Remaining cautious of the hero's cheat skill, the ideal strategy would be to attack from outside the range of his abilities.

However, the hero wields that holy sword, which can nearly neutralize magic entirely.

Originally, the plan was to use a coordinated long-range barrage from the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings and other officers to take down the hero. But things rarely go as planned.

"Flame Burial!"

"What!?"

The hero’s eyes widened. Even he was shocked by the magnitude of this legendary fire magic.

Ideally, I wouldn’t want to use high-powered magic like this unless it was part of the Demon King Army’s all-out attack, but desperate times call for desperate measures. This hero is extremely dangerous. If I don’t aim to kill him, I’ll end up dead instead.

Although I’d prefer to avoid killing another human, especially one from my likely homeland, I have no choice now. I’ve never taken a life in this world, but it’s time to steel myself for the reality.

The massive fireball I launched raced toward the hero. Its searing heat could reduce anything it touched to ashes in an instant. Even if he tried to defend against it, any shield or armor would melt from the sheer intensity of the flames.

"Tch! Divine Domain!"

The hero’s body began to shine with a golden light, which spread outward in a towering pillar. It was the same light I saw when flying earlier.

As the radiant hero swung his holy sword, the fireball was cleaved in two and vanished.

"Close one..."

As expected, even my "Flame Burial" couldn’t surpass the holy sword. Its blade is impervious to the fire’s heat, and its ability to dissipate magic renders even legendary spells ineffective.

"I underestimated you. I didn’t think you’d pull off such a dangerous spell."

"…You said you wouldn’t use that skill."

Despite his earlier claim, he had already gone back on his word.

"Never said that. Besides, you’re dumb to believe anything your enemy says in the middle of a fight."

...Well, I didn’t believe him at all to begin with. But wow, this guy is infuriating.

The problem is that "Flame Burial" is one of my strongest spells. If even that doesn’t work, this will be far more troublesome than I thought.

"I had to use it earlier against that mutt running around. Didn’t really want to use it again, but oh well. This time, it’s against a magic-type Demon King, huh? Got it. That armor threw me off for a second—I almost thought you were a physical-type."

The hero’s Divine Domain cheat skill expands in a 10-meter radius around him. If I get caught in that golden column of light, I’ll undoubtedly be affected by its debuffs.

"Still, that was one hell of a spell. If it weren’t for Divine Domain and this armor’s high magic resistance, I might’ve actually taken some damage."

So, his golden, flashy armor is also a cheat-level piece of equipment. Great.

"Well then, time to..."

"Hellfire Ashes! Rampant Inferno!"

"Tch! Barrier!"

No way I’m letting him have his turn! I have to end this before I get caught in the hero’s skill range!

"Hellfire Ashes" and "Rampant Inferno" are both high-tier area-of-effect fire spells. Unlike the direct attack of "Flame Burial," let’s see how he handles these!

"Damn, that’s hot... Take this!"

While shielding himself with a barrier spell, the hero swung his holy sword, dispelling flames wherever it struck.

Curses. Even area-of-effect spells get partially nullified!

"Black Thunder! Crimson Barrage!"

"You’re quick, I’ll give you that!"

I tried focusing on speed, casting faster magic attacks, but even those were cut down effortlessly by his holy sword.

After unleashing so many high-tier spells in rapid succession, I could feel fatigue quickly setting in.

I’ve never used this much magic back-to-back before, and for someone like me, it’s exhausting—like running several kilometers nonstop. ...What? You think that’s not a big deal? Don’t be ridiculous. For an old man, it’s brutal!

The hero seems to be waiting for me to tire myself out, defending against my attacks while biding his time to counterattack. So, I have no choice but to keep pressing the attack.

"Hah... Hah..."

After firing dozens of spells, I finally dropped to one knee. My breathing was ragged, and my stamina was nearly gone.

"Finally done? Not bad for a Demon King—I’ll admit you had me a little nervous."

The surroundings had been scorched black by my magic, and the grasslands continued to burn, but there the hero stood, completely unharmed.

He wasn’t entirely without fatigue, but any injuries he sustained had already been healed by his recovery magic.

"Man, that was insane. Way stronger than the last Demon King. Not as strong as me, though."

The hero smirked, exuding confidence.

Despite my best efforts, my strongest magic had failed to bring him down.

"Alright, game over! Lucky for me, I don’t have to waste time storming the Demon King’s castle now!"

The hero began walking toward me with a smug grin. The golden pillar of light surrounding him—the Divine Domain—moved along with him, radiating power.

I’d hoped the skill had some kind of limitation, like a time limit or mana cost, but no such restrictions seem to exist. This really is a cheat-level ability.