He decided that a deep slash to the torso would not kill him, and that he would have to aim for the head, so he let go of his sword and used its sheath to leap at Duvraeori's head with all his might.
　The sword would end up cutting him off when he put his magic into it.
　It's not enough to deal with someone who has the ability to regenerate, so I turned to physical means.
　With a blow of the magic-filled sheath, the strengthened sheath was slightly distorted by the blow.
　The impact of the blow, along with the magic power, surely touched him.
　Most of the great demons so far had been eliminated by the destruction of their heads, so this must have worked.

"Don't you dare!
What the...?

　Duvvleor supported his retreating body with his right leg and kicked the ground.
　He used his right leg, which he had previously used only against enemies, to step forward.
　What was his means of attack? His right and left arms were both severed.
　Left leg, no, it's the head!
　As soon as he made the decision, Duvraeori's headbutt hit him.
　I almost blacked out for a second, and then I realized that this might be the first time in my life that I've been hit by a headbutt.
　His body wobbled backward, and the impact of the head-butt shook his brain.
　The opponent was fighting like hell, and a headbutt that could only break his nose was nothing.
　The scabbard--the impact of the headbutt had given it away.
　Then it's up to me to use my head!
　He clenched his teeth so hard that his back teeth were grinding, and slammed his floating feet into the ground.
　He stretched out his arms and grabbed Duvraioli's clothes.

You can't do that!

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　The fighting spirit in his eyes is not yet exhausted, he can still fight.
　He can still fight. No, don't be fooled, how can he afford to look at his opponent?
　We've already shown each other our resolve, there's no need to think about it here.
　Pull your arms back again and head-butt him again.
　The stronger, more powerful headbutt plunges deeper into Duvraeoli's face than before.
　Duvraeoly's butler's uniform is torn from his grip, and Duvraeoly himself is blown backwards and forwards.
　But before you know it, his arms have regenerated.
　Their clothes have been reinforced with magic, so even magic can't tear them easily.
　Duvraeus knew he'd be hit twice now, so he concentrated on regenerating his arms.
　He staggered a little but stood up. With Lakra on his side, Duvraeori would have a hard time keeping his distance.
　Then the only way to do it is to fight in melee again.
　There is no time to pick up the scabbard, the sword was taken with him when he blew away.
　Duvraeori dives at me with his left leg.
　He's using me as a shield to hide from Lakra's gaze, he's challenging me to a head-on fight.
　His left arm is thrust out, the most powerful of his two arms.
　I jump forward to avoid the left arm, and at the same time, I slam my right arm over his left arm and into his face.

I forgot to mention that my fighting skills come from Marja!

　When I was training to be a knight, it was not uncommon for my sword to break.
　It was a very natural thing to think about while ordering a sword.
　How can I fight when I have no sword or weapon?
　Maja was the one who naturally answered this question.
　Maja, the Archbishop of Yugra, the priestess of the "All Bludgeoning".
　She taught me the form of hand-to-hand combat.
　A creature's movements can be roughly inferred from its shape.
　There are exceptions, but this concept works for most creatures with a coherent form.
　Duvraeus is humanoid, his movements are superhuman, but he is a person.
　The way he looks at you, the way every part of his body pulsates, tells you what he's going to do next.
　It is possible to react intuitively before the opponent performs a move, and the reaction speed is equivalent to anticipation.
　The fist hits the target, taking full advantage of the opponent's momentum, but it is not going to end there.
　He slams his left fist into the wobbling head, and is immediately hit with a counterattack right fist, but he moves his head forward and catches it with his face before his arm is fully extended.
　With the momentum of the blow, he strikes again with his right fist as he prepares for his next action.
　He evades or kills the impact and strikes steadily.
　If he senses that you are defending yourself with your arm, he will switch his attack to your vacant torso, make you lower your arm, and strike you in the side of the head again.
　Duvraeori continued to launch counterattacks, but each one was far from a satisfying blow.
　As a great demon, Duvraeus is skilled at using his peculiarity to fight, but he lacks the skill to fight as a human being like he is now.
　It doesn't matter to me if the fist I'm taking to my face right now is a fist that can pierce a steel plate.
　I've perfected magic enhancement, so it won't be very powerful for me.
　At the same time, I'm trying to give her a magical shock, but my technique is too poor to convey the shock to my magic-enhanced head. 　
　It may look like a slugfest from the outside, but the difference in damage accumulation is more than tenfold.
　Duvvreoris is not oblivious to this.
　So the only thing he can do is to deliver a stronger blow.
　If he were to strike that blow in a face-to-face situation, it would be...

