Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord - Volume 6 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Hidden Boss (Right Side) Launches a Counterattack

I’d learned that the first king was awful in a way that was different than I’d initially expected. I’d even learned about the regrets he’d harbored. Though I’d learned about what sort of man this king, who continued to act like one in the Kingdom of Twilight, was, it didn’t have any effect on our plans to save my left side.

I had a good idea of what kind of regrets the hero had when he was alive, but that didn’t change the fact that there was nothing we could do. We were at a complete dead end. The three of us climbed into a carriage to leave the palace, and I continued racking my brain for ideas.

For now, we were headed to the Dolkness estate in the Royal Capital. I loved traveling on foot, but with the left side of my body not moving, it was a pain to walk around.

A soft, sweet scent filled the carriage, and Patrick and I were talking, both dejected.

“We’re at a total dead end... What should we do?”

“We might have not gotten any results, but we knew it was a long shot. There’s no point in being disappointed.”

“It would be nice if we at least had a way to communicate with the Kingdom of Twilight.”

“Your left side is definitely the wild card. It would be nice if she could make a move somehow.”

I guess we’ll just have to wait. Patrick and I both sighed at the same time.

Silence took over the carriage. I had no desire for small talk, and Patrick probably felt the same. As for Eleanora...

Wait. Why is Eleanora quiet? It was unnatural for her, a girl who was always reliably in high spirits, to not participate in our conversation. I looked over and saw her fervently reading something. Each time she flipped through the pages enthusiastically, the scent wafted over.

Did she bring a book with her? Also, it’s rare that she’s reading at all.

“Lady Eleanora, what do you have there?”

Eleanora looked up, beaming with an innocent smile as she showed off the black notebook. “I was curious, so I brought it with me!”

Ah, her carefree smile is so bright. I had no doubt that crime would disappear from this world if all of humanity looked as pure and innocent as she did. Still, our dear Eleanora has taken a confidential document belonging to the kingdom without permission. She’s totally guilty.

“You can’t do that! Why did you take it?!”

“It had a wonderful scent, and the writing inside was also lovely... I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You couldn’t help yourself...?”

“I’m sorry. I did it on a whim.”

She sounds like someone who just got arrested. It seemed that the person we had thought was the last person we should allow into the archives was in fact someone we shouldn’t have let in. This is bad. Ronald’s probably noticed by now. I hope he’ll let us off easy since the culprit is his younger sister.

“Come on, give that to me. We’re returning it right away.”

“Just a little more! Just let me have it for a little longer!”

I did my best to pull the notebook from a whining Eleanora with only my right hand, but I ended up dropping it. The impact made the pages flip to the final page. I was forced to reunite with the nonsensical entries.

“Ugh, he’s so annoying! Also, I saw that girl for the first time in a while, and she was split in half! I was so surprised!!!”

“I hate that he’s called ‘Hero.’”

“He tricked Yumi-Yumi! I need to show her what he’s really like!”

“I won’t let you destroy the Kingdom of Valschein! I won’t let you leave Twilight!”

Huh? The Kingdom of Twilight? The very thing I was after was written there. I thought I might be hallucinating, so I looked over at Patrick. He was also staring at the notebook in disbelief.

“Patrick, is this...?”

“There’ve been changes from when we last saw it. ‘Surprised’ should’ve been the last word written.”

“Right? Also, it mentions the Kingdom of Twilight.”

When did these entries get added? Also, why does the writer know about the Kingdom of Twilight? I turned to interrogate Eleanora, the only person who could’ve added to the entries.

“Did you write in this notebook, Lady Eleanora?”

“I didn’t. This adorable penmanship is the owner’s.”

Eleanora wouldn’t lie. If she had added onto the entries, she would’ve unabashedly admitted it too. On top of that, just as she had pointed out, the distinct, rounded penmanship matched the text that was already in the notebook. The only possible answer was that the words had shown up on their own.

As if to validate my unbelievable theory, a new set of words appeared on the page.

“Yumi-Yumi is on my side now! Yay!”

I can’t believe this... I suddenly had an idea, and scribbled something into the notebook.

“Is Yumiella Dolkness there?”

“What?! Mr. Notebook is talking to me? Yumi-Yumi is right next to me!”

Wow, this girl is really friendly. Okay then, if that’s the case...

“Please tell her this: ‘The left side is a small fry that’d lose to the right side.’”

The next moment, the world trembled. There was no sound nor was there any shaking, but the world had definitely trembled. I couldn’t explain why or what had caused it, but the skin on the right side of my body felt that the world was going to end. In that moment, I was the most aware of the fact that I was paralyzed on my left side than I’d been all day.

I wasn’t mistaken. Patrick and Eleanora both gulped as well. The horse whinnied, and I held my breath as the driver panicked, trying to calm down the violent horse.

Something was happening.

Something so ominous that it desecrated natural order was nearby. I only remembered to take a breath when I heard Patrick’s voice.

“Let’s just head outside for now,” he said.

In this situation, where there was no information—let alone details—where I, Yumiella Dolkness, felt fear, Patrick was the first to make a move. I looked closely and saw that he was trembling as well. In fact, his voice was shaking when he spoke earlier. Even though I was the most powerful person in the world, I would lose to Patrick in bravery.

Is Eleanora okay? I was so taken aback that I’d forgotten about the girl who I should’ve been most worried about. I used the courage I got from Patrick and spoke. “Are you all right, Lady Eleanora?”

“All I can do is accept it... There’s nothing I can do about it.”

It seemed that she had given up. We were in a situation similar to being stuck in a plane that was definitely going to crash, where panic was expected, but people could be surprisingly composed.

People only panicked when there was at least a sliver of chance of surviving as long as you ran quickly. When there was nowhere to run and you had no chance of survival, in situations without even a speck of hope, people became composed—that was the kind of composure Eleanora had.

Of us three, the most to least composed were Eleanora, Patrick, then me. This was probably because Patrick and I were the only ones who could find a ray of hope in this thing that was happening.

It was unsettling how silent things had become outside of the carriage, and I cautiously stepped outside. We scanned our surroundings, looking for the cause of this situation, but we couldn’t find anything. It felt like the air of despair had cast a thin veil across the entire world.

The first to notice it was Eleanora. She pointed up at the sky and shouted, “The sky! Up in the sky!”

“What is that...?”

It floated in the air, high above the thin clouds. It looked so high up that I couldn’t tell if it was in the sky or out in space. Wings sprouted from its back. This was an example of an extremely rare phenomenon in which magical energy—which was typically fluid, colorless, and shapeless—took a well-defined and solid form.

The six black wings on only its left side undulated, continuously changing shape as they grew larger. The wings themselves were visible from a much greater distance than the human-shaped entity in the center was.

