Strong Miasma… As I got closer, I realized it was a being emanating Magic Power so powerful it could be called the King of “Dark Dolls.”

“You’ve absorbed a lot of Redras’s Magic Power, haven’t you?”

Based on the sensation of its presence, I thought it might be as strong as an enemy that would appear in the later stages.

“What will you do?”

Lefin asked. She understands my abilities, but… she must be thinking that it would be difficult to deal with it if I can’t generate a Book, right?

However,

“Of course, I’ll fight.”

I swung my spear, scattering enemies as I advanced. Eventually, the opponent– the one I should call the Doll King– came towards me.

The opponent made the first move. The opponent, who had human arms, greatly transformed their right arm, changing its shape into a lance like those used by cavalry.

“This is troublesome…!”

I said, dodging the launched lance.

I think even a direct hit would only push me back, but there are still hordes of Monsters around. If I were to fall and be crushed by a swarm of Monsters, it would be even more troublesome.

In that case, I don’t want to get hit… I immediately thrust my spear. It was just a normal attack, but all the other “Dark Dolls” were defeated in one hit. This time–

The spear hits its mark in the chest. Instead of being annihilated, it takes another spear, and its presence changes. The sense of caution intensifies.

It’s as if, by taking my attack, it has somewhat deduced my abilities, I suppose.

“Magic Power isn’t leaking, but if it’s a strike with a certain amount of spirit, it can understand abilities by taking an attack, huh?”

This is a tendency not seen in the Demons I’ve fought so far. It’s probably a result of absorbing Redras’s Magic Power.

And the fact that it doesn’t disappear even after taking a spear means it’s safe to assume it possesses considerable ability… In terms of presence, it’s about as strong as a monster that appears in the latter half of the game, but since it’s absorbing Redras’s Magic Power, its durability might even be superior to a currently weakened Redras.

The Doll King counterattacks. I immediately lower my stance and evade. The lance passes over my head, and I immediately release a spear.

I used the low-level Generic Technique “Leg Sweep.” As the name suggests, it’s a move that targets the opponent’s legs, and it has a decent chance of making the opponent flinch.

Sure enough, the plan succeeded, and the Doll King lost its balance. Next, I unleash the low-level Generic Technique “Two-Stage Thrust” into its torso. It’s effective, but it still hasn’t fallen.

It’s persistent, but I can clearly see its Magic Power decreasing, so its defeat is probably only a matter of time… Just as I thought that, the “Dark Dolls” around me attacked.

Perhaps sensing the King’s crisis… I quickly swing my spear and defeat the attackers one after another. In the meantime, the Doll King regains its balance and readies its lance.

Immediately after, the movements of the surrounding “Dark Dolls” stopped. As soon as the Doll King readied itself, it emitted Miasma, so it must have sent an instruction not to attack. Its intention is—

“…So it absorbed Redras’s Magic Power and also inherited some of its personality, huh?”

For example, in manga, there are characters who value Bushido or Knight’s Code and prefer to fight fair and square… Redras was exactly like that. Even in the game, he clashed head-on with the Protagonists who invaded the Stronghold. In fact, he even seemed to rejoice at the appearance of a worthy opponent.

The Doll King, having received the Magic Power of such a Five Great Demon, must have come to a similar conclusion… If it has even a slight grasp of my abilities, there’s a possibility it would be cautious and retreat, but the Doll King chose to fight me. It’s safe to assume that Redras’s combative personality is reflected here.

This is a good opportunity for me… and in response to its will, I ready my spear.

For a moment, silence enveloped the surroundings. A strange form of one-on-one combat with a monster—the moment I thought that, the Doll King moved.

Miasma gushed out, and the lance, with unprecedented speed, bore down on me. Had it been conserving its strength until now, or did it believe that only a supreme strike could defeat me?

I, too, move in response. Reading the lance’s trajectory, I slightly shift my body to dodge it. Next, I make the spear in my hand disappear. I quickly draw the sword at my waist, infuse it with Magic Power that isn’t exposed on the blade, and bring the Doll King into range.

In an instant, the Doll King flinches, trying to evade. But I am faster—

“—My apologies.”

A flurry of attacks. It wasn’t a technique, but simply a series of slashes imbued with Magic Power, but my sword strikes, whose speed was increased by Body Enhancement, rained down on the Doll King many times over.

As a result, the Doll King finally fell… and vanished.

“…Defeated, huh?”

After muttering, I quickly incant a spell in my mouth and conjure a spear again. Then, putting away my sword and re-gripping the spear, I look around.

Perhaps because their King had been defeated, the “Dark Dolls” stood frozen, having lost their commands. In the meantime, I regulated my breathing and readied my spear.

“Alright then, let’s get back to cleaning up.”

Immediately after I spoke, the monsters, having lost their orders, all attacked at once. In response, I… began their annihilation.

It was about an hour and a bit after defeating the Doll King that all of the considerable number of “Dark Dolls” were vanquished.

“That completes it, then.”

I make the spear disappear and murmur. Around me, there’s no trace of the “Dark Dolls” that had filled the area just moments ago.

Lefin didn’t seem particularly surprised by this outcome, but Rokuto’s eyes were wide open, perhaps astonished by my abilities.

“Well, Rokuto. It’s further in, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s right.”

Rokuto nodded and once again took the lead. The Underground was vast, on a scale that made it seem like giants might be hiding there.

In the midst of it, an extremely dense Miasma directly ahead… Thinking we had arrived, I shone a light, and it was a place where the path split into two, left and right.

“If we go left, we’ll reach the Settlement ruins… but it doesn’t seem necessary to go there.”

On the wall directly in front of us… countless black lines ran across the surface that should have been composed of rock.

Magic Power could be felt from them, resembling human blood vessels. It was of the same quality as the presence felt from the Doll King earlier, and it was undoubtedly Redras’s.

“This Magic Power will be used by the Demon King’s Magic in the future, then.”

Lefin said. I nodded to him,

“Yes… but it has truly encroached upon the land. Rokuto, what do you think?”

“…This is tough.”

Rokuto’s impression, seen up close, was not good.

“It seems to be closely tied to the power of the earth. It will take a considerable amount of time for the power to subside naturally.”

“…Speaking of which, this magic power remains even if the Demon King doesn’t cast magic. Although it wasn’t mentioned in the story.”

“After all the battles are over… it might become some kind of problem.”

Rokuto speaks. Hmm, if that’s the case, should I think of something?

“If you were to take action, how would you handle it?”

When I asked Rokuto, he grunted for a moment, then replied.

“It’s difficult to peel this magic power from the earth, and there’s a possibility that the magic power could go out of control during the process and lead to an accident… Another method would be to neutralize the magic power. However, this is extremely difficult.”

“Neutralization, huh…”

“Yes. Neutralization can be dealt with without causing an accident, but… the quality of magic power differs between spirits and the demon race, so it’s difficult… However, the Spirit Gods might be able to.”

So Garuku and the others will appear here, huh… Hmm, if I get a chance to stop by the forest, I might as well ask them.

“Understood… For now, as long as Redras is still alive, let’s hold off on any treatment.”

“Yes.”

“It’s finally the final battle with the Five Great Demons… Lefin and Rokuto, get yourselves psyched up again.”

Saying that, I turn back—a new problem has arisen, but it’s good to know about it. I’ll think about the counter-strategy after the battle… Finally, it’s the final battle with Redras.

We retrace our steps. When we exited the underground, the surroundings were starting to turn white. It was an all-nighter, but I had plenty of stamina. I decided to head into battle as I was… Thinking that, I returned to town.