the least.

What was scary was that he clearly meant every word.

“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE MEEEEEE!!”

Magic power roared out of Keith’s body.

He could feel that Alvarado was absolutely serious.

That only made it more impossible for him to lose.

“You miserable human! I won’t let you lay a finger on the other demons!”

“I’m starting to lose track of who the good guy is here…”

From the spirit’s perspective, it looked like the hero charging in to stop a final boss planning mass slaughter.

That was genuinely how it looked.

“Obviously, I am.”

“Where exactly is the ‘obvious’ part…?”

Even so, Alvarado had unshakeable faith in himself.

I am justice, and justice is me.

He believed that with all his heart.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

Keith poured out every drop of magic he had.

No holding back—he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

He funneled it all into the thundercloud above his head.

The bolt began to run wild—no longer under his control.

This was Keith’s trump card.

By cramming it with magic, he could unleash speed, power, and volume far beyond anything before.

The problem was that he couldn’t control it. That was everything.

If it went wrong, he might blow himself up.

That was why he’d never used it.

But to stop the man before him—the one who’d just declared he’d massacre the demon race—there was no other choice.

“This is it, human! Showdown!!”

“Heh…”

“Seriously, which one of them is the villain here?”

Right before the clash, the spirit wore a deeply conflicted look.