It had a ring floating above its head. The ring, black as the undulating wings, multiplied itself several times over into a pattern of concentric circles that looked a bit like Saturn’s rings.

It was much too evil to be called an angel, but much too divine to call a devil. Still, calling it a god would be sacrilege.

The people of the Royal Capital looked up at it. When it had last manifested, they had only seen the aftereffects, so it was their first time seeing it for themselves. They just stared as its wings spread and its halo expanded ever outward.

No one was running—they instinctively knew that it was pointless to run, and they clung to this single clear fact in a maelstrom of incomprehensible circumstances. No one screamed; there was no value in expelling precious air from their lungs or in raising their voices. No one spoke; everyone felt the same horror, so there was no need to put their thoughts into words. No one prepared a will; it was clear that the people they would leave behind were going to disappear as well. No one fought the futility of such an action requiring no explanation.

It wasn’t despair—resignation was closer to what they felt. No matter what action they might take, it would ultimately be pointless, and they had no choice but to accept the reality before them.

The area around it fell completely silent. As the residents of the Royal Capital watched, it grew larger with every passing second. Its black wings and halo spread as if they intended to cover the skies of the whole world...

The black wings and the halo were observable from every corner of the globe. Unrest had spread throughout the world. Those who had the knowledge or the wisdom to understand the nature of what it might be were dragged at once into the depths of despair.

Then, Patrick and Eleanora, who were diminutive in comparison to it, both sighed.

“Oh, it’s just Yumiella.”

“It is Yumiella indeed.”

No? I’m right here?

“What? What’s going on?”

“Wow, it really is Yumiella,” Eleanora said once more.

“It’s only her left half, so there’s no doubt about it.”

Can someone explain it to me? I don’t really like it when the other characters have a mysterious conversation and the main character is left out of it.

I was still in full crisis mode, but all their nervousness seemed to have dissipated. Maybe they got so scared of that thing that they’ve gone crazy? If that’s the case, I’m going to start crying.

They’re also being completely incoherent, saying that thing is me...

“Don’t tell me you know what that thing is. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“It’s my second time,” Patrick said.

“Me too,” Eleanora chimed in.

It seemed that the two had indeed lost their minds. It’s over. The world is going to end. I had no choice but to accept my fate, and I wanted to at least be on the same page as the two people I loved. Though their conversation was nonsensical and empty, I joined in.

“That couldn’t be an Ultimate Celestial Suppression Weapon, could—”

“It’s you.”

“It’s you, Yumiella.”

Me? I’m right here though. Also, I’m not half a person like... Oh. That thing only has a left side. Are they accusing me just because I’m missing half of myself?

“I’m not the only one who’s missing a half!”

“You definitely are.”

Maybe it’s a monster that was born like that. I searched for a rebuttal, desperate to not accept it, and Patrick continued.

“Just accept it. You’re the only one who has that much magical energy. Plus it appeared right above us, and it only has a left half... It makes too much sense to be a coincidence.”

I guess that’s true...? It’s hard to believe, but if Patrick says so, maybe it’s true... My left side that I’d been searching for had come back on her own. Things were all settled now. Yumiella gets to return to her original form. Happily ever after!

“So...hypothetically speaking, if that is my left side, do you think I could talk to her?”

“I think she’ll evaporate the whole planet if we leave her as is.”

I knew it. That’s an Ultimate Celestial Suppression Weapon.

Even if that was my other half, if I couldn’t communicate with her, she was no different from an ultimate weapon. It would be nice if I had some kind of distinct weakness, but as everyone knew, I was invincible and the strongest being.

This should’ve still been a crisis situation, but ever since he realized that thing was me, Patrick seemed calm.

“What are we going to do if we can’t talk to it?”

“Leave it to me. It’s my second time taking it down.”

“What did you do last time?”

“There’s a surefire way to win in this situation...! ‘Yumiella is the strongest! Yumiella is the strongest!’”

Sir Patrick?! What do I do? Patrick just broke. The more normal and calm someone was on a regular basis, the more terrifying it was when they started behaving strangely. I was completely horrified by Patrick’s mysterious actions.

I looked to Eleanora for help. Though she was surprised by Patrick’s voice, she immediately realized something and joined in on his chanting.

“Yumiella is the strongest! She’s the strongest in the world!”

“Yumiella is the strongest!” Patrick continued to chant. “Yumiella is the strongest!”

Eleanora’s broken too?! What are you two doing? Why are you screaming something that’s an obvious fact?

I thought maybe this could actually be a way to win, but that thing in the sky wasn’t changing at all. Soon after, their strange chanting ended.

“There aren’t any changes. Last time this calmed it down.”

“The cause has to be something related to strength of levels, so this method should be correct,” Eleanora pointed out.

Though they had supposedly lost their minds, they both seemed to be on the same page. Was that chanting some form of harmonization? Are Patrick and Eleanora so in sync that they can have conversations that I don’t understand a single lick of?

“My fiancé and my best friend are— Urgh, my brain is going to break.”

“I think we should explain what’s going on to Yumiella,” Eleanora suggested.

“Let’s do that,” Patrick said, agreeing.

They couldn’t just stand there and watch, so they explained the situation to me, and I was able to avoid my brain breaking.

Apparently, the last time this had happened was because I was teased for being weak. After the teasing, I turned into a similar form to that thing in the sky, and my memories of it had disappeared when I’d transformed back. That was why they had tried to resolve the issue this time by yelling that I was the strongest.

“I know how I seem, but would I really turn into that just from being called weak?”

“You would, which is why we have a problem.”

“I see... That means that someone teased my left side, who was in the Kingdom of Twilight, about being weak, right?”

“I think that’s what happened. Troublemakers exist everywhere,” Patrick said, his irritation uncharacteristically apparent on his face.

He’s right. What a troublemaker. Who would say that to my left side? Left Yumiella may be a small fry that would lose to Right Yumiella, aka me, but there are some things you just shouldn’t— Oh!

I’d forgotten all about it because of all the chaos of this sudden occurrence—I’d forgotten about what I was doing right before it had appeared. I looked inside the black notebook that was still in my hands.

“Please tell her this: ‘The left side is a small fry that’d lose to the right side.’”

This might be the cause. Am I the troublemaker?

I froze, and Patrick mistook it for shock.

“Don’t feel too bad about it. The person who caused this is responsible too.”

“Um, about that...”

“Even if she only has half herself, whoever told Yumiella that she’s weak is definitely at fault!” Eleanora said.

“I’m sorry. I’m the one who caused this.”

