"Ugh, what a pain. Seriously, mutts like this just don’t know when to give up. Or wait, are they wolves? Eh, same difference."

"………"

The golden pillar of light gradually faded away.

When I finally reached the location where it had been, what I saw was the figure of a hero clad in golden armor and Jilbe, lying on the ground, bloodied and motionless.

All around them were Jilbe’s subordinates, collapsed and bleeding on the ground. None were left unscathed.

"So, who are you? A friend of this mutt? Gotta say, that armor you’re wearing looks pretty serious. Makes you seem decently strong, at least."

…Some of them are still alive!

Using my detection skill, I scanned the area and confirmed faint life signs from Jilbe and his men. But for some, it might already be too late.

"Man, what a streak of bad luck. I was planning to storm the demon territory all on my own and head straight to the Demon Lord’s castle. …Wait a sec, are you the Demon Lord? Nah, can’t be. No way the Demon Lord would be out here in the boonies."

The hero standing before me looked to be in his early twenties. Black hair and black eyes—he might indeed have been summoned from Japan.

His ostentatious golden armor gleamed, adorned with various embellishments, and in his right hand, he wielded a massive sword effortlessly. Blood dripped steadily from its blade.

"…How about you let him go? That man is one of my most trusted subordinates."

"Oh, so you are a guy, huh? I was kinda hoping that under all that armor, you’d turn out to be some beautiful woman. Imagine the gap appeal! If you were a female demon knight, I’d totally have gone for a 'Kukoro' moment."

"………"

This guy… he’s from my world. Words like "gap appeal" and "Kukoro" are clearly things from Japan.

Even if I told him I was a Demon Lord summoned from the same world, I could see there’d be no reasoning with him.

"Oh, the mutts? Yeah, I was planning to interrogate them about this new Demon Lord, but none of them would talk. Pisses me off. Hey, do you know anything about this Demon Lord?"

"………"

"Still not talking? Well, whatever. All demons are dead meat anyway. Oh, but I’ll spare the women. Demons have way more variety than humans. Elves, for instance—man, they’re unbelievably beautiful. Back in our world, they didn’t exist. And then there are beastfolk, dragons, succubi… It’s a dream come true! I’m genuinely grateful for being summoned here. Not that you’d care, though."

Yeah, this is hopeless.

Just from this short exchange, I could tell. I’d never see eye-to-eye with this guy. He’s just a brat who gained immense power out of nowhere and is running wild.

"Anyway, since you’re not spilling, I guess you’re useless too. I’ll kill you and then head straight to the Demon Lord’s castle."

With that, the hero raised his massive sword.

"Wait! I’ll tell you something about the Demon Lord that might interest you."

The hero froze, his sword still raised.

"Oh? So you’ve got some intel on the Demon Lord, huh? Depending on what you’ve got, I might even spare these mutts. Deal?"

Liar. I can tell. After I talk, he’ll kill us all anyway.

"I am the Demon Lord!"

As I shouted, I lunged forward at full speed, closing the gap between us in an instant.

"What!?"

For the first time, the hero’s face showed genuine surprise.

I aimed a punch straight at his face. Activating my accelerated thought skill, the world around me slowed to a crawl.

The hero, perhaps possessing high reflexes or the same skill, began to tilt his head to evade my fist. But I adjusted my trajectory, matching his movements perfectly.

"Gaah!"

My punch landed squarely on the hero’s face, sending him flying far into the distance, out of sight.

"Jilbe! Are you okay?"

"………"

He’s alive but unresponsive.

Damn it, my inability to use healing magic is a real problem! I need to gather everyone here and teleport back to the Demon Lord’s castle to heal them. But Jilbe’s subordinates are scattered all over the area.

There’s no time to collect everyone and teleport, nor is there time to fetch reinforcements.

That leaves me with only one option: defeat that hero as quickly as possible, then bring Jilbe and the others back for treatment!

"Dammit, not exactly the 'cool and composed old man' move I wanted…"

I never intended to risk my life like this.

I considered running. But no.

I’ve decided to live my life on my terms.

What I want to do now is simple: knock that damn hero down, save Jilbe and the others, and put an end to this war!

"Even an old man can lose his temper, you know!"

Time to beat that bastard hero into the ground!