As if to show his non-resistance, Zelseas still has his head hanging down.
　Even so, he must be desperately calculating how to get out of this situation.

　But no matter how you mend your ways, it's for later.
　He told me all about his misdeeds.

"Heads up.

　With a gasp, Zelseas shuddered.
　Even though he was just kneeling, greasy sweat dripped from his blue face and drenched the floor.

''Zelseas, are you going to make me say the same thing twice to you?

　As I said this, Zelseas looked up, squirming and shaking.
　My gaze shot through him and he stiffened, as if he was scared.

'If you have an excuse, state it briefly.

　He bit his back teeth gingerly.
　His expression was full of frustration.

　Zelseas struggled to wrap his head around it.
　However, as if he realized that there was nothing that could be done, he finally said as if he had decided to prepare himself.



　Standing up, Zelseas drew a magic circle.

''There is no way the Demon King is in this era!　The real demon king of tyranny died for peace two thousand years ago. This man was a bright red imposter tailored by the Unificationists!　The time has come for us, the descendants of the deceased Demon King, to bring justice to him in order to defend his honor!

　Zelseus gives a command to his own men.

"Gather around, gather around, my people!　Show your noble imperial pride to a treacherous nonconformist!　The cause is ours!

　With a shuddering voice, the imperialists from other places descended one by one to this lowest level.
　The number of them, roughly two hundred or so.

''Kill them!　Burn to death!

　With a scream, Zelseas fired dozens of magic in succession.
　Like a rainstorm, his subordinates also fire fire flaming magic.

　I look at it and sigh.
　All the flames in front of me disappeared without a trace.

''.........na.........ghaa.......!

　Zelseas had a look of sheer astonishment on his face.



"Lay down your weapons and surrender--

　A piercing look pierces through them.
　With a start, everyone in the place cowered.

I'm not going to say -- I'm not going to say that. You've turned on me, so you should be prepared for this.

　Gently, he raised his right hand and lightly touched his thumb and middle finger.
　Zelseas shouted as the magic power focused on his fingertips.

"...put up all the anti-magic you can.　＜The Gio-Glaze is coming!

　Zelseas and the others poured their magic into the anti-magic to prevent my magic, and it stretched out in front of me like a wall.

'Taste death,'

　Lightly, I snap my fingers.
　

''.........ha........!

...ah, I.........!

......

　Blood poured out of his ears and the soldiers fell to the spot in a flurry.
　If left alone, it would be only a matter of time before they died.

.....

　Zelseus, who barely held out due to the anti-magic, and Ramon and a few soldiers behind him, stared at me with expressions of horror that seemed to have consumed them.

'Let me ask you one question. Whose guidance was that dragon you just saw?

".........what are you talking about.......?

"Two thousand years ago, dragons that fed on demons and humans were a threat to the people. The demon king's army cleaned them out and nearly wiped them out. There are only a few dragons that have survived, and they are too powerful for the demons of today to compete with. I don't think your evil eye can find them, much less capture them.

　Zelseas looks dismayed.

　Hmm. I guess that's what I'm doing.
　The dragon from earlier was weakening. I'm sure there's someone else who has weakened it.

"There's the mastermind. Speak up.

No, there's no such thing!　The dragon is ours to discover!

"Law.

If you want to kill me, kill me!　We, the Royalists, do not fear death. But if you slaughter those who disagree with you, who are you to be king? And you think that's how you're going to govern the land?　Even if you take this life, you can't take away my precious beliefs!

Funny you should mention that. Now I'll tell you what.

　Loosely, he pointed his index finger at them and used the magic of the Xecto.

He who signs and speaks the truth, I will spare his life. If what Zelseus has just said is true, then all of you must remain silent. Do so, and I guarantee the lives of all those present.

'Kaka, you fool. You can't even threaten me with such a thing. If we don't all sign it, we'll get away with it.

　Zelseas raised his voice as if to remind his subordinates.

　Indeed, they should all just keep quiet.
　Despite this, there was a tense feeling of tension between the soldiers.

　It's a strange air, as if they are checking each other out, not even trying to make eye contact.
　The tension is growing by the minute.

　Zappos, someone scraped their foot on the ground.
　The next moment, it was Ramon who shouted.

A stranger has come to talk to us!　That's why he agreed to let me have the dragon. He was wearing a ring that didn't belong to Dirhade or Azation, which I've never seen before...!　Master Zelseus doesn't even know who he is!　That's it!

