“First, we need to bind them and lock them up somewhere… At the very least, we have to prevent them from making any moves. We don’t know how long the petrification will last.”

The others nodded at Andante’s words.

“Then leave the cleanup to this emperor! There should be a carriage among the ones we brought earlier that’s loaded with supplies.”

“Wow, you’re so cool, senior. Totally a hero~”

“U-uhahaha! It’s only natural! I rebel against everything in this world! Tying someone up with rope is also an act befitting rebellion!”

“Eeek~”

Dolce’s reaction, casually dumping even the cleanup work onto Ryan.

The rest of the X-Class students merely clicked their tongues quietly.

“By the way, it would’ve been a disaster if Michael hadn’t told us beforehand. That the attack can be ‘reflected,’ I mean.”

“Yeah. At first we were caught off guard and struggled to respond, but… once the opponent got worked up and started swinging wildly, it became obvious. Perfect for countering.”

“But what about Michael and the professor?”

With the immediate situation resolved, the next pressing concern came to mind. Bell in particular seemed anxious, taking a step toward Chris.

“The professor needed urgent medical attention. We have to go now—”

“Bell! You just spent too much mana undoing the petrification! You’re going to collapse at this rate!”

“But the professor—!”

“I know, we all feel the same way. But look at that.”

Andante placed a hand on Bell’s shoulder and pointed toward Michael.

“…….”

It was in the center of a swirling tempest of flames.

Chris, Michael, and even the Demon Lord had all been swallowed within, barely visible through the blaze.

Michael’s intent to prevent anyone from approaching was palpable.

“Michael…….”

“He’s doing that because he doesn’t want us getting caught up in his fight. I’m sure Professor Chris is being well protected in there too!”

“I don’t know about anything else, but that much is certain~ You know how much Michael dotes on the professor.”

“So Bell, what you need to do right now is take care of yourself. Your mana is depleted and you’re hurt all over.”

With Nika, Dolce, and even Gabana joining in, Bell had no choice but to nod quietly and step back.

“Alright then, let’s do emergency first aid with the herbs and magic stones from the supplies and wait for reinforcements. I saw the adults running away— I mean, going to call for reinforcements earlier~”

X-Class followed Dolce’s lead, moving away from the mass of flames.

Andante walked at the rear, casting a brief glance at the inferno.

‘They all said as much, but they must be worried just like me.’

The hand clenching into a fist was as cold as a corpse. But their role ended here. It was as if the world itself was whispering that the rest was Michael’s burden to bear.

‘…What kind of battle are you fighting alone in there, Michael?’

It would take no small amount of time to hear his answer. All they could do now was believe in him and pray.

Andante clutched his throbbing side and turned away.

* * *

Crackle, crackle…

The sound of everything burning filled the air from all directions. A scene reminiscent of hell, where the flames never die.

In the midst of it, a father-and-son(father and son) battle was raging.

Bang!

The foreleg of the dragon called the Demon Lord collided with the sword. Then came a sound as if the world itself was shaking.

It had been an attack aimed at the eye, but the Demon Lord had blocked it swiftly.

“How pathetic. The eye, rather than the neck or the heart! Don’t tell me you actually dare to think of capturing me alive?”

Next came the Demon Lord’s counterattack.

The Demon Lord deflected the sword and, with jaws agape, unleashed a torrent of dark crimson flames. Michael was ordinarily immune to fire, but this was different.

It flickered as it devoured everything it touched with ravenous hunger. Closer to a curse than magic.

‘It’s dangerous if I don’t dodge.’

The Demon Lord laughed with amusement at the sight of Michael retreating quickly.

“You cannot defeat me unless you come at me with the resolve to kill!”

Bung—the sound of something cutting through the air.

The Demon Lord’s massive foreleg struck at a certain spot.

“……!”

It was where Chris lay, impaled on spikes.

It was painfully clear that Michael had been restricting his movements until now in order to protect her.

‘Fool! To be so led around by the nose by a mere woman that you underestimate me. Will you still be so carefree even after I dispose of this one?’

Taking advantage of the opening created by driving Michael back with flames, if he could just crush Chris’s heart like this—

That was the moment.

Whoosh!

“Keueok, w-what is this…?!”

