Lord Demon is behind you

"I...you."

"……what?"

"I mean, I... I like you! I've always liked you, from the bottom of my heart, with all my heart—"

The black-haired beauty who spoke excitedly held the hand of the person in front of her.A pair of delicate and beautiful eyes were shining brightly, and there was just the right amount of blush on his face, and there was no hesitation in his words.

"No, but—how should I put it..."

The blond young man whose hand was caught scratched his cheek with his free hand, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"... When you say like, does it mean the love between men and women?"

"That's right, it's love in the sense of being in love!" the black-haired beauty said firmly, "I, the former Demon Lord——Albert Strelstein, have admiration for the brave Lord Arthur Crane! "

He tightened his fingers very sincerely.

"I am willing to do anything for you. I am willing to withdraw from the demon army and leave the Demon King City with you. I am also willing to abandon the plan to invade the human world and give up the position of Demon King, just to be able to follow you; just so that one day, you Can understand, feel my love, and respond to my feelings..."

He took the other's hand and pressed it to his chest.

"Can you feel it? My heart is beating for you with all my heart."

—For a moment, the whole world seemed to have fallen into a standstill.

The night wind passed over the treetops not far away, shaking the few remaining yellow leaves on the branches.The soft and clear moonlight fell evenly, illuminating half of their shoulders.

This is the back garden of the hotel where Brave Gate stayed today. He is performing the last job before the team disbands—that is, bringing the defeated Demon King back to the capital.

It was already very late, and humans with normal routines should have already fallen into a sound sleep.If it wasn't for being suddenly grabbed by the Demon King during the day and asking him to come to the garden in the middle of the night, the brave man would probably be asleep by now.

but……

...How should I put it.

The brave man never expected that things would unfold like this.

Arthur Crane——Although he came from a humble background, he has always been active in the front line against the Demon King's army. Relying on his own strength, he has become famous all over the world step by step, and has been admired by all. The man who was praised by the king as "the man most worthy of the name of a brave man in the world"——

This man, at this time, received a passionate confession from the demon king he had defeated, and was very confused by it.

After a long period of preparation, two weeks ago, the brave man finally led his companions who had fought side by side for a long time into the Demon King's City.

Although there were some difficulties, it was generally smooth.Everyone finally fought all the way to the room where the devil on the top floor of the castle was. After a hard fight, they finally cut down the long blood bar with 20 points to the bottom——

Facing the long sword that was so close at hand, the Demon King could only leave his throne obediently and catch him without a fight.

In this way, the demon king was defeated, the monster army retreated, and the demon king's city was abandoned. The brave man saved the world. Congratulations, congratulations——

It should be so.

However, at this moment, on the way to escort the devil back to the king's city, this guy suddenly came out like this.

What is this, falling in love and killing each other?Stockholm Syndrome?No sane creature would have such feelings, would it?Or--

Realizing something, the brave man pushed the hand away vigilantly.

"This is a cover-up... isn't it? Using specious words to divert my attention and take the opportunity to seek an opportunity to escape, are you planning this kind of calculation in your heart? Devil King Albert, your plan has been seen through Already!"

Hearing this, the demon king's originally shining eyes suddenly dimmed.

"...Did you actually think so? That's right. After all, we are enemies who have been hostile for six or seven years. Normal people would not believe someone who suddenly said that they like you. But...these words are indeed from me. sincere."

He laughed self-deprecatingly.

"In the beginning, I really only regarded you as a bug in the way, no different from other human types who defy me; even if I occasionally watch you through the crystal, it's just for fun. However, during the observation process, I actually... ...slowly, I was fully attracted by you."

Seeing that layers of mist gradually formed in his eye sockets, the brave man was speechless.

"You human being, although you have a rigid personality, you always stubbornly abide by human justice, and you always respect people who don't know why. There are really many things about you that I don't like. But once you recognize Things will stick to the end, always lead the team forward with perseverance, give enough respect to the enemy, and easily resolve the malice from the same race with almost infinite tolerance and kindness... Many faint flashes Gathering together, it even dazzled my eyes, causing the heart of the devil king to unknowingly deviate from the direction..."