　Ramon signs the Contract (Zekt).
　If it's a lie, he'll die, but seeing that he's safe, I'm sure it's true.

"Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh.

　Zelseas peels his eyes away and grabs Ramon by the throat.

''Gougie...!　No, don't.....

If I hadn't said anything, I would have done it!　You incompetent bastard!

　Black flames enveloped Ramon.



　With a bang, Ramon fell to the spot.
　He managed to put up anti-magic and tried to extinguish the
"You are the one who is stupid, Zelseas.

　At my words, he turns around and backs away.

'The man was shallow, to be sure, but that doesn't mean we didn't all find it best to keep quiet. I simply had a suspicion that someone would betray us and sign the agreement.

　As I say it, I quietly walk forward.

Once a man is in doubt, it is inevitable that he will try to sign it first. It's only a matter of time before the other four decide to sign.

　When Zelseas turned around to look at his subordinates, the soldiers looked at him with a dismayed expression.
　At their fingertips, there was the residue of magic power to sign the .



'That's what you call folly. Did you ever think that anyone would risk his life for his family or his bloodline? Did you think that anyone would risk his life for the sake of his family or his bloodline? I've often heard it said that we royalists are not afraid to die, but you have no noble intentions.

　I stopped and confronted him with the facts clearly.

'They're just fawning over each other's pockets. If nothing else, my own fears are proof of that.

　Just barely, Zelseas bites his back teeth.

''You ... you ... gave birth to ...''

　As if to squeeze the words out of him, he releases them.

'If you are the demon king of tyranny, then you gave birth to us!　He left behind nothing but glorious lore, giving birth to the Seven Demon Emperors and giving birth to many descendants who were completely descended from his own blood!　I'm going to reincarnate, just for the sake of it!

　Zelseus shouted as if to denounce him.

You despise us as animals, but it all began with your actions!　If there is no such thing as an imperial family, then there is no such thing as an imperialist group either!　If you hadn't reincarnated, none of this would have happened in the first place.

There will always be people like you in every age.

　I say, drawing a magic circle with my fingertips.

''Without the Imperialists, there would certainly be no Imperialists. Then are you saying that you are good and honest and have served the world well?

　He asks Zeltheas straight up.

'Impossible. You have only used the royalists as an excuse. What would have happened if the royalists had never existed in this world? It would simply be a change of name. You will find yet another convenient cause, and you will line your own pockets by putting the blame on it.

　Who in their right mind would dare to harm others in these peaceful times?

People like you, who have no pride, no conviction, no love, no kindness, but live according to your desires, are dogs.

　The magician's circle is complete, and I'm setting my sights on them. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

I'll have to put a collar on that rotten root.

I'll tell you what...

　Zelseas and the soldiers brandish their magic swords and charge at me.
　But before they can swing it down, a black thread shoots out from the magic circle and wraps around Zelseas and the soldiers' necks.



Nedonnerias.

　The black thread that coils around your neck becomes a cursed collar and tightens around your throat.

"If the shackles are tightened around your neck, you will dream of a life of illusion. This is your life until this moment. As long as your dreams keep you on your stupid imperialist path, I will kill you in the end.

...or, huh...

　Zelseus put his hand to his neck as if he couldn't breathe.

"Repeat a hundred times a second. Dream or not, the pain is not real.

　Their eyes lost their light, and then a moan began to sound.
　＜They must be dreaming of the Reincarnation Illusion (Nedonerias). Two hundred have already died.

'Choose the right path and you will wake up from your dream, Zelseas.

Oh, well, you're done here, Anos.

　When I turned around, Ramon was smiling proudly.

　He must have finally finished extinguishing Zelseas's .
　His body is covered with severe burn marks in many places.

"Hehehe. You seem to be on a roll, did you forget?　You can't disobey my orders, you know. You can't disobey my orders, after all, we just signed a contract with the Zekt!　Hahahaha!

　I'm not going to be able to get a good look at it.
　It's the magic of the Zekt that I signed a contract with.

　I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it," he said after letting out a sneaky laugh.

I'm going to have to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. "Well, that's an order, Anos," he says, "I'll give you an order, Anos, to fire the Geo-Glaze at Mid-Haze.　I want you to use your hands to turn the city of Mid-Hays into a sea of fire!

　＜The magician's magic is filled in the magic circle of the contract (Zekt).
　The power of the covenant works on me.

"Peace is what?　You naughty boy! You're an idiot!　Heehahahahahahahahaha!

'For the chance of a thousand, you'd be better off ordering me to die than that. You'll always be a shallow man.