"You're swinging too hard!

　He avoided the big swinging left arm by a piece of skin, and although his cheek was cut, he was able to handle it with minimal movement.
　He grabbed the left arm with both hands and swept it off his feet at the same time, then lifted his body into the air around his shoulders and slammed it into the ground from behind.
　This is the time to make a decision. The shock to his back, which he has never received before, makes Duvvleor stop moving.
　He puts all of his magical power into his right arm, just as he did in the cleave technique with his sword, but even more so.
　A large blow can only be struck if the opponent's movement is blocked.
　Mix in a buildup of cleansing magic and concentrate more magic power into your right fist.
　My mother's technique, taught to me by Maja, is comparable to a meteor strike.
　Just before he swung his fist down, Duvraeus realized the power of the blow and protected his head with his arms.
　I knew it, I knew you would do it.
　But this blow, this impact, it can hit anywhere.
　I slammed my single-minded fist into Duvraioli's chest.

------------------------------------

　It was like an earthquake, the impact was felt all the way to me.
　It was the first time Ilias showed me his martial arts, but he was a real boxer with cross counters.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.


　Then came a blow that clearly looked like a big move.
　Duvvleioli didn't move, and Ilias quietly stood up and went backwards to retrieve his sword.
　He looked at me for a moment.
　It looks like he understands what I'm trying to do.
　Well, he didn't take it too hard, did he?
　He turns to the stunned purple Demon Lord.

That's it. Ilias and Lakra both abstain.
"What?
"If the annihilation hasn't started, then Duvraeori will still be alive, so the battle isn't over. Therefore, I abstain.

　With that, he placed the pieces of the Iliad and Lakra in a separate corner of the table.

What do you mean?
You heard me, I'm fulfilling my promise to Duvraeus. My remaining pawns are Mikus, Ecdysius, the Golden Demon, Wolfe, and myself. In order to fulfill my promise, I need to win this contest four times from now. These four times are your last chance.
The purple demon king was emotional. "What's the point of ...... that?

　The purple demon king shouts emotionally.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.
　But it's a little early to get desperate.

There is a point. This is a game between you and me, we both have powerful pieces, but it's you and me who should really be competing. To truly defeat you, I must defeat you myself.
"Me and ...... you.
I'll tell you what, I'm going to do my best to beat you the other four times. I'm going to understand everything in your mind and I'm going to completely outdo you.

　Yes, all to create this form.
　I was doing this whether the game was in my favor or not.
　It's a good thing that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.
　I'm not going to give him the illusion that he lost because he had powerful friends or that he lost because his pieces were weak.

"Come on, turn your head as fast as you can. You're the only one who has a chance to get me, and I'm going to give it my best shot. You're the only one who has a chance to get me, and I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to make it worth my while.

------------------------------------

　Was this his goal all along?
　I was conscious of making the pieces compete with each other.
　That's why I almost lost my mind at the defeat of the enhanced Great Demon, including Duvraeus.
　No, he was playing against myself from the start.
　It was a game to see if I could catch him before our pieces were gone.
　He said that he had originally intended to bring only the gold and a man named Ecdysius as his guards.
　Surely, with both of them, even if Duvraeus could not be defeated, he would have been able to bring my pieces to the board.
　Yes, he was happy about his friends' victory, but it did not mean anything to him.
　No, it does not mean nothing at all.
　As long as he was in the position of a human, it would be beneficial to the human world to have destroyed the great demons.
　But he's not interested in that.
　He's only concerned with winning the game against me.
　This is his challenge to me, to show me his worth and whether or not I deserve it.

. ......

　My fingers tremble, the only pieces left are the dying Duvraeus and mine.
　He said four times, but now that I have two pieces, there's a chance that the win condition or single combat will not occur.
　--No, he's not going to make that mistake.
　No, he won't make that mistake. He's already been insisting on playing his pieces all the time.
　He's already insisted that he's read your pieces, that he understands your thinking.
　You have four chances left, only four.
　I have to read him, but can I win?

"First round, Mikus and Duvvlayov's pieces face each other. Naturally, Mixu aborts.

　He put another piece on the edge of the table.
　Three more times, wait, when did I place the piece?
　Wait, when did I put the piece down? Are you saying you put it down without thinking?
　You have to think, you have to read the other side to win against him.
　But how do I place them?
　He can read my placement, how can I outsmart him?

"Second round, Ecdysium and Duvreoli, Ecdysium abstains.

