ls in the sky.. Even for you, Kanon-sama, it is in my humble opinion it would be too great an expenditure of power.”

As one governing the same desire, she understood.

The sin of Ira that scaled in proportion to anger was the one boasting the highest offensive potential among the seven attributes, and.. the one with the greatest consumption of power.

But I was also well aware.

Regardless of the mere dozens of minutes that have passed since we entered this Dark Prison, the heat that was currently scorching my body, and frothing at my skin was.. anger.

Too great a power expenditure?

What of it? Regardless of what I use up, even if I’m to run dry, and be mocked by my subordinate Lords, I haven’t fallen low enough for me to hesitate over such a matter.

My desire.. the path of my Wrath is something I’ll decide for myself.

The clear display of emotions on Lize’s face barely changed upon looking at me.

Her complexion was turning a little pale. We’ve known one another for years, and she should know me well enough, but there was no hesitation in the words she spewed.

“For Heard Lauder, and the Pride he governs, it would be a simple matter for him to overtake them.”

If you were to ask whether she was sound, well sure, she was.

But Heard is returning fire with Zebul. He’s no leisure to shoot down angels while taking her on.

On top of that, I cannot count on Vanity’s forces. Five hundred Demons would just be a nice snack to that Devourer.

That’s where Gula’s troublesome point came in. To those of them that boasted Sin deep enough to eat up their own race, going at them with numbers was nothing but a waste of resources.

A proposal to maintain the status quo.

I read what Lize had wanted to say.

I looked down upon the impertinent lass I had known from her childhood.

At some point, she had climbed up to General Class, this gifted subordinate of mine.

“So to summarize, it’s something like this. You’re proposing an exchange.”

“Yes, the right man in the right place. That Heard Lauder can keep up with any Angel.”

“You do have a point. But there’s a single problem in that.”

If you’re looking at power usage, that plan does have a greater efficiency.. if you look at it like that.

But Lize has forgotten a single point.

Her opinion is grounded solely on the assumption that I would be able to destroy Zebul oh so easily.

Her Gula and my Ira have a bad affinity.

Naturally, I don’t have any intentions on losing. But fighting her will be a large power expenditure all the same. Perhaps much greater than what would be required to burn up these Angels.

That’s just how strong Zebul is.

She’s the ultimate predator, and a natural-born warrior.

With her at an affinity disadvantage against Rank One’s Heard Lauder, she has the might to persist at almost an equal level, a world apart from any standard Demon out there.

Having eaten on through ancient times beyond memory, her abilities as a Demon, her battle experience, and her ability to devour others were all realized in her extraordinary power.

I mean, the sin she holds dear, the Gluttony to even eat other Demons was.. linked to the pure and honest desire to bring malice to others.

I somehow suppress the shout that was about to escape me, and try talking in a soothing voice to persuade her. This girl is smart, and na?ve.

“Heard is Leigie’s former subordinate. Before him is a stain on Leigie’s record. He’s sure to shake his head.”

“But if you consider efficiency, that’s the best option.”

Yeah, yeah.

If Heard were to take them on, then Angels of that level would be close to woodchips. He’s be able to destroy them all without using much power at all.

But if I take Zebul on, an energy waste is unavoidable.

Even if you call me the Great Demon King, at the end of the day.. I’m just a single Demon girl, you know.

I hesitate to let out words.

Even as we speak, the Angels are putting up more and more distance.

But I had to say something. To my cute, cute subordinate.

Perhaps those were the words my father once imparted on me, or perhaps their contents were the same.

Even if their exteriors were to change, at the very least, the sentiment in my heart should be similar.

“Lize, we are by no means.. monolithic, you know.”

“!? T-that is..”

Let me be honest here.

I am.. not able to fully trust the man known as Heard Lauder.

He was Leigie-niisama’s right-hand man. But he’s also a Demon who once Overruled niisama. I don’t know when he’ll lash out again.