I couldn’t hide the truth when they were trying so hard to take my side. I showed them the notebook and explained that my left side had lost control because of my—the right side’s—teasing. I braced myself and was prepared to be yelled at, but Patrick reacted in the complete opposite way.

“I see! That’s why there was no effect when we said Yumiella is the strongest.”

“I get it too!” Eleanora exclaimed. “It’s not Yumiella’s strength that’s important—it’s which side is the strongest!”

“You noticed that too, Lady Eleanora?! Now we’ll be able to use the surefire method!”

My understanding was left behind just like before, but it seemed their method was going to work. I caused an issue, and Patrick was going to clean it up... Things were going to be resolved in the usual manner.

Now confident that they would win, Patrick and Eleanora raised their voices once more.

“Yumiella’s left side is stronger!”

“Yumiella’s left side is the strongest!”

As the right side, I didn’t believe in their “surefire method,” but it had visible results. The black wings floating in the air swayed slightly. My left side hadn’t reacted to anything before and was finally responding to something.

I can’t believe this is all it takes to calm my left side down. What a simpleton. I wouldn’t be affected by someone just stating whether I was strong or weak.

“Yumiella’s left side is the strongest!”

“Yumiella’s left side is so cool!”

I can’t believe my left side is going to lay down her sword after getting a couple little compliments. How pathetic.

I knew they didn’t actually mean the things they were saying, it was obviouououououououous. Even mentally, my right side was ririririright, my right sidedededed my, my, myyyyyggggrrraaaagh.

“Yumiella’s left side is the strongest! Yumiella’s left side is the strongest!”

“Sir Patrick! Oh no, Yumiella is in trouble!”

“Grrrggggaaargh!”

“Calm down, Yumiella! Your right side is strong too! Your right side is stronger!”

“That’s right! Your right side is the strongest!”

Hmm? Um, I, uh, what was I doing? I think Left Yumiella lost control and is floating in the sky or something. I looked up and saw it emitting an even more violent aura than I thought it had earlier. At this rate, the world was really going to be destroyed.

“What about your surefire method? You said you had a way to beat it, right?”

“It’s over.”

“Huh?”

“It’s over. The surefire method didn’t work.”

What happened to your confidence when you first said you had a way out of this? Patrick seemed sure that there was nothing more to do.

“What do we do about it, then?” I asked.

Even if we can’t use the previous method, Patrick can surely figure a way out of this.

Patrick looked me right in the eyes and said, “What do we do?”

I really wonder. I thought the surefire method guaranteed that we’d win. I guess we run for now? The carriage had stopped near the Dolkness estate, and we were only several steps away from the garden.

“Should we run inside for now?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter if we run—it’s all the same,” Eleanora said.

She’s right. I just stood there and looked up at the sky, when suddenly a black dot appeared.

“Something’s falling from the sky! I think it’s something separate from my left side... A person?”

It looked like it was the size of a person, and they weren’t too far, so they probably weren’t going to land right on top of us. Anyone would be able to dodge them if they just looked up.

“What do you see?” Eleanora asked.

There’s someone right here who would totally get hit. I need to carry her into the house. I moved quickly, but I’d forgotten that my left half wasn’t working. I brilliantly tripped right by Eleanora’s feet with a loud thud.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“It seems this is the end for me,” I said. “Don’t worry about me, Lady Eleanora. Just run.”

It’s all over. I’m going to play the part of a female lead who sacrifices herself for her best friend. I hope that Eleanora, as kind as she is, isn’t able to leave me behind and stays there as if to say it’s her turn to work hard.

Still on the ground, I looked up and saw that Eleanora hadn’t run, but was looking at me as if to say, “What are you doing?”

Okay, acting time over.

“Something is going to fall from the sky, so please evacuate the area and head inside the estate, Lady Eleanora.”

“Don’t you need to run too?”

She’s worried about me after all. Acting back on.

“I’ll be fine, just save yourself, Lady Eleanora...”

“You seem all right!” Eleanora gave me an energetic nod before she trotted away and into the estate. Playtime is over. That’s a wrap.

I watched Eleanora, who had put in as much effort as a grade schooler during emergency training, run off as I lay there on the ground. Patrick then slid his hands under my arms and pulled me up. The way he picked me up made me feel a bit like luggage.

“Now’s not the time to sleep. That thing is going to fall near us.”

I looked up as he instructed, and the object was headed straight for us. Now that it was closer, I knew it was the size of a person, but I still couldn’t tell who it was.

“How troublesome. What if they destroy the estate or leave a crater in the garden?”

“It’s Yumiella...”

“Don’t bring up my name just because they’re causing trouble by falling out of the sky. Don’t name the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs ‘Yumiella,’ okay? People will just judge me even more.”

I’d thought Patrick was on my side, but he started calling this act of annoyance “Yumiella.” Even if I was the only one whose reputation was being hurt by it, people might eventually think that people who are destructive are usually black-haired, and then it would be actual discrimination.

Patrick, who was in Discrimination Man’s reserve army, squinted at the falling person as he said, “That...isn’t Yumiella. It’s a black-haired person.”

He just went from being in the reserves to the main forces. He said it was a black-haired person who wasn’t me, but he was probably mistaken.

“How could that be possible? Any black-haired person falling out of the sky has to be Yumiella.”

“You seem incredibly biased towards yourself.”

If they’re falling, it’s probably me. I took another look at the falling person and saw that they had long, black hair. They had gotten closer since Patrick first noticed, so there was no mistaking it.

The one falling through the sky was Yumiella, the one floating in the sky was Yumiella, and the one standing here, me, was also Yumiella. Wait... That’s three. I was Yumiella (Right Side), who could only move her right side. The one with the wings only had its left side, so it had to be Yumiella (Left Side). The person falling through the sky wasn’t missing half their body, and they were frantically moving all their limbs.

What a riddle. What Yumiella isn’t the left side, isn’t the right side, and panics while falling through the sky?

“I think it might not be me...”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

Oh, in that case, should we help them? By the time that thought had crossed my mind, it was too late, and the mysterious person had crashed right in front of us into the garden of the Dolkness estate in the Royal Capital.

“Hey, Patrick? Should we have helped them?”

“Oh.” That was the sound of someone who’d made an oversight. It seemed that even while knowing they weren’t Yumiella, it was difficult to be worried about someone with long black hair. This discrimination towards black hair, or perhaps Yumiellas, was quite the serious issue.

I heard someone coughing in the middle of the dust cloud. It seemed they were alive. They continued to cough as if they were in pain, then I heard the voice of a man.

“Where am I? What happened?”

This is someone who survived that impact. Since we don’t know who they are, we need to be on guard. We continued watching warily, and a man clad in black appeared from behind the curtain of sand.