"It's meaningless to list many reasons. In short, the fact is that I'm completely overwhelmed by you—I like you so much that I can't help myself."

This is not right, the brave thought.Is this guy really the Demon King?The devil actually praised the hero's good qualities, and his tone was so gentle?

The most frightening thing was that I was a little shaken by this kind of tenderness—although it was only a little bit.

The brave man knew that he always took the weak rather than the strong, not to mention that the Demon King did have a very deceptive face, which looked particularly charming under the bright moonlight.Facing this exquisite face that is about to cry, no matter how hard-hearted a person is, it will be difficult to refuse categorically.

"However, because you are such a perfect human hero, it is especially impossible to accept the love from the Demon King."

The former Demon King bowed his head with a wry smile: "I understand that this ending is my own fault. However, this heart is indeed beating for loving you. Even if I am rejected, I still want to make my heart clear—— "

"I like you," he repeated, "with all the passion of my life to like you."

Under the warm and tender eyes of the other party, the brave man's face turned red visibly.

What's the matter with this abnormal heartbeat? Could it be that the other party cast some enchanting spell?

He has never been in love since he was born, so he doesn't understand that the feeling at this time is called "heartbeat".

"I," the brave man stammered, "I probably, probably don't hate you.... Well, although it's not in the sense of being in love... Uh, I, I mean, although you occupied the northern part of the kingdom and exiled you The lord in the north, but he didn't bully the people in the occupied area, nor did he harm the general people... The devil's reputation among the people in the north is even better than the original lord...so I don't hate it..."

Hearing the words, the Demon King's eyes lit up again, and an incomparably bright smile bloomed: "Really?"

"Well," the brave man calmed down a little, "although it's not love—"

"--I see."

A cold female voice suddenly cut off the conversation between the two.

The affectionate atmosphere was suddenly broken.The brave man turned around in a daze and looked towards the direction of the sound, while the Demon King clicked his tongue very unhappily.

Along the path between the gardens, several beautiful girls were coming, and the one who spoke was the leader among them.A casual dress can't hide her innate noble temperament, her perfect face is dotted with a calm and gentle smile—but at this moment, that smile is cold and empty.

The girls behind her looked different and dressed in different clothes, but they all looked up at the brave man, with expressions of sadness or pain or unwillingness or helplessness.

"……your Highness?"

The brave man bowed and saluted without knowing why.

These young girls in front of him are exactly his companions who accompanied him along the way.Among them are warriors, magicians, and holy priests... Everyone worked together to capture the final fortress and win the victory for mankind.

And the one who is the leader is none other than His Majesty's most valued daughter, His Royal Highness Princess Elshirin.

"Your Excellency the Brave," the princess nodded slightly in return, with a hint of bleakness on the corners of her lips, "You..., don't you have anything to explain?"

"……Hey?"

The brave man tilted his head inexplicably.He did not understand what the so-called "interpretation" meant.

But his attitude, in the eyes of the other party, has completely changed its meaning.

"As expected...as expected," muttering to herself, the princess's smile cracked slightly, "Two weeks ago, I finally mustered up the courage to express my heart to you, but you rejected me decisively. At that time, I thought you Your heart belongs elsewhere, but in the past two weeks, you rejected the confession from all of us..."

The girls standing in a row looked at him.

"...Sorry." The brave scratched his hair in trouble, and whispered.

He didn't intend to cause harm to others, but for these girls, he really only had the feelings of companions.No matter how dull he is, friendship and love can still be distinguished.

"But!" The princess suddenly raised her head, stretched out her slender fingers like shaving green onions, and pointed at the former devil king, "You actually agreed to this man! You rejected us, rejected us who have been by your side all this time, rejected us who are always by your side, and rejected us for the sake of the former demon king." We who have given everything to you have agreed to this wild man who has always been on the opposite side!"