Leigie-niisama’s power is.. strong. But at the same time, he isn’t suited to battle. His nature was the complete opposite of Heard’s. Even that power of ice I caught a glimpse of.. there’s a possibility it won’t work the next time.

And the only one who can suppress that is me. I cannot trust another.

As it is, my power was around a level to compete with his.

If I were to have a loss in strength here, then it’s likely I would eventually face defeat to that man.

Rather than Zebul, who eats her kind, or Vanity, who father directly warned me about, the one I feared the most was niisama’s greatest follower, Heard Lauder.

Desire was something that ate up the soul over time. The emotions held by a Demon Lord were in no way something that could be held back by one’s rationality.

“So will you laugh upon my foolishness, Lize Bloodcross?”

I’ve always been a coward.

People say I have intellect unbecoming of the Wrath I govern, but caution is the other face of cowardice.

I can’t kill off niisama’s right hand man, nor can I let niisama get killed. I can only pray to the Demon World’s God, and wait.. just as father long before me, I can only pursue a hopeless dream, and learn of an unreachable summit while I protect the seat on the empty throne.

But still, I cannot stand still.

Until some day, I’m swallowed up by the name of Ruin I carry.

Even having received my words, Lize’s gaze had yet to change, and she merely looked up at me in silence.

“.. Have I become a little too sentimental?”

“.. No.”

Her look told me that word held no lies or scorn.

Just as I found her long ago, her eyes, her heart, showed no distortion.

Then so be it.

I’ll offer up my Ruin to you, niisama.

Angels and Demons, and even God will turn to ash.

That is.. the authority of my Wrath.

To hold hatred and resentment for all of creation.

On top of the dragon racing through the sky, I fell to one knee.

The land of the Demon World mainly consisted of spread out deserts of pebbles, and the Dark Prison was no exception.

When I looked down from the sky, I could take in the infinite expanse of land in a single glance.

That land enveloped by darkness that simply seemed to go on, and on. This jet black earth that had never changed from ancient times.

To that ground basked in the Mana of Acedia, I only ever held a single thought.

The distance to the Angels was already beyond my field of vision. But that’s no problem. I could get the particulars of their location from my Sone Skill.

At regular intervals, the ground shook to remind me of the clash of Heard and Zebul.

I drove that all out of my mind.

I put power into my staff once more. My fury acted in kind to make the entire body of it emit light like a miniature sun.

The moment I was to let it burst out, Lize’s dragon suddenly cut up in front of mine.

“.. What is the meaning of this?”

What I was about to reach was far above all the power in her body.

Even if she may be one who bears the same desire, that was hellfire that wouldn’t even leave her ashes behind.

“.. Hanon-sama, as I thought, I am.. opposed to this.”

“.. What?”

Her downcast face rose a little.

The blazing fire in her eyes blazed with a strong emotion much removed from resentment.

“This is a role you should leave to Heard Lauder.”

That idiotically repeated line was just barely able to push down my emotions.

The remnants of my anger drifted out of the staff, and the coat I wore let off a light luminescence.

It’s fine. From the Wrath I once held against niisama, something of this level is.. something I can bear.

I wanted to tell her to shut up and follow. But Lize’s frantic eyes were painful for some reason.

“Truly, that man may betray you one day. I can understand your anxiety. But you should consider the present situation. Out enemy is.. the Angels, and Zebul.”

Her quivering voice pierced my ears.

My enemy was present in the entire Demon World. While Heard did his share of work, the Demon World wasn’t small enough for that to let me gain control of it.

If I were to consider my army as a while, it would be a bad play to exhaust him here.

But once more, it’s a matter of future prospects.

Merits and demerits.

If I don’t use up Heard’s strength here, that man will surely be able to deal with all the opposing Demon Lords. The time to Demon World consolidation will certainly be shortened.

But at the same time, regardless of whether Heard’s power is to weaken, or if those Demon Lords out there are to survive.. niisama won’t notice any of it.