His long hair was the same deep black as mine, and his eyes were just as dark. Though he was a man, his face even looked similar to mine. This person, dressed in armor, who could be thought of as a male Yumiella, was someone I knew.

Patrick didn’t know who he was, so he spoke cautiously. “Who are you? Why did you come from the sky?”

The man seemed annoyed as he glanced over at Patrick, then he looked at me. He stared intently as I stood there, wobbling as I couldn’t maintain my balance with only having control of my right side. He then looked up at the thing in the sky with only a left side and said to himself, “I see.” He nodded and continued, “This must be the world of the living. I now understand why you only had half your body over there.”

My left half had died and gone to the Kingdom of Twilight. That place, where those who died with regrets gathered, was also where the first king of Valschein was. In that case, there was nothing strange about the Demon Lord being there.

I could guess that he somehow got involved with Left Yumiella’s resurrection and loss of control, but I had no idea what his plans were now. Worried that we might be enemies again, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“It’s been a while... Um, what should I call you? Would you prefer I use your na—”

“Demon Lord suffices.”

Patrick was shocked by his response. His guard towards the mysterious person was now fully up.

“The Demon Lord?! He’s the Demon Lord?!”

“That’s right, young man. I am... I’m... Um, the way I speak isn’t strange, is it?”

What’s this all of a sudden? Are you okay?

Patrick froze, not understanding what was going on, so I answered in his place despite not really understanding either.

“There’s nothing strange about it. You’re from a different time period.”

“What if I was from a time period where no one else spoke like me?”

That would mean...by current standards, right? I guess he can use strange phrasing at times, and the way he speaks is pretty rare nowadays. I pondered the changes in language that would’ve happened since the time the Demon Lord was from, where people surely spoke like him, and confidently declared, “It’s strange. It’s a little weird to speak in a manner that no one else is using.”

“I see...”

The Demon Lord was saying strange things, and Patrick was completely on guard against him. I don’t care who—can one of you just act normal? As that thought crossed my mind, Patrick spoke in his usual tone.

“You sometimes speak in a way that no one else does, Yumiella.”

Are ya tryna say I’m weird? I ignored the fact that my dear boyfriend had returned to normal because of his straight-man antics, but ’twas true that I mayst not be’st one to talketh. I’ll apologize and revise my statement.

“The way you speak isn’t strange. You’re just as normal as everyone else.”

“Hmm. I see.” The Demon Lord nodded as if he were satisfied before pulling out a black notebook and scribbling something inside it. It was a very familiar notebook. A black notebook owned by someone who was in the Kingdom of Twilight until moments ago...? No way... I opened up the notebook I had.

“I was a little bothered by something, but Yumi-Yumi said I don’t have to worry about it!”

Huh? But this notebook was probably owned by a girl, so there’s no way...

The Demon lord continued writing, and words appeared in the notebook in my hands. My suspicions were confirmed.

“Yumi-Yumi said that because of the boy next to her. He seems nice. I’m a little interested in him.”

I was going to ask him why his handwriting looked like that of a girl in grade school, but there was something else I needed to say to him. I responded to the Demon Lord’s cute writing with my own words.

“Um, that boy is dating Yumi-Yumi. What do you mean you’re ‘interested’? You better explain yourself.”

“Really?! They make such a cute couple!”

Oh. I thought he was going after Patrick, but I was totally wrong. Sorry for sending an angry text because of a misunderstanding. I should probably apologize for that in person, I thought as I looked up to see my classmate—no, the Demon Lord’s face.

I was talking to the Demon Lord. This wasn’t a grade school classroom, and we weren’t passing notes folded into paper airplanes.

Patrick, who had been reading our back-and-forth over paper, whispered in my ear, “I didn’t know that the Demon Lord was, um...this kind of person. I’ve never met him before, so I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know either. You heard how he spoke—he speaks with flourish in a dated way.”

“So which side is he on? Is he an enemy or an ally?”

The Demon Lord had probably only returned to the living world because he’d gotten caught up in my mess. Though he didn’t intend to come back to life, who knew what he was planning to do now. The Ultimate Weapon still posed a threat: Left Yumiella still loomed, and it would be terrible if we had to deal with the Demon Lord on top of that.

The Demon Lord was strong. His stats would probably be similar to Patrick, and dark magic was very good at one thing: killing people. I would be able to handle him, but the Demon Lord merely existing was enough to be considered a worldwide crisis.

As Patrick and I spoke to each other, our faces close together, the Demon Lord spoke up.

“If there’s something you’d like to ask me, why don’t you just come out with it? If you have the ability to realize that there is something you don’t want me to hear, at least do your plotting somewhere I can’t see.”

I guess we have no choice but to get to the point. Our crises would go up to two, but there was no point in trying to leave this issue for later.

“What is your objective here?” Patrick asked, his voice tinged with nervousness. “It may be by coincidence, but now that you’re alive, what will you do here in the Royal Capital of Valschein?”

“I would’ve answered if you’d just asked that at the start... So how do you want me to answer?”

Uh...which is he? He doesn’t seem friendly, but I feel like that could change depending on how we respond. 

There was a huge difference between how he was in his notebook entries and in real life. I was still in note-passing mode, so I couldn’t keep up with the Demon Lord’s final-bossesque statements.

Maybe I should just ask in the notebook... I scribbled into the notebook, and the Demon Lord looked down at the notebook in his hands. After what had happened, it seemed that he’d noticed our notebooks were synced as well.

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I don’t want to tell you, Yumi-Yumi. You’re too busy having secret convos with your boyfriend in front of me.”

“I’m sorry, Deemie. First, I totally and mistakenly thought you liked Patrick, and now I thought you were trying to overthrow the government.”

“That’s so mean! How could you think that?! I don’t want to write to you anymore, Yumi-Yumi! Bye!”

I had cold sweats upon realizing that I effortlessly called the Demon Lord “Deemie,” but I had to keep corresponding with him.

“I’m sorry! I want to keep talking. I don’t have any friends who write to me, so I’m really lonely.”

“Friends? Are we friends?”

“Oh, I’m sorry... We just met, so I shouldn’t assume. Of course we’re not friends...”

“I’m sorry too! I’m so happy you thought of me as a friend, Yumi-Yumi! I’m sorry I keep acting so nasty. I don’t like Valschein that much, but I don’t want to exterminate the citizens or burn the kingdom down or anything like that anymore!”

I was finally able to pull out what the Demon Lord’s intentions were. Also, I still can’t believe how he speaks when writing... It was starting to become too much, so I stopped writing in the notebook and spoke to him directly.

“I’m glad to hear that. I was worried that we’d have two world-level crises on our hands.”