"wild……"

The brave man doesn't know where to start complaining, should he accuse "Your Highness, you are too rude!", or point out "The wild man's statement is baseless"?

"Well, I didn't..." I didn't promise him, the brave man thought, just saying that he didn't hate him.

"Who are you calling a 'wild man'? Disrespectful!" At this moment, the Demon King suddenly took a step forward, grabbing the brave man's shoulder with a semi-strong grip.Because of the relationship between holding hands before, now he almost has the brave man in his arms.

"Keep your mouth shut, human," the Demon King said coldly, "Who do you think you are talking to? I am the supreme king of the Demon Realm, the absolute powerhouse who controls the original power of the plane and rules the lower realm; Abandoning the position of Demon King because of the love in my heart is definitely not something that lowly people like you can insult!"

"Besides," he snorted, "Even when it comes to qualifications, you are still far behind, and you are not worthy to compete with me. But I started to pay attention to him when he first came out of Novice Village! In the end! Boss! Today, it has been ten years. Compared with me, what are your teammates who joined in the middle?"

"……Hey?"

The brave man blinked dully.

This guy is the demon king who cried and confessed to him just now... isn't that right?

The long black cloak hanging behind the Demon King moved automatically without any wind, and immediately emitted countless colorful beams of light from under the cloak, blasting small halos of light in mid-air, turning into different scenes one after another.

The hero who is high-spirited outside the Novice Village, the brave who is chased by slimes, the brave who rescued the injured girl and was seriously injured, the brave who solves trivial troubles for the residents, and the brave who is uneasy because he stepped into the royal city for the first time , a brave man who fights against monsters, a brave man who receives meritorious service...

The same blond man is at the very center of each image, while everyone else in the frame is blurred out.From youth to youth, every step of his growth has been faithfully recorded——

"See, women of mankind, this is the proof of my eternal love. This man named Arthur Crane, who is praised as a brave man, is destined to fall into my arms!"

The Demon King waved his hand triumphantly, and those beams of light immediately shattered into specks of light and dispersed.

The incident happened suddenly, and the brave man had no time to react, and was directly shocked on the spot by the pictures that were too shameful for him.

Wait, this is—the original self?But how could it be - logically speaking, it shouldn't be - unexpectedly - why -

"……Ah……"

Witnessing all this, the princess was shocked at first, then suddenly laughed out of nowhere as she thought of something.

"hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

She laughed out of composure, and her whole face lost her usual graceful and noble appearance.

"That's right, it's true!" She declared loudly, "It's exactly as you said! Devil King Albert, we have a completely different starting point from you! We were far behind from the very beginning. Now, it's impossible to catch up—but ah, but!"

The corners of her mouth twisted strangely.

"But—try hard to get what you want, this is the way of human existence."

She stretched her right hand high into the air.

As if it was a signal, the girls behind her also raised their right hands to the sky.

"In order to gain the power to change everything—"

She said, and the girls behind her repeated softly.

"We're going to go our own way—

"Take my lover|hero——

"Take it back."

The surrounding air twisted slightly.A mass of terrifying darkness centered on them, spreading like flowing water.

"Dangerous! Be careful!"

The devil's expression changed, and he hurriedly dragged the brave man into his arms.The black cloak was raised, and under the cloak, he crushed a very high-grade teleportation crystal.

"Wait... wait, Your Highness! My companions—everyone—"

The brave man came back to his senses and stretched out his hand desperately.But it's too late.It was too late.

■

In this year, the brave defeated the Demon King, prevented the expansion of the Demon Army in the human world, and saved the world.

However, in the same year, to be precise, just two weeks after the demon king surrendered, the ten companions who originally followed the brave man betrayed justice, turned into demons, and became the newly promoted demon king——

This is known as the "Ten Witches", the greatest crisis in human history.