　Two rounds left, and half of them are over before I can even think straight.
　This was no time for negativity.
　If he can read the placement of my pieces, he'll place them like this, and if I can reverse it--

"Third round, the Golden Horde and Duvvleoris, the Golden Horde abstains.
"Ah ......

　He now had two pieces left.
　Now he can fulfill his promise to Duvraeus in the next game and win against me at the same time.
　This would be the final reading.
　Why, why can he read my thoughts so casually?
　I turn to look at him, his dark eyes watching me silently.
　I've never been afraid of the eyes of a strong man like Kuro, Blue, or Yugra before.
　But now, these eyes that read everything about me scare me to death. 　
　He's pouring everything he has into beating me, and his persistence is producing the results we've seen.
　No, I'm risking everything, too.
　I have to think, I have to think.
　All I have to do is understand and read through his thoughts.


　I recall the arrangement of the pieces.
　Was there any regularity in the way I've been arranged, any factor in my words or actions?
　There may have been a few signs.
　Perhaps he can read the future from there.
　If so, he now understands that I am serious about reading him.
　How do I betray that prediction in that situation?
　--Yes, that's what I'm going to do.
　I can think about the information I haven't told him, and use those thoughts to determine the placement.
　He would not be able to decipher the information if he had never analyzed it.
　Think about the best place to place the pieces based on the information you have not told him, your memory.
　Here, in this position, my piece and his piece will not face each other.
　But not yet, now I need to read the placement of his pieces.
　I think about him, where he would place his pieces.
　Think, think, think, and then narrow it down to one spot.
　Place the pieces, are you okay here?
　It's okay, I've given it my best shot ever.
　You can't lose this way.

It's done.
We're done.

　I close the drawer at the same time.
　And the pieces appear on the board.

"......
"Wolfe and Duvraeoly's pieces face each other. And me and you face each other. The game is now over.

　I'm speechless.
　Why, why, is this the end?
　I mean, now I'm his, and I can't make him, his heart, mine forever.
　No, no, but...
　His friends are gathering around him.
　Rejoicing in his victory.
　I still, still, still don't have what it takes to beat him.
　The great demons have been defeated, my best thinking has been completely overwhelmed.
　There's no way to beat him and get him.
　With the Golden Demon King as my witness, I can't even go back on my promise.
　There's nothing left, and I've been proven unworthy to win him.
　No, you haven't.
　The game is not over yet.
　Yes, I still have a way.

I still have a way to get you.

　He mutters and looks at me quietly.

"Yeah, I know. You know the power of Entanglement?

　Yes, the last and greatest power I have as a Demon Lord.
　I promised him that I wouldn't use the power of Entanglement in my match with him.
　I agreed that using it would make him easier to get and would lower his value.
　But now he's proven his worth enough, even that he's not worthy of a mere... me.

"You may be too much for me, but I still want you.
I know I'm buying too much for that, but can I ask you a question first?
"What is ......?
What are you going to do if your caging powers don't work?

　It took me a while to understand the meaning of the question.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to try.
　Isn't that why you asked for a match with me in the first place, to avoid that power?

That's not possible. I know you're trying to say that your intrinsic magic power is too low for magic to have any effect, but my power of cajoling is--
I thought it worked by calling out the person's name and calling on their soul.
Gold told you that, didn't he?　Yes, I did.
I'm not talking about my magic, I'm asking what you're going to do if it doesn't work. There's nothing left for you to do.

　There's nothing left, he's right.
　I've lived a worthless life, and Yugra has given me a second life.
　The power of the Entanglement is the one and only symbol of me that I have been given to live a new life.
　Now that Duvraeus has been defeated, there is no other way to get him.
　If that were to happen-- and it can't.
　I've already checked his name.
　The name he gave to his friends matches the name he gave to me.
　There's no way he could have given me an alias.
　Even if he is a citizen of Yggra's planet, as long as the name sounds right, it will work.
　Only Yugra herself can prevent this.

"So there's nothing left, is there?　Then I can give up with a clean slate. Well, with powers like these, there's a residue of something you can't have. After all, I'm just a demon lord taking advantage of Yugra's power, but that's okay. Even if my value is diminished, your value to me remains the same.

　He stopped the others from stepping forward.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm going to break your last power, the power of 'caging'.

　He's really trying to break it, but he doesn't have the power.
　His eyes are no longer cloudy, they are the eyes that showed his determination when he challenged me.