“Two crises... You might not be wrong about that.” The Demon Lord looked up at the black wings spread out in the sky and continued in a low voice with another disturbing statement. He completely ignored the fact that I was confused, unable to connect the person I’d just become friends with to the person standing in front of me, and he said, “I wasn’t the only one who got mixed up in your half’s chaos. The king of the Kingdom of Twilight has probably returned to the living world as well.”

“You’re referring to the hero...the first king of Valschein, right? Is he dangerous?” So he’s here too after all. I knew he was in the Kingdom of Twilight thanks to Lemn’s information, and we’d already done our research on him.

The king seemed like a much more barbaric person than we’d imagined, but he didn’t seem like someone who would try to destroy the world. I couldn’t say it to the Demon Lord, but the king had regretted their falling out until the day he died. The king that was awful in ways that I hadn’t expected was probably not that bad of a person.

“Back in the Kingdom of Twilight, he said that Valschein is a flawed kingdom. He said that it was built upon countless sacrifices and it should’ve never existed in the first place.”

“That’s why he’s a threat to the world?” I wasn’t getting the full picture yet.

I was surprised that his regrets ran so deep that he was against the existence of the kingdom itself, but what did that mean for us? Patrick and I didn’t understand, and the Demon Lord got to the core of the hero’s intentions.

The Demon Lord spoke in a voice tinged with rage. “In other words, he’s planning to destroy the Kingdom of Valschein.”

I knew about the regrets the first king had at the end of his life, but trying to come back to life just to erase the kingdom he’d built was overly obsessive. Getting rid of a kingdom? That’s what a Demon Lord would do, not a hero. I can’t believe the actual Demon Lord is trying to stop him... Wait. It seemed that Patrick had the same question.

“You tried to destroy the Kingdom of Valschein in the past,” Patrick said. “The reason you’re telling us what’s going on instead of helping the first king, who has the same objective as you, is—”

Yeah, that’s right. The hero and Demon Lord should be kingdom-destroying buddies. In the notebook, he wrote that he’s not going to destroy this kingdom, but I still don’t know why.

I was listening to Patrick, who was saying what I was also thinking, but the Demon Lord interrupted him.

“I’m already dead. I just want to stop him from trying to change the past when he’s already dead too.”

It seemed for the best to not press any further. The bloodcurdling atmosphere made it clear that he truly felt that way. I didn’t really want to ask for details through the notebook either—it was hard to match his energy over writing.

So the first king is trying to destroy the Kingdom of Valschein, huh? If I’d heard about this yesterday, or even this morning, I wouldn’t have been able to believe it, but things were different now. I now had an idea of what sort of person he was, and I knew about the regrets he had.

Though his thinking was quite extreme, I could understand his motive. I also knew he was a violent person who might actually do what he threatened.

“We were just researching the first king,” I said. “We read things like a diary written by someone close to him who struggled.”

“Those close to him who struggled... There are so many people who were having a hard time that I can’t tell who it would be,” the Demon Lord said with a faint smile. I couldn’t tell what emotion was behind that smile. The corners of his mouth quickly turned back down, and he shook his head. “There’s nothing to gain from learning about his lack of regard for others.”

“I guess it doesn’t have much to do with stopping the destruction of the kingdom.”

“That’s not what I mean. After being in the Kingdom of Twilight for so long, he’s completely changed. He’s turned into a monster that’s nothing like his true self.”

Oh, that’s right. That’s the sort of place the Kingdom of Twilight is.

Even if Twilight didn’t affect someone, obsessing over one thing for several hundred years would have an effect on their mental state. The legendary, barbaric hero was now an unrecognizable monster... Patrick and I gulped because we couldn’t imagine what sort of beast he’d become.

“The hero is probably already here,” the Demon Lord said as if to mock us. “I’m sure he got mixed up in your other self’s mess.”

“You’re the only one who came falling down,” I pointed out.

“No, you probably just missed him. He’ll be here any moment.”

The founding hero turned into a beast who’s trying to destroy the Kingdom of Valschein and is coming here...?!

He suddenly arrived, his timing impeccable, as if he’d been listening to the Demon Lord’s words.

There on the roof of the Dolkness estate, stood the man in question. His silky, golden hair swayed in the wind, and he stood there in his ornate military uniform, his overly decorated long sword unsheathed.

“Now is the time for us to come together,” he said in a gallant voice. “As king, I will protect the world from calamity!”

Who that? The first king wasn’t very kingly, but this man was somehow incredibly king-like. The king had been a man who was awful in a lot of unfortunate ways, including his intelligence, his appearance, and his behavior, but... Who is this? Is this someone else?

Patrick and I were confused by the appearance of an unknown person, and the regal man spoke to us with a valiant look on his face.

“At this point, there are no differences between enemies and allies. Let us let go of all constraints and work together!”

He seems so regal, but...he doesn’t seem like the first king of Valschein... I looked to the Demon Lord for confirmation if that was really the first king, and he had an obvious scowl on his face.

“You. What happened to your ambitions of destroying the kingdom of Valschein?”

“Many innocent people are facing a crisis. I don’t have the time for my own plans. I want you to help as well.” With that, the king bowed deeply.

Seeing his archnemesis act so humbly made the Demon Lord scribble something into his notebook with incredible fervor.

“Save me, Yumi-Yumi! That guy’s not selfish at all! He’s so scary!”

The Demon Lord had said that the first king changed in the Kingdom of Twilight. And just as he’d said, the man had completely changed. So I couldn’t tell if this regal man actually was the king. What a pitiful sight... Wait, is he pitiful?

“Isn’t it all good if he’s acting normal now?” I asked the Demon Lord instead of writing back.

“It’s not! The way he’s acting... Something’s off!”

For the first time, the Demon Lord’s reactions in the notebook and in real life matched. You hate this that much? It was probably difficult to accept the king’s current state since he knew what the king used to be like. For me personally, it felt quite convenient. I could either have two dangerous elements or one dangerous thing plus a person who was cooperative about handling said dangerous thing. The latter was obviously preferable.

I turned to Patrick, hoping he would agree. “This is better, right?”

“If I had to choose, I guess...”

Huh? We had another member to help take down Left Yumiella, but Patrick didn’t sound too happy.

The hero nodded satisfactorily upon hearing our conversation. “I’m happy to be fighting together, Yumiella and... I don’t think I’ve heard your name.”

“I’m Patrick Ashbatten.” Patrick introduced himself to our ally, but...the hero suddenly jumped backward and put his hand on his sword.

“Ashbatten?! Wh-What did you come here for?!” As the once-confident king suddenly became flustered and confused, the Demon Lord had also distanced himself from Patrick and was now hiding behind the hero.

“Why are you using me as a shield?!” the hero exclaimed. “I may be strong, but I’d rather avoid fighting an Ashbatten.”