Niisama’s Vitality was nothing normal. Even against Demon Lords, that remained unchanged.

Let’s say that there were some who could pierce through that. That would only be the few Demon Lords like Heard or Zebul, who specialized themselves on pure offense.

Sharpening power. Killing enemies.

There’s no right and wrong. Even if it is just to buy a little bit of time.

I must trim the sprouts of calamity.

That was something that transcended both Merit and Demerit.. the initial prerequisite.

The basic standard I decided on the moment I became Great Demon King.

As long as that’s accomplished, then I won’t grieve for my power.

I don’t.. need the world.

“Lize, step aside.”

While you’re standing there in my way, those Angels are just building up more distance.

My flame of impatience were already escaping my body to raise the surrounding temperature. With their high heat resistance, the dragon’s scales let off an offensive smell, as they burnt down. Letting out a low cry, it thrashed out left and right as if to drop me to the ground.

Even if you call it a dragon, in the end, it’s just a beast.. no, but.. Ah, this will work out.

The wind scattered my hair.

By the unrest in the dragon’s movements, Lize was far separated from me, and she raised a scream from far below my eyelevel.

I give her a single glance.

You are.. a good subordinate.

With the excitation of my Mana, and the manifestation of my spirit, the song of my mind was finally satisfied.

From the depths of hell, where the light of day would never reach, the hardships in the furthest recesses of the earth, carved into my very soul, the song of a Demon Lord.

I naturally began to hum it.

From the vestiges of my widely swung staff, vivid flames continued to pour.

“Dawn Blaze. Oh jet black rain. Let the flames of creation enter my hands..”

I am a coward.

That’s why, my enemies, go to hell.

Destruction is my reprieve. So you can just dissapear to the world beyond.

How many years has it been since I chanted the incantation of that Skill on the highest tiers of the Wrath Skill Tree?’

To carry out my Ruin, I activated it.

“Shield Anchor.”

I feel the color seep from my world. Demons are being of soul, and their corporeal bodies held little meaning. Their existences were largely centered around their minds.

That was slipping away. A large portion of my thoughts had taken form and expressed itself.

The power collected at the head of the staff shined as a single light, before spreading explosively.

This was the abyss of Ira I had reached.

These flames of creation to rid myself or the rabble resembled the wrath of a form of God, and it was merely beautiful. A power to reset the world to create anew.

The expanding light cloaked the heaven and earth, and cleared away the sky into a crimson aurora.

The growing heat wave condensed to a single storm, and the ground calmed. Taking on the resultant wind, the flying dragon swayed greatly.

It was a wave of light.

Just as niisama once sealed the land in ice, an opposite force to bake everything in the world bathed the land.

No matter how much agility those wings may grant them, in the end, they cannot match up to light.

It was only an instant before the flames coming at them at the speed of light swallowed them up without a single one left remaining. Without the time to raise a scream. Without even the time to form a thought.

My resentment burned the sky.

Be they Saint Lord Class, or Demon Lord Class, before my Ruin, they hold no meaning.

The flames cleared.

The sky was a pure red, and in it, not a single thing remained.

Of Serge who flew ahead, and the angels that followed, there wasn’t a single particle of ash.

To niisama’s enemy, that disappeared before I had ever even seen her face, I held not a single deeper emotion.

The strong display of power was always accompanied by compensation.

A nihility enveloped my head. The power leaving my body caused me to kneel over the dragon. But I won’t unhand my weapon.

Until I drop all my enemies into ruin.

“Hah hah hah..”

I gripped the reigns, and had the dragon descend. The hands of the battle below, which had stopped for a moment at the flames in the sky, restarted themselves once more.

The sound of destruction echoing across the land was on a different scale from before.

I’ve cut off Heard Lauder’s hesitation. If it’s now, he should be able to give it his all.

If he’s to lose here, then.. I’ll be the one to kill Zebul. That’s all there is to it.