　Oh, yes, I want to continue to be reflected in his eyes.
　For the first time, I really wanted him, I sincerely wished for him--his heart. .......
　You can't have a heart anymore, and that's very painful.
　But still, it's better than not getting it, much, much better.

"Yes, then as you wish--

　Breathe in. This is a power I've used many times.
　All it takes is a little awareness, and the thing I call by name becomes a pawn loyal to my command.
　For a moment, my resolve wavered, but I still spoke the words.

[Ichiro Satou, be mine.

　I used the power of "cage" on him.

------------------------------------

　A little silence falls.
　The Iliad behind me is looking at me with concern.
　The Purple Demon Lord did indeed speak his name.
　But--

"I'm sorry, but I'm not yours.

　With that one word, everything fell apart for her.
　The power of cajoling did not work on me.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.　I used the power, I checked your name, and I activated it!

　The purple demon king is flustered and confused.
　I'm not going to give up on her, but I needed to overcome all of her possible actions to make her give up on me.
　That's why I needed to play psychological warfare with the Purple Demon Lord and compete with her on equal terms.
　The concern was that the Iliad had declared that it would stop her depending on the extent of her comprehension behavior.
　If he had acted with all his might as usual, he would have been stopped.
　If I had acted with all my might, I could have done the same thing as now, but with a bit of luck, I was able to proceed without being stopped by the Iliad.
　It was almost like imitating a mentalist, but there was no way I could have read the placement of the pieces nine times in a row.
　In fact, I noticed it during the first placement of the pieces.
　The Purple Demon King's chest was swaying in that direction as he placed his pieces.
　No, it wasn't an ulterior motive, I just noticed it when I was trying to sharpen my nerves to get as much information as possible.
　I also noticed that if I placed my palm gently on the inside of the drawer, I could feel the slight vibration of the position of the pieces.
　She was not a genuine player, and there were many factors other than her thoughts that she could read.
　She was not just an expert at playing mahjong for entertainment on Earth, and I took advantage of the fact that I had noticed it.
　Thanks to this, I was able to act with a lot of mental relaxation.
　The parchment I showed the Purple Demon King was also a bit of a cheat.
　You fill in multiple patterns, and when the corresponding sequence of pieces is realized, you present the paper.
　That's how my opponent perceived me to be a visionary.
　I didn't use the same trick, though, because there was a chance that Balaguerin might have heard it.
　I used the "I" piece in rapid succession and occasionally shook him to make him think that I was really reading his every thought.
　Of course, there was understanding behavior.
　I was reading his mind and shaking him precisely so that the Purple Demon King would not cheat or notice my readings.
　He tried to make him think that he was losing the game.
　In the event that she was defeated in an all-out battle, the Purple Demon King's character meant that she would have to rely on the power of cajoling.
　She was a human being, and if she had only one thing to cling to, she would surely reach out for it.
　If it had been the Iliad, she would have simply given up, but she knew that greed would prevail over grace.
　Now that all of that had been defeated, the Purple Demon Lord was a complete dead end.
　Then the Iliad came out beside her.

I believed you when you told me to believe you, but it looks like you really ...... broke it.
Yeah.
What the hell did you do?　I'm pretty sure the Purple Demon King just called you a name.
".......
Why don't you look away, you owe me something, don't you?

　I'm sure the Purple Demon King will call your name now.

"Yes, nothing.
I said no secrets, and by the looks of it, you don't mind me explaining, do you?
Wouldn't ...... be angry?
Depends.
I want to remain silent.
Dismissed.

　The people behind me are already looking at me like, 'He's doing something wrong.
　Well, there's nothing I can do about it even if the story is cleared up.

"...... is a pseudonym.
What?
"Sato Ichiro is a pseudonym I used on my late-night radio show. It's a pseudonym.
"...... What?

　"?
　Incidentally, I was an avid postcard maker on Earth.
　But recently, I've changed my name to a mailman.
　I guess I should call it a handle in that sense.

"Wait, wait, wait, you said your name in front of Maja, if that's not true--
No, a pseudonym is also a good name, and in this world I've decided to go by a pseudonym.

　I had long since stopped using the name given to me by my parents, who were not on good terms with each other.
　I have long since changed my name on my residence card, so my name has become almost a faint presence.
　In the other world, I decided to live under the name of a postcard maker, a name that had been popular for a reason.
　This is probably the reason why I was able to evade Maja's lie detection.
　I didn't think there was such a thing as the power of "cajoling".
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'd like to know what you think.

You mean you've been hiding your real name from all of us all this time?
Yes!
......, I'll lecture you when I get back.



　It was still not allowed.