“You’re the one who upset Ashbatten! Act like a king and take some responsibility!”

The hero and Demon Lord were pushing each other forward, trying to save only themselves. So you guys are friends after all.

This was quite the rare sight. It was probably the first time Patrick was the one people were afraid of when we were standing next to each other.

The two were likely afraid of his ancestor, the Lord Ashbatten from their time. There was no need to fear someone who’d died so far in the past. I wanted to explain that, but the Demon Lord seemed to realize it on his own.

“Wait... The Lord Ashbatten from our time should have already passed, no?”

“That’s true! I knew I could count on you. You’re my top vassal after all.”

“I was surprised because you jumped to conclusions. Use your head more.”

The hero’s appearance was overflowing with regal dignity, but his true personality was starting to crumble that image. They were both speaking quite naturally to each other at a close distance, so maybe they had partially returned to their past selves.

Though they were terrified of his ancestor, Patrick didn’t seem bothered and had begun to speak to them. Patrick’s so good at handling weirdos.

“You said something about protecting the world from calamity, right? Our goals are the same, but depending on what method you are trying to use, we may not be able to help you.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but as king, I aim for what will bring the most people happiness. I’m not in a position to be picking and choosing my methods.”

The hero was suddenly acting like a king again. The moment he began speaking to Patrick, the Demon Lord made an incredibly sour face, so their behavior from earlier seemed to be temporary.

The conversation between the non-black-haired members continued.

“That thing up in the sky is Yumiella. I can’t get rid of her by force.”

“Even if she’s someone important to you, it’s obvious that she’s a threat to this kingdom...”

So that’s the direction this conversation is headed in. I wasn’t as worried about myself as Patrick was, so it took a moment for me to catch up. As the hero spoke, I realized that they were debating whether they should take me down or not, but his tone suddenly changed midsentence.

“...so I shouldn’t be debating what method to use and just stop her, but...no. Then nothing will change.”

“Nothing will change?”

“That’s right. I’m a perfect king who can save all. There’s no point if I don’t make everyone happy. If I don’t save everyone, including the evil beings who’ve become inhuman monsters, I’ll just be repeating my mistakes...”

This is bad. I’m not sure why, but the hero is about to join Patrick’s side and defend Left Yumiella. Just like he said, she’s an evil, inhuman being, so she needs to be stopped, even if it means taking her down. But it’s okay. I, the right side, am stronger!

“We should just take her down! Since I’m the one saying it, there’s no doubt that it’s the right solution!”

“But I—”

“It’ll be fine. She might go back to normal after a quick punch.”

“I see... You may be right. There’s no guarantee that the worst-case scenario will play out. As king, I shall hold out hope and fight back until the end!”

Well said, Hero! The hero had returned to his sparkly, regal self and was fired up to defeat Left Yumiella. The only problem was Patrick. He was still firmly against my plan, and he declared his opposition to me defeating myself.

“That’s half of you! If you don’t handle this the right way, you’ll lose function in your left side forever.”

“Patrick, just think about this calmly. Which would you prefer: the me that’s here or the me that’s floating up in the sky?”

“You want me to choose...?”

Patrick looked up at my other half, which was continuing to spread its wings in the sky, then he looked back at me, who was normal other than the fact that half my body was paralyzed. He looked back at my half, who could only be described as an evil spirit descending on the planet, then at me, who looked human and communicated normally... After looking back and forth a few times, Patrick finally opened his mouth.

“You’re both Yumiella.”

“That silence was enough of an answer.”

Patrick wasn’t the type of person to get excited over giant robots or huge kaiju, so I was definitely more his type than my left half. On top of that, if he chose Left Yumiella, the world would end.

After thinking about it some more, he spoke, the words spilling out in mumbles. “Well, I don’t think you’d die that easily.”

“That’s right! Any worrying you do for my sake is a waste.” Though I’d said it myself, that fact made me a bit sad, but it was the undeniable truth. I was done persuading Patrick.

The hero then turned to the Demon Lord. “What about you? You’ll fight with us, right?”

“I’ll do what I can, just as always... Even though you’re irritating.” The Demon Lord seemed as if he would object to anything the hero suggested, but he immediately agreed. Perhaps he didn’t care that much aside from the hero’s desire to destroy Valschein.

We now had a united battlefront of four incredibly strong people. I looked at our strange group and saw Patrick grimacing as he looked up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is she falling...?”

Huh? Falling? The moment the words left Patrick’s mouth, we all looked up at the rampaging Yumiella. I guess it feels like she’s coming closer... Everything including her wings are so huge that it’s hard to gauge distance... Wait! She’s falling!

“She’s coming this way!”

I’d thought that we would have to go up to space to take her down, but I was wrong. How smart to use her size as a misdirection. Even if she’s the weaker half, she’s still me.

I’d been completely fooled, but we needed to go catch her as she fell from space. Doesn’t this make dealing with her easier?

“Isn’t this more convenient, since we don’t have to go to space?” I said without much thought. All three of my allies objected.

“Are you out of your mind?” the Demon Lord said. “Do you know how many people will die just from that thing crashing onto land?”

“I agree,” the hero said. “If any part of her touches land, it’ll be over.”

“It’ll be safer to do something about her while she’s falling,” Patrick said.

You all know that thing is me, right? Well, I guess that makes sense. I agree that the moment she lands it’s over for us. I guess we can’t just catch her and call it a day—we’ll have to launch our own attack.

My left half was making its way towards land. Perhaps it was because of her size, but she looked to be falling at a slow speed, and all I could tell was that she was higher up than the clouds dotting the sky.

It would be nice if we could do something about her while she’s at cloud height, just to be safe...

“Can anyone here fly?” I asked.

The hero and Demon Lord looked at each other with troubled looks on their faces. It appeared neither could fly, and I was regretting Ryuu’s absence. Patrick, who was the only one who had a reasonable way to fly, raised his hand.

“I can fly everyone up with my wind magic. I should be able to create footing for us in midair.” A floating block of earth appeared near us.

The hero jumped lightly onto the precisely formed block of earth.

“This will suffice as footing, but it might be difficult to fight like this.”

What’s that, Hero? You saying you got a problem with Pat-Pat’s magic?

If we were all going to fight in midair, just relying on wind magic was going to be difficult. Patrick had flown me up with wind before, but I could only move at the caster’s will—in other words, Patrick controlled my movement. The only way for each of us to actively move in midair was to jump between the floating blocks.

Though it wouldn’t be flying exactly, it was the only way to do this. Before hearing the specific explanation of how to do things, the hero continued to voice his concerns.