Haha.....?

　Ramon's expression twisted.

'What the hell are you doing?　Orders?　Do it now.

I'll give you one chance. You will be forgiven if you retract that flippant remark. Otherwise, I'll have to put a collar on you too.

　Ramon looks at me with greasy sweat dripping from his face.
　He must be puzzled that I don't immediately carry out the order of the Contract (Zekt).

　He thought about it in his absent mind, and then he came up with an answer.

Haha.... I don't need your help. Come on, just do it!　＜Geo-glaze!　I want you to take it upon yourself to burn the mid-haze and show me your crying face!

　Hahahahaha, Ramon let out a sneaky laugh.

'Did you think such a bluff would work?　There is no merit for you to forgive me, when you think about it. ＜You are trying to make me terminate it by pretending that the Zekt contract is not working, right?

Hmm. Too bad you didn't get it first.

　As I said this, Ramon's body shook with a jolt.
　He looked at me, who didn't carry out his orders for any length of time, with frightened eyes.

".........why........?　Why are you being so smug...?　＜The contract is absolute.　I don't care how hard you try to stop me!　You can't fight me!

　I take a loose step and I raise my right hand right up to my side.

'Ya, stop!　Stop--

　Zu-do, he pierced Ramon's throat with his right hand.

'.........ghoho........?

Did you think I'd protect you just because you made a contract?

　 is pointed at the magic circle drawn by Ramon.
　The magic of that contract disappeared like glass shattering.

　＜The Covenant (Zekt) is absolute.
　However, this is only for those who have a certain amount of magic power on par with each other.

　I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it. It's not only that, but it's also easy to tamper with the magic formula of his "contract (zekt)" because it's full of holes.
　It's not as effective as a piece of paper and can be easily destroyed without paying any price.

But the Zekt that I created is still valid.

　When he said this, Ramon looked slightly relieved.

'What are you happy about?　You cannot die. You can't die for betraying your friends and trying to save yourself.

.........................

　We draw a magic circle around the source of the beast and put a collar around its neck.

"Freeze collar, Nedonnerias.

'Ughhhhhhhh!

　The moment the collar constricts his throat, Ramon slumps to the spot.

　＜The dream that Nednerias is having is that my Gio-glaze is going to be shot at the guy in mid-haze.

　You'll be burned by the black fires, and if you die, you'll return to the time before the Gio-Glaze was used to destroy the flames.
　You may have memories, but you will never be able to escape with Ramon's strength. They will feel the pain and fear that will come to them in time, and they will have no choice but to run away and die.

　It was a dream, but to them it was almost indistinguishable from reality.

Awake.

　With a snap of his fingers, Ramon and Zelseas woke up with a gasp.

Do you understand the shackles and collars, Nedonelias?

　They managed to look at me, though they looked exhausted.
　I had died a few thousand times in this short time.

　It wouldn't be surprising if their minds were frayed.

'This resistance hideout is too good to destroy. Anyone who tries to rebel against me will come here on their own.

　Zelseas and the others listened dumbly to my words.

''You guys will now work hard to convert the imperialists here. Once all the imperialists have regained their good hearts, we will remove their collars.

You should...?

　Zelseas mutters.

'Oh, I do not know how many thousands, or even tens of thousands, there are. Find them all and convert them.'



If not, the shackles will not come off. The collar will be in effect when you are about to convert the royalists, in case you are about to take a wrong turn, it will come into effect and show you a dream.

　Zelseas and the others look desperate.

'Embrace a chick's heart, and in your dreams you will be killed by me as often as you can. Unless you choose the right path, you will never wake up.'

What.... what... what... what... what... what...

　Just in time, Zelseas gritted his back teeth and glared at me.

'What an act of arrogance!　Treating people like this...

"You are a man, Zelseus. You're a dog, Zerceas. Put a collar on your neck and discipline or you will bite others.

You think you're God...?

　As he utters this, Zelseas puts his hand to his throat in pain.
　The light disappears from his eyes, "Geez! I started screaming.

　'He's dreaming that I'm killing him.

"God," he said. My God, you don't know anything about anything. You're a royalist with a crush on a tyrannical demon king.

　He snaps his fingers and wakes Zelseas up.

'Do you still have something to say?'

　Blubbering, Zelseas shakes his head, looking exhausted.

　He knelt in place and hung his head as if he were loyal to me.
　Ramon and the other soldiers knelt as well.

"Remember. "Remember, this is the Mad King, Anos Voldigord.