Just before reaching Chris, the Demon Lord’s foreleg began to burn. A pain unlike anything he had ever experienced assailed the Demon Lord.

He was the Demon Lord. He would never be shaken by a mere burn.

And yet.

“Aak! I-It hurts! Damn it, why!”

It was as if his brain itself was being seared, not his hand. The pain forced him backward involuntarily.

‘Impossible. Isn’t this the same reaction as those worthless humans!’

The people he had burned to death flashed through the Demon Lord’s mind.

The way they had writhed their entire bodies, thrashing about as if dancing. Each one so laughable, perfect for amusement.

But now it was the Demon Lord who was thrashing about just like them.

“Michael, you bastard! What trick did you pull!”

As the Demon Lord roared, Michael, who had been checking on Chris’s condition, answered.

“My sword happens to be quite sharp.”

“…What?”

“I may not be able to cut through your hide, but I can at least leave a scratch.”

“…!”

The Demon Lord widened his eyes and stared at his burning foreleg. The same one that had blocked Michael’s sword earlier.

‘He sliced my leg during that exchange!’

And had hidden his own ember within the wound.

The ember had wormed its way into the wound, burning from the inside out, and had finally begun to spread across the Demon Lord’s entire body.

“Keueueuk…! Fine, I’ll admit you’ve learned to wield fire well. But that fire was inherited from me! Born from the body of a frail human woman, you cannot defeat me!”

As the Demon Lord gritted his teeth, glowing red-hot chains erupted from the ground. The chains, writhing like limbs, surged straight toward Michael’s four limbs.

Clang, clang, clang!

He deflected them at incredible speed, but more and more chains came wriggling toward Michael.

So he was going to overwhelm him with numbers.

‘…At this rate, they’ll reach the professor.’

A scene flashed through his mind—Chris being subjected to a similar binding by that bizarre character known as Bandage.

‘She definitely coughed up blood.’

She had already lost a lot of blood. He couldn’t let Chris get caught in that curse again.

Michael lowered his sword.

“Uahaha, yes! The longer you resist, the more Chris’s chance for treatment is delayed. There’s only one way for a monster like you to save Chris! Become the sacrifice yourself!”

‘You talk too much.’

He had expected the Demon Lord to be more taciturn and imposing.

The opponent he had faced in his older years was no different from a giant lizard. Or perhaps this was closer to the Demon Lord’s true nature.

Chains wound tightly around Michael’s entire body as he entertained such idle thoughts.

“Urk…”

It was hot.

A force so tight he couldn’t move an inch.

The more he struggled, the tighter it constricted—definitely the same type as the binding curse Maria had used.

The Demon Lord rumbled with a face full of ecstasy.

“You utterly foolish wretch. This is a curse that binds tighter the stronger you are. Even that precious fire of yours won’t work! If you stay quiet, I’ll eat you without causing you pain.”

Michael’s body floated up into the air. The Demon Lord had seized him with its tail.

“…….”

Michael merely wore an expression of icy contempt, offering no resistance.

‘What’s with this bastard. He’s on the verge of death and doesn’t shed a single tear? …He takes after his mother. How unpleasant.’

Something was suspicious, but there was no time to think it over leisurely.

The flames that had started in his foreleg had already reached his stomach, melting his internal organs. He had to devour Michael quickly and extinguish the fire.

The Demon Lord hastily snapped his jaws open and frantically swallowed Michael’s body whole.

“Uahahaha! Finally! Finally I become the strongest in this world!”

The Demon Lord abandoned all dignity and began laughing like a madman.

It was understandable. With Michael’s heart, he could challenge not only the Holy Emperor but even the Creator God herself.

But he did not know.

Why the real Chris had said that Michael’s heart would become the root of all conflict.

The fact that everyone would continue to fight over that power meant—

“…Urgh?!”

In the end, no one would be able to claim it.

“U-urgh, bleurgh!”

The Demon Lord frantically and rapidly vomited out the contents of his stomach.

It was a sound judgment. If he had been even a moment later, it would have surely exploded inside him.

A body that couldn’t serve as a vessel for Michael’s heart would simply burst instead. He had known that much.

Wasn’t that why he had gone through the trouble of waiting until his body recovered?

‘I’m currently in nearly the same condition as my prime, and even this isn’t enough…?’

Just what kind of messed-up power did this monster Michael possess?