“Doesn’t creating a block of earth in a place with nothing use quite a bit of mana? You have to use wind to make it float on top of that. In that case, it would be better to just fly using wind in the first place.”

No, no. We’re going to use a bunch of these and hop around. Why does he think there’s only going to be one block per person? It’ll be faster to just show him than to explain. I jumped onto one of the footing blocks and looked at Patrick.

“There’s no need for you to—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

I’d spent half a day with use of only my right side, so I’d gotten used to it. The only reason I’d tripped earlier was that I’d moved as if I was going to use my left arm and leg as well.

Though I only had use of half my body, I was Yumiella Dolkness. As long as I got used to my current state, jumping around was no big deal.

It would be a waste of time to try to convince Patrick, who was dubious about if I could do it, so I didn’t wait for a response and jumped up into an empty space in the air.

Just then, several blocks of earth appeared in the air. They were appropriately spaced apart—perfect for jumping from place to place.

I landed on one with my right leg and jumped for a second time. I used my right hand to grab onto a block that was close by and used my arm strength to turn myself and accelerate. Making use of my right arm and leg, I traveled through the air.

Finally, it was time to land. My balance wouldn’t be great if I landed with only one point of contact, so I used my hand to get on all fours...or rather, on all twos? Either way, I landed on the ground.

I’d ended up getting around like a monkey, but that should’ve shown the hero how to get around.

“This is how you do it,” I said.

“That was incredible. You were like a bug.”

What? A bug?! Does he mean I was graceful like a butterfly? Or maybe a grasshopper since I was hopping around. Well, I guess there are parts of me that make me seem like a grasshopper cyborg.

“What kind of bug?”

“A cockroach.”

I see. I guess people see different things when faced with something beautiful. Everyone’s sensibilities are diverse, so I won’t comment on his response.

The hero awkwardly averted his gaze from me and looked up at the footing blocks that were still floating. “I have to say, I’m surprised... I can’t believe you’re using a spell that surely burns a lot of mana this many times at once.”

Well, yeah. Patrick is incredible. He can prepare footing blocks for everyone, command troops in battle, fight on the front lines, and file his taxes on the side all at the same time.

“If I’m preparing enough for everyone, I won’t be able to fight in the battle myself. Do you have any questions?”

“I do!” I exclaimed. “Can you file your taxes?”

Patrick completely ignored my question, and the Demon Lord didn’t say anything either. My claims had been disproved, and since no one had any questions, we were ready to go at any moment. The hero then unsheathed his sword and raised his voice, the tip of his blade pointed at the sky.

“Let us head out, then. Though I’ve swung my sword for this kingdom countless times, this is the first I’ll be doing so for the world.”

“Hmm...? Huh? For the kingdom...? You were just going on a rampage because you wanted to,” the Demon Lord said, completely confused.

We ignored the Demon Lord and began executing our plan. Perhaps it was because we didn’t have much time, but Patrick had already activated his wind magic.

In order to conserve mana, it was most efficient to be flown up to a certain height using only wind magic. My body was being lifted into the air, and we began to ascend. The way that the wind was blowing upward made me feel like I was falling through the air. It was a strange sensation.

This was a spell that required quite a bit of skill...or rather, it was something mostly used for entertainment, so there probably were only a few people who’d experienced this before. Despite the rarity of this experience, the hero and Demon Lord, of course, didn’t seem surprised at all.

The Demon Lord’s expression normally didn’t change, so his surprise was all internal. I looked at him and saw he was mumbling something.

“Even if you’ve tidied up your appearance and now act all classy, you’re just as aggressive as always...”

Deemie, could it be that you have a crush on Hero? I kept that thought to myself. I knew it would play out as an embarrassed grade school girl objection and lead to an annoying mess.

Finally, we were getting closer to the rampaging Left Yumiella. Our party facing this world-ending crisis was four people: the hero, the Demon Lord, the hidden boss...and Patrick.

“It feels like you just got mixed up in our thing,” I said to Patrick.

“That is what’s happening.” He spoke as if he were the only victim here, but I was in the same boat—I’d gotten mixed up in the fated connection between the hero and the Demon Lord. I’m a victim too! Oh, but they came to the living world because of Left Yumiella...

I was going to stop looking at things in such a black-and-white manner, like victims and perpetrators. Nothing was so clear-cut in this world. The only thing I knew for sure was that at this rate, Left Yumiella was a big enough danger that she could bring an end to this world, and she was definitely evil! I’m really starting to look like a perpetrator here. Negative thoughts are no good—let me think positively.

“Is that really me? I’m not that evil-looking, am I?”

“Stop trying to deny reality. It’s too late for that.”

Just as Patrick delivered that stinging line, the unidentified flying object that probably had no relation to me made a move. Trying to be cautious, Patrick paused our ascension and kept us floating in midair.

Several panel-like objects shot out of Left Yumiella’s back. There were a total of...twelve. They were about thirty centimeters in length, and... Oh, they’re making a boxy U shape! They’re clanging around and changing like a robot!

The panels were separate from the main body, but they were flying around in the air as if they had their own minds. I feel like I’ve seen this before somewhere.

“I’m sorry, Patrick. That thing is definitely me.”

From the looks of it, the objects were likely made out of magical energy, so making them change form was only a waste of time. Left Yumiella could’ve just made them in the U shape in the first place. Since she had copied something from an anime, there was a ninety-nine percent chance she was me. There was probably a one percent chance that she was a different person and a genius who could come up with something that was so obviously cool.

Patrick seemed confused by my sudden change in attitude.

“Why are you admitting it now?”

“I thought it was very like me to go out of her way to make things look cool.”

“Do they look cool...? They kind of look like tweezers.” Patrick didn’t understand, and he tilted his head. That was the moment I became one hundred percent sure it was me. “Do you know what they’re going to do?”

“I think they’re going to fly around like drones, or bring out a particle cannon, or three might combine to become a force field...”

“Drone...?”

Since the panels were shaped like the fins on a fish, I was going to refer to them as fins moving forward. As I explained my thoughts to Patrick, Left Yumiella continued to manipulate the fins and fall towards land, ready to destroy the planet.

The first to make a move was the hero. He jumped forward, and all of the fins rushed towards him. Ignoring gravity and aerodynamics, the twelve units each independently followed a complicated path. Not only did they surround him on all sides, but they trapped him from the top and bottom as well. That’s what you get for making a move on your own...

This formation meant that the fins were probably going to shoot out a beam. I needed to save him, or the hero was going to be in a pickle. I was about to step forward, but the Demon Lord held his hand out and stopped me.

“There’s no need to join in.”

It would be impossible to dodge an attack like that coming from all directions. I would probably try to take as little damage as I could, but I would still move under the assumption that I was going to get hit. That’s because I can fight like a zombie, taking advantage of my endurance and recovery... The hero might lose his life to a single hit.

As the Demon Lord stopped me, magical energy radiated out of every fin. They were probably preparing for an attack. From the amount of magical energy pouring out, I was sure that the hero was going to be killed with a single hit.

I’ve just been watching because his former partner said to, but I need to help him. I tried to join in again, but this time the hero stopped me. The man was surrounded by an attack that was going to kill him instantly, but he looked me in the eye and nodded, signaling that he was fine.

Finally, dark red rays of light shot out from each of the fins. Before the first shots reached the hero, the twelve fins changed positions and angles, launching a second attack. They adjusted their position for a third time before shooting the beams once more.

“Is that really you?!” Patrick exclaimed in surprise. “She’s attacking so skillfully.”

It seemed that even Patrick was shocked by her attack method. I’m pretty sure my left side is just copying what we’ve seen in anime.

There was no way the hero could dodge these attacks. At this rate, the hero was going to die...or rather, he was probably already dead.

The moment the attacks were going to land, the hero spun around in midair. He then jumped off the landing, which had been destroyed by the rays, and resumed ascending.

“Huh...? He dodged them? All of them?”

“He should be able to do that much at the very least,” the Demon Lord said, nodding as if this were expected.

No way. That’s impossible. He was shot with thirty-six beams coming from every direction. There wasn’t a single spot that was safe because of the delay in some of the attacks. The hero had probably moved around in the space, which was changing every millisecond, with needlelike precision.

It seemed that the hero’s abilities were unexpected for Left Yumiella as well, because she didn’t continue to attack. The way she has no follow-through is so me.

The hero jumped around the footing blocks Patrick made. He seemed to be going after the fins first. He closed in on one of the fins.

The targeted fin shot countless beams at him, but there was no way they were going to hit the hero after everything else he’d dodged. The other fins tried to help, but there was no point.

“Let’s start with one,” he mumbled. All I saw was his overly decorated sword glimmer.

Oh, so that’s a light-type holy sword. As he skillfully wielded the weapon fitting of a hero, he destroyed one of the fins with ease.

The king had incredible physical ability; a brilliant field of vision; an incredible battle sense; and a powerful, light-type sword attack... The hero was unbelievably strong against the element of darkness, as I’d expected. His abilities surpassed the original hero party in LMH. He could probably overpower the Demon Lord in a one-on-one battle.

The remaining fins continued to gather then scatter, changing their movements, toying with the hero. But such cheap tricks wouldn’t work on the hero.

The number he mumbled continued to go up, and eventually he had taken down all of the fins. He did it so masterfully that the thought of helping never crossed my mind. He took down all twelve of the fins?! That didn’t even take three minutes.

Even after destroying the companions, the hero kept going. Next was Left Yumiella herself. Perhaps it was because her moving parts were huge due to the size of her wings, but her movements seemed to be slow. With no time to attack the predator back, Left Yumiella could only—

“She blocked it.”

The tip of the holy sword’s blade stopped right in front of Left Yumiella. It seemed there was a force field around her. The force field could be described as a square pyramid around her. So you’re going to put up a force field around yourself?

The hero’s attack had pierced the force field, but its strength was diminished to the point that he couldn’t move close enough to land the attack on Left Yumiella.

The tear in the force field immediately began repairing itself. The hero moved quickly, jumping backward before his sword could get stuck. He descended and created some distance between them.

The force field reminded me of the light barrier that Eleanora’s father had stolen from the church. I’ve struggled against a barrier too.

Because the barrier blocked the holy sword’s attack and repaired itself quickly, there were limited options as to how to take Left Yumiella down. We might just have to carve out that entire space...

“I think I have to deal with—”

“One more time!”

I thought it was finally my time to shine, but the hero didn’t wait for me and launched an attack once more. The force field repaired itself quickly, so it was dangerous. Even if he was able to pierce through it, he would have to get inside it before it closed up. I myself had my arm sliced off by the aforementioned barrier.

The hero didn’t look back. He faced forward and accelerated, using the footing blocks all around him. Even upon reaching the force field, he kept going, but it didn’t look like he had a way of dealing with it. At this rate, he was going to crash into the force field.

You’re going to get hurt. There’s nothing I can do for you, you know?

“Black Hole.” A black orb appeared, ignoring the force field’s flat surface.

It was the very spell I’d thought of to deal with this situation—Black Hole, one of the highest-class dark magic spells. The only ones who could use this spell were the hidden boss, Yumiella Dolkness, and...

The hero’s gaze was still facing forward as he spoke to the others. “I believed in you. I knew you would follow my lead.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve had to go along with your reckless behavior?” the Demon Lord huffed, unimpressed. He had followed him at some point.

The hero then aimed for the very short period after Black Hole disappeared before the force field repaired itself.

“This isn’t just my own strength. This is an attack from the best vassal ever and myself.”

The hero and Demon Lord were perfectly in sync, and they finally reached Left Yumiella. The holy sword began shining as if to respond to their coordination. The Demon Lord was shadowing the hero, which made him seem to sparkle even more.

Wow, the hero is incredible. The man had even gotten darkness on his side, and his light could possibly defeat Yumiella Dolkness.

The hero’s final blow most definitely landed. The attack landed, then...

“She’s uninjured...?”

Left Yumiella didn’t react at all. She didn’t have to because she didn’t have a single scratch on her, even after directly being hit.

The hero was undoubtedly strong, but it was also true that Left Yumiella had used nowhere near her full strength.

“I guess we were just being played with,” the hero said, mocking himself.

I’m sorry. I really think she was just playing—not in the sense that she was making fun of you, but I think she was genuinely having fun. You were going along with a child’s games.

I felt bad. The hero was definitely strong, but Left Yumiella didn’t think of him as a threat in the slightest. No matter how many times he dodged her attacks, if she really felt he was a threat, she could just destroy an entire area that was too large for him to flee from. Even if she only had half her strength, it was possible.

Still, there was a point to the hero’s attacks. Though she viewed him as beneath her, Left Yumiella was still paying attention to the hero.

After the hero’s attack didn’t work, there was only one person who could handle her—someone with equal—no, far more strength than her. The hero had bought time for the strongest being in the world to get above Left Yumiella.

The hero looked up from the gaps between the black wings, and I looked down. Our eyes met.

“Please save the world,” he said.

I used the time the hero had bought for me to take a detour, and I was right above Left Yumiella now. I had the advantage now. The hero, who’d made that possible, put his hopes on me, but I couldn’t care less about the world right now.

“I’m stronger! The right side is stronger!”

This is the battle of Yumiellas—the left versus the right—and I’m going to win!